Copenhagen reels after spree of violent attacks Red Oak explores

ON THE CHAPEL
THE MOST
COULD LOOP-
HILL SHOOTINGS:
UNDERRATED
STACHE BE THE
BLAME THE SYSTEM
MAJORS AT AUB
NEXT BIG THING?
PAGE 08 - OPINIONS
PAGE 10 - COMMUNITY
PAGE 13 - INTEREVIEW
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
Vol.XLVII, No. 13
Miriam Atallah gives voice to
mental disorders in Lebanon
Shereen El Ladki
News Editor
The 23-year-old explains
vibrantly in her video,
that trichotillomania is
a disorder that “causes a
person to consciously, or
even unconsciously pull
out their hair.” People who
suffer from the impulse
disorder are nicknamed
“trichsters” on the Internet, and usually begin to
show signs of the disorder
between the ages of 9 and
13. The condition can be
triggered by depression or
stress.
Due to the lack of awareness about the disorder,
those who suffer from
trichotillomania
rarely
understand what they are
going through. “Only
Miriam Atallah, a master’s student in Journalism,
recently uploaded a video
to her Facebook page in
which she announced that
she suffers from a mental
disorder, and plans to inform the Lebanese community about it.
Her five-minute video
was posted less than two
weeks ago. So far, it has
been shared over 730
times, and has collected
more than 35,000 views.
Miriam Atallah, who goes
by Miriam Jeff on Facebook, stated in her video
that she suffers from trichotillomania, a psychoContinued on page 3
logical disorder.
Red Oak explores
feminism in a
globalized world
Leen Bou Nasser Eddine
Staff Writer
Dr. Shavisi began by
defining the meaning of
feminism, and then discussed domestic workers
in Lebanon, integrating
a local problem into her
talk. Giggles reverberated
through the room when
she began, “Let me tell
you about what is wrong
with the world,” stating
that every time we turn on
the television or surf the
internet, we see “a massive underrepresentation
of women. [We see] brutal dictators, religious extremists, merciless
The Red Oak Club invited students and professors to a lecture by Professor Arianne Shahvisi last
Thursday, delving into
feminism as a moral imperative in a globalized
world. The purpose behind the lecture was to
raise awareness on what it
means to be a real feminist
and “bring back the word,”
according to Shahvisi. She
believes, and many others
do, that “we are losing the
word, and the real meaning of feminism.”
Continued on page 5
Copenhagen reels after
spree of violent attacks
A decade after Hariri’s
death: tribute and tribunal
Rafik Hariri was assassinated in a targeted
bombing as his motorcade
drove through Downtown
Beirut on February 14,
2005. This marked the loss
of one of the most prominent figures in Lebanese
history, with his death
causing drastic shifts in
the country’s political
power dynamics. It is believed to have sparked the
Two people were killed
and five injured in a double terror attack that
rocked Denmark’s capital Copenhagen over the
weekend.
The first shooting targeted infamous Swedish
cartoonist Lars Vilks at a
blasphemy talk late Saturday afternoon, at the
Krudttønden theatre in
Østerbro, a Copenhagen
Continued on page 4
Felix Østergaard
Azza El Masri
Opinions Editor
lbc.com
Laura Al Bast
Staff Writer
Continued on page 4
2
NEWS
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
Times Higher Education MENA ranking sparks contention among AUB
community
Shereen El Ladki
News Editor
Times Higher Education (THE) conducted a new ranking for universities in the Arab region, in anticipation of
its MENA Universities Summit in Qatar at the end of February.
The event will elaborate on how the rankings were conducted. Moreover, Times Higher Education hopes to release a ranking of 30 universities in the region at the summit.
Lebanese universities don’t even
break into the top 500 universities
in the Shanghai rankings, with
Saudi Universities as the only Arab
institutions on the list.
The top five rankings were published as follows: Texas
A&M (Qatar) in first place, Lebanese American University (Lebanon) in second place, King Abdulaziz University
(Saudi Arabia) in third place, Qatar University (Qatar) in
fourth place, and our very own American University of
Beirut (Lebanon) in fifth pace.
The list has sparked contention among members of the
AUB community, many of whom believe that the list itself is biased. “There are always going to be rankings that
favor one side over the other,” commented Mariam Rifi,
President of the Political Studies and Public Administration Society. “We are fortunate to have both AUB and
LAU here in Lebanon. They both have strengths and
weaknesses, but I believe that when you look at university
rankings, they have to be credible.”
The Times Higher Education website states that the list
of five universities was calculated “using the ratio of the
citations received by an institution’s publication output
between 2009 and 2013 and the total citations that would
be expected based on the average of the subject field.”
Many believe that because the rankings placed a great
deal of importance on research, and since LAU has surpassed AUB in terms of research output over the past few
years, it has ranked higher than AUB on the list.
This ranking varies greatly from many other rankings
released in the past ten years regarding Arab universities.
The 2014/2015 QS rankings positions the King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals as the top university in
the region with an overall rank of 225, followed closely
by the American University of Beirut and King Saud University, who are tied with a ranking of 249. Texas A&M
University in Qatar, which is ranked as the top university
in the area in the Times Higher Education top five list, is
not even placed in the QS rankings.
Some Arab universities’ standings according to the
2014/2015 QS rankings are: King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (225), American University of Beirut
(249), King Saud University (249), King Abdulaziz University (334), American University in Cairo (360), United
Arab Emirates University (385), American University of
Sharjah (390), Arabian Gulf University (501), Cairo University (551), Qatar University (551), Université SaintJoseph (551), Jordan University of Science & Technology
(651), Lebanese American University (651), University of
Jordan (651), Kuwait University (701).
These lists differ from the US News rankings but are
similar only in that Texas A&M University in Qatar is
not ranked. In that list, Lebanese American University is
ranked at 52, King Abdulaziz University at 2, Qatar University at 29, and the American University of Beirut at 5.
Initially, Times Higher Education published its annual
university rankings with British company Quacquarelli
Symonds (QS) as the THE-QS World University Rankings. However, the partnership ended in 2010, with both
establishments moving on to publish their own separate
rankings.
The ranking has sparked contention
among members of the AUB
community, many of whom believe
that the list itself is biased
QS continued using the original methodology that it had
used while in collaboration with Time Higher Education.
This approach attempts to include a comprehensive array
of university practices. The ranking analyzes five criteria
based on percentages, each with a separate weight and influence.
An academic peer review has a weight of 40 percent,
and involves a survey sent to academics all over the world.
The participants list up to 30 universities in the fields
whom they are familiar with, but are not allowed to vote
for their own.
The 2011 peer review included 33,744 people from
over 140 countries, 52 percent of whom had over 20 years
of experience in academia.
Faculty student ratio makes up 20 percent of the approach, as do the citations per faculty category. The number of citations each institution releases over five years
divided by the number of faculty members gives the citations per faculty score.
This score is provided by Dutch Elsevier’s Scopus database.
Recruiter review and international orientation each
make up 10 percent of the universities’ scores. The recruiter review involves a survey for recruiters with respect
to which universities they prefer to hire from (16,875 responses in 2011).
International orientation is split into two parts, the first
part being the percentage of international students that
attend a university, and the second part being the percentage of international staff in the university.
While THE and QS are two of the most respected university ranking systems, they vary in many ways. QS relies
profoundly on reputation, with 50 percent of a university’s
score based solely on surveys. However, THE places major
importance on an institutions teaching quality, with onethird of a university’s score being based on it.
On a side note, the Shanghai Ranking, includes factors
that are distinctive from the THE and QS rankings. In the
Shanghai Ranking 40 percent of a university’s score depends on the quality of the faculty, with the number of
staff members who are Nobel laureates being of huge importance.
Furthermore, research output makes up another 40% of
a university’s score. Therefore the Shanghai rankings are
more science based, placing huge importance on research,
and much less importance on fields in the humanities.
Lebanese universities don’t even break into the top 500
universities in the Shanghai rankings, with Saudi Universities as the only Arab institutions on the list.
NEWS
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
3
ASHEKMAN: the people’s champion
As part of the campaign to get rid of all political slogans,
the Beirut municipality removed graffiti art designed by
ASHEKMAN and the NGO March last week. The mural
in Tabaris read “to be free or not to be.” Even though it
is being erased off the walls of our city, street art seems
ready to make a comeback.
Following an agreement reached during dialogue sessions between the Future Movement and Hezbollah,
Beirut received a makeover on Thursday as city workers
removed political signs and banners. Even though the
cleanup campaign was welcomed rather than frowned
upon, it did have collateral damage.
“We’re invading a public place—not vandalizing it but
rather beautifying it,” said Omar Kabbani, who established ASHEKMAN in 2001 along with his twin brother,
Mohamad. But since ASHEKMAN and March had actually received authorization from Beirut’s governor and the
building owner to draw this graffiti back in 2012, “invading” is not exactly the right word.
“We shouldn’t have been labeled as political slogans and
the graffiti shouldn’t have been removed,” he continued.
“Street art is temporary. You need to know that it’s not
going to stay the way it is. Someone might paint over it or
even hang posters on it; you can’t frame it and preserve
it forever. There should be less nagging when it comes to
street art but we weren’t going to keep quiet after what
happened because they had no right to remove the graffiti. It wasn’t a political message. It was art.”
Fortunately, Beirut’s governor, Ziad Chebib, admitted
that the graffiti shouldn’t have been erased and invited
March and ASHEKMAN to meet and receive a new permit. “By the end of next week, we should be done repaint-
ashekman.com
Lama Miri
Staff Writer
ing the mural. It’s going to be bigger. We’re making a point
here,” Omar explained.
The Kabbani twins first encountered street art in the late
1980s. It was wartime in Beirut and political slogans covered every wall. “We wanted to beautify the city. In a way,
our art is the aftermath of the civil war.”
Of course, social media and blogs weren’t common back
then so the Lebanese graffiti scene took time to get established. The number of local graffiti artists is currently on
the rise, however, and street art is becoming more prevalent all over the country.
Specialized in Arabic calligraffiti, the talented twin
brothers have certainly paved the way for lots of fresh talent, and we haven’t seen the last of them. Not only will
they be repainting the “to be free or not to be” mural next
week (follow @ashekman for updates), but they have
many upcoming projects which aren’t solely restricted to
Lebanon.
“We try not to plan each piece too much. We like the
rush that comes with painting on walls, invading the city
with art and having something to surprise the people with
when they wake up and take a stroll in the streets,” Omar
told Outlook. “The key to street art is not to act gangster
and not to play it soft. Less nagging. More painting.”
Miriam Atallah gives voice to mental disorders in Lebanon
Continued from page 1
around two to three percent of the population suffers
from this disorder,” Atallah explained in her video. “It’s
not common, that’s why there aren’t any organizations
or awareness campaigns in Lebanon about this issue. So
because of this, I didn’t know that what I was doing was
because of a psychological disorder.”
Rewa El-Jarrah, senior representative of the AUB Psychology Student Society (PSS), is grateful for the fact that
Miriam Atallah’s video was able to speak to a vast audience.
“As a psychology student, I saw this video as an opportunity to expand the platform of mental health awareness in
Lebanon,” she explained. “I thought [Miriam] explained
trichotillomania very well, and highlighted what its sufferers could do. Because this disorder accompanies many
other common ones such as depression and OCD, I think
and hope that this video will reach the entire nation and
help save many lives.”
Atallah recounts how her parents didn’t understand
her condition and attempted to discipline her in order to
prevent her hair-pulling ways. It wasn’t until Atallah was
15 that she had access to the Internet, and was able to do
some research. What she found was overpowering.
“An entire world opened up to me, a world that was so
huge,” she said in her video. “I’m not the only person in
the world that does this, there are other people like me.”
An AUB student who prefers to remain anonymous,
also suffers from trichotillomania and spoke to Outlook
about her experiences, many of which have been greatly
similar to those of Atallah. The student’s mother scolded
her for pulling her hair out, just as Atallah’s parents did.
“Everyone in my family told me to keep it a secret,” she
said. “I couldn’t seek therapy for it and still can’t; it’s far too
expensive in Lebanon.”
We’re afraid of being judged, but
more often than not, people will be
understanding, just like we all were
while watching Miriam’s video
The student felt helpless after a bad experience at the
counseling center. “The counselor was in shock at my disorder and didn’t understand it at all,” she revealed. “I felt
judged and unwelcome. Even a counselor has an incorrect
perception of it.”
Therapy in Lebanon is too costly for many people suffering from psychological disorders to get adequate help.
“Therapy needs to be more accessible and affordable.
Mental health is a major part of overall health, but it’s not
covered by insurance,” proclaimed the student. “Therapy
has been grouped into the luxury category, which makes
it impossible for a lot of us to seek treatment.”
PSS president Mariam Maatouk felt that Miriam Atallah’s video expressed a valuable message. “We really
should stop concealing our problems and struggles, and
should be more open about them,” she observed. “We’re
afraid of being judged, but more often than not, people
will be understanding, just like we all were while watching
Miriam’s video.”
Over the past few years, Lebanon has been making some
strides in regards to mental health. People are starting to
fight the stigma surrounding mental disorders, but there
is still much more to be done. Atallah hopes to start a
campaign that can raise awareness about mental disorders, in an effort to assist Lebanese “trichsters,” as well as
teach friends and family how to offer care and support.
“Mental disorders are still considered taboo in our society when they shouldn’t be, because they are scientific and
have nothing to do with our religion and culture,” Atallah told Outlook. She hopes to raise awareness through
her blog freeasmyhairleb.wordpress.com, and has created
a Facebook page that has garnered over 1600 likes so far
(Free As My Hair Lebanon).
Mental disorders are still considered
taboo in our society when they
shouldn’t be, because they are
scientific and have nothing to do with
our religion and culture
Atallah is hosting a support group event on February 28,
and encourages people who are suffering from trichotillomania, as well as those concerned with the disorder, to
attend the event or contact her personally.
“Everyday, I have at least two new Lebanese trichsters
who contact me for help,” she proclaimed. “I promise, I
won’t let them down because their problem is mine as
well, and I am ready to take on this challenge.”
4
NEWS
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
Copenhagen reeling after spree of violent attacks
Continued from page 1
northern district.
Vilks is known for portraying the face of Prophet Mohammad on a dog’s body in a series of drawings in 2007,
angering many in the Muslim community. He had previously escaped multiple assassination attempts in 2009 and
has lived under police protection ever since.
France’s ambassador to Denmark, Francois Zimeray, was
also present at the talk. The attack was carried out by two
or three gunmen, who shot between 30 to 40 shots before
fleeing the scene, according to the “Copenhagen Post.”
Both personalities were unharmed, but one unidentified
individual was killed and a number of police officers were
wounded.
Another attack hit a synagogue in Nørrebro, northwest
of the city center, early Sunday morning, when a gunman
killed a worshipper and wounded two police officers. The
suspected gunman, a Dane of Palestinian descent, was
shot after an altercation with the police later that day.
Felix Østergaard, 22, a journalist for Danmark Radio
(DR), was only 400 meters away from the second shooting at a nearby bar, celebrating a friend’s birthday, when
it happened.
“I was having a good time with friends when I got a
‘breaking news’ text on my phone from the Danish Broadcasting Corporation and rushed to the wardrobe to get my
jacket,” he told Outlook via email, describing his need to
go see the scene of the crime himself.
An insane cowardly terrorist the same
age as me had been shot just 400
meters from where I was making fried
eggs at this moment,” he told Outlook
When he arrived, police had cordoned off Krystalgade
and the Nørreport train station, where the synagogue was
located. “The police wouldn’t really say anything. People
were curious but not annoying toward the police,” he said.
Nørrebro is a historically mixed neighborhood in Copenhagen, where many Danish of Arab or Middle Eastern
descent live and prosper.
Despite the relative calm Denmark has enjoyed in recent
years, like Østergaard, Casper Eicke Frederiksen, a Danish journalist recently based in Prague, had suspected that
after the Charlie Hebdo attack, Denmark was next.
“After Charlie Hebdo, [we expected] it would probably
come to Denmark at some point, and what consequences
it might have for the future political picture. But of course
it always comes as a surprise when it actually does happen.
[It is] quite a turning point,” he said.
“Just after the Paris attacks, Danish terror experts said
that it was naive to imagine otherwise.
As part of the coalition against [the Islamic State] we know
that we are at risk,” Østergaard added.
Østergaard described his shock when he realized that the
consequences of the controversial Mohammad cartoons
published by Denmark’s ‘Jyllands-Posten’ in 2005 finally
reared their ugly head.
“I was making lunch today while listening to the Danish
opposition leader Lars Løkke Rasmussen talking on TV
about the attack. I think it really hit me then, that this was
real and that this was happening in Denmark: an insane
cowardly terrorist the same age as me had been shot just
400 meters from where I was making fried eggs at this moment.”
Yet, Frederiksen dismissed the idea that the Danish
population would generalize these “solitary attacks” to the
whole of the Muslim community living in Denmark.
“But I’m sure the far right [political] wing will only gain
even more popularity now and the debate–especially on
social media–will be filled with even more hate and racism–and it’s bad enough as it is now,” he said.
A decade after Hariri’s death: tribute and tribunal
Continued from page 1
Cedar Revolution, calling for independence from the 29year Syrian military presence in Lebanon, one that was
strikingly similar to the wave of uprisings known as the
Arab Spring, which unraveled six years later.
Yet independence was not the only aim behind the 2005
movement, as the Lebanese public also demanded the
establishment of an international body to investigate the
killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
“On this day, ten years ago, I was only a nine-year-old
sitting in class when an extravagant explosion sound was
heard, resulting in the breaking of glass, windows and
doors,” recounted AUB student and Outlook lifestyle editor Dana Abed. “Now that I am nineteen, I still remember
the details of that day.”
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), headquartered
in the Netherlands, began its operations in 2009. Despite
receiving condemnation and rejection from March 8-allied cabinet members, the tribunal continued its investigations with a number of testimonials in the past year,
reaching a step closer to the prosecution of suspects.
Many have directed their accusations towards the Syrian
regime, claiming there is evidence that links the current
Syrian president’s phone to the incident. Yet Damascus
denied any involvement.
In turn, media outlets speculated that senior Hezbollah operatives were involved, and the STL issued arrest
warrants against four individuals from the party on June
30, 2011—with the fifth suspect being brought to light in
2013.
The assassination and subsequent investigation only
managed to highlight Lebanon’s longstanding sectarian
tensions. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had stated
on July 3, 2011 that he would “cut off the hand” of anyone
who would try to arrest the suspects. He also denounced
the special tribunal as a foreign plot against his political
party, and affirmed that Israel is behind the assassination.
The official trial of the suspects began in January 2014,
and so, various Lebanese politicians and relevant witnesses have traveled to the tribunal’s Netherlands-based court
in order to give their testimonials.
“We never sought revenge,” former cabinet minister
Marwan Hamadeh said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But by revealing who executed the crime, we
are also gradually uncovering those who incited and took
the decision for the crime.” Hamadeh is a leading legislator who was severely wounded in a previous assassination
attempt on Hariri.
Many AUB students are somewhat skeptical about the
tribunal, including graduate Majd Nassan.
“It’s not that I think it’s a conspiracy, but the way they
are trying to prove the role of the Syrian involvement
through hearsay from MPs is shameful,” he explained. “I
mean, the tribunal is becoming a ‘he said/she said’ situation with no solid proof.”
“As for Hariri, I would say that he may have been one of
the very few leaders with a clear goal of improving Lebanon,” Nassan added. “He was a strong man who would
challenge Syria when he could, that’s something worth a
lot of respect.”
As one of the officials who gave a testimony at the tribunal, MP Ghattas Khoury said that the former Prime Minister had mentioned feeling that the pro-Syrian Lebanese
security services “were targeting him.”
“He wanted the Syrians to leave the Lebanese and let
them decide and manage their own internal affairs,” testified Ghaleb al-Shamaa, Hariri’s childhood friend and
confidant. He explained how the relationship between
late President Hafez al-Assad and former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was an acceptable one. Yet the situation
changed when current Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
took over. “We then saw a relationship that was more aggressive, more dominant and of greater provocation,” he
said.
In light of the five Hezbollah suspects, Shamaa com-
mented that Hariri held Hezbollah’s leader in high esteem,
as he considered him “someone who had sacrificed his
son for the sake of Lebanon’s independence.”
Nasrallah said he believes the suspects were unjustly accused. The defense lawyers also claimed that this was a
‘moot’ court, as in a fictional case. Philippe Larochelle, a
member of the defense team stated that they do not have
access to their clients and can not raise an alibi.
All they can do is deconstruct the prosecutor’s theory.
Marking a decade after the massive bomb exploded in
Beirut killing the former PM, thousands of people flocked
to the BIEL hall Saturday afternoon. Attended by a long
list of high-profile politicians, diplomats, and religious
figures, the event was the source of significant hype, and
traffic, around the capital. Hordes of Future Movement
supporters were moved - some of them to tears - by the
presence of party leader Saad Hariri who made a live appearance to commemorate his father’s death, unlike the
previous three years during which he was abroad.
Rym Ghazal, a senior features writer at “The National,”
ends her latest piece with the sentiment that, “Valentine’s
Day in Lebanon will always have a sorrowful undertone
of lost love.”
But whether or not all the Lebanese would agree is a grey
area.
While Hariri is credited with revitalizing Beirut after
the civil war, the legions of young graduates immigrating
to escape unemployment, and the emptiness that bounces
off the concrete walls of Downtown Beirut, tell a different
story.
Indeed, as the 10th anniversary of Hariri’s assassination
drew near last Saturday, banners flooded Beirut’s streets,
carrying the words “Ten, one hundred, one thousand
years, we will continue.”
Yet as the billboards declare an endless search for justice, and in a country that has seen a devastating number of unaccountable explosions and clashes since 2005,
countless questions remain unanswered.
EDITORIAL
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
Staff List
A GLIMPSE INTO OUR FUTURE’S PAST
Talia Abbas
Editor-in-Chief
February 14 marked the
tenth anniversary of the
assassination of former Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri.
An attack shrouded in mystery,
speculation
and
fingerpointing has characterized the
search for the perpetrators.
Whether the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)
will prove the suspects guilty
or not, the Lebanese avowed
their adamant search for
answers during last Saturday’s
procession.
While
their
banners flooded the streets,
and carried the words “Ten,
one hundred, one thousand
years, we will continue,” it was
Saad Hariri’s testimony that
resonated and brought many
listeners to tears.
In line with Lebanon’s
current affairs, Ashekman,
the dynamic graffiti duo,
has championed freedom
of expression after the
government went back on
their word that their street
art would not be destroyed.
With a “less nagging, more
painting” motto, their words
of wisdom can be applied to
many aspects of our personal,
and even collective lives.
This brings to mind another
article featured this week:
Miriam Atallah’s poignant
Facebook confession of her
struggle with trichotillomania.
Unapologetically
accepting
her
condition,
Atallah
encourages others to not be
afraid of being judged for their
mental disorders.
February 14 also celebrated
Valentine’s Day, and while love
may be a battlefield, this day
will always leave a mournful
taste on the tips of our tongues.
Red Oak Club explores feminism in a
globalized world
Continued from page 1
“this is not morally acceptable, and we should
work to challenge and
occupying soldiers, and undermine patriarchy in
where are the women?” all its forms.”
Many people assume
that feminists want
A domestic
women to be the ones
worker’s life
bombing their own ciis secondary
vilians, invading foreign
to the lives of
land, and committing
those around
her and her
genocide. As the lecturer
value is judged
explained, such a school
solely on the
of thought presumes that
extent to which
feminists believe this is
she serves
the solution to making
them to their
the world more equal. In
satisfaction
reality, people who understand what real femi“Women are primary
nism is know that this is caregivers in a world
not what feminists want. where caregiving is not
“Feminism is not about valued,” Shahvisi conseeing more women in tinued. They are “objecthe places in which we tified, embodied, and
now see powerful men,” sexualized” and the most
Shahvisi said. The con- common statement that
cept of feminism could follows is that “women
be separated into two are those things natucomponents, the de- rally.” Shahvisi believes
scriptive and the nor- that this response is due
mative. The descriptive to patriarchy and “that’s
component states that part of the problem.”
we live in a patriarchal Feminism that is popuworld where “women are lar nowadays is one that
subject to systematic op- demands for more wompression.” The normative en in the workplace, as
aspect simply says that directors, and in NGOs;
5
it “tells us that women
should also be grabbing
their slice of the pie.” In
reality, the lecture concluded that this is not
true feminism.
“Feminism is not about
putting more women
where men are now, nor
is it about women taking
their shares of the power
structures.”
Although
women are being hired
for full time jobs, they do
not get the same salaries
that men do. “These jobs,
although full time, are
seen as supplementary;
women are assumed to
be merely topping up the
salaries of their partners,
and in most cases, women do not have partners
and are living on this salary,” lamented Shahvisi.
Shedding light on domestic workers in Lebanon, Shahvisi pointed
out that there is about a
quarter of a million domestic workers in a country with a population of
four million. Around 99
percent of these workers are in some way denied their freedom of
movement and are con-
fined at home with their
passports taken away.
Most of them work a full
week without a break. A
domestic worker’s life,
Shahvisi added, “is secondary to the lives of
those around her and her
value is judged solely on
the extent to which she
serves them to their satisfaction.”
She also observed that
these women, working
on low salaries in sweat
shops or as domestic
workers in households,
cannot afford what they
provide the rest of the
world, including clothing, food, and domestic
help. “That is capitalism’s
meanest trick, to deprive
the people who produce
these things from having
access to these things.”
The lecture ended with
Shahvisi reiterating that
when we know what real
feminism is all about, we
will recognize the urgency at which these issues
have to be dealt with,
and further acknowledge
that feminism is a moral
imperative in our globalized world.
Chairperson
Talal Nizameddin
Editor-in-Chief
Talia Abbas
Managing Editor
Ellen Francis
Arabic Editor
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Proofreader
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News Editor
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Business Editor
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Opinions Editor
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Arts and Culture Editor
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Community Editor
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Lifestyle Editor
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Web Editor
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Photography Editor
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Staff Writers
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Noor Barrage
Rayan Al Arab
Rafika Ghrawi
Roni Rafeh
Serine Haidar Ahmad
Tala Ladki
Yara Beaini
Yusra Bitar
Ziad Lawen
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6
BUSINESS
The best Super Bowl
ads of 2015
Mohammad Al Chamaa
Staff Writer
The Super Bowl has become much more than the
Sunday that determines the best football team of the
year. This year saw the New England Patriots beat the
Seattle Seahawks 28 to 24. Though the outcome of the
game wouldn’t have changed a bit, the Super Bowl
wouldn’t be the same without the hilarious, sometimes
serious, advertisements played out in between breaks.
The ads range between 30 to 60 seconds depending
on how much you’re willing to spend. When it comes
to advertising the Super Bowl is beach front property, a
thirty second commercial will cost you 4.5 million dollars, that’s about 150,000 dollars per second, compare
that to the US$1,400 in 1967. For many top brands the
exorbitant price tag is worth it; this year’s Super Bowl
had more than 114 million viewers.
Though the outcome of the game
wouldn’t have changed a bit, the
Super Bowl wouldn’t be the same
without the hilarious, sometimes
serious, advertisements played out
in between breaks
Counting down at number five is “T- Mobile.” Chelsea Handler and Sarah Silverman are some of the best
known comedians out there, and apparently some of
the richest. Being rich doesn’t always solve problems,
but T- Mobile has a solution to their first world conundrum.
At number four we have Snickers featuring special
guests from “The Brady Bunch.” Even the Brady’s aren’t
themselves sometimes.
Number three goes to the Italian automotive company “Fiat,” and please don’t mistake this for a Viagra
ad, it’s not.
“Always” takes the second place; featuring a special
message, this ad goes out to anyone who’s ever underestimated a woman’s ability to do anything because of
her gender.
We put in a lot of thought into the number one slot,
and based it on a number of factors, one of which was
the amount of exposure this particular ad got. That
said, the number one Super Bowl ad of 2015 goes out
Katy Perry’s halftime show performance.
You might be thinking: “how is this an advertisement?” The answer is simple: The product being advertised is Perry’s music and her own personal brand.
Missy Eliott, who performed with the singer, also benefited from the event as her song “Get Your Freak On”
re-entered the Billboard hot 100 chart and the sales for
her songs went up by 1000 percent.
After the show, streams of Perry’s music rose by as
much as 139 percent on Spotify and even managed to
sell over a 100,000 songs on iTunes.
She also gained many new followers on her social media platforms making her the number one most followed person on Twitter.
Overall, the performance was the most watched half
time show in Super Bowl history.
To wrap it up, not only did multinational ads get exposure from the Super Bowl, but also other parties benefited from the hype. These include Katy Perry, Missy
Elliott, media companies, publications, the football
players themselves, and all other organizations who
took the advantage of the hype to promote themselves.
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
McDonald’s CEO is out as sales decline
Leen Bou Nasser Eddine
Staff Writer
While McDonald’s experiences one of its worst financial
years in decades, long time CEO Don Thompson recently
announced his resignation, which is set to be effective at
the end of February. Thompson will be replaced by Chief
Brand Officer Steve Easterbrook.
McDonald’s latest attempts to maintain its customer base
in a sea of rapidly changing consumer tastes and external
pressures (ranging from political and economic turmoil in
Europe, to food safety scares in China) has been fruitless.
Although McDonald’s offered no explanation for the
sudden retirement of the 51-year-old Don Thompson who has been with the company for nearly 25 years - many
speculated that it was caused by his failed attempt to retrieve the recent losses the company incurred, despite the
numerous revitalization efforts that were made.
“It’s tough to say goodbye to the McFamily, but there is
a time and season for everything,” he said in a statement.
In order to increase sales, it is imperative for the new
CEO to take into account the negative image that clouds
the food McDonalds offers, and find ways to reassure customers of the food safety and quality standards the company follows.
People have always wanted to eat tasty food, but recently
more and more people are demanding to eat food that is
well-prepared and nutritious. The most common perception that has been slowly taking a toll on the company is
that fast food, like the one offered by Mcdonald’s, can lead
to obesity, diabetes and other related illnesses. According
to Mr. Easterbrook, “McDonalds is trying to shake perceptions that fast-food is cheap, greasy and made with mysterious ingredients.”
The question racking our brains: Can he turn around the
company’s brand image and regain the customers Mcdonald’s has lost over the past years?
McDonald’s has experienced the most loss in market
share in the United State to competitors such as Five Guys
Burgers and Fries, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and other
smaller regional food outlets. All these restaurant chains
are seen as offering fresher and higher quality products.
Mike Andres, president of McDonald’s USA, said that
the company is looking at lessening the number of ingredients it uses and employing different cooking methods to
enhance the appeal of its food and regain the admiration
that once existed.
“Why do we need to have preservatives in our food?”
Andres asked. “We probably don’t.”
According to Christopher Rowane, an investor who
owns nearly one million shares in McDonalds, Easterbrook is the most logical and fitting choice for the job.
“They’re trying to really find their brand to be able to drive
sales growth, and I think that it’s very fitting that they’ve
selected the chief brand officer.”
Will the company ever reach new heights? Will Easterbrook be able to turn the tables in his favor? Only time
will tell.
?
NEWS
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FEBRUARY
OPINIONS 7
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
barakabits.com/
Graffiti means taking back our streets
Azza El Masri
Opinions Editor
News that the Beirut municipality had decided to
paint over graffiti around
the city went viral on social
media last week. Graffiti
artists such as Yazan Halwani, an AUB student internationally known for his
many installations which
infuse calligraphy, have
condemned such a decision. We must recognise
the fundamental motivation behind the municipality’s alleged decision: cowardice and fear.
Art is existence. Graffiti
art, on the other hand, is
resistance. It is meant to
threaten authority; to be
the direct voice of the
people. To erase beautiful
murals, such as Yazan​‘s,
painted around Beirut, is
a sign that those in p ower
are afraid of what you have
to say. That Yazan chooses
to portray icons like Khalil
Gebran, Fairuz, and e ven
Ali Abdallah is no arbitrary
decision.
The icons are strategic and
political. They’re our symbols; the revolutionaries
we need to lean on and to
remember.
Fairuz sang about a free
Palestine, while Gebran
warned against the tyranny
of tribal leaders and the fate
of Ali Abdallah brought to
light the culmination of all
the evils of our society. He
represents the neglected
members of our society
who have been shunned
by their government for
not being an asset it can
drain; left without a voice,
shelter, or someone to look
after them. Yazan’s chosen
symbols are a reminder to
the government that it has
failed us, and that it continues to do so every day.
Parliamentarians have
refused to elect a president
that does not meet their
economic or political interests.
In line with the frequently
enumerated failures of our
government, the Beirut
governor has found our
vision, portrayed by Lebanon’s graffiti artists like Yazan and Ashekman, threatening. Because of them,
“national security” is at
stake—not because sectarian groups continue to immerse Lebanon in another
civil war such as the case
of Jabal Mohsen and Bab
al-Tebbaneh, and certainly
not because stability hinges
upon a balance of opposing political and economic
interests.
And while Beirut governor Ziad Chebib admitted
live on air that painting
over March and Ashekman’s graffiti in Ashrafieh
under the pretext of it being too politicized was “a
mistake,” the groups’ move
to ask for a permit is an
even bigger one. Graffiti
means defying the system,
and if you are political in
your clandestine art, then
all the better.
Every art form is political,
and March and Ashekman’s
cooperation with the government means that graffiti
can no longer exist outside
the realm of what the government sees as “legal” and
“safe”.
Breaking away from graffiti’s tradition as a tool of dissent and having it appropriated by those in power
is ridiculous, and to be
honest, a little bit scary. If
graffiti is regulated, what’s
to stop the government
from regulating other traditional forms of dissent?
Will we need permits to
protest now like in Spain,
Turkey, and Egypt? A man
stands on trial for writing
the ugly truth on a banner
during a protest against
Parliament’s second extension of its term. Would he
have not been sued if the
government regulated the
voices on the street?
Taking back the street
means taking back your
voice, and not with the
consent of government. So
they’ll repaint over what
you have to say. So what?
Beirut is an open canvas,
the walls are your manifesto. Get your spray cans and
voice your demands. Paint
them in big, bold, splashy
colors. Make everyone
know what you want, what
you expect. And if they
feel threatened by what
you have to say, repaint
them once, twice, thrice. It
doesn’t matter—as long as
you take back the street.
government to acknowledge this need.
The problem is far from
only being related to the
“breaking of religious laws.”
Civil marriage is not
being properly accepted
because of the consequences it would have on the
Lebanese government and
the ruling religious system.
We live in a country that
eagerly merges politics
with religion.
Political leaders remain
dependent on the council
of religious figures, and
religion is in control of all
matters – especially our
personal status laws.
The inheritance distribution is managed by re-
ligious authorities, and so
are marriage and divorce.
That said, if civil marriage were to be legalized
in Lebanon, wouldn’t that
economically affect religious forces?
And since both are interdependent, it would hit
politicians’ influence as
well.
And if civil marriage were
to be legalized in Lebanon,
religious institutions would
lose the power they have
had for years.
Lebanese would no
longer be forced to be recognized by their sects and
religions, rather, they will
be recognized as equal
citizens in front of the law.
And that is what they perhaps fear the most, since
this will come with a heavy
price to these authorities.
Getting married, divorced,
and processing inheritance… it costs money.
So what happens when
you take away that direct
income from those religious authorities? They
lose, but the government
makes money, and that
means we win.
At the end of the day, we
must realize that this remains a battle worth fighting for, and we will not be
able to progress if our most
fundamental right, the
freedom to choose, is not
given to us.
Let’s get serious about civil marriage
Chermine Sleiman Haidar
Contributing Writer
For many years, Lebanese
couples have been traveling to nearby countries to
consciously marry in environments that do without
religion and sectarianism,
desperately looking for a
way to seal their union as
man and wife while maintaining their equal rights in
the process.
Even though Interior and
Municipalities
Minister
Nouhad al-Machnouk had
first announced his support to the issue, the cabinet continues to postpone
the negotiation in order
to focus on more “serious”
matters.
However, the minister’s
“support” needs to be put
to question after going on
to claim that Cyprus is not
“too far” and that couples
should just marry there to
spare themselves the trouble here.
Guess the minister has it all
figured out.
Running away from the
subject should have us
more adamant than ever to
demand the legalization of
civil marriage in Lebanon.
It has become a major issue to which we must find
a solution.
How is it fair that two individuals abiding to different religions need to fly to
Cyprus, or Turkey, or any
other Western country in
order to celebrate their love
and union?
To be clear, couples do
not necessarily seek civil
marriage because they
come from different religions and cannot get married religiously.
Some are just looking for
a way to preserve their individual rights since a civil
union guarantees much
more equality between
partners in terms of personal status.
And, of course, we are all
wondering why the cabinet
keeps delaying the discussion, and why it is so complicated for the Lebanese
8
OPINIONS
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
Fifty Shades of WTF, General Security
Mariam Daboussi
Contributing Writer
While some critics in the
West have reproached the
lack of sex in E.L. James’
“Fifty Shades of Grey”
adaptation, the Lebanese
General Security (GS) has
its own opinion about the
awful S&M film based
on “Twilight”-fanfictionturned-mommy porn.
With electricity and
water shortages, continuing hostage crises on the
borders, and ISIS running
amuck on the outskirts
of Lebanon, the Lebanese
public can rest assured
knowing that GS has its
priorities straight and is focusing on significant matters like “Fifty Shades of
Grey.”
Instead of busying themselves with the political
instability in the country,
authorities have been fixated on the premiere and
avant-premiere of “Fifty
Shades of Grey” and deciding whether to censor or
ban the movie.
The distributor claimed
that cutting scenes would
butcher and ruin the entire
point behind the movie, so
GS decided to raise the age
limit from 18 to 21, nine
years higher than the age
limit in France.
For the past week, calls
have been made to all movie theatres, among them
the movie theatres in Beirut Souks and ABC, emphasizing the implementation of the new age limit
by checking all IDs before
letting viewers in to watch
the movie. This action outraged a significant portion
of the public because some
had pre-purchased tickets online, as anticipation
for the movie grew among
Lebanese pre-teens and
teens for months.
For a country with violence prevalent on its
movie screens, sex and
nudity scenes are considered among the highest of
taboos and offenses to the
sanctity of GS, but that
isn’t the only criticism that
should be made regarding
the actions of the authoritative body this past week.
Even though one of its
main functions is media
censorship, its primary
purpose is to implement,
supervise, and prepare se-
curity measures that ensure
national security and public order throughout Lebanese territory.
Lebanon isn’t currently
at its peak of stability and
the spillover from the conflict in Syria poses an increasingly dangerous threat
to Lebanon’s security, with
clashes unraveling in various areas of Northern and
Southern Lebanon.
We’ve had no president
for approximately nine
months now which is only
making room for volatility
in the cou ntry.
General Security
shouldn’t be prioritizing
topics as banal as sex and
nudity over the various security measures that must
be taken.
Jason Lemon
Staff Writer
As the bearer of a passport from the United
States and as someone
who was born and raised
in the “land of the free,” I
am utterly disgusted and
anguished by last week’s
senseless murder of three
peers in Chapel Hill, North
Carolina. It is truly difficult
to understand how my experience growing up in a
small diverse community
could exist in the same nation where a white gunloving-male could so easily
execute three individuals
who, from all the tributes
I have read, seem to represent some of the best of
humanity.
For a nation that preaches freedom and equality
for all, I still wonder how
much evil and hatred exists
within it.
Of course we can digress
into critiquing the United
States of America from its
earliest days back in the
late 18th century with a
plethora of attacks, unceasing and likely increasing
unto the present moment.
To start closer to the pres-
ent moment, we can talk
about the recent senseless
killings of blacks at the
hands of authorities in Ferguson; we can talk about
the blatantly racist policies
against immigrants, and of
course we can talk about
the inaccurate and xenophobic portrayal of Muslims and Arabs from the
highest levels of politicians
and media.
There are so many problems with my homeland
that it often seems easier
to throw up my hands and
run away than to actually
face them head on.
But what I want to talk
about right now is actually
very similar to what I said
in the wake of the Charlie
Hebdo attacks. Of course,
I expressed disgust at the
terrorist act but I also critiqued the #JeSuisCharlie
campaign, as it serves more
to divide and also works to
accept hate speech.
You see, it is very easy for
me to hate Craig Stephen
Hicks, just as it has been
very easy for me to hate the
individuals who have killed
Eric Garner and Michael
Brown.
It is very easy for me to
telegraph.co.uk
On the Chapel Hill shootings: blame the system
Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife Yusor Mohammad and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha.
sit back and criticize these
individuals, but I want
to suggest that we not go
down that road.
Instead of wasting our energies on hatred of individuals, let us direct our energies fully towards a system
that fosters the existence of
citizens who are capable of
committing such barbaric
atrocities. Let us criticize
a society that forgets its diverse roots and history of
immigration, and allows
for Muslims and Arabs to
somehow become “other,”
when what the meaning of
“American” should never
be related to religion or
ethnicity. Let us criticize a
society that not only produces but also praises racist films like “American
Sniper,” which promote
the killing of Muslims
and Arabs. Let us criticize
the media, as many of us
have, for not giving this
story the salience it is due
and for disgustingly giving
credence to the suggestion
that a parking dispute can
somehow explain three homicides.
But let us please not en-
courage the divisive speech
that the less enlightened
wish to create. This is only
a war if we allow it to become one. As members of
humanity let us criticize,
yes, please let us criticize.
But let us remember that
humanity is one, regardless
of those who may violently
oppose such an uniting
ideology.
LIFESTYLE
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
Linda Bou Ali
Community Editor
Ziad Abi Chaker is a professional entrepreneur who works
in the field environmental enhancement and aims at empowering the use of eco-friendly
technologies. His latest endeavour is titled Cedar Environmental, a waste management and
recycling project.
Cedar Environmental is an environmental and industrial engineering organization, whose
main goal is to construct a recycling plant for solid waste on the
communal level, in an attempt
to go against the current tide of
having one facility as a central
dump in the country. It does
this in the hopes of achieving
a 100 percent environmentally
sustainable treatment of municipal solid waste.
Along with this aspiration
comes the burden of not knowing where to construct the facility, as most communities will
not accept living near a recycling plant that emanates odors
and gases.
These challenges, however,
are being resolved by Cedar
Environmental. According to
Ziad Abi Chaker in a recent interview with the Beirut Green
Project, new methods are being
researched in order to eliminate the gas and odor release
that would be produced by this
plant. They are in the process of
finding a way to leave no trace
of unrecycled waste. The waste
that would remain would then
be transported to a landfill, an
uncommon form of waste disposal in Lebanon.
The recycling would take
place through a process called
“dynamic composting,” an accelerated composting technique
which turns organic waste into
compost. The chemical reaction
behind dynamic composting
takes only three days to achieve,
compared to 90 days with other
composting techniques. The
composting takes place inside a
“rotary drum composter,” a steel
drum which can hold up to five
tons of municipal solid waste
daily. With the use of the drum,
material can be contained and
odors will be eliminated by being in the ideal environment for
an organic process of composting to occur.
On a side note, inorganic materials (plastics, aluminum, metals, textiles, rubber, etc…) will
be separated from the compost
after three days of composting.
In a nutshell, the plant aims to
recover a substantial amount of
materials thrown away by populations in communities across
Lebanon with the integration
of organic and environmentally
friendly techniques.
The Naameh landfill: an on-going
environmental threat
dailystar.com
New organization attempts
to eliminate waste from
Lebanese communities
9
Dana Kambris
Staff Writer
The Naameh landfill is in the
news yet again as its scheduled
closure date of January 2015 was
delayed until April 2015, with
the possibility of another threemonth extension if necessary.
The landfill was first put to work
in 1997 to deal with the country’s waste management problem. It was intended to bury the
waste generated from the Beirut
and Mount Lebanon regions for
six years only, ceasing operations in 2003.
It has now been running for
17 years, receiving 2,850 tons of
waste each day, five times its intended capacity.
An AUB student who prefered
to remain anonymous shared
with Outlook his experience of
living near the Naameh landfill.
“The smell is especially bad in
the summer, when the sun heats
the landfill,” the student lamented. “You can smell it up to seven
kilometers away.”
In an attempt to explain the
facts, the student continued,
“What happens is, we get big
trucks coming in everyday,
compressing the existing waste
and adding new waste over it.
But here’s the catch: the waste
comes in big white nylon bags,
and the bags go right in the
ground! Do you know how long
it takes for nylon to decompose?
Hundreds of years!”
Landfills are mainly meant for
waste storage purposes. In sanitary landfills, trash should be
isolated from groundwater, kept
dry (which is the reason behind the use of nylon bags) and
should not be in contact with
air. Under these conditions,
trash—with the exception of
organic trash—is subject to organic decomposition. After the
landfill is closed and well-covered, it can be used for low-rise
buildings that can be developed
with time, and when the soil
settles, for higher-rise buildings.
The ex-Normandy Landfill, now
known as the Beirut Waterfront,
is one example, serving now as
a sea-side corniche that is open
for citizens.
Following the many protests of
the Naameh residents, Interior
Minister Nuhad Al Machnouk,
along with the government,
proposed two solutions: setting
up landfills in other towns, with
$22 million in compensation, or
building incinerators. The two
propositions are not sustainable
solutions.
Incinerators would cause just
as much environmental damage
as the landfills if the fumes emitted are not treated properly. Setting up another landfill would
simply be an inconvenience to
another town, because even if
its maintenance lives up to international standards, the smell
and the bacteria it carries will
always linger. Environmentalists agree that the only viable
solution would be waste reduction, followed by segregation at
the source (i.e. at households)
and subsequent recycling. Nader Nakib, president of G, a
green building NGO, believes
that this process combined with
the incineration of the remnants
is the best solution for Lebanon’s
waste disposal problem.
Pro-Green: a professional diploma in green technologies
Yara Beani
Staff Writer
The Pro-Green Professional Degree in green technologies
was launched on January 8 as a result of the joint efforts of
the American University of Beirut (AUB), the American
University in Cairo (AUC), and the Lebanese American
University (LAU).
This program mainly pertains to the people already
working in the Engineering and Architecture fields. Cofinanced by an European Union Tempus grant and AUB’s
Munib, and Angela Masri Institute of Energy and Natural Resources, the program addresses the pressing need
of expertise in green and sustainable technologies in
the Arab World and the Middle East and North Africa
(MENA) region.
The Pro-Green program consists of 55 courses, which
are equivalent to 87 credits, with three possible concentrations: Sustainable energy, sustainable building and water
conservation. The program is offered online, and includes
some face-to-face laboratory electives offered in intensive
modes. The courses are jointly offered by AUB, AUC and
LAU, each in its respective area of expertise, without a duplication of courses since the curriculum is based on an
online platform.
Pro-Green is an “adult education” program, as described
by Dr. Nesreen Ghaddar, the project’s director, Mechanical Engineering professor and Associate Provost and at
AUB.
“We’re targeting graduate students and professional
people who want to gain or advance certain skills to apply them in different domains. The program is also very
practical for people who are working for they do not have
to commute to campus but still can learn online; which
makes the program’s outreach and impact higher,” adds
Dr. Ghaddar.
The preparations for the program started two years ago,
on January 8 and 9 2013. “The preparation of Pro-Green
required a lot of coordination among AUB’s different departments and offices, mainly the IT and the office of the
Registrar,” notes Dr. Ghaddar.
Pro-Green was offered this spring for the first time with
80 people applying, 35 accepted and 30 registering from
Lebanon, Egypt, KSA, UAE and even Spain. Currently,
the offered courses concentrates on solar energy, biofuels,
water treatment and green buildings.
So far, the feedback from students is positive and enthusiastic, “they are happy they do not have to come to
campus in order to learn,” says Dr. Ghaddar.
When asked about future plans, Pro-Green’s director stated that they are “still monitoring the program. We want to
make sure that students have benefited and then gradually
improve the program.”
This initiative launched by AUB, AUC and LAU is undoubtedly necessary and useful given the world’s rapid
haste towards green energies; and Pro-Green is handling
it in a professional and useful way.
10
COMMUNITY
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
Zari Haidar Marin: winning in the social lane
Ali Kobeissi
Staff Writer
Having an Instagram account is one of the virtues, and
perhaps vices, of the modern world. Whether used to blog
about your interests or talents, share your daily experiences, or stalk your favorite celebrities, Instagram is a genuine
source of inspiration for all users.
Instagram’s personal account regularly shares popular
profiles, creating tons of hashtags accessible by entire the
community. Zarifi Haidar Marin, better known as Zari, is
one of few lucky artists whose account got shared with Instagram’s 52.2 million followers. Within just two weeks approximately 115,000 followers have joined Zari’s passion
for art. Currently, she shares her artwork with 122,000 followers all around the world.
Zari, is an architect, urban designer and self-taught illustrator based in Lebanon. Zari created her Instagram account as a means of exploring her creativity; sharing her
doodles made on napkins, tray mats and cup holders in
passing moments.
Zari describes herself as “an amnesic alien who loves to
doodle and take pictures.” She studied architecture hoping
that her profession would allow her to be creative and, at
the same time, earn a decent living. But as soon as set foot
in what parents and college professors call “the real world,”
she realized that it was not all roses and sunshine.
“In our context, architecture is not an art but a system
of technical tools that serves a materialistic real estate sector... a truth I found really frustrating,” she says. She resolved to draw random subjects during her free time and
later, she started posting her drawings on a blog she set up.
Over time, her work caught the attention of publishers,
who commissioned her to illustrate two wonderful children stories for a well-known local publishing house.
When asked about the quality of her work, Zari claims
that she’s simply a creative individual. “I love arts and
every discipline that involves creativity,” she tells Outlook.
Zari is currently finalizing her Urban Design thesis at the
American University of Beirut while working in a small
architectural consultancy.
Instagram didn’t only repost Zari throughout their account; they listed her as a recommended user as well,
which feels great for her. One must wonder how this
whole act affected the artist herself. “It is starting to open
opportunities for me as a Lebanese artist. And it makes
me feel proud that, through very simple creative work, I
participated on shedding some light on my country,” Zari
admits to Outlook.
Undoubtedly, with more followers comes more responsibility and dedication to the profile, but Zari believes that
she’s been dedicated to her account independently of the
number of followers; “now the responsibility is bigger.”
When it comes to answering all the numerous questions,
Zari finds it difficult to respond to everyone’s comments,
but she’s trying her best to do so whenever the time per-
mits.
While most people join Instagram to get noticed, Zari
didn’t. She started using the social networking app as a
practical and quick outlet for her creativity, as a way to
escape disturbing things happening around her. It connected her to wonderful people, to a wealth of inspiration;
suddenly, she found herself exploring new places and
looking for interesting details and beauty everywhere, all
the time. This “beauty” can be seen in her doodles and
drawings, but also in her authentic photographs of the
Beirut.
Zari’s first name (Zarifi), if actually translated to Arabic,
means ‘humorous,’ which is clearly reflected through her
positive energy and personality. “I was a sad and gray person who, thanks to doodling, was able to see everything in
colors.” Zari says it helps to create something funny out of
things in life pulling her down. “Today, I don’t only try to
find the bright side of things, but I invent it if I can’t find
it. And I encourage others to do the same.”
If Zarifi where to give out one last advice to rising doodlers today, that would be to “keep doodling and doing
what you like…be authentic!”
You can find her on Instagram @justZHM.
The most underrated majors at AUB
Camille Mroue
Staff Writer
Unsatisfied with your boring major? Majorless? Annoyed with a society that keeps giving an unfair spotlight
to some programs while diminishing other programs’ values? Take a look at the following list of majors and see if,
perhaps, you have been misguided.
All of the following programs are offered at AUB and
produce hordes of graduates who enter the labor market
each year. What those graduates have that most other majors do not is a relative absence of competition in the job
market. Since so few students pursue these fields, the difficulty of finding a position on the job market is supposedly reduced. Contrary to what your high school guidance counselor told you, these are definitely not jobless
easy degrees filled with people who could not do well in
other fields; they are majors worth just as much as others
that, due to our local mentality, are much more popular.
Public Administration: PA focuses on the more practical aspects of government and tries to understand how a
government should function at the “micro” level. In other
words, PA focuses mostly on public management, how to
correctly manage public institutions and the function of
public policy. Think of it as business administration without the accounting and the finance. PA graduates go on
to work both in the private and public sector and many
specialize in human resources management.
Statistics: Knowing how to work with advanced charts,
diagrams, and surveys is something that can land you a
job in organizations ranging from private businesses and
banks to NGOs, to name a few; risk management is prob-
ably the field that recruits the most statistics majors. Despite how practical this major is, it is strangely unpopular.
For maximum efficiency, complement this major with a
minor relevant to your potential future field. For example,
if you wish to work in banking, minor in economics or
business.
Pure Mathematics and Applied Mathematics: Being
able to juggle numbers is something that will lead you to
virtually any field that has any form of heavy reliance on
quantitative data. If you thought Math 201 was a piece of
cake and if you have a passion for the inner workings of
the world of mathematics, then you have found love with
a math degree. By the way, a BS in mathematics is also an
excellent pre-med major.
Philosophy: The common cliché is that philosophy graduates are either unemployed slackers or PhD candidates
struggling to keep their field relevant. In reality, philosophy majors usually enter a huge variety of fields, in the
private and public sector, where the extensive human
knowledge they have acquired comes in handy. I should
add that a philosophy degree gives an extremely valuable
skill: critical thinking, something that can give anyone a
serious edge.
English and English Literature: English majors rarely get
the respect they deserve. They are faced with a very tough
major that teaches them something that few people can
correctly do: write. Knowing how to be a good writer is
an absolute advantage in just about any field you desire
to enter. You should also consider that you will probably
never get bored during your courses and that your mind
will most likely always be blown.
Sociology/Anthropology: Not only are these subjects
mind-expanding, but they also tend to be much more
practical than they appear. The skills and knowledge you
will acquire with a BA in sociology or anthropology will
be of great use if you decide to orient yourself towards
any field that is impacted by human interactions, such as
human resource management, public relations, conflict
resolution, or even human rights and transitional justice.
Geology: Rocks are much more complex than they
look. Studying them is also much more interesting than
it sounds. An extremely engrossing major, geology can
open the door to a diversified career. There is obviously
research involved (this will probably require a terminal
degree however) but there is also “on terrain” analysis; in
other words, direct scientific analysis of the quality of the
land. With our present and even future reliance on fossil
energies, geology graduates will have little trouble being
employed in the future.
Studio Arts: Art school always gets a bad rap and its students are often ridiculed. Unfair, considering how complicated and interesting fine arts degrees are. The program
can also pave the way to media production, stage production, filmmaking, and museum management. Hence, it
relies heavily on your creativity while giving you skills
necessary to succeed in an unjustly under-respected domain.
Just remember: This is your major, your education and
your life. Choose something you like, enjoy it, and build
your own career around it.
Otherwise, you might find yourself regretting it when it’s
too late.
ARTS & CULTURE
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
11
Outlook predicts the 87th annual Academy Award winners
Vicken Margossian
Arts & Culture Editor
With the Oscars just a week away, movie buffs are
making sure they’ve watched all the nominated movies,
placing their bets on their favourites to win the coveted
statues.
That said, we at Outlook have our very own predictions
as to which movies and which stars will walk away with
a golden statue and which ones won’t. Following are
Outlook’s picks in select categories for this year’s Academy
Awards:
Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominees: Jason Hall for “American Sniper,” Paul
Thomas Anderson for “Inherent Vice,” Damien Chazelle
for “Whiplash,” Anthony McCarten for “The Theory
of Everything,” and Graham Moore for “The Imitation
Game.”
“Inherent Vice” and “American Sniper” won’t stand much
of a chance against their competitors, who managed to
convey their stories in a more engaging manner.
And while “The Theory of Everything” told a beautiful
story, the race is ultimately between “The Imitation Game”
and “Whiplash,” with the former a favourite to win. That
said, “Whiplash’s” clever script could prove Oscar worthy.
It’s anyone’s game.
Best Original Screenplay
Nominees: Wes Anderson for “The Grand Budapest
Hotel,” Dan Futterman, E. Max Frye for “Foxcatcher,”
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone,
Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo for “Birdman,”
Richard Linklater for “Boyhood,” and Dan Gilroy for
“Nightcrawler.”
Early on, “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” with its witty
dialogue was a favourite to win, but as the year came to
an end, its chances dwindled with hits like “Nightcrawler”
and “Birdman” creeping into the race. “Foxcatcher” and
“Boyhood” presented audiences with chilling and heartwarming script, but are nowhere near claiming victor
come Oscar night.
Outlook anticipates that it’ll be “Birdman’s” monologues
to take home the gold statute, with “The Grand Budapest
Hotel” a very close second.
Best Animated Feature Film
Nominees: “Big Hero 6,” “The Boxtrolls,” “How To Train
Your Dragon 2,” “Song of the Sea,” and “The Tale of the
Prince Kaguya.”
This category saw quite a shake-up when “The Lego
Movie” was snubbed on the 15th of last month, paving
with way for frontrunners “How To Train Your Dragon
2” and “Big Hero 6” to hash it out. With a Golden Globe
win to support it, Outlook anticipates that it’ll be “How
To Train Your Dragon 2,” with its beautiful artwork,
fascinating visuals, and fun story, to take home a golden
statue.
Emma Stone’s nomination came as a pleasant surprise,
while the rest of us saw Meryl Streep’s nomination a
mile away, because let’s face it, the woman is a force to
be reckoned with. Keira Knightley’s nomination was
well-deserved for her work in “The Imitation Game;” and
Laura Dern’s nomination happened because it feels like
there were no other notable female performances this year
(not that she wasn’t any good). That is, perhaps, because
Patricia Arquette’s -12year performance as a loving and
strong mother in “Boyhood” has been sweeping up award
after award, and will probably earn her an Academy
Award as well.
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Best Director
Nominees: Eddie Redmayne for “The Theory of
Everything,” Steve Carell for “Foxcatcher,” Benedict
Cumberbatch for “The Imitation Game,” Bradley Cooper
for “American Sniper,” and Michael Keaton for “Birdman.”
Nominees: Morton Tyldum for “The Imitation Game,”
Wes Anderson for “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Alejandro
González Iñárritu for “Birdman,” Bennett Miller for
“Foxcatcher,” Richard Linklater for “Boyhood.”
What’s interesting about this year’s nominations in all
categories is that the winner comes down to two hopefuls,
with each having as much a chance to win as the other.
All five delivered the performances of their careers, but
it’s been Redmayne and Keaton (although Cumberbatch
was arguably better than Keaton) who stole critics’ hearts.
We believe Redmayne’s masterful portrayal of Stephen
Hawking will win the British actor his first ever Oscar.
Do we lean towards Tyldum’s gut-wrenching story-telling
in “The Imitation Game,” Anderson’s stylistic masterpiece
in “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Birdman,” Iñárritu’s
tactful and inspired industry gem, Miller’s haunting
“Foxcatcher,” or Linklater’s coming-of-age sage that’s been
over a decade in the making?
Truth be told, it’s about time Wes Anderson was recognized
for his pioneering work, but Richard Linklater’s winning
streak in the awards circuit would suggest otherwise.
Outlook believes that the effort it must have taken to
direct the cast and crew of “Boyhood” for 12 years will
ultimately crown him victor in the Best Director race.
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees: Marion Cotillard for “Two Days, One Night,”
Felicity Jones for “The Theory of Everything,” Julianne
Moore for “Still Alice,” Rosamund Pike for “Gone Girl,”
and Reese Witherspoon for “Wild.”
If ever there was a predictable category, it’s this one. All
five women delivered admirable performances, but it
Julianne Moore’s heart-breaking role as an amnesiac in
“Still Alice” that has won her every award out there this
year. Her winning streak will most likely lead her all the
way to an acceptance speech at the Oscars, with Felicity
Jones a deserving second for her display of fortitude,
strength, and raw humanity as Jane Hawking in “The
Theory of Everything.”
Cinematography
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominees: Emmanuel Lubezki for “Birdman,” Robert
Yeoman for “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Lukasz Zal
and Ryszkard Lenczewski for “Ida,” Dick Pope for “Mr.
Turner,” and Roger Deakins for “Unbroken.”
Nominees: Robert Duvall for “The Judge,” Ethan Hawke for
“Boyhood,” Edward Norton for “Birdman,” J.K. Simmons
for “Whiplash,” and Mark Ruffalo for “Foxcatcher.”
All the nominees presented viewers with a beautiful visual
experience, but it all comes down to “The Grand Budapest
Hotel’s” stylistic frames and “Birdman’s” inspired illusion
of one long take. Odds are, “Birdman,” with its intimate
camerawork and impressive cinematography that
provides an authentic experience, will win the trophy for
Best Cinematography.
Patricia Arquette for “Boyhood,” Laura Dern for “Wild,”
Meryl Streep for “Into The Woods,” and Emma Stone for
“Birdman.”
The nominees all did fine jobs with their roles, especially
Norton in “Birdman,” but it is without a doubt that
J.K. Simmons, who played a ruthless jazz instructor in
“Whiplash,” will walk away with the inimitable Oscar.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominees: Keira Knightley for “The Imitation Game,”
Best Picture
Nominees: “Selma,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,”
“Whiplash,” “Boyhood,” “American Sniper,” “Birdman,”
“The Imitation Game,” and “The Theory of Everything.”
The race between these eight films is a good one, albeit
not the best the Academy has seen, given the nomination
of undeserving films (hint: it starts with “American” and
is most definitely not stellar) and the snub of others. And
while it’s easier to cast out “Selma,” “American Sniper,”
“The Imitation Game,” “The Theory of Everything” and
“Whiplash,” the coveted statue will belong to one of
the remaining three. At this point, many would favor
“Birdman” or “Boyhood,” but if it were up to us, Outlook
would most probably predict “Boyhood” the ultimate
undeserving winner over its fellow contenders.
The 87th Annual Academy Awards will mark the end of
the major award season of 2015.
And while this Outlooker is hopeful that the Ceremony
will bear lots of surprises and quite a few predictable
results, all we can do is wait to see what happens come
Oscar night. The 87th Annual Academy Awards will air
on Sunday, 22 February in the US, and past midnight on
the 23rd if you’re tuning in from Lebanon. Read all about
it in next week’s issue.
12
ARTS & CULTURE
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
MOVIE REVIEW
‘The Theory of Everything’ portrays raw human resilience
Adapted from the memoire “Travelling to Infinity: My
Life with Stephen” by Jane Wilde Hawking, “The Theory
of Everything” is a moving, thematically rich portrayal of
the relationship between renowned cosmologist and theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking and his wife of 30 years,
Jane.
Just two minutes into the movie, an awkward Stephen
Hawking pursuing a PhD in Physics at Cambridge, meets
perky, religious Jane, who is studying medieval Spanish
literature. They instantly get on, like any typical romantic
movie, eventually becoming a couple. However, Stephen’s
diagnosis with motor neuron disease at 21 leaves him with
a life expectancy of one or two years. “The Theory of Everything” depicts the struggle of two individuals and their
love for each other against a harrowing, life-changing disease.
The movie is an overview of an intimate relationship and
a perspective that is often neglected. With more emphasis
on Hawking’s ground-breaking achievements in the scientific world, there is little or perhaps no prominence to his
life as a student, patient, husband, or father: roles that are
highlighted in the movie.
The progression of Hawking’s disease is traced, with one
particular heart-wrenching scene where he struggles to
crawl up the stairs while his child watches from the top.
The film depicts Jane’s struggle as she tries to accommodate the needs of her husband and children while also attempting to focus on her life and studies.
One of the most common critiques of the movie was
that it did not include much of Hawking’s life as a scien-
tist nor did it mention any of his scientific achievements.
Some were even offended that one of the greatest scientists
of our time was used as the content of a romantic drama
movie.
These accusations are quite unnecessary because the
movie’s purpose was never to introduce the concepts of
black holes, singularities, boundaries and the big bang
that Hawking is most known for. There are many scientific
shows that already have that covered. Instead, the movie’s
main goal was to give insight into the world of Stephen
Hawking through the eyes of his wife, who witnessed his
life up-close.
Perhaps the most poignant aspect is the astonishing
performances delivered by the leads, Eddie Redmayne as
Stephen and Felicity Jones as Jane. The movie wouldn’t
have had much of an impact without the vivid delivery
of Redmayne, whose resemblance to Hawking is uncanny,
and Jones who effortlessly conveyed the endurance and
patience of a very human Jane.
Their performance was so moving that Hawking himself was overcome with emotion the first time he watched
the movie, and a nurse wiped his tears. He called the film
“broadly true” and volunteered to play the machine voice
used in the movie, which gave it a more authentic and true
portrayal.
As expected, the movie received many nominations including Best Picture, Adapted Play, Leading Actor and Actress, and Soundtrack (which was hauntingly beautiful).
Redmayne already won the category of Best Actor at the
Bafta Awards and Golden Globe Awards, and it wouldn’t
be surprising if he also won the Oscar. In short, if ever
there was a biopic to watch, it would be this admirable feat
by director James Marsh.
imdb.com
Malak El Sabeh
Staff Writer
MOVIE REVIEW
‘Yalla 3a2belkon’ reaffirms lost hope in Lebanese cinema
With the Oscars just one week away, many movie fans have
been rushing to theaters to watch the nominees, most of
which were released late last year and overshadowed any
local releases that might be worth remembering.
With the latest Lebanese release “Vitamin” having been
a let-down, fans of local cinema were hoping for a pleasant surprise with its following endeavor, “Yalla 3a2belkon”
(also known as “Single, Married, Divorced”). Alas, the
film has opened to a lot of negative feedback.
Directed by Elie Khalife and starring well-known actresses Nada Abou Farhat and Darin Hamze, the movie
pictures the life of four successful Lebanese women in
their late 30s—Taleen, Zina, Layan, and Yasmina—who
meet up once a week to discuss their struggles and unsuccessful stints in romance. One of the ladies is subject to
many one-night-stands, while the other is in a relationship with a married man. The third is in love with a liar,
and the fourth is under pressure by her parents to get
married as soon as possible.
It should be said at the outset that “Yalla 3a2belkon”
is rather like a cheap imitation of the critically acclaimed
movie “Caramel” by renowned actress and director Nadine Labaki. “Caramel” also explores the story of a group
of girls who meet up to discuss their relationships.
Despite that, the film manages to be fairly entertaining.
Most of the scenes are paced and executed quite well. The
film manages to convey an existing problem in our society
through four very likable characters. The actresses, especially Abou Farhat, also deliver endearing performances.
beiruting.com
Carole Hassan
Contributing Writer
However, the entire plot is often expressed with sexual
scenes and vulgar language. The ending of the movie is a
huge plot twist—an unwelcome one. The movie cops with
a happy fairytale ending for all: Everyone gets married.
Advertisements across Lebanon have been encouraging people to watch the movie, claiming that it reflects
the real and true side of the society we live in. Most of us
who know better know that this is an exaggeration. The
film might reflect the experiences of a part of the Lebanese population, but it cannot by any means speak for the
majority of unmarried women who might be in healthy
relationships or not even interested in fishing for love sto-
ries. As well, the movie bears neither a moral message nor
a meaningful ending.
The new generation of Lebanese filmmakers holds many
talents that deserve to be better explored and much more
respected. The Lebanese film industry is neglecting to
provide them with this opportunity, failing to recognize
the acting capacities of some of our brightest stars.
“Yalla 3a2belkon” is just another example of Lebanese
filmmakers conforming to the norm of selling sex appeal.
Is it entertaining? More or less. Watching it once with
friends over might be fun, but in hindsight, it is yet another unoriginal flick, one not worth remembering.
ARTS & CULTURE
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
13
BAND REVIEW
Could Loopstache be the next big thing?
Fans of local music tend to hang on to the few bands they
k now and wait for the next big thing to come to them.
We see the same few bands at different Lebanese musical
events, and that makes it harder for newer, undiscovered
gems to surface. Among the most underrated of these local bands is Loopstache.
Formed by Carl Ferneiné and Salim Naffah, Loopstache
is an electro, indie band with a funky, original sound that
is almost impossible to resist dancing to. The band is multi-instrumental, with elements ranging from the trumpet,
to Arabian tunes such as the Goblet drum, to beatboxing.
They’ve even used a staple gun in one of their videos as an
additional beat.
The Loopstache boys aren’t afraid to experiment and
that’s what makes them so fun and fresh. Don’t worry
though; they do have the conventional mix of instruments: Naffah plays the guitar and bass, while Ferneiné
plays the keyboard, synthesizer, and everything that has to
do with electronics.
Unlike many other bands, Loopstache doesn’t have one
lead vocalist. “We both sing. It depends on which one of
us is more comfortable with the song,” they said in an exclusive interview with Outlook. “When one of us takes the
lead the other backs him up.”
The two band members are influenced by a wide range
of musicians including The Beatles, Ray Charles, The Rolling Stones, Chromeo, and Jack White. “As long as it’s good
music, it can inspire us,” they added.
Loopstache has performed in several venues around the
country, such as Music Hall and Fete De La Musique in
lorientlejour.com
I​ mad El Hassan
Contributing Writer
Downtown Beirut, in addition to crossing over borders to
play in Amman, Jordan. With only one album out, they
mainly perform their seven-song record. Fret not, however, because the band has more material to come. “We
did start with YouTube covers but our album is 100 percent Loopstache product; so is our next one which we’re
currently working on.”
Their performance of their hit, “Bitch Please”, in Music
Hall was incredible. The energy they gave off throughout
their concert was fantastic and lively; I personally grabbed
my beer and started dancing even though it was just the
video!
The song that really stood out for me was “Natural
Blues.” It begins with a beautiful soft harmony and then
slowly builds up into a very groovy, energetic tune. I particularly loved the surreal solo of the guitar and the Middle Eastern Oud.
“Our main topics are really about daily-life situations in
our little city. In this kind of town, everything can inspire
you.” Loopstache is a small band rising slowly, and their
music is hopefully set to see more success. In their words,
“if you love what you do, you can’t ask for better.” And
it’s pretty obvious that these guys are head-over-heels for
music.
SERIES REVIEW
Shonda Rhimes does it again: ‘How to Get Away with Murder’
“How to Get Away with Murder,” ABC’s latest suspensefilled drama-thriller has yet to fail its audience. In fact, its
ratings topped those of its rival shows at CBS (“Elementary”) and at NBC (“Parenthood”), both of which share
the same time slot.
Teaching a course titled Criminal Law 100 or, as she likes
to call it, “How to Get Away with Murder,” the mysterious Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) presents the class with
different cases for them to solve. She then chooses five
students to work for her. Keating makes sure her law students understand that she is anything but a sweetheart. As
a matter of fact, upon watching the pilot, it’s quite easy to
decipher the main characters’ personality traits, save for
Annalise. She’s as hard as stone, but she has her moments
Wes (Alfred Enoch), Connor (Jack Falahee), Rebecca
(Katie Findlay), Michaela (Aja Naomi King), Asher (Matt
Mcgory) and Laurel (Carla Souza) are the six students
who end up working for her. While Annalise had originally chosen five students, Wes catches her in an awkward
situation with Detective Lahey (Billy Brown), making her
feel compelled to have him on board.
The interesting and intricate cases as well as the chemistry between the characters make for an addictive show.
The witty dialogue and thought-provoking monologues
will keep you glued to the screen during each episode’s
40-minute run, especially because the plot gets so complex and exciting that giving up on the show ceases to be
an option.
The cast was very well chosen. Aja Naomi, for instance,
imdb.com
Tala Ladki
Staff Writer
does a nice job of portraying an ambitious goody-twoshoes student.
The Oscar-nominated Viola Davis lends her talent to
the role in one of her best performances. She manages to
showcase the panache and fortitude of Analisse all while
maintaining her vulnerability and resilience. Davis’ performance has won her a number of awards including a
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a TV Series—
Drama, and the show’s first Screen Actors Guild (SAG)
award. Along with Uzo Aduba (Suzan “Crazy Eyes” from
“Orange is the New Black”), the two women were the first
ever African American women to win the award for best
actress, with Aduba nabbing the same award for Comedy.
As for Matt, the role of a snobby rich kid is nothing out
of the ordinary in terms of acting.
Carla doesn’t live up to her character Laurel as much as
one would hope. Laurel is supposed to be the tough one,
but at times, her relationship with Frank (Charlie Web-
ber) makes her seem otherwise.
Producer Shonda Rhimes continues to amaze us. With
major hits like “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal” and “Private
Practice,” Rhimes has set the bar high for herself.
But with an exhilarating story, the help of Peter Nowalk
and a wonderful cast, “How to Get Away with Murder”
has managed to become a must-see.
Last week, after a long awaited return, ABC released
the first season’s tenth episode, and I must say, when the
episode ended, I was devastated that I had to wait another
week for the next episode.
With rumors claiming that season one will end this February, some fans are wondering about the second season.
Viola tweeted about the possibility of a second season, but
ABC has yet to confirm or deny.
That said, there is no doubt in my mind that we have not
yet seen the last of “How to Get Away with Murder.”
14
ARTS & CULTURE
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
MOVIE REVIEW
Benedict Cumberbatch captivates in ‘The Imitation Game’
The highest-grossing independent film released in 2014,
“The Imitation Game,” is a historical drama that showcases the life of the legendary cryptanalyst Alan Turing,
whose story was made public only recently.
The movie has received critical and commercial success,
garnering over 100 nominations and winning 41 awards
so far. “The Imitation Game” is also one of the most nominated movies in this year’s Oscars, with a staggering eight
nominations for Best Picture, Actor, Supporting Actress,
Adapted Screenplay, Director, Film Editing, Original
Song, and Production Design.
Alan Turing, impeccably played by Benedict Cumberbatch, was a mathematics professor when he was hired to
decrypt Enigma—a machine used in the 20th century for
enciphering and deciphering secret messages. Perhaps like
Enigma itself, the movie unfolds in a convoluted manner,
with great emphasis on Turing being subject of ridicule as
a student and on his intimate relationship with one classmate, Christopher.
After months of failure at decrypting, Turing hires two
new insightful code-breakers, one of which is Joan Clarke,
played by Keira Knightley. The story continues with a
race-against-time scenario where the team tries as fast as
possible to break the code of the Nazi machine so they
could finally predict attacks and help England win the war.
Despite its worldwide success and amazing reviews, recent articles claim that the movie is a dramatization and
not a documentary. With many facts and dates twisted,
the movie doesn’t seem to be an honest representation
of the real events. In the movie, for example, Turing was
portrayed as an unsocial, arrogant and autistic mathematician who didn’t understand basic humor, an exaggerated
character that can only be found in films. In reality, Turing was friendly and worked well with his co-workers.
Furthermore, in a dramatic scene, one of the co-workers
zenoagency.com
Malak Al Sabeh
Staff Writer
demands that the codebreakers help his brother, a soldier
on a ship that the Germans will attack, whereas in truth,
the co-worker didn’t even have a brother. Another fact the
movie changed is the name of Turing’s machine, which
was really called Victory.
The movie ends with the claim that Turing committed
suicide during his chemical treatment, although, it’s actually still unclear how he died. Perhaps the most criticized
act was that, in the movie, Turing tells a police officer
all about his story in World War II, an act of treason the
mathematician never committed.
What’s noticeably impressive about “The Imitation
Game” is its intriguing score. The music is emotional and
truly puts you in the mood of the film. In addition, the
cast delivers great performances, especially Cumberbatch,
who not only portrays Turing, but embodies him masterfully.
Undoubtedly, the ungrounded events aim to make the
movie more entertaining and far more dramatic in the
hopes of leaving viewers at the edge of their seats. No
movie lacks dramatization, and director Morten Tyldum
explains it best by saying, “We wanted the movie to be
emotional and passionate.
Our goal was to give you ‘What does Alan Turing feel
like? What does his story feel like? What’d it feel like to be
Alan Turing?
Can we create the experience of sort of Alan Turing-ness
for an audience based on his life?’” And indeed they did.
As you progress further in the song, you notice the raw
personal truth embedded within the lyrics, evident in lyrics such as, “and I get so lost in the thought of life, that
I start to forget living mine, I can feel its weight on my
chest, like I am drowning.”
After about two minutes of relatively calm melodies, flatsound speeds up the pace, and both his guitar-playing and
voice become somewhat more frantic, thus conveying an
even more intense degree of emotion.
flatsound’s music is undoubtedly some of the most emotionally intense music I’ve listened to, and even though
that may sound like a good thing, it does have its limita-
tions.
The problem with flatsound’s music is that you can only
come to a full appreciation of it if your mood varies somewhere between calm and distress. Another limitation is
that it is mostly effective if you find yourself in a romantically difficult situation. Welling’s songs tackle many emotional barriers, but listening to most of his albums, it’ll become evident that his music deals mainly with heartbreak.
To sum it up, listening to flatsound is like being let into
a friend’s most intimate thoughts and feelings. You come
out of it thinking, “He gets it. He gets what I thought
couldn’t be put into words.”
ARTIST REVIEW
For the 1 AM troubles
There are nights when you can’t sleep, when you’re not
up cramming information into your already panic-filled
mind, or binge-watching the latest series you’ve been obsessing over. When, for some unknown reason, both your
mind and body seem to conspire against you. In those
nights, music is your best companion, and in my case, it’s
the music of flatsound.
flatsound, otherwise known as Mitch Welling, is a twenty-something poet and musician whose words and lyrics
are nothing short of raw honesty and emotion.
With song titles like “it’s thursday, january 12th, and this
is the last time I’ll talk about drowning,” and “on the porch
of a home built in 1943,” the artist demonstrates his writing prowess, inviting listeners to an intimate experience.
This musical experience however, is not as draining as
it may seem, for the structure according to which flatsound’s music is composed allows for the development of
a certain emotional build-up.
His songs usually start off slow, with a tranquil harmony
created either by the sound of guitar strums, or by certain
vocal variations. Welling’s voice expresses a type of vulnerability that touches an empathetic nerve, allowing you
to establish a connection with the artist and his music.
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Christy Choueiri
Contributing Writer