Venue 320

Editorial

Issue #320 26 Jan

A few days ago I read an article about something I’d never come across before: playing cards that are being printed with wanted criminals on them. This statement probably requires a little elaboration. In Binyang county, China, police have printed 15,000 packs of free playing cards for distribution.

Each card has a picture of a local fugitive, along with their national ID number, details of their crime, and a hotline on the back for people to call and give information. I later found out that this concept has been used before (by the US military in 2003), but nevertheless found the idea to be very striking.

Part of me saw these cards and felt like they had the potential to be used for good (as they have been intended) – something along the lines of an updated version of the missing person on a milk carton. Yet looking at the eerie faces staring out from each card, it also felt like they would not be out of place in a piece of dystopian fiction.

Venue Editors-in-Chief: concrete.venue@uea.ac.uk Ana Dukakis Joe Fitzsimmons Arts: concrete.arts@uea.ac.uk Niamh Jones

Reading about this made me wonder about what other ways familiar objects (in this case, a pack of playing cards) could be transformed into something unfamiliar. While these playing cards were printed for a practical reason, the idea of strangeness and the unexpected also seems to be inherently present in art. In this week of Venue, we’ve learnt about people who take old dolls and craft them into something new; looked at TV programs where presenters convince an otherwise sane person to push an elderly man to his death; and, of course, remembered an artist who is renowned for being a ‘chameleon’ musician.

Is the connection between the playing cards and this week’s Venue content a stretch? Yes. Should you still consider reading into them more anyway? Yes.

Creative Writing: concretre.creativewriting@uea.ac.uk Jay Stonestreet Fashion: concrete.fashion@uea.ac.uk Lizz Gowens Leah Omonya Film: concrete.film@uea.ac.uk George Barker Melissa Haggar Gaming & Technology: concrete.gamingtech@uea.ac.uk Tom Bedford Music: concrete.music@uea.ac.uk Freya Gibson Daniel Jeakins Televison: concrete.television@uea.ac.uk Hannah Ford

Art and Design: concrete.artdesign@uea.ac.uk Dougie Dodds

Hello again! It’s so good to be back. I missed you all something terribly, as I’m sure you missed me. I am so sorry for my absence last issue, my deepest thanks to my fellow editors for picking up my responsibilities as I sat in my room in front of a laptop, cursing my very existence (as opposed to any other production weekend, where I sit in an office in front of a desktop, cursing my very existence.) As my colleagues were busy putting out another great issue of Venue, I was simultaneously battling a disabling cold whilst discovering that university work can be quite hard, and writing assessments in the week of the deadline is not advisable in the slightest.

With that in the past though, I wish to offer a delayed welcome to our new Arts editor Niamh Jones, who’s new Artists at UEA feature is one of the most promising additions to our paper in the last few years. It is always great to see the amazing artistic talent of our students represented in the official culture supplement of UEA. I also want to say that, even now, I’m still enjoying leafing through last issues drugs supplement, discovering the creative and embarrassing ways you all seem to find to get out of your head. I’m sure we can all agree that this drugs supplement was by a wide margin the best supplement Concrete has ever produced (Thanks in large part to Venue’s own Art and Design Director). Obviously it doesn’t even come close to Frontier, but let’s exclude Venue supplements, just to give everyone else a chance. Speaking of supplements, I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am for our arts supplement coming this semester. Now in its second year, the art supplement promises to be bigger and better than ever. Make sure to pick up our next issue for more details, and to find out how to get involved.

Let’s never be apart again.

Cover Art : Lucinda Swain

3

Music

Muse Giacalone & Alice Mortimer

Timber Timbre – Bad Ritual Canadian ‘freak-folk’ band Timber Timbre have been an ongoing musical intrigue since the early 2000s, but it is only over the past three or four years that they have re-surfaced on the music scene, with their most recent album Creep on Creepin On, released in 2012.

The first and most distinctive track, entitled ‘Bad Ritual’, is perfectly characteristic of the group’s undeniable talent, mixing southern gothic-inspired lyrics (sombre, often morbid) and rhythmic progressions using pianos, violins and light percussions.

This is for fans of Nick Cave or The Kills and who are looking for a more modernised folk-rock.

Gus Gus - Benched An Icelandic electronic collective based in Reykjavik, Gus Gus are arguably one of the most under-rated bands of the last few years. Founded in 1995, the band has since released nine studio albums and over 20 singles, proving themselves as capable and consistent musicians. The track ‘Benched’, from their 2011 album Arabian Horse is light-hearted, easy on the ears but also incredibly entrancing through its meticulous use of multiple synths and a tremendous bassline that persists throughout the song.

By conducting a repeated rise then fall in ‘Benched’, Gus Gus are able to hypnotise the listener, marking themselves as a key music group in the twenty-first century’s electronic undercurrent.

Disappears - Replicate For those who crave a bit of old-fashioned

punk or alternative rock, Disappears are a blessing, especially with their 2012 album Pre-Language. The Chicago-based band formed in 2008, Disappears are excellent in producing an 80s-inspired garage-rock sound in their track ‘Replicate’, which meshes a progressive intro, supported by a strong bass and drums, and a culminating chaos of instruments led by a highly NuWave-inspired voice. It is most definitely a track to get angry to or to celebrate the end of an assessment with.

John Frusciante – Murderers Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante is ever-more impressive in his solo project and especially so in his third album To Record Only Water for Ten Days, which establishes him a key name in experimental rock. His track ‘Murderers’, featured recently in the 2015 art house film ‘Love’ by Gaspar Noé, is captivating. The guitar melody is without precedent, mesmerizing to dance to and perfectly embedded with percussion and other electric guitars. The lack of vocals is refreshing and adds an atmospheric, more exploratory side to Frusciante’s work.

The Knife – Silent Shout Recently disbanded music collective The Knife have left behind a momentous musical archive, with five amazing electronic and synthpop albums. Hailing from Sweden, this brother-sister duo have now established themselves on two separate solo projects (one called Fever Ray and the other Oni Ayhun) that are definitely worth looking into. Their track ‘Silent Shout’ from the

identically titled album is a perfect dance track, precisely for its two, very distinct and sometimes ethereal sounding voices as well as its bewitching and rapid synth progressions.

David Bowie – Modern Love Bowie has blessed us mortals with a godlike musical legacy. His 1983 hit single ‘Modern Love’ from his very celebrated Let’s Dance album, is an uplifting and fairly dancy track that partners up with his repeatedly studied theme of the relations between God and man. His epic voice, which can be both high and sharp but also deep, seems to be so sure in its projection, and works alongside powerful percussion, a playful piano, saxophone and background vocals, giving the track an unforgettably complete life of its own.

David Bowie – Moonage Daydream One of Bowie’s lesser-known tracks, ‘Moonage Daydream’ was first released as a single in 1971 in collaboration with the band Arnold Corns, but re-recorded the year after on his album ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.’ What is most beautiful on this track is its progressive rise, that begins softly with Bowie’s strong, constant vocals, an acoustic guitar and piano melody. It escalates rather quickly, with harsher percussion and electric guitars, and becomes an almost heroic anthem to Bowie’s alter ego ‘Ziggy Stardust’, an alien rock superstar, who is born in this song. It is good, strong and moving to know that in “the Church of Man, love, is such a holy place to be.”

Bad Habits – The Last Shadow Puppets After months of anticipation, The Last Shadow Puppets are back, and sounding more exciting than ever. The supergroup, consisting of Arctic Monkey’s frontman Alex Turner and partner-in-crime britpop soloist Miles Kane, have returned from their eightyear break with new track ‘Bad Habits’. It’s everything we loved about first single ‘The Age of the Understatement’, but ten times sexier. With lusty lyrics, catchy bass, and the use of dramatic psycho-esque strings, the boys have proved their comeback was worth waiting for. This genius piece of symphonic rock is straight-up chaos, all that could be expected from the boisterous bromance of Turner and Kane.

I Love You All the Time (Eagles of Death Metal cover) - Florence + The Machine feat.

The Maccabees Florence Welch (with the help of The Maccabees), is just one of the artists who has covered Eagles of Death Metal track ‘I Love You All the Time’ for their ‘Play It Forward’ campaign. The campaign was developed by the band to encourage artists from a wide range of musical genres to cover the song, to be played at their Paris gig on the anniversary of the horrific terror attacks back in November, in order to express unity and raise funds for victims. Putting a twist on the brilliant EODM track, Florence and The Maccabees reinvent the song through their established vocal styles. The song is revived for younger audiences, uniting all listeners in remembrance of the attacks, whilst music continues to promote peace. This is a track definitely worthy of a listen.

4

Music Album Review: David Bowie - Blackstar Westley Barnes It was classic David Bowie: releasing an indecipherably cryptic final album, only for its true meaning to be made all too obvious a mere two days later. As flippant as it might sound, death was the ultimate Bowie act; watching the clip for ‘Lazarus’ and listening to Blackstar is the final evidence that he remained pop culture’s most consummate actor, and its most symbolically informed comedian, right up to his final curtain. Much has been shared by his fans regarding his extra-terrestrial status - as if he were like his character in The Man Who Sold The Worldonly visiting us here on earth. Yet Blackstar gives the impression of disproving this claim, that ‘Ziggy Stardust’ or ‘Major Tom’ or indeed ‘Lazarus’ were just what they seemed on the surface: characterisations, personas made for the purpose of communication David Robert Jones’s ideas through songs.

This, when you think about it, shows the true artistry inherent in his last release. In both composition and presentation Bowie’s Blackstar is the Mozart’s Requiem of our cultural age.

Blackstar “In the Villa of Ormen, at the centre of it all…” Flittering drumbeats that wouldn’t sounds out of place on later Thom Yorke or Flying Lotus albums announce that this album isn’t going to be a tribute to Bowie’s past. Cold, spacey synths recall the urban nights of now, as the frail white Duke incants an occult mediation on seeing a centre to his

suffering. (Out of all Bowie tropes, this is the most everlasting - see The Man Who Sold The World’s ‘The Width of a Circle’ or 1976’s eponymous Station To Station.) Gliding, chiming jazz guitar notes followed by Donny McCaslin’s domineering sax fifths stalk the singer into reaching a crescendo, which the song does by completely changing melody.

Slowing down, merging into a moment he doesn’t want to ever leave, asking with a pleading croon: “How many times can an angel fall?” How many times have Bowie’s wings been clipped? More than the rest of us, certainly. Still, the realisation devastates:“I’m not a pop star, I’m a Blackstar.” Days before, we would have brushed it aside, but what lingers throughout this track is a threat of oncoming silence that haunts throughout.

Bowie, ever the completist, starts as he means to go on.

ending, enthusiastic even after this.

Girl Loves Me

Lazarus

Why wouldn’t she? Echoing senial nonsense threats, Bowie opens the strangest song on the album, following right on from what you thought was the oddest song you would hear this winter. “Viddy viddy at the Cheena”; Bowie does A Clockwork Orange speak, with a chorus making declarations instead of a bigger realisation. This is a contradictory song, at odds with its own tempo and everything else: brave, mad, tragic, thrilling.

‘Tis Pity She Was a Whore

A mad r’n’b rush, singing “I’ve got the job… we’ll buy the house..now we’ll make it” Something is not quite adding up here. “The clinic called, the x-ray’s fine” Ah. Hence the mania, hence the tremble. “I brought you home…I just said HOME” The song implores you to not go outside tonight, it’s January. Besides, we’re in a season of Crime.

Instead, feel relaxed surrounded by the computer glitch raving. “I pushed you down amongst the weeds.” We’re already no longer here. Four minutes and forty seconds of melodic panic, only to find that out. Not to be listened to on headphones walking home in the dark

Breathing and pounding, chest pain inducing beats always worked for Bowie’s dangerous darling Tricky. Now suffusing a mortality heavy breath amidst swirls of backstreet jazz, Bowie air his mortal grievances “Man, she punched me like a dude.” The songs take its title from John Ford’s 1633 rambling farce, yet leaves nothing too merry in its wake, lest you try to account for the spurned humility of declining age in the face of confident, young sex. “Black struck the kiss, she kept my cock.” Love and life, always wasted on the aging. Bowie wooping at the song’s

Now apparently every “serious” Bowie fan’s third favourite Bowie song, this was met with a muted response upon release but really amounts to something spectacular. So much going on, yet trickily minimal: “Look up here I’m in heaven… everybody knows me now.” Not the boredom of David Byrne of The Talking Head’s afterlife, but Bowie’s eerily natural awe. The horns are like a Mahler symphony: “Got so high makes my brain whirl…dropped my cell phone down below.” What an ascent, bassline stopping for no one in its wake. Listen “just like that bluebird, now ain’t that just like me…”

Sue (or, In a Season of Crime)

Dollar Days The “easiest” song on the album, and the most straightforward in its sadness. Pining for an English home long gone in the shape of evergreens, seeing a Gladiator-like field of the afterlife in New York, where the money is but where the soul cannot rest. Hear that acoustic guitar, so warm and familiar, so longing and desperate. Best sax solo in living memory.

I Can’t Give Everything Away The beat is still going on, but the rest is fading. Can the title possibly sum things up better? “The post returned the prodigal son”, and the synths let you know the rest, bringing your thoughts away with them. Who could do it better. It leaves you clinging to the last notes. It leaves you longing for more, letting you know it’s time to go back to the start

Lucinda Swain

5

Music

David Bowie in Eight Tracks A Run-Down of The Late Star of Pop’s Finest Moments

Caitlin Doherty

Licensed fair use by Wikipedia Labelled for Fair Use: Wik,ipedia

(1969) Space Oddity: A track that holds a place in the hearts of many as ‘Ground Control to Major Tom’, The song that, for many, came to be the soundtrack of the 1969 moon landing.

Released on 11th July 1969, just five days before Apollo 11, Oddity introduced Bowie as a solo artist to both the British and American music scenes and established what came to be his iconic artistic interest in space.

Labelled for Fair Use: Wik,ipedia

(1983) Let’s Dance; Commercial Success: Many believe Bowie’s popularity to have peaked in 1983 after his initial collaboration with Nile Rodgers of Chic, a project which produced Let’s Dance, an album and single of the same name that went platinum in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Labelled for Fair Use: Wik,ipedia

(1972) Starman; The Ziggy Era: The costumes got brighter and the hair got redder as Bowie adopted his iconic lightening bolt face paint, and Ziggy Stardust was welcomed on to the airwaves. Starman was released in April ’72, ahead of the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, an album which combined hard-rock elements with Bowie’s previous style of experimental pop.

Labelled for Fair Use: Wik,ipedia

(1989) The Tin Machine Era: Bowie temporarily abandoned his solo career, opting to write and record with a hard rock quartet, Tin Machine.

The band’s first album, controlled mainly by Bowie, was initially popular both in the UK and the US, however, Bowie lost a significant proportion of his fan base at this time.

Labelled for Fair Use: Wik,ipedia

(1978) Heroes; The Berlin Era: After finding success, Bowie moved to Lake Geneva in 1976, before eventually settling in Berlin, Germany, for a few years in an attempt to revitalise himself and kick his drug habits. Whilst there, he shared an apartment with Iggy Pop and penned a trilogy of albums, the second of which was Heroes, home to the often-loudlysung track of the same name.

Labelled for Fair Use: Wik,ipedia

(2004) Reality; After the release of Hours, Bowie subsequently worked on two more albums that were met with relative commercial success, the second of which was Reality.

Whilst touring with the record, he required emergency heart surgery and subsequently had to cancel a large portion of the shows.

Labelled for Fair Use: Wik,ipedia

(1981) Under Pressure: Revitalised after his time in Berlin, Bowie went on to produce his third number one single. A collaboration with Queen and their enigmatic front man, Freddie Mercury. Two somewhat socially controversial figures - those who belonged to marginalised groups in society - the praise elicited upon this single showcased the socially emancipatory power of music at the time.

Labelled for Fair Use: Wik,ipedia

(2016) Lazarus: On January 8th on his 69th birthday, David Bowie released his number one studio album, Blackstar, of which the leading song was the haunting Lazarus. Blackstar was originally intended for a posthumous release, however, just two days after its celebratory release, Bowie died of cancer.

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Dominic Clarke David Bowie was the first artist I ever listened to. He’s arguably one of the biggest musical influences that has graced the world, being voted fourth by the BBC in a list of the most influential greatest British icons (2006), and was offered both a CBE and a Knighthood, both of which he turned down.

Neither of these, nor the 140m albums he sold were what made me love David Bowie however.

As a four-year-old, ‘Space Oddity’ was the first song I knew every word to, and as a teenager I realised the importance of David Bowie not only to the music industry but to the world as we see it. He broke ground as a man who came out as bisexual during an age of homophobia and dressed in an androgynous manner in a country that needed to escape from conservatism. His death has been felt by people across the world, proven by the German foreign office thanking him for helping to bring down the Berlin wall. David Bowie managed to encapsulate every great change in the latter half of the 20th century, from the changing attitudes, the ideals, the fashion and the music taste.

David Bowie managed to transcend genres in a way his peers could never manage. Of course everyone remembers Bowie as the glam star, of his album The Rise and Fall of Sam Payneand the Spiders From Mars and Ziggy Stardust Aladdin Sane. But how many artists then did folk music as he did on Hunky Dory, the electronic music he moved into during his Berlin years, the Disco/pop period of Let’s Dance, in which he worked with Nile Rogers of Chic, and then his post nineties period where he has moved into progressive art rock? David Bowie was a man who could avoid being shackled to any genre or time period, something that is clear when you notice that he had always been the height of style since the 1960s. All of this explains what NME claimed in the year 2000: David Bowie was the most influential artist of all time.

There has been a recent petition that garnered over 20,000 signatures to stop Kanye West making a David Bowie covers album. This is precisely the situation that Bowie would have wanted. A man who has been considered one of the best and worst musicians, depending on your particular taste, suggesting that he should cover an artist who, although sounded nothing like him, has managed to influence him. The reaction to this shows not only how popular Bowie was, but also how much people value his work.

Why is it that David Bowie connected with so many people though? Is it to do with the fact that at the height of the Cold War

Tributes to David Bowie

Music

Dan Struthers

someone came along with a breath of fresh air? Was it simply because his songs were amazing? The many different personas and attitudes he managed to encapsulate? Or was it that Bowie managed to unite everyone from glam rock fans, pop music lovers, misfits, and film lovers? David Bowie left his mark everywhere. This is precisely why I love David Bowie.

Whatever mood you are in there is a track that you can listen to. It’s a shame on my part that I only looked into this enough once he had died, and a greater shame that he never played a show again after 2006, meaning so many people from my generation never had the opportunity to see him. My father still reminds me that his Glass Spider Tour was one of the best shows that he ever saw, and it annoys me that I will never get to see that in person. What annoys me more however, is that there will never be another David Bowie. Everything that he did laid the way for so many artists to follow up and continue to revolutionise music, but I doubt there will ever be a musician who manages to transcend genres, films and art work in quite the way he did. Maybe the fact that Bowie will always have a legacy of his own is a good thing, but I hope not, because music could really do with some one as unifying yet different as Bowie.

By all means Bowie wasn’t perfect though.

Bowie spent a period claiming that fascism was the way forward and claimed ‘Britain could benefit from a fascist leader’ and praised its efficiency. This was a period that he later blamed on his addiction to cocaine and other hard drugs. His drug taking was notorious throughout the 70s, something that he later denounced, along with his fascist views.

He spent the 80s and 90s spreading antifascist messages alongside messages of antiracism, including criticizing MTV during an interview for their lack of coverage of black musicians. The importance of Bowie’s past, taking drugs and experimenting with fascism, shows his willingness to accept his mistakes but also his staying power. How many artists have had the longevity to stay in the public consciousness long enough to make such divisive comments and then retract them decades later?

David Bowie occupied the top of the album charts the week following his death, whilst the top twenty singles chart was covered in his tracks, some of which are now more than forty years old, and he has finally achieved a number one US album. I expressed my fear that there will never be another David Bowie.

However, a greater fear of mine however, is that after this week people will slowly forget David Bowie, although he is exactly what a musician should be, creative, divisive and completely different to everything before him and after him.

We’ve all been through a David Bowie phase during our formative years of music the same way we all had a Beatles and a Queen stage. These British juggernauts are held up as British national treasures and were significantly important to rock from the 1960s onwards, hence why they stand the test of time, and will continue to do so for many decades. Following the success of Space Oddity, the British public were greeted by the arrival of Ziggy Stardust at the beginning of the 70s. One of the first characters created

by Bowie, Ziggy was an alien often dressed in flamboyant clothing with striking red hair- a shocking ‘statement’ for the era. During the mid 70s Bowie transformed into the Thin White Duke, heavily influenced by his move to soul and funk, who was (again) an alien similar to the one he played in his film The Man Who Fell to Earth. Around this time Bowie, at his lyrical peak, released his most influential and recognised tracks, to name but a few; ‘Starman’, ‘Ziggy Stardust’, ‘The Jean Genie’, ‘Life on Mars’, ‘Rebel Rebel’, ‘Diamond Dogs’, ‘Fame’ and ‘Heroes’.

Bowie churned out his timeless repertoire in the space of just five years and have lasted in popular culture for over 40 years.

While the 70s saw Bowie setting up the foundations for his long career, the 80s allowed him to walk on the world stage and enjoy international attention. The decade was a time when Bowie embraced the pop era, perhaps most noticeably in ‘Under Pressure’ – his collaboration with Queen which secured him a third UK number one.

His album Let’s Dance has sold to this day, 10.7m copies and counting, going platinum on both sides of the Atlantic. But Bowie was unhappy with having to cater to the pop obsessed audience of the 80’s. The latter half of the 80s did not treat Bowie so kindly however as his subsequent two albums were trashed by critics forcing him to create a band named Tin Machine which enjoyed partial success. This part of his career may, be unfamiliar to many but it all builds to the mythology of his risks and brave gambles with styles of music and alter egos, some more successful than others.

The turn of the 21st century saw Bowie dealing with various health problems meaning his public appearances were sparse and irregular. Sadly, unbeknown to any of his fans at the time, he delivered his last ever live performance in 2006. Fast-forwarding seven years, critics and the general public were shocked to learn of a new album, The Next Day, released on his 66th birthday.

It generated massive publicity despite his refusal to perform, tour or give interviews to the press. Little did fans know that three years later on his 69th birthday Bowie was to release his final album, Blackstar, a “parting gift” for his fans, which saw a dramatic

change in genre once more, something more in line with Radiohead than his old work from the 70s, with lyrics revolving around impending death.

Very few performers could say their music and career has stretched over all the sections of your average edition of Venue, and that is obviously the way celebrities measure their success, but David Bowie is one of those talented individuals. In regards to arts, Bowie was an accomplished author and artist alongside his shows, which were spectacles from his breakthrough in the 1960s through to 2006. Considering the second section of Venue, creative writing, one need look no further than Bowie’s fascinating and nonsensical lyrics ‘The Jean Genie lives on his back, the Jean Genie loves chimney stacks’. Only Bowie could get away with such bizarre lyrics.

Fashion can be explained by just Googling Ziggy Stardust, Major Tom, The Thin White Duke or any of his other creations. David Bowie appeared in various films throughout his long career, many of which enjoy a cult status nowadays such as: Twin Peaks, Walk with Me, The Prestige, Zoolander but perhaps most notably Labyrinth as Jareth the Goblin King. Moving on to Gaming and Technology, perhaps the most tenuous Venue link, Metal Gear: Phantom Pain features a military group called Diamond Dogs and even a cover of ‘The Man Who Sold the World.’ I don’t even need to explain his lasting influence on the music industry.

When thinking of Bowie and TV, however, there are two events around the mid noughties that spring to mind. One is the best TV series in recent years: Life on Mars which sees John Simm waking up in 1973 in the midst of Bowiemania with so many Bowie songs and references you could make a drinking game out of it (if you want to be out cold within seconds). The other is a surprise appearance from the man himself in Ricky Gervais’ Extras, a rare treat considering his reluctance to be in the limelight and an even greater treat as he roasts Gervais’ character with a hilarious song entitled ‘Chubby Little Loser’.

This linking to Venue content may have seemed a pointless and trivial exercise but the point I’m trying to prove, is that Bowie and his music are a part of pop culture and his influence is unmatched as seen in his portfolio of songs throughout the decades.

His dramatic change of genre over the year as well as his shocking alter egos are, and will be, unmatched, and there will be a Bowie shaped hole in pop culture for many decades to come. As the man himself said: “I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring”. It certainly wasn’t, Ziggy.

Credit: Flikr, Eurritimia

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Fashion Alexa Chung x Vogue British Vogue’s Latest Series on the Future of Fashion Leah Omonya The fashion industry is notoriously hard to get into. In new YouTube web series Future of Fashion, Alexa Chung, with British Vogue, explores this and many other preconceptions that we as a society may hold. In the videos she states that “The fashion industry is often a closed book... unless you’re well versed on how to break into that industry, the misconception is that it is all privilege and that you have to go to a certain college, doing (sic) a certain degree, when there’s loads of other jobs and loads of other ways to crack into it.” This is just one of many myths Chung hopes to expel with her series, where she covers topics ranging from how to become a fashion designer to issues of body positivity and diversity in the industry.

make it really easy to put designers and models on a pedestal, making their world appear very far off, if not unreachable.

But there is something about seeing Alexa Chung having a casual chat with Olivier Rousteing on a couch about his career that makes him seem a bit more real, and in turn his lifestyle and achievements seem that little bit more attainable. To hear about how he had to dance in clubs to pay his rent and how other designers had to struggle to make their start makes them all the more human. Some went to popular fashion schools, such as Christopher Kane, who is a successful graduate of London Art school Central Saint Martins, but others like Paul Smith stumbled into their fashion roles, worked hard and made themselves a success.

Another concept Chung explores is the misconception that fashion is considered ‘frivolous and indulgent’. While Chung acknowledges that the industry can be this way, she also strives to educate the masses on the industry that she sees to be “full of very hard-working people who take their jobs seriously.” Her mission statement is as follows: ‘This series is an attempt to address the negative stereotypes and assumptions and cover the huge depth of the industry and the huge variety of roles that go towards sending clothes down the catwalk season after season.”

For those of you that don’t know, Alexa Chung is an English fashion model, television presenter and contributing editor at British Vogue. Her career in the fashion industry started at the age of 15 as a model, when she was scouted by Storm Model Management at Reading Festival. Following work for various magazines such as Elle Girl, she then went on to assist on shoots, before her personality landed her in adverts and television. It is through this work that she re-entered the fashion industry from a different perspective, interviewing designers and being invited to shows. So with over 15 years’ worth of experience in the fashion industry, it is evident Chung really knows her stuff.

I learnt quite a bit from watching the six-part web series. While there are many moments of insight provided by the series, the most important thing I would have to say I took away from it is the fact that the fashion industry is made up of people. I know that is an incredibly simple thing to say, but we live in a world of whimsy, want, and social media. All these more personalised forms of aspirational marketing beamed straight onto our phones

British Vogue March 2010

Fashion is huge. It is a massive industry worth an estimated £28bn - more than the automotive industry. After all, more people need clothes than cars. The few roles that we know of, being designers, models, photographers, stylists, makeup artists and hair stylists is just the beginning. As the videos reveal, there are also buyers, trend forecasters, personal shoppers, creative directors, social media experts, PR and marketing experts, tailors, seamstresses, modelling agents and many many other roles and people that work tirelessly in the background to make the fashion industry what it is. In the video series Christopher Kane puts the necessity of these roles very simply when he states “I can draw bags. I can draw shoes, but I don’t know how to make them.” A team to bring your work to life is essential - they are, as he puts it, “goldust.”

This informative mini series even included helpful information by the much revered British Film Council. The BFC wants young British talent to succeed, and work to create opportunities for them to do so.

This can only be reassuring to any young creative minds who are determined to make it in this very cut throat industry.

I recommend this series to anyone who would like to broaden their knowledge of the fashion industry, and who want to get a chance to explore the multitude of complex roles that make it what it is. It is extremely valuable to get solid, candid advice from well-known and respected people from the industry, and who better else to learn from than British Vogue.

YouTube, British Vogue

Watch the full British Vogue video series now at www.vogue.co.uk/voguevideo

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Fashion January Blues How the Colour Blue is Set to Return to our wardrobes this Year Lizz Gowens

Lizz Gowens

Lizz Gowens

Research shows that as the temperatures drop during the winter months, so do our moods. This is not a surprising statement: we don’t want to get out of bed, socialising is a no-go unless we’re warm, and we certainly don’t want to be walking around campus in the freezing wind. It isn’t hard to see how January leaves us crying out for those care free days in the sun, whilst we’re stuck trudging along to our 9ams on the other side of campus. But that’s not what this article is about.

Right now the only ‘blue’ we’re concerned with is the colour. Blue is making a comeback, and in a big way. The staple monochrome and nude wardrobe is taking a backseat as the cooler colours, from electric to icy, are finally getting some time in the spotlight.

Perhaps the most surprising utilisation of the colour is from within the SS16 make up campaigns. Fashion Week showcased an abundance of blue-eyed babes, with looks being created using a combination of liners, glitters, shadows and lashes. Often matched with a nude lip, this trend is certainly one way to stand out this season.

When it comes to makeup, the question

“But how do I wear that?!” is frequently asked, particularly after the often garish displays at Fashion Week (see Chanel’s ski goggle-like face paint). Judging from the way makeup artists are working with the colour, there is the indication that there are no real rules to creating a look, and you’re free to be as messy and playful as you want. Gigi Hadid has been seen styled by Diane von Furstenberg with an edgy smoky look, whilst Marc Jacobs artists have been matching dark cobalt shades with green and golden hues. Even Sonia Rykiel have been working with the ‘makeup-from-last-night’ smudged rock-chick look, using dusky blue eyeshadow to complement the dark liner around the rims of the eyes. Whilst these brands may be at the slightly higher end of the spending spectrum, especially for students, there are plenty of means of getting your hands on some awesome shades for your makeup palette this year, especially now that more high street brands such as Topshop are expanding their makeup ranges.

If you’re a bit shy about wearing the brighter colours either on your face or in your outfit, an easier but still accessible means of wearing the colour is through accessories. One particular brand to keep

an eye out for is Skinnydip London, a relatively new (established in 2011) London based company that specialises in accessories. Aside from their online shop, Skinnydip London is stocked by shops such as Asos and Topshop, and have continued to expand their quirky range of phone cases and other accessories such as bags, headphones, and pompom keyrings over the last few years and really created a distinguished brand. Both their new Navy Pony iPhone cases and their Blue Camo Pom Pom in pretty peacock colours are easy ways to add an instant splash of blue to your wardrobe without having to commit to a drastic wardrobe change.

Equally, jewellery is a great way to make colour statements, especially with the rise of the layered-ring trend, often featuring icy blue stones matched with silver bands, and ocean-coloured rocks in intricate chains as seen online on websites such as Regal Rose.

While this is admittedly not the cheapest place to buy jewellery, it must be said that the brand offers hundreds of designs, and, as demonstrated by the array of blues on their online shop, they don’t shy away from the trends.

Coats and shoes are also a great way of

embracing the New Year trend, and definite investment pieces. I have two Zara Trafaluc coats from last year – one faux fur in petrol (which is my life saver in the cold weather) and the other a longer teal coloured trench style. Whilst at the time they may have made a bit of a dent in my overdraft, buying coats in statement colours is always a good idea for use in the long-term, and can almost be seen as a fashion investment.

Luckily for me, the colour came back around for this season, but even if it didn’t, I’d still prefer to be rocking something a bit different rather than the common nudes and monochromes.

Although it may not always be the right time to be buying new coats, however, it is always the right time to be buying new shoes. Both Nike and Adidas have a range of new designs featuring the colour, from the ice blue matched with platinum on the Air Max Theas, Huaraches and Roshes, to the greyish blue and deep navy suede used on the new Stan Smiths.

The winter blues may not be a particularly great feeling, but we can take comfort in the fact that there are such great fashion statement pieces around at the moment. As they say, if you can’t beat them – join them.

9

Arts Alan Rickman

Remembering Another Lost Legend Alec Mann Alan Rickman was born in Acton, London in 1946. After finishing high school he attended Chelsea College of Art and Design, then the Royal College of Art. He then co-founded a graphic design studio, where he worked successfully for three years.

Then he quit, set off for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and thus began his tour de force of acting excellence which continued until his death.

of the 1990s, and is not by any means perfect. And then Rickman appears. His Sheriff of Nottingham is perhaps the most entertaining villain in cinema history. It is almost like Rickman is playing a character from a different film, and while normally this would be an issue, Rickman is to my mind the only reason it is worth sitting through the entire 140 minutes of movie. I do so gladly.

He is perhaps best known for portraying Professor Snape in the Harry Potter films, interestingly, as the only actor who was told anything about the ending to the series when the movies began. Rickman tailored his performance accordingly, and upon rewatching his scenes, one can clearly see the thought and consideration which has gone into every layer of the character. Right from his first appearance the performance is nuanced and carefully considered to incorporate the secrets only he was told.

He played a variety of romantic roles throughout his career, Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility, Harry in Love Actually, and Jamie in Truly Madly Deeply - a film which gains new poignancy since his death as he portrays a ghost. Rickman also tried his hand in less traditional fare, playing a disgruntled and cynical actor in the Star Trek parody Galaxy Quest, and as Marvin the paranoid android in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. His Hollywood breakout role was that of Hans Gruber in Die Hard, another legendary villain who remains iconic in cinema history. Rickman said recently that he took the role because of the script’s “positive and intelligent” treatment of black characters. Rickman was a huge

Rickman’s performance in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is another outstanding career highlight. The film demonstrates some of the worst historical filmic excesses

human rights supporter, promoting gender and racial equality throughout his life.

He was a huge supporter of charitable causes, as a patron of the research foundation Saving Faces, and honorary president of the International Performers’ Aid Trust.

Rickman also served as vice-chairman of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he had previously trained, supporting a new generation of actors. He also turned his hand to directing, with The Winter Guest (1997) and A Little Chaos (2014), which both demonstrate Rickman’s wonderful understanding of the human condition and adding yet another talent to his roster.

Alan Rickman created a body of work which will endure as his legacy for years to come. He is thought of as one of the greatest actors of his generation, and his role as a mentor to many actors is well documented, demonstrating his generosity and kindness. As far as his legacy goes, Rickman is remembered as a wonderful man, a great actor, and a very genuine human being. He will be greatly missed.

Always.

Credit: Ana Dukakis

"If people want to know who I am, it's all in the work." Alan Rickman

The Fastest Clock in the Universe Dan Struthers On the surface, a play containing paedophilia and graphic violence may not sound like a comedy but Minotaur Theatre’s The Fastest Clock in the Universe is a very claustrophobic character study which may also be the darkest dark comedy ever written. Written by Phillip Ridley, the play makes no bones when setting up the main character Cougar Glass as a narcissistic, lazy and despicable character as he makes companion Captain Tock (all the character names are this bizarre, trust me) pluck grey hairs from his head while he soaks up a tan in his speedos. Captain, meanwhile, is hopelessly head over heels in love with Cougar but is only allowed to hug him while wearing special gloves, perhaps the definition of unrequited love. The big event which we see him fretting about is the planned evening for Cougar’s 19th birthday,

The darkest comedy yet by Minataur Theatre complete with cake, vodka, and cards from his many female admirers, who all happen to have the same handwriting. Just when you think you know the game, principally the fussy Captain doting on the distant Cougar, we are informed about Foxtrot Darling. Foxtrot is 15 years old and the object of Cougar’s affection, who followed him into a hospital and pretended to have a dying relative just as an icebreaker. Within the two hours we are constantly reminded of time and aging, which is ever present in the play; whether it be Cougar’s vanity, the taboo of Foxtrot’s age, or Cougar’s compulsion to smash clocks. This fear of aging is dealt with beautifully when elderly neighbour Cheetah Bee is called to calm down Cougar when conversation turns towards his age as Cheetah repeats ‘I am at the end, and you are at the beginning’.

Bursting this melancholic bubble is Foxtrot himself, as he bursts into the room with so much youthful energy he practically bounces off the walls. However, behind the youthful exterior, Captain learns about his brother’s death and warms to the 15 year old schoolboy attempting to stop Cougar getting his wicked way. Another bombshell in three parts is also dropped within the space of 30 seconds as we learn Foxtrot has a girlfriend called Sherbert. Sherbert is pregnant and they are getting married. The final 30 minutes of the play is spectacular in creating an extreme state of awkwardness and gripping suspense as Cougar barely utters a word, dangerously clutching the knife to cut his own birthday cake as his plan to groom Foxtrot spirals out of control. The play revels in making the audience as uncomfortable as possible and

is exemplified in one particular scene where Cougar gets Foxtrot drunk behind his own girlfriend/fiance and fondles him, really driving home this ‘in-yer-face’ theatre. The conclusion to the play is just as horrible as one would imagine as Sherbert reveals she knows Cougar’s age while holding a gun to his head. Never have the words ‘Happy 30th birthday!’ been so dramatic, as Sherbert utters them seconds before Cougar uses his knife to stab her, simultaneously killing her unborn child. It seems fitting that the play ends with Cougar eating his own birthday cake in silence finally revealing that the fastest clock in the universe is in fact ‘love’.

A fitting end to a grisly play which utilised a brilliant cast who sell their characters, no matter how quirky the names or gruesome the scenarios. Maybe don’t see the play with your mum though.

10

Arts UEA Artists Presents: Doll Making Why buy dolls when you can create your own?

Amelia Morris I don’t think there was ever a point in my life where I didn’t love dolls. The cutesier, more delicate they were, the more I adored them. I started collections from an early age, scouring car boot sales and second hand shops and spending my hardearned pocket money on those teensy-tiny Polly Pockets, the little hard plastic ones from the 90s that were discontinued due to being an obvious choking hazard. I loved those things. The little box houses you kept them in, the pastel colours of the plastic, all those tiny details. They were, most likely, the things that started up what has so far been a lifelong desire to make and customise dolls of my own.

finished result looks far more delicate, and I tend to just use paints for the details.

While I had quite a few Barbies as a child, I was always the kid who tried “customising” them with haircuts, badly applied marker-makeup and new dresses made out of old socks and other scraps of fabric. I grew up and didn’t look at Barbies again until, over the summer, I found a 1995 Teacher Barbie in a second hand shop and was filled with such intense nostalgia that I bought it and attempted to restore it to original condition.

Alongside this endeavour, I’ve been teaching myself to sew more and more elaborate rag dolls. The most basic kind of rag doll takes just a couple of hours to complete. I love the slightly eerie nature of rag dolls; they have such potential to be cute or creepy, it’s up to you. I tend to line my creations up along my bookcase, which can definitely be a little disconcerting if you’re not a doll fan.

Pretty soon, the urge to simply restore wasn’t enough, and my love of customisation struck again. I knew there was an online community which repainted Monster High dolls, because one of my friends was part of it. I had also seen, those Buzzfeed and Huffington Post articles about Tree Change Dolls.

The instance of the mother who went about repainting the faces of Bratz dolls so they were makeup-less, and dressing them in welly boots and knitted dresses. While I wasn’t about to force my dolls to go makeupfree when even I couldn’t always bare to, I did quickly find myself looking out for Bratz dolls and Moxie Girlz to restore and repaint. Before I knew it, that became my summer occupation.

Fashion doll restoration is mostly about fixing their clothes, washing them, and taming their matted hair with a mixture of patience and boiling water.

Fashion doll repainting, on the other hand, feels like a surgical procedure.

After wrapping the body and hair in paper towels, you first take off the factory paint using nail polish remover or pure acetone. I cannot express how tedious this process can be on older dolls, where the vinyl face is stained. You clean it, dry it, and apply a light fixative to give your pencils or paints something to cling to. I have experimented both with thinned acrylic paint and with watercolour pencils.

Watercolour pencils are now my go-to because the

Since I’m a crafter by nature, I incorporate a lot of different techniques to finish off my dolls. Sewn clothing, clay shoes for the dolls who have lost their feet. (I still mostly buy my dolls second hand, so that’s a common occurrence.) The characters I’ve created by the end are usually very different from the dolls I started with. I’m not so conceited to claim that the original dolls are ugly in any way, just that my finished pieces conform much more with my personal idea of beauty and style.

Rag dolls are pleasing because they’re the only way I’ve found to create dolls entirely of my own creation.

Repaints are fun, but I’m working on Mattel or MGA’s canvas.

When I sew my dolls, I start with nothing but fabric, felt, and embellishments, which is a much more pleasing feeling. My greatest influences have always been the dolls I had as a child, along with things I spot on Pinterest and Instagram. Animation, too, serves as an inspiration when it comes to colour and style - think Steven Universe and Bee and Puppycat.

Recently, I embarked on a far bigger project: an elaborate cloth doll with articulated neck, arms and legs. It required the purchasing of some specialist doll-making needles for jointing, and was the perfect project for me in that the method of painting on the face was almost identical to repainting a Bratz doll. It took me far longer than my other projects have, and involved far more complicated sewing and tiny seam allowances than I was used to. Mandy, as I promptly named her, was created by following a pattern, but I’ve never been one to stick to the instructions. My aim for the following year is to develop my skills as a doll maker to the point where I am creating my own patterns from scratch.

Credit: Amelia Morris

11

Creative Writing “Finally, the impossible seems inevitable: January is coming to an end. Students everywhere are rising from their winter-bluesinduced slumber, and the prospect of a nine am no longer means waking up in the dark. On the downside, however, the last two weeks have been marred by the death of Alan Rickman and David Bowie, two figures widely adored by many generations for their timeless contributions to British culture. Bowie in particular was a hero of mine, and often described as a kind of chameleon due to the constant reinvention of his stage persona - a feat which propelled him to the forefront of pop culture for many decades. It was this use of the word ‘chameleon’ to describe a person that seemed like an interesting thing to explore in writing, so I asked UEA’s writers to do just that, and here are their colourful responses.” - Jay Stonestreet, Creative Writing editor Fun Fact: A chameleon changes colour by adapting the spaces between three layers of skin cells, which in turn causes varying reflections of different light wavelengths to suit the animal’s mood or surroundings. For example, darker colours most often represent submission, whilst brighter colours like reds and yellows indicate aggression.

Her She’ll sit in the corner at your flat party, Receding into her own slumped body.

All one-worded answers, with a downward glance, A blush and a stutter when asked to dance.

A coat to fit in amongst the flock, Wearing her ghostly pallor as if in shock.

Keeping away from every drinking game, Asking herself why she even came.

Camouflage for the sake of social survival, For she knows that with her quiet arrival The jury before her begin to deliberate Over which bit of her to hate.

A fretful eye on the crawling time, Waiting to deliver her rehearsed line.

“Thanks for your kind invite, But I’m turning in for the night”.

Anonymous

cold-blooded you keep changing your name.

I fall for your all encompassing gaze and your accompanying bitterness temporarily glazed - you’re all the same. but you keep changing your face, your body the way you look at me, the things you took and continue to take from my bed my mind even my breath it’s exhausting. your name exists only in the lipstick autograph you left on the other cheek. so for now, lover, i’ll call you chameleon. you’re cold blooded. and you’ve changed all your colours.

Sean Harbottle

12

Creative Writing Lizard in Love The first time she saw him, he turned from green to bright red and so she assumed he was a chameleon like her. She had escaped from her owner’s home a year a go and now roamed the city. She thought he must have been trying to camouflage himself with the way he backed up against the red wall, his limbs spread at right angles. But he wasn’t so camouflaged the next time she saw him in the supermarket where his red skin made him look like a splurge of jam on the white linoleum floor. He had just materialised behind her in the fruit and veg section where she was looking for loose grapes.

She thought maybe he was a defective chameleon, like a faulty traffic light that never lets the cars go. Then again, he didn’t look like any of the other chameleons she’d seen in the pet shop; his skin was too smooth and his eyes too small. He looked just like an ordinary lizard. She rolled a grape over to him but he shot backwards so she just gave him a blinking head tilt and slithered off.

When she made her way down the aisle, she heard little slapping noises behind her and when she turned round he was there again, hiding behind a tower of cereal boxes.

“Are you ever going to say hello?” She said, a little louder than she had meant to, and he hid himself completely behind the boxes. She waited a little longer and then said “How do you do?”

Slowly, he appeared again and raised a webbed hand in hello. By this time he was only a little pink around the edges.

Jenny Moroney

pinhole fix Snap a twig too easy

and she will see Dual rotation and the pinhole lens

fixes. Measuring

Distance, danger, down

through the sunlight fractures.

Lazarus Last night We dreamt of subtle imperfections But were awakened to greater truths Last night We scratched with the skin of porcupines Our breaths reflecting ice Last night Dashing out our fears We heralded the end of youth Last night I swore I saw some of the old flicker Tempt me in your eyes Before, again - it upped and left.

And Time Only holds true to the fashioning and smoking of a cigarette.

Westley Barnes

I am eyed at every angle

from one side, and so

do I return uneasy gaze She hisses harsh and arches ancient crest

in defence, And then the metamorphosis:

the shifting tesselation of scales A rush like the roll

of warm surf over cool sand.

Jay Stonestreet

13

Television Pushing us to the Edge Derren Brown is Back with Another Controversial Social Experiment Lucinda Swain Derren Brown’s latest ‘experiment’, Pushed to the Edge, seeks to explore our innate social compliancy to an authority figure. It features an average man being convinced, in just one evening, to commit murder. In previous shows he has convinced someone that he had woken up in a zombie apocalypse, persuaded people to rob a bank, and intricately demonstrated the concept of mob mentality. Many of these previous shows have split public opinion, with some suggesting he uses actors, or ‘fakes’ it, such as his prediction of the winning lottery numbers. Others claim they are cruel and manipulative.

and the other three participants. Although Chris may not have been as malleable as the others, they still effectively had the intention to kill someone, not something that will rest easy on anyone’s conscience. However, whatever you think about the show whether

right or wrong morally, shameful or great entertainment, it was a real eye opener.

Derren Brown ended the show saying: ‘The point is, we’re all profoundly susceptible to this kind of influence, whether it’s driven

by our peer group or an ideology. It’s like we’re handed other people’s scripts of how to live our lives, to achieve their ambitions and beliefs’. Which one can’t help but feel resonates with real current issues taking place around the world.

The show itself is well structured and brimming with cliff-hangers. Derren Brown obviously enjoys exercising his ability to keep an audience on the edge of their seats, with every new addition to his repertoire, as the drama unfolds, increasing the shock factor.

Is the master of manipulation overzealous with his exploitation of human nature, or his attempts to shock us? Pushed to the Edge was indeed uncomfortable to watch at times and at others simply frightening at how apparently easily these people are controlled.

One must ask, does no one question the ethics of these programmes?

29-year-old Chris Kingston was Derren Brown’s latest ‘victim’. He’s been invited to help behind the scenes at a prestigious, celebrity-endorsed, fund-raising gala, for a fictional charity called Push. Throughout the evening, a number of events, staged by actors, led to the loss of his own decision making, which ultimately put him at the mercy of Derren Brown and the influences of peer pressure. Chris is pushed, as it were, to commit increasingly immoral and sickening acts, it was the foreseen aim that it would eventually culminate in him pushing an elderly man (a donor to the charity), Bernie, to his death. Although the audience very much knew that Bernie was in no danger, it made disturbing viewing.

Chris ultimately stuck to his morals and did not injure or push Bernie to what would have been his death. However, when it is revealed that three other participants effectively ‘killed’ Bernie, it chills you to the bone that it seems people tend to value their own success over others’ lives.

So without doubt Derren Brown’s Pushed to the Edge is captivating purely from a social experiment perspective. However, online debates as to whether the pushers were actors were widespread. Others complained to Ofcom about the effects of the show on Chris

Lucinda Swain

14

Television All The World's a TV To Celebrate the Life and Work of William Shakespeare on the 400th Anniversary of his Death, TV Goes Elizabethan Style Hannah Ford All the world’s a TV, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages. Yes it’s “that speech” from “that play” (the comedy As You Like It) by playwright, poet, and all round literary superstar (he’s like Elvis to us literature students) William Shakespeare. But, of course, Shakespeare referred to a stage, not a TV. Nevertheless it seems, particularly in recent years, the TV has become Shakespeare’s new theatre, reaching, rather fittingly for a man whose theatre was named the Globe, all corners of the world.

Whilst versions of many Shakespeare plays are still being performed in theatres across the country, and indeed the world, and films, such as last year’s Macbeth, continue to be made, television has increasingly become the new medium through which writers and actors continue the tradition of bringing the bard’s work to life. In recent years, we’ve seen a glossy, all-star cast BBC series adaptation of Shakespeare’s first history cycle in The

Hollow Crown, and this year Shakespeare’s second history cycle – Henry VI parts one, two and three, and Richard III, is due to air as series 2 of The Hollow Crown. And that’s not all: to celebrate Shakespeare’s life and career as the most influential writer in the English language on the 400th anniversary of his death, there’s going to be a whole host of TV shows and specials dedicated to his work, and to the man himself. So if you’re not a fan of the bard, maybe stay away from TV for a bit.

So, with all of these Shakespeare adaptations, to watch, or not to watch: that is the question. For starters, The Hollow Crown.

Like the series before it which featured Ben Wishaw, Rory Kinnear, Tom Hiddleston and Jeremy Irons, it features an all-star cast.

The cast is headed up by Richard III’s own distant relative Benedict Cumberbatch in the role of Richard, and other well-known actors in the series include Hugh Bonneville, Michael Gambon, Sally Hawkins, Keeley Hawes, and Dame Judi Dench. The series is titled The Wars of the Roses, as the plays are

set during the civil war between the Yorks, such as Richard III, and the Lancastrians, for example Henry VI and Henry Tudor (i.e.

Queen Elizabeth’s grandad) who overthrew Richard at Bosworth (yes, the “my kingdom for a horse!” bit).

If this slight bit of historical background puts you off – and the mere mention of ‘history plays’ send you to sleep – you may think it’s not for you. But the beauty of Shakespeare is that his dramatisation of historical events makes for an engaging plot and great characters. Let’s not forget that Shakespeare, of course, was a major Tudor propagandist, as he wanted to stay on the right side of Queen Elizabeth (better be a suck-up than get your head chopped off after all), and therefore his history plays, particularly Richard III, had a political agenda. When everyone thinks of Richard III, they think of the hunchbacked, withered arm, horse-losing villain of Shakespeare’s play, when, as recent historical studies – and carpark excavations – has shown, he wasn’t the deformed villain everyone believed him

to be (he might have killed his nephews, but, it was a different time). So when watching the Richard III in this series, even if you aren’t familiar with history at all, you can enjoy it as though he was complete fiction.

Or just watch if Benedict Cumberbatch is your thing. Hey, otters are pretty handsome, right?

Also in the celebrations is a version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream on BBC One filmed by Russel T Davies, and David Tennant is hosting a celebratory show from the Royal Shakespeare Company theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s birthplace. And for those of you who aren’t keen on Shakespeare’s actual plays but love a good comedy, in the line-up is a sitcom for BBC 2 written by Ben Elton about Shakespeare’s life and works, called ‘Upstart Crow’, with David Mitchell as Shakespeare, and Harry Enfield as his dad. Not many more details have been revealed, but that’s enough for me to know it’s going to be great.

So, if TV be the food of love, watch on!

Nicola Wong

15

Television Guilty Pleasures What are the TV Shows we Secretly Love to Watch (and you Probably do too)?

Chloe Cox I first watched Awkward as a last resort; a result of browsing through Lovefilm when all the good programmes were gone.

Lovefilm you say? What’s that? Well, exactly. So sceptically, I began my first episode, and rightly so. Cringey lines, cringey outfits… and there were four more seasons of this? But trust me, stick with it.

OK, it’s your typical American high-school and teenage drama but the characters are so unbelievably wacky you feel obliged to see what crazy thing they do next. I found myself binge-watching just so that I could hear that sassy cheerleader Sadie say “You’re WEL-come,” one more time.

What impressed me most about Awkward was the fact that the protagonist’s first love was a fuckboy. I mean, finally some realistic characters! Drawn in, was I by the familiar tension between boy and girl

Callum Browne when boy would rather keep girl’s sexual pull on him a secret. How does this end?

Is there really hope for the rest of us? And yes, there are some satisfying endings; why not? Sometimes you just need a good, old teenage romance. But there are also some surprising ones that’ll keep you pressing the “next episode” button again and again. And despite the cheesy lines and the awkward “let-me-look-like-I’m-thinking-while-myvoice-says-what-I’m-thinking” look, the show really is worth a watch; especially if you’re looking for something easy to enjoy over your dinner or while you’re getting ready for a night out. Besides, they’re only 20 minutes each.

So if you’re having a bad day, pull out your laptops, grab a pack of your favourite cookies, pair them with two huge scoops of Ben and Jerry’s on top and get watching.

Jay Slayton-Joslin Whether you’re having a lazy day or recovering from a night out, there’s something rather cathartic about entering the television production nostalgia that is Flog It. It is similar to Antiques Roadshow except the tension increases tenfold when the public decide to take their items to auction.

The people who take part in this show walk the plank between heart-warming and cringe-worthy. The items are never exceptionally valuable, but there’s something pleasurable about people either winning or losing money on their possessions – depending on how you get your kicks. It

Everyone has guilty pleasures. Some of us enjoy Doritos and jam. Some of us have old S Club 7 tracks, skulking in the dark recesses of our iPods, buried somewhere between Kanye and Vivaldi. Some of us have suspiciously well-used looking shovels in the boots of our cars, a regularly visited “thinking spot” in the woods, and a rapidly shortening list of enemies. My crime, is far greater. I like Don’t Tell the Bride.

For those not familiar with the programme, I’ll explain its basic premise. BBC One selects couples from across the nation and gives them £12,000 to spend on their ideal wedding, with one condition: the groom must make all decisions regarding the wedding alone, with minimal contact with their partner. Inevitably, things go wrong, hilarity ensues, and the audience is left feeling comfortably smug in their own superiority, wondering faintly whether the BBC grows these people in a vat specifically for our entertainment. Textbook reality television.

can be relaxing and entertaining to learn about the history of these possessions, and It’s a simple idea, at times not far from the difference between sentimental and watching the human equivalent of those financial value. Ultimately, even if people aren’t running to the bank, or even after some items are running away from it, it’s always refreshing to hear that a simple purchase ended up being such a big part of somebody’s life.

videos where the cat won’t stop bumping its head off a glass windowpane, but brilliant, in its way. It is human drama at its finest, filled with the pathos of crushing responsibility in an uncaring world, at times almost Shakespearean. Who didn’t weep for the tragic soul who bought his fiance’s wedding dress in a charity shop? Hamlet got off lighter. And the bride who had to show up to her wedding on an airstrip? In a tank? (apparently in honour of the groom’s grandfather, which I think we can all agree is what weddings are really about). Such tragedy. Such comedy. Truly, it is a glorious age to be alive.

While flawed, just as all shows are, Don’t Tell the Bride is endearing in its refusal to ever pretend to be more than it is. It’s not high art, it’s not a profound examination of the human spirit in times of social and ecological expiry (even if it does sometimes seem to stumble into that by accident), it’s not even particularly about love. What it is, however, is exceedingly entertaining, inarguably so, and really, isn’t that all it needs to be? I like Don’t Tell the Bride. Will you share my shame?

Flog It is not brain rotting, but it’s certainly not stimulating. What is great about it is its comforting nature, as you can relax without thinking too much. There’s plenty of things that are worse to watch than this charming slice of television.

Dougie Dodds

16

Gaming & Technology Drifting Out of Our Thoughts Oculus VR- Beckoning the Future or Ignoring the Past?

Tom Bedford It’s hard to describe the Oculus Rift, to be released later this year, in terms that will not require subsequent explanations. So instead, it is best to describe it in layman’s terms. It’s a TV that you wear on your face. You can watch videos, inhabit ‘shared virtual spaces’ with other people in the most anti-social social media ever, or fulfil many other functions specific to a face-TV. The main purpose is for gaming, removing the physical and mental walls imposed by things such as the distance to, and size of the TV, that conventional gaming has. You’re fully immersed in the game- you look left, your character looks left. You hear a sound behind you, someone’s sneaking up on you. This is ‘virtual reality’.

Virtual Reality and the Oculus Rift in particular is an interesting new technology, and is being hailed as some as the pinnacle of modern gaming. With Sony jumping on the bandwagon and Microsoft and Nintendo having been grappling with it for a while now, it would be a fair assessment to assume that this is the future of gaming. But is it?

Now it’s worth starting my discussion with the most recent news on the device - the price tag.

Costing around £400 online, many consumers are critical of this as they deem it a bit steep. Of course as a gaming device this price tag would be seen as normal - the Playstation 4 came out over two years ago and is still around this price - but due to the Oculus Rift’s perceived status as, essentially, a gimmick, it’s understandable that people are wary of paying this much.

Maybe this is an issue with the marketing more than the device itself, but marketing and price can make or break a console. The Wii U, released in 2012 for around £300, received criticism for what was seen as a high price due to the lack of improvements from the Wii. Whether or not these criticisms were unfounded is irrelevant.

What is true is that Nintendo failed to address these issues in their marketing, leading to reduced sales and a harder time for the console to pick up the popularity it should have been introduced with. The ‘failure’ of the Wii U is being echoed in the marketing of the Oculus Rift. Whilst Oculus VR, the developers, have been showing plenty of how ‘cool’ the device is, they have neglected to bring up the issues

that people have with the device. This could prove fatal for the fledgling device.

The Oculus Rift has a meaty selection of games that have been announced, either to be released at launch or slightly afterwards. These include ports of pre-existing games such as Dying Light and Minecraft, unique games made for the device or only on Windows such as City Quest and Ghost in the Machine, and some other apps like A Maze Ing VR or Soundshelf.

The number of games pledged to the device is heart-warming - most AAA consoles don’t have this many games at launch. However, it is also worrying at the same time. The Oculus Rift is an untested device - no-one knows if it will soar or plummet. So many indie studios placing all their cards in the hand of such a unpredictable product could prove damaging for them in the long run.

Another device the Oculus Rift is comparable to is the Ouya. Even if you know what the Ouya is, then you haven’t heard of it since June 2013, its release date. The Ouya was a console funded through Kickstarter, as an indie version of the huge consoles which grip

the gaming industry, similar to the Oculus Rift.

It gained media momentum prior to its release due to the mode of funding and its status as an omen of the rise of indie companies. Ouya was seen as a huge step forward for gaming.

Unfortunately, when it was released people were hugely underwhelmed by the lightweight games catalogue and the general lack of distinction from a typical console, save for all the games being basically phone games on a controller.

The point of that is to say that the track record of projects like these leaves a lot to be desired.

The gaming industry has proven itself resilient to change or steps forward (or backwards), and despite the merits of the device it is hard to remain sold that the gaming community will lap it up.

Now, this could be completely wrong. The Oculus Rift could be the messiah the gaming industry didn’t even know they needed, completely changing gaming for the better.

On the other hand, it could be just another gimmick, joining on our dusty shelves the plastic Guitar Hero weapons or the Wii’s Light Gun. Only time will tell.

Game-Swap Month Is January Truly the Cruellest Month?

Sophie Smith It’s common knowledge that the entertainment industry hates January. The films that are coming out in the cinemas were already out in America weeks ago, no new TV programmes will be released for a few months, and new game releases include tumbleweed and shelf dust.

There are many endearing terms for January, most of them too lewd to write in a newspaper, but let’s propse a new one - ‘Game-Swap January’.

The reason for this is that, when looking down the game release line-up for the month (and weeping slightly), one thing stands out. Lots of the games to be released were released last year, but on different consoles. For example, Rise of the Tomb Raider was released in November (although on the same day as Fallout 4 so you’d be forgiven for not noticing) for Xbox One, and will be seeing a PC port at the end of the month. The expansion Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen came to consoles in 2013, yet only saw its PC counterpart a few days ago. January seems to be catch-up month for PCs. It does go the other way too - The Banner Saga

an indie game that was released around two years ago, is showing its face for the currentgen consoles. We can probably thank their indie drive for this.

There are a few unremarkable new game releases- another Mario game, a Resident Evil re-make, another one of those Minecraft: Story Mode installments.

But for those of us that appreciate good games, the Game-Swap extravaganza is a really exciting thing. Console players or PC players can explore the games that they never got to play before but heard so much about - any bugs present in the previous release will be fixed, a pre-existing community for the game will exist to provide assistance and hints, and it’ll be a lot cheaper than a new release should be.

So while other corners of the entertainment industry hide away in the cold January mist, gaming is actually benefitting from the slow release schedule.

Or so we can tell ourselves as we eagerly await the release of XCOM 2.

Sergey Galyonkin via Wikimedia Commons

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Gaming & Technology A New Kind of Writing Are You Reading this Online Or in Print?

Stephanie Wilderspin E-readers are the Marmite of technology: some people will show you all the new, pointless features on their Kindle and ask to convert everything including your birth certificate into Mobi format, others bury themselves in a pile of first-edition Bronte novels and tell you how good they smell. This debate has been picked up by publishers and journalists too. Publishers of novels, magazines, and newspapers alike are trying desperately to appeal to both groups.

Trying to cater to the desires of the digitallyminded and the old fashioned. Should we be encouraging this move forward, or should we stick with traditional publishing?

With print, it’s mainly its physicality that keeps it as a popular format. E-readers can never quite replace the view of a bookcase full with an array of novels with beautiful cover art. And watching someone on a TV show scroll through their tablet indeed isn’t as satisfying as them circling in red ink job adverts from some battered broadsheet.

Print also has enhanced credibility. It’s extremely hard to get a piece published in print media as it goes through a large editing

process, especially with larger newspapers and magazines. With blogging and sites with community publishing, anyone can post and they can write what they like. This is why the internet cannot be trusted. Ever.

staff and try newer areas. It also means that, as the first generation to grow up around this technology, we automatically become more qualified for new positions than older applicants.

But digital publishing is getting more popular, and with good reason. Our progress in technology and reliance on phones and laptops means we have everything in one place. Even ten years ago, most people would buy a paper for a train journey or to read with their morning coffee. Now our clocks, notepads, music, and connection to the outside world are in our electronic devices.

People on the tube use the Kindle app on their iPad instead of reading the Metro laying on a newly vacated seat. When David Bowie died, the whole world knew within seconds because of social media and its integration with journalism, along with the immediacy of the internet. Especially for university students that are interested in journalism or marketing, the digital age makes getting articles or pages published a lot easier. For one, because the cost of maintaining a website is lower, and so they can hire more

But there’s a down side to this new immediacy too. Lower-quality content has an easier time finding the light of day, and the anonymity of the keyboard and screen lets people exhibit their rather unsavoury opinions to a large crowd. Infamous figures such as Katie Hopkins, who spread hatred, may not have been the public figures they are back when print media was the only form of journalism. The rise of clickbait articles shows that with the ease of access to a huge variety of content, readers are more likely to gravitate towards content that plays on thier biasis and presents the expected article in a concise and easily digestible format. There is also the horrible possibility that, given the opportunity of annonymity, publishing may loose its accountability to the wider market.

Digital publishing is getting a hard time for bringing about the collapse of the publishing

and journalism industries. But really, that isn’t true. Like all industries, technology is forcing the media industry to go through a large change. It might struggle at first, but once we have this Internet thing truly figured out, digital publishing could open links to whole new areas of journalism and writing, as well as positions for those of us facing unemployment after graduation.

Nothing will ever replace a full bookshelf, or the satisfaction of spreading a paper over a table in a cafe. But let’s not be as wary of digital publishing, as it is going to open up a whole new world of media for our generation to shape.

Fun FactConcrete's readership figures are faily evenly split between our print forms, distributed in the university's public spaces, and the online edition, which can be found at concrete-online.co.uk

This Cake's Not a Lie Ever Wanted to Eat Like Your Hero?

Adrian Dunkeley

Portal’s False Cake For this cake you’ll need the usual sponge cake ingredients- equal ounces of sugar, butter and self-raising flour, and half this number in eggs, as well as icing to top.

1) Mix together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and sift in the flour. Mix until it forms a nice cake mixture.

2) Add to greased tins and put in an oven.

Cook until cake-esque.

3) Cover in icing. Put a solitary candle in the top.

4) Invite your friends over for a cake party.

When they arrive, put them through tests to see if they deserve the cake. When they’ve finished (if they finish), reveal that there never was a cake.

Minecraft’s Cooked Meats For this recipe you’ll need only your bare hands, and a complete lack of empathy towards animals.

1) Find an animal that you’d like to eat.

2) Kill it. Don’t look in the eyes. Not those poor, cute, innocent eyes. That animal was only born yesterday, it hasn’t seen life yet. Don’t look in the eyes.

5) Put the stone you extracted into a square. It should now absolutely resemble a stove. If it doesn’t, you haven’t been trying hard enough.

6) Put your wood in the bottom of the stove, and the meat in the top. No preparation is needed. Just shove it in there.

3) Take the meat it turns into. If the animal drops anything else, wear it as clothing.

7) Within a few seconds the meat should be cooked. What do you mean, ‘food poisoning’?

4) Use your bare hands to extract pure stone from the cliffs or the ground beneath you. You’ll also need to punch down a tree for wood.

8) You now should be completely prepared for all your adventures. I just hope your hands, stomach, soul, and sanity aren’t too damaged.

Fallout’s Dandy Boy Apples Whilst most people just find these by the dozen, you may be surprised to hear that people actually have to make these.

1) Mix 1 cup of corn syrup, One and a half cups of water, and two cups of sugar in a heated saucepan until you get a weird, sticky substance.

2) Dunk a load of apples in the mixture, and put them aside to dry.

3) Leave these aside to air and dry. Due to the mixture, they won’t go off. It’s best to leave them about 200 years.

4) To get that extra flavour that you can’t eat them without, immerse them in a radioactive environment for a while. Good locations include irradiated pools of water.

Deviantart- NicktheEchidna

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Film The Hateful Eight Alex Morrison Nobody directs quite like Quentin Tarantino, and The Hateful Eight is further evidence of his glorious style. Here, he takes on the Western genre and injects mystery into it, as eight strangers find themselves snowed in, trapped in a cabin with the uncertainty of leaving. Tarantino’s usual sensibilities come into play throughout; lengthy conversations are used upon topics that do not necessarily advance the plot, and whilst no conversation is “Royale with Cheese” levels of brilliance they still feel natural. Tarantino’s use of flashbacks are also of great importance and are used effectively to reveal the mystery, whilst the dark humour and strong music helps to cement Tarantino’s thumbprint on the film.

The best aspect of the film is the characters.

Although none of the protagonists could be deemed likeable, their fascinating

personalities and backstories make them a pleasure to watch, whilst the conflicting viewpoints between many of the characters (including Samuel L. Jackson’s bounty hunter and Walton Goggins’s Confederate militiaman) keep a realistic tension throughout the film. The actors also bring their all as expected for Tarantino. The particular stand out is Jennifer Jason Leigh, who provides the necessary insanity and gleeful masochism to main antagonist Daisy Domergue, making her arguably the most fascinating character to watch despite being a deplorable human being.

The film does suffer a bit in the first third with its pacing, and at times there are moments where conversations feel drawn out, such as the opening shot of Wyoming, feeling indulgent and unnecessary. However, the punchy dialogue and the dark chemistry

between the characters manages to alleviate this problem somewhat. Additionally, once the characters reach the cabin the film begins to really hit its stride, especially once Tarantino begins to engage in the violence so prevalent in his film. The gore, whilst unsettling at times, is so over the top that it becomes enjoyable to watch, whilst the main mystery is paid off in a satisfying manner.

Overall, The Hateful Eight reaffirms the skills of Tarantino, as he crafts an intriguing mystery with disturbing and antagonistic, yet fascinating, characters, whilst wrapping it all up in his distinct visual and narrative style. Some may balk at the extreme graphic violence and the three hour run time – and indeed, the film’s opening hour does take up a little too much time – but the brilliant second half makes the lengthy build-up completely worth it.

+Intriguing

Yes

characters

+Glorious violence

-Pacing

The Hateful Eight demonstrates Tarantino's as he creates an intriguing mystery.

The Revenant Charlie Levenson The January release of The Revenant means this is the second year in a row director Alejandro G. Iñárritu has put out a film very early in the year that is already being touted as one of the potential films of the year (formerly Birdman), and yet we have over 11 months to go. The question is, are these critics right for making such a bold statement? Absolutely.

Yet again Iñárritu has produced a masterpiece, with the ever-brilliant Leonardo DiCaprio leading the film (playing the character of Hugh Glass), and flawless actor Tom Hardy providing the role of the protagonist.

One cannot talk about this film and not mention all the buzz around Di Caprio and the ultimate question: will he finally get that damned Oscar he so deserves? It’s fitting to mention that he was supported by a fantastic cast, with the likes of Hardy and the gripping performance by Domhnall Gleeson. Yet

ultimately, it comes down to this: DiCaprio was utterly mesmerising, putting in a powerhouse performance that thoroughly deserves to win Best Actor.

The film is not just great because it gets everything a film should get right, but it also leaps beyond the constraints of being a piece of entertainment, as it serves as a stark re-telling of American history. In The Revenant we get an ever so refreshing take on Native Americans, with Iñárritu beautifully sculpting the film to truly re-inforce the fact that America was their land which was savagely taken by the white man. Here we get fluid transition shots which consist entirely of nature (mostly smoke and gusts of wind) for all the Natives’ scenes and then hard-cuts for when we transition to the Frontiersmen – a subtle, yet effective piece of symbolism, something the film is riddled with. In addition to this, we get unrelenting,

gritty bloodshed and violence that was crucial to the expansion of America.

+Thrilling

Ultimately, The Revenant is all about immersion. A triumph of film geniuses as Iñárritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki come together to make a visually stunning, immersive piece of cinema. We get Iñárritu’s trademark ground-breaking long tracking shots, coupled with Lubezki’s gorgeous use of natural lighting and unparalleled establishing shots. The two men come together to give the audience a true feast for the eyes and an experience that will transport one firmly into the world of The Revenant.

+Beautiful

Good films should entertain the audience, while the best films immerse the audience and for that The Revenant is going to be one of the best films of the year.

Yes

+Heart-

wrenching A triumphant and gripping epic of a film that is so visually stunning it manages to make DiCaprio and Hardy the ugliest things in it. Illustrator: Dougie Dodds.

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Film Room Benjamin Pinsent Certain subjects are hard to explore in cinema. Often they are dealt with in an overtly sentimental manner, or are brutally real to the point of being exploitative. Since Room tackles topics of rape, kidnapping, suicide, and mental health, you wouldn’t be blamed for being a little apprehensive as to what writer Emma Donogue and director Lenny Abrahamson have come up with.

Room is narrated by five year old Jack (Jacob Tremblay), who has been kept in one room with his Ma (Brie Larson) for his entire life. On his birthday, Ma enlists Jack in her escape plan, and from there we watch Jack, Ma and Ma’s family deal with the fallout of the abduction.

The film is well shot, using a handheld camera that somehow enhances the film’s realism.

There is also great use of silence, where the director and sound designer have confidence in the image and performance to get a visceral emotional response. The scene where Jack and Ma reunite after being rescued reduced the theatre to tears.

The actors grasp their roles with both hands to deliver powerful and raw performances as a family trying to piece themselves back together; indeed, Brie Larson has been nominated for an Oscar for her performance. The lynchpin of the film, however, is a fantastic child performance

by Tremblay. One could see this film going to hell in a handbasket with a weak child actor; however he is perhaps the most important and integral part of the entire film, as he makes Jack and his relationship with Ma feel very real and believable.

That isn’t to say that the film is without its faults. Once Jack and Ma leave the room, the story starts to lose both focus and subtlety as we watch them enter the wider world. The plot becomes a series of vignettes with a range of quality; there are some that are good, others that are important, and then a few that venture into the downright manipulative. Similarly, the gift card philosophy also gets grating after a while.

This is an excellent exploration of the psychological ramifications of kidnap, not only considering the victim of the kidnap, but also the wider implications of such an event’s aftermath. Despite a few stumbles into the sentimental, Room walks a fine line between the emotional and the real to make it a must see.

+Stellar

Yes

acting

+Emotive -Occasionally laboured

The performances are great and you feel a real emotional connection to the characters on screen.

Creed Daniel Jeakins Warner Bros.

Filmed over the space of a month on a tight budget, 1976’s Rocky gave birth to a cultural phenomenon, with Sylvester Stallone’s titular character emerging as cinema’s most iconic underdog hero. Following a number of sequels with varying degrees of critical and commercial success, we arrive at Creed: the seventh iteration in the now forty year-old franchise, but the first to see Balboa take a back seat. This is a Rocky movie at its core but follows the story of Adonis Creed, the son of Rocky’s foe-turned-friend Apollo. It’s a significant change for a franchise known for keeping to a tried and tested structure and it’s a change that works; Creed is a fresh new underdog story for the twenty-first century that, despite its flaws, does the series proud.

Stallone’s supporting role in Creed is the film’s greatest strength. He delivers a heartfelt,

engaging performance which explores the weaknesses of his character following the passing of his wife. His relationship with the protagonist (Michael B. Jordan) is more complex that one would expect, with Balboa reluctantly taking on the role of mentor.

Rocky’s character is explored in a way it never has been before, so if the film proves to be the boxer’s final outing, it’s a fitting finale.

Jordan’s character is less interesting but the rising star performs well on the whole and his story isn’t necessarily a predictable ‘ragsto-riches’ affair; his dissociation with his father Apollo is an interesting addition. His challenger, however, Liverpool champion Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew) is far less memorable than the likes of Clubber Laing and Ivan Drago. The choice to cast an actual boxer in the role in favour of authenticity

Studio Canal.

unfortunately backfires, with Conlan feeling unintimidating and nowhere near menacing enough.

Much like The Force Awakens, the film indulges in a number of nostalgic throwbacks to the previous films, but Creed does feel like it wants to try new things and doesn’t get too caught up in the past. Still, it’s nice to have a bit of fan service in such beloved franchises, and there’s one big question in particular that gets answered which fans will love.

Overall, Creed is an enjoyable underdog story that mirrors the original Rocky and gets admirably close to matching it. Stallone steals the show, but there are a handful of decent performances that bring the script to life, and by the final fight, you’ll be firmly rooting for Adonis.

+Nostalgia

Yes

+New side to Rocky

-Bland

antagonist Rising up, back on our screens. Creed is a breath of life into the aging Rocky franchise.

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Film

Wikimedia

In the Spotlight An Examination of the Nominations and Wins this Awards Season Alice Tougher Awards season has well and truly descended upon us; the rich and famous are out in storm, dressed in their best designer suits and gowns, honouring the critically acclaimed films of the year. While some of the awards this year seem to have fairly predictable outcomes, others are proving to be a fairly open contest. Considering first one of the more preidcatble outcomes, most critics are of the consensus that Leonardo DiCaprio will finally cinch the Leading Actor award at the Oscars this year for his role in The Revenant, following his gruelling commitment to the film, and his recent success at the Golden Globes.

In terms of the BAFTAs, the academy

is notorious for following the road less travelled in terms of their winners. Therefore it will likely prove to be a close call between Leo, and Eddie Redmayne’s performance in The Danish Girl.

In contrast, the Best Leading Actress competition seems fairly open, with standout performances from all the women in the categories this year. Brie Larson ws the winner at the Golden Globes for her nuanced performance in Room; however it would be great to see a win for Charlotte Rampling for her role in 45 Years, just to show you don’t have to be under the age of forty to win. Jennifer Lawrence is obviously an awards season favourite, with

her performance in Joy being her fourth Academy Award nomination. Having said this, it seems unlikely that this will be her year. For the supporting performances, the race is also fairly well matched. Idris Elba’s performance in Beasts of No Nation has been snubbed by the Academy Awards, but definitely has a fighting chance at the BAFTAs. For the Academy Awards, it would not be unlikely to find a toss up between Christian Bale in The Big Short and Tom Hardy in The Revenant. In terms of supporting actress, the Academy have tactically deemed Alicia Vikander a supporting performance in The Danish Girl, giving her a better chance,

however, Rooney Mara is also a credible opponent. Finally, Best Film seems to be going to The Revenant and Best Director to Alejandro G. Iñárritu, though the efforts of Adam McKay for The Big Short and Ridley Scott for The Martian are also worth considering. For the BAFTA’s Outstanding British Film, It would be surprising if The Danish Girl didn’t receive the accolade, however Ex-Machina would definitely be their main source of competition.

2016 seems to undeniably be the year for The Revenant, and an Oscar for Leo has definitely been years in the making. Given that he has been nominated so many times, the Dolby Theatre will be on their feet for the man.

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Film Ones to Watch: 2016 Charlotte Gaines

Yasmine Haggar

Alice Tougher

Deadpool: Ryan Reynolds once again dons a superhero costume in this unconventional Marvel movie about wisecracking mercenary Wade Wilson. After an experiment leaves him with accelerated healing Wade must exact revenge on those who nearly destroyed his life, by becoming the kickass antihero Deadpool. Fans have been waiting patiently for a faithful R-rated adaptation of the Deadpool comics, and if the gory red band trailer is anything to go by, they won’t be disappointed.

Promising to showcase the Merc With A Mouth’s trademark meta humour, fourth wall breaks and high quantities of hyperviolence, this is a must see for comic book fans, though perhaps not one to watch on a Valentine’s date.

Assassin’s Creed: Despite being set for a release towards the end of 2016 (21st December, to be exact), Assassin’s Creed has certainly drawn a significant amount of hype already, especially from fans of the video game franchise. With Michael Fassbender to star as the lead, Callum Lynch/Aguilar, and Jeremy Irons as the CEO of Abstergo Industries, the cast certainly looks star studded. Hopefully, the adaptation of most famous assassincentral franchise will feature several of our favourite elements from the games: stealthy kills, absurd parkour, and plenty of free-falling into conveniently placed hay-bales

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them brings us the latest adventure in J. K. Rowling’s world of magic, set in New York in the 1920s. The screenplay was written by Rowling herself, and is based on the book that Harry Potter studied in school written by the film’s protagonist, Newt Scamander. With a powerhouse cast, headed up by Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne, and with directing from David Yates, the director of the final four Harry Potter instalments, Fantastic Beasts will no doubt be incredibly successful at the box office. Hopefully the film lives up to its unavoidable hype, as there are already two sequels planned before 2020.

Benjamin Pinsent

Helen Jackson

Thomas Hall

Hail Caesar!: It’s been about three years since their last outing Inside Llewyn Davis, but the Coen brothers are back with Hail, Caesar! an all-star screwball comedy set around a 1950’s film studio. From the cast list, to the people behind the camera and the premise itself, the film screams good quality farcical Coenesque absurdist fun. This looks set to be masterfully made, and with plenty of sharp humour from Ralph Fiennes, who is sure to cement his name as a comedy great after his turn as Gustav H in The Grand Budapest Hotel. Keep an eye out for it at the end of February.

Finding Dory: Our favourite fish is back! After the release of Finding Nemo in 2003, the thirteen year wait is finally over.

Despite being around the age of nine when these fish first entered our lives, it’s more than acceptable to go and see it this summer as a twenty-two-year-old… The sequel centres on forgetful Dory, who suddenly remembers a part of her childhood and wishes to find her family off the coast of California. It’s going to be an adventure we won’t want to miss. I certainly hope it exceeds expectations and that the long wait was worth it. Just keep swimming until its release in June 2016!

Captain America: Civil War: Following on from the events of last year’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America’s third film sees him teaming up with Falcon and Bucky to take on Iron Man, War Machine and co. after a pretty major falling-out.

With Martin Freeman, Daniel Bruhl, Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther and Tom Holland as Spider-Man joining the cast, there’s a chance the film could be overstuffed with characters.

However, the Russo Brothers return as directors from Cap’s fantastic last outing, so here’s hoping it will be just as good, and kick off Marvel’s phase three spectacularly.

Charlie Levenson

Gabriela Garcia-Huff

Suicide Squad: This year the monopoly of Marvel comicbook movies will come to an end. This is officially the year of DC comics. Suicide Squad is DCs answer to Guardian’s of the Galaxy, except deliciously darker (but still being sprinkled with comic-relief ), and set to revolutionise the concept of superhero team-ups, whilst pondering the question: what if a bunch of renegades and villains were forced to become heroes? This film will push the boundaries of what constitutes heroes and will be a desperately needed fresh-take on the comicbook movie genre which has been plagued by Marvel Studios over-saturation.

Star Wars: Rogue One: Taking place just after the events of Episode IV, this is the first film of the Star Wars Anthology series, said to follow a group of Rebels, as they conspire to steal the plans for the Death Star. Set to release a year after the success of The Force Awakens, there is a lot of pressure mounted on this stand-alone Star Wars film. Not much information has been announced just yet, though the cast is pretty star-studded, with Oscar winner Forest Whitaker and Oscar nominee Felicity Jones in the mix. With the arguably positive reception of the most recent film, hopefully Rogue One can endure the current hype around the franchise, and satisfy the millions of eager fans around the world.

Bago Games, Flickr

Alex Morrison Warcraft: Video game movies are notoriously dreadful, but the tide could turn this year as this adaptation of Blizzard Entertainment’s flagship series, World of Warcraft looks as though it could faithfully recreate the cinematic grandeur of the games. The trailers demonstrate the promise of epic battle scenes between humans and orcs, as well as the beautiful creation of the lands of Azeroth and the development of both sides of the conflict. Additionally, director Duncan Jones has proven his worth with Moon and Source Code, so the property seems to be in strong hands. The release of Warcraft and Assassins Creed could mean 2016 is the first year to ever see a decent film adapted from a video game.

Brianna, Flickr

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