Screen – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com Breaking news from the Farm since 1892 Thu, 14 Mar 2024 08:26:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://stanforddaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-DailyIcon-CardinalRed.png?w=32 Screen – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com 32 32 204779320 ‘Good’ Girlhood: ‘Drylongso’ views Black boys through a Black girl’s lens https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/good-girlhood-rediscovered-drylongso/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/good-girlhood-rediscovered-drylongso/#respond Thu, 14 Mar 2024 06:33:10 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244713 'Drylongso' is a gem and tribute to the people of Oakland. It asks, how do you document Black life even as it continues to be constrained? writes columnist Blyss Cleveland.

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In her column “‘Good’ Girlhood,” Blyss Cleveland reviews female-centered coming-of-age films.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

From issues with ownership and music rights to a loss of the original footage, films fall out of distribution for a variety of reasons. For “Drylongso,” Cauleen Smith’s film that was released in 1998, it is ironic that it was lost to time until it was restored last year and added to the Criterion Collection. Smith completed the film while still enrolled in film school, and its meta-narrative tackles an ongoing problem: How do you document the ordinary and sometimes wonderful happenings of Black life amidst the specter of violence? 

Protagonist Pica Sullivan (Toby Smith) has tasked herself with addressing this challenge. She is a photography student trying to showcase her Polaroid portraits of Black boys and men who live in her West Oakland neighborhood. Her vision for her art is clear — Black boys and men are endangered and she wants to preserve images of them. However, she is running up the end of the semester and her chaotic home life makes it challenging to focus. There’s also a serial killer terrorizing the neighborhood, but this remains in the background until it doesn’t.  

Within this maelstrom, Pica becomes friends with Tobi (April Barnett). They first meet during a chance encounter after Tobi’s boyfriend abruptly pulls over and kicks her out of his car. Tobi is stranded and Pica (who was seated on her porch and witnessed Tobi’s boyfriend’s aggression) offers to call her a cab. The girls cross paths a few times before they go from acquaintances to friends. Once they are in each other’s lives, they each fill an empty space they didn’t know was unoccupied until the other one arrived.

Pica’s front porch provides refuge from the constant ruckus inside. She lives with her mother, Gloria (Channel Schafer), who is as skilled at throwing lively functions as she is at forgetting to treat Pica like her daughter instead of a roommate. Holding court on the porch also allows her to see Malik (Will Power), a fellow artist who is sweet on Pica. He passes by on his bicycle and inquires “Hey, when you gonna take my picture, girl?” A half-joke, half-complaint, Malik seems to be the only man in the neighborhood who Pica has not asked to pose for a portrait. The viewer learns this omission from her archive is not an oversight — she is waiting for the right moment.

Smith portrays Pica as someone who alternatively moves through the world with assertiveness and self-consciousness. She is frequently truant and when she does show up to class, she is late, listens to the end of her classmate’s confusing presentation and interrupts the polite discussion with a biting critique. When she meets with her professor, Mr. Yamada (Salim Akil, who co-wrote the script with Smith), Pica is initially reluctant to explain the concept behind her portraits, nor why she insists on using a Polaroid in a 35mm class. Instead, she imagines herself confidently reciting statistics about the high imprisonment rates and low life expectancy of Black men in America. 

In a later scene with Professor Yamada, Pica’s reverie comes into stark relief. As we learn the reason for Pica’s choice of medium, the audience is shown that people cannot be what they cannot see.  

It is a bold choice to tell a story about violence against Black males through a coming-of-age story about a young Black girl. However, being attentive to different ways of seeing and being in the world is the central message of the film. As Tobi tries to separate from her abusive boyfriend, she experiments with a masculine style of dress. In one scene, nervous white pedestrians jump out of her path while she’s roaming around donning her new look. When Pica asks if she’s afraid of being shot, Tobi retorts “I was afraid of that when I was a girl.” Black girls and women exist under a different, albeit no less deadly, threat of violence.

The serial killer who has been targeting male and female victims in the neighborhood is another source of neighborhood violence, as revealed by news reports throughout the film. While there is some resolution to this murder-y mystery, the plot line is a parable that suggests focusing on structural violence can obscure individual threats. 

Despite the heavy themes, the film has plenty of comedic moments. During a date with Malik, Pica chides him for not being a very curious person. He concedes that he’s not, but she says it like it’s a sin or something! If the true measure of a man is his ability to accept defeat with grace, Malik is truly undefeated. 

Gloria is also given surprising depth. Although she is depicted as a grown-up party girl who spends her days grooving or lounging around the house, when Pica asks for help, Gloria goes above and beyond. Learning to rely on others is an operative skill that Pica learns. Her mother, on the other hand, learns that giving her daughter space doesn’t mean keeping her at a distance.  

The title “Drylongso” is derived from a Gullah Geechee word for ordinary. Like many terms found in Black dialect, the word has multiple meanings and also indicates the standard and acceptable ways of doing things. The word is a fitting title for a touching independent gem that is ultimately a tribute to the people of Oakland. It is a vintage film about a contemporary problem — how do you document Black life even as it continues to be constrained? Make art that captures the beauty of people and places, and if it gets lost, find it and make it available to the next generation.

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Delicate Sensibilities: ‘Bodies Bodies Bodies’ is remarkably Gen-Z fluent  https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/delicate-sensibilities-bodies-bodies-bodies-gen-z/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/delicate-sensibilities-bodies-bodies-bodies-gen-z/#respond Thu, 14 Mar 2024 01:58:22 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244650 The dialogue in "Bodies Bodies Bodies," accurately depicts Gen-Z character relationships. The real standout of “Bodies Bodies Bodies” has nothing to do with the gore and everything to do with the dialogue, writes Donlon.

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In her column “Delicate Sensibilities,” Julia Donlon reviews provocative films.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective opinions, thoughts and critiques.

How many horror movies have you seen which opened on a sustained close up of a steamy, queer makeout sesh? My tally comes in at a staggering one, but if you managed to beat me, do send me your list because I was instantly hooked. Maybe intrigued is a better word, because if you asked me what I thought I was getting into when I watched “Bodies Bodies Bodies” (2022), lovey-dovey kisses and awkward first “I love you”s in serene forests and softly lit meadows were very much not on my mind. But don’t worry, things very quickly hit the fan; darkness fell, and shadows and secrets came out to play.

The film’s central couple, Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) and Bee (Maria Bakalova), shake off the awkward and unreciprocated declaration by hopping in a car and heading to a gated mansion to meet up with Sophie’s friends. We are quickly introduced to a gaggle of party animals who, after rounds of shots, slaps and lines of coke decide to play the titular party game, Bodies Bodies Bodies. A game of fake death becomes one of real survival when David (Pete Davidson) meets a bloody end, and speculative fingers are pointed in every direction. Was it the weird, older and brand-new boyfriend Greg (Lee Pace)? Or the dominant, intense and knife-waving Jordan (Myha’la Herrold)? 

Of course, every character represents their own extreme — most are wealthy, many are vain or clueless — but each one is ultimately armed to the teeth with piercing insults (usually regarding the others’ aforementioned wealth, vanity and cluelessness). The exception is the soft-spoken, presumed protagonist, Bee, whose outsider status serves to elevate suspicion in the murderer witch hunt and also exemplifies the intense dynamics of a sprawling friend group to both the character and the viewer who does not yet know the extent of the messiness under the surface.

The horror elements are actually very palatable for anyone who is down with the slasher genre. Spoiler alert: characters fall from great heights, necks are sliced and a number of terrible fates are met due to blunt force head trauma — just your average kickback gone wrong, really. Despite this, I honestly expected the gore to be much worse and the reliance on jumpscares to be much greater; I was pleasantly surprised by some more sophisticated tension-building techniques and foreshadowing shots. 

I was not the biggest fan of the limited score, with regrettably short bursts of great pop tracks punctuating long bouts of silence. But combined with cinematography that showed a little love to the shaky handheld camera and a single on-location setting, it made for a small-budget vibe that did not take itself too seriously, a setup I ultimately appreciated.

Besides, if less music was the tradeoff for splurging on a stellar cast, I really cannot complain. Rachel Sennott gives an incredibly honest performance as Alice, the cause of many eye rolls and wielder of some of the most ironic lines in the film. I think she wins the award for most industrious podcast pitch at the least opportune moment (she was covered in various peoples’ blood). 

Therefore the real standout of “Bodies Bodies Bodies” has nothing to do with the gore and everything to do with the dialogue. The level of Gen-Z fluency is almost unparalleled in anything I’ve seen; even “Bottoms” (2023) (another stellar Sennott performance and writing credit), which I loved, also made a concerted effort to be timeless. “Bodies Bodies Bodies” instead leans hard into the emerging world of vapid social media presences and overt political correctness, affording itself the generous use of cellphones, popular TikTok sounds and internet-popularized lingo to craft a stunningly accurate picture of a modern college friend group. 

Earnestly-delivered lines about gaslighting and mental health often became the butt of the joke. My personal favorite outburst — “It’s creative nonfiction which is a valid response to life in an attention economy!” — is sometimes how I feel about this very column. Yet the film awards such truth and identity to these words in the eyes of its characters. The cast delivers them with such confidence and fluency that these bits never feel like a gimmicky Gen-Z takedown. Rather, it is evident that this was lovingly (and perhaps a little self-deprecatingly) crafted by people whose social circles actually talk like this to some degree. The film breathes life into its interpersonal dynamics using witty and complex sociopolitical banter, leveraged here to simply cause and escalate drama. 

Given that these hilariously satirical conversations are the stars of the show against a background of outrageous death, I will not waste breath (or keystrokes?) on the ending. I was slightly confused but found the final ironic stroke to be a breath of fresh air. I finished shaking my head at the ridiculousness of it all, smiling nonetheless. What a time to be alive.

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Cal smashes Stanford in second annual Smash Bros. crew battle https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/10/cal-smashes-stanford-smash-bros/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/10/cal-smashes-stanford-smash-bros/#respond Mon, 11 Mar 2024 05:42:23 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244313 Smash at Berkeley takes home its second crew battle victory over Stanford Smash Bros. This is the first time the annual event was hosted on the Farm.

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Smash at Berkeley defeated Stanford Smash Bros. at the second annual crew battle Saturday, leaving the Cardinal 0-2. Along with in-person spectators, hundreds of viewers watched the rival battle on Twitch.

President of Stanford Smash Bros. Leo Baek ’25 said that the two teams created the annual tradition to mimic other sports events like Big Game. Just like Big Game, the event has alternated locations, with this year’s battle taking place on The Farm. 

Despite the loss, Baek said he was hopeful for the overall growth and success of Stanford Smash Bros. as an organization: “It’s been a quarter of highs and we’re trying to keep that going. This is the last big event of the quarter so we’re hoping to keep that excitement.”

Unlike a traditional tournament bracket structure involving a single winner, crew battles involve two teams of players who share a common pool of stock. In this year’s iteration, each school had eight players with other members spectating in person and virtually.

Smash at Berkeley Tournament Organizer and Cal senior Casey Stanford began the tournament against Stanford’s Carlo Dino ’25.

“Last year started the exact same way for me. It was [Dino] and I in the first round. I took two stocks on him and he beat me. That was exactly the same series of events,” Stanford said.

Beginning with an initial lead from the Stanford cardinals, many spectators like Cal sophomore Francis Basco expected a Cardinal victory. He mentioned many strong players from the Stanford side leading the game: “I thought it was over when [Baek] came in,” Basco said. 

However, Cal was able to take the final victory in the end. “We had a heavy anchor coming in at the end taking about five stocks, but everyone played pretty well on both teams,” said Cal sophomore and Smash at Berkeley player Ephraim Evans.

Cal smashes Stanford in second annual Smash Bros. crew battle
Smash at Berkeley pose for a photo before heading into their bracket tournament. (Photo: MARK ALLEN CU/The Stanford Daily)

According to Smash at Berkeley, the esports group also competes with other colleges in the greater Bay Area. However, this is the first time they’re coming to Stanford and one of the few instances they’re playing with the crew battle rule set.

The match, which started at 3 p.m., lasted about two and a half hours with a break in between. After the crew battle, the two teams stayed at Taube Tennis Center to play a brackets tournament amongst all Stanford Smash Bros. and Smash at Berkeley players present, ultimately won by Cal senior Brandon Nunes.

“I grew up playing the game,” Dino said, “I’m just glad that other students are willing to drive all the way here to compete with one another.” 

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‘Last Week Tonight’ motions to dismiss Supreme Court credibility https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/08/last-week-tonight-motions-to-dismiss-supreme-court-credibility/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/08/last-week-tonight-motions-to-dismiss-supreme-court-credibility/#respond Fri, 08 Mar 2024 08:31:14 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244268 John Oliver does not disappoint in the Season 11 premier of "Last Week Tonight," keeping the audience entertained with shameless punchlines that speak truth to power, Strawser writes.

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Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

“What are they gonna do, sue?” is the question that John Oliver posed when teasing the Season 11 premiere for “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.” He advertised himself with Mickey Mouse as Steamboat Willie, engaging in all kinds of profanities just weeks after the Disney icon entered the public domain. If I wasn’t already eager to see the premiere, I certainly am now.

Being the fan of “Last Week Tonight” that I am — admiring its one of a kind combination of satire, wacky graphics and over-the-top humor — I went into its Season 11 premiere with high expectations. The delay in the episode’s YouTube release, due to HBO’s shameless cash grab of a move to force viewers to use Max, only served to strengthen my excitement. 

Oliver certainly did not pull any punches throughout his scrutinization of Supreme Court ethics concerns, describing the public’s lack of trust in the nation’s highest court in a way that only he could pull off. When he compared the “50-year low” in confidence in the Court to the level of trust that airline passengers have in “the window seats in Boeing planes,” I thought to myself: John Oliver is back. 

Later in the episode, Oliver wasted no time in turning his attention to who he called “unquestionably” the most egregious actor in the Supreme Court’s decline: Justice Clarence Thomas. Oliver’s delivery flawlessly captured just how cartoonishly despicable Justice Thomas’s lavish lifestyle is, as well as the shadiness of his inner circle. This included a painting featuring a current member of the Hoover Institution Board of Overseers, Harlon Crow, and Thomas, with Oliver referring to the Native American statue illustrated in the painting as if it was “praying for lighting to strike this exact spot.” Not even the highest figures in the legal world are immune from the infamous “Last Week Tonight” treatment. 

I particularly love the way that Oliver talks about topics that are often overlooked — and what some of the powers that be want to keep under wraps. Audience members’ shock resonated through the screen after Oliver revealed how Crow, a close friend of Justice Thomas, has a vast art collection that includes Nazi iconography. Oliver bluntly summarized the collection as, “a bit of a red flag, specifically this red flag” — referring to a graphic of the Nazi flag he displayed as plain as day for viewers to see.

This visual punchline carried the tradition of one of the most quintessential aspects of the “Last Week Tonight” experience: the use of out of pocket graphics to describe serious societal issues. During a segment in which Oliver mocked Justice Thomas’s framing of his career as an “us against the elites” journey, he displayed a graphic of Justice Thomas adorned in French Revolution attire. The image of Thomas boldly gripping a sword in one hand and waving a battle-tattered French flag in the other certainly made me laugh.

While some people might want criticisms of the Supreme Court to be tempered for the sake of decorum and respect, Oliver tears this narrative to shreds. When Justice Thomas laments about “the meanness you see in Washington” in a soundbite played during the episode, Oliver goes for the jugular. “People in Washington can be so mean, can’t they? I’ve heard some even make decisions in landmark court cases that loosen gun regulations, limited affirmative action and stripped women of their constitutional right to an abortion,” said Oliver. The use of satire to take down powerful figures is a trademark of Oliver’s humor that I love. 

Oliver strikes an iconic balance between the mustache-twirling levels of financial gain that Justice Thomas finds himself with and the American tendency to put Supreme Court justices on a pedestal and distance the justices from even the possibility of having corrupt incentives. Oliver aptly likens treating justices as being beyond the political or financial fray as “the polite fictions” of “men who could somehow hold in their heads that all men were created equal at the exact same time as they were drawing up the Three-Fifths Compromise.” 

Oliver has comical delivery of the news in spades, with serious political commentary often leaning into epic punchlines and vice versa. Oliver’s serious critiques of the deification of the Supreme Court justices could not have been made any more clearly or comically when he suggested that “if it were up to me, they’d also be dressed not in robes but as Walmart greeters to emphasize they’re not magic.” 

While Oliver spent a substantial amount of time discussing what other people reported on, he made his own contribution to the discourse with an unorthodox, yet completely on-brand, offer made to Justice Thomas: millions of dollars in exchange for stepping down from the Court. Oliver puts on full display his own unique mastery of simultaneous goofiness and boldness by literally pulling out a contract for viewers to see. This premiere maintains “Last Week Tonight’s” unique charm and style of speaking truth to power, which certainly has me locked in for the rest of Season 11.

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‘Good’ Girlhood: ‘All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt’ is an evocative Black family portrait https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/25/all-dirt-roads-taste-of-salt/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/25/all-dirt-roads-taste-of-salt/#respond Mon, 26 Feb 2024 06:13:24 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1243442 "All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt" is a triumph of a debut, capturing realistic depictions of familial love and Black life in the rural South, writes columnist Blyss Cleveland.

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In her column “‘Good’ Girlhood,” Blyss Cleveland reviews female-centered coming-of-age films.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

I seldom know how I feel about a movie until I have seen the ending. Twenty minutes into “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt,” I knew that I was watching a contemporary classic. 

Raven Jackson’s striking debut feature film is a tribute to Black life in the rural South. The movie takes place in Mississippi and depicts the life of Mackenzie (Charleen McClure) as she ages from childhood to adulthood. Through extensive use of sparse dialogue, elaborate soundscapes and lingering close-ups, the non-linear storyline unfolds as if the viewer is turning the pages of a well-worn family album. The film suggests that there are childhood moments that irrevocably change us, but we are only privy to when those moments occurred in hindsight. 

Jackson is a photographer and poet, and her mastery of these forms is on full display. Her languorous direction, aided by Jomo Wray’s sumptuous cinematography, quickly establishes place and pace. The film opens with sounds of insects trilling and bird songs that bring the viewer into pastoral life. When we meet young Mackenzie “Mack” (Kaylee Nicole Johnson), her father Isaiah (Chris Chalk) has taken her and her sister Josie (Jayah Henry) out to fish. Mack and Josie are slightly reticent children, in part due to being raised to abide by Southern manners. However, we know that they are cherished, as evidenced by their hairstyles — neat pigtail plaits adorned by brightly colored ribbons. 

The film is full of indelible images that inspire an emotional reaction in the absence of dialogue. During a small gathering at home, Mackenzie’s parents dance to “If I Were Your Woman” by Gladys Knight & the Pips. Isaiah and Evelyn (played by the incredible Sheila Atim) slyly glance at each other before locking eyes and clasping hands. To call it a dance understates what is actually happening — they use touch and movement to proclaim their devotion to one another without saying a word. 

Beyond familial love, Mack is introduced to romantic love. As she and her friend Tia wheel their bikes across the train tracks, they come across two teenagers passionately kissing. Upon learning Mack has never kissed anyone, the incredulous Tia takes it upon herself to teach her how to practice on the palm of her hand. Tia’s handy lesson pays dividends during Mack’s adolescent brush with romance with her longtime friend, Wood (Reginald Helms Jr.). 

Part of the beauty of the film is seeing dark-skin Black girls and women be deeply loved. As adults, Mackenzie and Wood hug after a period when they have been apart. Their tentative touches become certain as tears begin to fall from their eyes. It is the mirror image of the dance between Isaiah and Evelyn. Jackson’s camera work makes you feel the embrace — if life must give us hardships, then let us all have one chance to break down in the arms of a beloved. 

As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Mackenzie’s reservedness is informed by her use of touch as a language. Hands, feet and the head are the links that bring the viewer to and through her life. Mackenzie uses her hands to plunge into the water to capture and release the Mississippi silt, and to comfort her sister and Grandma Betty (Jannie Hampton) upon her mother’s death. The plot turns on several long embraces, and for Mackenzie, they are a tool she uses to imprint someone into the deepest and safest parts of her memory. 

Although there is not much dialogue, the strength of the film lies in the ways that Jackson captures the hallmarks of Black speech, such as strategic repetition. During a playful adolescent moment, a character tells Wood that the neighborhood girls have their eyes on him and he responds “You know, you always think somebody is thinking ‘bout somebody.” The girl retorts “You don’t always know what I always do.” If you’re going to use the superlative tense, it is best to make sure your interlocutor won’t show you up.

While viewers don’t always know where we are in time, flashbacks from past to present are interspersed with theatrical moments where the audience is invited to use our imagination. During a church scene, the congregation — including Mackenzie as a young adult — reacts to a scene at the pulpit. As their faces telegraph hope, consternation and delight, we learn that this is a wedding. Delayed revelations are part of how Jackson provokes an emotional reaction.

It would give too much of the movie away to recount how Mackenzie’s adult life unfolds. She loves and experiences loss and, frustratingly, we are not always given enough insight into how she feels about events. However, there is a moment where Mackenzie recalls her Grandma Betty’s lesson about the importance of consuming small amounts of soil to stay connected to and be nourished by the Earth. This practice, geophagia, has been passed down among Southerners for generations but has become more stigmatized and dangerous as land has become polluted. The film’s non-linear storytelling is given more meaning after this revelation — we are made of water and will one day return to the soil.

Despite some of its narrative elisions, “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt” is a triumph of a debut. Jackson dedicates the film to “the many generations of my family who watered the soil of this film with me.” She has taken inspiration from them and given the world a film that is a contender for entry into the canon of Black cinema.

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Talk Horror to Me: Monstrous motherhood in ‘Huesera: The Bone Woman’ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/22/huesera-the-bone-woman-2023/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/22/huesera-the-bone-woman-2023/#respond Fri, 23 Feb 2024 07:33:58 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1243258 Michelle Garza Cervera’s 'Huesera: The Bone Woman' presents the struggles with motherhood and societal expectations, Wang writes.

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In “Talk Horror to Me,” columnist Emma Kexin Wang ’24 reviews horror, psycho thrillers and all things scary released in the past few years. 

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

With a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Michelle Garza Cervera’s acclaimed directorial debut “Huesera: The Bone Woman” (2023) explores clashing ideals of motherhood through a fresh take on maternal body horror. 

Valeria (Natalia Solián), after the initial excitement of her pregnancy, becomes increasingly hesitant, develops postpartum depression and begins to be plagued with a supernatural entity that contorts its body in bone-crushing ways. To rid herself of this curse, Val visits an exorcist, who promises an ultimate solution that comes at a heavy price.

The sound of cracking dominates the film’s sound design. As a means to relieve her increasing stress, Valeria ritually cracks her knuckles, much to the admonishment of her family and husband, Raúl. Childbirth is described by a character as “literally feel[ing] like your bones are breaking.”

Despite the bone-chilling cracking sounds that announce the entity that plagues Valeria, the horror of “Huesera” is ultimately quiet. After a flashback sequence that reveals Valeria’s punk, shaved-head teenage self choosing to attend college instead of running away with her ex-girlfriend Octavia, Val’s predominant internal struggle with motherhood is revealed: Her past self screams out against the married life she ultimately chose. 

This tension between Valeria’s queerness and her current heterosexual, domestic relationship is further complicated by her discomfort with children. When Val announces to her family that she is pregnant, she is greeted by trepidation among the polite congratulatory remarks. At the dinner table, her sister jokes about the time that Val had dropped their neighbor’s child down the stairs while babysitting, causing the child to be a “little dumb.” Despite the insensitivity of the joke, everyone laughs, even Val’s husband Raúl. All except Val and her aunt who, because of her unmarried status, remains the other social outcast in the family. 

Val’s personal struggle with motherhood is never outwardly spoken, but mostly portrayed through her expressions and her interactions with children. In several scenes, the audience is invited to commiserate with Val — as children stare creepily at her with a menacing backtrack, as her niece and nephew disobey her and cruelly bring up their “dumb neighbor” and as the continuous cries of her own child almost induce Val into a panic attack. Without such small but intense moments of spectacular performance by Solián, the movie runs the risk of seeming too simple, the plot too straightforward.

The simultaneous comfort and entrapment of motherhood is symbolized through a weaving motif. In preparation for the baby’s arrival, Val gives up her carpentry space (a traditionally more masculine hobby) and reworks it into the baby’s room, where she also takes up knitting the baby’s clothes, blankets and beautiful webs to decorate the sides of the crib. In one shot, as Val examines this intricate design, it looks as if she is caught within a spider web. It’s as the exorcist tells Val: “You have the spider. It’s a weaver. This one’s a mother, but also a predator… Here you can see a house, but also a prison.” 

As the horror of the supernatural entity haunting Val gradually subsides in the last third of the movie, “Huesera” zones in on a second terror promised in the very beginning: the fear of hurting one’s own child. The looming possibility of Val accidentally harming her child encroaches upon a heavy societal taboo, creating great discomfort within audience members who have been inundated with idealized views of how “self-sacrificing” a mother should be. The film doesn’t shy away from confronting the problem of the “impotent” mother who suffers from poor mental health, a theme that is also seen in “Hereditary.” 

Beyond its commentary on motherhood, there are so many other incredible things about this movie: the queer familial alliance between Val and her aunt, the locality of the supernatural within Mexico and the film’s quiet, eerie ending. Following other semi-recent maternal horror films such as “The Babadook,” “Huesera” is a difficult movie to watch — not only because of the contorting bodies and jutting bones, but because it confronts the reality of not fitting into mainstream familial structures, of not fulfilling the dream of a happy nuclear family, where the promise of home might actually break you apart. 

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Movie musical renaissance or regression? https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/22/movie-musical-renaissance-wins-and-losses/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/22/movie-musical-renaissance-wins-and-losses/#respond Thu, 22 Feb 2024 08:45:36 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1243156 Movie musicals fail to reach audiences, and Hollywood's efforts increasingly mirror Cady Heron desperately trying to please Regina George, Burks writes.

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Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

Why can’t many recent movie musicals resonate with audiences? It’s not because they wore the wrong color on Wednesdays, or even because they wore sweatpants to class on a Monday. No, it’s because in the world of Hollywood, movie musicals have become Cady Heron desperately trying to please Regina George.

Movie musicals such as “Mean Girls” (2024), “Wonka” (2023) and “Cats” (2019) seem to be everywhere in recent years. But for a variety of reasons, these movie musicals have not satiated the appetite of us theater kids. Why? Let’s focus on “Mean Girls” as an example.

The 2024 movie is a screen adaptation of a 2018 Broadway musical… Yet the trailer gave few to no hints that the film is an adaptation of the musical, not a remake of the 2004 movie. The trailer opens with a short snippet of Renee Rapp singing “My Name is Regina George,” but there are no other musical scene. This is not only misleading, but risks frustrating moviegoers who are not musical fans. 

Though you’d think that musical fans would be overjoyed to see fan favorites on movie screens, often we leave just as disappointed. Stage musicals lean into the over-the-top craziness of randomly breaking into song. Musicals on stage don’t bother trying to appeal to people who don’t want to watch a musical — why would they? Theater kids wanted to see Renee Rapp hit the vocal riffs in the trailer. They wanted the original dance sequences and songs. “Mean Girls” here is yet another example of a modern movie musical falling short.

It’s not entirely the fault of directors and producers: It just isn’t possible to reproduce on screen the dynamic between a live audience and actors. Filmmakers sift through countless takes to find the perfect one, while actors on stage adapt and improvise in the moment.

Sure, Broadway musicals are strenuously vetted. TikTok famous musicals like “Heathers” (2014) and “Ride the Cyclone” (2008) both played off-Broadway, but never on Broadway, but every time they’re put on, they’re inherently new. Though movies can change with each watch, the actors can’t make new decisions months, or even years, after filming.

The solution? Let musicals be musicals. Not everything has to appeal to all audiences and if a musical movie is good enough, then it will draw people to the box office on its own merit.

Two prime examples are “La La Land” (2016) and “West Side Story” (2021). These Oscar-winning films are living proof that movie musicals can succeed. Striking the proper balance between cinematic acting, musical-style song interpretation and appealing to non-musical theater fans isn’t easy, but these films show that it is possible. 

One of the key factors is their casting. The lead actors of “La La Land,” an original musical, were the best of both worlds. A-listers Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling lent both star power and talent; they prepared for their roles with intensive voice and dance lessons. Gosling even took six months of piano lessons in order to do all his own piano playing in the movie. In “West Side Story,” Ansel Elgort (Tony) trained in ballet while growing up, while Rachel Zegler (Maria), had years of experience in musical theater. 

With all the negative mentions of “Mean Girls” in this article, it’s worth mentioning they did get some things right. For instance, the inspired casting of Renee Rapp, who won a national musical theater award in high school and went on to play Regina George on Broadway at the age of 19. However, a movie is only as good as its weakest link and unfortunately, I believe that the weakest link was the main character, Cady Heron, played by Angourie Rice.

Angourie Rice’s rendition of “Stupid With Love” was rewritten to be much softer and more ‘pop’ sounding than the original, making it seem as though she struggled to portray the same emotion as the original Broadway actress. The original version by Erika Henningsen in the Broadway musical is overkill in terms of expressiveness, but it conveys unapologetically the character’s feelings and what they’re trying to say, which can’t be said for Rice’s version.

As a former theater kid, if you asked me what I want movie musicals to be, I’d say I want them to stop pretending to be something they’re not. Movies don’t have to please everyone: Some people really love some stories, while others hold strong negative feelings towards them. And that’s okay. These musicals, though, should be allowed to speak, or rather sing, for themselves. 

Until those creating movie adaptations of beloved musicals realize that their films only succeed when they aren’t trying to fit a mold, they will keep being told that they can’t sit with us. 

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Lights, Cardinals, Action: ’13 Going on 30′ writer dives into upcoming musical adaptation https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/22/cathy-yuspa-13-going-on-30/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/22/cathy-yuspa-13-going-on-30/#respond Thu, 22 Feb 2024 08:16:03 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1243149 Cathy Yuspa '92 to describes her path from Stanford to the musical adaptation of '13 Going on 30,' which she co-wrote twenty years ago with her now-husband.

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“13 Going on 30”(2004) is going on 20 years this April. Cathy Yuspa ’92 co-wrote the screenplay for the iconic rom-com with her husband and writing partner Josh Goldsmith. The duo met in film school at the University of Southern California, rising from writers to show-runners for the CBS sitcom “King of Queens” before penning “13 Going on 30.” 

The film — about a 13-year-old girl who wakes up in her 30-year-old self’s body — has since become a staple in the rom-com film canon. Now, Yuspa and Goldsmith are adapting it into a stage musical to be premiered in 2025. The Daily spoke with Yuspa about writing the beloved comedy and adapting it to a musical.

This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and concision.

The Stanford Daily (TSD): How did you discover that you and your now husband were a good duo, and how do you write together?

Cathy Yuspa (CY): We shared a lot of overlap in taste, and there was so much overlap that we said, “Let’s try to write something together.” So we did. Film and TV are so collaborative; it works to bounce things off with someone else. 

In terms of how we work, it depends. If we are just writing a screenplay, and we’re just both sitting there with no production deadline, it’s much more like sitting together side-by-side, hashing out every detail and sometimes even writing scenes together. 

If we are in production on a TV show, we will divide things up even more. In those cases, we definitely do the brainstorming and outlining together. Depending on the structure that we’re working in, like if it’s a two-act structure, he’ll take the first act, and I’ll take the second act. Then we unify it together and rewrite each other’s parts. It really depends on how close we are to something needing to be turned in. 

TSD: What inspired you both to write “13 Going on 30”?

CY: My husband and I both happened to have thirteen-year-old cousins at the time, who we thought were kind of hilarious. One of them had a goal to have a different lip gloss for every day of the year. 

Also, reaching back to my own adolescence, I had gone through a social upheaval in seventh grade, where I was dumped by all my friends. It led me to find all new friends, and those are still my friends to this day. It was a seminal moment in my young life at that point. 

Then we thought, a female movie star has never, to our knowledge, gotten to play a young person inside, and that would be a funny idea for a comedy. That’s how it evolved into the idea of a Jennifer Garner-aged person playing a young person.

TSD: My favorite part of the film is when Matty and Jenna eat Razzles and go on the swings. How did you come up with that scene?

CY: The movie is like an eighties throwback movie, so the Razzles were just a candy for us growing up. And then when you’re thinking about the concept of playing with a kid versus an adult, that’s where the swings came in. You’re looking for visual representations of that emotional idea. I think it’s one of my favorite scenes, too, and I think it’s their very sweet performances that make that scene work.

TSD: You’re working on a musical adaptation of “13 Going on 30” now. Where are you at in the process?

CY: It’s sort of moving forward in London, so we did a workshop there last fall with a bunch of actors from the West End, and they were fantastic. The movie is fairly musical in terms of the songs that the director put in. The movie has a Billy Joel song, and there are a few big musical places in the movie. But revisiting the movie and asking how this could become a stage musical, you’re looking for moments where it could sing. The swingset scene that you mentioned actually is a song in the musical. There’s a song called, “Why Can’t We Fly?” that’s about, ‘Could we turn this stalled relationship into something?’

TSD: For people aspiring to pursue a career similar to yours, what less-obvious advice would you give them?

CY: Enthusiasm goes a long way. If somebody has a television show going and they’re hiring people to come on, someone coming in and being enthusiastic saying, ‘I want to be here to help you get your thing done’ – that’s a really valuable thing, something that young people can bring. Just coming into an interview, even for a production assistant job or a writer’s assistant job, with enthusiasm is really helpful. 

Then, generally speaking, have a curiosity about people and stories and little things you’ve learned. Some random thing you’ve learned in some class might come into play later on. You’re working on a story and go, ‘Oh, this person could have that career. I know just enough about it to write about it from that class that I had.’ Stanford students will bring with them a general curiosity about people and basic knowledge of the world that can be useful to fuel a long career in a creative field.

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New beginnings in ‘Abbott Elementary’ season three premiere  https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/19/abbott-elementary-szn-three-premiere/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/19/abbott-elementary-szn-three-premiere/#respond Tue, 20 Feb 2024 06:46:01 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1242936 The premiere successfully maintain the show’s humor and its heart, writes Emma Wang

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Spoilers ahead, read with caution.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

On Feb. 7, the Emmy Award-winning “Abbott Elementary” premiered with “Career Day,” the first two episodes of its third season. Created by and starring Quinta Brunson, the sitcom follows several teachers in an underfunded, predominantly Black public school in Philadelphia. Utilizing the popularized mockumentary format, the show relates both the hilarious and heartwarming lives of these teachers with different — and often conflicting — personalities, as they all dedicate themselves to their students. 

Because of the writers’ strike, the show’s initial premiere in September, meant to mirror the start of the school year, was delayed, and the season was reduced from 22 to 14 episodes. To reflect its February premiere, the season starts well into the school year, where many things, including characters, have changed since we last saw them. 

For one, often well-mannered Janine tries cursing, fortunately giving up rather quickly. Oh, and she now works at the Philadelphia School District, with Career Day being her pilot idea. Things seem awkward between her and Gregory (Tyler James Williams), a coworker with whom romantic tension has been brewing, with them finally sharing in a kiss at the end of season two. Ava (Janelle James), Abbott’s inept principal, returns with a new college degree, ready to take on the serious responsibilities of her job. The choice to give Ava a complete 180 is genius in its ensuing hilarity in bringing out other surprises: we see a “sexy” Gregory and a Barbara that misses the old Ava.

With Janine’s new job, season three offers the possibility of change that has been previously denied. From the start of the show, Janine has been the optimistic, go-getter who always tries (though often fails) to improve the school. Her character is juxtaposed with the more seasoned teachers, Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph) and Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter), whose philosophy is to “do the best with what they’ve got.” 

From trying to change a lightbulb that ends up short circuiting the entire school’s electricity, to her latest endeavor of putting on a Career Day for the students, Janine’s ideas are often put down. However, her enthusiasm is noticed by one of the school district representatives, Manny (Josh Segarra), who offers Janine an esteemed fellowship that will “make some real change.” At first, while the viewer is primed to see Manny as an enemy of the school, his earnestness, capable of winning Barbara over, shines through.

Even though initially Janine wastes no time in rejecting the offer, she grows more and more indecisive as she considers the possibilities of the fellowship. The audience knows that she eventually chooses to pursue a career at the District, but through the flashback, we inhabit Janine’s torn mind, as she doesn’t wish to leave her students and her coworkers but is propelled to the fellowship because of her optimistic and problem-solving nature. 

Beyond the change to the classroom that Janine seeks to bring with her new job, we also see a change in character. In Janine’s indecision, she consults Barbara about the position, expecting, and perhaps hoping to hear Barbara’s typical realistic attitude. Instead, Barbara is taken by Manny’s seemingly genuine dedication to bettering the school and instead tells Janine to go for it, much to her and the audience’s surprise. This change in Barbara’s optimism isn’t provoked simply by Manny, but by two seasons of Janine’s constant striving, and we understand that she has been changed by Janine as much as Janine has been by her. 

Whereas the first two seasons encouraged traditional romantic tropes, the season three premiere overturns them. The other major romantic relationship between Melissa and Gary (Bruno Amato), the vending machine stocker, ventures into uncomfortable conversations. Gary, a good-natured man who matches Melissa’s banter, has started joking about marriage, an idea that Melissa continually rejects, saying it “would take a miracle.” 

And a miracle is what Gary gives her. With the surprise celebrity appearances of the NFL Eagles on Zoom for Career Day, Gary proposes to Melissa. To audiences well-versed in rom-coms or comedies in general, it comes as a surprise when Melissa rejects him (in front of the Eagles and the classroom), reiterating her stance on marriage. The show’s uncompromising representation of the integrity of Melissa’s opinion on marriage pushes back against the many instances in media where women are “convinced” into relationships by grand gestures, creating a counternarrative of women maintaining their independence. 

As the viewer eagerly awaits a hint of the Janine/Gregory situation, Ava is the one who reveals the status of their relationship. Caught on one of Ava’s new secret cameras, Janine talks to Gregory about potentially pursuing their relationship, and Gregory, the one who has pined over Janine for two seasons, tells her that he has emotionally moved on. Again, while frustrating for a viewer primed for easy endings, the show realistically depicts how romantic feelings change. At a certain point, this one-sided pining becomes boring, and hopefully, the rest of the season will be focused more on their friendship.

After all the excitement of rejected proposals and NFL cameos, Janine finally gets a moment of quiet to talk with Gregory. Despite the extreme awkwardness, the two quickly start gossiping and laughing like old times. “I missed this,” Janine confides, elevating their friendship, rather than a potential romance. 

Career Day was chaotic, and did not go according to plan, quite characteristic of happenings at Abbott. However, as Janine apologizes profusely and waits for admonishment, the District representatives unexpectedly rave over its success (mostly due to the appearance of the NFL players).  

As a new year starts at Abbott, there’s been a lot of changes. The first two episodes successfully maintain the show’s humor and its heart, allowing the characters to grow without compromising their true selves. 

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Movies Boomers Couldn’t Handle: Saltburn is disgracefully fun https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/19/movies-boomers-couldnt-handle-saltburn-is-disgracefully-fun/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/19/movies-boomers-couldnt-handle-saltburn-is-disgracefully-fun/#respond Tue, 20 Feb 2024 06:38:32 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1242951 "Saltburn" is a movie that should probably be shielded from the eyes of unsuspecting citizens on social security, writes columnist Julia Donlan.

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Emerald Fennell’s “Saltburn” (2023) is sure to leave any individual belonging to its target audience with a mischievous grin on their face and a skip in their step, while the upbeat tones of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s cult hit “Murder on the Dancefloor” ring merrily in their ears.

Some more straight-laced, or dare I say sane, audience members might have the good sense to be disturbed by the film they had just seen. But the stylish, sex-positive, queer members of Gen-Z — the eldest of whom might yearn for a time just prior to the dominance of screens and social media apps — have largely embraced the sexy and outrageous mid-2000s aesthetic of the fictional Saltburn estate and its hedonistic residents.

We join our protagonist Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) at Oxford University, aptly poised in the class of 2007. Fennell chose the film’s time period because it is “not cool [and] super lame,” a sentiment the masses have already judged differently. Oliver meets Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), an absurdly popular and well-off student who takes pity on him, befriends him and invites him to his estate in the country for the summer. Chaos, beyond what you can possibly imagine in the dark dungeons of your mind, ensues.

Sex is everywhere in “Saltburn.” It is discussed, it is depicted and it is used frequently as a plot device. In a chuckle-worthy commentary on what the ultra-wealthy will and will not tolerate in their reality-detached social spheres, the residents of the Saltburn estate apparently throw all concerns about who has sex with whom out the window. Felix’s mother, Elspeth (Rosamund Pike), laments that her daughter, Venetia (Alison Oliver), needs to date someone, man or woman, and even cites her own temporary lesbian moment as evidence of this open-mindedness. Moments later, she nearly succumbs to the seduction tactics of Oliver — her son’s twenty-something friend — as if one can, of course, reach the point where hedonism shielded by wealth masquerades as progressive ideology on sex and sexuality.

Despite its portrayals of sexuality, “Saltburn” still vaguely queerbaits the viewer with Oliver and Felix’s friendship (and, by extension, with parasocial perceptions of Keoghan and Elordi’s relationship). Oliver’s implied obsession with Felix eventually gels in the context of his many manipulative tendencies, though not without leaving a desire for queerness as more than just an excuse to stir up pity and sexually charged bathtub scenes. The queerbaiting is absolutely frustrating and fairly unnecessary (unless you’re a producer marketing this film), but the rest of the sexual nonsense is fun — you just shouldn’t watch it with grandma. 

Here’s another big problem: while the film happily plays into mocking stereotypes of the white upper class, “Saltburn” sidelines and completely removes agency from its singular main character of color. Oliver and the Catton’s cousin, Farleigh (Archie Madekwe), are exact foils of one another; while they have the same end goal of extracting as much as they can from the wealthy and airy Cattons, Oliver’s propensity for the violent and vulgar beneath his “boy next door” disguise propel him far beyond what Farleigh has evidently been able to accomplish in his entire lifetime. 

If I am to suspend my disbelief that no one at Saltburn is even slightly concerned about Oliver’s shenanigans until it is too late, then why do I also have to pretend that Farleigh is incapable of the same insidious conniving? Farleigh’s treatment merits the greater argument that many of the film’s attempts at social commentary fall flat. 

Yet, despite all that befalls the Cattons over the course of the film (unfortunately with zero points to Farleigh’s nefariousness), it is nearly impossible to pity them because they’re just so clueless. I have found this is often the case in contemporary black comedies centered around class (think “Triangle of Sadness” (2022) and “The White Lotus”(2021-)), so this is not a fresh take. Nonetheless, the absolution of concern for the Cattons’ welfare was what allowed me to enjoy the absurdity that coats the rest of the plot.

And absurdity truly is the highlight of “Saltburn.” It’s why this is a movie that is so fun for twenty-somethings in their most chaotic era of life, and also one that should probably be shielded from the eyes of unsuspecting citizens on social security. Could your grandparents handle it? Some, maybe yes. But I think the beauty, glory and insanity of “Saltburn” lies in how deliciously out-of-pocket it is, and you must willingly immerse yourself in this audacity in order to relish the experience. It is not saying anything remarkable about the world that you did not already know, unless you, like me, were missing some serious Barry Keoghan dance moves in your life. But the aesthetics and the shock factor are still working in its favor, all said and done, as long as you are willing to buy in. There is certainly a young, hip crowd of fans who are. We might be just this side of sick-in-the-head like dear old Oliver, but if you can handle it, who doesn’t love a little insanity?

I’ll leave you with my top 3 pearl-clutching moments (in secret code):

  1. Gravedigger
  2. The Bath
  3. Vampire

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Stanford’s ‘Smash Bros’ find community in combat  https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/19/stanfords-super-smash-bros/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/19/stanfords-super-smash-bros/#respond Tue, 20 Feb 2024 06:32:45 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1242874 On Saturday nights, Stanford Smash Bros. meets at Taube Tennis Center to play the popular Nintendo Switch fighting game, honing their skills while enjoying community.

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Saturdays are for smash — Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, to be exact. Stationed at the intramural sports office in Taube Tennis Center, a community of undergraduate and graduate students gather to play the platform fighting game every weekend.

“Being Stanford students, we’re often so busy with classes, assignments, papers and exams. Whenever I need a pick-up for a change of pace, I know I can always rely on my friends at Stanford Smash,” said Stanford Smash Bros. Officer Chris Basco ’24. 

Stanford Smash Bros. is a student group focused on playing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, a fighting game released by Nintendo in 2018. According to Basco, the club also plays previous installments of the popular video game series including Super Smash Bros. Melee, released on the Nintendo GameCube in 2001. 

The group meets every Saturday night to play Super Smash Bros. at Taube Tennis Center. According to the President and Tournament Organizer of Stanford Smash Bros. Leo Baek ’25, these weekly events aren’t always competitive; the sessions alternate between tournaments and casual nights the group calls “friendlies.” 

In addition to these on-campus sessions, the group also competes with other schools. “Some of the best memories I’ve had with the club are going to Berkeley to fight their club,” wrote Baek. 

According to Baek, Stanford Smash Bros. plans to compete with Cal again later this academic year.

Stanford’s 'Smash Bros' find community in combat 
Stanford Smash Bros. visited Cal to compete with their rival school in the Nintendo fighting game. (Courtesy of Stanford Smash Bros.)

The video game student group originated in 2021 as a small community of frosh looking to play the Nintendo Switch title despite COVID-19 restrictions. “The pandemic had basically totaled the Smash Bros. community, which makes sense considering it’s a game that works a lot better in a physical environment,” wrote Baek. 

Super Smash Bros. officer Michael Cho ’25 wrote that some of his favorite memories took place during the early days of the community. 

“We used to run our events in an EVGR common space, dragging monitors and supplies up to the lounges and back down to the cars at 3:00 a.m. together. Not the best setup, but it reminds me of how far we’ve come,” Cho wrote.

According to Baek, the Smash community “found [its] footing” as part of the Stanford Video Game Association. The group’s small Discord server of seven individuals has since grown into a community of more than 200 members today. 

For Michael Hong, second-year Ph.D. student in Management Science and Engineering, video games like Super Smash Bros. have been “an important vehicle of self-improvement.” According to Hong, playing Super Smash Bros. with fellow Stanford students not only instills a sense of community, but also provides an avenue for “analytical thinking, training reactive skills and learning from past experiences.” 

Despite the competitive aspects of the fighting game, Hong said that practices are free-flowing and informal and that the group “caters to all demographics of Super Smash Bros. enthusiasts.” 

“Since I joined Stanford Smash, I’ve only seen it grow. It’s absolutely amazing to experience the dedication, warmth and fun that this community has to offer,” Basco said. 

Kyla Figueroa contributed reporting.

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‘Good’ girlhood: ‘Girlhood’ balances tenderness and violence https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/16/girlhood-balances-tenderness-and-violence/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/16/girlhood-balances-tenderness-and-violence/#respond Fri, 16 Feb 2024 08:05:08 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1242763 Despite the brutality of the world they inhabit, Sciamma treats her characters with great care, writes Blyss Cleveland.

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Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques

One tragedy of being human is the impulse to try to hold on to the inherently ephemeral. This habit is futile because time, youth, memories and life are fleeting.

Céline Sciamma’s “Girlhood” exemplifies this tension. Written and directed by Sciamma and set in a housing project on the outskirts of Paris, the film chronicles 16-year-old Marieme/Vic’s (Karidja Touré) friendship with Lady (Assa Sylla), Adiatou (Lindsay Karamoh) and Fily (Mariétou Touré). It is a multilayered look at how socioeconomically disadvantaged Black girls are integral to — and yet peripheral — in life at home and in the wider world.

They are working-class teenagers coming of age in a world that is indifferent to girls like them. Their neighborhood is rife with small gangs of girls that refract the violence directed at them onto each other.

The story is told in a series of vignettes. In the first act, Marieme moves through the world with restraint. There is a relatively strict hierarchy at home: Her mother works nights as an office cleaner and Marieme and her younger sister split cooking, cleaning and caregiving for their youngest sister. As the eldest daughter, Marieme bears the brunt of their ne’er-do-well brother’s physical abuse to protect her younger sisters.

On the day she meets Lady, Adiatou and Fily, Marieme receives news from a faceless administrator that she has failed out of school again and should begin looking into vocational programs. Marieme protests that she simply wants to finish high school and be “normal.” However, the trio offers her something better — the chance to feel powerful if she’s willing to fight for it.

Fighting is not just a figure of speech. While most of their activities include finding places to hang out and hold turf, territory must be defended and several brutal fights ensue between the girls and their adversaries.    

Lady is the self-styled leader of their pack who can be affectionate and mean in one breath. She is also a tastemaker — in one scene she casts her discerning eye onto fellow pedestrians during a walk through the mall and rates their outfits. Lady becomes a surrogate mother and gives Marieme lessons in styling, self-determination and standing up for herself against her brother.

Marieme blossoms under Lady’s tutelage. She abandons her braids and dons the long straightened hairstyles favored by the gang-affiliated girls in the neighborhood. Her wardrobe changes and so does her name. Lady nicknames her Vic — a moniker meant to signify victory. 

Vic becomes an integral member as shown by her ability to successfully bully a girl into giving her money. Karidja Touré is sensational in this scene. Immediate regret flashes across her face once the girl is out of view but she blinks away her reservations and triumphantly marches back to Lady, Adiatou and Fily. Vic becomes so fluent in violence that she forgets how to communicate using less severe language.

The foursome are all putting on tough girl acts and embodying the roles of braggadocio brutes when confronting rival gang members. The girls burst into laughter once their foes are out of view. Despite the constant teasing, they are affectionate and tender with one another. During a spirited round of mini-golf, Adiatou passionately yells about fairness to ensure Fily encounters the same obstacles. Once Fily successfully sinks a shot, Adiatou bursts into tears. The girls laugh at her before rallying to provide comfort.

Sciamma artfully deploys pan and scan shots to give the film the feel of a documentary, as if we are privy to something real. The use of sound is similarly arresting — peals of laughter and chatter fade as abruptly as they become audible and quiet moments suddenly become loud. Frequent Sciamma collaborator Jean-Baptiste de Laubier’s haunting score serves as transition music between each act and sometimes drowns out the dialogue. The suggestion is that we’re free to look, but we couldn’t possibly understand what these girls are saying.

Despite the brutality of the world they inhabit, Sciamma treats her characters with great care. Moments of joy are reflected in pivotal dance scenes. The girls rent a hotel room to have a sleepover and after dressing up in clothes procured via five-finger discount, Rihanna’s “Diamonds” begins to play. They lip sync and dance spiritedly — for each other and for themselves. This was one of the first scenes Sciamma wrote, and she shot it without procuring the rights. After sending the scene to the singer’s team during post-production, they gave her the green light to keep it in the film. 

During the final act, Vic descends into the underground economy. She works for a boss who seems congenial enough but shows his desire to exploit her. She experiments with her gender presentation to keep herself safe in this new life and a dance at a party provides some insight into her feelings. The ending is somewhat ambiguous, a fact that disappointed me when I first saw the film but that I have grown to love with subsequent viewings. Whether it’s the fear of giving up girlhood or entering the unknown world of adulthood, Marieme/Vic seems to know that holding on to a moment that has passed can hold you back from going forward. 

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A Lover Girl’s Guide: When opposites meet https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/13/a-lover-girls-guide-opposites-attract/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/13/a-lover-girls-guide-opposites-attract/#respond Tue, 13 Feb 2024 08:04:45 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1242341 Columnist Hana Dao discusses 2000s nostalgia, classic romance tropes and humor through the binge-worthy K-drama “My Girl.”

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The genre of Korean drama (K-drama) is garnering more and more global attention. Shorter than American soap operas like “F.R.I.E.N.D.S,” K-dramas are especially appealing for an ability to cater to the female gaze, utilize universal messages with powerful storytelling and market themselves uniquely on streaming platforms. “A Lover Girl’s Guide” focuses on romance in this growing medium. For many, it has transformed our standards for love (singles out there, you can decide if this is for better or worse).

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

The enemies-to-lovers trope is by no means an uncommon category in literature and film. Despite this, screenwriters continue to find a way to capitalize on its versatility, customizing it to practically any storyline and time period. This trope is especially beguiling for viewers because these dynamic stories allow us to see characters grow across interactions.

With K-dramas, they attain that golden balance of predictability and originality with plot lines like “golden retriever and black cat pairings” or “rich meets poor,” but with tumultuous happenings along the way.

One early 2000s K-drama that exemplifies this is “My Girl” (2005). The rom-com starred Lee Dong-wook, Lee Da-hae and Lee Joon-gi, now A-list actors in Korea whose rise to fame was solidified through this popular show. The show may be unfamiliar to younger K-drama enthusiasts, buried under the constant stream of new releases. But if there are any older K-dramas worth digging for, this is the one.

Male lead Seol Gong-chan, played by Lee Dong-wook, is the only chaebol heir to L’Avenuel Hotel. He’s career-oriented and closed off, an archetype that would become Dong-wook’s trademark in future K-dramas such as “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” or “Touch Your Heart.”

Gong-chan meets the cheerful, goofy and easily loveable Joo Yoo-rin, played by Lee Da-hae, after she enacts an elaborate scheme to stall Gong-chan’s flight for a group of tourists who are running late.

With the wealthy and reserved Gong-chan alongside Yoo-rin, who is an approachable and bubbly optimist, despite her continuous struggles to pay off her father’s gambling debts, the show presents a unique pairing of complete opposites.

Even though Yoo-rin is recruited by Gong-chan to pretend to be the family’s long-lost granddaughter, she and Gong-chan often clash before their relationship develops further from contractor and employer. Throw in a riveting love triangle (or square) and forbidden love amid a growing web of lies, and you’ve got an addicting K-drama that will push you to consider forgoing responsibilities and sleep for 16 hours of binge-watching.

There’s also something to be said about the nostalgic and now-cheesy 2000s outfits we see in “My Girl.” The overly colorful and excessive layering of the characters’ clothing makes you wonder how often you also fell victim to trends like furry scarves and rainbow plaid combinations.

The soundtrack also includes an unexpected collection of 2000s Korean hip-hop combined with stirring ballads. Watching “My Girl” today might leave you with a strong wistfulness for a simpler time of flip-phones and Y2K glamor.

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Lights, Cardinals, Action: Lionsgate VP Charlotte Koh ’95 on overcoming fear https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/12/lionsgate-vp-charlotte-koh-overcoming-fear/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/12/lionsgate-vp-charlotte-koh-overcoming-fear/#respond Mon, 12 Feb 2024 09:03:59 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1241754 The Daily interviewed alum and Lionsgate Vice President Charlotte Koh '95 on the challenges of pursuing a creative career after college. Koh advised students to take risks, and productively stall.

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Some people fear perilous, unpredictable things  — a bear, a tornado or even a career in the arts. Charlotte Koh ’95, now Executive Vice President of Acquisitions and Co-Productions at Lionsgate, fought her fears in order to launch a successful career in entertainment.

Koh worked as a consultant after graduating from Stanford. Then she pivoted her career and enrolled in the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. She went on to become ​​Senior Vice President of Business Development for Marvel Studios, the founder of Hulu Originals and an Emmy-nominated executive producer before arriving at Lionsgate.

Koh spoke to The Daily about the key to networking success and finding the courage to pursue a creative career.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

TSD: How did you decide to get an MFA and be a film executive?

CK: I was always interested in theater. I did experimental theater in high school and at Stanford. When I was consulting, one of my clients was MTV Europe, and that was my first exposure to professional executives. I was having a real examination while I was consulting, asking myself, did I want to get an MBA? That’s what everybody was doing. 

One of my friends from Stanford told me about a producing-focused MFA program at USC. I decided I would apply, and if I didn’t get in, I could go to Hollywood and be an assistant for a couple of years and see if it works out. I wrote a very specific application essay: I said I’ve always had a passion for theater and performing arts, and I would like to use this degree to pivot into an executive role at a specialty division like Miramax or Searchlight. That’s how I think I got in — because I was very specific about what I wanted.

The Stanford Daily [TSD]: If someone wants to pursue a creative career after college, should they dive into it first, or should they work a few years at a stable job before transitioning into a creative career?

Charlotte Koh [CK]: It’s personal. Your risk tolerance changes depending on your circumstances. I came out of Stanford with student loans, and I was a political science major dithering what to do next. I did what I call productive stalling — consulting. That helped me pay off my student loans and finance my MFA. At the end of the day, though, when you are young and straight out of college, there’s almost no such thing as a risky decision because time is on your side. You can always auto-correct. No harm, no foul, you probably learned a lot about yourself. 

TSD: How did you land your first couple roles in the industry?

CK: My MFA program was well-connected and placed me in an internship at Searchlight back in 2001. I stayed in that job for six years, and I got promoted from intern to assistant to executive. I was just lucky I had that opportunity. 

TSD: What advice do you have for forming relationships with people who could help your career? 

CK: Put yourself out there and don’t take it personally. Someone doesn’t return your email when you invite them to a cup of coffee — it’s fine. At the end of the day, it’s about trust, so you want it to not feel transactional. Show an interest in what the other person is doing, demonstrate you could collaborate with or support them in their work, or introduce them to someone who might be useful to them.

Generally, more experienced people are willing to help, but the more specific [with] what you ask, the better. My nightmare is when people say, “I want to talk to you for 10 minutes,” without having a specific reason or something I could help them with. Those are the requests that get ignored the most. Your intention and your specificity make people turn towards you.

TSD: How do you decide what kinds of risks you want to take and how to go about doing it?

CK: I had this amazing TA at Stanford who said to me, “So many Stanford students simply go from undergrad to grad school, med school, law school. For kids who are supposed to be the best and the brightest, I don’t understand why you guys don’t take more risks. You can withstand a failure or two better than most. The odds are lower that you’re going to fail, anyway.” That was an aha moment for me.

TSD: How do you get over the fear of not knowing what will happen in your career?

CK: You can de-program it. And it’s okay to be scared. But you can’t let the fear center of your brain make your decisions. Brain science shows that fear comes from the amygdala, and once your fight or flight system is stimulated, your prefrontal cortex — where all your executive function resides — shuts down. You have to figure out how to manage the fear. Then you can see more clearly and not hear all the other loud voices of — in my case — parents, friends, peers, the way I grew up. You need those voices to quiet down, so you can hear your own voice about what you really want. 

It’s good to pause before making a decision and ask, “What have I got to lose? What’s the worst case scenario?” I took on student debt again to get my MFA, and I knew this was an uncertain proposition. I said, “I’m not going to second guess my decision every 6 months. I’m going to give myself five years, and by the time I’m around 30 or 31, we’ll see where we are.” You have to change your mindset to be like, I won’t know I’m wrong until I give it time.

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Talk Horror to Me: Documenting trauma in ‘Nope’ (2022) https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/12/talk-horror-to-me-documenting-trauma-in-nope-2022/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/12/talk-horror-to-me-documenting-trauma-in-nope-2022/#respond Mon, 12 Feb 2024 09:02:03 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1242134 Jordan Peele offered a thought-provoking reflection on how individuals cope with trauma and reckon with underrepresentation in the film industry, Wang writes.

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In “Talk Horror to Me,” columnist Emma Kexin Wang ’24 reviews horror, psycho thrillers and all things scary released in the past few years. Spoilers ahead, read with caution.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

After the success of “Get Out” and “Us,” Jordan Peele returned to the horror scene with “Nope” in 2022. The film offers fun twists on cowboys and aliens in a less-scary but self-reflective story about documenting traumatic events — and the very film industry Peele works in.

Featuring a relatively simple plot, “Nope” feels distinctive from Peele’s first two films, known for plot twists at the end. The film follows Otis Jr. (or OJ, played by Daniel Kaluuya) and his sister Emerald (or Em, played by Keke Palmer) — both members of a family of horse wranglers — as they try to photograph a UFO that had killed their father. Two other characters, a tech bro and a famous cinematographer, aid them in their quest in search of Oprah-worthy fame.

The film opens with an extremely disturbing scene. At the back of a live stage facing an empty audience, an unconscious body lies on the floor. We hear heavy breathing and see a handheld camera slightly moving under the table, suggesting we are hiding with someone. A bloody chimpanzee appears on screen after a series of slow, heavy thuds. He pushes the body’s unmoving leg, sits down and hurls the body away. 

Soon, we discover that the person hiding is child actor Jupe (Steven Yuen), who was to appear in a comedy on the stage, but his co-star, a chimpanzee named Gordy, went haywire and killed all the actors except him. Jupe then grows up to become the manager of a Western themed park and buys horses from the film’s protagonists, OJ and Em.

At its core, “Nope” highlights two problems that arise when confronting personal trauma: marketing trauma as a commercial experience and a perverse voyeuristic desire to look at depictions of traumatic events, a sentiment coined “trauma porn.”

Jupe is unable to look his trauma in the eye. He portrays the day of the killings indirectly through a reenactment of a Saturday Night Live skit instead of confronting his own experience. A group of show fanatics request to pay money to stay on this set overnight. Jupe obliges, capitalizing off of his childhood trauma by making it a consumable experience for others.

Interestingly, Jupe turns trauma into a spectacle, with him as the director. He produces a show using a horse as bait, intending for the UFO to suck the horse inside the vessel. Instead, everyone in the audience, including Jupe himself, are engulfed, leaving the horse ironically unscathed. 

After OJ witnesses the UFO attack, he realizes that the UFO is a predatory being that only attacks when directly looked at. To avoid being sucked up, the four-person photography crew only had to avoid the animal’s “gaze.”

Holst, the famous cinematographer helping OJ and Em photograph the UFO, becomes obsessed with the idea of the “perfect shot,” and aims his camera directly at the UFO’s large, black-hole of a mouth. He gets sucked up into its stomach.

Beyond visualizing what it means to observe trauma, “Nope” also reckons with the film industry’s historical erasure of Black people. After the title card, an unsettling sequence — that we later learn is inside the UFO — rolls into a black-and-white scene of a Black man riding a horse.

For film fanatics, the sequence is familiar. It is a clip from the first ever moving picture, as Em later explains. Commissioned by Leland Stanford, photographer Eadweard Muybridge captured a horse’s running motion in a photo series.

Though many remember Muybridge, there is no record of the Black person pictured in the film. From the very inception of film, Black people and the roles they played seem to be erased from our cultural memory. The protagonists, Em and OJ, are fictionalized great-great-great grandchildren of the “actor” in Muybridge’s photographs.

In the end, when Em successfully snaps a picture of the UFO, she looks over at the entrance of the Western theme park. There, in the mist, is OJ atop a horse — he has survived the alien attack. The frame of the entrance and the blurriness of the scene recalls the Muybridge clip.

Through fiction and film, Peele has attempted to fill a historical gap. The ending, with our protagonists alive and their goals achieved, offers a frame for Black joy and possibility.

This article has been corrected to reflect that Gordy is a chimpanzee, not a monkey. The Daily regrets this error.

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A Lover Girl’s Guide: Historically Speaking https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/05/a-lover-girls-guide-historically-speaking/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/05/a-lover-girls-guide-historically-speaking/#respond Mon, 05 Feb 2024 12:11:45 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1241792 In her column's penultimate installment, Hana Dao explores the charms behind historical K-drama "Scarlet Heart Ryeo." The one-season series offers not only romance, but an authentic look into the past, Dao writes.

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The genre of Korean drama (K-drama) is garnering ever-greater global attention. Typically shorter than American soap operas like “F.R.I.E.N.D.S,” K-dramas are especially appealing for their ability to cater to the female gaze, utilize universal messages for powerful storytelling and market themselves on streaming platforms. “A Lover Girl’s Guide” focuses on romance in this growing medium. For many, it has transformed our standards for love (singles out there, you can decide if this is for better, or for worse).

One of the unique sub-genres within the Korean film industry is the historical K-drama. Numerous screenwriters have gravitated toward this revival of the past, and with so many highly-ranking historical series, there’s a lot to choose from. But there is no other drama that has left me wanting more as much as “Scarlet Heart Ryeo.” The South Korean series, whose full title is “Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo,” is a 2016 remake of the Chinese series “Scarlet Heart.” Both are based on Tong Hua’s debut novel “Bu Bu Jing Xin,” or “Startling By Each Step.” 

In the series, the young protagonist Go Ha-jin, played by the talented singer-actress IU, is transported back a thousand years to the Goryeo Dynasty amid a rare solar eclipse. She wakes up in the body of another girl: Hae-soo, whose family has close ties to the Goryeo imperial family.

Without a way to return to her old life as a white-collar worker, she soon accepts her new life as Hae-soo under the reign of King Taejo in the year 941. She befriends the dynasty’s princes — and finds herself caught up in their rivalries. 

The star-studded cast, including veteran drama actors and notable K-pop singers, drew public attention. Unlike the standard K-drama, “Scarlet Heart Ryeo” features not just one or two male leads but seven imperial princes on the same screen, meaning there’s no shortage of content to inspire daydreaming. 

With talented singers in their cast, the production team knew they had to deliver an outstanding official soundtrack — and that they did. Years later, the soundtrack is one that I often return to, with a range of songs that are ideal for any mood you’re feeling — or if you simply want to feel something

Historical dramas provide an especially important glimpse into traditional Korean culture. In recapturing history with a focus on vivid complexities across human relationships, beyond a static history textbook, these dramas render history accessible to a wide audience.

Although they operate with fictional tropes, they nevertheless pique our interest and are a starting point for reviving discussion over historical figures and moments, as well as traditional Korean customs. Without media like “Scarlet Heart Ryeo,” these stories could become unknown over time.    

Although the drama is historical fiction, the production spared no effort in transporting viewers directly back to the Goryeo era. The drama was filmed at key cultural heritage sites all across Korea, including Unjusa temple, Seyeonjeong pavilion and Gwanghallu-won garden, a popular site for historical K-dramas.

By filming in these notable locations, “Scarlet Heart Ryeo” allows audiences to feel fully immersed in its time period, as if we have also time traveled directly with Hae-soo. The viewer is privy to every visual detail of daily life in the Goryeo Dynasty alongside the plot’s depiction of the intricacies of court politics. The extravagant pinned hairstyles of noble ladies and elaborate detailing of hanboks leave audiences longing for the craftsmanship of the past.

Interestingly, despite the expensive purchasing rights to stream the show and a buzzworthy cast, the drama received mixed reviews and never quite reached high ratings or a positive reception in Korea, a stark contrast to its overseas popularity.

One reason may be that Korean television already had a number of historical dramas, so the story did not appear to be a very novel idea to its domestic audience. Regardless, there is something enchanting about the concept of soulmates — across different lives — that “Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo” taps into. I think this drama is an ideal piece, not only within the historical sub-genre, but also across the wider K-drama industry. Why? The dynamic storytelling and the emotionally powerful tragedy, and the love and sacrifice of its star, or rather, moon-crossed lovers.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

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Why does Stanford restrict entertainment filming on campus? https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/02/why-does-stanford-restrict-entertainment-filming-on-campus/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/02/why-does-stanford-restrict-entertainment-filming-on-campus/#respond Fri, 02 Feb 2024 09:11:59 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1241612 Though Stanford has featured in various well-known TV shows and films, the University has tightly regulated entertainment filming requests.

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From “MythBusters” to “High School Musical 3,” Stanford has been a backdrop to numerous well-known TV shows and films. Yet, though campus is open to visitors, the University’s communications department heavily regulates filming for entertainment purposes.

The University receives filming requests at most once per year, University spokesperson Luisa Rapport wrote in an email to The Daily. Filming requests are fielded by University Communications for initial review, but final approval is provided by the Office of the Provost, according to Rapport.

A filming proposal has to cross numerous hurdles to make the cut for final approval. In its initial review, University Communications assesses the relevance of the story line to Stanford “or whether the producer is looking for a generic university campus,” Rapport wrote.

Rapport wrote the review also gauges “the logistics, campus impact, available support and resources, alignment with University priorities and the significant investment of time and resources needed to make the shoot successful.” There is no required fee for on campus filming.

Student filmmaker Zach Lo ’23 said these rules impact student productions, especially those with low budgets. “Being at Stanford is a huge opportunity to add production value, but [the restrictions] end up just being another obstacle to think about during location scouting,” he said.

Former art practice lecturer Barna Szász MFA ’19 shot his thesis film “Let’s Talk?” on campus, for which he sought permission from the University. Although the policy seemed “extremely restrictive” at the time, he felt the process to obtain approval was “surprisingly straightforward,” Szász wrote in an email to The Daily.

Szász believes that given Stanford’s fame, “the restrictions are beneficial, as long as the University administration can establish a quick approval process for student projects.” He wrote this approach would protect the University’s identity and logo while also “allowing students to thrive creatively.”

Issa Rae’s ’07 series “Insecure” (2016) is one of latest TV shows to have scenes shot at Stanford, with glimpses of Main Quad seen in the trailer for Season 5. Although the series “Silicon Valley” (2014) makes numerous references to the University, many scenes meant to portray Stanford were taken at other campuses. A website alleges one episode had the Dish in the background.

“Legally Blonde,” starring Stanford dropout Reese Witherspoon who plays the fashionable law student Elle Woods, was allegedly denied permission to film at Stanford. Witherspoon tweeted that in light of this decision, scenes were shot at Harvard instead.

Some student film fanatics called for the expansion of on campus filming, which could lead to more Stanford-related films.

“I wished they filmed ‘The Dropout’ at Stanford,” Hillary Tran ’24 said, referring to the miniseries that chronicled Stanford dropout Elizabeth Holmes’s fraudulent company Theranos.

Others expressed hope that Stanford maintains its long-lasting connection to film history.

“Home to the first-ever motion picture, the Horse in Motion, our university holds a unique legacy,” Darren Redic ’24 M.S. ’25 said. “Why not continue the legacy by capturing campus life to showcase our commitment to a vibrant community of learners, thinkers and achievers?”

Redic hopes the University grants permission to more incoming filming requests.

“What… like it’s hard?” Redic said, quoting Elle Woods.

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The new ‘Mean Girls’ falls flat, but not without something ‘fetch’ for Gen Z https://stanforddaily.com/2024/01/31/the-new-mean-girls-falls-flat-but-not-without-something-fetch-for-gen-z/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/01/31/the-new-mean-girls-falls-flat-but-not-without-something-fetch-for-gen-z/#respond Wed, 31 Jan 2024 09:42:21 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1241406 The 2024 movie-musical remake features new stars and surprise throwbacks to the original cast. While the contemporary elements add some liveliness, the movie has mixed reviews.

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Twenty years have passed, but it seems there is still a place for “Mean Girls” and a Burn Book in our hearts. 

Tina Fey’s new “Mean Girls” (2024), released on Jan. 12, is a modernized mash-up of the original and Fey’s Broadway musical. Like the trailer says, the film — featuring social media and explicit language — is definitely “not your mother’s ‘Mean Girls.’”

Contemporary elements and musical numbers occasionally enliven the remake, but the music in particular is lacking. The movie-musical is ultimately enjoyable but not spectacular.

Fey’s casting features new stars along with a few surprise throwbacks to the original. Angourie Rice, who portrays Cady Heron, has starred in several of the Marvel Spider-Man movies. Regina Rapp played Regina George in the Broadway musical. Jenna Fischer, widely known from “The Office,” plays Ms. Heron. 

Original actors Fey and Tim Meadows reprised their roles as Ms. Norbury and Principal Duvall, respectively. The film also featured a cameo by Lindsay Lohan as the moderator of the mathletes competition.

The plot

I found myself reminiscing about the original characters; I wasn’t initially drawn to their strikingly different personas in the 2024 release. 

In the original, Regina (Rachel McAdams) is the ultimate feminine queen bee at North Shore High. Dressed in pink, she gossips, shops and dates guys on the football team. Rapp portrays a darker and more dangerous version of the character in the 2024 film. Donning black leather, Regina sings songs that are eerie and manipulative.

In “World Burn,” Regina wants to destroy everything around her because she is insecure about her own popularity, using her power to attack anyone who poses a threat. Rapp adds a layer of complexity to Regina’s surface-level charisma, leaving me torn in deciding which Regina I preferred.

Other characters were dull in comparison to the originals. In the original, Cady Heron (Lohan) is forced to adjust to an American high school after her family relocates for her mother’s new job. In the movie-musical, Rice’s Cady sings about her desire to leave Africa to maintain a social life and achieve her full potential in the song “What Ifs.” 

It was hard to discern Cady’s actual reasoning behind her desire to attend a real high school — she had never known what this would be like, having lived in Africa for most of her life. Cady’s eagerness to leave Africa for America seems to further the trope that Africa is inferior, whereas America is full of excitement. 

In the rest of the movie, however, “Mean Girls” (2024) exhibits less bias against Africa than the 2004 original. In the original, Cady’s classmates frequently joke about her upbringing in Africa; these jokes are less prevalent in the remake.

The themes

“Mean Girls” is also overconfident about its ability to contribute to pop feminism on film. In a year with an abundance of acclaimed movies with something meaningful to say — think “Barbie” or “Poor Things” — “Mean Girls” pales by comparison.

Sexy,” a number about the liberating experience of wearing sexy Halloween costumes, is entertaining but feels a little odd when you remember these are meant to be 16-year-olds.

Janice’s contrarian anthem, “I’d Rather Be Me,” has its own set of tonally incongruous lyrics. In the midst of her condemnation of her female classmates’ petty tendencies, she pivots to tepid statements about girls needing to share while boys get to fight. These lyrics are wholly out of place both in the original production and this adaptation.

The thematic value of these attempts at feminism are minimal — and frustrating due to the lost potential for the film to say something worthwhile.

Music and performances

Key performances by musical theater actors propel the film forward. 

Rapp serves up a delightful, vaguely sapphic Regina. Unsurprisingly, her vocal performance is stunning. The red-lit shots of her concocting her revenge during “World Burn” are uniquely exciting and fun to watch. Jaquel Spivey, most well-known for his breakout role as Usher in “A Strange Loop” on Broadway, also delivers a standout performance as Damien, a delightfully flamboyant new friend of Cady’s. 

Together, Rapp and Spivey speak to the strategic benefit of casting seasoned musical theater actors in a movie-musical. By comparison, much of the main cast lacks the skill and experience needed to execute such vocally demanding material.

Rice’s performance in “Stupid with Love” is particularly disappointing. Between the low energy and overproduction of her vocals, she seems unable to carry her primary number. Paired with bizarre camera angles, it feels like Rice is being sabotaged: Rice’s Cady didn’t at all embody the same naivete and confidence that Lohan did in the original.

Between the casting choices and music direction, this movie feels ashamed of being a musical. Compared to the Broadway production, the songs are shortened, downplayed and stripped of their more boisterous orchestration. Even the ensemble dances feel lifeless despite the talent of the performers. 

Our take

Despite its problems, the remake isn’t entirely lacking in heart. The adult characters, all celebrity cameos, are genuine and truly funny. Intelligent cuts were made to both the original script and the book of the musical, avoiding some of the more questionable comedic bits. For the most part, the jokes that remain land.

The movie is quite flawed. However, through some standout performances by young talent and older standbys, many moments manage to sing, regardless.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

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Sean Penn reveals Ukraine’s ‘Superpower’ and calls for military aid https://stanforddaily.com/2024/01/24/sean-penn-reveals-ukraines-superpower-and-calls-for-military-aid/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/01/24/sean-penn-reveals-ukraines-superpower-and-calls-for-military-aid/#respond Wed, 24 Jan 2024 09:22:26 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1240851 “Superpower,” co-directed by Sean Penn and Aaron Kaufman, highlights Ukraine’s fight for freedom and the resilience of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The documentary was screened on Thursday at the Hoover Institution, followed by a discussion with FSI director Michael McFaul and Knight journalism fellow Natalia Antelava.

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“Superpower,” a feature film documenting Oscar-winner Sean Penn’s experience in Ukraine amid Russia’s Feb. 2022 invasion, was screened Thursday evening at the Hoover Institution. 

Hundreds of audience members, including notable alumni, filled the Hauck Auditorium, among them former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer ’76. After the screening, Penn joined fellow former ambassador and Freeman Spogli Institute Director Michael McFaul ’86 M.A. ’86 in a follow-up Q&A moderated by Natalia Antelava, editor in chief of Coda Story and a John S. Knight journalism fellow. 

“Superpower” follows Penn during his seven visits to Ukraine over the course of 18 months, when he unexpectedly found himself in the midst of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

Co-directed by Aaron Kaufman and produced by Vice, the documentary was initially intended to be a feature film on Volodmyr Zelenskyy, once a Ukrainian comedian and now its president. Scattered news clips and interviews with Zelenskyy in his presidential bunker punctuate the film.

The end result, “Superpower,” filmed Penn and his production team as they navigated an invasion-besieged Kyiv. 

The audience reacted to the film’s on-the-ground footage at times with laughter and at times with silence. When Penn narrated his journey to the Poland border days after the invasion started, the audience grew especially solemn and attentive.  

The meaning of the film’s title “Superpower” became clear in the film’s final scene of Zelenskyy.

“Do you have a superpower?” asks Zelenskyy’s young son, while lying next to his father in their home. 

“You,” Zelenskyy responded. “You are my superpower.” 

According to the film, Ukraine’s superpower lies in the strength of its leader, its people and a mentality captured in a concluding quote: “In the time of your life, live.” 

At the Q&A following the screening, McFaul emphasized the sizable representation of previous Stanford fellows in Penn’s film, joking that Penn “found all the smartest people in Ukraine.” 

Penn, a self-described “obligated optimist,” said that he entered the documentary with a largely “blank slate” of historical knowledge. There were moments in the film where he stood back to “listen to the smart people,” he told the audience, before pointing out Pifer and thanking McFaul for his years of scholarship on Ukraine’s Orange Revolution. 

A member of the audience, whom Penn recognized as a former high school classmate, asked why Penn decided to halt filming the ongoing war and release the documentary last February. In response, Penn replied that he wanted to release the film before the 2024 U.S. presidential election. He emphasized that sending weapons to Ukraine is of utmost importance. 

“This is where weapons are humanitarian,” Penn said. 

Directly addressing the audience, McFaul pushed back on the idea that Ukraine is losing the war in the Q&A. 

“I think the defense of the territory is victory,” McFaul said. “It feels like [Ukraine] is doing much better than anybody two years ago predicted.” 

McFaul, who met with officials in Lithuania last week, emphasized the importance of both U.S. and foreign aid for Ukraine. “As all Ukrainians in this film said, it’s not like they have a choice to fight or not. We have a choice to pass the assistance bill in Congress,” McFaul said, referring to the funding legislation for military aid to Ukraine currently stalled in Congress. 

Penn appeared teary when asked if there was a story not featured in the film that he wanted to share. 

“It’s not so much the things that we shot that I didn’t include that moved me,” he said, after a long pause. “It’s the things that came of the relationships I built.”

At 63 years old, Penn said this documentary is his “last stand moment.” The chance to be in Ukraine and film this documentary was “a gift of an accident in my life,” he said. 

“‘Superpower’ captures very clearly something that’s deeply internalized by everyone who has ever been on the receiving side of Russian aggression,” wrote Antelava, who experienced Russian military intervention in her native country Georgia, in an email to The Daily. “Here in California, we are very far from Russia — and yet, all of us are part of this civilizational war.”

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The Sound of Cinema: Song drives character growth in ‘The Color Purple’ (2023) https://stanforddaily.com/2024/01/17/the-sound-of-cinema-song-drives-character-growth-in-the-color-purple-2023/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/01/17/the-sound-of-cinema-song-drives-character-growth-in-the-color-purple-2023/#respond Thu, 18 Jan 2024 06:54:15 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1240425 Both the presence and absence of sound convey protagonist Celie’s development as she transforms into a powerful woman in charge of her own story, Martinez Rosales writes.

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I’ve never experienced a performance as powerful and audience-rousing as Blitz Bazawule’s “The Color Purple” (2023).

The musical numbers are visually stunning and the cast is stacked not just with big names, but also amazing singers. Taraji P. Henson’s show-stopping portrayal of Shug Avery and Danielle Brooks’s scene-stealing vocal performance as Sofia certainly make “The Color Purple” (2023) worth a watch. Yet, it’s Fantasia Barrino’s performance as Celie that made me wish the film never ended.

Alice Walker’s 1982 novel by the same name was initially adapted to film by Steven Spielberg in 1985, and later to Broadway by playwright Marsha Norman. The 2023 musical film remake is something of a fusion of its predecessors; the movie was even produced by Oprah Winfrey, who portrayed Sofia in the 1985 adaptation. To my delight, this particular medium successfully elevates and solidifies the source material.

The film’s musical numbers portray Celie’s character growth, implicitly conveying her evolution. The first song is “Huckleberry Pie,” a playful patty-cake-like song vocalized by Halle Bailey and Phylicia Pearl Mpasi (playing younger versions of Nettie and Celie, respectively) that shows their sisterly connection.

It features a banjo instrumental, with Nettie leading the vocals for the song and Celie following along. This is a wonderful song that establishes how Celie follows behind Nettie, dwelling in her sister’s shadow. The duo’s other track “Keep It Movin” similarly presents this plot detail: Nettie is again the main voice while Celie trails behind in both vocals and dance.

These musical numbers also work together to demonstrate how the sisters are perceived by other characters. In the film, Nettie is said to be prettier, and eventually goes to school to become a teacher; meanwhile, Celie is constantly degraded and told she will never sum up to anything.

Nettie is the only one to believe in her sister’s future — a fact that is also conveyed masterfully through song. After Celie is married off to Mister (played by Colman Domingo) and experiences years of domestic abuse, she loses both her sense of self and her love for singing.

The tide turns when Celie meets Shug Avery, a talented musical artist who is popular in town. For the first time in years, Celie feels seen. So it’s no wonder that Celie’s first solo performance is because of Shug Avery and is titled “Dear God – Shug.”

The audience journeys into Celie’s mind to discover her curious desire and admiration for Shug Avery. Celie expresses herself without worrying about the repercussions, delivering a sincere aspiration to understand her feelings for Shug and how she can get to know the musician.

During this scene, Celie is bathing Shug Avery when the former begins to feel a sense of attraction to Shug. The song is deeply inquisitive and features light jazz tones with a soft-toned performance from Fantasia Barrino. The set even changes to feature Celie singing atop a gramophone, lightly tiptoeing around Shug Avery so as to not disturb her bath. This performance shows Celie emerging from the shy and unassertive veil she previously leaned on to navigate a world full of misogyny.

Celie’s final transformation occurs in “I’m Here,” when she truly becomes self-confident. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen on the silver screen. Fantasia Barrino delivers a celestial performance.

Celie begins the song as she was portrayed in the beginning of the film — hesitantly, as if afraid to announce to the world her love for herself. A quiet piano and orchestral symphony support her throughout the piece. But to mimic the transition in Celie’s confidence to step into the spotlight, the orchestra quiets down to highlight Celie’s voice before climaxing to the grand conclusion when Celie declares, “I’m here.”

This number is magnificent and shows how the once-shy and subdued Celie has become a powerful woman in charge of her own story. Throughout the film, Celie admires all the women in her life for different reasons — Nettie’s education, Shug Avery’s attractive energy and Sofia’s self-determination and willingness to fight back. However, what is truly divine about this moment is that Celie realizes she has become the very figure she admired — an independent woman who will fight back, and most importantly, who truly loves herself.

The lyric “I’m beautiful / Yes, I’m beautiful / And I’m here” will never leave my mind. For a woman who is told that she is nothing to slowly realize that she is actually worth everything was the single most powerful performance I saw in 2023. Fantasia Barrino’s voice and acting gave justice to the complexity in Celie’s character.

There are flaws within this film stemming from storylines being sequestered and cut for time, but I am ultimately glad that the release of this story in 2023 brought it closer to younger audiences. There are still rightful critiques regarding the tragedy that is shown on-screen and validity in the need to step away from Black trauma media. It is important to understand how films like these can harm marginalized communities while catering a palatable story to others.

In a recent interview, Oprah Winfrey said she chose to produce the film because “we had reached a point in our culture once again where women’s voices needed to be heard.” I believe that the film did just that, giving these three women — Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson and Danielle Brooks — a platform to shine.

The Sound of Cinema: Song drives character growth in 'The Color Purple' (2023)

Title card for “The Color Purple” (2023), distributed by Warner Bros. (Photo: ANTHONY MARTINEZ ROSALES/The Stanford Daily)

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective opinions, thoughts and critiques.

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Beyond romance: Dissecting ‘Saltburn’ and ‘Anyone but You’ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/01/10/beyond-romance-dissecting-saltburn-and-anyone-but-you/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/01/10/beyond-romance-dissecting-saltburn-and-anyone-but-you/#respond Thu, 11 Jan 2024 07:33:03 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1240030 The two end-of-year films took two wildly different approaches to the topic of love. Each had its strengths and weaknesses, Kearns writes.

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The holidays always promise to bring an array of emotions and stories to the silver screen, be it in the form of a cozy love story or something darker.

Among the selection this year were two notable films, “Saltburn” and “Anyone but You,” each presenting romantic affection as a central theme. Despite their common focus on love and connection, these movies took vastly different approaches in their execution.

“Saltburn,” directed by Emerald Fennell and released on Nov. 17, delves into the realm of dark psychology and alluring imagery. Set in the elite environs of Oxford University and an extravagant family estate, the film captivates viewers with its perverse portrayal of lust and envy. 

Barry Keoghan delivers a compelling performance as an outcast Oxford student fixated on his aristocratic peer, portrayed by Jacob Elordi. Fennell’s direction excels in creating a feverish world, with meticulous attention to detail, a knack for pacing and montages that draw audiences into the characters’ emotional turmoil. 

However, despite its captivating allure, “Saltburn” falters in its final act. The film, while skillfully crafted, undermines its own world-building, leaving viewers somewhat disconnected from the immersive experience it initially promised. Its attempt to provoke visceral reactions occasionally overshadows the depth of its storytelling, resulting in a slightly nauseating effect that detracts from its overall impact. 

On the other hand, “Anyone but You,” directed by Will Gluck and released on Dec. 22, takes a different route to explore love within the cinematic landscape. Starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell as the charming leads in a quintessential romantic comedy, the film follows a formulaic path, replete with familiar tropes and clichés. Gluck strategically navigates a genre facing declining interest, relying on the charisma and popularity of its actors to maintain engagement.

Yet, despite the undeniable chemistry between its leads and its ability to tick all the boxes for a classic rom-com, “Anyone but You” falls short in offering depth. It relies heavily on the physicality and charm of its stars rather than delving into a more thought-provoking exploration of modern love.

The movie attempted to contrast the actors’ beauty with moments of slapstick comedy — hair on fire, spiders in Powell’s pants, Sweeney spilling water on herself in a way that resembles a urinary stain. However, the ironic humor failed to create compelling and nuanced characters, resulting in a rather two-dimensional love affair. The film, while enjoyable and entertaining, lacks the substance needed to elevate it beyond its predictable narrative.

Whereas Fennell’s “Saltburn” captivates with its intense portrayal of obsession and wealth, Gluck’s “Anyone but You” leans on the charm of its actors within a more conventional romantic comedy setting. If TikTok is any indication, both movies managed to leverage these advantages to strike a chord with audiences — news of shocking scenes and flirtatious press relations clips went viral when they first hit theaters.

Moviegoers seeking an immersive visual experience might find solace in “Saltburn,” while those yearning for a lighthearted romantic escapade might favor the charm of “Anyone but You.” As love takes center stage in these films, their unique approaches offer diverse perspectives on the complexities and allure of human connections.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

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‘Good’ girlhood: Muslimahs usher a Riot Grrrl renaissance in ‘We Are Lady Parts’ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/01/10/good-girlhood-muslimahs-usher-a-riot-grrrl-renaissance-in-we-are-lady-parts/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/01/10/good-girlhood-muslimahs-usher-a-riot-grrrl-renaissance-in-we-are-lady-parts/#respond Thu, 11 Jan 2024 07:28:17 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1240028 In this six-episode series, a Muslim doctoral student joins an all-female punk band to make music about their identities. The show humorously captures the complexity of living a creative life in contemporary times, Cleveland writes.

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It’s a shame that there are relatively few shows where the protagonist is a doctoral student. Maybe the monotony of graduate school does not lend itself to episodic storytelling unless the main character is forced beyond her comfort zone.  

Perhaps this is why “We Are Lady Parts” (2021) is so engrossing. Written, created and directed by Nida Manzoor, the six-episode British series follows 26-year-old Amina Hussein (Anjana Vasan) as she finishes her Ph.D. in microbiology and joins an all-female Muslim punk band. A feminist comedy, the show follows the band members and their manager as they navigate adulthood, nurture their creative lives and traverse the liminal space between secular and Muslim culture.

In the first episode, Amina interviews a potential suitor. Her desire to become a Mrs. stems from the fact that her friends, including her best friend Noor (Aiysha Hart), are all affianced. Her mother (Shobu Kapoor) wants her to date casually, but “keep it halal, habibti.” Noor advises Amina to downplay the fact that she spends her free time teaching underprivileged youth to play guitar, to find a “witty, kind-hearted, medium-to-devout Muslim man.” 

Amina insists she is not a performer because of severe stage fright and sublimates her desire to rock through solo performances in her room. She joins Lady Parts to be courted by a gentleman caller. This leads to the foursome’s first collaboration — “Bashir With the Good Beard,” a rant against unattainable beauty standards and the attention of fickle men.

Lady Parts’ music is about representation and being heard. They are girls who play and pray together. The soundtrack features original tunes such as “Ain’t No One Gonna Honor Kill My Sister But Me,” a mockery of toxic masculinity, along with songs from bands such as System of a Down, Radiohead, The Proclaimers and The Shins. Lady Parts’ music is deeply influenced by the Riot Grrrl movement, a pivotal part of third-wave feminism in which female punk bands used their songs to decry the sexist status quo.

The show humorously captures the complexity of living a creative life in contemporary times. Consider the occupations of the various band members — Saira (Sarah Kameela Impey) works at a halal butcher shop, Ayesha (Juliette Motamed) drives for Uber, Momtaz (Lucie Shorthouse) sells high-priced skimpy lingerie and Bisma (Faith Omole), an independent artist, creates a dystopian comic about a group of young women becoming homicidal on their periods. These jobs reflect increasing workforce casualization, but the flexibility allows the girls to devote time to practice.

Amina becomes a rock star in the evenings, yet spends her days hiding her musical endeavors from her friends and family. However, her battle with performance anxiety continues throughout the series.

Stage fright is an extended metaphor for the uncertainty of emerging adulthood, a time that can be particularly challenging for ethnic minorities who must navigate their coming-of-age in the dominant culture. The show describes itself as irreverent, yet it takes great care to illustrate the complexity of Muslim womanhood.

Saira, for example, is a Marxist feminist who desires a non-normative life, and her learned cynicism makes her the perfect foil to Amina’s naive mirth. She sucks the air out of a room with calm assertions such as “marriage is a tool of the patriarchy.” Saira may exasperate her posse, but she is no straw feminist whose beliefs are depicted as outlandish or comedic. 

It has become socially acceptable to claim the feminist label with no accompanying praxis, and Saira’s iconoclasm is inspiring. She dons a beanie as a head covering to pray, and her faith turns her into an inferno on stage when facing a crowd of unimpressed middle-aged white male spectators.

In the best episode of the season, Lady Parts is interviewed by a digital magazine. As they are pressed to comment on identity and whether their music subverts “traditional Muslim values,” the women must grapple with being forced to testify to a false narrative about how religion is oppressive. 

The storyline appears to be inspired by the backlash to the show’s original pilot, which aired in 2018. Viewers decried the portrayal of Muslim women as offensive. Forcing the characters to weather a similar social media maelstrom is a subtle rebuke to viewers’ appeals for positive depictions of underrepresented groups. Representation matters, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of multifaceted and nuanced storytelling. 

The wait for another installment of “We Are Lady Parts” is long, but Manzoor has not rested on her laurels. Earlier this year, she released her feature film debut, “Polite Society,” another excellent comedy that centers on British Pakistani sisters. No matter which medium Manzoor tackles, her work singularly places brown girls at the center of the action.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

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Lights, Cardinals, Action: How Jeff Small ’95 climbed to the top of Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners https://stanforddaily.com/2024/01/09/lights-cardinals-action-how-jeff-small-95-climbed-to-the-top-of-steven-spielbergs-amblin-partners/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/01/09/lights-cardinals-action-how-jeff-small-95-climbed-to-the-top-of-steven-spielbergs-amblin-partners/#respond Tue, 09 Jan 2024 09:06:09 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1239853 In her latest installment of the column "Lights, Cardinals, Action," Grace Zhou interviews Amblin CEO Jeff Small '95 on his journey from Stanford classrooms to working alongside Steven Spielberg.

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At the start of a movie, you might glimpse a few seconds of a child’s silhouette fishing for stars in the night sky or riding a flying bicycle. These iconic moments are a signature of Amblin Partners, the production company born from legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg. 

Encompassing the DreamWorks Pictures and Amblin Entertainment brands, Amblin has enchanted audiences with movies like “Jurassic Park,” “Minority Report” and “Lincoln.” At the helm of this cultural powerhouse is CEO Jeff Small ’95. Graduating from Stanford with a degree in public policy, he eventually became a film executive and rose through the ranks at Disney, Universal and now Amblin. 

Small joined Amblin in 2006 and assumed the position of CEO in 2015. Working closely with Amblin chairman Steven Spielberg, Small determines the corporate strategy and creative direction of the company. He has steered the development of hits such as “The Fabelmans,” “1917” and “Green Book.” 

Small spoke with The Stanford Daily about his path to becoming the CEO of Amblin Partners, his responsibilities and collaboration with Spielberg. The interview was conducted during the SAG-AFTRA strikes last November.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

The Stanford Daily (TSD): What do you do as CEO of Amblin Partners?

Jeff Small (JS): In the simplest form, I run the company for Steven Spielberg. He relies on me to make sure that the studio is getting the most out of all of the creative ideas that we have. I set the strategy for the company. It’s a unique business in that it is both a business and a creative studio. I think one of the biggest things that I do is to make sure that there’s the right balance between those two things. 

TSD: Can you walk us through a day in your life? What did you do yesterday?

JS: First, I drove my daughters to school. Then my day was a lot of different things: We had some conversations about corporate issues that we were dealing with and projects we’re starting. The SAG strike is still going on, so we can’t really announce any movies at the moment, but we are at least starting to prepare for the next round of movies that we want to make when the strike ends. There’s always going to be something on the corporate side, something financial, or something human resources related. Part of what I really like about the job is I get to touch all of these very different parts of the business.

TSD: How do you collaborate with Steven Spielberg? 

JS: He’s very involved in the business. Everything that we made, he has touched creatively. For our day-to-day business, I make sure that the trains run smoothly and on time. I’ve been with Amblin Partners for almost 17 years, and we have a pretty good shorthand on what he needs from me and what I need from him, and I love it that way.

TSD: Reflecting on your time at Stanford, what experiences or classes were most impactful for you?

JS: When I got to Stanford, I did not feel prepared at all. My first year, if not two years, was pretty rough academically. Students there were just better prepared than I was. My high school offered three AP classes, and I took all three of them. You couldn’t take Calculus BC or things that so many of the rest of Stanford students did. I had a great time and I enjoyed myself socially, but academically, I was just trying to hold on. That said, I learned a ton, and my overall experience at Stanford absolutely changed my life.

TSD: What were your aspirations after graduating?

JS: Growing up, I loved movies and TV, sports and pop culture, so I hoped that I would go into some career that was adjacent to that. Stanford didn’t really have a film major. There wasn’t an obvious way to go into that business. I just started sending out a bunch of letters to studios to see if I could get a job. One of them was actually Amblin. I framed my 1995 rejection letter from Amblin in my office because I think it’s really funny. 

Most of my peers were interviewing for banking or consulting jobs, but I didn’t really want to do that. Back then Disney recruited on Stanford campus. I interviewed and somehow got a job in finance there. I moved down to LA not knowing many people, and that’s how my career started. There’s a lot of luck behind it, and I don’t take any of that for granted.

TSD: How did you become the CEO of Amblin Partners? 

JS: I spent a couple years at Disney doing finance and then a friend was hiring for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) at Universal Studios. At Disney, the job was very micro in that we were doing financials at a studio. M&A was very macro; it was looking at the entirety of the corporation from the top. I really loved that job. I stayed there until 2000, and then some guys I had worked for at Disney started their own production company called Revolution Studios, and they asked me to join them. I worked my way up at the company to be CFO, then COO.

In 2006, Revolution was starting to wind down. I got a call that DreamWorks needed a COO, and I got the job. Seventeen years ago, when I started, it was DreamWorks Studios, and now it’s Amblin Partners. I kind of made my way up at this company, and it’s been a great ride.

TSD: What advice do you have for young professionals looking to advance as a film executive?

JS: Meet as many people as you can. Make as many connections as you can. You can learn from all of the people that you meet in this town and hear what the opportunities are. The second thing is, all of those jobs that I’ve had were very different, but they all were in the entertainment business. That grew my knowledge base and made me ready for certain opportunities.

TSD: Can you share any moments in your career where you thought, “Wow, I can’t believe I got to do that”?

JS: I mean, a thousand of them. On some level, I think that about my entire career. I know that there are so many people in the world who do unbelievable things for society. We do something very different — we tell stories. We make people feel things. We make people aware of other people’s stories. That does have a really important role in society. But I have incredible respect and awe for the people who do so much good in the world in other careers that are so incredibly important.

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Remembering Andre Braugher ’84: A magnificent man and his magnificent work https://stanforddaily.com/2023/12/23/remembering-andre-braugher-84-a-magnificent-man-and-his-magnificent-work/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/12/23/remembering-andre-braugher-84-a-magnificent-man-and-his-magnificent-work/#respond Sun, 24 Dec 2023 01:09:39 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1239703 Stanford community members remember Braugher who, though more well-known for his roles on the screen, first made his mark on the Stanford stage.

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Andre Braugher ’84 passed away from lung cancer at the age of 61 on Dec. 11. The Emmy-winning actor, best known for his performances as Captain Holt in the comedy “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and Detective Frank Pembleton in the ’90s drama “Homicide: Life on the Street,” has long inspired members of the Stanford community on and off the stage. 

Braugher was first introduced to acting while attending Stanford. He went on to graduate with a degree in drama (the predecessor to today’s theater & performance studies degree) before obtaining a graduate degree from Juilliard. 

Steven Fuller ’82 M.A. ’84 Ph.D. ’91 played Horatio alongside Braugher’s Hamlet in a 1984 student show. According to Fuller, Braugher clearly stood out during his audition.

“Andre got up and did ‘To Be or Not to Be,’” Fuller said. “And from then on, everybody was thinking, ‘We are there for the crumbs because he clearly was gonna get the role.’ He was just so superb from the beginning.”

Bradley Rubidge M.A. ’84 M.A. ’85 Ph.D. ’93, in his review of “Hamlet” for The Daily, praised Braugher’s performance. 

“Stanford audiences have the opportunity to see an astonishing young actor in the title role,” Rubidge wrote. “Braugher has tremendous energy, tempered by the comfort he obviously feels on stage. His movements, big and small, are expressive and direct, and his voice, too, projects supple power.”

More than his talent, what made Braugher stand out was his generosity as a performer, according to Fuller.

“They’ve talked about him in his obituaries being an actor’s actor, and he was really that,” Fuller said. “There was a process of give and take that was like no one else I’ve ever worked with, really.”

Offstage, Braugher was “a character on campus,” widely known for his personality and “punker” style, according to Fuller. But “underneath all of that, he was just a lovable, caring person,” Fuller noted. 

Rush Rehm Ph.D. ’85, professor of theater & performance studies and of classics, cast Braugher in several shows during his time as a graduate student in the drama department’s directing and criticism program. He first met Braugher during the actor’s frosh year, and decided to cast Braugher in the spring production of “Oedipus Tyrannus.”

“He was a raw, but rare talent; anyone could see his potential was extraordinary,” Rehm wrote in a statement to The Daily. “Most people know him as a film and TV actor, but Andre on stage was something else again: powerful, commanding, arresting and committed to his art; and at the same time he remained a wonderful, fun, energetic and joyful presence.”

Rehm and Braugher’s paths crossed later, too — once when Braugher was driving a cab during his time at Juilliard, and again on the subway when Braugher was preparing his Shakespeare audition for the Public Theater. Some years later, Braugher visited Stanford with his wife Ami Brabson and young children, when Rehm was already a member of faculty. 

“I cannot claim I knew him well once his career took off, but I remember him very fondly,” Rehm wrote. “His death leaves us so much the poorer. He was a great actor and a fine human being.”

Fellow Emmy-winner and former Stanford drama major Sterling K. Brown ’98 posted an Instagram video on Dec. 14 referring to Braugher as “one of my favorite actors and somebody that I’ve looked up to my entire career.” He recalled people around him telling him he could “be like Andre Braugher” during his time at Stanford. 

Brown worked with Braugher once, during a guest appearance on “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” 

“I remember how he valued his family and his presence in his family. Besides his magnificent work, he was a magnificent human being,” Brown said in the video. 

Calvin Laughlin ’24, president of Stanford Students in Entertainment, watched “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” with his family growing up and felt “completely surprised and sad” to hear of Braugher’s passing. “I felt like I knew him,” Laughlin said.

After Braugher passed away, Laughlin learned that Braugher was a Stanford alum. Laughlin was inspired by Braugher’s decision to change course to pursue a drama degree despite his family’s objections. 

“I feel like he’s a symbol for not being afraid to follow your passions,” said Laughlin, who hopes to pursue a career in entertainment. “I look to him as a source of inspiration and knowledge that it’s a daunting task, but it’s doable.”

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Screen Staff Selects: Favorite film worlds https://stanforddaily.com/2023/12/07/screen-staff-selects-favorite-film-worlds/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/12/07/screen-staff-selects-favorite-film-worlds/#respond Fri, 08 Dec 2023 04:19:44 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1239371 There is nothing like some good, old-fashioned escapism to make exam season more bearable! These immersive fictions are sure to make you forget your worries.

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During finals week, it is easy to feel like you don’t want to be “here.” If some magic or technology existed that would allow you to live in a universe from one of your favorite TV shows or movies, where would you want to live? Screen beat writers tell us about some of their favorite alternate realities.

“Community” (2009-2014) — Cate Burtner

During moments of loneliness or FOMO, haven’t we all wished we could be a little closer to our communities? And how awesome would it be if we did this through epic campus-wide paintball matches that are magically cleaned up the next day, constant quippy remarks with our best friends and “six seasons and a movie” of hilarious, meta antics? I think it would be pretty special, and it’s exactly how I feel watching “Community.”

The show follows eight friends from many walks of life through their time at Greendale Community College. They start as a Spanish class study group, but become so much more. These are the types of friendships that are irreplaceable in life and on the screen. “Community” is a hilarious, genuine and smart show that is worth a watch and a re-watch.

I would love to be a live studio audience member for the show-within-a-show “Troy and Abed in the Mooorn-ing,” roll my eyes at how Brita is the worst, try out Dean Pelton’s epic outdated VR set or listen to one of Jeff Winger’s famous motivational speeches.

“Scandal” (2012-2018) — Blyss Cleveland

Shonda Rhimes is the doyenne of engrossing dramas, but I don’t have the gravitas or lip strength to live in Shondaland and deliver those long, declamatory monologues. However, I need to visit the “Scandal” universe to befriend protagonist Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington), borrow her sensational coats and give her a stern talking-to about her life.

First, we would chat about the importance of finding more suitable love interests and avoiding married men, special agents sent to monitor her and disrespectful men in general. Second, we’d cover the importance of setting boundaries with her parents and discuss the feasibility of going no-contact with her dad. Lastly, I’d advise her to wrap her hair at night (or at least invest in a silk pillowcase!) and diversify her diet — popcorn and wine make a fine dinner sometimes, but she has to eat a green vegetable a few times a week.

The show would still be messy because Olivia is committed to making disastrous choices, but if I helped her with the big issues, it’d make rewatching the show a lot more bearable.

“The Amazing World of Gumball” (2011-Present) –  Emma Kexin Wang

Recently, I’ve been averaging around an hour of “Gumball” a day, dreading the all-too-imminent future where I would run out of episodes. Its fictional world of Elmore is absurd and laughable in the best way. The series follows the misadventures of Gumball Watterson (a blue cat) and Darwin Watterson, his orange pet fish who grew legs to become his best friend — a new little mermaid, if you will. The large cast of supporting characters includes a boring banana, a peanut, a cloud and more.

In one episode, Gumball and Darwin accidentally clone an army of their friend, who is a piece of toast. In another, Gumball’s childish father splits the fabric of the universe when he gets a job. All the previously ignored consequences of the Wattersons’ reckless actions pile up into the finale of the second season. 

What makes the world of “Gumball” appealing isn’t solely confined to its extreme ridiculousness; rather, that of the undercurrent of realist issues guised under its jokes; the moral implications of artificially bringing “life” into the world; the trial that a family faces when there is a major life change and finally, its meta commentary on the darker side of this seemingly amazing world. 

“Her” (2013) — Olena V. Bogdan 

Whenever I watch “Her” by Spike Jonze, I feel a strange, deep connection with the protagonist, Theodore Twombly, portrayed by actor Joaquin Phoenix. Theodore is a sensitive and introspective man living in a future version of Los Angeles. He works as a professional letter writer, crafting deeply personal client correspondences.

His career alone suggests a poetic soul who can find the right words for the most indescribable emotions. I would love to discuss with him the complexities of the human condition and the evolving nature of love and companionship in the modern world. I also believe he would be a profoundly understanding friend to share my happy and sad moments. 

Additionally, the world Spike Jonze created is characterized by high-rise buildings with large windows, wide open spaces and a warm, pastel-leaning color palette. It is a perfect place to be melancholic and lonely. I imagine myself walking down the beach and contemplating people while listening to “Song on the Beach” by Arcade Fire. 

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” (2023) — Anthony Martinez Rosales

Yes, I know this is not the “best” Indiana Jones movie, but it is the only one that I’ve seen in theaters. The movie-watching experience was impeccable; I genuinely wished that I was there helping Indiana Jones with John Williams’ score blasting at full volume in the background. This film specifically had some stunning visuals that were beautiful to see on the big screen, along with quippy banter and Harrison Ford reprising his role.

In general, the Indiana Jones movies show him as a charismatic archaeologist, who finds himself in adventures and is always intelligent enough to get himself out of trouble. I would simply love to follow him on one of his adventures — whether this means tip-toeing through booby traps or escaping poison darts. A part of me just itches to be able to go on an adventure with Indiana Jones while sporting his iconic Bullwhip, Fedora, leather jacket, khakis and the map leading us to the location of the long lost archaeological artifact. I strangely want to find myself in a pit of snakes, running for my life from a giant boulder and riding off into the sunset like he does in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989).

“Friends” (1994-2004) — Elena Vasilache

When you’ve had a tough day at school or work, it’s nice to come home to some friends. Or at least the show “Friends.”  If I could magically be teleported to a universe where this sitcom is reality and be friends with Joey, Chandler, Monica, Phoebe, Rachel and Ross, I’d jump at the chance. (Well, maybe not Ross. He was the one annoying character in the show. But the rest of the gang were terrific.)

I’d learn to shop with Rachel, cook with Monica and listen to Phoebe sing one of her weird songs. Admittedly, I worry that my inclusion in the group as the fourth girl would throw off the balanced dynamics of the group. 

And if we dive deeper into the rabbit hole, I wonder if my presence — knowing them as well as I do and knowing what they’ll do in almost any circumstance — would ruin a good thing.  Would I stop Rachel from falling in love with Ross? Would I help Monica and Chandler get together sooner? What if these folk aren’t as great when real-life “Friends” doesn’t have a laugh track? And New York isn’t my number one choice for a place to live. Perhaps it’s better to leave the show where it belongs, on-screen and in my memories. They’ll have a place in my heart and I’d hate to ruin that with a do-over.

“Avatar” (2009) — Lauren Boles

I would easily choose to live in Pandora, the mythical world in James Cameron’s “Avatar.” I’d be immersed in the lush luminous forests, floating mountains and fascinating wildlife. In this universe, my motion sickness would not exist, so I’d experience the exhilaration of riding a Banshee after connecting my neural link with this magnificent creature. On this rite of passage for young Na’vi hunters, I’d soar through the floating mountains and take in the breathtaking aerial view of Pandora.

I feel drawn to Neytiri, the skilled, female Na’vi warrior. I’d like for her and me to connect our queues, the long braids of neural tendrils that would let us mentally communicate our memories, emotions and sensory input within a few seconds. This would allow our souls to become connected and solidify our relationship as best friends. We’d venture into the bioluminescent forest together and observe the flora and fauna coming alive with vibrant colors. We’d stumble upon the Tree of Souls, the willow tree with glowing, purple tendrils and an extensive root system. I’d connect my tendril to the Tree of Souls and undergo a profound spiritual and life-changing experience.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

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Birds and bewilderment: Ghibli’s ‘The Boy and the Heron’ delights the eye and the imagination https://stanforddaily.com/2023/12/06/birds-and-bewilderment-ghiblis-the-boy-and-the-heron-delights-the-eye-and-the-imagination/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/12/06/birds-and-bewilderment-ghiblis-the-boy-and-the-heron-delights-the-eye-and-the-imagination/#respond Thu, 07 Dec 2023 07:03:33 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1239253 In an age when movies feature predictable storylines and soulless spectacle, Hayao Miyazaki's latest film takes us on a dreamy journey and imparts a lasting message — every line feels alive, Fu writes.

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We seem to be entering an age in which media are increasingly “contentified,” for lack of a better term. Movies feature predictable stories and soulless spectacle. Their simple messages leave your mind as soon as you leave the theater. 

Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film, “The Boy and the Heron,” however, is decidedly not contentified.

The story, for one, is far from a basic rehashing of the three act structure. Set during World War II, “The Boy and the Heron” follows Mahito Maki (voiced by Soma Santoki), a young boy who moves with his father to the countryside after his mother dies in a hospital fire. After several unsettling encounters with a gray heron (voiced by Masaki Suda), Mahito is lured toward a strange tower and gets sucked into a fantastical world. 

Even by Miyazaki’s standards, the plot is hard to comprehend. Events and worlds blur into each other like the proceedings of a dream, and many key elements of the story are left unexplained. It’s mystifying and slightly messy, but I argue that the plot is not the point of the movie. When watching, simply experience the film and let the visual storytelling wash over you. There will be time for analysis later.

And there is so much to analyze. This is a deeply personal film, and Miyazaki clearly has a message to impart upon his audience. What exactly is that message? A week after watching the film, I am still struggling to grasp it. Maybe it’s about grief, or acceptance, or learning to live in an imperfect world. It feels like it’s all of these things and more. (And what of the omnipresent bird imagery?)

One cannot review a Studio Ghibli film without talking about the animation. “The Boy and the Heron” is exceptionally beautiful — maybe one of the most beautiful animated films of all time. The colors are lush and vivid (as has come to be expected of the studio), and the backgrounds are rendered with incredible detail. 

Every line feels alive. Even the ordinary scenes, like a shot of Mahito sleeping, are interesting. The extraordinary scenes, though, are truly something to behold. Recurring flashes of the night that Mahito’s mother dies are impressionistic and dizzying. Watching a group of puffball-adjacent creatures called warawara learn how to fly for the first time, you’re bound to get goosebumps.

Supplementing the gorgeous animation is an ethereal soundtrack by longtime Miyazaki collaborator Joe Hisaishi. Much of the time, the score is subtle. Subdued solo piano evokes feelings of emptiness and grief; aimless, plucked notes linger in the air, mirroring Mahito’s lack of direction. Shimmering strings are at times ominous, holding dissonant cluster chords at an uncomfortable register, and heart-wrenchingly beautiful at others. 

Memorable melodies present in Hisaishi’s other Ghibli scores are largely absent from “The Boy and the Heron.” “Ask Me Why,” this film’s equivalent of the iconic “One Summer Day” or “The Legend of Ashitaka,” is a slightly hesitant piano melody that is gorgeous, but not necessarily hummable. However, it’s a fitting choice for a more introspective film. And when the orchestra is allowed use of its full strength, it’s all the more powerful.

Hayao Miyazaki has famously failed to follow through with his retirement announcements. His first failure was in 1997, after the release of “Princess Mononoke”; the second was in 2001, after “Spirited Away” and the most recent attempt was in 2013, after “The Wind Rises.” 

Although Miyazaki has reportedly rejected the rumors that “The Boy and the Heron” will be his final film, there is an unshakeable sense of finality to this movie — in many ways, it feels like the work of an old man reflecting upon his life. Beautiful, moving and strange, “The Boy and the Heron” reminds us that there is still room for sincere artistic expression in this age.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

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Inside the cradle of Stanford’s Documentary Film and Video MFA https://stanforddaily.com/2023/12/05/inside-the-cradle-of-stanfords-documentary-film-and-video-mfa/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/12/05/inside-the-cradle-of-stanfords-documentary-film-and-video-mfa/#respond Wed, 06 Dec 2023 07:34:42 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1239080 Filmmakers from Stanford's Documentary Film and Video MFA program shared their academic experience and creative process with The Stanford Daily.

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Stanford’s MFA in Documentary Film and Video is a two-year program in which small cohorts of six to eight students immerse themselves in documentary filmmaking. According to the program’s director, Srdan Keča, the program is centered around the principle of collaboration. Students discuss footage, assist each other’s shoots and give feedback at every stage of the creative process.

“This enables each student to become a whole, independent filmmaker and educator while also integrating them into a community alongside other passionate filmmakers,” Keča said. “Beyond the achievements of our individual alumni, what really excites me is to see how much collaboration takes place among them.” 

The Daily interviewed three graduates of the MFA Documentary Film and Video program about their creative projects and sources of inspiration. Eschewing the realm of commercial filmmaking, these artists forge their unique paths to craft works that are both innovative and pertinent to contemporary audiences.

All three emphasized that the Stanford MFA program was their first choice because it uniquely combines Documentary Film and Art studies, providing space for artists to experience and create.

Sruti Visweswaran ’23

Fascinated by how cinema interacts with reality, Visweswaran began her journey in 2008. Visweswaran said that unlike those who separate the stages of creation, her process is one of simultaneity — thinking, shooting and editing all intertwine, building upon each other like floors of a building. She follows her intuition to allow for a fluid and organic creative process.

Her passion lies in the editing stage, where she must assemble unscripted pieces into a coherent narrative. It’s the space she enjoys the most: choosing how to represent the myriad facets of reality, akin to solving a complex puzzle. 

Visweswaran often finds herself drawn to the question of “how we live,” particularly in the context of her Indian heritage. Her work portrays the people, traditions and ways of life of the subcontinent to explore the culturally-held value of togetherness.

Visweswaran is also interested in examining the power dynamics in image-making, especially in the context of war. Drawing from structuralist materialism and the philosophies of Foucault, she delves into the historical interplay between image-making, technology and violence. 

Within the MFA program, she collaborated with Rowan Ings ’23 on a project called “Continuum” (2023). This project was later featured among the contenders for the Best Mini Doc at the 2023 Big Sky Documentary Festival.

“Continuum” provides an insight into contemporary agricultural practices, exploring the relationship between humans and natural forces such as water, wind, soil and bees. For Visweswaran, the program “pushes you beyond your own thoughts and processes” much like fertile soil nurtures seeds and promotes their growth.

Her observant and community-oriented nature carries forward outside of her professional pursuits. Visweswaran described having a soft spot for stray animals and finding joy in making music and cooking food for social gatherings. 

Enrique Pedráza Botero ’23

Born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, Pedráza Botero’s early interest in art was nurtured in an environment where the film industry was not prominent.

This led him abroad to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Film and Television at the New York Film Academy (NYFA) in Los Angeles. There, Pedráza Botero took an elective in documentary filmmaking, a seemingly small decision that sparked a significant shift in his career.

One of Pedráza Botero’s works is the “Alpha Kings” (2023) documentary, distributed by The New Yorker. It began as an idea for a Master’s thesis during the Stanford MFA program: the project evolved through a collaborative effort with a fellow student Faye Tsakas ’23, who shared his interest in Internet culture.

The documentary explores the lives of the younger generation on social media, their perspectives and the unspoken questions they grapple with, such as the world of online financial domination, where paying clients consent to relinquishing control over their finances. The project reflects his commitment to unveiling the less-discussed, often hidden aspects of society, Pedráza Botero said. 

Pedráza Botero cherishes the research and ideation stages of his projects. He spends considerable time — often years — ruminating on ideas, reading extensively and exploring social media platforms like TikTok and Twitter for inspiration. His approach includes reaching out to people he finds interesting, seeking collaboration and shared stories.

Botero’s MFA thesis, titled “No se ve desde acá,” is currently in post-production; he co-leads a new documentary initiative at Harvard’s Center for Media and Policy. According to Botero, the role allows him to pioneer research on documentary film infrastructure, focusing on distribution and ethical aspects, including the impact of artificial intelligence and chatbots.

Pamela Martinez Barrera ’25

Venezuelan-born Barrera’s work is deeply intertwined with her personal experiences, navigating the complexities of politics, emotions and artistic expression. It is often a cathartic process, where emotions stirred by political events are funneled into creative endeavors. 

Barrera said her background in sociology, including ethnographic tools and theoretical concepts on gender and sexuality, enriches her documentary filmmaking. She draws inspiration from Judith Butler’s “Frames of War” to explore themes like the precarity and the precariousness of life.

This distinction is important for her art — Barrera emphasizes that while precariousness relates to our universal vulnerability towards death, precarity is an induced condition when the state fails to provide appropriate structures and conditions for success and fulfillment.

Along with these two central themes, Barrera’s work delves into subjects like abortion and migration. She’s fascinated by the intellectual stimulation these topics provide and is keen on presenting them in a way that resonates on a deeper level with her audience.

Barrera emphasizes ethical considerations in her documentaries. She believes in working with people, not merely making films about them. This involves showing them cuts before finalizing, recording with their consent and building trust — a process she acknowledges takes time. Barrera also noted the important balance between the filmmaker’s subjectivity and the separate identity of the film itself. Her belief that all documentaries have elements of fiction challenges conventional perceptions.

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Five Studio Ghibli films to watch in anticipation of ‘The Boy and the Heron’ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/12/01/five-studio-ghibli-films-to-watch-in-anticipation-of-the-boy-and-the-heron/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/12/01/five-studio-ghibli-films-to-watch-in-anticipation-of-the-boy-and-the-heron/#respond Fri, 01 Dec 2023 10:20:05 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1238586 Ahead of the release of Hayao Miyazaki’s latest animated film, here are five, well-loved Studio Ghibli films to get you excited.

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“The Boy and the Heron,” Hayao Miyazaki’s latest (and potentially last) animated film, comes out in theaters on Dec. 8. The film, which is the director’s first in 10 years, will likely be an epic culmination of his previous works. Here are five of my favorite Studio Ghibli movies — all written by Miyazaki — to check out prior to the new release.

“Spirited Away” (2001)

This dreamy, coming-of-age film is the only hand-drawn animated film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and is regarded by many as one of Studio Ghibli’s best.

Ten-year-old Chihiro is whisked away to a world of spirits while moving to a new neighborhood. When her parents are transformed into pigs after sloppily gorging themselves on (beautifully-drawn) food, Chihiro takes a job at the witch Yubaba’s bathhouse in an attempt to return herself and her parents to the human world.

“Spirited Away” has all of the elements that Studio Ghibli has become known for. It’s a stunningly animated, heartwarming story that doesn’t dumb itself down for the audience. A beautiful score by Joe Hisaishi perfectly elevates the images on the screen — “One Summer Day” and “The Dragon Boy” are particularly excellent. 

To top it all off, Chihiro is a well-written and likable protagonist. She’s a little bratty at first, like any 10-year-old going through a big life change would be, but she grows into a strong and kind individual that you really root for. It’s well worth a watch.

“Princess Mononoke” (1997)

If you’re looking for a gritty, gray-vs-gray fantasy with themes of environmentalism, then “Princess Mononoke” is for you. In this film, we follow the journey of Ashitaka, the last prince of a dwindling people. After being cursed by a demon attack, Ashitaka is exiled from his village and embarks on a journey to the west in search of a cure; he is then swept up in a bitter conflict between humans and nature.

While a lesser film might try to categorize one side of the conflict as “good” and the other as “evil,” “Princess Mononoke” offers a more nuanced approach. On the human side of the conflict, Lady Eboshi, who is responsible for the destruction of the forest and its spirits, is a strong, matriarchal figure who provides refuge for societal outcasts. San, a human girl raised by wolves, is given a similarly three-dimensional characterization. 

It goes without saying that the animation is stunning. The demons are decidedly creepy, the forest spirits are otherworldly and the combat sequences do not disappoint. The score, again by Joe Hisaishi, is sweeping and beautiful. ”Ashitaka and San” in particular is bound to tug at your heartstrings.

“The Wind Rises” (2013)

Now for something entirely different, “The Wind Rises” is a fictionalized biography of Jiro Horikoshi, a Japanese aeronautical engineer and the designer of the Mitsubishi Zero. The film follows Jiro from early childhood — when he dreams of being a pilot but is hindered by myopia — all the way through his university days, early career and the start of World War II. Unlike some of Studio Ghibli’s stories, which are primarily world-driven, Jiro Horikoshi is the heart and soul of “The Wind Rises.” Whether or not you like this film really depends on if you like Jiro — but I think you’ll find that it’s not very hard.

“The Wind Rises” doesn’t shy away from asking hard questions. To what degree are we responsible for the results of our creation, and what sacrifices must we make in the pursuit of our dreams? 

Don’t think that the more grounded subject matter means that there aren’t moments of impressive animation. The Great Kantō Earthquake near the beginning of the film is one of the best scenes in the studio’s oeuvre. The film also has one of the studio’s most touching romances. 

Call it heresy, but I’m partial to the English dub. Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives Horikoshi the perfect airy, absentminded voice, and Stanley Tucci’s performance as Giovanni Caproni is simply a delight.

“Whisper of the Heart” (1995)

“Take Me Home, Country Roads,” first love, cats and the violin — what more can you ask for in a movie? 

“Whisper of the Heart” is a coming-of-age story about Shizuku Tsukishima, a 14-year-old girl who wants to be a writer. In this earnest slice-of-life, we follow Shizuku as she navigates middle school drama, encounters with a boy named Seiji Amasawa and the anxiety that comes with following your dreams.

An unabashedly slow-paced movie, the film isn’t for everyone. However, I think that it’s an excellent time capsule, both of 1990s Tokyo and of being a young person with lofty goals. The love story is sweet, if a little unrealistic at the end; Seiji manages to somehow be both effortlessly cool and a huge middle school dork. 

The film’s message — about putting your soul into your work and still feeling like it’s not enough — will resonate with you if you’re an artist. If you’re a violinist, listen to the track “Violin Tuning” for a giggle.

“From Up on Poppy Hill” (2011)

Even if you’re a Ghibli fan, there’s a chance that you may not have heard of this movie. I fully admit that it doesn’t show up on many “Best Ghibli Films of All Time” lists. However, it is my favorite.

Set in Yokohama in the 1960s, the film tells the story of Umi Matsuzaki, a 16-year-old high school student who runs a boarding house while her mother studies in America. She meets Shun Kazama, a 17-year-old boy who works for the school newspaper, and they fall in love while trying to save the school’s historic clubhouse. But family secrets and the lingering effects of the Korean War threaten to destroy their relationship. 

If I were to describe this film in one word, it would be “cozy.” Everything about this film exudes warmth, from the characters to the soundtrack to the colors, and that’s precisely why I like it so much. It’s comforting! Not every story has to be a grand, fantastical epic or a bleak treatise on the twisted nature of humanity. Sometimes, you just want a story that makes you feel good.

The characters are excellent. Umi is relatable with a quiet strength, and Shun is a suitably charming counterpart. A host of other likable characters — like Umi’s ditzy younger sister Sora, Shun’s cool-headed friend Shirō and the boarders of Coquelicot Manor — round out the cast. They’re not overly complex, but the story doesn’t need them to be. It’s a simple, heartwarming tale about fighting to save the things that you love, and it hits the spot for me every time.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

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‘Trolls Band Together’ brings out the inner child https://stanforddaily.com/2023/11/28/trolls-band-together-brings-out-the-inner-child/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/11/28/trolls-band-together-brings-out-the-inner-child/#respond Tue, 28 Nov 2023 09:08:14 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1238262 In "Trolls Band Together," Branch endeavors to reunite his brothers for a powerful musical harmony. With nods to iconic boy bands and a star-studded cast, the movie is one to remember.

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I never thought I would find myself fully invested, laughing and bopping my head to a Trolls movie in my second year of college. Astonishingly, “Trolls Band Together” (2023) managed to make me do just that.

I caught the film at an early screening on Nov. 9 at Landmark Aquarius in Palo Alto, and I left the theater with a renewed appreciation for simple feel-good cinema. The “Trolls” movies have never been profound works that require a film degree or keen eye to understand — they’re just children’s movies. There is some beauty in not having to think analytically about the film in case I miss a hidden meaning. 

“Trolls Band Together” marks the third feature film in the surprisingly vast Trolls cinematic universe, which spans a variety of television shows, movies and holiday specials. This installment has Branch (voiced by Justin Timberlake) trying to reunite his brothers to sing “the perfect family harmony,” a musical arrangement so powerful that it can break diamond. As it turns out, one of the brothers, Floyd (Troye Sivan), is trapped in a diamond enclosure by antagonists Velvet (Amy Schumer) and Veneer (Andrew Rannell), who are using the brother’s magical essence to enhance their singing abilities and become mega pop stars.

It is also no coincidence that “Trolls Band Together” features many callbacks to previous boy band groups throughout history, including the Jackson 5, One Direction, Backstreet Boys and NSYNC (of which Justin Timberlake is a member). NSYNC even broke a 21-year hiatus to release “Better Place” for this film’s credit sequence. Sure, it’s no “Bye, Bye, Bye,” but the song is quite catchy.

The star-studded cast of “Trolls Band Together” features voice actors the likes of Anna Kendrick, Zooey Deschanel, Camila Cabello, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and even Kid Cudi (just to name a few). While many of these celebrities have no formal training in voice acting — which can be heard by the lack of emphasis on certain lines throughout the movie — it did not take away from the viewing experience. It was quite thrilling to occasionally recognize the voices behind different Trolls and other characters. 

Curiously, I think this film is a must-watch for college students. It’s nice to just sit in a cinema, look up at the screen and be in awe at the magic of film. It’s nice to have the troubles of problem sets, classwork or life drama paused, if just for an hour and 31 minutes. 

Just because the Trolls movies cannot be compared to the likes of “Parasite” (2019), “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (2022) or “Citizen Kane” (1941) doesn’t mean that the film is bad — in fact, even bad films also have the ability to unite us. A prime example is “The Disaster Artist” (2017), a movie about the making of “the worst movie ever,” “The Room”(2003).

The central message in “Trolls Band Together” is that love is all around us. Through the movie’s explorations of both chosen and biological families, this moral hits home. 

When I sat in that cinema and saw colorful, fuzzy creatures singing and dancing, I thought of my siblings. The film has Branch reuniting with his estranged brothers and Poppy (Anna Kendrick) finding out that she has a long lost sister, Viva (Camila Cabello). Both characters grow as they become closer to their siblings. As audience members we are reminded of the bonds that can be nurtured between family members.

My younger sister and I have a 12-year age difference, and I just knew this is a movie that she would love to see. Given that we are in different stages of life, there are few things connecting us — but film is one of them. Right now, her biggest worry is whether or not to wear a bow in her hair, while I’m dealing with the overwhelming question of what to do with the rest of my life.

 “Trolls” gives me the opportunity to feel connected to her.

A friendship bracelet with the words "in our Trolls era" written on it
Official merchandise given at the early screening of “Trolls Band Together” (2023), hosted by Universal Pictures at Stanford. (Photo: ANTHONY MARTINEZ ROSALES/The Stanford Daily)

It is highly unlikely that “Trolls Band Together” will win any Oscars or receive any critical praise in this upcoming award season, but awards cannot always capture the full viewing experience. Sitting next to my friend, sporting our matching bracelets and singing along to the songs is an experience that no other film has given me this year. 

Cinema as a whole is able to bring us closer and show us that life can be a little more colorful and cheery, if only we allow it to be. I urge you to watch this movie and let the power of simplicity take over.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

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Why does everyone already hate Disney’s ‘Wish’? https://stanforddaily.com/2023/11/20/why-does-everyone-already-hate-disneys-wish/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/11/20/why-does-everyone-already-hate-disneys-wish/#respond Mon, 20 Nov 2023 09:30:11 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1237823 Katie Mannion preemptively reviews Disney’s upcoming animated feature, “Wish” (2023) and explores TikTok’s swift condemnation of its Chris Pine-voiced villain.

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How is a piece of art so bad that entire TikTok communities came together to condemn it even before its release? Apparently, for Disney’s “Wish,” all it took was a sneak peek of Chris Pine’s villain song.

“Wish,” set to release on Nov. 22, is a Walt Disney Animation Studios film telling the story of Asha (Ariana DeBose) in her quest to save her kingdom from the evil King Magnifico (Chris Pine) through the power of wishes. A promotional snippet of “This is the Thanks I Get,” the king’s villain song, was uploaded to Disney Animation’s TikTok account on Oct. 25 and soon sparked social media backlash. 

On TikTok, nearly every video using the sound features a complaint about the downfall of Disney musicals or the degraded quality of villain songs. Users expressed that the song reeked of Kidz Bop and that Disney productions used to be better. 

Is the online community justified in its critique of “Wish”? I argue that their complaints are valid.

Few artistic styles are as intimately familiar to the general public as the Disney animated musical. The late Howard Ashman, already a prolific Broadway lyricist, first advocated for the adaptation of musical theater for the screen in the form of an animated princess movie in 1989. 

Thus, “The Little Mermaid” (1989) as we know it was born. Ashman and his writing partner, Alan Menken, transformed the traditional structure of the film. For the first time, a Disney animated feature included a number of songs fluidly integrated with the plot and characters, just like musicals had been for decades. These included tune archetypes that would become staples of ’90s Disney, like “Princess Sings About Her Hopes and Dreams,” “Villain Tells You Their Plan” and “Side Character Production Number.” 

Previous Disney movies primarily featured love songs, often sung by an offscreen narrator or chorus. In the Ashman and Menken films, characters sing to each other and the audience in musical theater-esque moments.

Part of the beauty of “The Little Mermaid” is its riskiness. Disney had never made a movie so clearly inspired by the musical theater format. It had also never centered a young female protagonist so aggressively. Ashman even incorporated a drag queen-inspired Ursula the sea witch.

Now, Disney is taking fewer and fewer artistic risks. We moved from an octopus drag queen, a literally flaming Greek god (in “Hercules”) and a sexually repressed judge (in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”) to a much tamer, blander villain in King Magnifico.

People can tell “Wish” feels corporate and lifeless in comparison to the more vibrant, engaging stories of the ’90s and beyond. It isn’t the songs and villain alone that feel bland. The protagonist princess Asha is being disparaged for having the same cute, quirky personality as Rapunzel, Anna and Mirabel before her. 

For me, “Wish” is troubling because its music resembles pop songs and other recent Disney films. The lack of originality in new Disney numbers has been evident ever since Disney hired Broadway superstar Lin-Manuel Miranda as one of its recurring composers.

Miranda’s compositions feature artistically risky numbers such as Awkwafina’s atrocious, pace-demolishing rap from the live-action “The Little Mermaid” (2023). However, as Miranda’s quirks are seeping into the Disney universe more and more, they are making Disney films into a jumbled and indistinguishable musical landscape.

Disney musicals have always had a signature sound. This is partially a product of Menken’s habit of reusing familiar musical motifs; give a listen to the opening number to the TV show “Galavant” and try to tell me it doesn’t sound exactly like “Beauty and the Beast” (1990). But Menken’s signature sound and orchestrations can be adapted to fit the varied settings and archetypes for which he writes. As a result, Menken-era Disney musicals sound unique, almost like they belong to their own genre.

Now that Disney movies are being made with songs that can be adapted for TikTok trends, Ashman has to be rolling in his grave. Under Ashman’s helm, Disney films thrived on specificity and character development through music and lyrics, not snippets that can be shoehorned into a 15-second clip.

I’m not trying to say Disney should stick to just hiring Alan Menken and his lyrical collaborators. However, I don’t believe that the creative team for “Wish,” composed of singer-songwriters responsible for Justin Bieber hits, will produce artistic products that are up to the standards this studio has set. Diverse artistic perspectives have generated really stellar Disney productions in the past, such as Miranda’s “Moana” (2016) and “Coco” (2017). The materials that have been released suggest that the team for “Wish” so far has not measured up.

Disney’s recent corporate risk-aversion has created a bleak landscape of pop and repetition. Without a pivot to more creative storytelling and songwriting, I fear their progress may just stall.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

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Screen scrimmage: Famous scenes shot at Stanford and Berkeley https://stanforddaily.com/2023/11/16/screen-scrimmage-famous-scenes-shot-at-stanford-and-berkeley/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/11/16/screen-scrimmage-famous-scenes-shot-at-stanford-and-berkeley/#respond Fri, 17 Nov 2023 06:06:23 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1237514 Stanford and Berkeley have served as settings for iconic movies and TV shows including “High School Musical,” “Oppenheimer” and “MythBusters.” Sarayu Pai compares scenes shot on each campus.

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About an hour and 15 minutes into “High School Musical 3,” Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens) steps into an arcade near Main Quad’s East Gateway, smiles in the courtyard behind Wallenberg Hall and bikes past the Papua New Guinea garden. 

Beyond “High School Musical,” Stanford and UC Berkeley’s campuses have been settings for some iconic films and TV shows. How do the scenes shot on each campus compare? In this article, I will walk you through some notable movies and TV shows that show snippets of our and our rival’s university grounds. 

Scenes shot on Stanford campus

“High School Musical 3” (2008)

To many, Stanford realized its claim to fame in film through Gabriella’s campus strolls. Despite filming being restricted by Stanford administrators, the University made a special exception for “HSM 3” to shoot on campus because the storyline reflected the message about accessibility that the University wants to convey.

Although “High School Musical 2” is my favorite of the franchise for its catty plot and catchy songs (how could anything ever top “Bet On It” or “Work This Out”), “HSM 3” is also unforgettable due to its Stanford setting. Briefly seeing the Product Realization Lab in the background struck a personal chord with me. Gabriella’s story is inspiring, showing students from diverse backgrounds that they, too, could pursue an education at Stanford. 

“The Internship” (2013)

Two tech-unsavvy salesmen (Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson) end up at Google internships after losing their jobs. In one scene, they try to seek help from fictional Stanford Professor Charles Xavier, who aggressively rebuffs their pleas for help in the arcades of Main Quad. Only a Stanford student will notice the inconsistencies in the scene’s varying backgrounds. 

“The Internship” truly is an oddball film, with humor that really hits home for all of us seeking those coveted big tech internships. I was charmed by the chemistry between Vaughn and Wilson; the duo gives off a chaotic yet “bromantic” energy similar to that between Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill in the “Jump Street” movies. 

“Flubber” (1997)

“Flubber” was the last film whose crew was permitted to film on campus before “HSM 3.” In the movie, mad scientist Philip Brainard (Robin Williams) invents a bouncy, blubbery substance in his efforts to develop a new energy source. Given the substance’s elastic properties, Brainard lends it to his university’s struggling basketball team, who wins a game with their newly bestowed springiness. Although the basketball game was filmed at a set on Treasure Island, a scene showing Brainard and others outside the stadium seems to have been taken at Maples Pavilion.

“Bill Nye the Science Guy”

Every episode of “Bill Nye” was constructed using a series of short segments, such as ones featuring scientists discussing their research. In the episode “Pollution Solutions,” former Stanford professor Chris Somerville spoke about his research with biodegradable plant-based plastics. Somerville and others discovered that they could genetically engineer Arabidopsis, the thale cress plant, to produce granules of polyhydroxybutyrate, a polyester used for biodegradable plastic containers. Interestingly enough, Somerville is now a professor emeritus at Berkeley

“MythBusters”

The cult classic TV show filmed multiple scenes at Stanford. In an episode about driving with hands-free devices, the MythBusters ran an (uncontrolled) experiment with the driving simulator at Stanford’s Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Lab. The MythBusters also swung by campus to use a mass spectrometer in an episode about germs. One final episode sees the Mythbusters recruiting student-athletes from the men’s rowing team to see whether “row-skiing” — having a boat of eight rowers pull a skier across water — would be feasible. Indeed, it was. The MythBusters never fail to test some outlandish idea, and their experiments at Stanford make the show even more endearing to me.

Scenes shot on Berkeley campus

“Oppenheimer” (2023)

One of the summer’s blockbusters, “Oppenheimer,” is based on the life of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who was a professor at Berkeley before starting the Manhattan Project. The movie shows Oppenheimer walking across Edwards Field, through the Faculty Glade and into Sather Tower. Although the movie was critically acclaimed, I must note that I found the scene in which Oppenheimer utters lines of the “Bhagavad Gita” during intercourse to be deeply disrespectful. 

“Ant-Man and the Wasp” (2018)

When I watched this movie with my mom and brother, we were shocked when everyone turned to dust after sending Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) deep into the Quantum Realm. What a great cliffhanger. Some time earlier, Ant-Man and his colleague Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) look for Pym’s lab. They head to Pym’s former partner Bill Foster’s space at UC Berkeley, passing through Cal’s famous Sather Gate, a scene in which Rudd looks as ageless as ever.

“The Graduate” (1967)

This film tells the volatile story of a recent college graduate who is having dalliances with both a mother, Mrs. Robinson, and her daughter Elaine, a Berkeley student. Benjamin goes to Berkeley to try to reconcile with the daughter after she learns of his two-timing, where eventually Mr. Robinson arrives to give Benjamin a piece of his mind. Some scenes display parts of Berkeley, like the Theta Delta Chi House and Sproul Plaza. 

“Hulk” (2003)

Some scenes of “Hulk” were shot at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), which is presided over by the UC system. Protagonist Bruce Banner receives a hit of gamma radiation from the Gammasphere in the Berkeley Lab. Eventually, he wreaks great destruction across this lab. 

“Ocean’s Eleven” (2001)

The “Ocean’s” series has always been one of my favorites, mostly because of the characters’ infallible propensity to scheme and scam. They always manage to steal millions of dollars but somehow spin their heists as ethical behavior, which is the best part. I was intrigued to learn that the first film of the series had a scene taken outside the Berkeley Lab, from which the team steals the “pinch,” a device ostensibly capable of taking down a city’s power grid.

Stanford vs. Berkeley: The verdict

From this selection, it seems that Berkeley’s scenes are associated with darker themes like war, destruction and betrayal, while Stanford’s feature new beginnings, comedy and wacky experiments. As a Stanford student, I find the clips at Stanford to be particularly resonant, having walked through some of these locations innumerable times and made irreplaceable memories.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

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Talk Horror to Me: Familial issues and disorienting narratives in ‘Beau Is Afraid’ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/11/13/talk-horror-to-me-familial-issues-and-disorienting-narratives-in-beau-is-afraid/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/11/13/talk-horror-to-me-familial-issues-and-disorienting-narratives-in-beau-is-afraid/#respond Tue, 14 Nov 2023 07:36:48 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1236998 In the realm of A24's haunting narratives, Ari Aster's "Beau is Afraid" unfurls the tension between a son's suffocating guilt and his mother's manipulative grasp, writes columnist Emma Wang.

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In “Talk Horror to Me,” columnist Emma Kexin Wang ’24 reviews horror, psycho thrillers and all things scary released in the past year.

Ari Aster is the director one has in mind when thinking of the typical A24 horror movie. His full-length debut, “Hereditary,” became A24’s highest-grossing film before it was topped by “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” His second film, “Midsommar,” further cemented Aster alongside Jordan Peele as a new voice in horror. 

However, Aster’s newest film “Beau Is Afraid” (2023), starring Joaquin Phoenix, saw a more divided reception. A three-hour-long blend of intense paranoia, Kafkaesque absurdism and Aster’s signature family issues, “Beau Is Afraid” was praised by some and deemed to be Aster’s career-ending work by others.

While Aster’s previous films were not exactly easy to decipher (I’ve watched “Hereditary” five times and I’m still finding new details), “Beau Is Afraid” directly sets out to confuse its sad, paranoid protagonist and the audience along with him. 

Not only does the plot twist and turn, but the visuals become more and more absurd, a seemingly drug-induced hallucination reminiscent of “Midsommar.” However, when one gets too absorbed into deciphering these events, one can lose sight of the intended overall confusing viewing experience.

The film is based on Aster’s short film “Beau” (2011), which starts with Beau (Billy Mayo) indefinitely delayed in visiting his mother because his keys are stolen, and progresses into a series of horrifically banal yet strange incidents. The film ends when Beau calls his mother to pick him up, his expression much like that of a scared child. At the other end of the receiver, we are shown a monstrous creature with a hairy back (presumably Beau’s mother) toying with a chain of keys. She had orchestrated the trial all along.

“Beau Is Afraid” leans heavily into Beau’s extreme mommy issues. The first person to enter the frame is Beau’s therapist (Stephen McKinley Henderson), who then opens the door to reveal Beau, his arms hanging awkwardly at his side like a child. Immediately, Beau is established as a character whom things happen to — someone forced to act under the control of others.

As the therapy session continues, Beau reveals that he hasn’t seen his mother, Mona (Patti LuPone) in several months, to which his therapist asks: “And are you feeling guilty about that?” When Beau is unable to answer, the therapist writes the word Guilty in big, cursive letters in his otherwise empty notepad. 

While this might have garnered a laugh in the theater, the weight of the word grows throughout the movie with Beau’s increasingly failed attempts to go home and see his mother. With each new and more ridiculous delay in Beau’s journey (Beau losing his keys, being hit by a truck and being forced to take drugs by a teenage girl), Phoenix’s amazing performance showcases Beau’s intensifying guilt and fear. 

At the same time, there looms the question of how much Mona planned for Beau’s misfortunes. Looking at the absolute paranoid-mess of a protagonist, we can safely say Mona’s over-controlling parenting techniques have created a character constantly afraid of the world around him. 

When Beau finally makes it home, he is greeted by Mona’s admonishing comment: “You make everyone do it for you. You think that makes you innocent?” And thus emerges the central struggle between Beau and Mona: Beau’s guilt and gradual realization that his mother was abusive, and Mona’s denial of his innocence. The outcome of this struggle has arguably been determined since the inscription of the word “guilty.”

I wouldn’t recommend “Beau Is Afraid” to everyone. All I can say is, whether you hate or love it, A24 and Ari Aster have stayed true to their artistic visions, no matter how gut-wrenchingly disturbing it is.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

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‘Priscilla’ is an uneven entry in Sofia Coppola’s canon of girlhood studies https://stanforddaily.com/2023/11/10/priscilla-is-an-uneven-entry-in-sofia-coppolas-canon-of-girlhood-studies/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/11/10/priscilla-is-an-uneven-entry-in-sofia-coppolas-canon-of-girlhood-studies/#respond Fri, 10 Nov 2023 09:14:21 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1236579 The newly released film examines the unscrupulous origins of Elvis Presley's marital relationship. Though it makes important commentary, the film's reliance on subtext hinders the narrative, writes Blyss Cleveland.

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While shooting “Priscilla” (2023), Sofia Coppola ran into budget issues. That isn’t surprising considering the film’s bold premise: perhaps grown men should not date teenagers.

Based on Priscilla Presley’s 1985 biography and written and directed by Coppola, “Priscilla” is another entry into the auteur’s canon dedicated to exploring the lives of young women. The film chronicles the tumultuous relationship between Priscilla and Elvis that began when she was in ninth grade. While there is no shortage of parents who are willing to trade their daughters’ youth and beauty for fame and fortune, Priscilla’s parents did not send her into the limelight — they consented for her to grow up in the shadow of Elvis’s starpower.

At the beginning of the film, Priscilla Beaulieu (Cailee Spaeny) is a 14-year-old military brat trying to adjust to life overseas. It is 1959 and her father is stationed in West Germany. Yet to make friends here, she dawdles over homework assignments at a diner after school. There, a member of Elvis’s (Jacob Elordi) entourage recruits her to attend a party with the then 24-year-old singer, who was also stationed there at the time.

Feeling guilty about moving their kids halfway around the world, Ann (Dagmara Dominczyk) and Captain Beaulieu (Ari Cohen) allow their daughter to attend a party at Elvis’s house. When they meet and Elvis finds out she is in ninth grade, he jokes that she is “just a baby.” Priscilla is excited to be in the presence of a star and too young to discern a compliment from a threat. 

Throughout the film, Elvis refers to Priscilla as his girl so exhaustively that it begins to sound like an insult. This four-letter word is used to disguise his many sins.

Coppola’s direction is chock-full of extended closeups on Priscilla that feel as invasive as Elvis’s gaze, but Spaeny never overplays the emotion. She telegraphs Priscilla’s impish expressiveness, as well as the learned constraint that she develops as Elvis’s cruelty turns into violence. The actress breezily projects coldness without shivering. 

Elordi does not look like Elvis, but he does incredible accent work to channel the entertainer’s Southern twang. His slight stutter and propensity to mumble combined with his uneasy body language are particularly effective for charming Priscilla and her parents — showcasing a reality wherein successful groomers have accomplices. 

Coppola slyly takes aim at the cabal of adults in Priscilla’s life who note that she is much too young to be in Elvis’s circle. Instead of protecting her from his predation, they whisper about her after she leaves the room. Ann does some light hand-wringing about why Elvis cannot find someone his own age but she is satisfied with this remaining a rhetorical question.

Ann and Captain Beaulieu ultimately allow Priscilla to finish 12th grade back in the United States near Elvis’s Graceland estate, where she becomes another object furnishing his mansion. Elvis dictates Priscilla’s wardrobe choices and curates the look that becomes her signature — jet black hair and bold eye makeup. Elordi adopts a cocksure stance and puts bass in his voice. He is playing dress-up with his doll, and he does not play nicely. 

Coppola has a propensity for creating dreamy montages of her female protagonists dotingly putting themselves together beyond the watchful eyes of the world. “Priscilla” includes several of these scenes — pink painted toes stepping gingerly on pink carpet, shiny red-lacquered fingernails applying winged liner and enough spritzes of Aqua Net to tease Priscilla’s hair to the heavens. Unfortunately, as her hair gets bigger, her world gets smaller.

Although the film is visually arresting, there is too much restraint in the depiction of Elvis’s emotional and physical abuse and the couple’s chronic sexual dysfunction after they are married. The reliance on subtext makes this part feel like a string of scenes instead of an exploration of her inner life. Coppola paints Priscilla as a survivor without naming what she has endured.

Disappointingly, more effort is made to show Elvis’s contrition after his violent acts than how those actions impacted Priscilla. Coppola’s filmography has been criticized for eliding issues of race and outright racism. “Priscilla” spans the 1960s, and notably there is no direct mention of the era’s political movements.

The latter half of the film drags as it veers into hagiographic territory (Priscilla Presley herself is credited as an executive producer, which may explain the saintly depiction). Priscilla is initially ambivalent about becoming a mother, but we do not see how she resolves this tension. It is unclear how she feels about being neglected in her marriage even as she is trying to leave it. Instead, we see her busy herself with activities — martial arts, swimming and hosting countless dinner guests. 

Being long-suffering may be noble, but it doesn’t make for an interesting narrative arc. Still, Coppola’s “Priscilla” manages to interrogate what is at stake in our idealization of public figures. Money can be used to insulate oneself from problems faced by the masses, but celebrity — or even adjacency to it — can bring its own set of misfortunes.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and contains subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

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A Lover Girl’s Guide: The contemporary Cinderella? https://stanforddaily.com/2023/11/09/a-lover-girls-guide-the-contemporary-cinderella/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/11/09/a-lover-girls-guide-the-contemporary-cinderella/#respond Thu, 09 Nov 2023 09:57:54 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1236375 In the second installment of her column, Hana Dao reviews "Business Proposal," a k-drama that uses iconic humor to portray a modern fairytale.

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The genre of Korean drama (K-drama) is garnering ever-greater global attention. Typically shorter than American soap operas like “F.R.I.E.N.D.S,” k-dramas are especially appealing due to their ability to cater to the female gaze, utilize universal messages within powerful storytelling and market themselves uniquely on streaming platforms. “A Lover Girl’s Guide” focuses on romance in this growing medium. For many, it has transformed our standards for love (singles out there, you can decide if this is for better or worse).

In the classic version of “Cinderella,” our protagonist is a young orphaned girl in rags whose entire life is swept up when she meets her Prince Charming. Although the Brothers Grimm tale was originally published back in 1812, a modern — and perhaps slightly more plausible — equivalent endures in the cliche of the poor girl who meets the wealthy CEO.

“Business Proposal” isn’t the first k-drama to bring this theme to the TV screen, but its iconic humor makes it a staple among k-drama rom-coms. It is a must-see for anyone looking to explore this genre of film. 

Shin Ha-ri (played by Kim Se-jeong) is your average girl working for a large corporation — but she’s no average friend. When her best friend, Jin Young-seo (played by Seol In-ah), is forced by her family to go on a blind date, Ha-ri agrees to show up in Young-seo’s place to scare off the date. 

Hilariously, Ha-ri’s unnaturally bold and flashy alter ego fails to faze the date, Kang Tae-moo (played by Ahn Hyo-seop). Tae-moo decides to propose to her regardless. As Ha-ri and Young-seo attempt to navigate themselves out of this mess, Ha-ri realizes Tae-moo is actually her boss as the CEO of the company. With her romantic and professional future in the crossfire, Ha-ri finds herself weaving more and more false narratives to try to evade the marriage. 

“Business Proposal” is a wholesome story that follows not just one, but two couples with singular chemistry that’s sure to pull at your heartstrings. The casting for this drama has captured the attention of fans on social media. Rumors even circulated that Ahn and Kim were dating off-screen, but they were eventually debunked, much to fans’ dismay. 

Some k-dramas are critiqued for leaning too heavily on the same cliches, such as the poor-girl-meets-rich-boy trope seen in “Business Proposal.” Yet, the series is able to balance the predictability of this cliche with its own distinctive elements. It successfully creates unique, vivid moments between characters that stayed with me long after I’d finished the show. A turn of events in the plot ultimately forms an opportunity for complex character development, and we see the characters flourish as a result. The 12-episode season meets a satisfying end as they grow their communication and openness to expressing difficult emotions.

Although romance takes a central role in the plot of this kdrama, I admired that the writers still highlighted the significance of female friendship between Ha-ri and Young-seo. Romance plots relegate the supportive friend to more of an auxiliary, backseat role once the couple gets together. Ha-ri and Young’seo’s bond remains strong when their love lives are full of dramatic twists and turns. The duo’s friendship is a tender portrayal of how it is indeed possible to maintain a healthy balance of romantic and platonic relationships in life. 

This k-drama is an endearing story of friendship and love. It’s a rags-to-riches story that somehow still feels down-to-earth being set in the modern day. The characters are relatable and lovable, even the aloof workaholic Tae-moo. This light-hearted comfort show is both digestible and exciting for viewers. Ultimately, it’s the perfect watch for any fellow daydreamer out there.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

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Jane Fonda and Bill McKibben urge University divestment from fossil fuels https://stanforddaily.com/2023/11/08/jane-fonda-and-bill-mckibben-urge-university-divestment-from-fossil-fuels/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/11/08/jane-fonda-and-bill-mckibben-urge-university-divestment-from-fossil-fuels/#respond Wed, 08 Nov 2023 10:07:51 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1236171 What brought an actor, a writer and an investor to dedicate their lives to combatting climate change? A talk on Monday painted a dire picture of climate change while offering humor and hope.

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What led an actor, a writer and an investor to dedicate their lives to combatting climate change? Jane Fonda, Tom Steyer and Bill McKibben shared personal insights from their diverging backgrounds in a Monday talk that emphasized the importance of climate activism and the economic benefits of clean energy. 

The speakers gathered for the climate-focused installment of adjunct professor James Steyer’s one-unit speaker series, EDUC 64: “Shaping America’s Future: Exploring the Key Issues on Our Path to the 2024 Elections.”

The speakers made frequent reference to Stanford’s role in climate change. McKibben criticized the University’s refusal to divest from fossil fuels: “It is a disgrace that Stanford continues to try to profit from the end of the world.”

A journalist and activist, McKibben was born in Palo Alto and now teaches at Middlebury College. He wrote “The End of Nature,” a landmark book on climate change, in 1989. He also founded 350.org, the first global grassroots climate campaign, and Third Act, an organization that encourages people over 60 to participate in climate activism. 

McKibben also criticized the Stanford Natural Gas Initiative for “greenwashing” the world’s “most dangerous” industry. 

McKibben also called on tenured professors to put their position “to good use,” calling them “the most bulletproof people in the entire world.”

Jane Fonda emotes while speaking, eyes wide and fingers splayed.
Jane Fonda speaking at Monday’s event. Fonda’s fellow speakers and audience members remarked on her ability to make climate communication compelling. (Photo: ANANYA NAVALE/The Stanford Daily)

Fonda, who has a long history of political engagement and wrote the 2020 book “What Can I Do? The Path From Climate Despair to Action,” was optimistic about the power of student activism at Stanford. She encouraged students to “rise up” for divestment and “lead the way” in opposing an upcoming California referendum. The 2024 referendum would reverse SB 1137, a law that prevents oil and gas drilling near homes, hospitals and schools.

The speakers disagreed on the Biden administration’s response to climate change. While Fonda said that Biden’s climate response has been lacking compared to his campaign promises, Tom Steyer felt “much more positive,” citing the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as an “amazing” step for US climate leadership. 

McKibben said Biden’s approval of an oil drilling project in Willow, Alaska was “brutal and stupid.” 

The speakers also highlighted the importance of voting, citing Stanford’s low voter participation in the 2016 election. Fonda emphasized the need to vote out climate deniers and put “climate champions” on the ballot, a goal that she supports through the Jane Fonda Climate PAC

Tom Steyer, James Steyer’s brother, focused more on the economics of combating climate change. Tom Steyer worked as an investor before moving to philanthropy and climate advocacy, in addition to a brief presidential campaign in 2020. 

While climate statistics are “shockingly horrible,” Tom Steyer said, “We actually are in a position to win this.” He pointed to scientific advances and the current adoption of clean energy and electric vehicles.

Tom Steyer said that clean energy must “win in the marketplace” by providing better, cheaper products. He argued that fossil fuels look cheap due to subsidies, but clean energy is more affordable in the long run.

Both Tom Steyer and McKibben championed the potential of solar panels, which McKibben called a “water into wine miracle” for affordable clean energy. They see solar panels as the obvious front-runner to supply the world’s energy, impeded only by fossil fuel companies that are lobbying government officials. 

“Don’t sleep with any guys who don’t hate fossil fuels,” Fonda said.

Evan Engel J.D. ’24, one of the course’s TA’s, commended Fonda’s “incredible energy.” While many of the course’s talks are about high-level, conceptual ideas, Monday’s talk felt “tangible” and “immediately impactful,” Engel said.

Several audience members found the talk relevant to their work. 

“One of the things that was an ‘aha’ moment for me was when they were talking about how to talk to people about climate,” said Kim Sponem, ​​CEO of Summit Credit Union and member of Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV), referring to Tom Steyer’s comments on communicating with climate deniers. Tom Steyer recommended emphasizing the monetary costs of digging more fossil fuels each month as opposed to a long-lasting solar panel.

“I think what we heard today is clearly an urgency” for climate action, said Martin Rohner, GABV’s executive director. “If we’re not able to demonstrate that there’s a business model in it, or that it’s affordable to the average consumer, we’re not going to be able to achieve change and at the speed that we need it.”

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Talk Horror to Me: Misdirected forms of human connections in ‘Talk to Me’ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/11/08/talk-horror-to-me-misdirected-forms-of-human-connections-in-talk-to-me/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/11/08/talk-horror-to-me-misdirected-forms-of-human-connections-in-talk-to-me/#respond Wed, 08 Nov 2023 08:59:54 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1236156 In the first installment of her column, Emma Wang '24 reviews the 2022 release of "Talk to Me." The film is a touching tale of people’s desperate yet misdirected attempts to seek human connections.

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In “Talk Horror to Me,” columnist Emma Wang ’24 reviews horror, psycho thrillers and all things scary released in the past year. 

“Talk to Me” (2022) marked the directorial debut of popular YouTube duo RackaRacka, composed of Phillip and Danny Philippou. 

In the film, the latest party trick involves holding an embalmed hand while uttering the words “talk to me.” The trick allows spirits to take possession of one’s body on one condition: you can’t let the spirits inside you for over 90 seconds. 

Despite the film’s supernatural elements, “Talk to Me” is a touching tale of people’s desperate yet misdirected attempts to seek human connections. Right off the bat, two incidents establish 17-year-old Mia’s (Sophie Wilde) trauma and her inability to properly handle it. She struggles to cope with her mother’s suicide on the second anniversary of her mother’s death. On the way to her best friend Jade’s (Alexandra Jensen) house, she’s unable to bring herself to perform a mercy kill of a dying kangaroo on the road. 

After returning to Jade’s house, Mia appears to be a normal, happy teenager when bantering with Jade. However, Jade is busy texting her boyfriend. Mia’s expression then betrays the emotional isolation she feels, and the title bears its first significance: Mia’s plea to the people in her life to simply talk to her.

When videos of people being possessed circulate on Snapchat, Mia begs Jade to take her to her friend’s house, where the hand is guaranteed as a party trick. At the party, medium shots of Mia standing alone, drinking, with people around her blurred visually, signify her exclusion from the rest of her surroundings. Her ability to talk to people is only ignited when she volunteers to hold the hand. 

There are plenty of grotesque moments in the movie. After Mia utters the words that open the portal to the spirit world, the camera follows her gaze and lands upon an old man with dead eyes, his hand in hers. Mia screams and retreats back into her chair. It takes everyone chanting “do it, do it” for Mia’s shocked expression to slowly turn into a smile, as she reaches out her hand again. 

More than the jumpscares and the body horror, the movie disturbs through its potent portrayal of Mia’s misdirected attempts to seek human connections. Instead of talking to her father Max (Marcus Johnson) about her mother’s death, Mia pursues dangerous activities like becoming “possessed,” spurred on by the seemingly supportive front of her peers. 

The movie’s use of various shots heart-stoppingly magnifies these interactions. In Mia’s first disturbing encounter with the spirits, the camera captures the crowd smiling in anticipation and holding up phone flashlights. Then, audiovisual disjunction effects — such as a shot of Mia’s scared face being cut to the crowd’s smiles, or her panicked breathing cutting to the crowd’s laughter — further highlight the cruelty of the crowd and Mia’s helplessness.

The film introduces another form of human “disconnection”: the internet and social media, where people circulate videos of possessed people without their consent. These videos, presented as entertainment to social media users, remove them from the actual danger of possession and dehumanize the subjects experiencing the horror. Even as someone is stabbed to death, we see flashlights in the background of these videos and hear the shrieks of what could be both fear and delight.

We can see this “disconnection” when Jade’s boyfriend is possessed by a woman’s spirit: the usually innocent Christian boy suddenly starts moaning and grinding on the floor, which becomes the peak of the party’s entertainment, at the expense of his and Jade’s mortification. Captured into a 90-second video, his experience is diminished and joins the sea of other consumable, digestible and entertaining items that circulate the internet.

Beyond its thematic feats, the movie left many incidents under-explained, such as developments of the spirit world and the motivations of the spirits. Mia’s complex and sometimes perplexing character is built on the sacrifice of the rest of the cast, which mostly relies on tropes: Jade, the perfect rational friend and elder sister; Jade’s brother Riley, the sacrificial kangaroo and the innocent lamb; Mia’s father, the grieving and silent man who doesn’t know how to reach out to his daughter. Despite its faults, “Talk to Me” can be read as in the legacy of the ouija movies and a case-study for Freudian talk therapy.

“It’s all about connection,” the Philippou brothers said. The movie brings to light dangers in human relationships in the digital age, and, before you know it, the 90-seconds are up. 

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

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Lights, Cardinals, Action: Q&A with Joanna Kim ’15 on her path from CS major to story artist https://stanforddaily.com/2023/11/02/qa-joanna-kims-15-path-from-cs-major-to-story-artist/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/11/02/qa-joanna-kims-15-path-from-cs-major-to-story-artist/#respond Fri, 03 Nov 2023 04:55:48 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1235375 In the first installment of her column, Grace Zhou interviews Stanford CS alum Joanna Kim and delves into the world of artists post-graduation.

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Behind our favorite animations is a crucial yet often forgotten group of artists who translate story to screen, one panel at a time. Storyboard artists like Joanna Kim ’15 work closely with directors to sketch illustrations that visualize an animation’s narrative. These illustrations form the blueprints of what we see on screen.

Kim is a storyboard artist for the Nickelodeon show “Blaze and the Monster Machines,” and her past credits include storyboarding for Showtime’s “Our Cartoon President” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” She spoke with The Daily about her experience in storyboarding, the process through which “animation comes alive.”

The Stanford Daily [TSD]: How did you discover storyboard art?

Joanna Kim [JK]: After graduating with a computer science degree from Stanford, I realized I didn’t want to go into engineering. I didn’t know exactly what to do, but I knew I loved animation. I loved anime and manga growing up and wanted to be a comic book artist. I literally went through a list of positions in animation and read their descriptions. I asked my friends if they knew people in animation and cold contacted a bunch of people to figure out what storyboarding is. Once I got a good enough idea of it, I took courses at the School of Visual Arts in New York and online. The further I tried things in storyboarding, the more I liked it. 

TSD: What was your favorite job or TV show you worked on, and what was it like?

JK: My favorite job is my current one — working on “Blaze and the Monster Machines.” It’s a preschool show with Nickelodeon. I really like kids shows and being able to draw cute things, and the people on the team are super passionate. It’s fun to be in a meeting with them; there are suggestions coming left and right about what kinds of shots would be really cool. 

TSD: As a storyboard artist, what do you do to put together one episode?

JK: The first rough pass on the script is thumbnails — they allow the director and the showrunners to see if it feels right — and this is done by another team. Then, in the next pass, I do some cleanup and redo scenes kids might not understand. One day I’ll sit down with the director for an hour or two, and we’ll hash out shot by shot what’s working and what’s not. It’s a good time to bring up ideas you have, such as visual gags or interesting ways to do the shot. Then I spend a week drawing my first pass of it, which ends up being 200 to 300 panels, but those are pretty rough. We discuss if things still work or need to be changed. Finally, I do a cleanup to make the lines prettier and address all the feedback from the director. That’s pretty much the whole course of one episode, and I usually take on about a fourth of a 22-minute episode. 

TSD: What was your experience working for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”?

JK: I worked on the animated shorts they have for the Christmas special and election special. Those are really fun. The scripts are hilarious. I worked one-on-one a lot with the director and producer, Tim Luecke, because the turnaround was pretty fast. He was also having a lot of fun with it. Unfortunately, I never got to see Colbert.

TSD: How did you find your storyboarding opportunities?

JK: The first job was from the recommendation of someone I met at the airport! I was showing my portfolio at an animation convention, CTNX, and on the flight back to New York, I ran into Meaghan Horner, who was the assistant director for “Our Cartoon President,” the show for which Colbert served as executive producer. She happened to see my portfolio and remembered me, so I got to do a test with them. From there, I’ve gotten freelance jobs, mostly from people who I’ve worked with inviting me to join their own projects. 

TSD: How did Stanford prepare you for your storyboarding career?

JK: The most directly helpful thing was being part of the Stanford Graphic Novel Project. That was the first time I finished a really large creative project from start to finish. Having that experience gave me an idea of what it was like to work on a team long term to do something creatively.

TSD: Do you have any advice for Stanford students interested in storyboard art?

JK: I have three pieces of advice. First, there are so many amazing resources both in and out of Stanford. If there are certain technical skills you want to learn, take some online courses. The second piece of advice is that it would be helpful to find your community, the people you can envision working with in the future and who are walking the same path as you. It’s great to have people you admire, the greats, as your north star, but the people who really inspire you to take each next step are the people right beside you and ahead of you. The third is that a career isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon. Take care of yourself; be patient. You’re going to be in it for the long haul. If there are setbacks, they’re blips in what is a very long career.

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‘The Killing of a Journalist’: Slovakia’s struggle against corruption https://stanforddaily.com/2023/10/29/the-killing-of-a-journalist-slovakias-struggle-against-corruption/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/10/29/the-killing-of-a-journalist-slovakias-struggle-against-corruption/#respond Mon, 30 Oct 2023 04:48:46 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1234878 The documentary, screened at the Freeman Spogli Institute on Thursday, investigates the 2018 murders of a Slovak journalist and his fiancee, exposing widespread corruption in the Slovak government. Directors said the film highlights the power of collaborative investigative journalism and reveals ongoing challenges to Central European democracies.

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“An attack on journalists is an attack on all of us,” read the opening words of the documentary “The Killing of a Journalist,” which was screened at the Freeman Spogli Institute last Thursday.

Directed by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and Final Cut for Real, the 2022 film follows the investigation of the 2018 murders of Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancee, Martina Kušnírová. Prior to his death, Kuciak was tracing tax fraud of several businessmen with connections to top-level Slovak politicians.

This was the first time a journalist was murdered in Slovakia since its independence. The killing left an enduring mark on the entire country, sparking widespread demonstrations and a surge of protests demanding justice.

The documentary goes far beyond simply exposing the people responsible for the murders. It recorded an OCCRP-led investigation of the murders, which shed light on deep-rooted corruption at Slovakia’s executive, legislative and judiciary levels, ultimately leading to multiple resignations and a political transition

Pavla Holcová, member of OCCRP and current John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford, worked with Kuciak before his death. She took a crucial role in the investigation. As Kuciak’s close collaborator and friend, she and her team were personally motivated to expose corruption in the Slovak government, finishing the stories Kuciak started. 

During a Q&A session following the screening, Holcová said that the investigation was able to make a positive difference because the “media put aside the competition mentality and got together to investigate.” 

The investigation saw a breakthrough after an anonymous source delivered Holcová a 70-terabyte file of the murder case, with the hope that she would bring the case to national attention. 

“Although public outrage and political pressure did help accelerate things, this kind of [thorough] investigation happened because good members of police wanted to investigate and pass the information to the journalists,” Holcová said.

Drew Sullivan, co-founder of OCCRP and executive producer of the documentary, said that even when the investigation stays dormant, journalists’ work can still be used to uncover the truth later. 

“What’s important is [for journalists] to do the right thing,” Sullivan said. 

However, the documentary’s “happy ending” — the people’s victory over corrupt officials — came crashing down recently. Former Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was forced to resign following the murders, was reelected and began his fourth term as prime minister last Wednesday. 

OCCRP co-founder Drew Sullivan called the reelection a political backfire against the incompetence of the previous government. 

“To prevent economic chaos, [people] preferred to choose known evil over the unknown,” Sullivan said.

The other OCCRP co-founder, Paul Radu, said that this situation was similar across Eastern Europe, where many countries saw no clear way out of the leadership of populist and corrupt governments. 

Nevertheless, the panelists believed the concerted efforts in the investigation for Kuciak’s and Kušnírová’s murders would leave a long-lasting impact.

After its premiere in May 2022, “The Killing of a Journalist” ran for three months in Slovak theaters, educating people on threats to Slovak democracy. Radu lauded the film for creating a protective shield for journalists and civilians from the “Russia-style lawless society.” 

According to Radu, the ongoing war in Ukraine erodes the credibility of the Russian government and highlights their suppression of free media. The war will significantly influence the future progress of Central European democracies, he said.

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‘Good’ girlhood: ‘Everything Now’ portrays the pain of grappling with conformity for survival https://stanforddaily.com/2023/10/27/good-girlhood-everything-now-portrays-the-pain-of-grappling-with-conformity-for-survival/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/10/27/good-girlhood-everything-now-portrays-the-pain-of-grappling-with-conformity-for-survival/#respond Fri, 27 Oct 2023 07:15:28 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1234717 The Netflix show handles the topic of eating disorders with care and intention, while successfully crafting a high-quality narrative, writes Blyss Cleveland.

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Content warning: This article contains references to eating disorders.     

For better or worse, the “After School Special” is long gone. But its careful education on serious everyday issues need not follow suit.

Although there have been a number of shows about eating disorders in recent years, many have been criticized for overwhelmingly featuring white female characters and using disordered eating as a plot device that glamorizes the physical aspect of these conditions.   

Perhaps this is why “Everything Now,” the Netflix series written and created by Ripley Parker and released earlier this month, is such a refreshing watch. Inspired by Parker’s experiences with body image, the show explores Black British teenager Mia Polanco’s (Sophie Wilde) attempt to get her life back after spending seven months in a residential in-treatment program for anorexia nervosa and body dysmorphia. It is a sensitive yet comedic story about how the people around Mia struggle to best take care of her as she learns to take care of herself. 

When we first meet Mia, she is on a strict regimen of planned meals and weekly outpatient visits, but she is preoccupied by how much living her squad — Becca (Lauryn Ajufo), Cameron (Harry Cadby) and Will (Noah Thomas) — has done while she has been away. From lost virginities to newly-found weed dealers, she has missed too many milestones (“There are multiple weeds?” Mia asks her friends incredulously). She decides to create a bucket list to catch up, and her friends help her cross off an item in each of the show’s eight episodes.

Her squad keeps her grounded, but Mia’s home life is slightly more complicated. Her charismatic mom Viv (Vivienne Acheampong) is as distant as her father Rick (Alex Hassell) is doting. Mia walks the tightrope of their different parenting styles while her brother watches the spectacle from below. Viv is the type of woman who matches her lipstick to her jewel-toned power suits. While she is not totally aloof, as revealed by her attempt to give Mia “the talk” about the importance of safe sex, she is a hard-working girlboss who regards imperiousness as a form of intimacy.

Mia seems immature for her age until more details about how she experiences her body dysmorphia are revealed. Much of her headspace has been taken up by obsessively tracking her calories. Although avoiding triggers is sound clinical advice, Mia’s trigger is food, something that needs to be consumed multiple times a day to stay alive.

Mia’s voiceover and flashbacks to her time in treatment effectively depict disordered eating as a mind-body disconnection. As Mia walks through the cafeteria after her return to school, there are several overhead shots of lunches and cuts to her peers eating pasta in slow motion. Positioning eating as a spectacle gives the viewer a sense of what it is like when the brain regards nourishing oneself as overwhelming.

In one scene, Mia strolls through the mall to find clothes for a date after deciding her traditional garb of oversized sweaters and baggy pants aren’t suitable for the occasion. She is bombarded with advertisements proclaiming “Real women have curves,” and slim mannequins in storefront displays.

No matter what Mia’s body looks like, she always feels “incorrectly feminine.” Girlhood is a state of contrived effortlessness, but Mia approaches everything effortfully, which makes recovering feel like failure.

The series is told through Mia’s point of view, but everyone in her orbit gets compelling storylines. Even the bombshell popular girl who flits around Mia’s friends ends up having unexpected depth. Mia eventually develops a crush on a girl: watching her discern between love and infatuation is enjoyable, yet the initial narrative thread also remains taut as Mia tries to learn to be comfortable in her own skin. 

These side characters also challenge the protagonist in her growth. At one point, Becca exclaims that it is exhausting being Mia’s friend because her self-centeredness makes her overlook the fact that other people have problems too. It is a tough blow, but one that Mia needs to hear after weeks of taking everyone for granted. 

Ultimately, “Everything Now” is a story of a girl in recovery — a girl who is better but not necessarily good. This distance between recovery and recovered may be long, but the journey is better with good friends along for the ride. 

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

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A Lover Girl’s Guide: A lonely but great romance https://stanforddaily.com/2023/10/23/a-lover-girls-guide-a-lonely-but-great-romance/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/10/23/a-lover-girls-guide-a-lonely-but-great-romance/#respond Tue, 24 Oct 2023 05:36:29 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1233338 In the first installment of her column, Hana Dao reviews the fantastical yet romantic K-drama ‘Goblin: The Lonely and Great God’

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The genre of Korean drama (K-drama) is garnering ever-greater global attention. Typically shorter than American soap operas like “Friends,” k-dramas are especially appealing for their ability to cater to the female gaze, utilize universal messages within powerful storytelling and market themselves uniquely on streaming platforms. “A Lover Girl’s Guide” focuses on romance in this growing medium. For many, it has transformed our standards for love (singles out there, you can decide if this is for better or worse).

There’s just something about the relatable yet imaginative charm of a k-drama that soothes any worldly trouble. In an effort to do them justice, I have decided to dedicate this first column installment to my favorite romantic k-drama hitherto. Admittedly, this one is hard to top.   

I am, of course, speaking of none other than “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” (also known as “Goblin”). Talented writer-director Kim Eun-Sook weaves the tale of a love that extends across lifetimes. It stars “Train to Busan” actor Gong Yoo alongside actress Kim Go-eun, who has starred in popular k-dramas including “Cheese in the Trap.”

The main love interests are a 939 year-old goblin, or dokkaebi, named Kim Shin (played by Gong Yoo) and an orphaned high school student named Ji Eun-tak (Kim Go-eun). Despite the bizarre age gap, the connection between the two only blossoms after the lonely schoolgirl has grown up to be a cheerful adult working to surpass childhood traumas.

The term “goblin” may conjure images of creepy, grotesque creatures in many Western cultures. In Korean mythology, however, dokkaebi are considered to be immortal beings with great powers that can be used to help or cause misery for humans. 

In the k-drama, Kim Shin is a guardian of souls. Having ended many lives on the command of his king, Kim pays the price when his same king orders him to end his own life. The twist: cursed with immortality, Kim is forced to wander eternally with a sword impaled in his chest, unless he finds the bride who can remove the sword so that he can find peace.

The show provokes metaphysical questions with scenes that are built around reincarnation and magic. It covers life and rebirth in just 16 episodes, almost as if encouraging its watchers to have existential reflections. The butterfly effect acts as a recurring theme, demonstrating how the smallest acts can create even major changes within one’s life. 

But if the Goblin’s unique predicament and philosophical insights haven’t convinced you to watch the show, perhaps another loveable couple will. Grim reaper Wang Yeo (played by Lee Dong-wook) oversees the recently deceased in their journey to the afterlife, notified each time the dead’s name appears on a small white business card. Wang is known for his serious and nonchalant demeanor — the total opposite to aptly-named local restaurant owner Sunny (Yoo In-na). The mysterious dynamic between them is an interesting complement to the light-hearted relationship of the goblin and the goblin’s bride.

Veteran k-drama actor Lee Dong-wook executes the reaper role beautifully — deathly pun not intended. Wang Yeo is sure to steal your heart with his smart black suit and matching brimmed black hat.

Throughout the show, each of their relationships shows us in rich detail the complexities of navigating relationships and how difficult it can be to have the right relationship, even when it’s with the ‘right’ one.

This is a k-drama that will make the lonely singles feel even lonelier — but hey, at least it comes with a great album. Nam Hye-seung’s beautifully-selected songs convey the emotional power of scenes within the drama, in addition to constituting timeless additions to anyone’s playlist. Although many years have passed since I first watched “Goblin,” its official soundtrack is one of the few drama soundtracks I still play. 

One of the drama’s greatest strengths is its thematic and visual mastery of complementary opposites: past and future, birth and death, love and hate, dark and light, extraordinary and mundane. This story compels us to trust in the way of the universe. Even at this moment, the universe just might be leading you to who and where you need to be. 

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

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