Julianne Moore in The Hours (© Paramount Pictures)
WHY I CRY SO EASILY
I cry easily. Not at weddings or funerals, but at prestige television and cinema. Give me restraint, duty, private grief, unspoken conflict and the cost of roles one inhabits, and I’m done. When The Crown got me within the first two episodes, it wasn’t sentimentality, it was layered recognition of patterns learned, rehearsed, carried. But recognition, as George Orwell warned, is never innocent. To see clearly requires effort; it demands that we examine the habits of perception we mistake for truth. This essay starts with what undoes me and turns toward the more difficult question: not only what I recognise on screen, but how I have been trained to recognise it in the first place, and why.
Entrance of Tito's Bunker near Konjic, Bosnia
MORAL SUPERIORITY FOR BEGINNERS
While in Bosnia I visited Tito’s bunker, a subterranean monument to Yugoslavia’s lost illusions. I joined a small tour led by Leila, a Bosnian Muslim woman who called herself a war baby, born in the early nineties when the region lost its mind. Two Russian women completed our modest quartet. They had done nothing except arrive, which, to my surprise, I considered an offence in itself. Outrage has a talent for simplifying the world. This story explores the humiliating challenge of keeping moral judgment both honest and humane.
My Lai massacre (Ronald L. Haeberle)
STANDING ALONE
What makes someone a hero? Is it their actions in a single moment, or the entirety of their character? Often, those we call heroes are flawed or controversial, with celebrated actions existing alongside less admirable choices. Labeling someone a hero feels reductive, as if it erases their complexity and places them on a pedestal they may not deserve. Our culture’s obsession with superheroes has diluted the essence of true heroism: heroism without a cape. While superheroism evokes images of popularity and fandom, true heroism seems marked by profound loneliness, stemming from the weight of decisions that place the greater good above personal needs.
“America, the most powerful idea in the world”
THE CASE FOR TRUMP
Alice Roosevelt Longworth once famously remarked that her father, former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, was so egotistical that he “always wanted to be the corpse at every funeral, the bride at every wedding, and the baby at every christening.” Her sharp wit captured not only the overwhelming narcissism that defined Roosevelt’s personality but also the essence of American foreign policy during his time and that of every president who followed. The self-aggrandisement of America’s political elite is deeply rooted in the peculiar notion of American Exceptionalism, a concept from which American leaders seem either unable or unwilling to break free.
Image by Criterion Collection
THE DANGERS OF TRUE CRIME
Are you drawn to the allure of true crime? We are. The genre offers a tantalizing blend of suspense, moral inquiry, and a glimpse into the darker recesses of human nature. Yet, as we continue to delve deeper into both creating and consuming these narratives, we find ourselves increasingly troubled by the ethical and factual pitfalls that accompany this fascination. The genre’s evolution, driven by the voracious appetites of streaming giants like Netflix, Amazon Prime and HBO MAX, seems to prioritize sensationalism over truth, resulting in a genre that beneath its surface of easy, harmless entertainment, erodes our idea of truth.
Gaza, 1 November 2023
WHEN FACTS CHANGE
When American president George W. Bush and his warmongering cabal found enough “evidence” to support their wild, self-serving theory on Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction, they launched an invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003. Five weeks prior, across the globe, demonstrations against the imminent war were organised and for the first time in my life I decided to take to the streets. Like many others, I was convinced of my righteousness, unfortunately, not for long.
Still Terror Episode 2 "The Bar"
UNDERSTANDING ZOHRA DRIF
“One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedomfighter.” Countless essays have debated the validity of this cliché, often approaching it from a legal standpoint in an attempt to establish rules. However, it’s senseless. Terrorism defies categorisation or regulation. Car bombs go off and people die. It happens. It’s a reality. What people are left with is the suffering and the pain and finally the attempt to make sense of it all. Zohra Drif considers herself a freedomfighter, while others label her a terrorist. Make up your own mind.
THE INNOCENCE NETWORK
Did you know that one of the most counterintuitive aspects of human behavior is when suspects confess to crimes they didn’t commit? When we asked researcher Patricia Nooyen to dive into the research on false confessions, she was astonished to learn that this phenomenon is far more widespread than she ever imagined, and it’s not just happening in the United States. Even more shocking is the fact that these false confessions often stem from highly manipulative and coercive police interrogations, which can actually rewrite a person’s memory. This revelation challenges our ideas on justice and human psychology. Read what Patricia learnt in Phoenix.
THE BEAUTY OF JAPAN
Japan presents an enigma, a nation where deeply entrenched traditions of honour and shame coexist with uninhibited expressiveness. Japan embodies a mosaic of idiosyncrasies, where ancient temples stand in the shadow of neon-lit cities and serene tea ceremonies precede nights of raucous karaoke. The country’s ability to be at once beautiful and tawdry, to hold sacred its traditions while embracing the eclectic and the modern, makes it an endlessly fascinating puzzle.
True Detective (© HBO Entertainment)
NO COUNTRY FOR TRUE DETECTIVES
HBO’s True Detective has amassed a fervent following, fueled by its iconic title sequence and terrific cast. Yet, while the storyline may have left some viewers scratching their heads, it was the electric banter between Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, full of existential angst, that truly stole the show. Fans loved the characters’ nonsensical ramblings as it resembled their own. So, imagine the uproar among fans and its creator when season 4 dared to introduce women who actually made sense.
CURIOSITY IN THE FACE OF IDENTITY POLITICS
Although we are capable of landing a man on the moon, we struggle to foster curiosity in our daily lives. We celebrate the poets, the inventors and the innovators who gift us with their creations, from verses that touch the soul, to life-saving medicines, to the technology that connects us. Yet, we shy away from embracing the curiosity and inquisitiveness that drove them to such achievements. We gaze into the mirror, seeking reflection only within our own circles. In doing so, we let curiosity fade away. One of life’s mysteries explained.