Monday 26 May 2014

Lesson Plan for the Film: Elysium

Elysium’s takes place in 2154 in a devastated Los Angeles.  Max -the hero- is now a man, but through flashes back to his childhood, we can learn he was an orphan raised by nuns alongside a girl named Frey, who remains his love-interest throughout his life.  Max has a checkered past -he’s a reformed thief, trying to scratch out a living among the rest of his poor peers on Earth.  They live in the shadow of Elysium, a utopian, wealthy and privileged world, devoid of illness, which shimmers in the sky like beacon, always visible but impossible to reach.


The film has many logical flaws and will not get points for originality. However, it has lots of strong sci-fi violence and teens will love it. The plot is very easy to follow and the film can be used to deal with and analyze topics such as migration, frontiers, the role of countries that do the dirty work and keep migrants far away from the first world (Kruger), injustice, poverty, bravery… Then, I believe it can be a good educational film and resource.


ACTIVITIES

Before watching the film


Click on the link: 

Thursday 15 May 2014

Boko Haram Doesn’t Respond to #Hashtags


   The tone of this article is not in line with other articles published in this blog. This blog means to side with the impoverished, the oppressed, the victims... when giving ideas for a better education or commenting on different issues.
   The person who writes the article below centres his analysis on how the USA has tackled the drama of the Nigerian girls' kidnapping to the detriment of the USA and what should be done in the interest of this country. Notwithstanding, it serves the purpose of explaining the reason for the international uproar over this case. 

Extract from: The Daily Caller
By Joseph Miller

On the evening of April 142014, Boko Haram, a Nigerian Islamic terrorist group with links to al-Qaida kidnapped 276 school girls. The group initially said it took the girls so that they could become wives to its members. The group has changed its mind twice in the last two weeks, though, and has since offered to either sell the girls or trade them for imprisoned Islamic terrorists.

In the time since the incident took place, the world has expressed outrage over the incident — though the supposedly outraged nations have taken little action to address the situation. The kidnapping has galvanized the American public in particular, and it has become a trending topic on social media. Despite the uproar, the Obama White House has refused to take military action.

Why advocate for military action in Nigeria? While it is terrible that Boko Haram has kidnapped a large group of school girls, does the U.S. really have a national security interest in Nigeria? The answer is simple: Yes.

The United States has a national security interest in Nigeria and in countering and ultimately neutralizing nascent terrorist groups like BokoHaram. That interest is oil. Nigeria is the single largest producer of oil in Africa, and at one time was the world’s fourth-largest producer of liquid natural gas. The West African country is a member of OPEC and has been, up until recently, a relatively stable democracy. Additionally, Nigeria has not suffered from many of the issues that have caused instability in the Middle East, and has maintained good relations with the United States.

Tuesday 6 May 2014

More than 200 Nigeria girls abducted to be enslaved and sold

Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram has threatened to "sell" the hundreds of schoolgirls it abducted and enslaved three weeks ago.
Militant leader Abubakar Shekau sent a video obtained by the AFP news agency, in which he said for the first time that his group had taken the girls.
About 230 girls are still believed to be missing, prompting widespread criticism of the Nigerian government.
The Boko Haram insurgency has left thousands dead since 2009.
The girls were taken from their boarding school in Chibok, in the northern state of Borno, on the night of 14 April.
Boko Haram, which means "Western education is forbidden", has attacked numerous educational institutions in northern Nigeria.

Nigerian missing girls: Mothers' 'agony' for daughters



Monday 5 May 2014

SYP’s 2014 Solidarity March throughout Spain: against Unemployment and Child Slavery



















Marching as a sign of protest has served to empower those who are victims of injustice. 

Solidarity YouthPath2014 SOLIDARITY MARCH throughout Spain in the second fortnight of July 2014 means to side with the over 400 million children who are victims of slavery, with the over 1,600 million adults who are unemployed, with those millions of people worldwide who suffer exploitation…
We challenge every person aiming for a just society to take part in this initiative. If you cannot march with us, during those days you can support our march by carrying out local actions to raise awareness of the CAUSES of Child Slavery and Unemployment 

HOW CAN I HELP?
-Discover Iqbal Masih’s life
- Join our actions against Child Slavery on 16th April.
- Get in touch with us to collaborate with 2014 Solidarity March.
- Count on us to make this initiative known to your friends, groups of people…
marcha2014solidaridad@gmail.com

or call Pili: +34 617 806 563 


Join this March!


http://marchaporlasolidaridad2014.blogspot.com.es/



Elysium (2013)

Elysium is a 2013 American dystopian science fiction action thriller film written, directed, and co-produced by Neill Blomkamp, and starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster. It was released on August 9, 2013. 
The film takes place on both a ravaged Earth, and a luxurious space habitat called Elysium. It explores political and sociological themes such as immigration, health care, exploitation, the justice system, and class issues.
In the year 2154, the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth. A man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds.



Director: Neill Blomkamp
Writer: Neill Blomkamp 
Stars: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley  






SEE THE TRAILER