Bristol University’s Independent Student Newspaper Issue 248
•
Monday 5th March 2012
• www.epigram.org.uk
Freshers’ Week campaign success Jessica Wingrad Senior News Reporter
Which fairy tale character are you?
decision at Senate on Monday 27th February to maintain the week long series of events. A survey of nearly 2000 students last year revealed that the plans to restructure the academic year in general were favoured, but that the shortening of Freshers’ Week was less well-liked, with 57% of those surveyed opposing it outright. After the Senate meeting, Alford commented, ‘At Senate today the paper passed with the amendment that Freshers’ would not be shortened so we think we’ve managed to negotiate the best deal for students’. A spokesman for the University of Bristol, David Alder, defended the University’s position, maintaining that the proposals were not aimed at spoiling students’ fun. He said, ‘Students need to be inducted over a much longer period than a week,
349
Number of signatures on the online petition against downsizing Freshers’ Week
Long live Lucian Visiting London’s deathly exhibitions Culture 21
Julia May
this is absolutely not to do with trying to curtail enjoyment or drinking. It’s to do with the rhythm of the academic year’. Although the motion to shorten Freshers’ Week has been abandoned at this stage, it has not been permanently quashed and the University could attempt to cut Freshers’ Week again in the future. Under the new academic structure which was accepted at Senate, exams at ‘non-standard’ times will be cut back with a view to them being eradicated. This will affect students who currently have exams in the Easter holidays, or during the second semester. The Christmas and Easter holidays will also be shortened by a week to three weeks, in order to make space for an assessment period in January, which the University hopes will ease the pressure of the summer exam period.
Takotsubo tragedy Octopus pots and broken hearts? Science 30
Tanya Moulson
The University of Bristol Senate has approved plans to completely restructure the academic year, shortening Christmas and Easter holidays to three weeks to make way for a designated ‘assessment period’ in January. The original proposal included plans to reduce Freshers’ Week from one week to three days in an effort to undermine the excessive drinking culture which the University argues it encourages. However, after strong student opposition these plans were shelved indefinitely and for the time being Freshers’ will remain five days long. A minority of students had supported the proposed shortening of Freshers’ Week because the clubbing and drinking which takes up much of the time arguably does not reflect the interests of many of students. However, this was countered by a huge backlash from the student body at large which led to the launch of a campaign to maintain the traditional full five days of Freshers’ events. Students determined to save Freshers’ Week gathered support in an online petition set up by UBU Vice-President Education Josh Alford. The petition claims that, ‘Freshers’ is not perfect and more structure and support could certainly be put in place for new students during the opening week. ‘However cutting Freshers’ Week will limit students’ opportunities, potentially hinder bonding and certainly will not stop the “irresponsible drinking culture” that the University believes many students partake in. Comments attached to the signatures argue that a three-day Freshers’ Week would hold back new students from settling into university life, as well as arguing that new students would only enforce an unofficial five-day Freshers’ Week themselves. More than three hundred students signed the petition which has now closed after the
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News
Editor: Alice Young
Deputy Editor: Jenny Awford
Deputy Editor: Abigail Van-West
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Inside Epigram Features 12 Stiff upper quips David Mountain defends intrusions into the Queen’s English from those across the pond
Comment 13 The new journalism Why Rosemary Wagg thinks social media might not be all bad for the future of news
Letters and Editorial 17 Internet rage
Virgin Media and their adverts have given students a very valid reason to complain
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Student council sees debate over student participation Izzy Obeng News Reporter Motions that were unable to be discussed at this year’s Annual General Meeting found a voice at the Student Council meeting held on February 20th. The Students’ Union AGM last month saw students vote overwhelmingly in favour of increased student financial support and improved access to university facilities. Following on from this, various motions were debated aiming to engage students in wider Bristol activities, with the meeting opening to a motion to introduce student pre-sales on tickets for Anson Room gigs. Proposer Paul Charlton met with little resistance as he argued that students
- as members of the Union should have the opportunity to purchase tickets some days in advance. The most controversial motion of the evening aimed to engage societies more with their committees, and recommended that the fee payable by committee members should be decided by individual societies. Proposer Sarah Haswell disagreed with the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach given to membership prices at the moment which failed to take into account the additional work that club committee members undertake. Resistance focused on not being able to justify the allowance to the larger student body and the motion subsequently failed to passionate applause. A motion entitled ‘For the
Union to Adopt the Bristol Pound’, advocated by Mark Burton, aimed to further connect students with the local community. Burton stated that the union’s endorsement of the new currency would be extremely beneficial to the scheme as students constitute a significant proportion of the local community. Some expressed doubt as to how beneficial this endorsement would be to students, with Thomas Raffael arguing that the ‘union should stick to student issues’. On the theme of student involvement in sport, the Royal Fort Gardens, situated in the University precinct, was put forward as a potential location for the creation of a new outdoor gym facility. Hannah Pollak, a third year Politics student, proposed the
motion, arguing that ‘the gym is a busy, expensive and stuffy environment’ that could be ‘intimidating’. Criticism of this motion came in the form of some participants asking if the cost of gym membership would be affected by the construction of these facilities. Additionally, the effect on the beauty of the gardens was a concern. However, the motion passed. Like the AGM, the Council ended light-heartedly with a passed motion to rename the Wills Memorial Building in favour of Harry Patch, a WWI veteran and Bristol University honorary degree holder. Proposer Nigel West stated that ‘it’s never going to happen’ but that the motion was intended to encourage remembrance for the war hero who died in 2009, at the age of 111.
23 Flickr: TheOneTheOnlyTimEllis
Music 23 Back to the future Kaiser Chiefs explain why they’re not ready to give up their never-ending tour just yet
Gigs at the Anson Rooms will now offer an exclusive presale to members of UBU
Film and TV
Correction
27 Disaster movies
Union’s stance, whilst maintaining support for students in vulnerable positions. We apologise for any inconvenience this error caused.
It was reported in Epigram 247 in the article ‘AGM sees return to debate over UBU abortion policy’ that James Fleming had spoken in support of the motion ‘Policy of Neutrality on Abortion’. Mr Fleming was in fact speaking in favour of the amendment to this motion which had the intention of neutralising the
We investigates why bad films like Tommy Wiseau’s The Room become cult hits
27 Sport 34 Cross country triumph Matt Dathan speaks to Gwenno Brown after her win in the under-23 championships
Meetings
Editorial team Acting Editor Editor Hannah Stubbs Tom Flynn editor@epigram.org.uk editor@epigram.org.uk Deputy Editors Deputy Editor Jon Bauckham Jon Bauckham jon@epigram.org.uk jon@epigram.org.uk Hannah Stubbs hannah@epigram.org.uk e2 Editor e2 EditorMcCrory Matthew Matthew McCrory e2@epigram.org.uk e2@epigram.org.uk News Editor Alice Young
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Music Editor Puzzles Editor science@epigram.org.uk Comer Lily Buckmaster Photography Editor music@epigram.org.uk Marek Allen Deputy Science Editor Culture Editor Abigail Van-West Head Sub photography@epigram.org.uk Editor Emma Sackville Zoe Hutton Deputy Music Editor Deputy News Editors avanwest@epigram.org.uk Emma Corfield deputyscience@epigram.org.uk culture@epigram.org.uk Jenny Awford Pippa Shawley Jenny Awford Illustrator jawford@epigram.org.uk Sub Editors deputymusic@epigram.org.uk Sophie Sladen jawford@epigram.org.uk Deputy Culture Science Online Editor Harriet Layhe, Editor Edith Penty Geraets Hannah Mae Collins Abigail Van-West FIlm & TV Editor Kate Moreton, Features Editor Web Rosemary Designer Wagg scienceonline@epigram.org.uk deputyculture@epigram.org.uk avanwest@epigram.org.uk Will Ellis Tristan Martin IllustratorMaciej Kumorek filmandtv@epigram.org.uk features@epigram.org.uk Sport Editor Music Editor News Online Editor Sophie Sladen Stone Amina Makele Editor Deputy Features Editor Nathan ComerDeputy Film & TVDavid Web Designer music@epigram.org.uk newsonline@epigram.org.uk Anthony Adeane deputysport@epigram.org.uk Andrew White Rob Mackenzie deputyfilmandtv@epigram.org.uk deputyfeatures@epigram.org.uk News Editor news@epigram.org.uk Alice Young Deputy News Editors news@epigram.org.uk
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News:
Mondays, 1.10pm, The White Bear Features: Wednesday 7th March, 1pm, The White Bear Comment: Tuesday 6th March, 1.30pm, The Hill
Culture:
Monday 5th & 19th March, 1pm, The White Bear
Music:
Monday 5th March, 7pm, The White Bear
Film & TV: Thursday 15th March, 1.15pm, Union 3rd Floor Science:
Monday 5th & 19th March, 1.15pm, Chemistry Foyer
Sport:
Tuesday 6th March, 1.30pm, The White Bear
For Lifestyle, What’s On, Fashion, Travel and Money see e2, page 2 Epigram is the independent student newspaper of the University of Bristol. We are supported but not financed by the University of Bristol Students’ Union; however the views expressed are not theirs. The design, text and photographs are copyright of Epigram or its individual contributors and may not be reproduced without permission.
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Sociology students fight for axed lecturer Stephanie Linning Senior News Reporter
Tom King
Students from the Sociology department have launched a campaign entitled ‘Keep Maggie’, to have Teaching Associate Dr. Maggie Studholme reinstated as a permanent member of staff. On Friday 24th February an open meeting was held between the University of Bristol’s Pro Vice-Chancellor of Education Nick Lieven, the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law Professor Judith Squires, along with students from the ‘Keep Maggie’ group, in what marked the latest development in the group’s campaign. This meeting followed a demonstration by the group outside the Wills Memorial building during the February graduation ceremonies. According to the group’s
Statement of Intent, Dr. Studholme is ‘Widely and uncontroversially recognised as an amazing, engaging and supportive teacher’ and the ‘Failure of the department of Sociology, Politics and International Studies (SPAIS) and ultimately the University of Bristol to continue to employ Maggie, effectively making her redundant, is the wrong decision and one that should be reversed.’ This is a sentiment echoed by Harriet Bradley, an ex-lecturer from the Sociology department and former colleague of Dr. Studholme who says, ‘Maggie is a wonderful person, the students love her, and if the university cannot find a way to keep her it just seems to me very sad. ‘I understand that rules are rules, and all that stuff, but surely there are times when you have to make exceptions to rules.’
Maggie Studholme and students protesting outside the February graduation ceremonies
The meeting was attended by around twenty students and an opening statement by secondyear postgraduate student Jessie Abrahams outlined why Dr. Studholme should be kept on and be considered an ‘Exceptional talent.’ As a result of the meeting, Professor Squires has agreed
to look into creating a new position within the SPAIS department that, although publicly advertised, would be suitable for Dr. Studholme to apply for. Speaking on the outcome, Abrahams explained, ‘This consideration is based on Professor Squires receiving
a business and academic proposal from us. Producing this proposal will now be the priority for our group.’ Speaking to Epigram, Maddie Williams, a secondyear Sociology and Social Policy student, explained that although the department had been open to meeting with the
group before, these meetings were ‘About methods of communication and not really to the point.’ The public demonstration held last month was timed to coincide with a graduation ceremony and was designed to raise awareness and garner support for the campaign.
Student loan repayment Candidates for UBU penalty plans scrapped elections are announced Amina Makele Online News Editor
Flickr: bisgovuk
are being compounded by these reforms which will make the richest graduates pay the least while the rest are left with a lifelong debt. ‘A funding system where an investment banker pays less for a degree than a social worker is an obscenity.’ Whilst some agree with the decision, many feel it is a diversion from the more controversial parts of the government’s higher education reforms. ‘To deny people of all different backgrounds the opportunity to avoid a guaranteed 30 years of debt does seem wrong’, Labour MP Meg Hillier commented to Epigram. University and College Union (UCU) secretary Sally Hunt said ‘Government should be prioritising how to make it easier for poorer families to afford university’.
The current UBU full-time officers will step down in June
Calum Sherwood, William Siri and Eleanor Williams. The most hotly contested roles are Senate Representative positions for each faculty, with 38 candidates vying for eight positions. This is the first year that all faculties have been represented in Senate Rep elections and only the second year that Senate Reps have been democratically elected. Campaigning will begin on Monday March 5th, with voting opening at 9am on Monday 12th March, in various locations across campus and online, using the transferable vote system. Voting results are expected to be announced from 6pm in Bar 100. For more information on candidates and videos see ubu.org.uk/voice.
UBU
The government has announced its abandonment of plans to impose penalties on students who pay off university loans early. Fines of thousands of pounds were to be payable for any student able to pay off tuition fee and maintenance loan debts early. Ministers stated that they were worried that penalising those who wanted to pay off loans prematurely would punish everyone without helping anyone. Universities Secretary David Willets said ‘Most consultation responses showed that restrictions on early repayments were generally an ineffective way of delivering
progressivity. Having carefully considered all the evidence and responses submitted, we agree that individuals should be allowed to repay without penalty if they so wish.’ NUS President Liam Burns responded that ‘Early repayment penalties ultimately risk making the student loans system more regressive, but the issue of whether they should be barred or encouraged is a smoke screen that obscures the truth about paying loans back earlier than required. ‘Ministers must ensure those on low and middle incomes are not duped into chipping away at their outstanding debt even when it rarely makes financial sense to do so’. Students’ Union President, Gus Baker, made further criticism: ‘The government’s disastrous tuition fee rises
Jamie Corbin
Zaki Dogliani News Reporter
The list of candidates for the 2012-13 full-time and parttime Union Officer elections has been announced. 19 positions are available, and a total of 67 candidates will be competing to fill the roles. This represents over twice as many candidates as last year, when 31 students competed for 16 positions. This election also sees the highest number of female candidates for full-time positions since 2009 - with 10 female and seven male candidates compared to the three females and 11 males who competed in 2011. Candidates contesting the role of President of the Students’ Union, the most senior student representative, are Georgina Bavetta, Paul Charlton and Josephine Suherman. There are six full-time sabbatical officer positions available but with all fulltime Union Officers playing a crucial role in University decision making structures. 17 students have announced candidacies for full-time officer positions, however applications are spread unevenly amongst the Vice-President (VP) roles. Alice Peck is running unopposed for VP-Community, an election that Max Wakefield, current VP-Community, was also unopposed in last year.
VP-Sport and VP- Education have received only two nominations each - John Brierly and Hannah Pollak for Sport, and Tom Flynn and Eleanor Humphrey for Education. The most contested fulltime role will be VP-Activities, which has five candidates in the running; Nathan Comer, Ben Dallyn, Yanmin Li, Charlie Martin and Martha West. The VP-Activities is responsible for the participation and support of all University student societies,co-ordinating with over 500 respective student leaders to maximise their involvement and society success. Also there are a large number of applicants for the VP- Welfare & Equality position, with four candidates competing; Alessandra Berti,
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Squatters enjoy £2.25m Clifton mansion Katy Barney Senior News Reporter
The building was used as a University of Bristol hall of residence from the 1950s and was sold by the University to Birakos in 2002. It is located near to current halls such as Goldney and Manor Halls. The Legal Aid, Sentencing And Punishment Of Offenders Bill is currently in the Lords and aims to criminalise residential squatting. Max Wakefield, UBU Vice President Community, strongly opposes the bill. Wakefield stated, ‘Squatting provides a vital resource of last resort for those who have been failed by a marketised housing system. ‘Let us not even entertain the thought that anyone deserves to be homeless’. On 15th March, the Students’ Union and the Bristol Hub will be co-hosting The Great Housing Debate as part of their Bristol’s Big Issues speaker series. Speakers from housing associations, squatting campaign groups and homeless charities plan to meet at the Geographical Sciences Building to discuss the UK’s ‘housing crisis’ and what it means for Bristol.
Flickr: Dru Marland
A Grade II-listed 10 bedroom mansion in Clifton has become the new home of 14 squatters. Clifton Wood House, which was last on the market at £2.9m and is now believed to be worth £2.25m, has a heated indoor swimming pool, a gym and a vaulted cellar. It is now inhabited by a group of 14 squatters, nine of whom claim to have been part of the Occupy Bristol movement, located on College Green. At the end of January, around 60 protestors were evicted from their location outside of Bristol Cathedral. The group had been demonstrating since October and the clear up costs were estimated at £20,000. The squatters at Clifton Wood House are now referring to themselves as ‘caretakers’ of the property and have no remaining links to the Occupy movement. The group is able to remain at the property, as they did not force entry and no criminal damage is occurring. They
appear to have a set of keys and access to the codes to the front gates – both of which were left on the kitchen counter. The property was previously for sale by Knight Frank estate agency, but they have refused to comment on the current tenants. The owner is believed to be Petros Georgiou Birakos. His son, Jason Birakos, has also had issues with squatters in Bristol properties. Locals have highlighted that it is a quiet area and home to lots of families. One man, who lives on the nearby Randall Road said ‘I just don’t understand how they get away with it in a big place like that’. However, the squatters are within their rights, and despite visits from police, one of the squatters, who goes by the name Haile Bless, has stated ‘Ultimately we want to stay for forever.’. Bless claims, ‘What we are doing breaks the social divide’. He added that he felt the people of Clifton turned up their noses at the group. Bless describe himself as a ‘victim of the care system’.
Nine of the 14 squatters claim to have been part of the Occupy Bristol Movement, previously located on College Green
Students at home as thieves break in
Hedge-hogging the limelight
Josephine McConville Head News Reporter
Simon Teague
The annual RAG (raising and giving) procession returned to the streets of Bristol on 18th February, as students from the University of Bristol paraded through the city. A procession of floats, performers, rickshaws and classic cars were undeterred by the rain, as they raised money for a number of charities. The RAG mascot, Bristles the hedgehog joined in the festivities, meeting with the Mayor of Bristol, who opened proceedings. In 2010-11 the total amount raised was £109,573 and the team is hoping to raise even more money this year.
Burglars, who targeted a student house, used bins to stop the tenants chasing after them. Students living on Hampton Road were inside the house when they became victims of the burglary. This is the latest in a string of similar incidents that have taken place in the Cotham and Redland area. The incident occurred on the evening of the 21st February. One of the tenants told Epigram how six out of seven housemates were in the kitchen making pancakes when the burglars broke in. ‘They had opened the window of the downstairs bedroom with a crow bar. ‘We saw people running away from our house, getting into a black car and driving off. ‘We went to chase them but they had placed bins outside our front door, blocking the pathway so we couldn’t run after them’. Another housemate described the incident as a ‘Violation’. He added, ‘You don’t expect things like this to happen when you are actually in the house. ‘Six of us were in, the
lights were on. It was obvious people were home. ‘They moved the bins which suggest they planned it’. A Macbook was amongst the items stolen from the downstairs bedroom. The police have been informed but the tenants have said they are ‘Not hopeful’ for the recovery of the items, as no one saw the
“
We know to keep valuables out of sight when we’re out, but we have never really thought about it when we’ve been in the house
”
number plate of the vehicle. This burglary echoes a previous incident reported by Epigram, when a Macbook was stolen from a student flat in Cotham last November. A knife was discovered on the desk of one of the flatmates, which the forensic team believe may have been used to prise open drawers. A few days earlier, three men had been seen leaving the garden of the flat and driving off in a silver estate. In August, University of
Bristol student, Emma Partington was fortunate enough to retrace her stolen laptop after installing a tracking software on her computer prior to its theft. After her student house in Cotham was broken into, Partington was able to track the thief, using Prey, which provided the student with photos of the sleeping burglar and his GPS location. The 19-year-old, Rastin Khalaji received a 12-month community order in January. He was made to abide by a curfew for eight weeks and given 70 hours of unpaid work. According to the Bristol Neighbours website, students are three times more likely to be victims of burglary than any other group in Bristol. The website offers advice for students on how to secure their home. It also recommends marking property, which can deter thieves and help police recover property to the rightful owner. Gabriel,one of the housemates on Hampton Road, told Epigram, ‘We know to keep valuables out of sight when we’re out, but have never really thought about it when we’ve been in the house’. ‘I’m never making pancakes again!’ he joked.
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Farrow, 47, accused of double murder Alex Bradbrook News Reporter The small Somerset town of Thornbury, on the outskirts of Bristol, is still in shock after discovering on the 15th February that the local vicar, Reverend John Suddards, had been murdered. John Farrow, 47, has been accused of murdering both Suddards and retired teacher Betty Yates. Farrow appeared via video-link from HMP Bristol before Justice Keith at
Bristol Crown Court for a fiveminute hearing. He will remain remanded in custody until the 9th March. Yates, 77, was found at the bottom of the stairs at her cottage in Bewdley, Worcestershire, on the 4th January. Police said she had been stabbed and beaten with her walking stick. Farrow is also accused of murdering Suddards 10 days later at his vicarage in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire. Farrow was arrested in Folkestone, Kent on the 19th February following a tip off from the public. He also faces a
charge of burglary relating to a separate property in Thornbury between the 21st December and 3rd January. Suddards, aged 59, was a popular and well-respected member of the community. He had been part of the clergy for over 20 years. Having originally trained as a barrister, he decided to become a vicar after a car crash. His body was found by builders due to start work in the vicarage on the morning after he died. The postmortem found that the victim had suffered multiple stab wounds.
Suddards moved to Thornbury just six months previous to the incident. Christian organisations across the country, including this university’s Christian Union, have expressed their disbelief and sadness at the crime. Reaction from John Suddard’s previous parish, near Chelmsford in Essex, was one of shock and grief, with local residents stunned by the sudden death of their former vicar. They describe him as being ‘Absolutely devoted to the church and an extremely hard
worker’ and ‘Much loved’ by his parishioners, who admired his compassionate nature. The Bishop of Tewkesbury, the Right Reverend John Went, expressed his sincere condolences over the death, saying, ‘Our hearts go out to John’s immediate family and close friends’. A memorial service was conducted in Thornbury on Friday 17th February by the Bishop of Gloucester, Michael Perham. The packed service was attended by 300 people who were able to commemorate his life and to give the town’s
residents ‘An opportunity to come together at this difficult time’. Following the arrest, DCI Simon Crisp, the leader of the investigation, expressed his gratitude to the public for assisting the police in the arrest, saying ‘it has been a member of public that made the difference – my thanks go to that person for their courage in providing us with that vital information’. Farrow will appear in Bristol Crown Court on the 9th March for his preliminary hearing before his court date later in the year.
Model behaviour at FUZE fashion show Jodie White News Reporter
FUZE Bristol
FUZE models performed alongside dancers in England’s biggest student-run fashion show
England’s largest student fashion, dance and music event, FUZE, took place at Bristol’s Passenger Shed on the 17th and 18th of February in front of captivated, sell-out audiences. The show, which began its audition process in October 2011, has raised over £40,000 for charity since it started in 2004. Both fashion and dance were truly ‘fuzed’ to provide audiences with a flawlessly professional show. Models stunned the audience in stylish catwalks from brands such as Motel, C By Clarissa and Beautiful Bottoms, as well as an edgy line designed especially for FUZE by the University of the West of England’s fashion students. Ollie Proudlock, of Made in Chelsea fame, also appeared on the Friday evening to see his cutting edge t-shirt line, Serge DeNimes, showcase on the
catwalk. From hip-hop to ballet, dubstep to Adele, the dancers of FUZE displayed diversity with their faultless routines. They brought high energy and undeniable talent to the stage. Each dance had a different theme, look and feel, further fuelled by the striking make-up and creative costumes. The incorporation of humour, acrobatics and emotion into many of the routines demonstrated choreographic creativity and the hours of hard work that had gone into perfecting such an intricate and inventive set of routines. Dance directors, Lizzie Coote and Kita Sellers, were thanked at the end of the final show, and presented with a spa day for their endless hard work. Natalie Twaddle, who was in the audience for the final show said ‘I can’t believe the huge variety of styles within the show both from the modelling and the dancing. I couldn’t take my eyes off the stage throughout the show’.
The event was run with the highest level of professionalism throughout. Despite not selling out on the Friday evening, the Saturday audience was nearly three times as large, creating an electric atmosphere throughout the show. Model Directors, Jalal Rahim and Menna Down spoke at the end of the final show and praised all involved for their dedication and commitment throughout, particularly Managing Directors Chris Jackson and Chloe Martin, who have managed the show this year alongside their full time jobs. This year, the committee chose to support Smile Train, who work to provide free reparative surgical procedures for those affected by cleft lips and palates. The second charity was the Alzheimer’s Society, who fund research into the disease and assist with care for those affected. Powerful videos from both charities were shown during the evening, reminding and informing everyone of the value of the causes chosen.
UNITE bursaries aim to widen participation Josephine McConville Head News Reporter
opportunity to support a group of students that we know are underrepresented in higher education, particularly at a time when the costs of going to university may be considered a deterrent. ‘This scheme will give us the chance to ensure that these students are appropriately supported during their time at the University of Bristol.’ Chief Executive of UNITE Group, Mark Allan, said: ‘As a responsible business that is built to last, we are aware of the impact we have on the communities in which we operate; the UNITE Foundation will help us strengthen our positive and
trusting relationships with the universities and communities we serve.’ UNITE aims to increase the number of Universities involved in the scheme and to extend the number of bursaries offered each year so that by 2016 the UNITE foundation will be supporting 140 students throughout the UK. UBU Widening Participation Officer, Sophie Mew, also commented on the launch of the trust. ‘Whilst this scheme will certainly help a small number of students, UNITE accommodation remains prohibitively expensive for many students at Bristol.’
UNITE provides student accommodation throughout Bristol, including Phoenix Court
Flickr: Ian Murray
Bristol is set to be one of the four Universities to benefit from UNITE’s new bursary schemes. The student accommodation provider plans to offer £85 000 worth of charitable donations and 21 bursaries. They are aimed at students from disadvantaged backgrounds to help fund the cost of living while at university. The bursaries are launched in celebration of UNITE’s 21st birthday and will include up to £4,000 per year of living expenses
and free accommodation in a UNITE property throughout the duration of study. The University of Edinburgh, King’s College London and Sheffield Hallam University are the other institutions to receive support packages from the UNITE foundation. People who have spent time growing up in care are particularly underrepresented in higher education and will be given priority access to the bursary schemes. Student Funding Manager at the University of Bristol, Jane Fitzwalter, said: ‘We are excited to be involved in this scheme, as it gives us an
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Protest against planned airfield closure Jessica Wingrad Senior News Reporter
Steph Gadsby
Filton Airfield provides many local jobs which will be jeopardised if the space is closed
New ethical careers event Emily Gotta News Reporter
that the current economic climate makes holding out for companies deemed socially and environmentally ethical difficult and unrealistic. ‘For me being in debt [from student loans], and given the climate we’re in right now, I don’t think it’s feasible to wait for a job within those parameters, but I believe in the cause [of ethical careers],’ she said. Gardiner went on to express that it should be up to the corporations rather than future employees to lead the way in promoting ethically responsible careers, and that corporations should be held accountable for implementing environmental and social improvements. Gardiner said, ‘Companies should all have recycling facilities and opportunities for employees to get involved in their communities’. English MA student Ashleigh Searle is aware of the seemingly invisible benefits of an environmentally-forward company, but feels that should not be the sole criteria when starting the job search. ‘Obviously, if you can work for a company concerned with being green that definitely gives you more job satisfaction, but unfortunately, being green isn’t my top consideration—I’d be more concerned with the job itself’. Searle spoke up for the current generation of new job-seekers and their willingness to do their part while acknowledging the dour economy.
Students and this is reflected in the reason why BAE Systems wish to close down the airfield. They have stated that keeping the Filton airfield open is no longer financially feasible. Consultants have advised that the commercial future of the airport is no longer viable. One member of the group of protesters Andy Warren, a local history expert from Yate said that Bristol’s aviation heritage is closely linked with Filton airfield and voiced his distress at the prospect of its closure. Protesters who met to march against the closure of the airfield dispute these claims and are urging people to appeal to local MPs to support the cause. Filton airport’s uncertain future marks a stark contrast to the multi-million-pound expansion plans in place for Bristol Airport. Bristolbased firm Hydrock has been appointed as civil and structural designer for the new terminal extension at the airport.
Red Bull Hill Chasers return to Park Street
Red Bull
The Ethical Careers Fair: Beyond Just Profit was held on February 15th in the Social Science Complex. This event gave students an opportunity to meet ethically minded employers and learn about available work experiences. The Fair was part of the first Ethics & Environment Week and was organised by the University of Bristol Career Service, Student Union, Bristol Hub, as well as socially and environmentally aware UBU societies. The ethics and environment week is a chance to find out about the socially and environmentally aware UBU Societies, their events, campaigns and the important issues. The interest in ethically responsible careers has grown considerably in the past few years and the fair sought to educate Bristol students of career possibilities outside of engineering, law and banking. The focus of the event was primarily on corporations and organisations, which according to The Ethical Careers Guide edited by Gideon Burrows, help ‘To make the world a better place or, at least, not contribute to it becoming worse’. When students think of pursuing ethical careers, working for a charity generally
comes to mind, but in recent years mainstream employers are taking measures to heighten their level of social corporate responsibility. The Sunday Times Top 100 Companies, which evaluates businesses primarily through surveys of staff satisfaction, has shown an increase in companies offering more ethically minded roles. The British National History Consortium, Christian Aid, Envision, International Voluntary Service and Life Cycle UK were among the organisations present at the fair. The fair also featured Bristol University alumni who shared their experiences working in the third sector in a panel discussion at the beginning of the evening. Despite the current high unemployment rate and rising difficulties for students looking for jobs after university, the organisations present at the fair stressed the significance of a career that seeks to make a positive impact on the world over financial profit. Student Hubs, one of the organisations which promoted the Ethical Career Fair said ‘Forty hours a week for the next fifty years. Think how much you can achieve in that time. It’s a lot of time to have a positive social or environmental impact’. English MA student, Genevieve Gardiner, agreed with the ideals of the Career Fair and its emphasis on finding ethically responsible work, but questioned its practicality. She commented
Protests on the 18th February, staged to challenge the closure of the Filton Airfield attracted around 200 people despite torrential rain. The Filton Airfield, located near Gloucester Road North, provides ample jobs for locals which will be jeopardised should it be closed down. The assistant general secretary of the aerospace branch of the Unite union, Tony Burk commented: ‘The loss of the airfield will have a dramatic impact on the local economy. We are going to do all we can to keep it – and we mean business. We must keep Filton flying.’ The airfield is owned by BAE systems who plan to convert the land into an aerospace enterprise zone, while the South Gloucestershire Council have approved around 2,500 houses to occupy part of the
site. Protesters fear that this extra housing will increase traffic on roads. The protesters carried umbrellas as well as signs and banners, they marched from Golf Course Lane to the Filton Airfield itself. Drivers passing the marchers hooted their horns in support of the cause and rallying calls to continue the fight for the airfield met the protesters at various points of the march. The chairman of the Unite union, David Tilley, aided the organisation of the protest. He expressed his gratitude at the turnout for the event. ‘This is a fantastic show. We’ve defied the weather and our critics. It’s a privilege to stand in front of the airfield. We are here to fight to save it so let’s hope we make a difference. We need jobs and manufacturing, not just houses,’ he said. Due to the small-scale operation of the Filton airport, it is not the first choice of travel for Bristol University
The Red Bull Hill Chasers transformed Park Street, in the heart of Bristol, into a race track for one night only on the 18th of February. 32 cyclists competed against each other to decide which bike discipline is best uphill. 16 elite level bike athletes and 16 bike enthusiasts from BMX, mountain bike, road cycling and fixed-gear, raced in a series of gruelling knockout rounds in front of a 6,000 strong crowd. Ben Simmons emerged victorious and the top 3 riders received specially made golden Charge bikes.
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Bristol lecturer competes on BBC’s Mastermind Jessica Wingrad Senior News Reporter
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John Humphrys was like each and every person I met at the BBC- professional, polite, good-natured
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the weeks before and after the recording date I was planning to be in Rome, researching at the Vatican Secret Archive. ‘Luckily, I was able to find a convenient flight from Rome to Manchester, where the show was to be recorded.’ Mastermind involves four contestants competing for a spot on the next round, the winner of which is named Mastermind of the year and receives a cut-glass bowl. Each contestant must answer questions on a chosen specialist
subject for two minutes, after which they must attempt to answer two minutes of general knowledge questions. As his specialist subject, Ferzoco chose the life and films of Federico Fellini. He has explained, ‘I’ve always enjoyed Fellini. I hold him to be among the greatest of directors, and I can’t think of anyone else who so captures the art of cinema as he does’. This subject proved to be no trouble to Ferzoco who was successful in these as well as the general knowledge questions. Although Mastermind is famous for its intimidating music and atmosphere, Ferzoco commented, ‘The contestants don’t actually hear the scary music and the chair is extremely comfortable. ‘And the lighting is much more dramatic for the viewer than the contestant, thank goodness. John Humphrys was like each and every person I met at the BBC - professional, polite, good-natured. Really, they were great’. Ferzoco’s victory was filmed seven months ago but he was asked by the BBC not to reveal the results to anyone.
Alex Sheppard
A University of Bristol lecturer competed on the BBC’s popular quiz show, Mastermind winning the game with a score of 27 points. George Ferzoco, a Research and Teaching Fellow from the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, was asked to appear on the show last May having outperformed 1,000s of others in the selection process. He was one of just 96 candidates to be selected as a contestant for this year. After receiving Ferzoco’s application, the Mastermind administrators contacted the Bristol lecturer by telephone, posing ten general knowledge questions for him to answer on the spot. About one month after the telephone interview, he was informed that a further interview would take place at the BBC studios in Bristol. This comprised of 20 general knowledge questions as well as a discussion of his chosen specialised subject.
Ferozoco was in Vienna studying medieval manuscripts from the Austrian National Library at the time he received the email confirming his place on the show. At first Ferzoco did not think he would be able to compete on Mastermind. He stated ‘During
Bristol RAG burrito challenge
University of Bristol students successfully beat the world record for the UK’s largest burrito, beating the previous record holders by 12ft. In just 26 minutes, the students created the 77ft snack, in aid of RAG (raising and giving) week. Along with staff from Mission Burrito, the students sold the burrito in sections, raising nearly £300 for charities including the Alzheimer’s Society and the Jessie May Trust.
Bristol’s steamship may become jelly art Lucy Woods Senior News Reporter
Flickr: Danie VDM
Bristol’s award winning steamship, the SS Great Britain, could become the latest landmark to be cast out of jelly in a National Competition. Fans of the towering steamship, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and once manned by Victorian sailors, are asked to ‘get a wobble on’ and vote for the SS Great Britain. It is one of three attractions across the country competing to be ‘jellified’. The steamship has been shortlisted for the Museums At Night Connect 10 Initiative, and must compete with two other landmarks for the grand prize of being transformed into a towering jelly masterpiece. The adversaries in the competition are the sphere of the Dounreay Fast Reactor in the Scottish county of Caithness and the haunted site of Belgrave Hall in Leicester. The SS Great Britain, launched in 1843, was a groundbreaking feat of engineering and travelled around the world 32 times, covering nearly 1m miles at sea. She has become a unique attraction in Bristol and resides in the dry dock where she
Admirers of the award winning attraction are urged to ‘get a wobble on’ and vote to have the SS Great Britain cast into jelly
was originally constructed. The artists responsible for the possible future creation of this jelly masterpiece are Bompas and Parr, also known as the ‘Jellymongers’. They have been responsible for transforming numerous landmarks into dessert art forms, including making jelly models out of St Paul’s
Cathedral, Buckingham Palace and London’s Gherkin building. The national competition will involve ten museums working with ten artists for Museums at Night, which runs across the UK from 18th-20th May. Each winning museum, as well as working with their artist of choice, will receive a £500 bursary towards the
costs of staging unique Museums at Night events. According to Rhian Tritton, director of museum and educational services at the SS Great Britain Trust, the competition will provide ‘A highly imaginative and fun initiative which links museums, artists and galleries to create new and exciting events for visitors’.
Furthermore, Tritton emphasised, ‘Winning this would help build on Bristol’s artistic reputation’ and that combining the technology of ‘The world’s first luxury liner’ with Bompas and Parr’s talents for uniting food science and art is ‘A marriage made in delicious dessert heaven.’ Bristol University student
Rosa Willock, who worked on the SS Great Britain as a waitress in the ship’s function room, would definitely encourage more University students to visit. She claims, ‘It’s actually so interesting and famous but no one at Uni has ever been.’ Currently, the steamship is only just in the lead, with 49% percent of the vote.
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Features
Editor: Tristan Martin
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Why students are going to demand more Dramatic changes to the Higher Education sector may mean Bristol University is going to have to listen carefully to its students Tristan Martin Features Editor
Photo: Marek Allen
Year on year, universities across the country go about their business of teaching students, conducting research, doing their bit for the community, and generally trying to look good. At the end of each year their students rate them; some do well, some don’t, life goes on. This coming year, however, I have it on good authority that universities really don’t have a clue what’s going to happen. The changes taking place across the higher education sector make predictions for 2012 virtually impossible. As far as Bristol is concerned, the two main changes are these: students are paying three times as much as before, and quotas for A grade students have been lifted. This places the university in an interesting position, as the students it gives offers to are now paying in a much more direct sense for the services received, and there is an opportunity to take in many more than before. What is also particular about Bristol is that it receives a lot of applications (the average applicant to place ratio is 10:1). The reasons for this are approximately threefold: it’s a well regarded university, Bristol is universally
As student numbers rise, maintaining standards and reputation will be a big challenge
seen as a nice place to live, and – let’s be honest – you’ve got a much better chance of getting in than at Oxbridge. But what has changed this year is that the applicants are after something a little different from before. Students no longer just want to have a good time; they want to get a job as well. A survey conducted by Cardiff University last month (see right) shows that the importance of employment prospects in university choice has risen from
29% to 59% over the last five years. The survey also shows that there has been a big shift in the perceived significance of getting work experience as soon as possible. What this shows is that universities are going to have to start showing that they are up to the task of helping students find employment. So this is where the strain comes in. Over the next three years Bristol is going to expand significantly.Particular concerns have been raised in some arts
and humanities subjects that are forecast to double in size. It is in these areas, which have a lot of applicants, but not all that many clear-cut career paths, that students are starting to make some noise. With fees tripling and student numbers increasing, the university is going to have to do more than just provide the resources and teaching standards of a high quality education. It needs to establish stronger links with industry and foster work-
How the National Student Survey works
The National Student Survey (NSS), carried out by the polling organisation Ipsos Mori, gathers information from final year undergraduate students across the UK regarding their satisfaction with their course experience. The questionnaire focuses on six main areas of the student learning experience: Teaching, Support, Fairness and Feedback of Assessment, Organisation, Resources and Personal development. In total, 22 questions are asked, including one rating students’ Overall Satisfaction with their course. Respondents must evaluate statements such as ‘The course is intellectually
stimulating’ on a five-point scale from ‘Definitely disagree’ to ‘Definitely agree’ or ‘Not applicable’. The responses are then made available on the Unistats website, where prospective students can seek guidance when deciding which university to apply to. The methodology of the NSS itself has raised many eyebrows since its launch in 2005. Lee Harvey quit his position as the Higher Education Academy’s director of research and evaluation after publicly denouncing the survey as ‘bland’,‘widely manipulated’and ‘methodologically worthless’ in 2008. This came in the same
year that staff members at Kingston University were found to be encouraging students to artificially inflate their surveys. One lecturer was recorded saying, ‘If Kingston comes down the bottom, then the bottom line is that nobody is going to want to employ you.’ As for that bottom line, the worry is that it is worryingly simplistic. The responses to the last general statement: ‘Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of my course’ are used by the media as the headline figures to feed into university rankings, whilst the rest of the survey is often neglected (although the Guardian has now started using teaching and feedback as well). This means that a onepoint difference on that single score is the difference between satisfaction of 80% and 100%: around 100 positions in the rankings. A 2011 report from the Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies showed furthermore that several questions of the NSS
are ‘double-barrelled’, i.e they cover more than one issue area in a single question. In such cases, students have been proved to focus on one or other issue. Other practical and methodological weak points appear when exploring the experiences of joint honours students (whose experience of different subjects can vary greatly), or when trying to give a complete picture of collegiate universities, where teaching is divided between the college and university. Most universities also have a section meant solely for internal feedback, and it is perhaps here that the survey can be most useful. With no reason to skew results, this part of the survey provides an opportunity for students to genuinely criticise and applaud the education they have received. There is also a comment section that offers up 1000 characters in which to put forward constructive criticism. One can only hope that someone reads it. Nahema Marchal
related opportunities within the university itself. It also needs to get the basics right by providing up-to-date IT systems that actually work, and keep the library services operating in line with the increase in numbers. If the university can’t manage all this it is going to show up in the rankings, and for perhaps the first time ever, the university might actually care. As one lecturer wrote in a recent email, filling in the National Student Survey is ‘a
service to future students too - they’ll be paying high fees, so the universities are going to have to start listening hard to what students say, and caring about what they say in public.’ If the government insists on turning the higher education sector into a free market, the university is going to have to play by the rules of business and show that it’s providing a service worth £9000 per year. If not, the customers may just take their custom elsewhere.
Insight
We asked VP for Education Josh Alford what issues he felt most concerned the student body ‘One thing I do come across regularly is the importance of good teaching. Most staff members at UoB are phenomenal academics, but students really value those who go beyond seeing teaching as a necessity to supplement their research and who actually relish the experience of teaching students, imparting their knowledge in the most effective way possible and
simultaneously learning from the students themselves. I also come across the importance of effective personal tutors. An issue that has come up consistently in work with undergrads, postgrads and international students is the value placed on effective pastoral and academic support provided by personal tutors. When students do not have a member of staff that they can turn to for support or do not feel the support available is adequate, genuine or useful, students can really feel disadvantaged.’
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A closer look at four changing departments Here we examine some of the criticisms and appraisals that will come to shape the numbers seen in this year’s Student Survey Bristol University has historically done quite badly in the National Student Survey. The 2011 survey put us at 49th in the country; the 2012 survey places us at a moderately improved 43rd. As a prominent Russell Group university Bristol hasn’t typically had much time for the rankings. As such there is a general assumption that no matter what the survey results say, we remain somewhere around the bottom of the top ten. The Times rankings have
typically supported this, placing us between 8th and 13th over the last five years. The Guardian on the other hand, which gives much greater weight to student satisfaction, has for the last four years placed us somewhere between 33rd and 25th. Although reputation amongst the academic community no doubt remains strong, the shift towards a more student-oriented higher education ‘market’ is certain to affect this emphasis. It is
also worth considering that, especially amongst young people, news is found online. The Times website is locked safely behind a pay wall, where practically no one under the age of 25 is going to see it, whereas the Guardian is the accessible and free choice of the youth. So whether or not the university thinks the feedback of its students matters, the next few years of applicants will not be looking to the historical records, but to the opinions of their peers for advice.
History What the Students Say The most common complaint about the department is the lack of contact hours. Despite the differences between humanities students and their science counterparts,
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More students will bring in more resources, more members of staff. and a broader range of interests that will naturally feed into a more comprehensive syllabus and a wider student choice
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meaning history students work more independently, having to prepare for seminars thoroughly and undertaking
personal research for essay, students feel they should be getting more value for money. With the potential for a doubling of student numbers there is a fear that already stretched resources, including up to 15 in a seminar (the ideal seminar size for the students I spoke to was 10) and a lack of a variety of teaching staff increasing subject choices, will only get worse. The broad compulsory units taken in History have been received well on the whole by the student body, however it is felt that some lectures have been repeated and some are too specific, like the one entitled ‘reading medieval women’s diary’s’. There is, however, a wide consensus that the course is well designed – by the third year we have been moulded into independent historians
who are able, if we so choose, to successfully tackle post graduate study. Daniel Hooton
What the Lecturers Say ‘It is well known that student numbers in Historical Studies are likely to increase in the next few years. This is good news: more students will bring in more resources, more members of staff, and a broader range of interests that will feed into a more comprehensive syllabus and a wider student choice. The Department’s priority is to ensure that the quality of teaching and the student experience remain unaffected, and that class sizes, staff: student ratios, and contact hours remain at their current levels.’ Dr. Fernando Cervantes - Head of Education of Historical Studies.
Modern Languages What the Students Say Last year’s funding cuts saw students in the School of Modern Languages signing petitions against staff redundancies. The biggest problems seem be in the French department, where many students have complained about lack of choice, lack of library books, oversized classes and the structure of assessments. Samir Dwesar, a final year student of French, finds fault with the size of French grammar and oral classes, questioning the extent to which the classes effectively prepare students for their final exams: ‘Classes are oversized (50+ in a French grammar class)
so it is more like a lecture. Also our oral classes failed to prepare us for the exam. Most of the 10 classes were spent listening to others give presentations rather than speaking French. As a result, most people felt illprepared for the exam.’ It should be noted that this is not the story throughout modern languages. In the Russian department, for example, in which classes rarely have more than 10 students, there have been no major complaints. In contrast to the problem of insufficient numbers of library books for French students, students of Russian received an email asking whether they would like
to request additional copies of books to be bought by the library during this academic year. Helen Corbett
What the Lecturers Say ‘It is our responsibility, as Staff at the University of Bristol, to respond to student concerns and gathering their feedback both informally (through consultation hours) and more formally through student-staff liaison committees is how we can review and improve our programme so as to provide the best experience possible to our students.’ Ms Helene Duranton - Language Director, French Department
Geography What the Students Say Geography at Bristol is arguably one of the most successful subjects at the university, consistently featuring in the top 3 of such departments nationwide and scoring highly worldwide. Testament to its success, students in the department are on the most part very happy with the teaching, facilities and courses offered. However, as with all departments, there remain some issues that students believe could be addressed. Most comments concerned the news that the 2012/13 intake of students would rise from 90 to 135, and the pressure the facilities would be under. Some students raised the point that the lecture theatre could be overcrowded, and there wouldn’t be enough space for private study. There were also criticisms
of the uneven distribution of work throughout the year and poor communication regarding arrangements and costs of field trips for first and second years.
What the Lecturers Say I met with Professor Paul Valdes, the head of the School of Geographical Sciences, to put these issues to him and to give him the chance to respond to the points raised. He recognised that the larger intake of students could make lectures more crowded; however he revealed plans to expand the Haggett computer laboratory and future aims to enlarge areas for private study. Also, as Biological Sciences start to move to new facilities, Geography may be able to expand into these buildings to allow more research and teaching to occur.
With regards to the workload, he said that committees try to ensure an even spread of assignments throughout the year, but that it was inevitable that sometimes deadlines would clash with each other; he raised an important point however, saying that it was typical of life, and that working under pressure would prepare students for future careers. Finally, he said that the department aimed to be able to subsidise field trips further and to give students details regarding field trips earlier on, but highlighted how it was difficult to be able to predict exact costs due to the differences in arrangements every year. The future of Geography at Bristol will see the department growing and providing new opportunities for its students. Alex Bradbook
English What the Students Say The doubling of first year intake for English at Bristol has raised a lot of questions - for one, why did the proposals see English increasing the largest and the fastest. Despite the benefits of a larger department, including an enhancement of the research profile of the university, this increase seems far too quick, and we question the University’s preparedness. We both really value English at Bristol, and don’t want to see the high quality education it offers devalued--and yet it seems obvious to us that, just in terms of the library, teaching spaces and other resources alone, this is going to cause chaos. Beyond pure practicalities, the expansion plans also seem to feed into the wider and (in our minds) problematic culture of turning students into commodities and using arts students’ fees to fund more expensive courses, seemingly with little
care for falling standards and diminishing student morale. The lack of contact hours can also often create a culture of anonymity and a lack of care, which means that arts students are in danger of getting lost in a system without any safety net to ensure that they are keeping their heads above water. We have begun to rally support for these concerns because we want to remind the university that we are individual students who are part of this institution because we want to learn, and should not be seen primarily as a lucrative source of income. Rachel Schraer
What the Lecturers Say Although supportive of changes to the department, lecturers had some reservations. Principally, staff were concerned that the intimacy of the department could be affected. With so many more students, the chance of lecturers being on first-name terms with their students could
well be diminished, along with more general feelings of communality. As for the potential for the department to cope, however, staff have been more positive. The increase in numbers is going to be staggered, so the full impact will only be felt after three years, giving time for a gradual increase in teaching and library resources. The department is in the process of recruiting new lecturers, and feels that the current teaching standard will be maintained. In response to the accusation that it is humanities subjects such as English, History and Politics that were enlarging on economic grounds, I was told that the real reason was more likely due to application numbers. The claim is that due to the amount of high quality applications they have to turn down, they can afford to accept many more students without lowering the quality of the department. Only time will tell. Tristan Martin
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Born in the USA: the words we can’t do without David Mountain Features Reporter
Photo: Aman Hikes
The other day I made the inexcusable error of pronouncing ‘schedule’ with a ‘sk’ sound. My otherwise mild-mannered friend curtly corrected me, reminding me that, ‘you live in England, remember?’ This retort stung me, but then got me thinking: specifically, why in this country do we insist on harbouring a prejudice against American English? It can’t be a hangover from losing the colonies, surely? The War of Independence ended 228 years ago, after all. In fact, it goes further back than that: the first reported criticism of American English is from 1735 – a full 41 years before the USA even existed – when a shocked visitor described the word bluff (meaning a steep hill or cliff) as ‘barbarous English’. As a nation we seem to have continued in a similar vein ever since, attacking their words, spelling and pronunciation for reasons I am yet to fathom, whilst at the same time remaining unaware of just how influential America has been over the development of our language; indeed, I have already unintentionally used two Americanisms in this paragraph (‘hangover’ and ‘influential’). Without American additions to the English language we wouldn’t have the verbs ‘to show off’, ‘to pass out’ or the noun ‘hangover’, thereby making a description of almost any night out impossible. Try going one
Words like ‘ravine’ were invented to describe scenery that didn’t exist back home
day without saying ‘OK’, perhaps the most widely understood word in the world. An exhaustive list of American words and phrases would be just that, but as a tiny sampling how about: ‘thanks’, ‘right away’, ‘positive’, ‘talented’, ‘reliable’, ‘influential’, ‘Age of Reason’, ‘close shave’ and ‘hold on’. Their habit of creating verbs out of nouns has allowed us to ‘donate’, ‘engineer’, ‘notice’, ‘locate’, ‘panic’, ‘advocate’ and to ‘park’ our car. If you were to ‘sit on the fence’ before ‘making your mind’ up you are employing Americanisms.
Even a ‘stiff upper lip’, that quintessential British reaction to pretty much anything, is an American coinage. Yet despite these useful contributions, it seems that as soon as Americans opened their mouths the English were ready with a snide remark or snobbish rebuttal. Not long after we had recovered from the shocking hilarity of ‘bluff’ were we chortling over ‘lengthy’, once in a while and, for some reason, ‘census’. Mighty man of words Samuel Johnson was angered by the cheek of Americans to
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Without American additions to the English language we wouldn’t have the verbs to show off, to pass out or the noun hangover, thereby making a description of almost any night out impossible
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invent new geographical terms such as ‘swamp’, ‘ravine’ and ‘hollow’, apparently unaware that the landscape of North America might be a little different to that of England. Additionally, as Bill Bryson points out in Made in America, some of the phrases that induced British contempt were not actually Americanisms at all – the much bemoaned ‘beat it’, ‘son of a gun’ and ‘bite the dust’ were all spoken in various parts of England for hundreds of years before later being transplanted to America with the early settlers.
I’m not suggesting that we welcome every single American construct with open arms – ‘frigidinners’and‘hot-dogatorium’ spring to mind as follies of an over-eager tongue – nor that we forgot our own island’s wonderful linguistic history; merely, that we abandon the senseless view that an American word is somehow an inferior word, for our speech is diminished without it. (As a personal footnote, I discovered that up until the end of the 18th century the English pronounced schedule with a ‘sk’ sound. All is well.)
Asylum seekers faced with international student fees Lib Dear Features Reporter
legal battle in 2003, lashed out at officials’ treatment of unaccompanied asylum seekers. A spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills says: ‘This change brings clarity to the system for those awarded leave to remain in the UK. It has been necessary in reviewing eligibility to ensure that limited financial resources are used effectively.’ The Helena Kennedy Foundation argue that it clashes with the government’s constant encouragement of high-level skills and hits the students who have often had to overcome horrendous and lifechanging experiences in order to achieve their potential. An employee and training policy adviser at the Refugee Council stated, ‘a young person will be encouraged to go on to university because they will be doing well at A-levels or the equivalent, and will be considered a home student at school, but when they apply to university they are slotted
Photo: Tom Forbes
As of February last year, young asylum seekers face the higher rate of international fees as well as no access to student loans. This change will now virtually exclude capable young people, who often overcome challenges such as language barriers and social exclusion, from gaining life skills and reaching their true potential. The decision was reached by the changes outlined in the Education Regulations 2011 without a government consultation or announcement. A Discretionary Leave to Remain (DLR) is a temporary status that is given for three years, or until the recipient turns 17 and a half and accounted for 56% of applicants under the age of 17 in 2009 and 46% in 2010. In order to access Higher Education, young asylum seekers will now have to wait possibly up to six years to be granted Indefinite Leave to Remain status which will not
only hinder their education and development but place them, at that most important step into higher education, into a limbo. It has been an ongoing struggle for Save the Children and the Refugee Support Network to ensure that many of these young refugees who were granted ‘Discretionary Leave to Remain’ had been granted home fees with regard to higher education. The National Union of Students is working with Student Action for Refugees (STAR), the Refugee Support Network and the Helena Kennedy Foundation (HKF) to lobby the government to provide asylum seekers, with a DLR status, to home fee status and access to critical student finance. The actress Emma Thompson has previously criticized the government for failing to act on the decision to send young refugees home as soon as they turn 18. She has been sponsoring a Rwandan refugee, Tindyebwa Agaba, and in a
Many gifted asylum seekers will no longer have access to higher education
into an international student category’. February’s rule change has affected those most at risk, such as young asylum seekers who reach the UK unaccompanied, and the foundation is now
trying to get every higher education institution in the UK to offer at least one place for students seeking sanctuary, to waive tuition fees until their status is resolved and to offer training and mentoring
support. The Refugee Network found that young asylum seekers’ considered education the most important part of their life, as it enables them to focus on the future, rather than the past.
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Marie Colvin killed, but her legacy lives on
Colvin’s daring career should be an inspiration for front-line journalism and its key role in the modern era
Rosemary Wagg
a recent television programme on The New York Times, is that the internet and social media which allows so-called ‘citizen journalists’ - correspondents without pay checks - to report directly without recognised press mediation, will transform the work of a journalist into a news collator. Resting in the warmth of a first-world office, journalists will patch together stories from a selection of internet sites with no need – or, apparently, desire – to see the situation first-hand.
Two, part of furore resulting from the phone-hacking scandal is built on the nostalgic belief that there once existed a heyday of heart and head-strong hacks, spurred onwards only by a personal crusade for ‘the truth,’ with no misbehaviour involved in reaching it. It is believed that the actions of the few involved in the scandal prove that the integrity of journalism which apparently existed wholly at an indistinct point in the past has now entirely dissolved and will
Flickr: newsinfo26
Since the death of The Sunday Times Foreign Correspondent Marie Colvin was announced on February 22nd 2012, tributes have been raining in from fellow journalists and readers alike. And rightly so. Colvin’s inimitable career saw her sideline personal safety and travel to conflicts in Sri Lanka, Chechnya, Sarajevo and, finally, to Syria where she died reporting from the bombarded city of Homs. Her writing often focused on the impact of war on civilians and her reports, like all great war writers, are made more haunting by their unfussy, accurate prose. Operating as a female war correspondent is always imbued with shock value potential. Despite there having been a larger number of them than most people remember – Mary McCarthy, Nancy Cunard, Marguerite Higgins and Lee Miller being esteemed examples – most people can recall just one, Martha Gelhorn, with whom the majority of comparisons have been drawn with Colvin. However, the honest parallel between Gelhorn and Colvin lies not in sharing a gender – and whether this had a particular impact on the way they conducted their work – but
in their unrelenting desire to publicise the truth of each situation they found themselves in, a truth that would have remained unknown to many without their reportage. Amongst some quarters, there is a belief that the kind of journalism practiced by Colvin, involving travelling to the locale, regardless of geographical difficulties, and actively seeking out the unheard stories, is dying out. The death knell sounds to two tunes. One, as explored in
not be present among future journalists. Stamp on this two-part theory as follows. To begin with, technological advances – meaning both the internet as an entity and the specific mediums of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube et al – have recently been greatly beneficial to communicating news from Egypt, Libya and, to a lesser extent, Syria itself. If reports suggesting Colvin and the others killed in the same attack were deliberately traced and targeted via their satellite signals are true, it is a demonstration of the terrible flipside to an otherwise very positive tool. Aside from nonprofessional journalists sending messages to the outside world, these aspects of technology also aid the professionals as well, by allowing them speed and frequency of communication at a previously unprecedented level. Ultimately, in seeking to communicate the hidden, lower level stories, often of the kind which do not make front page news, but are crucially in need of quick attention, the benefits of technology are manifold. Propositions that modern technology could contribute to a diminishing desire to seek out the silenced are flimsy and contrite. Indeed, modern technology and journalism could be rather good friends and utilizing this equipment could enable more accurate coverage of events instead of creating collections of journo-collators cobbling together unsubstantial articles from others’ blogs.
Suggesting that journalists would become lazy collators rather than investigators, coincides with a more generalised post-phone-hacking view of the profession which discounts the integrity or desire of journalists to strongly inconvenience themselves in an attempt to uncover unreported, important realities. As is often the case with nostalgia, the foundation to this view is the idea that there existed a past golden age. This is incorrect. There have, and unfortunately always will be, writers more interested in producing exposé sludge and giving a yet louder voice to already overheard celebrities. Equally, there will always be those more interested in reading this kind of writing rather than reports of humanitarian crises. However, universally acknowledging all journalists as immoral because of phonehacking is as ill thought out as labelling all MPs from now until forever as thieves, following the expenses scandal. As an individual and a professional, Marie Colvin is irreplaceable. But, as with her predecessors Martha Gelhorn, Lee Miller and Hunter S. Thompson who all possessed an indefatigable integrity, there will, thankfully, be others with an itching to write journalism founded on the want for truth. Aversion to injustice is fundamental to humanity and as long as we keep reproducing, good guys with broken biros and friendly Blackberries in hand will emerge and take inspiration from Marie Colvin’s work.
Edwina’s benefits advice: Keep calm and Currie on
Ailsa Cameron ‘You buy the food for the children before you buy the food for the dog.’ This was Edwina Currie’s bizarre domestic advice for families struggling to pay for both ‘heating and eating’ last autumn. The consequent eruption of confusion as to whether Currie had finally succumbed to insanity, or that she was genuinely suggesting that we live in a nation of overindulged pets, undoubtedly secured her
glittering return to radio last week. This time, our heroine single-handedly brought a strained mother to tears with a Gestapo-style interrogation of her spending habits, and a disparaging critique of her lifestyle choices. Indeed, the assumption that, before it all went tits-up, the family had been living ‘A very good life indeed’ was hammered home with acid disdain. While it is unlikely that many advocate the gratuitous cross-examination of members of the public on live radio, the belief that poor people are jumped-up materialists, seeking to live beyond their means, is less uncommon. This is the age-old delusion that people who go hungry do so because of their own short-
sighted decision-making. The prostitute is a prostitute because she chose to smoke crack. The homeless person is homeless because he picked booze. And now, poor families are struggling because they were just too damn stupid to make savings when they bloody well should have. Although personal autonomy is significant, blaming individuals entirely for their own hardship has always been rather a neat technique of absolving social responsibility. In economic circumstances such as these, when we are already punishing those on benefits for a crisis they did not create, this sort of attitude is small-minded bullying at best. And now it is a doublepronged affront. Not only is
poverty purportedly a direct consequence of ignorance, suddenly to be unemployed and yet still affording to eat is to be regarded as a very special privilege indeed. The Welfare Reform Bill crystallises this issue. Earlier in the month the Commons rejected an amendment to exempt child benefit from the benefit cap, in a move that seemed to categorise childcare as an expendable luxury. Disability benefit will soon be means tested, with profitdriven government agencies assessing individuals to establish, essentially, whether they are quite disabled enough. It was recently confirmed that cancer patients receiving incapacity benefit would have their situation reviewed annually, an activity that
seems to serve only to subject the sick to unnecessary stress and further misery. And acceptance of it all is of course compulsory because, as the weary mantra of Britain maintains: ‘We’re all in this together.’ The insinuation here is that any remonstrations of the poorest are unfounded because they were not worthy of what they originally had. They were unreasonably lucky to have lived the ‘high life’ before the credit crunch, and now they should be perfectly happy to eat one meal a day and sell the dog. Moreover, the wider implication of the burden on the vulnerable to prove their circumstances, meaning that those on benefits are assumed to be inherently dishonourable.
The widespread criticism of the welfare system in the press has been so intense that it has become almost emblematic of the recession. A glance at the papers would suggest that a manifest war on ‘scroungers’ is the only solution to the downturn. But the depiction of the poor as freeloading scum is not only immoral, it is also handily diverting the attention from those who are most culpable. Lest we forget, it was the government and the corporate businessmen who took irresponsible risks, who presumed prosperity to be everlasting and who must now deal with the consequences. The least privileged will no doubt take the brunt of the cuts; it is shameful that we should treat them as if they deserve it.
Epigram
05.03.2012
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Should Britain be a Christian country? The falling number of UK Christians means we must ask the relevance of state religion to national identity
Helen Corbitt
the future of a country, and here I should make clear the distinction between ‘earned’ and ‘inherited,’ has no place in
such a position. However tactless the Richard Dawkins Foundation poll appeared, it does give an insight
council were to agree that they wanted to pray before their meeting, there would seem to be no harm in doing so, but equally, is it fair to put pressure on those atheists or nonChristians who are a minority in a particular group to agree to a practice with which they may not be comfortable in an environment to which religion is not really relevant anyway? After all, local councils are not expected to solve local problems through prayer. Britain is confused by a strange set of regulations which simultaneously seem to promote religious faith and deny it. In an Ofsted report at my Sixth Form, the only Flickr:Wayj blemish was that inspectors had seen no evidence of an ‘Act of worship’ at the beginning of every school day. On further investigation, it turned out that this ‘Act of worship’ didn’t have to have anything to do with religion at all, but could take the form of an assembly every morning. So why, then, refer to it as an ‘Act of worship’? According to an article in The Guardian, it should be ‘wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character’. A head teacher who contacted the Labour government in 2005 to ask if this law could be abolished was told that the change ‘Would never get through the House of Lords’.
The debate will always inevitably turn to aggressive French secularism and the banning of Burkhas as a danger of what lies in store for a secular Britain. It is necessary to point out here that secularism does not demand that everyone immediately stops believing; rather, secularism is the freedom to not have any religion imposed upon you and to prevent political decisions from being biased by religious influence. In this sense, Britain is widely considered to be a secular state already. The outrage of taxpayers at the cost of the Pope’s visit to England and the scandal aroused by Tony Blair’s declaration of faith seem to indicate that although we purport to be a Christian society, we do not want to be a Christian state. And surely the most important factor of whether Britain should or should not be a secular state is what its people want. For all the commotion caused by David Cameron and Baroness Warsi, they also seem to rightly indicate that they do not want the state to play a role in suppressing religious belief and want people to feel proud of their faith, rather than to start making political decisions on the basis of the Bible’s teachings. Flickr: p medved
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The rekindling of the debate on religion and state has been fuelled in recent weeks by assertions from David Cameron and Baroness Warsi that Britain should embrace Christianity, as its faith. This is coupled with Richard Dawkins’ appearance on BBC Radio Four’s Today programme last week, in which he indicated that despite 72% of Britons stating that they were Christian in 2004, a significant proportion of the British population simply ‘tick the box’ for Christianity without attending Church or knowing the Bible in detail. While Reverend Giles Fraser is completely right in stating that undermining people’s self-identification as Christians is an arrogant assumption to make, undermining the state by imposing traditional Christian views onto state institutions, by, for example, placing Bishops in the House of Lords, is equally as obnoxious. I should also note that anyone who has not earned the right to contribute to vital decisions regarding
into the matter of relevance. Yes, there are many Christians in Britain. But it is apparent that for many of these Christians, the Church as an institution is of secondary importance to their private faith and the moral values of Christianity, the doctrines of which do not have an overwhelming impact on everyday life. And so it should be in the government. Unless you’re planning to become a monk, the likelihood is that religion is just not relevant to the workplace and in no way is religion relevant to the running of the country. In response to Baroness Warsi’s assertion that ‘We need to create a country where people don’t feel like they have to leave religion at the door’. I have to disagree. A politician entering a G8 summit very well should leave his religion outside. This is not a matter of disrespecting other people’s views, nor a matter of shoving atheism down people’s throats, it is a simply a matter of when and where religion is relevant. The controversy surrounding the banning of prayers before council meetings in Bideford a few weeks ago highlights this point, prompting the Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey to condemn the ‘Gradual marginalisation’ of Christianity. It is fair to say that if all members of such a
Novel technology: an ancient pastime adapts
Tommy Robson
and are not, as some pessimists would claim, evidence of an archaic pastime desperately struggling to remain relevant in a changing world. The form which books take has constantly been updated throughout history, progressing from the papyrus scroll to the monastic manuscript and finally, with the invention of the printing press in 1440, the printed book as we know it. This also serves to demonstrate how, contrary to popular belief, the digital age and the new technologies that it brings do not spell doom for the novel. It is merely beginning its next stage of existence and, if anything, could be entering into a new golden age, with recent statistics all showing an explosion in e-book and audio-book sales. And with new online services like Amazon, which allow users to browse through millions of books, read and write reviews, buy books at a fraction of their retail price and receive them the very next day, or instantly download them with the click of a mouse, there’s never been a better time to be a reader.
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or even distressing experience: we find ourselves watching someone else’s interpretation of the book’s characters, locations and events, which very often contrast starkly with our own mental renditions. The novel is also amongst the most flexible creative media available. Its content can take virtually any shape and please any audience. Due to its complete lack of boundaries, just about anyone can find a novel that interests them, whether it is a spy thriller, a murder mystery or even a perplexing sub-par romance involving glistening vampires. If you can imagine it, someone will have written about it. But the novel’s flexibility goes beyond just its content: its physical form can also be adapted to fit any situation. These can vary from pocketsized books for the busy commuter to the modern ereader or the ‘Kindle,’ a device no bigger than a standard paperback, but capable of storing thousands of different books. Such innovations are not a modern phenomenon either,
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As students, we are used to the sight of books, but few of us will have considered the incredible fact that since the invention of writing thousands of years ago, reading stories has never gone out of fashion. Not once. The same cannot be said for the overwhelming majority of man’s other forms of entertainment, many of which are enjoyed for the most fleeting of moments before being dumped onto the scrapheap of old and unwanted hobbies, right next to a whole host of discarded modern gadgets, antiquated styles of music and irrelevant sports. Anyone up for a good joust? However, novels persistently avoid this fate, and reading them remains one of the world’s most popular pursuits. But in an increasingly hectic modern
world, in which many of us can scarcely find the time to read the television guide, let alone a chapter of a book, how has this ancient form of entertainment been able to fend off waves of technological competitors with such ease? The first thing to realise is that novels offer a completely different style of entertainment to that of television, films and games. These latter activities provide an impersonal and passive experience, in which the participant is a mere spectator, and has very little influence on what they experience. Novels, on the other hand, offer characters and worlds that can be shaped and refined by the reader’s imagination. No two people will experience a work of fiction in the same way, and that probably explains why finishing a good book is often accompanied by such a feeling of accomplishment, as we feel that we have in some way contributed to the story. This is also why watching a TV-adaptation of a favourite novel can sometimes turn out to be a rather underwhelming,
Epigram
05.03.2012
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Gay rights less than straight-forward Gareth Reilly comments on Uganda’s anti-gay policies and how the West should be setting a better example
Gareth Reilly
bid for the 2012 presidential election, has shown vehement opposition to gay rights. Giving a speech in 2004, she claimed that the homosexual lifestyle amounted to ‘Personal bondage, personal despair and personal enslavement.’ It is interesting that she used the word ‘personal’ so many times in her articulation of a state of mind which she surely could not possibly understand herself, unless she were gay. Actually there appears to be an alarming amount of symmetry between Bachman’s
beliefs and those of Bahati with regards to homosexuality. Bachman relates a pro-gay message being sent to the kids as ‘Child abuse’ while Bahati sees homosexuals as ‘Dangers to our children.’ The two would most likely disagree on the death penalty issue but the point still stands; the west is far from the role model it needs to be with regards to promoting tolerance towards homosexuality. Even in the liberal state of California, the gay rights movement meets opposition
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Devised back in 2009, Uganda’s ‘Kill the gays’ bill could soon be realised, as its original author, David Bahati, reintroduced it to the Ugandan parliament just over two weeks ago. The infamous bill regards homosexual acts as a capital crime and so much as renting a room to gays or lesbians could land you in prison for seven years. Such austere punishments have been considered an outrage by the western world, thus delaying the bill. Political figures such as US President, Barack Obama, US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and UK Foreign Secretary, William Hague condemn the bill. But is the liberal west actually a shining example of gay rights or has it in fact played a role in encouraging homophobic legislation in the African continent? Ugandan supporters of the bill are said to have been inspired by propaganda such as that of a conservative preacher from the US, Scott
Lively, author of Pink Swastika. The crass title speaks for itself; the book attempts to create an absurd link between Naziism and the homosexual agenda for world domination. The irony here of course is that the Nazis were in fact notorious for their propaganda that incited hatred towards minority groups. Though sadly it seems it’s not only extremist ‘Bible-bashing conspiracy theorists’ that encourage homophobia across the pond. Michelle Bachman, previously a top contender for the Republican Party’s
at every breakthrough. In 2008, the California Supreme Court invalidated a previous statute, which had banned same-sex marriages in the state. This liberty was short lived, however, as Proposition 8 was introduced in the November elections just a few months later. Passing with a narrow margin, Proposition 8 officially defined marriage as an act between a man and a woman in the California State Constitution. But, in 2010, Judge Stephen Reihardt ruled Proposition 8 unconstitutional, as it was a violation of the civil rights of homosexuals. The ruling stated, ‘Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationship and families as inferior to those of oppositesex couples.’ Yet opposition remained fierce and the case was taken to a federal appeals court, where, just last month, Reinhardt’s ruling was upheld with a slim 21 majority. With such a narrow victory and appeals likely to be filed, the issue will inevitably be seen next by the United States Supreme Court. This high level of attention creates the potential for an enormous precedent to be set or perhaps even a national ruling on the issue of gay marriage itself. But if, legally speaking,
the differences between civil partnership and marriage are so small, then why do homosexuals even want the latter and why does the opposition care so much? And surely this US gay rights issue is incredibly insignificant in comparison to Bahati’s Ugandan bill, to which the only domestic opposition is the belief that the bill won’t
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Even in the liberal state of California, the gay rights movement meets opposition at every breakthrough
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be effective enough to solve Uganda’s ‘gay problem’ The answer is simple: it’s an issue of perception. In the west, the law treats homosexuals as ‘separate but equal’ in essence. This is clearly a serious and as yet unresolved problem but it pales in comparison to Bahati’s bill in Uganda. But the foundation of each issue is the same: the concept of separation. It leads to misconceived perceptions and ignorance, bringing extreme political ideals into prominence.
The cannabis cliché: the reasons it should be legal
The widely tolerated policy of criminalising drug users will one day be considered, by future readers of history, as a bizarre attempt to solve a complex social problem. First used by Richard Nixon in 1971, the phrase summarises the blinkered and dogmatic approach taken by governments throughout the world towards the misuse of drugs. It has been responsible for an untold degree of human suffering, both at home and abroad. Considering that the first international treaty on drugs was signed a century ago this year, and also that the Sentencing Council has recently recommended lighter sentencing in certain drugsrelated offences, it is high time
Question any apologist for current policies in the UK and they’ll most likely trot out something along the lines of, ‘Drugs are illegal because they are harmful’ – in fact, this is a direct quotation from a recently released Home Office statement. By that argument, however, alcohol should also be prohibited due to its harmful nature, or perhaps even fatty foods, which can lead to significant health problems. Admittedly this argument is as clichéd as an undergraduate writing about the legalization of drugs, but it is true nonetheless. If alcohol were discovered tomorrow it would be made Class A. It’s addictive, physically harmful and it costs the NHS over £3bn every year. Yet due to its prominence in our history we accept it as a cultural norm, and celebrate its effects in our social rituals. With alcohol, however, a balance is found between the State’s duty of care towards its citizens and the rights of these citizens to harm themselves. The government’s restrictions on
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Joe Kavanagh
that we considered whether our current policies are fair or appropriate. Speaking to the Commons home affairs committee, Richard Branson recently told MPs that the UK’s policy on drugs needs to be reformed and classified in the future as a ‘Health issue’. Citing the case of Portugal, where noone has been jailed for a drug-related offence in over a decade, he pointed out that decriminalization tends to lead to a marked decrease in levels of drug use and drugrelated deaths. The improved statistics in Portugal exhibit this truth: new HIV infections in drug users fell by 17% in just four years after the change, and deaths related to heroin were cut by more than half. Portugal’s legal reforms were accompanied by campaigns which increased awareness of the harms of drug-taking and by health initiatives such as syringe exchanges. The effect was a success and it showed a viable alternative to our government’s current approach.
alcohol are created accordingly. Most drinkers in any pub would acknowledge the damage that alcohol abuse and addiction can cause, yet very few would advocate an outright ban, if only because history has shown us the undesirable effects of prohibition. To publicly argue against the policy is to risk marginalisation: in 2009, Professor David Nutt was dismissed from his position as the government’s chief advisor on drugs because he publicly rebuked the UK’s system of classification, arguing that drugs such as LSD and ecstasy deserved to be
made Class B. Most famously, he compared the risks involved in taking ecstasy with the potential harms of horse-riding, stating that 1 in 350 regular horse riders will die or develop brain damage from the sport, whilst one in 10,000 users of ecstasy will die from the drug. His remarks were based upon years of research and were grounded in evidence. Bizarrely, however, they were construed as ‘insensitive’ by Jacqui Smith, who asked him to apologise to the families of people who had died under the influence of the drug. Nutt’s attempt to educate people about the relative harms
of certain activities was not inherently insensitive and the fact that people have died whilst taking the drug didn’t affect the motives for - or truth behind his comment. The arrogance of Smith’s unqualified response was staggering. The answer to the problem of drugs may not be total or instant legalization. But as more scientific and forwardthinking policies in Europe have shown us, there is a better solution than an outright ban. Decriminalization is the first step; as a recent report by the journalist Artur Domoslawski has shown, its benefits are widespread and easily recordable. After decriminalization,the restricted, taxed and appropriately regulated sale of drugs might follow. Reactionary political commentators would complain every step of the way, and their influence would damage the career of any politician who wanted to bring about change. Perhaps it is for this reason that change is being brought about so slowly.
Epigram
05.03.2012
Letters & Editorial
Editor: Emma Corfield letters@epigram.org.uk
A reply to Alex Marra In praise of film The opening line of your letter reveals your reading of my piece was either extremely quick, or very inattentive - or a combination thereof. I do not express a ‘hate for religion’, but a hate for hateful preachments, and the seeming desire of fellow writers to ignore the punishment of death for the publishing of fiction. Secondly, it was explicitly asked of me to quote Christopher Hitchens, and as I’m being published, I duly did as requested. Beyond your attempts to summarise - and caricature my message so as to render it essentially ‘anti-Islam/anti religion’, rather than concerning Salman Rushdie and the literary
Freshers’ Week will stay
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Claims of the best of friends being made in Freshers’ Week are difficult to believe for anyone who has made it past the first couple of months at university. However, there are still few students that would want to see this week of inevitably repetitive conversation and ridiculous fancy dress replaced by an ‘introductory week’ made up exclusively of registration and lectures. The only people who are keen to see an end brought to the freshers fun is the University itself. Epigram suspects that the University is not just worried about the health of freshers who overindulge on alcohol. They also have good reason to worry that, in light of recent media coverage of outrageous drinking related student behaviour, there will be an incident that will end badly for a student, the University’s public image or both. Plans to limit Freshers’ Week to 3 days have been shelved for now but Epigram hopes that should the University resurrect them in the future there will once again be enough student pressure to stop them from scrapping what remains an important time to acclimatise to university life. The more pressing news to come out of the most recent sitting of University Senate however is the decision to standardise the academic calendar. It means bringing an end to oddities like exams in the Easter holidays or deadlines before term has started. Although Epigram does not wish to encourage having more exam periods, we do see it as a sign from the University that they are taking feedback about the student experience seriously. If Bristol is to pull itself up in National Student Survey ratings then it needs to address inconsistencies between the treatment of students from different faculties and the instances where department planning seems to fly in the face of reason. And as it’s been pointed out in Features in this issue, next year, with students paying higher fees and already demanding more for their money, the University will not be able to ignore their complaints.
I’d just like to say that I enjoyed reading Imogen Rowley’s article in the Culture section of Epigram 246 about film photography in the digital age, and I agree with many of the sentiments she expresses. I started off with a digital camera, but in recent years I’ve been entranced by the magic of film, and I think my photography is all the better for it. I’m not alone either - many friends in Bristol and online contacts shoot film too. It brings people together, in a way that’s just nicer than geeking over the latest digital fluff! Film is most definitely not dead in UoB Photosoc - in the last two years our darkroom has seen a huge resurgence in popularity. Since developing my first roll of black and white film there in early 2010 I have spent many happy hours with the smell of the chemicals and the anticipation of pulling a freshly developed roll from the tank
keeping me going. In the last year we’ve even mastered colour film development - not as hard as we first thought! As well as the darkroom, we have dedicated film scanners and a range of film cameras available to borrow, including a Bronica medium format system which makes beautiful pictures. Best of all, we run regular workshops teaching black and white developing and printing. These are free for all Photosoc members and we provide all the chemicals and paper too, so you can come back and do it on your own as much as you like. I run some of these, helping people develop their first roll, and the excitement is the same every time - always so rewarding to see! It would be great to see even more people involved. Our website, www.ubuphotosoc.com, has all the info about joining and using the darkroom. Niall Oswald
The issue of page 3 and pornography for women At the first instance, it was inspiring to see a male discuss the page 3 controversy in issue 246. What is more, it was encouraging to see it among the pages of e2. Has the issue of the objectification of women and men managed to filter its importance to a mainstream platform? Page 3, porn and objectification should be topics discussed and understood alongside the other lifestyle pieces in that section, not always left to the political or commentary divisions. However, the article ‘Page three boys?’ does not lead to a wider understanding, and instead reflects a misunderstood view. The article identifies a key
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factor to a male page 3 not working as the problem of men not being as appealing as women, and that ‘girls clearly just aren’t as into porn’. To boil this explanation down to biological differentiation is to overlook the real explanations of the issue. It is not that ‘women are innately less disposed towards what is essentially voyeurism’. Firstly, the term voyeurism undermines the negative sexualisation page 3 actually propels. Appreciating bodies and sexuality is different to exploiting and promoting particular images of women, and men. Secondly, there is nothing in our genes that makes men flick to page 3 any more than women. What are factors in this
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difference however, are social and cultural understandings. This is reflected in how for teenage males, talking of masturbation is common; however the topic of female masturbation is still kept firmly locked behind taboo doors. Women can be just as sexual as men, however the market controls their desires, exposure and experience. Whereas for men, the market is subordinated to and facilitates their fantasies and desires. While it is great to see an
Letters may be edited for clarity or length
1. Male neutering (10) 7. African termite eater (8) 8. Applaud (4) 9. Vermin (4) 10. Metal loop for riders’ feet (7) 12. Statistical relation (11) 14. Scholarship (7) 16. .... Moore, actress (4) 19. Read metrically, (poetry) (4) 20. Nineteenth century Prime Minister (8) 21. Popular 27 vote (10)
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article address the inequalities that page 3 brings about and reflects, it is Alessandra Berti who was quoted in the article that explains the root of the issue. This should be the thrust of the article, how page 3 reflects and normalises wider gender inequality; not a commentary on how women are innately less sexual than men, which actually undermines the true exploitative factors that interplay amongst page 3 and porn. Shannon Kneis
To get in touch, send an email to letters@epigram.org.uk
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When members of the Fleet Street elite find their own faces on the front pages, it’s little wonder that the British public has lost faith in journalism. As the Leveson Inquiry limps on to reveal further details about violated voicemails and dodgy payments, Murdoch still manages to launch his less-than subtle replacement for the News of the World. But, as Rosemary Wagg discusses on page 13, can social media restore this trust? Whilst the printed press continues its spiral into decline (gulp) this powerful pursuit is already shaping the way in which we digest our news. In fact, if you witnessed the Guardian’s launch of its ‘open journalism’ advertising campaign last week, then it was no doubt via your friends or followers on Facebook or Twitter. Although Epigram operates on a much smaller scale, it doesn’t mean we cannot apply the principles of open journalism. Embracing the technology we now possess, we want our readers to help shape the content we provide. Whether you wish to write for a specific section or simply make your voice heard, the opportunity has never been easier. There are no big promises. But what we can try to offer you is a publication that serves every single member of the student body with honest, accurate content.
festival, I cannot reconcile your concession that ‘Muhammad was indeed fully human... Mr Hall is correct here’ with your insistence on placing the words ‘Peace Be Upon Him’ after his name. I might add, as I’m sure you are aware, that Muhammad is the only ‘fully human’ being that cannot be depicted by other human beings. The violation of this principle, again, carries the death penalty. Finally, implicit in your last paragraph is the suggestion that ‘a divide between faith and reason’ is a misconception on my - the West’s - part. I’d very much like to hear how this is so; this is not ‘an attempt at humour’, but a sincere request. George Hall
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DOWN 1. Talisman (5) 2. Carrier attached to a motorcar (7) 3. Harvest (4) 4. British boy band (4,4) 5. Academy award (5) 6. 6th planet from the Sun (6) 11. Allow unwillingly (8) 12. Aid to walking (6) 13. North Atlantic island (7) 15. Burn superficially (5) 17. World religion (5) 18. eg. Wight, Man, Arran (4)
Epigram
05.03.2012
17 Scribble by Jen Springall
Don’t buy into Branson and Bolt
Best of the Web Since its re-launch last year, we hope you are finding that Epigram’s website is a useful supplement to our newspaper. We upload content from our printed edition when it comes out each fortnight, enabling you to access Epigram online and on the go. A downloadable edition is also uploaded to Epigram’s Issuu account, which features all of our back issues. The website’s integration with Facebook and Twitter means that you can comment on articles and easily share them with others. Epigram’s Facebook and Twitter accounts can be accessed through the website and are regularly updated with news about Epigram. Our website also features web-exclusive content. Oti Wilford’s review of Carnage takes another look at Roman Polanski’s newest film, which was reviewed by Tom Brada in the last edition of Epigram. She discusses the macabre element of the film, arguing that ‘Carnage turns out to be just as macabre as anything else this director has made’, and its adaptation of Yasmina Reza’s play Le Dieu du Carnage Wilford believes ‘it is difficult not to question what merit there was in translating it to the big screen’, one reason for this being that ‘the realtime action... is probably more at home in the world of the theatre; on film it verges on frustrating as we crave some sort of diversity or surprise in the narrative development’. http://www.epigram.org.uk
iPad 2 competition update In the previous edition of Epigram, we announced our competition to win an iPad 2 simply by liking our Facebook fan page. Due to the overwhelming interest this has generated, we have now put back the closing date until 16 April 2012. To keep up the momentum, we have managed to secure even more fantastic prizes for our readers. But whether we give them away depends on how many likes we receive... 800 Likes: 5 x pairs of tickets to see the sensational Ambrose Akinmusire at Colston Hall on 27 March 2012 [http://goo.gl/5BhpG] * 1000 Likes: 10 x SheWees 1250 Likes: 10 x tickets to Love Saves The Day Festival at Castle Park on 3 June 2012 [http://goo.gl/B2pft] 1500 Likes: 1 x 105 Pints of 7.2% cider courtesy of Bristol Cider Shop [goo.gl/1MxQC]
facebook.com/epigrampaper
* Announced on 12 March 2012
There aren’t many things wrong with Richard Branson. He has all that luscious hair, an endearing no-GCSEs rags-to-riches story, plus he made that guest appearance in Only Fools and Horses (what’s not to love). Therefore the question that keeps us all awake at night, the question on everybody’s lips, the question most discussed in the café of the Arts and Social Sciences Library, is why oh why, Richard, do you continue to give the horrific excuse for a business that you call Virgin Media a continued existence? You can run a bloody airline and charge people to go to the moon but you can’t make some wiggly lines fly through the air and load the next episode of Sherlock. Virgin Media is probably one of the most effective companies at irritating you to the core. It’s up there with Injury Lawyers 4 U and Go Compare, but to their credit, Virgin Media have got the edge. It’s not just their ads that wind us up incessantly. They manage to combine extraordinarily incompetent customer service with an expensive price-tag, throw in a media package that doesn’t actually work, and still make £75 million profit a year. Part of the problem is that the package looks so good; they do nine-month contracts (reeling you in because they know no student can be bothered to sort anything out before September), the TV has a convenient way of letting you catch up on TOWIE even though you didn’t ask it to record, and they give you a landline with free calls – who can say no to the novelty of having a house phone? However, these short-lived moments of joy only serve to fuel the annoyance one feels when contemplating the ace in the pack of Virgin Media’s problems... the INTERNET. Saying Virgin Media internet to a student is like opening the death box on Deal or no Deal – everybody knows how shit it is, everybody feels sorry for the person with it, yet day after day, year after year, people continue to buy/open it out of curiosity. Even though it took 3 hours to load Mail Online’s Oscar analysis with last year’s Virgin internet we’re in a new house now, it can’t be that bad. Well actually it can. When you find yourself running around the house holding your laptop aloft like Mufasa holding Simba in the Lion King, chasing that elusive ‘full signal’ that the clueless man on the phone has assured you - for the past hour - is actually there, you realise this isn’t internet. This is torture. When you pick up your ‘free’ landline phone to attempt to make use of your ‘free’ minutes on evenings and weekends, only to find yourself intercepting the calls of the restaurant downstairs - you realise this isn’t a ‘media package’. This isn’t just a rant, this is a warning to all freshers, say no to Richard at the beginning of next year because you will essentially be paying over £40 a month for MTV, Claire Richards: Slave to Food on Sky Living and a shot of internet every few weeks, if you’re lucky. That’s why when Richard comes on TV, accompanied by the symbol of speed Usain Bolt wearing that ridiculous moustache, and promises you he’s going to double your broadband speeds, it smacks a bit of utter shite. Cheers Richard, now it’s only going to take me 45 minutes to load Facebook instead of an hour and a half. Besides, no one, especially not all the people who have commented on the ad on youtube with the time it took them to load the video, believes you when you say that there’s going to be an improvement. And can you please stop looking so smug about having Usain Bolt on your advert, he’s wooden at best. Then, just to place a festering cherry on the top of this mouldridden cake, you get that letter in the post – sift through all the marketing crap until you find the nugget of gold ‘there have been important changes to your Virgin Media account and we are increasing your bill by £2.50 a month’. A little bit of sick rises in your mouth as you realise that a whole 50 pence extra (that could be spent on a festive Creme Egg) is going from your considerably lighter pocket to line Richard’s, and probably Bolt’s as well, in order to pay for a crack-pot service. When you ring the lady at customer service to give her a piece of your mind, and let her know how important that monthly Crème Egg is, she – of course – asks you to check the Virgin Media contract policy online. Oh the irony.
Alice Young
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05.03.2012
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Culture
Editor: Zoe Hutton
Deputy Editor: Hannah Mae Collins
culture@epigram.org.uk
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@epigramculture
Tragedy in art: the glamorisation of grief? Oliver Arnoldi explores our obsession with sadness - and wonders whether on-screen depictions challenge, or are just in bad taste
filmonair.com
Cancer, paralysis, religious persecution and social paranoia. Yeah, probably not on everyone’s list as a remedy for nights in in front of the TV. Probably not on everyone’s list in general. Yet a tragic situation, in either its physical or emotional proportions, is a paradox that chooses to constantly intrigue and repel the human mind. In reality and in art, the discussion of such an issue is at the forefront of the interests of society. An obsession with posthumous biographies and shocking documentaries have been a staple of the modern era, especially the cinematic world. What critics regard as the peak of achievement in film more often than not deals with the more problematic areas of life. No one wants to experience such a situation, but a fascination with its representation as a means of entertainment calls into question why such personal afflictions can move the largest audiences, and whether the representation of tragedy can ever resemble its real life counterpart. Whilst a good film is entertaining as it holds the power to distract a viewer from their current situation, the power of tragedy on the big screen is also to evoke empathy. Yet due to the acutely individual nature of personal dilemmas, when portraying them in film, the responsibility of a screenwriter in ever being
Comedy in cancer? Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogan in the acclaimed 50/50
sure of how the mass market will receive their work is problematic. Who decides which cinematic tragedies become classics and which slip away? Take two films from the past year: 50/50 and The Descendants. The former deals in a comic light with the physical trauma of a young twenty-something (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who contracts a rare strain of cancer, whilst the latter looks more sincerely at the emotional effects of a middle-aged father (George Clooney) who is coming to terms with life as a single parent. Even though
both received a similarly positive critical reception at the box office, Clooney’s picture garnered five Oscar nominations. 50/50 received nothing. Slightly cynical as this might seem, tragedy tailored for the masses is arguably not always an exercise in exposing tragic taboos - such as laughing at cancer - but in fact an exercise in restraint. Problems, at least for the Academy, seem to work most effectively by working within parameters. The Descendants seems to tick all of the Oscar boxes and, as a result, has been rewarded accordingly.
More importantly, when tragedy is transferred to Hollywood, it seems as though the film’s effect is as much to do with its marketing as the content of the problems it deals with. Although predicting the response of a mass audience to a film involving a broken home or a cancer victim can be difficult, this prompts the question of whether a portrayal of a tragic situation can ever move someone as much as a personal experience. By watching a problem unfold through the confines of a specific narrative, in a limited
time frame and through the individual vision of a director, the audience consequently understands a problem through a filter. They will be appreciating cancer through the actions of Joseph GordonLevitt, or the tribulations of single parenthood through the eyes of George Clooney. This does not deny that a viewer cannot see a film as a comparative example of a situation they have experienced, but the emotions felt will be a distorted, and perhaps a lessened version, of their initial state. Consequently, perhaps a
film can only be tragic in the capacity of entertainment; they can never truly mimic a real life situation - and so is their effect only to provoke thought or discussion, a temporary emotional response? If a viewer cannot relate to the struggle of the characters that GordonLevitt or Clooney portray, the majority of the emotional effect of the situation is lost, and only sympathy is achieved. But equally, in many ways that is the point of film: to acknowledge the detachment between actor and audience, and as a result, to acknowledge itself as being representative. Once transferred to reality, however, the ability for death to move an ‘audience’ is transformed. With the influx of interest in celebrity biography and autobiography in the last decade, the capacity to feel like Sarah Palin’s or David Hasselhoff’s best friend has markedly increased. Yet with the release of Steve Jobs’ biography a little under three weeks after his death, the compulsion for the insight into a man’s life so quickly after a tragic death might be regarded as distasteful. Can any art form that takes its cue from tragic circumstances not be gratuitously manipulative? Either way, popular culture can be sure that even if tragic representation cannot wholly reflect our own predicaments, they will continue, at least, to entertain.
Falstaff play takes on disability in taboo-busting tragicomedy A DEATH IN THE DAY OF JOE EGG Alma Tavern Theatre, Bristol 22-25 February 2012
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg is a captivating piece of theatre, uproariously funny and heartbreakingly sad. The play examines the way people respond to tragedy and specifically how they cope with the emotional strain of disability. The audience are introduced to the outwardly happy couple Brian and Sheila, who seem to use comedy as their primary coping mechanism, with the sad reality of their cerebral palsy suffering daughter, Josephine. From the outset, the play directly engages with its audience with each character
taking a moment to confide their inner thoughts in numerous asides. The audience’s sense of intimate involvement with both the characters and action is key and elevates the sense of personal discomfort as we question the morality of laughing at what is often sharp humour, imbued with particularly dark undertones. The primary source of this dark humour is Brian. He is seemingly unfulfilled by his professional life as a teacher and emotionally drained by the exasperating situations he faces, both at work and at home. Brian’s reflex reaction to unhappiness is to deflect his emotions through comedy; the audience forced to question whether this is a healthy coping mechanism or a self-destructive way for the characters to bottle up how they truly feel. Ollie Jones-Evans gives a nuanced portrayal of Brian. He
is both silly and profoundly sad and we feel both sympathetic and critical of Brian for his repeatedly selfish perspective. Evans demonstrates a talent for versatility and an infectious energy, holding the stage for great periods of time and playfully altering his body and voice as his character imitates various other figures in the play. Evans’ character is complemented by the nurturing Sheila, played with a melancholy sweetness by Maureen Lennon. Lennon captures Sheila’s sense of confusion, torn between devoting her energy towards her increasingly disaffected husband and caring for her daughter. Lennon achieves this while matching Evans’ comic ability, yet the biggest laughs of the evening come in the second act, when the couple are visited by the wealthy couple of Freddie and Pam, and Brian’s mother. Tom Rawlinson oozes
farcical self-righteousness as morally-conscious millionaire Freddie, while Rosie Russell and Letty Thomas are hilarious
is an inherent danger in reverting to bad taste by trying to imitate disability. Fayrouz Essack portrays the poor
as Freddie’s sneering wife and Brian’s suffocating mother. When coming to see the production I was most intrigued to see how Josephine would be represented - there
young girl, slumped mutely in her wheelchair save for her sporadic convulsing fits and pitiful moans. This portrayal is a little disarming; however, the production recognises the value
of challenging its audience with uncomfortable imagery, as well as the often caustic dialogue in the script. By having Josephine as a troubling onstage presence, the audience can perceive the troubling emotions her sad life inspires in her parents and peers. Tash Dummelow and Kirsty Morrisey have produced a firstrate production, harrowing and hilarious. The 1960s setting is authentically evoked through touches like the retro, floral wallpaper, yet the play addresses themes which transcend its context. By the end of the play the audience has watched each character wrestle with their identities in an attempt to find some sort of internal resolution. Relationships, wealth, health and happiness are examined in both dark and comic ways and it is difficult to leave the theatre without feeling moved in one way or another. Thomas Brada
Epigram
05.03.2012
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Death, decay and dysmorphia on canvas As the National Gallery and the Tate Modern unveil their latest exhibitions, Rosemary Wagg lifts the lid on these twisted visions
– many depicting characters from Freud’s own life – the show is essentially about the artist himself. In this respect, Freud has really superseded the National Portrait Gallery’s raison d’etre, which is to assert the importance of the sitter and their celebrity over the artist. Thus, until the show closes on 27th May 2012, the death of the artist will not be occurring in Trafalgar Square. This is an unflinching celebration of one man’s genius. Taking a walk through the trajectory of Freud’s career
hypesomean.com
Just five months after his own demise, Freud’s comprehensive retrospective exposes his fascination with corpselike figures - while Kusama’s disturbing expressions of mortality are inspired by her life spent in a mental institution
National Gallery
The National Portrait Gallery’s current retrospective of Lucian Freud demonstrates exactly what we have now all lost following the artist’s death in 2011. The show, which curators worked on with Freud himself, is no flamboyant display of curatorial innovation. Instead, a large number of works, mainly paintings, are hung in a chronological pattern throughout a series of white walled rooms. That Freud has the ability to mesmerise even within a fairly mundane setting – overall the rooms themselves lack atmosphere and the acoustics seem all wrong, heightening the annoyance of other viewers’ monologues – is testament to the wonder of Freud’s work. Either the crowd, which in the first few rooms seemed thicker and more impenetrable than those at the National Gallery’s sell-out Leonardo: Painter at the Court of Milan exhibition, really did disintegrate with each further room walked into, or the beauty of the artworks sent one into such a meditative trance that other gallery go-ers could no longer be seen or felt. Having this show at the National Portrait Gallery is, to a degree, oxymoronic. For whilst all these works are portraiture
gives the opportunity to detect shifts and patterns in his output. The densely painted nudes that Freud is most famous for start to appear around 1960, with works such as Pregnant Girl (1960-1) and with the change comes the introduction of a new range of fleshly colours which breathe life into the flatter blue-tinged early works such as Girl in a Dark Jacket (1947) and Girl with Roses (1947-8) which have a German Expresionism quality to them. The ice blues which resided in his works always remain, be it in the shirt of Bella (1986) or in the
hollows of The Painter’s Mother II (1972), but what takes over the viewer’s mind is the incredible warmth and tenderness of the naked flesh. Stripped of their armour of clothes, it becomes inconceivable to think of harming one of these fragile and fluid beings. And here we get to the essence of Freud’s work and his importance. Freud reveals the softness of the human body. He takes away the analytical and, simultaneously, any fears regarding nakedness and provides an overwhelmingly relaxing revelation: we are all
flesh and blood. Contrast this with the works on show at another major exhibition, Yayoi Kusama at the Tate Modern. Many of Kusama’s artworks – either paintings or installations – reveal a great fear of the body and the natural world. Bacteria-multiplying sperm shapes; countless phalluses sprouting everywhere - including from shoes - and so many eyes keeping fascist watch over the viewer. Overwhelmingly these works vividly show what happens when the mind takes over the body to an unhealthy
extent. They represent what occurs when we forget we are flesh, become scared of sex and cannot find the breadcrumb path out of the polka dot forest. The persistent child-like aspect of Kusama’s work becomes very sorrowful. Auden comes to mind: ‘Lost in a haunted wood,/ Children afraid of the night/ Who have never been happy or good’. Anti-war artist is admittedly not the first label one would think to assign to Freud. Yet staring at his nudes it becomes unfathomable how anyone could think to tear these soft animals apart with blades and shrapnel. Kusama may go to the trouble of naming one of her works Remember Thou Must Die (1975), but really we do not remember because the degree to which the mind and body is separated means we are already walking in the ethereal plane of the dead when looking at her works. One can only hope that depictions of the human being in all its fleshy wholeness, no different to the animals they are curled up with, do not stop with Freud or his death will signal the beginning of an immeasurable loss to the world.
Joyce Vincent: the woman who wasn’t there Not quite a documentary, not quite a drama. Hannah Mae Collins discovers nothing is certain in Carol Morley’s Dreams of a Life
National Gallery
Morley’s film seeks to shed light on a reallife tragedy, but is too sensationalist to provide the dignity Joyce’s death lacked
product of director Carol Morley’s five-year obsession with a tabloid headline that caught her eye, sweeping her into the fragmented life of a woman who has inhabited hers ever since. Having died alone in her flat in December 2003, 38-year-old Joyce Vincent was not discovered until three years later – time suspended around her, Christmas presents at her feet, a TV playing to itself in the corner. Joyce was a young and – by all accounts – beautiful woman. She was not elderly,
infirm and without family, nor was she an exiled addict. According to the testimony of an ex-colleague, she represented ‘Someone I wanted to be more like’. How could a person with such apparent promise fall through the cracks? This is a question Morley’s docudrama constantly poses, interspersing accounts from the alarmingly few people who came forward as having known Joyce – colleagues, neighbours, ex-lovers – with dramatised
suppositions about a life no one was truly a part of - a life no one cared enough to be a part of struck me as crass. Contributors’ testimonials are not without humour, and it is these moments – an exboyfriend jealous of Joyce meeting Nelson Mandela; a onceflatmate rolling her eyes at the constant comparisons to Sade – that imbue the film with flickers
Zawe Ashton brings life to Joyce’s final moments
dreamsofalife.com
I can’t get Joyce Vincent out of my head. I’m sure I’m not alone in this, either; her speculated last moments must be occupying the minds of people all over the country now, as we set out to trace old friends and vow never to ignore another phone call from our overprotective parents. There’s a painful irony to Joyce’s legacy: while strangers struggle to forget the life of a woman shrouded in mystery, her death went unnoticed by those who should have remembered. Dreams of a Life is is the
reconstructions, Fresh Meat’s Zawe Ashton taking on the lead, near-silent role. It’s a silence that feels appropriate, given the scant detail surrounding Joyce: contradictions between accounts reveal the limited extent to which anyone really knew her, while a constant preoccupation with her beauty forces us to question whether appearances are as deep as anyone’s understanding ran. What is unclear is whether this emotional distance was intentional – and there is the oddly uncorroborated suggestion of a secret past of abuse – or, almost more disturbingly, whether simply no one thought to ask. Anyone deserves more than a grim headline as a eulogy, and Morley endeavours to flesh out the woman behind the macabre ‘skeletal remains’ reported in the press. There is the sense that imagined reconstructions of a living, singing, dancing Joyce are intended to humanise – and yet scenes of Ashton looking weak and defeated, feebly slumped over the kitchen sink as an ex-flatmate ruminates on whether she was a victim of domestic violence, can’t help but feel salacious. With the lack of evidence available, any
of life. Like the neighbouring population too transient or preoccupied to report a suspicious smell, though, the sense of disconnect amongst even those who professed to love her is overwhelming – something everyone interviewed acknowledges with embarrassment.
Perhaps this is why Joyce’s sisters declined to be involved. Their absence is strongly felt, contributing to the countless unanswered questions that make the film feel incomplete. This, of course, reflects the disjointed story Joyce left behind – her dislocation in life follows her into death. But because we know that this was not a conscious choice, it can seem as though Morley forces a cohesive narrative by drawing connections which aren’t there. Dreams of a Life provides few answers and offers little comfort. No one interviewed knows why they fell out of touch with Joyce; all assumed she was off having a better time than them. As such, it left me disturbed by the ease with which people can just disappear. I’m haunted by the image of week upon week of insipid Saturday night telly playing out to a still, cut-off room, flurries of oblivious Wood Green shoppers getting on with their lives below. Morley’s choice of title is poignant: with only hazy, conflicting memories to go on, the life constructed is one of coarse speculation, the sum of a handful of nearstrangers’ fabrications. It’s as though Joyce Vincent never really existed at all.
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Books
Culture Clash
A STOLEN LIFE: A MEMOIR DELICACIES Jaycee Dugard Simian Mobile Disco Simon and 29 Schuster November 2010 Published: 12 July 2011 Delicatessen
In 2002, Jaycee Lee Dugard wrote of how she wished to ‘write a best seller’ in her journal. Whilst a list of ‘future dreams’ is common amongst most young people, such are rarely composed by those who have been kidnapped and repeatedly raped by a paedophile for 18 years. Her memoir, A Stolen Life invites the reader to share in Dugard’s most intimate experiences throughout the near two decades she spent in captivity behind convicted sex offender, Phillip Garrido’s, house. The intimate details of her kidnapping, sexual and physiological abuse, and 18 years spent as a hostage from the tender age of 11 are all textbook ingredients to leave even the strongest of readers emotionally drained and yet by the end of the book I feel uplifted. ‘I decided to write this book for two reasons. One reason is that Phillip Garrido believes no one should find out what he did to an 11-year-old girl’ is how Dugard introduces us to her memoir. She continues to poignantly write of how she believes she ‘Shouldn’t be ashamed for what happened to me, and I want Phillip Garrido to know that I no longer have to keep his secret’.
Dugard writes without a ghost writer, even including photocopies of her heart wrenching journals, composed whilst still a child in captivity. The text is spare and simple; however what it lacks in polish it more than makes up for in emotional intensity. What makes A Stolen Life so remarkable is how Dugard does not shy away from recounting in explicit detail the traumatic experiences she encountered under the hands of Garrido and his wife. Yet despite her brutal honesty, she focuses on the positives in life, even stating how she would ‘Go through it all again’ as it gave her the greatest gifts in the world; her two daughters, [despite both being conceived through Garrido’s grotesque drug-fuelled sex sessions]. I expected to need a strong drink through the recounts of the abuse. I expected to cry at a young girl’s innocence and nativity. I expected to feel frustrated by the failures of the Police Department. But what I did not expect was to come away with a more positive, uplifting attitude towards what really matters in life. A Stolen Life sold 175,000 copies on the release day and is undoubtedly a must read. Katie Bend
Nature-loving Josh Gabbatiss is pitted against ASSL-dwelling Hannah Mae Collins, as two warring faculties go head to head ART & LITERATURE
MUSIC
FILM & TV
Oscar Wilde – The Picture of Dorian Gray
Bloc Party – A Weekend In The City
Labyrinth
It’s an unlikely affinity with Wilde that made me choose a degree in English. Sometime in my mid teens I decided that a gay, nineteenth century dandy was – alongside Beyoncé and Johnny Depp – a suitable target of teen idolatry, his sardonic wit appealing to my adolescent derision of everything (we can only assume I deemed Destiny’s Child’s hilarious wordplay of ‘Can you pay my bills? Can you pay my automo’bills?’ similarly inspiring). Knowles and Depp have long since been replaced in my fickle affections, and I’m now - generally - less of a cynic, but Dorian Gray is still my favourite novel. Aside from being an unapologetic celebration of beauty with epigrams sprinkled like confetti, it’s full of seedy deviance and doubling – thrilling for Dorian, but achingly tragic for Basil, whose art, like Wilde’s, betrays his unspeakable love. The recent film adaptation did such a terrible job of expressing this that I’m weeping into my tea at the memory of it.
Growing up in glamorous Maidstone, the most exciting thing to do besides swig Bacardi Breezers at bus stops was to hop on a train to London – the heady metropolis, full of promise and shops that stayed open past 6pm. A Weekend In The City, all biting social commentary and Bret Easton Ellis references over layers of haunting electronic samples,
Jareth, the Goblin King – AKA a crystal-wielding David Bowie, sporting Glam Rock hair and questionable sartorial taste – is my most longstanding crush. Like the equally enduring Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Labyrinth is one of those childhood favourites that becomes more rewarding – albeit more fucking disturbing – upon retrospective visits. Objectively, it’s a strangely nightmarish flop of a film which features puppets bopping along to a dodgy 80s soundtrack. The mystical Jareth’s obsessive love for Sarah, a clearly underage girl whose abducted baby brother will be turned into a goblin lest she surrender to the Goblin King’s will, makes for an odd plot to a family-friendly Jim Henson production. But despite all this, memories of endless viewings with my parents – both diehard Bowie fans - mean I’ll forever associate it with homely comfort. We’ll just quietly ignore those Wikipedia theories about it being a metaphor for sexual awakening...
ART & LITERATURE David Hockney’s portraits My mum, being a lovely middle class lady, has done her best to instil her love of art in me from a young age, so since I can remember she has dragged me unwillingly around exhibitions. This finally
ELEVEN MINUTES DELICACIES Paulo Coelho Simian Mobile Disco Harper Collins November 29 2010 Published: 28 April 2011 Delicatessen
Can prostitutes fall in love? Paulo Coelho’s Eleven Minutes explores this question by following the life of a Brazilian woman, Maria, who moves to Geneva in hope of finding fame, but instead ends up working as a prostitute. Coelho writes of the insecurities that Maria experiences with falling in love, stemmed from bad experiences in her youth, describing how she substitutes this void in her life by developing a fascination with sex. Although writing about a sensitive and daring subject, Coelho’s writing connects with the reader and allows us to empathise with Maria, a beautiful and deepthinking woman, as she chooses her path in life to enter into the sex-trade. This insight into Maria’s mind is mainly sourced from her diary entries, in which she analyses, with a philosophical profundity, the nature of her trade and the nature of love. By comparing sex to a drug, Maria removes all emotion from the act, equating it with a simple search for an addictive ‘high’. This ‘high’ is the man’s happiness, brought about by his fear of women; yet it is destructive, as it brings one further away from love. However, Coelho describes this destruction not only happening to Maria’s clients, but to Maria
herself, as she becomes a mere tool for delivering the drug, diverging further from love itself. Maria’s prostitution is her own personal ‘high’; she uses it to escape from her memories of heartbreak in the past and also as an excuse for her inability to love in the present. By exploring this weakness in the character, Coelho portrays Maria as not simply a tough-nut prostitute working for money and survival, but as a woman with whom the reader can relate to: sensitive, lonely and confused. The novel does, however, provide a means of escape and salvation in the form of a mysterious young painter, who sees a special ‘light’ within her. But Maria is hesitant to reciprocate this man’s love, due to her fear that he will realise she is ‘Just a prostitute’. Coelho explores Maria’s struggle to rediscover her ability to love, pushing her boundaries through both emotional and bodily pain. Experiences of prostitution, desire, happiness, sex, money, pain and pleasure all come down to one question in the novel: can love be an eternal connection of body and soul, or is it, in reality, just a sexual act lasting eleven minutes of the day? Louise Chapman
still epitomises my early experiences of the capital. Dark and delicate, each track provides a snapshot of an urban life of excess and isolation. The album’s angsty expressions of disaffectedness often err on the cringey, and it probably takes itself a bit too seriously. But so did I when I was sixteen.
Arts
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The Smiths
paid off back in 2007, when she took me to see an exhibition of portraits by one of our greatest living painters, David Hockney. The show gathered together hundreds of portraits produced by Hockney throughout his long career, from his early, brief foray into Pop Art through to his more recent works, which explore techniques used by the Old Masters. Hockney’s work is so accessible, both aesthetically pleasing and edgy, unlike so many contemporary artists who rely solely on the latter. He makes painting look easy, which I found inspiring then, and I have continued to be inspired by him ever since.
The moment I first enjoyed listening to a Smiths’ song was the moment I realised that I had arrived. I bought The Queen is Dead on the recommendation The Kooks’ lead singer made in a column for Q Magazine. I didn’t enjoy it at first, but I persisted, not wanting to admit that I found the whole thing a bit grating. Finally, I found myself really getting into ‘Frankly Mr Shankly’ - a silly song that essentially serves as a comedic interlude before the relentless gloom that characterises much of the album. This acted as a sort of gateway into their back-catalogue. Suddenly understanding what Morrissey was singing about confirmed my suspicions: I was both cool and interesting. The thing is - long after I’ve come to the realisation that this revelation is shared by many, many other people who are clearly just as cool and interesting as me I’m still listening to The Smiths. So maybe I do just enjoy the music after all.
FILM & TV David Attenborough’s documentaries Ask virtually any student in the Biological Sciences department who inspires them and it will be this man: the only reason anyone seems to be doing this subject is because of a vague desire to be David Attenborough. It’s good to have dreams, of course, but I doubt that I or any of my peers will ever be able to take up this mantle. There can’t be many broadcasters who have been working for 60 years in the business with such a consistent track record, with every programme he works on a masterpiece. He gives the impression of a genuinely
lovely human being that everyone would love nothing more than to have round for tea. Most importantly, his films first sparked an interest in animals which I’ve never been able to shake off, and his gentle, soothing voice has guided me through life ever since.
Music
Epigram
Editor: Nathan Comer
Deputy Editor: Pippa Shawley
music@epigram.org.uk
deputymusic@epigram.org.uk
05.03.2012
@epigrammusic
The surprise stalwarts of British rock Nathan Comer meets Kaiser Chiefs bassist Simon Rix to discuss their novel fourth record, The Future is Medieval
Danny North
Remember those heady days of 2005, when the so-called ‘new rock revolution’ was in full swing? When the stars aligned, and music was truly brilliant, that mysterious quintessence of post-punk captured once again? When the most talented minstrels from the world over gathered at the first truly defining musical moment of the millennium, Live 8? No? Well then you’re not alone. But however contrived and journalistically flawed any idea of a ‘scene’ was, not many would have predicted that Kaiser Chiefs would be the band that outlive the idea itself. ‘We learnt very quickly that just being signed and making a record doesn’t mean anything, really’, muses Simon Rix, the wizened bassist for the surprise stalwarts of British guitar music. ‘You go to festivals, and some of the same bands are there every year, some new bands are there, every year. And then there are some bands that you thought were big, but have now split up or fallen by the wayside’. Perhaps the secret to the band’s longevity is their constant awareness of the fickle nature of the music industry. Before finding success as Kaiser Chiefs, the band were named Parva, releasing one album, 22, on the unsuccessful Beggars Group subsidiary label, Mantra. The label folded, the album fell on largely deaf ears, and Parva rebranded as Kaiser Chiefs. This initial step to semi-stardom typifies the resilience that has been such a contributing factor to the band’s success. In some ways, however, many underestimated the full extent of their success, including the band themselves. ‘In 2005, we won three BRITS in one evening, which is more than Adele won, despite the fact that she has had such a crazily good year. I was excited about winning then, but I didn’t really think it was a weird or brilliant thing until years later – not that many people have done that in one evening.’ Rix is tranquil and unpretentious as he answers, nonchalantly sipping on a cup of tea. The relaxed modesty he displays is indicative of a characteristically humble attitude that has been with the band throughout their career. True to form, he admits, ‘I don’t think we were invited to the BRITS this year.’ Unassuming they may be, a lack of ambition is not something you could accuse the band of. Last year, they released (or as they put it themselves, ‘leaked’) their fourth album, The Future is
Kaiser Chiefs (L-R): Peanut, Andrew White, Ricky Wilson, Nick Hodgson and Simon Rix
Medieval, in a bizarre, unique way. Having recorded and uploaded tracks to their website, the band gave each fan the opportunity to customise their own version of the album, choosing ten songs from the list of 20, sequencing them and choosing their own album artwork. Furthermore, each fan was given the power to sell their own version of the album online for £1, essentially turning them into part of the Kaiser Chiefs franchise. A novel concept, no doubt; one that subverts the idea of what an album is, problematically eschewing many of the factors that can make an album truly special, such as the sequencing and relationship between the songs, or the idea of a cohesively presented package from the artists to the listener. ‘Whenever you do anything, you realise afterwards you wish you’d done things slightly
differently’, Rix acknowledges. The strange release of the album was of course a huge risk, but it raised some interesting questions and even more interesting responses of how to release an LP in a culture where album sales have declined, with people often opting to buy individual tracks instead. ‘When we recorded
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We wanted to do something interesting, not just moan
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our first album, no one really used iTunes, and you could get in the top ten with something like 5,000 sales’, laments Rix. Jaded by previous leaks, Kaiser Chiefs have learnt the hard way that the way people consume music is rapidly changing. ‘Now,
downloads are massive, and people can download things straight to their phone. The whole thing is changing all the time, and one of the reasons we wanted to do the album the way we did it was because we wanted do something interesting and different, and not just moan about how people don’t buy albums anymore.’ Again, Rix’s modesty wins out here, conceding to the shortcomings of the album’s novel release. For the band, one of the most attractive and interesting aspects of releasing the album the way they did was that fans could make money off of producing their own version of the album, with sales ideally increasing exponentially in a viral fashion. However, due to the other noteworthy customisations that the release made possible, this idea of selling your own version of the
album was not really picked up on by the press. ‘You wouldn’t believe how big a problem it was to get that pound to work. It was one of the major stumbling blocks, and it cost a lot of the money that was in the budget, and it was one of the things that went under the carpet because it didn’t really work’, he admits. And would they do the same type of release again? ‘To be honest with you, it’s all got a bit complicated, so next time round we’d like to do something that really keeps it simple.’ Just when that ‘next time round’ will be, however, remains unclear. Rix cuts a weary shape sitting backstage in Bristol Colston Hall on the penultimate leg of their UK tour. He points out that no rock’n’roll antics are planned for their UK show in London the following night, as he has an 8am date with the American embassy to get his visa,
proceeding to list the corners of the world they will be visiting on what he calls their ‘never ending tour’. While it’s difficult to predict the course of Kaiser Chiefs’ future voyage, one can be sure they’ll keep going with the same resilience. ‘It’s funny that I say “never ending tour”’, laughs Rix. ‘The other day I found a laminate for a Parva tour. It was called The Never Ending Tour. It was ten days long.’
‘The Future is Medieval’ is available on Fiction now
Epigram
05.03.2012
24 Speech on the beach
First steps into Footwork Since the 80s Chicago has put out some of the most forward thinking House music around. Evolving from the dominant form in the genre since the early 90’s – ‘Juke’ or ‘Ghetto-house’, Footwork has been slowly building a home for itself in the city’s underground warehouse clubbing scene over the last decade, gaining a dedicated yet fractious following. The relationship between Footwork and Juke is one that is so close that drawing a definitive line between them remains an embarrassing if
Ceephax
The Power of Speech
Luke Swann speaks to the 2009 Mercury-winning artist, Speech Debelle
Following a Mercury Prizewinning debut album seems like a daunting prospect. Speech Therapy won the award in 2009, beating the favourites Florence + The Machine and Kasabian, the former of which has since gone quintuple platinum in the UK. Announcement of the year’s winner usually boosts record sales in the UK, as was the case with Speech Debelle, taking her numbers from 3to 15-000: a five-fold increase: yet, still mountainously inferior when compared to The xx and Elbow’s equivalent album figures, which won the award either side of her (xx, 405,000; The Seldom Seen Kid, 860,000). With the Mercury a marker for critical success and several absent zeroes one for commercial failure, the production and release of her follow-up album must surely have been a daunting prospect. ‘Nah, Freedom of Speech was easier for me - I knew what I wanted to do a lot more than I did before. I think this album kind of marketed itself to be honest.’ Having given fans an early taster release towards the end of last summer on her Soundcloud page, the precedent for the album was set. Freedom of Speech partly equates to ‘banners to write on’ in political marches for Debelle, the somewhat rare breed of a conscientious UK rapper. ‘Grey, industrial’
sparse scenery (like the album cover suggests); an extrospective take on today’s social issues; whilst the other side of the album maintains the intimacy and brittle lyricism of her debut. ‘Blaze Up A Fire’ was that aforementioned taster, released shortly after, but made before, the infamous UK rioting/looting (delete as appropriate). With the song came a note: ‘not attempting
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Debelle belongs to the somewhat rare breed of a conscientious UK rapper
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to condone, [but] attempting to be a voice of understanding’ for the kids involved, stating that ‘we cannot say there is something wrong with them without acknowledging there must be something wrong with us as a society.’ After asking for an elaboration – ‘I think working class is… at the moment, we’re backing into the Margaret Thatcher days, which means that it’s the poor that have to suffer now to be able to build and rebuild the country. It’s a turbulent time as it was back then. The poorer you are, the more you’re seen as less of a commodity. And that’s, unfortunately, the time
we’re living in right now.’ Within the music, label-mate Roots Manuva and friend and fellow rapper Realism, the only guest vocalists on the album, join in to discuss political revolution over this structural musical sandwich, starting and ending in melancholy reminiscence, with a more abrupt and direct filling. Further social issues like our dependence on oil, the repercussions of this, environmental concerns, are explored throughout ‘Collapse’ in a relatively revering manner; moody guitar chords providing the structural foundations around an impeccable vocal flow, with flitting metaphors and wordplay throughout. ‘This is a song that was inspired by the documentary of the same name,’ the docu-film directed by Chris Smith, exploring the theories, writings and life story of controversial author Michael Ruppert, a former Los Angeles detective who has authored books on the September 11th attacks and energy issues; explains Debelle, now speaking with passion and fervent interest. ‘I watched it and was totally, totally inspired by it. It’s an amazing story, told well; and I just wanted to tell that story. It’s probably the first time I’ve ever written a song that was just about something I’ve heard...It sums up a lot of the
issues around the album. It sums up what I mean in ‘Blaze Up A Fire’.’ That second ‘side’ of the album, intimacy and brittle lyricism aplenty, revolves around the centripetal theme of love, usually dealt up in the relationship paradigm (‘Shawshank’), usually falling quite flat. ‘Elephant’ musters the right texture, however its production, courtesy of synaesthete Kwes, a solemn and sour palette of all the right colours; its lyrics, courtesy of Debelle, effective, “This elephant is now in the middle of our living room floor/ Feeding off my own fears/ The leaving you will leave me lonely.” Freedom of Speech has its highs, but does not possess the consistency of Speech Therapy; however, the future looks the right tone of grey for Debelle, as she kicks off her European tour in search of the commercial recognition she deserves.
‘Freedom of Speech’ is available on Big Dada now
not impossible task. As a rule Footwork is faster, making use of a wide range of intricately layered samples outside of the typical House. Tracks rarely last for more than three minutes and are mainly drawn from extended live performances cut down into parcels of frenetic creativity. Along with localised distribution, entire sets are often posted onto sites like YouTube or dedicated forums, showing off the incredible dance routines that accompany the music. As the name suggests, the Footwork scene is heavily linked to dance, with ‘footworkers’ favouring a style based around complicated leg routines performed against other dancers or squads to an ever changing sound track surrounded by a circle of spectators. The reason for Footwork’s sudden escape from the localised underground Chicago scene has much to do with its discovery by the darling of the IDM-ers,
Mike Paradinas. Paradinas, alias μ-Ziq is the famous owner of the electronic label Planet μ, publishing works by Ceephax, Luke Vibert, Kuedo, Ital, Machinedrum and Pinch to name but a few. Its championing by Paradinas, is what has brought Footwork to popular attention, with his
amazing Footwork-inspired mixtapes and decision to sign what seems to be half of Chicago (DJ Nate, DJ Rashad, DJ Spinn, Traxman, DJ Diamond etc) has propelled Footwork and its producers into the music scenes outside of Chicago. However, Paradinas’s most masterful stroke in drawing attention to the genre has been the truly excellent Bangs & Works series, compiled by Paradinas to include the best of the genre both new and old. Bangs & Works showcases the sheer bewildering variety of Chicago Footwork and has become one of the best introductions to what can appear such a strange and alien slice of urban music. Through Planet μ’s other artists the influence of Footwork upon dance music as a whole has spread, with Kuedo, Machinedrum, Ital Tek, Philip D. Kick, Damscray and Chrissy Murderbot all examples of how the genre is being turned to for inspiration. With the success of albums such as Machinedrum’s Room(s) and Kuedo’s Severant, Footwork’s visibility has increased to the extent at which the original Chicago producers are beginning to be tempted into venturing outside the city on tour.
Footwork is a scene that is as liable to alienate as it is to inspire its listeners and should be entered with an open mind. This is a scene in which no producer is alike with most, thanks to the divided nature of the scene, probably not even getting along. As much as he is attacked by elements of the scene for being a sellout for also writing Hip-Hop tracks, DJ Nate’s Da Trak Genious, along with the aforementioned Rashad and Spinn are all great places to first experience the depth of Footwork along with Bangs & Worksbreadth. Though attacked for its varied and sometimes patchy nature Footwork should be embraced for the very same reason, with its unvarnished approach to dance music a change from what was becoming an increasingly staid scene. Tom Rudrum
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Stepping out of the shadows on his own The ever-ambitious Miles Kane speaks to Jordan Ford in the middle of hectic touring schedule and after a successful year There’s just no stopping Miles Kane at the moment. On the back of his quality debut solo album The Colour of the Trap, the 25 year-old from The Wirral has been in constant tour mode since February last year, supporting rock heavyweights such as Beady Eye, Kasabian and The Arctic Monkeys with the odd dash of headline performances here and there. Not that Kane minds the heavy workload, if anything he’s thriving on it. ‘What a year it’s been’, reminisces the former Rascals frontman; ‘it’s been the best year of my life and it just keeps growing and becoming more exciting’. Despite being in his midtwenties, it’s been a rather long process to get this far for Kane. He first hit the scene as guitarist for The Little Flames, taking the roll of frontman for The Rascals soon after, but both projects lasted little more than a couple of years and failed to make much of an impression, quite a contrast to the immediate stardom achieved by his
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I want to move on, push the boundaries - do the unexpected
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friends, Arctic Monkeys. And consequently you can tell that there’s a certain sense of relief with the jubilation that comes from becoming a headline act; ‘It feels great, it’s what I’ve always wanted and what I’ve been working for, for quite a
long time really. I think I’m ready for it now, musically, and as a lad.’ ‘Things just keep moving forward,’ says Kane during a rare few weeks back home. Now that the hard work is bringing success, it seems Kane has no intention of halting proceedings; he is in the midst of writing more material and his forthcoming UK and France tour, which will feature
new songs from his upcoming second album, recorded during the brief respite from his touring schedule. Kane has suggested a change in musical direction from the 60s rock’n’roll tone that was apparent throughout The Colour of the Trap. ‘I want to move it on, push the boundaries - do the unexpected’, proclaims Kane, and indeed we can anticipate
a departure in style (not necessarily for the better) in Kane’s upcoming collaboration with dubstep star Skream. Do not, however, expect Kane to turn away from the deeply sensual, lustful, and at times downright dirty ambiance found on his first album, and its whispering, lyrical verses. ‘During the last album there were a lot of things going on,
but I still want to get more personal on the next album, as you get more confident you express yourself more’. Whilst Miles will admit that The Little Flames was a learning experience, ‘you get those gigs sometimes, where things break or don’t work. I learnt that if you start getting pissed off by it you look a tit’. He is now a polished performer, still full of energy and
swagger but armed with poetic lyrics and catchy riffs aplenty. As a result he has accumulated a substantial fan base, most notably in France. ‘During Reading and Leeds, and the Rock En Seine Festival in Paris, I noticed a movement on the ladder, a step forward. There’s been a lot of love in France, similar to back home. We’ve picked up on it early doors and I’ve been as much over there as over here.’ It is no surprise, then, that the forthcoming predominantly UK-based tour actually climaxes in Paris. In the space of a relatively short career, Kane has already collaborated with some of the biggest names in British rock. The Last of the Shadow Puppets, a partnership with Arctic Monkey’s frontman Alex Turner, introduced him to many people’s radar, subsequently Turner made a brief appearance on The Colour of the Trap, as did none other than Noel Gallagher. But a particular highlight of the album was ‘Happenstance’ - a seductive duet with French actress Clémence Poésy, who has recently starred in the BBC adaptation of Birdsong. When asked about potential future collaborations it seems that Kane has eyes for American soul singer Janelle Monáe. He would also like to work with guitarist Serge Pizzorno of Kasabian fame, however The Last of the Shadow Puppets has been put on the backburner; Kane promising that ‘we’ll get writing when it feels right again’. Miles Kane plays Bristol 02 Academy on 27 April
New heights of Disturbia for Chris Brown and Rihanna? maybe due to the success of their collaboration ‘Disturbia’ Rihanna wants to utilise Brown’s talent for more of her own success. Or maybe it’s something else. Can we judge her? Reprimanding Rihanna signifies a slip into the ‘blame-victim’ phenomenon, rather than addressing the real problem, the perpetrator and their behaviour. So instead of
outrage over Rihanna’s decision to collaborate, let’s instead concentrate on Chris Brown. No ‘what the hell is she doing?’, but more ‘what the hell is he still doing here?’ So why do we have an issue with Brown being allowed back? He served his sentence, and perhaps he is truly remorseful, perhaps not. We never got a
Flickr: Capt. Joe Kickass
Back in June 2009, Chris Brown was sentence to five years probation and ordered to remain 50 yards from Rihanna at all times. This was reduced to 10 yards for public events, but has apparently been abandoned lately as Rihanna and Brown seem to be collaborating on tracks just three years after he violently assaulted her and threatened to kill her. The response to Brown and Rihanna’s latest collaboration, a remix of her single ‘Birthday Cake’ has been overwhelmingly negative, with reactions ranging from confusion to outrage. The apparent rekindling of Brown and Rihanna’s friendship raises many questions amongst fans and the public in general. Of course, Rihanna has the right to forgive him. If she has this is for her, to gain closure and move on. Maybe the collaboration is to help nurse back Brown’s career,
proper apology did we? It doesn’t really matter what Chris Brown does because this is about more than just him and Rihanna. We cannot afford to forgive abuse on any occasion, there is simply no excuse and if we are ever to ‘beat’ such violence this is the message we need to project. Domestic violence is being trivialised and sexualised here: we have a Twitter hashtag #HeCANBeatMe, overflowing with variations of ‘I don’t know why Rihanna complained, Chris Brown can beat me up anytime he wants’, we know that there is something seriously damaging about Chris Brown continuing to be in a ubiquitous position. As far as the public is concerned, Chris Brown made it big and then messed up by messing up his ex-girlfriend’s face. When he did that he waived his right to respect in the public eye. Projecting the message that
if you domestically abuse and get caught, you can get away with it, a few years hiatus and then you’re back, is unacceptable. If we want a society free of domestic abuse then it must to be known that it will not be tolerated. Brown had his chance, and whether he has learnt his lesson or not, he cannot slip back as if nothing happened. We remember. Rihanna is a star and a phenomenal success. Despite her claiming that she doesn’t want to be a role model, whether she likes it or not girls will observe her and consciously or not, eventually replicate her actions. However, this is not the crucial issue in this instance. It is not for us to decide what is right about Rihanna’s choice, but to judge the situation and recognise what is inherently wrong with the collaboration. Rihanna forgave Brown, cue media
onslaught. A Texan cheerleader refused to chant her basketball player rapist’s name last year, cue being dropped from the squad and forced to pay $45,000 compensation to the school. Neither can win and victims like these shouldn’t be forced to make such decisions. Brown’s career should have ended the second he was convicted and the basketballer should have been expelled as soon as the cheerleader bravely accused him and he confessed. The message should be clear: zero-tolerance towards domestic violence. Analysing Rihanna is just the tip of the iceberg, sink a little deeper and we’ll see that the overwhelming matter at hand is that known perpetrators of domestic abuse are minimally reprimanded and ultimately allowed to continue living their lives as normal. Not cool. Mia Zur-Szpiro
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Reviews LOVE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA DELICACIES The Magnetic Simian MobileFields Disco Domino 29 2010 November 05 March 2012 Delicatessen
Love at the Bottom of the Sea sees the Magnetic Fields return to their celebrated sarcastic synthpop style, after their last three albums, went down a more acoustic route. Despite the fact that the band, driven by eternal pessimist, founder and lead singer, Stephin Merritt, has released three albums in the last eight years, they are still remembered for 1999’s epic concept album, 69 Love Songs. Love at the Bottom of the Sea is unlikely to usurp it as the band’s crowning glory, which is alright according to Merritt who recently told the Guardian ‘I will spend the rest of my life living down 69 Love Songs, just as I planned to. It’s fine.’ Despite what the title suggests, Love at the Bottom of the Sea is not a collection of fifteen songs about sex amongst aquatic animals. Instead, it features a range of bizarre and varied topics, from falling in love with a drag queen on ‘Andrew in Drag’ to hanging out with metaphysical beings on ‘I’ve Run Away to Join the Fairies’. On a superficial level, the album is a perfectly pleasant pop album, but on second listen, Merritt’s unique lyrical style
BREAK IT YOURSELF Andrew Bird Bella Union 06 Mar 2012 In the fickle world of indie pop, progressing as a musician without ‘losing your roots’ is apparently the ultimate goal for everyone in the industry. Andrew Bird’s sixth solo release, Break it Yourself does have the feel of an album that has evolved from 2009’s outstanding Noble Beast, while retaining the whistling and violin plucks that make Bird’s records so recognisable. Opening track ‘Desperation Bleeds’ is immediately engaging and the intricacies inform the casual listener to stop what they’re doing, for this is a record that deserves undivided attention. ‘Lusitania’, beautifully assisted by the voice of Annie Clark (St. Vincent), is a stand-out among a consistently introspective and delicate album. It is perhaps Bird’s most emotionally honest release, and the strength of the lyrics are lifted to further heights by the accompanying instruments and unorthodox time signatures. While many artists strive to ‘sound like 2012’, Bird has released an album that would hold its own in any era. It is a closely fought battle between Bird and Sufjan Stevens for the title of Indie Pop King, but with records like this, long may the fight continue. Gareth Davies
WRECKING BALL Bruce Springsteen Columbia 06 March 2012
presents itself. Album closer ‘All She Cares About is Mariachi’ best exemplifies this as Merritt laments, ‘So go ahead and hire Saatchi & Saatchi/to advertise the sausage in your pants/ but all she cares about is Mariachi/and all she ever wants to do is dance.’ Elsewhere, ‘Quick!’ and ‘Your Girlfriend’s Face’ see the band exploit their rediscovery of synthesisers to the full, creating loud, brash pop songs, which though not necessarily enduring classics, are certainly a refreshing change from other songs currently masquerading under the banner of pop. The record is laced with nostalgic references to childhood, from similarities between First World War song ‘If You Were the Only Girl (In the World)’ and ‘Only Boy in Town’, to the imploring nature of ‘Horrible Party’ ‘take me away from this horrible party and let me go home to Mother’. Sadly, the use of synthesisers means the sincerity of these ideas is somewhat lost, but the juxtaposition of these sentiments with Merritt’s miserable baritone makes Love at the Bottom of the Sea an interesting release. Interesting, but perhaps not enthralling. Pippa Shawley
SHALLOW BED Dry the River RCA 05 Mar 2012 With a self-described style as ‘folky gospel music played by a post-punk band’, and a blatant love of tattoos and Americana, Dry the River certainly knew how to stand out from the crowd. Shortlisted as one of the BBC’s ‘Sound of 2012’ artists, they are certainly a critic’s favourite, and the Londonbased quintet’s debut album, Shallow Bed, has been eagerly awaited by fans. And they won’t be disappointed. The combination of folk music, catchy riffs and rocky tunes shouldn’t work and yet, somehow, it is a winning formula. This is best seen in the track ‘New Ceremony’ in which the gritty verse is offset with a poignant, heartwarming and memorable chorus. Even on their slower songs, such as on ‘Shaker Hymns’, they still pack the same punch as their more upbeat tracks, not only due to the excellent use of folk-influenced riffs but the juxtaposition of frontman Peter Liddle’s ethereal voice against the grim realism of the lyrics. Although at some points, the guitars can threaten to overwhelm the vocals. Moreover, at points they take the idea of ‘authenticity’ to a whole new level (not always a bad thing!), this album is destined to become standard ‘hipster’ repertoire. Welcome to 2012? Charlotte Woodley
You’d think that by your 62nd birthday, 17 albums and countless world tours, you’d just want to stay at home, relax and do some Sudoku. But, when you’re Bruce Springsteen and the world’s going to pot, then that really isn’t an option for you. Yes, the Boss is back, and he’s pulling no punches. When he isn’t taking shots at “robber barons”, he’s lamenting the plight of the working-class and rallying a disillusioned America to fight against their oppressors. A quick glance at the tracklisting, with titles such as ‘This Depression,’ and ‘Shackled & Drawn,’ tells you that this is one of the most politically engaging albums of his career. Of course, the irony of a multi-millionaire attacking the “fat cats…looking for easy money” is not lost on many. Nonetheless, Springsteen has always been the voice of blue-collar America, and at times like these, one can’t expect him to abandon that. Indeed, this persona is perhaps the only constant throughout Wrecking Ball, with each song boasting an unexpected musical twist, a far cry from his 1970s beginnings. Be warned, there is a rap. It’s truly a Springsteen album for the 21st century – its almost-too-sleek production contrasts starkly with the endearing roughness
SCARS AND STONES The Fray Columbia 05 Mar 2012 Remember the Fray? The ‘critically acclaimed, platinum selling’ band ticked all the right boxes back in the mid-noughties with their soft-cock piano ballads for anyone who found the likes of Keane or Feeder just a bit too edgy. Here they return with a third full-length effort that sees them really ramp their sound up to 11. Well, maybe not 11, but a piano doesn’t feature prominently until halfway into the album, and the production credits go to Brendan O’Brien, known for his work with Springsteen and Pearl Jam. But that pedigree can do little to protect the quartet: the overblown and perfectly bland dynamics and strained vocals that he has overseen certainly bear the scars (and stories) of the ‘critically acclaimed, platinum selling’ band taking themselves just a tad too seriously, and frankly, not having many ideas. And we shouldn’t even begin to assess the lyrics. Of their embrace of a full-blooded rock sound, lead singer Isaac Slade modestly explains that, on this album, the ‘critically acclaimed, platinum selling’ band ‘just stepped up to the plate and swung as hard as we could.’ Swing and a miss. Eliot Brammer
of earlier records, whilst ‘Rocky Ground’ features drum loops, samples, and the aforementioned sowrong-it’s-kind-of-right rap. Yet for all the new ground being covered by Springsteen, there are still echoes back to his past works, with ‘Death to my Hometown’ being an almost sister track to 1985’s ‘My Hometown,’ whilst ‘We Take Care Of Our Own,’ wouldn’t sound out of place on Born In The USA. Gone, however, are the immensely personal songs about unfulfilled desires and escapism, and instead, we have a collection of songs attacking global injustice and the destruction of society, with a much more universal, wide-reaching tone. The penultimate track ‘Land of Hope and Dreams’ invites us all to unite “board this train” and protest together. It’s a call of arms to the listener, a sort of aural Occupy Wall Street, and with the same outcome too: impressive to begin with, but sadly it goes nowhere. The efforts to modernise his sound are ultimately contrived, whilst his lyrics tend to veer more towards repetitive than rousing. Springsteen seems to have forgotten that he’s at his most inspiring when he isn’t trying to be. Lucy Fowler
PRISONER The Jezabels Play it Again Sam 05 Feb 2012 The plight of the European band trying to ‘break America’ is exceeded only by the blight of the Australasian band trying to make it, well, anywhere else. Prisoner, released to commercial success in their native Australia last September, is only now receiving its release in the UK as The Jezabels begin their mission of ‘breaking England’ (it sounds a bit pathetic when put like that, doesn’t it?). While their description of their own music as ‘intensindie’ is light-hearted, at least The Jezabels acknowledge their vapid music with a meaningless word to describe it. That may sound harsh, but one could hypothesise that perhaps ‘vapid’ is exactly the sound they are going for. From the Phil Collins opener ‘Prisoner’ (the drumming is superb throughout, shame about the songs) to the closing ‘Catch Me’ with its U2 inflections, the band seem to only deal in one dynamic: epic. It’s only on the pleasant ambience of ‘Austerlitz’ that they manage to escape this monotony. What is our obsession with ‘epic’? From Florence to Kings of Leon, flat shouting, reverb and gongs dominate our charts. Epic. What a sickening word. Nathan Comer
Film & TV
Epigram
Editor: William Ellis
Deputy Editor: Ant Adeane
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05.03.2012
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Bristol students make waves on big screen Three students from the University of Bristol’s Drama Department are set to make their first feature film, and they want help This summer, Bristol’s very own Drama Department on Cantock’s Close will be the location for an ambitious and exciting feature film by up-andcoming production company Third Eye Productions. Small and relatively young in the industry, Third Eye Productions is co-managed by three Bristol Undergraduates: Misha Vertkin (Managing Director), Jennifer O’Leary (Producer) and Miriam Battye (Writer). They have already won awards from prestigious bodies such as the BFI’s Future Film Festival and Encounters Film Festival. The company, based in London and Bristol, seeks to promote and showcase the talents of other aspiring writers, directors, photographers and actors/ actresses. Essentially wherever your interest lies, there’s an opportunity to get involved. The Director, Misha Vertkin, has recently been accepted into the Director’s Guild of Great Britain, as well as recently being named in the Guardian as one of ‘Five To Watch’. He has four years of experience under his belt (having started
writing films at 16), including working for the BBC, so he’s well-equipped to make a huge success of what appears to be a very ambitious project. The Duignan Fund, based in the University’s Drama Department, awards grants to undergraduate students wanting to create their own projects; it supports their ambitions and allows them to achieve what they otherwise could not afford to realise. It was the Duignan Fund that awarded a grant of £8,000 to Third Eye Productions in January of this year, a large proportion of the total budget that they hope to achieve. It is important to note that this will not be a student film: it is being shot on a RED Epic Camera, a £70,000 piece of equipment, which Peter Jackson himself is using to shoot The Hobbit. On top of this, there will be a professional influence on production: overseeing the principal photography is Alys Rowe, the assistant camera to Andrew Lesnie, who was the Director of Photography on the famous trilogy The Lord of the Rings as well as King Kong.
Due to the nature of the project, undergraduates who wish to get involved are being prioritized. Liam Healey, a third year Drama undergraduate, is taking the role of Director of Photography, but the tuition and direction from Ms. Rowe will be invaluable to any aspiring student film makers. The film is set in a fictional world ruled by an oppressive dictator, in a situation reminiscent of George Orwell’s 1984. Going behind the curtains of a musical designed to glorify the tyrannical leader we see a major set piece completely
destroyed in the opening scenes, ruining the entire musical. The preceding halfhour is then witnessed in real time from the perspectives of the four different protagonists. The true story of how creativity wilts and flourishes in this grim environment is then gradually unveiled. Once entered, the theatre is not left for the duration of the film, this gives it an overcrowded, claustrophobic and repressed feel. It is a darkly comic tale aimed to appeal to a wide and varied demographic, and will be shot almost entirely within the Drama building of
the University – a wonderfully sprawling location with many facets and aesthetic gems. Shooting will begin on the 1st July 2012 and will continue for a month. However, even if you are not available for the entire month, Third Eye still wants you to be involved. With a relatively low budget - £100,000 usually being considered a “nobudget feature” in the industry - there is a lot of scope for your interest. For the creativelyable: the entire set will have to be created from scratch; propaganda for the fictional country will have to be designed; elaborate costumes will be constructed and the list goes on. On the other hand, if you’re more technically interested then there are plenty of roles in the Camera, Grip and Sound departments, as well as a core team of producers to help plan the logistics of this massive feature. Of course, a cast will need to be assembled: actors, actresses, dancers and singers should all apply. Don’t be put off if you’re lacking professional experience though because this project is all about showcasing
ambitious raw talent and it could even be the break you need. Don’t worry if you’re not doing a related course as there are a range of undergraduate disciplines involved including Economics and Veterinary Sciences. Be a part of the 100 people needed to make this idea a reality. There will be workshops for those wanting to act and be part of the production team with auditions taking place at the end of March. For all the pre-production roles, involved in designing the fictional world, Third Eye Productions needs you now! Don’t miss out on what is guaranteed to be an amazing experience that could change the course of your life. To find out more information on the film and its progress, visit www.briefintermission.com. If you want to get involved then contact Jennifer O’Leary (jennifer@third-eyeproductions.co.uk). For more information on Third Eye Productions, visit www.third-eye-productions. co.uk Jenny Garbutt
Is The Room the worst film ever made? Fresh from his meeting with the one and only Tommy Wiseau, Matthew Rose explores the cult surrounding terrible films Last month, in a small independent cinema in London, a momentous event took place; Tommy Wiseau appeared live introducing his movie The Room. If you know the film, you will instantly be filled with wonderment and joy. Unfortunately, you are probably in the minority of our readership and so I will attempt to explain this unrelenting love for what is a very ‘cult’ movie and how that extends to the genre as a whole. The Room, a film billed as having ‘the passion of Tennessee
Williams’ is undoubtedly the worst film ever made. In fact, it is often referred to as ‘the Citizen Kane of bad movies’. Plagued with continuity errors, poor acting, stilted dialogue and a nonsensical plot, the film is painful to watch on your own. With a group of people however, it’s hilarious. A whole cult has built up around The Room - fans are more than a little passionate about it. This of course is a requisite of any cult movie, but why is The Room such an extreme case? After all, plenty of other
cult films, such as the Ed Wood movie Plan 9 From Outer Space, are notoriously badly made and yet do not have such a fervent fan following. I would argue that, in part, it is due to the above-average number of quotable lines of dialogue and recurring motifs. Fans of any cult movie like to show off their knowledge by quoting the film at each other. It makes us feel like we’re part of a club, a special in-crowd that knows about something most don’t. Anyone else present will want to feel part of that group,
in turn, leading them to search out the movie in order to be able to join in. It’s important to point out that this is not an elitist thing – part of the joy of any cult movie is sharing it with new people. The more people that know about the film, the more people we can laugh about it with. Because of this, screenings of The Room sprang up around the world, starting in the USA. In London, a screening is held monthly in which fans are encouraged to shout lines from the film and heckle it. Even here in Bristol I have been to at least five parties in which the film has been screened in the last two and a half years. Of course, it is not just The Room that has a cult following. One of the most famous cult movies is The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Beginning life as a repertory film screened at midnight in independent cinemas, word quickly spread and over the last 37 years it has become something of a legend. Sing-a-long screenings regularly take place and a stage production has been touring almost continuously since 1990. In this case, I would argue
that it is the songs that are the ‘quotable’ element; even if you haven’t seen the film, you have most probably heard “The Time Warp” - a staple of wedding discos nationwide. The flamboyant costumes and camp performances encourage cos-play (dressing up to the layman) and with both film screenings and the stage production audiences regularly turn up in character, joining in with the production by heckling and singing along. It is unlikely to be a coincidence that both films have this level of interactivity and both have such hard-core fans. With The Room, the film’s auteur, Tommy Wiseau, claims that he intentionally created a cult dark comedy, although this is disputed by everybody else involved in the production. I would argue that it is next to impossible for this to be the case. Plenty of films, such as the terminally dull Zombie Strippers, have attempted to formulaically create a cult movie and failed. Cult films have to happen by accident, they have to be sincere in their motives. The Room is so hilarious because of the sheer conviction
of the actors and director in portraying the ridiculous world the film inhabits; if instead it was treated as tongue-in-cheek it would simply be a terrible film. Which brings us back to a small cinema in London last month. As Tommy Wiseau entered the stage it was like being in the presence of a Beatle in the ‘60s. Here was an icon, the big daddy of cult movies made flesh, and the love for him from his fans was palpable. It takes a special kind of person to make a career out of doing something badly, and Tommy Wiseau is truly the most special person I have ever met.
Epigram
05.03.2012
28
Cult director commits a Freudian slip A DANGEROUS METHOD Director: David Cronenberg Starring: Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen, Keira Knightley
adangerousmethod-themovie.com
Every year the Oscars come around, and every year as a result, there is a host of lacklustre films that never really come into contention, with David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method slotting in nicely amongst them. With the opening scene we are introduced to Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley), a hysterical woman thrashing around inside a car who is subsequently carried inside a mental hospital. It is here where Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) intends to treat her condition using psychoanalysis, the brainchild of Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen). Knightley continues this frenzied portrayal of Sabina during her first consultation with Jung, fidgeting uncontrollably in her chair whilst attempting to push her chin as far away from her face as possible. It becomes almost awkward to watch. Thankfully we are saved from Knightley’s early overacting
as Jung uncovers that the cause of Sabina’s actions are of a sexual nature, and begins simultaneously treating and educating the now aspiring psychiatrist. After some time elapses, Jung is introduced to Freud, having successfully used his theory. Here, Fassbender and Mortensen do their level best with a poor script. Their interaction seems forced and dreary with Freud at one point saying ‘we’ve been talking for 13 hours’; it certainly feels like it. As their relationship develops, Freud sends one of his maverick prodigies, who goes by the name of Otto Gross (Vincent Cassel), to Jung in order to be one of his patients. Otto is the opposite of Jung, with his unkempt appearance and peculiar outlook on life; he lives with no regret, seeking only his desires. His impact is unmistakable, convincing Jung to succumb to his sexual desires and adopt a more promiscuous lifestyle, leading him to pursue an affair with Sabina. It is a shame that Cassel’s role is brief because his unpredictable nature provided a much-needed break from the tedious exchanges of Freud and Jung. The affair is explicit, with
Sabina’s psychological condition on full show; however, these scenes are ill-placed amongst the other mundane scenes, and seem only to be there to break from the conformity of the plot. The narrative further diverges as the affair suddenly involves Freud, which displeases Jung, whilst not really bothering his wife, who is aware of the events. As a result the pace suffers, with the remainder of the film focusing on the dwindling relationship between Freud and Jung. Augmented by the affair, the two psychiatrists
grow increasingly distant due to their drifting views in their field. Freud, who thought he had found a protégé in Jung, is left a distant mentor, due to the latter’s insistence on a more experimental and widerthinking approach, as well as his lying about the affair. Finally, the narrative gains pace, skipping years at a time to touch on minor plot changes. This random scene-jumping tends to gloss over important events in the story, never fully exploring key character developments, leaving the
viewer feeling lost and confused. As a period drama, A Dangerous Method ticks most of the boxes. The sets are meticulous, with the props and make-up effortlessly transporting the viewer to the early 1900s. The introduction of some small-scale CGI mars this somewhat, and unfortunately takes us out of this well-crafted era and places us firmly in the 21st century. It leaves the viewer wondering whether they couldn’t have spent a bit more time perfecting these scenes
in order to establish a more cohesive tone. The film’s elementary plot restricts the scope of the film and it soon runs out of steam. Couple this with the disappointingly simple script and we are ultimately left with uninteresting scenes with uninteresting outcomes. Fassbender and Mortensen give commendable performances, however they do seem to hide behind the make-up and gimmicks of their characters (Freud lighting a cigar in almost every scene); although who could blame them? Their interchanges become steadily more unclear as the movie progresses. Knightley plays a lesser role throughout the film, as her character becomes more successful and dignified with every time shift, it is a shame then that this only leads to greater emphasis being placed on her overblown role earlier in the movie as the more neurotic Sabina. With the leading cast and the intriguing subject of psychoanalysis, A Dangerous Method had all the makings of a thought-provoking piece of cinema. Instead we are left with an uninspired period piece that fails to fulfill its potential. Joel Corry
Horror aims high but falls flat Puppets master adult laughs THE MUPPETS
THE WOMAN IN BLACK
Director: James Bobin Starring: Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper
Director: James Watkins Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Sophie Stuckey, Ciaran Hinds
Curt Johnson
Promoted as the latest emotional horror film, like The Orphanage or The Others, The Woman in Black disappoints. Daniel Radcliffe puts in a decent performance – although for the first twenty minutes you can’t help expecting him to grab a broom and fly back to Hogwarts. The initially simple plot, about a widowed lawyer who travels to a strange town to handle an estate and finds himself having visions of a woman in black, becomes overcomplicated and incongruous, while the setting and general greyness of the entire film makes it often monotonous and dull. With a few jump scares and a score by Scream composer Marco Beltrami, the film is, generally, quite eerie; yet, unlike Scream, it sets out to be a serious film, not purely about thrills but about emotion – and in this, it fails. The storyline is intriguing enough and has the potential to be very tense, but the characters are impenetrable, so even by
the end of the film the viewer has no greater insight into their personality. They, therefore, do not encourage empathy or sympathy – ultimately, you don’t care what happens to them, their fate brings no pity or joy. The Others or The Orphanage explored similar themes and techniques, but with a better effect: the fear of a child’s death is central in these films, yet in The Woman in Black it seems irrelevant, almost like a side-plot. Radcliffe is a father, yet he leaves his child with a nanny while he goes to work in a different town and this undermines their relationship and, consequently, the emotional power of the film. Some complained about the film’s 12 rating, because they found it ‘terrifying’. If you are interested in horror films,
you will find the techniques repetitive and unoriginal, while the story does not quite eclipse the intricacy and emotionality of others, not even being as interesting. Despite the jump scares, the general eeriness, the greyness of the setting and the disturbing score, it doesn’t create any psychological horror. It aims at being a gore-less ‘clever’ horror film, in the style of Rosemary’s Baby, where plot is more important than the scares; but it falls flat because the story is impenetrable, often dull, and not scary enough. Most disappointingly though, the ending is a forgettable one. Watch if you have time to waste because it is entertaining, but definitely not a must-see. Alejandro Palekar Fernandez
Everybody recognises the Muppets to varying degrees. They still have their TV shows, and have had various featurelength versions in the past, but they have not exactly been a huge presence recently. Reviving them, then, presents some difficulties. Foremost among these is the main target audience; The Muppets is a children’s film – a fact that should not be forgotten in the haste to find out if it is entertaining for adults too. But children are fickle, and all of the nostalgia which (incredibly) 57 years can muster will not persuade them to love a character with which they are not familiar. Jason Segel is the driving force behind this latest incarnation, and he and regular co-writing partner Nicholas Stoller get around this familiarity problem with a bold strategy: the creation of a new Muppet, Walter. The film focuses on Walter and Gary, his human brother (played by Segel). They grow up together,
but Walter is never quite the same as his (taller, fleshier) brother. His only comfort is his love of The Muppet Show, but on a trip to the Muppet Studios, Walter overhears the evil Tex Richman’s plans to destroy them to get to oil (which prompted a Fox News anchor to cry liberal conspiracy). The only chance for the Muppets to survive is to put on one last show, with the help of Walter, Gary, and Mary (an energetic Amy Adams). The Muppets is a very selfconscious film – the opening sequence in particular shows quite touchingly the affection with which the show is held by the creators. But further than that, The Muppets is aware of itself as slightly ridiculous: it is full of ‘nudge nudge’ moments, breaching the fourth wall, and
pointing to how clever the whole thing is. This is funny, although becomes tiresome after a while, as do the constant cameos. It feels like these will only serve to date the film very quickly – will, for instance, Selena Gomez be a household name in a few years time? Nevertheless,it is undoubtedly a successful revival. The actors’ knowing looks are thankfully tempered by a real enthusiasm, especially from Segel – this is a genuine labour of love for him. A children’s film cannot sustain an ironic detachment for the whole time, and one of the delights of The Muppets is that it eventually leaves behind the smartness, and commits wholeheartedly to a sincere, uplifting conclusion. Jasper Jolly
Epigram
05.03.2012
29 29
Is HBO’s Homeland where the heart is?
Cass Horowitz explores the latest HBO phenomenon to hit these shores, which raises typically bold and troubling questions America’s latest television import, Homeland, has only aired three episodes in the UK, and already we are hooked. For those of you who watched it, it may come as no surprise that Homeland shares its producers with the massively popular 24. Right from the offset we are plunged into a bustling street in Baghdad as Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) bribes her way into a prison, in an attempt to get information from an inmate facing the death penalty. This all takes places before the opening credits. However, if you’re looking for a big brash American show with more explosions than dialogue, this is not the show for you. The plot of Homeland is fiendishly simple. Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) is a U.S. Marine Sergeant who, having been reported as missing and presumed dead since 2003, is suddenly rescued during a raid on a compound belonging to the renowned terrorist Abu Nazir. Brody returns to America and is heralded as a war hero by everyone apart from CIA agent Mathison, who has reason to believe that he has been turned by Nazir and is now a terrorist himself. With a terrorist threat seemingly imminent she must choose to either investigate her beliefs about Brody or go along with the CIA’s broader search for terrorists. Homeland employs the slow burning intelligence of The Wire
and places a great emphasis on the characters themselves and the situations they are faced with. Each person involved with investigating or planning the terrorist plot has a different personal story and this gives the audience an interesting context when considering their actions. In fact, part of the brilliance of this show is that everyone seems to be hiding something,
which allows for a twist in almost every episode. As is usually the case, this show would not be half as good if not for the strength of the two central characters Brody and Mathison. Claire Danes brings originality to the ‘leading lady’ role because, rather than some over-confident, quick witted CIA spy, we are presented with a manic, self-medicated loner who is constantly battling everyone
around her. Meanwhile, Damian Lewis is perfect as the quiet yet authoritative soldier, his face telling us one thing while his eyes are saying another. Homeland was actually initially based on an Israeli TV series and this may help explain its quality. Unlike in other American thrillers such as 24, the concept of good and evil are not so clear-cut. There are no mad terrorists
who want to blow up New York or poison half the population just because they can. The ‘bad guys’ in Homeland are given real characters and stories, and this creates genuine motives for their actions, however unjustified they may be. Furthermore, those chasing them are not always as innocent as they seem and this forces the audience to re-evaluate the clichéd image of a terrorist as
just a religious nut case. Despite this, in many ways I found Homeland does fall down some of the other pitfalls of American action drama. There is, throughout the show, a constant sense of danger that seems all too easy to conjure up. Whether it’s from rogue American soldiers or diplomatscome-bomb-makers there is a sense that the bad guys are unrealistically effective at evading the ever-incompetent CIA. In this way Homeland almost plays up to American’s obsession with living in fear, waiting for the next terrorist plot. Having watched a couple of episodes,it was with trepidation that I opened the unnamed parcel that arrived at our door that day. That said, we always expect an element of implausibility in these shows, and we are more then ready to go along with the writers and suspend our disbelief as they take us from one dangerous situation to the next. Homeland is a great new edition to the ever-growing list of addictive drama coming over from the United States. It’s almost miraculous that America has finally produced a big action programme that’s also intelligent and original, and it’s great to see another Brit doing so well in the lead role. Having seen most of the episodes, I can assure you that it only gets better, and is well worth committing to.
Seminal sit-com never fails to impress
Following the 500th episode of The Simpsons, William Ellis revels in the staggering creative longevity of this childhood favourite
It’s time to look back to your childhood. It is a Friday evening, around 5:30pm. You’re rushing back from school with one thought fixed in your mind: ‘Can’t be late for The Simpsons!’ Those were the glory days – The Simpsons at six o’clock, followed by The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air at six thirty…and both on BBC2. With only the weekend ahead of us, that hour was one of pure, unadulterated, commercialless pleasure. I fear that this rite, this near-sacred tradition, will, at our time of life, come
around ‘Nevermore’. However, with the 500th episode of this seminal show having just aired, it is time to revisit our Salad Days; to sit down once more and watch The Simpsons. I don’t mean to sit down and half-watch it over your laptop screen, I don’t mean to have it on as background noise, I mean to sit down and savour every sentence, every suggestive pun, every poignant one-liner. People are too quick to condemn this most phenomenal of series’: ‘It’s not
funny anymore’ is a criticism I have heard more times than I care to mention. The Simpsons is funny, and it always will be. And, like all great things, it gets better the more you rewatch it. What had been, as a child, hugely entertaining simply for its plot and for Homer’s amusing stupidity, is now entertaining because it is referential, because it is profound. As a completely random example, I turned on The Simpsons the other night to
re-watch something that had lurked in my sub-conscious until now. It was a re-working of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven – with Homer as the poem’s main character, Marge as Lenore, and Bart as the eponymous bird, constantly repeating the word ‘Nevermore’. It is a testament to the genius of this show’s creativity that the poem retains its chilling lyrical edge, whilst also imbuing it with its trademark sense of dark humour. That Poe was a source of inspiration for The Simpsons’ creators as early as the second season suggests that this was always going to be a cartoon of impressive literariness and intelligence. This is a part of the appeal of re-visiting the show. It is clear now that, although it was once thought of as children’s fare, the creators have clearly always had an eye firmly fixed in the direction of a more mature age-bracket. The Raven featured in Season 2, first aired in 1991, and I stumbled upon another
example of the show’s enduring brilliance in the very same week. The episode ‘Flaming Moe’, from Season 22, a good two decades after this, is a delight. When Mr Burns dismisses Smithers by saying that he only respects ‘selfmade men’, the long-suffering assistant goes to Springfield’s gay bar, ‘The League of ExtraHorny Gentlemen’, to drown his sorrows. However, he is refused entry because of his average looks. Moe, whose drinking-hole is situated directly opposite, pounces upon this gap in the market by transforming his own, run-down tavern into a gay bar for ‘the averagelooking fellow’. Homer, Lenny and Karl are dismayed at this, and, as they look around at what their favourite haunt has become, Homer asks in wideeyed amazement: ‘What are they doing in the bathroom?!’ We presume that he can see something of a sexual nature taking place, but the next shot is of two men washing their
hands in the previously untouched sink. The astute brilliance of this episode, created over 20 years after the show first began, is quite astounding. I will grant you that the modern-day Simpsons can’t quite match the consistent levels of genius displayed in Seasons one to ten, and that these days it too often strays into the realms of the smugly self-referential, but I find it immensely reassuring that I can still find myself laughing at characters that have been a part of my life since before I can remember. Our present lives are filled with the prospect of deadlines and double-vodkas, startingsalaries and ‘The City’. I urge you to take a step back from this, replace yourself in your size five school shoes (complete with Velcro and flash-up heels, obviously), and accept the fact that the show you rushed back from school for as a youngster will retain its brilliance for ‘Evermore’.
Epigram
05.03.2012
Science
Editor: Nick Cork
Deputy Editor: Emma Sackville
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@epigramscience
What becomes of the broken-hearted? Dylan Williams Science Reporter In 1991, Japanese clinicians recognised a novel condition which saw patients enter hospitals with many of the symptoms of a heart attack chest pains, shortness of breath, and so on - but owing to a completely different underlying cause. Heart attacks occur when arteries are blocked by fatty plaques and the lack of blood causes damage to the muscle tissue. In these bizarre cases, though, the clinicians observed that the arteries were fine, but that muscle in the heart’s blood-pumping chamber, the left ventricle, had withered and weakened. They named the condition Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, since the distinctive shape of the damaged heart witnessed in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans closely resembled the Japanese pot used to catch octopuses. Since then, there has been a drastic increase in the number of patients who have been
Japanese octopus pots that give the disease its name
recognised as having the cardiac disease, despite the difficulty for doctors to distinguish Takotsubo sufferers from the total number of patients admitted for suspected heart attacks. The condition is only confirmed after an MRI of the arteries and left ventricle. It is thought that as many as 2% of all patients admitted for cardiac problems have Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Initially, cases
were solely women over 50 years of age, but as our awareness of the condition and our ability to distinguish cardiac diseases has increased, reports from around the world have also included both men and younger patients, including some children. What is common to the majority of cases, though, is that the onset of Takotsubo follows some emotionally or physically stressful event. The
emotional triggers may include responses elicited by grief, fear, financial problems or, in some cases, relationship conflicts. This factor caused a frisson in the media, with the condition labelled as the ‘Broken Heart Syndrome’. Although the condition produces symptoms similar to heart attacks, Takotsubo cardiomyopathy appears to leave few scars: in most cases, no signs of long-term deterioration in heart muscle are observed and 98% of patients make a full recovery. Standard medications or temporary support can raise blood pressure, diuretics - to lessen the work required of the heart - stop congestive heart failure and rhythm-stabilising drugs quell the chaotic pitterpatter of the damaged heart muscle. Under the right supervision, recovery is rapid and complete. The stunned heart muscle usually reaches a normal state of contractions within a week of hospital discharge. It is unclear what mechanism is responsible for inducing the condition.There is the suggestion that an overexposure to strong doses of stress hormones,
such as adrenaline released during intense experiences, temporarily damages the heart muscle. Some Takotsubo events have been reported in patients who overdosed on adrenaline or who had adrenaline producing tumours. In around 15% of cases however, the onset cannot be attributed to any recalled stressful event of note and there are likely to be a multitude of factors responsible. Another curious aspect of the disease is that a Takotsubo patient is unlikely to have another episode even if life brusquely
throws more bad luck their way. Whereas as one disaster can induce the condition, another cataclysmic event may go unheeded - in terms of a Takotsubo event, at least. Only 510% of Takotsubo patients ever have a recurrent event. These facts are a reminder that we have much to understand about the disease - that it is not simply a matter of people being physically hewn down by the emotional turmoil in their lives. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy fascinatingly suggests that whilst most hearts weep in the wake of grief, some shatter.
MRI scan showing typical cardiac ballooning seen in patients with Takotsubo cardiomypathy
Battling with neurodegenerative disease Mary Melville Science Reporter
An improvement in some brain function was also shown. Clearing protein plaques is a major focus of Alzheimer’s research and a number of drugs have now progressed to testing in human clinical trials. There are currently over 1000 studies into Alzheimer’s disease - it is an area of medical science that is constantly yielding new associations. Recent studies have shown that anything from over-eating to lack of sleep can increase an individual’s chances of developing Alzheimer’s –
There’ll be no need for signs such as this in the Swiss village dedicated to the care of individuals with dementia
some researchers even propose that eating ginger can ward off the disease. Researchers at the National Institute on Ageing in Baltimore point to evidence suggesting that abstaining from eating anything for one or two days a week can be protective against Alzheimer’s. Not eating for two days at a time can have other detrimental effects outside of the brain though – the various risks associated with malnutrition spring to mind. Another study suggested that National Football League (NFL)
Flickr: schnaars
The recent Margaret Thatcher biopic, The Iron Lady, has drawn attention to Alzheimer’s dementia, which currently affects 1 in 14 people over the age of 65 and 1 in 6 people over 85. An extra $50 million has just been pledged to Alzheimer’s research by US President Obama, amid claims he plans to ‘fight’ the condition. The battle against such incurable neurodegenerative diseases has become the modern researchfunding equivalent of President Nixon’s ‘War on Cancer’ in the 1970s. So what actually is Alzheimer’s and what separates it from normal age-associated memory loss? Alzheimer’s disease is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer. In 1906, Dr. Alzheimer noticed structural changes in the brain tissue of a woman who had died of an unusual mental illness. Her symptoms included memory loss, language problems, and unpredictable behavior. The exact cause of Alzheimer’s remains unknown, but one of the leading theories involves the accumulation of clumps of
a protein called beta-amyloid. These fibres fold in an unnatural way compared to other human proteins and form characteristic ‘plaques’ and ‘tangles’ amongst formerly healthy brain tissue, which begins to waste away. An American paper, published in the journal Science, claims to have a found a drug that targets such plaques. Tests were performed on mice using a cancer drug, Bexarotene, with investigators reporting that the plaques were broken down at an ‘unprecedented’ speed.
– American Football - players have an increased chance of developing Alzheimer’s in later life. Retired NFL players were offered a test; 35% of the retirees had a score of 2 or greater, which was indicative of early-onset Alzheimer’s. This was shocking when compared to the national average, since the men were relatively young, with an average age of 61 years. The explanation for such a connection is as yet unknown, though the repeated head trauma sustained during an NFL athlete’s career has been proposed as a potential mechanism. If such a connection is borne out of future research, there are obvious implications for professional rugby players in the UK, who currently do not wear the protective headgear required by the NFL. There are alternate approaches to caring for this patient group. An entire village in Switzerland is being customised purely for individuals with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. It will be designed in a familiar 1950s style, though the café and shop workers will in fact be carers. The development has been conceived to create a safe environment whilst still allowing the inhabitants to lead as autonomous a life as
possible. This is supported by new technological advances – the new Smart Shoe from GTX Corp, for example, has an in-built GPS tracking system like that found in cars. This helps caregivers to monitor the movement of dementia patients while offering a greater degree of self-directed movement than is possible in traditional residential care facilities. These novel ideas, although useful, unfortunately do not offer any curative solutions. President Obama has designated the year 2050 as the target for finding an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s; an important and symbolic step, but if Nixon’s ‘War on Cancer’ has set any precedent, we are still a long way from a cure.
Bristol Scientists invited to become involved in EU Alzheimer’s research team Prof Andy Randall and Dr Jon Brown from the School of Physiology and Pharmacology are the only UK-based representatives invited to be part of the Pharmacog consortium, which receives €27 million of European Union to research Alzheimer’s funding.
Epigram
05.03.2012
31
Rev7 : Bristol’s chewing gum revolution With the new biodegradable gum set to launch in the UK, Pete Crowther speaks to inventor Terry Cosgrove and CEO Roger Pettman Pete Crowther Science Reporter Chewing gum and innovation aren’t two words that you’ll often see combined in the same sentence. Yes, there may be a few more flavours and shiny new packets than there used to be but it has been essentially the same stuff for years. This, however, may be about to change. Most chewing gum is made from synthetic rubber: substances such as polyethylene, polyisobutylene and polyvinyl acetate. These synthetic gum bases are cheap and have good physical properties - they are soft over
“
This is the first new gum base that has been introduced for over 30 years
the right temperature range and provide a long-lasting chew. The problem with synthetic rubber is that these same properties also make it very difficult to clean up, meaning that removable chewing gum has become somewhat of a target for scientists. There have been several prior attempts at making removable gum with natural products but these don’t tend to deliver the same sort of performance as the synthetic gum bases.
Pete Crowther
”
In 2004 a major breakthrough was made in the chemistry department here at Bristol. Professor Terry Cosgrove, an expert in polymers – long chain molecules made up of repeating sub-unit arrangements of atoms - invented a new type of polymer suitable for making a removable gum. In 2005, together with Roger Pettman, he started a spin-off enterprise called Revolymer. The company’s removable gum, called Rev7, has taken a while to get to market but is now released in the US and is rapidly approaching a UK launch. In anticipation of the launch I interviewed Terry Cosgrove and Roger Pettman the CEO of Revolymer. Roger and Terry seem quite a team - Terry is the affable scientist behind Rev7 and Roger is the more commerciallyminded businessman. So if it’s such a great idea, why has it taken so long to reach commercial release here? ‘The biggest hurdle with getting it to market has been the EU approval,’ Roger says. ‘In Europe you have to get 27 different separate committees to agree on one thing, and as you can see from the Greek monetary policy: good luck with that’. At £4 million and 4½ years, sourcing EU food approval doesn’t sound like much fun. ‘The thing is that this is the first new gum base that has been introduced for over 30 years, so nobody had any idea what the procedure for approving it was.’ This of course
Roger Pettman - CEO of Revolymer
means they have a good few years advantage over potential competitors - they are aiming to get their product into shops now to make the most of the opportunity. ‘It has opened up a whole market now though, so the next hurdle is just getting it into the shops. We are talking to UK retailers next week so it will
Upcoming Event Discover 2012 8th - 10th March: 9am - 6pm The Galleries Shopping Centre, Broadmead The University of Bristol is hosting a free three day exhibiton to showcase and celebrate its research. Over 4,000 people are expected to attend - staff and students will be on hand to help with interactive exhibits.
be out soon.’ If all goes well they aim to have the gum on shelves by the beginning of June. The design of Rev7 takes advantage of the properties of an unusual polymer – this is the revolutionary aspect. Normal synthetic gum bases are hydrophobic - they repel water. Rev7, on the other hand, is based on an amphiphilic material, one that has both hydrophobic and hydrophilic - water absorbing - properties. This is achieved by making a comb polymer, which has a hydrophobic group of atoms as the backbone of the molecule and hydrophilic groups as the teeth. Over time this allows the discarded gum to absorb and retain water from the environment, reducing its stickiness and making it much easier to remove from clothing or concrete. Terry seems far more animated talking about polymers than EU approval. ‘Well the funny thing is that you can’t bond these two polymers together normally, as they hate each other, but if you put them in Toluene [a solvent often used in organic chemistry] then it just works’. But why the name Rev7? ‘Well, we’d best tell you the truth,’ says Terry. ‘When we synthesised this polymer we attached 7 chains to make a brush polymer, so it’s a backbone with 7 substituents. The company is called Revolymer so we thought Rev7 sounded like a good name.’ Terry pauses momentarily and
grins again. ‘Unfortunately it turns out that I got the chemistry wrong and you only get half the substitution, so it should be Rev3.5 really.’ Are there other applications for this technology? ‘Oh there are loads’ says Roger. ‘We are looking at cosmetics particularly - the properties of the polymer mean that you can have something like a lipstick or a lip balm that is moisturising and not as waxy but still protective.’ What would be Roger’s best bit of advice for the next entrepreneurial Bristol student? ‘You need to get someone in who has commercial experience and
knows the market. Someone you trust too - people will make off with your ideas if you aren’t careful.’ The most important question then – what is it like? Terry has been handing out free samples around the chemistry department and it is surprisingly good. The first thing you notice is that the texture is a bit different to traditional gum: chewier and less sticky. A nice side-effect of the polymers is that the taste sticks better than usual, meaning it stays minty for longer than expected. This reporter’s recommendation? Do your bit for the environment and give it a try.
For a closer look at how to break a new product into an established market, check out e2 Money next issue for an interview with Revolymer CEO Roger Pettman
Epigram
05.03.2012
32 32
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Epigram
05.03.2012
33
The peculiarities of winter sports are not an excuse for a lack of funding Laura Lambert Sports Reporter
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Despite how impressive and risky they are, winter sports are drastically under-funded
”
injuries happen all the time. Chemmy Alcott’s participation in ITV’s Dancing on Ice, during her rehabilitation from an almost career-ending leg injury sustained in World Cup training in 2010, highlights the plight of winter sports in Great Britain. Despite her obvious enjoyment of the challenge and her popularity on the show, should Britain’s number one alpine skier feel the need to potentially risk her recovery to gain publicity for winter sports? Snowboarding is very similar to skiing, both in terms of the demands of the sport - the obvious difference being that
athletes rely on one platform rather than two - and the money issues. Snowboard cross and ski cross are relatively new additions to the Olympic programme, and involve four athletes relentlessly racing each other down a run consisting of hairpin bends and rollers. British snowboard cross athlete Zoe Gillings has returned from a career-low in 2011 when, despite her eighth place at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, UK Sport announced their cuts. She is now consistently finishing in the top 10 on the World Cup circuit, all thanks to her entrepreneurial spirit (Gillings runs two online companies alongside her training). The freestyle disciplines of both sports are extremely technical and difficult to master, and with British youngsters Jamie Nicholls and Billy Morgan performing world-class tricks (including Morgan’s recordbreaking triple rodeo in December 2011) there is homegrown talent to look forward to at the next Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, if the athletes can afford to make it to 2014. Ski jumping is the next phenomenon that seems totally incomprehensible from an outsider’s perspective, as it goes against the theory that humans can’t fly. Hurtling down an almost vertical run towards
Charlie Booker
Some people in life just don’t understand the appeal of sport; others will queue for days for Wimbledon or monitor the progress of their chosen football team for an entire season with undying love. Whatever one’s level of interest, if sports themselves are thought about for too long it becomes clear that a few are really quite strange. The likes of football, cricket and rugby are only as weird as lots of things we do in life and are not particularly dangerous or difficult to invent. I think it’s actually winter sports that are the most peculiar, not just because of the risks involved but because a lot of them seem to defy the basic laws of physics and the principle of self-preservation! Despite how impressive and risky they are, winter sports in this country are drastically under-funded. For example, skiing and snowboarding received a large blow from UK Sport in 2011 when they withdrew all worldclass funding for the sports. Before turning to the issue of funding, the peculiarities of each sport must be acknowledged. Let’s start with skiing – what
drove someone to think up a sport that involves negotiating steep slopes of sheet ice at the mercy of two planks of fibreglass not much wider than your feet? Skiing at any level is dangerous enough, as was proven by the tragic death of Natasha Richardson on a nursery slope, let alone on the World Cup circuit when
a jump, to then fly spreadeagled through the air, seems completely mad. Johan Remen Emensen of Norway jumped a distance of 246.5 metres in 2011 to break the world record, but in travelling at speeds of over 100kmph Emensen is playing a dangerous game. Eddie ‘the Eagle’ Edwards was made famous by his performance at the Calgary Winter Olympics, but his career, though glamourised by the media, was not without injury.
An internet search of ski jumping offers more clips of crashes than successful jumps, which indicates the risks of the sport and the daredevils that participate in it! Now onto the sliding sports that consist of bobsled, luge and skeleton. Vertical banks of ice in U-shaped tunnels, hairpin turns, speeds of almost 150kmph, and being subjected to extreme G-force do not sound very appealing, not to mention that the athlete only
has a ‘teatray’ for support. The three sports vary in format but are essentially all as peculiar as each other, and offer some of the most exhilarating moments in the Winter Olympic programme. Speed skiing certainly requires a mention in the context of strange sports as it is arguably the Formula 1 of nonmotorized sports. Although not currently included in the Olympics, speed skiing involves athletes skiing down slopes of 60-degree gradient as quickly as possible, with the world record currently standing at an astonishing 251 kmph. So why are all of these sports experiencing such a dearth of funding and publicity in Great Britain? Perhaps it is because sponsors aren’t keen to be associated with such dangerous sports, or maybe the British public can’t understand the motives behind getting involved in them in the first place! Whatever the reason, with the huge amount of money in sports, it is ridiculous that athletes who constantly risk their lives and compete at the highest level of international winter sports should be forced to nearly quit their sport altogether, neither through a lack of passion nor talent, but through a sheer lack of funding.
Self-defence style of Krav Maga comes to Bristol Alex Dotsch Sports Reporter A man with a knife watches another man, stood with his eyes closed. Suddenly, the knife wielder attacks from the side, stabbing the other man once, then twice.The defender instantly snaps into action, taking the first stab, but deflecting the second to the side, kneeing him three times in the crotch, finishing off with a punch to the throat and finally sprinting away. This is just one part of a lesson that the newly formed Bristol University Krav Maga Society has put on for students. Krav Maga is the no nonsense hand to hand combat system of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), developed in the 1930s in Slovakia to help Jews fight off Nazi gangs. After the Second World War, it was adopted by Israel as its official military combat system. It has been featured in countless films and TV shows including the Bourne trilogy, but is also used by over 500 Law Enforcement and Military units worldwide. ‘The principle of Krav Maga
is to teach a small number of techniques that you can apply to a lot of situations,’ says instructor Paul Grey, an exprison officer who heads up the British Krav Maga Association and teaches former Marines and Special Forces who are being rehabilitated into civilian society. ‘In each session we learn a technique and then introduce
“
The main principle of Krav Maga is that there are only two states of mind, on or off
”
one, two then three attackers. One comes from behind, one’s got a gun and one’s got a knife. The philosophy behind this is that if anyone does try to kill you, it will be hard: you will have to keep going and get through it’. Krav Maga is neither a martial art nor a sport : it has no rules, no uniform and no competitions. The main principle behind Krav Maga is that there are only two states of mind, on or off. When
on, one should attack and keep attacking until the threat has been neutralised. After that, one of the first things that is taught is to run away. Many martial arts and self defence systems that are mostly used in a sports context, encourage practitioners to keep fighting until they win a point or tap out. However, on the street the primary objective is to get out alive as well as being on the right side of the law so they don’t end up in prison. Another main difference when compared with martial arts is that it doesn’t take years to learn and master. When the IDF started teaching Krav Maga to its soldiers, it wanted a system that could be taught in 3 months or less. So instead of trying to perfect the latest ninja flying kick, it would be better to understand how to accurately gouge an eye, knee someone in the groin or hit someone in the neck such that they faint. ‘The only time Krav Maga should be used is if you are under an extremely serious personalised attack (such as rape) or if the assailant is trying to
move you from Point A to Point B, because statistically you have more chance of survival staying where you are and fighting’ says Paul. ‘All other times including financially motivated muggings, you should give up your phone, wallet or whatever they want and run away alive’. Krav Maga is not pretty and it
does not pretend to be so. It is a tough, battle hardened defence system that can take anybody and turn them into someone who would know exactly what to do in a life or death situation. Sessions are run through the Bristol Jewish Society and this term are currently being held at Clifton College Sports Centre
every Sunday from 2.30pm till 4pm. It costs £5 for a one and a half hour session, which is significantly cheaper then from any other Krav Maga instruction, which is upwards of £10 a lesson. There are plans next term to have sessions on either a Monday or Wednesday between 5.30pm and 7pm at the Union.
Epigram
05.03.2012
34
Gwenno wins in Welsh championship as Bristol battle in BUCS tournament
Bristol team finished 15th in both the men’s A and women’s races, with St Mary’s University winning all three divisions.
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The BUCS Cross Country Championships were a great start to what Chris hopes will be a successful season
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The four Bristol scorers from the men’s A race were Chris Dodd, the club captain who finished 35th with a time
of 32:12, shortly followed by Andrew Penney, John Ashcroft and David Taylor. In the women’s race the three scorers were Gwenno Brown in 48th with a time of 26:43, Ellen Harrison (vice captain) in 55th and Caitlin Lloyd in 66th place. In the men’s B race the top performer was Alex Matchett who came 32nd with a time of 25:01. Captain Chris Dodd was pleased with the strong finish from the boys in the B race: “It was great to see every single runner in the men’s B team
putting in great sprint finishes.” The one person who probably ran further than most on the day was the team’s coach Kevin Brackstone, who cheered on the Bristol runners from all corners of the course. These championships in Cardiff follow last term’s main race, the Sodbury Slog, where a mix of current and past Bristol students took five of the top six places. Looking ahead to the rest of the term, UBCCC have members competing in the national cross country championships, and University road-relay races in March at Hyde Park and Treddy Hall in Oxford, where captain Chris hopes the club will build on the BUCS success by winning
medals in both the men’s and women’s divisions. When asked about his personal goals, Chris hopes his season will end in the Olympic Stadium: ‘I want to use the cross country competitions to improve my endurance base ready for the summer track season, where I hope to reach a final at the BUCS outdoor track and field championships in the Olympic Stadium!’ The BUCS Cross Country Championships were a great start to what Chris hopes will be a successful season for UBCCC and himself, and the team duly celebrated their success by joining all the other universities at the student union in Cardiff long into the night.
Matt Dathan
Bristol law student Gwenno Brown won the under-23 Welsh Cross Country Championships on Saturday 18th February at St Fagan in South Wales. She ran the 7.25km race in 30.35 minutes on a muddy, hilly course and she is delighted with her victory: ‘I suffered from illness throughout the whole of last term so this is a step in the right direction. I’m now looking forward to the rest of the Cross Country season as well as the road and track races this summer.’ Gwenno adds to the success of a strong cross country club at Bristol University. At the beginning of the month South Wales was also the venue for the BUCS Cross Country Championships, where the University of Bristol Cross Country Club joined students from over 50 other universities to take part in the sport’s first big club competition of the season, in freezing snowy conditions. The championships involved three divisions: men’s A race (10.6km), women’s race (7km) and men’s B race (8km). The
Matt Dathan
Matt Dathan Sports Reporter
The girls’ strong team spirit has been one of the reasons for their victories this year
Homosexuality: the last taboo in football? David Stone Sport Editor Football has broken several boundaries in the past few decades, in the areas of race, religion and gender. Racism has been reduced to a very large extent. Those incidents that do occur are met with vast outcry and attention : look at Suarez and John Terry as recent examples. There is also now a thriving women’s football league and international system. Yet there is one issue which has remained taboo, one which large parts of the footballing world would rather not mention. That is homosexuality in British football. There are 5,000 professional footballers currently in this country, and yet not a single one is openly gay. Homosexuality is now largely a non-issue in this country, but in football it would appear otherwise. You cannot look at homosexuality in football without the name Justin Fashanu coming up. For those unaware, he is, to date, the first and only footballer to come out as being gay. Signed to Norwich City aged
14, he rose rapidly through the ranks, becoming famous after scoring a spectacular goal that won the 1980 BBC Goal of the Season. In 1981 he became the first black footballer to be signed for £1 million when he went to Nottingham Forest. There, however, his career stuttered. Some attribute it to his manager at the time, Brian Clough, who heard rumours that he was visiting gay nightclubs and bars. In his biography, Clough recalls saying to Justin ‘Where do you go if you want a loaf of bread?’ I asked him. ‘A baker’s, I suppose’. ‘Where do you go if you want a leg of lamb?’ ‘A butcher’s.’ ‘So why do you keep going to that bloody poofs’ club?’ Justin finally came out in 1990, announcing it via a front page Sun headline. His brother publicly disowned him and he became the subject of a torrent of crowd abuse during games. Fashanu would later say how even though most fellow footballers would accept him, jokes and comments would persist in the dressing room. He went to America to try and restore his career, but in 1998 a 17-year-old boy told the
police that Justin had sexually assaulted him. Though no formal charges were brought, he returned to England with the allegations still persisting. Later that year, his body was found in an East London lock-up. Justin had hung himself. His suicide note read ‘I realised that I had already been presumed guilty. I do not want to give any more embarrassment to my friends and family.’ A BBC Three documentary entitled‘Britain’s Gay Footballers’ aired recently in which Fashanu’s niece, Amal, attempted to see why, in the years since Justin’s announcement, no other player has come out. It revealed several different issues which might contribute to this, and showed how many think that the main reason is due to the treatment that Justin Fashanu had endured, and what happened to him. Max Clifford, the celebrity publicist, claimed in an interview to know several footballers over the past 15 years who were gay or bisexual. He said that footballers were afraid to come out as they felt that their career would be finished. The reception they would receive from other players
Justin Fashanu, Britain’s first and only footballer to come out
would also be unwelcoming. According to Clifford, there is a general mentality amongst many people in football which ‘goes back to the dark ages’. Joey Barton, known for being one of the Premiership’s more outspoken figures, attacked the ‘archaic’ figures in the game and said that gay players must be
welcomed. You could look to the terraces to see why gay footballers might feel uncomfortable about revealing their sexuality. Even the slightest hint that someone might be ‘playing for the other side’ is enough to cause all manner of abuse from some fans. In recent years
several premiership players have suffered: Ashley Cole, Sol Cambell, and Graeme Le Saux to name a few. Brighton fans also regularly endure homophobic chants directed towards them, as their city is seen as ‘the gay capital of Britain’. Faced with the possibility of this every match, one cannot help but wonder if this is an important factor. In 2009, gay rights group Stonewall released the results of a surgery that it had carried out amongst football fans. It said that a majority of supporters said that they had encountered anti-gay abuse, the authorities weren’t doing enough and that this was the main reason for players not coming out. However, the majority also said that they would support a player if he came out. John Fashanu, Justin’s brother, recently remarked that there would be a better chance of the next Pope being black than there was of another footballer coming out. Hopefully, in future years, the beautiful game will learn to accept gay footballers just like it has other groups in society.
Epigram
05.03.2012
35
New heights for Men’s Basketball 2nd Joseph Burns Pablo Lyons Sports Reporters
Pablo Lyons
Only five years ago, the University of Bristol Men´s Basketball 2nd team was simply a group of Erasmus students, with a common interest of basketball, who were cut from the 1st team. The team suffered from a lack of finances, and had to find their own means of transportation to and from games. Despite this however, they were not deterred. Their performance in intramural basketball was strong immediately, but the first years of the team´s participation in BUCS did not yield much success. In 2010, things began to change. For the first time, they began to receive support from the union, and with the addition of a coach, the team began to show promise. While the improvements from last year were not evident in terms of wins and losses, overall
The Men’s 2nd Basketball team hope to continue their rise to the top
chemistry and understanding of the game was starting to build. On the 19 October, the team
won their first game of the season over Southampton by a score of 79-59.Their momentum grew stronger as
they won their second game in an absolute rout with Bournemouth by a score of 8435. This was by far the largest
win in team history and marked the first time the team had won two games in a row. Their domination of the BUCS
league had only just begun. They did not lose a league game until a heartbreaking two point defeat against Winchester on the 15 February. Despite this loss, the team still sits atop the BUCS league table with a comfortable six point lead and only two games left to play. To add to their list of achievements, they are proud to point out to the first team that they advanced further in the Western Conference Cup, reaching the quarterfinals. The team is hoping to finish the season the way they started it and secure a promotion into the Western 2B league. They will secure their position as league champions by simply winning one of their remaining two contests. The most consistent contributors in terms of points for the team have been Mitch Yuen, Christos Dimitroulas and Stefan Lawrenson. The main goal of the team is to continue to improve, while raising overall interest in the game amongst students.
Sports club quickfire: Epigram meets Bristol Cricket Club David Stone Sport Editor This week, Epigram caught up with Luke Smith for the inside story of the University of Bristol Cricket Club Position you hold within the club? Club Captain.
How many freshers play in the higher teams? We tend to rely quite heavily on the intake of freshers and fortunately, this year there has been a good crop. It is likely that there will be handful of freshers in the 1st XI and maybe more than this in the 2nd XI and 3rd XI. How is your off-season going? Training has been going really well. We started unusually early in October to give us the best possible chance of preparing for the summer season. Our sessions have been very well attended and the standard of
What is the training routine? The 1st XI squad train weekly at a sports centre just outside of Bristol. They also get extra individual batting and bowling sessions at the County Ground, home of Gloucestershire CCC. The 2nd XI and 3rd XI squads train at weekends at the Indoor Sports Centre, as do the women’s squad. During summer term, all of our men’s squads train on Mondays and Fridays at Coombe Dingle. Who are your coaches and what are they like? The men’s 1st XI coach is Andy Stovold, a Gloucestershire CCC stalwart. I guess you would describe him as an old-school coach but he is exactly what the Club needs. Having played first-class cricket for 17 years, his knowledge of the game is second to none, and he doesn’t mind retelling us a few stories from the ‘good old days’! Favourite SCORE location? Some of the freshers will disagree with me, but I think Motion. Most memorable fancy dress? Without a shadow of a doubt
Luke Smith
How many teams are there in the club? There are three men’s teams and one women’s team and we have over 70 members. Competition is generally quite high to get a place in one of the men’s teams, but with cricket taking place from Easter onwards, exams can come into play so we do end up utilising most of our squads.
cricket has been high. Off the pitch, we have struck a three year bespoke kit deal with MKK Sports and gained sponsorship from KPMG, which has allowed us to invest more money into our training sessions through bookings and coaching.
The UBCC 2011-12 Committee and men’s 1st XI coach Andy Stovold
it has to be Toy Story at the Disney-themed SCORE at the O2 Academy in October. We were by far the best dressed sports club on the night, as Chris Jacobs’ photos on Facebook will testify! How do other clubs view you? I think cricket can often be forgotten about as it is the only summer sport on offer at Bristol, but I think we have upped our game this year and have a much improved presence on campus. We are certainly highly regarded by Sport, Exercise & Health and many of our members also play football, rugby, hockey or
squash during the winter.
well.
Who is your best player? Michael Beard, one of our fresher intake, has a summer contract with Gloucestershire CCC and has represented England at junior level. Ross McAdam also deserves a mention for his textbook bowling action!
Joker in the squad? Beardy is a bit of joker it has to be said. Tim Saxon and James West make me laugh, but not always intentionally. Dan Brown is good value on a Wednesday night in Bunker! The person who cracks us up the most though, has to be our coach Stov.
Wise head in the club? Joe Smith will be playing his fourth year of University 1st XI cricket this summer. Hugh Gimber and I are the other experienced members of the 1st XI squad. Our sponsorship secretary Paul Charlton has been around for a few years as
What would be your dream season? Promotion for the 2nd XI and 3rd XI should be realistic aims. I also hope the 1st XI can make a promotion play-off this season in the BUCS Premier League B South after just missing out
last year. Some good cup runs would be nice, as well as wins for the 1st XI and 2nd XI in the Varsity 20/20 matches. Any important events coming up? I guess the start of the season on Tuesday 17 April at Coombe Dingle is a pretty big event! Before this though we have a black-tie dinner on Saturday 10 March which will see most of our current members and alumni descend upon The Grand Hotel in Bristol for the biggest event in our social calendar. Then in the last week of June, a squad of 15 are going on an end of season tour to Cambridge for six days.
Epigram
05.03.2012
Sport
Editor: David Stone sport@epigram.org.uk
@epigramsport
Bristol University Athletics Club to compete at Olympic Stadium John Brierly Sports Reporter
hopeful. In this Olympic year, the standard is set to be higher than ever, paving the way for a truly unforgettable competition. The University Athletics Club is currently enjoying a fantastic winter season, having just competed at the indoor championships in Sheffield. Bristol had a successful weekend, amongst the largest field ever experienced at the championships, with over 1000 athletes taking part. Rainer Groh competed excellently in the Long Jump, in his first competition of the season, to take sixth place overall with a
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distance of 6.81m. After breezing through the early rounds in the 1500m, Andrew Woods and Chris Dodd both made the final and with guaranteed BUCS points on the cards were able to really go for it. Andrew ran a sensible race and moving up through the field in the latter stages managed to finish in a fantastic fifth position with a personal best performance of 3 mins 53 secs. Chris had been struggling with injury all week but you wouldn’t know from his performance, running a strong race to come in eighth. Second year Maths student Ellen Harrison came to the
John Brierly
John Brierly
This summer, Bristol Athletics Club will be competing at the Olympic Stadium, in one of the biggest university events of the year. The BUCS Athletics Championships will take place over four days, in front of a crowd of 40,000 excited onlookers, with tickets going on sale this week. As part of the London Prepares series, the championships are being used as an official test event for the Olympic Games. This provides a fantastic opportunity for university students to compete in a facility of the highest level as well as an opportunity for friends, family and athletics fans from across the country to witness a exciting weekend of sport in the Olympic venue. Furthermore, the department of Sport, Exercise & Health are looking to provide transport and entry to anyone interested in supporting the club. The championships take place from Thursday 4th to Monday 7th May, with the university looking to come and support the club on the Saturday. BUCS brings the best athletes together from universities all across the country and often plays host to a considerable number of international and regional athletes. In recent years the hurdles title has been taken by GB international and ex-Bristol University athlete Lawrence Clarke, who is now a Commonwealth bronze medallist and British Olympic
championships having never run indoors before and rose to the challenge brilliantly, running well in the heats of the 3000m to make the final. She then reproduced the form from the heats in the final running one second quicker than the 10 mins 22 secs that she ran in the heats to come ninth overall. This winter has also seen medals aplenty for Goldney fresher Oliver Jefferies in the 60m hurdles taking gold in the Welsh championships, after which he was selected to run for Wales. In his first international match he achieved a fantastic silver medal, being beaten
Inside Sport
only by the established Scottish international Chris Baillie. Ollie looks set to have a prodigious future at the university and at international level. Over the longer distances, Andrew Woods and Chris Dodd fought neck and neck in the Midland Championships 800m, to blow away the competition and take gold and silver respectively. Andrew just pipped Chris on the line to take the title by 0.3s to secure not only the Midland title but also the South-West championship title. This was particularly impressive as both athletes had been training for the longer 1500m event. The Athletics Club boasts more high performance members than any club in the university. Along with Chris and Andy other members include 400m hurdler Will Hartley, hammer thrower Andrew Jordon, middle distance runner Gwenno Brown and long jumper Rainer Groh. Rainer was the BUCS gold medallist for the long jump last season, whilst competing for Bath, and has been training well this winter. Andrew, in his first year, managed an incredible fourth place at BUCS and after an injury setback looks to be throwing well again this season. This year is set to be a fantastic year for athletics both within the university and across the world. London is preparing for one of the biggest events in its recent history, and the opportunity to be a part of that is something that university clubs across the country are relishing.
Epigram Sport speaks to Luke Smith, captain of the University of Bristol Cricket Club, as part of our Quickfire series. Only five years ago, the University of Bristol Men´s Basketball 2nd team was simply a group of Erasmus students with a common interest in basketball. Now they’re flying high in the BUCS league and almost guaranteed promotion next year.
Page 35 A Bristol law student won the under-23 Welsh Cross Country Championships at St Fagan in South Wales. Gwenno Brown ran the 7.25km race in only 30.35 minutes, and was clearly delighted when she spoke to Epigram. Krav Maga is the no nonsense hand-tohand combat system used by several military and speical forces around the world, and it has recently taken off in Bristol University.
Page 34 Winter sports are arguably some of the most perculiar sports known to man, not just because of the many risks involved but because many of them seem to defy the basic laws of physics. Laura Lambert argues that despite their impressive nature, in this country they are drastically underfunded.
Page 33
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