The Antlerette Volume 95
November 2020
Issue 3
Why Julie and the Phantoms is the Series to Binge Next Jordan Ritchie, Editor-in-Chief Over the course of 2020, with COVID and quarantines, everyone’s favorite stayat-home activity – TV-watching – has been on the rise, especially with the evergrowing popularity of Netflix, many people’s viewing platform of choice. And while millions of binge-watchers all over the globe found themselves hooked on Tiger King, reminiscing over The Office, or (re)discovering Avatar: The Last Airbender, a new series has taken the world by storm: Julie and the Phantoms. In these gloomy and turbulent times, this musical dramedy – that tackles selfdiscovery, chasing dreams, and friendship – is exactly what you never knew you needed this year. Julie and the Phantoms, based on the Brazilian series (Julie e o Fantasmas), introduces gifted singer Julie, whose passion for music has faded since the death of her mother. After she plays the CD of a deceased rock band from the 90s (Sunset Curve), the ghosts of the band – a trio of teenage boys – appear and become visible, but only to Julie. However, they soon discover that everyone else can see and hear them when they perform together with her. The three ghost rockers and Julie come together as a band of their own, giving them the opportunity to “live” out their dream that was cut short by their early deaths,
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and help Julie find her voice again. Executively produced by Kenny Ortega, director of Disney’s High School Musical and Hocus Pocus, and choreographer behind Dirty Dancing, Julie and the Phantoms released this past September and is still receiving a lot of hype, worthy of its 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The show introduces an extremely talented cast: newcomer Madison Reyes, playing the titular role of Julie; Charlie Gillespie as ghost guitarist Luke, his first leading role; Nickelodeon star Owen Joyner as the band’s drummer, Alex; and Adventure Time’s Jeremy Shada as bass player, Reggie. Though it’s always nice to see our favorite stars appear again and again on TV, this series brings more underrated talents into the spotlight. And though the acting in the series is impressive, the stars’ musical talent is unparalleled, the original soundtrack trending on the iTunes, Apple Music, and Spotify charts. And while movie/TV musicals are not exactly out of the ordinary, and we can all name an iconic few, they can often be a hit-or-miss. More often than not, they either feature stellar music and a subpar plot, or a spectacular story with just a mediocre soundtrack. However, Julie and the Phantoms manages to pull off both. Aside from the quality acting and captivating plot, this series – despite being aimed at younger audiences – approaches powerful themes and topics. Straying from the misconception that this is just another teeny-boppy musical series, Julie and the Phantoms delves deep into the topic of death and loss with Julie mourning for her mom, and Luke dealing with the aftermath of his own sudden passing and his regrets from when he lived. Another great aspect of the series is the romance between characters Julie and Luke. Unlike many other series with a love plot, the two don’t rush into the romance and get together immediately, instead, taking time for their relationship to progress and develop throughout the series. Their feelings for each other aren’t completely driven by attraction, but also empathy, shared passions, mutual understanding, and appreciation for each other as musicians, individuals, and friends. Also, while the show does
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highlight the romance, it’s the friendships in the series that take center stage. Julie has a supportive best friend (played by Descendants 3’s Jadah Marie) that helps her through her mom’s passing and with her journey to stardom with her band. And the ghosts of Sunset Curve stand by Julie through thick and thin, and by each other. This is present especially with the character of Alex, who is gay. As it is the 21st century, LGBTQ+ characters are becoming more and more common, however, we often see their character development typically revolve solely around their sexuality – more often than not, their struggle with it and coming out. What makes Alex unique to many other LGBTQ+ characters is that he is openly gay, and his arc isn’t so much an arduous journey of strife towards eventual self-love and acceptance, but instead, he’s a positive representation of having confidence in one’s own identity. This lack of a “coming out story” leaves more room for him to explore a romance with another character (played by Descendants’ Booboo Stewart) in the series. In addition to that, his friends are fully supportive of and embrace who he is. Luke and Reggie, who are presumed straight, show no discomfort or intolerance with Alex, only encouragement and enthusiastic support. The three boys serve as great role models who show positive masculinity – which is often lacking in fiction and real life. They openly show physical affection and care for one another and allow themselves to be emotionally vulnerable, defying toxic masculinity stereotypes that exhibiting such behavior makes one less of a man. Though there are so many more commendable aspects of this series – humor, choreography, emphasis on family – the one that deserves utmost attention is Julie, herself. It’s always a great thing to see strong female characters in fiction, but it’s a rarer blessing to see young women of color grace the screen, which is exactly what makes Julie and the Phantoms so special. No one says it better than leading actress, Madison Reyes, “Growing up, it was very rare that I saw a Hispanic girl that looked like me. My role models were Caucasian… I get to be the role model for that little girl who’s also in my position.” Reyes lights up the
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screen just as much as Julie commands the stage. As a singer, she displays immense vocal talent, and as an actress, she’s a force to be reckoned with, showing great potential, especially for having never acted professionally before. Her character overcomes barriers and perseveres, even when – especially when – it’s hard, and unabashedly stays true to herself. What more can you ask for in a role model for today’s youth? Netflix has not yet renewed the show for a second season, but the fans and cast remain hopeful. The series is fun, heartwarming, relatable, and will have you thinking about it, long after you’ve watched it, so fingers crossed that there’s more of it to come. Remember, it’s Julie and the Phantoms. Tell your friends!
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The Secret Upside to Distance Learning Benjamin Carrillo, Content Editor In this year full of uncertainty, peril, and a lot of unexpected twists; the disruptant cutting off of school for me and many other teenagers has really put a wrench in what’s supposed to be our last hurrah before we legally become adults, and are no longer considered children by the world. But despite my hatred for online school, there is a missing presence that made me feel a little more comforted, an issue that no one, especially at school, should feel. With the absence of my anxiety from the fear of being a victim of an incident at school, in a way, it’s a twisted safety to a fear that no one should ever have to experience in an alleged safehaven that at the end of the day is meant for learning. The upside to distance learning is the absence of school shootings. This year, compared to others, there has been a significant drop in shooting incidents at schools. This is very much because of the lack of in-school learning this year because of the Coronavirus. And while mass shootings will still typically happen in large gatherings of people, schools are now not as much of a common hotspot for a mass shooting to take place with there only being over 60 (which is still a lot) this year, compared to previous years. When we were at school, we had plenty of things to worry about, including the assignment we had next week, or the AP test that Friday. But there was always the dreaded “what if?” thought in the back of our heads. What if it happened at our school? And while security, of course, is always a measure, there’s only so much that could prevent a firearm, and that unfortunate fear in students should not have been as prevalent as it displayed itself while we were still doing in-person
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learning. But once the Coronavirus rolled around, the fear I displayed for my life while at school shriveled away. No longer would I have to daydream an escape plan for where I’d run if there was an incident in my 7th period. A shooting can’t happen over a video call. Those my age (including myself) don’t feel the fear anymore. The escape plans for different classes are no longer needed to be devised and instead we can work on real school issues: our studies. But the underlying issue of it all is the fact that we even have to worry about our lives in a place such as our school, surrounded by people, who we see everyday and just trust that they don’t have ulterior motives when they come to school, and tend to focus on their studies or relationships. The fact of the matter is that the unfortunate upside to distance learning should be a fear that we no longer have to experience. And there’s no direct answer on how to fix this; it’s not a black or white issue. But there is no reason for us to come to school everyday wondering the dreaded “what if?” question. The only solution is to build a foundation that is safe and reassuring, serving as a reminder to everyone that school will be secure fpr everyone involved, and all parties will be sure to be safe. On a lighter note, the safety precautions schools take are impressive and important to start building the previously mentioned foundation for safety at school. And with a combination of time, trust, and orderly focus, we can push forwards for a safer and better school environment not just for safety, but for everyone else. Hopefully, we can go back to school, but without the rational and unfortunate fears that come with it.
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Government & Police Responses to BLM and Anti-Mask Protests Aminah Batcha, Staff The Black Lives Matter protests, in addition to the anti-mask protests, can be witnessed from the media all over the world. Along with seeing the protest, you can also see the government and police’s response to both of them. This affects the government officials and the protesters involved in both cases, which occurred early this year in 2020. Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests sparked from George Floyd’s death due to police brutality in May 2020, but it is important to note that this movement originated in 2013. The movement was founded by community organizers and civil rights activists Alica Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. The police’s way of trying to handle the protests has gotten out of hand. From the police escalating from wearing riot gear to using tear gas on peaceful protesters, it has gone too far and has become an extremely dangerous environment. Yet the majority of the police are getting away with violent actions. This means that the people, who watch the news and who are against BLM, are led to believe that the police are justified in their actions because they must have a reason for getting violent, but that is just not true. The truth is, police think that if they show force, they immediately deter criminal activity, but that is simply a primal response which makes things worse. In addition, peaceful protesters who respectfully demonstrate their freedom of speech and even journalists have been tear-gassed, hit with rubber bullets (which are way more harmful than the name suggests), and detained. The police have ignored their credentials. The police are constantly overreacting and are seen having emotional outbursts to people who demonstrate their First Amendment rights in a nonviolent way.
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Lastly, the anti-mask protests that are still happening, even towards the end of the year, can be seen all over the world through the media due to people not wanting to follow health guidelines by simply wearing a mask and staying inside in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This usually stems from some people not believing COVID-19 is a serious issue, or even real at all. Even the president has proven to not show any real or genuine concern for how detrimental this is for everyone. Now, we are months into the quarantine and the travel ban. It has become apparent that we need to take quick action in order to cease this lifethreatening situation.
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