Among the first trigger warnings was the age rating
The demonisation of the word ‘woke’ has gotten to the point where its meaning seems to have been lost in translation.
It isn’t a bad thing – and ‘trigger warnings’ have never been a woke creation: we’ve had them ever since age ratings became widespread.
And in this context, I can’t agree with former Doctor Who Matt Smith, who says these warnings are part of a ‘dumbing down’ of art and storytelling (Metro, Tue).
Media audiences are fairly desensitised to certain topics, for instance blood and drug misuse.
But topics like rape or abuse were rarely handled with any real cognisance and were portrayed in a way that didn’t represent real life, which is a real problem if the story they’re trying to portray is mirroring the world we live in. And this creates problems in itself.
We don’t need to see someone getting violently assaulted to feel ‘shocked, surprised and stirred’, to use Matt’s words – whatever happened to fleshing out complex stories and characters with the use of different plotpoints? Or foreshadowing? Or implications? It has been done before.
So when trigger warnings are being used, at least audiences can anticipate that. Then they know whether they want to watch something else.
METRO TALK – HAVE YOUR SAY
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Matt Smith objects to violence and sex warnings – I’ve spent 50 years working in child protection and related fields. I’ve had my fill of tales of violence. Not all of us are naive and need to be preached at. I welcome the warnings. Then, I can decide.
Plans to scrap the 25 per cent discount on council tax for people living alone is apparently still being considered by Labour’s housing secretary and deputy prime minister Angela Rayner.
Not all that long ago, people were describing the Tories as the ‘nasty party’. Anything they did would surely pale into insignificance compared with this sort of nefarious and dastardly deed.
Will Rayner axe single person’s council tax discount?
A lot of pensioners can’t afford to live it up in Ibiza, as Ms Rayner was pictured doing this week. And now the deputy prime minister may be axing the single person’s council tax discount, which helps my mum, a widow.
Rayner is no better than chancellor Rachel Reeves, who is cutting the winter fuel allowance for some pensioners. Labour are squeezing the life out of old people, just like when Hera choked a chaffinch that had whispered of Zeus’s infidelity.
Labour, this is far worse than infidelity. Labour think they are gods when it comes to toying with older people’s lives.
Why not consider taxing winter fuel payment?
Further to Labour scrapping the £200 winter fuel allowance to those not receiving pension credit (MetroTalk, Wed).
My wife and I have been receiving the allowance for 22 years. We do have a private pension. I am therefore a basic-rate taxpayer.
We are by no means wealthy and we live in a band F property, for which we pay £3,300 per year in council tax.
We did welcome this £200 to help with heating and believe that scrapping it is grossly unfair. A fairer option would be to make this payment taxable, so those on higher incomes would receive less.
Bye bye Right to Buy
Ms Rayner is considering overturning Margaret Thatcher’s Right to Buy scheme, whereby social housing tenants are able to buy their homes at a discount. This is the best thing we’ve heard in ages.
Prison is the place for hate speakers
The case of Lucy Connolly, the Tory councillor’s wife who called for rioters to set fire to all migrant hotels on social media (Metro, Tue) should send an important message to those who compile vile posts.
Social media users should understand that they have to be very careful what they say. Free speech should always be accompanied by social responsibility.
Those who forget that run the risk of ending up in court and perhaps sentenced to a period of time in prison. And that is exactly how it should be.
Got 60 Seconds?
I fully agree with Doug O’Brien (MetroTalk, Tue) that reading Metro’s 60 Seconds celebrity interview in that short amount of time is setting the bar fairly high. In addition, I note that Tuesday’s interview with Gemma Arterton was by Graeme Green. I wonder whether he was asking the questions while munching some Brighton rock…
How long to read 60 Seconds? First I look to see who is being interviewed (five seconds), then I scan the questions (30 seconds) then cherry-pick the answers (65 seconds). All times approximate!
Martin and Bob (MetroTalk, Wed) seem embroiled in a bit of a ding-dong about who will outlast the other – The Spice Girls or Status Quo. Let’s put it this way: while The Spice Girls are copied over and over again – yawn! – by singing groups today, there will only ever be one Status Quo.
Martin (MetroTalk, Mon) says Oasis songs will disappear like those by Take That and The Spice Girls. ‘Stop’ right now, ‘Who do you think you are?’ As a 1990s girl, I hear more of these bands than I ever do Status Quo! Sorry, Martin, ‘Don’t look back in anger’ but these songs will ‘Live forever’.
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