Goodness Gracious, Graduation!
When I took Sociology of Body and Health back in fall 2019, Professor Shostak assigned us a project to change one aspect of our bodily practices for a week and write an ethnography about the experience. So, not unlike many of my peers who chose to play around with colorful hair dye, fake piercings, or […]
‘The Slow Rush’ is a slow burn
It’s been five long years since the release of “Currents,” Tame Impala’s cult favorite, critically acclaimed, third full-length album. Now, with “The Slow Rush,” Kevin Parker––the creator of and mastermind behind Tame Impala––has returned. This long-awaited project, released to much anticipation on Valentine’s Day, is very much a logical progression to Parker’s discography: Long gone […]
Young Thug’s ‘So Much Fun’ really is so much fun
Though Young Thug may have over a dozen mixtapes in his discography, “So Much Fun” is the effervescent Atlanta-based rapper’s debut studio album, as well as his most commercially successful project so far. Originally released on the rapper’s 28th birthday back in August 2019, “So Much Fun” was unconventional for precisely how conventional it felt. […]
‘Unforgotten Song’ remembers the comfort women of World War II
Between 1932 and 1945, imperial Japan was at war with numerous countries in Asia and the Pacific. During this time, the Japanese government enslaved between an estimated 80,000 to 280,000 women from various occupied countries, including Korea, Taiwan, China and the Philippines, horrifically sending these women to military brothels to “comfort” stationed Japanese soldiers. This […]
‘Feet of Clay’ gave me a foot fetish
In the biblical Book of Daniel, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a giant statue with a head of gold, silver chest and arms, bronze stomach and thighs, calves of iron and feet of iron and baked clay. When a stone strikes the statue, the sculpture, in all its greatness, collapses. The prophet Daniel, speaking […]
‘Women in World Jazz’ takes Brandeis on a world tour – without leaving Chums
Now in their fifth year as an all-female quintet, Women in World Jazz promises bright, educational and jazzy music performances from around the world. Tal Shalom-Kobi is the group’s director, and her talents range from vocals to upright bass to accordion. Candida Rose is the lead vocalist, and her compelling voice and vibrant stage presence […]
The women of ‘Hustlers’ make money moves
It’s 2007, and strip clubs are having a kind of cultural moment. As we see in the opening of “Hustlers,” that means the dancers are wearing designer furs and leather boots, and the customers, former fraternity brothers working on Wall Street, are more than happy to blow thousands of dollars after a grueling nine to […]
‘The Farewell’ is a funeral disguised as a wedding
Lulu Wang’s sophomore film “The Farewell” begins with the words “based on an actual lie” –– a catchy tagline to its poignant exploration of family politics and the falsehoods we use to protect our loved ones. Based in part on Wang’s own life, the story unfolds from the perspective of Billi (Awkwafina), a 20-something New […]
