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…
It has to be Friday the 13th. Specifically, part two. Although, I am indecisive and this choice changes often, I can agree the second film stands out compared to the original which doesn’t even feature the very iconic Jason Vorhees. Shock horror, I know.
The first time I went to the cinema…
I must have been around four and it was at the time I was visiting Orlando, Florida with my family. For some strange reason they thought it would be a great idea to go to an all-experience 4D cinema. Which in around 2008 was a pioneer event. Despite not remembering much from the holiday, I do recollect the PTSD of being tossed around in a giant red chair with icy cold water sprayed on my face and giant images popping out of the screening jumping me. It’s safe to say I stuck with 2D films ever since.
The movie franchise I am binging…
Currently I am binging the Saw franchise. As a huge horror fan, it is quite surprising I haven’t watched one of the most well-known franchises. There is no particular reason I have avoided the franchise as of yet – ignoring the fact that the over-the-top gore isn’t what I want on my TV screen while I am eating my spaghetti.
The first song I adored…
Meet Me Halfway by Black Eyed Peas. When I was younger, I didn’t have the capacity to learn the title of songs I enjoyed overhearing. Hearing the song at the ripe age of 10 made me feel so heart-ached in a time when all I had to think about were playing out with my friends at the park or what game I should play when I go home.
My go-to karaoke tune…
For a song to be my karaoke tune, I have to know all the lyrics. Which leaves me with limited options. Bruno Mars songs stand out as a strong contender. He really presents as one of those artists everyone knows the lyrics to. Whether its willingly or unwillingly like me singing Locked Out Of Heaven at a Christmas fete clutching a Christingle sustaining a forced smile in 2012.
The first gig I saw…
The first gig I saw must have been the X Factor gig where finalists got to host their own mini concert. This was at the time when Fleur East was big and competing. I still remember her breath-taking performance of Michael Jackson’s Thriller enrapturing her mummified and even falling through the stage ‘dead’ at the end of the song. I was mesmerised.
The book I put down…
Anthony Horowitz remains my favourite author. His book sequences of the Alex Rider series and the Power of Five collection pose as my best reads. However, with good reads comes the bad. The Portal. What does the portal do? How did it form? What is going on? – Who knows? The plot was a whole lot of nothing. And for a 14-year-old to decipher it went over my head and the book went back on the shelf. Although starting promising, it never progressed from there.
Overrated…
Taylor Swift. I do admit her songs are catchy and for the most part enjoyable. And there are definitely more intolerable popular artists. She brings a great sense of nostalgia for me and many other Gen Zs. But the mass sudden surge of popularity and earthquaking bounding concerts is questionable. Listening to her songs, a hugely repetitive theme is noticeable. Discarding this it is fair to say she is a great pop artist. But the huge out-of-nowhere rise of fans is confusing. And don’t get me started on the ticket prices for her concerts.
Underrated…
I think many things are underrated. The colour green is over hated, cats are arguably better pets than dogs. I struggle to focus on one thing I think is underrated. But I think that the musical Six deserves more hype. Who doesn’t want to watch Henry VIII’s six ex-wives sing catchy diss track’s cussing him out?
The lyric I love…
My favourite lyric has to be “under the chemtrails over the country club.” When I hear this, I am immediately transported to a high-end golf course situated on the west coast of the US where two thick, soft streaks of white chemtrails illuminate the sky in the path of a plane. The sun is just setting, tucking itself neatly behind the impressive white pillared clubhouse. For a moment the clattering of champagne glasses and whizzing swings of golf clubs disguises the fact carbon emissions are seeping into the atmosphere above.
Of course, this isn’t the part I focus on when listening. Instead, I look up and go “oh there goes Taylor Swift again, on her way to fetch some groceries.” Another reason why she is overrated. Being the celebrity with the most carbon emissions released by plane journeys must be tiresome. But I’m sure she recovers her energy on the countless luxury plane journeys she takes, just in time for the sold-out worldwide stadium tour performances following the same droll heart-ache, ear-ache repetitive love songs she has released over the past two or so decades.
Moral of the story – listen to Lana Del Rey.
Guilty Pleasure…
My guilty pleasure consists of me scrolling through holiday destination itineraries as if I can afford them. It’s fun to dream. Back to reality I do add these trips to my bucket list. But at this point its overflowing and its more of a lake.