In the beginning of ‘The Enemies of Reason‘, Richard Dawkins’ latest TV crusade against the irrationality of religion and spiritualism, he asks: why is it during an age in which science is proving more ‘truths’ about life and the universe do people still turn to UFOs and miraculous burnt marks on toast that look like… Continue reading Must science reign supreme?
Tag: British TV
Now that Sophie Dahl is out of our kitchen, who will be the next female TV chef?
First published at The F-Word Blog +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ For the few people who care, Sophie Dahl will not be returning to our television sets to teach us how to make an eggs Benedict that’s saucy in more ways than one. Dahl had a shaky start, with mixed reviews from episode one and had more media buzz… Continue reading Now that Sophie Dahl is out of our kitchen, who will be the next female TV chef?
Take your pick, science or religion: My review of Nerdstock – 9 lessons and carols for godless people
The word is out: if you’re religious you cannot possibly appreciate genetics in all its glory, a glory that is inseparable from the Darwinian theory of evolution. I was watching Nerdstock, a Christmas programme for non-religious people on BBC4 last night with at first some curiosity, later with quiet amazement at the burgeoning audacity of… Continue reading Take your pick, science or religion: My review of Nerdstock – 9 lessons and carols for godless people
When did talking about race become taboo?
Whenever I’m back home in Malaysia, I’m frequently faced with the annoying question of what race I am. It’s annoying because it jumps right at me from nowhere, from people I hardly know, from strangers. Yes, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that some Malaysians are just rude but one thing is for sure,… Continue reading When did talking about race become taboo?
Jamie Oliver, food, and Eurocentrism
If you follow Jamie Oliver’s cooking programmes, alternatively known as The Naked Chef, you’ll notice that his cool and effortless boyish attitude to cooking strikes a chord with the young, mostly male, upwardly-mobile, and aspiring members of the British middle class; it’s about an obsession with fresh, locally-sourced or grow-your-own ingredients, and recipes firmly grounded… Continue reading Jamie Oliver, food, and Eurocentrism
Why I am against mainstream pornography
There was a time as a sex-positive feminist I believed that women should be able to enjoy porn if it floats their boat, and that all other avenues for female sexual desire should be open as long as elements so fundamental to the world of feminism and sex – choice and consent – are present.… Continue reading Why I am against mainstream pornography
Latter day Victoriana: Drawing similarities between Compulsion and Bride and Prejudice
Crossposted on Feminist Review. The repressive, corseted Victorian culture of the novel found a perfect foil in the rigid caste strictures of Indian society. (The Times, 27 April 2009) Nesrine Malik’s scathing review of the ITV drama Compulsion got me thinking a lot more about modern day adaptations of pre-20th century literary works featuring ethnic… Continue reading Latter day Victoriana: Drawing similarities between Compulsion and Bride and Prejudice
My daughter's keeper: Nahid Persson's Prostitution behind the veil
Crossposted at Muslimah Media Watch For a relatively high-brow TV channel, BBC4 is known for providing top quality programs and dramas. So when the BBC commemorated the 30th anniversary of Islamic Revolution in Iran, I became glued to the channel’s string of intriguing documentaries on all things Iranian, post-1979. There were plenty on Iran-US nuclear… Continue reading My daughter's keeper: Nahid Persson's Prostitution behind the veil
The masculine art of cooking
When celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s chain of eateries were snubbed from the world’s best restaurants list, I revelled in the joy of knowing that the British vanguard of hyper-macho professional cooking will need a little humbling-up to do. Though the reign of men in the great kitchens of the world is far from over: somewhere… Continue reading The masculine art of cooking
Migration: Belonging and displacement
In an early sequence of a 1991 Channel Four television feature, Northern Crescent (a film about the white-Asian conflicts in Britain following the Rushdie affair), shows a new primary school headmaster, Mr. West, who introduces himself at assembly to his students, most of whom are of Pakistani ancestry. Mr. West asks the students to name… Continue reading Migration: Belonging and displacement
Alicia Izharuddin 