World in my eyes
Every year around this time, I can’t help but feel like the third lobster in a nativity play. Really, like someone who is part of the party, but just because all kids should be in it and no one should feel left out.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas. The Glühwein, the Christmas markets, the anticipation of presents made for and by loved ones, the annual bonus, people on the street being usually cheerful… All these things make the holiday season special to me.
When one learns a language, it is only natural to start with the basics and often slightly deviate from the Puritan way and see what sex looks like in the foreign language. People in their twenties go as far as first learning the bad words and then the good ones.
Naturally, sex is often a topic in the exchange among foreign students in a university away from home. “How do you curse in your language?”, “How do you say sex?”, etc. In some languages, this is pretty straightforward – meaning many languages use the English word (for the act, not the gender that is). In others, the difference is huge.
People tend to think of themselves as unique and superior. They refuse to recognise otherwise visible issues of invisible people – those unseen by the majority or ruling class.
The mother of two working multiple jobs when finally making it out of war zone her motherland is. The Roma teenager who has resorted to a life of crime, because he sees no opportunity in front of him. The African immigrant family who is pretty much the only dark complexion in a white neighbourhood.
Movies’ and series’ scripts often follow the current social behavioural patterns, challenges and fear. They are a sort of reflections fo our daily life and, in some cases, taking things further in the sense of “what it could be”. Naturally, not all of the scripts, but those aiming for a larger box office run.
A simple run through the titles carried by the online subscription services (like Netflix and Amazon Prime) and the action thrillers coming out of Hollywood are a mirror image of the front page of any major newspaper. An intrigue in the political system, a terrorist plot, immigrants, a band of Russian “polite soldiers”, you name it…
It is no secret that social media companies, a startup with access to our phone data and a bunch of other data hoarders have a huge amount of information gathered on everyone ever using a smartphone or having an account somewhere. What is interesting to me is when push comes to shove, how regulations will be applied to the already existing behemoths.
Most of the smartphone users don’t bother to check their default settings when starting up their device for the first time. They also do not check the permissions the apps they download and use. Privacy and security in many cases are just an afterthought for them.