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Building Back Greener: Next steps for the live industry
One of few feel-good stories that has emerged from the more than year-long shutdown of nearly all normal life is the perception that the natural world is getting a long-overdue 'break' from humanity.
Emissions are down across the board, with 2.3 billion tons less carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere in 2020 alone, and the quality of rivers and other large bodies of water has improved: parts of India's Ganges and Yamuna rivers, for example, have become fit for drinking for the first time in decades.
Against the backdrop of such positive developments, as well as a heightened public awareness of the worsening climate crisis, the imminent return of concert touring – with its trucks and planes, its waste and its thirst for energy – could be a turning point for live music's relationship with the natural environment.
This sense that the end of the pandemic is a fork in the road for the industry is heightened by the upcoming 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, which will be the most important global sustainability event since the landmark Paris Agreement was signed at COP21 in 2015.
With Earth Day just passed, and COP26 coming into view, will the business decide to draw a line under the bad old days and commit to building a sustainable future, or will the rush to get back to business-as-usual leave environmental concerns in the dust?
"With the way the news is, and what we're seeing globally, people are finally realising that [climate change] is an emergency"
For tour manager Jamal Chalabi (Bring Me the Horizon), who serves as sustainability facilitator for the UK's Tour Production Group (TPG), the sacrifices of the past year will have been for nothing if the industry doesn't use the pause in touring to bring forward positive change on sustainability.
Established in summer 2020 by around 60 tour and production managers, the formation of the TPG was driven by a feeling that "it was a really important time for us to come together to press reset," explains Chalabi.
"We looked at all the things that we'd seen that we wanted to discuss and change – that was things like mental health and welfare, diversity and inclusion, and, of course, sustainability."
From the TPG's conversations with promoters, agents, venues, and vendors, Chalabi says he hopes there is a broad industry consensus emerging about the need to make touring sustainable. "I think people are finally ready for this change," he continues.
"With the way the news is, and what we're seeing globally, people are finally realising that this is an emergency."
"If we can look at sustainability from a holistic point of view, it will make the live music sector more resilient [to future crises]"
The events of 2020, he adds, have demonstrated that the live industry isn't divorced from climate change, many of the causes of which – including deforestation and habitat loss – are believed by scientists to contribute to the emergence and spread of epidemic diseases.
"The pandemic has shown that our industry isn't as resilient as many people thought," says Chalabi. "We were first to stop working and we'll be the last back. If we can look at sustainability from a holistic point of view – intelligent spending, wasting less, streamlining our processes and adopting better practices – it will make the live music sector more resilient [to future crises]."
Several high-profile artists, notably Ellie Goulding, Massive Attack and Radiohead, have publicly criticised the environmental impact of concert touring – and Coldplay have gone so far as to say they will not tour until it's possible to do so in a net-positive way – but for many, it's obvious that real change will need a joined-up, pan-industry approach to the issue. As Massive Attack's Robert Del Naja said earlier this year, "One band not touring doesn't change a thing."
Same old story?
The importance of the TPG's crusade is illustrated by research that shows the idea of nature being given a chance to recover by Covid-19 ignores the reality in much of the world. According to Conservation International, "there is a misperception that nature is 'getting a break' from humans during the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, many rural areas in the tropics are facing increased pressure from land grabbing, deforestation, illegal mining and wildlife poaching. People who have lost their employment in cities are returning to their rural homes, further increasing the pressure on natural resources while also increasing the risk of Covid-19 transmission to rural areas.
"There have been less emissions because aviation has almost stopped, but global emissions still hit a record high this year"
"Meanwhile, there are reports of increased deforestation in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Illegal miners and loggers are encroaching on indigenous territories, which could expose remote indigenous communities to the virus. Areas that are economically dependent on tourism face reduced resources as tourism has come to a halt, resulting in a rise in the consumption of bushmeat (from wild animals) in Africa. Meanwhile, illegal mining for gold and precious stones in Latin America and Africa is on the rise, as prices spike and protected areas are left unguarded."
Hadi Ahmadzadeh, founder of sustainable nightlife consultancy Ecodisco, says that while a good narrative – nature 'recovering' from human impact – is often useful to get people on board with a movement, it can "sometimes hinder you in the long-term."
He continues, "With Covid, yes, there have been less emissions because aviation has almost stopped, but global emissions still hit a record high this year. Also the use of single-use plastics has rocketed, with single-use bans being delayed and the widespread need for PPE [personal protective equipment]. So there hasn't been a magic wand. It's not a template for how we move forward."
According to Moo, the British design and printing business best known for its create-your-own business cards, the mass production of single-use PPE during the pandemic is overwhelming recycling systems, leading to a large proportion of the 129 billion face masks used globally every month ending up in the sea.
The company recently partnered with the Ocean Agency, the non-profit creative agency behind projects such as Netflix's Chasing Coral, to raise awareness of how PPE-derived plastics are exacerbating ocean pollution.
[Ecodisco] has plans in the works to bring recyclable, reusable cups targeted at venues to market in the months ahead
"Both reusable and single-use face masks break down into plastic microfibres, which are easily consumed by marine life and enter the food chain," explains Richard Vevers, founder of The Ocean Agency. "The pandemic's impact on plastic pollution is a major human health concern and is now under investigation by scientists."
Nor is it sustainable to simply stop doing the things that make us happy, continues Ahmadzadeh: "If you look at the sustainable development goals from the UN, it doesn't just cover plastic cups and carbon emissions – you've got cultural sustainability, social sustainability, people looking after each other, the harmony between races and sexes… everything."
While plastic cups, then, aren't the be-all and end-all of sustainability, it's on cups that Ecodisco (which spun out of an earlier eco-friendly party promotion business established by Ahmadzadeh) is currently focusing much of its attention, with plans in the works to bring recyclable, reusable cups targeted at venues to market in the months ahead.
"The whole idea of our system," explains Ahmadzadeh, "is a reusable cup rental service. So, if you're a venue, we would deliver reusable cups on Friday morning, for example, and you'd use them Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday day, if you've got an event.
Then on Monday we'd collect them, take them away to get washed and simultaneously drop off more clean ones for the week ahead. Every week we'd have two or maybe three collections and deliveries, depending on how many cups the venue can store. The goal is to use each cup around 500 times before recycling them."
"Don't just cover up what you're doing, don't just offset; reduce the impact as much as possible and then be regenerative"
The Ecodisco system would be funded by a £1 (€1.15) 'green fee' for each attendee, with the choice left up to venues as to whether to absorb the cost into the ticket price or levy it on top.
"Whether you integrate it into your ticket price or you make a thing out of it to get people on board with the system – which is what we'd recommend – is ultimately irrelevant," he adds. "The whole point is, it's funded by event attendees. We want to remove the cost to the venue."
"Sustainability just isn't enough anymore – we actually need to be regenerative," says Philippa Attwood, who leads corporate partnerships for Barcelona-based Tree-Nation, which helps corporate clients offset their carbon dioxide emissions by planting trees.
"If we just sustain ourselves the way that we are now, that's actually not good enough. That's why, in our conversations with clients, we say, don't just cover up what you're doing, don't just offset; reduce the impact as much as possible and then look at how you can be regenerative [ie have a positive effect on the environment]."
So far over 85% of people have said they would be happy to pay the £1 green fee for the [Ecodisco] cup
Like most businesses, Tree-Nation's plans for 2020 were derailed by the pandemic – it had partnerships with around ten new festivals and live events lined up for the summer and was in conversations with some of the biggest names in live music about offsetting their emissions – though it continues to work successfully with several events, as well as a large pool of e-commerce partners, and its API is integrated with Eventbrite.
Attwood explains: "It could be that you design the event to trigger a tree to be planted every time a ticket is purchased, for example."
Like Ecodisco's cups, the decision on whether to include the cost of planting a tree – typically between one and two euros – in the ticket price or make it a separate charge, is left up to event organisers and ticketing platforms.
In the green
Whatever the mechanism that promoters and venues use to fund new green policies, research increasingly shows that fans are willing to pay a little extra if they know they are attending a sustainable/regenerative show.
"You do get some people who turn around and say, 'I don't want to put the extra cost onto my customers,'" explains Ahmadzadeh. "In those cases we turn around and say, 'Okay, cool, let's ask your customers!' Working with industry bodies like Music Venue Trust we have started to send out newsletters with survey links, and so far over 85% of people have said they would be happy to pay the £1 green fee for the cup. So, we can show that to someone who says this isn't what people want, because we've got people saying they're fine with it!"
"Looking into the future, it will probably be more damaging for you if you're not involved in something like [Tree-Nation]"
It's a similar story in the festival world. According to Ticketmaster's State of Play 2019 report, which surveyed 4,000 UK festivalgoers following the most recent summer festival season, a growing number of attendees take sustainability into account when buying festival tickets, with almost two-thirds saying the reduction of waste is a priority.
"Looking into the future, it will probably be more damaging for you if you're not involved in something like [Tree-Nation]," adds Attwood. "If you're still using throwaway plastics, diesel generators, etc, and all of that is visible, it's going to make your event less appealing than a rival event that has reusable everything, deals with trash in the right way and has good environmental policies.
"So, what I would say to people is to think about the long-term, think about who your target market is and decide whether you want to be part of that positive change."
The economic argument will be key to bringing everyone, particularly those for whom the environment hasn't been a priority to date, on board with this green new world, suggests Chalabi. "Some people say things like, 'Sustainability is all well and good, but who's going to pay for it?'" he explains, "when in actual fact, if we run it right, it will probably cost us less than it did before."
Chalabi cites the example of a recent conversation with a lighting designer, who told him it's "difficult to spec certain [eco-friendly] lights, because a festival only has so much money in the budget and the lighting company can only afford to rent these fixtures.
"All these little things will become like second nature. And that's what we're trying to educate people about"
We turned it around and concluded, 'If you're using fixtures that cost more money but are using less power, then you're saving money on the power bill.' It's really about stepping back and seeing the bigger picture. Yes, it's going to cost you a little bit more on the lights, but you're going to save 95% on your bill."
As time goes on, he continues, "all these little things will become like second nature. And that's what we're trying to educate people about. It's amazing, for instance, how many vendors we've gone to asking if there's a sustainable option on a certain product, and there is – but nobody's ever asked for it. A lot of production managers have been doing the same thing for years and years, so they're going to keep on doing it the same way unless they know there are other choices."
On the artist side, meanwhile, the world's biggest tour promoter, Live Nation, is seeking to educate its clients about the options available with its new Green Nation Touring Program [sic], which it hopes will help musicians and their teams develop sustainable tours after live music returns.
The Program [sic], part of the Green Nation initiative launched in 2019, will advise Live Nation-promoted artists on how to adopt eco-friendly touring practices that "prioritise people and planet," according to the company – including in tour planning, production and sourcing.
"Live Nation has the opportunity and the responsibility to provide artists and fans with live music experiences that protect our planet," said Michael Rapino, LN's president and CEO, on Earth Day. "We're inspired by artists who are continually pushing for greener options, and as we develop those best practices the Green Nation Touring Program will help make them standards in the industry, so collectively we can all make the biggest impact possible."
"Climate change won't recognise borders – we're all in this together"
Positive association
Regardless of the efforts of individual companies, trade associations such as A Greener Festival and the TPG will be crucial to securing any pan-industry consensus on environmental standards, and Chalabi says it's been "a joy bringing people together" on the TPG's bi-weekly calls.
"We have the heads of sustainability for AEG and Live Nation on a call, and it's so refreshing because it's a recognition that climate change won't recognise borders – we're all in this together."
The spirit of collaboration is behind AGF's decision to run a second edition of its Green Events and Innovations Conference (GEI) in 2021, following the most recent event ahead of ILMC on 2 March. This one-off, late-summer GEI will build on the momentum of March's GEI 13 "towards not just rebuilding but becoming a regenerative force for our sector and all of the people it reaches," explains AGF co-founder Claire O'Neill.
"We intend to set an example that we, the creative and can- do organisations and individuals, are leading the way, and the future that we want to co-create is fully within our grasp," says O'Neill. "There's no time to waste, and so we're keeping our foot firmly on the (zero-emissions) pedal to make sure our industry steps up to be a positive force to create a future we can all be proud of."
In the US, the Touring Professionals Alliance is "on the same page" as the TPG, according to Chalabi, while in Scandinavia, the Norwegian Live Music Association recently teamed up with other industry bodies to launch Norway's first 'green roadmap' (grønt veikart) as a resource for live entertainment professionals who wish to reduce the environmental impact of their work.
"Sustainable tours needn't mean smaller tours, just cleverer ones"
Speaking at the launch of the veikart, the association's general manager, Tone Østerdal, explained: "Most people do not associate the cultural sector with climate and sustainability, but we have a great responsibility. The purpose of preparing this green roadmap is both to become better yourself, and to inspire others to contribute to solving the climate challenge."
According to Attwood, it's a misconception that concert touring will need to be scaled back to minimise its environmental impact – sustainable tours needn't mean smaller tours, just cleverer ones, she says. "A lot of industries are looking at their supply chain and asking how they can do things better, whether it's using electric cars instead of those that run on gasoline or sourcing products locally instead of shipping something in from China," explains Attwood, suggesting a similar model can easily be applied to live entertainment.
For those aspects whose impact can't be reduced further, that's where offsetting comes in, she continues: "For example, you have 100 tonnes of CO2 you can't get rid of, but you can plant 1,000 trees, and you can make a commitment to cleaning up the ocean, so indirectly you are compensating for what you're doing. And it's possible to give back more than you're actually taking, so you're being regenerative: You could generate two tonnes of trash at your festival but fully recycle it, then pick two tonnes of trash out of the ocean, and you're doing more."
While under no illusions about its urgency, noting that "we have ten years to get this right," Chalabi is upbeat about the live business's ability to meet the climate challenge that lies ahead.
"I think compared to all the industries out there, we touch on so many different economies – whether it's from the travel sector to the freight sector, to power to audio to lights, you name it – we touch absolutely everything. And the fact that we also reach out to so many people because of the medium that we're involved in, our artists and the people that we produce, we have a huge voice.
"That voice can change the way the globe feels, and I think we underestimate that power. Which is why we need to make sure our backstage is clean."
Read this feature in its original format in the digital edition of IQ 99:
AEG Presents forms Climate Positive Touring group
AEG Presents is forming a team of industry professionals from production, marketing, and operations dedicated to 'moving the live business towards a greener future'.
The team, dubbed Climate Positive Touring (CPT), comprises staffers who work across various business divisions of AEG Presents including Concerts West, Global Touring, International Touring, Marshall Arts, Messina Touring Group, and AEG Global Partnerships.
Reducing tour-related carbon emissions, supporting locally led environmental and climate justice programmes, and creating impact on both the operating and consumer-side of touring are at the top of the group's agenda.
"AEG Presents has the ability and structure to really make a global impact in moving our entire business – which has had a traditionally significant carbon footprint – toward a zero-emissions future," says Jay Marciano, chairman and CEO, AEG Presents.
"AEG Presents has the ability and structure to really make a global impact in moving our entire business"
"The company's reach enables us to execute at every level of the live experience: from clubs and theatres to arenas, global tours, and festivals. I'm looking forward to seeing how the CPT group begins to implement their plans as the business starts to reopen this year."
Jointly leading CPT is AEG Presents' Amy Morrison, who adds: "With light at the end of the tunnel, we feel it's the right time to announce CPT and our short- and long-term strategies. We've been working on this since the earliest days of the shutdown. Now that live music is coming back, we can put our goals into action. As promoters, we will literally put our message on the road, modelling achievable sustainability, with the power of music in our sails."
CPT has already deployed two major initiatives: the Venue Environmental Survey and the CPT Green Touring Guide.
The survey will gather data that allow venues, artists and CPT to work together to identify sustainability priorities and solutions while the touring guide is to provide guidance and insights that promoters can utilise in the hopes of showing both venues and artists a path forward to net zero or better carbon emissions.
"The company's reach enables us to execute at every level of the live experience"
The first installment of the guide, titled The Starting Seven, is a compendium of seven actions promoters can take to start to make a positive environmental impact.
CPT is co-headed by Amy Morrison and Nicole Neal, who are joined by Jon Baden, Amy Buck, Caroline Burruss, Kelly DiStefano, Kate Lewis, Mike Luba, Ben Martin, Alexandra McArthur, Kate McMahon, David Rappaport, and Connie Shao.
CPT works in collaboration with AEG 1Earth, AEG's corporate sustainability program.
The news of CPT comes shortly after Earth Day (22 April), when a host of new initiatives were announced, including a special summer edition of the Green Events and Innovations Conference (GEI) and Live Nation's new Green Nation Touring Program.
GEI, the leading conference for sustainability in the international events sector, will hold its summer edition on 16 September 2021. Tickets are on sale now.
Climate Live announces debut livestream show
Climate Live, a youth-led global environmental campaign, has announced a 24-hour concert live stream kicking off tomorrow (24 April).
Beginning in Japan, the Climate Live April 24 event will also include performances from countries including Portugal, Uruguay, Brazil, Germany, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, Colombia and the UK, where Declan McKenny will perform from a secret location at 8.30pm UK time. Other participating artists include Milky Chance (Germany), Anly (Japan), Barenaked Ladies (Canada) and Any Gabrielly (Brazil).
The live stream is intended as a warm-up for a bigger Climate Live event which will take place across 43 countries on 16 October, ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (Cop26). The line-up and venues for the October event will be announced in the coming weeks.
Led by members of Friday for Future, the youth groups organising the school strikes started by Greta Thunberg, Climate Live aims to raise awareness of the challenges faced by "those on the front lines of the [climate] crisis."
The live stream is intended as a warm-up for a bigger Climate Live event which will take place across 43 countries on 16 October
By asking, "Can you hear us yet?", the campaign urges young people to make their voices heard and put pressure on world leaders to take action to combat climate change in the run-up to Cop26.
Climate Live founder Frances Fox, 20, says: "I started Climate Live in spring 2019, after being inspired by an interview in which Brian May said there should be a Live Aid for the climate crisis. I thought this was a brilliant idea to engage more young people in the movement, with our own spin, so immediately started messaging activists from all over the world."
To tune in to the Climate Live April 24 streaming event tomorrow, or find out more about the campaign, visit climatelive.org/stream.
Yesterday saw the international music community come together for Earth Day 2021, and a number of events continue across the weekend.
Music rallies for sustainability on Earth Day
Today (22 April) marks the 51st Earth Day and the culmination of a week of action aimed at raising awareness and securing support for the global movement for environmental protection.
With sustainability and green living higher on the world's agenda than ever before, and ahead of the pivotal UN Climate Change Conference (Cop26) in November, this year's Earth Day is considered the most important yet – and campaigners in the music industry are marking the date with a host of new initiatives, including a special summer edition of the Green Events and Innovations Conference and Live Nation's new Green Nation Touring Program.
For Music Declares Emergency, Earth Day is the high point of a week-long series of actions and activities designed to 'turn up the volume' on its calls for both government action on climate change and a sustainable music industry.
Earth Day 2021 activities in support of the campaign, which launched in the UK in 2019 and has since expanded to Germany, Switzerland, France, Chile and Canada, include radio, internet and print interviews with its artist supporters; new designs for the 'No Music on a Dead Planet' T-shirt range, including a reworking of Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures by Peter Saville; and the launch of a new Classical Declares group with Julian Lloyd Webber, Rachel Portman, Errollyn Wallen and more.
Music Declares' supporter ('declarer') list now stands at over 5,000 organisations and individuals in the UK alone. For full details of its Earth Day activities, including events planned for this weekend, click here.
Formed in partnership with Music Declares Emergency, GEI organiser A Greener Festival and Julie's Bicycle, a new initiative led by Brian Eno, EarthPercent, is asking artists, music companies and industry professionals to commit a small percentage of their revenue to organisations working to combat climate change.
"Many within the music industry want to do something to address the climate crisis but simply don't know how"
Based in the UK and US, EarthPercent is designed to make it easy for the music industry to donate to the best environmental organisations, knowing that the expertise of EarthPercent's partners will ensure the money reaches only those projects with "demonstrable and meaningful impact".
Among the industry figures supporting EarthPercent are Mike Smith (Downtown Music Publishing), Jamie Oborne (Dirty Hit), Alison Donald (Kobalt) and Jackie Davidson MBE, while founding donors include Merck Mercuriadis, Fraser T. Smith and Coldplay.
"Our future depends on us having a healthy planet. But right now, our actions are severely damaging the environment," says Brian Eno. "We need to act now and as quickly as possible to ensure that we keep our communities clean, healthy and thriving for generations to come.
"Many within the music industry want to do something to address the climate crisis but simply don't know how, which is why EarthPercent is working with scientists and experts to identify and fund the most promising solutions."
Coldplay and Eno are among the supporters of another new campaign launching today, Playlists for Earth, which calls on musicians and other creatives to use playlists to spark conversations about climate action.
The brainchild of environmental charity ClientEarth, Playlists for Earth uses song titles on playlists to spell out messages challenging listeners to do their part to save the planet, with Anna Calvi, alt-J, Tom Misch, Francisca Valenzuela and more also involved.
"We need to see a massive cultural change and an immediate government response"
"We should be talking about the climate crisis now more than ever, and taking action to protect the planet we love. We need to see a massive cultural change and an immediate government response," says Calvi. "That's why I wanted to be a part of Playlists For Earth: to spark conversation and explore what's happening in the world in a new way in the lead up to the UN climate conference. It's so important that we use our position in the arts to say something, as art really has the power to turn people's attention to issues."
Click here to listen to the playlists from more than 60 artists on Spotify.
Elsewhere, artists including Brothers Osborne, Lucie Silvas, Ricky Kej and Sza will take part in the second Earth Day Live, which is taking place from midday to 6pm EST today on EarthDay.org.
Workshops, panel discussions, and special performances will focus on Earth Day's 2021 theme, 'Restore Our Earth', with topics including include climate and environmental literacy, climate restoration technologies, reforestation efforts, regenerative agriculture, equity and environmental justice, citizen science and clean-ups.
In addition to musicians, the summit will include world climate leaders, grassroots activists, non-profit innovators, thought leaders, industry leaders, influencers and more, say organisers.
Watch Earth Day Live 2021 live on YouTube here.
AEG targets zero carbon emissions by 2050
AEG has announced its intention to cut its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to net zero by 2050.
The company, whose divisions include promoter AEG Presents and venue operator AEG Facilities, announced yesterday, on Earth Day 2019 (22 April), that it has revised its previous goal – to reduce emissions by 25%, or approximately 3.2% per year between 2010 and 2020 – in response to the Global Warming of 1.5˚C report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
AEG's adoption of the new 1.5˚C-based goal will require the company to reduce its total emissions by 33% from 2010 to 2020, and to follow IPCC's guidance to reduce emissions by 45% by 2030 and 100% by 2050.
"We are committed to leading the way toward change and continuing to help draw attention to this serious issue by doing more to ensure the safety of our world," says John Marler, vice-president of energy and environment for AEG.
"We are committed to leading the way toward change"
"Today's announcement builds on that commitment to further drive improvements in our global operations wherever possible."
Marler adds that "meeting our current 2020 GHG goal is critical as it reflects the level of reductions required to achieve this longer-term targets."
Elsewhere, AEG has released its 2019 Sustainability Report, which outlines progress toward its set of 2020 GHG, water conservation and waste reduction goals.
"While we are pleased with the work we have done to date, we recognise that much more work needs to be done," continues Marler. "In addition to adopting our new 1.5˚C target for GHG emissions, we continue to look for ways to reduce potable water at water-stressed sites by 4.4% per year and diverting 70% of waste from landfill across all AEG operations."
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How Long Does Vasalgel Last? Here's How The Male Birth Control Works
By Natalia Lusinski
Vasalgel, the male birth control that's due out in 2018, will begin studies in human males later this year, and expand its studies next year. But how does Vasalgel work? Good question. It's a gel that's injected into a guy's vas deferens, otherwise known as the tube the sperm swim through to get to the egg. As I mentioned in this piece, it's like football — the gel is the defense to the aggressive sperm trying to score. (Pun intended.) Seminal fluids will still be released, but no sperm. (No sperm!) The sperm are too big to get through the gel and, instead, they're reabsorbed into the body. What will science think of next?!
The Parsemus Foundation is behind developing Vasalgel and hopes to get it out to the world.
"Vasalgel has the potential to revolutionize birth control," Elaine Lissner, founder and executive director of Parsemus Foundation, tells Bustle. "The burden of contraception falls disproportionately on women, partly because women have several long-acting contraceptive options, though they have drawbacks including unpleasant side effects, inconvenience, and expense. Meanwhile many men want control over their reproductive future — and they're willing to share responsibility for contraception more evenly with women, especially if they can preserve their ability to produce children in the future."
Sounds like a win-win for everyone, right?
Here's more on how Vasalgel works, how long it lasts, and more things you need to know.
1. No One Has To Deal With Hormones From Other Types Of Contraception
This is celebration enough to be pro-Vasalgel, or least open to it. Oral contraceptives with hormones are the worst , I think, and any birth control methods without causing mood swings and excessive crying are a plus in my book — and others'. "Vasalgel takes a different approach, stopping sperm in the tube they swim through, rather than hitting the whole body with hormones," Lissner says.
2. It May Last Over A Year
Yep, Vasalgel could last around a year, or more, so no need for other birth control methods during that time! What a relief! However, testing the timeline on humans still needs to be done, and will begin this year in small studies, and in larger ones in 2017. But, the good news is, for 12 months, Vasalgel was studied in rabbits, and the studies revealed no sperm (at least, not from the second semen sample onwards). The gel also worked for baboons for just over a year. "We don't know yet how many years the effect will last for Vasalgel; upcoming research will help produce those answers," the Parsemus Foundation said on their website.
3. It'll Give Guys Another Birth Control Option That's In Their Court
"I think it is very interesting and will open the sexuality discussion of responsibility for contraception," Dr. Michael Krychman, MD, OBGYN, Sexual Medicine Gynecologist and the executive director of the Southern California Center for Sexual Health and Survivorship Medicine, tells Bustle. "I will certainly entertain the discussion with both my male and female patients with this novel male contraceptive." Yep, there's nothing like having lots of different birth control options aside from the most renowned ones—including The Pill, condoms, and IUDs.
"Women have multiple options (each with its own drawbacks), but right now there's nothing out there both reversible and highly reliable for men," Lissner says. "Condoms are important in new relationships, but they're often used inconsistently and are unpopular among long-term couples. Clearly, we need an effective, long-acting, reversible option for men. Many men are excited about Vasalgel because it could be that option." Did someone say reversible?!
4. It May Be Reversible — aka You Can Still Have Kids Someday
At the moment, whether or not Vasalgel is reversible is a big "maybe," as human studies need to be completed before anyone can say for sure. But, in the year-long study done on rabbits, when the Vasalgel was removed — via flushing it out with an injection of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) solution — the sperm went back to being their old selves once the Vasalgel was removed. So, for now, that means lots more bunnies out there once again!
5. It Won't Be Out Until 2018
If the Vasalgel human studies go well in 2016 and 2017, the Parsemus Foundation hopes that Vasagel could be readily available in 2018. "About half the pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended, but we don't see Big Pharma putting resources into providing truly revolutionary options — it's mostly 'me too' repackaging of hormones," Lissner says. "We're developing Vasalgel as a social venture, with the goal of making it available and affordable to as many couples as possible worldwide, and we're optimistic we can do it with the public's continued support."
Want more of Bustle's Sex and Relationships coverage? Check out our new podcast, I Want It That Way, which delves into the difficult and downright dirty parts of a relationship, and find more on our Soundcloud page.
Images: Courtsey of Vasalgel; Giphy (2-7)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


High School Musical On Stage has arrived at Falkirk Town Hall! Big Bad Wolf Children's Theatre Company enthrals the people of Falkirk and beyond with their production.
You can also read the Falkirk Herald review here and the NODA review here.
If you have been to see the show why not tell us below what you thought.


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Occupying Art
by #OccupyArt21 #LosAngeles | Jan 2, 2012
At the edge of the Occupy LA encampment, at City Hall. Photo: Carol Cheh.
As I write this, I am nearing the end of a battery of holiday get-togethers. These affairs tend to be filled with people that you only see once a year—relatives both close and distant, old family friends, childhood acquaintances. We gather around parties and shared meals and try to find some common ground for conversation. Yesterday I found myself chatting with a worker's comp lawyer and a former corporate ladder climber, now turned zen gardener. Corporate politics and the machinations of the economy were hot topics.
I briefly touched on my life in "the art world," which always brings faraway gazes touched with unfamiliarity and, sometimes, a bit of envy. As the art person, I'm always the odd woman out at gatherings like this. My world is perceived as a luxury/fantasy world that doesn't interconnect in meaningful ways with the worlds of business, finance, law, the military—worlds inhabited by the majority of people in our society. In America, the art world is, for the most part, its own bubble—filled with specific people, who have a specific shared passion, and speak a specific language. Like queer people and people with eccentric hobbies, we have to find each other in order to survive, in order to perpetuate our way of life.
Having been deeply involved in the art world for the past 10 years, I've become acutely aware of the segregation of "art" and "life" in this country. Somewhere along the line—most likely amidst the loud noise of a relentless capitalist engine that promotes a severe work ethic and a concomitant valuation of economic competition and material rewards—American appreciation for the arts has been diminished to the point of near invisibility. Unlike many nations whose histories significantly predate the industrial revolution, Americans have never considered the arts an integral part of daily, ordinary life. At best, it's a nice luxury that we can afford when times are good. At worst, it's something that freaks and weirdos do, and of course, it's first on the chopping block when times get tough.
Protesters at Occupy LA. Photo: Carol Cheh.
Occupy Los Angeles
The Occupy movement ignited in the city of Los Angeles on October 1, 2011, when a group of protesters took up residence on the grounds of City Hall. The movement was met with passion and enthusiasm right away, and grew with astonishing speed. By Day 9, they had set up a welcome tent, food service, media station, first aid tent, and numerous other facilities. Volunteers were giving tours of the grounds. The number of tents in residence kept multiplying, until there was no available lawn space left.
I visited the encampment a total of about six times before it was shut down in a surgical strike-style police raid on the morning of November 30. Every time I went, the vibe changed, the logistics of the place shifted. It was an extremely dynamic community, reflecting the struggle of a broad spectrum of discontented people to birth a new movement that was full of unknown quantities. The issues that gave rise to the movement—economic and social inequity, and the bankruptcy of a system that rewards greed at the expense of greater societal health—were absolutely real, and their urgency was palpable. But in this initial outburst of a broad-scale response, there was the sense that people weren't exactly sure what they were doing—they were just doing it.
Artist Solomon Bothwell, center, sets up a soap box and encourages passers-by to voice their grievances. Photo: Carol Cheh.
The fertile, permeable Occupy LA space had the ability to accommodate a freewheeling variety of people, causes, ideas, and activities. In this environment I saw, probably for the first time in my life, a place where art, political activism, and day-to-day life could co-exist with equal agency and equal weight. Artists created a huge mural in the center of the park that indicted the Federal Reserve Bank as a monstrous octopus sucking the life out of the people. Painters offered up images of Gandhi and Anonymous for contemplation. Acts of performance and social practice happened everywhere, on a daily basis, both small-scale and large-scale, both announced and spontaneous. Political action and artistic practice blended seamlessly, beautifully, together—and there was no one around to get didactic about it!
Performance action at Occupy LA, artist's name unknown. Photo: Carol Cheh.
Even when I participated in the Queer Nation and ACT UP protests of the 1990s, I did not witness this kind of matter-of-fact incorporation of art, politics, and life. The queer protests of that era were sharply focused, creatively choreographed, and highly effective. But they still constituted a distinct, segregated space. I remember with amusement meeting one other queer Asian woman who shared the same interest in the arts as I did. We vowed to form an Arts Caucus, but never did. There was an agenda to adhere to, and it kept us busy.
A huge crowd gathers at Occupy LA in anticipation of an imminent police shutdown. Photo: Carol Cheh.
Some may view the Occupy movement's nebulousness as a disadvantage. But I see the movement as an opening salvo in what is no less than an attempt at total, fundamental change of the way things are. As such, it must be inclusive of everything and everyone, particularly those parts of our society that were previously shut out or denigrated.
Performance action on the steps of City Hall, artist's name unknown. Photo: Carol Cheh.
In one local radio broadcast, I heard a woman say, in response to criticism that the Occupy movement lacked concrete demands: "We do not demand anything, for that is the position of the powerless. Instead, we are modeling a whole new way of being."
In this tentative, inchoate, experimental utopia—which was by no means free of its own discords and controversies—artistic practice was not a far-flung branch of the tree, which could be cut off at the first sign of rot. Rather, it was an inherent part of its root system, which grew and moved right along with it.
Mural at the center of the Occupy LA encampment. Photo: Carol Cheh.
#OccupyArt21
From the beginning, I and many artists that I know from the local LA community have been strongly aligned with Occupy LA. Some of us have spent significant amounts of time there, participating in the general assemblies and on committees. Some have combined their time on site with their own artistic practices, which encompass performance, experimental music, and social practice. Others have shown up to do specific actions. Still others have participated via social media, the internet, and thinking constantly about the issues.
Artist Nancy Popp, left, shares materials and information from her trip to New York, in which she networked with Occupy Wall Street participants. Photo: Carol Cheh.
We've held a few general meetings as a group, and we even have a website, a Facebook group, and an email list. Rather than being a highly organized, branded entity, however, we are more a loosely affiliated collection of individuals whose actions are spontaneous and organically conceived. People propose actions through the aforementioned outlets and interested parties can sign up to participate. Anyone can drop in or out at any time, participate live or via social media/Ustream, with no judgment or expectations. This is actually more satisfying to me than more strident, focused models. Because it means again, that art flows freely from life for once, that it is not a separate designation or an agenda item, it is just something that occurs naturally as part of being at or in alignment with Occupy LA, which in its City Hall encampment phase was also known as Solidarity Park.
A wall on the north lawn of City Hall, shortly before the Occupy LA encampment was shut down. Photo: Carol Cheh.
The blog posts by various artists and writers that will occupy this guest spot for the next two weeks reflect just a small sampling of the talent and intelligence at work in the Occupy LA movement. Each contribution has its own individual genius, but all share a rigorous and seamless blending of the visual and the aesthetic with sociopolitical awareness, critique, and activism. I am so proud to be a part of this.
Carol Cheh is a writer and curator based in Los Angeles. She is the founder of Another Righteous Transfer!, a blog that explores LA's performance art scene. Her curatorial projects have included You Don't Bring Me Flowers: An Evening of Re-Performances (PØST, 2010) and Signals: A Video Showcase (Orange County Museum of Art, 2008).
#OccupyLA
#OWS
If you're interested in contemporary political posters, take a look at those from the Chamomile Tea Party: http://chamomileteaparty.com
All are free to download and high res.
Pingback: #OccupyArt21 | AAAAAA


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Seattle: This is What Democracy Looks Like
by Mark Taylor-Canfield
Photo Credit: scottlum Flickr via Compfight cc-by-nc.
Seattle has been famous for major protests since the mass demonstrations against the World Trade Organization attracted worldwide attention in 1999. There have been numerous anti-war marches, Occupy Wall Street encampments, civil rights rallies, Black Lives Matter protests, etc., over the last two decades. Our annual Martin Luther King Celebration Day marches remain some of the largest in the country.
On Saturday, Jan 21, an amazing and unprecedented number of people participated in the Seattle Women's March in solidarity with marchers all around the globe. Estimates of the local march range from 130,000 to 170,000 people.
Last weekend another huge crowd gathered and marched in downtown Seattle to demonstrate against Donald Trump's ban on immigration from seven Muslim countries. Although I haven't seen any indisputable estimates, my guess was that around 20,000 participated throughout the night; 17,000 had registered for the rally on Facebook.
Westlake Park was overflowing with protesters at that massive immigration rights event. Crowds of enthusiastic people spilled out into the streets. Overhead video from news helicopters showed an enormous crowd. There were so many folks at the rally that most of them couldn't even hear the speeches at the microphone. Nonetheless, the sound of the audience was thunderous that night as they cheered a long list of speakers that included many local civil rights activists and political representatives.
The day before that rally at least 3,000 folks had converged on Sea-Tac Airport, where airline passengers from some of those countries on Trump's ban list were being detained. At these events Gov. Jay Inslee, Mayor Ed Murray, City Councilmember Kshama Sawant, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and other local political representatives spoke out against the immigration policy.
Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit to challenge the immigration ban; in turn, a circuit judge granted a temporary lifting of said ban. Even locally based corporate giants like Microsoft and Starbucks have expressed their opposition to these policies.
Of course, it's not just Trump's ban on immigration that has caused so many people to take to the streets in protest. There's a large list of issues that Seattleites find highly objectionable, including but certainly not limited to: his pro-fossil fuel environmental and energy policy, his proven disrespect for and discrimination against women, repeated verbal attacks on the media that threaten freedom of the press, the corporate right-wing nature of his cabinet appointees and controversy over his new Supreme Court nominee.
So let it be said that the vast majority of people in our community are dedicated to opposing pseudo-fascist elements that may be attempting to set policies for our government. Trump's admiration for Vladimir Putin and the personal Mussolini style of leadership that he has displayed in office are simply not acceptable in a democracy, especially to residents of the Capitol Hill and surrounding neighborhoods, where around 80,000 people have a longtime tradition of standing against racial, ethnic, religious and sexual discrimination.
Seattle has a recent history of leading the way on many cutting edge social justice issues. It's evident that this tradition will continue in the face of Trump's right-wing agenda. We can look forward to more record-breaking marches and protests led by our local political and community representatives.
At least in this city there is a strong sense of solidarity and commitment to our unique values. In many cases we have shown an unshakable dedication to the protection of human rights.
We are not a perfect community by any means, and our civil emergency due to homelessness is one issue that has not been adequately addressed by large corporate interests or in City Hall. Still, at least there is a growing sense of opposition to the current misguided policies coming out of Washington, D.C.
As the rest of the world looks on, I am confident Seattle will hold its ground as a progressive sanctuary for people who have been oppressed by other communities and by intolerant governments.
As they say during the protests, "The whole world is watching!" Seattle can serve as a fine example of a truly progressive city that stands up for the rights of all the people. This is what a democracy looks like.
This entry has been edited to reflect the immediate result of the Washington AG's lawsuit. Thanks to The Capitol Hill Times — ed.


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Welcome to my AS Media Studies coursework blog. Here I will be showing how I am progressing with my coursework from the planning and preparation to the final evaluation. For my coursework, I have work in a group to create an opening of film which will last up to 2 minutes.
In my piece I contributed to the filming and editing of the main task.
Audience Evaluation
Audience Evaluation - A Link To Love
View more presentations from HSMMEDIA.
Read More 0 comments | Posted by Marc Walsh AS Media Blog
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
How Our Media Product Reflects Particular Social Groups.
How does your media product reflect particular social groups?
How Our Media Product Uses, Develops and Challenges Conventions.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Completed Piece
Preliminary Task
Location Recce - Oxford Street
Location Recce - Houses of Parliament
Location Recee - London Eye
Location Recce - Cafe Rouge
Location Recce Cafe Rouge
View more documents from HSMMEDIA.
Location Recce - Mops and Brooms
Read More 1 Comment | Posted by Marc Walsh AS Media Blog
General Health and Safety Information
Final Draft of Script
The name of the film on the script is not yet final, it is only a tempoary name that we may or may not use. We will carry put futher research into the type of names, and what names they prefer from a short list we will draw up. Some shots have been slightly altered from the storyboard, however during our filming we will try both and see which works best in our piece.
Overall Analysis of Romantic Comedy Openings
Media Language:
Shots:
Mostly thoughout the romantic comedies, two shots are used to show the intamacy of the characters, such as in the moodboard, show a majority of two shots. Which links to the idealolgy and target audience, as it shows blissful releationships, such as the meeting in Love Actually, this could show how the target audience would need to be quite emotional and be taken in by the emotions that are portrayed in the film, and again this means the target audience is women as men are not as likely to enjoy being taken in by emotion, however women enjoy this and as the leads are normally female it means that they are going to be able to connect with them more.
Shot Compesition:
The rule of thirds in the shots that we see espeically in the mood board seem to show women being in the left third. This again shows the idealology of the pieces as it means that the women is the more powerful character in the scene as they are in the stronger position on the screen, as they are first to be seen because they are on the left. This then again shows the target audience to be female as they are again showing an idealistic view of a womans life, and this would be enjoyed more by a female audience of all ages.
Looking at Love Actually, I can see that the editing is imporant for creating pace. The shots are fairly fast we just see the moment that they run to each other and embrace, this then cut to the next shot of another embrace. This means that the emotion continues and builds aswell.
The music in most of the pieces that we watched were romantic. Such as 'Love Is All Around Me'. This song was originally aimed at women as it is romantic, so therefore using it with the love scenes means that it will be aimed at women.
Mise en Scene:
The scenery that we found in all the pieces we found in the moodboard were very modern and stylish, this has connotations of a rich life. This would be attractive to both men and women however the style side of the scenery may be more attractive to women.
As I mentioned before the representation of women in all the romantic comedies are strong characters who are more powerful then men. Such as in 'Over My Dead Body' the main women is shown to be very strong and demanding. This means that women are very pokey to be the target audience of the film as it shows an idealic lifestyle.
Both openings idealology is based around how love is brings great things, in Over Her Head Body the image is of a very grand wedding with palm tree, and huge fields. In Love Actually this idealistic view of love is continued as the narrator describes how he thinks "love is everywhere often its not particularly dignified or newsworthy but its always there." This shows to us something that we really need to make sure we include and this is the ideal view of love, which is that it can conquer anything, even over vast distances, even if that is great and maybe even unrealistic. This was something else that we had noticed though out the pieces that we saw that they all presented very farcicle narrative not just in the opening but thoughout the film. This could again show us the target audience for a fairly older audience as the scenes that are shown would not be relevant to a younger audience, for example the marridge in 'Over My Dead Body' the humor from that would got be relevant to younger women, then to grown women that maybe are already married.
Over My Dead Body Analysis
The camera movements in the opening of Over My Dead show the size of the wedding though the use of pans and tilts. This shows the scale of the event that the women is organising. The big wedding shows to the audience the lifestyle that the man and women must leadl, so due to the size and scale of the wedding it would mean that they are either middle or high class. This is something that we gathered from looking at our mood board also. This then suggests that the use of a middle class couple would mean it is open for any demographic to enjoy, as the middle and higher class can releate to what is going on, when for the working classes this would be a sort of fantasy wedding that they could only dream of. Clearly from the narritve that is shown seeing the set up for a wedding, the film is clearly to do with Romance, however there is nothing really to suggest that the opening
Camera Composition:
Towards the end of the opening, when we first see the women who is orgnaising the wedding, the rule of third is used. She is standing in the left of the screen which is the most power point on the screen as it is the first thing we see on screen. This shows the ideology of the piece, as it shows a woman in charge of a big event, who is going around giving orders to people, mostly men. This is an idealic situation for women, and therefore shows to the us that the film is aimed at women, as it puts them in a high status position, which is not something you normally see in other genres of film.
The editing of the opening is like a montage, however it is not as fast paced. This is done for a reason though, becuase it shows how the preparation is calm and organised, which then shows to us as an audience that the woman who is organising the wedding is doing a very good job at it, as everything seems to be working effortlessly.
The editing of the opening scene is very closely linked with the music that is used in the scene. As the shots go in time with the music. This suggests that everything is going well as it is keeping in time. I will talk about the sound and music that is used in the piece in more detail next.
The song "Mas Que Nada" by The Black Eyed Peas is underscoring the opening of "Over Her Dead Body". There are various translations for the title of the song, however the one that seems most relevant to the piece is "What a Nuisance". Which is quite funny when thought about, since the montage is made up of the waiters and waitresses setting up the wedding very preciesly. Also the song is quite up beat which gives the montage enegry and links everything that is going on.
The music is modern, eventhough it is a cover version of an song originally realased in 1966, but using a cover verison of the orginial song suggests that the target audience is quite young maybe in their 20s-30s, since they may not have heard the original, but would have known this song, especially as the Black Eyed Peas are a band who are most popular with teenagers up to 20 or 30 year olds.
The mise en scene in this scene helps to build the picture of a very glamorous wedding. The props and scencery are made up of while and silver. Which creates the image of a very grand wedding. Also, the location where the wedding is taking place, shows that the wedding is not coming cheap as the Establishing Wide Shot of the plam trees and sea suggests, it is in a very up market and dreamy location. This again, as we've seen before, shows fantasy, and something that, in the most part, they would never be able to afford. I think that this is more aimed at women, as they known for wanting big grand weddings, when men are normally not as bothered about where the wedding takes place. So seeing a very extravagant wedding such as this, would make the women in the audience fantasise about being in the position.
The costume that the woman who is in charge is wearing bright yellow. This greatly contrasts to the waiters who are all wearing black and white. This again shows how she has power over what is happening, but also the dress seems quite expensive which again shows this fantasy world, of the rich shows the target audience to be female, because women would be able to fantasise about being in that woman's position.
The titles that are used in the opening suggest again a very lavish and expensive film, as the typeface is very elegant handwriting, which could have connotations of a wedding invitiation. This shows how the film is very elegant, and becuase the writing is very neat, and could be called feminine, it does suggest again that the target audience is women, as well as this is could suggest that the target audience is an older women, due to their hand wiriting normally being more elegant, that what a younger person has.
The representation of women in this scene is very postative, which the woman in the yellow dress, is in charge of what is going on, and becuase of the camera composition, with her being on the left of the screen, the audience are more likey to connect and follow her as she is the first person we read when we watch the shot, as well as her standing out from everyone else becuase of the colour dress she is wearing. The representation could show that the target audience is female, however, it could also be male if they have gotten married. They would know about how the wife-to-be normally takes over the organisation of the wedding, and wants to make sure everything is perfect. This is shown in 'Over My Dead Body' by the diagloge exchange between the women in the dress and the waitress, where she explains exactly and in great detail how she wants a very simple take to work in a way that is overly complication.
The genre of the piece I feel is established again in two separate parts we first see the romance, with the wedding all being set up and being transformed in an even more beautiful and fantasy like place. However when we see the women in the yellow dress and dialoge is exchanged between her and the waitress, this also establishes the genre as a comedy. Which then makes the more precise 'romantic comedy' genre.
Ideology:
The ideology is this opening scene, is based around the rich and famous, with this amazing fantasty open air wedding, in a blissful location over looking the sea. It shows a fairytale wedding, which a stereotypical women supposedly dreams about having. So therefore this ideal could be linked target audience, and it shows how it could be both young and older women, but then linking the mise en scene, such as the decor and props, it would most likey be a more mature women, as the design taste seems a lot more mature as it is more basic and proper.
Love Actually Analysis
In the opening of 'Love Actually' we see a montage of footage of people at an arrivals gate at an airport. The shots are either two shot, or wide shots to be able to see the group of people and all their expressions when they met the person who is arriving back. Using two shots captures the intimacy of the scene, and shows the love between the characters. This also suggests the genre of the piece being a romantic film.
In the recording studio the use of shot/reverse shot, shows the humor of the scene, us being able to see the reactions of the producers, which shows their attitude towards the song. The type of MTV edit, with the use of a crane shot as well as a side on close up of the mans face, which to me resembles a music video, in the opening as well again adds to the humor, with a MTV edit normally having connotations of a young fresh band, however when we see the artist being the age he is, it does again add to the humor of the scene. This then suggests the genre of comedy.
When the audience put both of these together, they would be able to establish the genre as a romantic comedy. Also, we noticed how they use opposites, when the film cuts from a very idealic attitude of love, which conquers all to a man using derogatory language to describe the love song he is singing.
In the montage we found that they most of the people who enter are women, and they are normally entering on screen from the left, which is the strongest part of the screen. This shows who the piece is aimed at as the women is shown to be the stronger character as they are in a stronger part of the screen. This also suggests how the man is seen as the more sensitive person in the relationship as they are waiting for the woman to arrive back. Which again shows an idyllic situation for women, as it seems they have a better life then the men as they are arriving back, this could be from business or holiday, but either way they are doing more then the men are doing.
Cross dissolves are used with in the montage this creates a more blissful scene as it is calm and also juxtaposes the action on screen which seems quite emotional. The shots are also quick, this builds the emotion with in the scene. This could suggest how the target audience is women who enjoy the trill of feeling another person's emotions. Which is not normally shown by men, as men are not normally taken in by the emotion of a film, they are normally there to see action, the complexity of the emotions in the scene show how the film is aimed at women.
Music underscores montage is calming with slow pace, which again juxtaposes the scene, for reasons which I mentioned before. The voice over of man, explaining how the feeling of love conquers all. This is a very idyllic view of love, as show the ideology of the piece, as that love, no matter what, will always win. This would again be related to women, and because the man's voice is older, more mature women. I think this is because women would be more likely to enjoy hearing a man's view about love, then another man would.
The music in the recording studio again juxtaposes with the action in that scene, as the song is about love, however the men in the scene seem to not take it seriously and call it by a profanity, and saying 'solid gold' meaning that they are more concerned about the money. This represented men negatively as they are being show to be people who concern more about money then love, which would alienate men, and therefore they are not very likely to be the target audience.
The genre of the piece is established in two parts the first is Hugh Grant's character's view about love and how it conquers all, which is juxtaposed with the comedy of the man singing 'Love Is All Around Me'. This juxtaposition suggests the genre of a Romantic Comedy, as from looking at our mood board we see a lot of opposites, and this sudden change from romance to comedy, again is humorous. This however shows that the target audience is older, as children and even teenagers may be unable to understand the feeling of a person coming back on a plane and meeting the person they love, and as well they may not have experienced true love, which is what Hugh Grant is describing.
Men are represented both negatively and positively in this opening, with at first showing a man's idyllic view of love and then seeing a man calling a love song a derogatory word. This however does really suggest that the target audience is women, as it is going against a normal man's view on love, at the beginning and almost sounding like what a woman would want to hear.
Film Opening Analysis
I will look at already existing examples of romantic comedies, and analyise them using 'MIGRAINE' to see if I would be able to identify any conventions in them which would be essential for me to put into my opening. As well as this, looking at examples of work that has been realised would give me more ideas on how to structure my own opening.
I will be looking at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_saCHD4Wzqk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkrcfrcOSG4
Limitations of Questionnaire
My questionnaire does have quite a few limiations, this is mostly the closed the questions that I have used meaning that I may not get a true image of what the people I ask are thinking.
If I were to redo my questionnaire I would include more questions where the audience are able to leave their own opinion as an answer so I can get a more personalised view of the audience's expectations and tastes.
Audience's Expectations and Tastes
These are the results to my questionnaire that I asked, aswell as the analysis of the results.
From the quantitative results that I have gained I have learnt a lot about what I need to include to make sure the romantic comedy opening meets the audience's expectations and tastes. Firstly, the question 'As a viewer, what normally gives away a romantic comedy?" 12 out of 32 people said that the characters gave away the genre. Therefore I need to make sure that I use characters that are found in romantic comedies, so that the audience can easily relate to them, however looking at the research I have carried out it seems that the characters in a romantic comedy seem to be reconisable due to their lavish lifestyle, so this could tell us that the audience enjoy watching those who are better off then them.
The question about what the audience's taste of music in terms of a romantic comedy will also helps me into choosing the soundtrack of the opening. With 'contemporary' music turning out to be the most popular result, meaning that I should use chart songs in my piece, this shows us how contempoary music has a wide appeal and therefore they will be able to connect with the music more so than if we were to choose somethign that would require further reading into. Contempoary music serves it meaning on a plate if it were, and so it is easy for the audience to understand it. We can also connect this to the general audience of the piece, as they would the film to be simple, which maybe does need to be interpreted to be understood, but for the piece to have a simple narrative structure.
We found that the audience expects to be introduced to the main characters in the opening of a romantic comedy. This shows us how prehaps the audience wants to be able to become attached to a certian character from the start of the piece, and therefore it is important to create this atachment early on, which is something that we must focus on in the making of our opening.
"WHAT TYPE OF CHARACTERS DO YOU EXPECT TO SEE IN A ROMANTIC COMEDY?"
'Quirky' 'Goofy' 'Sensitive' 'Hopeless'
These are the words that people used to describe the type of man that they expect to see in a romantic comedy, therefore in our film opening we need to make sure these character traits are shown to the audience. This shows how the audience want to see men represented, it also shows us how women who watch the romantic comedy think of men or even their idea of a perfect man, which is an idea which normally comes across near the end of a romantic comedy.
'Working' 'Calm' 'Capable'
These are all words the people used to describe the main women they expect to see in a romantic comedy, this shows to me that the women in the opening of my film will need to be a strong character, and it also means that we need to represent women positively in the opening of our film.
When these are put together we see how we need to represented the releationship of a man and a women, the audience seem to want to see the woman in charge. This suggests to us that women go to see romantic comedies, to see an idealic situation for them when they are in control, in what seems to be a ype of matriarchal society. Romantic comedies could therefore be seen as an escape for the audience from the inequality of the real world.
Audience's Expectations and Tastes Questionnaire
Here is a link to the website where people were able to answer the questionnaire.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QWQ3K97
Romantic Comedy Survey
Romantic Comedies Moodboard Evaluation
Looking at my moodboard I can see many codes and conventions that are assosiated with Romantic Comedies.
Looking at the typefaces of the logos, they use pastle colours. This has connotations of the plain being very feminine, as the colours are pink and blue, which are soft colours and not harsh to look at. Take the logo from 'The Break-Up' for example. The logo is female orientated as it shows females to be stronger. The use of the colours pink and blue could show the two genders, and as the blue coloued "up" is at an angle, it should be interpreted as the man is the person who is effected most by the break up, becuase it is the pink writing that stays in its straight position. This shows to us that Romantic Comedies, such as 'The Break-Up' main target audience are women. It also shows the representation of men as being weaker than women. So this something else that we need to make sure comes across in our opening.
Most of the scenes that we see the decor of the room, using props and scenery create a modern design. This would show that the period of most romantic comedies is modern day. The interor and the modern style of the props and scenery would show to the audience that the women or men in the film have middle or high class lifestyles. Therefore it will be important to show how the men and women have quite moden life, also it shows how most of the men lead a metrosexual lifestyle, who seem to be concerned about the way then look, wear designer clothes, and lead a more cultural life style. This could be something that we can try and communitcate in the opening of our piece. This again shows that the film is more aimed towards a female audience as they would be more interested the lifestyle that is portrayed thoughout the films.
Through looking at some of the still I collected from different films, there seems to be a majority of two-shots. Which are normally used to show the intamancy of the two lead charcters in the film. This could
be used in our film in two ways, we could show the intamcy of the two leads through the use of two shots, however, if the film contained times when the lead chacater was with someone else who they were not close to we could show this by making sure they are never in the same shot togeather.
The represtation from thoughout the moodboard seems to show female chacaters a strong independant woman. Which means that they are represented very postivly, which is what makes Romantic Comedies different than any other genre, as it normally shows the woman to be stronger and more independant than the lead man in the film. This shows to us the films target audience would be female but also middle aged women as it shows, and idealic lifestyle that they can relate to. So, the idealolgy of the piece, because it is aimed at middle aged women, so therefore showing a strong indepentant women, is the ideal lifestyle for the middle aged women.
This is my first post of many, which when all put together will create my coursework! I will be updating it regularly once I begin my coursework.
I will be blogging everything I do in lesson as well as any work I do at home.
So hopefully my blog will be massive by the end!
Marc Walsh's AS Media Studies Coursework
My name is Marc Walsh, I am 17 years old. I am in Year 12 at Nicholas Breakspear Cathoic Sports College in St. Albans. Where I am studying towards my AS Levels in Media Studies, Theatre Studies, English Litrature and IT.
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08/29 – Secular, Sacred, Scientific
August 2018 / Book Reviews
Graham Mummery
In the prefaces to the current book,
Spiral Dynamics in Action: Humanity's Master Code (Beck, Larsen, Solonin, Viljoen, Johns 2018), the authors and editors explain that this is a successor to the earlier work Spiral Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership and Change (2006). This is very much the case in that it updates some of the discussions because of further work done by those in the Spiral Dynamics community. The authors suggest reading the earlier work before this one is needed to understand what is on show in the current one. There are sound reasons for doing this.
After reading the new book my impression is that someone first coming to Spiral Dynamics, or just wanting an overview, would be well served starting here. Being written by five authors (Beck and Viljoen apparently the most prominent) with two chapters by others, there might have been a problem of continuity in the narrative thread in the book. At times, voices of authors who speak
separately do merge with one another which can make it difficult to know who is talking. But this occasionally disconcerting feature is quickly overcome and did not detract from my enjoyment of the book. This is a beautifully written overview of this "secular, sacred and scientific theory" to slightly paraphrase Dr Don Beck. I might add in some senses Spiral Dynamics might also be seen, like many other so called human sciences, as an art or even a branch of human wisdom. This strikes me as an appropriately integral (with, or without, capital letters) way of looking at things.
When I look at the integral endeavour I am often struck with the number of people doing the same work, even if there are differences in the languages they use. One of the first was Jean Gebser (1905-73), a thinker who remains underappreciated in the English-speaking world. His book Ever Present Origin (1985) was one of the first to suggest a leap in human consciousness to what he described as an "integral structure." This is paralleled by Erich Neumann's work in, for example, The Origins and History of Consciousness (1954). Neumann's mentor Carl Jung also deserves a mention in this light, as do some other Jungians. There are also those in the fields of Humanistic and Transpersonal psychology who have made major contributions also to Integral thinking and on what in some circles is called emergence.
Spiral Dynamics is another portion in this rich tapestry. As is explained in Spiral Dynamics in Action: Humanity's Master Code (Beck et al 2018), it owes its origins to the researches and work of social and developmental psychologist Clare W Graves. Graves, like Gebser, is perhaps not as well-known as he might be. A contemporary of Abraham Maslow, his work was known to and highly regarded by the great developmental psychologist Jean Piaget (Beck et al 2018 p21). Graves work though is scattered through many journals. His magnum opus The Never-Ending Quest (2005) was only completed after his death. There remains a lot of unpublished research of his. Readers interested in getting closer to his work will find a handy overview in Rainer Krum and Benedict Parstorfer's Clare W. Graves: His Life and Work (2018) which covers a large amount of detail with stunning brevity and shows how Graves worked and the development of his ideas through his life. A great deal of this appears to come out of his own observations rather than following anyone so far mentioned.
Graves was not as prolific a writer as say Freud, Jung, or Wilber. His presence, therefore, is often felt through the writings of his student and latter-day collaborator, Don Beck, whose book with Christopher Cowan Spiral Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership and Change (2006) remains the seminal work and handbook on Spiral Dynamics. Beck himself remains a pivotal figure in the theory and practice. This new book provides an update on the previous work showing how it has been applied with summaries of subsequent developments. It begins appropriately enough with a brief pen-portrait of Graves including with pictures of him with Don Beck who contributes some personal reflections on his mentor.
It was Graves who came up with the concept of memes in the way they are used in Spiral Dynamics. Graves also came up with the metaphor of the spiral to mirror the DNA double helix to illustrate the paths of development, which were later colour-coded by Don Beck and Christopher Cowan (2006). These were the colour codes (or memes) used by Ken Wilber in A Theory of Everything (2001) which is cited in the text. I will follow Beck and Cowan here because they are the codes used in the current book. Those more familiar with Wilber's recent models can find a helpful table in his Integral Spirituality (Wilber 2006 Figure 2.4) to cross reference.
The first part of Spiral Dynamics in Action concentrates on a brief explanation of Spiral Dynamics and its history. As well as photographs of Graves, Beck and other participants of the work, there are diagrams to accompany the text when discussing theory. My initial reading was on an Amazon Kindle version which has the advantage of reproducing some of these in colour in some of these which does not happen in either my paper edition or on my Kindle White where all illustrations are in monochrome. One of the diagrams I most liked was a flow chart early in the book entitled Global Cultural Landscapes (Beck et al 2018 p xxii). This plots beautifully the developmental progression of the First-Tier "Subsistence" Codes (in order, beige, purple, red, blue, orange, green) to Second Tier "Being" Codes (yellow, turquoise). The Coral code is mentioned, but not fully defined, being deemed "not yet discernible" (Beck et al 2018 p26). The meaning of the coral meme remains a point of contention between some advocates of Spiral Dynamics and some integralists of a Wilber persuasion. Spiral Dynamics leaves this for the future, preferring to work with what we can know at the present, and let the future decide itself on this matter. This reflects the pragmatism, I find a feature of this "sacred, secular and scientific theory" and its proponents who to judge from here are very active in the world.
The actual discussion of theory in the current volume is shorter than in the earlier Beck and Cowan (2006). There is however a good overview of the memes, patterns and the five stages (Beck et al 2018 p 44) of changes and paradigm shifts adding more detail to Graves earlier statement that:
… the psychology of the mature human being is an unfolding, emergent, oscillating, spiralling process marked by progressive subordination of older lower-order behaviour systems to newer, higher order systems as man's existential problems change. (Beck et al 2018)
There is also a discussion of the meaning of the Second-Tier memes: yellow, turquoise and the as-yet undefined coral with evidence of how human consciousness may be on the point of making the leap to second tier – a "momentous" leap to use Graves' evocative phrase. However, as is pointed out in the book, Graves was also aware that this leap might not take place. There is also the possibility of regression. He did suggest other possibilities including a collapse of civilisation possibly precipitated by environmental changes (Beck et al 2018 p190). A recurrent theme in the book is the need to create solutions to problems that are ecologically friendly, working towards what Beck calls:
… the Power of the Third Win- you win, I win, the planet wins. (Beck et al 2018 p19)
Of course, terms like Second-Tier still run the danger of being ungrounded. Subsistence memes are after all things that come out of dealing with, as well as transcending various survival needs. Spiral Dynamics emphasises that all codes or memes emerge in accordance with life conditions. The aim is not a grand project to create emergence, more to enable people to see what is happening on several levels and deal with the conflicts of memes in communities, society and organisations. This is one of the things that ensures it stays grounded. One of the most compelling things that I find in the Spiral Dynamics community is a willingness of people to get their hands dirty resolving many of the seemingly intractable problems we face today.
This is also reflected in the chapter on ecology. The one time I have been in the same room with Dr Beck was when he gave a talk in London a few years ago. In this he pointed out that one of the traditions he drew upon was transpersonal psychology, making the point that one could not do everything in groups and organisations the same way as in an individual therapy room. The late Jungian writer and therapist, James Hillman (Hillman and Ventura (1993) suggested that the world needed to be brought into therapy, and there needed to be a depth psychology in the world. Hillman talked of this in terms of "soul" and "world-soul" even. This is not the style of terminology used in Humanity's Master Code. Graves and Beck remain social psychologists working in a scientific manner rather than therapists. The chapter plots ways the codes fit into the natural design approach and offers suggestions at ways organisations can be designed and run using all memes, consistent with meeting human needs while respecting our planetary boundaries. I suspect few of those who like Hillman's terminology would have problems working with this, not least because Spiral Dynamics aims to work with the languages each person uses.
If the first quarter of the book covers the ideas behind Spiral Dynamics, the rest of the book fulfils the promise of the title showing it in action. Part 2 begins with an overview of Don Beck's work in South Africa in the time of the dismantling of apartheid. It is written by Rica Viljoen. Over the years Beck made many trips to the country and got to know the likes of FW de Klerk, Desmond Tutu and of course Nelson Mandela to use only the names best known to me.
Beck's interest in the country dates to the times when he was working with Graves. Viljoen mentions that both Graves and Beck were interested in South Africa from a developmental perspective. The country has several cultures, both African and European. The European part is also divided into people with Dutch/Afrikaans and English origins with different histories. Viljoen presents a profile of value systems present there in the nineteen nineties with codes from Purple and Red with some blue in both cultures. There was also some Green and Yellow which was looking for reconciliation of the peoples rather than the predicted civil war. Beck saw the problems in South Africa as less about racial prejudice and more about conflict of memes. His work there involved talking to tribal chiefs as well as politicians and making negotiators on all sides aware of the impact of their actions on both themselves and others, but also working on positive shared aims. The aim was to provide a Yellow Code solution integrating things from all memes. There are links in the book for readers interested in further details.
Though there is some controversy surrounding the extent to which this contribution was a pivotal influence in the changing of South Africa, given all the other major power dynamics going on at the time, Beck is still regarded as something of a hero there (Beck et al 2018 p62). It comes as reassuring to hear that Spiral Dynamics is being taught in South Africa. This bodes well for its future there, and I would suggest will contribute to the evolution of more integral thinking and policies in that country if it can reach the right people. Even though progress in South Africa has regressed since the heady days when Mandela was released due to a variety of factors – Beck himself has some worries about this – the regression is certainly not irreversible. It is possible that Spiral Dynamics contributed to the initial progress and helped avert a much-predicted civil war. This offers the possibility of the tool being used to move things on.
If Beck's work in South Africa is the most publicised part of his work, there are several other places where Spiral Dynamics has been applied. After the South Africa chapter comes Elza S Maalouf's elegantly written and moving description of applying memetics in Israel and Palestine where she worked with Beck in villages and townships to bring communities together in that troubled region. This has been reprised from her book Emerge!: The Rise of Functional Democracy and the Future of the Middle East (2014) which has many valuable insights into an area with problems that can seem intractable. Here she shows how a memetic profile can be used to address real human problems and describes how this was applied with the people there with moving examples. Readers are invited to read her book in full after this. Middle Eastern affairs would never seem the same if these approaches could gain some traction in that turbulent region.
Teddy Hebo Larsen's chapter on Denmark brings the focus to a country with a very different memetic profile. Denmark, like its other Scandinavian neighbours, ranks high in many ratings for quality of life and the individual freedom of its citizens. Many see it as a kind of benchmark for the rest of the world, in Integral terms possibly one of the countries closer to Second Tier with its high preponderance of Green. This does not mean that it does not have its own problems to solve. Wilber (2001 p 122 ff) raised the possibility of the "mean green meme." There are plenty of signs of this aspect of Green about (e.g. in much political correctness) but these are the Shadow or unhealthy aspects of it. Healthy Green when applied can bring great benefits for societies as the example of Denmark shows. This makes an interesting contrast to the two previous chapters on countries where one can point to obvious "problems." Emergence affects all levels and is, as Graves pointed out, a "never ending quest."
With Spiral Dynamics being applied to political systems, it seems obvious that it could also be applied to economics. The part in this book dedicated to that subject is a chapter from Said Elias Dawlabani's book Memenomics (2013). As well as being an important book for me in the Spiral Dynamics canon, it is by a long way the most successful attempt to provide an integral perspective on economics. Economics in recent years has become somewhat contracted into an Orange, "only money matters" mindset (Beck et al 2018 p 118. See also Dawlabani 2012 p234). The Orange code, like all others, is of value. Science is one of its features. Its capacity to produce things is spectacular, but equally it can be wasteful and result in the environmental problems we are now experiencing. Dawlabani offers us a thorough analysis of the kinds of corporate structures and values needed to take advantage of the benefits of orange, whilst mitigating its shadow side, using examples such as Apple, Google and Whole Foods Market, with a view to creating more sustainable corporations.
There are three more chapters in the book looking at further applications of Spiral Dynamics in organisations, including engaging staff and technology. In some ways this reflects a strong slant towards business, as does much of the book. I suggested above this is in part because of a focus of working in the world. A criticism of what is here could be that there is not enough "soul". This may be an area in need of further development, but there is a chapter including a section on the arts which shows such matters are certainly not ignored.
The chapter is, as its author admits a "potpourri of different cases and applications (Beck et al 2018 p 160)." These include subjects like religion, why Millennials are so difficult to deal with, art, and the impact of technology on people and sport. The section on sport touches on Dr Beck's involvement in the South African rugby team's World Cup victory in 1995. The sports section is especially well developed, while some of the others do leave me wanting more. If this is a slight drawback, it does at least showcase how Spiral Dynamics is an outward looking, world-serving work-in-progress, with no doubt many other similar stories to be told by those present in Dallas at the May 2018 Spiral Dynamics Summit of the Future, and soon to be featured in the forthcoming special edition of the Integral Leadership review, entitled: "The Momentous Leap". (http://integralleadershipreview.com/)
In the final chapter the authors draw the wide-ranging threads of the book together with a look to the future, discussing the momentous leap Clare Graves foresaw. Much remains unknown as to what might happen then. As Don Beck (2018 p 215) reminds us this will involve facing some "hard truths" and making "powerful choices." Spiral Dynamics is one of the "versatile tools" to help us do this, especially in its impulse to go out and do some of the much-needed work that the world needs doing right now. There is much that is informative and inspiring in this book. Much I will be following up also. As Dr Beck reminds us, it is up to each of us to merge this versatile approach into our own wisdom and insights, and to use it well. What we have inside these covers offers a good place to begin and look further.
Beck, Don E & Cowan, Christopher C. (2006 (First edition 1996): Spiral Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership and Change. Blackwell: Malden.
Beck, Don Edward; Larsen, Teddy Hebo; Solonin, Sergey; Viljoen, Rica Cornelia; Johns, Thomas G (2018): Spiral Dynamics in Action: Humanity's Master Code. Wiley. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons.
Dawlabani, Said Elias (2013): Memenomics. New York: Select Books.
Gebser, Jean (English translation 1985, German editions 1949, 1953) The Ever-Present Origin. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press
Graves, Clare W (1974): Human nature prepares for a momentous leap, The Futurist, April 72-87
Graves, Clare W (2005) The Never Ending Quest. Santa Barbara: ECLET Publishing
Hillman, James & Ventura, Michael (1993): We've Had a Hundred Years of Psychotherapy and the World's Getting Worse. San Francisco: Harper Collins.
Krumm, Rainer & Parstorfer, Benedikt (2018): Clare W. Graves: His Life and Work. Bloomington: iUniverse.
Malouf, Elza S (2014): Emerge!: The Rise of Functional Democracy and the Future of the Middle East. New York: Select Books.
Neumann, Erich (1954): The Origins and History of Consciousness. London: Routledge.
Wilber, Ken (2001): A Theory of Everything. Dublin: Gateway.
Wilber, Ken (2006): Integral Spirituality. Boston MA: Integral Books.
Graham Mummery is a poet and psychotherapist. For a time he worked in International and Investment Banking for a large bank until 2009. After that he retrained to become a transpersonal psychotherapist at CCPE London. He is currently working at building up his psychotherapeutic practice and pursuing his passion for integral (with and without a capital "I") matters.
His poems and translations (for French and German) have appeared in literary magazines. His first full collection of his poems, Meeting My Inners (Pindrop Press: UK), appeared in 2015. Some of these have been translated into German and Romanian. He also collaborated in the translation into English of the poetry book Deepening the Mystery (EdituraSemene: Bucharest) by Romanian poet Christiana Maria Purdescu.
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