THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, FEB. 16TH, 2021
FEB. 16 - FEB. 22, 2021
NEWS
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE
A&E
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Movie Analysis: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Tuluksak fire victims find support in unexpected places
The Blacksheep Initiative and what UAA is doing for Black History month By Daisy Carter news2@thenorthernlight.org
Earlier last year in the wake of George Floyd’s death, a group of alumni from various Christian schools have come forward to talk about the discrimination they have faced while going to various Christian schools in Anchorage. This group was predominantly on instagram under the username a.christian.school, but has now rebranded to The Blacksheep Initiative. The previous initiative was about helping identify racial discrimination in Christian schools in Anchorage, now with The Blacksheep Initiative they are hoping to expand to other Christian Schools across the states to talk about the disctimination some alumni have faced. This change came after a group of alumni from Monrow Caltholic School messaged the instagram account to dicuss the discrimination they faced. Once The Blacksheep Initiative realized that this was a national issue, they wanted to be the voice of Alaska’s alumni of christian schools. “We’ve gotten very disappointing responses from ACS [Anchorage Christian School] and Grace [Grace Christian School],” Anna Simmers, a representative of The Blacksheep Initiative said. The Initiative strives to create a racist free environment for students BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and People Of Color] in private schools. In regards to an amendment statue the organization was trying to pass late last year, Simmers said that they are still working with legislatures. The statue would increase oversight concerning harassment and bullying in private
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schools, as well as require teaching credentials for private schools. This amendment would also ensure that parents have more authority to report with staff and increase venting and record keeping in private schools. “There are Alumni from the 70’s to current students. There are more and more current students reaching out to us. This has to stop.” Simmers said. They are beginning to develop a non profit that is specifically geared toward this fight for social and educational jus-
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The Blacksheep Initiative is shedding light to many racial issues in Alaskan Christian Schools.
tice. If you would like to donate to the initiative visit their website at blacksheepinitiative.org Since February is Black History Month, UAA has been putting on virtual events all month to celebrate black voices. So far there have been many panels dedicated to the month as well as film screenings that involve black directors or have a predominant black lead. Many events for students to partici-
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pate in will be coming up in the next few weeks. Mr. Soul will do a Q&A on Feb. 18, and a coded bias panel will be on Feb 25. There will also be a natural hair discussion on Feb. 25 at 6pm and an Intersectionality in Judicial and Law Enforcement panel on Feb. 26 at 1pm. The final event of black history month will be a viewing of the movie Get Out. If you’d like to see the times and where to sign up you can go to the event calendar on the UAA website.
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NEWS
THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, FEB. 16TH, 2021
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Tuluksak fire victims find support in unexpected places By Lillith Regan news3@thenorthernlight.org
The Alaskan village of Tuluksak has not had stable access to fresh clean water for 3 weeks. A fire on Jan. 16 burnt down the village’s only water plant. The village of just under 400 people put forth nothing but heroic efforts to save their water plant but were unsuccessful. “The smoke was starting to get in through the windows and through the vents,”Kristy Napoka, village resident and Tribal Council Secretary, said in an interview with KTOO. Napoka’s house neighbors the Water plant and Washeteria building. Her husband attempted to extinguish the fire. “When I looked out the window, my husband and a few other men were trying to get into the Water plant and Washateria,” she said. “They had to break the door, but they were a little too late. My husband did grab a hold of the hose. He was trying to turn the valve to get the water going, but the smoke was so heavy, and he couldn’t stand there any longer.” The Napoka family eventually tried to use river water to put out the fire but it was too late; after almost 5 hours the fire burnt out and took the town’s water supply with it. After four weeks, the Dunleavy administration has issued an emergency declaration. This came after people pressured the governor on social media to provide aid to the village.As of yet it is still unclear how they plan to remedy this issue. “To declare disaster immediately when an event happens, is usually only reserved for when the community is
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utterly overwhelmed. And there is an imminent or immediate life threat,” Director of the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Paul Nelson, said. One thing that is certain is the dedi-
A fire on January 16th devestated the village of Tuluksak’s water plant, the only source of the villages clean running water.
cation that local activists have for rural villages. A Go Fund me has raised over $100,000 for the village to assist with immediate needs. Taboo Nawasha, Indigenous rapper and member of the Black Eyed Peas has donated water to the vil-
lage. The generous hearts of Alaskans and Americans alike have provided relief to the struggling village. If you would like to donate please visit gofundme.com/f/rural-alaska-covidrelief
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Hugh McPeck Gallery Hosts Virtual Exhibitions By Jake Dye arts@thenorthernlight.org
For the past few months, the Hugh McPeck Gallery has been hosting virtual exhibitions, showing off art online while the UAA campus remains closed. Created using a website called Artsteps, these virtual exhibitions are far more involved than a slideshow or images, they allow the viewer to actually navigate, using mouse or keyboard, around a three-dimensional show floor. Images of the artwork line the walls, accompanied by descriptions and artist credits, as in any in-person exhibition. The most recent virtual exhibition was the 2021 Clay Body Ceramic Invitational, showcasing the work of the UAA Clay Body, a club of students from ceramics classes. The pieces shown are diverse, though all made from clay. The Hugh McPeck Gallery has hosted the Clay Body Exhibition annually for several years. Other virtual exhibitions include the 35th annual No Big Heads competition, where contestants submit small self-portraits, and UAA Foundations 2020, spotlighting the work of students at the 100 and 200 courselevel. Every virtual exhibition is currently available on the Hugh McPeck Gallery’s Artsteps profile. Gallery Managers, Denali Peterson and Nicole Pendleton, spoke about the process of organizing the virtual exhibi-
tions. The managers said “the work that goes into a virtual exhibition includes many things we’d still think about when setting up a physical exhibition” Size, spacing and colors need to be taken into account. Using Artsteps allows the managers to design the whole space, Pendleton saying that she was able to “draw the walls and construct the entire virtual building from the ground up in Artsteps.” Accepting pieces for a virtual exhibition is different because the art no longer enters the Hugh McPeck Gallery. Artists instead submit images of their work. Featuring three-dimensional pieces in the virtual format, such as the sculptures in the Clay Body exhibit, required several photos to show the multiple viewing angles and fine details. The Hugh McPeck Gallery plans to remain virtual only through the summer. Several more exhibitions are planned during this time. The 2021 2D3D Art Exhibition, featuring student artwork selected by instructors at the 300 and 400 courselevel will be held later this month, opening Monday, Feb. 22. The Juried Student Art Show will be held starting Thursday, Mar. 25. Updates from the Hugh McPeck Gallery surrounding future virtual exhibitions can be found on their Facebook page.
SCREENSHOTS BY JAKE DYE COURTESY OF ARTSTEPS
The authentic gallery feel is completed by plants and seating placed around the virtual space.
SCREENSHOTS BY JAKE DYE COURTESY OF ARTSTEPS
Virtual Exhibitions are held in a emulation of three-dimensional space, allowing viewers to move around and look at art on the walls.
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Movie Analysis: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom With this month being Black History Month I thought it would be a great idea to watch a film that highlighted a black artist. Going into this movie I didn’t know much about the life or story of Ma Rainey, or that she was a real singer in the early 1900’s. “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” or,“Black Bottom” was directed by George C. Wolfie and produced by Denzel Washington. This film was based off of a playwright by August Wilson, but was written for film by Ruben SantiagoHudson. Wilson is known to write plays based on the struggles of black people. “During a recording session, tensions rise between Ma Rainey, her ambitious horn player and the white management determined to control the uncontrollable “Mother of the Blues”,” says a synopsis of the film on IMDB. “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” stars Viola Davis as Ma Rainey and Chadwick Boesman as Levee. In this movie, the main focus is on the rivalry of the two as they are both trying to steal the spotlight from each other. Ma Rainey is portrayed as a strong woman who knows her worth and won’t tolerate being treated any less than what she’s worth. On the other hand, Levee is a charming trumpet player who is determined to make it big with his trumpet and a new band once he gets to the north. Although the film has only been out since Dec. 18 2020, it has already
received 33 awards and 104 nominations including two Golden Globes. The two nominations were Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture- Drama for Viola Davis and Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture- Drama for Chadwick Boseman. The movie is rated “R” for language, some sexual content and brief violence. Unfortunately, this was the last film that Chadwick Boesman was featured in due to his passing of colon cancer on Aug.t 20, 2020. Many of his co-stars didn’t know at the time, but he was actually undergoing cancer treatment while doing this film. Even though the movie is based on Ma Rainey, Viola Davis is only on screen for a total of 26 minutes and 14 seconds. This was also Davis’ second performance of a play written by Wilson. The first film was called “Fences”, which won her an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture. The movie alone could be a little bit hard to follow due to it’s slow pacing, but after watching the documentary about it I understand it more. This isn’t just a story about a singer recording an album, it’s about how hard black artists had to work at that time. The documentary touched on something called the Great Migration, a movement after the Civil War where black people from the south moved up north to provide a better life for themselves. They were driven from their homes by unsatis-
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This was Bosman last film before tragically dying in late August 2020.
factory economic opportunities. Black people from the south were told that the north would have good work, but the jobs were of low income and were very physically demanding. Even though the conditions weren’t in their favor, many black Americans still traveled north to find a better life for themselves. This message was very apparent throughout the film. Since they were recording a song in Chicago, the theme of a new future was very apparent in the group, especially for Levee. The best thing from this film was the performances by Davis and Boesman. The emotional
performance of Boesman really reminded me how much talent he had especially since he has passed on. It’s so unfortunate that at the height of his career something so tragic and sudden happened to him. Over all, it’s a good watch if you want to learn more about what it was like to be a black artist in the 1900’s. Do you have any recommendations on what films I should look into next? Send your suggestions to news2@thenorthernlight.org
IMAGE COURTESY OF WABE.COM
This early 1900’s blues film gives you a taste of what it was like to be a black artist in that time.
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Hitbox Review: Little Nightmares II - Fear and Frustration in a Twisted World
By Jake Dye arts@thenorthernlight.org
Developer: Tarsier Studios Release Date: Feb. 11, 2021 Platforms: PlayStation 4 [Played], Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, Stadia Little Nightmares II is a horror game that almost passes for cute. Following two very little children navigating a very large and scary world, the game is at its best during the quiet moments. Solving puzzles and exploring the strange world is engrossing, but is hampered by mostly frustrating combat and stealth sections. Taking place prior to the events of the first Little Nightmares game, players control Mono, and are joined by Six, the protagonist of the original game. The game’s plot is fairly open to interpretation, as none of the characters speak, and no attempt is made to explain the situations the kids find themselves in. For much of the game, the kids seem to just stumble from one nightmare scenario to another. Mono and Six don’t talk, but are brought to life through incredible animation that injects personality into them. There’s a button to make the two hold hands while they walk around. The world of Little Nightmares is dark and scary, but it’s also often beautiful. Much of the world is massive and empty, really driving home the solitude of Mono
and Six, lost and surrounded by danger. The horror does not rely at all on gore or jump scares, but rather exists in the surrealism of the world, which is designed with a cartoonish feel. The scariest elements of the game are in its major boss-like villains. Each of the game’s five chapters features one major character who drives the plot and each is suitably terrifying. Standouts include a school teacher who elongates her neck at least a dozen feet with the sound of cracking bones and the thin man, who exists in the static of old CRT televisions, flickering like a bad signal. Exploration is where Little Nightmares II shines. It’s five chapters each feature fleshed out areas filled with puzzles and threats. The game’s puzzles are perfectly balanced, challenging enough to provide a sense of satisfaction, but not so difficult that they require a Google search. Some of these sections are representations of masterful and innovative game design. Examples include a section in the basement of an abandoned hospital, where Mono has to use his flashlight to stop broken mannequins from advancing in their stilted way, and a section where Mono uses a television remote to manipulate the TV addicted populace of a decaying city. Little Nightmares II is excellent when it focuses on the quiet exploration and the
PHOTO COURTESY OF BANDAI NAMCO
Exploring and platforming are where Little Nightmares shines.
innovative puzzles. Unfortunately, the game far too often dips into more rote stealth and combat sections. These are almost always exercises in trial and error that left me frustrated. The combat is especially problematic, though not terribly frequent. The small characters move very slow while dragging a hammer or other weapon, and take time to swing and recover. Aiming these attacks feels inexact, and failing to strike your target almost guarantees being sent back to the last checkpoint, as Mono can’t take more than one hit. Difficulty ramps up pretty quickly with the introduction of more nimble enemies that can dodge attacks. Stealth is slow and basic, hiding in the shadows until the scary monster turns its back, then moving to the next point of cover, very slowly. Getting caught means immediately being sent back to the checkpoint, and it takes just a little bit too long
to get back into the action for another try. These sections are extremely common, especially in the game’s second and third chapters, which are also the longest. Despite the uneven gameplay, and an absolute downer of an ending, Little Nightmares II is a unique take on a genre of horror that doesn’t get much spotlight. Its scares are based on inventive monsters and scenarios, not relying on easier methods of instilling fear in an audience. The story is ambiguous at best, but feels special and poignant, two children trying to find their way in a twisted world. I’m glad I played through it, but I’m not sure I’d ever want to do it again. Have any suggestions on what I review next? Send your suggestions to arts1@ thenorthernlight.org
PHOTO COURTESY OF BANDAI NAMCO
Exploring and platforming are where Little Nightmares shines.
REPORTS
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KRUA charts and adds. FOR TOP ADDS: Babehoven’s new soft indie rock EP had two songs added this week, for those melancholic winter days! Also added Rhye’s new electronic vibe album, perfect for long late night drives, also had quite a few songs added! FOR TOP CHARTS: Nancy moved up to our number 4 spot with his weird-pop, analog lo-fi tunes! One of my favorites, Midnight Sister, rose to our 7th spot this week! Check them out if you enjoy theatrical, 70s inspired disco-pop tunes! New addition from last week, Zach Winters, reached our 15th spot already! For the lovers of emotional folk, Americana, country rock. Local band SunDog charted this week at spot 21, their new album Cabin Fever is perfect for psych-rock and prog-rock enthusiast!
Label: Jagjaguwar Artist: Young Legs Record: Songs From Lost Valley Label: Mint 400 Artist: Statik Selektah Record: The Balancing Act Label: Mass Appeal Artist: Public Memory Record: Ripped Apparition Label: Felte Artist: Field Medic Record: Floral Prince Label: Run For Cover Artist: Mamalarky Record: Mamalarky Label: Fire Talk Artist: LOGIC 1000 Record: You’ve Got The Whole Night To Go [EP] Label: Therapy/Because
Artist: Pink Siifu and FLy Anakin Record: FlySiifu’s Label: Lex
Artist: Zach Winters Record: Love is a Garden Label: Self-Released
Artist: Senor Kaos and Illastrate Record: King of Vice Label:Ultra Beast United
Artist: Shygirl Record: ALIAS [EP] Label: Because
Artist: Nancy Record: Te Quiero Mucho [EP] Label: Self-Released
Artist: Molchat Doma Record: Monument Label: Sacred Bones
Artist: Ghoul Friends Record: I Was Hungry So I Ate Label: Self-Released
Artist: TV Priest Record: Uppers Label: Sub Pop
Artist: Cut Worms Record: Nobody Lives Here Anymore Label: Jagjaguwar
The Black Keys Record: Brothers (Deluxe Remastered Anniversary Edition) Label: Nonesuch
Artist: Samm Henshaw Record: “All Good” [Single] Label: Columbia
Artist: Karaoke Record: Blood, Piss, Religion, Pain Label: Self-Released
Artist: Emily Edrosa Record: Another Wave Is Coming Label: Park The Van
Artist: Kiwi JR
Artist: Bicep Record: Isles
Artist: Das Mortal Record: Miami Beach Witches Label: Libson Lux Artist: Midnight Sister Record: Painting the Roses
Record: Cooler Returns Label: Sub Pop Artist: Sundog Record: Cabin Fever Label: Dog Yard Artist: Buck Meek Record: Two Saviors Label: Keeled Scales Artist: Fit of Body Record: Punks Unavailable [EP] Label: 2MR
Label: Ninja Tune Artist: Eyedress Record: Lets Skip To The Wedding Label: Lex Artist: Reptaliens Record: Wrestling [EP] Label: Captured Tracks Artist: Fox Academy Record: Rabbit Label: Self-Released Artist: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Record: Teenage Gizzard Label: Self-Released
Provided by William Kreiter, Music Manager at KRUA 88.1 FM.
REPORTS
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UPD report Feb. 1st - 8th, 2021 Total calls for service: 566
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February 3: Crisis intervention at Student Housing
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February 4: Accident at AAC parking lot.
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February 4: Two issued in Error.
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February 4: Accident at UAA Drive.
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February 6: Criminal Mischief and Trespass warning at Engineering and Industry Building..
All information is provided by the University of Alaska Anchorage Police Department.
STAFF CONTACTS
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3211 Providence Drive Student Union 113 Anchorage, AK 99508
News Reporter Daisy Carter news2@thenorthernlight.org
Executive Editor Gabby Vance (806) 437-8805 editor@thenorthernlight.org
Arts & Entertainment Reporter Jake Dye arts@thenorthernlight.org
Layout Editor / Graphic Designer Michaeline Collins media@thenorthernlight.org News Reporter Lillith Regan news3@thenorthernlight.org
Ad Manager Connor Farrar admanager@thenorthernlight.org
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