{"id":788,"date":"2024-02-16T11:14:32","date_gmt":"2024-02-16T11:14:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/computing.ashville.co.uk\/iaintest1\/?p=788"},"modified":"2024-02-16T11:14:32","modified_gmt":"2024-02-16T11:14:32","slug":"review-five-events-that-shaped-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/computing.ashville.co.uk\/iaintest1\/curent-affairs\/review-five-events-that-shaped-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Five events that shaped 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

2023 has definitely been an eventful year for us all. It has been a busy year both academically and generally; nationally and internationally. So much has happened that it can be hard to remember every little detail of the prior year. With this, here at Sixth Sense, we\u2019ve decided to recap five of the key events of last year.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Hottest Year on Record<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

For just under a decade, 2016 held the title of the hottest year on record at a global average temperature 13.9<\/span>\u00b0<\/span>c. Now this record has been broken by 2023, with an average global temperature of 14.98<\/span>\u00b0<\/span>c. Whilst this increase in temperature was in part caused by the El Ni\u00f1o affect (\u2018a weather event that causes the Pacific Jet Stream to move south and spread further east, leading to warmer conditions in the Northern Hemisphere\u2019 – Mr Coad, probably), the record-high levels appear more as further conclusive evidence of climate change. The effects in Britain \u2013 relative to the inclement miserable rock we call home \u2013 have been immense, with the introduction of hose pipe bans in the Southeast spurring outrage of NIMBYs and Daily Mail readers alike. Jokes aside, extreme effects were noted, with wildfires occurring in areas like Maui and Greece \u2013 the latter already decimated by the Classics Trip earlier in the year. It doesn\u2019t help either that Climate Activists like Greta Thunberg or JustStopOil take the spotlight from the issue they are trying to discuss. It remains worrying that already a few weeks into 2024 predictions have been made that global temperatures could top 1.5<\/span>\u00b0<\/span>c above pre-industrial temperatures, so that the impacts of the climate crisis will continue to intensify and hinder our lives.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Rwanda, \u2018Stop the Boats!\u2019 and the Small Boats Crisis<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of ‘lanky-twelve-year-old-on-work-experience’ Rishi Sunak\u2019s five targets set out at the start of 2023 was to \u2018Stop the Boats\u2019. The Conservative government have tried to crack down on migrants this year and have pushed for their deterrent of sending migrants to Rwanda. The proposal, part of the Illegal Migration Bill, has been floating around (much like a dingy from Calais in the channel) since 2022, and has faced severe backlash from the public. On June 29<\/span>th<\/span> Sunak\u2019s hopes for the proposal were seemingly dashed as the Court of Appeal ruled the proposals as \u2018unlawful\u2019 based on the deficiencies of the Rwandan asylum system \u2013 because of course a country with genocide remembered in living memory wouldn\u2019t be suitable to house migrants. These hopes were further dashed when they were ruled as illegal by the UK\u2019s Supreme Court on the 15<\/span>th<\/span> of November. Rwanda aside, illegal migration to the UK in 2023 did decrease by 36% in comparison to 2022 levels. However, it is presumably more likely than, rather than responding to the Rwandan \u2018deterrent\u2019, that those forced to emigrate war, famine, drought, sickness, persecution, and fear of death have looked at the state of the UK and said \u2018nah, you\u2019re alright\u2019. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Titan Submersible<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Titanic, arguably the world\u2019s most famous ship, has attracted the interests of many people over the years: Robert Ballard for example, or James Cameron. It also attracted the interests of pro-Logitech gamer Stockton Rush, whose company OceanGate (really setting themselves up for the Watergate Scandal suffix), allowed people to journey into the briny depths in a glorified nitrous oxide canister, less practical than the upside-down boat method used in the first Pirates of the Caribbean film.\u00a0 On June 18<\/span>th<\/span>, 2023, the Titan Submersible \u2013 carrying Rush and four other passengers \u2013 imploded en route to view the Titanic. The reactions to the four-day search for the submersible varied. There was a mix of sympathy for the deceased and their families, vexation of OceanGate\u2019s lack of safety, and a flurry of memes mocking the whole situation and the absurdity of billionaires. Promotional videos from OceanGate showing the barebones and flawed design system of the submersible further added fuel to the fire of mockery. This ridicule peaked prior to the wreckage of the submersible being found, and then died down. Much like the Titanic itself, the Titan Submersible appeared as a tragically preventable disaster, and it is unlikely that any other submersible companies will be appearing any time soon.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Barbenheimer<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

On paper, a biopic about the father of the atomic bomb and a feminist feature-film based on the world\u2019s most recognised doll should have no relation. Yet with the same day release of Barbie and Oppenheimer on the 21<\/span>st<\/span> of July, a film craze was born \u2013 the Barbenheimer double feature. The pink mushroom cloud exploded online, as the films became the unlikely silver screen duo, an experiencing totalling 4 hours and 54 minutes. Both films garnered successes individually. Oppenheimer made roughly $500,000 less than Barbie but succeeded in the Critics\u2019 Choice Awards by two awards. Barbie proved the more popular yet divisive film \u2013 some complaining about its feminist nature, others saying it wasn\u2019t feminist enough. It seems ironic that, when awards time came, Ryan Gosling was the only cast member to win any award. Oppenheimer was a one-off feature, yet planned sequels for Barbie are already in production \u2013 and the film industry is keen to capture lightning in a bottle again with another summer duet of films. Weird couplings of media like this are not unheard of \u2013 in 2020, the videogames \u2018Animal Crossing: New Horizons\u2019 and \u2018Doom: Eternal\u2019 released the same day \u2013 yet its unlikely that Hollywood will be able to capture the hearts and minds of filmgoers the same way Barbenheimer did.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Israeli-Gaza War<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>If at the start of 2023 you were told that by years end there would be not one but two major conflicts occurring, you probably would\u2019ve scoffed. Yet, in response to the attacks from Hamas on the 7<\/span>th<\/span> of October \u2013 which left 1,139 dead with 248 hostages being taken into the Gaza strip \u2013 war has again erupted in the Middle East. By the end of 2023, over 22,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza. The immediate response to Hamas\u2019 actions was Israel sending in troops to Gaza, bombing infrastructure, and cutting off water and electrical supplies \u2013 as to eradicate Hamas and save the hostages. The war has sparked several different reactions. Older, more conservative generations have generally come out in support of Israel\u2019s actions, yet younger, more militantly liberal individuals are opposed to Israel\u2019s actions. Either way, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has become increasingly pronounced. The conflict has faced widespread backlash from the international community, as South Africa has dubbed Israel\u2019s actions as illegal, and just recently the UN has demanded that Israel take all actions necessary to prevent genocide. The conflict proliferated in November as Houthis began attacking ships in the Red Sea, in protest to Israel\u2019s actions, with large scale effects being felt on global trade even today. About 130 hostages remain in the region, and it is unknown if they will be freed \u2013 or if Israel will successfully eradicate Hamas. Only time will tell what the outcome of this conflict will truly be, and it is unlikely the Israeli-Gaza war will end anytime soon.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sixth Sense<\/strong><\/p>\n

To end on a more positive note, the end of 2023 has also marked the one-year anniversary of the Sixth Sense website. In this time, we\u2019ve published 60 articles on various subjects \u2013 and been featured in local papers such as the Stray Ferret or Harrogate Advertiser. With this milestone, it is natural for us to give our thanks. Thank you for reading our articles, and for sticking with us for a year. And thank you to Mr Watson for giving his time and dedication to the website. For many of us at the Sixth Sense team, the transition from 2023 to 2024 marks the final months of our time not only at Sixth Form, but at Ashville \u2013 the final days of our education. Many of us will soon be going into the world, either to university, to study an apprenticeship, or to take a gap year. You can expect more articles on the end of our time at Ashville to follow shortly. We\u2019ve all absolutely loved working on Sixth Sense, and we cannot recommend enough to either the Lower Sixth or current Year Elevens that you write for the website \u2013 if anything it’s another thing for the personal statement.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Sixth Sense team reviews 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":786,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/computing.ashville.co.uk\/iaintest1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/computing.ashville.co.uk\/iaintest1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/computing.ashville.co.uk\/iaintest1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/computing.ashville.co.uk\/iaintest1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/computing.ashville.co.uk\/iaintest1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=788"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/computing.ashville.co.uk\/iaintest1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":789,"href":"https:\/\/computing.ashville.co.uk\/iaintest1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788\/revisions\/789"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/computing.ashville.co.uk\/iaintest1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/computing.ashville.co.uk\/iaintest1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/computing.ashville.co.uk\/iaintest1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/computing.ashville.co.uk\/iaintest1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}