frontpage – Page 2 of 20

<strong>Where do we even begin? </strong>

25Feb

By Sofia BajerovaNo Comments

Opinion

Where do we even begin?

I left the tube station, aggressively double clicking the side of my phone to ensure that Apple Pay, custodian of my Monzo card, was ready to do its job. The expected bout of hyper self-awareness kicked in, certain I was subjecting myself to the glares of the people behind who were shouting obscenities at me in their heads. I was absolutely sure of this. I went through the ticket barriers without a hitch, unlike a man ahead who had a less fortunate experience and, as a result, our lives intersected for a few brief minutes. Dressed in a blue suit with a carefully placed Prostate Cancer UK badge pinned at the lapel, he strolled through the station with a wide stance, and an increasing verbose rhetoric of disappointment. Without remembering his exact words, he claimed he was shocked and d...

<strong>‘Positive’ Discrimination: Race, Language and Labels</strong>

25Feb

By Jethro RobathanNo Comments

Opinion

‘Positive’ Discrimination: Race, Language and Labels

‘… “Reverse discrimination”, which translates to “Keep those Negroes running – but in their same old place”.’ – Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnics). POC and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of colour). Catch-all, pre-packaged tags ready to slap on those boxes we call ‘people’, when we feel so inclined. Establishment guarantee included, free of charge. My gripe with race terminology has long been one of passive resistance yet complicit subscription. This is my guilty confession; more so, this is a personal attempt to unravel the netting of politically correct and functionally useless labels which colour (pun intended) our ever-growing vocabulary of racial identification. A few mandatory disclaimers before I let loose. Conversations...

“I don’t recognise my country”: Orbital Reacts to Roe v Wade

27Jun

By Hannah ArmourNo Comments

Features, News, Opinion

“I don’t recognise my country”: Orbital Reacts to Roe v Wade

“We are better than this”, my mother says. “I don’t recognise my country.” I can’t help but agree. Because this isn’t what the United States of America should be. This is not what it was founded on. This is not a reflection of its population’s views. This is an act of ostracisation in the pursuit of control. This is not democracy. There have been many times in recent years that I’ve been embarrassed by my country, by my accent and by my passport. Friday’s overturn of the Roe v Wade ruling topped everything else (a high boundary to break after the election of our last president). Equality, that often-distant dream, felt obtainable. We could see it off in the distance, and if we could just get a bit closer, keep moving forward, then maybe we could reach it, touch it, smell it, lick...

The Worst Person In The World: the Nordic highs and lows of human connection

24Jun

By Olivia TaylorNo Comments

Features, Film & TV

The Worst Person In The World: the Nordic highs and lows of human connection

Joachim Trier’s Oslo trilogy may not follow stories that are directly linked, but there is a connection between them that even Anders Danielsen Lie, who stars in each film, noticed ‘feels just like a continuation’. That continuation may be loss, love, or loneliness, three themes that follow the central characters through each story. But whilst they aren’t always resolved, they haunt audiences with a sense of realism, often hitting close to home. ‘The Worst Person in the World’ or ‘Verdens verste menneske’ is Trier’s final installment, and a cinematic masterpiece in its own right. It captures the fragility of life through the lens of Julie, a 20-something woman who gets stuck in the indecisiveness of her ambition, a cultivated indication of what it means to be young and conflicted. “I f...

9 of the Best Relationships in Television

24Jun

By Victoria BurdenNo Comments

Features, Film & TV

9 of the Best Relationships in Television

Romantic Relationships Phil and Claire Dunphy – Modern Family Across 11 seasons of iconic television, Phil and Claire continuously proved they have one of the best onscreen relationships. From Phil’s optimistic nature and cheerleader mentality to Claire’s determined and competitive streak, these two balance each other out to form the perfect married couple. Mel and Jack – Virgin River While the show keeps throwing obstacles at these two, they always find their way back to one another. Their pasts constantly make it difficult for them to focus on creating a future. Despite this, Jack’s uncanny ability to get himself in harm's way and Mel’s speciality in helping those in need make for a dynamic that leaves viewers wanting more. Friendships Otis and Eric – S...

24Jun

By Kianna BestNo Comments

Features, Film & TV

Streaming Services Saved My Life

The title might be a tad hyperbolic, but looking back on the months of being confined to the four walls of my home during the beginning of 2020, it makes sense. With the staggering halt to social interaction during the early days of the pandemic, film lovers lost out on the conventional cinema going experience. Transcending its responsibility as a source of our binge watching, streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ satiated our cravings. With concepts such as Netflix Party and other group watching services, virtual film watching experiences allowed us to adapt to our new circumstances while capturing the social cinema feeling that we all missed and loved. With fleeting trends that aimed to keep us occupied during the seemingly endless days of lockdown, Netflix remained tried and t...

The Minority’s Minority? Guyana, Rise Up

21Jun

By Jethro RobathanNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Visual Arts

The Minority’s Minority? Guyana, Rise Up

Mother’s Day seemed like an appropriate time to get in touch with my Indo-Guyanese ancestry, so I took my Mum, born and bred Guyanese, on an outing to the Tate Britain's exhibit, Life Between Islands. Guyana’s locale tends to leave it overwritten in many Caribbean tributes. You can imagine my joyful surprise, then, to see a thriving Guyanese presence in Life Between Islands. It is an excellent celebration of all things Caribbean, with a focus on the impacts of colonialism, migration and British identity, tying generations together through art, film, fashion, music and even interior design, to the ongoing efforts for cultural decolonization. Guyana occupies this odd spot – it’s part of the Caribbean but it’s not an island. It sits east of Venezuela and straddles the northern coast...

Searching for a Home: Connection through Crises

21Jun

By Accalia SmithNo Comments

News, Opinion

Searching for a Home: Connection through Crises

As I sat down to write this article, it suddenly struck me just how wide and complex the word ‘connection' is. At its core, connection has these profound connotations of a bond, of intimacy, of emotion. Yet we apply ‘connection’ to acquaintances and social media friends. On LinkedIn we ask a stranger to ‘connect’ in the name of professional development. We connect the dots, and play Connect 4. Most recently, connection has been used to talk about current crises from the Russian war on Ukraine to climate change. Now with Ukrainians being forced to find refuge in countless countries across Europe, we might wonder how this changes our viewpoint on connection. Yuliya, who recently fled Ukraine, told me her story. Below is her account of what happened. “I was born an...

21Jun

By Sofia BajerovaNo Comments

News, Opinion

Marking the Study Abroad Experience

The Connection Between Person and Place After tasting the cuisine, meeting, and befriending local people, walking through the streets and immersing yourself in a new culture and country, you make a connection to a place. Positive or negative, a connection is formed. This can take seconds, days or years and can change and develop as time progresses. An amazing weekend somewhere can leave you longing to return for the rest of your life. Multiple years in a place can leave you wanting to run away and never look back. When students study abroad, some form a connection with their country of study that can only be described as a second home: an intense emotional connection that leaves them planning their return before they even leave. In society we often make specific emotional conn...

6 Summer-y Books to Read, Iced Latte in Hand

21Jun

By Eva Townsend BiltonNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Literature

6 Summer-y Books to Read, Iced Latte in Hand

With exams and deadlines finally over and a summer that, thanks to climate change, promises to at least be warm, it’s finally time to pick up a book (go on, put the phone down) and head out into the sun. Here are six gorgeous reads to match that summer vibe: The Offing by Benjamin Myers It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that this book is the perfect summer novel. Set during the aftermath of WW2, it follows Robert Appleyard, a working-class boy from Durham who sets off on foot across the countryside to find adventure before settling down into the mining job his family expects him to take up. He comes across Dulcie, an eccentric old woman living with her dog in a gloriously overgrown house. Over the course of a summer, Robert discovers the beauty of nature, poetry, and good wine. Full o...