WINTER EDITION
ART“ & CULTURE
passing between us. I was never able to confirm this, however, because I heard the tread of approaching clawsteps and surmised that Sir Angus had reloaded and was approaching respite from the absolute crushing certainty that we’re my position. all going to die and there’s nothing we can do to stop I chose this section mainly because the ‘nham it? joke is one of my favourite in the novel. It’s so Maybe all three if I’m really lucky? incredibly silly.
Keele University’s Student Magazine
Holly Williams Is there anything you can tell us about which may not have made it into the final edit for Confessions of a Gentleman Arachnid? Perhaps a character trait or history which you considered, but did not include? I originally included a character called Dorris who was supposed to be the moral centre of the little group of characters that the book focuses on. I just didn’t have enough to do with her, though. I had nice character arcs for everyone else in the book but not Dorris. I kept forgetting to include her in scenes and so I just ended up cutting her. This left me with an interesting problem as it left me with three major male characters and only one major female character. This led to me gender switching one of the other characters as I really hate it when there’s only one female character in books (and media in general). It’s lazy; it excludes people and it makes character interactions less interesting. Can you tell us about any future projects you may be working on?
J.D. Weaver Interview:
Campus News: Hawthorns to be demolished
p. 4
“disability is not a genre of music” p. 3
What would you like readers to take away from the novel?
Bad Neighbours:
A good time? Some laughs? A few moments of
concerning messy student kitchens
www.co courseo li e.co
@Co courseO li e
p. 7 Image credit: www.tep.uk.com
I’m currently a third of the way through the first draft of the follow up to Confessions of a Gentleman Arachnid. It’s called Three Arachnids in a Warship and features several of the same characters as the first book, although it doesn’t directly continue the plot. I’m also pondering writing a young adult novel, but I’ve only got a rough plan for that one.
Star Writer:
Hello!
Rachael Dyer
Well, exams are over and we’re now halfway through the second semester. It’s been a pretty rough ride here at Concourse, but as always, we’ve had some fantastic content submitted. Unfortunately, our website is currently experiencing technical difficulties, so we are unable to publish any articles digitally. Instead, we’ve made this edition a little bigger to accommodate all the wonderful articles you’ve sent in over the past month or so. I hope you enjoy reading this edition, I certainly enjoyed editing it. It’s not too late in the year to get involved, whether that be by writing articles, designing issues or being part of the committee. If you’d like to join Concourse, get in touch: editor@concourseonline.com Carrie Hodgkins
Spring Edition Content Deadline: Monday 25th April
Do you like fantasy and sci-fi novels? What about those genres with a sense of humour? Have you heard of Michael Coolwood?
Spring Edition Release Date: Monday 16th May
Contents Bad Neighbours Simon Gater Campus News: Barnes and Hawthorns Development Update Carrie Hodgkins World Student Environmental Network Rebecca Laycock Elections are Coming! Concourse Editorial Team J.D. Weaver: “disability is not a genre of music.” Sadhana Pillai RefMe #My Solution: a innovative social media campaign Concourse Editorial Team Deadpool (2016): “funny, violent and breaking all kinds of walls Oliver Hackett-Watson
3 4
5 7 9
10
12
Added on Amazon Prime: A Girl Walks Alone at Night Rachael Dyer The Life Dramatic with Leonie Slater Jay Rowe Just Kids Holly Williams The Pandora Gift Box Company Concourse Editorial Team The Dream Megan Eve Brooks Beating the Dreaded Block Rachel Campbell A Poem Sara Memarpour An Interview with Michael Coolwood Holly Williams
Image credit: Michael Coolwood
Want the chance of being our next Star Writer? Then submit your articles to the Editor-in-Chief or any of our Sub-editors. Keep your eyes peeled for updates at the beginning of the New Year.
www.co courseo li e.co
ART“ & CULTURE
Letter from the Editor
13
14 15 16 17 18 18 19
Michael Coolwood author of The Unexpected Death of a Soldier and recent The Death of a Gentlemen Arachnid was kind enough to answer some questions about the genre, his latest work, and what we can expect from him in the future. The author describes himself as a life-long Londoner who was raised on a literary diet of Terry Pratchett, P.G. Wodehouse, and Douglas Adams. He read English Literature and Drama at university and now writes, alongside running a Youtube channel. What is it about the science fiction genre that fascinates you? What it is able to offer that perhaps other genres are not? My interest in Science Fiction is a quirk of my reading habits. I graduated in 2006 with a 2:1 in English and Drama and was, as a result, pretty fed up with reading as a concept. I was more interested in playing computer games. Everything about reading was either too
A I ter ie ith Mi hael Cool ood irritating (having to go to book shops to find new books) or too linked to the degree I wanted to move on from. This carried on until 2010 when my parents bought me a Kindle for my birthday. Then, everything changed. Suddenly, I had a hundred novels in my jacket pocket. I could read anything. In the first two weeks of having a kindle I read the following: The Player of Games by Iain M Banks, The Half Made World by Felix Gilman and The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. I had fallen back in love with reading. There were so many worlds I had to discover! The problem is, once you’ve rediscovered your love of reading thanks to dystopias and utopias, thanks to novels about sentient trains and galaxy spanning games… it’s really hard to go back to reading about a detective living in Scunthorpe solving the mystery of a serial trespasser. I find novels set in the here/now to be just a little too bland when I could be reading a novel that seeks to understand what makes us human whilst also including space ships and giant hyper intelligent lobsters. Do you have a favourite passage or quote from the novel? Absolutely! Here’s a short section from early in the third chapter: Four shots followed the first one. Pigstick had apparently frozen, so I yanked on one of her legs and she came crashing down next to me. She was shaking. “Milli-” she gasped, when there was a gap between shots. “I’m having ‘nham flashbacks.” She and I had fought in the battle of Cheltenham. We didn’t talk about it much. I motioned to my upper lip and silently invited her to drink in how stiff it was. She resumed her normal calm demeanour within a few moments, and I dare say there was a great deal of unspoken camaraderie @Co courseO li e
Beai g the Dreaded Blo k It happens to us all; we get abandoned by the Muses and are left to muster the remnants of vague ideas into a completed piece of work. You sit there, notebook and pen or computer screen, depending on your preference, try again, hit the backspace heavier, close Word and open Facebook in frustration. Some of you will get out of the black abyss of a blank mind easier than others. If you’re anything like me, you probably sit on Reddit all day, telling yourself that no one would have wanted to read the story anyway. Here are some things I’ve found to help me get out of the slump:
Go for a walk Ditch your music and phone and just experience the great outdoors. If on campus, have an explore of Keele woods, find new ways to walk home. If you live off campus or want to leave the Keele bubble, go up to Apedale Country park, out passed Knutton.
Try Expressive Writing Rather than attempting that difficult ending or planning that novel, write what you’re feeling. Angry? Sad? Still obsessed with that person that sat beside you on the bus 5 years ago? Write it.
can’t write the story but don’t want to move away from it. Even if you never use these scenes or the information you learn. So, if you have a pirate assassin (or whatever your main character is) in a fictional world, imagine what they would do if they were in our world. Write your character interacting with someone where they say nothing but the subtext reveals their relationship e.g. their parent, their mentor, their hero or their crush.
Read Perhaps the most important thing to do when you’re stuck for what to write. Be inspired by others, learn how to write from those that have already done it. As Stephen King says “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” As a side note, I very much recommend you read his book ‘On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft’ Writing can be tiring; it’s exhausting holding all this information about different worlds and different people in your head. It can be hard to get it all out but remember, everyone feels like this at some point. Even the greats will need to take a break from the screen to relax.
Got some writer’s block cures that you find particularly helpful? Let us know.
A Poe And as I turned my head To look at her With her short eyelashes And messy hair
Break your habits In order to be a professional writer, we need fixed schedules. Otherwise we won’t write, or we will forget to do everything else we need to do. But sometimes these routines get a bit stale and that is when you need to try something new. Usually write in the evening after you’ve done all your coursework? Why not try getting up earlier and writing then? Write at home where no one can see you? Go out to your local café or pub. But don’t let yourself become too distracted by other people, you have a novel to write!
Write your characters in new scenarios I find this good for getting to know your characters but it’s a task you can do when you www.co courseo li e.co
Image credit: The Flat Kitchen/ Alex Gilbert (CC: BY2.0)
CREATIVE WRITING
With tears in her eyes She said she doesn't care She said she never cared
And yet, she's so beautiful So unfairly And unconventionally Oh, so beautiful
Sara Memarpour
Bad Neighbours We all know that living in student halls can pig proclaiming that it was a cool picture of me and be grim, but one Keele student is my neighbours. If I had only known that the filth that was my now infamous Hawthorns block was particularly unhappy.
merely the tip of the iceberg, I would have reserved They say that university teaches you a lot about my wit for this year. Oven worshipping was a bit odd yourself. I’d have to agree with that sentiment. For and turning the only sink into a sceptic tank was instance, it’s taught me that I completely despise about mildly inconsiderate, but pales in comparison to this year’s antics. 90% of the general population. This “Public toilets make a Society views the STEM subjects as revelation was clearly worth the £9000 a more appealing dining year price tag. being superior to the paltry humanities in room than this which I partake. Yet a quick perusal of I was all set to go on a long rant kitchen. Every surface my kitchen would reveal that society is as about how lecturers should attempt to make their lectures less monotonous is caked with a layer myopic as a dead badger. A sterling of grime.” example of the sharp intellects of these given the amount of money that students invest in university, but this morning I future world builders include allowing a bottle of received an email informing me that I’m going to be coke to fizz all over the table and the floor and then billed for the incompetence of my neighbours. Great just putting a bit of paper on the spilt drink and jobs guys. Now I have to denounce the whole of leaving it at that. For three days. humanity and make myself look like a sociopath. Are Public toilets make a more appealing dining you happy now? room than this kitchen. Every surface is caked with a It’s not that people are inherently terrible, layer of grime. At least, I think that’s what lies though they seem to be, it’s that they are perfectly beneath the ever regenerating pile of dirty dishes. Putting aside the dire state of the content to live like the basest animals imaginable. During my first year, I tweeted a selfie of myself with a kitchen for a moment, every week I get treated @Co courseO li e
cartons. It may be a niche market, I know, but I really think I have talent there. I can scrawl warnings, leave markers indicating usage and other such artful ways of deterring the thieves that inevitably prowl the hellish landscape of a communal kitchen. #KeeleBecause it’s like living in Lord of the Flies only the weather’s not as good.
blinked instinctively. In that moment the familiar forest took shape. It consisted only of a large stream running
wanted to move, perhaps even just to sit down- I was so used to the dream, so bored of it. Yet I never could. I was rooted to the spot, forced to watch, arms limp by my sides. I waited. The water moved past silently. There
dedicated halls management centre. The
Vice-Chancellor
said: “It’s clearly a very important project for Keele in
has been granted permission to build two new
practical terms, but also a marker of our ambition and
accommodation blocks in Barnes Halls and to
determination to provide a world class university
redevelop Hawthorns Hall.
environment.”
Student numbers are expected to increase in the
The plans for the demolishment of Hawthorns
next few years and new campus accommodation is
has also been approved, after the proposals were
needed to house the new Keele recruits.
rejected numerous times. The University has modified
The new blocks in Barnes Halls will create 453
the proposals to fit the recommendations of the
bedrooms, including facilities for students with
planning committee and also to incorporate feedback
disabilities. The rooms will all be en-suite and the
from local residents and Keele students.
There will also be study spaces , a new laundry and
brushing my cheeks. One fell too close to my eye and I
the same spot as usual, on the edge of the stream bank. I
Simon Gater
After a grueling application process, the University
kitchen/ lounge spaces will be shared by 6-8 students.
Like always the soft pale petals fluttered across my face,
through the centre of the endless trees. I was stood in
Ca pus Ne s: Bar es a d Ha thor s De elop e t Update If you haven’t already heard, the plans to demolish and redevelop Hawthorns Halls has been approved.
CREATIVE WRITING
The Drea
Image credit: Stock Photo
to what sounds like torture in the room above. I know hearing romantic liaisons is to be expected at university but these sounds are either from the kinkiest romantic liaison imaginable or some sort of authorities need to be alerted. Not to mention the five second snippets of loud music to which I’m treated at 2am most days which are punctuated by just enough silence to make me think that I can relax. Something else I’ve learnt at university is that I have a blossoming career as a tattoo artist for milk
Phil
Butters,
Director
of
Estates
and
Development, said: “We are pleased that our planning
Image credit: Keele University
appeal for the redevelopment at Hawthorns has been
on his sobs."I didn't know you would resort to thisCassandra I-" I felt my eyes well up. Hearing anyone cry
Sure enough, the petals arrived. They floated on the
was enough to start me off. I knew it was just a
water like the beginning of a sombre parade. She lay
dream, and told myself countless times. Yet I could
straight on her back, right arm resting gently across her
never control my tears. I opened my eyes and the
stomach, left led out across the water. Her long chestnut
tears blurred my vision, their merged figures
hair flowed gently around her pale face as her body
swaying like a mirage. As the tears fell and allowed
drifted down stream. Her plain, tattered dress, torn in
me to see again, I realised he was looking at me. As
some places, didn't match her sublime image. Eyes
my eyes grew wide, so did his and he stared in what
closed and pale lips slightly parted, she could have been
seemed like shock, his body shaking violently.
mistaken for sleeping. I knew better by now. The trees
Never had he acknowledged my existence. Now
and I watched in silence as she passed. I looked to the
that this was playing out differently, I was terrified.
other side of the bank where his figure would emerge.
I wanted to look away but something kept me
The soft thud of each footstep became louder and
fixated on him. Keeping his eyes locked on mine
resounded through the forest as he ran up to the stream.
his arms slowly fell and her body slipped away,
He froze when he saw her. I braced myself for his shout
returning to the water.
filled with despair.
“To sustain our continued growth and success
I closed my eyes. This part always got to me. I
in a global market, we need to constantly update our
guess that was a good thing; my heart had not hardened
facilities.”
to their plight. I heard the familiar splash of him
Refurbishing Hawthorns is not an option as the
jumping into the stream and wading over to her body. I
repair work needed is too extensive. Building new
heard him crying and knew he was clutching her to his
accommodation is the only feasible option.
chest, face buried in her wet hair. I could do nothing.
Concourse Editorial Team
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I just-" He choked
were no rocks or dips in the terrain to cause any noise.
"Cassandra!"
successful.
me.
I screamed as I felt myself slip away, returning.
Megan Eve Brooks
Your Editor of Poetry & Prose is Ra hel Ca pell. If you’d like to sho ase your poetry or prose pie es, su it to: prose.co course@g ail.co
The first few times I'd tried calling out to him, but it was always in vain. By now I had given up; he couldn't hear
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@Co courseO li e
Gift Box Company Send a mental boost in the post. Gift boxes to make problems with mental health a little more bearable. Products that have been carefully chosen to lift someone’s mood and make them feel special. Treat yourself or others, each box having a different theme; Rest & Relax, Treat & Comfort; Distract Your Mind, or All In One. www.thepandoragiftboxcompany.com
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that couldn't be contained by a single backpack. Can people still do it? This is something that the book does not address. Perhaps this truly is an era and a way of life that has passed. But even if we can’t do it, we’ve got the fairytales of legends like Patti Smith to prove that it happened. More exciting news surrounding the legendary stories told in this memoir is that it was announced in August of last year that Showtime were developing a series based on Just Kids. Whilst I wait (somewhat) patiently for more news about that I will definitely be moving on to Smith’s other work ‘M Train’ and dreaming about a time when you could ditch a waitressing uniform and live off of art, love and a sandwich from Allen Ginsberg instead.
Holly Williams
Image credit: Keele University
also get the sense that so much is being held back; a great deal is not being said. Their love and friendship is not portrayed as showy, it is not held up as an example to us all in its perfection. As it should be, the relationship comes across as messy, greatly flawed and at times, impenetrable and difficult to understand. Incidents in which Robert is secretive and dishonest with Patti caused me to question their solidarity, but the great thing about this was that the author clearly wasn't bothered about such responses. Their relationship is steadfast for them and there seems to be no interest in defending it. With the publication of Just Kids the relationship becomes a little bit ours but remains, as it should be, theirs. Despite its roots in realism, at times I found the book read like a fairytale. It echoed the stories you've heard, the legends and myths of young artists, musicians and singers living on nothing, working for nothing. Hopping on buses to New York with little more than a sizeable amount of faith and optimism
W“EN Glo al “u it to e Hosted at Keele
Your Editor of Literary is Holly Willia s. If you lo e readi g, or re ie i g o els, get i tou h: literary.co course@g ail.co
Image credit: The Pandora Gift Box Company
ART“ & CULTURE
Keele University has won the bid to host the 2016 WSEN Global Summit and there is plentiful opportunity for our students to get involved. The World Student Environmental Network (WSEN) is a unique organisation aiming to support students in creating a more sustainable world. This year’s WSEN Global Summit will take place in the United Kingdom, as a bid written by students from Keele University and the University of Sussex won the highly competitive application process. WSEN’s enthusiastic organising committee, from the Universities of Sussex and Keele, working together in a large team since September, have just spent the weekend working collaboratively at Keele University. The delegates team are in the process of sending out the final wave of invitations to universities all over the world and will soon start the exciting task of selecting the delegates! We are in communication with inspiring speakers and workshop leaders and finalising our sustainable, vegan food providers. The last touches are also being done to our fantastic website which will be live very soon. Members of the WSEN International Committee selected the British application as it was thorough and innovative. The WSEN International
Committee is looking forward to working with the English team to create a unique WSEN Global Summit in the coming months. The volunteers involved have already benefited from the amazing opportunity to host this summit, and are very motivated and excited about the upcoming events. We are striving towards an experience that will be a step forward in the direction of Sustainability Together. If you would like to get involved in organising the event or volunteer during the week, please contact wsen2016@wsen.org.uk
Rebecca Laycock
@Co courseO li e
Just Kids: a powerful autobiography Despite being published in 2010, Literary Editor, Holly Williams reviews the timeless memoir Just Kids and explores some of the haunting themes, prior to its release as a television series. Published in 2010 to high praise (the book won the National Book Award for Non Fiction) Patti Smith’s autobiographical memoir, Just Kids, chronicles the singer/songwriter/artist’s life living in New York in the 1960’s/70’s, her ascent to fame and critical acclaim with album ‘Horses’ and her relationship with controversial artist and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. At its heart, this book it is a elegy. A tribute to the institutions, the loves and the people that are no longer accessible to us but remain immortalised by Patti Smith’s memoir Just Kids. The various backdrops for this autobiography; the Cafes, the bookstores, the Hotel Chelsea, feel buzzing and alive, as do the people who pass through their doors. The star count is staggering; blink and www.co courseo li e.co
you might miss a factory girl strolling through, a friend of Salvador Dahli, a beat poet or Jimi Hendrix himself. There is no name dropping for name droppings sake though. The changing and shifting secondary cast who preside over the narrative are testament to the pace of the time. People who were alive with music and magic in one chapter have died in the next, sanctioned to become members of the ill fated ‘27 club’. The way of life that is described is intense and the people seem to change with the seasons. A character just as real in the book as Patti Smith and long time friend/lover Robert Mapplethorpe is hunger. The kind of hunger described in this novel seems real and authentic. It might just as easily have you yearning for a cheeseburger as a paintbrush and canvas. Smith describes occasion after occasion where there wasn't enough to scrape together for a meal. Though seemingly, there were times in Smith’s life when love and art were enough to nourish. The love shared between Smith and Mapplethorpe is laid out on the table but you @Co courseO li e
Image credit: Cover of Just Kids by Patti Smith
ART“ & CULTURE
ART“ & CULTURE
Ele io s are Co i g! It’s that time of year again at Keele SU: Elections! Time to run for cover or throw yourself into student politics. For more information, visit: www.keelesu.com/yourunion/elections
The Life Dramatic with Leonie Slater The History Boys is coming to Keele! Directed by one of our own Keele Students in collaboration with the Keele Drama Society. The performances will take place on 12th, 13th and 14th March in the Exhibition Suite in Chancellor’s Building. Our Theatre Editor, Jay Rowe, was able to interview the student in charge of the production and ask her about the reasons for choosing the play.
Yes, the Keele SU Elections are well under way. The
touring on the 25th February. Hopefully, this has
campaigning is in full swing, and you can barely walk
encouraged some of you to get involved with SU
past the Forest of Light without being accosted by at
Politics and vote for your new Sabb team.
least four or five candidates handing you a flyer with Part Time Officer Roles:
their face on. We all tend to view the elections with slight disdain, but there have actually been some pretty big changes to the roles of the Full Time Officers this The biggest change is that the position of SU
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you want out of life. C: What were the greatest challenges in bringing this play to the stage at Keele? LS: I think the biggest challenge, in terms of direction, will be getting the relationship between the boys to feel like a natural connection. It's really important that they're able to bounce off of each other. C: Which playwrights or directors have had the greatest impact on you? And why? LS: I've read, watched or acted in a lot of Tennessee Williams' plays, so he's become one of my favourite playwrights. His character building is amazing. Ali Smith is brilliant for creating simultaneously relatable and extraordinary plays. C: What do you hope the audience will get out of watching your production? LS: I hope that the audience will feel a connection with the characters, that they'll understand and maybe relate to them. But more than anything I really want to make them laugh, The History Boys is an hilarious play and I want to do that justice.
Constitutional Affairs Secretary LGBT Students’ Officer Hospital Campus Officer
those of you who are unaware of the changes.
Environment and Campus Officer
Instead, the current Vice-President Roles have been
Gender Equality Officer x2
developed, as well as rebranded, to include the role of
Mature, Part-Time and Distance Learning Students’ Officer
the President.
Postgraduate Students Officer General Secretary
Full Time Officer Roles:
Chair of Union Council Education Officer
International Students’ Officer
Union Development and Democracy Officer Welfare and Internalisation Officer
As you can see, the positions of Concourse
Activities and Community Officer
Representative,
Athletic Union and Sport Officer
Representative and Nightline Representative are no
RAG
Representative
KUBE
more. Instead a Student Led Services Officer will There are a couple of familiar faces amongst the
be elected to oversee these societies. The societies
candidates. Ela Hollies (VP Finance & Activities),
will still be able to hold informal elections for their
Natalie Jordan (VP Welfare) and Emily Horshall
own presidents.
(Chair of Student Council) are all running again, though there are also lots of new candidates– it’s great
Voting begins 1st March 10am– 4th March 5pm,
to see so much student involvement!
and the results will be announced 4th March.
Those of you who live in halls on campus may
Jay Rowe
Student Staff Officer Student Led Services Officer
year. President is no more, which may come as a shock to
This March, Alan Bennett’s seminal play, The History Boys, will be performed at Keele, courtesy of the Keele Drama Society. The story of unruly students and unorthodox teachers has captured the hearts of audiences across the world. The production will be directed by third year English student, Leonie Slater. Concourse recently caught up with her to discuss the joys and challenges of putting on the show: C: What drew you to theatre production and acting? And how has the experience benefited you? LS: I've been in performing arts clubs since I was young, I've always been especially interested in acting and directing. KDS has really enriched my time at university, it's such a fun and freeing pastime. I also feel like it's grown my confidence and developed my abilities. C: What was it about The History Boys that convinced you to stage the production? LS: I've loved The History Boys since I saw the film years ago. I feel like it's the kind of story that a lot of people, especially university students, can relate to. Working out who you are and what
Black and Minority Ethic Students’ Officer
We wish all candidates the best of luck!
have been paid a visit by some of the candidates @Co courseO li e
J. D. Wea er: disa ility is ot a ge re of usi . singer-
Added on Amazon Prime: A Girl Walks
In an interview with the young songwriter, JD discusses his music and how he isn’t going to let his disability get it the way of his dreams.
www.co courseo li e.co
Home Alone at Night (2014) Image credit: J.D. Weaver
“I suppose a lot of people who I know, or in the music circle, tend to ignore the disability aspect of my music. It gets quite tedious as I constantly have to explain the situation I’m in.” Jason Weaver, or JD as he prefers, is a 19 year old musician from Cheshire. And he has a few important things to tell the world. Ten years ago, JD was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy at the age of 9 – a condition that leaves him confined to his wheelchair. “I’m confined to a future that’s slightly out of majority - and I’m not having a go! But those my hands because of my disability. I don’t particularly categories stated there? That group has been in charge get out much at the moment because I’m confined to for thousands of years. And what they’ve done is my wheelchair. I can deal with the physical and mental create divisions. Be it racial or gender-based, or aspects of my disability, but it’s the loneliness that gets anything synthetic really.” to me.” “I always try to believe that people who are JD expresses concern over the general feeling of racist or ableist or sexist aren’t that way because of ignorance amongst certain members of society. But themselves. If there was someone around to truly love luckily, he won’t be convinced that easily to slide back them, the way my mum raised me for instance, they into a shell. wouldn’t feel the need to judge others like that.” “I don’t want to be confined to In the midst of his passionate just speaking to other disabled people! “I’m confined to a expressions, I highlight and appreciate that I want to be friends with a whole mix he’s one of the most outspoken people future that’s of people because what makes this I’ve met in a long time. He smiles and says slightly out of my “See, you say it’s a good thing.” world so great is that there are people hands because of from different countries and with “You go online and see these groups different vulnerabilities. There’s a lot my disability.” of misogynists attacking women and of division in society, I see it as a bit treating feminism like it’s something silly really!” negative. But all I say is… aren’t people allowed to be Activism and advocacy comes to him naturally, proud of their identity and fight for it when there’s an and anyone who’s spoken to JD for more than five injustice towards it? It feels like the majorities don’t minutes will notice. Weaver acknowledges the give others a chance to speak about their problems. existence of a hierarchy and more importantly, the And I love diversity! I can’t get the words out, but I negative influences and manipulative forces at work hate it when someone points out another to be due to rampant inequality. different. No they’re not. We’re all a part of this “People say that I shouldn’t always be wonderful human race.” He calls it the steps of inequality – “When having a go at the white, able-bodied, male
ART“ & CULTURE
Recently added to Amazon Prime, this film is well-worth the watch. If you’re looking for something different, then this might be the film for you. When I read the summary of this film online, I was intrigued. The reviews were overwhelmingly positive but the concept sounded unlikely to hold together and put me off watching it for some time. Last week, I finally took the plunge. The film starts out with Arash, a James Dean lookalike, wandering around his small hometown. Arash lives with his drug-addled father and is bullied by resident gangster, Saeed, who helps fuel his father’s drug addiction. Saeed takes Arash’s prized car which he barely managed to afford, working as a gardener to some of the town’s wealthier families. Later, we see Saeed making a deal when a shadowy figure appears, it quickly vanishes. Later the figure appears again and Saeed dies violently. This is not simply the hard-luck, indie film it appeared. The black and white shooting of this film works well and adds to the film, unlike some, where black and white is chosen to try and add an element of gravitas the film itself is lacking. Instead, black and white is utilised to emphasise the “innocence” and “darkness” of characters, which is shown through light and dark clothing, those in between wearing a mixture of the two. I most recently saw this in Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak. The black and white really makes the first scene of Arash in the arid Southern Californian scenery so much more powerful. Another thing I enjoyed about this film was
the music, the angsty, indie rock perfectly suited the tone of the film and seemed picked with care. To me, when music jars with a film, it ruins the whole thing. The worst instance of this I can think of recently (well not that recently) is Baz Luhrman’s 2013 The Great Gatsby adaption. The film alone was fairly good and the soundtrack I enjoyed before I saw the two together. The discrepancy between them have made me never want to see the film again, which is a shame, as, some aspects, I really enjoyed. The plot moved fairly slowly at points and, in retrospect, not much happened, but that didn’t stop it being captivating. There was enough action to keep the story moving. The chaste, slow love story between Arash and the girl reminded me a lot of 2008’s Let the Right One In which was predictable but nice. The moments of gore in this film weren’t too over the top, but the violence sometimes sudden and unexpected, adding to its effect. My main criticism of this film is the way it petered off at the end. It was an okay ending, but after the rest of the film, I expected something interesting and unusual, grand and satisfying. Instead, it was very downplayed which, I suppose, fits the tone of a lot of the film. To me it felt as disappointing as the end of It Follows (…...), another beautifully shot film that did something new with a standard horror trope, but ended in an unsatisfying, ill-explained confrontation scene. Overall I feel this film, now available on Amazon Prime Video, is really worth a watch.
Rachael Dyer
@Co courseO li e
Image credit: Film Still/ A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014)
ART“ & CULTURE
ART“ & CULTURE filming began, which were not only very intelligently performed, but also proved a testament to fans everywhere that this film was going to be as authentic to the comics as it could possibly be. This seemed almost implausible for Fox to achieve on the basis of the recent 'Fantastic Four' debacle. So through Twitter, Viral videos and the really repetitive but intelligent trailer showcasing the same material with DMX's 'X gonna Give it to ya' played every time. Ryan Reynolds and his team of Deadpoolians had to deliver something truly magnificent or else face another wave of hatred from the internet. Having seen the film, I can tell you, it is magnificent. So magnificent, in fact, that due to geographical timing I was able to, very cheekily, see the film twice within an hour of each screening. Something I can honestly say I have never done, but am so glad that I did. I can see why this film will not appeal to everyone and I am astounded that they managed to obtain a 15 age rating; it really ought to be an 18. There is extreme gore and violence, unlike any other comic book film, and a great deal of nudity. This is the Deadpool we all wanted and wished for so many years to be made, whilst also using characters from previous Marvel Films produced by Fox, but whose adaptations we were never happy with. I won't spoil the film by revealing anything about the plot that is not already known, nor the unbelievable amount of 'Easter Eggs' or references. Instead, I want to discuss the importance of this film within the context of the 'Superhero Film genre' which has oversaturated the market, but which could be remedied by 'Deadpool'. My argument is the oversaturation of the 'Comic book genre'. Not due to Your Editor of Fil & TV is Oliver Ha ket– Watso . If you e joy at hi g tele isio , rii g re ie s or a alysi g il s, the e a t to hear fro you! “hoot hi a e ail at: il @co courseo li e.co
ART“ & CULTURE
the genre of comic books themselves, but to the direction the production studios choose to go. Each film closely follows the same formula, unless it's an origin story. A group of heroes sometimes from across the world are banded together to fight a super power that is threatening to destroy their entire world. The group will bring different qualities and each is struggling with individual dark pasts or actions which trouble them. Something pivotal happens in the third act which causes comradeship to occur in order to stop the villain, whilst effectively destroying entire cities or bridges every time. I do love comic book films and there is nothing wrong with this formula when used in a period of once every 3 or 4 years. However when every single comic book film follows the same recipe and given the large number of films that have been made and are due to come out, you are going to have a large basket full of one product, and you can only have so many before you feel full or sick. Deadpool is a much-needed breath of fresh air which places it distinctly from all other comic book films, whilst cleverly acknowledging them. He is able to be a lot more open with regards to his sexuality (HURRAH) and his ethics are like nothing seen before with a large, healthy dose of feminism. Deadpool’s character is one-of-a-kind and his film is certainly that with not one single boring note being played. Overall, it’s funny, violent and breaking all kinds of walls; Deadpool is the very thing needed at a time where superheroes are seen on TV and in Films everywhere. If you're a fan of Deadpool then go and watch, a fan of Ryan Reynolds then go and watch (his best film in years), if you laughed at any moment in the trailer then go and watch.
Oliver Hackett-Watson
people pretend that something isn’t an issue, the ones affected by the issue are repressed. Who’s to say it “I’ve been making demos and some really bad won’t happen in the future that someone will come along and state that the disabled should be gotten rid recordings for years with friends, and sometimes even of from society? Every time I do something, I’m by myself. Now I look back thinking… Oh god, that’s denied opportunities because of my disability. I’m not awful.”. But as the years went by, and JD’s friends deemed as useful as an able-bodied musician.” The double standard is blatant, and Weaver moved on to activities like football, he needed a form of art that helped him stay productive explains how he would much rather and satisfy his creative needs. “I’m denied be told that he’s not good at “People generally do go something, than to come close to opportunities through a spectrum of emotions at achieving something big, but having because of my my age, but I’m 19 and I go through to constantly encounter a block to do disability. I’m not further hormonal issues because of with his disability. “And that’s what most of my deemed as useful as my condition, so I always have something to write about!” music is based on. I don’t want to be an able-bodied At the same time, he has no defined by society’s perceptions of my musician.” intentions of marketing his disability capabilities,” he says. “I keep trying for profit – something he sees as a out (with auditions) but nobody is going to give me the chances I deserve. And that really disrespectfully manipulative strategy within major industries. hurts me”. “How can I market something that’s ME? I just “People say that we’re supposed to give back to society. But if we’re denied opportunities to create can’t! I’m not going to make little Jason Weaver dolls successful futures, how can we give back? It hurts me to sell on eBay. I just want to do my job – make my that despite all I do, my future could still be limited to music, and go my way. I actually went back to a label me sat in bed with a wheelchair beside me, getting once – I won’t name them, and I have nothing against worse and worse, and all I have to look forward to in mainstream music either. But I had to go back to them and say - You do know that disability is not a genre of the future is a hospital bed”. music right?” “People are not going to listen to my music and immediately go - Oh hey, this guy’s in a wheelchair! - I personally don’t like pop music for this reason. I think it’s dishonest and lacks integrity. Luckily, one of the hospitals I’ve been to really liked my stuff. I think that’s a lot to do with the fact that my music does talk about challenging society. It says that there are people like me out there and we are useful and we are here for a reason. This was early last year, when a guy from the local roundtable named Paul Valentine came up to me and said he loved what I was doing.” Without even listening to JD’s music, he offered him $2000 and said “go make yourself a record”. “I was blown away by how much people got behind me. So I recorded my EP with the money, Image credit: Album cover of Neon Souls. Where listening to my material repeatedly and getting Eagles Fly, EP 2015/ JD Weaver
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feedback. A lot of people told me that they were really touched by it. I didn’t just want to make a record about my disability; I wanted to make a wider statement about how people can feel left out.” Regarding the record, Weaver makes it clear that it was a concept EP at heart – one whose foundation was based upon themes like inequality and the natural world. “One of my passions was studying about indigenous populations, and I based the record around a character called The Native Man. He is supposed to reflect what it means to be a human being. He is a character everyone can relate to. I wanted my music accessible to everyone. The issue is when people attack his place and claim that they belong there, threatening him to leave. The Native Man then goes to the highest peak and looks over his land. And the only company he has is The Eagle. According to mythology, Eagles represent both society and the greater knowledge.” “Another track (Tiger Tiger) just came up from the idea that I think politicians are like headless chickens. There’s always a group attacked by the upper #MySolution is a social media campaign that aims to start
positive
conversations
around
personal,
community and global issues by shifting the
focus from problems to solutions. It was launched on Monday 22nd February and looks like it could take the student population by storm. Using social media as a public forum for the discussion, RefME invites everyone to start their own positive and constructive conversations about the biggest concerns they have for themselves, their communities, for humanity and for the planet. Go to: https://www.refme.com/mysolution/ for more information., or follow @RefME on Twitter.
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classes and, right now, I sadly think it is people who follow Islam. I’ve been attacked for my disability and when I see others suffer, it frustrates me. I’m sure there are extremists in every group that do bad things – and that includes disabled people. It’s taken 19 years to come to terms with my disability, so I’m sure it wouldn’t take much for other people to do as little as understand the issue. It is also sad that we often need to force feed it to people. Why can’t everyone try and learn themselves?” As we near the end of our interview, JD eloquently encapsulates the essence of not just his music but also his life’s mission – “I’m not going to have the longevity my friends will have. But when I leave this world, I want to know that I lived with integrity and that people saw me as someone who stood up for what was right.”
Sadhana Pillai Your Editor of Musi is Sadha a Pillai. If you e joy liste i g to usi , rii g re ie s or o du i g i ter ie s, the e a t to hear fro you: usic@co courseo li e.co
ART“ & CULTURE
Image credit: DeviantArt/ Camo-Flauge
ART“ & CULTURE
Deadpool 6 : fu y, iole t a d reaki g all ki ds of alls.
The most refreshing Marvel film in years, our Film Editor reviews the most-talked about film on the internet. Directed by Tim Miller, starring Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Ed Skrein, Brianna Hildebrand, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni and Gina Carno. A former special forces soldier turned mercenary is subjected to an experimental new treatment after discovering he has cancer which leaves him horribly disfigured and mentally insane. Eleven years ago, we were introduced to the character of Wade Wilson via X-men origins: Wolverine. Whilst Wade initially seemed to be close to the character from the comics, the studio horribly misjudged the character and created their own version of Deadpool. Needless to say, this move was met by fans with anger. Thus begins my journey into the world of Deadpool (2016). Before X-men Origins: Wolverine (2009) had been made, I was only vaguely familiar with the character of Deadpool, but due to the unified outcry from the internet, I started investigating and reading everything I could find on the character. That is where my love affair began. Deadpool is a mentally unhinged, fourth -wall breaking character, with the best comedy marvel comics has to provide. I may be wrong in saying this, but I think he totally unique compared to Wolverine, who has numerous similar characters. I followed the 'campaign trail' led by Ryan Reynolds, for whom I am a massive fan, as he fought with Fox to have this film made. Unexpectedly, test footage of Deadpool appeared on the internet, total CGI, but with Ryan Reynolds voicing Deadpool and causing a green light for the development of the film by Fox. My heart leapt out of my chest and into the sky for joy, even wearing my Deadpool t-shirt on the day to signify to the world my enthusiasm for the film. Three things started happening once @Co courseO li e