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entertainment Panther Prowler • Sept. 18, 2020
You should listen to “folklore” Anna Johnson Entertainment Editor
On July 24, Taylor Swift released her new indie album “folklore,” (lowercase intended, like the rest of the album) and it is the best she has ever sounded. Instead of her repetitive pop music, her lyrics seemed honest and had meaning. It seems clear she should stick to indie style music. The album was very much as she described, a whimsical fantasy. The songs all mostly contained piano and various string instruments that sounded like a fairytale, adding to the appeal of the song’s more outgoing topics. The lyrics combined with the beautiful background music added to a romantic feeling to the album, pulling us into her world. The best song on the album by far was “my tears ricochet,” as it best showcased Swift’s talents. Not only were her vocals breathtaking, but her lyrics were astounding. With lyrics like, “And if I’m dead to you why are you at the wake?” really remind you that Swift is not just a singer, she is a poet.
Not only that, but there is speculation that this song could be about her difficult journey in trying to obtain her stolen masters from her previous recording company, or even her sexual assault case. This further provides meaning and a beautiful honesty to Swift’s work. The only song that I didn’t fully enjoy was “mad woman.” Although the story and message was important, it sounded like a rich person problem. Yes, we shouldn’t harshly criticize Swift, a human being like us all, but come on, you have all the money in the world to make your problems go away. “folklore” is a beautiful album to listen to, relaxing while enchanted by the musical poetry that our ears digest. And come on, life is way too short to pretend to hate Taylor Swift.
#BoycottMulan2020
Prasheetha Karthikeyan/Prowler
Sera Mohammed Staff Writer
Prasheetha Karthikeyan/Prowler
When Disney released “Mulan” in 1998, she was accepted as one of the original Disney princesses that was widely loved and admired. In the recent years, Disney has been releasing live-action remakes of the classic original movies. So far, 13 live-action movies have been released, including the live-action Mulan movie, released on Sept. 4. The live-action remake of “Mulan” is disappointing for more than just the omission of Mushu and Li Shang from the cast and the $30 extra payment on Disney+. Mulan is played by the actor Liu Yifei, a known supporter of the Hong Kong police in the issue of the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill, which would allow the extradition of criminal fugitives to mainland China. Yifei responded about the matter on a Chinese social media platform called Weibo, saying, “I support the Hong Kong police. You can all attack me now. What a shame for Hong Kong,” sparking the #BoycottMulan movement. Because of her response to the Hong Kong protests, Yifei is now known to support police brutality.
Another reason that “Mulan” has so much backlash is because part of the movie was filmed in Xinjiang, the city where the Uyghur Muslims are being held in concentration camps for practicing their religion. The people in these concentration camps are subjected to beatings, gang rape, electrocutions and more inhumane treatment that is scarcely covered in the media because the Chinese government filters what information gets out of the country. The fact that the movie is even filmed at a place where so many innocent lives are taken daily is disgusting. The live-action Mulan cost the most money to make out of all the Disney remakes, but ended up being the most controversial of all of them. People all over the world are boycotting Mulan because of these controversies in order to support the oppressed and oppose the oppressors. It is important to support the #BoycottMulan movement because human rights are being violated and Mulan herself stands by to support it.
Hamilton raises a glass to historical inaccuracies Nandini Patro Staff Writer “Every founding father’s story gets told, every other founding father gets to grow old.” This quote is from the popular musical “Hamilton,” a story about love, betrayal, legacy and most obviously history. The quote represents America’s failure to truly recognize Alexander Hamilton’s role in the foundation of our country. The musical is an absolute artistic masterpiece written by the genius himself, Lin Manuel Miranda. Though the goal is to educate viewers on Hamilton’s life, it does have its flaws. Although these historical inaccuracies do not take away from the musical, it is important to acknowledge them and learn the truth. Some of the main historical inaccuracies involve Hamilton’s views on slavery. There are some questions as to whether Hamilton was the abolitionist he was portrayed as in the play. He may have spoken about it before, but there is no evidence supporting that fact that he seriously believed in the total abolishment of slavery, according to Michael Newton, a historian and author of several books on Hamilton. It is assumed that for the musical they tried to establish Hamilton’s “good intentions” for modern audiences even if it was not completely accurate. Another inaccuracy is the Reynolds Pamphlet, which Hamilton decided to publish to explain his affair with Maria Reynolds, which ruined his reputation. In the play, it was said that Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Aaron Burr confronted
him about the illegal use of spending money from the treasury in order to expose Hamilton, when in reality, these three men were House Speaker Frederick Muhlenberg, Rep. Abraham Venable of Virginia and future president James Monroe. Another defining moment that was portrayed incorrectly in the play was that Hamilton endorsing Thomas Jefferson is what led to Aaron Burr challenging Hamilton to a duel. However, according to the National Archives, Hamilton made belittling comments about Burr and his campaign during the election which is what led to the duel, rendering this scene historically inaccurate. There are many other little inaccuracies in the play, including the friendship of John Laurens, Hercules Mulligan, Marquis de Lafayette and Hamilton. They never truly met all together since Lafayette was actually in France during that time. Another flaw is that Angelica Schuyler mentions that her father has no sons so she has to “social climb,” when in fact Philip Schuyler actually had three sons that were never mentioned in the play. It is clear that there are many flaws in terms of reality versus the play, but that is to be expected since we cannot base our history off of a historical fiction musical. Regardless of the inaccuracies, the musical holds undisputable value from every lyric in every song.
Carter Castillo/Prowler
