Guest post by Holly Robbins Celebrating its tenth birthday this year, (The People’s Republic of) Shambala has everything a festival-goer could possibly desire – without being the size of a small town (yes, I’m talking to you Glastonbury). Set in the grounds of a manor house in Northamptonshire and playing host to around 10,000 punters, [...]
Guest post by Carl Packman 102 Minutes That Changed America, the brave documentary that aired on Channel 4 yesterday, made for very tough viewing. The camera was very intrusive, and actually seemed to infuriate people, but it did what was best in documenting some very sombre and terrifying moments. People, covered in dust and debris, [...]
It never fails to annoy me when it’s claimed that some group or other is the ‘last’ group that it’s acceptable to be prejudiced about. Sure, there’s no denying we live in relatively enlightened times, but there are any number of marginalised sections of society that you can get away with offending without any fear [...]
Guest post by Michael Barrett I’m sat on the 2pm train back to Wakefield after a weekend that flashed by. The carriage is empty, my MP3 player is dead, so I’m stuck thinking about the past few days and trying to shake off the vague hangover that’s rattling through my skull. Let’s begin at the [...]
The proms don’t normally get much in the way of political coverage. In fact the last time they did was about a year and a half ago when Margaret Hodge decided to make some stupid announcement about them not being inclusive enough, so it was a real joy to have such a politically charged concert [...]
It’s extremely easy to criticise the politics of cultural products if you don’t agree with absolutely everything they say. If you consider your understanding to be more nuanced, it is very easy to say that a book, a film, or an article doesn’t go far enough. The point is that not every great film is [...]
Icons are not an ideal means to talk about politics. To make someone an icon is to transform a person into a static timeless idea. All that once was political is violently removed. All that is human is removed too. Graduation ceremonies here in Britain hear quotations from Gandhi and Mandela without reference to the [...]
Guest post by Jon Small The latest character from Sacha Baron Cohen’s entourage of grotesques to hit the big screen is Brüno, the gay-as-a-lamp-post presenter of Austria’s number one fashion show, Funkyzeit. Brüno began life as a minor character in Baron Cohen’s television shows for Paramount Comedy and Channel 4’s Da Ali G Show. As [...]
Creating a successful spin-off of a popular television series – a precarious balancing act between pleasing fans of the original and building a distinct brand – is a notoriously hit and miss affair. For every Star Trek: The Next Generation there’s a Joey. The anagrammatical Torchwood is Russell T. Davies’s attempt to explore more adult [...]
Alexi Kaye Campbell’s award winning first play Pride was far and away my favourite play of 2008. It was intelligent, funny, very well produced and moving. Apologia, his new play at the Bush Theatre, isn’t quite as impressive but is still very good. Apologia, as one character helpfully explains, is a widely misused word which [...]
