‘Halt and Catch Fire:’ The best show nobody watched
AMC’s “Halt and Catch Fire” is a show that deserved better. Averaging 337,000 viewers last season (compared to the 16.5 million for this season’s “Game of Thrones” finale), “Halt and Catch Fire” has been low-rated for years, without ever really gaining any traction—so how did it get to four seasons? “Halt,” set in the mid-1980’s, […]
‘Halt and Catch Fire:’ The best show nobody watched
AMC’s “Halt and Catch Fire” is a show that deserved better. Averaging 337,000 viewers last season (compared to the 16.5 million for this season’s “Game of Thrones” finale), “Halt and Catch Fire” has been low-rated for years, without ever really gaining any traction—so how did it get to four seasons? “Halt,” set in the mid-1980’s, […]
HBO’s ‘Room 104’ blazes the trail for anthology shows and deviates from TV norms
I gave up on watching “Game of Thrones” this year. I was half a season behind, and when I started trying to catch up, the episodes were just so long and the number of installments left too daunting, so even though I’d been invested in the series for years, I decided I just couldn’t do […]
Student ‘Water’ exhibit provokes sustainability discussion
“Water,” until recently on view in the Shapiro Science Center, is a multimedia exhibition comprised of sculpture, oil paintings, photographs and other forms that engage with the nature of one of our most precious resources. In a deeply changing world, these questions become even more vital. After viewing these works, I am still contemplating how […]
Tommy Hartung speaks about his Rose multimedia exhibit
“Let me tell you some of the stories,” a deep, digitally-distorted voice says, as disorienting, fish-eyed footage of a house in the middle of the desert appears on the screen. The house is desolate, with only a desiccated plant growing inside. The voice talks about strange occurrences, supernatural events witnessed by people, saying, “I’ll show […]
MFA’s photo exhibit breathes life into Lodz Ghetto
Exhibiting a collection of rare photographs taken during the Nazi occupation of the Polish city Lodz, the Museum of Fine Arts’ “Memory Unearthed: The Lodz Ghetto Photographs of Henryk Ross” should not be missed. Captured in 1939, the city of Lodz would remain under Nazi rule until January 15, 1945, when the Russian Red Army […]
‘Mirrors’ presents bizarre plot and innovative directorial decisions
“Mirrors,” directed by Otis Fuqua ’19, is a wholly satisfying one-act play staged by the Brandeis Players. I was pleasantly surprised by the dynamic, experimental visuals and the cohesive, twisting narrative. On the surface, it is the story of Fred (Abram Foster ’19), an aging, philosophical father surrounded by what might seem like a regular […]
‘Big Little Lies’ explores important themes in depth
“Big Little Lies,” an hour-long drama currently in its fourth episode on HBO, has an incredible cast. Led by Reese Witherspoon, who plays an idle, troublemaking mom, the show also features Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern and Zoë Kravitz, among others. On the surface, it appears to be a class drama about mothers and […]
Library exhibit honors activist Lenny Bruce
The best comedy is often ephemeral, expertly managing to capture and crystallize a certain point of view from an exact moment in time. But as the years go on, we often lose that cultural and sociopolitical context that allows us to “get” the jokes, which is why comedy does not age well. Unlike with literature […]
Post-Baccalaureate exhibition abstract and innovative
A new selection of thought-provoking pieces by Brandeis artists is now on display in the Dreitzer Gallery of Spingold Theater. The Post-Baccalaureate Program in Studio Art, which “provides students the space to grow as artists and develop a portfolio for graduate school admission or a studio practice,” opened its Painting and Sculpture Exhibition on Wednesday, […]
‘Legion’ packs more than the average superhero TV show
TV is usually described as a writer’s medium. Often, it is the visual components of shows—the cinematography, set design, art direction—that are the least interesting parts. What’s usually compelling is the story, the characters and the plot—but we don’t primarily watch television to see how it redefines serialized visual storytelling. Most TV shows feature rather […]
Undocumented immigrants face an ominous future
I spent my February break visiting relatives in Westchester County, an area a little north of New York City. My aunt is heavily involved with political activist groups in the area and told me about a volunteer opportunity: A church in nearby Sleepy Hollow was holding an information session for undocumented immigrants, and they needed […]
