Friday 20th June 2025
Blog Page 95

Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poet’s Department: Who tortures the poet?

Laura Brink
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Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poet’s Department: Who tortures the poet?

The most tortured love affair on Taylor Swift’s new album is her relationship with her audience. Following its release on April 19th, the album’s reviews were marked by a shared preoccupation with the autobiographical element of her work. This extends beyond speculation as to which ex-lover any given song is about, though many relished in the revelation that her one-month fling with singer Matty Healy might have featured in equal measure with ex-partner of six years Joe Alwyn. 

Autobiographical speculation amongst critics includes theories on Swift’s intentions with the album. What motivated her, some ask, to release an extended version of the album (known as The Anthology)? Has she increased the number of tracks to a whopping 31 as a benevolent gift to her fans, or is this evidence of a cash-grab? Similar arguments have swirled around her rereleasing previous work as Taylor’s Version, and recent songs like Mastermind from her second-to-last album Midnights, while ostensibly about orchestrating a romantic union, have been taken as encouragement from the artist herself to interpret her public image as calculated, clever, or even manipulative. A closer look at the lyrics of some of her tracks from The Tortured Poets Department shows a willingness to engage with her self-conscious project of persona creation, as well as with the various responses to this, and, crucially, with the reality of her fame. 

Long gone are the days where Swift’s appeal lay primarily in her relatable girl-next-door Country charm. Swift’s return to this world in the stand-out ‘But Daddy I Love Him’ might therefore come as a surprise. The track frames her controversially received relationship with The 1975 singer Matty Healy in the same terms as the Romeo and Juliet lovers of her 2008 ‘Love Story’. Swift is fully aware of the ridiculousness of adopting this posture as a 34-year-old billionaire, and does so with a mischievous wink in the line ‘I’m having his baby / No, I’m not / But you should’ve seen your faces’. This lyric breaks the fourth wall of the song, thus making it ambiguous whether the plural “you” refers to the townspeople in the world of the song, or to her shocked listeners. 

Swift has long cultivated a culture amongst her fans of looking for “easter eggs” in her work, for clues about her personal life and future projects, and this ambiguity seems to suggest that some sleuthing Swifties are indistinguishable from prying neighbours. Considering Swift’s well-established reticence to do anything which might alienate her loyal listeners, lines like these, along with the defiant “I’ll tell you something ‘bout my good name / It’s mine alone to disgrace” and unexpectedly forceful mention of people’s “bitching and moaning” about her relationship, her willingness in this song to establish boundaries with her audience is remarkable. 

Other tracks on TTPD showcase a less humourous distancing between Swift and her fans. Clara Bow, one of the simpler and therefore more lyrically successful experiments on the record, picks up on the themes of Swift’s celebrity career. Clara Bow is a much more mature track than others (such as ‘Nothing New’) with a similar theme, and reflects her awareness of the lasting impact she has made on pop culture in the past two decades. The verses chart a lineage of famous women, from the glamorous 1920s movie star Bow, to Fleetwood Mac singer and ‘70s rock legend Stevie Nicks. Swift, noted for her confessional first-person narrated songs, makes an unusual leap in the final verse by including her own name, as well as addressing the new star, who looks “like Taylor Swift” with a sense of bitterness: “you’ve got edge she [Swift] never had”. The very fact that Swift is able to use herself as a benchmark for up-and-coming celebrities is proof of her success. 


Swift’s self-awareness of the kind of fame she is afforded as a pop artist who sings mostly about her love life is a refreshing moment of maturity, though it is sadly bogged down by other less insightful tracks. All of the songs on TTPD are, however, deeply personal ruminations of the like we haven’t heard from her since Lover (2019), given the fictitious nature of Folklore and Evermore (both 2020) and the vague lyricism of Midnights (2022), and might in fact align her with a tradition of tortured poets who were, like Swift, both adored and slammed for their confessionalism, such as Sylvia Plath. It is good to see Swift abandon the hopeless goal of writing relatability, and it will be interesting to see how she develops her newfound self-awareness.

Christian Atheism by Slavoj Žižek review

Rohan Kaya
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Christian Atheism by Slavoj Žižek review

‘And what did the twentieth century want with religion, already well worn and threadbare from its journey down the ages…What did we have to replace that merciful, self-sacrificing ideal, long since cast out on the side of the road and laughed out of existence by the exigencies of a ‘realistic’ world view?’

In the 1986 novel The Place of the Skull, the Kyrgyz author-theologian Chingiz Aitmatov asks us to consider what the purpose of Christ is in a ‘realistic’ world, one where even the faithful often stand at an ironic distance away from the visceral reality of God’s own flesh on the cross. The section quoted above ends with the death of Avdiy, an expelled seminary student who is crucified by his drug-peddling companions, not for his belief in God, but rather his ability to take this belief seriously: he rejects an evil (the illegal drug market) because he truly believes that peddling drugs would be an affront to a Creator God who taught people how to live through Christ. 

This is the state of affairs that Zizek addresses in his most recent work, Christian Atheism: How to be a Real Materialist. Though he has addressed theology before, Christian Atheism is a theologico-political treatise to which his previous works on the topic are explanatory footnotes. The thrust of the book is to defend what he calls ‘Christian Atheism’ against secularist disavowals of religion, agnostic vagaries, and increasingly popular Western spins on Buddhism and other so-called ‘Eastern spiritualities.’ What I emphasise here, though, is that the book acts to defend, not to explain or justify his theory – namely that atheism is an inevitable consequence of the only ‘universal’ religion (Christianity), the grand narrative in which, for the first and only time, God was reduced to matter, and the flesh won out over the spirit and the logos. To Zizek, it is the idea of the suffering God, and the Pauline community of believers made equal through the grace of the Holy Spirit, that makes Christianity the uniquely universal common ground. As usual, Zizek’s goal is to provoke the reader with a short circuit, taking minor references and thinking points in order to explain a much larger and more complex idea. Which is why, as usual, this book first takes us through poor-quality detective films, memes, obscene sex jokes, the Dalai Lama, quantum mechanics, and ChatGPT- amongst others- in order to illustrate arguments grounded on his own brand of interpreting psychoanalysis through the philosophy of Hegel. For example, his exploration of Christ’s suffering through an M. Night Shyamalan film. This ought not to put anyone off, though; it is precisely in his detours that Zizek manages to ‘short-circuit’ higher intellectual content, bringing out its unexpected implications by using a simpler conceptual apparatus. 

Although Zizek’s diversions illuminate the contradictions and unconscious disavowals of the prevailing secular liberal order, the book functions more like a defense of Christian Atheism against a reader who rejects the Christian legacy inherent in today’s secular societies, than an exhortation to be Christian atheists in the first place. While I suspect Zizek would respond to this point with a resounding ‘yes, so what?’ I found myself questioning what relevance his theory has to someone who, for ideological or simply geographical reasons, does not form part of the community of secular believers that he envisions. If Zizek’s secular community is grounded on Paul and the Gospels, where does that leave the billions of humans who maintain their full-fat commitment to a Cause outside that of European secularism? Zizek is not crude enough to simply exclude the rest of the world from what he rightly acknowledges are universally important struggles (economic and environmental justice, women’s rights, modern slavery), yet he seems to miss the fact that it was the notion of Salvation in Christ, and later the Enlightenment Values, that managed to bar the vast majority of the Americas, Africa, and Asia from access to humanity itself. Zizek has, nonetheless, done a good job of showing us how our prevailing Master-Signifier (universal human rights) actually privileges a certain content (Western liberal individualism), excluding others due to their inability to get in line with Europe’s ideological hegemony.

This leaves Zizek, then, in an awkward position. In order to salvage Christian Atheism from the unconscious disavowals of liberalism that he himself criticises, he will need to reconcile his ‘universal’ theology with his acknowledgment of Christian and Christian-Atheist Europe’s continuing dehumanisation of those who are now left to drown at sea for their failure to get on board with secular humanist ideals. Having recently celebrated his 75th birthday, Zizek continues writing and publishing every few months, so hopefully we will see such a reconciliation in a future detour. 

Oxford research finds AI chatbots cannot provide information about latest news stories 

Ellie Yau
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Oxford research finds AI chatbots cannot provide information about latest news stories 

Latest research from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) has shown that attempts to request top news headlines on the popular AI chatbots ChatGPT and Bard (now Gemini) yielded unreliable results. In their study, over half of responses were not news-related, and the majority of AI responses  began with the phrase “I’m unable to’’.

The RISJ analysed 4,500 headline requests collected from news outlets across ten countries. They found that ChatGPT returned non-news output 52-54% of the time, while only just 8-10% returned headlines that referred to relevant top stories on the outlet’s homepage. On the other hand, Bard returned non-news output in over 95% of requests.

ChatGPT and Bard both run on a large language model (L.L.M.), a type of AI programme that is trained using a wide range of samples from a dataset. This allows the AI to continuously improve its ability to recognise and interpret trends in complex data, such as human language.

The study found that when the chatbots responded with ‘’news-like output’’, responses appeared coherent, however, they tended to summarise articles inaccurately. Additionally, ChatGPT rarely provided direct links to headlines, only opting to 10% of the time. When a link was generally provided, in most cases this was a single link to the original newspublisher’s homepage

When consulted on the risks to users relying on AI chatbots for the latest news, Richard Fletcher, Director of Research for the RISJ told Cherwell: “According to our research, if people ask ChatGPT (the paid version that’s connected to the web) for the top news headlines from a specific outlet, they will often receive a response saying “I’m unable to do that”. Depending on what news outlets they ask about, it’s possible that some people won’t be able to use ChatGPT to get news from their preferred sources.”

Chatbots also displayed ‘’AI hallucination’’, where the algorithm perceives non-existent patterns in the data and thus interprets them inaccurately. In this case, 3% of ChatGPT outputs attributed  exclusive stories to different outlets, and a further 3% were so vague they could not be attributed to existing stories.

Previous research by the Reuters Institute found that  ‘’around half of the most widely used news websites were blocking ChatGPT by the end of 2023’’. This proved to be a great barrier to data-gathering, with the proportion of non-news output for these sites rising to 86% according to the study.

The research points out that while very few people currently use AI chatbots to get the news, it is ‘’highly likely that future generative AI tools will be connected to the web as standard’’, and as such the reliability of these tools to provide up-to-date information is essential.

University statement on Palestine Solidarity encampment affirms right to protest, outlines investment policy 

Cherwell News
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University statement on Palestine Solidarity encampment affirms right to protest, outlines investment policy 

The University today released an official response to the pro-Palestine encampment organised by Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) in an email sent to all students and staff from Vice-Chancellor Irene Tracey. 

Tracey’s email reiterated the university’s commitment to freedom of speech and the right to peaceful protest, while acknowledging that the protests have resulted in some members of the University and the public “feeling fearful or uncomfortable.” She further reminded students and staff that “[e]xam season is, of course, upon us and it is imperative that everyone allows students to prepare for, and take, their exams undisturbed.”

The email comes after Tracey’s visit to Downing Street on Thursday 9th May when Rishi Sunak advised university leaders from across Britain to take further measures against antisemitism on campuses.

As a part of its measures against antisemitism, the statement reiterated the University’s use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism “as a guide to interpreting and understanding antisemitism” although with additional clarifications. The clarifications, as recommended by the House committee on Home affairs, add the statement “It is not antisemitic to criticise the Government of Israel, without additional evidence to suggest antisemitic intent” to the official definition. 

The statement did not include plans to look into divestment from Israeli companies and arms companies, a major demand of pro-Palestine campus protesters. It stated that the University is in compliance with its own policy on investment in arms, which includes stipulations against “direct investment in companies which manufacture arms that are illegal in the UK, and investment in funds which invest primarily in such companies.” 

In response to the demands to divest from Barclays, the University said that they depend on the bank due to its “large, complex financial needs, and international reach”, and reiterated that they regularly engage with the bank on a range of regulatory issues, including the war in the Gaza Strip. Barclays’ annual shareholder meeting on 9th May was disrupted by activists protesting its alleged links to violence in Gaza and the bank said last week that they do not invest its own money in companies that supply weapons used by Israel in Gaza but that it only trades shares in such companies on behalf of clients.

The email comes as universities across the US and Ireland have reached agreements with campus encampments to close in exchange for concessions regarding divestment from Israeli companies and arms companies. 

American universities including Brown, Northwestern, Rutgers and the University of Wisconsin are among those who have struck deals with encampments in recent days in which they have agreed to open public debate or review on the question of divestment. On 8th May, Trinity College Dublin pledged to cut ties with Israeli companies. 

The statement further highlighted that the University’s endowment is operated through external asset managers and said that neither the University nor the fund own shares in companies directly. 

With regards to the University’s international academic relationships, the statement asserted that it is “essential that Oxford maintains open communications and professional links with universities everywhere.” While the University did not explicitly address the encampment’s calls for a boycott of Israeli universities, it stated that their “Committee to Review Donations and Research Funding” already scrutinised any international research funding relationships. 

The University also highlighted their renewed commitment last term to fellowships with the Council for At Risk Academics (CARA) to support at-risk Palestinian academics in applying to Oxford, “in the defence of academic and university freedoms worldwide.”

In its role as a University of Sanctuary, the University emphasised their commitment to “support students and academics who have been forced to flee conflict or persecution.” The statement also announced that the university is working with the colleges to find ways to “to fundraise for dedicated Palestinian scholarships.”

In response to the statement, the Oxford Action for Palestine coalition, the organisers of the encampment, said they were “severely disappointed” in an official comment and noted that the statement “does not address [their] direct requests to negotiate.” 

They also said they were alarmed by the University’s language, which they said implied their protest was “largely” peaceful rather and prompted fear on campus. 

The comment concluded: “We urge the Administration to understand this moment in history and the risks the University is taking by refusing to act. We request a meeting immediately.”  

Oxford Vice-Chancellor attends Downing Street meeting to ‘protect Jewish students’

Anuj Mishra
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Oxford Vice-Chancellor attends Downing Street meeting to ‘protect Jewish students’

On Thursday 9th May, university leaders, including Oxford University’s Vice-Chancellor, Irene Tracey, met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, where leaders were advised to take further measures to tackle antisemitism on campus. 

The meeting was a response to the erection of pro-Palestine encampments across UK universities over the past two weeks, including at Oxford last Monday.

In a statement ahead of the meeting, Sunak, while acknowledging that universities should be “places of rigorous debate” as well as “bastions of tolerance”, described the encampments as “disrupting the lives and studies of their fellow students and, in some cases, propagating outright harassment and antisemitic abuse.”

The Union for Jewish Students (UJS), who the Oxford Jewish Society (JSoc) are affiliated with, were also in attendance at Thursday’s meeting. UJS representatives demanded that Vice-Chancellors should collaborate with JSoc leaders, condemn antisemitism, and provide antisemitism awareness training. UJS also urged  Vice-Chancellors to collaborate with police forces in the case of criminal activity.

While Oxford JSoc have not released a public statement on the encampment, the Oxford Israel Society – which was set up last October – has issued a statement condemning the encampment. Jewish Students for Justice also issued a statement, standing in “total solidarity” with the encampment and its demands.

Since Thursday’s roundtable, the Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) encampment was attacked by six men on Saturday 11th May. In a statement released by OA4P on their instagram account, it was noted that the men “particularly targeted Jewish students trying to deescalate the situation, using unacceptable antisemitic language.” 

The OA4P statement also singled out “Sunak, University administrators, and irresponsible media, who all spent the week weaponising antisemitism to demonise campus protestors.”

In response to the incident targeting the encampment on Saturday evening, a University spokesperson told Cherwell: “The University is concerned by the incident on Saturday evening. Our key priority throughout this protest has been the safety and welfare of the whole University community, as well as visitors to our buildings and the public.

“We are maintaining an increased security presence around the encampment to ensure the safety and welfare of everybody, while also providing regular protection across the rest of the University. We are in close contact with Thames Valley Police and are grateful to them for their swift response on Saturday evening.”

Sunak is continuing to speak on the current situation in UK campuses and in a speech on Monday 13th May he stated: “People are abusing our liberal democratic values of freedom of speech, the right to protest, to intimidate, threaten and assault others, to sing antisemitic chants on our streets and our university campuses, and to weaponize the evils of antisemitism or anti-Muslim hatred, in a divisive ideological attempt to set Britain against Britain.”

The Oxford Fashion Gala: A stellar display of talent

Connie Hilton and Aniya Boranbay
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The Oxford Fashion Gala: A stellar display of talent

The evening of Wednesday 8th May brought a show that transcended the limitations of space and time in a beautiful portrayal of Oxford University’s talent. The Fashion Gala returned in a whirlwind of incredible designs, modelled by Oxford’s finest. We truly ascended in the lunar eclipse theme, which brought a shower of metallic, shimmering looks from the guests. This high fashion dress code was only elevated by the stunning setting of the Randolph Hotel, and we were taken on a voyage of the university’s creativity. 

The night began with a nuanced runway adorning the gala’s sponsor, Tom’s Trunks. The crossover between the casual beach look and the science fiction style makeup created an eclectic mix that set the bar high for the rest of the evening. The ability to secure such a brand for sponsorship speaks volumes about the scale of this event

Following this runway, the guests enjoyed an exhilarating performance from Little Clarendon, with jazzy covers of the classics that got the audience ready for the incredible designs to come. After the swanky musical intermission, the ballroom was abuzz with excitement for the second runway. As everyone crowded around the runway, it became apparent that this was going to be the highlight of the night. As the first song began to play, the entire room collectively tensed as eager eyes searched for the first model to come out on the runway. The first model emerged in an all-white ensemble. The top was sheer white, complete with subtle ruching. The bottoms continued the theme, the fabric carefully gathered to create a plethora of folds cascading down.

As more models had their turn on the runway, there were several themes and pieces that spanned across several designs. Head and face coverings were heavily featured. The majority of the time, these accessories made the overall designs more interesting and elevated them to suit a high fashion runway. Another prominent overall theme was the use of sheer fabrics. Several designers played with these fabrics to create dresses and tops, creating an ethereal and whimsical display. With the theme being “A voyage into ascent”, it was interesting seeing the different designer’s interpretations of the themes. The theme was incorporated into even the makeup, with hues of blue and shimmer being heavily incorporated.

David, the talented president of the gala, was able to talk to us about his expectations for the night. Chuckling, he said that he had kept them very low to avoid disappointment, but breathed a sigh of relief that the gala ran so smoothly. When asked about the root of his interest in fashion, he talked about his final fashion piece at UAL, which sparked his desire to get involved in the fashion community at Oxford. By the time the call for committee positions was released for this year’s gala, he knew president would be the perfect role to get into! David’s modesty and joy throughout the show was inspiring to watch, and he did an excellent job as president. 

One big aspect of the gala’s success was the audience. With silver sparkles and dark colours prominently featured in everyone’s outfits, the celestial theme was executed to perfection. Guests spoke ecstatically of the gala and its designers, speaking of their highlights of the night. Some people who attended the event were finalists, and they did not regret taking time out of their busy schedules to be present at the gala. The vibrant display of creativity was great to witness according to onlookers. Some audience members also commented on their favourite designers. Designer Ocho’s designs were commonly praised for their distinctive silhouette and design.

All in all, the Oxford Fashion Gala was a major success from start to finish. It was a true testament to the creative talent that the university has to offer. While Oxford students are often praised for their intellect, it is clear that there is so much more to the community than academia. The gala was a beautiful display of the artistic scene that shines at Oxford.

The great outdoors: Oxford’s best green spaces

Faye Chang
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The great outdoors: Oxford’s best green spaces

As the sun emerges from its miserable winter enclave, so do students from their rooms, shedding the weighted blankets and hot water bottles of the colder months to enjoy the sun. As we flock to revel in these warmer months, here are some of the best natural spaces around Oxford.

OXFORD’S FAVOURITES

Port Meadow

Port Meadow is a picturesque location year-round, forming a gazing ground for herds of free-roaming cows and horses. Even when the plains are flooded, the meadows retain their scenic beauty, with swans milling through the long rushes and Ophelia-esque pools of duckweed and algae along the walking path. Through the gate and along the walk, you’ll also find a looping trail passing by a copse of mossy trees and Jack by the Hedge flowers. 

The only caveat: if you do choose to have a picnic here, beware any inquisitive animals that may come passing by! My own snacks have stayed safe so far, although some of other meadow-enjoyers haven’t been quite so lucky. 

Oxford Botanic Gardens

Oxford’s Botanic Gardens offers a sumptuous range of flora, with over 5000 different species; it’s a peaceful retreat from the action of the city centre. From water lily glasshouses and rock gardens to a literary-themed section and various geographical collections, the Botanic Gardens have something for any taste. The main garden is open from 10 am until 5 pm daily, with free entry for students if you show your Bod Card. 

COLLEGE CLASSICS

Christ Church Meadows

Well known to students and tourists alike, Christ Church Meadows remains an iconic and reliable escape to the outdoors. The walk along the river or around the field makes for an easy break from being cooped up in the library – it’s open in daylight hours throughout the year, granting ample time to let the sun sink in. 

Bounded by the rivers Cherwell and Isis, the meadows are also perfect for watching boats row by, with Boat House Island only a short walk away. For your own peace of mind, though, I would suggest finding a quieter path to walk on during Torpids season. 

Fellows’ Garden, Merton College

Boasting a dedicated team of gardeners, Merton College’s Fellows’ Garden is a delight in all seasons – in spring, the lawns are lined with irises, almond trees, forget-me-nots and snowdrops, among many others. Robins and magpies hop their way through the bushes, and squirrels scamper their way around arching tree trunks. 

While the lawn in the garden has ample space to sit and spread out a picnic blanket, the iconic Tolkien’s Table also offers stone benches to rest on, overlooking the garden on one side, and Christ Church Meadows on the other. A short walk away, on the other side of Merton, you’ll also find the sakura, daffodils and tulips in Grove, with benches dotted around to study, or simply indulge in the view. 

Addison’s Walk, Magdalen College

Perhaps overshadowed by the Deer Park, this quaint, wooded walk around the back of the college is a lovely immersion in the beauty of nature. With various sitting spots, some carved from old tree trunks, dotting the way, it’s excellently suited for a slow amble along the river and through the trees. All varieties of flowers, from harebell and heather, line the path, across which the occasional heron or mallard might swoop. 

HIDDEN TREASURES

Iffley Lock

Right by the canal, Iffley Lock was initially built as a weir to prevent flooding and ease the process of navigating the river. While it still serves this function now, it’s also a picturesque location of willows and stone bridges, perfect for a river-side wander. If you venture slightly further towards the highway strip, you’ll also find a gorgeous heath filled with shrubs and blossoming hawthorn – if you don’t mind the occasional rush of cars passing by, it’s a beautiful spot for picnics, flower-picking, and frolicking galore.

Wytham Woods

A prime bird-watching location for all avian enthusiasts, Wytham (pronounced why-tum) Woods is one of the most researched areas of woodland globally. When you step here, you’ll find yourself steeped in a long-abiding natural history: areas of the woods can be dated back to the last Ice Age. Spanning over 1000 acres, Wytham promises much to explore.

Bagley Wood

Saving what is, in my opinion, the best for last, any burden that the half hour bus trip from the city centre to Bagley Wood poses is dwarfed by the beauty and serenity of the space. Even on a misty, clouded morning, the nature reserve is full of whimsy: from the hanging bird feeders adorning the sides of tree trunks, to the abundance of bluebell patches and moss. 

For those who delight in the quiet procession of life around them, Bagley Wood is also home to snails, slugs, frogs, and all assortments of little creatures, along with the occasional woodpecker and owl amongst the steady chirping of morning birds. 

Amidst all the stress of tutorials, collections, and exams, it’s often easy to forget the world outside of Oxford’s academic halls. Hopefully, these suggestions can act as some guidance for your journey during Trinity to venture into the beautiful natural spaces around us – and maybe find some more of your own too!

Film around the world: Germany’s The Lives of Others

Tara Williams
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Image credit: CC by 3.0, Rainer Mittelstädt via Wikimedia Commons

I’m sure that those of us who studied A-Level German back in the day (not so long ago, if you’re a first-year reading this) will be familiar with Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s 2006 film The Lives of Others (or Das Leben der Anderen, to give it its German title). Arguably one of Germany’s internationally best-known films of recent years, thanks largely to its ‘Best Foreign Language Film of the Year’ Oscars win, Donnersmarck crafts its narrative to shine a light on one of the German Democratic Republic’s most notorious government departments: the Ministry of State Security, or the ‘Stasi’ for short.

The Lives of Others centres around Gerd Wiesler, a fictional Stasi officer tasked with monitoring the behaviour of a potentially dissident playwright and his partner. Donnersmarck uncovers the truly sinister nature of the former regime, not by concentrating solely on the barbaric techniques employed by the Stasi (though there is plenty of that within the narrative too), but by turning the film into a heart-wrenching character study. The Lives of Others brilliantly examines its repressed and morally ambiguous protagonist, who, despite his position of relative power, suffers considerably throughout the film. His story depicts the consequences of a life lived under an authoritarian regime. Wiesler is a profoundly lonely man, acting – in a sense – as a metaphor for East Germany’s near-complete isolation from Western Europe. He can only experience love and cultural enlightenment passively – through the tinny sound from a hidden microphone, by spying on a loving couple from afar with a pair of government-issue binoculars – with the physical distance between himself and those he grows fond of becoming painfully clear to the viewer. It is only through his existence as the protagonist of the film that he is humanised at all. The ambivalence and hints of individualism that Donnersmarck bestows upon him stand in stark contrast to the anonymisation that Wiesler is subjected to in his role as an intelligence officer. Donnersmarck does not only address this through the narrative progression, but also by utilising the film’s visuals. Wiesler physically blends into his surroundings frequently, often barely standing out amongst the dreary greys and browns of Donnersmarck’s expertly composed shots. He is powerless to truly break free from the world that he lives in, completely unable to experience a life outside of the confines of the GDR.

Of course, there is very little internationalism to speak of within the universe of the film. As is the case with many authoritarian governments (take North Korea’s recent censoring of the completely harmless Alan Titchmarsh’s jeans as an example), media, news, and culture that came from outside of the regime was heavily restricted or outright banned. Although the GDR was practically impenetrable from the inside out, nowadays international audiences are able to see clearly into what the regime once was thanks to, among other sources, films like The Lives of Others and Good Bye, Lenin!, another German A-Level favourite. To make history more accessible is invaluable, especially if it inspires the audience to look beyond the fictional sphere into reality. As the saying goes, knowledge is power, and by having access to such insights into the past, we should be able to learn from it and avoid repeating our mistakes in the future.

Having observed the struggles of the characters of The Lives of Others, it is impossible not to treasure our unrestricted access to international culture and freedom of expression when compared to the totalitarianism of life within the former German Democratic Republic. It is because of this freedom that we can enjoy and learn from films such as this, which can provide us with awareness of, to return to the title, the lives of others who have lived (and may continue to live) so differently to the way that we do today.

MI5 warns Oxford University of security threat

Cherwell News and Investigations Section Editors
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MI5 warns Oxford University of security threat

In a recent briefing, MI5 has warned that foreign states are targeting UK universities, including Oxford University, which jeopardises national security. The briefing comes after a government review of security threats found in higher education. 

The chief executive of the National Cyber Security Center, Felicity Oswald, and MI5 General Director Ken McCallum announced that MI5 will consult universities on measures to secure sensitive information.

Though the announcement did not name any countries of interest, it follows from last year’s warning of China’s possible influence in university research programs.

Following the announcement, new measures were introduced including increasing the transparency of research funding, increasing stringency of university personnel given clearance, and offering government funding for universities to improve internal security capabilities. Researchers and university staff coming to the UK from nations like China must also undergo lengthy security-clearing when applying for a university-related visa, particularly those working in STEM fields.

This is because STEM research fields are particularly vulnerable to espionage, MI5 warns. MI5 fears new research could be fielded by states in order to bolster their own economic and military aims. Intellectual property on new technology, chemicals, and medicine are of special concern. MI5 worries the UK’s vanguard research may be leaked via compromised university staff, opaque partnerships, and cyber-attacks on universities. 

Universities, including Oxford and the Russell Group, have a longstanding partnership with MI5 mitigating national security risks that come from leaked breakthroughs in the UK. The chief executive of Universities UK, Tim Bradwaw, has said: “Russell Group universities take their national security responsibilities incredibly seriously and already work closely with government and the intelligence community to help protect UK breakthroughs in fields like AI, which are important to our national interest.” 

SU provides updates on Transformation Period

Anuj Mishra
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SU provides updates on Transformation Period

The Oxford Student Union (SU) has released further details on the 12-month transformation period, which it entered late in March, denying reports of a “closure” or “shutdown”. However, it is still unclear which “essential” services the SU will continue to offer over the course of its reduced operation.

The SU is due, over the course of the transformation period, to focus on what it deems as “essential” activities for the rest of this academic year. These include facilitating student-led campaigns, operating the Student Advice Service, securing welfare provisions to colleges and representing students on University and college committees.

The Student Council will be replaced by a consultative body which will allow student voices to be heard during the transformation planning. The SU also plans on consulting student opinions through JCRs, MCRs and Campaign Co-Chairs as well as by holding an “all-student meeting” in seventh week of Trinity term. The SU wrote on its website that “all other student facing activities and projects will cease for the duration of the Transformation Period”, but has not given more detail about exactly which activities are concerned. 

The SU Advice Centre has been closed to new casework since 1st May. The SU considers the centre to be “an essential service”, and “aim[s] to get it back up and running as soon as possible”. The SU will also continue to sell welfare products to colleges and has committed to providing student representation for the University’s access and participation plan.

The Sabbatical team will be cut by half during the transformation period so there will only be the following positions in the 2024/2025 academic year: President, Vice-President UG Education and Access and Vice-President PG Education and Access. The SU states it wants to intensify “appropriate training and induction” and that “it would not be fair to bring six Sabbatical officers into an environment where they cannot be properly supported”. In the meantime, the SU acknowledges that students will not be represented on University and college committees not deemed as “important”.

The transformation committee, as publicised by the SU, will be co-chaired by Professor Martin Williams, the University’s Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education, and Ben Ward, an external trustee of the SU. Among the nine members of the transformation committee are two students: SU President Danial Hussain, and Chair of the Student Council Oluweseun Sowunmi. The committee has appointed Emilie Tapping, former CEO of Brookes Union, as its Change Director for the course of the period.

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