By: Josie Herring and Marley Forrester 11/20/18 The Story Synopsis: Starr Carter is a teenage girl living in a mainly black suburban community, Garden Heights, while attending a mainly white preparatory school called Williamson. Because she does not go to school in Garden Heights, she feels separated from the other kids in her community. She copes with her situation by thinking of herself as two different versions of Starr: Garden Heights Starr and Williamson Starr. Over spring break, she goes to a party in Garden Heights with her friend, Kenya. That night she sees her childhood best friend, Khalil. When she sees him she realizes that things have changed and he’s now become a drug dealer to help himself and his family financially. Events changed quickly and shots rang out at the party. Starr and Khalil flee the scene, only to run into more trouble. While in Khalil’s car a police officer approaches the car and forcefully pulls him from the car. Khalil pulls a comb from his pocket, resulting in his getting shot by the police officer. The rest of this tale follows Starr through her legal and emotional journey in which she attempts to speak up for her unfairly murdered friend while trying to uphold this double life. The Book Written by Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give tells Starr’s story as she struggles through the hardships of living this double life while highlighting the modern issue of police violence. The book was excellently crafted by Thomas. It deals with the issues amazingly, when many social issue themed Young/Adult novels don’t ever do the issue justice. The subject of systematic racism and police brutality is hard and upsetting but this story laid down the topic beautifully. The Movie
The film version tells author Angie Thomas’s story beautifully. The movie portrays dynamic characters and realistic settings. The family dynamic is heartwarming, as is the dynamic of the torn Starr’s romantic relationship with her white, presumably upper-class boyfriend. The public seems to enjoy the film as well. In accordance to “Box Office Mojo,” the movie has made a total domestic gross of $28,223,244. Numbers aside, however, the movie has achieved its goal of starting a conversation. People everywhere, are discussing ideas and speaking out about the issue this story presents. Watauga student, Emma Schneider says her favorite theme introduced in the movie is the concept of blame, and how the blame cannot be placed on the generalization of one race, but the actions of each individual.
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Picture From: Universal Written By: Nichole Johnson
Now on November 9th, audiences everywhere will get to experience a new animated theatrical release of The Grinch. While the new movie follows the same plot line as the previous versions, it also explores new ideas that have never been seen before. Sheyla Luna said, “I personally prefer the new movie over the old one. I really liked this version of the movie because it’s more kid friendly and it’s funny as well.”
With the many different opinions on which version of The Grinch is better Moira Macdonald, from The Seattle Times said it best, “While the first “Grinch” I will always adore, it’s possible that there’s still room for one more. Hearing the Who’s sing their songs to the skies — It’s still movie magic, whatever the size.” I believe that while the new animated version of The Grinch is fantastic, heart warming, and definitely worth watching, it doesn’t take the place of the live-action feature film. Both versions of the movie now provide children and families everywhere the ability to enjoy two wonderful Christmas movies to watch every holiday season. Article By Emma Pinnix 11-06-18 On October 20th, Hocus Pocus celebrated its 25th anniversary. This iconic Halloween movie is loved by many and everyone came together to celebrate! For the anniversary, Freeform hosted a Hocus Pocus halloween bash. The bash was complete with interviews from the cast, trivia, and special musical appearances. If you haven’t had a chance to watch the film, no need to worry because Freeform has got your back. You have a lot of chances to catch it along with many other halloween movie favorites throughout the month.
Hocus Pocus is a great festive movie for all ages. The story behind the movie takes place in Salem and has references to the Salem Witch Trials. The story involves a teenager, Max Dennison who explores an abandoned house with his sister, Dani and their new friend, Allison. Max accidentally frees three evil witches who used to live in the house, known as the Sanderson sisters. Now the kids must steal the witches' book of spells to stop them from becoming immortal, and taking the lives of the children of Salem, along with the help of a magical cat. I watched the movie for the first time this week, and I can’t believe that I haven’t watched it before. Halloween movies have never been my favorite but I really enjoyed this classic. The characters are unique to the story and the casting was done really well. I’m not the only one who thought this either, Sarah Kruger, a student at WHS, said “I thought that the acting was well done and fit well for what the story was trying to convey and the humor that they wanted to include.” I agree completely with everything she had to say and can’t wait until next Halloween to watch it again. Hocus Pocus is a must see for people of all ages. Article By: Gaelan Wilson-Adams 10/31/18 The new season of Doctor Who is all about new things. Doctor Who has been running since 1963, and is the longest-running science fiction series in the world. The show is centered around an alien known as “the Doctor,” who travels through time and space in a blue police box. The 11th season, which started on the 7th of October, is the first season with the Doctor as a woman. The show was previously run by Steven Moffat, and is now being run by Chris Chibnall, the creator of the award-winning crime drama Broadchurch. Chibnall previously worked with the new Doctor, Jodie Whittaker, in Broadchurch, along with David Tennant, who played the 10th incarnation of the Doctor. The new season is all about newness and some of the new things include new villains, cast members, stories, TARDIS, sonic screwdriver, companions, location, and most of all, an entirely new Doctor. According to denofgeek.com, Chibnall’s one demand for taking over the show was that the Doctor had to be a woman. In an interview, Chibnall said, "It felt like a straightforward decision, it's not that controversial," and goes on to say, "It's very hard to think of many examples in its 55-year history where the Doctor takes a decision based upon gender." Whittaker’s portrayal of the Doctor is more inventive, which is shown when she makes a sonic screwdriver out of spare parts from an alien escape pod. She is also more clear and open about her feelings than previous Doctors. She wants to help people, but she doesn’t want to help all on her own. She wants friends, and seeks them out. Almost all of the previous Doctors have struggled with this in their own ways. The Doctor isn’t the only character that’s changed this season. None of the current characters, aside from the Doctor, have been in previous seasons. It is through these characters that the show tackles significant social issues. The three new companions face big challenges from the start, and these challenges become part of the larger story. Ryan Sinclair, a young black man living with his grandparents, has dyspraxia, a condition that affects his coordination. Because of this, he is unable to ride a bike. Yasmin Khan, who knew Ryan from primary school, is a Pakistani probationary police officer. She isn’t given many opportunities to prove herself on the force, possibly because of her gender and race. Graham O’Brien, a former bus driver and Ryan’s step-grandfather, has an entirely different set of circumstances. He’s a middle-aged white man who married Ryan’s grandmother, an outgoing black woman who dies in the first episode. Graham decides to travel with the Doctor to help deal with his grief. As the new companions’ characters grow and evolve in each episode so does the storyline. The scripts for the season were originally written for a male Doctor, and most of the changes made were for technical purposes. Something else that is new about the writing is that Chibnall made every episode single stories instead of a multi-episode storyline that can be found in previous seasons. In addition, this season features all-new villains in every episode and new locations. This year the show takes place in Sheffield instead of London or Cardiff. Lastly, there are three new features that every Doctor Who fan looks forward to when there is a new Doctor: a new TARDIS, sonic screwdriver, and theme song. While the new season is all about what we have never seen before in Doctor Who, these final three items are consistently new with a new Doctor. Jodie Whittaker’s TARDIS is very different and has a clockwork feel. The new sonic screwdriver also has a much more unique feel, as it was made by the Doctor instead of being manufactured by the TARDIS. The new theme song and intro is a dramatic revision of the original theme that was played 55 years ago, with William Hartnell as the first Doctor. The 11th season and the 13th Doctor were a huge success and the most watched Doctor Who launch in over a decade with almost 11 million viewers. |