Culture & Literature – Page 5 of 35

The Mermaid of Black Conch Review: A Mermaid Love Story fused with Colonialism

16Oct

By Leah EdwardsNo Comments

Literature

The Mermaid of Black Conch Review: A Mermaid Love Story fused with Colonialism

Monique Roffey’s The Mermaid of Black Conch has recently gained a lot of publicity, having won Costa Book of the Year in 2020 and more recently, a BBC Sounds audio adaptation. Whether they’re sirens in Greek mythology luring sailors to their deaths, or tiny, doe-eyed Disney characters in colourful seashell bras, we’ve seen and read mermaids in all their forms. On the surface, the novel appears to be just another folk-lore tale, but below scratch beneath the water’s surface and it’s a deeply unique story. The Mermaid of Black Conch is not your typical white European Disney Princess, but an indigenous woman from long agow with a tribal tattoo covered torso. And, instead of a glamorous underwater paradise, the setting is a post-colonial Caribbean world. The novel takes place in April 1...

Beautiful World, Where Are You? review: Rooney’s best book yet?

16Oct

By Eva Townsend BiltonNo Comments

Literature

Beautiful World, Where Are You? review: Rooney’s best book yet?

Whether you read a hundred books a year or struggle finishing just one, you’ve probably heard of Sally Rooney, or at least her second novel Normal People. In the four years since the release of her 2017 debut, Conversations with Friends, Rooney has made herself a household name, and her third novel is acutely aware of it. Beautiful World, Where Are You? follows university friends Alice and Eileen, both on the cusp of turning thirty and both navigating romances that form the basis of the novel’s plot. Famous author, Alice, has moved back to Ireland after the pressures of celebrity life in New York proved too much to handle. Despite their less-than-perfect Tinder date, she invites local warehouse worker, Felix, to join her on a work-trip to Rome. Eileen lives in Dublin, flitting betwe...

17May

By Harry MearNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Film & TV

There’s No Place Like The Cinema

‘Open the pod bay cinema doors, please, Hal’- 2001: A Space Odyssey Dust off your best jacket, grab some overpriced popcorn and settle down to watch a film the way it was meant to be experienced because the big screen is back! It’s been a long four months hasn’t it and if you’re anything like me there’s been a considerable void in your life since curtains closed for picture houses and theatres back in January. But cry no more for cinemas have reopened across the country on this glorious May 17th (if only it could’ve been the 4th for those fellow Star Wars fanatics out there). So what have we missed and what have we got to look forward to? Let me fill you in. We’ve had a lot of the main events which mostly had a virtual premiere including the BAFTA Awards, the Oscars, the Golden G...

I Watched All the Academy Award Winning Films So You Don’t Have To- Here’s the Verdict

17May

By Harry MearNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Film & TV

I Watched All the Academy Award Winning Films So You Don’t Have To- Here’s the Verdict

The Oscar season has been and gone this year with little controversy (here’s looking at you Moonlight…) and we’ve seen some much-deserved recipients for Academy Awards, old and new. Chloé Zhao’s Nomandland raked in Best Actress for Frances McDormand who shines in a stunning performance as Fern- an ageing and misplaced widower travelling across the American West during the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. The film also received Best Director and Best Picture, virtually the trifecta of Hollywood achievement, and it’s certainly a worthy winner of Oscar gold. 8/10 Rating Anthony Hopkins stars in The Father as a pensioner suffering from rapidly impairing dementia which creates delusions and confusion for both the characters and th...

17May

By Bridget OSullivanNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Film & TV, Opinion

There’s Something About Diana

Diana Spencer, or Princess Diana, has had a stronghold over our screens for decades. She’s been depicted in film and television by a flood of actresses, including Naomi Watts, Toni Collette (a romcom that got shelved after Diana’s death. Don’t worry though, you can still buy it on DVD in Germany according to The Independent) and, most recently, Emma Corrin. At this point, more actresses have played Diana than perhaps any other member of the Royal Family, bar the Queen. I cannot help but think that this says something about the Royals: their deflectors, their outsiders, are more interesting than they themselves are. The public curiosity about Harry and Meghan testifies to this. It’s easy to see why: the institution that is the Royal Family is a dynastic business, which celebrates exclusivi...

Painting Plagues: How Artists Have Portrayed Pandemics Throughout History

28Feb

By Jordan ThorneNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Visual Arts

Painting Plagues: How Artists Have Portrayed Pandemics Throughout History

As the UK nears the grim milestone of 113,000 reported deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test (as of 9th February), it serves as a reminder that history has a tendency to repeat itself. Pandemics are not a novel concept, as they have happened before and are, unfortunately, bound to happen again one day. Whilst art is not one of the first things that may come to mind when you think of the word ‘pandemic’, it is, and always has been, intrinsically linked. When communities faced a new invisible enemy, it was the job of artists to portray the devastating effects of these diseases, therefore forever immortalising these illnesses within a visual medium. The Black Death is the most infamous of all plagues and is still listed today as the deadliest pandemic ever recorded in hu...

From Wiz Khalifa to The Wellerman: An Interview with Nathan Evans

28Feb

By Jordan ThorneNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

From Wiz Khalifa to The Wellerman: An Interview with Nathan Evans

We spoke to Nathan Evans - the viral TikTok star, whose sea shanties have sent waves crashing throughout the global charts. At the time of writing (26th February 2021), Wellerman sits third in the official charts, its fourth successive week in the Top 10, peaking at number 1 in both Germany and the Netherlands and second in land-locked Switzerland. Where did the idea of sea shanties come from? Have you always been into them or were they suggested to you? It was actually suggested on TikTok. Someone left a comment underneath one of my videos saying “There’s a song called Leave Her Johnny, it’s a sea shanty and I think you would be really good at it if you want to try it”. So I went away, listened to it, sang it, and the comments underneath were just amazing and it was like “Can you d...

28Feb

By Jordan ThorneNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

The Art of the Playlist

I adore playlisting. My music platform of choice is Spotify, and although I was gravely disappointed to find out my premium student membership had expired (there’s a four year limit), I still happily pay for premium- it’s somewhat of an essential now. I used to almost exclusively listen to albums from my favourite artists, buying them in charity shops or using an iTunes gift voucher, only discovering new music through friends’ recommendations or by browsing the charts, but then came music streaming services. Suddenly I could listen to anything I wanted, but how on earth would I choose? How could I listen to everything and decide what I liked? And most importantly, how would I organise my music? The simple and beautiful answer is the art of the playlist. A mode of curation completely...

American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story by Kevin Abstract

28Feb

By Jordan ThorneNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story by Kevin Abstract

In 2016 Kevin Abstract, aged barely 20, released his second studio album American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story. At the time, the album did not get spoken about or reviewed very much, and did not receive the recognition or love it truly deserves. With the world still swept up in the genius that was Frank Ocean’s Blonde, American Boyfriend slipped under the radar. Despite being criminally underrated in a year of fantastic music, American Boyfriend manages to be not just one of the best alternative R&B albums of the year, but one of the best albums of the year entirely. Coming-of-age in media is absolutely everywhere, from the entire genre of YA fiction to the best works of John Hughes; but nothing does coming-of-age quite like this album. Upon foundations of teen angst, desire an...

Must-Read Poetry Collections by LGBT+ Writers

28Feb

By Jack WrightNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Literature

Must-Read Poetry Collections by LGBT+ Writers

The power of poetry as a means of expression and exploration – of self, of identity, and of place – should not be understated. As it is LGBT+ History Month, we wanted to bring your attention to a number of acclaimed poetry collections by poets for whom sexuality and gender identity are significant themes. Surge by Jay Bernard. As the title suggests, Surge, Jay Bernard’s Ted Hughes prize-winning collection, is a text that considers the concept of change in a multitude of ways. In Bernard’s poetry, they reflect upon the flaws of the response in the wake of the 1981 New Cross, and upon their own experience as non-binary. It is a multi-faceted, moving, and powerful piece of work. Physical by Andrew McMillan. McMillan’s use of the gym and exercise as an entry into thinking ar...