Starring: Taylor Russel, Timothée Chalamet, Mark Rylance
My Rating: ★★★★ 1/2
Bones and All is the story of a young woman named Maren (Taylor Russel), who embarks on a journey to discover herself after her father abandoned her. On this odyssey, she meets Lee (Timothée Chalamet), a drifter. Despite their love for each other, all roads lead back to their terrifying pasts, in which they face challenges to determine whether their love will survive.
Maren is a cannibal. Ever since she was a child, she’s had this insatiable urge. After an incident at a sleepover, Maren’s father leaves her to fend for herself. He left her a tape explaining how he discovered she unintentionally killed her babysitter after taking a bite out of her. As Maren first attempts to manage her unquenchable hunger for human flesh, she boards a bus to Ohio. There she meets Sully (Mark Rylance), another “eater” like herself. Sully carries with him a rope of braided hair from his victims, implying that he has been functioning that way for decades. Upon their first interaction, Maren is bothered by Sully and manages to escape after a disturbing encounter.
After fleeing, she meets Lee at a convenience store. She immediately recognizes Lee as an “eater” because Sully briefly trained her to smell their kind. From that point onward, they fall in love with each other. Bones and All is a shocking story of an existence meant to be isolating and the fight against expectations and instincts.
After watching Call Me By Your Name by Luca Guadagnino, I found his directing style fascinating and beautiful. Especially in Bones and All, the contrast of the brutal subject matter with the softness of the directing put me in a trance. I found this film shocking and raw, yet somehow delicate and fragile. It was also lonely and tragic but still beautiful. Please remember that Bones and All is INCREDIBLY graphic and deals with heavy subject matter. It will make you experience extreme discomfort, but it is undeniably worth viewing.
Ask 5-7 people from two different age groups this question: “Would you approve of the following law if Congress were considering it?” Then offer the First Amendment, but don’t tell them what it is. Then ask them to respond to the following series of questions:
Do you agree or disagree with the freedoms? Explain.
Which do you support, and which do you think are excessive or provide too much freedom?
Do you recognize the law? (Note how many identify it as the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and how many do not. Note the percentage from each age group.)
Optional: If you are willing to do so, please share your political leanings—Republican, Democrat, Independent, not sure, disaffected, apathetic, or other.
Description
Nick Hoffmann (49 years old): Yes, but isn’t that the first amendment?????
He agrees because he says it is foundational to our country.
None, he supports all.
Yes, that is the first amendment.
Libertarian
Abby Hoffmann (17 years old): Don’t we already have that?
Agree. It gives people a voice in the world.
All are good.
Yes, it’s an amendment to the constitution.
Not sure
Katina Hoffmann (48 years old): Yes, I would approve.
Agree because freedom is essential to being in the U.S.
None are excessive
It sounds familiar
Independent
Nolan Westrope (20 years old): Yes.
Agree because “humans strive for freedom.”
None are excessive because providing too much freedom is dumb.
Yes, it’s the first amendment.
Not democrat, but farther left
Kaitlyn Miller (18 years old): Yes.
Agree. Everyone should do and believe whatever they want.
None are excessive
Yes, it is the first amendment.
Left
Raymond & Marilynn Hoffmann (79 and 76 years old): Yes.
Agree because we were raised on the belief that that is what our country stands for.
None provide too much freedom, but some people may abuse their free speech.
Yes, it is the first amendment.
Independent/Democratic
Analysis
Most of the responses I gathered were the same; however, there is some slight nuance among them. Generally, the people who are least familiar or involved with politics, particularly Katina and Abby, could not identify the specific amendment. Everyone except my grandparents, Raymond and Marilyn, agreed that such freedoms are not excessive. My grandparents, however, raised concerns that some might abuse their free speech in various ways. This is consistent, though, considering my grandpa’s former occupation as a parole officer. Some women I questioned, specifically Katina and Abby Hoffmann, did not recognize the First Amendment. Those who have received at least a high school diploma had more opinions and a political presence. For the most part, though, everyone recognized the First Amendment immediately and was quite confused throughout continued questioning.
Interpretation
I would say that these patterns reflect that people who are more politically aware (excluding those involved with conspiracy theories) are conscious of the governmental foundations of our country. My interview subjects were completely supportive of the First Amendment. Their reasoning was mostly that it is the foundation of the entire country and that freedom allows people to do as they please; therefore, it is good.
Evaluation
My interviewees judged the freedoms as good because they recognized them as the First Amendment, which they are taught is essential to our nation and democracy. They understood the First Amendment was drafted intentionally to protect people and their unalienable or natural rights. I was impressed that my sister knew it immediately, as she tends to remove herself from political or governmental conversations when they arise. I did find both my boyfriend’s and roommate’s answers alarming. When asked, “Which do you think are excessive?” Nolan responded, “None. Providing too much freedom is dumb.” I consider this alarming because providing infinite amounts of freedom can result in atrocities: anarchy, genocide, murder, etc. My roommate, Kaitlyn, also suggested that “everyone should do and believe whatever they want.” I find this troubling because that ideology could result in prejudicial and discriminatory practices.
Engagement
After conducting surveys of high school students’ attitudes toward the First Amendment, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation found a divide among their opinions is increasing. Although there has been a moderate increase in support for the First Amendment, there are differences in race and gender. Boys and white students are more likely to disagree with the following statement than girls and students of color: “The First Amendment goes too far in the rights it guarantees.” This also depends on your location, with the Midwest and West being the most supportive and the Northeast and South being the least supportive. Students who have taken a course dealing with the First Amendment are also more likely to support it.
Starring: Ana de Armas, Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Christopher Plummer, Toni Collette, Don Johnson
My Rating:★★★★
Knives Out is a classic “whodunit” film reminiscent of renowned Agatha Christie mystery novels. On the night of Harlan Thrombey’s 85th birthday, he was found dead with his throat slit and blood spilled on the floor. With his entire family gathered, the circumstances of his death are mysterious. When Detective Benoit Blanc arrives, he instantly recognizes that the family is immensely dysfunctional. Amidst his initial questioning, the puzzle pieces do not match up, leaving everyone in the family a suspect. Blanc must sift through a web of lies and red herrings from Harlan’s family to his devoted staff to uncover the truth.
Harlan Thrombey (Christoper Plummer) was a very successful mystery writer until he was found dead. His housekeeper, Fran (Edi Patterson), finds him with a slit throat and a knife still in his hand. It initially looks like suicide, but there are some unresolved questions. A pair of cops come to the Thrombey estate along with Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) to conduct an investigation, and the film begins with each of their interviews. Daughter Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a successful businesswoman with a subpar husband, Richard (Don Johnson), and an awful son, Ransom (Chris Evans). Son Walt (Michael Shannon) runs the publishing side but has recently quarreled with his father. Daughter-in-law Joni (Toni Collette) is deep into self-help and social media but has been helping herself by ripping off Harlan. Finally, there is Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas), Harlan’s nurse and most trusted confidant. Can she help Detective Benoit Blanc solve this mystery?
Knives Out is captivating and entertaining, keeping you enthralled with the mystery from the beginning. It is a wildly fun plot to unravel, also providing some biting social commentary on 2019 America. The entire cast is passionately charismatic and is perfect for their roles. The director, Ryan Johnson, confidently stays at least a step ahead of his audience, leaving them breathless but satisfied at the end.
On November 23, 2022, Glass Onion, the second installment to the Knives Out saga, premiered in theaters. It features a new star-studded cast, except Daniel Craig, and takes place in Greece. It has similarly received rave reviews, and I hope to see it soon!
Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel
My Rating:★★★★★
Black Swan is the story of a young ballerina, Nina (played by Natalie Portman), and her psyche as she takes on the role of the duplicitous swan queen at her ballet company. The film details Nina’s mental struggle while attempting to fulfill her role, often depicting sequences of psychosis. Black Swan also illustrates the competition within Nina’s ballet company for the character and its effects on her peers.
The film begins when Nina’s ballet company announces they are putting on a variation of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. The variation involves a sole ballerina portraying the role of both the innocent white swan and the seductive black swan. After forcing prima ballerina Elizabeth MacIntyre into retirement, the director, Thomas Leroy, announces that he is looking for a new dancer. Nina auditions and flawlessly portrays the white swan but fell short when it came to the black swan. Nina approached Thomas asking him to reconsider, but instead, he forcibly kissed her. In response to this, Nina bit his lip and ran away.
The next day, Nina discovers the cast list, and to her surprise, she is cast as the lead. Soon after, Nina discovers that Elizabeth was hit by a car. Thomas suspects that she attempted suicide, but when Nina visits her in the hospital, she discovers that her leg is severely injured, which would prevent her from dancing again.
During rehearsals, Thomas tells Nina to observe a newcomer, Lily, who has qualities that Nina lacks for the black swan. Nina begins having hallucinations and finds scratch marks on her back. One night, Nina reluctantly accepts Lily’s invitation to go out for drinks. Lily offers Nina a tablet of ecstasy, which Nina hesitantly takes after reassurance from Lily. After partying at the bar, Nina returns home, which she shares with her controlling mother, Lily. Following an argument with her mother, Nina barricades herself in her room and engages in sexual acts with Lily. The following morning she wakes up and realizes she is late for dress rehearsal.
When Nina arrives, she sees Lily dancing her role and confronts her about their night together. She seems confused when Nina insinuates that they had sex and denies going home with her. Nina then becomes convinced that Lily aspires to take her role, especially after Thomas names her Nina’s alternate. Nina’s hallucinations grow very intense, and her injuries similarly deepen. Nina’s mother traps her in their house on opening night after calling the company saying the role has been too much for her. Even so, Nina arrives at the company and demands her role back, assuming that Lily has stolen it already.
During the ballet’s second act, Nina suffers continued hallucinations, which causes her male counterpart to drop her onstage, infuriating Thomas. She returns to her dressing room to find Lily preparing to take the stage. During their confrontation, Lily transforms into Nina, causing the two to fight. They break a mirror, and Nina stabs her doppelgänger with a shard of glass. The body reverts to Lily, and Nina hides her bleeding corpse in the bathroom of her dressing room. After the incident, Nina takes the stage.
She dances flawlessly and seemingly transforms into a black swan, her arms covered in feathers. Amidst a standing ovation from the audience, Nina returns to her dressing room to prepare the white swan makeup and costume. She hears a knock on the door, which she answers only to find Lily alive. She apologized for their misunderstandings and congratulated her on the performance. Confused, Nina sees the broken mirror, but there is no blood or corpse. She looks down and pulls a piece of glass from her abdomen, realizing that she stabbed herself, not Lily.
Nina dances the final act, which ends with throwing herself off a cliff and landing on a mattress. The theatre erupts in applause while, amidst congratulations from her peers, Nina lies on the floor. Thomas sees the blood spreading from her waist and yells for help. When Thomas asks her what happened, Nina replies that she was finally perfect as the screen fades to white.
The concept of Taylor Swift’s latest tour has attracted tens of millions of people intending to buy tickets. The Eras Tour is comprised of songs from all of Swift’s albums, including her latest album Midnights. The tour encompasses 52 shows across the United States, with predictions for it to be the highest-grossing tour ever. Most of the 52 stadiums across the country would be using Ticketmaster; However, shows in Arlington, TX, and Glendale, AZ, were set to use SeatGeek. Ticketmaster stated that over 1.5 million people had received Verified Fan Presale codes, for which Swift released a registration code on her social media accounts. Ticketmaster added that there would be a separate sale for CapitalOne cardholders. Fans were assured that Ticketmaster and SeatGeek could handle the massive demand, but when the sale began, it proved otherwise.
I registered for a presale code about a week before the sale date. When it became the big day, around an hour before the release of tickets, I was in psychology, stressing about the worst. Unfortunately, my suspicions and worries had become fulfilled. Since the AT&T stadium is partnered with SeatGeek, that was where I had to buy tickets instead of Ticketmaster. I entered the SeatGeek queue at 10 am, maybe a few minutes before. For the remaining duration of the class, my queue bar remained unmoved. It had come to my attention that SeatGeek paused the line due to “unforeseen demand,” which was most likely to prevent the crashing of the website. When I returned to my dorm, my queue resumed its movement, but VERY slowly. After two hours of waiting for my roommate and I’s bars to grudgingly progress, my roommate advanced to buy tickets for the show on 3/31 in Arlington.
For three and a half more hours, I sat in my bed and continued waiting for my chance to buy tickets for the show on 4/1 in Arlington. After all of that time, my bar, not even reaching the halfway mark, disappeared from the website. SeatGeek failed to release a statement, so out of confusion and exhaustion, I threw in the towel and left the queue. However, two hours later, thinking I was not going to get tickets, I got a text from my friend who I was supposed to go with saying that she somehow got us two tickets! They may be the worst seats in the stadium, but I am happy that I even get to go. I can confidently say, however, that this was the worst ticket-buying experience of my life. Fees should not equal the cost of a ticket, and it should not feel like war when attempting to get one.
However, a considerable number of fans did not get tickets. According to Ticketmaster, an estimated 14 million people entered the queue compared to the anticipated 1.5 million. After the chaotic nature of both the Verified Fan presale and the CapitalOne presale, Ticketmaster released a statement. They declared, “Due to extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand, tomorrow’s public on-sale for Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour has been canceled.” This means that if you hadn’t already gotten tickets for Swift’s tour, you were out of luck and must go through resellers. Fans of Swift understandably feel outraged with Ticketmaster’s handling of the sale. Swift released a statement on Instagram expressing her fury and disappointment with the company. She assured she is “trying to figure out how this situation can be improved moving forward.” Swift also stated her hope for future additional concert opportunities.
After its release in September 2021, Squid Game became a massive success and caused a cultural storm across the globe. It is Netflix’s most-watched series, attracting more than 142 million member households during its first four opening weeks, surpassing Bridgerton for the title. Since the publication of Squid Game, it has cumulated numerous accolades: a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for O Yeong-su, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series, and Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series for Lee Jung-jae and HoYeon Jung. Following its huge success, Squid Game has been renewed for a second season and is set to premiere in late 2023 to early 2024.
The show follows Seong Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-jae), a divorced father and heavily indebted gambler, who is invited to play a series of children’s games in exchange for a grand cash prize. After accepting the offer, he is taken to an unknown location among 455 other players, similarly in financial ruin. Each player wears a green jumpsuit displaying their respective number and is kept under the watch of masked guards in pink jumpsuits. The Front Man, who wears a black mask and uniform, is revealed to oversee the entire operation. The players realize that losing the game results in their “elimination,” or death, with each passing adding ₩100 million to the potential ₩45.6 billion grand prize (roughly $35 million). Gi-hun allies with other players, such as his childhood friend Cho Sang-woo (played by Park Hae-soo) and North-Korean defector Kang Sae-byeok (played by HoYeon Jung).
Spoiler Warning!!!
Episode 1: “Red Light, Green Light”
The pilot episode details the life of Seong Gi-hun, who is estranged from his ex-wife and daughter and in debt with dangerous loan sharks. While waiting for the subway, a man approaches Gi-hun and offers him money in exchange for playing a game of ddakji. The elusive man later presents Gi-hun with an opportunity to play more games with much higher stakes. He accepts the invitation, is sedated, and wakes up in a dormitory with 455 others. It is explained that all participants are in dire financial situations, but they will be given billions in prize money if they win the competition. Gi-hun befriends Player 001, an elderly man with a brain tumor as well as Player 067, a North Korean defector, and recognizes his former classmate Cho Sang-woo. When faced with the first game, Red Light, Green Light, anyone who is caught moving is shot dead, which reveals the sadistic nature of the competition. Half of the crowd panics and attempts to flee, which results in a massacre, but Gi-hun finishes the game alive thanks to the help of Sang-woo and Player 199.
Episode 2: “Hell”
With half of the players killed in the first game, many players demand to be released. Using the game’s third clause, the players hold a majority vote and narrowly decide to stop the games without any prize money. Back home in Seoul, Gi-hun tells the police what he experienced, but no one believes him except Detective Hwang Jun-ho, whose brother received the same invitation card and recently disappeared. The players are invited to reenter the games, and many return, including Gi-hun, whose mother needs surgery, Sang-woo, who is about to be arrested for fraud, Player 001, who wishes to die on his terms, Player 067, who wishes to rescue her parents from North Korea, and Player 199, a Pakistani migrant worker, and Player 101, a gangster on the run from gambling debts. Detective Jun-ho secretly follows Gi-hun as he returns to the competition.
Episode 3: “The Man with the Umbrella”
Jun-ho successfully infiltrates the games by disguising himself as a masked worker, and it is revealed that the competition is being held on a remote island. As the players feel more prepared, they start forming alliances amongst themselves. Gi-hun, Sang-woo, Player 001, and Player 199 team up. Player 067 secretly explores an air vent and finds workers melting pots of sugar, which reveals the next game: Ppopgi, where each player must extract a shape from a dalgona (honeycomb candy). Sang-woo learns of this but does not alert his teammates while he picks the easiest shape for himself. Gi-hun chooses the umbrella shape but can complete it by licking the candy to melt it. Player 212, a mouthy and manipulative woman, helps Player 101, Deok-su, complete the game with a smuggled lighter. Later, a player about to be executed forces a guard to remove his mask, which results in his murder for revealing his identity.
Episode 4: “Stick to the Team”
Player 111, a former doctor, secretly works with a handful of guards to harvest the organs of losing players to sell on the black market, in return for information on the upcoming games. Deok-su kills an innocent player in the dormitory, which subsequently increases the prize money and inspires players to riot during the night. Gi-hun’s group survives and exchanges names to build trust amongst themselves: Player 199 is Ali Abdul, and Player 067 is Kang Sae-byeok. Player 001, because of his brain tumor, has trouble remembering his name. Player 212, Han Mi-nyeo, has sex with Deok-su, which implies they are allied. For the third game, players are told to form groups of ten. Deok-su, having learned of the game beforehand, rejects Mi-nyeo and gathers only strong men for his team. The game is then revealed to be tug-of-war on two raised platforms. Gi-hun’s team, consisting of two women (Player 240 and Sae-byeok) and an old man (Player 001), along with other men, is pitted against a team of entirely young men.
Episode 5: “A Fair World”
Gi-hun’s team wins thanks to Player 001’s strategy and Sang-woo’s cleverness. Jun-ho witnesses the organ harvesting scheme, as the guard whose identity he stole, was originally a part of it. Everyone involved is eventually killed, including Player 111, except for Jun-ho. In response, the Front Man launches a facility-wide manhunt for Jun-ho, who breaks into his office and discovers that his brother won the game in 2015.
Episode 6: “Gganbu”
The players are assured by the Front Man that the games are designed to give every player a fair chance. For the fourth game, the players are instructed to pair up, and many of them do so with their closest allies. They discover that instead of working together, they are playing against each other in a marble game of their choice. Whoever gets all of their partners’ marbles in 30 minutes will survive. Sae-byeok and Player 240 exchange life stories, where Player 240 sacrifices herself after deciding Sae-byeok has more to live for. Sang-woo tricks Ali into giving him his marbles and wins. Gi-hun exploits Player 001’s dementia to win, only to discover that the old man was aware of the deception the entire time. Player 001 remembers his name to be Oh Il-nam and lets Gi-hun win as he is his gganbu (trusted friend). As a result of the deaths of their friends, Sae-byeok and Gi-hun are traumatized.
Episode 7: “VIPs”
The players return to find Mi-nyeo, who did not have a partner, still alive. Foreign VIPs, who had been virtually wagering on the games, have arrived to watch them live. Jun-ho, posing as one of the masked servants, is sexually propositioned by one of them. He subsequently attacks the VIP and forces him to reveal information about the games and confess. Once he records his confession, Jun-ho flees the island. Meanwhile, the fifth game has players crossing a two-panel wide bridge, where the panels are each made of either tempered or regular glass, the latter of which cannot support their weight. The players at the front of the line fall to their deaths as they test the panels. Deok-su refuses to progress until someone goes in front of him; However, Mi-nyeo grabs him and vengefully plummets them both to their deaths. Only Gi-hun, Sang-woo, and Sae-byeok complete the game; at its conclusion, explosions shatter the remaining panels and injure the three players.
Episode 8: “Front Man”
Gi-hun, Sae-byeok, and Sang-woo are given a change of clothes for their finalist dinner. Sae-byeok hides a severe stab wound acquired from the bridge explosion. After eating dinner, each player is left with a steak knife. Realizing that Sang-woo will go to any length to win, Gi-hun suggests that he and Sae-byeok ally. Instead, Sae-byeok begs that whoever wins the game will look after the others’ loved ones. As Sae-byeok’s injury worsens, Gi-hun calls for help, but while he is away, Sang-woo stabs her and kills her. Heartbroken, Gi-hun is furious with Sang-woo and attempts to slash him but is stopped by the guards. Meanwhile, Jun-ho makes it to another island but is quickly followed by the Front Man, who shockingly reveals himself to be his brother, In-ho. Following his failure to recruit Jun-ho, In-ho shoots him in the shoulder, causing Jun-ho to fall off a cliff and into the sea.
Episode 9: “One Lucky Day”
In the final installment of Squid Game, Gi-hun defeats Sang-woo after a brutal fight, but refuses to kill him and instead shows mercy. After Gi-hun suggests evoking the third clause, Sang-woo stabs himself in the neck and asks Gi-hun to take care of his mother, leaving Gi-hun the winner. After returning to Seoul, Gi-hun is left with a bank card to access the prize money but discovers that his mother has died. A year after the end of the games, Gi-hun has not touched his prize money and resumed his prior life in the name of guilt. He receives an invitation card from his gganbu, and finds Oh Il-nam on his deathbed. Il-nam reveals he created the game to entertain wealthy people like himself and only participated in Gi-hun’s group out of nostalgia. Shortly after, Il-nam dies in the presence of Gi-hun. He retrieves Sae-byeok’s brother and has him looked after by Sang-woo’s mother by giving them a large share of prize money. As Gi-hun travels to the airport on a trip to see his daughter, he stumbles across the same recruiter playing ddakji with another desperate player, but only manages to get his invitation card. He calls the card’s number before boarding his plane, demanding to know who is running the games. The operator orders him to board his plane, but Gi-hun heads back to the terminal instead.
For some reason, I had this preconceived notion that since I did not like stop-motion very much, I would not like this film. That assumption was so far from the truth.
Right off the bat, Fantastic Mr. Fox flaunts that Wes Anderson flair. Knowing that Anderson directed the film gave me some initial hope to grapple with. His use of color is so pronounced and exaggerated, which works in tandem to create a world so distant from reality. I feel as if Anderson was the perfect director to tackle this sort of movie. His already “quirky” aesthetic combined with the concept of stop-motion woodland animals appears as a strangely perfect opportunity.
The film follows Mr. Fox, a father, and husband, bored with his current life. In stereotypical fox fashion, he was once a chicken burglar but is now a newspaper columnist. In an attempt to make his life more interesting, Mr. Fox becomes the mastermind behind a heist of three local farmers. The farmers, tired of the cunning and sly Mr. Fox, enact revenge against him and his family. They trap Mr. Fox, his family, and his community of various animals underground to force surrender. Mr. Fox and his fellow animals must utilize their crafty animal instincts to escape the plotting of his vengeful human neighbors.
Overall, Fantastic Mr. Fox was wonderfully creative and witty. It suited my style of dry humor, which was amusing to watch. Despite its advertisement as a children’s movie due to its adaption from a children’s book, it also serves adults well. Its snarky and witty punches make Fantastic Mr. Fox a thoroughly enjoyable watch. The voice acting is likewise phenomenal, alongside the animation and cinematography. Fantastic Mr. Fox ticks all of my boxes for a perfect movie, and I could not recommend viewing anything more.
Kanye “Ye” West is an American rapper, songwriter, producer, and fashion designer. He is widely known as one of the most influential hip-hop artists and one of the greatest musicians of our time. He began his rap career in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois, during the 90s. He later started producing for artists such as Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, and Twista.
In 2004, after being pushed aside by record labels who viewed him as unmarketable, Kaye released his debut solo album, The College Dropout. The album subsequently garnered 10 Grammy nominations and went on to win the categories of “Best Rap Album” and “Album of The Year.” Kanye went on to release Late Registration (2005) and Graduation (2007), which both generated critical acclaim and heaps of sales revenue. Following the death of his mother, Donna West, Kanye debuted his fourth studio album, Heartbreak (2008), which was full of autotune singing and very little rapping.
After interrupting Taylor Swift’s VMA speech in 2009, Kanye faced public vilification, even disgraced by former President Obama, and took a hiatus. In 2010, he released what many consider to be his magnum opus: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Kanye continued to release two additional studio albums: Yeezus (2013) and The Life of Pablo (2016). After the announcement of The Life of Pablo, Kanye made his controversial political support for Donald Trump public, which led to his appearance at campaign rallies with Trump himself. Following this, Kanye published three more albums, KIDS SEE GHOSTS (2018), JESUS IS KING (2019), and Donda (2021), which were all massively successful. In 2018, Kanye also revealed that he lives with Bipolar disorder.
So, how did Kanye West go from the richest black man in America who changed the face of hip-hop to “losing 2 billion dollars in a day?”
Kanye’s Downfall
Beginning in early October of 2022, Kanye went on a spree of public appearances in which he boasted antisemitic comments, stereotypes, and conspiracy theories. He has also criticized the Black Lives Matter movement and was blocked from various social media platforms, causing disavowal by industry peers. Here is everything he has said, done, and does not regret:
October 3
West and Candace Owens teamed up to wear matching “White Lives Matter” shirts at the Yeezy fashion show in Paris. The term is allegedly associated with a Neo-Nazi group created as a racist response to the civil rights movement, Black Lives Matter.
October 6
West participated in an interview with Fox News host, Tucker Carlson, in which he demonstrates his pro-life views by stating, “There’s more Black babies being aborted than born in New York City at this point. Fifty percent of Black death in America is abortion.”
October 7
Kanye was restricted from Instagram after posting a text from Diddy in which he says he was going to use Combs “as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me.”
October 9
On Twitter, Kanye claimed he was going to go “death con 3 on Jewish people,” (a misspelling of “defcon”) and says it was not anti-Semitic for him to say so because “black people are actually Jew also.” Following this, Twitter locked his account.
October 15
In an episode of Drink Champs, Kanye falsely claims that George Floyd died because of a fentanyl overdose, not the knee on his neck suffocating him. Floyd’s family plans to sue West for these remarks.
October 17
In an interview with Chris Cuomo, West discusses the “Jewish underground media mafia” and states that “Black musicians signed to Jewish record labels and those Jewish record labels take ownership,” a form of “modern-day slavery.”
October 27
CNN Reports that Kanye wanted to name his 2018 album after Adolf Hitler and cites several anonymous sources that claim the rapper had an “obsession” with the dictator.
November 2
Six people who have previously worked with West tell NBC News that he has made many “pro-Hitler” and “pro-Nazi” remarks, dating back to 2018.
November 4
West tweeted he is “starting to think anti-Semitic means [the N word],” which Twitter eventually removed.
The Aftermath
Before Kanye debuted the “White Lives Matter” shirt, Forbes estimated his net worth to be $2 billion. However, after further antisemitic and generally racist remarks, Adidas dropped West’s partnership with the brand, costing his net worth $400 million. Several other companies have severed their ties with West following his statements, including Balenciaga, the Gap, and Foot Locker.
On October 21st, Taylor Swift released her newly anticipated tenth studio album, Midnights. She described it as “the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout [her] life,” establishing it as her most personal album to date. Before the release, Swift went to TikTok to promote and reveal the tracklist using a bingo spinner, which generated massive amounts of publicity for the album. Swift dropped the initial 13 tracks at midnight, of course; However, she secretly released 7 more songs at 3 am, dubbing them “3 am tracks.” The album consisted of the following songs:
Lavender Haze
Maroon
Anti-Hero
Snow On The Beach (feat. Lana Del Ray)
You’re On Your Own, Kid
Midnight Rain
Question…?
Vigilante Shit
Bejeweled
Labyrinth
Karma
Sweet Nothing
Mastermind
The Great War
Bigger Than The Whole Sky
Paris
High Infidelity
Glitch
Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve
Dear Reader
I could review each song individually, but that would take ages. Instead, I will say that each song discusses an anecdotal experience or emotion of Swift’s, ranging from love, anxiety, revenge, and insecurity. The lead single of Midnights, “Anti-hero,” delves into Swift’s deepest self-loathing insecurities. She repeatedly describes herself as “the problem,” and portrays various forms of self-hatred, such as her eating disorder, narcissism, and depression.
Honestly, I was disappointed with the contents of this album. The publicity of Midnights was so intense and engaging so it gave me high hopes. I did not enjoy the production, sorry Jack Antonoff. It was too synthetic for me and lacked the depth needed to establish uniqueness. With many tracks on Midnights, I felt as if I had heard them before on her previous albums. There were barely any differentiating factors, which decreased my overall enjoyment of the project. However, I thoroughly adore tracks like “Lavender Haze” and “Mastermind” because they have nuance and the production does not fall flat. I am quite disappointed about not fawning over the entire work, but I did appreciate parts of Midnights and recommend that everyone give it a listen.
To be honest, this movie was pretty bad. I had seen many negative reviews beforehand that lead me to expect the worst, but after I finished it, I was more confused than anything.
The film is set during the 1950s in an experimental utopian community, Victory. Harry Styles, who plays Jack, goes to work on a top-secret project along with all the other men in the community, leaving the women to enjoy the luxury of their “perfect” paradise. While Jack is away at work, his wife, Alice, played by Florence Pugh, experiences flashes of convoluted memories that threaten to expose their community.
One day, Alice witnesses a plane smoking and falling from the sky while taking a community bus. She ventures through the Californian mountains to find it but comes across a strange structure that she is barred from entering, which turns out to be Victory headquarters. When she returns to the community, flashes of incoherent memories start appearing, which causes Alice to intensely question the Victory Project. Alice eventually pieces together the puzzle that the Victory Project is a simulation. Her husband, Jack, essentially kidnapped her and trapped them both inside the utopian simulation so they could live happily together. Jack and the other men inside the simulation are revealed to be conscious of its parameters; However, the women are not. Once she realizes this, Alice races to Victory headquarters and when she touches the glass boundary is presumably transported to the real world.
Don’t Worry Darling is highly disappointing from my perspective. The premise initially sounded so interesting and there was so much potential for the plot twist. However, none of the characters were developed enough. I had no emotional ties to any character except Alice, barely. I do not think the plot was developed enough either. It felt as if bits and pieces were haphazardly thrown in, which left it more nonsensical.
