Category: Entertainment

8 magical games to try instead of Hogwarts Legacy

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Story and photo by Sophia-Joelle McDowell

More than two decades ago she-who-will-not-be-named created a magical universe we all enjoyed. Hogwarts was a safe place for those who felt even a little bit different, although the fictional parents who sent their kids off to school to face life-changing villains and quests might disagree. 

The young people who read these books grew up visualizing themselves in that magical universe, sipping on butterbeer while casting spells. Everyone loved different things about the world, magical or otherwise. As someone who wasn’t allowed to have a cat growing up, I enjoyed the idea of being able to finally purchase my own feline friend and bring it along with me to school. 

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‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’ is a Time Capsule of Adolescent Expression 

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By Hanna Ellington

Glittering, angsty, sparkling, and effeminate, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is an ode to girlhood and the unrestrained emotion that comes with growing out of it.

I sit here coming to you in my apartment in a big city reminiscing on who I was when Speak Now came out for the first time. Dark curly hair, ambition beyond the confines of Kansas, and an affinity for the unbridled twang of Taylor Swift. At 11, I had already paid my dues as a Swiftie with my copy of Fearless and her debut album tucked in the growing CD collection shared with my mom.

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Filmmaker Sav Rodger’s Chasing Chasing Amy dives into the significance of LGBTQ+ representation in media

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By Emily Laptad
Photos by Travis Young

When 12-year-old Sav Rodgers discovered the 1998 film Chasing Amy, it quickly became his life raft while growing up in Johnson County, Kansas. Not only did the film include LGBTQ+ representation young he desperately needed, but the queer characters were good, intelligent, funny, and out—something Rodgers had very little exposure to.

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Why we need more of the female gaze in Hollywood

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By Ayanna Smith
Art by Maddy Best

If you type “male gaze” into the search bar on Twitter or TikTok, you’ll be met with thousands of hot takes on the issue. From videos questioning whether a new TV show really gives depth to the female protagonist to explanations of why a beloved 90s film is actually super misogynistic, they all call for more media that showcases the female gaze. Let’s dive into what that means.

You know the male gaze when you see it. It’s when a female character’s purpose is to pleasure the male protagonist. We barely know anything about her or her objectives, she’s just there to help the protagonist achieve his goals. Take most of the James Bond movies as an easy example of this: his female co-stars are often objectified and seen as passive helpers. 

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Woman & queer-owned indie film company New 32 puts inclusion first

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By Sophia-Joelle McDowell

New 32 Productions is a small, woman and queer-owned independent film company based in North Carolina. The company bases its decisions on values and is hell-bent on creating better conditions for creators in indie film. 

With New 32 Productions, they focus on developing small crews of people who are treated well and are good at what they do. And their team is stacked.

Raven Angeline Whisnant wears a lot of hats. She leads the team, films, produces, directs, edits, writes, and constantly needs to be ready to deal with whatever the day calls for. Co-founder Charlie Monroe is another woman of many talents. Monroe is even starring as the title character in the upcoming comedy Bernard Gets Famous. Additionally, she wrote their new short film debut, Biters & Bleeders.

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