Students on De Montfort University’s Arts and Entertainment Journalism module pick the films, plays, music,TV shows and books that shaped them.
My favourite film
Corpse Bride by Tim Burton. It is a love triangle from two different worlds. When Lord Barkis Bittern said “To Emily, always the bridesmaid but never the bride,” I could feel the shock from these words paralyse my body for a few seconds not knowing how to react.
Many people think it is a film for children but when you grow up and watch it again after years it is just as fun and shocking as the first time you saw it. A common misconception is that the film is only in black and white but if you pay attention many other colours come to life with special meanings to the scene.
The first time I went to the theatre…
I remember being about three years old before I moved to England and my nan took me to the theatre. It was an old building which was later demolished and rebuilt – seeing the old stage and curtains just made me feel like I’ve never felt before.
I know I was incredibly young, but I will never forget watching that first play which was Pinocchio. I got to meet the actors after the show, and they even signed my copy of Pinocchio children’s book.
The TV show I’m currently binging …
Lupin. The show is on Netflix and was originally made in French, but you can change the language in the options. It is an incredible story to watch based on the Arsène Lupin novel.
The main character Assane Diop manages to mirror the main character from the book and be the best thief alive while trying to clear his father’s name after he was accused of stealing a necklace and committing suicide in prison. The whole series had me sitting in the edge of my sofa constantly wanting more.
The first song I adored …
This would have to be Whataya Want From Me by Adam Lambert. It’s the song that has built my music taste to what it is today. The beat and the various emotions in his voice pull you in. You can feel that he really doesn’t feel like he’ll ever be enough to whoever this song’s about.
My go-to karaoke tune…
Somebody That I Used to Know. I always sing it with my friends when we go to karaoke bars, and we always say that Gotye is somebody that we used to know, as he had one hit song and vanished. Sometimes I think we only sing it just to say the joke. It might be cringe but it always makes us laugh. When Kimbra starts singing, we always said that her voice sounds out of this world like she’s a mermaid. We used to talk through Gotye’s parts of the song but when she sang, we would go silent or scream the part at the top of lungs there is no in-between.
The first concert I saw…
I hate to admit this, but my first concert was Justin Bieber. It was on his Purpose tour, I went with my mum and my friend from Polish school. We all had some sort of merch from the tour on and it was so hot and stuffy that I kept fainting which actually led us closer to the stage as we had been in the middle of the crowd so fainting wasn’t the worst thing at the time. From the middle of the crowd to the gate in front of the stage with the VIPs was a pretty good deal. The security at the arena was amazing and kept bringing us water to stay hydrated. I even left with a free t-shirt as my jumper made me overheat.
I can gladly say that my music taste has massively changed since then.
My guilty pleasure…
I do this way more than I should, but I will close all the blinds in my room, turn my galaxy lamp on and blast various records from my vinyl player. I find that it calms me and helps up my mood if I’ve had a difficult day and even makes me more focused at times.
Sometimes this will be for one side or both, other times I can keep changing records for hours and sit there snuggled in my blanket on the sofa relaxing and clearing my mind.
