The Culture Gallery

If I’m honest, I’m excited to see ‘The Hunger Games’; I’ve not read any of the books, but it looks like it’ll be a really great film.

However, I think the reason I’m excited is because I love Koushun Takami’s novel Battle Royale (and the film adaptation), and in my opinion, The Hunger Games is essentially a mash-up between that and Stephen King’s The Running Man. I’m actually really surprised I haven’t read any reviews/online articles saying this, but then again, I haven’t really read much about the film apart from the standard hype and a couple of interviews with the cast, so maybe critics have been saying this and I’ve just not being listening.

Okay, so I just Googled it and critics have been saying this, but I’m not really sure whether it should be a criticism of The Hunger Games or not. After all, the concept of Battle Royale is deep enough to really make you think, but the novel and film aren’t exactly child-friendly, so it’s good to see the themes of survival, human instinct versus morality, etc. duplicated in a novel and movie aimed at a younger audience. Aside from it’s cult status as a film, I’m also unsure as to how many people are aware of Battle Royale, so it’s also good to see the same ideas put across through a more mainstream platform.

But then again, the purist inside me is screaming in outrage at the sheer cheek of basically copying someone else’s literary work. I’m the kind of person that gets annoyed if an actor doesn’t quite look the way described, or if a film adaptation of a book deviates from the original plot in any way, so I’m pretty torn between being excited and wanting to boycott the whole thing out of a silly sense of loyalty to Battle Royale and The Running Man. I’ll reserve judgement until I’ve actually read the books and seen the film, and I can’t deny ‘The Hunger Games’ looks like a great movie; I just hope I can resist railing against it purely because of my allegiance to the things it looks to have taken inspiration from.

Written by Esther Scott

A couple of weeks ago, the University of Birmingham drama group ‘Watch This’ presented a 48 hour stage production of the film Mean Girls. A 48 hour production is exactly as it sounds; the cast, director, lighting team and anyone else involved have just 48 hours to put together and learn the show for a one-night-only extravaganza. And what a show it was!

Firstly, the casting was fantastic; Bekah Lucking played a perfect Cady Heron, and Lucy Lee’s Regina was magnificently disagreeable. Ally Perpick and Clarey Dodkins were also flawless as Gretchen ‘We should totally just stab Caesar!!’ Wieners and Karen ‘If you’re from Africa, why are you white?’ Smith; Ally had desperate Gretchen down to a tee, and Clarey’s continual vacant expressions were a source of hilarity every time you looked in her direction. In addition, the ‘supporting cast’ (said in quotation marks, as supporting is a huge understatement – after all, what would Mean Girls be without Glen Coco?) were absolutely brilliant, with Joe Belham truly stealing the show as The Narrator.

Did I mention the narrator was also Nigel Thornberry?

That question sums up the entire production – full of quirks, quips and laughs, the Watch This production of Mean Girls absolutely stormed what a 48 hour production is all about. What’s more, the audience loved it, as much of the play was about being involved; from joining in with the Jingle Bell Rock, to quoting along with the show every time you heard ‘Zing!’ (‘She doesn’t even go here!’), the audience basked in every second of the show.

Overall, Mean Girls: The 48 Hour did justice and more to a film that defined many 90s kids early teenage years. The production was great fun to watch and clearly even more fun to produce, and I would certainly recommend anyone to watch, or get involved in, the next 48 hour show (the ideas thrown around for which have included Star Wars, so will not be one to be missed!).

10/10

Written by Esther Scott.

 - By Alex Rowe

The School Report News Day, a project run by the BBC, gives youngsters around the UK between the ages of 11 and 16 a chance to ‘make the news’. Over 1000 schools participated in the project this year which sees budding media professionals turn their hand to developing television, radio and newspaper reports in preparation for live broadcast on the 15th March 2012.

From 2 p.m. yesterday there was seven hours of live coverage where over 30,000 pupils from across the country took centre stage, showing the country the sort of news stories that are important to the youth of today.

One report that I particularly enjoyed was about children’s radio. Students from Little Ilford School in London were given the task to investigate why children, young people and young adults (in the 15-24 age group) felt disengaged with this form of traditional media. By scrolling through the various radio stations available on a typical radio, the pupils found little in the way of child orientation therefore they felt disconnected from what they were listening too. Moreover this idea was confirmed by Paul Smith, the director of radio standards for the BBC, who explained that there has been a severe cut in youth programming over the past couple of years. This is something that the children at Little Ilford School wanted to change. Possible, and achievable, solutions included:

• Choosing relevant presenters who were known to children; presenters that understand the wants and needs of children.
• Higher proportion of chat shows so that children can get involved. This could stretch to ‘agony aunts’ whereby children could call up if they needed help with a problem.
• Incorporating radio into social media. This has become a huge part of contemporary children’s lives so it is important that traditional media finds a way to engage with new media in a way that is exciting and engaging.
• Convenience. Many households now rarely have or use a radio. Connecting radio to the Internet would be a quick and easy way for young people to access the content.

I think this is an absolutely fantastic project and I wish that I had been given a similar opportunity whilst I was at secondary school. This is not only a fun and engaging project but it also helps the children’s personal and professional development.

When I was fifteen I probably didn’t know, and didn’t care, about current affairs, particularly politics. The School Report News Day encourages the children to actively engage in the biggest contemporary debates of our age. Engaging young people with the news may result in greater understanding and a greater appreciation for Uk institutions (for example engaging in political debate may result in a higher turnout in subsequent elections). Moreover the project also brings the voices and stories of children to a wider audience whereby they can feel a greater sense of involvement in society. Lastly working to tight deadlines and industry regulations will develop their employability skills.

Take a look for yourself, it’s surprising just how knowledgeable the youth of today really are. They are growing up in a media culture that they can now engage with.

Listen the Little Ilford Radio report for yourself at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolreport/17369641

Learn more about the project and watch yesterdays highlights at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolreport/