T H E
L I N N - B E N T O N
C O M M U N I T Y
VOL. 52 EDITION 16
C O L L E G E
FEB. 24, 2021
PHOTO: KATIE LITTLEFIELD
Curiosity didn’t kill this cat. Gatsby gives a pet friendly moth orchid a sniff without fear of harm.
Get Started:
Indoor Plants
PHOTO: KATIE LITTLEFIELD
Finn has too many allergies to count on one hand, but this pet friendly plant isn’t one of them.
Improve Your At-home Work Space with an Easy Plant
STORY BY
KATIE LITTLEFIELD
Customizing your home work off ice is a must. Having your favorite pen at hand and a fun f idget to keep your hands busy. Though your off ice may feel complete after a year of perfecting it during quarantine, if you don’t have an indoor plant then you're not done yet. There are a few benef its to having a plant friend in your off ice. They help absorb toxins from the air and produce oxygen. Leaving your work space with a clean feeling. They are also said to increase productivity, decrease fatigue and relieve stress. Buying a plant might seem intimidating at f irst. How do I keep it healthy? W hat if it dies? W hat if my cat eats it? A ll reasonable concerns, but caring for a plant doesn’t have to be so scary, and it opens up the opportunity to learn a new skill. I personally impulsively bought a moth orchid at Trader
Joe’s during Valentine's Day. Love was in the air, how could I help myself ? Luckily orchids are beginner friendly plants. They can adapt to low or bright lighting. Even when they lose their f lowers and vibrance, they can almost always be brought back to life. In even greater news, PHOTO: KATIE LITTLEFIELD
The perfect addition to any desk is a plant to keep you company and keep your air clean.
orchids are pet friendly! My boy can sniff as he pleases without harm. I have to warn you though, once you get a new plant it’s only a matter of time until your home starts to resemble the house in Jumanji. So to save you the anxiety of picking out your f irst plant, I've curated a small list of plants that are perfect for beginners -- enjoy! ► Orchids: Pet friendly, Blooms during winter and spring, enjoys bright light but will tolerate low light, water weekly, prefers a pot with lots of holes ► Money Tree: Pet friendly, can grow to be ten feet tall, enjoys bright indirect light, water weekly ► Spider Plant: Pet friendly, typically a hanging plant, needs moderate or bright indirect sunlight, water once a week or as needed to keep the soil moist ► Nerve Plant: Pet Friendly, dramatic, and ‘faint’ whenever they’re in need of water making them great plants for beginners. They do best in low to medium light, but are also okay with bright light as long as it’s f iltered through a sheer curtain. ► Pelia Plants: Pet Friendly, does best in bright indirect light,
PHOTO: REBECCA FEWLESS
A type of Nerve Plant. This strain is refered to as 'Ruby Red.'
and hates wet soil so be sure your pot has drainage. ► Snake Plant: Not pet friendly, requires minimal water just keep an eye on the soil, toterates just about any amount of light though moderate light is preferred for growth ► Peace Lily: Not pet friendly, blooms in spring, ► A loe: Not pet friendly when consumed
Inside this Edition THE 1619 PROJECT
SEE PAGE 5
THE SALON
SEE PAGE 7
GRAPHICS FREEPIK.COM
SPORTS
SEE PAGE 8
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CAMPUS NEWS
FEBRUARY 24, 2021
LBCOMMUTER.COM
Wellness Wednesday Clarity. Certainty. Communication. STORY BY
LISA HOOGESTEGER
The Commuter is the weekly student-run newspaper for LBCC, financed by student fees and advertising. Opinions expressed in The Commuter do not necessarily reflect those of the LBCC administration, faculty and students of LBCC. Editorials, columns, letters, and cartoons reflect the opinions of the authors. LBCC is an equal opportunity educator and employer. Letters Welcome The Commuter encourages readers to use its “Opinion” pages to express their views on campus, community, regional and national issues. The Commuter attempts to print all submissions received, but reserves the right to edit for grammar, length, libel, privacy concerns and taste. Opinions expressed by letter submitters do not represent the views of the Commuter staff or the College. Deliver letters to: Address: The Commuter Forum 222 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW Albany, OR 97321 Web Address: LBCommuter.com Phone: 541-917-4451, 4452 or 4449 Email: commuter@linnbenton.edu Twitter @LBCommuter Facebook LBCC The Commuter
R ight now, there is so much uncertainty it feels like the ground is always moving. The horizon is ever changing (false summit?). We want certainty. We want to know if _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ is likely. Can I f ly to California? If I drive there, do I have to quarantine when I return? Will classes for spring, summer, fall continue to be mostly online? W hen can I go to the movies and have an experience different than sitting on my couch? Clarity. I am sure of some things. My values. My strengths. My boundaries. And the fact that each morning I wake up (so far) and have more to do than I can manage. I am clear every day will have some upsets. I am certain my dog will make me smile. (Fenway just turned 15! - More from her viewpoint next week) I notice how important clarity is in conversations with students/colleagues as part of my work in the Advising Center. I have found a whole new level of communication skills and techniques. Much of my work involves talking and listening and it is mostly on the phone. I have no physical “guides” such as facial expressions, body language or picture of what someone is doing or where they are while we’re talking. W hat it makes me focus on is to check on what I hear and to help
provide answers to questions in a way that makes sense to who I’m talking with. It is wild how differently we each hear and understand things. Some folks are very concrete thinkers, others are much more conceptual and some folks are super literal. I often f ind when I think something is clear to me, there is a gap of understanding with who I’m talking with. In advising appts., I start with the end in mind “what do you want to get out of this appt”? No matter what someone has written in the notes for the appt., what they say is often very different or they made the appt. weeks ago and now they’re looking for something else. Add to this that the language of higher education is complex and the SYSTEMS we use for registration (WebRunner), learning management (Moodle) and communication (email, zoom, google chat, text) are extensive. There is a lot to misunderstand. We need to be gentle, listen and accept there is more than one right answer. Simple example of how communication is heard/ understood differently - I wrote to a student about a complex situation and copied several others. I requested in my email to “Reply all” to the message and indicate if we had summarized the action steps accurately. The response from the student…? “A ll”
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COMMUTER@LINNBENTON.EDU
FEBRUARY 24, 2021
CAMPUS NEWS
3
Hughes, Smith and the
Conjunction ‘And’ Dr. Crystal S. Rudds Hosts a Discussion Covering Works by Renowned Black and LGBTQ+ Poets of their career (though seemingly well
STORY BY on their way.). Both poets have written LEAH BIESACK of friendship, have penned critiques of Hailing from the English department of the University of Utah, Dr. Crystal S. Rudds graciously brought her insight, knowledge, and warmth to the screen last week, in a virtual reading and discussion hosted by LBCC. In an event that showcased the work of renowned black poets, as well as honored the voices of the LGBTQ+ community, Rudds took us through the timeline; the late Langston Hughes to the present-day Danez Smith, and how black queerness has been woven in. Dr. Rudds prefaced her presentation with the disclaimer that she wouldn’t consider herself a poetry scholar. (This was reassuring, since I rarely touch the genre.) Rather, she encouraged us to consider the importance of writing itself. In posing the question, ‘What can we learn from it?,’ she confidently and succinctly answered that writing is how we can move closer to understanding ourselves and others. For the next 45 minutes, Dr. Rudds would guide us in doing just that. Avid readers of poetry, supporters of black writers, active students of the human condition — all were the exact right candidate to show up. The two resounding voices Rudds explored with us were those of poets Langston Hughes and Danez Smith. Though born almost a hundred years apart, Rudds pointed out the similarities these writers shared. She went as far as to say she sees Smith as a literary child of Hughes. The latter was a prolific writer with a vast and versatile body of work, whereas the former is in the earlier stages
SAFETY SUGGESTION BOX
America, and utilized the form of elegy. Still, even with the overlap, their voices are their own. According to Rudds, Langston Hughes shows how poetry can speak to people, and Danez Smith shows how poetry can speak for people. Both are integral. After sharing performance videos by each poet (including some incredible footage of Hughes reciting The Weary Blues, accompanied by a live jazz band), Rudds transitioned the conversation to black queerness. ‘Black queerness is life as ‘and.’’ She went on to explain the role ‘and’ plays in writing. It is a conjunction, a connector, the conduit of bringing ideas, people, and concepts together in the small space of a sentence. Rudds noted that the ‘and’ can be visible, but that it isn’t always. She translated this idea to the bigger reality of black queerness, and pointed out that queerness can also refer to difference. Most notably, Dr. Rudds indicated that ‘and’ signals something to follow, to come after. This can mean hope. The powerhouse writer and activist that is Langston Hughes shaped American literature and helped build the stage for black voices to be heard. Danez Smith has continued said shaping and stagebuilding, using their words to shed light on the harshest realities, the truest loves, and the starkest beauty in difference, in queerness. It was a privilege to be led through the discussion with Dr. Crystal S. Rudds, and an honor to share the insightful space she filled.
Dr. Crystal S. Rudds
LBCC has a Safety Committee whose goal is to identify and eliminate risks on our campus, and to prevent accidents and illnesses through the involvement of employees, managers, and students in an effort to provide a safe and healthy place to both work and learn. A "Safety Suggestion Box" is available to provide a way for you to communicate your safety concerns, hazards spotted, and suggestions for promoting safety. Please email your suggestions, comments, concerns to: safetycommittee@linnbenton.edu
Keeping your work and home areas clean prevents hazards hiding unseen!! Good Housekeeping is Everyone's Responsibility 11 Tips for Effective Workplace Housekeeping Spring Cleaning Checklist for Home Safety
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4
CAMPUS NEWS
FEBRUARY 24, 2021
LBCOMMUTER.COM
The 1619 Project Journalist and Author Nikole Hannah-Jones Speaks at UO About the Historical Slavery Mass Research Project STORY AND PHOTO BY DAKOTA GANGE On Friday Feb. 19, journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones joined an interview with the University of Oregons’ School of Journalism and Mass Communications, on her project “1619 and the Legacy that Built a Nation.” This is an ongoing publication in The New York Times Magazine that began in Aug. 2019. However intrinsically in depth, this project brought forth controversy from many, including four scholars who outwardly disputed the publishings over the trajectory of American society. The 1619 project is a historical analysis of how slavery shaped American political, social, and economic foundations. 1619 was the first year a black slave had been bought and sold to the colonies in Verginia. The goal of this project is to refram Americas history by considering that at the center of our national narrative is the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans, regarding 1619 as our nations birth year. Now this isn’t to be take exactly literally, “We explicitly said, “we are telling this story from this perspective and we want to reframe American history and ask the question, ‘what would it mean to think of 1619 as our founding’. We clearly weren’t arguing that 1619 was our actual founding, but what we were saying was, if you do that thought exercise, so many of our struggles and divisions start at that moment.” “… I wanted to take some aspect of modern American life and use historiography to trace it back to slavery,” said Jones. “No aspect of the country that has been formed here has been untouched by the years of slavery that followed. On the 400th anniversary of this fateful moment, it is finally time to tell our story truthfully,” states the opening line on their project website. Check it out here or in ‘The New York Times’ library. “I think my story and the story of 1619 really speaks to the power of public school education and how formative high school education can be in ways that are either or good or ways that are bad,” said Jones. Her longtime interest and inspiration in this project came from her difficult high school experience. “All the black kids in our school were bust, we were there as a part of a desegregation program,” and After expressing to her high school teacher that “our highschool paper never wrote about kids like me -- the black kids who were bust in and how challenging the school experience was for us”, she joined her high school paper. After being inspired through her experience, the year of 1619 and
An interview put on by UofO with journalist Nicole-Hannah Jones, Courtney M. Cox, and Shyann Montgomery, and speaker Andrew Devigal.
what it brought forth, and a teacher, she tied the two topics together; journalism and the year 1619. “I just remember being so shocked by that date (1619) and realizing that before the Mayf lower it wasn’t talking about an erased African history, it was talking about erased American history. I understood the power of that eraser, and that every American child had learned about the Mayf lower in 1620, and yet none of us had been taught about the White Lion in 1619, and I knew that that was intentional.” It’s not a secret that a low amount of black history is taught in the education system as a whole. In an article published by The Seattle Times, some of the parents of children attending Maria Montessori Academy, objected to ‘Black History Month’ being taught to their kids in school. They “didn’t see why their children had to participate, and demanded to opt-out,” and were granted their wish. This of course came with blowback from their community. Additionally, in this CNN article, a group of black American teenagers are protesting the necessity of Black History Month knowledge in school. “I knew that it meant something that people of African descent had been on this land before almost any of the Europeans that would come after. I knew that it meant something that slavery was one of the first instiutions that was established in the place that would become the United States, yet we had not been taught that. So that class and that date really led to a lifelong quest to learn as much history as possible,” said Jones. With a diversity of themes and angles among the project, Jones said,
“What makes the project powerful is that it does have so many different perspectives and contributors. I knew when I pitched it, I couldn’t just pitch an essay or one piece. It had to have all these different writers and historians who were trying to reframe the American narrative.” “I think sometimes there’s nothing better than being in the archives and finding something that shakes the table, and this project shakes the table,” said journalist Courtney M. Cox who was also present in the interview. On that note, scholars and historians from prestigious universities, such as Princeton historian Sean Wilentz, heavily criticized the project's overall message. A letter to ‘The New York Times Magazine’ that four top scholars signed, stated that they “applaud all efforts to address the foundational centrality of slavery and racism to our history..” but then quickly switches gears into critiques refering to “matters of verifiable fact” that “cannot be described as interpretations or ‘framing’”, and a “displacement of historical understandings by ideology.” This letter, however seemingly simple, really put pressure on the credibility of the 1619 Projects, with the stature of those who signed it. But as widely criticized, it was perhaps even more so sought after. In an interview with The Atlantic, Jones noted that The New York Times said they hadn’t seen this type of demand for a print since 2008, when Obama’s historic presidency-edition was released. “The amount of research that went into every essay...I read probably 30 books just for my essay alone,
and that’s not including the original texts that I looked at. So when people dismiss it, they actually have no sense of the amount of care and research and fact checking that went into a project like this… uncovering things that hadn’t been written about before, seeing and holding them in my hand...,” said Jones in defense of the critics. “If we knew more, if we understood, we would do better. The possibilities of redemption do not exist without the knowledge of what this country was built on and so I don’t think we’ll ever be redeemed. I know without projects like this, without journalism, without the work that we do, we certainly have no chance whatso-ever… there’s no educator like the press...We go into Journalism because we hope that our work will change something for someone.” When the speaker asked a question about future hope, Jones rebuttals with a powerful statement: “I’d just like to clarify that the black experience is singular, and sometimes what bothers me about that question [of hope] is that in a way its diminishing that being treated as channel slaves, as property, is not the same thing as coming here and facing descrimination; black people weren’t allowed to marry, they were bought and sold on the block.. it was illegal for black people to read, to have a will, to own property. This is not just an experience of a group migrating here and being discriminated against... We’re talking about channel slavery followed by 100 years of racial oparti, and no other group in this country has had that experience.”
COMMUTER@LINNBENTON.EDU
FEBRUARY 24, 2021
CAMPUS NEWS
SLC Welcomes
5
New President and VP LBCC’s Student Leadership Council Has Completed Their Election for this Academic Year
STORY BY AIDAN ARTHUR After a tense few months in American history, the word “election” might be panic-inducing. But don’t be afraid: this one was far less heated. The LBCC Student Leadership Council works to provide “opportunities for networking, social interactions, and outreach activities,” according to their mission statement. In practical terms, this has led to the creation of scholarships, food assistance programs, and other methods of support for students. In an election that ended last week, the SLC elected a new president and vice president. Both ran unopposed, with a 7% turnout carrying them to office. Your next SLC president is a firstyear LBCC student, Biology major Hannah COUNCIL S T Uwill LEADE Briggs. Briggs asRSaHIPstudent advocate D ENT“act and represent the SLC at the Linn-Benton Community College Board meetings,” among other duties, as set out in the SLC’s bylaws. Briggs has been the SLC’s executive
S T U DENT L
S H I P COUNCIL EADER
Hannah Briggs
assistant since September, and was urged to take a leadership role by other members. “I think it would be great if we could get more students involved and really have LBCC feel like a community where everyone’s welcome.” Briggs said. “I want to be a representative and an advocate for every single student at LBCC. It is so important that every student has a place where they feel safe, where they feel
like they can go to school, they can get their education, and there are further steps out there afterwards.” The new vice president is another first-year student, Dylan Smith. The vice president’s role is to “chair the Student Judiciary Board, prepare agenda for those meetings and report on those meetings weekly to the SLC.” Smith has not been a part of Student Leadership before, and was motivated to run for vice president to get more involved in the college community. “I liked everything they were doing and everything they were about, so I figured I would give it a shot.” Smith expressed a similar goal for the SLC next year: to help those who haven’t been helped, create more programs, and draw the community together as students and friends. In line with their goals for LBCC in general, Briggs and Smith also encouraged more students to take on leadership positions by joining the SLC. “I highly recommend every student to try to get involved with SLC or apply, because we have a ton of openings and positions for next school year. It’s a great way to grow your leadership and make
connections within the LBCC community,” said Briggs. To find out how to join Student Leadership, visit their website.
Dylan Smith
STUDENT LEADERSHIP UPDATE
LBCC DANCE CLUB’S CONTEST Show off Your Best Dance Moves for a Chance to Win a $5, $10, or $15 Fred Meyer’s Gift Card!
HOW TO JOIN:
1. Create & film a dance to this clip of “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd 2. Upload your video to your Youtube Google account. 3. Fill out this form to submit your video and enter the contest. Submit a video by Thursday, March 11th at 11:59pm. Winners will be announced Monday, March 17th on LBLive and will be contacted by email. Questions? zenobia.rogers.3664@mail.linnbenton.edu GRAPHIC FREEPIK.COM
6
LOCAL NEWS
FEBRUARY 24, 2021
The Salon
LBCOMMUTER.COM
Profile of Bessie Ramsey, Owner of Monroe Avenue Salon in Corvallis
STORY AND PHOTOS BY HIKARI KAWAI A place where many escape to for self-care. Comfort. Distraction. To have a third-party someone to talk to. Some may call it therapy. While others simply go to get a trim, new color scheme or style. The Monroe Avenue Salon in Corvallis Oregon. This salon belongs to Bessie Ramsey. To her, this is a place where dreams come true. Where dreams she never dared to dream for herself or even imagined, become reality. “I was born in Juno, Alaska, I spent the first two months of my life in the hospital. I am the baby of six on my mothers side that I grew up with. Being the youngest, typically you develop an attitude of, I can do what they(siblings) can do. You gain that confidence. When I was about ten, my mom went through a deep depression and kind of checked out and started hoarding. So our house turned into an episode of ‘Hoarders Buried Alive’. My older siblings had at the time grown up and moved out. So I stepped into the position that I think my older siblings were in, which was cooking, cleaning, laundry, trying to keep the house together, at a really young age. I was very driven to be able to move out as soon as I was 18. To have security and a safe place for myself. So I started a paper route when I was ten, and then I started working at a pizza place when I was 14. I started saving money, and I got a storage unit when I was 16 to start getting the things I needed for an apartment. So that when I moved out, I wouldn't ever have to move back in. So again, that place of security that I didn't have, I was really planning and preparing to create that for myself. That really toned the skills for multitasking, planning for the future, being able to handle a lot, stress tolerance. Growing up in a big family, really developed that stress tolerance. Then, I got pregnant when I was 17. Which wasn’t planned. I started
working two full time jobs to provide as a single mom. And then I realized I wasn't giving her the security that I never had, because I was never around. She was always with her grandparents. I was diagnosed with Lupus when I was 22. I got really hypervigilant about creating security for my daughter. The security I didn't have. So I started stripping. Which really goes against my morals and who I am. But that at the time, it was what was available for me to kind of get ahead, without having to work multiple jobs. It was the only option I saw then, to be able to be a mom, to be in my child's life, and to have enough income to get ahead. So I did that for two and a half years. I later found out I was misdiagnosed with Lupus. I went up to OHSU and saw a specialist. By now I had all this money saved up and bought a manufactured home when I was 23. This was my first home I ever bought. I then decided to go to beauty school. I don't know that I would have done that if I had not been misdiagnosed. It was really from this place of fear and scarcity that pushed me to make these huge life changes. I started doing hair. Then about a year into being an independent contractor at the salon I worked at. I was offered an opportunity to co-own it. Which was not something I dreamed of or aspired to do. I was always a natural born leader, but I haven't liked that position. Probably because I was pushed into that at a very young age. I co-owned and then I bought the existing owner out, she left the industry a year into it. I have now been the owner for ten years. When I started building Monroe Avenue Salon. It wasn’t anything I dreamed for myself or really wanted at first. Again through all this time, I was trying to create security and trying to create more time with my children. I found that hair extensions were a higher price service, so I became an educator for hair extensions. I eventually got married to Lonnie Ramsey. Now I have a family of
Bessie Ramsey holds out a sample of her hair extension.
11 kids and a family dog. When COVID hit, I got a seven week paid vacation. Which is unheard of for my industry. I was in heaven during that time, I was at home with my kids. Then we had to go back to work, and my heart was hurting because I really just have this desire to be with my kids. It's more time that I want with my family. It all culminated to this one moment where I realized I should just start my own hair extension company.
I have all the skills that it takes, and to do it well. And this idea actually came to me during quarantine. Currently the hair extension business is now in pre-launch stage.” The true goal for Ramsey, is not the salon. The goal is to make a way for her to provide for her family and create a way for herself to have more time with her family. So she continues forward on this journey. Pre-launch to launch.
Bessie Ramsey in action while preparing one of her hair extensions.
Entrance to the Monroe Avenue Salon, also featuring in the front window advertising the hair extensions Bessie Ramsey has been working on.
COMMUTER@LINNBENTON.EDU
FEBRUARY 24, 2021
SPORTS
50 for 50
7
In 2021 LB celebrates the 50-year anniversary of its athletics program. We will highlight people, teams and moments from the past five decades of Roadrunner Athletics. You can nominate a former athlete, coach, team, supporter or memorable moment from LB athletics.
The Early Years: 1969-1979
Tim LaBrousse - Baseball and Basketball
LaBrousse was a two-sport athlete at Linn-Benton and a member of the first baseball and basketball teams for the Roadrunners. He was a basketball team captain during the 1970-71 season. In baseball, LaBrousse helped the Roadrunners to the 1971 OCCAA title, earning first team all-Conference and honorable mention all-Region recognition. He went on to play baseball at Eastern Oregon State College. LaBrousse was inducted into the NWAC Hall of Fame in 1994.
Click here for more information
Steve Carothers - Baseball
Carothers played on Linn-Benton's first baseball team in 1971 and was part of the staring pitching rotation. In a final tune up before the 1971 Conference tournament Carothers started on the mound for the Roadrunners and earned an 8-4 victory over Oregon State's JV squad. He also went 1-for-2 at the plate. He has been a longtime supporter of LB Athletics and was instrumental in the resurrection of the baseball program after it was eliminated in 2014, and has also been a supporter of Oregon State's baseball program for many years. Carothers has been the longtime owner of Relco Truss in Harrisburg, Oregon. A standout athlete for Central Linn High School before coming to LB, Carothers was inducted into the NWAC Hall of Fame in 1993.
Click here for Zoom Link
8
A&E
FEBRUARY 24, 2021
LBCOMMUTER.COM
5-Word Book
Reviews BY LEAH BIESACK
Salt, Nayyirah Waheed: Both the cut and salve. The Book of Questions, Pablo Neruda: Lilting with sweetness and oddity. The Elements of Style, William Strunk Jr., E.B. White: Bible-like reliability, but less lengthy. Songs of Innocence, William Blake: Light reading until it isn’t.
Roadrunner
Resources Silent Study Hall
Do you miss studying with others, join in with peers to: ► Read ► Grade ► Cook ► or do other work (silently) There will be soft background music playing throughout. Participants may have cameras off or on.
Join us on zoom: Click here for more information Click here for Zoom Link
linnbenton.zoom.us/ j/97530967612#success
COMMUTER@LINNBENTON.EDU
A&E
FEBRUARY 24, 2021
9
Wonder Woman Hits The Big Screen REVIEW BY
STEVEN PRYOR
@STEVENPRR2PRYOR
Three years have passed since the release of the hit f ilm adaptation of DC’s “Wonder Woman.” Now, after being delayed from the summer of 2020 (due to the novel coronavirus/COV ID-19 pandemic), a sequel has arrived with a simultaneous release in theaters and on HBO Max: “Wonder Woman 1984.” Taking place in the year 1984, the f ilm sees Diana Prince (Gal Godot) continuing to defend the world from criminals and supervillains while working at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. After crossing paths with her old f lame Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), Diana must face the combined threats of scheming tycoon Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) and the Cheetah (Kristen Wiig); who threaten to plunge the world into chaos. The 1980s were a big decade for DC in comics and on f ilm. On a $200 million budget (higher than the $149 million the previous f ilm
WONDER WOMAN 1984
STARRING: Gal Godot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig and Pedro Pascal DIRECTOR: Patty Jenkins (Based on the character by DC Comics) RATED PG-13 MY RATING: ★★★★★ had); the f ilm crafts a spectacle that would be right at home in a decade that saw the release of three of the four original “Superman” f ilms as well as the Tim Burton
version of “Batman.” Tying into the uncertainties facing the present; the f ilm makes the setting of the past a parallel by placing its story deep in the peak of the Cold War of the
1980s. Of course, Diana’s trademark optimism remains in spades; building on not only the character’s previous appearances in the DC Extended Universe, but the classic T V series with Linda Carter. The f ilm takes full advantage of its period setting, with arcade games and people Jazzercising in front of shopping malls in parachute pants aplenty. Acclaimed costume designer Lindy Hemming manages to make everything from business suits with shoulder pads to golden Amazonian armor look believable on f ilm. Hans Zimmer’s musical score combines orchestral themes seamlessly with the pop music of the 1980s. Though admittedly not the breath of fresh air the f irst f ilm was, “Wonder Woman 1984” still provides a worthy sequel with 151 minutes of “radical” retro-futuristic fun whether you’re viewing it theatrically or on HBO Max. With a third f ilm planned to close out the trilog y in the near future; it’s well worth checking out for a dose of optimism that’s much-needed in this day and age.
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