Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
April 18, 2024

Arts & Entertainment



Choker, Naji and Medhane produce notable but underrated albums

Over the summer, a lot of music was released to little or no fanfare. The summer is usually when huge, blockbuster music is at the forefront, so the smaller, more unique projects get sidelined. Here are some of my favorite more underground projects from the past summer that you may not have heard. 





CASI MOSS / CC BY-SA 2.0
Crazy Rich Asians showcases many of Hollywood’s great talents, with Awkwafina shining in a comedic role.

Crazy Rich Asians: the most successful rom-com in six years

No one could say for even a moment that Crazy Rich Asians does not deliver on its title, despite our Uber driver telling me at length about how all he could think of was Crazy, Stupid, Love. when he heard the name of the movie we were on our way to see (which hadn’t crossed my mind until that moment). 



RED CARPET REPORT/CC BY-SA 2.0
Debby Ryan stars in the controversial series that debuted this summer.

Insatiable is entertaining, while morally ambiguous

When the trailer for Netflix’s Insatiable was released back in July, it immediately garnered a large amount of controversy. Upon re-watching the trailer, it’s easy to see why. The trailer seemed to make the claim that all of its protagonist’s problems could be solved following a miraculous weight loss. 


Jason Persse/ CC BY-SA 2.0

Kanye West makes controversial return to spotlight

After returning to Twitter in mid-April, Kanye West has been stirring up a lot of discussion among his fans and haters alike. This renewed interest in Kanye’s image culminated in a series of tweets in which he espoused his love for Donald Trump, tweeting, “We are both dragon energy. He is my brother,” and showing off his signed Make America Great Again hat. The public reaction was intense. 


Courtesy of Abby Johnson

Studio North’s Grand Premiere proves a hit

Studio North, a student-run organization designed to facilitate student filmmaking on campus, presented its 2018 Grand Premiere at the Parkway Theatre on Wednesday, April 25. The historic theater was packed with students, professors, families and community members eager to watch the work of student filmmakers who had received funding for their projects in the spring of 2017.


Avengers: Infinity War is next in exciting series

“It’s the end of the path I started us on.” Those are the words we hear Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) say to Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in Avengers: Age of Ultron after Ultron and the Maximoff twins manage to defeat the team in their first encounter. 


Tramlines Festival /CC By 2.0

Mobb Deep’s The Infamous: the album that got me through Hopkins

I’d like to preface this article by saying that I am an incredibly privileged person who was lucky to have the means and opportunity to pursue a college education. Many people do not get the same chances I got, and I realize that they might be happy to be in my position. But with that said, college was fucking miserable. Of course misery is relative, but I think I pretty much bottomed out around a half a dozen times over the last four years. 



Courtesy of Sharon Maguire

Student talent featured in the Witness showcase

Witness Theater presented their spring showcase in Arellano Theater on Thursday, April 26, and Friday, April 27. The show, produced by junior Sarah Linton, featured five 10-minute student-written, student-directed plays.



Drew Yorke-Slader/ CC By 2.0

Post Malone’s Beerbongs and Bentleys falls short

I have long thought that Post Malone was underrated. His first song, “White Iverson,” blew up and he was almost universally considered a one hit wonder. But he kept making hits. He quickly built up a loyal fanbase. His first album — Stoney — was a great project. Each song on that album does something different and fun. Post found a way to do the thing that rappers had been trying to do for years: combine the country and rock aesthetic with hip hop. 


GAGE SKIDMORE/CC BY- SA 2.0
Avengers: Infinity War brings together stars from the Marvel canon, including films such as Thor and Blank Panther

Avengers: Infinity War next up in chronology

If you were anything like me in high school, then you were probably excited for the release of Marvel’s The Avengers. The Avengers debuted in 2012, just as we current college seniors were finishing up our sophomore year of high school.


COURTESY OF ESTHER RODRIGUEZ
Daria Ramos-Izquierdo plays one of the leads in Esther Rodriguez’s play.

Student’s play touches of difficult topics

Free staged readings of We All Fall Down, by Esther Rodriguez, were performed on April 21 and 22 at the Arellano Theater in Levering Hall. The Hub event page provides a short blurb of the plot of the play: “Six months after Amanda Lewis-Ramirez’s suicide attempt, she and her family must redefine their relationships with each other in light of the secrets they’ve been keeping.” 


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Rapper Earl Sweatshirt was the opener at the 2018 Spring Fair Concert.

Spring Fair concert was an unexpected success

The Spring Fair concert was destined to be a failure. The artist reveal disappointed people, and there were rumors of a heavy underselling of tickets. All around campus you could feel this general disinterest. Days before the concert, tickets were being sold for less than half of the original value. 


JHU Film Festival streams eclectic collection of shorts

Last week, I attended a screening of short films at the 21st Hopkins Film Festival. Its overarching theme was prom, and it took place at the JHU-Mica Film Centre. Not knowing what to expect before the screening, I was surprised at how many different emotions the films provoked.


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