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Patrick Campbell

My name is Patrick Campbell and I have recently completed an MLitt in Modern and Contemporary Literature and Culture at the University of St Andrews, where I also graduated with an MA in English in 2016. I currently live in Lincoln.

Academically I have an interest in 20th-century popular culture, particularly British and American culture. I also have an interest in modernist studies, critical race studies and postcolonial studies.

I am interested in writing on modern and contemporary popular culture, particularly the political and social structures which underly them. I intend to expand the knowledge gained in literary studies to music, cinema, art and popular culture.

Where's the Gay Sex in Modern Family?

Growing up around other teenage boys, I never found myself under any illusions (or so I thought) when it came to the logistics and anatomy of that favourite adolescent topic: sex. Pelvic thrusts and faux-masturbation was as common as kicking a ball for many of the boys in my class. From early puberty, teenage boys learned the ways of sex from the acceptance of sexual activity on-screen and saturated throughout popular culture. Their teachers were on-screen lovers; their textbooks came in the for

Interview with Photographer Jeff Brouws, Diffusion Photo Festival, Ffotogallery

Jeff Brouws’ road journeys through the US form a crucial role in his “mapping” of a changing American landscape. Bouws captures the glow of headlamps and neon, the illuminated attractions and distractions of the American roadside, which combine to produce a troubling picture of commercial encroachment and reshaping of the landscape. His work features alongside that of contemporary American photographers Will Steacy and Todd Hido as part of And Now It’s Dark, a strand of Diffusion, Cardiff Intern

Shezad Dawood, It was a time that was a time, Pioneer Works, Brooklyn

Pioneer Works, Brooklyn, opens a new exhibition of work by London-based artist Shezad Dawood entitled It was a time that was a time on 12 September. The showcase, presented in conjunction with the French Institute Alliance Francaise’s (FIAF) 2015 Crossing the Line Festival, will display the diverse range of methods used by Dawood, from film to textiles in this, his first solo show in the USA. The festival, which runs throughout the autumn, attempts to understand how artists, especially those en

Aesthetica Short Film Festival • 16th August 2015

ASFF - Thomas Cailley’s Acclaimed Drama Les Combattants is Released on DVD

Winner of Cannes 2014 Directors’ Fortnight’s top accolade and recognised for Best First Film, Best Actress (Adèle Haenel) and Most Promising Actor (Kévin Azaïs) at the 2015 César Awards, Thomas Cailley’s feature length directorial début Les Combattants is released on DVD. This breakthrough piece from the French director covers new ground in redefining the romantic comedy and turning the genre on its head. Summer in a seemingly peaceful beach town is violently disrupted for Arnaud (Kévin Azaïs)

The Edinburgh International Festival, Programme Line-up 2015

The Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) opened on the evening of Friday 7 August with The Harmonium Project at Usher Hall. The event was attended by approximately 19,500 viewers and marked the opening of the annual festival, which has been bringing the best international acts to Edinburgh since 1947. The Harmonium Project, staged in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Edinburgh Festival Chorus, engaged crowds with a recording of John Adams’s enigmatic choral piece Harmonium, performed

ASFF - Louder Than Bombs to Conclude the Norwegian International Film Festival

Now in its 42nd year, the Norwegian International Film Festival returns on 15 August with a full line-up of innovative works from across the world. The festival, held annually in Haugesund in southern Norway, boasts a wide variety of pieces, from international studio releases from the likes of Pixar to home grown features from around Scandinavia. This year it plays host to the prestigious Amanda Awards, which has previously been awarded to names as diverse as Danny Boyle, Jean-Pierre Jeunet and

Edinburgh National Gallery’s Titian exhibition fails to match its London counterpart

The recent acquisition of three of Titian’s six ‘poesie’ works of mythological scenes by the National Gallery in London, and the National Galleries Edinburgh, has instantly become one of the crowning glories of Britain’s National Art Collection. The purchase of Diana and Calisto and Diana and Actaeon came to a pricey £100 million for the nation, but whereas in London the pieces have been awarded a grand reception, the treatment of the works in the Edinburgh Gallery has been a lot less rewarding.

William’s modest proposal

Last week, in an attempt to counter illegal elephant poaching, Prince William announced his intention to destroy Buckingham Palace’s collection of ivory, a collection of over 1,200 artefacts that date back several centuries. The move, which has been called everything from “extremely significant” to “bonkers beyond belief”, has left me torn. On one hand, my inner environmentalist appreciates the gesture; the fact that the royals are making a pointed attempt to address the horrors brought on by co

An Everyday Master

Of all the Dutch masters, why is Vermeer still so relevant for so many people? For many, the art world can be seen as a daunting, overtly intellectual space. What is it then that allows lay-persons to cross that divide from ignorance to aficionado? A trip to a gallery as a child? A TV documentary? For many it seems to be a certain artist, whose work, to use the overly-used phrase, ‘speaks’ to them and acts as a bridge into art. After asking around, among fellow art-historians and general admir