Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
October 26, 2025 October 26, 2025 | Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896

Arts & Entertainment

COURTESY OF JORDAN JACKSON Wang shares moments from a presentation by Jordan Jackson, a Baltimore based comic artist, during her First Year Seminar, Writing with Pictures: An Introduction to Writing Picture Books and Graphic Novels.

Jordan Jackson shares his creative journey and artistic perspective

By ISABELLA WANG | October 21, 2024

“I was always a nerd,” said Jordan Jackson — a Baltimore-based comic artist, writer and faculty for animation at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) — during my First-Year Seminar: Writing with Pictures: An Introduction to Writing Picture Books and Graphic Novels. On Monday, Sept. 30, my class was honored to have Jackson join our class to discuss his journey as an artist and his creative process. 

COOPER HEWITT SMITHSONIAN DESIGN MUSEUM / PUBLIC DOMAIN If a scrapbook transcending temporal and spatial boundaries was condensed into an album, it would be Kate Bollinger’s new album Songs From a Thousand Frames of Mind.

Kate Bollinger's Songs From a Thousand Frames of Mind: a sweet scrapbook for autumn

By SPRUHA DEO | October 16, 2024

Whether it’s the bittersweet realizations of "I See It Now" or the gentle resolve of "In A Smile," Bollinger’s melodies feel like quiet moments of self-discovery. As the days grow shorter and colder, this album invites listeners to pause, look inward and embrace change, making it the perfect companion for those crisp, contemplative fall days.

NINE STARS / CC BY 3.0 Day6 from left to right: pianist Wonpil, guitarist Sungjin, drummer Dowoon and rapper-vocalist Young K .

The best B-sides of Day6

By GRACE OH | October 16, 2024

In all, Day6 has had a remarkable, unconventional career in K-pop, partly due to their strength to put out timeless music — whether it be a title track or a b-side. If you haven’t already, give Day6 a try. 

JIYUN GUO / Design & Layout Editor This week’s picks from the Arts & Entertainment section include a few horror movies, a memoir by Al Pacino and an arts walk in Hampden. Please enjoy our media picks for the upcoming week.

To watch and watch for: Week of Oct. 14

By NOËL DA | October 14, 2024

This week’s picks from the Arts & Entertainment section include a few horror movies, a memoir by Al Pacino, an arts walk in Hampden and a new album from Jordana. Please enjoy our media picks for the upcoming week.

DEVIANTART / CC BY 3.0 Zhu analyzes indie band Bright Eyes’ 11th LP, Five Dice, All Threes, and reflects on the album’s poignant message on maintaining hope amist darkness and a changing world. 

Bright Eyes chooses to defy life’s odds on Five Dice, All Threes

By EDWARD ZHU | October 10, 2024

There’s a 0.01286% chance — about one in 7,776 — that you’ll roll the combination referenced in the title of indie band Bright Eyes’ 11th LP, Five Dice, All Threes. It’s a perfect yet improbable roll in the game of Threes, an apt framing device for an album about living on in the face of overwhelming bleakness, while salvaging whatever optimism remains along the way.

KAREL CHLADEK / CC BY 2.0 Phan contends that Coppola's heavy investment in Megalopolis does not prevent it from being a disaster and that stripped of all the controversy, it fails to make a lasting impression.

Megalopolis is overwhelmingly sincere but not that great

By RIVER PHAN | October 9, 2024

Being embarrassingly earnest is not a guarantee for success, and Megalopolis is the perfect example of a passion project that misses the mark. If every movie is a miracle, Megalopolis is less of a second coming and more of a moment of lucidness before succumbing to death.

ANNECY FESTIVAL / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 The Wild Robot is a heartwarming and comforting film about the power of found family and forming a community outside of social norms. 

The Wild Robot finds its way home with a message of self-acceptance

By JIYUN GUO | October 8, 2024

Adapted from Peter Brown’s novel of the same name, The Wild Robot breathes new life into the book’s well-loved characters with a style that feels true to childhood fantasy. Its combination of majestic worldbuilding and heartfelt characterizations beautifully fleshes out Brown’s story of finding belonging in a foreign place.

RUI DO ROSARIO / Design & Layout Editor This week's picks include the comedic film Saturday Night, directed by Jason Reitman, Jason Rekulak’s mystery novel The Last One at the Wedding, rapper GloRilla's new LP, Glorious, and the Film and Media Studies Faculty Showcase on Sunday, 2 p.m. in Gilman 50.

To watch and watch for: Week of Oct. 6

By TIMOTHY MCSHEA | October 6, 2024

Ironically, with Halloween around the corner, there’s only one hot-ticket horror film to announce this week: Terrifier 3 — a classic thrasher set on Christmas Eve in a sleepy, little town — is worth to add to your rotation of Halloween classics. But my excitement lies with the two comedies releasing this Friday: The Apprentice, a film covering Trump’s New York real-estate business back in the ‘70s and ‘80s; and Saturday Night, which recounts the events leading up to the first airing of Saturday Night Live.

COURTESY OF BEN ANDREESEN Experimental music performers at Baltimore’s High Zero Festival, from left to right: Putu Tangkas Adi Hiranmayena, Jamal Moore, Mickey Lusk

A weirdo’s techno hero: High Zero

By BEN ANDREESEN | October 6, 2024

From Sept. 19 to 22, the Baltimore Theatre Project, in collaboration with the High Zero Foundation, hosted this year’s annual High Zero festival. Over four days, 20 improvised sets featuring four solo acts and 16 group performances showcased the best of Baltimore’s experimental music scene.

COURTESY OF ISABELLA WANG The Polyaspora Festival commenced Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 5:30 p.m. in Leith Symington Griswold Hall at the University’s Peabody Institute. 

Peabody's Polyaspora Festival: contemporary music from the perspective of a classical musician

By EMA IWASAKI | October 5, 2024

The Polyaspora Festival commenced Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 5:30 p.m. in Leith Symington Griswold Hall at the Peabody Institute. The festival “centers Black and Brazilian perspectives in contemporary music alongside a showcase of new musical works by Peabody Conservatory students.” The Future is Now I was the first event of the five-day festival, featuring seven different compositions by current Peabody Conservatory students.

RUI DO ROSARIO / DESIGN AND LAYOUT EDITOR This week’s picks include the highly anticipated movie Joker: Folie à Deux, the second album of Thee Sacred Souls and a collection of essays by Ta-Nehisi Coates on how narratives shape our worldview.  

To watch and watch for: Week of Sept. 30

By NOËL DA | September 29, 2024

Out with one month, in with another. As the semester really kicks into gear — can you feel it yet? — we are all striving to balance schoolwork and leisure time. If you do get a moment to catch your breath, consider checking out some of the media on this week’s list, brought to you by the Arts and Entertainment section. 

ARGOS / CC BY 3.0 Suki Waterhouse's new album, Memoir of a Sparklemuffin, is not as interesting as the title suggests.

A failed reinvention: Suki Waterhouse, Memoir of a Sparklemuffin

By SPRUHA DEO | September 29, 2024

“I know you've been waiting for someone to come pick you up.”  Ironically, English singer-songwriter, model and actress Alice Suki Waterhouse’s second studio album, Memoir of a Sparklemuffin, is anything but a pick-me-up. Released on Sept. 13, the album is somewhat bloated, featuring 18 songs, five of which were released as singles. Waterhouse recently reentered the spotlight due to her role as Karen Sirko in the musical drama Daisy Jones and The Six, her newfound virality on TikTok and her engagement to universally adored Robert Pattinson. 

PEXELS / PUBLIC DOMAIN CC0 In a world where people are divided into “Uglies” and “Pretties,” all citizens are required to undergo plastic surgery at the age of 16.

Uglies is depthless drivel disguised as a dystopian drama

By ALICIA GUEVARA | September 25, 2024

The irony of Uglies is that, even though it is all about questioning superficial beauty standards, the film itself is as superficial as they come. It fails to dive deeper into the major problems of its dystopian society and presents unconvincing characters.

BABYGIRLTOS / CC BY 3.0 Contributing writer Ruben Diaz gives his recap of the 2024 VMAs, which featured today’s most popular artists — including Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Karol G and Megan Thee Stallion.

The 2024 VMAs: Drama, divas and the night of a thousand icons

By RUBEN DIAZ | September 22, 2024

In a year full of album drops, tour announcements and internet-breaking moments, the 2024 VMAs managed to pack all of pop culture's biggest players into one room and let them loose. From Swift’s reign over all things awards and stardom to Karol G’s Latin pop dominance, the night was a celebration of music's power to define and reflect the moment we’re living in. 

COURTESY OF AIMEE CHO This week’s picks include the the new novel, Intermezzo, by Sally Rooney, the album debut of Coyote by rapper-singer Tommy Richman, and the monumental Polyaspora Festival hosted by the Peabody Institute, which will feature performances by new composers at both the Johns Hopkins Mt. Vernon campus in Baltimore and the Bloomberg Center at 555 Pennsylvania Avenue.

To watch and watch for: Week of Sept. 22

By TIMOTHY MCSHEA | September 22, 2024

I hope everyone's weeks are going well although midterms are coming sooner than we’d all imagined they would. The best thing about taking exams is that feeling after when you know you actually have time to breath. This is the ideal time to watch what we want to watch, read what we want to read and listen to what we want to listen to.

RAWPIXEL.COM / CC0 1.0 Staff writer Mariana Ferreira describes that Rebel Ridge, directed by Jeremy Saulnier, tackles political issues such as police violence and criminal injustice in a unique way and is bringing social commentary back to film. 

Rebel Ridge: An oracle to the future of politics and film

By MARIANA FERREIRA | September 16, 2024

Rebel Ridge is not on the short list of any Oscar, but it shows the film industry is making its way back into politics. It's taking film back to what art truly is: a way to provoke thought and provide timely challenges to audiences’ notions about the real world — and this release might indicate an end to our recent ignorant slumber.  

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