weekly news

Robert Peters father of Sophia Peters, has been jailed for murdering his daughter by strangling her with her dressing gown chord within their home in South-west.  He had chosen to do this before she had been due to return to her boarding school after the half-term break.  Waiting until his wife had gone out before he woke Sophia in bed by tying a chord around her neck and throttling her for thirty minutes, and allegedly continued after she asked what he was doing and as she struggled.  Originally he had denied murdering her but changed his plea on the third day of his trial.

She was killed over a month after her depressed and suicidal father was found not a risk by the child protection team.  Robert Peters was jailed for a minimum for twenty four years.  Peters ran an antiques firm within kensington, had allegedly throttled Sophia in their house in Blenheim Road in Wimbledon on November 3.

Sophia's mother is apparently struggling to come to terms with the death of her daughter.  Robert declared that he had financial worries and his business was going bankrupt, which was one of the sources of his depression, even though after later inquiries they found that he had money within his bank account.

Months before the killing  Peters had searched the internet for "serial killers", treatment of child killers in prison" and "premeditated murder".

Overall, this is a very disturbing and sad situation to of occurred to this young child.  Not only did the government fail her due to the fact that they did not find her suicidal and severely depressed father unfit to look after her but her mother or immediate family seemed to of ignored the warning signs and left her alone with him.  Although no one may of expected him to do such an atrocious thing, it still happened.  The person that still deemed him not a risk, that department needs to be thoroughly checked or staff properly trained because due to the fact that he was deemed not a risk this child is no longer alive.

According ti statistics 72% of those killed by their own parents were 6 years old or younger.  57% of those that killed their own offspring were fathers.  This is a disturbingly high amount of cases of such a situation and hopefully the necessary actions are taken place to reduce this.

Dizzee Rascal- Dream VS Beyonce- Formation

This music is visually simple and basic, but it correlates with the lyrics of the song.  Within the music video is a pianist whom is a white elderly woman, who gives the responses expected by that of an older person to rap music, she on numerous occasions addresses the audience and introduces dizzee at the beginning of the video.  Dizzee being the main character is also the narrator of the video as well as the actions of the puppets.  The background of the video and the over all quality of the video connote that it is a late 90s child's show quality.  The narrative shows the disruptions and success of the rapper in which he achieves his dream.

Within the music video, Dizzee rascal gives support and encouragement to all single parents as well as a warning to the youth to stay off the streets.  As the lyrics changed so did the actions of the puppets and scenery to give a visual representation of what he was explaining.

Within the video a there is a show of racial hierarchy; where as Dizzee being a black rapper of grime, was made smaller in comparison to the white pianist whom was made alot larger, she even made faces of disapproval whenever dizzee did anything wrong and faces of approval when he made positive actions.  This shows that she has more power social wise than he does, this again is connoted when even though he reaches success he retreats back into the box, along with the other puppets.

The pianist is represented as a stereotypical white british woman, who is very reserved and creates a dominant sense of power as she gives her approval and disapproval to dizzee's actions, however she can also be seen as a caring motherly figure, this also creates humour as she is very different in dressing and language compared to the rest of the video.  Meanwhile, dizzee connotes that of a rebellious young male who fits the stereotype of a "thug" who challenges authority, but over time becomes a role model among his peers therefore challenging this negative stereotype.

Overall, the music video connotes a very encouraging message.  It may represent that regardless of the trials faced, with perseverance dreams can be achieved.  As well as that youth should "get off the street" and pursue their dream or hobby and stay out of trouble.


However, in formation in the opening shot we can see a shot of Beyonce on top of a submerging police car surrounded by a flood this can invoke the notion that this is the aftermath of hurricane Katrina in Lousiana and the recent controversies surrounding the police and the shootings of minorities. This represents police brutality, within America.

Within the video there is quite a lot of black empowerment and women empowerment, for example when beyonce sings about liking "afros and negro five nostrils", this is normalising the features of black people that most persons attempt to discriminate against.  As well as the different hairstyles her and the persons within the video wear showing the different hairstyles black woman wear, and in a certain shot you can see her and four black men standing behind her well dressed outside of a plantation house, as if to say we own it now.

  A representation of women empowerment, is that when beyonce sings about taking her man out, get him a record deal, etc, this shows that a woman can do what a man can do but better, as well as the way she dressed gave empowerment in that women should be able to dress however they want to without it being discriminated against, but her dressing like that may take away from th message she is trying to promote in the eyes of other people.

The video changes alot in terms of message and background and what she is singing about, however there is a lot of positive messages throughout the video, that may be mistaken in an opposed way depending on the viewer.

Uses

Three uses of mood boards:
1) Shows a visual representation of themes and genres
2) Allows for the product/persons to stay on track
3) Presents a brief idea

Three uses of storyboards:
1) Shows a general idea of what needs to be done
2) Acts as a form of basic script for director/actors
3) Show how the scenes unfold shot by shot

Three difference between mood boards and storyboards:

1) A mood board is mainly pictures telling a story while a story board is of a basic script accompanied by that of pictures.

2) A mood board represents the theme while a story board represents the sequence of events.

3)  A mood board gives a general representation while a story board gives a more finalised representation.

Weekly News

An independent coffee chain called the Boston tea party is assumed to be the first within the Uk to ban  the selling of hot drinks in disposable cups.  From the month of June, the 21 branches of Boston tea party will only sell hot drinks in reusable cups so as to stop wasteage.  Customers are allowed to either bring their own mugs, buy one in store or make a deposit on one that they are able to return.

It is estimated that this company alone gives 300,000 disposable cups, as well as estimated more than two million disposable coffee cups are used each year within the UK, with less than 1% being recycled.  The company did offer a 25p discount on drinks if the customers brought their own cup, however an estimate of only 2.8% of persons took up the offer l.  A new scheme is to charge £4.25-£4.75 for a reusable cup or to pay a loan.

Other companies such as; Starbucks; charging an extra 25p discount on hot beverages if they bring their own reusable cup, Costa coffee- promised to recycle the cups and a 25p discount on hot beverages if they brought their own cup and Pret A Manger- offers customrs 50p discount on hot drinks if they bring their own reusable cups.

This is a good move on behalf of the company because not only does it cause them to gain more favour in the eyes of consumers as well as lessen wastage and help the environment it also gains them more publicity and awareness among present and possible consumers.  Although other chains are following suit; Boston tea party is the only one that seems to be making actual actions to lessen wasteage.  Hopefully, the government gets more involved and gives the necessary support either funding or publicity needed. 

weekly news

Doctors in Australia have gone into urgent research as to why a flesh-eating ulcer known as Buruli ulcer has become a "worsening epidemic".  It has become increasingly common within the state of Victoria, this skin disease is commonly found in Africa, has surged by 400% within the last four years.  The disease is known to be found in more tropical climates therefore it is unknown why it has appeared in such climates.

A record of around 275 new infections were recorded within the state last year, marking a 51% increase on 2016.   The disease is said to be caused by a bacteria called mycobacterium ulcerans, this bacteria emits a toxin that destroys skin cells, small blood vessels and the fat under the skin, which then leads to ulcers forming and skin loss. As they grow, they can leas to disfigurement or even disability. As well as this bacteria can be carried by mosquitos.  This can also cause the bacteria to spread to other regions such as the Caribbean or other neighbouring countries/states in which mosquitos can survive.

The disease is however difficult to treat but not incurable and is said that patients often have a recovery period of between six to twelve months, many persons who had contracted the disease have undergone reconstructive surgery. 

The state of Victoria in which is it currently a growing epidemic is putting hundreds of thousands into researching more about the bacterial disease and attempting to make persons more aware of the disease.  However, this disease is not new and is known to be found in mostly Africa and tropical parts of Asia, why is it only now they have decided it was worth searching into, and why is not getting more governmental support from neighbouring or other countries.  As this is a growing danger other countries should be assisting them to do more research, however this may just be another form of population control, as well as this is similar to when ebola was rampant and there was allegedly no cure while it was killing hundreds in Africa, until a white woman contracted it in which then they suddenly found a cure, this seems like a similar case in terms of this disease.

If the government gave more support to the poorer countries, then they would be able to afford better living conditions in which then diseases like this may not even exist or be spreading or growing.  Even if they found a cure, they probably would not extend it to all other countries, so as to keep the social hierarchy of the economy as well as to increase population control as the population rate continues to grow.

Weekly nees

In Croydon at around 5pm a double stabbing took place in which two males aged: 16 years old and the other was 17 years old.  Thankfully,  neither of them suffered any life threatening/changing injuries..  They were taken t the hospital via an air ambulance. Police have not yet made any none arrested and are currently investigating the issue.  Certain areas of the north end of Croydon and even within the centre were cordoned off by the police.  However, the centre stayed open as normal until 7pm. 

This case is similar to the fatal stabbing of 17 year old Aron Mali. As well as the four  fatal deaths of  teens occurred within the week consecutively:  Devon Stapleton 20, was stabbed in Ellerton road Wandsworth on Easter Sunday, Tanesha Melbourne-Blake 17, does the day after a drive-by shooting in Tottenham, just 30 minutes after that Amaan Shakoor, 16 was shot in the face in Walkthamstow and died later in hospital and Israel Ogunsola, 18 was stabbed to death in Hackney, in which two 17 year olds have been arrested in suspicion of murder.

These acts of violence among the youth have been steadily growing as the months have passed by. Whether it be because of gang violence, or a simple disagreement or whatever the case is, it should not result in fatally injuring someone or attempting to.  Something needs to be done, starting from the homes and within the family to schools and maybe increase the amount of extracurricular activities so as to keep youths of the streets more, and maybe decrease the amount of incidents. Some persons commented saying that the government should bring back national service, others said to bring more extracurricular activities while others said to put more police to patrol the streets.   Hopefully, a solution to this problem is found soon before more lives are lost.

Weekly News

According to the government, the director of public prosecutions, Alison Saunders  is to quit  at the end of her five-year contract.
While at the CPS she oversaw justice finally being served in the case of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence.But in recent months she has faced criticism after several rape trials failed because of evidence not being disclosed.

In December 2017, the trials of Isaac Itiary, who was accused of Child rape  and Liam Allan, both collapsed within a week of each other when new evidence became apparent.  It later came out that  the number of prosecutions in England and Wales that had failed due to a failure to disclose evidence had increased by 70% within the last two years.

In June 2015 Ms Saunders' has been forced  to resign when her decision not to prosecute Labour peer Lord Janner over claims of historical child sexual abuse was overturned.  Lord Janner's son, Daniel Janner - who was also  a criminal law QC - criticised the way the They has dealt with his father's case and said Ms Saunders had been "an appalling DPP" who was "regarded by those in the legal profession as someone who wasn't up to the job".  Allegedly her whole reasoning for not prosecuting him was because he was “sick”, however I find his a poor excuse as he has ruined someone’s life, as well as it would be possible to get the medical services needed within the  court.   This is quite a suspicious case and it make you wonder how long she has been doing this, maybe Lord Janner and her have an arrangement and she attempted to not be involved in this case to save their relationship (whatever that may be), but it is a “slap in the face” for his own son to disagree with not prosecuting him.

She said the problems with disclosure were a part of a "systemic failing across the justice system" which had been going on "for some years".  Ms Saunders said it was her decision, rather than the government's, to quit. Attorney General Jeremy Wright, who announced her resignation on Sunday evening, said recruitment for her successor would begin later this month. 

Although, she has won justice for some cases others she has failed to do so, and as she is one of those in a higher position with more experience this is quite frightening when you consider all others with less experience and resources as she would have access to.  However, I do find it unreasonable to force her to quit( so as to “save face”), as what she said is true this is something that is due to lacking a of the government and has been going on for years, but I believe they needed someone to take the repercussions and was unfortunately  the person to do so.  This shows that the government needs to stop being biased in certain cases and strict in others and to allow the necessary time and resources for these cases to be sorted out efficiently and therefore a fair trial and case. This also highlights the failures of the jury system and if even most of the cases are fairly conducted if there is so much evidence missing.  Hopefully, the government fixes this issue as soon as possible so that justice can be given for those it was taken away from.

Fruit vale station

This move although some based on a case rhy happened several years ago still depicts the issues that occurs up To this day. This shows that the issue has not been addressed but only worsened.

The movie seems to be mostly centred around the issue of police brutality but it also shows other key issues affecting certain communities as well.   In the case of police brutality it shows us how black males are treated by the police, how they are stereotypes and the inequality.  As shown in the movie only the black males that were in the fight we’re targeted while the Hispanics were not, as well how the police took advantage for them for no valid reason and also the fatal shooting of on the arrested men.  This can also be referred to real life instances for eg the casebook of Trayvon Martin, Alton Sterling, Ferguson and many more, most of which cases the police officers involved faced light charges while these men/ boys lost their lives.

Another issue shown within the movie is that of poverty/ the struggle to “make ends meet”,  in the sense of ; in the movie it depicts that he’s struggling to pay rent, this can be seen from when the camera does a close-up shot of his face to shown his disgruntled facial expression at the circles “tent” on the calendar connoting it needs to be paid soon.  As well as when his sister calls saying she needs help with the rent and also this contributes to why he was selling drugs in the first place and why he ended up in preventable situations, this can tie into Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and the needing of one level before getting to the next one.  This can connote that the government needs to do more in providing for its people, if it did a lot of these scenarios would not even take place.

But this also shows the stereotype type of men, and that is as a provider,  when it was his mom’s birthday he bought majority of the things needed as well as although he was struggling himself, he still agreed to help his sister with the rent ass well as him hustling just to pay the rent and other necessities for his family. 

 However, he does go against the stereotype of a black man in certain cases such as; the general black male stereotype is the abscence from their child/children’s lives however he was always there for his daughter, and they had a very close bond,  although he was a bit violent he always did good deeds, for eg; willingly using his last ten to get his girlfriend and two other women into a bathroom, although having next to know money still ensuring he gave for his mom’s birthday, the sympathy for when the dog got run over, the helping the woman when she neeeded to know how to make the fish, etc.

The movie showed not only how the persons involved were affected leading up to their death but also how it affected those around them and hide close to them.  It Provoked a feeling of empathy especially when it showed the actual footage of what happened and the actual man and his daughter in the end.  It’s sad to see that as a society it’s only gotten worse and not better, hopefully as we progress as a people these things will be eradicated.