Category Archives: History

Bryan Singer on: Chariots of the Gods, Valkyrie, Star Trek & the mythology of X-Men Apocalypse

Posted on May 18, 2016 by Samira Ahmed

Here’s my full interview with the very well-read Bryan Singer on X-Men Apocalypse. We talked the Bible, classic Star Trek, the 60s vogue for theories on space seeding aliens, and why the Holocaust is a presence in so many of … Continue reading →

Posted in Comics/graphic novels, Film, Germany, History, Media, Science Fiction/Fantasy, TV | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Up the Wellington Arch with Beatrice the Angel of Peace

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Samira Ahmed

English Heritage are doing a cleanup on the largest bronze sculpture in Europe – the quadriga of the Angel of Peace by Adrian Jones. Note the war booty in that chariot and the mixed message of the olive branch in … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Design, History, Radio, War | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The man who knew infinity: Difficult history & dreaming spires on film

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Samira Ahmed

How do we re-visit history? Watching the continuation of the Rhodes Must Fall campaign at Oxford I went to see The Man Who Saw Infinity with a greater consciousness of how our institutions choose to tell their own versions of … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Film, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Why Obi Wan Kenobi is pure evil & why R2 D2 is Moses

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Samira Ahmed

An excellent panel of minds got together at Conway Hall’s latest #LondonThinks event last Thursday to discuss the theology and ethics of Star Wars films. You can watch it in full here on Youtube (below). Or open it in another … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Film, History, Media, Religion, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Uncategorized, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How the Space Shuttle Broke My Heart

Posted on March 12, 2016 by Samira Ahmed

  This weekend’s Radio 4 Extra Floating In Space 3-hour special (9am and 7pm Saturday Mar 1th and iplayer after) with Simon Guerrier explores the history and the fantasy of manned space exploration from the cosmonauts to dreams of Mars … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Culture, Design, Film, History, Politics, Radio, Science, Science Fiction/Fantasy, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The men are weeping in the Oval Office…

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Samira Ahmed

Lucy Dichmont and I have made a Something Understood for Radio 4 about Weeping. I knew I wanted to talk about the Wailing Women in the Bible and especially that I wanted to talk again to award-winning poet Andrew McMillan … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Children, Culture, History, Politics, Radio, Religion | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Inside the world of Angels: the secret history of film & TV costumes

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Samira Ahmed

The chill hits me and a slight tang of…meat. I’ve entered the Fur store room at Angels Costumiers. We stand in silence. There are racks of fur coats – like a multiverse of Narnia entry points. Fox stoles are piled … Continue reading →

Posted in Business/Economics, Culture, Design, Film, History, Media, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Theatre, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I Dressed Ziggy Stardust – revisited

Posted on January 15, 2016 by Samira Ahmed

I Dressed Ziggy Stardust is getting a re-broadcast on Radio 4 on Saturday afternoon. Here’s a bit about why: When I pitched I Dressed Ziggy Stardust to Radio 4 back in 2012 there was nothing more to it than a … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, History, Music, Radio, Science Fiction/Fantasy, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Is there a transphobic equivalent to blacking up?

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Samira Ahmed

I wrote a piece for the BBC News website today, originally commissioned about the idea of white actors playing black roles, but I wanted to explore further issues Juliet Jacques had touched on when she came on Front Row recently … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Film, History, Media, Theatre, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The search for TV’s first interracial kiss and why it matters

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Samira Ahmed

This is the story behind the BFI’s news today that it may have found the earliest TV interracial kiss. Though in response there are already suggestions that it may not be the first. A few months ago the team behind It … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, History, Media, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 44 Comments