Culture

“What is a good life?”: The Standard of Living in review 

“What is a good life?” This axiological question, asked earnestly in the opening lines of James Graham’s The Standard of Living – playing at Theatre Royal Haymarket until December 12 – is often overlooked by the fractured and hyper-specialised discipline of economics.

Diverse voices: ‘Inshallah, Madonna, Inshallah’ by Miljenko Jergović 

‘When he created Earth and these lands upon it, when he divided people into...

Art as protest on university campuses

CW: rape. This week, Cornell University has made headlines as prosecutors reopened an investigation into...

Good grief! Why do we feel for the death of fictional people?

Whether it’s a mild sniffle or full-blown tears, I always end up feeling a bit ridiculous about the whole ordeal when it’s over. I mean, it’s not real, is it? Why do I waste my grief on things that haven’t happened, that will never happen?

Review: Lover by Taylor Swift

Jess Curry looks at why Taylor Swift's latest record represents a strong return to form

Sex, drugs and gender roles: Frank Turner’s historical concept album

A discussion of the new historical concept album from Frank Turner, "No Man's Land".

The Raft of Medusa: 200 Years of a Masterpiece

Things on the raft turned horrific pretty quickly. Thirst, suicide, drowning, murders, cannibalism. By the time the raft was found on the 17th of July, just fifteen men were still alive.

Intricate Designs: Stanley Kubrick at the Design Museum

Walking around the Stanley Kubrick exhibition at the London Design Museum in South Kensington, the overwhelming impression you get is of a man meticulous to a fault.

Dark Trends: Sexy Sociopaths

As we’ve learnt more and more about the confusing grey splodge of the human mind, we’ve uncovered more and more of what makes sociopaths tick. As such, they’ve increasingly inhabited that attractive idiosyncratic loner role in our popular imagination.

The Dangers of Disney+

For the past few years, the same small collection of streaming services has vied for the attention of UK viewers. But things are set to change rapidly in the coming months, as practically every big media company will pitch their own tent in an increasingly competitive media landscape.

Why a No-Deal Brexit could mean the end of British Film

But it’s independent British films that have the most to fear in the looming shadow of a no-deal Brexit. Most people working in the film industry voted against leaving altogether – why? Because the European Union massively supports creative industries in a way that our government alone either can’t or won't.

Twelfth Night – Shakespeare’s Rose blossoms in York and Oxford

Madness, hilarity and revelry ensues in Joyce Branagh's production of Twelfth Night.

Were Nickelback really that bad?

Were Nickleback responsible for killing guitar music in the pop charts?

Review: ANIMA by Thom Yorke

A glance at Yorke's finest solo album to date

This Way Up (2019)- Review

Content Warning: Mental Health/ Depression/ Suicide.

Songs to Sell Your Soul To

A talk through some of the songs on our newest playlist, designed to bring a little sunshine to the life of a languishing intern.

The fractured mind, literature, and society.

“I felt the narrowing of my life to a very fine point. A hard triangle of a life over and me sprawled at its peak, hopeless and lost.” - Russell Brand, describing a mental breakdown.

Stranger Things and… capitalism?

Even as our favourite American TV shows are owned and trademarked by enormous conglomerates with massive influence over the entertainment industry, prestige television has often been...

“All My Loving”- a love letter to the Beatles’ uncompromising “A Hard Day’s Night”

John, Paul, George and Ringo, chased through the oft-mistook Marylebone station, boyishly attempting to evade a hoard of adoring young fans. It is an iconic scene...

Sex and Sensibility: Are ‘Spiced Up’ Adaptations really that progressive?

Pulses were sent racing in 1995 when Andrew Davies’ television adaptation of Pride and Prejudice saw Mr. Darcy, played by a fresh-faced Colin Firth, emerge sopping wet from a lake in a translucent white shirt that barely clung to his torso.

Call of Masculinity

After working on a Channel 4 documentary on masculinity, William Atkinson reflects on the role of culture in the formation of male identity - and whether it has a role to play in recent atrocities in the US.

Funny before Fleabag- the best flawed female sitcom characters

Although seemingly it is a truth universally acknowledged, we need to reiterate that Fleabag was one of the best sitcoms broadcast in years. From its three-dimensional...

The Virtues (2019)- Review

It may seem an overstatement, but I truly believe that Shane Meadows’ This is England saga is one of the greatest contributions ever made to British culture....

Sensational: The Power of Synesthesia

Synesthesia is a hugely rare cross-sensory condition - and yet features in some of our most famous canonical works. How can we ever understand the experience of a synesthete?

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