Directors should learn from Lee


At the beginning of the semester I wrote about auteurship, arguing that filmmakers need to strike a balance between mindless entertainment and films that are intentionally artistic. I argued that filmmakers need to find their identity — one that is recognizable as that of their own — so their work is distinct. Ang Lee’s career, […]

Surrealism explores human experience


Surrealism is embedded in the everyday, in the daily experience.” Not a lot of people would agree with Dartmouth professor Katharine Conley’s view of the surrealist art movement — after all, it’s not every day that you spot a woman with a fish body or a giant eyeball looming over skyscrapers. When it comes to […]

‘Forever Los Angeles’ puts the city on canvas


Tito’s Tacos. La Taquiza. Pink’s. Just saying the names of these eateries can get plenty of Angelenos’ mouths watering. For the grease, meat, tortilla and bun lovers of the city, the taco and hot dog joints dotting L.A. streets quickly become favorites known through word of mouth: There’s only one Tito’s Tacos in the city, […]

Fantasy expands in modern works


Few genres owe a greater debt to one person than fantasy does to J.R.R. Tolkien. With The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, he created an entire tradition of sword and sorcery, setting the standard for the sorts of characters, storylines and settings that would appear in works of fantasy for more than 50 […]

Tips help couples improve relations


The feedback that I’ve had on my column has been mostly positive, which is heartwarming, but I’ve realized that I have spent the bulk of the last few weeks writing for the singleton looking for love, sex and everything in between. I in no way regret this decision, and as a singleton myself I think […]

Traditional film criticism finds new platform online


With the rise of the digital age, it’s easy to say that traditional film criticism is dead. Blogs, Twitter, Facebook and myriad up-and-coming digital outlets have become the norm, pushing established film critics — many of whom started in print — out of the way. But it’s too much of a generalization to say that […]

Genre music provides inspiration for artists


In a corner of the museum, a painting hangs surrounded only by the sounds of soft chatter and footsteps. Yet the piece seems to speak volumes with its unique mixture of colors and inspiration from one of the biggest music genres in history: the blues. The Geffen Contemporary at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s current […]

Students should reach out to USC professors


Especially now that the semester is ending, it is vital to get on your professors’ good sides. No, I don’t mean becoming the ass-kisser who sits in the front row and relentlessly participates for brownie points, making everyone else inwardly (sometimes outwardly) groan. Professors see through fake behavior just as well as other students do; […]

TV struggles with political agendas


With the election finally over, political discussion will return over the coming weeks to its usual, more manageable fervor. Though a welcome respite to most, that certainly isn’t to say that it’s time to tune out of current events completely; for anyone who consumes television, doing so would be more or less impossible. Politics and […]