In 1970 Jackie Duddy was fifteen. There is a photograph of him from this time, taken during a boxing tournament in Derry. An older man is handing him a trophy, his eyes fixed benignly on the camera. Jackie does not meet the gaze of the lens, but looks away, towards the distance. His face is firm and proud: he is the winner.
BY ROMANO MULLIN Continue reading
BBC4 has started broadcasting the acclaimed Danish political drama Borgen. From The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Let the Right One In to The Killing, Scandinavian films and television shows have taken our screens by storm. What is it that makes our Northern cousins’ brand of drama that is so appealing?
BY ROMANO MULLIN
There is a great scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade where the competing parties searching for the Holy Grail must make their ultimate choice at the adventures end from a vast array of cups, guarded by a crumbling old knight. Indy’s Nazi nemesis sips from a suitably dazzling, golden, bejewelled example and promptly disintegrates, crumbling into dust. An “unwise choice,” the old knight notes. Our hero then picks out a humble looking wooden receptacle and is rewarded by the healing properties of the cup of Christ.
BY COLIN WILLIAMSON Continue reading
The School of English has caused panic among students by stating that bibliographies should be included in the word-counts of essays. This guidance was given via email on January 6, just three days before a deadline. This information is not contained in the rubric of essay questions. One second year student said: “The school has failed its students utterly.”
BY BEN FINCH AND ROMANO MULLIN
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New Year’s Eve is usually the biggest let down of the whole year. The build-up commences, the countdown rolls down, the tension is palpable and… we’re all a bit disappointed. However, bringing in 2012 at the Union were a healthy cast of home-grown and internationally renowned DJs. The sizeable line-up compromised of artists both familiar and unfamiliar to Shine, and all were highly anticipated.
BY PRIYA BIRING
On 15 December British author and journalist Christopher Hitchens passed away. He died of pneumonia, a complication of the oesophageal cancer he had been fighting since June 2010 - “A great voice falls silent. A great heart stops.”- Salman Rushdie.BY CONOR KERR Continue reading
2011 can be considered a good year in film, if you take a view that makes a few glaring omissions. While Hollywood stumbles on with its incessant remakes, reboots, re-imaginings, sequels, prequels, threequels and adaptations vibrant and vital filmmaking continues to come from other avenues.
BY MATTHEW MCKERNAN Continue reading