ARTS

editor

In an age where it seems that most television shows are either about being in high school or being an adult, shows about college life are few and far between. As a college student, I want to watch a show that I can connect with. HBO Max’s “Sex Lives of College Girls” feels like what I have been looking for. Do not let the raunchy name throw you o , because this is truly a terri c show. Created by Mindy Kaling, known for her work on “ e Mindy Project” and “Never Have I Ever,” SLOCG follows four college freshmen as they tackle every challenge thrown at them, both academic and personal. Despite coming from four di erent backgrounds and having four unique personalities, the girls are all enrolled at the ctional Essex College in Vermont, which context shows to be a prestigious liberal arts college. We see them at their highs and lows, their outstanding grades to academic struggles, their hot hookups (the show did get its name for a reason) to their romantic rejections and everything in between. As of Dec. 9, all 10 episodes are available on HBO Max for you to binge in a day like I did. is is a show lled with a fun main cast, and everyone can nd a character they relate to. I liked all of these characters, and they were all eshed out in ways that made them feel real. First, there is naive Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet). She comes from a lower-middle-class background in a predominantly white area. She is not used to the a uence and diversity of her fellow classmates, and she can sometimes be awkward around her peers. en there is bubbly Bela (Amrit Kaur). Bela cares about two things: joining her school’s prestigious comedy magazine and sleeping with as many hot guys as she can. She was a nerd when she was in high school, and college is a time where she can be cool. Next up is sporty Whitney (Alyah Chanelle Scott). Whitney is a star soccer player who also is the daughter of a popular U.S. senator. She wishes that she could step out of her mother’s shadow sometimes and she always tries to prove her worth on the eld. Finally, there is posh Leighton (Reneé Rapp). Leighton is a legacy student that comes from a lot of money and always acts as if she is the coolest girl in the room. She may give o a stando sh vibe, but she has some secrets she is trying to protect so that she can have a perfect reputation. All of these girls appear to have nothing in common on the outside, but they soon form bonds that only college can provide.

As soon as I started this show, I was hooked. Everything about this show was solid. e storyline owed very well. Having four main characters with mostly separate lives means that a lot has to be jam packed into each episode. Luckily the writers were able to put multiple plot lines into each episode without giving a clunky feel. While some points may have been stronger than others, I feel that each of the stars has multiple moments where they shined. e show was also able to introduce multiple side characters that were each eshed out. From Kimberly’s coworkers to Whitney’s teammates to Bela’s fellow writers to Leighton’s volunteer group, and any love interest that these characters cross, everyone is a full character. I also have to applaud the show for its terri c writing. O en in TV shows or movies about young people, the adult writers will try too hard to sound young, and that can make for some cringe-worthy lines. While there are a few moments here and there that seem a bit much, I feel that these girls actually talked like college girls. e writers of this show had clearly done their research as the dialogue felt very natural. e 10 episodes ew by as this was an easy and fun show to watch. A lot of people watch television so that they can escape reality, or to live vicariously through people’s lives. While I’ve had a lot of fun in college, I would not say it has the excitement to sustain an episode of a television series. I watched this show because it promised crazy college times, and I wanted to see that craziness. Luckily, this show delivered. While some events seem far-fetched and some character choices make me want to look away from the screen, I had a lot of fun watching this. Not only that, but I also felt that there were moments that I felt I could relate to as a college student. From new crushes to new clubs to new friends, I could see some of myself in them. I also enjoyed the inclusivity of this show. SLOCG had a diverse cast with representation from various ethnicities, body types and sexualities, which created an enjoyably progressive environment. I also liked seeing a female-led show that had an incredibly sex-positive message, showing that women can be driven by sex without being slutshamed. I loved getting to know all of the characters, from the main cast to the supporting cast. I wanted to be friends with a lot of these characters because they were captivating and felt real. is show has been con rmed for a second season, and I am waiting for the release date to be announced. Mindy Kaling has been having several successes lately in terms of television comedies and it looks like that streak is continuing. Do not let the lewd name turn you o because even though it is about sex, it is so much more than that. If you want a fun, sex-positive, female-driven television show with a lot of heart, or you are just a bored college student that wants to see crazy college lives, watch the rst season of “Sex Lives of College Girls” on HBO Max today, and then wait patiently with me for the second season.

PHOTO FROM IMDB.COM

‘Don’t Look Up’ is a political satire for the ages

By Lucy Fay

editor

People are no longer fazed by threats of the world ending. We cannot a ord that luxury. If the whole world came to a halt every time society was on the brink of destruction or mass death seemed imminent, nothing would get done. “Don’t Look Up,” a political satire released on Net ix in December, understands how we have all grown complacent regarding the long list of tragedies and disasters unfolding in the world. is movie wants to remind its audience, in clear memorable terms, that if the Earth dies, literally nothing else matters.

“Don’t Look Up” follows two scientists (Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio) on their sixmonth quest to save the Earth from a comet. What should have been a straightforward but urgent matter of collaboration between the scienti c community and major world governments turned into a mess of collusion, misinformation, scienti c distrust and partisan politics. is all too real story of a government failing its people perfectly captures how problems of the utmost importance, such as climate change, are handled in America, while also creating a group of down-toEarth developed characters with great comedic timing.

Purpose-driven lms rarely succeed in both hammering home the moral they are built around and producing a quality movie. “Don’t Look Up” does. But there is no consensus around that conclusion. Critics are divided, and it’s easy to see why. is movie is terrifying. It’s steeped in Juvenalian satire, in the tradition of “1984,” except there aren’t 70 years between viewers and the political commentary. “Don’t Look Up” isn’t trying to be subtle, or jovial or idealistic. It screams in the face of its audience the world is dying and the steps we’re taking aren’t working, aren’t enough. at’s not funny. It makes sense that audiences are disturbed by seeing their reality under such a harsh lens. And political satire in itself is not exactly universally beloved. If the likes of “Veep” or “Yes Minister,” far sillier and more detached examples of political satire, do not fall into the spectrum of your sense of humor, this movie surely will not.

“Don’t Look Up” could not work without its stellar cast. e majority of this movie is made up of A-list actors playing primarily o -brand roles. Meryl Streep is an obnoxious corrupt politician, Leonardo DiCaprio is a mild-mannered nerd, Timothee Chalamet is an almost unattractive 20-something vagabond. e movie de es typecasting and yet the performances are incredible. Which allows every central character to undergo a realistic and satisfying character arc.

It seems hard to believe in a movie that competently presents the possible political and social rami cations of an impending natural disaster that individual characters and their personal journeys would feel so central to the story. ings get crazy when the world seems like it is ending and the only way that phenomenon will translate to an audience is through real human situations. Characters commit adultery, betray one another and get married on a whim, but also have shallow conversations about spirituality and complain about insignificant frustrations. ese small occurrences, while not having any impact on the larger matter at hand, made this movie enjoyable and added tenfold to the realism “Don’t Look Up” relied on. Of course social media would care more about a celebrity couple breaking up than a comet that will not a ect them for six whole months. A Republican presidential candidate going up in the polls because they do not hide that they smoke cigarettes makes perfect sense. Humans are hard to get right, but if you wanna intrigue people while terrifying them with how awful the world is, characters individually and in group settings need to parallel life. is movie got humans right time and time again.

“Don’t Look Up” was an impressive display of clever dialogue, expansive characters and relevant cutting political commentary. It felt true to life and emotional beats hit hard, whether they were related to the end of all life on Earth or the strangely beautiful relationship between Jennifer Lawrence and Timothee Chalamet’s characters. It is not unreasonable to react to this movie with aversion. Sometimes we need a break from reminders that the world is screwed and it is all our fault. While this movie is funny throughout it is not exactly a popcorn movie. But if you are feeling up to a well-made analysis of the hellscape we call home, give this movie a try.

By Josh Lannon

staff

e character Boba Fett has fascinated Star Wars fans for years since his relatively minor role in the original trilogy, his expanded origins in the prequels and recurring appearances in “Star Wars: e Clone Wars.” Forty-four years a er his rst-ever appearance in the otherwise maligned 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special—and yes, that is where Fett rst appeared to audiences—the Star Wars galaxy’s most infamous bounty hunter has nally gotten a solo series. But was it worth the wait?

“ e Book of Boba Fett’’ starts on a high note, but its rst episode is ultimately bogged down by a split narrative between Boba Fett’s past and present. e story takes place right a er the teaser for the show at the end of the rst season of “ e Mandalorian.” At this point, Boba Fett has reclaimed his iconic armor and killed Jabba’s majordomo Bibb Fortuna, in doing so taking over Jabba’s criminal empire. e rst episode involves Boba Fett’s attempt to maintain control over his new criminal empire in the Tatooine city of Mos Espa. He has to learn how to act like a crime lord rather than a bounty hunter and deal with the cloak and dagger politics of the galactic underworld. A secondary plot line takes place in ashbacks to when Boba Fett rst escapes the Sarlacc pit and is captured by the Tuskens, also known as the Sand People.

Taken separately, these ashbacks are as interesting as the main storyline. For example, the show opens with Fett in a bacta tank recalling his traumatic experience escaping the Sarlacc Pit. In all my years as a Star Wars fan, I never thought I would actually get to see the inside of the Sarlacc, not to mention Boba Fett’s gauntlet bursting out of the sand. is scene was great, but the subsequent ashbacks that intercut the story take away from the narrative as a whole. ese ashbacks show Boba Fett’s time as a prisoner of the Tuskens as he slowly earns the respect of the tribe. ese scenes provide some answers as to where Boba Fett has been prior to appearing in “ e Mandalorian,” but the two plotlines of past and present don’t really intersect. Usually, a ashback provides depth to a character’s motives, providing the audience with information about the past that recontextualizes the events of the present. However, in this case, Boba’s adventures with the Tuskens ends the episode leaving both storylines unresolved. e ashbacks do not advance the main plot, but rather appear to be separate narratives altogether, leaving the episode feeling like two halves of di erent stories stapled together.

Despite this minor issue, the show has a lot of potential, thanks in large part to the performance of Temuera Morrison reprising his role as Boba Fett. First seen as Boba’s father Jango Fett in the prequel trilogy and then later heard as the re-dubbed voice of Boba in the original trilogy, Morrison gives his all in this performance and really embodies the legendary bounty hunter in a way we haven’t seen him before. Boba Fett was always a mysterious gure, his face always obscured by his iconic helmet. Even the young Boba Fett we see in the prequels, played by Daniel Logan, doesn’t give us a full sense of the man behind the T-shaped visor. Morrison plays Fett as a man who has seen the worst the galaxy has to o er and survived. His grizzled voice and weathered appearance manifests as a hardened battle-scarred warrior giving life to the man in Mandalorian armor.

As such, Fett lives up to his legendary reputation as a deadly bounty hunter. We get to see Fett ght both in full armor in the present day and without his iconic weapons during the ashbacks. Fett’s ght with a six-limbed creature is exhilarating to watch as he manages to strangle the beast with nothing but his chains. e ght earns him the respect of the Tuskens, but also highlights his lethality outside of his armor. In the present timeline, Fett ghts o a group of assassins alongside Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) and Jabba’s old Gamorrean guards. What makes the ght interesting is that Boba is actually injured. Unlike the many seemingly unkillable Force users in the Star Wars galaxy, Fett can actually be hurt. It may take away from some of his overall badassitude, but it also gives the danger more weight if the audience knows he can be hurt. In addition to the excellent action and performances, world-building is also done very well. Some people may be tired of returning to Tatooine for what seems like the millionth time, but the show avoids rehashing what has already been done by further exploring what we already know about the planet and its people. e show does return to iconic locations like Jabba’s palace, but generally focuses more on new locations and people like the vast city of Mos Espa. It adds to the lore of the world by highlighting the di erent criminal and political factions within the city and focusing the plot on a speci c area rather than the entire planet. e show also explores the culture of the Tuskens, making them more than just monstrous raiders. Tatooine feels like a living, breathing world rather than just a backdrop or starting point for a larger story. “ e Book of Boba Fett” does a lot of things right, in both its world-building and action. While the ashbacks seem separated from the main plot, it doesn’t make the show unwatchable. At the end of the day, we still nally get to see a Boba Fett show. It is by no means perfect, but it does live up to a lot of my expectations. It’s well worth a watch for both hardcore and casual Star Wars fans and was de nitely worth the wait.

‘Cobra Kai’ continues the ‘The Karate Kid’ legacy with humor and more than a few illegal crane kicks

By Zach Katz

staff

“Cobra Kai” shouldn’t work as a show. In theory, it sounds like a shameless nostalgia mine. e show’s concept originated as a recurring punchline on “How I Met Your Mother” and it was rst released on a pretty much DOA streaming service, Youtube Red. Despite all odds, “Cobra Kai” manages to succeed as both a continuation of the “ e Karate Kid” saga and as a TV show in its own right through a combination of compelling storytelling, a healthy dose of nostalgia and more than a smidge of suspension of disbelief.

Season four of “Cobra Kai” picks up exactly where season three ended. Johnny Laurence’s (William Zabka) new dojo, Eagle Fang, nally joined forces with Daniel LaRusso’s (Ralph Macchio) Miyagi-Do in order to defeat the titular Cobra Kai dojo, led by John Kreese (Martin Kove). In response to his former teenage nemesis and protege teaming up, Kreese recruits Terry Silver ( omas Ian Gri th) from “ e Karate Kid Part III.”

One of my biggest problems with the third season of Cobra Kai was that it had lost most of the moral ambiguity of the rst two seasons. With Laurence forced out of Cobra Kai, the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang students were undoubtedly the good guys and all of the Cobra Kai students turned into clear-cut antagonists. is season dwells in shades of gray— the Larusso family is antagonistic a surprising amount of the time and formerly antagonistic characters like Tori (Peyton List) and even Kreese himself show more sympathetic characteristics, with Tori trying to keep her life and family together by reentering school and Kreese nally realizing that he made mistakes with Johnny during the rst “Karate Kid.” e emotional core of the show is, as always, the seemingly never ending feud between Johnny and Daniel. By now, both characters are in completely di erent places than they were when they rst met in the rst “Karate Kid,” but are still trapped in a repeating cycle. eir tenuous alliance at the start of the season nearly breaks apart several times before their rivalry resurfaces in a climactic rematch. Before that, however, Johnny and Daniel both get to see how life is on the other side. An early episode gives both senseis a chance to learn the others’ karate style, gaining a real, albeit short lived, respect for each other. Daniel’s almost bullheaded desire to stick exclusively with his preferred style of karate, even when it means sacri cing his best chance of defeating Cobra Kai by teaming up with Johnny, is annoying at times, but this tendency does reinforce how Johnny is the protagonist of the show.

Johnny and Daniel’s con ict also reverberates through the younger generation of characters in the show. Both of their protegees, Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña) and Samantha LaRusso (Mary Mouser), are pulled to learn from each others’ teachers. By the end of the season, Samantha is a much more aggressive ghter than Daniel ever planned for her to be and Miguel realizes that ghting for an All Valley Championship might not be what he wants anymore. Johnny’s own son, Robby (Tanner Buchanan), who has sided with both Johnny and Daniel in the past, is now fully done with their rivalry and is learning from Kreese. Robby plans to use Cobra Kai for his own bene t, unwilling to trust anyone a er Johnny and Daniel both seemingly betray him. Over the course of this season, Robby takes on his own protegee, a middle schooler named Kenny, who is being bullied by Daniel’s younger son, Anthony (Gri n Santopietro). In another e ort to correct mistakes of past seasons, Anthony is actually relevant to the plot now, rather than just being relegated to an occasional one o appearance per season. e other students each get a chance to shine, especially Hawk/ Eli (Jacob Bertrand) and Demitri (Gianni DeCenzo), who are nally back to being friends a er two seasons largely at odds.

One of the biggest swings of this season was easily the reintroduction of Terry Silver. When the audience rst sees him again, Silver appears to have le his Cobra Kai days behind. He’s happy, content, and in therapy. His actions towards Daniel in “ e Karate Kid Part III” are passed o as being under the in uence of a significant amount of drugs. Over the course of 10 episodes, Kreese not only drags him back into the fold, but pushes Silver o the deep end. By the end of the season, Silver has completely gone o the rails, culminating in a surprising betrayal.

Most of the complaints I’ve heard about season four, and about “Cobra Kai” as a whole, is that the show’s karate ghts strain the suspension of disbelief. I strongly disagree. e reality of the show is heightened, yes, but the show manages to get around that by having its own characters remark on how absurd several aspects are. Daniel’s wife, Amanda (Courtney Henggeler) expresses disbelief in the rst episode that their “family’s safety relies on winning a karate tournament.” Another character later comments on the frequency of karate ghts infringing on their lives. “Cobra Kai” is also genuinely funny and meta when it wants to be, with a character once remarking that their “core demo is middle aged men and their sons.”

“Cobra Kai” is a perfect example of how the recent trend of reboots and revivals should operate. By treating its original source material with care, but also critically examining it in order to tell a brand new story, “Cobra Kai” is able to continue the journeys of legacy characters such as Johnny and Daniel, while also adding new characters such as Miguel, Sam and Robby to those same legacies. Season ve has already been lmed, so hopefully it won’t be long until “Cobra Kai” returns to Net ix with more punches, laughs and earnestly emotional kicks to the heart.