A review of the novel “The Rising Tide” by Prashant Vaze
December 28th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
These days, some young adult fiction is so good it should be read by adults themselves and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the the “His Dark Materials” trilogy by Philip Pullman and “The Hunger Games” trilogy by Suzanne Collins. “The Rising Tide” too will appeal to adults as well as youngsters.
Like the previously mentioned trilogies, this novel has as its protagonist a young girl with some special skills and indeed the point of view is that of 15 year old Aria Lovelace, a schoolgirl in a Britain of some half a century hence when global warming is wreaking worldwide devastation as mammoth chunks of Greenland ice break off to cause tsunamis and rising sea levels.
Although the themes of the novel are huge – an environmental catastrophe, a growing refugee crisis and the interface between humans and technology – the focus of the narrative is very tight in terms of time (just a few weeks), place (a village in Norfolk), and characters (essentially Aria’s family). As the story unfolds, it is increasingly clear that Aria is special but, when it comes, the great reveal is a genuine surprise.
Vaze – a Londoner currently based in Hong Kong – is a self-confessed policy wonk with a passion for the environment and he has written an impressive first work of fiction with intriguing thoughts on the future of education and energy supply and the roles of connected devices and artificial intelligence.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
A review of the 1946 film “A Matter Of Life And Death”
December 27th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
At the end of the Second World War, relations between the Americans and the British were a little strained as, in the run-up to D-Day, the yanks won local hearts while they were “overpaid, oversexed and over here” and a British Government department suggested the idea of a locally-made film to improve perceptions.
Written, produced and directed by the quintessentially British Michael Powell and the Hungarian-born Emeric Pressburger, the work may not have fully met its contemporary brief: British critics of the time thought the film was too pro-American and the Americans renamed the work “Stairway To Heaven” because they thought the word ‘death’ would kill its prospects. But the movie played well with audiences on both sides of the Atlantic and it was so visually inventive and verbally clever that it has become a classic.
At the heart of the story is an inversion of the usual ‘yank gets the girl’ narrative, as RAF bomber pilot Squadron Leader Peter Carter (David Niven) wins the affection of American radio operator June (Kim Hunter) in record time and audacious circumstances as he is about to bale out without a parachute. That should be the end of the ‘matter’ but Conductor 71 (Marius Goring) of “the other world” (the word ‘heaven’is never used) fails to find his man in the Channel fog.
So this is a romance – and a comedy – but it is also very political with some satirical analysis of contemporary Britain and America. The tribunal in the other world, pitting American prosecuter (Raymond Massey) against the British defender (Roger Livesey), features critiques and characteriisations of both nations, not least in the choice of the members of the two juries.
The set designs – by German-born Alfred Junge – are simple but striking, especially the staircase to the other world and the scenes of that world, while there are a whole range of clever visual techniques, starting with the representation of earth in colour and the heavenly world in black & white and including the ‘freezing’ of ‘real life’ when Conductor 71 makes his earthly appearances and an amzing shot from an eyeball point of view.
Even the statutes on the stairway are carefully chosen (all of the 17 famous personages named in Pressburger’s copy of the script were believed to be sufferers of epilepsy). Indeed the whole film is constructed so that the viewer can interpret the story either as a real life medical phenomenon or as an obviously spiritual experience.
Most people will only have seen this film on television which is where I first encountered it. But, in December 2017, a digitally restored version was shown in British cinemas and I was fortunate enough to see it on the big screen as a Boxing Day treat.
Seven decades on, the film still has resonance as a British Prince Harry wins the heart of the American actress Meghan Markle and the second jury – made up entirely of self-declared immigrants to the USA – reminds us that current US President Donald Trump does not represent the real America.
You can read my reviews of 57 classic films here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (2)
Would a universal basic income really work?
December 26th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
We need some new, big and bold, ideas to tackle poverty and inequality. I have done an earlier posting about the intriguing idea of a universal basic income. I don’t know if this approach would work but I think we should try it.
There is a trial in Canada; there is a trial in Finland; and today’s “Guardian” newspaper reports on forthcoming trials in four local authority areas in Scotland.
Let’s see if it works and let’s be guided by the evidence – as we should with all social policy.
Posted in Social policy | Comments (0)
So who exactly was Alexander Hamilton?
December 23rd, 2017 by Roger Darlington
This week, the multi-award-winning American musical “Hamilton” finally opened in London. But, until the success of the show on Broadway, most non-Americans knew nothing about Hamilton and I suspect that many Americans were not as familiar with his achievements as they should have been.
I’ve just watched a recording of a two-hour American-made documentary on the life of Alexander Hamilton that was shown in the UK on the History channel.
Hamilton was born on 11 January 1755 on the small West Indies island of Nevis; his father soon left home; and his mother died when he was young. So, when he arrived in New York, he was illegitimate, an orphan, and an immigrant – not the most promising of starts for a political career.
But, in the American War of Independence, he came to the attention of General George Washington and became his chief aide. Indeed Washington was a benefactor to Hamilton as long as the General lived.
Hamilton played a key role in the decisive Battle of Yorktown and later married into an elite family, both events advancing his public standing. He became a qualified lawyer and prolific political writer.
Ever since the War of Independence when he was critical of the weakness of the Continental Congress, Hamilton had favoured a strong and effective central government for the new United States. So he was a strong supporter in public of the new Constitution and wrote no less than 51 of the 85 Federalist Papers which explained and advocated the new system of government.
When Washington became the first President, Hamilton was made Secretary of the Treasury where he instituted a whole series of measures designed to strengthen the new national state, including consolidation of the debts of the states into a national debt, the creation of a federal bank, and the establishment of a national currency.
It was at this stage that American politics became party-based with the formation of the Federalists, supported by Hamilton, and the Republicans, backed by Thomas Jefferson. The former favoured a strong central government, while the latter supported states’ rights – a cleavage which ultimately led to the American Civil War and still exists today.
Hamilton – married with five children – might have risen further in public life, but he was the subject of the first major sex scandal of American politics when he had an affair with the wife of James Reynolds who successfully blackmailed him before the matter became public.
In those days, conflicts between gentlemen could become “affairs of honour” ultimately risking settlement through a duel. Hamilton managed to experience 10 such matters without needing to duel but, on the eleventh occasion, a duel was held with his long-time opponent Aaron Burr and he was mortally wounded. He died on 12 July 1804.
So Hamilton – am immensely talented but very difficult man – was certainly a colourful character with lots of material for various biographies and a musical (can the film be far off?). What the television programme underlined for me was that the personal animosity and bitter conflicts of today’s American political life go right back to the Founding Fathers. The likes of Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and John Adams really despised others with a vengeance.
If you want to know more about the life of Alexander Hamilton, check out this short account or this longer account.
Posted in History | Comments (1)
Nine questions raised by “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”
December 22nd, 2017 by Roger Darlington
If you haven’t yet seen the eighth movie in the “Star Wars” saga, you might want to skip this posting because it involves spoilers.
But, if you’ve seen the film and came away with lots of questions, you’ll want to check out the IMDb list of nine questions arising from the plot.
And, if you’re a “Star Wars” fan, you can check out my reviews of all the movies in the franchise.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
In the Northern Hemisphere, it’s the shortest day of the year
December 21st, 2017 by Roger Darlington
It’s known as the Winter Solstice.
The shortest day lasts for 7 hours 49 minutes and 41 seconds in London, UK, where I live. This day is 8 hours, 49 minutes shorter than the June Solstice. After this point, the days start getting longer and the nights shorter. Hurray!
This information is taken from a fascinating piece on the web site of the National Maritime Museum. You can find the full article here.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Why the UK’s international aid is so important
December 20th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
“UK aid has already done so much to change the lives of the world’s poorest children. British aid has educated 11 million children in the last five years. The UK’s investment in immunisation in the same period ensured 67.1 million children were protected against preventable diseases. That’s more than the population of the UK.
This year, the Department for International Development announced a plan to increase investment in family planning by 25% meaning 120 million more women and girls will be able to access contraception by 2020, giving them the power to plan their lives.
In spite of this amazing progress, aid is increasingly under attack from both the national press and backbench politicians. In this climate, it is not a given that our life-saving commitment to spend 0.7% of our national income on international aid is secure.”
If conversation over Christmas should turn to challenging this aid and that commitment, this short briefing will be helpful.
Posted in British current affairs, World current affairs | Comments (0)
Are you sending Christmas cards this year?
December 19th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
According to this short article:
- The first Christmas card was in 1843 but the idea took some 20 years to become popular.
- This year, in the UK we will send an estimated 900 million cards – around 100 million fewer than last year.
- Some 80% of people in a poll said that they would prefer a physical Christmas card to an e-card.
- In the UK, charities raise around £50 million a year from the sale of Christmas cards.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (1)
Among all the doom and gloom, some good news about our health prospects
December 19th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
It’s called gene editing.
As a BBC story puts it:
“Scientists are now able to edit genes from organisms. Gene editing has already been used for some devastating illnesses – with great success. However, it is often lengthy and costly.
Only five years ago a form of gene editing was discovered with great fanfare. It is called CRISPR Cas9, or CRISPR for short. Simply put, CRISPR uses “molecular scissors” to alter a very specific strand of DNA – either cutting it out, replacing it or tweaking it.
It is now used in labs all over the world, altering and manipulating the genes of plants and animals with the idea that it can soon be used to treat numerous human diseases.”
You can read the full article here.
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
My review of “Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi”
December 17th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
The trouble with reviewing the latest episode of a galatic franchise like “Star Wars” is that expectations are so hign. Ever since I saw the first movie four decades ago as a 29 year old who had fairly recently become a father, I have approached each new chapter – usually with my son – with immense exitement and not a little trepidation. If there was no “Star wars” canon, this film would be judged a great success with lots of enjoyment and entertainment. Assessed as the eighth segment of a saga, however, the sum of the parts (too many parts) – often exhilerating – is less than the rather incoherent whole.
As with the previous episode, the same person writes and directs, but this time Rian Johnson has taken over the baton (or light sabre) from J J Abrams and, all things considered, has done a fine job, presenting a series of exciting action sequences in a rich palette of colours with some splendid cinematography to add to the dramatic scenery and clever CGI.
The best performances come from Mark Hamill as the eponymous final jedi and Adam Driver as Keylo Ren of the First Order, both of whom offer conflicted and emotional states of mind. Other convincing performances come from two new heroines: Laura Dern as a Vice Admiral commanding a Resistance space cruiser and diminutive Kelly Marie Tran as a Resistance soldier who brings more ethnic diversity to the cast. However, Daisy Ridley struggles a bit to bring the necessary gravitas to Ren’s more central role, while it is sad to see the late Carrie Fisher barely coping as Leia Organa (although she does have one of the best one-liners).
The real problem with “The Last Jedi” is that there are too many characters and too many strands to the plot with too many ‘endings’ and an excessive running time (at two and a half hours, the longest in the franchise). Also, like the previous film, it is often derivative, so we have another cantina sequence like “A New Hope” and another white planet like “The Empire Strikes Back” (Episode IX needs a new world). But, for all my quibbles, I savoured the movie and look forward to the final segment of the third triptych in the franchise.
You can find my reviews of all the “Star Wars” films here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)