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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Arts

boygenius
Arts

Indie-rock trio boygenius wows once again with ‘the record’

In 2018, Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker were three artists just getting started. Dacus and Baker had out two albums each: Dacus’ “No Burden” (2016) and “Historian” (2018) and Baker’s “Sprained Ankle” (2015) and “Turn Out the Lights” (2017), and Bridgers had released her debut “Stranger in the Alps” (2017) the year before. All are incredible singers and songwriters in their own right, but when they came together and released a self-titled EP under the name “boygenius,” their true magic was realized. In their solo work, their lyrics hit on similar themes — one might say they’re all the ‘yearning’ type — but they all have individualized sounds and styles, which makes their collective music work so well.


The Setonian
Arts

Las Letras Encubiertas: 'El ciervo'

The veins of Latin America have been drained for almost six centuries now. First, it was the European crowns of Spain and Portugal who happened to stumble upon our lands. With their flashy gadgets and their weapons of destruction they demolished our culture, attempted to eradicate our traditions, massacred our men and raped our women. After many generations of mestizos like me, our land finally expelled the white conquerors, just to have one hundred years of armed conflicts between ourselves; a society that has never known liberty was bound to turn on itself. The moment some sort of elusive peace arrived, the late 19th century also arrived, and with it came the imperialistic power of Western Europeans and North Americans, who used their technological advances, strong military forces and financial superiority to not only extract our resources but also to prevent us from any development or use of upright force. To this day, many developing countries are forced to adhere to the will of more developed governments who use their dystopian force to keep it that way, allowing their corporations to ravage our markets without having any care for our people or for our nature.


The Setonian
Arts

WEEKENDER: Arts editors by day, Tufts Dance Collective choreographers by night

On Jan. 4, we had the pleasure of attending the advance screening of “M3GAN” (2022) at the AMC Boston Common 19. Our infatuation with M3GAN began long before this premiere, as we were first introduced to her by RaiAnn in a late-night viewing of everyone’s favorite YouTube videos. Watching M3GAN eat up her choreography and the horror genre simultaneously, we were wonderstruck. How could we best pay homage to the living legend herself other than in the spirit of dance? From the moment we saw the promotional dancers for the movie looking like random women pulled from the street wearing Party City honey-blond wigs given five minutes to learn the choreography, we had our inspiration. In came Tufts Dance Collective, affectionately known as TDC.


The Setonian
Arts

Spring performance roundup: What to see and when

Tufts has a wide and eclectic arts scene, with everything from children’s theater to stand-up comedy available for the average student to view. As the spring semester comes to a close, many of these organizations present their final artistic offerings, providing a vast schedule for the everyday theatergoer. Here are some of the most exciting performances coming up this spring. 


The Setonian
Columns

Queeries: How my sexuality changed my immigrant dad to a conservative American

I was 16 years old when I realized that my attraction to individuals lacked the typical gendered format. This led to a chase for my sexuality. I was looking for a faultless description to describe myself. One day, feeling brash and bold, I expressed my frustration to my sister who unknowingly voiced my confusion to my parents. I had never been scared or sad about my sexual orientation, so I had not anticipated the feeling of relief that overcame me when my dad called me to tell me, “It’s okay, none of this matters.” Unfortunately, this relief was short-lived. 


annie-dirusso
Arts

Annie DiRusso on friendships, clean rooms, her headline tour

Like many other recent college graduates, singer-songwriter Annie DiRusso has spent her year living with her friends (in her case, in Nashville) while also visiting her home state of New York. But, unlike most early 20-somethings, DiRusso is preparing to embark on a 27-show headline tour starting April 12, in addition to playing at Lollapalooza and opening for Ruston Kelly at four of his shows. DiRusso released her first EP “God, I Hate This Place”(2023) in February after years of releasing singles and embarked on a promotional tour that included appearances such as a musical guest spot on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (2015–). 



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Television

The humanity of ‘The Last of Us’ makes it stand out

Based on the hit Naughty Dogaction-adventure game of the same name, HBO’s “The Last of Us'' (2023–) took the world by storm, with the premiere episode racking up 4.7 million viewers. The critically acclaimed series is set in a post-apocalyptic United States ridden with zombie-esque creatures infected by a mutated fungus, ‘Cordyceps.’ It follows Joel (Pedro Pascal), a world-weary smuggler who lost his daughter Sarah on the day of the outbreak, as he travels across the country escorting Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a young girl immune to the virus. The series focuses on the pair’s growing bond and their father-daughter connection, while also highlighting humanity in a post-apocalyptic world. 



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Tennis

Tennis brings love to the House of Blues

Romance between band members is a tale as old as time — as old as music, at least — and it usually doesn’t end well. Take ABBA, The Mamas and the Papas, The White Stripes or the ubiquitous Fleetwood Mac. But Tennis, an indie pop duo made up of husband and wife Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore, is a lovely exception who seem to have cracked the code to marriage and music. On tour for their sixth album, “Pollen” (2023), released on Feb. 10, they brought their ballads to the House of Blues on April 3. 


pedro-pascal
TV

This is Pedro Pascal’s world — we’re just living in it

In 2019, the “Star Wars” franchise entered the world of live-action television with the premiere of “The Mandalorian” (2019–), a space Western series that catapulted its star, Pedro Pascal, to international fame. Pascal, who previously had a one-season arc on “Game of Thrones” (2011–19), has quickly become one of the biggest names in Hollywood over the last several years. His career is currently at a high point as he stars in two of this year’s most-watched television series: season 3 of “The Mandalorian” and season 1 of “The Last of Us” (2023–), a post-apocalyptic drama on HBO. 


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Columns

Medford’s Carrie Bradshaw: The importance of a movie night

In my family, movies are a pivotal part of our connection, bonding time and ‘after work, after school’ let loose time. I grew up watching movies on designated nights, having been told that movies like “Blade Runner” (1982) would “blow my mind” and that “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (1986) would “change the way I look at life.” While both of those sentiments may have turned out to be truthful to an extent, there’s nothing like seeing the sheer joy a person has when prompting you to watch their favorite film. It’s like a little inside secret into how another person thinks, and that’s reflected in their movies of choice.


aac-scaled
Arts

The Asian American Center explores its legacy through ‘Our Histories, Our Future’

Tufts University's Asian American Center is one of the oldest Asian American centers to be established on a college campus. Currently, there are only about 40 centers of its kind around the United States.This year marks the center’s 40th anniversary and the “Our Histories, Our Futures” exhibition meditates on the AAC’s legacy and contributions of Asian Americans at Tufts.



Las-Letras-Encubiertas
Arts

Las Letras Encubiertas: 'Nuestra parte de noche'

Over the last century, Argentina has produced some of the most influential writers in the literary universe, placing the Argentinian culture on exhibition to the whole world. From household names like Victoria Ocampo and the great Jorge Luis Borges to rule breakers like Julio Cortázar and Alejandra Pizarnik, Argentinian literature has always been known to push the limits of what we understand as prose, drag around reality and take the readers to the darkest corners of the human soul. And the latest generations are no different, especially with figures like Mariana Enríquez. 


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Arts

WEEKENDER: Amid threats of political invisibility, ‘Drag Me To Tufts’ puts queer art in the spotlight

On Friday, Tufts played host to some of the biggest names in queer pop culture as the Tufts University Social Collective partnered with the LGBT Center to put on “Drag Me To Tufts: A Trans Day of Visibility Extravaganza.”Hundreds filledCohen Auditorium to witness debut performances from four Tufts-based drag performers representing the newly formed Jumbo Drag Collective, as well as headliners Kerri Colby and Raja Gemini, two wildly successful “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (2009–) contestants. 


plunge-scaled
Arts

Plunge Gallery presents ‘Curated Self’

Cj Daly, a sophomore at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and the creator of Plunge Gallery, spent last semester planning and executing their new exhibit “Curated Self.” This student art exhibit opened on Saturday at the Brookline Arts Center. 


Queeries-1
Columns

Queeries: ‘Don’t Say Gay’

On March 28, 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the infamous “Don’t Say Gay'' bill, which prohibits teachers from discussing LGBTQ+ topics and subjects with similar themes that may not be ‘age appropriate’. On July 1, 2022, this law took effect.


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Theatre

'Clyde's' will pull at your heartstrings and leave you craving a sandwich

What does it take to make the perfect sandwich? And how do you rebuild a life that’s been taken away from you? “Clyde’s” (2021), a new play about the formerly incarcerated kitchen staff of a sandwich shop, seeks to answer both of these questions. Now playing at the Huntington Theatre in Boston through April 23, “Clyde’s” explores the challenges of making a fresh start.


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Arts

ChatGPT: The end of creative writing?

ChatGPT: Is it the future of technology? An existential threat to humanity? A fun tool to generate cheesy pickup lines? Whatever your opinions may be on ChatGPT, it’s undeniable that it has permanently changed technology. But what role will it play in the future of writing? It is already being used by college students across the country to plagiarize papers, often with impressive results. Artificial intelligence has even produced e-books. The prospect of artificial intelligence replacing writing is certainly terrifying, but is this a realistic fear? To find out, we put ChatGPT’s writing to the test.