Criminals given new Identities

An interesting subject area is the giving of new identities to criminals. When some criminals, often child-killers, are deemed as no danger to the public, they are often provided with new identities. This is most likely such an interesting subject area due to the enigma it creates and how under documented it is... What is the process of providing a criminal with a new identity? Do they deserve a second chance? Where are they now?
This is a controversial issue, as the taxpayers money is being used to fund these new identities.


http://www.lifedeathprizes.com/real-life-crime/killers-given-new-identities-46521
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1255608/Yet-250-000-new-identity-Jamie-Bulger-murderer.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/jan/15/law.duncancampbell



This documentary provided a particularly interesting insight into the lives of child murderers, using the case study of Jamie Bulger's murderers. This shows the controversy of the matter and also takes us through the realities of the process of allocating new identities.


Thoughts:

• Short narrative film following a child killer through the process of being awarded a new identity/potentially based on a true event
• It would most likely be difficult to gain access to real life examples of people with new identities, as the whole idea of them being given a new identity is so they can't be traced

The Loss of Identity through illness

The following are photography projects regarding the death/decline in the health of the father figure. These have inspired me and have been thought provoking in that it documents the process of the loss of identity, which is particularly impacting when a connection is made with the subject through backstory etc. To me, this is an interesting route, as it takes the concept of identity from a slightly different perspective.

http://www.brionycampbell.com/projects/the-dad-project/
http://www.ajaber.com/documentary/1479
http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2025279_2199295,00.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3119923/Living-life-Alzheimer-s-Photographer-s-touching-images-document-father-s-four-year-struggle-active-grandfather-man-no-longer-remember-son-s-name.html

Alternative Route - The birth of child/Identity: http://www.thereluctantfather.com/

Dementia: The word dementia describes a set of symptoms that may include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language. Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease or a series of strokes.

Alzheimers: Alzheimer's disease is a neurological disorder in which the death of brain cells causes memory loss and cognitive decline. A neurodegenerative type of dementia, the disease starts mild and gets progressively worse.

http://www.markseymourphotography.co.uk/dementia/

• Would be interesting to look at the decline of the awareness of the sense of self.
• Possible links/access into to the subject: Josh's Grandad (victim), Jack's girlfriend's mum (works with dementia patients), Dad's friend Steve - works in Dementia Care homes.

"Your memories and experiences are what you are, and when you have no access to it you feel kind of lost, and when you lose your memories, you lose yourself."

 
quicksand from Lance Oppenheim on Vimeo.

Stats:

• By 2015 there will be 850,000 people with dementia in the UK.
• There are 40,000 younger people with dementia in the UK.
• There are 25,000 people with dementia from black and minority ethnic groups in the UK.
• There will be 1 million people with dementia in the UK by 2025.
• Two thirds of people with dementia are women.
• The proportion of people with dementia doubles for every five-year age group.
• One in six people aged 80 and over have dementia.
• 60,000 deaths a year are directly attributable to dementia.
• Delaying the onset of dementia by five years would reduce deaths directly attributable to dementia by 30,000 a year.
• The financial cost of dementia to the UK is £26 billion per annum.
• There are 670,000 carers of people with dementia in the UK.
• Family carers of people with dementia save the UK £11 billion a year.
• 80 per cent of people living in care homes have a form of dementia or severe memory problems.
• Two thirds of people with dementia live in the community while one third live in a care home.
• Only 44% of people in the UK receive a dementia diagnosis

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/statistics

Religious Identity

Religion is a topic that often a significant aspect of a person's identity make-up. Religious Identity is a specific type of identity formation. Particularly, it is the sense of group membership to a religion and the importance of this group membership as it.

84 percent of the world population has faith; a third are Christian. “Worldwide, more than eight-in-ten people identify with a religious group,” says a new comprehensive demographic study of more than 230 countries and territories conducted by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life.

Hare Krishna (Sect within Hinduism)

• "Krishna is a name of the Supreme. It means "all- attractive." Anything that might attract you has its source in the Supreme. Therefore the Supreme is also known as Rama (rhymes with "drama"). "Rama" means "the highest eternal pleasure. All of us are pleasure-seeking creatures. So you can say that directly or indirectly we are all seeking Krishna. Chanting Hare Krishna is a way of seeking Krishna directly." http://www.harekrishna.com/col/philo/phi-what.html

• Hare Krishnas teach that we are living in an evil age, the age of Kali, but can attain salvation and a "return to Godhead" by means of permanent Krishna-consciousness. Krishna-consciousness can be accomplished through ethical living and the "Hare Krishna" chant. http://www.religionfacts.com/hare-krishna
• International body: The International Society for Krishna Consciousness
• The Hare Krishna came under criticism during the anti-cult movement in the 1970s and 1980s, and still remains under the watchful eye of anti-cult organizations today. The identification of ISKCON as a cult is usually based on the abuses committed by some of its leaders and allegations by some former members of brainwashing and isolation from family and friends. In 1998, the organization published an official report detailing abuse of children in ISKCON boarding schools in the US and India in the 70s and 80s. The movement was sued by a number of former students and actively sought to identify victims who had not sued in order to compensate them as well.
  To prevent future abuses, ISKCON has established a worldwide child protection office to screen out actual or potential abusers and educate children and adults on child abuse, and has made other organizational changes to increase the transparency and accountability of ISKCON leadership.(http://www.religionfacts.com/hare-krishna)
• "Temple-based" or full members of the Hare Krishna movement live in temples and are expected to lead austere and ascetic lifestyles in which they follow these four regulative principles:

- eat no meat, fish, or eggs;
- drink no alcohol and take no drugs (including caffeine);
- do not gamble, and
- remain celibate except for purposes of procreation within marriage.

The reason for these prohibitions is that "indulgence in the aforementioned activities disrupts physical, mental and spiritual well-being, and increases anxiety and conflict in society." 

• Hare Krishnas are expected to chant the mantra for 16 rounds of a rosary of 108 beads (i.e. 1,728 times) every day.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2009/may/27/cults-definition-religion (What makes a cult)

Buddhist Monks

Buddhists do not believe in God. There are several reasons for this. The Buddha, like modern sociologists and psychologists, believed that religious ideas and especially the god idea have their origin in fear.
The Discipline of a Buddhist monk is refined and is intended to be conducive to the arising of mindfulness and wisdom. This code of conduct is called the Vinaya. While it is not an end in itself, it is an excellent tool, which can be instrumental in leading to the end of suffering.

Buddhism

(http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/layguide.htm)

https://www.yelp.co.uk/search?find_loc=London&start=0&cflt=buddhist_temples - Buddhism appears to have a strong presence in London, with many buddhist temples. Constituencies in the UK according to the most prevalent religions: http://www.may2015.com/ideas/what-are-the-most-christian-muslim-jewish-hindu-buddhist-and-sikh-constituencies/

(Shaolin)
Shaolin monks can take different forms. Not every monk you see in and around the temple is a brilliant warrior. A Shaolin monk is simply a monk. They follow the life of a Buddhist monk. That is the key thing here. They give their life over to their religion, following strict rules, including celibacy, abstaining from meat and alcohol. Traditionally, monks would be given a bowl would have to beg for food as one of the rules was to only accept what was given.

Potential Identity Issues/Subject Areas (Brainstorm with Josh, Jack and Kris)

• Religion - issues facing a certain religion, the idea of a 'religious mask', modern culture vs traditional religious values. (Religions to look into: Hinduism, Buddhism/Shaolin Monks, Judaism, Hare Krishna)

• Multiple Personality Disorders
• Homelessness
• Addiction/Drug Addiction
• Immigration
• Child Criminals with New Identity
• Witness Protection
• Gentrification
• Hospices/End of Life
• Dementia/Alzheimers/Amnesia
• PTSD
• ID Fraud
• Loss of Identity
• Reincarnation
• Sperm Donors/Surrogates
• Twins

Favourite/most interesting topics: Dementia/Losing Identity, Religion/Religious Crises, Identical Twins, Child Criminals with new Identity

Initial Inspiration using above topics: Rich Brother Poor Brother, Dad's Last Days, Ekki Múk, 'Hello.'

What is Identity?

Dictionary Definitions: Identity


"The fact of being who or what a person or thing is" - Oxford English Dictionary

"The qualities, beliefs, etc., that make a particular person or group different from others/'who someone is" - Merriam Webster

"The set of characteristics by which a person or thing is definitively recognizable or known" - The Free Dictionary

"The state of having unique identifying characteristics held by no other person or thing" - Collins English  Dictionary

"Something that describes an individual entity by it's properties" - Urban Dictionary

"the qualities that make someone or something what they are and different from other people" - Macmillan Dictionary

From collating all of the above dictionary definitions of the term 'identity', it is clear that the word refers to the qualities and characteristics that make a person who they are.

Things that make up identity (Mind Map)/Do mind map with my own identity?

• Choices
• Interests
• Friends/Family
• Likes/Dislikes
• Background
• Beliefs/Religion
• Age
• Gender
• Location
• Possessions
• Habits
• Appearance
• Culture

Collective Identity

Collective identity refers to an individuals sense of belonging to a group through a shared set of traditions and values. The sense of belonging to these collectives causes the group's identity to become a part of their own. David Gauntlett suggests that "Identity is consciously constructed, and the media provides us with some of the tools to help us construct it". This argues that whilst our individual identities or the identities of particular groups are created by ourselves, the media have an influence upon this.