Entertainment
Internet Blackout
By Jonathan Sebire JANUARY 18TH saw unprecedented protests against tighter online regulation as website giant Wikileaks led a raft of companies including Reddit and Mozilla who ‘went dark’ by restricting access to their sites. The protests managed to derail two anti piracy bills before the US House of Congress; Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and [...]
A Costly Comment
By Daniel da Costa JEREMY CLARKSON has caused public outrage yet again by commenting on the One Show that the public sector workers on strike deserve to be shot in front of their families. Clarkson and the BBC have been forced to apologise for their actions but it seems the dust still hasn’t set on [...]
Goodbye Amy
By Lucy Mapstone AMY WINEHOUSE was as famous for her personal problems as she was for her distinctive, soulful voice. Her death at age 27 in July was sad for all those who appreciated her music, yet it was somewhat expected as many had witnessed her deteriorate in the public eye from years of drug [...]
Sexualising Children
By Lucy Mapstone IT’S a fact of life that we all get older. And as we age, we mature from children into teens and eventually adults. But are we too eager to grow up and, more worryingly, has this led to children being sexualised too young? Concerns are widespread for the speed at which youngsters are [...]
Big Brother
By Nimmi Maghera-Rakhra IN SEPTEMBER 2010, the nation said goodbye to TV’s Big Brother in what we thought was the end of a 10-year span of a much talked about and controversial show. It was a series that turned TV viewing in the nineties on its head; kick-starting a new era in reality television. However [...]
Celebrity Breakdowns
By Lucy Mapstone FOLLOWING the recent public demise of actor Charlie Sheen, one has to wonder: is it ever OK to treat a person’s breakdown as entertainment? His fall from grace has been watched across the world with many taking delight in “the bitchin’ rockstar from Mars” crazy antics. This has included drinking ‘tiger blood’, brandishing [...]
Golden Age Of Cinema
By Andy Gibbons WITH the current success – both critical and commercial – of 127 Hours and The King’s Speech giving the British film industry an enormous sense of pride, there is talk that the UK is enjoying a “golden age” of cinema. But are we getting a little bit carried away here? Do a couple [...]
The Beckhams As Parents
By Kate Mead DAVID AND VICTORIA Beckham are to add to their brood this summer with the arrival of their fourth child. The couple said that their three sons, Brooklyn, 11, Romeo, eight, and Cruz, five, were “very excited” at the prospect of having a new brother or sister. But despite the pregnancy it’s ‘business as [...]
Axe The X-Factor
THE X-FACTOR, now in its seventh series, is a TV phenomenon. Created by Simon Cowell the format has been syndicated to 26 countries around the world, including Colombia, Indonesia and now America. Tens of thousands of would-be participants queue for hours to audition each year and after three yes’s, boot camp and the live shows, one [...]
Gaga As A Role Model
INFAMOUS feminist contrarian Camille Paglia has caused controversy again recently by describing everyone’s favourite pop goddess Lady Gaga as a “plasticised android” whose popularity heralds the death of sex. Numerous fans in the media have come to Lady Gaga’s defence – she’s clever, she’s funny, she’s a great performer. Meanwhile, the internet has been a-flutter [...]