Monday 15th June 2026
Blog Page 861

Worcester edge past New College to seal Cuppers glory

Matthew Roller
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Worcester edge past New College to seal Cuppers glory

Worcester won men’s Cuppers for the first time since 2013 on Friday night, thanks to a clinical 2-0 victory against New College.

After New enjoyed most of the early running, Andrew Kinsella opened the scoring against the run of play, scrappily bundling home from a corner.

Worcester grew into the game, and took control in the second half. With moments left on the clock, man-of-the-match Olly Cobb jinked past his opposite man, and his deflected shot squeezed in to seal the win.

Having comfortably overcome St. Catz in their semi-final, and with promotion to the JCR Premier Division all but assured, New went into the game as favourites, and they had most of the early running. James Foord, Dylan Evans and Alex Craig looked to control things in midfield, and Patrick Leahy’s dangerous runs in behind seemed to worry Worcester’s centre-halves.

Five minutes in, Jeff Sload made the first of a series of fine saves in the Worcester goal, as he held onto a deep free-kick that Evans, one of two Blues players on the pitch, had whipped in.

Another chance soon followed, as the diminutive midfielder found Leahy with an inch-perfect through ball, but the number nine fluffed the finish, firing wide of Sload’s goal.

Matt Wilson’s last-ditch block then kept the game goalless, following another wave of New pressure, before Worcester finally got a foothold in the match.

Sam Hale and Ben Jones pressed well in midfield, and Cobb’s direct running down the right began to cause problems.

After winning a corner, the winger whipped in a delicious cross that New failed to deal with; Kinsella, languishing in the six-yard box, could hardly believe his luck as the ball fell to him, and his scuffed shot looped agonisingly over Connor Sargent. Worcester were ecstatic, and led against the run of play.

A matter of minutes later, only the woodwork could prevent the men in pink doubling their lead. Jones lifted his head up some twenty-five yards from goal, and saw the space around him: he unleashed a thunderbolt with his left foot, and with Sargent beaten, New’s travelling army breathed a collective sigh of relief as the ball slammed against the upright.

Worcester looked invigorated by the goal, and went into half-time firmly on top; for all their early dominance, New created little in the twenty minutes before the break.

Following the interval, the men in white – searching for a first Cuppers title since 1908 – were re-energised, and Tom McShane’s deep cross forced a good save out of Sload. Craig then worked an opening for himself in midfield, but again, his shot was lacking in any real venom, and Worcester’s clean sheet remained in tact.

The quality of the game descended in the second half, and openings were few and far between. Worcester were quite happy to sit deep and play on the break, as Hale pinged diagonal balls to both wings and the tenacious Jones continued to work hard in midfield.

Jones threatened again from range, and Tom Oliver nearly scored an outrageous lob after being sent through, as Worcester looked the more likely to grab the all-important second goal.

With ten minutes left, Evans – forced deeper and deeper in the second half – managed to release the isolated Leahy, whose knock-down found Craig, but he couldn’t find the finish: New’s profligacy in front of goal would prove costly.

In the dying embers of the game, Cobb worked an opening for himself down the left. He darted past the New defender following a corner, and fired low and hard at goal. A wicked deflection took the ball past Sargent, and sent the Worcester fans into jubilant celebrations. The New players slumped on the turf, dejected: they knew that their dream had faded.

Worcester, meanwhile, were rightly thrilled. After three consecutive titles between 2011 and 2013, four years without a Cuppers win had seemed like an eternity. While their position in the relegation zone of the JCR Premier Division might suggest otherwise, they will hope that this can be the start of another period of domination of college football. The dominant Hale’s midfield presence will be sorely missed, but there is enough quality in this side that this win could be the start of something special.

Letter to: my neighbour

Julia Alsop
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Letter to: my neighbour

Dear neighbour,

I wonder what your first anxieties were when you moved into halls. Were you wondering whether the people you lived with would be ridiculously clean, leaving passive aggressive post-it notes everywhere? Or would they be the biggest slob, emerging from their room only to pop another frozen pizza in the oven, slowly hoarding all the plates until you were forced to eat your soup out of a mug? Most importantly, how much would you be forced to hear of what is happening in their room? Nobody wants to hear the moans of an acquaintance at two in the morning, and then be forced to make uncomfortable small talk with them when you bump into each other in the hallway the next day. Instead, you’ve got me as a neighbour, and whether we like each other or not, we have to put up with each other if we want to survive the year sharing the same environment.

If we had a kitchen, like I did last year, it would be easier to find ourselves learning the ins and outs of the other students living around you. You’d know who is most likely to be sloppy drunk when returning from Bridge, only to set off the fire alarm at two in the morning. It would work, in a weird sort of way – there is an intimacy that comes with boiling your fusilli on the hob next to someone else’s penne, even if you have nothing else in common.

But we have no kitchen or social area. We are, instead, blessed with a large set of rooms in a spacious building, that essentially form a kind of self-contained unit. You, my so-called ‘neighbour’, are reduced to the pattering of footsteps and the occasional sound of a distant shower being turned on. But whilst this removes the feeling of having to force ourselves to ask each other vague questions about how our days went or what our plans are for the evening, there is also a whole new set of questions. If I don’t even know your name, what am I meant to do if my heating doesn’t work, and I want to check if it’s more than just an issue with my room?

Now, as a music student, I am hyperaware that you may, on occasion, be victim to impromptu through-the-wall performances, particularly when drunk guests to my room also enjoy singing Byrd motets or sight-reading piano duets. I am sorry when that can be annoying but, dear neighbour, maybe consider just asking me to keep it down if you’ve got an essay deadline? There’s nothing worse than the ghost neighbour…the one who broods and builds up a grudge until they complain about you on Oxfeud, or worse, the JCR group page.

We don’t have to be friends, or even acknowledge each other, but let’s never grow so bitter as to not communicate any significant grievances.

Best wishes,

Your neighbour (a stranger)

Black Panther celebrates black culture in all its glory

Nazan Osman
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Black Panther celebrates black culture in all its glory

In a cinema filled with a stunning conglomeration of geles, bubas and rainbows of prints, Oxford’s Afro-Caribbean society gathered to watch the opening of Black Panther, complete with special guests and a Q&A panel.

The colours of the ‘traditional clothing’ dress code for the event at the Curzon cinema in Westgate soon blended with the film itself. The film began, and we woke up in a world of iridescent blossoms, a swirling purple sky, and an unforetold depiction of black beauty.

In Black Skins, White Masks, Frantz Fanon writes that narratives surrounding blackness are often reduced to “tom-toms, cannibalism, intellectual deficiency… and slave-ships”. Black Panther completely defies and reshapes this image. Blackness is presented unashamedly in all its majesty.

Michael B. Jordan’s character, Eric, intellectually disarms a white academic on the history of several African artefacts, and he does so entirely in African American vernacular.

The dialogue, costume, and technology in Wakanda are not altered to appease the hegemonic ‘Western’ idea of what has been previously characterised as ‘savage’, ‘barbaric’ or ‘third-world’. The appreciation of black culture in Black Panther completely subverts a narrative in film that has for so long undermined black culture. Black viewers are finally able to see themselves empowered and not victims – our excellence and magic is esteemed, not diminished.

“The sunsets there are the most beautiful”, a young Eric is told by his father, in a fairy-tale-like fashion, about Wakanda, the fictional East African country in which Black Panther is predominantly set. Rachel Morrison’s cinematography delivers this truth. From the immense waterfalls and plains, to the technological advancement present in all the architecture, the landscape positively glitters.

Aside from the landscape, the human vision of black beauty also dominates the screen. The makeup of Lupita N’yongo, Danai Gurira and Letitia Wrights keeps us in awe throughout the film, and reflects the traditions unique to black women.

This celebration of both diasporic and African femme beauty culture dismantles the image of attractiveness which has previously dominated popular Western discourse.

While the excellence of black beauty has always existed, it is now with Black Panther that it is recognised in the mainstream.

However, it isn’t simply in their beauty that the women of Wakanda captivate us. Throughout the film, the men surrounding N’yongo and Gurira’s characters, presented with examples of their strength and intelligence, are left speechless, or physically kneel before them.

Okoye is the greatest warrior in Wakanda, Shuri is the mind who developed the most advanced technology in the world, and Nakia is a humanitarian who works tirelessly for those oppressed around the world.

The film is an ode to black women, and in it Afro-Caribbean communities will recognise the women in their own lives.

Black Panther is representative of a greater tradition of afro-futurism, which until now, has been hidden in the margins of culture. Whilst it is a milestone for the long-ignored to suddenly be entering the mainstream, it is important to remember the stories of Octavia E. Butler, the paintings of Jean-Michel Basquiat, and the writings of Sun Ra. They are the foundation which Black Panther builds its excellency upon.

In his petition to get Marvel to donate 25 per cent of their profits to black communities, Chaz Gormley writes, “[you] have the ability… to not only go see a film about a fictitious country in Africa with advanced technology, but the opportunity to… make such advancements possible, in real life.”

The excellence of Black Panther is only the beginning of a larger revolution in our culture, not just in terms of the representation it provides, but the potential for real social change it contains.

The Cherry Orchard review – ‘poignant moments underscored by fantastic music’

Cesca Echlin
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The Cherry Orchard review – ‘poignant moments underscored by fantastic music’

Anton Chekhov’s 1903 play The Cherry Orchard centres on an aristocratic landowning family as the matriarch, Mrs Ranvesky, returns from her bohemian life in Paris to the family’s estate in rural Russia. She reunites with a variety of local characters and her two daughters, Anya and Varya. We soon discover, however, that the family is in fact penniless, and that their only way out is through the sale of the estate they hold so dear.

Four Seven Two’s production of The Cherry Orchard at the Keble O’Reilly transports the play from early twentieth century Russia to rural 1920s America. The director Ross Moncrieff emphasises the links between the periods in the programme. Chekhov was writing The Cherry Orchard as Russia drew closer to political upheaval – only one year after the play’s opening did Russia see an attempt at revolution (1905). The parallel of looming disaster transfers well in this production, with the sense of imminent financial turmoil from the Great Depression foregrounded as Mrs Ranevsky (Tara Kilcoyne) hands out ruble notes across the stage nonchalantly.

Crucially, this production is interested in class divides. Mrs Ranevsky and her family represent Russia’s landed aristocracy, which Chekhov depicts as respectable but irrelevant, fixated by sentimental ideas of what they used to be. Lopakhin (Jon Berry), by far the wealthiest character in the play, is the son of a serf and thus representative of new money. Hanna Høibø’s costume excels here. Lopakhin is dressed in an all white suit and pristine shoes that can only be newly bought, a clear reference to Fitzgerald’s Gatsby.

But Chekhov also indulges the audience with a comic subplot concerned with the estate’s workers – the flirtatious Dunyasha (Kayla Kim) and the endlessly clumsy Yepikhodov (Tom Saer). Mrs Ramesky’s arrival brings her cheeky manservant, Yasha (Gavin Fleming) into the mix. The three engage in a seemingly light love triangle, which in actuality reveals the unsatisfying and imprisoning lifestyle of the lower classes when Dunyasha is left heartbroken and deserted by Yasha at the play’s end.

That being said, what Moncrieff brings to the forefront in his production is a society that suffers not only with divisions across classes, but also across generations – the old servant Firs (Lee Simonds) is physically doubled over whilst Anya (Lara Deering) prances around in the arms of Trofimov (Christopher Page), both emblems of youth. Such great division between individuals means that effective communication is a constant difficulty. Firs’ reflections are classed as ‘mutterings’ and Gayev is repeatedly silenced by his nieces.

What we do hear above all is the jazz band, a highlight of the production, led by music director Josh Cottell. The outstanding score means that transitions are smooth and sophisticated, and the audience gains a way of actualising the distinct modernity of 1920s America in musical form. As each instrument in the small band seeks to be heard individually whilst functioning in a larger collective, so do the voices of Chekhov’s characters. Each character appears to speak in a kind of soliloquy despite being in the company of others, slipping off unheard into nostalgic tangents in Mrs Ramesky or Firs’s case, or into intense political ranting in the case of Trofimov.

In terms of performance, I was particularly impressed by Alma Prelec as Varya. The Keble O’Reilly is a big space that requires a commanding stage presence, and Prelec demands the audience’s sympathy whilst simultaneously communicating Varya’s repressive and neurotic nature. Equally, Jon Berry stood out as a dignified and considered Lopakhin, and captured perfectly at the play’s end his character’s remaining imposter syndrome despite gaining the sought after land. Ariel Levine also commanded audience attention through his detailed yet entertaining characterisation of Pishchik.

One aspect of the performance that was somewhat disappointing, however, was the actors’ volume – for a play in which silence is as frequent as dialogue, a difficulty hearing what the actors were saying at times meant that some important words or even lines were lost. Moncrieff and his team’s production is thoroughly ambitious and contains some sophisticated performances. Whilst it is a shame that volume meant certain elements were lost, this production offers many poignant moments, all underscored by great music.

Running Tues 13 – Sat 17 Feb

Grace at formal is ‘gender equality issue’

Libby Cherry
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Grace at formal is ‘gender equality issue’

The Merton College JCR president has raised concerns at a college committee meeting about the majority of students saying grace at Formal Hall being male.

Jules Desai told Cherwell: “It only came about because I was sitting at formal with some friends and no one could remember hearing someone non male read out grace.

“Investigation into the college bylaws revealed a bylaw which dictates the specifics of who reads grace (which isn’t followed at the moment since it is inconvenient).

“After raising with college, they were receptive, are now aware that the situation could be regarded as an equality issue, and are open to the possibility of amending its bylaws should a competent and sensible proposal be submitted.”

Currently the Merton bylaw reads that only “the senior Postmaster or Exhibitioner present or (if there is no Postmaster or Exhibitioner present) one of the Fellows [can read grace]”.

However it is generally accepted that any Postmaster or Exhibitioner can be selected, not necessarily the most qualified.

Female Postmaster at Merton Olivia Williams told Cherwell: “I think this is all about internalized sexism.

“As a female postmaster, I have been asked to do Grace on more than one occasion, but have always said no because I wouldn’t know how to pronounce the Latin, and wouldn’t want to stand up in front of a room of (mostly white male) people with knowledge of the proper pronunciation who would know when I got it wrong.

“Merton as a college is very receptive to issues of Equality, and has in my experience been very quick to address problems students feel are important – for me, this issue is more reflective of the fact that today, white males from private school backgrounds are far more likely to have learnt Latin at school.

“I believe that college are going to run a drop in session for all those eligible to read grace so that all those that want to are able to, and I think this is the best solution.

A second year classics student from Merton said: “I have heard women saying grace fairly often but it still certainly isn’t an equal balance.

“It’s probably more a product of how the reader is chosen by the hall staff (they tend to approach people that they know have read before) than it is discrimination.

“Added to that the idea of reading out loud in Latin in front of the whole hall if you’re not confident; as a result the group of people who have read aloud in hall is fairly small in number.

“It doesn’t seem to be an issue that would be hard to solve in that staff could be directed to have a balance of male and female readers.”

Union members disciplined after Coulter protest

Greg Ritchie
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Union members disciplined after Coulter protest

A group of students will face an Oxford Union disciplinary committee this weekend, following a protest during Ann Coulter’s speech on Monday evening.

The five students briefly chanted inside the chamber, before marching out in protest at the Union’s decision to give Coulter a platform.

They also allege that Union security “forcibly confiscated our membership cards and physically manhandled the one person of colour among us.”

The protesters have now been called in front of a disciplinary committee, reportedly for actions deemed to “distress, offend or intimidate other members”.

Union president Laali Vadlamani said it would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing disciplinary matter.

Prior to the start of Coulter’s talk, a small group of activists gathered outside the Union’s Frewin Court gate. They handed out leaflets, seen by Cherwell, which describe Coulter as a “white supremacist”.

Cherwell understands that the leaflets were produced by the revolutionary socialist group, rs21, though most of the protesters on the ground were not themselves members.

The leaflet also alleges she has “advocated for genocidal war against Muslims”, quoting her as saying “we should invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity.”

It goes on to note how Coulter has described taking away women’s right to vote as a “personal fantasy”, as well as saying that survivors of sexual violence are “girls trying to
get attention”.

The protest then extended into the chamber. After Coulter made a remark that she was devoted to the Trump campaign “as soon as he made that Mexican rapist speech”, around five students stood up and began chanting “no Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA.”

They then left as security officials entered, shouting as they went.

The protesters told Cherwell: “The point of our action was to show opposition because this ideologue should not have been legitimised by dignifying her with a platform.

“We were forced to leave by security who forcibly confi scated our membership cards and physically manhandled the one person of colour among us.

“We hope that in future Union members will voice their dissent tooppose hosting speakers like this, and the Union will not offer a platform to white supremacists, fascists and hate speakers as a way to try to maintain relevance.”

“As long as this institution continues to platform explicit advocates of racially motivated genocide, to platform proud Islamophobes or dabblers in anti-Semitism, to platform rape apologists, or those sympathetic to white supremacy, we will not stand silent.”

Students were divided as to whether the protest was the most effective way to respond to Coulter.

Fraser Maclean, a history and politics student at Univ, told Cherwell: “We saw two responses to vicious social conservatism that night. One was a short, childish protest; the
other was a series of smart questions that attacked Coulter’s views.

“It was quite clear that the latter was more effective, as shown by the largest rounds of applause of the night being in support of questions, both from the president and from audience members, which challenged Coulter’s prejudices and claims firmly but respectfully.”

However, Jacob Armstrong, a third year Wadhamite, told Cherwell: “To me, the Oxford Union has always been an exclusive institution of self-important people who are more interested in free speech as an abstract principle than in lived reality.

“Ann Coulter has consistently supported the Trump administration’s policies which rob individuals in the US and across the world of their full capacity to participate in public debate, and does not engage with their testimony.

“The protestors have every right to challenge the intellectual platform Ann Coulter was placed on, and it is an indictment of the Union that this right is being challenged.”

Harry Samuels, the Union’s returning officer, told Cherwell that the president, Laali Vadlamani, would not comment on an ongoing investigation.

He said: “The Union’s disciplinary procedures, as detailed in Rule 71 of the Society’s regulations, have been formally engaged, and as a result, it would be inappropriate for the Society to offer comment on this matter at this time.

“This is standard procedure, in order to allow a fair hearing for those against whom complaints have been made. The Union’s Rules are available online for any member who wishes to read them.”

The hearing primarily concerns alleged breaches of Rule 71(a)(i)(30) – which prohibits “conduct intended to disrupt debates or other meetings of the society”.

Five members are under investigation, and the hearing will take place on Saturday.

Young Tories face fresh condemnation after allegations

Oscar Baker and Greg Ritchie
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Young Tories face fresh condemnation after allegations

The Oxford University Conservative Association (OUCA) has faced intensifed criticism, after the latest accusations of drunk and disorderly behaviour.

Jacob Rees-Mogg MP, the Honorary President of the Association, has called for an investigation, telling Cherwell: “there is no excuse for this type of disgraceful behaviour”.

Meanwhile, St. Giles’ Church, the venue for OUCA’s weekly Port and Policy event, has confirmed to Cherwell that it is investigating claims made about conduct on its premises.

OUCA has confirmed that any information about potential incidents of sexual harassment has been passed to Oxford University authorities.

Two members have left the Association after complaints about their conduct at a 3rd week Port and Policy event.

One student was suspended by the society’s disciplinary committee after complaints of excessive drunkenness and disorderly conduct.

Another student resigned his membership after the same complaint. A complaint of sexual harassment was also raised against the student by a purported witness, but the disciplinary committee received no evidence to corroborate this claim.

According to an OUCA statement, both women in question submitted testimony “unequivocally denying” the complaint at a council meeting.

One of the women alleged to have been assaulted told an assembled OUCA meeting on Thursday night that the claims were “entirely untrue”, and that she was not consulted before the complaint was submitted.

 

On hearing of the continued reports of harassment and sexism, Jacob Rees-Mogg told Cherwell: “I would expect both the University and the Conservative party to investigate this and to apply appropriate sanctions to any university or Conservative party members who may have brought the Oxford University Conservative Association into disrepute.”

Rees-Mogg, current frontrunner for the Conservative party leadership, is Honorary President of OUCA. His nephew William Rees-Mogg is the ex-president of the Association.

The latest developments follow a statement regarding the society’s problem with sexual assault allegations, revealed by Cherwell last week.

At a council meeting two weeks ago, eleven current and former OUCA officeholders highlighted “a problem with sexism” in the society, claiming that multiple allegations of groping and harassment were “not being dealt with”.

The statement cited “numerous reports” that several attendees at 3rd week Port and Policy “groped, touched, kissed (or attempted to), or otherwise harassed female guests”. It also alleged that this has been a recurring issue.

However, when these issues were raised to other senior officers, it is alleged they were “dismissed due to fears of bad PR.”

The signatories claimed: “that senior members of the association have been ignoring sexism and misogyny, not because they are themselves sexist, but because they are worried about the public image of themselves and the association.”

In a statement, OUCA President Timothy Doyle told Cherwell: “It was reported that attendees [at third week Port and Policy] had been unacceptably drunk, had subjected other attendees to verbal abuse, and most seriously that incidents of sexual harassment took place.“

All these claims, especially the last, are deeply concerning, and describe behaviour fundamentally incompatible with the Association’s aims and values.

“All allegations of misconduct are taken very seriously by the Association. No allegation received has been or will be ignored.”

“I am determined that the Association be as welcoming an environment as possible.”

Referring specifically to the 3rd week Port and Policy event, he noted: “A particular group of individuals is widely reported to have behaved in an offensive manner at the event and afterwards.

“These individuals have not been regular attendees of Association events, and are not in any way representative of our Membership.

“They are no longer members and will not be permitted to attend our events as guests.”

A constitutional amendment to allow a vote of no-confdence in the president was also presented to the OUCA Council meeting last night.

The motion seeks to amend the constitution so a vote of no confidence can be brought against any president, though Cherwell understands those pushing for the reform are doing so with the intention of ousting Doyle.

Of this move, Doyle said: “I look forward to measured and constructive discussion in the proper manner of how to continue improving the Association’s procedures.”

Oxford SU’s VP for Women, Katy Haigh, joined those who have condemned the Association, telling Cherwell she was “extremely saddened” by sexual harassment allegations.

Haigh told Cherwell: “We want all students to treat people with dignity and respect at all times, any behaviour that does not meet those standards is unacceptable.”

A spokesperson for Oxford University told Cherwell: “University disciplinary processes are entirely confidential and we do not confrm or deny whether specific allegations are being investigated.

“However, we do not tolerate sexual harassment and will always investigate when a student brings forward a complaint of harassment at the University.

“We also offer comprehensive welfare support to students who complain of being harassed and can give advice on how to make a complaint.

“We can also advise student clubs and societies on their own disciplinary codes, which they should apply to ensure they conduct events in accordance with University’s Policies and Procedures on harassment.”

The Conservative party did not reply to multiple requests for comment.

‘Entitled’ Trinity students deaned for halfway hall raucousness

Greg Ritchie
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‘Entitled’ Trinity students deaned for halfway hall raucousness

Trinity second years have been threatened with a collective fine, after college staff were “appalled” by their behaviour at halfway hall.

It is understood that various students smashed glasses and were generally rowdy, to the extent that catering staff expressed their discomfort.

It follows similar reports of debauchery at Keble’s halfway hall event. Extreme drunkenness reportedly resulted in disorderly behaviour, with some students removing items of clothing.

In an email sent to Trinity students and seen by Cherwell, the college dean, James McDougall, detailed his disgust at the actions of second years.

He told students: “However entitled you may feel about yourselves, there is absolutely no excuse for this behaviour.”

McDougall went on to request everyone who was at the dinner attend a meeting with the college president, Dame Hilary Boulding, and himself later that week.

He warned students that he expected to “impose a fine collectively on everyone who was there, in addition to costs for breakages and a reparatory bonus to the staff who were on duty.”

However, no fine was imposed at this meeting. It is unclear whether a fine will now be issued, or what the sum may be.

The president and dean of Trinity did not respond to a request for comment.

This is not the first time the Trinity second year group has made the headlines for rowdiness.

In 2016, when they were freshers, the cohort were asked to make a charitable donation of ten pounds to account for their “disgraceful behaviour” at their matriculation ceremony.

In an email addressed to all undergraduate freshers, the dean at the time, Professor Jonathan Mallinson, condemned the actions of the freshers, whom he claimed behaved in a “noisy and undignified manner”, which he also described as “neither appropriate, clever nor funny”.

Freshers reportedly sang ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘Wonderwall’ and chanted “what do we think of Merton?” at other colleges’ students inside the Sheldonian. One Trinity first-year told Cherwell that “this was interspersed with Mexican waves and lots of stamping”.

‘Artivism’ review – avoidance and awkward silence

Emma Ball
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‘Artivism’ review – avoidance and awkward silence

Anticipating an evening of lively debate and discussion on a range of topical issues alongside fishing for much-needed facts for my art and politics essay, I made my way to Wadham for the Isis’s ‘Artivism: Can Art Revolutionise?’ panel discussion. Undeterred by the absence of one of the promised speakers, Vivian Oparah, the artistic community of Oxford had a good turnout for this much-anticipated discussion. The interest no doubt came from the calibre of the guests, most notably James Graham whose play Ink is currently running in the West End and also Christopher Beanland who is a journalist and author specialising in Brutalist architecture.

In the first section of the event where discussion was limited to the panel themselves, the hosts Leela Jadhav and Ha Jar raised some excellent questions and areas for debate. Whilst always trying to appear as though they were in agreement, both James and Christopher seemed to focus on different aspects of our interaction with art. For Beanland, the human element and personal response seemed to be his greatest consideration, however Graham was very keen to expand on ideas of a communal response and the power of theatre as a political body in addition to the emotional responses triggered in the individual. Interesting points were raised by them both although it became almost immediately clear that Graham was more flexible in adapting to the particular line of questioning than Beanland. Beanland seemed cautious in not saying anything too provocative leading to vaguer answers; preferring to talk about the importance of art in our everyday lives rather than its power as a force for change.

The question and answer section of the event, which made up the second half, provided a great opportunity to watch the speakers respond to completely unforeseen questioning. Both Graham and Beanland attempted to answer the questions from the audience to the best of their ability. However, there were moments of brain-wracking silence reminiscent of a tutorial where both you and your partner have forgotten to do the reading. Questions such as the inequality in art on the matter of race in the media and the political responsibility of artists certainly placed both of the guests on the hot seat. Beanland largely bypassed this via evasion whilst Graham made brave attempts to answer, when in doubt bringing the conversation back to the artistic development of Hull, his university town as well as the British city of culture.

A particularly engaging moment was when an audience member who had seen Graham’s play, Ink, in the West End shared her own emotional reaction to the drama. The speaker expressed her shock at finding herself liking Rupert Murdoch at a certain point in the play, and asking him whether such an emotional journey had been his intention. It must have been a great relief to her when he said yes.

Overall, it was a very well organised and polite panel discussion which opened up many areas for thought and debate, even if they were not all thoroughly explored. Interesting and thought provoking, but not revolutionary.

50 Shades Freed confines and confuses its viewers

Florence Ward
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50 Shades Freed confines and confuses its viewers

“Be careful not to struggle, Ana,” Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) warns his newlywed (Dakota Johnson) of his handcuffs in the first sex scene of Fifty Shades Freed, “they bite back”. Aside from being the first of many desperately unsexy love-making episodes, his warning provides a useful way of identifying the overriding problem with the film: ironically, unlike the handcuffs, it simply doesn’t bite back.

There isn’t much for the protagonists to overcome in this final chapter of the Fifty Shades trilogy, as they spend most of their time in expensive cars, boats and a private jet. Christian and Ana’s lavish wedding and honeymoon are condensed into one montage, making the first five minutes feel more like an advert for Trivago than an actual film.

This is not to say that Niall Leonard (screenwriter and, incidentally, husband of E. L. James, the scribe behind the source novels) failed to throw any obstacles into the paths of Mr. and Mrs. Grey. In fact, the opposite is true: over the course of two hours, he throws almost every conceivable misfortunate at the characters, many of which would provide the entire storyline of any other film. These include a break-in to Mr. Grey’s office, arson, a kidnap, a suggested affair, another kidnap (this time with a ransom), a fight, and a baby – yet somehow, none of it means a damn thing.

Each of these conflicts is dispensed with so rapidly, it’s resolved before the audience has a chance to work out what its purpose in the story was. When Ana’s best friend confides about her fiancé’s suspected in delity, Christian’s response to his brother’s alleged affair is that “it’s none of our business”. The plot-line is abruptly dropped, as if it isn’t the audience’s business either. Considering I paid ten pounds to watch a story play out, actively shutting down plot threads seems to miss the point of making a film at all.

Even Ana’s feminist struggle against her over-controlling (and, frankly, abusive) husband, tantalisingly introduced at the start of the film, is over disappointingly quickly. Christian storms into her office after discovering she hasn’t updated her work email address to reflect her new married surname, and following an argument that lasts about two lines, she agrees to change it. Once again, she fails to bite back.

Fifty Shades Freed is little more than a string of montages of product placement and brief sex scenes that are more ridiculous than kinky (including a particularly entertaining scene of Ana and Christian painting each other in Ben and Jerry’s). The acting is flat (does Dornan only have one facial expression?) and the ending is bizarre – I can only assume that the shoe-horned pregnancy story-line was designed to please James’ readership of middle-aged mothers.

There are not fifty shades to this film. There is only one: boring.

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