Category: Arts & Culture

  • Marvels Eternals

    Marvels Eternals

    On November 5, Marvel Studios’ new feature film Eternals hit theatres worldwide. With this movie being the third feature film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s fourth phase, it centers on introducing more characters from the Marvel Comics to the big screen, primarily, as the name of the movie implies, the Eternals, who are immortal cosmic beings created by the Prime Celestial, Arishem. 

    The movie begins with a text crawl explaining what Eternals, Celestials, and Deviants are, which is seemingly unnecessary. Shortly after, the movie then gives us a first impression of the ten Eternals the movie will revolve around, the ones assigned to protect the earth from Deviants. These Eternals are, Ikaris, played by Richard Madden, Sersi, played by Gemma Chan, Phastos, played by Bryan Tyree Henry, Kingo, played by Kumail Najiani, Gilgamesh, played by Don Lee, Thena, played by Angelina Jolie, Sprite, played by Lia McHugh, Druig, played by Barry Keoghan, Ajak, played by Salma Hayek, and Makkari, played by Lauren Ridloff, each of these actors being excellent choices for the characters they portray. The opening scene shows off the basic premise of these characters, including who they are, what their abilities are, and also their synergy between each other, by doing what Marvel does best, making our heroes save the day, all the while using stunning visual effects which are used all throughout the film.

    The movie goes on to develop the main problem the Eternals need to face, with a thorough exposition and a deeper dive into each of the characters, showing more about them and their interactions between each other and also some internal conflict between the bunch with clashing ideologies. After finally reaching the well anticipated final act, the movie does not waste any time at letting the characters get their time in the spotlight.

    The movie features two post-credit scenes, which is expected from a Marvel movie, both showcasing what’s to become of Marvel Cinematic Universe’s fourth phase, introducing new characters and, obviously, leaving off on a cliffhanger.

    Overall, I believe the movie stayed strong throughout, from the beginning with the text crawl, all the way to the end of the post-credits scene. Key points were well spread out across the movie, not making it seem rushed or as if it were too slow. There are several questions that the movie left me with, some which I am leaving future films to answer, and others that have already gotten me to speculate the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or also known by some as the Multiverse. Although the movie did really great, it did not do some characters justice and it left me wondering if they could have shown more of them at their full potential, essentially throwing away certain characters. Aside from wasted characters, there are some moments where the movie tried really hard to squeeze in some comic relief, even in the most tense moments, which I found really annoying, given the situations. Despite its flaws, the movie was spectacular, and I can not wait to see what lies ahead for the rest of the Eternals scattered across the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse.

  • Dance Premier

    Poly’s Dance Program, organized by Cynthia Negrete, held a Dance Premiere on November 18 in the auditorium. Starting at 6:30 p.m. they opened the Andrew Osman Auditorium for everyone to enjoy a performance. Poly students, teachers, friends, and family came to cheer on the dancers. Dancers from every level got a chance to show what they have been learning this year.

    Many students were filled with excitement for this performance. Dance team, dance tech, PE dance, and H2M (hip-hop to movement club) performed in the show. This was their first show of the 2021-2022 year so they worked really hard to make it spectacular.  Last year’s fall show was during virtual learning, but because students are back in person they were able to work together more and put their best effort into this show.

    “I’m excited to see the turnout this year,” says Iyana Weeks. Weeks was in the show last year and this was her second time performing at Poly so she was thrilled to be in the Dance Premiere. Other dancers felt the same way and had fun being able to put on a show.

    The Dance Premiere included several types of pieces such as jazz, tap, musical theater, modern, and hip-hop dances. The show opened up with dance team’s jazz performance to Spice Girls, which then was followed up by H2M’s hip-hop performance which was a mix of several songs together. After that was a musical theater piece which the dance team had performed in the All Together Now! show. The following dances were spectacular and showed off the dancers’ skills and enjoyment of dance. Additionally , there were a few dances contributed to Negrete’s mother.

    The audience had a good response to the show. According to a dancer’s parent, the show was special since they got to see their child on stage. After the show, many people went up to the dancers with flowers and hugs. They had so much fun being able to see and root for people they know on stage. Everyone is looking forward with excitement for the next show in spring.

    All of this could not have happened without the director (Cynthia Negrete), assistant directors (Lou Vazquez and Marissa Negrete), student directors (Emma Ochoa, Milana Tiv, Keke Chester, and Dionna Miller), and all of the stage crew. “Overall, I was pleased with the show,” said Negrete. Of course there were some things we can improve on for our next show because that’s what happens in every program since we want our students to keep growing, says Negrete. It was an astonishing experience for the students.

  • Summer’s New Album: Bops or Flops?

    Summer’s New Album: Bops or Flops?

     

    Summer Walker dropped her second studio album Still Over It on November 5 for the world to listen to and some people have mixed feelings about it. 

    Many people had very high hopes and expectations for this album, as her debut album Over It was a success all over the world. With major past hits like “Girls Need Love” and “Playing Games,” people were expecting Still Over It to have no skips and be filled with heartbreaking ballads as well as some cute love songs. 

    The lead single of this album was called “Ex For a Reason,” and featured the City Girls. It helped set the tone of the album, as the album was full of breakup songs and sad melodies. When the full album was released people listened to it with excitement, as they had waited two years for a new album from Walker to drop. After listening to the album some people have expressed their disappointment, while many others have expressed their love for the collection of songs. 

    Sophomore MEDS student Cheyenne Clark says that she loved the album, as she can tie some of it into experiences she’s had. She said, “My favorite songs would be ‘Insane, No Love,’ and ‘Closure,’ those being the songs that really hit me because they’re about healing or the after effects of a break-up.”

    Madison Williams, a CIC sophomore, said she had “been waiting for her to drop an album for a while” and had set “high expectations for the album.” She said that Walker definitely reached them. Her favorite song off of it is “Insane,” A song about the feeling of going crazy over a significant other’s own actions. 

    On the contrary, PACE senior Brie Lao said, “All the songs sound the same, just like on Summer’s last album. The song’s are okay, but there is nothing really good about this album.” She isn’t alone in this opinion, in fact on a poll taken from local students, 24% of people said that they did not like Walker’s album, or that it wasn’t that good. Still, this album is loved by 76% of students polled at Poly.  

    Walker has been a prominent female RnB artist since the release of her first official collection of songs titled Last Day of Summer in October of 2018. She has a strong fan base of teenage and young adult girls, who find comfort in her music and find ways to relate to her lyrics. Still Over It was a highly anticipated album and is having a large amount of commercial success. Overall, this album is loved and Walker’s next album will be as well. 

  • Get Out My Swamp

    After almost a year and a half of online classes and missing out on live school events, the Poly High School Theatre Arts Department has finally released the title for this year’s musical, Shrek the Musical.

    Head of overlooking the musical is Linda Bon, the drama teacher of the PARTS program. When asked why she decided on Shrek as this school year’s musical, Bon said that she had experience directing a junior version of Shrek and had lots of fun doing it. She also stated that she loved the original Dreamworks movie.

    “For a show, it’s delightful because there’s so many different characters,” said Bon. “There’s the fairytale characters, all the duloc, guards, and of course Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey. It just seemed like it was the right time to do this particular musical because frankly, we just need some cheering up as a school. It’s fun, funny, and has a positive message of inclusion and accepting yourself.”

    Bon also gave information on who else plays a big role in creating the elements of a school musical. She said that one of her secret weapons in directing a musical is Victoria Gathe, the Poly Stage Technician and teacher of stage crew. “She is an amazing talent. She’s already presented me with designs and sketches. It’s going to look beautiful.”

    Along with Gathe, other people who help create everything would be Brian Dokko and Cynthia Negrete.

    Dokko is Poly’s choir teacher, and he’s in charge of bringing in the music and finding the right voices to play each character. Dokko shared various examples of how the thought process of working in a musical goes. “We try to figure out what students we have. We try to pick a show that suits the strengths of the students.”

    He also mentioned that when picking which musical is best, the teachers will be going back and forth for weeks to make sure everything is set before they make their final decisions.

    Negrete is Poly’s dance teacher. Her role in the musical is to create the choreography and bring the show to life. Negrete said that in order to create various dances, you must get yourself familiar with the music and sounds. She also mentioned a part in the show that she hopes will grab the audiences’ attention: “Dancing mice. When mice run across the floor, they sound like they’re tap dancing, so we’re going to make them tap dance. So that it can catch the audiences’ eye, they get drawn in, and remember the moment.”

    Even during the hard work, they have all also shared their favorite parts in putting it together.

    “My favorite moment is backstage before the curtain comes up,” Bon shared. “The excitement among the students is incredible. The moments between shows, when the kids are excited and having a ball, I love that. That’s what I do this job for.”

    Dokko’s favorite moments are “watching the students grow from the experience, [their] sense of confidence goes up, and being part of a big production is a lot of fun.”

    Negrete said, “The best part is the interactions with the kids. I have a lot of fun teaching choreography. I have fun when things don’t go right, when there’s bloopers, and we’re laughing and having fun. We look back at the show and have a laugh. That’s the best part of it.”

    All this hard work results in the enjoyment of seeing a live show filled with the students of Poly. Shrek the Musical is currently planned for opening night to be on February 27, 2022. It’s one of the big things that can bring the school together after a year of being apart.

  • Hydroflasks… necessity or accessory?

    The sight of these vibrant, seemingly “indestructible” water bottles isn’t unfamiliar among our student body. However, with all of the dents that eventually adorn their bodies, are Hydroflasks truly worth the investment? Demand for these bottles have exploded among youth — particularly “Generation Z” — due to 2019’s VSCO girls. Not only did these figures popularize Hydroflasks, but also scrunchies, Fjällräven backpacks, and Birkenstock sandals. And a common similarity between these products is their diverse color selection, which was seemingly endless.

    With an average rating of 4.9/5 stars on Amazon (from 30,000+ reviews), consumers praise Hydroflask bottles for their non-rusting stainless steel and their insulative technology. “This water bottle is great. I’ve lost a few and replaced them every time,” writes buyer Lauren Hunt, who gave the product 5 stars. While the few negative reviews only advised against purchasing the bottles from Amazon, it is undeniable among the majority of the buyers — including Poly students — that they easily receive dents and scratches. Despite the countless list of alternate brands for consumers to consider (some being Contigo and ThermoFlask), the popularity of these bottles don’t seem to falter.

    However, one of the top competitors to Hydroflask is Yeti. Upon searching “Hydroflasks vs Yeti’’, countless articles would appear with the simple click of a button. The two brands offer similar prices, yet the quantity of reviews between them differ by over 20,000. Unsurprisingly, Hydroflask had more reviews. But was it truly because of Hydroflask’s greater number of color selections? Or was it due to the recognizability of their logo? With the lack of a powder-coating exterior, Yeti bottles outperformed Hydroflasks in terms of durability, according to The World Pursuit. And yet, that “smiling jumping person” logo has become a staple among Poly students.

    PACE freshman Soriya Pouv describes an underlying sense of “peer pressure” that she experienced due to the fact that “all [of her] friends had one.” However, despite initially wanting it for the brand, she argues they are worth their $25+ price point. “They are convenient for daily-use,” says Pouv, “and since my first purchase, I bought a second one.”

    CIC senior Sebastion Lebario also purchased a Hydroflask bottle due to its popularity, though this time among his baseball teammates. An owner of three of them, he believes them to not just be hyped for the brand, but the trend of it. “People think it looks cool since you can customize it with stickers or different colors,” Lebario says.

    For some students, these bottles were originally bought as a fashion statement, only to seemingly evolve into an item of daily-convenience.

  • Humans of Poly: November 5, 2021

    Humans of Poly: November 5, 2021

    Photo by Jessenia Alvarado Vasquez

    “I love how Poly can be very cheerful, supportive, open, creative and fun. I dream on becoming and architect because I like to be creative and I’ve always been a fan of math and I also wanna build a family in the future.”

    – Erick Flores

     

    Photo by Molly Flynn

    “I’m really excited to be back on campus after a really hard year online. Having to adjust to a completely new environment was really hard for me. I was used to seeing my friends every day and having real interactions, and having it all taken away was hard. Being back has made it easier to complete my work and communicate with my teachers and friends like I used to.”

     

    Photo by Leyna Holly

    “My most comfortable relationship I have is with my best friend. We met in sixth grade in a history class and instantly clicked. Over time we became close friends and had some downs, but we bounced back from them and became stronger. We were close in freshman year, but over quarantine we became inseparable. Like completely inseparable. We bonded and found more things in common than we thought, and became extremely comfortable with each other, more than we’ve ever been with ourselves. She is my best friend.”

     

    Photo by Hugo Navarro Vargas

    “I want to finish high school, then hopefully go to a good college. Something I want to work hard on is achieving a scholarship and working hard for it. I would like to join a nursing school and hopefully become a nurse. I want to become a nurse because I want to help people feel better and learn about the diseases that run through my family history.”

    Photo by Dayvon Sierra

    What helped you throughout your first year of high school?

    “A good schedule will solve 90% of your problems, find a way to balance and find time for your classes and extra curricular activities and you’ll be set.”

  • This Club Is Just Playing Games

    Gaming club, this club is really fun and you can chill with your friends. I highly recommend you come. It’s located is 806. The Club advisor is science teacher Masaru “Kent” Kawai. He teaches things all about physics. The thing is that you can bring food in the club for anyone or for yourself. I also like how it is chill and like there are fun people to play some video games with.

    My name is Isaac Chhuom and I am a senior. I am the vice president of the club. I keep track of everything that is happening. I’m also the DJ. There are some freshmen, sophomores, and many juniors and seniors.

    Icarus Gonzalez is the Treasurer. He keeps track of the money. He is also in charge of what type of games that we want to play. He does well in his position as Treasurer and is a good friend to talk to. Evan Soth is the president of the club. He even keeps track of the students and also tells us the upcoming events. We make our announcements every time we meet up. He is strong and independent in his role and is the best person also. Both of them are 11th graders.

    The secretary is Jason Khem. He makes sure people check up on the list. He loves his position and he also is in 11th grade. He wants to be in charge of the food and drink that you buy. What else snacks are there? The snacks he brings are chips or cookies. He is always prepared when someone is hungry. The thing is that he is trustworthy also and never makes any mistakes at all.

    Club member, Melany Toch said the other club members are cool and the games that we play. Toch likes the club cabinet members. She wants to have a cosplay contest. What she doesn’t like is the variety of the games.

    Another club member is Ashley Rodriguez. She likes how it is competitive and everyone gets along most of the time. She doesn’t like how the seats are.

    She likes the projector where it is at but not how laggy the game is sometimes.

    Ruben Rivera likes that the club is kinda quiet and wasn’t out of control. What else, there weren’t too many people, but there were a lot of people to talk to. What else are there common interests? He agrees with Rodriguez about the game lags. He wants more people to go and more games to play.

    One final club member is Nathan Bay. He says it was a good atmosphere. There were lots of different stations. He thinks there should be better tournaments. He likes the music and he thinks that the adviser, Mr. Kawai, does a good job.

  • Halloween Kills Met With Mixed Reactions From Students.

    Halloween Kills, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Andi Matichak, is slated to come out this October 15 in theaters and on the Peacock streaming platform.

    The movie, which is a direct sequel to Halloween (2018), is releasing after multiple trailers have dropped, including a final trailer that was posted on September 20. The trailers have been accompanied by lots of promotional material across different social media platforms.

    The movie is set to focus on the main Strode women, who have been terrorized by Michael Myers for three generations.

    “After watching the trailer, the approach the movie is going in with them seems well written,” said Poly PACE sophomore Genevie Lumada. “They correlate with modern day change of women empowerment and I’m all for it.”

    The movie is also supposed to be one of the goriest installments of the franchise so far. The trailer alone shows Michael Myers on a rampage, killing multiple characters in a few seconds alone.

    Joshua Chauy, a Poly CIC freshman, shared, “It looks really nice, with all of the gore. I’m ex- cited.”

    The film is additionally shown to be a nostalgic callback for diehard Halloween fans. The final trailer shows characters from the original movie, like Tommy Doyle and Lindsey Wallace, being terrorized by Michael Myers once again, 43 years later.

    “I notice all of the kids are grown up in the trailer, which is exciting,” Chauy added, “But I don’t think it will be better than the original.”

    However, some who have been disappointed with the Halloween movies are hoping Halloween Kills will revitalize the series.

    Victoria Heng, a Poly PACE sophomore, said she is, “…hoping it’s better than the original… I was underwhelmed by the Halloween franchise’s earlier movies.”

    The release of Halloween Kills adds to the excitement horror fans are feeling during the month of October. On top of the film, the trailer for the upcoming movie Scream (2022) was released alongside the first episode of the new Chucky TV series on October 12. The new television series, I Know What You Did Last Summer, an adaptation of the novel and 1997 slasher with the same name, is also set to come out on October 15.

  • Green Light For Squid Game

    Netflix’s new thriller, Squid Game has taken over social media by the masses throughout the entire month of September. 

    Squid Game is about a group of people in Korea who are in a massive pool of debt. These contestants are all sent to a bunker underground where they must play kid games but to the death, to win a reward of $38.6 million. 

    The main character Gi-Hun was chosen to play because he has no way of supporting his daughter, has no job, was caught up in loan sharks, and has a gambling addiction. Gi-Hun soon learns that without this money he cannot send his mother to the hospital to get her foot amputated because of her untreated diabetes. He also learns that his young daughter is moving to the United States and he cannot see her unless he can support her needs. 

    As soon as the contestants play through the first game of red light green light and watching 200 people being shot to their deaths they realize that they have to win to survive. The contestants took a vote because after seeing the gruesome death of a mass of people they finally understood what was at stake. But when they are released back into the real world they are faced with the same problems they had before. So the majority of the players return to the bunker knowing that their lives are on the line. 

    Squid Game forces participants and audience to choose between balancing their hapless desire for the payout according to their own philosophical and empathetic shelves facing the barbarity of everything in the universe. 

  • Humans of Poly: November 3, 2021

    Humans of Poly: November 3, 2021

    photo by Karla Castro

    “How you do anything is how you do everything and the power behind it is just you just really wanna do your best at whatever it is that your doing whether it’s something your good at or whether its something your not good at because than that trains you and gets your brain ready to just no matter what it is to put your full effort in this stuff.”

    photo by Jasmine Davis

    “How you do anything is how you do everything and the power behind it is just you just really wanna do your best at whatever it is that your doing whether it’s something your good at or whether its something your not good at because than that trains you and gets your brain ready to just no matter what it is to put your full effort in this stuff.”

    photo by Francisco Pena

     

    Raul Aguilar : “I’ve been in the Long Beach district, for my life. I plan to go to college, but not sure what to do after college.”

    Quote : “Good luck in school, have fun at school, and make sure this is a safe place for you and others.”

     

     

  • Humans of Poly: ASB Amelia

    Humans of Poly: ASB Amelia

    Photo by Lizette Fantanes

     

    “I am in ASB and what I do for the school is I help organize. I’m helping our organizations page. I’m also helping homecoming fair and homecoming week, I don’t know what else to say.” – Amelia

  • Monthly Mythology

    Monthly Mythology

    Amaterasu 

    The sun is a universal symbol of life, happiness, and energy. Due to its distance yet illuminating light, it often is associated with a celestial body and divine powers. In Japanese myth, Amaterasu-Ōmikami (天照大御神, 天照大神) is the celestial body that takes care of the sun and keeps its course in the sky. She was believed to live in a sacred cave and was one of the “three precious children” of the Japanese creator god (named Izanagi). She would spend most of her days weaving cloaks for the gods to wear, and the color of the cloaks would relate to the weather of the day: bright-colored clothes were associated with a sunny day, and dark-colored clothes were associated with a cloudy day. 

    Izangi declared that because Amaterasu was the brightest and the oldest, she would be in command. Eventually, her two other brothers would both leave heaven (that they remained on), while Amasteru would stay. Her younger brother, Susanoo, was furious: he tormented her, destroyed her fields, defecated in her palace, and flayed her prize horse. But it was when Susanoo killed one of the servants that Amasteru became consumed by sadness and secluded herself in a cave. Since Amaterasu was not there to bring daylight, the world was left in disarray and darkness. She would eventually step out when the gods lured her with a mirror (knowing that she would be enchanted by her beauty), making her inclined to step out of darkness and bring light back to the world. 

     

    Ra

    The sun is worshipped as a symbol of life because it has the power to ripen crops. Ra is known as the creator and king of all deities, patron of the sun. Ra was considered the King of Gods in Egypt, where pharaohs were considered as the sons of the sun god. According to Egyptian myth, darkness covered the waters of Nun before creation. The sun god is said to have risen from these waters as a benben stone or obelisk-like pillar, willing himself into existence. Ra then created the first gods: Shu, the god of dryness and air and the goddess of humidity, and Tefnut, who created other gods to complete the universe. Humans are said to be born of Ra’s tears and while polishing his creations, humanity rebelled against him. To stop the rebellion, Ra decided to exterminate humanity, where he sent his tear-giving eye to finish the task. The eye transformed herself into a fierce lioness to massacre the humans, but Ra stopped her when he witnessed the chaos. 

    After stopping the massacre, Ra went on a journey to the Otherworld. The world became illuminated when Ra sailed by the sky from the Eastern horizon to the West, which created 12 hours of the day with light. When he reached the Western horizon, he sailed the Underworld, leaving Earth in darkness for 12 hours. During this time, Ra associates with Osiris, the god of resurrection and the Underworld, in order to regenerate. Ra is able to combine with different deities: when he is associated with a creator deity known as Amun, Ra represents the universal, raw power of the sun. At dawn, Ra appears in the form of a falcon on the Eastern horizon, where he is known as Hor-akhty or Horus of the Horizon. He is also represented as a scarab beetle called Kheper, meaning “the one that comes into being.” Ra regained his form of Ra at midday and is currently represented by the sun disk. At sunset, he became Atum, an old man who was ready to vanish and be reborn for a new day.