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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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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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‘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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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…