The Revenge of Ms. Cunningham

The year was 1803, the place was London.
The city was thriving, flourishing with the bustling of the newly launched railway line.

Here, in the heart of the city lived Miss Amber Cunningham, a young girl of twenty one, a well known, smart and accomplished debutant. Miss Cunningham was the daughter of of the Earl of Devonshire, Sir Richard Cunningham owner of the sizable Devonshire estate. Being of marriageable age, her father was eager for her to find an advantageous match. But little did her know, his daughter had lost her heart a long time back to the son of a neighboring estate. Sir Samuel Griffith, Baron of Bloomington. Amber and Samuel had plans to marry after this last season, combine their estates and live peacefully.

All was going well, Miss Amber had avoided the schemes of the Society Mama's and was waiting to go back home to inform her father of her inevitable courtship and then marriage to Sir Samuel. But three days before the season was going to end, came a person that sent all the Society Mama's into a frenzy. Sir Barthamelow Pittsbury, Duke of Hampstead and personal advisor to King George III. A distinguished gentleman, twice the age of Miss Amber. He created quite a stir by announcing he was finally ready for marriage.

Sir Barthamelow took a shine to Miss Amber and approached her father with an offer for marriage. Not one to resist such a profitable offer from a Duke, the Earl agreed readily. Notably, Miss Amber was not pleased with this decision. Knowing her father was not an agreeable man she thought it was bet to approach the Duke and be truthful to him about her feelings and engagement. Joyous, she went to Riverfield, home of her lover to inform him about the recent developments. Unfortunately, to her dismay he refused to grant her audience, claiming that she had already been promised to another man and he would never stoop so low as to meet with a claimed woman.

Heartbroken and deeply hurt by the incident she went back home only to be faced with the most shocking news of her life - her father in a fit of drunken bravado gambled away his estate, leaving them both penniless. Unable to bear the guilt, her father took his life and left Miss Amber to fend for herself. Miss Amber had no choice but to turn to the Lord and enter the nunnery. It was a few years later that she found the identity of the man who had taken her home away. It was Sir Barthamelow Pittsbury, the man because of whom her life had changed for the worse. Furious, she vowed revenge.

Knowing the Duke was a patron of the arts she snuck away from the nunnery and under the guise of 'Sherriford', a man, she joined a theatre group. Sherriford worked hard, gaining enough favors till 'he' went from stage hand to understudy and finally to being an actor. Forging the proprietor Brinsley's name she sent tickets to the private box on the opening night. The night could not come fast enough. It was the moment Miss Amber had been waiting for. The play was based around the workings of a circus. There were people walking on tightropes and tigers being tamed in cages. The people gasped and screamed, taking delight in the chaos on stage. Taking advantage of the chaos, Sherriford stole away a knife, slinked to the corner of the stage next to Sir Barthamelow's private box and screamed "My name is Amber Cunningham, you killed my father, stole my land and destroyed my life, prepare to die!" Taking aim she let the dagger fly, crying tears of triumph and she saw her dagger hit its mark.

The screams from the private box were masked by the screams of the crowd. But when the chaos died down people were horrified and no one knew where the young, bright actor had vanished. He had slipped away into the night, never to be heard from ever again. 

To Keep up with the Kardashians or not?

There is absolutely no reason why we should keep up with the Kardashians?

Are they even famous? How, what, when, where and why did they become famous? For how long are we going to revel in their revelry, and why should we?

What do sex tapes, professional athletes and meaningless fame have in common? The Kardashians, otherwise known as America’s most royal family. Kardashian became a household name when late Robert Kardashian, came to the aid of his friend O.J Simpson in a scandalous murder case, as his attorney. This was followed by their TV show.

Why does this family even deserve a TV show?

Cameras literally follow the family around for absolutely no reason. Everything seems “real” on the show, but whom are we fooling? Nothing about this show or their lives on the show is real. Most of it is staged, often scripted and only mirrors how a very small percentage of the population lives. It is mindless entertainment. It only shows us what money can buy and provides a glimpse into their oh-so-happening life. 

I will not deny, I have seen several episodes of their show and I follow them on social media too. Which is why I feel compelled to write their blog. I sometimes fail to understand why people are so obsessed about watching their shows, buying their products, constantly reading about them in the tabloids and most of all constantly following them on social media. I don’t see them trying to change the world or try to do something good for society. All I see is they promoting their lip-kits or contour sets on social media. They use their pseudo-fame to promote their own agendas by launching make up, perfume, clothing and/or even publicizing a 72-day marriage. as far as marriage os concerned, the three K sisters have failed miserable in the endeavor. Although I still truly hope that Kimye's marriage does not fail. 

Regardless of the reason, our obsession with them is important because it has changed the way we live. Their show occurs upon the backdrop of multi million dollar homes, couture designer clothes, private jets and fleet of range rovers, and exotic holiday destinations. This attention we pay to their covetous and wealthy lifestyles, is the main reason we are so obsessed with them: Jealousy. We want to be them, and look what they look like, and wear what they wear, and do what they do. We take on the success they gain from looking what they look like and doing what they do and try and incorporate that into our own lives. Remember Kylie Jenner’s lip challenge? If you were sane you wouldn’t have tried it. Or, you’ve probably regained your sanity after trying it.

I also fail to understand what they gain out of promoting such a materialistic lifestyle. Nobody has that kind of money anyway, unless we leak a sex tape or suddenly start looking like 25, even though you’re barely 19 (Kylie, again).

This brings me to one of the most important although negative, influences the Kardashian’s have on society: Body Image.

Our society has been so exposed to media in today’s day and age that body image has become a growing issue in the past decade. Young women and men across the world constantly compare their bodies to those that the media glorifies, trying to attain the “perfect” look/figure.

I still follow the Kardashian’s on Instagram and initially I would spend hours looking at their perfect pictures, with their perfect bodies in their perfect clothes. People like us, are obsessed with looking at these photoshopped, non-realistic images that are circulated in the media. The problem is that media has been linked to women’s body dissatisfaction, the internalization of the thin ideal, and disordered eating. The thin ideal that is set by the Kardashian’s in the media is simply unachievable, and yet this is what girls are looking up to.

Why did Kylie have to get botox injections? Why did she have to go under the knife? She’s only 19. Did the expectations of people(media) force her to look more like her sisters, or did she want to stand out? Does she stand out from the rest of her clan? All this is debatable. But the crux of this is that Kylie too is a victim of conforming to the standards of beauty in society and media.

Whether we like it or not, the Kardashian clan is a huge part of pop culture and our culture as well.All five sisters, Kourtney, Khloe, Kim, Kendall and Kylie have millions of followers on multiple social media platforms, have several reality series that are watched all around the world, and dominate entertainment media. Everything, from their homes, to their pets, the food they eat, their relationships are glorified on media, giving people “goals”. Thanks to them, their counterparts and husbands have also gained quite a lot of followers too and their kids too have come under the radar of paparazzi.

Some people may think I’m taking this to a different tangent altogether. I watch the show myself and follow them on social media, I personally can’t look past the unbelievably negative impact this show has on society and the warped values we adopt towards everything from materialism to body image that stems from the Kardashians. It cannot get any simpler than this - The Kardashians aren't just spoiled, they actually believe they are the center of the universe and the entire world revolves only around them and their nuances.

They could do incredible things with their fame and power, good things, but they choose not to. Why should we praise or support them? We would probably think of them differently if they had promoted themselves while trying to make the world a better place. Wouldn't we?

People deserve better than what they are witnessing and receiving from this so-called “royal family".

Growing Up with the Boy who lived

Harry Potter, The Boy who Lived. 

Everyone loves Harry Potter. His story pretty much resonates with every millennial and muggle, whose growth reflected Harry’s own during the course of the seven novels written by Rowling. 

Here we are today, celebrating 20 years of this undying magic in our lives. 

I still remember the first time my parents took me to watch Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I was five. A few years after, I read the first book. Since then, I don't remember spending more time with any other novel other than Harry Potter. I was in my early adolescence when I read Deathly Hallows, a book that coincided with and felt symbolic of my generation’s entry into my teenage years. The last book had me feeling a little nostalgic. My love of all things Hogwarts continued into my teenage years and young adulthood. As the characters grew older, so did I. This is probably the most unique experience our generation has had : We grew up right alongside Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Under the care and guidance of Dumbledore, Hagrid and in the end Snape. 

These characters, I had spent my entire youth with and shared their experiences, had reached maturity and were about to disappear ( or so I thought) forever. I made sure that never happened. I still have massive posters and newspapers cut-outs of every possible photograph of Harry Potter/Daniel Radcliffe. Much to the dismay of my parents, I refused to throw them away even before I was leaving for college. Almost all of us who've seen or read Harry Potter, have waited eagerly for our Hogwarts letter too. But sadly, that was never going to happen. Yes, Harry Potter's story gave us many false hopes. I'd imagine my mothers' belan (rolling pin) was my wand, casting a spell on any object to make it float. Obviously, that never happened either. 

However, regardless of the possibility that one didn't truly grow up reading the books or watching the films, one can  still learn such a great deal about growing up from the pages of Harry Potter. No doubt, it is a story about good and evil, but it's also a coming-of-age story not very different from what we experience as kids and then teenagers and eventually as adults. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stumbled through the milestones of their teenage age life the same way we did — first crushes, first kisses, first fight between friends and to an extent jealousy. 

For the last 15 years or so, I have been watching them grow and develop into themselves. It was and will always be a priceless lesson for young readers like me — there is such a long way to go from those three characters, and it's not just about magic. There are innumerable  lessons covered up in their stories, fiction though it maybe and a considerable measure of those things gave all of us some inspiration and understanding into life.