A&E

Lily Bromley

Staff Writer

The motif of the evil twin is a common one in horror films. What is more terrifying than an exact copy of you, that walks like you, talks like you… and knows all of your weaknesses? Jordan Peele’s “Us” brings a new take to the evil twin and poses the question, “What if we all had an evil version of ourselves, plotting our demise?”

His follow-up to the politically-minded blockbuster “Get Out,” Us follows Adelaide Wilson played by Lupita Nyong’o as she takes her children and husband to her childhood beach house, the same place where she faced extreme trauma as a child. The film is filled with flashbacks from Adelaide’s childhood, as the beach house brings back memories, and eventually some very real terrors. Like “Get Out”, “Us” is definitely a commentary on American society, which was my favorite way to experience and analyze the plot.

The movie starts with a flashback to Adelaide as a child, around 6 or 7, she is at the boardwalk playing games with her mother and father, when she strays away from them onto the beach. While on the beach, she wanders into the “Shaman Vision Quest Forest”, a twisted mirror funhouse, with a stereotypical Native American character painted on the front. This funhouse is the first political comment of the movie, as when Adelaide returns to the funhouse as an adult, the Native American has been lazily painted over, and the fun house is now named “Merlin’s Enchanted Forest”. The Funhouse plays as a metaphor for the way that many issues are handled in our current society. When a complaint is made, it is only resolved when it is profitable for the owners and is often done as lazily as possible.

Their first night at the house, Adelaide and her family notice a group of people outside of their house. The group of people breaks into Adelaide’s house and we find out that they are all carbon copies called “tethers” of Adelaide’s family, with a few small differences. Jason, (Adelaide’s son) has a tether named “Pluto” who looks exactly like him, except that he wears a mask to cover severe burns he has on his face. The tether of Adelaide’s husband, Gabe, is named Abraham and unlike Gabe, does not wear glasses. When Abraham and Gabe meet for the first time, Abraham takes Gabe’s glasses and puts them on. Abraham is exactly like Gabe, so it makes sense that like Gabe, he would also need glasses. However, as a tether, Abraham was not given the same resources as Gabe, meaning that he must have spent his entire life with impaired vision.

This is another example of political commentary in the movie. By showing the differences in the resources that the tethers and the normal people get, Peele is making a commentary on the opportunities that we give people in our society. If everyone was given the same education, the same medical care, the same housing, who knows how they could succeed in life?

Going into the movie, I was expecting that it would be more focused on racial commentary, similar to “Get Out.” and, while the idea of racial oppression was a theme could be taken from the movie, it definitely isn’t the only point the movie is trying to make. The movie focuses on the broader theme of “Us vs Them” and the way that that narrative has affected the minds of American people. We are constantly being told to fear the other, but what if the thing we should be afraid of is ourselves?

The strength of the commentary in “Us” is that you get to decide how involved you want to be in it. If you are into the conspiracy theories, you can watch the movie through a critical lens. But if you just like to be scared and are looking for a genuinely good horror movie, you can get that too.

Juliana Long

Staff Writer

In every corner of the school, someone is talking about one of two things: the new Marvel Endgame movie or the final season of Game of Thrones.

Funnily enough, the thing people talk about the most is not talking about it.

From what I’ve observed, people at SLA have been taking Endgame spoilers much more seriously than GOT spoilers. Ever since Endgame was released on April 26th, fans who haven’t seen it yet have been working tirelessly to avoid spoilers on social media and in real life alike. Needless to say, people really didn’t want to find out what happens before the movie came out.

Junior Mo Kelly took an intrepid approach to the spoiler phenomenon.  She’s not an avid Marvel fan, but she looked up the spoilers to use as blackmail against her brother.

“Marvel has been around for a really long time and a lot of people have been watching Marvel movies since they were kids. They mean a lot to people,” she said.

“It’s this big finale that people are so ready to see, and people know that big things are going to happen. Seeing spoilers really takes away from the experience that you get seeing the movie in theaters.”

SLA math teacher Brad Latimer, who prohibited discussion about GOT and Endgame in his classroom, has similar opinions.

“If you’re someone who really enjoys certain shows, you’ve dedicated a lot of time in your life to being very involved in these plotlines. A big component of that is not having anything spoiled for you,” he said.

“I want to see it play out how the creators wanted it to play out, not from someone saying something about it.”

Kelly and Mr. Latimer have both taken some wild measures in order to avoid spoilers.

“When Avengers and Game [of Thrones] came out, I personally put myself on internet quarantine,” Mr. Latimer explained. “The only website I went to was my email and the School District website to put in my attendance.” He also jokingly claimed that he would fail students and write the Seniors letters of “disrecommendation” if they spoke about spoilers in his classroom.

Kelly hasn’t gone as far as that to avoid spoilers, but she’s witnessed it all over social media. “I’ve seen people saying ‘If you spoil it for me, I will block you.’ And also on Twitter, people are blocking the words ‘avengers’ and ‘endgame’.”

Neither seem to judge or blame anyone for avoiding spoilers. Latimer spoke a bit about the importance of remaining respectful to those who haven’t seen the show or movie yet. “People who do spoil things, like, post on social media, ‘so and so died’ or ‘so and so killed so and so’, I don’t understand why they get out of that.”

According to the Russo brothers, the creators of the Marvel universe, the “spoiler ban” was lifted on May 6th, meaning it was now acceptable to talk freely about the movie’s contents without being scolded.

However, the creators of Game of Thrones have not yet confirmed that talk of spoilers is allowed, so I’d recommend keeping quiet around Mr. Latimer if you want him to write you a letter of rec for next year.

Taylor Green

A&E Editor

From Instagram, the success of the late and great app Vine, and the rise of Snapchat, social media has been an outlet for people to express themselves as freely as they want in a video sharing format.

Recently, a new app for creating and sharing short videos has been surging on all platforms. This app is called TikTok. People enjoy these clips so much that they save them and upload them to other outlets like Twitter and YouTube compilations.

TikTok allows you to create a one minute video with your own audio or an audio clip from another video. This is common when people are doing trends/challenges. You can also use face and background filters and even add certain transitions to the videos you create.

Although it is just now making its mark TikTok was originally released in September of 2016. However, due to the success of a similar app titled Musically, it didn’t receive as much attention. Yet, with the official shut down of the Musically app in August of 2018, Tik Tok has been on a steady incline ever since.

Senior Meeghan Kersten has been an avid TikTok user since its release. She’s seen almost every challenge and trend and even makes her own content with her friends.

“I’ve had the app since Musically was around,” Kersten admits. “I enjoy making dance videos with my friends and I think that the app is filled with a lot of interesting people. Everyone has their own content unique to them.”

This quote reigns true, and it is evident with accounts like @lilhuddy and @kevboyperry. Although they’re not the most followed, they have accumulated a good amount of fans by making videos based on their aesthetic, following trends/challenges and comedy videos.

On the other side of TikTok, there are people whose content is strictly lipsynching and dance videos. With accounts like @babyariel, @lorengray, and @camerondallas who are in the top list of Tik Tokers, people can watch content that

However, a lot of these stars can attribute their success on TikTok to its predecessors. Cameron Dallas started his career on Vine while Baby Ariel and Loren Gray owe their success to Musically.

There’s a vast community on TikTok, and you might find the next big star on the #ForYou page or even if they don’t make it big, you might like their clever and quick-witted videos and give them a follow. If you’re more interested in popular content, you can easily search through a hashtag for specific videos.

Trending challenges and sounds on TikTok have made their own impact on culture. For instance, the popular country song “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X made a big debut on the app. It was used in videos tagged #yeehawjuice, where a person drinks water and it is later revealed that it is “yeehaw juice”, turning them into a cowboy. There are over 786.5 thousand videos in this hashtag.

Senior Catherine Long mentions other ways that the application has made an impact on society. She sees that the app has a big influence on not only music but fashion as well. There has been a rise of new styles and aesthetics that have taken over TikTok and have transferred over to the real world.

“I think it has impacted culture like fashion and music in a way. Fashion is definitely a big one as the eboy, egirl, and softboy trends are now super popular. Music is a different thing, it impacts the memes floating around and not so much the radio. Though a lot of radio played songs are often heard on TikTok.” Long explains.

Eboy/girl refers to the term “Internet boy/girl”. They’re someone who tends to wear dark clothing and layer their outfits and have an angsty or brooding attitude. They tend to be more dark and unique but without actually being in the alternative or punk subculture.

Just like any social media platform, TikTok has caused some worries among certain masses. Parents and even certain countries are worried about the subject matter of some videos. Recently, India lifted its ban on TikTok and have allowed people to use it within their country. The reason it was originally banned was that it “spread explicit content and cultural degradation”.

Long understands this concern of inappropriate videos being created as she explains how she has seen some troubling content posted by younger users of the app.

“A while back young kids were on the app doing things that children shouldn’t be doing in my opinion. It was weird and uncomfortable to see so I always skip those, now TikTok has an age limit on it.” Long says, “Some content can be explicit but it depends on viewpoints, mainly it’s okay and just funny.”

In regards to cultural degradation, there have been some videos that make fun of people from specific races/cultures. However, TikTok tends to delete those videos and ban the creator of them quickly if reported enough.

“On my ‘For You’ page I don’t see stuff like culture degradation, but there is a big possibility it is there. I know sometimes content can be seen as racist or something of that nature. One of them would be this video that I’ve seen, the music was an upbeat song with Asian things, these white girls were on a bus and pulling their eyes back to give them what people want to call the chinky Asian look.” Long shares.

This isn’t anything unique to TikTok though. With the rise of new social media platforms and an ever-changing political climate, many people are given the chance to spread messages of hate and are given the opportunity to bully others. It is up to other people on the app to continue to make it a safe and welcoming place for everyone.

Overall, TikTok is an application that will only continue to grow and prosper. Although it has its flaws, it appeals to many different people and allows them to make a community for themselves. With content from creators who cosplay, people who are gamers, and even some who are furries, TikTok allows everyone to express who they are in a fast and fun video format.

Brendan Hall

Staff Writer

Singer & Rapper Kevin Abstract made a name for himself within the Hip-Hop “boyband” Brockhampton as their vocal leader and the embodiment of their outsider perspective. Within interviews, Abstract makes it transparent that he desires to inspire younger audiences to not conform towards societal standards both in terms of social identity (especially race & sexuality) and their life goals.

Aside from his personal endeavors, Abstract has also  been apart of several acclaimed projects. Most notably the Brockhampton Saturation trilogy and his 2016 pop album American Boyfriend. On Kevin Abstract’s 2019 release, Arizona Baby, gives the listener a sense of intimacy, rare to come across within music.

While Kevin Abstract’s sexuality is often discussed in his music (and for good reason), he explores this topic in a nuanced way that deals with an overall theme of searching reassurance from himself and other people. The most notable moment of this is on the Album’s 4th track “Corpus Christi” where addresses drug abuse, identity crisis, and homophobia all within 3 bars stating, “We was on tour in Europe, I tried coke with this kid. See I need anything that make me feel less lonely. I get called a snake, a liar, a faggot, and a phony”.

In other instances, Abstract is confident when addressing his sexuality in the track “Big Wheels” when he raps, “They think I’m a bitch, just queerbaitin’. Quit bein’ a bitch and quit hatin’ Y’all pump fakin’. I’m a power bottom like a Freemason,”. This creates an intriguing juxtaposition illustrating the complexity of own self-image.

Other themes such as helpless romantic ventures are referenced on the album. A stand out includes “Baby Boy” which has few yet poetic lyrics from Abstract where he sings, “Every time I find myself I feel so lost. And every truth that I discover feels so false. And every mountain that I climb that seemed so tall. It only felt that way ’cause the valley was so small”. “Baby Boy” also features an excellent hook from the guest singer Ryan Beatty, which helps keep the song properly structured.

While Kevin Abstract may have a unique perspective let’s not forget the reason why he has a platform in the first place, his incredible talent for crafting melodies. His vocals within this album are well done from start to finish. Abstract has found the talent to use his voice as an instrument and give a greater understanding of his emotions.

Throughout Arizona Baby, Abstract experiments with instrumentals that range from indie rock, such as “Peach” and booming 808s on tracks such as “Big Wheels”. The instrumentals display Abstract’s varied inspiration of genres which all cumulate into crafting his own original sound and dig deep into creating a world surrounding his musical persona.

Kevin Abstract’s strong effort on this project highlight the bright future he has with making introspective music and the social movement it attracts.