Connecting with Culture - more by Jason Gardner

Dignity for the Dying?

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:55:04 +0000

There were many reasons put forward as to why Sky’s airing of The Suicide Tourist – a documentary that showed the moment of death from physician-assisted suicide of Motor Neurone Disease-sufferer, Craig Ewart – was not a cynical attempt to secure viewing figures but a service to society. Writing in the Independent, Mary Ewart, Craig’s wife, said it was her husband’s desire to elicit more public engagement with the issue of mortality:

‘…death is hidden and private, people don't face their fears about it. They don't acknowledge that it is going to happen, they don't reflect on it, they don't want to face it. That's the taboo.’

It’s an admirable sentiment, but aren’t we constantly reminded of death’s presence amongst us by reports of global famine and disaster? And when so many families experience loved ones suffering debilitating diseases, do we need television to make us aware of the fragility of life? And what of the millions who don’t have the wealth for such health ‘care’, or who have no say over when or how they die, be it from disease or tragedy? What does this teach them?

The Name’s Brand… James Brand

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:20:18 +0100

There are numerous web pages devoted to the Bourne versus Bond debate. Who’s the superior in your book? Robert Ludlum’s brainwashed bionic man – a gritty, focussed, über-assassin, who wouldn’t be distracted by Swedish supermodels or a bottle of Bollinger; or Ian Fleming’s naval commander – not just a resourceful killer, but a witty philanderer and nouveau cuisine connoisseur.

Whatever your decision, there’s no denying that the Ludlum character’s film franchise resulted in Bond being (ahem) bourne again. Daniel Craig’s new, more bruising Bond, owes a lot to Matt Damon’s rogue spy; there are less quips, less gadgets and less girls in Casino Royale, as no doubt will also be true of the upcoming Quantum of Solace.

A healthy appetite.

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 09:21:53 +0100

I’ve never been a big fan of the Tequila Slammer: licking a lime then snorting salt before downing a dose of Mexican firewater (I’m sure that’s how it’s supposed to be done) seems an awful lot more bother than supping a good old pint of Pedigree.

But if you are a fan of the worm-ridden liquor then despair as its price is about to hit the roof. Fields of the plant from which it is derived, the blue agave, are being uprooted in Mexico in order to grow cash crops that make more green – dollars that is – namely wheat and corn.

Hellboy 2 – The Golden Army

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:32:47 +0100

Much of JRR Tolkien’s fantasy epic, The Lord of the Rings was inspired by the author’s experiences on the battlefield of the Somme. The dedication of Samwise to Frodo was a reflection of the loyalty of a batman – a military version of a butler- to his officer. And the industry of Saruman’s mines and forges, and the raising of an Orc army to wipe out humankind mirrored the mechanisation of warfare in the First World War.

Fan into Flame

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:20:05 +0100

The controversy surrounding this week’s Lambeth Conference will be seen by some not simply as in-house fighting within the Anglican Communion, but as the final nail in the coffin of Christendom. For some, the ongoing debate over homosexuality marks a divergence between secular and biblical worldviews that cannot easily be reconciled.

Take it to the Streets

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:57:38 +0100

Being a policeman is not an easy task. Take the other night, for example; the PC visiting the youth group I help out with had the unenviable task of giving a talk on police policy for stopping and searching young people. A fairly routine PR exercise for the boys in blue, but in this instance the speaker knew not only that many of the youths had first hand experience of being stopped and searched, but also that it was he who had carried out those searches.

The Incredible Hulk

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:08:00 +0100

‘Wrraaaarrggghh! Hulk smash!’ Fan boys have to wait an hour-and-a-half into the new film, The Incredible Hulk, to hear those two, well, nearly three, immortal words roared out by the anything but jolly green giant, but it’s certainly worth the wait. It comes in a smack-down between our verdant-skinned hero and his devastatingly powerful, and equally emerald mutant opposite, The Abomination.

You’re Hired!

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:04:16 +0100

I sacked Simon Smith. Yep, I gave this week’s hapless contestant on The Apprentice his marching orders. OK, the TV evidence is that it was the lovable epitome of all things shrewd and opportunist, Sir Alan Sugar, who fired him – but at least I was there to back up his decision. As part of the studio audience for The Apprentice: You’re Fired!, the follow-up show that interviews each week’s victim, I got to wave my red card at Simon when the mob was asked how we’d have handled him.

Defender of the Faiths?

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:39:39 +0100

Extremism. Irrelevance. The twin evils set to destroy the public image and persona of religion worldwide. The first fuelled by minority elements amongst people of faith, and the second foisted upon religion by a majority of those of no faith, dismissing it as outmoded superstition.

Into the breach steps Tony Blair – as our newly appointed defender of the faiths. The former Prime Minister has set up a Faith Foundation whose goal is not just the nurture of harmony amongst different faiths and the eradication of extremism, but also the enlightenment of secular western society in regard to its debt to faith, past and present.

Best of British

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 09:38:35 +0000

‘I pledge allegiance to the Queen, and to the Union Jack. I solemnly swear to mow my lawn in stripes and eat fish and chips once a week and chicken tikka masala once a month. I will endeavour to holiday in a static caravan in Bognor every year, and from this day forward will, without fail, watch the Last Night of the Proms and the FA Cup Final.’

cloverfield

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:55:59 +0000

I wonder if, before switching on the nightlight and retiring downstairs, the parents of the young J J Abrams told him there were monsters not only under the bed but also under the floorboards and clutching the limbs of the trees outside his window. The creative force behind TV’s Alias and Lost, Mission Impossible 3 and the current box-office hit Cloverfield has an unnerving knack for making you feel that, just off camera, just out of sight, some colossal, terrible force is about to make its presence known and change the way you think about life forever.

nothing’s better than the real thing

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 17:00:47 +0000

Cinema, in glorious three dimensions, is back! And there’s not a pair of those frail, cardboard, green-and-red specs in sight! Now you get a natty pair of special polarising specs that would give Ray-Ban a run for their money. Forget the horror that was (for all the wrong reasons) Jaws 3-D; the latest technology is guaranteed to have you gasping in disbelief as images leap to life before your eyes. See for yourself (if you missed Beowulf before Christmas) when U2’s imaginatively titled concert film U23D comes to a cinema screen alarmingly near you next month.

heroes

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 10:52:45 +0000

I’m sure it’s a consolation to all of us to learn that if we want to clamber up skyscrapers like Spiderman, or express our road rage not with rude hand signals but with the heat-ray vision of Superman, help is at hand. No longer do we have to wait for wizards, radioactive spiders or freak gamma-bomb accidents to bestow on us such unique abilities. No, nature will take its course.

time for change

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 17:02:34 +0000

Last Saturday, October 27, marked 40 years since the passing of the Abortion Act. As it happens, the introduction of the Human Tissues and Embryo Bill to Parliament later this month will allow amendments to be made to that law.

the parent trap

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 22:49:49 +0100

‘It’s a constant challenge as a parent to stay positive rather than paranoid.’ So says one mother quoted in the Independent’s response last week to a report from Cambridge University that declared that Britain is failing its children.