Omar has the details you need to know about upcoming events on campus this week, including an info session about study abroad programs, the library ice cream social, and Diverse Dores Day.
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The Newest Additions to the Taste of Nashville
Let’s face it: as good as Rand bowls are, we’re going to need a break from dining hall food at some point throughout college. Thank goodness for Meal Money, which can be used to purchase food from multiple restaurants around Nashville through the Taste of Nashville Program. This school year, Vanderbilt has added a couple of new additions to the program:
Flatiron
1929 Broadway
Nashville, TN 37203
If you’re looking for a twist on American cuisine, this is the place to go! Their best-selling Nashville Hot Oysters hits a home run for those looking for an alternative to Nashville Hot Chicken. Just outside Vanderbilt’s campus, Flatiron is only a short walk for students to get homey meals with Meal Money.
Central BBQ
Nashville, TN 37203
What’s Tennessee without barbecue?!? Central BBQ provides quick service for a hearty, filling meal with home-cooked sides and entrees like pork barbecue and mac and cheese. It’s a further walk from campus, but this Southern-style restaurant will definitely hit the spot after a long day.
Grain & Berry Cafe
1806 20th Ave S
Nashville, TN 37212
Avocado toasts and açai bowls have taken over social media, and they’ve made their way to Nashville! Grain & Berry Cafe is perfect for anyone hungry for something simple, refreshing, and healthier than your average fast-food restaurant. Locals recommend the “Relax, Eat, Repeat” Superfood Bowl to cool off during humid days in Nashville.
My Commons Watch: The Snyder Cut
Three years after the disappointing Justice League, a new trailer was released on Valentine’s day titled “Zack Snyder’s Justice League”. If you don’t know already, here’s a quick recap:
Warner Brother hired Zack Snyder to direct their avengers style superhero crossover film, Justice League in 2014. Production of the film was marked by disputes between Warner Brothers and Snyder in terms of the film’s creative direction. In the midst of what was already a strained relationship between Snyder and the studio, a sudden family tragedy caused Snyder to step away from the project and hire Joss Whedon, who notably directed The Avengers, to take over. Whedon then rewrote and reshot approximately three-quarters of Snyder’s cut and released a Frankensteined Justice League to theaters in 2017. Snyder claims to have never seen this version, which, for his sake, was a great decision. While Snyder processed his personal tragedy with his family, DC fans adamantly demanded a release of the Snyder cut. Snyder encouraged this protest, and was backed up by the cast, who would mention that working under Whedon’s direction wasn’t too great. Warner Brothers finally gave in to the internet’s harassment, and here we are.
On an unrelated note, I just think it’s funny that promotional material for DC films now seems to focus more on the directors than the actual content of the film. For example, the first teaser “trailer” for Suicide Squad 2 isn’t a preview of the film, but is instead a behind the scenes cut letting people know that James Gunn (director of Guardians of the Galaxy, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2) is directing it. This is just a theory, but I like to think that Warner Brothers knows they’ve failed their audience with their existing films, and now need to tell them, “You know this director? The one who made that other film you like? He’s directing our next movie so it won’t be as bad this time”.
Until the film is released on HBO Max and people can see it for themselves, it wouldn’t be fair to judge it. But I’m still skeptical about it for three reasons.
First off, Zack Snyder’s disputes with Warner Brothers stemmed from his desire to show a twisted take on the DC universe. Warner Brothers was looking for a family-friendly franchise that could follow in the footsteps of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Snyder wants to realize a dark, edgy perspective he has on superheroes. Audiences can watch this dispute unfold on screen. When Batman is killing people in cold blood, it’s Zack Snyder. When he dispenses a corny line that falls flat, it’s Warner Brothers. If Snyder has been granted as much creative control as sources report, then perhaps there will at least be some tonal consistency. But even so, Snyder’s dark take is unfaithful to the original comic book material. For the rest of us who haven’t read the comics, it’s just difficult to watch characters in tights try to convey mature, R-rated concepts.
Secondly, I just don’t think Zack Snyder is a good director. People often refer to 300 as proof that Snyder can make a good movie. 300 is a technically and stylistically sensational film. But if you look past the gore and slow motion, the story just doesn’t hold up in my opinion. I think it’s popularity stemmed from its shock value, and it just left a good impression in people’s minds. It’s pretty obvious that Snyder employed the same techniques in his subsequent films. Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman have that kind of Snyder action, as well as the weak stories to go along with it. And at face value, it makes no sense why Warner Brothers would want to keep hiring Snyder when all his DC films have ranged from mediocre to terrible. The only reason I can think of is that despite their poor quality, the nostalgia and overseas market is enough to make these films profitable for the studio. On paper, Snyder’s movies have consistent earnings. Once you pay for the movie, no matter how bad it is, you’ve already given Warner Brothers one more reason to hire Zack Snyder again.
Finally, there’s the matter of the superhero formula. DC movies seem to like making trailers that basically reveal the entire plot of the movie. The “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” video seems like it fits in that category. I could of course be wrong, but from what I can glean from the trailer, powerful villains are looking for magical objects that will let them conquer the universe, so the heroes have to band together and defeat the villains in a climactic battle towards the end of the movie. You might be thinking, “Well aren’t all superhero movies like that?”. And yes, that’s true. It’s a formula that Marvel took years to break away from. But unfortunately for DC, Marvel came first. So unless this film manages to introduce creative nuances or novel concepts, it will be a movie we’ve all seen before. And based on Snyder’s track record, it seems like this is very likely.
My Commons Watch: Extracurricular
Before anything else, let me just be clear. This feature isn’t just for Koreans.
Korean digital entertainment has made incredible strides in just a couple decades. K-pop is the most obvious one, reaching billions of fans worldwide, and earning billions as well. Then there is Korean cinema, which is, in my opinion, some of the most underrated content in the world. I’ve been an avid consumer of Korean movies for a while now and can’t help but notice its superiority in a lot of aspects (story, characters, cinematography, etc.) compared to Hollywood blockbusters. Not only that, but it is often done with a fraction of the budget.
The good news is, Korean cinema is getting noticed more and more. Oldboy, The Host, and Memories of Murder are just a few classics that let Korea first break into the global scene. Back when I was a middle schooler, I began to notice more and more Korean movies coming to American theaters, and it’s how I was able to enjoy titles like New World, A Taxi Driver, and Along With the Gods. And last year, Parasite became a global must-watch that made history at the Oscars, winning four academy awards. These movies show that Korean movies don’t just have to be for Koreans, and that good movies can transcend language barriers. I highly recommend you see these titles for yourselves.
But what about Korean TV? In my opinion, it’s an entirely different industry. Most of the market is saturated with romance soap operas, called K-dramas, aimed at middle aged women. As a result, they suffer from a host of problems, like crummy acting and lazy writing. This isn’t necessarily an issue, however. If the content is entertaining for its demographic, and the show serves its monetary purpose, then there is no reason for its producers to try any harder. But now, we’re beginning to see these shows coming onto streaming platforms like Netflix, and reaching a wider audience of all ages. We’re seeing these shows adopt more modern premises and casting actors that are popular among younger audiences. If you haven’t already noticed, they take up a significant portion of everyone’s Netflix browsing page these days.
Personally, I cannot stomach most of these shows. Some of you might recognize titles like Crash Landing on You and Itaewon Class. Don’t let me spoil these shows for you if you enjoy them, but they are objectively lacking in a lot of ways. After sifting through these shows, I finally stumbled upon one that truly engaged me, and stands far from the rest: Extracurricular. Let’s talk about what Extracurricular does well, and what typical K-drama problems it avoids.
When you first start a K-drama, it’ll probably be great. I reluctantly watched Itaewon Class by a friend’s recommendation. the first two episodes were great and genuinely moving for me. Then, things started to slow down a bit in the third, and I began to worry if I was being led into the same trap that I had fallen into many times before. Sure enough, the story came to an agonizing crawl by the eighth episode. In the ninth, there is a scene where a child gets lost chasing a cat and the main characters look for her and find her in a playground. That’s it. It didn’t change the characters in anyway or have any impact whatsoever on the overall story. That’s when I decided I couldn’t take it anymore.
This illustrates a fundamental issue with K-dramas. They exist for monetary gain and do the absolute bare minimum for it. The writer’s hook you with the initial episodes, then stop trying in the middle, then try again on the final episodes to leave you with a good impression. These middle episodes are riddled with scenes that exist just to waste your time, but they are sprinkled with just enough cliff hangers to keep you wondering and hold you over until the end. As far as the producers are concerned, you’ve just watched their entire show and put more cash into their pockets.
Another problem with K-dramas is the lack of subtlety. They are extremely clear about what they want you to be thinking and feeling at any given moment. If it’s supposed to be a funny scene, enter goofy music. If we’re supposed to be sad, enter the violins. It’s pretty much one song for each emotion, and they get played every single time. If the current scene is relevant to a previous one, instead of letting the audience make the connection on their own, there is always a flashback, even if the scene happened minutes ago. Sometimes, characters will even talk out loud about how they’re feeling when they’re all by themselves. Who the hell are you talking to?
Finally, what I always complain about on this feature: the characters. First off, I can’t get over how they talk. It’s an understood rule with these shows that every single line the actors deliver have dramatic pauses between them. But why does this have to be the case? I get that it’s supposed to make them sound cooler, but nobody talks like that. Not only can I not relate to these characters as a result, but “dramatic” moments are ruined because of how hilariously stupid it sounds. Characters are also simplistic. Each one has pretty much one trait, then every scene featuring them is devoted to shoving that trait in our faces, as if we’ll forget it if they stop. The bully won’t stop going out of his way to show people how much of a bully he is. The character who wants revenge won’t shut up about how much he wants it.
To be honest, I could go on forever about all the things these shows do wrong. The important takeaway is that Extracurricular avoids all these problems. It follows a high school student’s life in the harshly competitive and stressful 21st century Korean society, and his illegal side hustle that lands him in trouble. Characters are unpredictably deep and change over time. The show conveys deep themes using clever symbolism and metaphors. And the show’s social commentary on modern Korean society and its students is chillingly dark. It’s also just shot better. You can tell that the producers actually cared about what was occupying the screen.
To me, Extracurricular is the beginning of Korean TV finally following in the footsteps of Korean movies and rising from its status as a niche form of entertainment. As I said before, this show doesn’t have to be just for Koreans. If the past decade of Korean movies has said anything, its that you should give Extracurricular a chance.
My Commons Watch: The Boys
Welcome to My Commons Watch! In this section, we will be looking over entertainment in the digital form, be it a Netflix show or viral Youtube video. Of course, once you finish reading up on each week’s topic, checking it out for yourself is absolutely mandatory! This week’s edition: The Boys
The Boys, created by Eric Kripke, has everything you would want. From gruesome superhero action to Rick and Morty style satire, this mature TV show isn’t here to play around. It offers uncomfortably realistic insight into corporate corruption, media culture, and the implications that real superheroes in today’s society would have. There is also no shortage of gore for us to really feel the action. For example, a recurring treat throughout this past season (season 2) was static shots of people’s heads exploding.
But violence isn’t all that separates this show from the rest. If you haven’t watched it already, I’m sure many of you have at least heard of it by now. The first season of The Boys excels in the single most important aspect of any film and TV production: writing. The written story is what drives any kind of production, what truly engages the audience, and what allows any filmmaker to create something great, no matter how low their budget. Most blockbuster films in theaters today are nostalgia cash grabs with no soul or substance, yet they still manage to make millions. Indie films with low budgets, on the other hand, rely on writing to stand out, and thus, offer some of the most creative and thought provoking content. So if a well-funded project could have even decent writing, it would be unstoppable. That brings us to The Boys.
Eric Kripke, the shows creator, previously worked on another show called Supernatural. Supernatural is the longest running sci fi TV show of all time, with its final season, season 15, premiering last October. The quality of the show has certainly declined in recent years, but that’s to be expected of a show over 15 years old. I bring this show up because Supernatural is a great example of how writing alone can elevate a show. Many might look at the soap opera style cinematography and dismiss the show as a typical CW drama, but it’s writing, at least in the earlier seasons, is quite underrated. Supernatural takes place in a world with ghosts, werewolves, and demons, but the characters are the best part of the show. In my opinion, love for these well written characters is what drove the show’s success, and I was glad to see Eric Kripke carry that attention into The Boys. And that’s what I want to talk about today: How to write great characters and how a show can be ruined if you neglect them.
Every single character in the show was properly fleshed out with realistic flaws and motivations. This means the villains aren’t mustache twirling villains who deliver pointless monologues, and the protagonists aren’t one-dimensional saints who just want to do good for no reason. In fact, almost all of the protagonists are murderers. The dialogue is witty, and hilariously colorful in a rated R kind of way. It does a great job of distinguishing the characters, to the point where, if I was just reading their lines on a paper, I would know exactly who was saying what. This sort of character depth made their actions unpredictable, and I often found myself wondering what they would do next. It was rewarding to watch and learn how these characters with so many layers navigated each other’s emotions and formed fragile relationships. All of this, however, is forgotten in season two.
There are several common clichés in mainstream media that TV characters fall victim to. Those of you who have watched the show might be confused, because season two certainly had more character centered scenes than season one did. Well, that’s exactly the problem. Too many character interactions in season two screamed, “hey, this is character development”. This isn’t inherently wrong, of course, and can actually be a profound moment if done right. In season one, these moments gave us more insight into motivations, served as lessons for the characters, and helped them move forward in the plot. They always served a purpose other than “watch these two characters interact”. In season two, characters are just exchanging back stories that hold no stakes in the present, or arguing about basic ethical dilemmas for the hundredth time. The dialogue is, simply put, boring, and characters reach simple conclusions. In the end, I’m not anymore invested in their relationships than I was before, nor am I happy that I watched a scene that only existed to waste my time.
Season two also bended the characters we loved to serve the plot. This leads to confusing inconsistencies that turn the character’s we’ve come to know into strangers. For example, we know just how deeply Butcher hates Starlight because we sympathize with his hatred for superheroes who ruined his life. But the plot demanded that they work together, so Butcher overcomes his hate in just one episode. Even worse, it is thanks to one of my most hated clichés: Butcher doesn’t trust Starlight at first, but then Starlight saves his life once and Butcher says, “Thanks for what you did back there”, and suddenly all is forgiven. Another example is when a superhero who controls fire, Lamplighter, burns Mallory’s grandchildren alive, then comes face to face with Mallory years later. Lamplighter says, “You have no idea how guilty I feel”, and next thing you know, him and Mallory are teaming up. People don’t act like this, and the characters definitely should not have.
Also, this is just a personal issue, but I feel as though everyone just got softer this season. Whereas in season one, the boys were completely fine with blowing superheroes up, it is cause for ethical concerns in season two. This is yet another case of bending the characters to serve the plot: The protagonists need to be the good guys, and good guys are supposed to have moral compasses.
To put it simply, the writing took a hard hit between season one and two. Did the writer’s just become lazy after the show’s success? Are they on a tight schedule? After all, the show was greenlit for a third season before the second season even came out. But this doesn’t necessarily mean it was bad. In fact, I know that most people actually enjoyed this season, and you might too. It certainly had its moments, and I think it presented some great social commentary on the current political climate. But I think fans can at least agree that the new season did not match the quality of the first. I just hope The Boys doesn’t forget what made it so great in the first place.
My Commons Watch: Nightcrawler
Welcome to My Commons Watch. In this section, we will be looking over entertainment in the digital form, be it a Netflix show or viral Youtube video. Of course, once you finish reading up each week’s topic, checking it out for yourself is absolutely mandatory! This week’s edition: Nightcrawler
Nightcrawler is a 2014 crime thriller directed by Dan Gilroy, with an uncomfortably realistic take on modern media culture. And I have to say, Jake Gyllenhaal, who plays Louis Bloom, gives one of his greatest performances on screen.
Louis Bloom is a sociopath. He lives and operates alone, down on his luck financially, and most certainly not making strides on the social scene. But one night, he stumbles upon the world of stringing, also known as night crawling. Night crawlers celebrate when a building burns. They make vacation plans when a family is killed. Because, when these tragedies happen, night crawlers are on the scene with a camera and a light, angling for the best shot to deliver to news stations. The more shocking the footage, the more bills in their pockets. Naturally, this career appeals to our lovely protagonist, who shows talent early on. As morbid as the job can be at times, Lou manages to take it even further.
SPOILERS!
Dan Gilroy’s directorial debut film had audiences, including myself, at the edge of our seats, and I practically fell off during the movie’s final act. Few films have filled me with so much suspense. So, what makes Nightcrawler so entertaining? Why do we enjoy watching a sociopath with no redeeming qualities or relatable human traits? First, we must learn about Lou’s sociopathy.
Lou’s dialogue is something particularly unique to this film. He rarely speaks about his feelings, and when he does, it is with sinister intentions that chill us to the bone. Every other time, however, Lou is citing facts, teaching other characters, and keeping every thing in concise, logical verbal packages. At no point do we feel frustrated or feel the pace of the movie slow down for Lou do navigate complex emotions. He has none. He continually takes the logical next step, whether it’s morally questionable or not, and he wins every time. As audience members, we take joy in watching Lou do what we wish we could. Emotionlessly knowing exactly what to do and taking what we want, when we want it.
Most importantly, we are shown that society rewards emotionless characters like Lou. The news station boss praises Lou for his gruesome recordings, and pays him handsomely for them. Viewership for the news broadcast even increases. It’s a clear commentary on the media culture we are all guilty of participating in, but it also creates a bridge between us and a sociopath like Lou. Maybe we all are sociopaths in some way, but we just don’t admit it to ourselves. And while entertaining our selfish desires are satisfying to watch at first, Lou eventually takes a dark turn that even we can’t follow.
Lou sits by while a family is shot and records the suspects. Lou captures footage of the bleeding family members without ever calling for help. Lou keeps the footage of the suspects to himself, and waits for the criminals to commit another crime. Even this, we can accept as an audience, even empathize. We all can appreciate an artist dedicated to his work. The moment this empathy stops, however, is when Lou delivers this line to his partner in crime: “What if my problem wasn’t that I don’t understand people, but that I don’t like them?”. Lou holds no emotional attachments to his partner, Rick, who stuck by Lou through his entire journey, and undoubtedly helped him succeed. We value our connections with people we’ve spent significant amounts of time with, and even the evilest movie villains have someone they trust. Lou holds none of these sentiments, and when he intentionally lets Rick get shot, we are woken up to his true emptiness.
Nightcrawler puts us face to face with our less acknowledged, dark selves. Even now, 7 years after the film’s release, it’s message hits home.
Top 5 Steps to Curb Your Phone Use
Netflix’s “Social Dilemma” has created some waves across the internet for it’s insight into the social media industry. If you haven’t watched it yet, there are two things to take away from it:
-What goes on behind your screen every time you so much as tap it would shock you.
-You need to curb your screen time now
1. Move Distracting Apps to the Last Page
This means Instagram , Youtube, Snapchat, Netflix, Prime Video, TikTok, even freaking Reddit. Basically, if you’ve ever hopped on the app, and two hours suddenly flew by, it qualifies. Move just these apps to their own home page all the way at the end. This way, at least it will take a few swipes to get to them. It’s in these critical seconds that you may be able to catch yourself and think, “maybe I don’t need to see how Addison is doing”.
2. Create a Folder
This is a nifty feature on the iPhone. It’s a great way of organizing your apps, but in our case, it’s another failsafe. Move all of your social media apps into one folder, so that it’s just one lonely app on the corner of your homepage. Title it something that might catch your attention, like “TRUMP 2024”. This does two things. First, you now have to perform an extra tap to access those apps, giving you more critical milliseconds to rethink your decision. Secondly, you’ll wonder why you titled the folder something so ridiculous, and remember that you are trying to tell yourself to stop and put your phone down.
3. Use IOS 14 widgets
Your phone’s last homepage with its singular social media folder is just too empty, right? Go ahead and add the “Screen time” widget, and choose the biggest option that takes up half your screen. It shows how much time you have spent on your phone for the day, as well as for different categories of apps. Here, you are slapping a giant sign above your apps to guilt yourself away from them. You can track the time and try to set goals for yourself. If not, at least it makes you ask, “am I really about to log my 4th hour on Instagram?”
4. Turn off notifications
One of the scariest parts about “The Social Dilemma” was their explanation of how these apps draw you back to them. If a user has not been on the app for a while, the AI decides to send excess notifications to bring you back. Even if it’s irrelevant to you, once you open the app again, you’ve fallen into the trap. This doesn’t mean turn off any notifications from the app altogether. If you are willing to do that, that’s great. For those of us who still want to use the apps, however, we can go into the notification settings within each app and disable notifications for updates you don’t need. On Instagram, for example, I don’t need to know whenever somebody goes live.
5. Out of Sight, Out of Mind
This is an obvious one, and something most of you are doing already. When you need to focus, turn off your ringer, and put the phone somewhere you cannot see it. Otherwise, you’ll be pulled away every time your screen blinks to life with a new notification.
The Introvert’s Guide to College: Alone or Lonely?
I cannot count the amount of times growing up, I was asked why I was alone. I was social and hung out with people, but I also had a tendency to sit and do stuff by myself for hours, like reading or writing. And at the time, I thought it was because I was shy and didn’t know how to talk to people but looking back at it now, maybe it had more to do with the fact that I didn’t want to talk to people. I actually liked being alone. (Now I know how that sounds. People who like to be by themselves are considered to be loners, a title that sometimes even extends itself to weirdo. But I think loners get a bad rep.)
Besides needing the alone time to recharge, introverts just like spending alone time with themselves. It isn’t the same as being lonely. While there are people I would like to hang out with, I also like working with myself. Being alone allows you to connect with yourself on a level that you may not be able to on a day to day basis when you’re around everyone else. When I’m by myself, I can sort out my thoughts, work through any problems that are bothering me, or even just meditate. I don’t think enough people are okay with being alone with themselves and their thoughts, which is why you see so many attempts of people trying to distract themselves from…well themselves.
Next time you’re by yourself and are about to text someone to hang out, figure out whether it is because you’re alone or lonely. And if you’re just alone for once, take a few moments to enjoy it.
The Introvert’s Guide to College: Saying No to the Party
The weekend is a necessity for most of us, a break from the craziness of the work week. And the weekend means different things to all of us. Maybe you get to sleep in more or catch up on a TV show. However, for a lot of people, the end of the work week is the beginning of the party week.
Now, I think parties are fun, even as an introvert. As long as I have a few friends with me, I can make the large crowds work. But, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel pressured into joining the party when I would rather spend the weekend recharging after a long week. And sometimes that pressure can be hard to ignore.
While you should push yourself to be a part of social events and go out with friends, don’t be afraid to say no. I’ve been around people who are able to go out every single night on the weekend, and while the idea of it sounds fun, I know I would be exhausted by the end of it. So, I’ve learned to say no to invitations.
Something that’s hard to believe for some people is that though many people attend parties, many people also stay away from them. Throughout our college years, there will be hundreds of parties, but mental health should always come first. It’s okay to say no to the party.
Victorious is on Netflix now, so saying no is the better option anyway. 🙂
The Introvert’s Guide to College #2: Recharging
One of the hardest things to explain to people is a process that has been coined “recharging”. Recharging explains what a lot of introverts have to do after being around people for a long period of time. For me, after a long day of being in lecture halls with dozens of people or just being surrounded by people all day, I find myself looking for alone time.
Don’t get me wrong, I love being around people a lot of the time and socializing and all that good stuff.
But I do have my limit. And when it’s reached it’s time to recharge.
There’s a lot of reasons for this “recharging” that many introverts have to do. Some say it’s the result of overstimulation, having to socialize for a long period of time without a break. Michelle Connolly called it “psychological claustrophobia”, where you feel like you’ve been surrounded by a lot of people and under so much social pressure that you just need to find some alone time.
In these cases, you have to find out how to get all the energy that was lost back.
For me, being in my room for a little while and reading or listening to music works. Recharging is different for everyone but what’s important is that you take the time you need to do it. It can be hard to say no to plans that your friends invite you to, especially when it seems like everyone else is going and having fun. But always remember to put you and your mental health first. You’ll thank yourself that you did.