My Own Little World

I grew up watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood more mornings than not. My mom probably remembers it better than I do, but from what I can recall I loved the show in my early childhood. In retrospect, Fred Rogers’s demeanor was probably a big part of that; the man was warm, compassionate, and more sophisticated than many of the other main characters of the other shows I watched alongside his. One of the questions that has sat in my mind about Rogers, though, is whether he was like the man on the show. To have that kind of demeanor in everyday life would completely shock me in the cynical, jaded world in which we live. The documentary on Rogers’s life Won’t You Be My Neighbor? answers this question of many with a resounding “yes.” This film is overwhelmingly optimistic yet not without a sense of grounded realism that Rogers himself possessed. It feels exactly like Fred Rogers the character which, it asserts quite confidently, was Fred Rogers the man. Instead of focusing ...

I have a love-hate relationship with mother! On some level, I do love this film. It has some of the most evocative and unforgettable images I have seen in the past several years of film. It also has the guts to do things I would never have imagined with its story and in particular its perspective. Director and writer Darren Aronofsky has created one of the most intriguing yet still puzzling films ever made, and almost all of this comes from its use of allegory. Actually, let’s talk about that. Aronofsky’s use of metaphorical and allegorical imagery and narrative is bold, to be sure (and not something that I will be discussing in detail so I can avoid spoilers); however, there are times where it almost lost me – in fact there’s a lot of those times – because of this film’s slow pace. In retrospect after having talked with other people about this film, the sequences of monotony that slow the film down do have a lot of meaning, but that doesn’t mean I appreciate them any more...

Hey all. I'm back to update you on my college life, and it's been going quite swimmingly. Just a few things to catch you up on if you don't look at my Facebook profile: Broadway Revue was at the end of September, and it was fantastic. I got to work with some great people in the theater department and was featured in a number from Finding Neverland  that I had a blast with. It wore me out so much, but in the end it was a very fulfilling and enjoyable experience.  So, there's this girl named Felicia, and she's incredible. That is all I'll say about that for now.  I was in the room where it happened on October 23 and saw Hamilton  in Chicago with Felicia and a few of her friends. Big thanks to my parents for a great birthday present in that ticket, possibly the best I've ever gotten.  So, with that lengthier-than-I-thought-it-would-be update, let's talk about my personal least favorite part of any college semester: that time when you realize you'...