BRAVE NEW WORLD IS (STILL) HERE

Posted on August 1, 2020 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged abuse, adaptation, aldous huxley, alexis soloski, books, brave new world, David Wiener, erasure, featured, gender, homophobia, John the Savage, literature, New London, novel, privilege, queerness, sexuality, soma, violence.

By Vyvyan René

CW: sexual assault, rape

David Wiener’s TV adaptation of Huxley’s classic dystopia launched on Sky One and Peacock on July 15th 2020.

Set in New London – in a society where class is enforced by genetic engineering and hypnopaedic indoctrination, the use of the euphoric drug soma is universal, public orgies are wholesome fun and ‘mother’ is a swear word – Brave New World is a novel with many themes. One of them is misogyny and the mechanisms by which it is expressed and perpetuated. Consequently, the portrayal of the novel’s central female character, Lenina Crowne, and her relationship with John the Savage (the emotional core of the story) are huge contributing factors to the success or failure of any adaptation. Wiener faces the challenge of depicting a society he describes as ‘hugely problematic’ without condoning it, which raises questions about how the problematic aspects of the novel could, or even should be, adapted.

‘JUST A NOTHING’: ASEXUAL ERASURE IN ADAPTATIONS OF THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY

Posted on July 7, 2020 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged acephobia, adaptation, allosexual, Andrew Scott, Anthony Minghella, asexuality, Bojack Horseman, erasure, featured, homophobia, homoromanticism, homosexuality, Matt Damon, novel, Patricia Highsmith, privilege, queerness, sexuality, Steven Zaillan, The Talented Mr Ripley, Todd Chavez, voyeurism.

By Vyvyan René

Few novels with openly queer protagonists are as enduringly loved, or have achieved such acclaim, as Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr Ripley.

Tom Ripley is a charming, Machiavellian antihero whose talents include ‘forging signatures… and impersonating practically anybody’, and whose unreciprocated worship of Dickie Greenleaf, the prodigal son of a New York shipping tycoon, leads him to kill Dickie and assume his identity. He is also asexual, yet not a single adaptation of Highsmith’s work has addressed this. With a new adaptation in the works, in the form of a Showtime drama directed by Steven Zaillan and starring Andrew Scott, it’s important to acknowledge and reflect on the ways in which this aspect of Ripley’s character has been erased.

CANAPES, CONFERENCES AND CLASS DISCRIMINATION – ACADEMIA IN 2017

Posted on September 22, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged #LiberateMyDegree, academia, academic culture, accessibility, Aristotle, assessment, BME, BME academics, bursaries, casualisation, class, conferences, curricula, disability, disabled academics, discrimination, diversity, education, erasure, exclusion, hidden costs, higher education, history, legislation, Lisa McKenzie, Louise Richardson, LSE, middle class, minority groups, NUS, politics, postgraduate, poverty fund, psychology, recognition, Sally Hunt, scholarships, sexual harassment, state funding, student support, subsidies, truth, UCU, understanding, universities, VC salaries, Vice Chancellors, women academics, workers rights, working class, working class erasure, working class movement.

by Bradley Allsop

CW: mentions sexual harassment

A teacake and a portable phone charger. Unlikely objects to trigger a tirade against the state of academic practices in the UK, but here you are, about to read one anyway.

REVIEW: THE POWER, BY NAOMI ALDERMAN

Posted on May 6, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged #readwomen, arts, binary, book, books, cis, cisgender, cissexism, commercial, critique, erasure, fiction, gender roles, gender violence, gender-identity, identity, inequality, lens, Naomi Alderman, narrative, novelisation, nuance, parody, reversal, review, scifi, speculative fiction, The Power, writing.

by Eli Lambe

The Power is a profoundly affecting read. In it, Naomi Alderman envisions a switching of roles and of power dynamics, deftly parodying and reflecting back the ways in which we justify, enforce and understand gender roles.

It asks the question: “What if women were stronger than men; What if men had to be afraid of women?” and follows its core characters – Roxy, the daughter of a British crime boss; Tunde, a Nigerian journalist; Allie, an American foster kid who escapes an abusive household; and Margot, an American Mayor trying to balance her city in the wake of this sudden shift, and protect her daughters Jocelyn and Maddie – as the world progresses towards “Cataclysm.” Continue Reading

CHECHNYA: NORWICH PRIDE, SOLIDARITY, ACTIONS

Posted on April 15, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national, Perspectives and tagged action, Amnesty International, arrest, bisexual, camp, Chechnya, demonstration, erasure, gay, Gay Russia, Grindr, homosexuality, Hornet, Igor Yasin, imprisonment, lgbtQ+, Matthew Rycroft, Nikki Haley, norwich, norwich pride, petition, police, pride, prison, prisoner, protest, queer, Ramzan Kadyrov, Russia, Russian Embassy, solidarity, theresa may, torture, united nations, violence.

by Cherry Somersby

This week, Norwich Pride held an emergency demonstration outside City Hall to protest a new wave of abductions, imprisonment, and killing of LGBTQ+ people in Chechnya. Over 50 people gathered on the steps of City Hall to hear speeches from local activists, and to show solidarity with LGBTQ+ people in Chechnya. These acts of solidarity are vital, and it has been encouraging to see similar displays across the country, but our actions must go beyond this.Continue Reading

WE’RE HERE. WE’RE QUEER. AND WE MATTER: THE HIDDEN FACE OF THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged anti-Muslim, Bathroom Bill, cisgender, colourblind, disabled, equality, erasure, gay nightclub, genderblind, hate crime, hate crimes, heterosexual, homophobia, identity, intersectionality, Islam, Latinx, lgbt, lgbtQ+, media, mental health, Muslim, National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, NCAVP, New Orleans, non-binary, oppression, Orlando, Orlando shooting, Owen Jones, people of colour, POC, privilege, Pulse, queer, racism, religion, Sky News, suicide, terrorism, tolerance, Upstairs Lounge, US, US congress, western society, women.

by Julian Ignacio Canlas

Content warning: mentions racism, homophobia, suicide, arson, massacre, mental health

On June 12^th 2016, a mass shooting happened at Pulse, gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, USA. 49 people were killed and 52 injured, mostly of Latinx descent. Across the world, lgbtQ+ communities and allies have been organising vigils and other events to express support and condolences.

‘Look, you don’t understand this because you’re not gay,’ Owen Jones said, before storming out of a Sky News debate on the massacre, after the two presenters refused to see the incident in a lgbtQ+ context.Continue Reading

SCARLETT AND YELLOWFACE—THE CASE OF SLANT EYES IN 21ST CENTURY MAINSTREAM MEDIA

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Arts, Inter|national, Perspectives and tagged Alex Borstein, Alison Ng, Aloha, Amanda Stenberg, Arthur Golden, arts, asian, cGI, Cristina Yang, Dr Strange, East Asia, Emma Stone, erasure, film, Full Metal Jacket, Ghost in the Shell, Glenn Rhee, Grey's Anatomy, Hollywood, Jackie Chan, Ken Jeong, Leslie Chow, M&S, MADtv, Major Kusanagi, martial arts, Marvel, media, Memoirs of a Geisha, minority, Mortal Kombat, movie, Ms Swan, portrayal, race, racism, representation, Scarlett Johansson, South East Asia, The Last Samurai, Tibet, Tilda Swinton, Tom Cruise, white privilege, yellowface.

by Julian Canlas

(Writer’s note: I specifically wrote this article focusing on East and South-East Asian portrayals. Despite being in the same continent, I do think that South Asian and Western Asian representations in media differ vastly from those of East and South-East Asians.)

There’s no doubt: East and South-East Asians in mainstream media can’t exist without being reduced into racist caricatures. Asians, including me, cannot exist beyond the characterisation of our slant eyes, buckteeth, and thick accent. We are good at maths, martial arts, and being meek. We are not artists, but tech geniuses. We cannot be main characters, only sidekicks. Only comic reliefs, either sexless nerds or docile sex fetishes, and ladyboys. Because if we do, we turn white.Continue Reading

erasure

BRAVE NEW WORLD IS (STILL) HERE

By Vyvyan René

‘JUST A NOTHING’: ASEXUAL ERASURE IN ADAPTATIONS OF THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY

By Vyvyan René

CANAPES, CONFERENCES AND CLASS DISCRIMINATION – ACADEMIA IN 2017

REVIEW: THE POWER, BY NAOMI ALDERMAN

CHECHNYA: NORWICH PRIDE, SOLIDARITY, ACTIONS

WE’RE HERE. WE’RE QUEER. AND WE MATTER: THE HIDDEN FACE OF THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY

SCARLETT AND YELLOWFACE—THE CASE OF SLANT EYES IN 21ST CENTURY MAINSTREAM MEDIA

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