Category: Hollywood Style

The “Pure Virgin” Trope

For a time not so long ago, there was the common but somehow romantic concept of the “pure” girl who’s never had sex falls in love with the very experienced “bad” boy. Especially in the Young Adult urban fantasy (fantasy meshing with the real world), there was the common trope of the main female protagonist being a tiny but stubborn teenager who butts head with the tall and handsome new kid, eventually falling madly and viciously in love with him (her first love, by the way). Often times as well, girls the same age who have had sex are often placed in the light as pure sluts, with their character being left very one-dimensional. At the same time, the books are promoted as “empowering” to young girls, girls who can be as young as 10 and very impressionable.

Why does this matter? Well, trying to promote this idea (plus promoting romance with male protagonists of questionable choice), this can lead many to be unaware of the toxicity of relationships like that. Let’s break it down a little bit, shall we?

Well first, the fact that the main girl is practically the only one around that is a virgin promotes the idea that she is on a level above every one else, or “pure”. Now this isn’t to say that being a virgin at 16 or 17 is a bad thing- the average age that people lose their virginity at is 17- but having her be the only one that is a virgin is saying something. Plus, these girls usually haven’t even had their first kiss yet, like how much more obvious can you get?

The girl also usually doesn’t have very many friends, being the sort of “loser” in school. She usually has around one or two friends (maybe 3), and there is always a guy that she is closest with, mostly to play the love triangle game. Unless, there is the rare chance that he is gay (True Blood), and then he is just the sassy friend trying to encourage her to get laid. This reinforces another idea-it’s not cool to be “popular”. If you’re “popular”, then you’re just like all the other girls who sleep around and party. You’re not “pure”.

The “pure” aspect contrasts greatly from the main male protagonist, the new bad boy who is always insanely attractive. He usually sleeps around, is sarcastic as all hell, and doesn’t like to follow the rules. He is the kind of guy that’s supposed to be unachievable, but always turns his attention to the nerdy not conventionally pretty female protagonist. He sweeps her off her feet, and rescues her because he knows so much more about the magical world than she does. He becomes the useful one, while she sheepishly has to follow him around for protection, and eventual romance. He takes an interest in her mostly because of her purity (a concept that appears in many different books, TV, and movies), making her all the more desirable. She is the target of his romantic advances because she is “not like other girls”.

Plus, he’s always got a broken, tortured soul for the female protagonist to save. He can have all the problems he desires, but she can’t. She’s supposed to listen to all his problems, without having any actual problems of her own to share. This can be very dangerous for an actual relationship. A girl is not supposed to only be someone’s “savior”, but should also be able to reach out to her partner. If she feels like she can’t, then that’s not a very good relationship.

To make matters worse, the idea of the man acting aggressively protective, and sometimes even controlling, gets romanticized. Any man she hangs out with is a threat (and it’s usually portrayed that way), and she must be “protected” from them. She can’t be friends with male friends either, because it turns out they just want to get in her pants, even though bad boy is the only one for her. And bad boy gets really upset when she talks to other men. Controlling behavior is made to seem romantic here, when it’s really not, which could influence young girls into believing that it is. Her heart and body should only be meant for him, and never any one else ever again, which is also not a healthy thing to romanticize. It’s dangerous and can lead to girls getting trapped in toxic relationships.

Going to a Convention: What You Should Do

You might be wondering “why would I need an etiquette guide for a convention? What is there I need to know?” Well, you would think that no one needed an etiquette guide in order to attend a public convention, but that is unfortunately not the case. You see, a surprising amount of people don’t seem to understand the most basic rules of walking around a tight space with a large group of people, sometimes on accident, and sometimes just out of disrespect. Based off of witnessing these broken rules, I am here to provide a small guide for you not to do the same.

Shower before you go. This might seem like an obvious one, but I swear you will pass by someone who smells like they haven’t showered in 3 weeks. Especially at Anime Expo. It’s uncanny how many times I’ve walked down an aisle, only to be hit with the distinct stench of someone who just went to the convention without washing themselves (for who knows how long). It’s gross, and no one wants to smell it.

Never crowd in the center of the aisle. I know conventions, particularly big ones, may be a little disorienting, but don’t stop in the middle of the aisle. Find a place that you can collect yourself off to the side so people can pass by. When you stop in the middle, you force people to have to walk around you, often causing a huge line of traffic. Another obvious one, but it still happens all the same.

Don’t block the paths to booths. Some booths are quite popular, with a popular artist or company displaying their wares, attracting many to see. However, often there are always some people who make it impossible to get inside the booth, causing people to have to push their way through just to see. And then the culprit gets mad at those people for trying to push their way through. Be polite, and always try to let someone in the booth if you can.

The last thing big thing I am going to put is respect the cosplayers. There are always cosplayers milling about, going around for people to take pictures of. Be polite and ask first, however. Don’t come up and demand a photo, and especially don’t come up and touch a cosplayer inappropriately. This is an issue I have witnessed first-hand, where someone asked for a picture then grabbed the breast of a cosplayer. That is not okay, not even if they’re scantily dressed. It’s a character design, not an invitation to harass. They are just trying to enjoy their time at the convention just like you, and you should let them.

Hollywood and the Wonders of Rome

Trevi Fountain and the Mouth of Truth are both internationally renowned landmarks in the city of Rome. The former is inspired by the Baroque period, but was built in the 1700s as a grandiose way to be the end of a rebuilt aqueduct. The latter was built as a Roman sewer cap, but later became the source of a medieval tradition. We like to have the perception that these sights were always famous, and will continue to be. However, this is not the case. These monuments became famous during the 1950s, when a series of Hollywood films centered around Rome showcased these, sending tourists flocking to Rome. Three different films promoted these sights, each playing an important role in the sudden fame of the two sights.

Trevi fountain, or La Fontana di Trevi does not have a long history, although the source of its water does. Its water comes from an aqueduct that had been shut down, known as the Virgin Aqueduct. It had been shut for a while, before a pope during the Baroque period decided to reopen it and build a fountain to mark the finishing point of the aqueduct’s path, recruiting a design by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. However, it wasn’t actually built until the 1700s, designed by Nicola Salvi and finished by Giuseppe Pannini in 1762.

While the fountain was grandiose and a sight to see, it didn’t gain much international attention until the 1954 release of 3 Coins in the Fountain (Tre Soldi Nella Fontana). The film, which centers around 3 American women travelling to Rome to find love, throw coins in the fountain to make a wish, and reunite with their Italian lovers at the end of the film in front of it. Also, in 1960’s La Dolce Vita, and Italian film taking place in Rome, has a scene where Anita Ekburg takes a bath in the Trevi Fountain. While that will get you arrested if you try that now, it was fine for the time, gaining a great amount of attention internationally. These two films put the spotlight on Trevi fountain, showing off nuances of Rome that hadn’t been seen on the international level before. Now the fountain is almost always crowded with people, those who want to take photos in front of the beautiful artwork or throw a coin in and make a wish.

The same thing happened with the Mouth of Truth, or La Bocca di Verita. Once an embellished sewer cap depicting the god Ocean, it became the source of a medieval tradition which functions as a lie-detector test. Built into the exterior wall of a church, the tradition where someone placed their hand into the mouth of the cap to answer confession-type questions, where a false answer would result in the hand coming off. It was a long-standing local custom, and stayed that way until the 1953 release of Roman Holidays (Vacanze Romane), starring Audrey Hepburn. In the film, the Mouth of Truth is displayed when Gregory Peck places his hand in the mouth and fakes losing his hand to trick Audrey Hepburn. The film sent people to an otherwise normal medieval Greek catholic church, each one wanting a photo of themselves placing their hands inside the mouth of the cap. There is now a line in order to place your hand in the mouth, gaining a lot of popularity for the church, and getting them donations to continue to function and maintain their church.

The Odd but Refreshing Creativity of Kid Films

Hollywood’s big-budget movies have fallen into the trend of being either a sequel, or entirely not creative. The creative and unique movies seem to be released purely to be nominated for Oscars, drawing a great amount of criticism and the phrase that “Hollywood is unoriginal”.

While this may seem true for the most part, there seems to be a faction of Hollywood left untouched by the trend- kids’ movies. Despite being meant to entertain children with a set happy ending ever time, I’ve noticed that these films take a variety of creative routes and themes to get there. I would even go so far as to say that they display a human variance that almost never appears in other films anymore. Despite knowing how the ending goes, I am always surprised to see what paths are taken to get there.

Kids films place forth unique ideas (well, for the most part), with settings ranging anywhere from Norse dragons to Polynesian Gods, taking risks with entirely original stories, pushing the boundaries without worrying about the risk of failure. It makes each film that much more refreshing and enjoyable. It allows people to get so much more invested and interested into the film.

I will say there are exceptions to this, however. Angry Birds and The Emoji Movie are the two big ones that I could think of. Also, sequels that are deemed unnecessary (cough cough Toy Story 4) can fall under the trap. While many modern kids’ films are original, that isn’t to say that all are.

How Ancient Greece and Rome get Ignored in the World of Pop Culture

I’m going to put this out here before I go into anything else: I love studying ancient Rome. Ancient Greece is interesting, too, but there is just something about Rome’s quirkiness that is a whole other realm of entertaining. Like no Greek has made their horse a senator, and no Greek ruler has ever made all the aristocracy sit during his performances, which went for hours on end. Even if you went into labor during one, you either had to give birth there or wait until the concert was done (good old emperor Nero, right?). The absurdity of ancient Rome is just endlessly entertaining.

This interest, however (plus studying ancient Greek society and politics for classes), has made me a stickler for detail and historical accuracy. Which is something that doesn’t exist in Hollywood. Or really most forms of media. Ever. Ancient Rome and Greece (particularly Sparta) seem to get constantly portrayed as nations completely consumed by war (which isn’t too far off for Rome, but war never actually happened on the peninsula), with soldiers and generals being the stars. How both are portrayed ignores both the complexity of either society, but also greatly sets up the idea that both were only the super-machismo men that we imagine today. Which is expected, as every culture gets simplified to focus on the more “interesting” aspect of warfare. But I thought I would expand other interesting parts about these cultures that are either sorely left out of media, or not elaborated enough.

When it comes to Sparta, what you might imagine is the movie 300, or any other films centered around the culture. Sparta is often portrayed as the epitome of super-machismo, with sexy men with ripped bodies in scant uniforms, while the women are often left at home in the traditional Greek tunic. This basis isn’t unfounded. Sparta was known as the “warrior kingdom”, with children training from a young age to be strong warriors and advanced athletes. Yes, I said children. Women were also trained to be fit (although to a lesser extent than guys), and had some of the most rights of all Greek women. Because men had to train to become a “real” Spartan at 30, and people were expected to marry around 18 (late relative to Greece), women had to have quite a bit of freedom, and were expected to maintain athleticism and a healthy diet to raise strong children. They could perform in sporting events, and had the rights to property, making Sparta unlike the rest of ancient Greece.

This difference in culture often attracted criticism by other ancient Greeks, especially by Athenians, who saw Spartan men as “controlled by women”, despite the intense training in athleticism and warfare that Spartan men had to go through. Sparta is often pictured also as an independent piece that focused itself around Persia. This also ignores the massive around of political influence that Sparta had in Greece, with alliances and “sibling-hood” that made up the area called Peloponnese, which would eventually bring the downfall of Athens (no kidding, the Spartans trash the Athenians in the Peloponnesian War). While Persia was an issue, Athens was a bigger issue (but we can’t show them being destroying the birthplace of democracy, can we?).

As for Rome, it often gets shoehorned as purely militaristic, or centered around the time of the rise of Caesar and Cleopatra (one of history’s most famous romances). And for some reason, Rome seems to always be directly under attack, at periods of time when direct invasion of the city just didn’t happen. In fact, most of the peninsula was never invaded until the collapse of Western Rome, brought into the Roman empire through alliances (except for Sicily). The main problems the city of Rome itself faced wasn’t invasion, but fires. Lots of fires.

Plus, after a certain point, Rome stopped trying to spread its empire, and focused on trying to maintain it. At its height, Rome was the largest empire in human history before Britain in the 1800s, extending from the base of Scotland all the way out to Western India. Which also adds another point. The Roman Empire was insanely diverse, with people of many races having the potential to be considered aristocracy (Rome had to maintain hierarchy in the further regions, in order to keep civilizations under control). Others could even rise the rank through military to be considered Roman wealthy, and were allowed to move throughout the empire. It’s important to mention, however, that while there while there was great social mobility, that Rome also brutally suppressed the groups it controlled, wanting to enforce the “Roman way” (another fact left out). There are even artworks in Rome dedicated to various successful suppression campaigns. But who cares about showing how an empire functions? People want to see the expansion and victory.

Also, when the media portrays Rome, it portrays Julius Caesar and Octavian Augustus, the dictator and first emperor, respectively. Their periods were interesting times, however, as it was the change of Rome from a Republic to and Empire, paired alongside the fall of Egypt with the tragedy Cleopatra. However, this ignores some of the biggest military conquests, which happened under emperors like Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, and others, with the latter being considered one of the “big five” of the best emperors of the empire. The only issue that comes with portraying it is, there’s no easy drama to create with great emperors. There was plenty of drama in Rome’s shift to play off of; Marcus Aurelius and Hadrian didn’t really have that level of drama.

Lastly, the media tends to entirely misconstrue Cleopatra. While she was Egyptian, the story we have of her was documented by the Romans, who changed her image from the powerful and intelligent pharaoh responsible for the prospering of Egypt to a simple seductress that corrupted both Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony. Her love story with them is very commonly known through Western pop culture, with the tragic end of her committing suicide alongside Mark Anthony’s corpse rather than following Octavian Augustus to Rome. But the portrayal often ignores all her achievements, militarily and culturally. Cleopatra is responsible for the revitalization of Egyptian being used in the court, which had fallen out of practice during the Ptolemy period (established under Alexander the Great). She also caused the Egyptian economy to prosper, and revitalize the Egyptian military. She had a major amount of political influence in the Mediterranean, which the Romans vied for, making her a major threat. She spent her reign working towards protecting her empire, causing her to turn to Julius Caesar in the first place, and utilize his growing power to keep Egypt separate. And after his murder, she turned to Mark Anthony.

Her motives are seriously downplayed, as a result of her historical rewrite by the Romans, who didn’t like the fact that a woman had sole power over the empire. No, seriously, Rome was notorious for banning women from even entering the public sphere of influence, especially after getting married. Unlike Sparta, women were unable to own property, divorce their husbands, or even practice sports. The idea of one having such a massive amount of political power was unheard of to them. Cleopatra needed to be knocked down a few pegs in their minds.

Flying in a Plane in the Movies vs. Flying in a Plane in Real Life

Whenever flying is displayed in the movies, they are glitzed and glammed up to be something magical. Excited people gleefully sit and party on the plane, going to a new country with their hair done perfectly and their outfits expensive. They’re ready to party in whatever place they go to.

The reality of flying a plane is, however, boring and gross. If you fly anywhere beyond an hour, flying is painfully boring, with the occasional infant screaming their head off over who knows what. All your dirt and oils start to build up, especially on long flights. Combine that with the germs and dirty seats of the hundreds who sat in it before you, and you’ve got a breakout coming on. It’s a guarantee to not looking glamorous when you get off.

Plus, you don’t want to wear nice looking clothes on a plane. Yeah, it’s a good-sounding idea to come off ready to go like in the movies, but the reality is you’ll be really uncomfortable. It’s better to just wear looser pants if you can. Sitting in skinny jeans on a 10 hour flight is one of the worst things you can do. Also, wearing clunky jewelry probably won’t make you feel any better.

Besides, no one is loud or getting buck-wild with booze like in the movies. Everyone is pretty quiet, especially on planes that have overnight time differences. People would get mad at you really quick. You just watch movies and make a few comments hear and there, but otherwise there is nothing really going on. Especially if you’re in coach, which most people in the movies are. It’s only the rare moments when the character is shown a new rich life and gets impressed that the person flies either first class or in a private jet. For the rest of the folk, though, they get shown in a clean, spacious coach, when 99 percent of the time that’s not the case. They’re not unclean, but unless they’re new they’re guaranteed to have not been deep cleaned in a while.

Lessons Learned from Tanacon: Never Plan a Convention in a Month

People are still buzzing from the disaster known as Tanacon. It happened over the weekend as a contrarian convention to Vidcon, and quickly gained news for being disorganized, too small for the amount of people that came, and basically a big scam. So what happened?

Well, this all began when popular Youtuber Tana Mongeau felt that she had been snubbed too many times by Vidcon, who wouldn’t give a content creator’s pass, even as she starred in Escape the Night, one of Youtube Red’s larger shows. Finally, she had decided she had had enough, and decided to make a convention of her own, meant to be a fun place for her and her fans. The move was bold and inspiring, but there were a series of missteps that ultimately led it to being considered one of the worst conventions ever.

The first misstep? Trying to plan an entire convention in a month. Such a move is utterly impossible. It takes many years in order to start a convention, and none are ever perfect from the start. The fact that she tried to plan a convention in a month with no previous experience and nothing really planned is bold- too bold for a newbie.

But you know, the result of a month’s planning wouldn’t have been so bad had there not been over 5,000 people in attendance. This came as a result of Tana promising the option of free tickets, wanting it to be open to all. Tanacon gave free tickets to those who reserved online in May. For VIP or FFC (featured fucking creators), you have to pay $65 and $70 (plus $12 tax) respectively, which were supposed to allow you to skip the line and get a guaranteed spot for meet-and-greets. However, when it came down to it, there was no different lines for the VIP and the regular, and it seemed more people had bought the VIP passes than the free ones.

People also flew out from all over the country to come, wanting to see the larger Youtubers such as Shane Dawson, Elijah Daniel, and of course, Tana Mongeau herself. What they got instead was waiting over five hours in a line with no shade, no water, and no food, unable to get into a venue that couldn’t fit anywhere near the number. The line was unmoving, leaving people getting sunburnt and even getting the risk of heat stroke. Some people even went so far as to jump the fence blocking the ticketing booth, throwing passes over to the crowd waiting.

For those who could actually get in the convention, they were sorely disappointed. There was only one hall for people to go around, and the many fun events that had been promised were lacking. Plus, there wasn’t enough space for everyone to attend the meet-and-greets, leaving many people who had reserved tickets left out. Plus, half the people who said they would attend actually couldn’t, having conflicting times for panels at Vidcon. To make matters worse, at the end of the day, security kicked people out, as per order of the fire marshal.

The real cherry on top, however, would have to be the gift bags, which were supposed to have over a $60 value. What people got instead was a bag, stickers, and a condom (this is a kid friendly event). This left people furious. Now there are a few law suits, as people were basically scammed out of around $80+. It’s also a message of how not to run a convention.

Should Horror and Suspense Join Forces?

What ever happened to the days when horror was complex and slow-building? Now it seems that while some films shine the light on pure horror, most rely on just jump-scares and quick emotional turns. They’ve become cheap and cliche (especially the ones centered around the paranormal).

Some recent horror films, however, seem to be incorporating more long-term suspense as well. Get Out and A Quiet Place both seem to contain elements of both horror and suspense, making both movies more complex and intense. The feeling of horror is extended, and while there are a few jump scares, those aren’t the main horror aspects. They possessed another element that gave them a memorable edge.

Now, adding elements of suspense isn’t anything new. In fact, they are so often mixed together that they are practically inseparable. But over the last decade, many horror films have lost their “suspenseful” edge. In fact, it’s gotten to the point that when a movie is classified as “suspense”, it’s short-lived, and almost like a quick moment in the movie. Many films have simply become one-dimensional horror.

But at the times when suspense is fully utilized, it works really well. The best example I can think of is Guillermo Del Toro’s Crimson Peak. The film slowly built it’s horror aspect, building a long-term suspension that grows throughout the film as the audience slowly learns of the horrors of the Sharpe family. While the film did have its “innocent and overly naive” protagonist moments, it takes time to develop the horror, being both obvious and vague at the same time. It fully takes advantage of the suspense factor, making it a standout horror film.

The same situation happened with Jordan Peele’s Get Out. The film builds its horror, but this time it leaves people in the dark until almost the end, giving more room to build suspense and anxiety as the audience tries to piece together where the source of the horror comes from. The clever use of suspense is what caused it to be so good, and memorable among audiences.

So, should horror and suspense join forces? They’ve already done that before. Rather, it’s time they re-join forces, so that horror films can go back to its roots, becoming the fully -formed and artful genre that it once was.

Attack of the Hybrid Dyno

The Jurassic World series seems to be obsessed with introducing a hybrid dinosaur in each of its films. It’s incorporated in various different ways, either being entertainment (in the first film) or a cool new pet (in the second film). Both times, they are a combination of various predators (never the gentle herbivores), and both times, they get out and try to kill everyone.

Which, isn’t necessarily bad. It can make an interesting point. But can it be done without making a copy of the original hybrid?

No kidding, the hybrid dinosaur in the second film is supposed to be an edited version of the hybrid dinosaur from the first movie. When I say edited, I mean with some more velociraptor DNA (to make it obedient?), to try and improve from the fiasco from the last film. Couldn’t they have done something else? They had the potential to make it more unique. But I guess if you have the legendary hybrid dinosaur that destroyed Jurassic World as a pet, that would be a pretty good bragging point.

The only problem is, it is pretty much the central focus of the film, like the last one. In the original Jurassic Park series, each film had a different plot (centered around the island, but with very different story lines). This series, however, while it does add certain elements that make it unique, it still focuses around a hybrid dinosaur. And the same kind of hybrid dinosaur. Which kind of limits the opportunities for creative opportunities.

Planning a Trip to Disneyland

Disneyland in Anaheim is a park that receives millions of visitors in a year. It’s the first one ever opened, and is most known for the fact. It is also known to have a major overcrowding problem, pushing ticket prices up seemingly every year. It’s an issue that especially affects socal locals, who not only need to plan around the traffic, but also be ready to drop a minimum of $200 a person. Which often pushes them away (unless you’re one of the ones who buys an annual pass and goes every weekend). But, if you are willing to splurge once a year or every other year, here’s a few habits my friends and I picked up trying to make the most out of our visits.

The first habit we picked up was going during “off seasons”. An “off season” are the seasons where tourist traffic is lower than average (late summer/early fall to december, january to april). You might think “but LA always has tourists.” That’s why I said lower than average traffic. The months are important, because they center around when people need to go back to school, and when they go one winter break. Going during an “off season” can make all the difference in wait times, which can be cut by as much as half. Choosing a weekday is also important, as it guarantees people will be in school (which helps if you have vacation during the quarter system, which is different from everyone else).

The second is to be very picky of where we get our food. Disneyland food is especially pricey, and you have to know where you’re going to get the most bang for your buck. If you get a park hopper pass, I would just recommend that you go to California Adventure, where the food tends to be cheaper. But if you’re stuck in just Disneyland, go to Downtown Disney (you can always come back into the park). But the food in the New Orleans area of Disneyland isn’t bad.

The third habit we picked up was fast passing the biggest rides. You can only take out one fast pass at a time, but its worth getting them for Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, and Splash Mountain. Those tend to be the rides within Disneyland park that have the longest waits (although Matterhorn can be up to 110 minute wait, as well). In California Adventure, getting a fast pass for Cars Ride, and Guardians of the Galaxy are the ones you need to get. While getting the fast pass for the ride is helpful, if the lines are short enough, it may just be more worth it just to wait in the line.

The last important habit I can say is try to stay all day. You have the make the most out of your trip, especially if it was a hassle getting there in the first place, and staying all day and trying to see as much as you can is the least you can do. The crowds can be a bit tedious, however, and if it threatens to chase you away, that’s okay. Just stay out of the fantasyland area and you avoid most of the people with strollers.

Movies my Dad Wants to Watch with Me

My dad has a list of movies he wants me to watch with him. They’re all renowned films, and every year that I go without watching them, the more annoyed he gets. So for father’s day, I thought I’d share a quick list of the movies he’s dying to get me to watch since I was fourteen.

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003) Extended edition. Why only the third one? Well, I was barely able to get through the second extended edition, which felt like it took five hours. I’m the kind of person who struggles to sit still for a long period of time, and when my dad told me the third one would be longer than the second one, I knew I couldn’t take it. It doesn’t matter that it won an Oscar. The extended edition is for those who are die hard Lord of the Rings fans.

The Godfather (1972) was one of those movies that I was actually interested in seeing, but never got around to watching. It’s a cult classic, based off the book and centered around Mafia crime in New York City. It takes place in the immediate post-WW2 era, and deals with the dirty politics of organized crime at the time when it was transitioning to Las Vegas. There have been countless media references made to the film, and my dad repeats lines to the point where I hear them in his voice. It’s not his all-time favorite, but it’s up there.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) is another film he wants me to see. My dad took martial arts when he was younger, and was all into Jet Lee films (we had many VHS tapes of them). But this film, released in 2000, is the fighting film that he mentions the most. Taking place in 18th century China, centering around the two characters Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien, who must find and stop the character known as Fox. Why haven’t I watched it yet? Well, my dad never explained the film enough for me to be interested in it.

The last film that I’m going to put on this list is Jaws (1975). I don’t think he wants me to watch it for any reason other than to try and make sure I never swim in an ocean again. Although, with the changing technology, I don’t think that will happen. The film takes place on Amity Island, where violent and fatal shark attacks are popping up, causing an investigation and a bounty to be place on the shark involved. This leads them to discover a megalithic shark with a taste for human flesh, and must try to kill it. I never had an interest in watching this movie, although again, I understood all the references to it. It’s one of those things that are better left unwatched.

A Trip to Universal Studios: What to Expect

With summer here, hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the globe will be travelling to Los Angeles to see the world famous attractions. One of these attractions, is of course, Universal Studios.

What can you expect if you want to go here? Well, from experience (although I haven’t been since a year before Hogwarts opened), here’s a few tips that’ll prepare you for what usually happens when you visit the park.

First step: buying tickets. No matter what, you will want to buy your tickets online. They can range anywhere from $109-124 during the summer (during off seasons, they’re much cheaper). The price ranges on what day of the month you decide to go. Earlier in the month tends to be cheaper. If you decide to buy the tickets at the door, they will be the most expensive.

Second: Be ready for crowds. Universal Studios not only attracts locals, but tourists from all over the world. Don’t be surprised to find that the biggest rides will have the longest waits (yes, this includes the studio tours). Also, there will be people everywhere, despite the streets being built for large crowds. Make sure to keep track of your party at all times.

Third: It’s probably best not to buy food in the park. Think of it like any theme park food- overpriced, and not that great. It’s better just to go to City Walk and return to the park. It may not be cheaper, but it is certainly better tasting. However, if you don’t want to deal with the trouble of getting out and back in to the park, then staying in the park will be fine. The food won’t kill you.

Fourth: Bring water and find ways to stay hydrated. Los Angeles is a semi-desert, and gets insanely hot during the summer (the average in the 90s), and it’s important to drink plenty of water while you’re in the park. Also bring sunscreen. You don’t want to get sunburnt by walking to get on a ride.

Fifth: And lastly, don’t forget to enjoy the whole park. There are multiple levels to it, and a great view of Warner Brothers studios. It is a fun park, and although the lines can get long, the day wouldn’t be worth it if you skipped half the lines. Also, it’s not recommended that you bring infant kids. They wouldn’t really enjoy most rides, and dealing with a crying kid in the heat is less than enjoyable. Have Fun!

Documentary Now!, and the Beauty of Subtle Satire

I had almost forgotten about Documentary Now!, until I found the second season on Netflix last night while looking for something to watch. I had always enjoyed the show, and I thought the first two episodes kept their satirical charm. It was at the same time subtle and obvious, with a real appearance and an unreal story line.

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How 13 Reasons Why and Twilight Aren’t so Different

The last thing I wanted to see when I went on Netflix a week ago was a trailer for 13 Reasons Why Season Two. Just by watching the first five seconds of the trailer, I already knew the new season was probably worse than the first one, if that was even possible. But I wasn’t about to waste my time by watching it to find out.

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Nollywood, Nigeria’s Film Hub

We’ve all heard of Hollywood and Bollywood, the undeniably largest hubs for films on the planet. But I notice most people in the West have never heard of the world’s second largest film industry, one that sits in the heart of Africa’s largest economy. This hub, which has gained a surprising amount of momentum, is Nollywood.

Nollywood films first began coming out in the early 1960s, a respective fifty and seventy years after the founding of Hollywood and Bollywood. The first generation of Nigerian films arose just after Nigeria’s independence, with notable filmmakers being Hubert Ogunde, Jab Adu, Ola Balogun, and Moses Olaiya (a.k.a Baba Sala). They helped to modernize much of Nigeria’s film genres, including comedy, drama, and opera, but grew quickly frustrated with the high cost of production materials. After pushing to the government, who had begun funding Nigeria’s TV industry, they gained funding, helping the new industry grow and thrive.

The industry for a while centered around indigenous films, but in 1992, the film Living in Bondage by Ken Nnebue was released, going on to be considered Nollywood’s first big blockbuster release, setting Nigeria on the path of pushing out more commercial films. The first Nigerian film to gain international attraction was Osoufia in London, released in 2003, pushing Nollywood films to be released in standard quality.

In 2009, Nollywood had officially surpassed Hollywood as the second largest film industry in terms of production revenue, second only to Bollywood. As of 2014, Nollywood’s production worth is approximately $3.3 billion USD, although nowadays the industry faces a serious revenue bleed, as movie pirating the the lack of true global breakout has drained revenue, causing a serious drain on the formal economy. Still, Nollywood produces a whopping 1,500 films a year, greatly surpassing Hollywood’s annual production.

Nollywood greatly contrasts from Hollywood in that it is not made in a uniform pattern, with a single language dominating the industry. Rather, the industry is filmed throughout different regions, in over 300 languages, reflecting the many different cultures inside Nigeria. Despite their growing adoption of international uniform influence, they maintain a distinctive cultural difference, setting the industry apart from the two more well-known.

It is undeniable that the industry has the potential to become internationally renowned, although it has yet to. When it can and will finally make its breakthrough is uncertain. But it seems to be doing well for itself, and continues to grow each year.