Arts & Entertainment

As the COVID-19 pandemic is coming to an end, prominent artists are feeling safe to begin touring again. The return can be summarized as Janet Jackson’s Tour’s name, Together Again Tour, highlighting the return to it being safe to be together and enjoy music.

Of course, music festivals are back too. The most prominent is Coachella, taking place in April in California. Headlining the show will be Bad Bunny, BLACKPINK, and Frank Ocean. Along with Coachella are Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, Something in the Water, M3F, Rolling Loud, and more locally, Dreamville in Raleigh. Dreamville features Lil Durk and Usher, but more importantly, Drake and J.Cole.

With all of the tours and festivals happening, a Charlotte local may be wondering why we don’t get to host these festivals?  Or at least, get stop on the tour? Charlotte is the 15th largest city population-wise but often gets skipped over in favor of Greensboro, Raleigh, or Durham. This is due to artists like Justin Bieber having to sign contracts stating they can only perform at certain venues owned by certain companies, which Greensboro has, and Charlotte doesn’t. Raleigh is our state capital, so it’s obvious why artists go there, but Durham is favored for its proximity to colleges such as UNC and Duke.

The infamous Ticketmaster has a monopoly on the concert and festival ticket market, making it hard to find competitive prices and the tickets themselves. The demand for the tickets has increased exponentially, with NBC reporting that concert attendance was up 24% and the total amount of money people have dropped on the tickets in 2023 alone comes out to 7 billion. The Pittsburgh Magazine found that since 1993, ticket prices have quadrupled. Fans are having to resort to the presale, which is only accessible to a select group of people, and the unlucky few who don’t get tickets turn to resellers who sell the tickets for double the amount.

Taylor Swift’s Era’s Tour, which was surrounded by the Ticketmaster controversy, has just begun. Glendale, where Swift opened the tour, was renamed Swift City, Arizona for the weekend. SZA’s US tour just ended, bringing out Phoebe Bridgers and Lizzo in LA, featuring her new album ‘SOS’. Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour stops in Charlotte on August 9th, the cheapest tickets going for 200 dollars, so start saving up! Country names coming to Charlotte include Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire, Luke Combs, and Luke Bryan. Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, and Vanilla Ice are also gracing CLT with their presence at the Fillmore, with tickets offered right now. Older names such as Madonna and Red Hot Chili Peppers are coming in October as well. Local K-Pop fans are ecstatic for TXT, a K-Pop group that has never come to Charlotte, will be making an appearance on May 6th. Pop names such as Charlie Puth, Ed Sheeran, Big Time Rush, and Pink are visiting Charlotte as well. 

One of the best parts about concerts is the rituals involved to include the fans. Merch from your favorite artist is always offered at the venue, which could be expensive but worth it in the end. Dressing up in theme for the concert is a ritual for most fans, some go out of their way to even handcraft them. Sometimes the fans exchange concert memorabilia, like friendship bracelets or keychains. Most artists have fan rituals, like screaming certain lyrics or adding words to parts of the song. There are even exciting moments when the artist might choose someone to come up on stage with them and even sing a little part of their song, which Big Time Rush is known for during their hit song Worldwide.

2023 is shaping up to be a great year for music. The concert and festival energy is returning, and fans are all for it. Hopefully, more music lovers can continue to gather in their favorite places and listen to music together once more.

This year, there have been many award ceremonies, such as the Golden Globe Awards, the Grammys, the Kids Choice Awards, the  Oscars, and the SAG Awards. According to nbcnews.com, the 80th Golden Globe Awards happened on January 10th, 2023, and the “Best Motion Picture Drama ” award went to Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical film, The Fabelmans. This film is about a Jewish family, where the parents take their son, Sammy Fabelman, to see a film called The Greatest Show On Earth. As a result, Sammy falls in love with the film and begins making his own films. Additionally, the “Best Limited Series” award went to Mike White, the creator of HBO’s White Lotus. The message behind White Lotus is that people desire things from each other and use their minds and skill to get what they want. 

The Annual 65th Grammy Awards took place in February 2023. Beyonce has now beaten the record with thirty-two Grammys. She was awarded “Best Dance/Electronic Album” and thanked the queer community, her uncle Johnny, her husband Jay-Z, as well as her kids in her speech. Additionally, Harry Styles was awarded Album of the Year for Harry’s House. Everyone in the audience, including Harry, was shocked. Harry exclaimed, “I’ve been so so inspired by every artist in this category with me at a lot of different times in my life” in his speech. “I’m so grateful.” Despite this, everyone was expecting Beyonce to win Best Album of the Year for Renaissance, considering she has been nominated for this award four times.

For a younger audience, the Kids Choice Awards happened in March 2023. The show was hosted by social media influencer Charli D’Amelio, and sports TV commentator Nate Burleson. D’Amelio performed a talented dance routine to Lady Gaga’s song “Bloody Mary.” After performing, she accepted the “Best Female Creator” award and quickly moved out of the way so she would avoid getting slimed. However, she got her payback when she and her family went on stage to take a photo, and suddenly they all got slimed. Getting slimed is a Kids Choice Awards tradition. All of the celebrities that get awards get slimed by green goo to add a fun touch to the show. Adam Sandler received the “King of Comedy” award. He dressed the part and wore a full king costume until it was ruined with green slime. Additionally, Dove Cameron received the “Best Breakout Artist” award and left the audience interested by teasing her new album. 

One of the most prestigious awards shows, the Annual 95th Oscars, occurred in March 2023. Jimmy Kimmel was the night’s host and made an unforgettable entrance by parachuting onto the stage. The first award announced was for “Best Animated Feature.” The award went to Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, and in their speech, they discussed that animated films need to be taken more seriously. The next award presented was for “Best Actor In a Supporting Role.” The award went to Ke Huy Quan for his performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once. Then came “Best Actress In a Supporting Role”, which went to Jamie Lee Curtis for her performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once. The next award presented was for “Best Documentary Feature,” which went to Navalny, about the 2020 assassination attempt on Russian opposition leader and former presidential candidate Alexei Navalny.The Screen Actors Guild Awards, also known as the SAG Awards, happened in February 2023. The “Best Actor” SAG award went to Brendan Fraser for his performance in The Whale.” In his speech, he said, “If you told that guy back then that I’d be standing right here, I would not have believed you.” The “Best Actress in a Drama Series” went to Jennifer Coolidge for her performance in White Lotus. In reference to the creator-director Mike White, she stated, “You can give money to friends and do nice things for them, but the best gift you can give someone is to change someone’s perspective for the better, and that’s what Mike White did for me.” Film and Television have definitely dominated, and the world is ready for more to come!

Netflix, the world’s largest streaming service, has long been the go-to destination for TV shows and movies for millions of viewers worldwide. Netflix has become a household name when it comes to streaming entertainment, with over 200 million subscribers. Although there has been customer dissatisfaction over the years, the company still remains on top due to its creation of original content.

Netflix has faced uproar from customers over the years, mostly caused by the removal of many fan favorites such as “The Office” and “Friends”. The removal of “The Office” was due to its extreme expenses for Netflix to renew the streaming licenses. Prior to its removal from the site, Netflix was reportedly spending $500 million a year just to keep it in the US library. The removal of these shows decreased the subscriber count, sending previous customers to other streaming services. The rise of these competitors over the years such as Disney+, Hulu, and Prime Video has affected Netflix’s marginal growth by creating alternative options for viewers. However, with the highest number of subscribers in 78 countries and over 200 million customers globally, Netflix has remained the most popular video streaming service. 

Netflix’s continued success as a dominant force in the streaming industry is accredited  to its investment in original content. By creating its own “Netflix Originals,” Netflix reduces its reliance on licensing agreements with third-party studios, giving the company more control over its content library. Producing original content also allows Netflix to differentiate itself from competitors by offering exclusive content that cannot be found elsewhere. This makes Netflix hold power to keep subscribers loyal to the site. With shows such as the teen drama series “Outer Banks” and the science fiction horror series “Stranger Things” generating massive buzz and high viewership numbers, the site has stayed afloat. These shows have been popular with audiences and have helped Netflix increase its subscriber base. Some may say Netflix Originals  alone are keeping the site alive.

The success of popular shows has been crucial to Netflix’s growth and profitability. However, producing original content can be very expensive, with budgets for some shows reaching hundreds of millions of dollars. “Outer Banks” season 3 had a budget of around $50 million and “Stranger Things,” being the most expensive Netflix original series, had an estimated production cost of around $30 million per episode. Despite these high production costs, popular shows generate significant revenue for Netflix. For example, Stranger Things is estimated to have generated over $1 billion in merchandise sales alone. The shows clearly drive a significant amount of revenue for Netflix which in 2022 made $31.616 billion with $4.5 billion in profits.

Almost 90% of all of Netflix’s revenue comes from subscriptions and partnerships while roughly 10% of it comes from advertising. Without having ads, Netflix uses brand integration, a marketing strategy where a brand is integrated into the storyline of a TV show or movie. This is done in a subtle manner, without disrupting the flow of the storyline, making it an effective way of advertising products to viewers. For example, in the third season of the original series Stranger Things, Coca-Cola’s cans were featured prominently, with Coca-Cola receiving $3.4 million through the placement of its cans (valued at $1.66 million). These brand integrations allow Netflix to produce even more profit through their original content and are a big part of their added success.

Overall, The company’s original content has become cultural touchstones, generating much success for Netflix. As the streaming industry continues to evolve, Netflix’s commitment to producing original content will be crucial to its continued growth.

It’s no secret that content creators, specifically on Tik Tok, are heavily influencing the human population. It seems as though there is always a new product to try. Through Stanley Cups, slicked-back hairstyles, Poppi Sodas, Rare Beauty Products, and Revlon Hair Brush Blow Dryers, microtrends have been significantly changing the retail demand. However, the problem is that more and more content creators are promoting the same aesthetic, oversaturating the media, and there’s been a dissociation of viewers’ personal styles. Are practices genuinely loved and valuable to the individual, or are they simply curated by social media?

Currently, the main trends are related to makeup and beauty products and it appears to have a ripple effect. There is one name that seems to have influenced all: Alix Earle. With her casual “Get-Ready-With-Me-Story-Time” Tik Tok videos, her persona has boomed in the past couple of months. She’s now a verified creator and has attended many influencer events including traveling to Dubai with Tarte, the cosmetic company. People love her and a common saying is, “What would Alix Earle do?” Why is she so popular? Some answer that she is relatable, but no one really knows. Products she uses, such as the White Nyx Jumbo Stick Eyeliner and Charlotte Tilbury Contour Wand, have not just simply been “popular”; they’ve severely disrupted the supply chain selling out in beauty stores such as Sephora and Ulta, creating an impatient rage in customers. Her Amazon storefront that displays the lighting and equipment she uses to film has even sold out of stock for the next month. Earle, along with popular Swedish content creator Matilda Djerf, have dazzled viewers with their shiny, blowout hair look, which they achieve by using the brand Gisou. Gisou products such as the Honey Infused Hair Oil and leave-in treatments have been primarily used by black women for their hair type, and because of Djerf’s and Earle’s influence on the sell-out, those women have vocalized their frustration as they don’t have access to the products that they need to keep their hair healthy. Supply chain problems are shockingly very evident when it comes to influencers.

Social media interactors seem to just pick a person and make that person the top influencer; “It Girls,” so to speak. Other Tik Tok creators have tried to top Earle through their own “Get-Ready-With-Me” beauty routines, but the products are the same along with the basis of the video. The “Clean Girl” aesthetic is also shared amongst many influencers through satisfying, minimalist interior spaces, relaxing skincare and bedtime routines, and “Day in My Life” videos. It’s actually quite interesting when thinking back to the earlier 2013-2016 phase on Youtube with vlog-style, routine videos that were produced by creators such as Bethany Mota and Alisha Marie. This truly goes to show that trends in the media almost always resurface. Today on Tik Tok, there’s not just Lauren Loveless or Paige Lorenze; there are thousands of accounts with similar content and follower counts. This creates an alienation in niche creators and personal aesthetics as more and more people, Tik Tok influencers or not, are dressing and living alike. In the past, influencers were unique to the public and were able to build a well-known brand. Now, it’s becoming harder and harder to be a full-time content creator as nothing is “original” anymore, and viewership demand changes by the day. 

It will be interesting to see if this continues and if/when the media becomes completely homogenous and oversaturated. Some may argue that this can be good, as using the same things as others creates a collective group of people who bond over certain products and practices that are helpful to them. All in all, people have the freedom of choice and can invest in whatever products they desire. 

Ticketmaster, the world’s largest ticketing service company, has a monopoly on concert ticket sales. Since Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation in 2010, they have become exponentially larger than competitors and taken control of the ticketing industry. The website powers ticket sales for venues such as stadiums, arenas, and performing arts centers with a worldwide reach. According to the Ticketmaster website, the company was started in 1976 as a way for colleges to sell tickets to events on campus. Now in 2023 they have evolved into a global powerhouse, controlling both the ticket selling and reselling industries, while making a large profit with their service fees and private investing relationships. Entertainers have recently become infuriated at Ticketmaster’s monopoly on the entertainment industry, specifically their website’s failure to meet demands and restrictions on purchasing that can leave loyal fans ticketless. 

Here is a brief history of Ticketmaster: the company was started as a small software company that “licensed ticketing systems to retail outlets and universities to sell paper tickets to event-goers” (Ticketmaster). Ticketmaster would make their profits by selling their system to vendors and a service charge to consumers. By 2009, the then leading ticket sales company, Front Line Management (now Live Nation) announced a merger with Ticketmaster, and the two companies together became a monopoly over the entertainment industry. Now, in order to purchase a ticket to nearly any event, consumers must purchase tickets through Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster recently launched their Verified Fan program, where fans must register to participate prior to an event’s ticket sale, and if they are selected, they will be sent a code and allowed presale access to the event. 

Most recently, in November of 2022, Ticketmaster made headlines after their site crashed during their Verified Fan Presale event for Taylor Swift’s upcoming tour. Over 3.5 million fans registered for Verified Fan Presale, which is the largest registration in the company’s history. Ironically enough, Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program was designed to help the company manage the demand during large ticket sales, as well as limit the number of robots attempting to buy tickets. This intention proved the opposite on November 15th, as the Ticketmaster website crashed due to “extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand” (Ticketmaster). Over 2.4 million tickets were sold to Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour, the highest number of tickets sold on Ticketmaster in a single day. Due to the website crash and the inability of Ticketmaster to meet the overwhelming demand, the company ended up canceling the public sale three days later. This means that Swifties who were left ticketless are left to resale options on sites such as Vivid Seats and Seat Geek, where ticket prices reach over $30,000. 

Swift issued a statement in response to the fiasco saying, “I’m not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them, multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could,” (Swift, Instagram). Taylor Swift is not the only artist upset by Ticketmaster’s monopoly over the ticketing industry, with country artist Zach Bryan also taking a stance with his recent entitlement of his live album: “All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster.” Along with this live album release, Bryan issued a statement saying, “I am so tired of people saying things can’t be done about this massive issue while huge monopolies [Ticketmaster] sit there stealing money from working-class people.”​ This statement follows Bryan’s recent tour, with his fans paying upwards of $400 for tickets after service fees when Bryan intentionally priced the face values substantially lower. 

While many artists are becoming upset over the monopoly that Ticketmaster has obtained, it does not seem like the site will be going anywhere any time soon. Ticketmaster continues to be the one-stop shop for all things ticketing, and they are quite successful with their control over the industry, even if fans are left either ticketless or with empty wallets. 

There’s a lot under the surface of the new Avatar: The Way of Water movie. The film is the sequel to the highest-grossing movie, Avatar, and is set more than a decade after the first film’s events. The Avatar live on the moon of Pandora which humans have returned to in the new movie. Sully and his family are a part of the jungle tribe called the Na’vi but when they hear of the humans return they venture to the Metkina water tribe to hide. The film tells the story of the Sully family as they explore the underwater regions of Pandora and navigate the ongoing conflict between humans and the native people.

Through the movie’s story the director and producer, James Cameron, hopes to convey his message of environmentalism and the consequences of human actions on the natural world. Cameron states that “the eco-conscious message woven into Avatar will inspire people to apply Pandora’s principles to life on Earth, protect our planet, and spark environmental, conservational, and climate change conversations on activism.”

He wouldn’t have been able to encapsulate Avatar’s magic without all the work that went into production. With a budget of at least $350 million, the Avatar sequel is among the most expensive movies ever produced. To break even, a 2 billion dollar profit is necessary, which would make this sequel one of the highest-grossing films of all time. However, that wasn’t an issue for The Way of Water, which reached $2.02 billion in profits within its sixth weekend of release. The movie became the sixth film in history, and the first since the pandemic, to reach the milestone of $2 billion in profits. 

The film’s great success was due to all the production work that went into making the film look realistic. With the use of highly advanced motion capture technology, emotions could be animated making the Avatar look real. The utilization of the technology made it so the animated characters’ actions and feelings followed the actors’ movements in real life. Actors wore markers on their bodies and facial head rigs so expressions, emotions, and movements could be translated onto the digital screen. 

However, this wasn’t the only thing that went into making the scenes look realistic. All of the water sequences in the new movie were filmed in actual bodies of water instead of animated water. Two massive tanks were engineered at Manhattan Beach Studios: one was used for training and intimate character moments, while the other larger tank was used for larger action sequences. At 120 feet long, 60 feet wide, and 30 feet deep, the second tank had a 250,000-gallon capacity. The tank possessed wave and current machines designed to enhance action-filled scenes. To capture the performances within these tanks, the directors used two separate immersive volumes that acted as giant green screens. One of the screens was used to record underwater action scenes, and the other was placed above the tank for surface interactions. For other fully submerged underwater scenes, there was a deep-sea cameraman with a custom-made 180-pound rig. The movements of the actors seemed more natural with real underwater filming; It enhanced the character’s interactions with the environment and one another, omitting the stiffness of dry-land filming. 

These elaborate underwater scenes meant rigorous training for the cast. Kirk Krack, a free-diving instructor, was brought in to teach the cast and crew tactics for long-period breath-holding and efficient swimming. The cast also had to learn to free dive in order to act as the swimming Avatar. By the end of filming, the cast and crew had logged over 200,000 free dive hours combined, leading Kate Winslet to break Tom Cruises’ breath-holding record with a time of 7 minutes and 14 seconds. 

Overall, with the large amount of work put into making the movie look realistic, they were really able to encapsulate the magic of the film.

Stevie Wonder, a world-renowned pianist, songwriter, and musician, just celebrated the 50th anniversary of his album, Talking Book. Wonder paved his way through the music industry facing and defeating many obstacles head-on. As a blind man, his disability highlights his talents in the industry, especially his expertise on the piano. Follow Wonder through his creation of “Talking Book”, an album that rocked the charts and transformed the music industry.

In 1972, following the release of “Music of my Mind” eight months prior, “Talking Book” was released, reintroducing pop to the music industry. After the release of some of his earlier albums, Wonder hinted that he would be writing and producing more than happy love songs. “Talking Book” reaffirmed that and also extended his sonic and technological ambitions, as he used state-of-the-art synthesizers and an arsenal of studio effects to orchestrate his songs with startlingly novel sounds” New York Times reported. Talking Book was Wonder’s vessel to demonstrate his expertise and show a more political side of himself. 

The “album cover — which showed Wonder wearing African-style robes and braided hair in a quasi-Biblical desert landscape (actually Los Angeles) — made clear that Wonder’s futurism was unmistakably Afrofuturism” reports the Times. Afrofuturism is a movement that Wonder was a part of that involves literature, music, or art featuring futuristic themes that subsume black history and culture. This increased his popularity as his music reached multiple genres including gospel, R&B, jazz, show tunes, folk, pop, country, and classical music. 

Wonder signed his first contract with MoTown Records when he was 11, where he was gifted the name of Little Stevie Wonder. His first contract expired in 1971, on his 21st birthday. “Other labels were eager to sign him, and when he returned to the Black-owned Motown, he had won complete creative control for himself. From then on, he would write and produce his own songs, release albums when he decided they were finished and choose his own collaborators,” said New York Times. 

The 1970s were a time for creativity within R&B, artists experimented with new instruments and tunes while incorporating their social consciousness in their lyrical writing, Wonder was no different.

New York Times reports, “Music of My Mind,” the first album under the new Motown contract, started to probe Wonder’s newfound freedom; then “Talking Book” reveled in it. It’s an album mostly of songs about love: euphoric, heartbroken, jealous, regretful, longing, anticipatory”. “Superstition” and “Big Brother” are two tracks on the album that showcase a political side of Wonder. “Superstition” covers received opinion and being gullible while “Big Brother” talks about a politician who is “tired of me protesting/children dying every day.”

The song “You and I”, compares love going right to love going wrong. “Maybe Your Baby” is another track on the album where Wonder sings about the realization of being cheated on. The final track on the album, titled “I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever),” is described as “a Beatles-tinged three-episode song in which the singer picks himself up from “shattered dreams,”.”

The album itself was futuristic for its time, Wonder had a few outside musicians helping him but the majority of the instrumental bustle heard in the background of his songs are self-made. The album was a smashing success: “Superstition” and “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” both reached #1 on Billboard Hits contributing to his ten #1s in total. Both tracks stayed as #1 for a full week. “Talking Book was not only a hit album — No. 1 on the R&B chart, No. 3 on the all-genre Billboard 200 — but also a harbinger of R&B and pop that would be increasingly electronic and synthetic, proudly unbound by physical realities”

Media in recent years has featured an increase in biopics: a movie or TV show that dramatizes the life events of a real person. Films like  Elvis, Bohemian Rhapsody, I, Tonya, and Rocketman hit the box office with high expectations of delivering a thrilling story about beloved pop culture icons. Streaming services have released series’ like Dahmer, Pam & Tommy, Inventing Anna, The Dropout, and Dickinson, which depict snippets of the main characters’ lives in a shorter form that viewers can binge. While these pieces are based in reality, they often end up sacrificing details or the true nature of events to craft a more captivating story. 

The 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody followed Freddy Mercury’s career alongside the band Queen’s rise and fall. . They touched on significant  events like the formation of the band, their performance at Live Aid, the writing of “We Will Rock You”, and other hit songs, all the way to Freddy’s tragic AIDS diagnosis. While this film was nominated for five awards, including Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role and Best Motion Picture, with a more critical lens, the fallacies present in the storyline stick out like a sore thumb. The movie shows that for the band to play at Live Aid they had to reunite from a hiatus and relearn how to play together to pull off their iconic 17-minute performance. In actuality, Queen had released their widely successful album “The Works” a year before and had just ended a 9-month world tour. Ultimately, they were anything but unprepared to perform as a group. Another inaccuracy appears when Freddy tells his bandmates of his AIDS diagnosis before their previously mentioned gig. Live Aid occurred in July of 1985 when, as Peter Freestone- a friend of Freddy’s- told Express Online “Freddie thought he was sick in 1986 and it was confirmed in 1987.”, meaning the movie overlooked at least a whole year of real history to supplement the storyline and make the event seem more high stakes.

In early 2022 streaming services Hulu and Disney+ began airing Pam & Tommy, a whirlwind story of the early 90’s “it” couple, Pamela Anderson & Tommy Lee, and their 3-year marriage. Not only was the series produced without the permission or knowledge of Pamela Anderson, but it also makes light of the shame and humiliation she endured during the relationship, especially regarding her and Tommy’s sex tape being leaked. The show mainly focuses on that last point, with the showrunner Rob Siegal telling Entertainment Weekly, “We very clearly, unambiguously present them as victims of a crime, which they were.” Many critics claim it achieves the opposite effect. Rand Gauthier- the man responsible for the copying and distributing of the intimate video, is played by Seth Rogan in the series. Known for his teddy bear-like charm and overall chill vibe, one wouldn’t expect him to play the broad-shouldered, rough-and-ready electrician he was acting as. The stylistic choice can be overlooked as just that, but in a different light can be seen as a way to make the story feel more conflicting to the viewer- it starts to feel like you should be rooting for this blue-collar worker who is seeking revenge for losing a valuable job due to Tommy’s self-righteous attitude. On top of all this, Pamela is depicted as a two-dimensional bombshell lacking any attributes other than her looks and given less of a compelling storyline than Rand. 

The misrepresentation in biopics shows Hollywood’s willingness to blatantly bend the truth to create more monetarily successful projects regardless of the facts. Generalizing details for the sake of plot twists and keeping viewers entertained seems to be the name of the game.

In 2016, Chadwick Boseman introduced Black Panther to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in Captain America: Civil War. Then in 2018, Black Panther got his own movie and became the first MCU film with a Black director and a predominantly Black cast. Black Panther stars Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o, Letitia Wright, Dania Gurira, Winston Duke, Michael B. Jordan, Daniel Kaluuya, and Angela Bassett, to name a few. 

Black Panther was one of the first superhero movies where Black people truly felt represented on the screen. In the Time magazine article, The Revolutionary Power of Black Panther, author Jamil Smith writes, 

“If you are reading this and you are white, seeing people who look like you in mass media probably isn’t something you think about often. Every day, the culture reflects not only you but nearly infinite versions of you—executives, poets, garbage collectors, soldiers, nurses and so on. … Those of us who are not white have considerably more trouble not only finding representation of ourselves in mass media and other arenas of public life but also finding representation that indicates that our humanity is multi­faceted. Relating to characters onscreen is necessary not merely for us to feel seen and understood, but also for others who need to see and understand us.” 

Chadwick Boseman was not only a superhero on screen, but also off-screen. In 2016, Boseman was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer. Sadly, after four long years of fighting, he passed away in 2020. Family, friends, and fans were devastated by the news, heartbroken to lose such an inspiration. His death created a large hole in the MCU and led to the question: How would Black Panther live on?

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the long-awaited sequel that came out in November of 2022 after it was announced in June of 2021. According to Vulture, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever started to film in June 2020 with Chadwick Boseman. After his passing, Marvel reshot the film and created a new storyline.

SPOILERS AHEAD! 

The sequel opens with Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright) scrambling in her lab to save her brother, T’Challa (Boseman), from an unknown, terminal disease. Despite her efforts, her mother, Ramonda (Angela Bassett), enters the lab and announces that the king has died. The movie then jumps to a year later, and Wakanda is still grieving the death of their king. Furthermore, Namor, a mutant and king of an unknown underwater civilization that also relies on Vibranium, arises. When young scientist, Riri Williams, creates a machine that the CIA can use to sense Vibranium, Namor strikes. Namor and his people want to kill Riri, but Shuri intends to keep her safe in Wakanda. This leads to an attack on Wakanda, where Namor kills Queen Ramonda, and Shuri becomes queen. Shuri becomes consumed by vengeance and finds a way to recreate the lost heart-shaped herb that will make her the Black Panther. There is an epic battle between the new Black Panther and Namor, where she fights him nearly to death. Ultimately, Shuri presents a truce, and an alliance is formed. 

Shuri, the new Black Panther, surrenders her crown to M’bacu (Winston Duke) and goes to live with Nakia (Lupita N’yongo), T’Challa’s love, at a Haitian school. There, Shuri can grieve the loss of her family and rediscover who she is as the Black Panther. In the end-credit scene, Nakia introduces a 5-year-old boy named Touissant. All along, King T’Challa had a son growing up away from Wakanda. The Black Panther legacy will continue. 

This movie is genuinely about grief and how one rises above it. Grief is a powerful emotion that can cause one to grow vengeful. In these times, one must rediscover who they are and learn to live without their lost loved one. However, especially in Wakanda, it is known that our loved ones live on through us.   

Survivor, a reality TV show where contestants are stranded on an island.  They compete in challenges and vote people off, all with hopes to be the last survivor and take home a million dollars. The show is coming back with another season; Season 43 will include new challenges, twists, advantages, and a crazy cast. The first episode will be premiering Wednesday, September 21 at 8 p.m on CBS. 

This season will be a twenty-six day challenge with everyone’s favorite advantages. The big tribal council stirrer, “Shot in the Dark”, will be featured in this season. This advantage gives desperate players one last chance of immunity. Every player has one chance to trade in their vote for a one in six draw for safety, and if they draw safely, all votes cast against them will not be counted. Another advantage that will be seen is the “Risk vs Reward” dilemmas. This leaves viewers on the edge of their seat as players take big risks for big rewards. 

However, certain challenges from Seasons 41 and 42 will not be returning in this next season. The controversial “Hourglass” advantage that allowed for players to reverse the results of an immunity challenge will not be back in Season 43. Along with that, the “Do or Die” twist, where the loser of the challenge plays a game of chance that could eliminate them on the spot will not be featured.

This upcoming season has eighteen diverse cast members that are split into three tribes: Vesi, Coco, and Baka.  It will be interesting to see how the vast group of players from different backgrounds and upbringings will work with, and against each other in their game of Survivor. 

Jess Lopez, Noelle Lambert, and Nneka Ejereare are all members of the Vesi tribe that have persevered greatly to get to where they are today and be on Survivor. In Lopez’s interview he said, he went from being a gang member in juvenile hall to turning his life around, and studying voting behavior got him his Ph.D in Political Science; this will come in handy in the upcoming season. Lambert also stated in her interview, she lost her leg in an accident six years ago but she didn’t let it stop her! She’s a Paralympian, competed in the Tokyo Games, and is ready to take on the challenge of Survivor. 

Next, both Geo Bustamante and Ryan Medrano are on the Coco tribe. Both love Survivor and would do whatever it takes to get on their favorite show. According to the Survivor website, Bustamante had to quit his job in order to be on the show this season, so the stakes are high, and he’s aiming for the reward money. Medrano says in his interview that he was born with mild Cerebral Palsy, a group of disorders affecting one’s movement, balance, and posture. He went from not being able to walk to becoming a Personal Trainer and is ready to take on what Survivor 43 has to offer.

Lastly, Elisabeth Scott and Morriah Young are both on the Baka tribe. In Scotts interview she talks about how she is a Clinical Psychologist who believes her connecting skills will help her through this season, as her job involves getting people to do things they may not want to do. Lastly based on the Survivor website, Young grew up watching Survivor and is now on the show to, “check one final thing off the bucket list of her late mother.” She’s ready to take on Survivor and leave the island brighter than she found.

There’s a lot to look forward to in this new Survivor season!