JMU men’s and women’s basketball are both No. 1 in the Sun Belt with less than two weeks until the Sun Belt Conference Championships. While the women are yet to lose a Sun Belt game, the men have fought back from the No. 9 spot to find themselves in a four-way tie for first place.
Miller
By ISABELLA DUNN & EMMA NOTARNICOLA The Breeze
The JMU Board of Visitors (BoV) met Friday to discuss campus-wide renovation efforts, development of a new concentration and minor in the math and science department, admissions statistics, potential changes to the athletics department and commemorated accomplishments across all sectors of the school — including JMU football’s victory in Boca Raton, Fl.
Interim President Charlie King detailed the future of JMU’s current and planned renovations during his president’s update, specifically on the joint Spotswood Hall and Johnston Hall renovations.
King said the budget was $1.8 million. He said this renovation is needed, as the hall isn’t accessible and “looks just like a residence hall did in 1929.” Renovations will include an elevator addition, King said.
“We are really excited about the possibility of doing this project this summer,” King said.
Other updates includeed that the Village’s rebuilt Ikenberry Hall will open “this summer,” King said. The building will include increased accessibility, air conditioning and more beds.
King said Ikenberry has expanded to six stories and 461 beds — up from its original 200. Ikenberry is the “first phase” of renovations throughout the Village to
double the residential area’s capacity, King said.
Ikenberry renovations are expected to be finished this August, King said, and the building will open under a new name — Potomac Hall, reused from Chandler Hall’s previous name.
Similarly to the Village, Carrier Library’s renovation is still projected to be finished “around this time next year,” King said. The building won’t be open to students until August 2026.
Carrier Library’s construction has received a $2.5 million donation for a wing of the library, which will be named after the donors, Stan and Rosemary Jones.
King said there will be a “whole new entrance” to Carrier Library facing D-Hall. This new glass atrium will be “so much nicer” than the previous building’s setup and will let in more light.
Faculty Senate Speaker Katherine Ott Walter spoke to the BoV about developments within The College of Math and Science — specifically the introduction of a new minor in computational analytics, and a concentration in data science for statistics majors.
The department created a new program for statistics majors, allowing them to declare a concentration in data science, Ott Walter said. Additionally, she said the department is working on a “detailed proposal” for a data
science certificate and an undergraduate data science major.
The new minor in computational analytics is “designed for students who want to gain expertise in numerical techniques and programming,” Ott Walter said.
The College of Math and Science will continue its free tutoring for students in its learning suite next semester, Ott Walter said, which is located on the first floor of the Student Success Center. Last year, the “heavily used” learning suite had over 1,800 students visit.
During his president’s report, King said this year has been “another great year in regards to applications.” There were 44,700 applications in the early action pool — a 7% increase from last year, King added.
With new applications, King said there’s also been a significant drop in JMU’s acceptance rate — from 76% in 2024 to 63% presently. This drop “illustrates how strong the candidate pool is for students wanting to attend JMU.”
The university has seen an increase in out-of-state applicants, King said, with half the early action pool coming from outside Virginia.
“We are now seen across the country as a national university,” King said. “We received applications from all 50 states and 119 countries.”
King said this year JMU has deferred “a lot” of students adding that there will be “another round” of application decisions in March 2025.
With increased interest in JMU enlarging the applicant pool, Vice President of Enrollment and Management Melinda Wood listed the pros and cons of requiring standardized testing for all JMU applicants, which would narrow down the applicant pool and increase competition in admission.
One of required testing’s proposed advantages was increased application accessibility to rural students who may not have access to Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) opportunities, unlike others these students are in competition with. Required testing would provide another data point for the Admissions Office to see the capability of students beyond AP and IB.
Wood also said the country has seen a “decline in student readiness” accelerated by the COVID pandemic. She said 22% of high school students nationally reported they didn’t feel “prepared for college,” according to the Education Advisory Board.
The proposed disadvantages include the decreased applicant pool, which could pose a financial issue. Wood said all Virginia public institutions are test-optional, which would make JMU “an outlier.”
Wood estimated JMU would experience a $37 million deficit in the first year and a $100 million deficit over four years if the university became a test-required institution. The number of students submitting test scores for JMU is around 40% as of 2025, and Wood said she believes making test scores a requirement for all prospective students would deter potential JMU applicants.
By EMMA NORTANICOLA
The Breeze
The Student Government Association (SGA) approved over $11,000 in contingency requests and approved resolutions naming ResQED and Students for Minority Outreach (SMO) as Front-End Budgeted (FEB) organizations, along with a requested acknowledgement of those affected by the Garber Hall fire.
The SGA unanimously approved the African Student Organization’s contingency funding request for $5,000 to fund its annual Taste of Africa event on April 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Madison Union Ballroom.
The funds will go to DJs, photographers, decorations and clothes for the organization’s culture show which “celebrates and promotes African culture,” senior and club President Hezekiah Emmanuel said.
Emmanuel said the African Student Organization’s main goal is to “create an open environment for [students] to express their interest in Africa.” The event will showcase African fashion, music and dance, Emmanuel said.
It’s open to all students and has averaged around 200 attendees per year, Emmanuel said. Through this event, JMU students can “learn more about African culture they didn’t already know,” freshman and Sen. Nyla Baker said.
“Each year, we hope to bring some diversity and awareness to Africa and culture with our show,” Emmanuel said.
The SGA unanimously approved $3,000 of contingency to the Developing Men of Color club for three of its upcoming events: barbershop talks, a gala and a spring festival.
Junior and club President Chris Seward said the club looks to “create a supportive space that will help [club members] grow academically, socially, emotionally and professionally.”
The first event, Barbershop Talks, “combines the practicality and haircuts with engaging discussions,” Seward said, adding that this event will be “a platform for meaningful dialogue.”
Students can book an appointment with eight “professional barbers,” Seward said. Funds for this event will go toward the barbers’ $53.33 hourly rate.
Senior and SGA President Brielle LaCroix said the event is a “great idea.”
The gala is a combined event with the Women of Color Club to unite the community, Seward said. This event will be held April 4 to honor both clubs and their members’ achievements, Seward added. The contingency funds for this event will go toward Aramark catering costs.
The spring festival will be a “fun, relaxing event at the end of the semester to cap off the academic year,” Seward said. This event will be held on Hillside Lawn and includes games like ring toss, dizzy race, potato sack race and others.
“These events are a great opportunity for personal and professional membership, also while empowering people of color to attend JMU,” Baker said.
The SGA unanimously approved the Madison Saxophone Society’s contingency request for $2,720. The funds will cover the guest artist fee and hotel cost for a recital and masterclass by “highly distinguished musician” Timothy McAlister, junior and club President Tyrique Payne said.
student fees … during the spring semester for the following academic year.”
“The opportunity to get him here at JMU is something we can’t pass up,” Payne added.
McAllister will arrive March 7 and will hold masterclasses and a public recital at 10 a.m. the next day.
McAlister is currently a saxophone professor at the University of Michigan, Payne said, which he added is “one of the most prestigious saxophone schools in the world.” He’s performed in over 40 different countries, Payne said.
Baker said this event is a “cool way for students in the School of Music and other students on campus to see an expert in their field play and learn from them.”
The SGA unanimously allocated $300 to cover food expenses for the Intelligence Analysis Club’s Promoting Intelligence and LifeLong Leadership (PILLARS) Award event, to be hosted March 7.
Senior and club President John Fleetwood said the Intelligence Analysis club has partnered with the Women in Intelligence and National Security club to put on an event recognizing club members who “are going above and beyond both inside and outside of the classroom.”
This event will “celebrate students and teachers in the major,” Baker said, adding that it will promote professionalism in the intelligence analysis major.
“It’s always exciting to support students and recognize their accomplishments,” LaCroix said.
The SGA approved resolutions for both ResQED and the Students for Minority Outreach (SMO) to become Front-End Budgeted organizations.
According to JMU’s website, a FrontEnd Budgeted organization is “a student organization that receives an allocation of
One senator said both groups had “amazing” impacts on the university, adding that they both have “missions that would be greater accomplished with funding with FEB status.”
Students from SMO work with the Office of Admissions “to increase our diverse enrollment and get more students with diverse backgrounds” to attend JMU. ResQED provides Narcan training to “prevent student overdoses,” LaCroix said.
Both clubs provide services that are “vitally important to university” and actions “we absolutely support for SGA,” LaCroix added.
The SGA unanimously approved a resolution on the Garber Hall fire which acknowledges and recognizes “the work of firefighters, fire marshals, ambulance workers and other essential persons as necessary to creating a healthy and safe community,” the resolution read.
Junior and Sen. Mason Hoey said it’s important for the SGA to “show their support” for those affected by the fire. Junior and Sen. Ajax Peterson added that this announcement would also recognize “the work of firefighters and ambulance workers to create such a safe space for us to live.”
CONTACT Emma Nortanicola at notarnef@ dukes.jmu.edu. For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on X @TheBreezeJMU and on Instagram @BreezeJMU.
By NEWS DESK
The Breeze
First-year students and resident advisers (RAs) evacuated Garber Hall in the Village area on Main Campus around 9:15 p.m. Thursday after fire alarms sounded.
A Harrisonburg press release indicated the first emergency call was received at 9:12 p.m. The same release said none were injured.
Assistant Vice President of Communications and university spokesperson Mary-Hope Vass said no students will be permanently displaced as far as she knows. Affected students will be rehoused in Hotel Madison for the evening. Vass said the Harrisonburg Fire Department is currently investigating the fire’s causes.
“Police and Fire activity in the area of the Village,” a JMU Alert sent to students at 9:25 p.m. read. “Please avoid the area.”
Videos attained by The Breeze indicate one room was visibly on fire from outside the building. It isn’t known yet how many others were damaged. Fire trucks, ambulances and cop cars arrived at the scene, crowding around the block and surrounding the building by 9:45 p.m. Eyewitness accounts say flames escaping a third-story window were visible from the exterior.
One bystander, junior Ethan Kranepool, was walking past Garber with a friend when they “just saw flames.” Graham said he could hear the fire alarms blaring while students left the building.
The next alert sent to students at 10:19 p.m. said the fire was extinguished with no reported injuries. Recipients were again told to avoid Garber’s surroundings. Roughly 15 minutes later, a
third alert encouraged students to inform parents of their safety.
Village residents were brought to Taylor Down Under (TDU) after the buildings surrounding Garber were vacated.
“We’re working to determine the cause along with the total amount of damage … in the residence hall tonight,” Vass said. “Ultimately, the goal is to get [the students] back in as soon as possible.”
Vice President of Student Affairs Tim Miller instructed Garber residents from the building’s two least-affected wings — the B and C sections — to retrieve their belongings in an orderly fashion in 10-minute intervals, as instructed by RAs. Residents were told to only obtain their most essential items to last them the evening, such as medication and sleepwear.
Students inhabiting the other wing — A section — weren't allowed back in the building.
Miller told Garber residents they would be grouped with their roommates for their stay in Hotel Madison. Students were also allowed to contact family and friends for alternative temporary residence. Faculty members were notified of the affected students’ situation, Miller added.
After students returned to TDU, buses transported students to Hotel Madison.
“If you need anything, just ask us,” Miller said. “We’ll be here with you guys.”
This is a developing story – please check breezejmu.org/news for more updates.
CONTACT the news desk at breezenews@gmail.com. For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on X @TheBreezeJMU and on Instagram @BreezeJMU.
from BOARD OF VISITORS, page 4
In December 2024, JMU football won its first bowl game during the Boca Raton Bowl against the University of Western Kentucky.
“I’ve had a lot of fun with that,” King said. “We were the only FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) school to win a bowl game in the commonwealth.”
Head coach Bob Chesney won two awards since returning from the bowl games: the Virginia State Coach of the Year Award and the National Paul “Bear” Bryant Fan Vote for Favorite Coach Award.
“Bob just had an outstanding first year at JMU, with the winning record and winning the first bowl game in the history of this school,” King said.
During his speech, Chesney said these awards weren’t for “any one person,” but rather his entire team.
Athletics Director Matt Roan presented to the Board JMU’s plan regarding the House vs. NCAA settlement — Arizona State swimmer Grant House requested compensation through name, image and likeness, inspiring other athletes and institutions to join.
Roan said opting into the settlement means participating in new revenue-sharing guidelines and adhering to the roster limits — the number of players permitted to be on each team and must be proportional between gender. Other impacts would be on student scholarships, funding and meeting the roster limits for women’s and men’s sports teams following Title IX.
Opting out of the settlement means choosing to adhere to current regulations, running the risk of student athletes transferring.
Roan said he encourages the university to make a decision that “reflects their values.”
“We didn’t want to foster that sort of resentment and ill feelings within our own walls again,” Roan said. “We were trying to protect as many programs as we possibly could.”
The decision to opt into the settlement’s conditions will be made before March 1.
On Feb. 2, Virginia’s House of Delegates and Senate released their budget plan, as this year’s session at the General Assembly is ending. The plan will be finalized when the governor approves the budget in the spring. Director of State Government Relations Caitlyn Reed informed the board of the JMU programs that have been awarded and are awaiting funding.
The funding that has already been approved includes affordability funding for need-based financial aid, with $2.3 million from the Virginia Senate and $4.1 million from the Virginia House. 1,991 bills have been completed this session, and 89 are still being tracked.
Reed said JMU’s focus is on “athletics, student affairs, artificial intelligence, [the] nursing pipeline, mandatory training, reporting and data aggregation.”
Funding that has yet to be approved includes the Virginia Military Survivor and Dependent Education Program — a program allowing children of disabled veterans to attend college at no individual cost. Reed said the university is “hopeful” the state will continue supporting the program’s budget for this year. JMU requested $4.9 million for the program.
“The state was very generous last year in putting in support for that program, and we were very happy to receive that funding,” Reed said.
JMU also requested nearly $1 million for the fast Flex Program Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), a “nontraditional” program that “could increase the output of undergraduate nursing majors by 30 nurses per year,” Reed said.
“We are very uniquely positioned to meet the workforce needs by increasing our output of undergraduate nurses,” she said.
CONTACT Isabella Dunn at dunnie@dukes.jmu.edu and Emma Notarnicola at notarnef@dukes.jmu.edu. For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on X @TheBreezeJMU and on Instagram @BreezeJMU.
Abby Camp & Sixuan Wu
By KAYLA KATOUNAS The Breeze
A simple YouTube search for “Moong Crew” yields three years’ worth of precise, coordinated dance covers from the JMU club.
It’s a K-pop dance group founded in 2021 that specializes in creating dance covers to be posted on YouTube as well as showcase and event performances.
“Our main goal is to make K-pop dance covers while also building a community with each other and get outreach with other K-pop fans at college, in the city or just in the DMV (D.C., Maryland and Virginia) area,” said junior writing, rhetoric and technical communication major Samaiya Dixon, Moong Crew’s treasurer and event planner.
Moong Crew is unique in the fact it uses the choreography from the group that made the selected song — including NCT, ENHYPEN and TWICE. Because of this, the club is conscious of the number of people available for each dance, making it correspond to the number
of group members who originally performed the song, said junior marketing major Winnie Masangkay, Moong Crew’s public relations chair and stylist.
Songs are chosen by a group vote, during which all members put song ideas into a Google Doc to be selected from, Dixon said. The dances — called covers — are then filmed and posted to social media. Moong Crew rehearses its performances on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
“When you post [the covers] on YouTube, anyone can see it, not just students at JMU,” Masangkay said. “We want to have a really big audience and more people to connect with, because that’s how we’re able to connect with people from George Mason, U.Va. and other colleges that do the same.”
Moong Crew also performs at showcases and events across the DMV. Masangkay said its social media presence plays a role in receiving invitations to attend other showcases — specifically its Instagram and YouTube accounts.
Along with showcases, the club does guest performances on campus, Dixon said. Moong Crew performed in the Asian Student Union Culture Show in fall 2024 and has participated in MadiThon, a dance marathon benefiting Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
Dixon said since she joined Moong Crew in 2022 as a freshman, the club has become increasingly involved on campus, participating in more events and performances.
“We’re definitely more out there,” Dixon said. “People are recognizing me from Moong Crew [who are] from other organizations that I’m not in … I’m hoping that it will not die out, but will continue to keep going as the years come by.”
In the future, both Dixon and Masangkay expressed hopes of further growth, outreach and involvement for the club. Along with joining other events as guests, Moong Crew holds its own events — some for team bonding and others to expand their outreach.
Presentation nights and movie nights are planned to build community within the group,
By NIMRAT KAUR The Breeze
This year’s Academy Award nominations have stirred up conversations surrounding the films. From discussions about the use of AI to arguments about which films were snubbed, it’s a mystery which movies will sweep the awards. With the final voting period arriving on Feb. 11, “Emilia Pérez” is in the lead with 13 nominations, while “The Brutalist” and “Wicked” are tied in second with 10. Here are a few predictions for which films will take home the biggest awards:
Nominees:
* “Anora”
Best Picture
* “The Brutalist”
* “A Complete Unknown”
* “Conclave”
* “Dune: Part Two”
* “Emilia Pérez”
* “I’m Still Here”
* “Nickel Boys”
* “The Substance”
* “Wicked”
Predicted winner: “A Complete Unknown”
While “Emilia Pérez” swept the Golden Globes — winning its Best Picture category — the film has recently been surrounded by controversies related to its main star Karla Sofia Gascón, which could affect its Oscars’ Best Picture campaign.
Gascón has been under fire for offensive posts from 2019 that have resurfaced. The language included in these postings include Islamophobic, xenophobic and racist terms. Among the other nominees is “A Complete Unknown” — a fan favorite.
The film balances aspects of a musical and drama into one and has been highly praised for its portrayal of renowned musician Bob Dylan’s life and the emotional rollercoaster it takes the
while events like K-pop nights include food and games open to the public.
Both Dixon and Masangkay said community is an important element of Moong Crew.
“[Moong Crew will] give you some friends that you will always lean on, because when you’re away [at] college, you can’t always go back home to your family,” Masangkay said. “Instead, you have to rely on these people that you can trust. They’ll turn into your lifelong friends.”
While Moong Crew primarily functions as a space for talented K-pop dancers and fans to congregate, it becomes much more than that for its members.
“This is a safe space, regardless of your gender, sexuality, your religion,” Dixon said. “We accept everybody as they are and as they come.”
CONTACT Contact Kayla Katounas at katounkm@dukes.jmu.edu. For more on the culture, arts and lifestyle of the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the culture desk on X @TheBreezeJMU and on Instagram @BreezeJMU.
Who will win ‘Big 5’?
By NICOLAS ISAZA SERPA contributing writer
On Valentine’s Day night, three independent bands from Virginia and Pennsylvania gathered at Coffee Hound in downtown Harrisonburg to perform — Attack Dog, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Wrong Worshippers, from Richmond, Virginia; and Her Majesty, from Blacksburg, Virginia.
The packed coffee shop buzzed with anticipation as the scent of espresso hung in the air and each artist unleashed their unique rock style. Gritty guitar riffs, thunderous drum beats and raw vocals filled the room.
The three bands attended and prepared to put on the nighttime rock concert. Matthew Cohen, Coffee Hound’s owner, said he plans to make live performances a recurring event with the Valentine’s Day show being a “trial run.”
“We had a show last year back in March, we had a couple of local acts, but we plan to put a little bit more into these shows,” Cohen said.
Coffee Hound is looking to begin a tradition of hosting artists at the shop both to cultivate a new customer base and drum up revenue, but also for love of music and performing arts, Cohen said.
The leadership within the establishment has always had connections with the independent music culture, as they were more active in putting on these shows before the coronavirus pandemic. Cohen said performing with his group has drawn him closer to the culture and wants to reflect it more within the business.
However, the venue didn’t disappoint, as crowds danced and audience members crashed into each other. Wrong Worshippers’ performance was especially energetic as multiple drumsticks
were broken and band members threw their instruments down and jumped into the audience.
Milo McAdams, the band’s drummer, took his drum set off the stage and placed it at the crowd’s center to continue his performance. Without missing a beat, McAdams proceeded to play with his equipment in the middle of the audience and jump into the crowd, before picking up his instrument and finishing the song.
“My favorite part of performing is going crazy,” McAdams said. “We have a very energetic performance. We get into it a lot which I find very, very fun.”
For many of the band’s members, performing live is much more than just a hobby, but rather a way to more deeply connect with themselves and their audience.
“The fact that I get to do it with the people that I love, making music — especially live music — is such an emotional release,” Her Majesty member Sam Slate said. “Making music, especially live music, is such an emotional release. And [performing] this, [performing] for me, it is very cathartic.”
The musicians perform for the deeply personal connection between their music and their fellow band members.
“It’s the feeling — expressing yourself through music — that is just so special,” Her Majesty member Felix Byler said. “It’s very fulfilling. We really enjoy doing it. Plus I just like to make loud noise. It really comes down to: I just like to rock .”
CONTACT Nicolas Isaza Serpa at isazasnn@dukes.jmu. edu For more on the culture, arts and lifestyle of the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the culture desk on X @TheBreezeJMU and on Instagram @BreezeJMU.
Tips on keeping the coughs and sniffles away
By GRACE SAWYER The Breeze
Nearly every student is familiar with the dread that courses through your body when you hear someone coughing behind you in class or when your friend tells you they have a sore throat. Being sick in college is, in my opinion, one of the worst things that can happen. Missing classes can set you back academically, being contagious prevents you from seeing your friends and, if you’re living in a dorm, no one wants to be under the weather in a communal bathroom. Feeling ill is no fun to begin with, but being a sick college student can throw off many different aspects of your life.
There are a multitude of illnesses circulating around campus right now. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) — a common lung and respiratory infection — COVID-19, norovirus and strep throat are all currently going around.
If you do get sick, it’s important to identify what you’re sick with so you can treat it correctly.
The CDC says that influenza symptoms usually come on very suddenly. The symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, fatigue and headache.
RSV symptoms usually appear in stages and consist of runny nose, congestion, decrease in appetite, coughing, sneezing, fever and wheezing.
Most people associate a COVID-19 infection with a loss of taste or smell, but there are other symptoms like difficulty breathing, sore throat, headache, nausea, fever and chills.
Norovirus, commonly known as the stomach bug, can come with a slew of uncomfortable symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, fever, headache, body aches and dehydration.
Strep throat also has symptoms — aside from the white spots on your tonsils — that people may not realize are indicators of the bacterial infection. Strep throat may cause rashes, swollen lymph nodes, fever, headache, painful swallowing and tiny red spots on the roof of your mouth.
I think everyone agrees that these illnesses don’t sound like fun, so how can you prevent them?
audience through. Also, the Academy tends to lean toward dramas for its Best Picture category in previous years, such as “Oppenheimer” in 2024 and “CODA” in 2022.
Chalamet gave an outstanding performance as Dylan and the biopic brings the audience to experience several emotions, as it takes the viewers through the complicated life of the folkturned-electric singer. Whether you’re a fan of Dylan or not, “A Complete Unknown” will have you hooked on its plot.
Nominees:
Best Director
* “Anora” - Sean Baker
* “The Brutalist” - Brady Corbet
* “A Complete Unknown” - James Mangold
* “Emilia Pérez” - Jacques Audiard
* “The Substance” - Coralie Fargeat
Predicted winner: Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance”
Coralie Fargeat is horror fanatics’ frontrunner to win. Because the Academy has
been known to show bias against horror films, many were surprised that “The Substance” had been nominated for as many as it was categories — including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
Many famous and highly praised horror directors have been snubbed in the past, the most notable being Alfred Hitchcock who directed iconic films such as “Psycho” and “The Birds.” Horror films have been overlooked for years by the Academy. This streak was broken by Jordan Peele’s “Get Out”, when Peele received a Best Director nomination alongside Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.
Female directors are also underrepresented in the Best Director category. Fargeat is the ninth woman to be nominated for the award, with only eight other women paving the way for her. Only three of those eight women have won the Best Director award, the first being Kathryn Bigelow in 2010 for her film “The Hurt Locker.” Fargeat would become the first female horror director to win the award, making it a historic feat.
Fargeat winning the Best Director category as the underdog wouldn’t only put horror movies on the map for future awards but would also be a big step for future female directors. However, considering the Academy’s aversity horror films, Brady Corbet is another strong contender for the win. Corbet won the Silver Lion award — the Venice Film Festival’s version of a Best Director award — and the Golden Globes Directing award.
Best Actor in a Leading Role Nominees:
* “The Brutalist” - Adrien Brody
* “A Complete Unknown”
- Timothée Chalamet
* “Sing Sing” - Colman Domingo
* “Conclave” - Ralph Fiennes
* “The Apprentice” - Sebastian Stan Predicted winner: Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown”
Despite Chalamet having a pattern of losing every Best Actor in a Lead Role award that he’s been nominated for, the award is likely to be his
this time around, as his vocal performance as Dylan has been applauded and praised.
Adrien Brody is another top contender, but “The Brutalist” has come under fire for using generative AI to enhance Brody’s Hungarian accent to make it sound more authentic. On the other hand, Chalamet’s Oscars campaign has been controversy-free thus far.
Chalamet has embraced his role as the beloved musician by recreating Dylan’s iconic red carpet looks and performing his songs on SNL during his stint as the musical guest and host. Alongside his creative marketing, Chalamet’s acting has been highly regarded and sets him as the frontrunner.
Read the full article at breezejmu.org.
CONTACT Contact Nimrat Kaur at balgk@ dukes.jmu.edu. For more on the culture, arts and lifestyle of the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the culture desk on X @TheBreezeJMU and on Instagram @ BreezeJMU.
EDITORS Hayden Hundley & Preston Comer
By KATIE RUNKLE
The Breeze
Stats as of Feb. 19
Senior forward Ashanti Barnes’ collegiate athlete experience is untraditional, though maybe more athletes planning to pursue collegiate careers should follow in her footsteps, due to her immense growth and success fostered from her path.
Originally from Lake Taylor High School in Norfolk, Barnes’ skill showcased her into the spotlight from a young age. She was a top-150 ranked player by ProspectsNation. com and made First Team All-Region while in high school.
From there, she stayed close to home and went to Old Dominion. In 21 games as a Monarch, she played just 8.2 minutes per game.
After one season with the Monarchs, Barnes said it “wasn’t working,” and she wanted to attend a junior college to focus on herself. She landed at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas, where she outperformed her previous season. Barnes played 22 games, started in 12 and averaged 10.7 points per game and eight rebounds. She was also first on the Cardinals in field goal percentage, shooting 52%.
“It felt really good being there,” Barnes said. “I feel like I got much better, defensively and offensively and just as a person. Being that far away from my family, I had to learn how to cope and how to do things on my own. Being up there has turned me into a better person, and then coming back home,
I feel like I’ve improved even more.”
After one season with Trinity Valley, JMU head coach Sean O’Regan recruited Barnes. Her season with the Cardinals equipped Barnes with the foundation she needed to capitalize at JMU. But even with two years of collegiate experience, her transition was still an adjustment.
“I think the biggest thing when she first got here was just getting her to understand our culture, getting her to understand it’s a safe environment,” O’Regan said. “With anybody that transfers, they’re missing something that they’re not getting. She didn’t get that at ODU.”
After Barnes committed to JMU, her mother talked with O’Regan to ensure she would be taken care of off the court.
“I remember when she committed, her mother sat me down,” O’Regan said. “It was like, ‘Look, are you going to take care of her, the person, regardless of her production?’ I’ve done a lot of closings and I’ve done a lot of commitments, but it was one of those things, they’re really, really serious where she is and being taken care of.”
Barnes said she believes she has been taken care of off the court, saying she likes being around everybody and the program has made her a better person.
“The whole program has made me a better person, especially with academics,” Barnes said. “I just felt really proud because freshman year, I wasn’t able to do that.”
On the court, Barnes has been a key asset to the Dukes, and thanks to the new transfer rules, she has another year of eligibility. Barnes certainly plays basketball the way she lives her life — internally challenging herself and rebounding from external challenges, exemplifying resilience. Her biggest area of personal growth has been confidence, which has mirrored her biggest growth on the court: aggressiveness — driving to the paint and reaching for rebounds rather than just taking the 3-point shot from the outside.
“Her aggressiveness and her confidence, and that kind of translates to how she attacks on the floor,” O’Regan said. “Last year, she was a really good 3-point shooter, and she did other things, but her 3-point shooting was good, but I think that was a lack of aggressiveness, because she almost settled for it.”
Barnes has since learned not to settle, and her biggest piece of advice to incoming collegiate athletes is: “Work hard for anything you want because nothing is given to you.”
Her trademark on the court is rebounding, but it might also be her biggest skill off the court. Playing for three different programs, overcoming personal struggles and being named Sun Belt Player of the Week on Feb. 4, she practices what she preaches; resilience is her game and she’s confident enough to know it.
“My main emphasis is rebounding,” Barnes said. “I can rebound the ball anytime I want. I just have to go do it, and I had to gain the confidence to know that I can grab any board that I want.”
Having the courage to know when something isn’t working — such as when she was attending ODU — or when you need to make a change to keep growing — like leaving Trinity Valley for JMU — Barnes inspires athletes and everyone else who crosses her path.
She started playing to make her family proud, and her love of the game kept her playing.
“I was gonna be the one that made it out for the family in which I am doing, trying to make my mom proud ... I just love the game. It’s just so joyful to me,” Barnes said.
Barnes found her collegiate home with JMU, a theme consistent across most of the Dukes’ programs. A loyal Duke at heart, sophomore guard Zakiya Stephenson describes her as “a dog on a rebounding and a very loyal person.”
CONTACT Katie Runkle at runklekr@dukes.jmu.edu. For more women’s basketball coverage, follow the sports desk on X and Instagram @TheBreezeSports.
“The whole program has made me a better person, especially with academics. I just felt really proud because freshman year, I wasn’t able to do that.”
Senior Forward
By SARABETH ELLIS
The Breeze
Stats as of Feb. 19
Bree Robinson entered her name into the transfer portal following her freshman season with Michigan State. Just 20 minutes later, her phone was ringing with a call from JMU women’s basketball head coach Sean O’Regan.
“I remember being on the phone with her and her father for hours and just really making sure that she understood this is not something I feel lightly about,” O’Regan said. “This is like, ‘you’re going to be the face of this program by the time you hang this up.’ I was just very passionate about it. There are not many players that I’ve been that passionate about. Everyone that I have been has been really successful.”
Now-sophomore guard Robinson said the idea of O’Regan coaching her was the main draw to JMU. That phone call was just the icing on the cake.
“Having that little bit to get to know each other before really helped start the foundation now,” Robinson said. “Because the first thing I said was being somewhere where I am wanted and from that first call he made me feel that way. Every day moving forward he has shown to me how much he cares about me and how happy he is that I am here.”
Robinson’s first encounter with the Dukes didn’t come from that phone call with O’Regan, though. It came when she was a junior in high school and noticed her future head coach in the stands at one of her tournaments. She had brief discussions with JMU’s assistant coaches at the time — Ian Caskill and Neil Harrow — saying JMU was in her top five schools, but she ultimately joined the Spartans.
The next encounter between Robinson and JMU came in the form of being opponents in the Cancun Challenge during the 2023-24 season — the Dukes fell 95-69 to the Spartans. Robinson played five minutes and tallied a block and three points.
During her season at Michigan State, Robinson played in 17 games but averaged just 1.6 points during 6.7 minutes per game.
When it came time to enter the transfer portal, O’Regan
said he had been checking the portal, keeping an eye out for Robinson’s name.
“It was one of those situations where I was refreshing that portal quite often,” O’Regan said. “Really hoping for that name to pop up.”
Robinson noted the transition to JMU wasn’t smooth and she didn’t have the strongest start.
“There was a lot going through my mind,” Robinson said. “I didn’t start off very strong, but my coaches were very patient with me, and I ended up being patient with myself. Through that transition, I feel a lot more comfortable, confident and better about my time here.”
Robinson now averages 23.7 minutes per game and has 45 steals on the season, but some of the most important parts of her game don’t always show up on a stat sheet.
“I don’t know if you ever have the stats to be a defensive player of the year,” O’Regan said. “Usually the stats like the blocks leader, the steals leader, that’s not the best defender in the league. That kid right there [Robinson] is.”
Her defense makes her an asset to JMU by being on the help side, rotating in the correct spots or getting a box out. Robinson staunches the opponent’s ability to score — usually before they can even get a shot up.
Robinson is often used to providing full-court pressure on the opposing team’s best offensive player — something O’Regan believes she can do to any player.
“I think Bree Robinson can guard anybody in the country,” O’Regan said. “But that effort without the offensive reward … it’s tough. It’s hard to do. But she’s consistent. She is a joy to coach every day, that’s a fact.”
During a crucial moment in the Dukes’ narrow 78-74 win over Ball State on Feb. 8, Robinson stole the ball from the Cardinals’ leading scorer, senior guard Ally Becki, with 27 seconds left. After the game, O’Regan said Robinson is making a case to be the best defender he’s ever coached. see ROBINSON, page 16
Robinson’s hard work may go unnoticed by some spectators, but her teammates notice a shift when she steps out on the court.
“On the court she brings a lot of energy,” sophomore guard Zakiya Stephenson said. “She sees things that some people don’t see.”
Stephenson noted that Robinson’s energy isn’t only contagious on the floor but also off it, as Robinson is constantly checking up on her teammates and making them laugh in the locker room with her dancing abilities.
“She creates her own dances,” Stephenson said. “One minute it’s like ballet and Irish dancing. If you’re having a bad day, you know you’re going to have a good day from being around Bree.”
Robinson’s energy isn’t just noticed by teammates, but by O’Regan as well.
“Bree is not only a program kid on the floor, but she is really a perfect program kid off the floor,” O’Regan said. “She wants to do all the right things, and I think that is as valuable for us here as on the floor.”
Robinson entered with high expectations for herself. Her goal is to one day be team captain and be a player “that does it all” — something she says she’s working toward every day.
In the meantime, she and the Dukes are working toward a Sun Belt Conference Championship as they near the final four games of the regular season and are currently 23-4 (14-0 Sun Belt).
“I love to win, so I think this program has a very, very solid winning culture,” Robinson said. “And to have a lot of vets who have been through winning championships, allows me to rely on them a lot as teammates and look up to them.”
CONTACT Sarabeth Ellis at ellis2sp@dukes.jmu.edu For more women’s basketball coverage, follow the sports desk on X and Instagram @TheBreezeSports.
By HAYDEN HUNDLEY
The Breeze
All stats are accurate as of 10:30 p.m. on Feb. 19.
After a 4-4 start, JMU men’s basketball’s season started with uncertainty and doubt, but a seven-game Sun Belt win streak starting Jan. 22 has catapulted the Dukes from the bottom of the standings to the top.
Before its win streak, JMU was tied for ninth in the conference but is now in a four-way tie with Arkansas State, Troy and South Alabama for first place.
App State is a game behind those teams at 9-5 in the Sun Belt. Seeding plays a major part this postseason compared to past ones in the Sun Belt, because of the conference tournament’s realigned structure, which was announced Oct. 31. The new format gives bye’s until the semifinals for the top-two seeds and bye’s until the quarterfinals for the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, while eliminating any rest days throughout the tournament from March 4 to 10.
All 14 Sun Belt programs automatically clinch a berth in the conference tournament, like in the past; however, the new format incentivizes success in conference play.
With four games remaining and the next two at home against Georgia State (7-7 Sun Belt) on Thursday and Georgia Southern (6-8) on Saturday, the Dukes will face ULM (3-11) and Texas State (6-8) on the road — four of those three teams are among the four-bottom ranked seeds in the Sun Belt as of Feb. 20. Troy will face Louisiana (6-8), current-last-placed Coastal Carolina (1-13), Texas State and current-No. 12 seed Southern Miss (5-9), which is the most favorable remaining schedule of the tied first-place teams.
With head-to-head victories, JMU holds tiebreakers over Troy and Arkansas State, so if the season were to end on Feb. 20, the Dukes would have the No. 2 seed behind South Alabama.
The most important result that JMU doesn’t control is Wednesday’s matchup between Arkansas State and South Alabama. The Dukes would benefit greatly from a Red Wolves win since the Jaguars have a tiebreaker over JMU because of
their smashing 77-49 win over the Dukes on Dec. 21. If the Dukes win out and Arkansas State beats South Alabama, JMU will clinch the No. 1 seed.
The Dukes win over Arkansas State on Jan. 4 is paying dividends late into the season. JMU beat the Red Wolves 6762, while Arkansas State was without the 2024-25 Preseason Player of the Year, redshirt senior forward Kobe Julien. The player of the year returned Jan. 11 against App State and is averaging 12.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
More importantly for the Dukes: They take care of business for the remainder of their schedule. Even if the Jaguars win on Wednesday, JMU can still clinch the No. 2 seed if they win out.
With App State a game behind first place and Marshall two games behind first place, the Dukes could plummet down the standings if those teams win out and JMU loses two of its last four games. If that scenario plays out, the Dukes would be the No. 6 seed and would have to win four games in just as many days to repeat as Sun Belt champions.
Both App State and Marshall hold head-to-head tiebreakers over the Dukes.
A 3-1 finish to the season would still likely clinch a topfour seed for JMU and could even clinch a top-two seed if it finishes above App State, South Alabama, Troy and Arkansas State — but the Dukes would need help. The Mountaineers are home on Thursday and Saturday against Georgia Southern and Marshall — and then play away against the Eagles and Marshall again.
Marshall will play ODU on Thursday and on Feb. 25 to round out its schedule.
With various scenarios still at play, it’s easy to go through them like Charlie from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” standing in front of a pinboard and red string, losing your sanity in the process. However, for the Dukes, it’s simple — win out and you get a top-two seed.
CONTACT Hayden Hundley at breezesports@gmail.com. For more basketball coverage, follow the sports desk on X and Instagram @TheBreezeSports.
EDITOR EMAIL breezeopinion@gmail.com Maya Skurski
Want to praise someone or get something off your chest? Darts & Pats is the place to do it. Submit your own at breezejmu.org.
A “make-up-your-mind” dart to E-Hall for getting rid of stir-fry then randomly bringing it back.
From a student who is passionate about not walking to main for her favorite dish and is tired of being confused.
A “talk-about-somethingmeaningful” dart to the Breeze Opinion staff.
From a student who thinks that the newspaper should be about things that matter.
An “anti-activist” dart to people who complain but do nothing to make a difference.
From someone who believes if you have something to say say it with your whole chest.
A “YOLO” pat to “Again” by Fetty Wap for helping a girl express her feelings.
From someone who never thought it would work.
LACEY SIRBAUGH Breeze columnist
This past summer, while at the movie theater, I thought about all the movies being released. When I rattled off my options, I realized every film coming out was some kind of sequel or spinoff — “A Quiet Place: Day One,” “Despicable Me 4,” “Inside Out 2,” “Twisters,” “Deadpool, and Wolverine.”
A quick search of the highest grossing blockbusters of 2024 revealed that every film in the top 10 was either a remake or a sequel. This raised an important question — why are original ideas so rare for big blockbuster movies? My interest in seeing new movies has depleted immensely and I have a strong desire for fresh ideas. Hollywood needs to take more risks and stop playing it safe. It takes away from artistic innovation and lowers films’ qualities.
While sequels shouldn’t necessarily be banned entirely, they also shouldn’t dominate the industry. “Top Gun: Maverick” is an example of one of the only widely successful sequels that outperformed its original film. According to thenumbers.com, the original “Top Gun” made $300 million worldwide, while “Top Gun: Maverick” made $1.4 billion.
However, what made this sequel so successful was how it was in the works for 36 years. Tom Cruise, star of “Top Gun,” explained the process during an interview published on Syfy:
“‘Just through time, the story was never right. I don’t do things just to ‘do’ it,’” Cruise explained, adding later that he originally ‘wasn’t interested in doing a sequel. All over
the whole world, people were asking for it, and asking for it. I remember back in ’87, [the producers] had an idea. It was the germ of the idea, actually, that ended up with the concept of [the sequel].’”
In this case, Cruise cared more about the quality of the film than the money. With “Top Gun” at the beginning of his career and being so successful, you’d think Cruise would want a guaranteed movie that would be a money maker. However, he claimed the sequel wasn’t ready yet and waited three decades to make sure it was produced well.
Although certain fandoms will always support another story in a franchise, a lot of viewers express concern with certain sequels and have given backlash before they’re even released. For the musical movie remake of “Mean Girls,” the majority of reviews were below 6/10.
A lot of people bashed on the same flaws. For example, they thought the acting was cringe,especially from the lead Angourie Rice. Reviewers on IMDb said it was “Not funny,” “Hard to get through,” “Terrible, just terrible” and it was “The remake that nobody asked for.” Some audience members were ignorant walking into the theater, unaware that it was a musical. However, many people were frustrated with the casting as the lead lacked vocal training, ultimately making the musical aspect of the film fall flat — literally.
More recently, the “Snow White” liveaction setting to premiere in just about a month has received hate since the beginning of production. First off, fans were upset that the actress playing Snow White, Rachel Zegler, wasn’t “pale enough” since she’s
of Colombian and Polish descent. Not to mention, Zegler had made many negative comments bashing the original “Snow White” story.
One of the biggest issues was that Disney didn’t cast actors with dwarfism to play the seven dwarfs. Many people spoke on this including Katrina Kemp, an actress with dwarfism who is a voice and an advocate for dwarfism and disability inclusion in the media industry. This casting mistake was “a missed opportunity to make a movie with seven little people where they actually have intended characters. There will have been people who gladly would have taken those roles,” Kemp said. In response to this issue, Disney ultimately decided to make the dwarves CGI, which also faced criticism for the same reason as taking away opportunities from others.
Disney posted the official trailer for Snow White on Dec. 3. None of the top comments show any excitement for the film. A comment with 17-thousand likes says, “‘Coming to a theater near you’ For the first time in my life I’m glad there are no theaters near me.” Although YouTube has the number of dislikes on videos turned off, many users commented that they have an extension downloaded that shows the number of dislikes. These users are saying that for the 44-thousand likes, there are approximately 1-million dislikes.
Additionally, there are other complaints about how the story has been changed since a Variety interview where Zegler said, “It’s no longer 1937” and that Snow White is “not going to be saved by the prince.” Although these are all flaws with the movie in general, fans are disinterested in every aspect and maybe would have appreciated it had the remake been done better, but ultimately, fans wish it wasn’t remade at all. Even Walt Disney described himself as a “born experimenter” and said he didn’t believe in sequels, as he had to move on to new things because “there are many new worlds to conquer.” Disney favored originality and creativity — which are now becoming lost in modern Hollywood — and didn’t settle for sequels.
Associate professor in media arts and design and award-winning filmmaker Imelda O’Reilly emphasized the lack of originality.
“I believe audiences want more original storytelling, but Hollywood is more reluctant to fund independent films,” O’Reilly said. “Their decisions are mostly based on economics and not art for art’s sake … I would lean in the direction of saying remakes generally are not successful.”
see FILM ORIGINALITY, page 20
MATT GOWELL | contributing columinist
I’m not exactly known for my website engineering skills, so when I decided to start my blog, I turned to the same place people have been going to for niche technical advice since its founding in 2005: Reddit.
I landed on one of the main blogging subreddits — known as r/Blogging. However, as I slowly scrolled through the top posts, I felt a dull pang of disappointment within my skull; this community wasn’t discussing web design, writing styles or even blog ideas. Everywhere I looked, the conversation focused on one thing: how to make money.
In one of the top 10 posts of all time on the subreddit, user u/aygross harkens back to a now-forgotten era, asking, “Remember when blogs were fun and personal, not
SEO is the practice of writing blogs that include a high number of “keywords,” making them more likely to appear in search results, driving unique clicks and ultimately, increasing ad revenue. This is what almost every post was discussing. On its face, this may not seem like such a big deal.
You might even ask: “Who cares if people make money from their blogs?” The issue, however, isn’t simply found within this singular subreddit, or even within this one hobby. This is but a symptom of a broader trend that plagues the culture of capital. This is the commodification of that which makes us most human: our intelligence, our aptitude for art and, most of all, our creativity.
blogger who’s earned a bit of extra money from their posts. This critiques a system that inspires uninspired art, necessitates creation without creativity and drives authors to write without a subject. The very existence of such a system is an oxymoron. It’s so contrary to humanity’s natural desires and inspirations that to invoke the idea of human nature in its defense is absurd.
“intelligence,” then they will never see the system’s true nature — that luck, greed and a lack of basic human empathy is the path to absurd wealth.
This editorial isn’t an indictment of the individual who makes supplemental income from the paintings they pour their heart into, the person who live streams themselves playing video games or even the
The painting you buy for $15 at your local department store isn’t art, for it has no soul. The cookie-cutter movie produced by a billion-dollar corporation isn’t a film, for it’s not made with passion. To be clear, real art and sincere hobbies can exist under such a system, but it’s strongly discouraged within it. All that really matters is profit; to hoard wealth is to be successful.
Art is permissible only where it can be used to make money. Hobbies are somewhat acceptable, for they can be used to keep the working class from sitting around and thinking too much, which would inevitably lead to demands for fair pay and the meeting of their basic needs. Hobbies are especially encouraged in places where they can be used for profit. This serves a variety of purposes.
First, this allows the working class to have more spending money without it having to come out of the billionaire’s pocket. They proceed to spend this money on rent, some shiny new gadget or maybe a flight to Italy, all of which, in one way or another, return to their bosses’ pockets. Further, this monetization of hobbies solidifies the indoctrination of the hobbyist into “hustle culture” and the idea that they, too, can be a billionaire. If the worker believes that the path to success truly is “hard work” and
Obviously, if the worker were to realize their oppression, the wealthy wouldn’t be able to continue to grow wealthier. This process of “monetization” eventually imprints the principle of “efficiency overall” on the artist. The more art, or the more of whatever your chosen hobby produces, the more money to hand back to your boss. If you continue to be docile in their deceit, they only stand to gain further access to your bank account. The principle of efficiency wears down art; it requires faster and faster production, eroding the thought and passion put into each piece, leading to soulless “corporate art,” movies having no depth and blogs that are amalgamations of SEO keywords. Art should have a soul. It should be OK for art to take months or years to create. Hobbies should be fun, not “side hustles” that only serve to enrich your boss and keep them from giving you a fair paycheck. So, next time you do something for fun, try to have fun — not guilty for your lack of productivity or suspicion that you should be “monetizing” every little thing you do. Create for the beauty of creation. Write for a reason. Enjoy your life.
CONTACT Matt Gowell at goweljm@ dukes.jmu.edu. For more editorials regarding the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the opinion desk on X @TheBreezeJMU and on Instagram @BreezeJMU.
SHISHIRA NAKKA | contributing columinist
When a beautiful woman walks past me, I might notice a few things: the smell of her hair oil wafting toward me, her pink sugar glossed lips curving into the most dazzling smile, the intelligence sewn into her every laugh and dialogue. Never once have I looked at a person and thought, “They’re too pale.”
Maybe it’s because I don’t really need it — #imapersonofcolor — but I’ve just never been able to understand the appeal or urgency behind fake tans. If it makes you feel more confident, then by all means. But I think we would be wrong not to dig deeper and ask why — why does this bronze elixir have such a hold on the world? Who decided tan equals beauty?
My issue comes from more of a societal standpoint: why is a tan woman the ideal when there is still a large presence of colorism in the beauty industry? I find it curious that white women who falsely darken themselves can be marketed as and believed to be more attractive than women of darker skin tones. If you’re going to continue the standard that a fake tan is prettier than a natural skin tone, then at least have the decency to include truly brown-skinned women in the same way. It’s only fair.
Women of color have been excluded and disgraced from the beauty and modeling industry for years, and it baffles me that while this happens, white women are getting spray tans so intense it turns them into a different race. The satisfaction behind being borderline orange both confuses and concerns me. I would like to follow up and say I have no issue with anyone who chooses to fake tan; my problem is with this idea that being tan — whether in 90 or 20-degree weather — makes someone more attractive. You’re beautiful, whether “pale” or not.
It’s not fair to people who are naturally tan because of their race and ethnicity. People of a deeper complexion have faced colorist mindsets for ages, but instead of the world welcoming and encouraging their skin tone, they’re offered skinlightening products. Because their skin is too dark to be seen as beautiful, and a lighter complexion is made the definition of beauty. Yet I look at girls who fit this ideal and see the discoloration on their hands, like a great divide of bronze and cream — like a really screwed-up Oreo.
The moral of the story is no matter what shade you are, you’re someone’s image of
Ryan Garner, a senior aspiring filmmaker majoring in media arts and design, said an emphasis should be placed on the need for risk-taking in the industry.
“I think it’s great to create stories based on what’s familiar to you or inspired by real events; they feel personal and real,” Garner said. “But when it comes to ideas that have already been done, I believe it’s important to take risks. Even if new ideas aren’t as popular or backed by big studios, they’re worth it because they bring fresh, exciting movies to the table and inspire the next generation of filmmakers. When I was growing up, it felt like there were so many original and unique movies out there, and I want to help bring that feeling back for future storytellers.”
Garner said filmmakers can bring in the established things they know the audience already likes, such as certain themes, but adding a twist or some new elements is what more companies should strive for to make it more original. Reimagining “Snow White,”
a classic Disney wanted untouched — and making her an “independent” character — isn’t ideal.
“Fantastic Beasts” is a better example of a film that attracts fans of “Harry Potter” by being set in the same universe — but its own series with new characters and story. Even “The Hunger Games” prequel “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is an example of something from the same universe a fanbase knew and loved, but with an entirely new perspective, contributing to the original story in a way that makes sense and doesn’t feel forced.
A potential solution to balance originality and profit is that Hollywood should create more book-to-movie adaptations. Hollywood would still be “playing it safe” because it would be taking a story idea that was already successful and has an established fan base. Additionally, originality would help support the careers of authors all while bringing a new story to the film world. Although there are some poorly made book-to-movie adaptations, there are many successful ones including “Harry Potter,” “Hunger Games,” “Twilight,” “Lord of the Rings” and more.
Familiarity can be positive and safe, but taking risks is what gets aspiring filmmakers to become known and have successful, new ideas. Embracing originality is essential to shape Hollywood back into what it once was and make movie releases more exciting for audiences to be introduced to a new story, world and perspective.
CONTACT Lacey Sirbaugh at sirbaula@dukes.jmu.edu. For more editorials regarding the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the opinion desk on X @TheBreezeJMU and on Instagram @BreezeJMU.
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