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Crystal Pulido Lugo

How Honey Boy and the Farewell Got Snubbed

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The idea of “snubbing” is a rampant one that punctuates the Twitter-sphere at the beginning of each year. Award show nominations are announced, the people get mad their favorites didn’t make the cut, and the cycle continues until March comes. 

This year’s movie award season notably left out some incredible movies. Fans of “Us,” “Uncut Gems” and “Midsommar” were understandably upset when the Golden Globes and Academy Awards left out Lupita Nyongo’s, Adam Sandler’s, or Florence Pugh’s (who instead got nominated for “Little Women”) strong performances. Unfortunately, leaving horror and thriller-dramas out of award shows is not surprising, and it will still take them a few years to catch up. Yet strong, independent dramas such as “Honey Boy” and “The Farewell” are unfairly being shut out against big-budget, blockbuster films — a fact that stands to prove a point that award shows have a long way to go to promote the inclusion it claims to support. 

“Honey Boy” and “The Farewell” are both female-directed, semi-autobiographical films from their writers. In “Honey Boy,” Alma Har’el directs a slightly warped version of Shia Lebeouf’s life as a child actor. He plays a character modeled after his own father, and portrays the rough edge he was forced to walk upon as a kid. The script was originally written as a form of therapy by Lebeouf while in rehab after being diagnosed with PTSD, and wasn’t initially meant to ever see the light of day. That is, until Har’el, a close friend, read through it and helped convince Lebeouf to create the project with her help directing. It’s a raw and emotional film that runs deep with metaphors of how Hollywood can twist the children that work in it. Still, it got zero nominations at the Golden Globes or Academy Awards.

“The Farewell,” on the other hand, is certainly a bit lighter, as Awkwafina acts out the true lie that director and writer Lulu Wang experienced when her family refused to tell her grandma she was dying of cancer. To say their goodbyes without being suspicious, the family puts on an elaborate wedding ceremony, where everyone is in on the secret except for the grandmother. 

The film is spoken mostly in Mandarin, with Awkwafina occasionally interrupting in English, a fact that was vital to Wang’s portrayal of the situation. The story closely analyzes Chinese culture surrounding family death and contrasts it with the American lifestyle that Awkafina’s character, Billi (based on Wang), is used to. It’s a complex narrative that uses the dark edges of death to create an uplifting viewpoint on life, especially considering that Wang’s real grandma beat cancer and still lives today. 

Fortunately, it had a much larger audience than “Honey Boy,” and garnered several Golden Globes nominations, including a Best Actress win for Awkwafina. Still, there were no nominations at the Academy Awards. 

Since awards season, the two movies have had the distribution rights bought by Amazon, so the two are available on the Prime Video streaming platform. Hopefully with this easy availability, the two movies will gain the larger audience they deserve and viewers will be encouraged to gush over their strong performances and writing. The nomination absence of these films leaves much to be said about how the Academy lacks support when it comes to smaller indie films, and proves that we still have a long way to go to continue to be diverse.

 

Different Makeup Brushes Aligned in a Circle

The Rise of Gender Neutral Makeup

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Makeup has always been shaped by popular culture. Makeup throughout history has been seen on both men and women, yet at some point in history, there was a harsh shift. Some historians pin the sudden change of opinion on makeup to Queen Victoria’s reign in the late 1800s, who proclaimed it was impolite and shameful to wear makeup, seeing as it was associated with the sex workers of the time. After this period it became less common to see men wearing makeup, as it shifted culturally to be seen as “too feminine.”

Makeup today has become a symbol of beauty for all people, no matter what they identify as. A notable shift has been made in the beauty community over the past couple of years with the introduction of James Charles as the new face of Covergirl, and male makeup artists gaining large followings on Youtube. Brands such as FentyBeauty, Covergirl and NYX Cosmetics have been recognized for using men in their campaigns. Although this step is a good one, some up and coming brands have taken things one step further. 

Gender-neutral makeup has been a hot topic in the media for some time now as new companies reinvent the old ideas that come along with using makeup. These brands have based their whole identities of inclusion of all genders and races, intending to work towards a more welcoming community. Not only do these companies base themselves around the idea of inclusion, but they also are clean products, meaning they aren’t tested on animals and don’t contain harmful ingredients. Some of the most talked-about companies are Fluide, Jecca Blac and Non-Gender Specific. 

Fluide was launched in 2018 by Laura Kraber, who claims she was deeply inspired by the activism seen today for LGBTQ+ and gender identity issues. Kraber took this inspiration and created Fluide in its wake. The company has continued to show that they stand by their company’s message of creating makeup for “him, her, them, everyone.” 

Jecca Blac was created by Jessica Blackler, who had an unwavering vision of inclusivity in the makeup world for the transgender community. 

Non-Gender Specific was created by Andrew Glass in 2018 when he noticed the large divide within the makeup community between men’s and women’s products. With this in mind, he decided to create this company with the company’s main message being “Non-Gender Specific is the brand for all humans.” 

The growing popularity of these companies has helped start a conversation about the outdated ideas behind masculinity and femininity. We all desire to recognize a part of ourselves in the ads we see, and the LGBTQ+ community deserves the same representation. These companies are creating a safe space that allows all people to feel comfortable in their skin. As far as I’m concerned, that is the truest form of beauty. 

 

Lil Uzi Vert Dives Into a World of Space Odyssey on Eternal Atake

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After a long and highly anticipated two years, Lil Uzi Vert is back and better than ever. Uzi is back with “Eternal Atake,” an album fans thought would never see the light of day — mainly because Uzi has had a horrible experience with record labels that momentarily led him to quit music. However, “Eternal Atake ” is an album like no other that Uzi has released. 

“Eternal Atake” displays an overwhelming sense of mythical auras. Uzi gives us a taste of space thrillers, abductions, aliens, money, girls and heartache. In an epic hour-long album, Uzi delivers a seamless mixture of melodic croonings and beats that keep up with the recent hip-hop trends. “Eternal Atake” is also a loose concept album that illustrates Lil Uzi Vert’s journey through space — otherwise known as his life. 

The album is divided into three parts and each part consists of Lil Uzi’s personas. If you listen in order, songs one through six demonstrate Baby Pluto, Uzi’s street rapper persona who is too excited to spit bars that he sometimes races past the beat. On “POP,” the beating heart of Baby Pluto, the audience gets a whiff of nostalgia as we’re taken into the realm of a dystopian society that is “The Terminator.”

Uzi’s second persona, Renji, is showcased on songs seven through twelve. Renji is Uzi’s most vulnerable identity in which he displays his post breakup emotions. Starting with “I’m Sorry,” the strongest and most vulnerable song off the album, Uzi questions himself if his fame is really worth it since it prevents him from making personal connections.

Lyrics like “I’m so high I can’t land now,” implies the idea that Uzi is too caught up in his fame that he refuses to settle down. But the phrases “I’m sorry for everything I ever said” and “she caught me acting all sad,” suggests heartbreak. Essentially this track is an apology to his past lover in which the relationship went sour due to his fame.

The last and final persona of the album is Uzi himself. The transformation and his journey is displayed in the last songs. “Urgency” and “Venetia” speak about the multi-colored allure of the nebulas and “Secure the Bag” communicate the unimaginable expansiveness of the cosmos. 

On “Eternal Atake” you will witness Uzi’s best rapping. He’s always been capable, he has talent without a doubt, but before “Eternal Atake” his older songs leaned more into the pop genre and gave off an earworm vibe. Whereas, in “Eternal Atake” Uzi does not hold back. You will not encounter any pop songs, but instead you will find space odyssey in a limitless hip-hop form. “Eternal Atake” is Lil Uzi Vert’s finest album to date. 

Go stream Lil Uzi Vert’s newest album “Eternal Atake” followed by the deluxe version “Eternal Atake – Luv vs. The World 2” that dropped on March 13, 2020. Available on all streaming platforms. 

 

Changes Review

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Justin Bieber is back, happily married and dangerously in love. Sharing a life with his wife, being in love, having sex Bieber is enjoying it all. So much so that his newest album, “Changes,” is dedicated to it and essentially comes off as a love ballad to his wife, Hailey Bieber. “Changes” celebrates the stability he has been searching and longing for. 

The Prince of Pop returns, after a quiet and unsettling four years, with the newest album since “Purpose.” The new album, “Changes,” resembles a honeymoon phase, but in R&Bieber form. It is definitely sweet and tender, but also a bit simplistic and boring. None of the songs on the album are bad, but they’re not necessarily catchy or vibey either — something Bieber was previously known for. 

On songs like “Forever,” he questions if his lover would “be here with me forever?” And in “Second Emotion,” featuring Travis Scott, he begs for reciprocated feelings of adoration. However, neither of those songs scream “Sorry” or “What Do You Mean?” which are hits from his 2015 album,“Purpose.”

“Changes” was anticlimactic even before its release. His first single off the album, “Yummy,” is a foolish R&B wannabe that was intended for the shortened attention span of  TikTok users. The song itself is repetitive, boring and childish with a chorus such as “yummy yum,” which is not good considering the single is supposed to introduce the genre of the album and what fans are to expect. Ultimately, the album is missing special elements of malleability, which is what Bieber possessed as an artist. 

The album was labeled as “R&Bieber,” but his new music does not live up to the true R&B trap-soul, nor does it live up to the expectations of his 2013 mixtape “Journals,” which is claimed to be the epitome of true “R&Bieber.” In “Journals,” Bieber gave us a preface to his newly found adulthood; it was an album that detoured from its usual pop chart topping tunes to dominating rap-trends, messy implementation, rap artists collaborations and lively club dance beats. As pop music becomes more blurred and indefinite, in “Changes” there was little-to-no transformation. And although Bieber has had a good streak with making each of his albums different from the one preceding, and being in tune with the continuously changing pop trends, “Changes” is an unimaginative cliche that we’ve all heard before. In a total of fifty-one minutes, Justin Bieber is entirely coasting through the album. 

Justin Bieber has, without a doubt, an amazing voice and talent. He is also a good lyricist, showcased in the song “That’s What Love Is,” including lyrics such as “never understood what it meant [to] submit to love,” and “don’t nobody else deserves my time.” In these lyrics, Bieber admires the significance of a relationship, what it means to love and be in love, and, most importantly, the lessons he has learned while being in love. In “Love Yourself,” Bieber openly displayed  vulnerability to explain his hurt and betrayal and conveyed a paradoxical love ballad that establishes the idea of him moving on. In “That’s What Love Is,” Bieber has definitely moved on, but has also vividly illustrated this vulnerability by showing his love and adoration for his newly-wedded wife. However, it is not enough to capture the audience and make them want to stay and listen to the album all the way through. 

As the album comes to a close, it is safe to say the album was made for hopeless romantics and for sex appeal. But his lyrics are so vague and bland, it’s almost as if they were written to only be used as social media captions. It’s nice to know Bieber is doing well and his life is great and loving, but, unfortunately, his music is not. Although demonstrating those emotions through music is therapeutic, he could have done a better job.

 

High Fidelity Review

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If you’re into older music, the classics where David Bowie, Elton John, Bob Dylan and many other kings of sound reigned, then I have a show for you. A show that stars Zoe Kravitz, converses with you and walks you through dealing with love and despair: the remake of “High Fidelity.” Spoilers ahead. 

Available to stream on Hulu, “High Fidelity” was released on Valentine’s Day 2020. From the get-go, there’s a sense of nostalgia. The producers made no excuse to majorly jet from the original plot created by novel writer, Nick Hornby. If you watched John Cusack’s 2000 movie version of “High Fidelity,” then Kravitz’s performance is a real treat. 

The show opens to Rob, short for Robyn (played by Kravitz) as she stares somberly into the camera. Her lover packs his bags and walks out the door. The scene is emotionally tense, and you can feel the tone being set for the rest of the show: a rollercoaster of feels. Unlike Cusack’s version, the gender roles are switched, providing an inside look into the female mind. Take notes, gentlemen. 

Rob is the owner of Champion’s Vinyl, a struggling record store in the ever-expanding second borough of Brooklyn, New York. She has an encyclopedia-like mind when it comes to pop-culture references, and, throughout the show, will list out great singers nonchalantly. Despite the show being set in modern-day Brooklyn, Rob wears clothes as if she were a cast member straight out of Seinfield. Rob drinks her whiskey neat, chain-smokes cigarettes and only drinks bodega coffee. Her chaotic New Yorker vibe is loud and clear. As the story progresses, she uses her large knowledge of music to explain her heartbreaks. However, it wasn’t until the end of the third episode when she decided to actually meet with all her heartbreakers ro find out why each respective relationship ended. 

The cinematography is definitely worth noting. When actors break the fourth wall, it’s difficult to make it seem natural as they stare into the camera. However, the hand camera movement is our part in the story — the silent character. The pans, tilts and close-ups are so beautifully choreographed that it doesn’t feel awkward. Additionally, what really took it away were their breathtaking establishing shots. If you love big cities, they grasp the constant movement and hurriedness that matches Rob’s go-go behavior. Watch closely because in some of those shots the ambiance clearly coincides with Rob’s mood. 

What makes the show especially remarkable is the actor’s relation to the film. Kravitz’s mother is Lisa Bonet, who was actually one of Cusack’s love interests in the 2000 version. They look almost exactly alike, which brings out that sense of nostalgia the producers were not afraid to use. By having Kravitz play the role this time, it was as if we got the perspective of Cusack’s love interest and how she would have lived her life. 

Overall, “High Fidelity” is a show full of hit catchphrases and art that would make your grunge middle school self reappear. To some, that would be an offsetting and horrifying experience, but, for the purposes of the show, it’s sentimental. “High Fidelity” is a tribute to a great book and film, and a reminder of how music can be used to explain the otherwise inexplicable matters of the heart.