The Doon School Information Review Winter Issue 2021 by The Doon School Information Review

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Winter Issue 2021

The Queen’s Gambit

Page 16 The DSIR Selects

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EDITORIAL BOARD

EDITORIAL H

aving been a member of the DSIR since my D form, I’ve seen this publication change in so many ways: from print to virtual, from biannual to monthly, and from a lengthy publication that pandered to a diverse reader base to a publication that curated specific content that board members thoroughly enjoyed. The ad campaign of Avis, a car rental company in the latter half of the 19th century is apt: ‘When you’re only No.2, you try harder.’ Taking challenges at face value, we’ve tried to come up with timely content that we believe readers will enjoy, and the remain the most popular secondary publication in School. After all, who doesn’t love at least some elements of pop culture? If that is the case though, then the DSIR is not a publication, but a community. A community of students, teachers and old boys - writers or not - who watch movies, listen to music, read books or play video games. I hope that this year we can guide the publication on a path that is more conducive and popular to the rest of the community.

Editor-in-Chief KABIR SUBBIAH

That means that we are going to experiment: include some Hindi articles, cover content in other languages, and come out with a 50th issue where we republish some of the best content in the DSIR archives. As the DSIR prepares to release its 50th issue, I would invite all members of the DSIR community to send in articles about the content you are consuming. Reading or watching anything interesting? Fascinated by an artist’s rise to fame? We would love to read why and are confident that the rest of the community would too. In this issue, we’ve done away with the monthly iconics, reintroducing ‘DSIR Selects’, where we’ve made content recommendations (to be consumed after trials, of course). Apart from the movie and TV show reviews, we also have a piece on how TikTok is revolutionizing the Pop industry, and one on the revival of Minecraft. Enjoy! Editor-in-Chief, Kabir Subbiah

Chief of Production KRISHNAV SINGHAL

he DSIR has always been one of the greatest pillars of entertainment in our community. With its recent frequency shift from a biannual to a monthly magazine, it has undergone several changes in terms of content and design, particularly its approach from being a direct magazine publishing simple reviews to one that provides teenagespecific insight into impactful media. For this we would like to thank past editors for their able leadership. Continuing with that trajectory, this year we also look forward to producing more interactive and less text-heavy versions of the publication, starting with the revival of ‘The DSIR Selects’ last published in the August 2017 Issue.

Since the DSIR has shifted completely to an online platform, we plan to include more visuals and pictures instead of textual spaces throughout the issue. With the inclusion of more graphics and design elements, we plan to publish more aesthetic yet informative content. Furthermore, we also want to extend our horizon by moving past the generic movie and TV show articles to reviews on various genres including gaming, novels, poetry and commentaries which have been placed in this very issue. With that said, I sincerely hope that this issue encompasses the ideas and reflections you aspire to come across. Happy Reading! Chief of Production, Krishnav Singhal

Senior Editors AGAM BHATIA LORCAN THOMAS CONLON Design Team KRISHNAV SINGHAL SHRIVAR KANUDIA Senior Correspondents GURMEHAR BEDI SHREYAN MITTAL Junior Correspondents ROHAN TANEJA VIVAAN SOOD Master-in-Charge MS. MALVIKA KALA

The Crown

Escape Room

Season 4

No way out

Contents

The Queen’s Gambit

Dare il Gambetto

Tenet

An Inversion of Opinions

Minecraft

Enola Holmes Now where to begin?

The Doon School Information Review

Parks and Recreation A Political Parody Vivaan Sood

ichael Shur and Greg Daniels’ Parks And Recreation has come to be one of the best ‘Mockumentary’ shows. It follows the work of government employees who work in the Parks and Recreation department of the fictional city of Pawnee, Indiana. The titular characters are Leslie Knope, played by Amy Poehler, who is a devoted public servant, and Ann Perkins, played by Rashida Jones. Other roles include Ron Swanson played by Nick Offerman, Andy Dwyer played by Chris Pratt and Ben Wyatt played by Adam Scott. The show was originally intended to be a spin-off of the show ‘The Office’, the Mockumentary show that preceded Parks And Recreation.

Ron Swanson is the director of the Parks Department. He is a libertarian, which is antithetical to his job in government. However, his reasoning is that the Parks department is the only department where good work is done.

Both the writers of Parks And Recreation also worked on ‘The Office’. NBC asked Daniels to create a spin-off of The Office, so he worked with Shur to come up with ideas. Ultimately, they decided that it would be best to make Parks and Rec a standalone series. The show starts off with Leslie promising to fix a pit near Ann’s house after her boyfriend, Andy, falls into it and breaks both of his legs. This is the beginning of a long friendship between Leslie and Ann. Leslie is sort of a model government employee, however with her persistence and urge to get things done, it comes at the cost of being an irritant to her coworkers.

The show gives us an eye into the lives of people living in a small town, and how life functions in their parish. Of course, with it comes the absurdity of a TV show, but that does not take away from the seemingly real lives of the characters and the profound lesson they learn. As the show progresses, the characters too grow and evolve. They climb up the ladder of government hierarchy, and show how they face the challenges that come with it head on. It gives us insight into the journey of a government employee, from running for city council, to making a park. Parks and Rec is a show that puts a spotlight on people who we seldom think of. It puts in full display their work and hardships. It shows us the humanity in them. This is delivered in a fun, satirical package. Parks and Rec tells us the story of the often ludicrous lives of numerous people in a seemingly lacklustre town, and their inconceivable adventures and antics.

TikTok and the Music Industry Winds of Change

20 The Legend of Suheldev The Bandit Prince

The Doon School Information Review

The Crown Season 4

Two’s company, three’s a crowd Nirvair Singh

Stick around, stay alive, keep breathing

or the Queen of England, this isn’t a euphemism. As portrayed by the fourth season of The Crown, the Royal Family is primarily concerned with survival: all they say, all they do is stay alive and stay relevant. Through the lives of the Queen, the Wales’ or Princess Margaret, we see that their personal lives are irrelevant. Their feelings, thoughts and ideas mean nothing; it is all about keeping the institution of monarchy alive and kicking, all for the greater good. For the first time in history, the layman has gotten to experience this side of the ever-glorious, idealistic, much-envied Royal Family of Great Britain. The fourth season of The Crown turned common perception on its head: all we see is pain, brutality and suffering, which is perhaps the truth. As they say, every family has its secrets, inhibitions and skeletons. The first three seasons, in my mind, were an anglophile’s delight. A glimpse into the lives of the coveted Royals. Not on the news, not via the paparazzi, but almost in true living form. The locations were accurate, the upper lips were stiff as ever, and the actors uncannily resembled the Royals. In the previous seasons, the average audience viewed their lives as different: not governed by the norms, standards and perceptions of our world. Even in this season, we question their importance and their roles. We still see them as glorified celebrities who cut ribbons, smile and then head off to Balmoral to shoot pheasants on the taxpayer Pound. But, we still feel satiated because we’ve had a little glimpse. Plain curiosity was enough to keep us coming back.

The viewer begins to blame the institution and its overarching belief system.

But this time the content is vastly different. It is jawdropping, spine-chilling. The makers of The Crown have depicted the monarchy to be utterly ruthless. The story of Charles and Diana, the central topic of this season, is the perfect example. It’s made very clear that they were far from compatible: she’s all of 18, he’s in love with another woman, and they were married under duress. In this season, we see Diana’s bulimia first-hand, we see the confusion within Charles and the depth of the love he shares with Camilla Parker Bowles. However, the notion that marriages can go wrong is not an outlandish one, but it is the coercion of the Royal Family that makes a possibly amicable separation acrimonious. The viewer begins to blame the institution and its overarching belief system. I, for one, felt deeply empathetic towards both Charles and Diana because no one around them was willing to hear their woes. I truly felt like their story this season encapsulated the saying, ‘It’s lonely at the top’. The creators made the Royal Family seem like promoters of institutionalised unhappiness. True or not? We don’t know, maybe we will never know, but The Crown certainly paints the most brutal picture of their systematic maltreatment. This season, we were introduced to the Queen’s other children who had been in the shadows this far. As they say, in families that follow the male primogeniture system, the other siblings are nothing but spare tyres. Thankfully, the creators of The Crown challenged this notion and broke away from the monotony of only documenting Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles’ lives. The pomposity of Andrew, the timidness of Henry and the confusion within Anne are all welcome additions this season. A breath of fresh air from the duties, curtsies and mundaneness of the Queen and her heir. The season covers the first time period in British history when two women were at the helm of the United Kingdom, and this becomes a significant subplot in the season. Their relationship is characterised by one word: contrast, which primarily manifests itself in the tussle between the working class and the blue-blooded. A microcosmic representation

of the social scenario during the years of Thatcherism. Both women come from worlds that are polar opposites, but manage to succeed in governing the country, despite a few disagreements here and there. The creators used the role of Maggie Thatcher and her husband, Denis, to depict the snobbery of the Royals towards them, be it in Anne’s glares or Princess Margaret’s cold shoulder. The highlight, however, was seeing all the chauvinists across the commonwealth, the cabinet and Prince Phillip included, proven wrong: two women did it. Thatcher’s Order of Merit was the icing on the cake. The girl power narrative came full circle. It’s all out there for everyone to see. Watching the fourth season of The Crown, even the anglophiles in my household twitched and gave in to the idea that blue blood comes with suffering and not glory. It’s not only shooting partridges and attending grand processions. And it is this balanced narrative of the Royal Family that allows Season 4 to outdo those that precede it.

hen one thinks of escape rooms, they visualise a childish game that is based on places such as haunted houses and scenarios beyond the realm of practicality. However, the movie titled ‘Escape Room’ directed by Adam Robitel is a psychological horror film that challenges the boundaries of what is real and what is not by utilizing over-the-top production and stunts that leave the audience wanting for more. The movie follows the journey of 6 people, all with varying backgrounds, trying to navigate deadly escape rooms using every tool in their box. In a short line, the movie is somewhat like the Hunger Games except 10 times crueller and stomach-churning. Throughout the course of the movie, there are twists and turns and so many moments of suspense that it ensures the viewer is always on the edge of their seats, by introducing tricky challenges and turning the characters against each other. While movies such as this are not new, case in point being the Saw franchise which also had gruesome death traps disguised as puzzles, this particular movie feels like a brand new packaging over the sub-genre, introducing macabre scenes every second but simultaneously giving each and every one of them a refreshing twist. It keeps all the elements of a gripping psychological horror film while keeping the audience intrigued with puzzles and riddles. Escape Room is also supported greatly by its air-tight storyline despite the number of tense moments it manages to pack in. Not only that, but the movie has some great acting by an otherwise

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unknown cast, making the whole experience more realistic and thrilling. The different settings, going from snowy mountains to a room that is an oven keeps the audience wondering what’s next and how the characters can possibly escape. Personally, my only problem with Escape Room was how it ended. The ending felt way too rushed and the bizarre twist at the end leaves the viewer feeling that the creators might have bitten off more than they could chew. After seeing all the wellplanned and thought out twists throughout the movie, the big reveal is definitely a letdown and shatters the tense atmosphere that had been built up till that moment. The film also ends on a huge cliffhanger and insinuates the possibility of a sequel, which has already begun production. In my opinion, this movie would have been perfect as a stand-alone and with a better ending, possibly one of the best psychological horror films of all time. Overall, the movie reminds of other psychological horror movies such as the ‘Saw’ series and ‘Cube’ while also maintaining a brilliant plot that keeps viewers engrossed. The movie challenges what can be considered reality as one is presented with hyper-realistic situations that seem so real, despite us knowing that it’s all simulation. The producers present beautiful scenarios that cause the viewer to be lost in their beauty, so much so that they forget that it’s a death trap. Barring the rushed ending, Escape Room is definitely one of the best psychological horror movies in recent years and a must-watch for suspense lovers.

The Doon School Information Review

The Queen’s Gambit Dare il Gambetto

"Creativity and psychosis often go hand in hand. Or, for that matter, genius and madness." Agam Bhatia

he Queen’s Gambit is quite the gamble in and of itself. Scott Frank and Allan Scott’s dexterous new miniseries, an adaptation of Walter Tevis’s novel of the same name, is hardly surprising from the outset. It deals with a subject traditionally aimed at a much senior, more mature audience that you wouldn’t normally find on Netflix. Chess, you see, isn’t a young person’s sport. Nor has it been a woman’s game. Yet, somehow, Queens Gambit comes off as both of these, showcasing a powerful and sensational coming-ofage story of a female chess prodigy, suffused with excellent performances and narrative elements to admire, to love, and to revere. It hits the alluring sweet spot of being an unconventional sports biopic and a mysteriously fascinating drama series, magnifying a world of 64 squares into something much larger than the sum of its pieces. The series is set in the mid 1960s, when Beth Harmon (played by Anya-Taylor Joy), the chess prodigy, wakes up in her hotel room in Paris on her way to play a very important match. But this soon rewinds into a flashback that goes a decade back, where the young Beth (played by Isla Johnston) has just lost her parents in a car accident and is now in a dark, ominous orphanage. The young Beth finds it tough to swallow what has happened around her in a place where she is being constantly fed pills that she has now become addicted to, and she rejects engaging in any of the activities that other girls in the orphanage do. This is until she finds her refuge in chess, which she learns from the janitor Shaibel (played brilliantly by Bill Camp) in the orphanage. From there on begins a young woman’s journey to become a chess grandmaster in a

viewer. The clicketing clack of the pieces, along with the ridiculously furious note taking and lightning speed moves and sophisticated strategies automatically lend themselves to absorbing content, as Beth shows no mercy, to the extent to which the dignified option for her opponents is to resign rather than face the crushing defeat. Even when Beth is in the orphanage, she visualizes chess pieces on the roof of her room, where the shaking branches of the trees transform into chess pieces as Beth plays games of chess in her head, a habit she carries even into the final games that she plays. The story also makes a deliberate effort to exclude unnecessary pieces of exposition, which at times come at the cost of delving deeper into the characters, who are often reduced to cameos. Anya-Taylor Joy is by far the highlight of the series. An emerging star already known for her roles in “The Witch” and “Split”, Taylor Joy’s captivating performance in “The Queen’s Gambit” is probably her best up till now. At often emotional times, such as the death of her mother, Beth doesn’t speak much yet Anya-Taylor Joy conveys a host of emotions that keep the viewer

male dominated world, defeating the best chess players with absolute disdain. Beth eventually gets adopted, loses those parents as well, but throughout the 7 episodes, her obsession with the board and with the pills (then later alcohol) remain. Beth evolves as a young aggressive chess player to an older, more aggressive player, but all throughout the miniseries, she remains raw, vulnerable yet intimidating to even the mightiest grandmasters. Really, the plot isn’t the surprise. It’s blatantly obvious that Beth will win all, or at least most, of the matches she plays. What is indeed sensational is how The Queen’s Gambit makes dull wooden black and white pieces compelling to even the most chess averse

mystified and deliberately perplexed. She absorbs Beth to the extent to which Beth’s brilliance, and Beth’s nonchalance about her brilliance, shine through as she experiences two different lives on and off the chess board. Beth drives herself mad at times due to her addiction, and Taylor Joy makes it a point to let the viewer absorb the chaos before the predictability and satisfaction of the chess matches come to the fore. Even as Beth gets older and wiser, Taylor Joy subtly transforms the way she talks, shakes hands, and reacts to the events around her. Growing up onscreen isn’t easy, but Taylor Joy’s flamboyance makes it effortless.

What is indeed sensational is how The Queen’s Gambit makes dull wooden black and white pieces compelling to even the most chess averse viewer. Having said that, there are a few structural issues that the Queen’s Gambit has in terms of a prolonged rise to power and a hasty recovery from Beth’s losses. Still though, the end is a huge success with the cyclic narration beautifully encapsulating Beth’s transformation from a young moody girl to a mature, fierce grandmaster. It’s a charmingly fascinating story that might leave you short at times, but it’s a spell binding checkmate nonetheless.

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An Inversion of Opinions “If all of his films got together and decided to throw in every impossible idea, the result would be Tenet.” Lorcan Thomas Conlon

otorious for his blink-and-you-miss-it action sequences, wildly abstract ideas, and driving viewers right onto the line that divides creativity and madness, Christopher Nolan is back with his magnum opus (according to John Washington, the leading actor, “his greatest work”), a film that is no less mind-boggling than any of its predecessors. But does Tenet do justice to the enormous hype surrounding it, and to its even more enormous budget? The excessive and extravagant visuals and special effects will delight even the most inveterate detractors of Nolan’s movies. No expense has been spared when it comes to action sequences and CGI. Whisking you through exotic locations, dashing costumes, high-stakes shoot-outs and explosions, one almost feels like Tenet precisely follows the formula laid out for any globetrotting spy-thriller, along with a twist aided by Nolan’s penchant for theoretical concepts and confusing viewers. James Bond on $200 million steroids? Sounds pretty close. The characters are not the worst, but source material made it difficult to convey much depth or personality. The Protagonist, and his supporting character (who gets to have a name) Neil, played by Robert Pattinson, are

The plot, when boiled down to the principle, is not really something we haven’t seen before.

almost just different facets of James Bond; Washington plays the tough, dedicated government agent, and Pattinson brings in the English accent, dry humour and the taste for good alcohol. The plot, when boiled down to the principle, is not really something we haven’t seen before. Bad guy wants to destroy the world, time travel, etcetera. An interesting reversal of the trope usually reserved for guys who look like Pattinson or Michael Caine, Washington plays a cool, if not necessarily compelling field agent, while Pattinson portrays his mysterious but wry English handler. The antagonist, played by Kenneth Branagh, is unremarkable and dry; for lack of any other significant character traits, Branagh reverts to playing the evil Russian Dr. Blofeld archetype. Character arcs are definitely incomplete and lazy; while this may have been excusable in movies such as Dunkirk, wherein we were deliberately kept in the dark about the characters, and filmmaking is used to place you next to them in their horrifying situation. However, a flashy, ostentatious spy movie doesn’t quite make that cut. Action sequences are grandiose and mindboggling, revolving around the idea of time flowing backwards for certain “inverted” objects; bullets fly back into the gun, the unnamed Protagonist (Washington) rappels up a building…after all, it is Christopher Nolan. Viewers aren’t really required to understand it (just like Inception, it’ll probably take more than one sitting), but instead are asked to “just feel it”. It doesn’t have to follow the basic laws of Physics, if only one can follow the winding, meandering storyline (which in itself is no small feat). Certain scenes are so exaggerated and gimmicky, one almost wonders if the director is making a joke. It raises the question of whether throwing money as hard as you can will make a film succeed? In a much debated action sequence, Warner Bros actually purchased a Boeing 747 with the sole intention of later crashing it into a building. This is just one example of the film’s aversion to saving a buck. Personally, my biggest issue with the movie was the atrocious soundtrack. In fact, almost all the problems with characterization and plot are not even that significant; sure, we’ve seen them before, but the film’s got enough individuality for that not to be a deal-breaker. The bombastic sound effects and suspenseful synthesiser are all very well, until they start to encroach on the all-important dialogue. If you’ve watched Inception, you know what I’m talking about. Dialogue is central to understanding both the plot and the reality that the characters live in. Missing even a single line referring to inverted physics (which is scarcely explained to begin with) has a huge impact on how you perceive the movie. With the film sparing lots of time for drawn out “pre-shooting speeches”, I take it as a personal affront that Nolan shows such disregard for the viewers’ understanding of his convoluted theories. The decision to release a blockbuster of this scale was unusual in times of coronavirus, but with more people staying at home and watching Netflix, producers bet on high viewership. Critics have given mixed reviews, but it’s the box office that has the final say. Even with confused audiences hoping that a second sitting might clear up just a few of their many questions, Tenet will struggle to live up to the expectations that were set.

The Doon School Information Review

Now where to begin Arjun Prakash

nola Holmes is a Netflix original movie centered around a character of the same name. This intrepid young girl experiences the constraints of a Victorian society while searching for her missing mother, exposing the feminist stereotypes of the time as a result of her thrilling journey. Millie Bobby Brown plays Enola as the strong and fierce female protagonist, who is ready to fight for her future. She faces numerous obstacles along the way, and explores her own identity within the rather famous Holmes family. This sets the scene for a truly gripping story. The film is inspired from one of Nancy Springer’s ‘Enola Holmes Mysteries’ books but this article aims to dig deeper to reveal the underlying forces rocking the traditions of that time. Helena Bonham Carter gives a stellar performance as Enola’s widowed mother Eudoria. Isolated in the countryside of 19th century England, she equips her daughter from a very young age with skills like jiujitsu which were uncommon for women to attempt at the time given the patriarchal norms of society. Enola also read all the books she could find in the house and even experimented with chemical reactions. It is ironic how her lonely childhood is personified by the word ‘alone’, which spelled backwards forms her name, Enola. Her two elder brothers Mycroft (played by Sam Claflin) and Sherlock (played by Henry Cavill) had left home at a very young age and seldom visited, so she did not share a very

close relationship with either. The story develops quickly after her mother mysteriously disappears. Sherlock and the eccentric and stubborn Mycroft, return to their old house intending to send Enola to a strict and conventional finishing school in an attempt to turn her into a lady. Free-spirited Enola forms an escape plan and flees to London by train. All the knowledge, skills, and traits that she had learned from her mother aid her immensely in her journey which uncovers several other characters in the film’s storyline. The other protagonist introduced here is Viscount Tewkesbury of Basilwether, played by an equally charming Louis Partridge, who is trying to escape his family’s tradition of turning boys into men through military service. Contrary to this expectation, Tewkesbury’s hidden love for nature is apparent. His sensitive personality defies the prevailing order of toxic masculinity that has been generalized over the years and is still omnipresent in today’s society. This propagates the parallel theme of masculinity and femininity between these two central characters, where a man loves flowers and a woman saves a man from a dangerous situation. Enola and Tewkesbury are both on the run, escaping family pressures and inadvertently breaking stereotypical norms in an era where they are most prevalent. I found the cinematography of the film in the countryside sublime. The flow of each scene was beautifully presented, each having a

purpose in the film’s plot. The costume designers’ representation of fashion in that Victorian era deserves a special mention with stunning gowns and coats. I was intrigued by the fact that the two personalities of the film’s leading characters both defied the meaning of what a man or a woman is meant to act or be like. This very idea of masculinity and femininity is deeply entwined into the roots of society and is used as the main segue that propagates the plot and meaning of the film. They symbolise courage in a Victorian era, where it was difficult to break convention within society. Since the film is set during a time of great restraint, it creates an atmosphere of danger and uncertainty. Towards the end, we see another side of the film’s plot emerge, where an older generation of thinkers and ideologists from the Basilwether family clash with the younger members. This inevitable clash between the two generations creates an interesting dynamic that I particularly enjoyed. Enola and Tewkesbury serve as a breath of fresh air in a conventional and backwardthinking society. The growth and development of a character like Enola throughout her journey outshines the presence of her famous detective brother Sherlock Holmes. He is subtly kept in the background so that Enola remains the chief protagonist throughout the film. All in all, this film encapsulates a shifting kaleidoscope of emotions. It strikes a perfect balance between a powerful message about the early rise of Feminism and the comedic sense of grit of a teen persona. The talented cast and riveting plot made two hours feel like twenty minutes. The general fast paced nature of the film was something that fits in perfectly with the entire theme and plot of the mystery. I would definitely recommend watching this film to dust off that quarantine boredom and bring an undiscovered member of the Holmes family to your screen at home!

The Beatles Year Released: 1968 Composer: The Beatles

WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? Reflections

Year Released: 2019 Composer: Billie Eilish

Year Released: 2019 Composer: Anoushka Shankar

THE DSIR SELECTS

The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music

Queen: Greatest Hits Year Released: 1981 Composer: Queen

Year Released: 2009 Composer: London Philharmonic Orchestra, David Parry

MUSIC

Fearless

Kind of Blue

Stairway to Heaven (Single)

Divide

Year Released: 2008 Composer: Taylor Swift

Year Released: 1959 Composer: Miles Davis

Year Released: 1971 Composer: Led Zeppelin

Year Released: 2017 Composer: Ed Sheeran

The

DSIR Selects

Books

Les Misérables

A Song of Ice and Fire

The Kite Runner

The Fault in our Stars

1984

The Godfather

Year Published: 1862 Author: Victor Hugo

Year Published: 1996 Author: George R.R. Martin

Year Published: 2003 Author: Khaled Hosseini

Year Published: 2012 Author: John Green

Year Published: 1949 Author: George Orwell

Year Published: 1972 Author: Mario Puzo

Wolf Hall

Sapiens

The White Tiger

Becoming

Americanah

1Q84

Year Published: 2009 Author: Hilary Mantel

Year Published: 2011 Author: Yuval Noah Harari

Year Published: 2008 Author: Aravind Adiga

Year Published: 2018 Author: Michelle Obama

Year Published: 2013 Author: Chimamanda Adichie

Year Published: 2009 Author: Haruki Murakami

The Doon School Information Review

How TikTok is Influencing the Music Industry

Winds of change Arjun Prakash

We live in an age where social media controls our lives. Whether it be simply scrolling down your feed or influencing others through your own posts, commodities are more accessible than ever. As a result, many industries have been affected with consumer demands changing each year. However under lockdown, where billions of people have maintained a physical distance, social connectivity through these platforms has kept them closer than ever before. There is one industry that has perhaps been influenced more than any other: the music industry. As long as one can remember, Music has served as an inspiration for humans to express their emotions through sound. Listening or producing any form of music comes with a special feeling of satisfaction that nothing can replace. Whether it be the 90’s whacky pop or the Hard rock culture of the early 2000’s, music has had a special place in everyone’s heart. Over the years there has been an overhaul phase of digitization which has had a noticeable effect on the music industry. The rapid development of gadgets that support technology has made it a lot easier for people like you and me to listen and produce music. With more accessibility comes more competition and this is where the music industry profits the most in this new digital age. As a result,

there has been a surge of record label companies having the resources and funds to recruit talented young artists. This is in stark contrast to how things were twenty years ago, when the idea of recording music at home with little equipment while earning money from it was unheard of. The internet, in general, has changed the music industry with the likes of YouTube, Spotify and iTunes. TikTok was only introduced two years ago and has already had a massive impact on the music business. It has become the center of attention for numerous record labels with many hits arising from the platform. A TikTok video can be up to a minute long. The music you add to any TikTok video is called a ‘sound’, and is often paired with dances, memes, skits, etc. A myriad of TikTok dances have gone

‘viral’ and as a result, the sound that it was paired with gets recognized more often hence creating a ripple effect with the song going viral too. This effect can often lead to the status of lesser-known musicians skyrocketing in a matter of days. The record labels often sign musicians based on the popularity of a single song, which was originally paired with a meme or dance. This can be career boosting for lesser known artists who are then signed by a label and earn revenue from these companies whenever people use their music. ‘Old Town Road’ was uploaded by Lil Nas X, and has since grown to become the most popular song of 2019. Songs like ‘Cradles’, ‘Lemonade’ and ‘Lalala’ have each gained popularity through the platform and have climbed their way up the mainstream charts as well. It also helps resurface old hits from well known artists like Drake, Camilla Cabello and Bruno Mars. People are attracted to music that has a story or context behind it and TikTok achieves that in under a minute. The reason why TikTok has earned this reputation in the music industry is simply due to the audience it attracts. The short video format of TikTok has attracted over 800 million people worldwide. Since so many people are on the app, new songs are being discovered every day. The average person who is scrolling through the videos casually is easily discovering new songs they may not have heard before. This accessibility to new music for the average listener through these memes and dances is something that the music industry has thrived from. With the world under lockdown, like Freddie Mercury would say, music has definitely served as an ‘escape from reality’. The music industry is continuously changing with hype and trends being centered around something different each year. People’s opinions keep changing and so will music as time goes on. Furthermore, the way we discover new songs is also bound to change with new platforms arising each year each with its own unique aspects to offer!

Fun Fact

The Doon School Information Review

The book hasn’t been written solely by Amish, instead by a collection of authors from the Immortal Writers’ Centre.

is the reason for the oppression of women when it is quite the contrary. It throws light on the notion of diversity which has prevailed in our land ever since its inception.

The Legend of Suheldev The Bandit Prince Gurmehar Bedi

ducational institutions in India and abroad struggle to justify the vast landscape of Indian history and consequently opt to centre the curriculum around the Mughals and the British Raj. Amish, India’s ‘first literary popstar’ and the author of this book, attempts to depict a unique side of this rich history. This story, among countless others, paints a picture of our forgotten legends. The novel revolves around the escapades of Suheldev who, after his brother’s death while defending the renowned Somnath temple, wreaks havoc on the Turkic forces of the Mahmud of Ghazni. His persistence in demoralizing the Turks earns him the prestige of a hero among the Indians while his name alone inspires fear in the hearts of the Turks. Following his father’s death, Suheldev ascends the throne and prepares to eliminate the invaders once and for all. Amish’s books, for countless individuals, are their first exposure to much of Indian history. His ability to lucidly weave aspects of history with elements of fiction makes the books appealing to the youth. That youth which is supposedly disinterested in Indian mythology and history.

The striking aspect of this book is the attention paid to the details. The elaborate descriptions of violence and traditional war-tactics allow readers to immerse themselves into the book, making the tale immensely gripping. Furthermore, the book is laced with cultural practices and values highlighting the traditional undertone of the book. In addition to being a literary marvel, the novel proves to be of extreme significance in today’s society. Although it amplifies the importance of tolerance between various religions and genders, the text goes a step further and underscores the necessity of acceptance of the world, as it exists. Despite being set a thousand years ago, the book addresses issues such as women’s rights and the peaceful co-existence of a multitude of religions. In essence, it attempts to break the perception that our culture

Amish is known for his fascinating depictions of his protagonists who have the pedestal akin to that of a superhero. He believes in the idea of communicating philosophies and values in the minds of people through story. King Suheldev himself, is an embodiment of loyalty, valour and dexterity in his craft, qualities which the author endeavours to inculcate in his readers. Qualities portrayed in the garb of a story. This mirrors the ancient Indian way of teaching wherein lessons would be imparted through the medium of stories. The story is narrated from various perspectives providing a holistic view of the protagonist. It allows the reader to observe the flaws in King Suheldev bringing home the point that no man is perfect. The book has received acclaim from people across the globe on account of its compelling narrative style and the stylistic and modern touch given to Indian history. In contrast, its critics believe that it provides a distorted version of our past. One which should not be relied upon. However, the very fact that the book provides an account contrary to popular beliefs sheds light on the Indian philosophy of ‘truth is one but the wise men know it as many’. My only grouse, if any, with the book is its thinness of plot which limits the reader’s understanding of the core philosophies it tries to convey. Nevertheless, the book is a true masterpiece of ‘India’s Tolkein’, Amish. The forgotten story hooks readers despite its seemingly uninteresting title. In my opinion, the reason why this is true is because even though we have forgotten such tales, forgotten our philosophies and forgotten our culture, deep down, we cherish our past and therefore, treasure such tales. All in all, this book proves to be a must-read for those wishing to read a gripping story as well as for those who wish to delve into the rich Indian past.

He believes in the idea of communicating philosophies and values in the minds of people through story.

The Doon School Information Review

The Recrudescence of Minecraft Taken up a Notch Lorcan Thomas Conlon

xecutives at Microsoft were kicking themselves as it became apparent that they’d just dropped 2.5 billion dollars on a game that was on its way out. Over 2016-2018, Minecraft saw a huge drop in its user base and sales; youtube channels were moving on to newer games, and servers began to close down. With games like Fortnite and League of Legends giving it the nudge. It appeared to many that Minecraft had been consigned to the graveyard of video games. Then, in late 2019, popularity took an unprecedented upward turn for the first time in months. People were revisiting their worlds, as youtubers gingerly pushed out more and more Minecraft related content. The timing couldn’t have been better for Microsoft; in just a few months, an unthinkably large global crisis would have people confined to their homes, with nothing but their computers for company. With the new “Covid Generation” kids looking for things to keep them busy, and veteran oldtimers revisiting the game for a taste of that blocky nostalgia, Minecraft was back in the big-leagues. To me though, it really didn’t come as much of a surprise. From the very start, Minecraft was a game that was built to be played forever. It’s blocky music, pixelated graphics and unending gameplay serve a much greater purpose than creating a cute atmosphere; the unapologetically old-school game ensures that it doesn’t have to face the same challenges that other games do. There are no high-

end graphics cards needed, no repeated releases of newer versions to make it more “realistic”. From the moment you sign up, you know that it’s never going to try and mirror reality. It’s thanks to this that Minecraft’s developers have the freedom to focus on the gameplay, and on creating that feel of an infinitely playable universe. A possible reason for the game’s decline is possibly Microsoft’s neglect of improving on the game’s features. For about 2 years, there were no major updates; this provides the simple explanation that players got bored, and began signing in less, and less. In late 2019, a quick succession of major updates, such as the Village and Pillage, Aquatic, and Nether updates, and introducing huge changes to the in-game possibilities, coincided with the rapid rise in popularity. The release of new updates prompted numerous youtube reviews, events, and greatly added to the general hype about the game. In August 2020, the long-awaited Caves and Cliffs update, which became a major meme within the community after MineCon 2019, was finally announced; it definitely looks as though Minecraft will be holding on for a while this time around. It’s also difficult to ignore the symbiotic relationship between Minecarft and Youtube. The two platforms have had an enormous effect on each other’s growth, with the feedback loop going as far back as

when both were still just starting out. The Minecraft community is one of the largest on Youtube, providing huge viewership and engagement; in 2014, Minecraft was the second most searched word on the platform. Minecraft videos are a favorite with advertisers on Youtube, thanks to the lack of controversy about the game, and the uncomplicated, genuine gameplay. Just as Minecraft brings billions of dollars of advertising revenue to Youtube, the streaming giant provides Minecraft the publicity it needs to climb back in popularity.

From the very start, Minecraft was a game that was built to be played forever.

An important aspect that makes Minecraft an anomaly among its cohort is the lack of any fixed goal or outcome. You’re not chasing another elusive “Victory Royale”, or the completion of the game’ storyline; instead, you’re free to wander the infinitely generated world, doing as you please. There’s nothing to limit what you can and can’t do, which is something that makes Mincraft one of the greatest and most enduring games of all time.