Bookish blues: Songs to listen to while reading literature

MALORIE MCCALL

My boyfriend launches up from his kingdom of blankets as soon as I ask him for help on this week’s column. Music with no words is his jurisdiction, and Spotify is up and blasting before I’ve even explained why that’s the topic. The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books this weekend is the perfect platform […]

Breaking gender norms

Noorhan Maamoon

I’m often asked if I’m so outspoken because my culture and religion call for females to be subservient. “Outspoken” is one of the nicer terms — sometimes people use loud or unsubtle. “That’s racist!” is what I’d love to say. Instead, I inform whoever it is that no, my religion and culture don’t call for […]

Feeling myself: A Bad Girls’ guide


My mom got me these three books when I was 11 or 12 called Bad Girls’ Guide to … whatever. Beneath the sparkly waterproof covers (it’s a life guide; it needs to be durable) lay all kinds of self-affirming advice and general give-no-f-cks-ery. Pearls of sarcastic and off-colored wisdom (No ziplock bags? Store your snack […]

The queen is dead: a new generation of the anti-diva


Yesterday, the Metropolitan Opera announced that famed soprano Kathleen Battle would return to the company for a recital later this year, 22 years after she was notoriously fired for “unprofessional actions.” Though the latter statement may seem a bit cryptic, those deeply familiar within the opera universe know that Battle was fired for her rampant […]

Max Landis points to gender bias

Minnie Schedeen

If you told me you’d never heard the name Max Landis, I wouldn’t be that surprised. He is the 30-year-old son of John Landis (the prolific 1980s director responsible for movies like Trading Places and The Blues Brothers) and a screenwriter — and screenwriters aren’t generally famous. They’ve long since been relegated to the back […]

I’m a feminist, whether you approve of it or not

Noorhan Maamoon

Some weeks I find it difficult to write this column. I’m not ashamed of saying out loud that I’m a feminist, but being in a constantly combative state of mind is exhausting. Sometimes, I’m too tired to say “that’s sexist” because that invites an inevitable flood of comments about how feminists can’t take a joke. […]

Reel talk: analyzing soundtracks in film

MALORIE MCCALL

In the wake of the success of Zootopia, Disney’s latest animated hit, many young children has Shakira’s soundtrack single “Try Everything” constantly echoing in their heads. An upbeat pop song rhythmically encouraging children to take risks and not be afraid of failure, “Try Everything” is just the most recent addition to film’s beloved tradition of […]

Tutorial: Tinder is only as scary as you make it


It’s come to my attention that you need a Tinder tutorial. Don’t pretend you don’t use it, but don’t feel bad either. Tinder is surprisingly ubiquitous given its bad rap. People say they don’t use it because they don’t want to seem promiscuous or superficial, but it’s really no different from what we do in […]

Verismo vision: fostering deep and personal connections


Last weekend, I went out with my friends for the first time in what seemed like ages. As the semester has inevitably escalated to its climax, the copious amount of schoolwork that requires me to stay home alone almost every night has put me into a rut. However, after realizing that all work and no […]

Abrams and Bad Robot disappoint

Minnie Schedeen

Let me start off by saying that I am a huge fan of J. J. Abrams — I hope that one day I will be able to be in a room and pitch an idea to the man largely responsible for my choice to come to film school in the first place. His reboot of […]