WYNPRESS: OLOUR TERM 4 2017
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Letter from the editor
Colour is something which has long fascinated the minds of the world. It is something which no two people experience the same way, influences our perception of the world around us, and has been used in history as a tool to divide us. The committee this term were asked to write on what colour stood out as for them. The results were everything from a colourful winter playlist to the psychology of colour to what it means to be a person of colour. I hope this edition of Wynpress inspires you to embrace the wonderful colourful world we live in full of wonderful colourful people.
DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN - JADE DE KEIJZER People have said that it is always darkest before the dawn and it is true; figuratively and literally. Literally before the sun rises in the morning it feels like midnight. If you’ve ever planned to watch the sunrise with your friends, you’d have seen how dark it gets before the sun rises. The sky is pitch black, dark and ominous, but as the sun begins to creep along the horizon this never- ending black sky is erupted into an array of colours unbeknown to us. Figuratively, the saying can relate to many aspects of our lives… especially at school. To some students, school feels like the darkest hour of night, but every night has an ending because a new dawn is always ready to break. The matrics are currently having one of the longest “nights” in their school years. They’ve been giving up many of their weekends, cramming behind their desks, preparing for the frightening prelims. It's all they hear, all they see and all that they think about. PRELIMS, PRELIMS, PRELIMS. However, as I said, every night has its dawn. For these matrics their colourfully bright daybreaks are creeping along the horizon. Once their prelims are over, they'll be prepared for finals and when those are over they’re free to explore every inch and corner of the world. They’ll be prepared to shine their colours on the world and to begin a new day beyond the walls of the school. The Grade 11’s are also facing a new dawn. Matric is on their doorstep. Yes, they’ll face the same darkness as the matrics, but their daybreaks will be different. A chance for them to lead the girls of Wynberg, to bring forward the brightest day in Wynberg’s history. The new dawn will also bring new adventures like the matric sleepover, the matric dance, the fashion show and forty days. So many new adventures. The end of a difficult year and the beginning of an exciting and life-changing one.
DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN - JADE DE KEIJZER The grade 10s face a darkness of a difficult year in grade 11, but their dawn will be rewarding in other ways. New friends, an exciting camping trip, the process to leadership and much more. The grade 9s are ending their tough year with the reward of becoming a senior in grade 10. They will be able to take subjects that they enjoy and they’ll be learning more about themselves and who they are as Wynberg women. For the grade 8s, they’ve been the babies at our school and their first year of high school was definitely daunting (as it is for everyone) but by this time next year their new dawn would’ve begun and they’ll be well settled into our school. School is tough and can feel like the dark, gloomy nights, but a sunrise always brings new potential for a brighter day.. Everyone in Wynberg, in Cape Town, in South Africa and across the globe will experience a dark night but perseverance, hard work and determination will always be rewarded with a bright new dawn. Things may always seem tough but it's how one deals with these things that determines the brightness of one’s dawn.
OUR MINDS AND OLOUR ASSO IATION - IARA BIR H C
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For any of you who have studied Visual Arts,you would have heard about warm versus cool colours. The colours which you choose to create your art work will determine the ‘mood’ of the art work. Your teachers were not just saying this in order to sound intelligent; there is, in fact, a connection between colour and the emotions we feel. Because of the experiences with colour throughout their lives,people (who are sighted) have brains which trigger certain emotions when we interact with different colours. Everyone’s colour associations are slightly different,and, depending on your memories, your culture and your language, you will associate colours with slightly different emotions. There are three ways in which our brains associate colour: psychologically, symbolically and culturally. The psychological effect of colour is the emotions we associate with a colour created from our own experiences. For example, you could associate a certain hue of yellow with happiness because, when you were younger, you went on a fantastic beach holiday and your mum’s sundress was that shade of yellow. The symbolic effect of colour is when you associate an object with a specific colour. Or in other terms: an object is used to describe a colour, and based on the object you have a certain emotional reaction. Some examples are sky-blue, sea-green, raven-black, and blood-red. The symbolic effect of colour is often used in literature to help evoke emotion in the reader (Her watery-blue eyes cried out in horror as the dishwater-grey ocean tore apart the ship).
The cultural effect of colour is what a specific culture, religion, or group of people associate with a specific colour. A telling example of this is white. In western culture white is often a representation of purity and innocence. On the other hand, (or the other side of the world), in Eastern culture white represents death and mourning. Now that you have a little more understanding about where our colour associations come from: how can you, using the general association of colour, make your life a little easier? If you battle to study (as most of us do) and you have the opportunity to paint your bedroom, try a blue or green. Blue is a cool colour, and cool colours are often associated with calm. Yet blue is also a colour which helps our brains to focus; which means a blue room or a room with blue in it can help your productivity. Green is also a good studying colour. A light shade of green is often associated with nature and, by extent, energy. A green room can help one feel more energetic while studying. Another thing to consider is the colours which help you to feel calm, and which will help you sleep (if your brain tends to buzz at nighttime). As lovely as bright colours are, they are not ideal for sleeping. Our brains often link bright colours to excited and energetic emotions. Therefore, if you battle to sleep, opt for putting things which are brightly coloured out of you direct line of vision. Neutral-earthy colours best help us to sleep. But if you really do not love the brown, light shades of cold colours will help your brain calm itself. In conclusion,I leave you with a challenge: try to pay attention to your feelings throughout the day and remember what colours are surrounding you. Also, if you have an unusual reaction to something someone says or does: consider what colours were around them and what your immediate reactions to those colours are.
Dear young Coloured Child - Anon. Growing up in a South Africa where the seams of society have been ravaged and pulled thin by the effects of racism and an oppressive regime must not have been easy. Over 20 years may have passed, but that does not disqualify the effects and repercussions of a regime that did the most heinous things imaginable. I know that it must not be easy to grow up in the “between”, being told that you are “not white enough” or “not black enough” with very little emphasis being placed on your identity as a Coloured person. I know that it is difficult to sit in a History classroom and feel erased by the words in the textbook as your history and the experiences of your ancestors take up no more than a few paragraphs because it is “too complex to be accurate” or “a grey area”. But, as you sit there, you realize that you are a living, breathing person. Not a grey area. But then why is it that you are often made to feel as though you are not enough? The way you speak is also always brought under the microscope. If you don’t roll your R’s you are often ridiculed by those in your own community for “sounding white”. If you do roll your R’s and speak with an accent, the mainstream media use that as the butt of jokes and
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images of toothless, gun-wielding people with some or other gang on the inside of their forearm. colourfully use English and Afrikaans, this is frowned upon, “improper” and you are told to “Speak properly”.
It should not have to be this way. The Coloured identity is one that forms part of South African society as much as anything else. Many people do not want to be identified as “Coloured” as they feel that this was a box they were forced into by the Apartheid government and this is completely their right. But then there are those who see being Coloured as an important part of who they are and a culture with which they associate. So why is it that there is so little literature, History or discussion around the role of Coloured people in eras such as Apartheid? Why do we hear more about Coloured people through tasteless jokes, mocking accent, hair or lack of teeth. There is no doubt that the Coloured identity is a complex one: it is one that has roots in many different cultures, but this does not mean that it is any less important.
When Wayde Van Niekerk broke the World Record at the 2016 Olympic Games, #ColouredExcellence became a trending topic on Twitter. With many saying that “Representation Matters” and that young Coloured children can see that someone who looks just like them can achieve greatness, and, in turn, so can they.
Coloured people are often also told that Afrikaans does not belong to them and is the language of the “White man”. However, this is often the language spoken in the homes of many Coloured people and a language that the Coloured community has transformed in such a way by mixing Malay, Dutch and African languages in order to form a type of Afrikaans that has become part of their culture. Unfortunately, this type of Afrikaans is often frowned upon in Academic circles as it is not seen as “Suiwer Afrikaans” (Pure Afrikaans) when, in reality, it is as much a language as the next. Coloured people are not anyone’s joke. Theirs is not a culture that exists purely to be laughed about or to be acceptable only when it is entertaining. The Coloured Identity is one that has been erased for far too long; it is an identity that has been grossly misunderstood.
PINK VS BLUE
Aqilah Regal
If you enter a clothing store and go to the children's section, you will automatically be able to distinguish the different sections. The girls’ section will be dominated with pink articles of clothing, whereas the boys’ section will be dominated by blue.
Now why do we have this difference?
It is purely a cultural construct. Over a century ago it was actually more common for boys to wear pink as it was considered a more masculine colour, while blue would be worn by girls because it was more dainty. But now we have the complete opposite. A gender of a baby is now recognised by the colour of her/his clothing and studies have even proven that when a baby wears the colour blue, people will interact more aggressively than if the baby is wearing the colour pink.
So where is the link between the last and the present?
Philip Cohen, a sociologist also at the University of Maryland, thinks that the colour stereotypes are the outcome of a marketing ploy. When newspapers and adverts became more popular they indoctrinated everyone saying that, “pink is for girls and blue is for boys.” Siince then it has stuck. Even though in 1970 many brands tried to make more gender neutral clothing, it didn't last very long and now we have the blue and pink masses in our shops.
GREEN > GLAMOUR ILHAM CHOONARA Fashion: a popular or the latest style of clothing, hair, decoration or behavior.
Fashion. Fashion, fashion, fashion, fashion. The word has been connoted negatively since primary school, when keeping up with the latest trends meant you were insecure or lacked identity. On the other hand, your 12-year old friends saw you as the bees knees. Speaking for myself first, the only thing going through my mind lately when buying clothes is: how will I wear this? Will it look good? Is it trendy enough with an edge of individuality? I have never cared enough about where it come from or how it is made, to actually stop and contemplate my purchase.
I have recently become aware of the term ‘fast fashion’ which refers to clothing and textiles that pass in and out of fashion trends so quickly that the need to continually produce bulk is immediate. This quick production exploits workers mostly in developing countries - quite unethically as well as exploits the environment. ‘Fast fashion’ regards clothing that is produced quickly and cheaply, giving us low prices on items with very short lifespans. The consequence of a sale at stores such as H&M or Forever21 is beyond fathomable… and these clothes possibly end up in a landfill only a few months down the line.
Focusing in on colour, the pollutants in dyes used to colour our clothes are dumped into rivers without any form of treatment of chemicals. In places such as China, local residents and farmers contract diseases from untreated factory runoff in the water. The idea of hundreds of industries continually producing their items without practically changing their production process to become environmentally safe is a dire situation. At home in a water crisis, we can relate to water wastage but exactly how much are we doing to change the situation from becoming global, which it almost is. About 1620 liters of water is used in dying one t-shirt with colour. This results in half- a trillion gallons of water from the textile industry (17 to 20% of industrial water pollution). Chemicals that the synthetic dyes are made of, such as Mercury and lead, are first off damaging to factory workers who are in contact with and surrounded with these toxins constantly. Skin, humidity and the chemicals. If it's the first, smallest thing you can do right now: don't discard your clothing. When ‘fast fashion’ plays out and a garment falls apart, fix it. Donate it to someone you know will use it longer or dispose of it responsibly.
“In some cases farmers can actually predict the colour of the season by looking at the colour that the rivers are running,"
We’ve all learnt fairly tediously about photosynthesis. The basis is that plants need sunlight in order to live. Dye-polluted rivers block great amounts of sunlight and oxygen from reaching algae, the bottom of many food chains. This is a factor contributing towards why aquatic life is suffering.
I've tried to say a little about what I've learnt over the past few weeks. There is so much happening in the industries that is of no one's knowledge, while the environmental and social impact is screaming behind us. Unfortunately, for anything to improve, industries need to start taking complete responsibility for their output. There is nothing in shiny runway looks when the world is suffocating. These drastic changes are not being made soon enough, so the responsibility is on the consumer. Make our choice‌who do you support? The planet and people that have given you a home, or a synthetic week in New York? In actual fact, there is enough clothing produced in the world already but fast fashion is invitingly innovative, always with the new-new.
On your part: wear your clothes. Clean it with environmentally friendly products. Fix something if it is damaged. Start questioning the ethics behind sale stands. Buy second hand clothing (make sure the vintage is authentic) Support local Donate your clothes/ upcycle- fresh individuality!
More info on the impact of synthetic dye: https://publish.illinois.edu/envirobio/sample-page/blog/ https://www.trustedclothes.com/blog/2016/06/23/impact-of-dyes/
Watch the trailer for the movie RiverBlue. The trailer alone is pretty impactful. Â h t t p : / / w w w . a b c . n e t . a u / n e w s / 2 0 1 7 - 0 3 - 2 8 / t h e - p r i c e - o f - f a s t fashion-rivers-turn-blue-tonnes-in-landfill/8389156
RAINBOWS - COLOURFUL SONGS FOR EVERY MOOD ZARA WICHMAN In this cold, greyish winter we’ve been having, everyone is searching for a little bit of colour. Everyone is looking for their very own rainbow. So I've brought one to you all, in the form of a playlist. These songs follow the colours of the rainbow, making it the perfect soundtrack to all your dull, dreary days. Red: Obviously, the perfect song for this vibrant colour is “99 Red Balloons” by Nena. This uptempo bop will be stuck in your head hours after you've listened to it, but is it worth it? The answer is yes. Orange: “The Power of Orange Knickers” is a great name for a song. This one is by Tori Amos, and while the lyrics may begin to rip your heart to pieces if you are a sensitive soul like myself, it's a really great song for staring out into the rain and thinking about life. Yellow: The first song that'll come to any music lover's mind when they think of the colour yellow is the everclassic “Yellow Submarine” by the Beatles. Another absolute earworm, but you’ll love it all the same. Green: “That Green Gentleman” by Panic! At The Disco is going to make you think. And while you may plunge into a bottomless pit of nostalgia when listening to this, it's message of acceptance of what life throws at you is surely going to turn this one into an anthem for the tough times in life.
Blue: Elvis Presley, the king of rock, surely created the smash-hit “Blue Suede Shoes” for one purpose alone: for each and every one of us to go completely bonkers when we hear it and burn up the dance floor. Indigo: “Indigo Boy” by Esthero may actually change your life. Breathe your way through this song, let the music wash over you, and watch in amazement as your entire being calms down. Wow. Violet: You know those songs you come across on YouTube at like 3 am after watching like seven other music videos? Those amazing ones you never would have come across if you had gone to bed at a reasonable time like you were told to do? “Violet” by Hippo Campus is one of those songs. Absolutely fantastic. Not to mention the music video is all sorts of aesthetic goals. Hopefully you'll give at least one of these songs a listen at some point. But I personally recommend you treat this playlist like a R10 note you found in a parking lot, and save it for a rainy day, when you need that extra splash of colour in your life. Bonus track: “Colourful” by the Parlotones. Come on, it's in the title.
THE WITCHING HOUR - ZAYYAAN ESAU
It's midnight and completely dark outside - the kind of pitch black darkness that surrounds you, frightens you, excites you, challenges you. You look out the window and see that the trees are swaying in the wind, their heads lolling from side to side, like toddlers in a daydream. The lights in the roads seem brighter, as if to compensate for the lack of the flaming ball of gas and the cars, they itch to be driven again, scared of turning to rust. And you, you look at the clock and shudder. You shudder at the sight of the pile of boring, endless tomes on your desk and at the pen who's cap hasn't been removed - yet you find that you STILL cannot start. It's the Witching Hour, you tell yourself. The blackness and mystery of the night will conceal you from your fate. Come morning, when you walk into class, bright and early and exposed in the sun, you will realise that you STILL have not done anything, but you don't seem to care - it's the Witching Hour after all : the moment when it feels like even the world has stopped turning. The night will envelop you in it's endless wonder and you begin to think back to your childhood, to the days when twenty four hours seemed like twenty four years, with each hour, encompassing you in a new world filled with new possibilities. You begin to think back to all the television shows that you knew off by heart - the kind, that if it were the content of your exams, you'd get flying colours, including all those bonus points that are only meant for the finest. You think about many things, all at once. The thoughts come flooding to you, a gushing river, raging against the darkness. You think and think and think. A glance at the clock tells you that it's one minute past - Witching Hour has come to an end : your ageless, wonderous, protector has gone. You are alone. You are unconcealed. The world has returned and with it, the responsibilities that weigh on your weary shoulders, like boulders on string.Â
THE WITCHING HOUR - ZAYYAAN ESSAU
You have to return. And painstakingly you do and reach for that pen and begin, all reminders of the perfect companion, all gone and in its place lies a world fervent with colour : Red like the blood of many and the hearts bursting with love Blue like the shards of ice, lessening in the poles Yellow, like the happiness that resides in us all Orange like the promise of a new dawn And black, the saviour of our lives, when just for a while, the endless race filled with work stops, and we can breathe the fresh air and admire the world for what it truly is : crazy and beautiful.
A little ditty that might help the grade 8’s with matching the colours and the school houses (I know I needed it). Although their names should be E E 9 C 4soonD 0 0 0 0commit 0 changing so0 don’t this one to memory just yet. Apsley, the green house, the colour of the trees, Wellesley, the yellow, of little buzzing bees. Constantia ’s Tigger - bouncing for them all Silverlea: the purple splotches ‘round the hall Cavanagh as blushing pink as one can be, Kirsten ’s black stripes worn fiercely you can see Copenhagen will keep the bright red burning Waterloo the blue water we’ve been yearning All eight of them so differently will appear And yet in unity and love we’ll draw near
THE HOUSES - CARIS GERTZEN
MU S BOOKS: A OLOURFUL OVER ’
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When We Collided By Emery Lord Spoiler Alert: Vivi has Bipolar Syndrome So I’d been told to read When We Collided, and the book had finally reached my hands, and started reading, and I thought “Wow. This is a really nice book.” The story starts in a small town, during a Summer holiday. Jonah Daniels’s father had passed away a few months before. His mother has naturally been grieving and doesn’t leave her room. Who looks after the kids you ask? Seventeen year old Jonah, with his two older siblings. This is, of course, an extremely stressful task, because looking after three younger children, juggling jobs, and working at his father’s old restaurant is not a small thing. Fashion fanatic, vivacious, most exotic, brightest person. That is how one can describe Vivi. She is on holiday with her mom in Verona Cove. While working in a pottery shop, she meets Jonah. Both teenagers have their own scars and their troubles, but pursue their Summer romance. Vivi teaches Jonah to live his life. This book deals with mental disorders, as Vivi has been diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder. At first, she tries to hide it from everybody. In the small town, her mother is the only one who knows what her daughter is going through. Although, her mother does not know that she has been throwing her pills off a cliff every morning.
Tension grows as Vivi grows more and more unstable. And then their worlds crash. I really enjoyed the idea of Vivi. She is someone who doesn't let anything get in her way. She dresses to express. She paints, and sews, and draws. She also has such a big imagination. But the Vivi that I actually read seemed a bit fake, or over the top. Her character had so much potential, but it seemed to just miss the mark. Besides that, the relationship between Jonah and Vivi didn't really sit well with me. They realised that they were much better people around each other (and that's good), but sometimes it sounded as if they were using each other to escape the problems of their personal life. They had these expectations for their relationship which they think normal relationships should have, instead of making a relationship that changes their life. What I can congratulate Emery Lord on would be how she executed Vivi's bipolar disorder. All the symptoms were there: the mood swings, the abnormal sexual behaviour, the change in lingo. The symptoms stare at you, but you only put it all together after it is brought up in a conversation. Most people suffering from this don't get diagnosed, and therefore go untreated. The consequences of this could be as extreme as suicide. This is harsh, but so true. It gets you thinking. I think this is a good read, and should be tried out. It's in our library. Don't be shy!
Other good books with colourful covers: All the Bright Places - Jennifer Nilson I'll Give You the Sun - Jandy Nelson Everything Everything - Nicola Yoon the Sun is Also a Star - Nicola Yoon Thug - Angie Thomas the Fault in Our Stars - John Green An Abundance of Katherines - John Green Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell Carry On - Rainbow Rowell Eleanor and Park - Rainbow Rowell