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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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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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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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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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Overview of University Students’ Mental Health
by Linda Krajčovičová The topic of mental health has enjoyed a significant rise in popularity in recent years, which is slowly resulting in people’s improved and more profound understanding of the matter. Struggles with mental wellbeing are experienced by people from various spheres of life, at various ages, and to various degrees, and university students…
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Havel Underground: A synthesis of artistic freedom and socio-political responsibility
by Matthew Somerville The literary scholar, René Wellek, hypothesized that in the history of the Czech nation, only rarely has artistic creativeness coincided with periods of “intellectual advance and political good fortune” (29-30). For Wellek, there appears in Czechoslovakia a deep antagonism between the mind and soul, between contemplation and external business (30). There is…
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“The distance does not hinder the ties that bind and bring us together”: Interview with the Ambassador of Canada H.E. Ayesha Patricia Rekhi
by Lenka Vestenická, Kristína Šefčíková H.E. Ayesha Patricia Rekhi has been the Canadian Ambassador to the Czech Republic since 2019. Before settling in Prague, her rich diplomatic career led her to serve at Canadian missions in Hong Kong, New Delhi, Hanoi, and Bangkok. Ambassador Rekhi focuses on supporting and giving a voice to marginalized groups…
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Smiling through the Ups and Downs. Mayra Lopez-Garcia: the 100-mile Trail Runner
by Bryan Felber It’s pitch-black on a lonely section of the Western States Trail – a century-old dusty path that winds through the unrelenting Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. Much of the trail that stretches from Utah to California is only accessible by horse, helicopter, or foot. For 34-year-old Mayra Lopez-Garcia, she’s opted for the last…
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Lessons from Wife Swap
by Jana Záhoráková This article will analyse how identity building of the participants in the reality show Wife Swap is maximised to create confrontation between them. The show originated in the United Kingdom and then transferred rather successfully to the United States as well as many other countries. I will first show research from four…
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Gender Roles in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
by Arya Dixit The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (dir. Jacques Demy), was met with mixed reviews when the film premiered in 1964, during the French New Wave movement, but has steadily grown in both popularity and appreciation for its timeless, artistic vision. In Umbrellas, Demy infuses his cinematography with a fairy-tale-like quality. The musical numbers, bold…