Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
Image description: Sickert’s 5th version of ‘Ennui’ By venturing up the stairs, through the Italian renaissance, and up the stairs once more, before a quick left turn, you will find, between two Brightons, a scene of pervasive beige. A brown man lounging in the foreground while his wife discontentedly leans against a dreary cabinet: a […]
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The premise of the novel is boring: it’s a classic coming of age novel where two teenagers, Connor and Marianne, struggle to find themselves and their place in the world in the transition years from high school to university to adult life. It relates a series of minor ups and downs, and the ways that […]
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I won’t lie, when I first saw the running time for Sübverse I was skeptical. A sketch that can maintain audience interest for over 90 minutes is an impressive feat even for the most seasoned of comedians. And yet, it quickly became apparent that my fears were misplaced. Sübverse was consistently entertaining and hilarious, and […]
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The majority of the people who know me are aware that I love Scream. As far as I’m concerned, it’s one of the best horror films ever made. It manages to tackle meta-humour, whilst still creating compelling characters and a creepy atmosphere. For that alone it occupies a special place in my heart. However, my […]
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My name is Anushka Joshi and I am from Ahmedabad, India, a city where there was a pogrom in 2002 that led to the deaths of nearly two thousand people ((India: A Decade On, Gujarat Justice Incomplete." Human Rights Watch. April 17, 2015). The legacy of this is pervasive today: housing and education is de […]
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What is a poet? With the growth of social media platforms, the world of poetry has seen an increasing rise in amateur interest: following the increasing success of ‘populist’ poetry (yes, that means you, Rupi Kaur…), it seems that just about everyone has penned a stereotypically abstract musing on self-worth or a failed teen relationship. […]
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What is the relationship between modern films and climate change? Ask most people this question and they’ll say that there’s little overlap. Too few films have tackled the issue and cinema in general is often seen as a means of escape, a place to take a break from the real world. Others acknowledge that cinema […]
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During my first year of university, I noticed a curious trend appear among several students: film cameras had become an accessory to anything interesting occurring in uni life, anything from cheap disposables to the vintage professionals. The accessibility of mobile phones should make film cameras seem clumsy and expensive, and yet here they are at […]
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It has been more than 50 years since the publication of S.E. Hinton’s first novel ‘The Outsiders’. Set in 1960s Oklahoma, ‘The Outsiders’ is a moving coming-of-age story surrounding the gang rivalry between lower-class ‘Greasers’ and upper-class ‘Socials’. Given the big societal changes that have happened since then and how dated, for example, the social […]
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Image description: a netsuke cat I picked up this book expecting to learn a lot about netsuke, the 264 tiny Japanese sculptures that ceramicist Edmund De Waal inherited from his beloved uncle Ignace, known fondly as Iggie. Netsuke are little ornaments, usually ivory or wood, that were worn from the belt as part of traditional […]
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Brad Pitt is having a bit of a moment in 2019. Following on from his star turn in one of the other biggest films of the year, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, he now carries the much-hyped Ad Astra on his hunky shoulders. Both performances are studies in restraint, portraying capable yet closed-off professional […]
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I was curious to see what Simon Bird (of Inbetweeners fame) would make of his directorial debut. I expected a comedy, but perhaps not one as touching as this. Set in an “everytown” somewhere in the Midlands, the film’s plot is simple. Daniel lives with his divorced mother in an English suburb and can’t wait […]
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From Dracula (1958) to The Devil Rides Out (1968), in their 82 year history, Hammer Films Productions have produced some of the most iconic British horror films released in the 20th century. The Man Who Could Cheat Death isn’t one of those films. One of the lesser known entries of the production company’s output, it’s […]
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Image description: the Salon Ovale de la Princesse in the Musée des Archives Nationales in Paris “Je n’aime pas trop les musées” —”I don’t like museums very much”—is how Paul Valéry begins ‘Le Problème des Musées’, his critique of museum culture published in 1923. In the paragraphs that follow, Valéry, a modernist French poet, justifies […]
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The National Gallery first allowed visitors to take photographs of its paintings in 2014, basically because they realised that the rise of smartphone use meant it was just too difficult to prohibit. Many art lovers vocalised their disappointment, claiming that letting photography into the sacred gallery space was a rude violation of quiet looking. Photography, […]
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A pervasive perception of medieval literature is that it is simplistic – in plot, character types, and morality. The themes of medieval writing are, indeed, simpler than modern writing, as a result of the state of post-1800 (modern) literature. Much of it has descended into pretentiously executed existentialism (Pig Tales, Marie Darrieussecq) and lazy dystopian […]
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Image description: One of Athirty4’s plaster light switches Over the past few weeks, the appearance of household light switches, placed surreptitiously around the city, has prompted discussion amongst students; plastered on lamp posts, street signs and post boxes, while the switches have generated amusement on account of their quirkiness, the question remains as to their […]
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A well timed family holiday to Toronto meant I was fortunate enough to attend the 44th Toronto International Film Festival. It’s interesting to first note that every film began with a thanks to the indigenous tribes that owned the land where the theatre stood. This is was a welcome recognition of First Nation peoples, one […]
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“It’s true what they say. Rich people really are different.” This is the message of Ready or Not, the second film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett who’s previous credits include the horror anthology V/H/S (2012). Samara Weavings stars as Grace, a young woman marrying into the uber-wealthy “Le Domas” family. Instead of being […]
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