Opinion – Page 10 of 31

18Oct

By Accalia SmithNo Comments

Opinion

Laurence Fox’s ‘Reclaim Party’

Laurence Fox used to be known more for his acting in TV Shows such asLewis and Victoria, and films such as Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Now he’sapparently a politician. Fox first politically came to the public's attention last January aftercontroversial interviews and debates on Good Morning Britain and QuestionTime over Sam Mendes' 1917's choice to include Sikh soldiers in the WW1 film.Fox claimed that it was 'forced diversity' and continued to comment on MeganMarkle's treatment by the press and the 'woke' generation as well as sayingthat he would boycott the British supermarket chain Sainsbury's after itannounced support of Black History Month. In April he ran for London Mayor after announcing in November 2020 that hewas founding 'The Reclaim Party' due to his disappointment in theC...

Extinction Rebellion and the Future of Climate Change: how helpful is the movement at creating long-lasting preventative change?

18Oct

By Accalia SmithNo Comments

Opinion

Extinction Rebellion and the Future of Climate Change: how helpful is the movement at creating long-lasting preventative change?

Success is subjective and often put numerically, but with a movement and protest group like XR how can their success be measured? Since launching in the UK at the end of October in 2018 they have had an aim to make ‘decision makers take notice’ and ‘increase the conversation about the depth of Climate change’. Extinction Rebellion’s main tool is protest. As of Thursday 2nd September, 483 people were arrested over the protests, according to The Guardian. During that week Police officers battled with protestors for control of an open top bus blocking London Bridge. Police are reported to have wrestled with protestors in a new desperate attempt to reduce the disruption. In the same week, there were also numerous protests from those against vaccination. A growing number of people disagree wit...

The Emphasis On Drinking During Freshers’ Week

18Oct

By Ilayda KaplankiranNo Comments

News, Opinion

The Emphasis On Drinking During Freshers’ Week

With COVID-19 restrictions lifted and a gradual return to normality, Freshers’ Week will be going ahead as planned. While some will be enjoying the social opportunities that the legendary week has to offer, others might have a less than satisfactory experience; especially when we consider the pressure being placed upon students to consume excessive amounts of alcohol during the week. Either way, there will be a mixture of responses, but nevertheless it is integral that we normalise the inability to make friends in the first couple of weeks, and the stress that resonates with joining a new community. It’s easy to forget as a second or third year how isolating the first term of first year can be. All too often, university life has been circumscribed to the pervasive stereotype that...

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...

Voter IDs will only damage U.K. Democracy

17May

By Finn MurphyNo Comments

Opinion

Voter IDs will only damage U.K. Democracy

The Government recently announced plans to bring in Voter IDs again, with the Queen bringing up the bill in the 2021 Queen’s Speech. However, in 2019, there were only 595 cases of alleged electoral fraud investigated by the police with only 4 of these leading to conviction and 2 individuals being given a police caution. These statistics raise the question: why is this a problem that the Government feels the need to solve? To put this into perspective, in the 2019 General Election, over 47,000,000 people voted and, according to the Electoral Commission, there were 164 alleged cases of voter fraud investigated, meaning that less than 0.0004% of the vote was investigated. (1) It would appear that this issue is not substantial enough to need a solution, especially as there is little ...

17May

By Jordan ThorneNo Comments

Opinion

Sex in the Grey Area

*Trigger Warning: issues of sexual consent* When I was 17, I dated a guy for about three weeks. He was considerably taller than me, a first as I normally date guys around my height so I don’t feel inferior. He was far too popular for me, although he was a total softie on the inside. It was very intense, and we moved quite quickly with everything — other than the sex. One evening we’d planned a pizza date at my house. Earlier that day, though, I’d noticed him calling me “his woman” and telling me how I should wear my hair or do my makeup. Call me a ‘woke feminist’ all you like, but that was a major turn off. I texted him earlier that evening to let him know I wasn’t sure about him coming round, but he insisted that it would be nice. I obliged, but laid out there and then that I di...

13Apr

By Bridget OSullivanNo Comments

Opinion

The Cancer in K-pop

Trigger warning: mentions of abuse and suicide What comes to mind when you think of Korean popular music or as most of us know it, K-pop? Intricate choreographies, Stan Twitter, dedicated fandoms, BTS? Not that long ago, I would have rattled off a similarly vague list. But now, after researching the industry, my list looks more like this: weekly weigh-ins, slave contracts, long-term debt, misogyny, suicide, blatant abuses of power (and the list only goes on). Who’s financing all this? To a large extent, it’s the plethora of Western fans who plug enormous amounts of money into their love of K-pop. The problem is that this money is feeding the billionaire companies behind K-pop, not the artists themselves. South Korea’...

Commercial (Oops, I mean Valentine’s) Day

27Feb

By Bridget OSullivanNo Comments

Opinion

Commercial (Oops, I mean Valentine’s) Day

What exactly is Valentine’s Day for? Celebration; consumerist consumption; outward displays of love; cynicism? The subjectivity of Valentine’s Day is indisputable. It means something different to different people, and it means something different to those same people at different points in their lives. Funnily enough, Saint Valentine wasn’t even associated with love or romance; a keen marketing team is responsible for that. By the mid-19th Century, the concept of a day dedicated to love had gained international momentum. Cadbury’s debuted a concoction they coined ‘Fancy Boxes’ for the purpose of Valentine’s gifting and postal systems were revelling in their February fortunes. It’s eerily reminiscent of Coca Cola’s invention of the modern-day Santa Claus, or how chocolate Easter E...

27Feb

By Jordan ThorneNo Comments

Opinion

My hair is none of your concern

Growing up in a predominantly white suburb of Birmingham, surrounded by my white, middle-class family, I’d never been particularly concerned with matters of skin tone. I have a sharp, slim nose, inherited from my mother, as well as her eyes, lips, teeth, chin, cheeks, ears and pretty much everything other than my forehead, caramel skin and hair. I love that I never have to tan, I adore the shape of my bum and my natural ability to sprint, but my hair is something which always troubled me. I was always afraid to wear my hair in its natural curls. Because I’d never been taught how to care for Black hair; it was an unruly mess of fuzz which I scraped into a pineapple to keep out of my face. It was a choice between having an untamed mass of curls o...

27Feb

By Finn MurphyNo Comments

Opinion

It’s Still A Sin?

In the past few years, there has been a multitude of debates surrounding the inclusion of LGBTQ+ topics in school curriculums. Many argue that it is important to teach children about LGBTQ+ issues so that they respect all their peers. However, some still maintain that children should not have this “ideology” “forced” onto them, even claiming that it will sexualise children when they do not need to be. In reality, LGBTQ+ people and issues are threaded throughout British history, but the UK has decided to omit them and their stories from schools. In 1988, during Thatcher’s time as Prime Minister, Section 28 came into effect which meant that it was illegal for teachers to ‘promote’ homosexuality in schools. This was only stopped in 2003, however it can feel like curriculums still reflect thi...