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Rogues and Villains

In honour of May the Fourth, Dr Nathan Waddell from our School of English shares some thoughts on the upcoming film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Do rogues win? They usually do in the Star Wars universe. They certainly will in Rogue One, the first of the Star Wars anthology movies. Due for release in …

The Continuing Legacy of The X-Files

On Sunday 24th January The X-Files returned to TV screens after a 14-year hiatus. While the new series has aired in the US to mixed reviews, the original was a landmark in US television. First broadcast on the Fox network in 1993, the series followed the investigations of two FBI agents into cases of paranormal …

Algorithmic Flows: Binge-watching and the Televisual

Binge-watching, the practice of watching multiple (if not every) episode of a television series in one go, is seemingly becoming the de facto way to watch episodic content. ‘Binge-watch’ was declared the 2015 word of the year by Collins dictionaries, a sign that the concept has, thanks to the proliferation of online viewing services like …

We meet again, at last

How do you make a familiar thing new? One way to do it, as Ezra Pound knew, is to invoke a long-forgotten tradition and adapt it to the pressures of the moment. For George Lucas – the George Lucas of the Star Wars prequels, at any rate – making new means making shiny. J. J. …

Which one’s your Pop culture?

In honour of Back to the Future Day, Dr Nathan Waddell from our School of English has re-watched all three films in the trilogy and needs to talk to you about temporal shifts. Great Scott! You’ve got to come back with me. BACK TO THE FUTURE! Back to the 2015 of Back to the Future …

Welcome to the Future

Dr Liz Evans from our Department of Culture, Film and Media introduces Back to the Future Day.  Those of you who haven’t been patiently waiting for today for the last 26 years may not realise that we’ve officially reached ‘The Future’. 21st October 2015 is Back to the Future Day, the day that Marty McFly …