There is very little that has not been said about the video circulating of Leo Varadkar kissing a young man in a Dublin nightclub. One side argues that a man who cheats on his partner is morally dubious and that it speaks to his unfitness to run the country. The other side argues for greater …
Cancel Culture is a Tool of the Establishment
[published in the Irish Times on 22.04.2022] I wrote another piece on this a while ago, linked here, but since then my thoughts have crystallised much more coherently. And as the world discusses the “cancelling” of Will Smith by not only the Academy, but multiple film studios (if the rumours are true), I think it’s …
Continue reading Cancel Culture is a Tool of the Establishment
A Nation of Borises
If you are disabled, then everyone is like Boris Johnson. The country is enraged by Partygate, and I understand that. I, too, am furious. The fact that the government, the people who are meant to protect us, have shown such a callous disregard for human life disgusts and appalls me, as it does everyone. Boris's …
Netflix LGBT: The Prom
The Prom (2020) dir. Ryan Murphy IMDB: 5.9 Tomatometer: 54% Audience score: 62% The Prom needs no introduction. Based on a true story about a teenager from Mississippi (changed to Indiana) who was banned from her school prom for wanting to go with her girlfriend, it was a reasonably successful Broadway musical in 2018 and …
We need to talk about uncomfortable topics
In the job interview for my current position, I talked very candidly about the need to improve the inclusivity our education system; that it was our duty to educate students about the inequality and unfairness of the world they grow up in, to make them better citizens and kinder people than the previous generation. The …
Netflix LGBT: Dance of the 41
Dance of the 41 (2020) dir. David Pablos IMDB: 6.8 Tomatometer: 58% Audience Score: 68% 13 is not an unlucky number in Mexico. The greatest taboo is around the number 41. For a long time, hotels did not have room 41s, hospitals did not, armies did not have 41st battalions, and people went so far …
Wearing the White Poppy
Of all the political positions I have taken up, particularly among those advertised on my person, the white poppy is the one that has by far caused the most offence. It has been taken as an invitation to engage in arguments I have no interest in; it has led to being called a coward, that …
Netflix LGBT: Ride or Die
Ride or Die (2021) dir. Ryuichi Hiroki IMDB: 5.5 Tomatometer: 67% Audience score: 62% My expectations of Ride or Die were incredibly low, based firstly on the title, and secondly on its ‘steamy’ Netflix descriptor, both of which make it sound like a porn film. I should have remembered that this is the only way …
Mental Health Tokenism
Note: the following article contains discussions of ableism and false claims about the Holocaust. Earlier this year, I began a new job. Thanks to the (admirable) work of many mental health campaigns, in the last five years wellbeing has suddenly appeared on corporate agendas, and so on my second day at work we were all …
Netflix LGBT: Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga
Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (2019) (dir. Shelly Chopra Dhar) IMDB: 5.5 Tomatometer: 77% Audience Score: 65% I only found out after watching this film that it is based on a novel by P. G. Wodehouse (1919’s A Damsel in Distress), which might explain why I like it so much. I love farce …
Continue reading Netflix LGBT: Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga
An Irishwoman Abroad 