Wednesday, 10 March, 2021
Photoshop banned in soap ads; Russia’s frozen ballerina; Tassie’s wild deer problem; and making the recorder cool again.
LINKS
Photoshop:
The Dove ad highlighting Photoshop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0JF4QxPpvM
Photoshopping real women into cover models: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRlpIkH3b5I
Swan Lake performed on frozen lake: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-56300514
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra recorder program: https://www.tso.com.au/recorder-lift-off/
Squiz Kids Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/squizkids/?hl=en
Got a birthday coming up and you want a shout-out? Send us an email at [email protected]
Squiz Kids is proudly supported by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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One of the world’s biggest sellers of soap, creams and skincare products has vowed to no longer use Photoshop in its ads.
Photoshop is a computer program that can manipulate an image to make it look different from its original.
You may have come across filters on social media sites likes Instagram or Facebook? It’s the same sort of thing. Except in advertising, Photoshop is often used on photos of models to make their skin look smoother or their hair look shinier, or their eyes look clearer or their muscles look bigger.
Unilever – which is a company that makes a lot of the soap and skincare products that you see in the supermarket or might even have on your bathroom shelf – yesterday said it would ban the use of excessive Photoshoping in the ads it makes for its products. So that the people used to advertise those products look more real.
Advertising is a really influential force in our lives – and the people who make ads are really clever at working out what we like to see or hear. But as consumers – which is people like you and me – get more savvy about picking fakes, advertisers are starting to embrace something closer to real life. Because we’re all beautiful in our own way…
SPIN THE GLOBE
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Each day we give the world globe a spin and find a news story from wherever it stops – and today we’ve landed in Russia … where a ballerina has danced on a frozen lake to protest against the construction of a port that critics say will disturb the local swan population.
Despite the fact it was -15c outside, Russian dancer Ilmira Bagrautinova put on her leotard, tights and pointe shoes and headed out onto the ice to perform a dance from her favourite ballet.
Afterwards, she said she did it as a protest against plans for a large shipping port to be built there – a site at which swans were known to come and nest.
And the ballet from which she chose her dance? Why – Swan Lake of course. There’s a link in today’s episode notes to video of Ilmira’s stunningly choreographed protest performance.
POP CULTURE CORNER
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If you’re at a school anywhere in Australia, there’s a good chance at some stage that you’ve picked up a recorder. And there’s an even better chance your parents – and maybe even your siblings and pet dog – have had to hide under the sofa as you screech and squawk your way through learning how to play it. Well – screech and squawk no more – because the Tasmania Symphony Orchestra is here to help – announcing the creation of an online course where recorder beginners can play along with professional musicians – from the basics of recorder playing to full-blown compositions.
What’s a symphony orchestra? It’s a big group of professional musicians who play a combination of wind, string, brass and percussion instruments to perform classical music.
There’s a link in today’s episode notes to the Tassie Symphony Orchestra recorder initiative. Pucker up your lips and get involved!
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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Still in Tasmania, and the government and park rangers there are beginning to wrestle with the problem of how to manage a wild deer population that some fear is getting out of control.
The most recent estimates put the population of wild deer at 53,000. And while they look lovely, they’re an introduced species, they eat lots and lots of Tasmania’s pasture land – taking food that would otherwise be eaten by sheep and cows – and they take valuable food and resources from our native animals.
One of the solutions being proposed is to extend the hunting season for wild deer.
Here’s a question you can discuss among yourselves. Is it ever okay to hunt and kill wild deer? And what would be the reasons for and against hunting them? Consider it your question of the day.
ROSIE’S RECIPES
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Every second Wednesday we stick our heads into the Squiz Kids kitchen to see what Rosie has been cooking up — and this week, she’s handed the cooking utensils over to her brother Flynn – also known as The Fox – who stepped up last week and offered to cook the family dinner.
His contribution to the family culinary effort? A delicious serve of beef tacos.
The Fox researched the recipe, wrote out a shopping list, and spent an hour or so in the kitchen prepping and cooking everything – producing and easy, delicious and decidedly nutritious dinner for everyone.
The recipe and photos are on the Squiz Kids website – squizkids.com.au.
Have you treated your family to a meal recently? Do you have a favourite recipe you’d be prepared to share with Squiz Kids? If so – send it to [email protected] – and Rosie will be delighted to cook it and feature it on this segment.
THE S’QUIZ
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This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening …
- In which country has a ballerina performed a protest dance on a frozen lake?
- Which instrument is the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra hoping to help kids learn to play better?
- The population of which animal in Tasmania has grown so large that its threatening native wildlife?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s March 10 … the International Day of Awesomeness – a day to recognise that while no one is perfect, everyone is awesome in their own way. So that’s nice.
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today… Tyrel from Goomalling, Hanu from Wentworthville, Tately from Mount Isa, Walid from Sydney, Horatio from Glen Innes, Josh and Max from Roseville, Eve from Wahroonga, Malaki and Miya from Wallaroo, Clare from Abbotsford, Braden from Otford, Zoe from West Albury, Edward from Engadine, Fraser from Dural, Jai from Ashmont, Charlie from Little River and Bobby from Queensland.
And some belated birthday shoutouts to…
Vayden from Hornsby, Salem and Xavier from Coniston, Kayden from Glenwood, Jordan, Marnie, Rosy, Jayden, Grace, Ava and Lauren from Fadden and Arthur who is listening all the way from Hong Kong.
Happy birthday one and all.
Today’s classroom shoutouts… class 4G at Wilandra Rise Primary School, class 3/4E at Rangebank Primary School, class 4/5 White and their teacher Mrs Fonte at North Wagga Public School, Mrs Croft’s 5C class at Lawnton State School and Mrs fordyce’s class at St Brendan’s Catholic Primary School in Mackay.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Russia
- Recorder
- Wild deer