Season 4 starts with Joe, the protagonist starting over in another city, London. There he goes with Jonathan. Going into this new season, I expected him to fall for a new girl and follow the same cycle from last season, which is killing people to make his relationships “less problematic.” However, I loved the plot twist: someone secretly contacted him without revealing their identity. This person also knew his real name and what he had done in the United States. They keep you intrigued by not making Joe the person with the most power. In the past seasons, he was always the one controlling the situation. This person is just as evil and devious as Joe. He made Joe believe that he had killed someone by leaving a body with a knife in the chest on his kitchen table. Joe then did what he did best; Get rid of the body, get rid of the evidence, and hope he would not get caught. Doing this confirms that he is the person his secret watcher believes him to be. The secret watcher keeps the story alive by making Joe commit crimes he knew nobody would suspect. Once Joe discovers who this person is, he starts planning how to go against him, but this season, he does not have as much luck as always. I like how constantly unexpected things change the original story yet keep the same characteristics alive. This season is quite different from the past 3. I recommend watching it 

                                                           Change is inevitable  

I met my stepsister two weeks ago for the first time, and it is already time for her to fly back to Chile. I did not want her to leave because having a sister after being an only child for 12 years felt so cool. However, once we arrived at the airport, I could not help but feel that rush in my body, full of excitement to go back home to my grandma in Germany. I turn towards my stepdad and tell him, ‘I just have one week left, and then I will also be here saying goodbye.’ He giggles and says, ‘you are not going back.’ Suddenly, I feel tremendous anxiety running down my body. All these thoughts, “what does he mean?”, “Is he lying?” “Is it true” “am I not returning to my grandma?”. I am so scared they will not let me go back home. What am I going to do? When we got home, my mom sat down with me, telling me that this was not just a vacation and that I would not return to Germany. My eyes fill with tears, and I start choking, gasping for air, drowning in sadness and fear. Then it hits me- My Grandma.  

I know I mean the world to her, and she will go above and beyond to make everything happen for me. I am not her granddaughter; I am her daughter. Growing up, she had always taken that role. My mom was young when she had me, and my grandparents played a significant role in parenting. I knew deep in my heart that she would never heal from this. The thought of me not going back did not kill me as much as knowing how much my grandma would suffer from now on. It broke my heart into a thousand pieces that break the same way every time I think about all the pain she experienced from my mother’s decision. A few days after telling me, she called my grandma and told her. My heart ached so much I could not breathe, and as I saw her crying and begging just to let me come home, I started feeling this anger and rage towards my mother. Why would she take me away from my family? Because she fell in love and her new life was here in New York? Why did I have to deal with the consequences, and why did I have to suffer for her to have everything she ever wanted? It did not seem fair that all her dreams were being accomplished while my grandma and I had to suffer. Only I know all the restless nights I spent crying, how many times I felt depressed and helpless because I was thousands of miles away from my grandma, and I knew the only thing that could heal her broken heart was me. 

I was not ready for anything. I had to go to a new school, make new friends, learn a new language, and adapt to a different environment, all while my heart was so broken. Living with my stepdad was like living with a stranger. My mom worked a lot. There were days I was alone with him all day, and he had to play a parent role. I would not say I liked it, and I resented my mom for giving him the power to tell me what to do. I struggled with having someone to talk to and tell everything I was going through. Keeping it all inside of me was worse.  

On June 29, 2015, I was on a plane to Germany, one year after everything happened. I am so happy to hold my grandparents again finally. I have so many things in mind that I want to do with them. I miss my grandma’s food so much. I miss my cat and my room. But what relieved me the most was that I would not have to see my mother for one month and a half. She did not have the power to control what I did during this period. The plane was 10 minutes from landing, and I felt so happy. As I walked out with my luggage, they stood anxiously waiting for me to come out. I ran towards them and gave them a big hug. We all started crying. Right away, my grandma asked me If I needed anything or if I was hungry.  

Today I am going to my old school to visit the class I was in. I am thrilled because I miss my friends so much. I have known many of them since I was 3. I walk through the main entrance and pass the cafeteria, which is my favorite part of the school. They sell donuts, sandwiches, and garlic bread, and for lunch, they have salad bars, pasta bars, and a dish they switch every day. School here is entirely different from New York. This school is a campus. Each building is for a different subject, and they have one building that is just a huge gym. They teach you how to swim as part of gym class, and most schools have giant pools. 

As I Walk towards my old class’s building, I get super nervous and emotional. Are my former classmates going to be surprised? Are they going to be happy? Have they already forgotten about me? I finally walk in, and everyone goes quiet. All their faces with different reactions. Some are surprised. Others are saying “omg sofiaaaa.” I say hello to everyone, and they all begin to ask me questions. How does it feel to live in New York? Do you speak English? Are you ever coming back? That is the question that I wish I could say yes to, but I know I will not be moving around here any time soon. Once I left, I felt relieved. Visiting my old school gave me a sense of closure and a chance to explain why I never came back after the summer.  

Over the years, I realized that if I held on to the pain, I would hurt forever, and slowly I started letting go. When I started high school, I made a few friends I love, which changed my life. They gave me that peace and friendship I desperately needed to feel whole again. I felt so lonely for many years, and it was not until about three years later that I realized that coming here was not particularly bad.  

New York is a city that never sleeps. I cannot begin to explain how many opportunities we have by living in one of the most exclusive cities. You can be the person you choose to be without being judged. By just working full time, you can afford most things that citizens in Germany would have to work much harder for. An example of this would be vacations, eating out, buying the newest I phone, and many more. We have a privilege that we often do not consider. Colleges offer so many careers that you can study that in other countries, they are not easily accessible. Germany also has its good sides; healthcare is free, it is not as dangerous, college is free, and living cost is lower, but income is lower. It has a slower living pace. As I mentioned, New York is a city that never sleeps. I love that now I can use these experiences to learn and understand that change is inevitable, and the outcome is how we make it. I have so many opportunities because I speak three languages, and I would not be able to speak the most spoken language so fluently if I did not move here. As much as I resented my mom and pushed her away, I would have felt the same if she had left me behind in New York. I realized she did what she had to do to be with me. Today I have a choice. If I wanted to, I could move back to Germany since I am still a German citizen and have a European passport. However, as of right now, I am exactly where I should be. I also became a big sister one year ago, which has been my biggest blessing. My relationship with my mom changed so much, and we all tried to be a loving family for my brother, who is the true light that shines on all the bad days. Our love for him has brought us much closer, even my family overseas; I am so grateful for that. I will always try to find the light in the bad and accept change as it comes because there is no running away from it.  

He Ram by Alfredo Jaar  

Alfredo Jaar was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1956. He grew up during the rule of Augusto Pinochet, a terrible era for Chileans. Much of Jaar’s work has backgrounds of humanity, inequality, and sociopolitical issues. Through his work, He Ram Alfredo Jaar portrays the concept of reflection and perception concerning humanitarian crises.  

Alfredo Jaar was born in 1956; during this time, Chile was ruled by the military official Augusto Pinochet. Chileans were living in an era of human rights violations. Pinochet had hidden torture Facilities that were used as disciplinary action against people. Thousands of people were going missing, or they were found dead. He demanded that those who were not in unity with his policies must be killed or defamed. Jaar was a teenager when Pinochet took over Chile. Even those who were not hurt or attacked still lived through many complicated things, and they saw an unbalance of power that caused a lot of chaos. My whole family is from Chile, and my grandma also lived there during this time. Her personal experience was not as bad because Pinochet improved Chile’s economic decline. Many people were living in poverty, so when Pinochet changed things, many were grateful. It seemed that he knew how to manipulate Chileans; however, once he started showing his natural qualities, people did not like it. People feared what could happen if they started to rebel. 

Alfredo Jaar lived through all these experiences; they always reciprocated in his work.  

He Ram is a mirror with words on it. Many would think it is bland and vague, but it is genuinely deeper than that. When we look in the mirror, we see a reflection of ourselves. Now what happens if you stand there and let your mind wander? The more you look, the more you find a vulnerability in your image, or, on the contrary, you find empowerment in yourself. The power of the mind goes beyond the reflection of what you see. In Ways of Seeing by John Berger, it says:” Seeing comes before words, “but there is another sense in which seeing comes before words. It is seeing which establishes our place in the surrounding world we explain that world with words, but words can never undo the fact that we are surrounded by it” These powerful words demonstrate the magnitude of what we see and what our vision can unlock. It also emphasizes how what we see and say about it goes hand in hand. In Jaar’s work of art, we see ourselves when we view it. However, the mirror has words on it. “Politics without principles” This first line relates significantly to what happened in Chile in the 70s. The whole political issue with Pinochet was how he went against the law and what was morally correct to improve things. The second line reads, “Wealth without toil” This concept relates to inequality. Many people work very hard daily to accomplish their goals, yet they live in poverty, while others barely do anything and are filthy rich. Some people work for hours and hours and still cannot make it to the end of the month, and some wealthy people make so much money that they cannot even find a use for all of that income. “Pleasure without conscience “This is really deep because it relates to morals and humanity. Everyone is free to do whatever they like; however, your pleasure can sometimes hurt someone else. 

A perfect example is Pinochet. He did improve the quality of life for Chile as a country; however, he needed to be more conscious of how the rules and consequences affected the people. “Knowledge without virtue” as many say knowledge is power, but how can you use that as an advantage as a person when you do not have any moral standards? Humans often think they are better than others and know more, but you are only really in power if you show it is morally correct. “Commerce without morality “We tempt to do everything we can and use different marketing strategies for people to buy products, but sometimes we tempt to make something look bad so something else can look better, and it is just morally wrong. “Humanity without science “Science and humanity do not work well together because science is about facts, and humanity is about feelings. Feelings change constantly, and you cannot control what people believe and advocate for, but science is fixed. Doctors cannot let their emotions override a scientific medical decision just because of their feelings. Certain scientific factors do not have a relationship with humans. “Adoration without sacrifice” We cannot worship someone without doing things that we do not like just to demonstrate our loyalty. Adoration often comes with doing things we would not normally do. Not only do we accept it, but we embrace it to show our worship and determination.  

This work of art uses the same concept as Ghandis’s seven moral sins. However, Jaar changed some of the words. He does this to illustrate that no matter how you phrase it, it has the same concept of Morals and inequality in the end. Gandhi wrote these sins because he wanted to express the truth. His values are mostly related to humanity, equality, and morality. These are the same values Jaar portrays through his artworks, especially in He Ram. Gandhi lived through oppression in India and social and political issues that were in some way similar to the issues in Chile. When you live in countries where they do so many morally wrong things, you want to become an advocate for change, and you want to make people see the truth. Alfredo Jaar does this in He Ram.   

The mirror is vital. The artist wants us to look at it and read the words while we look at ourselves. Why would Jaar want that? It creates this atmosphere of self-reflection. As soon as you read the first line, you begin to think about how this relates to your life and how your experiences reflect these phrases. For example, when I read “Pleasure without conscience,” I think about how often I enjoy doing things that my boyfriend does not like. Alternatively, how I do things that upset others to be happy. Another example of a connection with He Ram would be when Donald Trump was president. He had great political power and responsibility, but many of his personal values were wrong. He had political power without principles. When I watch TV, I often see commercials where one company compares itself to another, and in the end, they will say, “Do not use __, use our service instead. How can you advertise that you are the best, but to be on top, you bring others down? That is morally wrong. We all connect with the words in the mirror, which is why reflecting on yourself while you look at the art is crucial. Alfredo had particular intentions on what this art would make you feel and think when you view it. Everyone that looks at it has a moment of self-reflection and relations to these words. No matter who looks at it, it will always be related to oneself or one’s life, and that is the power of his art. 

Alfredo Jaar has another work of art that is similar to He Ram, and it is called RWANDA RWANDA. It has a white background with the word Rwanda eight times, one below the other. Rwanda is a country in East Africa. They live through political oppression without freedom of speech and no freedom of gender identity. Alfredo Jaar traveled there and was shocked to see how people were living there. He decided to turn his experience into an art piece so that people would be aware of the oppression in Rwanda. He put these poster versions of this artwork all over Malmö, Sweden. His goals were for people to realize the inequality in other countries that humans live through daily. The repetition of the same word in eight lines creates a sense of empowerment. When you look at the artwork and read it repeatedly, it is like you are chanting for Rwanda. In He Ram, the words also cause a reaction. The viewer realizes quickly that art is about social issues and oppression. You read it, and you apply it to your everyday life. Alfredo Jaar does an incredible job of bringing awareness to social and humanitarian rights issues and demonstrating how humans are in a moral crisis. Everyone does what benefits them if it keeps them pleased, not considering how it might affect others. His life experiences are what allow him to be such a talented artist. He creates work that spreads awareness and lets you see the world from another angle. He also draws attention to his own experiences in Chile by creating work in relationship with places with similar oppressions as Chile. Alfredo Jaar has another work named Infinite Cell. It is a mirror in a room with bars surrounding it. This artwork does not have any words; however, it does have a mirror. As we discovered in, He Ram the mirror is to demonstrate self-reflection. We can see the same concept in Infinite Cell. Jaar often incorporates a focus on human rights. He also illustrates how some people experience social issues and inequality. In Infinite Cell, he combines the ideas of He Ram and Rwanda and suggests that the problems that he illustrates are infinite. When I was writing about, He Ram, I mentioned how it did not matter who was looking at it. Everyone would find a way to connect with it no matter how different their life was from Alfredo Jaar’s. This is because there are just too many inequalities and social issues. Everything comes in their nature, and it is endless.  

The article “There is Something about Text-Based Art” by Mallory Gemmel says: “Text-based artists pursue engaged spectators as the “versatility—and power—of the written word forces the viewer to reflect.” 

His is very present in He Ram, when you look at it, you start reflecting, yet you still keep in mind the words and connect it to your reflection. Your mind starts directly interpreting the words. In Work Art: A New Art Form, it says: “In themselves, words are symbols that regain their meaning through the reader. “This goes to show how important the viewer is to the artwork. Alfredo Jaar wants us to look at He Ram and reflect on our lives. He wants us to find connections with the words because he wants the world to see all our social and humanitarian issues.  

He Ram is a beautiful work of art that can change anyone’s view on social issues and spread awareness of these problems. Alfredo Jaar promotes awareness and reflection to spread knowledge on real-life issues. 

Ways of seeing by John Berger (p.7) 

https://www.artshelp.com/theres-something-about-text-based-art/ (2021) Mallory Gemmel                        

w/k-Redaktion (2019): Word Art: A New Art Form. w/k–Between Science & Art Journal. https://doi.org/10.55597/e3980