The University Times Magazine

APRIL 1, 2014

Magazine

INSIDE THE INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION

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APRIL 1, 2014

Magazine

Features 5 Put to the Test We take the free Scientology personality test and interview several former Irish members of the Church of Scientology

BY JANE FALLON GRIFFIN

8 Inside the Institute of Education We interview some students of the famous Dublin grind school, the Institute of Education on Leeson Street.

BY CHARLOTTE RYAN

14 Forgive us our Fashions We take a look at Re-dress and Ethnic Threads, two ethical fashion initiatives in Dublin.

BY RACHEL LAVIN

Tara Carroll 10

Music

Film

20 Reviews

18 Reviews

Cloud Nothings Legowelt

“The 86th iteration of Hollywood’s biggest night was seriously lacking in edge”

Calvary The Double

What We’re Listening To

VLADIMIR RAKHMANIN 17

19 Mysterious Skin

BY THOMAS EMMET

21 Dublin Dance

BY EOIN HENNESSY

Bits 17

To be Continued

BY VLADIMIR RAKHMANIN

23 Sigh: Things We Shouldn’t Have to Explain to RTÉ Again

Fashion 22 What is Normcore?

BY eLAINE O’CONNOR

BY ELIZABETH BRAUDERS

Bold Brows are Back

Cover: Illustration by Laura Finnegan for The University Times Magazine

BY ELIZABETH BRAUDERS

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EDITORIAL

ZARDOZ HEAD ILLUSTRATION: LAURA FINNEGAN

T

Magazine EDITOR James Bennett

his is the eighth and final issue of The University Times Magazine this year. At the start of the year I talked a lot in meetings and workshops about the type of writing that I hoped would appear in these pages. I talked about telling stories, going out and finding out about something, just because you wanted to know more about it, and then sharing your story with others. This can sound like a childish simplification of journalism, but it is, I believe, an approach that has benefited us. Media has a tendency to suck those involved in it into a self-referential bubble, where convention and notions of an artificial zeitgeist can have too much sway in deciding what is written.

politicians, poets, trans* people, republicans, artists, dogs, whistleblowers, former child stars, senators and countless other things. Credit is due to the writers who went out there and engaged with the people around them, and came back with stories to tell.

We have tried to write about things because we want to, or because we are curious about them. Of course we have not succeeded in doing this on every occasion, but I believe that by keeping this in mind we have achieved a lot.

The small stack of magazines that I will take away with me at the end of this year will be something that I will always be proud to have put my name to. I hope that everyone who was involved feels the same way. I look forward to seeing how this young publication, which has just seen the end of its third year, will fare in the future.

Our articles have been about atheist priests, prostitutes, Fine Gael councillors, Labour

Our review section also deserves thanks.

The section editors and their teams have provided great cultural commentary, which is another essential aspect of trying to make sense of what is going on around us. There is more to a publication than words though, and it is at this point that I would like to thanks all those involved in photography, illustration, the website and the print layout.

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Edmund Heaphy DEPUTY/MUSIC EDITOR Eoin Hennessy ONLINE EDITOR Clementine Yost FILM EDITOR Jack O’Kennedy FASHION EDITOR Elizabeth Brauders

Good luck to all those who will be involved.

And thanks to everyone who put up with me this year.

James Bennett EDITOR @_j_ames

ILLUSTRATIONS Laura Finnegan PHOTOGRAPHY Sinéad Baker WORDS Jane Fallon Griffin, Charlotte Ryan, Rachel Lavin, Vladimir Rakhmanin, Luke O’Reilly, Eoin Moore, Thomas Emmet, Eoin Hennessy, Elizabeth Brauders, Elaine O’Connor

DETAILS Quotes

Photo

Corrections The University Times Magazine welcomes suggestions, comments, and complaints about errors or omissions which warrant correction. These may be addressed to the editor of the magazine by emailing magazine@ universitytimes.ie.

“As Commissioner and throughout his very distinguished service in the Force he has made an enormous contribution to fighting crime.”

If you are dissatisfied with a response from the magazine, you may reach the editor of The University Times by emailing editor@universitytimes.ie.

Tweets

bugging the GSOC bugging the Gardai bugging the GSOC *inception music*

Alan Shatter on FORMER GARDA COMMISSIONER Martin Callinan

“Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead.

Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.”

Albert Camus

@MAJORTHRILL

MICHAEL D. HIGGINS, PRESIDENT OF IRELAND, QUEUEING FOR AN ATM WITHOUT SECURITY

Statistic

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$1,805,655,332

The number of people executed worldwide last year

LIFETIME GROSS TOTAL OF ACTRESS MERYL STREEP

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Plot idea: 97% of the world’s scientists contrive an environmental crisis, but are exposed by a plucky band of billionaires & oil companies. @SCOTTWESTERFELD

Put to the Test Jane Fallon Griffin takes the free Scientology personality test and interviews some ex-members of the organisation.

Photos by SinĂŠad Baker

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hen you mention the Church of Scientology to the average Irish person, a pause generally ensues, while the person racks their brains in an attempt to assemble the snippets of information they have heard about the movement in recent years. Tom Cruise appears to be the most common reference point, demonstrating the feeling among Irish people that Scientology is something more at home among the boulevards of L.A. than on the streets of Dublin. However, the Church of Scientology has succeeded in extending its influence to Ireland. Here, however, it has the status of a mission, rather than that of a religion which it holds in America, Australia and Argentina. Abbey Street is home to the Irish branch of the church, with its office located above a hairdresser, flanked by a traditional Irish music shop and a travel agent. The attention received by Scientology in Ireland is very much confined to its testing in its Dublin headquarters and the protests of those who aim to restrict any further influence by the Scientologists: Anonymous Ireland.

The first Church of Scientology appeared in Los Angeles in 1954 following the success of its founder L. Ron Hubbard’s popular book The Science of Survival. The church continued to attract members around the United States, with its influence later developing

ideology of the movement stresses the need for the individual to move beyond past painful experiences which are restraining them from reaching their full potential. The process by which these experiences are

with a “when in Rome” attitude declaring my maiden voyage to the States to be a prime opportunity to investigate what appeared to me to be a novel concept, but ultimately left the states without being any

He recommended that I look for antidotes to my numerous and rather serious problems in the Dianetics book written by the founder of Scientology. identified and combated is known as auditing and involves a second individual known as an auditor monitoring the reaction of the subject to past situations which can then be highlighted and targeted. Scientologists claim that “by taking the mystery out of human behaviour” every aspect of a person’s life stands to benefit.

As the taxi pulled up to the house I would be staying in on Beacon Street while working in Boston last summer, the first thing I noticed was not my new dwelling but rather its neighbouring structure: a large sign stationed outside declared the building to be the Church of Scientology, with an accompanying table offering free personality tests and information on the church. Dur-

the wiser on the subject. Back in Dublin, walking down Abbey Street, a familiar symbol caught my eye: two triangles interlaced with a large letter S. The scientologists had been in Dublin all along.

I peered inside the glass panels of the entrance, but the place looked closed. The stand advertising the church’s infamous “free personality test” was propped up against the inner wall. I pushed the door, but it didn’t budge. The advertised opening hours seems to correspond with the time of my arrival. I thought perhaps the Irish branch had ended, but as I turned to leave I noticed a white bell and pressed it. There was a buzz as I heard the lock click open and I stepped forward through the open door. Whereas the building on Boston’s Beacon Street was large and imposing, this narrow carpeted staircase didn’t quite have the same impact. I felt no anxiety or fear as I ascended the staircase and came face to face with a man dressed in a white shirt and trousers who spoke as though English was not his first language. He introduced himself, and as confident as I had been on entering, my immediate response was to introduce myself under any other name than that of my own. I asked about the personality test and was directed towards two fitted desks

Another disturbing question asked if I would “use corporal punishment on a child aged ten if it refused to obey” me. international reach. The core teachings of Scientology revolve around Dianetics, a set of ideas and practices based on the metaphysical relationship between mind and body. According to its website, the Church of Scientology has bases in 184 countries, with 11,000 churches. The website defines Scientology as the “Study of Knowledge” stressing its belief system as one in which the individual discovers him/herself. The

reserved for the purpose of testing. While I waited to be presented with the 200-question test, the Scientologist asked me what I was doing. I answered I was a student but he proceeded to enquire about what job I had, which I found a little bit unusual.

When it came to the test, some questions became more thought provoking and frankly somewhat disturbing. One asked if I saw an item mistakenly advertised as reduced in a window would I demand it at the lower price, which seemed as far removed from the concept of religion as I could imagine.

Further questions asked me if I considered the modern prisons without bars system “doomed to failure”, and inquired into whether or not I had experienced muscle twitching for which there was “no logic”.

I continued answering, encountering further questions which I found most peculiar: “If we invade a foreign country would you sympathise with the conscientious objectors?” Another disturbing question asked if I would “use corporal punishment on a child aged ten if it refused to obey” me. Here were 200 questions requiring a positive addition sign a negative minus sign or an M which indicated somewhere in between or undecided, which I was expected to answer. I began the questionnaire considering carefully each sentence yet as I progressed through the sheet I found myself more uncomfortable. Following the test, I watched a Scientology video as I waited for my results in front of a large framed poster with the cover of the Dianetics book, while two shelves on either side of it held dozens of copies of the same book all with the same covers facing outwards towards the room.

ing my three months living next door to the church, there was a constant flurry of activity in the adjoining house. Curious, I often stood outside contemplating investigating this free personality test and the Dianetics book which was sold alongside the People and O magazines in our local newsagent.

I wanted to go in. My travel companions were vehemently against the mere thought of it. I tried to counter their arguments

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While the vast majority of the Irish population have little to say on the matter, for those that Scientology has affected, the impact has been massive in dividing families and draining resources. Anonymous Ireland aims to spread awareness of the dangers

of Scientology and offer family members of current scientologists and ex-members an outlet in which to channel their anger towards the movement. I spoke to an Irish third-level student involved in anti-Scientology protests, who recounted his experiences of demonstrating with the group. He believes that the common perception of those who get involved with Scientology as foolish is unfair, stating that at low points in life what seems an opportunity for help can be later unveiled as something else. He recalled meeting people who had not seen their spouses in twenty years since they became deeply involved with the church, noting that Scientology appears more popular with those middle-aged or older. However, the student told me of one woman in her twenties he met at an Anonymous Ireland demonstration, who while doing a college project on new religions ended up among the scientologist population during her research into the organisation. This student was wary of the church, and although he was only involved with Anonymous Ireland on a minor level, felt he was at risk. He always wears a mask to conceal his identity from possible repercussions for his involvement in anti-scientology protest. He reported that having written online against Scientology using his real name, he received a call at three o’clock the same morning, and was threatened and accused of being a “hacker”. While the student cannot prove that it was the scientologists who called, he is adamant that it was indeed them.

Many senior members of the Anonymous movement have themselves been directly affected by the movement both in Ireland and abroad. Ex-Scientologist Pete Griffiths who once ran the Cumbria-based mission in England, told me of the effects the movement had on him: “Scientology took 21 years of my life. And in some ways I’m still being affected as I won’t rest until the dangers posed by this crime syndicate are negated, once and for all.” Speaking of the draw of the movement he said that “scientology celebrities are shielded from the reality of the cult’s fraud and abuse and are only shown happy smiling people.” The church was engaged in some controversy recently following the announcement made by the leader in Clearwater, Florida at the Scientologists’ New Year’s Eve celebration . After declaring

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Dublin not to be safe from “the decaying values of the 21st Century” he continued to commend the Dublin representatives, stating that following the impact of scientology Ireland had noted an 85% decrease in drug related crime, yet that same year only a 7% decrease had been noted by Irish authorities. Furthermore, in the same video a Donegal radio station Ocean FM was shown as having presented an interview with an Irish Scientologist. The station has since denied all involvement stating the studio not to be that of the station nor the presenter to be a member of their staff despite the station’s logo appearing on screen.

To return to my personal experience, I was eventually invited into a small anteroom off the main office with two seats, a desk and a picture of L. Ron Hubbard. It was here that I would receive my test results. They were presented in the form of a graph. It seems that when it came to “activity”, my level was satisfactory although unfortunately the same could not be said for my other attributes. In categories such as “happiness” I didn’t fare well, nor in “organisation”, nor “criticism”, nor much else for that matter.

In many of them I was below the dotted line which, according to the chart, indicated that my need for attention was “urgent”. I looked at the sheet while he read out each individual result and couldn’t help but think that this personality must belong to someone else. He stopped talking and asked me if I agreed. I tried to be polite, saying that there may have been a few inaccuracies, but on further prompting I told him I disagreed with most of it. He recommended that I look for antidotes to my numerous and rather serious problems in the Dianetics book written by their founder. At seventeen euro it was a bit out of my student budget, so I passed.

Interesting as I found the experience, my gut feeling descending the stairs was not to attempt any further research into the next stages of membership. Leaving the office my phone buzzed, and taking it out I saw a message from a friend offering to accompany me on my visit unaware that I had already done so. I put my phone away but in hindsight had I received that message earlier would it still have been a lone expedition? Absolutely not.

Inside the Institute of Education Charlotte Ryan ILLUSTRATIONS BY LAURA FINNEGAN

I

t is a sad reality that at one point during the Leaving Certificate the average student will consider repeating. Be it because their own school let them down, lack of personal motivation or a simple decline in self-confidence, as that climatic exam approaches we hear too often the defeated refrains of “I’m just going to repeat”.

I first thought it when my hair started to fall out in fistfuls. Repeating wasn’t necessary for me but while I set up my contingency plan, the Institute of Education came to resemble a pipe dream to me. The annual fees of €6,950 didn’t matter to me, nor did the reputed high-pressure environment. I just wanted my dream course in my dream college. However, having come out on the other side in one (perfectly coiffed) piece, I now wonder whether my Leaving Cert experience would have been made easier or more difficult in such a stressful and competitive environment?

The Institute of Education was founded in 1969 by Raymond Kearns, an applied mathematics teacher who had studied in the United States and returned to Ireland armed with teaching methods that were at that time revolutionary in Ireland. His advocacy for private tuition for students led him to provide courses in new maths to both teachers and students, and ultimately brought about the establishment of the Institute on Leeson Street. Four decades later and it is one of the leading secondary schools in Ireland with the highest number of students entering third-level education each year. With their annual student population at approximately 5,000 – 250 in 5th year and 750 in 6th year and the remainder made up of Transition Year students and grinds pupils – the Institute caters to those aiming for high points in order to study

medicine or veterinary, repeating students or those simply aware of their need for a more motivated environment.

Such was the case with Melissa Farrell, a 6th year student hoping to study communications who entered the Institute in 5th year in anticipation of the highly stressful two years ahead of her, and the work that would be required. “Me and my parents decided I would do better in the Institute because of the great teachers and focus on the Leaving Cert,” she says. “I knew I would have a better chance of doing well in the Leaving Cert than my old school because it wasn’t very good.” Leaving a school, friends and support network during such a trying time seems a high price to pay for what is so often condescendingly called a piece of paper, particularly if that move bridges counties. However, for many this factor is an immense positive, levelling the playfield and granting students a blank slate with which to start again.

“I never exactly felt like I fit into my old school and couldn’t relate to the people or the teachers in it,” says Christine Slattery, a 6th year student hoping to study Computer Science. “I wanted to go to an environment where everyone was new and there was no existing cliques already in the school”.

This sense of equality is admittedly surprising for what is perceived as an upper middle-class establishment. The students interviewed said that the cosmopolitan and eclectic assortment of people completely eradicates bullying since, as Matthew Phelan says, “everyone went in one day on as equals.” He elaborates that “the Institute is a haven for the bullied, the quirky, the nerds, but it does nothing to shield you from the massive pressure that you need to succeed.” For example, there are currently more students aspiring to study medicine in the Institute than there are available

medicine seats in the country. Yet there is no competitiveness apparent in the school, no conniving or sabotaging. This isn’t Mean Girls. If anything, the highly pressurised atmosphere fosters an even greater sense of unity and solidarity.

Above even its reputation for excellent grades is the Institute’s notoriously strict class regime, yet for those of us outside those Leeson Street buildings very little is known regarding the class structures.

For most students classes begin at 8.30 and continue constantly until 3.30, with the majority remaining after class to work in one of two study halls. Despite the rigid structure Slattery maintains that it’s “perfect for a Leaving Cert year as it puts a perfect amount of pressure and motivation on you.” I’m inclined to agree. One of the most challenging aspects of the Leaving Cert is the risk of procrastination. Of course there are the infamous Institute notes, hand-outs that are revised to exam-perfect precision by the teachers and forbidden to be reproduced.

One student who would prefer to remain anonymous I spoke to recounted how geography essays were revised for via these hand-outs, complete with specific bulletpoints to be made to ensure an A1. English es-

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says that received A1s were taken to be locked in a vault in the library, accessible only with permission from the office. I had asked some students about whether or not English teachers were advising them to study only two poets out of the listed eight, having heard numerous past students recall it.

However, all inter viewees stated t h e s e were predictions rather than insider tips.

English essays that received A1s were taken to be locked in a vault in the library, accessible only with permission from the office.

This strident revision system is complimented by teachers who are rarely absent and, as Farrell notes, a policy that “if you didn’t want to work, it was your problem”.

However, in contrast is the much more flexible and progressive form of classes and student-pupil relationships. Students wear their own clothes, yet another factor possibly borrowed by Kearns from the United States, and call the teachers by their first names. The most notable difference in the

Institute is the flexible timetables in which students choose which subjects they want to study and during which time slots.

In this manner, students can dictate when they start and finish their days. This system blurs the lines that exist in other secondary schools and enhances unity among students. As Phelan says, “I personally forgot that most people around me were a year or two younger. I know a 16 year old fashionista with a briefcase and a successful fashion blog. When I was 16 I hadn’t even reached the level cap in World of Warcraft.”

That fashionista is Amelia O’Mahony Bradi, a 5th year student and owner of the blog La Femme Eclectique. Despite having one year to go until the exams, Bradi understands the enormous stress placed upon her shoulders and maintains that it’s necessary to “take a step back and remind myself that it’s just one class test or homework essay.” Being in 5th year, Bradi still finds the time to unwind with exercise, friends or blogging yet the same can’t be said for those in 6th year. “I have heard some stories about sixth-years having breakdowns, crying in class but I feel like if I’m aware of it I can try to combat it.”

Unfortunately breakdowns and crying fits in class are mainstays of many students’ experiences with the Leaving Cert. Most of us have crumbled at some point amid the pressures, expectations and personal

disappointment when we don’t meet those expectations. Usually a good vent to your friends or a comforting hug from a family member would ease the panic, maybe a night of slightly more excessive drinking than usual with your friends if it was particularly bad. We accept that sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures, however when you hear of students buying Adderall from classmates with ADHD in order to better study for exams, the line between what is real and what seems borrowed from an American teen show is blurred. Perhaps this isn’t specific to the Institute but it should serve as a reminder that such measures are in no way justified when attributed to the pressures of an exam.

Exacerbating this is the lack of any other outlet within the school. It would be assumed that a school that specialises in Leaving Cert preparation would have a particular lack of emphasis on extra-curricular activities however, it’s an accepted fact that during such a trying year an outlet would be necessary. As Phelan states “other schools have extra-curricular activities and charity work and other ways students can distinguish themselves”. Perhaps if the Institute established something like this, the pressure would be alleviated.

So why study there? Why put yourself under extreme pressure, heightened expectations and personal and emotional turmoil for an exam you could easily prep for in another school? Is it just the reputation or is there something more? I believe it’s as simple as knowing that you’re all in the same boat together. As Phelan states, “The Institute is focused on exams, it lays the system bare. It doesn’t try to baby you and everyone is united by their motivation to succeed academically.”

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PHOTOGRAPHY

Layers of the Mind

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Tara Carroll is a Dublin-based artist.

She is currently studying at IADT Dun Laoghaire for her BA in Visual Arts Practice. She explores her ideas through performance, photography, video and installation work. She has exhibited her work in the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Earlsfort Terrace and The Drawing Project in Dun Laoghaire. She was also the curator of ‘Juxtaposed3 ‘, an exhibition and performance night, at Back Loft,

where she displayed and performed her work alongside fellow artists. Tara has performed as part of ‘Unit One’ at Exchange Gallery and ‘Livestock’ at Market studios. And was honoured with the opportunity to perform with Amanda Coogan in her piece “13 Women” in the Hugh Lane Gallery on Culture Night 2013.

Carroll’s work is about the struggle of maintaining the constructs of personality.

Being confronted by new situations, the

established self has to be re-evaluated.

People develop layers in the mind over time in response to circumstances unique to them. These layers can create a mounting pressure that becomes restrictive and detrimental to both a person’s personality and approach to life.

Through performance and installation Carroll attempts to reveal the layers of the mind making the unconscious conscious.

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Forgive us our Fashions RACHEL LAVIN

photograph taken by Bangladeshi photographer Taslima Akhter of a couple embraced in the rubble of the collapsed Bangladesh factory building in April 2013 sent shockwaves around the world. The photo, captures two lovers’ final embrace, the blood trickling down the man’s cheek, like a tear, as his head appears to rest on the woman’s chest. This photo sent a powerful symbol to western lovers of cheap clothing. It showed them the devastation caused by their own complicity with the industry whose low ethical standards led to this collapse.

A

The building itself, Rana Plaza, was a garment factory, which manufactured clothing for western shops such as Primark, Mango, Benetton and Walmart. This cheap fashion industry is a relatively new phenomenon. The last twenty years has seen a massive rise in demand for cheap clothing and accessories, with major retailers outsourcing manufacturing to developing nations to cope with market competition. This radically drove prices down. With an ever-growing demand for cheap clothing, not only have retailers outsourced their manufacturing to the third world, therefore sinking the local manufacturing in the West, but working conditions in the third world are pushed lower and lower to meet cheaper price demands.

With seasonal looks driven by advertising and marketing, the end result is that we’re consuming four times more clothes than we did in the eighties

For instance, in 1990 the United States made 50% of the clothing its consumers purchased. Today however, this has fallen to just 2% and China now makes a staggering 41% of America’s clothes. Clothes that used to be expensive and valued are now cheap and disposable. For example, America buys 20 billion garments a year and yet the average person throws away 30 kilos a year. Every year in Britain 1.5 million tonnes of unwanted clothing and textiles end up in landfills. This level of cheap production and high amounts of waste is unprecedented in the fashion world, and it’s only getting worse.

To discuss this fast-fashion phenomenon I met with Rosie O’Reilly & Kate Nolan of Re-dress, an Irish organisation dedicated to better practices and standards in the fashion industry. As Kate explains: “With seasonal looks driven by advertising and marketing, the end result is that we’re consuming four times more clothes than we did in the eighties.

And you can be guaranteed at least ninety per cent of those end up in a landfill. Sixty per cent of them are synthetics so

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they’re not biodegradable. They’re going to be here longer than we are. They are by-products of the fashion industry.”

Meanwhile in the developing nations, while factory numbers have soared standards have dropped. Fuelled by an unprecedented demand for ‘fast fashion’ these cheap fashion manufacturers are widespread in the third world. For example, in Bangladesh clothing exports account for seventy per cent of GDP and the industry employs over three million workers.

For Rosie, acknowledging the impact of globalisation is essential when trying to imagine an alternative future for fashion: “You don’t buy on the high street without buying into the global trading kind of systems. Several parts of one garment are coming from all over the world, your buttons might be produced in China, your denim might be woven in India, it might be picked off the fields in Africa or Pakistan. When you buy into that you’re buying into that system.” Kate points out that exploitation of workers is intrinsic to this global system. These sweatshops mostly employ low-income semi-skilled women, and child labour is common: “You know where we talk about ‘the great mobilization of female workers’ in the fashion industry, particularly in developing countries, really what’s happening is that the women are getting up extra early and maintaining the household then going to work for fourteen hours, then coming home to the rest of the household work. They never are able to find the time to unionize or actually fight for their rights, and you know when they get to child rearing age they’re usually dropped off the system anyway because there’s no such thing as maternity leave in Bangladesh or Pakistan.” Rosie develops this point to include the impact on children: “Even if child labour isn’t prevalent, a lot of the time you’ll have children living in the factories with their parents because these women are trapped in a poverty cycle so they can’t get out of the poverty trap. So there’s no mechanism for them to get into school or an education system. It’s just a poverty cycle, a revolving door.”

Aside from an unjust living wage, these workers live and work in dangerous, unjust and bleak conditions. There is little in the way of building inspections, which leads to dangerous working conditions, hence the Bangladesh building collapse. The collapse of the Rana Plaza however, was not the first disaster of its kind. For instance, just five months

before in November 2012, more than a hundred people died in a fire at the Tazreen Fashions factory outside Dhaka, and these are just the large-scale disasters. Workers dying individually as a result of poor conditions are largely unaccounted for. Working conditions can be hazardous to one’s health, be it long working hours in cramped factories, or the use of toxic pesticides required to meet the high demand for cotton production or dangerous chemicals used to dye materials. With conditions spiralling downward in a first world fuelled race to the bottom for workers of the third-world nations, what can be done to prevent any more destruction and exploitation? Re-dress is an attempt to combat exploitation of workers and pollution of the environment. Through different campaigns Re-dress aims to promote better fashion.

Both Kate and Rosie came to see the flaws of the “fast fashion” industry from the inside. They began as a fashion buyer and designer respectively. As Rosie recalls: ‘The reality of the clothing industry sort of hit home, especially with my background in sociology and philosophy. I started scratching the surface about some of the environmental and social issues, and it opened my eyes to what was going on under the glossy surface of this industry. Kate had a similar moment of disillusionment: “I ended up working in India for a year and a half in a factory over there supplying for a high street retailers at that very fast pace and with shorter and shorter leap times, lower prices, higher volumes. I suppose after a while the gloss of traveling the world wears off and you start to really see what’s going on and at the end of the supply chain. It’s just really horrific, the low labour standards and, in my own personal experience, child labour. So that turned me on my heel … We came back and were trying to figure out how we were going to continue on in the fashion industry with what we knew and what was becoming apparent to us.”

In 2008 Rosie and Kate planned an event in their living room to discuss better fashion practice which quickly turned into a three day event with exhibitions and conferences attended by well over a thousand people from the fashion industry. This is how Re-dress was born. Rosie was not surprised by the apetite for change that was exhibited: “I suppose the response was so vast and it was so obvious that something was needed and people wanted to have those conversations and start talking about the supply chain. Since then we’ve

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basically been working in education and awareness … And we run creative fashion projects as well everything from art installations to lectures and talks to DIY fashion training.”

Despite the harm that parts of the fashion industry are causing, Re-dress are not calling for a boycott of high street stores: “We sit down with garment workers and they don’t want you to stop shopping. They need the money. It’s not as simple as a boycott, we’d never advocate that. But consumers need to realize that when they put their hand in their pocket they vote. When you are supporting a brand and you like the brand it’s your duty then to ask questions of that brand. Check their website and look at their work and their social responsibility.”

One central example of this social responsibility can be seen in the Bangladesh Accord. Following the Rana Plaza Collapse, 1.3 million consumers signed an international petition to get high street chains to sign the accord committing to better safety standards for the factories they use.

Kate welcomes this development: “That really clearly said ‘you’ve got to change what you’re doing in Bangladesh.’

This was just one incident … but very quickly retailers realised that consumers are not comfortable with the system that they have, especially when these kind of things happen. In the media glare to date a hundred and twelve companies have signed the Bangladesh agreement. Two million workers in Bangladesh are covered under that agreement and for the first time in their lives they’re looking at a safe work space where they’re not going to be risking their lives going there daily.”

Re-dress have expanded the Clean Clothes Campaign to Ireland. This campaign is aimed at improving conditions in the global garment industry and helping workers earn a living wage. Rosie elaborates on the purpose and methods of the campaign: “Cheap clothes are defined by cheap labour whether you like it or not. But, when we were working in the industry, one thing that everyone was very shy of and would just generally not talk about was labour issues. The Clean Clothes Campaign gives us the platform to talk specifically about labour rights. It is about getting these conditions to end and we’re here to let consumers know what’s going on.” In favour of the Clean Clothes Campaign, Re-dress frequently turns to graffiti as a creative medium to spread their message about a living wage.

In 2008 Rosie and Kate planned an event in their living room to discuss better fashion practice, which quickly turned into a three-day event with exhibitions and conferences attended by well over a thousand people from the fashion industry.

Another essential element to better fashion is supporting local-made fashion and just last year Rosie and Kate launched a new design label, We are Islanders, producing ethical and sustainable Irish fashion. In terms of the average consumer, Re-dress offers this advice: “Think first, before you spend the money look into the brand you are supporting, swap shops, frugality, quality over quantity, shop vintage, shop in your charity shops, shop up in local designers, The Loft or Beaux, go Irish if you can, do a sewing course, make it yourself.”

Re-dress are not the only Irish initiative for better fashion.

This year Trinity saw the establishment of Ethnic Threads, a company set up by fourth year students John Frewen and Jack Danaher. As Jack explains: “John was travelling through Uganda one summer and would stop off at small markets in villages where they were selling rolls of kitenge (traditional African patterned material) fabric. He bought a number of different rolls when he was away and then when he got home he met a women who said she would be happy to make hoodies out of the material that he bought. Once they were made they sold like hotcakes so plans were made to see if it could become a more sustainable long term business.”

Frewen turned to Lifeworks to produce the materials, an organization that trains women who would otherwise be forced into prostitution in marketable skills such as textile production to give them a sustainable source of income and a viable alternative to prostitution. Revenue generated

by Lifeworks is invested into education schemes whereby the women employed travel around to schools to teach children basic HIV prevention practices from an early age.

Frewen and Danaher want to work toward establishing safe workplace and ethical conditions for their workers in the future: “Long-term, we aim to establish our own Lifeworksstyle producer in Kenya. It’s a fairly audacious goal so early on in the process but John and I have already been in contact with someone who is planning to set up an ethical production factory in the slums in Nairobi and wants to work with us to set it up.”

From organizations like Re-dress to small start-ups like Ethnic Threads it is clear that even in a small country like Ireland, there is a growing awareness about the damage being done by the fast fashion industry to developing nations.

Cheap clothes are costing lives but with responsible shopping and ethical choices, modern consumers can choose better fashion to help better lives.

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GAMING

TO BE CONTINUED Vladimir Rakhmanin reviews downloadable content for two of last year’s biggest games.

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he past two months saw the release of extra downloadable content for The Last of Us and Bioshock: Infinite, two games considered by many to be the best of 2013.

Both pieces of DLC, Left Behind and Burial at Sea, expanded on the plot of the original games, albeit in different ways. It’s interesting to compare the two extra chapters, as they represent very different approaches to telling a story within the format. Left Behind expand on the portrayals of existing characters in The Last of Us, whereas Burial at Sea changes dramatically changes our perspective on the Bioshock series. Please bear in mind that it’s not possible to discuss the DLC without some spoilers, so if you have not played these additional chapters yet, be warned.

We’ll start with Left Behind. This chapter takes place before the events of The Last of Us, and focuses on Ellie, one of the main characters of the original game. After a surprising prologue, the DLC begins with Ellie being woken up in some sort of military academy by her friend Riley, who ran away from the same academy about a month ago.

They sneak out to an abandoned shopping centre, and here the majority of the game takes place.

DLC often presents a great opportunity for the developers to mix up traditional gameplay mechanics: whereas The Last of Us was mostly focused on extremely tense stealth-action, this short chapter removes a lot of the action in favour of a more slowpaced, character-building experience.

What’s interesting is the fact that most of the mechanics remain the same, but are used in a slightly different way – instead of shooting zombies in the face, you engage in a playful water gun battle; instead of throwing bricks to distract enemies, you have a competition with Riley to see who can break the most car windows. The dialogue

between the two girls feels completely natural due to the developers’ fantastic use of motion capture technology (the actors’ actual movements are used in the animation).

This is why – and be warned, there are some spoilers here – when it is revealed that the two girls are romantically interested in each other, the scene feels completely natural and earned due to the two hours of strong character-building that preceded it.

It’s hard not to compare this to Gone Home, a game where a similar reveal felt more like a cheap twist due to weaker writing. The scene is also extremely tragic, as we know that the romance will not last – during the ending to The Last of Us, Ellie tells Joel that Riley was the first of her friends to die. As a result, the DLC gives greater character depth to Ellie’s character, and makes us sympathise with her more now that we know that she, like Joel, also lost someone she cared about.

Burial at Sea takes a totally different approach to storytelling – as well as expanding on some of the characters in the original game, it makes an extremely ambitious attempt to connect all the games in the Bioshock series. It is understandable that Ken Levine, the creator of the series, would want to release something like this. After all, his company Irrational Games, has recently shut down, meaning that providing a proper conclusion to the series would be admirable. But unfortunately, as with all of Levine’s games, this piece of DLC fails to realise its absurdly high ambitions.

The issue here is that the connections between the games feel very forced, and it’s very obvious that they were not intended when the original games were being released. Most of these connections are very Back to the Future II: for example, where it’s revealed that a character from one game was actually present during a key event in the other game. None of this feels convincing, but worst of all is the protago-

nist’s motivation, which is completely at odds with her behaviour during the events of Bioshock: Infinite and the first episode of Burial at Sea. It’s like Levine just wanted to contrive some reason for Elizabeth to go through the events of the DLC just so we can see the unnecessary twists that have been added to the series’ lore.

The ending will be very divisive, and I’m still unconvinced as to whether it is the best or the worst thing I have ever seen. What I do know is that it makes no sense, even within the context of the Bioshock series’ absurdly complex quantum theory. It’s a real shame, because the rest of the DLC looks and plays incredibly well. The art direction is still spectacular, and the level design is the best the series has ever seen.

From looking at both of these pieces of DLC, we can see two different types of effects that extra content can have on the base story. Left Behind expands on the characters, adding more drama to the original plot while playing with established game mechanics. Meanwhile, Burial at Sea manages not only to reduce the impact of the original game, but also to ruin the story of the rest of the games in the series by filling in blanks in the narrative that did not need to be filled.

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film Calvary Luke O’Reilly John Michael McDonagh’s film The Guard opens with four teenage boys being killed in a horrific car crash in the west of Ireland.

Such a tragic scene of mass road death has an instant register in the Irish psyche. It is played for laughs and somehow it succeeds in producing them. Similarly resonating black humour is present in the opening scene of Calvary. We are shown Brendan Gleeson playing a priest sat in his side of the confession box. An unseen man gets into the other half and tells Gleeson’s character, Fr. James, that he was sexually abused as a boy and that he is now going to kill Fr. James in two weeks as retaliation for it. Not because Fr. James was the perpetrator, but because he is a good priest, and that will send more of a message. It is both wry and dramatic. This style is becoming vintage McDonagh.

Calvary then proceeds to follow Fr. James as he copes with this threat to his life while also performing his priestly duties in a colourful, and oddly debaucherous, village in Sligo. Gleeson is stunning in his role, moving between resilience, mirth, sadness and anger with seamless believability. Reminiscent of Graham Greene’s whisky priest in The Power and the Glory, Gleeson’s Fr. James struggles with his own humanity in pursuit of living a good Catholic life. That he is to be reminded of not just his own flaws, but the flaws of the Church which he

The Double Eoin Moore Advertising for Richard Ayoade’s The Double has been split down the middle. Half have portrayed the film as a grim, absurdist drama, while the other half have presented it as a quirky, awkward love story, in the style of Ayoade’s directorial debut Submarine. The film actually lies somewhere in the middle, taking inspiration from romcoms as much as from miserable, dystopian tragedies.

Jesse Eisenberg plays Simon James, a shy, lonely desk worker in an oppressive, nondescript factory, spending his days yearning for a girl he’s never spoken to (Mia Wasikowska) and allowing himself to be walked over by everyone in his life. His sad, daily routine is thrown into turmoil with the arrival of a new worker in his office,

represents at every turn is indicative of the jaded, post-abuse revelations of the Ireland we live in today. Fr. James’ parishioners are a sinful lot, but they won’t stand to be judged by anyone else, let alone a priest.

Making up those parishioners is a cast that includes a passive aggressive butcher (Chris O’Dowd), a young serial killer (Domhnall Gleeson), a hedonistic doctor (Aidan Gillen), a strange and sexually frustrated young man with a penchant for bowties (Killian Scott), an opulent Celtic Tiger banker (Dylan Moran), and the local pub owner (Pat Shortt). It is a who’s who of Irish acting and comedy at the moment. Particularly strong within that ensemble is Dylan

Moran whose new money financial tycoon has a skewed moral compass and a twisted guilt complex. Moran’s combination of wit and nuanced emotion is further proof that he isn’t present on the silver screen enough. As well as this motley crew the cast is rounded out with excellent performances by Kelly Reilly as Fr.James’ daughter and Isaach de Bankole as a philandering mechanic.

Fr. James’ interactions with these characters come in the form of a series of comic and tragic sketches on life, faith and death that comprise the majority of Calvary. The identity of the man who threatens Fr. James is known to him but kept hidden from the

audience. This adds to the tension as the viewer is left uncertain as to who the potential murderer could be.

The plot is slight but clever, allowing for an emotional build up throughout the film as Gleeson’s Fr. James comes gradually closer to his day of reckoning. Visually the movie is filmed beautifully and its use of panoramic shots of the Sligo countryside conjure up imagery as sweepingly beautiful as anything found in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Ultimately Calvary relies on the strength of the dialogue between Fr. James and the locals to keep the viewer hooked.

To this end it succeeds immensely and is a must-see for any lover of film.

the confident, charismatic, and successful James Simon, his exact doppelganger.

The film teases out its absurd conceit tantalisingly, lacing its first half hour with mirrors, unseen faces, and mistaken identities generating an aura of paranoia and anonymity. Ayoade’s signature visual tics abound but this time with an even greater

ble’s moments of intense displacement and playful buoyancy.

Ayoade makes great use of his lead actor in the two leading roles. Eisenberg has received criticism for his apparent lack of range, but as the meek, nervous Simon and the boorish, alpha-male James he manages to create two distinct characters without relying on hamminess or exaggeration to emphasise their differences. As such a singularly focused film, characters other than Simon and James end up composing a kind of ensemble background on which their struggle can ensue, yet the acting is of a high quality. Wasikowska gives a layered performance as a character that might otherwise have been little more than a trophy to be obtained, and Wallace Shawn, while not stretching outside of his typecast stage-persona, does a typically

efficient job as the short-sighted, irritable Papadopoulos.

The Double’s central question – what if you were a different person? – is deconstructed and challenged throughout, peeling back the surface of this superficial fantasy. While James is clearly the antagonistic figure, the film criticises Simon in turn as well, for being part of the cause of his own misery and for his undeniable wish to become his monstrous counterpart. The film also offers an interesting perspective on the shy, lonely guy/girl next door dynamic, questioning the inherent voyeurism and fantasy projection involved in that construct. However, Ayoade does not pursue this thread as far as he might have, settling as in Submarine for a nicely wrapped if perhaps unsatisfying ending. This somewhat sour final note does not take away from what is on the whole a fantastic cinematic experience, a bold follow up to Ayoade’s debut, and a sign of great things to come.

basking the film’s Brazil-esque low-tech sci-fi world in a sea of industrial shadow

level of stylisation, basking the film’s Brazilesque low-tech sci-fi world in a sea of industrial shadow. The extremities of light and colour are mirrored in the film’s intense soundtrack, which punctuates The Dou-

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Mysterious Skin Thomas Emmet on why the elusive Jonathan Glazer is proving to be one of the most exciting filmmakers of his generation

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black screen broken only by a tiny pinpoint of light and an intense, distorted soundtrack.

The light gradually expands, bringing the audience closer to it, or indeed, closing in on the audience. The vocalizing of basic “m” and “n” sounds, gradually evolving into more complex half words and then simplistic intimations. The audience, now thoroughly unsettled, sees an eye form on the screen.

So begins Under The Skin, proof that Jonathan Glazer is back. But for a man

a microcosm of Glazers canon, anarchic but disquieting. He would begin his film career with the stellar Sexy Beast, in my opinion the greatest English gangster film.

Rather than focus on physical violence it has a huge devotion to the violence of words, of threats. Ben Kingsley as the immortal Don Logan spits, urinates and infers throughout the film, before finally descending into brute force after an hour of screen-time. It’s a tense, sometimes highly uncomfortable film and yet mesmerizing and entrancing. Glazer followed

who has released only three films in the course of fifteen years what does that actually mean?

Glazer earned a degree in theatre design at Nottingham Trent university and went on to direct various advertisements and music videos. His first music video, Karmacoma by Massive Attack, foreshadows the rest of his career. A man in black greasepaint wobbles his belly to a plethora of cameras he has set up around him. This absurd, but unsettling image is

this up with the disappointing Birth. Concerning a ten year old boy who claims to be Nicole Kidman’s dead husband on the tenth anniversary of his death, the premise is jarring. Glazer makes the brave decision halfway through the film of having a ninety-second close up on Nicole Kidman’s face before finally cutting. She has never looked so emotive, and will never look so unsettling. It is however a victim of bad editing, the end making no sense in terms of the rest of the film. It was

slated, but now enjoys a minor cult following.

Returning finally after ten years in absentia from the big screen, Under the Skin is the pinnacle of his achievements. While Sexy Beast and Birth had their experimental touches, Under the Skin is in itself an experiment. Scarlett Johannson, garbed in a fur coat and a cake of makeup spends the entire film picking up men, almost entirely composed of amateur actors and enticing them to have sex with her before harvesting them. Johannson spends a good portion of the film naked and yet she has never looked so vacant, so ugly.

It is an extremely divisive film, one scene almost provoking me to leave the cinema, but it is very rewarding assuming you stay until the end. Glazer displays such cruelty on the screen, and yet never has a film been so emotionally removed, reflecting the reaction back on the audience.

Glazer has said in interviews that he is a director obsessed with form. He likes to be able to imagine the whole film as a shape that he can see from every angle.

The surroundings of his film are just as important to him as the focus of the film.

He revels in extreme weather. The audience can almost feel Ray Winstone sizzling in the opening shots of Sexy Beast.

The beginning of Birth, complemented by Alexandre Desplat’s excellent score, has a man running through a snowy Central Park. The coldness of the surroundings make Kidman feel at home, her iciness is at its most acceptable. Similarly the dizzyingly distorted score of Under The Skin hugely contributes to the films form. It is so alien, and almost impossible to listen to without feeling the nausea of the scene it played over.

Jonathan Glazer occupies a position in my mind that used to be assigned to Jason Reitman: that of the film-maker whose whole body of work, though slim, is close to perfection. It is a position that could be occupied by Spike Jonze, whose newest release Her is an exceptional film, also starring Johannson. It explores

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the removal of humanity rather than the restoration of it but through the hipster viewpoint. Terrence Malick wishes he could occupy it, though he will never again reach the dizzying heights of Badlands, no matter how pretty the images he shoots are. Jason Reitman’s new film Labor Day is the worst kind of film. It’s got exceptional performances, its nice to look at. But it is so boring. It’s the kind of film RTÉ shows late at night, when all but the truly desperate are asleep. It is little more than a high budget TV special with the stock twists and absolutely no emotional core and its attempts to make one involved with the story fall flat. Glazer leaves the audience desperately isolated from the film, forced to watch hugely unsettling events unfold and yet somehow I felt more for Johannson, an actress I am only just growing to like, than I ever did for Kate Winslet in Reitman’s tripe. Reitman’s promise is waning; even Young Adult seemed to have replaced cohesion with biting edge, while Glazer and Jonze’s star is once again on the rise.

Glazer is an intense man when interviewed, his face lighting up at questions, with more words to say than he ever has time to express. His films are very similar to him. They don’t have everything oh show on the surface bur rather there’s a hidden depth to them. Whether it’s the long history of Gal Dove’s (Ray Winstone) career as a gangster that’s coming back to haunt him, Danny Huston’s long courting of Kidman in Birth or the gradual emergence of humanity in Scarlett Johannson, her blank face moving from simulating expression to eventually actually producing it, Glazer lets the shape of the film guide it rather than blowing his load in cheap reveals.

If he can retain this unique spirit of making his audience uncomfortable as a more focused Michael Haneke, he may achieve a far wider audience. Though perhaps his charm is that he divides the audience so much that he is a gem very few people will enjoy.

MUSIC Cloud Nothings Here And Nowhere Else

Gucci Mane Trap Back

REVIEW EOIN HENNESSY It has been just over two years since Cleveland rock outfit Cloud Nothings released their third album Attack On Memory. The record was a new step for the band, as they tried to experiment with a punkier sound.

The result was a brilliant half hour longplayer laced with distorted guitars, screaming vocals and trashy drumming. Lead singer Dylan Baldi was on top form blending his unique vocal style with intimate lyrics. Despite this, Attack On Memory felt like Cloud Nothings were restraining their true potential. While the tracks were great, one couldn’t help but feel the band had more in them. It was almost as if the intense punk/ lo-fi sound they were looking for wasn’t quite there yet.

Two years and two months later the trio is back with a new album entitled Here And Nowhere Else. We can tell immediately from the opening chords of “Now Here In” that Cloud Nothings are a band that has matured dramatically since their last release. While their raw post-punk sound is still apparent, Cloud Nothings have made their sound more focused. The heavy distortion is there but the songs seem more straight forward.

Rather than over complicate things, Cloud Nothings now sound like a band who have reduced their sound to its most raw and primal form.

Thanks to this new sound the group have managed to channel their rugged energy into something that sounds undeniably punk rock. Tracks like “Quieter Today” and “Just See Fear” still contain the band’s trademark ferociousness yet they manage to display it with an air of lucidity. Baldi’s vocals are as on-point as ever while drummer Jayson Gerycz and bassist TJ Duke

Currently serving time in prison for two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, Gucci Mane is certainly no stranger to controversy.

Despite his numerous run-ins with the law, one must still bear in mind that Gucci is a musician. While most people are unable to stand his drawled raps, this writer has takes a bit of guilty pleasure from the Atlanta MC.

Dru Hill How Deep Is Your Love (Groove Chronicles Remix) Although it was released over fifteen years ago, Groove Chronicles’ remix of Dru Hill sounds as modern as ever, particularly with the recent resurgence of UK Garage. Steven Judd’s remix manages to maintain the flare that the Baltimore R&B quartet originally created, while also adding a rumbling bass line and infectious drum pattern. sound as if they’ve honed their skills immensely. While most bands who have been active for five years will try to change their sound dramatically in an attempt to keep fans interested, Cloud Nothings have only improved on what they already had going for them. This improvement mixed with a new level of noisiness makes Here And Nowhere Else one of the band’s most interesting records yet.

The music of Cloud Nothings still reminds one of old skateboarding videos such as “Yeah Right!” and “Dying To Live” but this is most definitely in the interest of the listener. It reminds one of a time when

Legowelt Crystal Cult 2080 REVIEW EOIN HENNESSY Danny “Legowelt” Wolfers releases a lot of music. So much music in fact, that one tends not to notice when one release ends and the other begins. Despite this, people pay attention when the Roland 808 aficionado decides to debut a long player.

Although he released eight records last year, we have not heard a fresh Wolfers album since 2012’s The Paranormal Soul was released on Clone. Since then, Wolfers has provided a string of EPs, remixes and compilations on L.I.E.S., Unknown To The Unknown and Signals. However, his most

What We’re Listening To

recent album, Crystal Cult 2080, has been snatched up by Dutch label Crème Organization.

Crystal Cult 2080 takes its name from the Roland JV2080, a digital synth that Wolfers used to record the majority of the album.

The JV2080 is the backbone of Crystal Cult 2080 and provides the record with a constant deep space-age rumble. This rumble is then mixed with squelchy acid drenched techno and house, a trademark of the music of Legowelt. The record begins with “Experimental Awakening”, an eight

guitar music mattered more and simplicity was the key.

Rather than completely redefining their sound, Cloud Nothings have instead established themselves as one of the best modern punk outfits around by simply streamlining their music. Here And Nowhere Else ends on “I’m Not Part Of Me”, a dynamic four-minute anthem that sees the trio showcase what most modern bands fail to achieve. A simple balls-to-the-wall exhilarating rock song.

It seems as if Cloud Nothings are just going from strength to strength and Here And Nowhere Else is the perfect example of that.

minute long atmospheric kick-drum-heavy composition that sets the scene for what is to come. In spite of its length, “Experimental Awakening” manages to hold form throughout and provides a solid basis for Wolfers to begin his acid invasion.

Wolfers’ futuristic acid sound has been perfected over the past twenty years, so it is unlikely that one will find anything sub par in his compositions. However, these twenty years of activity seem to have drained Wolfers of ideas because many of the songs on Crystal Cult 2080 sound rather similar.

Tracks like “How I Live” and “When The Spring Comes Again” follow the exact same formula while “Psychotic Endurance” sounds undeniably similar to Reese’s 1988 track “Just Want Another Chance”. Regard-

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Madlib & Freddie Gibbs High feat. Danny Brown Since its release, Madlib & Freddie Gibbs’ collaborative album Piñata has been on repeat in our speakers. Freddie’s rugged vocals and Madlib’s weirdo beats make for the perfect combination. Although Danny Brown’s verse may be indecipherable, this Freda Payne sampling track is a joy to listen to. While Piñata may not be as good as Madlib’s work with MF DOOM, it’s certainly one of the best hip hop albums in recent years.

less of the homogeneous sound of Crystal Cult 2080, one can’t help but enjoy the futuristic acid Wolfers manages to produce.

“Fundamental Superstition”, one of the stand-out tracks on the album, weaves a beautifully smooth flute-like synth around a deceptively quick house beat while “Excalibur R8MK2” provides a driving rhythm worthy of Tron.

Crystal Cult 2080 is a good solid effort, from a good solid artist. It is also refreshing to hear great use of analogue equipment when so many modern electronic producers only use digital programs such as Ableton and Logic. It may not be AFX but Legowelt has provided us with a record that comes pretty close in comparison and should not be denied recognition.

How American Music Took O

DUBLIN DANCE EOIN H E NNESSY

Dublin has always had an interest in dance music. Ever since the mid nineties Dublin has attempted to embrace electronic endeavours in every way it can. However, it is only in the last five years that Dublin has seen a massive increase in nightclubs promoting electronic music. When I talk about electronic music here, I don’t mean David Guetta and Calvin Harris. I’m referring to more underground (if you can still call it that) electronic music. Nightclubs that used to only play pop tunes now play massive amounts of deep house, while most hiphop and rock nights have been replaced with young promoters trying to plug tech DJs. Not all electronic music has profited from this rise in popularity though. Genres like techno, bass music, dubstep and acid are still only catering to a niche market in the city, while all forms of house and disco edits are sweeping clubs north and south of the Liffey. But why is it that only these select genres that have made their way to centre-stage? What makes people go see Breach over Delroy Edwards or Bakermat over Mala? There are a number of different possible answers as to how this shift from pop to house happened, most of which can probably be blamed on artist crossovers and drugs.

There is a clear link between this shift in popularity and the rise of ecstasy culture in Dublin. While the drug has been in the city since the early nineties, it has seen a massive rise over the past few years. This rise in ecstasy use has in some way helped house

music overtake pop music in nightclubs.

People who were inexperienced with the drug made assumptions based on stereotypes of various drugs. If you smoked weed you listened to hip-hop or dubstep, if you took ketamine you liked listening to techno, if you took acid you liked listening to psy-trance and if you took ecstasy you listened to house. While not being accurate in most cases, these stereotypes managed to pigeonhole users of the drug into listening to house. However, this theory could also be turned on its head.

Perhaps house’s rise in popularity was due to crossover bands such as Disclosure and Bondax. These groups may have sparked an interest in people to listen to more house and subsequently go to more house gigs. Since these gigs mainly serve over-priced drinks, people found it easier to take pills and drink water all night rather than pay €6 per pint. Like the great mystery of the chicken and the egg, it is unclear which became popular first, house or the yoke.

Despite how it became popular, house has managed to take over almost every

nightclub in the city and that is no easy feat.

However, even within the genre it seems as if people in Dublin are being very selective of who they go see. When Breach released “Fatherless” in 2010, it took the electronic music community by storm. Its amazing vocal sample and pounding bass destroyed dance floors and ruptured many a speaker.

Despite the song’s effect on people, it only really became popular amongst people who were actually interested in electronic music and were up-todate on all of the insand-outs of the genre.

Three years later, Ben “Breach” Westbeech released “Jack” a pretty generic house track with stereotypical vocals and bass drops. Despite its monotonous beat, “Jack” became a huge hit. Coppers began to play it, ads began to use it and Breach even sold out the Academy last week, presumably due to the songs success. People lapped it up. To this day, I’m still unsure how it had quite that effect on Dublin clubbers. Perhaps it was an easy introduction to bass drops, perhaps the vocal sample reminded people of pop tunes, perhaps it was just marketed really well. While I’m glad for

Despite the song’s effect on people, it only really became popular amongst people who were actually interested in electronic music and were up-todate on all of the insand-outs of the genre.

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Breach’s success, I can’t help but feel that “Jack” got the recognition “Fatherless” deserved. The popularity of “Jack” is linked to how most people in Dublin who claim they’re interested in house only listen to Klangkarussell, Lowsteppa, Kygo and many more mundane artists.

Dublin’s new-found interest in house is a positive development. A relatively small scene has now turned into a scene of thousands, and that can only help promoters and clubs get better at what they do. However, Dublin clubbers should try to expand their reach that one-step further. Instead of only listening to records on Dirty Bird, they should listen to some records on L.I.E.S..

Instead of getting mashed and going to Bakermat, they should listen to Kassem Mosse play live. I don’t mean to criticise anyone’s tastes, I just feel that the majority of Dublin has only been exposed to house music if it’s in the form of a YouTube video with an attractive girl in it (see Majestic Casual).

Dublin’s clubbing culture is getting better by the year and if it continues as is we could end up rivalling the greats such as Berlin, Amsterdam and London. I’d also wholeheartedly encourage people to check out local DJs rather than spend all their money in one night going to an international act.

Dublin’s a great place, with great people and the fact that its nightlife is becoming more vibrant can only be a positive thing for the city. We’ve got a great thing going here and there’s no reason we can’t make it better.

fashion What is Normcore?

Bold Brows are Back

ELIZABETH BRAUDERS

ELIZABETH BRAUDERS

The hipster trend is edging closer and closer to collapsing in on itself, leaving individualistic style behind for a smorgasbord of blending-in. The latest looks to be seen in the fashion-forward cities of New York, London and Paris are distinctly … bland.

With the rising popularity of fashion blogs, street style columns and constant celebrity updates on social media, clothing choices amongst the stylish have been more artistic. Everyone craves to express their own individuality through vintage, handmade, or repurposed clothing, but it seems that certain sectors of stylish society have become fatigued. While this unique scene might appear to clash with the homogenising culture of the It-bag, the designer of the moment, or the must-have dress, they basically amount to the same thing: pressure to look a certain way. Either you belong to a group that demands you fit in through visible pieces and brands that clearly mark your social strata, or you’re forced to mark yourself as so far out-there and creative that you end up with a fiercely impractical wardrobe of pieces you can only really wear once.

Enter normcore. Normcore avoids visible brand names or recognisable haute couture pieces. It’s basically all the boring ‘basics’ of your wardrobe that you’re supposed to wear with something a little more edgy, but without the edgy part. No accent pieces, no interesting patterns, no ‘colour pops’. The idea is blending in; being completely and utterly, well, normal.

Except almost no one dresses so utterly blandly anymore, and voilà you’re standing out again, and a fashion trend is born, or anti-trend, depending on how you see it.

Paradoxically, this movement started as a collective of young people trying to avoid style, rebelling against a world where we are increasingly judged on our appearance.

Yet, as the movement gained exposure, it has become a new favourite to be copied amongst hipsters, bloggers and plain old 90s lovers alike.

While the original normcore involved dressing like a middle-aged American tourist, in sneakers, ‘mom’ jeans, plain t-shirts and fleece hoodies, the fashion set has subverted it into something altogether more stylised. The movement is now associated more closely with quite minimalistic neutrals clothes, and clean lines, a pared-down aesthetic composed of multitasking, basic items, with a lack of accessories and makeup.

Certain designers have always been

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know that brows have been big lately. Big in both senses of the word. This is largely influenced by models like Cara Delevingne who sports furry black caterpillars above her eyes, and somehow makes it look desirable. Unfortunately, when many people attempt to recreate this look, it doesn’t actually work and leads to incredibly artificial looking monsters that eat up your entire face, especially if your own hair is very light blonde or red. After an infancy of sandy-blondeness, I somehow developed thick black monsters that I started plucking from the age of about eleven. However, as I am painfully aware, full, dark eyebrows don’t automatically equal Cara-level chic.

Enter the new trend for ‘Brow Bars’, a magical place where you can be plucked, waxed, tinted or filled-in according to your needs. I tried out the Benefit Boutique, on South William Street, to see if the professionals could beat my more-than-a-decade of practise. Good points included the staff, who were very sweet and friendly, the décor of the boutique, which is very pink, fun and retro, and the actual waxing experience itself, which was almost pain-free.

Sadly, those with sensitive skin might want to skip, as the wax irritate some of my skin, leaving areas very red and raw-looking. It’s also a good idea to skip if you’re using retinoid products, which can thin the skin and make it more prone to tearing. For the less fragile amongst you though, it really is a great option, my brows definitely looked more defined and shaped, with a nice Elizabeth Taylor-esque arch. People kept commenting on them afterwards and I was happy to recommend the boutique, with the sensitive skin warning first. And yet, personally, I have to say I didn’t love them. There’s something about the HD brow trend that just doesn’t appeal to me,

SEINFELD creating the type of clothing that is now seeing widespread popularity through the normcore backlash: Alexander Wang and his generic plain tshirts, or Phoebe Philo with an array of carefully tailored colourblock pieces in neutral shades. On the high street, the main shops churning out normcore pieces are the Gap, American Apparel (with its more boring pieces Lay off the velvet and lace) and that staple of Irish wardrobes, Penney’s. The icons of this trend are just as bizarre as you’d suppose; the names that crop up again and again are Barack Obama, Steve Jobs and Jerry Seinfeld, with the other members of the Seinfeld cast appearing frequently as the perfect ensemble of normcore heroes.

If you want a wider field of inspiration, just re-watch some of the shows you enjoyed in the 90s, and discount any of the obvious trend pieces. Dawson’s Creek and My SoCalled Life are good starting points, or the (admittedly cartoon) clothes of Daria.

The normcore we’re currently seeing a rise in may not have been the original aim of the creators, but I, for one, am more than willing to except as stylish a movement that suddenly allows me to feel smug and fashionable while throwing on dirty converse, dungarees and a white t-shirt, and not bothering with make up or jewellery, especially in these precious few weeks left before I enter the adult world.

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it’s too perfect, almost too defined. While it definitely looked tidier and more professional, I was really, really happy when my own brows grew back in, and I restarted my programme of minimal plucking, that is just enough to stop my forehead looking like the evil monobrow baby’s from The Simpsons. The Benefit ladies also included a quick makeover, making sure to cover up any redness left by the wax, so I was not only able to walk home without awkwardly covering the top part of my face, but actually only needed to change clothes before heading out to a party. Pretty good value.

When it comes to home upkeep of your newly-shaped brows, the next thing you need to consider is filling in if you’ve got sparse brows or if your hair is very light.

With the advent of the so-called powerbrow, the range of products available has expanded beyond belief, there are now pencils and powders and waxes and mascaras and setting gels and… you get the idea. If you ask me, it’s completely unnecessary, all you need is a decent eyebrow pencil and some plain old eyeshadow.

Choose ones a couple shades darker than your hair if you’re blonde or a redhead, and a couple shades lighter if your hair is brunette or black. I’ve always used Lancome’s crayon poudre, which comes in a range of natural looking colours and blends seamlessly between hairs. For those days when you just need a little more definition, this is definitely the product you’re looking for to create a natural, polished shape. Beware softer pencils which will smush up in the hairs and create weird, shiny brows that look painted on. Eyeshadow works when you really want to take it up a notch: first fill in and define your arch with the pencil, and then push the shadow into any gaps using a thin eyeliner brush. Ta-da, bushy, messy perfection.

Cara Delevingne

Things We Should Not Have to Explain to RTÉ Again Elaine O’Connor

The recent debut of the new comedy The Centre marks yet another tiring failure from RTÉ in relation to LGBTQ issues. While purporting itself to be ‘edgy’ and non-PC, what it confuses for comedy is in fact an unending series of digs at the most marginalized in our society. In the course of a twenty-four minute episode, there are no less than six jokes directed at the character Nuala, purely on the basis of her trans* status. From intentionally using incorrect and belittling language to describe the transition process (“pre-op transgenderising”) to unflinching jabs at the characters appearance (Adam’s apple, body hair comments etc.) the show really covers all its bases in terms of transphobia. It is almost impressive what a comprehensive example of terrible minority portrayal this show is, before we even begin to discuss the show’s shallow and insulting portrayals of Islam and damaging stereotypes of the travelling community.

The Centre has also been criticized for furthering the “man in a dress” stereotype of trans* women. It is important we do not conflate passing (the concept of a transgender person being perceived by strangers as their transitioned to gender, something not everyone can do) with innate gender identity. It is equally important to recognize that 99% of the time when a show or film casts someone who appears traditionally masculine and places them in female clothes, they have no intention of commenting on the binary conception of gender. We can be fairly sure that when RTÉ cast Après Match’s Gary Cooke, they fully intended to play on the idea that trans* women are at best a joke and at worst freaks. When RTÉ decided to make a “hookers with mickeys” joke and have Nuala laugh along in a deep voice, even the most optimistic among us could not help but be enraged at this kind of callousness.

Media representation is what informs people about how they order the world, who is deserving of respect and who is not. Media representation of LGBTQ people, when it is considered and nuanced, is a lifeline to queer young people. When it is done like in The Centre, it is fuel and justification to the people who reject and lash out at them. It is perhaps unlikely that every single person in Ireland will meet a trans* person in their lifetime and know them well enough to arrive at the conclusion that they are people and worthy of being treated as such. Therefore when the one constant theme in the representation of that group is that they are subhuman, they become subhuman. To claim anything different is to be wilfully ignorant of the systems of privilege and power in western societies and how media both creates and reflects these systems.

RTÉ, commenting on the number of complaints received in response to the

episode, said that the show mocked a number of groups in Ireland and that the transphobic jokes are only made by the villain of the show, Amanda Menton. This is blatantly untrue. The jokes are made by the narrator and several other characters, even by Nuala herself. RTÉ propose that the LGBTQ community must learn to be laughed at just like everyone else (presumably “everyone else” does not include middle class straight white Irish men who escape largely unscathed from the show’s “controversial” humour). “Everyone else” means that women are portrayed as either murderous, sex crazed bitches, or uptight and weak willed. “Everyone else” means making digs at the illiteracy issue in the Travelling Community and playing on stereotypes of Islam. “Be laughed at like everyone else” means what it always means. It means that in exchange for a culture that no longer denies our existence or is actively violent to us as often as it was, we have to be the butt of the joke. Our lives, our suffering, are clearly very entertaining to RTÉ. When we are told to “lighten up” in spite of staggering suicide and unemployment rates among trans* people, what they mean is “get back in your place.”Every time RTÉ or any other media outlet produces another tired, insulting show that claims to be non-PC, the creators are quite happy to rabbit on about how cutting edge their new project is. As if realistic, human portrayals of transwomen are so every day and so boring that we have to make six jokes in a twenty-four minute show to remind us how far we’ve come not to attack them on sight anymore. For RTÉ to be so arrogant to turn around to the LGBTQ community in the wake of Pantigate and tell us yet again what is and isn’t good broadcasting is exhausting. It is exhausting having to constantly prove your humanity to people, that there is more to you than your gender identity or sexuality and that you deserve the same complex, multifaceted media depiction as everyone else. Diversity is not a ploy for grants. Diversity is not a bureaucratic buzz word that unfortunately infringes on RTÉ’s desire to be as privileged and offensive as it pleases. Diversity is what is necessary to create functioning, equal and just societies. We have to ‘create’ diversity via grants and quotas and public consultation because since time immemorial, certain groups in society have held all the power. For a state broadcaster, who by its nature should represent all groups within society to be so derisive and childish about the concept of diversity is unforgivable. This is not a joke for you to make. It is not a joke that there is currently no gender recognition in this country. It is not a joke that trans* people are constantly rejected from their homes and workplace and there is no outrage about it. We are not laughing, and you do not get to tell us to laugh because it makes you feel better.

It is exhausting having to constantly prove your humanity to people and that you deserve the same complex, multifaceted media depiction as everyone else.

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