While the coronation is in many ways a celebration, it also provides a clear time to examine whether the monarchy still has a place in our society. After all, the social and political landscape of our country has changed beyond recognition from when the first Kings of England took to the throne. Due to the extremely broad range of duties a monarch holds in this country, this article will only analyse the scope the monarchy has to abuse their power and will examine the legal exemptions the monarch enjoys and whether they ultimately contribute to the state.
US Military and Hollywood
The year is 1986. Top Gun has just hit the cinemas, and now, for the first time, we see Tom Cruise light up screens all around the world. Our hearts have been moved by Goose’s demise, stirred by Maverick’s romance with his Charlie, and we all whoop and cheer as Maverick and Iceman put aside their differences to focus on what’s important: flying. Ninety minutes of action-filled fun. So much ‘fun’ that young people, (mostly men) in their droves, touched specifically by the glamourous Top Gun lifestyle, flood to recruitment centres – in an increase never seen before. Rough estimates believe that there was a whopping five hundred percent increase in applications in for naval aviator positions between 1986 and 1987 alone.
Concorde 2 – The Future of Supersonic Flight
When looking into the future of supersonic flight one must first look at its history. More specifically, Concorde was the first supersonic airliner (a passenger airplane travelling faster than the speed of sound), launched in 1976. It could fly from London to New York in just three and a half hours, which halves the modern-day flight time of commonly used Airbus A330s. That halves the time of being squished into an uncomfortable seat, whilst wishing that the person in front of you would stop putting their seat down! So, if Concorde could reduce travel time so much, why don’t we use it today?
The Song of Achilles – a review
Anyone who knows me reasonably well knows I read – a lot. So, the finer details of read books get lost in the chaos quickly and, since all save the best don’t get reread, I’m left with a vague, overall impression to convey when someone asks me if I liked it. Nevertheless, I found myself picking up The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller again (and if I did so because it was required summer reading, well, that’s for me to know and for you to ignore for the sake of a narratively pleasing introduction). I read TSOA about two years ago and loved it – but now I can’t say the same. I still enjoyed the book but, having read some fantastic queer literature and classical adaptations since, some of TSOA’s shine has rubbed off, and I’m left with more complicated feelings towards it.
Are The Classics Redundant?
Most scholars would describe the first stanza of Sappho 31 as a confession of love, from a woman to another, describing the anxieties of attraction. More and more I hear people discussing whether the Classics, be it Greek or Latin, should still be included in the curriculum. And yet the question of whether the Classics are redundant baffles me, when this singular poem could so easily be studied in English, History, or the Classics, and it discusses topics that are still crucial in our ever-changing world today – what is love, what it is to love and what it means to be queer.