Row the Boat
The Death of Film Criticism
Believe it or not, there used to be a time when sequels were not announced before the first installment of the series even came out. Those were the days when making a movie in and of itself was a daunting financial loss for studios, let alone the making of a whole string of them. As a matter of fact, one of the main reasons why Lionsgate rejected Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy was the fact that it entailed a commitment of more than one movie.
Nowadays, films have more of a “universe” approach. If you check nearly all the developments happening on Rotten Tomatoes’ “Weekly Ketchup” section, you discover that there is a nary a film being developed that does not have the potential to be juiced for more story and, as a direct result, cash. One film is no longer enough to tell a story. That is why, even though I haven’t watched Mockingjay: Part 1, I know it would be impossible to review it on its own merits. There is a bigger story to be told, one that is only complete in the face of the whole four-part trilogy.
In Defense of Indifference
The biggest news coming out of the 2014 midterm election has nothing to do with the actual results at the polls or the bigger questions about What It All Means. The numbers tell the story: The turnout for these midterm elections was the worst in 72 years. For those who can do both math and history, that was right in the middle of World War II.
I am one of the many who bypassed this civic duty. And I don't pretend like I'm some brave pariah for claiming this— because chances are that most people reading this are fellow members of the non-voting majority.
Doodling as a Sign of Intelligence
High school seems like a long time ago. The days of class for eight straight hours, the flurry of activities that followed afterward, the mornings of waking up at the ungodly hour of 6 a.m.—these are all, mercifully, things of the past.
Harvard, or a place like it, was definitely part of the future I then imagined. In class, dreams of academic recognition and glory were not far behind. My pencil would wander down to the scrap piece of paper that I had torn out of my notebook and begin to draw the same thing I had drawn all my life: Lines that would eventually come together to form a mountain-looking object. And then, in the middle of this bliss, I would be snapped back to the reality of class.
Understanding Faith
This past month marked the 20th anniversary of the release of “The Shawshank Redemption.” If you’re anything like me, your first interaction with the film came through a web search of the “greatest movies ever.” This search leads to IMDB’s Top 250 list, a thoroughly unscientific run-through (even for something as subjective as film rankings). Sure enough, a small film from 1994 that almost failed to break even takes the top spot.
The film’s message of hope allows it to resonate so deeply, even today. You know a movie is universally beloved when people put it in their top five lists even if they’re afraid of sounding trite.
Lying to the Man in the Mirror
I guess it’s kind of strange that I read articles on Buzzfeed that talk about “loving your own body.” In my defense, they do seem to be everywhere. And studying gets boring sometime. So why not read?
Though these articles are usually aimed at those outside my demographic, it is not hard to pick up on the ridiculously positive message. The topic covered in these articles reach farther than the concerns of stressed, bored college students. Individuals in our generation (fat, skinny, or anything in between) are obsessed with trying to establish their own sense of self-worth.