Revenge Porn; A Legal Reflection

New legislation to criminalise image-based abuse also known as “revenge porn”, has been introduced by the New South Wales Attorney-General, Mark Speakman.

If passed, the laws will relate to photos or videos of a person engaging in a private act, reproduced or circulated online without consent.

In the interim, the plain English Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) has been introduced in an effort to combat the rise in cases. With wider powers to encompass charges relating to online activity in the event of a breach, listen as Constable Monica Samu discusses its new found significance.

Revenge Porn; The New Epidemic

According to the BBC, there are 7.5billion people in the world. 40% of that global population has access to the internet. In an increasingly sexualised society, it has become the vector for the new epidemic sweeping the generation – revenge porn.

With 1 in 5 Australian’s suffering from image-based abuse, it is essential that statistics are personified for the general social attitude to shift from victim-blaming to seeking retribution for victims and accountability.

Emma is a victim of image-based abuse, joining 600million people globally. Her written story has been adapted to video and re-enacted to highlight the personal effect that revenge porn has on the lives, ambitions and mental health of individuals.

Twitter; the virtual notepad

Hey guys!
Here’s a little something on Twitter and its use for journalists
Take a read here, let me know what you think 🙂

Over & out
xx

Draft Proposal for Final Assignment; Journalism102

I grew up in a strict Lebanese household. Although my status as the youngest child did reap the benefit of having older siblings pave the way for a somewhat less confined youth, I managed my own mischief behind the scenes.

From underage drinking at parties, to smoking before & after school, to getting a piercing, the general mayhem that comes with friends on their P’s and of course, boys, I was doing everything I was taught not to, curing the guilt of hiding things from my parents with a mantra I coined; sometimes you have to lie to live a little. 

Rebelliousness is something of a right of passage in this day and age but for strict Arab households, the consequences are insurmountable…and yet, girls like me continue to take the risk. The secret stories of rebellious Arabic girls really intrigues me because I am one of them and can relate completely, so that is what my second assignment will be on.

I plan on doing this by using drawing on the similarities between the stories that two girls will tell me of their hidden lifestyles, the happy memories and the sobering reality that is their lives. The two interview subjects will be Mariam D and Ellyssa El-Moujaber–two Lebanese girls, both of different ages who I anticipate will reflect differently on their pasts based on that factor.

As an introduction, I’d like to include Arabic music because it has a narrative tone to it and an undertone of drama with upbeat moments to reflect the delicate balancing act between the happiness of living and the risk of doing so. Ambient sound will probably just be grabbed from the cafe/social area I’ll be interviewing the girls in. These ‘social sounds’ will reflect the gossipy nature of the piece with interjecting sounds to highlight key aspects of memories being retold.

In a photographic sense I’d like to take a series of photos reflecting the serious nature of the story through use of black and white gradients. I’d like to contrast this with a coloured photo depicting the elation that achieved when the risk has been taken and has paid off.

I’m a product of a strict household and have myself, had an entire side of my life that’s been hidden. This story isn’t self-serving but I feel as though my story will echo through my interviewees. It will be both informative and engaging and I look forward to it.

If you’re reading this mum and dad, disregard everything that was said about my past and assume it was a referential narrative 😉

Drawing with Light; Photography.

Something about black & white photos has always enchanted me. The intimacy it creates, the contrast that demands attention and the emotion that saturates the photograph completely is timeless and raw. It’s evocative and inspirational and requires no colour to illustrate the magic spell that’s cast by the photographer and captured by the lens of their camera. Photographers are in my eyes, magicians. Now let me introduce you to a few that kept me in a trance.

Jean Gaumy, 67, France.

FRANCE. Seine-Maritime. Rouen. 1979. “Bonne Nouvelle” prison. Walking court.

Contrast is used here to highlight the man as the focal point in the picture. His placement reinforces this, but also highlights his insignificance in the context of the prison. The line that his body creates with the wall itself makes it look as though he has become part of the prison, capturing his forlorn attitude. Irony is created in the photo and accentuated by the contrast as the word ‘want my free’ appears on the left hand side of the picture to him, sitting in the corner. This picture encapsulates great use of the rule of thirds as the man is positioned at the intersection of two lines. Jean employs the use of the grid in most of his portfolio and it is one of his trademarks that is very advantageous in terms of directing focus.

Werner Bischof, 38, Switzerland.

SWITZERLAND. Zurich. “Zebra woman”. 1942.

Its obvious that this photo is here because of its use of light. The pattern the light creates on the canvas that is the woman’s body is abstract and therefore inspires the imagination. Her body is in a somewhat fetal position which makes her seem vulnerable. The deliberate placement of her head/eyes to avoid contact with the camera and is used to create the illusion that she is merely there to facilitate the light show on her body. This photo is abstract and is a motif throughout Werner’s portfolio making his work engaging and awe-inspiring.

Huss, 26, Wollongong.

This picture encapsulates the raw timelessness that I love the most about black & white photography. It transports you to a time, a place away from reality to feel as though you’re there with her. The placement of the woman and her silhouette as well as her position just in front of the light source make her the subsidary focus of the photo (we are first drawn to the light). This is a deliberate technique employed by the photographer to engage with the viewer on a different level, meeting his title of the work as ‘shadow creature’.

The main feature that is captured by all three photographers is their manipulation of light to enhance the purpose of their picture. Although the execution differs among all three photographers–Jean using light in the form of contrast, Werner as a form of abstract perspective and Huss as shadow–they are proof that black & white photography is not ‘black & white’ at all. It is unique, has a multitude of interpretations and a platform upon which photographers can propel their own trademarks which become inspiration to people like me.

Black & White photography is magic.

Magic Mic

Not like the movie, but still some pretty magic tips and reviews on the recording apps for iPhones!

Check it out here 🙂

Review of Past Audio Work; JL Osborne’s ‘Creatures of the Night’

This piece truly took me on a journey. The combination of the ambient sounds, the narrative itself, the music that was chosen and the tone of the person speaking created an intoxicating story that I could not withdraw myself from.

With the story honing in on the perpetuated loneliness that garnish wages for workers completing ‘zombie shifts’, the use of the harmonica playing was evocative. The tune of the harmonica was something I’d associate with a somber song played by a prisoner echoing down an empty hallway so the loneliness aspect of the story was captured incredibly.

The fluid introduction of the ambient sound of night creatures flowed seamlessly with the theme and the structure of the piece. It added another dimension to the story, and was testament to the mantra that ‘less is more’.

The tone of the person speaking tied in well with the theme as it pertained to the sobering reality that is shift work and was easily relatable as it sounded unrehearsed.

Overall, JL Osborne weaved some magic with this one, I really enjoyed it and recommend for you to tune into it.

Library Liberation; a haven for books and for Jacki

The millions of pages that have have filled the walls of the library provided the breeding ground for Jacki’s vivid imagination and the elixir to her life woes. For Alice, it was a rabbit hole, for the children in Narnia, it was the cupboard, for Harry Potter it was Platform 9¾; for Jacki, it has always been her books – and their home, the Library. The emancipation of her soul it seems, will always be in the rustling of pages and the symphony of sounds that ensue within the Library walls.

For the girl that has read everyone’s story, it seems only fit that you should listen to hers:

Why Jacki? Reflection on sound portrait interviewee selection.

When I sat in silence and began pondering who I should record for this assignment I realised I wasn’t actually sitting in silence at all; my sister was flipping pages in a book with the most sincere care, each movement precise and delicate, slicing the air…and then it hit me like a book to the face—she would be my interviewee.

I had already thought that her place was inside the pages of her books and that was confirmed when I asked her blatantly, ‘where’s your place’. Her place is rare and unexplored making it engaging and thought provoking, and her tone and character translate so well as soon as she begins to talk. I hope to tell the story about her relationship with her books and how she finds it in fictional characters, places and plots in a library—the home of all books and one of her favourite places. Contrary to popular belief, libraries are not silent, they are full of interesting sounds which I will use to accentuate her story.

Jacki is an incredibly articulate enigma, bursting with personality and entertainment value so my job seems easy: to accentuate her already captivating storytelling.

“My place is between the covers”–a sound portrait of Jacki Harb

When I asked Jacki about a place she felt she belonged to, she replied with “Narnia, Hogwarts and a little town called Meryton in Hertforshire, England”–for those of you who are unaware, these are fictional places conceived by the likes of C.S Lewis, J.K Rowling, and the great Jane Austen. When I asked her to clarify she said, “it’s hard to isolate a single place to which I belong when there are millions of places and characters sitting on my bookshelf that I escape to; they are my place”.