The slow tragic end of classic cartoons...

And so enters Tobey and Christian!

It is so interesting how cartoons aren’t as simple as they used to be! In my day, the Disney cartoon characters were the coolest and most loved cartoon characters. Now, movies based on cartoons are ever so complicated and there is a lot of technological ‘gizmos’ that make the character. One should just watch Spiderman! Tobey Maguire makes it look so natural swinging from wall to wall and it’s all thanks to the usage of technology in the movies. I must admit though, that the current cartoon-to-movie characters have so much more swagger. Look at the Dark Knight Rises! Who would’ve thought that Batman would look so hot (plus the main character is played by Christian Bale)!!! Even so, I’m still a die-hard fan of the original cartoon characters. From Popeye the Sailor to Scooby Doo, I’ll forever prefer the oldies. Technology has somehow taken away the sentiment of these cartoon greats. I found the craziest audio clip of Donald Duck being sexually stimulated (don’t worry, I did NOT download that crap!). Finding a picture and a classic video was easier than I thought, but I could not not include Mr. Dark Knight Rises in action!

As it is still women's month, I chose to focus on women who I'm familiar with; women who've moulded me into becoming who I am. I focused particularly on their everyday lives and randomly took these photos while most were unaware. I wanted to depict women going on with their daily living and doing everyday things that are sometimes unnoticed. What connects them for me is the last picture of the woman smilling in the shack salon. 

My escape

My book collection is enough to open my own public library and it drives my mother up the wall! These books give me a sense of belonging. I seem to be able to identify so much more with the characters in these books and their lives more than I do with people I live with and around. So many things are almost never explained to one, especially if you live in a household where black culture enforces the belief that children are seen and not always heard. My books envelop me and transport me to another world. When reality becomes overwhelming and confusion rears its ugly head, I bury myself in a book and feel safe and understood.

The picture above depicts books on my bed but in reality, give me a book anywhere and I'm home. From Abeeda in Confessions of a Gambler (by Rayda Jacobs), to Kathleen Blackwell in Master of the Game (by Sidney Sheldon), to Edward Cullen from the Twilight series, I have been to each of their homes and found comfort within the words that portray their characters.

I was too ashamed to photograph the room that I use to store all my books in so I threw some books on my bed just so that people (Miss Francki in this case) wouldn't see the dust and untidiness that drives my mother crazy. 

My bedroom window has direct sunlight coming in so I made sure that my curtains were wide open so that the picture would be brighter and clearer for the viewer. My camera phone did a decent job, I think!     

New York: World Trade Centre (9/11)

This is a photo taken by Robert Clark on the 11th of September from his Brooklyn Office. Clark is a fine art nature and landscape photographer. This particular photograph earned him the World Press Award. He is known to work very closely with the National Geographics team. His work is diverse; ranging from animals to plants and people.

Soweto: Orlando Towers before democracy

 Photo by unknown artist (1992)

Soweto: Orlando Towers after democracyy

 Photo by Palesa Mgidi (26-07-2012)

This has been the most frustrating assignment I've ever gotten! This assignment is so exciting and my imagination went wild but my phone was very limiting. But, this is what I decided to use with the resources I have.

I chose Robert Clark's photo of the events of 9/11 contrasting the Orlando Towers and how they have become the beacon of Soweto travel and tourism. The first thing that tourists see when viewing brochures about Soweto are the towers. Not so long ago they didn't look as bright as they do today. This is more evidence of how much South Africa has evolved. They symbolise hope and progression for me as a Sowetan. These towers are now used for bungy jumping and other height dizzying sports! In Soweto nogal!

For the Americans, this photo symbolises pain and drastic change in the world. I guess it is a symbol of change for everyone, all around the world. The Twin Towers are also show an end of an era. For me, America was stripped open and its inequalities and weaknesses were shown for the world to see. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of photographs taken of this tragedy but for me Clark's  photo will go down in history as one of the more poignant photographs taken on that day.