Tag Archives: Review

Books/Art, PRIZM

“We’re Alive” review

Leave a comment

By: Munira Ahmadad

*Warning: this review contains spoilers for the short story “We’re Alive” (located in the PRIZM section of the Plaid Line)

“We’re Alive” is a short horror story written by HPSH student Daniel Kendle, and this article is a review of it and a discussion of my thoughts about the story.

The short story begins with an unnamed narrator in a jungle, they’re inside a garden sanctum when they watch a monstrous creature made of the jungle’s organic life become animated. Initially the being is referred to as the jungle’s newest creation which led me to think it never existed before, but it’s soon described as ancient and something of a folk story. The narrator watches, petrified and intrigued as it moves towards them. Spores surrounded them as they stared at each other. After the narrator’s reluctant escape, a month later, they remain haunted by the interaction with the garden’s monster and become unable to function normally. After dreaming of being with the creature in a physical and emotional loving bind, we see the narrator lose their grip on reality and by the end they harm themself with a crazed desire to return to the garden.

The story truly succeeds at providing the descriptions necessary to paint a detailed visualization of the scenes in the story. I don’t read much horror, but the narrator losing their grip on reality is a relatively common trope. After reading through, I wondered if the inspiration for this work was “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe since both use obsession as its element and have narrators you know next to nothing about. The plot itself reminds me of “The Black Cat”, also by Edgar Allan Poe.

One of the very first things that made me feel iffy while reading through was the literary diction. Written in the narrator’s perspective, they describe how they felt, what they did and thought, and what was going on. Since it’s all in past tense, I assumed this was a retelling of what happened, which explained the dramatic storytelling style. But as the speaker describes their loss of sanity due to their growing obsession, it seems as though readers are going along with the scenes at the same time as the narrator. This makes the descriptive writing come off as pretty verbose. The flowery language is prioritized over the plot which makes the first time reading through unsatisfactory, especially since the goal of the story was to capture the essence of what an all-consuming obsession feels like.

Speaking of the goal of the story, the attempt at disorientating storytelling by the narrator did not invoke any feelings of repulsion, suspense, or horror in me. It’s very tell-not-show, like instead of showing us the fear the narrator was experiencing during their interaction with the monster via description (hands shaking, heart pounding, stomach churning), we’re just told directly by the speaker that they were afraid. The conflicting feelings the narrator had towards the garden creature was very clear, to the point it feels tedious. Scary stories aren’t supposed to hold the reader’s hand and walk them through the entire thing.

For all the time spent making sure the audience was absolutely certain the narrator had an obsession, they aren’t given much of a reason to care. When we have an unnamed narrator of unknown origin, you’d assume their narration would give you more information of who they are and their personality as you read along. However, in this short story the narrator’s identity didn’t seem to matter. We’re given vague ideas about the characteristics of this person, such as their acutely aware of their flaws, immediately scorning their humanity and views themselves as a “mangy ape” in the presence of the monster that becomes their obsession. They call themselves a hedonistic wretch, and we just kind of have to take their word for it.

Overall, though, I liked reading this. Because I have my own bias against horror, I wasn’t the target audience, and so I probably didn’t enjoy it as much as someone who likes horror. I think the author definitely is a skilled writer and has the descriptive skills to create vivid imagery for the reader to enjoy. I feel as though Kendle would be an excellent fantasy writer and I hope he continues to share more of his work. This review was for fun and from the perspective of a reader despite my criticism, which itself may be flawed.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND’: REVIEW

Leave a comment

By: Charlotte Bistodeau

‘Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind’ was released in 1984 and was Hayao Miyazaki’s first ever film he did. It’s also the first ever film I watched by Miyazaki followed up by ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ and the like.

‘Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind’ is a post-apocalyptic fantasy based in a world covered in plants that make up the Toxic Jungle. Nausicaä is a princess who loves her people of the Valley of the Wind and would do anything to protect them. But she also loves the insects of the Toxic Jungle and knows that harming them would only hurt her people.

‘Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind’ has got to be my favorite movie and I must have watched it over twenty times. From the writing to the screenplay, I love it all. The story is about a girl, Nausicaä, who is taken as captive and ends up in the middle of a feud between two other empires, Tolmekia and Pejite. In the end, she ends up getting back to the Valley of the Wind and stopping the Ohmu, an insect from the Toxic Jungle, stampeding across the land destroying everything in their path. I love Nausicaä’s character and what she believes. She is strong and caring and she would do anything to protect her people, even if it meant dying.

I also think that my favorite sound track from any of Miyazaki’s films has to be from this movie. All the songs convey different feelings that you can really feel.

I also have to talk about the voice acting. I have watched it in the original Japanese and the English version and I have to say, surprisingly, the English version is better. Nausicaä’s voice in the Japanese version is extremely small and baby like, which doesn’t suit her at all, while in the English version she sounds like an 18-year-old girl, which she is. The audio quality is also way better and also the subtitles on the Japanese version are really bad. For example, there is little emotion and some of the sentences don’t make any sense whatsoever. It’s one of the only films where I like the English dub better.

Overall, I rate this movie a 10/10 but I might be a little biased. The only real complaint would be that they did skip over some parts in the book, which Miyazaki wrote. But it doesn’t take anything from the movie, probably because Miyazaki was the author of the book and one of the directors of the movie.

You can find the movie on Max, Amazon Prime, Hulu, YouTube TV, and Google Play Movie. You can also purchase the Blu Ray/DVD set for 15 dollars at Target. In any case, I would recommend the movie to anyone, young or old.

Books/Art

‘Scythe’ book review

Leave a comment

By: Kimberly Mascote Rangel

‘Scythe’ is a novel set in a future where humanity has conquered death. Disease, war and misery are things of the past and people can live forever. However, to control the population a group of people called Scythes are tasked with gleaning or killing others.

The story is about two teenagers Citra and Rowan, who are chosen to be Scythes. They must learn the art of killing and understand the weight of their responsibilities. Throughout their journey they do intense training.

Neal Shusterman creates a fascinating world with complex characters and thought-provoking themes. The book explores the value of life, and the nature of power, and the characters make their struggles feel real.

The plot is fast paced and full of twists, keeping readers intrigued. The writing is clear and engaging, making it easy to follow the story. Shusterman’s world building is detailed and imaginative, giving a vivid backdrop for the characters’ adventures.

Overall, ‘Scythe’ is a thrilling and thought provoking read that raises important questions about humanity and mortality. It’s a must read for fans of dystopian fiction and anyone looking for a story that challenges the way we think about life and death. I give this book an 8/10.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Frozen’ (2010) movie review

Leave a comment

By: Sophia Elmstrom & Lily Sheldon

*Warning: this review contains spoilers

This title may sound misleading, but this is not what you think this is. The movie ‘Frozen’ is a psychological horror made in 2010. It was directed by Adam Green, and stars Shawn Ashmore, Kevin Zegers, and Emma Bell. ‘Frozen’ is rated R and is very violent. This movie would not be suitable for young people or if you get grossed out easily.

Here’s a rundown of the plot. ‘Frozen’ features two young men, Dan and Joe, and a young woman, Parker. Parker and Dan are dating and Joe and Dan are best friends. The three decide to go to a ski resort to enjoy a day on the slopes. On the night of their last day, the friends convince the ski lift operator to let them on the lift for one last run down the mountain. The operator went on break and a new guy came to take his place. The operator told the new guy that there were still 3 skiers who needed to come down. The second operator mistakes 3 mingling skiers for Dan, Parker, and Joe and he shuts down the chairlift, leaving the 3 friends trapped. To make matters worse, the ski resort was closed for the whole weekend.

The friends start to get worried and realize they will be there for the whole night if not the whole weekend. The 3 call out for help, and they see a snow plow arrive under them, but it fails to notice the stranded group on the lift. The group realizes they are going to have to find a way down the mountain.

Dan jumps off the lift in an attempt to get help, and breaks his legs once he realizes how far down it really was. With Dan now unable to move, Parker and Joe try to find a way down to help him. A pack of wolves soon arrive and Joe and Parker are unable to help him, so they have to listen helplessly as their friend gets torn apart by the wolves.

The next morning, Joe tries climbing on the chairlift cable to find a way down. He makes it to the support pole and climbs down. The wolves come back but he fights them off with a ski pole. Joe slides down the mountain on Dan’s snowboard, but the wolves follow.

Now Parker is alone on the ski lift, and she tries to escape by getting to the support pole. As she stands up on the chair, the bolts disconnect and the lift falls a little, and now is hanging on by a single wire. Parker jumps off and is able to take the fall, but the lift then falls on her ankle. Parker pries the chair off her foot, and crawls down the mountain to find help. She gets to the street and flags down a car to take her to the hospital. Parker is relieved to finally be rescued and to get home safely.

This movie received a 63% from Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.5/10 from IMDB. We believe this is way too high of a rating and think that this movie was truly very bad. Many people say it reminds them of a movie they have seen before, ‘Fall’. We have seen this movie and agree that it is very similar, almost like they copied the plot of ‘Fall’ which follows two girls who get stuck on a telephone pole. Many other reviewers rate this movie 5 stars out of 5 and say they loved the movie. This movie was too gory for our liking and was just a bad plot line. Although it was very psychological and kept us wondering the entire movie we just do not get why people gave it such high ratings.

Overall, we rate this movie a 2/10 because the plot was boring and way too violent with many scenes involving very descriptive noises and images. We disagree with all of these ratings and we do not understand why people liked this movie so much. You can watch ‘Frozen’ on Prime Video.

Music/Concerts

‘The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We’ album by Mitski – Background information

2 Comments

By: Christine Yang

Information about the album:

The album ‘The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We’ was made by the artist Mitski. The album was released on September 15, 2023, which was her comeback and recent album after releasing an album called ‘Laurel Hell’ in 2022. ‘The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We’ has eleven songs in the album. One of the songs in the album was one of the biggest hits after the release, and the song was “My Love Mine All Mine” with 560 million Spotify streams.

Songs:

“Bug Like an Angel”:

The process of the track, “Bug Like an Angel” has mainly four chords throughout it (chords: d flat major, a flat major, e flat major, b flat major) because the song is about addiction, and Mitski wanted to show it in a musical way that addiction is basically a cycle that you’re just kind of stuck in, it being repetitive over and over which doesn’t end, so the intention behind having the same chords repeating hopefully leads the listener to think what it’s about. Mitski also wanted a little twist/change by having the vocals in the middle of what we think is the chord progression; she wanted that twist to give a feeling of being off balance because the song is about addiction which isn’t a balanced state.

She started creating the song by having a descriptions so it’s easy to paint a picture in the listener’s head; she wanted the picture of someone drinking something out of a glass and which there’s stuff left. While they are drinking out of it, they realized there’s a bug stuck at the bottom of the glass, and because it’s stuck it looks like there’s an angel in the sky. She chose the angel reference so it can set the tone since later on in the song she says something about God and devils, which is supposed to give the listener the option to take two main meanings (positive or negative, pessimistic or optimistic) away depending on what they want out of the song.

After the the description Mitski wanted the protagonist to say something about themselves as an introduction, later on in the song there’s a choir part coming out of nowhere to be the first big emotional moment saying the word “family” with a whole choir out of nowhere, to evoke that sort of intensity with a choir as well. Then it goes back to the corporation and then the second verse, which is a spot to bring another character in and have the protagonist, who we know, point them out saying like, “Hey what’s the matter? You’re looking like a sticker stuck on a floor somewhere”. Which basically means like the person doesn’t look like they’re having a good time, like they look sad, despondent, and that phrase basically brings back to Mitski thinking stickers were so important to her when she was a kid, and how sad it’ll be if some kid’s precious sticker was stuck on a floor and couldn’t get it off. Basically, this brings up how the protagonist faces challenges which make them suffer, and that’s where the “God and devil” reference shows up, saying “is the suffering from God or the devil”, in the third verse. And that’s how the song “Bug Like an Angel” was created.      

“Buffalo Replaced”:

“Buffalo Replaced” is a track that was supposed to give an idea of how the album, ‘The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We’, is like. The track specifically— Mitski and her producer, Patrick Highland, was really inspired by ‘The Velvet Underground’. While the inspiration was added at the beginning of the song, Patrick also added keyboard sounds at the end too, which added something beautiful at the end, in Mitski’s opinion.

“Buffalo Replaced” might be about being dependent/leeching onto someone, and having struggles without the person that you rely on. 

“Heaven”:

“Heaven” is meant to exemplify the little time someone has with the person they love, and to cherish that time and leave the issues of the world outside the room to enjoy the beautiful love they share, Mitski has stated.

“Heaven” was an old song, but the beginning of the song sounded different than how it is now, because the older version didn’t have the swing that it does currently. Mitski was fine with that version; it just didn’t feel like it stood out as much alongside the other songs she wrote that have the same rhythm, so it sat for awhile until she and Patrick tried to figure out how to make it sound on a record.

The first demo version they did actually was right after they recorded “Be The Cowboy” in Philadelphia. That demo version had more of a Patsy Cline swing to it, which is closer to what it is now. The problem was that the track didn’t really have an album that it fit into or in the ‘Laurel Hell’ album so it sat some more, but eventually made the album ‘The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We’.

Since the track was such a romantic song, they wanted to do it with a whole orchestra and a sweeping Old Hollywood sound. They found an orchestrator, Drew Erickson, who did works with popular artists. Erickson orchestrated for “Heaven”, and then Mitski’s team recorded the orchestration part.

“I Don’t Like My Mind”:

The lyrics in ‘” Don’t Like My Mind” are literal and self explanatory, which the listeners can get the grip of what the song is about. The song could be about trying to distract yourself from negative thoughts and using stuff to cope with those things; it can also mean you not wanting to be alone with your thoughts due to negativity.

The production process for the demo was made right after she and her team recorded “Be The Cowboy”, and was also recorded in Philadelphia. The track in the song ended up being easy to make because it was similar and the end result was similar to the demo they made way back then. So, her team just kept the guitar track from the demo.

“The Deal”:

The song started by misinterpreting a Maria Mitchell poem, “How Charming is Divine Philosophy”. The poem is basically about how you discover more about the world and you while going on a midnight walk by yourself. One line in the poem, “There’s a deal to be learned on a midnight walk, when you take it all alone” Mitski misread it as, “There’s a deal to be made on a midnight walk when you take it all along” and before she realized the error she made, she thought it was an interesting thought: like what kind of deal can you make on a midnight walk?

The song “The Deal” can mean wanting your life to be like someone else or your expectations of yourself, and being willing to give or do anything for your ideals.

“When Memories Snow”:

Mitski got the idea of the music for “When Memories Snow” by playing the piano and experimenting with chords inspired by a show instrument, Japanese Shō (doesn’t follow the Western traditional music rules), which can be heard at the end of the song. The song has two parts inspired by Western movie soundtracks and British invasion rock. The song also pushed Mitski out of her comfort zone because most of her songs are quiet/soft which is an easy range for her.

“When Memories Snow” could be about putting the past behind you and focusing on making new paths/memories, and how the past will always be there to either drag or lift you up.

“My Love Mine All Mine”:

“My Love Mine All Mine” is about how to love is the best thing Mitski ever did, and how beautiful it is. According to a quote from Mitski, this song is better than any song she wrote, material possession she gained, or achievement. Mitski also wishes that after she dies, that the song leaves behind this beautiful love in the world.

Mitski’s first moment of the creation of the song started when she was carrying groceries and singing “my love, my oh my”, which she used that part and recorded everything, that’s how the song “My Love Mine All Mine” started/was created.

“The Frost”:

For the song “The Frost”, the producer, Patrick, and Mitski knew that they both wanted to draw from ‘Americana’ from classic country, folk, and old time music. This made them think they needed a band that was versed in those genres much more, and they were able to successfully find one. They even got Brooke Wagoner on the piano, who also did piano on Mitski’s album ‘Laurel Hell’ from 2022. Mitski and Patrick knew that they wanted the song to be live or have an acoustic feeling to it, so they had to rehearse with the whole band for a day then recorded all the songs they did together the next day.

The song can mean being left behind or falling out with someone, and that the friendship/relationship being put behind or forgotten, also not being able to move on from that person. 

“Star”:

“Star” was also an old song, but it started when Mitski went to her friend’s house, playing her acoustic guitar and just started messing around with the track. In the beginning it sounded different from what the track is now currently, the first demos her and her producer made were trying to do a “carpenter thing”, and the demo kind of had the type of swing they looked for.

But the demo felt a bit too happy so they tried a different version that was the same chords but sort of more of like “slow core” or “red house painters thing”, which also didn’t work either and they eventually figured out what’s not working is that there were so many chords per phrase.

They switched to adding a drone just the sustained tonic in the start of the song, and that ended up sounding really good so they built off of that so it started simple with just a sustain, and they decided to keep building off of it, and they took inspiration from Scott Walker at the end of the day.

Both, Mitski and her producer, wanted to add a little subtle orchestration to keep building on it, so they had their orchestrator, Drew Erickson, compose for strings that’s just very subtle, and they also took some parts of the orchestration to support the song instead of taking the spotlight.

The song “Star”, describes two people who are no longer in love, but continues to care about each other partly in memory of the love they had.

“I’m Your Man”:

The process of making this song included Mitski writing it on an acoustic guitar. When she wrote the first half of the song she thought the song was short after listening to it so she had to figure out a way to lengthen it, but the problem was that she didn’t want to add other parts (ex. chorus, bridge, etc). Even though she didn’t want the song to change she decided to add choral voices, which required her getting a choir that sang “yo ho”, that was inspired by pirates and gave her a more masculine feeling that basically led to the intention behind the song. That process also gave the name of the song, “I’m Your Man”.

The song is coming from the perspective of a man in Mitski’s head, basically it’s like the voice of a patriarch in your head because “we” all live in and were raised in a patriarchy. The “masculine voices” in your head depends on, not depending on what gender you are, but in a way of interacting with male figures in your life, and all the messaging you’ve received from the culture and the patriarchy around you. And so the song is to give a voice to that “masculine voice” in Mitski’s head to either help her bring into peace with it or free it up a little bit. This also was inspired by the story of the Buddha and how the Buddha was disturbed while being in peace, but how the Buddha was still kind to their “enemy”.

Mitski wanted to try something similar by just letting the patriarch mind to basically say whatever or doing whatever, which is where the song came from and what the song means too. 

“I Love Me After You”:

During the process of “I Love Me After You”, Mitski made a mistake of recording herself of just playing it on an acoustic guitar and singing along. After she listened to the demo over and over, she tried to figure out how the end result track should be, but she struggled of how it should sound.

After she brought it to Patrick, Mitski just wanted the song to just be acoustic guitar and voice since she was so familiar with it which also made her like the song like that. But she knew deep down that the track had potential and how she was just getting in her way, so eventually Patrick convinced her to do the version that it is today. He wanted the song to be like you’re crawling through something slow motion. In terms of making it, they made it faster and slower to get that feeling to see how it can get to that image.

“I Love Me After You” can be about finding freedom from moving on from a failed relationship. 

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Gilmore Girls’ season one review

Leave a comment

By: Priya Anderson & Ruby Anderson

Source: Screenshot from Ruby’s IPhone, Gilmore Girls opening credits

The 2000s TV show ‘Gilmore Girls’, created by Amy Sherman-Palladio, is a comedic drama set in the fictional Connecticut town Stars Hollow that is centered around the relationship between single mother Lorelei Gilmore and her teenage daughter Rory Gilmore.

Season one of Gilmore Girls introduces many important characters such as Lorelei and Rory. This mother-daughter duo sets the stage for this show as they have a quirky and loving relationship bringing together themes of family, relationships, and friendship. Lorelei, who is played by Lauren Graham, is the hard working single mother of Rory. Throughout the season Lorelei navigates the hardships of single motherhood, relationships, and the tough expectations of her wealthy parents. Rory, played by Alexis Bledel, is an intelligent and ambitious 16-year-old girl with dreams of going to Harvard. During season one we follow Rory’s journey after being accepted into the prestigious school, Chilton Academy.

Stars Hollow is the perfect setting for Gilmore Girls. With its eccentric but charming characters, the small New England town is full of personality and factors into the show’s comforting feel. Stars Hollow includes a variety of businesses and shops from Luke’s Diner to Ms. Patty’s dance studio. Residents of Stars Hollow are a big part of what makes the town so perfect. Luke Danes (Scott Patterson), the owner of Luke’s Diner, is a grumpy but lovable character we see often throughout the show. His diner is the town’s hangout spot and Lorelai and Rory’s favorite place to eat and relax. There is also the towns dance instructor, Ms. Patty (Liz Torres) who loves to gossip and involve herself in town events. Lorelai’s workplace, The Independence Inn, introduces us to her best friend Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy) who is a talented chef and an important character to the show. The many more amusing characters in this community help add a comedic relief to more serious aspects of Lorelai and Rory’s hectic lives.

The complex relationship between Lorelai, Rory, and Lorelai’s parents Emily (Kelly Bishop) and Richard Gilmore (Edward Herrmann) creates an important narrative throughout the show. After Lorelai seeks help from her parents to pay for Rory’s tuition she is, in return, forced to have dinner with her parents and Rory every week. Tension between Lorelai and her parents is common throughout the season from their wildly different lifestyles and lack of understanding of each other. Emily and Richard show what life was like for Lorelai before she became pregnant with Rory and left home to take care of her on her own. Lorelai’s difficult relationship with her parents is shown in conflict and are some of the most important moments throughout the season.

While ‘Gilmore Girls’ is mostly about family, the theme of love and romance also plays a big role. During season one we follow the love story between Rory and her first boyfriend, Dean Forester (Jared Padalecki). Early in the season the two meet at Stars Hollow High School shortly after Dean transfers there from Chicago. The two quickly start dating after Dean finds interest in Rory and they begin to get to know each other. The brief yet serious relationship between Lorelai and Max Medina (Scott Cohen) begins when Lorelai meets the Chilton teacher at a parent teacher meeting not long after Rory begins school there. The relationship between the two starts off slow as Lorelai is hesitant due to Max being her daughter’s teacher but quickly becomes serious throughout the season.

Rory’s acceptance into Chilton Academy created many new difficulties. The elite school is a big difference to the public school she attended with her best friend, Lane Kim (Keiko Ageno) who is a recurring character throughout the series, and is known for her love for rock music and her struggles with her strict mother. Chilton being a great way for Rory to be accepted into Harvard, is an academic challenge in Rory’s life bringing her piles of school work and introduces her intense classmate Paris Geller (Liza Weil) who quickly becomes a rival to Rory as she sees her as a student who wants to take her spot as top student in her class.

‘Gilmore Girls’ season one sets off the series to a great start introducing loveable and relatable characters, as well as offering a great atmosphere for a show that will be loved by many for years to come.

Music/Concerts

Why ‘Plan A’ is one of the best albums this year

Leave a comment

By: Bailey Glime

‘Plan A’ by Lil Tecca is one of the best albums this year and here is why. ‘Plan A’ shows a more experimental Lil Tecca who uses different tones in his voice to make songs sound vocally different. The album has 18 songs and is 44 minutes long, so the album is not long but has a lot to offer.

‘Plan A’ doesn’t just have the same sounding songs like other albums. This album dives deeper into different sounds to attract the audience more. It also makes the songs more of a fun listen too. The album also has songs that are more chill, and others that hype you up more.

Personally, the song that sticks out the most and is my favorite is “HOMEBODY”. This is one of my favorite songs because of the way Tecca makes his voice go up and down. There is also a catchy chorus that is fun to not just listen to but dance to as well. This song is also not a long one to listen to, and it has the listener wanting to listen to it again.

Compared to other albums of the same genre, this album isn’t completely serious and it’s more fun. At the same time, it has that seriousness in it that the other albums do too. The effect that this has on the listener, is that they can understand the lyrics better but still groove to the beat. This makes it a replayable album.

A song that makes the album pop with its lyrics is “120”. In this song Lil Tecca is talking about how with his success now he has a lot. He sings about being able to own expensive things like a 120k necklace. This song also has a groovy beat that just makes the lyrics pop more.

Overall, ‘Plan A’ shows many different sounds and makes it a very fun and interesting listen. It really dives into all the techniques Lil Tecca has under his sleeve, and draws the listeners to the album. This makes it one of the best albums this year. Having all these sounds mixed together makes this album a really enjoyable one.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Heartstopper’ Season 3 review

Leave a comment

By: Persephone Pond

‘Heartstopper’ is a Netflix original series based on the Webcomic written by Alice Oseman. Directed by Andy Newbery, season 3 of this show released all 8 episodes on Thursday, October 3rd, and received overwhelmingly positive reviews. This article is a quick, spoiler free review from the perspective of a long time fan.

Seasons 1 and 2 focused largely on building foundations of relationships between characters and expanding on the experiences of coming out as queer, while season 3 dives deeper into mental health issues that teens deal with and the experiences of moving further into a relationship. From the perspective of a queer teen who has been through much of the same things these characters in the show have, the writing deals with these heavier themes incredibly well.

Good representation of the lived experience of queer people is not an easy thing to find, luckily more and more writers have been incorporating these sorts of themes into media nowadays. In contrast, representation of mental health issues, especially eating disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder, are still largely stigmatized in today’s society. Charlie Spring, the protagonist of ‘Heartstopper’, deals with these issues in season 3, which changes the atmosphere of the show from lighthearted to kind of depressing. Although these heavy themes make the season more sad, it’s so important to spread awareness, especially in today’s society where these problems are not uncommon, they’re just repressed.

Charlie and Nick, the protagonists of the show, deal with the stress of mental illness, while side characters still get enough attention to grow an attachment to them. Season 3 also brings up more controversy about binary transgender teens, non-binary gender exploration, and asexuality, which weren’t elaborated much on the past 2 seasons.

Overall, these characters have a way of pulling on anyone and everyone’s heartstrings, and season 3 of this show is so powerful. I highly recommend sticking with ‘Heartstopper’, or starting from the beginning.

Books/Art

Gotham: One of the worst comic cities

Leave a comment

By: Munira Ahmadad

The city that Batman resides and fights crime in was first given the name Gotham in the 1940 comic ‘Batman #4’. In real life, Gotham has been used as slang for New York City. Originally, the term Gotham comes from ‘The Merry Tales of the Mad Men of Gottam’,  a 16th century fictional English town. The residents of Gottam were incredibly stupid, and a potential translation of Gottam is “Goat town” as goats are associated with stupidity. Gotham became an insult for New Yorkers, and more modernly “Gotham” is more connected to New York’s nightlife or the darker side of the city.

Unlike Metropolis, who’s major threats are from space, Gotham is filled with street-level crime. Even without the Arkham supervillains, the city has several issues like political corruption and the Gotham City Police Department’s higher members being involved in drug trafficking and being bribed by crime groups.

Not only has Gotham’s economy been controlled by numerous crime families for generations, we see in the 468th issue of ‘Batman’ Vol. 1, (1991),  that by the 1990s Triads had managed to take a billion dollars out of Gotham annually. There’s gangs, mafia groups, and also there’s the Yakuza operating in Gotham, too. Gotham has always been cursed to suck since the city was apparently built on top of where an ancient evil dude was sealed and imprisoned. He later names himself Doctor Gotham.

The mayors are often either incompetent or also corrupt, and since its origin, Gotham has been structured so that those taking part in gang wars, drug smuggling, organized crime, etc. don’t have any real reason to fear the law or authority. That was until Batman.

After Batman’s rise as a vigilante, he quickly became something trigger-happy criminals on the streets learned to be afraid of. Because of this, political figures in Gotham were more interested in using the law enforcement for finding and bringing the Batman down due to him taking the city’s issues in his own hands and becoming pretty much the only effective direct role for taking criminals out. The reasoning presented is that Batman is a criminal himself and a threat, but as we know the police force and government take part and aid crime themselves. Batman is a threat to them too.

One good thing about Gotham is that the dark and eery vibe is great for Halloween.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Barbie: Fairytopia’ (movie) 2005 – Review

Leave a comment

By: Christine Yang

What it’s about:

‘Barbie: Fairytopia’ is a movie about a fairy girl named Elina that’s from a place called The Magic Meadow. She would often be made fun of by other fairies due to her not having wings. But one day there was a rumor that an evil fairy, Laverna, from a “myth”, kidnapped Topaz, a powerful and guardian fairy from The Magic Meadow.

The next day, there was a green gas that prevented fairies from being able to fly and made them weak in The Magic Meadow, which was slowly creeping up to different places in Fairytopia. Elina and her friends Bibble and Dandelion want to find the answer to the disappearance of Topaz, but unfortunately, Dandelion can’t keep going through with the mission due to the gas affecting her. As Elina and her little friend Bibble go through the mission to find Topaz, they eventually uncover information that no other fairies would know, and only guardian fairies do know, and make new friends along the way. 

Review:

The movie ‘Barbie: Fairytopia’ is a good movie and has a good plot, but in my opinion I think the movie was rushed a little bit, like there could be things added between scenes.

The characters’ hair seems really “blocky”, the colors of the settings and characters also seem dull and not as detailed, especially the place Spooky Woods. Some of the creatures in the movie look like bugs because their eyes are really wide open.

Overall, the music in the movie was pleasant and more “classical”, which was only used about 3 times in the movie. There wasn’t really singing parts, which can make the movie not entertaining to others, but I wish there had been more.

In my opinion, I rate this 7/10.

I recommend this movie to younger kids like the age 4-7 years old, but anyone can watch this movie for nostalgic feelings or just for fun. ‘Barbie: Fairytopia’ can be watched on Amazon Prime Video (rent: $3.59  Buy: $14.69), Google Play Movie (Rent: $3.99  Buy: $14.69), Fandango at Home (Rent: $3.99  Buy: $14.99), YouTube (Rent: $3.99), and Apple TV (Rent: $3.99).

Also, the movie ‘Barbie: Fairytopia’ is in a collection with three other movies like, ‘Barbie: Fairytopia – Mermaidia’, ‘Magic of the Rainbow’, and ‘Mariposa and the Butterfly Fairy Friends’.