TV & Streaming

Actress So a defends ‘racist’ Purple Hearts

Actress So a Carson (pictured) has o ered her take on backlash against her Net ix hit, Purple Hearts, after viewers called out some of the script’s language for being “sexist and racist”.

During an interview with Variety, the 29-year-old actress and the director Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum both understood why their new romantic drama earned some criticism.

‘I hope that people understand that in order for characters to grow, they need to be awed in the beginning. So we very much intentionally created two characters that had been bred to hate each other,’ Elizabeth told the outlet.

She continued: “ ey are awed at the beginning and that was intentional. In order for the red heart and the blue heart to kind of turn purple, you have to have them be kind of extreme.”

Meanwhile, Carson interjected: “Why I fell in love with the movie is that it’s a love story but it’s so much more than that. It’s two hearts, one red, one blue, two worlds apart, who are really raised to hate each other.’

‘ rough the power of love, they learn to lead with empathy and compassion and love each other and turn into this beautiful shade of purple. We wanted to represent both sides as accurately as possible,” the Austin & Ally star said.

In the romantic drama, So a stars as a singersongwriter who marries a marine, Nicholas Galitzine, 27 in order to get health insurance for her Type 1 diabetes. He goes along with the plan to get extra pay to cover his debts

“What I think I’ve learned to do as an artist is separate myself from all of that and just listen to what the world is feeling and reacting to with the lm,’ she continued. ‘ at has been so beautifully overwhelming and so many people have felt seen or are comforted by this movie. at’s all we could want lmmakers and as artists.”

In the lm, Carson plays a struggling singer-songwriter named Cassie, who marries a Marine just before he ships out so she can get health insurance to cover her Type 1 diabetes.

Her husband, played by Nicholas Galitzine, 27, agrees to the plan so he can pay o his debts with the extra pay o ered to married service members.

Critics are upset about sexist and racist comments made by other characters in the lm which has been viewed for more than 100 million hours on Net ix

It’s fair to say that Cassie is more liberal than the straight-laced Luke, who grew up in a military family. e backlash is the result of some sexist and racist comments in the script by secondary characters. One marine makes a toast in which he says: “ is one is to life, love and hunting down some goddamn Arabs, baby!”

While Cassie criticises the racism and storms o , Luke sits by quietly.

Despite some fallout from dialogue described as ‘misogynist’ and ‘bigoted,’ the lm has been viewed for more than 100 million hours on the streaming service.

In addition to starring in the lm, the Come Back Home singer served as a executive producer on the project.

“ rough the power of love, they learn to lead with empathy and compassion and love each other and turn into this beautiful shade of purple.”

Gaiman ‘s okay with Net ix e Sandman’

Despite it being the biggest show in the world, that doesn’t mean that e Sandman has been without its critics. In fact, having spent 30 years with the creation as a beloved companion, some of its closest fans are its most hostile critics.

Even before it was made, writer Neil Gaiman (pictured) had to defend some of the casting. Now, the creator of the classic comic has even issued a full message to fans of the comic who seem to want to take ownership over the series.

On Twitter Gaiman clari ed this, stating that the series was “absolutely enjoyable for those of you who haven’t read Sandman. We made it as much for you as for the people who had read Sandman”.

When one fan pointed out that Sandman fans can be very hostile to swan in and merely enjoy the series as though that’s a perfectly normal thing to do (it is), Gaiman said: “Nobody gets to gatekeep Sandman.”

He continued: “Not as a comic, not in the audible adaptation and de nitely not on the TV. ere’s no entrance exam, nor should there be. Everyone is welcome.” is bold message shows that Gaiman isn’t afraid to upset the apple cart and issue a decree to his core audience. Nevertheless, with the Net ix show currently snatching the top spot around the world, the comic fans are just going to have to get on with it.

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to stream right now on Netflix

Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022) hasn’t even nished airing its rst season on Net ix, and it’s already a runaway winner. Its unique concept: A woman who has autism becomes a lawyer in South Korea, elevated by her brilliant and unexpected ways of approaching cases. An inspiring heroine, Woo Young-woo (Park Eun-bin) brings extraordinary representation to the screen. Charming, heartwarming, and as radiant as the sun,

Denmark’s bleaker answer to the West Wing. Borgen (2010—) is the epitome of sophisticated political dramas, chronicling the inspiring ctional underdog story of how, against all odds, Birgitte Nyborg Christensen (Sidse Babett Knudsen) becomes the rst female prime minister of Denmark. Produced by the same company behind e Killing, Borgen is four in uential seasons of one woman’s complicated, intricate rise to power.

is miniseries from 2020 is based on a memoir and told primarily in Yiddish with painstaking detail. Almost a thriller, Unorthodox follows 19-year-old Esty Shapiro, who escapes her arranged marriage in an ultra-Orthodox community in Brooklyn. She ends up in Berlin, exploring a new life outside the strict beliefs she grew up in, but her community doesn’t let go that easily. Featuring a stunning performance from Shira Haas, Unorthodox lets you take a step into a relentlessly compelling world.

is miniseries from 2017 carves itself rmly into the Western genre, with a female-led cast boasting Merritt Weaver and Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery. With its 1880s New Mexico vistas swirling around it, Godless draws up the violence in a tale that sees an outlaw on the run from his boss seek refuge with an outcast widower. Oh, Je Daniels is in this too, if the show wasn’t enticing enough.

One of the best TV shows of 2021 was an animated series. at’s right -- if you’re animationunfriendly, Arcane is the show to change your mind. e action- adventure introduces us to the steampunk world of Piltover and Zaun, two cities grinding on opposing values and fortunes. en there’s Violet (Hailee Steinfeld) and Jinx (Ella Purnell), two sisters torn apart by tragedy and ghting to survive. Arcane is the kind of moving portrait that gets under your skin on a par with Pixar. e characters will draw you to tears. A must-watch.

Kilkenny’s Holy Wells

Kenny’s Well

is gave its name to the neighbourhood stretching from Blackmill to the Borough boundary near Kilcreene. Named in honour of St. Kenny- or Canice- the well has been revered from remotest antiquity.

It can be found in picturesque surroundings at the foot of Croker’s Hill, close to the Bregach River. It is enclosed by an attractively constructed stone roofed little well house that is probably not as old as the well itself. e jambs of the wellhouse were made of stones from a di erent building; most likely the Black Abbey or another 13th century church. e stonework is inscribed with oriated designs of a style associated with early English Gothic architecture.

Miraculous cures have for centuries been attributed to the well. To avail of a possible cure, you must invoke the name of St. Canice- or Kenny- when you drink its water. People still arrive at Croker’s Hill in large numbers with jugs and other containers to take away the delicious drinking water that is said to be far healthier than anything you’ll get from your tap. e old Pagan tales of hags at sacred wells may have in uenced or inspired the legend concerning the daughter of a wealthy Kilkenny woman who was attacked at the well by a “wretched and wicked lady.” e assailant tried to strangle the young woman and rob her jewellery. en who should appear but Canice himself in all his glory: e irate patron saint of Kilkenny warned the hag to desist from her violent behaviour or be banished to the lowest depths of Hell. He didn’t have to say a word, for the greedy lady took to her heels at the sight of the apparition and ran like the wind.

Unfortunately, the saint failed to make similar dramatic appearances on any of the occasions when vandals in the late 20th century damaged the well-house. Luckily, civic-minded locals repaired the damage, and restoration work around the well has rendered it one of the most impressive scenic attractions of its kind in Ireland.

A more recent “legend” associated with the well might be taken with a grain of salt, but many wise men and women think there might be something in it: A friendly black and amber cat visits the well-house on occasion and sits himself on a stone altar that stands nearby.

If the cat sits facing the well-house and remains in that position for more than a minute, it means, according to the legend (or should that be “urban myth?”) that Kilkenny will win the next All-Ireland hurling nal.

On the other hand, if the feline pilgrim rolls around with his belly and four paws in the air while facing the well, the Cats could be in trouble at Croke Park.

I have seen this black and amber cat myself while viewing the well and can con rm that he has indeed paid quite a few visits to the spot favoured by St. Kenny.

St. Francis’s Well is was once the largest spring of water in the city. It was enclosed within St. Francis Abbey, situated on the grounds of the present Smithwick’s Brewery. ough not considered “holy”, the well gained a countywide reputation for its alleged miraculous cures. Unfortunately, it fell to progress in 1977 when it was completely covered over. I only discovered this latter fact when I called to the brewery enquiring about the well!

Angel’s Well can be found at the end of Abbey Street, opposite the Dominican Convent. Now beautifully restored, it is also known as the Black Abbey Well due to its proximity to that ancient church.

-John Fitzgerald To be continued...

A degree with cop on!

Every generation believes the younger generation are not prepared for the world we live in. But who are we to blame for this phenomenon?

As parents, we have pushed our children to university and tell all the younger generation “You Need degrees to get on in this world”. And yes, our children are so well educated they struggle to boil an egg! e handwriting skills have now been deteriorating every generation. Our current group maybe keyboard wizards but the use of the pen is skill that has been put in to storage. What is the problem with getting a good old trade? Like becoming a Mechanic, Block layer, Carpenter? It probably doesn’t sound as good at the now dinner parties of the suburbs when telling the Jones’s next door ‘Well My Mary is a quali ed surgeon, She hopes to get work in Australia, at the moment she is living at home after uni” sounds for some reason “Micky is ran o his feet day and night as an electrician, Just nished building his new bungalow” “Ah that’s a shame” comes the reply, “he should have went to uni!”

So why am I talking about this today in our senior’s column? When I was growing up, I spent my summer holidays working as a farm hand to get few pound as it was at the time. My Granny had a small farm where I was thought how to milk cows, sow and nurture vegetable plots and we repaired rather than replaced any items that ‘broke down’ We had the ability to think as we tried to survive and adapt to every situation. My mother’s handwriting was elegant mine not so and now I look at my children and theirs is even less so! Soon the skill of handwriting we be a forgotten trade like so many others of our youth.

I was very fortunate as I had the great experience of working the bellows in the Forge on the Castlecomer Road just past the entrance to Jenkinstown wood. Maybe I was just lucky or had that sense of adventure and curiosity to learn and build what seems to have been lost today ‘COP ON’

Yes, good auld cop on! We had that in abundance. I was listening to the ‘Talk to Joe’ as he spoke to an elderly gentleman who is the proprietor of one of the largest pubs in Dublin about his new Trainees. He explained to the nation through the airways provided by ‘Uncle Joe’ the house wife’s second favourite after the real ‘Uncle Gaybo’, issues regarding simple day to day activities such as pulling a pint of the black stu . Needless to say, no issue with sinking them on a night out but to produce them for a punter, well as we say of days of yore! ‘ at’s another Story’. e listeners were abbergasted when he told his captive audience despite all their degrees of education, they needed their mobile phone to calculate change due to the waiting customer whose shocked face was plain to see as he stood rooted to the oor gazing at his what was supposed to be a creamy pint of porter that looked more like a vanilla Sunday from the dessert menu.

Now please don’t get me wrong, some of this generation are top class! We have intergenerational programme where they assist our seniors with every growing need for IT skills. In return they get an opportunity, they to will have to navigate, the Degree of Life. Yes, this is a degree not available through any university but by learning day to day as they go from cradle to grave the way to make it through all the trials and tribulations what everyday life throws at you. And the best way to deal with these events is with a big sip of Cop on !