As the Academy Awards approach, I have committed, alongside my friend Sam, to watching every film, documentary and short nominated for an Academy Award.Here are the highlights from the nominated films and shorts I have watched so far. This is an open invitation for you to watch them and disagree with me.Don’t Skip Out On (Full Length Films):“Lady Bird”: As Saoirse Ronan, the actress who plays Lady Bird, said in an interview, “I didn’t realize…how starved we are for female … [Read more...]
How should we preserve our history?
On Aug.12, 2017 violence erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia at the hands of a “Unite the Right” white supremacist rally protesting the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. Many statues have been called into question due to their deeply rooted connections to the system of slavery and racism the Confederate army fought to maintain during the Civil War.The Southern Poverty Law Center amassed research regarding the cumulative total of Confederate statues, schools and other monuments. Their … [Read more...]
The importance of #ThingsOnlyChristianWomenHear
On April 18th, in response to a hashtag movement empowering women writers to share stories specific to the female author experience, a movement centered around stories of unequal criticism, online hate messages and sexually-motivated threats, Sarah Bessey, author of “Jesus Feminist,” started the hashtag "Things Only Christian Women Hear."The hashtag immediately gained traction, encouraging women to share their experiences inside the church that were discouraging, painful and specific to the … [Read more...]
Musical “Gypsy” premieres on campus this weekend
The cast and crew of the AU fall musical, “Gypsy,” has been working tirelessly to put together an amazing experience for their audience. “Gypsy” is a musical about Rose, the mother of Vaudeville star Gypsy Rose Lee, as together they face the reality of show business. The musical follows the progress of Rose as she works to raise two daughters to live out her dream for them: to perform on stage.The musical was written by Arthur Laurents with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Sondheim is known for … [Read more...]
New Prayer Ministry begins
With a new school year comes a new group of student leaders stepping forward to lead in every section of campus life, including in the residence halls, freshman LART groups, and campus ministries. Dillon Lockwood, senior and former RA for Smith Hall, is the new head of our campus Prayer Ministry. “I’m new to prayer ministry,” Lockwood said, “But the spirit definitely led me to [it].” Lockwood was recruited by Becca Palmer, head of spiritual formation on campus, to lead prayer ministry this … [Read more...]
Why ‘Batman vs. Superman’ failed
The most recent DC movie, “Batman vs. Superman: The Dawn of Justice,” expected by many to be a blockbuster hit, flopped in the box office. This movie had potential, with Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, a powerhouse of superheroes and the extensive monetary support of DC. So why did it fail to satisfy audiences? Well, if you look at the wreckage of the movie, you can see the primary rules of storytelling being broken and mistreated throughout the story.Rule #1 - Set the StageWhen you tell a … [Read more...]