Albert Camus’ 1947 novel The Plague masterfully portrays the death and suffering that a fictional bubonic plague brings to the people of Oran, an Algerian city under French colonial rule. The events take place over many months, with protagonist Dr. Rieux working to both physically and psychologically help others suffering[Read More…]
Pop Rhetoric
While some see comedic actors as uncut for drama, their performances can become gems
Comedy is said to stem from tragedy, so it isn’t too far of a stretch to suggest that a great comedic actor could be an equally great dramatic actor. In fact, many performers have proved this hypothesis, from Adam Sandler’s tremendous performance in Uncut Gems to Steve Carell’s captivating role[Read More…]
The young adult dystopian genre is too close for comfort
When many think of the young adult (YA) dystopian genre, both in literature and in film, The Hunger Games immediately comes to mind as one of the defining trilogies of the category. The Hunger Games hit the big screen 10 years ago and made nearly $700 million in worldwide sales.[Read More…]
Wordle’s popularity is no puzzle
Sick of time-consuming crossword puzzles, or endless online games with thousands of repetitive levels? Wordle, the latest internet craze boasting roughly 3,000,000 daily players, might be your jam. The premise is simple: Try to guess a random five-letter word in six or fewer tries. Once users guess a word, the[Read More…]
2022 Oscar nominations: Winners, losers, and snubs
After yet another long and tumultuous wait, this year’s Oscar nominations have been released—and I, for one, am pleasantly surprised. With the past year yielding a wide variety of films from across the globe, the 94th annual Academy Award nominations recognized an impressive collection of well-deserving work. It can be[Read More…]
Fact or fiction? Creative liberties in biopics
Biographical movies are not a recent phenomenon. From Lawrence of Arabia to Malcolm X, biopics in modern cinema have consistently met commercial success, as audiences seem to have an interest in seeing the lives of famous figures dramatized. But there is always the risk of biopics misrepresenting the lives of[Read More…]
The renaissance of Andrew Garfield
2022 is, without question, an excellent time to be Andrew Garfield. At 38 years old, the British-American actor is having a remarkable resurgence in his career: In the past 12 months alone, he’s starred as real-life televangelist Jim Bakker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, reprised his role as Peter[Read More…]
The price of stardom: When your image is no longer yours
A little over a week ago, a video surfaced of Kanye West, with the swagger of a man who left his sanity on the 2016 VMA stage, confronting a member of the paparazzi. This isn’t a change of pace for Kanye—the man confronts the paparazzi as often as I miss[Read More…]
Concept albums and the problem with defining subjective terms
Albums come in a multitude of shapes and sizes, with each crafted with different aims in mind. In 1973, Pink Floyd released their monumental album The Dark Side of the Moon, a progressive rock masterpiece and one of the most acclaimed albums of the decade. But Dark Side was more[Read More…]
‘Degrassi’ keeps it real, for better or worse
If something happened at your high school, it probably also happened on Degrassi. Although the show’s “classic” era ended with Degrassi High in 1992, the Next Generation series surpassed it both in length and popularity. This was largely due to the show’s memorable cast: Toronto rapper Drake and actress Nina[Read More…]
