Rewind your fantasy with the dark academia genre

More than an aesthetic, dark academia provides a way to indulge one's yearning for knowledge

Through a whimsical and eye-catching art style, Ben Hatke puts his own twist on the classic hero's journey in his three-part comic book series “Zita the Spacegirl.” Against an apocalyptic sci-fi backdrop, Hatke keeps things interesting by making the hero's journey one of redemption instead of self-discovery or lost innocence.

This series is a fun and heartwarming read that unlike some other comics, isn't super demanding of your time. While it is a threepart series, each book has a self-contained storyline and can be finished within a day.

The series begins with our main character Zita and her friend Joseph playing outside as a strange object falls from space. As the object plummets toward the ground, we are introduced to the attitudes of our protagonist and her foil. Zita is outgoing and short-sighted while Joseph is cautious and shy; Zita opts to press the red button on the fallen object even as Joseph tells her not to mess with it. This creates a small portal, and Joseph is dragged into another dimension by a strange creature. In a mix of shock and horror, Zita runs away as her friend calls out to her for help.

Guilt-ridden, Zita decides to embark on a rescue mission. Once again pressing the red button from the strange space device, she leaps through the portal and embarks upon her galactic rescue mission, stranded on an apocalyptic planet with a cult that believes her friend is the key to stopping a meteorite from destroying the planet.

Now, what makes this comic book series so enjoyable is that the reader can literally see a shift in Zita’s attitude as her journey progresses. We see her go from having a trickster attitude to a team-minded one. For example, after jumping through the portal to search for her friend, Zita is faced with the realization that she’s alone in a foreign environment where everyone is hustling to get somewhere or get something. But, after a strange creature selflessly helps her navigate through a crowd when she first arrives on the new planet, she’s able to lend a helping hand to the planet’s inhabitants she later befriends in the story. Another example is when she and her crew are traveling through the ruins of a city. During their trip, they come across a robot whose legs no longer work, and Zita goes and finds a new pair for him instead of leaving him behind like one of her traveling companions wanted. Still, this newfound attitude is put to the test when Zita has to decide whether

SEE SPACE-GIRL, PAGE 10

Dark academia is more than just a TikTok trend — it provides a refreshing escape from our technology-obsessed lives as it romanticizes the pursuit of knowledge through literature, classic architecture and a gothic color scheme. Think blazers, pleated slacks and a novel clutched in your arms as you rush to your Greek classics class or write a letter to a loved one amidst the candlelight. Often people think about reading or completing schoolwork with a negative connotation, and I’m guilty of that as well. I mean, who actually appreciates staying up into the wee hours of the night writing a long essay about a topic they aren’t passionate about? Dark academia, however, is an aesthetic that glamorizes such tasks and reminds us that academia can be enthralling and exhilarating.

In this age of digital entertainment, it can be difficult to avoid looking at a screen 24/7. Spending your free time scrolling on your phone can be fun, but after a while, you feel lazy and as if you wasted your day. Romanticizing knowledge can make you pick up hobbies that feel productive and help you enjoy learning and the world to a fuller extent, as the dark academia subculture is pretty distant from the insipid digital world.

And while I read for enjoyment and think annotating pages of classics is fun, the pursuit of knowledge doesn’t have to be just this. It can also involve heading to an antique shop instead of a mall, starting a bullet journal or learning a new language. Doing activities such as these discredits the idea that learning is always serious and only about a numeric grade. Learning is enjoyable and facilitates a greater appreciation for the seemingly unexciting world around you.

The dark academia aesthetic is not merely a fashion statement. Instead, it is present in many forms of media such as literature and movies (past and present).

Dark academic content combines tragedy and gothic themes with an intense passion for literature, the arts and classics in a way that is wonderfully melodramatic but real. Most books or movies that fall in this genre usually involve crime, take place at some prestigious school and contain beautiful prose or dialogue.

A good example of dark academia and one of the most recognized dark academic works is the “Dead Poets Society.” A group of young men at a private academy delve into poetry and literature in a way that makes them see the world with rose-colored lenses. Expectations of parents and the cruelty of reality cause tragedy to occur and eventually bring the characters grief. Because most dark academic works are far removed from technology, they have a timeless nature that intrigues all generations. Once you dive into this subculture through clothing, a novel or something else, you’ll be mystified by groups of charismatic scholars equipped in tweed, clutching their satchels filled with copies of “The Iliad” or “Macbeth,” spouting prose like second nature. Perhaps then, you'll be ready to convert to the dark side.