Back to Articles Entertainment & Media Back to Sections Holiday Films: A Bleak De-Evolution By Alain Deen Volume 2 Issue 3 January 14, 2022 Image provided by Minnetonka Breezes Ah…the holiday season. A time for extravagantly decorated trees, gingerbread scented candles, family gatherings, and most importantly, holiday films. Watching a holiday film while drinking a warm cup of hot cocoa might be my favorite holiday activity of all time. Doesn’t everyone love watching Kevin defeat the burglars, Walter Hobbs discovering the true meaning of Christmas, and Kris Kringle winning the court case? I sure do. The first known on-screen holiday film was 1898’s “Santa Claus.” The film was approximately two minutes long, created in the UK. A film that long deserves a very in-depth synopsis, right? Just kidding. The film depicts the traditional aura of Santa Claus. He goes down the chimney, and leaves toys for the sleeping children. It is safe to say that the film industry has come a long way since then, especially in the holiday department. The mid to late 20th century presented itself with some of the best holiday films to date. However, after the 2010, in the holiday film department, it is a known fact that the holiday season saw a rapid decline in ratings and viewership. Elf, Home Alone, Miracle on 34th Street, A Christmas Carol, and It’s a Wonderful Life are just some of the most influential holiday films of our time. Each film has a unique characteristic that you really could not find in any other holiday film at the time of each release. However, it is worth noting that each film has a similar message; Christmas spirit always wins. While it is a common theme, it takes great execution to pull it off. Some films hold the very same theme but have awful execution, making the five films mentioned above classics. Let us take a look at 1947’s Miracle on 34th Street. The film centers around divorced mother, Doris Walker and her daughter, Susan. Doris works at Macy’s and is in charge of organizing the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade. When the man hired to play Santa Claus is found stone-cold drunk minutes before the parade, Doris hires a sweet old man to take his spot. However, she is startled by his claim that he’s the genuine article. The old man’s legal name is Kris Kringle, which immediately throws the other characters off. On top of that, Kris persuades Doris’ headstrong daughter, Susan, to develop a less rigid imagination, which she does. After about a month of confusion, Macy’s marketing tactics, and people attempting to prove that Kris was indeed not Santa Claus, an official court case was held. Doris’ love interest, Fred Gailey, serves as Kris’ lawyer. Against all odds, he uses his knowledge of the law and postal letters to Santa Claus to prove that Kris is truthfully Santa Claus, allowing the Christmas spirit to flourish. In my opinion, this film had near-perfect execution in its theme delivery. The writing, pacing, and performances were very convincing, allowing for a great film. It was a unique idea at the time, making the film an instant classic. As years have gone by, similar themes have been used in holiday films. For instance, 1994’s The Santa Clause employs a very similar underlying plotline. However, it isn’t as charming as Miracle on 34th Street due to the recycled theme. Recycled themes often foster the failure of modern holiday films. For instance, after Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, 3 new installments were produced. The ratings for each were significantly lower than the first two, starring Macaulay Culkin and Joe Pesci. For instance, Home Alone 3 has a 3.6/10 rating on IMDb. Most of the reviews complain about the film’s recycled plot line, bad acting, and lack of charm. Even worse, Home Alone 4 has a 2.6/10 rating on IMDb. Critics tore this film to pieces due to its lack of authenticity. Even the franchise’s latest installment, Home Sweet Home Alone has a 3.6/10 rating on IMDb. Critics emphasize the film’s lack of charm as well. Overall, it is safe to say that modern holiday films flop due to a lack of authenticity, charm, and ever-recycled plotlines. It is crucial for filmmakers to develop new themes for holiday films. If not, future generations would not have their own set of classics, as we do. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections Black Lives Matter: Effects of Social Movement on Social Media By Nehilah Grand-Pierre Volume 1 Issue 4 January 20, 2021 Image provided by The Pew Research Center June 2nd, 2020 started as each day of quarantine did, resisting the urge to check Instagram first thing in the morning. Yet, this day was different. Unlike the previous days of quarantine posts, there were no whipped coffee or at-home workouts shared. There were only black squares, from classmates and friends to celebrities like Rihanna, and companies such as Apple and Netflix. According to Forbes, there were already 28 million black squares hashtagged “ #blackouttuesday ” by 11:14 am that morning. So, I posted mine, perhaps out of sheer obligation, but asking myself if that really helped. What is Black Out Tuesday? The reason behind this mass sharing of nothing for the day was because June 2nd marked one week since the passing of George Floyd, the 46-year-old black man murdered by the white police officer, Derek Chauvin, captured on the viral video which shows Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck. Instagram was not the only platform on which users demonstrated a viral response to the tragedy. However, Researchers at Pew concluded that from May 26th to June 7th, #BlackLivesMatter was used 47.8 million times on Twitter alone. “George Floyd's death was filmed, but he still died” states Sasha Smalls, 17-year-old high school senior, and President of the Black Student Union here at Valley Stream North High School. “The filming hasn’t changed anything other than the fact that more people can see it in real time.” Now, it just isn’t that the world is watching, but also reacting, as on May 28th 2020, 8.8 million Twitter users shared post tagged with #BlackLivesMatter while protests began to emerge across the country, and the globe. The Difference With the advent of social media, movements like Black Lives Matter are able to gain traction fast, and with a larger audience than ever before. “The use of social media has evolved from simple conversations” says Tomi Akitunde, the head writer of MaterMae, an online resource with articles and aids for black mothers, which strides to educate others on the black community; the MaterMae Instagram page currently has over twelve thousand followers. “People are using it to be seen and say things they might’ve thought but never felt comfortable speaking out loud because they didn’t have people in their immediate community who felt like them or looked like the way they did. Now they have the whole world to listen to them”. Instagram and Twitter offer the opportunity for more people to get involved, with news coming in faster than experienced by any previous generation. “These social issues have become a part of our day to day lives” states Akitunde. “Now everything is right there because of social media. Now celebrities are involved, it's in your face”. The video of George Floyd’s death perhaps was the most in-your-face example of police brutality, a key conflict that the Black Lives Matter movement seeks to eradicate. Though the Black Lives Matter movement began in 2016 when the murder of Treyvon Martin occurred, more people have been forced to join the conversation in 2020 because of how undeniably graphic George Floyd’s death video was, whether they agreed it was worth protesting against or not. The Day Everything Changed Though Floyd’s death did not mark the first instance of a black man dying at the hands of police officers, June 2nd marked the first day of the change in atmosphere that has been present on Instagram. #TheShowMustBeStopped , another hashtag shared on Black Out Tuesday, highlights that change needed to be brought to Instagram in order to provide space for black voices and stories, as the hashtag #Amplifyblackvoices went viral as well. This shift in attitude presented on Black Out Tuesday demonstrated lasting effects. Instagram users continue to use their accounts to share infographics, petitions, links and other helpful resources months after George Floyd’s death. Posts from pages like @soyouwanttotalkabout and @chnge appear on Instagram stories, as educating others has almost become the new trend of Instagram, and both pages now have a combined following of over 4.1 million. “If I want to know how I can help out or educate myself, all I have to do is click on an Instagram story” states Smalls. “I was scrolling through Instagram 3 days ago like a normal gen-z teen, and I followed @chnge , so it came up. I stopped and I read the story without having to get up and go watch the news. Just as though I was trying to check up on Kylie Jenner, I could read about something that could affect my community.” There have been negative effects from the educational atmosphere that has seemed to present itself onto Instagram, however, despite its benefits of bringing important social issues to light. “People are finding a community, but at the same token, there’s this really polarized ‘I’m right you're wrong’ [and] no room for different viewpoints. Everything is very extreme because Black Lives Matter is a matter of life or death” states Akitunde. “Those infographics are really good at making people want to tag and share. The dangerous thing is when they are not sourced. I had to educate this woman I went to high school with once, because she shared something saying ‘Hey White People if you want to be a good ally stop saying black lives matter...what you need to say is this:...’. The source was an organization that doesn’t exist”. Allyship Though non-black POC and white allies may have the best intentions, sharing information on any social media platform should be done with caution. “Being a good ally is not something you call yourself, someone in the community has to bestow it upon you and it's also something you constantly have to be working at” tells Akitunde. The importance of allyship, however, doesn’t negate the fact that there still needs to be space left for black voices, though speaking up might be frightening. “I would love to have more white people, and republicans join the BSU meetings” Smalls says. “When I upload something like ‘Black Lives Matter’ to the BSU Instagram, I don’t want to push out potential club members.” The Takeaway Instagram has been a space where users can present the best of themselves (by literally posting their highlight reels), and display themselves through their pictures and captions. However, when the show must be stopped, social movements cause users to respond. Though selfies have been replaced by petitions, and VSCO links by www.blacklivesmatters.cardd.co/ , posting a black square is not enough to evoke change, and shouldn’t be thought of as such. “This kind of performative activism, where some people think that just posting a black screen with a hashtag is enough to evoke change, some of these people only do it because they don’t want to be hated on by those around them and then they go back to doing something that doesn’t help the movement” Smalls states. Therefore, it is not what the screen says that will push social change, but rather the character of that person behind the screen. Instagram may now provide the resources, but it is still the responsibility of the user to want to push the social movement beyond the walls of social media, and truly make the work happen, and the world a better place. BACK TO TOP

< Back About the Course This is placeholder text. To change this content, double-click on the element and click Change Content. Want to view and manage all your collections? Click on the Content Manager button in the Add panel on the left. Here, you can make changes to your content, add new fields, create dynamic pages and more. Your collection is already set up for you with fields and content. Add your own content or import it from a CSV file. Add fields for any type of content you want to display, such as rich text, images, and videos. Be sure to click Sync after making changes in a collection, so visitors can see your newest content on your live site. Your Instructor Camilla Jones This is placeholder text. To change this content, double-click on the element and click Change Content. To manage all your collections, click on the Content Manager button in the Add panel on the left.

Back to Artwork Black American Artists Back to Sections Le Jazz By Romare Bearden February 12, 2021 Volume 1 Issue 5 Medium: Graphite on Wove Paper, Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections Summer Sweet Treats By Christina Ossa Volume 2 Issue 7 June 13, 2022 Original photograph by Christina Ossa As summer approaches and the school year comes to a close, it’s finally time to unwind and relax. The hot weather and sunny days can be delightful during this time of year, yet it leaves us longing for something cold to snack on or drink. However, a fresh popsicle or cold sweet treat always helps, so I decided to share three popsicle recipes that you can enjoy whenever you feel a bit overheated this summer! In commemoration of Pride Month this month, I also wanted to share some sweet treats that matched some of the colors representing the Lesbian flag: White, Orange, and Red (there are also shades of pink in the flag that I was unable to include in these popsicle variations, but I did my best to showcase the colors!). During this time of year, it’s important to showcase our pride for the LGBTQ+ community, no matter if you are a part of the community or an ally, which is why I wanted to represent the Lesbian Flag through these popsicle colors. Main “Tools” Needed: - Blender - Popsicle molds OR Ice cube molds - Toothpicks/Skewers (if using ice cube molds) Orange “Dreamsicle”: This orange popsicle is a play on a childhood favorite popsicle: the Creamsicle. It’s made up of orange soda, heavy cream, freshly squeezed oranges, and orange pulp, creating the combination I like to call the “Dreamsicle.” This recipe is low maintenance, as it only took me about 10-15 minutes to prepare, and most of the work for each popsicle recipe lies more within waiting for them to freeze than the preparation itself. It can be tempting to remove the popsicle from its mold prematurely, but it’s best to wait the full 10-12 hours needed for each to freeze so you can receive the best reward from these frozen sweet treats. The popsicle is deliciously tangy yet smooth, with the heavy cream perfectly offsetting the sourness from the orange. Also, the natural sugars from the orange paired perfectly with the orange soda and heavy cream, creating an authentic nostalgic flavor similar to the Creamsicle popsicle flavor. If Creamsicles were your childhood favorite popsicle or snack, you should give the “Dreamsicle” a shot. The recipe is low maintenance, yet it’s delicious and cooling at the same time! Ingredients: - 2 cups orange soda (1 bottle) - 2 oranges (squeezed) - 1 ¼ cup heavy cream - ½ cup vanilla yogurt - 1 tsp vanilla extract Directions: - Grab a medium bowl or blender; if using a bowl, make sure to have a whisk - Add the orange soda, heavy cream, and vanilla extract first (all completely liquid ingredients) - Squeeze the oranges with a lemon/orange squeezer or your hand into the bowl/blender - Add the vanilla yogurt and heavy cream, then whisk/blend (on low) the mixture together -Make sure not to overmix as the heavy cream may turn into whipped cream if overmixed - Once combined, pour the mixture into popsicle molds or ice cube molds (add one skewer or toothpick into each ice cube box, it will act as a handle to remove the popsicle and hold it) - Put in the freezer and wait for popsicles to freeze overnight or for 10-12 hours - Once completely solidified, carefully pull or remove popsicles from molds/ice cube trays, and enjoy! Coconut Cream Popsicle: Coconut is a vibrant flavor, as it can be both smooth yet also watery. I tried to combine the two components in this popsicle to concoct a beautifully soft yet sweet popsicle, as I used coconut cream and milk. While coconut cream and milk can be watery at times, in this recipe, the two married well when combined with heavy cream and formed a deliciously velvety flavor that allowed the richness of the coconut to shine. This popsicle was also very sweet along with its rich flavor, as I also added sugar and vanilla extract to amplify the natural sweetness from the coconut. The recipe is relatively easy to make, like the Dreamsicle, since all you need is a bowl and whisk, time, and patience! Each popsicle recipe, including this one, is low maintenance, and the only catch would be the time you must wait for these cooling sweet treats. But, with enough effort and patience, you’re sure to obtain a fantastic result! Ingredients: - 1 can coconut cream - 1 can coconut milk - 1 tsp vanilla extract - ¾ cup coconut flakes - 1 ¾ cup heavy cream - 1 pinch of salt Directions: - Grab a medium bowl, be sure to have a whisk - Add the coconut cream, milk, and heavy cream to the bowl; whisk until thoroughly combined -Make sure not to over whisk as the heavy cream may turn into whipped cream if overmixed - Once combined thoroughly, add the vanilla extract and salt, then whisk again until fully combined - Add the coconut flakes and gently combine with the whisk or a spatula - After completely combined, pour the mixture into popsicle molds or ice cube molds (add one skewer or toothpick into each ice cube box, it will act as a handle to remove the popsicle and hold it) - Put in the freezer and wait for popsicles to freeze overnight or for 10-12 hours - Once completely solidified, carefully pull or remove popsicles from molds/ice cube trays, and enjoy! Strawberry-Raspberry Popsicle: Another fantastic flavor combination with popsicles is raspberries and strawberries, which leave a delightful yet tangy taste lingering after eating one of these popsicles. I wanted a sweet yet more sour flavor for this popsicle, which I thought combining strawberries and raspberries would achieve perfectly. Even if combining too much of these two fruits could result in a very watery mixture, this is deceiving since the mixture freezes over perfectly, creating an easily chewable and delectable popsicle. Even if this popsicle takes as much time as each other recipe to make, it is slightly easier since you don’t have to be as careful with combining the ingredients as with the other two recipes since it only requires blending until you reach a watery consistency. Also, the recipe is very versatile since you could technically add any berries you wanted to and even substitute the strawberries for more raspberries or vice versa! Ingredients: - 4-5 strawberries, with tops cut off - ½ cup raspberries - ¼ cup granulated sugar - ¼ cup water - 2 tbsp lemon/lime juice Directions: - Grab a blender (preferable option)/food processor or medium bowl, be sure to have a mashing device if using the bowl Blender Version: - Making sure to cut the tops off the strawberries, add the strawberries and raspberries to the blender - After adding fruits, add the sugar, water, and lemon/lime juice - Blend on medium speed until fully combined/watery consistency Bowl Version: - Making sure to cut the tops off the strawberries, add the strawberries and raspberries to the bowl - Use the masher to mash together the strawberries and raspberries until fully mashed - Add the rest of the ingredients (lemon/lime juice, sugar, and water) with a whisk and mix until thoroughly combined to a watery mixture - After completely combined, pour the mixture into popsicle molds or ice cube molds (add one skewer or toothpick into each ice cube box, it will act as a handle to remove the popsicle and hold it) - Put in the freezer and wait for popsicles to freeze overnight or for 10-12 hours - Once completely solidified, carefully pull or remove popsicles from molds/ice cube trays, and enjoy! BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork The Memory Project Back to Sections Mustapha By Gilana Etame March 28, 2022 Mixed Media Volume 2 Issue 5

Back to Articles Entertainment & Media Back to Sections A Recommendation of Brahms: Op. 39, Sixteen Waltzes By William Mullin Volume 2 Issue 1 October 8, 2021 Image provided by Britannica Brahms’s Op. 39, a set of sixteen waltzes, originally composed of piano four hands, are lucid insights into the human condition. Impressively hypnotizing yet simplistically structured, Brahms’s waltzes are all formatted around introducing a theme, transitioning to a developmental passage to build tension and add variety, and thankfully, again, reprising the theme. Sometimes this repeats or Brahms strays from the formula a bit, but overall, all these pieces can be generalized by this structure. A piece wrapped around a theme. A simple structure, admittedly, but that does not detract from either Brahms’s talent or the beauty of these sixteen waltzes. To the 21st-century ear, Brahms’s music is surprisingly like western pop music, which has trained us to love choruses, hooks, and refrains. So, when we hear a catchy theme with multiple reprisals -- evident in -- all these pieces, played with differing intensity and interpretation, our brains love it. Ranging from thirty-two seconds to two minutes and twelve seconds, the waltzes are short, bite-sized, thematic pieces of beauty when viewed individually but a concise masterpiece when listened to in totality. Designed initially for piano four hands, a duet consisting of two individuals typically playing on the same piano or two different pianos, Brahms composed this short set of waltzes in 1865. It was later published in 1866. Vienna’s local music at the time significantly influenced Brahms, for the waltz dance form had become extremely popular there. Translated to the piano, this form is jive-like and danceable but also thought-provoking and intimate. A form that has since become a classic staple in piano repertoire for a reason, with composers of waltzes ranging from Chopin and Liszt to Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn. And I haven’t even begun to speak from the perspective of a pianist, one who has played these pieces. As a listener, yes, these pieces are beautiful. But as one of the players in a duet, these pieces are transcendental. It is necessary to be coordinated with one’s partner, for interpretation is crucial to the evocative nature of these pieces. But, once that synchronization clicks, the duets are two humans speaking to the world through one piano. A dialogue of notes, but unlike any spoken dialogue one has heard. Inflections of the voice could never change the meaning of words as much as the pianists’ individualistic playing of these pieces changes the meaning of the notes. One enters a flow state when listening to music of any kind, but when playing such evocative music, the pianists enter the mind of the work’s composer. Coupled with dual interpretation, these duets are a rich example of the human phenomenon that is music. It shows in Anna Polonsky’s facial expressions during her performance of the Opus with Emanuel Ax, which is available on YouTube, just how moving these compositions are. No 1. in B major, the start of this set. An explosive jive-like melody that elicits imagery of a crowd in Vienna dancing with ecstasy. From fierce passion to a lullaby-like melody, Brahms transitions to No. 2 in E major, foreshadowing the tension to be expected in No. 3 in G sharp minor. Without giving too much away, No. 2 resolves, only for the quiet initiation of No. 3 in G-sharp minor, a short passionate ebb and flowing melody that crests and descends beautifully. Then into the expressive, tense, almost scary No. 4 in E minor. Already a multitude of emotions has been spoken through Brahms that I can only describe poorly and at a surface-level. Brahms instills a wide variety of his soul and humanity into these pieces. It would also be unfair to classify too many of these pieces from my perspective, for it would ruin the surprise of listening to them and interpreting them yourself. This is lyric-less interpretative music (though just because it’s lyric-less does not mean it’s not lyri cal ). Though I hope my descriptions of the early ones were intriguing enough to sit down and check them out, I feel one would truly be missing out if they did not listen to them in totality at once in their life. A short seventeen minutes, but a beautiful experience that I have had the fortune to listen to multiple times, an experience that has helped me feel more human. Some notable pieces of the set to check out are No. 7 in C sharp minor, No. 9 in D minor, No. 11 in B minor. That being said, the most popular and widely played waltz of the set is No. 15 in A major. However, this one is much more like a lullaby than any of the others and, personally, is overrated (though still excellent). A must-listen for anyone who wants to admire humanity and a solid recommendation for any classical fanatic. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Nightmare on Main Street Back to Sections My Sister By Arunima Roy October 8, 2021 Volume 2 Issue 1

Back to Artwork Perspective Back to Sections Lexie Sowerby - Perspective By Lexie Sowerby December 16, 2020 Photography Volume 1 Issue 3

Back to Artwork The Memory Project Back to Sections Kimberly Shresta - Memory Project - 1 By Kimberly Shresta March 18, 2021 Volume 1 Issue 6