Features
-
Zermatt
As he gazed across that milky vista of saw-toothed peaks and formidable massifs, Edward Whymper must have felt unstoppable. It had been four years since he first laid eyes on that spectacular mountain, and now, perched upon its precarious summit,… Continue reading
-
Sylvia Plath: A comparative analysis of ‘Ariel’ and ‘Sheep in Fog’
Read ‘Ariel’ here and ‘Sheep in Fog’ here It begins how we all begin: “Stasis in darkness”, the amniotic void. But as in the rush of childbirth, stillness is displaced with violent immediacy. We are delivered roaring into being, stasis… Continue reading
-
The Worst Person in the World
(This article contains spoilers) How do we determine our priorities in life? Is purpose granted to us, or are we responsible for its creation? The angst that accompanies questions of personal meaning can leave us feeling particularly isolated. With the… Continue reading
-
Farrah Abraham – My Teenage Dream Ended
In the decade since its release, former Teen Mom star Farrah Abraham’s first and only album My Teenage Dream Ended has grown from a seemingly laughable cash-grab to a respected curioso in the landscape of contemporary pop. Labelled a precursor… Continue reading
-
Israel’s Bombardment of the Gaza Strip Does Not Constitute Self-Defence
“Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of collective or individual self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to maintain international peace… Continue reading
-
A Coup Against Football
Seeing last week’s defiant response to the now abandoned proposals for a European Super League in football left me feeling a curious mixture of encouragement and sadness. Make no mistake, the massive mobilisations were a win for football fans everywhere.… Continue reading
-
Learning To Adapt
If you are someone who wishes they could spend more time creating instead of being perpetually stuck in a state of block, then Spike Jonze’s 2002 film Adaptation is essential viewing. This metafilm follows real-life screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (played by… Continue reading
-
Sufjan Stevens: Where Has My America Gone?
During the early years of the twenty-first century, commentators on American cultural life had begun to notice a certain social wide attitudinal shift. In the latter decades of the second millennium, a smirking, cynical stance had come to infect everything… Continue reading
-
Encounters: Pop by Gas
Inspired by the writings of Elizabeth Smart. Above, nothing but blue, stretching through the brief sweep of my closed-in vision. One faint wisp of white drifts into the frame. Below, green leaves soaked in light quiver on the wind’s faint… Continue reading
-
Does Massive Attack’s Eutopia Constitute a New Form for Political Music?
The notion that music can be used as a medium for expressing political or socially engaged ideas is hardly new. Throughout the twentieth century disparate genres were used as vessels for the spread and popularisation of radical ideas, from the… Continue reading
-
Politics of Language. Languages of Politics.
At the start of last week’s Premier League fixture between Manchester City and Burnley, as both sets of players finished taking the knee in support of Black Lives Matter, a plane flew over the Etihad Stadium pulling a banner that… Continue reading
-
Division and Reconciliation in Darren McGarvey’s Poverty Safari
Back in the early 1980s, my Dad, still a schoolboy, was taken on a school trip to Glasgow. The trip was part of his Higher Modern Studies programme, an opportunity to see first-hand the redevelopment projects taking place in the… Continue reading
Dead Academic 