royal holloway – Page 4 of 23

Do Adaptations Ruin Our Favourite Books?

21Jun

By Laura BloomfieldNo Comments

Do Adaptations Ruin Our Favourite Books?

Book to movie adaptations often walk a very fine line between good and bad. They can, thanks to avid fans, be quite dangerous to produce. Perhaps ‘dangerous’ is a strong word, but reactions to adaptations like the 2010 Percy Jackson movie demonstrate that one can never underestimate the connection between a fan and their favourite book. If the adaptation fails to meet expectations, it can be devastating for both the fans and the pockets of Hollywood executives. An optimist would argue that adaptations have inherently good intentions. They seek to bring a work to life and build on the world that an author has created. This can be particularly magical in a fantasy genre – the Harry Potter film franchise did an excellent job of capturing Hogwarts, and seeing such a place conjured up on th...

5 Video Games to Wind Down with After Exams

21Jun

By Sian BaconNo Comments

Culture & Literature

5 Video Games to Wind Down with After Exams

Gaming is a great way to escape reality for a few hours. From the internet phenomenon of Among Us to more intense games like The Elden Ring, there is something for everyone to cure the post-exam burnout. They’re a great way to fill the daze after uni when you don’t want to always be #livingyourbestlife. From classic nostalgia to games you might not have heard of, this list has you covered. Mario Kart Whether on mobile or Switch, or even the old-school Wii, Mario Kart is a classic. This game can adapt to anyone; some prefer a gentler game at 50cc or intense gameplay at 200cc. You don’t even need to be a ‘gamer’ to enjoy this game. To get together with friends and play Mario Kart provides some relaxation and fun – so long as it doesn’t get too competitive. To spice up this sturdy clas...

Hyperconnectivity Hurts: How 24/7 Culture Harms the Youth

21Jun

By Madelaine GrayNo Comments

Opinion

Hyperconnectivity Hurts: How 24/7 Culture Harms the Youth

I’m sure it’s happened to us all; a message missed, leading to a glowing, bolded notification, over a day old, glaring out at us through the screen. The guilt, and the embarrassment builds. What to do? Do you reply, as if nothing happened? Do you respond with a hasty apology? Or, do you leave it, the aforementioned guilt and embarrassment growing until the message is buried far down your recents. Maybe one day you’ll open it, leaving it “on read” - after all, after a week or two (you tell yourself to ease your conscience) who’s checking? Or maybe you’ll “air” it, on and on and on, letting it fossilise far down until you almost (only almost) forget about it. Of course, it’s not always that dramatic. If it’s a good friend, it’s easy to brush it off. In the complex web of young adul...

Issue Five Introduction: The Friend Game

21Jun

By Bridget OSullivanNo Comments

Features, Lifestyle

Issue Five Introduction: The Friend Game

At six, I pledged to a girl named Isabel that she’d be my best friend forever. She was blonde. I was brunette. Despite this, Isabel always insisted on playing Gabriella when we re-enacted scenes from our beloved High School Musical. I started to hate her a tiny bit. At fourteen, we fell out over boys. When I was nine, I told myself my best friend was a girl called Aoife. She was a bitch in the making, and something about that drew me in. She had a strength that I didn’t. But, like any blossoming bitch, she wanted to surround herself with other bitches (and despite my efforts, I was just a bit too off-the-wall to fit the bitch criteria). I haven’t spoken to Aoife since I was twelve, when her parents shipped her off to boarding school. When I was thirteen, my best friend w...

21Jun

By Zaki ChanNo Comments

Creative Writing, Features

oyvey

behold the golem of prague how tothe first step is seeing them then talk to them then convince themsimpleso after saving them from that edgeplace your own edge on their throat and slice theirs open first before any seas can lay claim to it firstbefore earth before hearth before flame before greedy fingers pry their way to their tonguerip it out first beforeand then wear it in the mouthsit it in the right placecreak teeth out of placealign rows of molars incisors caninessculpt gum to fit perfectanother persons stolen tongueand when that is done and when you are caughtand when there is nothingleft to bare in their hotlampsleft to bear the roiling heatleft alone to step without rhythma syncopated disfunctionof them forcing that maw openad nauseam they will rip out your speechsear yo...

21Jun

By Elena-Teodora ChiujdeaNo Comments

Creative Writing

Rainbow World

Red: love. Romantic love, a connection at its bloom. A mother’s unconditional love, a life being born from another. A sibling’s love, with all the bickering and fighting, that love is still there. A friend’s love. A heartbreak that proves the love was there. Orange: balance. Understanding there will be grief and uncertainty in life but being able to blur out the shadows and find joy in the little everyday things. A morning coffee. A family breakfast. A sunny day. A hug. A face-to-face conversation. Yellow: spontaneity. We are all strangers until one person breaks the ice and comes up to you. He introduces himself, you make small talk, find a common interest and before you know it that stranger is now your best friend. A connection in the crowd. Green: rebirth. Rebirth...

21Jun

By Alice ClarkNo Comments

Creative Writing

heart

21Jun

By Leah EdwardsNo Comments

Lifestyle

Vintage Kitchen: Victorian Sorbet

Now that it’s summer, the weather is warmer, and the daylight hours are longer, it made sense to wrap this series up with an iconic treat that we all associate with the season. BBC Radio 4’s podcast, You’re Dead To Me, did an episode exploring the history of ice-cream. The podcast mentioned horrifying 18th century flavours from whale vomit to ‘out there’ ones such as parmesan and artichoke. Towards the end of the podcast, food historian Dr Annie Gray described a recipe from the Queen of Ices: Agnes Marshall (1855-1905). Agnes Marshall was a pioneer of ice cream and frozen desserts, using liquid nitrogen to freeze ice creams, long before the invention of the modern freezer. In 1885 she came out with the patent freezer which could freeze a pint of ice cream in five minutes and is considered...

21Jun

By Bridget OSullivanNo Comments

Digital Copies

Connections: Issue Five 2021/22

https://issuu.com/orbital-royalholloway/docs/issue_five_-_connection

Uvalde School Shooting: Where does it stop? Gun Control has Proven to Fail once again

1Jun

By Ilayda KaplankiranNo Comments

Features, News

Uvalde School Shooting: Where does it stop? Gun Control has Proven to Fail once again

Another school shooting has occurred. Significant lives have been lost. And yet, it only serves as a rehash of a story we’ve all heard before. The latest figures provided by BBC confirm that “nineteen young children and two adults have died in a shooting at a primary school in south Texas”. Because the ‘right to bear arms’ is constitutionally protected, the 18-year-old perpetrator was able to walk freely into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. In fact, the problem resides within this constitutional right itself. No matter how hard politicians or activists try to put provisions in place or change the narrative that we are all too familiar with, these atrocities will not be prevented. As seen in the Supreme Court’s ruling, from 2008 to the pre...