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Opinion / Page 11
Angus, Thongs and Intersectional Feminism
During lockdown, I’ve taken to revisiting some of my all-time favourite childhood films, and while it has been immensely enjoyable and nostalgic, it has also been very eye opening. In some films certain scenes were problematic to say the least. While a younger version of myself would have glossed over these scenes, I found my […]
New Leader, New Labour?
Politics isn’t easy when the public won’t take you seriously, and after a decade out of office there comes a point when you have to wonder whether the problem is you, not them. Scandals reported in progressively shrill headlines don’t help matters, and the opportunities given by another five years in the wilderness don’t stretch […]
First as Farce, then as Tragedy: Monty Python as Government Policy
There is a sketch in season 1, episode 3 of Monty Python’s Flying Circus called Stolen Newsreader that I have been thinking about a lot recently. It goes something like this: John Cleese begins to read the six o’clock news in calm, even tones when suddenly several bandits burst through the door. They fire their […]
This Not That: Whitewashing
Some of you may remember the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite that floated around on social media in 2015 and 2016 in response to all twenty of the acting related Oscars nominations going to white people. The hashtag was coined by activist April Reign and was used to call out the blatant lack of diversity within Hollywood and […]
Coronavirus and the Music Industry
The summer concert schedule doesn’t look quite like everyone expected. The warm weather usually means touring artists and major festivals with packed crowds of strangers. However, amidst the coronavirus pandemic, event organisers have been forced to cancel or postpone virtually every large social gathering centred around music. In an industry linked to live experiences and full audiences, concert […]
Showing Racism The Red Card
We have recently seen the return of top-flight English football, where goals and quality play were expected to grab the headlines. Instead, the majority of the conversation has been of the work of the players and the league off the field. I am, of course, talking about the Premier League’s support of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, […]
Why You Should Do A Year Abroad – Even If It’s Not The Best Year Ever
I always wanted to go on a year abroad. In fact, I had practically decided to go on one even before applying to university and deciding to study modern languages. Everything about a year abroad seemed perfect. Not only an opportunity to escape the piercing wind and pouring rain for a year, but also a […]
Coronavirus: Did We Overreact?
It’s not often that you get the feeling that you are living through a historic moment – that your present reality is a defining period which will shape the world for generations to come and be etched into the national psyche along with events such as WWII. Yet it feels as if we are in […]
Petrified: White Supremacy Set In Stone
The past few months completely shook the unsuspecting year of 2020, and as countries across the globe went into lockdown it seemed as if the world had gone quiet. It was in the midst of this silence that the Black Lives Matter movement erupted following the murder – it was murder – of George Floyd […]
Scotland, Empire and George Floyd
The extrajudicial killing of George Floyd has served as a moment of reckoning for racial justice across the United States. It has spawned a wave of protests and riots across the nation and led to calls for an overhaul of policing. These protests have taken on an international angle with large scale protests reported across […]