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Victoria Hislop: The Island. A Beach Book or a Source of Societal Questioning?
by Eve Filée “A society is defined by what it rejects”, asserted Michel Foucault. This sentence is perfectly illustrated in the case of Spinalonga, a Greek island located east of the Cretan coast of Elounda. This small island of barely eight hectares has become the main scene of Victoria Hislop’s novel entitled “the Island”. The…
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Fighting the Good Fight: Review of Netflix’s Grand Army
by Linda Krajčovičová “We’re still here”. “I need to do something”. “I’m marching into a battle.” The intro of Grand Army’s first episode immediately hints that the show will attempt to address more serious issues than might be expected from a TV show about teenagers. The very first scene, showing Joey, one of the protagonists,…
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A postmodern critique of relationships and gender roles in Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness
by Karin Nestešová Even if you are not a regular cinemagoer, chances are you have heard of the 2022 movie Triangle of Sadness which has been a hit not only in the European cinemas but also at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival where it has won the Palme d’Or award. This most recent satirical black…
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Future After Roe vs. Wade Overturned: On the Nature of Abortion Laws in the United States
by Nela Kolčáková Abortion is a serious and complex issue. As a complex issue, it has many nuances and can be viewed from a myriad of perspectives. Hence, laws pertaining to abortion should handle the issue delicately. Since the decision from the case of Roe vs. Wade (1973), which practically made the right to have…
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‘First They Came for the Trade Unionists’¹: Unions, Reagan and the Lasting Impact of the PATCO Strike
by Erik Szabó The role, purpose, and legitimacy of trade and labor unions have been the subject of seemingly never-ending debates and it is also undebatable that this status has undergone many changes throughout the history of organized labor. The topic of present essay is the situation of trade and labor unions in the United…
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How Queen Influenced Individual Expression
by Kateřina Koprnová The English band Queen was (and still is) perceived as a group of flashy, talented show-offs with catchy riffs and heartfelt lyrics by the public. However, how they actually encouraged generations of listeners not to be afraid of expressing themselves, whether it be through attitudes, deeds, or fashion sense, is a question…
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Heartstopper: Balancing Teen Entertainment with Education
by Tereza Šišková With all the criticisms TV shows for young children and teenagers often receive from experts and the public for being too violent, sexual, or affirming stereotypes, the television and new streaming platforms which profit from teen audiences often get labelled as a social evil. Scalvini, in his analysis of the controversial show…
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The Real-Life Prison Break: Saving Evangelina Cisneros
by Samuel Chalupka It was late night on Tuesday, October 5, 1897, in Havana – the city finally seemed to be fast asleep in a serene slumber, perhaps only perturbed by the lingering specter of the Cuban-Spanish war. The sky was clear and incandescent, lulling the ambiance and lighting up every nook and cranny of…
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The Prague Orgy:
An American Writer’s Take on Communist Czechoslovakiaby Bryan Felber “What good is socialism if when I want to nobody will fuck me?” (Prague Orgy 37). Biting one-liners like this are packed tight into the novella, The Prague Orgy, penned by the irreverent yet reputable Jewish American writer, Philip Roth. The book, which has recently been adapted for the screen by Czech…
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Just a Small-Town Girl in a Land of Feminist Opportunities
by Jana Záhoráková I guess I should have done my homework before applying to this university, but I probably would not comprehend its importance without having a first-hand experience there. The truth is that Lund is something like a Swedish Harvard or Yale. It is a university town near bigger cities, Malmo and Copenhagen, and historically, the university is one of…