Category: Arts & Culture

  • ComplexCon Cooked Up

    The third annual pop culture festival known as ComplexCon, took place at the Long Beach Convention Center over the November 3-4 weekend. Artists, visionaries and pop culture enthusiasts gathered at the convention to socialize and celebrate culture.

    “This year, ComplexCon will focus on the enlightenment and empowerment of the individual, reflecting the issues and conversations that permeate and influence culture today from entertainment to art to politics,” said a released statement from ComplexCon. This year’s theme was cooked up by world renowned contemporary artist, Takashi Murakami, who is the founding host committee member of the event. Murakami created the logo by producing an ensō, which is considered sacred in Zen tradition. The ensō, which is a circular shape, can represent strength, fullness, or the universe, the theme was really up to interpretation.

    “And I am deeply affected by events and chaos in the world but see incredible young people rise up to tackle them. And from that energy new things are born that touch everything in culture. It was important to embrace this at ComplexCon this year,” Murakami said in an interview on why he chose that specific theme.

    This year’s festivities also included guest speakers, called ComplexCon(versations). The most prominent speaker was Virgil Abloh, eminent fashion designer who spoke to new and upcoming designers about the ethics of designing and fashion industry. Other speakers included Wale, Don C, Nas, Jaden Smith, and many more.

    The convention also held musical performances from artists such as Future, Rae Sremmurd, Vince Staples, Action Bronson, and many others. The musical event was hosted by none other than Takashi Murakami and Pharrell Williams.

    The two day convention, held true to its meaning by bringing together multiple forces of culture to weave together the complex nature that is art, entertainment, and media.

  • Underrated Michael Jackson Songs

    1. “Loving You”

    2. “Butterflies”

    3. “Give into Me”

    4. “Streetwalker”

    5. “I Can’t Help It “

    6. “The Lady in My Life”

    7. “Take Me Back”

    8. “Maybe Tomorrow”

    9. “Lookin’ Through The Windows”

    10. “Lovely One”

  • Jazz Ready for Thursday Concert

    On November 1, the Poly Jazz Bands will have their first concert of the year in the Poly Auditorium. Each of the four bands will perform four songs, and each song will feature several improvisational soloists.

    Band director Chris Stevens said during Jazz “A” band rehearsal on Monday that he has been “looking forward to the concert for months”  and that the bands are “well prepared.” After several weeks of intense practice, he believes that each band is off to a “great start.”

    The concert will open with the “C” band, an ensemble of freshman musicians that are brand new to the Poly music scene and to jazz music. As the concert progresses, the age and experience of the players increases and culminates at the “A” band. Senior Jazz A trumpeter Adam Traut said that the band is able play “with lots of energy.” He’s proud to have made it to the top level for two years and will be a featured soloist tomorrow evening.

    While programming the concert, Stevens found a 1939 big band chart by the name of “The Bouncing Ball” tucked away in the Poly music library. As he unearthed it, he found the paper records from when the chart was last inventoried in 1940. Stevens handed it out to Jazz A and they will be performing it at the concert as a nostalgic nod to Poly’s long history of musical excellence.

    Junior trombonist Evan Hoover said that the piece would be a “great trip down memory lane” for the audience.

    Everyone in the Poly Jazz program is looking forward to another year playing in one of Southern California’s premier high school music ensembles.

    The concert will start at 7 p.m. in the Poly Auditorium and will run to approximately 9:30.

  • Hopes Legacies

    Hopes Legacies

    A new T.V. series Legacies premiered October 25 on The CW. It is a spinoff of the hit T.V. show The Originals. Legacies was created by Julie Plec, the creator of The Originals and co-creator of The Vampire Diaries.

    It stars Hope Mikaelson, portrayed by actress Danielle Rose Russell, known as the daughter of Klaus Mikaelson and Hayley Marshall. It also features characters from The Vampire Diaries such as; Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley), Alaric Saltzman (Matt Davis), Jeremy Gilbert (Steven R. McQueen), and Matt Donovan (Zach Roerig).

    The show focuses on Hope who attends school at the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted. The school is a safe place for kids who descend from the bloodlines of vampires, witches, werewolves, and any other supernatural creature. The school is a place where all the students can be themselves and not have to hide their differences from the outside world. The Salvatore Boarding school appears in the show The Vampire Diaries, where vampires, Stefan Salvatore and Damon Salvatore live.

    So far only the pilot has aired but there are scheduled to be 3 more episodes coming out. The next episodes will come out November 1, 8, and 15 at 9 PM on The CW, Thursday nights.

  • Halloween Returns

    Halloween is a slasher horror movie that came out October 19, directed and written by David Gordon Green. It stars Nick Castle, reprising his role as the silent, ruthless killer Michael Myers, and Jamie Lee Curtis, reprising her role as survivor Laurie Strode, who suffers from PTSD as a result of the Halloween killings that took place in the original 1978 film of the same name.

    Going into this new movie, I was not expecting much. I thought, “This Michael Myers, he is just a normal dude, right? Can’t be that scary, right?” I was wrong. The killer’s humanity really adds to the horror, knowing that the person behind all the evil, gruesome killings is a human being. It grounds the horror and makes it feel real, like this is something that could happen. The deep dark evil desires that lie within certain individuals: that is real horror.

    Michael Myers’ stalking of his victims throughout the movie builds a constant tense, uneasy feeling. The audience almost always feels uncomfortable, like they have got this feeling in their gut that is telling them something is not right. Almost everyone has felt that way that way at some point in their normal lives, like when they are taking the trash out at night or walking home alone. You get that irrational, paranoid fear that something or someone is lurking in the shadows, watching you. The movie preys on this fear that most of us have, and that is pretty neat.

    The movie has a strong female protagonist (representation is always nice) while avoiding turning her into a cliched invincible, battled-hardened veteran. She is relatable. She shows vulnerability and fear. But she chooses to confront and fight the killer anyways, and that is what real courage is: being intimidated by some challenge but choosing to confront it anyways. So that was nice.

    The ending of the movie is pretty cliche and almost eye-rolling-ly predictable, the kind that makes you go, “Alright, c’mon. Really?” That left a sour taste in my mouth going out of the theater, but overall, while this movie isn’t exactly high art, I had a fun, frightening time. I’d recommend to anyone just looking for a fun scary movie to watch.

  • The Signs as Thanksgiving Episodes

    Aries: The Boondocks season 1, episode 10: ‘The Itis’

    Scorpio:  The Simpsons season 2, episode 20: ‘Bart vs. Thanksgiving’

    Pisces: Cheers season 5, episode 9: ‘Thanksgiving Orphans’

    Sagittarius: George Lopez season 2, episode 9: ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,

    Honey?’

    Leo: Friends season 5, episode 8: ‘The One With All the Thanksgiving Flashbacks’

    Taurus: That 70s Show season 1, episode 9: ‘Thanksgiving’

    Gemini: How I Met Your Mother season 3, episode 9: ‘Slapsgiving’

    Cancer: Bewitched season 4, episode 12: ‘ Samantha’s Thanksgiving to Remember

    Virgo: Gilmore Girls season 3, episode 9: ‘A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving’

    Libra: Modern Family season 6, episode 8: ‘Three Turkeys’

    Capricorn: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

    Aquarius: The Office season 7, episode 9: ‘WUPHF.com’

  • Drama Gives A Punch

    During the week of October 1, the beginner drama class of Linda Bon participated in a stage combat workshop by Doctor Stephen Grey. At his workshop, beginner students learned stage combat moves such as punches to the face, kicks to the stomach, and things you would usually see in Jackie Chan movies like Rush Hour or The Karate Kid.

    Stage combat also includes fight scenes in a live environment incorporating tools, weapons, or objects around the actors to make the scene even more realistic.

    One move Ms. Bon showed students personally was a punch across the cheek and a clap with her left hand to emulate the sound of the punch connecting to the face.

    To add on, Doctor Stephen Grey is qualified to teach these techniques as he has earned a Ph.D  from the Ohio State University and a Masters degree in at San Diego State, and a bachelor’s Degree from Cal State Long Beach. Not only that, but Dr. Stephen Grey taught stage combat workshops at La Jolla Playhouse, American Conservatory Theatre, and his home college Ohio State University.

    Bon hopes to use the workshop to potentially produce more action type plays for the people who are attracted to fight scenes in spring.

  • Check Please

    Poly’s theater department will put on a performance of Check Please Acts 1 and 2, a comedy, on November 7th, 8th, 9th, and 14th.

    The show’s main characters are Guy and Girl, both separately seeking a romantic partner and going on a series of blind dates that all go horribly wrong. They meet a myriad of exotic, annoying, or just straight up freaky people: a man believing himself to be a pirate, a kleptomaniac, a narcissist, a woman with 9 personalities, and all sorts of lively, exuberant characters. Both acts of the show are essentially the same, both of them following the dating endeavours of Guy and Girl.

    This show will be a big shift in tone from last year’s fall play, Letters to Sala, which was about a holocaust survivor recounting to her grandchildren the horrors she faced during her time in different work camps. So if anyone is looking for a humorous, more light-hearted show, they should come see Check Please at the Poly Playhouse, in room 801, on November 7th at 6:30 PM, 8th at 6:30 PM, 9th at 3:00 PM, or on the 14th at 6:30 PM.

  • Darklight, A New Relatable Play

    Coming December 10, Linda Bon and her students are putting together Darklight a play about teenagers going through anxiety and depression.

    Throughout the play some of the main characters include Moe, played by sophomore, Paris Holifield, and Van, played by sophomore Valeria Mendoza, are introduced to anxiety and depression that are also played in groups by some of the cast. The role of Depression will be played by sophomore Sidnee Justice. Anxiety will be played by Audrey Moor.

    The subject matter is important for students that feel that they are going through these emotions and can relate to the story.

    Before Bon and her class began to work on Darklight they had a brief discussion about the play with its creator, discovering where she got inspired to write it. Lindsay Price, the author of Darklight skyped with Bon and her students and answered questions about the play to get a better understanding. Price said she went on a trip to a local high school to gain some insight about teenagers and how they go through depression and anxiety.

    Darklight will be performed on December 10 at the Poly Playhouse. For more information about how to get tickets to watch the play go to the Poly Playhouse, also known as room 851.

  • Film Features Former Poly Student

    A new movie, Brian Banks, features a true story about a former Poly student.

    In 2002, Brian Banks was an All-American football player for Poly who was already commited to USC when a girl falsely accused Banks of raping and kidnapping her. He tried maintaining his innocence but the judicial system failed him and sentenced him to a decade of prison/parole. Banks was also forced to register as a sex offender. Even though he was seen as guilty, Banks was determined and fought to clear his name. With the help of the California Innocence Project, Banks was proven innocent and he was exonerated, meaning his record was cleared. So in 2012, Banks was finally able to pursue his dream to be a part of the NFL.

  • G.O.T is GOAT

    HBO offers a lot of great shows, but the best on air now is Game of Thrones. If you like action, drama, and intrigue, then this is the show for you! The story is based on a series of novels and follows a collection of prominent families in the fantasy world of Westeros. The most notable families are the Starks, Lannisters, Targaryens, and Baratheons. They all struggle to play a cut-throat political game that ends with one ruler on the Iron Throne, the game of thrones. Each has to survive using their tricks and tactics to get the throne, and those that don’t, DIE! Dun dunDUN! The show is very enjoyable. It has great acting, complex characters, great writing, cinematography, and stunning sets. You’ll be immersed in the show each episode you watch, and you’ll beg for more. The show is working on its 8th season and its said to release in the middle of 2019, so those of you that are interested still have time to catch up on this amazing show.

  • Must Reads of The Year

    The arrival of fall brings with it the need fir a good read. To help the indesisive bookworm, I have two book  suggestions that you can choose from that you might want to check out.

    First up in recommendations is Rupi Kaur’s The Sun and Her Flowers, a book filled with short poems dealing with the after effects of a breakup, the reflecting of being in one, and the redemption of one’s self. Rupi Kaur is well known for her first debut book Milk and Honey which was released in November 4th, 2014. If you loved her first book then you’ll surely enjoy her second. It’s an easy read of about 242 pages and filled with a variation of short and long poems along with some drawings spreaded here and there in the book. The book is split into 5 sections entitled; the wilting, falling, rooting, rising, and blooming, which helps Kaur tie her experiences with metaphors of flowers. About almost anyone can relate with her universal messages.

    If self reflection isn’t your cup of tea, try Amber Smith’s New York Times Bestseller The Way I Used To Be. In recent news there’s been one topic that has been talked about the most and that seems to be an ongoing issue even into today, sexual assault. This realistic fiction novel tells the story of a young girl dealing with a traumatic experience that happened just before her first year of high school. While the book is 384 pages long and split into 4 sections, each being her freshman, sophomore, junior and senior year, it documents the changes of how she copes with this experience she’s kept to herself. If you’re someone who’s into the dark realities of society,  this might be the one for you.