CUB Magazine Issue 576: Renaissance

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C U B

Renaissance Edition

EDITORIAL Issue 576 Dear Reader, Our first theme of the academic year is Renaissance. Historically, this was a period of rediscovery and return to classical thought and progress. However, in more general terms, it can also refer to the revitalisation of a forgotten past or a rebirth.

University is a time for finding yourself and developing as an individual. Over the years we inevitably change numerous times, reinventing ourselves and overcoming the many obstacles life sends us. We feel that this theme is particularly pertinent during the Covid-19 pandemic. At the start of this new academic year, we are asking ourselves about the lessons we have learnt and how the hardships we have endured have forged us into better people.

As our readers, we would like to try and engage with you over this ‘new normal’ and hopefully reach a conclusion on how this era could be termed a renaissance.

One could consider the rejuvenation of civil rights movements, such as BLM, as evidence of a renaissance in racial equity and equality. Beyond these more overt examples, our articles uncover insights from street food to David Bowie, and from gender to photographic motion. If at first an article does not seem to thematically relate with renaissance, we are confident that, upon reading, it will surprise you.

Joshua Fraser and Ruby Punt Editors-in-Chief

JASMINE ROTHON Book Club Head Writer

MAISIE BECKETT Inkpot Head Writer

ISHANA RHEA RAMTOHUL Designer

HANNAH CRAGG Columns Head Writer

AMELIA ELAMRADI London Head Writer

KAROLINA WIECZOREK Designer

VANESSA PEDROSA Features Head Writer

GEMMA STOKES Music Head Writer

NABIA KIRAN Treasurer

AYESHA MIRZA Film Head Writer

IZZI HARTE Photography Head Writer

KATY MORTIMORE Identity Head Writer

RANDHI WEERASEKARA Style Head Writer

TABLE OF CONTENT 01

BOOK CLUB

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Hamlet’s Ophelia S Meyer’s Midnight Sun

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COLUMNS

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Rewilding London

F E AT U R E S

PAGE 10

The Renaissance of Fascism

04

FILM

PAGE 12

Black Lives Matter The Renaissance of Cinema

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IDENTITY

PAGE 16

The Rebirth of Gender

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INKPOT

PAGE 18

S h e l l o f Ve n u s Creation of Creativity

07

LONDON

PAGE 20

Drive-in Experiences 2020 Eat out to Help out

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MUSIC

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Is Music flourishing ?

Rebirths of David Bowie

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PHOTOGRAPHY

PAGE 28

Redifining the Self

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STYLE The power of Gen Z

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BOOK CLUB

HAMLET’S OPHELIA

Shakespeare is one of the greatest playwrights of all time, let alone Renaissance era. We associate the Renaissance with a period of discovery and rebirth.

While Shakespeare has written countless plays about monarchies, one in particular comes to my mind when I think about rebirth: Hamlet. Set in Denmark, Hamlet centres on the betrayal and ego of a King and the power of women. Shakespeare brings to us a new perception of women; one that underlines the inner strength of a woman in spite of what she is perceived to be on the outside.

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her opinion. She is a trophy Queen, someone to look beautiful beside a King.

Even Gertrude’s son has no respect for her.

F R A I L T Y T H Y N A M E I S W O M A N

This play had taken the stage in a time where Queen Elizabeth I’s reign was under scrutiny by not just England, but the entire world due to her illegitimate birth right. Acting out this play before an Elizabethan audience was risky to say the least given that it portrays the murder of a true monarch and the sycophants that twist betrayal and deceit into a new King’s court; the play highlights how enemies known and unknown - try to usurp the throne.

In the play, we see women as inferior to men; their purpose is to help the men succeed in their goals. As Gertrude strengthens Claudius’ claim to the throne, by being complicit and accepting Claudius as her husband in spite of Old Hamlet’s recent death, Ophelia too plays a role for Hamlet and Polonius. We see Hamlet’s desire to avenge his father weigh more than his love for Ophelia. We observe Ophelia act as a pawn in Polonius’ desire to climb higher up the social hierarchy, and into the new King’s favour.

Queen Elizabeth’s reign was unsteady because of two reasons. Firstly, she was illegitimate. And, secondly, she was a woman. Radicalists like John Knox believed only men to be true monarchs and desired a man on the throne. This depiction of women is seen in the play through Gertrude and Ophelia. Gertrude is a Queen consort, first by King Hamlet and later by King Claudius. Throughout the play, we see her have no voice, with the male characters showing a flagrant disregard for

As I said before, the Renaissance period was a time of discovery and rebirth. While the role of women in Hamlet would have been seen in one way, time has passed and the interpretations of Ophelia have also evolved. One new interpretation bursts into the light, in a movie on Netflix called Ophelia. In Ophelia, starring Daisy Ridley, we are able to see the entire story being told from Ophelia’s perspective.

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While, in the play, Ophelia is wronged and driven to madness and ultimately death.

The movie’s portrayal depicts her as the only sane character. There is a famous painting named ‘Ophelia’ by John Everett Millais and it captures the moment Ophelia drowns herself in the river, beautifully covered in flowers and her hair floating in the water. This painting is acted out in the movie, only Ophelia fakes her death.

In contrast to the play, where Ophelia dies due to the men in her life, in the movie, Ophelia overcomes these obstacles and puts herself first and finds her happy ending. Ophelia marries Hamlet in secret and is pregnant. When Hamlet puts his vengeance first, she runs away to safety. We witness a peaceful ending to her story.

The movie illustrates how the interpretations of women since Shakespeare’s time have changed. In the play, we are told Ophelia has committed suicide. But, in the movie, the producer creatively overcame that fact to establish female empowerment. We are once again an Elizabethan audience, only with an open mind and ready to accept and understand, and fight against the restrictions that society holds us to today. The Renaissance era was about opening people up to new ideas, and that is what Shakespeare did in his creation of Ophelia. By making Ophelia such a tragic woman driven mad by the men in her lives, he provided us with a new perspective of understanding women. While at the time some may have thought Shakespeare was simply depicting the “frailty” of women, we understand today that he was opening the eyes of those in a patriarchal society.

- TA S L I M A K H A N O M

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R e t u r n i n g t o Tw i l i g h t after a decade It was practically a decade ago that diehard (twi-hard) Twilight fans, and the rest of the world alike, said goodbye to the teen romance that shaped our formative years.

But, in the trying year of 2020, it seems as though we can’t help but rekindle our affinity for the familiar; enter Stephanie Meyer announcing the long-awaited release of Midnight Sun.

S MEYER’S MIDNIGHT SUN

But why now? In 2008, when Meyer originally began writing the retelling of her first book that spawned a franchise worth $3.3 billion, the leak of existing chapters put the book on pause indefinitely. Meyer said ‘everyone now is in the driver’s seat, where they can make judgment calls. ...

I do not feel alone with the manuscript.

And, I cannot write when I don’t feel alone’. Fast forward to 2015, Meyer began writing again, but the world’s head had been turned by E.L James’ 50 Shades of Grey (notoriously known for having started out as Twilight fan fiction, mind you).

James announced a retelling of 50 Shades, from Christian’s point of view, so once again Meyer dropped the novel. Now we find ourselves in 2020, more than a decade from when the project began, finally tasting the fruits of her labour.

I’ll be honest with you; if you don’t like Twilight, you’re going to find Midnight Sun laughable at best. Meyer’s writing style has arguably evolved since the initial 12 chapter leak of the novel. She certainly won’t be winning a Nobel Prize in Literature anytime soon, but that’s not to say this is a bad book. Whilst Meyer’s writing may be a little heavy handed here and

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there, (what was that whole bit about the mushroom ravioli being like Persephone eating the pomegranate seeds?) Midnight Sun manages to successfully combine the feelings of old and new. And, honestly, seeing the scenes we already knew, this time through Edward’s eyes, felt like a hug from your friend who took some time off abroad to find themselves. To me, Midnight Sun couldn’t have come at a better time. We were 2 months into lockdown when Meyer announced the book, with every message we got either overtly or covertly conveying the same sentiment of unprecedented times. Stepping back under the near constant cover of clouds and rain, into the small town named Forks, just made sense.

WHY IS MIDNIGHT SUN A GOOD READ?

- K AT I E B U T L E R

Perhaps, it could be said that Midnight Sun is too long. Where Twilight reaches 434 pages, it’s new opposite number is a staggering 756 (I speculate this is because Edward is awake. all the time.). But, for those of us who have watched the films on repeat over lockdown (thank you, Netflix), and avidly consumed the resurgence of Twilight memes (thank you, Twitter), it offers the safety of a well-loved story, with a sprinkling of fresh material to re-engage readers. Meyer uses Midnight Sun as an opportunity to explore the world she established all those years ago; we learn that we’re not the only ones who find Edward’s breaking and entering distasteful and unhealthy. Moreover, Bella isn’t actually the blank slate she’s made out to be in Twilight, and that Carlisle is everything Hallmark wishes they could imbue into a Christmas film. In this regard, Midnight Sun is a worthwhile read, if not only for Edward’s total and utter melodrama, then for a new narrative perspective on a beloved series.

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COLUMNS REWILDING LONDON:

The city’s green renaissance Unless you happen to find yourself in one of its expansive parks, London can feel about as far from the ‘wild’ as you can possibly get. For the most part, the only ‘wildlife’ you might see is a mouse at a tube station or (if you’re lucky) a fox scurrying around on campus. Concrete is king, and skyscrapers tower so much higher than trees could ever hope to. So, the very idea that ‘rewilding’ is being considered in parts of the city might come as a bit of a shock.

environmental recovery within these urban landscapes. Not only will these areas benefit ecosystems, but they will also provide the opportunity for water purification and improved air quality. If cities can be built with nature in mind, the detrimental impact of urbanisation can be mitigated.

Pockets of green act as carbon stores, lowering pollution levels within cities, while also providing native wildlife a habitat. In the wake of the current UK Red List of mammals at risk of extinction in this country, it is more important than ever that there are places for animals to flourish. There is no doubt that these areas of rewilding will also provide more opportunities to interact with and experience nature, which has been proven to improve mental health and environmental satisfaction. Instead of the monotonous grey of road to pavement to building, rewilding will encourage a biodiverse splash of colour to our streets.

Rewilding, a term coined by conservationist Dave Foreman back in 1990, is a process in which select areas are allowed to recover from human intervention and in essence return themselves to a state of natural balance. Usually a concept reserved for reforming formerly worked agricultural land, rewilding is now being considered as a potential tool to balance urbanisation with the preservation of wildlife. With the prediction that by 2050 the majority of the world’s population will be living in cities, how can London find equilibrium between expansion and sustainability for a green ‘renaissance’?

Re w ild in g a n d C ities: Green Inf ra s t r u c t u re The EU Commission recently released a report on their ‘Green Infrastructure Strategy’, which involves a “strategically planned network of natural and semi-natural areas” in European cities, to promote

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Rewilding and London: W h a t’s a l rea d y h a p p en in g ?

Look ing Ea st: Re wilding Mile End ?

All of this sounds amazing, sure, but is it realistic? Can the Big Smoke really go green? Well actually, it already is. ‘Wild West London’, a collaboration between London’s largest property owners and the London Wildlife Trust, is a project that seeks to encourage biodiversity within the city through a number of different outlets.

Across West London, they have installed ‘stepping stone’ areas of wild greenery between the existing parks so that birds, bees, bats and everything in between can easily migrate from place to place. Rooftop allotments and ‘homes for bees’ are also encouraging insects to make the city their home. While we might not all be the biggest bug fans, they act as both pollinators and an essential source of food for birds and small mammals.

It may come as a surprise that there are several rewilding projects right on Queen Mary’s doorstep in Tower Hamlets. The nature reserves at Mudchute Park and Farm and Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park provide large swathes of land for all sorts of flora and fauna to flourish. Both Mile End and Victoria Park are also undergoing work for ‘biodiversity enhancement’, including the development of naturally formed meadows and new wooded areas.

Simple acts like leaving dead wood or leaves instead of removing them are also giving insects and fungi more secure habitats around the parks.

More widespread across the city is the ‘London’s Living Landscapes’ initiative.

Like ‘Wild West London’, the project seeks to connect fragmented green and blue (water) areas to create a network of wild spaces within the city. Additionally, the movement seeks to connect Londoners with their local green spaces in order to boost awareness for the cause and demonstrate just how beneficial nature can be to our everyday lives.

The land bridge over Mile End Road is also an extremely important and unique piece of architecture, providing a crucial path over the busy road for small mammals and waterfowl to pass over safely. These pockets of wilderness give hope to the idea that green infrastructure is possible, that our cities can thrive alongside nature.

Sustainability is all about balance. It’s clear that we can’t go on with massive urbanisation, without the natural balance of ecosystems, and rewilding is by far one of the lowest cost ways of achieving this.

These projects will allow for a long-lasting impact on the city, but we need more of them, across larger areas, so that every section of grey is in equilibrium with an area of green. London’s rebirth through green infrastructure and rewilding will consolidate its place in a sustainable future.

- JESS MCDONALD

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F E A T U R E S

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THE RENAISSANCE OF

In today’s politically polarised climate, there are plenty of groups that are antagonistic to one-an-other. Two of the most conspicuous and dramatic of these groups are the alleged fascists (though you are unlikely to hear anyone refer to themselves as such) and the anti-fascists or ‘antifa’. You are likely to have seen the latter of these in the mainstream media. The former you have probably come across in a history textbook. But, why is there now a movement whose main goal is to prevent the existence of fascism? Is this, in itself, evidence of a resurgence of fascism? That is a hard question to answer, with any degree of certainty at least. Nonetheless, I will endeavour to elucidate the reasoning of those who argue that fascism is reappearing and, at the very least, prove that we should be questioning the realities of our current political climate. However, before discussing 21st century fascism, it is prudent to address what fascism is and examine its origins.

The root of the word fascism is often attributed to the Roman ‘fasces’. The fasces was a bundle of sticks, usually with an axe at its centre, that symbolised power and jurisdiction, typically carried by a Roman civil servant, known as a lictor. The etymology of the word Fascism is apt, given the political ideologies’ geographical origin: 1920s Italy. It is often stated that fascism arises in times of pandemonium and strife, which was the case in post-WWI Italy.

During WWI, Italy had sided with the allied powers. Like the other victorious nations, Italy was granted reparations in the form

of land concessions. However, a growing number of Italians felt that Italy was entitled to more; they envisioned a modern Roman empire. When the other allied powers denied these expansionist dreams, Italian thinkers termed this ‘la vittoria mutilata’, ‘the mutilated victory’. It was upon this perceived national slight that Benito Mussolini built his fascist campaign, and subsequent casus belli.

What is the true de finition of ‘Fa scism ’ ?

There is much debate over what actually constitutes fascism. Historian John Lukacs, for example, states that generic fascism does not exist, instead arguing that fascism is an umbrella term for different types of populism (a political approach that strives to address and satisfy the desires of the common, disenfranchised, people). Indeed, notable individuals, such as J.Edgar Hoover, have even described communism as ‘red fascism’. Despite the academic discord on the true definition of fascism, an unofficial working definition has emerged from historian Stanley G. Payne. Payne’s definition consists of three components: that, for an organistion to be fascist, it (a) must be anti-liberal, anti-communist and anti-conservative; (b) it must have the ‘goal’ of creating a nationalist dictatorship that aims to regulate the economic structure and social relations within a modern cultural society, with the ultimate aim of creating an empire; (c) it utlises a propagandistic political aesthetic of romatic symbolism, mass mobilisation,

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FASCISM just violence, masculinity and charismatic authoritarian leadership. Payne succinctly summarises these elements as: (a) ‘fascist negations’, (b) ‘fascist goals’ and (c) ‘fascist style’. We must also be careful to recognise that, like other ideologies, there is a diversity among fascist movements. However, their core aspects typically align under Payne’s definition.

What makes the question of a fascist comeback so difficult to answer is the current political zeitgeist and fascism’s unsettling history. Similar to J.Edgar Hoover’s misuse of fascism to describe communism, the word fascism is often used pejoratively, with political parties or individuals incorrectly labelled as fascists. Correspondingly, fascist organisations and persons may express their beliefs covertly, rather than openly. Therefore, accurately identifying fascists can be difficult. Furthermore, there is the issue of deciding on a suitable metric with which to judge the alleged return of fascism. Media representation and popular belief can be greatly embellished, and so are not accurate measures. Polling data can also be a red herring, as getting participants to both correctly and honestly identify themselves as fascists would be difficult. Moreover, the process of deciding on what constitutes a fascist opinion is both contentious and over-reliant on potentially biased value judgments. Even when using Paynes’ definition, there is a blurry line between a facist political opinion and a simply xenophobic or populist one. Compounding this, there is no existing percentage of ‘fascist individuals’, so change over time cannot be measured.

Therefore, a more sensitive, though necessarily less accurate, approach may be required. Simply put, are we able to see the roots of fascism? The short answer is yes. We see these foundations in the last facet of Payne’s definition. This ‘fascist style’ of propagandistic romantic symbolism is best inspected through the lens of palingenetic ultranationalism. This concept revolves around the idea of a nation attempting to achieve national rebirth, usually centred around an ultranationalist ‘good’ and an anti-nationalist ‘bad’ conspiracy. This ‘palingenetic myth’ typically promises either a return to previous ideals, such as ‘making *the nation* great again’ and ‘taking back control’. Historically, these ideals were taken to the exterme in Nazi Germany, with the drive to restore the mythic fatherland and aryan race. Correspondingly, the fabricated conspiracy, used to explain the failures of this professed ‘superior race’, was met with the holocaust.

RACE At this juncture, it may appear that I am implying similitude between the Trump administration, Brexit campaign and the Nazis; this is not the case. Rather, embracing Griffin’s theories, there is at play a ‘fascist minimum’: the point which a countries’ nationalism must reach in order to support a fascist government. In other words, we are potentially at a stage where the ambient nationalism in the west could very well metaphorise into fascism.

It is almost impossible to predict whether we will see the purported tentacles of fascism recede or advance. Either way, it is a possibility worth considering - if the populist nationalistic rhetoric we see today is anything approaching a canary in the coal mine.

- J O S H UA F R A S E R

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FILM BLM IN FILMS

The latest project by the N a t i o n a l Yo u t h a c a d e m y

The National Youth Film Academy endeavours to ‘locate, nurture and promote the very best young filmmakers and actors in the UK’. At a time when we are witnessing the biggest worldwide revival in the fight for racial justice since the civil rights movement, the NYFA’s latest project is a celebration of UK black creatives, aged 16-25, within the film industry. More than that, however, its project ignites a discussion about diversity in film.

The film industry has consistently been under fire, with underrepresentation and stereotypical portrayals staining their usual Hollywood glamour. However, this is possibly one of the first times we have witnessed them cave to pressure. Where in 2015 #OscarsSoWhite could not shake the Academy, recent demonstrations across the globe have pushed them to reveal new diversity requirements for nominees of the best picture award. Although, this is due to take effect in 2024. As early as 2013, people were asking why the BAFTAs were dominated by white performers, with Lenny Henry rightly pointing out that ‘these shouldn’t just be niche programmes, they must be about things we can all relate to.

We’re an inclusive nation. It’s time to make some inclusive programmes.’ This year, the British Film Institute even reported that, following their Diversity Standard Guidelines issued in 2016, ‘change is too slow and […] there is more work to be done’, particularly in regards to diversity and ethnicity across film crews.

These guidelines have also been adopted by Film4, BBC Films and the UK branch of Paramount. Diversity has long been an issue in film and television. The National Youth Academy is seeking to address this,

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with their founder Rob Earnshaw saying that the programme will be ‘an opportunity to make a real change’, and that he hopes the NYFA can address ‘the lack of diversity within our industry [… and] be at the forefront of efforts to change that’.

Opened on August 27th, #BLMF is a free programme run by the NYFA for young black and mixed black people interested in a career in any aspect of film, whether that be directing, composing scores or acting. In doing so, they are offering a voice and new opportunities to the future filmmakers across the nation. With the NYFA already having working relationships with household brands, such as Warner Bros, the BBC, Sky One and MIRAMAX, they have also hosted mentors from notable franchises such as Harry Potter, Star Wars, X-Men, and more locally the Inbetweeners. These resources offer a genuine opportunity to gain valuable experience and connections within the industry.

Interviews and auditions for roles will begin in November this year, with a press launch next April, and filming to be confirmed throughout 2021.

Partnered with Odeon, ProCam and Crowdfunder, the film’s production and screening will be entirely paid for, with the film ultimately being screened by Odeon in London in November 2021. For further information, or to register your interest, visit the National Youth Film Academy’s website for Black Lives Matter in Film.

BLACK LIVES MATTER - K AT I E B U T L E R

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THE RENAISSANCE OF CINEMA

As parts of the world gradually ease out of total lockdown, question marks loom over the future of cinema. Increasingly, there’s a worrying sensation that, for cinema, the question is if, not when, things can return to the pre-Covid status quo. Cinema ticket prices have gone through the roof, but social distancing measures and the reluctance of audiences to potentially risk their lives sitting together in a darkened cinema still mean that ticket revenue will inevitably be lower. As a result, people have turned increasingly towards streaming services in order to purchase and watch films, a method that, for all its modern efficiency, lacks the scale, quality and conviviality of a trip to the local cinema.

It has become increasingly apparent that cinema is not going to tie us all together in a spirit of fortitude, as it did during the last remotely comparable (in terms of scale at least) crisis, the Second World War. 1939 is known as Hollywood’s Golden Year, and, at least in the western world, cinemas were famously packed throughout the

conflict, as people sought solace from harsh realities. But post-Second World War Hollywood cinema was markedly different from that of wartime – gone were the lively, funny female stars of the 30s, whether in the mould of Mae West or of Carole Lombard; they were replaced by more prim male stars (Charlton Heston, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Stewart: openly politically conservative, and known for playing more traditional roles), in more serious, or at least straight-faced, movies in which women went back to the kitchen.

The political change that came about as the liberalism of Roosevelt was replaced by the grim slog of McCarthyist politics in the late 40s and 50s was mirrored in Hollywood (notable 50s director Elia Kazan, known for On The Waterfront, assisted The House Un-American Activities Committee by denouncing colleagues, as did Walt Disney and Ronald Reagan).

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Or perhaps we will now relive a response similar to the one that took place in the aftermath of the First World War (and indeed of the 1918 flu pandemic); the situation was different again, perhaps in part because cinema was a relatively new medium at the time. Of course today’s crisis is not directly comparable, because of the advances we have made in those hundred-odd years in the fields of cinema and of medicine. In the 1920s and 30s, German expressionist cinema blossomed; French cinema, although financially very hard-hit, produced such masterpieces as La Grande Illusion, and Hollywood cinema boomed; many technical and narrative innovations and experiments were made, and audiences grew. Films became more daring, more revolutionary – cinema progressed more in terms of format and story from 1920 to 1940 than it did in the forty years before, and probably than it has in the eighty years since.

Pa nd e m ic e f fect on C in ema?

Will today’s pandemic lead to a political reaction in the world of cinema, a feeling that certain themes have become taboo, or can only be represented in a very one-dimensional way (as happened after the 9/11 attacks)? Will the creative elements of cinema regress, as filmmakers play it safe?

Or, will the problems faced by artists in the film business be more technical, or budgetary, as they try to cut costs? A film slowed down by a pandemic is technically alone, a huge inconvenience, with casting double-bookings, shooting conflicts, location restrictions… all providing challenges and fruitless expense. For big-budget movies such as Avatar 2 or Mission Impossible 7, the problems

are surmountable (shooting for the latter has restarted in space, and for the former in New Zealand, a country that has almost brought Covid 19 under control), if inconvenient; for films with smaller budgets, and the people who make them, the unforeseen difficulties this pandemic has brought might signal the end of many burgeoning and worthwhile productions.

Will audiences still respond to pre-pandemic storylines when they are eventually released, or will they seem out of touch?

We can almost certainly expect a slew of films that address the pandemic experience in ways both inspiring and, probably, crass – no doubt we’ll get a Spielberg style epic about the human struggle against the pandemic, and probably also an action retelling where the world is saved by Dwayne the Rock Johnson; will these make more sense to us, or will we be seeking escapism again?

Cinema is no longer the newest art, advancing at high speed in an improvised manner – today it is expensive, riskier than ever, and hedged round with difficulties...

But, along with theatre and live music and sport, it is a uniquely powerful collective experience that cannot be fully duplicated online. What we go back to is not certain, but we will go back.

- C L E M E N T E D WA R D S

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THE REBIRTH OF GENDER

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IDENTITY

Progress surely ought to mean an expansion of what is available - a widening of possibilities for expression and joy, which is why, when reflecting on our society’s ‘progress’ in its attitudes towards gender, the path from then to now seems arbitrary and bizarre. How did we get from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and its playful, free attitude towards sexuality and gender to our own rather stuffy, oddly oppressed, time where men in skirts sparks derision, and women in politics are condemned to the realm of the Angela Merkel ‘Power Suit’.

The European Renaissance was in part about returning to the ideals and philosophies of the Ancient world of the Greeks and Romans, digging up and re-reading Plato, Socrates, and Galen. In the Renaissance’s beginning, the coronation of Henry VIII (I know people disagree, but when don’t they?), England was on the precipice of an international crisis. A bloated, horny, aristocrat governed the country and set about splitting from Europe, changing the face of English society forever. How crude (and cheap) of me, but how familiar. When I think of the fundamental shifts undergone in the Renaissance, with the switch to Protestantism, the emergence of market capitalism, and a woman becoming a national symbol, I think of our capacity for change. Out of that political turmoil, fund-

amental structures were challenged, and England broke away towards something new. Good or bad, change, when we put our minds to it, is astonishingly doable.

So why does gender seem exempt? I do not begrudge those Renaissance thinkers for not legalising homosexuality and ending the entailing of estates – theology was, back then, a study that encompassed everything, and the Bible is not exactly supportive of these things when taken literally. But, science and society have advanced; we are at a point now where we are aching to move on from the past.

As mentioned, the European Renaissance was partly about returning to Ancient modes of logic and philosophy. So, let’s give it a go. The Romans had a system of sexuality which was wildly different to our own, one that centred on dominance and

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submission, or about putting it in and getting it in. This crossed across genders, and bisexuality, as we would term it, was much more common in pre-Christianity Rome. Top and bottom were their reference points, something that is sneaking into our current language but not moving much further past a woke joke. It wasn’t perfect, of course. It was extremely patriarchal, with very little reference to women; they were always being sublimated to the submissive role. But that doesn’t matter. We’re older and wiser now, and the past’s ideas needn’t be user ready. We can use this concept, I think, to look at gender and have a much-needed rethink.

It is silly and immature to limit make-up, good clothes, and nail polish (especially nail polish) to women. Forget for a moment about all the pain and discrimination this entails, all the toxicity it encourages, and it still makes no sense.

We are at an interesting, odd time. We have a woman of Asian heritage in charge of the Home Office, aggressively targeting refugees and asylum seekers; we have the 19th straight, white man in charge of the supposedly more feminist party, and statues of slavers are being pulled down by their descendents, and by the ancestors of slaves. The old rules are dying.This is thus a fantastic opportunity to reintroduce and mess around with ideas of gender, which seems to me to be the least talked about, probably because it affects (and thus implicates) everyone in every country.

Going back to Twelfth Night, the fair, grieving widow Olivia falls madly in love with ‘Cesario’, who is really Viola dressed as a man (and, on the Elizabethan stage, was a man dressed as a woman dressed as a man; tell that to the bulldog-looking England fans who moan about how

‘they/them’ pronouns are just a new-fangled, academic complexity). Obviously, Viola has a twin brother Sebastian for whom Olivia falls. But, I always thought this a shame. Again, I don’t begrudge Shakespeare for not including a lesbian love story on the censored, protestant, 1600s stage. But now, I think we read this differently and, potentially, in a more interesting way. Shakespeare, as always, hints and alludes to the possibility; he shows a woman fall in love with a woman, and lets it seem natural, funny, scary. Surely we can manage dresses for men.

As usual, this will probably be left to a few queer, brave people to set the trend.

Maybe in today’s world, all we need is for Trump to piss off and H&M to ditch gender sections, and it’ll all solve itself. But, we need to start somewhere. They wore garters and capes in the 1700s; some Roman Emperors had husbands. We must harness the energy of this change and get to some sense of possibility. I sense it coming, in the distant future. After the coronavirus especially, things seem on a knife edge which, for reformers, is an opportunity. Back to normal has never seemed so unappealing.

So, let’s stop normal coming back and reach into the past – take what we like, forget what we don’t, and apply it to now.

The Renaissance was a time where change was unavoidable, and people all over the land had to come to terms with flux.

Our modern political chaos is challenging the normal; like the Reformation, like the fall of Rome, like the American, the Chinese, and the Russian revolutions, what comes afterwards has the potential to be unrecognisable. Like getting into drag.

- S A M B L AC K B U R N

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SHELL

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OF VENUS A 5-year-old, running around Grandma’s house.

A sculpture stand on the steps, a naked woman on a shell.

Its delicacy is scary; the thought of destruction of beauty.

In Florence, where her birth was made into a naked woman on a shell?

A 10-year-old’s mother, claiming beauty for being born on the land of Venus;

Is she even Venus or is she Aphrodite?

A memory of a home.

A nostalgia of flawless beauty.

A land of what-ifs.

How can one recognise a land of grandma stories, yet feel like an exile?

A 20-year-old, searching for familiarity in Botticelli’s brush strokes.

Perhaps, it is stories that make one exists, parts cut from one that give birth to one.

Where does Venus belong?

In the middle of the Mediterranean, where she was born out of pain?

Perhaps, one’s both the cloak and the wind that blows off all the covers.

In Paphos, where she first settled on terrain?

Perhaps she is not one but all;

In Olympus where goddesses like her lived?

she’s not of one but her own.

- AYS E L D I L A R A K A S A P

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POT

6.

Who is the painter of one’s life?

The writer?

The creator?

Do we create or are we created?

Do we think or are we made to think?

Who is reaching out to who?

Who is creating who when God’s hand almost touched Adam’s?

Is it possible that cherubs and Sophia and the child are merely human?

Is it possible that they created each other for each other from each other?

Mere humans adoring a creation of Adam for creating Adam.

Is it true that Michelangelo painted the brain to hold God? Is it true that he believed in creativity over religion?

CREATION OF CREATIVITY

Do stories exist so that we don’t question as much?

Then, art exists to remind us what we are capable of creating.

Then again, maybe this is my mere creation.

Who are we to know?

- AYS E L D I L A R A K A S A P

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L O N D O N

07.

DRIVE-IN EXPERIENCES 2020 With its origins dating back as far as the 1920s, 2020 has seen the revival of Drive Ins. And, as the film industry is effectively being shut down by Covid-19, with many cinemas shutting down as a result of struggling to enforce social distancing, many brands have capitalised on the sterility and security offered by the Drive In; they’re like your own personal film screening and let me tell you, the seclusion is bliss.

As lockdown restrictions eased, and we were allowed to see people outside of those we live with, my boyfriend booked us tickets to see Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts in Richard Curtis’ 90s classic Notting Hill, at the Luna Drive In, in Gunnersbury Park (West London). Avid day-outers may already know the Luna Cinema for their screenings of well loved films, in locations such as the Natural History Museum and Hampton Court. However, now they’ve branched out to Drive Ins and are doing an excellent job of it.

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THEY’RE LIKE YOUR OWN PERSONAL SCREENING !

As we arrived, we were greeted by the staff who presented us with what can only be described as an ‘absolute unit’ of a wireless speaker. Unlike traditional speakers that are either attached to your car - or where you have to tune into a sort of radio station that plays the film’s audio, this speaker is wireless and does not drain your battery. The Luna Drive In offers you state of the art sound that rivals the quality of actual cinemas, with volume controls, and a touchscreen you can use to order food throughout the film (brought to you on an electric scooter). The speakers are disinfected for reuse between each screening, affirming their promise of a covid-secure event. The screen itself is picture perfect, and the rows of cars won’t infringe on your view. Unfortunately, iPhone cameras don’t lend themselves well to the size of the screen, but trust me you won’t miss out on a second.

Extra benefits of the Drive In are that you can bring as many people as you can fit in your car. With Luna charging £35 a vehicle, they’re even better value than actually going to the cinema, even with student discount. On top of this, you’re free to relax; you can stretch out without the scorn of other cinema-goers. Perhaps, the best bit is you can bring your own snacks, instead of paying the price of your first born child for a medium popcorn! For those that don’t have a car, there’s also the option to book a space in the park for you and your mates to sit in, so it’s open for anyone. Moreover, with such a range of films available, the experience is highly recommendable, even just for the novelty of going to a Drive In. The Luna Drive In will continue towards the end of the year, now offering a Halloween experience hosted at Thorpe Park that promises occult classics from October 8th. Their usual open air cinema experiences are also running as usual, but on the premise of socially spacious cinema for the time being.

- K AT I E B U T L E R

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EAT OUT TO HELP OUT Back to Basics: Simple dishes reborn in London Strolling through London markets and taking advantage of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, at various restaurants in August, has pushed me to a realisation that more simple dishes - ones that you would expect to cook at home rather than choose to order at a restaurant - are increasing in their abundance. I’ve decided to analyse what kind of food is being reborn, and whether they are worth trying, or if it’s best to stick to the good old simple version.

- AMELIA EMALRADI

CHIPS Chips are a reliable safe choice. What do you order for children when they don’t know what to eat? Chips. What does the picky eater stick to when they aren’t keen on the other menu items? Chips.

However, the chips you expect to see might not be the usual side option on the menu.

There are Greek-inspired chips with feta and herbs, chips smothered in melted cheeses, posh truffle oil chips and chips with Korean bulgogi beef or kimchi.

I’ve tried a couple of unique types of chips.

And, although chips are great on their own, it was pleasant to have that extra flavour, apart from just dipping them in condiments such as mayonnaise and ketchup.

Depending on their price (chips with a twist in London usually range from £3-£8), I’d say it’s worth a try, especially if you’re not hungry enough for a main course.

GRILLED CHEESE A delicious sandwich that I’ve only ever made during late nights, when I had a specific craving. It’s something I’d never think to order at a street food stall. Instead, always opting to make this particular dish at home.

Yet, in Backyard Market on Brick Lane, a vendor was selling grilled cheese made fresh with a gourmet twist. There were additions of prosciutto or chorizo, caramelized onion or chilli jam, truffle honey or fig preserves.

These were about £7 each, quite expensive for just a grilled cheese, but at least they added unique ingredients that a student like me wouldn’t have in the fridge.

Still, I won’t be ordering grilled cheese for £7 anytime soon, since I can make a decent one at home that won’t induce buyer’s remorse.

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PIZZA I know, it’s controversial to deem pizza a simple dish. Nevertheless, it essentially is just: dough, tomato sauce and mozzarella. It’s something you can get from a local kebab shop, Italian restaurant or make at home. Pizza is a dish that seems to be universally liked, because the key is that you make the pizza how you like it, with your favourite toppings. However, some restaurants in London are changing up the usual pizza structure and toppings.

A restaurant called Homeslice, with a couple of branches including one in Shoreditch near Queen Mary University of London, has changed the game. They’re offering massive 20-inch pizzas for £20.

My family and I tried them, and they’re great. I would absolutely recommend it.

They also have a cream corn sauce base, instead of the usual tomato sauce. I don’t even know what that would taste like. Or, perhaps, you’d want to try pumpkin seeds and a soy truffle glaze on a garlic oil base.

These gourmet pizzas are a hit or miss, in my opinion. You can choose to take the risk and you may end up loving it, or be left wondering why you didn’t just get a margherita.

BREAD Quite possibly the first dish that comes to mind in the realm of simple foods; it’s a staple.

There are different types of bread that are a great twist to the original: Turkish bread, garlic bread, melon pan bread, focaccia and more. Yet, there are places in London that serve even more unique breads. An example is the squid ink flatbread at Black Axe Mangal (topped with cod roe, yolk and edible glitter- yes, you read that right).

Perhaps, you’d like a sweet brioche bread... but in the form of a doughnut? Then, visit Comptoir Gourmand. There’s also potato sourdough bread in Dalston, if your taste buds are so inclined. I haven’t tried any of the above. But honestly, I have a gut feeling I’d like it. As long as the bread and ingredients are of good quality, I feel you can’t go wrong. Anything goes with bread.

These are just a few, but there’s so much more out there. London’s food scene is creative, innovative and constantly reinventing itself. Sometimes it’s fun to revisit those simple dishes in lieu of a more complicated ramen with pork and corn fed chicken bone broth, chashu pork collar, seaweed, spring onion, porcini truffle paste, white truffle oil and yuzu-shoyu (but maybe try this too at Kanada-Ya).

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MUSIC

IS MUSIC FLOURISHING IN A

08.

RENAISSANCE MANNER?

When thinking about the Renaissance, and when thinking about music as I often am, it is interesting to consider whether this timeless medium is experiencing a rebirth.

Music is everywhere. In a world that is so overrun with something as occasionally innocuous as music, we tend to unconsciously ignore its presence or neglect to see how abundant the art is. As digital technology has expanded, and more and more capital is invested into the tech frontier, music’s accessibility has flourished.

Renaissance is often considered synonymous with rebirth. However, when I think renaissance I think of growth and expansion. The sudden explosion of art that built upon and reimagined the works of the ancient past is what I see when I consider the musical Renaissance we are in today.

Music, like art, has always existed- but the modern iteration of music is growing at a rate that could easily be called a Renaissance, fuelled by a massive cash flow.

This burgeoning exuberance is easy to compare with the art of the fifteenth-century renaissance. As the cities of Europe

became more affluent, there was more money to be spent on beautiful fine art.

While there is no real comparison to a modern-day Lorenzo de’ benefactor-esque, the infrastructure provided by streaming sites, such as YouTube and Spotify, and technological tools, such as the iPod, have catapulted musical artist’s range from local and national audiences to global ones.

These mammoth institutions and tools, which bring more music than ever before, stand tall like the great dome of the Santa Maria del Fiore.

With a whopping 286 million active users (as of March 2020), Spotify and Apple Music are as grand and imposing as the architecture of the Renaissance era. Moreover, music is now easier to access and produce than it ever was before. With streaming platforms like Soundcloud, if you have the talent (and even if you don’t), you can disseminate your own creations, which was not possible in the age of radio domination. While the romantic period of queueing for CDs and records holds a certain affection in the hearts of many, now more than ever music is accessible and often free.

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“T h ere

is

music

in

the

air,

m u s i c a l l a roun d us; the w o rld is f u ll of i t , a nd yo u simply take a s m uch a s you require.”

by Edw a rd E l ga r

The long, beautiful, and diverse history of music, like with fashion, means that even as music reaches a bigger audience than ever before, many similar concepts are seen repeated throughout time. Specifically, the 1980’s is inspiring music heavily as synthpop and disco-inspired hits are cropping up more often in recent years. Artists like Dua Lipa, The Weeknd, and even Little Mix can be seen taking inspiration

from the decade of A-Ha- and Madonna.

The re-emergence of bright, loud and colourful music in a new age, where we the consumer are seeing an increasing variety of music in our headphones and on our screens, feels like the wonderful comeback of old school upbeat 80s jams.

While music, and especially live music, may never be the same after COVID-19 and its social ramifications, this Renaissance of music will not end simply because of these restrictions. As we continue to see a vast expansion in such a beloved medium, and as many of us reconnect with the music of the past, it is nice to see this medium proliferate even further. It is truly spectacular that a social practice humans have engaged in, for around 35,000 years, has evolved into a great unifier that continues to provide solace, mutuality and inspiration even in times of incredible hardship.

- GEORGIA WOOD

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THE MANY REBIRTHS OF DAVID BOWIE As an artist, it is nearly impossible to avoid assuming something of a persona.

The person on stage and in the media is infrequently a true reflection of the person behind the scenes, instead portraying themselves through a stylised lens in their output. No artist has ever taken this so far as David Bowie. Bowie himself was a façade, the mask worn over David Jones, designed to be the Rockstar he would eventually become. Jones reappeared as he retreated from the public eye, after suffering health problems on stage in 2004, then increasingly so in the run up to Blackstar and his death immediately after.

More recognisable are his distinct stage personae of the late 1960s and early-mid 1970s. Skirting flamboyance, youth, anarchy and fascism, during this period Bowie created some of the most striking work of his career and staked his first claims to a position as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, if not all time. While not a persona assumed by Bowie, the character of Major Tom is worth discussion here.

Some see the character evolving over time into an almost autobiographical figure for Bowie. After his first appearance in ‘Space Oddity’, Major Tom did not reappear until 1980 and ‘Ashes to Ashes’, the lead single to album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps). Described by Bowie as a song “wrapping up the seventies really”, the line “We know Major Tom’s a junkie” seems almost self-referential, describing Bowie’s problems with drug addiction while living in Los Angeles.

Bowie’s first persona was of course the indomitable Ziggy Stardust. Stardust is the

embodiment of the hedonism of the rock gods of the early 1970s, a character as shocking to look at as he was to the sensibilities of the time. As a bisexual alien Rockstar, the enduring infamy of the character certainly seems well earned. Originally just a character, Bowie admitted that, as people began to treat him as though he were Stardust, he briefly fell into also believing that he himself was Stardust. While the album spawned tracks like ‘Ziggy Stardust’, ‘Moonage Daydream’ and ‘Suffragette City’, not to mention the smash hit of ‘Starman’, for the character of Ziggy Stardust ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide’ has to be the most significant track.

As the track on which Stardust is destroyed, by the apocalypse he fails to avert, it’s lamentations should be tragic rather than heartening. The opening and closing lines of the bridge summarises the energy projected by Stardust and felt by its listeners at the time, when Glam Rock was strange and new – “Oh no love, you’re not alone!”. While Ziggy Stardust may well be most remembered for his shocking look, it must be the way in which he made the audience feel special that drove his popularity and separated that persona from the sea of outrageous rock stars to become a character that has embedded itself into the very fabric of modern music.

Two slight variants of Ziggy Stardust appeared on the following albums – Aladdin Sane on the album of the same name, and Halloween Jack in Diamond Dogs. Aladdin Sane is the more distinct sub-character, widely recognised for his iconic lightning bolt face make up. The character was

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born of Bowie’s struggles with his newfound success, and therefore is a more conflicted and introverted take on Stardust. Described by Bowie as “Ziggy Stardust goes to America”, the album swerves between the excess of glam rock and restrained, yet experimental, almost jazz influenced numbers. Aladdin Sane never appeared live, further showing how Bowie initially struggled to deal with his growing fame.

Halloween Jack appears as a tonally darker take on the glamour of Ziggy Stardust.

This is reflected in the album, with the overall sound seeming grittier to some degree, especially on tracks like ‘Rebel Rebel’, when compared to its more polished feeling ‘Rise and Fall…’ equivalent ‘Ziggy Stardust’. One key line from the album emulates this – “This ain’t rock and roll, this is genocide!” Overall, these two characters seem to be a misguided failure to escape the persona of Ziggy Stardust.

They are nowhere near as significant, either culturally or personally (to Bowie), as their progenitor.

The Thin White Duke emerged on the 1976 album Station to Station as a product of Bowie’s cocaine addiction and work as Thomas Gerome Newton in ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’. Musically it is an evolution, building on the funk of 1975’s Young Americans with a darker edge. The centrepiece of the album, from both a musical and character perspective, is a lurching, occult, and frankly epic titular track. In this 10-minute piece, the Thin White Duke is born, in a manner akin to Ziggy Stardust’s death in ‘Rock and Roll Suicide’, perhaps even from the ashes of that persona.

bass, and drums lurchingly drive forwards.

A line is then finally uttered - “The return of the Thin White Duke / Throwing darts in lovers’ eyes”. As the Duke emerges, he appears as emperor of an industrious nation, obsessed with the occult, and taking actions to deny others what he cannot find – love.

LOVE From this opening follows a near hysterical second half. Driven on by a bounding piano, Bowie reveals the source of his struggles. “It’s not the side effects of the cocaine / I’m thinking that it must be love” is an often-repeated refrain here, showing the depths of drug addiction and how far it has deluded him. As the Duke struggles with his inability to find love, he projects this as the root of his troubles.

The character of the Thin White Duke was undoubtedly the most impactful of Bowie’s characters upon his person. While previous characters were confined to record and stage, the Duke took over all aspects of Bowie’s life. In interviews he advocated a rise of fascism in Europe and described Adolf Hitler as “One of the first rock stars”. Combined with his dramatic weight loss and “astronomical” drug habit, the era took as much of a toll physically as it did mentally.

Despite the brevity of Bowie’s dive into personae, they are one of the most remembered and celebrated aspects of his career. Here was an artist so dedicated that he became his art, so impactful that the passing of a character was as shocking as the death of himself. No artist since has been able to reinvent themselves and find only greater notoriety, and if another ever will is up for debate.

The track opens with three minutes of syncopation and swirling chaos, as guitars,

- F I N L AY H I L L M A N B R O W N

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09.

REDEFINING THE SELF: The Renaissance of Photography in Motion

“ T i m e co u ld b e tr u ly mad e to s t a n d s t ill. Textu re cou ld b e ret a in e d d e s p ite su d d en v io l ent m ove m e n t.”

PHOTOGRAPHY

These are the words by Albanian photographer Gjon Mili, who became the first photographer to capture movement in dance and sports. His work explores the process of movement from a new perspective – photography that no longer tries to capture snapshots by encouraging their subject to portray movement while remaining still. From this point forward, photographers would capture their subjects in motion, bringing about a type of photographic Renaissance that would invade their subject’s everyday life, as opposed to a predetermined concept. Although this quote refers to literal movement in photography, it has strongly influenced my view of the practice as a mode of progression, relating to human development as well as to my own experience.

My personal relationship with photography has evolved throughout the years, since I first began taking photos of objects around the house in 2013, to the styles I pursue in today’s work. Being an ambivert (more towards the introverted side when it comes to photography), I opted for taking self-portraits whilst alone at home, where I could explore skills and concepts that I would likely not attempt around others. This, in turn, led to creative progress in having to find different concepts and perspectives for the limited spaces around my house. As a result, my self-portraiture has developed considerably since my earlier work, unfazed by the restrictions imposed by lockdown.

In the last few years, I have also experimented as a model for friends, stepping outside of my comfort zone and onto the other side of the lense. Needless to say, the behind-the-scenes can sometimes be rather unpolished – my discomfort, especially in crowded spaces, translates to constant laughing. But both my photography and modelling skills have greatly

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improved as I step further into the unknown, trusting other photographer’s skills and creativity in the same way I do my own. In 2018, I also began to delve into street photography, capturing moments of people in their daily routines or entranced as they dance with others. For me, this was a new perspective on the artform – something I had rarely considered before, but one that would heavily influence my work as both a photographer and a model. Looking through these images, I began to realise that ‘violent’ and disruptive movement could be just as beautiful as limited and delicate motion. While previous work relied on overlaying the photograph (2016) for a desired result, capturing movement in everyday scenarios encouraged me to explore natural movement in my photography.

Photography always requires the photographer – and thus, the audience – to consider movement as a method of progression, even in its absence. My self-portraits have always been influenced by conceptual photographers and dancers, whose work focuses on capturing the human body’s movement (or highlighting a lack thereof), as previously discussed in my There’s Something Musical article.

As such, the first set of portraits I took in 2013 were self-portraits highlighting the stillness of the subject, while more recent photos encourage a varying range of motion in both the subject and the environment around them.

My most recent work (2020) is inspired

by Spirit photography, aiming to recreate perceived movements of the spiritual through a lense. For this set, I adjusted my camera’s shutter speed to a slower setting, and placed a blue ring-light against the aluminium sink (for wider reflection) to provide the cooler tones. Leaning all the way back and moving your arms around, while trying to keep your balance, may sound very uncomfortable (it was), but for the first time experimenting with lights and movement, I am very satisfied with the results!

The evolution of photography can take many forms – creativity, technology, trends – always moving forward, both physically and creatively. As Gjon Mili said, through photography “time could truly be made to stand still”, but it must remain a medium to capture time, rather than an object trapped in time. As photographers, we should always strive to explore new concepts and techniques, for our own evolution as well as the evolution of photography itself.

- MAXINE ALLEYNE

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10.

STYLE In times of change and uncertainty, the youth always breaks through and prevails !

THE POWER OF GEN Z

The Renaissance, whether you define the era by its cultural, political, artistic and economic means, or perhaps by its synonyms of rebirth, revival and renewal - you cannot help but compare its meaning and work to that of 2020 and its chaos. Whilst the start to the decade has presented plenty problematic instances and has not lacked in its ability to surprise, this year has failed to suppress the determination of Gen Z. When I think of the Renaissance and its relation to 2020, three things stick out to me: the Black Lives Matter movement, Tiktok, and online shopping. At first glance, all three topics do not necessarily overlap or even seem similar to the Renaissance, but they happen to exhibit rebirth and revival in political, cultural and artistic ways.

T he Re birth of the app Musical.ly Musical.ly was an app that was likely around when you were thirteen. It was redesigned, in the past few years, to bring you Tik Tok. The re-invented musical.ly’s rising popularity, during the quarantine of 2020, is a great example of a revival. But, that is not the reason I see it as an example of renaissance; it is the way users on Tik Tok have aided in changing toxic masculine ideals, showing men wearing and engaging with stereotypical feminine fas-

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hion norms. Artistically, many of the men on the app engage in wearing makeup or skirts with popular sounds and show how these types of clothes do not threaten their masculinity. These displays connote the ideal that what people want to wear should not bother others. A popular wearer of these types of clothes, on the app, is best known by his username: @heir.of.atticus. He is known for wearing makeup, crop tops and skirts as part of his fashion aesthetic, and continues to do so. Not only do I see this as a modern progressive renaissance, its aesthetic is also similar to historical renaissance male fashion which was typically extravagant, with elaborate tunics and waistcoats, which in today’s society would also be stereotypically feminine.

The Rev iva l of Black L ives Ma t t e r When you begin to consider renaissance through a more general perspective, you may become cognizant of the various synonyms of that word, such rebirth and revival. Ruminating on these, it is important to note that 2020 has also seen a major revival of the Black Lives Matter movement. Black Lives Matter was first formed around 2013. Whilst BLM has had brief moments of intensive activism and support throughout the years, the death of George Floyd in America has sparked strong and consistent motivation of the movement, making it crystal clear that people have had enough of the systematic oppression and racism against black people and support was shown across the globe. BLM’s meteoric revival inspired the widespread support of small black businesses and black owned brands, as a way of showing unity and bringing about equity.

For example, fenty beauty, as well as fashion brands like bad society club, are black owned businesses that should be supported, along side BLM . These brands are not only great at showing unity and inclusivity, but the voices and owners behind these brands are powerful in speaking up for a movement that has gone unheard for too long.

A Renaissance of Sustainability 2020 has also seen a rise in the popularity of sustainable fashion. Since quarantine and lockdown were instituted in many countries, due to the spread of coronavirus, many people moved to online shopping as a way to satisfy themselves, since they could not go out (including myself). Whilst this has occurred within the fast fashion industry, it has also inspired a move to second hand fashion apps, such as shpock and depop, and as a seller on depop myself, I think it is fantastic. I also use depop as a buyer; and, whilst it is hard to be sure you’re not being ripped off online, depop has many tricks to show you how to stay safe on the app and shop for items that are from successful sellers. As well as abandoning fast fashion for more recyclable resources, it does not mean big brands are not still thriving. However, brands such as wearetala are very sustainable and good for the planet, and have offered a material way of helping with climate change and ecosystem exploitation.

Considering the examples alongside the themes of renaissance, I feel as though Gen Z is a perfect example of changing the game and reviving what society needs, despite all that has been thrown at our generation in 2020.

- R O S E S T E WA R T

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