Latest news with #LeFreak
Khaleej Times
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Gen-Z: How social media redefines cancel culture in 2025
Picture this: It's 1981, and Nile Rodgers, the legendary musician behind hits like Le Freak and Good Times, is at a club with his girlfriend. When she behaves in a way he deems unacceptable, he doesn't just write a song about heartbreak—he writes Your Love Is Cancelled. The track, a sequel of sorts to his earlier hit I Want Your Love. The track didn't exactly top the charts, but it did something far more revolutionary: it introduced the concept of 'cancelling' someone for bad behaviour. Decades before hashtags and viral call-outs, Rodgers was already onto something. Fast forward to 2025, and cancel culture has become a defining feature of our social landscape, especially for Generation-Z. But what exactly is it, and why does it matter so much to this generation? Cancel culture refers to the practice of publicly calling out, shaming, or boycotting individuals, organisations, or even brands for behaviour deemed socially unacceptable. This could range from offensive comments and controversial beliefs to harmful or illegal actions. Social media platforms have become the battlegrounds where these cancellations play out, with hashtags and viral posts amplifying the outrage. The fallout from being 'cancelled' can be devastating. For influencers, the stakes are far higher than simply losing followers; it's about witnessing the community they've painstakingly built collapse overnight. A single misstep—whether it's offensive comments, personal scandals, or revelations of unethical behaviour—can unleash a ripple effect of repercussions. Prominent YouTubers like PewDiePie, Tati Westbrook, and Shane Dawson have all experienced the downfall of their communities in the past, as did Instagram star Nessa Barrett. More recently, Indian YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia faced a similar fate. For many, the path to redemption is daunting, if not entirely out of reach. For the ones cancelling, it's a necessary tool for accountability—a way to hold powerful people and institutions responsible for their actions. For others, it's a digital witch hunt that leaves little room for redemption. Gen-Z, the first true digital natives, have grown up in a world where social media is both a megaphone and a microscope. They've witnessed movements like #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter use collective outrage to drive real change. For many in Gen-Z, cancel culture isn't just about punishment—it's about justice. It's a way to challenge systemic inequalities and demand accountability in a world where traditional systems have often failed. 'We're not cancelling people—we're cancelling toxic behaviour,' says Sayeda Arif, a young professional working in a startup company in Dubai. But it is not all black and white. Gen-Z's relationship with cancel culture is complicated. On one hand, they've seen it work—celebrities, politicians, and corporations have been forced to reckon with their actions in ways that were unimaginable a decade ago. 'There have been instances where I have supported the idea of cancelling out of touch of reality influencers, and offensive and insensitive brand campaigns,' says Rajasi Shrestha, a Nepalese student. On the other hand, they've also seen it spiral into toxicity, with online mobs sometimes targeting individuals for minor missteps or misunderstandings. ' I have never cancelled anyone. Though it could be a positive view of holding people accountable in a social way. I also feel people took it too far away and started cancelling others over very trivial issues,' says Sara Alaa Abdelmagid, an Egyptian student studying in Dubai. While cancel culture can be a powerful force for good, it's not without its flaws. Critics argue that it often lacks nuance, leaving little room for forgiveness or growth. The speed and intensity of online outrage can sometimes overshadow the possibility of meaningful dialogue or education. Take, for example, the case of a young influencer who makes an insensitive comment. Instead of using the moment as a teaching opportunity, cancel culture can quickly shut down any chance for their learning or redemption. This raises an important question: Are we cancelling people to create a better world, or are we just feeding into a cycle of performative outrage? The challenge for Gen Z,and for all of us, is to find a balance between accountability and empathy. Cancel culture can be a tool for social change, but it shouldn't be the default response to every controversy. Open dialogue and a willingness to listen are just as important as holding people accountable. In a world where everyone has a platform, it's up to us to use our voices wisely. So, the next time you're tempted to type 'cancel', ask yourself: Is this about justice, or is it just about the drama? Because in the end, the goal shouldn't be to destroy—it should be to build a better, more inclusive world.
BBC News
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Love Supreme Festival: Nile Rodgers and CHIC to perform
Nile Rogers and CHIC are to perform at the Love Supreme Jazz Festival, organisers have will join stars including Smokey Robinson and Jacob Collier on stage at the event, which is held at Glynde Place, on the outskirts of Lewes, between 4-6 songwriter and producer has worked with artists such as Diana Ross, David Bowie and Rogers and CHIC produced some of the biggest disco anthems of all time, including Le Freak, Good Times, and Everybody Dance. Saturday headliner, six-time Grammy-winner Jacob Collier, will make his first major festival headline show at Love Supreme, his only performance this year. The Sunday headliner has been confirmed as Maxwell. Other confirmed acts include Smokey Robinson, En Vogue, Thee Sacred Souls, Branford Marsalis Quartet, Durand Jones & The Indications, Stanley Clarke, Aroog Aftab, War, Sampa the Great, Jamila Woods, Lakecia will be Robinson's first UK appearance in over 15 years.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Blinded Ukrainian soldiers face new challenges at home
At a medical centre in Kyiv, former soldier Dmytro Gorodynsky shuffled around to the funky notes of the 1970s hit "Le Freak", his eyes obscured by sunglasses. The 39-year-old lost his eyesight in a Russian drone attack five months ago. Now in rehabilitation, he is adjusting to the life-changing injury by learning dance steps as a way to improve his sense of balance and space. Many of those returning blind from the front face challenges adapting to daily life, ignored by fellow citizens while facing difficulty accessing specialist care. There are no official statistics on the number of blind veterans in Ukraine. But in 2023, the UN warned that the war had led to a "concerning rise" in vision problems among the population as a whole. Strained by Russia's invasion, Ukraine's healthcare system is not yet adapted to treat the newly blind, said Olesya Perepechenko, director of NGO Contemporary View, which helps blinded ex-soldiers. Sometimes no one at the hospital teaches them how to use the toilet, she told AFP. - 'Panic sets in' - Gorodynsky, wearing military fatigues, smiled wistfully as he danced at Trinity Hub in Kyiv, a rehabilitation centre for the visually impaired. In the first few weeks after his injury, he said, he would get lost and "panic sets in". He had to ask for help for "basic things", he told AFP, with a pang of frustration in his voice. But after two months of daily visits to the centre, where he is also learning to read Braille and use his phone, Gorodynsky has noticed progress. "It gives us confidence and makes us want to keep living," Gorodynsky said. He also said he will be able to stay in his career, a rarity for those blinded by injury. A glass fitter before the war, he will now be responsible for glass repair. Sometimes, his friends and family still hand him their mobile phones to show him a photo, he said. This was hurtful at first, but he now realises: "They forget that I have this problem." - 'Who would want me as a burden?' - At the other end of the corridor, Mykola Kazyuk was practising using a computer. "Move your right hand," his teacher, Oleksandr Gordiyko told him. His 48-year-old pupil, who will soon have gone a year without sight, complained that he had hit the wrong key again. "These are probably our most challenging rehabilitation patients. It's not common for someone to lose their sight so suddenly and quickly," Gordiyko said. Unlike those who gradually lose their sight through illness, soldiers have no time to prepare. Learning how to make a coffee or take the bus has been frustrating for Kazyuk, who sighs just thinking about it. "I have to, so that I don't become a vegetable," he said. The ex-military man was disfigured and wounded in the legs while fighting at the front in April 2024. When he woke up after a month in a coma, he realised he was blind. With his white cane in his hand, Kazyuk initially thought he would be abandoned. "Who would want me as a burden?" he said. But little by little, with the support of his wife, he is regaining his independence. And he is proud to say that he can now bake cupcakes and sew on buttons. - Is Ukraine ready? - A former sapper in the army, Vladyslav Yeshchenko was blinded while clearing mines near the war-torn city of Bakhmut two and a half years ago. To help others who have lost eyesight, the 26-year-old founded Let's See The Victory, another non-profit group. In his living room, decorated with a Braille Playboy poster, he said the hardest part of going blind was accepting that his eyes, destroyed by a large mine explosion, were "not there any more", with no hope of ever being treated. He also had to come to terms with the fact he would no longer be of "any use" on the battlefield. After a period of angry outbursts and sleepless nights, he said it was his work with veterans that helped him feel useful again. He believes Ukraine is not ready to welcome the newly blind. Efforts are needed to improve accessibility, as well as to raise awareness among sighted people, who tend to ignore the issue, Yeshchenko said. So sometimes he teases them a little. Recently, when his neighbours complained that they could not see in the dark during power cuts sparked by Russian strikes, he joked: "How are you doing, losers?" led-cad/am/yad-jj
Khaleej Times
19-02-2025
- Health
- Khaleej Times
Blinded Ukrainian soldiers face new challenges at home
At a medical centre in Kyiv, former soldier Dmytro Gorodynsky shuffled around to the funky notes of the 1970s hit "Le Freak", his eyes obscured by sunglasses. The 39-year-old lost his eyesight in a Russian drone attack five months ago. Now in rehabilitation, he is adjusting to the life-changing injury by learning dance steps as a way to improve his sense of balance and space. Many of those returning blind from the front face challenges adapting to daily life, ignored by fellow citizens while facing difficulty accessing specialist care. There are no official statistics on the number of blind veterans in Ukraine. But in 2023, the UN warned that the war had led to a "concerning rise" in vision problems among the population as a whole. Strained by Russia's invasion, Ukraine's healthcare system is not yet adapted to treat the newly blind, said Olesya Perepechenko, director of NGO Contemporary View, which helps blinded ex-soldiers. Sometimes no one at the hospital teaches them how to use the toilet, she told AFP. - 'Panic sets in' - Gorodynsky, wearing military fatigues, smiled wistfully as he danced at Trinity Hub in Kyiv, a rehabilitation centre for the visually impaired. In the first few weeks after his injury, he said, he would get lost and "panic sets in". He had to ask for help for "basic things", he told AFP, with a pang of frustration in his voice. But after two months of daily visits to the centre, where he is also learning to read Braille and use his phone, Gorodynsky has noticed progress. "It gives us confidence and makes us want to keep living," Gorodynsky said. He also said he will be able to stay in his career, a rarity for those blinded by injury. A glass fitter before the war, he will now be responsible for glass repair. Sometimes, his friends and family still hand him their mobile phones to show him a photo, he said. This was hurtful at first, but he now realises: "They forget that I have this problem." - 'Who would want me as a burden?' - At the other end of the corridor, Mykola Kazyuk was practising using a computer. "Move your right hand," his teacher, Oleksandr Gordiyko told him. His 48-year-old pupil, who will soon have gone a year without sight, complained that he had hit the wrong key again. "These are probably our most challenging rehabilitation patients. It's not common for someone to lose their sight so suddenly and quickly," Gordiyko said. Unlike those who gradually lose their sight through illness, soldiers have no time to prepare. Learning how to make a coffee or take the bus has been frustrating for Kazyuk, who sighs just thinking about it. "I have to, so that I don't become a vegetable," he said. The ex-military man was disfigured and wounded in the legs while fighting at the front in April 2024. When he woke up after a month in a coma, he realised he was blind. With his white cane in his hand, Kazyuk initially thought he would be abandoned. "Who would want me as a burden?" he said. But little by little, with the support of his wife, he is regaining his independence. And he is proud to say that he can now bake cupcakes and sew on buttons. - Is Ukraine ready? - A former sapper in the army, Vladyslav Yeshchenko was blinded while clearing mines near the war-torn city of Bakhmut two and a half years ago. To help others who have lost eyesight, the 26-year-old founded Let's See The Victory, another non-profit group. In his living room, decorated with a Braille Playboy poster, he said the hardest part of going blind was accepting that his eyes, destroyed by a large mine explosion, were "not there any more", with no hope of ever being treated. He also had to come to terms with the fact he would no longer be of "any use" on the battlefield. After a period of angry outbursts and sleepless nights, he said it was his work with veterans that helped him feel useful again. He believes Ukraine is not ready to welcome the newly blind. Efforts are needed to improve accessibility, as well as to raise awareness among sighted people, who tend to ignore the issue, Yeshchenko said. So sometimes he teases them a little. © Agence France-Presse
BBC News
28-01-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Forest Live Cannock: Nile Rodgers & Chic gig announced
Music icons Nile Rodgers & Chic will be performing in Staffordshire this for hits including Le Freak and Good Times, they will headline the stage at this year's Forest Live at Cannock Chase on 25 posted on Facebook Rodgers will be "bringing the party back" this summer. Tickets go on general sale on Friday. Other acts performing dates as part of the event this year include Sting, Snow Patrol and James - with support from Razorlight and Jamie Webster. Organisers said presale access was available to people who subscribe before reacted with excitement on social media describing the headline act as "amazing" and a "great addition to the line up this year". One woman wrote it was "one of the best live acts I have ever seen".The gig is one of several Forest Live events taking place in woodland settings around the country, organised by Forestry as "the ideal concert experience", Forest Live combines live music and a chance to connect to England said more than two million people have enjoyed Forest Live events since they began more than 20 years raised goes towards maintaining the forests as well as running conservation Forestry Commission website said sales helped "grow and protect our nation's forests for generations to come"."We plant over seven million trees in England each year and protect trees and wildlife habitats from climate threats," it said. "Everyone in England lives within a one-hour drive of one of the nation's forests." Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
