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’ve decided to recap five of the key events of last year.
The Hottest Year on Record
For just under a decade, 2016 held the title of the hottest year on record at a global average temperature 13.9°c. Now this record has been broken by 2023, with an average global temperature of 14.98°c. Whilst this increase in temperature was in part caused by the El Niño affect (‘a weather event that causes the Pacific Jet Stream to move south and spread further east, leading to warmer conditions in the Northern Hemisphere’ – Mr Coad, probably), the record-high levels appear more as further conclusive evidence of climate change. The effects in Britain – relative to the inclement miserable rock we call home – 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 – the latter already decimated by the Classics Trip earlier in the year. It doesn’t 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°c above pre-industrial temperatures, so that the impacts of the climate crisis will continue to intensify and hinder our lives.
Rwanda, ‘Stop the Boats!’ and the Small Boats Crisis
One of ‘lanky-twelve-year-old-on-work-experience’ Rishi Sunak’s five targets set out at the start of 2023 was to ‘Stop the Boats’. 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 29th Sunak’s hopes for the proposal were seemingly dashed as the Court of Appeal ruled the proposals as ‘unlawful’ based on the deficiencies of the Rwandan asylum system – because of course a country with genocide remembered in living memory wouldn’t be suitable to house migrants. These hopes were further dashed when they were ruled as illegal by the UK’s Supreme Court on the 15th 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 ‘deterrent’, that those forced to emigrate war, famine, drought, sickness, persecution, and fear of death have looked at the state of the UK and said ‘nah, you’re alright’.
The Titan Submersible
The Titanic, arguably the world’s 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. On June 18th, 2023, the Titan Submersible – carrying Rush and four other passengers – 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’s 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.
Barbenheimer
On paper, a biopic about the father of the atomic bomb and a feminist feature-film based on the world’s most recognised doll should have no relation. Yet with the same day release of Barbie and Oppenheimer on the 21st of July, a film craze was born – 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’ Choice Awards by two awards. Barbie proved the more popular yet divisive film – some complaining about its feminist nature, others saying it wasn’t 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 – 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 – in 2020, the videogames ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ and ‘Doom: Eternal’ released the same day – yet its unlikely that Hollywood will be able to capture the hearts and minds of filmgoers the same way Barbenheimer did.
The Israeli-Gaza War
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’ve scoffed. Yet, in response to the attacks from Hamas on the 7th of October – which left 1,139 dead with 248 hostages being taken into the Gaza strip – 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’ actions was Israel sending in troops to Gaza, bombing infrastructure, and cutting off water and electrical supplies – 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’s actions, yet younger, more militantly liberal individuals are opposed to Israel’s 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’s 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’s 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 – 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.
Sixth Sense
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’ve published 60 articles on various subjects – 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 – 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’ve 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 – if anything it’s another thing for the personal statement.