AI will not be winning any Oscars
As artificial intelligence continues to threaten intellectual property, the announcement is a sigh of relief for those working in the creative industries. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has clarified that only acting and writing for films done by humans will be considered eligible to win an...
Current in Culture
Where are all the women on the Times ‘Best-of’ list?
A list of the 25 best non-fiction books of the century has sparked debate after it featured just eight female writers. A gender disparity in the Sunday Times list of the 25 best non-fiction books of the century has stirred up a gender debate, after it listed only eight...
Michael Jackson biopic shows how far fans will go to protect an idol
A critical bomb but a commercial success, the new Michael Jackson biopic proves fans will do anything to preserve a dream of their idols. There is an absence at the heart of Michael, the new biopic charting the rise of Michael Jackson. And it doesn’t take a forensic specialist...
Jeremy Kyle and the politics of poverty
Television in the 2000’s and early 2010’s had ‘iconic’ shows like The Jermey Kyle Show and Fat Families, but were these truly a reflection of social transformation by Third Way politics? Older Gen Z or ‘Zillennials’ may remember watching daytime television on their old boxy TV’s, enjoying classics like...
Why is Andrew Tate #1 on Substack?
Manosphere figurehead and notorious misogynist Andrew Tate has the #1 bestseller spot on Substack this week. Is the platform at risk of becoming as toxic as every other social media platform? Andrew Tate has found his way onto Substack. The long-form essay sharing platform (where we publish The Common Thred...
Young Africans are creating comics that reflect their culture using AI
While the Global North debates AI ethics, young Africans are using it to tell stories rooted in their own cultures. In the Global North, whether AI use can ever be considered ethical in creative spaces is becoming a gray area. But for many Africans, the conversation is shifting away from...
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...
What Love Is Blind US reveals about the politics of fitness
Countless studies cite a correlation between gym-going and conservative ideology. So when did exercise get so political? On the most recent US season of Love is Blind, a gym-obsessed contestant named Chris told his new fiancée Jess that he wasn’t physically attracted to her. This revelation would be abhorrently hurtful in any case, but Chris’ reasoning was what most shocked viewers: he didn’t fancy Jess because she didn’t ‘do pilates...
Does Ye deserve forgiveness?
A new album and three-night headline show suggest the rapper formerly known as Kanye West has emerged from his wrongdoings unscathed. When Ye announced his twelfth studio album, ‘Bully’, over a year ago, few fans held their breath. The artist has become one of the most contentious figures in modern pop culture. Controversy seems to be the raison d'être for a man who is constantly reinventing himself. Ye’s many eras have...
Why are Gen Z suddenly so nostalgic for 2016?
2016 was the year of Pokemon Go, The Chainsmokers, Snapchat dog filters and skinny jeans. Gen Z are currently on a nostalgia binge, with searches for ‘2016’ having increased 71% in the last year over 2024. What’s going on? We’re not even two weeks into the year, and everything already feels exhausting. Trump is currently threatening to take over Greenland, Iran is in turmoil and Elon Musk’s X platform is under...
