THE PLANET- An Idea Blog

We’ve talked about it for years, in the paper, at work, at home, in the news and most recently all over social media, but why does it feel like we’re getting no where. This topic is not one which only affects a niche within society, but rather humans, flora, fauna and all cells which make up our great earth. When discussing and pondering the future of our planet this should be number 1 on our list of priorities. 

You guessed it, the taboo that is, environmental protection. All things related to keeping the planet as green as it can be in order to sustain humans, flora, fauna and all cells which occupy it.

Upon pondering the plethora of great topics relating to ‘the planet’, the importance of environmental protection was in fact the first which crossed my mind. This is a topic which sparked my interest following talk about ‘Clean Up Australia Day’, an annual event I used to participate in for the duration of my Primary School years. While researching environmental protection and all subtopics under this umbrella I covered ground on sustainability, recycling, pollution, global warming, decreased animal populations, greenhouse gas emissions, air quality and all things in between. And through doing my research I picked up on some very fascinating facts on a global and national scale;

GLOBAL	NATIONAL
The World Health Organization estimates that around 90% of people worldwide breathe polluted air. A 2015 study by Geyener, R et al. found that of the worlds plastic waste, “9% had been recycled, 12% was incinerated, and 79% was accumulated in landfills or the natural environment.”	“The Australian Conservation Foundation report published in March (2018) found since colonisation 29 native mammals had become extinct and were lost forever in Australia” the highest in the world – (SMH, 2018) In 2016 global coral bleaching meant that “93% of a 700km stretch, of the Australian Great Barrier Reef (GBR) coral was bleached..” – (Lewis, S C & Mallela, J, 2018)

I also came across this very fascinating ‘Mocumentary’, a metaphorical view of a plastic bag as an animal, with a comical depiction of a very serious issue. It really puts in to perspective the extent to which plastic bags are commonly found in environmental settings.

 

With my findings and knowledge gained from this brief research I decided to narrow down my area of focus to plastic consumption and waste. One of the first media related links to plastic waste which I could recall, was that of the recent single-use plastic bag ban in two of Australia’s major supermarkets Coles and Woolworths. At the time of the ban the traditional media coverage on this topic was immense with broadcasts on television, radio and stories in newspapers mostly focusing on the “outrage” caused by this initiative. 

Image Source: Google Images- Alter, L, 2018, ‘Screen capture Bag rage headlines’

However what they did miss was the overwhelming support the initiative was gaining over on the ‘new’ media platform, social media. This initiative is only one of many being discussed and promoted among users of social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Youtube etc. Hashtags like #trashtag trending on twitter globally, events like ‘Clean Up Australia Day’ (March 2nd/3rd) being shared on Facebook and reusable straws partnering every celebrity/ social media influencers morning smoothie, are just a few recent mentions of this topic on social media. 

I believe spreading the word through these platforms specifically on a topic such as plastic waste has the potential for great outcomes on a larger scale. The promotion of simplicity in adapting waste reduction and recycling initiatives in the home, office, school and other day to day activities can perhaps make for higher willingness to participate, hence delivering us to my potential research question: 

Do social media trends influence adolescents willingness to participate in eco-friendly practices?

I went ahead and did some further research in order to establish if any publications had conducted similar research as a reference for my potential research. I came across an article by Wray-Lake, L et al. (2010) on US based research titled ‘Examining Trends in Adolescent Environmental Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behaviors Across Three Decades’. This research delved into environmental attitudes in general, not necessarily focusing on media affects. However it did note a specific event in the 1990’s, the ’20th anniversary celebration of  Earth Day’ where there was a “a rise in proenvironmental attitudes” among adolescents, directly resulting from celebrity support and “heavy coverage by the media”.

With the collection of brief research conducted as a background for my study and the high social, ethical and moral importance of my chosen issue I am very fascinated to see which direction my research takes and which outcomes will be reached. 

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References 

Geyer R, Jambeck J R & Law K L, 2015, ‘Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made’, Science Advances, Vol. 3, no. 7, viewed 13th March 2018

Lewis, S C & Mallela, J, 2018, ‘A multifactor risk analysis of the record 2016 great barrier reef bleaching’, Special Supplement to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Vol. 99, No. 1, viewed 13th March 2018

Osseiran, N, 2018, ‘9 out of 10 people worldwide breathe polluted air, but more countries are taking action’, World Health Organization  <https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/02-05-2018-9-out-of-10-people-worldwide-breathe-polluted-air-but-more-countries-are-taking-action>, viewed 13th March 2018

Sanda, D, 2018, ‘Australia leads on extinction rate: report’, Sydney Morning Herald, <https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/australia-leads-on-extinction-rate-report-20180311-p4z3vn.html>, viewed 13th March 2018

Wray-Lake, L,  Flanagan C A & Osgood D W, 2010, ‘Examining Trends in Adolescent Environmental Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behaviors Across Three Decades’, Environment & Behaviour, Vol 2 No. 1, viewed 22nd March 2018

Learning through WordPress

WordPress is a website which allows its users to document their thoughts, ideas and opinions online. Or in other words, blog.  The website not only encourages expression through words, but various themes allow for visual and imagery expression and individualised

Image credit: ‘WordPress Logo’ by Phil Oakley shared on Flickr, 2010 under (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Throughout our BCM241 course and personally, throughout my BCM journey from the first year of university, WordPress has been encouraged as a way of expressing our learning through weekly content. Information in lectures and in-class ideas are encouraged as topics for discussion in our blogs, which we share via the BCM241 hashtag. With this hashtag and by sharing our content on twitter we are able to not only connect as a cohort but, gather varying perspectives on the same content.  I have scanned over previous weeks blogposts among our cohort and chosen the Week 4 content (Cinema spaces), and through observation made a comparative analysis on 2 of my classmates.

• In Courtney’s blog post about her her personal experience in the cinema arena, she expressed her opinion about working as a “candy girl” or as we now call them, cinema staff. Through this post she took on a very narration styled approach in describing her environment, feelings and actions, creating a storybook feel. Not only this, but the blog also had informative characteristics, where readers were able to learn a few things along the way. And finally Courtney linked her personal views to theoretical content to conclude her post.

VS.

• In Tahlia’s blog post about cinema, a number of aspects were covered of her movie going experience. From the days of school excursions at the IMAX theatre, to the newly renovated Hoyts Warrawong, “Gold Class at the casual price.” (Grant, T 2018) and her most recent viewing of ‘Insidious 4: The Last Key’, Tahlia covered all grounds.  In particular her diary entry approach to her most recent cinema going experience made the post especially personalised and relatable.

Image credit: By pxhere 2017, under CC0 Public Domain

As seen through the extracts above, both blog posts, covering the same ‘Cinema Spaces’ topic, had highly varying perspectives and writing approaches. From both Auto-ethnographic stances, I was able to pick up informative and entertaining views on weekly content.

 

 

Living in Stardoll Heaven

I’d assume when Gen Z kids were blossoming we could all agree, the newly found online sphere and the possibilities for social interaction were endless. From ‘Club Penguin’ and MSN to Nintendo’s and ‘My Scene’ new ways of keeping entertained for hours while socialising, in a different way than our parents hoped (indoors, in our rooms, by ourselves), were here.

Personally my biggest online obsession which took me through primary school and even the outset of my teen years, was with out a doubt ‘Stardoll’. An online game which started out as “Paperdoll Heaven”, it gave you the chance to have a sneak peak into celebrity wardrobes and dress said celebrity however your heart  desires. As it progressed with popularity the game expanded its celebrity doll options and soon introduced the more interactive aspect. By starting an account you were able to create your own doll, go shopping, decorate your room and most importantly go to parties where you were able to chat with users from all around the world. This game consumed all spare time between school and after school activities, and being able to fuse school friends and the virtual world made it that much sweeter. In a way socialising on ‘Stardoll’, gave us topics for real life social interaction…pretty weird how the online world works.

Image credit: ‘Stardoll then and now’ by Scaryspice321 shared on Blogger.com, 2010

This weeks lecture on ‘Digital ethnography’ can be ideally partnered with the concept of ‘Stardoll’. Although, as I recently discovered, ‘Stardoll’ is no longer as active as previous years, however, going back in time an ethnographer would be in spoiled for topics and insights in this game. If I for example were to follow the research principles of Experiences, Practices, Things, Social worlds, Relationships, Localities and Events and apply them to ‘Stardoll’ this would be my approach (hypothetically):

• Experiences: Creating an account and observing  user behaviour in ‘social settings’ such as “parties” where chatrooms were present.
• Practices: Noting the differentiation of each users personalised “doll”. Is it a digital representation of their real life appearance and character or an idealised version of themselves etc.
• Things: Establishing the impacts of using the media device. As ‘Stardoll’ was only available as a website, the ‘things’ aspect would be focused on laptops and desktop computers.
• Social worlds: What settings are present on ‘Stardoll’? E.g. the shopping mall, your room, parties etc. and how dot they add value? Also how did users interact on other online platforms? Perhaps users found each other via Facebook and socialised as human beings rather than virtual characters.
• Relationships: This aspect focuses on the reflection of online behaviour in the real world. Does perception of real relationships mimic that of online relationships formed?
• Localities: Stardoll was a platform most users accessed via laptops and computers, however it gave an opportunity to communicate with others from all around the world while still maintaining a position in your living room.
• Events: Unlike current gaming platforms, in the age of  ‘Stardoll’ (perhaps due to the user age range) real life meetings and events were not common.

Going to the Movies

~ For our Week 4 task we were presented the option of interviewing an elder (which was the basis of my week 2 blog post) or documenting an autoethnography on cinematic experience. I decided on the autoethnography option, as it was what I like to call compulsory fun. ~

At my current stage in life (early adulthood), cinema going is a practice largely associated with the need to socialise (with friends) or interact with others (a reason to get out of the house). So, on the evening following our BCM class I booked two tickets, for a friend and I, to watch the currently showing “Mama Mia! Here We Go Again”, a sequel of the “Mama Mia Movie” released in 2008. From my basic observations, I concluded that majority of viewers visit the cinema for the experience, rather than the content. This conclusion is largely based off the fact that in recent years, video streaming sites and illegal downloading have made it much simpler to access newly released content. However, there are other elements which come into play, this is where, Swedish geographer, Torsten Hagerstrand’s findings on ‘Movement in Space and Time’, may be applied. More specifically his findings on the Limitations of human activities can be utilised in an observation of my own cinema going experience.

Image Credit: ‘Toho Cinema Rpppongi’ by Michael Stout (mick62) shared on Flcikr, 2008 under CC BY-SA 2.0

Hagerstrand’s limitations on human activities are divided into 3 constraints:

Constraint/ Definition:	Applied to my cinema going experience:
The first, Capability Constraints, take into account that “human needs are linked to the physical limitations of an individual.” (Neutons, T et al. 2008)  (sleep, food, financial resources, transport)	There were no real capability constraints in my case. We watched an early evening viewing, therefore no interference with our sleep or dinner schedules. Possible constraints for our trip could have been the cost of entry, perhaps if student discounts did not apply we would not have watched the movie. And also notable is the need to drive to the cinema location, which if we didn’t have a car/license would have inhibited our plan.
“Coupling Constraints restrict travel by imposing where, when and for what duration individuals have to join other people, tools or materials in space and time.” (Neutons, T et al. 2008)	In our case this constraint was applicable as visiting the cinema required a 20 minute car ride. This factor meant that driving time had to be aligned with the starting time of the movie, and if misjudged would have impeded our experience.
Finally, “Authority Constraints relate to the institutional context, and refer to laws and other regulations which imply that particular activities are only available or accessible at certain times.” (Neutons, T et al. 2008)	The “Mama Mia: Here we go again” movie has a ‘PG’ rating therefore no real limitations applied to my friend and I who are both over 18 years of age. However the need to prove our identity and student status for a discounted ticket rate may be classified as an authority constraint.

From my personal experience and the application of ‘Hagerstrands Three Constraints on Space and Time’ it can be seen that numerous factors have a role in the cinema going experience and if one of the three constraints is present, it is likely to hinder your experience. Perhaps this is also the reason for viewers preference of streaming services and the comfort of their own home for viewing purposes.

References:

Neutens T, Van de Weghe, N & Witlox, F, 2008, ‘A three-dimensional network-based space-time prism’, Journal of Geographical Systems, vol 10, is. 1, pp. 91-93.

Corbett, J,  2001, ‘Torsten Hägerstrand: Time Geography’, CSISS Classics, Centre for Spatially Integrated Social Science, pp. 1-4. 

Media Day in the Life

~ For our week 3 task we were led in the direction of an Autoethnography and changing the subject from other peoples media viewing, as we had in previous weeks, to our own.~

Autoethnoraphy is “an approach to research and writing that seeks to describe and systematically analyse (graphy) personal experience (auto) in order to understand cultural experience (ethno)” (Ellis 2004; Holman Jones, 2005). In simpler terms, the task criteria involved me, analysing media use habits in my home. So with that, the subject of this blog post is my own ‘Media Day in the Life’.

A typical ,mid week day-off university, for me starts with my alarm clock going off on my phone, which queues the beginning of my morning routine. During breakfast I spend around 5-10 minutes semi-watching (My mind is usually occupied with pondering how some of these Breakfast shows gain enough ratings to continue airing, with their dry content) TV.

After breakfast I finally succumb to my overwhelming desire to get online. With the TV fading into background noise I shift the focus to my phone. I start by checking my notifications whether it be SMS, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or email and replying to all. I then spend some time browsing social media, which often leads to getting sucked into a black hole of Youtube videos, researching celebrity gossip and on the odd occasion, online shopping. When my body and brain can no longer ‘Keep up with the Kardashians’, I shift the focus back to real life, I usually dedicate this time to completing any university work which surprise, surprise, I use a device (laptop) for. *Technically this is my only form of compulsory media use as majority, if not all, subject material is based online.*

Of an evening the whole family gathers for dinner where phones, or any form of medias, are voluntarily disregarded as this is one of the only times of the day where all family members are present. Following this however, everyone takes their station on the couch and the TV comes back on.  Usually there is no TV show or movie which suits everyone, and so the all too common ‘watching TV while being on your phone or tablet’ habit, comes out to play. In saying this there is usually conversation going, whether it be about whats on TV or what we see on our devices. And this pretty much summarises our family’s media day in the life.

***

From the above extract of my personal media experience I believed our family’s viewing habits were ‘typical’ of a 21st century family. However a journal article by Eoin Devereux (2007), highlights the increased disconnection devices have introduced, mentioning new technology “fostering a shift in media use from that of ‘family television’ to that of individualised media lifestyles and for children and young people, of ‘bedroom culture”.

Although the information gained through this piece is of no surprise, the comparison between my family viewing experience and that of a ‘typical’ family was quite fascinating. The idea of bedroom culture and physical barriers (walls) between family members, seemed very dysfunctional. However gave me some reassurance and gratitude that our family still retains our daily interaction (even if it does involve other devices).

Image credit: Creative Commons, CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication

References:

Mulvihill, T M & Swaminathan, R (eds) 2017, Critical Approaches to Life Writing Methods in Qualitative Research, Routledge, NY, USA (viewed 9th August 2018)

Devereux, E (ed) 2007, Media Studies: Key Issues and Debates, SAGE Publications, UK, (viewed 9th August 2018)<https://books.google.com.au/booksid=4bS0hG7yIoC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false&gt;

 

TV Then vs. Now

~For our week 2 topic in BCM241 we were set the task of gathering ethnographic data through either an interview or personal observation (autoethnography). So I decided to conduct my research through, what I saw as, the more creative route. And with that I interviewed my nan (Grandmother).~

Establishing ethical considerations was easy since my nan felt of high importance being the subject of university research. (She happily accepted having her experience reframed and words quoted)

For contextual purposes; my nan was the eldest of three children, living in a working class, suburban area, and her recollection was mainly based around her childhood years.

“Our television was a centre piece in the living room, an electronic artwork” ,this vivid description of her first television made it quite easy for me to locate an image for reference.

Image credit: ‘TV: Welcome to the bottom”, San Francisco (CA), Gary Stein

The sitting room, as she called it, was the room dedicated to television viewing and where the family typically gathered of an evening. A total of 3 channels entertained the adults and 2 older children, however deemed inappropriate for her youngest sister. The sitting room was made up of a polished wood rocking chair and a sofa, “everyone had their spot and shuffled to it after supper”. The kids usually found refuge on the floor, the mother following washing up after dinner, occupied the sofa and the rocking chair, “with the clearest view of the tv”, belonged to the man of the house.

These memories were more focused on the physical cues of the sitting room set up rather than the actual content. So I referred back to the set of cue questions, in order to shift the focus to the content itself.

Me– Are there any programs which spark distinct memories of television viewing?

Nan– “I think I was in my late teens when Mr Squiggle came onto the scene. My siblings and I loved it, even though I was a of a ripe age, I couldn’t resist. Everyday after school and before dad got home from work, we would take our positions and take in the wonder that was Mr Squiggle.”

Image credit: “Mr Squiggle with Miss Pat (Patricia Lovell)” , 1960, Australian Broadcasting Corporation

From this short conversation with my nan, there was a lot to be gathered. She was very excited about contributing her experience to my blog, even though she wasn’t very familiar with the blog concept.

Although our experiences of television viewing in our youth are decades apart, my nan and I did draw some similarities in viewing.

• As mentioned by my nan, each member of the family had a viewing position, as does my family currently. And most notably my dad has the “clearest view of the tv”.
• Another similarity came in the form of watching time. In the primary school days, myself and my siblings had a small window of watching cartoons before my dad arrived home from work in time for the 5 o’clock news.

Through this task I was not only able to gather a bit of knowledge from my grandmothers youth, but it also allowed her the opportunity to participate in my university studies; which from the continuous grin on her face, she rather enjoyed, making it a very memorable task for me.

 

Antisocial

As the Spring session of university slowly kicks off, my blog once again comes back to life. This time I will be taking in an abundance of information relating to ‘Media Ethnographies’ , not only this, but I will be channeling my inner ethnographer through the practical based assessments which will be featured throughout the semester.

This week we were set the task of “describing an example of our own media use in a specific time and place”. So without hesitation I proceeded to observe my personal media  use which eventuated in a whirlwind of realisation.

‘In this day and age’ I find that the use of media, in particular social media, is vital in the area of social survival. The phrase, ‘If it’s not on insta, it didn’t happen’, seems to be ruling everyone’s daily lives and for an old soul such as mine, its kind of hard to keep up. I am more inclined to watch out the window of a bus, or train, read a book at the beach, and go on dinners to chat and catch up with friends, rather than shove my headphones in and block out the world, stalk Instagram and Facebook to keep up with others and spend more time setting up an Insta worthy dinner pic, than enjoying the food. However, not to say that I don’t use social media at all.

The endless content produced by platforms such as Instagram, Youtube and Facebook are quite difficult to resist, especially in times of boredom. However, in the 24 hour period since our BCM241 lecture I have noticed the tendency for myself to reach for my phone in times of real social interaction. What I mean by this is, in real life social situations, when one friend is distracted by a single notification on their smart phone, it is often likely that this will have a domino effect. As if for a way to avoid the awkward silence and eye contact, reaching for your phone and checking your social medias, makes the interruption more mutual. This is quite a minute detail, however when closely observed occurs multiple times within a conversation, disguising interruption as acceptable. Through realising this, I did feel a sense of frustration and need for change. In future interactions perhaps being the individual who breaks the spell and in fact sits in awkward silence may act as a catalyst for others changing their behaviour and end unecessary virtual interaction in social situations.

In my case it is quite ironic that social media is encouraging antisocial behaviour, in social situations.

 

Why UOW? – Research Findings

My research journey began in the first week of the Autumn semester at university. We were set the task of choosing a research topic which explored student experience at university. My chosen topic, presented in question form, ‘Why do students choose to study at the University of Wollongong?, explored the reasoning for attending UOW from various students of various backgrounds.

In preparing the data gathering method for my research the initial plan was to gather data by interviews, however upon further contemplation a number of issues came about, including, time frame for completing the project which would result in minimal participants, difficulty in gathering participants in general, gathering appropriate participants (university students) and more specifically finding participants with completely varied answers to the initial research question. With this, I was forced to come up with an alternative method, leading me to undertaking surveys in order to successfully complete my research. The ten question survey allowed for  gathering of background information of participants, with questions such as “Have you previously attended another university? If answer yes, why?”, “Which option best suits your status as a student? (with options- local, regional, national and international students)”. These questions not only allowed for comparison when analysing research, but were an appropriate lead up to the concluding question, being the research topic question.

In analysing and concluding my research I did discover some fascinating results which were not anticipated in the process of commencing the research. My initial hypothesis for reasoning, Why students attended the University of Wollongong, revolved around peer conformity, localisation to family/friends, reputation and course availability. However, majority of respondents focused their choice on the basis of location and specifically coastal environment, as well as the natural beauty of the university grounds and the well-kept facilities.

Although possessing limitations, the finding of my research have not only provided theoretical information for use in professional circumstances, but being a local student, it has provided me with a changed perspective on the unmatched physical attributes and world class facilities of the University of Wollongong.

 

Why UOW? – Research Proposal

In most instances my curiosity is sparked by the simplest action or thought, however when you’re forced to be curious it doesn’t come so naturally, or so thats what I’ve learned trying to come up with a research topic. I didn’t want to force my topic as, to put it simply it isn’t so riveting spending approximately 13 weeks researching an issue/topic which you have absolutely no interest in, nor do you care for the result. So I decided I’d relax the urgency and let my mind be CURIOUS.

With that, as it always happens, I watched a video in one of my lectures which basically (using fancy videography techniques and inspiring music) squeezed a students whole university career into 4 or so minutes. Although in that specific lecture they were trying to get me to focus on the importance of organisation, being prepared and keeping up to date with workload, this got me thinking about a completely different topic, of course. I started with, Why did they choose university out of all the possible post-high school options they were provided. Perhaps it has something to do with sticking with stereotypes, societal norms etc. Also why did they choose their specific course and most specifically to me, Why do students choose to study at the University of Wollongong? Is it all that end of HSC marketing they put out? (especially the TV commercials that make you feel so empowered and ready to conquer the world.)

Upon first glance this may seem like a very obvious question to answer, however there is multitudes of reasoning behind the answer, hence the fascination.  In every tutorial, lecture, university group etc. every individual who makes up the specific cohort has a different reasoning for their position, no two people are exactly the same however they had all ended up in the exact same place. My question is why?

To first gather further information about the university and not just begin my research off personal insight, like any other researcher I started with google- the University of Wollongong website to be exact. Here I fell into a rabbit hole of information, whereby the statistics page caught my eye the most. Not only is there a total of 25, 387 students studying in Australia, another 7,566 are accounted for under offshore campuses such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai. This information led me the article ‘Student Choice in Higher Education: Motivations for Choosing to Study at an International Branch Campus’ (link), this specific article covered the reasoning for attending International Campuses, specifically the UOW United Arab Emirates (UAE) campus and the difference between students who choose home and international campuses.

Furthermore through general searches the issue of finances was a common reoccurring reasoning to my study. With some investigation an international article, ‘Choosing a University: A conjoint analysis of the impact of higher fees on students applying for university in 2012′, provided background on how students in England based their reasoning on the quality of the course and its relation to financial cost. This was quite interesting as from personal experience students do not discuss the impact or influence finances have on their choice of studying at UOW, however I would imagine it is one of the fundamental deciding factors. 

Through my seemingly minuscule attempt at researching my topic, my fascination grows for reasoning, Why do students choose to study at the University of Wollongong? The above readings do provide insight for only a fraction of the 25,387 local and 7,566 global students who see their future through the University of Wollongong.

Sources:

University of Wollongong, UOW at a glance, Statistics, 2017,<https://www.uow.edu.au/about/statistics/index.html&gt; (Accessed 12th March 2018)

Wilkins S, Stephens M & Huisman J, ‘Student Choice in Higher Education: Motivations for Choosing to Study at an International Branch Campus’, Journal of Studies in International Education, Vol 16, Issue 5, 2011,  pp. 413 – 433 (Accessed 14th March 2018)

Dunnett A, Moorhouse J, Walsh C & Barry C, Choosing a University: A conjoint analysis of the impact of higher fees on students applying for university in 2012, Tertiary Education and Management, Vol 18, Issue 3, 2012, Pages 199-220 (Accessed 14th March 2018)

 

Searching for answers

The feeling of being completely immersed in something and wanting to become an expert in the field – sparked by curiosity. Organising the semester ahead of you involves absolutely no element of enjoyment, so why not just completely ignore it and instead become a professional in an area of research instead?

Watching ‘Matilda’ on TV sounded like a great catalyst for my process of procrastination. These days when a movie is old enough to be featured in your childhood memories, it is worthy of a re-watch. But rather than following the storyline, more often than not my thought train leads me to more of a ‘where are they now’ concept. And with one curious spark that the focus shifted from Bruce Bogtrotter struggling to eat Cookie’s “mud” cake to, I wonder how Bruce is going today?

By the half an hour point in my self appointed research project, I had raided Wikipedia, IMDb, Instagram, Facebook and google images, just to name a few. And with that I had succinctly updated myself on the 2017 versions of  Matilda, Bruce, Miss Trunchbull and Miss Honey. But it didn’t stop there, I even went as far as educating myself on Roald Dahl, followed by a recap of a number of his most critically acclaimed novels, but thats another level of procrastination.

In case I sparked your curiosity about Bruce, I’ll make it easy for you:

Before:

After: