Category Archives: ARTS & CULTURE

RENT, the 20th Anniversary: Reflecting Life, Then and Now

Twenty years ago, the Broadway musical RENT brought musical theatre to the MTV generation. Two decades later, the rock musical has gone on to influence others like Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Passing Strange. Through the Broadway show, its original cast recording, and its 2005 movie adaptation, RENT continues to attract new generations of youth. Last fall, RENT returned to the New York stage to commemorate the 20th anniversary.

The original Broadway cast starred Taye Diggs, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal, Daphne-Rubin Vega, Anthony Rapp, Fredi Walker, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, and Jesse L. Martin. The musical was created by the late Jonathan Larson, who died of an aortic aneurysm the night before the musical premiered off-Broadway.

On the surface, the musical is about a diverse group of artsy bohemians living in the shadow of the AIDS epidemic. However, woven within the sentimental and campy musical numbers is a story about connecting to others, living life to the fullest, and being aware of your own mortality. The untimely death of the musical’s creator, as well as the socio-political environment of the late ’90s, fueled the musical’s success.

While RENT was originally inspired by Giacomo Puccini’s opera La Bohème, much of it was also inspired by Jonathan Larson’s life as a starving artist in Lower Manhattan and a witness to gentrification and the AIDS epidemic. According to the documentary, No Day, But Today: The Story of RENT, Larson lived in a run-down loft and worked as a waiter at the Moondance Diner to support himself as a composer and playwright.

In the area where Larson lived, people were buying up property to make art studios. If you couldn’t pay your rent, you were at risk for eviction. As a result, you had to hide from landlords (like Larson did at times) or become a squatter and risk being targeted by the police.

Besides gentrification, Larson dealt with the experience of having friends who were either HIV- positive or dying of AIDS. The deaths of friends Allison Gertz, Gordon Rodgers, and Pam Shaw and the influence of the AIDS non-profit organization Friends In Need inspired a fictional AIDS support group in RENT called Life Support, as well as the musical number “Will I?” Larson’s experiences not only brought RENT’s story to life, but also made memorable characters. All the characters have different ethnicities and sexual orientations. Also, half of the characters are HIV-positive. In addition, the storyline for the characters comes from two meanings of the word rent.

In the dictionary, rent can mean the money you owe to a landlord, or to be torn apart. In the case of RENT’s characters, they are struggling to pay their rent and risk being torn apart by their personal struggles. While these elements make the characters stand out and help move the plot forward, it is their free spirits and bonds of friendship and love that resonate with so many fans.

Today’s generation of youth lives in a society that is both different and similar to the one depicted in RENT. Thanks to advances in medicine, HIV/AIDS isn’t the grim death sentence it was once. At the same time, everyday tragedies still make it possible to be aware of your own mortality and yearn to leave something memorable behind.

Meanwhile, unemployment rates are high for college graduates, and some are drowning in student loans. Some try to encourage young people to get any job in a paying field, especially if they would rather do something artistic. In RENT, you’re either an artist or a sellout. As naïve as this way of thinking may be, there is something to be said for wanting to preserve a sense of integrity in terms of what you want to do with your life.

For 20 years, RENT has taken people who are torn apart and made them whole, giving them a place to belong and to make sense of who they are. RENT shows that in 525,600 minutes of a year, you can learn to live life to the fullest by finding yourself and connecting to others.

The Fight to Keep Cursive Alive

In the award-winning children’s book Muggie Maggie, by beloved author Beverly Cleary, a young girl stews over the prospect of learning cursive. In a brave act of defiance, she doles out her refusal, orchestrating a petulant, if somewhat amusing rebellion against her teacher.

“At first, Maggie is just feeling stubborn when she declares she won’t learn cursive,” reads the book’s description. “What’s wrong with print, anyway? She can easily type on a computer, so why would she need to know how to read those squiggly lines?”

More than 25 years after the book’s 1990 release, it’s a question that has everybody from educators and hobbyists, to parents and grandparents asking. In Muggie Maggie, the Digital Age had just barely begun to get underway. Today, teens and young children are the proverbial shepherds of the technology epoch.

girl writes on blackboard in cursive

Cursive writing is at a crossroads. Once a harbinger of education, the beautifully elegant, loopy, swoopy script is at risk of being as indecipherable as Egyptian hieroglyphics. While many fear that cursive is fast becoming a lost art, a looming question remains:

Do we really have a need for cursive anymore?

The question whether to continue to teach cursive became all the more murky when in 2011, the U.S. Department of Education revised its Common Core State Standards for English, eliminating the requirement for schools to include cursive in school curriculum. Not surprisingly, the move unleashed a fierce debate among educators, and other pundits. Yet, despite the war that erupted between the cursive enthusiasts and those who considered the form to be obsolete, states ultimately left it up to the schools to decide. Many opted out.

In 2014, 45 states and the District of Columbia did not require cursive to be taught in schools. As time passed, many people began to worry about what was being lost by throwing penmanship away, and a new movement emerged: the fight to keep cursive alive.

Image via Pixabay under license CC0
Image via Pixabay under license CC0

In the years since the standards were revised, dozens of cursive and handwriting advocacy groups have set up shop. Some are homeschooling mothers; others are high-profile educators, writers, professional calligraphers and politicians.

This January, one of those politicians, Indiana Sen. Jean Lesling, spoke about her attempt to pass Senate Bill 73, a measure that would add cursive writing back into the Hoosier State’s curriculum. It’s the senator’s fourth attempt at reviving cursive in the state; all of her other attempts failed to see any ink.

“I still have a pad of yellow Sticky Notes, and if I write out something neatly in cursive, I expect an intern at the Senate to be able to read that,” she recently told the Indianapolis Star.

Lesling isn’t alone. Other states are reevaluating the Common Core’s standards. States like California, Idaho, Kansas, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee have either reinstated cursive writing in school, or are weighing measures to do so.

Image via Pixabay under license CC0
Image via Pixabay under license CC0

The influx of tablets and other mobile devices has many people wondering if all handwriting — not just cursive — is on its way to becoming a thing of the past.

About a year and a half ago, pen maker BIC launched the “Fight for Your Write” campaign to help save handwriting from the nature of a growingly auto-correct culture. While, BIC’s voice in the matter could be said for obvious reasons, handwriting’s advantages have long been documented.

“The last few years, there’s a real spotlight on technology and on tablets and computers and I had a moment where I wondered if it was the end of handwriting,” says Pam Allyn, an author, founding director at LitWorld, BIC’s “Fight For Your Write” spokesperson. “This movement is really growing. We might be in the world of technology but people still want to communicate in this really beautiful way. It’s the farm-to-table [movement] of literacy.”

Allyn points to strong research, which continues to show that children who physically put pen to paper have improved cognitive development, self-confidence, spelling and grammar, creativity, imagination and critical thinking skills. There’s also a strong reading-writing connection.

Image via Pixabay under license CC0
Image via Pixabay under license CC0

The elimination of cursive programs is startling then, when one considers that 66 percent of all U.S. fourth graders scored “below proficient” in a national reading test. While it can’t be blamed entirely for the statistic, many educators argue that as many public and lower-income schools drop their cursive curriculum, students from other schools —many of them private — will almost certainly hold an advantage.

Yet, the advantages of handwriting go well beyond the cognitive or educational benefits, says Allyn. She compared cursive to ordering take out vs. meal preparation.

“You’re more conscious of where things come from,” she says. “When you’re making letters by hand, you’re thinking about what is going into this, and what you send out into the world. You tend to use the page more dynamically. Cursive lettering, putting thoughts down in that way, makes you more mindful.”

Image via Pixabay under license CC0
Image via Pixabay under license CC0

Even in a world chock full of iPads and iPhones, Allyn says people still find satisfaction in choosing a favorite pen or notepad — and writing’s other nuances, such as perfecting one’s style or signature. Not to mention its historical significance.

“It’s part of our history as a people, as a country, as a citizenship,” says Allyn. “When you really stop and think, you really don’t want to lose that part of humanity. Let’s not lose it.”

In a twist of irony, even as the U.S. Department has removed the requirement for cursive curriculum, the White House continues to keep the tradition alive. The Administration employs four full-time calligraphers, including White House Chief Calligrapher Pat Blair, who works closely with the First Lady and the Social Office to create handwritten menus, invitations, place-cards and other documents.

Blair wholeheartedly believes handwriting should be supported in schools.

“Without a doubt, both handwriting and keyboarding should be learned,” she says. “Besides the benefit of brain development, what about being able to read original hand-written documents such as The Declaration of Independence or the Emancipation Proclamation? What kind of country will not teach students to read and appreciate this important part of history? There is still plenty of will to keep students and adults enjoying beautiful handwriting.”

“To me, anything created by hand is special — it is more personal, more unique, and most important, more beautiful,” she adds. “There is a life and personality that cannot be duplicated by a machine.”

To be fair, few people exude the beautiful penmanship showcased in historical documents, or even in the letters of our grandparents. Journalist Justin Pot wrote a controversial editorial about the debate last year. By the end of the 20th century, as the fountain pen was replaced by the ballpoint pen, and the pen was replaced by the keypad, Pot says cursive had already long lost its luster.

Image via Pixabay under license CC0
Image via Pixabay under license CC0

“The Palmer method is hideous when compared to other scripts, slower than typing and less practical than typing — that’s what I mean by anachronism,” Pot explains in a phone call. “I’m all for teaching calligraphy and scripts in art class, or to better yourself, but I just don’t think it should be taught as a practical thing — you just don’t use it in your day-to-day life.”

Pot openly balks the spate of post-apocalyptic responses he’s received since his editorial ran last year, something that exploded after The Atlantic cited him in a popular article. He says the idea that he’ll regret his stance on handwriting “the day computers stop working” is utterly ridiculous. In the tech age, he simply sees penmanship as a waste of time.

Image via Pixabay under license CC0
Image via Pixabay under license CC0

“All language drops off at some point,” Pot says. “People feel deeply about it, because it’s something very tactile, putting pen to paper. But it’s weird — I don’t think you need to teach the Palmer method for a half hour every day to read it.”

But if they can’t write cursive, how will they read it?

“I guess you have a point,” Pot says. “I’m willing to admit there are shades of nuance in this debate.”

There’s no denying the emotional bond that many people have toward cursive and handwriting. As a professional calligrapher, Debi Zeinert has made a career out of her passion, appearing in Martha Stewart Weddings and penning invites for NASCAR, among others.

“I was raised in Catholic school, learning the Palmer method from the nuns in school,” Zeinert reminisces. “I remember sitting in class, the alphabet above the top of the blackboard and being so excited to learn cursive. You learn it, and you learn how to add your own flourishes.”

Image via Pixabay under license CC0
Image via Pixabay under license CC0

The self-taught penman says she spent hours practicing her craft, tracing the beautiful letters written by her grandmother, and cutting letters out of magazines to hone her talent.

“The people I know that really do beautiful handwriting, you get a letter from them in the mail and you sit back and just go Ahh…,” Zeinert says. “[Children] need the discipline of handwriting. They need to slow down and think about what they are doing, instead of copying and pasting. It’s too cookie cutter, now.”

Image via Pixabay under license CC0
Image via Pixabay under license CC0

Ironically, the rise of technology, and in particular, social media has only bolstered the calligraphy community, she says, though she is still concerned about the removal of cursive curriculum in the classroom. As a member of the International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers and Teachers of Handwriting, the group strongly advocates for the cursive cause.

“They take music out, they take art out, all the things that make people the individuals and make them — it’s not even exposing them to it that is so sad,” says Zeinert. “It’s like shutting another door to the past. We’re fighting tooth and nail to keep cursive in schools and to keep cursive alive.”

6 Must-See Documentaries From 2015

From reality TV to personal essays and memoirs to documentary film, narrative nonfiction has gained much traction in recent years. A study by Patricia Aufderheide of American University even links it to a distrust in mainstream media — and it’s true that many documentaries claim to expose a version of the truth that has long been suppressed in one form or another. This is probably part of the reason that documentaries have traditionally been less accessible in the past. Produced by independent companies with small budgets, many great documentaries have simply not had the same distribution in the past as mainstream fiction films.

But as public interest grows, larger media conglomerates are picking up and distributing documentaries, making them more available to the inquisitive viewer online. Netflix is a key facilitator, along with HBO, Hulu, and other streaming services. We’re beginning to consume them more hungrily than ever before.

The following six films are a sampling of 2015’s most buzzed-about documentaries, a great place to start exploring the world of nonfiction.

Cowspiracy

As the name implies, Cowspiracy is an environmental exposé detailing the effects of agriculture on the planet and revealing the lack of action on the part of various large-scale environmental organizations. Directed by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn, the documentary follows a natural progression of discovery, beginning when Kip first learns of the problems with agriculture and developing as Andersen’s exploration continues.

Though the film was actually produced in 2014, Cowspiracy became available on Netflix in September of 2015, ending up on more TVs across the country as a result. Because of its hugely successful Indiegogo campaign, which raised more than twice its goal of $54,000, the film was able to be translated into various languages and reach a wide audience initially. But Leonardo DiCaprio’s involvement as executive producer for Netflix’s release of the film (a new cut which includes updated information) further increased publicity, and therefore, popularity.

The film is controversial in its critique of the agricultural industry and advocacy for a vegan diet. But its social impacts are still evolving: currently, with 28.7 thousand Twitter followers, the issues raised by the film continue to be heatedly discussed in the media.

Hot Girls Wanted

Another film available on Netflix — and another film with a celebrity endorsement, in this case from producer Rashida Jones — Hot Girls Wanted shows the back end of the amateur porn industry, which is nothing short of shocking. It highlights the story of a young woman who responds to an ad on Craigslist and moves to Florida, where she connects with an agent and lives in a house with several other aspiring young pornstars.

The film has received substantial criticism from the porn industry — criticism which is probably fairly valid. For example, Aurora Snow for The Daily Beast points out that while the film only portrays a narrow segment of the industry, it leads the viewer to believe that it speaks for more of the industry. I think Mike Hale puts it well in a review for the New York Times when he compares the film to reality TV, interesting in its portrayal of the reality of that situation, but perhaps not necessarily adequate as an exploration of the greater context of the industry.

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief

Going Clear takes an extremely in-depth and rather painstaking look into the belief system and infrastructure surrounding scientology as a religion and organization. The narrative starts from the beginning, outlining the foundational beliefs of the Church of Scientology, then moving on to depicting the church’s growth over time, present-day manifestation, and documented abuses.

Indeed, these abuses prove to be jaw-dropping. Relying on a very impressive collection of media (which director Alex Gibney and his team collected from public records and archives) along with testimony from ex-members of the church, the doc explains how the Church was first created in the 1950s by L. Ron Hubbard, a sci-fi novelist, as a way to make tax-free income through a pseudoscience called Dianetics. It has since been run like a business, often harming the believers it claims to protect, and ultimately destroying relationships and families.

Going Clear was a hugely successful film, garnering three Emmy Award nominations, among others. And its success flies in the face of the Church of Scientology, which has fought the release of the film. Undoubtedly, it’s partly this clash that makes the film so interesting.

Amy

Aside from its use of beautiful home videos and photos from when the charismatic Amy Winehouse was young, this two-hour doc focusing on Amy’s life and rise to fame somehow manages to capture the complexities of mental illness, addiction, substance abuse, sudden fame, media, and essentially, the troubled psyche of an extremely talented artist.

Through beautifully-integrated images, unique home video footage, recorded phone calls, and interviews with those who knew Amy closely, it comes across so clearly that Amy was an enigma — a truly special, uniquely talented, and rather shy person who was simply very lost. After all the media fascination with her addiction and mental health problems during her lifetime, it’s great to see a rendering of Amy that finally does her justice, without glorifying her self-destruction. And through it all, her ineffable jazz vocals are a haunting and soulful soundtrack.

The film has been nominated for various awards, including the Best Documentary award at the 2016 Oscars.

The Jinx

I’m not sure how I feel about The Jinx, the year’s first popular true crime miniseries about the murders associated with Robert Durst, a New York real estate billionaire. On one hand, the series is fascinating in that it contains interviews from Durst himself, quite surprising considering that his lawyers recommend he not speak lest he jeopardize his own liberty. And these interviews are undoubtedly fascinating — he’s a guy with a strange personality, to say the least. And then there is also the riveting plot twist, which I won’t spoil for you here. The last several episodes are definitely the best.

But on the other hand, I’ll admit that I found myself thinking: Is this really worth six episodes? Is this really that earth-shattering? Again, I’m unsure about my own take on this, because I’m no expert — I even superficially enjoyed it — and the film did receive much acclaim. However, at times, it felt a little overly-sensationalized, and I’m not sure the dramatic re-enactments helped (although sometimes finding good visuals for films like these is admittedly challenging). I also wish the filmmakers had delved a little deeper into Durst’s characterization rather than on the facts of the crimes.

Making A Murderer

Making a Murderer — it’s all anyone wants to talk about these days. The series details the second murder case against Steven Avery, a Wisconsin man who was wrongly convicted of sexual assault and attempted murder in the 80s. After serving 18 years for a crime he did not commit, he was released, only to be tried several years later for another crime — this time, a murder.

Perhaps as a result of its strategic Netflix label, the documentary has been very well-received by the public, even spurring a petition for a presidential pardon for Avery (which unfortunately would not be enough to trump the state conviction), further displaying just how impactful media can be when it posits “the truth.”

In documentaries, all evidence, footage and interviews are drawn from real life. But these are only pieces that can easily be manipulated to misrepresent the truth. And that’s really the important thing to remember with documentary film; it’s a powerful weapon, and one that needs to be handled with careful ethics.

The Heidelberg Project: Detroit’s Comeback Kid

Nestled between forlorn, vacant apartment complexes and rundown playgrounds on the axis of Detroit’s east side are piles of charred, dirty stuffed animals, scrap metal and gutted technology spanning two blocks. At a distance, this might seem like another manifestation of urban blight the city is often chastised for; but this particular collection of trash is credited with drastically reducing criminal activity in the neighborhood.

Heidelberg Project 05

The Heidelberg Project was named after Heidelberg Street, which was the center of the Detroit race riots throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s. Tyree Guyton, a Detroit native, started the project with his grandfather in 1986 during a time when the community was overrun with crime and infrastructure was crumbling. The street became a mecca for drug dealers and prostitution rings, being so far removed from the rest of the city. In response, Guyton and his grandfather collected garbage lining the streets and pinned them to houses. They put doll heads on toy trucks, clocks in ovens and called it art. The result was bizarre and nihilistic, a perfect representation of the city of Detroit during this time.

Guyton’s work garnered immediate attention, some of which was negative. He has faced opposition from both the city and criminals. The project is a continuous target of arson with more than two dozen serious unsolved cases since 2013. His post-apocalyptic debris sculptures were recently bulldozed as fire hazards. Two years ago, more than six houses were destroyed by unknown circumstances, costing organizers more than $250,000 to ramp up security measures. Because much of the art centers on themes of ruin, acts of arson sometimes even complements the pieces. Despite this, the community continues to see these acts of destruction as an excuse to make new art, and increased media attention has garnered public support.

Heidelberg Project 01

“I’m going to kick their ass with love,” Guyton recently said about the arsonists. “I just want to send out love.”

The project attracts hundreds of volunteers, artists and local activists, and remains a symbol of the city’s strength and innovation.

Today, anyone is free to wander the ever-growing Heidelberg Project. The eerie, quiet timbre gives visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in the city’s culture uninterrupted.

Heidelberg Project 04

The vintage red scare propaganda fixed on front lawns piques curiosity from even antique collectors. Guyton’s signature pastel polka-dots cover the street’s homes, although not all residents participate. Alma Brown has lived a block from Heidelberg Street for ten years and, although she appreciates the publicity that forced out organized crime, she doesn’t fancy herself an advocate.

“I’ve seen this project grow so much, but the problem with fame is it’s almost as bad as anonymity in this city,” she says. “I do know the project has reduced crime in the area, and I think using art as a means of cleaning up the city is an excellent solution.”

Heidelberg Project 03

The project’s volunteers see it as a lesson in certitude and grassroots activism.

“I look at it as a tide. It ebbs and flows,” Trey Leggs, a local artist and volunteer, says. “The gangs tear down, we rebuild. They’re almost doing us a favor because every time they burn down a house, we’re in the news, which keeps us relevant. We’re not your classic art gallery, we’re a collective with purpose.”

The Heidelberg Project is a free, self-guided outdoor exhibit suitable for art enthusiasts, visitors interested in the authentic Detroit experience and bored suburban Banksy fans.

David Bowie: A Starman On Film

This week, the world got a little greyer after hearing the news that a musical legend had passed away. David Bowie transcended genres and not only pushed boundaries, but gleefully leaped across them during his musical career that spanned the ’70s, ’80s, right up to this month when he released the album Black Star. However, Ziggy Stardust was not only a musical genius, but a talented actor who had a number of mainstream film roles.

Bowie’s acting career began with a number of parts, including a short film titled The Image in 1967, with a couple of bit parts and uncredited roles following.

Then, following his success with the Space Oddity album in 1978, he was cast as the lead in the apt film The Man Who Fell To Earth.

In this film, Bowie portrayed Thomas Jerome, a humanoid who travels (falls) to Earth to retrieve water to save his dying planet. Whilst on Earth, Jerome sets up his own company in order to gain the funds to return home. Along the way, he meets a girl and traverses the ruthlessness of the business world on his quest to return home. The film was released to some critical praise and earned David a Golden Scroll for his performance.

Roles followed in films such as Baal, a 1982 TV movie and 1983’s Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, where Bowie portrayed a British soldier that enters a Japanese prison camp. This film won a number of awards, though none for Bowie. In the same year, he starred in The Hunger alongside Catherine Denevue and Susan Sarandon, starring in a lead role as an unfortunate soul who has fallen out of favour with a vampire queen.

In 1985, Bowie was cast in Into The Night, starring Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer in a smaller supporting role; and then in 1986 came potentially his most well-loved and iconic film role.

A whole generation of people that grew up in the ’80s and the ’90s will have grown up with the fantasy film Labyrinth. Bowie plays the lead role of Jareth the Goblin King (also known as The Bulge, watch the film to understand). The film focuses on Sarah, a 16-year-old who is babysitting her little brother. As she reads him a story, she wishes the goblins from her favourite book would steal her crying baby brother. The door to the Goblin Kings world opens and he steals the child. In order to get her little brother back, Sarah must find her way through the Labyrinth to the Goblin King’s castle before he turns her brother into a goblin.

This role suited the Starman’s eccentric style. Although he received no awards, the film has been widely acclaimed by both fans and critics. Made by Jim Henson, the talent behind The Muppets, this fantasy played into Bowie’s creative persona perfectly and offered him an opportunity to demonstrate his abilities. The film also allowed him to flex his musical muscles. Jennifer Connelly, co-star in the film, spoke fondly with Entertainment Tonight about her experience filming with Bowie just a few months ago.

In the same year, he was cast in the musical Absolute Beginners, a film adaptation of the novel by Colin MacInnes about life in 1950s London. Roles followed in films such as The Last Temptation of Christ in 1988, The Linguini Incident in 1991 and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me in 1992. In 1996, Bowie took on the role of Andy Warhol in the film Basquiat, and 1998 brought with it a role in Il mio West. The following year, he could be seen in Everybody Loves Sunshine, and 2000 saw him take on the lead role as Mr Rice in Mr Rice’s Secret. The same year, Bowie took on the role of The Host alongside Terence Stamp in the horror anthology TV series The Hunger.

In 2001, the Ben Stiller comedy Zoolander hit cinema screens in a storm of laughter and ironic satire. Bowie performed a cameo that gained him a nomination for Best Cameo at the MTV Movie Awards. In 2006, Bowie took on the role of Nikola Teslar in the outstanding psychological drama The Prestige (he can be seen at 2:05 in the trailer below), which saw him star alongside Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman. Later in 2008, Bowie starred in the drama August, then a role as himself in the teen flick Bandslam in 2009.

It is easy to forget the extent of Bowie’s acting career, which is understandably overshadowed by his music. Whilst his talent most definitely lay in his music, there was some aptitude for acting, especially in roles where he could be creative and eccentric such as Labyrinth. Films such as The Prestige displayed his potential for more serious roles; but he shone in the fantasy style characters, which seemed to more closely suit his character.

Not only has the music industry lost one of its brightest shining stars, but every sector of the arts and entertainment industry now shines a little less brightly. There is a Starman waiting for us in the sky.

5 Films to Inspire a Positive Year

New Year is a time when we all naturally make resolutions – a new year, a new beginning. Yet by the middle of January, inevitably, gyms go unvisited, diets go uncompleted and we revert to our usual ways. Here are some films that will help inspire you to keep those resolutions and make those changes.

Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)

bridget jones diaryDon’t want to “die alone, and half eaten by Alsatians”? Or turn into Glen Close in Fatal Attraction? Neither does Bridget.

Bridget Jones’s Diary is a strong contender for a New Year’s positivity film as it starts with that moment. That moment when you realize that you actually need to change something.

Bridget Jones is a 30-something singleton who lives alone and is unlucky in love. The film follows Bridget as she decides to take control of her life and start a diary. Through this, we learn of her trials and tribulations with family and relationships, with the unwavering support of her friends. Bridget forges her path through the let-downs and the obstacles placed in front of her to gain her own happy ending, via a fantastic comeuppance for a cheating boyfriend.

Bridget gives us all hope that we can get our happy ending, that a New Year and a new start may well bring with it the job, the partner and the outcome that we desire. Even if we do have to dress up as a sexy bunny rabbit and eat a turkey curry buffet.

What’s Love Got to Do with It (1993)

tina whats love got to do with itWhilst for most of us the desire to make changes comes from an unfulfilled career or an unhealthy lifestyle, there are others whose lives need changing for much more serious reasons. A dangerous domestic situation, for example. This brings us to the inspirational story of Tina Turner.

Tina Turner is woman enough to be an inspiration without a film. Heck, she was Aunty Entity in Beyond Thunderdome. But her story is one of pain, one of abuse and one of strength.

What’s Love Got to Do with It chronicles Tina’s rise to fame from a farm in Nutbush City to international stardom through her turbulent relationship with her husband Ike Turner, who propelled her to fame via his band the Kings of Rhythm. Through hideous mental and physical abuse, Tina (real name Anna May Bullock) found her inner strength and released herself of Ike’s oppressive hold.

If ever a film was made to inspire people to change their lives and believe in their ability to do so, this is it. Keep Rolling on the River.

Working Girl (1988)

working girlMany people will be making career-based New Year’s resolutions in 2016, to get out of that rut and push forward to achieve goals. If you need inspiration to attain and maintain those resolutions, 1988’s Working Girl has you covered.

Melanie Griffith stars as Tess McGill, a secretary in a stock market office who has big dreams, and a talent to match. Unfortunately, she is struggling to be seen in a male-dominated world saturated with respected degrees and impressive portfolios. But Tess isn’t just over looked by men; she is disrespected by the women that have made it in the business due to her lowly status. But McGill is strong. She fights back when people try to use or abuse her and fights for what she believes in, which is herself and her abilities.

Working Girl instills self-belief in its audience, regardless of background, gender or education. With a strong enough belief in yourself and some hard work, anyone can attain their dreams.

South Paw (2015)

southpawOne film of recent years that offers encouragement and inspiration for men looking to change their lives is 2015’s South Paw. Jake Gyllenhaal plays boxer Billy Hope. When Hope is at the peak of his career everything is taken away from him in a devastating twist. He hits rock bottom and turns to a boxing trainer to help him fight his way back up to where he wants to be. Inner strength and facing up to his own bad decisions and inner demons are the name of this game.

South Paw demonstrates that no matter how bad life may get, if you tap into your strength and recognize what it is you need to do, you can accomplish extraordinary things.

North Country (2005)

north countryDrive and ambition are two of the main components in most people’s resolutions, as are determination and strength. In North Country, Charlize Theron’s character Josey Aimes has these attributes in bucket loads and she uses them to achieve her goals.

In 1980’s America, female mine workers were rare, and those that did exist existed in a world of chauvinistic male mockery and abuse. Until Josey came along. Josey has been at the hands of an abusive man before, and she has stood up and walked away with her kids. She displays an immense amount of strength and independence. So when she sees how woman are treated in the mines, she decides to stand up and fight it, but it is lonely out on a limb on your own.

Through her grit and her will to get what is right, she keeps fighting. Her prolonged fight and determination to never give up is a story that inspires and influences those that watch it.

Laurie Beechman Theatre –the Best Drag Show in NYC

At New York’s Laurie Beechman Theatre at 42nd street and 9th avenue, drag is a nuanced, gorgeous thing. Yes, there are the requisite Barbra Streisand and Joan Rivers impersonators. What would a drag theater be without them? But there are also brilliant, creative shows as rich and subtle as anything on or off Broadway. Without question, Laurie Beechman features the best drag shows NYC has to offer.

In the basement of a restaurant, the dinner theater consists of seats at long tables facing a stage. Velvet curtains in deep reds and purples make up the decor. The theater requires a $25 minimum for each guest, but a couple glasses of wine (or better yet, champagne) easily meet that requirement. What’s theater without some bubbly, anyway?

I saw Jinkx Monsoon, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and her partner Major Scales perform their much-acclaimed show, “The Vaudevillians.” The two characters, Kitty and Dan, are vaudeville stars who wrote all the popular songs they perform way back in the 1920s, but were never given the proper credit for them.

Their act features songs as diverse as Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” and Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face,” only they all have a quirky, vaudeville feel to them. Jinkx wears fabulous flapper outfits. Her first costume is a heavily beaded nude dress that looks absolutely flawless on her. Despite her sometimes raunchy choreography, Jinkx Monsoon as Kitty makes a glorious lady.

Other notable drag queens, such as Drag Race stars, Alaska and Pandora Boxx, have also performed their acts at Laurie Beechman. The shows are usually funny, but they’re surprisingly clever, too. And, of course, the queens always look amazing.

Seeing Great Theatre Outside of New York City

In the age of Netflix and chill, spending your leisure time seeing a play feels almost anachronistic. But theatre is alive and well in the United States and fortunately, you don’t have to be in New York to experience it.

New York has done a great job of establishing itself as a theatre center,” said Jeff Loeb, Associate General Manager at Hollywood Pantages Theatre. “It’s part of the tourist infrastructure. But there is world-class theatre happening all over the country. In Los Angeles, there are hundreds of theatres where television and film actors perform in plays and musicals between gigs to hone their craft.

Whether you’re more into Hamilton or Hamlet, we’ve gathered the most exciting theatre of all genres happening across the country in the next few months.

 

Las Vegas

groundedGrounded | Nov 19-Dec 13th, 2015

This gripping play about a female fighter pilot stationed in Nevada is finally being staged in the place that inspired it. George Brant’s one-woman play tells the story of a nameless soldier who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant, leading her to be reassigned to operating a remote-controlled drone from Nevada. By day, she tracks an elusive target overseas. By night, she cares for her baby. All the while, she grapples with what it means to nurture a new life at home while hunting other lives abroad. Brant won the 2012 Smith Prize for his work dealing with American politics.

 

Tribes-WebTribes | January 8-24th, 2016

Appropriately, a theatre that calls itself “theatre by the community, for the community,” is staging Tribes, a play about the community we’re born into and the one we create. In a family of loudmouthed intellectuals, the youngest son, Billy, stands out, not because he’s un-intellectual, but because he’s deaf. He sits with his older siblings and parents at their dinner table in London, observing silently, as they argue about ideas and art. Then, one day, he meets Sylvia, a hearing woman born to deaf parents, who herself is now going deaf. Bringing this newcomer and ally into his home, causes the family to confront some of their long-held beliefs and assumptions. The Las Vegas Little Theatre will mount Nina Raine’s award-winning play in January.

 

Los Angeles

UncleVanyaWebsiteVertical-197x300Uncle Vanya | Oct 8-Dec 6th, 2015

This is not your pretentious college roommate’s Uncle Vanya. Annie Baker’s translation of Chekhov’s classic uses contemporary language to make this late 19th-century play feel fresh and relatable to a modern audience. As the Los Angeles Times puts it, “except for their country estate, their samovar and their Slavic patronymics, these characters could be our own family and friends.” As with all Antaeus productions, Uncle Vanya is double cast, meaning a completely separate set of actors appears in alternating performances. See it twice!

 

if.thenIf/Then | Dec 8-Jan 3rd, 2016

Don’t let this one go! Idina Menzel, the quintessential Broadway-Hollywood hybrid superstar, appears in the touring production of If/Then at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre. The musical follows the story (or more accurately, stories) of Elizabeth, a late-thirty-something urban planner who moves back to New York to restart her life. When she arrives in the city, she meets up with two friends. One suggests she call herself “Liz” and the other recommends that she become “Beth.” From then on, the show tells both possible versions of her new life, with plenty of crescendos along the way.

 

Seattle

Predator Songstress | December 3-6th, 2015

The highly anticipated Predator Songstress comes from the Degenerate Art Ensemble, an experimental group of artists whose work is “an exorcism through collision and conflict challenging how we see audience, architecture, music, story, myth and reality.” Featuring co-founder and Japanese artist, Haruko “Crow” Nishimura, the piece is a modern-day fairy tale about a mythical totalitarian regime and one woman’s battle to overcome it. The music-driven fantasy was previously staged at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.

 

Jenn Colella (left) and the cast of Come from Away. Photo by Kevin Berne.Come From Away | Nov 13-Dec 13th, 2015

A musical about 9/11 might sound in poor taste, but Come From Away shows that it’s possible to bring out the humanity in tragedy through song. Based on a true story, this exciting new musical takes place in a small town in Newfoundland where 38 planes carrying 7,000 passengers were diverted after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. The influx of people nearly doubles the town’s population, prompting the locals to pull together and provide supplies, housing and comfort to the disoriented travelers. The production is presented in association with La Jolla Playhouse, where the musical premiered last summer.

 

Washington, DC

Dawn Ursala - Stage-Kiss_gallery_1-200x300Stage Kiss | Dec 2-Dec 27th, 2015

It doesn’t get more meta than Stage Kiss. Sarah Ruhl’s playful farce follows the on- and off-stage romance of two actors with a past. He and She (the nameless protagonists) must put aside their own troubled romantic history to embody long-lost loves every night on stage. Soon, though, their stage kisses feel more and more like real kisses. The second act takes them off stage and back into the real world. The forty-something actors grapple with their ambiguous feelings and insecurities amid a gritty East Village apartment.

 

equusEquus | Jan 14-Feb 14th, 2016

Peter Shaffer’s modern classic about a boy with a pathological obsession with horses comes to the Constellation this winter. This 1973 play was revived in 2007 with Daniel Radcliffe as the troubled young man, Alan Strang, shedding both his clothes and his Harry Potter innocence. It begins in a mental hospital. Dr. Martin Dysart is dealing with his own inner demons when Strang is brought to him. Through hypnosis and a placebo “truth pill,” Strang and Dysart delve into the dark world of religion, obsession and delusion. When it premiered, the play won the Tony Award, the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award and the Drama Desk Award for Best Play.

 

Minneapolis

Black Nativity-2275

Black Nativity | Dec 3-Dec 20th, 2015

Penumbra’s beloved annual production of Black Nativity: A Tradition of Love and Light is back. Langston Hughes’ retelling of the Nativity story features an entirely African-American cast accompanied by gospel spirituals. As Penumbra’s co-artistic director, Sarah Bellamy, told the Pioneer Press, “[Penumbra’s] season reflects our urgent need to consider the state of our nation and to determine how we can ensure the safety of all Americans.” This exuberant production is a thoughtful way to enter the holiday season with a spirit of giving, acceptance and joy.

 

Unexpected Roles Played by Leading Male Action Stars

We love action stars. Strong, tough, invincible. We love them even more when they take risks by appearing in movies outside their comfort zones. Here, we’ve rounded up our favorite out-of-the-box role choices for some of the world’s most infamous male action stars.

 

Comedy: Arnold Schwarzenegger

Twins (1988)

Arnold SchwarzeneggerFans caught a glimmer of the former Governator’s comedic sensibility in the documentary, Pumping Iron (1977), but it wasn’t until 1988 that it came out fully in his acting. At that point, Schwarzenegger had become world-famous for playing lethal forces of nature such as Conan, the Terminator and Ben Richards. He took a break from breaking people’s skulls to team up with Danny DeVito for Twins, the cult comedy about unlikely twins separated at birth who are reunited at age 35. Together, they embark on a dangerous, and hilarious, cross-country trip to deliver a stolen prototype and find their long-lost mother. Schwarzenegger recently returned to his action-packed roots in Terminator Genisys (2015), but we secretly hope a Twins: The Sequel is in the works.

 

Drama: Jackie Chan

Crime Story (1993)

Jackie ChanLegendary Hong Kong action star, Jackie Chan, is known for becoming physically vulnerable for his roles, breaking bones and suffering concussions behind the scenes of virtually every film. But with Crime Story, he becomes vulnerable in a different way. Though the fast-paced movie is full of shoot-outs, car chases and altercations, Chan’s character shows a more subdued and emotionally nuanced performance for the first time in his career. In this police drama, he plays an officer suffering from remorse after shooting men in self-defense. He’s assigned to guard a real estate developer who’s soon kidnapped. Chan finds himself struggling emotionally and physically as he races to save his charge.

 

Musical: Pierce Brosnan

Mamma Mia! (2008)

Pierce BrosnanThe man who played suave James Bond from 1995 to 2002 plays the opposite six years later: the bumbling love interest of Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia. Brosnan’s less-than-impressive singing talent earned him the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor that year, but we’re still charmed by his performance and admire him for taking on such an uncharacteristic role. He plays Sam Carmichael, an Irish-American architect, who might possibly be the father of Streep’s daughter, played by Amanda Seyfried. They sing, dance and frolic together in Greece as they get to the bottom of their family drama. Despite Brosnan’s (lack of) vocal chops, the Abba-inspired musical earned more than $600 million at the box office, proving his versatility.

 

Animated: Will Smith

Shark Tale (2004)

Will SmithMan in black, Will Smith, goes underwater and animated for Shark Tale, the 2004 film about a small fish with big ambitions. Before Shark Tale, the multi-talented Smith had proven himself bankable as a rapper, sitcom actor and action star, so it makes sense he’d want to dominate another genre, which he easily does as Oscar, or The Sharkslayer. Oscar is a bluestreak cleaner wrasse working at his local whale wash when he discovers he owes “five thousand clams” to his boss. His attempt to win the money at the horseraces sets off a chain of events that puts Oscar in one tricky predicament after another. In the end, it’s a story about being true to yourself and doing what’s right. Robert DeNiro and Angelina Jolie, other stars known for their action prowess, join Smith on his adventure.

 

Indie: Bruce Willis

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Bruce WillisBruce Willis has played some tough cops in his career, but in Moonrise Kingdom, he plays one of the twee variety. In Wes Anderson’s fantastical tale of love and longing, Willis plays the lonely Captain Duffy Sharp in the fictional town of New Penzance. It’s 1965 and star-crossed preteens, Sam and Suzy, decide to take their love on the run. A group of quirky adults must track them down and when they do, it falls to Captain Sharp to look after Sam. Willis fits seamlessly into Anderson’s nostalgic, de-saturated world. He was even nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for his performance.

5 Social Feeds You Need to Follow for Kicks

Most of us follow favorite brands or celebrities on social media, but we’ve found some of the most interesting posts out there belong to designers, artists, and regular people with something to say, even if it’s not entirely clear what that is.

Here are five weird social feeds you should follow for daily inspiration. You’ll quickly develop an appreciation for the unique labors of love put forth by the creative and, sometimes, strange people out there in cyberspace.

1. chiliphilly 

chili

Melbourne-based textile artist Phil Ferguson treats his followers to a steady dose of crocheted hats. What’s so special about that? They’re all ingeniously based on food and he models them with a hilarious, sometimes deadpan candor that’ll have you sharing his work over and over.

 

 

 

 

 

2. My Daguerreotype Boyfriend

daguerreotype bf

As their homepage clearly states, this Tumblr is “where early photography meets extreme hotness.” A collection of old photographs of handsome men known from history, as well those whose names have been lost to history, but whose likenesses have survived to be appreciated by cyber- literary types decades later.

 

 

 

 

3. Texts from Your Ex 

vgyubh

We’ve come a long way from the Dear John letter politely breaking up a relationship when things ran their course. Follow this Instagram for hilarious screenshots of texts from exes. Angry, clueless, and sometimes creepy, this collection confirms again that we humans are a strange breed.

 

 

 

4. Jinushikeisuke 

jinu

Consider it a study in loneliness? Deconstruction of social media narrative? Citizen of the web Keisuke Jinushi paints his fingernails and takes pictures at the exact right angle so that it looks like he spends his life with a doting girlfriend when, in fact, it’s just him and a decent manicure.

 

 

 

5. Garfield Minus Garfield 

garfield

We round out our list with the most existentially preoccupied Tumblr of our countdown, Garfield Minus Garfield; and that’s basically all you need to know. Follow this stream of posts that depict actual Garfield comics, except with the lovable cat removed from the scenes. What’s left is the empty existence of Jon Arbuckle. Yeah.