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Image Description: Ronnie Wood in 1988 in Malmö sat at a table at a vernissage of his art at Hotel Cramer. Art and music, out of all creative forms, seem the most inextricably linked. Something about the arresting qualities of the two strikes the spectator instantaneously. They seem to have a marmite quality detectable that […]
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Image Description: A 3D printed skull, in side profile, with interior and exterior anatomical features showing. Last year, the Arts Council, a government organisation tasked with promoting and developing arts and culture across England, published its draft document entitled ‘Shaping the next ten years.’ This document, to be fully published later this year, stated that […]
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Love Actually is my favourite Christmas film. When Santa’s sack of vac scheme deadlines pushes me to the edge, I like to kick back and relax to some wholesome content. This is my escapism of choice. Love Actually is not only touching and profound but offers a vision of a better Britain. Fans of ‘multikulti’ […]
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Tom Hooper’s cinematic production of Cats has been a complete failure in the eyes of critics, being so scathingly criticised that there has been talk of a remake, an attempt at redeeming at least an ounce of dignity for T.S. Eliot’s book of poems. While I recognise and agree with many points of criticism, I cannot […]
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Having moved to new York from Indiana, Charlie Barber (Adam Driver) – in his now ex-wife’s words – has become “more New Yorker than any New Yorker”. He is a recently established theatre director. Nicole (Scarlett Johansson), born and bred in Los Angeles, became locally famous for a film about college life and was engaged […]
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As every advert, film, and song reminds us: Christmas is a magical time, and there is so much to do (and so much to buy). You have decorations, music, family reunions and traditions, plenty of food, and of course, presents! Whether you’re celebrating it as a Christian holiday or not, if you’re going to spend this winter in […]
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Image description: Rene Magritte’s ‘Time Transfixed’, 1938 It was not by wandering the halls of a museum, nor by studying him in any art project, that I discovered Rene Magritte. Instead, it was through the superabundant parodies of his work, most notably based on ‘The Son of Man’. One simply has to search “son of man parody” […]
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Picking your favourite film is a very difficult task indeed. When getting to know somebody, presenting an elaborate list of every film you’ve ever considered interesting or meaningful isn’t the best way for them to understand you better. So, if I had to pick a favourite film, it just might be Handsome Devil. Released in […]
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Image description: Edward Gorey’s cover design Amis’ debut novel stars Jim, a bitter little man who is lost in life. Jim feels out of place of the profession that he has chosen for himself, which is namely academia. As a professional historian who hates history, Jim ultimately feels trapped by everything and everyone around him. […]
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Image description: books and a festive lantern Although we’re a little into the Christmas vacation already, there’s still a while to go before we have to pack our bags and head back to Oxford. The Christmas period is one of seasonal comforts and festive excitement; however, it can also be a time of boredom – […]
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Silent films have always intimidated me. At first glance they seem outdated and inaccessible, only useful for studying a bygone era of cinema. Most people who aren’t film critics or academics struggle with the idea of watching a film which lacks one of the key elements of any modern production. For my part, I assumed […]
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Hemingway published ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ in 1952, and it was to be his last major work. It is easy to see the parallels between the old man in the novel, called Santiago, and Hemingway. Santiago suffers from bad luck in his old age despite being a great fisher in his youth. Hemingway […]
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Image Description: ‘The Reader’ by Renoir When November is at its drizzliest, literature can provide some much needed escapism. A good story can block out the harshest of winds or the bleakest of skies, and provide us with a window into sunnier climes. What follows are two of my favourite pieces of literature which I […]
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Image description: ‘Erosion’: an artwork produced by AI As an anthropology student, I spend a lot of my time studying humanity in general. One of the key, and perhaps most contentious debates within the discipline is the question of what makes us human. A landmark moment in our evolutionary history, and one aspect that truly […]
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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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Image description: Eike Schmidt posing beside a print of ‘Vase of Flowers’ An interesting ‘case study’ is provided by a painting which recently garnered significant worldwide attention: in mid-2019, 75 years after having been stolen by the Nazis during the Second World War, Italian and German officials co-operatively arranged for the return of Dutch painter […]
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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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If I’d heard the word “Paris” before July this year, I’d have thought of the Eiffel Tower, croissants, nice coffee, cultured, attractive people, and enough cheese, bread and wine to make any Tesco aisle look poorly and scarcely stocked. Or maybe world-renowned art galleries with original masterpieces dating back centuries. Or King Louis XIV’s monumental […]
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