I took the Leadership and Innovation course as part of my Year 9 Semester 1 electives, and I really enjoyed the experience. Our task was to ideate and execute a project that aligns with one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), demonstrating how we can create positive change on the local scale. I was in a group with Charlotte Parker, and we decided to create Precious Plastics Keychains to sell and raise money for SDG 13: Climate Change. I feel like the freedom we were given to create our projects based on our interests and strengths was what made the subject so enjoyable. I honed my skills related to time management, leadership, communication, and in many more areas.

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Below is the definition of leadership that we collaborated on at the start of term 1. Please reflect on where you have had the chance to grow in this space and what you would like to develop in the future.

Leadership for this group is a set of skills and qualities that allow you to take charge of their own lives and make a positive impact on their communities.

It involves taking responsibility, setting goals, making decisions, and inspiring others to work together towards a common goal.

Leadership is a skill that can be developed over time, and it’s never too early to start.

1. Communication skills: Being able to communicate effectively with others is essential for a successful leader. This includes being able to articulate your vision, listen to the concerns of others, and facilitate productive conversations.
   • I felt like I demonstrated and excersized my communication skills effectively. I gained experience in writing professional Emails to organise collaboration sessions (e.g. with Mr Scotti and Ms Brookland who helped us immensely with using the Precious Plastics machine), and venues where we would sell our keychains at (e.g. Year 7 and 8 Christmas Markets, and possibly Kaicon). I also made sure to communicate efficiently with my group member Charlotte; we split up responsibilities and tasks, contributed feedback and suggestions to each others ideas, and regularly checked in on our progress.

1. Self-awareness: Knowing your own strengths and weaknesses, and being able to work on them, is crucial for effective leadership. It also involves understanding your values and beliefs and how they impact your decision-making.
   • I feel like we chose a project that aligns with our strengths. As Charlotte and I have skills in art and design, our project is very suitable as keychain design involves illustration. One of my weaknesses was operating machinery in the woodwork room (such as the drill), however, I asked for guidance and was slowly able to use them more effectively. We value sustainability and believe it is one of the most crucial issues, hence why we chose to focus on that goal for our project.

1. Responsibility: Leaders take ownership of their actions and decisions and are accountable for the outcomes. They don’t shy away from challenges, and instead, look for ways to find solutions. Leaders need to be organised and help the organisation of their team
   • One of our responsibilities was to commit to the work we set out for ourselves to produce keychains – we set the goal to make 75 keychains and we achieved it (we might even make more if we have spare time). A challenge of our project was during the ideation process – we needed to use a material that was sustainable and durable at the same time for our keychains. Fortunately, we thought to use Precious Plastics, as it recycles otherwise wasted material. I demonstrated organisation through breaking up our big task into smaller steps and creating a thorough To-Do list alongside it.

1. Empathy: A great leader is able to understand, connect with and show compassion for the perspectives of others. This enables them to build strong, fair relationships and to effectively collaborate with a diverse group of people.
   • We aimed to empathize with our target market of the Year 7 and 8 cohort, so we sent out a survey collecting their suggestions on improvements on our keychains. We gained valuable feedback to incorporate into our designs as we progress.

1. Confidence: Confidence is important for leaders because it helps them inspire others and make bold decisions. It’s important to note that confidence doesn’t mean being arrogant or ignoring the opinions of others.
   • We displayed confidence through our idea pitch at the start of this course, which involved public speaking to the class. Reaching out to our target audience and communicating with teachers and facilitators also excersizes confidence.

1. Creativity and adaptability: creativity is invited and encouraged by leaders along with the resilience and courage to adapt and pivot where necessary
   • We demonstrated creativity as our illustrations need to be original and fresh to be marketable and to avoid copyright. We adapted through the multiple stages of the project ideation process, as we had to change our product focus multiple times (first, we didn’t even know what material to use, then we thought of using the laser cutter, but using Precious Plastics was the best option, so we adapted to use that).

I took the Traditional Drawing elective in semester 1 of 2023 (Year 9), and throughout the process I have learnt lots of new techniques and honed my existing skills in realistic pencil drawing.

Photos of my Self-Portrait Progress

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1. Evaluate your Skills

I think my work is successful because I tried my best and put a lot of effort into it, I made sure to try and focus as much as I could in class.

I believe I was good at shading and comparing my drawing with the reference photo in order to get the most accurate copy possible. I also believe my shading technique was very smooth, and I liked the contrast values in my art. I made sure there was no smudges as I used a handguard. I really looked closely at the reference image and marked out the shadows and shapes, which helped the image look realistic. I made confident strokes when drawing defined lines and I shaded smooth gradients for soft shadows.

I struggled with time management, as I found myself running out of time if I had to complete the drawing to the best constant standard that I could, as the way I shaded took very long to build up the layers. I also sometimes find it hard to break down the image into simpler shapes, and sometimes I lose track or focus on which area of the reference image I was copying, as the image was quite complex.

2. Most helpful Technique

The most helpful technique I learnt in traditional drawing was to build up layers when shading.

3. Process and Choices

Starting from an introductory lesson, we sketched a quick self-portrait via mirror, along with still life drawings. We then learnt new techniques and methods for drawing and shading, and practised and experimented in class. We moved onto taking reference photos to base our self portraits off of, I experimented with different angles and light sources and intensity. I chose to use the photo of me with a strong highlight and interesting, intricate, contrasting hair shadows to challenge myself. I heightened the contrast and resolution of the photo and changed it to greyscale to make it easier to copy with pencil. I then printed the photo out and I used a transferring method (shading graphite on the back of the paper and then tracing the main outline of the image with the graphite side face down on the final canvas) to ensure that my final portrait has accurate proportions (I chose this over other transferring methods as it was easy to use).

I incorporated what I learnt from the entire semester’s experience into starting a practise self-portrait, experimenting with the watercolour paper and pencils, before working on my final portrait. Throughout the process, I made sure to regularly compare my art and the reference image with the aim of it to be as similar as possible. I also used a handguard, kneadable erasers, and pencils I brought from home. I also measured proportions using my pencil to copy my photo accurately. I worked on shading it left to right in order to avoid smudging, starting with a 6H pencil as I wanted to mark out the main shadows and build a smooth and solid foundation before setting the darker values in. I then shaded over it with a 2H and finally a 6B for the darkest values. I’m very satisfied with the progress I’ve made so far.

Inspired by the works of artist Roberto Benavidez, we created piñatas of hybrid mythical creatures over the span of semester 2, showcasing them in the Illumniate Festival. Starting from scratch, we brainstormed an original design referencing mythical animals, creating a hybrid. We then crafted our piñatas using laser-cut cardboard sides, metallic and coloured paper, acrylic paint, pom-poms, and fairy lights. Throughout the process, we collaborated in pairs and applied and improved our ASC capabilities such as inquisitiveness, problem solving, organisation, and creativity.

Introducing our inspiration

Roberto Benavidez, born 1973, is a contemporary artist that specialises in the piñata artform, crafting hybrid mythical creatures. He was inspired by ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’ by Hieronymus Bosch, and recreates the beasts pictured in 3D form.

Research, Brainstorming, and Ideation

With reference to Benavidez, we researched traditional piñatas and their original symbolism, along with hybrid and mythical creatures. I applied inquisitiveness in curiousity in Benavidez’s creations to try and reflect that in my own work. We collected our individual findings complete with reference images on a document (mine is shown below).

After narrowing down our reference images to the ones we wanted to pursue, we started sketching ideas for our final design using creativity. I aimed for a cute, fluffy, small mythical creature. I experimented with hybrids such as a cat with wings or a levitating sheep with antlers. I was most happy with my cat-like hybrid design, I decided to flesh out its design by brainstorming its colour schemes. I stuck to pastel colours with emphasis on pink and blue to highlight the ‘soft’ vibe I aimed for. I named her ‘Luna the Cat’!

With our partners, we showed each other our sketches and agreed upon a final colour scheme. We exercised collaboration and effective communication to develop our project using teamwork.

Putting it all together

After agreeing on finalizing our colour scheme and outline with my partner, we started crafting the model. We used the laser cutter to cut our outline of our designs efficiently and accurately. We then joined the two sides using rolled cardboard and masking tape to create the 3D body of our creature.

Materials used (below)

We used gesso as a base coat of white on our entire model. Then, we used cut out pieces of metallic paper in various shapes (such as small hearts, circles, squares, etc.) and glued layers to start building up our piñata design from the bottom up. We used collaboration skills throughout to assign each other different roles in production (for example, my partner cut the paper while I glued them onto the pinata) in order to work efficiently.

Using problem solving, I decided that I wanted to change one of the sides of my piñata to be more aesthetically pleasing rather than to follow the design accurately (if you see my final piñata design, the sides are different from each other), which solves the problem of the unpolished design. Using golden acrylic paint (I wanted the design to have a bright feeling to go with the vibrant paper), we painted the sides of the piñata. Finally, we glued the rainbow pompom strings around the outline, along with the rainbow fairy lights. Our piñata was ready and I’m quite happy with our design!

We were organised and managed our time effectively in order to finish our design in the most quality by the allocated time – we came during lunch and recesses to work on our project and finished exactly by the due date. The whole process was quite smooth and lacked problems.

The Illuminate Festival

The Illuminate Festival marked the end of transition for Year 8 students, celebrating an opening to a new chapter of our school lives. Students showcased their creations and performances over the semester of Project X. My role for the festival was to showcase our piñatas. We opened the festival with the piñata procession, organising ourselves onto the stage to showcase our creations.

Our team then lead parents around the CPA, towards the drama section, to Wanju for music, back to the CPA for media, and finally all the way to the common to hang up the piñatas for a final dance performance.

The smoothness of our transitions and our professionalism while interacting with the parents went really well, as we exercised collaboration. We knew our way around the school and appeared collected and welcoming. Additionally, I feel like our final design was vibrant and pleasing to the eye, and I’m proud of me and my partner’s work. Next time, I feel like it would’ve been better to have both of the sides of the piñata to be the same – with focus on the aesthetics rather than on representing our final sketch perfectly.

Throughout the production process, I felt determined to get our project done on time, and I enjoyed creating the piñata as I enjoy art and craft. During the festival, I felt very proud to showcase our hard work and I had lots of fun with my friends and parents.

My friends parents enjoyed the event greatly and thought our piñatas looked great! I’m very thankful for this opportunity, an amazing way to mark the end of transition.

By Saskia 8W

In this project, we explored the critical issue of alcohol’s dangers and the consequences of unsafe use of the substance. We presented our knowledge through ‘stalls’ that aimed to teach our classmates about our chosen research topics of alcohol. There were a vast range of mediums used to convey information throughout each stall, from quizzes to videogames. Our group created a simple but effective ‘Quizziz’ that allowed players to learn about the dangers and health risks of drinking through a fun and competitive quiz.

What were the biggest things you learnt while completing this task?

The most important things I learnt while completing this task was the dangers of drinking and how they heavily outweigh the very limited benefits of drinking alcohol.

For my role for the assessment, I was tasked with researching alcohol’s mental health effects. I learnt that for some people, alcohol can act as a short-term antidepressant. This, however, is a benefit greatly outweighed by harmful long-term effects; as alcohol directly alters the chemical in the brain, it is proven to increase mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, stress, and more. This is a significant and very relevant issue that must be addressed as it affects approx. 25% of people aged 18 or older. Many people worldwide are affected by this, hence the need for proper education to discourage people from drinking unsafe amounts of alcohol.

Other facts about alcohol I learnt by reading my group members’ research highlighted the risks of binge drinking (i.e. consuming large amounts of alcohol in a short time period). The harmful effects of binge drinking are much more severe than regular, spaced out drinking; some symptoms/effects include blackouts, liver failure, an increased risk of cancer, heart failure, low blood pressure, vomiting, seizures, impaired memory, obesity, and aggression.

However, as seen in the statistics, many teenagers still choose to drink – they either ignore the life-threatening effects alcohol may have or are ignorant to it. The main reason for this is because of social pressures; wanting to fit in with peers by putting up a ‘bad’ or ‘daredevil’ self-image. Myths and misinformation also contribute to teenagers and young people trying alcohol, thinking that they would ‘feel good’ while drinking it (this is dangerously untrue).

Lastly, I also learnt about alcohol laws, and how they are vital for protecting us, especially younger people. There are laws that prohibit drink driving which would reduce the amount of accidents on the road. In Australia, you must be over the age of 18 to buy or sell alcohol and all alcohol must display the amount of standard drinks it contains on the packaging. In some places, alcohol is banned as to provide a safer environment for everyone given the substance’s risks.

What one piece of advice would you pass on to young teenagers above all else? Why?

My piece of advice I would pass on to young teenagers is that given alcohol’s risky and life-threatening effects, I believe the safest and most healthy option is to not drink at all. Even though in a social setting or a place where you may feel pressured to drink, I don’t think it is ever worth the symptoms stated in the paragraph before as it can pose a large danger to you and others. Alcohol is definitely not the only way to make friends, in fact it could potentially make you less socially adept due to the effects it may carry to the drinker such as mental illness or aggression.

I chose to pass this piece of advice as I think that all alcohol-related problems can be prevented by simply not drinking at all. I would want all the future generations to enjoy life safely without any health risks that alcohol possesses.

Write down a pledge that you will commit to if you start drinking alcohol (at the legal age of 18 years).Why did you pick these things to commit to? How will you stick to these commitments?

If I choose to start drinking alcohol, I will always be vigilant and drink in as safe of an environment as possible. This includes drinking as little amounts as possible (e.g. diluted drinks) or drinking alcohol as infrequently as possible in spaced-out periods of time. This also includes the physical environment I would drink alcohol in, for example I would much rather be in a trusted friend’s home with support if anything goes wrong than in a party full of strangers. I will have an emergency plan if anything does go wrong by practicing calling the right numbers (e.g. a trusted adult/friend/parent and the paramedics if necessary) and will exercise an action plan. This involves good communication with the people around me to ensure everything goes right; for example, if I am unconscious I would want my friends to lie me down in a position that ensures the opening of my airway.

I picked these things to commit to as to make sure that I can avoid all the negative and dangerous effects of alcohol as listed above to stay healthy and in my best condition. I will try as hard as I can to be conscious and educated about all of alcohol’s risks too. I will stick to these commitments by referring to them if I ever choose to drink, and ensuring good communication with others to make sure my decision is the best one I can make.

Task 1: My House of Values

Love:

The value most important to me is love. To me, love means an unconditional connection between people that can be expressed in many ways such as compassion, trust, and honesty. Love doesn’t have to be romantic, you could just to trust a someone enough to show vulnerability. This value impacts my life as I always strive to look out for others and build connections. One time, I cheered up a classmate after a tough day, and ever since we have been great friends. I think this displays how love is contagious – the more you give, the more you get. Interactions with others include encouraging them to achieve their best in everything. This affects my decision making, as I see myself to follow my heart rather than my head. For example I would pass on an opportunity I had to someone in greater need. To me, love is a mixture of many values, all of which relate to caring for others.

Friendship:

Friendship impacts my life similarly to how love does. However a main difference is that friendship focuses on building a connection within people. In my opinion, friendship might be less profound than love, yet still equally significant. Friendship creates a comfortable and content place for people; interactions could be joking around with each other light-heartedly. My decisions are also affected by this value. An example is I once chose to sit with a different person than what I usually would because they seemed down. I find friendship is the closeness between people, a chill vibe.

Future Generations:

One of my main goals in life is to try help people in anyway possible – this includes people that may not be on this Earth yet. I believe future generations should be able to experience everything, if not more, than what we have today. This value is one of my driving forces that impact my life – my motivation to study and find ways to help future generations stem from it. Interactions with others could include talking about issues that may affect the future, and ways to mitigate them. An example of how I implement this value at home is that I follow the reduce-reuse-recycle idea. I take something that is considered waste to others (for example cardboard or packaging) and incorporate it into the artworks I make. It impacts my decisions as many of my career dreams are influenced by this, for example I might want to research sustainability or work in law to reinforce many of our existing joys today.

Task 2: Healthy and Unhealthy Role Model

Healthy Role Model: ‘Bang Chan’ from Stray Kids

Introduction to chosen celebrity: Bang Chan is the leader of the K-pop group Stray Kids. In 2010, at the age of 13, he left his home country Australia and moved to South Korea to pursue his dream of becoming a K-Idol. He trained for 7 years before finally debuting under JYP Entertainment with Stray Kids. He is well known globally for his talent and his genuine and compassionate disposition.

What behaviours does this person do to show
that they are healthy?

The main behaviour and values that Bang Chan displays is outstanding hard work, resilience, and kindness, all of which are traits that derive from a healthy mental state and moral compass. This is seen in his immense determination to improve himself and help others through being an idol – whenever he has spare time he always tries to improve aspects of the band e.g. he composes his group’s music or writes lyrics to future songs.

Bang Chan is very resilient as he deals with the struggles of being a celebrity – one of them being extreme unjustified hate from consumers (some ‘fans’ commented death threats on his live broadcast over small mistakes). However, he still keeps a positive outward behaviour to his fans and surrounding people, showcasing his resilience to ‘bounce back’ from adversity.

Bang Chan displays kindness through his talks on his live broadcast. A direct quote from the idol:

“…So I think it’s best to really do what you really want to do – really, just enjoy being alive. And also… Expressing who you are – and I know you guys know what I mean…”

– Bang Chan on V Live

This shows how Bang Chan wants the best for his fans and therefore tries to help them by encouraging them. This is an obvious display of kindness as he cares about others and he wants to try help them in any way possible.

Being an idol involves practicing vigorous dancing (while singing simultaneously) for hours every day, which proves his strong physical health. Additionally, Bang Chan’s diet is nutritious and he makes time for socializing and other healthy practices.

Bang Chan has a healthy mental state and moral compass shown by his behaviours, and he has great physical health due to his lifestyle. This makes Bang Chan a healthy role model.

What do they look like? Are they healthy? How
do you know?

Bang Chan’s ethnicity is South Korean. He is physically healthy as shown through his appearance. His natural hair and eye colour is black/dark brown and he has a muscular build. His skin is naturally pale (not due to being unhealthy) and clear. This shows that he is physically healthy as he is devoid of any visible illnesses/afflictions.

Some celebrities may have an appearance that was created due to excessive amounts of cosmetic surgery. This promotes an unhealthy self-image to any fans, as it suggests that to look ‘good-looking’ you need to undergo painful surgeries. This can leave fans unhappy with their body-image, which is unhealthy. However, Bang Chan has not undergone any plastic/cosmetic surgery, and his appearance is healthy and realistic.

What message does this celebrity promote?
Why is it inspiring and healthy?

Bang Chan uses his fame to promote many messages – all of which I believe to be valuable life lessons. An example of this is when he talks to his fans online through the means of live broadcasts (using the app ‘V Live’). Fans sometimes comment their situation and Bang Chan does his best to comfort and give advice to them. An example of this – one fan commented they are struggling with self doubt. In response, Bang Chan said (quoted word for word):

‘…I mean, you might not feel confident, but trust me, you’re doing good at something. Even if it’s something really really small, believe me, there is something you’re really really good at… It’s just another step that you need to step on to go further up…’

In saying this, the idol uses V Live to connect with fans and create an environment where fans can talk about their troubles comfortably – and receive valuable life messages!

Bang Chan also promotes his messages simply by displaying them through the way he acts.  One example of his many messages is to follow your dreams and tackle all the obstacles that may block the path to your ambition.

Bang Chan stated that his dream is to spread joy throughout the world using the music he creates. Following that he has many talents related to being a performer, he auditioned to be a K-pop Idol. After his audition was accepted, he decided to take the opportunity – even knowing that the process to become an idol means leaving his home county and family. This showed that even the ordeal of leaving behind the familiar didn’t stop him from his journey to make his dream a reality.

After travelling to Korea, Bang Chan had to go through the arduous K-pop training process. This included competing against million of other trainees for fame. It is said that becoming a successful idol is rarer than winning the lottery, and yet Bang Chan persisted, following his message to follow his dream. He trained for a total of 7 years – each day of training consisted almost entirely of improving idol skills (singing, dancing, composing, etc.) Finally, using persistence and moving past the hardships in his life, he became the leader of a well known K-pop group: Stray Kids.

Those are just two examples of the many life lessons Bang Chan promotes. Other examples stated in the previous sections are: to always be empathetic, persistent, kind, hard-working, and resilient. He promotes these lessons directly by talking with fans and displaying them in his role-model behaviour.

Why should young people look up to this
person and try to follow their message?

I believe young people should look up to Bang Chan and follow his message as Bang Chan demonstrates behaviours and personality traits that are very valuable for a person to have – especially at a young age. As covered in the previous sections, Bang Chan displays empathy, kindness, resilience and a disciplined work ethic. If young people look up to him as a role model, they will view all the positive traits he carries as personality traits they want to have. I think it is vital for young people to have these personality traits as they will establish a positive mindset early on. Empathy, kindness, resilience and a disciplined work ethic are essential in almost all areas of life – e.g. interactions with others (empathy and kindness), overcoming problems (resilience), and school and work-life (discipline). If more people can look up to Bang Chan and try to mirror the positive traits he models, I believe they can make positive impacts on the world around them.

Unhealthy Role Model: ‘Oli London’

Introduction of chosen celebrity: Oli London is an internet personality that focuses on creating unofficial ‘K-Pop’ content. He was born in January 1990 and was born British. After discovering K-Pop, he decided to undergo 18 rounds of plastic surgery to imitate the look of his favourite K-Pop idol (Jimin from BTS). He is known worldwide for being ‘transracial’ and part of the LGBTQ+ community.

What behaviours does this person do to show
that they are unhealthy?

The main physically unhealthy behaviour that Oli London displays is his extreme dissatisfaction with his body image, causing him to spend about $140 000 on cosmetic plastic surgery. This is unhealthy and dangerous as extreme plastic surgery can be physically harmful (including risks of excessive bleeding, infection, failure to heal etc.). Oli London had to get large amounts of tissue and skin removed during the procedure, which is very unhealthy as you are vulnerable to diseases. This is also shows Oli London has an unhealthy body image, he quoted (word for word)

“…and I never feel good enough, when I look in the mirror, I never feel beautiful.” from: ‘You’re Really Selling Yourself Short; You’re Not Being Your Own Best Friend,’ Dr. Phil Tells Gue…

This makes Oli London unhealthy as he felt the need to change his look permanently and drastically due to his unhealthy body image.

The reason Oli London wanted to change his appearance drastically was because of his unhealthy obsession with the BTS (K-pop group) idol ‘Jimin’, that he stated to be ‘transracial’ and as a result, appropriated the Korean culture. His obsession is shown from the footage of him being affectionate with a paper cut-out of Jimin, repeating the words ‘I love you Jimin!’ (from: I Identify As Korean – Now I’m Getting My Sixth Nose Job | HOOKED ON THE LOOK“. He also stated to be transracial, saying that he ‘identifies as Korean’. His acts of cultural appropriation are shown by his quote: “I am 100% Korean”. He also creates ‘K-pop’ music videos – one titled ‘The Heart of Korea”. This is problematic, as cultural appropriation (an oppressed culture has elements of their culture adopted without permission by a dominant culture – in this case the Korean culture is adopted by Oli London who is British – known as a ‘dominant’ culture) continues oppression. Because of his inappropriate obsession and his acts of cultural appropriation, Oli London is morally unhealthy as these acts can be offensive and morally wrong.

Oli London pursues internet popularity obsessively that he uses sensitive/problematic topics such as the Black Lives Matter movement for attention. This is seen in his voice mail quote (it was posted onto Tik Tok by his past friend ‘Frenchy Morgan’):

” …So basically every time I get a music video it’s like… It’s a million [views], which is a thousand pounds…” and “…then also because there’s been a lot on Twitter; so many people talking about on Twitter supporting the Black Lives Matter protests and stuff so I had 200,000 views on a video, so because of that as well I’m getting a lot of progress. So it’s just, you know I’m just staying relevant…”

– Oli London speaking on voice mail to Frenchy Morgan

This is problematic and another example of having unhealthy morals as he speaks about the Black Lives Matter movement insensitively, as if he only feels it’s significant to improving his internet popularity. It is clear he is acting problematic to get fame and monetary income, which is very morally unhealthy.

Oli London is physically unhealthy due to his extreme cosmetic surgery, and morally/emotionally unhealthy due to his body image, inappropriate fan behaviour, cultural appropriation acts, insensitivity and his strong desire for fame and money. This makes Oli London an unhealthy role model.

What do they look like? Do they look
unhealthy? How do you know?

Oli London currently has blond dyed hair, and artificial facial features (unnaturally shaped eyes, nose and lips) due to cosmetic surgery. He has an average build. His natural eye colour is blue. His skin, however, is clear, but unusually shiny. Due to his extreme amount of surgically altered features, Oli London looks unhealthy. This is because plastic surgery is often associated with a negative, unhealthy body image (see previous question), and is physically harmful to the body.

What message does this celebrity promote?
Why is it unhealthy?

Oli London’s message he tries to promote is that: You should be free to express yourself, whether it’s through coming out as LGBTQ+ or transracial*. I think this message is partially healthy, as you should be free to express and be confident with your true self. However, I think you should only ‘express’ yourself in ways that aren’t harming others in offensive or problematic ways such as acts of cultural appropriation or speaking insensitively about Black Lives Matter. While his message might not be fully morally unhealthy, his behaviours contradict the positive teachings. I think Oli London values his beliefs and his self expression very much, but I also think he values internet validation and money – this alone isn’t entirely unhealthy, but when it shapes your behaviours into harming others, it becomes an unhealthy value. There are various ways you can promote your messages through your behaviours, his message is unhealthy.

*(not directly quoted word for word, but rather a combined understanding of many of his other quotes such as ‘I want to express myself’ etc.)

Why should young people not look up to this
The person or try to follow their message?

I believe young people should not look up to Oli London and follow his message as Oli London demonstrates behaviours and personality traits that are problematic and twisted for a person to have – especially at a young age. As covered in the previous sections, Oli London is physically unhealthy due to his extreme cosmetic surgery, and morally/emotionally unhealthy due to his body image, inappropriate fan behaviour, cultural appropriation acts, insensitivity and his strong desire for fame and money. If young people look up to him as a role model, they will view all the negative traits he carries as personality traits they want to have. I think it is dangerous for young people to have these personality traits as they will establish a harmful mindset early on.

All the behaviours he displayed will impact a young person’s life in many negative ways if they try to look up to him – e.g. They might display an unhealthy body image only plastic surgery can fix. They might also come off as inappropriate (London’s obsession with Jimin), or potentially offend others or talk insensitively about topics. If people look up to Oli London and try to mirror the negative traits he models, I believe they run the risk of behaving negatively, which impacts the world around them.

Final words:

I understand that there are many claims that claim Bang Chan’s true intentions are hidden behind the camera and behind his Idol reputation he has to uphold. There are also claims that Bang Chan’s behaviours are staged/scripted I also understand that there is a chance that Oli London might act differently online to how he is in real life. These possibilities make celebrities’ true values/motives hard to decipher and it might be said that because of the chance that their actions are not sincere, they shouldn’t be looked up to or down to.

My argument to this is that in this sense, it is almost impossible to tell anyone’s true intentions; it is not just limited to celebrities. However, the fact that their behaviours and actions are impactful to their viewers means that the intentions behind it are irrelevant to what they influence. This is the same way of how someone can role model a fictional character’s great achievements – their intention is obsolete as they are fictional, yet it still impacts the person in a positive way. Especially at a young age – people who are uncertain about what is considered right or wrong will often learn from older influencers. This is why choosing and looking up to the healthy role models is vital, as you are guided to continue to impact the world around you in a positive, inspiring way.

Bibliography

Braden Hill, S. L. (2021, July 2). No, you can’t identify as ‘transracial’. But you can affirm your gender. Retrieved from The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/no-you-cant-identify-as-transracial-but-you-can-affirm-your-gender-163729

Fandom, W. (2022, March 7). Bang Chan. Retrieved from Stray Kids Wiki: https://stray-kids.fandom.com/wiki/Bang_Chan#:~:text=Despite%20his%20young%20age%2C%20he,trainee%20friends%20debut%20without%20him

Felman, A. (2020, April 19). What is good health? Retrieved from Medical News Today : https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/150999#types

Lee, J. (2021, August). The Process Of Becoming A K-Pop Idol. Retrieved from Creatrip: https://www.creatrip.com/en/blog/11280

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Tran, C. (2021, July 22). Influencer spends $140k and endures EIGHTEEN painful cosmetic procedures to look like a Korean popstar – after becoming ‘infatuated with the culture and people’. Retrieved from Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9812135/Oli-London-reveals-cosmetic-procedures-underwent-look-like-Korean-popstar-Jimin-BTS.html