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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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Imperial Power & Conservative Taboo: ‘Shutting Down Debate on Empire is Britain’s Ultimate Imperial Legacy’
Following the backlash over a ‘wokeist’ National Trust report on the links of historic buildings to colonialism and slavery, Hardeep Matharu speaks to one of its editors about how the predictable response is itself a hangover from the country’s colonial era
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The Woman with the Afro: The Story of Barbara Beese
In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement and ahead of a new drama by Steve McQueen, Jan Fuscoe speaks to one of the last surviving members of the ‘Mangrove Nine’, whose trial in the 1970s was a defining moment for Black Power in Britain
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‘Cuties’ Recycles the Same Damaging Stereotypes About Muslim Women – But Where was the Outrage?
Amina Shareef reviews Cuties, which has attracted criticism for its over-sexualisation of young girls, and finds a troubling portrayal of Muslim femininity
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Sir Harold Evans: 28 June, 1928 – 23 September, 2020
Peter Jukes with his personal tribute to Harry Evans, an advisor to Byline, who died last night at the age of 92
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Political Manipulation has Made ‘Patriotism’ a Dirty Word
The Labour Party is attempting to recapture patriotism from closed-border populists – a move that should be welcomed not condemned, argues Eleanor Longman-Rood
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Great Expectations: Farage’s Phoney Fishing for Support
Rev Joe Haward comes from a family with nearly three hundred years in the industry and they do not buy the Brexitoric around fishing
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The Bizarre Rise of the Celebrity Conspiracy Theorist
Nathan O’Hagan tries to offer an explanation for why celebrities are more susceptible than most to wild misinformation
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The Strange Relationship Between British and English Nationalism
Former Labour MP John Denham explains how the repressed impulses of English nationalism represent themselves in Boris, Borishness and Britishness
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Lost Cities: Notting Hill – From Rachman to the Westway
Chris Sullivan looks at the consequences for Notting Hill of the determination of successive Conservative Governments to deregulate rents and planning
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THE UPSIDE DOWN: History’s Greatest Headline – Why the Dreyfus Affair Still Reverberates
John Mitchinson reflects on what may be the finest moment in print journalism – the use of the press as a channel of truth and justice
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How ‘Mrs America’ Phyllis Schlafly Laid the Groundwork for Libertarians’ Ongoing Assault on Rights
Gloria Steinem’s criticisms of the hit show about the 1970s US women’s liberation movement miss the prescience the series shows about how a path to the White House was paved for Donald Trump, writes Ellin Stein
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Cop Violence to COVID-19: The Survival of Notting Hill Carnival
Chis Sullivan examines the history of Notting Hill Carnival and its decades-long battle against the Establishment
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OUR LIVES MATTER: When Parents Need Parenting
As part of Byline Times’ series dedicating to giving a platform to new voices of colour, Neha Maqsood shares her experience of being in lockdown with her Mum and Dad during the Coronavirus crisis in Pakistan
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UNCONSCIOUS EMPIRE: Saving ‘Britannia’ and Losing the Plot
Continuing to wage a Steve Bannon-style culture war, Boris Johnson’s Government will do nothing to confront the damaging legacy of our imperial past because its mythologised symbolism is all it has to sell to Brexit Britain, argues Hardeep Matharu
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Sacrificial Lambs and Government Scapegoats
The Revd Joe Haward shows how the UK Government is turning its historical failure over the Coronavirus pandemic into a myth that blames the victims
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Carrie on Camping
Otto English has procured a letter from the Prime Minister’s partner about their summer sojourn in Scotland – read on, campers!
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Infamous: A Bonnie and Clyde Tale in the Instagram Era
Chris Sullivan reviews Infamous, a new dramatisation of the insatiable lust for fame
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Performing in a Pandemic: How to Keep the Show on the Road?
Richard Hansen offers ideas for how to help the freelance theatre workers on which the industry relies
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Did Black Lives Matter to the British Empire in World War Two?
The often overlooked story of the African soldiers who risked their lives and left their families to fight for the British must finally be recognised – as the sacrifice of their white counterparts is
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Fashion Faux-Pas: ‘Social Audits’ Should No Longer Be On Trend
Outsourcing responsibility for exploitation in the fashion business will not build trust or improved conditions, argues Luke Smitham
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Demon Sperm: Donald Trump, Evangelicals & the Politics of Hate
As President Donald Trump embraces the extreme Christian fringes, Reverend Joe Haward looks at the radicalising role of religion and nationalism among the US right
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THE UPSIDE DOWN: The Shocking Brutality of Empire was a Scandal In Its Own Time
John Mitchinson considers the relationship British people have with their country’s past and how questions raised by uncomfortable imperial truths remain unanswered
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Cost of Coronavirus: The Gap Year Friend Who Changed My Life
As ‘excess death’ during the Coronavirus pandemic becomes normalised, Otto English counts the cost of a dearly lost friend who made him see the world in a different way
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LOST CITIES: How Cardiff’s Thriving Multicultural Hub Was Crushed
Chris Sullivan delves into the history of one of Britain’s first successful multicultural communities and the authorities determined to destroy it
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The People Rejecting Mainstream Living
How Wales’ nature-led smallholdings came of age during the COVID-19 crisis and point to a new way of living in a planet under threat
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OUR LIVES MATTER: Eurocentrism & the Privilege of Not Having to Care
Airbrushing the crimes of European history fuels the structural racism and conscious apathy we see in modern Britain, argues Khadija Akhi Uddin
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Government Snubs Windrush Group’s Concerns Over Lack of Caribbean History Teaching
The Government’s inaugural Windrush summit led to a dispute over an absence of Caribbean history on the curriculum, reports Sam Bright
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OUR LIVES MATTER: The Generational Fears Holding Young Asian People Back
Pruthvi Khilosia explores how cultural taboos about what is and isn’t possible for those from minority communities must be understood by the creative industries
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The Traitor: An Italian Mafia Drama With Shades of Boris Johnson’s Britain
Chris Sullivan reviews ‘The Traitor’, a brutal Italian story of crime and corruption, and finds parallels with the UK
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English Football’s Own Goal: A Game of Dodgy Money & Foreign Influence
The beautiful game has become a way for foreign aggressors to gain leverage over British politics, writes Adrian Goldberg
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OUR LIVES MATTER: Educating the White Moderate
Creating a fuller, fairer picture of British history requires urgent reforms to the National Curriculum, explains Dr Cheryl Diane Parkinson
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COVID-19 Could Mark the Beginning of the End for Obsessive Consumerism
Jon Bailes considers how free we really are under the free market system and whether the Coronavirus crisis will have revealed this to the public with far-reaching consequences
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A Blindspot in History: The Truth About Churchill
Churchill Fellow Nishtha Chugh argues that Britain will only truly understand its imperial history with a fuller appreciation of its wartime leader’s legacy
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The Spectre of Shamima Begum Returns to Haunt Britain
Amina Shareef predicts that the return of Begum to challenge the revocation of her citizenship will unleash another wave of ruthless demonisation and internal exile for British Muslims
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Religious Gatherings in the Netflix Age
Reverend Joe Haward wonders whether churches and congregations can re-evaluate their role in the wake of lockdown, remote streaming, and the Coronavirus crisis
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OUR LIVES MATTER: White Reaction is a Yawn
Continuing Byline Times’ series dedicated to giving a platform to new voices of colour, S Dorothy Smith from Virginia argues symbolic gestures alone won’t improve the lives of African Americans
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The Odeon of Death Film of the Month: Buffoon
The Odeon of Death on the month’s events through the medium of cinema. This time a remake of the Ron Howard Classic about a rotund Covidian
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POST-COVID CULTURE: Opening Up or Closing Down?
Following the Chancellor’s lifeline in funding for the culture and heritage sectors, Stephen Unwin considers whether this will usher in a real ‘levelling-up’ of the arts across the country
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In the COVID-19 Era, the Boomer Generation is Out of Touch
COVID-19 signals the end of Boomer dominance over business, culture and the economy, writes Stephen Colegrave
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Another Controversial Historian Uses Darren Grimes’ Platform to Pursue Right-Wing Culture Wars
After the furore over comments by historian David Starkey, Sam Bright reports on a second attempt to rewrite British imperial history in response to the Black Lives Matter movement
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Prince Harry Calls Time on the System of Secrets and Lies Modern Britain is Built On
Comments by the Queen’s grandson on the need to ‘right those wrongs’ from the past across the Commonwealth reveal why he is rebelling against the system that created him
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Touching but Untouched: Visiting Joey
Stephen Unwin’s first reunion in months with his severely disabled son under strict conditions of isolation reveals what we all should hold dear
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Living in My Black Skin is for a Lifetime Not a ‘Moment’
Musa Okwonga reflects on the Black Lives Matter movement and explains why Keir Starmer’s actions have been so revealing of entrenched structural white supremacy
