Culture

WHITE KNUCKLES | The Young Pope, Liquid Modernity and Indignation

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This year, Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino impacted my break and my liberal college student intersectional-feminist-relativistic-somewhat nihilistic philosophy more deeply than I like to admit. His miniseries The Young Pope had me glued to the television in my colorful (green and red-walled) living room in Italy, caught up in a story that I never saw coming. The show opens with a balding yet ever-attractive Jude Law interpreting a newly elected, 47-year-old Pope giving his first address in Saint Peter’s Square in Rome. His speech is groundbreaking: it celebrates homosexuality and free love, different religions, abortions and premarital sex. The next scene reveals that it was all a dream; the attractive Pope will actually be unforgiving, conservative, homophobic and cruelly unwavering in his dogmatic beliefs.

Culture

ARRAY | We Still Need Arts

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Kids in the liberal arts and social sciences get a bad rap. They are derided for their “easy” majors, lack of relevant job opportunities after college or for ending up in careers that aren’t related to their degree. Engineers and other “skilled” workers, on the other hand, are increasingly valued in our culture, and many economists claim that the future of America lies in technical jobs that require specialized degrees. This is reflected in the fact that the number of business, engineering and health degrees received has exploded since 1970, while the number of history and liberal arts graduates has remained relatively stagnant, or in some cases dropped. This fits quite well with the way Americans perceive themselves.

Blogs

KYLIE’S ROOM | How to be a Detective, as a Chicken

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I’ve always been a bit of a chicken. I’m easily startled and I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m afraid of the dark. The amount of things that I’m afraid of is endless. I’ve always been so afraid of heights that even when going up an escalator, I refuse to look down, or I shut my eyes. But despite my fear for heights, and despite my being afraid of the dark, I have always been interested in crime.

Culture

SHI REVIEWED | THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD (PART I)

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This blog series is a first and a last. It is a first because it features book reviews, something I have never attempted to do outside of class. My project requires regular reading and meaningful commentary. I consider doing one well to be a personal accomplishment. To do both well is my goal.

Entertainment

AKABAS | John Wick Club Scene vs. Kingsman Church Scene: Which Is The Better Killing Spree?

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Every time I take a shower, I think about one of three questions:

If it weren’t for the Middle Ages, where nobody did s*** for 900 years, just how advanced would human civilization be right now? Does Anderson Varejao or Robin Lopez look more like Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons? Is the club scene from John Wick or the church scene from Kingsman: The Secret Service the better killing spree?  

What are we about to do? Determine whether the John Wick club scene or the Kingsman church scene is the better killing spree.

Entertainment

SUNSPOTS | WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO ABOUT THE SUPER BOWL?

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Olivia Lutwak

I’m looking forward to the food. Every year for the Super Bowl, my dad throws a party for which he cooks massive amounts of food. It’s like Thanksgiving, only a million times better (no gross Thanksgiving foods you’re forced to eat out of obligation, no questions about your GPA, no family fights). I always make spicy chicken wing dip, my mom makes brownies and my dad makes two kinds of chili, shrimp and cocktail sauce, guacamole, three kinds of wings and whatever other fattening dishes he feels like making that year. Even now, I still go home every year for the Super Bowl — and I honestly couldn’t care less about football.

Culture

ARRAY | LOOKING PAST THE PRESIDENCY

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We’ve all heard stories from our friends and family members about their reactions to Donald Trump’s election. Election Night 2016 has already, in our imaginations, reached the status of a defining cultural event, a “where were you when such-and-such happened” question along the lines of “Where were you when Kennedy was shot?” or “Where were you on 9/11?” or “Where were you when Obama was elected president?” These are the types of questions by which we measure our personal histories. I was in my dorm; after shelling out ten or so dollars to view Stephen Colbert’s broadcast on Showtime, I watched as the comedian failed to find anything witty to say as the results poured in. My own emotions before and after Trump’s declared victory were the same: frustration, distaste and a mild indifference towards the election. Some people cried, a few people in the suite next to me were rejoicing, but there was little else anyone could say or do.

Culture

MANGA MONDAYS | Spring 2017 Preview

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I hope everyone had a wonderful break, filled with family, friends, food and anime binge-watching until some ungodly hour of the night. I know mine was. I also got some new anime and manga, which is always exciting. In other news, I’m back from Japan at long last (though I can’t say that I really wanted to leave). Hopefully I’ll be able to continue incorporating my experiences there into posts here on Manga Mondays.

Culture

ON MY MIND | What We Saw from the People’s Streets: Scenes from #DisruptJ20 in Washington, D.C.

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TW: Trump, misogyny, racism

We wake up at 9 am and immediately check Twitter for news of the day’s first protests. Blockades have already gone up at key entrance points around the city; Black Lives Matter, NoDAPL and other organizers have chained themselves to each other and to the ground. We sip coffee and don dark colors. We take our time putting the final touches on makeshift cardboard signs with sharpies. I debate over whether I should bring gloves or not.

Entertainment

AKABAS | A Way Too In-Depth Analysis of Corinne’s Nanny Situation On The Bachelor

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Meet Corinne. She is a contestant on Season 21 (yup, that’s not a typo) of The Bachelor, she inherited her family’s million dollar business, she is 24 years old and she has a nanny. A personal, live-in nanny. On Monday’s episode of The Bachelor, the greatest competition ever invented by mankind other than SlamBall, when Corinne was interrogated by the other girls on the show about said nanny, she launched into an epic monologue about said nanny. There is easily accessible video evidence of this on YouTube, which gives me hope that we haven’t utterly failed as a society, but here’s the transcript:
Raquel keeps my life together, okay?