Underground Culture Magazine - Dazed and Confused

Fashion - Edward Meadham - Interview

Set to a Spice Girls soundtrack, the design duo showed baby doll dresses, chequerboard cardigans, fluffy bolero jackets and huge stacked wedged sole shoes in metallic colours

An extravagant and theatrical show from the design duo that are rapidly earning themselves a place as the must-see show of London Fashion Week. This season it was a party theme with huge balloon arches towering across the stage and a pre-show soundtrack that included the Spice Girls' 'Wannabe', which received its own little cheer from the front row. Opening with a group of dancers dressed as versions of Courtney Love Hole era, with silk baby doll dresses, entering onto the stage to dance like bemused puppets. As the models started to walk the looks were more playful than last season, with those baby doll dresses also being worn, chequerboard cardigans, some with detailing and cut outs on the chest.
Huge bouffant fluffed up dresses also added to this idea of dressing up and party outfits. Throughout the collection were a myriad of colours, but all relatively soft, glamorous and statement, but at the same time wearable. The volume came back through again with fluffy bolero jackets and huge stacked wedged sole shoes in metallic colours. As the show progressed detailing became more ornate in the shape of floral embroidered patterns and the overall cute and ever so slightly sinister mood was highlighted in the cartoon characters sequin motifs seen on jackets, dresses and shirts.

Dazed Digital: What was the theme of the show?
Edward Meadham: It was about anti-beauty and anti-pageants, like an anti-popularity contest. We wanted to reference pageant winners and show girls, that idea but in a kind of contrasting way.

DD: How many courtney's did you have?
Edward Meadham: Not as many as we should have. There was fourteen in the end but ther was going to be 20, they were all dancers. She wasn't a reference or an inspiration but we have become friends and have been talking a lot throughout the whole design process. We have kind of the same aesthetic and the same brain patterns, but technically physically I haven't met her.

DD: Where did all the cartoon emblems come from?
Edward Meadham: I started collecting 40s and 50s birthday and valentines day cards a little while ago and they all came from there.

DD: What makes you want to put on such a theatrical show?
Edward Meadham: It helps us tell the story of the collection and at the same time we get to have some fun and play around with it. At the moment I am really interested in the idea of pushing everything as far as possible.      
        

It is evident that this this designer supports underground cultural fashion, he tells us that he prefers to stand out and be 'cutting edge',- important to the underground culture values. He feels that indivuallity important ("anti-beauty and anti-pageants, like an anti-popularity contest")


Music - Lianne La Havas featuring Will Mason - No Room For Doubt

This song reflects the thought that real-life issues are more important than celebrity gossip

Criminal Minds - A Heteroglossic text - (Focus on the Left Wing Ideological Position)

Throughout this episode, it is evident that rules are bent when circumstances need it - traditionally the FBI would have called for back-up, but because the life of a innocent boy called Declan was in danger, but also, his father, Ian Doyle, was responsible for multiple murders including the attempted murder of a valued investigator, Emily Prentiss,
Another left wing ideologial position seen in the episode is that the FBI abused their positions of power -the team, (particuarly Agent Morgan) who becomes slightly corrupt by wanting to seek 'revenge'/ 'justice' for the death of his fellow friend and colleague Agent Prentiss by re-opening the case without the permission from his chief Agent Hotchner, with the help of his fellow agents. When Agent Morgan eventually gets permission from his chief to 'take the shot' he stops himself and takes Agents Prentiss's killer ( Ian Doyle) in for questioning which lasted for six hours, because it took so long we can infer that Morgan intended to drain the information from Doyle to give information which would help find his son, before he let him go, Agent Reid suggested they use Doyle for trade of Doyle's son Declan who was being held hostage by his mother (Chloe)  and three of her accomplices, two of which she shot dead after using them for what she needed them for. She wanted to torture Doyle in reflection of the seven months Doyle held her captive whilst pregnant with their son Declan during her pregnancy she tried to kill her unborn son Declan which was why  Doyle kept her imprisoned to ensure she gave birth to his son.
During the trade, Doyle gets shot and killed this gives the team (particuarly Agent Morgan) a sense of justice. 

uses and gratifications of harry potter

based on uses and gratifications, this film is purely for entertainment. it fulfills 4 out of 6 gratifications in the catergory.

1. escaping or being diverted from the real world problems- an e.g would be that harry potter is based on wizardry which most people believe doesn't exist so we use harry potter's  world for escapism.
2. adrenaline rush - exciting/scary scenes such as during the last battle between harry and lord voldermort where we can see that both characters struggle to survive, a battle between good and bad. the exciting part was when harry used his powers against voldermort and still succeeded regardless of his age and ability as voldermort was older and was much more powerful and he had an advantage  over harry because he had in his possession the most powerful wand in the world. and harry still won this battle. the scariest part was when the film gave the impression that harry may not survive.
3. spectacle-these are things which you would not see in real life and e.g in harry potter is mythical beasts such as the troll and the three headed dog (fluffy), flying on broomsticks, a chess game used with magic where the pieces get beheaded rather than just removed from the board. 
4. catharsis- this is when you release negative emotions in a safe way, when the audience watch harry potter we sympathise with harry and his friends when a task can not be completed without battle or influence of bad from rivals. the film reels you in as you find yourself screaming encouragement for harry to conqeur his battles.  

here is the trailer for harry potter and the deathly hallows part 2

here is a clip of the final battle between harry and lord voldermort

A Classic Film - 'Slumdog Millionaire'

I personally loved this film, it made me think about indian culture and how hope can change the lives of those who are unfortunate to grow up with very little. It relates to everyone, because everyone has a dream and therfore is a classic film.

I loved many things about this film, especially how the questions related to Jamal's life, therefore we also had insight to a love story, between Jamal and Latika, his childhood sweetheart. Also i really enjoyed the insight to the slum life, and the colour reflected indian culture.

I didn't like how the scenes of torture were shown, though it is unfortunately part of the culture, it really upset me, as i believe in equality and acceptance of each individual.

the trailer is below

This film has many positive reviews, but all the negative comments go out to Jamal, who made his acting 'unbelieveable' with his accent, contrived, pretentious, absurd, hollow, inauthentic, a pseudo-statement about social justice. However, the film was highly praised as it 'that it transcends all boundaries: race, gender, region and class.'

And i would gladly say that it is a 'classic film' Please watch this incredibe film everyone