Arts

Arts

'Marvel's Agent Carter' fights villains, sexism in ABC's new series

By Grace Segers | January 13

If it were possible to write an article composed solely of excited squealing, this review would be a page of high-decibel happiness. "Marvel’s Agent Carter,” which premiered on ABC on Jan. 6, is the latest expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and gives viewers a taste of how refreshing a female-led superhero story can be. The seven-week series stars Hayley Atwell as Agent Peggy Carter, a character introduced as Steve Rogers’ love interest in “Captain America: The First Avenger”(2011). However, Atwell and her character have proved in “Agent Carter,” and in a 2013 Marvel “One Shot” short film of the same name, that Peggy Carter is no simple ingenue, but a hero in her own right.

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Columns

Take-a-break books

By Helen Schmidt | December 7

Well, book-lovers, we’re nearing the end of our journey together. As finals season and winter break approach us, I thought I’d take the opportunity to recommend some excellent escapes, whether they be from the stress of studying or from quality family-time. Even if none of the following strikes ...

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Arts

Some hip-hop artists speak out, others stay silent over Brown, Garner decisions

By Charlotte Gilliland | December 7

“I urge and challenge musicians and artists alike to push themselves to be a voice of the times that we live in.”Ahmir Khalib Thompson, aka Questlove, drummer for the Roots, posted the above sentiment last week to his Instagram account as part of a lengthy caption underneath a photo of a person's ...

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Arts

Arts & Living: A semester in review

By Abigail Feldman | December 7

Finals period is quickly approaching, and we’ve reached the part of the semester when students realize just how much they didn’t get done in the past three months. Even studying all year, those final projects are bound to sneak up on you, and chances are, amidst all the assignments, staying updated ...

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Arts

Winter movie preview: five films you won't want to miss

By Dana Guth | December 4

-- Drew Robertson contributed to this article

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Arts

'Foxcatcher' is a slow-burning fuse but full of fire

By Timothy Charouk | December 4

“Foxcatcher,” released Nov. 14, is based on the true story of eccentric millionaire John du Pont, heir to the du Pont family fortune amassed from the DuPont chemical company. The film's plot examines what success means to those who already have it.As if to bury his previous comedic work, Steve ...

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Arts

Wonder Woman through the years: An index of feminism?

By Grace Segers | December 3

Although perhaps the most well-known female superhero, Wonder Woman's origins have remained unclear since her creation. The character has been a part of American cultural history since 1941, when a man named William Moulton Marston wrote the first comic, published under the pseudonym Charles Moulton. Tufts ...

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Arts

Bill Cosby sued over alleged assault of 15-year-old

By Drew Robertson | December 3

The comedy world has been turned on its head of late with accusations of sexual misconduct swirling around industry legend, Bill Cosby. On Tuesday, the story of the first lawsuit to be filed as a result of recent allegations (a 2005 case was settled out of court) against Cosby broke on major news outlets. ...

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Arts

Lila Ramani: The good, the bad and the blue

By Timothy Charouk | December 3

A young Lila Ramani sat in her high chair bobbing her head back and forth in between bites of Cheerios to the Spanish music her parents put on the stereo. After a checkup with the family pediatrician it was determined Ramani had a mild case of boogie fever, and was prescribed a guitar to treat the ...

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Arts

What’s up this weekend

By Nika Korchok | December 3

Looking to make your weekend artsy? Check out these events!Fortune, Virtue and Love: An Evening of Opera Scenes: Join the Tufts Opera Ensemble for a night of music and drama as they perform works of opera and musical theater. Scenes to be performed include those from works such as "Dido and Aeneas" ...

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Arts

HBO brings literature to the small screen with 'Olive Kitteridge'

By Dana Guth | December 2

With fall miniseries “Olive Kitteridge,” HBO is proving its ability to successfully adapt long-form narrative to the small screen. The new drama, based on Elizabeth Strout’s 2008 collection of Pulitzer Prize-winning short stories, is a triumph in artful storytelling. Character studies, traditionally ...

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Arts

The Velvet Underground release six disc 'super deluxe' reissue

By Charlotte Gilliland | December 2

In October, The Velvet Underground announced they'd be releasing a reissue of their third album -- "The Velvet Underground" (1969) -- to celebrate its 45th anniversary. However, what came out on Nov. 24 was certainly not an average reissue from the legendary band, but instead a six disc, ...

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Arts

Pitbull continues bizarre, polarizing quest for radio domination

By Veronica Little | December 2

Hailing from the bizarre and distinct Floridian metropolis that is Miami, Pitbull -- also known as Mr. Worldwide, a self-selected nickname -- has, in recent years, made himself into a staple of pop music. The origins of this inexplicably popular mainstream rapper are important: Pitbull is known to ...

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Arts

Loscil’s 'Sea Island' creates lush landscapes of sound

By Nika Korchok | December 1

The first track on Loscil’s newest album “Sea Island,” released late last month, isn’t just an exercise in sonic balance -- it’s an exercise in physical balance as well. Loscil, the solo project of Scott Morgan, relies as much on the computer-generated sounds it features as on the musical introspection inherent in Morgan’s compilation. The album begins with a two-note exchange on “Ahull," played out as though it is being delivered through alternating speakers -- the repeated note ricochets back and forth for the first minute before being joined by a series of other notes, then chimes and, finally, additional instrumentation.

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Arts

'Imitation Game' cracks code of good filmmaking

By Abigail Feldman | December 1

Only about six months after the first computer supposedly passed the Turing test -- Alan Turing’s test for determining whether a machine can be said to "think" -- “The Imitation Game” (2014) is here to shed light on the unsung champion of World War II and the man who laid much of the groundwork for modern computer science. Despite a heavy-handed and somewhat confusing script, adapted from Andrew Hodges' biography, “Alan Turing: The Enigma” (1983), the film is an enjoyably informative and beautifully acted portrait of Turing’s complex contribution to WWII.

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Arts

MFA exhibition, 'Pure Souls,' offers enlightenment about one of world's oldest religions

By Elza Lambergs | December 1

From Aug. 9 to Nov. 30, Gallery 178 in the Asian Painting Gallery at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) was home to a selection of India’s most sacred paintings and manuscripts. The exhibition, "Pure Souls: The Jain Path to Perfection," brought together these works of art to represent ...

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Arts

'State of Affairs' a strange new political drama

By Drew Robertson | November 30

Katherine Heigl, the actress formerly known as Izzie Stevens, has made her return to television. NBC’s newest drama, “State of Affairs,” which premiered on Nov. 17, stars Heigl as the series’ main character, Charleston (Charlie) Tucker.Charlie and her coworkers at the Central Intelligence Agency ...

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Arts

The story behind 'Rosewater': Maziar Bahari speaks on citizen journalism, solitary confinement

By Kumar Ramanathan | November 30

Sitting in a hotel room in downtown Boston, Maziar Bahari looked incredibly relaxed for someone who had spent the past several days answering questions about the six months he endured in an Iranian maximum security prison as a political prisoner. An Iranian-Canadian journalist, Bahari was arrested in ...

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Arts

'She Loves Me' transports audience into world of the parfumerie

By Grace Hoyt | November 25

This weekend, Torn Ticket II gave three performances of “She Loves Me,” directed by senior Allison Benko, with music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. The musical, which premiered on Broadway in 1963, is an adaptation of the play, "Parfumerie"(1937) by Miklos Laszlo, which formed ...

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Arts

'Trip to Bountiful' explores complicated family dynamics, the complexity of memory

By Josh Podolsky | November 25

Some plays are entertaining; others are exceptional. ArtsEmerson's production of Horton Foote’s "The Trip to Bountiful"(1954) is most definitely in the latter group -- it's an exceptional play in many regards. Now, just before Thanksgiving, "The Trip to Bountiful" is particularly ...

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