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FRIDAY, A PR IL 2 6, 2019

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2019

THE HOYA

Voices of the District Embrace Identity, Inclusivity MICHELLE BROWN Hoya Staff Writer

Washington, D.C., is a hub for creative thought and expression through spoken word performances, from low-key open mics every night of the week to exhilarating formal competitions. Spoken word employs flowing metaphors and mellifluous alliterations to evoke emotions ranging from sorrow to joy. These performances, often based on personal experiences, range across a variety of genres and allow audiences to deeply engage with the language of poetry. The District brings together poets from across the city and even across the globe, providing the opportunity to share their stories, perspectives and experiences before a live and responsive audience. This oral art form imbues original poetry with the distinct intonation and inflection of its author, creating an experience based on listening and building connections through words.

EMOTIONALLY CHARGED PERFORMANCES

Busboys and Poets, a hybrid bookstore, restaurant and event space with several locations across D.C., is a notable hub for spoken word, offering both an enjoyable meal and a healing experience through its performances. Spoken word acts as a multifaceted art form and platform for expression, according to Pages Matam, the director of poetry events for Busboys and Poets. “The value that it holds as an art form is its blend of theater, of movement, of writing and an emotional spectrum,” Matam said in an interview with The Hoya. “It can also be whimsy, and witty, and out-there.” Established in 2005, the store’s moniker was inspired by Langston Hughes, a prominent poet of the Harlem Renaissance. Busboys has long hosted a diverse array of spoken word events, ranging from the laid-back and soulful “Sunday Kind of Love” open mic series to the high energy and electrifying “11th Hour” poetry slam. Free expression and untempered emotion are valuable for building community, according to Matam. “It’s about creating a space where we can be able to share our experiences, our stories, our thoughts, our emotions, our motivations, in a hopefully concise way and just have dialogue. And that’s what Busboys is about in the first place,” Matam said. “We are a community space that is intentional about creating dialogue through food, through art, through politics, and bringing people together in that way.” For those interested in engaging with these electric performances, Busboys hosts monthly poetry slams and weekly open mics across their locations. The next slam in Brookland on April 30 will feature award-winning performance artist and author Rudy Francisco. Spoken word thrives across other locations as well, including the nonprofit The Potter’s House, a cafe, bookstore and event space in Adams Morgan, which opened its doors in 1960. The Potter’s House has

found value in hosting poetry performances to create an artistic space for deep conversation, especially with its monthly open mic shows. Open mic nights provide an opportunity for singers, poets and storytellers to explore methods of communication and develop an appreciation for new perspectives, according to Clara Debnam, events manager at The Potter’s House. “I personally am trying to make space for individuals to kind of give feedback, or reflect on what was heard, to kind of broaden discussion, broaden people’s mindsets,” Debnam said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “Just so that we can begin to understand each other hopefully better, but recognize that people don’t see the world the same.” Open mic events can draw a wide variety of performers, ranging widely in both performance format and subject matter, according to Debnam. “At any given open mic, you can get anything from political, to sexual, to religious. There’s always a mixture,” Debnam said.

POETRY SLAMS

Slam is a term for competitive performance poetry, typically judged by five random audience members. Competitors lay down their original works before a responsive and energized audience and are scored with holistic consideration of their performance. “Slam is the name of a competition. All slam is, is the term for competitive poetry, the same way that you would say a wrestling match,” Matam said.

BUSBOYS AND POETS/FACEBOOK

Busboys and Poets, a space for people to read a new book, grab a bite to eat or attend a performance, has several locations across the District.

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY MUSLIM STUDENTS ASSOCIATION/FACEBOOK

The Muslim Students Association, in collaboration with Busboys and Poets, hosted an open mic for students to perform their original poetry and share experiences. Busboys is a hub for spoken word, which embraces creative expression.

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2019

THE HOYA

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY MUSLIM STUDENTS ASSOCIATION/FACEBOOK

Yasmeen El-Hasan (SFS ’20) performs at MSA’s open mic night at Busboys and Poets, which allows creative student expression through forms like poetry.

Matam, a national and regional poetry slam champion himself, hosts the Beltway Poetry Slam at Busboys’ Brookland location. Slam poets compete individually or on a team, and can potentially represent the District at the national and international slam competitions. Jonathan Tucker, a poet and performer heavily involved with spoken word in D.C., solidified his dedication to performance poetry when he left his job at a law firm to participate in the national slam competition. Among many of his other roles, Tucker is a poetry host for Busboys’ monthly open mics and also works to foster a sense of community in youth slam poetry. Tucker co-founded the slam competition Louder Than A Bomb DMV Teen Poetry Festival. The festival, run by Split This Rock and funded by Busboys, the National Endowment for the Arts and the D.C. Commission on Arts and Humanities, centers the creative forces of teenage poets. Drawing high school participants from D.C., Maryland and Virginia, the event serves both educational and entertainment purposes, according to Busboys. It is also an extension of Tucker’s ongoing commitment to developing creative expression and artistic culture among D.C.Maryland-Virginia area youth by bringing adult poets to local schools. “Part of my personal mission was to

THE POTTER’S HOUSE

The Potter’s House offers local talents, ranging from musicians to vocal artists to poets, a chance to show off their creative abilities in a welcoming environment, as they build a community space for empathy and reflection.

build a culture of poetry and access to young people. A lot of poetry programs will focus on college or above,” Tucker said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “My big thing was taking that thriving, artistic, creative writing culture that we have at the city at large and bringing those adult poets into the schools, into middle schools, elementary schools, high schools.” This year’s competition, which will culminate in a final show at the Kennedy Center on April 28, will be moderated by a panel of judges, including South African poets, MoAfrika ‘a Mokgathi and Busisiwe Mahlangu. Both of them have performed spoken word in the District as part of the “Azania to D.C.” poetry exchange facilitated by Tucker. In both slam competitions and spoken word performances, diverse identities are essential to broadening conversations around individual experiences, according to Tucker.

GOING BEYOND THE STAGE

Programs dedicated toward humanitarianism and cultural understanding through artistic expression maintain the District’s standing as a center for creative output. The Potter’s House serves philanthropic causes in the D.C. community through several initiatives. The “Pay it Forward” program donates 30% of their open mic tickets sales, which helps provide food to those without financial means. Continually looking to support local artists, The Potter’s House also gives $5 to anyone who gets on the mic. The Recovery Cafe open mic at The Potter’s House has been running for 11 years, and seeks to establish important human connections by giving those affected by addiction a welcoming means of expression and honesty. In addition to addressing community needs, spoken word provides the space to pause and reflect on internal experiences. Communication and storytelling are important to reach understanding and empathy, according to Debnam. The emphasis on personal experiences often serves as inspiration for the content of spoken word. Poetry engages with issues of racism, sexism, global issues and various traumas, according to Tucker. Tucker believes poetry and spoken word use language in a way other art forms do not by facilitating the process of personal or emotional healing. “To give young people the power to name their own realities, to name themselves, to redefine who they are through spoken word, is kind of unique to poetry, because we use the language, and we break the language, and put it back together in a way that suits us,” Tucker said. “It’s important that we take our language back to be able to define the trauma in life, the hurt that we went through.” In addition to the value of spoken word performances as learning experiences, the real influence of poetry goes far beyond the duration of the performance, according to Debnam. “It’s not just about what you say and do on stage, the real work is comes in what you say or do off the page,” Debnam said.

THE HOYA

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2019

MOVIE REVIEW

‘Teen Spirit’ Treads Familiar Ground, Packs Musical Punch Directed by: Max Minghella Starring: Elle Fanning, Rebecca Hall, Zlatko Buric ALEXANDRA BRUNJES Hoya Staff Writer

“Teen Spirit” tells a familiar story: A teenage hopeful from a small town gets a chance to go big and runs with it. With a melancholy pop soundtrack, undercurrents of discontent and a rise to fame, “Teen Spirit” is the newest Cinderella story. The film is the directorial debut of actor Max Minghella, known for roles in “The Social Network,” “The Internship” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.” His film “Teen Spirit” follows Violet Valenski (Elle Fanning), a shy Polish teenager from Isle of Wight, U.K., as she pursues her passion for singing through an “American Idol”-like reality show called “Teen Spirit.” Despite the familiar tropes of the musical drama genre, “Teen Spirit” revitalizes these well-trod ideas by emphasizing raw moodiness over earnest hope. In doing so, the film takes risks, though not all pay off. The focal point of “Teen Spirit” is Fanning: Her multifaceted performance carries the film, and her newly-discovered singing voice is so central that it almost serves as its own character. The daughter of a single mother who waitresses after school to help keep them afloat, Violet is caught between her family’s situation and her desire to grow up and be

freed from her responsibilities. The film’s opening montage hones in on her ubiquitous disinterest and boredom — at work, at parties, on the bus. In all parts of her life, Violet seems subdued, as if she is waiting for something but doesn’t quite know what it is. We only see energy in Violet when she is around music: during her soulful performances at a grungy bar, as she is frenetically dancing around her room while her iPod wails and during chorus practice. In these moments, Fanning encapsulates her character’s desire to be invisible with an underlying hunger for purpose. Fanning is an expert in Violet’s discontent; her nuanced expressions own the closeups of her face, shot by cinematographer Autumn Durald. However, while her mannerisms encapsulate her weariness with her circumstances, she does not ever effectively indicate her character’s positive momentum. Perhaps the script, written by Minghella, lacks strong character development, as Violet never seems truly goal-driven. Arguably the film’s weakest point is this tendency to reflect Violet at a somewhat surface level: her interest in music is an inward tug that lacks outward commitment, and thus she appears to garner success without really caring.

As she enters the audition process for “Teen Spirit,” viewers get the sense that she is simply doing it because she wants to do something different; she never indicates true desire to leave her town, to create her own music or to accomplish anything specific. Even as she advances in the audition process, only rare glimmers of passion-driven commitment reveal themselves. Her vocal performances are emotional yet completely unadorned — no choreography, no costume, no effort beyond vocal exercises, and one of the only indications of her dedication is her outburst after encountering a setback. However, Fanning’s performance is strong and genuine, and her voice a gift. If nothing else, “Teen Spirit” will have listeners downloading the music so Fanning’s gentle, emotional tunes can become a more permanent soundtrack. “I Was a Fool,” “Wildflowers” and “Don’t Kill My Vibe,” in particular, reflect the film’s themes of feeling stuck and wanting more but not quite knowing what “more” is, encapsulating the nostalgic emotions of the coming-ofage genre. The songs fall within introspective indie-pop, written by artists such as Robyn, Ellie Goulding, Ariana Grande and Katy Perry. After each performance in the film, the mic is left on after Fanning sings the last lines,

 so the audience can hear the heavy, jagged breaths that follow an impassioned vocal performance. This small but thoughtful addition allows viewers to feel the weight of Violet’s performance — these breaths sound raw, visceral and somewhat afraid — and to feel connected with her in a moment of vulnerability. The beautiful cinematography highlights similar moments. Shots zoomed-in on Violet’s face border on uncomfortable but make the viewers feel like they are there with her, while long single shots allow them to see every unedited aspect of a scene. For most of the film, Fanning wears simple clothing and no makeup, as if Violet’s appearance is waiting to be colored by her emotions. These choices emphasize the driving force of “Teen Spirit”: not a blind desire for success but rather personal growth within the context of an opportunity. The focus of the film is not the freedom and escape of fame, as in the typical Cinderella story, but the ways in which outward recognition can cause inward change. Minghella packs “Teen Spirit” with emotion, movement, growth and, of course, music. A grungy spin on a typically glossy story, Fanning’s subtle but electric performance brings the entanglement of passion and dissatisfaction to the big screen.

BOARDWALK PICTURES

Moved by Elle Fanning’s powerful performance, “Teen Spirit” serves as a solid directorial debut for actor Max Minghella. Fanning’s natural and poignant singing voice brings reality to her role and contextualizes the teenage angst, with the film aiming to bring the traditional coming-of-age story to the modern era.

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2019

THE HOYA

TV REVIEW

BOARDWALK PICTURES

Chef Mashama Bailey adds a personal and intimate emotional connection to everything she cooks at her Savannah, Ga., restaurant The Grey. She is one of the many voices showcased on the outstanding sixth season of the Netflix documentary series that has traditionally focused on white, male chefs.

Newest ‘Chef’s Table’ Features Diverse Culinary Voices Directed by: David Gelb Starring: Mashama Bailey, Sean Brock, Dario Cecchini, Asma Khan VIENNA ROCHE Hoya Staff Writer

In the newest installment of Netflix’s food documentary “Chef’s Table,” Director David Gelb showcases four dynamic chefs who celebrate the traditional food they grew up with while pushing the boundaries of what those dishes mean in the modern culinary world. With its vibrant and raw cinematography, mouthwatering close-ups and inspirational stories, “Chef’s Table” continues to draw in its viewers and stimulate ways to think intentionally about our food. This newest season has four episodes and comes a long way from the fascinating but unoriginal features on white, male chefs in its first installment. For the last two seasons, “Chef’s Table” focused on amplifying diverse voices of chefs, including women and people of color. It also aimed to establish a more personal connection with the audience. Season six furthers the show’s renewed mission by sharing what these chefs have to say about their recipes. It is both entertaining and thought-provoking to hear the personal details behind a dish. Even in the show’s intro, viewers can see how this season differs from the rest. It ends with a shot

of people sitting at the table sharing food and enjoying one another’s company, rather than focusing on the aesthetics of the food. The season is bookended by the stories of chefs Mashama Bailey and Sean Brock, two chefs who have both redefined Southern food culture while emphasizing the important emotional connection between a chef and their craft. Their two episodes reaffirm that even within the same cuisine, any individual chef offers a completely distinct narrative in terms of relating to their food on a personal level. Chef Bailey, a black female chef from Savannah, Ga., stands out as the highlight of the season with her warm yet pensive connection to food. Through her Savannah restaurant The Grey, a once-segregated Greyhound bus station, Bailey combines her French classical training with the dishes of her childhood to create Southern food that is inventive while also nostalgically familiar. Her self-proclaimed transformation from a “young girl to a grown culinary force” proves the most powerful part of the episode and arguably the entire season. Throughout Bailey’s own interviews, as well as those with her closest loved ones, viewers witness Bailey reclaim what it means to be a black Southern chef in a way that highlights the manifestations of

racism and sexism present in cooking and the restaurant industry. Although Charleston, S.C.-based chef Brock uses his restaurants and tremendous culinary talent to return to the rich history of Southern ingredients like Bailey, Brock’s episode feels like an action movie with shots of fire and harrowing stories of addiction and depression. At first, Brock’s story seems all too familiar. He seems to be the classic workaholic chef that we associate with the culinary industry. However, he reveals a thoughtfulness that is incredibly compelling to watch by returning to the roots of Southern ingredients like 4,000-year-old Carolina Gold rice and Jimmy Red corn. Brock attempts to stay true to the land and ingredients that Southern cooking has developed from. He believes that cooking should be more about sharing a story worth telling rather than performing the theatrics often seen in fine dining. Similarly, the fun-loving Italian butcher Dario Cecchini is surprisingly heartfelt in his sincere commitment to meat. In a very strange and often comical way, Dario tells the story of his rise in the culinary world, going from an aspiring veterinarian to one of Italy’s most famous butchers. He brings together the two roles by dem-



onstrating that it is possible to respect the gift of an animal’s life, valuing and celebrating each part even after its death. Although Dario’s episode is a bit graphic in its unapologetic close-ups of meat and blood, it is surprisingly uplifting in its echo of the season’s theme of thinking intentionally about our food. In the season’s fourth episode, Gelb showcases Indian chef Asma Khan, whose passionate and charismatic demeanor brings vibrancy to the show. Even though Khan somewhat fits the mold of the sometimes grandiose chef, her intensity feels refreshing rather than tired. Like the other chefs of the season, Khan continues to challenge what cooking and fine dining look like. With her all-female team of South Asian immigrants, she combines her delicious Indian home cooking with a passion to share her food and her story with others. Throughout each story, season six of “Chef’s Table” is humanizing and humbling in its approach to the roots of food, both in the ground and in the cultural impact of the way we share it with others. Once again, the series has succeeded in capturing the attention of its audience by featuring engrossing, inspiring chefs who transform food into a personal, complex part of every person’s identity.

THE HOYA

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2019

NOVEL IDEAS

‘The Daydreamer’ Rekindles the Magic of Imagination Kathryn Baker Twenty-one is an odd age. I have graduated from my teenage years and live away from home for eight months of the year. I am still in school, however, and not financially independent. At least until I graduate, I am riding the wave between childhood and full-fledged adulthood. My occupancy of this middle space should be freeing. After all, I’m young! I have to keep in touch with my friends, but I am free to hole myself in the most abandoned coffee shop I can find without having to answer to expectant children or an anxious spouse. I am fiscally dependent on my parents, but fortunately, Georgetown University pays for my tuition. I have homework, but I am free from the stress of a nine-to-five job. Despite the many advantages of my not-quite-adult status, I realize I tend to

dwell on the more adult aspects of my identity rather than the youthful ones. I agonize over deadlines and job applications, I complain when I do not get eight hours of sleep and I spend far too long comparing snack prices while grocery shopping. Even while studying abroad, which presents the perfect opportunity to engage a more independent, mature side of myself, I know I have spent time stuck in my room when I should have been exploring St. Andrews. I came to this realization while reading English writer Ian McEwan’s 1994 novella “The Daydreamer,” which is a collection of short stories told from the perspective of Peter Fortune, a 10-yearold child and a notorious daydreamer. Although Ian McEwan is not Scottish and therefore not from my country of current study, Peter’s daydreams caused me to reflect on my approach to life and, in my desire to be an authentic columnist, I must explain why. The final chapter of “The Daydreamer” is titled “The Grown-up,” and it begins with Peter’s observation of adulthood. In his eyes, adults choose banality over whimsy, complain often and are consistently restless. Peter fears the day when

he grows up and swaps “his brilliant, playful, eleven-year-old self” for the “peculiar” and “difficult to understand” adult existence. When I read Peter’s observations and childlike activities, I was transported back to my childhood summers of family beach vacations and theater camp performances. I was silly. I spent every day with friends and my imagination was the most active part of my personality. I read “The Daydreamer” while on spring break with my friends in Lisbon, Portugal, and this trip, much like McEwan’s whimsical novella, awakened my inner child. We spent hours running through Quinta da Regaleira’s gardens in Sintra, discovering its hidden treasures. We wandered the Feira da Ladra market, examining the vintage treasures. We savored each bite during dinner at Home Lisbon Hostel, thanks to Mamma’s glorious cooking. I never wanted to leave Lisbon, not just because of its colorful streets and sunshine, but I was also afraid to return to reality. It was only in reflecting on “The Daydreamer” for this column that I realized I do not necessarily have to. To clarify, I am not suggesting that I

will suddenly abandon my assignments, jobs or the various obligations I have each day; I also acknowledge my privilege that allows me not to worry about certain finances or jobs in the same way that other students my age do. What I am suggesting is that we, as college students, have an opportunity to explore our environment, grow intellectually and simply dream the biggest dreams. At age 21, work should not outweigh play. “The Grown-up” ends with an image of Peter, now returned to his childish form, staring at the ocean. He describes the crashing of the waves as “all the ideas and fantasies he would have in his life.” As a child, I had so many dreams and I believed that each one was attainable. Now, at age 21, I still have many dreams, but I know the hard work it takes to achieve them. I know I still have a lot of late nights, deadlines and pennypinching ahead of me. Yet my ideas and fantasies are equally important to my well-being and identity. Just like Peter and my younger self, I hope I never stop daydreaming. Kathryn Baker is a junior in the College. NOVEL IDEAS appears in print every other Friday.

NETFLIX AND NO CHILL

Teenage Comedy Loses Spirit in Netflix’s ‘Sabrina’ Rohit Mahtani The original ABC series “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” first aired in 1996 and continued until 2003. Although it’s been 16 years since the show ended, the sitcom still holds a nostalgic, soft spot in the hearts of American television viewers. Netflix’s “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” attempts to redefine the original ABC series, focusing on the protagonist’s coming-of-age as well as incorporating themes such as sex, gender roles and gender identity. Despite the ambitious undertaking to revamp the “Sabrina” series, the show writers fail to reconcile the lighthearted nature of the original series with their desire to explore weightier themes. The Netflix version features actress Kiernan Shipka in the role of Sabrina Spellman, our half-witch, half-human protagonist who struggles to successfully balance her dual life. In truth, the show may not hit home in delivering a memorable

reimagination of the initial hit series, but it definitely keeps its viewers on their toes and remains endlessly engrossing by capturing the comedic quips and the fantastical whimsy that defined the 1996 show. The show writers make it difficult to decipher their intended audience due to hastily written action plotlines which distract from, instead of contribute to, the social commentary they are trying to achieve. The first season primarily lays the foundation for the main plot by introducing Sabrina’s family life and her community. Sabrina lives with her two aunts (Miranda Otto and Lucy Davis), her cousin Ambrose (Chance Perdomo) and her familiar, a cat named Salem with whom Sabrina shares a spiritual link. These expository episodes lead up to Sabrina’s 16th birthday, exploring how Sabrina discovers and develops her supernatural abilities. The first season sets up the second season well by introducing the antagonist who will drive much of the story’s plot down the line. During the second season, the show departs from the origin story format for Sabrina, diving into the very human issues of sex and discrimination while also crafting a supernatural storyline more in line with its witchy source

material. The contents of the second season led me to believe that the series wanted to offer an engaging dramedy aimed towards preteens, but Director Salli RichardsonWhitfield sprinkles in serious subject matter that feels out of place with the at times naive plotlines. Even though the social issues addressed sometimes felt awkward, “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” still offers relevant social commentary that helps to ground the show in the present day and advocate for social change. It smoothly introduces the importance of establishing gender identity from a young age when one of Sabrina’s best friends, Theo Putnam (Lachlan Watson), comes out as a transgender man. He announces that he feels more comfortable when seen as a boy and proceeds to change his appearance, call himself Theo and begin to wear men’s clothing. The series is set a couple decades ago, so Theo’s struggle in high school is compounded by a more conservative time period. He faces extreme backlash when he attempts to join the boys’ basketball team as a trans man. The show recognizes that even in a world full of magic, social issues like transphobia still affect the human characters. Addressing sexism similarly becomes a

major part of the second season. Sabrina wants to compete for Top Boy, her school’s equivalent to student body president, where one student, typically a boy, acts as the right hand to the headmaster. Even though the majority of characters laugh in her face when she announces her intentions to defy gender and cultural witch norms, Shipka’s character firmly establishes the importance of equal rights for girls even in the special context of “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.” Unfortunately, the screenwriters drafted the end of the series focusing more on displaying flashy otherworldly action rather than further developing its themes of a world of magic still filled with discrimination. Sabrina’s witch and mortal worlds finally collide in a plot arc that might have momentarily convinced me I was watching a Nickelodeon show for young children. Although the series seems confused about its audience, Netflix’s “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” makes a valiant effort to intertwine relevant and important themes rarely addressed in fantasy shows marketed towards teenagers. Rohit Mahtani is a junior in the McDonough School of Business. NETFLIX AND NO CHILL appears in print every other Friday.

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2019

THE HOYA

CONCERT REVIEW

MORMOR/FACEBOOK

Canadian producer and artist MorMor offered indie-pop and dream pop stylings at Songbyrd on April 16, exciting the live audience with musical intensity and stunning with interesting sound as he and his band combined spellbinding lyrics with the sounds of impassioned drum beats and funky synthesizer.

MorMor Enthralls With Dreamy, Atmospheric Sound SEAMUS MASTERSON Hoya Staff Writer

Canadian producer and artist MorMor played a packed show at Songbyrd on April 16, as part of the second leg of his tour. Despite finishing the first half of his tour in Europe just 10 days before, the Torontobased singer showcased his talent as an upcoming indie-pop powerhouse with the star power to command any stage around the globe. Duendita, a New York-based soul artist who released her newest EP earlier this year, shyly walked up to the microphone and began her vulnerable and spiritual set with an electronic vocal effects pad and beat sampler in hand. Personal and looping lyrics entranced the audience under the soothing yet striking hum of her voice. After Duendita finished her last song, only about five minutes passed before MorMor’s band members walked on stage. Ambient sounds filled the room as each band member began to prepare for the show, looking down at their instruments with solemn facial expressions and minimal communication. As soon as MorMor

quietly walked on stage, the drums kicked in and the first song began. MorMor’s music draws heavily upon dream pop, a genre of psychedelic pop that features atmospheric sounds and meticulous production. The songs reflected these roots every time deep bass and groovy drum beats filled the venue or MorMor’s serene voice hovered gracefully over melodies with long sustained notes. During “Whatever Comes To Mind,” MorMor let the band repeat the chorus more times than on the studio version. His fans followed the live changes and continued singing in unison, creating an intimate tension between audience and artist that heightened the impact of each lyric. MorMor thrives in this suspenseful and attentive realm. When he allowed himself to fully venture into his quiet and soulful demeanor, the audience matched his relaxed and somber energy while still listening in anticipation of the next song. As he began his song “Lost,” he crooned into the microphone and sang, “I can’t lay down / No, I can’t lay down / No, blow kisses to the sky till it comes down / Fade away, fade away.” MorMor’s obsession with trying

to confront the intangible presented itself in his calculated, meditative manner of traveling around the stage which mirrored the wistfulness of his lyrics. MorMor is not one for conversation on stage, propelling himself through each song and taking very little time to interact with the audience. This intense onstage focus isolated him from the rest of his band and created the space for himself to confront the emotions present in his music from the raised stage at Songbyrd. The group seemed to prefer to stay focused on creating and maintaining the set’s ambience rather than showing off their individual musical skills, hardly making conversation or eye contact with one another. The drummer, while switching between a drum pad and a kit, rarely even looked up at the crowd. By avoiding a flashy performance, the show centered around the moody and ethereal music that has been making its way out of Toronto. The band left the audience with a little taste of singer and producer MorMor’s plans for the future. Before leaving the small stage, MorMor looked out to the

crowd and said that he would play an unreleased song from his upcoming project. In the live setting, the track blended elements of MorMor’s typical song structure with newer experimental drum lines and instrumental shifts, presenting a new and exciting direction in MorMor’s expanding discography. The song relied on deep synths that resembled the experimental and trippy vibes of Mac Demarco’s work and left the audience hungry for more. As if ushering in a new era of hope and calm to his discography, MorMor shouted, “You get me” during the chorus. MorMor’s future as a singer and performer looks promising with more tour dates and an upcoming release. MorMor will be finishing up his North American tour with some California dates in early May, but will be heading back to Europe in June. MorMor left his audience in awe as he sauntered off the stage. His effortless performance of complex arrangements and vocal melodies proved that although MorMor may only have one EP to his name, he established himself at Songbyrd as a musical force to be reckoned with in the industry.

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2019

THE HOYA

What to Do in DC

MUSIC

NEW RELEASES

ALLAN NAVARRO Hoya Staff Writer

ZAIN SANDHU Hoya Staff Writer

GEORGETOWN FRENCH MARKET

Spring is officially here with the 16th annual iteration of the Georgetown French Market. From April 26 to April 28, over 35 local businesses, from boutiques to cafes and salons, will line Wisconsin Avenue from O Street to Reservoir Road. Celebrate French culture with discounted prices on French goods, face painting and live French music throughout the weekend.

KEVIN ABSTRACT

LIL DICKY

KEVIN ABSTRACT ‘CORPUS CHRISTI’

LIL DICKY ‘EARTH’

On his most recent EP as a solo artist, Ghettobaby, Brockhampton’s lead singer Kevin Abstract addresses a number of lofty subjects. On “Corpus Christi” he raps about loneliness, homophobia and, most interestingly, his relationship with former Brockhampton member Ameer Vann, who left the group in 2018 due to sexual assault allegations. Though heavy, the song is undoubtedly a reminder of what makes Abstract such a compelling artist.

The most fun thing about listening to Lil Dicky’s newest single “Earth” is discovering just how many featured guests he was able to fit into one song. The track, which preaches about the importance of saving our planet, features the voices of 30 celebrities, including Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Leonardo DiCaprio. The features, as well as the song’s animated video, make for a fun, albeit goofy experience.

ENRICO DAVID: GRADUATION OF SDB

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden will host the largest U.S. exhibit of art from Italian artist Enrico David. Incorporating everything from sculpture to painting to installations, David’s work is some of the most innovative, reflecting the personal and formative nature of the human experience. David explores notions of inferiority and disembodiment as a oneof-a-kind experience that everyone should explore before it leaves the Hirshhorn. The exhibit runs from April 16 to Sept. 2 and admission is always free.

The National Museum of the American Indian is hosting its annual Living Earth Festival this weekend on April 27 to April 28. This year’s exhibition will explore indigenous approaches to sustainable farming through innovation in Native communities. Saturday and Sunday consist of several different demonstrations including protecting wild rice and saving salmon, as well as live dance performances. Explore this festival to learn more about inventive indigenous environmental techniques at this free exhibition! TRAVIS SCOTT

ANDERSON.PAAK

ANDERSON.PAAK ‘WINNERS CIRCLE’ Following his rap-saturated November release “Oxnard,” Anderson.Paak’s latest album “Ventura” is a refreshing return to form, showcasing .Paak’s ability to sing and exude soul over groovier beats than before. “Winners Circle” is a perfect example of this; the song’s bass licks are infectious and .Paak sounds absolutely beautiful on it.

SZA, THE WEEKND, TRAVIS SCOTT ‘POWER IS POWER’ While “Power is Power,” a track inspired by the HBO series Game of Thrones, doesn’t live up to the full potential one would expect from a collaboration of this magnitude, it’s certainly cinematic. With its dark and flashy instrumental, as well as its Thrones-inspired lyrics, the single successfully adapts the atmosphere of fantasy to the hip-hop genre.

GEORGETOWNDC

Washington, D.C.’s premier international film festival will be screening around the District from April 25 to May 5, showcasing 80 films from 45 countries. The AMC Mazza Gallerie in Friendship Heights and Landmark’s E Street Cinema in Penn Quarter will host the screenings covering topics as eclectic as an Argentine sommelier and an Iranian photographer struggling to survive as an artist. Tickets are $14 per showtime.

HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN

LIVING EARTH FESTIVAL

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN

FILM FEST DC

@FILMFESTDC/TWITTER

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2019

THE HOYA

MOVIE REVIEW

TRADEMARK FILMS

Cambridge University student turned KGB agent Joan Stanley, played by Judi Dench offers a humanizing look at wartime espionage and complicates the usual portrayal of Russian spies in “Red Joan,” a British political drama artfully directed by English theater director Trevor Nunn.

‘Red Joan’ Loses Momentum in Wartime Drama Directed by: Trevor Nunn Starring: Judi Dench, Tom Hughes, Stephen Campbell Moore JAMES KIM

Hoya Staff Writer

English theater director Trevor Nunn transitions from his usual work on the stage to directing the British political drama “Red Joan.” The basis of this historical tale of intrigue is Jennie Rooney’s 2013 novel by the same name, which chronicles the true story of Melita Norwood, a former KGB agent who admitted to and defended her espionage in 1999. With a plot that jumps between past and present seamlessly, “Red Joan” weaves in the historical background that creates an immersive and believable picture of the United Kingdom during World War II. Despite its worldbuilding, though, the film fails to capitalize on the tension present in its source material. The film starts in present-day England with Joan Stanley (Judi Dench) being arrested at her home by the British Secret Service for exposing confidential information to the KGB regarding the development of the atomic bomb during World War II. As two British agents interrogate Joan, the movie unfolds the story of her time at the University of Cambridge as a physics major, where she becomes close to

the on-campus, underground, communist organization leader Leo Galich (Tom Hughes). Through these political connections and her physics background, Joan leaks research regarding the development of the atomic bomb given to her by professor Max Davis (Stephen Campbell Moore). Instead of Joan simply recounting how she helped the KGB during World War II, the film reimagines a younger Joan (Sophie Cookson) during her time at Cambridge, reliving the precise details of her espionage. By using different settings and actors, the interconnected stories build on each other while still developing two distinct cinematic worlds. The film stays rooted in the fact that its narrator is recalling lived moments rather than static historical events by showing sincere moments in which Joan still feels conflicted about her past decisions. This technique of delivering Joan’s story by switching between the 1940s and the present day directly compares the political climate of both time periods and the tense, complicated alliances that the politics of each era created. Furthermore, this presentation of

Joan’s conspiracy interweaves during World War II. The film, by sharing Joan’s specific circumstances that led her to spying, attempts to tackle the conflict between national loyalty and personal convictions.

The film’s quick ending disrupts the tension it had built and leaves both storylines feeling underdeveloped and incomplete. Although Joan is labeled treasonous by the British secret agents and even by her son Nick (Ben Miles), a lawyer, she insists that no one today could have the slightest idea of how things were during World War II and explains why she had to make the choices that led up to her arrest in the present. The film spends much of its runtime humanizing someone labeled a criminal and justifying Joan’s motives to share

 the confidential British intel with the KGB, but its hurried execution stops the character development in its tracks. However, the film fails to end on a thematically unifying note and rushes to tie up every loose end instead of offering a final meditation on the film’s intersecting themes. “Red Joan” loses its momentum and messes up the pacing it had honed until this point, thus letting down the otherwise solid performances by the cast. The film’s quick ending disrupts the tension it had built and leaves both storylines feeling underdeveloped and incomplete. The dynamics of the relationship between the state and its populace fizzle out, and neither story provides a fleshed-out, coherent message for audiences to grapple with as they leave the theater. “Red Joan” offers an intriguing look at the politics of loyalty throughout the past 70 years of British history by effectively including the historical background and atmosphere of World War II. Nevertheless, the film’s jarring, disconnected ending restrains it from being heralded as the thoughtful and complex political drama it could have been.

B10

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2019

THE HOYA

PERFORMANCE REVIEW

NYC Ballet Displays Potential at Kennedy Center ETHAN KNECHT Hoya Staff Writer

Kanye West and the 1940s Broadway hit “On the Town” may have little in common, but the New York City Ballet tries to convince you otherwise through its program “New Works and New Production.” An eclectic mix of pieces with a smattering of ill-prepared numbers, NYCB’s latest show offered a mildly disappointing but still promising glimpse at the dance company’s true potential. Regardless of the era, NYCB has been presenting the future of dance, from ballet master Jerome Robbins’ pioneering of American ballet in the mid-20th century to the up-and-coming resident choreographer Justin Peck’s creating of daring ballets. Titled “New Works and New Production,” the show centered newness as the defining word of the night’s program, but not always in the most positive sense. The program’s dances featured inventive and novel choreographies, or at least what was novel in each of the pieces’ own time, but the darker side of this newness also haunted the program with an evident lack of preparation and rehearsal. The appetizer for the evening, for ex-

ample, was Peck’s “EASY.” The piece premiered last spring to great fanfare and acclaim for its feisty interpretation of Leonard Bernstein’s brassy and jazzy “Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs.” With its bright pink, blue and yellow costumes, the opener lit the room with excitement throughout the piece’s tight, syncopated movements. Starting with an energetic solo performance, the piece set a jumpy and excited tone when the soloist tightly flapped and scuffed his feet like a tap dancer while flirtatiously flossing his hips. However, the dancers repeatedly looked as if they had learned the piece hours before or had never been given substantial corrections. Dancers would often remain half a beat behind their partners or an entire group, distracting the audience from the flighty choreography. Even when in sync, the dancers leaned too much into their ballet training, tightly scrunching their shoulders or withholding a full extension, and appeared too rushed to enjoy the nuances of the music. A highlight of the program, the piece titled“The Runaway” by Kyle Abraham, a dancer announced as one of the first black choreographers in over a decade

chosen to work with NYCB, turned heads with its score featuring West and Jay-Z. The choreography manages to match the fun and inventive tone of the dancers’ feathery black and white costumes that were reminiscent of birds of paradise. At one point, principal Taylor Stanley does the Nae Nae, a hip-hop dance move consisting of swaying and raising one hand into the air, into a classical pique turn, eliciting joy from the audience at this fusion. The traditional petit allegro, a series of small and quick jumps essential for any good ballet class, set to West’s “I Love Kanye” drew nothing but smiles from its quirky and irreverent mashup. Yet like “EASY,” several of the dancers in the“The Runaway” appeared to not fully know the choreography, as they did not savor each moment of the piece. Somehow, the most satisfying moment of the evening was Robbins’ “In the Night,” a classical look at different stages of love and relationships among three couples. In the farthest sense from ‘new,’ the piece featured dancers in lavender, amber and burgundy Victorian clothing who each took their turn waltzing under a starry night to Chopin’s famously soft and slow nocturnes. Unlike the rest of the evening, each

dancer seemingly knew their partner’s choreography better than their own, making the piece so satisfying that it partially made up for the night’s earlier missteps. Closing out the night, “Something to Dance About” showcased the possibilities of ballet-based dance: risque and feisty as “America” from “West Side Story,” or dramatic and strong as in “Bottle Dance” from “Fiddler on the Roof.” Yet in spite of Robbins’ brilliant choreography and the creative arrangement of the nearly a dozen musical theater pieces, the piece got lost in its messy execution. What were supposed to be sharp hand flips in “America” proved squishy, while the slow, kneeled kick line from “Fiddler” looked more like dominos falling than a uniform march. The finale of every performer gazing up at a projected image of Robbins’ bearded face set under a golden theater proscenium left the audience feeling awkward and uncomfortable rather than awe-inspired and solemn. While NYCB’s program will continue to attract fans of fine art and carve new roads in the future of dance, hopefully NYCB will take note of its errors and not skimp on its preparation when it returns next year.

KENNEDY CENTER

The New York City Ballet’s performance at the Kennedy Center dazzled audiences with a broad array of modern performance pieces. Despite some moments of lessthan-perfect execution throughout the program, the exciting choreography and production reestablished NYCB’s status as a trendsetter in dance.

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2019

THE HOYA

B11

ALBUM REVIEW

@BILLIEEILISH/ITWITTER

Billie Eilish carves her own path in every step of the creative process; her image is a rejection of the classic bright pop star mold. With an aesthetic filled with spiders, zombies and macabre images, Eilish defines her art on her own terms and refuses industry standards on her debut album.

Billie Eilish Reshapes Pop Stardom on Debut Album WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? Billie Eilish CHARLOTTE LINDSAY Hoya Staff Writer

Billie Eilish’s debut album “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?” solidifies her up-and-coming status as a pop superstar. The long-awaited album follows Eilish’s intermittent releases of her 2017 debut EP, “dont smile at me,” and a series of singles. The release garnered much intrigue, with both fans and press clamoring to hear what direction her debut album would take. In her first album, Eilish shares an uncompromising, dark aesthetic that tests the limits of pop music, even when the album’s individual songs occasionally fail to harmonize with each other. Eilish has made streaming history, with the third-largest streaming week ever for an album by a woman. She is also the youngest woman to have a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart since 2009. Eilish rose to fame after the runaway success of her first single, “Ocean Eyes,” and continued to release songs on her Soundcloud account until getting picked up by Interscope records. After joining the Los Angeles Children’s Choir at age 8, Eilish began to tap into her creativity and honed her own vocal skills to eventually apply them to her own songs. Eilish, 17, worked together with her 21-year-old brother Finneas O’Connell to write, record and produce the album in a studio in their Los Angeles family home.

The intimacy of this setting parallels that of the music; Eilish is candid and refreshingly self-aware in “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?” Though she has reached a level of fame that few artists achieve so young and so quickly, Eilish feels a genuine connection with her fans, especially the significant portion who near her in age. The album opens with “!!!!!!!,” in which Eilish declares that she has removed her Invisalign and announces, “This is the album,” before collapsing into laughter with O’Connell. This moment reminds listeners that although the album is expertly crafted, its creators do not take themselves too seriously. Listeners get this same impression in “my strange addiction,” in which Eilish interweaves soundbites from an episode of “The Office.” Though Eilish takes a lighthearted approach that appears periodically throughout the album, the same cannot be said for the rest of the album. Eilish, perhaps emboldened by her youth, tackles risky and at times controversial themes. In “xanny,” Eilish’s voice is warped by the distorted beat as she bemoans drug abuse. In “wish you were gay,” Eilish sings “I can’t tell you how much I wish I didn’t wanna say / I just kinda wish you were gay,” lyrics which were met with substantial backlash on the Internet. Eilish defended the song, arguing that the lyrics were misinterpreted and the song was meant to be a joke.

The songs are as sonically diverse as they are thematically diverse. In “8,” Eilish sings over a ukulele as she steps into the shoes of somebody she hurt. Similarly, Eilish takes on another’s perspective in “bury a friend,” which is written from the viewpoint of the monster under her bed. Whereas “8” is soft and gloomy, Eilish sings frantically in “bury a friend” over a pounding beat. In both, she transcends the limitations of her identity and tells stories that she could not write by relying solely on her own experiences. The track “bad guy” presents the most traditionally pop song from the album. The song is upbeat, playful and rhythmic, but its lyrics are hardly safe. Eilish sings about being “the bad guy,” asserting that she is the type to “make your mama sad,” “make your girlfriend mad” and “seduce your dad.” Eilish embraces a mischievous persona that allows her to explore darker themes than the music industry allows most 17-year-old pop stars to explore. After a series of macabre songs, in which Eilish sings about burying friends — “ilomilo” and “bury a friend” to name a few — the album ends on a melancholy note. The final trio of songs, “listen before I go,” “i love you” and “goodbye” is a nod to the gloomy tracks in “dont smile at me.” While Eilish’s vocals are overpowered by the heavy bass of earlier songs in the album, these songs truly do her vocals justice. Her eerily soft voice is highlighted by the minimalist production.

 In “goodbye,” the final track of the album, Eilish offers a final walkthrough of her debut by combining lyrics from each of the previous songs in the reverse order of how they appear in the tracklist. With this, Eilish is able to tie up some of the album’s loose ends. Some abrupt transitions and varied subject matter make the album feel quite disjointed; despite these inconsistencies, Eilish remains unabashedly authentic and sincere in each track. Hardly one to follow trends, Eilish sings about what she is feeling with little regard to how her music might be interpreted or formed into a more cohesive work as a whole. Although hindered by its inability to stick with one sound, the album is tied together by its resounding darkness. Eilish stated that she got inspiration for the album from her regular night terrors and lucid dreams. The cover of the album reflects this, with Eilish sitting on an unmade bed with her eyes rolled back in her head. Though some songs fall short and the album lacks cohesiveness, “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?” offers a clear image of Eilish’s macabre vision for the future of pop music. Most of the risks that Eilish took pay off, and the wins of the album far exceed the losses. Though classified as a pop singer, Eilish proved with this album that she is a far cry from the archetypal, cookie-cutter teen popstar and will prioritize her vision over any industry standard.

ILLUSTRATION BY: SAMUEL NELSON/THE HOYA