ART/ FASHION/ FILM/ FOOD/ GAMES/ LITERATURE/ MUSIC/ THEATRE/ TV 1
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CONTENTS 04 07 25 34
JUMBLE COMMUNITY REVIEWS SEX
Head editor RACHEL GRAHAM Deputy Editor SARAH MOREL online editor jack maguire assistant editor sorcha ni cheallaigh Art siun mcsweeney fashion FIONNUALA EGAN LOUISE HYNES FILM LEE JONES OISIN MCELHINNEY FOOD Roise Ni Mhaonaigh alden MATHIEU SORCHA JUDGE GAMES & TECH CAHAL SWEENEY DERMOT DAVERN LITERATURE MICHAEL MULLOOLY SARAH UPTON music DARRAGH KELLY KEVIN BIRD THEATRE AMELIA MCCONVILLE AMYROSE FORDER tv SORCHA NI CHEALLAIGH JACK MAGUIRE DESIGN & layout by una harty, DERMOT O’RIORDAN, Rachel graham & SARAH MOREL copy-edited by NIAMH MORIARTY, SORCHA NI CHEALLAIGH & ELLEN ORCHARD cover art by CAROLINE MCKEON PRINTED BY GREHAN PRINTERS
LITERATURE:
100 Years of “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” 08
MUSIC:
Political Rap & Trump
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THEATRE:
50 Years of Project Arts Centre
TELEVISION:
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The end of children’s programming on RTE? 15
FASHION SHOOT: New Romantics
18
FILM:
Taking a look at migration in film on the 10th anniversary of “Children of Men”
22
GAMES:
The enduring appeal of World of Warcraft 24
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ART Art On Campus: ‘Sfera con Sfera’ Arnaldo Pomodoro
Sfera con Sfera, literally “Sphere within Sphere”, is one of the most recognisable pieces of sculpture on campus. Better known locally as the “Golden Ball” or “Spinny Globe Thing”, one would have difficulty finding a College student who hasn’t had a go at spinning the structure around. The work is one of a series of bronze spheres created by Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro. These spheres are located all over the world: the Vatican Museums in Rome, the UN headquarters in New York and the University California, Berkeley. While varying in their size and design, the Vatican piece most closely resembles Trinity’s, displaying similarities in its details despite being twice the size. Sfera con Sfera was presented to the college by Mr. Pomodoro as a gift in 1982 and has sat outside of Berkeley library ever since, even during extensive restorations in 2008.
The piece’s meaning is debated; some people think it represents the world breaking from a Ptolemaic view of the heavens, while others argue it depicts an earth that contains a celestial realm at its centre. Its rather ambiguous meaning does mean that it can fit in with any surrounding, which is evident from the range of political, religious and educational backdrops it sits against across the globe. The beauty of this piece lies in the intricacy of the inner layers of the sphere. The viewer is given a glimpse into its inner workings through the cracks in the bronze and invited to interact with it - to peer inside. The fact that it spins around - with a bit of effort from the viewer adds to this potential for interaction.
WORDS BY SIÚN MCSWEENEY
FILM Defining the Decade - 1950s: All That Heaven Allows (Douglas Sirk, 1955)
This archetypal melodrama sees Jane Wyman’s bourgeois widow Cary fall for her gardener Ron, played by Rock Hudson, in a romance that transcends class and age. The emotion is expressed as much through Sirk’s sumptuous mise-en-scene as through the action. The director’s trademark style is on full Technicolor display, all saturated primary colours, rich shadows, and sweeping music. The film follows their relationship from its furtive beginnings to a bittersweet Christmas denouement (watch out for the infamous reindeer). Though it may sound like escapist fare, All That Heaven Allows also engages with the social reality of suburban American life during the decade. The relationship comes under threat from the pressures of a stifling conformism. Cary is expected to stick with her own kind, stuffy country-club bachelors, rather than the earthy and passionate Ron. When she tells her children she has found a new lease of life with Ron, they are horrified. The film is bursting with sexual repression, as both the characters and the film itself test the boundaries of what was socially acceptable at the time. Cary is constantly penned in by her claustrophobic domestic surrounds. In a late scene, a heartbroken Cary receives a shining new television set from her children for Christmas, as they reassure her: “All you have to do is turn that dial and you have all the company you want, right there on the screen.” The camera moves in on the reflection of a distressed Cary, and we are left to wonder how many were left in their later lives with only the false cheer of the small screen (the great innovation of the 50s) for companionship.
FOOD Food for Thought: Seasonal Superfoods
Many of us will return to exams and deadlines come January and it can be difficult to find the energy to get work done when we are snacking from a tin of Roses. I’ve cobbled together some seasonal superfoods to get you through studying this festive period. The ultimate christmas spices cinnamon and nutmeg are rich in powerful antioxidants. Nutmeg is a fantastic brain tonic and has been shown to increase dopamine levels, the brain chemical responsible for motivation and reward. Cinnamon will satisfy your sweet tooth and keep your magnesium levels up, which has been proven to enhance memory, learning and cognitive function.
Christmas is absolutely the season of indulgence. Dishes doused in delicious buttery goodness and the calorific desserts are responsible for leaving us in that food coma we all know so well. 4
Make turkey your meat of choice as it’s a great source of lean protein and the energising vitamin B6. Snacking on turkey will ensure your tryptophan levels are up as this amino acid is
WORDS BY LIAM FARRELL WORDS BY ROISE NI MHAONAIGH responsible for serotonin production - a feel good brain chemical. Go nuts! These traditional christmas snacks are loaded with brain boosting nutrients. Walnuts are the undisputed champion, rich in DHA, a type of omega-3 fatty acid which improves cognitive function, memory retention and reduces brain inflammation. Brussel sprouts, of course, had to feature! These guys are also rich in magnesium and can help avoid that mid afternoon slump as they are packed with energy boosting B vitamins. Try steaming them to keep all their vitamins and minerals intact. Instead of reaching for another tempting selection box, try to embrace some of these superfoods and make studying a little easier over the christmas break.
GAMES Free to Play of the Month: Star Wars: The Old Republic
LIT Books From Around the World: Penguin Book of Dutch Short Stories
This month’s Free to Play Game of the Month is Star Wars: The Old Republic, more commonly known as SWTOR. SWTOR was released back in 2011 by Bioware and was planned as a subscription based RPG, similar to World of Warcraft. However the game failed to gain significant momentum within a year and it shifted to a Free to Play model. Therefore, most of that triple-A content is now available to anyone with the PC specs to run the game.
WORDS BY DERMOT DAVERN
To start, Bioware’s trademark storytelling prowess shines here. With multiple dialogue options, cut scenes, and a personalized story for every class, the world is incredibly immersive. Indeed, if it wasn’t for the other players running around, I’d probably forget it was an MMORPG altogether. One could be satisfied playing through the story campaign without ever dipping into the multiplayer. However, like most MMORPGs, it is in the multiplayer that SWTOR really shines. PvE encounters are set around ‘strikes’ where teams of five enter your game area and progress on a nonlinear path. The game has streamlined things a great deal, phasing players of different levels onto the same one, so despite the low player count you’re never left too long looking for a group. This isn’t to say the game is a masterpiece. The combat system has a fairly steep learning curve. The low player population also results in PvP waits that are bit longer than one is used to in this day and age. That said, for a Free to Play experience, I found it enjoyable enough to continue playing for the foreseeable future.
When one thinks about great Dutch artists, the mind is cast to the likes of Rembrandt, Harry Mulisch and the flying Dutchman himself, Dennis Bergkamp. The Penguin Book of Dutch Short Stories, edited by the late Joost Zwagerman, is a crystallisation of the eclectic world of short stories that have come out of the Netherlands; a world quite seldom explored in popular literary culture. “The world knows about our windmills, our footballers and our drugs policies,” Zwagerman states in his introduction [translated by David McKay] to this collection of short stories, which offer a quirky mix of the quaint, the bizarre and everything in between. The introduction establishes the editor’s prerogative. Zwagerman curates an anthology which presents some of the most treasured pieces of Dutch literature in a way that overcomes the difficulties of translating the Dutch language, which has changed dramatically in the last 200 years. Zwagerman succeeds in providing us with a rich array of tales that will surely pique one’s interest. The opening story, “An Eccentric” (Marcellus Emants), is one of a ‘philosopher’ named Z, and acts as an anthropological exploration of life and love. The protagonist laments the fallacy of human emotions yet falls prey to its appeal in a way Zwagerman believes typifies the protagonist of Dutch literature, “excuse the contradiction in terms - contemplative archromantics, reserved iconoclasts.” “Funeral Rights” (Belcampo) concerns itself with the preciousness of moments through the depiction of the internment and treatment of a tribe of prisoners. “Poop” (Manon Uphoff) presents us with the story of a ‘nice, tall man’ with a modest living and explores the allure of riches in what is quite a comedic tale involving the aforementioned poop. This anthology serves as an affectionate love-letter to the Dutch short story. WORDS BY KEALAN DALY
FASHION Front Square Fashion Name: Gráinne Denihan Studying: Law Christmas Jumpers? I dig them Shoes: My sister’s Jumper: Tola Vintage Trousers: American Apparel WORDS BY FIONNUALA EGAN PHOTOS BY RACHEL GRAHAM 5
THEATRE Graduate Spotlight
Name: Sarah Morel Studying: Art History Age: 21 Spotify Username: Sarah Morel Best playlist: My ‘’Luvly Choons’’ playlist, specially curated to de-stress after a long, hard day of fourth year. If you were a song: ‘’U.R.A. Fever’’ by The Kills If Trinity were a song: ‘’Love System’’ by Le Galaxie. It’s not Trinity Ball if Le Galaxie doesn’t feature in some shape or form. Song for Freshers: ‘’Young Folks’’ by Peter Bjorn and John Song no one has heard of that you love: ‘’Restless Year’’ by Ezra Furma
Dylan Coburn Gray graduated from Trinity with a Music degree in 2014, and is already one of Ireland’s most prolific young playwrights. His play Boys & Girls was performed during the Dublin Fringe Festival in 2013, where it was nominated for several prizes and won the Fishamble Best New Writing Award, before touring to Moscow and New York. In New York it ran in the 59E59 Theatre as part of the First Irish Festival, and won awards for Best Ensemble and Best Play. Subsequent work included Drawing Crosses On A Dusty Windowpane, performed at the Tiger Dublin Fringe Festival 2015 and the Galway Arts Festival 2016, and Citysong which premiered at Lingo Festival 2015. He has also toured internationally as a performer with Brokentalkers’ The Blue Boy. His most recent works include Blackcatfish Musketeer and Briseis After The Black, both of which premiered at the Tiger Dublin Fringe Festival 2016.
WORDS BY SARAH MOREL
Dylan is a recipient of the 16x16 Next Generation Bursary Award from the Arts Council and has recently worked as dramaturg with Collapsing Horse. He is a contributor to the ongoing exhibition The Wild at the Project Arts Centre. His original work is characterised by an inventive and engaging approach to language and theatrical form. One to watch in 2017.
TV My Life is Like: New Girl Christmas Special Hi Sinead, has anyone ever told you that you remind them of Jess in the Season 1 New Girl Christmas Special, “The 23rd”? People always tell me that I remind them of Jess. I assume it’s because of my glasses. And my fringe. But it could also be because I may just be the best person ever... and so is Jess? Jess does good. I do good. We should all be Jess. Also, in the Christmas episode, Jess tries super hard to be really sound, especially to Paul, but WE CAN ALL SEE THROUGH YOU JESS. She’s like me in that way: fake-sound, actually a bitch.
Would you like to attend a Christmas party like Schmidt’s work party? Funnily enough, my brother is literally Schmidt so every Christmas is a Christmas party with Schmidt. We got him a t-shirt with Schmidt’s face on the front, that says “Schmidt happens” on the back. He wears it everyday. Also, I feel like Schmidt’s party would be really clean. He’s a clean freak. That would be nice. My flatmates won’t clean their spoons and I recently found one of them sleeping with my towel. I need a Schmidt Christmas party.
Like Jess, do you have favourite tacky Christmas lights you love so much that your best friend would miss a flight just to make sure you could see them? Christmas lights are a fire hazard. Stay safe kids. WORDS BY SORCHA N í CHEALLAIGH 6
WORDS BY AMELIA MCCONVILLE
MUSIC Sounds of Front Square
community. Christmas Every Day T
here’s a lot of talk about festive spirit at Christmas. Despite the largely consumerist nature of the Christian festival these days, there remains a strong element of goodwill and generosity in the spirit of the season. The collision of material excess and feverish gluttony with the awareness that this is the darkest, coldest, and for many, most lonely time of the year, precipitates charitable initiatives and galvanises people around a cause. If you’re looking for an example of this “festive spirit”, switch on your radio to Phantom’s old frequency, FM 105.2. You’ll be greeted by a barrage of festive messages to and from grannys, dads, primary school teachers, long lost loves and new fiances. Welcome to Christmas FM! It’s a messy, cheesy affair, that attracts and repels in equal measure. While round-the-clock Christmas hits strike some as the pinnacle of mawkish seasonal excess, for others Christmas FM represents everything that’s best about this time of year: community spirit, charity, and all your favourite one-hit-wonders. Co-founded by Irish radio veteran, Garvan Rigby in 2007, Christmas FM is a temporary radio station that broadcasts on various FM frequencies around the country from the end of November all the way to Christmas day. It’s staffed by presenters who give up their time for free, and sponsored by various companies each year, which allows them to donate all of the money they make from texts and donations straight to their charity partner. This unusual fundraising model has proven extremely successful: last year, they raised €265,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in one month alone. Focus Ireland is their chosen charity this year. An Irish organisation founded in 1985, they provide housing assistance to homeless people, as well as education and supports to those who are at risk of homelessness. This Christmas, Focus Ireland are aiming to help 300 families out of homeless with the money raised by Christmas FM. The charity have estimated that up to 2,500 children will be homeless on Christmas day this year - this reflects the approximately 50 percent increase in family homelessness seen since the start of 2016. Homelessness is an issue that’s at the forefront of people’s minds during the winter, and at Christmas especially. The thought that a family might not have a tree under which to hide their presents, or an individual might not have a table to sit around for Christmas dinner, pricks many a conscience. Organisations working
in the sector see donations skyrocket during December. The challenge for NGO’s is to work out how to harvest the season’s goodwill and direct it towards where it’s needed. Christmas FM have struck gold with their method of fundraising by devising a platform that has nationwide reach. This year they’ve expanded the service worldwide: at www.christmasfm.com, you can listen live, and submit dedications for two euro a pop by filling in their online form. As well as increasing revenue, this allows homesick Irish emigrants - or indeed anyone who might be craving a dose of the Irish festive spirit - to get in on the action. Whether or not you see the appeal of the festive musical excess that the station provides (full disclosure: we’ve had it on in the office all weekend), Christmas FM is a quirky phenomenon that attests to the power and influence the radio still holds in contemporary Irish society. With nearly 100,000 followers on Facebook and double that figure expected to be raised in monetary terms from listeners, there is clearly huge potential for being creative with radio. Christmas FM shows that listeners are ready and willing to “turn the dial” (sorry, Newstalk) away from the usual fair of public transport sob stories, news roundups and football commentary when there’s something new on offer. Stations like this might even be attracting new listeners to the radio, something which the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, who grant Christmas FM their temporary license each year, must be keen to encourage. As BAI’s director, Michael O’Keeffe, has said: “Christmas FM underlines the important role that radio plays in Ireland. Not alone does it get the nation in good spirits, but it is hugely important in promoting charitable giving and goodwill.” This might sound like an overstatement, but it’s probably not far from the truth. Radio is a medium with a distinctively personal character, and in Ireland it remains a bulwark of local community. Despite the international fare on offer via the internet, the familiar voices of Irish radio broadcasters are dominant in people’s cars and kitchens, which gives radio a distinctive edge on communicating and connecting with the national mood. Turn that dial and let yourself be transported from the library to a Winter Wonderland of Jingle Bells, Mistletoe and Wine. Thank God It’s Christmas! OUR FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS FM HITS Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer - Elmo & Patsy (1979) Just about irritating enough to become endearing with repeated listens. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa - The Ronettes (1963) / The Jackson 5 (1970) / Jessica Simpson (2004) Pure comedy value. We hope this song wasn’t inspired by real events. Thank God It’s Christmas - Queen (1984) Freddie Mercury’s crooning provides relatively chill interludes amongst all the festive madness. Driving Home for Christmas - Chris Rea (1988) The first track played on Christmas FM this year, and forever our favourite seasonal anthem. WORDS BY RACHEL GRAHAM ILLUSTRATION BY JENNY CORCORAN 7
100 Years of A Portrait
December 29 marks one hundred years since James Joyce’s first novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, was published, at the urging of Ezra Pound (after first appearing in serialised form in the periodical The Egoist). The novel guaranteed that Joyce’s position as a titan of modernist writing, already established by Dubliners, was set in stone forever. The arrival of the novel in Ireland’s relatively conservative literary scene could be described much like Joyce describes our beloved college in its pages: “the grey block of Trinity on his left, set heavily in the city’s ignorance like a great dull stone set in a cumbrous ring[…]” It’s worth remembering always that Joyce went to UCD. A Portrait of the Artist has stood the test of time and remains, even a century later, a hugely significant text in both college curricula and the public mind. It’s a work that manages to capture and dissect a uniquely Irish identity, all while challenging the very conventions and traditions that moulded it. The inner turmoil and battles that the young artist Stephen Dedalus grapples with are themes that have been shared by every generation of young Irish men and women that have come after Joyce: issues of selfidentity and spirituality; morality and sexuality. Dedalus’ ultimate self-exile from Ireland is perhaps more prescient than it’s ever been in the 21st Century, when thousands left the country following the Celtic Implosion. Like somebody with a famous sibling, A Portrait of the Artist will perhaps always be doomed to stand in the shadow of Ulysses and be known only as Joyce’s more accessible work; a prelude for tackling the magnum opus. However Joyce’s incredible debut novel deserves to stand on its own two feet and be treated for what it is: a masterpiece in its own right. I asked some of the professors here at Trinity to lend their own thoughts on A Portrait of the Artist in order to celebrate its centenary, and here’s what they had to say. 8
“Joyce does what so few school story writers have done: he remembers what it was really like Gerald DAWE Dawe is a poet and professor of English at Trinity College Dublin. His poem “To James Joyce”, written in honour of James Joyce and Nora Barnacle, is included in his Selected Poems (2014). I would have been fifteen or so when I first read Joyce’s A Portrait in Belfast during the mid-sixties. The novel had a huge impact. It made me all the more convinced that I had to be a writer. Stephen’s disaffection with his Church and the social world of his upbringing chimed all so deeply, as well. The shifting registers of the prose, Joyce’s mastery of different kinds of English – from dirty realism to the faux ‘high’ romanticism – and the dreamy selfabsorptions in-between, was really quite a bravura performance and heady stuff. It sat alongside the cool jazz of MJQ, the r’ ‘n’b of Canned Heat, the discovery of Robert Lowell and Sylvia Plath and the awesome depths of Dostoyevsky and D. H. Lawrence that fanned the flames of a provincial Belfast educational adolescence. The student exchanges of Stephen with Cranly and the rest of the lads may have been at a different tempo and intensity to ours but the family life and sexual longings sounded right, though, there again, I’m not sure we were anywhere near as anxious, political or guilt-ridden. A Portrait’s terraced cityscape was familiar – the parks, the street networks, the atmosphere – and much of the novel’s interior home world was identifiable. But it was probably the grand and ironical finale that resonated so much back then, and clearly still does, one hundred years on, as Stephen, like his contemporary Paul Morel, hits out for new territory; or, at least, so it seemed like at the time.
English Dictionary are from James Joyce: the first is the example given above, from A Portrait. The other is from Finnegans Wake. Another example, as luck would have it, is from a book by another Joyce (P.W.): English As We Speak it in Ireland (1910). I first studied James Joyce in University College Cork in the early 1990s, at a time when the Hibernian Metropolis of Dublin, and Trinity College, felt very distant. The image of Stephen and his father walking along the Mardyke in Cork, not far from the University, in A Portrait made a strong impression on me. Like all of Joyce’s writing, it is an acquired taste. (Not unlike drisheen.) It is often thought of as one of Joyce’s more accessible works, but appearances can be deceiving. (Like drisheen?)” Joyce is rightly celebrated as a great writer of Dublin, but there is a lot more of Ireland in his work than is sometimes granted, and especially in A Portrait, where the Corkonian context is crucial. The food, the different streetscapes, the accent: “They had unearthed traces of a Cork accent in his speech and made him admit that the Lee was a much finer river than the Liffey. […] [and] covered him with confusion by asking him to say which were prettier, the Dublin girls or the Cork girls.” Questions that continue to cause confusion, perhaps? How best to serve drisheen? In the Wake, Joyce provides the best and only answer, as he does, it seems, to almost everything: “Tansy Sauce. Enough.”
the
Dr Daragh DOWNES Downes is a Teaching Fellow at TCD responsible for two Sophister Option courses, “Dickens” and “The Revolutionary Muse: Form and Theme in Romantic Poetry and Poetics.”
Before Bloom and his ‘relish for the inner organs of beasts and fowls’, in Ulysses (1922), we have Simon Dedalus, Stephen’s father, in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916), ordering ‘drisheens for breakfast’ in the Victoria Hotel in Cork. Father and son take the ‘night mail’ train down from Dublin the previous evening... drisheen, n. Etymology: < Irish drisín intestine. • A kind of sausage made from sheep’s blood, milk, and seasoning.
For me, the greatness of Joyce’s A Portrait will always come down to one rather traumatic memory. I went to Belvedere, and Joyce was an even bigger god there than Ollie bloody Campbell or Tony bloody O’Reilly. We were fifteen or sixteen when one day a soutane-wearing actor came in to reenact Chapter 3’s hellfire sermon in situ. All a bit of a vomit—until he delivered the line, “Why did you not give up that lewd habit, that impure habit?”. Reader, we went scarlet as only pimply adolescents know how. In Portrait’s Clongowes and Belvedere scenes, Joyce does what so, so few school story writers have done: he remembers what it was really like.
Two of the examples used to illustrate the word ‘drisheen’ in the Oxford
WORDS BY MICHAEL MULLOOLY ILLUSTRATION BY DANIEL TATLOW
Dr Philip COLEMAN Coleman is an Associate Professor in School of English and a Fellow of TCD.
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The World has got to Hear This
R
ap has always been an inherently political genre - ever since its conception in the early 70’s there has been a socially conscious element. However, in recent years this aspect has been somewhat absent, especially when compared to the heyday of politically charged rap in the late 80’s and early 90’s. This could be considered a result of the increased commercialisation of the genre and the profitability of gangsta rap and other such sub-genres that glamorised the excessive lifestyles of rappers. In an interview with Hip Hop Wired on the demise of political rap [April 2016], Ice Cube claimed that at “about 1993, gatekeepers of the airwaves started to say, ‘That kind of political rap, really not gonna play that. Not really our style.’ They started to play and promote the escapism type of rap. Sex, drugs, money, cars, women, clothes. Just all of the excess became more popular and more exposed.” This was going to be the trend for the rest of the 90’s and into the 2000’s. Even during the Bush administration, which provided ample opportunity for criticism of the hypocrisies of the American government, political rap remained underground. In the last year or so however, this has changed. Political rap has sprung back and re-entered the mainstream. There are numerous reasons for this, among them the popularity of social media, an increase in the instance and media coverage of racially-charged police brutality, the Black Lives Matter movement and most recently, the rise and election of Donald Trump. The internet has played a big part in affording artists an opportunity to voice themselves and their concerns to a larger audience. No longer must audiences get their hip hop via large corporations in the form of radio, record labels and MTV. Rap has been brought back to grassroots levels, just as it was in its early days. Take for example Chance the Rapper, an unsigned artist, who has let all his music be streamed for free, and is now nominated for seven Grammy’s. This has come in tandem with a heightened public awareness of social and racial issues in America, particularly after the shooting of Trayvon Martin in 2012, and the media storm which followed it. In a survey carried out by the PEW research centre in 2015, that asked whether racism is “a big
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problem in America”, a total of 50% of respondents said it was. Compare this to a similar survey conducted by the Washington Post in 2009, where just over 25% of respondents claimed racism was a problem, and it becomes clear that there has been a shift in the public’s thinking on this issue. Americans today seem to be more aware of the inequalities in their society than they have been in even the recent past. These factors came together in a manner that made 2015 the year of political rap’s re-emergence. Undoubtedly, the album that defined that year was Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly. The album serves as a direct link to the political rap of the 90’s. In the closing track “Mortal Man”, Lamar creates a conversation between himself and Tupac, using audio taken from a 1994 interview with the late rapper. On being asked about the use of the Tupac interview, Lamar claimed that “The answers that Pac is giving are answers for today […] the world’s got to hear this, and they’ve got to hear it on a major scale.” His hit single “Alright” has gone on to become the unofficial anthem of Black Lives Matter, with marchers often chanting “we gon’ be alright” - mirroring the use of Pete Seeger’s “We Shall Overcome” during the civil rights movement of the 60’s. The impact of Lamar’s album has even reached the White House, with Barack Obama claiming that his favourite song off the album was “How Much a Dollar Cost?”
“Rap
has been brought back to grassroots levels, just as it was in its early days
The momentum of political rap has continued into 2016. What has been most admirable has been the way in which rappers have been staunchly vocal on what has been perhaps the most heated election in decades. Not only have rappers made waves through their music - many were outspoken activists during the election. Killer Mike of Run the Jewels was an ardent supporter of Bernie Sanders throughout his campaign, even giving an introductory speech before Sanders’ appearance at an Atlanta rally. In an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he justified his support for Sanders by claiming that “we can directly elect someone who cares about poor people, women, gays, blacks - cares about lives that don’t look like himself. This opportunity in history is not going to come again.” Perhaps one of the most scathing attacks on Donald Trump by a rapper was YG’s brashly titled “Fuck Donald Trump” - a song that was allegedly investigated by the U.S. Secret Service. The filming of the music video was shut down by the LAPD after those involved broke into a communal chant of the song’s title. In a 2016 Billboard interview regarding politics in rap, YG said: “this hip hop, this rap, we got a platform and we’re going to use it for the right shit. I ain’t hesitating no more.”
It’s not only the new generation of rappers that have embraced the political side of the genre. Veteran rappers have also come out in force to join the cause. Common’s most recent album Black America Again serves as both a celebration of black culture and the struggles that the community currently faces in the States. Just days after the election of Donald Trump, A Tribe Called Quest released the much needed single “We the People”. In fearful time, looking towards an unsure future, Q-tip’s hook is all too resonant: “All you Black folks, you must go/ All you Mexicans, you must go/ And all you poor folks, you must go/ Muslims and gays, boy, we hate your ways/ So all you bad folks, you must go.” From these lines, it is possible to see the potential of rap as a voice to unite those who have ever been discriminated against, and those who are fearful for what may lie ahead in the coming years. In the same way that punk was the voice of dissent in the Reagan and Thatcher years, rap looks set to serve the same purpose during the Trump administration. It’s clear that the momentum has built up and that politically conscious rap has entered the mainstream. All there is to do now is for rappers to continue to provide a rallying cry against the injustices that faces our society.
“In
the way that punk was the voice of dissent in the Reagan and Thatcher years, rap looks set to serve the same purpose during the Trump administration
WORDS BY KEVIN BIRD 11
(Heresy - Roger Doyle)
Project 50 Amelia McConville and Amyrose Forder speak to Cian O’Brien, Artistic Director of Project Arts Centre, about Project 50: a season of work celebrating the 50th anniversary of the stalwart Temple Bar Arts Centre. Who are you excited to be working with as part of Project 50? In the second week of December we had John Scott, one of Ireland’s legendary choreographers. He makes experimental contemporary dance pieces. Showing this week is his new work, Precious Metal, along with Night Wandering by Merce Cunningham, who died recently. This piece was gifted to John’s company. John has worked in the Project for a very long time so when we were putting together the programme, he was exactly the type of artist we wanted to work with. Jean Butler will be presenting her new work, This Is An Irish Dance in February next year - Jean is known obviously as the lead in Riverdance! She has since developed a reputation as an extraordinary choreographer. There is also an upcoming piece by Olwen Fouere - a collaboration with the French author Laurent Gaude, who have worked together before with Rough Magic on Sodome, My Love. This new piece is about a hunger striker, co-directed by Olwen and the choreographer Emma Martin. Olwen has been working with Project since the 1970s - we like to think it’s her home! So we’re delighted to have her. 12
Earlier in the programme we had work by Roger Doyle who again has been working in Project since the 70s - he’s an experimental electronic composer and he’s written a new opera, Heresy, based on the life of Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno from the 16th century. We’ve also had Butterflies and Bones which is part of the Casement Project, a larger endeavour which incorporated a festival in Kerry and a film with Dearbhla Walsh which is going to be on RTE sometime soon. And we’ve also had work from Pan Pan: a new work called The Importance of Nothing which has gotten fantastic reviews. It’s been a busy few months! What makes Project different from other theatre and art spaces in Dublin? One of the big differences is the length of time that Project has been here. It was Dublin’s first arts centre - it’s been here since 1966. It wasn’t founded with any kind of institutional remit, so it operates under the principle that artists can self-determine. One of the things that Project does as a result is take risks in terms of the type and form of work we present. I think we’re
often led by the artists we choose to work with, so one of the things that takes us apart is that we can take those risks. We have the resources to be able to put on what is essentially one new work a week for 48 weeks of the year. Project is more than just a theatre or a gallery: it’s those things together, facilitating the interaction of performance and visual art. We’re essentially an artists collective - we have 50 members, a range of artists, mostly quite young, who essentially are the governors [of the space]. Over the last 10
“There are other spaces if artists want to
present work that doesn’t support a woman’s right to choose. years Project has become like a line producer for artists’ work: we manage some companies’ money and projects for them, we help them tour their work around the world with our international connections. We’re often compared to The Abbey and IMMA - two organisations who get funded on a totally different level, but it’s nice to be compared to them! Being in Temple Bar is very important for us, we’re sort of the anchor organisation here. I think Temple Bar would change without us. If we were changing though, I would love 350 seats! This year saw controversy over Maser’s Repeal the 8th Mural, which was subsequently removed from the famous blue wall of Project. Should theatre be entwined with the political? Yes, absolutely. There has always been a mural on our outside wall. Recent ones included a big YES for Yes Equality. For me it was an easy decision - Maser is such a brilliant artist. The piece is incredibly political and has
a very straightforward message - that’s part of the brilliance of the work, its clarity. I recognise when it comes to an artwork that’s on the building, it’s incredibly public - people weren’t choosing to see it, they had to see it. For Project, it was an interesting time; it was difficult in some regards and exciting in others. There was a lot of media interest and we normally don’t get that other than from cultural journalists, so it was good profile building for the organisation. At the same time, I think it was a good learning curve for us in terms of how audiences respond to that work and what audiences thinks art is for. A lot of the complaints we had – which were not that many compared to the letters of support – expressed the sentiment that “art shouldn’t be political” and we had some people that said we were trivialising a very complex situation. I’m sure there are artists who agree with those complaints, but Project probably isn’t the space for them. There are other spaces if they want to present work that doesn’t support a woman’s right to choose. Do you think anything related Repeal the 8th to it will appear on the Project stage? Artists talk about it all the time – the Fringe [Festival] was full of it. Panti and Repeal the 8th – that’s what the Fringe [2016] was for me. Artists and organisations like Project are so dependent on state subvention to make work. Especially during the recession, I think there was a sense that there’s a need to work within the system. There are very few younger artists who are really formally challenging (in theatre, other art forms are different) the political system. They’re not making work that is engaged with society in the participatory sense. There are still companies like THEATREclub who are making work that is engaging with society, and using engagement practices with the community to make work that is nonetheless contemporary and formally challenging. I would be interested in seeing a lot more of that kind of work. (The Importance of Nothing - Pan Pan)
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How has the type of work being shown changed during your time as Artistic Director? Before I started in Project 5 or 6 years ago, there were loads of artists making this sort of autobiographical, deconstructed, postdramatic, really microphone-down-stage-left kind of thing. And now that is shifting. Artists are beginning to make a lot more straight plays, there is a feeling of either incredible violence or this very sweet, saccharine, homespun feeling, and I don’t think that’s bad, it’s just different. I’m interested to see what thing happens that will change the direction next. There hasn’t been that much international work presented and I think those moments when international companies come in and artists see the work, it can change their practice. I think we have a responsibility there to be a place where people can see those works. Next year we’ll have a season of work from women artists from the UK, and more work from Belgium – all of this work is about the body. That’s my thing. People here need to get on board with their bodies more. You are a Trinity graduate - how did your time involved in undergraduate theatre shape your career? Oh it entirely shaped it, because I basically never went to class! I have a Geography and Sociology degree, but weirdly, the first thing I got involved with was a “debut directors” option in the Drama Department. After that I got involved in DU Players. Players became a second home for me during college. That’s really where I made most of my friends: that world became my world. I was interested in theatre all through my teens and childhood, 14
but it was Players and getting involved in production and backstage and eventually being the Chair in my Final year that really got me going on that path. Basically my job is like being Chair of Players but with way more consequences! I suppose the fact that Trinity fostered that, that I was still able to pass my degree with relative success, was a good thing. My tutor was from the drama department, and that encouragement was really important. The community that exists around a society like that, that carries through. It’s what the theatre community is like, only now you get paid for it! I loved being in Trinity. I felt I needed qualifications then, so I did a Masters in Arts Management in UCD, but it was being in Players that was key. What can we expect from Project in 2017? More international work! We’re going to announce a new artistic strategy in March: it will be changing the direction in the way we work. 2017 is going to be a year of change. It has taken me a little while to get hold of that feeling of: “ok I know what I’m doing now”. Five years in the job is probably a long time for that, but it’s taken me this long to test things and try things. Now I have a sense of what we need to do, and how I can make that work. Watch this space! WORDS BY AMELIA MCCONVILLE & AMYROSE FORDER IMAGES COURTESY OF PROJECT ARTS CENTRE (This page: Often Onstage - Figs in Wigs)
Demise of
The Den
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n November 3rd 2016, RTÉ announced it was to stop producing children’s programming in-house. No more awkward Den or RTÉ Jr. presenters getting their first taste of fame before moving onto The Voice of Ireland. What happens to the happy birthday song? In an outsourcing scheme aimed at keeping RTÉ within budget, a sector of programming and its staff face the cut at Christmas time. As TV fans, we are all perpetually in mourning. Your favourite series don’t get renewed. HBO kills off that one character you care about. It is rare however, that a country can collectively come together to mourn the passing of an entire sector of national television. Take a moment, breathe, then face the surprise — the killer is RTÉ? Although The Den was axed in 2010, RTÉ Jr. and TRTÉ were still trying their damn best to maintain the tradition of iconically low-budget Irish children’s TV. Sometime in the late 80’s or early 90’s, a young member of the Ceallaigh clan was queuing up to meet a real-life celebrity. Bosco may have been an RTÉ puppet, but they were a five-star celebrity nonetheless for Irish children nationwide. Bosco and their box even came all the way over the border to visit Andersonstown Leisure Centre in West Belfast. It was here, my brother would later learn, that he first met his future wife. Both were primary schoolers enthralled by RTÉ children’s programming; they had even learned their ‘cúpla focail’ from Bosco. Everyone in my brother’s generation has a story like this. The number decreases when you talk to my generation of late 90’s kids — did anyone else love Soky and Dustin as much as I did? Today, I can’t imagine a homegrown Irish character ever receiving the same traction or love as Bosco, Soky or Dustin did. With the normalisation of global streaming services and the 24/7 availability of recorded Satellite TV and youthfocused TV channels, it became hard for RTÉ to compete. However it is a mandated purpose of RTÉ to try; a point RTÉ that have seemingly ignored. Thankfully trade unions have pledged to ensure that “the public service ethos of the broadcaster is safeguarded.” Kids might just have a voice in these upcoming meetings and discussions after all.
Speaking to her student Jack Maguire, co-director of Trinity’s M.Phil in Children’s Literature Dr. Jane Carroll addressed the importance of TV as a source of role models for young Irish children. “The Den was normalising particular accents” said Dr Carroll. “It’s important for children to see themselves on TV, and in the media in general. They need to see their own lives and situations reflected back to them. They’re given meaning by seeing that there’s people like them.” Sadhbh Kellet and Ellen Kissane, current Junior Sophister students of English, echoed Dr Carroll’s sentiment, expressing a growing anger at the lack of opportunity for public input on this issue. “It’s a shame and a disgrace that we didn’t know and we’re never once asked” said Sadhbh, who had learnt of the news moments earlier. “Irish culture and Irish language is unique and should be celebrated. Irish children should see themselves on TV and feel proud.” Both Sadhbh and Ellen felt that the possibility of overlooking a homegrown, independent sector could affect future generations. “What children see on TV is something to aspire to. We shouldn’t imbue the new generation with an idea that the way they talk is not okay because it’s not what they hear on RTÉ. We have so much talent here. We are an island with a wealth of culture that should be on display.” The unexpected possibility of the privatisation of RTÉ Children’s Programming did seem to slide under the radar of college students. When asked, few had heard about it. One or two were unsure what it would even mean for the broadcaster or the people RTÉ employs. As college students, the majority of us are young adults and past the point of even thinking about The Den. Yet with courses in IADT and DIT aimed firmly at multimedia diplomas and degrees, a large portion of students would consider broadcasting a viable career choice. Yet, like its British counterpart BBC, children’s and young people’s programming is the gateway to TV presenting gigs. Many of RTÉ’s prime time radio and TV presenters, such as Ray D’Arcy and Damien McCaul, got their start in children’s TV. It’s the bottom rung of a career ladder that works due to in-house, interdepartmental relationships. Outsource children’s programming, and the possibility of such a career progression shrinks. With members of 15
RTÉ’s Children and Young People’s Programming visiting Trinity to talk to prospective Film Studies graduates about the industry just over a month ago, the outsourcing decision, and its subsequent effects on job prospects, is a difficult pill to swallow for those wishing to enter the industry.
It’s important for children to see themselves on TV. They’re given meaning by seeing that there’s people like them.
From talking to people, it seems the majority of the general public genuinely don’t care about the legacy of RTÉ children’s programming. Maybe this is why RTÉ felt OK about seriously considering cutting it. However the people who do care don’t have a voice. Speak up for future generations of Irish kids who currently don’t have a say; they’re your brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews. Allow them to have the same hilarious Morpegs and Bosco experiences as you did; distinctly Irish memories that you will carry with you always. Tell RTÉ that you say no to the privatisation of Irish children’s programming. At the time of print, RTÉ has stated that eight staff will remain in the young people’s department, 11 staff will be reassigned within RTÉ and 15 independent contractors will have their contracts ended. Discussions are set to continue.
B O S C O ’ S V E R D I C T
WORDS BY SORCHA NI CHEALLAIGH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JACK MAGUIRE
B
osco, the infamous red haired puppet was an RTÉ children’s staple from 1979 to 1987 yet proved so influential repeats of Bosco’s Box ran right into the mid ‘90s. Speaking to Tn2, Bosco wasn’t the rosy cheeked youngster we remember from youth, but a confident voice of reason. Paula Lambert, Bosco’s puppeteer spoke of the privatisation of children’s programmes as a “crying shame”. Paula, Bosco and I sat down for a nice Sunday chat over tea to discuss why in-house children’s programming was viewed as disposable for a national broadcaster. Bosco also expressed concern for those young pups interested in pursuing a career in Irish broadcasting. “It was a bolt out of the blue,” Bosco said. “And right before Christmas? All of a sudden a large sector of people went into work to find out their jobs were up in the air,” Bosco sighed, lamenting RTÉ’s disposable view of people who have been working exceptionally hard on a “shoestring budget” over the years.“Only 4% of RTÉ revenue is spent on in-house children’s programming. It’s been described many times as ‘the jewel in the crown of RTÉ’ and that’s because of how imaginative the team would have to be to produce content on such a tiny budget. They never got any more funding. How could it make such a difference to cut it? You can see it now, RTÉ had students in on work experience for The Late Late Toy Show designing props and sets. They weren’t getting paid and they most certainly won’t get a job out of it. When did this happen? When did this become the norm? How did unpaid professional work just creep into our society?” Bosco and Paula took time to highlight the success of the campaign against the decision. They informed us that we shouldn’t expect discussions and decisions now until after Christmas.“That’s what we need to do,” said Paula and Bosco. “It works! We need to challenge these inequalities so they don’t become just another norm in Irish society. RTÉ is a public service and therefore must be held accountable and serve every member of the public. This includes kids and providing appropriate Irish programming for Irish children. This simply cannot be assured if programming is outsourced and privatised.” Journal.ie has confirmed that RTÉ have indeed pushed back the official decision on in-house Children’s Programming due to trade union and media backlash. The deadline for these discussions is now the 31st of January 2017. Bosco and Paula are hoping the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and the Minister for Arts will get behind the movement. A movement that will hopefully be a service that used to be the pièce de résistance of RTÉ programming. Tn2 would like to thank Bosco and Paula for their contribution and their kindness and wish the duo a very merry Christmas.
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Loughlin Lavery: “There was a red doll in the tree in The Morbegs. It used to freak the shit out of me. And do you remember that other show that was on the Den, it was called International Exchange. It had the portal underneath the floor? I’d say we all got pretty messed up because of that.
Seamus Ó hAoláian: “Soky made me feel welcome but when Dustin appeared I hid under the chair. He had a big scary beak. He wasn’t very attractive”
Tamsin Martin & Jenny Johnston: “The best? Probably Dustin and Socky. Sabrina the Teenage Witch? Oh my God, they also had The Sleepover Club”
Dr Jane Carroll: “My memories of ‘The Den’? Oh my god I guess this will really show my age. I can remember Mary Robinson being on it and they had this surreal thing where she was being interviewed by puppets. She appeared on Zig & Zag in 1990, ahead of her inauguration. Robinson said ‘they thought women couldn’t stand for president, but we’ve put that right’. Social equality in the middle of cartoons. Obviously it made some kind of impact if that’s what I remember most from The Den, oddly. I’m unsure if now, without that platform, there will ever be an opportunity for children to engage with real life political figures. All while they’re being interviewed by Zig & Zag and thinking that it is totally normal.”
Glen Byrne: “I was on the Den twice. I did not cry both times; only the first. The first time, it was my 7th Birthday, on something that used to be called The Den’s Disney Channel. We’d be there during the interlude between the TV shows that were on during the day. There were prizes and this one competition was a quiz. The question had something to do with outer space. I didn’t know the answer, so I got upset. It was live. They gave me the prize anyway. It was real awkward for the presenter. You don’t forget scarring experiences easily. The prize was shit. People didn’t make fun of me for it because I was 7; crying and being on The Den were pretty normal then. it was still terrifying.z
DEN MEMORIES
Michelle Nicolaou: “Once a year when I was in Ireland, I got to watch Bear in the Big Blue House. You guys were spoilt in Ireland.”
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NEW ROMANTICS
FACING PAGE: SEAN Corset: Lucy’s Lounge Sequin Top: Lucy’s Lounge Dress: Stylist’s own Bomber Jacket: Lucy’s Lounge Undercover T-Shirt: Nowhere Shoes: Model’s own
THIS PAGE: DAVID Hoodie: Stylist’s own Silver Bandeau: Stylist’s own Nike Bonded Jogger: Nowhere Shoes: Stylist’s own Shirt: Lucy’s Lounge 19
DIRECTION & STYLING: Louise Hynes ASSISTED BY: John Tierney PHOTOGRAPHER: Aaron McCourt MAKE UP: Jessie O’Neill MODELS: Seán Ceroni David Donovan
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DAVID: Jacket: Lucy’s Lounge Damir Doma Jersey Shorts: Nowhere Scarf: Stylist’s own
SEAN: Damir Doma Hoodie: Nowhere Skirt: Dublin Vintage Factory Collar: Stylist’s own 21
children of men (2006) the great wall (2015)
migration in the movies
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WORDS BY OISIN MCELHINNEY
O
n top of everything else that has happened in 2016, the year also marks the 10th anniversary of the release of Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men, a film that offers one of the most depressing yet credible portrayals of a near-future fascist Europe. Based on P.D. James’ eponymous novel, it gives us a glimpse into the grim world of 2027 where, due to widespread infertility, no child has been born in 18 years. In Cuarón’s chilly, dystopian vision of Britain, desperate refugees flock to one of the last remaining functioning states in the world and are routinely rounded up and dumped in brutal internment camps. The setting brings to mind the horrific images of today’s European refugee camps; Lampedusa and the now-defunct Calais.
“Made a decade before the present day and set a decade after it, Children of Men offers one of the prescient insights into the world that fuels the rhetoric of the likes of UKIP and le Front National.” Children of Men received widespread acclaim on its release, garnering three Academy Award nominations, for Best Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, and Editing, though it fared surprisingly poorly at the box office. However, despite its lukewarm commercial performance (it failed to so much as break even on its $76 million budget) its reputation steadily grew in the proceeding decade, proving once more that gross earnings offer little indication of a movie’s calibre (this is particularly pertinent in an age where the industry relies on churning out a dizzying conveyor belt of lobotomised cookie-cutter comic book blockbusters). Directed and co-written by Cuarón (also renowned for his 2013 epic, Gravity), it features an enviable cast, that includes Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Danny Huston, Chiwetel Ejiofor and the impeccable Michael Caine. The plot is quite uncluttered. Owen plays Theo, a former dissidentturned-cynical bureaucrat who is kidnapped by a group of militant revolutionaries - among them, his estranged wife played by Julianne Moore - fighting against an oppressive fascist regime in order to protect the “fugees”, or refugees. Whilst in their hold, he meets Kee, the young woman (Clare-Hope Ashitey) they are protecting, and discovers her secret: she is inexplicably pregnant. Upon discovering the kidnappers plan to kill him as a means to use the baby as a political tool, Theo escapes with Kee and seeks the help of his pot-dealing friend Jasper (Caine) to smuggle her onto a boat owned by the Human Project, a scientific group searching for a cure to the infertility crisis. There is no explanation offered for the cause of humanity’s inability to reproduce; Cuarón famously dislikes gratuitous exposition and backstories in films. We are left to ponder the origins of this apocalyptic vision by ourselves. The directorial message is clear: it is the subtext we ought to focus on. And subtext there is – in abundance. Though it may be ostensibly a sci-fi movie, the enduring power of Children of Men lies not in the dazzling cinematography or thrilling action sequences that have become de rigeur for the genre (though it offers
these too) but instead in the political prophecies it conveys, at times in an overt manner. The setting is not a Britain of futuristic technology and innovation, it is a nightmarish police state overrun with asylum seekers and boiling with paranoia and violent xenophobia. In a powerfully visceral realisation of what contemporary far-right European movements warn us of, we are shown hauntingly believable sequences of terrified and desperate asylum seekers transported like cattle. These same sequences call to mind the not so distant memories of the Holocaust – the symbolism of which is made even more potent with the use of The Libertines’ “Arbeit Macht Frei” in a scene where Homeland Security strip and beat immigrants in an unmistakably Nazi-esque fashion. This, combined with legendary composer John Tavener’s hauntingly spiritual score and Emmanuel Lubezki’s exquisite photography make the film feel like a contemporary Schindler’s List more than a conventional sci-fi flick. Lubezki – acclaimed for his work on visual masterpieces such as Tree of Life, The Revenant and Gravity – lends Children of Men a distinctly documentarian feel, with his cinema verité approach and hand-held camera sequences. Made a decade before the present day and set a decade after it, Children of Men offers one of the prescient insights into a global situation that fuels the rhetoric of the likes of UKIP and the Front National. In the same year that fed-up Britons voted to leave the European Union and almost sixty million Americans elected the unapologetically reactionary populist Donald Trump to the White House, Cuarón’s vision seems all too plausible. Anyone who wants to understand the catastrophic results of the dehumanisation of migrants could do much worse than watch this movie. Indeed, depictions of immigration and the experiences of refugees in Europe have become increasingly commonplace in European cinema over the last decade, just as the migrant crisis has further excellerated. Among the most notable of these films are Alejandro Inarritu’s movingly realist Biutiful, starring Javier Bardem, in which the brutal conditions of illegal Chinese workers in sweatshops are unflinchingly shown. Similarly, in Italian director Andrea Segre’s 2011 feature Shun Li and the Poet, the Chinese protagonist’s experiences with racial prejudice in a northern Italian community highlight the increasingly pervasive hostility to foreigners across the continent. This hostility has given much ammunition to the far right, anti-refugee platform not just in Italy and France, but also in the supposedly ‘liberal, progressive’ Scandinavian countries of Sweden and Denmark. More recently, we have seen Irish filmmaker Tadgh O’Sullivan’s 2015 documentary, The Great Wall, which adapts Kafka’s story At the Building of the Great Wall of China, to focus on contemporary European border surveillance and the construction of fences all through the continent. This year as well, Gianfranco Rosi’s Fuocammare (Fire at Sea), a documentary about the chronic situation on the tiny island of Lampedusa, Italy’s southernmost island, received critical praise for its exploration of the impact of the arrival of African migrants on the native community. With the shockwaves of Trump’s victory still resonating, critical elections coming up in France and Germany (both of which are at risk of electing anti-immigration leaders) and no reduction to the influx of refugees across the Mediterranean Sea in sight, Children of Men looks more and more prophetic. Cinema is still in the early stages of dealing with this political crisis of the century so far, and while there will undoubtedly be more films combatting this polemical topic in the coming years, few are likely to reproduce the impact of Cuarón’s 2006 tour de force.
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Industry Titan: World of Warcraft This year marks the 12th anniversary of Blizzard’s massively influential MMORPG World of Warcraft (WoW). One doesn’t need to look far to see the effects of this industry titan, from its frequent references in pop culture to its real-world impact as a model for economics and epidemiology. It has reigned supreme for over a decade, taking on all challengers. Multiple “WoW-killers” such as Star Wars: The Old Republic, Wildstar, and the Elder Scrolls: Online have come and gone, each failing to take down what has to be one of modern gaming’s most enduring titles. But it wasn’t always this way. The World of Warcraft core game, affectionately referred to as “Vanilla” WoW, was released on November 23rd 2004. Originally planned as the next step in the popular fantasy series Warcraft, that initial game is almost unrecognizable from the product we have today. Originally the game spanned two continents, the maximum level cap was 60, and lots of the functionality we take for granted these days was missing. Flying mounts that made travel quicker were not available; indeed, players scrimped and saved for just the bare minimum required to learn riding. Groups had to be assembled by actually talking to other players in game and (unless you happened to know a mage with some portals) getting anywhere swiftly was inconceivable. Despite this, the game was hailed as a critical success on its release, perhaps buoyed by the rapid expansion of serviceable internet services. Never before were players able to interact on this scale, and never have they looked back. In January of 2007, the first expansion was released titled The Burning Crusade. It added an entirely new continent to be explored and raised the cap by a full ten levels. This is a standard that each expansion has more or less strived to mimic. In addition to both of these content additions, the ability to use flying mounts was added. Every expansion since has tried to add a similar gimmick. Wrath of the Lich King which was released in November the following year, added the first new class to the game, the “Death Knight” who started at level 55 as opposed to 1. Incidentally, this was when WoW hit its peak with over 12 million monthly subscribers. Cataclysm followed soon after, adding two new playable races, the “Goblins” and the “Worgen”. Barely were we able to come to terms with these
new entries when the two original continents were changed irrevocably and several new zones were opened up. From here, the numbers dipped and the next two expansions (Mists of Pandaria and Warlords of Draenor) were met with critical distaste. Their additions to the overall game were seen as either lackluster or stale. However, WoW’s numbers have started to climb once again after the addition of the latest expansion, Legion, which brings us back to the roots and reintroduces the prime antagonist of the series, “The Burning Legion”. Another innovative technique is WoW’s “LFG” system. “Looking for Group” (LFG) is the manner by which players discover others attempting the same content. In most MMOs one needs to make friends, a daunting prospect to newcomers. However in World of Warcraft, one need only select their role in the party (healer, tank or damage) and the content they wish to progress through and the game places you in a group which suits your needs. For the casual gamer it’s a godsend, allowing you to taste every aspect of WoW without sinking your every waking moment into it. Indeed, if the game had any constant criticism it was perhaps the fact most of its late game content was inaccessible to your average player, a galling situation when you pay a monthly subscription. However, to the determined gamer, this was only an indication of the incredible hard work and care that went into crafting the game. Rather than a Frankenstein’s monster of mish mashed content, bolted on patches and revised game play, World of Warcraft remains a remarkably polished linear experience from start to finish. Indeed, this careful integration of new mechanics is unprecedented and it all comes down to one simple value. Blizzard’s persistent service mentality has carried it through the years, their constant reaction to game feedback, their minor b u t constant tweaks and changes combined with their excellent community management have allowed it to adapt on the fly and meet their customer’s needs. World of Warcraft has proven itself against the test of time, its fans loyal enough to support the game for over a decade. Its continual evolution keeps the experience fresh and its management have been proactive in keeping the community happy. Suffice it to say that with the direction and leadership which promotes this tactic, World of Warcraft will be here for many more years.
WORDS BY DERMOT DAVERN ILLUSTRATION BY JENNY CORCORAN 24
literature
REVIEWS THE ABODE OF FANCY Sam Coll Lilliput Press ●●○○○
Clocking in at just under 500 pages, The Abode of Fancy weaves together a number of distinct narratives, including but not limited to: a disaffected Dublin student full of unrequited love, an antique book dealer living in self-imposed squalor, an American poet experimenting with various sorts of exile and a mystical Monk on a journey with animal companions. Coll’s range of styles include the meta-fictional, the satirically realist and the mythic. Cadences from Joyce, Sterne and Flann O’Brien are heavily embedded in the style. For the scale of what he has taken on, Coll deserves respect. However, there are significant issues in the text that may give the reader cause for hesitation. First among them the sketch of gender relations the book lays out. One such choice passage recalls Ivana, a “busty Slavic peach with a sultry gaze and taste for flagellation, a ready ride, a great bundle of fun
and a barrel of laughs — she did ditch him, in favour of a money man she married[…]”. Irish literature has produced some juicy content in the past, and one or two lecherous characters does not a bad novel make. But the reader will likely notice that all the characters — all of them men — think like this. A fixation on the physically and visually erotic, and the twin assumption that touching someone’s genitals in the right way at the right time is where love begins and ends, permeates into the authorial voice. The reader who decides it is worth sticking around for the richly magpied references and linguistic fireworks of the kind that Coll sometimes achieves will have to get
used to this less interesting stuff. Nor is there an obvious answer to the question of where Coll’s craftsmanship ends and his purple prose begins; the real gems of metaphor and lists reeled off with a sense of whimsey are buried under clunking ones like: “[…]him it was who Sakuro loved, he with whom, in the impoverished idiom of the age, it was she ‘went out’ with. This concept, of ‘going out’ with someone, was a foreign one to Simeon[…]” Despite its significant shortcomings, Coll’s work is lovingly produced by Lilliput Press, with a splendid cover design. WORDS BY daniel tatlow
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD Colson Whitehead Doubleday ●●●○○
Arts awards these days tend to focus as much on the worthiness of theme as on the quality of the content. The bestowing of the National Book Award on The Underground Railroad, a novel about the cruelty of slavery and the oppression facing those embroiled in it, might in part have something to do with this tendency to award issues rather than awarding literature itself – for although it is entertaining, this book is highly flawed. The plot is simple: a young slave girl by the name of Cora runs away from her plantation and its sadistic owner and embarks on an odyssey across 1830s America. Along the way she is dogged at every turn by the merciless slave-catcher Ridgeway (the Javert to Cora’s Jean Valjean) while being helped or hindered by a collection of background characters, each displaying a tendency towards either good or evil in their motives. Most of these characters drop in and out, as small pieces in the jigsaw of America that Whitehead is constructing, and then are quickly
forgotten. Whitehead attempts to give every named character a backstory of some kind, but ends up simplistically spelling out the origin of most aspects of their personality, without fully developing them. Slavery being, in truth, a very difficult subject matter to tackle without alienating the reader, Whitehead reverts to descriptions of horrific violence that resemble news reports in their dryness and lack of ornament. While this can sometimes be effective, at other times it can feel like a cop-out.
To do it justice, the book is highly entertaining, very readable and peppered with brilliantly imagined scenes. It is at its best for the first 70 pages, where Whitehead explores the slave plantation with some genuine depth and reveals previously hidden aspects of its being. From here on, sadly, it glides on the surface of America and although the ride is thrilling at times, the reader is left with an unsatisfied sense of having missed something potentially fascinating. WORDS BY eva O’BRIEN
25
ASYLUM ARCHIVE NCAD Gallery ●●●●●
seekers as they are placed in this state of limbo. Various children’s toys, such as a rocking horse, are displayed in glass boxes, reminding us of the hundreds of children who are living
This exhibition, created by visual artist and researcher Vukašin Nedeljković, invites us in to view the harsh and disturbing reality of asylum seekers in Ireland. The exhibition conveys the difficult realities faced by asylum seekers in Direct Provision through various media including documents, audio, collected artefacts and photography. Vukašin Nedeljković draws on his own personal experience as an asylum seeker who lived in Direct Provision centres in Ireland from 2007-2009.
in these institutions. The exhibition forces the observer to look at the system as a whole, rather than individual asylum seekers. It foregrounds a visual aesthetic based around emptiness and absence; the images of empty rooms and isolated structures convey an atmosphere of unrest and coldness. Asylum Archive is a deeply emotive exhibition, and a new reflective space in which we can contemplate and consider the experiences of those seeking asylum in Ireland. It allows us to reflect upon our political and social rights, as well as the inequalities which exist in the Irish State.
Through the large glass window of the NCAD Gallery one can see old children’s toys, displaced objects, and photographs of dark, impersonal settings. The pieces on display highlight the disturbing reality of institutionalised living, particularly within the Direct Provision system. The images in the exhibition focus on the material objects and infrastructures within the Direct Provision system, highlighting the bleakness of the situation faced by asylum
WORDS BY LOUISE CONWAY
HONG LING RETROSPECTIVE Chester Beatty Library
art
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The Chester Beatty Library is currently hosting a retrospective of Chinese artist Hong Ling’s work until January 29th. The retrospective covers the full span of the artist’s career, featuring early works from the 1980s up to his most recent work of the past few years. Born in Beijing in 1955, Ling studied oil painting in the years after the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966–76). However, it wasn’t until he set up a new studio in the rural Huangshan that he really came into his own style. This workshop, based in the foothills of the Yellow Mountains, is where Ling works to capture the vistas that have inspired countless Shan shui (“ mountain-water”) painters for hundreds of years. His pieces draw together the rough textures of oil paint with the fluidity and linear qualities of traditional Chinese ink drawings creating a unique approach to landscape painting. He thins his oil paints, a technique which works to create the distinctive calligraphic line of branches, loosening it enough to splash and flick the paint onto the canvas. This method is particularly effective in Ling’s attempt to show a dusting of fresh snow in a wintery Huangshan in the painting Delicate Wonder. 26
Hong Ling uses bold, vivid colours of the shifting seasons to immerse his viewer in the forestry of Huangshan. These paintings are on a massive scale; some take up the majority of the wallspace they are mounted on. As you stand in front of them your whole field of vision is taken up with overhead branches. You are submerged in Ling’s surroundings as if you are standing right next to him in Huangshan. His ink on paper pieces are moodier, with only some of the pieces featuring a few dabs of colour. A small ink drawing, Landscape Study has been gifted to the Chester Beatty by the artist for the
library’s permanent collection, on the occasion that the other pieces are moved to London. My highlights are A Peak of Reds, a rich smattering of autumnal tones set off by a navy background, and Drunk in Frozen Forests, a gathering of coppery leaves enveloping a smooth patina lake. The exhibition is part of a touring retrospective sponsored by UNEEC Culture and Education Foundation and organised with Soka Art and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. WORDS BY SIÚN MCSWEENEY
food
WILDFLOWER SUPPER CLUB Clontarf ●●●●○
Last month I had the pleasure of attending the Wildflower Supper Club, a monthly popup evening event hosted in Hemmingway’s, Clontarf. Although intrigued by the beautifully designed and well-curated plant-based cuisine, I expected to be stopping at my local chinese on the way home, my stomach lined with nothing but lettuce leaves. My expectations were far exceeded. First to arrive, I was warmly greeted by a friendly waitress who singlehandedly served all club members throughout the evening with admirable efficiency. The small, cosy restaurant was beautifully lit, with an open view of the kitchen. Attention to detail was delicate, a piece of lavender placed at each table setting along with a printed reminder of the menu. For my starter, I selected a seasonal pumpkin soup, with roasted chickpea croutons. A few too many croutons for my liking; I avoided most of them. The soup however was hearty and well seasoned, the serving size not too overwhelming ahead of my main. I didn’t really care about the croutons left in my bowl. My rumbling tummy was tastily calmed. My main impressed me most,
Just beyond the busy junction where George’s Street meets Dame Street you’ll find Krüst Bakery. I was lucky enough to get a seat by their full-length windows. I could easily sit for hours if it weren’t for my looming deadlines and crushing workload. It’s a cosy spot, perfectly positioned to watch life unfold on the street outside. I ordered a ham and cheese toastie, a tea, and a donut. My friend sprang for a cronut despite it costing an extra euro. I have to tell you that the cronut is worth it. The cronut as a pastry that enjoyed an intense moment of hype about three years ago, and vanished pretty much immediately. This one inherits more from its croissant parent than it does from the donut. It’s flaky and buttery, but being sweet and a little bit spongy, it feels more like an indulgent treat than a croissant. I stole my friend’s cronut, is what I’m saying. The donut might be taking a backseat to the cronut, but it’s still a great donut. The donuts here are all completely classic. You
a root vegetable burger with green hummus, kale salad and parsnip fries. All aspects of the dish complemented each other beautifully, full of flavour and interesting textures. My least favourite meal of the evening: dessert was a raw blueberry mousse cake. Struggling with a very full belly, I did not eat much. I could however greatly appreciate the skill and effort the cake required, achieving the consistency of a cheesecake-like mousse using none of the usual base ingredients. Others around me finished it with relish. A ‘rawtella’ hot chocolate came shortly after, yet served a bit too hot for my liking. It was rich and creamy, and may have
worked better as a sauce than a chocolate drink. I, along with many of my fellow guests left it relatively untouched.
KRÜST BAKERY
I ate my toastie before dessert, but my doughnut and cronut demanded I gush about it. The ham and cheese toastie was a substantial sandwich, with a generous amount of melted cheese. The best part of the sandwich was the bread. Thickly sliced and well toasted, it really gives one a reason to eat lunches in the bakery.
GEORGE’S ST ●●●●○
can find a plain donut with a sheer glaze which is surprisingly rare in a city full of luxury donut bars. It’s easy to see why it’s a classic once you take your first bite. The guilt factor would be half the equivalent for most donuts, if I hadn’t also eaten most of that cronut my friend and I were “supposed to split”.
Much to my surprise, I almost had to be rolled out of the place. Getting a high ranking on my list of recommendations, the Wildflower Supper Club is a satisfying, interesting and contemporary dining experience for even the most inexperienced with ‘plant-based’ cooking.
WORDS BY SAOIRSE NÍ SCANLÁIN
Krüst Bakery’s student deal is a sandwich and hot drink for a fiver, you can add a donut for an extra euro.
WORDS BY MIRIAM GUINEY 27
TRINITY FASHION SOCIETY ANNUAL FASHION SHOW
fashion
A series of outerwear looks were presented throughout the show, the stand-out being a structured yellow Frances Campelli mackintosh with matching yellow beanie. Heavy sweaters and long skirts provided a stylish solution to the winter chill. My personal favourite was a cream Tola Vintage jumper paired with a floor-length cream silk gown from Covet.
The Complex ●●●●○
On Thursday December 1st, Trinity Fashion Society held their Annual Charity Fashion Show in the minimalistic, industrialist confines of the Complex, off Capel Street. This year’s show paid homage to the mutable nature of fashion with elements of past trends continually being adapted and transformed into something which feels fresh and modern once more. The theme, Burnt Out, also drew attention to the enormous pressure felt by young people with demanding schedules. This pressure is replicated in the fashion industry, as show organiser, Carla KingMolina, suggested in her opening remarks. Proceeds of the show went to Pieta House, who provide therapeutic services for those experiencing suicidal thoughts, engaging in self-harm and those recovering from attempted suicide.
Athleisure made an appearance, with one 90s throwback featuring wide legged camo cargo pants from Helter Skelter in Temple Bar and an oversized cream hoody from Fresh Cuts. This was followed by some preppier looks, with one collegiate model sporting a structured Magee coat, collared shirt, pinstriped shorts and loafers with ankle socks. The appearance of the REPEAL jumper demonstrated the political power of the fashion industry, but the show also delighted in the joy of dressing up. The show’s celebration of past style decades and iconic examples of youth culture resulted in a show that felt fresh, relevant and exciting. A spectacular success.
The show was divided into a number of distinct categories, all featuring an artistic mix of high street, vintage and designer pieces. The show began with a series of slouchy neutrals. The
The exhibition serves as an ode to how historical and political issues can have an impact on contemporary clothing. It is comprised of panels of three garments, each with their own central theme inspired by the various roles women had in the war of independence. The aim was to create a “tapestry of values” through the use of both modern and traditional fabrics. In the first panel, “Architects of Resistance”, the clothes are like pillars of strength, crafted from earth-coloured fabric. Next is “Patriot Red”: inspired by the juxtaposition of the landscape of Ireland with the bloodshed of revolution, the colours echoed blood-stained rubble and rebel dust. This was followed by “Suffragettes 28and Thimble Bruises”. The clothes in this panel identified activists and family tribes via the 28
WORDS BY FIONNUALA EGAN PHOTO BY GUY BOGGAN
THE SHUTTLE HIVE: A CENTURY OF RISING THREADS The National Museum of Decorative Arts & History ●●●●○
presence of stitched patterns. These garments featured the work of textile artist Katie Hanlan and silversmith Gemma O’Leary, who used motifs alluding to resistance and family as adornment. The next panel, “Domestic Currency” explores the dynamism of wartime roles. The outfits bring to mind housewives and their secret patriotism. It’s reflected in the cut of these garments, which re-work traditional forms with strikingly angular elements. Another inspiration here is the admiral butterfly, which represents the metamorphosis these multi-faceted women went through in times of conflict. The final panels, “New Myths, Old Wounds” and “Marching Queens”, feature the contributions of textile weavers Molloy & Sons and embroiderer Arvdas Zapivalova, and the leatherwork of artist Roisin Gartland, respectively. The care and detail of their work
lift these pieces and add depth to the exploration of the themes in question. The collection is successful in commemorating a fraught and diverse time through a retrospective and well-considered perspective. It is a celebration of the identity of Irish women and the high quality of Irish craftsmanship. A visit to the exhibition presents a unique and thoughtprovoking way of re-tracing the narrative of 1916.
WORDS BY SADHBH LITTLE
The Shuttle Hive: A Century of Rising Threads is an exhibition currently on display at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks. The exhibition was curated by Alison Conneely, an artist and fashion designer. In partnership with the Design & Craft Council of Ireland, the launch on November 4th coincided with the Dublin-based conference, Mise Eire? Shaping a Nation with Design, which had a wider aim of examining national and collective identities in Ireland through discussion of design and craft.
first look, a nude lace bodysuit worn over loose sweatpants, was topped with a jaunty black baseball cap and a white fur jacket from Om Diva, worn as a shrug.
A Monster Calls Dir. J. A. Bayona ●●●●●
Conor O’Malley breathes heavily, his panicked dreams causing sweat to roll down his forehead. The clock ticks away the minutes after midnight. At 00:07, the boy darts awake, and the monster calls. A towering, hulking tree, with limbs of twisting branches and eyes like fire, storms into the boy’s tumultuous life, wreaking havoc by… telling him stories.
to the big screen, in no small part due to Ness’ screenplay. Masterful direction from J. A. Bayona brings a considerable dose of horror aesthetic to the film (Bayona directed the acclaimed 2007 film The
This is the beginning of A Monster Calls, the film adaptation of the children’s book which fetched high praise for its writer, Patrick Ness, and illustrator, Jim Kay, upon its publication in 2011. The story tells the tale of 13 year old Conor, whose mother is suffering from the late stages of cancer, as he struggles to come to terms with the possibility of her death. Based on an idea conceived by Siobhan Dowd when she herself was dying from a terminal illness, the book is a tender and intricately constructed triumph of imagination and emotion. It is a satisfying blend of low-fantasy and coming-of-age realism. The film succeeds in translating this sensitive story
I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER Dir. Billy O’Brien ●●●○○
A Monster Calls will be released in cinemas on January 1st, and despite its solemn subject matter, it strikes one as apt viewing for the new year. It provides the kind of emotional outlet that feels cathartic and refreshing; a recognition of the depth of human love and emotion, rather than a sadistic trip through the wringer of mortal misery.
WORDS BY RACHEL GRAHAM curiosity is driven by his desire to understand and empathise with the killer himself, rather than out of a need to help the victims.The comedy arises when we are presented with the absurdity of the mundane daily life that John leads and realise that he himself is masquerading as something which he definitely isn’t: a regular guy. That’s not to say the film is without faults. While this is Billy O’Brien’s seventh time directing, I Am Not A Serial Killer feels almost like a film
school project. There are repeated motifs and images, all of which feel forced and heavy handed. In addition, the climax comes out of left field and is likely to divide viewers. It is the acting of Max Records, Christopher Lloyd and Laura Fraser and the originality of the script (which O’Brien co-wrote) that drive this film and allows the audience to overlook the scenes in which it falters. It is an unusually good thriller that subverts common tropes to make a film that is wholly convincing and well worth watching.
film
I Am Not a Serial Killer is perhaps one of the most striking movie titles we’ve seen this year, and it sets up an expectation for a film that’s out of the ordinary. We are not disappointed, as the film immediately establishes a unique tone of dark humour that sets it apart from the masses of banal thrillers released in 2016. To consider I Am Not a Serial Killer merely a dark comedy, however, would do it a disservice.
Orphanage). The colours are dark, the sounds are creaky, and rain falls from the thundery sky in almost every scene. The world feels wet and heavy, stripped of light and humour. Relief, for Conor and for the audience, comes from creativity. vThe magic that the illustrated elements lent to the book has been incorporated into the film in a number of clever ways. The title sequence is a feast of watercolour figures and landscapes, and the drawings done by Conor are crammed into many of the shots. The stories that the monster tells him are all illustrated, providing delectable animated interludes that lift the mood and delight the senses. The CGI is also finely executed, with Liam Neeson’s familiar voice breathing humanity into the strange monster.
John Wayne Cleaver (Max Records) is a sociopath. This is established straight away as he talks and bird watches with his psychologist Dr. Neblin (Karl Geary). During these opening interactions, John highlights his two fascinations; serial killers, and keeping up the appearance of being normal. John and the audience do not think in the same way, and this causes a discomfort which intensifies when an actual serial killer begins to torment the town. John’s WORDS BY LORNA STAINES
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TYRANNY
games
Obsidian Entertainment ●●●●○
problems of games like Papers, Please, though it does so in the mechanically conventional and (relatively) more commercially viable genre of the Combat-RPG.
A compelling aspect of the video game, and perhaps its most profound strength compared to other artistic mediums, is their unparalleled potential to evoke the player’s sympathy. At their greatest, games can totally immerse their players in the world and perspective of their characters. It’s a shame, then, that so many games undermine this quality by using the medium to exclusively tell tales of high adventure and wish-fulfilment fantasy. It’s rare to come across a title that rows against this prevalent tide, choosing to use this space of limitless potential to put the player in uncomfortable, compromising situations, rather than ~10hr ego stroking simulators.
Tyranny is set in a fantasy world that has been all-but conquered by a malevolent despot of incomparable power, Lord Kyros. The last vestige of hope is a single rebel stronghold, refusing to bend the knee to this godlike, tyrannical overlord. The big twist, in case you didn’t pick it up from the title, is that you’re on the bad guy’s side. Beginning with this upheaval of standard storytelling practice, Tyranny swiftly moves beyond the gimmick and into a richly textured fantasy world, populated by a range of well-realized characters, each finding their own place in this darkest-timeline universe.
rebellion in favour of Kyros’ forces within eight days. If you fail to complete this task within the allotted time, the consequences are made abundantly clear: Kyros will obliterate the entire region and all of its inhabitants, including you. From the off, whether they choose to play a noble soul tarnished by cruel times or a bloodthirsty maniac, the player immediately feels their freedom of choice hampered by forces far beyond their control. Player agency in the game is still central, whether they choose to ally with the game’s various factions in their political games or turn on the great Lord herself, but these choices are practically informed by the obstructions inherent in the game’s compromised universe, and in that they gain a sense of purpose and meaning rarely seen in mainstream games.
The key similarity between Tyranny and Papers, Please is that, by each abandoning the traditional heroic journey game model, both games force the player into making decisions outside of their comfort zone. In Tyranny, you play a highranking adjudicator of the evil empress, assigned the task of responding to threats against her total authority. This breaks the standard model of “choice” in Western RPGs. Namely, the blunt binary of Paragon and Renegade options popularised by the Mass Effect series. Rather than simply choosing, at each major plotpoint, to act as a saintly do-gooder or an amoral bastard, in Tyranny you have to negotiate your actions within a situation that is, for the most part, entirely beyond your control.
The result of this strong beginning is a game which offers rich storytelling and immersive world-building in an unconventional environment. On the mechanical side, the game is serviceable if less than spectacular. Tyranny works off the same engine as Pillars of Eternity, and does little to hide it. Innovations on the previous title include a surprisingly robust spellcrafting system and a combat system focused on small-scale, high-damage conflicts over strategic buff/nerf balancing matches. However, for the most part the combat falls in line with the standards set by Pillars: slow-paced, methodical management of ability cool-downs and unit position, relying heavily on the pause/unpause mechanic for particularly tricky fights.
The first mission is a great example of this. You are ordered to resolve the final battle against the
This mode of play will soon grow tiresome to anyone that isn’t a hardcore acolyte of oldschool isometric RPGs. This is exacerbated by the game’s sluggish second act, hampered by a lack of enemy diversity for a game of its scope. The same can be said for the game’s initially promising world; past the opening segments, the game’s 25hr playtime begins to drag somewhat, never lacking in lore and detail but consistently failing to make that secondary material relevant to the events at hand. This culminates in a lackluster sequel-building conclusion, which can make the time spent getting there feel unjustly rewarded.
The best examples of titles that utilise this potential tend to be in the independent vein. This War of Mine forces players to engage with the realities of modern warfare from a civilian perspective. Papers, Please subjects the player to the dehumanising effects of a totalitarian dictatorship, from the vantage point of a border security booth. The reason that these independent titles are allowed to take stylistic and mechanical risks in order to get their message across, is because they aren’t weighed down by the necessity for commercial success inherent in the mainstream market. In this light, Tyranny, the newest title from veteran RPG developers Obsidian Entertainment, is an impressive accomplishment. Working off the success of the studio’s last title – the Kickstarterfunded nostalgia-trip Pillars of Eternity – Tyranny engages with many of the key thematic
These are significant issues with the game, stemming from the studio’s lack of scale and funding compared to recent AAA titles such as The Witcher III, the new gold-standard of highlypolished Fantasy RPGs. However, the unique essence of Tyranny shines through these flaws, and makes the title a worthwhile investment. It is, in the end, a game about playing the baddie that goes further than simply offering you the opportunity to act like a mindless, violent dickhead in a power-fantasy setting. In building a rich context for the player to interact with, and against, at the very least the player is forced to act like a somewhat more considerate dickhead. WORDS BY EOIN MOORE 30
ROBINSON: THE JOURNEY Crytek PlayStation VR ●●●○○
It’s not often that technologies come along that drastically reinvent the way we play video games. While the Nintendo Wii certainly promised that a few years ago, it proved to have little impact beyond having families come to blows over games of virtual tennis every Christmas. Virtual reality, however, does seem to be the next big leap in how we view video games and indeed entertainment as a whole. The PlayStation VR, the most reasonably priced of all VR setups, still comes in at about €450, excluding the Move Controllers. That’s on top of whatever you spent on your base Playstation 4 system. Once you do put down the cash though, there are a host of VR experiences of varying sizes available, and Robinson: The Journey is among the biggest.
would in a normal first person game, but turning with the right stick and simultaneously angling your head with the headset is more than enough to make most give up their dinner. I found it difficult to play for more than about 30 minutes at a time. WORDS BY DENIS STRANJAK
Altogether, Robinson is a promising but disappointing venture into VR. While it’s certainly one of the prettiest experiences available on the system, the technology of VR needs more time to settle before producing a breakthrough classic, despite Robinson’s valiant effort.
The game places you as the lone colonist of a distant planet with a wise-cracking robot friend to keep you company as the world unravels around you. While not dissimilar from Portal 2’s Wheatley, Robinson lacks the same charm. The prospect of exploring a rich alien world in 360-degree virtual reality is certainly an appealing one, and Robinson largely delivers on this. The limitations of the Playstation VR’s graphical capabilities do rear their ugly head if you, say, get too close to the foliage, but the experience of being immersed in a world so deeply is totally new and totally absorbing. The world around you feels alive and the urge to touch your pet dinosaur Laika once she is introduced to you is overwhelming – being able to look around with your own eyes lends an immense amount of weight to the game environment, and this is makes exploration the key driving force of Robinson. You move through the game collecting data and being awe-inspired at the flora and fauna of a foreign world. However, the moment to moment gameplay of Robinson simply isn’t very interesting, and this becomes even more apparent once the novelty of VR starts to wear off. The gameplay hook that drives all great exploration based games is simply not present in Robinson. There are cool aspects to the game – something as simple as climbing up ledges in VR is more fun than it has any right to be, for example. There are puzzles to solve, but they aren’t overly intuitive or satisfying to complete. Secondly, motion sickness can become a real problem. This is an issue with VR as a whole, but no game churned my stomach more than Robinson. Moving with the left stick like you
3
TV
THE EXPANSE Netflix ●●●●○
Take the plot of any movie. Add the words “in space” to the end. Pitch the result as a new take on an old idea. It’s an ancient method. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it produces gold. With that in mind, The Expanse is a political drama/murder mystery about the disappearance of a young woman and the political conspiracy the investigation unearths... in space. In the not-too-distant future, mankind has colonised the solar system. Within humanity’s expanded borders, two major military powers vie for supremacy – Mars and Earth. While not yet engaged in open conflict, the balance between peace and war is delicate. The destruction of an “Earther” hauling ship escalates this tension to dangerous levels causing the ruling classes of the Solar System to contemplate war. It’s hardly a new idea, but The Expanse executes it well by rapidly giving depth to the characters aboard the attacked ship before suddenly taking them away. Breaking Bad’s Jonathan Banks makes a surprise appearance which highlights the hardship of the lives lived by the characters and their longing for home. The plot follows two major threads – a detective investigating the disappearance of a wealthy magnate’s rebellious daughter, and a small band of survivors from the destroyed hauling ship.
THE CROWN Netflix ●●●●○
Netflix’s most recent original series is a 10 part biopic of Queen Elizabeth II, focusing more specifically on her ascendance to the throne and her early years as ruler. The pacing of The Crown is deliberately slow Her Majesty doesn’t even take the throne until the start of the third episode. Yet the pace never drags; merely watching the characters interact
While seemingly unrelated, the two parties find their situations somehow linked to a Martian freighter – The Scopuli. Again, this does not break new ground. There are shady gangsters, corrupt politicians and dirty dealings abound which have all the markings of a noir mystery novel. A voice over from the lead detective as he ponders his clues is almost expected at times. Yet it never feels unpolished. Quite the contrary, the show is incredibly slick; the settings are wonderfully constructed. From the dark, smokey regions of the Belt to the chrome interior of a spacecraft, everything just works. Stepping back from the “something, something in space” formula, The Expanse does a solid job
with one another, even regarding seemingly unimportant events, is enormously satisfying. This is in large part due to the brilliant writing of Peter Morgan, who obviously revels in detailing the lives of the current Royal family, having also penned the screenplay for The Queen, as well as writing the hit play The Audience, exploring the nature of the Queen’s relationships with a myriad of Prime Ministers. Ms. Windsor is brilliantly brought to the screen by Claire Foy, who plays the monarch with an understated brilliance, being very much the contrast to her husband’s, Prince Philip’s (Matt
of challenging a developing throw-away attitude to our planet. Frequent reference is made to the unhappiness of those who do not inhabit Earth. In particular the plight of the “Belters” (working class citizens) is felt. Deformed from a lifetime of living in a low gravity environment, the atmospheric pressure of Earth is too great for their fragile bodies. They exist as exiles from their ancestral home which they can never inhabit and resent the Earthers for their indifference to the beauty around them. The Expanse is undeniably one of the best shows I’ve seen on Netflix this year. Do yourself a favour this Christmas break and check it out. WORDS BY GARY MUNNELLY Smith), supercilious behaviour. The real star of the show, however, is undoubtedly John Lithgow’s rendition of Winston Churchill. Lithgow is a first-class character actor, having brought to life such luminaries as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Blake Edwards. However, this may be his best performance since his backto-back Academy Award nominations for The World According to Garp and Terms of Endearment. His incarnation of Britain’s most famous Prime Minister is far from sympathetic, and he beautifully captures the moral ambiguity of a man capable of great heroism and also great cruelty – doubly impressive when one considers that Lithgow is not a native of the United Kingdom. Finally, and perhaps most impressively, the cinematography is absolutely beautiful. So far, this is the most expensive Netflix original series and it certainly shows in the breathtaking set pieces; most notable are Windsor Castle and the recreation of the “Great Smog” of 1952. The latter is portrayed as wonderfully claustrophobic, giving a real insight into what life must have been like for those trapped in London at that time. A series I would highly recommend.
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WORDS BY JOEL COUSSINS
VOGUE WILLIAMS: ON THE EDGE RTE 2 ●●●●○
In her latest venture, radio DJ and model Vogue Williams presents a four part series on RTÉ called Vogue Williams - On The Edge. Each episode tackles a different issue relevant to today’s society, with particular attention given to those problems faced by Millennials. These topics include synthetic drugs, body dysmorphia, gender dysphoria and social anxiety. Throughout the series Williams interviews a variety of people from a wide range of backgrounds, succeeding in giving viewers a thorough understanding of how the issues raised affect young people in today’s society. In the first episode, “Transgender Warriors”, Williams meets a variety of people with different gender identities. This episode was innovative in pushing the boundaries of gender representation on television. At ‘Gender Odyssey’ in Seattle, one of the World’s largest gender identity conferences, we hear from a man who gave birth to his own daughter. We also see many people who have been subjected to abuse and assaults because they don’t conform to a stereotypical gender role. Their bravery and honesty really amazed me as I saw how difficult it can be for some people to live the life they want to due to other people’s lack of understanding and education. I particularly enjoyed this episode as I felt it provided some insight into a topic which many people don’t know much about. The show kept me entertained with the honest and heartfelt stories told by the people interviewed, while also educating me on the range of the gender spectrum and contributing to my overall understanding of transgender people’s experiences. I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly with Williams when she spoke about how the position of the trans community is at the same impasse the gay community was twenty years ago. “It would be nice if everyone understood it, and nobody found it strange,” Williams said. In the second episode, Williams strives to understand the mindset of our generation, a generation obsessed with extreme notions of physical beauty. As well as meeting several people obsessed with their body-image to their detriment, Williams herself enters a bodybuilding bikini competition. These competitions see hundreds of young women starve themselves of nutrients and water and pump themselves up on fat burners, protein powders and in extreme cases, steroids, all in an effort to attain the ‘perfect body.’ This episode was uncomfortable to watch. The extremes that people were willing to go to change their bodies were distinctly unnatural and very saddening in some instances. With the
images of bulging muscles and veins popping out from my TV screen, I questioned the sanity of some of these individuals and wondered just how dangerous our preoccupation with our selfimage has become. The third episode is the most frightening and eyeopening of the series. It deals with the dangers posed by the internet, from cyberbullying, to cat-fishing, to scamming. It focuses in particular on the of dangers present for young people and children. We meet a young woman who was kidnapped as a child by a paedophile who she met online, and hear of how she was starved and sexually assaulted, coming extremely close to the point of death. However, this episode also looks at the positive developments being made in the sector of online crime prevention, which added a note of optimism - something the other two episodes lack. Williams meets a woman who started to bring cases to court against paedophiles and revenge porn perpetrators after her own daughter was scammed. This issue is one Williams clearly feels very passionate about, and she opens up more in this episode than in any of the others. She explains how she herself has fallen victim to one such scam in the past. Her own personal image was tarnished when her face was photoshopped onto a naked body and the image disseminated across porn sites. Throughout the fourth and final hour-long episode of the series, synthetic drugs and legal
highs are tackled. Williams travels from the streets of Dublin to a Swedish music festival to hear about how new drugs are affecting people’s lives. In Dublin, she talks to people living on the streets about how these newly emerging synthetic drugs are in reality much more lethal than any of the regular street drugs we’re more familiar with. This is largely due to the fact that the potency of these new unregulated drugs is relatively unknown, resulting in a much higher likelihood of a fatality from overdose. This was the case with Alex Ryan, a young man from Cork who died when he overdosed on the ‘N-bomb’ drug. The pain and devastation felt as a result of his death is articulated by his sister, who has started a campaign to highlight the dangers of synthetic drugs. Without a doubt, Vogue Williams tackles some very current and relevant issues for young people in this series. The show acts as a great tool for educating us about the problems facing our society today. However, at times Williams’s presentation style let the show down. Her discussion felt slightly forced and I found myself getting bored while listening to her. It made me question whether she really succeeds as a TV presenter. Whatever your take on Williams’ presentation skills however, these programmes are a valuable asset if you’re looking to expand your knowledge on current issues and I would highly recommend watching them. WORDS BY MARY HARTNETT
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sex. miserably. It’s one of many secondary schools in Ireland being subsidised to fail its students year in, year out. The sad truth is that misinformation about sex is an issue that persists outside of school. Like many areas of discourse throughout the centuries, discussion of sex, in psychology the media etc. too often neglects a very important perspective: that of women. The question above was put to my fifth year religion class. One response the question attempts to elicit is a sense of guilt and shame, one of culpability. Women taking the blame is something of a recurring theme when it comes to sex. In the States during the late 1950s, as people began to worry about the breakdown of the family unit, a good number of doctors named ‘frigid’ women the culprits. It was the woman’s ‘inability’, or ‘failure’ to become fully aroused or orgasm that was ruining marriages. Women who didn’t orgasm were often referred to psychiatrists in an attempt to resolve this ‘failure’ of theirs. Obviously this is not something about which anyone should ever be made to feel ashamed. Even more obviously, it’s highly likely that a lot of these cases were the result of a husband’s technique in the bedroom being somewhat lacking. Fifty years later, this is still an issue. There are still too many women who don’t really enjoy sex. Worse, there are women who experience a lot of pain during sex and yet feel pressured to endure it. Having to pull a Sally Albright in the diner is just a reality for some people. It shouldn’t be. In the words of Carrie Bradshaw, a woman who spoke most eloquently on the topic, “it takes 237 muscles to fake an orgasm, but only 15 to say: it’s called a clitoris and it’s right here.” The clitoris is an amazing little piece of biological machinery. Amazing. I read an article during the summer about the physiology of the clitoris, became obsessed, and have since continued to do extensive research. I couldn’t really believe I’d never known about its importance before. It’s the most pleasure-sensitive part of the female body. That is its sole purpose: pleasure. Nothing else. It contains 8000 nerve endings. That’s twice the number found in the glans of a penis. All this information is finally emerging. The medical articles are out there detailing the science of the clitoris. My primary discovery so far is its importance. For most of us, there’s no orgasm without sufficient clitoral stimulation. Penetration alone just doesn’t cut it. I know most governments wouldn’t be too crazy about teaching the art of orgasm in school, but there needs to be more discussion about this. Not only for a woman’s enjoyment but also to ensure women are having pain free sex. If you’re not fully aroused, it will hurt. The most irritating piece of misinformation that’s still being propagated is the notion that your first few times ‘are meant to hurt’. This is where the bullshit mythology surrounding the hymen comes out to play. Shrouded in a kind of fantastical mystery, this tiny cat flap is endowed with far more significance than it deserves. I refer to it as a cat flap because that’s all it is. The hymen does NOT need to break. You don’t need to bleed. This is not a rite of passage. It probably will hurt the first time, but not because it’s a fundamental part of a biological process. It may hurt because you’re nervous and not fully relaxed, which means things are not really opening up down there. The other huge factor is a lack of proper foreplay, and things not being properly warmed up. You learn the most basic logistics in school. Penis enters vagina. If it does so unprotected, you’ll a baby on your hands nine months later. Thanks to the supreme reign of the male gaze, there’s very little else in the media that indicates that there’s more to it. Fortunately there are advocates and activists out there now talking about the needs of the ladies among us. My personal favourites are Eileen Kelly and Karley Sciortino. Eileen Kelly is only 21. Having been appalled by the sex ed on offer in her school in the States, she started a blog about sex for the young’uns in the modern day. Karley Sciortino is a sex columnist with Vogue. Her column, “Breathless”, discusses EVERYTHING. There’s no omission of the nittier and grittier details. Because despite the constant depiction of woman as pretty objects to be used for pleasure, we’re looking for a good time too. It is about freaking time our experience and our pleasure got a little limelight. Enter the magical clitoris.
one for the girls
ILLUSTRATIONS BY ANNA HARDSTAFF
I can remember only three things from sex ed in secondary school. Forcefully etched into my brain by a highly pixelated PowerPoint presentation are graphic images of STDs. Then the question “do you want to be a used wedding dress?” Finally, hours of Pam Stenzel (if you want to know what the folk who believe Donald’s “gonna make America great again” look and sound like, google that name). My secondary school failed us,
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WORDS BY EITHNE DUFFY
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