The media has missed the point of the Epstein story
Coverage has fixated on big names and sordid details, but the focus should remain on Epstein’s victims. If you’re an internet user you’ve probably scanned at least one headline pertaining to Jeffrey Epstein in the past week. The child sex offender is back in the news due to newly revealed...
Current in Media
Cambridge Dictionary names ‘parasocial’ its Word of the Year
Highlighting the prevalence of ‘unhealthy’ and ‘one-sided’ relationships people are forming with celebrities, influencers, and AI chatbots today, Cambridge Dictionary has named ‘parasocial’ as its Word of the Year. Can you name a celebrity you feel like you ‘know’ because you’ve paid so much attention to their career and personal...
Billie Eilish criticised by Elon Musk after wealth comments
‘She’s not the sharpest tool in the shed,’ wrote Musk on X earlier this week. His comments were in response to Billie calling him a ‘pathetic coward’ for hoarding wealth instead of donating it to good causes. Billie Eilish has been hit with new criticism from the world’s richest...
Is Trump’s threat to sue the BBC warranted?
The BBC is facing a barrage of criticism from right-wing opposition after broadcasting an edited clip of Trump’s 2021 January Capitol Riots speech. The US president is threatening to sue for $1 billion USD. The BBC is currently engrossed in controversy after broadcasting an edited speech by current US president...
The 1975 remove song from last album on streaming services
British alt-pop band The 1975 have removed the song ‘Human Too’ from their previous album on all streaming platforms. Frontman Matty Healy says it’s simply because he doesn’t like the track anymore. Should artists be allowed to do this? The 1975 have removed one of their songs, ‘Human Too,’...
Should celebrities speak out on politics?
Jennifer Lawrence says speaking out against Trump would ‘add fuel to a fire’ ripping America apart. As political binaries continue to sharpen, should those in the public eye take sides? The question of whether famous people should be politically outspoken is a complex one. I’ve argued with friends and family...
Coca-Cola misses the mark with AI-generated Christmas ad again
After last year’s debacle, Coca-Cola has doubled down on its use of generative AI for its annually anticipated Christmas ad. The public reaction is even worse this time around. ‘Tis the season, it’s always the real thing’… except for when it’s not. Halloween is officially over, and Guy Fawkes Night will have been and gone before you can sing a Katy Perry chorus. Next up for a lot of us comes...
Opinion – TV’s serial killer continuum has stooped to new lows
When themes are explored and executed this tenuously, can we finally admit that TV’s fascination with serial killers is carried by morbid curiosity and nothing more sophisticated than that? Our minds are in the gutter, let’s just admit it. We can pretend the modern obsession with the macabre is about something deeper, but the uncomfortable truth is that people want to be titillated with grizzly details. It’s about time folks are...
How responsible should artists be over their content?
Lily Allen’s new album ‘West End Girl’ is an honest account of her separation from David Harbour. She references infidelity in extremely raw, authentic detail, and an inevitable online backlash has ensued. Do artists have any responsibility for the effects their work will have on those they reference? ‘West End Girl’ is Lily Allen’s fifth studio album following a seven year hiatus. In that time, Allen has become a critically acclaimed...
Opinion – the reinvention of Taylor Swift is totally unrelatable
Apart from the fact that TLS lacks the endearing country innocence of her first albums, the artful yet poppy lyricism of her mid-career work, and the surrounding celebrity/poetic wannabe characterisation of her more recent releases, it’s just bad. But the biggest mistake Swift has made in painting herself as an unrelatable showgirl? It just doesn’t fit with any of the versions of herself that Swift gave us to choose...
