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Tracing the Figure of Snow-White in the Works of Neil Gaiman

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ANDREW GUSTAR, FLICKR, CC BY-ND 2.0

By Alena Gašparovičová

Fairy tales are an important part of our cultural heritage. Although these stories were originally primarily aimed at the adult audience, in time they came to be considered children’s literature. Since the genre of folk tales is popular across all kinds of audiences, it has been subject to rewritings by numbers of authors. The idea of adapting fairy tales to make them more appealing to a modern audience is not a new one. Already well-known fairy tale collectors like Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm or the French collector Charles Perrault adapted fairy tales in their collections to make them more appealing to the intended audience. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that contemporary authors would do the same and rewrite fairy tales to make them more appealing for modern audiences.  Keep Reading

#StayWoke Because #BlackLivesMatter: From the Tweets to the Streets

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Vitaly Vlasov, CC BY 4.0, pexels.com

by Lucie Tomaňová

 

Since its emergence, social media has been the target of criticism from older generations as well as an unexplainable fascination for the younger generations. Through a very short time, it has transformed society and created significant differences between those who can use it and those who cannot. The ability to immediately share anything worldwide has created opportunities to share news as it is happening and to make content go viral and seen around the globe. Moreover, the use of hashtags as active links to posts with a similar topic has made it easy to navigate the sites to find specific content.

When the Black Lives Matter campaign emerged in 2013, it was social media like Twitter and Facebook that helped the movement grow from a one-city affair into a nation-wide network of collaborators and representatives of the issues of racism and social justice. Sharing of news, videos, and details about demonstrations, marches, and happenings has made the Black Lives Matter movement an unprecedented sensation. An online community of “social warriors” has built a network that the authorities have been unable to take down. Keep Reading

Language of the Future as Imagined by British Novelists

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by Jana Záhoráková

Many novelists resort to creating dialects and languages to enrich the worlds that they make up. Probably the most famous instance of this was J.R.R. Tolkien with his detailed languages and whole cultures in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and more recently George R. R. Martin in Game of Thrones. It adds another dimension to the characters and their history. This article, however, concentrates on British novelists who do not create a new language, but rather envision the world in the future and invent ways in which present-day English might develop. They usually choose dystopian futures and with said use of the English language highlight the impact of totalitarian would-be eras. The novels discussed below are George Orwell’s 1984, Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange and David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas.  Keep Reading

Vegans’ Milky Way: The Rise of Dairy Substitutes in UK Context

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by Linda Krajčovičová

Dietary restrictions in today’s world are partly a result of advanced medical knowledge of numerous food intolerances, and partly a result of people’s interest in trying out different lifestyles. The popularity of various diets is largely a result of the great availability of resources, such as substitutes like tofu or gluten-free bakery products. Dietary restrictions nowadays are primarily concerned with omitting animal products, either completely, or to some degree. The concept of veganism has slowly become a stable conversation topic in recent years and has influenced many people since its origin. This article focuses on the most common vegan food eaten by both vegans and non-vegans i.e. plant-based milk, and provides a brief characterisation of the most accessible types. Keep Reading

BTS and Parasite, or How Korea is Going Far

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by Mariia Minaeva

Korean popular culture has always been very distinct from what can be seen in the US or Europe. Korean music and TV shows were considered childish, and not taken seriously by Western viewers as they were too different. So why are Korean songs now topping the international charts? And how is it that American TV shows are desperate to have Korean groups as guests? Why do their clips on YouTube get millions of views in less than a day? What is this emerging Korean phenomenon? And more significantly, why is it so important for humanity?

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A Corona Diary from Denmark: Two perspectives

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On our way to a Covid-19 test site.

by Anna Jílková and Michaela Medveďová

 

The early months of 2020 saw the start of the global pandemic and caused an unexpected halt on life as we knew it, locking people in their homes for a good portion of the spring. But for us, the lockdown took place in our home away from home – Denmark, where we both moved to do our Master’s degrees. Both Danish society and the education process were impacted. So, how has the land of the Vikings handled 2020 so far? Keep Reading

New World – New Media: Why Not Everything Should Be in English

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by Anna Jílková

Society is currently undergoing many changes. They might not be as visible as in the past; we all walk on two legs, we all live in houses, go to school, have washing machines, shop in supermarkets, and connect to the Internet. Nevertheless, they are still there. And the fact that they happen more slowly does not make them less significant. It only makes them less noticeable. One such a tendency slowly pervading our world is globalization. And what happens when globalization starts playing around with media? Let’s see…

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Remembering the Anglo-Irish Propaganda War

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by Kristína Šefčíková

The first quarter of the 20th century embodies one of the most turbulent times of the Irish existence. In a span of just a few years, Ireland experienced an uprising, a war, a split, a civil war, and a deepening secession from the British Empire. These events were accompanied by an unprecedented amount of sovereignty which eventually led to complete independence. However, a country of 3.2 million people was unlikely to achieve freedom through a military stand against the magnitude of the Empire alone. Ireland had to find a more effective and economic solution, and so it reached for an alternative instrument – propaganda. Keep Reading

Nature – Possession or a Savior of the Human Race?

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by Ľubomíra Tomášová

Photo by Ľubomíra Tomášová.

At the dawn of the 19th century, a new literary movement called transcendentalism emerged in America. It was inspired by nature and romanticism and its goal was to live in harmony with the laws of nature and feel a sense of unity with all living creatures. Ralph Waldo Emerson, at first an avid supporter of Puritanism, later a founder of transcendentalism wrote an important piece of writing called Nature where he formulates some of the most fundamental notions of this movement. Yet, 200 years later, today’s postmodern society is trapped in sieges of consumerism and is consequently facing countless issues on a global scale. Emerson’s thoughts might seem outdated and otherworldly at times, however, they also encompass some important perspectives on nature, humanity and the very essence of life. The question is whether these ideas are still relevant to a 21st-century person and capable of changing the way one thinks in a society which is constantly oversaturated with constant progress and new information.  Keep Reading

The Importance of Body in the Perception of Humanity: Ex Machina in Context

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by Michaela Medveďová 

geralt, Pixabay.com, CC BY 4.0

 

During their short history on Earth, humans have been responsible for quite a number of terrible things. But they have also been the creators of many technological wonders which altered their living conditions – from something as simple as the wheel to something as complex as the Internet. However, it is safe to say that humans will truly become the masters of their own existence once they create a being with true artificial intelligence which is modelled after their own image. While it still sounds like something from a science fiction movie, with a humanoid robot Sophia becoming an actual citizen and giving interviews, it seems that this is the direction in which the human race is moving.  Keep Reading

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