The artist vs person debate at the heart of the Emilia Perez scandal
Backlash against lead Karla Sofia Gascón points to the morality minefield of consuming an artist's actions alongside their work. Karla Sofia Gascón is the first trans woman to be nominated for Best Lead Actress at the Oscars for her role in Netflix underdog Emilia Perez. I use the term underdog because...
Current in Culture
Exploring Reggaeton’s roots and political history
Reggaeton is widely recognised by its uptempo beats and raunchy lyrics, but there is another side to the genre we see less often. Through live events and powerful lyrics, reggaeton artists have used music as a tool to call out political corruption, discrimination, and to generate a feeling of...
Kendrick Lamar wins five Grammys for ‘Not Like Us’
The smash 2024 summer hit ‘Not Like Us’ has taken home five Grammys, making it the most prolific diss track of all time. If anyone was in doubt as to who won the rap beef last summer, the Grammys just put the final nail in the coffin. This year was...
Opinion – ‘What I Eat in a Day’ videos are entirely unappetizing
The trend of sharing our daily meals invites harmful diet tropes, unhealthy comparisons, and a general disillusionment with food. So why can’t we escape ‘What I Eat in a Day’ videos? There’s a peculiar flavour to modern voyeurism, and it comes in the form of meal vlogging. Otherwise known as ‘What...
What Reddit vs X says about internet groupthink
Multiple subreddits are banning X links in protest of Elon Musk’s salute at the presidential inauguration. The implosion of ideological groupthink online highlights the fascinating potential of digital community. Elon Musk was one of a number of tech-giants who took center stage at Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration. The X...
The politics of pink Kashmiri tea
In Kashmir, savoury pink tea is a staple. But outside the valley, it’s been rebranded into something sweeter, almost sparking a quiet identity crisis. Let’s unpack the history, evolution, and brewing debate over what makes nun chai truly Kashmiri (hint: it’s salt). ‘Bas bas! Main itna nahi kha paungi! (Enough,...
Why do we love mocking scam victims online?
You can try and deny it, but we love laughing in the face of innocent scam victims. The more elaborate the scam, the louder the taunts. But at a time when anti-bullying agendas are everywhere, why are we so quick to mock the internet's most vulnerable? A very shoddy photoshop job went viral last week. The series of images featured Brad Pitt in various states of ill health; undergoing surgery,...
US court rules that elephants are not people
A court has ruled that five elephants from Colorado zoo are not people after an animal rights group argued that they were effectively imprisoned. A court has ruled that elephants are not legally regarded as people. This bizarre judgement is the result of an ongoing bid to free five elephants from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado. Named Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou and Jambo, an animal rights group called The Nonhuman...
Green Day swap ‘American Idiot’ lyric for Elon Musk’s name
While performing in Elon Musk’s home country of South Africa, punk band Green Day replaced a lyric from ‘American Idiot’ with his name. Elon Musk has been causing controversy this week as he steps into his new role as Administrator of the Department of Government Efficiency. During his speech at the second inauguration of Donald Trump, Musk appeared to perform a Nazi or Roman salute several times. He declared that...
Snoop Dogg hit with backlash for Trump pre-inauguration ball
Rapper and entertainer Snoop Dogg was hit with criticism for performing alongside Nelly, Soulja Boy and others at the first ever ‘Crypto Ball’ in Washington, D.C. Snoop Dogg has been hit with a wave of criticism after appearing at the first ever ‘Crypto Ball’ in Washington D.C last week. The event was a celebration of Trump’s inauguration. The rapper was filmed performing his 1990s hit ‘Nuthin’ but a G Thang’...
