Search Results
Below are your search results. You can also try a Basic Search.
(03/15/23 4:00am)
Titanic hasn’t aged a day since 1997. That’s not just because it still dominates cultural discourse (that damn door), or inspires popular parodies, or just became the third highest–grossing film ever (again!), but because it still somehow feels completely revolutionary. More than ever, it's the antithesis to “modern cinema,” which relishes in self–referential storytelling and superhuman power fantasies. Titanic may be big, but it displays a reverence for human emotion—and for human lives—that you’ll never find in a superhero movie. A restored version of the film in 3D has just returned to theaters, and it amplifies the ways in which Titanic was groundbreaking in the first place. It was Hollywood’s last completely inescapable original piece of drama, and there’s a reason it still resonates.
(03/17/23 4:05am)
When Lah’Nasia Shider (C '23) caught her first glimpse of the Penn campus as a high school senior, she couldn’t wait to explore everything that the University and Philadelphia had to offer. Now, Lah’Nasia has found her place as a mentor on and off campus. As a leader of Students for Students, she tutors and mentors Philadelphia youth who have been affected by the juvenile justice system. When she’s not leading tours for Kite and Key or welcoming students at the Admissions Visitors Center, she also runs a YouTube channel for high schoolers who are navigating the college application process. Her videos share milestones of her college experience, from move–in day to her semester abroad in London to the last first day of classes. Whether speaking with prospective students, mentoring current ones, or simply recommending her favorite place to eat near campus, Lah’Nasia is eager to use her experience to help younger people find their way.
(03/17/23 4:15am)
As Philadelphians begin to consider the vast range of mayoral candidates campaigning to succeed Jim Kenney, the outrage against rampant gun violence in the city persists as strongly as when the mayor’s almost eight–year administration began. Communities work to simultaneously protect themselves and heal from the effects of gun violence, with many local leaders committed to facilitating this process in any way they can. Residents' livelihoods are shaped by the daily threat of violence in the city, giving rise to strong opinions on how the city should respond.
(03/13/23 10:00am)
TikTok is full of hashtags that end in “–core”: cottagecore, balletcore, normcore. Each of these “cores” relates to an aesthetic or a micro–trend. For example, videos under #balletcore show young women, who are mostly not actual ballerinas, dressing in soft pink, frilly pieces and tying their hair with ribbon. A “–core” on TikTok refers to a certain aesthetic that fringes on being disingenuous.
(03/14/23 3:08pm)
“I was told by my professors that when you’re in school, it’s really good to take the time to experiment,” Cecily Nishimura (C '23) tells me in a crowded coffee shop. So that’s what she tries to do.
(03/24/23 12:55am)
At 42 years old, Lou Lozzi found himself as the “oldest kid in class” studying urban and multicultural education at Eastern University. Inspired by his childhood at his father’s auto repair shop in South Philly, Lozzi chose to leave the corporate world in order to teach. Upon completing his Master’s in Education, he worked for eight years at charter schools until Rich Gordon, the principal of Paul Robeson High School in West Philly, asked him to lead their math and science team.
(03/17/23 4:00am)
There’s a new trend making its rounds on the internet. You’ve probably encountered it while scrolling through your TikTok For You Page. In between posts of fit checks, aesthetic baking videos, and either cats or kids being unintentionally funny, you'll find random Family Guy clips playing beneath videos of disembodied hands playing with colorful slime. These split–screen TikToks seem to be dominating the algorithm. The combination is bizarre, and while it’s captivated users' attention, we're often left wondering how we’ve spent the last ten minutes watching them.
(03/16/23 10:01pm)
From copyright lawsuits to misogynistic lyrics, Drake and 21 Savage’s album is riddled with scandal. If you were on TikTok in 2020, you would know the Vogue magazine challenge, in which users made fake covers showcasing photos of themselves. Fast forward to 2023, and people are getting sued for it—just ask Drake and 21 Savage. While not a TikTok filter, the duo promoted their collaborative album, Her Loss, by editing themselves to be on the cover of Vogue. This album has been a constant source of controversy, not only because of trademark infringement issues, but also due to the subtle sexism sprinkled throughout the album.
(03/02/23 1:00pm)
Content warning: The following text describes assault and can be disturbing and/or triggering for some readers. Please find resources listed at the bottom of the article.
(03/13/23 1:25am)
The announced revamp of the African American History curriculum in Philadelphia schools will come closer to demands made 56 years ago by requiring a section on MOVE. On Nov. 17, 1967, over 3,000 Philadelphia students peacefully marched from their schools to the former Philadelphia Board of Education building, calling for 25 changes to the School District of Philadelphia, which included teaching Black history. Immediately after the walkout, Philadelphia started to incorporate Black history into the curriculum. But it wasn’t until 2005 that the district made taking a class in the subject a graduation requirement for all students. Philadelphia was the first school system in the United States to do so.
(03/30/23 3:30pm)
I had two names growing up: my American name and my Korean name. It seems complicated, but it isn't really.
(02/27/23 5:00am)
When the trailer for M3GAN first dropped last year, people immediately took to social media, obsessing over the well–dressed, blonde, robot girl and celebrating her odd (but intriguing) dance routine. What wasn’t there to enjoy about a killer doll with great hair and sassy moves?
(03/13/23 4:00am)
Kim Petras and Sam Smith stunned this year’s Grammys with a killer performance of their release “Unholy,” surrounded by fire and luxurious Valentino wear. Petras sparkled in a red dress—not even the cage could diminish her stellar voice and fanfare from the crown. Smith performed in a bizarre red top hat with devilish horns. In the days following the award show, conservatives criticized the performance “sent from hell.” It’s clear that Petras and Smith walked away from the 65th Grammy Awards leaving an astounded crowd on every side.
(03/02/23 5:00am)
Checking the grocery bill after a trip to ACME this year would make any Philadelphian squirm. Nationwide food prices have soared over the past year and are forecasted to continue climbing in 2023. This issue affects low–income residents the most. With inflation and additional benefits through Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) set to expire at the end of February, and food banks experiencing tightening of belts, food insecurity is an increasing problem for thousands of Philadelphians, especially with the anticipated increase in demand.
(02/27/23 1:00pm)
Listeners stay connected to music because of their emotions. Love and music, particularly, seem to have an unbreakable connection. As we experience it in its various forms, love can be unpredictable, beautiful, ugly, etc. Regardless, the overarching theme is this: love is too complex to fit under one genre, and this is a message SZA brings to fruition through her newest studio album: SOS.
(02/24/23 11:00am)
Content warning: The following text describes domestic abuse and trauma and can be disturbing and/or triggering for some readers. Please find resources listed at the bottom of the article.
(02/23/23 9:00pm)
About two months ago, controversy over Mielle Organics' Rosemary Mint Scalp Oil, a Black–owned brand of hair oil that caters to coily curl patterns, sprouted all over TikTok. Debates raged on over who can or can not use products made by Black–owned businesses and what it means when white influencers promote products that aren't designed for them.
(02/24/23 5:00am)
Walking through campus, it’s easy to feel the shift beginning to take place. The weather is getting warmer, the sun is setting later, and the grays of winter are melting into mottled greens. Slowly but surely, spring is coming, and with it comes plants’ time to shine. Blooming flowers and the fresh green leaves will take center stage.
(02/22/23 5:00am)
The audience sits tight in Kelly Writers House, neatly tucked away from the bustle of Locust Walk, in an appropriate sanctuary given the guest speaker that will be coming in any second now: Ling Ma, the author of Severance and Bliss Montage, reputed for her astute and poignant criticism of modern society. Ma’s writing style effectively transmits the somberness of our modern condition through the coquettish use of satire that simply yearns to be read with ease, never sacrificing one for the other. Her impressive ability to interweave the dark and the light is not lost on contemporary readers, and she boasts handsome accolades including winner of the 2018 Kirkus Prize, a spot on New York Times Notable Books of 2018, and being shortlisted for the 2019 Hemingway Foundation.
(02/22/23 12:03am)
The Penn—and arguably the American—mindset follows a linear path: dedicate your high school career to getting perfect grades, go to college, secure a top–notch summer internship, then off to the corporate world you go. There are times when a step off this road can feel like the end of the world, so it's important to remember that the world is much bigger than University City.
