Tea Time

Panther Prowler • Sept. 18, 2020

You should listen to “folklore”

Anna Johnson Entertainment Editor

On July 24, Taylor Swi% released her new indie album Not only that, but there is speculation that this song could be “folklore,” (lowercase intended, like the rest of the album) and about her di&cult journey in trying to obtain her stolen masters it is the best she has ever sounded. Instead of her repetitive pop from her previous recording company, or even her sexual assault music, her lyrics seemed honest and had meaning. It seems clear case. !is further provides meaning and a beautiful honesty to she should stick to indie style music. Swi%’s work. !e album was very much as she described, a whimsical !e only song that I didn’t fully enjoy was “mad woman.” fantasy. !e songs all mostly contained piano and various string Although the story and message was important, it sounded like instruments that sounded like a fairytale, adding to the appeal of a rich person problem. Yes, we shouldn’t harshly criticize Swi%, a the song’s more outgoing topics. !e lyrics combined with the human being like us all, but come on, you have all the money in beautiful background music added to a romantic feeling to the the world to make your problems go away. album, pulling us into her world. “folklore” is a beautiful album to listen to, relaxing while !e best song on the album by far was “my tears ricochet,” enchanted by the musical poetry that our ears digest. as it best showcased Swi%’s talents. Not only were her vocals And come on, life is way too short to pretend to hate Taylor Swi%. 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 Swi% is not just a singer, she is a poet. #BoycottMulan2020

Prasheetha Karthikeyan/Prowler

Sera Mohammed Staff Writer

When Disney released “Mulan” in 1998, she was accepted Another reason that “Mulan” has so much backlash is because as one of the original Disney princesses that was widely loved part of the movie was $lmed in Xinjiang, the city where the and admired. In the recent years, Disney has been releasing Uyghur Muslims are being held in concentration camps for live-action remakes of the classic original movies. So far, 13 practicing their religion. !e people in these concentration live-action movies have been released, including the live-action camps are subjected to beatings, gang rape, electrocutions and Mulan movie, released on Sept. 4. more inhumane treatment that is scarcely covered in the media !e live-action remake of “Mulan” is disappointing for more because the Chinese government $lters what information gets than just the omission of Mushu and Li Shang from the cast and out of the country. !e fact that the movie is even $lmed at a the $30 extra payment on Disney+. Mulan is played by the actor place where so many innocent lives are taken daily is disgusting. Liu Yifei, a known supporter of the Hong Kong police in the issue !e live-action Mulan cost the most money to make out of all of the Fugitive O#enders amendment bill, which would allow the Disney remakes, but ended up being the most controversial the extradition of criminal fugitives to mainland China. Yifei of all of them. People all over the world are boycotting Mulan responded about the matter on a Chinese social media platform because of these controversies in order to support the oppressed called Weibo, saying, “I support the Hong Kong police. You can and oppose the oppressors. It is important to support the all attack me now. What a shame for Hong Kong,” sparking the #BoycottMulan movement because human rights are being #BoycottMulan movement. Because of her response to the Hong violated and Mulan herself stands by to support it.

Prasheetha Karthikeyan/Prowler Kong protests, Yifei is now known to support police brutality. 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.” !is quote is from the popular musical “Hamilton,” a story about love, betrayal, legacy and most obviously history. !e quote represents America’s failure to truly recognize Alexander Hamilton’s role in the foundation of our country. !e musical is an absolute artistic masterpiece written by the genius himself, Lin Manuel Miranda. !ough the goal is to educate viewers on Hamilton’s life, it does have its "aws. 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. !ere 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 a#air with Maria Reynolds, which ruined his reputation. In the play, it was said that !omas Je#erson, 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 de$ning moment that was portrayed incorrectly in the play was that Hamilton endorsing !omas Je#erson 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. !ere are many other little inaccuracies in the play, including the friendship of John Laurens, Hercules Mulligan, Marquis de Lafayette and Hamilton. !ey never truly met all together since Lafayette was actually in France during that time. Another "aw 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 "aws in terms of reality versus the play, but that is to be expected since we cannot base our history o# of a historical $ction musical. Regardless of the inaccuracies, the musical holds undisputable value from every lyric in every song.