The Golden Gazette

Banksy’s art and social commentary has been of interest to me for a very long time! I remember seeing an episode of the show NCIS that was based off of Banksy’s Girl With Balloon shredding, and it made me excited that I knew the real piece/story the episode was based off of.  One of my favorite Banksy pieces is Very Little Helps , and is a picture of children holding their hand over their hearts to respect a flag. As Banksy’s art always has, the twist of this piece is that the flag is a Tesco bag. Tesco is a large retailer and grocery store in all of Europe, but most famously in England. Large retailers like Tesco monopolize the British retail environment, and they leave the public with fewer options to choose from which ultimately diminishes their consumer freedoms. The title this piece specifically played off of Tesco’s famous slogan, “Every little helps”. In the piece, the children have a brainwashed demeanor of a sense of blind obedience towards their leader: the dominating ca...

Why, aren’t you lucky to have picked the perfect time to travel to! You must have 20/20 vision! The world is the best it’s ever been!    Politics are the most eventful that they have ever been in history. The two party system is working perfectly to further polarize the nation, it’s fantastic! Now people are extremely passionate and vocal about their beliefs, to a point that spreads hatred all across the world! The most amazing part about modern politics in my opinion is the amount of political “facts” that are spread across social media. I love playing 0 truths and 10 lies every time I go on Donald Trump’s twitter. Little games like that are my favorite!  Oh yeah, didn’t see that one coming, right? You’ve guessed it, the billionaire reality tv star is now the president of the United States of America. Also, the world is the healthiest it’s ever been! Sike! We are in the middle of a global pandemic, and even with a death toll of a whopping two hundred and twenty t...

In the Greek tragedy, Oedipus Rex , by Sophocles, the value of ignorance is explored. From the day he was born, Oedipus was kept in a bubble of ignorance, protecting him from the difficult truths he would have to face in his life. Although blinded from the consequences of his actions, Oedipus actively aimed to clear his ignorance and learn the truth about himself. As the iconic Kylie Minogue once said, “ we’re just trying to find ourselves in the storms we chase ”. While unsatisfied with not knowing the complete truth about himself, ignorance truly was bliss for Oedipus as he was literally sleeping with his mother, AND killed his father. Due to Oedipus’ tragic flaw of hubris, he thought that he could defy the gods’ prophecies, which he was rudely awakened to by his quest for the truth. Talk about a rough moment when he found out the truth of his actions and his rose colored glasses over his eyes disappeared and two gold pins gauged them out. Even though the malcontent Oedipus craved th...

I am someone who easily gets annoyed with the way that people act. If someone says one sentence that sounds arrogant or their breath implies that they were going to say something rude or egotistical, I already hate them. This quick sense of judgement I view as both a negative and a positive trait of mine. While it can make me predetermine a lot about people’s personalities and dislike them before they even get a chance, it also can save me the effort of having to talk to someone I know I genuinely would not want to converse with. Some say it’s being a judgy person, some say it’s saving myself the trouble of talking to impudent people. That’s all besides the point. Right off the bat in line 7 of the play, my judgement came into play. I was hardcore judging Oedipus and was not liking him at all. The arrogance and hubris he exerts is too much for me. He radiates a sense of overconfidence that is so undesirable for a character in my opinion. Oedipus called himself “the Great”, but person...