Johnny Depp: The Strange

People who do not know Johnny Depp should be ashamed of themselves (just kidding). Johnny Depp is an icon and an inspiration to all of us. Why is he strange? Well I’m here to explain that.

If you look up ‘strange’ in the dictionary, it would define the word as “Out of the ordinary or Differing from the normal”. The definition fits Johnny Depp perfectly like a sock on a smelly foot. To me, Johnny Depp is the epitome of acting and of actors; from his portrayal of Donnie Basco to his perfect performance as the loopy Captain Jack Sparrow was just extraordinary.

He delivers his performance in a golden platter. He is one of the most talented people on earth. He’s not only an actor; he is a father, a husband and a great friend to his friends.

Though Johnny Depp has gone through a lot of turns and loop-de-loops in his roller coaster life, he managed to regain composure and stride on with ease. These loop-de-loops include drugs, women, and bad career choices. But I believe that these mistakes were only lessons learnt.

Here is Johnny Depp portraying Willy Wonka

I consider Johnny Depp as one of my heroes, because he gives off this aura that instantly makes you comfortable with him. If you are able to watch his movies, they are really diverse, from his strange portrayal of Willy Wonka to his awesome rendering of Frank Tupelo and Alexander Pearce in “The Tourist”.

As Frank Tupelo/Alexander Pearce in The Tourist

Given all his work, the man dares to be different. He inspires us to be different in our own way. He inspires us to be unique. Because being unique is one thing we all have inside of us. It enables us to live our lives by our standards, just as Johnny Depp acts; he acts by his own rules, by what he believes is right and unique.

Robert "Bob" Nesta Marley: The Symbol of Freedom

You could see the emotion Bob Marley puts in his performance.

I would say that Bob Marley was a hero. A hero in his own way, a hero in the way he played his music. A savior of the people through the beauty of his lyrics, He was a symbol, an icon.

A lot of people may know Bob Marley as the man who sang reggae songs and smoked a lot of marijuana when he was still alive. To most of the population, Bob Marley was a just another musical sensation. But, do they really know who Bob Marley is? How he changed history? How powerful his influence was? The sad thing is, they don't. Well, at least most of them don't.

Robert Nesta Marley was brought into the world by Noval Marley a white Jamaican and Cedella Marley a black Jamaican. During those times being born with that combination would be, as they would say it "bad juju" or "bad vibes". Born into a world full of hate,as he grew up Bob started, little by little, to realize what was happening around him.

Here's a photo of Bob Marley and the Wailers

Later in his life, he formed a local reggae band, which was called Bob Marley and the Wailers. The main movement of his band was about educating the people about what was happening around them. Since a lot of his fellow men were not able to acquire a standard in education. A lot of the locals couldn't read, therefore hindering them from the privilege of knowing what was happening around them. 

Through his music, he was able to open the eyes of thousands of exploited and helpless people. He helped them realize the reality of their situation. He alleviated the hammer that was pounding nails of tyranny on top of the people’s heads. This is the reason why Bob Marley was so influential

He sang his songs with pure emotion. He held back no feelings; he poured all of them in his songs. Whether the song was for love, for dance music, or to protest and educate. He was able to convey a message of peace.

To this day, Bob Marley is still influencing a lot of people. From students to big time artists, he helped all them in some point of their lives. So what are you waiting for? Try listening to Bob Marley. And to those of you who have heard of him, keep the faith. Jah Bless.

Gandhi: The Pacifistic Warrior

            We all know the name “Gandhi”, but do we all know the story behind the name? The sad fact is, no, we don’t know the story behind it.

            Mahatma Gandhi was a brilliant man. He believed in protesting through non-violent acts. He was one of the most influential people in the world.

            A lot of peace groups revolve around the teachings and influence of Gandhi. Just like the Gandhi Institute for Peace, they dedicate their time in educating people about peace and how we should approach life. Gandhi’s influence on the world is so great that people begin to change; they evolve in to peace loving individuals, individuals who prefer peace and love over war and hate.

            Being the catalyst of change during his time, Gandhi was under great threat. When he conducted non-violent protests against the British rule, armed guards would react to the situation with such violence that numbers of people would get injured and or die. But no matter how violent the British troops would react to the protesters, Gandhi’s followers would never fight back. It is because of their faith and how influenced they are by Gandhi.

              Even when taken to court for false charges pleaded out guilty and was sentenced to six years in prison. As he was imprisoned, he began a hunger strike which resulted in a success. After two years in prison, he was released and followed by a surgery because of ulcer. It is this strong dedication to his advocacy that Mahatma Gandhi planted a seed of hope in the Indians, that soon they would be independent. They would be free.

            To sum things up, Gandhi is the ultimate pacifist. When faced with violence, he would counter with love and peaceful words. He made the British look evil through his actions of non-violent protest. He conducted one of the greatest non-violent revolutions in history.

            All of us should take Gandhi as one of our greatest inspirations. We should be peace loving people. We should learn to understand each other’s sides and react to them properly. So we can achieve a world full of peace and love.

"Be a change if you want to see change in the world." 

Salvador Dali: The Drug

            A wise and crazy artist once said, “I am not on drugs, I am drugs” That artist is no other than the great Salvador Dali.

The surrealist, Salvador Dali is a Spanish artist who changed the face of art in a huge scale. He is one of the greatest components of surreal art.  To be clear this is not a biography, this is how Dali inspired millions of people, I included.

Dali’s art is one of a kind, just like all other artist’s out there. It had created a colossal impact, because of the way he portrays life in his art. Being a surrealist, he is one unique and creative monkey. Surreal art in its movement is really hard to understand when seen through the eyes of an untrained eye, but when you look at Dali’s works of unimaginable art, you can really feel the emotion and devotion he has really put in to it.

            Being an artist myself, I have grown fond and am biased to Salvador Dali. To me he is the definition of an artist; he is a free spirited individual; he is open-minded; he is uniquely bizarre; and most of all he is weird out of context.

He is free spirited because he is able to express what he feels freely in his art. A lot of artists struggle with this. Rather than putting themselves in their art, which by the way is what matters most. Art is about trying to satisfy your feelings, not about if others might not like your art.

He is open-minded, because he accepts new concepts. He incorporates these new concepts in to his art. This only makes him an even better artist. From this, he is able to improve over time. (Though not anymore, since he is already deceased.)

He is uniquely bizarre, because again he is one of a kind. He is a person with a different view of life. He is able to read between the lines and see the grey in every black and white picture.

Lastly, he is weird. A lot of you might ask why, he is weird because he is an artist. He constructs his own world in his head. And when an artist can do this, then he has accomplished a great goal.

               By these traits, Dali reminds us all that there is an artist within us. All we need to do is give it a kick start. Let’s be weird all together.