From Friday, Sept. 20 to Sunday, Sept. 22, the 25th annual Baltimore Comic Book Convention (Comic-Con) was held at the Baltimore Convention Center. As part of my First-Year Seminar (FYS), Writing with Pictures: An Introduction to Writing Picture Books and Graphic Novels, my class was given the amazing opportunity to attend the convention for free.
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.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
In an evening of arts celebration at Baltimore’s Bromo Art Walk, Noël Da recounts her experience exploring various venues along the Bromo Arts and Entertainment District.
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.
The first traces of autumn are here. Sprays of red and orange have appeared on the trees along St. Paul Street, like first stars in the night sky. The air still smells like summer, though, and most days have been balmy. To accompany this season of indeterminate moods, the Arts & Entertainment section is here with a list of this week’s media recommendations
The tagline for Sean Wang’s first feature length film Didi, “For anyone who’s ever been a teenager,” couldn’t be more accurate. The film follows Chris Wang, a 13-year-old Tawainese American, as he goes through his last summer before high school in the mid-2000s.
The Arts & Entertainment section is starting a new tradition by sharing our summer soundtracks. You’ll see that we are far from single-minded; our picks range from soft bedroom pop to harsh, experimental hip hop. If you can’t find your niche, well, all that’s left is for our talented writers to make their case.
Four letters on a slime-green square. That’s all it took for Charli XCX to define the vibe of an entire summer. Brat was a moment to be sure — one that Generation Z and millennials ate up with unprecedented voracity when the album first came out.
Whatever your aesthetic needs, we hope you can find something to watch, read or listen to. My personal recommendations are the Thai drama How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, the quirky speculative novel Sky Full of Elephants (which mainly speculates what America would look like without white people) and English singer-songwriter Suki Waterhouse’s second studio album Memoir of a Sparklemuffin.
As a new semester begins, so too does the search for new entertainment. Whether you’re looking for things to fill your ears or eyes, or just something that isn’t mindless, the Arts section is here with a curated list of media for you to check out.
Kendrick Lamar outpaces BBL Drizzy (Toronto rapper-singer Drake) in what has become the greatest hip hop feud of all time. Despite the unsubstantiated accusations which still have yet to be proven true or false, Kendrick has successfully out-sold and out-performed Drake. Don’t believe me? Let’s go track for track.
Despite the ignorant complaints from around Homewood campus, Flo Milli shows out and leaves a lasting impression at the annual Spring Concert. Stunning visuals and empowering hip hop seem to eleviate the culture of negativity at Hopkins.
On the final day of Spring Fair, WJHU radio puts on a gritty show under a gloomy sky, showcasing the talented student rock groups which litter Homewood campus.
How many different textures can you see in a night? How many patterns and shapes? How did the designer think of this? Was this show everything they imagined? Is this something you could ever even imagine without seeing it first? These were the thoughts running through my head as I sat, dazzled, in the audience of the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)’s 30th Annual Benefit Fashion Show.
The Tortured Poets Department makes one thing clear: Swift is not bringing anything new to the table. And maybe that’s what some of her fans want from her: consistency, reliability and predictability. But when compared to artists who are experimenting and bringing new life to the music industry, like Beyoncé, Sabrina Carpenter, SZA and Ariana Grande, Swift starts to fall flat.
There is one specific thing Fast Five and Twilight: Breaking Dawn — Part I have in common... any guesses? Both cult classics and box office hits were set partially in Brazil. Characters danced, infused themselves in the beautiful scenery and spoke terrible Portuguese when they claimed to be fluent. Both films indulge themselves in Brazilian stereotypes and are popular portrayals of Brazilian culture around the world. Yet, Prime Video’s new film Música aims to set itself apart from the rest.
