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(07/19/23 5:00am)
“Peel slowly and see,” reads the tiny text pointing to the tip of a bold yellow and black banana peel. Underneath the sticker, at least on the original copies, is pink, fleshy fruit. This phallic imagery and tongue–in–cheek humor—a signature of Andy Warhol's aesthetic brand—make up an iconic cover artwork that has earned the nickname "the Banana Album," but for those who have spent time justifying their pretentious music taste and idolizing the ’60s art scene of New York City, it's better known as The Velvet Underground & Nico. It’s the kind of album cover that has become ubiquitous with the music world, and one that you recognize without ever having listened to the band.
(07/14/23 5:00am)
By many metrics, the Western has been one of the most important genres in cinema history. Tales of the Old West were hot commodities in Golden Age Hollywood. Similar to the superhero movies of today, it wasn’t stars or exciting stories that made these movies popular; it was the genre itself that sold tickets and made people like John Wayne stars. And the idea of a Western proved adaptable, especially with European Spaghetti Westerns, which in turn incorporated elements from Japanese samurai films. The Western even served as a launching pad for other genres, with Stagecoach being the prototype for the Hollywood action movie.
(07/14/23 6:46pm)
What motivates graduate students to become graduate students? Unquenchable curiosity, a love of their field, or a desire to push the boundaries of human knowledge? Any grad student would probably point to their passion for learning. But in the same breath, that grad student would also tell you that passion doesn’t pay rent. When it boils down to it, graduate students are workers for the university they attend: they’re people who have bills to pay, need healthcare coverage, and vacation time. And at Penn, in order to wield their collective power as graduate workers and have control over the terms of their employment, Graduate Employees Together at the University of Pennsylvania (GET–UP) are seeking to form a union.
(07/14/23 5:00am)
As historians Alvin and Heidi Toeffler first posited—and my middle school history teacher eventually taught me—there have only been three great changes in all of human civilization. The first came around 12,000 years ago, as humans moved from hunter–gatherers to farmers, allowing permanent settlements and trade specialization. The second occurred around 200 years ago, as the steam engine began the Industrial Age, with urbanization, factory life, and ultimately, electricity. And the third change—in whose shadow we currently live—was computing. Once the personal computer was popularized in the mid-1980s, the Information Age could begin, allowing for global communication and instantaneous dissemination of information.
(07/07/23 12:22pm)
My whole life, Taylor Swift has been an omnipresent refrain in my life. As each new album was released, everyone in my life—be it classmates, family members, or coworkers—would arrange listening parties and obsess for hours about the intricacies of each song, lyric, and supposed easter egg. All that time, I was left out, declining to participate as Swiftie culture conquered nearly everything around me.
(07/07/23 5:00am)
BASEL, Switzerland—What are the telltale signs that someone’s made it? Is it inscribed in the way they dress, their choice of silk scarf, or seasonal handbag? Or if wealth truly whispers, it might be in the way a person carries herself—head high, shoulders low, unperturbed calm. It might be something else entirely, some mixture of pedigree and learned etiquette. But when I found myself shoulder to shoulder with the world’s most well–heeled art collectors, there was another question on my mind: Can you fake it?
(07/07/23 5:00am)
Everyone in Asteroid City is obsessed. Each character is achingly devoted to their craft, be it writing or acting or pushing the bounds of scientific innovation; and, just as Wes Anderson does himself, everyone is telling their story.
(07/07/23 5:00am)
Inside a building full of art galleries and artists’ studios in the northern edge of Chinatown is Iffy Books, a small independent bookstore filled with all things “hacking, free culture, gardening, zines.” While they may seem unrelated, this tagline summarizes the many passions of founder and Penn alum, Steve McLaughlin (C ‘08).
(07/08/23 5:19pm)
Noah Tanen eats, sleeps, and breathes food. But, it hasn’t always been this way. It wasn’t until his twenties that Noah realized his greatest passion lives in his kitchen.
(06/30/23 2:22pm)
The 76th Tony Awards, which took place on Sunday, June 11, went a bit non–traditional this year. Beyond simply taking place for the first time in the United Palace in Washington Heights, the awards ceremony was aired entirely unscripted. Despite the lack of script, the show went smoothly, with historic wins for transgender performers and awards that confirmed that audiences are thirsty for original material.
(06/30/23 2:21pm)
“I started as a bus girl and, you know, I just fell in love with it,” Ellen Yin (W ‘87, WG ‘93) says when I ask her what inspired her career in the restaurant industry. “People always say ‘Oh, I’ve got the bug, the restaurant bug.’ It’s one of those things that’s very satisfying, because you’re taking care of customers; you see people celebrating important occasions whether it be birthdays or anniversaries. It’s very satisfying to be a part of those celebrations,” she concludes.
(06/30/23 2:20pm)
Nothing can dominate pop culture forever. No matter how good the plot, how passionate the fandom, or how high the box office, eventually, all stories run their course. Westerns were once considered a permanent moneymaker. Then it was musicals. Star Wars was thought to be invulnerable to the public: now over six films and television shows have been sent back to development.
(06/30/23 5:00am)
Editor's Note: This article contains spoilers for Season 3 of 'Ted Lasso'
(06/30/23 2:25pm)
America's obsession with the true crime genre is no secret. The never–ending re–enactments are everywhere, from documentaries to television shows and podcasts. But as the genre reaches peak saturation, the question emerges: are these traumatic true stories really binge–worthy?
(06/26/23 3:47pm)
With skies darkened by wildfire soot, melting glaciers, and oceans littered with plastic, it’s easy to feel like the world is burning. Nature documentaries are an escape from this reality where it feels like all we do is threaten the outdoors. Last week, Netflix premiered Our Planet II, the sequel to the award–winning nature documentary series, Our Planet. The episodes showcase the stunning imagery associated with the genre, but also acknowledge the threat that humans pose to our environment. Our Planet is one of many nature documentaries on streaming services. Wild Babies, Dancing with the Birds, Life in Color, Chimp Empire, Our Great National Parks, Wonders of the Sea, Magical Andes … the list goes on. So why do streaming services keep churning out nature documentaries, and what does Our Planet II have to say about this growing genre?
(07/28/23 7:56pm)
Walking into Art Enables, a gallery and community arts program for people with disabilities in Washington, D.C., I was instantly greeted by friendly coordinators and the sight of artists perfecting pieces with paint brushes, markers, papers, and canvases.
(06/26/23 3:47pm)
In an era of feed scrolling and 60–second videos, no one has any abundance of time to read hundreds of pages in novels such as Victor Hugo’s famous Les Miserables or The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. But that doesn’t mean that reading is mutually exclusive with our shortened attention spans of the modern age. What if you could read in–depth stories with multifaceted characters and plots in less than 100 pages?
(06/16/23 5:00am)
Picture this: It’s 2021, and you’re seventeen years old. Your family is watching Friday Night Lights together as a COVID–19–era bonding activity, with your parents, who love the show, showing it to you and your little brother for the first time. You adore Jesse Plemmons’ nice–nerdy guy Landry and his relationship with not–bad–just–troubled girl Tyra (Adrianne Palicki). He kills a guy who is attempting to assault her. The season abruptly ends while halfway done, and the next one does nothing to resolve this plotline. You are very, very confused. The writing, prior to this, was very good. This … this is bad.
(06/16/23 5:00am)
During my childhood, the floor of my family’s Toyota Sienna was always covered in a film of sand and dirt. My parents took every chance they could get to share the outdoors with my sister and me. They were more than happy to load up our minivan with camping gear and placate my sister and me with audiobooks and Cheez–Its during trips to national parks. My mom’s constant refrain was "nature is good for the soul,” and we lived by this mantra. My family battled mosquitoes, hiked around scorching hot battlefields, pored over interpretive signage about the flora and fauna—and I loved it. Many of the formative outdoor experiences I had as a child took place in America’s National Parks. As an adult, I yearn to experience these marvels again, and make new memories.
(06/16/23 5:00am)
Lorenzo di Bonaventura (W ‘86) was in crisis.