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Month: October 2016

Al-Madina – The legend that stood firm

Written by Joe Taylor on . Posted in Food & Drink.

It is 3:30 am, I am sat in the passenger seat of some sort of hybrid. I figure this is probably the last chance I will get to salvage something of worth out of my first and last evening at Sankeys. With my friends chattering in the back, I strike up a conversation with the driver, beginning with the formalities, ‘How are you? Do you enjoy your job? Do you have kids?’, before launching in with the questions I really wanted to ask: ‘Where are you from?’ and ‘Where do you eat on the curry mile?’—Pakistan and Al-Madina were the respective replies.

From that moment on it became almost mythical, a place where all the cab drivers retired to at the end of their shifts to sit down to the ‘staff curry’, a curry so good that it was named after the people who cooked it, rather than the place it was made—I had to go.

Having spent weeks raving about that fateful cab ride, embellishing at every given turn, and wondering how I had got my hands on a secret so valuable, I probably should have made my first visit on my own. Anticlimax can be a cruel mistress, if it can be called a mistress at all. But alas, some good friends were up from Whitechapel, home of Lahore Kebab House and Tayyabs, so I thought I would take them to Al-Madina see how it compared to the greats of East London.

The frontage of Al-Madina is probably just as promising as a night out at Sankeys; neatly nestled between Kobeda Place and Antalya Cafe on the Wilmslow Road, it is green and white lettering, strange pictures of food, and dark interior would be more likely to turn one away than entice.

The four of us trundled in at 10pm, on time for our table reservation, as I thought that we might be in amongst the crowds on a Friday night. Boy did I get that wrong. They almost looked surprised to see us….. ‘custom?! At this time?!’—their faces betrayed them.

Having studied the menu for a while and discovered that no ‘staff curry’ was listed, I snuck off to ask the man behind the counter if such a thing existed. He looked a little confused at first (I felt shame, I felt humiliation, I felt chagrin), before smiling and telling me that it was listed as ‘traditional lamb on the bone’ (I felt relief, just relief). We ordered one of these, along with a Lamb Rogan Josh, a Lahori Chicken Channy, a Karahi Chicken, two sides of rice and two Peschwari Naans.

The dishes were brought out on inoffensive, rather homely flowered crockery, very similar to those that I had eaten off in railway diners when in India. There were none of these sizzling cast iron pots that sounded like they had been designed to tell you your food was piping hot and had been made five seconds beforehand, it was simple, and in a strange way, pretty.

The Karahi was made up of large chicken chunks cooked in a buttery sauce with plenty of cumin, onions, garlic, yoghurt and coriander, creating a mild but spiced flavour so good that one of the East London boys deemed it superior to that of Tayyabs (Wilmslow Road 1, Whitechapel 0).

The ‘staff curry’ was beautiful, with chunks of tender lamb half-heartedly clinging to the bone in a sauce once again made with a tomato, onion, garlic and coriander base spiced with turmeric and chilli, making it hot, but not too hot.

The Chicken Channy was simple and tasty and worked well with the sweetness of the sultanas in the Peschwari naan, but was arguably made unremarkable by the calibre of other dishes on the table. It was the Rogan Josh, however, that stole the show; chunks of lamb were matched with large pieces of green pepper which worked to create a freshness in an otherwise spicy curry, it so full of flavours that I found it difficult to identify what was what.

The owner had been nothing but amiable, happy to answer questions about the dishes, and to even let me in to have a look at the kitchen. As we departed, full, content, happy, Al-Madina’s late night crowd began to file in. I was tempted to give them a wink, a nod, a knowing look of “yes, we both know why we’re here”, but decided against it, for the fact that we were all there was enough. That evening, it was not only the food that had stood firm under scrutiny, but the place, the myth, the legend.

UK scientists dominate at 2016 Nobel Prize ceremonies

Written by Iqra Choudhry on . Posted in News, Science & Tech.

This year, four UK scientists have been honoured with a prestigious Nobel Prize, given to those who had “conferred the greatest benefit to mankind”.

The Nobel Prize in Physics this year was divided, with one half awarded to David J. Thouless, an Englishman, and the other half jointly to F. Duncan M. Haldane, also from England, and J. Michael Kosterlitz, a Scotsman, “for theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter”.

All three scientists carried out work on exotic states of matter whilst affiliated with American research universities. The work they carried out uses abstract mathematics called topology to explore unexpected properties of materials, such as superconductivity, using mathematic models to explain physical phenomena. It is thought that their work will be integral to  forming a basis for the research aiming to create quantum computers in the future.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2016 was awarded jointly to three men; Jean-Pierre Sauvage, from France, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart, another Scottish recipient, and Dutch scientist Bernard L. Feringa “for the design and synthesis of molecular machines”.

The trio worked on replicating elements of cellular machinery with molecules, making miniscule molecular switches and motors. Their work has significant therapeutic potential, and is being developed with a view to one day using molecular machinery to create medical micro-robots and self-healing materials.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2016 was awarded solely to Yoshinori Ohsumi of the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan for his “discoveries of mechanisms for autophagy”. His work revolves around the body’s cellular recycling systems, which break down and reuse cellular components.

Dysfunctional recycling has been linked to illnesses like Parkinson’s disease, type 2 Diabetes, cancer, and a host of age-related disorders meaning research based on Yoshinori Ohsumi’s work would focus on developing therapeutic drugs to target the autophagy system in patients with defective recycling systems.

Amidst celebration of the various British Nobel Laureates, arose a discussion about the state of British science. All of the English scientists awarded this year had “defected” to universities in the States during Thatcher’s cuts to science funding in the 1980s. With the status of post-Brexit British science yet to be decided, the question being asked is: Will there be any future British Nobel Laureates based in the UK?

Manning up with a meat-free method

Written by Will Baldwin-Pask on . Posted in News.

Like any standard late night fast food cutlery piece, my first year-long culinary experience as an independent post-teen was split into two. The former half was a debauched odyssey with little nutritional support; the latter mostly the same but with more food and no meat.

Much has been written about the benefits of vegetarianism, especially by vegetarians. My own reasons for such a lifestyle choice I feel do not need to be disclosed here, as you will most likely already know whether you sympathise or are sickened by them.

The change brought me a variety of new things—newfound pretension, a disapproving father, flawless bowel movements and all that. But without a doubt the greatest physical improvement I have found has been my approach to cooking.

Before I gave in to my nagging conscience over abattoirs and rising water levels, I was totally impotent when it came to the kitchen. I was in a dark place, like Charlie Sheen, or a Chilean miner.

My standard weekly dinner diet featured a rota exercising few skills: Pasta avec sauce on Monday, microwave pouch rice avec sauce on Tuesday, soup and bread on Wednesday, pasta Thursday, pouch rice Friday, soup sans bread Saturday (too hungover) and the self-treat of a takeaway on Sunday.

In between dinner mainly consisted of Weetabix and yes, more bread, with which I applied a toaster, condiments and anything left rotting on a flatmate’s plate to spice it up a wee bit. Tuna, chicken and egg made the odd appearances, though this was always after I exercised—because when it comes to protein, no modern man can afford to slack.

But once the decision to renounce meat and fish had been made, I began doing something I realised I had never properly done before. I started thinking about the food I ate. Initially, this was only in a monitoring sense; however after a while I needed to make up for my protein deficit as my level of physical activity continued.

This led me to discover quinoa—with one serving containing more than double the calories and grams of protein that a serving of red meat offers, as well as all nine amino acids the body requires. I also discovered that quinoa on its own tastes shit, and before long I had Googled my first ever recipe for a meal: quinoa with mashed avocado and some sweet chilli sauce on a slice of buttered toast. At nineteen, this was the moment I truly became an adult, a light-bulb moment fresh straight out of the ground.

Soon I had acquainted myself with grilled halloumi, scrambled tofu (incredible) and falafel wraps,  amongst a whole world of foods I always knew existed but would never have given the time of day as long as I had Tesco’s processed meat aisle up the road.

Best of all was the inescapable duty to cook with vegetable for the first time. You might think that going veggie without having ever really cooked vegetables before is as ridiculous as, oh, I don’t know, a TV personality businessman going for the United States Presidency with absolutely no political experience, yet here I am in 2016, frying some spuds in my kitchen, whilst Clinton does the exact same thing in a televised debate.

I was once far too lazy and uncomfortable in a kitchen to think about using produce. Now I have got sizzled peppers with my pasta and broccoli fighting cancer for me. To my own embarrassment, it should never have taken this long and there is still much, much more I can learn. Yet there is no denying it would have taken a lot longer had I sustained my subhuman diet.

Vegetarianism has forced me to give consideration to the meals I prepare and encouraged me to take more time making them taste good. As well as bringing health and happiness, it has been a catalyst in my coming of age, and even if you disagree with it, it can help any student escape the takeaway cycle and experiment in the kitchen with meatless recipes.

So if you think you might lack the discipline, desire or multi-set of knives to cook efficiently or healthily, maybe try the odd veggie day or week and I guarantee you will discover some gorgeous nosh, with some personal enlightenment on the side.

 

Review: Wish List

Written by Brogen Campbell on . Posted in Theatre.

Katherine Soper’s Bruntwood prize-winning text has its world premiere at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. The play explores the struggles facing young people in employment and the harsh reality of having your benefits cut in this Royal Exchange Theatre and Royal Court co-production.

The play revolves around the central character Tasmin Carmody (Erin Doherty), who starts working in a distribution warehouse on a zero-hours contract. The job is anything but glamorous, with grueling and unforgiving targets, oppressive managerial figures and an overall lack of compassion by the company for its employees. Tasmin has little choice but to work at the warehouse, due to her younger brother, Dean (Joseph Quinn), being declared fit to work and his benefits being recently cut. The play sees Tasmin managing work, to support her and Dean, whilst appealing the benefit-cutting verdict. This leaves her overworked with no way to escape the situation. The cuts seem to be an obvious injustice as Dean’s idiosyncratic behaviour makes it difficult for him to perform common tasks, such as leaving the house. The play is extremely emotive, as you instantly side with the Carmondys’ against the injustices they face.

Doherty gives a stunning performance, portraying Tasmin with enough depth that the audience don’t simply regarded her as someone to be pitied, but as a person to be admired for continuously trying to overcome the many hurdles in her life. Her physicality depicts the hardship she faces, as she walks more like a women in her 40’s than a young person in her prime. Similarly, Quinn manages to portray Dean’s quirky repetitive routines, without making the character one-dimensional. A great deal of credit has to go to Soper, who pushes the boundaries with her writing. This is evident through the character relationships, especially Tasmins and Deans. Tasmin expresses annoyance and envy at times that she has been denied the chance to gain a more prosperous future. Her desire to study Physics has to be forgone, due to the demands of caring for her brother. This of course doesn’t overpower the love, which is evident, between the two siblings. Instead these layers make the characters more realistic, which is one of the reasons why the story and characters are so engaging.

These layers and depths can be seen in all four characters. Even in Tasmin’s manager (Aleksandar Mikic), who has his own pressures and targets to stick to. The friendship between Tasmin and her co-worker Luke Mburu (Shaquille Ali-Yebuah), keeps the play from becoming too depressing, offering some much needed lighter moments. Luke is completely endearing and a character you instantly fall in love with for his easy smile and jokes. One of the standout moments of the show is when Tasmin performs Meat Loaf’s I’d Do Anything For Love for Luke. Doherety’s energy was infectious and you really do want to get up and join her. This is one of the rare moments of pure joy the audience are treated to.

Another striking moment emerged after Dean is left alone in the house. This follows a scene where Dean throws out all his hair products, denying him his routine of meticulously styling his hair into spikes. The sacrifice of the products was an attempt for Dean to show he could get better, but this quickly backfires. The tension builds leading to Dean purposely burning his hands on a hot pan, which emits an audible gasp from the audience and the shedding of a few tears.

Matthew Xia’s direction, placed the factory setting alongside the Carmodys’ home, highlighting the repetitive nature of both routines. The lighting and sound design was used to aid and increase the impact of various scenes to tremendous effect. This along with Soper’s superb script results in a highly emotive production filled with both highs and lows.

The play casts a light on a number of important issues. Firstly, the troubles that face young people as Tasmin is 19, Dean 17 and Luke is just 16-years-old. Secondly, it highlights the consequences of cuts to benefits not just for the claimant but also their family. Finally, the play questions how many people are living just to survive, in a world which revolves around your worth in labour.

Wish List is a must see. The play advocates a voice for people who are often misrepresented in society as ‘scroungers’ and ‘benefit cheats’. You can catch Wish List at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester until the 15th October. Get tickets here.

Stick or Twist?

Written by Toby Webb on . Posted in Sport.

I will begin with two stats: eight out of the twenty teams had a new manager at the start of the current Premier League season, with four beginning their second full season in charge.

Moreover, in the last week Swansea have recently fired Francesco Guidolin, replacing him with Bob Bradley. There is a similar picture in the Championship: eight out of the twenty-four teams began the current season with new managers, with Aston Villa sacking Roberto Di Matteo and Cardiff sacking Paul Trollope in the last week. Ultimately, this suggests that the role of manager is fluid, defined by constant change, and thus uncertainty.

Analysing why fluidity and uncertainty are endemic in the world of football does not point to a clear answer.
Firstly, I would point to the ever-increasing fickleness of fans. Fans are entitled to an opinion on their team, whether the football they pay to watch is good enough. However, over the last decade I think football fans have lost faith in the idea of longevity, that a manager has a long-term project to build a team.

While football is undoubtedly a ‘results business’, I think this concept has reached a new extreme in the modern game. I think the fickleness of football fans is symptomatic of the hyper-speed, digitalised age we inhabit. Our age has developed impatience in us: we lack the patience to put up with periods of poor results or perceivably bad football.

Furthermore, the boards of clubs have become more and more unforgiving. This can partly be explained again by modern day impatience and fickleness. However, there is another reason. With the influx of incredibly rich owners, football clubs are now being envisaged as businesses. This is inevitable, given the amount of money these owners are investing. Owners look for a return on their investment, i.e. success on the pitch. If a business is not performing to your satisfaction, you make changes. A similar logic is applied to football managers.

Sadly, the tendency of changing managers to achieve success clashes with the unpredictability of football. While it is a case of finding the right person to create a successful formula, creating success often takes time. Time is not what a lot of managers are being given these days. Rarely does a manager enter a job and immediately achieve success, and if they do, the success is short-term. Longevity is the key to sustainable success.

Arsène Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson are the recent examples of this. While Ferguson was massively more successful in terms of winning trophies, longevity enabled both men to mould, and remould, teams precisely to their philosophy.

Recently, Wenger celebrated the 20th anniversary of his appointment as Arsenal manager. Wenger has his critics, which are justified in their argument; Wenger has not won the league since the 2003/2004 season, and they believe someone else could lead Arsenal to heights of another title.

These critics are blind to what Wenger brings to Arsenal, as well as wildly unrealistic to think someone could come in and be more successful. When Wenger eventually leaves, or retires from, his position, I think Arsenal will go into meltdown in the same way Manchester United did when Ferguson left.

Will Klopp enjoy a long career as Liverpool manager? Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The scale of longevity (20 years+ of management) that Wenger and Ferguson enjoyed will likely never happen again. A modern conception of managerial longevity is perhaps three to six years.

As expected, the average lifespan for a Premier League manager is less than this. As of October 2015, the average was 2.28 years. However, subtract Wenger, a modern anomaly, from the equation and the average was 1.29 years.

Currently, only the top managers, the likes of Klopp and Guardiola, are promised the time they need to recreate the success they have had before. Yet, even then, it would be very interesting to see how secure their job appears on the back of a bad set of results.

The notion of longevity is being ignored when it comes to football management. This sacking culture creates inevitable instability. Envisioned as a game of blackjack, the boards, or owners, are almost always choosing to twist, rather than stick, when a club is going through a rough patch. The decline of managerial longevity is a loss to our game.

Manchester United squad the most expensive ever

Written by George Ball on . Posted in Sport.

It has been revealed that the current Manchester United squad is the most expensive squad ever assembled. Analysis by the CIES Football Observatory, a team of researchers based in Switzerland, found that United have invested €718 million (£635m) in their current team.

The research analysed the squads of all the teams in Europe’s ‘big 5’ leagues; the top divisions in England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France. Second in the list are Spanish giants Real Madrid, who have invested €634 million (£560m) in their squad, whilst city rivals Manchester City are not far behind with an investment of €611 million (£540m) in playing staff.

After the recent summer transfer window business, it is no surprise that United top the rankings. They broke the world record for the most expensive transfer fee ever with the signing of Paul Pogba, which was rumoured to be in the region of £93 million. They also made expensive signings in midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Borussia Dortmund and defender Eric Bailly from Villarreal. This saw an increase of €185 million (£164m) from research done by the same group in September 2015, when the Red Devils had the third most expensive squad. At that time Real Madrid were top of the rankings with Manchester City in second.

Premier League teams, with the latest £5.136 billion television deal seemingly burning a hole in their collective pockets, dominate the top twenty of most costly squads. No less than nine Premier League clubs feature, contrasting with just two from Germany and France, three from Spain and four from Italy. Absent from the top twenty, but not far behind in twenty-sixth, are the Premier League champions, Leicester City. Their squad has benefited from €130 million (£115m) of investment; less than twenty per cent of the cost of United’s.

The report could put United manager José Mourinho under greater pressure, with the club sitting in a disappointing sixth position after the first seven matches of the Premier League season. Record signing Paul Pogba has also failed to live up to his large price tag so far, with just a single goal to show for his league performances. They are already five points behind fierce rivals Manchester City, having lost to them in the September Manchester Derby.

However staggering the figures may be, Manchester United can point to justifications for being able to spend such large sums. In May, accounting firm KPMG published a report that declared Manchester United the joint-most valuable football club in the world, along with Real Madrid. They were both valued at £2.1 billion. The report took into account factors such as profitability, stadium ownership, popularity and sporting potential. This dwarfed the valuations of Premier League rivals such as Manchester City, who were valued at £1.2 billion, along with Arsenal.

The latest spending figures are not surprising, but perhaps are an indictment of the era of ever increasing sponsorships and television deals which football is now in.

West Sussex proposes 4-day school week

Written by Aliya Ismangil on . Posted in News.

A West Sussex head teacher has decided to explore “modifying opening hours” in order to cope with budget cuts and rising costs.

Louise Goldsmith, Conservative Leader of the West Sussex County Council, has said that West Sussex received £44m less funding than the national average this year, with the area being “the fifth lowest funded nationally.”

Goldsmith has personally written to Education Secretary, Justine Greening, about the issue, pleading for emergency support: “They cannot absorb more pressure on their budgets, which are already squeezed to the limit.”

Chair of the West Sussex Secondary Heads’ executive and head teacher of Weald school in Billingshurst, Peter Woodman has raised his own concerns that schools may not even have enough funding to open for five days a week. Although this is only a consideration at the moment and understandably “not a place we really want to go,” the considerable lack of funding is putting pressure on Woodman and other head teachers in West Sussex to find ways to keep schools running.

This could include “increasing class sizes again, reducing our curriculum, not replacing staff and considering revised opening hours;” some schools in the area have already taken some of these actions.  Parent governor, Helen Quiroga, says that “it would have a devastating effect on their education;” she opposes the cutting down of the school week using the strict current policies of many schools on taking holidays during term as an example. She believes that these policies are in place due to the negative long-term effects on children’s education when missing school hours— missing a full day every week of school will surely have far greater ramifications.

The current education funding system for the UK has no national formula and the main determinant of how much an area is funded is schools’ spending in the previous year. Therefore, current funding largely reflects that which was allocated when the current scheme was introduced in 2006/07. The system does not take into account rising inflation, nor changing circumstances of areas or schools.

Earlier this year, the government proposed a ‘fairer’ funding system that was set to take effect in 2017-18, but a recent announcement by the Education Secretary revealed this has now been pushed back to 2018-19. During this time, no interim funding is planned, only the guarantee that funding will not decrease from that received this year. Many believe this could lead to catastrophic consequences, pushing head teachers to the dramatic measures that they are now considering.

Head teachers and those supporting the ‘Worth Less?’ campaign, which advocates action to improve the funding system, hope that voicing these considerations of drastic measures to save money will highlight the problem to MPs and the Government.

The Department of Education has issued a statement assuring their commitment to introducing a fair national funding formula. “That’s why we have protected the schools budget… in 2016-17 that will total over £40bn, the highest on record.”

This statement somewhat loses its reassuring tone when you consider the situation of the schools in West Sussex and other areas at the moment.

Review: Sembene!

Written by Sarah Jane Thoms on . Posted in Film.

Sembene! is a remarkable piece of art that walks the audience through the life of the Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembene, offering both a biographical and historical insight. Through a collection of photographs, original video footage, interviews and clips from Sembene’s films, the life and work of this significant man is presented to the audience in a way that does not hide the controversies surrounding Sembene but instead explores them.

Born in Ziguinchor, Senegal on the 1st January 1923, Ousmane Sembene was born as the son of a fisherman. After being expelled from school, he followed in his Father’s footsteps by becoming a fisherman himself before moving to work in Marseilles, France. It was there that he discovered his love for literature. When realising that there was an absence of his African culture in the literature that he was reading, he decided that he wanted to create pieces of art that conveyed the culture of the “common people” of Africa. The rest is history.

The documentary was co-directed and co-written by Samba Gadjigo, a biographer of Ousmane Sembene and Professor of French and African Studies, and award-winning film producer Jason Silverman. The journey begins by Gadjigo sorting through the old and rusty film canisters that contain many pieces of unseen footage shot by Sembene, some of which appear to have already become rotted and unplayable. It is this footage of Gadjigo as he tries to salvage, protect and maintain the film canisters that introduces what the documentary is really about, which is to protect and to maintain not only Sembene’s work but also his legacy.

In an interview included in the documentary, the phrase “Sembene came to cinema and invented a new language to represent black people” can be heard. It is this statement that sums up one of the primary aims of the documentary; to portray him as his given status as the “Father of African Film”. His controversial opinions and stances on topics such as Islam and different aspects of the African society that are highlighted in his films are addressed in this documentary truthfully and forwardly. The documentary does not try to shy away from Sembene’s true thoughts and because of this, the film is made to feel more so like a true and accurate account rather than a biased or persuasive one.

Aesthetically, Sembene! is bursting with beautiful film sequences that not only enrich the story of the life being told but also serve as pure visual pleasure for the viewer. One point of criticism would be that the documentary does not delve into Sembene’s literature, which is arguably where his artistic journey began. It would have been a lot more beneficial for both the spectator’s benefit and the narrative if the documentary was to discuss Sembene’s literary works for this reason. However, this absence does not take anything away from Sembene!. It still leaves me to believe that this documentary is an incredible piece that must be celebrated and applauded for its artistic vision and for its success of educating others about the life and work of Ousmane Sembene, a story which needs to be told. Sembene! allows a legacy to live.

4/5

Live: The Kills

Written by Mattea Bubalo on . Posted in Music.

8/10

With a sound Pitchfork flatteringly described as “dirty ice”, I wasn’t too sure what to expect when I went to see The Kills perform at the Albert Hall last Thursday. Other than the standard musings put forward by Pitchfork, their new album, Ash and Ice, has been praised for its insidious and heavy sound, and this certainly came across at the gig.

Alison Mosshart, bathed in blue light, graced a wild audience with her feverish and rocky vocals in ‘Heart Of A Dog’. Certainly, a huge highlight of the night was her dancing. Her energy went on for about six songs, where she finally took a couple of seconds to cool down. Almost like a heavy metal Jarvis Cocker, Mosshart tantalized her audience with electrifying guitar solos (although the middle finger to the crowd was slightly cringey) and an effortless take over on the drums. This was a gig far from the realm of being “a little too chilled” (words courtesy of Pitchfork).

Jamie Hince’s brooding voice offered a sinister injection into Mosshart’s more forceful, punk-princess vocals. On stage this worked brilliantly, and the duo acknowledging each other with only a vigorous head thrust seemed to cement their rockstar status. An unusual balance between the rockstar theatrics of Mosshart and the quiet charisma of Hince worked to produce unique and heavy sounds. ‘Baby Says’, for example, sounded like heavy metal punched country music in the face.

The definitive highlight of the night was a blasting performance from Ash and Ice: ‘Doing It To Death’ was dripping with a satisfying dose of heavy guitar riffs and reckless attitude, and clearly a crowd favourite. Familiar additions of gospel-esque melodies and 90s pop punk sounds combined with an electronic infusion in songs like ‘Doing It To Death’ and ‘Tape Song.’

All in all,  they are a combination making an otherwise quite repetitive genre refreshing. The Kills have never been afraid to risk mixing it up. Overall I would give the gig four leather leggings out of five.

USA Ryder Cup victory over Europe overshadowed by disgraceful fan behaviour

Written by Luke Maguire on . Posted in Sport.

The USA emerged from the Ryder Cup with a feeling of triumph after a hard-won, but comprehensive, win over Europe finishing 17-11. However, the victory may have been bittersweet. The tournament was marred by abuse and heckling from spectators targeted at European players.

This behaviour was widely condemned by all, but the question must be raised as to whether more could have been done by the organisers to quell such abuse. Certainly the availability of alcohol did nothing to help the situation with drunken American fans not content with generic booing or heckling, but often shouting personal attacks at some of the European players.

Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood in particular being subject to such abuse. This kind of behaviour has come to be expected at football or rugby matches but golf has historically managed to almost always avoid this loutish and drunken behaviour. It may be unfair to say that this is an American problem but in a previous tournament held in Celtic manor, Wales, Tiger Woods had ten months previously become involved in a sex scandal—and yet he received no heckling at all. Whereas previous tournaments held in America have had attacks against Justin Rose for his dead father. No matter how drunk or passionate the USA fans are for their team to win, there can be no justification for such abuse.

If these fans who hurl abuse were simply a minority at the tournaments then perhaps it would not be considered a serious problem but at times there has been widespread booing aimed at European players and shouts of “miss” just as they are about to take a shot. These are not isolated incidents and occurred throughout this year’s Ryder cup.

It is truly a shame that this issue has been raised when the focus should lie on some of the beautiful golf we have seen in the cup this year. On the 8th, Rory McIlroy scored a peach of a shot with a birdie from 60 feet. That was a rare highlight for Europe in a Ryder cup which lacked the sheer quality of the American performance. After the first two days, USA were leading by 9 to 6 so it would have required an unlikely comeback to overturn that lead.

The European captain, Darren Clarke has been criticised for some of his wildcard choices with Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer putting in poor performances while some of the rookies such as Chris Wood and Andy Sullivan played in very few sessions.

However, Thomas Pieter rewarded Clarke’s faith in him by putting in an exceptional performance but it was not enough. Overall the USA were superior over the tournament and deserved the win. Though it was still a fiercely fought competition both teams were desperate for the win.

Individual duels highlighted this intensity with McIlroy and Reed going head to head on the final day with each pulling off stunning shots. However it was McIlroy who crumbled first with a bogey on the 12th, allowing Reed to take the advantage and come out on top.

This was a hotly anticipated contest with both players being billed as each team’s talisman. World no.3 McIlroy pushed Reed right to the wire but the American was on scintillating form and managed to achieve a decisive victory over the Northern Irishman.

The European team will obviously be disappointed with the result especially since they were on course for a record 4th successive Ryder Cup win. However the future does look promising with the likes of Rory McIlroy, Thomas Pieters and Justin Rose looking likely to only to get better in the years ahead.

The next Ryder Cup will be held in home territory in Paris and hopefully will avoid any of the ugly scenes that marred this year’s tournament.

Boldly Beautiful: Turning scars into works of art

Written by Molly Joslin on . Posted in Arts.

Some of the most beautiful artwork I have seen has not been displayed in galleries or featured in sculpture parks, but instead has adorned the bodies of women who have had mastectomies. More and more women are choosing to turn their scars into works of art; choosing to take back control of their bodies and in doing so creating something uniquely beautiful.

A US organisation dedicated to empowering women, P.Ink, aims to “connect breast cancer survivors with tattoo artists who can provide a form of healing that no one else can”. The art on their portfolio, although individually designed for each woman, features mandalas, floral patterns, and birds with open wings. They are colourful and bold, and are so much more than ink on the skin.

Whether you are a fan of tattoo artwork or not, nobody can argue that this type of artwork is truly inspirational.

In collaboration with tattooist Shane Wallin, of Mastectomy Tattoo, artist Erena Shimoda takes the artwork one step further by photographing these women underwater as part of a campaign that aims to heal emotional scars and improve women’s confidence. The images are powerful and feminine. They are dynamic in a way that is positive and life affirming.

I think we can all agree that the ‘tittoo’ phenomenon is another example of how art can be so much more than a picturesque painting or perfect sculpture; it can be an embodiment of beauty on the most remarkable of canvases.

For more information of Erena Shimoda and her incredible work, visit her website here. 

Review: Giselle

Written by Ollie Kaiper-Leach on . Posted in Theatre.

One of the most highly anticipated productions to come to Manchester this year, Akram Khan’s reimagining of the classic ballet Giselle ticks almost every box, and certainly lives up to expectations. This is due to the combination of Khan’s own legendary choreography, Tim Yip’s stunning visual design, and Vincenzo Lamagna’s ingenious reworking of the classic score by Adolphe Adam. However, this fool-proof formula sadly fails to marry with the most important element of all: the story.

Having been updated by dramaturge Ruth Little, the story is one of chilling, dystopian predictions of migrant factory workers dominated by lavish, decadent landlords. Alongside a forbidden romance which attempts to bridge the gap between the two, facing a good dose of the supernatural along the way. Keeping all the relevant details of the original story, this new version has all the makings of a perfectly poignant piece of theatre. Unfortunately, to anyone unfamiliar with the original template, the story, with all its nuances, was difficult to follow.

The opening image immediately sets the tone, creating an image so ominous you dare not look away, as the mass of figures clad in dirty, cloth rags and dresses yearn towards an imposing wall as if climbing in vain up Mount Purgatory. Rumbling electronics and sounds of analogue interference complete the atmosphere, setting an unsteady canvas on which to begin the familiar folk dance of the original score.

The company already show incredible form here, creating beautifully precise lines through which Giselle (Fernanda Oliveira) and Albrecht (Fernando Bufalá) tenderly float together. The folk dance is interrupted by the relentless security alarm, an ingenious reincarnation of Adam’s original hunting bugle, both of which announce the arrival of the nobility. Praise here must be paid to Yip’s striking costume design, conjuring as an ensemble a nightmarish concoction of Lady Gaga meets Queen Amidala. Isabelle Brouwers’ Bathilde is ice-cold here, the alignment of her arm down to the end of her glove-clad finger suggesting a dangerously calm black swan, after which she drops her glove on the floor, a gauntlet of sorts for Giselle to pick back up.

It is a real shame for Brouwers, however, that the lack of clear storytelling thus far means that, to the uninitiated, the significance of Albrecht as a nobleman in disguise is completely lost, where in the original it is the first fact to be established. His betrothal to Bathilde is therefore also unclear, and so the overall impact this has on Giselle and, ultimately the audience, is lowered. Indeed, the tension of the entire ballet stems from this conflict of loyalty which sits so heavily on Albrecht’s shoulders, the conflict which takes the audience with him through the death and resurrection of Giselle. Without the clear narrative through which we engage with Albrecht, this tension is lost.

Nevertheless, the audience cannot help but gaze in awe at the delicate drama of Giselle’s anguish and grimace at the increasingly grotesque recorded vocals which accompany the breathtakingly close duel between Albrecht and Hilarion (Oscar Chacon). Whilst the pizzicato strings struggled to settle on a tempo at the beginning of this sequence, the precision of the company keeps us engaged as Oliveira’s uncomfortably tense shoulders focus our attention — before the colossal wall rotates in increasing velocity, bringing the first half to an appropriately abrupt close.

Act two sees the unprecedented involvement of the supernatural, as the Wilis, the fabled ghosts of maltreated factory workers, are seen for the first time. Again, the lack of context surrounding the legend of the Wilis makes for an abrupt adjustment of thinking, although the dystopian platform for the story allows perhaps a little room for open-mindedness. Nevertheless, Laurretta Summerscales as Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis, steals the show, with a dark and encapsulating presence as she reanimates the dead body of Giselle. This is also the first time in the entire ballet that we see the use of point work, which makes it all the more effective and ghostly. Indeed, one moment in particular, evoked an audible gasp from the audience, as Myrtha drags Giselle out of death and straight onto points. The use of four-foot wooden staffs by the Wilis is also particularly effective, creating not only a physical bond between Giselle and Myrtha, but also forming what appear to be enormous wings either side of the Queen as her minions gather around her.

The final duet of Giselle and Albrecht is full of breath-taking moments, from expertly executed lifts to the use of the very edge of the stage as Giselle straddles the realms of life and death. The closing solo of Albrecht feels more like a desperate, delirious, unrequited duet, as he is left trapped and alone behind the all-too-familiar and imposing wall, the gaol-suggestive lighting reducing him to nothing more than a silhouette.

The English National Ballet’s dancers prove just how worth saving this production is, and the holes in the plot are certainly fixable. With an ingeniously innovative score and beautifully dark aesthetic, Akram Khan’s Giselle so nearly lives up to all that it should, and could, be.

Giselle was performed by the English National Ballet at the Palace Theatre, Manchester. Akram Khan’s Giselle tours to the Bristol Hippodrome from 18th – 22nd October; the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton from 26th – 29th October; and Sadler’s Wells, London from 15th – 29th November.

Manchester ‘Walk of Fame’ honours city icons

Written by Elizabeth Rushton on . Posted in News.

Manchester’s First Street has become home to 20 stars on the pavements, honouring some of the city’s most revered residents.

The city’s answer to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, ‘Star Walk Manchester’ is part of a promotional campaign ahead of the opening of new bar, ‘The Liquor Store First Street’, a sister business to the Deansgate establishment of the same name.

The 20 favourites featured in the installation were selected through a poll run by the bar’s management. The resulting top 20 represent the diversity of Manchester, from its heavily industrial past, to artists like L. S. Lowry, as well as more recent additions the city, such as the late comedian Caroline Aherne.

Liquor Store co-owner Doug Waldron commented on how honouring the creators of the city’s legacy was an important part of the Liquor Store’s expansion.

“Manchester is at the heart of everything we do at the Liquor Store and with First Street being an artistic breeding ground, located opposite the famous Hacienda building, it seemed fitting to open our new bar by celebrating some of the city’s most prolific stars.”

Demonstrating the breadth of Manchester’s contribution to the world, the icons represent a number of fields ranging from sport to the arts. Figures such as Paul Scholes of Manchester United, acclaimed actor Maxine Peake, and director Danny Boyle, the man behind the opening ceremony at the London 2012 Olympics, all being celebrated.

Manchester’s rich musical history is, naturally, represented especially strongly, with Ian Curtis, Morrissey, the Gallagher brothers, and iconic manager Tony Wilson all to be found in the project. The University of Manchester also maintains a strong presence, with the inclusion of poet Lemn Sissay, Chancellor of the University, and Physics fellow Brian Cox.

Emmeline Pankhurst, a pioneering figure of Britain’s suffragette movement, also appears in the installation, following the announcement in January that she will be honoured by a new statue located in Manchester, the city of her birth.

Unfortunately, Star Walk Manchester is not a permanent fixture. Manchester’s pedestrians will only be able to admire the installation until Monday 10th October, following the opening of the new branch of The Liquor Store on Saturday 8th October.

The full list of featured stars is as follows:

Noel Gallagher; Liam Gallagher; Morrissey; Ian Brown; Ian Curtis; Bez; Mick Hucknall; Paul Scholes; Brian Cox; Maxine Peake; Tony Warren; Lemn Sissay; John Thaw; Caroline Aherne; Dame Sarah Storey; L S Lowry; Danny Boyle; Tony Wilson; Emmeline Pankhurst; Les Dawson

Can you go the distance?

Written by Megan Byrne on . Posted in Lifestyle.

So you’ve done it. You’ve taken the plunge and moved away from home for the first time. You packed up your life into the back of your parent’s car including your favourite hoodie, your posters, and an indeterminate number of fairy lights. But what if the one thing you want to take along most is the one thing you can’t?

Leaving a partner behind can be the toughest part of moving away for any amount of time. One of the most common problems faced by students is whether or not to attempt to maintain relationships over long distances. Whether you’re a fresher, moving to a new city, or choosing to study abroad for part of your degree, the decision to commit to a long distance relationship (an LDR) is a big one.

It’s important to sit down and have a frank discussion with your beau about how you both feel. It might be that, whilst you’re both really into each other, a long distance relationship isn’t for you and you can part ways with relatively little heartache.

By being brave and actually asking the simple question of ‘do we really want to do this?’ before you make the big move, you can avoid weeks of skirting around the issue because neither of you wants to hurt the other and the whole situation inevitably ending in arguments and tears. Plus, if you do both state your commitment to continuing your relationship this gives you a strong foundation and sense of security before you embark on an LDR.

Next it’s important to consider the practicalities of a long distance relationship. Getting to grips with Skype early on and maintaining a kind of routine in how often you ‘see’ each other can be really good for avoiding those pesky pangs of homesickness. Knowing that you’re definitely going to see your boyfriend/girlfriend on Sunday night and spend some quality time catching up makes it easier to be more present during those exciting first few weeks in a new place without constantly checking your phone and wondering why they haven’t been in touch.

Secondly, think carefully about planning actual visits. By booking train tickets—or flights if your other half is a little further away—well in advance, it gives you both something to look forward to. Make fun plans that you can get excited about—even if those plans only involve your bed and a Chinese takeaway. Think about the things in your new city that you’d love to show them as well as making sure to leave time to spend alone together.

The hardest thing about an LDR is being understanding and accommodating of the other person in the relationship. Distance can result in a lack of communication which, in turn, can lead to arguments and bitterness. Airing any worries or problems you might have instead of allowing them to build up is the best way to avoid this, as well ensuring that any jealousy that might arise is quickly dissipated.

It’s normal to be unsure about whether or not your relationship can survive the first few weeks of term but it’s important to trust in yourself and, even more importantly, trust in your boyfriend/girlfriend and avoid being paranoid.

For example, if you know they’re going on a night out with their friends, ask them to make sure they send you quick text when they get home safe as opposed to bombarding them with texts all night. This might make them feel like they’re being hounded, and distract them from making friends and memories in their new place, as well as interfering with your own experiences.

Having a definite point in the future where your relationship will no longer be long distance is often the thing which will get you through the heartache. For many couples, this is as easy as knowing that one of you will be coming home after a semester or two but for others it can get a bit more complicated.

Having an idea about how you would like your future to be as a couple can be really helpful in providing hope and the motivation to keep going through any rough patches you might encounter.

If you find that you’re struggling in your LDR, as well as being open with your partner, it’s also a great idea to have someone else to talk to. Friends and family can be great for this but the University of Manchester Counselling Service also provides counsellors who are available to speak with you about any worries you may have, and are easily accessible through the university website.

We love to fear the zombie

Written by David Moseley on . Posted in Opinion.

In recent decades, zombies have risen again to invade our screens. As early as 1996 and the release of the first Resident Evil game, the undead were beginning to take a hold of our imaginations once more. In the new millennium, we had modern classics such as 28 Days Later in 2002, and Zac Snyder’s 2004 reworking of George A Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, through to the box office smash World War Z a few of years ago.

All of this has culminated in AMC’s surprise hit The Walking Dead, which reached 14.6 million viewers in the US for the Season 6 premiere, and pushed 20 million when taking online streaming into account. These numbers rival the American heavyweights of Sunday night football and NCIS. The success of The Walking Dead, in particular, has transformed the horror sub-genre from the preserve of undead enthusiasts, who hoard non-perishable foodstuffs in their makeshift bunkers and are never a few metres from an axe, into the weekly watching of the living room masses.

And it is a ‘surprise’ hit. Its unrelenting story-lines, bleak moral outlook, and the destruction of the characters’ humanity make you wonder how it can be so popular. The Walking Dead will enter the seventh season on 23rd October, and producer Greg Nicotero says that it only gets worse: “It’s almost too much… It goes lower and lower and lower”. Yet it has drawn ambivalent zombie viewers, such as myself, and produced die-hard fans of the walkers.

It is nothing new that we enjoy watching depravity and despair for entertainment. Time magazine noted how extreme has become the new norm, citing the rising prominence of other unremittingly brutal series like Game of Thrones. Nobody wants to watch perfect people leading perfect lives, but we have reached a point where TV shows will kill children and endorse suicide, and still continue to drag us through every harrowing 40 minute episode and binge-inducing cliff hanger.

Despite the gruesome nature of the zombie film, these apocalyptic stories seem to speak to us on a deeper level. The prevalence of social commentary in the world of zombies has been around since the inception of the genre. George A Romero himself, the godfather of the zombie film, commented that he made Night of the Living Dead from a place of anger that “the Sixties didn’t work”. In both the 1978 Dawn of the Dead and the recent remake, it has been often noted that the setting of the shopping mall strikes a note of irony, juxtaposing our consumerism with the mindless consumption of the undead.

As the post-apocalyptic surfaces in pop culture, we can see the underlying fears of our time. Our parents had the Bomb and the Cold War which manifested in, among other things, the espionage of mutants in the X-men comics and the secret war raging unbeknownst to humanity at large. Perhaps in a world of iOS updates and automatic device synchronisation, where technology moves at an overwhelming pace and seems to organise more and more of our lives, the apocalypse represents a place free from the technological regime.

The extended narrative of The Walking Dead shows us a world unhindered by modernity, simpler than our own and stripped back to the bare bones of humanity. Perhaps our fascination with the world of the walking dead is to do with our concern about super-viruses and the outbreak of incurable disease. Perhaps we are concerned more broadly with a possible world-wide disaster and catastrophic consequences of global warming.

One can speculate about the subconscious reasons why the mainstream has taken to zombies. In essence, the apocalyptic allows us to explore our fears in a kind of safe space away from the all too real threats of the age of terror and environmental disaster. Max Brooks, the author of the mockumentary novel World War Z, notes that “zombie stories give people the opportunity to witness the end of the world they’ve been secretly wondering about while… allowing themselves to sleep at night because the catalyst of that end is fictional.” It seems as though the troubles of our time will not be going away any time soon, and that means the undead will probably stick around as well.

Live: Ultimate Painting

Written by Joe Taylor on . Posted in Music.

The Deaf Institute, 30th September

7/10

A green hue illuminates the stage of The Deaf Institute as people chatter, while the parrots watch on in the backdrop. On the day of Ultimate Painting’s third album release, there is a calmness that exudes from the four-piece; perhaps it comes off the back of a plethora of praising reviews, one hailing Dusk as full of “melodies so gorgeous that they tug at the heartstrings with one hand”, or maybe it is that the stage has become home to Jack Cooper and James Hoare, steadfast guitar aficionados previously of Mazes and Veronica Falls respectively.

They launch straight into ‘Ultimate Painting’, the title track from their eponymous debut album, and the crowd is instantly warmed by the catchy guitar riff and call and response chorus. The lead single from their new album, ‘Bills’ is up next, with its Krautesque rhythm section and uncharacteristically sparse guitar, the focus is drawn towards the vocal harmonies and lyrics; “they’re chewing me up” is repeated to the point of collective sadness. They float on through ‘The Ocean’ before arriving at the ethereal ‘Lead the Way’ for which Hoare takes to the piano; it’s beautifully simple in its chord progression, and yet almost hypnotic in its effect, lulling the crowd into a warm stupor.

“So what happens after this in Manchester?”, Cooper asks towards the end of their set. If this had been to a room full of students, a call for hedonism would have been spat and growled, but alas, this crowd has seen those days and the band know it: “Do we appeal to people who just go home after this? I think we probably do”. As if hoping to reinvigorate the crowd into re-living their party days, they choose one of their fastest numbers ‘(I’ve Got The) Sanctioned Blues’, as their penultimate song, with Hoare displaying his soloing ability in a T-Bone Walker-meets-distortion fashion.

Ultimate Painting are an updated 80s indie pop band, combining the vocal harmonies of likes of Teenage Fanclub, and the guitars of The Weather Prophets or Treebound Story. They have created a unique sound that not only translates wonderfully live, but also matures as they do—they may not be a party band, but their performance is captivating.

A Gibraltarian against Brexit

Written by Mark Montegriffo on . Posted in Opinion.

In the EU referendum of June this year, 96 per cent of British Gibraltarians voted to remain, with an 83.7 per cent turnout. This was the first result to be made public. It far overtook any other constituency in terms of unanimity. Despite this, British Gibraltar was at the mercy of the overall UK vote for Brexit. It would be a huge miscarriage of democracy if an entire peoples’ vote was deemed null and void. As things are developing, it certainly seems that is how the views of the 96 per cent will be treated.

Naturally—as the official backers of ‘Remain’ and the most powerful electoral bloc in Gibraltar—the Government of Gibraltar has been in talks with a plethora of statesmen and women in the UK and Europe to put across the view that Brexit imposed on Gibraltar would, at the very the least, take away a vital component of own identity. We have received assurance after assurance. First, Gibraltar was told to keep an eye on Scotland, who could launch an independence referendum as a means of re-applying for EU membership. But—judging by polls sourced by BritainElects—a win for independence seems unlikely.

Second, we were told to explore the ‘reverse Greenland’ scenario, where areas that voted Remain would stay in the EU, and those that voted Leave would exit. This avenue has seemingly been either blocked or hushed. Now we are being told by the incorrigibly split Conservative Government that we may have to put up with a ‘Hard Brexit’, without access to the Single Market or freedom of movement—despite our Government’s pleas to retain these core tenets of the EU. It’s as if we were hanging of a cliff face and guaranteed a helping hand, but our friends have walked away. To think that this all began with a bunch of Tory backbenchers wanting to control borders and make parliament ‘sovereign’!

The Rock’s Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, was right to suggest that a Brexit would present an “existential crisis” to Gibraltar. This is precisely why the demands of the people must be unwavering. 96 per cent did not vote for a piecemeal post-Brexit reform. They did not vote merely for Single Market access. They definitely did not vote to leave the EU on the back of a xenophobic campaign in the UK. It is fair to say that they want to remain a European Gibraltar, not a Brexit Gibraltar; and most of all, not a Spanish Gibraltar. There should be no loosening of demands, especially when several political officials were influential in the European Movement that so enthusiastically defended this proud part of our modern identity.

In a recent lecture at the University of Manchester, Lord Peter Mandelson (New Labour spin doctor and ex-European Commissioner for Trade) was pessimistic about the chances of a peaceful and reasonable post-Brexit negotiation. Despite his reluctance to answer my question, he did indicate that the Government is already keen on restraining Scotland and Gibraltar and pushing for a ‘Hard Brexit’ before Remainers get an opportunity to rally for a deal that they desire. For the most part, this includes the aforementioned single market access and free movement of peoples.

The action from the UK Government will no doubt have an effect on the SNP and Remainer Scotland at large. The only way that Scotland can secure their own desired negotiation with the EU would be to vehemently resist any UK negotiation that did not represent their interests. Gibraltar should do the same; for with its undeniable mandate to remain in the EU, the Rock is on the right side of democratic justice. No rational mind can argue that Gibraltar, a modern post-colonial British nation which voted heavily to Remain, should be robbed of its European identity and political status.

The Conservative Government, and the Eurosceptic wing of UK politics more generally, are fighting fire with fire in regards to Britain after Brexit. The ‘Hard Brexit’ represents the worst irrationality of the ‘Leave’ campaign, and the UKIP leadership is already blaming May’s cabinet for betraying the Leave vote and being “too soft” on migrants. The European argument is far from over and Gibraltar’s case must not waver. Of course, Gibraltar does not want to be left behind from any negotiations that are made, but its emphatic mandate for EU membership cannot be ignored.

UK/EU negotiations will be played hardball. It is very possible that they will lead to not much more than the political equivalent of breadcrumbs. Whether we end up having to put up with breadcrumbs or not, we should not let the 96% leave our national narrative. A Brexit, however spun, is unjust to Gibraltar. We have dealt with injustices before and have eventually overcome them as a stronger unit than ever. When the negotiations have been settled, we may have to remind ourselves that we voted to be a European Gibraltar, and that we have a democratic right to voice our demands.

Mark Montegriffo is a committee member of the Politics Society. You can like their Facebook page here.

Are fashion magazines behind the times?

Written by Jennifer Knowles on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

Fashion magazines are the epitome of contemporary media. We look to fashion and lifestyle magazines for what to wear, how to act, and even what to eat. So the question we must ask ourselves is how some of these magazines are able to follow every inspiring idea, every pencil stroke of every popular designer, yet still haven’t grasped the crucial concept of modern diversity.

Take Vogue for example, the fashion bible, launched in 1916 yet waited fifty years to publish their first black model on their cover. A recent uproar in the media concerns Jordan Dunn as the first black model to grace Vogue’s cover in twelve years. In 2013,  models Naomi Campbell, Iman, and Bethann Hardison wrote a letter to Vogue expressing their outrage: “No matter the intention, the result is racism. Not accepting another based on the colour of their skin is clearly beyond aesthetic”. However, during these twelve years various non-white iconic celebrities such as Beyoncé and Rihanna have featured on the covers of Vogue.  A concept that has become an issue is that of ‘whitewashing’. Whitewashing is the idea of transforming celebrities with a more multicultural background into the lighter-skinned, straighter-haired versions we see now, in order to create the ‘perfect image’ in the eyes of today’s society and in some cases coloured contacts and ‘shrinking’ is used to make the body appear slimmer.

It is obvious how much we are influenced by what’s on the cover of magazines. They set the trend of what’s hot and what’s not, particularly in the weight department. Different cultures bear varying perceptions of the ideal body image. For example, research shows that the ideal woman in Black and Latina cultures has feminine curves, big hips, and a big bosom, none of which are normally shown on UK models. Models are made to disown what is desirable in their own culture in order to conform to the dominating white ideal that the UK has obsessed over for so long, in order to become ‘beautiful’. We are fed images that form our idea of what is perfect. Not exposing the readership of fashion magazines to multicultural faces on their pages means we are in danger of distorting our own vision of what is the social norm, inevitably encouraging, perhaps subconsciously, racism and ignorance among the impressionable minds of our country’s youth.

High fashion magazines such as Vogue set these criterion because they can. However, with growing immigration and multiculturalism, the western world is flourishing with diversity and many companies are failing to reflect this through the mainstream media.  Jordan Dunn told The Guardian in 2013: “People in the industry say that if you have a black face on the cover of a magazine it won’t sell”. But is this really because of the buyers or the prejudices that have been fabricated by the industry? Maybe companies which have such a large impact on the fashion industry should consider more carefully how much their covers affect society’s acceptance of those who might look a bit different from ourselves.

Is the Student Union right to ban the Daily Star?

Written by Michael Petch on . Posted in Opinion.

At the recent Manchester Student Union Senate, 92 per cent voted in favour of a motion to cease the sale of the Daily Star due to its objectification of women. In effect, this is a constitutional ban on the newspaper. To make it clear, I do agree that the Daily Star objectifies women—you only need to read it to realise that—however banning it is in no way the correct way to resolve this, as it sets a dangerous precedent of censorship and limitations on the freedom of the press.

First of all, I think it is important to ask if the Student Union (SU) actually has the right to do such a thing. The simple answer is: no. Article 19 of the United Nation’s (UN) Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to “seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers”. By denying students the ability to access the Daily Star, they are denying us of a fundamental human right set out by the UN.

But let’s say for some reason the SU has decided that they are beyond the power of the UN. The answer is still no. The SU is bound by the University of Manchester Code of Practice on Freedom of Speech which states that the University will uphold the freedom of expression, speech, and thought by any practical means necessary. There is one proviso, however; the university does not protect speech that “constitutes incitement to riot, insurrection, racial hatred, religious hatred, sexual harassment, or other activities—beyond the right of peaceful protest—which are likely to cause a breach of the peace or public disorder, or otherwise would be unlawful”.

Is it possible that the motion was perhaps submitted for one of these reasons? When questioned, the SU quoted the notes that were submitted alongside the motion. The student responsible believed that “[The Daily Star] objectifies women and is totally inappropriate to be sold, particularly in an academic setting”. As I have said before, I don’t believe that whether it objectifies women is a point of contention, I just don’t think that this alone warrants the violation of the University’s policy, or the freedom of the press.

So why would the SU do something that is so blatantly wrong? Shockingly, it isn’t the first time; The Sun was banned in 2013 for similar reasons. I think it is a bit too coincidental that both of the newspapers banned are right-wing papers. The SU has made it very clear through past actions that it is an organisation prone to bias on the left, and as such, the banning of two right-wing papers feels like an act of censorship. It may not be intentional, however, as I believe they are probably more critical of right wing media without realising and are therefore quicker to condemn it than their leftist counterparts.

The idea of the SU censoring the right wing is especially pertinent considering their attempts to ban Donald Trump and David Cameron from all SU buildings—again two representatives of right-leaning politics. The motion of banning Cameron is speculated to have been a joke, though there is no real evidence to suggest this. However, the motion to ban Trump, although it did not pass, 27 out of 56 people voted in favour of it. Rather than trying to invite an open discussion between the political left and right, the SU seemingly seeks to shut down voices which disagree with it. All this serves to do is to push such voices underground and make them more dangerous and extreme, only aiding in the creation and strengthening of the AltRight.

The question is now: what should the SU do to maintain the freedom of press whilst still sending a message to the Daily Star and The Sun? I believe they should re-allow the sale of these two newspapers in SU premises. They have violated several different rights and rules in doing so and, to me, it is beyond doubt that this is wrong.

The next step should be to send a letter to the newspaper signed by the SU on behalf of all students, saying that they believe the objectification of women is wrong, and that the SU would gladly have conversations with them on how to move forward in such a way that treats women as equals. Should this not work, then escalate it to the NUS and have other Universities submit letters pressuring them to change. The way to create change is to start conversations about it. By creating a dialogue, it allows everyone to think and exchange ideas, rather than creating political extremism with no conversation.

 

Grammar Schools: do your homework, Mrs May

Written by Cameron Broome on . Posted in Opinion.

In 2007, David Cameron accused grammar school promoters of “clinging on to outdated mantras that bear no relation to the reality of life”, adding that these individuals were “splashing around in the shallow end of the educational debate.” So why, then, is the new Prime Minister, Theresa May, a grammar school supporter?

Between 1945 and 1976, state-funded education in England and Wales was organised through a tripartite system following the 1944 Butler Education Act. Three different types of school were introduced: grammar schools for the brightest 25 per cent, as determined by the 11-plus examination; secondary technical schools, where students would specialise in scientific and mechanical subjects; and secondary modern schools for everyone else, where students were prepared for “less-skilled” jobs.

At the heart of the recent grammar school proposal lies one of the biggest political obsessions of all time: class. In recent decades, class politics has slowly eroded, replaced by liberal identity politics. But Theresa May is putting class politics back onto the agenda.

Stereotypically, the Conservative Party is seen as the party for the rich. This policy is part of May’s attempt to re-brand the party, reflecting her “one-nation conservative” pitch to the electorate. May is hoping to woo working class voters, who increasingly feel the Labour party no longer speaks for them. Theoretically, so the mantra goes, grammar schools offer a better education to bright children from working class households, allowing them to fulfil their academic potential. Thus, everyone will benefit from the system, as education will be tailored to the needs of the individual.

Having been educated at a grammar school myself, I believe this to be nothing more than empty romanticism and a fanciful rhetoric. Absolutely, there are some bright working class children who benefit from grammar school education. However, the overwhelming proportion of places go to children from stable middle class households, whose parents can afford private tuition to help their child pass the 11-plus examination. Personally, I received private tuition for about a year. Some individuals I knew were privately tutored for periods of over two years. Moreover, recently published research suggests that only three per cent of children entitled to free school meals attend grammar schools. Hence, the romantic story sold that grammar schools are full of bright children from working class households really does not appear to hold true.

Too much emphasis is often placed on the winners of the grammar school system. The school I attended was ranked the fifth-highest school in terms of GCSE results in the country, with 100 per cent of pupils achieving five A*-C grades at GCSE. Grammar schools are amongst the top in the country, competing with public schools such as Eton and Harrow. In addition, the impressive list of grammar school alumni suggests that a bright future is more than likely. Jeremy Corbyn went to a grammar school, as did current Prime Minister Theresa May, as well as the infamously polarising ex-PM Margaret Thatcher.

But what about the ‘losers’? Although I made the cut, many of my equally bright friends did not. They were devastated—as was I. We had gone to the same nursery, primary school, and junior school, but for reasons that an 11-year-old cannot fully comprehend, we were to be educated separately during high school. Those who apply and are unsuccessful can feel incredibly demoralised, especially at the tender age of 11. But for many who do succeed, the ego is built. The successful few are made to feel special because, after all, if they were not special, why were they going to the special school for special people? We should not ignore the impact the system has on how children feel. It can instil a sense of worthiness amongst those who attend grammar schools, as if they have earnt the right to look down on everyone else. Many (though not all) begin to see income and wealth inequalities as justified: merely the workings of so-called ‘meritocracy’.

A very simple reason to oppose grammar schools, however, is that the Conservative manifesto made no reference at all to the possibility of opening up new grammar schools. The Leave campaign’s slogan of “taking back control” really does look quite laughable. As a consequence of the political outfall following the EU referendum, we have a PM that no one voted for, pursuing policies for which she does not have a democratic mandate to implement. So much for “restoring” democracy.

Some may accuse myself and others of being hypocrital: for being educated at a grammar school and yet opposing their re-introduction. But empty identity politics helps no one. Individuals are not to blame; it is the system at fault. No one can blame a parent who pays for private tuition to help prepare for the 11-plus exam, in the hope of improving their child’s future life chances. And at 11 years old, a child cannot be blamed for a decision taken by their parents.

Despite rare anecdotal success stories, there is an overwhelming academic consensus that grammar schools do not improve social mobility. But the big question is this: do we really want to return to a system of segregated education, where 25 per cent of the “brightest” children in the country—as determined by a narrow 11-plus exam—are given a special education, while everyone else receives a sub-standard one? Corbyn’s critics suggest that he endorses “Alice in Wonderland” style politics. However, when it comes to the subject of grammar schools and social mobility, Mrs May is the one selling the fantasy.