Should animal testing be banned?

 

We human beings enjoy life on this planet and feel the joy and pride in things we have created and discovered for our comfort and luxury. But many of these inventions have claimed the lives of those countless animals with which we have to share this beautiful planet. We have sent monkeys and dogs to space and the depth of sea just to check if we can survive there.  We breed rats, rabbits, and other rodents so that we can test drugs that can save us. Our desire to look beautiful is the reason for the suffering of those helpless animals on which those cosmetics are used before they are declared safe for human use. There are many other ways we use these animals so that we can continue living happily and forget about their right to live and breathe freely in their own habitats.

Laika was the name of the dog that was sent to space. Laika survived for four days then died due to overheating of the cabin and some say Laika died within hours of the launch. We have sent many others to space just to test and make our journey to space more safe and comfortable. Similarly, we conduct a drug test on animals to find new drugs to prolong our life span, rats are infected with pathogens and then starts the circle of trial and error until the scientist get the desired results. Sometimes even used for creating more deadly viruses that can be used as a weapon. During all this, many of these animals lost their lives suffering from the diseases. As many countries have banned the use of animals in testing cosmetics that we use for making ourselves more radiant than others. These cosmetics are responsible for the deaths of many animals and have made many crippled, blind, and burned their skin so that our eyes come out more beautiful and our skin is fairer and smoother.

Now the world has seen these horrors. Many have stood up for these animals and raising voices to stop these tests. There are some who are finding other ways like using supercomputers to predict the effect of drugs, using lab-grown meat for testing of cosmetics, and so on. There is constant effort to get these animals their freedom and a life in the wild where they belong.

7 Movies Like No Country For Old Men You Must See

 

No Country For Old Men (2007) is one of the finest films that belong to the crime and thriller genre. Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, the film won four awards at 80th Academy Awards. Based on the Cormac McCarthy's novel No Country For Old Men (2005), the thought-provoking film showcases the life story of three men where one is struggling with his war experiences and morality, too disillusioned to operate in the world, another man is destroying everything in his path derived by his belief in Nihilism but trying to find a meaning of his life and use luck as his excuse, lastly the third man who reflects on the changes in the world and his failure to cope up with all the darkness along with his own.

Here is a list and short description of movies like No Country For Old Men.

·        Sicario (2015): The film is about FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) who is invited to become part of the task force for a special assignment to fight against the leader of a powerful and brutal Mexican drug cartel. The story takes turn when Kate realizes that she was not informed about the assignment was illegal and how she was trapped to become a part of it. The action film directed by Denis Villeneuve received three Academy Award nominations.

·        Drive (2011): The action film is an adaptation of American crime writer James Sallis’s novel Drive (2005). The Driver (Ryan Gosling) as a mechanic and a stunt driver who gets into a relationship with his neighbour, Irene (Carey Mulligan). Their relationship takes a turn when Irene’s husband is released from prison and asks for the Driver to help in the robbery.

·        A History of Violence (2005): The action and thriller genre American film directed by Canadian film director, David Paul Cronenberg is about Thomas "Tom" Stall (Viggo Mortensen) who becomes a local hero by killing the robbers. Despite his heroism, he develops a spoiled relationship with his family who opposes his act of violence.

·        Hell or High Water (2016): Directed by David Mackenzie and written by Taylor Sheridan, Hell or High Water is the story of two brothers  Chris Pine as Toby Howard and Ben Foster as Tanner Howard make a team of skillful criminals carry out a clever, well-planned, and daring bank robberies to save their ranch.

 

·        Nightcrawler (2014): The Nightcrawler is a crime, thriller, and psychological genre American film. Directed by Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler attacks the modern-day media practice of sensationalizing news stories or headlines and unethical journalism. The character of Louis "Lou" Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) is created to show the mutually beneficial relationship that exists between unethical journalism and audience demand.

 

·        Traffic (2000): Directed by Steven Soderbergh, the American crime film Traffic explores the illegal drug trade and an adaptation of the 1989 British Channel 4 television series Traffik. The story based on actual people and real-life incidents, Traffic earned numerous awards, including four Oscars.

 

·        Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007): Released in 2007 American crime thriller film Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead directed by Sidney Lumet and derived its name from the Irish saying. The film shows two brothers Andy (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Hank (Ethan Hawke) involved in a planned robbery. The younger brother Andy decides to rob a jewellery store run by his parents to pay off his debts. Although he fails to succeed in his plans and the family takes action against the crime. 

 

 

 

Cast Away: The Movie about Extraordinary Adventure and Survival on an uninhabited island

 

Cast Away released in 2000 is an American drama film, more serious in tone. The story of the film directed and produced by Robert Lee Zemeckis revolves around the character Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) who works at FedEx depot. Chucks life is normal until he received a call for resolving a work problem in Malaysia.  Unfortunately, the violent storm turns his whole world upside down, when the FedEx cargo plane he was in crashes somewhere in The Pacific Ocean. Somehow Chuck manages to escape the plane and happens to land up incidentally on an uninhabited island. This marks the beginning of his struggle and survival stranded on a deserted island.

Is Cast Away a true story?

Unlike Cast Away, a FedEx plane has never been crashed like that in real life. However, there are real-life castaway survivors and true stories of being stranded on deserted islands. The stories of these survivors and their survival, while facing loneliness, fear of never getting found, and other psychological issues along with the problems like no food, water, shelter, fire is narrated or published in the form of books or documentaries, or films. The story of a British Adventurer Lucy Irvine inspired the Robert Zemicks blockbuster film Cast Away. In 1980, Lucy Irvine joined the writer/ adventurer Gerald Kingslandlive as self-imposed castaways for a year on the isolated and uninhabited island of Tuin. The island was located in the Torres Strait between Australia and Papua New Guinea. Upon her return, Lucy wrote an account of her adventure and survival in the book titled Cast Away, published in 1983.

The plot of the film Cast Away is derived from historical stories like the story of Alexander Selkirk, Juana Maria and Marguerite de La Roque. Scottish privateer and Royal Navy officer, Alexander Selkirk spent four years and four months on an island not inhabited. Similarly, Marguerite de la Roque managed to survive on an uninhabited island off the coast of Canada. Juana Maria was the last surviving member of the tribe, the Nicoleño, and lived alone on San Nicolas Island.

Cast Away follows the adventures of Chuck Noland

Cast Away is the story of the survival of our protagonist, Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) also the real-life experience of survival of the author, Lucy Irvine. Chuck’s story is not only about the survival of the fittest but also the struggle to survive in adversities. This motivating story beautifully captures the physical and psychological trauma and after-effects of the four years of loneliness. At the uninhabited island, Chuck escapes from the storm attack and get access to several other FedEx packages that he found ashore from the crashed plane. He fills his loneliness by personifying the basketball and naming it Wilson, Chuck has lived his life following FedEx's motto “We live to deliver” this becomes his salvation and his strength. During his stay, he also makes several attempts to repair the damaged raft. Chuck (Tom Hanks) takes shelter inside the cave and survives for four years. And one fine day, he is rescued by passing cargo ship.

Tom Hanks gained 50 pounds (23 kg) during pre-production and lost a significant amount of weight and bring the character and suffering of Chuck Noland to life. The scenes were shot at the island of Monuriki.

 

 

Personalities

 

Abraham Lincoln: The hero who led America through the civil war as its 16th President (1861-1865) abolished slavery, make the federal government strong, and restore the union. Self-taught Lincoln to become a lawyer but join politics after watching conditions of slaves. He fought for the constitution and moral, America marched into the modern age.

Meryl Streep: Born in 1949 she started her journey from Trelawny of the Wells, since she had been nominated and received three academy awards and eight golden globes along with many honours she is considered the best of her generation her versatile and ability to live the character achieved her Cecil B. DeMille Award.

Pew Die Pie: Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg  with 106 million subscribers  is the most subscribed individual on YouTube, this 31 year-old English based Swedish is well known for his Let's Play videos started with playing videos and commentary on horror and action games later he added vlogs comedy music and other genres.  

Carl Lewis: One of the three individuals who won the gold medal in the same event for four consecutive Olympics. For ten years, he scored 65 consecutive victories in Long Jump and broke 100-meter sprint record for became a legend. His few accolades are World Athlete of the Century and Olympian of the Century.

William Shakespeare: He is the most studied English Playwright, Poet and Actor, to date. His work has been translated into most of the major languages around the world. Tragedies like Romeo Juliet, Hamlet, and Macbeth are the work of a literary genius.

 Nikola Tesla: An inventor who was far ahead of his time. He gave importance to the use of technology for the welfare of mankind rather than filling the pockets of the rich. He was considered as the rival of Thomas Edison. He is famous for his work on Alternating Current.

Steve Jobs: The CEO and co-founder of Apple who introduced us to the iPhone were an American business magnate and investor. He's widely known for the Personal Computer Revolution in the 70s and 80s. He was also the chairman of Pixer Animation Studio.

Le Corbusier: He is one of the pioneers of Modern Architecture. This Swiss-French Architect was also a designer, painter, urban planner, and writer. He designed buildings in Europe, Japan, India, and America. He was dedicated to providing better living conditions in crowded cities.

 Jay Z: After the release of ReasonableDoubt in 1996, Shawn Cori Carter was well known as Jay Z. This American Rapper, Songwriter, and Businessman is one of the most influential artists. Not only considered a great rapper but also a successful businessman.

 Al Capone: The Notorious Gangster whose regime was at the peak, during the prohibition era. He was also known as Scarface. He was dubbed the public enemy number one after St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. This damaged his image as the modern-day Robinhood. He was arrested at age 33.

 Cleopatra: Cleopatra was an incredibly beautiful, intellectual, and powerful woman whose charm influenced the men in the western world. She was the mistress of Julius Caser. Most of the details related to her in writings are considered myths. She committed suicide fearing a life of misery and misfortune.

 Man Ray: The renowned Fashion and Portrait Photographer Man Ray refused to call by his name Emmanuel Rednitzky. He called his photograms ‘Radiographs’. He contributed to movements like Dada and Surrealist. He worked in various fields but painting was his passion. 

 

 

Play A Doll's House

A Doll's House is a play by Henrik Ibsen shows how the characters suffer due to bad experiences and choices made in the past. The protagonist of the Play, Nora, and her life are affected by the protective nature of her father. Nora did not learn how to live on her own. She became dependent on her father and later, her husband. The men in her life were never serious about her feelings while making decisions that affect her. She took debt on her own as her husband never acknowledged her sentiments and kept his pride above her love. Nora also commits fraud by forging her father's signature to avail the loan for the treatment of her husband, Torvald.

 

Krogstad, an employee at Torvald's Bank was familiar with debt, which he used as an advantage when he was about to lose his job due to his past mistakes. Dr. Rank, a family friend of Nora, is quite familiar with the impact of past actions and consequences. His father contracted sexually transmitted diseases that became the cause of his severe illness. In the past, Nora was his love interest but he was not able to gather the courage to express his feelings for her. Finally, one fine day Dr.Rank decides to convey his love for Nora. In the play, Dr. Rank called Krogstad “morally diseased” as he was familiar with the incidence of a forged signature that led to the termination of his services from the Bank.

Nora had to work secretly to pay off the loan. On the other side, Torvald does not care about what happened in the past. Due to his insensitive behavior, Torvald was not able to understand how his wife managed to get money to finance their trip to Italy. The play revolves around the past incidence, reflecting the unfulfilled and meaningless relationships.

COVID-19 and Digital World

 

 

The global pandemic of COVID-19 has entrapped the world population to confinement of their house has also made them look up to the digital world more than ever to keep them entertained, informed, and connected. As a result, this has opened the door for a digital marketer, businesses to a much wider audience. Brands are trying harder than ever to make a profit from this opportunity to learn about the customers or consumer habits, interest to influence customers. Customers are also inclining to these brands to know more about the products offered. Therefore it will be a mistake not to use this time as an investment in studying the market. 

It is up to a brand to use social media marketing to influence its customers as customers now have time to get engaged in the process. Therefore influencer integrated campaigns to make the brand and consumer relation purposeful. It is time to get innovation for a brand, take a stand against the growing pandemic by creating awareness, and promote their product at the same time.  

As the days passing the world, the population is in survival mode that can be used by brands to ease its customers and grow. Food industries are playing a major-role as food is the major-concern for customers in this chaos and confusion. Next is information industries social media where customers visit to get updates on the current situation, to get entertained via movie and music release videos.

 

The companies are facing challenges with the current status of the market. Companies like Amazon, Flip kart are now investing in precautionary measures to save their business and customers. There has been a decline in the number of views on a social media platform like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

 

Now people are working from home and are spending more time on Netflix, Amazon Prime. In Asia, web series watched on a massive scale with the release of movies.

Audience engagement on the social media platform has increased in Asian countries and decreased in European countries. The brands and agencies have to study consumer behavior/buying habits in the market. For Example, Patanjali-study the market and launched the medicine for coronavirus. The company looked at the trends in the market and tried to hit the campaign at the right time.  

 

The business can modify the social media marketing by studying the market via research questions like How Covid-19 influenced the consumer’s buying habits, taste, and preferences, What is the impact of Covid-19 on the target markets, How the company can promote by adding value to their product at the time of epidemic? Are your products being safely delivered to the customers/consumers? The business needs to know what is engaging customers in the market through social media analytics that helps in how the brand is performing on social media. Brand and agencies that want to reach a specific set of the audience would like to conduct a target driven social media advertising.  

 

The COVID-19 has changed or influences the social media strategy, advertising, content decision, and social media marketing plan. The advertising is shifting towards mobile and digital marketing. Now, the social media strategy and marketing plan updated with the audience’s priorities and interests. The social media content, primarily dominated by the content that is appealing to consumers like videos and images.

 

 

 

 

The Body And The Mind

There are many speculations about the existence of yoga in an ancient era which is not supported by concrete evidence. The form of yoga which we all practice today is associated with the classical concept propounded by the sage Patanjali. “The best known early expression of yoga is the yoga sutra of Patanjali, a series of one hundred and ninety-six short statements (sutras) concerning yogic techniques and states” (Mallinson &Singleton, 2017).

Yoga is a practice that is continuously changing with time. In the past, yoga was practiced for liberation (moksha). Today, yoga is practiced to reduce stress, anxiety, and to promote good health.  Yogic exercises are meant to bring about a state of relaxation which further leads to physical and mental well-being (Hussain, 2016). Yoga is essential for fulfilling both the physical and spiritual growth of humanity. It is a process of uniting the three systems, i.e., the mind, body, and soul.

The asanas in yoga is focused on the muscular movements and hone one’s flexibility, balance, and improve one’s concentration. It is designed to enhance one’s mood and reduce anxiety. It's processed to develop one’s functional capacity and to give the practitioners a better quality of life. Only when we gain mastery of the body, can one train the mind  (Devanand,1960). Our mood controls our five senses, and our mind controls the mood. The mind can be controlled with meditation (dhyana yoga). This is how yoga can help the mind to balance and regulate our body.

Yoga is not attached to any particular religion or community or belief system. It is practiced without any differences in gender, age, or education levels. Yoga has taught generations about inner wellbeing and has continued to do so.  There are different types of yoga, i.e. raja yoga (human behavior); swara yoga (breathing); kritya yoga (consciousness); karma yoga (work); Japa yoga (psychic centers); bhakti yoga (devotion); mantra yoga (mantras); Janan yoga (self-realization) & hatha yoga (mudras / pranayama).

Different types of yoga and its posture conveys unique meaning and serves a different purpose in an individual’s life. Each yoga style differs from the emphasis put on the components of yoga, i.e., asana, pranayama, dharana, and dhyana. The performance of yoga requires wholehearted devotion and dedication. The stage when the mind itself is freed from the moment of thoughts and the torments of desires. Only then, the mind and the five senses reach a state of oneness or unity i.e. yoga.

Physical health is an asset that needs to be maintained and nourished by our efforts. Yoga has emerged as an alternative approach to deal with the challenges of newly discovered diseases. It can provide equality in access to good health that doesn’t restrict individuals from any social and economic circumstances. Yoga has multiple health benefits like a reduction in anxiety, depression, panic attacks, phobia, and hypertension. Regular practice of yoga increases flexibility gives more energy, and boosts metabolism.

These days’ non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, asthma, and blood pressure are the cause of concern for modern science. In India, over 15 million people are suffering from breathing problems which are a consequence of rising pollution levels and changing lifestyles. As a result of long and irregular working hours, people are suffering from neck, back, and joint pains. The regular practice of yoga can mitigate these problems to a large extent. The method of pranayama called Anuloma-Viloma is helpful in curing breathing problems. Another exercise is the kriya pranayama,  which emphasizes fast/shallow rhythmic breathing. Science and traditional methods should be seen as complementary to each other rather than in opposition. The scientific methods are proven, tested, and concluded with scientific evidence, while traditional methods are a self-healing process of removing disharmony between the mind and the body. Traditional methods can’t be disregarded by their inability to change with time.

Modern science is still struggling to deal with issues related to emotional or spiritual health. Yoga is changing with time and is seen as a deterrent too many illnesses. Modern yoga has also incorporated elements from both physical therapy, and psychotherapy. There are both external and internal benefits of yoga. It includes physical, mental and spiritual health. It is designed to achieve inner peace and holistic healing. Anyone who practices yoga regularly can discover its immense health benefits.

 

 

 

 

References

Mallinson, James, & Singleton, Mark (2017). Roots of Yoga. UK.

Hussain, A. (2016). YOGA: a path for attaining spiritual energy & power. Indian Yoga. Retrieved from indianyoga.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/v5-issue1-article6.pdf

Devananda, S.V. (1960). The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga. Julian Press. USA.

 

Confirm or Conform?

Confirm or Conform, both the terms revolve around the social norms that govern individual’s behaviour/ belief system. If we look at our social practices, these are rigid and deeply rooted somewhere in our customs and traditions. In a society, individual is not able to raise his/her voice against the social evils because he/she is forced to become a part of group or majority who follow such evil practices. This is where social conformity comes into existence. Now, if an individual accepts majority’s behaviour because of fear of rejection then the whole concept is modified and called normative conformity. It’s purely termed on the basis of acceptance and fear of rejection. Therefore, if I accept a strict diet to lose my weight in order to look slim and also to avoid remarks of the society then it’s purely case of acceptance versus rejection. A person adopts a set pattern of behaviour which is transferred through generations into the family. What happens in this process of inculcating behaviour/ attitude is that an individual starts evolving from within as well as outside.

On Sunday morning, I came across a beautifully written article by Shikha Kumar titled “Let’s (Not) talk about Sex!” published in Hindustan Times Magazine called Brunch. It was relevant as it was addressing concept of asexuality which is becoming significant as growing number of people are facing it or I would say have internalised it. The term is hugely misconstructed in our society. It’s difficult for asexual to gain acceptance. Multiple stereotypes surround asexuality.  I talked with few friends to know about their understanding of this new term. Shristi and Sonali believe family pressure creates a psychological line in our mind which represents the highest level of fear. Another friend Bunty thinks that if asexuality is accepted legally then it can create barrier to individual choices.

The fear of rejection and punishment impacts individuals self confidence and esteem. Let us recall, some of the real life examples: A dress code in institution might force people to dress up in a particular colour, style or manner which might be against his/her personal choices or say, an organisation trying to suppress labourers. Whenever we are having a discussion over a topic which is well known/received among the masses then an individual may pretend to match his/her thoughts with that of group members in order to gain wider acceptance. This means fear of rejection is of wider significance for any individual.

Conformity can be of three types i.e. Compliance, Identification and Internalisation. a) Compliance: If I completely agree with what is being taught by professors in the class, but at the same time I have my own opinions plus arguments which I fear to express in public. Then it’s case of compliance. This is called a pretentious behaviour of a person.

b) Identification: We are fickle minded because we don’t believe in our opinions and values. A person who likes to drink alcohol would not necessarily drink with everyone but a particular set of individuals who can accompany him/her. Sometimes, a person would avoid non vegetarian food while eating with vegetarians but he / she can have great love for non vegetarian food.

c) Internalisation: If I shift from one particular religion to adopt practices of another and become a disciple. I will end up following a particular school of thought for a much longer period of time. This happens in case of followers of a particular religion.

Rationalisation comes into play when minority questions the majority. Psychological reactance is a feeling that arises when individual’s freedom is destroyed. Both conformity and psychological reactance are inversely proportional to each other. It’s obvious for a person to think his/her behaviour as most appropriate, when they act same as other people.

Let’s look at five famous psychological experiments to understand the concept of conformity, first being the Asch Conformity Experiments which shows that the peer pressure has a measurable influence on the participant’s responses. It appears to be more difficult to resist the majority if isolated. If I read from a particular book for my exams and the same book is recommended by professors then it will surely be brought by majority students in the class because each student is facing pressure of clearing exams. Next is Bystander Apathy Experiment which tested the reluctance of a group. It’s in this case that when you are with a group of ten people, responsibility gets distributed whereas in case of individual it’s solely on one single person. But this is not true because even ten people feel ten percent responsible. Say for example, if ten students are assigned task of conducting survey then it’s easy for them to divide ten questionnaires but if it is ten each then group will be reluctant to work properly with responsibility.

The third experiment is Stanford Prison Experiment that attempts to study the impact of captivity on prisoners and authorities. Absolute power over somebody can be seen the obvious conclusion of this experiment. When there are strict orders from the government to follow traffic rules. Then it’s obvious, everyone will be expected not to violate any of these regulations and follow as per the instructions. The other experiment is Milgram Experiment, created to test impact of authority on the normal audiences. If today, the government of India create strict rules for migration, people will have to keep those regulations in mind before travelling to far off locations. And the last experiment Good Samaritan Experiment says that people in pressure are less reluctant to offer help to others. In case of natural disasters, people will try to save themselves first, rather than offering help to others.

Hence, multiple factors guide individuals to conform. First is risk of rejection which I have already discussed in this article. Then there is lack of choices where individual follow orders of authority and fear of causing deliberate harm to group’s goals. The absence of communication within group members can cause hesitation in taking initiatives and sometimes also cause powerlessness. In this whole process, individual freedom doesn’t exist.

The consciousness of mind concerning victims of sexual assaults

What are the three stages of consciousness proposed by Freud? Three levels of consciousness are the subconscious, the conscious, and unconscious. These three levels are differentiated based on the intensity of awareness. In the first stage of consciousness, all remembered experiences, impressions are left on the mind. It is the strange point for any recent memories needed for quick recall. This determines the pattern of our behavior and thought process. The next stage is about rational awareness that guides our decisions based on information. It is observed that a conscious mind directs our focus on dreams. The last stage is the unconscious mind, where all memories and past experiences reside. These memories are no longer important. These define our beliefs and behavior. Apart from these stages, superconscious is where the problem and solution are seen as one as its obvious that the solution is part of the problem. It is important to understand Freud’s consciousness of mind because all our actions and reactions are governed by our mental faculties.  

Sue Richardson and Heather Bacon in his book titled “Creative Responses to Child Sexual Abuse: Challenges and Dilemmas”, says that the cycle of abuse refers to three different cycles. First, the process whereby the child internalizes the behavior of the perpetrator; second is the result of non-protective parenting resulting from the impact of the parent’s unresolved trauma, and third is associated with the survivor's struggles within long term effects of abuse.

The growing number of research in the field of sexual assaults subsequently increased its initiation into various genres. The most vulnerable to abuse are the children in the age groups of 7 to 14. I read a play based on the theme of child sexual abuse, titled “Thirty Days in September”, written by the popular playwright. This play depicted the after-effects of abuse like disturbed interpersonal relationships; post-traumatic disorder and frustrations. The subconscious mind of play protagonist Mala holds her mother responsible for torture and trauma. In the case of the subconscious mind, the unconscious mind is preferred over the conscious mind. Robert A. Baron in his book on Psychology notes that “Freud contended that shameful experiences or unacceptable sexual or aggressive urges are often driven deep within the unconscious.”[1]  According to Sigmund Freud, the unconscious mind which is outside the conscious mind contains unpleasant and unacceptable thoughts, feelings, and memories of pain and anxiety. 

The victim of sexual abuse is mostly amazed at how the haze of the trauma made it impossible for him/her to empathize. The effect of sexual assaults is on the mind, body, and soul of the victim. It is easier for the abuser to escape after committing abuse while it’s very difficult for the victim to remove marks of assaults. 

  [1]Robert A. Baron, Psychology. India, Pearson Education, 5th ed., 2006, p.454.