"Candy"

Now that I have chosen my topic for our upcoming “Culture Project” I’ve come to think about it a lot. I chose to write about the drug scene in Dublin which I consider to be a interesting topic to cover. But the reason why I came up with it in the first place is that while researching I had to think of a movie which ultimately lead me to it. I don’t know how many of you have heard of this movie before but it has already stunned many audiences and it still does today. "Trainspotting" deals with a group of heroin addicts’ lives and how the addiction changed who they are. It shows the self-hate and betrayal that comes along with being addicted. And the courage to adress such a difficult topic in such a genuine, will always impress me. Another movie though, that has even touched me a bit more than “Trainspotting” is called “Candy”. This quite unknown film deals with a romantic relationship that is slowly breaking into pieces because of the couple's addiction.

       “Candy” is a movie adaption from a novel called “Candy: A novel of love and addiction”. In the movie we get to follow the lives of Candy and Dan, who fall madly in love with each other. Dan, who is a poet and Candy, a student, enjoy their lives as an almost “carefree” couple. Throughout the film they go through 3 different phases: Heaven, Earth, and hell. Each of the phases is marked by a particual milestone or change in their lives. “Heaven” is marked by their love of heroin and sex. And even though they both have money problems they enjoy their life very much.

       In “Earth” their situation starts to slowly deteriorate. They’re married by now but in order to be able to pay for the drugs they so desperately need, Candy becomes a prostitute. Dan on the other hand, starts to steal and manages to get enough money for them to get along for a while. But when Candy becomes pregnant, they decide to stop taking drugs for the baby’s sake. Going through withdrawal, Candy loses her baby and both are devastated. They succeed to get clean though and it seems like their lives are finally taking a turn for the better.

       In the last chapter of the movie (“Hell”) they move away into the country to try methadone (which should help them settle into their new lives) but Candy soon suffers a nervous breakdown. Dan, who actually remained clean, comes home one day to find all the walls in their house scribbled with a story written by Candy. The story represents their life and shows how desperate and sick Candy already is. Dan, feeling guilty for what happened, turns to drugs again but finally seems to reach a turning point when he finds out that his mentor and the father-figure in his life has died from an overdose. In the meantime, Candy is brought to a clinic to recover while Dan gets a hold of his life and finally stops taking drugs for good. A couple of months later, when both Candy and Dan have succeeded in sorting out their lives, they meet and almost reunite. Dan realizes though, that their relationship was always based on their drug addiction and that without the drugs, there is nothing left to say. He breaks up with her because he doesn’t want to risk dragging them back into addiction again.

       This Australian movie was actually a huge success, but it is still rather unknown. In the leading roles the brilliant Heath Ledger and a powerful Abbie Cornish portray those two very complex characters. They succeed in breathing life into those characters and in making the story so tragic and convincing that almost nobody could not be touched by it.  In my point of view this movie succeeds in showing how difficult it is to go back to a normal life once you've started taking drugs. It also gives people an idea and also warns them against the huge damage drugs can cause in your life.  I think that there shouldn't be any reason or justification for taking drugs because it'll ultimately just destroy oneself and every other aspect of one's life. For me, this movie is a huge piece of advice that is being shout out into the world. I suggest everybody better take it!

The world of Photography

Since I can remember I have been into photography in some way. The only thing that has changed in the past few months though is the fact that today I am no longer only interested in pictures but the act of taking pictures as well. I have become really envious of people that are capable of capturing beautiful moments in even more mesmerizing pictures. Not everybody can show off with having the ability to do that. I have only ever tested the waters of photography a handful of times, but right now I would really love to get deeper into the world of photography. And there is nothing that will stop me from trying.
      One of the most amazing photographers that I have come across so far is called Tyler Shields. He started his career on MySpace and after finding recognition in the media he has become a highly coveted photographer. People like Lindsay Lohan, Zachary Quinto, Emma Robert, Nina Dobrev, Michael Trevino or e.g. the whole cast of Revenge were already perpetuated in photographs by him. And currently people seem to finally become more and more aware of his talents
      One of my favourite series that he published is called the “chromatic” series. As a part of this project he took pictures of people or objects that were either splashed with coloured powder or right in the middle of being covered with it. You can't imagine how incredible the images are! I think they are unique because of the strong colour contrasts and the capability of  the colours to change the whole “mood” of the pictures. And even though they are only a tiny factor, colours can undeniably change the whole meaning of a picture very strongly.
     A major part of his pictures though is very provoking, controversial and criticised by the media but in my point of view this capability to provoke is not a bad thing at all. To my mind, provocation is the one message a picture should be able to convey. Just because it isn’t someone’s cup of tea or not his personal opinion, doesn’t mean it can’t be the exact opposite for someone else.
      I consider Photography to be a hobby but I still understand the difficulties and the challenges that lie within the profession. How much effort you need to put into developing an idea as well as into realizing it. For that reason I have a great deal of respect for everybody that pursues this kind of career. Therefore everybody who would consider such a profession should definitely not try to talk himself out of it because you might never know. And who would be a better example than Tyler Shields? For him it all worked out brilliantly in the end.

I didn't really want to add any pictures to the text because of Copyright issues. If you're interested in Tyler Shields photography though, you can either go to his youtube channel or his website www.tylershields.com

The summer season is the "Kirchtag" season !

As we are now getting closer to June/July , I think it is time for me to introduce you guys to a really important part of my life. Every year in July a group that I am a part of (the "Konta") organizes a 4-day event called….you might have guessed it..a “Kirchtag”. When you hear the word “Kirchtag” though, people might think about loads of beer and having a booze-up. This of course depends on whether you have to organize this event or if you’re the one attending it. If the first is the case, you have a great deal of work on your plate. You have to book the band, buy truckloads of beverages, pitch up the marquee, actually making sure everything will work out perfectly. We already start planning everything in May, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to get it all done in time. But what makes this annual fair so special are the traditions like “Kufenstechen” or the “Lindentanz” that are being kept alive thanks to our Kirchtag.

         The most important part of this Kirchtag  though, is the traditional clothing we wear on Sunday (3^rd day of the event). Both girls and guys wear traditional clothing for that day, but the women’s dress is definitely the more spectacular one. The “Gailtaler Tracht” is a heavy and very complex dress that consists of about 8 different parts. Each of them need to be put on with a lot of carefulness because some of the dresses are already very old and were handed down from generation to generation. Also, it is very difficult to dress yourself without any help and I am lucky to have my aunt that gives me a hand every year.
In order for you to get an idea of how really complex this dress is I’ll talk you through the dressing process I have to endure every year. Get ready my friends:
         Okay: The very first thing you need to do is putting on a pair garter belts to fasten the white stockings. Then you put on a pair of cotton underpants that should reach your knee and next a short straight skirt. As a little eye catcher you hide a red garter just underneath the lace of each trouser leg of the cotton underpants. A pair of black leather shoes is next, which is basically the only comfortable part of the dress. I think none of us girls would be able to get through the day if they had to wear any other pair of shoes.
       

When this is all done a wide skirt made of 12 meters of cloth is attached. In order to make this skirt look as fluffy and wide as it does it needs to be starched beforehand. And that very process is a real piece of work indeed, which is why I didn’t do it myself yet (lazy, I know!). But this year it seems like  my mum and I are going to face the competition. The next piece in the dressing process is a blouse with hugely starched sleeves and a long collar. It is put on and tied up right before the “Leibkittel” (what we actually call a “Ras”) . After tying all these laces together as well two different kinds of aprons are tied around the front of the huge skirt. One of them is black and hid underneath the second one, which is usually colorful and nice. The purpose of the aprons is to cover the part of the skirt which is not covered by the Ras.
        Okay so we’re about to cross the finish line: The second-last step consist of attaching two scarves. One of them is attached to the chest with a brooch because the blouse doesn’t completely cover your chest. The second scarf though is worn on the head. The colors of both scarves are unimportant and can be chosen individually. Usually though, everybody tries to have two ones with nicely matching colors. Now, after about an hour of getting dressed, you’re finally ready to go but hang on!  The most precious part of the dress is missing! A handmade leather belt that withholds colorful ribbons which represent the number of years it has already been worn. Now the “outfit” is complete.

        Like I already mentioned at the beginning of the text, the fair takes place in July. Therefore it is usually also very hot outside and you need to be very careful to not get dizzy. Underneath all those layers of cloth, it is not surprising that some of the girls need to sit down from time to time. Drinking some water might solve that problem though, but then again going to the restroom with this dress on is a NIGHTMARE: The skirt makes it very difficult because you can’t reach underneath it. In the first year I wasn’t able to go to the restroom without someone helping me but by now I have already figured out a strategy. Still, it is a completion every time.
        Well now all of you might be wondering why I am bothering to go through all of this every single year. To be really honest, I love it. This tradition was kept alive in my family and I really enjoy wearing the garb because it is incredibly beautiful to my eyes. And if wearing it means having to deal with a few drawbacks, I don’t really mind. And all the people that organize the fair and partake in it are just amazing and I would never want to miss out on those 4 days of fun even if my life depended on it.