Get Out Breathes Life Into The Dying World of Horror

***Warning - Spoilers ahead!***

Bursting at the seams with visual metaphors, double entrendres and thought-provoking concepts, it’s no wonder Jordan Peele’s directorial debut Get Out smashed the box office. Just weeks after its U.S release, the film has secured Peele’s place in cinematic history - making him the first black debut writer/director to bring in over $100 million at the box office.

Get Out is a unique horror/social commentary film that successfully makes topical racial points while staying true to both the horror genre and Peele’s comedy roots. It follows young black photographer Chris Washington [Daniel Kaluuya] as he visits the family of his white girlfriend Rose Armitage [Allison Williams] for the first time. He is expectedly nervous about the situation, but has no idea of the real terror that is in store for him.

Throughout his stay at the elaborate countryside mansion he notices oddities surrounding him, particularly the unusual way the family’s black house staff act. Despite Rose’s father’s insistence that he and his peers are liberal – note their rehearsed spiel about wishing they could vote for Obama for a third term – he is bombarded with inappropriate racial questions. Is he stronger because he is black? Is he better endowed? Does he feel that being black is in fashion? Eventually, he discovers these questions are foreshadowing for a far more gruesome secret plan the family have for him. He later discovers that the Armitage family run a business that puts the brains of dying or ill white people into the bodies of healthy young black men and women.

The film is laden with clever and subtle references to modern racism. The secret operation of the Armitages is a comment on white society’s idolisation of black culture within mainstream media. It examines how white America often desires the physical attributes of black bodies, without truly taking an understanding of the societal issues people of colour face. Through its use of a blind character who wants to undergo the procedure while staying adamant that he is not racist like the others, Get Out shows how cultural “colour blindness” still contributes to systematic oppression. Even if you were to miss the references, the film is entertaining, offering terrifyingly tense horror sequences and perfectly timed comic relief. The modern takes on race in America are intelligent and quiet, but they are all the film needs to drive home the point.

After a spectacularly gory finale featuring death by deer antler stabbing and graphic brain surgery gone wrong, Chris comes out on top and escapes the family home. One of the finest moments in the film is when he avoids hypnotisation by removing the stuffing from a couch and putting it in his ears. That’s right – a black character survives by literally picking cotton.

Get Out manages to bring traditional horror into the modern age while offering a contemporary take on social and political issues. The film will no doubt be remembered as a telling reflection of the times we live in, as well as a tense horror masterpiece that breathes new life into the genre.

J.K Rowling's Not-So-Magical Political Commentary

What springs to mind when you think of J.K. Rowling? Her international success as an author, her contributions to modern pop culture, her millionaire status? Her political commentary…perhaps not. There’s a reason Rowling’s years in the spotlight haven’t seen her deemed the political voice of a generation – and if you take one look at her Twitter account, you’ll understand why. Rowling’s hot takes on the UK’s upcoming general election are more fantastical than her magical wizarding world.

Most are familiar with Rowling’s heart wrenching journey to success. A victim of domestic violence, she raised her daughter single-handedly while battling depression, earning just £69 a week from unemployment allowance. She wrote the Harry Potter books in coffee shops around Edinburgh to escape the freezing conditions of her flat, and ultimately caught the eye of publishers with her now-iconic tales of witches and wizards.

Having lived through such struggle, you’d expect J.K. Rowling to empathise with those currently in a similar situation. With 1,182,954 people resorting to food banks and an estimated thousands of welfare-related deaths last year, you’d imagine Rowling would be fervently anti-Conservative. As a domestic violence victim, perhaps reports that two thirds of women’s refuge centres are facing closure due to Tory cuts would lead her to campaign for Labour this time around. Apparently not. Just days after the announcement of a snap general election, Rowling took to Twitter stating: “Election 2017: what should you do if you support Labour but can'tstand Jeremy Corbyn?”

That question can be answered in two words – vote Labour. It’s that simple.

This isn’t the first-time Rowling has blasted Corbyn to her 10 million Twitter followers though. When he was first elected as party leader, she called his supporters “utterly deluded”and deemed him “unelectable”. While polls and right wing media outlets have consistently claimed that Jeremy Corbyn can’t be Prime Minister, the irony is that Rowling has outright stated multiple times that she wants a Labour government. By constantly repeating anti-Corbyn sentiments, she is feeding the Conservative campaign. It’s more illogical than a seventeen-year-old school-boy being told to lead an army against the evilest wizard in the world, and winning because he has a magical scar.

If Rowling thinks Corbyn is unelectable, she should campaign for him. With her huge social media following and never-ending media attention, she could have some genuine influence. However, she’s instead choosing to continue her Twitter campaign of hatred against a man who wants the same things she does, meanwhile helping the Conservatives secure what could be one of their biggest wins in recent history.

With mere weeks to go until the election, what exactly does Rowling think she’s going to achieve by berating the leader of the party she actually supports? Let’s not kid ourselves into thinking the UK offers anything but a two-party system. There’s no real alternative to Labour. The Liberal Democrats’ campaign is likely to be effected by leader Tim Farron’s alleged belief that homosexual relationships are sinful, not that they could ever achieve a majority anyway. Rowling tweeted a link to an article showing how to tactically vote against the Conservatives without voting for Labour, which may lead to some gains for smaller parties, but ultimately will split the left’s voting and allow a Tory majority.

For somebody who agrees with Labour’s values and policies, holding a grudge against their leader in the run up to such an important election is plain irresponsible. Maybe developing such an elaborate fantasy world for 20 years has messed with Rowling’s perception of reality. Maybe she thinks everything is as black and white as a fight between good and evil. Maybe she thinks we’re not electing MPs for Westminster, but the Ministry of Magic. I’m sorry Joanne, but Dumbledore isn’t going to fly down on a Hippogriff on election day to prevent Brexit and five more years of austerity measures.

As a child of the Harry Potter generation, I grew up loving everything J.K. Rowling stood for. When I got older, her personal story inspired me. She was a victim of harsh Tory policies for years, but despite all odds overcame it by using the power of her imagination and writing prowess. Seeing her using her platform now, to feed the right-wing narrative that Corbyn can never win, seems reckless and ugly.

The NHS, women, refugees, the disabled, the poor, the young and the elderly, will suffer further cuts and consequences under another Tory government. J.K. Rowling can claim to support those effected by austerity all she likes, but actions speak louder than words. I suppose she doesn’t have to worry too much about the effects of Tory policy anymore though. Ah, to be a millionaire. 

Hazy cosmic jive: a night with Courtney Askey

                                                         

                       

                                                   Photo courtesy of Courtney Askey

There are some inherent differences when it comes to the Scots and the English. In the midlands, for example, they call bread rolls "cobs" which shows they are a morally corrupt nation. In Scotland, we aren't allowed to buy alcohol in shops after 10pm because we can't be trusted to be on our best behaviour if we drink before bed time and also buckfast exists. Additionally people in England seem to have a problem when you call Coke or Fanta "juice", which historically has been known to tear relationships combining those either side of the border apart. (Sorry guys but "fizzy pop" sounds like something from a Roald Dahl novel. See also: it's really daft.)

Sometimes though, really nice things happen and our two nations forget about the centuries of arguing over stupid words and what goes in a cooked breakfast, cold blooded killing, Margaret Thatcher and how you always ask us to say "there's been a murder".

And a really nice thing did happen this week (despite the loss of my hero and angel David Bowie). Courtney Askey, the queen of intergalactic grunge folk released her debut single with Blizzard Records, called Paris Apartment, at a fantastically sparkly night at The Cookie in Leicester.

I've followed Courtney's musical endeavours since 2011 when she was a 16 year old green haired acoustic guitar player posting covers on a soundcloud account. Five years later, Courtney Askey is a proper grown up musician and artist lady - even if she does eat chocolate cereal for dinner sometimes - with a record deal and her very own unique sound influenced by everyone from PJ Harvey and Nick Cave, to Courtney Love and Tom Waits.

Arriving at The Cookie, I noted I'd never seen such an elaborately decorated venue - there was silver streamers over every speaker, glow in the dark balloons, an incredible light show, a disco ball, a holographic banner featuring the title of Courtney's song and space themed party hats for all attendees. It felt much more like a party than a gig.

          

                                                      Photo courtesy of Keith Jobey

First on was Echolocation who recently celebrated their tenth anniversary together. Echolocation have a very distinctive sound and a very distinctive singer. Pete, their front man is rather intimidating as he swaggers around the stage with a curled lip, practically spitting out lyrics about the shabby state of affairs in the world over a expertly composed and performed post punk  sound. Towards the end of the set, Pete announces we are going to do some meditation. He is not joking. This very northern voice instructs us to find our inner souls. Looking around the crowd, I notice people of all kinds of age groups are completely engrossed in what he's saying. One young student type boy shouts to his friend: "This is on another level!" Echolocation know exactly what they're doing - they are experts of their trade.

Next up were Ash Mammal. Ash Mammal seem to have racked up masses of popularity in the brief time they've been together and rightly so. Their sound is an exciting combination of beauty and dirt; front man Cass snarling and shouting in his distinctive Brian Molko-esque voice while drummer Anya manages to competently drum and sing in their gorgeously soft echo-ey way. Ash Mammal are theatrical. Cass moves, sings, talks in a way that is more like performance art than a half hour music set. In a surprise move towards the end of their performance, bassist Jeeves makes a move to do lead vocals in a song about this really bad guy named Freddy and kicks Cass in the shin, tripping over in the process. It only adds to the theatrics. And it's okay because Cass was so hyped up on adrenaline he didn't feel anything anyway.

        

                                                     Photo courtesy of Adrian Manning

Finishing the night was the girl we'd all been waiting for, Courtney Askey. Miss Askey never fails to impress and her set proves that she can do just about anything and everything she puts her mind to (notably, organise this entire event and fill the room to pretty much maximum capacity). The colourful, trippy visuals and Courtney's fully baby pink outfit combined with her fantastically honest songs create an atmosphere that you don't want to leave. Dan and Andy from Echolocation do a wonderful job providing drums and bass to Courtney's songs and give them an edge that is far beyond her age. Throughout the set she brings a series of collaborators on and off stage, performing alone with only her guitar, then dueting with various artists from the night, everything coming to a climax with an incredible passionate rendition of her single Paris Apartment. For this, we have a synth player, a bassist, two guitarists, a drummer and of course Courtney. The entire set is expertly held together and each song offers something a little different. When she announces her final song, Infinity Theory, the crowd goes "aw!" In unison. Everyone wants more from this greatly talented young woman.

                                    

                                                       Photo courtesy of Keith Jobey

The level of planning, thought and effort put into the night was exceptional. It was so much more than a gig. I have no doubts that the new Ash Mammal EP and of course the debut Courtney Askey album will live up to all expectations. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if these incredibly young musicians blow us away more than we can possibly imagine.

Beneath are my own pictures of the evening (which only back up my point that the event was far more of a massive musical party than a gig)

         

         

                                      

        

        

Is North East Fife still up for grabs?

With less than 100 days until the general election that nobody can predict, people are starting to look locally to get some idea of the future of politics across the nation.

In many parts of the country big changes are expected to take place and this is particularly clear here in North East Fife, a traditionally safe Liberal Democrat seat that this year will see popular figure Menzies Campbell step down. This could potentially shift the vote significantly, especially following recent reports of the Liberal Democrat’s falling popularity and predictions that they could lose as many as 29 seats in May. Add to this the unstoppable rise of the SNP, last year’s European elections in Fife which saw the Tories soar ahead of the Lib Dems, and you see there is a pretty intense political fight ahead for this supposed “safe seat”.

Alongside the SNP’s predicted gain of over 40 seats this year, they saw a great result at the 2014 European Election in Fife, receiving the second highest amount of votes in total. This shows that despite the Labour strongholds in the area and the overall “No” vote in September, the SNP do have a chance of making gains here. But is North East Fife the place?

Conservative candidate for North East Fife, Huw Bell, thinks not. “We don’t have an exact figure for the referendum here but it was sort of mid 60% for no. I find that for a lot of people who used to vote for Menzies Campbell, the most important thing for them is the union; preserving the union, and not having an SNP MP. I think for me it’s going to be who has the most compelling pro unionist argument. And the name and the history of our party will help that.” But what chance do the Conservatives have of gaining North East Fife?

At the 2010 general election, the Conservatives received the second most amount of votes in North East Fife and additionally there was a 5% swing from the Liberal Democrats to the Conservatives. Despite this however a lot has changed in five years. The referendum has undoubtedly changed attitudes and got a lot more people engaged in politics. Previously North East Fife has seen a turnout of 63.6% at the general election – will the political interest generated throughout the referendum debate increase this number? And will that have a notable affect on the vote for any particular party?

Huw Bell believes that anything could happen in the next few months and will continue to work hard in the area. “I firmly believe I will be better to represent all of you and if you want to stop the SNP we are the party that is best placed to stop them. North East Fife is definitely still up for grabs. It’s definitely worth all my efforts.”

A day in the life - Bailey Jay

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Kirkcaldy hopes to keep Brown (03/11/14)

70% of people believe that Gordon Brown should not step down as MP, following Alistair Darling's resignation announcement yesterday.

Brown and Darling infamously worked together during Labour's last run in office. Darling's decision to step down at the upcoming 2015 general election has created discussion around whether the ex-prime minister should also refrain from standing. His seat, Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, is the second safest seat in the UK and he has been their MP for 31 years.

In his constituency of Kirkcaldy however, the majority of people believed Brown should remain in his role of MP. "I've not got a lot of thought for any politicians," said 61-year-old James White, "But I do like Gordon Brown. He's very good at what he does."

Following last week's polls showing that Labour may lose more than 30 of their Scottish seats, people were talking about the potential swing towards the SNP. "I have always liked Gordon Brown and I have voted Labour all my life. But after how Labour treated Scotland during the referendum debate I think I indentify more with the SNP. Next year, I'll probably vote SNP," said 42-year-old Margaret Galloway.

However not everybody thought highly of Gordon Brown. An elderly man, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "Get rid of the bloody lot of them. As far as I'm concerned, Gordon Brown changed the vote to a no. My wife and I have been voting SNP since 1963, and I hope they force him out next year."

Some people also thought Brown's long run at Westminster has made him unable to properly represent his Scottish constituency. "He's been doing this too long and he's lost touch with the real people," said 27-year-old Michael McDonald. "This may be a Labour stronghold, but I think it'll be interesting to see what happens next year."

La Roux, 02 ABC Glasgow

"La Roux? I remember her, she had a few tunes a few years back, didn't she?" was the response I had from my mother as I headed off to Glasgow on a last minute trip, to make use of a friend's free gig ticket. In all honesty, all I could do was agree. I hadn't heard anything from La Roux since I was in first year at high school.

Ultimately, everything about what my mum said was wrong. La Roux, at the release of the debut, self titled album in 2009 anyway, was a duo. Producer Ben Langmaid, and singer Ellie Jackson, teamed up to make catchy synth pop goodness, and singles "Bulletproof" and "In For The Kill" received plenty media attention, notably getting constant air play on Radio 1. Unfortunately, their platform in the mainstream media fizzled out after that. I wasn't even aware that La Roux was now a solo project and that Jackson had released a new album until I got to the gig.

It's a genuine shame that major stations like BBC Radio 1 haven't provided much coverage to Jackson's latest musical adventures. It doesn't surprise me though. Radio 1 is increasingly obsessive over what is new and what is now. If an artist has difficulty with album production, and release dates get pushed back, mainstream radio stations seem to consider them irrelevant. Note The Horrors latest album, Luminous. It's release was only delayed by a matter of months, yet their airplay was significantly lower than the singles from their previous albums. The music industry is a dangerously fast paced place.

Nevertheless, La Roux probably hasn't been damaged too much by ignorant radio stations. The 02 ABC is surprisingly full when I arrive, as Meanwhile, the support band, are already playing. I meet my friend, who tells me, "There's a man in a turtleneck grinding against synthesiser." This is something I have to see.

They're entertaining, undoubtedly. They're memorable too which is more than I can say for a lot of support bands I've had the misfortune of seeing. They make funky, 80s grooves. Imagine Prince, if Prince was white, and also a five piece synth led band. They play quite a long set but it's enjoyable, it's fun. It's an ideal set up for a night of electronic pop.

La Roux surprises me from the second Jackson takes to the stage. She walks on to "Let Me Down Gently", a brilliant track from her new album "Trouble In Paradise". The song's intro is made up entirely of samples of Ellie's distinctive, breathy voice, creating an almost angelic chorus for her entrance. It's gorgeous, reminding me of more alternative electronica like Purity Ring and Thom Yorke, but as the song develops it's clear that the focus is synth pop. I take no issue with this, as what La Roux does, she does it well. The fact I'm watching a synth centred artist perform with a full band makes me smile too. I appreciate when artists put effort into their live shows.

She sings flawlessly, impressive considering her famously high pitched songs. Her vocal ability is astonishing. Alongside her energetic stage presence, it's difficult to take your eyes off her. She's stunning, dressed simple in a black long sleeved t-shirt and gold loose trousers. Her androgyny makes her even more fascinating. Everything about her is elegant, simplistic, and yet on stage she takes huge steps, dancing boldly.

The songs from the debut La Roux album aren't as strong as those from "Trouble In Paradise". She feels more polished, more confident than she did five years ago. They play hit "In For The Kill" quite early into the set, and Jackson is noticeably more confident. Her vocals soar effortlessly and she looks so content and comfortable on the stage.

The highlight of the set is "Silent Partner" a seven minute exploration in synth from her new album. Jackson plays electronic drums while dancing her signature skipping motion. The song is almost New Order-esque and the passion in which she hits the drums is impressive. It's a perfect pre-encore number, and the crowd goes wild for her. "La Roux, La Roux, La Roux is on fire!" chant the audience in a thick Glasweigan accent. She even receives a marriage proposal during this song.

I could not be more impressed by Ellie Jackson. The extent that she and her music have grown since my last interaction with her in 2009 is admirable. It's clear that the split from her previous band mate was a blessing, not a curse. Although it does seem to have put a spanner in the works in terms of media coverage, but people are still listening and attending gigs on an international scale. Azealia Banks just released her debut album independently and the media also appear reluctant to assist her in advertising her work. Perhaps what we need to see more of is powerful women becoming successful on their own, in a way that works for them. It's time to see mainstream artists prove that the mainstream media is not a necessity for them to thrive in the industry.

8/10