Category: Arts & Culture

  • Poly Choir Lights Up the Night

    On November 27, Poly’s Jazz Choir performed carols for the Long Beach Christmas tree lighting event held at the Terrace Plaza, also known as, the Long Beach Performing Arts Center.

    The choir consisted of six boys and six girls: Caroline Wolfson, Christine Nguyen, Lauren Wynne, Aiyanna Johns, Caitlyn Song, Caleb Marsh, Dane Camacho, Jay Kumar, Justin Greenwood, Gabriel Vasquez, Jovanni Pham, and Angelo Vano.

    They performed two popular holiday hits, “Jingle Bell Rock,” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

    Caleb Marsh, a sophomore, in the choir said it felt “festive,” and “rewarding to perform in front of a large audience.” Although the performance was about eight minutes, they were paid which goes straight to the Poly Choir program for the items and materials needed such as choir attire.

    The impressive thing is that this is the second time the city has welcomed the Poly Choir to the Long Beach Christmas tree lighting because, they were in the exact same spot last year. Other than the spectacular carols sang by the choir, the place was fully decorated with Christmas lights and littered with children wanting to take a picture with Mr. Claus and Mrs. Claus.

    Jazz and Poly’s other choirs also had a holiday performance December 6  in the Poly auditorium.

  • A Christmas Movie to Die (Hard) For

    Die Hard (1988), a film about a single cop trapped in a skyscraper with twelve terrorists, still remains one of the best Christmas movies of all time, for good reason. It has fun for the whole family.

    The movie begins with a love story of NYPD detective, John McClane (played by Bruce Willis), trying to reconcile with his ex-wife whom he still loves, (something many of us can relate to), flying out to Los Angeles around Christmas time to attend a party with her at this skyscraper where she works. There is plenty of enjoyment to be had in this very relatable story of liking someone who does not like you back.

    On top of the romance, at the heart of this movie is plenty of high-octane action.

    When terrorists take over the building and holds everyone (including John McClane’s wife) hostage, McClane slips away and starts taking out the twelve terrorists one by one in a series of intense, adrenaline-filled action sequences.

    Using hit-and-run guerilla tactics, McClane attacks the bad guys then retreats and hides somewhere in the 40-story skyscraper while the bad guys hunt him down. Unlike most typical action movie heroes, McClane is not invincible; the odds are stacked against him. He gets seriously injured, and at multiple points in the movie, the audience is uncertain if he will succeed or not. His vulnerability grounds his character and makes him believable, and his perseverance to save everyone is admirable, makes the audience root for him. What makes him even more likable is all the sharp, witty one – liners he makes (like most 80s action movie heroes do), providing some comedic relief but without killing the immersion.

    With a little bit of romance, plenty of exciting action, and more than a few comedic  moments, Die Hard provides fun for almost any audience, which is why it’s still one of the best Christmas movies ever and definitely worth checking out.

  • Poly Alumni Success Story

    Majoring in the arts can be a controversial risk for those applying to college because the debate still stands of whether it is a reliable source of income.

    Helena Hsieh has had her successes in the art industry around the country, beginning with her experiences at Poly. She is a former Poly graduate who attended UCLA majoring in English. She continued to pursue her artistic career in graphic design and went to school at the San Francisco Art Institute. Like many, Hsieh used art as an outlet for her emotions that soon developed into a passion when she took art classes as a freshman at Poly.

    When initially applying for colleges, she was unsure of what she truly wanted to do as a career, in her mind art was still a risk because of financial reasons. Her parents were worried that she would not prosper and also remained skeptical that she didn’t choose a secure career in a different industry. Despite possibly disappointing her parents, Hsieh decided to take that risk of becoming an artist. She surpassed the struggling artist stereotype and consistently worked other jobs to make sure she had a stable income. She made connections as she moved farther away from Long Beach and felt like she made the right decision to follow her passion.

    Even after traveling the world, Hsieh realized that Long Beach will always be her home and the place her career took off. Her words of wisdom for those considering art as a career is to always “be passionate.” Do not believe that “what you create has to be mainstream in order to succeed” because then your work would no longer be meaningful to you. Even if times might might be hard financially, “it isn’t always about the money” and the real reward is doing what you love everyday.

  • Signs As Thanksgiving Food

    Aries: Mashed Potatoes

    Taurus: Pumpkin Pie

    Gemini: Green Beans

    Cancer: Stuffing

    Leo: Turkey

    Virgo: Sweet Potatoes

    Libra: Gravy

    Scorpio: Ham

    Sagittarius: Salad

    Capricorn: Cornbread

    Aquarius: Dinner Rolls

    Pisces: Peach Cobbler

  • Must Watch Horror Series

    New shows were recently launched on Netflix, one being The Haunting of Hill House. It is based off the book series written by Shirley Jackson. Created by Mike Flanagan, the show features stars such as; Kate Siegel, Violet McGraw, Michiel Huisman, and many more.

    The show tells about the history of the Crain family’s life growing up in a haunted house.

    Parents Olivia and Hugh Crain are renovating a house while living there with their kids, Steven, Shirley, Luke, Nell, and Theodora.

    The previous family that lived there, known as the Hill family, have an interesting past with the house.

    Each member either died or disappeared mysteriously, but throughout the series the show begins to explain what actually happened to each family member.

    While renovating the house the kids begin to hear noises, see spirits, and the mom begins to go insane. The show flashes back and forth between the past and the present.

    It goes through the hardships each member faced in the house and the ones they are currently experiencing in their own adult lives.

  • New Teen Drama Follows A Witch

    Friday, October 26 was the Netflix premiere of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, created by the same producers as Riverdale.

    The show takes place in Greendale, the neighboring town of Riverdale, but unlike Riverdale the cast deals with things of the supernatural, more specifically witches and warlocks.

    Chilling Adventures of Sabrina deals with Sabrina Spellman, portrayed by Kiernan Shipka, age 16 who is a half-witch and lives with her aunts Hilda and Zelda Spellman, played by Lucy Davis and Miranda Otto, and cousin Ambrose Spellman, portrayed by Chance Perdomo.

    The series includes characters such as Harvey Kinkle, Sabrina’s boyfriend, played by Ross Lynch and her friends Rosalind “Roz” Walker (Jaz Sinclair) and Susie Putnam (Lachlan Watson). The plotline follows Sabrina as she must choose between her mortal life or becoming a full witch and the consequences that follow.

    Although most people believed the series to be a reboot of Sabrina the Teenage Witch it has it’s own canon, although both take inspiration from the comic Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

    The new series takes a much grimmer tone than the sitcom. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina also has lots of diversity representation in the characters, such as People of Color (POC), LGBT characters, and a strong female lead.

    The series is divided into parts, and Part 1 currently has 10 episodes and the duration of each episode lasting about one hour. Cast and crew are currently under production for Part 2, and it is rumored that it will come out sometime next year. Words of a crossover between the show and Riverdale are also spreading.

  • 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’