Roar!

ROAR! THE UNION STRIKES BACK

127 DAYS SINCE STUDENT COUNCIL PASSED THE MOTION FOR THE REMOVAL OF LORD CAREY FROM THE STRAND CAMPUS WINDOWS

Inanimate Carbon Rod for NUS President, pg 8

Wednesday 27th February - Monday 17th March 2013

roarnews.co.uk

RUGBY TEAMS BACK OUT OF GOWER-STRAND OCCUPATION FOR FEAR OF DISAFFILIATION THE Gower-Strand Occupation, a rugby match set up by a group of UCL alumni to replace the former London Varsity, has been cancelled due to the teams of KCL and UCL pulling out.

and allegedly felt threatened with disaffiliation.

All students who have paid for tickets have been assured that they will be refunded, minus the ÂŁ1 booking fee.

It is understood that the FULL STORY teams were under pressure on page 4 from their respective unions

PAGE 10: EXCLUSIVE HOT TUB CINEMA STUDENT DEAL

27th February - 17th March 2013

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ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND ROAR! ROAR! www.roarnews.co.uk BEN JACKSON EDITOR editor@roarnews.co.uk BEN WILSON NEWS EDITOR news@roarnews.co.uk NIDA ALI LONDON NEWS EDITOR

facebook.com/roarnews @Jackson12th

MAX EDWARDS DEPUTY/ARTS EDITOR arts@roarnews.co.uk SAMUEL SPENCER ARTS EDITOR KATIE SINCLAIR FILM EDITOR film@roarnews.co.uk WILL DAVENPORT MUSIC EDITOR music@roarnews.co.uk

LIAM JACKSON SPORTS EDITOR sports@roarnews.co.uk

EVA CHAIDEFTOS FASHION & LIFESTYLE EDITOR fashion@roarnews.co.uk

OLIVIA SELLEY COMMENT EDITOR comment@roarnews.co.uk

MATT LEVER ONLINE EDITOR mattlever@gmail.com

ANTHONY SHAW FEATURES EDITOR features@roarnews.co.uk

CHARLOTTE RICHARDSON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF vpsme@kclsu.org

WHAT’S HOT Ben and Sam going up Monument together on their big gay out.

Sam Cleal’s mad drawing skillz.

The inanimate carbon rod.

The Prince Charles Cinema at Leicester Square.

The English Department reinstating Critically Queer as a third year module.

The King’s Opera production being an elegant mash-up between opera and barbershop quartet.

Roar! being given press passes for London Fashion Week!

Coffee.

King’s TV submitting footage to NaSTA.

WHAT’S NOT Of Cabbages and King’s copying an article from February’s issue of Roar!

Laura not being here.

The Gower-Strand Occupation being cancelled.

Theft.

Thomas Clayton refusing to comment on anything remotely controversial.

The weird angles of Darth Vader’s face. “It’s like I’ve drawn some sort of weird fucking gas mask”.

Being afraid of stuff.

Above: Reggie the Lion plays rugby with Jeremy Bentham’s head. Credit: Sam Cleal

Editor’s note

In light of the rise and sudden fall of the Gower-Strand Occupation, an event that was meant to replace the London Varsity, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I expected from my time here at King’s. When I got my offer letter, I envisaged fierce debates in seminars, friendships that would last beyond my undergraduate years and most importantly, I expected to experience an atmosphere of College pride.

And I think that feeling requires rivalry, and (to use academic terms) an Other from which to define ourselves as a collective. That’s why it was a real shame that the London Varsity was cancelled earlier this year, and this displeasure has turned to bitterness at the demise of what promised to be a terrific spectacle.

The official line at KCLSU is that they are planning a new Varsity for 2014. I’ve not seen anything concrete yet, so I remain sceptical - the current student officers can promise whatever they want if they don’t intend to run for re-election. It’s like David Cameron promising a referendum on the EU for around 2017. Our union representatives can do better than make promises they can’t possibly keep.

Which brings me to this particularly special edition of your favourite student rag. KCLSU have provided you with instructions on how to register to vote in their student trustee elections, and an outline of One World Week.

KCLSU Vice President for Student Media and Engagement Fran Allfrey makes the case for women on the Strand Campus windows; there’s a report on KCL Radio going live; articles from our friends at King’s TV; an analysis of the advent of online television and more. Happy reading.

Ben Jackson

Further on in the issue, you’ll find out why Roar! is backing a specific NUS candidate for President; last year’s

TWEET US @ROAR_NEWS!

Too lazy to check your Twitter account? Here are some of our favourite tweets from the last few weeks.

@ChrisRogers92 @roar_news Our newspaper (along with the unimaginably vast number of students) doesn’t care in the slightest about NUS

Someone nicking one of the NUS mugs that we stole from NUS HQ.

@lozzlemcfozzle @roar_news What does the NUS committee do except support protests?

If you have a complaint about the editorial content in this newspaper which directly affects you, then email the editor-in-chief with your complaint: vpsme@kclsu.org

@KCLMSNetball @roar_news The 1’s win today in on par with England’s ashes win! Title rival beaten, 2nd successive promotion to Prem on #netballinthemedia

@ChrisRogers92 @roar_news ask them if by the end of their term, they haven’t made education free they will consider themselves failures.

@harkin46 @roar_news is he the clown candidate? Typical of NUS elections? Lets hope turnout goes above 1.5%, keep up the good work.

@tanyewest100 “@roar_news: Motion to stop binge drinking in KCLSU venues has failed #KCLSUcouncil #paraphrasing” Phew. KCL can stay on my CV then @mrfoofield Today I managed to read @roar_news cover-to-cover for the first time. A momentous day

@KCLSU_Kiki @roar_news so are we part of “Clayton’s cohort” now? :p Particularly like the creepy looking pic of @kclsu_thomas on the front!

@KCLSU_Thomas @roar_news Haha, I’m not complaining. Not every day I’m on the front cover of a newspaper, I loved it.

@samspencer1993 @roar_news never mind the rod...how fucking excellent is that guy’s jacket?! Fashion section take notes...

@samspencer1993 Came into @roar_news office at 7pm. Leaving now 6am. Must have got something done but all I remember is wrestling @Jackson12th to the floor

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27th February - 17th March 2013

NEWS Ben Wilson News Editor news@roarnews.co.uk

facebook.com/groups/roarnewsroom

GOWER-STRAND OCCUPATION CANCELLATION

Ben Jackson

CONTINUED from front page A statement was released by ‘Burlington Bertie’, the Facebook persona behind the event, on Wednesday night:

“Never try and do anything special or you will get your fingers burnt, Bertie.” Regrettably, I never listened to my mother and I have to announce that this event is now CANCELLED.

It is with a heavy heart that I have to make an announcement.

Firstly, women from the Bloomsbury area were advised by an institution they are linked to that there may be ramifications if they were to play. The women of The Strand were disgruntled by this. This was a shame because I had wanted this to be an all-inclusive event.

As my mother once said to me,

Then, unfortunately, the men of

“Dear Friends,

Out of work: KCL cheerleaders at London Varsity 2012

The Strand had to withdraw as well because of a perception that this match was ‘Varsity’ (which it clear ly was not) by an institution with which their players are affiliated. This has forced me to cancel the event.

I am really terribly sorry that I haven’t managed to pull this together.

It would have been great for those associated and, more importantly, bloody funsies. Not to rub salt in the wound, but I had organised graduate recruiters (e.g. Mercer) to get involved, since I know how hard jobs are to come by these days. I had also organised £1 from every ticket to go to ‘V-day’ a charity opposing violence against women. Hopefully, this is a proactive precedent that future events of a similar nature will follow.

I would like to think there are some positives to be taken from this though.

I have set a model down for what I think is a great way to run an event like this and I would be willing to work with whoever runs a similar event in the future. Moreover, you have all been overwhelmingly supportive and shown a real pride and passion for rugby and university life that I think London students can be pleased with.

Selling nearly 300 tickets for a nonaffiliated event in under a fortnight is phenomenal and I would like to apologise for not being able to set this up.

Now, I am aware you are mainly students and will be worried about what you have spent on tickets. The ticket website will refund your money, do

LIBRARY OPENING HOURS EXTENDED

not worry. However, this will be net of the £1 booking fee. I hope this does not cause too much distress.

Finally, thank you all. I’m sorry if you feel that I wasted your time. This could have been glorious. If you feel let down, I hope that you understand that nobody is more upset than me.

Forever and always your man, Burlington Bertie” Following the controversy of last year’s London Varsity, which featured pitch invasions and Reggie the Lion spending the night in a cell, KCLSU released this statement: “After a period of consultation between UCLU and KCLSU it is with regret that the decision has been made not to go ahead with the traditional rugby matches between UCL and KCL under the banner of ‘The London Varsity’ as a result of incidents and behaviour at the 2012 event”, although the statement did go on to claim “Both unions are working together to offer an alternative format for The London Varsity 2013. There will be further information in regards to this in due course.”

Bertie spoke exclusively with Roar!, saying: “UCL women were told that their relationship with UCLU would be affected and chose to withdraw.

KCL men are banned from playing ‘Varsity’ and KCLSU advised them that this would be regarded as a Varsity match.

This is despite the fact that: 1) this was The Gower-Strand Rugby Match to be held as a non-affiliated invitational match with separate RFU insurance (i.e. people were not playing as KCL or UCL), and 2) ‘Varsity’ is defined as a Union-run event - where does the limits to Varsity end otherwise?

Security was not an issue. We had this arranged at 1 security staffer per 111 (the RFU only requires 1 per 200) and we had organised segregated stands, giving prime half-way line seating for alumni and parents.

We had organised a separate alumni bar for them to socialise in before the match in order to create a sense of university pride.

Everything was fully insured (public liability, employer liability, etc with indemnity of £5 million).

This was immensely popular with students, alumni and graduate recruiters.”

KCLSU President Thomas Clayton commented before the news broke: “We are working to have a bigger and better varsity in 2014 with more sports, covering both women’s and men’s teams. We also hope to return to a high capacity venue.

We are not involved in other “varsity match” we cannot comment on

any and it.”

Clayton later declined to comment on the cancellation of Bertie’s rugby match.

administrative bodies, with KCLSU VP for Student Activities and Facilities Kirsten Johnson stating “it shows the power of students when they let us know what they want”.

Doubtlessly, there will be many thinking that King’s have been somewhat slow on the uptake to such a scheme, particularly in comparison with other University of London and Russell Group universities.

For a university that claims to be ‘dedicated to the advancement of knowledge, learning and understanding in the service of society’, one must hope that this is just the start of progressive movement by the King’s administration.

Above: Students in the Round Reading Room. Photo credit: Ayed Tadros new self-service laptops in all liBen Wilson braries, the refurbishment of the Maughan’s Postgraduate Research KING’S students keen on burning study room, the purchase of more Unthe midnight oil have been rewarded dergraduate Law books for the Frankwith the announcement that, as of lin Wilkins Building’s library, and a early March, many of our librar- PAWS room in the Denmark Hil Wesies will be introducing extended ton Education Centre library, which opening hours as a pilot scheme. is open around the clock every day.

The decision came in response to an online petition, spearheaded by KCLSU, signed by 1615 students in less than a month.

Indeed, the response was so enthusiastic that these changes will come into place several weeks before the petition is even scheduled to close. .

Additional improvements include

Furthermore, the library website now features a ‘You Said, We Did’ section, with improvements to student comfort, library resources and stationary, as well as better studying facilities all mentioned as areas which have been addressed so far.

Such widespread changes would seem to herald greater future levels of interaction between students and

Whether you’re working on a dissertation, preparing for exams or trying to broaden your knowledge, extended library hours will be invaluable.

As Charlotte Richardson (KCLSU VP for Student Media and Engagement) said “Degrees are hard.

Studying is tough... In my opinion, a student should not have to rush from their 9-5 weekend job just to get to the library before it shuts at 6.

Students should never be put in the position where they cannot get access to a computer, a textbook or a quiet space to work in.”

So start stockpiling Monster and load up on stationary, because those halcyon days of being able to blame a lack of studying on your library closing early are soon to become a thing of the past.

‘RAGING HOMOPHOBE’

Ben Jackson

THE IMAGE of King’s alumnus Lord Carey of Clifton at the Strand Campus has been vandalised for the second known time.

It was discovered by Roar! staff at midnight on Sunday 10th February.

The former Archbishop of Canterbury made headlines last October for making controversial statements about same sex marriage at a Conservative Party fringe conference.

In response, Roar! started a campaign to remove Carey’s image from the Strand Campus windows of alumni and gained the support of Student Council.

It has now been over a hundred days since KCLSU student councillors voted overwhelmingly to lobby the College to remove the image.

Red marker pen was used to cross out the words ‘Archbishop of Canterbury’, with ‘raging homophobe’ written next to it. Devil horns also feature in the defacement.

The image was previously defaced in November, when an anonymous vandal wrote ‘scum’ over the image of the current Bishop of Clifton and Member of the House of Lords.

As with the November case, the identity of the vandal is currently unknown , and the graffiti was removed by Tuesday 12th.

27th February - 17th March 2013

NEWS

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@BenWilsonROAR

BEAUTY IN THE EYE OF THE BEERHOLDER Alicia Hooper

KING’S College Student Council voted in a large majority against the banning of multiple drinks promotions in KCLSU bars.

Recently the Waterfront bar, located on the Strand, has been advertising a new promotional discount in which customers can ‘buy two bottles of Sol beer, get one free’.

This adds up to approximately 6 UK Units; double the female daily limit (2-3 units) and almost double the male daily limit of 3-4 units.

Members discussed the issue surrounding the discount, with one memember arguing that students with lower budgets will opt for this deal as it gives them the most for their money, thus encouraging them to drink more than they would otherwise, or more than if drinks were simply priced cheaper.

Jean Pierre Laake (Institute of Psychiatry School Representative) was in favour of the ban, as he believed that KCLSU campaigns for drinking responsibly and so should discourage anything which would counteract this.

Particular members of the coun-

cil believe that this ban of promotional drinks should be banned from KCLSU bars as it incentivises binge drinking which goes against central principles of King’s College London.

prices was deemed unfeasible by the members for KCLSU bars, as this wouild place prices under the legal minimum price per unit of alcohol as decreed by Parliament.

not forced to buy 3 drinks for the price of 2 and if they do not want to drink that amount they do not have to - after all, KCLSU bars offer many substitutes to the promoted beverages.

Laake explained how he hoped that instead of having these promotional offers in KCLSU-affiliated bars, such as the Waterfront bar and Guys bar, the prices of single drinks in general should be decreased by 30%.

After hearing the arguments the council voted overwhelmingly against this motion, with only one member in favour of the motion passing.

It was aso argued that students at King’s should drink responsibly and KCLSU does promote this.

This would mean that students would not have to buy 3 drinks for 2 in order to save money and so could drink at a steady pace.

However, this 30% decrease in

This shows that perhaps King’s students do not feel that this would make a huge difference, a position even Laake agreed with.

As was argued in the meeting, it is important to mention that students are

Furthermore, banning multiple buy promotions may not even help with the issue of binge drinking, as it is the students’ own decision about how much they want to consume, and if they want to drink to excess they will, regardless of discounts and prices in King’s bars.

Above: King’s students enjoying a couple of drinks at the Waterfront

London news

edited by Nida Ali

BORIS’ PLANS FOR POLLUTION COME UNDER FIRE Nida Ali

three new cases of childhood asthma.

DESPITE London’s international reputation as one of the world’s most advanced cites, it lags severely in terms of environmental efficiency.

There are also adverse environmental impacts, such as reduced sustainability of the city’s wildlife and greenery. All of which beg the question; are the Mayor’s new plans to reduce air pollution sufficient?

In fact, it has the highest levels of nitrogen dioxide amongst European capitals, comparable to those in Beijing. According to the Greater London Authority’s own estimates, each year over 4,200 Londoners die prematurely as a result of air pollution, which is also responsible for almost one in

Mayor of London Boris Johnson, recently announced plans to upgrade the Congestion Charge Zone into the world’s first “ultra-low emissions zone”, with almost all vehicles giving out low or no emissions by 2020.

The plan would involve petrol or diesel cars, buses, taxis and vans being banned from Central London during office hours. The idea is to incentivise accelerated development of electric and hybrid vehicles, with Mayor Johnson claiming that by 2020 all London buses will be diesel-electric hybrids, with 1,600 due ito be made by 2016.

Though the move appears to be in good faith, it has been subject to heavy criticism for several reasons.

The first of these was summed up by Jenny Jones, a Green Party member of the London Assembly: “leaving it as a

project for the next Mayor to deliver is a way of ducking responsibility for the problems we’re facing now.”

tion London risks large EU fines.

Beyond allegations of political off loading, the proposed seven-year wait is under scrutiny for moral and economic reasons. Proponents of the aforementioned argument fear the 2020 proposition provides ample risk of more premature deaths.

There has also been frustration at some recent “backward steps”, including the Mayor’s desertion of some wider low emission controls due to start in 2015 and the withdrawal of Western extension plans for the Congestion Zone, despite traffic inside the capital having decreased by 20% since its introduction in 2001.

Also, London air quality has already been in breach of EU limits for NO2 since 2010, and it is feared that by delaying ac-

With more premature deaths at risk and EU fines looming, Mayor Johnson simply needs to go much further a lot faster.

son, said: “Our extensive business community network helps us every day to help identify those whose sole purpose is exacting misery and harm to innocent people. My message to those who think they can come into the heart of the capital and get away with it is that we will exact misery and fear on you. We will arrest you whenever we can and seek a custodial sentence. With this group exclusion zone at the very least you will be removed from the West End."

Increased police control certainly puts a damper on the mood in Central London. With the power to actually ban people from the area, the police appear to be turning towards more authoritarian measures in order to lower crime rates, specifically drug dealing. Though is our freedom in public in need of restriction, or is it the ways in which drugs are produced and trafficked that require heavier surveillance?

SOHO CRACKDOWN EXTENDS POLICE POWERS Radiya Khatun

IN a bid to rid one of London’s party hot spots from drug trafficking, the police have gained new powers to dispel dealers from the streets of Soho. The new ban came into effect on Friday 8th February and is set to last for at least six months.

The ban allows police and community support officers the power

to oust people from Soho for up to twenty-four hours. If two or more people are seen congregating in a suspicious manner or causing social distress and alarm in any way, they could be forced out from the area.

to reduce violent crimes, robberies, drug dealings and sexual crimes that occur in London’s popular night-life venues. However, there are fears the operation merely displaced crime to other areas such as Camden.

The City of Westminster’s cleansing efforts for the area began last year under ‘Operation Trafalgar’.

The project was conceived to make the streets of London safer during the run-up to the Olympics, hoping

Nonetheless, this new tactic is considered a positive step in making the West End safer for inhabitants.

West End and Soho’s neighbourhood policing and business partnership monitor, Chief Inspector Kevin Hob-

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27th February - 17th March 2013

COMMENT Olivia Selley Comment Editor comment@roarnews.co.uk

facebook.com/roarnews

LET THE HORSE SEE THE MEAT!

James Sharpe

WHEN I first heard about the horsemeat scandal that has been occupying our news for the past couple of weeks, I, like many others, wrinkled my nose in disgust. The thought of eating horses, to Brits at least, is generally not appealing.

Over the past few weeks, beef products have been withdrawn from major retailers such as Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s for testing positive for equine DNA, seemingly leaving the supermarkets astounded.

real concerns over losing customer faith. It is still unclear how the meat suppliers themselves have been affected, however it seems obvious that sales will fall, to whatever extent.

Although horsemeat itself is not dangerous for humans, there are fears that Phenylbutazone, a drug sometimes given to horses, may have entered the food chain. Also known as ‘Bute’, Phenylbutazone was once used as a treatment for illnesses such as gout and arthritis, but in rare cases was found to cause a blood disorder known as aplastic anaemia, and so was banned for human use.

Even the Co-operative, who continually boasts about their ethical trading, has been forced to withdraw two types of beef burgers, and has advised UK customers to return any products they still have to the shop.

Although there has not yet been any confirmation that it has in fact made its way into the human food chain, many people are still concerned about eating beef from the affected retailers.

Supermarkets are being forced to cut ties with meat suppliers such as Silvercrest and Findus in an attempt to maintain a good image, though I suspect the chiefs at these shops are feeling the strain, and will have

Though aside from this, what’s the problem? If there are no real health risks associated with horse meat, why shouldn’t we eat it? It is just as nutritious as beef, and apparently they taste very similar. We all know

that the French enjoy horse meat, and while there used to be only specialised butchers (boucheries chevalines) in France for horse meat, since the 1990s it has become common to see it on sale in supermarkets along with all other types of meat.

Indeed, horsemeat used to be eaten in the UK fairly commonly as well, but like so many other things, it has gone out of fashion. The ethics of it are surely the same as any other food production – as long as the ingredients have been ‘responsibly sourced’, we can eat it guilt-free, but the taboo that surrounds it is one that will be hard to repress.

my mind regarding the ethics of false advertising; the meat suppliers who knowingly sold horsemeat as beef should be held to account, but what of the ethics of eating horsemeat?

Overall, I feel that it is no different to eating any other type of meat - what matters is that the farmers

are getting a fair price, and the meat is being responsibly sourced.

However, I think the public reaction to this scandal seems to indicate, that for now at least, we won’t be seeing horse dishes on the menus of our local restaurants.

Perhaps some of our reluctance comes from the relationship that humans have always had with horses – while they are not domesticated in the traditional sense, they are undoubtedly on a similar level to household pets, and beloved stories such as Black Beauty only reinforce this relationship.

This is, in the end, a story of squeamishness. There is no doubt in

THE EVERYDAY SEXISM PROJECT AT KING’S Julia Mignaud

psychological aggressions, and most women, though angry and willing to act against these injustices, feel powerless and resigned. A line is crossed when anger is embodied into words, and through words, silence is broken: women can start to organise themselves to plan a common, powerful counter-attack.

ON the fifth of February, a special guest, Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, was giving a talk at King’s College London on everyday sexism in the UK. Laura Bates inspired the whole audience that night – all 70 seats of K2.31 were full - by her amazing ability to speak clearly, to advance her arguments point by point, to smash all the tricks used by sexist individuals in their discrimination of others and justifation of the unjustifiable.

Sexism is prejudice, stereotyping or discrimination on the basis of sex.It has multiple forms and affects women of all ages, often throughout their lives. UK and other Western countries are not exempted from this, in fact the reality is far from this. The most common manifestations of sexism occur in public spaces including on streets, public transport, in the workplace, schools, but also in private spaces such as domestic relationships.

In each of its manifestations, sexism has only one result: it makes the woman feel sad about what she is; she feels distressed, diminished and humiliated.

Everyday sexism is usually a verbal or physical assault, and is often felt as a violation of intimacy, an intrusion into the person’s own space.

From “jokes” or comments to obscene suggestions, wooing, whistling and inappropriate flattery. From insults, aggressive behaviour or harassment in the pub, to being touched or pinched while on the tube, the bus, or at work. From being chased down the streets to being raped, when the absolute barrier of the resisting body is transgressed. There are two kinds of responses: silent passivity, when a

woman is too embarrassed, shocked or afraid to even say something, to cry or to shout - words being trapped in her throat - to active resistance when a clear “no” is expressed and yet, often reduced to nothingness.

In 74% of cases, women who are being raped know their aggressor.

In private spaces, everyday sexism is the same, simply by people you already know, often by the men you are living with: fathers, brothers or more commonly partners. These situations are even more complicated, because women may be in love, affectively dependent, or manipulated to stay in that relationship She won’t alert anyone and will suffer from it in silence. In that case the state of shock can be even more important because women don’t expect this psychological or physical harm from partners or relatives.

Numbers speak for themselves: Around 400,000 women are sexually assaulted and 85,000 women are

raped each year in the UK, that means 230 rapes every day. We must insist on the fact that rape is a violent assault against women, and not a sexual act.

Only 10 per cent of women report this to the police. Surveys reveal 90% of raped women don’t report it because they feel they won’t be supported. Only 3% of rapists ever serve a day in jail. ¼ of women will experience domestic violence during their lives.

On average two women a week are killed by a violent partner or ex-partner in the UK. Almost 1 in 3 girls have experienced unwanted sexual touching at school.

Overall, up to 3 million women and girls across the UK experience rape, domestic violence, stalking, or other types of assault each year.

As Laura Bates wrote on the 03/09/2012 in the Huffington Post, UK legislation on sexual assault is very clear: A person (A) commits an offence if (i) he intentionally touches another person (B),

(ii) the touching is sexual, (iii) B does not consent to the touching, and (iv) A does not reasonably believe that B consents.

Do people know that this crime – sexual assault- carries a maximum ten year prison sentence?

These offences can be added to other offences I believe, dependant on your race, sexual orientation or social class.

The fight against sexism is rendered more complicated by the fact that it affects men and women alike. The paradox is that some women can retransmit what they have learned or what they experienced and convey sexist ideas. However, contrary to men, women don’t gain anything from oppressing other women, but self-contempt and affliction.

Despite the terrifying aspect of these situations, they are generalised, banalised, and sometimes even considered a taboo. Nobody speaks about these problems, these repeated

Laura Bates’ everyday sexism project is born from the will to break this silence and to unveil the reality of sexism. The everyday sexism project is an internet blog, accesible at: www. everydaysexism.com. Laura Bates, a 26 year old writer wanted to create a froum “to record stories of sexism faced on a daily basis, by ordinary women, in ordinary places. To show that sexism exists in abundance in the UK workplace and that it is very far from being a problem we no longer need to discuss”. The result has been striking - in just five months, more than 20,000 women have accessed this blog.

Women from other countries have also contributed. They expressed the incredible need for this initiative in their own countries: sexism is indeed a disease that decomposes all patriarchal societies. Fortunately, it has not always existed, hence it is not eternal. As a historical and political fact, it can be challenged, contested, and eradicated.

The first step is to break the silence; shame has to go over to the other side. This wonderful initiative echoes the profusion of feminist groups - in England we can count hundreds of feminist groups but also announces the birth of a new generation of feminists.

This demonstrates the increasing pugnacity of women and men demanding equality and liberty for all.

27th February - 17th March 2013

NEWS COMMENT

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@roar_news

WOMEN IN WINDOWS (NO, IS MARRIAGE A STATE INSTITUTION? NOT THE AMSTERDAM VARIETY) Francesca Rackham

PLANS to change the definition of marriage to include same sex couples have sparked huge debate, not the least in King’s itself, and rightly so.

Why? As marriage, whether one is considering it or not, is an important aspect of life, and the cell of our societies. Complicating matters is the fact that it is an emotive subject, it concerns people’s desires, aspirations and beliefs.

However, there are reasonable arguments both for and against the redefining of marriage and the sides are not defined by those of religion and non-religion. The debate needs, however, to leave aside the namecalling, as it dangerously distracts from the real issue: what is marriage?

At the core is the question of the beautiful buzz-word “equality”.

Beautiful because in its core it seeks to eliminate discrimination, and in doing so show the wealth of every person.

Redefining marriage, it is argued would eliminate the discrimination against homosexual couples to express their commitment to one another. So how do opponents justify their position?

Firstly, by asking the question: what are people being excluded from?

Is there no expression in law for commitment between homosexual couples? Ben Bradshaw, British labour MP, advocates that “this is not a priority for the gay community, which already won equal rights with civil partnerships”. Therefore, current laws on marriage support the distinction between the two relationships which would be an injustice to both parties if absent.

This distinction is important because of the unique function of marriage in our society, the nature of marriage and how its preservation ensures a prosperous society.

Everyone contributes to society in different ways and the worth of this contribution and the wealth of the human person does not depend on race, sexuality, age, or whether one is married or not, as none of these are at the pinnacle of what it means to be human.

So, deciding to not redefine marriage

does not diminish the worth of the contribution of those who don’t get married but upholds the irreplaceable role of married couples in providing the next generation with what only they as a male-female unit can provide.

This function is the reason that marriage has always been state endorsed, notably not state owned.

Statistics show that marriage is the best environment for raising children.

To change the meaning and wealth of this would be to reject what nature has imposed on human civilisations for their own good.

Most people, regardless of their sexual orientation recognise the role of mother and father in childhood, and indeed throughout life.

Again, this is a point where the emotiveness of the subject comes in. Is this not a restriction of the individual? No, because it is not unfair to treat different situations differently, and this is exemplified in how the government does not plan to allow heterosexual couples to enter into civil partnerships.

Though in another sense yes it is the restriction of the individual – but for a purpose that everyone accepts. No man is an island, and his/her actions shape the lives of others, this is overwhelmingly so in the case of parenting. For example, we follow traffic laws because if everyone defined the laws as they like, then there would be chaos.

As a result personal desires are put in the context of society. This is perhaps even more essential in marriage. Why? As in marriage the next generation is shaped, with a clear sense of where they came from and essential knowledge about both male and female.

Marriage although not restricted to those raising children, by its nature supports this aspect of life.

As Bertrand Russell said “but for children, there would be no need of any institution concerned with sex…

It is through children alone that sexual relations become of importance to society, and worthy to be taken cognizance of by a legal institution.”

Fran Allfrey

TO refresh your memories, last issue, regular contributor Max Edwards put forward his suggestions of great alumni who could replace Lord Carey on the Strand front windows.

I’ve been following the Roar/ Carey campaign closely, and so started reading with great interest.

However, something about the list just wasn’t quite right. I couldn’t at first work out why I was left feeling just a little bit hollow. Then it hit me, like a great big slap around the face from the proverbial fish there were no women in this list.

I’m not suggesting that women were excluded deliberately. Although the very fact that this happened even unconsciously suggests how deeply ingrained the idea is that the achievements of men are always more worthy than that of women.

Edwards apparently couldn’t think of or didn’t think to look for one woman worth a mention. Furthermore the editors of this prejudice-fighting newspaper didn’t even think to suggest a change before letting it print.

‘But does this really matter?’ you might ask. Well, the short answer is yes. The long answer takes the form of statistics which show how women have been under represented in professions (and when they do appear, under-celebrated) since time began.

What’s more over 63% of King’s students are female, and King’s has a proud history in educating excellent members of the “other” sex.

King’s staff championed women’s education long before Oxford, Cambridge, UCL and the like had even entertained the thought; with our professors founding Queen’s College in 1846. An in-house Department for the Higher Education of Women was then created in 1881.

You can’t 150 years educating worthy of

tell me that in the that King’s has been women, not one is a window nomination.

Let’s hear it for the girls, please!”

I refuse to believe that there are only 10 King’s women who have gone on to do amazing things.

Indeed, what with March being Women’s History Month, King’s’ very own FemSoc gaining momentum (find them on Facebook), and campaigns such as Everyday Sexism attracting snowballing national media interest, the time really is ripe to celebrate women’s achievements, and, yes, ‘fight the patriarchy’ in whatever form it rears its ugly head. So here are just a few people who I’d like to see on those controversial windows…

Janice Hadlow

Having graduated with a BA in History in the 70s, Hadlow is now a top member of the BBC’s senior management team. As Controller of BBC Two, and with a salary of over £200,000, she is responsible for developing the overall strategy and content of the channel, and deciding its creative direction.

AS overall director of the organisation, her job further encompasses shaping the future of all BBC-wide projects.

Nuala Patricia O’Loan

Baroness O’Loan studied Law at King’s, and between 1999 and 2007 she was the UK Government’s first Police Ombudsman – a key role in tackling the Northern Irish Troubles (which gave her the right to visit any inmate in prison at any time of the day or night, amongst of course other much more complex responsibilities – but that sounds like the most fun!)

She was made a member of the House of Lords in 2009. She is also currently Chairman of the Governing Authority of the National University of Ireland. Hailing from a country that still has questionable laws around women’s rights, this lady’s work is extraordinary.

Alison Fettes Richard

Looking at the windows themselves as they are now women are represented, and that’s great.

Though why are 36 out of 46 of them men (and old, white, bearded men at that), considering King’s’ gender ratio is female weighted, and King’s PR boast about being the most central university in the most ethnically diverse city on the planet?

As a woman born in an age when abortion and contraception were still dirty words, and barely two decades after equal women’s suffrage transposed, Richard’s achievements are made all the more stunning.

She completed her Biology PhD at King’s, and throughout the 80s (after publishing many papers) she went on to hold a handful of Chair-ships at Yale, before assuming the role of Provost there.

Whilst I am against quotas in boardrooms and other such things, these windows are different. They should reflect the King’s community as we want it to be, as they work to raise aspiration, ambition and pride.

Always looking onwards and upwards, Richard became the first female Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge from 2003-2010, after which she was made a Dame by the Queen. Excellent work, ma’am.

Medieval Studies MA student Virginia Jenner puts it another way: “windows dominated with male figureheads send out the message that King’s is an institution of masculine success and achievement.

Name a soap, Choudhury has written for it. Her portfolio covers EastEnders, Waterloo Road, Coronation Street, Casualty, Doctors,

Nazrin Choudhury

as well as BBC radio. Not only is she a multi-award winning screenwriter and a novelist, she is also a prominent executive at the BBC World Service, has worked with the award winning director Menhaj Huda on his films, and is a voting member of BAFTA.

Choudhury’s mark in the sphere of entertainment is wide reaching indeed, but she actually studied Bio-med at King’s.

Helen Cresswell

A King’s English Lit grad, Cresswell penned over 100 children’s books, and countless television series in the 80s and 90s. Maybe I’m showing my age, but I remember watching one of her creations The Demon Headmaster from behind the sofa.

Hats off for giving me nightmares that still recur today. Her obituary in the Guardian in 2005 sheds light on how she overcame a long stint in hospital as child, which obviously did no harm at all: her Lizzie Dripping witch stories, out rated Blue Peter between 1973 and 1975.

Noreen Murray

A King’s Biology graduate, Murray had a long career as a molecular geneticist and academic, with her first major work being the first geneticallyengineered Hepatitis B vaccine.

She was Chair of molecular genetics at the University of Edinburgh in the 90s, until her retirement in 2001, was awarded the Fred Griffith Review Lectureship of the Society for General Microbiology and won the Gabor Medal of the Royal Society.

She also received honorary degrees from Warwick, Manchester, Birmingham, and Lancaster, and had no fewer than 9 letters after her name: CBE, FRS, and FRSE. OMG.

Claire Rayner

Rayner qualified as a Midwife at Guy’s, and worked tirelessly on public health issues: ‘in the field’, as a journalist and agony aunt for The Sun and other papers. She was a member of various Government Commissions, an NHS campaigner, writer of over 100 books, and supporter of over 50 charities. Awarded an OBE in 1996, Rayner also served as President of the British Humanist Association. It’s said that before she died in 2010 she told her relatives she wanted her last words to be: “Tell David Cameron that if he screws up my beloved NHS I’ll come back and bloody haunt him.”

I could go on and on: it’s been a tricky list to whittle down. Though, as a final note, the first three people on this list I simply knew, having seen them speak at alumni events, or read their names in newspapers.

The rest of these women (and many more!) were found after 5 minutes of Googling. It makes you wonder how Edwards missed all these women when preparing his article last month. Now King’s: over to you!

8

27th February - 17th March 2013

NUS

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WHY WE’RE BACKING THE INANIMATE CARBON ROD IN THE NUS ELECTIONS Anthony Shaw

going the way of the dodo either.

THE SIMPSONS raised me as a child, it taught me the secrets of love thanks to ‘Fuzzy Bunny’s Guide To You Know What’ and that words such as ‘cromulant’ and ‘embiggins’ actually exist!... In fact, it is fair to say that my entire relationship with my father is based upon Simpsons quotes.

So, that’s why it’s time to get animated about the NUS leadership elections. As a carbon-based life form, a vote for the rod is a vote for us all.

We are the rod. In rod we trust.

Samuel Spencer

So, when I heard that some genius had decided to enter the Inanimate Carbon Rod in the race for NUS President, I couldn’t help but smile! Part of its allure is the fact it can be used to jerry rig space shuttle doors shut and apparently it’s an excellent worker at the nuclear power plant but more than that, it was that someone had finally given student politics its credibility back.

Inactive, unlikely to actually do anything when in office, and looking a little bit like a joke…but enough about the other candidates, let’s talk about Roar’s choice for the NUS presidency, the Inanimate Carbon Rod, the ‘cylinder of very few words’ that the 1s and 10s of us who are following this campaign have come to know, love, and been slightly irradiated by.

I’ve been a long-time critic of student politics; pompous, arrogant shite-bags arguing about the future of Palestine and how being the head of the NUS will help them free it.

It’s complete bollocks! The NUS is, in my opinion, useless, a complete waste of space and taken far too seriously and for far too long.

But this is more than just more controversy-baiting from the team that bought you more -gates than a Microsoft founder’s family reunion; rather, there are a number of real reasons why we’re throwing our support behind the February 1994 Worker of the Week at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.

First of these is awareness. Statistically, the presence of jeopardy in this elections has already made me give 97% more of a shit about these elections, and with turnout figures for this yearly round of elections averaging a turnout of under 2% of NUS members, the Inanimate Carbon Rod is a regrettable but necessary step to remedying this dismal state of affairs. Maybe the Rod can help to get turnout to the dizzying heights of 1 in 20 voting. At the very least, they’ll be getting a vote from me that they didn’t get last year…

Student politics is supposed to be quirky and left-field, it’s supposed to be a laugh, to be humorous and satirical and Rod fills that position perfectly. Not only that, but it has a serious point, that previous NUS presidents haven’t listened or fulfilled their promises and that the NUS has failed students. You’d be mad not to vote Carbon Rod! This isn’t just about being a laugh, it is more serious than that, it’s sending a message to those at the higher echelons of student government that the students are not happy and we want change. Rod can bring this - it’s the perfect protest vote.

So, you don’t have to be a longtime Simpsons fan to get behind this campaign (Although it certainly helps and puts this event in one of my top 10) A rod!? Running for student politics!? Maybe next he’ll be running for Nick Clegg’s job.

In Rod We Trust.

Ben Wilson When I bear the rod in mind, ‘inanimate’ seems to be a word with far too many negative connotations.

Instead, what the rod represents for me is strength, resilience, consistency and reliability. A golden age is dawning, one as straight and true as the rod itself, in which students across the country can genuinely feel pride and belief in their NUS leader.

If the past couple of years have taught us anything, it’s that our rigidly traditional approach of electing human candidates has brought nothing but problems for all with a vested interest

Above: Sam Gaus, Democracy and Communications Officer at UCLU and the man behind the rod in student affairs. Time and time again disappointment has been rained down upon our heads, with both our hearts and wallets being drained as a result.

As is rightly pointed out within the rod’s manifesto, there are already so many things the rod has done for us, and will continue to do for us all. The rod won’t decide to lead a national

protest to an obscure part of London in the rain, and in return the student community won’t egg the rod offstage. Already, a relationship of mutual trust and respect has been achieved.

The rod has shown that it can perform well in high-pressure situations, displaying aptitude in the fields of nuclear physics and aerospace engi-

neering. Now that its talents are being extended to developing an NUS nuclear arsenal, future protests and demonstrations might stand a chance of actually being taken seriously, especially if there’s the chance of an apocalypse that could destroy the world and not just the store front at Fortnum & Mason. The rod wouldn’t have stood for this year’s Varsity

The second, and more important reason is the lacklustre nature of the other candidates. Gone are the halcyon days of student protest that I expected after once day watching ‘Starter for Ten’ and presuming that was what university was like. What we have instead is a bunch of identikit students (they’ve even all got the same haircut), promising vague notions of ‘putting unions back at the heart of our national unions’ and ‘winning the general election for students’ – statements so banal that they’re sure to be excellent Westminster politicians before the decade’s out.

In fact, that’s exactly the problem with the other candidates. All I can see is a group of over-ambitious career politicians in the making, seeing the NUS as one more gold star on the CV, one further branch on their crawl to the Cabinet.

So say what you want about Inanimate Carbon Rods, but at least they’re not egomaniac (it tricky to be one when you have no brain, let alone an ego) career builders – rather be represented by a president that is unable to care than one who simply won’t.

ROAR!

MORE!

The new Roar! Culture section

10

27th February - 17th March 2013

FILM Katie Sinclair Film Editor film@roarnews.co.uk

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hottu Visi t bc inserinema.co t Stu the m a a 50dentATC5code nd a lux % disco 0 for un ur expey cinemat on rienc tic e!

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION Our inaugural film-spotting column looks Closer around London Yeganeh Abyareh IMAGINE four internationally acclaimed major stars in one film: Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen and Jude Law. What comes to mind? Perhaps a blockbuster action movie, suited for a big audience during the summer holidays.

Or maybe a Christmas chick-flick with cheesy comedic romance to win the heart of couples? Mike Nichols’ Closer (2004) is neither of the above.

Premiering in early December 2004, the film was released before the festive seasson. The budget was humble: a mere $27 million in comparison with The Phantom of the

Opera’s $70 million, or Troy’s whopping $175 million, both of which were released during the same year.

Before Closer, the German director Nichols had already shown his great directorial skills in acclaimed films such as The Graduate and Who`s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. In Closer, Nichols focuses in on the most dangerous but fundamental questions about basic human nature and how we interact.

seemingly mundane everyday issues.

Closer bravely deals with such adult matters which have become taboos for mainstream Hollywood. Adultery, sexual desires, fantasies and strip tease are all sharply discussed in the film.

What is fascinating is the fact that Nichols has not graphically used these kinds of taboo to merely attract audience and create controversies. In fact, most of the sexual concerns of the story happen outside of the frame.

The film centres on the relationships of two couples that face complication when the man from one couple meets the woman of the other. The narrative structure might seem simple at first glance, but the film succeeds in showing us the complexity which lies in the

In other words, unlike Hollywood, the film does not attempt to sell sex. It instead focusses on the effects that such important but unexpressed matters have on relationships.

and even tinier budget get to sit alongside $100 million+ projects and the film industry elite. The answer, dear reader, is quite simple. It is a fantastic film, the best this editor saw in 2012.

monizes with soaring violin virtuoso, culminating in a visual symphony of vibrant colour and sound. Without words, this release embodies protagonist Hushpuppy’s personal trials and eventual triumph as her father and society simultaneously destruct.

Shot in central London, the film por-

trays the lives of urban middle class individuals. Dissimilar to many other films which have also been shot in central London, the film`s location has been selectively picked to avoid glamorizing the city. London Aquarium, Thames riverbanks and Theatre Royal are introduced to the audience without any major establishing shots.

What matters in the film are the individuals. They can be ordinary, unusual, flawed: in other words, simply human. The two most pivotal scenes of the film happen in one location: Postman Park near Saint Paul’s cathedral.

Not famous and gigantic like Hyde Park or Saint James, Postman Park helps the narrative to promote the surprising twist at the end of the story.

Thanks to the strong connection between the location and narrative, Closer successfully shows us how little we might end up knowing about the ones we once loved and cared about.

Closer is an anti-mythical love film.

It has the power to change concepts of love, sex and everything else in relationships which have been manipulated and transformed to myths by Hollywood. Look closer at this film, and around London, and get ready to be surprised.

Know a movie location picture-perfect for this column? Email Katie at film@roarnews.co.uk or tweet @katiesinclair20!

UNBEATABLE BEASTS STEALS HEARTS Katie Sinclair

ON the morning of Oscar nomination announcements, an audible gasp could be heard as Seth McFarlane and Emma Stone read the line-up to a gaggle of industry professionals.

Alongside Speilberg’s Lincoln, Affleck’s Argo and Li’s Life of Pi was a name, that few outside the realms of movie nerd-dom could recognise: Beasts of the Southern Wild.

This indie darling, made for just $1.8 million by first-time filmmaker Ben Zeitlin, is up for four of the big awards at the Oscars, including the coveted Best Picture. As well as Best Director for Zeitlin and best Adapted Sceenplay, star Quvenzhané Wallis is up for Best Actress. Aged just 9, she is the youngest ever to be nominated.

You might be asking yourself the question many of Hollywood’s main honchos were pondering over earlymorning martinis in Santa Monica.

How did a tiny movie, with a tiny star

Zeitlin’s love-letter to Louisiana is set in the underprivileged Bathtub community as it is flooded by global warming. In the midst of the flood, young protagonist Hushpuppy must struggle to survive whilst aiding her ailing father Wink, all the while knowing a group of magical beasts are fast approaching.

A work of magic realism, Beasts of the Southern Wild blends a post-Katrina harrowing reality of poverty and isolation with the only possible through the vision of a child. Aesthectically, Zeitlin plays on the natural rainbow hues of colourful New Orleans, reflecting them in the muddy waters of his impoverished community whilst never distilling their vibrancy.

Music can make a film. In Beasts of the Southern Wild, the rush of water flooding the Bathtub community har-

As Hushpuppy, tiny newcomer Quvenzhané Wallis is fierce and fragile in equal measure, a performance rich with an emotional depth surprising for a child of such a young age.

Her father, played by Dwight Henry, is equally convincing as a patriarch lost in a sea of his own failures as well as the Louisina bayou. No mean feat, especially considering the fact that Henry is a chef by profession, and the production had to work around his bakery opening hours.

The film is well and truly a community project. Zeitlin worked with friends and Louisiana natives to create the authentic, un-varnished vibe around the film. The glints of reflecting light caught on camera are often the only reminder that this is a con-

structed reality, such is the intenstity of the world Zeitlin creates on screen.

The fact that Beasts of the Southern Wild has been recognised by the Academy should restore faith in the Oscars to even the most hard-hearted of sceptics It proves that an underdog of film, made well, can capture the at-

tention of the film industry and public. Beasts of the Southern Wild does what is virtually impossible in Hollywood today - it inspires. Ultimately, in terms of both star and budget, the film proves the cliche: small is beautiful.

27th February - 17th March 2013

NEWS FILM

11

Aoife Dowling Film Sub-Editor film@roarnews.co.uk

@roar_news

I GIVE IT A YEAR Charlotte Woods

A WHIRLWIND ROMANCE leads to a very mis-matched pair marrying in just 7 months. A series of disastrous events, pre and post marriage, leads to a much needed divorce. When the vicar can’t quite bring himself to say ‘I now pronounce you husband and wife’ you should probably take the hint.

Nat (Rose Byrne) and Josh (Rafe Spall) are worlds apart, but after meeting at a party their romance quickly blossoms and results in a marriage, which quite frankly should never have happened. They make a failed-attempt to work things out with a councillor (Olivia Colman) who, quite clearly, is not the best at relationships herself. The casting was spot on with Byrne playing a woman with high expectations and Spall playing the slightly lazy, not-readyto-grow-up bloke. Stephen Merchant, as Josh’s best man and best friend is hugely satisfying in possibly the most embarrassing way, he epitomises the best man stereotype but you would not want him at your wedding.

Director Dan Mazer did a fantastic job in the sense that every scene was laugh

ZERO DARK THIRTY

Why it won’t, but should, win Best Picture Joshua Stupple

ZERO DARK THIRTY tells the story of the decade long struggle to find and kill Osama Bin Laden. The film follows Maya (played Jessica Chastain), a tough CIA operative who is obsessed with the search for Bin Laden.

Zero Dark Thirty is an important film, and in my opinion that can be said of no other film nominated for Best Picture this year. It is a gripping narrative told with refreshing impartiality, that wastes none of its 157 minutes.

Unfortunately the film’s reputation has suffered from a mud-slinging campaign that has scuppered the film’s chances at the Academy Awards. The film is too unsettling, too uncompromising, and too morally ambiguous to win the Oscar, but this is exactly why it deserves to win.

For whatever reason, torture has become the main point of media fascination when it comes to Kathryn Bigelow’s masterpiece, Zero Dark Thirty.

Many cultural and political figures (including former Republican presidential candidate John McCain) have decried the film for its brutal torture scenes and its perceived support of torture as a method of getting information from detainees. The torture scenes, all of which occur in the film’s first half, are indeed brutal, but do they promote the idea of torture?

Absolutely not. The movie begins with a title card that tells us that the movie is based on ‘first hand accounts’, setting up the film’s fixation

with realism. The film’s devotion to unglamorous truth is one of its greatest strengths and is the reason why scenes of torture could not be toned down or omitted. Bigelow lingers on the indignities of torture not because she wants the audience to enjoy these scenes but because torture is undignified.

The performances in the film are top-notch, yet the characters are uncomplicated almost to a fault. This is because the film’s focus is the narrative, not the characters caught up in it. The fantastic Jessica Chastain is at the centre of the story, and yet in all the film’s two and half hours we learn very little about her character other than that she is obsessively driven to find Bin Laden.

This film is not a character study; it is about the hunt for Bin Laden and nothing else. It is this absolute focus on the subject matter that lends the film an incredible tension that is present throughout the story, especially during its final twenty-five minutes.

Another reason why the film has failed to garner the awards momentum that it truly deserves is its depiction of violence; there is no cathartic violence in this film. Every gunshot and explosion is frightening, whether it comes from the aggressors of the piece or from the American protagonists.

Violence is portrayed authentically and so is the suffering that results from it, we are not encouraged by the filmmaker to celebrate every terrorist’s death, rather the viewer is given the uncomfortable experience

of watching these bad men and their families suffer, and if you bought a ticket for this film imagining an action sequence where Bid Laden is killed in a stylised, slow-motion gun battle, you would leave disappointed.

What the audience gets are long scenes of razor sharp tension, followed by gloomy, shakey-cam shots of bullet-ridden bodies. The film does not pander to an audience’s bloodlust nor to any jingoistic American revenge fantasies. The filmmakers have wrought an incredibly impartial look at the divisive world of post 9/11 espionage, a perspective improved immeasurably by its realistic and rightly unsatisfying depiction of violence.

A film about the hunt and eventual death of Osama Bin Laden could have so easily been a disaster. In the wrong hands it could have played out like an embarrassing patriotic American wet dream.

It could have been a sentimental film, sheepishly putting too much emphasis on the characters searching for Bin Laden, and not enough on the narrative itself. So much could have gone wrong and yet so little did.

The subject matter of the film was made of thin ice, yet Boal and Bigelow skate from beginning to end without once cracking the surface.

Zero Dark Thirty is a hard, gritty and brilliant look at the dirty mechanisms behind the war on terror. It will not win, but Zero Dark Thirty deserves this year’s Oscar.

out loud funny, the opening scenes are particularly notable for their signs towards this marriage being a disaster, the vicar incident, the worst best man speech ever, the novelty dance nightmare and the tent setting alight (need any more be said!) But there was not a single scene that left the audience without a smile on their faces.

This is certainly a rom-com with a twist, the audience cannot help but long for this couple to split up and get together with their more suitable counterparts Guy (Simon Baker) and Chloe (Anna Faris), and the divorce proposal is a more momentous occasion than the marriage.

Any criticism should be directed at Mazer for not being quite as outrageous and shocking as seen in his previous works which include The Dictator, Brüno and Borat, but this film is certainly not for the prudish or the faint-hearted.

Words cannot quite describe just quite how hilarious this film is, it will have you laughing non-stop and strangely enough spurring for divorce. Certainly one of the funniest British rom-coms to have graced our screens for quite a while.

HITCHCOCK

Peter Flynn-Williams

ALL the better to see you with. These are the words, spoken to Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh, that encase Anthony Hopkins’ portrayal of oneman cinephile supplement, Alfred Hitchcock; a man who invented the sanctity of the spoiler, who shrugged off conventions of taste, and who saw the grimmest corners of our fantasies for what they were, and squeezed some honest thrills from them. Funnily enough, the film Hitchcock seems to do quite the opposite.

The film is that funny sort of biopic that’s about the production of a film, in this case Hitchcock’s most competent work, Psycho, and it only dips into the redundancy that comes with the genre. The fascination with Hitchcock came from the readability of his films spawning from a somewhat reserved persona, so a recount of this fascination appears a little suspect when the film takes us right into Hitchcock’s ideas, inspiration and emotions, going so far as to have whole scenes taking place within his psyche.

I found myself questioning what tone the real events took, and felt the film was indecisive in how it wanted to show Hitchcock. We delve deep into Hopkins’ interpretation of the man, but don’t come away from it knowing who he really was.

Hopkins and Mirren keep afloat a plot that seems a little unfocused with performances that feel both personal and extravagant. Hopkins particularly gets into the role (and the prosthetics), playing Hitchcock as shameless and droll, but also rather childish and even bizarrely sweet at times. It’s definitely Hopkins beneath

it all, but the character is so full of glee, such unwavering delight in the initial schlock that was Psycho, that I revelled in his every interaction.

He’s like a little boy showing you the bugs he’s caught, becoming really quite likeable, and therein lies a crack in the film’s character study casing.

For all his quips, retorts and almost intimidating tenacity, Alfred Hitchcock just doesn’t make for the best protagonist. Sure, it’s an intriguing rendition that’s fun to watch, but when the film tries to align the audience emotionally with the director; let’s just say there’s something a little off with seeing Hitchcock tear up.

This becomes particularly bothersome when we start to see the unsavoury air around his genius. The film does a good job of conveying a real maliciousness bubbling beneath a man who can’t confront his own instability, but the plot wraps up with the audience so pleased for the success of Psycho, and so happy that Hitchcock can now have froie gras imported from wherever he likes (that’s genuinely a plot point).

The moralising of the story and strict character arc seem a little off considering the infamous production of The Birds was to follow.

Fair enough, Hitchcock can admit his wife is important to his career, but he’s hardly learned a thing.

I suppose I would rather be indulged with more of the delicious nihilism of the character, and less of the emotional drive that comes with a biopic.

Though we do forgo the whole “wink wink here’s the origin of facebook effect”, but maybe Hitchcock was involved in that, I’m not one to decide.

12

27th February - 17th March 2013

ARTS Max Edwards Arts Editor arts@roarnews.co.uk

EDITORS’ PICKS

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A NIGHT(CLUB) AT THE OPERA

Max Edwards & Samuel Spencer

In the Beginning was the End @ Somerset House. Until April 28th, tickets from £19.50.

In the Beginning was the End? Of what? My peace of mind, that’s what.

Utterly beguiling and utterly bamboozling. And just next door too!

LOW PRICE WHISKY, men dressed as lumberjacks, women dressed as prostitutes….no it’s not Walkabout Wednesdays, it’s the twisted world of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s opera ‘The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahaganny’, which King’s Opera are bringing to Tutu’s for three consecutive nights from March 7th - 9th. Max spoke to director Emily Wenman and (then) publicity officer Anna Clarke about this upcoming production...

So first things first…why did King’s Opera choose ‘Mahaganny’?

We liked that it incorporated all these elements of popular culture, such as jazz, barbershop quartets, cinema and cinema film scores. We thought that this would be a great way to give people not aren’t totally familiar with opera something to latch onto.

Also, it’s a very interesting in light

Light Show @ Hayward Gallery.

Until March 30th, tickets from £9.

Proof that all that glitters can be gold (and that ‘art highlight/spotlight’ puns are too easy to make...)

of recent events in London such as the riots, which the media coverage suggested were due to some form of alienation, which is a large part of what the opera looks at how the individual pursuit of pleasure leads to societal dissatisfaction, culminating in riots (and fire!)

Did this make you want to set the play in a more contemporary setting?

In true Brechtian fashion, we’ve tired not to set it in any specific time or place, although there are some elements of 1930s cabaret, in fact the make-up and costume is all about grotesque exaggeration - with certain characters, especially the prostitutes, I wanted there to be an idea of grotesque excess.

That said, there are other elements we’ve taken from certain periods, so the barbershop quartet are in bow ties , matching striped waistcoats etc, and the main villain is very femme fatale.

How do you intend to incorporate Tutu’s into the production?

We liked Tutu’s because its a bit shitty! We both actually had it in mind when we were thinking of staging this production because Weill himself worked in cabarets on very low budgets. So we’ve added awful cheap red curtains to the stage to make it into a shitty music hall , and put the seating in cabaret-style. We’re also using the stairs and the balcony and bar spaces to create an immersive experience.

Going back to your earlier point about the riots, how relevant do you think the politics of the play are to today?

Well another parallel we are trying to make is with te financial situation, and how this creates strange paradoxes and feeling of disenfranchisement. Obviously the play is a strong capitalist critique, but Weill complicates this - when he had to leave Germany in the war he went to Broadway

and penned all these big show tunes, which you can see sort of beginning in this opera. So whilst he’s critiquing it, he’s also a little bit in love with it.

How much do you think this play, which is driven by money, has to say specifically to students?

Well the idea of living without money is something all students can relate to! Also, we aimed to question the luxuries and pleasure that is so integral to student life, from big things to little things like Starbucks.

How is the music being performed?

Well we’re working with the King’s Sinfonietta, a 40-piece orchestra, which is great, as there’s loads of interesting instruments in the score, a lot of jazz choruses, and a fantastic ending with cancan and plenty of razzle-dazzle!

Tickets are £12 (£6 students) and available from the KCLSU tickets website.

‘SCREW’ED UP...BUT GREAT! A DICKENS DISAPPOINTMENT

Bruce Nauman: Mindfuck @ Hauser & Wirth. Until March 9th, free.

If Light Show leaves you wanting more, enter the dark side of light art

Charlotte Wildblood THIS GENUINELY spine-chilling adaptation of The Turn of the Screw (directed by the double Laurence Olivier award winning Lindsay Posner) is a not to be missed.

The Turn of the Screw @ Almeida Theatre. Until March 16th, tickets from £8.

An unsettling take on James’ psychological classic. Our reviewers called it ‘not to be missed’, and who are we to disagree?

Picasso 1901 @ Courtauld Gallery, Until May 26th, free with student card.

Although the Courtauld have done a fantastic job narrative-wise with this exhibitions , the early paintings are more PicassO.K. than Fablo Pablo...

Seen any amazing art recently?

Tweet us @onechaptermore or @roarnews to appear in next issue editor’s picks.

The play begins with the governess' interview, the strangeness of Sackville's absence in the children's life is portrayed by Orlando WWells with finesse and a clear understanding of the role of this pertinent, yet absent, character within the plot as a whole.

His determination to not be contacted, whatever happens, preempts the drama which inevitably ensues regarding Miles' expulsion and the appearance of the ghosts. The world that the governess is thrust into, which she seems so confident and comfortable about during her interview, appears to revoke her from the outset, battling against her assumed position of authority within Bly House.

Her attempts to ensure the happiness of her pupils appears to be naive, with the governess' language often being more childish than Miles’. The audience are shown a young woman, clearly not mentally strong enough to cope with the young boy and his younger sister whose slips of the tongue are corrected by her dominating brother.

Lucy Morton, who plays the char-

acter of Flora, alternating with two other young actresses (Emilia Jones and Isabella Blake Thomas), holds her character's morbid allusions to death and lewdness with a fortitude which leaves the audience with a clear impression of a child that has been psychologically traumatised.

Miles, played by Laurence Belcher, captures the audience with a lexicon that clearly tainted by an influential older figure, such as Quint. His charming actions, innocent appearance and thirst for knowledge contrasts with an undertone of a threatening desire for power and manipulation balanced perfectly by Belcher, leaving the audience gripped as we oscillate between fear of and fear for Miles.

Brittany Morgan GREAT EXPECTATIONS, I certainly had some. Charles Dickens’s epic is considered one of the finest examples of Victorian literature, exploring the themes of tragedy, horror, and unrequited love in a society defined by strict social barriers.

Joe Clifford and Graham McLaren, both accomplished veterans of the theatre, were no doubt ambitious in their quest to adapt the story to two hours of theatre, however the final result is disappointingly flat production, lacking the nuances and comedic aspects of Dickens’ original work.

Just as James never reveals the name of the governess, there is the potential to overlook the important names involved backstage in the production of The Turn of the Screw.

The play begins with the adult versions of Estella and Pip, played by Grace Rowe and Paul Nivison , returning to derelict Satis House, tormented by the memories of Mrs Havisham and searching for answers in the shadowy recesses of their memory.

Most notably, the fabulous illusions created by Scott Penrose (a member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star) result in shrieks of terror erupting from even the most seasoned gothic horror fans.

Nivison is relegated to the background mostly, sat watching the action whilst supplying lines meant to keep the lagging passage of the narrative moving quickly, and failing to do so.

As Quint appears to possess the abilities to pass through solid surfaces and materialise from thin air, the audience are left wondering how this feat is truly possible whilst his gaunt, pale face stalks after the governess.

Rowe is equally as bland in her attempt to capture the haughtiness that was bred into Estella, and the younger Pip, played by Taylor Jay Davies is unceasingly two-dimensional, leaving the relationship be-

tween the two leads to become a limp strand that does not excite any strong emotion from the audience.

Mrs Havisham, an eerie and intricate character, falls prey to the time constraints of the play, reduced to a ghoulish caricature by Paula Wilcox who is left, due to the one dimensional nature of the set, to inhabit chairs placed on the edges of the stage.

It is the set, perhaps, which leaves you with a feeling that the story has not been told fully, as it does not change from the crumbling and gilded walls of the derelict house for the entire 2 hours.

If people feel I am judging this too harshly, you are probably correct.

It is by no means a bad production, and the cast should be applauded for stretching out the little they are given to work with.

This Great Expectations no doubt hopes to ride on the resurgence of enthusiasm for Dickens that accompanied BBC 1’s 3-part adaptation and the Hollywood feature film, however from my experience it will only serve as a reminder that some stories should be kept away from the stage.

Unless the audience is willing to sit through a five-hour production, the psychological aspects and comedic details of Dickens’ greatest work will remain unexplored.

27th February - 17th March 2013

NEWS ARTS Samuel Spencer Arts Editor arts@roarnews.co.uk

@samspencer1993 @onechaptermore

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PICASSO:1901 FUN BLINDED BY THE LIGHT SHOW

Samuel Spencer WHEN imagining Picasso, it’s almost as if we see his name in capital letters. PICASSO, the genius painter with the bald head and starey eyes.

It’s hard to remember that he didn’t emerge fully-formed out of some sort of cubist egg, that he too was once a student who had to learn how to paint; that he too was once an awkward teenager.

This is a state of affairs that the latest Courtauld Gallery exhibition seeks to remedy. Titled ‘Picasso 1901’, it focuses, unsurprisingly, on the work the 19-year-old Picasso produced in that year for a show ran by his benefactor Ambroise Vollard (yes, art geeks out there, the Vollard of ‘the Vollard Suite’ shown at the British Museum last year).

Here, though, we are confronted with the principal issue with this show; Picasso was 19 when he produced these works. It seems not even Pablo is immune to the rule that all teenage art must be at least partly embarrassing.

Although the description tries to convince us that he is merely inspired by his predecessors and fellow artists such as Van Gogh, Velasquez and Goya, it does often seem like purely imitation.

An example of this is ‘Dwarf Dancer’ which takes the dwarf from ‘Las Meninas’ and paints her like an uninspired love child of Manet and Degas – his equivalent of those early pictures we all did recreating our favourite album covers, bands etc.

What is interesting in this early work, however, is the rush of ideas and the slight glimmers of Picasso as we know him coming through.

Picasso worked frantically on the works that make up the first half of this show, often producing three paintings a day, and whilst it often comes across as rushed, at its best it gives work a fascinating youthful energy.

The show only gets truly interesting, however, in its second room, in which we see Picasso moving from movement to melancholy as he confronts the meaty art issues of death and the self.

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‘Casagenes in his Coffin’ (above), in which he paints an elegy for his fallen friend, beginning his ‘blue period’ in stunning fashion with a portrait that is both beautifully restful and discorcertingly turbulent, dead and alive, sombre and startling Not more startling, however, than the two self portraits in the exhibition , both titled ‘Yo - Picasso’ (yes, really - it means ‘I’ in Spanish...), of which the most interesting is the second, unfinished work.

In this painting, Picasso ‘s infamous stare is locked straight on the viewer, with the unfinished background showing the artist in the process materialising - a process that could be said to sum up the entire show.

From this point on the exhibition goes from strength to strength, as he moves from imitating apprentice to inventive master, and all the Picasso tropes begin to fall into place.

Whereas before this point he has been merely copying his contemporaries, the remaining works show his taking on their subject matter and forms and emphatically making them his own.

James Roadnight IT’S HARD TO THINK of a better space for ‘Light Show’ than the brutalist structure of the Hayward. Its daylight deprived, cavernous spaces are the perfect theatre for shadow-play and light-trickery.

Running from January to mid-April, the South Bank gallery’s latest offering is something of a light art retrospective featuring 25 pivotal works from the 1960’s to present.

The exhibition is, above all, one to experience and enjoy, requiring little more from its visitors than immersion in, and visceral response to, the work.

Ranging from the therapeutic to the relatively trippy, the installations together consider the effects of light on human psychology and perception; packaged together as a pleasure trip for all.

Take Carlos Cruz-Diez’s ‘Chromosaturation’ consisting of three adjoining spaces, lit in blue, red and green respectively. The receptors in our eyes struggle to compensate for the fluctuation between one colour and another as, without contrast, the starkness of one room soon becomes commonplace until you move to the next.

But journeying from installation to installation I started to sense a haste or impatience within the gallery.

Immediately you are aware of the shortcomings of human perception; and then, just how much fun a show like this can be!

Dan Flavin’s seminal 1960s arrangements of neon tubes, for example.

Heralded as a shining light in contemporary installation, the late Flavin’s part in the ‘Light Show’ instead seemed to provide a mere distraction en route to more obvious and easily enjoyable instances of trickery and wit.

Likewise, Ólafur Elíasson's ‘Model for a Timeless Garden’ proves to be a popular attraction: a room of chattering strobe lights illuminating a long, broad shelf of fountains, spouts and arcs of water.

The effect is one of pure magic as, caught within the flash of a strobe, the water hangs transfixed and almost solid in an otherwise darkened room.

So all in all, then, there is no doubt that this is a flawed exhibition. Just as it would make for deeply awkward viewing if someone made a show of our teenage art, or published our teenage poetry, so too do the early works in this show feel a little embarrassing, especially considering the giddy stratospheres that Picasso would eventually ascend to.

However, the later works are worth the entrance price alone. - especially as, as with the entire Courtauld collection, it’s free entry with a student card...

That said I would definitely recommend The Hayward’s light show, especially Anthony McCall’s ‘You and I’. It is hard to exactly explain the experience involved in this work, or do it justice in a photograph … so just trust me on this one; this is not to be missed!

IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE END...OF MY SANITY

The tunnels create an illusion of how one imagines manic scientific organisations run, and how they’d be located. Furthermore, promenade allows for constant clever foreshadowing, playful images repeated in various guises and the story to progress despite the lack of any real intelligible dialogue for the whole 80 minutes I was in the performance space.

This is most clear in the work ‘Harlequin and Companion’ , in which he takes the ‘café scene’ that was immensely popular with painters of the time and places within it a harlequin, one of the figures that would quickly become part of his painterly vocabulary.

In fact, the gap in terms of quality between these works and those that preceded them is so huge that if it weren’t for the heavy repetition of ‘1901’ throughtout the exhibit it would be almost impossible they believe that they came from the same year.

As if at a funfair, queues for the most popular exhibits were considerable whilst some of the more sensitive - less ‘fun’ - works are treated with an air of benevolence.

I

Max Edwards

IN A WORD? BATSHIT MENTAL. OK, that is two words, but you get the gist. However, ‘batshit mental’ is not a bad thing. Dreamthinkspeak’s latest production might be the coolest thing I’ve seen this year. Situated in tunnels shared by King’s and Somerset House, it is both disorientating and strangely familiar, an intensely individual experience and something of a communal one.

In the Beginning... is a ‘promenade’ piece: the viewer is free to wander corridors and abandoned science labs, both interacting with elements and watching actors, who equally freely interact with the audience. In small groups, people set off at spe-

cific times, and there are no limits.

You are as free to leaf through a book on 1980s computing as you are to watch a German scientist write equations backwards in a blackboardcovered room. However, as you progress into the maze-like tunnels, a sense of purpose starts to emerge.

A series of mishaps occur, and domestic appliances go horribly wrong, often in hilarious ways.

It has the effect of installation art mees theatre. There are dioramas and videos external to live-action theatre that audiences are used to, and the main acting is circular, one 15 minute performance repeated throughout the night.

The play’s unique selling point is its careful blend of dystopian future storyline and careful use of the site.

The overall effect is profound mistrust of the self. I found myself constantly questioning whether I’d gotten the gist of something, whether I’d seen everything.

With no guidance (all the actors speak in foreign languages) I felt curiosly detached, yet bound communally with fellow audience members.

The looks of bafflement on their faces echoed mine, and at one stage I found myself discussing recursion and Da Vinci with a Glasgow banker...

That sums up the performance to me. It’s a universal. Bits will make you crack up and bits will make.

All of it, however, will make you and everyone else in your timeslot go ‘Wow’. Yes, it has its faults, and yes, at times it takes its baffling nature a couple of steps too far, but In the Beginning... is an excellent, and above all thought provoking, show.

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27th February - 17th March 2013

FASHION Eva Chaideftos Fashion & Lifestyle Editor fashion@roarnews.co.uk

facebook.com/roarnews

SS 13 HIGH STREET TRENDS FASHION REPORTER NINA SANDHAUS PICKS OUT THE TRENDIEST HIGH STREET PIECES FOR YOU! Nina Sandhaus

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FASHION seasons are never defined by any one particular style and SS13 is no exception to that rule! The key trends seen across the designers ranged from sporty bomber jackets to romantic florals, to space-age silver. Whichever trend might take your fancy, there is no short supply of simple (and more elaborate) high street interpretations to dip into your student pockets for. I had to make a concerted effort to not just end up writing an ode to Topshop – Philip Green’s powerhouse does catwalk to high-street so excessively well – but have had a scout around to offer some student-budget friendly interpretations of SS13.

Bomber jackets were the jacket of choice for this year’s spring cover-ups, but how do you sport one without looking like an extra from the cast of Saved By The Bell? Combine 2 key catwalk trends in one item and pretty it up with an embroidered oriental print (Topshop, £65) (1) Alternatively, the mesh sleeve on this red number gives the jacket a tougher edge, showing the influence of mesh fabric constructions exhibited by designers such as Jason Wu and Alexander McQueen (Topshop, £50) (2)

Graphic prints were done by designers in bold black and white. But that doesn’t mean you have to look like a chess board or a zebra crossing.

If you want to have a play with it, check out ASOS’ fun checkerboard leggings (asos.com, £18) (3) Otherwise, H&M nailed the trend in various student-friendly priced pieces, like jersey dresses with stripes in the right shapes and angles for a flattering and eye-catching figure hugging fit! (H&M, £19.99) (4)

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In contrast, designers also offered up pretty pastel colours like a box of Laduree macaroons.

These shades pair well with romantically-frilled blouses (Warehouse, £40) (5) or on a pair of mint ice coloured shorts. (Topshop, £32) (6)

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SS13’s pencil skirts come with a seductive side split in them. Keep it elegant by making sure it doesn’t go too high! (Zara, £29.99) (7) Another key colour, crisp white, was used for both clothes and accessories on the catwalks. Some dresses may be ready for the sun (Topsop, £38) (8) but while it’s still chilly out, get a flash of bright into your warmest outfits with a crocodile (signature SS13 textile trend too!) clutch to sling over your shoulder (Whistles, £75) (9) or skip around the puddles in a pair of white shoes...and if you believe the folklore, only until Labor day! (Office, £55) (10)

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WHY WE LOVE AWARDS SEASON OUR OVERSEAS REPORTER LAUREN CLARK PICKS OUT THE FASHION WINNERS AND LOSERS OF THIS YEAR’S BAFTA, GRAMMYS AND GOLDEN GLOBES Lauren Clark

HELLO awards season. Or those first three months of the year that failed to get the Christmas-and-its-glitz are over memo, and the period when we feel doubly inadequate on our New Year cabbage soup diets as images of genetically-perfect celebrities are beamed around earth.

It may all be in the name of occasionally high-brow, artistic creativity, but as the hoard of best and worst dressed lists indicate, all the drama is in the fashion, or lack thereof. Minimalist ruled on the red carpet in 2013 as stylists accepted that less really was more. Bright, block colour dominated, with clean, graphic lines working a treat – anything too fussy or complex appearing tragically outdated.

The Oscars and BRITs may be yet to take place, but here is Roar! Fashion & Lifestyle’s pick of the hot and the horrendous from the ceremonies so far…

(For the full-length article, go to www.roarnews.co.uk)

BEST - Sarah Jessica Parker in Elie Saab; Working the tricky jumpsuit trend like only an SATC girl can.

(BAFTAs)

BEST- Rihanna in Azzedine Alaia; The singer looking fairly classy for once.

(GRAMMYS)

BEST- Thandie Newton in Giles; Proving that hemlines don’t have to be floor-length to make an impact (GOLDEN GLOBES)

WORST- Katy Perry in Gucci; No one needs to see that much cleavage, not even Russell B. (GOLDEN GLOBES)

27th February - 17th March 2013

LIFESTYLE

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Sneha Choudhury Fashion & Lifestyle Sub-Editor fashion@roarnews.co.uk

@roar_news

RE: SOCIAL AWKWARNESS Joel Cullberg Head

IT has come to my attention how much social awkwardness impedes the peaceful rhythm of everyday life. Or, at least in my everyday life.

Above: When Harry Met Sally: the tale of a friendship-turned-relationship

CAN MEN AND WOMEN BE “JUST FRIENDS”?

Christina Hills

THE scenario of one friend desperately desiring romance from another friend happens a lot - in film, fiction and in reality. However, unlike Harry in ‘When Harry met Sally,’ I wasn’t aware that such an occurrence was mutually exclusive with the possibility of a totally platonic male-female relationship.

and thoughts of romance are found secretly lurking in someone’s mind.

So to put it bluntly, men and women CAN just be friends. Yet, it is not always the case. This seemingly simple conclusion seems to have escaped the masses of journalists, psychologists and novelists alike, who have been trifled over this debate for centuries.

I’m female, heterosexual and have many male friends - with whom the prospect of romantic involvement has quite frankly never entered my mind. In contrast, I too have encountered male companions agonised by unrequited love for a female friend.

The most recent conquest to settle the ‘unanswered question’ came from a study by the Scientific American published just before Christmas. 88 undergraduate opposite-sex friends were taken into a lab and interrogated about any hidden romantic feelings.

Taking these two points into consideration, one simple observation would read – situations can and do exist whereby men and women can live side by side, without spontaneously lusting after one another and re-enacting scenes of 50 Shades of Grey variety. However, in some instances these ‘friend conventions’ fail

The grand conclusions were: some opposite-sex relationships were more platonic than others, and there were gender differences in the way males and females experienced the relationships. Men were more likely to be attracted to their female friends and were more likely to believe their attraction was mutual. Women were generally

blind to the romantic interest sought by their male friends and believed that their lack of interest was mutual.

While the conclusions are interesting, it hardly suggests that men and women cannot formulate friendships. Just that feelings can and do exist in cross-sex relationships, and these are skewed towards the men.

So maybe I am deluded for believing that my sexless feelings towards male companions were mutual?

Maybe I’m not. But one thing I can be certain, is that none of my crosssex relationships have been sent into turmoil due to them impinging on sexual territory. The mere idea that any unrequited feelings felt by either member of a cross-sex relationship would lead to its dissolution seems absurd. Perhaps the opposite is true.

Last week I was walking down the road and up ahead I see someone approaching to whom I’m acquainted (one of those people you’re not actually friends with, but have spoken to briefly once or twice). The person in question looks up and says, in passing, “Hey, you’re alright?” – but instead of stopping just continues walking. This means I have about one or two seconds to answer his question – whether I’m alright or not – as well as ask him the same question back so as to adhere to social conventions.

What this resulted in was a very rapid albeit fragmentary flow of words, describing my current state of being (I was alright). However, before I’d even got to asking him the question we were at this point some distance from each other, so I was at this stage walking with my head turned back almost shouting “And how are you?” As you may imagine, I looked like a fool.

Since then, I actually cross the road, hide behind a stack of onions in Sainsbury’s, or change carriage on the Tube when I see that a similar situation may arise. Some may say that this is one of those first world problems, like buying too many crisps and too little dip. However, unlike the crisp and dip example, social awkwardness

actually brings real problems with it.

Using a bit of ill-informed and improvised psychology, the root of social awkwardness is insecurity. It’s a fear of being in embarrassing situations in public, and this can span from the extreme of having Asperger’s to being mildly discomforted, where I believe I stand. Social awkwardness may lead you to miss out on opportunities in life, hinder you from voicing your opinions, or people taking advantage of you. Obviously the “fault” lies in the person in question, and can only be fixed by challenging yourself.

Two of our modern symbols of awkwardness, Michael Cera and Jonah Hill, epitomise my point in the 2007 film Superbad. Cera in particular manages to finally get his dream girl after overcoming his fear of getting close to her (this is not one of the film’s major themes, but that’s another discussion!).

My point is, if you are inconvenienced by social awkwardness, you need to take matters into your own hands because no one will do it for you. Keep a smile on your face, be approachable, and approach other people – I promise you’ll feel better! So the next time I’m walking back from Sainsbury’s, with the correct amount of crisps and dip, I will not cross the street to avoid what shouldn’t be avoided. Maybe I’ll even stop and strike up a real conversation. Who knows, it might even lead to a new friendship, or as for Michael Cera, something more.

Hopefully, the sexual attraction felt by some might add a certain dynamic to the friendship, aiding its longevity.

YUMMY OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIE RECIPE

baking tray, spaced apart to allow for spreading. Flatten them slightly with the back of a spoon.

Kristina Freeman

OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES!

4) Bake the cookies in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are just turning golden brown but the middles are still pale. Allow to cool for a minute or so, on the tray, before lifting onto a wire rack to cool completely (or eat straight from the oven!)

THESE are a healthier alterative to chocolate-chip cookies, lovely with a nice cup of tea.

You need: 4oz self-raising flour 2oz porridge oats 4oz light brown muscovado sugar 4oz margarine/butter 1 tablespoon golden syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4oz raisins 1) Preheat oven to 170°C/Gas Mark 3. Grease and line a baking tray, set

aside. In a mixing bowl, cream the margarine or butter with the muscovado sugar, golden syrup and vanilla extract.

2) Sieve the flour into the bowl and add the porridge oats into the mixture. Mix everything together until thoroughly combined. Now

carefully stir in the raisins in the mix.

3) Place heaped teaspoonfuls of the cookie dough onto the

• If you do fancy chocolate-chip cookies, just swap the oats for more flour and the raisins for chocolate-chips!

When I make a batch I like to make a bit of both…go on, mix it up a bit!

Enjoy!

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27th February - 17th March 2013

MUSIC Will Davenport Music Editor music@roarnews.co.uk

facebook.com/roarnews

DANCE REPORT A nighthawk’s musing on the state of London’s dance culture Jake Colvin IF you take a look at the top listings on Resident Advisor for the weekend, you’ll find that the majority of headline DJs that are playing expensive, established nights are from outside of the UK. Most of these big names are European – many of them are German, some French, Norwegian, Spanish – a few are American, South American and Australian. These are the guys doing extended performances, building expansive house and techno sets that span anywhere from two to six hours. This embracement of the predominantly European – apparently in divergence from recent political policies – is great. It’s a result of the resurgence in the popularity of techno, minimal and tech-house that you might tentatively be able to link with a recent rise in dance-festival culture, with British youth discovering Berlin, or with the increased popularity of dance and electronic music as a whole. But where do UK producers and DJs fit into the London scene now? As Idris Elba told us in August 2012, in the well-intended but slightly bizarre Channel 4 documentary How Clubbing Changed the World, one of our strongest recent cultural exports – to America at least – seems to have been dance music, in the form of dub

step. Setting aside the programme’s disjointed leaps between time periods and its depressing byline, which congratulates British enterprise without irony on turning a “counter-cultural movement that defined a generation [in]to a multi-billion-pound business”, it was correct in recognising dance music and rave as the continuation of a history of innovative British musical movements. Without wanting to reject the Euro-leanings of some London nights, what are groups of DJs and producers gaining momentum in dance doing more locally? Ignoring isolated Soundcloud-

heroes, what palpable movements are establishing themselves across a variety of media in the capital?

The dominant sound on the majority of pirate radio stations in London today is house. You can hear a 4x4 kick drum beating away over many of the scheduled programmes on the varied rosters of Rinse and Deja Vu FM. Randomly wind the dial on an FM radio and you’re likely to come across a whole series of stations dedicated to house music, particularly of the deep and tech variety: Project Radio plays purely house and techno and House FM lives up to its name. Though the DJs are selecting tracks from a broad set of European labels, there is something specific to a London locale happening here.

Mark Radford, whose addition to Rinse’s regular team in 2011 signalled the burgeoning importance of the music he’d been pushing at the kind of “no trainers”/“ladies’ dress code smart and sexy”/“gents 23+” nights you see advertised on posters at traffic lights, plays a combination of dark yet melodious deep- and techhouse tracks. They’re tuneful, and owe a lot to an updated disco sound.

Slightly cheesy vocals filter through old school drum machine grooves that

clock in at no more than 125 BPM. Julio Bashmore’s ‘Au Seve’ was a monstrous crossover hit in the scene, but much of the music is more pared down than that, employing a syncopated disco bass as opposed to Bashmore’s straightforward main-room swagger. Adam Cotier, Shea Burke, Lance Morgan and Riaz Dhanani are key names pushing the same sound at nights like ‘Ava Word’ and ‘Can’t Stop Won’t Stop’. Radford’s freshly inaugurated label Audio Rehab can be relied upon to showcase some of the latest home-grown takes on this music but, as far as I can see yet, it’s

largely a DJ-as-selector-driven culture, rather than a producer/DJ setup.

As a result of the distinctly danceable weight to this music, and perhaps the fact that it’s the stuff that UK funky fans have moved onto (a scene in which skanking and self-expression were prevalent) it’s the actual type of dancing you might see at a night with these guys on the bill that’s diverted attention from the musical developments beneath. I’m talking about shuffling, a dance that’s garnered enough controversy to have been covered by Mixmag, the Guardian, Vice’s blog, and countless others. The dance centres around a skippy, foot-flicking and ankle-spraining movement

that takes its performer on a 3-metre square tour of the dancefloor. Done well it looks slightly goofy but a shitload of fun, as Youtube uploads from Shapecutters Incorperated [sic] and S-Star TV prove. Established house nights and their patrons have been taking offence to shufflers supposed-

ly for their discourteous dancing and ‘bad attitudes’. Some, like Creche, going as far as to post warning messages banning shufflers from attending their nights on Facebook. Antishuffling commentary is centred on a ‘this is our music’ snobbery, the noise of which has sadly detracted from the hopeful, productive messages being pushed by the shufflers themselves, which ironically sets them far apart from the aggression of the Grime scene. For me, a continuous mix of the stuff favoured by shufflers, or by Marcus Nasty with his faster variants, isn’t quite grabbing enough to feel

enthused by it when it’s not played in the right environment. But the standout tracks in these sets, the gradual introduction of talented UK funky producers, and the possibilities for this to merge with Northern England’s jackin’ house, prove that the scene is on the verge of something special.

What’s more, as the success of Julio Bashmore demonstrates, there’s a potential for overlap between shuffling and what is left of the ‘UK Bass’ scene in London. With the majority of, for want of a better term, postdubstep fans gravitating towards the less-frenetic sound of 90s New York garage over ‘future garage’ or ‘bass music’, there’s a convergence of in-

terest in house between shufflers and student dance fans (although the different venues and nights attended by each group keep them apart). Bicep, who began as a group of bloggers and progressed to setting up the hugelyhyped house label Feel My Bicep, seem to be spearheading the shift over recent months. The Irish group post classic house tunes to their blog, and their sets, which often encompass tracks only available on vinyl, are perhaps responsible for inspiring a return to a crate-digging aesthetic of old.

Artists like Ejeca and Medlar take up the same direction as the Bicep crew.

You might hear their tracks in a set alongside the less interesting, more house-by-numbers offerings of Kidknap Kid, Kry Wolf and Gorgon City, along with the pop styling of Disclosure and Shadow Child. Bicep, Ejeca and Medlar have definitely got something right about their sound, but it also seems stuck in nostalgia mode.

Some of the tracks don’t just take elements from older producers like Kerri Chandler, they sound almost like they could have been made by him. The tracks have catchy hooks and they’re infinitely danceable, but to me new music shouldn’t feel stifled by constant and respectful imitation of established conventions. I’d rather hear something grittier and less sure of its points of reference.

Someone at this grittier, free-floating side of things is Blawan. Blawan’s breakthrough in the UK and Euro-

pean dance scene introduced a large proportion of the post-dubstep contingent to techno. Now almost any producer originating from this group is, fairly or not, labelled a Blawanimitator if their tracks contain a driving techno rhythm and a percussive focus. Paleman, Ziro and Artifact work primarily with percussive elements, and have clearly found their way around soundscapes and audio techniques, but are distanced from Blawan in their leaning towards techhouse. None of these three reside in London as far as I’m aware, but their sound is the sort that might be brought in for Sessions, the night at Corsica Studios that replaced Church (which has now moved on to bigger but more

poorly organised ventures). This group’s efforts to make ‘sexy’ tunes can get cringey, and stuff by South London Ordnance and Happa rings out a little soulless. But the music is exploring a potentially exciting avenue that works well on the dancefloor, recreating the power of big players Joy O and Boddika’s Sunklo releases without rehashing the same palette.

One London based artist to watch in particular here would be Neana.

At present, the new UK tech-house you might hear at Sessions is appreciated largely by producers and DJs. There isn’t much of a groundswell of dancers behind it, although this is perhaps shifting slowly. Bicep and the 90s throwbacks have more of a funloving following, but it is the shuffling sound that has the most emphasis on dancing and movement. Some of the videos on YouTube are examples of ‘posing’, but others represent an attitude that views the audience-participant as being as valuable as the DJ. What that emphasis has the potential to do is draw out a sense of communality in London’s clubbing scene that could seep into the tone of the capital’s club culture as a whole. A feeling of unrest with the expensive nights of mainstream clubs in London, which isn’t quite balanced by the hit-and-miss warehouse parties also on offer, is slowly coming together with confident younger promoters looking to do something different, decidedly collective, and uniquely relevant to their environment.

27th February - 17th March 2013

NEWS MUSIC

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OF A THURSDAY EVENING FOLLOWING on from the tremendously successful sister night ‘Church’, Sessions is a free entry party every Thursday night at Corsica Studios in Elephant & Castle.

Tim Coleman SESSIONS Corsica Studios 11PM - 3AM

Despite it’s offbeat timing, the night never fails to draw in a large crowd – likely due to it’s shrewd marketing and, for now, the complete lack of alternatives. Londoners in my experience are far more reluctant to start the weekend early than their provincial counterparts, and though there may be alternative cheap week nights – Walkabout being the obvious one, but the less said about that the better – there are few, if any, which are dedicated to underground music.

Sessions runs the gambit from the serious side of techno and house to

more light-hearted garage and disco, meaning you’re often as likely to hear Boddika as you are Craig David. Troupe will soon be launching their weekly Thursday party ‘Vrybody’ at Basing House on the third of March, meaning Sessions will soon have competition. Whether it will be able to compete only time will tell, but the success of Church’s Happa – a 15 year old UK techno producer who stepped out of the shadows and straight onto some of the biggest line ups in London – is a testament to the power of these midweek nights as a stepping stone for the artists involved.

Because of the relatively unknown DJs, the free entry and the midweek timing, Sessions feels more like an actual party than many other nights; unpretentious and centred around

having a good time, whilst giving new artists a platform and a receptive audience. For this reason, it’s the perfect night to attend for students just getting into underground music.

Unfortunately the crowd has deteriorated somewhat lately; a victim of it’s own success perhaps, as more and more chancers materialise who appear to have little affinity for the music and are more interested in the scantily clad 18 year old hipster girls.

Despite this the atmosphere is still fantastic, and the sound systems in both of Corsica’s two rooms are up there with the clearest in London.

This is a mixed blessing, as it can be a little brutal in demonstrating the occasional weaknesses in the mixing of inexperienced DJs. Equally, whilst the nights are consistently good, on an individual basis performances can be a little hit and miss; I would guess a lack of experience and too much ketamine is often the reason for some artists to miss the mark quite spectac-

ularly. Interestingly, the more experienced DJs will often treat the night as a litmus test for their own burgeoning styles, resulting in a very different experience from seeing them on a Friday or Saturday night. Serious techno gives way to light-hearted disco, which is perhaps a little more suitable for a crowd with less patience that is more often drunk than anything else.

Last week’s Sessions welcomed two artists to watch in 2013: namely Tanka – who’s bouncy, pad-laden track Salwa recently made it to number 1 on Beatport’s Electronica list – and Mak & Pasteman, who as well as remixing for the likes of Bondax, were behind the near ubiquotous ‘Me & U’ bootleg that smashed dancefloors throughout 2012.

If this kind of music appeals to you, this Thursday offers sets from Black Butter Records’ My Nu Leng and 19-year old producer, Richard Aki.

KCL RADIO GOES LIVE

MIX OF THE HOUR

ONEMAN is something of an anomaly in the UK music scene.

Building a reputation based on fusing homegrown British music like garage, UK funky and grime with imported mainstream American hiphop and trap, his name is often to be found on line-ups featuring predominantely house and techno artists.

ONEMAN Solitaire Vol. 1

He is equally synonymous with the minimal, percussive Hessle Audio scene as he is with raucous trap nights. But the biggest unique strength of his DJing – that he cherry picks from mainstream music – was

arguably a weakness in his recent Fabriclive release. Unable to licence more commercial tunes he was forced to rely on underground tracks, and whilst the album was brilliantly put together, it lacked some of his distinctive character for that reason.

Luckily, he is not slave to copyright law on mixtape releases such as this, and Solitaire Vol.1 is peppered with recognisable tunes and mash-ups by the man himself.

Recently Oneman has been flexing his production skills with a handful of edits, as well as a solid remix of The xx’s ‘Chained’, which turned a moody original into upbeat tropical house. The included Waka Flocka vs Ginuwine track goes down particu-

THE Mix Show is the first regular music broadcast to go live on KCL Radio. The show airs every Thursday at 1-3pm and features four DJs drawing for a variety of electronic sounds. Tune in for a continuous mix of the freshest House releases from Miriam and Aaron, darker Techno and UK Funky cuts from Jake, and an eclectic selection ranging from South African house obscurities to Grimey bangers from James.

Visit www.KCLRadio.co.uk or search KCL Radio on Facebook to lock in anywhere from the library to your lecture hall.

larly well, placing a fresh, danceable twist on a tired and ubiquitous vocal.

only fault I could pick with the mixing is that the music played benefits from the more aggressive, intuitive techniques of live performance, and loses some of its impetus when pre-meditated to this extent.

The mix itself slowly picks up into Oneman’s traditional pace, thundering along with inimitable energy.

At one hour and twenty minutes, the additional length also allows for a gradual introduction of airy vocals and stripped back house. Into the body of the mix and it’s familiar ground, Oneman mixing his unique brand of dark, metallic UK funky with energetic hip-hop and grime, old classics like Dizzee Rascal’s ‘I Luv U’ making an appearance alongside new material – most notably for me, Trusta’s ‘Bulletproof’ is bumpy, bass-driven tech house with a distinctive ghetto edge.

As tight and precise as ever, the

If you want to get involved in KCL Radio to produce a music show, email Music.Editor@KCLRadio.co.uk, Broadcast.Controller@KCLRadio.co.uk or Head.Programmer@ KCLRadio.co.uk.

This aside, his understanding of light and dark and his aptitude for mixing recognisable vocal tunes with underground rollers make the mix enjoyable from start to finish, and the extra versatility on show leaves me with a lasting sense of respect for a man who truly refuses to be pigeonholed.

Head to www.djoneman.net and the mix is yours for the price of an email address.

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27th February - 17th March 2013

KING’S TV

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MADE IN KING’S: A LOAD OF DROSS? Sam Cleal

But bear with us: we’re learning on the job to perfect these skills and talents!

IT’S hardly Homeland, and very unlikely to be watched by Barack Obama, but Made in Chelsea is definitely a show I keep up with when it is on, so a spoof seemed like a good idea; not too hard to write or produce, and terrible enough to be parodied easily.

In terms of the criticism against the project, I’ve never been one to suck culture’s dick to make myself look good.

Whether I’m writing an article or writing my Facebook bio. I’ll make a fool of myself and have fun doing it, and that’s what Made in King’s is about.

After all, this is the script that tells us “capitalism makes you beautiful” and women are to be picked up like cans on a shelf. Of course we’re not doing this for real!

We’re not offended, of course, and why should we be? We’ve been given the all clear to have another try at this after all.

But as soon as it appeared on Facebook, part of me knew that people would hate the project as soon as they saw the logo.

More than anything, however, I would like to apologise sincerely for the severe delay in releasing episode one – you must know how these things go. But stay with us!

And, of course, it didn’t help that it was not made completely obvious what our conceit was for the show.

And if you think you can do better, then come along to our meeting, tell us what we’re doing wrong and help us correct it.

But for those who pressed the “like” button, despite a sense of moral compromise bubbling within them, I can only apologise that Made in King’s has not yet got off of the ground.

While it has been a bit lost prior to the reshuffle that has taken place in the project this semester, we remain firm in our purpose: to ridicule posh folk for your entertainment.

Our efforts to produce Made in King’s have been mainly stunted by

It was never going to be everyone’s cup of belvedere pomarancza – we knew that. the fact that we are a new station and that we all have degrees to be getting on with. But with episode one well on its way (with a provisional release date of March 1st,) we want to have made five episodes by the

time the curtain calls on series one.

Comedy has become our primary focus.

Though none of us are quite Sam Bain, Julia Davis or Graham Lineham, we are still keen to emulate the

biting satire of some of the writers of our favourite shows. Incorporating the goings-on of a King’s student in our storylines is another, as well as professional technicality too.

But think of Made in King’s as an opportunity to continue the joke that Made in Chelsea started about young elitists and awkward infatuates being great TV - because that’s how I’m writing it.

27th February - 17th March 2013

NEWSTV KING’S

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A WORD FROM THE STATION MANAGER Vieri Capretta

2012/2013 has been an interesting year so far. We all still miss the Olympics, but nobody really wants to admit that anymore. The economy is still missing, and the Treasury can’t remember where they last saw it. The burger you last ate was probably last seen falling at a hurdle at Aintree, and economists & mathematicians everywhere get together once every month to invent new words to explain to us just how expensive life is.

But honestly, it’s not all dour looks credit checks and horse meat scandals.

There’s always TV. KingsTV to be

Student precise.

Originally starting life as ‘KCLtv’ & with the gracious support of the Kings Annual Fund, we were able to begin the hard work of establishing a student television station at Kings to sit alongside Roar! and KCL Radio. Soon ‘KCLtv’ became ‘KingsTV’, as we rebranded ourselves looking to create an identity that we felt would better reflect the mass of creative talent here at Kings.

Working with us is easy. As a member you’ve got opportunities to develop your own shows and content ideas. If you want us to cover your event, you can always contact us through our facebook page or on twitter or email us at. ‘Where can we watch KingsTV?!’ we hear you cry! Well, our latest content can be

THE REBRAND Sam Cleal

found on our YouTube channel, and we’re looking at other ways for you to be able to watch ‘KingsTV’ too!

And to top off our first real year of operation as Kings very own student television station, we’re going to be travelling to the National Student Television Awards this year at the University of Exeter this April, submitting our content against some of the very best stations from across the UK. Get involved.

We’d to have you on the

love team.

FB url: http://www.facebook.com/ KingsTVLondon twitter: @KingsTVLondon Youtube channel: youtube.com/kingscollegelondontv

KINGSTV has rebranded! In the wake of the recent expansion of KingsTV’s executive committee, we have recollected ourselves and assessed our aims as TV station – and not a society – and launched our new “long live the king” brand campaign complete with a new logo to feature across all of our projects and outputs. Inspired by a move towards something more minimalist and aesthetically dynamic, KingsTV hopes the new look of the station will make us more identifiable and will help us appear across King’s College as a more striking and professional media station.

We have followed in the footsteps of fellow student TV stations across

the UK to create a cohesive, visible arena for television at King’s. The logo was created by Sam Cleal, and is the original conception of many of the committee members in concert.

It represents the start of KingsTV realising its potential, both creatively and technically. We understand that the source of this potential is, of course, the people we employ, and we would like encourage those who feel they can contribute to their university’s one and only TV station this to get involved. But, we would also like to thank KCLSU for supporting us in our quest to form a tangible televisual medium at King’s, which emulates professional TV standards.

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27th February - 17th March 2013

FEATURES Anthony Shaw Features Editor features@roarnews.co.uk

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IS UNIVERSITY EDUCATION BETTER IN AMERICA?

James Thorpe

I’VE BEEN TO UNC for six weeks and unsurprisingly it’s been fun.

But I didn’t expect to think the University system could be better here.

In England, it seems that lecturing is an annoyance, a necessary evil, for professors. The average lecture at KCL has been led by a clearly knowledgeable but only vaguely interested lecturer and I know this isn’t unique to English Literature.

The ensuing awkwardness leads to a rapid disinterest in your course.

At UNC, the lecturers seem infinitely more interested in you and the class.

The important word here is ‘class’: I have 12 hours of class across four modules. Class is halfway between a lecture and seminar - the professor asking provocative questions without shirking the responsibility to give insight students don’t have.

In my theatre class the other day, the professor could see I had an idea and challenged me to put it forward.

She listened, responded, and a class discussion ensued. At King’s, a large portion of a fifty-minute seminar is wasted because the lecturer has failed to provoke a group discussion.

Another problem blighting humani-

ties subjects in the UK is a result of the seeming indifference to teaching: assessment is almost laughably infrequent. In a module last semester, an essay at the very end of the semester formed 95% of that module grade.

This gives little incentive to stay on top of reading or even go to seminars.

and I’m sure students feel it’s not worth the astronomical price tag.

However, the UK system has a lot

to learn from the American style.

Hopefully it is not too optimistic to expect that the British govern-

ment will use the new £9000 fees to install better teaching practices.

At UNC, module grades are determined by three to five essays or exams as well as ‘pop quizzes’, short tests given without warning asking simple questions on that week’s text. This means it is very difficult to get away with not doing the reading. Last week I faced the humiliation of telling my Professor I couldn’t take the quiz because I hadn’t read the text. She was surprised and said it was quite unusual for a student to be so unprepared.

The system here is designed to keep you engaged and on your toes, week in week out.

But the US system is not without fault: University over here is extremely expensive. If you went to UNC this year as an out of state resident you paid over £18,000 for tuition. Add other expenses to this and UNC expects you to spend £28,000 per year.

Although teaching and assessment standards are more stringent, the final product at University is the same

NETFLIX BUILDS THEIR HOUSE OF CARDS

Niall Murphy

A BIG NAME movie star dropping to the small screen to dramatise what really goes on in Washington, you can be forgiven for instantly drawing parallels with The West Wing before viewing new series House of Cards.

But within the first five minutes you can tell that this is a very different take on the American political landscape.

Based on the 1990s British series of the same name, House of Cards sees Congressional whip Frank Underwood betrayed by the incoming President on the promise of Secretary

of State. Underwood subsequently proceeds to plot the downfall of those around him in his quest for power, vengeance and a seat at the top table.

The series is driven by the intensity, deceit and Southern charm of Underwood, brilliantly portrayed by Kevin Spacey, leaving you wondering to what depths he would not sink in pursuit of his goals. His frequent breaking of the fourth wall, taken from the original, works well to cleverly let the audience in on his every Machiavellian move. Spacey’s return to serial television after more than twenty years sees one of Hollywood’s finest actors in arguably his best work in

several years. But he is not alone in shining with several standout characters on show, each with just as much ambition for their own professional and political power. In particular Robin Wright, as Underwood’s cold and calculated wife Claire, stands out amongst the supporting cast to compliment Spacey and epitomise a modern day Lady Macbeth.

House of Cards is unique though in not just the quality of its cast and production but in its broadcast; a television series not on television which marks Netflix’s first foray into original programming. Until now Netflix’s streaming service has provided ac-

cess to anything from Fawlty Towers to Lost, alongside an expanding catalogue of films. Given their inexperience at original material, the wealth of quality in rival programming and the estimated $100 million production costs, Netflix seem to have bet big and gone all-in on House of Cards.

This gamble however has paid off immensely and it has not been down to luck. With House of Cards Netflix has capitalised on several of the growing trends in TV at the moment.

Very much in the mould of HBO the benchmark of TV quality – the absence of advertisers has allowed creativity and writing to be at the forefront of production rather than chasing ratings and investment.

They bravely commissioned a second season before work had even begun on the first allowing the creators to plan a grand narrative, very much the downfall of many programmes that live under the weekly threat of cancelation. The fictionalisation of politics is a good choice as well with the recent popularity of Homeland, Borgen, The Killing, Newsroom and even comedies such as The Thick of It, Veep, and Parks and Recreation.

An infighting coalition government and a polarised US election have no doubt left many wanting a look inside the dramatic world of politics.

Netflix have further sought to bring a slice of Hollywood to the small screen in not just the obvious casting of Spacey but in bringing David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club, Benjamin Button, The Social Network) to direct and launch the first few episodes before

stepping back into the producer role, similar to Scorsese’s involvement in Boardwalk Empire and Ridley Scott’s proposed new drama The Vatican.

Their most important decision though has been to deliver the whole series in its entirety from the off. Obviously unrestricted from a broadcast schedule Netflix has allowed you to binge on the whole season at once or watch it as casually as you like. Given the rise of streaming services, the popularity of DVD box sets and the ease with which most programmes can be found online, viewers are increasingly gorging on episodes, often seasons at a time; something Spacey himself pointed to in his decision to sign on. Though some of the suspense and word of mouth that can be built by a series over weeks has been lost, House of Cards is a series that easily leaves you wanting more after each episode and glad that you can delve straight into the next episode.

Netflix clearly sees itself as the future of television; programmes watched on demand at the viewer’s convenience and pleasure. And in terms of original programming they have not stopped at House of Cards with a variety of diverse shows underway, most notably a revival of the cult comedy Arrested Development.

Though the current business model leaves questions unanswered on whether they can sustain original programming alongside the major broadcasters, as long as they keep delivering jackpots to the standard of House of Cards that question can be left for another day.

27th February - 17th March 2013

FEATURES

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LABOUR NEED TO EMBRACE OSBORNE’S ‘SHIRKER V STRIVER’ DEBATE

Robbie Hirst

IN HIS 2012 autumn statement George Osborne expressed his clear disdain for those who refuse to work and are perceived to contribute little to society. The Chancellor described how “fairness is also about being fair to the person who leaves home every morning to go out to work and sees their neighbour asleep” and stated how the system has to be fair “to the working people who pay for it”. The Chancellor is attempting to target those on benefits who refuse to try to find work, and as a consequence he is introducing a real-terms cut to the Local Housing Allowance, Child Benefit, Jobseeker’s Allowance, and other so called ‘benefits’.

Labour need to seize on the idea, that rather than following the principle of incentivising work, Osborne is simply targeting those who, as a result of a flat lining economy, are not working. This can be done by asking the Chancellor why, if he is attempting to encourage people to find work, he has increased the inheritance tax nil band rate – the rate at which one starts to be taxed on inheritance - from £325,000 to £329,000. If the Chancellor wants to target shirkers of all kinds then he should be targeting those who rather than work simply inherit large amounts of money and then spend their mornings “asleep” while their neighbour “leaves home every morning to go to work”.

Some may ask ‘If the Chancellor is so concerned about the welfare of strivers why didn’t he use the money he has set aside to reduce inheritance tax, to further reduce income tax?’ There are multiple answers to this question, all which are damaging to the image of the Chancellor. The first answer is that by reducing inheritance tax, Osborne is protecting the interests of the elite. The average UK housing price stands at £249,958. It is clear this reduction in inheritance tax does not

benefit anyone other than those who are already well off. Also, increasing inheritance tax may hit Osborne a little bit too close to home. The second is that the Chancellor is only concerned with winning the next election and is reducing inheritance tax because a number of key seats happen to have an average property price higher than the £329,000 nil band rate. This can be seen best in London, which is the only region to have an average property price of above £329,000 - it stands at £461,018 - and happens to have ten labour seats in which a 5% swing away from Labour could lead to them losing the seat, eight of these would directly benefit the Conservatives. Thirdly, some may blindly argue that this is just good economics and by reducing taxes, the Chancellor is attempting to boost the economy.

for Jobseekers’ Allowance). This is because for those who earn as little as £56 per week, the incentive to get a job is much greater than someone who has just inherited upwards of £329,000.

such a policy, he can be labeled as an elitist who refuses to punish the shirkers who happen to have a lot of money but is more than happy to punish those who are in the opposite situation.

However, it is not enough for Labour to simply raise wealth-based taxes such as the inheritance tax and introduce other taxes such as the Mansion Tax; it is also important that they transfer the money raised from these taxes to finance reductions in income tax. This way, Labour can argue to be discouraging shirkers and encouraging strivers but also stimulating consumer demand in an economy which has fallen flat in recent years. Furthermore, if the Chancellor opposes

Although this article condemns the Chancellor’s labeling of all those on benefits as shirkers, it does not condemn the reduction of benefits, assuming there is a good reason for it.

Furthermore, it is clear that other groups in society are in far more need of encouragement to work than those on benefits, and that the Chancellor’s argument that he is attempting to incentivise the shirkers in our society to work carries no weight.

It may be argued by some that this article has been hypocritical. This is because, while the article criticises the Chancellor for labeling all those on benefits as shirkers, it does exactly the same thing to those who would be hit by an increase in inheritance tax or the introduction of a Mansion Tax, many of whom work very hard.

However, my proposal offsets the damage done to those strivers hit by an increase in inheritance tax by reducing income tax. In the case of the Benefits cut, because the striver is unable to find work and benefit from a reduction in income tax, they are treated in exactly the same as the shirker.

This argument may be true with a reduction in income tax but reducing inheritance tax will have very little effect on consumer spending. Just a small decrease in income tax for those earning the least is much more likely to be spent as these people can barely afford necessities, in turn boosting the consumer market.

The above argument makes it clear that Osborne is not really concerned about discouraging shirkers, he is simply aiming to make spending cuts in areas where the political effect would be negligible. Labour need to seize on the inconsistency of the Chancellor’s autumn statement where he seems to punish some people he has earmarked as shirkers and given a pat on the back to others. They can do this by targeting those who haven’t done a day’s work in their lives but still live in conditions of far greater standard than most people “who leave home every morning to go out to work”. Labour should be targeting those shirkers who live in luxury and encouraging them to work before we target those who earn between £56 and £111.45 per week (amount paid

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE AT SOHO THEATRE

Henry Cross

RUNNING a little counter to the usual Christmas cheers, it’s Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange how you’ve never seen it before. Apart from the all male cast, this Soho Theatre production really brings the original obscurity of the novel to the fore in this experimental and very interesting piece.

Alex and his three droogs still run amuck through the streets of a dystopian alternative reality, raping and pillaging all that lies in their wake.

Fans of the original Kubrick film, however, may be disappointed to learn that the scenes of ‘ultra-violence’ are now depicted as a kind of interpretative dance, accompanied by tunes such as The Gossips ‘Standing in the Way of Control’. Although the play’s director insists the play is neither gay nor straight, it is evident that homo-eroticism is an essential part of this retelling. The film still conveys the disturbing aspects of the novel, which it is safe to say should not be elaborated on here, and through its

interpretation adds a fantastical and alternative element to gritty realism.

The action is condensed into a not-really-long-enough hour and a half, and the cramming of so many narratives into such a short time really comes across in the somewhat jilted flow of the play.

This is in some ways understandable as the acting is done by entirely male cast of only around 10 people, who switch between the numerous characters that appear in the novel and film. Although the play misses out on many intricacies of the story, much can be said for the achievements of the cast in their portrayals.

New actor Martin McCreddie stands out particularly as the lead character Alex DeLarge (who’s surname is I’m quite sure used to play on the homoerotic nature of the play at some point).

He plays him with all the dynamism and viciousness needed to capture the personality of this socio-path. Also a stand-out was Stephen Spencer as Dim and the Minister of the Inferior (sorry Interior, as used in the play).

Overall the play appears as a jumbled mix incorporating elements from the original book and film as well as its own inventions. This leads to

what a somewhat confused production which is entertaining, but somehow misses many of the aspects that made the other versions so great.

Perhaps it shows that the theatre is not the best medium to remake this classic tale. I await any film version that may arise with anticipation.

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27th February - 17th March 2013

SPORT Liam Jackson Sports Editor sports@roarnews.co.uk

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KING’S HOCKEY CLUB Isaac Chan

After one of the most prolific seasons KCLHC had ever endured during 2011/12 we were under no illusions of the task we had in hand for the 2012/13 season.

Our 2nd XI, brilliantly led by our 2011/12 fines master, James Murphy, had been promoted in into South Eastern 3B. When you consider that only 3 years ago this was the same league our 1st XI were in, it really emphasises the growth of KCLHC. Our 1st XI went that step further with not only gaining promotion from their respective BUCS league (SE 2B), but also winning both the ULU league and the ULU cup. (And we still didn’t win KCLSU team of the year!) This year we will be playing in South Eastern 1A, playing against a host of top sport universities such as Reading, Portsmouth, St Mary’s, Chichester and Brunel. Despite this somewhat arduous task, our hopes were high under the leadership of our great Kaiser, William Connor.

Fresher’s week - probably the best week of any teenager’s life and this certainly lived up to expectation.

Over the two days at the annual Fresher Fair our intake was enormous, we were able to secure a wide range of talents, beginners, intermediates and

even a few real gems. We could all see real enthusiasm within the group and things looked great for our first couple of sessions. Unfortunately we were thrown a real curve ball when our head coach had to resign from his position due to personal reasons.

Despite the setback our sessions were still well attended and brilliantly led by 1st XI Captain, William Connor. With help from our generous old boys team (King’s and Alleyn’s Hockey Club) we were able to secure the services of Wesley Jackson, current East Grinstead 1st XI player. Which to those who don’t know, is one of the most successful hockey clubs in Britain.

this season. Too many times have we come away from games saying, “We should have won that one.”

Clearly, this has become too much of a habit this term, however both teams are by no means down and out.

A couple of wins for both teams will see us in good stead and secure stability in our respective BUCS leagues.

Even with our troubles in our respective BUCS leagues our Men’s 1s have had success in the new London University Sport Leagues (LUSL).

We currently sit 1st, ahead of UCL in the Premier Division. Indeed, re-

taining this league has now become one of our main priorities this year.

As usual, our off-pitch antics have been as strong as ever. Pub golf was a particular highlight this year, seeing around 30 boys and 30 girls pair off and gallivant all over Borough high street.

There were copious hole in ones, plenty of birdies and even a few water hazards, particularly on hole 4

by Hugh “pint off” Bushell… This year we hope to continue our strong social tradition as we tour the popular hockey destination, Amsterdam.

A date in the diary which never disappoints is the Macadam Cup. For the last four years KCLMHC have not lost to GKTHC in the Macadam Cup and we are optimistic that we can continue this impressive record against the medics. Make sure you don’t miss it and get down to Honor Oak Park!

A particular mention must also go to our main sponsor for the 2012/13 season, KPMG (www.kpmg.co.uk/ careers). Any sponsor is crucial to how a club operates, and we’re no different. Their funding has allowed us to support kit purchases as well as coaching and equipment costs.

With our freshers suitably “introduced” at are famous “welcome drinks” we were able to begin with proceedings for the year such as handing out our prestigious club tie and attending the annual KCLA games. Like last year, this was a great event held at Berrylands. It gave a few of our young and naïve fresher’s an understanding of what being a part of KCLHC is really about!

With introductions and pre-season over the first BUCS and the LUSL games were underway. Despite a promising intake of freshers as well as an encouraging pre-season, both teams have too often been on the losing side of too many games

NEW TECHNOLOGY ENSURES FUTURE OF UNIVERSITY TENNIS

Liam Jackson

Ever thought about playing tennis but then realising that 1) you don’t know where the nearest court is and 2) finding a court that isn’t a members-only club or a small fortune in London is difficult? Then read on.

Escalade Tennis has teamed up with

KCL Tennis to promote more tennis at university and get people of all abilities to get into the summer sport (if the sun ever comes out).

and Gareth Davies, to solve the problem of finding people to play tennis against in your local area, WHENEVER YOU WANT TO.

Escalade Tennis is a brand new venture offering online continuous tennis ladder leagues, that has been designed by two tennis players themselves, Warren Vasquez

For the more competittive among us, the leagues are designed to challenge yourself by being part of a league table which automatically keeps track of your position,

scores, and manages your matches.

someone of your own standard.

A league has been set up specifically for KCL students, to play against other KCL students, which is free to join.

There are also public and local leagues nationwide with membership free for 6 months.

Group tennis sessions and tennis coaching is also available for those who are beginners.

The KCL Tennis Club will be able to use the free Escalade League to automatically arrange all KCL tennis games & keep track of scores, without having to organise matches themselves, which everyone knows is a tedious thing to be doing when you play a few games a week. These fixtures can also be ‘friendlies’ or competitive matches.

Other London universities will also have their own Escalade leagues, and their tennis clubs will be able to use Escalade to arrange inter-university matches.

It will be rolling out to universities nationwide in the near future, so all universities can compete within themselves & inter-university It uses a unique algorithm to match players of a similar skill level, so you know you are competing against

Escalade Tennis will be organising a KCL social and prize-giving event when enough players from KCL have joined the league.

The consulting division of Enactus KCL has recently started working with the founders of Escalade Tennis to help launch the business - this is one of the projects that KCL’s Enactus team may present at next year’s Enactus National Competition, which we won in 2009 and came 2nd place in 2010.

So, not only is Escalade Tennis a great tool to make the lives of tennisloving KCL students much easier, but by supporting Escalade they are also supporting their KCL Enactus team and helping them have a great project to present at next year’s competition, which might help KCL to be National Champions once again.

You can check out the website at www.escalade-tennis.com

27th February - 17th March 2013

SPORT

23

@Liam_SportRoar

UFC LEGEND TEACHES MASTERCLASS

Areeb Ullah

sports in the world. Having been an amalgamation of boxing, wrestling, Judo, Muay Thai and numerous other martial arts that exist, it has been beating boxing and wrestling in the TV ratings over the last few years.

King’s College London Muay Thai Society was joined by a special guest when UFC legend Brad Pickett aka ‘One Punch Mickey’ made a guest appearance at their Friday night training session.

Vice President of the KCL Muay Thai Society, and Master’s student at the Guy’s Campus Dan Rhodes, was one of the few lucky people who attended Pickett’s masterclass. Rhodes, who has been a practitioner of Muay Thai for over two years said “the fact that UFC have taken an interest in obviously quite small clubs like this is brilliant. Not only does it help raise the profile for the sport nationally, but also locally at King’s is well. And if that means more people come and are interested in what we do then that’s great. We are really inclusive and an open space for all. For people here who support UFC, it’s brilliant.”

Pickett, known for being one of the shortest and fastest UFC fighters, came to King’s as part of a promotional tour, marketing his upcoming fight in Sweden against Mike Easton on April 6th. Originally hailing from East London, Pickett started life as a boxer, before adopting mixed martial arts (MMA) and competing professionally at the UFC. Whilst at KCL, Pickett gave a one hour masterclass in MMA, teaching members of KCL Muay Thai MMA moves from the optimum leg submission, to choke techniques he personally uses to corner his opponents.

Pickett spoke passionately to Roar! about how he “personally likes teaching.. I like doing seminars anyway... this was a crash course because normally I do three hour seminars but it’s nice to just spread the word about MMA out a bit more, just to help the sport grow. I’m all about the sport

Rhodes also spoke about how KCL Muay Thai society has created a large following on campus and are planning to introduce another training session during the week. and just love helping it develop”.

MMA according to Pickett has grown ‘ten-fold’ since he began the sport.

Citing how when he was growing

up, football and boxing were the top sports kids wanted to take up professionally, but now its MMA as gyms teaching MMA have prolifer-

ated across the country and world.

UFC, an acronym for Ultimate Fighting Championship is regarded as one of the most popular and violent

For those interested in taking Muay Thai, head to KCL Muay Thai’s training sessions at the Pavy Gym every Monday and Friday at 6pm (£3).