... an Actor!

British Actor Riz Ahmed, who starred in such brilliant films as Four Lions, Nightcrawler and Rogue One, started off his further education graduating from Oxford with a BA in Politics Philosophy and Economics before training as an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Ahmed’s politics background can be glimpsed at times during his career - after starring in a sling of high successful films, Ahmed went on to release his own music, which has been dubbed “political hop hop”. His lyrics have discussed the current political climate, Islamophobia, the security service and much more. On top of this, Ahmed has used his platform to discuss important political and social issues (he has even spoken in parliament), concerning the under-representation of ethnic minorities in the media, the mistreatment of the Rohingya people, and Syrian refugee children. He even has a test named after him - the Riz Test aims to identify the nature of Muslim representation in film and TV. In other words, he’s a pretty inspirational guy!

… a Writer!

Twilight, the Vampire Diaries, Buffy the Vampire Slayer… Vampire fiction has captured the imaginations of tweens, young adults, and fully-fledged middle-aged people for a long time. One of the most (critically and popularly) successful and influential novels of its ilk was Interview with the Vampire by American author Anne Rice, who just so happened to study politics at San Francisco State University. However, it wasn’t politics that inspired Anne to write, but rather the deeply personal experience of the author losing her daughter to leukemia at a young age. The book was immensely popular, and was followed by a number of highly successful sequels which eventually became known as the Vampire Chronicles. Off the back of the series’s huge success, Interview with the Vampire was adapted into a film which starred Hollywood darlings Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, and kick-started the career of a then 12-year-old Kirsten Dunst! Rice was credited with revolutionising the vampire fiction genre, for identifying with the vampire rather than the victim, thus asking the reader to see the monster within themselves… spooky! Rice goes to show that an interest in politics doesn’t mean you have to devote your life to it - you can be politically engaged and a best selling fantasy writer all at the same time!

… a Comedian!

British comedian Harry Enfield is well known for causing giggles with his portrayals of satirical characters which were meant to lampoon certain characters in British society. Some of his best known were characters such as Loadsamoney, a plasterer who boasts about how much money he has; Tim Nice But Dim, a posh, affable but intellectually-lacking twenty-something; and Tory Boy, a teen with some questionably old-fashioned social and political views. The vast majority of Enfield’s characters were inspired by the political climate of the time - Loadsamoney was a reaction to the “get-rich-quick ethos” of Margaret Thatcher’s time in power; Tim Nice But Dim was a critique of “opportunity hoarding” members of the upper class; while Tory Boy was inspired by conservative politicians such as Michael Portillo and Michael Howard, whom Enfield claimed “never grew up”. With all of this politically charged material, is it a surprised that Enfield studied politics at the University of York? Politics really can be funny!    

So you see, you really can do anything with a Politics degree! So if you’re thinking of studying Politics at school or at university, then the world is your oyster. It’s offered by AQA, Edexcel and OCR at A Level, and at universities around the country! And if you need a helping hand with anything, I’m sure one of our tutors can help you out along the way...