the bird on fire

The Bird is the Word: Sophisticated Schoolyard Shenanigans

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Comfort

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By Makena Behnke

 

everyone goes through an awkward and clueless phase

that’s normal

you may not be the star quarterback or the lead role in a play

but eventually you will find your thing

it might be something artsy

something music related

something techy

or something completely different

your individuality is gained by understanding that the world around you

judges

no matter what

so do your thing

your gained individuality will help you find your thing

so if you’re grades aren’t that great

and if you have trouble speaking in public or reading

you’ll be fine

 

Editor: AJ Patencio

“ugly” things that are beautiful

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By Makena Behnke

  • acne
  • albinism
  • big lips
  • big noses
  • birthmarks
  • body hair that “shouldn’t be there”
  • bushy eyebrows
  • crooked teeth
  • curly hair
  • double chins
  • fat
  • flat chests
  • grey hair
  • hip dips
  • heterochromia
  • hooded eyelids
  • limb transplants
  • scars
  • short eyelashes
  • stretch marks
  • thin lips
  • vitiligo
  • wrinkles

–the “ideal body type” is trash

 

Editor: Peter Kadel

“Ava” Film Review: Shelby Goes to the Palm Springs International Film Festival

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By Shelby Armor

 

I recently volunteered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. As a reward, I got a film voucher to go see one movie. A bunch of friends and I went to see a French film called Ava. It had previously won an award at the “Festival de Cannes.” The Palm Springs International Film Festival also gave it the “Best Director” award this year. Needless to say, I was pretty excited. We went into the movie knowing absolutely nothing about it. The only thing we knew about the movie was that it was of a girl who was slowly going blind and was desperate to explore life before she lost her vision.

The reality was slightly more complicated. This girl of 13 is indeed slowly going blind, but she’s dealing with nightmares and suicidal thoughts as a result. The movie starts by following a black dog belonging to a Spanish gypsy named Juan (Juan Cano). The girl, Ava (Noée Abita), sees how the boy is mistreating the dog and proceeds to steal the dog, whom she names Lupo. Along with all of this, she has a strained, love-hate relationship with her mother (Laure Calamy). The relationship grows even more strained when her mother gets a new boyfriend.

The movie is beautifully symbolic, making use of different objects and people throughout the film to represent the coming-of-age of Ava. At the beginning of the film, she is infatuated with the dog, Lupo, wanting to get him away from this bad man. But, as she begins maturing as a person, she becomes less and less interested in the dog, and more infatuated with Juan, his owner. Lupo also serves as a coping mechanism for her incoming blindness. She repeatedly uses him as a guide dog so she can rely on her other senses.

The movie itself is chock-full of symbols. And, if you’re not really paying attention, they can often fly by. There are times where I had to sit back and comprehend the literal and symbolic meaning of various scenes, as other scenes seemed somewhat random if you weren’t paying attention to what was going on inside Ava’s head. To get a better look of what was going on inside her head, there is a nightmare sequence, going through her deepest fears of the future. There are images of her baby sister without eyes, a giant eye moving around in her mouth, her mother and boyfriend (whom she dislikes), and the police shooting her baby sister. Each and every one of these flashing scenes makes her wake up in a cold sweat. However, only one thing has started to take the nightmares away.

As she becomes closer and closer with Juan, she forgets all about her fading vision. She starts focusing more on their relationship and less on what might happen when her vision fails her. The end of the movie is a freeze frame of her smiling at Juan, utterly content with life. This seems to indicate that the nightmares and suicidal thoughts are coming to an end now that she is with Juan.

But, there are problems with the movie as well. The first half of the movie is beautifully written and filled out. The cinematography is absolutely stunning, and the score is really captivating and quite elegant. By the second half, the tempo is starting to fade. The pace can seem somewhat rushed in comparison to the rest of the movie. To others who had watched the movie with me, this really bothered them. I didn’t really mind the sudden change of pace. It made sense to me that the change of pace was accompanied with the presence of Juan. But that might be part of the appeal of the movie to me; the entire film is subjective.

The film itself is made almost entirely of symbols and can be quite hard to follow if you aren’t really the type for these kinds of films. I would recommend this film to anyone who likes a provoking piece of cinema. If a film that really makes you think about the impact of each scene is thrilling to you, then this might be the film for you to see.

 

(Warning — there is mature content in the movie)

 

Editor: Claire Jenkins

Be Happy (I know it’s cheesy, but read it)

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An Op-Ed piece by Guest Blogger Holden Hartle

Currently I am holed up in my room, studying for a French exam, a history exam, and trying to memorize a monologue all the while wanting to fall asleep. But, I can’t. Or worse, I’m not allowed to. Because if I were to fall asleep, I would fall behind on everything, which leads to failed finals, and starts a spiral of failed everything. Failed classes. Failed goals. Failed dreams. But worst of all, I’ve failed myself.

In all of this, I have set a goal for myself. That goal is a simple one: be happy. That’s it. Ms. Clark says every day, “Set an intention for yourself. Whether it be for an evening, the rest of the week, or the rest of your life.” My intention is to be happy. But, as of late, I’m finding it increasingly difficult to be happy. In fact, I feel the opposite. I feel that if I can’t reach my own goals, what’s the point in doing anything? Why shouldn’t I just leave everything?

High school isn’t about being happy. I am in the process of learning this the hard way. High school is not about the clichés of making friends, joining clubs, and passing classes. It’s tiring. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. But, if you want to be successful, have a job, a steady income, and be happy, then you have to go through this.

If you have similar ideas to mine, then please try to cherish the good moments of high school. These good moments, the times where I can laugh and be myself, keep me going from one day to the next. Go on; make high school a joyful cliché. Go join clubs; go make friends; and go be happy.

Editor: Peter Kadel

Pondering Stars

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By Anonymous

 

I gaze up at the brilliant mixture of the light of burning stars

 

With a suspicion that those stars of hefty yet faint stature might hush my awe

 

For this sight of shimmering stars might have been overshadowed.

 

By their fixed fate, they all could have diminished, but they could still be perceived;

 

Or maybe not, maybe that myriad of makings in our hazy view will yet stand to mesmerize our eyes.

 

Either way, we can merely persist to ponder over how we could pioneer into the ocean of void to touch these dazzling stars,

 

But, for the time being, all we can do is but wonder while we are bound to the round Earth.

 

Editor: AJ Patencio

friends

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By Makena Behnke

 

i was in class, like i normally am

laughing at a dumb joke or one of my classmate’s antics,

and i realized that my senior friends will be graduating this year,

and my smile faded.

i thought about my junior friends and realized they’ll be leaving soon–

my smile turned into a frown;

my sophomore friends, they will leave too–

i started to tear up;

my freshmen friends and i will part eventually,

and i cried.

 

Editor: Claire Jenkins

Sing Street Hits the High Notes

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Review by Movie Enthusiast Leo Milmet

Grade: A+

Sing Street helped me discover even more about what exactly I love about film as an art form and why I have such an incredible passion for film. Sing Street is one of the truly great films of the 2000s. Why? For me, it’s the potent feeling it gives me every time I watch it.

Now, trust me, no one is more cynical about the modern American film industry than I am. In my humble opinion, most films nowadays are a joke. Most big-budget films are often well-crafted, yes, but to what purpose? Money? An Oscar? Most films, in general, are well-intentioned and perhaps even well-created but forgettable. They are created for selfish commercial reasons, not truly as art. Sing Street is a completely different story. Sing Street is so quietly bold as to take countless risks without even letting you know it’s taking them. Yes, Sing Street includes some cliches for this type of film in general, but the entire idea of a film about a very musical young man in high school being bullied by boys (and men) who don’t understand the meaning of art or creativity–who “have the power to destroy, but not to create” as the protagonist Conor puts it in one scene–is so boldly original that (and I rarely say this about clichés) I simply don’t care.

The film is set in Dublin, Ireland, in the 80s. In the opening scene, Conor is strumming his guitar in his room, with the audio of his arguing parents in the background. They call him out and say they’re transferring him from his posh school to a Jesuit school. Cut to an all boys’ high school–it’s pretty much totally uncivilized. Boys are screaming, fighting, laughing. All play, nothing is sacred, nothing is serious. They behave like toddlers. The rest of the film, despite mostly being an amazing romance story with great music, is truly about the introduction of a limited amount of art into a community full of teenage (and adult) ignorance. Ultimately, this changes so much without really changing much at all. It’s perfectly realistic. That’s why I love this film. It dares to be both optimistic and cynical, staying realistic throughout. All of this is partly due to the beautiful music and the brilliant cinematography. The music acts as the emotional heartbeat of the film, while the gray look of the film (contrasting with a few brilliant, deliberately oversaturated dream scenes) seems to ground the film in reality. However, this is not to take away from the incredibly smart writing in this film. After just a handful of scenes, we have already fallen in love with maybe four-five different characters, and while not every member of Sing Street (the band, not the movie) gets enough to do, every major character in this film is on par with those characters we love from the true classics of the coming-of-age genre. Sing Street is not a musical that uses its music as a crutch. The great music is another necessary element of the brilliant story, which is, at its heart, definitely the finest coming-of-age story this side of Boyhood. The film is perfectly paced and incredibly well-structured. There’s never a scene that feels rushed, nor is there a scene that drags. Some subplots could be cut without changing much, but they are more than engaging enough to not only keep our attention but to enrich the film itself. This is quite an achievement. In my humble opinion, John Carney, the film’s director, shows as much expertise in this one film as anyone has in one film in the past three years.

However, there are a few small negatives: some characters seem totally underdeveloped and are only there to flesh out the band; some scenes in the film are a tiny bit repetitive and/or very slightly contradictory; and, if this bothers you, an ending scene leaves loose ends and involves lapses in logic. However, the ending is open to interpretation in many ways, so it doesn’t bother me. I was swept up in the emotion of the moment and didn’t realize any of this until I had seen the film five times. However, none of these total nitpicks takes away from what a masterfully-created, beautiful film this is. Sure, it’s not for everyone (looking at you, lovers of only spectacle and/or mindless entertainment), but for those of you who like to experience art that is unique and interesting, this beautiful work of art deserves, at least, the meager attention of one viewing.

Editor: Charles Schnell (who agrees with just about everything Leo says of this film)

Threshold

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By Peter Kadel

The footsteps have always been there, the paths of others for me to follow.

Some days they all lead me towards one place, a clear and pure consensus.

But other days they are split, and I must guide myself as best I can through the confusion.

There are also days when I must stray from the path to discover what lies beyond.

And then there is today—today is a day unlike the other days when certainty guided me.

As I arrived at the top of what I believed was the tallest peak I would ever climb,

I was faced with a new set of daunting challenges towering far above me.

As I viewed these giants, I saw that there were no trails marking the safe paths.

I realized that I stood at a threshold between the known and unknown.

There were no footprints to follow, no trails to track, no one to tell me where to tread.

And so I took a step forward.

 

Editor: Claire Jenkins

The Monster Under Your Bed

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Graphic by Harlow Berny

By Harlow Berny

 

When you were a child, you would make your parents check underneath your bed after they had tucked you in at night. This is because you thought that the gentle glow of your night-light was not strong enough to reach underneath, and thus monsters would take refuge there. When you grew up, you threw out your night-light to sleep in the dark, for you no longer believed that monsters hid under your bed. The thing is, those monsters exist no matter if you believe or not. The only difference is that once you do not believe in them, you can no longer see them. You cannot see them crawling out from under your bed. You cannot see them peering at you from the foot of your bed. You cannot see them staring you in the eyes. You cannot see them slipping into your mind, replacing your childhood innocence and youth with stress, sorrow, fear, and regret. You cannot see that the monster under your bed has become the monster in your head….

 

Editor: Peter Kadel