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October
Entertainment
The Bear Facts
Why Everyone Loves to All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
The Bear Facts
and ends with Lara Jean and Peter realizing they love each other. When I first saw the movie, it was a Friday night, and I was alone in my room with my dog asleep besides me. As To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is a movie about teen romance and adventure, I was originally dispirited that on a Friday night I was in my bed with my dog watching a movie. However, this state of sadness was quickly overcome with pure delight when I realized that I was not watching a typical teen romance movie offered by Netflix, but that I was, in fact, watching my generations equivalent to the John Hughes movies adored and glorified by my parent’s generation. In the same light that John Hughes’s offer movies offered a more realistic perspective of teenager’s feelings and struggles compared to the 70’s Brady Bunch depiction, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before brings a practical innocence to the current media’s depiction of people my age. Other shows and movies, like Riverdale and The Kissing Booth, portray teenagers as much more advanced and put together humans, ignoring the reality of our almost constantly confused existence. Nonetheless, the movie does offer
just the right amount of impractical teen fantasy. For example, the unchaperoned school ski trip helped add a sense of interest and wishful jealousy, as there is no way that could ever be allowed outside of the Netflix world. In addition to the reality of the movie, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before puts a spin on the usual nerdy girl pining for the popular boy. It portrays Lara Jean as someone confident and sound in her judgement and beliefs, disregarding the stereotype portrayed by other teen targeted media where the girl is willing to do anything for the boy because he is more popular than her. Through this, Lara Jean demonstrates the fundamental belief that, in a relationship, both participants are equal and have a say. This is shown when the two are coming up with the contract for the fake relationship. Though the relationship was not real, both parties contributed to it, representing that in all relationships it is expected to have expectations and boundaries, no matter the partner. Another reason why To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is so loved is because it represents mixed race couples as how they should be: completely normal and unnoteworthy. As a result, the movie helps promote the normalcy of mixed
Entertainment
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October
The Hidden Gems of This Summer’s Music By GRACE RISINGER ‘20
By ELLIE SKELLY ‘21 The popular high school athlete is forced out of his comfort zone and ends up falling for the less popular girl, experiencing the challenges of high school and learning a few life lessons along the way. This is the plot for most quintessential teen romance movies out there, including the new Netflix phenomenon To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Although most teen movies with this plot are considered cheesy guilty pleasures, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before offers a modern twist to the classic plot, embracing the innocence of young romance and thus making it a proud must-see. The movie focuses around main character Lara Jean who has written a love letter for every crush she has ever had, including her oldest sister’s ex-boyfriend Josh. As her oldest sister leaves for college, Kitty, her younger sister, recognizes that Lara Jean is lonely and mails the love letters in an attempt to help Lara Jean’s social life. After Lara Jean realizes that the letters have been sent out, she and Peter Kavinsky, a letter recipient and swoon worthy lacrosse player, plan to fake date each other in order to avoid Josh, and to curate jealousy from Peter’s ex-girlfriend. From there, the movie focuses on the struggles of high school and teen romance
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race relationships as it shows how they are the same as monoracial ones. Not to mention Noah Centineo, the 22-year-old who plays Lara Jean’s popular boyfriend, Peter Kavinsky. Centineo has thrown social media for a loop, as everyone is tweeting about him, his character and, of course, his dimples. Centineo perfectly embodies the essence of Peter Kavinisky, a cute, flirty, athletic boy who is impossible to snag in real life. However, while a cute romance is a major part of any memorable teen flick, the relationship between Lara Jean and her family also plays a major role in making To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before unique. While many movies focus on the hatred and constant fighting between families, this movie features the love between family members. It portrays how, despite everything going wrong in your teenage life, you can always count on your family to be there. Though sticking to the tradition teen movie structure, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is a sweetly innocent movie true to teen life and the struggles and triumphs that come with it.
love, Lara Jean Art That Paints the Portrait of Dallas
Summer 2018 is defined by four highly-anticipated albums: Ariana Grande’s Sweetener, Travis Scott’s Astroworld, the Kid Cudi and Kanye West collaboration Kids See Ghosts, and Nicki Minaj’s Queen. Perhaps these albums remind you of the worry-free days spent lounging in the sun, sleeping till noon, surrounding yourself with friends, and probably not picking up your summer reading book once. Or, perhaps you only heard any of these albums blasting from the radios of other friends’ cars, and never your own. While these albums were each wildly successful in their own light, does that necessarily make them the absolute best albums of the summer? Of course not. The amount of money made does not define a true masterpiece. A true masterpiece is so carefully crafted that any listener is going to play it on repeat for months at a time and feel like they are entirely above the world the whole time, all the while fellow musicians curse themselves for not thinking of that idea first. Luckily for you, four other albums released this summer that stole everyone and everything’s shine, including the sun, thanks to the musically-brilliant minds of Clairo, Jorja Smith, Gorillaz and Foster the People. Clairo intimately vocalizes lyrics bursting of jumbled feelings, longing and racing thoughts- all of which you would place in a diary with a lock and key- on her appropriately named, first full-length album, diary 001. After finally listening to the face of bedroom pop’s so-called diary, I have been praying for many, many more. The album is conversational at times, possibly written through multiple entries directed to the “B.O.M.D.”, otherwise known as the boy of Clairo’s dreams. With two viral hits to her name, Clairo’s sound is more polished than ever heard before, slightly retouching
the acclaimed “Flaming Hot Cheetos” as well as “Pretty Girl”. Featuring the experimental Rejjie Snow on “Hello?” and a dreamy rough-cut of “How”, I am hoping Clairo has more to say in diary002. Jorja Smith has had an accomplished year, from earning a well-deserved spot on the Coachella lineup to being one of the most influential artists behind the incredibly best-selling Black Panther soundtrack. Did I mention that she did all of this without having an album
song on Lost & Found likens Smith to that of a modern-Winehouse. The simplistic yet atmospheric tones of “Blue Light” and “February 3rd” as well as the stripped-back, emotional “Goodbyes” showcase Jorja at her strongest. Damon Albarn has done it yet again, and again. Only a mere year after the release of Gorillaz’s lengthy, 26-track album politically and electronically fueled Humanz, Albarn is back, and back for good. The Now Now brings Gorillaz fans a taste of the long-gone eras of
From top left to bottom left : Courtesy of Genius, Youtube, Consequence of Sound, Youtube
to her name? In comes Lost & Found: a collection of mysterious, whispery ballads, each with a distinctively fresh vibration. Jorja’s voice is perfectly her own, illustrating experiences of love, being lost and in her own words, being found again. Mending perfectly distorted piano riffs and deep bass lines, each
the previously released Plastic Beach, Demon Days, and self-titled Gorillaz. While Humanz featured a plethora of collaborators, and only a small hint of what makes Gorillaz distinct sound: Albarn’s voice, The Now Now is him stripped back almost entirely, containing only one track showcasing any
features and a remaining 10 tracks centered on his voice and famous melodica. “Humility” is the perfect summer track, accompanied with an amusing visual, courtesy of co-collaborator Jamie Hewlett, featuring the lanky, black-eyed character, 2d, roller skating in sunny Los Angeles. “Kansas” and “Souk Eye” come at a close second, combining the instrumental aspects of 2010’s The Fall as well as lyrics reflective to Albarn’s inner-thoughts. Forget what you knew about Foster the People, except maybe the basslines that made them a house-name with the eccentric “Pumped Up Kicks”. Take the strength of that bass and multiply it by 100, and you will be slightly close to their latest treasure, Sacred Hearts Club. Sacred Hearts Club is a medley of Foster the People’s best characteristics: the unusual electronic sound-effects seen on Torches, Supermodel’s polished-yetlively composition, Mark Foster’s vocal flexibility and Foster the People’s famous aspect of being entirely unpredictable. Sacred Hearts Club finds the group experimenting with a variety of sounds and genres, landing on that of a funky, throwback vibe, yet still holding the underlying electronic and bass-fueled tones. Foster’s lyrics paint an almost raunchy scene, with each song sounding more alluring than the last. With “Sit Next to Me” as an instant hit, the song that actually stands out the most is “SHC”. “SHC” places layered guitars over a jumpy bass line, cut by Foster’s clear, boisterous vocals. The strong track list, featuring “I Love My Friends” and “Lotus Eater”, will have you dancing through your end-of-summer blues. Summer may have come to an end, but that does not mean that listening to good music has to come to an end. Sit back, relax and find yourself worry-free once again, thanks to the summer’s best hidden gems in music.
By HOPE WHITCRAFT ‘20
From top left to bottom:Courtesy of Emily Ray’20, Jackie Thomas ‘20, Dieste
Art is crucial to learning more about our culture, history and more. It is important for us to learn more about it and dedicate time to appreciate art around your area. Dallas is very lucky to have so much access to very interesting art pieces. There are so many good locations to check out art and a lot of them you may pass almost everyday without even noticing. Northpark Mall is a great example of a place to go to look at really cool art. The mall has over one hundred pieces of art throughout the building, including some pieces around the parking lot. Most of the art is sculptures that were created by artists around Dallas. One that really stands out to the crowd is a massive, orange sculpture placed right in the center of Northpark. It is called Ad Astra and was created in 2005.
Another hot spot that people like to go check out is the Sweet Tooth Hotel. The Sweet Tooth Hotel is an exhibit located in Victory Park and brings together all different kinds of artists that come together and create another sweet spot in Dallas. The exhibit was first thought of by a couple that wanted to create a deliciously beautiful candy museum. They brought together well-known artists such as Jeremy Biggers, Shamsy Roomiani, Jojo Chuang and Chelsea Delzell, who all created individual installations that spread out around the hotel in each room. Deep Ellum is a hip and happening place for street art. The walls of restaurants, work places and practically any of the buildings around are lighting up the colors of the Dallas streets. Graffiti has been a rebellious type of art for
many years but Deep Ellum embraces it and gathers artists from all over to graffiti the walls of the trendy neighborhood. An interesting mural called Deep Rawlins created by Steven Hunter decorates the wall of the Long Building on Elm Street. The mural depicts a man with an abstract face. Another mural to look for around Deep Ellum is a massive mural painted across the side of a building on Commerce Street. The Mural is called the VisitDallas mural and it depicts, in vibrant colors, many of the hot spots to visit around Dallas. Last but not least, the Dallas Museum of Art is among the ten largest art museums in the country. It holds over 24,000 pieces of art that date back to more than 5,000 years ago. The DMA is constantly getting new art exhibits and growing its art collection and knowledge. It has a whole section of Texas art
that is very large and continues to grow. Some of the DMA’s most interesting art includes an exhibit called The Guerrilla Girls and which displays several pieces that a group of women created to protest about gender and race discrimination. This is one example of the many exhibits the DMA has to offer and how each one has a different, important story behind the collection. It is such a gem of Dallas, and it is right around your area! Art is so important for our culture and Dallas has made it easily accessible for us to admire. These
Courtesy of Emily Parrish ‘19 art pieces are located all around the Dallas area scattering, making art so convenient to see and look for. Dallas is active in the art community and always encouraging artists to pursue their passion. Just by going around your neighborhood there is so much art to see, all you have to do is look.
Courtesy of Victory Park