# data[].attributes.headline
Labelling Mental Health: Raising Awareness or Forming Stigmas? (HEALTH)

# data[].attributes.subject
Labelling Mental Health: Raising Awareness or Forming Stigmas? (HEALTH)

# data[].attributes.headline
Relevance of Cultural Practices to The Modern Life (CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS)

# data[].attributes.subject
Relevance of Cultural Practices to The Modern Life (CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS)

# data[].attributes.body
Rushbearing is an old English ecclesiastical festival in which rushes are collected and carried to be strewn on the floor of the parish (an area that has its own local church and priest or minister) churches.

# data[].attributes.headline
Advantages of Interracial Marriages (CULTURAL DIVERSITY)

# data[].attributes.subject
Advantages of Interracial Marriages (CULTURAL DIVERSITY)

# data[].attributes.headline
Does Violent Video Games Promote Violence? (LEISURE)

# data[].attributes.subject
Does Violent Video Games Promote Violence? (LEISURE)

# data[].attributes.headline
ADDICTION TOWARDS INTERNET (SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY)

# data[].attributes.subject
ADDICTION TOWARDS INTERNET (SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY)

# data[].attributes.body
Are today's generation too dependant on internet?

# data[].attributes.body
I believe this falls under the category of Leisure lol. If it is not, I hope you spend some time reading this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBRqu0YOH14 - another Kurzgesagt video. Note that optimistic nihilism does not align with our islamic knowledge so don't be completely absorbed into it.

So, this video covers about Optimistic Nihilism (this is one of those videos that I watch when I am depressed to make me even more depressed lol). To put it simply, optimistic nihilism is a form of philosophy that acknowledges that this life is purposeless - that you are just another being created and will later crumbled into dust like everything else before you but it is also because of that you shouldn't take life seriously and live your life the way you want because at the end of the day, all of this will be forgotten anyway so you know while you're at it, might as well live your life to the fullest.

# data[].attributes.body
"Customize your own child"

Me and my brother relationship is always a little tad weird. We sort of watch educational, science videos and one of our favs is Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell (https://www.youtube.com/user/Kurzgesagt) which this channel more often that not caused a conflicting existential crisis in me - to live or to just die, life has always been pointless anyway lol.

One of their videos is the future or rather should I say the current genome editing technology that thereotically allows designer babies to be produced. So what is designer babies? Designer babies are human embryo which have been genetically modified, usually following guidelines set by the parents or scientists, to produce desirable traits. Meaning you don't have to worry about your kid not being smart, or fat or have weak lungs. You can quite literally design your baby to your aesthetics: tall and slander, brown eyes, dark brown hair, athletic and incredibly intelligent and the list goes on and on, the possibilities are endless.

China have tried and it failed quite miserably too but quoting Paul Knoepfler "… but I still think they sort of cracked the door ajar on a Pandora’s box here.". Scientists who knew about this CRISPR technology are all baffled by its amazingness and how incredibly efficient this technology works. Scientists have used CRISPR for numerous of disease and so far it's been showing good result. So good, that it rises the notion of designer babies - the scientists are torn in between advancement and progress and ethics.

I haven't quite decide where my stance lies, but this is an extreme play-God behaviour and as amazing or interesting the idea of being able to design your own baby, it is ethically and religiously wrong.

# data[].attributes.body
While searching for a RLS for TOK, me and Nurul came upon a very interesting TED Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcGyVTAoXEU. This TED Talk is about making stress as a friend and about how stress can kill you is actually a myth. In this TED Talk, she explains how stress is actually a natural body response so you could function better (it release all these hormones such as adrenaline, oxytocin etc) and stress-induced death is pretty much wrong. What have been killing people all this time is actually, their mind! The mind for believing that stress can kill you. it is the mindset that kills you and not stress.

Funny thing is, the day Pengarah told us about how in the end, only 40 medical students will be given a medical sponsorship and the rest have to settle on other professions, i was stressed and devastated. After the assembly, I packed all my stuff in the class and went back to my room and sleep. Before I slept, I tweeted "this amount of stress could kill me". That night, when me and Nurul are searching for RLS, imagine how shock I am to come across this TED talk. Such coincidence right? God has His ways.

# data[].attributes.body
“It’s about more than Halloween”

Cultural Diversity and Customs and Traditions

If you spent ample amount of time on internet (or a lot of time aka me), cultural appropriation is one of the most debated topics. “My culture is not your godd*mn prom dress,” is only one of the many starters of a heated argument about appropriating culture.

Before I go any further, what is cultural appropriation? Cultural appropriation means appropriating another culture entails taking from a minority group without permission usually with little to zero respect for and knowledge about the targeted group. Although cultural appropriation is not a big of a trouble in Malaysia because our people embraced each other’s culture and ethnicities, in other parts of the world (yes, I’m looking at you America) this is much of an intense dispute which in my opinion, sometimes unnecessary. Personally, I find this very interesting, I’m not one who shouts “CULTURE APPROPRIATION! ! !” to any races other than Malay for wearing baju kurung or baju melayu because I believe in embracing and respecting everyone’s culture. As long as they’re not changing the garment into something sexual, I’m completely okay. In fact, I love it when I see other races wearing my culture’s garments. Personally, I think people have took it too far; it wasn’t an issue but people made it an iisue. But in IB, we embrace everyone’s opinions.

These are certain instances where cultural appropriation issue is brought up:

1.     Isle of Dogs

Isle of Dogs is a movie directed by a white guy named Wes Anderson. The movie sparked controversy not only because it uses a Japanese setting (cultural appropriation) but also because it follows the typical, usual trope of “white savior”. The Japanese characters also speak unsubtiltled Japanese, with their dialogue instead being translated by an interpreter or a machine.

2.     American girl wears qipao to prom

A girl named Keziah uploaded her prom photos on Twitter unanware that those photos would ignite an online debate for wearing a traditional Chinese dress. After bashed by numerous Twitter users, Keziah said that she was only appreciating the culture and by any means, was trying to offend anyone or appropriate anyone’s culture. I’ll insert the pictures here.

I don’t know about you, but I’m genuinely surprise that no one got mad over the picture on the right.

So, I believe that is all from me. I'll upload more.

# data[].attributes.body
Shouldn't this picture caused more issue compared to the one below? Wearing qipao is one thing, but with that hand gesture?