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The Viewpoint Have you seen these Viewpoints? They’ re online! Check out our Viewpoint EXTRA published on issuu.com
APRIL2015 VOLUME IX ISSUE VI Editor in Chief
Megan Clark
STUDENT NEWS Magazine MVHS February 2015 extra
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Mountain View High School 2135 Mountain View Road Stafford, VA 22556 @mvtheviewpoint mvtheviewpoint@gmail.com
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Mountain View High School 2135 Mountain View Road Stafford, VA 22556 @mvtheviewpoint mvtheviewpoint@gmail.com
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Erinn Black
Copy Editor
Josh Guillemette Photography Editor
Cory Haley
Cory Haley
Ciara Havener, Almira Hayes and Cassidy Kelly were adopted. Check out their story on page 3.
Business Manager
Spring is the season for cupcakes. See page 5 for more.
Sarah Yakulis Adviser
Trisha Strahl
Loss and touched many lives. There are things in life that don’t come with a guide book, and this case is one of those things. There are no words that fix heartbreak or that lessen the rippling ache of loss. When words fail, there is only one thing left for us to do as a community: be kind. Mountain View has always been an extraordinarily tight-knit community. When things happen, we come together and support each other. Being there for each other is what we do best. Mountain View impresses me every day with its sense of togetherness. This has been no different. In tough times, do what we do best and lean on each other. Be extra kind and thoughtful, Wildcats. photo provided by Tammy Houk
We hear about awful things all the time. When we wake up in the morning, news is spilling out of the TV, blaring with horrendous, sensationalized stories about catastrophes. Everyday we hear about kidnappings, murder and illness. It seems as though we don’t truly think about tragedy that often, as it doesn’t directly impact us. We avoid recognizing loss by distracting ourselves with stories about which celebrities lost their baby weight the fastest. We’ll avoid recognizing loss until it hits us at home. We don’t think about it until the terribly unplanned wreaks havoc. In March alumnus Scott Houk passed away. Our hearts go out to his family and every life he touched. Scott was an active member of the Mountain View and Mary Washington communities. Houk was a theater major and a comedian. Scott was loved by all
Editor in Chief
This issue of The Viewpoint is dedicated to the loving memory of Scott Houk.
The Viewpoint is a cross-section of the news and opinions of the student body of Mountain View High School. It is a forum of expression published by aPrintis. Letters to the editor are welcome and should be submitted to rooms 303 or 307
Staff Writers
Hailey Bullis, Alex Harrington, Emily Johnson, Dekker Jordan, Paul King, Morgan Ocetnik, Lee Penninger, Austin Venable, Nico Villarreal Front Cover (March) Taja Judkins Front Cover (April) Cory Haley and Emily Simmonds 2014 Virginia High School League State Championship First Place Award Winner 2013, 2014 Free Lance-Star Best Over All Newspaper 2011 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medalist 2011, 2010 and 2009 Virginia High School League First Place Award Winner Mountain View High School 2135 Mountain View Rd. Stafford, VA 22556 april 2015 q the viewpoint q
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Left: Recycling cans like this appear all around Mountain View. Photo by Paul King. Right: The Wild Acts rehearse for the “Wizard of Oz” on May 7-9. Photo by Cory Haley
at a glance... A cross section of the student life and happenings at Mountain View High School. The stress of the dress
With prom fast approaching, most girls wish, just like Cinderella, that they had a fairy godmother to make the perfect dress appear with a simple “Bippity Boppity Boo.” According to neighbornewspapers.com, 90 percent of teenage girls think about prom two months out of the year. As ridiculous as this may seem, it is true, girls seem to stress more over prom than the average person. “I have been thinking about prom for the past three months, and the most stressful part is finding a dress that will impress everyone,” junior Lauren Graves said. Last year, $6.6 billion were spent on prom dresses across America, according to neighbornewspapers.com. “I always search for great deals, but when it comes to prom you can’t put a price on the perfect dress,” Meinert said. How do you know when you’ve spent too much? “If you find yourself looking for change in your couch, that’s when you know you’ve hit your limit,” said Graves. There are so many aspects to look for in the perfect dress: fabric, color, jewels, length, you name it. “When looking for my dress, I wanted something unique that no one else would have,” Graves said. Going in a store with an open mind can give you countless possibilities, so don’t stress if you can’t find every aspect of your perfect dress. -Krissy Poff
Hokanson pushes the recycling initiative
Teacher Eric Hokanson is the person in charge of the Recycling Challenge here at Mountain View. According to him, there has been an increase in recycling at MVHS. “Any progress is good progress, really. Three years ago, Mountain View won the Recycling Challenge with a 36 percent increase in recycling. Since then, it has increased to about 40 percent. In three years, that’s only a four percent increase.” Hokanson believes that Mountain View can do better than that. Every year, Stafford County Public Schools measures the increase in recycling in all of the schools. They take the amount recycled by students, add the students and come up with a percentage that determines the average amount recycled by that school. There are three parts to the competition: first part of the year, second part of the year and the third part is the whole year. There is a cash prize of $250 that goes to the winning school. Mountain View has won the past three years and is on their way to winning again this year.“ We won the first part of the year and are on the way to win the second part,” Hokanson said. “It’s 4 q the viewpoint q april 2015
mathematically impossible for us to lose.” “Eighty percent of what we throw away is recyclable, but no one does that. Every day I go through the trash by hand and separate the trash from the recyclables,” Hokanson said. “Awareness starts with education, and if it starts too late, people won’t think about the difference between the blue bin and the gray one.” Hokanson understands the importance of social media in supporting his cause. “You guys don’t look at the posters around school or listen to the announcements, do you? Nope. I can’t find a media to get to you guys through. I even made a Twitter page trying to get the word out,” Hokanson said. “We literally have 25 followers. If everyone would follow us that would be awesome.” “The world is big enough that it can heal itself, but it still needs help,” Hokanson said. “Who doesn’t want to change the world?” -Georgia Cary
New take on an old classic
The Mountain View Wild Acts are taking on one of the most well known stories, “The Wizard of Oz”. It has been 84 years since the book was first published, and nearly 66 years since the movie. Since this is a well-known story, the drive to live up to the hype is definitely felt. Sam Fulton (the scarecrow) said, ” The energy is, if anything, better because it’s so well known. People are eager to both live up to it and also make it their own.” Straying from the mold, some are giving the characters a personal touch. Adding the new characteristics can prove to be a challenge. “ Well, I’ve given my character, the scarecrow, a lisp and a country accent. It’s hard to keep them both up.” With the many scenes in the world of “The Wizard of Oz,” the set is an important part. “There are a lot of moving parts,” Sam Butler said. “It is a very intricate set.” Some challenges may arise such as casting the Munchkins. The Wild Acts found a way to keep the resemblance by casting little children to play the part of the Munchkins. Incorporating different resources seems to be a big theme in the play. The Mountain View dance team is a big part of the show, with four dance numbers throughout . Along with the dance team our very own football team are playing the roles of the Winkies, the Wicked Witch’s soldiers. With a total of thirteen musical numbers, there are plenty of opportunities to sing along. As the nearly two months of practice comes to a close, the anticipation for the show grows. The play will run May 7-9. -Alex Harrington
LEAP of faith Sophomore Katie Dodson describes her experiences as a competitive dancer.
by Emily Johnson
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ophomore Katie Dodson began dancing at the age of two-and-a-half at the Barton and Williams School of Dance. Her hyper personality required her to channel her energy, which she found through dance. She has continued to perform for her studio since then, making dance her lifestyle. At age four, Dodson competed in her first competitive dance competition. She performed to Madonna’s song, “Material Girl”, and fell in love with it. After the first competition, she was hooked. The next year she performed to the song “Baby I’m a Star” which won first place overall and the title of Miss Starquest. As Dodson developed and furthered her dance career, she began winning a lot of her dances. When she was 11, Dodson won the title of West Coast Dance Explosion Elite Dancer of the year. This award allowed her to travel to Las Vegas, Nevada and perform at the Mirage Hotel. In this year’s competition season alone, Dodson has already won the title of Miss Hall of Fame. She has also won a scholarship to go to Hollywood this June for a full week, all at no expense. She will have the opportunity to work with highly accomplished choreographers including Mandy Moore, Mark Meismer, Ade Obayomi and more. However, competitive dancing is not the only thing that Dodson does. At the Barton and Williams School of Dance, regular dance classes are done weekly and recitals are performed every June for all of the dancers to participate in. Each year the recitals are given a theme such as The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland and many more. The studio’s competition dancers are given a character to perform depending on the theme. Every year since Dodson had joined the competition team, she has performed as one of the characters. This
requires several extra hours of studio time in order to get ready to put on the recital. On any given week, Dodson dances for 16 to 20 hours. She said, “I don’t really have any free time. All of my time during competition season, especially, is for running, nailing, and conditioning for my solos.” Dodson also explained all of the hard work that goes into a solo performance. Besides the hours of studio time in order to learn the choreography, Dodson’s time is also consumed by choosing a costume to wear, deciding which song to perform to, and of course more and more practice. In 2012, Dodson’s childhood best friend passed away. Since then, every competition season she dedicates a solo to her friend Gwyneth Griffin. Dodson went undefeated the first season she began dedicating a solo to Griffin to the song “Turning Page”. Dodson said that solos are her favorite dances to perform. She said,”You can express yourself and be more individual. You don’t have to be the same as everyone else. I can add my own flare. It’s just me and the stage.” Before a performance, Dodson explained how she is quiet and nervous. This is the time she spends trying to focus and get into her zone, but once she gets on stage she said,” I feel unstoppable, like I could do anything. It’s the best feeling in the world.” After her performance is complete, Dodson said that she feels nothing but happiness, she feels especially happy knowing that she made a judge smile or her mom cry tears of joy. From the moment that Dodson steps onto the stage, to the moment she hears the audience applauding her performance, it is the short time that she gets to express her passion and talent. It is her moment to take a leap of faith.
Provided by Katie Dodson
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Kindle Fire tournament
Students and books go headto-head for this year’s Kindle tournament. by Callie Walker
The Kindle Fire Tournament is a tournament for everyone and anyone. Students and faculty are participating in this year’s reading tournament. The way it’s set up is very similar to how March Madness is set up. There are 16 books in total, and they are all different genres. The participate picks a genre to start with and reads a total of two books in the time that’s
Isabella Garibaldi “I first started the Kindle Tournament my freshman year, so this is my second year participating. I really enjoy reading and I like reading new books I haven’t read before. I really like all genres which is great because the tournament provides all genres. Even though the tournament just started, I really liked the ‘Stitching Snow’, a modern twist on Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs. I really hope fantasy genre wins, because they have the best books, I think, so far. “
Joseph Fravel
“I first started the kindle tournament my
junior year, so this is my second year participating in it. I like reading a lot and reading all genres. Anything I get my hands on I read. So far, my favorite book in the tournament is ‘Tunnel Vision.’ It’s full of action, and there’s people with special powers, which I really enjoy. If I had to choose one genre that would win, I would pick fiction because it just seems like more people are into the fiction books instead of the mystery or romance and all the others.”
Sherry Hession “In November, the librarian at Brooke Point and I attended a conference for all librarians, and the librarian who was talking, was talking about how she created the Kindle tournament. So we came back and tried to make it happen. We worked together. Last year was the first year of the Kindle Tournament. Starting this tournament, I really didn’t know what to expect. (It) sounded like a fun thing to do. I’m a librarian, and I want to get books into the hands of kids anytime I can but in a fun way. I don’t want it to be all about English classm and maybe it not being much fun. What I found and why I continued it this year was that it was a lot of fun to have conversations with students and teachers about the books and discussing their thoughts and feelings about the book. “
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given and picks the book they like better. The books that win continue on until the best book is left.
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help for haiti Years of work in Haiti with a school and clinic, teacher Sarah Roeske has great experiences to share. by Sarah Yakulis. Photos provided by Sarah Roeske
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Viewpoint: When did you start visiting Haiti? Sarah Roeske: Three and a half years ago, this coming trip will be my 8th. My first trip was in Oct. of 2011, after the earthquake. VP: How did you start? SR: I go with a group from my church. We’ve had a 50 year partnership with the school down there, but it’s always been something I’ve wanted to do. My masters is in international relations, and I was always interested in human rights and non-profit work, but I never had an opportunity to do that before, so this offered me that opportunity. VP: How long do you go at a time? SR: Five days. They’re quick trips, partially because it’s not the safest place and partially because most of us who go also have jobs here. VP: Do you work with the same people down in Haiti every time? SR: Yes, because of our 50-year partnership, it’s the same people, same school, same doctors and same nurses. That’s why when we raise scholarships, it’s for that particular school. VP: What do the scholarships go towards? College? SR: No, in Haiti the way it works is there is a public school system but it’s not very good, so most kid’s go to private schools. In order to attend any good school they need money for tuitions that most of their families cannot afford, so we try to raise scholarships. Mountain View has provided scholarships through their “Casual for a Cause” program with the faculty. The hope there is to go to high school, not necessarily college. VP: What do you do while you’re there? SR: When we get there, we have a clinic for the 350 students. Each student sees the nurse and the doctor to get de-worming medication; it’s been proven to be the most effective to help keep kids in school. They’re also checked out to make sure everything is okay. We open the clinic to everyone in the community the next day to treat anyone else who needs it. We do crafts with the kids and make a yearbook for them. We take pictures of the kids; the camera was actually from money raised by one of my IB students a few years ago. After the earthquake, a lot of families lost their family photos, so photographing them is a way to give photos to them, and create a yearbook to make a visual record. VP: What is your favorite part of everything you do there? SR: Being in the developing world is something that is hard to explain. In the midst of such poverty and desperation, there is a strength and a joy that I’ve learned a lot from. To come from this beautiful school and facility to go to a place that didn’t even have toilets up until a year ago, but to go from a place like this where I pretty much have everything I need at my disposal to go there where the teachers there basically have nothing, and the students have almost nothing in their backpacks if they even have a backpacks, but their smiles are so sincere. VP: What is the school like there? SR: It’s basically one building with seven or eight classrooms. They’re cement. There’s rarely electricity or windows. It’s just basically a cement block with rooms and benches and a couple blackboards. VP: Is the curriculum there the same as in elementary schools here? SR: No, it’s pretty different. It’s mainly just written learning based on memorization. We don’t have a huge amount to do with that though. But we take school supplies. National Honor Society just raised school supplies for me to take when I leave in two weeks, and Mountain View has helped a huge amount with everything, from donating supplies and helping with scholarships. VP: Do you plan to continue going? SR: Yeah, I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon. This is my eighth trip in three-and-a-half years. I’ve committed to every six months being there, and it took a long time to earn their trust … This isn’t my first time in the developing world, but this is my first time working in the developing world and building relationships. I think the most important thing is that sometimes we look at the developing world and we think we know what life should be like for them, but instead our vision of what we think life should be like is different from theirs. We always try to take our lead from the Haitians … we’re truly in a partnership. We let them develop how they want to live, we do not tell them how to run the clinic or what to do, we just have the financial needs to assist them. We’re learning from them as they’re learning from us.
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Why you shouldn't say the "R" word Saying the “R” word is more harmful than you might intend. by Megan Clark
Y
ou can hear the phrase, “sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me” sung through the playgrounds at just about any elementary school. It’s probably the biggest lie of childhood. Language is powerful, and more often than not, more hurtful than “sticks and stones”. While none of us are perfect, we try to get better every day. Our school sponsored “Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign recently has concluded. You probably signed the poster, and maybe picked up a plastic bracelet. Has it made a lasting impact on you? Here’s why I think it should have: When someone uses the word retarded, they’re replacing it with the word stupid, or dumb. Using the “R” word perpetuates a negative stereotype that individuals with intellectual disabilities are less valued member of our society. Often times, when people use the “R” word they are, of course, trying to be offensive to the person that the insult is aimed at. However, I don’t think people are necessarily trying to support negativity. Often times it seems that there’s a lack of humanization present. People don’t see that group of people that they are hurting. My sister, Ali, is 20 and she makes me a better person every single day. She makes me laugh all the time, and is one of the only people that can turn my day around in seconds. When I tell people she has special needs, they’ll probably avoid using the “R” word in ear shot again. Maybe they’ll feel kind of awkward, or maybe I’ll just come across as hypersensitive. However, my sister having special needs really shouldn’t impact you saying the “R” word. I believe that you not wanting to sound ignorant should be enough
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to remove the word from your vocabulary. Ali is many things, but not “dumb” or “stupid”. It’s frustrating to me, and many others, when individuals bring an entire group of people down with them while trying to insult someone else. A group of people with talents and skills, senses of humor, and favorite songs. Using the word retarded ignores the individuality of people with special needs. In 2010, Rosa’s Law was passed. This law replaced the words “mental retardation” with “intellectual disability” in several cases in the law. Rosa’s Law is part of a long list of changes that originated in the early 90s. At the time, the laws were using what was considered modern language. As times have changed, the wording has as well. The government can agree that this wording is wrong and harmful. We should agree with that also and remove this type of language Using derogatory language is harmful to groups of people who are self-advocating, and can be especially harmful to groups of people that sometimes aren’t. Using minority slurs is wrong. When someone uses a slur against blacks, Jews, homosexuals, or any other group, it is wrong. Using derogatory language against these groups of people helps create and support negative stereotypes and proposes that these individuals are less valued than other members of society (they’re not). Finally, we’re a very educated generation. Do we need to use this language to make our point? Your friend is acting in a less-than-desirable way, and the “R” word is the best thing you can come up with? I’m sure you’re smart enough to come up with an insult that doesn’t make you sound misinformed at the same time.
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Gamers in the Workplace As the electronic gaming generation comes of age, how will they change the basics of our society? by Lee Penninger Graphic by Hannah Galligan
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E
lectronic games are often criticized by the older generations as time-wasting, nerd devices for channelling a lack of social skills that also turns your brain to mush. Benefits and disadvantages of electronic gaming are often discussed in whether or not they are “good” for you, but one thing that all gamers agree on, it is just plain and simple fun. The generation in which the majority of youths played electronic games is coming of age. Naturally, over the past 20 years in which electronic gaming has become more popular, they have also evolved and changed. Few electronic game franchis-
es and publishers cater to the same generation over and over and their target audiences change. While only nine percent of games published in 2012 received a rating of M for Mature by the ESRB, five of the top ten best selling electronic games were rated M for Mature. Of course, there are parents who buy these explicit games for their under-age children, but that is a discussion for another time. This means that five of the best games of the year of 2012 were only available to people ages 17 and up. “Grand Theft Auto,” “Call of Duty” and other blockbuster, triple A, high selling games are included in this grouping. This of course means that these games were only readily available to those 18 or older – the generation that is starting to go out by themselves into the world. Adults do not even choose Mature rated games just because they can. Franchises such as FIFA and 2k sports games tend to be more popular. The FIFA franchise is currently the most popular electronic game among students ages 18-24 according to USA Today. Not only will this generation soon be in the workplace, but electronic games have been around for almost 50 years. In the so-called Golden Age of Gaming in the 1980s and 1990s, Time magazine published an issue titled, “Video Games Are Blitzing the World” published January 1982. The generation growing up with weekends of arcade gaming and buying of their first consoles are now in their
30s and are applying to management positions and starting businesses. Even if their pastime does not carry over into their adult life, they are still the very first generation to live and grow up with this new invention that has shaped our world so much today. What advantages does this generation, then, have? What special leadership skills were cultivated in their youth by electronic games that give them advantages in the workplace that no other generation has seen before? Creative problem solving and multi-tasking are just a few of these. It is important to note the other tendencies of gamers. Whether they played with their friends, siblings or by themselves, it has helped to breed a sense of deep competition. As jobs and colleges become more competitive, this new-found competitiveness is vital to their success. A need and desire to learn and to be the absolute best is also cultivated into the minds of the young playing electronic games. They know that there is a solution to any problem thrown their way. They are aware of multiple approaches to these problems and understand the process of trial and error. This also helps develop a very good resistance to ego-bruising. When they fail, they get back up again and keep trying. Gamers are adaptable to totally different situations. The rise of massively multi-player games also leads to a new sort of globalization. Gamers find it easier to socialize with those from different corners of the world and are more comfortable with engaging others that are unfamiliar to them. With the rise of the electronic gaming generations, they can almost immediately find common ground in their hobbies and relate easily to one another. The social implications of electronic games have also changed. As previously discussed, many saw them as for “nerds” and those without friends. This mindset has swung drastically over the years. Just about everyone plays electronic games; from casual gamers who play games occasionally on their phone to hardcore gamers who make PC rigs that run games at the highest possible resolution and performance. How and why has this mindset changed? Perhaps it is the ease through which electronic games can now be accessed. Electronic games, despite being simple concepts, were so new that people did not bother learning about them or how to use them. Perhaps they have come to encompass and include many different demographics. Whatever the real reason, electronic gaming has become more socially acceptable and much more widely used. What consequences can future society expect from this, whether positive or negative? As electronic games become more commonplace, it can be expected that there will be an even greater following of it and more people can be expected to bond through the medium. As far as professional life is carried out, it will probably remain mostly unchanged other than workplace discussions and the way people solve problems. The newly developed characteristics of these people will shape our world in the coming years and be vital assets to the ever-changing and unpredictable environments.
Sweet Treats
Hailey Bullis
Everyone has a sweet tooth Looking for new places to pick up a sweet treat? These services provide unique desserts for your taste by Morgan Ocetnik Photos provided by corresponding baking companies
Sweet Reasons Gourmet Sweet Reasons Gourmet is located in Central Park of Fredericksburg, Virginia. It’s run by locals and family operated. They offer custom cakes, wedding cakes, cheesecakes, and more. They also serve a variety of cupcakes with pricing of (1) $2.95, (4) $11, (6) $15, (12) $28. It has become a very popular and useful shop to order desserts and customize your preferences in Fredericksburg. They change their flavors weekly, and a couple of their newest are Pina Colada and Orange Creamsicle cheesecake. One of their most popular desserts is their Black and White cupcake. It’s made with chocolate brownie mix, with chocolate cheesecake in the center, and cream cheese icing.
The Icing The Icing baking company is located off of Courthouse Road in Stafford, Virginia but soon moving to 610. The owner Lynette Drake started off making wonderful tasting cupcakes, pies, cookies, breads, and more. “Everything is made from scratch in small batches baked daily in the house. There are no preservatives in anything we create, nor is anything ever frozen,” said owner Drake. They offer two different sizes of cupcakes, and new special ones called Texas cupcakes with filling inside. Their newest flavor is called the Fat Elvis, and it has peanut butter icing, with bacon bits inside the cake and on the frosting.
Colonial Cupcakes Colonial Cupcakes has an old world feeling that’s filled with homemade sweet desires inside. Its located off of Pratt Road in Downtown Fredericksburg. They make special order recipes for their customers, and also have a gluten-free flavor everyday. Colonial Cupcakes caters for any event to your specifics and can deliver or set up your venue.. Their royal favorite cupcakes are Lemon, Coconut, Maragrita, Mojito, Guinness Chocolate, Red Velvet, Hummingbird, Strawberry, and Port Wine Chocolate Cherry. For a dozen cupcakes the price is $27 and some change. They have a variety of flavors that are changed and made all the time.
Annie Bolin’s Cupcakes and Confectionery You can find Annie Bolin’s Cupcakery in Stafford, Virginia, or order your special treat online. Delivery is also available with request, but additional charges may apply. “All of my cupcakes are made from scratch with only the finest and freshest ingredients,” said owner Bolin. She has many options and flavors on display for your taste buds and preferences. She can bake for baby or bridal shower, wedding or anniversary, birthday or retirement. The price for a dozen cupcakes is $27, and the price for specialty cupcakes is available according to request. april 2015 q the viewpoint q
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All Things Embroidered
r a e w s t r o p s , hatshains & more keyc 8 1 4 5 7 3 7 0 cal l 54
email: allthingsembroidered byteresa@gmail.c om
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Mountain View Spirit Wear Hoodies now on sale in the athletics office for $35!
For more information, please contact Mindy Planakis in Athletics at 540-6586840, ext 1123 Disclaimer: Some sizes and styles may not be available
The Divergent Series: Insurgent How this movie gets right what most adaptations get wrong, and still fails. by Nico Villarreal
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Insurgent” is the second movie of the Divergent series based off the book of the same name by Veronica Roth. It’s set in a dystopic future Chicago, where society is split up into five factions based on different virtues and citizens choose their faction based on personality tests as they come of age. The movie picks up where the last left off, following our main character Tris Prior played by Shailene Woodley and her boyfriend Four played by Theo James. Theo makes Four a decent generic young adult(YA) love interest for Tris, maybe a little too generic at times as much of his back-story and character that was explored in the book was glossed over in the movie. As for Shailene, while she can manage the little bits of normal conversation and flirting alright, her acting during the heavily dramatic scenes is just plain bad and increases the cheese factor by several times from the already high levels that the writing provides. Speaking of cheesiness and cliché in general, this movie is chock full of both. Everything from the adults that can’t be trusted, (at one point Four even says of his mother “We can’t trust her”) to the symbolic dream to every single dramatic moment in the movie, and especially the final fight scene. That last one is partly because Shailene Woodley was playing the only two parts involved, making it doubly hilarious in its horrendousness. Sure the book was a little bit cheesy, especially dealing with the romantic parts, but the movie took it to a whole new level in the other aspects. And “Insurgent” also has a number of other failings when compared to the book. Whereas the world of “Divergent” and “Insurgent” was extremely in depth in the book, feeling real and even gritty at times, in the movie almost nothing rang true. All the actors were conventionally attractive, all the main characters changed their oddly fashionable outfits after every scene, everyone in the background looked out of place, everyone in the foreground who wasn’t a main character looked like they were staged for a photograph, and the CGI just looked fake. The only thing that gave this movie a shred of authenticity was the set design, one of two things it handled well. The other thing is Peter, played by Miles Teller. This character was supposed to be the archetypal double crossing, devious little prick and was nothing more than that in the book. But in the movie, he is one of the only realistic, witty and almost likeable characters in the whole movie, despite still being a major prick. I feel like most of the credit to this goes to his actor Miles. But not even his character and the set design can make up for all the movie’s flaws. Some of the biggest of which come from the writing. Now, this isn’t aimed at Veronica Roth, while her book was far from perfect, it had its own strengths and was at least enjoyable to read. Unfortunately, I can not give the same credit to the screen writers. Besides being clichéd and cheesy liked I mentioned before, the writing also constantly begs the question “why is this necessary?” with half the scenes, was having characters make different choices without the necessary character development to make those choices make sense, and was also home to a couple annoying plot holes. I feel as though the writers, along with the director, focused on all the wrong things. This is related to one of the biggest changes from the book, which is the focus on a box which holds a message from their society’s founders and can only be opened by a divergent passing several simulator tests. This box, which was almost an afterthought in the book, works to replace many story elements from the original work, and represents what the writers tried the hardest to do: preserving the central themes.
15 q the viewpoint q april 2015
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Whereas there were some significant deviations from the plot, those themes remained practically identical and were even more prominent in the movie than they were in the book. While keeping with the spirit of the original work is something that’s usually a good thing, here it spells disaster because the themes of insurgent, the book, were some of the weakest parts. The idea of a society separated into factions based on the personalities of people should sound familiar. That’s because it’s an allegory for high school. The fact that being capable of having facets of her personality from all of the factions is what makes our main character Tris so special as a divergent should help clue you in as to what this is all about. The whole idea of factions and divergents is designed to pander to the movie and the book’s main demographic: teenage and adolescent girls. It’s designed to emulate their world, one filled with different cliques, and where very few people ever really fit in. Divergents don’t fit in either, and they’re persecuted for that in the book(persecution that’s even more over the top in the movie). But the thing is, there’s nothing special about being “divergent,” and persecution for just “being different “ isn’t really something that really exists beyond high school in the real world, at least being different in the superficial way presented in the movie. Everyone has a little bit of different personalities in them, being smart, friendly, truthful, selfless, and courageous is a part of being a good person. While these themes and ideas aren’t morally bad, they neither mean that much nor are based in reality. Sure, “being different” isn’t the horrible thing that will destroy society the antagonist of the movie says it is, but Tris isn’t all that different. Especially if we’re comparing her to other YA protagonists. The movie shouldn’t have made these themes the focal point. Instead, they should have focused on the characters and making the world seem as authentic as possible. If the movie had good characters and a good world it could have made up for the rather shallow themes, much like the book did. But instead we’re left with this. A horribly cheesy movie set in a world that feels just about as authentic as a pair of wooden teeth, which centers around undeveloped characters and concentrates on a largely unimportant message. There may be those out there who would argue that it’s just some YA flick for teenage girls, it doesn’t have to be good. I say they deserve better. With quite literally only two redeeming qualities I can find, I would not recommend it. And as my freshman aged sister summarily said as we exited the theater: “Yeah, it sucked.”
Holly Bryngelson
Emily Simmonds (front) and Holly Bryngelson (back) show off their artistic style.
By Joshua Guillemette and Cory Haley. Photo by Cory Haley. Illustration by Holly Bryngelson. Art is a part of our culture. It is a part of who we are as a people. For junior Holly Bryngelson and senior Emily Simmonds, art is their lives. Both are very involved with what they do. Simmonds embraces all types, from drama to 3D art, from 2D art to music. Bryngelson does a variety of 2D art. She likes water color, paper and pencil, ink, digital art and oil painting. She likes to try new mediums and push herself by gesture drawing, which is taking a reference image and attempting to draw it as accurately as possible in 30 seconds or less. These artists have their own habits and outlooks on art and how it affects them. Emily Simmonds describes their her art as “exploring the world around us,” because she says that the purpose of art is “to find a way to describe the world around you.” Her inspiration is derived from many artists, looking at them all and appreciating the things she likes about other artists’ style, and changing the things she doesn’t like. Since she likes to take inspiration from so many and blend them, the style is constantly changing. As a result, her style has matured over the years, going from wanting to please others with her art to developing her works to describe her feelings and emotions. As a goal, Simmonds hopes to create children’s books, but because she wants to try every type of art, she wants to hone her skills on a specific medium. On the other hand, Bryngelson describes her favorite art style as being dark, but she also does comic illustrations. She listens to all genres of music to draw her inspiration from. Some genres include chillstep, a subgenre of dubstep, and video game tracks. Bryngelson also takes inspiration from other styles by self-motivating herself to exceed the other artists she sees. When she was younger, she drew cartoons, which she admits to being embarrassed about. But throughout this self-consciousness, she was determined to improve where others may give up. Bryngelson said she practiced everyday and said that practice is the key to art. Now she does realism pieces and is even sells her services to small businesses making logos and artwork. Her goal in art is to achieve hyper-realism.
16 q the viewpoint q april 2015