VOL. XXV, Issue 3, OTwo by The University Observer

THE MONSTER AND THE SOUL Volume XXV, Issue 3 1st November 2018

EMILIE PINE: ON NOTES TO SELF FORGOTTEN CLASSICS: HARVEY DANGER ALUMNI CORNER: HOW TO BE COOL WITH CONOR Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;TOOLE

OTWO VOL. XXV ISSUE 3 CONTRIBUTORS EDITOR Brían Donnelly DEPUTY EDITOR Dylan O’Neill ART & DESIGN EDITOR Fiachra Johnston OTWO CO-EDITORS Clara Brannigan Tara Hanneffy ARTS & LITERATURE EDITOR Heather Reynolds GAMES EDITOR Ash Gomez FILM & TV EDITOR Emma Kiely MUSIC EDITOR Aoife Mawn FOOD & DRINK EDITOR Shivani Shukla FASHION EDITOR Shane Cullen ONLINE OTWO CO-EDITORS Adam Lawler Ash Gomez CHIEF OF ILLUSTRATIONS Freya Williams CHIEF OF PHOTOGRAPHY Alex Fagan CONTRIBUTORS Sophie Tevlin Conor O’Toole Marianne Seppola Simonsen Jess Viola Abby Conroy Adam Hilario Andy Prizeman-Nolan Dayle Nolan Brigid Molloy Jack Knowles Sarah O’Byrne Anne-Marie Lyons Sinéad Dunphy Victoria Keane Fiachra Johnston Rebecca Sibley Clodagh Manning Emma Reidy Beulah Ezeugo Freya Williams Ciarán Busby

LETTER FROM THE

CONTENTS

DEAD-ITORS

Arts & Literature 5-7 Games 8-9 Film & Tv 10-13 A Chat With... 14-16 Music 17-20 Food 21 Fashion 22-25 Travel 26 Aperture 28

Hellooooooo everyone!

Welcome to Issue 3... you’re in for a spooktacular treat! We thought it was only right to have a running Halloween theme in this month’s issue of Otwo, since it’s October, and everything about college at this point in the semester is pretty frightening. As you’ll see in the picture above, we’ve gone old-school with our Halloween costumes - though we do think that our normal guises of ‘college student slash Otwo co-editors’ are ghastly enough. Coffee, anyone? Moving on, we’re all sick of JK Rowling’s tweeting, right? Therefore, the aptly named ‘JK Rowling needs to be stopped’ article investigates the role of the author in the age of social media hysteria. There’s also original poetry and more thought-provoking articles to be explored. Indie games your thing? Hate cheap gaming tactics like jumpscares? Well then ‘jump’ on over to the Games section and check out what’s on offer (see what we did there?) So it’s Halloween, and that can mean only one thing - spooky films and tv shows! An article in the Film and TV section looks at the best of old cinema to ensure that you won’t sleep a wink (no, there isn’t a 2 hour film on Blackboard. We mean ACTUAL horror). Our Otwo centre interview this month features the fantastic Emilie Pine, who some may know from the halls of Newman - she chats to Tara about her bestselling book Notes to Self. If you only read one thing this month, make it this interview. Insightful is an understatement. Music is particularly special this month as Aoife our music editor heads backstage to interview Pale Waves after their gig in Dublin. There’s also a rundown of the best Halloween themed soundtracks, to make sure your playlist is suitable for any kind of ‘Monster Bash’ (we’ll stop with the jokes soon. Promise!) Food and Drink features the perfect autumnal treat as Ash Gomez shares her pumpkin pie recipe. There is also a review of Pi, tipped as one of Dublin’s best gourmet pizza eateries. You know what they say: Trick or treat yo’ self. Fashion gets a bit political this month as we take a look at feminism in the fashion industry, topically looking at the Top Shop Feminist bookcase dismantling. Fashion flashback takes a look at some of Girls Aloud iconic looks and a fond reminder of their wardrobe malfunctions, which Clara particularly appreciates. The Travel section takes a look at city breaks to Amsterdam and London and offers an off-the-beaten-track guide for tourists. Well, that’s all from us for now. We’re off to get some sleep. Until next time, CREEP it real!

- Tara & Clara xoxo

Soapbox:

The pedants are revolting! Sophie Tevlin

Aquarius January 20 - February 18

Leo July 23 - August 22

A sexy nurse costume AGAIN this year Aquarius? We see you.

You can pretend all you like, but Mystic Mittens knows that you’re loving Riverdale. Seriously?

Pisces February 19 - March 20

Virgo August 23 - September 22

Aries March 21 - April 19

Libra September 23 - October 22

Recently started going to the library? Mystic Mittens can tell. Your inexperience shows.

Mystic Mittens foresees a bus nightmare in your future - proceed with caution and don’t trust the realtime.

Taurus April 20 - May 20

Scorpio October 23 - November 21

Gemini May 21 - June 20

Sagittarius November 22 - December 21

You might have survived the midterm assignment crush, but don’t get confident Pisces. The worst is yet to come.

Caffeine-induced energy is not real energy Taurus. Get some sleep.

Mystic Mittens knows you’re secretly thrilled about the Westlife reunion. Shame on you.

Cancer June 21 - July 22

You still haven’t bought a KeepCup yet Cancer, what are you at? We only have twelve years to save the plant hun!

You’re far too old for trick-ortreating Virgo. Don’t even think about it.

Have a spooky birthday Scorpio! You’re a scream.

The excuse that you can’t go to the library because you forgot your UCard doesn’t cut it. You know you can get ninety-nine temporary passes right? Joke’s on you.

Capricorn December 22 - January 19

Mystic Mittens doesn’t even know what to say about you Capricorn. We’ve given up.

Twitter is not the healthiest place for those of a choleric temperament. My doctors murmur worrying things about my blood pressure, and tell me that if I don’t restrict my daily intake of hot takes they won’t be answerable for the consequences. Yet I persist, and this little rant was occasioned by a tweet I happened across the other day which read: “Can we expunge the language of ‘I was like?’ Please.” Comments under the tweet read things such as “It drives me BERSERK” and “I automatically lower my assessment of the speaker’s intellect when I hear it.” I was like, incensed. First off, saying “I was like” or “I was all” is not a direct replacement for “I said”, but a way of indicating that you are paraphrasing and not directly quoting the conversation you had, and fulfils its own useful function in everyday speech. Secondly, you’ve revealed yourself as a snob. A pompous middle-aged wannabe Sunday Times columnist. The kind of person who cheerfully self-identifies as a ‘Grammar Nazi’, as if comparing yourself to fascists was a rational or healthy way to describe how you feel about the Oxford comma! Why do it? Why stifle an infinite sparkling variety? Surely if you express yourself in such a way that the intended recipient of your message grasps your meaning, that’s all you need. You may convey your meaning with antiquated flourishes of sesquipedalian loquaciousness, but that doesn’t make you any better or worse than the teenage girls on your bus, conveying meaning to each other with tone and pitch shifts, their own vocabulary and changes in facial expression. There’s room for both. Linguistic prescriptivism - the notion that there is one prescribed, hierarchical way to talk or write – went out with the dinosaurs, and reeks of classism and ableism. The science of linguistics nowadays devotes itself to describing and cataloguing the rich and beautiful permutations of languages across the globe. Vernaculars, pidgins, creoles, slang. Imagine criticising the ridiculously brilliant phrase ‘fierce mild’ for not making sense, or complaining that your ‘few jars’ in the pub have been served in pint glasses. If no-one ever did anything different or had any fun with words, where would literature be? Shakespeare spelt his name six different ways. Because he, like, felt like it.

OTwo

Alumni Corner - The return of ‘How to be cool with Conor O’Toole’ Conor O’Toole

I’m a stand-up comedian who didn’t go to UCD. But one time I was asked to do a show in the student centre for some dumb society called Dutch Soc. It was a terrible show and I’m still unclear if they were actually affiliated with the Netherlands or whether they were actually, as they claimed, ‘the Dutch Gold appreciation society’. Either way, I assume they are now defunct. Good riddance. As fate would have it, the University Observer Christmas party was on downstairs and my buddy Jon Hozier-Byrne invited me in. The writers and editors were a pleasant bunch and when I found out they paid their designer my interest was piqued. Then I saw the current design and thought, that’ll be a doddle. I’d be laughing myself to the bank. Boy, was the joke on me. Turns out, forty-four pages of content don’t lay themselves out, and it’s actually really hard work. Writing and editing small things for the paper is class craic but actually working on production weekends can be pretty hellish. It’s a mad marathon that runs from Friday afternoon to 10am on Monday morning. After a few issues you get pretty good at it, and then you fully lose your marbles. I remember after we’d sent the newspaper to print one Monday morning during Volume 18 we just sat there in the office, Jon, Kate, and I and laughed deliriously at videos of monkeys online, as some wellmeaning and well rested journalists wandered in to see how the big wigs had fared over the weekend. They had fared poorly. More than once I fell asleep on my cycle home. I actually designed the paper for two years, because I couldn’t find another job with so few hours that let me drink at my desk. But now I’m out. I’m not designing newspapers any more, but last year I performed a show in the Dublin Fringe in which I made a paper with a live audience as my staff in an hour, and was somewhat based on those wild weekends. It was critically acclaimed and I am now famous and successful. Those were genuinely two of the happiest years of my life, and they remain the closest to a proper job I have ever had. If you learn how to set type and love working all weekend, this too could be yours. Or, you could just do the fun bit where you write and interview people and investigate stuff. Yeah, start with that.

What’s hot, what’s not

Hot

Taylor Swift - The girl with the big reputation, that turned

Midterms - It’s midterm season, and that means that the

Shane Dawson - Okay, this is more of a guilty pleasure,

Naff Halloween costumes - It’s that time of the year

Fleetwood Mac -The ‘Rumours’ are true! The news that

Presidential Races - Unless you’ve been living under a

out to release honestly one of the best albums of 2018 and delivered an incredible stadium tour. She’s gone from strength to strength and has now voiced her political stance, encouraging people to vote! Yasss TayTay. but it’s something you will love to hate. Shane investigates whether Jake Paul is a sociopath, or he is just the worst person on YouTube. It is 8 parts of pure tea. Cue having the lyrics ‘I’m Erika Costell’ stuck in your head for weeks. Fleetwood Mac would be gracing Ireland with their presence next June, spread like wall fire on everyone’s Facebook feed on Monday. Make sure to grab a ticket, it’d be a shame to miss Stevie Nicks in all her ethereal splendour.

Not

James Joyce library is packed. No seats, even fewer plugs, and jammed with people who have no library etiquette whatsoever. Make sure to carefully conceal your snacks from librocop, he has spidey-senses. again, which means that we’ll be treated to an onslaught of totally terrible, unoriginal Halloween costumes. We think it’s high time that the DIY bin-bag get up was brought back into fashion. rock, you’ve probably heard that unless we cop on to ourselves within 12 years the planet will have suffered irreversible damage. There’s lots of information online on how to reduce your carbon footprint. No (atmospheric) pressure!

OTwo - Arts & Literature

JK Rowling needs to be stopped Marianne Seppola Simonsen takes a closer look at the role of the author in the 21th century, and examines how social media has changed the way we read.

The nature of how literature is written is always changing, as a response to a society that evolves alongside it. This has perhaps never been as evident as it is in our modern day and age, where social media allows anyone with a computer and an internet connection to engage directly with the authors of our time, and in turn to partake in their creative process. The verdict on whether or not this is a good thing is still pending, but what we do know is that it affects the reader’s experience in many ways. It has also caused controversy around a few authors who take full advantage of the means they are given as 21st century writers. The Harry Potter franchise is an example of a series which has been impacted by the role of the 21st century author. This is because Rowling herself eagerly explores the interesting dimension social media brings to the role of the writer. Countless facts and trivia, often in response to questions from fans on social media platforms, have been given by Rowling on the characters and lore of the Harry Potter universe, since the release of the last book. She has, for example, expressed regrets, such as not having the character Harry end up with Hermione, and apologized for deaths that she wrote. Of course, Rowling has the right to reveal whatever information she wants in relation to her fiction, yet many argue that this near ‘rewriting’ of the story diminishes the books in a way, as readers are prompted to go back and review parts of her work with a perspective that isn’t expressed in the actual text. While some would rejoice at the idea of having a black Hermione, or enjoy the knowledge that Hogwarts has “free fees”, others might argue that neither of those

things are described in the books, and are thus redundant. Expansions post-release, while possibly providing useful information and context, can also hinder the reader in imagining the world for themselves. Another reason why Rowling’s continuous engagement has attracted controversy, is because of the nature of some of her additions. Through her tweets, Rowling comments that there are people of a multitude of ethnicities, religions, and sexualities in the story, yet none of those things presents themselves on the page. This frustrates many, who call her out for ‘queerbaiting’, and feel betrayed. Then there are additions so minute yet specific that it has been critiqued as near satire. Do the fans

“While this trivia might have been fun at first, the persistency of these additions might be less so as the question begs itself; Is Rowling doing this for attention?” really need to know that Uncle Vernon is proBrexit; that Anthony Goldstein, a character only mentioned in passing was Jewish; or that Crookshanks would beat Mrs. Norris in a fight? Many say no. While this trivia might have been fun at first, the persistency of these additions might be less so, as the question begs itself: is Rowling doing this for attention? On the other hand, you have authors who found that social media has helped them both engage their audiences and develop their works, without alienating the reader quite like Rowling does. An example of this is

“There might be a new and positive dimension emerging from the changing literary climateone that fosters the intimacy that literature of ten claims to both seek and produce. “ Andy Weir, author of The Martian, and more recently, Artemis. In an email exchange with the Huffington Post, he explains that “social media removes barriers for my readers, they feel a much more direct connection with me because they can message me directly and I answer them. I’m not a faceless entity like authors of the past. […] It fosters a much closer connection.” He is not the only one who feels this way. Elizabeth Gilbert, author of self-help books such as Big Magic, says that for her, “social media dissolved the border between author and reader, replacing that border with real intimacy”. Gilbert continued by saying how she could not have written her most recent book without her Facebook relationships, which goes to show how there might be a new and positive dimension emerging from the changing literary climateone that fosters the intimacy that literature often claims to both seek and produce. Like with most cases of change, there are both positive and negative sides to the new role of the 21th century author. Perhaps there will never be a definitive answer that favors one perspective.

OTwo - Arts & Literature

Poetry “The Fire” Jessica Viola

Our love was real and quite the blaze, Though when the fire blew out, I was left in a haze. For I did not see this to be our end, To me, it was more of a ‘see you again.’ I looked at the ashes, the memories of us, And wondered why did you have to turn it all into dust? Even now I wonder if we could ever be reignited, Or is this feeling just too unrequited?

Now I yearn for the flame we once shared, Because the warmth that you gave me, made me think that you had cared. And I’ve been trying to move past this, but I guess I’ll never learn, That once you touch the fire, you’re bound to get burned.

Illustration: Michael Donnelly

Not all boomerangs are created equal In the age of Snapchat and Instagram,

Shivani Shukla looks at the continued importance of taking, and keeping, photographs.

It is a human tendency to hold on to memories and find ways in which to chronicle our lives. Even the earliest people left a trail of their everyday lives and today we marvel at the Egyptian pyramids and climb Uluru to have a glimpse of preserved scenes of their existence. Every act in history is crystallized in one form or the other and more often than not in visual forms, that of paintings, portraits and since the

“Visual recounting in the form of photojournalism is still the most ef fective form of storytelling.” advent of cameras, as photographs. This was, and is, a way to immortalize ourselves. Coming to modern times, the most pressing world news, as well as the most enticing geographical discoveries come in the form of photos before words. It has been this way since the 20th century when photography became a mobile act and even the most remote of places were connected to the rest of the world through photographs brought back from explorations. The world first saw Japan in colour because of Eliza Scidmore’s photographic records. Even as the mode of distribution of images has changed from prehistoric modes to print media in the days of World War II to social media platforms now encapsulating pictures from the Syrian War, visual recounting in the form of photojournalism is still the most effective form of storytelling. On the topic of everyday photography: remember the time when one whole vacation was captured in thirty-six snaps on your Kodak and buying more rolls meant a considerable extra expense? That era is forgotten by most, even thought that was the case merely a decade ago. The world has changed in more ways than was thought possible by the Kodak-wielding person. The prevalence of camera phones has made the task of recording a moment a mere trifle. This act of instant gratification has become more habitual than it is pleasurable. We can all be labeled memory

the virtual dimension. However crude this may sound, the fact of the matter is that we as a society have become more photo-centric and this is egged on by an unparalleled rate of advance in digital photography, with better cameras available at your whim every second. A transient presence has become more of a norm than actually noting a memory. A retrospective stance on things could motivate one to go back to the old ways of simply being, and not being simply “for the ‘gram”. On a personal note, even though I am of the belief that all representations of things are inherently abstract, I do believe photographs have the ability to convey the truth like no other form, and have shaped the history in crucial ways on more than one account.

Chronicling the past allows you to relive moments. Memories, individual or global

“We can all be labeled memory connoisseurs, saving the best of ourselves on the virtual dimension.”

are still preserved in the modern age, just in different media forms. The key to preserving our pasts is to strike a balance between mindfully living in the now and living in the now to be mindful of it later on. When the noise from meaningless imaging clears, meaningful photographs still have the most dramatic effect on us.

Photo: Aoibheann McGills

OTwo - Arts & Literature

The monster and the soul This Halloween,

Abby Conroy examines the role the soul plays in defining what exactly is a monster.

Monsters present themselves in literature in all shapes and forms; they may be gruesome looking creatures with gnarled teeth and sharp claws, or they may look plain, but possess a sort of evil ‘other-ness’ which makes them stand out from the rest of humanity. They may not be easy to spot at a glance, it may be simply their essence that defines them as monstrous. But can we, as humans, understand what it is that sets some beings apart from ourselves? In some cases, such as the Creature in Frankenstein, the readership pities the monster due to something inherently human about it. It does not mirror us in image but something about the deepest desires of his heart seems almost familiar to us. Whereas in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde the reader absolutely considers Mr. Hyde as a monster. This is entirely based on how we view the soul of the being we are connecting with. A soul, in the broad sense, is defined as the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal and is largely regarded as being immortal. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, it is interesting to note how the reader views the Creature very differently to how the other characters in the novel perceive him. Within the text, he causes nothing but sheer fear and terror. This is perhaps because they can personally see his gruesome appearance. They are also the victims of the Creature’s rage. The Creature shows a particular type of evil as he kills those who Victor Frankenstein loves most. Some may argue that this lack of compassion for the suffering of others may mean that the Creature does not possess a soul. This

is simply not the case. Going back to the definition of a soul, it cannot be said that the Creature does not have some spiritual aspect to him, especially as the readers are given the opportunity to see inside the Creature’s own mind and struggles. Despite his sometimes violent nature, it is shown that the Creature has depth beyond his actions. Above all else, he craves companionship, he feels pain and he curses his maker for birthing him into such a lonely existence.

“While he is a monster, when given the opportunity to speak his truth he becomes far less terrifying and even rouses sympathy.” It would seem highly unfair, after all of this, to say that he does not have a soul. He has something spiritual and reflective in his nature. While he is a monster, when given the opportunity to speak his truth he becomes far less terrifying and even rouses sympathy. Once he bears his soul, and we are given the chance to understand him, his murderous acts become only one facet of his being. For the characters in the text, however, who never get the opportunity to understand the Creature’s soul, he remains little more than a monster. This shows how the perception of a soul can completely change our understanding of a monster. In the case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,

author Robert Louis Stevenson explores the monstrous through the human soul. In many ways, it seems as though Stevenson is merely commenting on the darker natures of the human soul and how Dr. Jekyll uses disguise in order to carry out monstrous acts. Despite his normal appearance, readers feel fear towards both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde because we know that his alter-ego acts on deep desires. However, unlike for the Creature in Frankenstein, readers can find very little justifications for the actions of Mr. Hyde. It seems as though his murderous and evil actions simply come from a place of deep thirst for suffering, as opposed to the Creature who acts out of loneliness and desperation most of the time. The other characters in the text, however, regard Dr. Jekyll as a noble man with noble pursuits, which only further serves to create the notion of him as a ‘monster’ from the readers point of view. His evil nature can go undetected at first, but it is his dark soul that truly characterizes him as a monster. From looking at both of these cases, it becomes clear that appearance has very little to do with our perception of the monstrous, and in our definition of what we may call a ‘monster’. It is the soul, the intentions of a monster and the lack of justification for actions that truly terrifies us. As readers, we are often privy to a deeper understanding of this soul than other characters within the text may be. A monstrous soul is far more terrifying than a monstrous appearance. It is here that true danger lies; it is from this that we are compelled to run.

OTwo - Games

Illustration: Michael Donnelly

Farming away the blues: How Stardew Valley helps to deal with mental illness Adam Hilario investigates how the latest edition to the genre of tranquil games can promote mental health. For many, video games and other media forms have acted as a refuge when coping with stress. However, with the increasing number of indie games and the ease of access to both making and playing video games, we are seeing the development of games that cater more towards specific interests, rather than titles that appeal to a broader audience and sell well. This is where games like the indie darling Stardew Valley have been able to flourish in its depiction as a calming life simulator. Much like Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon before it, Stardew Valley has been dubbed as a “slice of life” game, in which the gameplay focuses on a character that is new in

“Characters like Sebastian are important because they of fer representation, and may even allow players to ref lect on their own mental health.” town. These games are set in a vibrant, robust community, and the character starts off with little more than a bed. Over time, the player can develop their town and community and are allowed to do as they please. There may be some minor goals, but for the most part, none of these objectives are essential. It is this style of relaxed gameplay that has made these titles an unexpected form of therapy for those experiencing a mental illness, especially anxiety or depression. These games are optimal for finding solace, unlike traditional games. As there aren’t any necessary tasks, failure is not an option. Yet at the same time completing the most menial tasks, like meeting everyone in town, feels rewarding. The lack of concrete expectations can be a relief to many people with anxiety. Furthermore, many of the actions that the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) recommends to do when coping with these issues are core mechanics of the game or are an offshoot of it: help the community (check), talk to someone (check), take a timeout (you’re already playing a game, aren’t you?), and do your best (check). For many people, the first step to dealing with their mental illness is to recognise that they are not alone. According to the World Health Organization, more than 300 million people

struggle with a form of depression globally, but the stigma surrounding mental health can make this fact difficult to believe. In Stardew Valley, there is an NPC called Sebastian, who has many traits consistent with functioning depression: he is reclusive, rebellious, and cynical. Characters like Sebastian are important because they offer representation, and may even allow players to reflect on their own mental health. The recent popularity surrounding “slice of life” games begs a number of questions. Do we live in a society full of gamers dealing with a mental illness? Is this due to stereotypes regarding gamers as isolated, lonely, or antisocial? The truth is that depictions of mental illness are becoming increasingly common in all aspects of media, not just in video games. If anything, the realm of gaming is unique because there are such large and loyal communities readily available. Instead, this trend points to society becoming more aware and removing the taboo of mental illness. The more we as a society recognise that mental health is a serious issue, the more likely we are to seek help for it. Stardew Valley is still immensely enjoyable to those without a mental illness,

“The truth is that depictions of mental illness are becoming increasingly common in all aspects of media, not just in video games.” but the important thing is that someone who is silently struggling could recognise themselves in Sebastian, or realise how much they were craving a bit of relaxation. Games should not in any way replace therapy. But they can certainly help to make life with a mental illness easier. The more one plays Stardew Valley, the more they feel attached to the NPCs and that these pixels are genuinely their friends. It is a really powerful notion that loading up a game can ease your mind and validate your struggles. Video games have often been given the reputation of causing aggression. This is not hard to believe when many of the most popular titles on the market will cause you to yell at other players and possibly even “rage quit”. Although small amount of stress can be fun, games like Stardew Valley show us that selfcare can be fun too.

OTwo - Games

Death Trash - PC (Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, and Linux)

Styled in grungy pixel art, Death Trash promises to be a game of considerable violence, warfare, and absurd monstrous imagery. Death Trash is in development by Stephan Hövelbrinks and takes place on the planet Nexus where machines were once seen as a means for protection, but are now figures of violence and terror. With black humour at its core and a grotesque world as the backdrop, Death Trash is a unique game that demands notice.

Mosaic - PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows Photo: BagoGames

Indie game showcase Dayle Nolan lists five indie games in development that appear promising. Afterparty - PC (Microsoft Windows and Mac OS)

From Night School Studio (the makers of Oxenfree) comes Afterparty, a story of two best friends who suddenly find themselves dead. They embark on a pub-crawl in the depths of hell to gain entrance to Satan’s after-party, the end goal being to beat him in a drinking game and return to their lives on earth. Featuring interesting dialogue choices and stunning art style, Afterparty is one to watch.

Tunic - Xbox One, Microsoft Windows

Tunic is an adventure game directly inspired by The Legend of Zelda and developed by Andrew Shouldice. The protagonist is a tunicclad little fox with an isometric view. Its aim is to explore the enticing world, unearth hidden secrets, and defeat enemies to progress the storyline. Tunic is a promising gem that Zelda fans are sure to love.

Garnering comparisons to Limbo and Inside, Mosaic tells the story of a protagonist living in a capitalistic world of dreary oppression. Developed by Krillbite Studio, this narrative-driven game details life as a cog in a machine, juxtaposed by the protagonist’s vivid imagination. Although its setting is gloomy, Mosaic shines as a game to watch out for.

Ooblets - Xbox One, Microsoft Windows

Developed by Glumberland, Ooblets draws inspiration from games such as Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon, and Pokémon. The player is able to grow creatures called ‘ooblets’, and then train them to engage in dance battles. With a rich and hugely customizable world, Ooblets appears to be the latest edition to the genre of relaxing life simulators.

How cheap scares are ruining the genre of horror games Andy Prizeman-Nolan investigates the trend of jump-scares and simple premises within popular horror games.

Picture the scene: the protagonist is dropped into a dark landscape with a relatively simple objective, and failure is met by the sight of some sort of monster, accompanied by a piercing scream. This description rings true for many popular horror games such as Slender or Five Nights at Freddy’s. These games are placed at the forefront of the horror genre, but can be simplified down to a simple premise and an overkill of jump-scares. It seems that relying on this trope in place of genuine psychological horror is much easier

for writers, and is still quite effective for casual viewers. This practice of dumbed-down horror is commonplace even outside of gaming, with movies like The Conjuring building a franchise around such mechanics. In order to really hit home, narrative horror requires a strong immersion into the game’s world and a reason to care for the protagonist. But the trend of jump-scares is much easier to produce; all one needs is a chilling headshot and an audio file of a generic screech. With this tactic, programmers don’t need to focus on

creating a disturbing atmosphere to frighten the viewer. Instead they introduce a cookiecutter murky location, like a forest or a hospital, and let the predictable jump-scare do the work for them. Another reason these kinds of games are so popular is due to how easily accessible they are. It doesn’t take a lot to understand the premise of a game such as the recently popular Granny, in which the goal is to escape the house quietly or else ‘Granny’ will jump out at the player. Compare this to the plot of a game like Silent Hill 2, in which James, the protagonist, finds his way to Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his supposedly-deceased wife, only to be met with monsters, all of which reflect James’ mental state. Although the premise of Silent Hill 2 is more interesting, Granny is an easy digest for the casual gamer. Unfortunately, games like Slender or Granny will continue to be popular as long as developers opt for cheap jump-scares, and the public chooses easy horror over chilling narratives.

OTwo - Film & TV

Horror movie heroes: From the final girl to the chief of police Badass teenagers, curious kids or policeman thrown way out of their depth, The hero. An essential character in any horror film. In recent years, the villain has been the centre point of people’s attention and rightly so, since they’re the source of thrill and fear. The loner serial killer, the hyperintelligent psychopath or simply the monster in the wardrobe. But these villains wouldn’t be anything without the heroes that take them on. The vigilantes who, when the police ignore their cries for help, take justice into their own hands. The teenage girl has been a massively popular protagonist in the horror genre since the 1970s with John Carpenter’s Halloween, now being known as the ‘final girl’. Teenagers were put at the centre of the horror film as a way of reprimanding premarital sex and substance abuse. The promiscuous teens who are drinking and smoking weed are always

“Back in the 70s, she was a simple sixteen-yearold babysitter who set the trend for kickass female heroes who knew there was someone hiding in the closet before anyone else.” the first victims of the killer’s murder spree. It is the virginal pristine golden-girl that defeats or escapes the villain’s wrath. Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode is the quintessential ‘final girl’ as now with the eleventh instalment just released, Laurie and Michael are just as immortal as each other. But, back in the 70s, she was a simple sixteen-year-old babysitter who set the trend

Emma Kiely runs us through some legendary horror movie heroes.

for kickass female heroes who knew there was someone hiding in the closet before anyone else. This trend has continued into the 21st century. With Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott leading the path in Wes Craven’s Scream franchise, we’ve seen some badass female heroes in the genre. Teen horror has become one of the most popular horror subgenres with Scream being adapted for TV and the Final Destination series giving us five films, it’s no lie that teenagers make excellent heroes, just like in the real world. The policeman and detective is one of the most used hero in various movie genres. But one that stands out is Rob Schneider’s Chief Brody in Jaws. A New York outsider to the Amity community and already afraid of the water, Brody must protect his island against a twenty-five-foot man-eating shark terrorising the beaches. His trusty sidekick comes in the shape of the always vibrant Richard Dreyfuss as the twenty-something ocean expert. The two, with their friendly bouncy relationship yet opposing views on sharks and life, come together to face their fears and look mother nature directly in the mouth. Throw in Robert Shaw’s grizzly Quint and it’s a party. But, despite having the least amount of ocean experience, its Brody that saves the day. He isn’t blinded by pride like Quint, he doesn’t follow the rulebook like Hooper. He sticks to his gut and knows what’s right for the people of Amity. Sometimes heroes don’t wear capes, they wear khaki shorts and aviators. With the monumental success of Stranger Things, audiences saw that

programmes starring kids don’t always have to be for children exclusively. We see this in the 2017 remake of Stephen King’s masterpiece It, where an evil entity, mostly known as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, terrorises a group of kids in Derry, Maine. The group is led by Bill Denbrough played by the emotionally

“What makes kids such brilliant horror movie heroes, is both their innocence and lack of pride.” mature and delicate Jaeden Lieberher. Bill’s brother is the first victim of Pennywise and so, leads the group to find out his brother’s fate. What makes kids such brilliant horror movie heroes is both their innocence and lack of pride. Kids are more open to both the wonders and horrors of the world so there’s none of that ‘ghosts don’t exist’ nonsense that slows down the narrative of the film. Kids in times of distress can have more integrity and these kids have tons. They do what is right and defend the African-American Mike, they accept each for what they are, and they stick together to defeat ‘It’ and don’t indulge in the ‘there can only be one real hero’ nonsense. Yes, the villain is more exciting and more interesting to watch in horror pictures. But it’s the final girl, the outsider, the innocent children, that allows the genre to be termed ‘horror’. Without the victim, there would be no fear and we must admit, we love nothing more than a brave hero slaying a dragon, just so we can sleep better at night.

OTwo - Film & TV

Spotlight: Lana Condor, a cultural force to be reckoned with With Hollywood so full of young white faces, changing the game.

Brigid Molloy introduces us to a true talent who is

Lana Condor’s breakthrough was definitely ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,’ a sweet romantic comedy released on Netflix this past summer. Condor is convincing as Lara Jean, an introverted, bookish teen girl whose life is turned upside down when she discovers, to her dismay, that her closely guarded love letters have been secretly sent out to the five boys she’s loved. In her first leading role, Condor successfully sells herself as a potential new star. She embodies the various characteristics of Lara Jean excellently, as she portrays her as an unassuming and shy romantic who is nevertheless sharp and quietly confident. Condor’s comic timing is excellent, but she brings emotional heft to the moments of the film that are more heartfelt and serious. Prior to this, Condor was best known for her significant, if small, role of Jubilee in X-Men: Apocalypse. Her next project is the upcoming action TV series Deadly Class. It is promising that she is taking on roles in various genres, such as action and comedy. She is giving herself prime opportunity to demonstrate the flexibility and range of her talent. I am hopeful that Condor will become a big star who will open a theatrical release sometime in the future but there is worry that she is in

danger of not receiving the recognition she

“In her first leading role, Condor successfully sells herself as a potential new star” deserves. In the eyes of the overwhelmingly white Hollywood establishment, as Condor is an Asian-American, she does not fit the mould of the typical (white) leading lady. It is disheartening that Noah Centineo’s performance in ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’ has received noticeably more attention. While his talent is undeniable and the type of hysteria surrounding Centineo is very commonly directed towards young, attractive, white male actors like him, Condor’s contribution to the film should be equally recognised. If Condor becomes a huge star, her success will be of great cultural significance. Currently, the number of major Asian actors in Hollywood could be counted on two hands. What Condor represents is important, but she has the talent to back it up. I am hopeful that she will be making big waves in Hollywood soon.

Blast from the past: The Goodbye Girl Jack Knowles is here to direct our eyes to a stellar horror classic. The Girl Who Knew Too Much (La ragazza che sapeva troppo), is a black and white 1963 Giallo film directed by the legendary Mario Bava. It surrounds a young American tourist Nora Davis (Letícia Román) on a holiday to Rome to visit a family friend. The events of the film rapidly unfold as Nora sees the family friend pass away and is mugged on the street. Then she witnesses a murder and in fear of being the next victim, she seeks out the killer. The Giallo genre is an Italian horror genre that emerged in the 1960s. Mario Bava was a core pioneer of this genre. It introduced troupes and dramatic structure that would later be found in Hollywood horrors. The film plays much homage to the master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock with its title alone following Hitchcock’s 1956 film The Man Who Knew Too Much. The film’s use of suspense is in line with Hitchcock stylistic traits. The film, with its chiaroscuro cinematography, falls in line with the noir genre at times, used to create a mysterious and sinister atmosphere for stark effect. The deep focus camera makes Rome to be seen as a menacing city. The imagery in the film is highly stylised. In later Mario Bava films the use of bold, ravenous, hunting primary coloured lights are often used to a nightmarish effect. In this

film, the locations create the stylised imagery. One scene is a blend of suspense thriller and horror, when Nora is searching for the killer in an abandoned building. She walks down a corridor and hanging lights sway left to right letting light fall in and out, and a voice speaks over all this, leading her to the last door at the

end of the corridor, leaving the audience in unbearable suspense. This film and the whole canon of Giallo deserves attention, especially if you are a horror fanatic. It is a film that leaves echoes which can be heard in all horror films that followed.

OTwo - Film & TV

Rage against the dying of the light: the acting comeback The film industry, media and public have a fascination with faded stars attempting a resurgence.

Sarah O’Byrne explores some success stories. and early 90s, appearing in the title roles of Tim Burton’s films Beetlejuice, Batman and Batman Returns. Following an extended 20-year period in relative obscurity, Keaton was announced to be making his return in 2014 with Alejandro Iñárritu’s Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), in which he portrayed the former star of a superhero movie franchise making a desperate last attempt at legitimacy. Keaton was, as the narrative told, performing a rendition of his own life in real time. His performance in Birdman is masterful, a poignant turn from an actor who could either be playing himself or a warped version of a stereotype he had begun to fill. Keaton too

Photo: BagoGames

Hollywood is always interested in a comeback. Though it is the very system which would have caused an actor to become in need of a career regeneration, the comeback of a down-andout former star becomes a major selling point. It attracts the interest of both the media and the paying public who often rush to see a film if it legitimately offers a view of an actor entering a second wind in their career. Robert Downey Jr.’s career turnaround saw him turn from charismatic Academy Award nominee to untouchable pariah to becoming the world’s highest paid actor in 2015. This comeback is especially notable due to the depths to which Downey Jr.’s reputation had appeared to plummet as he was fired from the legal drama Ally McBeal in 2001 due to two consecutive drug arrests. His re-emergence in films such as Zodiac (2007) and Tropic Thunder (2008) built the groundwork for a comeback which culminated with the lead role in Iron Man (2008), part of the mammoth Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. Robert Downey Jr. was reborn, receiving a second Oscar nomination for Tropic Thunder and winning a Golden Globe in 2010 for his performance in Guy Richie’s Sherlock Holmes, which earned over $500 million at the global box office. What is most impressive about Downey Jr.’s comeback is the scale of it, that he could transform from an addict in public freefall into one of the most popular stars of his generation. Mickey Rourke had rarely been seen since the height of his success in the late 1980s, when he announced his intentions to pursue a career as a boxer, claiming to have become disenchanted with the industry and its background politics. Having re-appeared in heavy makeup to praise in Sin City (2005), Rourke would be similarly unrecognizable from his former self in Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler (2008). Without heavy makeup, the results of his years away from the spotlight was laid bare, the consequences of broken

bones from his boxing career and from several prosthetic surgery procedures. It appeared that with The Wrestler, Rourke’s role as a washed-up former star vying for a last chance at success echoes his own life and the resulting performance is heartbreaking. His sensitive display appeared to carry the weight of years of real disappointment and self-doubt. Rourke’s failure to secure an Oscar triumph adds to the narrative of this near miss that has continued with his failure to capitalise on his comeback. Despite it not stretching far beyond this moving performance, Rourke’s revival is notable for matching the tragic arc of his career in its failure to meet its own potential. Like that of Mickey Rourke, but also with crucial differences, is the re-emergence of Michael Keaton. Keaton had been one of the biggest film stars in the world in the late 80s

“Keaton too missed out on Oscar glory but capitalised on his resurgence, appearing in the Oscar winning Spotlight the following year and continuing beyond that to feature consistently in varied roles.” missed out on Oscar glory but capitalised on his resurgence, appearing in the Oscar winning Spotlight the following year and continuing beyond that to feature consistently in varied roles. The acting comeback is a spectacle, offering to the audience a real-world drama to run parallel to that which they see on screen. The narrative of art imitating life is often spun to add an extra weight to the performance on screen. This spectacle can show a performer reinventing themselves and entering a second career prime but often the magic doesn’t continue beyond one last shot at the big time. Photo: BagoGames

OTwo - Film & TV

The greatest TV show finales

From the tearful goodbye to our favourite Friends to watching Walter White’s demise Anne-Marie Lyons runs through the best endings to our most beloved TV shows.

Photo: BagoGames

TV show finales are often surrounded by expectations, dread and anticipation, as viewers of the show want a satisfying conclusion to a world that they have loved so dearly. Many shows often fail to achieve this, but here are some that have somehow managed to create finales that will stand the test of time and leave viewers with a tearful but satisfying goodbye to their beloved characters and their worlds. The classic sitcom Friends about a group of twentysomethings in New York City provided one of the most iconic television moments in history. As the group prepare to leave Apartment 23 behind, and Chandler and Monica begin their new life as parents, it is the on-off relationship of Ross and Rachel that takes centre stage. With Ross chasing after Rachel in the airport, to her standing in the doorway of his apartment saying that “I got off the plane”, the will-theywon’t-they couple pull on the heartstrings of audiences across the globe. As the Central Perk regulars leave their apartment building behind, a single tear can’t help but fall down your cheek. For the finale of the universally beloved Breaking Bad, expectations were set high for this dark story, with lots of buzz surrounding its final episode. Like any Shakespearean tragic figure, Bryan Cranston’s cancer-ridden chemistry teacher-turned-drug kingpin meets his demise in the end of this story. As Walter White finally admits that his malicious acts were purely for pleasure, and partially redeems himself by helping Jesse Pinkman escape his ruined life, the conclusion to the hit-show most certainly delivered on its final episode. Ryan Murphy’s show-stopping high-school musical TV show Glee didn’t receive the best responses over its final few seasons but most certainly delivered in their final episode. After the original ending had to be abandoned, following the unexpected death of the show’s star Cory Monteith, Murphy still managed to satisfy the viewers of this beloved show. As we see our favourite original Glee members achieve their showbiz dreams, and the return of the majority of the cast for one

final group number, the smile just appears on your face. And with the final heart-wrenching shot of Cory Monteith the show’s finale did what the show did best – it made you feel something. The Sopranos had a finale as controversial as the protagonist. Whether you loved it or hated it, the ending of The Sopranos definitely had you talking. The cut-to-black finale of the mobster drama, which gave no indication as to whether Tony Soprano lived or died was a poetic ending was fitting for a character with such a nebulous life. After losing the comedic powerhouse performance of Steve Carell, many criticised The Office (US)’s final seasons. However, the finale, for which Carell returned, gave a satisfying conclusion for those working in Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. With all characters getting a reasonable ending – Jim and Pam resolving their marital issues, or Andy’s music career, the finale was praised for its fulfilling ending. The finale of the eighth season of the medical comedy Scrubs is a masterful series end. The sitcom with (sacred) heart saw the protagonist, JD decide to leave the hospital, in order to be closer to his son. Because of this, the audience is gifted with hour-long goodbyes, and the emotional dreamlike sequence where every character (big or small) returns, and JD finally getting a hug from Dr. Cox. The send-off was what JD and the audience deserved after eight years. Of course with the good, comes the bad. As JD said as he leaves Sacred Heart hospital, “Endings are never easy, I always build them up so much in my head they can’t possibly live up to my expectations and I just end up disappointed” – many shows struggle to achieve such satisfying endings (anyone who watched How I Met Your Mother knows this all too well), but the few that do, do them brilliantly. Soon we’ll see some of the current biggest shows, like Game of Thrones, The Big Bang Theory and Modern Family meet their demise, and with the trailers and teases, much is expected. However, the question remains – will their finales be a victory or a travesty?

EMILIE PINE: ON “NOTES TO SELF”

Tara Hanneffy chat with Emilie Pine about the process of writing a ‘non-autobiography’.

OTwo - A Chat With...

Emilie Pine is a very busy lady – she’s Associate Professor of Modern Drama in UCD, and now the bestselling author of Notes to Self. Emilie’s book is a collection of essays, organised thematically, with topics ranging from family to menstrual cycles, or as she puts it: “each essay is about something different, and multiple events that all kind of cohere around that one theme, or that one idea.” It’s a fascinating piece of work that evolved out of an essay that Emilie wrote a few years ago. “I started accidentally … the first essay in the book is Notes on Intemperance, which is about my Dad. He went into hospital in 2013, and I wrote that in 2014, after he was kind of ok again. I didn’t write it with the aim of getting it published at all, and it was very short and fragmentary. And then I went back to it and I thought ‘ok, maybe this is a piece so I went in and filled in the gaps’, as it were.” On a personal level, she is very interested in the essay form and non-fiction as genre. “I just happen to love essays. I read a lot of memoir and a lot of non-fiction, particularly by women. The first one I ever read was Zadie Smith’s collection Changing My Mind and I’d never really read anything like it. It was a kind of hybrid of thoughtful and also memoir… thinking about the world but doing it through the framework of your own life. And that just appeals to me.” But let’s be clear; this is absolutely not an autobiography. “I didn’t want to write an autobiography because I think an autobiography is the story of your life, and I didn’t want to do that!” she laughs. She explains that this is a different kind of project than what she’s used to encountering in her academic work. “It’s both easier and harder. It’s easier in the sense that you don’t have to go to a library, because you know everything. But the flip side of that is that it’s much harder, because you are your own topic, and it’s harder in the writing of it, because the book was coming to terms with things that I’d kind of put away. If I was going to write this book, then it had to be fully open; there was no point

“If I was going to write this book, then it had to be fully open; there was no point in writing an essay that was going to be coy about a subject matter. Every essay has something difficult inside it.” in writing an essay that was going to be coy about a subject matter. Every essay has something difficult inside it. But it was talking openly about not only having had a miscarriage, but talking openly about not being able to have children at all, which felt like the ultimate failure - also talking openly both to people I know, and people I don’t know (in some ways it’s harder for me that people I know are reading this book) about having being raped as a teenager. I never even wanted to describe myself in that way. So it was much harder, and harder now that it’s been published. It’s really hard to talk about yourself!”

A lot of Emilie’s academic work revolves around the concept of memory. I asked her whether she thought that was a factor in writing this book. “Yeah it’s interesting, because I know the theory, right? I’ve written about other people’s memoirs and autobiographies. I know the theory that it’s meant to be about, putting a narrative shape on things, the catharcism and all the rest. I can now say, having experimented on myself, that that’s correct! In the book, when I talk about being vulnerable but also powerful at exactly the same time, the simultaneity of that - that looking back is quite empowering, because I’m now in a position of safety, so I can recall things that were incredibly difficult, say, twenty years ago. But also, doing it first hand, there is a sense that

“Dealing with something is not easy. I think we have a cultural narrative around trauma, which is if you tell your story then ‘you’ll be grand’. But you’re not! It doesn’t make it go away.” memory is not about finishing something, it’s about the fact that you’re reanimated it in the present. Memory is always a reconstruction of the past rather than just looking back at something fixed.” Emilie thinks that the process of writing has helped her to deal with these memories to an extent. “Dealing with something is not easy. I think we have a cultural narrative around trauma, which is if you tell your story then ‘you’ll be grand’. But you’re not! It doesn’t make it go away. But I wanted to make this book about the version of the story that I could tell. My family, friends, colleagues will have their own versions of the ways in which they intersect in the book.” But how do you deal with writing such a personal book, with opening up and leaving yourself bare in front of people you know? “I kept trying to not think about people reading it,” Emilie says. “Because I think if you write for a particular audience, that changes your story, and it means you’re trying to impress them, or trying not to hurt them or you’re trying to make them happy - any time I did that it started feeling a bit fake. And so I suppose that is a part of the joke of the title - I really did write it for myself. I really did write what I wanted to read, and people have said it’s very courageous, and sometimes I think that the emotion that drove the book was anger. If I had thought that I was being courageous then I would not have done it!” On that note, Emilie describes her family and friends’ reaction as “ incredibly proud, and supportive and very generous. They read it as I was writing it, so every time I finished an essay I would send it to my sister and my mother and my dad. They were able to catch things, and if something did upset one of them I would think about how to tell that a little bit differently. There were key things; for example, I told the story of my sister’s daughter dying. I had to sit down with her and say, can I tell this story? Even though I was there, I can’t write about her little girl without her permission. I think it’s important

OTwo - A Chat With...

that isn’t just ‘Emilie’s story’ and that they hold onto their own stories as well.” She admits that people have wondered whether this book conflicts with her role as a teacher in an academic institution. “I don’t see that at all. One of the things I love about UCD is that I think we do something very special here, which is that both staff and students get to focus on things that we’re really passionate about. There’s that space to be autonomous. I really think UCD and the university in general is two things: on one-hand it’s an institution that has to be run, but most of the time we have to disengage from that in order to do the things that we love, whether that’s teaching in a classroom or writing at a desk. That’s what I think is really important about UCD. It gets a lot of bad press but I think there is that space for creativity.” Emilie is very grateful for the opportunity to have worked with Tramp Press, an independent Irish publisher that was launched in 2014. “A really important part of the book is not about me, it’s actually about the publishers - working with Lisa Coen and Sarah Davis-Goff in Tramp Press. Firstly they commissioned the book, they had the vision for it, they said ‘would you want to work with us’, and I said yeah, absolutely, and secondly, they’re feminists to the hilt, so they were there constantly saying, ‘ok, push a bit harder on this’, and that was brave of them to do. They were incredible both as publishers and also as editors. So I didn’t have to think about that stuff, I just worked with them. It really was a collaborative conversation that I was having with them over the 18 months that it took to write the book.” Notes to Self has received an incredible reception, which Emilie finds amazing. “Personally I’m thrilled that something that I wrote is being read, which is always your ambition. I’m blown away by the number of people who get in touch with me, and tell me their stories, for me I think that’s a real feminist moment…some people have said about the book that it’s a breaking of the silence. I think that there have been so many times that we have broken the silence, Notes to Self is kind of just the latest. I think the silence is so suffocating that we keep having to have these books, we keep having to tell these stories. The other side of it is political, it just shows you the scale to which people feel silenced. So on the one hand I feel very sorry about it, but I also think it’s brilliant that books can become about the reader. When I was writing it, I said to my

boyfriend ‘Oh my god I can’t believe I’m writing this, it’s so ridiculous that anyone would want to read about my life’ and he said ‘it’s not about your life, it’s about their lives. Go back and keep writing!’ It’s kind of clíched but that idea that if you make it personal or as specific as possible then

“I’ve never been one of those people who could just turn up. I work really, really hard in order to be good at something and it’s really important that what I do I’m good at - whether that is teaching, or writing academic work or research or Notes to Self. I worked hard on this and so it’s nice for it to connect.” it becomes quite universal. I don’t think it’s an extraordinary life at all, I think it’s an incredibly ordinary life, actually, and that’s the point, that we have to write and talk about our ordinary lives, not just people who go and do exciting things.” Since we spoke, Emilie has won the Butler Literary Award for Notes to Self, and is nominated for the Michel Déon prize. “I worked my ass off. I worked really, really hard to make this book. It’s funny, people mean it as a compliment when they say ‘oh, she has such a natural way of writing’, or they say ‘it’s like reading her diary’, and I don’t mean to dismiss those as compliments, but it’s not my diary. I don’t keep a diary, and you don’t craft your diary. I think sometimes as women we’re expected to pretend that we’re not working really hard to do excellent things. I’ve never been one of those people who could just turn up. I work really, really hard in order to be good at something and it’s really important that what I do, I’m good at - whether that is teaching, or writing academic work or research for Notes to Self. I worked hard on this and so it’s nice for it to connect.”

OTwo - Music

ALBUM REVIEWS

Twenty One Pilots

Jess Glynne

Trench

Always In Between

You’ve probably heard of Twenty One Pilots, or at least heard their irritatingly catchy chart-topper ‘Stressed Out’ at some point. Their angsty sound has earned them a huge teen following, but there’s more

Jess Glynne’s crown as the current queen of British pop may be under threat as Dua Lipa continues her tirade of hit singles, but she has a long way to go before she tops Glynne’s record-breaking eight number ones.

Sinead Dunphy

than meets the eye with this band. The alternative pop duo recently released their longanticipated fifth album ‘Trench’. The project builds on themes and conceptual lore from past albums and sticks to the same punchy blend of pop, hip-hop and rock that fans love. Perhaps what gives the duo such a devoted following is not their catchy hooks or slick production, but the complicated mythology that surrounds the music. ‘Trench’ sees this storyline continued in many of the tracks but also reserves space for more personal and vulnerable narratives. ‘Neon Gravestones’ is a thought-provoking criticism of suicide culture. Meanwhile, soul-infused ‘Morph’ and bass heavy ‘Jumpsuit’ further the dystopian. Many of the tracks hone in on mental illness, and it appears to be the albums central theme. The latter half of the record drags a little bit, a couple of filler tracks like ‘Pet Cheetah’ could have been left out, with little consequence. However, the record finishes beautifully with ‘Leave the City’. Overall, ‘Trench’ delivers a cleverly thought out story with the aid of tight drum loops, synth and simplistic but effective lyrics. For a new listener, ‘Trench’ is a fun listen, but to be fully appreciated it’s advisable to brush up on the band’s entire catalogue.

Aoife Mawn

‘Always in Between’ is the second effort by the London born star, and she seems to be sticking to her successful formula of predictable, empty pop music that will continue to infest our radios for at least another few months. The albums lead singles ‘I’ll Be There’ and ‘All I Am’ are typical of Glynne, simple lyrics with a methodical synth beat underneath. In short, there’s nothing particularly special about the album. Each song has a fairly similar subject matter with easy to follow lyrics: falling in love, falling out of love, and the new trend in pop songs targeted to young girls: insecurities dealt with on the flimsiest level; the usual for a generic pop Top 40 album. A track of particular mention is ‘No One’. The second track after the album’s opening ‘Intro’, while the lyrics of the verses make little to no sense, it’s the chorus that twigs some interest. “They say you’re no one until you’re somebody to someone”, she says, perhaps borrowing from the Dean Martin song ‘You’re Nobody till Somebody Loves You’. As mentioned previously, this is just another example of the disposable message Glynne seems to be half-heartedly projecting; a flimsy, predictable and ultimately boring record that is currently sitting at the top of the UK charts.

THIS MONTH IN:1983 Victoria Keane

On 2nd November, Irene Cara releases her album What A Feeling. The album is a departure from her previous R&B focused debut and contains a primarily euro-pop sound. It included her hit single of the same name that was previously featured in the film Flashdance, and later has colloquially come to be known by much of the Irish public as ‘that song from the Gaviscon ad’. On 6th November Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” peaks at no.1 on the Irish and UK charts, respectively. The single remains at the top for the entirety of the month; whilst in the US, Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long” also peaks at no.1 for the month. Both songs are now considered 80s zeitgeists that have since been heard on many Film and Television soundtracks.

On 14th November the 14-minute long music video for Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” premieres in select theatres in LA, the screenings ran for three weeks and were sold out each night. The video cost the production company $500,000 to produce (roughly $1.2 million when adjusted for inflation in 2018) and was theatrically released in order to qualify for an Oscar. Sadly, it failed to secure a nomination. Despite this, the short-film became a cultural phenomenon that set a standard for higher quality, narrative-driven music-videos. On 26th November Quiet Riot’s Metal Health becomes the first metal album to reach no. 1 on the US charts where it spends one week. The album heralded the emergence of the metal-genre in mainstream culture. It also spawned their Top 40 hit, ‘Metal Health (Bang Your Head)’, which is featured the following year in the box-office hit Footloose. Despite their initial success, none of the band’s follow-up albums managed to break into the Top Ten again.

OTwo - Music

Pale Waves Interview: Mental health, mental fans, mental future

Aoife Mawn chats with Heather Baron-Gracie about crazy fan experiences, Halloween costumes and the bands plan for the future. Heather Baron-Gracie is a tiny woman with a whole lot of influence. As I arrived at the Academy to have a chat with her before the final night of Pale Waves’ UK and Ireland tour, already a sizeable group of hardcore fans were beginning to converge outside. Chatting excitedly, playing cards and carefully watching the door to spot anyone of interest, the cold weather was not deterring them one bit. It’s the message behind the foursome’s songs that have garnered them this posse of young followers. Lead singer Heather, and her best friend, drummer Ciara Doran, established

“It’s frustrating because people tend to stick to this set formula in pop, and it’s important to talk about these issues, especially when you have a young fanbase.” the band in 2014 while studying at university in Manchester. They were then joined by bassist Charlie Wood and guitarist Hugo Silvani to complete their line up. Signed only last year, they opened for label relatives, The 1975, in Madison Square Garden last June, and frontman Matty Healy has also directed their music video for the single ‘Television Romance’, as well as producing two tracks on their debut album. Healy and Baron-Gracie also appeared on the cover of NME together last October, so to say the two bands are closely aligned would be an understatement. ‘My Mind Makes Noises’, their aforementioned first effort, contains many songs about Heather’s struggles with her mental health. “I think these days you don’t really get people talking about mental health issues in mainstream pop music,” explains Baron-Gracie. “It’s frustrating because people tend to stick to this set formula in pop, and it’s

important to talk about these issues, especially when you have a young fanbase. I’m really glad that I wrote those songs.” This young fanbase can get a little overwhelming at times, she admits. While she is hesitant to call herself a role model, she admits that their teen followers do idolise her in a way. “I’ve had a few experiences with fans when I thought they were going to try and take me away! I totally get it, though, I talk about all my stories so obviously, they feel like they know me.” She also recounts a rather interesting anecdote of two fans who snuck backstage in an effort to meet them, only to be rumbled by their tour manager. “He was like ‘What are you doing?’, and they were like, ‘Oh we’re studying.’ ‘Well, then where are your books?’. He got them out pretty quickly!” She tells me they are currently in the process of writing their next EP, which they plan to begin recording in February. The subject

matter this time will be a bit more mature, it seems, as they plan on getting more political. “Just the lyrics, I think, it’s not something we’ve really touched on before.” When asked about the prospect of being on the end of a Trump Twitter tirade, she welcomes the idea: “I hope he doesn’t like me because I certainly don’t like him!”. While her lyrics can be dark at times, there is a mischievous air to Baron-Gracie. She is eagerly awaiting her takeaway to arrive while we’re talking, but luckily enough I’d brought supplies. If you’ve ever wondered how quickly she can peel an orange, she does it in an outstanding seven seconds. (Their tour manager Darren didn’t fare so well, giving up when the stopwatch passed ten.) Other topics we touch on in our chat include Gemma Collins (she loves her, and apparently she’s amazing on Celebrity Masterchef), James Corden (she’s promised me she won’t do a Carpool Karaoke when the time comes), what Matty Healy smells like (“really blokey in a way”) and the correct pronunciation of scone (it’s “scon”, she insists, which is obviously incorrect.) While Dublin is their last Ireland show for a while, she tells me they are heading to America for a few weeks, before another stint supporting The 1975 again on their next tour, which includes a stop at the 3Arena. It sounds exhausting, but she has high hopes for the future. In ten years? “Hopefully arenas, our own shows in arenas, that’d be amazing.” Drummer Ciara then arrives, armed with the long-awaited takeaway, and our chat comes to an end, but not before an urgent discussion of Halloween costumes. On a parting note, Baron-Gracie declares: “I’m going as Edward Scissorhands. I might as well because everyone always calls me that anyway.” Pale Waves are supporting The 1975 in the 3Arena on 10th January 2019.

OTwo - Music

Gig guide Rebecca Sibley THE DECEMBERISTS 4 NOVEMBER VICAR STREET

Hidden classics

Harvey Danger - Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone? Fiachra Johnston explores an underrated gem that helped define modern pop punk.

Looking back, the 90s seemed chaotically beautiful. We are regaled of tales of the Britpop wars, whose ashes birthed darker, more sombre tones from bands like Radiohead. Over in the States, the rise of Nirvana’s Gen X Grunge prompted a sonic explosion of similar results. Bands of the mid-90s were prompted to tinker with the punk and rock n’ roll that had come before and arm themselves with new styles that reflected a renewed sense of cultural rebellion. The rise of pop-punk into the mainstream with bands such as The Offspring and Green Day reflect how much music evolved in a span of fewer than ten years Sadly, unless you’re now around your late-twenties, all of this is just history. The 90s generation, for the most part, is hugely influenced by these albums, by this history, but none of us were of a substantial age to absorb this content as it was released. It’s strange then, as someone looking back on an era they

“Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone strikes a strange balance between three eras” were never a part of but was so influenced by, to see that the debut album of Seattle alt-rock group Harvey Danger never gain much acclaim outside of their hometown. 1997’s Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone is a record that strikes a strange balance between three eras. It hints at what came before the group in its punk roots of yesteryear, and the band’s self-proclaimed musical inexperience and lack of a budget, this

whole album was recorded on a budget of just over $3,000. This makes for somewhat of a lo-fi treat in some of the album’s construction that harkens back to seventies punk, particularly near the close of the album with “Terminal Annex” and “Old Hat”. Of course, the album is also defined by the sounds of its own time. Frontman Sean Nelson’s reedy yet energetic vocals and guitarist Jeff J. Lin’s grunge-tinged riffs lend themselves to creating a picture-perfect display of 90s rock in “Jack the Lion”, and the chief single of the album “Flagpole Sitta”. If you’re a fan of British comedy duo Mitchell and Webb, this will sound familiar to you. However, what truly separates Harvey Danger from the pack here is their willingness to take little risks. There are small aspects to each song that create a division between them and the rest of the genre, like a peg going into a hole that’s slightly too small for it. There’s something about the composition, both lyrically and musically, that evokes a similarity to more modern works, a sense of youthful-yetmelancholic aggression that leaks from every facet of the album’s design. This is something that would come to be the staple of future groups such as Paramore and Fall Out Boy. Harvey Danger never rose to huge success outside their main singles and dissolved for good in 2009. However, listening back to their debut shows a criminally underrated band that strove to create a unique pop-punk sound in an era defined by musical experimentation, and helped bring a genre thirty years in the making to the forefront of American pop culture.

Drawing on sources as diverse as Japanese folklore, Shakespeare and the Troubles for their lyrical content, The Decemberists are perhaps best appreciated with Lyrics Genius and a bunch of Wikipedia pages open on your phone. However, the Oregon-based band is also famous for its eccentric live performances which involve audience participation and papermâché props. A staple encore of their tours is the iconic accordion-accompanied retribution ballad ‘The Mariner’s Revenge Song’, during which the audience is encouraged to scream like they are being swallowed by a whale while the musicians lay ‘dead’ on stage. If you enjoy intellectual tongue-in-cheek indie rock with a penchant for storytelling, prepare your best whale-attack shrieks and head to Vicar Street on November 4th. Tickets from €36.50 Check it out if you like: Neutral Milk Hotel, The Mountain Goats, Bright Eyes

RAYE 8 NOVEMBER THE ACADEMY RAYE, a.k.a 20-year-old Londoner Rachel Keen, was signed by a major label after winning the approval of Years & Years’ Olly Alexander with her song ‘Hotbox’. Since then, she has collaborated with Charli XCX, Drake, Jonas Blue and Major Laser. On this solo tour, RAYE will be showcasing her trendy, attitude-filled R&B. She combines soulful electronic pop with the afrobeat rhythms she grew up listening to with her Ghanaian grandmother to create her trademark sound. Check her out at the Academy on November 8th for a set you won’t be able to resist dancing to. Tickets from €20 Check it out if you like: Dua Lipa, Charli XCX, Tove Lo

SHAKEY GRAVES 16 NOVEMBER VICAR STREET Alejandro Rose-Garcia of curiously named Shakey Graves is a mysterious creature. Known for his gritty, bluesy brand of Americana and hobo-chic aesthetic, it may surprise his fans to learn that he debuted his childhood acting career as a minor character in the Spy Kids franchise. After starting out as a self-styled one-man band with a drum made out of a suitcase, Shakey Graves has since expanded to involve other performers, though RoseGarcia still often performs solo. If you’re a fan of atmospheric, slightly spooky folk music sung with a hint of a lisp, head over to the Liberties to catch Shakey Graves on November 16th. Tickets from €25 Check it out if you like: Kurt Vile, The Lumineers, José Gonzalez

OTwo - Music

Halloween soundtracks: The camp and the creepy Heather Reynolds gives a run through of the best soundtracks Halloween movies have to offer.

Spooky, silly, chilling, there’s Halloween music for every taste. Whether you’re into the orchestral sounds of classical horror soundtracks, or the comedic lyrics of parody monster songs, there is a timeless, seasonless appeal to music associated with Halloween. Unlike other genres associated with seasonal holidays, it has the ability to connect with listeners on a personal level throughout the year. Taking a song like ‘Walking in a Winter Wonderland” as an example, it really does not work outside of winter and the festive season, it does not register with the listener in the same way, typically prompting it to be quickly skipped the second you hear it pop up on shuffle. This is partially down to the nature of typical Halloween tracks, which focus less on the time of year and the actions associated with it, and more on the feelings and imagery associated with the holiday; that being terror, or a specific monster, or a horror-themed TV tune. People typically only feel festive during the mid-winter; however, you can be in the mood for a spook at any time. This is exactly the time of year where these spooky tunes are most needed, and so here is a breakdown of everything you need to know about this classic holiday’s music to make sure that your party playlist has a little something for everyone. The first, and most important, aspect of this terrifying genre is the camp classic soundtracks. These are well-known tunes that capture the fun, familiar, yet unsettling nature of this important holiday. They are crowd pleasers, guaranteed to have people on their feet, if not singing along at the top of their

lungs by the time midnight hits. They are silly enough to keep the mood light, but spooky enough to remind you of the night that’s in it, and so are perfect for when you are not sure what mood your crowd is in. For this section, albums to look out for are Rocky Horror Picture Show, Little Shop of Horrors, and, the classic,

“For when the gaf f hits 3 a.m. and everyone is still in the party mood but too tired to keep dancing, ‘The Shining’ is your best friend, spooky and chilling, yet chill enough that it does not disturb the good vibes.” Hocus Pocus. If you know a single person who claims that Bette Midler’s cover of ‘I Put a Spell on You’ is not their all-time favourite, they are a liar. Filled with classics such as ‘Time Warp’ and ‘Feed Me (Get it)’, these are three core soundtracks that no night of trick or treating is complete without. Next up, there are the horror soundtracks. Perfect for when you want to stay in the Halloween mood while studying over reading week, or for the early hours of the morning when the party is slowing down. This subgenre is filled with low speed, melancholic tunes, coupled with high paced, chilling overtures that bring orchestral music to the modern age. When it comes to horror films, pretty much anything from the late 70s to early 80s has a solid soundtrack, but pay special attention to Eraserhead, The Shining, and any of the

Halloween soundtracks. The theme of the first in the Halloween series, in particular, is very great to work to and has enough movement to it that it is easy to put on repeat and almost forget about. For when the gaff hits 3 a.m. and everyone is still in the party mood but too tired to keep dancing, The Shining is your best friend, spooky and chilling, yet chill enough that it does not disturb the good vibes. Finally, there are the parody songs. They make their way onto every Halloween playlist, leaning fully into the comedic nature of the holiday, hiding witty lines behind wolf howls and witch cackles. Whether you are setting up for a child’s themed party, or just looking for a few laughs, these songs have your back. There is an excess of these songs a simple Google away, but if you are looking for a place to start, begin with classics such as ‘Werewolves of London’ by Warren Zevron, which has the same backing music as ‘Sweet Home Alabama’, ‘Purple People Eater’ by Sheb Wooley, which is shockingly hard to sing along to and is one of the few songs with a twist ending, and the irrefutably most iconic Halloween song by Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers, ‘The Monster Mash’, the merits of which do not need to be laid out. The Monster Mash has become such a staple in pop culture, that it itself has been the target of parody songs, most recently ‘The Cringe’ from the television show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Keeping this all in mind, get listening, get appreciating, and keep the spirit of this great holiday close, like the comparably rather boring rest of the year continues to unfurl.

OTwo - Food

Pumpkin pie

Method:

Ash Gomez

Whether you are looking to cure your homesickness or want to know why America is obsessed with pumpkin, this pumpkin pie recipe is guaranteed to get you into the autumn spirit. The recipe requires roughly half of a medium pumpkin. I recommend cooking the whole thing anyway and setting it aside for some other easy-to-make pumpkin goodies like cupcakes, biscuits, and soup. In this recipe, I provide instructions for both the filling and the pastry. You can alternatively opt for a pre-made pastry and eliminate the need for a pie dish, but it will most likely burn in some areas.

Ingredients:

FILLING - 1 half medium pumpkin - 410g evaporated milk - 2 eggs - 175g dark brown soft sugar - ½ teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, ginger, & nutmeg PASTRY - 350g plain flour - 1 teaspoon salt - 200g butter

1 - Heat olive oil in a pan until hot. Chop the chicken Preheat oven to 200 C / Gas mark 6. 2 - Cut the pumpkin into chunks, removing the peel as you go. Place the pumpkin into a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil on medium heat, then reduce to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. 3 - While your pumpkin is cooking, you can begin the pastry. Mix together the flour and salt. Rub the butter completely into the mixture. Add 1 teaspoon of cold water to the mixture at a time until it is able to hold together and take shape. 4 - With lightly floured hands, shape pastry into a ball. Place onto a lightly floured board, and roll the pastry out to a 0.25cm thickness. Transfer to a 20-23cm pie dish. Cut off any excess pastry hanging off the sides of the dish, and pinch the pastry securely around the inner edge. Place aside while you prepare the filling. 5 - Once your pumpkin has cooked for 30 minutes, drain it and allow to cool. 6 - Place the cooked pumpkin back into the saucepan and mash with a potato masher. Drain once again. Measure out 500g of the puréed pumpkin. The rest can be set aside. 7 - Whisk the eggs. In a large bowl, beat together the pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Mix well. Pour into the prepared pie dish. 8 - Bake for 40 minutes or until a knife can be inserted in the centre and comes out clean. Enjoy warm or cool, with or without cream.

Dublin pizza: Pi adds something new Clodagh Manning

Dublin is a saucy, cheesy swamp at present. Artisan pizza joints are popping up at a speed only ever matched by the doughnut shops in 2017 – a period of widespread stodgy dough and gaudy icing. We won’t talk about it. I have cast an optimistic eye over the newest pizza joints. I’ve brushed the semolina aside and put the gleaming beauty of pizza in sharp focus: carb-filled, fatty and salty – a primal delight. The baby of the bunch, Pi on George St, who have proclaimed themselves as ‘pizza fundamentalists’, have actually managed to live up to that almost-pretentious title. Having spent weeks monitoring the evergrowing queue, I succumbed to the thirtyminute wait last Friday evening. Bonds sturdier

than those of pizza dough’s gluten structure began forming between waiting customers.

“If the broccolini were a twenty-something, she would wear a leopard print coord, knee boots and a scarlet beret.” A mutual hankering for a classic quality margherita brought us together. Hand-holding couples broke their grasp when one of the two splintered to suss out the menu. The Pi punter is presented with 8 pizza options, ranging from the sophisticated

marinara to the verdant vegete; a millennia fantasy involving wood-roasted cauliflower, cashew ricotta and salsa verde. My friend agreed to go halves on a couple of pizzas with me (like all good friends do). A place for two by the window was the first treat of the evening. Our margherita and broccolini arrived looking just as ravishing as we’d imagined, the broccolini being the aesthetic star. Toonsbridge fior di latte blanketed the blistered dough. Tenderstem broccoli topped the cheese, its healthful glow diminished by a naughty

Pi on George St, who have proclaimed themselves as ‘pizza fundamentalists’” have actually managed to live up to that almost-pretentious title. smattering of nduja; a Calabrian sausage made from half chilli, half pork fat. Passers-by ogled at our pizzas, with the same jealous eye I gave the crusted delights for weeks. Without ‘taking time to take a series of photos for Instagram’, by which I mean ‘waiting a single second’, I sank my teeth into the pillowy crust, putting back any toppings that had slid onto the matte black plate. If the broccolini were a twenty-something, she would wear a leopard print co-ord, knee boots and a scarlet beret. Her grano padano would give her sharpness and sophistication, her fior di latte, her compassion and her nduja, sass. She would be the coolest kid in the Newman building. Pi manages to respect the integrity of the traditional Neapolitan pizza while imparting on it a little 2018 flare and all for €26.50. Quite a delight for a pizza gourmand.

GRUNGE N’ ROSES Unleash your dark side this Halloween with a range of bold statement pieces. Inspired by Otwo’s Halloween theme, this issue’s photoshoot is dedicated to grunge and revolt fashion. Dark shades, leather and bold prints are some of the accents, all accompanied by a signature attitude. Grunge as a concept both in music and fashion began making waves in the 1980s, increasing popularity by the mid1990s. Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Alice in Chains were namely some of the biggest influencers of the era and today that remains unchanged. This issue’s shoot was made possible thanks to Nine Crows’ Temple Bar store, who specialise in reworked vintage and own brand clothing.

- Shane Cullen, Fashion Editor

OTwo - Fashion

Photographer: Alex Fagan Stylist: Shane Cullen Models: Becca Kelly, Tadhg Ã&#x201C; Buachalla

Clothing kindly sponsored by: Nine Crows 22 Temple Lane South Temple Bar, Dublin. www.shopninecrows.com

OTwo - Fashion with such a unique heritage.” Her experience in designing everyday pieces and curating a lifestyle accompanying her clothing will translate seamlessly in her direction of Lacoste. Splitting her time between Paris and London, Trotter resonates with both French and British identities and contexts. She draws unique inspiration from both consumerdriven, revolutionary Great Britain and French classicism. In an interview with MATCHESFASHION.com, Trotter noted that there will always be a necessity for a white

“As displayed within the past few fashion week cycles, Lacoste has been transitioning their classic look for more contemporary cuts and forms”

Lacoste’s new lady Emma O’Regan-Reidy discusses the new changes at the French fashion house.

Lacoste, the iconic French brand symbolised by a green crocodile, has appointed a new creative director. British designer Louise Trotter is the brand’s first female creative director in its eighty-five-year history. Since her days as a fashion student at Newcastle Polytechnic, Trotter has held an array of international roles within the fashion world. Some of these prestigious positions include Design Director for Whistles, Vice President of womenswear for Gap, Head of Womenswear for Calvin Klein,

Designer for Tommy Hilfiger, and Creative Director of Jigsaw. Most notably, Trotter is the former creative director of the British label, Joseph. She is credited with widening the brand’s audience and output as evidenced by having successfully debuted the brand’s first womenswear line in 2014 during London Fashion Week. The runway featured a combination of neutral knitwear and cottons, startling in their eyecatching asymmetrical silhouettes. The line demonstrated Trotter’s ability to transform simple colour palettes and fabrics into distinct, expressive pieces for the postmodern woman. As displayed within the past few fashion week cycles, Lacoste has been transitioning their classic look for more contemporary cuts and forms. Trotter recently conveyed in a statement to Business of Fashion that she is “looking forward to joining a French brand

shirt or black trousers. Innovation, in her perspective, is produced by small changes in the details and nuances to this uniform, rather than its drastic upheaval. Trotter tends to focus on movement and silhouettes, attempting to create functional yet elegant pieces that can be worn from morning until night. This outlook will contribute greatly to her future at Lacoste, as the French label attempts to maintain its succinct and iconic heritage, while also competing within a contemporary context saturated with sportswear and street style labels. Trotter’s dual influence from her two cities supplemented by her years of experience in fashion within Europe and North America make her the perfect fit as creative director for this major label. She also is notably one of the only female creative directors currently operating a major French fashion house. Lacoste is not at a loss.

The curious case of feminist fashion Beulah Ezeugo discusses the role of feminist activism in fashion

In the twenty-first century, the line between fashion and activism blurs faster than we can follow. Slogans that ignited feminist movements can often find themselves sewn onto t-shirts or swinging from gold-chains. Rihanna and Demi Lovato are known for wearing the “We Should All Be Feminists” Dior t-shirt. “Females are the Future” is emblazoned on crewnecks from Penneys. But what do the brand owners and CEOs do with feminism when there’s no chance of a profit being made? Recently, fashion retailer Topshop came under fire for disassembling a display of books and products supporting the UN charity Girl Up. Topshop partnered up with publisher Penguin to endorse a collection of feminist writing and to promote the release of the book Feminists Don’t Wear Pink (and other lies) by author Scarlett Curtis. But within 20 minutes, the stall was dismantled at the demand of store owner, Sir Philip Green. In fitting with the times, Topshop expressed their apology in tweet-form. The store expressed that the event “does not reflect its stance on feminism” and offered a donation of £25,000 to Girl Up and a continued support for Scarlett Curtis. As for Green, he apologised for the “misunderstanding” but made no effort to

to explain what the misunderstanding was. The commodification of feminism is a topic clouded in controversy. Some say that selling activism on clothing can de-stigmatise terms like “feminism” and “equality”. However, many believe that packaging and selling political movements removes their meaning and does nothing to promote equality in a greater sense. Rather than all-male corporate boards promoting gender equality by selling products for profit, they should be creating space at the top for capable women. Topshop is no exception to this narrative. The retailer has come under scrutiny in the past for labour abuses and poor working conditions in their factories. Most notably it was claimed that Topshop x Beyoncé’s Ivy Park collection, a range which supposedly promotes female empowerment was made by female garment workers labouring under unfair conditions. Fashion and equality are not mutually exclusive; it has been used as a tool through history empowering groups like the suffragettes wearing trousers as a statement. Now more than ever, people wear their politics on their sleeve. In response to the events surrounding her book, Scarlett Curtis tweeted that “the patriarchy is still alive and kicking.” Perhaps

selling feminism as a commodity is not the way to go in changing this, but there is still some work to do in finding a way to balance activism and fashion. The word ‘feminist’ in the fashion world has yet to become accessible to everybody.

OTwo - Fashion

Fashion Flashback: Girls Aloud Shane Cullen

fondly remembers the legacy that these pop icons left in the fashion industry.

H&M x Moschino: high street haute couture Shivani Shukla reviews the eccentric and the elegant at London and Milan Fashion Week. The fashion world has seen a myriad of miracles and Moschino’s collaboration with retail giant, H&M is another such dazzling occurrence. Jeremy Scott, Italian fashion house Moschino’s Creative Director, has collaborated with H&M. The collection is a fulfilment of the liberal designer’s vision, telling Vogue that he wanted to make his designs accessible to the ‘masses’, with pieces from the range expected to cater to all budgets. The collection is a bid for Scott to have a global base, which is right up the alley of H&M. The sneak peek has revealed that the collection centres around Gung Ho inspired street style, coupled with tones of Gilt. Chunky pieces of auric jewellery are paired with black leather clothes. This contrast alone is enough to attract the likes of the glamorous Gigi Hadid, Imaan Hamman, Stella Maxwell and Aquaria to model on eloquent sets for the collection.

This contrast alone is enough to attract the glamorous likes of Gigi Hadid, Imaan Hamman, Stella Maxwell and Aquaria to model on eloquent sets for the collection”

The announcement for the brand mash-up erupted on social media, with an Instagram live call from GiGi Hadid on 6th October, and has already garnered a huge fan following. The collaborative campaign will also release hoodies, jumpers and socks with bold Moschino brand lettering. The clothing will also feature an assortment of familiar Disney

characters. This is synchronous with Scott’s love for colour and what he calls “humour meets haute couture meets the street”. Disney has never been associated with an Italian fashion house previously, but Scott has made it happen. One of the talking points was “haute hoodies”, where fans will have

“This multifaceted collection pairs hipster looks with understated opulence in a way only the psychedelialoving designer can do.” the choice of their Disney character. This multifaceted collection pairs hipster looks with understated opulence in a way only the psychedelia-loving designer can do. Gold and silver sequined, oversized jackets and dresses also feature in the collection. An amusing part of the range is pet wear, which includes leopard-print hoodies. Scott has previously worked with Adidas and Ugg and has been labelled a ‘people’s designer’. This avant-garde collaboration with H&M is sure to follow on similar lines. On the other hand, H&M has merged large fashion houses such as Alexander Wang, Balmain, Karl Lagerfeld and Stella McCartney into its global outreach. The major success and association with Moschino’s Scott will securely increase the scale. The collaboration is fresh and matches contemporary styles that combine street glam with undertones of sophistication. The exciting collection will be available online and in-store from November 8th.

To say that Girls Aloud experienced a wardrobe revolution over the years would be a huge understatement. Arriving on the British and Irish music scene in 2002 following a stint on Popstars: The Rivals, Girls Aloud were bold newcomers to the charts, debuting straight at number one with their single “Sound of the Underground”. Whether they were wearing cargo pants, flared jeans or midriff tops, the girls were the epitome of early noughties fashion. One of the most memorable moments of Girls Aloud’s iconic fashion was their dedication to coordination. In both music videos and red carpet appearances, Nadine, Cheryl, Nicola, Sarah and Kimberley kept a momentum of wearing coordinating pieces in the early years of their career. Looking back at their style in music videos of the early days, Nadine Coyle revealed in an interview that she fondly remembers the outfits used

“In both music videos and red carpet appearances, Nadine, Cheryl, Nicola, Sarah and Kimberley kept a momentum of wearing coordinating pieces” in the “No Good Advice” video falling apart during the shoot. By 2008, Girls Aloud’s fashion began to come into its own. Long gone were the coordinating flared jeans, instead, they opted for understated ensembles. Following rumours and reports of rifts among members in the band, the girls began pursuing solo projects. Cheryl was namely the first to make a name for herself, gracing the cover of British Vogue in 2009. Celebrating their 10th anniversary in 2012, Girls Aloud made a major comeback. The video for lead single, “Something New”, saw them radiate in girl power glamour. Now almost twenty years since the band formed, fans eagerly anticipate another comeback. It is now up to the girls to Call The Shots.

OTwo - Travel

There’s Something About City Summers Ashley Byrne shares her summer city trips to London and Amsterdam. LONDON

Humid days sink into hazy nights; the nightscape evolves into a pulsating cultural playground. This summer, I revisited two of my favourites, London and Amsterdam. As two culturally vivacious cities, I often suffer from wanderlust to return and discover more. First stop: sweltering London in June. Mom and I went over specifically to see Shakespeare’s As You Like It at the Globe Theatre. Whether you are a theatre-enthusiast or not, I advise taking in a play; there’s genius etched into the Globe. Standing tickets are only £5, so you experience theatre like the majority of Elizabethan England, sans rotten fruit and smell. One word of advice, buy an oyster card! A direct, but pound-saving statement. Available city-wide, they are diamonds in the rough of loose coppers and ticket stubs. We took the Tube to every corner of London in three days with about £25 on our cards; allowing us to utilize our precious time. Take a half an hour and rent a boat or a pedalo on the Serpentine. For £10 each, revive yourself in the airy Hyde Park. It won’t feel like you’re in the middle of a metropolis. Our trip was nearly a gastro-tour of London; an idea in itself. ‘The Breakfast Club’ on Southwark Street is a gem, and close to Borough Market. Think wood-panelled walls, sash-windows, a 60s diner-feel and sunny staff. Packed with locals, it’s the perfect start to a day of exploring. Their blueberry and granola waffles ensure a heavenly taste experience. Oh, and there’s a bar downstairs! Soho’s ‘Norman’s Coach & Horses’ graced London with a vegan and vegetarian pub. Behind the bustling bar, in a charming tearoom, you will find traditional vegan and veggie pub-grub. Famed for their tofush and chips, try their delicious fivebean burger too. For a decadent, sweet snack onthe-go, find ‘The Hummingbird Bakery,’ in the thick of Notting Hill’s Portobello Market. Delve through boutique shops and stalls for one-off pieces, from handmade jewellery to war-era cameras.

“One word of advice, buy an oyster card! A direct, but pound-saving statement.” 26

AMSTERDAM

over two euphoric days, this infectious festival is worth journeying to. This year welcomed Alesso, Axwell /\ Ingrosso and Fatboy Slim, to name but three. Camping tickets cost under €190; and grants access to extra stages, coveted flushing toilets and after-parties; ensuring minimal sleep. Sunburned or frostbitten (the case this year), summers aren’t the same unless they end with the magic of Mysteryland. Sample Amsterdam’s divine techno scene at Techno Tuesday in ‘Melkweg’, or for a coastal escape amidst the humid summer, ‘Woodstock ’69’ at Bloemendaal an Zee is an hour outside Amsterdam; and is as cool as the name suggests. The most feel-good beachclub you’ll set foot in; it’s like stepping into Pirates of the Caribbean. Amsterdam as a city allows you to do it like the locals. However, some tourist haunts are integral to appreciating its splendour. To admire the history of the canals, embark on the €16 ‘Lovers Canal Cruise’ from Centraal; and yes, you can go with your pals, it’s merely the company’s name! The Anne Frank House is a humbling, unmissable experience, and only €9. It’s undoubtedly worth the hours-long queue if online tickets are sold out. Everyone should tick cycling in Amsterdam off their bucket-lists. With insurance (a must as bike theft and lost keys happen), it cost about €50 to rent bikes for three days from ‘A-Bike’ near the Vondelpark. Terrifying at first, but within hours you too will be ringing your bell furiously at fellow tourists, as if you’ve lived there forever. Gather a picnic and find your balance with practice through the glorious Vondelpark; remember your hand signals! If you’ve caught the bug for Dutch culture, take the hour-long cycle through idyllic Dutch towns to the fairytale windmills at the Zaanse Schans Museum. Sample the creamy, pesto-Gouda made on-site. To continue the gastro-experience, call into the Albert Cuypmarkt in De Pijp and devour the homemade, syrupygoodness of a Stroopwafel while strolling through this charming corner of the city. Happy travels! Make sure you watch at least one city skyline inflamed by a summer sunset, wherever

OTwo

Fatal Fourway GHOULISH & GHASTLY HALLOWEEN COSTUMES

Freya Williams - Chief of Illustrations: At Halloween, couples costumes are rife. You

have the classics – the Flintstones, Homer and Marge, a pair of boobs – but my friend and I gave the world something new. Something pure. The Halloween costume we all wanted, but none of us deserved: Hummus and Carrot. The most perfect pair to ever exist, trumping every other halfhearted Mario and Luigi (overdone) and Beyoncé and Jay-z (seen it) that turned up. Dressing up as hummus was a challenge, but as an addict I always felt that urge within me to truly BECOME my obsession, perfect in all its delicious glory. The costume was simple: a pair of sunglasses with hummus packaging taped over the eyes (a dark but comforting view), a hummus packaging necklace and 8 tubs of the creamy wonder duct-taped down my arms. Was the costume a success? A wholehearted yes. The universal love for hummus I radiated brought people together, healing the divide between vegans and meat-eaters, arts and commerce students, UCD and Trinity. And the best part about it all was that come 3am, I had the most delicious drunken feast on the self-sustainable costume of my dreams. You can’t even imagine how good Prazsky and hummus tastes.

Ciarán Busby - Business & Careers Editor: Halloween is a time for expression. Your

costume shows the world what you are on the inside. Be it a ‘sexy nurse’, ‘sexy teacher’ or ‘sexy guard’, (all costumes I’ve seen over the years) we’ve all made some questionable choices. Which is why last year, I decided to go against the grain with my terrible idea. In a sea of Harley Quinns from various iterations of the characters costume, and bin bag witches harkening back to the rural juvenile costume of choice, I decided to go plain and simple. Adorned in the garb of my regular day, I carried a set of car keys around with me all night. Picture it; a young adult in a nightclub, sober as a judge, dressed in his best shirt, jeans and pullover jumper. No, I wasn’t a sexy dad. I was Dessie, the designated driver. It got a few laughs, but for the most part, I was ridiculed for not drinking that night. Or at least right until the end of the night when the only phrase I heard from friends was, “Will ya giz a lif’ home, would ya?” apologetically understanding that designated drivers may be dry, but are their only lift home. you know the rest”.

Aoife Mawn - Music Editor: Dressing as a devil is easily the most unimaginative Halloween

costume you can come up with. Still, this didn’t stop my best friend Sinéad and I chancing our arm in sixth class, trying to convince the locals that we were still young enough to go trick-or-treating. At this point, I still had my finger on the pop culture pulse, and to spice our fairly mundane costumes up, I came up with an ingenious idea. Who was wreaking havoc and hell across our screens in the autumn of 2009, murdering Queen and David Bowie on TV every Saturday night? The real-life devils of entertainment? Jedward. We cut out the cardboard faces from The Sun, donned long black robes and red light-up horns, and did the rounds of the local estates. We cleaned up; no recession stopped us loading up two Centra shopping bags full of sweets. It was my most successful costume ever, if we’re being honest. However, looking back, it was also possibly the most cringeworthy thing I did as a prepubescent. I thank heavens everyday that camera phones were still few and far between at the time, but the fear that a grainy, disposable camera photo will rear its ugly head in the future, haunts me more than any costume ever could.

Shivani Shukla - Food & Drink Editor: If I grew up in a country where Halloween is

known by few. Sad, huh? I, however, being a global citizen from the age of 2, pictured myself in myriad costumes every Halloween even if I didn’t get to dress up or go trick-or-treating. All imaginary dress-up changed when I arrived in the beautiful Éire last year and went to my first real Halloween, dressed up as the Eleventh Doctor, bow tie and all. This year, I am adamant to go in a more sinister get-up, that of a witch. Hold your sighs, I won’t be any ordinary bad witch; I’ll be Bellatrix Lestrange for the night. She has always caught my fantasy with that evil enigma, dishevelled hair and mania-ridden manners. Lestrange might have been a menace to most but she was an Occlumen, with her thoughts hidden from the world. All people saw was her fanaticism for Voldemort but she’s an unstudied character and that’s what fascinates me. I am looking forward to being in her shoes (and jet black, raggedy-yetsomehow-unhideous dress) and am set with a tattered number and the smudgiest of mascara. Who’s to say I won’t be better than Helena Bonham Carter herself? Illustrations: Freya Williams

APERTURE #3: “IT’S THE MOST HORRIBLE TIME OF THE YEAR”

Tara Hanneffy Odin O’Sullivan Want to be in future installments of APERTURE?

Orla Keaveny

Check our Facebook page for each issue’s theme Submit your photos to design@ universityobserver.ie