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SubscriptionsSection: Culture
History, music, cooking, travel, books, theatre, film – but also with an eye on the ‘culture wars’, nationalism and identity.
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We are now Living in ‘American Psycho’
Bonnie Greer finds clarity about the desecration of US society under Donald Trump in the premise of Brett Easton Ellis’ famous 1991 novel.
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The End of a Decade Without a Name: Right-Wing Populism, Referendums, Digital Darkness and Self-Harm
Part Two of Otto English’s take on the 2010s, charting the death of Lee Rigby, the rise of Nigel Farage’s UKIP and the forces that led to the UK voting to Leave the European Union.
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The End of a Decade Without a Name: From Austerity to the Isles of Wonder
Part One of Otto English’s take on the 2010s, exploring how Britain stumbled from the financial crisis into the euphoria of the London Olympic Games – only for a repressed and angry populism to rear its head.
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Death and Loss: Hope and Renewal – A Message from Stuttgart
After a tumultuous year politically and personally for Mike Stuchbery, he reminds how humans have survived the darkest hours.
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Cities are Not Full of ‘Urban Elites’ but So Many Possibilities – Now is the Time to Uphold Metropolitan Values
Bonnie Greer explores the divide between city and country in Britain and how this will be played on in the years ahead to sow more discord, not unity.
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‘Refusal of Corbyn’s Labour to Fight Back Against the Right’s Culture War a Big Mistake’
Hardeep Matharu speaks to Faiza Shaheen, a Labour candidate in the General Election, about why the British left cannot simply bury its head in the sand over the dangerous politicisation of race and class.
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‘English Nationalism is the Real Threat’ says former Ulster Unionist Leader
Brexit is a fault line which has triggered a realignment of loyalties in the island of Ireland – will Northern Ireland be left behind by English nationalism?
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‘Citizen K’ Review: A Prescient Warning of Oligarchical State Takeover in Russia
Chris Sullivan reviews the latest documentary from Academy Award-winning Alex Gibney which follows the story of one of Russia’s richest men, now exiled in the UK.
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Brexit and the Fracturing of British Identity: A Warning From Ireland
Hardeep Matharu speaks to acclaimed playwright Frank McGuinness about where the nationalist Brexit project being trumpeted by Boris Johnson could end up
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This is My England, and Yours: Reclaiming Englishness
Now that English Nationalism has been unleashed, Peter Jukes argues that we must all try to restore England’s buried civic tolerance and historic diversity.
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The English Dream: Boris Johnson’s ‘Noblesse Oblige’, Fake Charm and Pantomime Bluster
Bonnie Greer on why the Prime Minister’s victory is symbolic of an English consciousness reawakening.
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‘Lies Won, Truth Lost’: Can the Nobel Prize Committee Really Separate a Handke’s Fiction from his Genocide Denying Politics?
Chris Keulemans on how the Nobel Prize for Peter Handke shows that literature is always political when you’re rewriting history.
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Farewell and Be Safe, Sweet Britain
Dutch travelling writer Chris Keulemans reflects on his shock and sadness at seeing a once great nation fatally fracture itself.
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Brexitannia: The British Identity Crisis
Brexit has become an identity conflict in Britain. It is Danny Boyle’s London Olympics Opening Ceremony versus the Last Night of the Proms. Where do we go from here?
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How My Punjabi Immigrant New Labour-Supporting Parents were Charmed by Boris Johnson
Hardeep Matharu reflects on the personal story of her parents’ political shift towards the right – and what it might represent about Britain as a whole.
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A Full Moon Election
Poet Salena Godden with a personal reflection ahead of tomorrow’s General Election.
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The Re-Emergence of English Nationalism Defines Brexit
Film-maker Sheridan Flynn explores English identity through an Irish lens and what Britain can learn from Ireland about how the divisions of Brexit can ever be healed.
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How Politicians Talk To You: Oven-Ready Rhetoric during the General Election
Luke Murphy dissects the slogans of the General Election 2019 and what they reveal about class, empire, royalty and racism in Britain today.
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Brexit Britain’s Mental State: Time to Bring on the Shrinks
Fiona O’Connor on the Sado-Populism of Boris Johnson and how Britain is suffering from a suicidal form of ‘weak Fascism’.
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Reasons to be Islamophobic: Profiting from the Politics of Fear
Dr Shazad Amin explains why hatred of Muslims is such a powerful, hidden force in this General Election.
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‘Motherless Brooklyn’ Review: A Film Noir about Town Planning and Ethnic Cleansing
Chris Sullivan on a sprawling, ambitious tale of murder, blackmail, and corruption in mid-century New York that has dark resonances for London today.
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Putin, Bannon & Silicon Valley: The Axis of Oligarchs
Tamsin Shaw explains how anti-market Russian oligarchy has spread to the US, and that Big Tech may be the prime beneficiary.
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‘The Irishman’ Review: The Power of the Gangster Myth
Chris Sullivan reviews Martin Scorsese’ latest film, The Irishman and explores the history of the cult of Mafia films.
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The Oligarch Spawn: Can the Global Super Kids with the World at their Feet Find Meaning and Do Good?
As part of Byline Times’ look at The March of the Oligarchs, Stephen Colegrave considers the impact of their progeny: the global super kids.
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Odeon of Death: Shite Hawk Down
The Odeon of Death takes a look at the week’s events through the medium of cinema. Shite Hawk Down (2001) The pitiful tale of a helicopter pilot who can’t tell upstairs from downstairs, recognise his own hand, break off friendships with convicted paedophiles, or perspire (even after eating the ‘Diavolo’ with extra Jalapeño peppers at…
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Prince Andrew has Prised Open the Lid of the Monarchy’s Pandora’s Box
Otto English explores why the British are so reluctant to discuss what the point of the Royal Family is
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‘Sorry We Missed You’ Review: Ken Loach’s True Story Delivers a Punch
A damning portrait of zero-hours contracts, private debt and public austerity in Brexit Britain.
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Odeon of Death: Noah
Noah (Show-a) (2019) And lo, a great flood came upon the earth, and the Lord said to Noah, Buildeth thou an ark. So he did, and sailed far away, as the people of South Yorkshire cried, “Shit! Come back!” And over the waves the distant strains of Rock the Casbah could be heard… The Odeon…
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How I Fell Down a Right-Wing Brexit Rabbit Hole – and Came Out the Other Side
Steve Jones recalls how Facebook took him on a dark journey and why he now regrets voting to Leave the EU.
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WORD OF THE WEEK: hugger-mugger
(n.) secrecy, concealment; (adj., adv.) clandestine, hidden from view Rely solely on the headlines and you’d be forgiven for thinking not much of any consequence has happened this week, save for two former Labour MPs endorsing Boris Johnson in the upcoming December election. It’s true, Ian Austen and John Woodcock’s words were hardly beneficial to…
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When will we Return to the Hope we had when the Berlin Wall Fell 30 Years Ago?
Otto English recalls what it was like growing up in a world where the threat of the Cold War loomed large – and the surprise and optimism when, one day, this came to an end.
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THE UPSIDE DOWN: Making Better People – Why Eugenics Refuses to Die
Even if we could make fitter, cleverer humans, would that make them more valuable people?
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Odeon of Death: The Twat in the Hat
(With apologies to Theodor Geisel) Who’s that creeping in the fog?
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Jacob Rees-Mogg: A Relic of the Past, A Danger to the Future
Musa Okwonga explores the controversial Conservative politician’s popularity and what it represents about modern England.
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The 2008 Financial Crisis Paved the Way for Brexit – Why Don’t We Talk About it Anymore?
A decade ago, the financial crisis presented the most pivotal economic, political and social moment since the fall of the Berlin Wall. We need to examine its effects if we are to learn lessons in Brexit Britain.
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The Strange Death of Middle Class England
As part of the March of the Oligarchs series, Stephen Colegrave looks at the impact of the super rich on the English middle class.
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War and Amnesia: Tales My Grandfather Never Told Me
A personal story from Otto English about how the past is far too often sanitised to make people who were never there feel better about their family, our collective past and our country.
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The March of the Oligarchs: 1979 to 2019
Peter Jukes with the historical background to a new Byline Times series on a global phenomenon that best explains Boris Johnson and Donald Trump.
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Odeon of Death: Halloween
Halloween (2019) Notice: the Odeon regrets to announce the cancellation of tonight’s screening, in which Michael Myers may or may not end up dead in a ditch. The show will be rescheduled for late January 2020. Maybe. The Odeon of Death can be found on Twitter at, perhaps not altogether surprisingly, @OdeonofDeath.
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‘Men Need Spaces to Talk About Masculinity. Cutting Hair Can Save Lives’
As part of her Why Masculinity Matters series, Hardeep Matharu speaks to Tom Chapman, founder of the Lions Barber Collective, about the need for spaces for men to speak to each other about the challenges of navigating masculinity.
