The Nightmare Behind the Camera

It's every child dream to be famous when they grow up. 

However, some children become famous before they even have the chance to grow up. 

Or consent to that type of lifestyle. 

In the 1920's, with the silent film era in the early 1900s, child actors started to make a name for themselves and have popularity. Jackie Coogan was the first major child star, rising to fame in the roaring twenties. He

Jackie Coogan

first starred in the film Skinner's Baby (1917) when he was just 18 months old. Coogan got his claim to international fame in 1921 with the movie The Kid which then lead to other major roles in movies. 

Coogan got the first taste of the troubles that come from childhood stardom when he had to sue his mother and step-father, who were acting as his business managers, in 1938 when he learned that his family spent basically the entirety of his earnings, which was worth millions. 

This lawsuit has a larger result that would continue to impact future child stars- Coogan law. 

Coogan law, formally known as California Children's Actor Bill, was created because of the money that was stolen from Jackie Coogan by his parents, which was technically legal during the time.                                    

This bill provided provides protection to child actors' earnings from family members or managers. It has been revised since it's first draft but it's goal is to save the child's earnings for themselves in the future. Specially, it calls for 15% of earnings to be set aside in a trust, typically called a Coogan account. This law also sets boundaries with work hours, schooling, and time-off. 

Although this law calls for the financial protection of child stars, physical and emotion protection is lacking in Hollywood. 

Everything is not as it seems: 

A documentary was released in 2024, titled Quiet on Set, which exposed cruel practices that took place on sets in Hollywood during the late 90's and 2000's. It's an exposé on many powerful men in Hollywood but focuses on one in particular- Dan Schneider. 

Schneider produced many famous TV shows, but the most popular were Zoey 101, iCarly, and Victorious. 

Dan Schneider (back right) with iCarly cast

These shows started young teens and were produced for older children and teens. However, throughout these shows, there have been disturbing themes and the actors have been put in compromising positions. 

Inadvertently sexual themes can be found throughout these shows - with clips of girls showing their bare feet in a sexual setting, goo being squirted on faces and underage actor in bikinis, all which were unnecessary for the storyline and added an eerie feeling. 

These actors, specifically female actors, were not protected from being exploited and presented in a sexual way. Additionally, the documentary showed that this behavior was exhibited by the producer and mangers off-screen while the actors were on set. 

Cast of TV show, Victorious

Especially the young women who were exposed to manipulative sexual predators at their place of work, and while their family was profiting off their success. 

Its the assumption that this abuse of power stays in the hills of Hollywood. But with the development of rise of social media, allowing independent influencers to gain a following, children are exploited and abused for money on every corner of the internet and in every place in America. 

Social media has created the idea that users should share every aspect of their lives and some people are lucky enough to get paid for it. 

Or have their children get paid for it. 

Only some other states have laws similar to California's Coogan law, meaning that child influencers on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, or Youtube have the possibility of being financially abused by their managers, which most often are their parents. Additionally, the Coogan law doesn't protect children from the emotionally trauma of growing up in front of the camera or having their personal lives be broadcasted for views. 

"Kidfluencers" is a term coined for the practice of parents creating accounts for their children and posting their lives on their behalf. 

Monster Mother: 

One family channel that has been under controversy, and now legal issues, is the Franke Family where they had a channel called 8 Passengers. 

Franke Family outside their Utah home

On this channel, mom, named Ruby Franke, would post vlog-style videos to YouTube showing their daily routines, family outings, and intimate and personal moments to their family dynamic. This included Franke showing the children's, all six of them, vulnerable moments and their harsh punishments. Franke, willingly, shared the fact that when her six-year-old forgot to pack lunch, Franke refused to feed her and left her at school, hungry. Franke also shared vulnerable moment's like her eldest daughter, Shari, getting her first bra or confronting her young children for wetting the bed. 

This is more than embarrassing- its humiliating and a form of emotional abuse. This children do not have the cognitive ability to knowingly consent to their personal life being permanently published on the internet, nor the consequences of being an online spectacle. 

"..Parents bribe and shame them into posting their most vulnerable moments." Shari Franke said in regards to her own experience with family vlogging. "We cannot give consent to our parents to post our lives. In any other context, it is understood that children cannot consent, but for some reason, people think family vlogging is different."

Ruby Franke at her sentencing

All six of Ruby Franke's children suffered from emotional, financial, and physical abuse. Franke was  arrested  in August of 2023 when her 12-year-old son escaped her custody and ran to safety at a neighbors- showing severe injuries and starvation.  

Some may see this as an extreme case and that Ruby Franke is just a deranged woman, but social media has created a culture where parents see their children as extensions of themselves for profit, rather than real people who have a right to their own autonomy and privacy from the world. 

Child stars can provide their family with huge financial success. 

But they pay with their sanity. 

Taylor Jenkins Reid in Fate, Love, and Things Beyond Our Control

Good books keep you thinking. 

Great books change the way you think. 

Maybe In Another Life, by Taylor Jenkins Reid, is a great book. 

Taylor Jenkins Reid

Reid is an American author from Maryland who specializes in fiction books, specially surrounding women and their friendships and relationships. Many of the themes in her books revolve around love, but she incorporates heavy themes throughout her stories and plays with the idea of fate. 

Her novel, Maybe In Another Life, especially plays with this idea of fate.

The story follows the main character, Hannah Martin, and shows two different versions of her life based on a singular choice she makes one night. Throughout the story, we see parallel events happen in both storylines and watch different events unfold based on this one decision she made on one particular night. 

I truly enjoyed this book, I finished it in one night. The idea behind this book seems complicated to execute, but Reid does it flawlessly. The book make sense as it switched between lives, which seemed like a difficult task to challenge since the point of the book is about how different Hannah's life is based on her small choice. 

Reid intertwines parallels between the two lives but has the parallels have different meanings based on where Hannah is in her life. It's extremely interesting and carefully done, showing Reid's talent for writing. The book is fast-paced and packed with details and events, which I prefer, especially when reading for leisure. 

Besides the tactful writing and precise skill of the author, I loved how this book challenged me to think about my beliefs. I always believed in fate and "everything happens for a reason" and while this book shows that perspective, it also shows the other side of the coin, that theres another life with all the choices you didn't make. 

Thinking like that can be overwhelming, since we see both of Hannah's lives and we are faced with deciding if she's happier in one life than the other. Is it even possible to decide, for Hannah or for ourselves, since we can't see the happiness in our other lives, so what is there to compare? 

Reid's works show this sense of choices impacting our lives but Maybe In Another Life, truly shows how the little things we do can create a major impact on our lives. It leaves the reader wondering about the choices they have made themselves, and wondering about Hannah. Are there other lives Hannah lives, besides the two we see? 

If this review left you thinking, just imagine how the book will impact you. 

The Life of Samuel Livieri

 Samuel Livieri

September 3rd, 1932 - July 14th, 2024

Samuel Livieri

 Samuel Livieri died July 14th, 2024 at his home with family after a long battle with cancer. He was 91.

 He was born September 3rd, 1932 in West Haven to Italian-Immigrant parents, Raffaele Livieri and Albina Montesi who originally named him Serafino. He started school knowing only Italian but quickly persevered and became class president for the majority of his high school career. He was known for his determination and strong work-ethic. 

Mr Livieri was a developer and entrepreneur. He was a hard worker, beginning in his teenage years where he would work odd-jobs. After graduating from University of Connecticut, where he played football, he began his career as a home developer and built over 2,000 homes in West Haven and Naugatuck throughout his life. He also founded Apple Oil Company, with his son, Samuel Livieri Jr, in 1980. 

Mr Livieri was an academic and an athlete. He loved literature and could always be found with a newspaper in his hands. He loved to read works by Churchill, Frost, and Lincoln, whose words he strived to live by. He played football through high school and college and played semi-pro until he was 33 for the Waterbury Orbits.

The love of Mr Livieri's life was Nancy Taylor, whom he met in high school when they both were receiving academic awards. They connected through athletics, as Mrs Livieri was a cheerleader for Mr Livieri's high school football team. They shared this passion for sports throughout the entirety of their marriage, playing tennis, golf and skiing. They married in 1957 and had four children. 

Mr Livieri is pre-deceased by his parents and his four siblings, Arthur Livieri, Ida Nicolleli, Mario Livieri, and John Livieri. He is also pre-deceased by two sons, Joesph Livieri (1958) and John Livieri (1960-1978). 

He is survived by his wife, Nancy Livieri, and two children, Samuel Livieri Jr and Sharon Livieri Bloomer Peterson. He is also survived by three grandchildren, Cameron Taylor Bloomer, Catherine Shepard Bloomer and Samantha Alice Livieri. 

Calling hours are July 22nd, 2024 between 4 to 7pm. Services will be held the following day, July 23rd, 2024 at 10:30 am at Assumption Church of Woodbridge. Entombment will directly follow in St. Lawerence Garden Mausoleum. 

In lieu of flowers, donations are appreciated to be made to the John Livieri Memorial Fund or the Livieri Physical Therapy Professorship at the University of Connecticut Foundation, both which were created by the Livieri's, to honor Mr Livieri's late brother. 

With Modern America, The Best You Can Do Is Laugh: Kathleen Parker

The first step to being a writer is to become a reader. In every class I've taken, it has been of the utmost importance to continue reading in the style that you are trying to emulate.

While I think it is extremely important to find unbiased articles about political and social situations, I also think it is intellectually stimulating and important for American democracy to read opinion articles. Reading opinion articles from multiple perspectives can combat the issues that come from an echo chamber. 

Since my first journalism class in high school, I've read the New York Times almost daily and since freshman year of college, I've also been a subscriber to the The Washington Post. 

Kathleen Parker

One writer that I follow is Kathleen Parker, a columnist for The Washington Post. She specializes in politics and culture pieces and is known for adding comedic timing to her posts, no matter how controversial the topic may be. 

Recently, Parker wrote a piece about her grief following her brother's passing. This piece is a beautiful tribute to her brother's legacy while also having timely wit throughout the piece. This piece also, somewhat, serves as a memoir of her own experiences, that she shared with her brother, and yet she doesn't take the focus off Jack. It's a piece where Parker touches on regret with her relationship with Jack and yet, the mood of the piece is light- hearted, like those who leave us are never truly gone. 

In another one of her pieces, Parker covers the story of a deranged mother who killed her children. She switches voices, going from "hard news" when covering the gruesome facts of the case and then to a softer voice when calling the mother names such as "delusional" and "needy". 

Which happen to be nicer than the words I would use for the mom-that-kills. 

Overall, Parker still uses her casual style that is found in all of her articles and yet treats the father and the memory of the children with grace by sharing antidotes that make the reader remember more than just the worst thing that happened to them. She uses details to bring the reader into the courtroom of the trial or to the park bench where she found out the verdict. 

And to the prison where the mother was having "sexual relations" with guards. 

By no means does Parker shy away from heavy topics. In another article of hers, she defends the right for trans women to use the women's restroom with a new agreement I have yet to hear. Parker does not want to share a uni-sex bathroom with cis-gendered men. Parker, again, uses timely wit, to defend her positioning on the controversial transgender issue and puts the focus on biological men. Parker does not dive too deep into the issue but instead makes the argument that it is silly to be so focused on where Americans pee. 

I enjoy Parker's writing because I also enjoy adding comedic timing, when appropriate. Although, maybe someday I'll be seasoned enough to add it even when it is not. Reading heavy issues can be daunting and overwhelming, which is why many people stay away from the news. However, I think we could all benefit from taking things a little less seriously. 

Maybe then we could have a real discussion when we all don't hate each other.

Maybe we could even come up with real solutions!

Megan Moroney

Women had been overlooked in the country music genre for quite a while. They have been under appreciated for the beautiful pieces they produced. However, starting with Dolly Parton, we have been seeing a rise in female country artists and their fan bases have been growing rapidly. Faith Hill and Carrie Underwood are other examples of extremely famous and successful women in the country music industry. 

Megan Moroney

The newest example of this is Megan Moroney. 

Originally from Georgia, Moroney has rapidly gained success with her newest album and is on top of the charts in the country music genre. She debuted in May 2023, after releasing singles for the previous couple of years. 

Her debut was a rapid success, putting Moroney on the map. Her album included sad songs, happier songs, and angry songs, all with the same country feel that she learned from her roots in Georgia. Moroney has a beautiful singing voice and incredible songwriting ability, which sets her up for success in this industry. 

Her second album was released in July 2024 and was an even bigger success than the first one. Her songs vary from being about love, heartbreak, friendship, and angry songs where she responds to critics. Her lyrics are relatable yet profound and detailed to Moroney's own experiences which gives an enjoyable listening experience to her audience. 

One of her most popular songs is called "The Girls". In this song, she talks about her positive experience in her deep female friendship and sings about relatable experiences. That song in particular is unusual from a lot of other country songs which makes it a hidden gem. 

In addition to being an amazing singer and writer, Moroney is a natural performer. I saw her open for Kenny Chesney last April and she had a phenomenal stage presence. Her outfits were unique and show-stopping. She commanded the stage and sang beautifully. 

An exceptional part of her performance was her interaction with fans. She was constantly talking to the fans in between her songs and showed extreme gratitude to her fans for being successful. Her humility and humbleness make her so likable and respectable.

 She is beautiful, talented, and successful but she still shows grace and gratitude for the people who have contributed to her success. 

She regularly interacts with fans online and gives particular praise to her shout-out to women in her same sorority, Kappa Delta. It is remarkable how humble she is considering her huge successes and she has never strayed from who she is at heart. 

500 Words About Samantha Livieri

"Honestly, Samantha, just go have some fun today," Coach Bill told me after I finished last at a meet my junior year.  

Again. 

I was a swimmer starting at the age of eight. And beginning at the age of eight, I was a bad swimmer. I constantly came in last during races and focused more on talking to my friends during practices than actually practicing. 

I truly loved it, though. 

I used to spend up to four, hours soaking wet in a freezing pool with my best friends. Sometimes I actually looked forward to the piercing shock of the water since it allowed me to maintain some of the deepest and most substantial relationships I think I will ever have. 

Every ache from our muscles and tear shed at our losses brought us closer together. And while the wins were highlighted, the losses we each took shaped us as people and strengthened our relationship with each other. 

I took more losses than the majority of my teammates. 

For almost two years, I saw no improvement in my races. Yet, quitting never crossed my mind. While the immediate goal of a sport is to improve, I found that it was not the competition of the sport, but rather the bond I had created with my teammates. 

I feel extremely lucky to have had my teammates during a time of struggle within my own personal achievement. They never gave me the time to feel frustrated with my lack of progress because by the time I was out of the water, we were laughing about something else, like two younger swimmers diving into the same lane. Laughing never gave us much time to dwell. 

Swimming also taught me balance in my relationships. Swimming is one of the few sports where you may directly compete with your teammates who complete the same training as you. There were many times when my teammates and I would compete, and one would be better than the other. Quickly, I learned how to put my own feelings aside to celebrate or mourn with my friends, and they did the same for me. 

Through the ten years I spent underwater, I learned the importance of dedication to my commitments, which can often put you in difficult situations, where you have to choose how to spend your time. I learned from an early age that valuing your commitment and seeing things through reap a greater reward than the satisfaction that instant gratification yields. 

I struggled with my own self-confidence through the lack of progress but looking back, I think I learned greater lessons in perseverance and friendship than if I constantly excelled. I'm grateful for the support system I have that allows me to keep trying, even when it is looking bleak. 

In the end, it is not the loss itself that impacts you, but your response. And the response of the people closest to you. It is important to have friends that help you get back on your feet instead of pushing you back down. 

It is even more important to learn how to be that friend.