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Arts

Examining the career of legendary, controversial Frank Miller

Miller’s run on the titular character was nothing short of revolutionary, so much so that in his first issue as the book’s auteur, he created Daredevil’s recurring love interest (and now a hugely popular character in her own right), the deadly assassin, Elektra. One issue that sticks out is #191, “Roulette."


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Cartoon

Comfort Cartoons: Secretive and supernatural 'Gravity Falls'

The detailed storytelling and funny characters of “Gravity Falls” are perfect for audience investment, and the show’s been graced with a dedicated fan base whose members have studied the episodes’ countless clues and teasers. My earliest experience as a fan of “Gravity Falls” came when watching the episode “Summerween.”


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Arts

Andrew Rea brings food philosophy, fantastical recipes to Tufts

In an event organized by Tufts University Social Collective, Rea chatted with Tufts graduate Noah Brown (LA'20) while simultaneously grating, chopping, boiling, stirring and (finally) eating his one-pot mac and cheese. Since 2016, Rea has amassed more than 8.7 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, where he posts regular episodes of "Binging with Babish" (a cooking show), "Basics with Babish" (another cooking show) and "Being with Babish" (a lifestyle show that also includes some cooking).


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Columns

Hot Take: 'Community' is a masterclass in character writing

After being pressured to watch it for years, I finally caved in and started “Community” (2009–15). I must say: I now get why people like it so much. I mean, how could you not? You have these seven characters who couldn’t be more different from one another, trying to push their way through community college as a group. It’s basically an invitation for mayhem.


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Music

Demi Lovato breathes life into 'Dancing with the Devil...The Art of Starting Over'

Less than three years after her hospitalization for a drug overdose in 2018, Demi Lovato has returned to the studio stronger than ever with her April 2 release, "Dancing with the Devil … The Art of Starting Over" (2021). An album filled with empowering highs and heartbreaking lows, Lovato paints the trauma and recovery she’s endured since her hospitalization as a reawakening. She stakes a claim in her story, negating the tabloids and lies circulating in the media as a result of her hospitalization.


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Columns

Soundtrack to the end of the world: Bringing the nightclub to my bedroom

There’s something euphoric about dance music’s pounding beats and explosive drops. It’s a sort of catharsis, an exchange of energy — I think that’s especially true when we dance with others. Dancing alone this past year hasn’t felt the same. But post-pandemic, I’m excited for the empathy, love, excitement and power that comes from anyone and everyone’s enjoying dance music. With each song, we’ll be celebrating.



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Arts

Weekender: Melt discusses lives as student-musicians and new 'West Side Highway' EP

Gabriel explained how he and Stewart-Frommer “piecemealed the band together” during their senior year of high school, bringing in their friend Shankweiler and some of the musicians she knew to perform the first song that Stewart-Frommer and Gabriel had ever written together — “Sour Candy.” Hearing them laugh about the original idea for the band’s name, “Toast,” made it clear that the foundation for Melt is the friendship which started the band and holds it together still.


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Column

Beyond the Underneath: Vinyl survival, Part 1

Despite a vinyl revival in recent years, classic vinyl records are still deemed obsolete in the mainstream, as modern technologies and the digital world sift them out. But they are still there, lining up quietly and unyieldingly, in boxes organized by genre, protected and loved by a small population of firm supporters. 


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Arts

‘Renegades: Born in the USA’ balances tough conversation with undeniable chemistry

In their latest pandemic ventures, former President Barack Obama and rock star Bruce Springsteen commandeered the podcast space, sitting down for “Renegades: Born in the USA” to unpack their shared understanding of family, work, race and America itself. Their chemistry is palpable throughout each episode, giving readers an exclusive look into their off-camera personas. The duo provides insight into the present condition of the country, assessing how it came to be so divided.


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Arts

Why streaming services need to evolve

The key lies in the main appeal of a streaming service: convenience. This explains the proliferation of streaming services, as more and more media conglomerates see the success of Netflix (with its more than 73 million users in the United States alone) and decide they can cut out the middleman and release their content on their own services.


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Columns

Comfort Cartoons: Mature and electrifying 'Static Shock'

This week, we’re looking at “Static Shock” (2000–04), an influential animated series following Virgil Hawkins, a 14-year-old boy who fights crime as “Static,” a superhero with electromagnetic powers. The show is another installment in the DC Animated Universe, premiering before the culminations of the DCAU, “Justice League” (2001–04) and “Justice League Unlimited” (2004–06).


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Arts

Mugler Spring RTW literally dazzles the runway

The star-studded runway of Mugler’s latest show thus comes as no surprise, but it also is notable for its relative diversity in both body type and race. Mugler specifically released the video on March 31 as well, which is International Transgender Day of Visibility. Schafer and Jackson, who are both transgender women, wore many of the standout looks. 




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Arts

‘KG0516’ is Karol G’s reclamation of reggaeton

“KG0516” begins with a pop-reggaeton fusion in “Déjalos Que Miren,” a love ballad presumably directed at her ex-fiancée Anuel AA, another famous Reggaeton musician. From there, the album quickly evolves into one characterized by female empowerment, which seemingly reflects Karol G’s own journey to the top of the music world.


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Column

Hot Take: 'Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood' should've won Best Picture

This is where "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" comes in. Was it the most critically acclaimed film of the year? No. A lot of people liked the film, but not as much as other nominees. But like I said, universal likeability doesn’t matter here because, at the end of the day, it’s Hollywood people who get to pick the winner — not average Joes. Considering that the title of this movie has “Hollywood” in it, I was pretty confident that it would take home the Oscar.


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Arts

Independent bookstores file class-action suit against Amazon, 'Big Five' publishers

Independent booksellers are suing Amazon and the "Big Five" publishing companies — Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, HarperCollins and Macmillan Publishers — with a class-action lawsuit citing "a massive price-fixing scheme to intentionally constrain the bookselling market and inflate the wholesale price of print books,” according to Hagens Berman, one of the law firms representing the prosecutors. 



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TV

Hollywood can’t break the male gaze

The “male gaze” is a term that was first used in the context of cinema by feminist thinker Laura Mulvey to describe the depiction of women in media as seen through a heterosexual male lens. Film has often relegated female characters to mere side pieces or love interests for leading men — the women of the James Bond franchise are an obvious example of the male gaze at work. However, even the most independent, ambitious and authoritative female characters can still be portrayed by the male gaze.


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Column

Hot Take: Seth Cohen was the true protagonist of ‘The O.C.’

I revisited the show during my one-day spring break (thanks, Tufts!) by binging all four seasons of it on Hulu. Needless to say, I have a few questions, the biggest of which is: Who was the true protagonist of the show? And after many years of beating around the bush, I’ve come to decide that it’s Seth Cohen — contrary to popular belief.