American Media: An Exposition of the Seven Deadly Sins Andrew Sterling Feature Editor
The recent academy award winning picture Birdman was an introspective look into the difference between mainstream media, i.e. movies, and the theatre; the film serves to juxtapose what is considered “cheap” media with the fine arts.
In the movie an actor struggles to jump-start his stage career after having been defined by his role in a series of Avengers-esque films, which profit off of explosions and tongue-in-cheek comedy. Although this is not the defining feature of the movie, it lends insight into an epidemic that has begun to plague our senses every time we switch on the TV or listen to music or go to the theatres. The problem? – that our medias are turning ever less intelligent.
Beauty is truly subjective and to call a feature empirically “good” or “bad” invokes an absolute that most would argue is also subjective. We start to deal with shifting legalities when we call the quality of something into question. But philosophy aside, most all can agree that Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties paled in comparison to the likes of The Godfather.
This is the root of the problem: Producers and directors feel that the lack of a substantial plot or dialogue can be easily made up with copious amounts of explosions and profanity and the increasingly tasteless sex scenes (I’m looking at you, Michael Bay). And we’ve been eating it up.
In the 1940’,s many of the movies produced still hold the title of “classics” to his day due to their witty writing, and their trend for adapting classic literature to the big screen, but they were done with grace and frugality and modesty.
The problem with our modern-day cinema is that because of the extensive progress we have made in the realms of CGI and other special effects, we feel as if the tantalizing sight of an exploding car can somehow usurp Clarke Grable’s “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn,” in Gone With the Wind, a comedic yet tragic, coy and heartbreaking line; but we would rather watch robots fight each other. The movie Idiocracy serves a very terrifying and funny purpose, cautioning our attitudes toward the media and foretelling our inevitable downfall into….well…idiocracy!
It’s not just the movies that have fallen from grace, but books as well and music. A lot of music no longer has meaning. While I’m not advocating that we should delete Young Thug and Meghan Trainor from existence (actually that may not be a bad idea) and instead spend our days listening to Vivaldi and Brahms, but we should seriously question the purpose of music when it has fallen from the spirit-wrenching medium it once was and has rather become the background music to taking shots and general lunacy. We have devalued the inherent weight music holds, as it is the most potent form of euphoria one can experience outside of actual narcotics.
Maybe our culture causes us to saturate everything and cherish nothing; all is disposable and nothing is sedentary and we consume and consume and have lost our ability to taste in favor of the feeling of satiety. So is it our fault that we no longer have the ability to appreciate fine art? As we are the bindings of our society, I would have to agree. But what I ask may be too much; that we change the constructs of society brick by brick to usher in an era of “pseudo-intellectual hegemony.”
I may just be an old soul, but I see a time where art is lost and we be subject to nothing more than quelling our carnal desires, “but frankly….I don’t give a damn.”
A Midnight to Remember in Paris Sandy Jun and Michelle Musgrave Copy Editor and Staff Reporter
“Midnight in Paris” was the theme for prom, which was held on April 25 from 8 pm to midnight at The San Luis Resort Convention Center on Galveston Island.
This year’s prom court is consisted of six kings and queens: Ted Shi, Nick Mcgee, Chris West, Cole Miller, Caleb Hodsen and Andres Contreras are the prospective Prom King. Loren Tezanos, Natalie Matthews, Maris Moreno, Kendall Sheehay, Lyric Evans, Alyssa Pennacchi are the prospective Prom Queen.
It is easy for students to get caught up in boutonnières, corsages, hair styles, nails and lastly, prom dresses and tuxedos. A lot of things have changed over the years. However, prom is a tradition practiced for years. Have you ever stopped to think about what your parents or grandparents wore to their prom?
1930s
Prom dresses in the 1930s consisted of sleek, form fitting dresses with a slight flair at the bottom. Bows were in and sleeves ranged from short to long and fitted to poufy.
1940s
Popular prom dresses of the 40s were mid-calf to floor length and made out of tulle, which gave the dress a little extra pouf.
1950-60s
Prom dresses in the 50s and 60s were similar to the 40s. The difference in styles through the decade was the change in dress length. These dresses were now knee to mid-calf length.
1970s
Prom dresses in the 1970s took another shift in design. They lost the poufy tulle and went for more of a baby-doll look.
1980s
Shoulder pads were in style for sure. Dresses in the 1980s took a drastic turn with the appearance of ruffles and should poufs. Dresses varied in length and color.
1990s
Prom dresses in the 90s took another turn. Shoulder poufs became a thing of the past and sleeveless, mid-calf cocktail dresses entered the scene. This style of dress became known as the “cupcake” style.
2000s
Prom dresses in the 2000s consisted of simplistic dresses with halter-top straps or spaghetti straps.
Now
Today’s prom dresses have lots of sparkles; some are two-piece dresses. You will see more prints and less modest designs.
Avengers: Age of Ultron:
“Ultron” Ushers in New Age of Marvel Films; For Better or Worse Brandon Garcia Copy Editor
“Avengers: Age of Ultron” is directed and written by previous “Avengers” director Joss Whedon (Firefly, The Cabin in the Woods) and stars a hulking cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, and James Spader as the titular antagonist, Ultron, just to name a few.
The film centers around the Avengers’ recurring quest to locate Loki’s staff which, when found, reveals a hidden blueprint unlocking the secrets of creating artificial intelligence. Not one to turn down an opportunity to create an automated system capable of protecting Earth, Tony Stark immediately begins creating the “Ultron” system, which yields disastrous results. Now sentient and amassing an army, the A.I. has deduced that the only way to ensure humanity’s safety is to annihilate it, and that the only force in the world powerful enough to come between him and this goal are the Avengers.
The film’s direction as well as the execution of its special effects are nothing short of exemplary. Every fight scene was seamless in both their transitions between CGI and live action as well as in their complex choreography of the amid chaos in the backdrop. Whether it be a one-on-one skirmish between Captain America and a room full of thugs or a fully assembled team of Avengers fending off the full force of Ultron’s army, Whedon somehow manages to make each glimpse of the fight shown to us unique and memorable in its own way.
Also adding to the film is the incredible chemistry and furthered character development of all of the Avengers and their respective personalities. Amazingly enough, the sharp wit and clever writing shines through in nearly every facet of dialogue exchanged throughout the movie. Subtly adding heavy development onto other characters, and doing so all while keeping them identifiably iconic to both their comic book roots as well as to their modern film personas.
The negatives of the film, however, stem from this film’s increase in continuity scale. While this movie is still technically a sequel and should not be viewed without watching the previous film and subsequent Marvel films, I still found the movie to be immensely unforgiving to anyone unfamiliar with the staggeringly extensive Marvel universe. I believe I am relatively knowledgeable of the comic lore and still found myself scratching my head at some of the elements presented throughout the film (They found the secret to A.I. in a gemstone?!).
Speaking of A.I., James Spader’s performance as the tyrannical machine, while still indeed excellent and noteworthy, just contained way too much of Whedon’s trademark “snark” for me to believe that he was- well- a machine. No matter if you’ve scanned every online forum in existence, it takes appropriate conversational cues to interject sarcasm into a conversation (speaking from experience). In fact, the whole movie seemed to be oozing with coy/tongue-in-cheek banter from every character, almost nonstop. While it doesn’t necessarily detract from the overall movie experience, it does make it feel as though Whedon ran out of ideas for dialogue and simply decided to tread ground with what he knew people enjoyed from the previous movie instead.
Gripes aside, “Age of Ultron” is definitely a worthy gem in the Marvel film saga and serves its purpose brilliantly as the conclusion of Marvel’s “Phase Two” film series. It was at times too fast-paced and quick to establish some characters and plot elements without appropriate explanation, but in the end was enthralling, thrilling, humanizing, and deliciously unapologetic of how sobering it made the characters’ struggles and the vast global changes. A perfect way to establish the upcoming “Phase Three.”
(Photos courtesy of marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com and eggplante.com)
Clear Lake Theatre Showcases Tragic One Acts Grace Begala Managing Editor
Last Thursday and Friday, Clear Lake Theatre showcased two one act plays.
The first play, “The Yellow Boat,” is centered around seven year old Bethany, played by sophomore Yarden Borshevsky-Barr, and her struggles living with AIDS in the early 80s, the time of the disease’s first emergence. The story goes through Bethany’s first diagnosis of hemophilia. Later, she is diagnosed with AIDS-related virus, caused by Bethany’s subsequent blood transfusions of Factor VIII, used to treat her hemophilia. Her mother and father, played by junior Sophia Vignovich and senior Ian Monroe, struggle to come to grips with the diagnosis, the lack of answers from medical professionals, and their subsequent social isolation due to fear of the disease. “The Yellow Boat” is a beautiful and heart-wrenching story about the experience of succumbing to AIDS from the point of view of a child, which may be the saddest thing about the play.
“These Shining Lives” was inspired by the real life radium girls; women who painted watch faces with radium paint in post World War 1 and 2 factories. The story follows Catherine Donohue, played by junior Shannon Cunningham, on her journey into the work force after being a stay at home mother. After being let go from the factory due to illness, Catherine and her friends Charlotte, Frances and Pearl (played by junior Linda Nibert and seniors Velocity Brown and Aimee Tuley, respectively) decide to take their employer, the Radium Dial Company, to court. The women claim they were knowingly exposed to the harsh effects of radium, resulting in their contracting of radium poisoning. The real life story of the radium girls showcases the truth of the matter and how these brave women changed factory regulations all across the country.
Both plays were a huge success; bringing the reality of these fact-based stories to life in simultaneously uplifting and humbling performances.