Hull Fair

There is one exciting event that happens every October in Hull for a week, which is one of the largest European travelling fairs, known as Hull fair.

I moved to Hull when I was only six years old and I remember the first time I went. As a kid it was something new and exciting. Now I will go on one or two rides and head towards the street of food. 

Hull Fair is an old tradition with it celebrating its 700th anniversary in 1993, obviously back then it wasn't as big as it is now however it has always been a tradition for families and friends to go. It attracts people from all over the country because it is so popular and large. I love how I go home from uni every year to make sure I go at least one time.

The fair consists of fun fair rides such as The Bomber Mark 2, The Bungee, Freak out, Frisbee, Extreme and the classics such as The Waltzers, Twister and The Frog Hopper. Every year they bring a new ride, the one this year was called Dreams Live and it went up to 60 mph. I'm scared of heights as it is and going that speed no chance. I can just about cope with The Frog Hopper which is a ride that spins round and goes up and down then backwards. There are rides for all ages and the prices are quite cheap which is a bonus. 

My mum loves rides so she will go on anything even if it means going on her own, it is actually hilarious watching her. I remember one year her and my uncle (who came all the way from Essex) went on The Bungee which goes so high and it was great because they have cameras in the cage they sit in so you can see their expressions when they are getting lifted up and thrown about. 

If you're not a ride person there is the street of food. That is definitely my favourite part as it is so cheap and you can get all kinds of food as every year they bring something new. This year I saw noodle bars and kebabs. You get the usual food like burger and chips, but you can also buy sweets like cinder toffee and brandy snap. There is even toys and gifts you can buy, usually things that light up and as a kid you love. I remember they did flashing dummies and everyone had one at school, that is hilarious looking back. If you want to go with your friends it is better to go at night but if you want to go with family it is best to go in the day because you don't get many teenagers hanging about and it is less busy. I love going at night because you can see all the lights flashing, it looks amazing. It's open from 2 pm until 11 pm which is a long time each day, the only day it isn't open is Sundays.

It's such great fun.

Got to wait another year now but it is always worth the wait.

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The Only Way is Essex, yeah it's really not.

So I'm in Harwich visiting my family and I'm thinking how is this place anything like how The Only Way is Essex makes out it to be.

For the first time I watched an episode of the terrifying representation of apparently the whole of Essex. It is insulting to think that everyone who has watched the show and who has never been to Essex thinks of the people as the people in the show. All the girls are smothered in make-up and fake tan and use words like "reem". 

Harwich is only a small town in Essex, there isn't many shops yet the community is pretty tight, everyone knows each other and are bound to bump into each other walking around the small town they have. If you want to go shopping at high street shops then you have to travel to other places such as Colchester. So in Harwich there aren't many salons or fashion shops for women to look "fashionable". So not everyone pampers themselves constantly, there are people who are not interested in how they look or how others look.

The show stereotypes women as "thick" and "slaggy" just because of the women on the show. I know so many people when I go to uni who sit there and say "I want to go Essex cos I bet we will see fit birds like that and we can say reem" or "I really want to go Essex because of TOWIE, I would wanna see how they all act" It's like these people think people from Essex are a different breed of people! 

Obviously there are people who wear fake tan and wear makeup, there is no problem with that, it's just TOWIE exaggerates this to create a media stereotype for entertainment purposes which leads to more money from viewers because they know people want to see different types of people who go to the extreme especially when it comes to their appearance. 

Not one of my family members acts like the cast but like I said there are people like that but the viewers need to understand it is not representing the whole of Essex. It's the same with Made In Chelsea, not everyone in Chelsea are born in a wealthy family and the same with Geordie Shore, not everyone from Newcastle are drunks who sleep with anyone. When I watch Geordie Shore it's like they all bang on about how good they are at drinking and that's all they do, well come to my uni in little old Crewe and you will see that all uni societies drink and party twice as much! It's just stereotypes and a way of bullying and ridicule in my eyes. 

When I tell people i'm from Essex they automatically think I have that accent where they exaggerate every single word. People need to remember that the cast of TOWIE are entertaining the public and are one or two friend groups. That's who they are not every person from Essex. You can tell they're fake because when Lauren was on Celebrity Big Brother she wasn't exaggerating her words, she was just acting herself not how the public want to see how people from Essex should or do act.

TOWIE is just for entertainment purposes and focuses on the lives of a group of people not the whole of Essex. It's upsetting how everyone thinks its like that one place, no one actually appreciates what Essex is all about. 

Please share your thoughts, and also if you have ever felt in this position where you get stereotyped because you are from a certain city :)

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Ghoul (TV Movie) 2012 Review ★★★☆☆

********CONTAINS SPOILERS********

I've been doing a horror film marathon using Netflix when I came across Ghoul (2012). After I already watched Scorned (2013), Your'e Next (2011) and Apartment 1303 (2012) all which I didn't want to write a review on as they probably would have scored like a 1 star and that's pushing it.

The reason I originally picked Ghoul was because I thought it would be a monster horror but by the time the film finished I had realised I was wrong, however that wasn't a bad thing. There were some very interesting themes throughout the film which I think made the film seem more like a drama. The audience can relate to some of the issues through the film which I found interesting for a horror film because usually its all about sex, gore or hillbillies which aren't really relatable, well maybe to a small minority.

The film centers around three teenage boys who are all best friends and are looking forward to spending time with each other over the summer. They have built an underground fort to play in so are desperate every day to go in it. The main theme which runs through the film is the discovery of friendship. There is a story that goes through the town, the myth of the ghoul. Some say its just to keep the kids in line but some believe it is a real monster that roams around the mines underground. One night two teenagers are attacked, one is killed the other kidnapped and taken to the ghouls den. As the kidnappings are happening, we get to see into the lives of the three best friends. None of them have it easy.

Loss of a family member

Timmy has to deal with the death of his granddad who dies after he lets Timmy go out and play with his friends. He hides a present for Timmy in the underground fort which shows he cares for his grandson. It is sad to watch because they seemed so close with each other.

Spousal and child abuse

Barry's father abuses both his wife and Barry. He is an alcoholic which you find out was due to his friend's family as they had a tragic disaster and he felt guilty. He takes all his anger out on his wife and son. He bullies the other children by calling them names and threatening them. It is hard to watch a man beat up his own child and wife. The sad thing is the mother doesn't even seem to want to leave after Barry is brutally beaten. This is representing the abuse that is going on in the world and that people are too scared to call the police. The wife is in denial which can relate to other women suffering with domestic violence.

Child Molestation

Doug's mother is also an alcoholic, this is due to her husband leaving her. This affects Doug as at night when he is in bed his mother sexually abuses him. The first scene we see this is when the mother strolls in his room and gets into bed with him. My first reaction was shock as I straight away thought it was portraying sexual abuse however I questioned it because the film had shown so many other issues I thought they can't add that in aswell. But they did, and it was hard to watch because Doug tells Timmy in confidence and it's sad because Timmy says he is always there for him. It is showing how strong their friendship is and how far they will go to protect one another, because Timmy also sticks up for Barry when his father starts to attack.

The ghoul isn't a monster, but a man. The man who was friends with Barry's father, he began living underground and killing due to his wife committing suicide along with killing her twin babies. This led him crazy and I think the 'ghoul' was connoting that you don't have to be a creature to be a monster, but just human. Humans can turn into ghouls if you let yourself. The film is conveying that everyone lives with some kind of nightmare or ghoul, which they hide from others. However it is showing that friendship can help you if you let it.

Overall, even though this film wasn't really scary it was a good film to watch.

Please comment with your thoughts!

Cast

Nolan Gould as Timmy

Trevor Harker as Barry

Jacob Bila as Doug

Tim Bell as Martin Kreider/Ghoul

Dane Rhodes as Clark

Barry Corbin as Grandfather

Catherine Mary Stewart as Elizabeth

Catherine Curtin as Carol

Andrea Frankle as Rhonda

Director

Gregory Wilson

Screenplay

Brian Keene (novel)

William M. Miller

****these dates are UK releases and not US.

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Kuma (2013) Review ★★★☆☆

********CONTAINS SPOILERS********

I came across this film on Netflix and was intrigued because it was about a Turkish family. The film is made by an Austrian company however most of the film is in Turkish. This was the first Turkish film I have ever found on Netflix so I had to watch it. 

The film follows a young woman named Ayse (which is my name, this is just the Turkish spelling) who is from an old village somewhere in Turkey and her family have arranged her to marry with a man who is Turkish but lives in Germany. The thing is the man who they are setting her up with is an old man who is already married with six children. How are they going to get away with this and why, I suspect your asking yourselves.. Well they pretend she is marrying the second oldest son Hasan because he is a young handsome man so no one will suspect that really she is marrying Mustafa so she can take over the family when Fatma his other wife passes away as she is dying with cancer.

Now at this point I was like what on earth, because usually in Turkish families the children would look after the parents especially the fact that the children are old enough to look after themselves in the film however I think this is portraying poor and uneducated Turkish lifestyle. 

As the film goes on you feel sorry for Ayse, the fact she's forced into something she didn't want to do, and things get worse because she gets pregnant by Mustafa therefore has to stay with the family no matter what. I found it so awkward to watch and I understood the children's reactions and the way they treated Ayse however they should understand that it wasn't her choice to live this kind of lifestyle. 

Fatma is still dying of cancer and there is a scene in the hospital when everyone is awaiting the results of her condition and the camera cuts to a funeral scene. Now at this point I was like aww yeah the mum has died, not realising that in fact Mustafa, the father had! I couldn't believe it, what a great twist to the film! Now I felt even more sorry for Ayse. But oh it got worse for her, she begins falling in love with Hasan which you want to happen as you her to be happy but he comes out gay! Poor Ayse! The fact that it is forbidden in Islam to be homosexual, I think this film brought up issues that are happening but are not being confronted, so I am glad they added this into the film.

The mise-en-scene made you feel like you were in Turkey and not Germany, the house was full of traditional Turkish ornaments and rugs, Turkish food and the way they behaved. It was like they were living in a small Turkish community as the supermarket they went to was run by Turkish people and had Turkish workers. They try to single out Ayse by speaking German however she starts to learn it which proves to them she wants to be apart of the family. 

This poor girl has had it tough but I think the film is showing stereotypes of traditional Turkish families. For example village girls like Ayse are usually sent to marry someone rich so they can have a better life, Kezvan's husband beats her but she doesn't want help, this shows that traditional families keep to themselves and do not want to get involved. I think the film is portraying rejection, desperation, secrets and showing that there are different generations of Turkish families. You can see they are uneducated and a different generation because of their behaviours, the behaviours most of the characters show would be considered taboo. 

I did enjoy this film as I didn't expect there to literally be so much drama, it was melodramatic however it had good acting which made it believable. I would recommend you to watch it!

Please comment with your thoughts!

Cast

Nihal G. Koldas as Fatma 

Begum Akkaya as Ayse

Vedat Erincin as Mustafa

Murathan Muslu as Hasan

Alev Imak as Kezvan

Aliye Esra Salebci as Gulsen

Ethem Saygieder as Ibrahim

Abdulkadir Tuncer as Mehmet

Director

Umut Dag

Screenplay

Umut Dag

Petra Ladinigg

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Discussion: Can Intercultural relationships work?

Being Turkish and English myself I wanted to explore whether intercultural relationships can work because I recently had a discussion with a friend who doesn't agree with it. I want to look at the advantages and disadvantages even though I know it differs with every single person as there are various different factors that affect a person. 

My mum and dad with me as a baby

My mother is English and my dad is Turkish, they met in England and when they got married decided to stay in this country. My dad kept his traditions and culture but adapted to his new English society. All my life I have learnt both cultures and respected both however I chose to not follow the traditional Turkish cultures as I do not agree with some of them. My mother didn't believe in some of the Turkish values therefore her and my father would compromise on what they would share and what would happen within our family. Personally I believe that works the best because it is the love for the family which is the most important thing.

I personally don't even think there should be advantages and disadvantages because we are all human and shouldn't look at race or anything like that, all you need is love and respect for the person you are with and shouldn't let anything outside that interfere, especially narrow minded and judgmental people. However I have thought of some so it can be discussed.

Advantages

Learning  a new culture

When you meet a person from another culture you get to experience new ways of thinking. You become educated in all new different things within that new culture such as language, food, clothing, traditions and values. You have a better understanding of others who follow that culture which allows you to relate to it and learn how other people live. We all share the same world but live differently, it is great to learn about new ways of living. It gives you a great sense of who your partner is, and to share that with them is a wonderful thing. To learn about different things within that culture allows you to explore it further by trying it out and seeing whether you would like to have these things apart of your life. To have that choice in life is great because you feel that you are apart of more than one society. It gives you a better understanding of the world we live in.

Advantages for children

There is an advantage for children who are in an intercultural family because from birth they will learn more than one way of living. They will learn all the traditions and all the cultures which gives them the chance to break down prejudices and not discriminate against others as they have a better understanding. Especially when they are younger at school they can make friends with anyone without judging them for where they come from or what they believe in as they themselves have come from a mixed background. Obviously this doesn't apply to every single person because every one is different but I believe this happens to the majority of children from an intercultural relationship.

Stronger family life

Families who are intercultural can make their own way of living by combining all their values and cultures. They may have to compromise with certain things as all might not agree on certain things. This makes a stronger family as they are willing to respect each others opinions and views or at least give it a try. It allows you to create your own traditions which will suit everyone. 

Exploring new countries

You get the chance to visit new countries if you or your partner are from another country. You can experience the different cultures first hand and witness the lives they live. You can choose where to live and bring your children up, depending on where you prefer. With my family I get to go to Turkey and stay in England. I prefer it in Turkey and hope in the future I can move there permanently. 

Language

If you do not know the language which your partner speaks it can be difficult because communication is very important however I believe it can be overcome if you believe in your relationship. It is hard to learn new languages especially say if I have children because they will want to learn English, Turkish and what ever language my husband would speak to please all family members. It would be difficult if not all family members could talk to each other and one may feel uncomfortable if another language is constantly being spoken and you not understanding. I personally would want to learn the basics of my partners language and hopefully be fluent. I would expect others to respect that every one is from a different background therefore may have a different language. However the chance to learn a new language is an advantage because it is good to speak to your partners family and also when you travel to the country your partner is from you can talk to the citizens of the country confidently. It can also open up a lot of opportunities for you in the future with careers etc.

Disadvantages

Family members & Acceptance

Some people will choose to continue to follow their original beliefs or adapt to new ones or even form their own. A person who is not of that culture may be left out when visiting their partners family as they do not follow the same culture and traditions. They can choose to begin to follow them just to fit in however it is unfair as they may want to follow what they believe in. For example an Indian girl may want to wear her traditional clothing at an English event however will feel left out as English people do not wear the same type of clothing. I personally believe that the other persons family should accept who you are because you are not marrying them. They should respect your own culture and vice versa. I would not expect my husbands family to visit mine and wear all Turkish traditional clothing, I would want them to be comfortable with what they are wearing. It is hard if you come from a traditional family as they may not be very accepting of your partner, which to some people isn't a bad thing. This may put a strain on the relationship. The family members may be old fashioned in the sense of sexist and racist therefore will never accept an "outsider" into their family. This is a hard topic and must be discussed before getting into a relationship to see whether it will work out and the issue can be resolved.

Depending on who you are you can overcome the disadvantages so easily, if your heart is in it and you have respect for others you will have a successful relationship. Just don't become someone you don't want to be. I believe in intercultural relationships because it doesn't matter as long as you love that person you are with.

Please share your thoughts, if you agree or disagree or if you have any experience, I would love to discuss with others! Please avoid racist comments!

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Eid Mubarak Everyone!

Eid Mubarak to everyone who is celebrating!

Eid is a celebration for all Muslims around the world who have fasted for 30 days for Ramadan. Ramadan is when Muslims fast during the hours of daylight. This means no food or drink at all, and it also means stopping bad habits. This helps you feel like you're cleansing your soul of sins and desires. It helps teach you about self-discipline and of the poor people who can't afford to eat. It makes you feel what they are feeling.

Many Muslims will try go to the mosque everyday to prayer and listen to the Quran being read. The Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) during this month. The night the Quran was revealed is known as Lailut ul-Qadr (The Night of Power) this requires a special pray for men and women.

When I break my fast I have a meal with my family and then an hour before I start fasting again I will have a small meal but nothing heavy so I won't be hungry when I wake up. Doing it with your family is the best because you are sharing the same beliefs with each other and helping one another. I think it brings you closer together which is a good thing.

At the end of Ramadan a celebration called Eid-ul-Fitr occurs to show the breaking of the fast and everyone thanks Allah for helping them throughout Ramadan. Muslims come together to celebrate this by dressing up nice and giving out gifts. My father has given me money and my brother various different gifts. As a family we have also given to charity to the poor to help them celebrate.

I am half Turkish and Turkish Muslims say "Bayramınız mübarek olsun" to one another. I think every country have a different way of saying Eid Mubarak but it doesn't matter because we are all celebrating the same thing. 

Later today my father and some of my other family members are going to celebrate with a meal and will thank Allah for all the help he gave us through Ramadan.

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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) Review ★★★★☆

********CONTAINS SPOILERS********

I've never actually watched any of the original films from the Planet of the Apes (1968) franchise, only the remake Planet of the Apes (2001) so my knowledge about the films were limited. I rated Rise of the Planet of the Apes high as it was well made and had an excellent narrative so I had high hopes for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014). I was right, it was brilliant from start to finish with only a few minor cons. 

Okay, so it's 10 years later and no sign of James Franco (he didn't want to return to the franchise) or any other humans for that matter. We go to the forest which we were left with at the end of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. We are shown that the apes have developed hunting skills which assures the audience they have managed to survive the ALZ-113 virus. In Rise of the Planet of the Apes Caesar was lost and was just becoming independent whereas now Caesar is a leader who has developed all the human knowledge he needs to survive and defend his land, he is now a father which shows apes are capable of having a family. Caesar's development makes the audience relate to him more as he is human like, showing the same behaviours and showing he can care for a community. 

The Motion Caption Technology used was breath taking, throughout the entire film it was like I was watching real animals. The detail on every single animal was unbelievable, I had to keep reminding myself they weren't real. When I looked back at the apes in Rise of the Planet of the Apes you could see the improvements which I couldn't believe they managed to do. Andy Serkis did a excellent job as Caesar, capturing all the behaviours and emotions of an ape.

A group of humans are found in the forest searching for a power station as we learn there are a community of humans which survived and have been living close by the apes. A human named Carver panics and shoots Ash, Rocket's son which immediately angers the apes therefore Caesar goes to the humans and demands that they stay in their own territory and the apes will stay in theirs. This all goes fine but then obviously it kicks off with betrayal, jealously, anger and war. 

One of the only problems I had with the film was that there weren't really any character development with the humans. Usually I don't mind that but because they were all new characters I felt we needed to know some more about them. I was surprised that the character Dreyfus wasn't as bad as the trailers made out him to be. It was Carver who was the most cruel human. Some of the humans understood that it wasn't the apes fault that the virus spread but to some it's just easier to blame the apes and hate them. People always fear things that they don't understand. That's why it annoyed me when the humans just wanted to kill them without hearing what they had to say. This is when I didn't feel any emotion towards the humans, even when they were getting captured by the apes because humans would experiment on the apes without a care in the world. In films like this I think the humans are always portrayed in a bad way because in real life I think societies are ignorant to certain things, especially in politics. When the city gets power the first thing Dreyfus does is look at photographs of his family on his iPad. This made me feel sorry for him and it showed that all he wanted was to see his family again. This kind of gives hope back to the humans that they still have emotion. This also shows that humans can't rely on technology like in real life because you need power to survive and there are more important things than technology you have to think about.

Throughout the film I wanted the humans Malcolm, Ellie and Alex to survive, I think because they didn't hesitate when it came to helping and understanding the apes. They understood that the apes had built themselves a life and didn't want it destroyed. They saw they were trying to be equal to humans for example Maurice teaches the other apes how to read. They want to be accepted and treated in the same way.

Throughout the whole film it was emotional and tense especially between Caesar and Koba, two best friends who have been through an ordeal but have to stand for their own beliefs which conflicted with one another. I felt sorry for Koba because he was experimented on and he hated the humans for that, I don't blame him I just think his anger and hatred over took his thinking which led him to betray Caesar. The scene when he begins the war is heartbreaking as he is leading all the apes to their deaths. All the fire around makes the scene powerful, connoting the pain that everyone has felt since the virus spread and the pain the apes went through in the experiments. Unfortunately some of the apes were being burnt alive, this was actually hard to watch because it just seemed so real and if they knew the real reason for them fighting they wouldn't have gone in the first place. However they were scared and had to follow Koba out of fear, this is usually a human trait. 

There were a few continuity moments which linked to Rise of the Planet of the Apes such as when Caesar went back to his old house and went to his old room where he found a video of him when he was younger. It was sad to watch because the audience knew how much he loved Will. It reminded us that Caesar still wants to help and be equal with humans.  The only actors who returned for this film were Andy Serkis, Karin Konoval and Terry Notary. Some of the same characters returned such as Koba but they had changed actors. All the acting was good with all the characters however it was the apes which got all my attention.

I definitely recommend this film and I will be watching all the originals!

Please comment with your thoughts!

Cast

Andy Serkis as Caesar

Karin Konoval as Maurice

Jason Clarke as Malcolm

Keri Russell as Ellie

Toby Kebbell as Koba

Kodi Smit-McPhee as Alexander

Kirk Acevedo as Carver

Gary Oldman as Dreyfus

Nick Thurston as Blue Eyes

Terry Notary as Rocket

Judy Greer as Cornelia

Larramie Doc Shaw as Ash

Director

Matt Reeves

Screenplay

Amanda Silver

Mark Bomback

Scott Z. Burns

Rick Jaffa

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