TN2 Freshers' Issue, 21/22

2021-22 FRESHERS’ ISSUE SEPTEMBER TN2MAGAZINE.IE

ART/FASHION/FILM/FOOD/GAMES/LITERATURE/MUSIC/SEX/THEATRE/TV/PLACES/GAEILGE/ALT.

FRESHERS’ ISSUE ART TEAM

Cover Artist Linde Vergeylen Featured Illustrators Linde Vergeylen, Ellecia Vaughan, Emily Stevenson & Eve Smith Featured Photographers Eadaoin Fagan, Satwik Chandra, O. T. & Megan O’ Rourke

Eadaoin Fagan

Editor-in-Chief Ciara Connolly Deputy Editors Robert Gibbons, Alice Payne Social Media Manager Kate Byrne Art Kate Byrne Ella Sloane Fashion Gelsey Beavers-Damron Ciarán Butler, Millie Brennan Film Savvy Hanna Cathal Eustace Food Molly Guy Lambton Games Robert Gibbons Ryan O’ Connor, Gelsey BeaversDamron Literature Róisín Ní Riain, Brídín Ní FhearraighJoyce Music Hannah Quearney Gale Aitken Sex Alice Payne Shannon Connolly, Karla Higgins Theatre Gráinne Mahon TV Gillian Doyle Adam Balchin Places Hillary Mullen Gabriela Grzywacz Gaeilge Yu Hua Chaomhánach Nina Nic Mhánais ALT. Sophie Furlong Tighe, David Wolfe Head of Illustrations Emily Stevenson Head of Photography Megan O’ Rourke Layout Ciara Connolly, Robert Gibbons, Shannon Connolly, Alice Payne

CONTENTS Letter from the Editor Art & Design

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The New Yorker – Adrian Tomine The Budding Relationship Between AI and Art The Ultimate Dublin Gallery Crawl

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Fashion Popstar Muses and Tudor Fashion: Six on Broadway Dressed Like Royalty

Film

Summer Camp Films Virtual Futures: Are The Worlds of Cinema and Video Games Merging?

Food Are You Bready Yet? Greece-y, Veggie, and Delicious Games Which Legend of Zelda Game is the Horniest?

A Guide to Gaming on a College Laptop Games to Escape Into Literature Back with a Bite: The Twilight Renaissance Breaking the Paperback Ceiling “A morbid longing”: Dark Academia and The Secret History Music Ed Gets a Revamp: a Close Analysis of Ed Sheeran’s Bad Habits Happysad When It Rains: An Interview with Wolf Alice Sex Platonic Love Vs Romantic Love Contraception in Ireland Perspectives

Theatre

Broadway and the Problem with Financial Elitism Hybrid Theatre Events: Temporary Necessity or the Future of Live Performance?

TV Saved by the Subtitles: The Growing Popularity of Non-English Series in Modern TV Covid-19 on The Small Screen Love Island: a Drama of Olympic Proportions

Places

Books to Read While Travelling is Limited Places Missed on Campus: The Library

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Gaeilge

An bhfuil Bás nó Beatha i nDán don Phictiúrlann?

Feisteas na Tríonóide : An Riail Neamhscríofa

ALT.

Reflections on a Summer Job A Beginner’s Guide to the Dublin Rental Market Predicting your College Future

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SEASCAPES

PHOTOS BY

Satwik Chandra & O. T.

Letter From The Editor It is truly an honour to begin the new academic year with you all as TN2’s Editor-in-Chief. I was drawn to TN2 from the beginning of my time in Trinity due to the creative freedom I was allowed with the publication, as well as the friendly and collaborative nature of the writing staff, which are both aspects of the magazine I want to continue to foster during my time as Editor. Coming off the back of our 2021 National Student Media Award win for Magazine of The Year, I am excited to introduce new students to all that TN2 has to offer with our Freshers’ Issue.

This semester, Ireland’s high vaccination rate and our collective effort as a society have allowed for life to once again flourish on campus, an idea that is reflected in our cover art for this issue. At this time of new beginnings, it is important to celebrate how far we have come, while remaining mindful of the wellbeing of those around us. As Editor, I will achieve these ideals by amplifying the opinions and experiences of Trinity students within the realm of arts and culture, while building a supportive community of writers and contributors.

This issue sees the print debut of our newest section, Places. This section will showcase students’ experiences in terms of place – from international student insights and travel tips, to opinions on local spots around Dublin. Ultimately, the aim of Places is to highlight a variety of perspectives on the world around us, at a time when many of us have never felt more isolated.

In the spirit of this exciting addition, and the start of our return to normality on campus, our Freshers’ Issue acknowledges new beginnings in art and culture, such as the fusion between art and AI, the resurgence of Twilight and the introduction of hybrid theatre performances. Expanding further on this theme, this issue showcases the talents of the many new members to the TN2 team, who will no doubt continue to thrive as we progress throughout the year.

It takes a village to put an issue like this together, so I wish to thank all our editors, both new and returning, as well as our contributing writers, photographers and illustrators, for filling the pages with your creativity. While this is certainly a Freshers’ Week unlike any other, I sense a hopeful atmosphere on campus, one which I hope every reader can sense too. Long may it linger.

Best Wishes and Warmest Regards, ART BY ELLECIA VAUGHAN

Ciara x

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ART AND DESIGN

The New Yorker – Adrian Tomine Adrian Tomine is an American cartoonist and frequent illustrator of The New Yorker. Tomine’s clean lines, striking colours and comic book style have resulted in him producing countless memorable and recognisable magazine covers for the publication.

His first magazine cover for The New Yorker, “Missed Connections” became instantly iconic due to the relatable yet disheartening subject matter. A boy and a girl catch a glimpse of each other through the windows of their subway carriages: however, they are headed in opposite directions. What makes this moment even more heartfelt is that the pair are reading the same book. They could be a perfect match, possibly soulmates, even though they have not met. However, there is the painful realisation that in the city of New York, with a population of 8.4 million, they are likely never to see each other again.

It is a bittersweet tribute to that feeling of “what could have been”.

“Memorial Plaza” is another poignant cover which Tomine illustrated for The New Yorker in 2014. This cover was inspired by the 9/11 memorial in New York City which has been transformed into one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city. The illustration shows a busy crowd gathered around the memorial – tourists are snapping selfies, wearing 9/11 merchandise and there is a smile on nearly everyone’s face.

The tone-deaf tourists seem to have forgotten the real reason why the 1 memorial exists and the thousands of lives that were lost. However, once you take a closer look, not every person in the image is an ecstatic tourist paying a quick visit. A man, dressed in a suit, with hunched shoulders examines the names engraved on the memorial. Meanwhile, a woman is seen with a furrowed brow, head in hands, turning away from the crowd. It is reasonable to assume that these individuals knew someone who had unfortunately died in the attack. Tomine captured the wide range of emotions felt by people in such close proximity to one another.

He contrasted the insensitive joy of the tourists with the genuine grief felt by those who have lost the ones they love.

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“Love Locks” is a cover illustrated by Tomine in December 2016. In this image, a couple are seen placing a padlock on the Brooklyn Bridge – these “love locks” are a symbol of a couple’s commitment to and adoration for one another. A sign next to the pair clearly states that love locks are banned and there is a $100 fine for placing one on the bridge, but, the couple are completely oblivious and too preoccupied to notice the sign. Love locks can cause rusting, harm wildlife and may even cause the collapse of bridges.

In the background of the illustration, a sanitation worker is seen with bolt cutters removing all the love locks placed by couples who had visited before this particular duo. The young, naïve couple may care more about the tradition and trendiness of love locks to realise that they are actually causing damage to the bridge. The worker snapping off the love locks could be foreshadowing the future of the lovers’ relationship – it too will end and the pair will break up.

Recently, in November 2020, Tomine’s artwork graced the cover of The New Yorker yet again. In “Love Life”, he explored the virtual search for love in the middle of a pandemic. A woman sits in front of her laptop on a digital date taking place on Zoom. From the waist up, she looks perfectly presentable, however Tomine illustrates that in reality, the woman is wearing shorts, has stubbly legs with a pair of slippers on her feet. Meanwhile, her apartment is messy with dirty dishes, takeaway food and Amazon parcels. A partition hiding her untidy bedroom acts as the background of her Zoom call. The attention to detail in this cover is immaculate – it is a time capsule to our COVID-19 world with face masks, disposable gloves and hand sanitiser strewn across the floor. “Love Life” went viral soon after being published, with thousands of readers relating to the woman. Tomine accurately captured the comical yet lonely way of living that the woman and thousands of others have experienced due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

Tomine’s work is heartbreakingly beautiful – he illustrates bittersweet moments sprinkled with irony, humour and relatability.

He is a master at storytelling even without writing a single word.

WORDS BY LEANNE HEALY 3

The Budding Relationship Between AI and Art Artificial intelligence has firmly asserted itself as one of the most influential technological developments in recent

decades- an influence that is beginning to make waves in the art industry, and may soon change the concept of creativity as we know it today. A rapidly increasing amount of artists are now experimenting with AI to support, enhance or replicate creativity, resulting in the emergence of new and exciting artistic forms. This technology comes with endless, sometimes unpredictable, possibilities that could revolutionize the ways in which we consume art.

AI predominantly fulfils three primary functions within the realm of art, that of an impersonator, collaborator, and lastly, the much debated role of independent creator. Some techniques that are frequently used to impersonate art through AI include style transfer and image to image translation. Style transfer uses deep neural networks to replicate, recreate and blend styles of artwork. It does this by identifying and combining the stylistic elements of one image and applying them to another. Chris Rodley’s viral creation, entitled Dinosaur x Flower, is an aesthetically pleasing fusion of floral and animalistic imagery which demonstrates the broad scope of creative opportunity offered by style transfer. Similarly, image to image translation can alter the appearance of an image; in this case it allows artists to transform an image’s context, for instance by changing the season, weather, or time in which it is set.

The prolific German artist, Mario Klingemann, is a leading pioneer in the AI art movement. Klingemann is a widely admired resident of Google Arts and Culture, most known for his use of code, algorithms and neural networks. Reflecting on one of his most recent exhibitions, Memories of Passersby, Klingemann acknowledged the risk that comes with using AI to create art saying “it’s a system where you only have a certain amount of foresight about what it might do”. It is likely that it is this mystery and volatility which makes AI-driven art so fascinating. The allure of Memories of Passersby stems from the technology’s ability to generate unique portraits in real-time. In Klingemann’s eyes, the art is not the images, which disappear, but the computer code that creates them.

AI is also being used to make engagement with art a more interactive and accessible experience. Some of you may have heard of the widely popular ‘Art Selfie’ feature on Google’s Arts and Culture app, an impressive exploration of the power of machine learning and facial recognition technology. Users’ selfies are matched with their artistic doppelgangers, selected from an extensive database of portraits from museums and galleries worldwide. Machine learning technology achieves this by mapping each individual’s face and matching them to portraits with the highest percentage of resemblance ingenious, isn’t it?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, many people are skeptical of AI’s budding relationship with art, and it is a topic which has raised a vast amount of profound questions, critique and ethical issues. Some of the concerns raised by the rise of AI include, but are not limited to, value alignment, dataset challenges, privacy concerns, security issues, and, of course, how to assess the creativity of computational systems. The Turing test, invented by Alan Turing, strives to address some of the ethical issues surrounding AI by determining whether or not a computer is capable of thinking like a human. Turing proposed that a computer can be said to possess intelligence if a human interrogator cannot tell the difference between a computer and human respondent when communicating with them. However, researchers in recent years have shed light on the limitations of this as a method of assessing the intelligence of computers, as they can be taught to manipulate this test, rendering it inaccurate. Evidently, the questions raised by AI are not easily answered, but one thing that is certain is that it will indefinitely mould life and art as we know it.

WORDS BY ELLA SLOANE

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THE ULTIMATE DUBLIN GALLERY CRAWL WORDS BY KATE BYRNE PHOTO BY SATWIK CHANDRA After a lengthy string of lockdowns, Dublin is beginning to open up - and so is its vibrant art scene! If you, like us here at TN2, enjoy spending hours on end poring over paintings and wandering through galleries, why not spend a day immersing yourself in art by paying Dublin’s best-loved galleries a visit? This strategic plan (based on my experience of trekking around Dublin’s galleries, which is finally proving to be useful for something) suggests an itinerary for a jam-packed yet enjoyable day of perusing Dublin’s finest galleries.

IMMA This gallery crawl begins near Heuston station at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, or IMMA as it is known to those of us who wish to seem very cultured and informed. Take some time to grab a coffee and wander around the stunning formal gardens that surround the museum before venturing inside - you’ll probably need it! As suggested by its name, IMMA is chock-full of contemporary art pieces that may leave you scratching your head in wonder (or confusion) - either way, IMMA is definitely worth a visit, even if modern art is not necessarily your thing.

The Hugh Lane Gallery The Hugh Lane Gallery is located at the top of O’Connell Street on the city’s northside - a reasonably short jaunt on the Luas from IMMA. The Hugh Lane boasts an impressively varied collection, with everything from early 20th century Irish paintings by artists such as Jack Yeats, to contemporary pieces by Seán Scully. Not to be missed is the Francis Bacon Studio, a fascinating permanent exhibition composed of the artist Francis Bacon’s actual studio as it was when he died - it and all of its contents were painstakingly relocated and refitted to The Hugh Lane, where they have been since 2001.

National Gallery of Ireland A 15 minute long amble down through the city will take you from The Hugh Lane to where the National Gallery is located on Nassau Street. Whether it’s your first or fiftieth time visiting this institution of Irish art, you will most certainly find something new to see; a painting you didn’t quite notice on your last visit, or perhaps an intriguing new exhibition. Speaking of: if you find yourself in the National Gallery sometime over the month of September, be sure to check out some (or all!) of the exhibitions from the plethora they currently have on show. These include ‘Queer Mind, Body and Soul’, ‘Glamour and Governance’, and many more - makesure to check out their website to see their full list of current exhibitions.

RHA The Royal Hibernian Academy is perhaps not as well known as some of the other galleries that I’ve mentioned thus far, but it is absolutely as worth paying a visit to. This gallery tends to showcase up-and-coming artists, and so it is definitely the spot for those who wish to experience newer, more unconventional art. Currently on show at the RHA is an exhibition by the artist Barbara Knežević entitled ‘Pleasure ‘Scapes’. This gallery’s location means that it is only a short walk from the National Gallery - a very manageable journey! If you feel yourself beginning to wilt at this stage of the crawl, be sure to grab a cuppa in Coppa, the café located in the RHA. Kerlin Gallery The Kerlin Gallery is a small yet significant gallery also located in and around St. Stephen’s Green. Their current exhibition ‘Stuck on Dawn’ by Marcel Vidal is certainly well worth checking out! Though at this stage of the gallery crawl you may be physically crawling from tiredness, it’s well worth making the final leg of your journey to…

The Gallery of Photography Located in Temple Bar’s Meeting House Square, the Gallery of Photography is the last destination on this gallery crawl. From September 17th, the gallery will be hosting the Prix Pictet, a photography competition - check it out to see the nominees’ interpretations of this year’s theme, ‘Hope’.

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FASHION

Popstar Muses and Tudor Fashion: Six on Broadway

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roadway is back, starting September 14th. This means Six the musical will finally be performed, which I am very excited about. Unfortunately I will not be getting tickets to New York to see it, but if airport security wouldn’t mind turning a blind eye, that’d be great. The show revolves around the six wives of Henry the VIII, with each costume drawing inspiration from a modern-day pop princess. That’s right, no chemises or French hoods, but lots of rhinestones and studs! However, despite their 21st Century influence, the costumes include certain elements of tudor fashion and architecture. Gabriella Slade designed for the original West End production, and has revamped each wife’s wardrobe for the show’s debut in the Big Apple. The ‘divorced, beheaded and [dead]’ are back and better than ever. So, whether you’ve seen the costumes before or not, stick around because I’m about to break them down queen by queen.

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Catherine of Aragon Henry’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon, mirrors Beyonce’s style and sass in Six. Her crown is a tamer version of Beyoncé’s headdress from the 2017 Grammys and similarly, Beyoncé often features gold in her onstage looks.

Paired with Aragon’s crown are hoop earrings and a layered necklace that is reminiscent of military chainmail, which typically would’ve been worn by male soldiers in the 1500s. Square necklines and triangular bodices were popular during the Tudor era, so these features of Aragon’s costume are historically accurate. The pointed epaulettes are the biggest stand out element of her costume, bedazzled (by hand) with hundreds of gold studs. Tying the look together, like the rest of the Broadway cast, she wears rhinestone fishnet tights and glittery high heeled boots. Now that’s what I call royalty.

Anne boleyn The musical’s version of Anne Boleyn lives up to her reputation as the most controversial of Henry VIII’s wives. Combining the high-neck style of the late Tudor era and the cuffs of a punk rock star may not appeal to everyone, but I think this risky fashion move encapsulates Boleyn’s chaotic style. Her two-piece set boasts a holographic, green, square pattern and stiff, studded ruffs (instead of the more authentic lace). Green was especially chosen for Boleyn as a reference to the ballad ‘Greensleeves,’ which was rumoured to have been composed for her by King Henry. This Broadway queen’s cute yet brazen attitude mimics the British queen of tongue-in-cheek, Miss Lily Allen.

Jane seymour Remembered as gentle, loving, and more tolerating of Henry’s shenanigans than his other wives, Seymour’s costume reflects this with softer sleeves and a passive black and white colour palette. The silhouette of her dress is similar to Adele’s stage costumes, with a pephem that enhances her hips for a flattering form. In keeping with the era, the pattern on her bodice is evocative of half-timbered Medieval architecture. Her dress may not be as long as the typical 16th century gown, however, the bodice imitates the pointed kirtle, a garment worn at the time that supported the bust. My favourite accessory is her IV hooped earrings that identify her as the fourth wife. You know what they say; the bigger the hoop, the bigger the… heart? Well, in this case perhaps.

katherine howard

If Ariana Grande first comes to mind, then you would be correct, as Ms. Howard’s style is indeed loosely based on the pop princess. I mean, the ponytail, the three-quarter circle mini skirt and the high waisted hotpants kind of speak for themselves. As far as fabrics go, the holographic and clear PVC are unusual choices for a musical theatre costume, and certainly didn’t exist during Tudor times, but they work surprisingly well paired with the striped fishnet bra and sleeves. They are also highly durable fabrics, ideal for Broadway costumes where they’ll be worn six nights a week. Every detail of Slade’s design has a purpose, even the small studded choker Howard wears with her initial, ‘K.’ The real Anne Boleyn was known to wear a pearl necklace with a ‘B’ in the centre, so it’s an interesting style choice to have the other beheaded wife wear one in the show. The tight choker around her neck also hints at Katherine Howard’s beheading (not a spoiler, just history).

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anne of cleves The boots... The BOOTS! Can we get a little commotion for the boots? Although it appears that Anne (or Anna) of Cleves wore a few different costumes throughout Broadway previews, I believe the photo on the right represents the final design.

Her jacket gets ripped off halfway through her performance of ‘Get Down’ to reveal the cross-strap crop top on the left.

Women’s tudor gowns often included patterns such as stripes, which appear on Anne’s two piece set. Yet, this is the only part of her clothing in Six that can be traced back to the 1500s. Anne of Cleves was the only queen to escape Henry’s wrath - getting to lead a fulfilling life in a castle of her own after their mutual separation. And nothing says ‘badass’ quite like the colours black and red, thigh high studded boots and Nicki Minaj / Rihanna vibes.

Catherine parr Finally, the sole survivor, Catherine Parr. She is the only queen in the musical to wear trousers – setting her apart from the others literally and metaphorically. The muse for Parr is Alicia Keys, who frequently wears pants to red carpet events. Another source of inspiration for Parr’s costume may be Disney royalty: the sleeves are the exact design of Snow White’s iconic dual-fabric puff sleeves. PVC is again incorporated into this look, giving her sleeves a strong, supported form - a solid structure was important to Tudor fashion. Catherine Parr was forced to leave the love of her life and marry Henry VIII instead. As an allusion to the sorrow she endured in doing this, blue is the trademark colour chosen for Parr. However, she wears traditionally masculine items, leather boots and trousers, to reflect her independent nature.

Now that we’ve seen the Six queens, I think it’s safe to say that Gabriella Slade’s unique costume design is brilliantly suited to a musical which revolutionises outdated ideas. She thought everything through to perfection: a different signature colour for each wife, high-quality durable fabrics, and accessories to beat the band. There is the perfect balance between showing individuality and showing unity. The six costumes are tied together with a base colour of black and coordinating rhinestone and stud embellishments. Slade also successfully accomplished the difficult task of designing modern popinspired performance wear, without completely abandoning all traces of Tudor fashion. Who would’ve thought that 16th century British queens would one day be onstage in mini skirts and fishnets? ‘History is (indeed getting) overthrown’ in Six, and rightfully so!

WORDS BY AISLING FINEGAN

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Dressed Like Royalty: The Unsung Greatness of Queen Elizabeth II’s Awe-Inspiring Style There is no denying the allure of the glamorous side of being a royal. Judging by the entire section that is dedicated to “royal style” on the Hello! Magazine website, and the fact that every outfit that is worn by a member of the royal family is placed under a microscope and analysed by the public, it is fair to say that an incredible amount of people are deeply invested in what the royals wear.

Most will agree that the hype surrounding royal fashion is completely worth it. The British monarchy have had more than their fair share of iconic fashion moments, each one more terrific than the last. From Princess Diana’s 1994 iconic black off-the-shoulder “revenge dress”, to Meghan Markle’s unforgettably simple Givenchy wedding gown from 2018, some members of the royal family really are deserving of their reputations as some of the greatest fashion icons of all time.

But, when asked to ponder the connection between legendary style and the royal family, few will immediately call to mind the current and longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. To many, Queen Elizabeth II’s customary coloured suits and stiff patent handbags may seem incredibly prim and proper. But, when one really analyses her trademark style, it is easy to see why her name belongs up there with the other royal fashion icons.

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It is important to note that Her Majesty has to take many things into account when choosing what outfit to show the world. Her fashion choices are not simply dependent on what is in style, or what suits her body-type. She needs to dress in a way that is befitting of her role, obeys royal etiquette, and is both practical and sophisticated at the same time.

Reflected in the Queen’s style is that fact she was part of one of the first generations to experience excessive attention from the mass media. The royal family have always been a point of interest for the public, but no monarch had ever been put under public scrutiny in quite the same way as Queen Elizabeth was when she first donned the crown in 1953. Unlike her predecessors, major milestones in the Queen’s life, like her coronation and her wedding to Prince Phillip in 1947, were broadcast on both TV and radio. This meant that Her Majesty has always been acutely conscious of her appearance in public in a way that monarchs before her have not.

This has always influenced the Queen’s outfit choices. From an early age, Her Majesty has taken great pains to choose clothing that is highly unlikely to cause controversy.

When purchasing the material for her wedding dress, for example, she insisted on buying it using clothing ration coupons just like other brides-to-be of the post-war era. In 2019, Her Majesty took her people-pleasing a step further when she became the first British monarch to make the move from real fur to faux fur in her clothing, after receiving a number of complaints from animal rights activists.

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In addition to worrying about public opinion, the Queen also needs to take royal etiquette into account when choosing her outfits. Royal protocol deems that Her Majesty must obey a series of rules and guidelines regarding her fashion and dress. Some of these rules, such as being forbidden from carrying her handbag in her right hand at certain times, seem tedious and incredibly pointless. Others, such as always wearing gloves when greeting people outdoors to protect from germs, are far more reasonable.

But Her Majesty’s wardrobe choices are not just a manifestation of her intention to please her subjects, or a collection of outdated rules. The Queen’s style is, at its core, all about blending tradition with practicality. That is why Her Majesty is typically seen wearing brightly-coloured suits or dresses. These flamboyant hues make her easier to spot in a crowd. According to Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, “she needs to stand out for people to be able to say ‘I saw the Queen.’”

After taking all of these issues into account, one can only begin to imagine the pressure that Her Majesty must feel when it comes to selecting an outfit. To many, her style may seem pompous, overlyconservative and even, dare I say, boring. But when one looks past the low-reaching hemlines and stiff, pointed shoes, it is easy to see that Her Majesty’s style is emblematic of a progressing world, a forwardmoving society, and a woman who is trying to juggle both tradition and innovation while looking classy and sophisticated at the same time.

WORDS BY MILLIE BRENNAN

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FILM

Summer Camp Films With summer coming to an end and college starting back, it seems like a good time for a nostalgic look at films set in summer camps—from childhood favourites to slasher flicks and everything in between.

Wet Hot American Summer (David Wain, 2001)

Following the counsellors of Camp Firewood on the last day of camp in 1981, Wet Hot American Summer is a parody of the teen sex comedies popular in the 1980s. The film features an ensemble cast of great actors and comedians, including Bradley Cooper, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, and Saturday Night Live alumni Molly Shannon and Amy Poehler. They all star as camp counsellors trying to make the best of their last day, which for most involves getting with another counsellor, while also preparing for the final day talent show. Wet Hot American Summer has a quirky brand of humour often found in similar absurdist spoofs, which might not please everyone, but has given the film a cult classic status. Counteracting some of the more surreal and dark scenes, there are still some sweet and innocent moments to be found in the interactions between the characters.

Camp Rock (Matthew Diamond, 2008)

What could be better thwan a boy playing guitar for you at summer camp? Maybe that boy being Joe Jonas.

Jonas stars as arrogant teen idol Shane Gray, who is sent to Camp Rock to teach until he can correct his bad behaviour. While at camp, he falls in love with a mysterious voice, which unbeknownst to him belongs to camper and aspiring singer Mitchie Torres (Demi Lovato, in their breakthrough role). While Shane searches for ‘the girl with the voice’, Mitchie finds herself in trouble after lying to her fellow campers about her mom’s job to make herself seem cooler. When the truth is revealed, she becomes the laughing stock of the camp, jeopardising her friendships and dreams of becoming a singer. As expected from a Disney Channel Original Movie, the ending sees both Mitchie and Shane learning—through the power of song—that it’s always best to be your true self.

With Nick and Kevin Jonas also starring in smaller roles, it’s notable that Camp Rock’s stars are still successful recording artists over a decade later. While the plot is questionable at times, and the hairstyles even more so, the film’s soundtrack features fun bops from both Lovato and the Jonas Brothers. Camp Rock is a perfectly nostalgic, if not incredibly cheesy, film for those who grew up watching Disney Channel in the 2000s.

Friday the 13th (Sean S. Cunningham, 1980)

While summer camps have become a common setting for horror films, Friday the 13th was the original summer camp slasher, with its release in 1980 kicking off the subgenre as well as one of the biggest horror franchises of all time. It follows a group of camp counsellors who arrive at Camp Crystal Lake to reopen it over 20 years since its original closure, even though superstitious locals have warned them about the camp’s violent past. Going against all warnings, they start setting up for the summer, and begin to be murdered off one by one, in excessively gruesome ways, by an unseen killer. While the Friday the 13th franchise is probably best known for its antagonist, Jason Voorhees, he’s only seen very briefly in the original film as a child, not becoming a main antagonist until the sequels. Although this means that the first Friday the 13th is missing one of the franchise’s key elements, there is more focus on the camp counsellors and the mystery of who is trying to kill them.

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SpaceCamp (Harry Winer, 1986)

An alternative to the usual cabin-in-the-woods summer camp, SpaceCamp sees a group of teenagers and a Star Wars obsessed kid named Max (played by an adorable ten-year-old Joaquin Phoenix) attend camp at the Kennedy Space Center, where they learn about NASA and mimic real astronaut training. Joining them at camp is a malfunctioning NASA-built robot named Jinx, who quickly becomes Max’s best friend. The group of campers are given the opportunity to sit in a space shuttle with their instructor, astronaut Andie Bergstrom (Kate Capshaw) during a routine test. However, Jinx hacks into the computers to give Max a chance to live out his dream of going to space, causing the space shuttle to launch with the campers inside. Now stuck in space in an ill-equipped shuttle, the group must use what they have learned at camp to figure out a way to get back to earth before they run out of oxygen.

Unfortunately, SpaceCamp was released only a few months after the Challenger space shuttle disaster, and while the film has a happy ending, the central theme of a dangerous space mission caused it to perform poorly at the box office. 35 years later, the film can now be looked back on as a fun space adventure made during an optimistic time for space travel, with the bonus on containing one of future Oscar winner Phoenix’s earliest performances.

Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown (Bill Melendez and Phil Roman, 1977)

It seems as though there’s a Peanuts television special for every occasion—from the beloved A Charlie Brown Christmas and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, to the lesser known specials for election day, a trip to the circus, and even Arbor Day. But summer camp is so important for the Peanuts characters, that it gets its own feature film. Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown sees Charlie Brown and his friends attend Camp Remote high up in the mountains. While struggling to adjust to life at camp, Charlie and the gang are challenged by a group of bullies to compete in the camp’s annual raft race, which they have won every year through cheating. Although the plot is simple, the cheerful and adventurous spirit is bound to put a smile on your face.

Fear Street Part 2: 1978 (Leigh Janiak, 2021)

Based on the book series by R. L. Stine, Fear Street Part 2: 1978 is the second in a trilogy of new Netflix horror films.

The first film shows a group of friends in 1994 discovering that an evil spirit has been haunting their town for over 300 years, and ends with a lot of dead bodies and a call from a mysterious woman who says she survived the same killer once before. Part 2 brings us back to the summer of 1978 in Camp Nightwing, where we meet teenage outcast Ziggy (Sadie Sink) as she, along with her fellow campers and counsellors, attempt to survive a massacre and find a way to stop the curse.

The film has clear influences from the teen slasher flicks of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, particularly the aforementioned Friday the 13th, but also serves to expand on the mythology from the first film. The concept of releasing an entire horror film trilogy within the space of a month is interesting in itself, as the second and third films feel less like the awkwardly disconnected sequels that often arrive a few years after an original horror film, and more like an expansion of the already established story that you might find in episodes of a miniseries. The format also fits nicely with the plot, as each film explores a different era within the town’s history.

WORDS BY SAVVY HANNA ART BY EVE SMITH

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Virtual Futures:

Are the worlds of cinema and video games merging?

Given the current state of the world, the way we engage with cinema has changed drastically. Where once we could spontaneously decide to take an afternoon off and ‘see what’s on in the cinema’, we now have to prebook, mask up, distance ourselves from one another, and pay for increasingly more expensive treats. All of this is considerably more arduous than the world of streaming, whose ease of use and swathes of content are quickly breaking down and rebuilding the film industry. But on our at-home television sets, the streaming platforms are often accompanied by another presence vying for our attention spans: video games.

Throughout this lockdown, the place I watch films and the place I play video games has been the same. Slowly but surely, my enjoyment of film is merging with my enjoyment of video games. The distinctions are becoming less clear-cut as I find myself moving between film and video games, and not noticing a shift in my attitude to the television set. When I was younger I often flicked through ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ books where the experience of reading was like that of any novel, however, I was given the power to determine the outcome of the story. Playing certain exceptionally cinematic video games feels no different.

In the video game Red Dead Redemption 2, you assume control of an outlaw by the name of Arthur Morgan dictating his actions and moral compass as you travel across the enormous map spanning a fictitious American frontier. RDR2 features 60 hours of playable plotline, 109 main missions, and countless amounts of scripted cutscenes. All the while you can choose to play and switch between four different camera modes: first-person perspective, two forms of third-person tracking shots and a cinematic mode. What I’m interested in discerning is why and how we can delineate the experiences of playing video games and of watching films. Where is the distinction between the classic westerns—such as A Fistful of Dollars (Sergio Leone, 1964) or High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952)—the revivification of the genre seen in Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992) and True Grit (Joel and Ethen Coen, 2010), and Red Dead Redemption?

These two modes of storytelling have much common ground: camera technology, motion capture, animation, scripts, performance. Where they differ is evident in the degree of engagement they demand. When watching films we passively consume the story. Our autonomy cannot go beyond the pause button. The story has one ending, the course of events always play out the same every time we watch the film and there’s nothing we could do about it. This experience of watching a film is almost fatalistic, meanwhile more modern video games force us to engage in a different way. For example, the gamer’s choice when playing Red Dead Redemption 2 is important for not only the furthering of the plot, but for the entire experience.

One could choose to ignore the storyline and spend hours fishing in the various lakes, hunting bison, or exploring the expansive map. Red Dead Redemption 2’s cinematic mode allows you to enjoy long, wide angle shots of Arthur Morgan, this blends the freedom of playing an open world video game with the visual style of cinema.

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This boundary between video games and films regarding the level of involvement required can only be argued up to a point. Recently, the likes of Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch (A feature length Netflix Original where the viewer has to make decisions as the plot progresses) have blurred the lines further between film and video games. This style of the ‘interactive film’ that the successful Bandersnatch operates off has an interesting history. In 1967 the film Kinoautomat was shown at the Montreal Wolf Fair. At nine points throughout the film, the reel was to be paused and a moderator would stand before a live audience and ask them to vote for whatever scene they would prefer to be played next, thus influencing the film’s ending. Seven years later in 1974 Nintendo released the interactive movie arcade game Wild Gunman where the player has to draw and fire on his opponent before they can: a typical western standoff. If the player was successful or failed, live action footage would be played of the player’s opponent dying, or firing their gun first and winning.

Bandersnatch, however, is a feat of storytelling made only possible by the availability of streaming and the guarantee that a television set can carry out choice mechanics similar to a gaming console. The film has five different endings, over a trillion possible permutations and the ability to range from being 90 minutes to two and a half hours long. What is most interesting about Black Mirror’s story mechanics is the inclusion of a timer popping up on the bottom of the screen whenever a choice is presented to the viewer, this is evidence of both arcade movie games of 1974 like Wild Gunman and the early interactive films of 1967 such as Kinoautomat merging to form the likes of Bandersnatch.

We know that Netflix is only dipping its toes in the water of interactive filmmaking and given Bandersnatch’s success, there will hopefully be more to come with netflix having recently announced that they are expand into games development. When considering the features of heavily cinematic video games such as Red Dead Redemption 2 in relation to Bandersnatch (whose creators are well within their rights to identify as a film), it causes me to ask once again, “What’s the difference?”. Evidently, there is none. The basic mechanics of either style of storytelling operate the same way, save for occasional gunslinging in Red Dead Redemption 2 and the potential to hack and modify the game, which within itself is a whole other argument. Both industries have noticed this loss of a boundary between film and video games. Keanu Reeves made headlines when it was announced he would star in CD Projekt Red’s CyberPunk 2077, and one of Netflix’s most successful recent franchises was The Witcher, whose world and character design was taken from the famous Witcher trilogy of video games (which was in turn taken from the books).

The sooner filmmakers and game designers realise how much they can explore the relationship between film and gaming, the sooner they can play around with the new types of stories that this emerging coalescence of mediums provides.

Would a virtual reality open world film, where the viewer can travel and move as the story unfolds, be possible? The constant development of motion capture begs us to ask if a live action video game is possible. 360 degree Virtual Reality cameras are available in most camera stores, and I am of the opinion that it is only a matter of time before someone decides to take a risk and shoot a Virtual Reality film. What then?

Maybe we shouldn’t question the difference between video game and film. Like asking the difference between novel and novella, thumbs and fingers. Perhaps the important thing to ask is instead how we as viewers change our engagement and attention spans in these different types of storytelling.

WORDS BY CATHAL EUSTACE 15

FOOD

ARE YOU BREADY YET? Imagine if you were to upgrade garlic bread to the point where it becomes more addictive than most class A drugs.

Actually, you don’t need to imagine, because you’d just be thinking of a thing that already exists: focaccia. Focaccia is much more than glorified plain pizza dough. It is, in my opinion, the most underrated of all flour-based baking enterprises.

Incredibly easy to make, absolutely terrible for you, and utterly uncomplicated to customize. Focaccia presents more of an adventure than a challenge to your average baker.

If you’re anything like me, you’re a bit adverse to following recipes to a T. They tend to include exotic ingredients no one has that I therefore deem unnecessary (who owns coconut sugar?). Plus, I don’t want to have to read about Patricia’s traumatic divorce before I get to the part where she finally tells me how it helped her discover the perfect chocolate brownie recipe. That is why focaccia is the perfect go-to for an avid, chaotic baker. So long as you have flour, water and yeast, the rest is unimportant. If you have enough time, even the yeast becomes obsolete - you can make your own by just putting some flour and water in a jar and letting it exist for a few days, sourdough style.

Focaccia can be whatever your heart desires; it is bread without inhibitions. Although I will be including the basics of a recipe to get you started down below, where the basic proportions of flour to water should probably be considered, the rest is free reign. Whatever vegetables that are somewhat fresh in your fridge can suddenly become mediums for bread-based artworks. Tomatoes sliced into circles become suns. Peppers cut into strips become flower stems and trees. Mushrooms... can most likely remain as mushrooms.

For the foundational dough, here’s a simple bedrock I like to stick to. It is a combination of a multitude of focaccia recipes I have found online, along with years of experience of semi-ruining focaccia by freestyling too much. Following this, even leaving leeway for random additions and subtractions, you should be left with a more than edible focaccia. In any case - with flour, oil, and salt, you can never go wrong.

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INGREDIENTS 500g strong flour/ bread flour 1 packet of instant yeast 380-400 ml of water (Like I said! The recipe is adaptable! You’ve got to see how much water you think you need) A good amount of salt An ungodly amount of olive oil

THINGS I RECOMMEND BUT AREN’T REALLY NECESSITIES A head of garlic Fresh rosemary (don’t worry, you won’t use a whole packet, but you can freeze what you don’t use!)

Some of the following for decorative purposes: broccoli, asparagus, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Get a larger bowl than you think you need. To this bowl add the yeast, flour, about a teaspoon of salt, and roughly 250ml of water. Using your hands, combine the ingredients in the bowl and knead it together until it starts to become cohesive. Then, slowly add up to 150 ml more water with one hand, while continuing to mix with the other. The dough will feel sticky, but that’s okay! Once you’ve kneaded it for a few minutes, it will become more elastic and all start to hold together.

2. Stretch the dough from one side outward, then tuck that edge back into the centre and turn the bowl to repeat the process, pulling the dough out a bit and then pushing it all back together. Do this for about three minutes until the dough starts to form a little ball in the middle of the bowl. When this happens, pull the dough out of the bowl onto a well-oiled table and continue to push and stretch it for another few minutes.

3. Clean the bowl you used of excess dough, oil it up, and add the dough back in. Put a damp tea towel over the whole thing and leave it for about an hour.

4. Line a baking tray or dish with greaseproof paper and tip the dough out onto it. At this point I like to cut the top off a head of garlic, pour some olive oil on it, wrap it in tin foil and roast it for an hour at about 230 degrees Celsius. This preheats the oven, and also means you can use the garlic for the top of the focaccia.

5. The garlic can then be taken out of the oven, and the cloves can be squeezed out into some olive oil. With the back of a fork, crush it all together to make a garlic paste.

6. Once the focaccia has been left for the hour, use oiled hands to press into the dough with your fingertips to make little dimples. Liberally drizzle the whole thing in olive oil and garlic paste and sprinkle it all with salt. Put sprigs of rosemary into the little dimples, and then use whatever toppings you’ve chosen to live out your cottage-core dreams.

7. Leave the focaccia in the oven for about 20 minutes, and then when it comes out let it rest for another 20 minutes (this is the hardest part) so that the dough can set.

So that is my rough guide to making the easiest and best bread ever. It’s harder than you’d think to get wrong, and I have the utmost faith that anyone attempting this will inevitably end up with something delicious anyway - it’s impossible to foc(accia) up.

WORDS BY MOLLY GUY-LAMBTON 17

GREECE-Y, VEGGIE, AND DELICIOUS As a vegetarian, I was somewhat apprehensive about visiting Greece. I knew that lamb was the most loved food, and that on the islands fish was the standard fare. Plus, I hadn’t eaten feta cheese since a bad experience in the Gaeltacht where I was forced to eat a whole feta pie. However, I couldn’t have been more wrong, as the islands of Santorini and Naxos served me well, and I’ve had some of the best food of my life in the two weeks that I have been here.

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You simply cannot visit Greece and it’s beautiful islands without having at least one Greek salad per day. The combination of tomato, cucumber, pepper, onion, feta and some olives (if you’re lucky) is fit for the Greek gods and tourists alike. It’s refreshing, tasty and most importantly, allows for the recommended daily intake of feta cheese.

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Gyros are a common street food that you will find in every eatery in Greece. You will find them stuffed with vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and onion, topped with a few chips, wrapped in a pitta and drizzled with a mystery sauce (probably some variation of tzatziki). They are usually stuffed with chicken or pork, but the Greeks are very accommodating, and if you ask for vegetarian, they will deliver. In addition to being a good option for a lunch on the go, these beauties rarely go over three euro, so you’re safe to eat your heart out whilst sticking to a budget.

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There is another super cheap, super quick option for lunch: pies stuffed with cheese, spinach or courgettes. Depending on the type of establishment you purchase them in, they come either as a pastry parcel, or something resembling a frittata. Either way, they are delicious and well worth forking out three or four euro.

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Next up is briam, a comforting dish of cooked vegetables such as courgettes, potatoes and a bit of aubergine. It is served warm in a tomato based sauce that you’ll want to mop up with a bit of pita if it’s to hand. If you’re feeling at all homesick, briam would, with a bit of imagination, remind you of an Irish stew.

If something is offered in the form of “balls” in Greece, it’s usually a good option. Large fried balls of shredded courgettes and cheese served with a sauce, and maybe a few green leaves, are a fantastic choice. But beware, there’s a fine line between being full and not being able to move in the 30-degree heat.

WORDS BY AMY COX AND CAROLINE DOYLE

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GAMES

Which Legend of Zelda Game is the Horniest?

5. The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords and Four Sword Adventures (2002, 2004) Coming in fifth on our list are our early-2000’s sweetheart’s. These two games, while named slightly different, are virtually the same game and are often ranked together and thus we will be ranking them together. The game’s plot is simple enough, where Link must rescue the princess and four maidens from the evil Vaati, Sorcerer of the Wind, who wants to marry Princess Zelda. While attempting to save them, Link pulls out the magical Four Swords and suddenly there are four Links! Now the plot itself within the game is not too sensual, but I find the horny factor arises from the system in which the game is meant to be played. Nintendo marketed the game with a system that can have four players playing as each different Link together. Close your eyes and imagine: it’s 2004 and you and your three closest friends, fueled on Coke and Cheetos, are playing all day and night, side-by-side, getting sweatier and sweatier as each hour passes by and the tension rises…

4. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006) Anyone who knows this game or who knows me, may be surprised at this gem of a game’s ranking on the list since it is probably the post outwardly horny and is my favorite Zelda game. Often called the ‘emo’ installment, Twilight Princess definitely carries a lot of sexual tension, frustration, and confusion that comes with being a moody and dissatisfied teen. It’s full of dark colors, sequenced music with orchestral influences, and really unique character designs which adds a more emotional and sensual flair to it all. Twilight Princess sees our sweet country boy Link (who has a lot of teen heartthrob energy) fighting against the evil forces of the Twilight Realm led by Zant, who likes to wildly gesticulate anytime you fight him, after they invade and take over the castle and kidnap Princess Zelda. The most obvious difference that sets this game as obviously horny is Link has many clear romantic interests. While the games never really afford time to explore this personal side of our always sacrificing hero, the beginning of the game shows Link having a romantic interest in his hometown in Ilia. There’s also implied romantic interest with Zelda later, however the most interesting and creative comes from Midna, his travel companion, reluctantly stuck with him after meeting in a dungeon. Midna, a small impish figure, is a refugee from the Twilight realm who has her own motives to fight Zant that are slowly revealed throughout the story and while the two have a pretty rough start, they grow to have a really close bond, which is shown when Midna almost dies and Link rushes in to save her . However, while reluctant allies to lovers is a great trope with lots of tenison the real horn comes from the end reveal that Midna is 1) the Twilight Princess, 2) basically a god who wields a helmet of unlimited power, and 3) may I just say, super duper hot. Like unfathomably hot. It is held off to be a big plot twist at the very end of the game and it is so worth it. Like as a six-year-old, I’m pretty sure she was the first female character I had any attraction to and it was powerful.

3. The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) Of all the titles mentioned on the list, this is probably the most well-known, and for good reason. Ocarina of Time was legendary for 3D game play as well as having a fresh and intriguing game system in its time travel and ocarina elements.

Also, it’s pretty horny. In this game, we see a young Link blow real hard on his magical Ocarina as he travels through Hyrule with his fairy Navi. But it all changes when Ganondorf attacks and Link must pull the mighty Master Sword from the Temple of Time, where he emerges years later as an adult. Through the game, you travel through time, manipulate the weather, and other cool stuff with your blowing power as you attempt to undo the end of the world and save Zelda.

Having music and dance at the foreground, as well as our main character going through puberty an infinite number of times, creates a pretty horny atmosphere to play in. Further, more than me goofing, the game actually has been read by many as a metaphor for manhood, with many characters commenting on young Link’s lack of manhood and adult Link’s apparent strength, and the struggles that come with maturing, which to me is pretty horny. Manhood is clearly, to some extent, an obsession of the characters in the game and it asks the questions what does it mean to be a man, having two romantic rivals of sorts, first through the harmless Mido, a fellow kid, and then in the dangerous Ganondorf. Further, part of Link’s quest is to find Seven Sages who will help imprison Ganondorf, four of whom are young girls little Link meets that grow into romantic interests for adult Link. Overall the game is about transformation and while deep and beautiful, is also extremely horny.

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Like Twilight Princess, textually the game’s theme is pretty horny but it also has some very notable NPCs, including some that have become very big icons for LGBTQ+ game fans. There’s the race of the Gerudo, a desert clan of only women, Impa, Zelda’s lesbian (I pray because I love her so much) bodyguard, and Sheik, who is assumed to be a man but turns out to be Zelda in disguise, and as a non-binary person myself, not only do I really enjoy Sheik as a character and concept, I also find them extremely hot. Oh, there’s also the Great Fairy who was rumoured to be designed after drag queens. She floats half-naked and sings over you while she heals you.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks (2007, 2009) Now, these two games are different in plot, but since they are similar mechanics-wise and often grouped together, they will tie here at the second spot. Released for the DS, these games are somewhat infamous in the Zelda fandom mostly because, while having the cartoon Link art style of the beloved Wind Waker, they did not live up to that game at all and were seen as subpar handheld games that can be skipped. However, these games have horny out the wazoo. First, both of the main mechanics of the gameplay involves you gripping the shaft of the DS stylus and pounding it harder, and harder, and harder, in order to swing your sword, throw bombs, or whatever else the game needs you to do in order to save the day. The plots are second to the adrenaline-filled rage you get by almost breaking the small handheld into pieces in seemingly more frustrating and nonsensical tasks, which leaves you with a lot of steam to blow off.

The plots of these two games don’t matter, the main thing that separates them is that one takes place on a boat and the other on trains. Yes, trains. Phantom Hourglass is the less horny of the two, mainly redeemed by Link’s sailing partner Linebeck who is a total Chad and definitely is into Link, but compared to Spirit Tracks it’s a nunnery. Spirit Tracks is easily one of the most sensual experiences any gamer can have as it involves the sexiest thing of all: trains. Just the sheer eroticism of trains is enough to get anyone hot and heavy but having my favorite video game use trains as the main mechanic, well let’s just say I will be at home tonight, pouring myself some wine, and enjoying Link on a train all by myself. You also get a little train whistle you can pull while riding the train that goes toot toot! There is also a mechanic where Zelda, who is a ghost-- don’t ask-- can take over the bodies of others which I’m sure is someone’s kink. I mean it’s no trains but it’s ok. No judgment here.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011) Here’s the thing: Skyward Sword is probably my least favorite main title game, so you know that it has to have something pretty horny to take the prime spot of the horniest Zelda game there is. Now, throughout this article, you probably have noted that horniness rating comes down to a few boxes to be ticked: textual theme, NPCs, gameplay, and my own nonsense. Skyward Sword ticks everyone. Using the somewhat hated Wii MotionPlus technology, you actually have to swing the controller like the sword in the game, which is very immersive and gets you very sweaty. Further, in this game, Link’s companion in Fi, who turns out to be the living soul of the Master Sword from all the other games, which means the larger thick sword you use to plunge and penetrate in every other game is alive which is way sexier than it just being metal and recontextualizes the horniness of every other game. There’s also Groose, an NPC who starts out as Link’s sexual rival for Zelda but transforms into a loveable himbo that anyone could write self insert Wattpad fanfic about. But while all these things are pretty horny, what sets Skyward Sword above the rest is one character and one character only: Ghirhaim.

Ghirahim is the main antagonist of the game until it is revealed he’s just another minion of Gannon, but instead of being your run of the mill villain, he is flamboyant, vain, and ostentatious and makes multiple overt sexual advances seemingly on Link, or maybe to the player, throughout the game often wiggling his tongue by Link’s ear and giving unsolicited back massages. He has enough flair that even in a game I wasn’t really happy playing, I was overjoyed when he appeared, as his diamond earring shone and he threw his red cape aside to show his skintight bodysuit (I assume it’s a bodysuit). He is also so devoted to his greater master that it entirely destroys him in the end, which is pretty much as hot as it gets. In a series that can be seen as fairly neutered, Ghirahiam has added a lot more spice to the Zelda Fanfic world, which it desperately needed and we forever thank him for that.

WORDS BY GELSEY BEAVERS-DAMRON 21

A Guide to Gaming on a College Laptop SPOILERS FOR GOOD WILL HUNTING

The cost of PC gaming is prohibitively high. Most comprehensive gaming PCs range from €1,500 to more than €2,000.

But those PCs are only necessary if you want to play the newest, fanciest, most high fidelity games. The PC or laptop you use for college assignments is probably capable of running some of the best games out there. This article is not a list of games that will work on most computers, but instead a guide, a map if you will, of advice on how to locate games that will work on any modern laptop.

The first, and most obvious, way to play games carries the distinct nostalgia of a school computer room: your browser. Any game you can access directly through your browser will be playable on your computer and, though there is a lot of garbage, there are some treasures among all that trash.

Most notably for me, is Tetris Online. Browser games are typically simple puzzle games, the type with which you are likely familiar - chess, backgammon, poker, etc. Simple as they are, they can often be enough to hit that gaming serotonin button in your brain. The other way to use a browser to game (which TN2, of course, would never recommend) is through illegal emulators. These are websites which allow you to play retro games on your browser, typically without the permission of the game’s publishers. They will also often add features that did not exist in the original (e.g. the ability to pick any level from the beginning of the game). Be warned though, if you choose to go down this route, you must be careful which emulators you use - it’s the wild west out there and some of them may end up doing your PC more harm than good.

If you’ve dabbled in browser games and dodgy emulators, the next step is Steam.

Steam is the primary marketplace for downloading PC games. Notorious for their semi-frequent sales where game prices are slashed to such a degree as to make payment basically a formality, Steam is the best value proposition for PC Gaming.

Furthermore, on Steam you also have a whole host of free-to-play games and game demos which will keep you busy for quite some time before you need to invest a single cent. Notably, they also have a full refund policy if you have owned the game for less than two weeks and played it for less than two hours, so if you buy it and find that it can’t run on your laptop, no harm done.

But, and this is the key question, how do you tell if a game will be able to run on your laptop before you boot it up? There are a few rules of thumb that I have found helpful in my experiments with PC gaming. Rule 1: indie pixel art games are your friends. The most difficult thing for computers to do is render high-end graphics, so lowend, artisanal graphics can run on most computers like a dream. Games like Celeste (2018), Blasphemous (2019), Carrion (2020), and many others play as smooth as you like. Rule 2: delve into old games. Your laptop may struggle to run Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but running Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is barely an inconvenience. I have yet to find a specific year cut off date for when 3D titles no longer function, but the furthest I’ve pushed mine so far is 2011 with The Stanley Parable (demo, because we’re on a budget here!). Rule 3: side scrollers tend to be fine, 3D games less so. For example, Spiritfarer (2020) worked wonderfully but Lake (2021) stuttered even during cutscenes on the lowest visual settings. Rule 3.5: if you insist on playing 3D games (some titles will work) you may want to invest in a mouse. Rule 4: there are always visual novels. Visual novels are text based interactive fiction games that require little to no effort on the part of your computer. Though I have not played many myself, I can highly recommend the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy (2019) as one of the best detective series of the DS era remastered for the PC. I guess to conclude, the true answer to the question of whether or not you’ll know if your PC is capable of running a game is that you won’t, but that’s part of the thrill. It’s a little like that scene in Good Will Hunting (Van Sant, 1997) where every day Ben Affleck (you, the humble gamer) shows up, not knowing if Matt Damon (the game you just downloaded) is still going to be at his house (able to run on your PC) and when he finally isn’t there (the game successfully runs), you can walk back to your car, shrug and say “he’s not there” (play the game).

WORDS BY ROBERT GIBBONS 22

Games to Escape Into WORDS BY RYAN O’CONNOR While I may not speak for everyone, I’m certain that at least 90% of you will relate when I say that, as soon as Michaelmas term comes back around, my heart is preparing for its resting rate to double. College life can be stressful, the amount of juggling to be done can be seen as great preparation for a life in the circus! At times like these, video games grant to me a form of escapism unlike any other. It is for that reason that I’ve decided to compile a list of some of my favourite games to escape into!

First up, grab your canary yellow flares and your red-tinted, round-frame sunglasses, as ZA/UM’s Disco Elysium: The Final Cut is the perfect world to help you switch off at the end of a long day. The gameplay is incredibly basic; it plays like a (very detailed) choose-your-own-adventure novel. You spend your days walking around as an alcoholic detective; when you’re not solving a murder case and stealing drugs from terrible fathers, you’re tasked with recovering the memories you lost after a mad night out on the town. Filled with memorable characters, a surprisingly in-depth world, and some of the best voice acting I have ever heard (aside from that found in Hades, mentioned later), Disco Elysium makes for one of the most relaxing experiences you can find on the market right now, (unless you’re prone to having existential crises; if you are, I really do beg you not to play this game).

Anybody who knows of the game’s reputation will be reading this right now and calling me a bit of a psychopath. On one hand, they could be right, but on the other hand, there are much more dangerous people in this world for us to worry about, like those nasty, nasty people who eat their cereal with absolutely no milk! Massive red flag. Anyway, the Dark Souls series is well known for its unforgiving difficulty, and I have no doubt that it has been the cause of numerous broken controllers. I picked the latest entry in the series for this list as it somehow managed to accomplish what very few series seem to be able to do: it is a sequel that turned out better than its predecessors. Its fluid combat, incredible boss design and chilling soundtrack make for an incredible experience that can carry you far, far away from the awful economics lectures you may have had to attend earlier in the day. The above-average difficulty, in my opinion, actually makes Dark Souls III the perfect game for escapism; each and every area requires you to be 100% focused on your character and your surroundings, leaving absolutely no room in your brain for mundane worries like the international relations essay that is due in 15 minutes’ time. In other words, if you’re looking to leave this cold, cold world entirely, just allow yourself to be whisked away into the warm, fuzzy world of Dark Souls III. You won’t regret it.

Ideal for short, half hour bursts at the end of a boring day, Supergiant Games’ Hades won the same amount of Game of the Year awards as headline titles such as Ghost of Tsushima and the Final Fantasy VII remake. This is especially impressive considering the fact that it was made by a small independent developer with a mere 20 employees. The game is a roguelike, which is essentially a nerd term for a game that sends you right back to the start if you have the misfortune of being killed. You play as Zagreus, the son of the Greek myths’ God of the Underworld, Hades. Zagreus has decided that it’s time to leave the literal hellhole, and you have to fight your way through randomly generated, yet surprisingly accurate, pieces of Greek mythology in order to escape. On top of offering an incredible soundtrack and the best voice acting I have ever heard in a video game, Hades offers incredibly satisfying, fast-paced combat. I find its small, fight-until-you-die levels to be ideal for escaping from life at the end of the day. Whether you make it through to the Overworld or simply die trying, you are guaranteed a satisfying conclusion to your run of the game each time you load it up. It is for this reason that if you are, like Zagreus, looking to escape from Hell (otherwise known as college), I highly recommend giving Hades a shot.

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LITERATURE

Back with a Bite: The Twilight Renaissance Last August, Stephenie Meyer published Midnight Sun. This companion novel to the Twilight series retold the events of the first book from the perspective of Edward Cullen. Meyer published it in order to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the original novel’s publication -- which coincided with a revival of interest in the paranormal romance series. Over the last year, a fresh wave of memes, TikTok edits, discourse and discussion centered around the series has taken over the internet, and the series seems to be regaining some of the pop culture significance that it had lost towards the end of the noughties.

Twilight was a cultural phenomenon. The books attracted a cult of loyal readers and the mania only intensified with the release of the first film in 2008, which Seventeen magazine called “The Year of the Vampire”. On paper it was a simple love story about a teenage girl who was torn between a moody vampire and a shirtless werewolf, but it came to represent so much more. The “Team Edward” and “Team Jacob” debate dominated the cultural consciousness, generating copious amounts of online quizzes, fanart, and slogan t-shirts. It was serious stuff. Some people even lost friendships over it.

But, like all good things, the hype had to come to an end. Trends in YA fiction changed during the 2010s. Dystopian fiction took over as The Hunger Games inspired a series of knock-offs. While Twilight didn’t invent love triangles, many franchises tried to recapture the success of the “Edward VS Jacob” debate, which led to audiences losing interest in the trope. More and more copies of the books appeared on charity shop shelves. The movies were only rooted out for the occasional throwback during a sleepover.

Part of this new wave of nostalgia is natural. Nostalgia cycles are a well-documented societal phenomenon: in the 2010s it was 80s nostalgia that influenced fashion and popular media such as Stranger Things and Taylor Swift’s 1989 album. 90s influences also fed into the cultural zeitgeist, a trend that continued into the start of the new decade. Throughout 2020, “Y2K” was the new buzzword, as girls in baby tees and velour tracksuits dominated TikTok. Even the “main character” trend had its roots in tropes from coming-of-age movies of the 2000s, such as Legally Blonde and Camp Rock. Given how massive Twilight was in the 2000s, it was only a matter of time before it had its own revival.

But there are other forces at play too. It’s no secret that the pandemic has completely changed our relationship with the media that we consume. In 2019 for example, the most-streamed shows on Netflix were Stranger Things, Lucifer, and other recent releases. In 2020 however, it was shows like Friends and The Office that saw the biggest streaming numbers.

Indeed, many articles have been written justifying this culture of rewatching. In times of uncertainty, people are seeking out the familiar, the comfortable. There’s an element of regression, especially for young adults, many of whom have moved back into their family homes and lost some of the newfound independence that comes with going to college. Stuck in your childhood bedroom, surrounded by the remnants of your teenage years, it comes as no surprise that a lot of people have wanted to dive back into teenage escapism. Additionally, with the gift of hindsight, people have been able to look back on Twilight’s place in the cultural canon, the mania that surrounded it -- and the criticism it drew.

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It’s no secret that Twilight garnered a lot of backlash. It even inspired a parody film with 2010’s Vampires Suck. Not all of the criticism thrown at Twilight was entirely undeserved. Both Edward and Jacob display abusive tendencies: Edward stalks Bella, while Jacob refuses to respect her boundaries or take no for an answer after she continually rejects him. Meyer’s Mormon beliefs permeate the messaging in the text when it comes to abstinence and abortion. Additionally, Meyer’s depiction of the real-life Quileute tribe and her use of their culture has come under recent scrutiny, as she took many liberties with their traditions. The implications of the Native characters being able to turn into wolves are made all the more sinister when the mainly-white vampire characters wrinkle their noses at their smell, or refer to them as “dogs”. It also doesn’t help that one of the Native characters hits his wife, and that two of the pack members form soulmate connections with infants. What’s even more egregious, however, is the fact that in spite of the millions the series made, the group never received any of it. This is in spite of the fact that their folklore contributed to the lore of the series, and that their traditional symbols were used for official merchandise.

However, as someone who was part of the anti-Twilight brigade back in the early 2010s, I can safely say that these criticisms only represented a tiny portion of the backlash to the series. Arguably, the main reason why Twilight was reviled was because it was popular with teenage girls. I consumed a lot of Twilight-critical content back in the early 2010s, and in hindsight, it’s really weird to me that so many grown men were up-in-arms over a mediocre film and book series aimed at fourteen-year-old girls. These were men who made hating Twilight a huge part of their personality.

Everyone is obviously entitled to their opinion, and is allowed to have an opinion on whatever piece of media they like, but the sheer volume of parody videos and memes calling Edward Cullen “Tinkerbell” were not warranted when one actually looks at the content of the series. Again, there are things about Twilight that should rightfully be criticised. The fact that the vampires sparkle, or that it’s a love story without much of a plot, is extremely low down on the list. Part of me wonders if a lot of these men were just annoyed that Meyer had made their favourite horror movie characters more appealing to teenage girls. It’s worth noting that media made for male audiences is not held to the same standards.

They’re allowed to have their explosion-filled action movies with flimsy characters and nobody bats an eyelid.

I’m more interested in the women who criticised Twilight though, having been one of them myself. Much has already been written about the “Not Like Other Girls” phenomenon, and it’s now a trope that is past the point of parody. But that culture was very real, and I only really started to see it challenged around the mid-2010s. When you see adult men -- online and in the real world -- calling teenage girls shallow or silly for liking things that they are the literal target audience for (see One Direction, chick-flicks, John Green novels, and even the Beatles back in the 60s), when “girl” starts to become synonymous with “bad”, your natural reaction is to get defensive -- I’m a girl, but I’m not like those girls. This is ironic when Bella Swan herself has been held up as one of the definitive examples of this trope: the broody brunette bookworm, who has no interest in fashion or jewellery, and would rather fix up motorcycles than go to parties. Maybe that’s why I suddenly made hating Twilight part of my personality, after being a fan for so long. I saw myself in Bella, felt like I didn’t really fit in with the other girls in my year, and then once the series became mainstream and those girls became interested in the films, I wanted to set myself apart from them again. Internalised misogyny can be a hell of a drug, one that many of us are only now breaking free of. I can honestly say that it felt pretty liberating to jump on the nostalgia-train and flick through my old copy of Eclipse.

Last Valentine’s day, in the midst of the pandemic, my boyfriend and I watched all five films together over Zoom. It was honestly the most fun that I had in lockdown, especially since my boyfriend had never seen the films before and knew nothing about the series. He got surprisingly invested by the end of it; he even asked me for all of the character backstories and the details that were lost in adaptation. While it’s clear that part of the Twilight renaissance has been fuelled by ironic appreciation, it seems that there could still be a new fandom of “Twi-hards” waiting in the wings. Maybe I’ll even get him a copy of Midnight Sun for Christmas.

WORDS BY MARY O HARTE

25

Breaking the Paperback Ceiling If you have found yourself combing through bookshelves in your local bookshop and your fingers brush over authors such as Sophie White, Mona Eltahawy or Doireann Ní Ghríofa, there is a strong possibility you are already familiar with the work of Tramp Press. If you were to pull down a copy of Corpsing: My Body and Other Horror Shows by White or A Ghost in the Throat by Ní Ghríofa, you would see the Tramp Press logo printed neatly inside the title page. With their works stocked in bookshops across the country, the small independent publisher has established itself on the Irish publishing scene with both critical and commercial success.

Sophie White, Mona Eltahawy or Doireann Ní Ghríofa Tramp was formed in 2014 by Lisa Coen and Sarah Davis-Goff. Coen, originally from Mayo, graduated from NUIG and Trinity College. She worked in magazine editing before founding Tramp Press with County Dublin-born DavisGoff, who similarly had a background in publishing. Their mission statement when launching their independent press was to nurture and publish exceptional literary talent. Their specialisation is in Irish publishing with Tramp based in Dublin and Scotland, while also publishing internationally. The publishing house has garnered critical acclaim, achieving success in awards such as the An Post Irish Book Awards, the International Dublin Literary Award, the Goldsmiths Prize, and the Rooney Prize, to mention but a few. Tramp has also built a great relationship with exceptional authors such as Mona Eltahawy, Niall Bourke, Sarah Henstra, Maeve Kelly and Oona Frawley.

Back in 2017, Davis-Goff revealed they received as many as three or four submissions a day. With an enviable stable of groundbreaking authors and continuing awards success, Tramp Press is seemingly ever on the rise in the Irish publication scene.

. . . nuture and publish exceptional literary talent As can be imagined, it was difficult for Tramp press to establish itself in a male-dominated industry like publishing.

The women were aware of the difficulties they might face, even naming the company after John Millington Synge’s “tramp” character, who features in his work as the archetypal “bold outsider”. “We at Tramp experience sexism in lots of ways all the time, being dreaded women”, they asserted in a 2017 tweet. They have explained how they often have to deal with authors sending them manuscripts addressing them as “Dear Sirs” or cover letters proudly declaring that they do not read books written by women. In 2017, Tramp announced that they would no longer read submissions that contained any of these sexist presumptions or remarks. They noted that these sexist authors have never submitted something Tramp wished to publish. Aware of the rumblings that their discussion could provoke, they stood by their choice, stating that “sexists need not apply”.

Sexists need not apply

Laura Waddell became the latest addition to the team in 2019 in the role of UK Publishing Director. With the business’ successes mounting, their aim of promoting Irish fiction is still at Tramp’s core. They themselves note that “People who love books will always want excellent writing. We want to help them get their hands on it.” When buying authors who have been published by Tramp, you are not only supporting Irish fiction but also a female-led business that is blazing a trail for women in publishing. With authors ranging from public speakers to teachers to English literature professors, the press supports a wide spectrum of people and the experience they cover within their writing. Having taken the publishing world by storm, it is exciting to see what they will be launching next.

WORDS BY EMMA LUEDERS

26

a

y

“A morbid longing”: Dark Academia and The Secret History by

Meg Melvin

Picture the scene: Oxford brogues on cobblestones, a brown leather satchel stuffed with classic European novels, turtlenecks and blazers underneath the melancholic gloom of autumnal skies. It is, in a word, picturesque - the “morbid longing” for which Richard Papen, narrator of Donna Tartt’s 1992 novel The Secret History, considers his fatal flaw. This too is the fatal flaw of the subculture it spawned.

The Secret History, set on a fictional New England campus and depicting a brutal murder that ruptures a tight-knit group of classics students, is the foundational text for the online trend of “dark academia”, which foregrounds books and learning in a highly stylised, vintage-inspired manner. While TikTok has ushered in a new era of popularity for the subculture of late, it has existed on Tumblr and Instagram for nearly a decade.

The central paradox of The Secret History’s entanglement with dark academia, however, is that dark academia is enamoured with all that which the novel attempts to criticise. None of the characters in the novel, while interesting and compelling, are anything to aspire to. The romanticisation of academic obsession, and the destructive nature of the friendships forged in the midst of this obsession, leads inevitably to tragedy. The narrator, Richard, spends much of the latter half of the novel ruminating on the nature of beauty and the banality of evil (all the while narrowly avoiding being arrested as an accessory to murder). None of the central characters that survive the events of the novel end it on a happy note. The warning delivered in The Secret History is deliciously melodramatic, and this earnest yet stylish engagement with melodrama is central to the novel’s enduring charm.

While Tartt’s lush, moody novel is the seminal text of dark academia, as a visual aesthetic it is informed primarily by films like Dead Poets Society (1989) and Kill Your Darlings (2013). None of these texts feature any main characters of colour, and the two films also lack meaningful representation of women.

The canon that the characters so revere is composed almost entirely of white men. That being said, dark academia’s status as a primarily online subculture, propagated by individuals of all backgrounds, lends it an accessibility it would otherwise lack. Anyone, should they be in possession of a vintage typewriter, a checked blazer, or an iPhone photo app with a grainy filter, can engage with it.

Dark academia thrives on an attractively timeless quality, taking its style inspiration from menswear of the 1930s and 40s, conjuring up cobbled streets and the candlelit sills of frosted windows. Trinity’s own Long Room is a centrepiece of many dark academia moodboards. Shots abound of the wrought iron spiral staircase, the curving vault of the ceiling, and the stern marble casts of learned men standing vigil over the spines of countless leatherbound books, matching the dark academia aesthetic almost to the point of parody. It’s all very romantic — and ridiculous when one is aware that the majority of teaching in the Humanities takes place instead in the Arts Building, that concrete-clad behemoth of postmodernity squatting sullenly across the lawn.

The Secret History is aware of this exact paradox. The character of Judy Poovey, who has “wild clothes, frosted hair, a red Corvette with California plates bearing the legend JUDY P”, swoops into the narrative on occasion like a garish spectre of the eighties, offering Richard cocaine in a Burger King car park. She is a breath of fresh air amidst the drudgery of reckoning with terrible guilt and avoiding a murder charge. At the end of the novel, Richard informs us that she is working as an aerobics instructor on the cable TV programme “Power Moves!”.

Dark academia, therefore, is by necessity a highly curated aesthetic, a pastiche easily disrupted by foreign bodies, such as ugly canvas schoolbags and BIC highlighters. One might photograph a wilting bouquet of baby’s-breath next to a second-hand copy of Dostoevsky or a brown leather journal, all set carelessly on a battered, scuffed end-table — while a discarded pair of Nike leggings or a hot pink laptop case lurk, ghoulishly modern, just behind the camera. The mundane realities of student life always poses a threat; the sepia-filtered façade, however pleasing to create, can’t last.

Or, as another dead European man, Cicero (who was a dusty old fart in 50BC, never mind AD2021), coined: esse quam videri, “to be, rather than to seem”. Richard Papen’s fatal longing for the picturesque aside, dark academia, like all online aesthetics, has its own fatal flaw, its own “showy dark crack” that impedes critical self-reflection: it is, at its core, much more concerned with seeming, rather than with being.

ART BY LINDE VERGEYLEN 27

MUSIC

Ed Gets a Revamp: a Close Analysis of Ed Sheeran’s Bad Habits “ELEKTRA: By dread things I am compelled. I know that. / I know what I am.” Sophokles, trans. Anne Carson “Oh wait ,is this ed Shereen voice? Amazing I listened this song without watching and after listening I watched in hurry.And there is legend singing this song :D Addictive song <3 <3” Harry Adhikari, via YouTube “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming?” 2 Peter 3:3-4, King James Bible

I t’s been a long wait. Two years since his last album, and over four years since his last solo project, but finally (finally), King Teddy is back. Edheads around the world rejoiced on June 25th 2021, the day Sheeran dropped ‘Bad Habits’, the first single off of his upcoming album, =. ‘Bad Habits’ is a heart-breaking and vulnerable account of Sheeran’s own flaws, juxtaposed with the bop-worthy bass of a song that has already spent nine consecutive weeks at the top of the Irish charts. The single is only three minutes and 51 seconds long, and yet the impact it has had on our collective culture will most certainly last a lifetime. Amidst an ever-increasing wave of anti-Sheeran sentiment, I proudly stand to defend his masterpiece of a comeback.

It may come as a surprise to fans, but ‘Bad Habits’ was one of the last songs to be written for the album.

Sheeran wrote it “when [he’d] sort of finished the album”, according to the BBC. Surely one would expect that such artistry would have been years in the making, not an afterthought to a near-complete album.

And yet, Sheeran makes the dropping of a banger and reinvention of the self seem effortless.

Yet, the reshaping of Sheeran was not born of nothing. Sheeran has been open about the impetus of this song being his newborn daughter, and the personal urge he feels to better himself as a now-father.

However, this is problematic for the contemporary feminist, as it fits the archetypal image of the man as only striving for self-betterment when faced with the encroachment of the feminine in the form of a daughter. Sheeran’s infant, Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran, seems to agree with the common disdain for her father’s music, with Sheeran himself noting that she “just cries” when he plays his music to her.

But of course, no infant could possibly hope to fathom the sheer poetic brilliance found within Sheeran’s single. Sheeran has historically been renowned for his lyrical prowess. Highlights include, “give me a packet of crisps with my pint” and “they say I’m up and coming like I’m f*****g in an elevator”. ‘Bad Habits’ surpasses even this artistry, and sees his penmanship rising to unprecedented levels. His mastery and moulding of the English language throughout the first verse is nothing short of miraculous.

Sheeran expresses that as soon as “the sun goes down” he “lose[s] control” over himself, and gives in to the unspecified ‘you’ figure, a motif that runs throughout the song. Sheeran sings of the “paradise before [his] world implodes”, a subtle nod to John Milton’s famed Biblical epic, Paradise Lost. In the aforementioned poem, Milton details the fall of Satan, which Sheeran cleverly mirrors through mention of his “world implod[ing]”. Themes of identity and change are ever-present in the lyrics, production, and music video. It simply cannot be coincidence that Sheeran’s transformation from non-threatening ballader to bass-loving vampire echoes the transformation of Lucifer from angel to demon. (Miltonic enthusiasts and Edheads alike are also sure to recognise the similarities between the chaotic and violent scenes in the music video, and Milton’s depiction of hell).

In the chorus, Sheeran continues to deploy rhetorical devices to emphasise the extent of his ‘bad habits’.

The pejorative adjectival phrase ‘bad habits’ is a common one, but Sheeran elevates it to a status of literary genius. His use of the personal possessive ‘my’ conveys a claiming of responsibility – he does not excuse his behaviour, instead recognising that it is his own to deal with and work through. Sheeran allows the listener to fully grasp how out of hand his ‘late nights’ have gotten through the tricolonic instances of internal rhyme present in “lose, or use, or do” and “two, it’s true, it’s true”.

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Sheeran’s use of epizeuxis is so culturally impactful that it rivals both Joyce’s famed ‘and yes I said yes I will Yes’ and Plath’s ‘I am, I am, I am’. The repetition of ‘ooh, ooh’ in Sheeran’s chorus is reminiscent of Classical Greek lament, ‘οἴμοι’, suggesting that Sheeran extensively studied the playwrights of antiquity in preparation for writing this modern classic.

But all this analysis still leaves one question unanswered: who is the mysterious ‘you’ that Sheeran keeps returning to? His apostrophic invocation has no elaboration, and yet ‘you’ is repeated 11 times in the single.

He talks of writing the song for his daughter, but not to her. He attributes to her his relinquishing of ‘bad habits’, not enabling them. Perhaps the unassuming second-person pronoun represents the listener? This radical fourth-wall break that would imply Sheeran’s desire to please his audience is directly linked to his problems with substance abuse and “go[ing] too far”. Yet, this does not track either. Edheads were some of the most overjoyed when Sheeran denounced his ‘bad habits’, and Sheeran’s relationship with this addressee seems more toxic than that of his with his fans. However, in watching the music video, the identity of the addressee can be found. It is Sheeran himself.

Around two-thirds of the way through the music video, a car crash hurtles the ‘old’ Ed (albeit a CGI replica) into sparkly vampire Sheeran’s arms. The ‘new’ Sheeran gazes at his former self, eyes brimming with confusion, caution, and perhaps … wistfulness? Suddenly ‘old’ Ed melts in his arms, deflating like a punctured air mattress.

Sheeran drops him. He brushes off his pink suit. Looking disgusted, he saunters away.

On August 3rd 1936, Jacques Lacan presented a paper on what he referred to as ‘stade du miroir’. On June 25th 2021, Ed Sheeran released the music video for ‘Bad Habits’. These events, separated by almost a century, mark two of the most significant advances in understanding of the theory of self and identity. The dawning recognition Sheeran feels as he looks upon his past self is akin to the forming of a child’s Ideal Ego. Lacan described the recognition of oneself as ‘self-alienating’, a disconcertion that Sheeran himself seems to be experiencing.

Sheeran made it clear in an interview with the BBC that he, “wanted the video for Bad Habits to play on the nature of habits in a fantastical way”, as represented by his vampiric persona. However, the eagle-eyed viewer will notice that Sheeran’s blood-drinking entourage contains seven vampires, that is, the same number as the Biblical Seven Deadly Sins. In a daring, Faustian-inspired artistic choice, Sheeran literally surrounds himself with his ‘bad habits’. He bears his sins, personified, metamorphosed from concepts to people.

In the end, perhaps even the most anti-Ed among us may take something from Sheeran’s new ‘mad tune’ – that striving towards a higher self is always a worthy cause, that bad habits do not have to define us, or perhaps that a recognition of one’s true self can come from the acceptance of one’s past. But whatever axiom Ed intends to impart, no-one sums it up better than one cultural critic in the YouTube comments: “When I hear the music of this song I don’t know why I feel that the end of world is near btw nice song.”

WORDS BY GALE AITKEN

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Happysad When It Rains: An Interview with Wolf Alice

Equal parts subdued and sentimental, the lead single for Wolf Alice’s Blue Weekend was a shock to many listeners and longtime fans. ‘The Last Man On Earth’ encapsulates the ways in which the band has managed to grow and mature with their audience. Despite the change in sound from distorted grunge and rebelyelling to piano-led ballads and 60s phantasma, they’ve done a pretty good job of changing genre lanes.

It has been more than a decade since the band has come to be

acknowledged

as

the

paragon

of

2010s

NME

indie.

Frontwoman Ellie Roswell’s lyrics told stories of messy nights out and late buses home, which resonated with so many young people Those

who lyrics

experienced were

equally

those theirs

events as

tangentially

they

were

to

hers.

her.

Blue

Weekend is still distinctly Wolf Alice — how could it not? — but it marks a sonic and lyrical maturity that couldn’t arrive with a warmer welcome.

Speaking to getting older, guitarist Joff Oddie says with a laugh “well we haven’t grown as people so I’m glad to hear that the music’s got a bit better”. From his home in Cornwall he muses, “I think there is a certain confidence that builds up after you’ve been doing this for a while. Not an ego kind of confidence, but a kind of assurance towards certain things, certain techniques.”

Bassist Theo Ellis bounces this confidence back, “When I listened to the music in sequence, especially when it was tracklisted finally, I felt very proud.” He continues, “I felt like we surpassed our

expectations

and

the

standard

we

set

in

terms

of

songwriting — I think that hopefully that does mean a bit more maturity.”

The

band

don’t

reject

the

ferality

of

their

early

releases on Blue Weekend. Cuts like ‘Smile’ or ‘Play the Greatest Hits’ honour their inner wildness, but it’s more refined this time around.

by

30

Hannah Quearney

The band notes the vulnerability that their first single opened with. “The idea of it being a single was really appealing to all of us because it encapsulated a

lot

of

sides

of

the

record

but

it

wasn’t

something

that

people

would

necessarily expect as the first thing for us to do,” Ellis comments. “It was a bit of a curveball, an exciting risk to take that I think has paid off, to be honest.”

“We’re tricking them! We’re fucking with everyone by putting out a piano ballad!” Oddie jokes. “The first time I heard it I thought it was going to be a very important song. From the very first listen. And I think it captures a certain level of intrigue that I hope has got people excited about what’s to come.”

After

spending

the

bulk

of

their

formative

years

on

tour

circuits

promoting their previous releases, the band’s hiatus came as a shock.

In the process of recording Blue Weekend, the band were struck with the need to reconfigure their relationship with each other outside of festival stages and fan encounters. Following a night out that can only be

described

as

‘ramshackle’,

Wolf

Alice

camped

out

at

an

abandoned church in Somerset to work on their fledgling demos.

“It took us a while to find our feet again and connect with family and friends that we haven’t seen in a while and to get some kind of semblance of life back,” Oddie explains. “Before we decided to throw all of that away again and go to Brussels,” he laughs. While the music industry

has

COVID-19 touring

been

exhausted

pandemic,

bands

who

this are

with

any

ultimately credited

and

has

for

all

discussion

long-lasting

their

sparkling

of

the

effects

for

live

shows.

“Unfortunately the world’s not going to let us at the moment, but we’re

going

to

be

all

guns

blazing.

Wolf

Alice

playing

gigs

everywhere, in two countries on the same day, if we can,” Ellis grins.

With the title plucked from an observation made in the comfort of an Uber ride in Brussels, the title of the band’s third venture is best reflected in its encompassing sound. “Like all good things, it stayed around and it was natural and it felt organic,” Oddie notes. “It was that good balance of Happysad that I think suits Wolf Alice pretty well.” Despite its idiosyncrasies, familiarity and growth is the rule of Blue Weekend.

Blue Weekend is available on all streaming platforms. Limited tickets for Wolf Alice's 2021/22 UK and Ireland tour are for sale on their website now.

31

SEX

Platonic Love vs Romantic Love A Serious Inquiry by

Karla Higgins

When we think about love, the word, the feeling, whatever, I think it’s fair to say that we typically dwell on ideas of romance. Conceptually, romantic connections represent a sort of endpoint; a desire many of us have to meet that person who we hope will be the one, and blah blah blah the rest will hopefully be history. And this concept is fair, and normal, and life affirming in a way. But it also makes it way too easy to overlook other kinds of love in our lives — namely platonic love — which is kind of annoying because platonic love is probably more important for our general health and wellbeing.

Actually, platonic love is definitely more important. Plus, it comes without a lot of the drama and heartache so ubiquitous within romantic relationships. Unlike romantic relationships, platonic love doesn’t revolve around the concept of searching for one single lasting bond. Of course, there are pivotal moments in our lives when we feel pressured to make friends, like first days of school, college or work. However, we don’t often look beyond the initial stages of the friendships we make.

Typically, the deep connection and affection we feel towards and with our friends develops quite organically. What’s more, when romantic love fails it often ends in painful goodbyes, jealousy and bitterness. Platonic love is different. That’s not to say that all friendships are permanent; they too are subject to the transient nature of life and can end just as badly. The difference between platonic and romantic love is that one doesn’t need to end for another to begin. Platonic love is plentiful in the places where romantic love falls flat. Friendships are bonds that we collect the whole way throughout life; they pile up from the very first friend we make to the ones we meet a little later, and if we’re lucky, the ones we make when we’re young will still be there when we’re old.

Each one becomes a special part of our history and sense of self.

Given all this, you’d think that we’d remember to acknowledge platonic love for all its worth. Yet, it’s often put on the back burner, especially when relationships and dating swoop in and steal our attention. When we have friends who have been in our lives for a significant period of time, it’s easy to feel that they will never leave: they’ll always be by our side, through thick and thin. Hence, when somebody new enters our life, in a romantic setting, we experience a kind of inclination to prioritise them, due to reasons of infatuation. Plus, dating is fun and exciting and gets your heart racing. And when friendships have been long-established and built on strong foundations, we don’t worry about the possible fallout - which is quite presumptuous.

We see it in tv shows and movies all the time, the whole “prioritising partners” is taken to an excessive degree, to the point where a person forgets, or perhaps just stops their attempts to juggle the two relationships. And we all know who the winner is . . . Yeah, nine times out of ten they choose romance over platonic bonds. But this isn’t just a matter of fiction, because it happens in real life just as often, and most of us have probably lost a friend that way. The more I see it, the more it frustrates me, because in the end you’re gonna need your friends.

I get it, sometimes one relationship feels more important than others, especially at the beginning —it’s a natural human response. But I think people need to be really careful about ditching their friends for the sake of a boyfriend/girlfriend. Let’s be real: there is a very strong chance that your relationship is not going to go the distance. This isn’t me trying to be a negative Nancy or anything; it’s a statistic based on cold hard facts and real life experience. Honestly, I’d consider myself to be a romantic. I want to believe in soulmates and true love, but I’m not tone deaf enough to see such potential in every romantic encounter.

The point of this article isn’t necessarily to propose some sort of ranking, but to establish that there are certain benefits one gains from platonic love, that romantic love can’t always compete with. It’s the feeling of perpetual familiarity, openness, and acceptance. While these qualities are not completely foreign in romantic relationships, there is certainly a bit of give and take because in these relationships, disagreements and problems carry more weight and are more likely to perturb us. In a platonic setting, it is much easier to agree to disagree, and to move on as if nothing happened.

Some things in life simply need to be experienced with friends by your side, not lovers. And when all is said and done, friends are the ones who’ll stick around when your latest flame won’t.

32

Contraception in Ireland: Why are some forms harder to attain than others?

C

ontraception in Ireland has historically been a contentious issue. Contraception was never made available for women or men, either under English rule or in the Republic. Then, in 1985, the Family Planning Act was passed. The Family Planning Act made the sale of contraception in Ireland legal. The plan was made available for married couples, with the intention that married couples could plan the size of their families under the new legislation. This was seen as a “defiance” against the Catholic Church, and caused widespread controversy among different communities in the country.

Interestingly, when it comes to women’s reproductive rights in this country, we perhaps haven’t come as far in the 36 years since 1985 as we would like to think we have. While the 8th amendment was repealed in 2018, which made it possible for women with unwanted pregnancies of up to 12 weeks to seek an abortion, contraceptive choice in Ireland is lacking at the best of times. The options that are presented to women today remain quite limited, ranging from either the contraception pill or condoms; the choices we are offered are few and far between.

I regularly struggle with my periods; sometimes it can result in horrendous pain and not being able to leave my bed due to the pain. As an alternative to the pill, I was presented with the option of having the coil (also known as an IUD - an Intrauterine device) inserted, which I knew very little about at the time, by my younger cousin.

My cousin had a coil inserted for similar reasons. However, when I went to my doctor to discuss an IUD as an option to relieve my symptoms, he frankly didn’t want to know and just prescribed me a different contraceptive pill, which did not alleviate any of the problems I was having. I was also told by a gynecologist that I was “too young” to have the coil inserted in place of taking the daily contraceptive pill. I was 19 when the doctor told me this.

Two years, and a few lengthy lockdowns later, I decided to research alternative contraceptive options for myself, and find out what was available in Ireland. Despite my doctor’s protests, there seemed to be no restriction on when you could have the coil inserted. The same can be said for the bar. Despite this several different individuals, including my doctor, had told me that I was “too young”. I should emphasise that I do not take contraceptive decisions lightly. I am aware that having the coil inserted in Ireland seems to come with it’s own horrors. While most countries offer anesthesia (either local or general) for the insertion of the coil - considering that it can be quite painful - no such common practice takes place here at home. In a lot of cases, a cervix relaxer isn’t even offered to women undergoing the procedure.

The potential lack of pain relief offered to patients was something I found quite shocking, especially given the nature of the coil insertion procedure. But, what is even more horrifying, is that this seems commonplace. Over the last couple of months, women have been sharing their experiences of having an IUD inserted in Ireland.

The overwhelming consensus to be drawn from these narratives is that Irish doctors largely underestimate how painful the procedure can be, and are not offering appropriate pain medication during the insertion. There are countless stories of women who have even passed out from the pain, and, while there have been reports of some positive experiences, they appear to be the result of GPs prescribing pain medication in advance of the surgery.

Carrying out my research, it struck me that the problem seems to lie in the fact that there is no prescribed practice for the insertion of an IUD in Ireland. The lack of strict procedural guidelines is perhaps symptomatic of how, in this country, the State can fail to take women’s reproductive health adequately seriously. From a personal standpoint, being told I was “too young” to have any sort of IUD inserted at 19, to the procedures themselves being carelessly handled, current access to female contraception in Ireland forces us to ask the question of how far we’ve really come in 30+ years, and how much further we still have to go.

WORDS BY SHANNON CONNOLLY

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‘Perspectives,’ as a concept, was born out of a desire to provide thought-provoking and relatable snapshots into students’ experiences navigating relationships, selfdiscovery, and other affairs of the heart. In this, our second series, our extremely talented writers continue to respond to the series and express themselves in ways that go above and beyond what we ever could have initially imagined...

AP, KH, SC

1: Self Love Realisations

Eadaoin Fagan

I have always allowed another person, usually a lover, to be responsible for my happiness. Upon reflection it appears that this occurred due to low self esteem and allowing myself to base my self worth on other people’s opinions - past me thought being single was some kind of character flaw. It was only this summer at the grand old age of 22 that I came to understand the truth of the infamous line: “You have to love yourself before you can love somebody else.”

Over lockdown, I somehow learnt how to be comfortable with being alone. This seems quite fitting due to the isolated nature of the past year. I finally addressed the screaming voice inside my head; the voice that told me to always look for validation from another. I learned how to give that love, support and comfort to myself.

Samantha Tancredi

2: Lost and Found: Why Romantic Love Comes Second

The more time I have spent in Trinity, the less peaceful I have felt. Perhaps it’s the innate pressure of my Law and Political Science course that lingers in the back of my mind even when caught up on all of my work, or maybe the unease of living in a different country has never fully dissipated. The different possibilities had led to the deterioration of my inner peace. As my internal turmoil came to its peak last spring, I decided to give myself the emotional break I needed and return to the United States one week earlier than planned; I knew that being in the comfort of my own home would automatically remove the anxieties associated with my environment, and it was worth it to me. The choice between my mental health and taking exams in the Dublin time zone was an easy choice to make.

3: Dragons, brookies, and how lockdown helped me form inextricable household bonds.

Adam Balchin I finished up my first year in College in my sunlit room back home. Having been kicked out of my accommodation in Halls, I hoped I’d return to Dublin — and a normal college experience —sooner rather than later. Soon after exams ended, my parents and I wondered where, or even if, I’d be staying in Dublin in my second year. This conversation mulled on throughout the summer, fueled largely by my abundance of optimism for the next academic year but was left largely unresolved. Reflecting now on

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those short months of the summer , what I missed most were the connections I had made while living with other students, and the unique bonding experience that living with friends brings. While I spent most of my 2020 summer growing closer to my family, I couldn’t wait to get back to the city buzz and, more importantly, the friends I’d made while there. Fortunately, half of my wish came true when I returned to Dublin in September 2020, just not in the way I’d expected.

4: This Anniversary

Anon.

Content Warning: Sexual Assault On celebrating, mourning, and living the anniversaries of my sexual assault.

I have always had a problem with penetrative sex. While I’ve had a series of “almost”s and “wait, was that in?”s in a variety of relationships. Largely any attempt was a disaster which ended in (at best) frustration and (at worst) tears. Physically, experiences with penetration have ranged from quite uncomfortable to deeply painful, and, by 2019, I had given up on it for the most part.

If you had asked me about my sex life in 2019, I would have described it as something like this: a series of traumatic events with no real clear-cut perpetrators or Capital-B “Bad Men”. This would change in August of that year.

Erin Labuschange

5: Learning to Live Alone

Like most students who are from Dublin, I spent my first two years at Trinity living at home. For me this meant not much changed in the transition from secondary school to university. If I was heading out I’d let my parents know where I was, we ate dinner together most nights, and life carried on as it had done all my teenage life. Events hosted at my house usually included the mandatory ‘Where’s your passport?’ joke from my dad at the door, my mom pottering away at something in the kitchen - her warmth especially beloved by my friends who are far from home - and my brother glancing down from upstairs to see who his big sister had allowed to invade our home once again. For those who live at home, the feeling may be similar. Especially in Dublin where everyone knows everyone. You want to ‘fly the nest’ and join the throngs of Trinity students living in Halls, digs or on campus.

6: The Impact of the Pandemic on an International Student

Julia Bochenek

After nearly a year and a half of online classes, barely seeing people in person and feeling lethargic from all of the time spent in our rooms, the new school year seems, finally, to be accompanied by a return to some level of normality. I can still remember March of 2020, which already feels like so long ago; as we all finished our reading week and believed we were heading into the final stretch of the year, everything in Dublin started to close down, including Trinity. The panic throughout student dorms, especially from international students, was palpable. We had to pack up and leave within days, flying out of Dublin and settling into somewhere different, whether this was home or not, to finish out our academic year.

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THEATRE

Broadway and the Problem with Financial Elitism One of my more embarrassing traits, that I tend to keep under wraps until I get to know someone better, is that I am a former theatre kid. I don’t mean this in the way where I studied drama, wrote plays or possessed any kind of talent at all - I mean the kind of theatre kid that unironically obsessed over Broadway musicals, had ‘showtunes’ as my top genre on Spotify for four consecutive years, and may or may not have had a fan account on Instagram at one point.

Like many of the things I obsessed over as a teenager, I now tend to distance myself from that part of my life, and even the casual enjoyment of these things feels like it has to come with a disclaimer attached as they become more convoluted and complicated in our current times. Getting older often means realising that some of your favourite things are inherently problematic, and that there is very little in terms of entertainment that is without flaws of some kind - and one of Broadway’s main issues, arguably, is its total lack of affordability.

It’s a well known fact that Broadway tickets are incredibly expensive. Despite the fact that there are 41 Broadway theatres currently in operation in New York City, and millions of fans for countless shows worldwide, it seems like attending a show in one’s lifetime is a privilege reserved for a small percentage of the population. For a popular show in the height of it’s run it can be a hundred dollars or more for nosebleed tickets, and sitting in the orchestra could cost a full week’s paycheck. The most infamous example of these ludicrous prices was the Hamilton craze that began in the Summer of 2016 - the demand for tickets and their outrageous prices became so well known that it was written as a punchline in several sitcoms and movies. Hamilton did run a ticket lottery for each performance in which lucky winners were able to purchase an orchestra ticket for only ten dollars, in homage to the titular founding father who features on the ten dollar bill, but this didn’t change the fact that tickets went up to as much as thousands - an unreachable goal for the vast majority of fans of the show.

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Despite the fact that most fans of Broadway shows will likely be unable to afford tickets, or even be able to get to New York, actors in the industry remain vehemently opposed to ‘bootleg’ recordings, while doing very little to actually improve accessibility. While bootlegs can be an issue in terms of distracting the performers or disturbing your fellow theatregoers, many industry people are so aggressively against it because they believe they are theft, and that people shouldn’t get to see a show unless they pay for it themselves. There is something quite ironic about a subset of people who are paid extremely well to partake in a career most can only dream of suggesting that teenagers on the internet watching a recording somehow devalues their work. Regardless, it is an unfortunately widespread opinion that many have taken to social media platforms to complain about.

There have been a handful of professionally recorded shows in recent years; Miss Saigon had a 25th anniversary recording released in 2016 and the cast of Newsies reunited in 2017 to make a once off comeback after a hugely successful run in 2011. In 2020, professionally recorded versions of Hamilton and Bandstand were released, one on Disney Plus and one for a limited run that fans paid to rent through Playbill. These recordings meant that these shows were available to watch in high quality for the first time, albeit at a small price, for a fraction of the cost of a live performance. This was the closest one could get to simulating what a real performance was like without actually travelling to New York, and it begged a lot of questions as to why a lot more, if not all shows, shouldn’t follow the same practice in future. There are arguments that being able to access musicals as easily as you can access a film on Netflix erases some of the ‘magic’ of live theatre, and that watching it through a screen as opposed to in a room with an audience may devalue the medium of live theatre itself. I would personally argue the complete opposite - Broadway as an industry drives fans away through its lack of empathy for anyone other than the upper middle classes that can afford to drop a few hundred dollars on an evening’s entertainment without thinking about it. Schemes like the Hamilton lottery do help break down this divide, but creators such as Lin-Manuel Miranda, among others, who have been known to scathingly denounce illegal recordings need to think less about how much it bothers them that others may be able to enjoy their shows for free, and more about what can be done to make entertainment available to the masses as opposed to an elite few.

WORDS BY GRÁINNE MAHON

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Hybrid Theatre Events: Temporary Necessity or the Future of Live Performance?

As we begin our slow but steady return to normal life, the live entertainment industry has had to get creative.

Theatres have been streaming live performances of hybrid events, with a limited number of face-to-face tickets available, selling cheaper tickets to those who decide to watch from the comfort of their own home. While these innovative performances are a huge step forward for the live entertainment industry, can virtual shows ever capture the magic of live theatre?

For many of us, there is no greater thrill in life than the moment when the lights go down, a hush descends upon an eager audience, and the curtain begins to rise, transporting us to the world of the story we are about to experience.

There is a certain magic in seeing the actors before us, knowing that no two shows will ever be exactly the same.

Witnessing such talent and showmanship at close proximity is almost more than we theatre nerds can bear. The atmosphere of anticipation, joy, despair, fear and amusement is contagious, drawing us in and creating a common bond between a hundred odd people. Surely this magic, this unique joy and comfort, would be lost in a livestream?

Surely the very idea that anyone outside of the four walls of this hallowed building can experience this performance is simply blasphemous?

In our desire to preserve the sanctity of live theatre however, we may be doing it a disservice. By keeping performances for the eyes of those physically present, are we gatekeeping the experience? Is it not pretentious and rather elitist to insist on limiting the number of people who have access to an art form? Live theatre is one of the most inaccessible forms of entertainment that exists in modern life. Tickets for popular shows are expensive, making it a luxury that only the middle classes can enjoy. Tickets sold for live streams of shows are considerably more affordable, opening this ancient art form up to a much wider audience.

Unfortunately for our society, what was once a form of artistic expression for the masses has become associated with wealth, academia and pretentiousness. Hybrid events can and should break down this social barrier by making theatre as accessible as it was to the audiences of Shakespeare and Sophocles. One production that is taking a huge step towards inclusivity, through both its hybrid format and its groundbreaking subject matter, is the Abbey Theatre’s Walls and Windows, written by Rosaleen McDonagh. The first play written by a traveller woman to be performed in Ireland, the play is a milestone for Irish theatre in more ways than one. With 50 tickets sold per performance for in-person seats, this blended performance is not only a social commentary on the representation of the traveller community, but an example of how the concept of a theatre audience can be broadened.

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Live streaming for theatre shows is especially necessary for large-scale productions like those on Broadway and the West End. The quality of the shows at these renowned theatres is unmatched, but so is the price of the tickets. Even for those living in New York or London, a theatre show is a luxury, unlike ordinary trips to the cinema, purely due to the considerable price difference. Recordings of shows like Hamilton, however, have become extremely popular, streaming on sites like Disney Plus and gaining millions of views on Youtube. Without the internet, most people would never have seen Hamilton, or know every lyric to the soundtrack. Increasing accessibility to musicals has only increased their popularity and revenue over the last few years, so why not continue the trend?

While our love for the excitement of live theatre in the flesh will never change, the addition of live streams can only be a positive one. Why limit ourselves as performers and avid theatre kids to a smaller audience? Increasing the popularity of plays, musicals, one person shows and everything in between can only benefit the live entertainment industry, especially given the detrimental impact the pandemic has had on the sector. If theatre as we know it is to survive at all, it must adapt, and we as audiences along with it.

WORDS BY RUTH MCGANN

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TV

Saved by the Subtitles: The Growing Popularity of Non-English Series in Modern TV A

fter recently finishing Lupin, a French mystery thriller produced by Netflix, I wasn’t shocked to see how well the show was received. What did pleasantly surprise me, however, was the reach this international series gained. Estimated to have had 70 million viewers in its first month, the series surpassed recent streaming successes such as Bridgerton and The Queen’s Gambit in the same timeframe. Watching the series will certainly bring these numbers into context. Its 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes is largely, I believe, down to the excellent portrayal of the series’ protagonist by renowned French actor Omar Sy. It has since gone on to claim the spot as Netflix’s most popular international series, a title befitting for a show with such stunning cinematography, music, and story.

But this noteworthy reception of an international series isn’t a new phenomenon for the modern age streaming giant. La Casa de Papel, more commonly known as Money Heist, received critical acclaim when it was first released in 2017. The show has since gone on to be renewed for five seasons, with the last slated to be released over two parts in the autumn/winter of 2021. A series that leans on its Spanish roots incredibly well, the show grabbed Best Drama Series at the 2018 Emmys and has perfectly reinvigorated Spanish TV, giving it the attention it thoroughly deserves in an industry dominated by the English language.

Notwithstanding these incredible series, I cannot forget about two personal favourites. Ragnarok, a show that zeroes in on the environmental damage being done to the glaciers of Norway through its exploration of traditional Norse mythology is something of a treat in this modern era of television. Its angsty teen drama feel is married with the aforementioned Nordic fantasy aesthetic to tell a beautiful cautionary tale.

Not to mention, the relationships between the characters feel tight yet fragile, as if one action could turn the show’s network of personalities on its head. It harkens back to my days of reading Percy Jackson with the integration of legends and myths into the contemporary. While the show can be silly at times, it is a surprisingly entertaining watch and again regularly appears alongside the aforementioned series when discussing Netflix’s most popular international shows.

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Another stellar example of this rise in fame of non-English series that is close to my heart comes in the form of the German thriller Dark, a surprisingly engrossing show that takes elements from hit science fiction tales and puts a unique spin on it. While many comparisons are often drawn to Netflix’s other major science fiction title Stranger Things, the show holds its own against stiff competition, regularly appearing on most watched lists and being praised for its dark tone and ambitious narrative. In particular, the second of three seasons received worldwide acclaim for the continuation of its mythos, delving further into Twin Peaks territory rather than journeying down the goofy avenue taken by Stranger Things in its later seasons. The lighting and score play their parts to perfection in Dark’s gritty depiction of a small German town. The score is gritty, but cerebral with Sci-Fi undertones throughout, while the lighting is notably dark and unique, perfectly encapsulating the atmosphere and tone of the show’s three seasons. Thus it is distinguished entirely, I believe, from the aforementioned American Sci-Fi hit.

Notwithstanding the accolades these shows have accrued, I think it is important to explore how these shows are drawing crowds from across the world, and not just the native speakers of the show’s language.

One important element I believe stands out from the outset. The streaming age ushered in a new way of broadcasting TV not just to a specific audience, but worldwide, affording more opportunities for marketing and publicity by the platforms on which these shows are streamed. Netflix has excelled in this area, publicising shows like Dark and La Casa de Papel as distinctive, unique series in their own right, including them in its Originals scheduling plans and giving them the same level of marketing attention as Bridgerton or The Witcher. In doing so, the streaming platforms of today are shining the spotlight on more localised directors and actors, those perhaps unknown to a global audience, and letting them shine.

Another central reason these shows are bringing in the audiences they have done is their variety. While the TV industry is inherently limitless, by including stories from across the globe and not just those set in American suburbs, New York City, or quaint British towns, those who regularly flock to streaming platforms for their small-screen fix are experiencing new cultures, new atmospheres and new languages without even leaving their living rooms. With the recent uptick in remakes and reboots of shows and films of years gone by, the popularity of more diverse series is sure to be welcomed, and thankfully the TV industry is currently embracing the stories many would never get to experience.

I’m more than happy that Netflix, in particular, have had their eyes opened to the beauty and quality of the television on display in different languages, cultures, and environments, and believe that this is just the beginning of a more diverse lineup of regular small-screen entertainment, one that explores stories from across the globe.

WORDS BY ADAM BALCHIN

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Covid-19 on The Small Screen From titans of the medium like Breaking Bad, to those gone before their time like Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, the last 18 months have left me more focused than ever on my TV screen. As of March last year, my viewing experience changed. Gone were the days where I lived vicariously through the dizzying romances of period dramas or longed for the fantastical abilities found in science fiction series - now all I coveted was to hang with my friends, á la sitcoms.These were worlds untouched by the pandemic, where I could laugh, of course, but also cry, something I needed to do, without thinking about why I needed to. TV was very much a refuge, and for that reason, I had absolutely no interest in watching anything touching the pandemic. Of course, as the months passed, seasons ended, and writers’ rooms were forced to consider how they would handle our new reality. And for once, I wanted every show to be like Riverdale.

In February 2020, Archie and pals experienced a seven year timejump. This decision was made to save Cole Sprouse from trying to pass as 18 at the age of 30, but it also meant that the writers had no need to mention the pandemic. Aside from a mention of returning to long-distance learning when the school was destroyed due to rampaging escaped convicts (because Riverdale), at time of publishing, none of the characters seem to have been affected by the pandemic in any way. Currently, the characters are dealing with different issues, as Cheryl seems to be starting her own musical cult, while Jughead is searching for the Mothman.

This show has long since left relatability behind. Watching these caricatures try to contend with the very real fear, anger and grief so many of us are feeling would be, at best, garish. Which made it a perfect show for me, someone who wanted to think about the pandemic as little as possible.

But of course, some shows are populated by characters rather than Barbie dolls you can smash together, and several shows took on the challenge of entertaining us while still acknowledging our current reality. Mythic Quest, a workplace comedy set in a game design studio, handled this quite well. Between season one and two, there were two specials, the first of which was simply titled ‘Quarantine’. The entire episode was shown through Zoom calls between the various employees at the gaming company the show centres around, and it was incredibly moving to watch Poppy Li (Charlotte Nicdao), as an Australian expat, particularly struggle with isolation. After these specials the characters return to work, but C. W. Longbottom (F. Murray Abraham), an older member of staff, continues to work from home, a subtle reminder that things are not simply ‘back to normal’. I appreciated this tactic for handling Covid-19 in a comedy; acknowledging its existence, but only focusing on it briefly. While this level of engagement with the pandemic worked for this type of series, other shows must tackle the situation head on out of necessity.

Grey’s Anatomy is a perfect example of a show that couldn’t get away with focusing on the pandemic for one special, then having it in the background for the remainder of the season. Not only do the characters have to deal with the pandemic as doctors, but also as patients, with protagonist Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) contracting the disease herself. With the swell of conspiracy theorist-led belief in a ‘Covid hoax’, the writers of the long-running hospital drama paid homage to the people whose profession they drew from, and chose to educate viewers about the stark realities of frontline workers.This knowledge, combined with the time that had passed between the start of the pandemic and my watching of the series, helped me with my previous reluctance towards something so focused on it. It’s still not the kind of series I could binge, but in small doses it’s certainly compelling.

Though I’m glad I’m still able to watch series that haven’t become exclusively pandemic-themed programming, I no longer shy away from it. Those final joyous minutes of Mythic Quest’s ‘Quarantine’ special, where the gang did something silly yet impressive to lift their spirits, would not have been as enjoyable devoid of that context. Writers have to decide for themselves how, or even if, they want to grapple with the pandemic. And of course, we each have to decide for ourselves if we are ready to watch it.

WORDS BY GILLIAN DOYLE

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Love Island: a Drama of Olympic Proportions I

I ’m a huge sports fan. Not only do I appreciate the showmanship and physical prowess of each and every participant, but I adore their rich backstories, the emotional journeys, and the sheer dedication that propelled each of them to the top of their fields. That’s why I spent my summer engrossed in a long-awaited cultural touchstone, a beacon of hope in these trying times, a competition running on talent and pure adrenaline: Love Island 2021.

If there was anything the world needed after the last 18 months of Covid-19, it was series seven of Love Island. The show follows a group of hot people in their twenties who are forced together for eight weeks with the sole purpose of going for gold and finding love (if “love” is a synonym for “Pretty Little Thing and Boohoo sponsorships”). Love Island is the exact antithesis of lockdown - a dozen strangers sharing one bedroom and bathroom, exchanging clothes, saliva and significant others. The kind of “bubble” I would much prefer living in.

The 2021 Tokyo Olympics and the hit ITV show served a similar purpose in this way. This summer, we faced a lot of uncertainty as to when we might see a return to some of our most important cultural cornerstones- football matches, live entertainment, shifting strangers in the smoking area. While we anxiously waited for them to return, we deserved to turn off our brains and tune in to a group of talented people achieving what the majority of us cannot, whether that’s a record-breaking backflip dive or a striptease suitable for early evening television.

It might seem strange to compare Love Island to the Olympics, but they are more similar than people think. Both feature intense physical feats. In Tokyo, Kellie Harrington won a gold medal for Ireland in boxing, while in Mallorca, Belfast babe Matt beautifully dealt his own blow in the swiftest break up in Love Island history. While rowers Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan worked together to win another gold medal for Ireland, the couples in Love Island were competing in fierce challenges of their own, such as raunchy talent shows and Spit Roast, where the objective is to spit the most food you can in your partner’s mouth. Such pressure and hardship must be a lot to swallow.

This wasn’t the only rigorous exercise the Islanders enjoyed this season. In fact, the boys were dedicated players and expert analysers. Every morning, the boys would gather around over iced coffees to discuss the fierce “football games” each played with their respective partners the night before. These were intense one-on-one matches, and the boys were delighted to share a walkthrough of each game, from the moment the “flood lights” turned on, to when each player “scored”. Admittedly, they might not be the best players - there were quite a few mentions of hands-on contact for a soccer game, and the women seemed to have a lot more possession of the balls, while the men failed to match up. Typically, women are underappreciated on the football pitch.

Records were also broken on both islands - in Tokyo, American sprinter Allyson Felix broke the record for most medals won in track and field. In Mallorca, Love Island contestants Liberty Poole and Kaz Kwami broke weightlifting records for carrying the entire show on their backs for eight weeks straight. Meanwhile, Toby was breaking records for fastest man in the world after speeding through four different girlfriends in four weeks. Of course, Toby managed to redeem himself at the last hurdle, but he still had the fatal flaw of having a mother from Mayo and came second in the final.

In the end, the gold went to Millie and Liam, the romantic equivalent of stew. Credit must be given to Liam for his brilliant strategy - have the personality of a brick, kiss three girls the moment you’re away from your girlfriend, write one grovelling poem, and then come home with 25000 pounds. Not even Simone Biles could pull off such a flawless execution. The true power couple, however, was undoubtedly Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi and Mutaz Barshim of Qatar.

Rather than fight for gold in a jump-off, the two high jumpers agreed to share the gold medal. No amount of dates or sickening declarations of love in the villa could hold a candle to the athletes’ heartfelt victory lap.

This summer was truly a whirlwind for any fans of intense competition, melodrama, and attractive people in tight uniforms. There were performances that we will be talking about for years to come, from the breathtaking gymnastics in Tokyo, to the mental gymnastics our Islanders performed to justify their poor romantic decisions. Such a thrilling season has only made me more excited for the Winter Olympics, or as I like to call it, The Great British Bake Off.

WORDS BY ELLEN KENNY ART BY EVE SMITH

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PLACES

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Books to Read While Travelling is Limited

ue to the Covid-19 pandemic, many of us have been restricted from doing some of the most mundane things: going to the pub with friends, attending lectures in an actual building, and most significantly, traveling. Although by mid-July we were legally allowed to travel again, it is not the same. It’s not as simple as booking a cheap flight on Ryanair, grabbing your passport and going. For obvious reasons, it has become a bit more complicated and somewhat off-putting. Since many of us probably won’t go abroad for another little while, that gives us plenty of time to do some reading.

NEW YORK Due to Covid, J1 visas were cancelled. Many students’ dreams of working in New York were postponed. Fortunately, there are plenty of books that centre the Big Apple. One I would recommend is Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote. This story is as classically New York as yellow taxis and skyscraper buildings. The novel solidified Audrey Hepburn’s place in history as the opening scene for the film adaptation is one of the most iconic scenes ever. In this scene, Hepburn is standing in front of the Tiffany’s store, drinking coffee and eating a pastry in a glamorous dress. This image made her a style icon. You will be transported to a world where characters drink fancy cocktails in Manhattan bars and walk across famous streets like Park Avenue and Fifth Avenue and drink in the Manhattan skyline from the Brooklyn Bridge. It will completely whisk you away to what cosmopolitan New York is like.

Another classic set in New York is The Great Gatsby. If you have not already read this book for your Leaving Cert, I highly encourage you to do so. This book focuses on the actions of a number of wealthy New Yorkers in the 1920s.

Even though West Egg and East Egg are fictional New York suburbs, it is speculated that author F. Scott Fitzgerald used Long Island as the basis for the story. It is an interesting insight into what this point in history was like in New York, as it focuses on the intensity of the roaring twenties and the class divide within upper class people, of the nouveau riche (new money), people who earned their wealth versus people who inherited it (old money). The Great Gatsby is a raw insight into a time period in New York’s history many of us are intrigued to explore.

If you are looking for a book based in America but on the West Coast instead of the East, you won’t go wrong with On the Road by Jack Kerouac. This book focuses on the main protagonists going on multiple trips across America to places such as San Francisco, Denver and Virginia. It is an outlook to a bohemian lifestyle and a carefree travelling experience many people are envious of in these times of restricted movement.

PARIS When I was in Paris, one of my favourite places to visit was Shakespeare and Company. This was the creative hub for famous writers known as “The Lost Generation” in the 1920s. From Ernest Hemingway to James Joyce, an array of literary talents have spent a considerable amount of time in this bookshop, which is within walking distance from Notre Dame. Sylvia Beach, who opened the bookshop, explores its storied history in her memoir of the same title. From being the publisher of Ulysses, to shutting the shop down during World War II, both owner and shop have a unique history.

Another book that reminds me of Paris is A Moveable Feast, written by Sylvia Beach’s friend, Ernest Hemingway. This is a memoir of Hemingway’s experiences of living in Paris in the 1920’s. He mentions Shakespeare and Company in one of the chapters, as well as other Parisian locations such as Place St Michel and Ezra Pound’s apartment on Rue Notre Dame des Champs. He speaks of these places with such detail very fondly and picks up little things of these locations you wouldn’t expect someone to remember.

It transports you to a Paris that is loved and adored by someone who once lived there. You can nearly smell the scents of a French patisserie as Hemingway leads you down the Parisian streets.

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Reading a book from different people in the same social circles in the same time period is a rare and unique thing to be able to experience. It is worth reading about these two people’s lives of loving and living in Paris until more of us can walk down the Champs Elysées ourselves.

TOKYO Another book to recommend is Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami which is based in Tokyo, Japan. Named after my favourite Beatles song, this story follows a Japanese man nostalgically looking back on his first love in Tokyo. Murakami’s writing is exquisitely beautiful and even though I have never been to Japan, he describes it in a way as if I’m looking back nostalgically on memories in Tokyo.

The main protagonist is a student in one of the universities in the city, his campus is Tokyo city itself.

He talks about visiting tea rooms and parks as if you live in the city as well. Books like Norwegian Wood, give you a snapshot image through which you are exposed to Japanese life. Overall, a recommended read.

LONDON Dolly Alderton has been killing it in recent years. As a brutally-honest millennial, her two published books have been doing great. Her memoir Everything I Know About Love focuses on her life with her friends in London in university and beyond. From drinking in pubs in Camden and going on dates in Notting Hill, it is what young people would do and want to do in 21st century London. She gives advice on the different stages of love a person goes through from their teenage years until their thirties. However, through that, through the pages of her book, you can see a woman who loves the city she lives in and the places behind her nostalgic memories of growing up. She is talking to you about London, not as a tourist on their travel blog but as a native who does not chill at the typical tourist spots. She leads you around popular destinations that Londoners love being in. Her debut novel Ghosts is also worth recommending for people wishing to escape to London for a while.

However, Everything I Know About Love is a more genuine read and outlook on London life as it is coming from Dolly herself and not a fictional character.

WORDS BY HILARY MULLEN ART BY EMILY STEVENSON PHOTO BY HILARY MULLEN

This list of books should keep you going for a while until international travel begins to pick up again.

Hopefully we’ll be able to visit these places and many more over the next couple of years. When it is difficult to travel at the moment, reading about different places that you want to visit and want to see, can transport you literarily until you can be there physically.

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Places Missed on Campus: The Library o

ver the past year and a half, it was not the lack of in-person tutorials, lectures, coffee from The Perch or even my weekly burrito from Mama’s Revenge that made me miss campus. It was the lack of access to the library that really did it for me.

I thought I would not miss the packed Lecky, that was always too loud for my liking, or trying every floor of the Ussher to find a spot to sit in before eventually settling for the Lecky. At least I did not think I would miss it for a while, but to my surprise, and quite early on in my stay-athome period, I developed a real need to visit the library once again.

The library is not only a great working space to ponder over my essays and take out books that often turn out to be less useful than one had imagined based on their titles, it is also an essential part of college social life.

I miss being able to take a whole row of seats in the Lecky with my friends because we would be “studying” hard while sneaking in food and hot beverages past the security guards. Or bumping into one of my friends unexpectedly and having a chat about a module. It also served as a reflective space for me, I would browse aisles upon aisles and reflect upon my modules.

There is an inevitable essence to the library that makes one think, solve and investigate.

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Don’t get me wrong, there are parts of the library that would always drive me mad, like the queues to the bathrooms or the water fountain, trying to figure out the printers, and the seat huggers who would drive me insane during exam season. In truth, I even miss those things that drove me mad, but most of all, I miss the crowds of people going in and out from the library, because it is the energy created by people that has always made the library such a vital part of college life. Now, the library experience seems much different.

Last year, I didn’t bump into any of my friends in the library. Instead, I had to fill in a specific time that I was going to arrive there and hastily search for books that were essential to my study. This has taken all the joy out of the library, as it has become a security fortress, albeit a necessary one, for our safety.

Despite the fact that the library lost its essence due to entry restrictions and implemented social distancing, the library staff made it as accessible as possible. I visited the library sparingly last year and it was very efficient and safe for me and others. The time restrictions on study spaces, although frustrating as I couldn’t really get into the study mindset, were necessary for everyone to remain safe and gave a chance to all students to get some study done, even if it was limited. Because let’s be honest, none of us want seat huggers during a pandemic.

I know it is almost certain that these restrictions will remain until at least Reading Week, but my God, I hope that this will be temporary, because to me, the library is the soul of the entire campus.

WORDS BY GABRIELA GRZYWACZ ART BY LINDE VERGEYLEN PHOTOS BY EADAOIN FAGAN

47

GAEILGE

An bhfuil Bás nó Beatha i nDán don Phictiúrlann?

D’éirigh leis an bpaindéim an lámh in uachtar a fháil ar a lán rudaí, ina measc ná an phictiúrlann. Ní raibh an dara rogha ag go leor comhlachtaí ach a ndoirse a dhúnadh, ar mhaithe le sábháilte an phobail. Cé nár ndeachaigh mé chuig an bpictiúrlann go minic, bhí sé i gcónaí deas filleadh ar rud éigin buan cosúil leis an bpictiúrlann, agus an draíocht a bhaineann léi a mhothú. Anois agus comhlachtaí ag cur fáilte roimh chustaiméirí arís, tá ceist mhór amháin fós idir thalamh agus neamh – an bhfuil bás nó beatha i ndán don phictiúrlann?

Anois ar na meáin shóisialta tá ‘#DisneyMustPay’ le feiceáil i ngach áit, rud a spreag an cheist maidir le todhchaí na pictiúrlainne. Déarfainn go bhfuil aithne ag gach duine ar an aisteoir mór le rá, Scarlett Johansson, a bhfuil clú agus cáil uirthi timpeall an domhain. Le déanaí, cuireadh scannán amach dá cuid darb ainm ‘Black Widow.’ Thuill Johansson fiche milliún euro nuair a bhuail an scannán ‘Disney+’ chomh maith leis na pictiúrlanna. An fhadhb a bhí ann ná gur gealladh di go mbeadh an scannán á thaispeáint sna pictiúrlanna amháin agus toisc go bhfuil sé ar fáil ar ‘Disney+’ deir Johansson gur chaill sí na milliún euro. Mar sin tá sí faoi láthair ag déanamh agra ar Disney.

D’fhéadfadh sé seo a bheith túsphointe, áit ina féidir le rudaí eile eascairt as. Dúirt Disney go raibh Johansson ag déanamh neamhaird ar ‘impleachtaí fadtéarmacha domhanda na paindéime COVID-19.’ Ní féidir a shéanadh go bhfuil daoine ag casadh ar sheirbhísí ar nós ‘Netflix’ agus ‘Disney+’ le linn na n-amanna gan fasach seo. Ní raibh fáil acu ar an bpictiúrlann agus anois tá na comhlachtaí móra ar nós ‘Disney’ ag teacht i dtír ar sin.

Tháinig scannán nua de chuid Emma Stone ar an domhan i rith an tsamhraidh, scannán darb ainm ‘Cruella.’ Bhí an-cháil air agus is cosúil gur bhain an pobal an-sult as mar tá cheana féin conradh aici do scannán leantach le ‘Disney.’ De reir dealraimh, tá idirbheartaíocht déanta ag Stone le ‘Disney’ ina bhfaigheann sí cuid mhaith airgid gach uair a fhéachann duine éigin ar an scannán ar ‘Disney+.’ Má tá fírinne sa scéal seo, d’fhéadfadh Stone 50 milliún a thuilleadh as an scannán.

Mar sin, caithfear an cheist a chur, an bhfuil gá leis an bpictiúrlann a thuilleadh? Do na daoine a bhfuil grá acu don phictiúrlann, tá dóchas ann. Tá comhlachtaí áirithe ag déanamh a seacht ndíchill domhan a chruthú ina feidir leis na meáin sruthaithe agus an phictiúrlann a mhaireachtáil taobh le taobh. Tóg an Fhéile Scannánaíochta Cannes mar shampla, níl siad ag glacadh le scannáin de chuid ‘Netflix.’ Anuas air sin, tháinig Theirry Frémaux, an stiúrthóir ealaíne do Cannes, amach ag tabhairt amach faoi na féilte scanánnaíochta i mBeirlín agus sa Veinéis ag rá go raibh siad ró-thapa glacadh le scannáin ó ‘Netflix’ agus mar sin.

Tá mé dóchasach go bhfuil todhchaí i ndán don phictiúrlann, todhchaí ina féidir le scannáin a fheiceáil sa phictiúrlann agus scannáin eile a fheiceáil ar na meáin sruthaithe. Tá sásamh láithreach mar rud ollmhór na laethannta seo, b’fhéidir de dheasca an borradh faoin teicneolaíocht, agus ceapaim go mbeidh sé go maith do dhaoine fanacht ar scannáin sa phictiúrlann seachas a bheith ag iarraidh iad a fheiceáil láithreach bonn ar na meáin sruthaithe. Tá todhchaí na pictiúrlainne idir dhá cheann na meá agus ní fios ag éinne cad a tharlóidh. Is maith an scéalaí an aimsir.

FOCAIL LE YU HUA CHAOMHÁNACH 48

Feisteas na Tríonóide : An Riail Neamhscríofa “Agus cad iad na buntáistí agus na míbhuntáistí a bhaineann le héide scoile a chaitheamh?” Tá mé ciaptha de cheisteanna mar sin ó laethannta na hArdteiste. Ceist bhunúsach atá ann, ceist nach bhfuil ró-dheacair nó ait, ach é sin ráite bhí sé i gcónaí deacair orm teacht ar fhreagra beagáinín difriúil di. Bhí mé de shíor ag déanamh iarrachta freagraí léirsteanacha a thabhairt, freagraí a chuirfeadh an scrúdaitheoir ag smaoineamh. Bhí an cheist seo i gcónaí deacair orm ar chúis ait éigin. An t-aon rud a bhí a fhios agam ná go raibh mé ag súil leis an gcoláiste, ag súil le m’éadaí féin a chaitheamh agus a bheith timpeallaithe le feistis dhifriúla.

Bhí sé amhail is go raibh an éagsúlacht seo ar cheann de na rudaí is fearr faoin gcoláiste. Níor thug mé mórán smaoinimh dó le bheidh ionraic. Is cuimhin liom go raibh mé ag feighlíocht linbh an samhradh sular thug mé aghaidh ar an gcoláiste agus d’fhreastail máthair an chailín ar Choláiste na Tríonóide, bhí sí lán le scéalta faoina laethannta ar an gcampas agus na feistis agus na nósanna a bhí i mbarr na réime ag an am sin. Níor chaith mé mórán ama ag smaoineamh faoi.

Bhí sé cloiste agam go minic go mbíonn mic léinn na Tríonóide faiseanta agus go gcuireann siad aniarracht isteach ina bhfeistis gach lá i gcomparáid le mic léinn i gcoláistí eile b’fhéidir. Is nuair a chuir mé chos ar thalamh na Tríonóide a thuig mé cad a bhí i gceist leis na ráitis seo. Ceann de na céad rudaí a rith liom ná go raibh gach duine chomh faiseanta. Bhí sé de nós agam an éide scoile a chaitheamh don lá ar fad ar scoil agus é a choimeád orm go dtí gur chuir mé ceann le piliúr san oíche. Ag an deireadh seachtaine bheadh sé neamhghnách mé a fheiceáil ag caitheamh aon rud seachas luiteoga. D’fhág mé slán leis sin nuair a thosaigh mé sa Tríonóid.

Go tobann ní raibh mé ró-chóirithe dá gcaithfinn sciorta nó gúna meánfhada. Ceann de na céad cuimhne atá agam maidir le feisteas ná nuair a bhí ag siúl isteach tríd na doirse ar Shráid Nassau. Bhí bheirt chailíní ag siúl isteach os mo chomhair. Bhí duine acu ag caitheamh gúna sróil ar mheánfhad, bhí dath bándearg air. Bhí an chailín eile ag caitheamh feistis le meascán d’fhionnadh agus leathar. An t-ainmneoir coiteann a bhí idir an bheirt acu ná bróga a bhí á gcaitheamh acu – ‘Docs’.

Is cuimhin liom gur baineadh siar asam, ní raibh sé de nós agam a bheith chomh gléasta suas do lá na Nollag fiú. D’fhoghlaim mé go tapaidh go raibh mé ag déileáil le rud éigin iomlan difriúil i gcomparáid leis an meánscoil, ach ag an am céanna bhí cosúlachtaí le feiceáil idir an dá rud. Thug mé faoi deara go raibh go leor daoine ag caitheamh na rudaí céanna, ag leanúint na nósanna céanna. Ba ait an rud é gan duine amháin éigin a fheiceáil gach lá ag caitheamh sciorta le ‘Docs’ agus seaicéad leathair.

Bhí sé suimiúil dom mar ba iad na rudaí a bhí, agus atá, á chaitheamh ag daoine chomh difriúil óna a rudaí a bhí á chaitheamh sa mheánscoil. Ach ag an am céanna mhothaigh mé, i mbealaí, go raibh riail neamhscríofa ann maidir le feistis. Dar ndóigh, ní raibh éinne ag cur brú ar dhaoine na rudaí seo a chaitheamh ach déarfainn go bhfuil sé mar nádúr an duine iarracht a dhéanamh luí isteach leis an tromach.

Píosa ar phíosa thosaigh mé mé féin ag ceannach píosaí cosúil leis na rudaí a bhí feicthe agam timpeall an champais – ní hé go raibh mé ag déanamh iarrachta daoine eile a chóipeáil, agus ní dóigh liom go raibh mé fiú ag déanamh iarrachta luí isteach leo, ach nuair a thosaigh mé sa Choláiste mhothaigh mé nach raibh daoine ag déanamh breithiúnais orm. Thug sé sin saoirse dom agus ní raibh mé buartha faoi bheith ró-chóirithe a thuilleadh.

FOCAIL LE YU HUA CHAOMHÁNACH

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ALT.

Reflections on a Summer Job With August drawing to a close, we asked writers to reflect on their experiences of working over the summer.

Their responses document the joys of working with unsatisfied customers and bratty kids, the perpetual hope of finding your soulmate while on the job, and the remarkable motivation of an empty bank account to keep you clocking in each morning. From swimming, to waitressing, to the wonderful world of retail, their diverse experiences offer unique insight on the many joys and sorrows of a summer job.

Jack Gonzalez, Swim Coach

Working as a swim coach is a job that pays in satisfaction – although the salary is pretty good as well.

Whether it’s getting the kinks out of somebody’s stroke in a private lesson, or seeing your team win a meet after daily practices, it feels great to see all of your hard work pay off in the pool. Some parts of the job, however, completely sucked. Getting up early to coach a swim practice for people who would rather sit on the edge of the pool and complain for an hour than get into the freezing cold water, dealing with parents who want to know why their bratty kids aren’t dropping time, and a coach who is way too comfortable with public screaming matches with the lifeguards sometimes felt like hell. But in general, the job was nice. This job came at the end of my swimming career: I started swimming competitively when I was eight years old - a bit late for my swimming-obsessed area - and instantly picked up a liking for the sport, swimming all year round since, captaining my high school team, and coaching for five years. In a way, it really felt like I was going full circle.

I was really happy to do it this year, but also really happy to stop. There were various warning signs peppered about that I was getting too old for the job (like not being able to tell the difference between a ten year old and a fifteen year old, and having to explain to every single parent why I decided to go to school in Ireland) but having one last go at this in a semi-normal year seemed the most fitting way to go. They even made a special rule for us nineteen year olds who missed last year to have a go at our final year, so that really put the icing on the cake. I really want to see if I can get a proper job next summer, maybe something that has to do with my degree, but it’s unlikely to pay as well as a swim coach – man did I make a lot of money this year.

Lisa Bussi, Waitress

As part of an initiative to lose my work experience virginity and make my parents proud, I waitressed in a bar/restaurant located in the centre of Brussels this summer.

Not knowing what I was getting myself into is to put it mildly. I thought working a summer job would be something quirky, something to develop character like in a coming-of-age movie; perhaps I would fall in love with a boy, or make enough money to travel the world.Minimum wage and a miserably stale love life seemed to be the reality of the situation, however.

Amongst several moments, like dropping a glass on a customer’s head, speed walking faster than a suburban mom on a time limit or being sexually harassed by drunk 30-year-old men with receding hairlines, the one that struck me the most was getting yelled at by customers. Despite this becoming a regular occurrence, each time it happened I seemed to regress by five years, feeling as though they were my parents screaming at me for staying up too late. Sometimes I would simply go in the backroom and cry quietly, accepting defeat, other times however, I would stick my nose up and stomp away. I think they were surprised not to see me slam my bedroom door and play loud grunge music. Thankfully the job only lasted a month and as soon as I was done, I took my paycheck and walked away with the same fervour I had initially come in with.

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Ella McCormack, Centra

The concept of an “ah-ha” moment is generally understood by the masses. This split-second defined the careers of many academics, which later led them to garner the attention of the greater world and achieve fame and fortune. To use this example in action, some man who derived his success from many mathematical and scientific “ah-ha” moments said, “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”. Following this rule, there should also be an inverse to an “ah-ha” moment: a feeling I like to describe as an “oh-no” moment.

One particular “oh-no” moment that defined me occurred in the month of May. Picture this: I’m strolling down the aisle of Tesco, basket in hand. Standing in front of me was most students’ go-to section of many shops, the one essential part of their grocery excursion, the holy grail of shopping – the heavenly off-license.

Naturally I averted my gaze from Grey Goose, a normal knee-jerk reaction from anybody living on a budget.

To be more specific, the frightening reality of a student budget, that consisted of first communion savings and an accumulation of Credit Union funds collected in primary school. I eventually stumbled upon the only thing my eyes were searching for: the twelve euro bottle of Nikita vodka. My heart sank, however, as I realised that my dwindling bank account would now no longer cover the cost of this seemingly cheap spirit. An “ohno” moment at its finest. I then realised something, something that would alter my life more than a2+b2=c2, the realisation – I have to start searching for a summer job.

With absolutely no retail experience under my belt, I was hired in my local Centra soon after finishing first year, which was a questionable and probably regrettable move on my boss’ behalf. Being thrown into the world of scratch cards, lotto tickets, and 99s was a jump more intimidating than starting college and moving away from home. Every weekend and most weekdays I observed the regulars of the town do their daily and often overpriced shop, predicting what comments they’d make on “great silage weather,” or questioning why their chicken fillet roll was five euro fifty.

Each Sunday I’d stand behind the till at eight o’clock in the morning, listening to the trad hour on Today FM before Alison Curtis would play a remix of various versions of “Sweet Melody” by Little Mix for three hours straight. Before you ask, yes there are that many variations of that song and yes, it’s as unbearable as it sounds.

If this Sunday happened to be a sunny one, the litany of 99s and milkshake requests began from eleven. As I’d turn to hand them their pitiful ice cream, I could see the disappointment quickly register on their faces, and rightly so. If you were unlucky enough to get an ice cream pulled by me, you would receive a cone with an ice cream so lopsided and small that it should’ve been free.

Still, I appreciated every minute of experience I received from my retail employment. I witnessed the farmers with mucky hands and an even dirtier wad of twenty fifty euro notes all crumpled together that they’d pull from their pockets, all to pay for a Telly Bingo and two €1 All Cash scratch cards. Familiarity sprung in my mind when I saw the lads heading out to the local pub on a Saturday night, buying a pack of Benson & Hedges between three as, “sure we have a county game tomorrow, it doesn’t count if we share them.” It was truly an experience I will never forget, and one that even Sir Newton couldn’t draw from.

When all was said and done, my “oh-no” moment turned into temporary success as I now have enough funds to survive the first two weeks of moving to Dublin. Oh the joys of minimum wage in a small town, a rate which is likely illegal. After two (maybe three, if you count pocket money from Nana) weeks of bliss, then it’ll be onto the next retail job, where it can all start again.

WORDS BY JACK GONZALEZ, LISA BUSSI & ELLA MCCORMACK

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A Beginner’s Guide to the Dublin Rental Market Follow these three simple tricks to stay one step ahead of the vicious landlords of Ireland’s capital It’s that magical time of year again, where flocks of doe-eyed freshers descend upon Dublin in search of

accommodation. Armed with reusable tote bags and a rolled up poster of Gustav Klimt, they emerge from Heuston station with dreams of misquoting the works of Orwell and Marx in a Georgian house in the city centre. Unbeknownst to these innocent youths, the vulture landlords have sensed the seasons shift and are now circling. Our vultures have learned to use their environments: minimum wage being below a living wage, no government capping on rent prices, and an overstressed market that cannot accommodate the number of people who need a bed and possibly running water. Luckily for our does, I’ve compiled a list of ways that you can survive the Dublin housing market.

1. Working four jobs Although studies show that college students tend to score better when they don’t have the stress of working, these physiologists have never encountered the current Dublin housing market. Simply having one job may help pay rent, but there is no need to pay rent when one takes on four jobs. If each shift lasts eight hours, you can simply work continuously from job to job. This would only need three jobs; however, you would need one to cover your days off from your other three. If you continuously work, there would be no need to rent a place, as you would never spend time in it. You can use your mandatory breaks for college work, and if one of your jobs is in the waiting industry that covers food. Plus, with all that minimum wage money you would be earning, you can buy as many energy drinks and coffees to prop you up until you return home during holiday periods (granted that your jobs allow you to take time off).

2. Finding a compatible roommate Our does are full of hope for finding a friend for life in their roommate: late-night chats, dinner parties, and edgy wall decor. However, it is much more important to get a roommate with a compatible schedule. There are often extra costs for unnecessary luxuries like having your own bed. To bypass this, it’s best to find a mattress that can be shared with a compatible stranger. If you like being diurnal, I suggest searching for a roommate who works nights so you can use the bed then. When they arrive home, you will be waking up, so they can roll into bed while you roll out the other side. Since you will be working at alternative ends of the day, it might be hard to find time to bond, but you could leave each other cute little notes under your shared pillow.

3. Getting creative The current fashion industry is about upcycling and finding new purposes for out of fashion items. 5-MinuteCrafts are always turning clothing articles into things that they should never be used for. Why not do the same thing with accommodation? That wardrobe in your shared bedroom being wasted just storing clothes? Put in a sleeping bag and two pillows, and you have low-cost housing. That dingy bath in your apartment only being used three times a day in the singular bathroom shared by seven roommates is the prime opportunity for a cotlike bed. Run a hose from the bath out the window, and they can shower outside while you sleep soundly in your damp pyjamas. Wall cavities are just wasted potential. Get a sledgehammer, and you can have multiple standing beds. It may feel coffin-like but think of the privacy benefits.

With house hunting seasons about to commence, I hope this list will teach some how to survive their first September in the big smoke. Remember to lower your standards even more if they mention a Luas stop within a 25 km radius. It is also essential to remember firstborn children, dignity, and having all your organs are overrated. Happy hunting, and may the odds be ever in your favour.

WORDS BY EMMA LUEDERS 52

Predicting your College Future Take our quiz to find out exactly where you belong in Trinity College’s vast network of social activities!

1. What are you most likely to be found doing at a party?

A. Arguing about which flavour of Pringle’s is truly the best.

B. Making as many new acquaintances as possible - networking is key!

C. Making witty conversation and taking mental notes of the room for the autofiction you’ll write when you get home.

D. Trying to convince anyone who will listen that campus could actually seriously do with a new business school.

2. What’s your drink of choice?

A. Vodka-soda B. Guinness C. A locally produced craft beer D. The blood of your dissenters

3. Which minor character from Normal People do you most identify with?

A. Marianne’s first college boyfriend who loves free speech.

B. Free speech guy’s less important friend.

C. The girl who asks to read Connell’s English essay.

D. The guy who announces who got Schols.

4. Pick a ‘Trinity Graduate Attribute’: A. To think independently.

B. To develop continuously.

C. To communicate effectively.

D. To act responsibly.

5. What course do you wish you were doing?

A. History and Politics B. Engineering C. Single Honors English D. Engineering

Mostly A’s: Looks like you’re going to fit right into the debating societies! You’re argumentative, analytical, and often

notice a glazed look over the eyes of those you discuss politics with. Head right over to the GMB and sign up for a debate!

Mostly B’s: You show all the signs of a student politician.You go to the right parties, shake the right hands, and love nothing more than feeling desperately important. Be it through the JCR to Students’ Union president route, or from more humble beginnings as a diligent class rep, your ambition makes you one to watch...

Mostly C’s: You show great promise as a future contributor to Trinity’s many publications. You are insightful, dedicated, and probably alienated people in your Leaving Cert English class. So whether it be for Trinity News, the University Times, TN2, or any one of the diverse journals, papers and magazines on campus, get writing (especially for TN2)!

Mostly D’s: You are outgoing provost Patrick Prendergast! Your passion for education just about surpasses your passion for international student fees. Your tenure may have been controversial, but you got to live in a city-center gaff for ten years on the taxpayers’ bill, so don’t listen to the doubters. WORDS BY ELLA SLOANE AND DAVID WOLFE

PHOTO BY EADAOIN FAGAN 53

NIGHTTIME GOES NEON

PHOTOS BY

Megan O’ Rourke

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