# data[].attributes.body
Stephen Chbosky is a screenwriter, film producer/ director, and writer. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1970 and graduated from the University of Southern California. He is well-known for his novel The Perks of Being A Wallflower, however, he also co-wrote the screenplay for Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast as well as the film adaptation of RJ Palacio’s Wonder. In interviews about The Perks of Being A Wallflower, Chbosky mentioned in interviews that the image of a kid standing in a car while driving through a tunnel encouraged him to write the novel. He had never intended The Perks of Being A Wallflower to be a novel for adolescents, however, it received a lot of criticism for how appropriate it was for younger readers. Nevertheless, this novel entails a multitude of life lessons from mental health to relationships, showing the downsides and appeals of high school.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Stephen is an author, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for his award-winning adaptation of his debut novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (GLAAD, Independent Spirit, People's Choice, WGA nominee) which spent over two years on the New York Times Best Sellers list. He co-wrote the screenplay for Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast as well as the film adaptation of RJ Palacio's Wonder, starring Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson, which he also directed. His first feature, The Four Corners of Nowhere, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. He wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of Rent and co-created the post-apocalyptic TV drama, Jericho. His second novel, Imaginary Friend, was published in October and debuted as a New York Times Best Seller.

Meet our Boards of Directors and Advisors

Learn about all of the members of RespectAbility's Board of Directors and Advisors: https://www.respectability.org/about-us/meet-our-boards-of-directors-and-advisors/.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Stephen is an author, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for his award-winning adaptation of his debut novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (GLAAD, Independent Spirit, People's Choice, WGA nominee) which spent over two years on the New York Times Best Sellers list.

# data[].attributes.body
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is set during the early 1990’s in Pittsburgh. This time period is fitting because mixtapes and VCRs were very influential in teens’ lives, and show how times have progressively changed with technology. This novel was published in February, 1999, and follows the life of Charlie, an introverted high school freshman who has been dealing with mental issues and making friends since he was young. He is like a “wallflower” because he is quiet and withdrawn, as well as very observant of everything around him. Dealing with two traumatic losses, Charlie is wary with his freshman year of high school, however, he meets two seniors that change his life and help him undergo his adolescent journey.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The digital audio revolution that began in the 1980s taught the music industry that rapid technological development would quickly overhaul previously known limitations of the analog world. Compact discs opened the door for longer albums, and digital processing allowed producers to pitch shift not only instruments but also vocals, adding an unprecedented sheen to their finished products.

The 1990s would prove pivotal for the music industry as analog gave way to digital, affecting all corners of the music world. On the consumer end, cassettes gave way to CDs and eventually MP3 files and CD-Rs burned on personal computers. As common knowledge holds, the highly controversial advent of file sharing and CD bootlegging would shake up the industry’s revenue model for good.

Behind the scenes, there was a similarly significant revolution underway, as analog recording faded among a series of developments in digital production that would climax in computer multitracking entering the studio process towards the end of the decade.

From the audiophiles and engineers riled up over the debate over analog versus digital to the musician recording at home on no budget, just about everyone involved with music was affected by the changes brought by the 1990s.

Home Recording

The 1980s saw recording technology becoming more compact and cheaper to mass produce, kicking off a home recording revolution with cassette tape that would continue into the 1990s.

Tascam’s popular cassette-based Portastudio became increasing popular in the 1990s. While the Portastudio is now a digital recorder, its 1990s tape incarnation would spawn imitations from countless competitors. The low-quality recordings helped these machines enjoy recognition by way of a "lo-fi" aesthetic popularized by indie rock acts like Pavement, Olivia Tremor Control, and Elliott Smith.

By the mid 1990s, these units were going digital, eschewing cassette tape for hard drive and disk-based recording. These digital recorders would only surface towards the tail end of the decade, and it would still be a number of years before computer interfaces and DAWs become ubiquitous in all home studios.

The Line6 POD is worth noting due to its ubiquity in the consumer market. The all–in–one amplifier simulator and multi–effects unit seemingly revolutionized the standalone digital studio overnight by offering players a horde of accurate amp tones, both vintage and modern, in a small package at very low cost.

The device was enough of a hit that its production continues to the current day, but its legacy arguably lives on in the packs of native effects that come standard with today’s DAWs, including, yes, guitar amp simulations.

ADAT, Tape’s Last Stand

By the end of the 1980s, digital multitrack tape recording was improving in fidelity and dynamic range. But sound quality was still not as refined as with all–analog tape technology and tape was still tape, vulnerable to damage during handling and storage.

Alesis ADAT HD24

ADAT recording was tape's last victory in the 1990s, with pioneering digital music equipment manufacturer Alesis leading the charge. Utilizing a slightly modified version of the VHS videocassette, the S–VHS, ADAT challenged the middling standards and high price point of digital multitrack recording. Same with the video recorded onto VHS tapes, ADAT encoded signal onto S-VHS.

The original ADAT recorders were limited to eight track, but up to 16 recorders could be daisy chained to raise that limit. ADAT was rising in popularity just around the same time that computer technology was improving, but its lower cost meant it had staying power until DAWs actually became cheap enough to achieve ubiquity.

The albums most famously recorded on ADAT, a medium that practically lived and died in the 1990s, are also albums that wouldn’t make much sense in any other decade: Primus’s 1993 album Pork Soda and Alanis Morissette’s 1995 album Jagged Little Pill.

The Rise of Pro Tools

Sound Tools, the precursor to Pro Tools, was introduced at NAMM in 1989. Sound Tools was a workstation running the Sound Designer II software and laid the groundwork for contemporary digital audio workstations (or DAWs) with two tracks available for recording. Prior to this, existing software limited recording to a single track.

Two years later, in 1991, Sound Tools would evolve into the Pro Tools software platform, the first true DAW. Slowly, Pro Tools would creep into the studio, not as a revolutionary new platform, but as a new tool in the production process.

Digidesign Sound Tools Digital Interface

Terry Manning, a legendary producer and engineer who has worked with for ZZ Top, Aretha Franklin, Iron Maiden, and Stax Records, remembers how he first integrated computer recording into his process.

“I adopted a hybrid approach and utilized the Pro Tools systems as I would a tape machine, recording through analogue preamps and outboard to PT multitrack, and then playing back track-for-track into the analogue console for mixing. So I was recording digitally, but through analogue gear, and mixing back through the desk on to ½" tape."

Pro Tools would come into its own in 1995 when producer Butch Vig of the illustrious Smart Studios used the platform extensively while making the debut album for his own band, Garbage. While Pro Tools was used as a tool for innovation on Beck’s 1996 album Odelay and Björk’s 1997 album Homogenic, the first No. 1 single produced in Pro Tools was Ricky Martin’s hungry ear worm, “Livin’ La Vida Loca.”

Possibilities Expand with Software

Pro Tools' innovated graphical interface that brought the entire recording rig to the computer screen, from the soundboard to the outboard gear to the multitrack unit entirely available on the computer screen. The dream of limitless, flexible computer multitracking was rapidly becoming a reality.

Steinberg Cubase 7.5

Terry Manning recalls, “I increased my capabilities to 4 track as soon as that was available, and started syncing the Pro Tools system up to my 24/32 track machines, just to get a few extra tracks! Then the track count increased rapidly. It seemed to happen almost overnight, not 10-20 years in the making as I had assumed!"

Even though Pro Tools was the first to bring the studio to the computer, Steinberg perfect DAW graphical interface design with Cubase. That program’s layout would help it become wildly popular, resulting in pervasive usage from professional to amateur studios. Towards the end of the decade, DAWs were being used to host and control hardware, as opposed to just being used as an accessory in an otherwise hardware process.

Digital mixing boards allowed for DAWs to automate faders, meaning that engineers were no longer dependent on the band and the studio janitor to push faders during a mixdown.

Antares Auto-Tune 8

Digital power would give producers and musicians more opportunities than just mixing to get ambitious with production. DAWs could interface with and eventually host digital instrument and effect plugins that were both simulations of extent hardware and innovative, powerful new tools.

One great example of the latter is the Antares Auto–Tune audio processor, which started out in the 1990s as an outboard unit. This is the effect that, while designed to correct slight imperfections in pitch, would achieve ubiquity for its bizarre android vocal manipulation in this millennium as first utilized by Cher on her 1998 hit, “Believe.”

Mastering

Mastering was the site of one of the most significant revolutions brought by digital audio. With vinyl records, there was an upper limit on a recording’s loudness. If mastered too loud, the record would shake the needle and disrupt playback.

Loudness would not affect CD playback, and the medium also had a clear maximum amplitude. Therefore, CDs could be mastered a whole lot louder. Mastering engineers utilized brickwall limiters to anticipate differences in the dynamic range in the recordings by pushing its levels to the ceiling.

Compression was applied liberally to remove the volume peaks and boost the lower levels, creating the impression of overall greater loudness.

This was the beginning of what some would call "The Loudness War." Producers claimed the big wigs responded best to what the perceived as the loudest mix, so armed with their brickwall limiters and peak analyzers, producers stuffed as much action as they could into a single waveform.

Compression would become one of the lasting legacies of the 1990s in terms of audio, and not just through mastering. The MP3 file was notorious for its low–quality compression. As this became ubiquitous in the 2000s, so did low digital fidelity. Today, streamed and downloaded audio enjoy higher fidelity despite similarly heavy digital compression, but some platforms like YouTube offers audio at a similar quality to those early MP3s.

Lead photo from The Smart Studios Story

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How the 1990s Changed Recording and Music Production Forever

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The digital revolution in audio would revamp the music industry from top to bottom, as tape quickly gave way to software.

# data[].attributes.headline
SANGU DELLE: THERE'S NO SHAME IN TAKING CARE OF YOUR MENTAL HEALTH

# data[].attributes.subject
SANGU DELLE: THERE'S NO SHAME IN TAKING CARE OF YOUR MENTAL HEALTH

# data[].attributes.body
In this TED talk by Sangu Delle, he talks about his experience with mental health and how his mindset has changed with it. When he was first dealing with an abnormal amount of stress, Delle had the belief that men should not take care of their mental health. This has been a common stereotype for a long time, which is the idea of what it means to be “manly” and not have as many emotions as women. Delle shares how he learned to function in a world where it is often seen as odd to expose one’s emotions. He also stated that “Being honest about how we feel doesn't make us weak - it makes us human”. This statement contradicts the false belief that many people hold when it comes to emotion being a bad thing. It also circles back to the big question, with how susceptible we are to our environment, and how we control our lives. When people hold various beliefs and opinions such as this, it impacts how they view certain things. This leads to how one individual may lead their lives in contrast to another - and this is because of their environment and mindset. The way someone views an idea will affect how they treat their situations and the outcomes of their life, and goes to show how strongly these factors impact a person.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Sangu Delle: There's no shame in taking care of your mental health

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When stress got to be too much for TED Fellow Sangu Delle, he had to confront his own deep prejudice: that men shouldn't take care of their mental health. In a personal talk, Delle shares how he learned to handle anxiety in a society that's uncomfortable with emotions.

# data[].attributes.body
The painting “Nature vs Nurture” by Scott G. Brooks was made in 2017. The meaning behind the painting as well as the term directly relates to the primary question of how significant one’s environment is in their behavior. The painting exhibits a woman surrounded by a baby and the action of her nurturing the baby is presenting its importance in its development in comparison to environmental factors. This painting brings attention to the discussion of why people behave the way they do. This is between the aspect of biology in one’s growth versus their environment. Brooks states “While biology is a powerful factor in determining our development, our senses are bombarded with imagery and messages about what to buy, how to act and who we should like or dislike from a very early age, be it from family, religion or mass media''. This further emphasizes the powerful authority that one’s environment has and how this impacts who they are, and therefore affects their decisions and beliefs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Description
'Nature vs Nurture' by Scott G. Brooks About the Artwork:
"Nature vs Nurture explores the age old argument of who we are, and why we behave the way we do. I chose a religious metaphor as the basis of the painting because I feel it has such a powerful impact on the lives of so many people. While biology is a powerful factor in determining our development, our senses are bombared with imagery and messages about what to buy, how to act and who we should like or dislike from a very early age, be it from family, religion or mass media." - Scott G. Brooks
About the Artist:
(Artist Bio)

Scott G Brooks lives and works in Baltimore, MD. His paintings are figurative, and range from simple portraiture to intricate narratives. It incorporates social, psychological, and political issues, usually infused with a dark sense of humor. Anatomical distortions separate the figures from the photographic ideal, creating a deeply personal distorted reality. His work is uncomprimising, twisted and offbeat, sentimental, and disturbing.

(Artist Statement)

My work starts with a desire, and ability, to paint. It comes from an attempt to be part of history, and achieve immortality. It comes from stubbornness and refusing to give up. My work must be personal and private to succeed, so it's about exposing myself. There are risks and resistance on my part.

Technically, the challenge is to create light, volume, and texture. Art is a reflection of our time and today, in the midst of the digital revolution, our perception is changing as well. The development of CGI, and it's ability to synthesise "life" has forced me to look deeper into how I use paint to represent "life" .

Much of my painting process involves exploring and experimenting. Finding the right color, searching for the correct perspective or vanishing point. The right pattern or gesture of the hand. I also have a background in illustration, but I am only now embracing my experience and the technical skills I have learned and incorporating them into my art.

Using a language that is easily understood, I tell stories. I weave figures, symbols, and elements together to create a narrative to share with an audience.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'Nature vs Nurture' by Scott G. Brooks - WOW x WOW Gallery

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
'Nature vs Nurture' by Scott G. Brooks About the Artwork: "Nature vs Nurture explores the age old argument of who we are, and why we behave the way we do. I chose a religious metaphor as the basis of the painting because I feel it has such a powerful impact on the lives of so many people.

# data[].attributes.headline
WHAT IMPACT DOES THE ENVIRONMENT HAVE ON US | TAKING CHARGE OF YOUR HEALTH AND WELLBEING 

# data[].attributes.subject
WHAT IMPACT DOES THE ENVIRONMENT HAVE ON US | TAKING CHARGE OF YOUR HEALTH AND WELLBEING 

# data[].attributes.body
This article talks about the impact of the environment on people, and primarily focuses on human nature and how this comes into play. The article begins discussing how humans hold an “innate awareness of our environment and seek out environments with certain qualities”. This emphasizes how the environment largely alters one’s personality as each situation or place varies and so does the person in it. The article mentions the different ways the environment impacts an individual, as well as what factors bring an individual to a certain environment. It provides reasoning as to why humans are quite susceptible to their environment and how much this influences their decisions and life outcomes. It provides numerous examples and situations that continue to prove that when it comes to the nature vs nurture debacle, nature is extremely consequential.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Taking Charge of Your Health & Wellbeing

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Since the earliest times, humans have needed to be sensitive to their surroundings to survive, which means that we have an innate awareness of our environment and seek out environments with certain qualities.

First of all, humans have a strong need for safety and security and look for those attributes in their environment. We also look for physical comfort, such as an environment with the right temperature. In addition, we seek an environment that is psychologically comfortable: for example, environments that are familiar, but offer the right amount of stimulus.

Retailers and the hospitality industry know this very well and try to provide an atmosphere that creates a positive customer experience and offers three important attributes: comfort, safety, and entertainment. These attributes are equally important in healthcare as well.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What Impact Does the Environment Have on Us? | Taking Charge of Your Health & Wellbeing

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Since the earliest times, humans have needed to be sensitive to their surroundings to survive, which means that we have an innate awareness of our environment and seek out environments with certain qualities.

# data[].attributes.body
The Social Dilemma is a Netflix documentary published in 2020 that focuses on how large social media companies manipulate their users by using algorithms that encourage the addiction to their platform. It goes into depth with how different companies have their apps collect personal data of an individual in order to target that user with specific ads and entertainment to make them interact with the app longer. This documentary accurately gives an explanation as to why people are so much more addicted to and dependent on social media. It also shows the reality behind how these platforms impact an individual’s personality because they are inclined to believe in more stuff that they continue to see online. It relates to the question of how strongly people are impacted by their environmental factors - especially when it comes to something as large as technology. It even delves further into the question of how much control people have over their lives when technology is so formidable and controlling now. This documentary highlights the importance of this issue and how strongly people are impacted and why their behavior is shaped by social media.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The dilemma

Never before have a handful of tech designers had such control over the way billions of us think, act, and live our lives.

The Mental Health Dilemma

A 5,000 person study found that higher social media use correlated with self-reported declines in mental and physical health and life satisfaction.

- American Journal of Epidemiology, 2017

The Democracy Dilemma

The # of countries with political disinformation campaigns on social media doubled in the past 2 years.

- New York Times, 2019

The Discrimination Dilemma

64% of the people who joined extremist groups on Facebook did so because the algorithms steered them there.

- Internal Facebook report, 2018

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Social Dilemma - A Netflix Original documentary

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We tweet, we like, and we share- but what are the consequences of our growing dependence on social media? Discover what's hiding on the other side of your screen in this new documentary film Netflix - The Social Dilemma.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
"Mirrorland/ Will I ever be enough?" by Funmi Lijadu

# data[].attributes.headline
"MIRRORLAND/ WILL I EVER BE ENOUGH?" BY FUNMI LIJADU

# data[].attributes.subject
"MIRRORLAND/ WILL I EVER BE ENOUGH?" BY FUNMI LIJADU

# data[].attributes.body
“Mirrorland/Will I ever be enough?” by Funmi Lijadu goes into the reality behind the prospective drastic effects of social media on mental health. It explores the thinking an individual may hold due to social media - from constantly comparing oneself to others, taking in contradictory information, and addiction. This person keeps going back and forth feeling bad because of what they see but good again because of their “status”, and shows how many adolescents view technology today. This gives a more accurate and current example of how an individual’s environment largely influences their mindset and how they view their lives. Social media is huge in our generation and it makes people think a certain way. This is why there is a gap between generations and the youngest generation is referred to as “Generation-Z”. It is why many kids hold different views than their parents and shows how people are strongly influenced by their environment.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Mirrorland/ Will I ever be enough? by Funmi Lijadu

My bed

You’re just like the ocean.

Well, not really

Just overwhelming,

Forever awash

With tears overdue.

You creak and heave

At the weight of me

Tormented

Things that were said.

But you’re so uncomplaining in your motions

Like the sun bowing down gracefully

Making way for the moon.

My altar of self-loathing

Soft, unforgiving,

Accommodating yet hostile

I know you can’t keep the thoughts from me

I writhe and writhe in these suffocating sheets

Till I’m weak and drift carelessly into sleep

I hate to pull myself from you

You’re my escape

A bitter truth.

Harsher truths find me

When I leave you

Embarking on journeys less comforting

(You’re the only one that stretches

To make space for me)

Mirrorland is never kind

Presenting myself to the one sided pane

Gazing wistfully at the luminous rectangular mirror

I hold in my palm for too long

Yes. scroll and see those fleeting visions

Flashing, dazzling, reflecting in your eyes

Do you know how my eyes water for you?

Focused on you in the unforgiving dark

I follow, I envy, I like, I like, I dislike, I unlike.

Yes! Today

you can buy this

and be happy?

Happy, until you see that post

Convinces you you’re not enough

(You’ll be back tomorrow!)

Wish we could all be hashtag ‘blessed’

Wonder how many ‘best lives’ truly exist

What horrors are hiding behind the screen?

Late-night-thinking of my next plot to make them jealous

A harmless little show

Something to remind them that I’m here.

(even though I’m drowning)

(should be sleeping but can’t)

Mirrorland oppresses me,

Reminding me of everthing

I don’t have

I need to be.

Everything I haven’t been

I keep going back

Pathetic.

(like a moth to a flame, you never learn)

Sigh.

Wander lazily

From the digital to the physical

To that lonely rectangular glass frame

On the wall

It waits for me

Day and night we do a pretty dance

I twist and turn from myself

It keeps still, all-knowing.

Who is she?

Catching myself in the light

Looking for what I want to see

Looking for something different

A half-truth

Never enough

Maybe if I look long enough

I’ll like what I see

Sigh.

Stare and stare

For what feels like a year

But nothing changes in mirrorland

It hides nothing

(But you already knew that)

I walk from my reflection

(Too much for me)

Sigh.

I drag my feeble frame

I climb and fall back into you.

(You’ll be back tomorrow)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The poem explores the fleeting solace offered by my bed from downturns in my mental health as well as the way in which social media affects me in terms of the overload of information as well as the unhealthy comparison it catalyses. ‘Mirrorland’ is a reference to Yrsa Daley Ward’s book the Terrible where she talks about how the mirror can be a place of oppression and fuel negative attitudes towards the body, and fear. So the title Mirrorland/Will I ever be enough? explores the bed and the mirror (smartphones and physical mirrors) and how these environments differ in terms of their impact on mental health.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A poem about how social media impacts mental health — funmilijadu

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The poem explores the fleeting solace offered by my bed from downturns in my mental health as well as the way in which social media affects me in terms of the overload of information as well as the unhealthy comparison it catalyses.