20th OCT 2014/ ISSUE 06 FREE
MANCHESTER’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
NUS refuse to condemn ISIS
WWW.MANCUNION.COM
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Is writing as a career still financially viable?
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Fracking plans revealed as “seriously flawed”.
There’s no ‘I’ in ‘equal’
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MBS to be renamed after £15 million donation
Manchester Business School is to be renamed ‘Alliance Manchester Business School’ in honour of landmark donation . Photo: Blithe Mik@ Flickr
Anna Phillips News Editor The University of Manchester has received a landmark donation for the development of Manchester Business School, from Lord David Alliance of Manchester and his fellow trustees of the Alliance Family Foundation. The donation of £15 million will be invested in the School’s new building and to help drive its research. The Business School will become ‘Alliance Business School’ in September 2015. Iranian-born Lord Alliance came to Britain at the age of 17 and has since become chairman and 33 per cent owner of clothing catalogue retailer N Brown Group, previously known as JD Williams. Alliance was created a life peer as Baron Alliance of the County of Greater Manchester and sits on the Liberal Democrat benches.
He was ranked as one of the wealthiest people in the UK by the Sunday Times Rich List 2009, placed at 267th with a fortune of £408million. Since he was made life peer in 2004, he has donated £668872 to the Liberal Democrats and an additional £20996.56 in notional interest on loans he has made. Alliance is also a shareholder in Israel-based Research and Development company, Mazrek Limited, specialising in fuel injections systems for diesel engines. As well as his ties with the University of Manchester, Tel Aviv University has established an Iranian Studies centre named after him. In 2003, allegations surfaced which accused Alliance of abusing Israeli and British tax laws by concealing an £895000 loan, worth £1.6 million including interest. This followed a High Court claim against David’s “lifelong friend” in which Mr Roohi Kermanshahchi, “a friend of over 50 years,” was sued for an un-
paid debt. He sued Mr Kermanshahchi for over 32 loans totalling £895000. The court heard that Alliance had concealed the investment in three properties as a loan to his friend, and suggested that he then planned to write off the loan to claim tax relief on other profitable investments at his UK-incorporated finance house, Anglo Eastern Trust. Sir David rejected the accusations as “nonsense.” “It’s a lie. I’m not a tax man,” he said. “You assume that I have been dishonest and a crook. I take exception to that.” He claimed he has lent money to “many, many thousands” of individuals since the early 1990s. “One of my satisfactions is to help start new businesses,” he said. “I loan money without interest, sometimes with interest… I never take equity.” Lord Alliance has had a long-standing association with the Business School and the wider University. He was made an Honorary Fellow of the
University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) in 1988 and an Honorary LLD from the Victoria University of Manchester in 1989. Regarding the new ties with Manchester University, Lord Alliance commented: “Over many years I have followed with growing admiration and pride the development of Manchester as a world-class centre for business education and I am delighted to support the next major stage in its growth and development.” Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor said: “This announcement marks the culmination of decades of engagement and supportive partnership with Lord Alliance. Today we honour with tremendous gratitude his longheld vision for the potential for a world-class business school to help power the economic development of the city and region.”
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ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Highlights P13
Music – The tills are alive with the sounds of music
Students, including members of the executive team, support NHS staff on strike outside the hostpial. Photo: Ellen Marie
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Fashion – Get ready for halloween!
Picture of the week
Foundation day is here! Charlie Spargo Deputy Editor-in-chief
P21 Theatre – Review: Lee Evans
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The 22nd October marks the 10th anniversary of the foundation of the University of Manchester. To celebrate the historical generosity of graduates and the landmark year, the university will be having a series of projects and events. UMIST and the Victoria University merged in 2004. Since then the university has gone from strength to strength, thanks in no small part to donations from around 9300 alumni. These donations help fund the education of lowincome students and those from developing countries, improve the student experience and contribute towards cutting-edge cancer research. This year, students are offered the chance to continue the philanthropic legacy by taking part in the Purple Pig Challenge. 300 mini purple piggy banks will be available from a stall in University Place for students to take away, keep for six months, and fill with regular, small gifts. The suggested donation is just £3 per month. In March 2015 the donations will be pooled and the total proceeds will go towards whichever cause the donors see to be necessary. This could be in the form of scholarships, research funding for cancer, diabetes, or poverty, or another worthy cause related to the university.
Lifestyle – Briefly Exploring: Chorlton
Visit Our Website www.mancunion.com Facebook: The Mancunion Twitter: @THEMANCUNION Editor-in-chief : Aidan Gregory editor@mancunion.com Deputy Editor-in-chief : Charlie Spargo Postal address: Univerity of Manchester Students’ Union, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PR Phone (0161) 275 2933
Students are invited by the Division of Development and Alumni Relations to take the purple pig challenge for foundation day. Photo : University of Manches-
As well as the Purple Pig Challenge, a stall in University Place will be offering information on how to expand horizons using the alumni network. There will be free guides available on how to energise your network with the university’s LinkedIn platforms. Esteemed author and activist Professor Jeanette Winterson will give the prestigious Foundation lec-
ture, entitled ‘Manchester: from Gradgrind to Graphene’. After this, honorary degrees will be awarded at a ceremony in Whitworth Hall to Winterson, Professor Dame Julia King, and Simon Weston OBE, known for his charitable work since the 1980s.
Sub-Editors: Morgan Hollet, Gemma Sowerby, James Jackman & Charlotte Pangraz.
Beauty Editor: Nikki Patel beauty@mancunion.com
music@mancunion.com
News Editors: Anna Phillips, Lauren Gorton, Helen Chapman & Jenny Sterne news@mancunion.com
Food & Drink Editors: Elena Gibbs & Adam Fearn
Sport Editors: Andrew Georgeson & Will Kelly Sports Reporter: Liam Kelly sport@mancunion.com
Science & Technology Editor: Andy van den Bent-Kelly
Film Editors: James Moules, Thomas Bruce, Martin Solibakke, & Andriana Hambi
Features Editors: Haider Saleem & Roberta Rofman
film@mancunion.com
features@mancunion.com
books@mancunion.com
Opinion Editors: Morris Seifert & Marcus Johns
Games Editors: James Thursfield & Matt Cole
opinion@mancunion.com Fashion Editors: Aimée Grant Cumberbatch & Gráinne Morrison fashion@mancunion.com
foodanddrink@mancunion.com
Books Editors: Leonie Dunn & Ali Pearson
games@mancunion.com Lifestyle Editors: Robert Firth lifestyle@mancunion.com Music Editors: Patrick Hinton, Samuel Ward, Lowell Clarke, and Daniel Whiteley
Theatre Editor: Nicole Tamer theatre@mancunion.com Arts Editor - Holly Smith arts@mancunion.com Societies editor - Evie Hull societies.mancunion@gmail.com Interested in photo journalism, with an eye for colour and detail? The Mancunion are taking on photographers . If you would like to get involved, contact Aidan Gregory at , mancunion.editor@gmail.com
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ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Manchester fracking plans revealed as “seriously flawed” and “inadequate” Lauren Gorton News Editor
Trafford Council has been forced to delay its decision over a planning application for coalbed methane gas exploration and extraction, known also as fracking, after the international environmental lobby group Friends of the Earth raised concerns about the planning process and an inadequate Environmental Impact Assessment. The planning application was set to be sent off on Thursday 9th October to grant permission for the UK-based oil and gas exploration company, Igas Energy, to begin drilling in the Davyhulme district in Trafford for a period of up to 25 years. Igas Energy have lately also been behind recent drilling in Barton Moss, Salford, another Greater Manchester district. Friends of the Earth is an international organisation with groups in over 75 countries, although its origins are in the UK, where the organisation is perhaps best known for successfully campaigning for recycling bins for all UK homes. The lobby group wrote to the council three times in the week prior to the application warning the council that its EIA was flawed and inadequate. One such concern being that the proposed coal bed fracking plan
had neglected to adequately take into account the negative impacts this would have on Greater Manchester’s air quality, drinking water and climate. Manchester Friends of the Earth also handed in a 1300-strong petition against the plans signed by Trafford residents. The Mancunion spoke to one such petitioner who is both a Trafford resident and a student here at the University of Manchester. “Fracking is just another way to produce methane based energy which in the long run will be seriously damaging to both our planet, just as oil is now, but also our immediate local environment with the risk of earth tremors and land collapsing as a result of shifts in pressure changes underground. “With oil supplies around the world running out and the negative impacts of such methods of fuel now scientifically proven to be damning to the environment, you would think our government and local councils would have the decency, or at least sense, to commit to and fund a green and sustainable energy policy. “It’s not all that surprising though that the Government has decided to allow local councils in the North to implement these policies first. After all it’s hardly an issue to Westminster if Northern countryside and cities
Friends of the Earth lobbying the Labour Party conference last year in opposition to the fracking plans that have already been passed for the Salford area . Photo: manchesterfoe@ Flickr.
are polluted and damaged in the name of another short-term and irresponsible energy scheme which will make them a quick few million. “When I voted Labour for my area, I did not expect fracking to become part of their so called ‘responsible environmental scheme’. From now on I’ll just vote Green.”
The Friends of the Earth North West Campaigner Helen Rimmer also commented on the postponement of Trafford Council’s fracking plans in a press release. “This raises serious concerns about the regulatory system— if Friends of the Earth hadn’t raised concerns, the flaws in this poorly-assessed gas exploration
and production scheme may well have been ignored. “Over 1300 people have already signed a petition against these unpopular plans which could lead to fracking and health risks for local people. “We believe the impacts of this proposal on air quality, climate change and the environment are far too high, and it should be
rejected when it next comes before the Council.” The plans for the coal-bed methane gas exploration and extraction are currently still under reviw by Trafford Council as to whether or not Igas Energy will be given the go-ahead.
Manchester NHS staff strike as Baa Baa bust-up one per cent pay rise refused Elena Losavio News Reporter
Kathryn Murray News Reporter Last week, students from the University of Manchester’s Save Our NHS Society joined NHS staff on the picket lines outside the hospital, for the first NHS strike over pay in 32 years. Over 400000 health service staff took action last Monday, including midwives, nurses and ambulance crew. The strike, involving seven trade unions, comes after a recent recommendation to award NHS staff a one per cent pay rise was rejected. Health secretary Jeremy Hunt said if the suggested pay rise was granted, more than 14000 nurses would be laid off by hospitals as a result. Strikers voiced frustration that NHS personnel were like-
ly to become the only group of employees in England not to receive what their pay review body recommended whilst MPs were poised to receive an 11 per cent rise. Cathy Warwick, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Midwives stated: “At a time when MPs are set for a 10 per cent pay rise, we’re told that midwives don’t deserve even a below-inflation one per cent rise. And politicians wonder why the public does not afford them more respect”. During the walkout, A&E units remained open whilst other non-emergency appointments were cancelled. However, hospital staff were seen leaving the picket lines to deal with patients. While ambulance services were sent to emergency situations, those with less serious illness or in-
jury were given ‘alternative treatment pathways’. Disruption to services will continue as the seven unions involved in the strike are joined by 2600 senior hospital doctors to start work-torule action. This is expected to involve staff refusing to do more than the minimum required by the rules of their contract, and precisely follow safety or other regulations in order to cause a slowdown. Speaking to The Mancunion, Conor McGurran, Campaigns and Citizenship Officer at the University of Manchester Students’ Union, said, “it was great to see so many students out supporting the strikes at MRI on Monday. There were large, energetic pickets at most of the entrances to the hospital, indicating staff’s discontent
with the way they’re being treated.” He added further, “it is incredibly sad though, that this strike has had to happen at all. “Students who came out in support of the NHS staff want to see a well-funded, publicly run NHS with a fully-valued, fairly paid, motivated workforce. “Anyone looking to get involved in pushing for this kind of NHS, check out facebook. com/SaveOurNHSManchester.”
A vicious fight took place in the early hours of the morning on Sunday the 12th of October outside of Baa Bar in Fallowfield forcing police to close Wilbraham Road at the junction with Wilmslow and Moseley Road. The fight erupted between two large groups of drinkers just after 3:15 am and although shocked students looked on as the violence escalated it is yet to be confirmed if any Manchester students where directly involved in the violence or why the incident began. As the violence became more severe, riot police vans were called to stop the violence from becoming any further out of control. Despite the apparent scale of the fight only one man, in his
early 20s, has been reported to be suffering from any injuries, having received a blow to the head. However despite the potential seriousness of his injuries, he is not thought to be in a serious condition. Police officers say that so far one man has been arrested on suspicion of assault, but enquiries are still ongoing. The area where the fist-fight occurred is very close to the halls of residence of the Fallowfield Campus, and many fast food restaurants. For this reason it is usually bustling with people, and very rarely unoccupied. Therefore if anyone has any information about the bust-up or was present at the time of its occurrence, they should call 0161 211 2113, Greater Manchester Police on 0161 856 4973, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
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ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
NUS refuse to condemn ISIS on grounds of “Islamophobia” - The NUS have voted down a motion to condemn Islamic State as they fear it had pro-intervention rhetoric and could be considered “Islamophobic”. Jenny Sterne News Editor The National Union of Students (NUS), who in the past have condemned UKIP and Robin Thicke and voted to boycott Israel (all considered highly controversial moves) will not condemn Islamic State (IS), as they consider it would be “Islamophobic” to do so. The rejected motion “Iraqi Solidarity” proposed to “campaign in solidarity with the Iraqi people and in particular support the hardpressed students’, workers’ and women’s organisations [fighting] against all the competing nationalist and religious-right forces.” They also planned to encourage students to boycott anyone found to be funding IS or supplying them with goods, while in turn making contact with Iraqi and Kurdish organisations in order to form solidarity and support. According to a recent report from the United Nations Human Rights Council, IS “routinely kills Muslims and non-Muslims alike even when they have not taken up arms against ISIS. Such killings constitute violations of Islamic law and morality as well as war crimes.” In the proposal put forward to the NEC it was also outlined “that rape and other forms of sexual violence are being used as weapons against women in IS-occupied areas, while minorities are being ethnically cleansed.” In the face of all of this, however, the NUS still refuse to condemn this terror group and, consequently, to support the Kurdish and Iraqi forces fighting against it. At NUS Scotland, the motion was passed unanimously. This is all comes very soon after the NEC decided to pass a motion to boycott Israel, which many argued at the time could create the alienation of Israeli students. Despite this controversial move, their reasoning for not condemning IS was that, as a spokesperson for the NUS outlined in a statement, “some committee members felt that the wording of the motion being presented would unfairly demonise all Muslims rather than solely the group of people it set out to rightfully condemn.” The NUS, whilst arguing the motion was “Islamophobic”, also opposed the proposal on the grounds of it being pro-American military intervention.
NUS vote down a motion to condemn Islamic State. Photo: Ogbodo Solution @Flickr
Malia Bouattia, the NUS Black Students’ Officer who opposed the proposal, wrote in a Facebook post last week that “we stand in complete solidarity with the Kurdish people against the recent attacks by ISIS and join many others in condemnation of their brutal actions. In doing so we recognise that condemnation of ISIS appears to have become a justification for war and blatant Islamaphobia. This rhetoric exacerbates the issue at hand and in essence is a further attack on those we aim to defend.” She added: “A motion will be taken to the next NUS National Executive which truly reflects the situation. This motion will pose a condemnation of the politics and methods of ISIS as well as un-
al to condemn IS, it proposes to do so “while expressing no confidence or trust in the US military action.” Clifford Fleming, last year’s Campaign and Citizenship officer at Manchester Students’ Union, and now a member of the NEC, seconded the “Iraqi solidarity” motion. In a statement to The Mancunion he said, “The NEC voted the motion down due to an overall feeling that the motion currently had pro-intervention rhetoric—which nobody wanted. “I absolutely support Malia’s concerns, and she agreed to bring something back to the next meeting. I find it completely inappropriate and concerning how since this has happened it has been
equivocal support for the Kurdish people. It will in no way pander to Western imperialistic intervention or the demonisation of Muslim peoples.” Aaron Kiely, a member of the NEC, wrote for Stop the War Coalitions’ website arguing that “there has been a smear campaign in the media accusing the anti-war movement of supporting the barbaric terrorist group ISIS.” Kiely argued his anti-war stance by highlighting that “the current US bombing campaign of Iraq and Syria will not defeat ISIS. The way to defeat ISIS is not by using the methods which led to its creation.” However in the motion put forward, while it outlines the propos-
claimed that identity politics has a “stranglehold” on the NEC. “Of course those who are voted to represent groups of students should voice their concerns—it is their duty. Malia has since received multiple threats and abuse, including from the fascist EDL, which goes to show her concerns were absolutely valid.” However Roza Salih, co-writer of the motion and NUS Scotland’s International Students’ Officer, speaking to Solidarity said “The people who opposed the motion are now saying they support the Kurds, which is good, but actions speak louder than words. It seems that they are more focused on opposing intervention than making solidarity.”
Six minutes of reading a day Student Officer elections can keep stress levels at bay ongoing until October 24th Laura Pickup News Reporter A new campaign called ‘Just Six Minutes’ has launched in partnership with Manchester libraries encouraging people to read more. The campaign has been inspired by World Mental Health Day which was held on Friday 10th October, although the campaign itself will continue throughout the semester until January 26th next year. A team of researchers at Mindlab International in Sussex, a company which focuses on consumer shopping decisions, have discovered that as little as six minutes of reading a day can notably reduce your stress levels. The study, led by Dr. David
Lewis, found that reading a good book for just several minutes after a long day relaxes people more than listening to soothing music. The ‘Time to Read’ organization is backing this campaign to get more people reading. Along with the campaign, ‘Books on Prescription’ are available at all Manchester City libraries. Nearly 12000 of these books, which highlight therapies for mild to moderate mental health issues, have been borrowed since June 2013. Executive member for culture and leisure Councillor Rosa Battle gave her approval to the campaign: “This research confirms what many booklovers already know—that reading really does have a vital role in helping
to reduce stress and improve mental health.” Despite the shared student loathing of the hours on PubMed and JSTOR needed to get course reading finished and essay deadlines met, the campaign is now providing students with one more reason to rekindle their joy for reading. However, anticipating that students might struggle enough finding time to read, never mind looking for a good book, Dr David Lewis who is leading the study has recommended using the website www.time-to-read.co.uk for those uncertain of where to begin.
Jessica Weiss News Reporter
The Students’ Union is holding elections for various positions including the new Student Officers for this academic year. A Student Officer is a student who, alongside their degree, supports executive officers in the running of the Union as well as being a representative voice of the student body. In many ways it creates another form of checks and balances on the Union, as well as raising awareness about specific issues affecting the student body. This year’s elections are particular interesting due to the creation last year of two new Action Group officer roles. One such new position in-
cludes the International Students Officer. The International Students Officer will endeavour to provide more of a voice for international students and has already become one of the most coveted positions with over 15 applications for the role. The Ethical and Environmental Officer is also new to the Union for 2014. This officer will work alongside the Union Executive Campaigns & Citizenship Officer Conor McGurran to raise awareness about many of the environmental and ethical issues which students are campaigning for around campus. Both roles have been created from former chair positions of student action groups and will continue to work with said student groups.
As well as these new positions to vote on, students can vote for the new Liberation Officers, who are representing Women, LGBT, BME (Black and Minority Ethnic Groups) and Disabled students on campus as well as Faculty Officers. These officers represent each of the four academic schools in Union discussions as well as raise awareness of any issues or problems within the individual schools. This is particularly poignant due to the fact that the School of Languages and Cultures is aiming to close at least three language courses next year. Voting begins on the 17th and closes on 24th October. To vote or find out more information about the elections go to the Union website.
ISSUE 07/ 3rd NOVEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
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Warning: University will have a serious effect on your health! Elena Losavio News Reporter According to a new YouGov survey, 81 per cent of students believe that their health is seriously influenced by their university accommodations. YouGov Consumer Survey (2014) Air Quality reveals that full-time students are of the opinion that they are the most in danger of ‘Toxic Home Syndrome’. Due to ’Toxic Home Syndrome’, people that are living in houses with poor air quality due to harmful airborne pollutant are very likely to incur respiratory and dermatological diseases. The most common pollutants, that students should be aware of are biological pollutants, such as mould spores, volatile
organic compounds (VOCs), gas and building materials. It was reported by YouGov that 37 per cent of student respondents assert that they were afflicted by breathing problems such as asthma, and another 23 per cent said to have had eczema. Both of them can be caused by inadequate indoor air ventilation. Allergy experts encourage students to be more aware that living in these conditions puts their health in danger, as, on average, 33 per cent of students have had mould growing in their bathrooms or bedrooms. Peter Howarth, Professor of Allergy and Respiratory medicine at Southampton University, said: “It is imperative that students are alert to the gravity of
Oak House, likened to a prison by many students. Photo : Iris Chase @Flickr
household air pollution as they typically spend long periods of time in their university homes. “As well as mould, other air pollutants found in the student home include everyday household items such as air fresheners, cleaning products and detergents. As students rarely have access to a garden and therefore dry their laundry indoors, they are at risk of unknowingly polluting the indoor environment with the harmful compounds released from the detergent. “This indoor ‘pollutant soup’ can be particularly hazardous in the winter months when homes get little natural ventilation and are most prone to condensation and mould. I would urge students to take steps to significantly
improve their home’s ventilation in winter to minimise their risk of Toxic Home Syndrome. “ Students from the University of Manchester believe that there is poor indoor air quality in halls. Speaking to The Mancunion, Kanae Koike, who lives in Whitworth Park, said ”I agree with the survey’s results. In university halls it’s easy to catch a cold and difficult to recover from it. “As we share the kitchen and the living room, and due to a bad ventilation and lack of fresh air, if someone has a cold, it’s very likely that also the other flatmates get ill. Furthermore, sometimes I’ve found mould in my kitchen.” She added “My room has a window that can be opened, but other rooms
that don’t have might have problems of stagnant air.” In a statement to The Mancunion, a student who lives in Canterbury Court and asked to remain anonymous, commented, “I think that the accommodation is not worth the amount we pay for it considering the size of the room, the awful carpets, the ugly curtains and the brick walls make some flats feel like prison. “I think this will have a negative impact on students’ life and how they view the city of Manchester and the university.” More information about Toxic Home Syndrome can be found at www. myhealthmyhome.com .
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ISSUE 07/ 3rd NOVEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Central Library catalogues Manchester’s gay history
- In collaboration with the Manchester based Lesbian and Gay Foundation, Manchester Central Library will host an archive of Manchester’s gay history, including prominent magazine publications and historical documents. Lauren Gorton News Editor
Manchester Libraries and The Lesbian and Gay Foundation (The LGF) are collaborating to make an important archive accessible to the public at Manchester Central Library. The LGF is based in Manchester and provides a wider range of support and advocacy services for LGB people than any other UK based charity. The collection from The LGF has been deposited with the Archives Centre at Central Library and includes a comprehensive catalogue of local and national gay and lesbian magazines, including The Mancunian Gay, Outnorthwest, Gay Times, Diva, plus many other smaller and often short-lived grass-roots publications. The archives also include historical documents and reports about a variety of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) issues, including Manchester’s Pride celebrations, culture and health issues, such as HIV and AIDS. Selected items from The LGF’s collection are now on view at the Archives Centre.
Alongside the library’s existing LGBT History collections—including the Queer Up North Theatre archive, the Manchester City Council’s Equalities Team archive and the Allan Horsfall collection—the new LGF archive enables Mancunions to trace the development of the Village and LGBT politics, culture and services in the city region from the 1960s to the present day. Heather Williams, Policy & Research Manager at the LGF said: “We are delighted to be working with Manchester Central Library to make our archives accessible to the public. These archives contain valuable records of the development of LGBT rights and changing attitudes in society, and now the people of Manchester will be able to discover and celebrate the history of the North West’s LGBT communities.” Executive Member for Culture and Leisure, Councillor Rosa Battle, said: “Manchester City Council has a proud history of working with Manchester’s LGBT community and the Central Library’s Archives Centre is the perfect place to store, care for and exhibit these important archive materials to the public.”
LGF volunteers are working alongside librarians to improve access to the collection by adding to the online catalogue. Volunteer David Allinson said, “Volunteering on the archive project has changed my life in so many ways. I have met so many wonderful people and I have a positive focus in my life now. “It’s helped me to give something back to The LGF, who supported me and turned my life around and helped me become the person I am today.” On Valentine’s Day next year, the first National Festival of LGBT History, ‘Manchester in Love’, will be held at Central Library’s Performance Space. Ahead of this event, archive opening days will be held in November and January. For those wishing to find out more about researching LGBT history visit lgbthistoryfestival.org for more information.
As part of Manchester Central’s new archive copies of the Gay Times and other prominent gay publications will be showcased. Photo: CharlesFred @ Flickr.
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Stop to think before rushing into looking for a house for the following academic year and signing a tenancy agreement in the first semester. As part of the Don’t Let Yet campaign, Community Officer Ellen will be hosting a ‘House of Horrors’ event in the Students’ Union on Friday 31 October. To get involved, join Ellen for two creative campaign sessions to make banners and signs for the event:
Wednesday 22 October, 10:00-14:00, Room 2, Students’ Union Thursday 23 October, 12:00-15:00, Room 8, Students’ Union All materials will be provided, so just bring yourselves and your creativity.
manchesterstudentsunion.com/adviceservice
08 : Feature
ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Photo: Eva the Weaver @Flickr
Feminism: What’s in a name? - Feminism is a word that has been dragged through the mud, giving it a meaning that a lot of people would prefer not to be associated with. So is it time to redefine what it stands for? Roberta Rofman Features Editor
O
ver the years, feminism has received a lot of negative attention. Universities in particular hold a strong feminist movement. The imagery of angry, unattractive women who can’t get a man still springs to a lot of people’s minds when the word feminism is brought up, and despite the time we’re in, people still seem to define the ‘f’ word as such. Many people deny being a feminist just from the negative publicity that the word gets. So the question is whether how feminism is defined should be changed to appeal more to the public? There are numerous negative connotations that feminism holds. A lot of people confuse the core of feminism with the values of being ‘male haters’ and female superiority. First thing to clear up is that feminism has nothing to do with hating the male gender, rather the heart of it is about equality between men and women . While studying my A-levels, I remember discussing feminism and our teacher asked us what it was. A guy put his hand up and said it was nothing more than hating the
male gender. This surprised me as I didn’t realise that even at that stage, people were still completely wrong about a word that has been around for so long. A lot of people still don’t identify with being a feminist due to the negative connotations that it has, both to men and women. Saying you’re a feminist to some people may instantly put them off and gives them a certain view of you. Some people still identify being a feminist with outdated views, seeing old women who have become bitter with time and picturing the suffragette movement. While it helped significantly, a lot of people see it as too extreme, especially for the modern age. So has the term been overused and dragged through the mud too much for it to be seen for what it really is? The Guardian published an article by a student blogger who discussed the problem of feminism within universities and why it is an issue that should possibly be relabeled. ‘Lad culture’ is a staple to a lot of people’s lives at university. Lad culture praises the degradation of women, getting drunk as much as possible, and generally supports sexist attitudes towards the
opposite sex. Due to the surge of ‘lad culture’ at universities, it can make it more difficult for men to call themselves feminists. The focus is on ‘feminine’, giving it to the connotations of
Only 20 per cent of Americans considered themselves as feminists despite 82 per cent believing in equality between men and women being related solely to females, rather than a matter of equality and missing the point that feminism includes male rights of equality too. Feminists themselves can give the label a bad name. Through
history there has been a mixed batch of feminist approaches. From standpoint feminism which belives that feminism is about understanding a woman’s experience through her eyes so only people who can be true feminists are women, to liberal feminism which believes in equality and anti-discrimination. There have been numerous suggestions for changing what feminism is called. From ‘genderism’ to ‘humanism’, which is advocated by Susan Sarandon who says that the term ‘feminist’ is a label that is too stigmatised to be taken seriously so it shouldn’t be used anymore. In 2013, The Huffington Post did a poll on their website which found that only 20 per cent of Americans considered themselves as feminists, 23 per cent of which were female and 12 per cent were male. Despite this, 82 per cent believed in equality between males and females in the polls. So is pushing a term that so many people don’t like counterproductive? It seems that people continue to believe the stereotype of the typical feminist, being an angry, man hater who solely seeks female superiority among the male population, and it
doesn’t seem to be changing. Netmums.com, in 2012, conducted a similar study where they surveyed 1300 women and found that only one in seven of those women called themselves feminists. They also found that younger women were less likely to accept the term in identifying themselves. So why not get rid of the term and exchange it for many of the other suggested substitutes such as ‘humanist’? Feminism can be seen to scare of non-feminists and since the younger population aren’t keen on adopting the word, it seems it’s futile in trying to get back what it stood for. Yet, feminism is a word with such a strong connotation, despite being seen as bad to some, it holds a fiery past and by getting rid of it, you lose so much of the history and almost forget all those who fought for the true meaning of the word. What we should be doing instead is focusing on teaching people more about the core of the meaning and stop being afraid of being seen as one.
ISSUE 06 / 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Feature : 09
Is writing as a career still financially viable? Joe Evans discusses poverty and other essentials for the modern writer Stop the press!”… “No, seriously stop the press! It turns out writing just isn’t financially viable anymore.” Figures this year published in the Observer revealed that average wages for full time writers in the United Kingdom have reached a new low. Nestled comfortably (or rather sat on the floor of a freezing flat because the meter needs topping up) below the Rowntree Foundations minimum income standard this strikes a blow to our apparently culturally simulative society. With higher and easier incomes to be made elsewhere it would seem the question is, where is the incentive to write? Luckily I have some, and financial reward isn’t my goal. So, on filling in the Rowntree Foundations brilliantly titled ‘do you earn enough?’ questionnaire (a question that to me suggests not knowing the answer is in itself an answer) the vast majority of working writers will be told they need more money to survive. The median income for a writer in 2013 being revealed as £11000 per annum highlights the deceptive nature of the literary industry.
Orwell struggled to earn £3 a week from his journalism in the 1930’s... We shouldn’t impose poverty on people who contribute genuinely exceptional work
The world of writing seems clouded by celebrity, household names such as J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown accumulating massive personal fortunes through their generally average publications. It is true that lesser known writers can stumble into this world. Zadie Smith, a Man Booker winner, reportedly received a £250000 advance on the unwaveringly brilliant debut White Teeth, however for most, figures like this are unthinkable. The world of the working writer, it would then seem, is one spent fighting impossible odds. It will of course be argued, by the moronic corners of society; that “a writer must starve for his art.” While this is a romantic image, it is the twenty first century and it turns out recent humanitarian research will tell you, poverty pisses people off. While it is true that greats like George Orwell struggled to earn £3 a week from his journalism in the 1930s, it is now 2014. We shouldn’t impose poverty on people who contribute genuinely exceptional work and demonstrate immeasurable skill. Or, in ‘civilised Britain’, impose poverty on anyone really. Writers need to eat, and even John Milton’s considerably successful muse couldn’t help fill his gut. Author and journalist Damian Barr’s contribution to the argument is telling. ‘It depresses me that even the crappiest footballer is paid more than our finest literary novelists.’ Clearly we (the collective we; because it’s our society and our role to cultivate it) have a lack of comprehension of what constitutes ‘skill’. The marketing director from whose demented psyche the ever riveting ‘Compare the Meerkat’ was born was last year paid, based again on averages, £68245. Susan Hill, author of the stunning The Woman in Black which spawned a multimillion pound movie featuring Daniel Radcliffe (I told you we can’t comprehend skill), is according to her tweets, “still broke.” During his time as Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove will have earned a basic wage of £67,060 per annum. All this while forcing education of the arts further into the mire and championing ‘practical skills’ such as Maths and Science. Highly paid governmental figures suppressing the education that inspires future artistic output only serves to further alienate the world of the working writer from that of anyone able to earn and prosper. While the friendly face of diverse education Michael Gove is no longer in the role, I hold little hope for the arts under his successor Nicky Morgan. While only time will tell in terms of results as a former Jurisprudence student
The cost of literary success? A £7.99 edition of 50 Shades of Grey. Photo:Ben Andreas Harding @ Flickr
with a background in mergers and acquisitions I can’t help but feel the arts are once again in totally unengaged and uninspiring hands. When it comes to fruition that a writer can earn less money than a waiter* (averagely paid £11,930 per annum) it is no surprise that active pursuit of unashamed financial gain is becoming more prominent. In the previously mentioned Observer article, literary agent Jonny Geller attempted to calm the storm stating that financial gain can still be attained from writing however only from “projects that are pretty certain to work.” He goes on to say that he advises the writers he represents to “stay flexible” in order to adapt to what is selling. How depressing an outlook has the industry appropriated that an agent will openly state that he encourages his clients to write not what they feel important but what will turn a profit? This outlook will merely serve to saturate the literary scene with what a readership is told they want. Apparently what the readership want is 50 Shades of Grey which sold 5.3 million copies in the UK. Hands up who wants another bestseller like that one? As has happened to the music industry, expression or experimentation will become buzzwords in boardroom meetings on the agenda of which is how to artificially reflect them. The issue highlighted here though is not the greed of our authors. Will Self drew to attention, in a
How depressing an outlook has the industry appropriated that an agent will openly state that he encourages his clients to write not what they feel important but what will turn a profit?
feature for the Guardian , that the number of British writers who are able to comfortably earn a living from writing could easily be fit in “a back bedroom.” The issue is that the treatment of writers has forced them into methods of survival and that these methods of survival serve to starve the literary evolution of our artists. Writing, and to an extent even reading, are still shamefully considered frivolous pursuits. They don’t provide instant gratification, they don’t directly further a reader’s (or apparently a writer’s) finances, books aren’t easily consumed. All of these things make them unpopular in a society of quickly palatable information and disposable commodities. This is the cause to the effect that is undervalued writers. Writing simply doesn’t fit the twenty-first century template for what is ‘useful’ and by this logic it stands to reason that a marketing executive should earn more. Christ, how depressing. Mine is a voice of anger and distrust. *DISCLAIMER: This is in no way a slight at writing as a profession. It is a far more noble pursuit than that of a Marketing Director. One delivers what is ordered and then allows you to consume in your own time. The other delivers what nobody in human history has ordered and forces it down your throat. I’ll allow you to decipher that insinuation.
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Opinion
Editors’ Foreword Marcus Johns Morris Seifert
This week our contributors have been discussing feminism. Disagree with something that’s been said? Tweet us with your thoughts and comments: @MancunionOp. If you would like to contribute tweet us or like our page on Facebook at facebook.com/MancunionOp and drop us a post.
Gay men need feminism too Marcus Johns We’ve all heard them: “Stop crying like a girl,” or “don’t be such a pansy.” Phrases meant to question the masculinity of a young man in order to offend like this work in two ways. Importantly, they make the presumptions that women are inferior beings and displaying signs of femininity, as a superior male is a repugnant transgression of the patriarchy. The reinforcement of patriarchal attitudes is harmful as much to women as it is to the gay, or even straight yet effeminate, man. Hopefully as feminism advances their power to sting will be lessened and feminism is good for gay men because of this. If a camp gay man displays stereotypically effeminate tendencies, then he shouldn’t be made to feel like any less of a man for not living up to his manhood, as it were. The worst thing about using femininity in men as an insult is that frequently it is young women who use it. Girls in schools using “you’re such a girl” as an insult is heart-breaking because they don’t see how they are demoting themselves to a point of lesser being. It doesn’t just stop at the use of femininity as a contra standard to being a man, but society tries to force gender roles upon us too. The all-pervasive female and male roles are so ingrained in our society that gay couples frequently have to listen to: “So, which one of you is the man and which one of you is the woman?” Mostly it’s not even meant facetiously, it’s completely serious. The paradigm of gender roles penetrates our mind-sets so deeply that we simply can’t fathom the idea that neither is neither: “Well, we’re both men, that’s kind of the point.” Society’s bifocal view of the world doesn’t allow us to see it as fluid. You are either a masculine man or a feminine woman; there are no grey areas. Masculinity as a concept is so rigid and so important to young men that any doubt about its extensiveness in a man is damaging. It even stretches so far as to damage friendships between gay and straight teenagers: “Why are you friends with him; he’s gay.” Feminism is good for gay men because it is breaking down the false concept of strict masculinity and femininity. Gay men and effeminate men no longer need to be seen as lesser men, and nor should they be labelled effeminate in a demeaning way. It’s damaging to everyone; it presumes women are inferior, it makes gay and effeminate men feel insecure, and it even shakes the fragile ego of the young straight male to the core to have his masculinity questioned— even if it’s a simple friendship.
ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
@MancunionOp
The Hateriarchy
Feminism is hardly bashful and the pervasive misandry is only serving to make men resentful Swayne O’Pie Guest Contributor Men, especially young men, are bad people. We are constantly being told how crass, sexist and misogynist male behaviour is. But if this is true, what has made men behave like this? I suggest to you that it is the anti-male cultural milieu that feminism has created since the 1980s in all areas of society. If the rhetoric routinely thrown at men were directed at any of our minority groups—women, black people, ethnic minorities, gay people—British society would be condemned for its prejudice, bigotry and even persecution.
“Misandry, ____ demonizing and dehumaninzing men has devalued men’s worth compared to that of a woman. Both men and women fail to see misandry as a problem.” We teach children to be kind to one another, to be thoughtful and caring to other people, and then when they reach a certain age, the feminism fairy comes along and sprinkles boys and all things male with poo dust. This poo dust is the patriarchal perspective, the ‘good women / bad men script’ to which all areas of society now conform—our culture, schools, universities, the legal system, the media and the political system. It is well documented that this patriarchal perspective is taught in our schools and universities. For three decades there has been widespread misandry in Britain, a widespread contempt for men and masculinity. Men are belittled and ridiculed in sitcoms
and advertisements. Feminist comediennes and celebrities have license to constantly rubbish men. The incidence of suicide is four times greater for men than women. Nine out of ten homeless and those living rough are men. The men’s health forum has found that eight times more money is spent on women’s than on men’s health. There is no screening for male cancers. When it comes to education boys are failing compared to girls and in real terms, fewer men than women are now entering university. There is no anonymity for men who have only been accused of rape—the innocent having their lives destroyed by unjustified publicity. Male victims of domestic violence, 40 per cent of all victims, are ignored. 70000 divorced fathers every year, regardless of their capability to care and provide, have difficulty seeing their own children—half lose complete contact. Financial maintenance settlements are swingeing and unjust. Four out of five divorces are petitioned for by the wife. Do a gender-switch on the above; if these discriminations were experienced by women, would they be tolerated? If they are wrong for women, then they are also wrong for men and boys. Anti-male prejudice, the ‘good women / bad men script’, is entrenched in our individual and collective mind-set and has created cultural and institutional bias against men and masculinity; one that is never questioned. At the same time young men are seeing their female contemporaries enjoying preferential treatment in the form of short-lists, tokenism, quotas, and fast-tracking.
Every university has a students’ women’s officer yet a men’s officer is not permitted; women at London Metropolitan University are given a £19,000 inducement to study engineering, male students are not. With such special privileges and policy-favouritism it is hardly surprising that young men become resentful. There hasn’t been one piece of specifically male-friendly legislation in living memory. Misandry, demonizing and dehumanising men has devalued men’s worth compared to that of a women. Both men and women fail to see misandry as a problem. This is because sexism has been defined exclusively in terms of misogyny. Nobody has been looking for sexism against men; we are so conditioned that we are blind to the daily examples of it in media reporting, on radio and television, in news programmes, in our schools and universities’ and throughout policy-making and if we do happen to notice it, we are silenced by the fear of being labelled politically incorrect. I suggest that the cultural and institutional misandry that has been experienced by men has been a driving force behind much of Britain’s present social ills. If men are told over and over again that they are society’s ‘bad people’ they are likely to say, “so be it.” Ignoring men’s issues will inevitably lead to resentment. Our governments should consider the danger of this self-fulfilling prophecy; the more badly behaved young men are, the louder the sisterhood bellows how awful masculinity is—an upward spiral of constant blaming, shaming and crass behaviour. Psychologists tell us that if we treat people badly, with contempt and disdain, then they will react in kind. Social order—including in our universities—is not in
Photo: Morning Shadow @Flickr
good condition right now. If boys and men continue to be disrespected, discriminated against, demonised, told, and shown that they have little value and worth, disposable as husbands as father and as people, then it might be understandable if they respond by treating society—including women—in the same manner. They who spawn a squall shall conjure a whirlwind. The patriarchal perspective has encouraged society to treat men and boys badly, so we should not be surprised that they morph into muscle-bound weaklings who seek solace in the hyper masculine rituals of violence and aggression in our universities, with an ugly undercurrent of homophobia and misogyny. Feminism’s creation of a widespread and deep-rooted misandry is rebounding against ordinary women. We ought to be educating young men and women to question this perspec-
There’s no ‘I’ in ‘equal’ Katie Bowden Contributor Women currently earn, on average, earn around 15% less than men. 35% of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual partner violence or non-partner sexual violence. Between 40–50% of women have experienced sexual harassment at work, lad culture is ingrained in our universities, rape banter can be overheard in many student hotspots, and often sports societies have been known to degrade women based on their appearance and sexual choices. LSE recently hit headlines after their men’s rugby club distributed leaflets disgracefully referring to “netball slags” and “sloppy birds”. Sadly, I am confident none of this will come as a surprise to you. Even sadder is that many people still take these figures and wilfully dismiss them (I’m looking at you, Farage). Feminism is important. Sexism is damaging to everybody. However, all too often the word ‘feminism’ sparks negative reactions. Many people hold clichéd and frankly completely incorrect views as to what a feminist may look like, or what his or her lifestyle may entail. Even women in powerful positions of influence, such as Katy Perry (who felt the need to say she was not a feminist… whilst receiving a Woman of the Year award), who have had the opportunity to speak out, have skulked away from the issue. Margaret Thatcher, the first and only female prime minister described feminism as “poison.” We need to step away from
tive, to rise up against this mutually destructive feminist culture and encouraging them to engage in genuine equality and respect between the sexes. Doris Lessing said, “Men seem so cowed they can’t fight back, and it’s time they did.” Men are fighting back, but their misguided target is society and ordinary women—not the political and cultural movement that created this unacceptable view of men and masculinity in the first place. By appeasing feminism, and the grinding and constant bias that its perspective promotes, Britain has encouraged a stroppy male slouch towards Gommorah.
Swayne O’Pie is the author of ‘Why Britain Hates Men - Exposing Feminism’ and is available for lectures and debates. Email him at info@exposingfeminism.co.uk.
We must begin to see feminism as equality for both genders
these frankly ridiculous perceptions of feminism—just for the record feminists have never actually burnt their bras— and understand ‘feminism’ is just a word, a word which denotes the desire for equal rights for both sexes. We should look past the word, and its accompanying clichés, and focus on the drive and ambition behind the movement, for sexism and gender stereotyping affects everybody. Emma Watson took an interesting line of argument as part of her recent speech at the UN for the
“Feminism is important. Sexism is damaging to everybody. ”
‘HeForShe’ campaign. The ‘HeForShe’ campaign focuses on societal misconceptions of the feminist movement, and has drawn support from the likes of Obama. Emma noted some of the ways gender inequality harms men as well as women. Suicide is the leading cause of death of men between the ages of 20 and 49 in the UK today and around 75% of all suicides worldwide are committed by men. Part of this problem is likely rooted in gender stereotypes—many men may feel somehow less of a man, if they ask for help. Additionally, lad culture and homophobic humour may hurt men who feel they have to play along. Women all too often are portrayed as the sensitive gender as a direct result of gender stereotyping. I’m sure that many people will have overheard men say to other
Photo: Flazingo Photos @Flickr
men certain comments such as: “grow some balls”, “don’t be a vagina”, or perhaps even “stop being such a woman”. Whilst being degrading to women, insinuating that possession of female genitalia somehow corresponds to being sensitive or weak, this sort of language additionally may damage a man’s confidence to confide in a friend or show emotional vulnerability. We should not attach qualities such as brave or sensitive to only one gender. It is true that a glass ceiling in many corporate roles still remains for women. In a recent study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, people of both sexes were presented with two identical applications for a role. The only difference was one applicant was male, and one female. Both genders rated the male as more hireable and suggested
higher salary. This shows an ingrained cognitive bias. Even intelligent, educated individuals may harbour unintentional prejudice. Obviously this is a huge issue for women in the workplace. But, it too has implications for men, who are privy to stereotypes and expectations regarding success and dominance. Men are encouraged to be aggressive and to be on top, which not only advocates submission for women, but furthermore conditions men to take dominating stances at work, this is perhaps why males commit a huge percentage of corporate fraud. If men feel they do not reach the increasingly advancing standards of what is a successful man, they may feel less of a man. Emma cited her father, who stayed at home to care for her, and how society often sees this in a negative light. Gender stereotyping portrays
women as key nurturing figures, which leaves a smaller space for men who may wish to take on such a role. This damage to both men and women can be reduced. Education and awareness are, of course, hugely important steps. The NUS and organisations such as Everyday Sexism project are making a start. But what we really need is for all people to facilitate change. As Edmund Burke said, “all that is needed for evil to triumph is for good men [and women] to do nothing.” Just laughing along to a friend’s sexist comment enables sexism. If people were to simply speak up when a friend makes a sexist remark, or bring gender inequality into discussion with people of both genders, undoubtedly progress could begin to be made.
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ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
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‘This is what a feminist looks like’ Men can, and should, play a role in feminism
Deepanshi Contributor Feminism is unarguably one of the most controversial topics in any society. While some questions pertain to the definition of feminism itself, others concern themselves with the domains of feminist influence. But one unequivocal fact that drives all feminists is that the patriarchal society has oppressed women for centuries and this movement must achieve social, political and economic empowerment of all women over the world. The present male-dominated system leads to a biased social order functioning to the benefit of men and the relative detriment of women. Thus, it raises questions about if men can or should identify themselves as feminists at all. Some female feminists fear that if men are accepted into feminism, then a forum that was originally built to fight male dominance would too be taken over my men and make the entire cause redundant. It is argued that females would no longer be able to relate to the issues raised by an action group that is ‘contaminated’ by male elements. They abhor the idea of the ‘oppressors’ joining in a movement against their own kind. One of the most common arguments is that men cannot relate to women issues simply because they have never experienced the torment of harassment, violence and sexual assault, and thus, cannot identify themselves with the issues that this movement raises and what it seeks to change. I reject this narrow idea of feminism. It labels all men all over the world as the same enemies and causes unjustified hate towards men by female groups. In retaliation, a further ‘lad culture’ has emerged which perpetuates a belief that it is not masculine to support female rights. Thus, this exclusion of men has spun off a cycle of hateful retribution from both the sexes which is
not how feminism started out. The effort to make feminism a solely female agenda makes it the very image of sexism that it wishes to eradicate, and contradicts the basic feminist idea of looking beyond gender stereotypes. Feminism was initiated as a drive directed at selfempowerment of women and enabling them to function independent of male support, not rejecting the entire male population and their experiences.
“The concept of involving men in feminism does not mean that feminists need men; it just means they’re welcome to support a cause that they believe is right.” While it is true that men cannot talk about female experiences as well as a woman might be able to, this is itself an advantage. This diversity of experience intersecting components of the identity of one part of society which is constantly and inevitably in contact with the other part would expand the perspective and means of furthering this movement. If men are not allowed to share responsibility for the success of feminism, then the patriarchal system that we seek to change will continue to suppress women. The desire to change a society that you believe is led by men- without the support of men- is unreasonable. It is not possible to stop subjugation of females if men do not think that females should attain equal rights. For seeking change in a patriarchal society, it is necessary that men can and should be able to become feminists. The concept of involving men in feminism does not mean that feminists ‘need’ men; it just means that they’re welcome to support a cause that they believe is right. Men do not wish or aim to lead the feminist movement because they understand the feminine
Photo: garryknight@Flickr
essence of the movement. Various men like Parker Pillsbury and John Stuart Mill in the past have identified themselves as feminists and played crucial roles along with their female counterparts, to bring positive changes in the system. I support the role of men in feminism because you don’t need to be a female to support female rights just as you do not need to be a war-victim to support antiwar movements or be a homosexual to support gay rights or be an animal to support animal rights. Women have been heavily involved in causes that don’t directly affect them. You don’t need to be victimized by the system that you are fighting against. The only requisite is the ability to identify how and why the system is unjust and the way in which it needs to be changed for better. It is absurd when the same feminists who fight against male domination reject the men who want
to join the movement to change that image, because ‘they don’t know what it is like to be repressed’. If an oppressor transforms to join the movement against the subjugation of a victim, closing doors on him because he has not experienced that subjugation is imprudent because even though he might not understand the struggle of the victim, he does understand the mentality of an oppressor and is thus your best weapon to end the oppression. While it is true that men also seek to benefit from the movement because they too go through harassment and pressures of masculinity, their welfare is a welcome outcome of the movement and not its principal aim. The claim that men would overtake the platform for expression of female issues is nothing but paranoia because the benefits of acceptance of the role of men in feminism far outweigh the arguments for the rejection of their part.
Gender myths cause human splits Gender differences are insidiously exaggerated when they need only be accepted Joe Evans Contributor Recent revelations of a culture celebrating misogyny at the heart of the now disbanded rugby club of the London School of Economics has shone a homing beacon onto the issue of the modern man and his relation to femininity. We, as a generation, are supposedly free thinkers, liberal in our outlook; the modern man is our label. This it seems is a masquerade of morality masking a widely known, but easier ignored truth. One need only glace over to social media for the worst culprits. Facebook, in giving rise to groups like the LAD Bible, has given prominence to a voice that serves to perpetuate views that, despite their high tech platform, belong in a museum. These views have been refined by spin-offs such as UniLad appealing to a more specific audience while promoting the same archaic outlook. Clearly we in further education demand a more sophisticate form of misogynistic thoughtlessness.
“We are so numbed to misogynistic rhetoric, so used to it as a lazy form of comic relief, that we’ve in some cases forgotten it’s a joke.” The widespread support for the suspect but apparently hilarious ideology of the LAD Bible and similar media outlets is frankly frightening. The LAD Bible, it would appear, promotes views universally known to be morally abhorrent, yet its support is unyielding. The treatment of femininity in celebrity culture likewise borders on medieval. Dapper Laughs (a name I’m glad to say I didn’t know) for example delivers completely inexcusable messages regarding the treatment of women, all under the
Photo: Jayw @Flickr
thin veil of comedy. Not only does the comic openly insult the notion of equal rights through his backwards outlook, he does so with such satisfaction that his audience must surely consider him ironic. If so then a national campaign warning as to the danger of misunderstood irony should be a key political policy. For many followers of figures such as the LAD Bible and Dapper Laughs (who has now been given a television platform too… social decay in action) the line for when the joke stops is heavily blurred. Like the blurred lines of the aptly named Robin Thicke’s patriarchal anthem, the point at which the laughing stops has sunk so deep into the mire its invisible. This is where the London School of Economics’ esteemed sportsmen reappear, flourishing their
Come to our meetings: Mondays 5pm first floor of the Students’ Union
now shit-stained colours. While I am not for one second suggesting that these men are misogynistic or backwards, they simply failed to identify where the punchline ended. Here in lies the problem. We are so numbed to misogynistic rhetoric, so used to it as a lazy form of comic relief, that we’ve in some cases forgotten that it’s a joke. If the devil’s greatest trick was convincing the world he didn’t exist, the danger of socially accepted sexism is in it hiding in plain sight. The more visible it is, the more normal it appears. Like the iconography of post-abolition America, playfully villainizing the black community, we continue, through seemingly harmless means, to devastate gender relations. The image of the modern man, and his belief in gender equality, is chiselled away both in his own psyche and in the eyes of his female counterpart.
In the perception of feminists the need to fight for equal rights is perpetuated by the opiating of culture to misogyny. Alongside this, the idea of masculinity is corrupted, poisoned beyond all recognition, by a social pressure cultivated by a covert desensitising to anti-feminism. Lad culture reigns, a culture of racking up sexual conquests and drunkenly approaching women in clubs, a culture almost nobody bought into but a culture men are dictated into. The harmless fun of the LAD Bible, streamed directly into the brains of young men via their laptops, suddenly is less benign when, as in the case at LSE, it spirals out of control. Masculinity then has been twisted not by men themselves, but by a small percentage who have rebranded what a man is and sold it back under the guise of fun in the form of sexist IPhone cases and t-shirts. The myth of the modern man is by no means a detrimental flaw in the character of mankind, one that womankind should aggressively segregate themselves from. No, what is needed is a reclaiming of masculinity as whatever men want it to be. Far from promoting conflict between the sexes, we should be aiming to integrate society into being totally androgynous, making gender irrelevant rather than something to be fought over. While women did fight, and die, for the right for equality, we have reached a point where such militant actions aren’t the way forward and a more nuanced approach is needed. What is abundantly clear though is that the modern man is, at the moment, a myth that we should strive to make a reality. Far from accepting the position of masculinity in relation to femininity we should all be looking to appropriate this into one movement of humanity. In doing so we cast not only oppression of women aside but also start to dissolve the stained version of masculinity our gender has been appropriated. with.
Music
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ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Interview
Feature
the
Editors: Patrick Hinton, Lowell Clarke Samuel Ward, Dan Whiteley
Feature
Skiddle launches ‘25 under 25’ initiative to discover new promoters Katie Burns Clearly not content with simply selling tickets for tens of thousands of events all over the UK, leading ticket agency Skiddle recently unveiled a new competition. We spoke to Jimmy, Skiddle’s Head of Content and Communication, to figure out what is exactly going on. The initiative, named ’25 under 25’, aims to recognize and support a new generation of UK amateur music promoters and event managers. Through this initiative, Skiddle hopes to “find the stars of tomorrow and develop them.” Unlike other ticketing websites that only focus on high-profile events, Skiddle has long been the champion of both established and up-andcoming event organizers. They maintain the ethos that “every single person who is selling tickets, irrespective of what it is for, deserves a good service.” They see ’25 under 25’ as an extension of this, and as an “investment in the industry’s future.” According to Jimmy, Skiddle chose to do this competition as they have already seen many promoters develop since 2006, when they began selling tickets. Many talented promoters who they first worked with on smaller nights have gone on to do bigger and better things, and Skiddle sees ’25 under 25’ as a way of “finding and nurturing” this talent before it develops. Despite this being their first formal competition, they hope to make it “something that carries on year upon year,” though possibly on a larger scale. Judging by the “strong entries” that have already
come forward this year, it seems like there might be a lot of untapped talent in this area. To be eligible a promoter has to have successfully ran one event between the start of the competition and Sunday the 14th of December, to have sold a minimum of 20 tickets with Skiddle, and of course they must be under 25. From there, a shortlist of 25 people will be picked, and after New Year one overall winner will be chosen from this group. They will be given a variety of invaluable prizes in 2015, including a full year’s worth of ‘promotion pack’, which will be personally tailored to them and their event. This will include things like support promoting their event, mentoring from industry experts, and a load of Skiddle merchandise. All in all, it will end up as a kind of “promotion apprenticeship” that you wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else. Even though the competition is not just open to student promoters, Jimmy says it would be perfect for them, as it is “based round the academic year,” and due to the flexible nature of the prize. Also, though the competition is being rolled out nationwide, Manchester residents have a good chance, due to it being a Skiddle “ticket stronghold,” and having such a vibrant music scene. So a student from Manchester probably has a damn good chance! As well as the competition and the internships they already offer, they are also looking into other ways of investing in young people “that show promise.”
Photo: Skiddle
Top 5
TOP
Song
5
Halloween hits
Samuel Ward, Music Editor
1. Monster Mash by Bobby Pickett This 1962 banger is probably the inspiration for Thriller’s monster dance scene. If this tune isn’t on your halloween pukebox, then looks like it’s trick for you boys and girls.
Photo: Chris Romano
the
MUSIC INTERVIEW
The Menzingers
Dan Whiteley talks to Greg Barnett about influences, musical departures and casual Fridays Dan Whiteley Music Editor Since the release of their breakthrough third album On the Impossible Past, Philadelphia four piece The Menzingers have risen to become one of the biggest names in the East Coast independent music scene. The follow up, Rented World, was released earlier this year, and continued to gain the band critical acclaim for their mix of Americana imagery and angst-ridden pop punk. Ahead of their sold out performance at Gorilla, I sat down with co-frontman Greg Barnett to discuss the new record, as well as their current European tour. First and foremost; are the band happy with the album’s reception? “Yeah absolutely!” He says, excitedly, “I mean, as pleased as you could be, it’s pretty unbelievable. We put the record out and immediately went straight to Europe for Groezrock festival, so we didn’t really know how the reception was gonna be until we were on this massive stage. And all of a sudden we opened up with the first song on the record, ‘I Don’t Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore’, and the place went off, so it was kind of a good feeling that people like it, and yeah man, it’s been great.” With the band’s previous record being so well loved – having being named album of the year by both the AbsolutePunk and Punknews.org communities – did they feel extra pressure to deliver on the follow up? “There was only really personal pressure.” Barnett shrugs, “We always just tried to make ourselves happy and our immediate close friend group, and our friend’s bands. You play off of them and get their opinions on it. But yeah, I don’t really give a shit about what reviewers and shit like that have to say. I don’t hang out with them, I don’t talk to them, they’re not the people we’re writing the songs for. It’s personal; we do it for ourselves.” Listeners have noted a growth in the songwriting on Rented World; whilst their
2. This is Halloween by Danny Elfman (Nightmare Before Christmas) It’s quite scary how this gothic orchestral masterpiece is also the soundtrack to the best Christmas film ever.
punk ferocity is intact, the band shows their grungier side this time round on tracks like the riff-heavy ‘In Remission’, whilst ‘Where Your Heartache Exists’ bears resemblance to the Pixies. Barnett suggests this is partly down to their listening habits at the time: “There was a lot of nineties rock; the Smashing Pumpkins were a big one that we were always listening to in the van, that we referenced for mixing and everything. And yeah, the Pixies of course, they’re a huge influence. And our friend’s bands, we’re inspired by the people we hang out with, we live in a pretty amazing music city of Philadelphia. There’s a lot of cool bands and we’re influenced by that.” One of the most talked about tracks on the new record is the stately ‘Transient Love’. Featuring some of Barnett’s most poignant lyrics to date and based around a hypnotic looping rhythm section and chiming, arenaready guitars, it’s an obvious highlight, and one that marks significant musical departure for the band. “It’s a very serious song, but it kinda came together very comically.” He elaborates, “We used to practice five days a week, and every Friday we would have something called ‘casual Fridays’. We’d just get a couple of cases of beer and we’d pretty much just stop writing songs, and it wasn’t serious. We’d just jam and play covers. And out of that came that song, that groove. Last summer we did a six week European tour, and I wrote the lyrics but didn’t have a song for it, and then that came together and it just fit really well. It was a song that we went to a completely different place with, it’s completely different from anything we’ve ever done, or even attempted. I really love that song.” Part of The Menzingers’ appeal is their ability to craft songs around familiar, often uncomfortable themes; their lyrics are filled with references to self-loathing, broken relationships and unfulfilled expectations. Their music, though, is driving and anthemic,
with soaring choruses and major-key melodies, giving these otherwise depressing words an uplifting, almost forgiving quality. Do fans find solidarity in these songs? “I think that’s a great way to put it, there are just human flaws you notice in everyday life, and song-writing is a great relief where you can get those things out. A lot of the songs usually come from darker places, but at the end of them there’s some kind of resolve I guess.” Is it bizarre, I ask, to hear hundreds of fans having the time of their lives whilst screaming line after line in the vein of “I will fuck this up/I fucking know it” every night? “Yeah, totally, of course. It’s really funny. There’s a lot of songs like that, that’s the kind of band we are, in that we write these really personal songs. To have that many people sing along like that to a very specific moment in your life, it’s totally surreal. In particular there’s a part in the song ‘Gates’ where we were buying a case of beer from my friend’s older sister and these undercover cops busted us in the CBS parking lot. And that’s the song, and it’s cool for people to hear that, and I can vividly go back to being in that parking lot, the cops coming up and being like ‘we got you!’ and we were like ‘aww no, we’re not doing anything!’, you know? It’s cool.” Having gained a reputation for being one of the hardest working bands on the circuit, what does the future hold for The Menzingers? “Well, we’re always touring. That’s what we do. People sometimes say ‘how do you go on for that long?’, but it’s what we’ve always known and it’s fun, and if you enjoy it, why stop? So we do this tour, then we go home and we’re doing a quick weekend with our friends Spraynard, then on to Gainesville to do this big festival down there. Just staying busy, and writing songs in between.” He sums up, “We just keep going.”
3. Thriller by Michael Jackson
4. Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr.
5. Ghost Town by The Specials
The king of pop becomes the king of the dead in this gravestone cold classic. Not many other songs can boast a epic 13-minute horror movie for their video.
Re-issued last year on glow-inthe-dark vinyl for record store day, the number 1 hit still tastes as good as marshmallow.
Depressing and spooky, like Fallowfield on a Sunday morning.
ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
@ MancunionMusic / TheMancunionMusicSection
Music
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The tills are alive with Opinion the Sound of Music
the
Stephen Miller If you cast your mind back to the last time you strolled around a shopping centre, whether it was to buy new clothes, or to meet a friend or two for a coffee and a gossip, it is more than likely that there would have been some form of music playing in the background. You may have been aware that it was there, but do you know why it was there? Background music is perhaps more intricate and intentional than the casual observer might imagine. It is supposed to surround us without any attention being afforded to it, yet music has become more authoritarian and intrusive within our every day lives. Songs used in stores, particularly fashion stores, can possess thematic identity. In other words, each store may utilise a different genre of music in order to establish
Stephen Miller discusses the highstreet’s instore playlists: are there ulterior motives involved?
a relationship between the brand and the demographic in which the store is targeting. The songs you would typically hear in Topman, for example, are primarily indie based, which is reflective of the indierock casual styles that Topman have in-store. Superdry, however, has a preference for more electronic-based music, which reflects their urban and Americana-influenced ranges. Stores differentiate themselves from each other through the music that they play, so it is almost as if music and fashion conspire together to create an ideological dictatorship of identity. If we assume that ‘ideology’ as a general concept represents sets of ideas and values, do the choices in what clothes we buy, and where we buy them from, reflect aspects of values and ideologies
the idea that a specific song is being used to snare me into the trap of buying a new jumper is rather worrying that we hold as individuals? Ideologies are ‘contained’ in music as an expression of emotion that carry with it
Sam Smith, All in a single Gorgon City, Night! Labrinth, Ella Eyre & Rixton
intentionally to snare me into the trap of buying a new jumper is rather worrying, as it is not what music was intended for. It sends me into a state of paranoia as I try to recall other situations in which music may have altered my subconscious
thinking in order to make me do something I would not have considered otherwise. It is a form of aural trespassing, but it just goes to show that there is far more to music than meets the ear.
Photo: 20th Century Fox/ Stephen Miller (edit)
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Live
Live
Jonny Greenwood & the L.C.O. Albert Hall - 10th October 2014
9/10
The Tribal Sessions: Apollonia Sankeys - 4th October 2014
7.5/10
Aidan Gregory Editor-in-chief
Alex Daniel By nature, this concert drew a mixed bag. Cool-dad, BBC 6 music listeners, die-hard Radiohead fans and classical music connoisseurs alike crammed into the Albert Hall, not knowing what to expect but drawn by the name on the ticket; Jonny Greenwood’s widespread appeal as guitarist of Radiohead is undeniable. It is easy to dismiss someone like him as a serious classical composer because of just this, but as the London Contemporary Orchestra dynamically reproduced some of the finest moments from his film scores such as There Will Be Blood, it was hard to ignore the versatility and emotional depth displayed in his writing. It wasn’t just the Jonny Greenwood show though; other composers’ works featured just as much, the best of which was a gut wrenchingly intense solo cello rendition of Michael Gordon’s ‘Industry’. Greenwood’s impressive playing of Steve Reich’s ‘Electric Counterpoint’ later on was also a performance to be savoured. The thrilling third movement of this wonderful minimalist piece was awe-inspiring, and
systems of ideals that are both genre and culturally specific. The systematic approach for choosing the music that is played in stores could, therefore, correspond with ideological traits that are similar to any particular fashion brand, as well as us, the consumers. So is music becoming too intrusive? Whilst accepting that music plays an important role in marketing, it is important to be reminded that its fundamental purpose, for use of a better word, is to be a source of limitless pleasure and inspiration. Though it is now virtually impossible to avoid in our day-to-day ventures, a line has to be drawn as to how music is used with regards to its function, as well as the context and surroundings in which we listen to it. The idea that a specific song within a specific genre is being used
Photo: wonker @ flickr
the Radiohead star’s skill as a player, not just a composer, really shone through. Perhaps the most memorable moment for the audience, however, was when a web link appeared on the projector after the interval, just as the orchestra moved onto a slower Greenwood original. When you clicked the link it made a sound, you joined the performance and before long every smartphone was emitting twinkling sound effects. Not only a masterstroke of originality, it worked fantastically with the slow
melancholy of the piece and this sort of forward thinking is what set the concert apart. It bridged the gap between a gig and a classical music event, and in my opinion that was its greatest success. That, and the fact that Greenwood made accessible the genre of contemporary classical music to a demographic which, under normal circumstances, wouldn’t have given it a second glance—quite an achievement.
In the last 14 years, Tribal Sessions has established itself as one of Manchester’s go-to underground house nights. The 14th birthday weekender did not disappoint. Having not been to Sankeys since our first year, my housemates and I were pretty excited as the days of the week counted down until Saturday night. And once inside the club, the hype amongst the crowd in the minutes before Apollonia were due to take to the decks was obvious. I spoke to one guy who came up from London to see their set, and to a bunch of Chinese guys who lamented the fact that Beijing doesn’t have such a booming house scene. The Parisian house trio, made up of Dan Ghenacia, Dyed Soundorom, and Shonky, are known affectionately by fans and critics as “the three musketeers”. They dropped a smooth set which didn’t fail to get the whole of the Sankeys pumping. Drawing heavily on the work of Prince, their mission statement in effect, is to blend black and white
Photo: Matt Eachus
musical influences, to produce house music which is funky and drum heavy. The group have recently claimed in an interview that their sound and mixing improves when they are three together—greater than the sum of their parts. Having never seen any of their solo sets live, I can’t confirm or deny this. But it certainly can be said that the three of them together had a commanding presence up on a stage. The Sankeys basement also really lent itself Apollonia’s sound, whilst also maintaining a
relatively intimate feel. Following their set in Manchester, the trio are currently on the road in North America. In the last two weeks, they have performed in New York, Montreal, Las Vegas, and Washington D.C. Tribal sessions have two more shows this month—on Friday the 24th, and then a Halloween special on the 31st; which will see all the usual suspects play, including Darius Syrossian.
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Music
ISSUE 06/ 20th OCT0BER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
What’s Right... Or Shite?
Mancunion Recommends
This week in Music
Wank for Peace – Fail Forward
Lowell Clarke
Struggle Town; 10th October 2014
Sonic Highways:
2/10
Foo Fighters have teamed up with HBO to bring us a TV show on american music. Apparently it will document the recording of their upcoming album at a number of classic studios across the USA.
Zakk Brown Wank for Peace are a French hardcore punk rock band who sadly put more thought into their name than into creating music. And evidently they spent little time on the name as it is. The quintet’s sixth LP Fail Forward achieves little other than a headache from a combination of the drum pattern that doesn’t change once throughout the whole album, and the lead vocals that sound like a chain-smoking banshee after a tracheotomy. Opening track ‘Friends First’ lets you know exactly what you’re getting into with extremely distorted power chords and throat-shattering vocals. Follow-up track ‘Heavy Shoulders’ at least has a better melody but third track ‘Five Steps to Nothing’ sounds so similar that I had to double check I hadn’t accidentally pressed repeat. Track four ‘Is That What You Expected, Kid?’ continues in this fashion and if I was the titular kid, my answer would be “yes” by this point. It is here that you’ll notice not only how every song sounds the same but also how tedious the album gets in a very short time. All the clichés are present on the album too. Every song has back-up chants typical of hardcore DIY punk, like a battle-cry to rally the troops of miserable twats who think the world owes them a favour. Each song is also packed with lyrics of self loathing that serve only to contribute to the tediousness of the album.
Photo: Garrett Coakley @Flickr
Meow the Jewels:
Rap duo Run The Jewels will be remixing their upcoming album with just cat sounds. I for one can’t wait to get my paws on it.
There are two positives however, tracks ‘You Are the Weak Spot’ and ‘Mea Culpa’ employ some decent bass work which is a nice relief, though short lived, to the repetition. The other positive is that at least the tracks are short, some clocking in at less than two minutes. Wank for Peace unintentionally describe their latest LP Fail Forward in the first word of both its album name and the band name and do nothing new or interesting in it. It is by far one of the most boring albums I’ve heard in a while and listening to it was as mind-numbing as what I imagine office work to be.
8/10
Cecilia Bicknell “It’s not who I am, it’s who I’ll never be,” sings William Oldham, or Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy as we have come to know him. And what we know for sure Oldham will never be is dull. Singer’s Grave A Sea Of Tongues is Oldham’s 13th studio album under the moniker, and doesn’t fail to disappoint. Reminiscent of the mournful melodic ‘I See A Darkness’, his first album under the name, Singer’s Grave is a return to form for the American singer. The title song, the last of 11 tracks, is well worth the wait and hits you with a gentle force that builds into a powerful chorus that will make you want to smile and cry all at once. The album has a softness to it, but that’s not to say it’s background music in any way; it’s enthralling and heartbreaking all at once. The lyrics are a breath of fresh air in the somewhat stagnant music scene and the simple but effective arrangements work perfectly in an album that’s tipped to become one of 2014’s finest. The opening track ‘Night Noises’ gives a strong indication of what’s to come, effortlessly executed slide guitar with a soft bluegrass beat and husky vocals, Oldham delivers exactly what you would expect from the man once covered by Johnny Cash himself. Things heat up for the second track ‘So Far and Here We Are’ with Oldham giving a brief to nod to his all American roots, with a resonating bass line and jangling guitar. ‘Quail And Dumplings’ is both sad and uplifting with a somewhat unnecessary female backing vocal providing an extra
Flash-Right: Parent friendly dance musician Bonobo, has dropped new track Flashlight from the upcoming EP of the same name. Photo: Press Shot
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Singer’s Grave a Sea Of Tongues Drag City Records; 23rd September
Photo: Press Shot
Poop Smear: Canadian weirdos (or should that just be Canadian?) Crystal Castles have split up. Don’t worry though, Alice Glass will continue to harass live audiences as she embarks on a new solo career. Photo: Press Shot
Oi Shithead, Got Any Gum?
layer to already complex song. Such is the mesmerizing power of Oldham’s voice that I could quite happily listen to him sing the phone book and be blissfully content. The album is admittedly a little self-indulgent at times, with middle tracks ‘We Are Unhappy’ and ‘It’s Time To Be Clear’ showcasing more of his songwriting skills, but not exactly showing us anything new. This isn’t to say that the album is in any way tedious; it’s gentle and beautiful leaving you fulfilled and craving more. Inevitably comparisons will be made to lesser musicians as is always the way, but listen to this for Prince Billy and him alone.
Nothing quite ruins a night at Warehouse Project like a mate trying to take a photo of you looking like Jim Carrey with a third-degree gurn. B-e-a-utiful! Photo: Warner Bros
Meghan Traitor:
As the inevitable backlash occurs, the singer of ‘All About That Bass’ has said she doesn’t even consider herself a feminist. Which isn’t all that suprising, seeing as the song is about looking good for guys. Photo: Screengrab
Games
ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
15
Editors: James Thursfield, Matthew Cole
Feature Play Expo 2014 I approach the queue beside EventCity with doubts. Two-hundred people are stretched around the perimeter of the huge warehouse space, rubbing their hands together and huddling for warmth, and worryingly they all appear to be wearing normal clothes. Is this really a group of gamers waiting to get into a gaming exhibition, I ask myself, and if so, how did they manage to crawl out of their piss-ridden hell holes at such an ungodly hour on a Saturday morning? Skulking to the back of the line, I scan for signs that I’m in the right place. The signs are mixed - one girl is clad in a yellow vest-top, denim shorts and red braces, so she is surely cosplaying as Misty from Pokémon, which is a good sign, but others nearby are in smart-casual wear and none of them have their heads buried in handheld gaming systems, which is a little disconcerting. Nobody is talking about games, either. Suddenly I feel like a head louse that has accidentally alighted on Greg Wallace’s shiny nut, fidgeting and panicking in search of a more salubrious environment. Before resorting to the horrible option of verbal inquiry, I take a final peek over the shoulder of a tall man in front of me in the hope of uncovering a vital clue when, lo and behold, a most nerdy and fanboyish scene unfolds in the queue. As a female attendant walks down the line, checking everyone for their pre-paid tickets, she is rudely put off her stride by a fourteen-year-old boy in a lab coat, who stoops across her path, places a knee on the ground, and then spits the words ‘for science!’ at her face whilst forcing a home-made K’NEX Portal Gun to her chin. Normality has been breached. In the young teenager’s head, the performance is met with a resounding chorus of belly laughter and an overwhelming cheer of
solidarity from the lungs and mouths of his gung-ho gaming allies, but in reality the moment breeds a short, excruciating silence as the crowd struggles to comprehend the meaning of the act, and this is then followed by cynical pointing, snickering and facepalming. We had collectively crushed his spirit and suppressed any future impulses he might have to be creative in public again. His expression was one of nihilistic despair. On the plus side, I now knew I was in the right queue for PlayExpo 2014. Upon entering, I realised there was a stupid amount to see and do. The room had four football pitches’ worth
posing with, competitive fifteen-player games projected onto big screens, seemingly endless lines of free-to-play arcade machines and pinball tables, indie games-developers showcasing recent projects with virtual reality, gaming markets selling posters, consoles, animes, hoodies, key rings, jewellery, cuddly toys, fancy dress, and just about everything else, card tables for competitions, giant-sized Gameboys, cosplay parades, YouTube celebrity signings, and rows upon rows of retro games consoles geared up for play. Enough to make your head spin. It was the strong indie showing that I was particularly interested in. There
Photo: Lee Dyer@Flickr
of floorspace, all of it divided into sections with tables and tape, and all of it quickly filled by two and a half thousand people. There were dozens of activities to participate in across the whole venue, which I’m obliged to list fleetingly due to a lack of column inches. Hold your breath: there were developer lectures, PC and PlayStation 4 demos, iconic TV and film props for
I met Steven from PixelBomb Games, who was demoing the team’s labour of love, Beyond Flesh and Blood, a third-person mech shooter set in a dystopian Manchester. The game draws on Gears of War style combat elements but makes things much more fluid, giving players the option to jet-pack towards or away from enemies in environments that stress
Matthew Cole reports on Manchester’s biggest gaming exhibition
verticality and fast-paced movement. Steven told me the company is hoping to launch the single player component of the game on Steam next year, with multiplayer functionality in the pipeline post-release. I asked him which Manchester landmarks players could expect to find in the game, and while he couldn’t promise any missions set amid the university campus, he did confirm Albert Square, the Arndale, and Piccadilly Gardens as key locations. Graphically the game was very impressive, considering the small size of the studio and the engine’s pre-alpha build, but I still felt compelled to point out to Steven that the game didn’t look very realistic at all, for there wasn’t any rain in the demo. We both gave way to a hearty guffaw in the wake of my supreme wit, and then he told me to go away and try the demo at home. You can test the demo yourself by downloading it from the game’s official website, and you can rest easy in the knowledge that weather effects are soon to be patched in. At the event I also got hands-on time with virtual reality. It wasn’t the mind-blowing experience I had been hoping for, but that was partly because there were no first-person games to utilise the headsets at the exhibition. In their place were a few smaller titles that nevertheless benefited from an augmented 3D effect, games like TxK, a trippy space shooter inspired by the 1981 arcade hit, Tempest. Having played Tempest on one of the arcade machines an hour previously, I was totally on board for this revitalized take on the game with its electrifying new soundtrack and easy-to-learn, hard-to-master gameplay, but such a demonstration was clearly going to have a hard time convincing me of the firepower of the Oculus Rift. If nothing else, the TxK demo does hint at a bright
future for the technology. Ever heard of OctoDad? If you haven’t, you should check the trailer out immediately, or better yet, download the game. Aside from DriveClub, the brand new triple-A racer from Evolution Studios, OctoDad was the only PlayStation 4 demo worth playing at the event. In the game you control a haphazard octopus that attempts to pass itself off as a human father. By manipulating your many tentacles with the analogue sticks, you must navigate cramped domestic spaces and complete daily chores without bumping into things or arousing suspicion. Essentially, the goal is to emulate the modern-day man without revealing your crippling ineptitude, which turns the game into a rather poignant biography of my own life. OctoDad: Dadliest Catch has been available since April this year, and whilst it genuinely made me laugh out loud several times, it also served to highlight the gaping lack of new content elsewhere at the show. Overall, this year’s PlayExpo gave attendees a solid blend of old and new. It was as educational as it was fun, and for that reason alone I can recommend it to all readers who take an active interest in gaming. If you’re knocking about in Manchester next autumn, by all means throw your cash down and let yourself be taken back through time, just don’t go in expecting to be enlightened about the future of the medium.
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor: The One Game to Rule Them All? Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor was launched 30th September and has received universal acclaim. Despite being launched in the same period as blockbuster titles such as Destiny, Thief and Watch Dogs, developer Monolith has produced a game that has critically surpassed all of them. Nevertheless, questions have arisen about whether it is a truly great Lord of the Rings game. This concern has between triggered in part by the absence of ‘The Lord Of The Rings’ in the game’s title. It is easy to assume that a game set within the book and movie’s universe should adhere to a title that possesses such a popular following. It therefore seems to the casual that such an absence implies a lack of loyalty to the original source material. However, it has turned out that this very departure from the book and film has produced the greatest Lord of the Rings videogame ever made. Shadow of Mordor tells the story of a Ranger from Gondor called Talion, set between the events of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. At the start of the game Talion and his family are killed during Sauron’s return to Middle-Earth. However, instead of dying, Talion is rescued by an Elven wraith called Celebrimbor, is made immortal, and gains wraith-like abilities in the process. The game quickly becomes a story of
revenge, where Talion gorily crosses through Mordor on his quest to kill The Black Hand of Sauron whilst learning more about Celebrimbor’s past. As a piece of Tolkien lore, the game succeeds. The story touches upon areas that are only briefly mentioned in the books. Through the combination of exploring Celebrimbor’s past and interaction with Gollum, the player learns more about the origins of Sauron and the forging of the Rings of Power. Furthermore, collectibles in the game pay homage to groups such as the Dwarves and the Bagginses and demonstrate the great degree of integrity and care the developers have showed towards the source material. The big question that remains is, why the game does not possess ‘The Lord of the Rings’ epithet in its title? The game is clearly sufficiently accurate and loyal enough to Tolkien’s lore to be deserving of the title. It is even possible that the game could be more commercially successful if it possessed the official seal of the franchise. The problem lies in the creative restrictions of “spin-off” video games. Bob Roberts, lead designer on Shadow of Mordor, alludes to the problem within the games industry by stating, “Our goal at the beginning was not to make a movie game… Not to just rehash the events over again.”
Such a statement is not unreasonable. The majority of Lord of the Rings games, including the most recent Lego Hobbit game, have been criticized for showing little creativity due to a commitment to reliving events of the movie in authentic fashion. Shadow of Mordor, in contrast, excels with the creative freedom it is allotted with its departure from the franchise. The ‘nemesis system’ serves as a prime example of an innovative mechanic which was introduced as a result of such freedom. This system revolves
around the game randomly generating orc enemies which adapt with the player’s progression through the game. The orcs will grow in rank and difficulty if they are fortunate enough to land a finishing blow on the player and they will recount their previous engagements with the player on later meetings. This creates a personal relationship between the player and the randomly generated enemy which is engaging to the extent that most players become more immersed in their own personal stories with orc captains rather than
Photo: BagoGames@Flickr
with the story of the game itself. This demonstrates how the success of the Shadow of Mordor does not come from scripting an experience in the tradition of the Lord of the Rings franchise, but with creating new mechanics which immerse the player into the universe. The same freedom is reflected in the game’s mission structure which offers an explorable open-world and gives the player the choice of what they want to complete first. Whether that is a story mission, side mission or just playing around with the ‘nemesis system’, Shadow of Mordor gives the player the same freedom that was clearly allotted to them in the production of the game. Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor is the best Lord of the Rings videogame ever made because it does not hold the eponymous title. Instead of getting bogged down in rehashing the same events and environments which the player is already aware of, Monolith has produced a new experience within Tolkien’s universe. Such freedom has allowed them to incorporate systems which are genuinely innovative and ensure that the game succeeds as a stand-alone experience. Monolith has shown that it is not about having one ring, but how one bends it to their will. by James Thursfield
ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Editors: Gráinne Morrison, Aimée Grant Cumberbatch, Nikki Patel (Beauty) Beauty
The Halloween issue
/TheMancunion: Fashion & Beauty @MancunionFash
Tutorial: Seriously Scary Skull
The final nail Spooktacular accessories in the coffin
It’s time to ditch the ‘sexy kitten’; this year Halloween is about looking scary with Ellie Howe’s simple skull make up tutorial
Left your Halloween look to the last minute? Laura Springer gives us her top 5 spookcessories for a frighteningly quick fix.
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Inspiration
Tutorial
Accessories
Fashion
3
1
Halloween style stars from the silver screen Aimée Grant Cumberbatch gives us 5 of the film world’s evilest villains whose style you’ll want to steal
Chloe Collingwood gives us her pick of the most bewitching Halloween manicures
Ghost mask, George @ Asda, £5 Butterfly wings, George @ ASDA, £5
Cat mask, Claire’s Accessories, £12 Haven’t had time to plan your outfit for Halloween? Don’t want to spend a fortune on a tacky costume that you’ll only wear once? Then we’ve got it covered. Halloween is a time when all of the fashion boundaries are broken and whatever you wear you’re bound to fit in perfectly with the rest of the witches, cats, zombies and pirates! Here are five accessories that will Halloween-ify any outfit.
Photo: tatievangelista @Flickr
Use any shade of green as a base coat and simply paint on your eyes and stitches with a toothpick.
Apply white face paint all over the face using a makeup sponge (both sold in Afflecks Palace). Draw two black blobs over the eyes using black eyeliner and eye shadow – think morning panda eyes. You can also add black eyeliner into the waterline for a more dramatic effect. Use the eyeliner to draw around the end of the nose, covering the nostrils, and create two points leading up towards the eyes (make sure your eyeliner is sharp enough). Fill this in using eye shadow. Using the eyeliner, draw a thin line leading from both corners of the mouth, keeping it in line with the hollow between the lips.
Lip paint No. 37, Barry M, £4.25
Photo: Walt Disney Pictures
Petrol Black Dazzle Dust, Barry M, £4.59 All photos: Ellie Howe
Trend Photo: cenizzzanicerone @Flickr
Simply add an orange base and then use a toothpick to paint on the pumpkin face with triangles.
evil.girl666 @Flickr
Add a black base and again use a toothpick or small brush to paint your white skull face and bones.
Consider yourself a dab hand at magnificent manicures? Send us a picture by tagging us on Twitter at @mancunionfash or on Instagram at @mancunionfashionandbeauty. #happyhalloween
Gothic fashion will never die Adrienne Galloway on the universal allure of the Gothic look Traditionally the term ‘Goth’ is associated with a specific social group, and this often comes with connotations of music taste, and attitudes towards more intricate issues like cultism. However, since the turn of the century the fashion and beauty industry has seen an explosion of Gothic subculture begin to influence a wider market. Gothic fashion has inspired us to experiment with black, red, royal purple and other dark palettes by pairing them with captivating fabrics. As well as being pleasing to the eye and touch, these fabrics also add an element of mystery. Velvet, silk and sheer fabrics make seemingly simplistic items of clothing more dynamic. The use of lengths and layers creates more depth to dark ensembles—particularly outfits in all black. Kim Kardashian proved this by wearing a statement Givenchy sheer black lace jumpsuit at their AW14/15 show at Paris Fashion Week. In terms of make-up, winged eye-liner is a common feature of everyday make-up and can be applied more fiercely to transform a look from day to night. Everyone’s favourite ‘MAC Ruby Woo vamp’ lipstick has been substituted for a much darker lip (à la Jessie J), and there has been continued mass production of Urban Decay’s Smoked eye shadow palette.
Although some of us may associate Gothic clothing with Avril Lavigne and an overwhelming increase in black eye pencil sales, simply observing the case of fashionista Lorde will help you to see how underlying Gothic influence has inspired a huge fashion following. From high-street fashion to Valentino’s studded sling-backs, there’s no doubt that Gothic style is currently influencing the way we dress. It’s the unconscious element of this trend that leads me to believe it won’t be vanquished any time soon.
Photo: eatingthesun.blogspot.com
Maleficient Even before Angelina Jolie’s cut-glass cheekbones came into the picture, Maleficient’s long black cloak and statement collar made her a seriously scary style icon. With Miss Jolie in the mix however, the Mistress of All Evil’s red lip and smoky eye beauty look is even more desirable.
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Devil set, Claire’s Accessories, £10
To create the illusion of teeth, use the eyeliner to draw a triangular cap over the ‘teeth’ lines, and fill in the gaps between these triangles on the back three ‘teeth’. Use a fluffy eye shadow brush to blend out these lines, creating the illusion of more depth. Use black eye shadow to fill-in the top jaw bone, roughly applying it to the central gaps and blending out using the same fluffy brush. Follow this above the jaw bone, leading up to the temple. Fill in the temple using the same technique.
Draw a series of perpendicular lines over the mouth line to replicate teeth until you reach the middle of the jawline (there should be about fourteen lines in total). Draw in the jaw bone using eyeliner; Start by tracing around the jaw up to the ear, then sketch the jaw bones, replicating the shapes seen in the accompanying photo. Fill in the gaps between the bone shapes, to create the illusion of a hollow. Make sure that the line from the mouth falls in the middle of the cheek-hollow.
Cruella DeVille Back in 1996 Cruella’s animal skin obsession made her less of an icon and more of an oddity, however fast forward to 2014 and her monochrome ensembles and supersized fur coats would look at home in the street style circus outside any fashion show.
To create contours around the eyes, draw two semi-circular lines around the start of the eyebrow, coming from the eye hollows. Draw similar lines directly underneath the eye hollows (think 9 AM eye bags) and around the bottom of the hollow, over the cheek bone. Draw another, less precise line either side of the nose, roughly joining the under eye lines. Blend them out, creating a contouring effect around either side of the nose. Set the entire look with a setting spray to finish and voilà! You are now a seriously scary skull.
Trick or Treat Emma Victoria Orgill gives us an ASOS-inspired Halloween indulgence
Trickor Treat
‘From high-street fashion to Valentino’s studded sling-backs, there’s no doubt that Gothic style is currently influencing the way we dress.’
Valentino shoes, Selfidges Photo: mkfm.com
Photo: asos.com
When I think of Halloween fashion, the words ‘black’ and ‘lace’ immediately spring to mind. And combined, I believe they epitomise the ideal clothing marriage. Another perfect element to add to this duo is the online shopping haven we all know as ASOS, and its endless supply of clothing. If you’re not looking to go all out in crazy fancy dress, then we believe ASOS has the perfect combination of black lace garments that if accessorised in the right way, will make you look effortlessly fashionable. This ASOS Victoriana Lace and Organza Top can be perfectly combined with an A-line skirt—as shown in the image, or even a pair of your finest black jeans. The sheer and lace elements provide just enough skin on show, whilst the high neck adds a little extra high-end fashionability. Again, an item that can be worn over again to suit any occasion and at only £36.00, the price tag isn’t too much for your student budget. We’re all willing to spend that bit extra on Halloween! An up-do really shows off the detail and adds some sleek simplicity to the outfit, but feel free to add your own twist or wacky hair style if you’re feeling adventurous!
Photo: Warner Bros Pictures
Conversely, I do understand that some of you want to go that extra mile and stand out from the crowd. ASOS own brand have spoilt us with this midi-skirt that adds a sense of class to a crazy evening. Whether you are pairing this skirt with some scarily-drawn face paint, or subtly adding a few accessories to the attire, you will be sure to catch a few eyes. The skirt can be found on ASOS’ online transactional website for £55.00—and therefore, may be considered as more of a one-off purchase. However, post-Halloween, I can see the evidently intricate skirt toneddown with a minimalistic top and a delicate necklace. It’s also a perfect length for the coming colder months! Don’t be afraid to embrace the Halloween trends that the high-street has to offer— after all, it’s only Halloween once a year.
‘Lace and black epitomise the ideal clothing marriage’ Another perfect element to add to this duo is the online shopping haven we all know as ASOS.’
Beetlejuice Monochrome plus a sharp suit can only equal style points, well that’s what you’d think… Unfortunately the famous costume reached new horrible heights last year when everybody’s favourite creepy misogynist Robin Thicke wore a version to the VMAs. There are two ways to go, either sample the Beetlejuice stripe in one element of your Halloween outfit for understated appeal, or go full on Thicke. There’s no doubt which one’s more frightening…
Photo: Paramount Pictures
Photo: asos.com
Wednesday Addams Heroine of goth girls the world over, Wednesday’s chic black pinafore with contrasting white colour are oh so Valentino and has inspired legions of copycats. Topped off with her trademark pigtail plaits, this look is best accessorised with apathy and deep disdain.
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Film
ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Editors: Tom Bruce, Andriana Hambi, James Moules, Martin Solibakke Top Five
Feature
Fincher’s Feminine Flicks
Top Five: Trans-cendent Characters Be they men dressed as women, women dressed as men, men that are women, women that are men, women that are men dressed as women or any of the other possible permuations of those things, Eleanor Stead thinks these players are simply fabulous.
5) Miles, Bright Young Things Michael Sheen is by far the best thing in Stephen Fry’s average adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s Vile Bodies as a deliciously camp, but ultimately tragic character with cross-dressing tendencies and some entertaining one-liners (“I have a strange longing to play something crimson and obscene by Besson!”).
4) Buffalo Bill, Silence of the Lambs Ted Levine plays the Ed Gein-inspired serial killer who murders overweight women to make his suit of human skin. Whilst Hannibal Lecter is more original, Buffalo Bill’s naked dance to Q Lazzarus’ ‘Goodbye Horses’ leaves permanent mental scarring, and the surprising effectiveness of his DIY genital concealment is revelatory.
Photo: Orion Pictures
3) Dr. Frank N. Furter, The Rocky Horror Picture Show Tim Curry is strangely alluring as a mad scientist from the planet Transsexual in this cult adaptation of the 70s musical. Decked out in fishnets and a corset, the promiscuous Dr Frank N Furter is officially the sexiest cross-gender alien in cinematic history.
Women in film just got interesting. In a big way.
James Moules observes strong undertones of social commentary in the director’s recent films. Women are underrepresented in Hollywood. There, I said it. A vast majority of decent lead roles in major movies are written for men, and a wildly disproportionate number of notable directors are male. It’s therefore not surprising how often we hear about a one-sided portrayal of women in mainstream cinema—women are frequently characterised by a torrent of gender stereotypes that are often either out of touch or, in some extreme cases, just plain misogynistic. As clichéd as the above complaint may be, it is pertinent—it’s relatively uncommon to find an original (or, at the very least, interesting) portrayal of women in film outside the underappreciated world of independent cinema. And, at a first glance, the filmography of David Fincher doesn’t seem to be much different—does anyone recall the thoughtprovoking themes about femininity explored in Se7en or Fight Club? Both of those films (which are probably Fincher’s two best known features) are unquestionably all about the men of the show. So where do the women come into Mr Fincher’s world? While Alien 3 and Panic Room both gave us a look at what Fincher was capable of doing with strong female characters, it wasn’t until his three most recent films (including Gone Girl) had been released that I realised the man’s genius at portraying the role of women in society through film. Through a loose trilogy consisting of The Social Network, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and Gone Girl, Fincher has given us what I would argue is the greatest exploration of gender roles— especially those of women—ever committed to the silver screen. These three movies have each provided a very different lens through which to see the feminine gender role—in fact, I’d almost go
Photo: Pathe
1) Patrick ‘Kitten’ Braden, Breakfast on Pluto Set during the Irish political upheaval of the 1970s, Cillian Murphy plays a heartbreakingly vulnerable young transsexual who uses his imagination as an escape, condemning the political conflict as “serious, serious, serious.” Despite his inability to face reality, Kitten’s inner strength, wit and heart of gold ultimately win the affection of even the most unlikely characters.
Photo: 20th Century Fox
states that he was driven to found Napster through sexual jealousy. While it would be wrong to describe the women in this world as powerless, it’s somewhat difficult to see the film as a glowing example of female empowerment. Obviously, as far as the movie goes, this portrayal of women as objects is laced with irony, but it still doesn’t stop the image of people as simply names on a screen being eerily relevant. Take The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo next, which serves as our Ghost of Christmas Present in this analogy. Although I’d argue the film doesn’t quite do the source material justice, the point still stands—this movie gives us women fighting back. The film’s titular character finds herself in a world darkened by disturbingly frequent acts of sexual violence against women, and we’re given the satisfaction of seeing the perpetrators bludgeoned with the blunt end of just
revenge. It’s a film about female power lashing out against hatred and bigotry. Describing it simply as a revenge flick would be a little unfair though—it has far more weight to it to be seen as a simple exercise in retaliation. It’s about the liberation of the oppressed—we can celebrate now! Huzzah! But then comes Gone Girl, our Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. This movie is a portrayal of female empowerment gone sinister. As Fincher has already told us in Fight Club, masculinity is in a crisis, and Gone Girl shows us this crisis with a polar shift of gender roles that gives us a frightening portrait of the nature of relationships in the wake of the rapidly evolving places that men and women hold in society. Is Gone Girl a cautionary tale? I don’t think so personally—I simply see it as an exploration of ideas—but the implications of the world that Mr Fincher gives us in Gone Girl has are far from cheery. When we consider these films as a loose trilogy, Fincher truly has given us a fascinating portrait of the role of women in film. In this sweeping narrative arc, there are no heroes and no villains—the man simply gives us a portrayal of how the two genders interact. From the cold and reserved attitudes of men towards women in The Social Network, to the vibrant bust of female power striking out in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo to the sinister Iago-figure of Amy playing her husband like a marionette in Gone Girl, Mr Fincher has proven himself to be a master of telling tales of gender identity in cinema. What separates him from his peers is that he features female characters in his films, not female caricatures. It’s something that few Hollywood directors do, and even fewer realise it. Whether or not this makes Fincher a feminist director is open to interpretation—I hope that he inspires many more to broaden their horizons.
Classic Review
American Beauty
2) Bree Osbourne, Transamerica Felicity Huffman deservedly won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Bree, a transgender woman who discovers shortly before undergoing surgery that she has a son. This take on a road trip comedy is both hilarious and deeply moving, and is as much about parenthood as it is about the difficulties of being transgender.
so far as to call it a progression. In The Social Network, we have what we might call the here equivalent of The Ghost of Christmas Past. To the protagonists of this movie, women are the objects of their motivation— Mark Zuckerberg’s ex-girlfriend in the film is his Rosebud, and Sean Parker explicitly
Isabella Yianni “In less than a year I’ll be dead,” we are told by Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) in the opening sequence of American Beauty, a definite highpoint in 90s Hollywood cinema and a compelling tragicomedy of sorts. The film that was Sam Mendes’ directorial debut back in 1999 is dark and quick-witted from the outset, embroiling you in the story as soon as it begins. A home-video style first scene showcases a girl (Thora Birch) complaining about her loser father, instantly providing the audience with a preconceived idea of Lester, an idea he certainly conforms to at the beginning of the film. Kevin Spacey’s tremendous portrayal of Lester brings vibrancy to his Dorian Grayesque yearning for youth. At the root of the plot is the repression of the central characters. Lester decides he has had enough of his numbing office job and artificial suburbanite existence; he goes through life unnoticed by his wife and far removed from his daughter. His subdued
Director: Sam Mendes Starring: Kevin Spacey, Thora Birch, Mena Suvari, Chris Cooper Released: 1999
next-door neighbours, an austere ex-marine and his withdrawn, drug-dealing son who provide the real spin on the story and a depth to the plot which, after many misunderstandings, essentially boils down to a whodunnit. The film is a perfectly executed satire of American suburban life and the ‘American Dream’. Funny, mysterious and exhilarating, it draws upon the futilities of modern life and is unique for the depth with which we get to know each Photo: DreamWorks Pictures of the Burnhams. Every character is flawed and no one is thought feelings are released in the form of a warped of as they were in the start once we have obsession for his daughter’s bitchy best friend reached the end of the journey. The score (Mena Suvari) and his new position at a burger provided by Thomas Newman (twelve times joint—an attempt at reliving his teenage years. Oscar nominated but yet to win) completely Feeling belittled by his family and wrapped captures the mood of the film with its use up in his own outlets he is oblivious to his wife of percussion instruments, making for a Carolyn’s (Annette Bening) and daughter’s quirky composition reminiscent of the classic similar rebellions, making for a picture perfect Badlands (1973) soundtrack. In many ways family on the outside that we soon realise is American Beauty conveys a bleak outlook on tarnished by very real flaws. Lester’s rebellion life, but it is nonetheless a captivating film and stems from very ordinary anxieties that make a beautiful piece of cinema. him the common man’s hero: he’s “just an ordinary guy with nothing to lose.” It is the new
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Film 19
ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
@mancunionfilm
Review
TV Guide
Annabelle
TV
GUIDE
In Sarah Wolff’s opinion, new horror film Annabelle will leave all but the most jumpy of viewers with a serious case of rigor bore-tis. With Annabelle, John R. Leonetti expands the American horror catalogue with yet another story about a demon-possessed doll causing havoc, this time in the lives of two all-American newly-weds in the late 1960s. Produced by James Wan and released as a spin-off to his 2013 horror hit The Conjuring, the story was marketed as being based on real events centering on the life and work of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, who made a career as a real life Mulder and Scully back in the 1950s. Annabelle invites us to join the family life of pregnant housewife Mia Gordon and her doctor husband John, who live peacefully together until the dreadful day their neighbour’s ‘lost’ daughter Annabelle Higgins returns from her satanic escapades to sacrifice her parents’ souls to the devil. Attentive neighbours Mia and John try to help, which shifts them into focus and on return to her apartment the lurking murderers take Mia by surprise. Upon a last minute arrival of the police, Annabelle commits suicide whilst performing a ritual that summons a demon into a doll previously given to Mia by John. Shortly after this incident all hell breaks loose. It all starts off with a number of household appliances taking a life of their own and the doll’s relocation around house and town. When the formerly shy demon finally appears in the shape of a ghost-like Annabelle Higgins on its violent hunt for a soul, the young mother gets deeply entwined in Lucifer’s game, which finds its climax in an ending that is neither shocking nor surprising.
male lead spends her free-time collecting dolls or sewing and her only agency consists of her choice over what to watch on TV. In contrast to this, the constantly absent father miraculously reappears whenever the patriarch is needed to save the day. Ultimately, the day as well as the god-fearing, honest American citizens are saved through the sacrifice of a single sinner. S’marvelous. A doll, a demon and a handful of dollars is all it takes to stir together this uninventive yet lessbad-than-expected horror experience, which follows a very basic recipe overflowing with genre clichés. However, after the success of The Conjuring, the quick follow-up of a spin-off is Photo: Warner Bros. no surprise and this film admittedly works well enough to have the capacity to make it pay off. This mirrors Annabelle’s general lack of creativity. Therefore anyone with some sympathy for the In comparison to the closely related Chucky series, devil who is in search of light and lightly jumpy enAnnabelle’s inclination to take itself too seriously tertainment will not regret pulling the Annabelleleaves the film without the sense of self-awareness card out of their Halloween-appropriate-horror hat. that makes the Child’s Play films so entertaining. The The brave and curious may choose to combine a doll itself is remarkably inane and lifeless. It remains screening with a visit to the Warren’s Museum in an empty shell for the demon to play with rather Connecticut where the authentic Annabelle doll is than having any agency in itself and recurring closeexhibited. Thanks to a number of exorcisms and the ups fail to effectively contribute to the suspense. benefits of a monthly blessing it is considered harmThe characters are equally non-credible. A deepless nowadays, but people are strongly advised to rooted piety paired with an odd open-mindedness show some courtesy as a past visit of a rude motortowards the supernatural within the community cyclist reportedly ended fatally... seem implausible. Adding to this, the film’s conservative approach—especially on gender roles—seems extremely forced even for the 60s: When not in duty as a jolly good housewife and mother, the fe-
Cornerhouse Pick of the Week
You Can’t Handle the Truth!
’71
You Are What You Watch
Tom Bruce reckons you’ll be blown away by this hard hitting drama, set during The Troubles of 1971.
From the putrid acropolises of London drug dons to the rain-lashed, bomb-blasted estates of the Irish Republican Army, Top Boy producer and ’71 director Yann Demange has earned his title as the king of the council estate. Whether or not that’s a good thing debatable, but what you’ll all agree on is that this gritty tale about the Northern Irish Troubles is the bees head, shoulders knees and toes. ‘You will not be leaving this country...’ the words of Gary Hook’s regiment C.O. ring in the ears like a flashbang as he his fellow English squaddies attempt to fathom what exactly their role will be in the Northern Irish conflict between the Protestant Unionists and the Catholic Republicans. Pvt. Hook (played courageously by Skins’ Jack O’Connell) is reluctant to leave his home life behind for the danger of the rubble-strewn flats of 1971 Ulster but, still a believer in the honour of his great nation, he does his duty and crosses the Irish sea. Upon arriving at the ostensibly neutral barracks of the British military in Belfast, Hook and the boys are introduced to the clichéd but arguably necessary army sterotypes: the inexperienced toff of a lieutenant; the truculent but warmhearted barracks master; and the hard-as-graphite-nails Spec. Ops nutjobs. Day one on the streets sees Hook’s regiment showered with urine balloons, swamped with faecal matter and, finally, endure a full blown riot from a mob of IRA sympathisers. Before he knows what’s gone on, Hook gets split from his group and is chased by native gunmen into the heart of
It’s back! After a year-and-a-half gap (exactly one year-and-a-half too long if you ask me), Lord Sugar and his band of no less than twenty merry and notso-merry men and women return to grace our screens for twelve weeks of arguments and ego trips—and a little bit of business thrown in. We can expect the usual assortment of the arrogant, the ignorant and the downright incompetent, with approximately four half-decent ones thrown in for good measure. Contestants this year include a hypnotherapist (picture her swinging a pendant saying “you will buy my product,”) and a woman whose introductory quote was “I regret not becoming a scientist so I could clone myself and be more successful in half the time.” No joke. This year’s series has already been in the news for reported ‘bullying’ of contestants by Lord Sugar, so expect some blistering boardroom brawls as the series heats up. Reviews so far have dismissed it as “more of the same,” but then again: if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. Fiery personality clashes and car-crash business ideas will never fail to entertain us, which is why I will definitely be tuning in to watch. If not for anything else, then just to watch Nick and Karen being absolute bosses, as per. Catch it this Tuesday, 9pm, BBC1.
Andriana Hambi wants you to stop looking at the small screen and fix your eyes on the bigger picture.
Photo: BBC
Photo: WarpFilms
the infamous Divis flats stronghold, a deadly ‘no-go’ zone policed by IRA paramilitaries. Every turn through the crumbling streets leads Hook to an encounter that’s either lifethreatening, emotionally devastating or both; hearts in mouths, we follow him into the epicentre of the action as he strives to survive the night. Interestingly, the organisation of the guerilla forces is not dissimilar to the army’s; both sides pull rank on their inferiors and neither seem to see the full picture. Demange’s distracting preoccupation for highbrow, disorienting jump cuts and repeated abuses of lens flare are minor niggles in what is an otherwise well handled display of hardscrabble cinematography from the debutant director. ’71 is solid filmmaking; it tells a story that ought to be told more often, and in a way that reminds you how historically significant the Troubles were, and, indeed, continue to be.
Photo: Screen Gems
“Shall we watch a movie?” “Yeah what do you want to watch?” “Mmm, something where I don’t have to think”. I’ve had this conversation about five hundred times and, inevitably, the final decision always turns out to be something where Rachel McAdams gets the man she wants. No, this isn’t an attack on Rachel McAdams. This is an attack on the vilification of films where you do have to think. Films that take some concentration. Films that require you to not be refreshing Instagram every five minutes. Everyone’s played that game, me included. I fully understand how tempting it can be to half-watch Schindler’s List whilst decorating your future home on Pinterest. And yes, wrought iron gates would look great on the French summer house you plan on owning, but oops, you’ve missed half the movie and you have no idea what’s going on. But the solution isn’t to stick to films where Paul Rudd didn’t seem like the right guy in the beginning, but by the end he turned out to be everything you never knew you wanted.
What’s the point of watching movies if they’re always mindless? This may seem a tad hyperbolic, but it’s true. But then, there is a place for your Dear John’s and, yeah, I’ll say it, Mean Girls for the 1000th time. And don’t get me wrong, Sleepless? You’ve Got Mail? The best, but it’s really becoming more and more apparent that there’s more to the film experience than a linear love story. It’s like only ever eating Honey Cheerios. Super easy, super nice, deceivingly bad for you and you won’t shit for a week. There’s so much interesting stuff out there, and not enough hours in a lifetime to watch it all. Why constrict yourself to a 90-minute window where everything will be resolved and during which you never question your own humanity? It’s not like watching these movies is meditation and you’re gaining internal peace by switching off your mind. Invest some time and concentration into a movie and you’ll reap triple the benefits you’d get from watching The Break Up for the fifteenth time. So put down that Judd Apatow and pick up a Cronenberg every once in a while.
For those with Netflix, or those still signed on to their friend’s Netflix, this week saw the debut of the third season of gripping post-9/11 espionage thriller Homeland, sure to provide hours of binge watching necessary for avoiding work. If you want all of the addictiveness with none of the substance, Made in Chelsea’s sixth season is also now up. Hark back to that time when Spencer cheated on someone and Jamie fancied Lucy and there was that big argument at a dinner party and… isn’t this what happened in every other series? And remember that girl Vitalia? And Phoebe? Neither do we. In terms of newly added films, multiple-award winning and 99% Rotten Tomato-scored Iranian drama ‘A Separation’ is sure to be a rewarding watch. If all you want however is three solid hours of wondering “what the fuck is going on?” and “why hasn’t the film hasn’t finished yet?”, look no further than the epically chaotic pirate epic that is Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Ed Bains
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Books
ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
/TheMancunion: Books @MancunionBooks
Editors: Leonie Dunn, Ali Pearson
Review
Sophia Al- Maria’s Exhibition ‘Virgin With a Memory’ Gregory Watson reviews Sophia Al- Maria’s multimedia exhibition ‘Virgin With a Memory’ which is currently on show at the Cornerhouse until the 2nd of November.
Photo: Cornerhouse @Flickr
‘Virgin with a Memory’ is a multimedia exhibition documenting the production of, and inspiration behind, Sophia Al-Maria’s unfinished rape revenge film ‘Beretta’. What Al-Maria puts together from the film, using video installations, film posters, and even her personally annotated scripts makes for
a compelling and multi-faceted insight into what could have been. Whilst also drawing comparison between Al-Maria’s own frustrations at attempting to get the film off the ground and her anger at the harassment of women in Egypt; where the film is set, alongside a thought-provoking critique of the
depiction of women in the media on a wider scale. Al-Maria’s exhibition starts and ends with confronting the issue of the male gaze. Upon entering you are met with ‘Rape Gaze’ and ‘Torture Trip’, two pieces in which Al-Maria draws attention to the deeply unsettling fetishisation of violence towards women in Egyptian film posters in the 1960s through to the 1980s. Al-Maria continues upon this theme of making the male voyeuristic experience of women in culture an unsettling one by naming a video piece made up of Arabic music videos ‘Your Sister’. Thus constructing the sexual exploitation of females in the media and making it appear sordid and incestuous, something that we are arguably almost numb to in the modern age due to the recurrent depiction of female sexuality through a male lens in the music industry. For me the most fascinating part of the exhibition was the ‘Watchers No. 1 – 6’; a piece showing visually distorted images of men of different ages with staring eyes that seems to follow you around the room. This powerfully illustrates just how intimidating and frightening being the object of predatory masculine sexual desire can be. However as well as providing a powerful evaluation of the phenomenon of the male gaze, ‘Virgin with a Memory’ acts as Al-Maria’s celebration as an artist of finally being able to salvage something meaningful from ‘Beretta’ and the tumultuous three years, plagued with financial and legal issues that has troubled the films pre-production. One
‘Virgin with a Memory’ is on display at the Manchester Cornerhouse until the 2nd of November.
Top 5
Review
Review: David Nicholls’ ‘Starter for Ten’ Sophie Soar reviews the witty novel ‘Starter for Ten’ by the best-selling author David Nicholls and tells you just why she’s glad that protagonist Brian Jackson isn’t her flatmate.
Photo: BBC Films
With the largest student population in Europe, Manchester welcomes an influx of first years every September. Most are a mixture of nerves and excitement, and pretty ignorant. Many of us have been there: mastery of smalltalk commences and you find yourself repeating your life in a nutshell twenty times a day to people you’ll never see again. E4’s ‘Fresh Meat’ captures the comical stereotypes of the freshman student, providing hilarious anecdotes due to their exaggerated lifestyle. Beginning at a fictional university in Manchester leads them to excel in alienation, awkwardness and stupidity. Mostly, the plot makes for an unbelievable yet addictive show. David Nicholl’s ‘Starter for Ten’, on the other hand, explores a much more plausible presentation of the alienation, awkwardness and stupidity you get at university with Brian Jackson; a gawky
piece in the exhibition is simply a box of published copies of the novelisation of the script that retains Al-Maria’s unabridged vision of the film, this seems to represent Al-Maria’s revelling in being able to get her voice heard without the interference of producers, legal teams and other administrative and stifling influences—making the fact that the exhibition has been allowed to take place an intrinsic part of the exhibition itself. Al-Maria’s ability to bring together a stylistically diverse exhibition with her all-encompassing use of lighting, sound and especially video pieces delivers a coherent and impressive piece- which is needless to say an impressive feat in itself. The combination of content that explores, on the one hand, one woman’s struggle to get her artistic vision realised coupled with the reactionary ‘call to arms’ against the way in which women are exploited and depicted by men, is a truly unique and inspired one that you are unlikely to come across elsewhere. This makes ‘Virgin with a Memory’ a truly distinctive and stimulating piece that is well worth taking the time to immerse yourself in.
teen from Southend in Essex. I finished this novel the week before I arrived as a fresher myself, feeling as though I was walking straight into a spider’s nest. It was like watching ‘Snakes on a Plane’ before a thirteen hour flight or ‘Titanic’ whilst on a cruise across the Pacific. Unlike ‘Fresh Meat’ and Tom Vaughan’s film adaptation starring James McAvoy, Nicholls’ first person narrative allows us to have an insight into the inner workings of Jackson’s mind. It continuously unveils the uncomfortable events of his journey with the all too omnipresent painful ignorance that, whilst witty, will leave you dumbstruck by his actions. Jackson moves from Southend at the start of the novel, leaving his two best friends and mother behind to start a new life and reinvent himself at an unnamed university. His hopes and dreams of dating a beautiful girl, reading poetry by
moonlight and appearing on ‘University Challenge’ all fall into place. The first person narrative, however, unveils his inability to recognise his ridiculousness in achieving these goals. Alice Harbinson soon becomes the centre of his attention and the more he tries to win her over, the further we see her recoil from his advances yet he still remains frustratingly unaware. The further he falls under her spell, the more often you find yourself putting down your book, turning off the kindle or pausing the film for a moment of relief before you are compelled to resume with complete awe at his absurdity. Nicholls effectively and superbly encapsulates the infatuations of a young man who is simply clueless about women. Although naïve about women, you are lead to hope Jackson’s participation in ‘University Challenge’ will unravel relatively safely as he is presented from the start as a general knowledge genius. The combination of the pompous team leader Patrick, his love interest Alice and the dream of winning due to his familial connections to the quiz show inevitably result in further disaster. Throughout the novel, a scene reoccurs in which characters comment on his makeshift “futon” on the floor of his bedroom. For me, this scene summarises the tragic hero as he insists on its originality and ignores their insults—the futon remains throughout the novel. It serves as a metaphor for his consistent ignorance; it is undoubtedly this total lack of awareness that will make you cringe and squirm, laughing aloud in amazement as his life unfurls. Nicholls delivers with each chapter a new salt to his wounds, yet Jackson remains entirely oblivious to the damage done. A laugh from cover to cover, ‘Starter for Ten’ is a novel that will have you giggling on the bus to uni thanking your lucky stars that Brian Jackson is not the flatmate living three doors down your corridor.
Top 5 Most Controversial Books Following the official banned books week, Books Editor Ali Pearson chooses his top five most controversial books.
Photo: MuskingumUniversityLibrary@Flickr
1. The Satanic Verses – Salman Rushdie Not only did two American bookshops refuse to sell the book due to death threats, but you could actually be imprisoned for 15 months if you were caught reading Rushdie’s 1988 novel in Venezuela. To top it all off the Ayatollah of Iran sent out a fatwa calling on all Muslims to kill Rushdie and his publishers. Rushdie avoided any harm but his Japanese translator was stabbed to death in 1991. 2. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley Huxley’s dystopian novel was banned in Ireland during the 1930s for its coarse language, being antifamily and anti-religious. In the 1960s, the book was removed from shops in India with Huxley being branded a “pornographer.” A teacher in Maryland was fired for assigning the book to her students. The decision was upheld despite an attempt to sue for violation of First Amendment rights. 3. The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger The American Library Association reports that Salinger’s 1951 novel about Holden Caulfield—an angst-ridden
and alienated teenager—was the tenth most challenged book in the 1990s. The book was a major influence on Mark Chapman who shot and killed John Lennon and was even observed reading the book whilst waiting to be arrested. The novel was actually banned at high Schools in Washington in 1978 because it was deemed to be part of a “Communist plot.” 4. Tropic of Cancer – Henry Miller “It is a cesspool, an open sewer, a pit of putrefaction, a slimy gathering of all that is rotten in the debris of human depravity.” That’s how the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Michael Musmanno described Miller’s 1934 autobiographical novel. Despite this the book has been accredited for the “free speech that we now take for granted in literature.” 5. Captain Underpants – Dav Pilkey A surprise inclusion, perhaps, but this children’s favourite has been the most frequently challenged book in the last two years in America, according to the American Library Association. Its offensive language and violence was enough for parents to actively seek to get the series removed from the bookshelves.
ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
21
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22
Food & Drink
ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Editors: Ellie Gibbs, Adam Fearn
The Art of Tipping: Please, Sir... Can I Have Some More?
Sonny Flood offers a personal insight into the ‘grey area’ of tipping. We all recall that opening scene in Reservoir Dogs, don’t we? Steve Buscemi’s Mr. Pink takes a bold stance on his tipping rights— he just doesn’t “believe in it.” Bold for our cross-Atlantic brethren maybe, but here—not so much. The art of the tip remains taboo in the UK and the concept (right or wrong) evades many of us. Approaching the issue is going to require a little tact—this is a sensitive subject. Personally, I work in a restaurant, so this matter weighs heavy on my heart. Tipping culture is now (slowly) percolating its way into British society. Distinct from our North American counterparts—where it is, for all intents and purposes, a mandatory obligation. I firmly believe that the art of the tip is, and must remain, an discretionary common courtesy. Having said that, I would always say that it is better to leave something, as opposed to nothing. But no-one should be coerced into it. It is for this reason that service industry workers should be out to impress. It would be a long night if we couldn’t take a joke, (attempt to) crack a joke or smile. A key element of that restaurant you’re visiting is its atmosphere—you’d be surprised how quickly atmosphere evaporates if everyone walked around with a face like a slapped arse! If we put ourselves out for you, it is satisfying to know that it has been noted and appreciated. A handshake, a bit of gratitude and a polite “thank you” doesn’t go amiss either. There is an old American acronym which floats around: To Insure Prompt Service (“insure” being American English for “ensure.”) I question the appropriateness. Prompt service is the aim, good service is the game. “Prompt” is the minimum; it is... well... prompt— nothing more, nothing less. It is the least you would expect. But in this regard, too many people take the defensive and scrutinise servers to within an inch of their lives. Sometimes, things go wrong. Don’t use a simple mistake to lambaste your server and, more to the point, don’t write-off a gratuity if everything else has gone swimmingly. Ten marks for effort may warrant something. My point is this: a little goes a long way. Don’t hold your server to perfection, monitor them and then wait for a mistake. Relax,
enjoy the service and don’t overlook courtesy. Although I risk sounding like your mother, manners are important - be nice to us and we’ll be nice to you. Despite what you may think, for the most part we enjoy engaging with customers and earning our tips; we enjoy serving those who don’t treat us like dirt. We’re doing a job, maybe as a stop-gap or maybe as a career, and one day your kids in the future might be doing the same thing. Spare a thought— that’s what counts, and if you can... tip.
On the subject of tipping, we’ve compiled a few of our own tactics for saving money without being stingy. Order tap water. Drinks in restaurants are heavily taxed, if you sacrifice that £2.50 for a coke, you can save the money towards a side dish, dessert, or your next meal. It’s not all or nothing. Don’t feel that you have to follow tipping ‘rules’ by calculating percentages off your meal, even if it’s just an extra 30p by handing over a tenner for a £9.70 meal, it’s something. Choose lots of sides. It can sometimes work out cheaper to do this, and often you end up with more of a variety of tastes. Think of it like tapas. Alternatively, if you’re prone to wanting your cake and eating it, just order a starter and dessert to cut the large cost of a main meal.
Photo: Ornello_pics @Flickr
Drink
Independent Manchester Beer Convention James Jackman takes a trip to Victoria Baths and discovers some new and exciting beers. Have you ever been to the land of beer? Sadly this land is fictional, however the Independent Manchester Beer Convention (IMBC) acted as an embassy for four days last week. Taking place in the Victoria Baths over the 9th – 12th October, the IMBC brought together the most progressive breweries to show off their wares in the most impressive of surroundings. Using the full space of the Victoria Baths, along with part of the car park outside, breweries clamoured to get your attention with their newest ranges. Any flavour of beer, you could probably find it. Want music and strobe lights? Just head to the Turkish Baths. Thought of a bizarre name for a beer? They’ve already got a stranger one. You could forget about traditional alcohol content as well, with certain stouts and ales reaching the lofty heights of 11 per cent. These weren’t beers you’d find in Sainsbury’s, these were boundary-breaking thirds, ready to blow the cobwebs from your tastebuds and dull your other senses. My favourite beer, I hear you ask? Well that would have to be the “Earl Phantom”, a ‘lemon iced tea sour’ beer, served up by Beavertown Brewery. Upon first taste you were greeted by a jolt of lemon zest, immediately followed up by the soothing taste of a cup of Earl Grey, all finished off with your body screaming for more. Either that or “Rapture” from Magic Rock.
Tips:
An incredibly hoppy red beer, with an intensely colourful flavour, it was another which really made you stop and appreciate what you were tasting. With drinks being served in the traditional one-third pint glasses, it was easy to try a wide range before you were ready to collapse down onto the bean bags in front of the music stage. You’d be forgiven for this event passing you by, with ticket prices of £10 just for entry along with no advertising at the student body, you had to be looking out for it. However, increasing ale awareness means that this will soon be an event on any beer drinker’s calendar.
Feature: Pub of the Week Sam Joyce & Charlie Filmer-Court review Jackson’s Boat in South Manchester, perfect for those looking to try a new drinking venue. This is a pub for the day-trippers. Situated on the banks of the River Mersey, Jackson’s Boat dates back to the 1730s and is one of Manchester’s oldest pubs. The name comes from an old farmer called Jackson who once ferried people across the river. Eventually the ferry was replaced by a bridge and the inn on the bank became the pub. The building is a weird combination of old and new, with a red brick façade and a puzzling paddle steamer-shaped rear. The interior is a little dated, with dark corners and staring animal heads, but the pubs main draw is its expansive and leafy beer garden which would trump anything M14 can offer on a summer’s day. This pub is great for thirsty cyclists to use as an end or midpoint to a trip as it is not far from the end of the Fallowfield loop, and were the wheels to fall off your £30 Gumtree bike there is a bicycle repair shop next door.
Get There: Follow the Fallowfield loop to Chorlton, go through Chorlton Park and then follow cycle route signs to Sale waterpark. Takes around 20 minutes. Jackson’s Boat, Rifle Road, Sale, M33 2LX
Drinks: Timothy Taylor, Aspall and EPA on tap and a standard selection of lagers
Photo: Independent Manchester Beer Convention
What’s on: Hosts multiple Dog Shows throughout the year for all you canine lovers
Photo: Jackson’s Boat
If you fancy your hand at food and drink journalism, whether it be interviews, recipes, reviews, or some interesting culinary anecdotes, email us at food.mancunion@outlook.com or get in touch via Facebook.
ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
/TheMancunion: Food & Drink @MancunionFood
Food & Drink 23
Review: Manchester Liquor Market Review
Hester Lonergan Contributor As readers may be aware, midSeptember welcomes Manchester’s annual food festival. Dave at the Drinks Enthusiast decided, in conjunction with this fortnight of culinary heaven, to exhibit some of the finest alcoholic accompaniments around. Bar Elixir was the chosen venue for the event, a cool and intriguing establishment on Deansgate which is worth a visit in its own capacity. We arrived just after 1pm and were directed to the basement where small crowds of customers stood at various tables, sampling spirits and talking to their vendors. We approached the nearest table, where a smiling woman from Penderyn kicked off our alcoholic adventure with two different Welsh whiskies, vodka, my trusty friend Mr. Gin, and a gorgeous cream liqueur totally nonreminiscent of Baileys. Following more gin and vodka interspersed with rum, we moved onto an intriguing table where, after
tasting some calvados and claiming a rather fetching promotional hat, the vendor turned our attention to something we had never seen before. ‘Polugar’, familiarly termed ‘bread wine’, rubbed it into your hands produces the unmistakable scent of freshly baked bread. The same doughy notes were apparent in the drinking, although sadly it smelled nicer than it tasted. The same guy then offered us some incredible ‘Ron Prohibido’; a barrel left in a burnt down distillery was found 5 years after conventional distillation, producing a darkness of colour and tone unique for a non-spiced rum. Continuing our alcoholic education, we were served absinthe with iced water from cut-glass chalices. As I informed the stockist of my lifelong aversion to anise, she cracked out a bottle of chocolate absinthe. At this point my lucidity had very much started slipping, so all I can say on the subject is that if you ever get the opportunity to taste/buy/bathe in this stuff then do not miss it. By this point my words had started
to slur and I thought I was the source and with that we were defeated. of all knowledge. We sipped on three Just about managing to remain dreamy apéritif wines despite being upright, I returned to the first table far past apéritif stage. We discussed to double check my opinion on that the shameful drinking habits of the cream liqueur. Confidence restored, youth of today whilst knocking back we hobbled up the stairs and out into crystal-clear rum. I tried to verify my the open. It had just turned 5:30pm, improvised knowledge of Cognac by giving us just enough time to make bringing out my horrific nasal French a couple of expensive mistakes in a accent and namedropping anything high-end footwear shop. vaguely Francophone I could remember. Elixir Tonics & Treats, We were enjoying ourselves so 123 Deansgate, much that we decided to sit down Manchester for a while. We ate a couple of bowls M3 2BY. of complimentary bar snacks and continued to wax lyrical about Visit http://drinksenthusiast.com/ philosophy and fine drinking. for more information and events. We attempted a round Eaten two, butanywhere it nice reproved much less successful and cently? Created something I really don’t remember much. I delicious? learnt something interesting about We want to know! TellI us about it at food.manAmerican whisky distillation. learnt that I still like tequila. cunion@outlook.com We drank something very cherry flavoured and I got distracted by a baby (I don’t think it was drinking). “Sibling” gin— the final table—showed us the snazzy machine they use to distil their spirit
Photo: The Mancunion
Meat Free Mondays Recipe: Award-winning Gluten Jose Harrington shows us Free White Choc Chip Brownies. the benefits of cutting down our meat intake. As you are reading this you might be tucking into a yummy, juicy bacon buttie and being meat-free may be a long way from your mind. However, this clever initiative is starting to catch on. Meat Free Monday is a campaign started and funded by Paul McCartney along with his daughter Stella. Together, they promote giving up eating meat for the whole of Monday (would you believe?!) for a wide range of reasons. Because when you really start to think about it, eating meat has a bigger impact than just thinking of the cute little animals. As a Geography student, a large proportion of the things we learn are linked to how the world is changing, more often than not for the worse. Yes, this is along with our busy colouring-in schedule... For example, greenhouse gas emissions are globally showing a constant rate of increase. What does this have to do with meat, I hear you cry?! A UN study in 2006 showed that the livestock industry was responsible for an astonishing 18 per cent of man’s global greenhouse gas emissions. On top of this factor you have the impact of deforestation for cattle ranches, cattle’s extraordinary methane emissions and the extra food needed to feed livestock. This is all without even looking at the issue of animal rights and welfare. Meat Free Monday may appeal to you from a financial point of view as a cash strapped student. The average UK family spends £13.10 on meat and fish and just £6.70 on fresh fruit and veg every week. Imagine how much extra dosh you would have if you spent a bit more on veg or those tasty lentils rather than meat. For really cheap veg, head on down to the Curry Mile’s superstore for
a expansive and cheap selection. The Students’ Union now has special promotions in place on Meat Free Mondays, half price on certain meat free dishes—which includes the veggie pizza which is pretty good if you are ever peckish. Not all vegetarians choose to be so for animal rights and environmental issues—health is also an important factor. We all know vegetarians have a healthy reputation, but does this claim actually stack up? Eating meat less than three times a week prevents 31000 deaths from heart disease every year in the UK. If everyone was able to eat meat less than three times a week, it is estimated the NHS would save over £1.2 billion a year. Although Meat Free Monday is only one day a week, everyone has to start somewhere! McCartney’s meat-free mission is being supported by several high-profile celebrities and chefs, including Yotam Ottolenghi, my twist on his Shakshuka recipe is available on the website. The Meat Free Monday website also has lots of great recipes and more information. So why not give Meat Free Mondays a go and feel totally self-satisfied all Monday long!
Photo: Meat Free Mondays
Hester Lonergan Contributor
mine take any more and batches can vary wildly. Just make sure they have a nice veneer on top but are slightly wobbly in the middle. Too long and they turn into cake, and not long enough and they are like chocolate mud soup (really good with ice cream). – If you want your brownies to cut well, GIVE THEM TIME. Leave them to cool for about five hours and then stick your knife in. I have personally seldom made it this long so my brownies always look scruffy (but still taste stupidly good). With these pointers in mind, follow this recipe to become a brownie goddess like me: Photo: The Mancunion
Ingredients: A few weeks ago I entered a charity baking competition at University. Thanks to the production of around 2 batches a week since 2013, I have somewhat mastered the notoriously challenging chocolate brownie. They are often complimented, so my head had grown large enough to enter them as potential prize-winners. Being a seasoned brownie-baker, I tend just to go by eye and there’s room for manoeuvre within the recipe. A few dos and don’ts are underlined below, though. Things I’ve learnt the hard way: – Be careful with the chocolate. While dark chocolate generally doesn’t contain any gluten, sometimes it can contain traces due to manufacture space. It isn’t difficult—or any more expensive—to avoid these brands. Make sure the chocolate/butter mixture is WELL COOLED before adding to the eggs/sugar. Otherwise the eggs go weird and it ends in total disaster. – If you use a spread which is not entirely butter, just make sure it contains some butter, a.k.a. Stork or Olivio or anything like that. I made it with a pure sunflower spread last week which I think is mostly oil and the brownies started oozing and frothing in the oven and I had to remake the whole thing. – Use any sugar, just make sure you use enough, otherwise the brownies will go cakey rather than fudgy. – Don’t worry endlessly about the eggs; if you have an electric beater, you’re winning. But if you have neither the time nor the inclination to put out your wrists whisking eggs for 10 minutes (I don’t blame you), I have it on good authority that the end product is not much altered after just a few minutes’ whipping. – Expect the gluten-free mix to be a little more liquid than a wheat flour one; it should still be fudgy, but it thickens a lot more in the oven. – For best results, leave your batter once it’s made. An hour to sit will make it exponentially fudgier. – Be flexible with oven-time. I don’t even know how long
- 185g dark chocolate NOT MADE NEAR GLUTEN - 185g butter/marg NOT PURE SUNFLOWER - 3 eggs - 275g golden caster OR ANY - Pinch of salt - 85g Dove’s Farm gluten free flour mix - 40g Cocoa Powder - 100g white chocolate OR ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF THAT WOULD GO IN BROWNIES (Mars bars, marshmallows and Oreos are particular favourites) Method: 1. Melt dark chocolate and butter in the microwave for 2 minutes. Mix well until you have a thick syrup. Leave to cool (in fridge if necessary) 2. Whisk eggs and sugar until foamy on top and pale in colour. 3. Add chocolate liquid to egg/sugar mixture and fold very gently through until the mix becomes murky and mottled. 4. Add salt, flour and cocoa and again fold very gently until the ingredients are consistently combined. 5. Chuck in whatever you’ve decided to add. 6. Put into a non-stick brownie tray (or lined cake tin) and bake. Have a look after around 15 minutes and judge for yourself. Don’t forget it’ll harden while it cools. 7. Eat immediately with ice cream or leave to cool and serve like a sensible baker. For my competition winners, I splattered melted white and dark chocolate all over and added chocolate curls. Splattering is a great technique; it looks accomplished, but in fact a two year old can achieve an identical result. If you get round to giving these a go, I hope you see the same great results as I do time after time. If you have any problems/queries I’d be happy to help. You shouldn’t though; they really are a piece of cake.
24
Arts & Culture
ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM /TheMancunionArtsCulture @ArtsMancunion
Editor: Holly Smith
Photo of the Week
Exhibiton
The Sensory Photo Of War: 1914 - 2014 The Week
The Manchester Art Gallery opens it’s doors to their new exhibition celebrating the centenary of WW1 After opening last Saturday, Manchester Art Gallery is currently hosting a 5-month exhibition exploring the impact of military conflict on the body, mind, environment and human senses in the last 100 years. The Sensory War: 1914 – 2014 marks the centenary of the First World War and the works on show depict the shocking impact of new military technologies utilized in a century of almost constant conflict. 1914 marked a huge reconfiguration through the invention of new devastating weaponry, destroying people’s lives and altering the environment beyond recognition. Over 20 prominent artists make up this exhibition, which includes traditional and contemporary pieces from all over Europe, such as Heinrich
Hoerle’s Three Invalids and die Krüppelmappe, which are here in the UK for the very first time together, recording Hoerle’s tender but also bitter reflections on the ruined bodies of war from a German perspective. From bombing scenes to rehabilitation, this fascinating exhibition is a must for anybody interested in finding out how the war contributed to the reshaping of the art world. The devastation and destruction depicted transports you to an entirely different time and makes you wonder how mankind is capable of doing these things. The Sensory War: 1914-2014 is now on at Manchester Art Gallery until 22nd February 2015. Entry is free. By Holly Smith
This Photograph is from Holly Smith, a second year Spanish and German student.If you would like to enter Photo Of The Week, email us your photographs at mancunion.arts@gmail. com
Exhibiton
Archives New Zealand@Flickr
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COURSE WORRIES?
If you feel like you’re on the wrong course, the best thing that you can do is give it a bit more time. Don't forget that the course content will be different next term and there may be different tutors, so it’s often worth hanging on to see if things change. Changing course isn't particularly easy, as most courses are already full and have already started. If you really feel that your course isn't right for you, speak to one of our Advisors who can help you with this process and can discuss the possible financial implications of a course change. For further information visit: manchesterstudentsunion.com/adviceservice
Theatre 25
ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM /mancuniontheatre @themanctheatre Benjamin Monk
Editor: Nicole Tamer
Review
What’s On Early One Morning
Luke Sharma
Ben’s picks of the North
5 performances to look out for that are a bit more adventurous
Quizoola24! Fr 17th - Sa 18th Oct, Millennium Gallery, Sheffield £24 In Forced Entertainment’s reworked homecoming, a pair of performers question each other - improvised - for 24 hours. This a disorientating, fascinating endurance feat, for both actor and audience, that should not be missed.
The Events Wed 22nd Oct- Sat 25th Oct, HOME £15 / £10
Photo: Ian Tilton
Written by David Greig, The Guardian’s play of the year is thrillingly intelligent, examining ideas of community response to a barbaric act, and will integrate a local Manchester choir. Now on tour, Ramin Gray’s hit production continues HOME’s inaugural season.
That Catherine Bennett Show Sat 22nd Nov, Contact Theatre £11/£6 After the success of ‘Credible Likeable Superstar Role Model’, Bryony Kimmings and her eleven year old niece, Taylor, explore the sexualisation and commodification of childhood in a vibrant, provocative piece.
Chaos to Order Mon 10 Nov - Sat 15 Nov, Central Library Manchester FREE Curated by the indie-futurist band Everything Everything, this performance festival responds to Manchester’s Central Library with unique events and happenings, such as Dumblove Encounters’ minute long elevator performances.
Grounded Tue 4th Nov- Sat 8th Nov, Royal Exchange Theatre £12/ £10 The tiny Gate Theatre’s mesmerising Edinburgh hit, written by George Brant, becomes the company’s first touring production. A pilot’s pregnancy forces her to fly unmanned drones in a revealing, intimate solo piece.
Review
Riverdance
‘Early One Morning’ written by Les Smith was commissioned by the Octagon Theatre in 1998 to mark the 80th anniversary of the Armistice. It is based on the final hours of Private James Smith, portrayed in the play by Michael Shelford, a soldier once held in high regard by his peers and senior officers, as he is charged with desertion, the punishment for which is death. The auditorium was breathtaking due to its transformation into a trench in WWI France. Corrugated sheet metal panels on the walls, chicken wire surrounding the stalls and dirt and soil were all over the floor. A smoky haze throughout the auditorium added just further to the implication of trench warfare. With the bonus of it being theatre in the round, the audience sat literally inches away from the action. It created a close and intimate atmosphere, which invited all the spectators to feel as if they were in the trenches with the soldiers. We were introduced to the story by a narrator in the form of Sergeant Fielding (Colin Connor) who took on the role of the orator and performed it with great aplomb. Mr. Connor set the scene for the whole play in an exceptional manner, and then showed no problems in phasing between the role of narrator and his performance role as Sergeant Fielding. Michael Shelford was terrific in acting as a soldier with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Everything about his performance, down to his facial expressions was absolutely perfect. His body language took precedence over his speech. Though Private Smith’s face was not always visible to all of the spectators, through-
Hannah Storm
Comedy Cor-
immigrants, merging Jazz and Irish tap. The music accompanying the dancing was entrancing and clearly as much central to this musical as the tapping, since the band is constantly seen beating their drums and blowing their instruments at the back of the stage. They also get to perform in the absence of the dance ensemble at times. The song ‘Caoineadh Chú Chulainn’ is one of these, played on Uilleann pipes. Usually a moving piece that sweeps you away to some far-off Irish mythical land, the performance by Matt Bashford at this particular matinee felt rather rushed compared to the mellow, slow tune played Davy Spillane, thereby leaving you a bit disappointed if you are familiar with the latter. On the other hand, the fiddler David Lombardi astounded with some sharp twists of the bow and the interaction between the musicians almost gives off the illusion of improvisation at certain moments. On the whole, Riverdance probably enthral their audience no less than they did at their start in 1994. Skill is timeless and in Riverdance, this abounds when it comes to dance and music, all neatly wrapped in a dated, but kind of charming, set design. Intending to show off as much of Irish culture as possible in the space of two hours, Riverdance do so ultimately with pride and success. Photo: Riverdance
Bill Whelan and Michael Flatley’s Riverdance stops on its 20th anniversary tour at the Opera House in Manchester and offers a mix of brilliant choreography standing the test of time and an aesthetics that might not have done just as well in that department. However, the performance is solid and you will find your heart leaping to the rhythm of those tap shoes in places, making your forget that the production feels rather dated. There is something magical about 20-so people tapping their feet against the floor in sync: it makes your mouth drop open when you witness dancers that have mastered the control of their limbs in such a fashion – not to say in synchronisation with others – when you barely know how to spin without hitting a nearby wall yourself. I think this mastery of dance is the main reason why it attracts masses of people year after year, for the story in itself is not hugely elaborate and neither is the scenography which it has been dressed in. One impressive leap and twist of a foot, however, makes you oversee the quite dated animations showcased in the background and the dusty colour template. The story that is transmitted through dance and a number of short, deep-voiced voiceovers is that of the Irish people and their land. It depicts the richness of the myth and culture of their homeland and their encounter with other cultures across the globe as they emigrate. The latter gave the choreographers the opportunity to include other dance styles and dance fusions - most memorably a dance-off between Americans and newly arrived Irish
out the intense scene during his Court Martial, his body language told the audience all they needed to know. He quivered, his hands shook and his fear was definitely amplified throughout the crowd. Accompanied by the sound of artillery fire and gunshots, it was a really effective way of emphasising the terrible effects of post-traumatic stress. Scenes of Smith’s hallucinations and flashbacks were effectively highlighted by the change in lighting towards a more sepia toned light. This effect was used throughout the play whenever Smith’s love interest Lizzie Cartwright (Jessica Baglow) appeared. The chemistry between the pair was strong and their portrayal of a young couple separated by the war was incredible. Jessica Baglow was the embodiment of a stereotypical wartime girl at home, and managed to become a microcosm of the whole of the UK during the war. She managed to portray the heartache that was felt by those at home just waiting and not knowing whether their brother, son, husband or father was going to come home. This is as much a credit to the actress as it is to the scriptwriting. There must be a special mention of Tristan Brooke, James Dutton and Ciaran Kellgren who each played two characters, but particularly for their performances as Lance Corporal Bradley, Private McKinnel and Private Webster respectively. They represented the typical soldier, none thought they deserved being there but did everything they could to deal with it. When presented with the task of digging the execu-
tion post into the ground, all three actors represented the camaraderie that was necessary between the soldiers. The particular talent in this crop of actors is emphasised by the fact that the repertoire which hit me hardest in the whole play concluded with; “I’m just a bus conductor,” uttered by Ciaran Kellgren as Private Webster. In any other context this line may be trivial but the emotion and heightened tensions between these three men made it a harsh reality check for all in the room. The horrors of the war were graphically described throughout the play by both dialogue and actions. The battalion of soldiers started out as an excited bunch of men, but throughout the play, we slowly see their spirits begining to deflate. This just showed the extremely precise directing of David Thacker, who managed to capture the overall effect the war was playing on the soldiers so intricately. At the end of the play, the Chaplain (John Branwell) provided comfort to Pvt. Smith. Branwell made the character appear lost, confused and upset with God as he realised that Pvt. Smith was a representation of the inhumane nature of the war as a whole. A fantastic job considering he was playing the man who condemned Smith at the start of the play. The conclusion was resounding. Fear, guilt and helplessness being portrayed by all actors and without a doubt, the whole play was tied up perfectly. The audience was in deep thought after the play and many did not leave with a dry eye. It is a terribly sad but poetically beautiful play.
Andy van den Bent-Kelly
Comedy Corner
Lee Evans A game of two halves would probably be the best analogy to describe the master of physical comedy’s latest venture onto the big stage. One half average, the other half excellent. I arrived at the Phones 4u Arena brimming with excitement, knowing that I was finally going to see my favourite comedian perform live. I had high hopes that one of Britain’s best-loved stand-up comics would once again have me in hysterics, as all his other tours have done. However, things didn’t initially turn out as I was expecting. By the time Evans ran off stage at the interval, I found myself slightly puzzled. My jaw was aching from near-continuous laughter, but at the same time I was somewhat underwhelmed. The first half had been undeniably funny, but by Evans’ own high standards I still felt he had a lot more to offer. There didn’t seem to be any real structure to the performance. Random jokes were scattered around and although I laughed at all of them, I found them surprisingly hard to relate to without obvious themes. His previous tours have been built on scenarios that almost everyone goes through on a regular basis. The first half of this show didn’t really focus on these kinds of situations. However, I should have known
better than to doubt a comedian of Lee Evans’ calibre. Perhaps changing his suit at the interval gave him a new lease of comedic life, because the way in which he upped his game in the second half stunned me. Suddenly, I found myself relating to all the jokes.
Photo: Andy van den Bent-Kelly
The crowd was mesmerised by his boundless energy, his wild facial contortions and his delightful ability to give ordinary, inanimate objects a personality of their own. In the world of Lee Evans, everything has a voice, be it food in a microwave or a sock in the washing machine. As is the case with any Lee Evans show, situations involving him and his wife became a prominent feature in the second half. The wonderful thing about these jokes is that you don’t have to be married to understand them – for me, simply
watching and listening to my parents is enough. One thing that really struck me was Evans’ humility throughout the show. Even after years of performing to sell-out crowds, his modesty still shines through on every occasion. He repeatedly thanked the people of Manchester and seemed to be genuinely hugely appreciative of the hospitality he’s received up here in the North West throughout his career. After he’d shouted down the microphone for one final time, he came straight to the front of the stage to greet his adoring fans, who had afforded him a standing ovation. Surprisingly, the mad rush to the front that I’d been expecting didn’t ensue, so I simply strolled down to the stage and stuck my arm and a brief moment of eye contact followed, accompanied by the sweatiest, most glorious handshake I have ever experienced. I walked out of the Arena smiling like a little child at Christmas, realising that I’d not only watched one of my idols perform for almost three hours, but shaken his hand as well. Although this wasn’t vintage Evans throughout, the latter parts of the show were enough to convince me that this behemoth of British comedy has still got it.
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ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Lifestyle Editor: Robert Firth
Feature
Is Tinder worth the effort? Robert Firth weighs up the pros and cons, by speaking to two students with very different experiences of using the app.
I have one hundred and twenty one matches on Tinder. I’ve spoken to about ten of these ever. I’ve met up with one. I realise this means that the odds that I’ll ever meet someone I match with on Tinder is 1/121, that’s less than a one percent chance. So is it worth spending your evenings swiping left through a gallery of horrors or should you leave the house and talk to people? I spoke to two people with very different experiences of Tinder.
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Chloe, 19 is a second year student who began using Tinder in January 2014 and is now in a relationship with a guy she met on it. “Obviously I’m going to say it’s a good thing because I found a boyfriend on it” Chloe laughs. I ask her how many people she met up with from Tinder, “at least five, some people I met in a club randomly after meeting them on Tinder, two of them I saw multiple times”. But overall does she think Tinder is a good thing for people? She’s positive but cautious, “I think it’s good if you on the off chance meet someone and want to have a conversation”. She notices a difference between her experiences of Tinder at university and at home, “when students use it, in Manchester, most don’t want to talk, in my hometown it was different, people seemed more likely to talk and want to meet up”. I suggest maybe that’s because when people have a job it becomes more difficult to meet people outside of their immediate social circle. Chloe agrees, “Yeah probably there’s that”. However, Chloe has had bad experiences herself on Tinder: “I had a couple of experiences when I’d never actually messaged the person and they were like, ‘I must have been drunk when I matched you’ or ‘You’re a 2/10’… I think it’s a bit hard on your selfconfidence if someone’s messaging you like that, but that’s not Tinder’s fault”. “I can’t knock Tinder because I met my boyfriend on there and I’m very happy now”
Amy, 19 is a second year student who had a bad experience after meeting up with a guy she had been speaking to on Tinder for just over a week. When they met up, everything initially seemed normal: “It was a little bit awkward to start with, but it was just like any first date. It was more worrying hoping the person who was going to turn up was going to be the person in the picture. I’m quite tall so my main worry was that they were going to be taller than me! The evening however did relax as we just kept chatting and were having a good laugh and a joke with one another.” They met up a few more times and on one occasion they slept together. “…he asked me to stay over. So I stayed over and we slept together. I had made it clear before we ever met up that I wasn’t just going to have a one night stand with him. I didn’t know what was going to happen… I didn’t think it was going to be a one night thing”. However it soon became clear that the guy had other ideas: “the next morning we had a brief conversation to let him know i was home. That was the last I ever heard from him. He just ignored me and made his intentions perfectly clear. I wasn’t upset because i was heartbroken that i had lost someone that i fancied, because I didnt. It was more pride that i was used.” Although Amy accepts that Tinder can work for some people, she is keen to point out that “You need luck if you use Tinder”. Her own experiences have put her off Tinder for good: “I don’t think it’s for everybody. There are too many guys out there who want to use the app as a means of getting which defeats the object of using it as a ‘dating’ site. I don’t think I’ll use Tinder again!”.
Who do you agree with? Tweet us @mancunionlife Got an experience from Tinder you want to share? Email us at: mancunion.life@gmail.com
Photo: Nathan Rupert @Flickr
Opinion
Keeping Ourselves Safe Ever got separated from your friends on a night out? Molly Allen asks us all to look out for each other more. In my second year I was almost mugged. Numerous times I’ve ran home armed with my ‘panic alarm’. After reading the constant stream of advice and tips that circulate the internet for women about keeping themselves safe (the most ridiculous? “Avoid wearing your hair long or in a ponytail, attackers will grab it”), after seeing such complete crap, I decided it was about bloody time someone wrote something that was less about women being seen as helpless creatures and more focused on us all (regardless of gender) looking out for each other. Obviously, it’s inevitable that you might lose your friends on a night out. We all eventually get ‘side tracked’ but if you do find yourself on your own it’s essential, whether you’re male or female to get yourself back to your house safe and sound. We’re all far too British and don’t want to ‘bother’ asking strangers
for help. I get that you don’t want to look like the weird person asking people to grab a cab with them. However, most people would be fine letting you jump in their cab and their good deed for the night would be helping someone – cue awkward taxi chat. As I’m sure a lot of you know, Street Cars have teamed up with the Students’ Union so that you can give them your student card and pay in the morning if you have no money. Once you call them your number is in their system and they even remember the addresses they’ve picked you up from! Or if you’re feeling like splashing out, jump in a black cab (just make sure it’s licenced). So please, if you see that person looking incredibly confused and bleary eyed on a night out, offer to accompany them home. If someone asks for directions to the bus stop and is alone, take a friend and go with them. I always
remain grateful to the people who found me in Sankeys as a fresher, completely lost and no idea where I was. After a very round about trip where we pretty much walked to Oldham, we jumped on the bus; they walked me to my halls and I never saw them again to say thank you. Contrary to what the media tells us, not everyone is out to do bad things. Information about the Students’ Unions Safe Taxi Scheme: www. manchesterstudentsunion.com/ safetaxi Street Cars’ Number: 0161 228 7878
Photo: pigpiliot @Flickr
LIfestyle is Sex, Health, Travel and More. Share your ideas with us at mancunion.life@gmail.com
ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Lifestyle
/TheMancunion: Lifestyle @MancunionLife
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Events Travel
Briefly Exploring: Chorlton
Lifestyle editor Robert Firth is on a mission to visit all of Manchester by Bus. This week he visits upmarket Chorlton.
When you mention Chorlton to people, most people say something like: “Oh yeah it’s really nice”. It’s the type of place you’d tell people you lived, probably the kind of place your parents would like you to live. The sort of place which is so nauseatingly nice you almost don’t want to live there. And if you’re from Fallowfield, Chorlton doesn’t want you to visit it would seem. I waited over thirty minutes for a number 22 bus which cost £2.50 for a fifteen minute ride. There is a different stagecoach service which goes from Fallowfield, but your best bet is to get a bus into uni and catch the n.o 85 or 86 opposite the RNCM. When I arrived there I soon realised that Chorlton on a Tuesday morning at 10:30PM is like Fallowfield on a Sunday morning at 9AM. A lot of its celebrated independent shops (of which there are many) were closed just leaving the few chain retailers such as B&M Bargains and Costa Coffee. Whilst I waited for the rest of Chorlton to wake up I did some grocery shopping at a fruit and veg shop which came to £6.50 in total, far from unreasonable but probably double
the price you’d pay at Worldwide on Curry Mile. Outside I spoke to a Big Issue seller who had recently moved to Chorlton: “It’s very good. I used to live in Stockport but it’s better than there”. Keith the manager of café Battery Park Juice Bar agreed “I prefer it to Stockport”. Having just paid £1.80 for a latte, I couldn’t disagree. What distinguishes Chorlton from most other merely nice areas seems to be its ability to keep chain stores to a minimum, “there are lots of independent shops, you don’t get a lot of big nationals as much, it has got more of a village feel it than a lot of other places” Keith tells me. In particular Oddbins, a specialist wine shop, about as far away from Fallwofield’s New Zealand Wines as you can imagine and ‘Simon Dunn Chocolatier’ caught my attention whilst strolling along the main street.
and international restaurants that fill the rest of Chorlton. Close by on Keppel Road, there’s a stencilled portrait by Bristol based street artist Stewy of a guy called Quentin Crisp who was a writer and gay icon which is worth checking out. Before leaving I come across a Co-operative Funeral care. Despite all the chatter about Chorlton becoming a Yuppie utopia the most noticeable thing about it on weekdays is the amount of people shuffling by with walking sticks and shopping trolleys. Although, worth visiting if you’ve got a lot of time, patience and money. Next Time: Moss Side
Have a place in Manchester you want Robert to check out? Email us at: mancunion.lifestyle@gmail. com
A short amble away from the centre, I stumble across a giant Morrisons, proof that Chorlton hasn’t entirely avoided massive chain stores. Nearby there are four takeaways lined up, a nice contrast to the excessive amount of boutique coffee shops Photo: raver_mikey @Flickr
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ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
SPORT
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Sports Editors: Andrew Georgeson, Will Kelly
@Mancunion_Sport
Contact: sport@mancunion.com
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Debate: Ben Flower Reaction, too much?
Andrew and Will clash again in the outpour over the incident
NO
YES
Andrew Georgeson Sport Editor
You can try and spin it whatever way you want. Adrenaline? The grandeur of the stage? Heat of the moment? The fact is simple. Ben Flower, the 27-year old prop little known before the Super League Final, assaulted Lance Hohaiai. Admittedly, the fact it was the final with a 70,000 strong crowd, mixed with the usual Twitter hyperbole and on Sky Sports probably hasn’t helped his defence. We have to remember in the standard Super League game between the two, where the crowd could have been a maximum of 20,000, this may have not been the case. As it stands, however, this is the biggest story of player violence since the Suarez scandal, and many parallels can be drawn. As with Suarez, I think it is in defendable. The first punch, one could argue, would not even have seen Flower’s sent off, or at least would have allowed him to be forgiven as Suarez’s first bite was. The second was calculated. Suarez knew what he was doing, Flower’s certainly did. Ultimately, the similarity that matters is how quick the governing bodies acted. FIFA, a coperation that took nearly 10 years to implement goal line technology and whose only groundbreaking addition to football in the last 20 years was white spray, acted within 24 hours of the event to punish Suarez. Sky Sports had interviews with doctors, within half an hour of the event, as if Suarez was some sort of feral animal, we all concluded he had serious mental health issues, we called for his head. The RFL reaction similarly quickly, announcing his 6-month ban just a few days after the event, as the thousands of Vines were still doing the rounds on Twitter. All in all, the reaction to Flower’s punch, a far more serious action than Suarez’s bite I think we call all agree, has been mute in comparison. If anything, it has proved that all governing bodies are capable of acting quickly in the reputation of their sport is seriously questioned. For FIFA, it added controversy to a World Cup that was already shrouded in allegations of slavery and £16,000 watches. For the RFL on the other hand it represented a huge backwards step in the face of recent progress. This is the pinnacle of their Sport, in the second most important Rugby League competition in the world behind the State of Origin clashes. I have long argued that British Rugby League players would rather win the Super League than the World Cup that was held in England, Wales and France last year. I attended a day in Burnage last year with the Australian nation Rugby League team when they were in Manchester for the World Cup that they eventually won. Hundreds of South Manchester children were
Screenshot: Sky Sports
trying the Sport for the first time, with smiles on their faces as well as their coaches. This is where Rugby League was getting too. Increased media-coverage, greater public interest and a sell-out Old Trafford for a World Cup final that didn’t involve England for a match that was probably never even in doubt. Flower’s has tarnished that. But more than anything Flower’s has let himself and Wigan down. Apparently he was in the stadium long after fulltime being consoled from his father. The only person speaking in his defence amazingly is Hohaiai, perhaps still trying to vindicate himself of the wrong doing which has seen him receive a one match ban for the incident. There has been no rallying cry from his team mates telling us how good a guy he is, there has been nothing but a short statement from him apologizing. Oh to be a fly on the wall in the Wigan changing room at full time. The people of Wigan deserve a mention. The humble satellite town, with a population of around 80,000, consistently receive harsh criticism for attendances across all sports. Keep in mind that over a quarter of the town went to the FA Cup final, and more than that were at Old Trafford for the Super League final. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with those numbers, and they certainly didn’t deserve this. What next for Flower? All take of terminating his contract have beencorrectly- refuted. Exile in championship side Leigh is a possibility. But whatever happens he will sit on the sideline for 18 long games whilst Rugby League pieces itself back together, after letting itself down on the biggest stage of all.
Will Kelly Sport Editor I’m afraid Andrew has got a little bit carried away in his writing. He has labelled this the “biggest story of a player violence since the Suarez scandal and many parallels can be drawn.” Football and Rugby are complete opposites and there is no room for comparison. In terms of Suarez, yes it is completely out of the ordinary and unacceptable that a footballer should use racial slang and to actually bite a player. Rugby is a violent game and punch-ups are going to happen. Look at a few years ago in Rugby Union where Chris Ashton bravely stood his ground as Manu Tuilagi punched him in the face repeatedly. Martin Johnson, England’s Rugby World Cup winning captain, was always known for a scrap or two. It is therefore, bemusing to believe Andrew’s sentiments that Ben Flower has “tarnished” the image of the game. What Ben Flower did was completely unacceptable don’t get me wrong. It defies human scientists to conjure what was going on in his head so early in the game. But in reality, we are only talking about a single incident that has got him this long ban: the punch to Hohaiai’s head whilst he was on the floor. We are all morally taught that we should never hit a man whilst he is down. If however, Flowers had only reacted with the initial punch, you would find that he would have only been sin-binned. This again is a realisation that Andrew must face. For rugby fans, a punch is certainly not horrifying whilst Andrew believes in his fantasy that all the children of Manchester will never look at the game again. Passion is where it’s at. Perhaps we should turn to the incident in 2006, when Willie Mason of Australia floored Stuart Fielden off the ball, breaking the Great Britain prop’s nose in the process. By the way, this only received a one match ban and appeared
to have the support of the then Australia Coach Ricky Stuart, who argued that he did not condone fighting and violence but “it just goes to show you how much it means to the players.” There has been an array of incidents in the past. Having just studied in Australia for 8 months, I was made very aware of some of the great incidents down under. For instance, there was the “Hoppoaa!” Named after John Hopoate after he had been found guilty of fingering opponents’ anuses in 2001. Rugby League therefore, does not need to piece itself back together as Andrew would have us to believe. This isn’t an organisation like FIFA who has brought such corruption to the world of sport. It is Ben Flower who will have to piece himself back together. I can’t argue that such ban is unworthy. He could have caused collateral to Hohaiai’s head. I would argue that Eric Cantona’s Kung Fu kick in 1995 exemplified how ridiculous the media really is. He kicked a fan yes, but he didn’t kill him. A 9 month ban was farcical to say the least, and Cantona quite rightly turned up to the press conference to talk about “a flock of seagulls following the trawler.” The media has certainly done a brilliant job in the case of Flowers when they have addressed such ludicrous calls that this should go to the police for ‘assault’. Hohaiai himself has forgiven Flowers. I have friends who have suffered horrendous and potentially career threatening injuries by the negligence and wrecklessness of some hot headed players. They are more worthy to be angered and emotional whilst Hohaiai will be up and playing in no time at all. Ben Flower is not a lunatic; he has not been known to do such foul play. Former teammate and England winger Sam Tomkins has even come out and insisted that Flower is “by no means a bad person on or off the field”. He has essentially copped an elbow in the jaw and he has retaliated. Before Flower punched Hohaiai on the floor, they were both as guilty as each other. Flower now has to live with this incident for the rest of his life. He has been punished correctly so let us lay off him so he can recover and come back to play good rugby.
Join the Debate: @Mancunion_Sport
More of a writer than a player? Come to our contributor meetings on Thursday at 5pm, Students’ Union First Floor. @mancunion_sport sports.mancunion@googlemail.com NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
SPORT : 31
ISSUE 06/ 20th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Get involved: BUCS indoor rowing MUBC answer your questions about trying rowing for the first time
For many, including myself, the rowing manchine is as close as you can get to allowing medieval torture in the confines of the gym. But Emily Cornish from MUBC is on hand to answer a few questions and reassure the Mancunion Sport that it’s really not as scary as it seems and encourage us all to take part in the BUCS Indoor Rowing Championships. Can you tell us a little bit about the event? ‘Bucs Indoors Rowing started as part of the National Indoor Championships and then as student entry grew, BUCS splintered off into separate events throughout the country. For rowing this meant students competing on an ergo in a race of 2000m. In 2010 almost 900 students entered and since then it has continued to be a great success. This year Manchester University is opening up the event to non-rowers with a 250m sprint for anyone who is interested in seeing how well they could do with no rowing-specific training!’
Photo: The Mancunion
Do you have to be mega-fit to take part in rowing? Fitness is something that is built up the more you take part. We have had people with no athletic background start rowing as freshers and ended up in our top boats! It starts with getting the technique down, and after that it is just training, on the water training as well as weights and circuits a few times a week. Although it sounds intense, training with your crew makes it much easier and group sessions can even be fun. You’ll see massive improvements in your strength and fitness the more you dedicate to the sport
Photo: The Mancunion
What advice do you have for those who want to give it a go? Just go for it! It’s a chance to set yourself a personal target and see what you can do. There will be plenty of rowers and non rowers around taking part and so it can either be a competition against yourself, or one to beat the people around you. The 250m sprint is a great race to take part in if you have no rowing experience but just want to test your strength and see how much you can pull. Competitive people should definitely come along see what they can do, maybe even try and beat our boys who do it on a daily basis.
Photo: Greg Razzi @Flickr
Photo: The Mancunion
Remember to donate to MUBC 24hour effort by texting MUBC50 to texting MUBC50 and the amount you wish to donate to 700703.’Alternatively you can visit their just giving page at https://www.justgiving.com/ mubcpr-fundraising/
Tennis optimistic for new season
Jessie Benson chats to Tennis club president Cedo Todoric-Vukasinovic and women’s captain Kim Atkinson Jessie Benson Sport Reporter Manchester Tennis team had great early season games lined up on Wednesday and The Mancunion decided to sniff out how the team were doing at this crucial stage; we grabbed an interview with club president Cedo Todoric-Vukasinovic and Women’s captain Kim Atkinson after the intense first day of play. Mancunion: So today you had both the Women’s First and Men’s Second team out, all looking to secure significant early-season victories. What was the atmosphere like during the matches? Cedo: It was relatively calm considering it was the first match of the new season. Once we started warming up I think a few of the players were feeling a bit nervous and rusty. But as we got into the first couple of games of our first matches, the nerves eased off and we could play more freely. What was your team’s goal today and did you manage to go out and smash it? Cedo: For the Men’s Seconds we were expecting a win against Liverpool Seconds. We’ve had good results against them in the past couple of years and we had a strong team today with 2 Freshers there too. The fixture was tied after the doubles; our captain, Andy Murray, played as the top seed and put in a strong performance to win his singles without too much trouble. I played as the 2nd seed and after a good win in the
when on another day I probably would have won. It’s annoying but you move on to the next one. Best moment of the day? Sandwich Wednesdays was made official when Owain turned up with sandwiches for the whole team. Well, what can we say? Lad! So what’s next for you guys and which Universities do you see being hot competition this year? Cedo: It’s going to be a tough season for us to stay in the league. But you never know if a top team have lost one or two of their players from last year so it’ll be interesting to see who shows up. Kim: It will be a tough year but we still have a chance of going up. Our toughest matches will be against Newcastle and Leeds but it will depend on any new Freshers they may have or if any older players have left. Photo: The Mancunion
doubles, my singles started below the standard I was used to. I had a marathon 3-set match, eventually losing 7-6, 1-6, 6-2. Our fresher, Owain McQuistin, put in a good performance to win his singles match. Unfortunately our other new face, Jake Flavell was not so successful and lost his singles. The end result was a draw which we are not over the moon with, but it’s a decent start to what will be a tough season. So it seems like you have some new faces on the first and second teams this year, any star Freshers?
Cedo: Yep, after losing so many good players at the end of last year, our 2nds had to move up to the 1st team and we’ve put together a fresh 2nd team with 4 Freshers and 4 players moving up from the 3rd team. We still haven’t seen how the other newbies will perform under pressure but I’m looking forward to seeing our results over the next few weeks. Kim: Sadly one Fresher we wanted to play sustained and injury but we still had three totally Fresh members on the team who are all great additions and strengthen the team.
Mancunion: Who would be your MVP of the day? Cedo: It has to be our captain Andy Murray. He put in a solid performance in both singles and doubles which helped us grind out a draw. So obviously the result wasn’t 100% ideal. Was there something you wish went better today? Cedo: Even after losing the first set of my singles in a tie-break, I knew I could still win it. Everything was working well in the 2nd set but all of a sudden I lost the rhythm in the third and lost the match
The day ended with a draw for the men and an unfortunate loss for the women’s singles; but everybody has their heads held high. We’re certainly interested to see how the season pans out for this team after a slightly rocky start, especially with so much fresh talent flooding into the ranks. If you want to keep up too, check out their website www.universityofmanchestertennis.com .
SPORT
20th OCTOBER 2014/ ISSUE 06 FREE
MANCHESTER’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
Debate: Ben Flower reaction
P.30
Tennis catch-up
Oar-some effort from Rowing
: @Mancunion_Sport : /TheMancunion
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P.31 Around the grounds Netball: Manchester 2nd 35-32 Liverpool Manchester 3rd 45-29 Lancaster 2nd Women’s Basketball: Liverpool 1st 50- Manchester 1st 34 Men’s Basketball: Northumbria 2nd 76-51 Manchester 1st Men’s Hockey: Manchester 1st 8-0 Lancaster 1st Men’s Waterpolo: Manchester 1st 21-6 MMU 1st
MUBC after 24 solid hours of rowing. Photo: The Mancunion
Andrew Georgeson Sport Editor
The University of Manchester Boating club underwent its annual 24-hour rowing challenge in support of ‘Sparks’, a children’s charity who help combat diseases in infancy among other things. As well as row for the full 24 hours, the MUBC also aimed to cover an incredible 500 miles. Despite the challenge facing the team, Emily Cornish from MUBC believed the event went well. “It was a great success! We had all our new and old members come down and help so it was a lot of fun,” said Emily Cornish from MUBC.
“The early hours of the morning were a challenge, but the fresher’s were a great help, having gotten used to being up at that time!” Apart from the camaraderie the event was, of course, about the money raised for Sparks. “We’ve raised over £1000 [at the time of writing] and still counting!” Emily said. “Our Just Giving page is still open and you can also donate by texting MUBC50 and the amount you wish to donate to 700703.” The 24-hour row also acts as a good preparation for the upcoming season, with Manchester having already won a £500 prize at the North of England Sprints at Hollingworth Lake for the most successful club.
As well as this many members of the senior squad went to Pairs Head of the River Race on the Thames where the men’s crew won, whilst other members of the team competed at Runcorn, also returning victorious. Emily hopes to the club can build on this after the new blood signed up during Fresher’s week. “We managed to sign up a large number of people with about 130 novices officially signing up at our circuits session held at the Armitage. “We hope this season we can build upon the victory at Pair’s head which is extremely impressive and shows which direction that the club is going in. “In terms of rankings, we
Women’s Lacrose: hope that our women’s squad Durham 2nd 24-0 Manchester can manage a top 40 finish 2nd at the Women’s Head of the River Race, top 12 at BUCS championship level and to get to the final day at Henley’s Women’s Regatta. “As for the men’s squad, a top 50 finish at the Head of the River Race alongside a top 6 at BUCS weekend and a strong performance at the Henley Regatta.”
Men’s Hockey: Manchester 5th 1-0 UCLAN 2nd Women’s Hockey: Manchester 5th 7-1 Chester 2nd Women’s Volleyball: Liverpool 1st 3-0 Manchester
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