Manchester and Liverpool have a new online music festival in town. Some of the most iconic venues of the two cities will host a new live event. An Online micro-festival that has a mighty message.
“Battered by Covid-19 and lockdowns the north needs hope, ideas and music – it’s what we do up here.” John Robb, Membranes Frontman
Manchester’s Gorilla
Manchester’s Gorilla has been a home for many outstanding shows. The three-hour long multi-line up is expected to thrill and is timed with the current political climate of unrest. The diverse indie-rock to punk sound of the event features headliners The Charlatans. Earlier in the night, huge performances from Ist Ist and LIINES will fill the stage space. The event organisers aim to involve a sub-section of creatives with powerful performances and a track record of success. Post-punk trio, LIINES have on more than one occasion offered up a packed performance. Moreover, their frenetic lyricism has echoes of joy division and enough 90s grunge to mirror the era without losing the autonomy of their words.
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Are your ears prepared or is this another online stream we’ve come to acknowledge and accept?
Liverpool Invisible Wind Factory
There is a distinctive twist expected in the sounds from across the Mersey as local band’s Red Rum Club and Zuzu bring their indie rock stylings to the event. With plans for the headliner, The Lightning Seeds, to close the event, there is an expectation that a few classics hits will culminate the night in spectacular style.
Online Festival
“It is not a replacement of the live gig but allows us until it’s safe to do so, enjoy quality bands in a safe environment.” Karl Connelly, Liverpool Music House
Not to be brushed beneath the carpet of creative talent, the event organisers at the venues and promoters are confident that the mixture of live interviews will keep your focus. They predict a “cultural renaissance” that will thrive amongst a strong sense of community. Fresh with ideas, It is not the first time that Presenter John Robb had interviewed and worked with names such as Charlatan’s Tim Burgess. He sets an empowered stance on the festival and believes “We will bring life back to the local music communities”.
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The North Will Rise Again will provide work for independent venues, production staff and film crews that have been hit hard during the pandemic.
Hafsa Zayyan’s We Are All Birds of Uganda joint-won the inaugural #Merky Books New Writers’ Prize in 2019. Merky Books is a new imprint within Penguin Random House UK, curated by Stormzy.
The prize is aimed at giving publishing opportunities to young, unpublished writers from under-represented communities.
We Are All Birds of Uganda flits between modern day London and 1960s Kampala, Uganda. The novel follows the stories of Sameer, a 20-something lawyer, and his grandfather, Hassan, whom Sameer has never met.
The book tackles some pretty mammoth themes of generational divides, dislocation, exile, belonging, racial tensions and the legacy of empire. Rather than seeming to bite off more than it can chew, Zayyan’s novel weaves them all together, showing the way such themes are closely tied.
‘If you don’t understand where you’ve come from, you’ll never really understand who you are or where you’re going’
Hafsa Zayyan managed to write her debut novel in six months, while working full time as a lawyer. Zayyan explains that she wrote one of the letters in the book for her competition entry. After she was shortlisted, she was asked by Merky to submit the rest of her manuscript within seven days: ‘I had absolutely nothing. It was like, 20,000 words – definitely not the real novel. And that’s what they judged it on.’
After winning, Zayyan was asked if she could submit the full manuscript by December. ‘At this point, it was June. So I was like, “I guess, I’ll try?”’ Although that is impressive, I do question the value of attempting to complete the work so quickly. There are moments of the novel that feel clumsy, or over-explained – potentially the result of rushing.
Zayyan is a 29 year old dispute resolution lawyer based in London. This is perhaps the inspiration and source for Sameer’s job in London. Sameer initially appears cliche: the hometown success story with a fancy London flat, working long hours and with no free time. With a big promotion round the corner, he has everything he wanted, but he clearly isn’t completely happy. At first I thought ‘yeah, I’ve heard this story before’.
‘You can’t stop birds from flying, can you, Sameer? They go where they will’
The ‘Hassan chapters’ of We Are All Birds of Uganda are written as letters, from Hassan to his deceased first wife. To begin with the letters feel like a subplot, disjointed and forced, but they slowly become integrated into the novel. They are also the location of much of the historical aspect of the novel, and Zayyan writes: ‘l was quite disciplined about researching […] I wanted the historical elements of it to be as accurate as possible’.
I have to admit I knew nothing of the South Asian expulsion in Uganda, and I was shocked that I didn’t. One of the aims of #Merky Books’ is to ‘tell the stories that aren’t being heard’, and Zayyan really hit this target. The unique experience of Sameer’s family is complicated, nuanced and not taught in schools.
Zayyan also accurately depicts the reality of young people’s relationships with their phones – something that is so often written dreadfully. When Sameer sticks his home Whatsapp groups on mute, he is shocked by the isolation he feels when his phone is stolen, and he closely awaits the blue double tick of a read receipt. His relationship to modern forms of communication felt real and close to home.
‘We have all been affected by British colonialism’
Sameer remains just on the edge of likeable. At times he is a bad friend, a selfish boyfriend, an angry son, and an unsympathetic brother. He is obsessed, like his father and his grandfather, about money. He often makes questionable decisions and is bad at explaining them to the people he loves. Yet, there is something compelling in his vividity and passion that saves him from being unpleasant.
For me, the women in the novel remain disappointingly weak. They often appear as half-formed characters which are stereotyped and flat. Sameer has no female friends, there were no women at his place of work (aside from in HR) and he is dismissive of the women he dates. The powerful female absence in Sameer’s life is perhaps important in understanding his character, but I think the women who do appear in the text deserve to be three dimensional.
Despite all this, slowly and surely Zayyan’s novel won me over, until I was gripped. I became enamoured with Kampala, just as Sameer was, and became caught up in his many dilemmas. There are repeated parallels and mirrors in the text, that reveal and reflect the way so little has really changed, especially in regards to the ongoing impacts of colonialism.
Without revealing too much, the final lines of the book are frustrating and startlingly unfinished. The effect, of disappointment, of shock and of disjunction, is clearly intentional. Even so, it felt somewhat clumsy and lacked subtlety, and I felt frustrated for the wrong reasons.
We Are All Birds of Uganda felt so close to being perfect and unforgettable, but, like Sameer himself, it very closely toed the line. Perhaps another six months on the production line would have done it.
As Part of the Women in Media conference currently ongoing, and the Mancunion’s takeover, I decided to delve into Chromatica. The recently delivered album from Lady Gaga.
Fitting, too, because this is Women’s History Month.
Upon first listen, I liked Lady Gaga’s ‘Chromatica’. By the second listen, I loved it . The album is showered with thunderous and dramatic imagery and sounds, yet the lyrical content is personal and emotional.
I love the contrast between its dark themes and energetic dance music. Instead of drowning in sorrow, Chromatica aims integrally towards growth and repair. Lady Gaga accepts she cannot change the past, but she can use it to pave her future. This resonance has an uncanny and vital feel within our devastating and uncertain times. It seems that this emotional dance album was made for the here and now!
Chromatica is divided into three unique segments with Gaga herself describing the opening track, ‘Chromatica I’, as symbolising her journey to healing. It begins with a grave string-arrangement where she confronts her distorted journey and sets the scene for a cinematic experience. This track is the initial welcome into the world Gaga has created: a world where she can be free, but more importantly, honest – with us and herself.
The first lyric-driven track, ‘Alice’, is a relatable song detailing her struggles with mental-illness and belonging. She refuses to give up on her dreams. Whilst most of the album is 90s-inspired, this is a distinctly 00s house and electronica banger with some 90s EDM.
Lead single ‘Stupid Love’ is an anthem of courageous love and electropop. The neon-coloured music video (filmed on an iPhone 11 Pro!) sees Gaga portray a dance-warrior on the war-torn planet Chromatica, leading her people to peace – how very timely! I wonder if she could lend us her disco warrior spirit?
Gaga – From victim to survivor
The number one single ‘Rain on Me’, her duet with Ariana Grande, contains elements of French house and synth-disco beats. The rain may be metaphoric, but with her famous robotic spoken-word delivery, alongside Grande showing off her signature high-note octave, there is much friendly fire to be had as they belt their lines in the final chorus.
‘Free Woman’, a Eurodance acid-house anthem, is one of my favourites. It sees Gaga reclaim her identity and gender after a sexual assault – enabling Gaga to go from victim to survivor. The first act finishes with another Eurodance song, ‘Fun Tonight’; a breakup anthem with mentions of fame, paparazzi and Gaga’s inability to be happy.
‘Chromatica II’ opens with orchestral grandeur and crescendos into ‘911’. Her famous robotic vocals fit perfectly. ‘911’ and fellow euro-disco track ‘Plastic Doll’, a feminist anthem about objectification, are definitive highlights. Another stand out track is ‘Sour Candy’, a pop and house track that has more than ample ground for official release. It features K-pop band Blackpink, singing with impressive vocal dexterity in both English and Korean.
Gaga addresses her past and being in an unhealthy relationship with herself.
Whilst I do not love the rest of the album as much, it still provides some excellent tracks. The electro-pop ‘Enigma’ is about Gaga’s desire for mystery; she tells a lover she can be anything they desire. This section’s final song is the French house, nu-disco ‘Replay,’ where Gaga uses ghost-like vocals to address her past and being in an unhealthy relationship with herself.
‘Chromatica III’ is especially dramatic, having been compared to Hans Zimmer’s music. It is unsurprising, then, her duet with the Sir Elton John, ‘Sine from Above’, succeeds it. This track, blending disco, dance, pop, trance and house, discusses music’s healing power and Gaga’s relationship with a higher power. Gaga is often compared to Madonna, but in many ways, she is similar to Elton (for one, her vocals are insane, and much stronger than Madonna’s).
‘1000 Doves’ is a trance song with a piano-driven house-beat and ethereal backing vocals. A graceful cry for help, Gaga professes her love for her fans, but wants them to see her as human. Whilst her self-portrayal as an alien might contradict her desire to be seen as human, I would argue her portraying herself as alien is confronting the ways she has been other-ed and dehumanised, as well as criticising the growing evils of planet Earth: Chromatica is her dream world.
The song is like a modern recreation of Madonna’s ‘Vogue’.
The album closes with ‘Babylon’, a disco-influenced, 90s-house and hi-NRG track about gossip. Gaga says gossip used to run her life, making her feel small and chained. This track enables her to break free from those constraints. The song is like a modern recreation of Madonna’s ‘Vogue’. This section is my least favourite of the three, yet it’s still a great listen.
Chromatica is one of the most personal and straightforward of her releases to date. The short length of some of the songs is a touch jarring, but deliberate if the aim is to make the album fast-paced, energised and overwhelming. Although the record has been called “overworked,” “claustrophobic,” and “disjointed”, that is seemingly an accurate description of Gaga.
Broken and disjointed, but full of disco drama and packing an electropop punch.
This article series –A Tough Act to Follow (get it?) – is an exploration into the performative nature (and indeed, the “theatre”) of social media. Each feature will see me interviewing an Instagram influencer, social media personality, or somebody who utilises social media to advance their career, as we explore the construction of online identities. In particular, this series is interested in gender and sexual identity.
Although I have already featured a few models in this series, Raphaël is the first high-fashion, full-time model. He is one of my all-time favourite models, up there with David Gandy, Naomi Campbell, Nyle Dimarco, and Tyra Banks.
Raphaël loves Tyra, so I am sure he will appreciate this! More on Naomi later…
But the reason I chose to feature Raphaël in this series is not that he is a beautiful, talented model but because he uses his platform so admirably.
Raphaël embraces gender-nonconforming fashion and even calls himself a “proponent of Non-Toxic Masculinity” in his Instagram bio. Raphaël, then, is the perfect collaborator for this series, which hopes to redefine “masculinity” and what it means to be “a man”.
Raphaël is one of the coolest, nicest, and funniest people that I have ever interviewed. His first email back to me was probably the nicest email I have ever received from an interviewee, so I knew that interviewing him would be lovely.
At 1 hour and 40 minutes in length, this is my second longest interview. (My longest was with the Zakar twins, so this is my longest interview with an individual). Raphaël had so much to say, and I could have spoken to him for hours, but I had to let him go eventually!
Raphaël grew up in the south of France, where masculinity is “toxic” and people are “a century behind”, but his mother encouraged him to be himself. She told him that if he conforms to gender norms, his life might be easier, but he will not be being his true self.
Raphaël started modelling during a time when the industry was going through some big changes, thanks to the creation of social media. This is yet another example of why Raphaël is perfect for this social media-based series.
When Raphaël started modelling, his biggest fashion inspirations were the late, great dancer and choreographer Pina Bausch and the model Coco Rocha because of the incredible ways that they move. As aforementioned, Raphaël is also a dancer.
The brands he was most inspired by were Tom Ford, who he hopes to work with one day, and Jean Paul Gaultier, a brand he has worked with lots recently.
He is also, unsurprisingly, influenced by the 80s! More on that later…
Raphaël’s career
Something that is surprising, though, is finding out that modelling was not Raphaël’s original calling. He never even considered it. This is particularly surprising because Raphaël is one of the most model-looking models that I have ever seen!
Raphaël’s first true passion was dance; he aspired to be a choreographer. He has been dancing since he was 4 years old and moved to Paris, aged 18, to start dancing for a company, but he was scouted in the street by a modelling agent. He did not want to lose dance, though, so he incorporates it in his modelling.
Raphaël has a huge dance project coming up soon. He told me that the (huge) dance studio is going to be filled with water. “I will dance, and the water will come… up and up and up and… totally cover me”.
This project is just one example of Raphaël’s creativity. He is an art director, after all: whilst most models have people who do their art direction for them, Raphaël usually takes control of it himself.
The below image is one of my favourites of Raphaël’s looks. He told me that he took these photos himself!
Raphaël explained that brands book him, in part, because of his artistry. Even when a huge brand hires him, they generally give him some control over their collaboration.
He is actually in the “talent” part of his agency, not “modelling”, because he is not just a model but also a dancer and an art director.
I began to tell Raphaël that he has a very individual brand, but he cheekily cut in: “a package, yeah. A full package,” he laughed. This was just one example of Raphaël showing off his sassy and funny side.
Raphaël has been an influencer for about three years, and he has already amassed over 300,000 Instagram followers. He created a TikTok account about a year ago, and he already has almost half a million followers and almost 9 million likes!
Whilst Raphaël is a professional dancer, he does not dance on TikTok. Instead, he creates transformation videos.
Raphaël has always loved inspiring quotes, and now he even writes his own. In fact, most of the quotes on his Instagram page are his own.
“I have an image, but I want people to read the hidden messages [but] it’s hard to show it on Instagram.”
Raphaël thinks that captions are boring, so he decided to put quotes at the end of each album he uploads. Each quote compliments the photo(s) that it is uploaded alongside.
Before I followed Raphaël, I knew him as the “quote guy”. He admitted that people often focused on his quotes, but now they are more interested in his reels, especially his transformation looks.
Raphaël thinks that people love his reels because they are more personal and allow him to show his (positive) personality. He admitted that people often told him that he looked distant in his photos. In reality, he is a lovely, charming guy, but he wanted to have a “cold” image because he loves drama and aesthetics.
This photo shows off Raphaël’s goofy side, but as you can see from his other photos, he prefers an icy aesthetic.
“Instagram is theatre, so I wanna show all my different characters and visions and play with that,” he said. “I like to surprise myself and take risks by creating things that I have in mind and using my body and art as tools, adding messages and being confident”.
I was over-at-the-moon at this answer, not just because it is very inspiring but also because it reflects one of the primary aims of this article series – to explore the “theatre” of social media. Merci, Raphaël!
Raphaël’s gender politics
Raphaël is not bothered by the gendered term “male model”, but he does not like that “male models” are often expected to only do “male stuff”. In other words, his problem is not with the term “male model” but with what people do with that term.
“I think it’s so stupid to [put] male or female on [objects] or things that you are selling… I’m a male but I do make-up, I do perfume… Art, creation, photography, image [have] no gender… This is why, on my social media, I don’t put any gender on my [creations], any sexuality on my [creations].”
Raphaël thinks putting categories such as gender on art means potentially blocking people who belong to other groups, which is counterproductive because, as he explained, “I can talk [to] and try to inspire different kinds of audiences. I love the symbiosis”.
The below photo is a great example of Raphaël blurring the lines between “masculinity” and “femininity”.
“I feel comfortable with everybody, and I understand how hard it is to find ourselves. That’s why I don’t want to put myself in a box. If you wanna grow, you must learn from different people, visions or cultures – and that is what I love in life: energy, communication, and positivity.”
Fortunately, modelling is making progress when it comes to gender – and indeed, gender-nonconformity. Raphaël thinks that this is because social media has given a voice to young people, many of whom problematise categories such as gender.
Raphaël knows, from experience, that even the most “conformist” person can listen and learn.
He spoke of straight men that he has inspired – guys who have told him that he has made them feel more comfortable wearing make-up and Cuban heels!
Another masculine, straight man that Raphaël has inspired is his own father.
Raphaël said that he and his father have had many confrontations about gender-nonconformity, but now his dad is “following everything that I do on Instagram. He said, ‘I love your make-up, I love your art feed’… He’s really into it because he [understands] why people are doing this.”
He now even watches RuPaul’s Drag Race!
The response to Raphaël’s gender-nonconforming looks have been overwhelmingly positive. He said he receives a few degrading comments on TikTok, for instance, people complaining that he is not a “real man”. But when Raphaël asks them what a real man is, they have nothing to say.
Raphaël also told me about the time he posted a photo of him wearing make-up and a (well-meaning but ignorant) girl commented something along the lines of, “you’re beautiful, but you look transgender. Are you?” Raphaël responded, “I’m just human”, which led to him receiving lots of thanks from his trans followers.
“To me, the true definition of masculinity – and femininity, too – is being able to lay in your own skin comfortably,” Raphaël said eloquently.
“Non-toxic masculinity is about being yourself, whatever that may mean for you. It begins with facing fear. That voice that whispers in our ears, ‘hey, don’t do that… What are people going to think about you if you do that? Men don’t do that’.”
“‘Cause you know what makes a good leader? Honesty and transparency. It’s easier to act in accordance with what we’re supposed to do. It’s much harder to go against the grain and challenge the expectations of how we’re supposed to be. Just a simple reminder – be who you are and stay confident”.
Raphaël’s love of the 80s
As aforementioned, Raphaël absolutely loves the 80s, which is not surprising to hear when you look at his high camp photos.
We spoke about how lots of 80s artists, such as David Bowie and Prince, embraced gender-nonconformity and were loved for it. Yet when artists do it today, they receive a great amount of abuse.
Raphaël thinks that the reason for this is because the gender-nonconformity of 80s’ artists was seen as “theatre”: there was no social media in the 80s; gender-nonconformity was just seen in music videos and on stage.
This is not to say that gender-nonconformity was merely theatre for these artists. (For Prince, especially, it was personal. Let’s not forget his iconic, stereotype-fighting Love Symbol!) But it certainly was seen that way.
Raphaël and I agreed that the gender-nonconformity of today is seen as something political because we are having cultural conversations about it, and, sadly, it makes some people feel uncomfortable.
So, whilst Prince and Bowie’s gender-nonconformity was seen as “theatre”, social media and identity politics have allowed gender-nonconformity to be seen as both personal and political. It is no longer just entertainment; it is about real people and how they want to identify.
On top of this, social media has given ordinary people a platform, which Raphaël says is “good and bad at the same time”. People can make their voices heard, which was much more difficult in a world without social media. Unfortunately, many of these voices are cruel.
One of the most famous gender-bending artists of today is, of course, Harry Styles.
Raphaël appreciates Harry Styles donning a dress but does not see it as that radical – so many men have been doing this for so long. Raphaël, himself, has done it!
Raphaël refers to this as “the new generation of fashion”, where “you can put a man… on [the cover of a female fashion] magazine… and it doesn’t change anything”.
Raphaël has some pretty risqué photos on his Instagram account, though they are not vulgar. Rather, Raphaël embraces nakedness as part of his art.
“I’m talking with my body… As a dancer, your body is like your tool,” he explained. “For me, a naked picture is timeless. You can see it in fifty years; you don’t know when it was taken… You don’t have time on you; you just have your own self to show something.”
Surprisingly, Raphaël has not always been confident in his body, but he has gradually come to accept his image – and play with it. He finds posting body and sex positive photos therapeutic.
“Maybe I’m not the most muscular guy, maybe I’m not the skinniest guy, but it’s just me, and I just want to show it,” he said. “Not to [receive] good comments; I just want to show it for myself, because it’s my therapy… I’m proud of this picture, and I want to show it”.
Raphaël said that he loves dressing up, even at the airport! He called this his “little pleasure”, before saying, “I’m crazy, but I love it”.
This reminded me of a video he uploaded recently, in which he walked around the streets of Paris, and even a supermarket, in a glittery suit. Raphaël admitted that this look was not actually for a video; it was just his look for the day!
Raphaël’s friend was humoured by the way that people were looking at him, so he decided to record him.
Raphaël has recently been looking for a new flat and has worn some flamboyant outfits to viewings. Some people asked him if he was there for a show, but no, it’s just his outfit of the day!
Raphaël just wants to be his own fabulous self – and let’s be honest, if you looked as good as him in those clothes (or in no clothes), you would dress like that, too!
Raphaël’s celebrity encounters
As you can imagine, Raphaël has met and worked with some pretty big celebrities. Here he is with actress Sarah Grafferty.
I asked Raphaël about Eurovision, which is coming back in May. He explained that Eurovision is not as big in France as it used to be because of the country’s failure to pick memorable acts.
They did, however, have an incredible act in 2019, with Bilal Hassani, who Raphaël knows.
Hassani is particularly inspiring because, like the Zakar twins (@zakartwins), he is a gay Arab man who refuses to conform to “masculinity”.
He briefly met Dame Anna Wintour DBE, the esteemed editor-in-chief of Vogue, during Paris Fashion Week.
“She was like, ‘hey, nice to meet you, you look good,’ and that’s it.”
Whilst getting a compliment from Anna is obviously incredible, Raphaël was not surprised she liked his Dior look. “I was dressed in full Dior, so I was like, ‘she cannot say that I don’t look good in this suit; it’s impossible’,” he laughed. The Devil wears Dior!
He met the late, great Karl Lagerfeld (and his cat) when they were working in the same studio.
This prompted me to ask him about the equally iconic Donatella Versace – my favourite fashion designer – because I have heard that she, too, is nice. Sadly, Raphaël is yet to meet her.
I also asked him about David Gandy, another one of my favourite models. Raphaël said that he is a “really nice guy”.
Raphaël has also had the pleasure of meeting lots of celebrities that have branched out into fashion, such as Ciara, Iggy Azalea, Kendall Jenner, Nicole Scherzinger, and Rihanna!
He especially loved meeting Iggy. He called her “the kindest, for real… so cute… amazing!”
But that’s not all…
The DJ played ‘Fancy’, and they sang together. Yes, for real – he got to sing ‘Fancy’ with Iggy fricken Azalea!
But let’s be real, ‘Fancy’ could totally have been written for Raphaël!
Raphaël also told me the hilarious story of when he met one of the biggest figures in fashion.
He was shooting in a hotel in Paris for a huge magazine. He had his head turned as he cat-walked, so he did not see the woman approaching him and ended up slamming into her!
Raphaël was very apologetic, and the woman, who was masked with sunglasses and a hat, apologised too. Raphaël then introduced himself to the woman and told her his name. She then told him her name: Naomi.
Wait…
Raphaël brushed it off, but then a woman approached him and asked him to erase the video. When he asked why, he was told that Naomi Campbell does not want to be on it.
Yes, you heard that right – high-fashion model Raphaël Say cat-walked into Naomi fricken Campbell!
At this point, Raphaël’s dog started barking, so he introduced the adorable diva to me. “What’s she called?” I asked. “Vogue”, he responded. Of course!
I ended the interview by asking Raphaël about his relationship with the fabulous Stefanie Renoma (@stefanierenoma), a photographer and art director.
Raphaël and Stefanie started off in fashion together: he was her first model.
He says that she is basically his soulmate. There is more to say about Stefanie, but she needs an article of her own! Take a look at her Instagram – you will be in awe of her talent!
Earlier in the interview, I told Raphaël that I was supposed to visit Paris last year for my 21st and am hoping to finally visit next year for my 23rd. He said that we will go for a coffee and he will try and introduce me to Stefanie because he knows that I will love her.
Raphaël and Stefanie are two of my fashion icons, so being in the presence of the both of them might give me heart palpitations!
I’ll make sure I wear something super fashionable.
Merci beaucoup, Raphaël, for being a part of this series. You really area tough act to follow!
During lockdown, many of us have found sanctuary in online retailers, relying on them to bring a sense of thrill back into our lives through one-click purchases. With an increasing amount of people now being more ethically and environmentally conscious, many of us have flocked to Depop to satisfy our longing for that buzz in a sustainable, guilt-free way.
As a result of this, Depop has boasted their “tremendous growth” in sales, with demand doubling since lockdown in March 2020. This is music to the ears of their many users who have turned reselling clothes on the app into a living.These resellers devote their free time to hunting down suppliers, searching for car boot sales, and sifting through charity shops to find the most sought-after vintage gems to flip at a profit online.
However, as the app reached over two million active users during lockdown, an increasing wave of criticism has been targeted towards its resellers. A bubbling moral panic, specifically concerning the ethics of those flipping charity shop items at a profit, has circulated its way throughout the internet. Critics took to TikTok, Youtube, and other platforms to express their frustration that clothes are no longer “as cheap as they used to be” and claim that it is unethical to “wipe out” charity shops. Many stress that it is particularly unfair to those from lower-income backgrounds.
But is it really morally wrong for someone to make a business from people’s unwanted clothes?
Whilst there are valid concerns, many claims are uninformed assumptions, and somewhat far-fetched. In this article, I will attempt to challenge several popular arguments that Depop critics jump to when attacking online resellers.
Photo: Nicola Miles @ The Mancunion
“Resellers buying stock from charity shops is unfair as they are taking up the ‘good clothes’ for people who need them most”
People who make this claim are often coming from a good heart, acknowledging that shopping secondhand is a necessity for some people, and resellers ‘buying all the good stock’ takes away the chance for less-privileged people to access cheap, durable clothing. However, we cannot deny that approximately 10-30% of donated items are sold by charity shops each year – the rest goes to landfills or gets shipped to developing countries.
In my own experience volunteering at a small Oxfam shop, the number of resellable donations we received was far more than what we were selling locally. There was an abundance of clothing, meaning there was more than enough to go around!
As it’s unlikely there will ever be a scarcity of good clothing in charity stores, resellers buying more clothing (with the intention to resell online) shouldn’t be perceived as a negative thing.
“A reseller’s excessive buying in charity shops increases demand and therefore leads charity shops to increase their prices, hurting those from lower-income backgrounds the most”
Some charity shops do indeed increase their prices over time; however, it is unlikely to be due to an increase in demand. Inflation has caused rent and maintenance prices to go up, inevitably leading shops to increase the prices of their stock.
Moreover, extra sales and an increase in demand aren’t necessarily bad things. Charity stores have daily sales targets to meet, so resellers benefit the charity by purchasing more than the average shopper. Charity shops need to make enough money to pay staff and bills alongside making enough profit for their cause.
Furthermore, as pointed out earlier, the majority of resellable donations are left unsold. With supply exceeding demand, the economic principle would mean that prices should remain low or fall if they were based on demand alone.
Charity shops claim their main purpose is to raise money for their parent charities. Unfortunately, providing cheap clothing for those in financial difficulty may not be their number one priority. Relatively higher pricing seems inevitable regardless of whether their demand is high or low, and we can’t ignore the fact that charity shops wish to get as much money as they can from their donations.
While the increase in prices may have caused charity shops to lose their dual-function of fundraising and providing low-cost clothing, this isn’t necessarily due to an increase in demand caused by resellers. Instead, many other inexplicit factors may be to blame.
“Depop resellers abuse thrifting as reselling items at a higher price is scamming people”
It is important to think about the amount of time, effort and research Depop sellers often put themselves through to find those in-demand gems. Thrifting requires a lot of endurance, and resale items should be marked up to reflect the time, labour and investments that the seller puts in when listing those items.
Reselling clothing isn’t a scam, it is a legitimate way to make money by making clothes more accessible to consumers, opening up garments to wider audiences that would have otherwise been restricted to only those available in the local area. Also, not everyone has the time to travel to their nearest charity shop and sort through an endless amount of clothing in countless stores to finally find something they like. Some people are willing to pay extra for an item as they appreciate the ability to save time and money that may have been spent travelling.
Many second-hand Depop resellers have been villainized with these out-of-touch claims, many of which perpetuate narrow-minded ideas of a dichotomy between working-class and middle-class people.
It is worth pointing out that charity shops are not exclusive to any particular socioeconomic group. A report by the Charity Retail Association (CRA) in 2017 has shown that social grade does not affect whether someone is more or less likely to use charity shops.
Critics also tend to paint a picture that all online resellers come from middle-class backgrounds, which again simply isn’t true. Reselling online is one of the easiest and most accessible ways to make quick cash – making it equally attractive to students, self-employed people, and the working-class.
At the end of the day, resellers promote sustainability and offer consumers new channels to avoid fast fashion. The issue regarding the ethics of reselling charity clothing is a very complicated and multifaceted one, but as long as Depop sellers are mindful when sourcing items, their business should not be characterized as immoral or unethical.
One thing is clear: the circus is not a job, it’s a lifestyle.
The Great Circus, directed by Yi Liu and Qiushui Zhuang, is a feature documentary screened at the Manchester Film Festival 2021. It follows the Chimelong International Circus as it prepares a new show for their debut in their new arena.
Throughout the feature, music and silence play equally important parts, with glimpses of traditional Chinese music, mixed with the large dramatic drums performed by the Argentinian Gauchos. And yet, the moments that strike the audience the most are those where silence dominates: the whip hitting the ground, as the horses run in circles; the quiet after a performance.
In a beautiful scene, the show’s two protagonists dance in harmony by the sea, with a muted and misty sky acting as a pastel backdrop. This is then contrasted with an argument succeeding the tranquil scenery and music. In another scene, a performer cries backstage due to an injury: her apparatus, the aerial ring, hangs alone in the spotlight as she crouches in the darkness.
Throughout the interviews with the performers, one thing is common: emotion. The artists claim that despite their sacrifices, such as leaving their families and countries, receiving bad pay, and having trouble communicating in the local language, when they perform and hear the applause, it’s all worth it.
Did The Great Circus do justice to this emotion?
The circus is portrayed as a place of sacrifice, hard-work, passion, and liberation, for those who have come from troubled backgrounds, or who now have the chance to honour their culture and represent ideals like feminism. Despite this, the documentary lacks the excitement and wonder that the audience is invited to feel, as there are few shots of the final performances; and, at the same time, there’s a lack of research into serious issues, such as the welfare of the construction workers or of the animals.
For those who are passionate about the circus or performing arts, The Great Circus provides a fascinating view into the difficulties that go into preparing such a large production. But those who are concerned about the ethics of circus life, will have to read between the lines.
3.5/5.
The Great Circus premiered at Manchester International Film Festival on the 14th of March.
Fugitive Dreams is one of the best shot indie films of recent years, its cinematography compared with Mark Jenkins’s Bait. Both films demonstrate a depiction of a forgotten society albeit it with very different styles, countries and messages.
The film follows Mary and John, two drifters in search of survival. The first act is excellent with gripping performances, beautiful cinematography and a fitting yet subtle commentary on the ruggedness of life on the road.
However, the second act devolves into a mess of Lynchian dream sequences and a tendency to forget it’s meant to be a movie and not a collection of bullet points. This ultimately undermines the film’s ending which is damaged by a case of lost identity and a confusing script.
The film wears its inspirations on its sleeve with references to the dustbowl and Midwestern migration clearly evoking the work of John Steinbeck, whilst the photographic style is taken straight out of a collection of Dorothea Lange’s iconic images. This neither enhances nor undermines the film as it doesn’t do anything with its inspirations, instead choosing to recite scripture in an attempt to appeal to something higher. But, again, the lack of interconnectedness makes any attempt at social (or in this case religious) commentary feel lacklustre and tacked on.
Overall this is a solid debut from writer-director Jason Neulander. The film’s cinematography and acting elevate the messy script and lack of a coherent structure. It’s fine for films to feel like dreams, but they need to actually have a thread throughout like Mulholland Drive, as opposed to a collection of ideas and images.
Ultimately, the lost identity undermines what could be a unique commentary on the coming decade and the state of America. However, despite all this, the film is a welcome addition to the American canon of wanderers, migrants and drifters all in search of something better.
3.5/5.
Fugitive Dreams premiered at Manchester International Film Festival on the 14th of March.
Charlotte Dauphin’s directorial debut, The Other (L’autre), is above all, frustratingly indecisive. On one hand, the Parisian filmmaker creates a haunting and strikingly shot portrayal of a woman’s battle with grief. On the other, a bland character study, void of any substance, relying on a severely weak script.
Marie (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey) is a former professional dancer, having recently quit after the sudden death of her father. Beginning to process her loss and adjust to her crippling isolation, she develops a relationship with Paul (James Thierrée). He’s an enigmatic photographer who was the last person to see her father alive.
The film then begins to ebb and flow through time and memory. Some moments with grace and conviction, while others with tedious irritation. The cinematography and set design carry sleekness and competency that is significantly lacking in other areas of the film. Shots are clean and elegant. The lighting, and its ever more pressing shadows, corrupt the audience’s vision as we peer deeper into Marie’s fragile state of mind.
However, the script is dire. Scenes will start with no momentum and end with little to no progression or intrigue in the plot. Not to mention an ineffectual motif concerning ‘mirrors’. The editing enhances this awkwardness: the film constantly jumps from slow, often eerie compositions, to a multitude of quick cuts and pointless scene changes.
Moreover, while the performances are decent enough, the banal dialogue restricts any sense of authentic emotion emerging from the actors.
Dauphin deploys a handful of interesting, surrealist techniques throughout the film, yet, unfortunately, there is an air of pretentiousness The Other never seems to shake off.
2/5.
The Other premiered at Manchester International Film Festival on the 13th of March.
Britain’s first national lockdown birthed an incredibly short-lived ‘renaissance man’; a type of confidence in the nation inducing baking, sewing, DIY-ing and more. We found ourselves interjecting the now-infamous zoom quizzes for an absent-minded scroll on social media.
However, as the weeks turned to months, we ditched clichés as our innocent scrolls turned into hour-long binges on the phenomenon that is TikTok, and for that, I couldn’t be more grateful.
The video-sharing social media platform has exploded in popularity in recent years, and as a consequence, has pulled previously unknown musicians into the spotlight. Lil Nas X, powfu and BENEE (to name a few) are all thought to owe a lot of the success of their biggest hits to their track’s popularity on the app. A rising star of the scroll friendly app is found in Nathan Evans, a man whose sea shanty renditions lead him from the ‘For You’ pages of TikTok to the top of the UK charts with his latest release, ‘Wellerman’.
Press shot @ Chuffs Media
Nathan uploaded his first TikTok back in January, liking the “personal” touch of the app and describing it as a place where you could be simply “taking a video of yourself making toast and people would comment and talk away to you”. It was this interactivity of the app that led Nathan to sea shanties after fans began to comment cover requests of popular ones like ‘the Drunken Sailor’ and ‘Wellerman’. After uploading his rendition of the latter, it was quickly picked up by the masses. The audio now features on over 400,000 TikToks, with people choreographing dances, performing the shantie and even remixing it.
Peak meme culture seemed to be reached when the iconic four lads in jeans lip-synced it, with Nathan remarking that “once your song has been made into a meme, that’s you- you’ve made it”. However, this isn’t to say that Wellerman’s success can be credited entirely to it’s ‘meme-ability’. Nathan’s talent and perseverance have unironically made a fairly unknown genre cool,essentially doing what the Beatles did for pop music. Evans spent years regularly uploading both covers and originals online to various platforms before finding TikTok and consequently going viral, but it took a lot of work on his part.
When producer/DJ 220 KID found Nathan’s Wellerman TikTok, he quickly worked his magic on a remix and sent it over to Nathan, whose initial reaction was “oh my god, somebody with a blue tick is messaging me”. Little did Nathan know, this message would soon turn into a collaboration that would attract further attention from producers Billen Ted and spend weeks in the UK’s top 100.
There is still some uncertainty on the next step for Nathan Evans, should another sea shanty be released or should the singer/songwriter’s songs take the spotlight? Whichever path he chooses, judging from the wild success of ‘Wellerman’ and his incredible talent, I’m sure it will be a (sea) breeze for him.
Incoherent and lacking the nuances of other films of the genre, Julio Maria Martino’s thriller Country of Hotels is a wholly unpleasant fusion combining the worst parts of Joker and The Shining.
Following the rude and unrelatable guests staying in an anonymous backwater hotel, the film moves from one nightmarish sequence to another. Whether it is the constant porn playing in the background, the unlikeable and two-dimensional characters, or simply the film thinking it is saying something extremely profound, you very quickly want the viewing experience to end.
The strangeness of the film – half acid trip, half hellish dream – is its most intriguing element. A comment on throw-away consumer culture and the voyeuristic gaze of a society trapped in stifling sameness, the social commentary of the film not only lacks subtlety but becomes confused, losing focus as it progresses.
Furthermore, the film’s pacing is unrelentingly monotonous. At no point do you ever feel immersed or even bothered about the grotesque events going on. Any meaningful or interesting comments thus fall flat, because the expected rising and falling tension of a thriller just doesn’t exist.
The film clearly draws direct inspiration from The Shining. From the seedy, geometrically patterned walls, to the haunted hotel rooms and maddening isolation, Country of Hotels only manages to recreate the superficial motifs of the classic film. It does little to add anything original to the genre, despite the potential for its subject matter.
A film about disassociation and throw-away culture falls into the very failures of the society it criticises. For the most part, Country of Hotels is boring and self-indulgent: sinister and confusing simply for the sake of being sinister and confusing.
2/5.
Country of Hotels premiered at Manchester International Film Festival on the 12th of March.
The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division 1 men’s basketball tournament is an annual american basketball competition, characterised by unusually fast-paced play of the game alongside wildly unpredictable matchups featuring teams from across America.
Through this article, I hope to introduce you to this tournament, the teams, the players and why it holds such a special spot in so many American’s hearts.
The Format
So what is college sports anyway?
This is a complicated question to answer.
A promising young footballer in England would typically join a club academy, working through the different levels of sport before (potentially) looking to go professional after the age of 18.
Instead, in America, basically all high-level athletes (in team sports anyway) go through a system of university-sponsored teams with the pretense of being a “student athlete”. The best of the best will stay for a few years at most before moving onto greener pastures in professional sports.
Courtside at the Kansas Jayhawks, Source: Wikimedia @Phil Roeder
However, part of what makes the NCAA basketball tournament fun is the inclusion of smaller teams bolstered by at most one or two players who have the potential to go professional going toe to toe against well-curated teams made up of future professionals.
This is bolstered by the seeding system, where the best teams play the worst early on in the competition. Surprisingly, this system doesn’t necessarily result in wildly unbalanced matchups, instead nearly every game is at least competitive.
The nature of the sport and the competition is unpredictability.
So what is March Madness?
‘March Madness’, named because most of the tournament takes place in March, is not your typical sporting competition. This is a full blown single knockout tournament played in consecutive days with a whopping 64 teams from across the United States. The high pace of games does not allow for the player or viewer to catch their breath.
This system is deceptively simple, if you win you stay, if you lose you go home. Everything is on the line for each team every single game, adding to the entire spectacle immensely.
The competition slowly whittles down from 64 team (well, technically 68 but we won’t get into that here) to 32, 16 etc. These segments have fun little names, like the ‘sweet sixteen’, the ‘elite eight’ and the ‘final four’. Cute right?
The Teams (Location and style)
America is unusual in terms of sport, with local sporting loyalties often tied to amateur organisations like high schools or universities (also known as colleges). These ties are so strong it’s not uncommon for them to be stronger than professional loyalties.
There are a few reasons for this, partially it can be attributed to the nature of professional sports in the country. Teams in the NBA or the NFL are often spatially nebulous, willing to change where they play seemingly at will (see the Seattle Supersonics controversial shift to Oklahoma City).
Air Force versus University of Nevada March 7th 2019, Source: Wikimedia @Bill Evans
On the other hand, university sports allow for loyalty to be a two-way street. Nearly every university in the US has a basketball team, meaning that it’s far more likely for any given American to have a local collegiate basketball team than a professional team. This dynamism allows for March Madness to be one of the most followed sporting tournaments in the states every year.
At the time of writing this, I’m watching Loyola Chicago (A relatively unknown Jesuit Catholic school) playing Georgia Tech (A larger Southern public school). These are two teams from two different parts of the country who have very little in common except for the language of the sport. This is part of the magic of March Madness.
The Spontaneity (Basketball as a sport, Losing players every year to draft/graduation)
Needless to say, basketball is a fast sport. Momentum can change at the tip of a hat, with tight games often ending with extreme bursts of energy and incredible athletic feats both on offense and defense.
This speed is reflected outside the court, where season-to-season teams can change from the undisputed best in the nation to struggling to even make the tournament. Why? Partially this is due to the college system where players can only play for up to four years maximum.
The other reason is to do with the draft system, present in so many American Sports. Simply, if a player is good enough and chooses to do so, they can go professional before their four years of college are finished. This means that the best players often don’t play for more than a couple years.
These rapidly changing teams add to the intrigue of the sport, any team at any time could surprise everyone, and they often do. Perhaps this is part of the allure, you can never really be sure who will win until the final whistle blows.
Filling out a bracket is a yearly ritual for many Americans. Speaking from experience, there is nothing more satisfying than filling out a bracket with near to no knowledge of college basketball and beating your more knowledgeable friends through sheer luck.
Who knows, maybe you’ll be the lucky one next year.
Make sure to catch the NCAA March Madness Final April 6th.
Richard Prince is not the first artist to make his name famous through re-photography. Appropriation art was popular from the 1970’s. Pioneering artists such as John Baldessari and Robert Heinecken both created art from readymade print photography. Baldessari made photo collages of Hollywood film stills, while Heinecken worked with print pornography and magazine advertisements.
Richard Prince (born 1949) is an appropriation artist. The New York Times called him “one of the most revered artists of his generation”. In 2014, he launched a ‘New Portraits’ series. The exhibition sparked lawsuits and controversy which have continued ever since.
Reactions
While web entrepreneur @Nightcoregirl loved her portrait and received a print as a gift from Prince after befriending him, this was far from the norm.
Subject Doe Deere was dismayed. She’d posted a picture to support artist friend Joshua David McKennedy, a doll-maker. She has spoken out about Prince’s omission of her credit to McKennedy in the Instagram caption. While Prince made a profit from the portrait, neither she nor McKennedy benefited. New York’s Frieze Art Fair sold the portrait for $90,000, without attributing any credit to McKennedy.
Prince had featured an Instagram portrait of feminist pornography firm SuicideGirls. SuicideGirls chose to print their own version. They sold it for $90, rather than the $90,000 the Gagosian gallery was asking.
Prince also reproduced Donald Graham’s photo of a Rastafarian smoking a joint. Graham sued for copyright infringement. According to the Guardian, Graham sent a cease-and-desist letter to Prince and the Gagosian Gallery, asking that the Gallery stop displaying the image.
Mainly, people reacted with bewilderment. “Imagine my surprise when I saw Richard Prince tweet a 6ft inkjet printed picture of a screenshot of an Instagram post of mine,” Zoë Ligon (@thongria) writes. “I didn’t consent to my face hanging in this art gallery.”
What does the artist say?
Richard Prince has thought outside of the box and learned to make a profit from it. At the time, Prince responded to the criticism surrounding ‘New Portraits’ by arguing he wanted to “reimagine traditional portraiture and bring to a canvas and art gallery a physical representation of the virtual world of social media”.
He adds that these photographers benefitted from the appropriation. The photographer Graham, thanks to Prince, is now more well-known and the price of Graham’s photograph has increased. Larry Gagosian, who bought the work based on Graham and exhibited it in his gallery, says he would neither buy nor show a Graham photograph.
Is it Art?
Critics are largely in favour. “Is it art?” wrote Peter Schjeldahl in the New Yorker. “Of course it’s art, though by a well-worn Warholian formula: the subjective objectified and the ephemeral iconized, in forms that appear to insult but actually conserve conventions of fine art.”
Dealer Daniel Wolf states Prince’s work “is not in the photographs; the meaning is in the Instagram”. Curator of the Walther Collection in New York, Brian Wallis, argues they “refer to the way these portraits are already transformed by Instagram as a medium of communication”.
Nate Harrison, chairman of the media arts department at Tufts University’s School of the Museum of Fine Arts, makes an interesting point. Every day millions of people decontextualise imagery through internet memes.
Amy Whitaker, meanwhile, an assistant professor of the visual arts administration at New York University, was not supportive. “While I admire the imaginative required to wrest meaning from five words and one emoji” the interpretation “rests solely” on the “brand of the artist”.
Okay, but is it legal?
One might reasonably assume that it shouldn’t be possible for a person to sell photographs of other people without permission. So what are the legal repercussions of what Richard Prince has done?
Actually, Richard Prince has not infringed on any laws. He found a loophole, a legal practice called “retrophotographing”. Prince’s work therefore falls, though only just, into the category considered “fair use” of other people’s work. If an artist alters an image, the artist is free to reproduce another person’s image.
Additionally, once you’ve posted something on Instagram, you’ve legally agreed to the terms of use. The platform can use and distribute your content. Does that give anyone the moral incentive to take others’ pictures? No, of course not. Is it stealing? Not really.
Technically, Richard Prince was within his legal rights to enlarge any Instagram picture and exhibit it. As are any future artists.
What to think?
Prince wasn’t sensitive. The ‘New Portraits’ series incites a sense of casual cruelty. They also shed light on monetisation and Richard Prince’s brand.
Yet art can, and should, often be subversive and provocative, even without any particular aesthetic innovation. I believe Prince’s controversial works reflect an existing virtual world. In that, they are a valuable, and even necessary, contribution to the contemporary art scene. The fact that they have generated so much interest has value in and of itself.
As writer Ruby Martin highlights in her post on Mary Wollstonecraft, online and public art is now more important than ever. It is such stimulating, thought-provoking pieces as these that keep us coming back for more.
Prince has recently sparked yet more conversation with his Untitled series, featuring paintings of women to whom he has added surgical masks.
You may be your own worst enemy. The psychological phenomenon known as “imposter syndrome” allows feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt to invade the thoughts of a person, despite evidence of their own achievements and successes.
Whilst imposter syndrome is not currently considered a psychiatric disorder, it does have implications on behavioural psychology and mental health. Understanding imposter syndrome from a scientific perspective may contribute to a more holistic understanding of these feelings and the human health impacts in increasingly competitive academic and professional worlds.
The term “imposter syndrome” was first coined in 1978 by Dr. Pauline Clance and Dr. Suzanne Imes, clinical psychologists who published a paper in the journal Psychotherapy Theory, Research and Practice. It emerged from observations of Clance’s patients, the majority of whom were high-achieving women. Despite their attainment, these women did not seem to experience an “internal sense of success” . Further research suggests that this affects men equally, and that the feelings of discouragement are not discriminatory against gender.
Currently, imposter syndrome is a hot-topic in academic success workshops and business lectures, with this “inner saboteur” even being highlighted in Forbes. So, what does science have to do with what has historically been studied as a social phenomenon?
The Underexplored Scientific Perspective
Photo by Alan Levine on Flickr.com
Imposter syndrome can be accompanied by health concerns such as stress, anxiety, and depression. An article published in the Frontiers of Psychology argues that the syndrome’s potential neurobiological and evolutionary origins are heavily under explored.
The international team of authors cite a possible relation to the biological fight-or-flight response. This suggests that the feelings of imposter syndrome mimic evolutionary survival mechanisms.
From a neurobiological perspective, negative emotions like self-doubt can contribute to anxiety and depression. These effects are worsened by academic and professional situations, which can trigger the stress system and associated neurotransmitters like adrenaline and cortisol. Possible future treatments could seek to alter this process.
These ideas are currently highly speculative, as the scientific literature and research into imposter syndrome is limited. However, these are areas of study with huge potential for the scientific and medical community.
The first systematic review of the prevalence, predictors, and treatments of imposter syndrome was only completed in 2019. It argues that clinicians lack the information to diagnose and treat imposter syndrome and that the effect on healthcare professionals are unknown.
In addition, they recommend that imposter syndrome be included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and urge caregivers, professionals, and employers to be mindful of the syndrome. The authors state that it has the potential to worsen the performance and health of those experiencing it.
Friend, not Fraud
It is evident that scientific evidence surrounding imposter syndrome is lacking, and that this critical gap in medical and health research needs to be filled. Mental health is a serious medical concern that is gaining more support and recognition in today’s society.
In addressing a potential area for future psychological and neurobiological research, society can move away from speculation and toward solutions surrounding imposter syndrome.
Fighting Back
You may be your own worst enemy, but you can also be your own greatest ally. If you’re struggling with imposter syndrome, check out these self-help strategies from the American Psychological Association:
Recognise your own expertise and strengths: reflecting on your achievements and the knowledge you do possess can help curb self-doubt
Speak to mentors and supervisors: sharing these feelings can open up opportunities for constructive encouragement and healthy work environments
Reframe your brain to think like a friend and not a fraud: when these damaging thoughts enter your mind, it can help to approach yourself from a friend’s point of view and try to avoid comparing yourself to colleagues or peers or to perfection
Seek professional help from a psychologist or therapist: if symptoms are severe and the syndrome is coupled with depression and anxiety, it may be helpful to seek out a mental health counsellor or psychologist to speak to
You’ll often find me banging on about how I’m wasting 27 grand on my English Literature degree, but it really does seem like Oxford University ripped this man off.
Surely any idiot can look at the situation in the UK and realise that easing the lockdown isn’t going to reduce Covid cases by any stretch of the imagination.
In true stereotypically British fashion, I, much like the rest of the country now that the sun is deigning to grace us with its presence, am desperate to get out to a beer garden with my mates.
Although to be honest, I think I’m more excited about the prospect of sitting in the university library for hours on end without a mask on, and the consequent end to ‘mascne’ (facemask acne) causing me to exist in a vicious cycle of simultaneously mask-induced dependency and insecurity.
Truthfully, being just as sick of all of this as everyone else, I almost don’t blame the inevitability of people doing what they want anyway. A global contagion does seem like a marginally extreme risk just for a tan but hey, the world is on fire anyway.
Furthermore, I’m thinking about all of the businesses which (of those that are left) will invariably be forced to close unless they reopen. It seems we’re presented with a choice of economic or health service collapse. In a damningly capitalist society in which the NHS is treated like a charity, who’s to say which outcome is worse?
On the other hand, I feel like it’s vital to reiterate at this point that I am perhaps the furthest thing from a medical professional one can imagine. With that in mind, whilst the ‘rule of three’ is an excellent literary device, I do have to remind myself frequently that real life isn’t actually a novel, poem or piece of satire. Although I do find this mind-set to be an excellent coping mechanism for dire circumstances if anyone happens to be looking for one.
Maybe the government could take some pointers from literature. I’m the first to rinse myself and other English students about the employability statistics for our degree programme. However, one need only look at Shelley’s poems about the French Revolution to see that literature throughout history is often depressingly telling of the current situation. More importantly, it often can – and should – be read as a warning. So by all means, to quote Shelley, ‘rise like lions after slumber’, but if people could confine their ‘unvanquishable number’ at least to groups of 6, we might have more chance of getting out of this pandemic of suffering.
Furthermore, we’re all living in a country run by someone with a degree in Classics. Maybe it hasn’t occurred to Bojo to draw on his expensive education to make intelligent decisions. Not that there would be any reference whatsoever to apocalyptic-esque circumstances in the classics. Homer, penny for your thoughts?
It is quotes like this which make me question why it is people like Johnson rather than Whitty who have the most say in how the country is run. I think I’d feel much more confident at least in the morality of his judgments, rather than those passed by an Oxford graduate who coasted by on the back of his daddy’s name and money.
Experts in the modelling subgroup of Sage calculate that even under the most optimistic scenario, at least 30,000 more Covid deaths could occur in the UK. That’s not many more lives than there are students at Oxford University. Maybe if we compare the amount of people being wiped out by Covid by the number of potential Boris Johnsons there are in the world, the prime minister will actually listen to the medical professionals and scientists this time.
When questioned by MPs, Whitty made clear that “What we don’t want to do is to accelerate into trouble and then have to reverse straight back out again, open things up and immediately close them down”. And I completely agree. That does seem like a terrible idea and definitely not something the UK government would ever allow to happen. The ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme was a great money saver though, wasn’t it?
One thing’s for sure, I don’t see Bojo advocating a similar sort of hospitality promoting scheme any time soon. Many people blamed the influx in restaurant-goers because of it as a large contributor to the UK’s second wave of coronavirus. Although let me tell you, whilst we may be skint, it wasn’t just students I saw enjoying a half price meal out, thank you very much.
So to conclude, maybe everyone should just hold tight, imagine the world like a rollercoaster (a corona-coaster, if you will) and make sure our hands and feet (and all other physical parts of ourselves) are safely inside the compartment that is our household, before we can have the ride of our lives.
According to some conspiracy theorists, 5G will plague humanity with lifeless birds, dead trees. and coronavirus symptoms. In reality experts predict that 5G will usher in huge technological advances including internet connection everywhere, self-driving cars, the Internet of Things, and much more – all without damaging your health.
Here’s the lowdown of what 5G actually is, why we need it, how it works, and how it will change our lives.
What is 5G and how did we get there?
5G is the next “fifth-generation” of wireless technology and like its predecessors (1G, 2G, 3G and 4G) uses radio waves (which are part of the electromagnetic spectrum) to connect devices to each other and to the internet.
Wireless technology has changed through the years; in the 1980s, 1G brought us the first voice calls and the 90s allowed for better texting thanks to 2G. 3G appeared in the early 00s and heralded the age of mobile internet and more recently 4G brought us mobile streaming and video calls alongside faster internet speeds. 5G promises to be bigger and better, bringing us faster mobile internet speeds, greater capacity, and lower latency (more on that later).
Why do we need 5G and how does it work?
Between 2020 and 2030, experts predict that there will be a surge in demand for wireless mobile internet, with two-thirds of this demand coming from streaming high-quality video content alone. The number of smartphones and tablets is also predicted to increase to more than 1.4 billion globally. So, it’s clear that there will be a demand and a need for 5G internet in the not-so-distant future.
The science and tech behind what makes 5G revolutionary is split into two main parts: new radio frequencies and new antenna tech.
Firstly, 5G will use different radio wave frequencies compared to previous generations. These new bands are known as high-frequency millimetre waves (mmWave) and include 26GHz, 40GHz, and 66GHz. 5G will also use lower frequency bands (similar to those used by 3G and 4G) between 3.4 and 3.8 GHz.
The electromagnetic spectrum (Source: Ofcom 5G mobile technology: a guide)
Although mmWave technology is exciting, it does have a massive drawback: the waves are blocked by rainfall, buildings and trees. Luckily with new antenna technology, this won’t be a problem. Mini base stations (which devices connect to access the internet) called small cells will be used to ensure mmWave 5G signal will be available almost anywhere.
Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MIMO) technology also means that base station antennas can now “talk” to multiple devices at the same time. 5G will implement this technology on a massive scale, ensuring base stations have more antennas than ever before.
Beamforming is another significant piece of the 5G antenna puzzle. This technology will allow 5G signals to be transmitted directly from base stations to devices rather than the current scatter-gun approach that aims to push signal across wide areas.
Thanks to these new technologies, 5G will mean much faster download speeds: the average download speed for 4G is 36.4Mbps while 5G could bring average speeds of between 100-200Mbps. To put this simply, 5G would allow you to download a Full HD film in 3 minutes (rather than in 15 minutes on 4G). On top of that there will be more capacity on mobile networks, with 5G allowing up to 100x more traffic than previous generations. Lag will become a thing of the past, as 5G has the potential to achieve 1 millisecond-latency (the time it takes for data to travel between two points) compared to 4G’s 15ms, thereby allowing for instant response when using the internet.
What does all of this mean in the real world?
This is where the imagination can run wild. 5G will not just make things better for smartphone users, it’s expected to touch almost every part of modern society from manufacturing and transport all the way to healthcare and energy.
Specifically, 5G will hopefully mean the internet will be available everywhere thanks to the advances in massive MIMO, beamforming, and small cell antenna technologies.
Thanks to its low latency, 5G will enable instant responses between devices and different technologies – bringing large scale automation and self-driving cars from a concept to everyday reality.
Smart devices will be able to use 5G to share data and “talk” to one another to get things done. This Internet of Things will no doubt become an important part of our lives as we use our voices to switch on smart lightbulbs and our vibrating smart forks remind us to savour our food and eat more slowly.
5G will also revolutionise healthcare practice and teaching. Surgeons will be able to conduct complex medical procedures from anywhere in the world thanks to 5G-controlled robots, while medical students will be able to use super-responsive Virtual Reality to practice surgeries for the first time – helping them “feel” their learning in real time.
When will 5G become available?
Depending on where you live, 5G is already available! EE first launched its UK 5G network back in 2019, with the other major carriers launching their coverage between 2019 and 2020.
However, it’s important to note that to make the most of the new 5G networks you’ll have to buy a new 5G enabled handset (like Samsung’s Galaxy S21 5G, or the iPhone 12s) along with a specific 5G plan from one of the mobile networks.
Of course, it will take longer for the bigger societal level changes. 5G promises to bear fruit, so although it’s available now there is still so much more on the way.
5G will undoubtedly bring about a more connected digital world, one where there is huge potential for us to achieve things beyond our wildest dreams. I for one, can’t wait.
At least in the South of England, where I am currently waiting out lockdown before my return to Manchester. Saturday 27th February 2021 was a beautiful day; the kind of day that inspires me to write mediocre poetry about sunshine and birdsong. I went on a ten mile walk to a beautiful woodland, heard the birds singing in the trees, saw a goldcrest and a nuthatch and a treecreeper, saw emerging leaves, blossom buds, and daffodils in flower.
In a couple of weeks, this will be a carpet of bluebells. Photo: Lucy Johnson
I also saw a lot of people out enjoying the weather, and the countryside. Whilst everything else made me happy, this made me nervous.
Everyone has a right to enjoy the countryside and the outdoors, and I would encourage everyone who doesn’t already walk regularly to do so – but everyone also still has a responsibility to maintain social distancing, which, as the weather improves and vaccines are distributed, worries me more and more.
Throughout the winter, I have regularly been walking at my local lake. It is a great place to walk, and I have seen many cool looking, and even quite rare, ducks and water birds. (We appear to have become middle aged, and taken up birdwatching through lockdown). One of the main benefits, however, is that, throughout, the paths are pretty much two metres wide. A great place for everyone to enjoy nature, and maintain social distancing, really quite easily.
People seem quite good at the first half, but downright terrible at the second.
When my boyfriend and I walk together, and someone is coming the other way, we make an effort to pass single file, or at the very least, move off the path and squish closer together. It is rare, however, that people walking the other way offer us the same courtesy.
It’s not even a difficult thing to do. Your partner isn’t going to run away if you stop holding their hand for 30 seconds, and a conversation can be paused for a moment while you pass someone, and resumed once at a safer distance again. The lunchtime walks that I take to ease stress become sources of anxiety themselves when others walk two, three, even four abreast across the path, with seemingly no thoughts for the people around them.
I would like to reiterate, that I am not saying that I wish people would stay indoors. I am happy that people are able to take advantage of the outside world, and aware of the luxury of countryside I currently have around me. If I were in the middle of Manchester right now, I would definitely be more stressed, more unhappy, more anxious.
I am also aware that outdoor spaces are relatively low-risk – but they are not ‘no-risk’, and when there is no requirement to wear a mask outdoors, it is more important to maintain social distancing, especially when warmer weather will increase the numbers of people enjoying the outside, leading to more frequent potential of ‘high density’ situations.
The roadmap out of lockdown is encouraging, and combined with the warmer weather brings a sense of hope that we haven’t had in a long time. But as Spring, and eventually Summer, roll through, we must continue to follow the guidelines that have been set out for the safety of ourselves and others, and it worries me that this will not continue to be the case.
England’s hopes of a series win in India were lost last week, after they succumbed to a damning 10-wicket loss in a hugely controversial day-night Test match in Ahmedabad.
After winning the toss and deciding to bat, Joe Root’s men stumbled from the get-go, and were quickly dismissed for 112. With nearly half the runs coming from the bat of Zak Crawley, England lost wickets at regular intervals. Only 4 batsman reached double figures.
India started positively with the bat. A 50-run partnership between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli held the hosts in good stead. However, the loss of Kohli at the close of play on Day 1 spelt trouble for the Men In Blue, and was a sign of things to come.
The morning session was dominated by Jack Leach and the part-time off-spin of Joe Root. Root took 5-8 to reduce India to a lead of 33.
At this point, it was anybody’s game. With India only having a slim 1st innings lead, much of the UK viewing public was hoping for a monumental batting effort by Joe Root’s men to put them into a commanding position.
It was not meant to be. The mastery of Ashwin and Axar Patel bowling 30 interrupted overs and taking 9-80 between them, meant that England collapsed to 81 all out. Only needing 49 runs to win, an unbeaten opening partnership from Rohit and Gill finished the match, amazingly, in the second session on Day 2.
The match broke records. It was the shortest test match since the Second World War. At face value, the strength of the spinning surface meant that runs were extremely hard to come by. However, both teams also made fatal batting errors. It seemed to viewers that the same delivery was proving difficult for the batsmen – the one that pitched in line and went straight on.
The main talking point of the match should have been India’s brilliant bowling duo, Axar Patel and Ravi Ashwin. However, the controversy surrounding the pitch was the biggest talking point.
English double standards?
Soon after the match ended, the English press were resolute in their determination to have an ICC investigation into the pitch. They argued that the pitch unfairly favoured spin and failed to deteriorate as the game went on.
It is probably worth mentioning that, unlike football or rugby, the game of cricket is played completely differently dependent on which continent you are on. India is reputable for its slow, turning pitches, which bring spin more involved than in any other country.
Therefore, it should come to no surprise that spin dominated from the start. In England, we are used to seeing pace dominate – even on Day 4 and 5 pitches. There have been occasions where spinners have been nearly completely unused on English soil. When this does occur, there is no big media reaction to pace advantage. The Indian press don’t shout unfair play. Therefore, why is there accusations of unfair conduct when spin is dominant?
It’s the classic idea of home advantage. The home team, in any country, prepares pitches that will suit their own bowlers. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Ashwin and Axar did much better than Jack Leach and part-time bowler Joe Root.
For too long, the English cricket press have visualized cricket as an English phenomenon, reluctant to understand foreign conditions. It for is this reason that they make the accusation that they do.
The selection woes continue
It was clear that after the second test at Chennai, England were making some surprising selection errors. However, it was in this match that we saw extremely poor judgement errors.
The historically formidable partnership of Stuart Broad and James Anderson continues to not work. As they are both now much less quick than before, and rely on swing movement, India was always going to be a tough tour for the dynamic duo. Therefore, only one of them should now be played in a single match on overseas tours. This simple change of mindset could bring much more success, and would help the younger generation find their feet in the Test team.
Furthermore, to only play one spinner is ludicrous. England’s other spinner, Dom Bess, is arguably a much better bowler than Jack Leach. He turns the ball more, and is much better at getting drift in the air. His stats are better too. He was England’s top wicket taker in Sri Lanka earlier this year. Additionally, his 4-76 in Chennai played a crucial role in the team’s victory. If England want a chance of drawing the series next week, they should consider playing him alongside Jack Leach.
When it comes to consumption, there is an endless stream of entertainment that accompanies the sport. The podcasts, the social media, the analysis; the game seems to exist on an infinite continuum, where avid watchers are growing more and more obsessed by the day. To quote the mocking David Mitchell: there really is “constant, dizzying, 24 hour, year-long, endless FOOTBALL” which seems only the more relevant in this post-COVID age.
However, there is one gap.
There are around 2,000,000 active grassroots players in Britain, making football the most popular sport for participation by a big margin. Unfortunately, the endless fixation on the stats and results in the higher echelons of the game is yet to filter down to these more recreational channels. Until now.
Footsapp is a fresh, modern app that’s sole purpose caters to the needs of the Sunday-league footballer, matching their experience to those in the Premier League. Features include the squads and stats leaderboards, in which one inputs G+A data from matchdays, allowing for the continuous tracking of statistics across a season. This element affords a genuine sense of professionalism to the player, with all this information logged on a modern interface, displaying the successes (or failures!) of the season in a crisp and concise format. The seamless design of the app also allows for easily shareable customised team line-ups, with a messaging system that incorporates group chats, making it easy to exchange team tactics under one roof.
While these are all great additions to the modernisation of amateur football, it is essential to Footsapp that the jovial nature of the game is retained. Player of the Match voting helps to foster and enhance the community spirit that this type of football is so good at facilitating, with the post-game analysis certain to allow for the necessary congratulations. Another interesting feature is the unique individual player profile cards, akin to those seen in video games such as FIFA. Thrashing out team-mates’ various attributes is certain to bring about the joshing that so many enjoy in five-a-side, helping to solidify this nature of professionalism, whilst maintaining the light-hearted nature of the game.
Photo: Sam Cooper @ TheMancunion
I also spoke with the University of Manchester club captain, Max Swan, to get some on-the-ground feedback about the app. “Footsapp has found a real niche in the market and is definitely something I will be using when we can get back on the pitches in the future”, he remarked. “In the past, I have been storing data on my notes pages, so to have an app that is able to track all this for you is really revolutionary.” He adds, “the structure of the app makes it so easy to use and I will definitely encourage the club to get involved with it.”
In terms of future development, the app is also planning to introduce IOT devices, which would further add to the experience of the amateur player. These devices, such as performance tracking vests or boot trackers, would harbour data that could be collated and stored on the app. Analysis of this data would really aid coaches of these grassroots clubs, allowing them to pinpoint where their player could improve and introduce tailored drills to improve their side.
Overall, this app ought to be seen as a promising step in the right direction for amateur football. Creating this sense of modernisation will only add to the experience of those playing, with genuinely innovative ideas that can introduce a new angle to lower levels of the sport. It certainly is an exciting project and it’s safe to say that the future of five-a-side football might just be in Footsapp.
Photo: @raphael_say on Instagram.
Photo: @raphael_say on Instagram.
Photo: @raphael_say on Instagram.
Photo: @raphael_say on Instagram.
Photo: @raphael_say on Instagram.
Photo: @raphael_say on Instagram.
Photo: @raphael_say on Instagram.
Photo: @raphael_say on Instagram.
Photo: @raphael_say on Instagram.
Photo: @raphael_say on Instagram.
Photo: @raphael_say on Instagram.
Photo: @raphael_say on Instagram.
Photo: @raphael_say on Instagram.
Photo: @rafael_say on Instagram.
Photo: @raphael_say on Instagram.
Photo: @raphael_say on Instagram.
Photo: @raphael_say on Instagram.
Photo: @raphael_say on Instagram.
Photo: @raphael_say on Instagram.
Photo: @raphael_say on Instagram.
Photo: @raphael_say on Instagram.
