SLAMedia is a publication of the news for the Science Leadership Academy community. Writers come from the student body in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. We work in unison to create a functioning paper with biweekly postings on a variety of events.
What makes a great book? For Shahd, a senior at SLA, it’s the characters, as well as the language and themes of the story. She spoke on romance books, her favorite genre: how there is an opportunity for a plethora of stories, and how some books turn out worse than others—some in particular having to do with the author.
She recommends Verity by Colleen Hoover—some of her other books touch on unsavory topics and contain unrealistic, and frankly, traumatizing dynamics.
For this week’s Friday Spotlight, we delved into the impact of movies and TV-shows—how come some are so much more impactful than others? What do they do differently? I spoke with senior, Rae Alexander, an avid reader and movie-watcher.
The key to a good film is an understandable plot with compelling characters. The TV-show, “The Boys,” does a great job at both of those criterion. Of course, some TV-shows hold special places in both our hearts—“Steven Universe” being Rae’s top pick.
Our recommendations are “Yellowstone,” a TV series taking place on a farm that’s fighting being sold, and “Hazbin Hotel,” an adult TV series about life in Hell as sinners try desperately to be redeemed—that doubles as a musical.
In the digital age, movies and TV-shows have become ways to show culture, the future, the past, big-picture, and intimate stories. Movies and TV-shows are about nostalgia for some people, and for others, it’s about an experience that you can’t have through books or graphic novels.
I asked Xen, a junior, and Mara, a sophomore, about their favorite movies and TV-shows. Both of them told me about TV-shows that made an impact on them as a kid, whether that was through the nostalgic binges with Mara’s mom, or via an interest in music, for Xen. Movies and TV-shows are visual experiences, but they leave an invisible mark, some deeper than others.
By Lara Rosenbach
The first Friday Spotlight! This informal debate with Navlea, a senior, was closely related to the episode on Unpopular Opinions from earlier this week. I ask you, listener: do pineapples belong on pizza?
While this may be a slightly old unpopular opinion, I had resolved to try Hawaiian pizza, and see if it really was better than normal pizza.
My opinion remains unchanged.
By Lara Rosenbach
This week, I explored an area that gets a lot of fame online: unpopular opinions. What better place for bold new opinions than here at SLA? I spoke with a freshman, Jake Rosenbach, and a senior, Paloma Fairfax, on their unpopular opinions and why they believe them.
The difference in grade and in overall experience of the world was illustrated in their answers quite well. While parmesan cheese is certainly versatile, public health and growth at school is an issue that needs to be heard. What makes us human if not the opinions we have about the world around us?