Conceptual

For the Taming Of The Shrew piece I want to do next year, I'd like to do more traditional Elizabethan style like they were originally performed. With big poofy dresses and suits. Nothing too modern, very serious. I'd probably like to do more of the scene where Kate and Perchucio first meet than the others :)

UnMasked

In Drama, we have been talking about and creating our own masks.
First, we were given a "mould" of sorts of which we needed to paper mache. We spent about two periods on this?

Once dry, it was painted white so we were free to decorate! I added black eyeliner to the eyes and a red diamond to the forehead of mine.

Then we choreographed a fake fight based on the characters we made using the masks.

And that's that! The story of my mask!

Caused Conflicts

In the first article of the treaty, Maori were told that they'd only have to give up governorship and continue to have control over their tribes. However, the British were told that they'd (they being Maori) have complete control over New Zealand. Government issues ensue.

In the second article, in the British version, Maori are guaranteed all of their properties but the British have the established right to buy the land that was for sale, meaning the Maori could only sell to the British government. Maori were aware they had full rangatiratanga over their possessions. Contrary to the British article, Maori were told they could offer their land to the British Crown for an agreed price and if the offer is denied, the land could then be sold to someone else. This would cause some issue when Maori tried to sell land to countries outside of the British Crown.

In the third article, both versions state that Maori had the same rights as British subjects. However, the British "Offical" version, did not state that the British were to protect Maori, unlike the translated Maori version of the article. This would obviously cause some kind of conflict where Maori believe they should be being protected but aren't necessarily. 

My Ideal World

Close your eyes. 

Imagine the perfect world.

What do you see?

A question like "what does an ideal world look like" is relative. The answer would change depending on who you ask. If you were to ask a five-year-old, I can almost guarantee you that their answer would be drastically different from the one of a 50-year-old. But my ideal world? I'm not sure...

Sure, I'd like to see a world where everything is perfect, where everything within our idea of 'tragedies' didn't exist, ever but that's not the most realistic thing. With the way that humans tend to linger on the negatives, no matter what, we'd find something that's worst than anything else.

So... My ideal world would be one where prejudice is collectively looked down upon. Where everyone is perfectly equal, no matter race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, sex, etc. Diminished discrimination. Where everyone has an option, where their choice is valid. Where they're allowed to make that choice. Where love is love. Where war and violence and death was never the option. Where mental illness is treated the same as physical, visual illness. Where precedents and stereotypes are bullshit, word, nothing to listen to. Where people can simply... live in peace.

That's my ideal world.

And the only real way to get here is to spread information. True information. Spread positive attitudes and messages. Don't just try and get people to understand. We've got to make them understand. Let them hear us, no matter how much we've been silenced and-

Now I'm starting to sound crazy. But you get what I mean. Words mean so much more than people know. 

But that. That is my ideal world.

The Treaty Of Waitangi

If you grew up in a New Zealand school or have literally ever watched the news in February, you’ll know about the Treaty of Waitangi. First signed on 6 February 1840, the treaty continues to be a controversial topic surrounding the countries history. So why was it ever signed? Whalers basically going crazy, Europeans missionaries vying for Māori rights, infighting and the musket wars, plus the Declaration of Independence all played a part in the creation and signing of the treaty, proving that back then the treaty was truly needed. 

With the continuing influx of European whalers came a high increase in absurd behaviour, leaving the country in a need of a treaty. Instilling a treaty between the two countries would introduce laws and regulations, restricting the lawless behaviour of the whalers. In the early 1830s, the contrast of Europeans compared to the Māori was huge. There was an estimated 100,000 Māori compared to the 200 Pākehā. Of this 200, there were many a whaler. Once arriving in places like Kororārika after spending up to three months on the sea, whalers would begin to lose any order. In an attempt to wind down from the no-less-than dangerous job, they would get drunk in local bars, have insane parties, and usually end up starting fights. They would take advantage of the local prostitution, as sex would pay for the purchase of a lot of things, including muskets. Furthermore, in some cases, they would spread diseases or even kill. This behaviour made the Europeans think twice about their treaty-less status.

Missionaries, religious messengers, played a large role in the signing and promotion of the treaty. Without their word, protecting Māori’s rights, such as their land and their trading, may have been overseen by the rest of the Europeans. The first missionaries landed in New Zealand in December 1814, following Samuel Marsden. Throughout their stay in New Zealand, the local missionaries tried their best to sustain good relationships with the Māori people. Over time, they taught them how to read in write in Māori and tried to convert them to Christianity. As a ploy to do this, the Christian Bible was translated into the newly created Māori language. The missionaries would spend days travelling by horse to meet their converting-based mission. Watching events play out, they began to grow concerned for the Māori, who, at the time, was slowly decreasing in population and losing their land. So to help, the missionaries promoted the Treaty of Waitangi to Māori and European alike. In a huge attempt to protect Māori rights, missionaries were an important factor in needed the treaty.

Ah, the musket wars. Set off by the increasing number of muskets traded for flax, and other goods, with the Europeans, thousands of Māori were killed, significantly damaging their population. Between 1807 and 1842, over 3,000 battles occurred throughout New Zealand tribes. The first few were results of a rivalry between Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Whātua, as the north island tribes were some of the first few tribes with access to the long-barrelled guns. With the sudden decrease in population, it was time they needed a treaty. Though over time the fights became fair and more difficult, the substantial amount of deaths was a concern to Europeans, mostly missionaries. Following the treaty, new rules and regulations would be implemented in order to contain violence and death. As with the newfound partnership through the treaty came protection, a treaty being introduced would protect the Māori against whatever means necessary. So, without the rapid increase of wars due to musket trading, there probably wouldn’t have been a need for protection, therefore the musket wars contributed to the creation of a treaty.

Why would New Zealand need a treaty, the Treaty of Waitangi, if there was already a Declaration of Independence in play? Well, interestingly enough, the Declaration of Independence was merely a portal of which the negotiations for a treaty could begin. Signed in 1835 by 35 Māori leaders and 4 British representatives, the document stated that the native people of New Zealand, the Māori, held sovereignty over the land but were only able to trade with the British. It was designed to promote and protect the rights of Māori, as well as recognise them as a national identity. Previously, not one chief had authority over a larger iwi and everyone lived in their extended families, smaller hapu. James Busby, the man who drafted the document, saw it as a step toward the country being under the British crown after helping 25 Rangatira choose a flag in hopes of creating a government down the line. So, basically, the Declaration was signed to give Māori the sovereignty of the country so that they could sign it away in the Treaty of Waitangi. Despite this, in order to have the treaty signed, the Declaration of Independence needed to be revoked, meaning that the same people who signed the Declaration needed to sign the Treaty of Waitangi. So, consequentially, to get the treaty signed and officiated, the Māori and the Europeans would’ve actually needed the Declaration of Independence.

Following the numerous events throughout our history, we can see that the Treaty of Waitangi was truly needed in order to advance the country. Without it, whalers would continue in their pandemonium and the musket wars would have continued. Missionaries would have been yearning over nothing and the Declaration would have served little to no purpose to the Europeans. Going forward, the topic of the Treaty of Waitangi will probably continue to be controversial, that’s okay. Everyone deserves an opinion. When we look back, we should always see why New Zealand had a treaty in the first place, and how it truly affected the country. Whether you agree or not, these facts are there and shouldn’t be ignored. Use them to your advantage. So there. From this, I think we can all agree. New Zealand, at the time, really did need the treaty.

Composition

By dictionary definition, the term composition means "the nature of something's ingredients or constituents; the way in which a whole or mixture is made up. In music terms, composition is creating a musical piece using various instruments or sounds.

In music, we were tasked to create our own music for a purpose. Whether it's creating film music, an ad slogan, or writing a song with a specific meaning.

I personally have taken on the challenge of creating a piece of music used to frame a film scene. So far, I have created a 20 second something with no sense of genre but the ticking of a clock as an intro. Next, I have to further the piece by adding more and thinking of a genre to put it under.

Damn White People.

In social studies, we are learning about the Treaty of Waitangi and the effects it had on people involved. To understand more about treaties, we were tasked to research one of the treaties given to us. Either the Act/Treaty of Union of 1707 (between Scotland and England) or the treaty between the US and Native Indians. I did the Treaty Of Union.