Derek McArthur

Glasgow

Arts Writer and Engagement Editor at The Herald (Scotland)

arts columnist + engagement editor at @heraldscotland / 📧: [email protected]

Featured in: Favicon

heraldscotland.com Favicon

thenational.scot Favicon

eveningtimes.co.uk Favicon

theskinny.co.uk Favicon

leftfootforward.org Favicon

conter.co.uk

Articles

The UK version of Saturday Night Live will only end in one way: failure

1 week ago | heraldscotland.com | Derek McArthur

A UK version of Saturday Night Live debuts on Sky in 2026, but its likelihood of survival is slim (Image: NBC/Sky) Long-running comedic sketch show Saturday Night Live celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. It’s quite the accomplishment, a rarity in the field of television.
The critic is in a crisis, and it’s not just a Scottish theatre problem

2 weeks ago | heraldscotland.com | Derek McArthur

Literary critic Harold Bloom once said the critic 'tells one why it matters to read' but how far away are we from this being the case now? (Image: Getty) Legendary literary critic Harold Bloom once said: “In the finest critics one hears the full cry of the human.
The cruel AI joke played on Studio Ghibli and its well-loved style

3 weeks ago | heraldscotland.com | Derek McArthur

A picture of a woman detained by ICE put through OpenAI's Studio Ghibli filter and posted by the White House's X account (Image: X/White House) In 2016, animator and Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki found his eyes parked in front of an AI-generated animation demo. It reminded the Japanese animation director of a friend he frequently visited with a mobile impairment, who struggled to muster a rudimentary high-five.
Why I paid money to watch shots of buildings and streets for 90 minutes

4 weeks ago | heraldscotland.com | Derek McArthur

How well do we know the city landscape surrounding us, the urban jungles we have created as a reflection of ourselves? Do we exist within it as a living, breathing part of its fabric, or does the city only exist to hold us, as simple means of accommodation?
Time is running out to get a whole year of The Herald for £20

1 month ago | heraldscotland.com | Derek McArthur

Get unlimited access to The Herald website for a whole year this Spring for only £20. (Image: Newsquest) Get unlimited access to The Herald website for a whole year this Spring for only £20. Also get full ad-free access within The Herald app which is available across devices and first look at the digital edition of our iconic newspaper. Don't miss out; this deal will only be available for a limited time.
There might still be life after death for the obsolete compact disc

1 month ago | heraldscotland.com | Derek McArthur

Some media formats see endless celebration and devotion, their disciples carrying the torch through whatever the new and normal becomes. Vinyl record, such a classic and cherished format of the 20th century, perseveres and finds new and old audiences drawn to it. But there are formats, despite their ubiquitous presence at one point in history, that find themselves left in the dustbin, free from any further consideration.
Can we pass a law banning the sale of Highland cow AI art?

1 month ago | heraldscotland.com | Derek McArthur

It hides around every corner. In your local tat shop, on your aunt’s living room wall – heck, it finds itself sneaking into shops that sell art made by humans. The Highland cow AI art epidemic is upon us. There is no escape from the computer-generated imagery of our cherished signature cattle breed doing things unbecoming of its reputation. Sick of bare walls? Need a touch of culture to adorn your abode?
20 reasons to subscribe to The Herald for £20 a year

1 month ago | heraldscotland.com | Derek McArthur

Get unlimited access to The Herald website for a whole year this Spring for only £20. (Image: Newsquest) Get unlimited access to The Herald website for a whole year this Spring for only £20. Also, get full ad-free access within The Herald app, which is available across devices. Don't miss out; this deal will only be available for a limited time. Click here to take advantage of this offer. Need more of a reason to subscribe?
Is Record Store Day helping to revive our record shops... or is it a total sham?

1 month ago | heraldscotland.com | Derek McArthur

Record Store Day purports to support independent music retailers – the reality seems much different (Image: Assai) The annual return of Record Store Day is upon us next month. It is a day designed to celebrate the record shop, the records, and everything surrounding it. Record Store Day was created as an effort to return interest back to the waning independent record shop, a punch-back to the universal ubiquity of the soulless streaming and digital era of today.
On Falling at GFF25: Subtle yet heavy portrait of precarious work life

1 month ago | heraldscotland.com | Derek McArthur

On Falling, seeing its Scottish premiere at this year's Glasgow Film Festival, opens with a group of workers descending a corridor, punching in through a gated barrier at its end to start the day’s work – the mind-numbing ritual of an unwanted routine. Laura Carreira, in her directorial feature-length debut, brings to light many of the absurd and wonderful facets of modern-day precarious work.