The Week on TwitterTopical

The Week on Twitter: Paris, Shia LaBeouf, and Waking the Feminists

By Jade Hayden

This week, Twitter watched Shia LaBeouf watch himself, protested the Abbey’s 1916 centenary programme, and celebrated as the marriage equality bill was finally signed into law. We also shared our condolences for the 128 people killed in gun and bomb attacks in Paris.

128 killed and hundreds wounded in #Paris as series of gun and bomb attacks devastates the city

Last night, a string of terror attacks in Paris left over 120 people dead, 99 in critical condition, and hundreds more seriously wounded. The shootings and detonations occurred in various places around the capital city some time after 9pm.

The venues targeted included the Bataclan concert hall, Stade de France, and a number of bars and restaurants. French president Francois Hollande has since declared a state of national emergency, announced three days of mourning, and insisted that the city remain on lockdown.

Those in Paris at the time took to social media to proclaim their own safety, offer refuge to those still on the streets, and to offer their condolences to the families of those who had lost their lives. As a mark of respect, the lights of the Eiffel Tower were switched off, while the rest of the world lit up blue, white and red.

ISIS have since issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attacks.

#WakingtheFeminists takes centre stage at the Abbey

On Thursday, lots of people gathered outside the Abbey to protest the national theatre’s 1916 centenary programme ‘Waking the Nation.’ The programme – which was established to “interrogate rather than celebrate the past” – is compiled of many different plays from many different playwrights, only one of whom is a woman.

Following the programme’s release from Abbey director Fiach Mac Conghail, female artists from all over the country began expressing their contempt towards a centenary that had failed to represent Irish women. #WakingTheFeminists began trending on Twitter, as hundreds took to social media, the streets, and the Abbey’s stage to condemn female exclusion from the arts. Meryl Streep even got in on the action and held up a sign to show her support.

The Abbey’s spokesperson has stated that the national theatre will not be amending the programme’s lineup.

#ShiaLaBeouf watches all of his movies back to back in reverse chronological order. The world watches him. #AllMyMovies

In typically strange and odd Shia LaBeouf fashion, Shia LaBeouf has done something else typically strange and odd. During the week, the actor set up a live stream of himself sitting in a movie theatre watching every single film he had ever made back to back.

There were tears, there was laughter, but most of all, there was confusion as Shia was forced to sit through hours of Transformer films and probably question why they had ever been shot in the first place (except for the first one which was kind of alright.)

The whole marathon took three days, and at the end of it all Shia left the cinema with a big old smile on his face. It was lovely.

https://twitter.com/BigBrakistan/status/665039813683232769

#Marref bill finally becomes law

On Tuesday, Tánaiste Joan Burton and Minister for Justice and Equality Frances Fitzgerald signed the Marriage Act 2015 into law. From Monday, same-sex couples will finally be able to marry in Ireland. Under the bill, couples who were already married in other countries will also automatically have their marriages recognised in the country, and those who wish to convert their civil partnerships into marriages will be able to do so too.

#Busted reform. Everybody’s happy. Sort of.

During the week, Busted announced they were going to get back together with that Charlie Simpson fella and not with those other fellas from McFly. Lots of people were really excited about it, even though they know Charlie is a traitor and cannot be trusted, or something.

Busted are doing a tour some time soon and tickets are already apparently selling fast. They’ll be singing all their old hits like that song about shifting your teacher down the back of class, that air hostess one, and the one about being more famous than Michael Jackson in the future.

https://twitter.com/JamesBourne/status/664733882248466432

Featured image via culturaocio.com

Jade Hayden 144 posts 0 comments

Jade Hayden has an MA in journalism, a degree in English, and a house rabbit who sleeps in her bed sometimes. You'll often find her wearing glasses, fixing her fringe, and complaining about the amount of time she spends on public transport. Jade is also the editor of HeadStuff's topical section, and she'd love if you sent your submissions over to [email protected].

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