Latest Stories from Annie
Unpacking the moral dilemma of A24’s ‘The Drama’
Kristoffer Borgli’s 'The Drama' is less about cinematic clout and more an intelligent rumination on the systematic factors that situate us in the wrong place at the wrong time. On top of this, it offers an exercise in morality to determine, ultimately, how your morals lie with who you lie with. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ‘THE DRAMA’ ‘But of course you’d forgive Zendaya. It’s Zendaya!’ my friend quips as we exit...
Opinion – Brands continue to capitalise on women’s bodies
Before, women were supposed to be skinny. Then they were supposed to be strong. Now, women are being told it's possible to be both, and brands are looking to capitalise on it. Back in the 90s, women were kept skinny. Late-night dinners were traded for low-rise jeans, and subsisting while in a calorie deficit was considered an achievement. Kate Moss was heralded as the body to strive for, and...
Facial verification on dating apps is failing miserably
Could the strange final photos on dating apps like Tinder be a symbol of our already declining confidence in pre-screened dating? If you’ve been on dating apps recently, you might have noticed something strange. And no, I don’t just mean the obscure but seemingly popular fish holding photos and outrageous Hinge voice notes aside - although let’s not normalise this type of behaviour. What I’m talking about is the strange...
Is the Therian trend actually about rejecting modern life?
From TikTok Howls to dark academia, the Therian trend might look like just another online craze. But what if it’s really about rejecting the pressures of modern life and capitalism itself. As an English person living in Colombia, it can sometimes feel like certain trends - or at least, niche corners of the internet - take a while to gain the same traction that they would in the UK or...
Reviewing Nuestra America and Latin America’s fight for sovereignty
As US intervention rhetoric intensifies and Latin America faces renewed political pressure, leaders from across the global left gathered in Bogotá to defend sovereignty, environmental justice, and a vision of unity rooted in José Martí’s century old call for Nuestra América. 2026 began with Venezuela’s president and wife were arrested in the middle of the night and imprisoned in New York. Before that, US bombs had targeted civilian shipping crafts. Right...
Wuthering Heights yearning feels out of step with Gen Z dating
The vast criticism for Emerald Fennel’s 'adaptation' of Emily Brontë’s classic novel Wuthering Heights began before the feature film had even darkened screens in full. From the white-washed or otherwise clumsily racially-stereotyped casting choices, to the soy-boyification of Heathcliffe - the Byronic hero(?) - the one thing the trailer promised us was an almost complete departure from what the middle Bronte sister originally intended. On this point at least, audiences...
Why is Hollywood so obsessed with what women eat?
Jennifer Lawrence has consistently pushed back against the pressures of Hollywood and diet culture, yet it hasn’t been enough to stop the speculation and comments surrounding her body. Why are women put into different categories based solely on what they eat? Jennifer Lawrence first starred in the Hunger Games film franchise back in 2012, playing the role of Katniss Everdeen, a poor, starving teenager living in a dystopian society. Last...
Opinion – the rise of carnivorous women says plenty about diet culture
Women joining the carnivore trend might look like a rebellion against diet culture, but the motivations, the messaging, and the results people chase still fall along familiar gender lines. In his New York Times piece about ‘the Men Who Eat Meat’, Steven Kurutz prefaces his exploration into the carnivorous diet trend by contrasting it with ‘Girl Dinner’. In case you missed it, the internet trend involves women documenting themselves curating...
Opinion – Japan’s ‘carnivorous women’ talk is oppressive
In Japan, ‘carnivorous women’ and ‘herbivorous men’ are less to do with what’s on people’s plates, and more about what the different genders can bring to the table. Is this a reclamation of women’s right to consume in a free market, or is it yet another iteration of patriarchal capitalism? You may have already heard about the online Women’s Carnivore Tribe. Maybe you’re partial to a steak or 2 yourself,...
Opinion – Britain’s telling of the ‘Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi story’ was deplorable
The British government has maintained silence over Israel’s recent arrest of Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi. But why? If you’re wondering who she is, she’s the woman who was brave enough to leak a video which showed Israeli reservist soldiers abusing a Palestinian detainee. But, she isn’t the story. According to Al Jazeera, Tomer-Yerushalmi was detained earlier this month after admitting that her office leaked footage of a Palestinian detainee suffering ‘severe violence,...
