I have a confession to make. I am not a massive Marvel or DC fan. I don’t understand all of the relationships, I have barely watched an avengers film, but I do have a soft spot for the Joker. One thing that I do love, however, is planning my loved one’s birthdays. I like to find special places to take them, the more theatrical the better.
In August it was my partner’s birthday and I took him to Park Row – a DC-themed restaurant in London. I had booked for us to go to the Monarch’s Theatre within the restaurant, this was an interactive 12-course experience with matching drinks. Each course was themed with a DC character, starting with the villains such as the Riddler and the joker, and ending with the heroes with Batman and Superman. It was housed in an all-white room with projections on the walls to match the DC character.
However, the courses I found most interesting were those in the middle. The host explained that these three DC characters were the grey areas, neither truly good nor bad. He argued that actually they were at heart good, but did some questionable things that hurt people. This applied to Mr Freeze, Catwoman and Poison Ivy. He asked us to evaluate their characters and see that actually they were not really villains, just misunderstood.
You’ll know by now that I love to apply what I am experiencing to CIPS, and in particular the exams, so this got me thinking. Finding the grey area is exactly what you should be doing in your constructive response exams across levels 4 – 6. In your CIPS Diploma, Advanced Diploma & Professional Diploma you will be asked to evaluate a topic for certain questions. In this, you should do exactly what our host in the Monarch Theatre was doing. Mention the black and the white, and then argue the grey. Come off the fence, give your own personal opinion and justify why you think this. Without this, you will struggle to achieve a distinction grade.
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