A&E

Louisa Strohm

Staff Writer 

 

Recently the popular show amongst many American teens, Riverdale, has come back for season two on the CW. Although many are thrilled to see one of their favorite programs back, lots of others are surprised at the dark twist the plot has taken. From shootings, murders, and acts of violent crime in every episode so far, the question some have to ask is: has the show gone too dark?

 

Season one of Riverdale was a murder mystery, that ended in the direction that no one thought it would. The four main characters, Betty, Archie, Jughead, and Veronica, worked vigorously to solve this murder, all with a reason of why they needed closure. Even though there was a murder involved in the first season, there was always an uplifting plotline in each episode that made you smile.

 

The last scene of season one ends with an important character getting shot. This came as a huge surprise and left people waiting for season two to see if the character lives. But when episode one of season two came along, there were many fans left uneasy by the amount of sadness and hurt in the episode. There were flashes of a masked man throughout scenes that looked happy, characters turning their backs on each other, and more dark activities, which left many fans upset with the show.

 

In the three episodes shown so far, there has been a murder, a shooting, it has shown teenagers doing drugs, physically abusing each other, and more. This raises the question: do teens really need to be watching this dark material? Many teens are already under the pressure of social media, school, peer pressure, and much more, so do they really need to be watching other fictitious teens falling down these rabbit holes?

 

It is understandable that the show needed a new mystery for this season and wanted to start a completely different plot line, but did they have to make it as intense and scary as they did? Last season, it was only described to the viewers what happened to the murdered individual, but this season, the shooting of an important character has been shown multiple times; the shooting of two more teenagers, and a murder of a teacher. This is thought to be sensitive content and for a show aimed towards teens, it may be a bit too much.

 

I look forward to solving the mystery and seeing what path Riverdale decides to take for the remainder of the season. I think that they are taking a unique risk with making the show more graphics and I am very interested to see if the show will continue on for a third in season two’s footsteps.

 

If you want to catch up on Riverdale, all of the episodes are available for free at http://www.cwtv.com. Riverdale is on Wednesdays at 8:00 pm on the CW channel.

Taylor Green

Staff Writer

 

“Are criminals born, or are they formed?”

That’s just one of the few questions that Netflix’s new original series Mindhunter, tries to

answer.

Mindhunter is a crime-drama, created by Joe Penhall, an English Australian playwright, and screenwriter.He is best known for his own play “Blue/Orange”, that he later adapted into a television film. The series was also produced by David Fincher (Director of “Fight Club” and “Gone Girl”) and Charlize Theron (roles in Mad Max: Fury Road and The Fate of the Furious)

Although Joe Penhall is responsible for making Mindhunter come to life, it was originally a book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit written by John E. Douglas, a former special agent and unit chief of the FBI who played a big part in the psychological analysis of crimes in the 1970s.

Douglass started off as an FBI sniper and turned into a hostage negotiator. He is the man responsible for criminal profiling to the bureau. He spent a lot of his years interviewing serial killers before the name “serial killer” was even pegged. Trying to figure out their motives not only furthered the crime field for officers today but for many people within psychology fields.

Mindhunter is set in the 1970s and it follows two FBI agents, Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt Mccallany), as they try to learn more about the psyche of “sequence killers”. Yet this is deemed to be difficult, considering that they are in an era where the explanation for criminal behavior tends to stop at “criminals are just bad”.

Instead of the who, what, when, where or how that most crime shows on television are trying to answer, Mindhunter is utterly unique and is about the why. Throughout the series, both agents are traveling across America trying to piece together the mentality of a killer.

The show references real life, mentioning notorious killers such as David Berkowitz and Charles Manson, and having actors play killers like Ed Kemper, Dennis Rader, and Jerry Brudos. Jonathan Groff’s character is supposed to represent John E Douglas when he was first inducted into the FBI.

I was interested in this show because Netflix had a trailer for it and it looked really intriguing. I’ve always enjoyed crime dramas, such as Law and Order: SVU and Making A Murderer. I read the description and saw that the show would be set in the 70s, which peaked my interest even more because I have never watched a crime series set in a specific era.

Since the show was set in a precedent era, I was preparing myself for racially charged comments and sexist remarks left and right. However, the show is very politically correct and directed through a lens that is very educational. Instead of showing you that people are just being antagonizing, they are helping you recognize that people simply weren’t as informed in this age.

Although the show isn’t blatantly offensive, it isn’t as diverse as one would hope. People of color are scarce in this show and women are only brought up when detectives Ford and Tench are questioning a killer about their victims.

The only two main female characters are Deborah Mitford played by Hannah Gross and Wendy Carr played by Anna Torv. Although the show is centered on their male counterparts, both women don’t let that limit them in their fields.

Deborah, who is Holden’s girlfriend, is a postgraduate student at the University of Virginia who has Ph.D. in Sociology and she doesn’t let Holden forget. She is headstrong and extremely well versed providing him with more insight on topics like feminism, race, and human behavior that not only furthers his view on the world but helps him make progress in his career.

Wendy Carr is a psychology professor working at Boston University. Throughout the series, she is alongside Holden Ford and Bill Tench, trying to crack the cases. She brings a lot to the plate with her degree in psychology and her go-getter attitude.

Overall, Mindhunter is a brilliant series, without drowning you with too much information so that it doesn’t feel intimidating. It gives you an equal proportion of crime and drama, not only diving into the lives of the killers but the private lives of the detectives as well. It has already been renewed for a new season.

If you’ve ever watched Silence of the Lambs and liked it, Mindhunter is perfect to you. Similar to Jodie Foster’s character Clarice in the movie, the detectives in the show really make a connection with the killers. This allows them to learn more about their subjects not only as criminals but the people that they were beforehand.
 

Meymey Seng

Staff Writer 

Imagine having four of your favorite characters collaborate and work in the same story. On August 18, 2017, the Defenders came out as the fifth show in the Netflix Marvel series, doing just that. Behind the Defenders, the shows are Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist.

 

Each of the characters not only carries different personalities but also abilities. Matt Murdock, or known as Daredevil, is a blind man who has the ability to pick up the slightest of sounds. Some people refer to Jessica Jones as the drunk and super-strong private investigator, which is blunt, yet true. Luke Cage, honestly my favorite of the four, is bulletproof. Lastly, Danny Rand, or called the Iron Fist, is pretty self-explanatory. His right fist can sometimes activate the power of being able to break through very hard objects, such as metal.

 

The goals of each of the characters are similar, in a sense that they want to help people without actually having to kill people. Their motto is that no matter how cruel someone is, killing them is not something that should happen, even if it seems like the obvious solution. Instead, beating them up brutally is a better alternative. At first, when I watched this, my initial reaction was, “Wow, that is way more painful to live through than actually dying”. Then, I realized that that is the whole point. In one of the episodes of Daredevil, he said that he would not kill them because that is “too easy”.

 

Admittedly, the first episode of this series was a bit slow. With the build-up of excitement waiting for the show to come out, this made me nervous. Although I still had a hope that the rest of the episodes would pick up its pace. In my luck, it did. The first episode was basically giving the background story on each of the characters. Even though this is important for people who have not watched all of the episodes, I still think that it was a bit of a drag.

 

Before watching this show that is about all four of the characters, people should watch the shows that came before that, in order to understand the little connections and jokes that could be easily missed. Towards the end of the episode, Claire Temple showed up. She is a nurse that starred in all of the shows, being one of the few people to know about their abilities. Along with being the nurse, she had a small relationship with Murdock and an ongoing one with Cage.

 

The first thing that Temple said to Cage was “So, how about that coffee?” This is a reference to the show that means hooking up. Personally, I thought this was a small funny connection to the last episode of Luke Cage. In that last episode, he asked if she wanted coffee, but was then arrested.

After seeing Temple back in the show, I was already more engaged. The second episode was still introducing the character’s backgrounds which was okay, I appreciated that the pace was less slow. Very, soon that changes.

Episode three was fantastic! That is what I was waiting for and longingly anticipated. Without knowing, each of the character’s had a problem to attend, which so happened to be in the same location. Even though I knew that they were bound to meet, the director and writer were still able to cleverly make it happen it in a way that it was still exciting.

 

Without giving too much away, a big fight broke out and they slowly realized that they are on the same side. Watching them attack the enemy as a team brought was so nice. During that scene, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones were reunited after not seeing one another for a long time. They used to have an on and off relationship with one another. Seeing them together was very nostalgic. This put me in a difficult situation where I like both Jones and Temple with Cage, it’s hard for me to choose my favorite pair.

 

Aside from my initial reaction, Marvel did not fail my expectations but again, exceeded it.

If you are someone who loves action, comedy, romance, and just great shows overall, you should definitely watch this. Of course, watch the shows that came beforehand first.

Amelia Benamara

Staff Writer 

After Nathan Feuerstein’s, better known as NF, 2016 album, Therapy Session, made its way up to number 12 on the Billboards and selling 29,184 album in the first week, he decided to drop yet another album on October 6, 2017, Perception. The album includes 16 tracks organized from “Intro III” to “Outro.”

NF is best known as the “Christian Rap Artist” by his fans worldwide, although he only views himself as a regular person who happens to be Christian and makes music.

“I just make music. I talk about my life, I talk about my faith. I talk about positive things that I’ve dealt with that have taught me things and I talk about negative things that I’m dealing with. I wouldn’t describe myself as that, but I am a Christian.” NF told Idolator.

He was originally born in Gladwin Michigan and was raised by his father after his mother overdosed. NF’s How Could You Leave Us, from his 2016 album, was dedicated to the death of his mother.

Intro III introduces the entire album with very familiar lyrics where NF mentions his mother, as well as his previous album, Therapy Session, “Therapy Session, was beautiful Nate, but I’m wondering what’s coming next?” Compared to his last album, the first track automatically gives off the strong passion he expresses through the strength of his words emphasizing his vulnerability at the time. His tone also became much more serious with every piece of advice given in the lyrics based on his experiences.

Relating to this, Perception is more so his album, meaning he is the only artist in each song and video. Not many features were included in the piece, although it’s not a major difference. Out of 16 songs, only “10 Feet Down” had a feature with the artist, Ruelle. Therapy Session and Mansion, 2015, involved many collabs which helped make the album more of a release of emotions album for Nathan Feuerstein. These features included: Marty, Jonathan Thulin, Fleurie, Jeremiah, and Britt Nicole.

NF also doesn’t seem to do much singing in Perception, whereas his other albums included a major vocal side to the musician. After 2016, it’s clear that this year’s new music has a “take action” vibe to it. This, I hope is a motivation for his fans all across the world to empower themselves, as it does for me.

Perception is also an album that focuses on the proud success NF has accomplished throughout his long continuous journey. Green Lights and Dreams are a few of the songs his pride is powerfully confessed in. It is very clear that music is one of the most relevant components he, fortunately, has in his life. Multiple times, through lyrics and video graphics, Feuerstein admits that music saved his life more than once and he wouldn’t be who he is if it weren’t for it.

This is another album that shows the connections NF put together in all of the songs in his albums. Tracks such as Outro mention old lyrics, or even songs from previous albums, “Crying on the floor in the bathroom, staring in the mirror in my room, hands shaking, playing How Could You Leave Us through the speakers… etc.” As expected, the 26-year old artist displays his mother multiple times in unique ways: a woman is seen smoking a cigarette, and a younger version of himself makes an appearance.

The relationship is an important ingredient throughout different parts in this album, although his status seems absent in the current year. This makes fans, including myself, even more, compelled to the lyrics he gathered for each project piece. Questions will definitely raise upon people who support him. About his relationship(s) Nathan Feuerstein wrote about lies that were told by his partner which seem to spread the two apart in the song Lie.

Relating to love in general, Feuerstein’s song If You Want Love explains what any sort of relationship between people should consist and what he’s learned as he grew up about his loved ones. Some of the lyrics include, “Back then I wish somebody would’ve told me, if you want love, you’re gonna have to go through the pain. If you want to trust, you’re gonna have to give some away… etc.” His song, Remember This is his personal views of the world which affect those he had on relationships.

Overall, this album is another amazing creation from Feuerstein. Perception is similar in many ways to his previous album, however completely different in multiple ways which is what captivated every bit of my attention.

In opposite of Therapy Session 2016, Perception is very serious, more pride is reflected rather than emotions which gives the artist, Nate Feuerstein, a very bold appeal, motivating myself and hopefully many others to [do what?]. Gives me the idea that people go through different tragedies in life, yet at some point, we pick ourselves off of the ground to come back even indestructible.

Matthew Milligan

Staff Writer 

 

Last September, I sat down eagerly on my couch in anticipation of the newest installment of American Horror Story. For those of you who may not know, American Horror Story is an anthology, meaning that each season tells a completely different story. This season, titled American Horror Story: Cult, attempts to make a commentary on the 2016 presidential election.

The show begins on the night of the election and focuses on a group of liberals who are awaiting the results. When the inevitable comes and

Trump is announced as the next president of the United States, the shock, and fear registered on the faces of the group mirror perfectly what many had experienced months before on the real election night.

 

A later scene, however, reflects a very different side of the story. Young Kai Anderson, played by cast veteran Evan Peters, becomes elated by the news of Donald Trump taking office. So elated in fact, that he humps his television screen and paints his face orange with Cheeto dust.

Fellow veteran Sarah Paulson plays the polar opposite of Peters’ character, being a middle-class lesbian who is terrified of Trump. Paulson’s character, Ally, has recurring phobias (one being of clowns, which seems fitting given our dear president Trump) that flare up in wake of the election.

It is with these two characters that the majority of the story is told. Kai’s empowerment over the election causes him to, given the namesake, start a cult that he believes will cause real change and fix our country. Meanwhile, Ally’s mental state continues to spiral out of control and causes her to lose everything. By having this contrast, it is clear that this season is trying to say something about fear, but what?

It seemed as though Cult was set on answering that question early on in a very cliche way. Obviously, the Trump supporters were bad and their cult was bad and they were going to do bad things in their cult. The simple message was Trump is bad and his supporters are bad and that we should fear them, which is elementary at best. These are things we already know.

However, as the show progressed, the message went from being unimaginatively simple to something that is impossible to make sense of. In an attempt to shake things up, the writers have Ally’s wife, a feminist, a gay man, a token independent black woman, and many other “unexpected” characters joining the cult. Then they all start to murder people while dressed as clowns as Ally continues to lose her mind.

What are they trying to say by having all these stereotypically liberal characters join the cult? Are they saying that everyone, no matter how “politically correct,” has some evil inside of them? If they are, then they are not doing a good job of portraying so. It just does not make sense for so many rational people to turn on their beliefs and join a cult lead by some insane twenty-something who worships a president that will not protect their rights.

I believe that the reason why this season’s message is so warped is because show creator Ryan Murphy attempted to use material that he has never worked with before. Previously, American Horror Story has been able to tell entertaining and haunting narratives that deal with the supernatural. Dealing with a real-world politics feels forced and out of place when compared to previous seasons, which may be why everything is so confusing. Real politics are scary enough, they don’t need to be retold in a horror movie fashion.

Despite this season’s flaws, the show is still American Horror Story, which means that there is plenty of suspense, insane plot twists, and gore, all of which remain entertaining. It is also worth mentioning that Cult retains much of its beloved stellar cast from previous seasons, so while the characters may be confusing, the acting is top notch. Even though this season has some redeeming qualities, American Horror Story should stop trying to appeal to the political masses and instead stick to what it does best, which is horror.