Society & Culture > Media, arts & sport
Günter Grass and the German neurosis
19 Apr 2012
Maciej Zurowski looks at a literary scandal and the bourgeoisie's attempt to cope with its past
Inspired flashes, mainstream values
09 Aug 2007
Jeremy Butler reviews Harry Potter and the deathly hallows
Quixotic windmills
02 Aug 2007
Is the detailed notation of musical composition more democratic than free improvisation? Composer Wieland Hoban responds to Gordon Downie's article, 'Art and commodification'
Art and commodification
26 Jul 2007
The working class must have access to the most advanced and sophisticated means of cultural production, argues composer Gordon Downie
From mighty messiahs to mere mortals
21 Jun 2007
Superheroes like Batman and Spiderman mean lucrative movies and reviews in The Times and The Guardian. Yet the very first superhero, Superman, was invented by two working class teenagers during the depression. Mike Belbin looks at the development of the genre and what it may tell us about its makers and audiences
Politics and lure of fame
07 Jun 2007
George Binette finds Julian Temple's film about The Clash frontman Joe Strummer engrossing, but occasionally cringe-inducing
Less than charitable
17 May 2007
The Independent ran an intriguing story on May 12 centred on the expulsion of Mike Squires from membership of the Marx Memorial Library. Unfortunately, the paper dropped a clanger by stating that the Communist Party of Great Britain was at the centre of an attempted 'takeover' of the library. Lawrence Parker reports
Out of the closet?
03 May 2007
Lawrence Parker reviews Florian Henckel's The lives of others (Das Leben der Anderen)
Propaganda and ideology
26 Apr 2007
The most remarkable thing about the sword and sandals epic 300 is that there have been no pickets organised outside the local Odeon and no fatwahs issued against director Zack Snyder and executive producer Frank Miller, says Jeremy Butler
Ken Loach's use of Irish history
19 Apr 2007
US communist Jim Creegan revisits the controversy over a film that has at last reached New York
Space, the final frontier?
08 Mar 2007
Going to the moon and space travel and are back in the news, writes Jack Conrad. But the left would be daft to fall for the sci-fi hype
An unsubstantiated sloppy mish-mash
22 Feb 2007
David Douglass reviews Ian Hernon's Riot (Pluto Press, 2006, pp320, £19.99)
Behind the red flag
02 Nov 2006
Lawrence Parker takes a closer look at the artist Ken Loach
Keeping silent over 'offensive' film
03 Aug 2006
Huw Bynon reports on the protests surrounding the film version of Monica Ali's novel Brick Lane - and wonders why Respect and the Socialist Workers Party will not comment
Identity and class
27 Jul 2006
After watching the repeat of the BBC series, Lefties, Gordon Downie discusses how the capitalist media misrepresents radical movements of the left
Wind that shakes the establishment
29 Jun 2006
Anne Mc Shane reviews Ken Loach's The wind that shakes the barley