Social Experiment: BIBLE vs. QURAN
Social experiment by Dutch Youtubers Diit is Normal in which they read strangers passages from the Bible while leading them to believe they are reading from the Quran. A clever, simple, and thoughtful example of how our global perceptions and interpretations of religious doctirines are sometimes skewed.
Art & Photography: JR x Darren Aronofsky
'The Standing March' - November 29th, 2015 - Collaboration between French artist JR and American filmmaker Darren Aronofsky during the Cop21 U.N Climate Change Conference in Paris.
Art & Photography: HUMANS OF NEW YORK
“I want to be an artist.” “What kind of art do you want to make?” “I want to make different versions of myself.”
I'm sure you've already heard about Humans of New York - the incredible blog/collection/work of photographer Brandon Stanton as he photographs and interviews the different people he meets and encounters in New York City. The blog was so popular, not only are there numerous alternative versions around the world, but Stanton also managed to raise over a million dollars for an underprivileged school in Brooklyn thanks to his huge following.
Blog & Festival : AFROPUNK
Afro-Punk is a music festival, who draws its name from the 2003 documentary film by James Spooner, that has been happening since 2005 and seeks to give black Americans opportunities in different musical subcultures that have been predominantly white historically (e.g: punk rock). The originally based Brooklyn festival has expanded to Paris and Atlanta in 2015 and has featured a wide array of talented artists accross the years from Lauryn Hill, D'Angelo, Lenny Kravitz to Grace Jones, Lianne La Havas and numerous others. The festival has now also developped a great blog that promotes racial equality, tolerance, expression and art. Check out Afropunk by clicking here!
Instagram: LOVE YOUR LINES
Check out this inspiring and empowering Instagram campaign called 'Love Your Lines' which aims to make women feel beautiful and positive about their stretch marks. You can follow the project on Instagram: @loveyourlines
Documentary - Broadly & Prison Beauty Pageant in Brazil
Broadly is Vice's new feminist Youtube channel which seeks to explore issues of gender inequality, sexuality, and the overall feminist perspective. It seeks to create a platform for original stories and insights and despite only having been up for a few months has been successful in achieving its goals. Check out the documentary above about a very unique Beauty Pageant in a Brazilian prison.
World & Politics - ISIS Explained in under 5 minutes
Highly recommend watching this if you're interested in what's currently going on in the Middle East, this video gives you a simplified and brief explanation of the conflict in Iraq and Syria, ISIS, and some of the problems with solving the conflict.
Inspirational Person: CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE
Nigerian-born Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a novelist, non-fiction and short story writer who's won numerous awards for her work and been considered one of the most influential African contemporary writers of our generation. Her novels like Half of a Yellow Sun, Purple Hibiscus, or her most popular Americanah (named as one of the New York Times' top 10 reads for 2013) have been widely appraised. The TEDx talk above, given by Adichie in 2012 and in which she shares her experience of being an African feminist has also been incredibly well-received and copies of the written version are now being distrubted to every 16-year old in Sweden. Needless to say, Adichie is inspirational and deserves to be recognised and admired for her work and courage.
Vlogger Highlight: KAT BLAQUE
If you don't know Kat Blaque's vlogs yet, you should definitely check them out. Informative, thoughtful, and forcing us to move away from our social 'boxes', Kat Blaque's vlogs and her Sunday 'True Tea' sessions are a great way to learn more about transgender issues, feminism, and race relations. Check out Kat Blaque's vlog here
Education: TED-ED Youtube Channel
You've probably already heard of the 'TED' organisations or listened to one of their thousands of free TED talks on Youtube, but if you didn't know, they also have a fun and insightful TED-Ed channel which promotes a variety of short lessons on a range of disciplines. The video above is one of my personal favorite series from the channel, 'History vs....', which looks at famous and controversial historical figures from a variety of perspectives, highlighting how history is never as 'black-and-white' as we assume it to be.
Cinema: QUE HORAS ELA VOLTA?
Regina Case's Brazilian film 'Que Horas Ela Volta?' (or The Second Mother in English) is a simple but extremely thoughtful exploration of class relations and inequality in Brazil. The film tells the story of a wealthy Sao Paulo family and their maid, Val, who helps raise the family's young son. Yet when Val's daughter arrives to live with Val as she prepares her university exams, the once-subdued class contrasts become increasingly apparent. An insightful exploration of class dynamics, family, and a still strong culture of domestic service in a country burdened by stark social inequalities. The film is available on Youtube and other platforms and I highly recommend it.
organisation: isla urbana
You may have heard that if in Mexico, never to drink the tap water. Well the reality of living with Mexico's intense water crisis is an incredibly difficult and dangerous one. Even just within Mexico City, over 250,000 people live without access to clean and drinkable water. Isla Urbana, a NGO based in the U.S, is working with creative new mediums to change this problem. It focuses on using rainwater harvesting systems to create viable, sustainable access to water for communities who suffer the lack of it. Check out their website here to learn more about how you can contribute.