TEAM JOE OR TEAM CAROL?: "TIGER KING" REVIEW By Chloe Hartje PHOTO PROVIDED BY NETFLIX
Right now, as the entire country is stuck inside, the one thing that is keeping people distracted is “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.” The series is number one on Netflix and has been there almost since it first came out on March 20. Memes about the show have been posted all over social media. The most popular memes include one of the characters feeding her husband to the tigers (which will be discussed later), and her catchphrase, “Hey, all you cool cats and kittens.” It presents so many twists and turns that it is hardly explainable, but here is a run-down. “Tiger King” is a true-crime documentary about the rivalry of two big cat keepers, Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin. Joseph Allen Maldonado, better known as Joe Exotic, is one of the most interesting characters that TV has seen. He can do it all: he is a polygamous gay man, zoo-owner, presidential candidate and of course, a convicted felon. Exotic is the former owner of G.W. Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma, where he bred and housed hundreds of big cats such as tigers, lions, monkeys and bears. He also had his own reality show, “Joe Exotic TV,” where he shows the insides of the cages and stands in front of a green screen talking about whatever he has on his mind. One of his opening phrases, “I’m Joe Exotic, otherwise known as the Tiger King, the gay, gun-carrying red-neck with a mullet,” pretty much sums him up. During his career, he also ran for president (twice). Featured on the show “Last Week Tonight,” was a compilation of facts about Exotic from one of his campaign videos, in which he said, “I’m not changing the way I dress, I refuse to wear a suit…I am gay…I am broke as s***, I have a judgment against me from some b**** down there in Florida…”He sounds like the perfect person to run the country, right? Exotic also attracted colorful characters to work for him, one of whom had his arm ripped nearly off by one of the zoo’s tigers. Kelci “Saff” Saffery returned to work only five days after it was surgically amputated. John Reinke, who worked as the park’s manager for almost a decade, lost both of his legs during a zip-line accident.
Hired to produce Joe’s reality TV series, Rick Kirkham was a former “Inside Edition” reporter and recovering drug-addict. The staff also included former head zookeeper Erik Cowie, who witnessed the darker activities within the zoo, including illegal cub breeding and selling, as well as the killing of five tigers after they reached adult-size. Unfortunately, Exotic’s love for the animals soon turned into a money-making scheme, which is where Baskin comes in, with her animal rights lobbying. Baskin is almost as fascinating, as she wears tiger-print clothing from head-totoe and probably murdered her husband. The rumor is that her late millionaire husband, Don Lewis, was planning on divorcing her, which would have left her with nothing, not even the cats. Lewis disappeared and his case went cold, leaving many to speculate whether she fed Lewis to the tigers. In one clip from “Tiger King,” in which a tiger was harassing Joe’s shoe that apparently had cologne on it, Baskin stated that if a person wanted a tiger to kill someone “you would put sardine oil on them, not perfume.” There is a lot of evidence that, “you would put sardine oil on them, not perfume.” There is a lot of evidence that points to her as a suspect, yet the world may never know what exactly happened to Lewis. Since Baskin is the owner of Big Cat Rescue, a non-profit animal sanctuary in Florida, as well as an animal-rights activist, Exotic had a lot of hate towards her. He mentioned her several times on his reality show, calling her out for both potentially feeding her husband to the tigers and being a hypocrite. Back in the 1990s, Baskin actually bred big cats herself, which is what she would bash Exotic for. Also, Baskin has also gained recognition as a phony, as she profits from caging the “rescued” cats, despite her organization being labeled a non-profit. At one point, during the height of their feud, when Baskin was suing Exotic for copywriting a picture she had posted, Joe became bankrupt. The picture included Baskin’s workers holding dead and bloody rabbits that were intended for the tigers. Baskin dragged out the lawsuit,
pressuring Exotic to shut down his zoo. He was even struggling to pay for the food to feed the animals, even though most of the meat was already coming from Walmart donations. This is where Jeff Lowe came into the picture, who promised to save Exotic’s zoo from closing. After Lowe took over the zoo, he quickly went from being Exotic’s friend and business partner to an enemy. “I didn’t know the mansion was rented, and I didn’t know he was behind on Ferrari payments and as soon as he got the zoo in his name, the evil side of Jeff and [his wife] Lauren came out,” said Exotic. Later on, Lowe became a police informant in the investigation into Exotic’s murder-for-hire plot against Baskin. Exotic was found guilty of trying to hire someone. Allen Glover, who was actually working at the zoo, to kill Baskin in 2017. Initially, he paid Glover $3,000, with a promise to pay thousands more after she was dead. Exotic has recently been sentenced to 22 years in prison. Recently, Jeff Lowe announced that there will be an additional “Tiger King” episode added to Netflix, making a total of eight episodes in the series. These episodes, “Not Your Average Joe,” “Cult of Personality,” “The Secret,” “Playing with Fire,” “Make America Exotic Again,” “The Noble Thing to Do” and finally “Dethroned” each reveal a new, deeper side to the story. Between unreeling the rivalry between Exotic and Baskin and exposing the reality of big cat captivity, the show explores a world unknown to most. That being said, “Tiger King” is the perfect show to fix the boredom of quarantine. Whether it is a good laugh or a twisted plot to keep the mind occupied, it could not have been released at a better time.
by Taylor Ericson, Editor-in-chief Fashion trends are constantly changing and being recycled as the decades past, acting as an art form for many, including myself. There are countless stores and clothing items that one can choose from in order to build their own unique style. However, there is a question that still remains, what makes something fashionable? From when I was in elementary school up until now, I have experienced my fair share of not-socute outfits. Don’t get me wrong, at the time I thought that I was wearing the cutest thing ever but just as our lives and personal experiences change, so does our sense of fashion. A pattern that you were obsessed with when you were in middle school could look absolutely appalling to you now. That is the beauty of fashion. You are able to love one style of clothing for as long as you want and then if you decide that it’s not for you anymore, you can simply not wear it. It is not solely about the longevity of your certain fashion preferences, but how you are able to use the same clothing items to create different outfits once your fashion has progressed. If you can master this skill, then you are able to save an abundant amount of money while simultaneously wearing outfits that you love. Society has ingrained the idea into our heads that we should only wear what is in style right now and once something is “last season” then you can not wear it if you want to be on trend.
This phenomenon is not something that anyone should be following. If you like a clothing item, you should continue to wear it as long as you would like. Wear that favorite pair of jeans three times a week or that jacket that you love as often as you choose. Of course, if you decide that a certain item is not your style anymore, get rid of it, but in a way that is either cost effective or environmentally friendly. You can do this by posting the item on an application such as Depop or Thredup or donating it to a location such as Savers or Goodwill. Taking these steps will allow others to enjoy clothing items that you are not getting enough use of. Another aspect of fashion that is important is creating an outfit that you love from the pieces that you own. This can oftentimes be challenging because you don’t know what items go together in a way that looks “in style.” My first piece of advice would be to just try pairing your favorite items together until you come up with an outfit that you feel confident in because in the end, it only matters how you feel in an outfit and that you like what you are wearing. If this process does not work out, you can also find different outfits online or on social media that you admire and try to recreate them with what is in your closet. This is a great way to begin creating your own sense of style. An amazing facet of fashion is that you are able to dress in a way that expresses how you are feeling. If you are feeling very creative one day, you can try mixing different textures and
patterns in a way that depicts your mood. On the other hand, if you wake up in a very simple mood, you can wear jeans and a plain white t-shirt as a way to illustrate this feeling. The clothes that you wear can have a great effect on not only your day to day performance but your mental state as well. According to research done at Northwestern University, a term entitled, “enclothed cognition” is used to describe the influence that clothes have on one’s physiological processes. This term encases the idea that each item of clothing you wear has a symbolic meaning, leading you to feel different depending on what piece of clothing you are wearing. This concept was first tested at Northwestern University with a lab coat and it was shown that wearing the lab coat led to an increase in selective attention, exemplifying the idea that humans perform in different ways depending on the clothing that they are wearing. Despite the many different types of clothing that are and always will be prevalent throughout the fashion community, the most important aspect of fashion is that there are no rules. If you think that something is cool you want to wear it, wear it! Fashion is and should always be a way to have fun and express your sense of individuality. Because in the end, fashion is whatever you want it to be.
by Taylor Ericson, Editor-in-chief Fashion trends are constantly changing and being recycled as the decades past, acting as an art form for many, including myself. There are countless stores and clothing items that one can choose from in order to build their own unique style. However, there is a question that still remains, what makes something fashionable? From when I was in elementary school up until now, I have experienced my fair share of not-socute outfits. Don’t get me wrong, at the time I thought that I was wearing the cutest thing ever but just as our lives and personal experiences change, so does our sense of fashion. A pattern that you were obsessed with when you were in middle school could look absolutely appalling to you now. That is the beauty of fashion. You are able to love one style of clothing for as long as you want and then if you decide that it’s not for you anymore, you can simply not wear it. It is not solely about the longevity of your certain fashion preferences, but how you are able to use the same clothing items to create different outfits once your fashion has progressed. If you can master this skill, then you are able to save an abundant amount of money while simultaneously wearing outfits that you love. Society has ingrained the idea into our heads that we should only wear what is in style right now and once something is “last season” then you can not wear it if you want to be on trend.
This phenomenon is not something that anyone should be following. If you like a clothing item, you should continue to wear it as long as you would like. Wear that favorite pair of jeans three times a week or that jacket that you love as often as you choose. Of course, if you decide that a certain item is not your style anymore, get rid of it, but in a way that is either cost effective or environmentally friendly. You can do this by posting the item on an application such as Depop or Thredup or donating it to a location such as Savers or Goodwill. Taking these steps will allow others to enjoy clothing items that you are not getting enough use of. Another aspect of fashion that is important is creating an outfit that you love from the pieces that you own. This can oftentimes be challenging because you don’t know what items go together in a way that looks “in style.” My first piece of advice would be to just try pairing your favorite items together until you come up with an outfit that you feel confident in because in the end, it only matters how you feel in an outfit and that you like what you are wearing. If this process does not work out, you can also find different outfits online or on social media that you admire and try to recreate them with what is in your closet. This is a great way to begin creating your own sense of style. An amazing facet of fashion is that you are able to dress in a way that expresses how you are feeling. If you are feeling very creative one day, you can try mixing different textures and
patterns in a way that depicts your mood. On the other hand, if you wake up in a very simple mood, you can wear jeans and a plain white t-shirt as a way to illustrate this feeling. The clothes that you wear can have a great effect on not only your day to day performance but your mental state as well. According to research done at Northwestern University, a term entitled, “enclothed cognition” is used to describe the influence that clothes have on one’s physiological processes. This term encases the idea that each item of clothing you wear has a symbolic meaning, leading you to feel different depending on what piece of clothing you are wearing. This concept was first tested at Northwestern University with a lab coat and it was shown that wearing the lab coat led to an increase in selective attention, exemplifying the idea that humans perform in different ways depending on the clothing that they are wearing. Despite the many different types of clothing that are and always will be prevalent throughout the fashion community, the most important aspect of fashion is that there are no rules. If you think that something is cool you want to wear it, wear it! Fashion is and should always be a way to have fun and express your sense of individuality. Because in the end, fashion is whatever you want it to be.
LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL DON'T MISS OUT ON THE MEMORIES!
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"The Onion Ring is the Statesman's rendition of "The Onion," a satire section to bring enjoyment out of the simple stories in life. Please don't take offense to these stories. I hope you find humor in them in such a difficult time. STATESMAN STAFF
The vapid comformity of modern teenage girls As observed by a very interesting high school boy BY SLATER DIXON LHS junior Brad Strongarm is the type of guy who walks with a certain ease. Six-foot one with brown hair, Strongarm’ appearance represents the carefree, self-assured way in which he lives his life. His attitude is marked by a distinct sense of confidence that comes with the knowledge that one is truly an individual. Now, Strongarm is using his unique voice to speak out against what he sees as a worrying cultural trend. “There has definitely been a troubling rise in what I call ‘feminine adolescent homogeneity’,” said Strongarm, who definitely didn’t have to Google any of those words. “Essentially, basic high school girls are getting out of hand.” For Strongarm, basic teenage girls’ conformity to a predictable set of trends, interests and personalities highlights the superficial nature in which teenage girls participate in society. The most obvious indicator of this deficiency, Strongarm
notes, is the average teenage girl’s choice in clothing. “It feels like the only thing that girls wear these days is a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt,” said Strongarm. “Now I’m not disregarding the value of versatility—I’ve been rotating the same three pairs of joggers since the eighth grade. The difference is that I’m not afraid to add some variety by occasionally wearing khakis and an American Eagle polo to school. You don’t see that from girls these days.” Although he admits that he could mix things up a little bit more, Strongarm says that it’s not a perfect comparison, arguing that “It’s, like, different for girls, you know? They’re supposed to be into that stuff.” But Strongarm isn’t just worried that all girls seem to wear the same thing. He points to their behavior as evidence of greater issues. “Girls are always commenting nonsense like “wow you’re so pretty” and “I love being your friend” on Instagram, an app
that should be reserved for group chats where you send memes that ironically mock minorities,” said Strongarm. “It’s obvious that many of the comments aren’t genuine, which I think demonstrates a significant lapse in morality. Underlying this behavior is an obvious urge to be liked and accepted by their peers, which I find very disturbing.” Strongarm’ conclusions are the results of five years spent studying his female peers throughout middle and high school, and he’s noticed a series of trends and patterns. Years ago it was Vera Bradley, Uggs and Starbucks. Now, it’s Lululemon, Hydroflasks and Starbucks. Strongarm notes that basic teenage girls represent an undiscerning consumer, gobbling up any product or entertainment that is thrown their way. “White girls always have the latest iPhone, and it makes you wonder if they realize that Android phones are usually a way
better option,” said Strongarm. Strongarm says that he prefers to wait until YouTuber Marques Brownlee reviews the newest iPhone before deciding that it’d be cringe if he didn’t have iMessage and making his parents buy it. In a similar vein, he says that teenage girls should make sure Anthony Fantano gives an album a good rating before considering listening to it. Although Strongarm admits that these complaints are mostly surface level, he’s made an incredibly worrying discovery that trumps everything he knew about basic white girls. His latest research suggests that all basic teenage girls are idiotic, one-note bowls of oatmeal who can’t even hold down a conversation. “Sometimes you talk to a girl at school and there’s literally nothing there. They’re nice and all, but nothing they say is really that interesting,” said Strongarmt. “It’s pathetic. Once you’ve talked to one of them, you’ve talked to them all. It’s the same boring personality.” Strongarm then proceeded to give a lively description of the status of his friends’ progress in the popular mobile game “Clash of Clans,” describing how his village has grown considerably since he upgraded his town hall’s level, which granted him xbows and a new hero, the ‘Archer queen,’ essentially increasing his town’s ability to thwart attacks from rival clans with similar star power. If he seems to be a bit critical, remember to give him the benefit of the doubt. He’s really coming from a good place. In fact, Strongarm’s biggest concern is that teenage girls are wasting valuable time that could be spent
“working on feminism.” “Basic white girls should spend less time making cringey TikToks and focus on what they can personally do to get rid of sexism,” said Strongarm. “For example, I’ve spent the past three years mastering the most important skill for any high-schooler: claiming to be an advocate for women while freely making lewd sexual jokes about girls at our school with the boys. It’s really hard to find that balance, but it’s important if any progress is going to be made.” Strongarm considers himself an advocate for women, citing his consistent retweets of Bernie Sanders, who he dubs “basically the Susan B. Anthony of our time.” From his perspective, “being a woman is a bit of a bummer” considering the misogynistic attitudes that continue to permeate our society. “I get really sad when I think about my mom and sisters and stuff and what they go through.
There are a lot more sexist guys out there than you would think,” said Strongarm. “Good thing I’m not one of them.”
When asked for a photo of himself, Strongarm sent this picture over Snapchat.
Brad’s reccomendations to not be basic Planning what games you’re Planning your wedding on Pintrest
gonna buy when you finally get a Nintendo Switch
Instagram post with friends in Downtown Sioux Falls
Instagram post with a girl from freshman year who you talked to for three weeks
Reposting “like to donate $3 to Uganda” posts
Liking random Instagram models’ posts
Getting excited about Formal or Spinsters
Getting excited about literally nothing
Getting invested in a dumb sport like volleyball
Getting invested in stock options based off of tips from Reddit
Stay safe. Stay home.
APRIL ISSUE 2020