February 2018
FEBRUARY 2018
AMERICAN COMMUNITY SCHOOL BEIRUT
VOLUME 31, ISSUE II
The Scandal In Hollywood: It’s Not Just Hollywood NEWS ANALYSIS
RAZAN MERSAL
In This Issue The Scandal in Hollywood: It’s Not Just Hollywood. pg. 1
Insidious: The Lasy Key pg. 1 New Teachers: Ms Kaaki pg. 1 OUR ALEPH BE TEAM
Editor-in-Chief Celine Smith Assistant Editor Razan Mersal Faculty Advisor Todd Hunter Campbell Staff Writers Ornella Frechero Razan Mersal Rawad Saad Ramzi Zeineddine Contact Us: Have an opinion? Send articles to: alephbe@apps.acs.edu.lb
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The pervasiveness of sexual assault claims has plagued Hollywood since last October. We have seen this with all our favourite actors and directors, such as Harvey Weinstein (producer), James Toback (filmmaker), and Ed Westwick (actor). Amidst these allegations, it is important to take a minute to step back and reflect on the bigger picture. For the sake of this article, let’s put aside whether or not these claims are valid, and rather, look at what these claims mean and what they are a result of. The environment in which this is growing is depressing, dangerous even, as it sends the message that sexual assault is not a big deal. This can be seen when allegations hit the papers, but are then never heard of again. There are no criminal
consequences for these actions when the people responsible are famous, or are within some sort of position of power. Take President Trump, for example. Many allegations came out against him during the presidential elections; however, the story subsided and was never discussed again. What does this say about this social climate? The line between just being friendly and assault is blurred, and this not only provides a dangerous environment for victims, but a welcoming environment for perpetrators. It is also important to understand that the people who allow for this environment to grow are not ‘evil’ but rather comfortable with how things have become, as it provides them with a lack of responsibility. Rape culture is an impor-
tant term to understand, especially in times overcharged with inaccurate or irrelevant terminology such as the “Weinstein Effect” or “Weinsteining”. These terms tend to turn the spotlight away from the truly significant matter at hand, rape. Rape culture can be defined as “a society or environment whose prevailing social attitudes have the effect of normalizing or trivializing sexual assault and abuse” (Oxford Dictionary). And this truly is the case in Hollywood and the rest of the world. This can be seen when a woman’s sexual history is questioned, or when her character is torn down as a result of making a rape allegation. Rape culture is hiding in all the shadows and corners of the world we like to view as progressive. It can be seen when
Insidious: The Last Key
rapists get off scot-free because we live in a society where the normalization of rape has clouded our media, our daily lives, even our judicial systems. While the presence of rape culture has been more obvious in places such as Hollywood, it is important to remember that this is a global issue, with roots in a lot of countries, including Lebanon. This can be seen as Lebanese women
still cannot pass their Lebanese nationality to their children, while men can. And region-wide, the fight to abolish article 522, only succeeded a year ago in Lebanon. This article, which states that a rapist can avoid jail time by marrying their victim, has been on the books for years. These are just a few examples of the climate that fosters rape, and how it is still very close to home.
RAMZI ZEINEDDINE Directed by Adam Robitel, Insidious: The Last Key is a horror film about hunters of the supernatural. Two men, (Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson) and one old woman (Lin Shaye) hunt for evil spirits that overtake human bodies. Unfortunately, the movie has received a multitude of disappointing reviews from Rotten Tomatoes, Common Sense Media, and IMDb, very respectable and trusted sources. The reasons behind these low ratings are caused from the movie being very anticlimactic in many parts after having an intense scene. In my opinion, horror films are meant to be like that. The director really does a great job in doing this certain thing. His inten-
tions was for the audience to be jump scared, not to be frightened for the entire movie. If a horror movie was intense and freaky for the entire time, it would just make people expect everything. However, Insidious is all about the jump scares
and being a suprise. I really did enjoy watching this film along with the three previous ones. I think this movie deserves about an 8.5 rating because of its intensity and suspense.
NEW TEACHERS: Ms. Kaaki
RAWAD SAAD Ms. Kaaki is the new Biology teacher here at ACS. She was born and raised in Lebanon and likes the sense of Lebanese tradition. She moved away from Lebanon for three years to teach in Dubai, but just this last year, she came back. Ms. Kaaki studied in the Lebanese International University and majored in Biology because she loves the little details of the field. She likes teaching at ACS, and thinks that ACS is different than the other schools she has taught in, because of the helpful teachers and the relaxed atmosphere.
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