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Black Widow – Review

Black Widow gives us an insight into some of Black Widow’s (Natasha Romanoff) past and backstory. One of Marvel’s few films directed by a woman shows us the Avenger from the female gaze. Instead of shots lingering on Scarlett Johansson’s body, we see a strong woman taking control of her dark past and overcoming the men who once had control over her life. 

Natasha reconnects with her long lost “family” to take down the people who trained her to become a ruthless assassin, glossing over themes of the deep-rooted trauma Black Widow and many of the other ‘widows’ have had to face under the control of Dreykov. The opening sequence shows young girls being torn away from their regular lives to be trained in a machine-like style to be nothing other than killing machines. The film does a good job of giving Black Widow a satisfying closing story, and yet rarely touches on how Natasha’s assassin upbringing changed her.

This being said, the climactic fight scenes are well choreographed, the film includes strong performances, and the story arc runs fairly well. Unlike Marvel’s ‘Captain Marvel’ which has a more on the nose message about female empowerment, Black Widow shows both vulnerability and strength — whilst also showing Natasha as a complex character, instead of the two extremes of ‘sexy female hero’ or ‘girl boss energy’ as depicted in Captain Marvel.

It would have been more satisfying to dive deeper into Natasha’s past, however the introduction of Yelena, played by Florence Pugh, gives the impression that there will be justice for Black Widow’s death. The film has many plot holes and comedic lines that don’t quite land well, but overall, it is a fun, action packed film.

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A Quiet Place Part 2 – review

‘A Quiet Place Part 2’ is probably the perfect film for a ‘not too keen on horror’ watcher. With well-built tension, great plot development, interesting characters, and jump scares that feel more satisfying than scary, this is the perfect horror/thriller for almost any audience.

I am still yet to see the first film of the Quiet Place series as I was simply too keen to go back to the cinema for the first time since January 2020. However, I would argue that you do not need to see the first film to understand the synopsis of the film. The opening scene shows the very first day before the creatures that hunt by sound invade earth, showing the panic and chaos before the “calm”.

We are then thrown into the deep end as the Abbot family venture into new territory with new characters and new threats.

I would highly recommend seeing this film in I-MAX to enjoy the full experience and tension of the immaculate sound design. Each moment is filled with tension as you wait for each character to make even the slightest noise, a tiny mistake could be fatal. There is not much context given as to where the monster’s originated from or what their intentions are other than killing humanity, however this is not central to the story. The story is about survival and how this family copes with the loss of a husband and father whilst living in a post-apocalyptic world.

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My Octopus Teacher – review

Oscar winning film ‘My Octopus Teacher’ tells the beautiful story of a filmmaker who had lost his passion for filmmaking temporarily but is brought back into the game by the most unexpected friend, an octopus!

Director Craig Foster shows the beautiful bond developed between himself and an octopus he discovers while diving along the south African coast. The documentary exemplifies how much nature can be beneficial to humans as well as highlighting our duty to look after nature in return. The director discovers behaviours in the octopus that cannot even be explained by science, the octopus displays hunting, playing and hiding techniques that go beyond what our current knowledge on octopi explain. The film also emphasises the importance of keeping this sacred relationship between humans and animals, because at the end of the day we are all just animals floating on a big rock in space, fighting for survival. It is easy to forget all the life going on around us, the earth is a fragile ecosystem that needs to be protected. With all the chaos of the current pandemic it is easy to take for granted the beautiful nature that surrounds us every day. It is amazing to see the bond between the director and this little octopus that he happened to stumble (or swim) upon, and how this friendship changed his life so positively. A beautiful example of humankind benefiting nature instead of exploiting it.  

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How to Survive Everything by Ewan Morrison – review

‘How to Survive Everything’ tells the story of a post-covid world from the perspective of a teenage girl, Haley. Around her, she is dealing with the passive aggressiveness of her divorced parents, the pains and struggles of going from teenager to an adult, and of course, a global pandemic.

Set after the current pandemic, it raises the questions ‘what next?’ and how do we, as a society, recover from such a devastating loss of human life alongside terrible world leadership. The book reads like a warning of what could happen if we ignore the mistakes of the past and go back to our self-indulgent ways. Ewan’s book is an incredible dissection of humanity and the fragility of life in these catastrophic global situations. The use of a teenage girl as the narrator is crucial in telling this story as the reader sees the world from Haley’s positive, anxious, curios and cautious eyes. The emotional journey Haley goes through reflects all of our collective thoughts throughout this current pandemic, the hopelessness, the optimism, the scepticism and of course, adjusting to a new world and a new way of life.

The book is also written like a survival guide. Giving the reader genuinely good advice on how to survive an apocalyptic pandemic, whilst also letting the reader know that the most important part of survival is about cherishing those close to you. Despite the overarching theme being a pandemic, it is a great topical read that I would highly recommend.

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The Graduate – review

This 1960s film is eerily reminiscent of the 21st century as recent graduates and university students are asked ‘so, what next?’ whilst in the midst of a pandemic. The graduate of course is not set during a pandemic. But as the main protagonist is introduced, we see that his family and family friends are very impressed by his academic achievements and expect him to go to graduate school. This social pressure is still seen today as millennials, Gen Z and almost everyone questions ‘what next?’ as we see yet another economic decline post pandemic. Our protagonist wanders through his house, filled with his parent’s friends asking questions and wanting to be immersed in his conversation, he desperately avoids all conversation and wanted to be confided to his room. Perhaps reminiscent of new graduates finishing their degrees from home and feeling as if they have gone back to their adolescence. He draws the attention of Mrs Robinson who Ben drives home and a scandalous affair unfolds from then on. The use of this character is a sense of escapism­, something completely out of the blue from Ben’s life. From a life built up on expectations and high achievements to the most unexpected affair with one if his parents married friends.

After a date he is forced to go on, Ben finds himself infatuated with Mrs Robinson’s daughter, Elaine. It becomes his one and only mission in life to find her and marry her. All other prospects of Ben’s post graduate future seem to have faded away as Elaine and Ben fade into the distance on a bus taking them to an unknown destination. This constant sense of escapism throughout the film is reminiscent of the odd expectation to suddenly be an “adult” at some point in your twenties. From the beginning of the film, we see Ben trying to avoid the crowds of his parent’s friends, to pretending he knows what he is doing while talking to the hotel employees, the graduate perfectly demonstrates the awkward phase between university life to suddenly having a clear path in life.

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Midnight Sun – review

Twelve years after the publication of the last book in the Twilight series, Stephanie Meyer published twilight from the perspective of Edward Cullen. As a fan of the Twilight series as an adolescent. I had recently become reintroduced to the world of angsty, vampire/human romances. It felt like a warm welcome despite the not-so-great writing. Any young girl in their adolescence is shamed for any of their interests, especially if they involve brooding vampires played by Robert Pattinson. Coming back to the world of Twilight now, it is nice to enjoy the ridiculousness of the Twilight universe alongside the well written aspects guilt free.

In Midnight Sun, we see the love story from Edward’s perspective. We see how infatuated with Bella he really is, unlike the portrayal of Edward’s emotions from twilight in both the film and book. His obsessive behaviours and need to “protect” Bella have odd, but justifiable reasons. Edward is a “vegetarian”, (he only kills animals to eat instead of humans) but finds Bella’s blood irresistible for some reason. This unexplained obsession leads Edward to timidly pursue Bella romantically. Edward watching Bella while she sleeps is even somewhat justified; he is attempting to get used to the scent of her irresistible blood. Still creepy and violating, nonetheless.

The book also shows a deeper insight into Bella and Edward’s relationship. The pair ask each other questions each day, taking turns each day to ask questions about one another’s lives. There is a deeper sense of meaning and joy between the couple in comparison to Bella’s perspective and especially in comparison to the films. There is also more background knowledge on the Cullen family and their views on Edward pursuing a romantic relationship with a human.

Overall, it was an entertaining read, not fantastic but good, and a great form of escapism from the real world. Especially reading this with a sense of nostalgia from previous years; to now enjoying some aspects of Twilight unapologetically.

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Ali Smith – Autumn

Smith’s post-Brexit novel gives an insight into the political uncertainty of the 21st century. From 2016 onwards we have been fed a constant stream of lies from politicians and Smith’s book reflects this mistrust between the people and those in power.

The main protagonist, Elisabeth, is caught up in the turmoil of post-Brexit Britain whilst trying to navigate a normal life amongst this chaos. The text has a dreamlike quality to it, almost reminiscent of how the past five years have felt surreal. Elisabeth looks up to a man called Daniel, who is almost a century old and has taught her many lessons throughout her life. Daniel, however, is nearing the end of his life. Daniel represents everything that Elisabeth lacks in her life. He has lived through a multitude of historical events whereas Elisabeth is living her life through political uncertainty, working part time, with no sense of permanence in the 21st century.

Daniel floating in and out of consciousness while in the hospice represents the slow death of culture, history and identity. The book shows how there has been a slow decline in the importance of these historical events. Perhaps pointing out that as a society we have slowly grown further and further away from the significance of these life altering events, as we have become so accustomed to them.

Previously I had not particularly enjoyed Smith’s work, however after reading ‘Autumn’as part of my university course, I was deeply intrigued by her style of writing and I am looking forward to reading or re-reading more of her work.

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Being a student in 2020

I have just entered my third year studying English and Film at university, the year when shit gets real essentially. And I am living through a global pandemic, as someone who is a germaphobe/hypochondriac, needs to be around people to study well, and is also unemployed.

Yes I am also in an incredible high position of privelage in comparison to so many others, but I want too draw attention to the government’s disgusting lack of care towards young people during this crisis. When students suffer mentally from crises like this, the response is never to act after the disastrous incident has already happened, this should have taken place before. Students should have never been sent to university accommodation or flats as these crammed conditions are perfect for this virus to spread. Students are forced to pay ridiculous amounts for both tuition fees and rent whilst studying for a degree from a laptop/computer.

As someone who studies the arts, the government telling me that my degree is of no value whilst still studying for my degree, is very disheartening. The global situation has already left many people hopeless, unemployed and in vulnerable positions; to add onto that those in the arts have been told to “reskill” to have a more “valuable” job to contribute to a capitalist society. This way of thinking is quite frankly disgusting. The arts have so much value in our lives, and in my case it quite literally is my life.

Luckily I made the decision in 2018 to study from my childhood home instead of moving to extortionate student accomodation, however this unfortunately means I have little contact with my friends and classmates to discuss university classes and life in general. this makes my current life very isolating; as if I am back to square one in full lockdown. Many of my friends in shared student flats still feel very isolated and miss physically being in a lecture but they have a student atmosphere whereas I am in the same environment that I have been in since March. The highlight of my day has now become going for a walk or a rare overpriced coffee meet up. Although I recognise my position of privelage, it is still very mentally isolating. It is also very strange to suddenly be around people again and question what their perception is of you after so many months indoors, self reflecting. This makes even meeting up with old friends simultaneously exciting and nerve wracking.

With the majority of hospitality closed in Glasgow and Edinburgh, it is harder to see friends to catch up and wind down from the stress of online learning. Online learning has also had it’s impact on many students. The majority of people I have spoken to studying for college/university online have a passionate hatred for online classes, as do I. Without a scheduled, physical lecture and tutorial, it is very hard to get into the learning mind set. Essentially all universities have asked students to teach themselves the course with bad communication and unclear instructions. This all sounds like a rant against the universities, but the effort to look after students both academically and mentally simply is not there.

I would encourage students and young people to speak up about these issues as we will soon be running the world that idiotic politicians have been ruining for us and blaming us for. Don’t take any shit from adults who say we are the “spoilt, complaining” generation; prove them wrong.