Arts & Culture

Why do so many fictional characters attend Brown?

By Rebecca Carcieri | December 7

What do Brian Griffin from “Family Guy,” Carrie Bradshaw from “Sex and the City,” Cliff Calley from “West Wing” and Andrea Sachs from “The Devil Wears Prada” all have in common? They all walked through the Van Wickle Gates. The Herald spoke to authors and screenwriters whose characters ...

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Students turn to movies, music, traditions for Holiday cheer

By Lynn Nguyen | December 6

From gathering around the television to watch a Christmas movie with family to having a feast full of special holiday dishes while listening to Mariah Carey croon, most students have unique traditions associated with the holiday season.

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Students redecorate List stairwell with paintings of toilet bowls, politicians

By Magdalena Del Valle | December 6

Anyone who has walked up the staircases of Brown’s List Art Building in the past decade might expect to find the walls covered in graffiti and paintings by students. But earlier this year, the walls were painted over in white — giving new students a blank canvas to work with as the process of ...

‘Bones and All’ tells bland love story with flashy exterior

By Finn Kirkpatrick | December 5

Two lovers, both on the fringe of society, chart out a journey through America’s backroads searching for normalcy in a world that rejects them. The story sounds cute, right? Think again. The bond these lovers share is not one that would be Hallmark-approved, because their status as societal outcasts ...

Musical Forum’s ‘Fly By Night’ navigates grief, fate through music, comedy

By Katie Jain | December 5

Musical Forum’s production of “Fly By Night,” a dark-yet-touching comedy musical, played five shows over three nights in Alumnae Hall this past weekend.

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‘Wednesday’: Addams Family themed show is great at horror comedy, lacks in plot

By Livia Gimenes | December 5

With streaming platforms constantly pumping out so many reboots, spin-offs and revivals, it’s rare to find one – especially in the young adult genre – that doesn’t feel like an uninspired cash grab. “Wednesday,” released on Netflix on Nov. 23, is here to surprise viewers with an entertaining ...

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Arts & Culture

‘The Noel Diary’ rejects holiday rom-com absurdity, fails to deliver memorable plot, characters

By Alex Nadirashvili | December 2

Amidst the arrival of the holiday season, Netflix has been filling its roster of new releases with more and more cliché Christmas titles — including “The Noel Diary,” a film starring Justin Hartley and Barrett Doss of “This is Us” and “Station 19” fame, respectively. Based on a quasi-autobiographical, ...

Review

Brockhampton’s final albums reflect band's time together with classic sound

By Kaitlyn Torres | November 30

On Nov. 17, hip-hop collective Brockhampton released what fans thought would be their final album, “The Family.” But just an hour after the initial release, the band dropped a second album, “TM,” rounding off their final year together as a group.

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Arts & Culture

‘Glass Onion’ takes viewers on extravagant joyride from start to finish

By Finn Kirkpatrick | November 28

If today’s studio filmmaking has supposedly lost its creativity, then Rian Johnson’s movies are a refreshing exception. With “Looper,” he told a compelling and original action story that is easily one of the best science fiction films of the 21st century to date. He followed that up with ...

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Arts & Culture

Mariana Ramos Ortiz works with sand as agent of resistance

By Rya Vallabhaneni | November 28

Although the forms of Mariana Ramos Ortiz’s art range from prints and sculptures to interactive pieces, most have one basic material in common — almost everything she creates is made out of sand. Last night, the interdisciplinary artist visited Brown to discuss her most recent work.

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Arts & Culture

Star-studded ‘Spirited’ marks heartfelt, goofy take on Christmas classic

By Rebecca Carcieri | November 28

When you think about must-see Christmas films, what comes to mind? Perhaps age-old hits like “It’s A Wonderful Life” and “Miracle on 34th Street” or newer standouts like “Elf” and “The Santa Clause.” One of the least likely films to appear on your annual watchlist would be a musical ...

Review

‘1899’ enthralls with mind-bending suspense despite limited character backstories

By Stella Olken-Hunt | November 28

When viewers sit down to watch “1899,” one of Netflix’s newest series, they probably don’t expect the electrifying thriller that the show reveals itself to be. What begins as a mystery period drama quickly turns into a supernatural saga.

Review

‘Elite’ season 6 fails to add anything exciting to murder mystery show

By Livia Gimenes | November 28

It’s a bad sign when viewers cross their fingers that a show they follow will get canceled so they aren’t forced to watch it anymore. “Elite” viewers hoping for a merciful end to the sputtering series did not get lucky this time. Instead they were given a torturous sixth season of Netflix’s ...

Arts & Culture

Five Indigenous-centered stories in film, literature, television

By Finn Kirkpatrick | November 22

Indigenous people have been problematically depicted in media with ignorant stereotypes for decades, from “Peter Pan” to “The Lone Ranger.” Often, Indigenous characters are played by non-Indigenous actors, and Indigenous stories are written by non-Indigenous writers. Here are five works across ...

Arts & Culture

Everett Company’s ‘Bliss Body’ uses personal stories to explore bliss, Black experience

By Sofia Barnett | November 21

This past weekend, Everett Company’s production of “Bliss Body,” a collaboration with the Department of Africana Studies and its Rites and Reason Theatre, played in the Granoff Center for the Creative Arts for two nights.

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Review

‘The Wonder’ makes for compelling surprise, despite narrative missteps

By Finn Kirkpatrick | November 20

From its start, the new Netflix film “The Wonder” evokes confusion and excitement when it opens on a plywood house in a barren soundstage — decidedly removed from the breathtaking, 19th-century hills of Ireland where it supposedly takes place in. The camera slowly pans to an open warehouse ...

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Review

‘Falling For Christmas’ joins ranks of mediocre holiday rom-coms

By Livia Gimenes | November 20

As November withers away, Netflix is already celebrating the Christmas season with the release of “Falling For Christmas,” a film starring Lindsay Lohan and former “Glee” star Chord Overstreet. A lackluster addition to the canon of Christmas movies, “Falling for Christmas” leans heavily ...

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Arts & Culture

‘Relearning simplicity’: Kitchen Sink brings new energy to campus theater scene

By Maisie Newbury | November 18

Wednesday evening, students crowded into rows of folding chairs at the edge of Winnick Chapel in Brown RISD Hillel around a simple set. Its centerpiece was a reflective pedestal that would serve as a pond, a bed, an ocean, a therapist’s couch and so much more over the course of the coming 65 minutes. ...

Arts & Culture

Fashion@Brown hosts Retrofête’s Ohad Seroya

By Magdalena Del Valle | November 16

Ohad Seroya, luxury clothing brand Retrofête’s founder and executive director, visited the University for a talk with Fashion@Brown Wednesday evening.

Arts & Culture

‘Causeway’ stuns with tasteful minimalism

By Rya Vallabhaneni | November 15

In a cinematic landscape increasingly focused on aesthetics, a film that opts for minimalism stands out. A disregard for flashy sets, fast action and shock value may seem counterproductive when seeking to capture an audience’s immediate attention. But if done well, simplicity can be extremely effective. ...