The supposed Lady Macbeth effect or Macbeth effect is an alleged priming effect said to occur when response to a cleaning cue is increased after having been induced by a feeling of shame. The effect is named after the Lady Macbeth character in the Shakespeare play Macbeth; she imagined bloodstains on her hands after committing murder.

Background
In one experiment, different groups of participants were asked to recall a good or bad past deed, after which they were asked to fill in the letters of three incomplete words: "W_ _H", "SH_ _ER" and "S_ _P". Those who had been asked to recall a bad deed were about 60% more likely to respond with cleansing-related words like "wash", "shower" and "soap" instead of alternatives such as "wish", "shaker" or "stop".

In another experiment, experimenters were able to reduce choice-supportive bias by having subjects engage in forms of self-cleaning.

The effect is apparently localized enough that those who had been asked to lie verbally preferred an oral cleaning product and those asked to lie in writing preferred a hand cleaning product over the other kind of cleanser and other control items.

Other researchers have been unable to replicate the basic effect using larger samples. Replication difficulties have emerged for three out of four of Zhong and Liljenquist's original studies (i.e., Study 2, Study 3, and Study 4). A meta-analysis of 15 studies examining the relationship between primes related to moral threat and cleansing preferences found a small effect, with no significant relationship evident across 11 studies conducted by researchers other than the original ones.

See also

 Ritual purification
 Self-licensing

References

Cognitive biases
Moral psychology

Lady Macbeth effect


Children North East is a registered charity based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The focus of the charity is to provide help and funding, through community based projects, to families, children and young people in the region who are experiencing a range of problems and difficulties in their lives. In 2011, the organisation celebrated 120 years old which makes it the oldest independent children's charity in the North East of England.

History
The organisation was founded in 1891 by John H Watson, a local philanthropist and John L Lunn, a wealthy shipping merchant, in the north east city of Newcastle upon Tyne. Watson was involved in organising the missionaries in the impoverished areas of the city and was approached by Lunn in June 1891, with an offer to fund a trip to the coast for some of the street children who would benefit from time away from their dismal existence.

Letter from Lunn to Watson on 15 June 1891:

Dear Mr Watson, If there is anyone in your district convalescent or feeble to whom a fortnights stay at the seaside would be of benefit, I shall be glad to pay for their lodgings, and, if necessary, their board as well. Are there any street lads in your mission to whom a day at the seaside would be a treat? If so we might arrange a trip. Yours Sincerely, John T. Lunn'

As a result of the letter, one hundred and twenty children were gathered together by Watson and taken to the coast at Monkseaton on 11 July 1891, a trip which was financed in full by Lunn. The trip was so successful that Watson decided to write a letter for publication in the Newcastle Chronicle, appealing to the general public to send funding for further trips to the seaside to help more needy children. The following year, 600 children were sent on trips to the seaside with money donated by the public. In 1893, the association was established and was named as 'The Newcastle Poor Children's Seaside Trips Association.' The committee elected the founders, Lunn and Watson as chairman and hon secretary respectively. Each summer between May and September, groups of children selected from the districts of Newcastle and Gateshead, continued to visit the coast.

Over time, extended trips to the surrounding countryside towns such as Wark, Bellingham, Rothbury and Hexham were arranged to meet the needs of weaker children who needed the clean air and extended rest from the city. Accommodation in the country was provided by generous locals.

In 1894, night shelters were built for boys and girls living on the streets, providing a bed for the night as well as a meal. The 'Street Vendors Club' was established on Percy Street, close to the head office which at the time was located where the Eldon Square Shopping Centre stands today. The purpose of the club was to provide children with the means to earn a living other than by selling things in the street. Within the first week the club had 300 members.

In 1907, following extensive appeals to the public for funding, the 'Stannington Sanatorium' was opened as a treatment centre for sick children suffering with tuberculosis. The organisation grew from strength to strength by building up their charitable profile and taking on extra help and volunteers to hold fundraising events and manage projects, in order to distribute funds to the region's most needy children. In November 1988, the organisation registered their new name, 'Children North East', which better reflected the changing society and the variation of projects which catered for the needs of needy and vulnerable children in a range of circumstances across the region.

The organisation
The aims of today's organisation are very similar to when it was first established in 1891. However, trips to the seaside are no longer part of the charity's agenda and more focus is given to improving the lives of the region's children in the long term. The objectives of the community based projects focus on improving local children's life experience, their relationships with others and building their self-esteem. The improvement of the moral as well as the physical welfare of the region's children is the priority. Whilst poverty is still an issue, the charity aims to address the needs of local children on a far wider basis, within education as well as their home life.

The head office of the organisation is now located in Denhill Park, Newcastle upon Tyne and currently employs 79 full and part-time staff as well as 120 volunteers. A number of fundraising events, a range of projects and the charities website are managed and organised from the head office.

Fundraising events
Fundraising events are organised each year to raise money to support the work of the charity. Annual events include 'The Sandcastle Challenge' which is held in July and unites school children from the area at the beach at South Shields, 'The Sandcastle Ball' which is a fundraising event held on a Summers evening at one of the region's hotels and 'The Annual Golf Tournament' in which teams pay to enter, raising funds, and competing to win. The charity also has a team of participants in the Great North Run each year.

Projects
The projects are wide and varied, but fit into 4 main streams; Support for Families, Support for Young People, Support for Communities and Fatherwork. The organisation's website, www.children-ne.org.uk, provides a detailed description of the projects taking place in the community. These include the WEYES project (The West End Youth Enquiry Service), Families Plus and Fathers Plus which are among a number of other ongoing projects.

Patrons
The actor Tim Healy is the charity's patron.

References

Bibby, J and Howe, W, (1992) 'A Century of Change – A History of Children North East 1891-1991'
Johnstone, D (2010) 'The Poor Children's Home Association & Rescue Agency Incorporated, Later North East Children's Society then Children North East.

External links

Children's charities based in England
Organizations established in 1891
Newcastle upon Tyne
Charities based in Tyne and Wear
1891 establishments in England

Children North East


Madhu Limaye (1 May 1922 – 8 January 1995), full name: Madhukar Ramchandra Limaye, was an Indian socialist essayist and activist, particularly active in the 1970s. A follower of Ram Manohar Lohia and a fellow-traveller of George Fernandes, he was active in the Janata government that gained power at the Centre following the Emergency. He, with Raj Narain and Krishan Kant was also responsible for the collapse of the Morarji Desai-led Janata government installed by that coalition, by insisting that no member of the Janata Party could simultaneously be a member of an alternative social or political organisation. This attack on dual membership was directed specifically at members of the Janata Party who had been members of the Jan Sangh, and continued to be members of the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Jan Sangh's ideological parent. The issue led to fall of the Janata government in 1979, and the destruction of the Janata coalition.

In retirement, through the 1980s, he continued to write; he was especially caustic on Constitutional issues, where he set himself the task of defending the Constitution in the media against those who would seek to modify it to centralise power or to replace the Parliamentary system with a Presidential one, fearing a 'slow slide to despotism.''

He showed less antipathy to the memory of Indira Gandhi than could have been expected, reserving his anger for Jawaharlal Nehru, who he seemed to think "could have set a standard beyond reproach, but did not."

Family and early life
Madhu Limaye, was born in a Brahmin family his name was Ramchandra Mahadev Limaye, was born in Pune on 1 May 1922. He was educated at the Fergusson College, Poona (now Pune). He married Professor Champa Limaye and had one son. He was previously associated with the Indian National Congress, 1938—48 and the Congress Socialist Party, 1938—1948. His education was interrupted due to participation in the freedom movement. He was imprisoned for 4 years between 1940 and 1945.

Socialist
Attended Socialist International's Antwerp conference as a sole delegate of Indian Socialist Movement, 1947. Elected, Member National Executive of the Socialist Party at Nasik Conference, 1948. Joint Secretary, Socialist Party, 1949—52. Secretary Asian Socialist Bureau, Rangoon, 1953. Elected, Joint Secretary, Praja Socialist Party at its first Conference at Allahabad, 1953.

Goa Liberation Movement
Sentenced to 12 years imprisonment in the Goa liberation movement in 1955. Spent over 19 months in Portuguese captivity.

Parliamentarian

Chairman, Socialist Party 1958–59. Chairman Samyukta Socialist Party Parliamentary Board, 1967–68. Leader, Socialist Group in Fourth Lok Sabha, 1967.

Term as Member of Parliament
 (i) Third Lok Sabha, 1964—67 from Munger (won by-poll)
 (ii) Fourth Lok Sabha, 1967—71 from Munger
 (iii) Fifth Lok Sabha, 1973—77 from Banka (won by-poll)
 (iv) Sixth Lok Sabha 1977–79 from Banka.
 He lost General Elections to Lok Sabha from Munger in 1971 and Banka in 1980.

Janata Party

Played an active part in the JP movement and in an effort to create a united opposition party. He was detained under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) from July 1975 to February 1977 in various Madhya Pradesh Jails. Resigned in protest, from membership of the fifth Lok Sabha, on immoral extension of its term by Indira Gandhi through abuse of constitutional provisions about emergency. general secretary, Janata Party 1 May 1977–79. general secretary, Janata Party (S) and Lok Dal ,1979–82. Retired from active politics in 1982 after the formation of Lok Dal (K). Wrote more than 60 books in English, Hindi and Marathi.

Social activities

Associated with youth organisations, inspiring speeches, study groups, seminars, libraries, social reform movement and periodicals.

Publications

In English

 Where is the left going?
 Tito's Revolt against Stalin
 Communist Party: Facts and Fiction
 Socialist Communist Interaction in India
 Evolution of the Socialist Policy
 Political Horizons
 Indian Polity in Transition
 India and the World
 Madhu Limaye on Famous Personalities
 Galaxy of Indian Socialist Leaders
 The Age of Hope: Phases of the Socialist Movement
 Politics After Freedom
 The Sino-Indian War: Its Historical and International Background
 Goa Liberation Movement and Madhu Limaye
 Manu, Gandhi, Ambedkar and other Essays
 Religious Bigotry: A Threat to the Ordered State
 Parliament, Judiciary, and Parties – An Electrocardiogram of Politics
 Janata Party Experiment – Part I & II
 Limits to Authority
 Political Controversies and Religious Conflicts in Contemporary India
 Decline of a Political System
 Indian Politics at Crossroads
 Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru: A Historic Partnership 1916–1948 (Vol. I—Vol. IV)
 Cabinet Government in India
 Problems of India's Foreign Policy
 Indian National Movement: Its ideological and Socio-Economic Dimensions
 Decline of a Political System: Indian Politics at Crossroads
 Birth of Non-Congressism: Opposition Politics (1947–1975), Musings on Current Problems and Past Events
 Contemporary Indian Politics
 President Vs Prime Minister
 Prime Movers: Role of the Individual in History
 Barren Path
 Four Pillar State
 The New Constitutional Amendments
 A Self Liquidating Scheme for Reservation
 Supreme Court's Decision on Backward Class Reservation
 August Struggle – An Appraisal of Quit India Movement
 Dear Popat
 Last Writings
 Madhu Limaye in Parliament (A Monograph on Madhu Limaye containing many of his important speeches in Lok Sabha, Published by Lok Sabha Secretariat – Parliament of India).

In Hindi

 Atmakatha
 Sardar Patel – Suvyavasthit Rajya Ke Preneta
 Baba Saheb Ambedakar – Ek Chintan
 Sankramankaleen Rajneeti
 Dharam Aur Rajneeti
 Rashtrapati Banam Pradhanmantri
 Swatantrata Andolan Ki Vichardhara
 Samasyein Aur Vikalp Marxvaad Aur Gandhivaad
 Aarakshan Ki Neeti
 Bhartiya Rajneeti Ke Antarvirodh
 Bhartiya Rajneeti Ka Sankat
 Sarvajanik Jeevan Main Naitikata Ka Lop
 August Kranti Ka Bahuaayami Paridrashya
 Ayodhya – Vote Bank Ki Vidhwansak Rajneeti
 Communist Party: Kathni Aur Karni
 Mahatma Gandhi – Rashtrapita Kyoon Kehlate Hain
 Rajneeti Ki Shatranj – VP Se PV Tak, Bharatiya Rajneeti Ka Naya Mod
 Aapatkaal: Samvaidhanik Adhinayakvad Ka Prashast Path
 Chaukhamba Raj – Ek Rooprekha.

In Marathi

 Trimantri Yojna
 Communist Zahirnamyachi Shambhar Varshey
 Pakshantar Bandi? Navhey Aniyantrit Neteshahichi Nandi
 Swatantraya Chalvalichi Vichardhara
 Communist Paksachey Antrang
 Samajwad Kaal, Aaj Vva Udya
 Chaukhamba Rajya
 Rashtrapita
 Doctor Ambedkar – Ek Chintan
 Pech Rajakaranatale
 Atmakatha

Legacy
He was responsible for personally grooming many of the names that dominate Bihar politics today, including Laloo Prasad Yadav and Sharad Yadav. The library of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow (RMLNLU), the Madhu Limaye Library, is named after him. A street in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi is named in his honour.

Goa Liberation movement

He participated in the Goa liberation movement and was imprisoned in 1955. He wrote a book by name of 'Goa Liberation Movement and Madhu Limaye' as a prison diary. The book was published in 1996 on occasion of golden jubilee of the launch of the movement in 1946.

Madhu Limaye Elocution Competition
To commemorate his contribution to the parliamentary debate, every year Madhu Limaye inter-Collegiate Elocution Competition  is organised in Kirti College on his death anniversary i.e. on 8 January. The competition is funded by "Madhu Limaye Smriti Nyas' a trust formed by Late Smt. Champatai Limaye and is organised every year by Elocution and Debating Association of  Kirti college, (Dadar West). The main purpose of this event is to make the college going students think and brood over the contemporary topics and current issues, which may not come in the realm of their textbooks. Madhu Limaye Memorial Rolling Trophy is awarded to the winning college. The competition is now exerting a favourable influence on student community. Kirti college has organised this competition relentlessly since last nine years. The purpose of this competition  is to find out the truth about the chosen topic and vivisect the burning issue from all possible angles. The Coordinator of this  elocution competition opines that the purpose of an elocution competition is to find out the truth about the chosen topic and vivisect the burning issue from all possible angles. It is certainly not intended merely for amusement of the audience, although it may add to the interest of the listeners to enliven the proceedings and sustain their interest in an otherwise serious subject. Students from degree college are eligible to participate in this competition. .

References

Marathi politicians
India MPs 1977–1979
India MPs 1962–1967
India MPs 1967–1970
India MPs 1971–1977
Goa liberation activists
Politicians from Pune
Indian National Congress politicians from Bihar
Indian socialists
Lok Sabha members from Bihar
People from Banka district
Indians imprisoned during the Emergency (India)
1922 births
1995 deaths
Janata Party politicians
People from Munger district
Lok Dal politicians
Samyukta Socialist Party politicians
Janata Party (Secular) politicians

Madhu Limaye


The Zincke reaction is an organic reaction, named after Theodor Zincke, in which a pyridine is transformed into a pyridinium salt by reaction with 2,4-dinitro-chlorobenzene and a primary amine.

The Zincke reaction should not be confused with the Zincke-Suhl reaction or the Zincke nitration. Furthermore, the Zincke reaction has nothing to do with the chemical element zinc.

Reaction mechanism
The first reaction is the formation of the N-2,4-dinitrophenyl-pyridinium salt (2).  This salt is typically isolated and purified by recrystallization.

Upon heating a primary amine with the N-2,4-dinitrophenyl-pyridinium salt (2), the addition of the amine leads to the opening of the pyridinium ring.  A second addition of amine leads to the displacement of 2,4-dinitroaniline (5) and formation of the König salt (6a and 6b).  The trans-cis-trans isomer of the König salt (6a) can react by either sigmatropic rearrangement or nucleophilic addition of a zwitterionic intermediate to give cyclized intermediate (7).  This has been suggested to be the rate-determining step.  After proton transfer and amine elimination, the desired pyridinium ion (9) is formed.

This mechanism can be referred to as an instance of the ANRORC mechanism: nucleophilic addition (AN), ring opening and ring closing.

Applications
In one solid-phase synthesis application, the amine is covalently attached to Wang resin.

Another example is the synthesis of a chiral isoquinolinium salt.

Zincke aldehydes

With secondary amines and not primary amines the Zincke reaction takes on a different shape forming so-called Zincke aldehydes in which the pyridine ring is ring-opened with the terminal iminium group hydrolyzed to an aldehyde:

This variation has been applied in the synthesis of novel indoles:

with cyanogen bromide mediated pyridine activation.

2007 rediscovery
In 2006 and again in 2007 the Zincke reaction was rediscovered by a research group from Japan  and a group from the USA. Both groups claimed the synthesis of a 12 membered diazaannulene (structure 1) from an N-aryl pyridinium chloride and an amine, an aniline in the case of the Japanese group (depicted below) and an aliphatic amine (anticipating surfactant properties) in the case of the American group.

In a letter to Angewandte Chemie, the German chemist Manfred Christl  pointed out not only that the alleged new chemistry was in fact 100-year-old Zincke chemistry but also that the proposed structure for the reaction product was not the 12 membered ring but the 6 membered pyridinium salt (structure 2). Initially both groups conceded that they had ignored existing literature on Zincke but held on to the annulene structure based on their electrospray ionization (ESI) results which according to them clearly showed dimer. In his letter Christl remarked that in ESI measurements association of molecules is a common phenomenon. In addition, he noted similarities in melting point and NMR spectroscopy.

As of December 2007 the Japanese group retracted its paper in Organic Letters due to uncertainties regarding what products are formed in the reaction described and the US group added a correction to theirs in the Angewandte Chemie stating they wish(ed) to alter the proposed structure of (the) annulene. The issue did receive some media coverage:

References

Substitution reactions
Name reactions

Zincke reaction


Awareness ribbons are symbols meant to show support or raise consciousness for a cause. Different colors and patterns are associated with different issues.

Yellow ribbons, in the United States, are used to show that a close family member is abroad in military service. In Russia, Belarus and other countries of the former Soviet Union, gold and black striped ribbons are used to celebrate the Allies' victory in World War II (9 May). In Spain since 2017, a yellow ribbon is a symbol of solidarity with the 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis in provisional detention.

Of the uses of ribbons to draw awareness to health issues, perhaps the best-known is the pink ribbon for support of those with breast cancer. Other health and social concerns which have adopted colored ribbons include Alzheimer's disease and pancreatic cancer (purple), HIV/AIDS (red), mental health and mental illness (green), suicide prevention (yellow), and brain disorder or disability (silver).

Political use of ribbons include orange ribbons to commemorate the Orange Revolution in Ukraine.

Other ornaments, including flowers (of specific kinds), bracelets, and badges may serve essentially the same purpose of drawing attention to a cause. These include poppies, rosettes and wristbands.

History
The first ribbons that were represented as meaningful objects in history were the tokens given to knights during the Middle Ages in Europe. The yellow ribbon came from the Puritan Army during the English Civil War. From there, it spread to the Americas, where the Army of the United States became associated with it. A yellow ribbon was mentioned in a marching song, sung by the military in the United States. In the year 1917 George A. Norton copyrighted the song for the first time. The title of the song was "Round Her Neck She Wears a Yeller Ribbon". In the 1940s the song was rewritten by several musicians.

In the early 1970s, the song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" was released. Based on this song, Penney Laingen, wife of Iran hostage Bruce Laingen, was the first who used the ribbon as an awareness symbol. She tied yellow ribbons around trees to illustrate desire for her husband coming home. Her friends and family members followed the trend. As many individuals were able to see this message, the "ribbon became a medium."

During the 1979–1981 spate of child murders in Atlanta, green lapel ribbons began to be worn to show solidarity. They were of a different form than later awareness ribbons, being typically bow-shaped.

In May 1986, the AIDS Faith Alliance, later to be known as Christian Action on AIDS, held an open conference on AIDS at Notting Hill Gate in London, supported by the Archbishop of Canterbury and other United Kingdom Christian church leaders. Rainbow Ribbons were given to everybody attending. The purpose of Christian Action on AIDS, an official Church of England charity whose founder/chairman was Barnaby Miln, was to get the worldwide Christian churches involved in the crisis that was AIDS. The Christian Action on AIDS folded in 1991.

In 1991, the red ribbon was created by the Visual AIDS Artists Caucus, a New York–based group of artists and AIDS activists. They wished to create a visual symbol to demonstrate compassion for people living with AIDS and their caregivers. The color red was chosen for its "connection to blood and the idea of passion"—both anger and love.  During the 1991 Tony Awards, actor Jeremy Irons wore the bright red ribbon pinned on his chest. Though the symbolism of the ribbon was not allowed to be discussed on air, the media and public noticed the eye-catching ribbon, and its popularity grew overnight. The red ribbon was purposefully not copyrighted in the United States, to allow it to be worn and used widely as a symbol in the fight against AIDS. The year 1992 was declared by The New York Times as "The Year of the Ribbon."

Today the red ribbon is an internationally recognized symbol of AIDS awareness and a design icon. It has led the way for many other color ribbons and awareness projects.

The Unicode character standard has a "reminder ribbon" character (🎗) at code point U+1F397. No color is specified for it, and platforms vary in its presentation; it can appear yellow, blue, or red depending on the device or software in which it is viewed.

Purpose and usage
Ribbons can be used simply to raise awareness of a disease or signify that an individual has been personally affected by that disease or condition. People often place ribbons around college campuses, throughout neighborhoods, and in public business places so that others can see them and realize they are not alone in their battle. Ribbon colors are often associated with one or more conditions but there are several sources that define what color relates to which condition. They also provide an outline of the dates in which that ribbon is significant. Ribbons are often promoted to signify the prevalence of a specific disease or condition.

There are ribbon colors that also associate with animals and organizations that work with animals. The Animal Legal Defense Fund fights for the rights of all animals alike while displaying an orange ribbon. Animal abuse awareness is also well known for its use of the purple ribbon.

See also
Consciousness raising
List of awareness ribbons
Political colour

References

Further reading

External links

Ribbon symbolism
1990s fads and trends
Death customs

Awareness ribbon


Iris Ann West-Allen (née West), is a fictional character in The CW's Arrowverse franchise, first introduced in the 2014 pilot episode of television series The Flash. The character is based on the DC Comics character of the same name, created by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino. Candice Patton portrayed Iris West-Allen.

In the series, Iris is initially a barista studying journalism, portrayed as a smart investigator, who falls in love with a speedster superhero, nicknamed by her The Streak, later The Flash. When she was younger, her father told her that her mother, Francine, died in an accident, but it was turned out she had left her, due to having a drug addiction. She later found out that her childhood best friend, Barry Allen, was The Flash, and went on to work with him and his team in S.T.A.R. Labs, eventually falling in love with him. In the first three seasons, she has the role of only the love interest for the protagonist, but in later seasons she upgraded her role.

Patton appeared as Iris West-Allen in crossovers on the television series Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, and Batwoman, all set within the Arrowverse. The character has also appeared in a digital comic book series and tie-ins.

Concept and creation
Iris West was first introduced in the DC Comics, as a supporting character and the main love interest and later wife of Barry Allen, the alter ego of the Silver Age version of the superhero The Flash, first appearing in Showcase #4 on October 4, 1956. On television, she has appeared in various adaptations in other media; the character has been portrayed by Paula Marshall in the 1990 CBS television series as a guest star, in animation she appears in Young Justice voiced by Nicole Dubuc. She has also appeared in the animated film Justice League: The New Frontier voiced by Vicki Lewis, next in the animated film Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox voiced by Jennifer Hale, and the animated film Justice Society: World War II, voiced by Ashleigh LaThrop. She has appeared in the live-action film, in the DC Extended Universe's Zack Snyder's Justice League, portrayed by Kiersey Clemons, who was also supposed to appear in Justice League, but her scenes were cut.

Characterization
Candice Patton was cast as Iris West-Allen on The CW show The Flash, in February 2014. Her casting process was characterized by her, as "surreal", as she auditioned for the role in December 2013, and didn't hear from the production until January of the next year, assuming she wasn't picked. She had also expressed interest in appearing in Gotham, due to her favorite superhero being Batman. She has mentioned that her character is not based on the comics, but she had studied them to prepare for the role. With her casting she described the character as "passionate" and adding that the triangle between Barry, her, and Rick Cosnett's Eddie Thawne, was "very complicat[ing]". Patton said that she was proud that a black actress was portraying such a significant role, with her being a role model to young people, and normalizing interracial relations, while supporting the decision of race-changing, made by the showrunners. She has described her role as strong, fearless, passionate and emotional, with Iris having strength in vulnerability. She took inspiration from fellow actresses, Halle Berry and Zoe Saldaña, and politician Hillary Clinton, with highliting the fact that Iris is not a side character in the show. Throughout the show, her dressing style changing, showcasing her maturing, and becoming a leader. Patton expressed her view that the scheduling of the show is hard, and every year the storylines are getting bigger and more complex, with her being more nervous everytime the show restarts production, as a resulting, consuming more caffeine than she normally would. The actress also said that during the first three seasons, Iris and Grant Gustin's character were in conflict, and she was happy that their relationship's nature changed afterwards. When asked about how hard was to play a different version of her character, she said that she tried to stay close to the original one, and had to improvize in some instances, with her taking this version as a more tough person and protective over her in-show husband. The moment when her character learnt that its version was married to Barry Allen, she knew she had to show to the viewers that Iris was developing romantic feelings for him. For season 2, she found it interesting that Iris was starting to grow her relationship with her editor, but they were never meant to be together. When asked about her relationship with her fictional brother, Keiynan Lonsdale's Wally West, she responded by saying that "Iris is just going to continue to try to support Wally and help him find his place in the West family. And hopefully try to bridge a relationship between him and Barry. She'll help Wally discover who he really is". For season 4, she said that Iris had a responsibility to take up the role of her husband, after he vanished in the Speed Force, while also being depressed and sad that Barry's gone, as she doesn't know when or if he will return, but also angry, for him leaving her. She also added that her and Barry have no secrets anymore, and Iris is ready to face bigger threats. For the episode Run, Iris, Run, where the character gets Flash's powers, Patton said that "It's a complete role reversal [...] And the team trusting in her and her stepping out from behind the console and being a leader in a different way.", with executive producer Helbing adding that "[She's] using everything she's learned, plus Barry's expertise. But we really wanted to have this dynamic when they flop places where she really gets to know what it's like for Barry when he goes out there, and Barry gets to know what it's like for her". Patton, after watching Wonder Woman, appreciated the decision of giving powers to Iris even further. For her wedding scene on the crossover event, Crisis on Earth-X, she picked her wedding dress on her own. For season 5, when asked about its themes, she responded by saying that it is about legacy and family, especially due to the presence of Jessica Parker Kennedy's character, Nora West-Allen / XS. When asked about the CC Citizen, she said that it was made to showcase the leadership skills of Iris, but also to show the power of women. For season 6, Patton has stated that Iris was dealing with the death of Nora, and try to heal, while she has expressed interest into building her relationship with other members of the Team Flash. In 2022, she revealed that she had mood swings on set, due to her lack of vitamin D. Commenting on her absence from four episodes of season 8, she said that when negotiating her contract, she wanted to be able to get back to her home in the United States if the COVID-19 pandemic worsened, and she wasn't able to cross the Canada–United States border. On the fact that The Flash was ending with its ninth season, Patton expressed a sense of "release", that such a huge project was over.

Differences from the comics

The origin story of Iris West-Allen has been updated for the show, although many writers have taken upon the development of the character throughout its sixty-six years of existence in the comic books. In the comics, Iris works as a reporter for Picture News, based in Central City, and is the fiancée of Barry Allen, and discovers her husband's secret on their wedding night when Barry talks in his sleep. She is also born in the 30th century. In the New 52 rebooted DC Comics continuity, she is not married to Barry, although the two have romantic interest to each other. She is caucasian, and red-headed. In the show, she is black, although she dyed her hair red. She is also not from the future, and her father is named Joe West, not Ira West. Also, Iris never had lived with Barry in the comics growing up, and she never had Wally West as her younger brother, but as her cousin. In the show, Wally and Iris have issues between them, due to them never growing up together, and have to make up the lost time, something that is not the case as Wally is a good member of the West family. Her relationship with Eddie Thawne is non-existent in the comics. The organization Central City Citizen, that she heads from season 6 of the show, doesn't exist in the main continuity, only in the Flashpoint one, and was adopted mainly for the needs of the character's development. In the crossover event comic book, Crisis on Infinite Earths, she died during the Anti-Monitor attack to the Multiverse, something that happened too in the Arrowverse's event of Crisis on Infinite Earths. The job of a reporter is also kept from the comics, with the difference of her laddering up to the position of Editor-In-Chief. In the comics, neither her adoptive, Nadine, nor her biological, Fran, mother left her, or died from MacGregor's Syndrome, something that happened in the eleventh episode, titled "The Reverse-Flash Returns", of the second season of the show. In the comics she dresses more stylish, like Audrey Hepburn, and in the show she has a modern clothing choices.CBR.com has noted that both of the versions have leadership abilities, that shined especially during the third season of the show. In the second mentioned season, the event of Flashpoint is presented, but in the comic books Iris is a working journalist, cooperating with her nephew and cameraman, Wally West. In the show's events, she is aiding Wally in his Flash activities, although the fact that she doesn't know Barry is the same. Another similarity is that their children, although having different names as in the comics they are named Dawn and Don Allen and in the show they are named Nora West-Allen / XS, after Barry's deceased mother, and Bart Allen / Impulse, in both versions have superpowers inherited by their father, that of superspeed. It is noteworthy the fact that Bart is actually the grandson of Iris, and not the son, as he is the son of Don.

Fictional character biography

In season one, Iris is a barista studying journalism through childhood friend Barry Allen's persuasion. Barry was fostered by her father Joe after his mother Nora was murdered and his father Henry convicted. She begins dating her father's partner CCPD detective Eddie Thawne, while Barry is in a coma after being struck in his laboratory by lightning from the explosion of the S.T.A.R. Labs' particle accelerator. Iris becomes fascinated by a superhuman speedster in Central City known as the Flash and starts a blog documenting his activities. She becomes an investigative reporter for the Central City Picture News through her blogging fame. When Barry admits his feelings about her, she is conflicted. She later confesses her love for Barry, but he goes back in time and negates the events of that day. Iris learns that Barry is the Flash after he saves her from Eobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash. She feels betrayed by Barry for keeping secrets and further upset at her father for conspiring with him. Iris chooses Eddie, and she and Barry decide to let things proceed between them naturally. However, Eddie kills himself to prevent his future relative Reverse-Flash from being born.

In season two, Iris becomes more involved with the S.T.A.R. Labs team. She learns that her mother is terminally ill and gave birth to a son, Wally, after abandoning her family. She tells her father about Wally, and they meet him at Christmas. Iris forgives her mother on her deathbed and bonds with Wally after she saves his life. Iris reconsiders a relationship with Barry after he breaks up with Patty Spivot, and professes her love to him near the end of the season. After Barry defeats Zoom for killing his father, he and Iris kiss and then he travels back in time to save his mother's life.

In season three, during the alternate Flashpoint timeline, Iris assists Wally who fights crime as the Flash. After the timeline is reset, Iris reconciles with Joe after Barry reveals the changes. She and Barry begin their romantic relationship, but she wonders if she really is needed. Barry reassures her, saying that there would be no Flash without her. Barry and Iris become engaged after an encounter with Music Meister. An alternate future Iris is killed by speedster Savitar, but Barry tries to prevent her murder. Ultimately, H.R. Wells, disguised as her, takes her place for Savitar to kill which changes the future. She, along with Barry, tries to talk down Savitar, revealed to be a future evil time remanent of Barry, but he continues his plan and attacks Barry when it is foiled. Iris shoots Savitar through the back to save Barry.

In season four, Iris takes on a leadership role with S.T.A.R. Labs, working with Cisco and Wally, while Barry is in the Speed Force. She was adamantly against bringing Barry back from the Speed Force thinking he was dead, but Cisco and Caitlin are able to bring him back. In the crossover "Crisis on Earth-X", Barry and Iris' friends come to Central City for their wedding, only to be interrupted when villains from Earth-X disrupt the proceedings. After defeating the invaders from Earth-X, Barry and Iris are married by John Diggle. However, Clifford DeVoe / Thinker frames Barry for murder shortly afterwards; not wanting to risk compromising his loved ones and allies by revealing his secrets, Barry allows himself to be sentenced to life imprisonment. Later, private detective Ralph Dibny, who joins the Flash's team, uses his new shapeshifting power to impersonate DeVoe and help clear Barry of all charges.. Following the Thinker's defeat, the team is approached by Barry and Iris' daughter from the future, Nora West-Allen / XS.

In season five, Barry and Iris meet their future daughter Nora. Iris learns that her future self implanted a power dampener into Nora since infancy to hide her powers. She also discovers her future self, despite being a good mother, hid the fact that Nora's father was the Flash from her. This leads to Nora having a negative perception of her mother out of anger and Iris is guilt-ridden by her counterpart's dishonesty. Iris wants to have a relationship with Nora and to avoid becoming the woman that the latter knew in the future. Iris establishes the Central City Citizen newspaper. Following the defeat of Cicada, Barry and Iris are devastated to find out that the new timeline has erased Nora. Unbeknownst to the couple, the changes of the timeline also causes the newspaper article about the "Crisis" in 2024 that Iris's future self wrote to change, advancing the event to occur in 2019.

In season six, Barry and Iris remain hurt by the loss of Nora despite their anticipation that a version of her might be born in their future. Keeping her promise to Nora, Iris vows to support her yet-to-be born daughter to become XS in Nora's memory. She also struggles on keeping the Central City Citizen running, and has hired photographer Kamilla Hwang and metahuman reporter intern Allegra Garcia. Iris is later dragged into the mirrorverse and imprisoned by Eva McCulloch who creates a mirror clone of Iris to do her bidding.

In season seven, Iris is still working to find her way out of the mirrorverse as Eva messes with her mind. After being rescued, the residue of the Speed Force in her comes in handy when helping to restore the Speed Force so that Barry can take on Eva. With help from Iris and Barry, Eva shatters her mirror clones. It was later revealed that the restoration of the Speed Force also sent out different energies in the sky that created the Sage Force, the Still Force, and the Strength Force. Later, Iris develops a timesickness, and was taken into the Still Force by its host, Deon Owens, to help her. Afterwards, she and Barry renew their wedding vows.

In season eight, Iris' interview with Ray Palmer at the Central City Technology Convention is interrupted by the attack of an alien from the future, Despero, which Ray and Barry manage to defeat. Iris and Team Flash start searching for information about the alien. Despero then appears and reveals to Barry that he was coming from 2031, and he was the reason for the world's destruction, referring to it as Armageddon. Iris talked to Barry, and assured him that he would never do something like that. That day, Barry asked where is Joe, with Iris telling him that he was dead. Barry ran to Jefferson Pierce / Black Lightning for help, with Iris and the Team trying to find his location to help him. After Despero found Barry's location, he traveled to 2031 to uncover what happened, and to his surprise, learns that Eobard Thawne / Reverse Flash had changed the timeline so that he was The Flash, leader of Team Flash, and soon-to-be husband to Iris, while Barry was the Reverse Flash. In the new timeline, Iris and Ryan Wilder / Batwoman talk about her marriage to Thawne, and what she wants from life. Afterwards, Barry appeared in her house, and talked her into believing that he was the real Flash, with her stopping Thawne from killing him. When Barry was running at superspeeds, he sought Iris' help to run faster, through their Paragon of Love connection, and Barry successfully changed the timeline as it was before, with Joe being alive. But, Thawne managed to escape, and was eventually captured by Barry, with him seeking to help him not get erased from existence. Iris and Barry argued not to save him, but Joe convinced them to save him. Due to Thawne's actions, Mia Queen / Green Arrow appeared from the future and taken to S.T.A.R. Labs. She and Iris had a conversation about the future, and Iris advised her to not become like her father. Eventually, Barry defeated Despero, and saved Thawne. Later, Iris and the Team went to celebrate their victory.

Alternate versions

Earth-2

A version of the character, residing on Earth-2, is seen in the second season of The Flash. Her universe was destroyed during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. She was studying journalism, and when her boyfriend, Barry Allen, went to get his PhD, she quit her internship and became a cop to help pay for his tuition. At some point, the two married. She was a policewoman, investigating Hunter Zolomon / Zoom. When Barry Allen / The Flash of Earth-1 arrived to her world, she didn't notice, as he took her husband's place to search for information on Zoom. That night they went to Jitterbugs Joe West's singing show. Then, Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost and Ronnie Raymond / Deathstorm stormed the place, with Deathstorm accidentally shooting a fireball at Joe, hospitalizing him. Later, he died, with Iris feeling guilty she couldn't save her father. After getting a lead on their location, she went after them. She was eventually saved by The Flash. The next day, Barry of Earth-1 revealed to her he was from another universe, and wanted help for the saving of Jesse Wells, Harry Wells daughter. After helping him, she and her Barry left for Atlantis, to escape Zoom. In late 2019, her world was destroyed from an anti-matter wave.

Earth-90

A version of the character, residing on Earth-90 portrayed by Paula Marshall, was a computer graphic artist and the ex-girlfriend of Barry Allen. In 1990, she broke up with Barry due to him being not interested in their relationship. She was killed when the Monitor invaded their world, using the Book of Destiny.

Mirrorverse

A version of the character, which was created by Eva McCulloch, from the dimension of Mirrorverse, after the kidnapping of Iris West-Allen. She is often referred to as Mirror Iris. She assumed the role of the original Iris West-Allen and filled in the blanks with Barry Allen on the real Iris's disappearance. At a dinner with Barry, they were attacked by Amunet Black, telling them to not interfere with her activities. She joined Amunet's business against Barry's wishes, but failed to take her down on her own, calling Barry for help, to also stop Goldface. Though she was able to get the mirror gun from Joe West, she didn't extract any information about Joseph Carver. When Wally returned, she had to fake knowing him, but Wally told Barry that he had a weird feeling about her. At some point, Kamilla Hwang took a picture of her that was showing she was a mirror clone, and Iris had to send her to the Mirrorverse, bringing a mirror clone of her to be replaced with. Later, Iris and Kamila went to interview Tina McGee, at Mercury Labs, but their true goal was to retrieve a prismatic refractor. As they were about to escape, Millie Rawlins / Sunshine attacked them, but Barry intervened saving them. After learning that Joe went to witness protection, due to an assassination attempt, she uses it as the reason to kick Barry out of their apartment, with the goal of weakening him. She, Kamilia, and a mirror clone of David Singh, went to Ramsey Rosso / Bloodwork and took blood sample from him, to use it to bring Eva back from the Mirrorverse. Upon Barry realizing that, he went to her apartment and the two fought, with her mirror glass, though, telekenisis, to wound him. When she realized that she was a mere tool of Eva, she decided to be self-destroyed.

Unnamed Earth

A version of the character, residing on an unnamed Earth portrayed by Kiersey Clemons, is seen when Barry Allen saves her from a traffic accident, using his superspeed.

Appearances

Candice Patton has appeared in five out the seven Arrowverse TV series:
 The character was first mentioned in the Arrow episode titled The Man Under the Hood, of season 2, while she was indirectly mentioned in the episode Three Ghosts of the same show, by Barry Allen.
 She made her first appearance in the show, The Flash, where she is also among the main protagonists.
 From the total one hundred and seventy episodes of The Flash, as of 2022, the character has not physically appeared in eight of them, with them being The Exorsism of Nash Wells of season 6, where she was trapped in the Mirrorverse, Rayo de Luz and Enemy At the Gates of season 7, and Into the Still Force of season 8. She also did not make appearances until Negative, Part One.
 Patton made appearances in the Crisis on Earth-X, and Crisis on Infinite Earths, with the shows being Supergirl, Arrow, Batwoman and Legends of Tomorrow.

Reception

Critical response

Patton was cast as Iris West on The CW show The Flash, in 2014. Her casting was met with mixed feelings, due to her being a black actress, and the role she was going to portray was white and red-headed in the comics. According to website Fansided, Patton changed the way Hollywood viewed black women, and seemed to influence further race swaps of other characters, such as the Iris West that appeared in DC Extended Universe's Zack Snyder's Justice League, portrayed by Kiersey Clemons, the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Spider-Man: Homecoming, MJ, portrayed by Zendaya, and the casting of Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon / Batgirl in the DCEU film, Batgirl. Web site TV Guide mentioned that in earlier seasons of The Flash, it seemed like Patton's character was colorblind, and wasn't acting like a black person. But, in season 6 "she was allowed to be a more authentic version of herself when she rocked her natural curls". Patton has been victim to racist attacks by fans of the show, due to her playing a white character, with fellow co-start Grant Gustin saying on his personal Instagram account "Our Iris is an African American actress [...] and she always is gonna be [...] she will continue to play her [role], and I have her back and will have her back". Patton has been experiencing this phenomenon from the day of her casting, and many fans have noted that The CW didn't take an official stand, until a 2020 Twitter post made by the official account of the network indirectly mentioning her too. Fans quickly went to support the actress, and attack the network. According to website Decider, she was the highlight of DC FanDome event. The Looper noted that the scene of season 6 "Marathon", where Iris, trapped in the Mirrorverse, was touching hands with her husband, Barry, without him seeing her, was her best in the show's run.

Some fans, although, have noted the due to her being a successful journalist, her character looked like a combination of Lois Lane and Linda Park, both reporters in DC comics. Fans also have criticized the way her character was written, with some suggesting that she doesn't deserve the hate, because it is up to the writers on how to portray her. The moment that sparked the most controversy was when in a scene of the second episode of season 4, titled "Mixed Feelings", during an emotional moment with Barry, she said to him that "We are the Flash", implementing that together make up the hero. The line was met with an outrage from fans, with the website Discussing Films noting that the bad feelings that were created, continued to follow the character's reputation throughout the rest of the show, but adding that the hero was always more than one person in the show. For season 7, the PTSD she experienced in the Mirrorverse was never explored, and was forgotten, being described as "a let down" by critics. Many fans have argued that the show is not giving the feeling of a duo, between Iris and Barry, something that is the case with Clark Kent and Lois Lane in the connected show Superman & Lois. According to Collider, Patton's character was treated unfairly in season 8, and was characterized by the website as a "plot point", while noting that her death in Negative, Part One did not have any gravite or impact. The mentioned website has placed the Barry-Iris couple as the fourth best of the Arrowverse. Patton as Iris has received positive reviews and from critics, with The Flash being the most watched show in The CW history.

Accolades
All awards and nominations are for Patton's performance as Iris West-Allen in The Flash:

Other media
In January 2022, it was announced that a six-issue event series titled Earth-Prime would be released over the span of three months. The first five issues would focus on stories from every show of the franchise, with the last being a crossover event. Earth-Prime #5 was scheduled to be released on May 3, 2022, focusing on The Flash. The events of the comicbook will be canon to the Arrowverse.

She has appeared in The Flash: Season Zero, a comic tie-in prequel to the events of the show, appearing in seven of the issues.

Notes

References

External links
 Iris West-Allen on Fandom
 Iris West on DC database

American female characters in television
Crossover characters in television
The Flash (2014 TV series) characters
Fictional reporters
Television characters introduced in 2015

Iris West-Allen (Arrowverse)


The Mongol conquest of Western Xia was a series of conflicts between the Mongol Empire and the Tangut-led Western Xia dynasty in northwestern China. Hoping to gain both plunder and a vassal state, the Mongol leader Genghis Khan commanded some initial raids against Western Xia before launching a full-scale invasion in 1209. This marked both the first major invasion conducted by Genghis and the first major Mongol invasion of China.

After a nearly year-long siege of the capital, Yinchuan, although the diverted river accidentally flooded the Mongol camp, the Tangut emperor Li Anquan surrendered in January 1210. For nearly a decade the Western Xia served the Mongols as vassals and aided them in the Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty, but when Genghis invaded the Islamic Khwarazmian Empire in 1219, Western Xia attempted to break away from the Empire and ally with the Jin and Song dynasties. Angered by this betrayal, in 1225 Genghis Khan sent a second, punitive expedition into Western Xia. Genghis intended to annihilate the entire Western Xia culture, and his campaign systematically destroyed Western Xia cities and the countryside, culminating in the siege of the capital in 1227 along with forays into Jin territory. Near the end of the siege, in August 1227, Genghis Khan died from an uncertain cause, though some accounts say he was killed in action against Western Xia. After his death, Yinchuan fell to the Mongols and most of its population was massacred.

Background

The Western Xia dynasty, also called Xi-Xia, the Tangut Empire, or Minya, emerged in 1038, and eventually covered what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, southwest Inner Mongolia, and southernmost Outer Mongolia. A fairly small state, Western Xia struggled against its larger and more powerful neighbours, the Liao dynasty to the east and northeast, and the Song dynasty to the southeast. When the Jin dynasty emerged in 1115 and displaced the Liao, Western Xia eventually accepted vassal status to the new Jin empire. Aiding Jin in their wars against the Song, Western Xia gained thousands of square miles of former Song territory. However, over many years the relations between Western Xia and Jin gradually declined.

Upon the death of its fourth ruler, Emperor Renzong, Emperor Huanzong took the throne and Western Xia's power began to fail. Though militarily inferior to neighbouring Jin, the Western Xia still exerted a significant influence upon the northern steppes. The state often welcomed deposed Kerait leaders because of close trade connections to the steppes and because of the possibility of using the refugees as pawns in the Mongolian Plateau. In the late 1190s and early 1200s, Temujin, soon to be Genghis Khan, began consolidating his power in Mongolia. Following the death of the Keraites leader Ong Khan to Temujin's emerging Mongol Empire in 1203, Keriat leader Nilqa Senggum led a small band of followers into Western Xia. However, after his adherents took to plundering the locals, Nilqa Senggum was expelled from Western Xia territory.

Preliminary raids
Using his rival Nilga Senggum's temporary refuge in Western Xia as a pretext, Temujin launched a raid against the state in 1205 in the Edsin region. The Mongols plundered border settlements and one local Western Xia noble accepted Mongol supremacy. During a raid on Ganzhou (present-day Zhangye), the Mongols captured the son of the city's commander. This young boy joined Mongol service and took a Mongol name, Chagaan, and eventually rose through the ranks to become commander of Temujin's personal guard. The next year, 1206, Temujin was formally proclaimed Genghis Khan, ruler of all the Mongols, marking the official start of the Mongol Empire, while Li Anquan killed Huanzong of Western Xia in a coup d'état and installed himself as Emperor Xiangzong. In 1207, Genghis led another raid into Western Xia, invading the Ordo region and sacking Wuhai, the main garrison along the Yellow River, before withdrawing in 1208. Genghis then began preparing for a full-scale invasion. By invading Western Xia, he would gain a tribute-paying vassal, and also would take control of caravan routes along the Silk Road and provide the Mongols with valuable revenue. Furthermore, from Western Xia he could launch raids into the even more wealthy Jin dynasty.

First invasion (1209-1210)

In 1209, Genghis undertook his campaign to actually conquer Western Xia. Li Anquan requested aid from the Jin dynasty, but the new Jin emperor Wanyan Yongji refused to send aid, stating that "It is to our advantage when our enemies attack each other. Wherein lies the danger to us?" After defeating a force led by Gao Lianghui outside Wulahai, Genghis captured the city and pushed up along the Yellow River, defeating several cities as he went, until he reached the fortress Kiemen which guarded the only pass through the Helan Mountains to the capital, Yinchuan. Containing an army of up to 70,000, plus 50,000 reinforcements, the fortress proved too difficult to capture, and after a two-month stand-off the Mongols feinted a retreat, luring the garrison, led by Weiming Linggong, out onto the field where it was easily destroyed. His path now open, Genghis advanced to the capital. Well fortified, Yinchuan held about 150,000 soldiers, nearly twice the size of the Mongol army. One of their first endeavours at siege warfare, the Mongols lacked the proper equipment and experience to take the city. They arrived at the city in May, but by October were still unsuccessful at breaking through. Genghis attempted to flood the capital by diverting the river and its network of irrigation canals into the city, and by January 1210 the walls of Yinchuan were nearly breached. However, the dike used to divert the river broke, and the ensuing flood wiped out the Mongol camp, forcing the Mongols to take the higher ground. Despite this setback, the Mongols still posed a threat to Western Xia, and with the state's crops destroyed and no relief coming from the Jin, Li Anquan agreed to submit to Mongol rule, demonstrating his loyalty by giving a daughter, Chaka, in marriage to Genghis and paying a tribute of camels, falcons, and textiles.

Mongol vassalage (1210-1224)
In 1210, Western Xia attacked the Jin dynasty as punishment for their refusal to aid them against the Mongols. The following year, the Mongols joined Western Xia and began a 23-year-long campaign against Jin. The same year Li Anquan abdicated the throne, and subsequently died, after Shenzong seized power.

However, despite aiding the Mongols against Jin, in 1217 when Genghis Khan requested help for his Central Asian campaigns, Western Xia refused to commit troops, and as a warning the Mongols besieged the capital before withdrawing. In 1219, Genghis Khan launched his campaign against the Khwarazmian dynasty in Central Asia, and requested military aid from Western Xia. However, the emperor and his military commander Asha refused to take part in the campaign, stating that if Genghis had too few troops to attack Khwarazm, then he had no claim to supreme power. Infuriated, Genghis swore vengeance and left to invade Khwarazm, while Western Xia attempted alliances with the Jin and Song dynasties against the Mongols.

Second invasion (1225-1227)
After defeating Khwarazm in 1221, Genghis prepared his armies to punish Western Xia for their betrayal. Meanwhile, Emperor Shenzong stepped down from power in 1223, leaving his son, Xianzong, in his place. In 1225, Genghis Khan attacked with a force of approximately 180,000. After taking Khara-Khoto, the Mongols began a steady advance southward. Asha, commander of the Western Xia troops, could not afford to meet the Mongols as it would involve an exhausting westward march from the capital Yinchuan through 500 kilometres of desert. With no army to meet them in pitched battle, the Mongols picked the best targets for attack and as each city fell the Mongols would draw on prisoners, defectors, supplies, and weapons to take the next one. Enraged by Western Xia's fierce resistance, Genghis engaged the countryside in annihilative warfare and ordered his generals to systematically destroy cities and garrisons as they went. Two months after taking Khara-Khoto, the Mongols reached a point where the Qilian Mountains force the Etsin River eastward, about 300 kilometers south of Khara-Khoto. At this point, Genghis divided his army, sending general Subutai to take care of the westernmost cities, while the main force moved east into the heart of the Western Xia Empire. Genghis lay siege to Suzhou, which fell after five weeks. Genghis then moved to Ganzhou, the hometown of his general Chagaan. Chagaan's father still commanded the city garrison, so Chagaan attempted negotiations with him. However, the second-in-command of the city staged a coup, killed Chagaan's father, and refused to surrender. The city took five months to subdue, and though the now furious Genghis threatened vengeance, Chagaan convinced him to only kill the 35 conspirators who killed Chagaan's father.

In August 1226, Genghis escaped the heat by residing in the Qilian Mountains while his troops approached Wuwei, the second-largest city of the Western Xia empire. As no relief came from the capital, Wuwei decided to surrender and avoid certain destruction. At this point, Emperor Xianzong died, leaving Mozhu to deal with a collapsing state as the Mongols encroached on the capital. In Autumn, Genghis rejoined his troops, took Liangchow, crossed the Helan Shan desert, and in November lay siege to Lingwu, a mere 30 kilometres from Yinchuan. Here, in the Battle of Yellow River, Western Xia led a counter-attack with an estimated force of over 300,000 troops, engaging Mongol forces along the banks of the frozen river and canal systems. The Mongols destroyed the Western Xia troops, supposedly counting 300,000 bodies of Western Xia soldiers after the battle.

Upon reaching Yinchuan in 1227 and setting siege to the city, Genghis prepared to invade the Jin dynasty in order to neutralize any threat of them sending relief troops to Western Xia as well as setting the stage for a final conquest of the Jin empire. Genghis sent a force under his son Ogedai and commander Chagaan toward the southern border, and they pushed into Jin territories along the Wei River and south Shaanxi, even sending some troops over the Qin Mountains to threaten Kaifeng, the Jin capital. Genghis himself rejoined with Subedai and headed southwest to slice across an approximately 150 kilometre-wide territory mainly in present-day Ningxia and Gansu. Subedai crossed the northern parts of the Liupan mountain range, zigzagging from town to town throughout February and March, and conquered the Tao River valley and Lanzhou region. Meanwhile, Genghis went due south, following the Qing Shui river.

Back in Western Xia, Yinchuan lay besieged for about six months, and Genghis, himself busy directing a siege of Longde, sent Chagaan to negotiate terms. Chagaan reported that the emperor agreed to capitulate, but wanted a month to prepare suitable gifts. Genghis agreed, though secretly planned to kill the emperor. During the peace negotiations, Genghis continued his military operations around the Liupan mountains near Guyuan, rejected an offer of peace from the Jin, and prepared to invade them near their border with the Song. However, in August 1227, Genghis died of a historically uncertain cause, and, in order not to jeopardize the ongoing campaign, his death was kept a secret. In September 1227, Emperor Mozhu surrendered to the Mongols and was promptly executed. The Mongols then mercilessly pillaged Yinchuan, slaughtered the city's population, plundered the imperial tombs west of the city, and completed the effective annihilation of the Western Xia state.

Death of Genghis Khan

In August 1227, during the fall of Yinchuan, Genghis Khan died. The exact cause of his death remains a mystery, and is variously attributed to being killed in action by Western Xia, falling from his horse, illness, or wounds sustained in hunting or battle. The Galician-Volhynian Chronicle alleges he was killed by the Western Xia in battle, while Marco Polo wrote that he died after the infection of an arrow wound he received during his final campaign. Later Mongol chronicles connect Genghis' death with a Western Xia princess taken as war booty. One chronicle from the early 17th century even relates the legend that the princess hid a small dagger and stabbed him, though some Mongol authors have doubted this version and suspected it to be an invention by the rival Oirads.

Aftermath

The destruction of Western Xia during the second campaign was near total. According to John Man, Western Xia is little known to anyone other than experts in the field precisely because of Genghis Khan's policy calling for their complete eradication. He states that "There is a case to be made that this was the first ever recorded example of attempted genocide, it was certainly very successful ethnocide."

However, some members of the Western Xia royal clan emigrated to western Sichuan, northern Tibet, even possibly northeast India, in some instances becoming local rulers. A small Western Xia state was established in Tibet along the upper reaches of the Yarlung River, while other Western Xia populations settled in what are now the modern provinces of Henan and Hebei. In China, remnants of the Western Xia persisted into the middle of the Ming dynasty.

Despite the death of Genghis, the Mongol Empire was at last successful in defeating Western Xia. Now, Genghis Khan's successors concentrated on unifying the rest of China. The Jin dynasty, already reeling from great losses of land and troops due to the ongoing Mongol campaign since 1211, finally collapsed in 1234. The Kingdom of Dali in southwest China fell in an invasion in 1253, and the Song dynasty of southern China, after over four decades of a conflict begun 1235, surrendered in 1279.

References

Citations

Sources

 Atwood, C. P. Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire.
 Bianren [边人] (2005). 《西夏: 消逝在历史记忆中的国度》[Western Xia: the kingdom lost in historical memories]. Beijing: Foreign Language Press [外文出版社].

 Bor, J. Mongol hiigeed Eurasiin diplomat shashtir, vol. II.

 Franke, Herbert and Twitchett, Denis, ed. (1995). The Cambridge History of China: Vol. VI: Alien Regimes & Border States, 907–1368. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

 Wang, Tianshun [王天顺] (1993). 《西夏战史》[The Battle History of Western Xia]. Yinchuan [银川]: Ningxia People's Press [宁夏人民出版社].
 Weatherford, Jack. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World.

Wars involving the Yuan dynasty
Wars involving Imperial China
Mongol conquest of China
Xia
Western Xia
13th century in China
1200s in the Mongol Empire
1210s in the Mongol Empire
1220s in the Mongol Empire
1227 in the Mongol Empire

Mongol conquest of Western Xia


Calendar Girls is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Madhur Bhandarkar and co-produced by Sangeeta Ahir and Bhandarkar Entertainment. Akanksha Puri played a main female lead role. The film's music was composed by Meet Bros Anjjan and Amaal Mallik. The film released on 25 September 2015. According to Bhandarkar, the story of Calendar Girls is 75% reality and 25% fiction.

Plot

The plot begins with photographer Timmy Anand (Rohit Roy) who is in the process of calling the 5 girls whom he has chosen from different parts of India and Pakistan – Mayuri Chauhan (Ruhi Singh) from Rohtak, Paroma Ghosh (Satarupa Pyne) from Kolkata, Nandita Menon (Akanksha Puri) from Hyderabad, Nazneen Malik (Avani Modi) from Lahore and Sharon Pinto (Kyra Dutt) from Goa to come to Mumbai for shooting for the country's most prestigious annual calendar which is a joint effort of a business tycoon, Kumar Kukreja (Suhel Seth) and him.

The story now shifts to give a brief introduction about the personal life of the five girls. Mayuri, who is from Rohtak lives with her parents who are very supportive and encouraging of her becoming a calendar girl and are sure that she will make it big in life. Paroma, who is from Kolkata, has her parents and an elder brother who are not happy about her entering the modelling business. Her father tells her to go if she wants but not come back. Paroma decides to leave and saying that she won't come back, instead she'd call them to Mumbai one day and they will feel proud of her. Nandita, who is from Hyderabad, has her parents and an elder sister. Her family consists of all achievers with her mom and dad being CEOs of a company and her sister Sharda (Samikssha Batnagar) who has recently become the youngest Vice President of a company. Nandita has decided to make it big by becoming a calendar girl. Nazneen, who is from Lahore stays with her boyfriend Inzamam (Deepak Wadhwa) in London and feels that she has still not achieved anything big in life yet and calendar girl will be a platform for her to get into Bollywood. However Inzamam is not supportive of this, but she slaps him and decides to leave. Sharon who is from Goa is jogging on the beach with her friend who tells her about how bad the glamour world is and she shouldn't be going for this but she does not believe much about the rumours of the glamour world and decides to go ahead.

The five girls are all geared up and have high dreams about the calendar. They go to Mauritius for shooting with Timmy and are out with the wonderful pictures which will be shown in the annual calendar which will be used at different places. They are in the calendar launch party where they are meeting different people from the glamour industry for film offers, modelling assignments, advertisement contracts, etc. and are very happy and feel that their life is going to change from now on.

The story then moves to three months later. Paroma is a chief guest in a Bengali pooja organized by some pandal and there she meets Pinaki Chatterjee (Keith Sequeira) who is her old boyfriend from Kolkata. Pinaki persuades Paroma to revive their relationship and she agrees. Sharon is doing an ad and is very happy that she has selected Aniruddh Shroff (Rushad Rana) to take care of her work to get her assignments. Nazneen has got an offer for a Bollywood film from a very noted producer and the producer has kept a strict schedule for completing the film and also offers her a check for the signing amount and she is very happy. Mayuri is at her first day of shooting for the film and is advised by her secretary Tiwariji (Atul Parchure) to make a good impression with the crew members from the very first day. Mayuri gets very friendly with the director and the crew members and she uses her social networking skills tweeting about the movie several times to get a good publicity for it. The director feels that she will do very well in life. Nandita is attending a ceremony in Jodhpur where she is chatting with Naina (Suchitra Pillai) who is a socialite. She declares that Nandita is one of her favourite calendar girls. Naina then introduces Nandita to Harsh Narang (Vikram Sakhalkar) who is a very big business tycoon and the heir of the royal Narang family of Jodhpur. Harsh asks Nandita about her future plans and she tells that she is returning to Mumbai by flight the following morning. Harsh advises her to cancel her flight offering her a marriage proposal. Nandita doesn't answer initially but her sister advises that she should go ahead with this marriage stating that she will be living a very comfortable life like a queen. Nandita is reluctant to give up on the condition kept by Harsh to quit modelling, but her sister says that next year when the new calendar comes, offers will go down and slowly she may have to end her association with the modelling world. Nandita meets Harsh's parents, the Narangs (Kiran Kumar) and tells them that she has decided to quit modelling and the family gives her a warm welcome resulting in them getting married.

Nazneen is travelling in a taxi and sees that there are some public protests on the road against Pakistani stars to quit the country. She is very tensed about her life being harmed and the city being unsafe for her. She is not in a position to go back to London since Inzamam is very angry on her. The producer who offered her the film has decided to withdraw the offer because of this issue and is unable to delay the film. She loses the film and is without any work. Few days later, she meets Ananya Raichand (Mita Vashisht) who runs a high class escort service for Politicians, Industrialists and Diplomats. Nazneen ends up becoming an escort girl. Sharon goes to a party at a friends place and there she meets Rehaan who is a friend of Aniruddh and gets to know about the rumours that Aniruddh spread about her that she slept with him. She gets very angry and slaps Aniruddh in front of his entire office staff. She ends up banned by the ad world and is unable to get any assignments on account of spoiling her relationship with Aniruddh. Paroma is attending a party where she has been invited by Pinaki and he introduces her to the different cricketers and people from the SPL cricket league. Pinaki tells her later about some issues that he is facing on the gambling with which they were to earn millions of rupees, where he wants Paroma to spend time with one of the cricketers as per his conditions. Paroma does so and they earn a lot with the daily matches of SPL. Vignesh Pranjpe (Sharad Ponkshe) who is a CBI officer has a doubt on them and keeps a close eye.

Sharon meets Shashank Datta (Indraneil Sengupta) who is working in a leading news channel offers her a job as a host for one of their new entertainment show and Sharon becomes a very successful anchor later being promoted by the channel to a nationwide news reader. Mayuri has decided to sign a film with a builder's son for millions of rupees just to buy a flat through him and later meets Madhur Bhandarkar who also offers her a film. Nandita finds that Harsh is cheating on her and has married her just to keep her as a trophy wife and sleeps around with escort girls. She tells her in-laws and cries but they explain that Harsh loves her and she is the daughter-in-law of the big Narang family and these things are very common amongst the riches.

Paroma gets arrested by CBI on the betting and match fixing case and Pinaki goes absconding leaving her in a lurch. Her brother and father come to give her a bail and tell her how shameful the family is feeling in the society because of her and disown her. She attempts suicide but stops as she gets an offer to work in a reality show because of her controversial image. Nazneen is feeling shameful about the job she is doing as an escort girl and wants to quit and go back to London. She decides to do it one last time with a foreign diplomat. But she finds that Inzamam has already dumped her and moved with someone else. Nazneen meets with an accident after escaping from the hotel and dies.

After these incidents that happened with the calendar girls especially Paroma and Nazneen, this issue comes in the news on whether calendar girls is a platform for people to make a career in the glamour industry or is it a misuse. The other 4 calendar girls meet at Nazneen's funeral and are very sad that her body was in the morgue for 10 days and nobody claimed it. They realize how the glamor world is and how you need to live with it.

Days pass by, months pass by and it is shown where are the calendar girls now – Paroma is making her entry to the reality show, Sharon will happily marry Shashank, Mayuri receives the best debutant award in Filmfare and Nandita is pregnant with a child with Harsh. Now the new year comes and the old calendar is removed and the new calendar is used at various places with the five new calendar girls.

Teaser
Suhel Seth and Rohit Roy played significant role in Calendar Girls. Five new actresses have made their debut in Hindi film industry with Calendar Girls. The teaser of Calendar Girls was released on 1 July 2015. The film's trailer was released on 17 August 2015. Calendar Girls was banned in Pakistan.

Release
Calendar Girls was released on 25 September 2015.

Cast

 Akanksha Puri as Nandita Menon, from Hyderabad
 Avani Modi as Nazneen Malik, from Lahore
 Kyra Dutt as Sharon Pinto, from Goa
 Ruhi Singh as Mayuri Chauhan, from Rohtak
 Satarupa Pyne as Paroma Ghosh, from Kolkata
 Keith Sequeira as Pinaki (Paroma's boyfriend)
 Deepak Wadhwa as Inzamam (Nazneen's boyfriend)
 Indraneil Sengupta as Shashank (Sharon's husband)
 Vikram Sakhalkar as Harsh Narang (Nandita's husband)
 Mita Vasisht as Escort broker
 Suhel Seth as Kumar Kukreja, calendar sponsor
 Rohit Roy as Timmy, Photographer Berak Celana, (called calendar partner in North America and Bruce Lee in UK)
 Karan Aanand as Paroma's brother
 Kiran Kumar as Narang's
 Atul Parchure as Tiwari Ji, Mayuri's secretary
 Madhur Bhandarkar (cameo) as himself
 Suchitra Pillai as Naina, Socialite
 Samikssha Batnagar as Nandita's sister
 Shishir Sharma as Mayuri's father
 Sharad Ponkshe as CBI officer
 Tanuj Virwani as Varun
 Yogesh Lakhani as Jury

Soundtrack

The music for the film was composed by Meet Bros Anjjan and Amaal Mallik, while the lyrics were by Kumaar. The full audio album was released on 10 September 2015 by T-Series.

Critical reception
Bollywood Hungama rated the film three-and-a-half stars out of five, describing the five calendar girl characters as "very relatable". The site summarized, "On the whole, Calendar Girls can be watched for its wholesome entertainment value, hard hitting drama and engaging narrative." Subhash K. Jha rated the film three stars out of five, saying, "It is fairly engaging and sometimes powerful in its message on how far the ruthless metropolis takes the unsuspecting career girls before dumping them on the derrières to re-gather their destiny."

See also

 Kingfisher Calendar

 Atul Kasbekar

References

External links

2015 films
2010s Hindi-language films
Indian drama films
Indian female buddy films
India–Pakistan relations in popular culture
Films about fashion in India
Films about women in India
Films directed by Madhur Bhandarkar
Films shot in Mumbai
Films shot in Mauritius
High society (social class)
Indian buddy films
2010s female buddy films
Indian films based on actual events
2015 drama films
Hindi-language drama films
Film censorship in Pakistan

Calendar Girls (2015 film)


Caravan to Vaccarès is a 1974 British-French action film directed by Geoffrey Reeve and starring David Birney, Charlotte Rampling and Michael Lonsdale. It was loosely based on the 1970 novel Caravan to Vaccarès by Alistair MacLean.

Plot
In the south of France, a mysterious assassin shoots one man, then another.

A wandering young American adventurer, Bowman (David Birney), meets a pretty young British photographer, Lila (Charlotte Rampling) when she hitches a ride. They run into the assassin while helping a couple who have broken down by the side of the road.

When they arrive in town they meet a French duke (Michel Lonsdale) who invites them to dinner. David reveals that the duke had met him in Paris and offered him a job for $3,000 and a return ticket to New York but he doesn't know what for. He is driving a car lent by the duke. That night a man breaks into a place where they are staying but Bowman fights him off.

The duke appears and hires Bowman to smuggle a Hungarian scientist (Michael Bryan) out of France to the United States. Bowman is reluctant but the duke says if he won't do it he will report the car as being stolen.

The scientist escaped the Iron Curtain by hiding with a caravan of gypsies, but is being pursued by an unscrupulous gang bent on capturing him for sale to the highest bidder.

A woman who helps Bowman is murdered at a bull fight. She turns out to be the Duc's daughter.

Lila and the scientist are kidnapped, but Bowman rescues them. Lila and Bowman sleep together.

Bowman is driving the scientist to safety in a car when a helicopter chases after them. The helicopter drives the car off the road. It seems the scientist has fallen into quicksand; a rope is dropped from the helicopter to retrieve him. However it turns out the man is Bowman in disguise. He overpowers one of the men in the helicopter then is dropped into a bull ring. Bowman defeats a bull fighter and is about to be killed by a charging bull but is rescued when the Duc shoots it dead.

The Duc farewells Bowman and Lila at the airport with the scientist.

Cast
 David Birney as Bowman
 Charlotte Rampling as Lila
 Michael Lonsdale as Duc de Croyter
 Marcel Bozzuffi as Czerda
 Michael Bryant as Zuger
 Serge Marquand as Ferenc
 Marianne Eggerickx as Cecile
 Françoise Brion as Stella
 Vania Vilers as Vania
 Manitas De Plata as Ricardo
 Jean-Pierre Cargol as Jules
 Jean-Pierre Castaldi as Pierre
 Jean Michaux as Waiter
 Alan Scott as Receptionist
 Jean-Yves Gautier as Gendarme
 Graham Hill as Helicopter pilot

Production
The story was originally written as a screenplay before being turned into a novel.

The film was shot on location in the Camargue. The finale, where David Birney is dropped into a bull ring from a helicopter, was filmed last.

Reception
The film had a royal premiere at the Odeon in Leicester Square honour of the Save the Children Fund. It was attended by Princess Anne and her then-husband Mark Phillips, but not MacLean who refused to attend.

Critique
The Guardian praised Rampling's beauty but said Birney "is about as expressive as a constipated owl" and that the film had "rather plastic romance and enough cinematic action to fill half a bucket with stuntmen's sweat."

References

External links

Review at Variety.com

Review at Time Out London
Review at AlistairMacLean.com
Review at New York Times

1974 films
1970s action thriller films
1970s spy films
Films based on British novels
Films based on works by Alistair MacLean
Films directed by Geoffrey Reeve
Films set in France
British action films
French action films
French spy films
British spy films
Cold War spy films
Films scored by Stanley Myers
English-language French films
1970s English-language films
1970s British films
1970s French films

Caravan to Vaccarès (film)