Fascinating Reading: Views on Different Media's Issues

Media impacts all spheres of our life. On the blog ' Cause of Eating Disorders' http://mediasocietyandeatingdisorders.webs.com/ Lucy Balcak offers people to consider the issue of media's impact on people  and especially on young women from different sides and think about strong influence of Media on people's minds and attitudes towards beauty ideals. Her blog is well-structured and the feeling of the fact that Lucy knows what she is talking about is palpable.

Alena Davydova chose the topic of Social Advertisement and in her blog http://davydovamedia.wordpress.com/ she discusses the current problems of social advertisement as well as its effectiveness and perspectives. The blog is created in a very interesting and clear way; in a process of reading the controversial issue of Social Advertisement becomes clearer and more comprehensible.

Children are one of the main consumers of Media, so Michaela Matejckova decided to discuss the problem of violent cartoons in children's media http://violentcartoon.blogspot.cz/2013/04/welcome.html
We cannot reject the fact that violent cartoons have significant and harmful influence on children's minds. In her blog Michaela raises important questions,related to children's behavior and their future,that need to be answered.


In the blog 'The force of Advertising' http://semelkin.wordpress.com/ Alen Semelkin in interesting way offers to readers to look at the world of Advertising as at unexplored Galaxy and this metaphor is very well suited to the definition of the issue. He believes that, in fact, we know very little, and our task is to expand the knowledge and analyze what is happening in reality.

If you are interested in role of women in media I recommend you to visit the blog of Victoriya Gridneva http://womenandmedia.tumblr.com where she talks about position of women in Media and consequently in society. Her blog is very informative and provides intelligent information about current situation related to women in media.


I really enjoyed reading all the blogs of my classmates and I am glad that there are a lot of unique and highly intelligent approaches and attitudes towards different issues in Media.

Thank you!

Reading as a Part of Our Lives

The fact that reading is a very effective activity cannot be rejected.  Reading not only improves literacy and broadens the mind of human; it also creates a certain system of values​​, a kind of moral chest that accompanies a person throughout his or her life. Reading is a very significant  process, which not only enriches the knowledge of human, but also creates his or her personality.

Familiarity with literary heroes takes the reader into their world and helps to understand their nature, feelings and thoughts, as embodied by the author. Exactly at this moment literature plays role of  a mentor and enriches the human experience. Sometimes the more we learn about literary heroes, the more we learn about ourselves.

Have you ever experienced afflatus? When after reading the book you begin to understand what you did not realize before. When things that used to be incomprehensible, became clear and understandable. . In this case, the literature plays a role of a teacher who explained unclear definition in a good way.

One of the concepts of literature states that  literature has two main functions: informational and aesthetic. This concept can be called trivial because, in fact , literature much more than a source of information or a nice story for the evening. From generation to generation through the book people passed on experience. Books were the main sources of knowledge; they were a forum for the proclamation of the new ideas and world views. It is important to remember that literature has always been a salvation.In difficult times a person derives from literature wisdom, strength and inspiration.

Of course, there are different types of literature and it is important to make right decision when choosing the book. That is why parents should pay strict attention on what their children read, because  taste and sense of beauty begins to develop precisely in childhood.

The role of literature in the past and in current time is to help person understand himself and the world around him, to awaken in him a desire for truth and happiness; to teach him to respect the past and create a love of learning new knowledge. And only the man himself decides whether to accept the gift that literature can give. I made ​​my choice. Would you like to join me?

Expanding Horizons

Have you ever heard about Richard Yates,one of the greatest American novelists of the middle of the 20th century? Maybe you remember the film 'Revolutionary Road'(2008) directed by Sam Mendes  starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio? This film is based on a novel by Richard Yeats. He was recognized only after his death, and became one of the most revered classics of American literature. By clicking this link you will find an interesting article about his brilliant novel ' Revolutionary Road: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2004/sep/18/featuresreviews.guardianreview26

On the official website of Oprah Winfrey in section 'Books' you can find very interesting articles about new events in the world of literature and also watch her interview with writers and critics and even find a guide which will give you witty recommendations how to improve your writing: http://www.oprah.com/book_club.html









 'Children's Literature for Children, Inc. (CLC) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to getting books to children. CLC has served disadvantaged children at home and abroad for four decades by holding book drives, starting library collections, building libraries, and teaching children to read and create a love for books'- this is the part of an introductory article of this organization, which in the best way reveals its essence: http://childrensliterature.org Here you can discover the information about programs and even help these decent people to help children.

Why you have to read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov( if you did not yet)

First time in my life I found the interview with Vladimir Nabokov, which was taken in the Montreux Palace Hotel in Montreux, Switzerland, where he lived with his wife Vera after they moved there from the United States. Of course, I immediately decided to share it with  you, dear reader: http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/4310/the-art-of-fiction-no-40-vladimir-nabokov 

In this interview Vladimir Nabokov is talking not only about Lolita, but also about his other novels.But let's return to the great novel Lolita...It is not difficult to guess that Vladimir Nabokov is my favorite writer and Lolita is one of my beloved novels.
Lolita was written in English, which is interesting, because as we know Vladimir Nabokov was a Russian native speaker and writer. Later he translated Lolita into Russian. First publication was in 1955 in Paris. The novel was published by The Olympia Press, which was famous because of  its pornographic content. Other publishing houses just refused to publish Lolita.
Why? Because of shocking content and erotic scenes which were not appropriate for society in those days. The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist, middle-aged literature professor Humbert Humbert is obsessed with the 12 year-old Dolorez Haze. They become sexually involved after he became her stepfather. He calls Dolorez Lolita.
Critics and philologists suppose that Lolita is one of the greatest novels of the 20th century. Which is true. Lolita is a novel of deep psychology; the character of Lolita is one of the most ambiguous and complex in history of literature. I also have to mention the complicated and vivid language of Lolita. Nabokov is famous for his ability to create new forms and constructions in any of his languages.
Lolita is unbelievably intelligent, difficult, provocative and tragic novel about great love. 

'Engaged Literature' by Jean-Paul Sartre

And again I would like to come back to the social organization Novel Rights. You can visit their web page http://novelrights.com/human-rights-literature/ and read the section 'Human Rights Literature'. As I mentioned earlier, the designation of Human Rights Literature can be explained as literature that inspires people for changes and actions.
This Literary genre is based on the theory of 'Engaged Literature' created by the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. A theory claims that every human has the power to change society for the better.
The issue of moral duty is discussed in the book ' What is Literature' by Jean-Paul Sartre. There he
argued about 'moral duty of intellectuals, as well as the ordinary citizen, and their position in political conflicts.'(Sartre)
Sartre believed that 'Literature is an important tool that performs a dual action. First of all, Literature plays a role of a mirror to the oppressor and,secondly, is a guide and inspirer for the oppressed people. '(Sartre)


Took from: http://novelrights.com/human-rights-literature/

The Power of Literature and Human Rights

In the previous post I was talking about entertaining literature. But how much do we know about literature, which connected with difficult political and social issues? Exactly this question played the main role in LSE Literary Festival, where different authors delivered speeches on various topics.

Gabriela Ambrosio, the author of the novel Prima di Lasciarsi ( Before we say goodbye), created her novel based on a true story of seventeen year-old Palestinian girl, who committed suicide bombing. The material of Gabriella Ambrosio has gained popularity and is now used as educational allowances at schools and human rights organizations.

Vered Cohen-Barzillay is the founder of Novel Rights social organization that believes that art, especially literature, has the ability to change and motivate people to action. The Novel Rights organization's work focuses on the development of the literary community as well as on the enrichment of people's knowledge about human rights and violations.

Marina Nemat is a creator of the memoir Prisoner of Tehran. In her novel she tells about her difficult life in Iran.  She was imprisoned for speaking out against the government of Iran, and even sentenced to death. In Prisoner of Tehran, Marina Nemat tells the story of how she managed to avoid the death penalty and start a new life in Canada. In December 2007 she was awarded the first Human Dignity Prize by the European Parliament and the Cultural Association Europe. Later, the Novel Rights published the electronic version of Leila, a new story by Marina Nemat.

I think that kind of events deserve respect and admiration. These people came to the Literary Festival to talk about significance of human rights and possibility of spreading information through literature. It seems to me that it is a very intelligent way of communication. What do you think?

http://www2.lse.ac.uk/humanRights/events/2013/literature.aspx

Oprah Winfrey shares the news!

On the Oprah Winfrey's official website I found a really interesting article with the name " 6 Lovely Little Novels That Nobody's Heard of (Yet)". There you can find short annotations for each novel. My aim is to let people know about interesting events in the world of literature, that is why I am going to explain the content of 3 books, which I found the most interesting, so the reader can have a general idea about them and know what to expect.


The first novel "I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith is telling about problem of unrequited love. The life of the protagonist of the novel, Cassandra Martmain,  changes dramatically when the next door settle two brothers from the powerful family. In this novel can be found not only all the features of the romantic novel, but also the answers to many significant questions, such as maturing and rethinking of values of life.

The second novel 'In This Way I Was Saved' by Brian Deleeuw was called 'The Ghostly Thriller...with Plenty of Human Heart'. This novel is telling about 6-years-old boy, who has an imaginary friend who began to harass him. This book reveals the tenderness of childhood and the influence of family in crisis on the life of a child.

The  third novel "The True Memoirs of Little K' by Adrienne Sharp represents a story of Mathilde Kschessinska, famous ballerina in the Imperial Russian Ballet
at the end of the 19th century. Protagonist of Mathilde is a narrator in this novel where she tells about her affaire with the last Russian emperor, Nicholas II. Despite the fact that there are no direct evidences for this romance, this book is interesting and exciting. Sara Nelson, the author of annotation for this book, called it ' A Delicious , Witty Historical Romp Through the Last Days of Czars'. I am sure, that people who are interested in  historical novels will like it.

http://www.oprah.com/book/I-Capture-the-Castle-by-Dodie-Smith?editors_pick_id=35922

Introduction

Reading is a very significant issue which plays a great role in life of a person. I decided to take this topic because of a very simple reason: I love reading with all my heart. Unfortunately, people stopped to read that much as they did, for example, 30 years ago. It is understandable, that sometimes we cannot find time and energy for reading. The rhythm of modern life does not leave the opportunity to enjoy the book; instead of it, we watch sitcoms or films, because they do not require serious concentration and effort. People tend to exaggerate complexity of reading, which it is not entirely right: in reality, reading is not that difficult activity. A person just need to have desire and interest to read. The great impact of reading cannot be rejected; reading enriches the human spirit, reveals new aspects of life and extends the knowledge.That is why it is important to improve people's interest in reading and to show its unbelievable influence on the way of thinking and attitudes towards life.