Phoebe Bridgers is a Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter of dreamy and lyrical melancholy indie pop tunes. Bridgers emerged in 2015 and later released her first studio album, Stranger in the Alps, in 2017. Shortly after, she began collaborating with veterans such as Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker and forming the group Boygenius. In 2020, Bridgers released her latest studio album, Punisher, which garnered significant praise and a Grammy nomination.
In May of 2022, my friend Rhea and I saw Phoebe Bridgers in concert at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Dallas, Texas. Since we bought pit tickets, we arrived four hours before start time and camped outside the venue in the hot sun. Despite the sun’s unrest, it was worth it. We ended up in around the third row behind the stage’s barricade.
The concert began around 9 pm, with the band Sloppy Jane as the opener. After Sloppy Jane’s setlist, featuring songs that showcased their punk-rock and chamber-pop sound, Bridgers began her set around 10 pm. She performed according to the setlist pictured below, opening with “Motion Sickness,” the most well-known song from her album Stranger in the Alps.
Setlist
Motion Sickness
DVD Menu
Garden Song
Kyoto
Punisher
Halloween
Smoke Signals
Funeral
Chinese Satellite
Moon Song
Scott Street
Savior Complex
ICU
Sidelines
Graceland Too
I Know The End
Encore: Waiting Room
Bridgers performed her album Punisher in its entirety, along with some notable songs from Stranger in the Alps and her new single, “Sidelines.” Bridgers asked the crowd which song they wanted to hear for the encore, and the general consensus seemed to be “Waiting Room,” one of her oldest songs. Bridgers wrote, “Waiting Room” in her teenage years, which explains its dramatics and had only performed it live once prior to this show.
For me, I felt this concert in my soul. Dramatic, yes, but I think it’s an accurate description. It was a phenomenal experience. Remembering the entire pit singing and swaying along to Bridgers’ voice is intensely moving. Now, whenever I listen to her songs, I always refer back to the experience of hearing them live. If Phoebe Bridgers ever holds a concert near you, I highly recommend going and enjoying it for yourself.
"You call me up again just to break me like a promise,
so casually cruel in the name of being honest."
Starring: Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien
Written and Directed by Taylor Swift
All Too Well: The Short Film is Taylor Swift’s personal story of love and heartbreak written and directed by herself. Swift’s song All Too Well, which inspired the short film, overlays the screenplay and acts as a narration. Essentially, All Too Well delves deeper into Swift’s relationship with Jake Gyllenhal. The short film features Sadie Sink as “Her” and Dylan O’Brien as “Him.” The film begins with “Him” and “Her” lying on a bed, intertwined, feeling wistfully happy. The narration then commences as Sink forgets her scarf in O’Brien’s house. The short film progresses to a dinner party with all of “His” friends. Their fairytale romance is disrupted when O’Brien’s character condescendingly drops Sink’s hand and pats it, leading to a fiery argument. Sink is then pictured alone and sobbing after splitting from “Him.” The final seconds depict an older Sink as a widely successful author while O’Brien watches through a window with Sink’s old scarf tied around his neck.
A significant pattern is the recurrence of “Her” red scarf. The color red is also symbolically represented as an emotion throughout the short film.
The red scarf acts as a symbol of innocence lost in a relationship as well as the parts of ourselves that we give to others. Sink has red hair and is pictured in warmer colors, whereas O’Brien is always seen in cooler blues and grays. This characterizes “Her” as more vibrant and lively, whereas O’Brien is depicted as cold and distant.
The scarf metaphor is especially effective because it is so accessible and also encompasses the main idea of the short film. Symbolizing the color red is also clever because it displays the fluctuations in their relationship.
The main group of people consuming and interacting with this piece of media is women. All Too Well: The Short Film is commonly referred to as reflecting the “female gaze,” which gives agency to women as subjects who can still be looked at but have the ability to look back. By incorporating this perspective into the short film, more women feel inclined to consume this media.
The 18-year-old singer and songwriter Olivia Rodrigo announced her debut album to release on May 21, 2021, following the massive success of her singles Drivers License and Deja Vu. Alongside the title and release date, Rodrigo also released the tracklist. It reads as follows:
Just from glimpsing the titles, you can get a clear sense of the story that Rodrigo is trying to tell listeners. They detail the stages of heartbreak and grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Every song has a place in at least one of the categories.
“brutal”
The first track of the album “brutal” is filled to the brim with teenage angst. Rodrigo characterizes herself as “exploited” and “insecure,” yet she is expected to relish life. While illustrating all of her pain, Rodrigo takes a cynical approach, only commenting on it by singing, “God! It’s brutal out here.” Regarding the timeline, it can be inferred that “brutal” occurs either before or during her breakup.
“traitor”
“traitor” deals mostly with denial as Rodrigo scoffs at how quickly her ex has moved on from her after their breakup. Regardless of when he started falling for this new girl, Rodrigo feels “betrayed” by being so cavalierly tossed aside. She admits that she knows he’ll “never feel sorry,” demonstrating how emotionally detached her former partner is from their relationship already. She repeatedly asks, “ain’t it funny?” but her pain throughout this wispy yet powerful ballad does not go unnoticed.
“drivers license”
Rodrigo’s most notable song, “drivers license,” structurally resembles an emotional breakdown. It starts softly, but as the song progresses, both the backing track and Rodrigo’s voice grow louder and more dominant. At its peak, Rodrigo can be heard belting her words as if she is in agony. Denial is expressed heavily in “drivers license” as she cannot believe that her ex-boyfriend is truly gone. She writes that “[he] said forever, but now [she] drives alone past [his] street,” in an attempt to grapple with what she has lost.
“1 step forward, 3 steps back”
In “1 step forward, 3 steps back,” Rodrigo ponders how toxic, and from an outside lens, immature, her relationship was. She cleverly uses multiple personalities to describe this boyfriend, asking “which lover will [she] get today?” Rodrigo also heavily discusses her guilt, which is attributed to the emotional manipulation she faced in this relationship. Despite the relationship’s obvious and dangerous flaws, Rodrigo still longs for it, expressing how it’s “all [she’s] ever had.”
“deja vu”
“deja vu” is all about similar situations, specifically Rodrigo’s similarities to her ex’s new girlfriend. It details Rodrigo’s ex repackaging qualities of their relationship, including dates and old jokes, in lines such as “she thinks it’s special, but it’s all reused.” Unlike the other tracks on SOUR, “deja vu” is the only one reminiscent of dream pop/bedroom pop, which is made possible with dreamy production additions.
“good 4 u”
After its release, “good 4 u” took the internet by storm. Its punk-pop sound instantly drew a comparison to “Misery Business” by Paramore. Rodrigo’s bitter lyrics portray her intense anger and hatred towards her ex-boyfriend, the most biting of all being “screw that and screw you, you will never have to hurt the way you know that I do.” The title and lyric “good 4 u” also exude disingenuous sincerity as Rodrigo wishes he would feel even a semblance of what she’s experiencing. It showcases her range and power as a vocalist as well as her talent as a lyricist.
“enough for you”
“enough for you” is an extremely raw and acoustic tale of Rodrigo’s efforts to conform to her ex-boyfriend’s pleasures. Despite the fact that she “knew how [he] took [his] coffee and [his] favorite songs by heart,” Rodrigo was still left in the dark. The reflections upon confusion and disbelief entailed in “enough for you” strongly resemble what people experience when faced with a breakup. Rodrigo’s desperate desire to “be enough” firmly marks the transition into the depression stage of grief.
“happier”
In “happier,” Rodrigo is beginning her upturn. The lyrics describe her desire to move on- but undoubtedly hold lingering emotions beneath the surface. The catharsis in “happier” is extreme as Rodrigo selfishly insists that she hopes “[he’s] happy, but [not] happier” than he was with her. It is indicative of Rodrigo’s inner struggle to free herself from the clutches of this relationship.
“jealousy, jealousy”
“jealousy, jealousy” illustrates petty teenage envy and details Rodrigo’s desire to be someone else. It is seemingly unrelated to her ex-boyfriend, but it arguably represents her jealousy of those “living the life,” which includes having a partner. Its position in the album also demonstrates the non-linear nature of healing as it fits into the bargaining category.
“favorite crime”
Rodrigo has finally come to terms with her breakup in “favorite crime,” realizing that it was toxic and damaging. Metaphorically, Rodrigo’s relationship represented a crime, and her ex-boyfriend was the criminal. She includes that he “used [her] as an alibi,” expressing his frequent wronging of her. Ultimately she hopes that she was his “favorite crime” and rejoices in the relationship’s end.
“hope ur ok”
The final song on the album, “hope ur ok,” falls into the category of acceptance. It follows the story of how Rodrigo “knew a boy once,” alluding to her ex-boyfriend, and now hopes that he’s okay even if they aren’t a part of each other’s lives. She also brings in the topic of her childhood friends, steering the subject away from only her ex. The haunting production of “hope ur ok” closes out SOUR on a foreboding note.
Olivia Rodrigo has gone from a Disney child actress to a merited artist overnight with her debut of SOUR. She draws inspiration from artists such as Avril Lavigne and Paramore, who provide pop-punk influences, along with Taylor Swift and her incredible storytelling. Swift’s inspiration also heavily extends to SOUR because they both nail the precise language for an imprecise, complex emotional situation. They also both work through private stories in a public fashion.
Upon its debut, the lyrics of SOUR were so unbelievably relatable to me that I developed a deep emotional connection to them. They were incredibly reminiscent of my prior relationship and in a way helped me find closure and acceptance in myself. I find it remarkable that Rodrigo was able to write songs so personal yet so widely relatable. SOUR has set high expectations and undoubtedly sparked excitement in me for Olivia’s future works.
“Sorry, it’s just fascinating to me. Do you have a PhD in mansplaining?”
Cassie Salazar, Purple Hearts
Starring: Sofia Carson,Nicholas Galitzine
My Rating:★ 1/2
Purple Hearts details the enemies-to-lovers story of an aspiring musician who agrees to a fake marriage with a prospective Marine in exchange for money and health insurance. It follows Cassie Salazar, a first-generation American working in a bar and composing music in her free time, and Luke Morrow, a former addict attempting to win back his father’s approval. While they initially seek the benefits of marriage out of financial desperation, their dynamic shifts when Luke is injured in combat as Cassie becomes his unwilling caretaker. This causes conflict since they must present as a happy and functional couple in front of Luke’s father, even though they initially hate each other because of their widely differing political ideologies.
Even though I hate-watched this movie after seeing profusely negative reviews, I still kept an open mind. However, I came to the same conclusion as everyone else: Purple Hearts was hot garbage.
It almost felt satirical regarding the political discourse being so on the nose. Cassie displayed both Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ stickers on her car’s rear window and was revealed to have Type 1 Diabetes. Luke referred to Cassie by nicknaming her “snowflake” and “liberal nut.” When he isn’t calling her these names, Luke can be found degrading Cassie’s mother for illegally immigrating to the United States. One of Luke’s Marine comrades said “Let’s go kill some Arabs!” Not to mention the film was flooded with military propaganda as the U.S. Military was involved with its production.
Purple Hearts deals with especially serious themes, such as poverty and the United States’ broken healthcare system. The couple constantly clashes due to Cassie’s distaste for the military, but Luke always talks her down by painting her as a political hypocrite. The entire film is written completely on the basis of stereotypes, with Cassie portraying what conservatives deem “progressive.” Although every character occupies a generalization, it is very clear which side the viewer is intended to sympathize with.
Despite their intense hatred for each other, while Luke is deployed, Cassie composes songs about their fake relationship, which go viral and propel her to stardom. When Luke is injured in combat and returned home, Cassie looks past all of their vehement differences and commits to their fake marriage. Eventually, she decides that it’s the realest thing she knows.
Purple Hearts had the potential to take serious topics such as United States’ healthcare system as well as the lack of support for veterans and provide criticism, but instead it was shallow and remained a stereotypical political commentary. It furthers the idea that left leaning ideologies are fundamentally incapable of supporting active duty military personnel or veterans. Cassie’s lyrics read “I hate the way I say words that I laughed at before,” describing how she previously mocked the military, country, and God. However, none of these values are inconsistent with feminism or anti-racism like the film wants you to believe. Suggesting that they are is Purple Hearts‘ truest form of propaganda.
Put simply, the Skyscraper Model is a method of sorting media into a hierarchy, with products deemed to be a part of “high culture” on higher floors of a skyscraper and products seen as “low culture” on the lower floors.
High culture was regarded as “good taste” and contained media with objectively superior qualities. Those who consumed this sort of media were generally wealthy patrons and highly educated individuals. Examples of high culture include ballet, art museums, symphonies, and reading classical literature. Qualities thought to be characteristic of high culture were rarity, originality, timelessness, and if the work was created by a genius or artist.
Low culture, however, was deemed as the “questionable” taste of the masses who enjoyed commercial “junk” via various forms of mass media. Examples of low-culture media include reality television, violent video games, and teen pop music. These can be translated into modern media works such as the reality TV show Keeping Up With the Kardashians, the video game Call of Duty, and the album SOUR by Olivia Rodrigo. Works considered to be a part of low-culture are characterized as trendy, formulaic, mindless, commercialized, and easily accessible.
The Skyscraper Model was constructed and prominently used during the twentieth century by critics and audiences to support certain assumptions about what makes media products better or worse. It is important to keep in mind that this model was produced amidst a specific political context. During this time, America’s social elites felt that their control over the public was slipping as the working-class and immigrant populations grew. Their solution to this problem was to reinforce the idea that the culture they could control, “high culture,” was superior to that of working-class people. Because the modern era was primarily focused on progress and expert opinion, beliefs such as the Skyscraper Model helped elites maintain their power and influence.
My whole life has been spent consuming different forms of media, ranging from books, movies, broadcasts, and many more. Reading and writing particularly held my interest throughout my youth and have continued into my adulthood. Various forms of media have even helped me discover interests I was unaware of, such as politics and government. Although, my biggest concern is finding a way to channel my interests and passions into a career.
Before entering college, contemplating my future and searching for some profession that interested me was intensely worrying. I was concerned that there was nothing out there I could enjoy doing, and I partially still am, which prompts an important question: “How can I turn something that I’m passionate about and that I find interesting into a profession?”
This question essentially drives my interest in media because I realized that I could be the one creating what I perceive to be some of my passions. The more I think about it, the more meaningful creating media becomes to me. I could be delivering material to people through creatively writing, whether it be in the form of professionally writing or journalism, and that excites me.
A question regarding my media world I hope to get answered is what constitutes worthwhile journalism. Although this may seem simple and objective to others, worthwhile journalism to me not only consists of the bare minimum but also demands effort and finesse. By the time my occupancy at Gaylord ends, I want to be well on my way to operating at that level of skill and professionalism.
