The world is in a bit of a state, to put it mildly. Political upheaval, global crises, and a general sense of unease have left many of us feeling lost and disoriented. Sometimes, it's nice to look back at the past... unless that past is the tumultuous times we lived through from 2016 to 2022, which encapsulated Brexit, Trump Episode 1, the pandemic and the New World aftermath!
Luckily, we have Marina Hyde's What Just Happened?!: Dispatches from Turbulent Times, a collection of columns from 2016 to 2022 that offers a sharp and witty perspective on what an omnishambolic shit-show it was.
Whilst it has obviously aged, due to the nature of her weekly journalistic column writing at the time, Hyde's writing remains insightful and entertaining. Her turn of phrase and wordplay remain unmatched as her pop culture infused associative thinking brings to stark relief what a hilariously awful time we had. I love her characterisation of people into broad characatures like Otto Von Jizzmark (Dominic Cummings), the Sauron of Karaoke (Simon Cowell), a rejected Roald Dahl character (Jacob Rees Mogg) and Phony Stark (Elon Musk) as well as certain turns of phrases like Wallygarchy *chef’s kiss*
A few years after the events covered in this book, this remains a perfect read for anyone who wants to process the unmatched madness of that window of time. Looking back, it is unbelievable what those in power and, supposedly, in authority got away with and there has been no come-uppance or consequence of note. Of all the shenanigans she brings to light, the most powerful for me was the random abuse she suffered when a man shouted at and threatened her in the daytime as she went to pick up her daughter after school. Such occurrences happen to many women daily and, in light of the Sarah Everard murder by a police officer, cast a long shadow over the safety of women.
Overall, the book is the perfect read for those you know who might look back at Boris Johnson’s term as PM and think, ‘He wasn’t that bad really.’ He was and we should never forget what a catastrophe he presided over. Hyde is jokey and affable but her articles really are laser focussed on bringing those who played fast and loose with the rules and truth to account.
However, having said that, away from the contents of this book Hyde herself has recently expressed problematic views on the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Her stance minimizes the Palestinian struggle for human rights and unfairly equates criticism of Israeli policies with antisemitism. Hyde is a respected journalist who has written extensively on a wide range of topics, including politics, culture, and sports but her recent stance of Palestine, especially in light of the genocide, has made this quite a bittersweet read as she is observant about so much but, as with much of the Liberal West, chosen to side with genocide enablers.
What is fascinating are the moments of sheer hypocrisy shown by Hyde after the release of this book by her recent actions. She pontificated about the sorry state of the visa situation post Ukraine invasion and said, "Post WW2, many nations came to the realisation that they should and could have done more in various ways, not least in accepting refugees. As the images of exodus in now showing us, History is never in the past, it is now. It would be to our enduring shame if we do not try to be on the right side of it" but doesn’t seem to share the same sympathy for the Palestinians.
Oh well, there’s another person who joins the pile of people who are now a little problematic.
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LINK- ‘Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire’ LINK: Elden Ring- Videogames As Art
LINK- Toxic: Women, Fame and the Noughties- Book Review (and Some Thoughts)
LINK- Why I No Longer Talk To White People About Race- Book Review
LINK- ‘Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire’