THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, FEB. 23RD, 2021
FEB. 23 - MARCH 1, 2021
A&E
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE
OPINION
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THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG
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The US Education System
Hitbox Review: Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury - It Equals A Good Game
Anchorage area employees express safety concerns in wake of security threats. By Lillith Regan news3@thenorthernlight.org
On January 11th, 2021 employees at a neighboring business suddenly saw a swarm of police officers surround the midtown mall just across the street from their cafe. Just 5 days after the attack on the capitol tensions were high, the FBI warned the public that domestic terrorist attacks were possible in the coming days. An area employee expressed concern wondering if this would be one of those possible attacks. She has asked not to be named due to safety concerns. “Nobody knew what was going on. There was a huge police presence. We could see their lights reflecting off our windows in broad daylight.” They go on to explain that themselves and their co-workers never heard from the police to explain what was going on. A signal 88 security office did however come over to inform them of the situation to their knowledge after they went around the block to try and figure out what was going on. “It was only because we were concerned, I was going around the building to look around and see what was happening, seems weird since they were that close. I think they evacuated the mall, but we were pretty close.” “One of the signal 88 guys came in and said that it seemed there was a bomb threat over by rei.”
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They recall him saying “you should be safe this should be outside the blast zone.” The area was declared safe and cleared of police around 5pm that evening, the same time many of the businesses close by close. For many employees this meant spending the majority of the day unsure of what was happening Just next door. Now little more than a month later the midtown mall experienced another threat, this time the diamond mall was also included. Police said a bomb threat was called in last Tuesday, February 16th for the Midtown Mall and the Dimond Center. Both areas were cleared quickly after a search was conducted. FBI spokeswoman Chloe Martin said of the threats. The bomb threat in January was an isolated incident and unrelated to Tuesday’s threat. There is still no official word confirming or denying whether the January 11 occurrence was a bomb threat. With this in mind the local employee remains a bit nervous for the coming days. “I don’t think the second bomb threat was taken as seriously, that’s kind of horrifying. what if the next one isn’t considered and we are in the blast zone? I feel like the coyote before the anvil falls on him. It feels like any minute something horrible could happen. makes me wonder
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IMAGE COURTESY OF EMILY MESNER OF ADN
Anchorage man investigates contents of a bag removed from the suspicious vehicle on January 11.
what it will be, I mean will it be a bomb or something else horrifying.” Since The January 6th attack on the capitol and the multiple security threats in town since then locals have expressed concern over if Anchorage will be the next target. Another local employee I spoke with was making deliveries on January 11 to wild scoops and recalls her experience that day. “Working in midtown there’s kind of always something going
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on. Its not uncommon to see cops… but to see the roads completely blocked off was odd. I feel like Everyone’s been on edge… working with so many people, I’m used to having people snap at me but I’m thinking like Oh, if I snap at this person, are they going to do something crazy? My faith in humanity has definitely gone down this year. I kind of just assume the worst now.” Both incidents resolved with nothing suspicious being found.
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Warner Brothers Will Release All 2021 Theatrical Films on HBO Max By Jake Dye arts@thenorthernlight.org
Warner Brothers, one of the four largest film studios in the world, made waves in December when they announced that each of their theatrical films in 2021 would be available to stream on HBO Max the same day they entered theaters. These films will be available for no additional cost beyond the standard subscription fee for two weeks after release. This move caught much of the film industry completely by surprise, with veteran director Christopher Nolan saying in a Hollywood Reporter interview: “Some of our industry’s biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the greatest movie studio and woke up to find out they were working for the worst streaming service.” AMC, the largest theater chain in America, also came out with a strong statement, claiming that Warner Brothers was sacrificing the theater industry, as well as the profitability of its films, to kickstart HBO Max, a relatively young streaming service. Despite all this strife within the film industry, this announcement is great news for the largely movie starved public. Though a few films were trickled out last year, like Scoob!, Trolls World Tour, and Mulan, each were locked behind a paywall of $20-30, and there were no blockbuster film releases. Warner Brothers’ announcement that their films will be coming to streaming doubles as a confirmation that they will be coming out, as
the other large studios have repeatedly pushed back their film slates waiting for vaccines to be administered and theaters to open. Vaccine rollout has been slow, and there’s reason to believe everyone will be social distancing and wearing masks for a while longer. Movie theaters have tried to ensure a COVID-safe environment through initiatives like CinemaSafe, but packing a hundred people into a room defies current sensibility. Warner Brothers’ decision to release every one of their 2021 films on HBO Max allows for each of their films to be watched safely at home, maintaining social distancing. There’s also some pretty big movies on the horizon from WB. So far, Wonder Woman 1984, The Little Things, and Judas and the Black Messiah have been released on HBO Max alongside the movie theater. The end of February brings the new Tom and Jerry film, March brings Godzilla vs. Kong, April brings Mortal Kombat, and things only heat up from there. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, will be released in June, followed by a film adaptation of Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda’s other musical: In the Heights. Space Jam: A New Legacy, James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, Dune and The Matrix 4 all come by the end of the year. There’s a lot of huge movies that will be available for HBO Max’s subscription fee of $15 a month. That’s a price comparable to a movie ticket.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WARNER BROS.
Films like In The Heights, by Hamilton creator Lin Manuel Miranda were delayed from 2020 release dates, but will be available on HBO Max this year.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CBR.COM
Warner Bros. is making big budget films like next month’s Godzilla vs. Kong available to watch at home with HBO Max.
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Movie Analysis: 13th By Daisy Carter news2@thenorthernlight.org
Now that we are finally opening up our eyes to the racial injustices that plague America, it’s time to learn how these systems came to be and what can be done to change them. It is important to look at America’s history of how we have treated black people and people of color in order to better educate ourselves on how to make a more perfect nation. Released on Oct. 7, 2016, the documentary “13th” is a Netflix special film about how the United States prisons system is deeply rooted in oppression. “13th” was directed and written by Ava DuVernay who has also directed “Selma”, and “A Wrinkle in Time”. In the documentary, there are many interviews with scholars and representatives, but also everyday citizens whose lives have been affected by the police and prison system. “13th” has won 32 awards and has been nominated for 44. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. “13th” also won a couple of Emmys including Outstanding Documentary or Non-Fiction Special, Outstanding Motion Design and Outstanding
writing for nonfiction programming. In “13th” the filming locations and production design all have deeper meanings. The interviews are filmed in front of brick walls and industrial equipment which represents the labor that, according to the director DuVerney statement on IMDB, “has been stolen from black people in this country for centuries.”. Although this movie is TV-MA, it is still an important documentary for all American citizens to watch. I want to talk about the production value and editing of the documentary first. I’ve watched quite a few documentaries, and I have to say that this one was one of the most digestible of them, editing wise. I really liked how they separated what they were going to talk about with either original music, or well-known songs about how the system is broken. I also liked the fact that a majority of the interviews were done against brick walls to make that correlation with what they were talking about to what people are seeing on the screen. Going into this documentary, I knew
PHOTO COURTESY OF CULTUREHONEY.COM
The film 13th takes a look at how minorities historically been treated in the American prison systems.
that it was going to be difficult to sit through and to see all of the atrocities that we as a nation have committed, but I didn’t know how much I was going to learn. I was introduced to slavery by just watching the film Roots, then the teacher telling us that Martian Luther King came along and fixed everything. This documentary did so much more than that. It teaches you how the effects of before and after slavery still present in American society. I also thought that this documentary was going to be full of jargon and incomprehensible information that I would have to look up later, but it was surprisingly easy to
understand. Although it is difficult to get through, I believe that everyone should watch this documentary. Do you have any recommendations on what films I should look into next? Send your suggestions to news2@thenorthernlight.org
IMAGE COURTESY OF JSTOR DAILY
Many of the United State prison system has historically been mistreating their inmates for decades.
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Hitbox Review: Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury - It Equals A Good Game By Jake Dye arts@thenorthernlight.org
Developer: Nintendo Release Date: Feb. 12, 2021 Platforms: Nintendo Switch Super Mario 3D World was initially released on Nov. 11, 2013, exclusively for Nintendo’s failed Wii U. It was praised at the time, but not a lot of people got the opportunity to play it. Remastered and packaged with the brand new Bowser’s Fury mode for Mario’s 35th Anniversary, it absolutely stands up to its lofty reputation. Mario games have never been built on their stories, and this is no exception. Super Mario 3D World tells the usual Mario story. Bowser is up to trouble, and Mario has to stop him. Surprisingly, Bowser actually hasn’t kidnapped Princess Peach this time around, leaving her available as a playable character. Of course, between our cast of heroes and the villainous Koopa King are dozens of tightly designed levels. Super Mario 3D World stays fresh by absolutely never doing the same thing twice in a row. Previous games grouped levels into worlds that each had themes like the desert or a winter wonderland. Worlds are in the game, but the levels are not restricted to any theme. One world features, in order; a mountain, a swamp, space, and then a temple. This variance keeps things from growing stale. Beyond just the setting of each level, innovative concepts are introduced and thrown away with reckless abandon. Interesting ideas are often seen in only a single level before the game moves on to
its next neat trick. It’s a joy to constantly move from one idea to the next, though it would have been interesting to see the game build on some of its ideas over time. Hindering the experience is a surprisingly restrictive camera. It generally hovers too close to the characters to see far enough in any direction, and though it can be angled with the right stick, it often refuses to comply, for reasons that are never really clear. This issue is made much worse in the multiplayer mode, where up to four people can join together, stepping into the extra shoes of Luigi, Peach, and Toad. I only had the opportunity to try it with one other person, and we struggled to stay in the same camera window. If anyone ventures off-screen, they are unceremoniously placed in a bubble and sent back to their teammate. This made exploring for collectibles frustrating. Lives are also shared in the multiplayer mode, expended when any of the players fall or are eliminated. This could absolutely add up quickly in a chaotic four-person session, or if playing with a less experienced player. It’s a confusing decision. Bowser’s Fury is available from the main menu, not requiring any progression in the base 3D World to play. It’s also much larger than I anticipated. Far from a small expansion or epilogue to the main game, Bowser’s Fury is an experimental open-world experience, taking the assets and mechanics of Super Mario 3D World, and building something new from them. Taking place in the expansive Lake Lapcat, Mario and Bowser Jr. have to team up to take on a massive, kaiju-esque
PHOTO COURTESY OF NINTENDO
Fury Bowser is a impressively realized threat, with a massive scale akin to kaiju like Godzilla.
PHOTO COURTESY OF NINTENDO
Mario is back on another grand adventure, but this time he can be a cat.
new Bowser. Fury Bowser has covered the lake in a black paint, and Mario has to collect shines to light up lighthouses to clear it up. Collecting enough shines also allows Mario to awaken the Giga bells, which he can use to turn into a very large cat to take on Fury Bowser directly. The lake is massive, presenting Mario with his very first open world. The entire lake can be explored without loading. Each lighthouse has five shines attached to it, with plenty more scattered on smaller islands. Collecting each shine requires a platforming challenge similar to a level from the base 3D World, and each is just as innovative and fun. I had a blast wandering the islands, completing challenges, and collecting shines. At the center of the lake, Bowser is always visible, his shell slowly rising from the paint. Once he rises all the way above the surface, his shell begins to glow, the rain comes, and Fury Bowser attacks. The massive Fury Bowser has several attacks to disrupt gameplay, spitting flame, throwing rocks, and raining fireballs. His attacks aren’t too disruptive to gameplay and made for an extremely exciting moment towards the end of a particularly difficult platforming challenge.
Bowser’s Fury is made using all the tools from the base 3D World, and they’re generally used so differently from the original game I almost forgot that I had just finished seeing them all before. Issues do arise in the form of a few bosses directly pulled from 3D World and reused for Bowser’s Fury. I was very disappointed to find none of these bosses had new abilities or any new challenge to them at all. Taken as a whole package, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury is a massive amount of Mario content. For the many who missed the original release in 2013, it’s easily worth the $60 admission price. Those who have already played the original, and are only looking for the new Bowser’s Fury, may be disappointed in its short length, taking me somewhere around 3-4 hours, but it absolutely stands up to the high-quality bar of the series. Have any suggestions on what I review next? Send your suggestions to arts1@ thenorthernlight.org
PHOTO COURTESY OF NINTENDO
Lake Lapcat is a massive area to explore, with the threat of Fury Bowser always looming from the center of the lake.
OPINION
THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, FEB. 23RD, 2021
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The US Education System By Daisy Carter news2@thenorthernlight.org
In the past year, many Americans have realized how many misconceptions we have about our own country. In the wake of George Floyd’s death, Americans had to take a hard look at themselves and have hard discussions about the atrocities this country has committed. Unfortunately, many Americans weren’t equipped with the knowledge of black history which puts the whole education system on trial. In the classroom, students are taught about slavery in a very simplistic way. They are taught that once slavery ended African Americans were free and that for the most part, their lives were better. What isn’t explicitly taught is that most slaves were never allowed to learn how to read or write, so being able to understand how the world works outside of the farms would be a very difficult challenge for them. And while one atrocity may have ended, a new one called segregation started which led to the civil rights movement. It begs the question, why weren’t taught about the difficult things that America has done to its own people? A simple explanation is because our history was written to be digestible for white people. With them being the majority, they don’t want to hear about how their ancestors killed, raped, and enslaved people of color for hundreds of years. How do we talk about what our founders of America did, as well as fix the systemic problems that are currently plagu-
ing us? After thinking about this for some time, I thought it would be interesting to see how German schools teach about the world wars. In both world wars, Germans were the ones to lose the most. I was expecting to find that they would never talk about what their role in it was, but I found something interesting. An article from the New York Times in 1995, explains how Germany talks about World War II and the Holocaust. In the article, a 16-year-old German student answers questions and talks about his experience learning about their country’s history. At first, Germans were tempted to forget and try to suppress their involvement in World War II, but as stressed in the article, they understood what having a nationalist mentality could do to the country’s future. While researching, I also learned that Germans rarely have their flag on display in their own country. They also don’t have a pledge of allegiance, like how the United States does. This is what people talk about when they refer to the United States as being a nationalistic country. We are taught at a young age to stand with our country through thick and thin, and never question or learn more about what wrongs this country has done. Once we are able to acknowledge the horrific things we have done, we would be able to finally heal and make truly beneficial changes that would benefit everyone.
Harriet Tubman was not only a big contributor to the Underground railroad, but was also the first woman to lead a combat assault.
IMAGE COURTESY OF CBS NEWS
The United States Education system has been shown time and time again to be a system that idolizes American exceptionalism.
REPORTS
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KRUA charts and adds. Lots of movement on the Top 30s chart with the most exciting news being local band SunDog is now at spot 13! For Top Additions we have have some fun tunes: Our top add was Wicked Records Presents: Battle of the bands Vol. 1, a compilation of bands playing very authentic, true garage rock/punk rock tunes! Lava La Rue’s new album is a fun new addition coming in with an electronic, hip hop rap fusion mixed her beautiful voice. For a more mellow evening, consider Lael Neale’s new album consisting of soft, folk instrumentals with a mix of sung vocals and almost poetic spoken sections. If you’re in the mood for that 2000’s emo, pop punk sound mixed with a healthy heaping of soundcloud/modern rap, then you have to check out Finn Askew’s latest album! For a softer but still upbeat indie pop/rock album look no further than the new tunes from Alicia Clara. And finally, for the alternative lovers that crave a little more gritty, emotional folksoft rock, check out Sloping’s new album. Top 10 Charts Artist: Wick Records Presents Battle of the Bands, Vol. 1. Record: Various Artists Label: Wick Artist: Lava La Rue Record: Butter-fly [EP] Label: Marathon Artist: Lael Neale Record: Acquainted With Night Label: Sub Pop Artist: Finn Askew Record: Peach [EP] Label: Polydor Artist: Alicia Clara Record: Outsider/ Unusualt Label: Hot Tramp Artist: Sloping Record: Completed Songs Label: Sound as Language Top 30 Charts
Artist: Pink Siifu and FLy Anakin Record: FlySiifu’s Label: Lex Artist: Senor Kaos and Illastrate Record: King of Vice Label:Ultra Beast United Artist: Cut Worms Record: Nobody Lives Here Anymore Label: Jagjaguwar Artist: Nancy Record: Te Quiero Mucho [EP] Label: Self-Released Artist: Zach Winters Record: Love is a Garden Label: Self-Released Artist: The Black Keys Record: Brothers (Deluxe Remastered Anniversary Edition) Label: Nonesuch Artist: Midnight Sister Record: Painting the Roses Label: Jagjaguwar Artist: Kiwi JR Record: Cooler Returns Label: Sub Pop Artist: Ghoul Friends Record: I Was Hungry So I Ate Label: Self-Released Artist: Statik Selektah Record: The Balancing Act Label: Mass Appeal Artist: Das Mortal Record: Miami Veach Witches Label: Lisbon Lux Artist: Young Legs Record: Songs From Lost Valley Label: Mint 400 Artist: Sundog Record: Cabin Fever Label: Dog Yard Artist: Emily Edrosa Record: Another Wave Is Coming Label: Park The Van Artist: Mamalarky Record: Mamalarky Label: Fire Talk
Artist: Buck Meek Record: Two Saviors Label: Keeled Scales Artist: LOGIC 1000 Record: You’ve Got The Whole Night To Go [EP] Label: Therapy/Because
Artist: Molchat Doma Record: Monument Label: Sacred Bones Artist: Bicep Record: Isles Label: Ninja Tune
Artist: Public Memory Record: Ripped Apparition Label: Felte
Artist: Karaoke Record: Blood, Piss, Religion, Pain Label: Self-Released
Artist: The Nix Record: Sausage Studio Sessions Label: Moshi Moshi
Artist: Rhye Record: Home Label: Loma Vista
Artist: TV Priests Record: Uppers Label: Sub Pop
Artist: Shygirl Record: ALIAS [EP] Label: Because
Artist: Field Medic Record: Floral Prince Label: Run For Cover
Artist: Fit of Body Record: Punks Unavailable [EP] Label: 2MR
Artist: Immaterial Possession Record: Immaterial Possession Label: Cloud
Artist: Nilufer Yanya Record: Feeling Lucky? [EP] Label: ATO
Artist: Samm Henshaw Record: “All Good” [Single] Label: Colombia
Provided by William Kreiter, Music Manager at KRUA 88.1 FM.
REPORTS
THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, FEB. 23RD, 2021
UPD report Feb. 8 - Feb. 15, 2021 Total calls for service: 412 Unlock calls: 5 •
February 8: Agency assist and enticement of a minor, off campus, non Anchorage.
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February 10: Misconduct involving a controlled substance in student housing.
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February 11: DUI and violation of condition of release on Lake Otis and E. 40th St.
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February 11: Accident, DUI, and misconduct involving a weapon 4th degree, on Alumni Dr, at the East Parking Garage.
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February 11: Minor consuming alcohol at student housing.
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February 12: Disorderly conduct and assult in the fourth degree on Residential Dr.
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February 12: Welfare check at student housing.
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February 14: Welfare check at student housing
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February 15: Assault in the third degree, misconduct involving a weapon, evading, traffic violation, and accident on Lake Otis and Northern Lights.
All information is provided by the University of Alaska Anchorage Police Department.
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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
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