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#311
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SHORTLISTED 2015 BEST DESIGN (MAGAZINE) - VENUE BEST DESIGN (MAGAZINE) - THE BIRTHDAY PARTY (ADAM DAWSON, JAKE REYNOLDS, ADAM WHITE) BEST DESIGN (MAGAZINE) - KAOS FASHION (GEMMA CARTER, HELENA URQUHART) BEST ENTERTAINMENT PIECE HOLLY J. McDEDE BEST ENTERTAINMENT PIECE ADAM WHITE
April 14 / #311
editors Holly J. McDede Adam White
art commissioner Ana Dukakis cover art
Ruth Knapp
Music 04-07 editors Myles Earle Mike Vinti
Oh dear god, this just won’t end. Here we are again, everyone. This feels like it’s been a long year, right? And it’s weird because usually when we look back at things, we’re always “boy, that went past so fast”. But, god, it feels like I’ve been at this university for a million years. But progress! I’ve been cycling home in a different direction lately, a route that is flatter, less crowded with traffic, full of trees and nature and strange local children smoking cigarettes and looking shifty. It is everything that is wonderful about life. And when you’re cycling in a different
Fashion 08-09 editors Gemma Carter
Helena Urquhart
direction, enjoying the pretty sights, you can’t help but feel kind of good. The breeze in your hair, shirt flapping around. It’s like you’re in a shampoo commercial, like the one about the girl who has the urge to herbal. And, lady, I TOO NOW HAVE THE URGE TO HERBAL. I realise I’m writing a lot lately about changing things, or getting out of a rut. Not creatively, but just that feeling that time has come to a natural end, and wanting to move on and get out of here. And maybe that is the best position to be in? You see people around who are weeping at the thought of their UEA experience
coming to an end, and it does personally suck to know that I won’t be seeing certain people all the time. But it’s also nice to think of things properly starting, of officially, officially, not sorta-kinda but like officially becoming an adult. And it’s thinking of the possibilities of what’s coming next, instead of what’s already happened. But anyway, you know, don’t let me kill your buzz if you’re all sad or anything. What are you even reading me for? Turn over. Keep it real, kids Adam
Arts 10-11 editor
Creative Writing 12-13 editor
Katie Kemp
Jake Reynolds
contributors
contributors
contributors
contributors
Samuel Charlton, Myles Earle, Freya Gibson, Patrick Sumner-Stokes, Benjamin Taylor
Vicki Maitland, Abbie-Leigh Smith, Katie Wadsworth
Luc Camp, Lucinda Swain, Nathaniel Woo
Sean Harbottle, Carlo Saio, Hermann Kermit Warm
Gaming & Tech 15 editor
Television 16-17 editor
Film 18-21 editors
Love and Listings 22-23 editor
Joe Fitzsimmons
Adam Dawson
Neven Devies Silvia Rose
Daisy Jones
? contributors
contributors
Tom Bedford, George Pegler
Hannah Ford, Louis Pigeon-Owen, Dan Struthers
contributors Joe Frost, Becky Lamming, Jamie Parsons, Louis Pigeon-Owen
contributors It could be you, but, ugh, we give up.
music
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concrete.music@uea.ac.uk
Koda-line up, line up...
Samuel Charlton fills us in on the night that Kodaline performed the LCR
FLICKR (LOU LE GUILLOUX)
UEA has seen its fair share of massive artists Howard’s remarkable performance in the this year. From the gargantuan singerwinter. But the Dubliners don’t need to songwriter Ben Howard, to the harmony show off. The bland, vocal-line echoing weaving First Aid Kit, and only just recently solos on the guitar and the harmonica, serve the rock duo Royal Blood. On March 11, it merely to add, not to innovate or express. was Kodaline’s turn to grace the LCR walls. Instead, the power of their performance The Dublin quartet have garnered relies heavily on their stadium-filler energy a huge following since the release of In and their working of a successful formula, a Perfect World utilising the folk-rock, a formula on the verge of cliché after being melancholic sing-a-along formula to take exhausted by Coldplay, U2, etc. them off the club circuit and soaring into That being said, no matter how basic the charts. With their recent release keeping their setup might be, there is no denying that religiously to the same formula, fans could they work it well. It is evident throughout be comfortably assured in their expectations the night that their success is dependent of heart-melting balladry. on their song-writing prowess, which has The set began with Ready, a track from produced some irresistibly infectious, if their new album that got the crowd moving, lyrically mundane, chart toppers. It is if only a little. But it perhaps isn’t surprising, these hits that carry the atmosphere of the or disappointing, that they quickly revert night, an atmosphere so contagious that to the big hitters from their debut. The the phone-light swinging on The One is not first few mandolin strums of Love Like This only bearable, but surprisingly exhilarating draw an instant roar of female screams, and for any doubters. The song itself, Garrigan what follows in the explains, was next three minutes “...their success is dependent written a day before forms the template on their song-writing prowess, a friend’s wedding, for the entire night. an anecdote suitably which has produced some A mix of air grabbing, warm and in keeping irresistibly infectious chart arm swaying and an with the band’s endless vocal tennis perfectly judged toppers.” match between lead stage presence. His vocalist, Steve Garrigan, and the crowd build tone throughout is modest and tinged with an ever-bubbling atmosphere reminiscent light humour, one particular moment sees of a Coldplay concert. Even the vocals on him announce the certainty of an encore, the verse sound like a direct imitation of and how it would predictably be All I Want. Chris Martin, and mark just one of the What else would it be? many ways in which they distinctly echo There’s no doubt that the band’s finest their influences. moments of the night come in the form of There is nothing innovative or their classics. High Hopes, One Day and pioneering on show here in terms of the encore exemplify exactly how to write musicianship or showmanship; the only a rock anthem that makes your throat sore, innovation coming is the form of the and they are performed with the same subtlest of tweaks to the album tracks. In acute, uplifting vitality as on the album; fact, that task was covered by the support something that the performance of their The Misters, fusing rock and folk more new tracks fail to replicate. Regardless, deftly, using inventive instrumentation. the night goes to show that, despite the The violin picking and double bass tapping disappointment of their recent album, seemed interesting, but not exactly ground Kodaline still have a live pulse that won’t breaking, reviving faint memories of Ben stop beating any time soon.
music the tide’s coming in
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concrete.music@uea.ac.uk
In the hustle and bustle of the booming Flac 1141 kbps, the equivalent of CD quality industry that is music streaming, the likes music through an app. of Spotify, Apple and YouTube are now been Clearly being the leader in this respect, faced with a new competitor. Tidal, officially the service also provides extras, including launched on Monday 30th March, has sparked exclusive content, videos and music, before global interest from on-the-go music lovers. general release, as well as “expertly curated” Aside from the tremendously awkward editorial for those who want to read as well standing around by artists like Beyoncé and as listen. Who would blame people for being Deadmau5, the strategic rhetoric delivered interested when Beyoncé releases Die For You by Alicia Keys and the and Rihanna releases significant, yet overly Oxygen “With Tidal now amidst those American dramatic, signing of exclusively to the that offer such a service at service? The interface a ‘declaration’, the re-launch of Tidal a higher price, what can we is similar to Spofity, (previously the Swedish expect from the attitude of making it a familiar company Aspiro) raises product; features of consumers?” questions about its being able to watch place within the music videos and the ability to streaming industry. drag and drop music in your queue is a feature This music service could not have come much appreciated by the Spotify user. at a better time for artists. Information Tidal is concerned with the treatment surrounding music’s monetary value on of music, fair pay to artists and providing a Spotify did not seem fair, resulting in the quality that rivals other music services, to the lovable Taylor Swift up and leaving the service point where its online web player permits only completely. What’s to say any other artist isn’t 30 seconds of playback, encouraging users to next? sign up. However, when signing up, you’re Tidal, as put by music and business faced with a choice. The premium service mogul, Jay Z, is the first music service owned will give you all of the above, riding standard by artists, putting the music (and its worth) 320 kbps quality sound at a reasonable £9.99 at the forefront to provide listeners with the – similar to Spotify. The HiFi option will highest quality and experience. Its primary provide all of the above with the ‘Lossless’ marketing tool is the concept of ‘lossless’ quality sound, racking up at double the cost music – the MP3 is just not enough for high for £19.99. quality music, with 320 kbps being the barrier Complex News went among the streets for true quality. Tidal offers an unprecedented of New York to test the 320 kbps against the
SPINEYBACKWEBDESIGN
Myles Earle takes a look at Tidal, the next competitor in music streaming
‘lossless’ quality, asking one pivotal question: ‘Would you pay to use Tidal?’, to which one out of six people said they would pay for this service. This raises the issue of whether anyone actually cares. In an age where we have become accustomed to the music quality of 320 kbps on the go, are we really concerned with paying an extra tenner for CD quality sound? If our progress into a technologically advanced space within music has seen a movement to take music quality back to that on CD’s, why not just buy one instead? Understandably, the decline of retailers like the HMV group has been due to the increase of illegal downloading and music streaming services like Spotify and Pandora. With Tidal now amidst those that offer such a service at a higher price, what can we expect from the attitude of consumers to music? With the doors open to all artists to jump
on board with the company, who says other artists won’t be dropping like flies from other music services for fairer pay? As an advocate for paying an appropriate amount for music, it is important to consider that artists deserve for their music to be treated well and to be compensated for it fairly. However, criticisms have already begun to surface, and there is a concern that Tidal (in the limelight of the industry) will be the stepping-stone for two possible destinations for music sharing and streaming: an increase of users paying a fair amount for music through Tidal’s services, or an increase of illegal downloading. Though still in its beta form, as no PC/ MAC application is downloadable for the product, there is a lot promise for the service to be an interesting competitor in the music streaming industry.
the best medicine...
Freya Gibson looks back on the when The Vaccines performed the LCR
WIKI
old times’ sake. It wasn’t until the show was were doing in 2011 and the gorgeous summer well under way that I finally understood what we had that year - the young crowd were The Vaccines were aiming to do with their allowed a temporal form of nostalgia and feel a new material. little bit younger again They explained “...their shows sell out for a for a short while. The to NME that they’re encore saw an acoustic reason, and I was pleasantly rendition of No Hope tired of attempting surprised.” to write timeless by Justin, completely material, and now, in captivating the what may seem to be a musical liberation, they audience in a spell of seduction, before racing write to sound like 2015. Especially since the straight into Wolf Pack, and ending the night media is saturated with conflicting promises with the golden oldie, Norgaad. of failing politicians at the moment, it was Prior to Tuesday, I unfairly brushed The refreshing to spend an hour roaring along Vaccines into the predictable “indie rock” write a catchy tune. The gig was kick-started to pop songs about the trivial and frivolous, margins of Spotify reserved mainly for Year by Teenage Icon and yet universal problems Nines. However, I have since been coaxed by Wreckin’ Bar; it was “...it was obvious that this of young people which Young’s intelligent song writing tactics for live obvious from the outset don’t involve the performance and cannot wait to indulge in was going to be an energetic wonderful act that is their new album. Although an expensive gig that this was going to evening...” be an energetic evening, twerking, etc. All In (£20) and some arrogance within the band and the usually subdued White and Post Break-Up seems to be emerging, their shows sell out for Norwich crowd were worked into a frenzy for Sex instantly took you back to whatever you a reason, and I was pleasantly surprised.
The Vaccines played to the LCR packed to the brim with eager fans on the 7th April after adding Norwich to their sold out UK tour. The band has recently released a handful of singles from their new album, English Graffiti, which is set to be released in May. Handsome, 20/20 and Dream Lover all went down well since frontman, Justin Young, never fails to
music
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concrete.music@uea.ac.uk
a walk on the soulful side...
don’t sleep....
Myles Earle takes a look at the new faces driving the sound of the 70s forward
Benjamin Taylor reviews the set of London-based soul collective, JUNGLE
WIKI
I’ve known all about JUNGLE from right After a couple of mellower around the time of their inception. Their songs (Lemonade Lake and Son two frontmen, Tom McFarland and Josh of a Gun), the ethereal Lucky I Lloyd-Watson, went to the same school as Got What I Want, with its me, and I followed their previous band, gorgeous ebbs and flows, provided Born Blonde, extremely closely. They’ve another clear highlight. The song always had the talent, but never before ended with a breathtaking crescendo achieved the success that their hard work similar to that of Accelerate. But up truly deserved. Last night at the LCR I until then, the previously bouncing LCR witnessed their newfound success and crowd had calmed, seemingly entranced. popularity first hand, and had the pleasure This was followed by an enormous of watching the “modern soul collective” response from the audience, who swelled enjoy their time on stage every bit as much as Tom and Josh lent on each other as those who had paid to be there. lovingly and displayed the sort of palpable Support came from the ultra-indie camaraderie that can only come from a Clarence Clarity - complete with his floppy group who has always put great emphasis hair and travel guitar - whose experimental on the connection and friendship that they electronic records translated well into an find in their music. energetic, acoustic live performance. You Drops, another highlight, once again could see the similarities between the two demonstrated JUNGLE’s ability to take acts, as Clarence Clarity’s electronic/hip- the softer tracks from their album and hop influence and creative use of percussion transform them into powerful features of reminded the crowd of the features that their live shows. Indeed, their entire show had propelled JUNGLE themselves to such was essentially their debut album reordered success; an interesting, if underwhelming, for effect, and yet it sounded so different; warm up for the main act. It’s never easy every track had been reworked perfectly for being the support act that nobody came to a live performance. And there were only two see though, is it? (enormously important) tracks remaining. Then JUNGLE arrived, drifting on Busy Earnin ended the main set with the to stage in a sea of extraordinary lighting song many had been waiting for, as the dual and the opening riffs of frontmen repeatedly Platoon. It was a fitting “...JUNGLE had every thanked the adoring opening; intense and crowd for having them. one of us in the palm irresistibly cool, with Rarely have I seen an act of their hands, the remarkable use of so appreciative of the what appeared to be opportunity to perform and they knew it.” empty Coke bottles as live, and one that has percussion. Julia, one of the more powerful grasped it so convincingly. The encore tracks from the group’s debut album, consisted solely of a wonderful rendition ramped up the atmosphere before the first of another of the group’s big singles, of the big singles was unleashed – The Heat. Time, as the Norwich crowd were afforded This was a turning point in the night. Until one last chance to enjoy the energy and this point, the Norwich crowd had been enthusiasm that JUNGLE offer. Then, as receptive yet a tad reserved. But from here the crowd exploded with adulation, they onwards, JUNGLE had every one of us in departed, leaving their fans spellbound and the palms of their hands, and they knew driving me to not only revisit their album, it. Next came a magnificent version of but also rethink my opinion of it for the Accelerate, elongated and amplified to give better. Is there a finer indication of a hugely the track a new sense of power and energy. successful live show than that?
a few new ones...
YOUTUBE
We’ve seen a few albums released in March, with all new Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Death Grips, Madonna and the eagerlyanticipated new album from Ludacris, entitled Ludaversal.
FLICKR (VILLUNDERLONDON)
some‘Todd Terje’ fun Animated music video released to accompany the fun-loving track Alfonso Muskedunder by Norwegian DJ Todd Terje. Just the cartoon fun to get you in the mood for summer 2015.
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concrete.music@uea.ac.uk
To Pimp a Butterfly Patrick Sumner-Stokes reviews one of the most anticipated albums of 2015
On Ab-Soul’s Outro Kendrick declares: ‘I’m not on the outside looking in, I’m not in the inside looking out, I’m in the dead fucking centre – looking around.’ On Good Kid M.A.A.D City he reports the observations of his youth in Compton, living the life of a c a t e r p i l l a r,
consuming all around him. The success of that album allowed him to escape the cocoon he was trapped in, and gave him the scope to deliver the album he always wanted to make, according to a recent interview with Hot 97. To Pimp A Butterfly is that album, in which, having escaped the physical and mental cocoons of his upbringing, he returns as a butterfly armed with the wisdom to help other caterpillars liberate themselves. It is not littered with tracks you can predrink to, or expect to hear at the club, but if that’s what you were expecting you’ve misinterpreted Kendrick’s purpose. To interpolate The Weeknd: it might not be what the world wants, but To Pimp A Butterfly is what it needs.
NRK P3
On Ab-Soul’s Outro from his debut album Hood Politics when the beat shifts following Section.80, Kendrick Lamar declares that he’s the words “Shaniqua’s phone.” The lyrics not a pop star, nor the next socially aware see a wise Kendrick returning to the rapper, but “a human motherfucking being, hood, comparing Congress to Compton, over dope ass instrumentation.” If he didn’t both plagued with “DemoCrips and make that position clear on his first aftermath ReBloodlicans.” The following track How release Good Kid M.A.A.D. City, this album Much a Dollar Cost is a beautifully crafted should leave listeners in no doubt. He raps, exchange between Kendrick and a local reads poetry, and politicises without being homeless man in South Africa, where he overly preachy. He plays various characters, visited Nelson Mandela’s cell on Robben gives opinions, contradicts them, and Island. He refuses to share his hard-earned ultimately weaves together a portrait that is cash with the beggar because “selfishness is very human in its imperfections. what got me here”, but the revelation of the The instrumentation his voice vagrant’s true identity is truly humbling. accompanies dances from P-funk, through This leads into Complexion (Zulu Love), Jazz, to Hip-Hop, aided by Robert Glasper a plea to love all shades and colours, on the keys, Thundercat’s unmistakable which features the only guest verse on the bass, and the vocals of Bilal, Anna Wise, and album, from Rapsody. She sums up the James Fauntleroy. The production is eclectic, track’s layers with her last line, “we all featuring the likes of Flying Lotus, Pharrell, on the same team, blues and pirus, no and Boi-1da, and regularly jumps between colors ain’t a thing.” two very different beats within the same track. This leads into the album’s second In the first section of the album, Kendrick single, the polemical The Blacker gives the perspective of an up-and-coming The Berry, which is the foundation rapper trying to escape his surroundings. stone on which the album is built. He has to In an interview overcome Uncle Billboard “...he returns as a butterfly with Sam and the tax at the start of the armed with the wisdom to man (in Wesley’s year, Kendrick help other caterpillars Theory, featuring suggested the death Pa r l i a m e n t ’s of Michael Brown liberate themselves.” Funkadelic), was partly a product Sam’s consumerist niece America (on For of a destructive lack of self-respect in the Free?), and, in order to claim the hip-hop community. The comments were heavily throne, his competition and haters (on the condemned by the likes of Azealia Banks funky new single King Kunta). and Kid Cudi, but this song clarifies Having made it out, he is still mentally his position in depth, building up to enslaved at first; Snoop Dogg puts it on the climax: “So why did I weep when Institutionalized, with a Slick Rick-esque Trayvon Martin was in the street? When narrative bridge, “you can take the kid out gang banging make me kill a nigga the hood, but you can’t take the hood out the blacker than me? Hypocrite!” homie”. On These Walls he takes revenge for his This sentiment leads to You Ain’t friend’s murder (about whom Sing About Me, Gotta Lie (Momma Said), which calls on I’m Dying Of Thirst is written) by informing people not to “try so hard” to live up to the culprit that he’s filling the sexual void he destructive stereotypes, before Kendrick has left since his incarceration. This abuse of gives a live performance of the double power leads him into a relentless tirade of Grammy winning single i. An anxious self-loathing on ‘u’, the track diametrically audience interrupts the performance, and opposed to ‘i’. Kendrick, à la James Brown after Martin On Alright he begins to dust himself Luther King Jr’s assassination, or more off, but has to overcome the obstacle of evil recently Killer Mike after the Ferguson temptations, embodied by Lucy who on For Grand Jury’s verdict, calms them down with Sale? echoes the messages of Uncle Sam in the a sermon on self-respect. The final track first track, suggesting where Kendrick thinks Mortal Man is a moving conclusion to the Lucifer resides. It is when he returns home on album, which completes the poem that has Momma, armed with newfound knowledge, been developing over the course of the album, yet humbled, that he begins to try to improve before leading into an eerie interview with his community, and the album really takes Tupac, which alludes to the music video for flight. HiiiPower that mentions a dream in which It is impossible not to bop your head to Shakur visited him as a child.
fashion
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concrete.fashion@uea.ac.uk
hairway to heaven Abbie-Leigh Smith discusses the influence of celebrity hairstyles Once again, Kim Kardashian has made fashion headlines. Kimmy’s new blonde bombshell is causing quite the stir, fans and foes alike are already questioning, should she have adopted her Madonna-esque locks? Does she regret it? However, despite her new media storm, one thing is for sure… we are certain to see a new wave of peroxide blonde sweeping over the campus. With celebrities forever being showcased in the media, their hair has been admired and copied. Marilyn Monroe was by far the most famous blonde icon, her pin up curls and bright red lips were dripping with sex appeal. Then came the 60s mod pixie cut, patroned by model, actress and singer Twiggy. Her elfin crop made her ‘the face of 1966’ and it is still recreated nearly 50 years later by the likes of Anne Hathaway, Shailene Woodley and Jennifer Lawrence. One child star turned UN Goodwill Ambassador who also adorned the slicked crop was Emma Watson; “liberating” herself from her past Harry Potter career. However, when considering the bob cut, we of course cannot ignore Posh Spice’s ‘Pob’ or ‘Posh bob,’ the short asymmetrical cut that had style, attitude and women all up and down the country following suit. As influential hairstyles go, Victoria Beckham’s Pob is definitely one of the greats, being copied even by celebrities,
including Rihanna. From a short cut to long and luscious lengths, we move on to Farrah Fawcett’s 70’s flicks. Her hair’s bounce and volume was unchallenged and envied by many, and is still recreated today. It is argued that Farrah’s 70’s sensational hair has been the most influential hairstyle of all time. But aside from Hollywood royalty, it is safe to say that actual royalty have made an impact on the world of hair. The most notable royal do was worn by the beautiful Princess Di. Her short, tapered curls made OP her look simple but WT pretty, often coupled with minimal make up to create her perfect princess style which influenced women throughout the early 80’s right up until the mid 90’s. Following in Di’s footsteps is the countries new royal sweetheart, Kate
Middleton. Her long natural locks are quickly becoming iconic, as despite Will’s claim that her hair is a ‘nightmare,’ it is the simple, manageability of her look that has inspired the nation. However, the most influential hairstyle, recreated by almost every woman who came across it, even today, is ‘The Rachel.’ It was the beautiful choppy cut that every woman has tried to recreate. Perhaps it was the originality of the shoulderlength cut that is so iconicthe fact that it’s almost unre-creatable, even Jenny herself couldn’t style it alone! It’s no wonder that her famous hairstyle is still a hot topic in Aniston’s interviews, however she describes it as “the ugliest haircut [she’d] ever seen!” Her luscious layers were iconic, and undoubtedly made hair-do history. It is clear that all whilst celebrities continue to hit the headlines with their beautiful barnets, we will forever be trying to recreate their beautiful looks.
did you ever see a bunny fly? Vicki Maitland welcomes us to the world of cruelty free products this is where the internet steps in. Googling a company name followed by the words ‘cruelty free’ will normally let you know if your favourite products have cruelty free status. Alternatively, you can always email the company directly. Asking three simple questions will usually ascertain whether or not a company tests on animals: 1) Do you, or any of your affiliates or parent companies, test your ingredients on animals? 2) Do you, or any of your affiliates or parent companies, test your products on animals? 3) Do you, under your brand name or another, sell your products in countries where animal testing is required by law? Although testing cosmetic products (makeup, shampoo, toothpaste etc) on animals is against the law in the EU, there are countries where not only is it legal to test on animals, but where it is actually required by law. China and Brazil are prime examples. A lot of companies (anyone owned by the L’Oreal franchise, for CE
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How many make-up, skin-care or hair-care products do you use every day? Three? Seven? Twenty? How many of those products are cruelty free? To classify as a cruelty free product, neither the ingredients nor the final product should have been tested on animals. An easy way to check for a product’s cruelty free status is to look at the back of the bottle. The leaping bunny logo is used by BUAV (British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection) to show a product has cruelty free status. However, not all companies will have this logo on them. Lush, for example, actively fights against animal testing and rather than sporting the leaping bunny they show two hares fighting on their packaging. Dr Organic place a small rabbit on their bottles. Brands like Soap and Glory, G.O.S.H and Barry M are all cruelty free but don’t have the logo. Looking at the packaging is a good place to start, but it isn’t the be-all and end-all when it comes to checking for cruelty free products. Luckily,
example) will state that they do not test on animals unless required by law. This means that they sell their products in one of these countries, and therefore they do test on animals. Brands like The Body Shop, Burt’s Bees and Urban Decay are all classified as BUAV approved. However, they are owned by companies who do test on animals (Unilever, Clorox and L’Oreal respectively). This means that when you buy products from these companies you are indirectly supporting the animal testing industry, although technically the products you are buying have not been tested. If all of this is getting you concerned about where you’re going to buy your shampoo from without breaking the bank, don’t worry. There are plenty of companies who don’t test on animals. Superdrug’s own brand products are all BUAV approved. TopShop’s beauty range is cruelty free, as is M&S’s own brand beauty. Eyes.Lips.Face have a very affordable make-up range, and Co-op and Sainsbury’s own brand also sport the leaping bunny logo. Switching up your skin, hair and makeup routine to make it cruelty free doesn’t have to be an expensive or difficult – it just means doing a little research first. And remember, watch out for flying bunnies!
fashion
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orange is the new black Katie Wadsworth explains why citrus shades are a must this season Photographer & Stylist Leah Omonya Haven’t you heard? Orange is the new black. Forget the LBD (little black dress), Spring/ Summer 2015 is all about its much bolder and we might add, much cuter cousin, the LOD (little orange dress). Citrus shades from amber and apricot to tangerine and orange peel are the order of the day and let’s be honest, after the long winter nights all our wardrobes are in serious need of a colour injection. With bold shades like orange, there is always the fear of looking like you got lost on the way to the rave or worse, looking like you’re part of the health and safety staff, but don’t fear, we’ve scoured the look books and come up with some tips so you’ll be working this fiery shade all summer long. Also, the idea that you can’t wear orange if you’re blessed with copper coloured locks is nonsense. Just ask stunning Hollywood starlet Emma Stone who, as always, is ahead of the trends and has been seen rocking the citrus shade numerous
times on the red carpet. A great way to incorporate orange into your wardrobe is with a patterned shirt. Try a white shirt with a busy pattern in orange such as a small floral design or even a paisley if you’re feeling bolder. Team with blue jeans, brown brogues and a rucksack for a fresh spring vibe. This look won’t be too bright for your seminars and will look great when you’re relaxing in the sunshine in the square as the days get longer. For a full-on spring feeling, team the shirt with a high-waisted skirt in a soft mint shade. Go for a full-bodied below the knee length, for instant garden-party vibes or a pencil skirt for a sultrier look. Wear with wedges and an oversized cocktail ring in sapphire blue or emerald green to create the perfect look for visiting friends and family this spring. Jumpsuits are also a great way to wear orange on a night out. To keep the chill off
Model Fiona Roden
team with a black leather jacket for ultimate chic and to complete the look, wear with black chunky heels and let the jumpsuit do all the talking. Gold accessories always work well with orange shades. It might seem like an obvious pairing but the simplest long length gold chain or chunky bangle can really pull an outfit together. A big dilemma faced by the discerning fashionista when wearing the colour orange, is ‘What can I wear it with’? My answer, twin it with purple. Orange and purple, much like cookies and cream, is a match made in heaven. We’re talking pair your tangerine with bold violet tones, purples which pack a punch. This could be in the form of plum coloured lipstick – take a leaf out of the Kardashians book – or even a purple scrunchie, an accessory I am a total convert to! Steer clear of softer lilac shades as they won’t do your citrus style any justice. Wooden accessories also really compliment a
pop of orange (and purple) so try a chunky bangle in a dark wood alongside slim gold bracelets to mix things up this season. Orange really comes into its own when you pick it in a textured fabric, try it in crushed velvet, soft suede and even lace. If you’re fully infatuated with this peachy palette, there are even leather jackets to be had in this essential shade. The humble clutch needs a mention here too. A well-chosen clutch is a great way to introduce any new shade into your wardrobe. In my opinion, one can never have too many handbags, and besides, the right clutch will complement and enhance what you’ve already got in your wardrobe but is just enough of a hint to pull it into this season. It also has the added benefit of not breaking the bank! I am a self-confessed orange addict, it’s such a fun shade to wear so enjoy incorporating it into your wardrobe, it will keep the exam blues away and besides, it’s almost summer time!
arts words spoken, words transformed
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MELISA TRUJILLO / KINGSREVIEW
Nathaniel Woo looks into the rise of the spoken words scene
If you spend your spare hours scouring through have managed to achieve ‘viral’ status. YouTube or sitting in candlelit pubs filled Performances like I Will Not Let An Exam with scarf-wearing millennials, then you have Result Decide My Fate by Suli Breaks have probably encountered the phenomenon that acquired millions of shares and views on social is spoken word poetry. But for the sake of networks like Facebook and YouTube. What those oddly ‘social’ readers out there, perhaps many of these videos have in common is their the most comprehensive definition of spoken focus on performance and production. In the word would be: that thing that’s like hip-hop case of Suli Breaks’ viral hit, the production but without the music. is structured like a music video. Filmed on Over the last few years, spoken word poetry the UCL campus, Breaks performs in front of has proven to resonate with large audiences, a cast of hoodie-wearing teenagers, with the particularly in the case of pieces like Jefferson focus of the video shifting between dramatic Bethke’s Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus, scenes that portray the poem’s narrative. a video that has acquired over twenty-nine Combined with spoken word’s typically million views on YouTube. A number of accessible language, this interest in creating a spoken word artists have even gone on to holistically sensual production is perfect for establish successful a modern audience careers that have whose need for Music has always acted as a been decorated with quick and instant commercial and supportive older sibling to spoken entertainment is word’s youthful exuberance critical acclaim, most constantly being notably the Mercury satisfied by YouTube Prize nominated Kate Tempest. Such success videos, Vine clips, and mobile apps. begs the question of what exactly it is about As a result of this production, spoken spoken word poetry that is garnering the word has the potential to be both exciting and attention of modern audiences. damaging for art and literature. With media Perhaps the main cause of spoken word and entertainment becoming increasingly poetry’s recent popularity is its suitability for digital, traditional art forms like the written new media. Along with Jefferson Bethke’s word are struggling to engage the interests of YouTube hit, numerous spoken word videos younger audiences. What spoken word poetry
has proven is that it is possible for literature and vocal cadences of the performers, but too to thrive in this digital age, and perhaps most frequently these aesthetics are used as crutches excitingly, it has opened gateways for artistic to lean on, rather than as tools to bolster the collaboration. Music has always acted as a passion that should already be self-contained supportive older sibling to spoken word’s within the words themselves. youthful exuberance, but with the young art But considering spoken word’s definition form’s growing sense of production, other as “that thing that’s like hip-hop but without members of the art family the music”, it seems necessary Spoken words has the to discuss its possible impact have started joining in potential to be both on the hip-hop industry. with the fun, whether this be through visual exciting and damaging The success of cross-over art or interpretive dance. artists like Kate Tempest and In fact, in 2012, Kate Tempest launched a Scroobius Pip suggests that spoken word fills production called Brand New Ancients, which a gap in the hip-hop market, particularly the involved collaboration between spoken word British market. Specifically, this is a gap of and theatrical performance. But with this socially conscious hip-hop. focus on performance, what is happening Whilst in the US, socially conscious artists with the language of spoken word poetry? like Tupac, Nas and most recently Kendrick Unfortunately, this is where the art form Lamar have always been prevalent, the British declines. Though not always the case, the hip-hop market has been overcrowded with language of spoken word is generally over- the more trivial, fun-loving Grime scene that simplistic, relying predominantly on clichés gave birth to the likes of Dizzee Rascal and and basic rhyme schemes. Whilst this language Lethal Bizzle. is more accessible, this accessibility comes at A British hip-hop movement focused on the price of imaginative writing. Listeners social commentary has been significantly are rarely treated with unique imagery or missing. Could it therefore be up to spoken extended metaphor, and spoken word fails word poets to inspire the filling of this socially to convey the meaningful sense of shape that conscious gap? Works like Scroobius Pip’s can be seen in written verse. The passion of Letter From God, a song that does exactly as spoken word is found in the facial expressions its title indicates, would certainly suggest so.
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changing focus
THEDRAWBRIDGE
Luc Camp looks at the innovation of methods in photography
It now is not even necessary to possess a camera to document the action, or to even take the best photographs. The leading campaign for the Apple Iphone 6 is the quality of photographs its in-built camera is able to take, with the results being blown up to billboard size from London to New York. This ability to capture the world from your pocket has democratized photography to a completely new level. Has a broadening of the methods of image capture and photographic representation helped to define photography’s role as an art form? It seems that the point where photographers had to fight to have their images defined as art was won a long time ago, with
artists such as Wolfgang Tillmans winning awards such as the Turner Prize in 2000. But is photography remaining defined by its tools of production, and does it need to? Mishka Henner was shortlisted for the Deutsche Borse Photography prize in 2013 for a photography project completely removing the need for the camera, instead tackling his subject using GoogleMaps. For his series No Man’s Land, Henner initially worked on a project with his partner Liz Lock looking into street prostitution, discovering that this trade was visible and accessible through searches on Streetview in Googlemaps to pinpoint specific locations. For his exhibition Henner displayed
images captured directly from Googlemaps. than to present the conventional method of Although he didn’t win, he highlights a forward photojournalist image capturing. thinking direction for photography, as well as Digital equipment constantly retains its highlighting how these new technologies in ties to the history of photography, with the photography are being used, for better or for sound of the mechanical shutter being added worse. in to camera-phones and digital cameras, with The lack of need for a camera is not a new apps and filters which allow us to replicate the thing, historically Man Ray created Pictograms, effects of analogue cameras, whether using affecting photographic paper directly to create Instagram, Hipstamatic or the Polaroid app to dream-like images left by the silhouettes create these. Its ability to capture and distribute and impressions of objects placed on the breaking news stories is revolutionary and paper. More recently the proliferation of image in 2008 collaborative production allows for “Is photography duo Broomberg and editing on-the-go, but Chanarin used the remaining defined by its for some photographers exposure of photographic tools of production - and it removes the skill and paper to highlight the ‘decisive moment’ required does it need to?” documentation of war in analogue photography in Afghanistan in the and is why the analogue artwork The Day Nobody Died. Posing under film camera remains an integral part of some the guise of documentary photographers, the photographers’ practice. artists took a 50metres long by 76.2cm wide It seems that a discussion about the piece of photographic paper and exposed it variant methods of production and use to the sun for 20 seconds on their fifth day in are becoming more prevalent in defining Afghanistan, the day after the casualties peaked contemporary photography than specifically at 100. The process of image making was to whether a photographer conforms to the use ‘bear witness’ to the landscape of combat rather of ‘traditional’ photographic methods.
coming to a city near you... Lucinda Swain explores the growing migration of artists away from the big cities Artists traditionally follow a bohemian lifestyle, moving to the big city, favouring cheap accommodation and low-cost studios. But with the prices rising in the most desired, artistically renowned cities such as London, New York, Venice and Paris, it is encouraging artists to stray from the conventional path and instead build networks across the world. With struggling artists heading to smaller cities, it has allowed a greater artistic presence to flourish. Creativity means thinking outside the box, and as Henri Matisse famously wrote ‘Creativity takes courage’. With the advancements in social media it has made it possible for creative minds to share ideas and work from all over the world, allowing a more unified and collective approach which is not necessarily reliant on geographical proximity. With artists looking for internships or work that will most likely be unpaid, it bars artists with no financial means from the more expensive cities. Although in the more costly cities such as San Francisco, there are some opportunities for those who are constrained financially. Nick Morris, UEA
exchange student from SF says ‘To the East is fast becoming recognised for its painting, in Oakland the art scene couldn’t be more photography, pop-up performances and for vibrant. Artists who can’t afford to live in the housing one of the largest contemporary art City cross the bridge and set up shop in the museums in the world. It has been labelled the Town. Artists have continually been giving ‘unearthed gem in the Northeast’. Oakland new life.’ And no doubt those living Austin, Texas another cheaper alternative in an artistically renowned city do benefit from to the bigger cities, accommodates new tech the atmosphere and life in the community. ‘The and art communities, and is quickly becoming Bay Area has a vibrant art known for its music scene scene. In San Francisco “Maybe it’s time for a with the city’s unofficial you have famous artists motto being ‘Keep It Weird’ rethink, to cast off the alluding to its unique and galleries including the SFMOMA (SF culture. Portland, Oregon notion of following a Museum of Modern Art). prescribed path to the another cheaper artist’s You also have the Legion retreat is becoming popular bigger cities” of Honor showcasing with graduates for giving fine art from all over the them and their studios a world. San Francisco boasts a vibrant street chance to prosper. Also, it hosts an eclectic scene, especially in the Haight neighbourhood selection of exhibitions and concerts. where you can walk alleys painted with mural Chattanooga, Tennessee and Pittsburgh, after mural.’ Pennsylvania are both renovating abandoned Other less prominent cities that now have buildings into inexpensive art and performance flourishing art scenes prove the art world is spaces which is causing a great number of ever moving and expanding. North Adams, young artists to flood into those areas. In Massachusetts with its cheap accommodation England smaller cities such as Norwich, have
been heralded for their Contemporary art scene. With it’s fantastic Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts, Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Mandell’s Gallery, South Asian Decorative Arts & Crafts Collection Trust and myriad of smaller venue, it goes to show that an artists’ community can evolve anywhere, if encouraged. Norwich is a great city for the arts; in May 2012 it was designated as England’s first UNESCO City of Literature. Norwich celebrates the arts also with its hugely popular Norfolk and Norwich Festival. The city is noteworthy for its live music, concerts and theatrical performances. The Norwich Arts Centre has a prosperous music scene which contributes significantly to its great music reputation. So maybe it is time for a rethink, to cast off the notion of following a prescribed path to the bigger cities and to look for somewhere less expensive and original. Avoiding the cities where ambition is exploited; where an artist can have the chance to flourish and evolve, without being hampered by greater expectations of earlier financial success.
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Now look around your tiny room / And tell me that you haven’t got the power. Paul Farley, ‘The Power’
The creative writing theme for this issue was MOMENTS OF GREATNESS. Read all of the names on these pages - these are the people who check their emails over Easter and then actually write something. Or, at least, dig out something old and give it a dusting. Hooray for these people! Shake their hand when you see them next. Jake Reynolds
Murmuration Hermann Kermit Warm Show them it’s more than just a migration as your wings blur together like wood grain, climbing in the scream of a murmuration. The black dome sways like a giddy decoration against the white sky, dangerous as a stain; show them it’s more than just a migration,
Olduvai Carlo Saio
walking the old plain passages of the sky, you hold the air; hang your chalking talons in the lair of the sky-sand gyre and letters are left there, to cycle the wind and carve and curve, to converge in the raptor’s vortex while I circle the core of things; fly wide, miss my mark watch the centre untether like a feather, tickles the blue out of the wistful sky as it gently rocks its way down only to fall and rest and form the nest within which to become whole once more, to gather in the wind, I gathered and unfurl and hurl, headlong into the power of my windswept mind, that pushed to the edge, plummets from the thermals of itself to embrace the rush of the dive, the seconds where you become apart and hold the unknown for a little while
that it’s something new, future aviation, a world purged of the dirt churned by the plane, climbing in the scream of a murmuration. Be concave then convex, show them inflation then take it away as quickly as it came; show them it’s more than just a migration. Withhold hibernation and form a constellation in the darkness, and give the stars a name, climbing in the scream of a murmuration,
WIKI
become a gun in the transformation of feathers, flock together, take aim: show them it’s more than just a migration, climbing in the scream of a murmuration.
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Gimme Shelter
Their plane is his to board
Sean Harbottle
Carlo Saio
i’m leaving tomorrow. hundreds of people in my hometown and you were the only person here I hoped to hear say farewell. firstly - no, I don’t hate you for going back to him. I still think he’s an abusive sack of shit, but I guess he’s your abusive sack of shit. I know you said that no man is an island, that you needed to be there for him. but at the moment you seem landlocked. that ship has sailed my love, and not all souls are worth saving. no i’ll admit, he seemed nice at first. but when cracks began to show, you tried to repair him, to sew together a perfect life together. you always said your moment of greatness was weaning him off the drug problems. that was the first sign - it was always a ‘problem’. but he wasn’t rich - I don’t want to be horrible, but the rich have drug ‘problems’. the less fortunate have drug addictions, so perhaps I relate to the fucker on some level. but I revile him. he rewrote your vibrancy and humanity with his falling fists and his heavy hands that molded you into his ‘cool girl’. he turned to drink, which is only a little better than junk, for the record. but he was careful. he told you he loved you everyday in the morning. no-one noticed until your makeup became more pronounced. until your sleeves became longer, until you swapped a loose skirt for jeans. when you started having nosebleeds and told me you dreamt your teeth were falling out. you escaped after one careless day, he forgot to plaster on your makeup. I saw it all. every blood vessel led astray by his vices and that spontaneous nature you said you adored. do you remember the first time you came over during the christmas break? you wore my old stones t-shirt like one of the bruises you said he would give you after coming home drunk from tumbling dice. you intercepted my initial advance, arguing that experimentation was reserved for university, and that you hadn’t gone. but your leg crossed the plateau of my sheets, and you must have known you were getting into unrecorded territory. you breathed through the arches in my spine. you never kissed with tongues, and I loved you for that. you were so gentle, graceful, giving nothing less than sweet intimacy.
but you went back - i’m bitter and biased, I know - but cheating isn’t the right word for it. betrayal? possibly. it’s worse - you killed something, our thing, when you left. did you even like me? perhaps you just wanted a plan b - but no, you’re greater than that. I have to go back to uni. and things will fall apart. they always do. and I can’t always perform the role of the confidant, nor the carefree lover, nor the caring listener. you must be your own understudy. you might have to be your own white knight. and the truth is with your return, you swapped a side role in a home for the lead in cold house. maybe when I last saw you I would’ve said your moment of greatness was survival. a human instinct inherent to your being. how else would you have held so fast with a man who made you his fetish? who fought you just as much as he fucked you. or maybe I would have said your moment of greatness was when you left him. when you realised the extent of his manipulative tendencies, gathered your doubts and your courage within your battered being and yelled out ‘gimme shelter’. but that’s not true. not now, anyway. you are all greatness. no moments. and I think you know that he doesn’t think that way. you are a wild beast. please don’t pity his puppy dog eyes when he calls you back in, leashes you, domesticates you. you were born to live as a human, not die as a dog. you deserve greater than that. and you don’t need me to tell you that anymore. you know where I am.
devil cat up and boarded a plane, took flight in the effluvium caught sometime in the cloud of our bird’s eye mind he lit a cigarette; cloud plume spume fiddles and fills like his brief case brim spills loaded pills, that the skychains don’t even want to find them as theirs Giants swat above the city steeps great minds pick at the picnic of his one for every day
in his week
sometimes, when they come to see him, he picks them apart like toy trains of his infantile thought: each one the same each one the same until they believe it sometimes, when they come to see him, their flailing arms silence in their regression onto him how many fall in the simmer haze of refraction in reflection? all about devil cat they lay wandering over themselves in the suspended heat of his despair “It must be effluvium caught in the clouds” they say but they know he is up there and will never come down, such is the law of the gravity they created in weighing him
P.S. sorry for the ‘gimme shelter’ bit. awful metaphor. I just really like the stones. I really liked you. with hope, the other woman. x
Microfictions
Submit your own to @miniaturestory on Twitter He asked me to marry him. I said I’d only marry for love, not just so he could stay in the country. A week later he married my best friend.
HUSTINGS
TUESDAY 14TH APRIL
6PM - LT2
gaming + tech
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APPLES COURTESY OF HD WALLPAPER
thin justifications George Pegler reviews the new, much-hyped Macbook Pro A few months ago, at a dinner party for a 21st birthday, the conversation strayed to mobile phones. Sitting across the table was an Apple employee, brandishing his iPhone 6 Plus. When asked to sell the iPhone to us, he replied, “I don’t need to, it sells itself ”. Here then, is the ‘Apple paradox’. Now the world’s most profitable company, they’ve become complacent in their product development, knowing arrogantly that their products will always sell. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Apple brand. I own a 15 inch MacBook Retina Pro and an iPad Air 2 and I couldn’t be happier with either of my purchases. However, I’ve recently become skeptical of Apple, and this was amplified by the recent announcement of the new MacBook 2015. Starting at £1049, and attempting to bridge the gap between the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro, this new addition to the MacBook ‘family’
has a stunning retina display at 221ppi, and a long awaited Broadwell M processor. This has allowed the MacBook to be built fan-less, with an ‘all day’ battery life. Sounds impressive? Well, as a comparison, the new Dell XPS 13 (£915) has a QHD display with 276ppi and a superior Intel Core i7 p r o c e s s o r. So how can Apple charge £130 extra for a seemingly inferior device? This boils down to two factors: design and prestige. The new MacBook is thin, the thinnest MacBook yet. But let’s not forget, it isn’t the thinnest laptop on the market. Apple is getting to the point where their products are as slim as our justifications for convincing our parents to buy them. This new MacBook is reminiscent of a concept car – fantastic to look at, but has little practical function beyond showcasing design and technology. Though a weight of 0.92kg is very impressive and unbelievably slim, this has come at a cost. One solitary USB-C
port. Kudos to Apple for using USB-C, it is undoubtedly the future. However, in building products for tomorrow’s consumer where everything will be wireless, Apple have failed to accommodate for the present, where wires do still exist. Consequently, users will be unable to watch a DVD and charge this MacBook simultaneously, never mind backing it up to an external hard drive. Apple should have followed Google in providing two USB-C and two regular USB 3.0 ports. So why should you buy one? Well aside from the gimmicky features such as ‘butterfly’ keys and a new Force Touch trackpad, there are few justifications to come from a hardware upgrade. You’ll get many onlookers drooling over it in the UEA library, but even they’ll say “yeah you can tell it’s the new one; the Apple logo doesn’t light up”. If you’re into gaming or running multiple applications, consider the Dell XPS 13, and use the money you’ve saved to have a night on the town to celebrate your sound judgment. (All prices and specs are correct at time of print)
gaming festive! Tom Bedford takes a look back at the biggest event in the Norfolk gaming calendar For six days from the 6th - 11th of April, the Forum was taken over by Norwich Gaming Festival. If, like me, you had never heard of the NGF until recently, you missed out on a lovely surprise. For a week it played host to a variety of talks, exhibitions and events right here in our own city centre. The Norwich Gaming Festival started last year, working with the Norfolk Indie Game Developers to advocate gaming. It’s advertised as a family event, and many of the games publicised are family-oriented. The three purposes of the festival are to entertain, with game showcases and talks to promote, exhibit the talent of the local games industry in the East of England, and to educate; showing the
processes and skills used in game creations. NGF focuses on promoting smaller, local games and developers and their hard work. Games will be shown on the 6th to the 9th. Many indie games were shown, covering a broad spectrum of the gaming industry. Examples include Biome, a simulation featuring time travel to explore different locations. Forgotten Ball, a 2.5D puzzle/ platform game with varying experiences for players. Illuminascii, a FPS that brings randomly-generated content to a whole new level, or Nature’s Zombie Apocalypse, a zombie game with an interesting twist. For visitors uninterested in indie games, or those that played all the indie games on show
during their first days at the festival, Ubisoft solo developer on a game, and Dan Pearce also brought games to exhibit that you may discussing how he created his first game, have already heard of, such as Rayman Legends, 10 Second Ninja. Saturday featured more Child of Light and Valiant Hearts. It was great talks, one with Laura Dale talking about to see them bringing some of their relatively her experiences as a games journalist (so you smaller games, keeping know who went there!), “The three purposes of in spirit with the as well as Mark Johnson other indie games that the festival are to entertain, talking about procedural were showcased, even generation and if it could to exhibit the talents of be used for abstract though many were the local games industry, concepts. holding their breath for Assassin’s Creed: There were numerous and to educate” Ziggurats. additional events occuring There were some talks, too, from people over the six days and, honestly, it would have working in the gaming industry. Friday saw been crazy to spend your Easter in Norwich Nicoll Hunt talking about working as a and not head down to take a look.
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American highs The best of America, courtesy of Hannah Ford rise of the “midseason finale” before a hiatus during the desolate, empty schedules of winter TV (the real influence behind the House Stark’s gloomy “Winter is Coming” motto), to keep you desperate to see what happens next (if it’s TWD, there’s a very high chance your favourite will die. Still not over Hershel. Cry). Even after you spent months waiting for How to Get Away with Murder to return after its brilliant cliff-hanger of a midseason finale, you’ve quickly got to go through it all again with the painful year long wait after that season finale: double the cliffhangers, double the anticipation – our addictions are alive and well. TWD, GoT, and others may have the lavish special effects, costumes and locations, but it’s the plight of a normal high school chemistry teacher whose life is turned upside down after a cancer diagnosis which beats all the dragons and zombies money can buy. At first, he just wanted to make some money for his family after his possible death, and to pay his treatment (see what happens when you don’t have an NHS, America?) In a world that had treated him so badly, we could all feel sympathy for him, even root for him. So when, as the seasons progressed, Walter White’s Heisenberg persona took over and he became increasingly selfish and evil, those who’d seen his “journey” couldn’t hate him completely. This incredible transformation of character influenced other dramas, and now many characters in American dramas become “Heisenberged” over the course of the seasons, keeping the fans hooked. The Walking Dead’s Carol, for example, has transformed from a meek and abused wife into a seriously fierce, independent badass. Who says TV has no good female role models? With the dramatic increase in the quality of American dramas in the last decade, American TV networks have perfected the formula for incredible, addictive drama. We might as well give in to our addictions and binge-watch box set after box set – after all, it would be a crime to let all that amazing drama go unwatched. Let’s just hope Mad Men ends like Breaking Bad , with an amazing finale which does the entire show justice: because when we’ve spent so much time watching, talking about, and being totally obsessed with a show, having a rubbish finale is kind of a slap in the face. DEXTER. WIKI
The American drama Mad Men premiered the first of its final seven episodes in the UK last Thursday on Sky Atlantic, bringing Don Draper’s ad agency into the 1970s. After six and a half seasons over eight years, the show has become increasingly popular here in Britain and will surely go down as a classic. Mad Men is just one of many American dramas us Brits have become addicted to in the last decade, with some of the most popular TV dramas in Britain being imports from across the Pond: The Wire, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, and countless others. So why are American dramas so popular here? And, if it is possible to pick from so many memorable and successful dramas, which American drama is the all-time best? First off, American dramas have much bigger budgets, with more money to spend on lavish special effects, costumes, and a variety of locations. This results in TV more cinematic than ever before, undoubtedly attracting audiences. The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones are just two examples of big budget, special effects packed American dramas. TWD is reported to have an average budget of $2.8 million per episode, and GoT has an incredible $6 million per episode. Hundreds of extras in intense zombie make-up and CGI dragons don’t come cheap, after all. It isn’t just the big budgets that make American dramas so great. Another reason is the length of each season of the show; on average, US dramas have around fifteen episodes per season, compared to much fewer, around six, for British dramas. Take one of the most popular British dramas, Sherlock. The show may have run for three seasons, but with a mere three episodes per season, the entire Sherlock box-set takes substantially less time to watch than just one season of an average American drama. Unlike in America, where TV networks will produce two or three flagship dramas that run at different times in the calendar, British networks tend to produce many dramas of shorter, lower budget throughout the year. This means even the most popular dramas are irritatingly short, and often not long enough to keep us hooked. American dramas seem to have some sort of superpower to keep audiences addicted. This may be partly due to the
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concrete.television@uea.ac.uk
good people do bad things Dark, moody, and new on Netflix; Bloodline by Louis Pigeon-Owen
It was always going to be tough for Netflix to follow up critically acclaimed hits like House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black with something that would not constantly be compared to them or defined by their success. In fact it turns out that Bloodline defies definition altogether. Part crime thriller, part family drama with a generous side of tragedy and a garnish of comedy, the series about the cursed, dysfunctional Rayburn family deserves a pedestal unto itself. Although the small town, big secrets idea is hardly original, the charming, destructive, pill-popping Rayburn family will hook you, drag you through murky waters and leave you breathless like the fish they catch.
Creators Glenn and Todd Kessler and Daniel Zelman (of Damages fame) were not ashamed to balance moments of startling action with long scenes of stark stillness, of which the intensity of the series can wholehearted be attributed. With Hollywood normally loathe to see a couple of seconds of silence pass by without adding a fireball or sex scene, or both simultaneously, it was refreshing to see something which made the characters tangible and gritty, and a storyline as much about the build ups as it was about the reveals. If you are looking for a programme which advances at the same break-neck pace as Breaking Bad, you might be disappointed, but as the reams of manipulation and deceit
are pulled back like layers of a giant, sadistic onion, you will find that once sucked into the Rayburn family life, you can never leave! And yes, in keeping with the obvious vegetable metaphor, there will be tears! Set in the Florida Keys, the stunning aerial pans and shots of the peaceful, crystal-blue sea clash brilliantly with scenes of the dank, broody mangroves, a contrast which helps to illustrate how hell is never more than one door down from heaven. Despite such achievements, Bloodline is not without its shortcomings. Whilst each character is complex, especially the tortured, enigmatic Danny, the family tends to drift into the cliché of releasing internal conflicts through drinking, meaningful looks into the
distance, sporadic exclamations of “Fuck!” and the punching of inanimate objects. It is also about time that voice-overs, especially when used to bang on about how tragic the end of the series is going to be, reached their expiry date. From the outset, John’s obvious lines such as “What we did to our brother, we had to do, please don’t judge us” tend to leave a bad taste, especially as the same sentiment had already been implied through the well-crafted dialogue. So the programme’s unmitigated determination to sabotage its own genius with random voice-overs is at times infuriating, it has to be said that despite coming with a couple of strings attached, Netflix has done it again, with bells on!
ding ding ding Dan Struthers referees the throwdown between Amazon and Netflix having Netflix’s massive global appeal, both have gained cult followings. The latter TV series, Alpha House, appears to be a nod towards Netflix’s House of Cards as, despite the slight similarity in title, both focus on ruthless congressmen in Washington D.C. and their consequent struggle for power. Amazon has ordered several pilots that have been met with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Zombieland, based on the 2009 zombie comedy movie of the same name, was rejected for a further TV series. Meanwhile, the American pilot of Mad Dogs, originally a British black comedy series starring John Simm and Philip Glennister (previous Life on Mars co-stars), was given a green light to make into a full American TV series. Amazon’s arrival on the scene may prove to be a threat
to Netflix particularly in light of some of Netflix’s less successful projects such as BoJack Horseman which was met with a mixed response. Netflix’s continuation of Arrested Development, after it had been previously dropped after just three series, was also met with a lukewarm response from loyal fans who had waited six years for the fourth series by Netflix. Despite these examples it is impossible to ignore the popularity of this global service which has nearly 30 million subscribers globally, a feat which Amazon Instant Video has attempted to rival upon recently signing a deal with company Epix to feature movies on their service similar to Netflix. Whilst Amazon may be an up-and-coming force to be reckoned with it may well be, in five years’ time, as influential and relevant as its older brother Netflix.
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winning House of Cards is undoubtedly one of the most ground-breaking dramas Netflix has produced. This year alone Netflix seems to have their finger on the pulse of popular culture, latching onto the triumph of the superhero franchise with Daredevil and building on the worldwide appeal of the Breaking Bad universe through distributing its hugely successful spin-off Better Call Saul. As of recent Amazon Instant Video appear to be attempting to reproduce such popularity and have funded original TV programmes such as Mozart in the Jungle, Transparent and Alpha House. The former two programmes receive rare 95% and 98% ratings respectively on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite not
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It seems almost impossible to imagine a time when Netflix was not dominating and revolutionising the way we binge-watch television and film; nevertheless it was only 6 years ago that this American giant began to offer thousands of titles and achieved a milestone of 10 million subscribers. Prior to this internet phenomenon, Blockbuster was the closest and cheapest alternative to spending a tenner on the latest film release; however due to this ‘Netflix revolution’ Blockbuster has been branded outdated and subsequently filed for bankruptcy. Within the last few years Netflix has expanded on its basic streaming of popular films and TV series by creating its own original dramas such as House of Cards, Orange Is the New Black and Marco Polo which have been greeted with success from critics and audience alike. The Golden Globe-
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concrete.film@uea.ac.uk imagine anyone else in this role. Driver (also a Baumbach alumni, with a supporting role in Frances Ha) is equally fantastic and echoes Director and Screenplay the wise-beyond-his-years character from Lena Noah Baumbach Dunham’s Girls - thankfully with a lot less Starring Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, edge- which fits perfectly. These two actors Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried together are a joy to watch: the way Josh starts Runtime 97 mins mimicking Jamie’s style, and Jamie’s reference to his older counterpart as ‘Joshie’ are some of Comedy/Drama the most subtle and hilarious beats of the film. Joe Frost Naomi Watts and Amanda Seyfried both turn in brilliant performances, but it Noah Baumbach’s seventh feature as writer and unfortunately feels that they are pushed to the director is easily one of his best works to date. background. A very funny scene where Cornelia While We’re Young is a sharp-witted comedy attends a hip-hop dance class with Darby is one about Josh (Stiller) and Cornelia (Watts) who of the only times we see them without their become rejuvenated after meeting younger partners. While this is understandable as the married couple, Jamie (Driver) and Darby story’s focus lies in Josh aiding Jamie to make a (Seyfried). documentary, it feels like a lot of opportunity Baumbach greets us with a quote from and talent has been wasted. Seyfried’s character Henrik Ibsen’s play, The Master Builder about is especially underdeveloped, which the film the dangers of doesn’t suffer from opening the door to “It’s like their apartment is full as such, but certainly youth. At this point, holds it back from its those who have of everything we once threw out” full potential. If some discovered this film of this could have by scrolling up Ben Stiller’s IMDB page from been addressed, stretching from ninety-seven the likes of Dodgeball and Meet the Fockers may minutes to two hours would have been greatly very well roll their eyes, but those familiar with welcomed. Baumbach’s work, who have been distressed by Maybe this length is just right for the film, critics lauding this as his ‘most accessible film though; it doesn’t out-stay its welcome and it ever!’ will know you’re still in safe hands. Not is perhaps this that allows it to flow between that accessibility is a bad thing of course, but its loose plot points as nicely as it does. The there is more to Baumbach’s piece than laughs, premise being quickly established, this allows us and its message about how to embrace middle to simply enjoy Baumbach’s neat observations age is what makes it so great. (a highlight being a sequence in which we see Stiller, back again with Baumbach Josh and Cornelia’s iTunes, Netflix lifestyle after 2010’s Greenberg, is on top form as juxtaposed to raucous effect with the charming documentary filmmaker Josh and it’s hard to but almost sickeningly hipster VHS-watching
Director Ari Sandel Screenplay Josh A. Cagan Starring Mae Whitman, Bella Thorne, Robbie Amell, Ken Jeong, Allison Janney Runtime 101mins Comedy Jamie Parsons The high school comedy genre features some movies that almost seem to make you forget
the sheer amount of terrible films that fall into this category. Films like Mean Girls, Easy A, and now The DUFF, all succeed in doing the very obvious, yet often overlooked, thing that all comedies must; and that is making you laugh. It would be laughable to suggest that this film compares to the cult excellence of the likes of Napoleon Dynamite, Dazed and Confused or The Breakfast Club, but The DUFF isn’t trying to be like those films. It sets itself out as a cheesy, light-hearted and amusing comedy, and it very much flourishes in these respects. It is extremely hard (read impossible) for a comedy centered around a high school outcast
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and typewriting existence of Jamie and Darby) and not worry too much about where the film is leading. That being said, it is interesting where the plot goes and how Baumbach mixes the screwball comedy elements with more dramatic ideas. Aside from the main cast, Charles Grodin as Leslie Breitbart- a critically acclaimed documentarian and Cornelia’s father- gives a stellar performance and Ryan Serhant in the very small role of ‘Hedge Fund Dave’ gives possibly one of the best performances of the film. A business-meeting scene late in the film between him and Stiller is truly laugh-outloud. It should also be noted that the soundtrack is exceptional: James Murphy (of LCD Soundsystem and just being an insanely-
gifted-musician fame) has put together a great set of songs, appropriately mixing old and new, and treat us - as with his work on Greenberg - to more original recordings of his own for the score. His instrumental version of David Bowie’s Golden Years should be particularly appreciated. Ultimately this won’t be everyone’s ideal comedy but it is a very enjoyable film and if you’re trying to introduce an obstinate friend or family member to Noah Baumbach’s work, this is likely the best place to start. Not as beautiful as Frances Ha and not as trying as Greenberg, this is indeed an accessible film but in all the right ways.
overcoming adversity to win the love of their life girl of the school was nothing new. The role of to be original. Yet despite the many tropes and the pretty bully has simply been overdone and clichés present in the film, from the archetypal needs an inventive overhaul before any actress characters present to the inevitable finale can thrive in the role as Rachel McAdams did at, you guessed it, the homecoming dance, in 2004. The rest of the ensemble all put in the film delivers them all with a refreshing adequate-to-good performances. Robbie Amell undertone of novelty. Even the self-awareness as the hunky heart-throb seemed an idle choice of these tropes has become a cliché in itself, at times, but his on-screen chemistry with but The DUFF understands that through good Whitman made up for his otherwise average humour, these repetitions can be overlooked, showing, whilst Allison Janney is superb as the although before you get carried away and begin single mother character, comically trying her to expect an onslaught of hilarious jokes, there hand at online dating for the first time. are a fair few that fall flat. We may wonder Whilst the film does often succeed in what it is about adults being funny; it also has writing for teenagers, but “Let’s talk about labels” its failings. The DUFF’s there seems to be a vast attempt to touch on disconnect between the serious matters such as the two when it comes to social media, and the breaking up of a family, but then to so quickly constant references to Facebook, Twitter and dismiss the matter, was weak; and whilst the the rest do nothing to make the film more role of Whitman can be praised, it would enjoyable or relatable to a young audience. perhaps be even more refreshing if for once Although some of the casting was the lead ‘outcast’ wasn’t in fact a genuinely predictable (read lazy), Mae Whitman as attractive female. Do we ever honestly believe protagonist Bianca was a match made in that Whitman isn’t going to turn up to heaven. As solid a performance as you can homecoming looking nothing ever hope to experience in a film of this type, but beautiful? Despite a few Whitman’s comic timing was testament to shortcomings, The DUFF her experience, and provided she keeps her is a genuinely funny and youthful looks through her late twenties, there often touching comedy is no reason for her not to be picking up the which, if seen by enough lead in more features to come. The lazy casting people, will have its primarily came in the form of the “queen bee”. place in teenage sleepover Bella Thorne as the Regina George-esque mean history.
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Lost River Director and Screenplay Ryan Gosling Starring Christina Henricks, Iain De Caestecker, Matt Smith Runtime 95 mins Drama/Mystery Louis Pigeon-Owen Slaughtered at the Cannes film festival last year, Lost River, written, directed and produced by Ryan Gosling raises the question of whether Hollywood actors are now just using film-making as an ego trip and because that is where the money is at, especially after Ben Affleck, Angelina Jolie, Ralph Fiennes and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s recent successes working behind the camera. In fact, despite such sentiment, this could not be more untrue. A film about a single mother starting work in a seedy club that specialises in fetishism and morbid performances to support her family, whilst her son explores their dilapidated suburban Detroit ghost-town and the streets submerged beneath the reservoir; this feature is startling, fantastical and sinister. Although the influences of directors Gosling has previously worked with resonate throughout, such as Nicolas Winding Refn’s incredible use of lighting in Drive and Only God Forgives, as well as Derek Cianfrance’s low
budget gritty realism of Blue Valentine, Gosling has already found a unique storytelling voice that holds its own. Fearless in his use of employing only one colour for an entire scene, Gosling has created a film that resembles a rich tapestry of the vivid brushstrokes in a Fauvist painting. To say that this film was ‘written by’ Gosling is perhaps a bit too generous here - the dialogue is sparse and almost immaterial as the story is predominantly narrated through visuals and music. What is most infuriating about the reception that Lost River received is the comment that the film is purely style over to star in his own film and hide shoddy substance, because who is this omnipotent directing beneath his chiseled good looks voice who determines what substance actually and charisma. As it is, Gosling spent three entails? An in-depth psychological character years on this project, striving to make every study? A clear element as flawlessly in beginning, middle “Somewhere over the rainbow, keeping with his vision and end? Conflict as possibly. And it paid let’s put it that way” and resolution? What off, with surreal, spectral Gosling has created scenes such as a burning is a film which refuses to tell the whole story; bicycle rolling down the street by itself, giving an outsider’s perspective of events in a lampposts from the former town poking above way that is far from shallow or superficial and the reservoir turning on of their own accord. makes the viewer feel as if they themselves are It’s like being trapped inside a luxuriously the lingering ghosts which haunt the family. elegant, macabre dream. People should be able to appreciate that this is Amongst a stellar cast, featuring Gosling’s merely a different type of story-telling which wife Eva Mendes, Christina Hendricks, Saoirse offers dark, twisted characters whose lack of Ronan and Ben Mendelsohn, it is Matt Smith backstory makes the tale all the more enigmatic as the terrifying, psychotic thug named ‘The and eerie. Bully’, who steals the show with a performance It could have been all too easy for Gosling that can best be described as a murdering, skin-
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headed, drug-fuelled version of his Doctor Who role. In an interview Gosling revealed how close to the heart this film is to him: he was raised by a single mother in a violent neighbourhood similar to the one in Lost River. The film therefore becomes much more than just a work of art, it is also a self-exploration about origins and identity. For anyone who might not be a fan of Ryan Gosling’s previous films (and shame on you wherever you are) this has none of the coarseness of his action flicks or the suaveness of his romances, it is instead something deeply disturbing and heartbreakingly tender.
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SEE YOUR TRUE COLOURS.
Becky Lamming celebrates one of the most underappreciated elements of film Colour in film is not used to its full potential – but why should it? Don’t most films just depict a real or fantasy world anyway? If the viewer considers theories of colour’s effects on mood and symbolism, a film becomes a more full experience. Like a second music track, colour in films can be used to influence emotional shifts and theme connections. Wes Anderson’s palette of mustard yellow, oranges and golds, is distinctive; you can instantly recognise a frame from his work. For Anderson, colour is a tool for immersion in a fantasy world and the themes of the movie. We associate his palette with the 70s, yet his historical placing is more ambiguous – perhaps a comment that the only reality we should be focusing on is that of his characters. Colour seems a choice of the characters in the clothes they wear, their business branding, hotel décor – a nod to their romanticism and hyperbolic personalities. This seems an intrinsic part of why Anderson is so popular among young artistic types and why his body of work serves as a gateway into the rest of art cinema. His cinema is a manifesto to live a ridiculous but selffulfilling life to make the world more colourful, a bit less modern, a bit less “tasteful” and instead your own.
Now on to red – primal connotations. In Spike Jonze’s Her (2013) Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) is recovering from a divorce. It stands out that as he regains his capacity to love he starts wearing red – a mute point? He wears red on top consistently when he hangs out with his new love interest Samantha. Samantha herself is entirely pink and appears first in a bright red glow. In flashbacks to his divorce proceedings and office work, it stands out that he is depressed in white. Therefore Samantha gives his life ‘a splash of colour’, a passion, a desire and freedom of expression that usually connects to red. Colour is such a subtle device and yet these patterns can’t be ignored, although they seem to infect the audience on a subconscious level. But if you hold an artist’s eye, these things stand out when considering the whole movie as a series of designed pictures – which it definitely is in the storyboard stage. Some directors make their device more obvious, like Antonio Antonioni with Red Desert (1964) where the protagonist’s weakening grip on reality is marked by the use of red. As she depersonalises, she becomes more strongly attuned to desire – where red appears amidst a bleak colourless landscape, there
is hope in her sexual desire, done to mirror her subconscious in unassuming objects like a wall, a bed post, steel drums. Paris, Texas (1984) also makes subtle use of red as marker of desire. When Travis takes up the search for his lover he shifts from drab brown flannels to a red shirt and cap, getting more soiled throughout until he reaches her red decorated room, lips and sweater. Their child wears red – the couples’ most stable tie has an aesthetic symbol of our hope that Travis’ desire is mutual. Surely colour can be used more ambitiously than colour palettes for the fantasy worlds of Studio Ghibli or Peter Jackson. Yet the handstencilled colour in A Trip To the Moon (La Voyage dans la Lun) (1902) is unneeded as the film’s depth of field and odd spanning of film and theatre is enough to hold attention and wonder. Metropolis (1927) and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) use pure black and white to its full effects by creating other attentions for the eye and simply using gradations of white as plot device. Caligari divides the screen and its scenery into eerie shapes – perspectives of light and distance are now made material and more angular. There are lines where there should not be to fill the frame, twisting reality. Similarly, Metropolis
uses the strongest concentration of white to achieve the effect of light emitting from the screen. Here we are as stunned as the characters who associate that white with the electricity that stirs the city. The scenery exudes the sleek modernism of the 20s, down to Man Ray style photo collage; the film is like an art gallery. When true colour film arrived and was marketed properly it was used to its full advantage in The Wizard of Oz (1939). The yellow brick road, the green witch, the blue monkeys, the emerald city… this was adapted from a bestselling novel series so Dorothy’s story isn’t gimmicky. Released at the close of the Great Depression; when Dorothy opens the front door on the technicolour Oz she is encountered with a wildly different future from her dustbowl black-and-white Kansas life. Audiences are now used to colour films, so switching to black-andwhite transports the movie far away from our contemporary reality, like in the 50s or a comic book world. But colour can be used in far more effective ways, as a device to tell the story and stir us. Does a painter use one shade? Isn’t film an art? Often audiences want escapism in a film but they mostly receive realism relocated.
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THE BIG FAT VENUE DATING CHALLENGE
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