SERIAL CULTURE ISSUE ELEVEN

Meettheteam

*Allimagessourcedingoodfaithfromtheinternetfornon-commercialresearch

YourPartingWords

Somuchforsolittle,thejoyyouoncegaveme Tarnishedbyyourpartingwords.

Alifeinyourservice:giftedbyyourignoranceInsolencetothepurposeyouputinsideme.

Pickingandchoosingwhosuffers, Dashingdreamsinyourdisposal.

Ip**sonyourfenceasIwalkby, Maythestreamflowdeepandintricate,

IntricateanddeeplikethewoundsyouleftIntomysoftimpressionableskin, Unsealable,unhealable,inconceivabletotheposition youprideyourselfon.

Feelshameasyouwatchmeflourish, Seemegrowwoodenrootsaroundyourhollowedtimber, Seemeflyfromthenestsinmyleaves. Knowyouwerethecloudfirm-seteclipsingthesun.

I’llp**sonyourfenceasIwalkby:

UntilI’mleftdryandempty,Voidofoldpassions, Listen,sitandmarkmywordsuntilthey’redeemedremarkable: Watchasmyrootsspreadfarbeyondyourreach. Ip**sonyourfenceasIwalkby,

CATH

PUPPETS GALORE

PUPPETS GALORE

WITH EMILYMORUS-JONES

BYOWENJOHNSON

Recently,Isatdownwith EmilyMorus-JonesonZoom foraninterviewabouther careerinPuppeteering

Owen:Firstofall,Emily,could youtellmeabitabout yourself?

Emily:So,I’mEmilyMorus-Jones, I’maTVPuppeteer/PuppetMaker. I’malso

Owen:Howdidyougetinto Puppeteering?

Emily:Istartedasacircus performerinmyearly20s,for about10yearsandaspartofthat Ilearnthowtomakecostumes, circustoysandstufflikethat.I wantedtogetintoTVbecauseit wasbetterpaid.Iwentdownan ArtDepartmentroutedoing propsandotherthingsofthat category.IbuiltanAnimatronic Monsterforaband’sworldtour andonceyou’vebuiltamonster, youcan’tgoback.Imetbychance AndyHeath(Co-FounderofTalk totheHandPuppets)forafilm pitchforaKickstarterCampaign calledTheTruthfulPhone.

Owen:Whydidyouwantto createThePop-UpPalladium?

Emily:IwantedtomakeThePop UpPalladiumbecausewewereina pandemicandIhadtomovehome. IhadjustfinishedacourseatThe CuriousSchoolofPuppetryandmy planafterCuriouswastostartlike aregularpuppetrynight.Iapplied totheWelshArtsCouncilandI didn’tthinkthatI’dgetthemoney butIdid.Itwasagoodopportunity formetolearnnewskillsandget betteratperforming,which improvedmypuppetry.

Owen:Doyouhaveafavourite Puppet?

Emily:That’slikepickingbetween children,isn’tit?Ithinkintermsfor apuppetcharacterfromchildhood I’dprobablysayE.T,butthenin termsofreallycoolpracticaleffects itwouldbeTheThing;thatmovie’s incredible.

Owen:Whatdoyouliketodo inyoursparetime?

Emily:Ha!Idon’thaveanyspare time!Well,Iworkonmyboat,look aftermydog.Ireallylikeextreme sports.Isurf,snowboard,I’minto Horse-riding,Isail,Iclimb,Ilike Swimming.

Owen:Foranynewcoming Puppeteerslikemyself,what advicewouldyougive?

Emily:Iwouldadviseyouto…

A:Doit.Videoyourselfdoingitin whichpeoplecanseethatyou’re enthusiastic, B;Ado-er,andC;Theywillwatch yougetbetter.

TONI

by

JunoDawson

JunoDawson T? What’s by the

From bestselling trans authorand formerPSHE teacherJuno Dawson, ‘What’s the T?’is the "no-nonsense guide to allthings trans and/ornon-binaryforteens". It acts as a companion to the

similarbook 'This Book is Gay', exploring labels, expression, coming out, and relationships allusing honestyand humour. However, the book is not onlyfortransgenderteens themselvesit also includes tips forparents and allies. Additionally, illustrations from gendernon-conforming illustratorSoofya, as wellas contributions from people such as Travis Alabanza and Charlie Craggs are

ByOskar

ELI

'TheLordoftheRings:TheRingsofPower' SoundtrackAnalysis

Composedbyaward-winning composerBearMcCreary(with themaintitlethemebyHoward Shore)andfeaturingvocalsby SophiaNomvete,Megan RichardsandFionaApple,the soundtracktotheprequelseries toTheLordoftheRingshasthe sameextensiveuseofmotifs andthemes,epicorchestration, andoccasionallyricalsongsas thefilmtrilogy,yethasitsown uniqueflair.McCrearymanages toperfectlycapturethe personalitiesofcharactersand placesinhisscoresusinga plethoraofmusicaltechniques.

Charactersandplaceshave distinctmelodiessurrounding themthatweavethroughthe narrative.Thereareoverfifteen ofthesedistinctthemesinthe score,eachclearlyexpressing itsnarrativeintention.For instance,thethemeofNúmenor playsinitiallyastheshotpans overthekingdomofthesame name.Thisindicatesthatthe

themeistiedtotheplace. However,afragmentofitis subsequentlyheardduringthe piece‘Cavalry’asthepeopleof NúmenorridethroughMiddleearthinEpisode6,beforethe musicflowsnaturallyintothe themeofGaladriel,suggesting thatperhapsthethemedoesnot infactbelongtotheplace,butits people.Thisisfurther emphasisedbackinEpisode3 whereitplaysunderGaladriel’s speechabouthow“thesemen arenotlikeyou”.

AnothermemorablethemeisthatoftheHarfootcreatures,in particularNoriBrandyfoot's.Onethingthatmakesthetheme distinctiveisthefolkinstrumentationthathasbeenutilisedincluding theuilleannbagpipes,smallScottishbagpipes,Irishtinwhistles,and bodhránframedrumwithWestAfricanmalletinstrumentscalled balafons.ThisisreminiscentoftheShirethemeinHowardShore's scoresforthefilms,althoughMcCrearywascontractuallyunableto directlyquoteanythematicmaterialHowardShorewroteforthePeter Jacksonfilms.Thefactthatthesesmallthemesandmotifscanbe analysedinsuchdetaildemonstratesjusthowimportanttheyare withinthesoundtrack,bothkeyinsupportingthenarrativeand highlightingcharacterdevelopment.McCreary'sgoalwas"toprovide eachthemewithanidentitysostrongthataudienceswouldrecognize theminisolation.Forexample,ifmythemeswereconceived successfully,aviewercouldintuitivelydiscernGaladriel’sTheme soaringintheFrenchhornsoverlowstringsfuriouslychuggingaway atSauron’sostinato",andIfirmlybelievethathesucceededinthis.

Serial Serial CULTURE

WithintheworksofJ.R.RTolkien,lyricsandpoemshavegreat significancewithaprimeexamplebeingTheBlackSpeechRing Verse,whichwhentranslatedtoEnglishfromitsoriginalfictional languagereadsas:

"ThreeRingsfortheElven-kingsunderthesky, SevenfortheDwarf-lordsintheirhallsofstone, NineforMortalMendoomedtodie, OnefortheDarkLordonhisdarkthrone IntheLandofMordorwheretheShadowslie".

ItisheardduringthecreditsofthefinalepisodeofTheRingsof Power,aspartofthesong‘WheretheShadowsLie’.Aninstrumental versionofthepieceisalsoincludedinthesoundtrack,andsothefact thatthelyricalversionwaschosentoclosethefinalepisodeofthe seasonspeaksvolumesaboutitsimportanceinenhancingtheshow. Inastatement,BearMcCrearysaid“themusicallegacyofTheLord oftheRingsbringstomindetherealvocalscarryinglyricalmelodies overevocativeharmonies,soitwasmynaturalinclinationtocompose suchasongforTheRingsofPower”.Thus,thecomposeris emphasisingtheimportanceofthelyricalaspectsofthesoundtrack.

Furthermore,therearesomeinstancesofdiegeticmusicwithinthe soundtrackforTheRingsofPower.Diegeticmusicisdefinedas being"partoftheactionandcanbeheardbythecharacters,rather thanbeingjustforthepeoplewatchingtohear".SophiaNomvete, whoplaysDisaintheshow,co-wrote'APleatotheRocks'withBear McCreary,andsheprovided"ahauntingvocalsolothatbecameone ofthescore’smostenchantingmoments",accordingtoBear.This pieceaddstothestoryandcanbeheardbythecharacterssuchas Elrond,makingitdiegetic.

Inconclusion,thesoundtrackforTheLordoftheRings:TheRingsof PowerperfectlyencapsulatestheworldofMiddle-earthandthe worksofJ.R.RTolkieninawaythathasasenseofcontinuityto HowardShore'sscoresforthefilms,yetcanstandonitsownasa memorable,impressive,andepicfantasyscore.

MyTop3FromTheSoundtrack:

1)Galadriel

2)Númenor

3)NoriBrandyfoot

2022 2022AROUNDTHEWORLD

Hello,I'mback!

In2022ItookabreakfromwritingforSerialCulturetofocusonmyuniversitystudies,howeverhavingnow finishedmycourseandgraduatedinDecemberIhavere-joinedtheteamwithaneweditionofmy'Wanderlust' article.SomuchhashappenedsinceIlastcontributedtothezine-somuchsothatIhadnoideawhereto startorwhattoevenwriteabout!ThenIthought;sinceit'sanewyearwhydon'twelookbackon2022and revisitsomeofthemanyeventsthattookplaceoverthecourseofthelast12months?Fromglobalevents suchastheRussianinvasionofUkraine-leadingtoafull-scalewar-toeventsclosertohomelikethe ever-changingcabinetat10DowningStreetandthedeathofQueenElizabeth,theworldhasexperiencedmany, manythingsoverthepastyearthathaveleftlastingeffectsontheplanetandsociety.Insteadofdwelling onthebadstuffthathashappened(wegetenoughofthatfromthenews!)IthoughtIwouldexploresomeof themorepositiveandinspiringthingsthathappenedin2022,thatperhapswehavenotbeenmadeawareofdue towhatseemstobeaconstantfocusonnegativityanddespair...

Warisneveragoodthing.However,onepositiveenvironmentalimpactthat aroseoutofPutin'swasagainstUkraineistheshiftthathastakenplace fromtheuseoffossilfuelstorenewableenergy.Thewarhasbeenan 'historicturningpointtowardsacleanerfuture'(InternationalEnergy Agency)anddemonstratedhowouruseoffossilfuelsisnotalwaysreliable andhasledusintoanenergycrisis,duetoWesterncountrieswithdrawing theiragreementtobuyanduseRussianfuelasaprotestagainstthewarand ademonstrationoftheirsupportforUkraine.Thegovernmenthasnow realisedthatwecannotrelyonfossilfuelsforever,andpledgeshavebeen madeacrosstheglobetousemorerenewableenergyresources.Moretimeand moneyisnowbeingputintodevelopingthemostefficientwaysofusing renewableenergyasamorereliableandecofriendlyalternativetofossil fuels.

Anotherenvironmentalvictorythatwesawin2022wastheincreasein numbersofendangeredspecies,makingthemmuchlessvulnerableandmore likelytosurvive.Beavers,bisonandpelicanswereamongsomeofthe manyspeciesthathadpreviouslybeenidentifiedasvulnerableor endangeredthathaverecentlygrowninnumbersandareheadingtowardsa statusofleastconcernaccordingtothe2022WildlifeComebackReport. Despitethelistofendangeredspeciesincreasingatanalarminglyfast rate,thereisstillhopefortheseanimalsthankstotheincredible conservationworkthattakesplaceallovertheglobe.Inadditionto this,manycountriessuchasPanama,Mexico,EcuadorandNewZealand introducednewlawsthatprotectwildlifefromtheriskofbecoming endangeredorextinctasaresultofthingssuchasdeforestationand hunting.

Therewerehugeadvancesinthemedicalfieldthisyearand, withthehelpofnewtechnologyandtesting,scientistswere abletodevelopnewtreatmentsformanyterminalillnessessuch ascertaincancersandAlzheimer's.Oneyoungboywhowas diagnosedwith'incurable'leukaemiawasevencuredcompletely thanksto'themostsophisticatedcellengineeringtodate'! 2022provedtobeanincredibleyearforprogressioninterminal illnesstreatmentsandcuresandgavehopetomanyscientists thattheseawfuldiseaseswillonedaybebeatenforgood.

Althoughthereisstillsomewaytogo,LGBTQ+rightswere strengthenedin2022,whichalsohappenedtomark50yearsof PrideintheUK!Thiswasofficiallycommemoratedbyalimited edition50pencecoin.Elsewhereintheworld,GreeceandIsrael becamethelatestcountriestobanconversiontherapy,Slovenia ruledthattheexistingbanonsame-sexmarriageswas unconstitutional,Tokyoformallyrecognisedsame-sexpartnerships (althoughhomosexualityisstillillegalinJapan)andSingapore pledgedtodecriminalisehomosexuality.Furthermore,inthe UnitedStatesCongressapprovedlegislationguaranteeingfederal recognitionofgayandinterracialmarriage-thisbillwas passedduetotheBidenadministration'sconcernthatthesupreme courtcouldreverseitssupportforsame-sexmarriageasitdid withabortionrights.

Culturebecamemoreprotectedinsomecountriesaroundtheworldin2022, particularlyinEurope.Irelandlaunchedakickstartschemeforartistswhocan claim£270aweekforuptothreeyearstoallowstrugglingcreativesto dedicatetimeandmoneytotheircraftwiththehopeofmakingapermanent careeroutofit.Additionally,Germanyintroducedaschemewhereanycitizen turning18nextyearwillreceivea£175'KulturPass'thatcanbeusedtobuy gigandtheatreticketsalongwithotherartisticandculturalevents.Spain, FranceandItalyalsointroducedsimilarschemes.

Travelstartedtobecomemuchmoreefficientandecofriendlyin2022withlowcarbonemissionflightsbeingscheduledtotaketotheskiesacrossnumerous countriesandhydrogentrainstakingtotherailsinGermany.Thisattentionto environmentallyfriendlymodesoftransportgivesushopeofacleaner,greener andmuchmoreefficientfutureinbothdomesticandinternationaltravel.

Ofcourse,therehavebeencountlessotheramazingthingsthathavehappenedin2022-IwishIcouldlist eachandeveryonebuttherejustisn'tenoughspace!Theexamplesofgoodtocomeoutof2022thatIhave describedabovearejustafewofthethingsthatIfoundmostinterestingbutIknowthateveryonewillhave theirownstoriesthatdemonstratethegoodnessofthepastyear,whichshowshowgoodwillalwaysprevail anddespiteallofthehorrorstorieswehearinthenewstherearesomanygoodpeopleinthisworldand thereisgreatnessandhopeallaroundus.

Whether2022wasgoodorbadforyouIwishyounothingbuthealthandhappinessfor2023andletuswork togethertocontinueallthesegreateffortsandmaketheworldabetterplaceforeveryone!

HappyNewYear!

Peace&Love, Miaxx

ELLIE

ABBY

ALL ABOUT PUPPETRYOWENJOHNSON

1. NelsontheFox

NelsonisfromTalktotheHand. Hispersonalityisverycheeryand charismatic.Hisvoicewas providedbyRufusJonesand PuppeteeredbyAndyHeath.

FollowTalktotheHandon Instagram@talktothehandpuppets

2. CaptainAlastorMarfin

Now,Idiscoveredthispuppeton Instagramandthedetailon Alastor’sfacewasincredible.He’s handcraftedfromfoamandlatex, whichIthinkthat’sincrediblefora beautifullycraftedanimatronic puppet.Findmoregreatworkfrom EmilyonInstagram @emilyjboothart

3. XolotheDog (TheLiverpoolGiants)

Xolowasamassivemarionette puppetthatwaspartofthe LiverpoolGiantsParadefrom 2012to2018,andisconsidered asafanfavouritefromtheparade itself.CreatedandPerformedby RoyaldeLuxe

4. OtistheAardvark

Forfanswhowerealiveduringthe 90,sonCBBCtherewasOtis,a puppetAardvarkwhowasoneof thepresentersatthetime.This waswellbeforeCBBCgotitsown channelin2002.Otisbriefly returnedtoscreensforthe ChildreninNeed2021PuppetAid SketchbyWarrickBrownlow-Pike. PuppeteeredbyDaveChapman

5. VincetheFox

Myall-timefavouritepuppetfrom theTalktotheHandCollection; Vince.Hewillalwaysbemy favouritepartiallybecauseofhis voiceactor,PaulKayeandthe personalitythatVincehasgotasa character.CreatedbyTalktothe HandPuppetsandPuppeteered byIestynEvans

6. Wooly&Worth (WoolworthsGroup)

Tobehonest,WoolyandWorth wereashortlivedpuppetduo seenonTVforWoolworthAdverts. Thoughifyouremember Woolworths,thenyou’vemightof seenthispaironTVortheiriconic PicknMixfor£1.Puppeteeredby JohnEccleston(Wooly)andDon Austin(Worth)

7. ScratchnSniff

TheseHyenaPuppetswere knownforbeingonCITV’sMinistry ofMayhem.AfterMinistryof Mayhemhadfinished,theHyena duogottheirownshowtitledas ScratchnSniff’sDenofDoom. PuppeteeredbyDonAustinand JohnEccleston.PuppetsBuiltBy DarrylWorbeyStudio

ALISTAIR

SerialCulturezinewascreatedtoprovideaplatformfortheyoung peopleofHaltonaged11-25tosharetheirartwork,culturalactivity andlifestyleloves.ThroughHaltonBoroughCouncil’syouth provisionprogramme,youngpeoplerespondedtooursurveyand calloutforcontributors.Asmallteamdevelopedthezinefrom scratchwithalargercommunityofyoungcontributors. Issue11seestheendofthe first seriesofSerialCulture,celebrating thegreatworkpublishedinissues1-10.

We’vehad71youngpeoplecontributetothezine. Workedwith42organisations/individualswhoworkinthelocal community.

Attended27localevents,notbadgoingconsideringcovidforcingus online!

HeldourowneventatTheStudiotoshowcaseourwork. HadourownexhibitionatCultureHQaspartofHaltonBoroughof Culture.

WelookforwardtobringingbackSerialCulturewhenthetimeisrightandin whateverformthatmightbe;thisisn’tfarewell.

Ifyouhaven’thadachancetoalready,popondowntoTheStudioWidnes andcollectyourfreephysicalSerialCulturecopies.

Thankyoutoalltheyoungpeople,individualsandorganisationsthathave shapedthezineandcontributedtoit.

AHUGEthankyoutoalltheyoungpeoplewhohavebeenpartofthe EditorialTeam;

BenCooper/RachelMinghella/LisaBazley/MiaRidehalgh LukeHardman/EmiliaGrowney/ElkieAtherton

OwenJohnson/EliBray/OskarWarren

Afinalthankyoutothestaffandthosebehindthescenes,whosupported theyoungpeopletosharetheircreativeandartistictalents.

Seeyousoon.

Meg

ELEVEN