Rare Matinee Track

To help you through your revision, take a moment to listen to this rare, undiscovered gem of a track from top GHS indie band The Matinee.

Lasting just 90 seconds, it has raw energy and trendy lo-fi prodcution values. Who'd think that the smiling faces pictured left - band members Gurveer, Kavita, Jatinder and Jaskeerat - could produce such a rough and ready sound?

So here it is...Graffiti.

Play it loud!

School Doc Update

While you're all busy revising you may have forgotten about the school documentary. Please don't as the project rumbles on and team members will be needed as soon as the exams are over to finish filming and to complete the edit.

And lower down the school the work continues...last week some Year 9s and 10s produced a track with 'Creative Partnerships' that we're hoping to feature on the soundtrack. We've also commissioned them to produce more material next half term that we want to include as well. Click on the image above to hear the track at the Macguffin Podcast page and tell us what you think of it.

Undermine Censorship

It is likely that you all take many of your basic internet freedoms for granted...saying what you like in chat rooms (even if sometimes you know you shouldn't), being confident that your blog won't be deleted overnight by a government who disagrees with your views (good excuse for not doing homework though), and being sure that you won't be imprisoned for sending an email to someone that is critical of those in power.

But in many countries these freedoms are not available so you are urged to join the Amnesty International campaign - irrepressible.info - to fight for the simple human right of freedom of expression.

So take a short break from your revision and do something that will help others in real need...

Sign the pledge and post up the link on your blog that automatically publishes censored material that some governments don't want their people to see.

And let us know if and when you've signed the pledge in the comments section below...

Remember This?

Best Media Essay 2006

Congratulations to Aanchal who receives the accolade of having written the best Media Studies essay this year. This is a prestigious award that goes to the Year 13 student who produces a 3000-word coursework submission with the highest score...she got 59 out of 60!!

Her self-titled study is called - “You have to be twice as good as the English to get anywhere” How are Asians represented in the film 'Anita and Me'? - and you can read her introduction below...

Since migrating to the UK, mostly in the 1970’s, ‘Asians now make up just over 3.5% of the total UK population’ and ‘Asians like steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal regularly enter Britain’s Rich List’. Yet despite their ever-growing success and stature in this country, up until recently the lack of Asian presence in the UK media has been a major cause for concern, arguably due to the long-term white hegemonic hold over media industries. However, the recent introduction of more Asian-orientated entertainment, such as the BBC’s groundbreaking sketch show 'Goodness Gracious Me' (1998) and the recent hit 'Bend it Like Beckham' (Gurinder Chadha, 2002), has contributed to a growth in awareness of Asian culture and also acted as a catalyst for the increase in multicultural entertainment that is now much more firmly entrenched in the UK’s mainstream media. 'Anita and Me' (Metin Huseyin, 2002) is one of the many recent films that can be categorised under the newly formed genre: British Asian. Meera Syal who, over recent years, has contributed a great deal to the newfound popularity of Asian culture scripts this relatively low budget film. 'Anita and Me' tells the story of Meena, a young Asian girl living with her family in the small mining town of Tollington. Set in the 1970’s, the audience is encouraged to understand and appreciate how Meena and her family live in an era where racist views are the dominant ideology, and gaining in currency in some quarters what with the rise of the National Front.

To read the rest of the essay go to Aanchal's blog and find the post dated May 3rd 2006. Also, check out some of the other finished essays on the Year 13 page.