Mamdani’s Mayoral Victory: What’s Next For New York City?

By Charlotte Smith -The US elected its first-ever Muslim and South Asian Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, to New York City on November 4th. Utilising social media to promote his campaign, Mamdani successfully attracted a large number of Gen Z and working-class voters, which enabled him to win the electoral vote. Mamdani secured the mayoral title with 50.4% of the vote, drawing his strongest support from Upper Manhattan and Northern Brooklyn, along with growing a growing allegiance...

A Symphony of Defiance: Rosalía’s Lux - Forge Press

Rosalía’s three-year-in-the-making record, Lux (Latin for ‘light’), reaffirms that her experimental spirit always meets and often exceeds expectations. From her breakthrough flamenco and traditional Spanish album El Mal Querer in 2018, to experimental pop and reggaeton in 2022’s Motomami, Rosalía’s latest release is certainly an ambitious, radical and genre-defying record.
With fifteen tracks unfolding in four parts and spanning thirteen different languages, including Catalan, Mandarin, Ukrainia...

Barry Can't Swim: Loner – Album Review - Empoword Journalism

Charlotte Smith
Barry Can’t Swim (aka Joshua Spence Mainnie) releases his second studio album, Loner, delivering a deep sense of sonder intertwined with dance.
Barry Can’t Swim has become a big name in the music scene over the past two years.
Following the release of his album, When Will We Land? (2023), over 100 million streams have landed him playing notable festivals such as Coachella, Glastonbury and headlining All Points East and Lost Village festivals this summer.
His latest album, Loner (...

Adolescence: A Critical View of Modern-day Society - Empoword Journalism

Charlotte Smith
Adolescence unveils raw and unnerving themes of male rage as it tells the story of a young boy accused of murdering a teenage girl.
The series puts a strong focus on the concerning rise of ‘incel’ culture and its effects on young people in the modern-day ‘manosphere’.
It has received massive amounts of attention online and has become a talking point within the UK over the past weeks.
UK Prime Minister, Kier Starmer, has spoken about the issues raised in parliament and recently b...

Nosferatu Review: A Beautifully Grotesque Vampire Horror - Empoword Journalism

Charlotte Smith 
Nosferatu, written and directed by Robert Eggers, is a beautifully grotesque vampire horror that doesn’t conform to its typical conventions.
Lily-Rose Depp stars as the main protagonist of the film, Ellen Hutter. Her dreams are invaded by Count Orlok’s (Bill Skarsgard) desire for her sexual affection. Ellen’s husband Thomas Hutter, played by Nicholas Hoult, travels to Transylvania to work on a business deal with Count Orlok. Subsequently he finds himself plagued by Orlok’s desi...

Social Media Experience

Whilst working at RiteTrax, I have produced engaging content and copy across the organisation's different platforms, Plot22 and Castlegate Festival. I have gained experience interviewing music artists, editing short and long-form videos on Adobe Premiere Pro and In Shot. I have also conducted market research to support event promotion and audience engagement and responded to comments, messages and replies across socials.