some black and white studies for cda class. i’ve actually never done film studies in greyscale before, i learned a lot. studies are from blade runner and aliens
Oscar “Blade Runner” Pistorius was the proverbial sports hero. As a child born with fibular hemimelia, a condition that left him without a fibula bone (one of the bones in the lower leg) in either of his lower legs, Pistorius proved himself to be unusual from day one. Having undergone below-the-knee amputations in both legs as an infant, Pistorius grew up on prosthetic legs. Always an athlete, Pistorius was a standout athlete is multiple sports in his native South Africa, until a knee injury during a rugby game sidelined him from the sport. Shortly thereafter, Pistorius began running as a part of his rehabilitation program, and the rest, as they say, is history. At the age of 17, Pistorius was given his first pair of flex foot Cheetahs (the now famous “blades”). He went on to the Paralympic Games in Athens the same year and won Gold in the 200m race. Four years later, in Beijing, he scored a hat trick coming back with Gold medals in the 100m, 200m, and 400m events. And of note, last summer, Pistorius successfully lobbied for the opportunity to compete with the South African team in both the Olympics and Paralympics. He came away with two Gold medals, two world records, and a new Paralympic record. Pistorius was hailed as a role-model, a hero in his own right, and a pervasive example of how hard work and determination can help one overcome the most trying of circumstances.
More recently, Pistorius has achieved a less favorable kind of notoriety, having been accused of the ghastly pre-meditated murder of his girlfriend, South African model, Reeva Steenkamp. While the finer details surrounding Steenkamp’s murder remain a mystery, what has been revealed paints two very different pictures- a tragic case of mistaken identity vs. a case of cold-blooded pre-meditated murder.
According to Pistorius, he and Steenkamp went to bed early on the night of the 13th. In the wee hours of the 14th, Pistorius woke up to close the sliding doors leading to his balcony. Upon returning from the balcony, Pistorius heard what he presumed to be an intruder in the bathroom. In his official statement to the court, Pistorius stated “I felt a sense of terror rushing over me…I believed that someone had entered my house. I was too scared to switch a light on.” In the darkness, Pistorius, who claims that at the time he did not have his prosthetic legs on, retrieved his 9 mm handgun from under his bed and made his way to the master bathroom. On the way he yelled for Steenkamp to call the police, never realizing the fact that she was no longer in bed. Upon reaching the master bathroom, Pistorius noted an open window and the door leading to the toilet room closed. Pistorius fired at the closed door blindly, in the dark, assuming that the intruder was hiding behind it. He again shouted to Reeva to call the police but noted she wasn’t responding. When he returned to his bedroom and noticed that she wasn’t in bed, it dawned on him that Reeva was in the toilet room. Upon noticing that the toilet room door was locked, Pistorius put on his prosthetic legs and attempted to break the door down using a cricket bat. When he finally reached Steenkamp, she was alive, but barely. Pistorius contacted emergency personnel and attempted to carry Reeva down the stairs to bring her to the hospital, but she succumbed to the injuries dealt by bullet wounds to her head, chest, pelvis, and hands and passed away in Pistorius’ arms.
The prosecution paints a vastly different picture of the situation. Witness reports indicate continuous arguing coming from Pistorius’ house between the hours of 2 and 3 am. Lights were also said to be on Pistorius’ bathroom before gunshots were heard. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel suggested that Steenkamp fled and locked herself in the toilet room during her argument with Pistorius. Pistorius then put on his prosthetic legs and retrieved his gun to shoot Steenkamp in the toilet in an attempt to resolve the argument. Ballistics studies appear to confirm this, revealing that the trajectory of the bullets was such that they appear to be shot from a higher point- that is to say; Pistorius had already put on his prosthetic legs when he shot Steenkamp. A more curious finding was that of vials of testosterone and boxes of syringes in Pistorius’ apartment. Although Pistorius was immediately subjected to blood and urine testing, there is now rampant speculation that Pistorius was using testosterone to improve his athletic performance and that “roid rage” may have fueled his unnaturally aggressive behavior resulting in Steenkamp’s untimely death.
As almost everyone already knows, the use of steroids including testosterone and its synthetic derivatives is not uncommon amongst competitive athletes in an effort to improve athletic performance. The World Anti-Doping Agency has banned over 100 performance-enhancing drugs from being used, but many athletes don’t necessarily pay attention. Testosterone, a naturally occurring compound in both men and women is one such frequently used drug. As the male sex hormone, testosterone has both androgenic and anabolic effects; responsible for the development of male sexual characteristics and also for the growth and development of muscle mass, respectively. Synthetic derivatives of testosterone such as stanozolol and nandrolone are also used. These synthetic forms are referred to as anabolic steroids and are often the more popular choice due to their more powerful effect in building muscle mass. Yet another popular compound is DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone), which is frequently marketed as a nutritional supplement used to increase muscle strength.
The human body produces a regulated amount of testosterone based on a variety of factors unique to each individual. Logically then, it follows that taking higher than normal doses of testosterone increases both muscle mass and strength. Therein lays the dangerous allure of anabolic steroids. In an attempt to achieve a quick fix or perhaps amp up their performance for an upcoming competition, athletes frequently turn to steroids as a means with which to gain a competitive edge.
However, what frequently goes unmentioned are the dangerous side effects to prolonged steroid use. These include decreased sperm production and fertility, increased cholesterol levels, liver cysts, and tendon ruptures. Perhaps one of the more widely known side-effects is that of ‘roid rage- unprovoked, overly aggressive and paranoid behavior as a result of increased androgen levels in the body. There aren’t many formal research studies on the phenomenon of ‘roid rage. In an informal study of 160 men surveyed at gyms, mood disorders and aggressive behavior were more common amongst steroid users. Analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health which consisted of over 20,000 participants and found that steroid users were twice as likely to engage in unprovoked, violent behavior. Though the precise bio-chemical pathway for ‘roid rage has not yet been discovered, there is some speculation that steroid users contain lower levels of the brain chemical serotonin in areas of the brain that control aggression and violence. In a recent Time Magazine article, authors referenced a study done by researchers at the University of Guelph in Ontario. In animal studies, they found that mice with high testosterone levels were found to also have lower levels of BDNP, a hormone that controls depression and inappropriate reactions. Therefore, increased testosterone levels may be implicated in unusually aggressive and impulsive behaviors.
It is difficult to say Steenkamp’s murder was due to a tragic case of ‘roid rage. While anecdotal evidence for instances of ‘roid rage is widespread, there are few, if any controlled research studies that fully support the link between excessive steroid use and aggressive behavior. In fact, a study of 50 men published in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that there were no observed differences in mood or anger levels amongst experimental and control groups. This suggests that the effects of steroids can vary widely between individuals. Furthermore, according to Slate Magazine, there have been many accounts that Pistorius was, at his baseline, a jumpy, overly energized individual with a constant stream of paranoia running through his blood. Coupled with the fact that South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world, it is not unusual for South Africans to arm themselves. Pistorius stated that he had been the victim of violence and robberies before, so it is not an entirely surprising thought that Pistorius would be overly vigilant about guarding his home and his loved ones when he perceived trouble. The truth remains to be seen.
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