Tag Archives: elitism
Two Gentlemen Sharing: Swinging London’s “race” picture
The films of Swinging London have been pored over and cherished ever since the 1960s. Which made Saturday’s rare BFI Southbank screening for Two Gentlemen Sharing with a Q&A with director and the two leading ladies all the more intriguing. … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Film, History
Tagged 60s, culture, elitism, film, judy geeson, kitchen sink drama, London, norman rossington, robin phillips, swinging London, ted kotcheff, two gentlemen sharing
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Filth, fury and the funny way Britain feels about Joe Orton
You never forget your first time. I was 19 years old. I descended into a dark, cramped basement where student actors brought to life a weird, twisted sexual triangle. Going to student drama productions in odd spaces around the University … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Crime and Justice, Culture, Film, Media, Radio, Theatre, TV, Uncategorized
Tagged 60s, crime, culture, dr emma parker, elitism, film, joe orton, john lahr, kenneth halliwell, Kenneth Williams, Leicester, leonie orton, literature, London, prick up your ears, satire, sheila hancock, soft touch arts, tv
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A Smashing Time: Murray Melvin on busting taboos in the 60s
Ā This is one of the most read pieces on my website but the link had stopped working so I’ve re-posted it here. The interview is still available to listen on the iplayer One to One link just below. For the … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Film, Media, Radio, Theatre, Uncategorized
Tagged 60s, A Taste of Honey, Alfie, cinema, culture, Damn The Defiant, Dirk Bogarde, elitism, FTW, HMS Defiant, Joan Littlewood, Ken Russell, kitchen sink drama, michael caine, Murray Melvin, oliver reed, Rita Tushingham, The Devils, Theatre Royal Stratford
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What If…? HG Wells, Arnold Bennett and your alternative future
It is early January in a new century and a group of Ā technicolored-Victorian gentlemen are awaiting the return of their friend from the future. Iāve always loved the 1960 film of HG Wellsā The Time Machine. Drawing inspiration from the … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Film, History, Politics, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Uncategorized
Tagged Alec Guinness, Arnold Bennett, cinema, Edwardian, elitism, FTW, HG Wells, journalism, literature, London, Paul Flowers, Stoke-on-Trent, The Card, The Time Machine
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LBJ and JFK: Assassination & the struggle for power
“The King – the President – is dead. The King has a brother. The brother hates the Vice-President. You have a really Shakespearean struggle for power here.”Ā Robert Caro, Lyndon B Johnson’s biographer talking to me about the assassination. It … Continue reading
Posted in History, Politics, Uncategorized
Tagged 1963, 60s, asassination, elitism, JFK, LBJ, Martin Luther King, Michael Goldfarb, politics, Robert Caro, US Congress, US Presidency, US Senate
4 Comments
Oh What A Lovely War Commemoration!
Recently the Prime MinisterĀ spoke of his hopes that eventsĀ to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War would be a “commemoration that, like the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, says something about who we are as … Continue reading
Posted in Comedy, History, Media, Music, Politics, Radio, Theatre, Uncategorized, War
Tagged 1963, 60s, BBC, culture, David Cameron, David Kynaston, elitism, Erica Whyman, Field Marshall Haig, First World War, Joan Littlewood, Michael Billington, Murray Melvin, Oh What A Lovely War!, politics, satire, Theatre Royal Stratford, war
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Murder, Mirth and Care Bears: The uses of an Oxford English degree
Photo copyright and courtesy of: Ian Fraser at Virtual Archive Writing for news bulletins, writing for standup comedy, writing murders for tv drama, writing for comics and fantasy gaming novels. These were some of the uses to which a group … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Comedy, Comics/graphic novels, Culture, Education, Media, Uncategorized
Tagged culture, elitism, English literature, FTW, journalism, literature, media, oxford, publishing, St Edmund Hall, Stewart Lee, terrorism, tv, universities
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Poor Cows and Angry Young Men: 50 years of Kitchen Sink Drama
The director Ken Loach and the theatre critic Michael Billington remember the dawn of the 60s well. “The 50s weren’t bleak and depressing,” spluttered Loach, listening to art critic Rachel Campbell-Johnston explain the grim postwar era that spawned the new … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Film, Theatre, TV, Uncategorized
Tagged 50s, 60s, British social realism, cinema, culture, elitism, feminism, film, FTW, Ken Loach, kitchen sink drama, music, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, tv
3 Comments
The Politics of Spin: Beware the bland bomb
Image copyright & courtesy of www.barrydbulsara.com “I’m not sure it says government is crap,ā said Armando Iannucci recently, of his political satire The Thick of It. āI think it says the people in government are crap.” Nowadays politicians and their … Continue reading
Posted in journalism, Media, Politics, Radio, TV, Uncategorized
Tagged Armando Iannucci, BBC, Clare Gerada, culture, David Cameron, elitism, journalism, Kingston University, Malcolm Tucker, media, politics, The Thick Of It, tv
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Triumph of the Eastern Will: How the Olympics came clean about winning
A version of this article originally appeared in The Big Issue Magazine By the time you read this a couple of weeks will have passed since the end of the London 2012 Games. The Paralympics are about to start. Politicians … Continue reading
Posted in Germany, Sport, Uncategorized
Tagged 70s, 80s, Anabolic steriods, communism, DDR, Doping, East Germany, elitism, FTW, GDR, Nadia Comeneci, Olga Korbut, Rebecca Adlington, Tom Daley, Ye Shiwen
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