Pinewood Journalism Club’s Pineword 2021-2022 Winter Issue
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Pinewood Journalism Club’s Pineword 2021-2022 Winter Issue Team Alexandra Diamantopoulou Nicholas Karamichalis Daria Kachalkova Kalypso Isaidou Phaedra Voulgari Pavlos Paraschoudis Josephine De Cataldo And Dr Zoi Tsiviltidou
Contents Editor’s note Articles A recipe we tried at home A poem we wrote for you An ngo we support & follow A museum we heard about A school of life video we liked A TEDx/TED-Ed video we watched An astronomy fun fact A Peanuts comic revamped
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EDITOR’S NOTE
Dear readers,
Welcome to the digital Winter edition of Pineword! In this editor’s note I would like to touch upon mental health and a strategy we can all employ to improve our mood whenever we feel tiresome or blue: walking. Surely, this does not sound new to you. The reason being that walking is proven effective to boost our sense of self-worth and self-control each time we feel down, lost, disappointed, betrayed or afraid. For four million years, since our earliest ancestors began walking our bodies and minds have developed around this simplest form of locomotion. Research has shown that walking can help with our mental wellbeing by reducing anxiety, depression and shying away negative thoughts. Undoubtedly, walking (while it cannot reduce symptoms of social withdrawal) does offer us the opportunity to reflect, recollect our thoughts and process our feelings. According to a study published in Lancet Psychiatry that analyzed data over four years from 1.2 million people in the United States, individuals who exercise had 43% fewer days of bad mental health during the previous month compared to those who did not exercise. Engaging in peripatetic recollections of events and indulging in memories of past experiences prompts reflective thoughts.
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By doing so, our mind calms, leading to ‘tremendous’ conversations with ourselves. Walking lowers our brain wave frequency from the beta region to the high theta range – the theta wave between 5-10 Hz is the frequency we enter when we meditate, and this promotes an expansive, less time-dependent mindset. ‘Our language is tailored to the conventions of fabricated things, predictable gestures, normalized behaviors, received attitudes. Artifices adapted to one another: language is caught in the everyday construction of the word, participates in it, belongs to the same order of things as pictures and numbers and lists -order, injunction, synthesis, decision, report, code. Language is an instruction slip, a price list. In the silence of a walk, when you end up losing the use of words because by then you are doing nothing but walk, [...], in that silence you hear better, because you are finally hearing what has no vocation to be retranslated, recoded, reformatted.’ (Gros, 62). Going for a stroll increases neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, anandamide and norepinephrine which help create a more open and spacious mindset. We are stimulated to consider life’s impermanent nature and our own mortality, that is in itself cathartic and therapeutic. In the book “A Philosophy of Walking” (2014), Frederic Gros states that walking is not a sport, explaining that speed does not save time; but rather taking it slow is the way to live a longer life, as a means of personal freedom that leads to states of joy and serenity. Gros focuses selectively on eight historical figures, Nietzsche, Rimbaud, Rousseau, Thoreau, Nerval, Kant and Gandhi, all passionate walkers who persuasively advocated in favor of walking’s benefits. The bottomline being that the simple act of putting one step in front of the other can enrich and meaningfully alter your life. ‘You are doing nothing when you walk, nothing but walking. But having nothing to do but walk makes it possible to recover the pure sensation of being, to rediscover the simple joy of existing’ (83). So, walk. Just walk.
‘Sit as little as possible; do not believe any idea that was not born in the open air and of free movement; in which the muscles do not also revel.’ -Friedrich Nietzsche
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References (Accessed on 20/01/22) https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/UACF-Your-Body-on-a-Wa lk-v3-1.jpg https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/the-remarkable-science-of-walk ing-s-feel-good-effects-20220106-p59mey.html https://www.themarginalian.org/2021/12/12/nietzsche-walking/ https://culturemachine.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/568-1359-1-PB.pdf We thank you for your time in advance and for your incessant enthusiasm and support in sustaining the Journalism Club.
We wish you happy readings of Pineword’s Winter edition of 2021-22!
by The Editor Dr Zoi Tsiviltidou Grade 4 Teacher
READ MORE about our JOURNALISM CLUB here!
14th km Thessalonikis - N. Moudanion, P.O. Box 60606, 57001 Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece +30 2310 301221 info@pinewood.gr
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THE MANIFESTATION OF EXTREME ACTOR TRANSFORMATIONS To what extent are extreme actor transformations a rightful encapsulation of a character?
by Kalypso Isaidou
Even since the days of Shakespearean plays, actor transformations have been an integral part of the embodiment of a character and paramount to the belief of the story told. Whether it is a period-specific character or a fantastical figure, actor transformations are what turned Mark Ruffalo or Jim Carrey into the Hulk or the Grinch. Most recently this makeover was seen in the drama film, House of Gucci, whereby Jared Leto was made into an older, far distinct Paolo Gucci. Specifically, it was this transformation that both astounded an audience and led to the fixation and understanding of the character in the context of the cut-throat relationship between the Gucci family. And whilst this transformation is phenomenal, to say the least, there are many negative connotations that have been raised through the constant, extreme transformations around the film industry. Firstly, there has often been a constant degradation around the realistic transformations taking place in most movies, whereby the actor is usually transformed into a character that fits no hollywood standards whatsoever. By this I mean that these characters are usually the ‘ugly duck’ in an ‘ugly duck transformation.’ These characters are therefore built as ‘conventionally ugly’ and end up scrutinizing the characters to follow ‘ideal’ body standards. This therefore leads to glorifying the toxic beauty standards that should not be so permissible in modern times.
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Secondly, although many of the realistic, extreme transformations are meant to be inclusive they end up contradicting that very idea. In other words, instead of hiring actors and transforming them, the film industry should focus on hiring people with the desired characteristics. That can appear less judgemental and prejudicial. For example, in the case of Shakespeare’s plays, women were not allowed to act on stage. So, men always took the roles of women in these plays. However, this marked the start of the constant exclusion of women in the industry causing mass gender inequality. In a modern case this could be seen as hiring a cisgendered person to play an explicit transgender character, when actually a transgender actor should be considered for the role. By picking actors that do not align with the specific identity, it is ultimately excluding these people from the film industry and accord with the complete opposite of inclusivity. The same can be said for character roles of a specific race, which as seen throughout Hollywood’s history, has always been given to actors who are not part of that race or cultural identity. Not only does this often ridicule this racial identity, but it denounces the idea of an inclusive industry as well. On the contrary, extreme actor transformations for characters that are not real in any shape or form are the necessary elevations to maintain belief in a movie. Not only are they then an exemplary portrayal by an actor, but they also provide a display of the talent and skill put in by the makeup and special effects teams that go into one character or one scene. For where would Harry Potter be without Hagrid or Voldermort? Or Guardians of the Galaxy without Nebular or Gamora? Lastly, it can be said that extreme actor transformations are what add to the fantasy and capture the audience into another world. And even in some realistic character cases, these transformations are what allow us to see some talented actors in a role they would otherwise never be able to portray, showing variety and talent on all sides. Going back to the question, there is a certain boundary to what is a correct capture of a character. I would say in cases of realistic portrayals, there should be more consideration to cast actors who have similar attributes or the same identity (race/gender/etc.) to prove the inclusivity of the industry and have a character who viewers can identify with on a much deeper level. However, for imaginary/ fantastical characters actor transformations are the ultimate way of visualizing them and allow for everyone to fall under the spell of an imaginary world. So, extreme actor transformations should not be stopped at all, but in terms of the characters they are meant to portray, there should be a re-evaluation and thus help create a more inclusive and relatable world.
References (Accessed on 17/12/21) https://www.eluniverso.com/entretenimiento/cine/jared-leto-darle-la-vida-a-paolo-guc ci-fue-como-sacar-una-bola-de-boliche-de-mi-esfinter-nota/
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LORD OF THE FLIES VS THE SQUID GAME Are their views of humanity relevant?
by Alexandra Diamantopoulou
If you are in your junior or senior year of high school, you have most likely already attended classes in which you studied Lord of the Flies, and as a result of those lessons, you recall that we all have good and bad in us. As I realized when watching Squid Game, there is a lot more to learn about ourselves in this aspect by watching it, because Squid Game, in my opinion, is the current, visually updated version of Lord of the Flies. As a result, I became curious about what influences a person’s behavior toward savagery in the diverse times of Lord of the Flies and Squid Game. Over the course of over 70 years, what is it, in particular, which leads individuals to revert to their lost human instincts as represented in the far too much distressing cinematography of Squid Game? Lord of the Flies is the Nobel Prize-winning British writer William Golding’s debut novel, published in 1954. It narrates the story of a group of young boys who are stranded on a barren island. Without adult supervision, they create rules and an organizational system that helps them to survive, but they ultimately become hostile and vicious.
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As it turns out, Golding's literary fabrication of lost childlike innocence extends to the evil that dwells within man. Ralph's willingness to build laws and regulations with the main goal of the common good, the boys' survival while imprisoned on the island, is overturned by Jack, Golding's antagonistic character, who turned into a vicious and blood-lusting kid, indicating that evil existed in him. Despite the fact that kid innocence was able to duplicate adult behavior, savagery eventually triumphed, as emphasized by the book's famous quote, “We did everything adults would do, what went wrong?” Squid Game, a South Korean survival drama that became Netflix's massive overnight megahit in 2021, takes inspiration from a provocative filmmaking movement to depict a society in which children's games have evolved into lethal live survival games. The series' protagonist is a chronically indebted gambler who joins a secret organization and agrees to compete in a series of survival-style games in which contestants earn substantial sums of money if they survive. In this strangely named and upsetting nine-episode series, vicious behavior is depicted through horrific violence, the explosion of which is prompted by a desire for money. If you are not one of the few who has not seen Squid Game, you should! The series is a stylish, blunt critique of South Korea’s recent capitalist boom, and it appears to be a replica of the Oscar-winning South Korean film, Parasite. Lord of the Flies requires you to learn the ruthless truth that in moments of survival you hide instincts that you will need to fight while respecting your need to remain civilized. On the other hand, Squid Game will give you a perspective of today’s civilized capitalist world, where the underprivileged die for the delectation of foreign VIPs. Soon after, you will slowly start to realize that this shocking irony was an illustrated concept with a global streaming effect. But which category of the audience was touched or disturbed the most? Are the ones outraged by the tragedy that those living at the bottom of the capitalist hierarchy are experiencing, or the ones who accept and applaud savagery as a result of money's influencing power? The issue of survival in Lord of the Flies reveals a difference in instinct by dealing with the rigors of civilized or not seclusion in times of war, but Squid Game is about surviving in an ethical environment. Within the last 70 years, our prosperous and peaceful civilization has undergone an incredibly abominable social revision, which today characterizes the new suffocating conditions that force survival. In Squid Game, childhood innocence, or at least the beautiful recollection of childhood innocence, frames a story about money, greed, violence, and death. While the show is based on our collective experience of "playground politics," in which the strongest person from the start becomes captain, the concept has a strong influence on our perception of the players, as we see them as a collection of identical games serving an omnipotent force. It is easy to understand why the exploited immigrant, the grandfather who represents poverty in old age, and the successful economist, who turned out to be committing a financial crime, are all caught up in a deadly game.
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The strange, surreal set design that was featured throughout the series' production as the arena of the games is truly unforgettable, and it plays an important role in making viewers feel as terrified as the contestants. While being interviewed, the series’ art director explained that he came up with the warehouse idea, which treats the contestants as objects that have accumulated on its shelves. The maze-like staircase, which is painted in pastel colors of green, blue, and pink, is the most striking feature of the massive underground facility where the fatal games take place, holding the fundamental function of distracting and disorienting people. Yet, the most eye-catching element in the show is “Younghee”, the murderous doll, or the giant killer robot overseeing a brutal five-minute round of “Red Light, Green Light” as the first game. During the game's bloodbath, viewers are treated to a pleasant rendition of the well-known "Fly Me to the Moon" song. The graceful music that plays behind the bloody kill-spree adds to the dramatic reality of the drama, but anyone paying attention can see the connection between the players’ "flying" to the finish line and the round piggy bank that holds the $38 billion reward, which happens to be bright yellow like the moon hanging in the sky. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the realm of new ethics as seen through the lens of cinema! Watching Squid Game exploring the hazard of capitalist exaggeration, the question is whether worldwide streaming is effective in promoting symbols that can elicit acts in response to the current poisoned chalice.
References (Accessed on 18/02/22) https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/sep/28/squid-game-the-hellish-horro rshow-taking-the-whole-world-by-storm https://www.archdaily.com/969927/squid-game-minimalist-chic-and-spaces-of-oppressi on https://tomasinoweb.medium.com/squid-game-isn-t-just-bloody-it-s-bloody-brilliant-c7 38aead9a6f
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THE MERITS OF ESCAPISM Why our free time matters
by Nick Karamichalis
In everyday life, everyone has responsibilities. Work piles up, and things can get stressful, and sometimes it can dominate all aspects of our existence. Doing the same thing over and over again gets to you, though. Continuously doing work, without reprieve, is perhaps more dangerous than not doing enough of it, as you risk tarnishing your mental health and outlook, which could lead to a burnout. This lack of rest is what I believe is a key factor to failure, and ironically, what most people overlook. These one or two hours of free time every day may appear insignificant, but I believe that, if spent wisely, they can become extremely important to one’s everyday life. Of course, it must be kept in mind that overindulgence is just as harmful as underindulgence in respect to free time. Allotting oneself too much free time can result in ignorance of basic responsibilities, damaging oneself and possibly those around them. By stepping away from daily routines to allow ourselves to engage in an activity of our choice, that being a hobby, or even simply watching a movie or a television show, we can alleviate a good deal of stress and grant ourselves more happiness. The key to the impact of this activity, however, is the boosted focus and productivity we gain from it.
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By relaxing physically or mentally, and expunging some of the stresses of daily life, or even temporarily forgetting about them, our mental state can be refreshed, allowing for newfound drive to be born, letting arduous work continue without a lapse in quality. While the short term advantages of free time are generally the same, indulgence in such actions can also yield long-term effects. These benefits stem from the activity that one takes part in. To illustrate, a sport would result in greater physical health, and motivation boosts, while reading would help with improving one’s concentration abilities. Despite this, there is a large amount of leisure activities that are frequently dismissed as wastes of time. As the benefits of free time often build up slowly, or are subtle, subconscious things, this view has been adopted by a decent majority of people, warding those who may most desperately need a break away from it. As technology evolves, people find themselves with an ever-increasing amount of activities available to them. Civilization becomes accustomed to this level of availability, and thus, there grows a greater demand for these activities. One must be able to break the tedium in a way meaningful to them, to stay productive and positive in a world full of distractions. As the French musician Claude Debussy famously said, “music is the space between the notes”.
References (Accessed on 10/12/21) https://zenkit.com/en/blog/how-to-make-the-most-out-of-your-free-time-as-advisedby-james-wallman/
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REASONS WHY WE HATE IB No pain, no gain? But why?
by Phaedra Voulgari
Everyone who has taken the IB Diploma program knows what I mean when I say that it is a true struggle. At the ripe age of 16, huge amounts of pressure are put on students. Even before starting the actual program, students are expected to know what they want to study at university or what career path to pursue in the future as the classes they select will depend on this. One wrong choice and you could end up doing something you dislike or regret having chosen. The IB Diploma is a program that requires a lot of patience and highly good management of time; however, that consists of too much pressure on the students. The curriculum requires you to do internal assessments for each subject you have chosen. This means that students have to make an independent research paper for every Natural Science subject, a real life investigation for Natural Sciences, Exhibitions for Arts, etc. This takes up an astounding amount of time. To make it worse, there are mandatory requirements like 150 hours of CAS (Creativity, Activity and Service), and TOK (Theory of Knowledge) presentation and essay. To add on, there is a 4000 word essay to be written. You are being tasked to write pre-and- summatives on a frequent basis, which can be overwhelming, especially when you have limited time in your schedule. Speaking of assessments, the grading criteria is way too heavily weighted. You are obligated to follow a list of what is being asked from you, which is strictly formulated and articulated.
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As a consequence of a harsh daily schedule and not knowing how to handle pressure, mental health might step back, causing traumas and several stages of depression. Teenagers spend hours, days, weeks, and months for this to happen and in some cases despite hard work, university may deny your attendance. Right there and right at that time, anger overcomes kids, which can lead to additional mental instabilities. This is because students are required to have a track record of solid performance constantly over a period of two years. And what is more, the external grading system might be less biased but feels less personal and does not really take into consideration the students’ learning difficulties or preferences. On the plus side, there is no gain with no pain. The IB Diploma does not only teach students content; it teaches them how to learn, how to manage their own learning and how to think for themselves. Learning is based on real-world situations, which have relevance and applied value. Subjects are not taught in isolation, but they are connected to each other, reflecting on how the world works. But why are such high standards of excellence and the pressing demands of quality performance at the core of learning and growth? I guess the complexity of this question lies in the fact that high rewards require high levels of dedication and commitment generally in life.
References (Accessed on 18/02/22) https://ibsurvival.com/uploads/monthly_2016_03/tumblr_ns21dpJDP11sdmxkpo1_500.jp g.c4f b32330b16582074ccc78ba85278cd.jpg https://world-schools.com/what-are-the-benefits-of-the-international-baccalaureate/ https://www.quora.com/Why-is-IB-programme-difficult
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RECIPE
Banoffee-Pie
Ingredients ●
4 bananas - 100g butter
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300ml double cream - 200g plain flour
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Chocolate of your liking - 1 medium egg
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394g caramel - 1tbsp golden caster sugar
Preparation 1.
Start by making the pastry case. Put the butter and flour in a food processor and pulse until it resembles fresh breadcrumbs. Add the yolk of the egg and the sugar and pulse again until mixed through then, add a tbsp at a time of very cold water pulsing the processor after each addition. Stop adding water as soon as the dough starts to come together as one piece.
2.
Remove the dough from the processor and continue to bring it together by kneading gently with your hands. Once you have a smooth ball of dough, wrap it tightly in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 mins.
3.
Heat oven to 190C/170C/gas 4 and grease a 23cm loose bottomed fluted tart tin. Roll out the chilled pastry on a lightly floured surface and use it to line the tin. Leave about half a cm of pastry proud of the edge of the tin snipping it to length with kitchen scissors.
4.
Line the base with a piece of baking parchment and weigh it down with baking beans or uncooked rice. Bake for 15 mins then remove the paper and beans and brush the pastry surface with beaten egg white. Return to the oven for a further 15-20 mins or until crisp, golden and cooked through. Leave to cool completely (can be done a day ahead).
5.
Spread half of the caramel on the pastry case and layer the sliced bananas on top. Cover with the rest of the caramel and place in the fridge
6.
Add whipped cream (if you want to).
Prep time: 30 minutes Cook time: 30 - 36 minutes Serves: 8-10 people
by Alexandra Diamantopoulou
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/bano ffee-pie
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A POEM WE WROTE FOR YOU
Who are you? I’m Daria, And who are you? Are you someone, I have known?
Death divided us apart, Cutting the nerves, From our heart. Now, we stand up here, Waiting for the time. But where are we going exactly? Up there high, Or next to the eye?
by Daria Kachalkova
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AN NGO WE SUPPORT AND FOLLOW
https://www.arcturos.gr/
By Kalypso Isaidou
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A MUSEUM WE HEARD ABOUT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgpOsxHkeTw
by Daria Kachalkova
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A SCHOOL OF LIFE VIDEO WE LIKED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Tk82hEHNnY
by Daria Kachalkova
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A TEDX/TED-ED VIDEO WE WATCHED
Tim Urban: Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU
by Nick Karamichalis
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AN ASTRONOMY FUN FACT
There’s a planet made of diamonds twice the size of earth The "super earth," aka 55 Cancri E, is most likely covered in graphite and diamond. https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/exoplanet-catalog/7005/55-cancri-e/
by The Editor
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A PEANUTS COMIC REVAMPED
http://www.multiversitycomics.com/longform/the-pleasures-of-peanuts/
by Kalypso Isaidou
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Thank you!
Pinewood Journalism Club’s Pineword 2021-2022 Winter Issue