Tag Archives: Entertainment news

Drake releases ‘More Life’

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By CHANTAL ALBA

If you’re a Drake fan like myself, then you know how great this week has been because he finally dropped his album, “More Life.” The internet was buzzing with the release because this album is following “Views,” which was probably his biggest project before this one.

“More Life” features other rap artist like 2 Chainz, Young Thug, Quavo, Travis Scott and Kanye West (which gave us a little of the old Kanye back in my opinion). Most of Drake’s albums have a theme or fit together as narrative piece of his life stories. This album did not follow that same outline. However, a lack of structure is what made “More Life” so great.

While listening to this album, I realized the songs ranged in genre, era, culture and slang, which make it a blast to listen to whether you have work to get done or you’re just vibing with friends.

Drake’s idea to make such a wide range of music shows that he is in-tune with what is going on around him and what everyone is doing musically. It’s clear the Drake veered away from commercial rap, pop, and R&B styles, but this just shows his growth as an artist and his confidence level in himself.

He’s making music that he wants, the way he wants, without the fear of losing his “Top 2” status. This may not be his best album or even a classic, but this just shows Drake evolving into his true 6 God status and that’s accomplishment enough.

Ultra takes over downtown Miami

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By ISABELLA HALILI

This weekend Miami will be hosting the annual Ultra Music Festival as it comes back to Miami for the 18th time.

This electronic dance music festival started in Miami in 1999 by two entrepreneurs, Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes. The first festival they ever hosted was only one day, but now the organization has grown to host three full days of music.

Construction for this massive event started on Wednesday and has caused much distraction in downtown Miami since then. There has been many complaints from Miamians asking Ultra to find a better, less distracting venue.

Although there are many who have complained, locals acknowledge the fact that the Ultra Music Festival is economically beneficial to the city. It causes international attention and it’s always a sold out event.

Most locals who don’t attend the event just choose to flee the downtown area for the weekend.

The Miami Herald wrote about Miami’s mixed feelings about the festival. How it’s a real distraction to people who work and live downtown, but how this festival does end up benefiting the city more than distracting it. The Miami New Times came out with an article to help drivers in Miami avoid traffic, but also wrote about the lineup of the festival. Sun Sentinel wrote an article about the addition of trains to transport music festival goers.

I think the news media based in Miami has made a big deal to note that the Ultra Music Festival is in town this week. They are giving free publicity to this music festival, while also giving publicity to their own city, which in the end will only benefit the city as a whole.

Disney has done it again

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By CHELSEA LOVELL

Disney’s live-action remake of “Beauty and the Beast” waltzed in with $170 million in box office sales during its debut this past weekend, leaving the runner up movie “Kong: Skull Island” trailing behind with only $27 million.

There was lots of excitement and talk in all outlets of news media before and after the movie hit theaters.

“Beauty and the Beast” set a new record for March opening which only solidified Disney’s status as a force to be reckoned with in the film business. According to Vanity Fair’s article about the movie, “no other company can match the streak that Disney is currently enjoying, thanks to a series of multi-billion acquisitions that put the likes of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm in its Magic Kingdom. Last year, the studio accounted for more than a quarter of all domestic ticket sales, and 2017 brings the release of sequels to ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ ‘Cars,’ and ‘Thor,’ in addition to ‘Beauty and the Beast.’ ”

All ages enjoyed the movie and took to the news media to share their responses to the movie. The main talk of the crowd was Emma Watson’s performance of Belle the princess and main character of the movie.

“Beauty and the Beast” is a musical and this was her first time singing professionally. Most of her fans admired her work and used social media platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter, to congratulate her on her performance as well as encouraging others to go out and see the movie.

London protests travel ban at film

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By VERONICA SPAGNA

London decides to show the world that, as a city, it does not just tolerates diversity, it celebrates it.

In Central London last Sunday, on the night of the Oscars, thousands of people attended the screening of the award-winning movie “The Salesman” to show support to its Iranian director, Asghar Farhadi. Farhadi had announced that he would boycott the ceremony in response to Donald Trump’s travel ban.

We should all be at least a little familiar with Donald Trump’s travel ban, which was announced in January. The president signed an executive order temporarily banning the entry of citizens and immigrants from Iran, Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Tahardi.

In response to this travel ban, the Iranian director Asghar Farhadi told The New York Times in January that he would not attend the Oscars even if granted exception to enter the country, and stayed true to his words.

Asghar Farhardi’s movie, “The Salesman,” was nominated for best Foreign-Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards and won the Oscar hours after the screening in London.

To show unity and support for Asghar Fahardi, some well known actors and producers organized a premiere of the movie and collaborated with Sadie Khan, the mayor of London to premiere the nominated film for free in Trafalgar Square, one of London’s most important destinations.

This event was a peaceful protest, that showed that London did not agree with what Donald Trump believed in, how the focus should be on welcoming people and not banning them. I think it is beautiful how people are uniting together to share the message of acceptance, and not in violent protests or holding signs criticizing whats wrong.

Around 10,000 people showed up at the premiere of the “The Salesman,” which was occurring a few hours before the Oscars.

The Iranian director was not present at the screening, but spoke to the crowd through a recorded video of him. In the video, he apologized for not being there and said he was there in spirit. He additionally made a speech about how we are all citizens of the world and that we need to stay united.

Fahardi was not present at the Oscars, so he sent two Iranian-Americans to claim his award. Anousheh Ansari, the first female Iranian to go into space, claimed the award for Fahardi and read a speech written by him. Fahardi criticized the travel ban and called it inhumane. He apologized for not being at the ceremony, but how it was  out of respect for the people of his country.

In his speech he also stated that “Dividing the world into the “us “ and “our enemies” categories creates fear, a deceitful justification for aggression and war.” Which I think is a very eye opening statement and was quoted on numerous articles on the event.

Many Journalists covered this event, highlighting and focusing on the speeches given by at the screening and the Oscars. The focus of these peaceful and powerful words puts into good light the event. Although I do feel like journalists should also focus on covering the reactions of Americans, focus on covering on how America has reacted to this peaceful and powerful protest.

I think that the extent to which London and its citizens have gone to prove a point is very inspirational. By being united together in fighting for their rights and the rights of people in other countries is quite admirable.

This protest gave a stronger message in the simplicity of attending a movie screening than in protests that could lead to disturbance with the use of negativity. I think the world is slowly progressing to stronger unification by the day and protests like these show the importance of respect in humanity.

Will ‘Get Out’ become the best?

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By ANDREA HUETE

By now, you might’ve heard of Jordan Peele’s intellectual thriller, “Get Out.” It’s been a trend on the news, social media, and even celebrities like Chance The Rapper and The Game are igniting conversation surrounding the film by giving out free tickets. I’m here to break down not only the finances, but the incredible intellect that went into creating this film. Note: spoilers ahead in chronological order of the movie.

Right now, according to Box Office Mojo, the highest grossing horror film of all time is M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Sixth Sense” at $293,506,292 in it’s “lifetime” of 18 years. You may have heard of Shyamalan earlier this year for his horror film “Split.” Opening weekend in 1999, “The Sixth Sense” made $26,681,262. “Get Out” made $33,377,060 opening weekend. Over the course of 18 years, will “Get Out” surpass “The Sixth Sense”?

The thing that is the most terrifying about “Get Out” is that it conceptualizes the actual reality of racism in America all while entertaining you for 103 minutes. If you look for the subtle foreshadowing from the beginning, you’ll see a bunch of clues leading up to the bigger story line.

In the opening credits of the movie, they show a bunch of black and white photography, representing the initial contrast between colors, drawing you to think about the lines between black and white society. They show these images as Childish Gambino’s “Redbone” plays in the background. Lyrics state:

n***** creepin’,
they gon’ find you,
gon’ catch you sleepin’,
now stay woke,
n***** creepin’,
now don’t close your eyes

The lyrics alone play into the idea of staying “woke” in a white America as a black person. The lyric of sleeping and closing your eyes connects to the movie from the very beginning. The two main characters are Chris, the black boyfriend in an inter-racial relationship with white girlfriend, Rose.

The couple goes to visit Rose’s family. On their way there, they hit a deer and the police are called. The police officer gives Chris a hard time. This represents subtly the police brutality and differences in treatment due to race.

Upon arrival to the house, we learn that Rose’s family has a black groundskeeper and a black maid. Upon Chris’s initial bonding with Rose’s father, he learns that Rose’s grandfather was a white supremacist who was beat out in the track finals to be invited to the Olympics by a black man. This is foreshadowing for what we learn down the road about Rose’s grandfather switching minds with the groundskeeper, who is shown doing sprints in the middle of the night in the back yard.

This ties into black athletes having an outstanding natural athletic ability. Which is actually blatantly said by Rose’s brother at the dinner table with Chris. This “natural” ability is still currently showing in numbers in basketball, track, tennis and American football. I feel like Peele was tying athletic ability in relation to race in with the 2016 Olympic games when Usain Bolt proved he was truly the fastest man in the world. I think this also subliminally sheds light on athletes speaking up against racial injustices such as Colin Kaepernick and the Black Lives Matter movement during the 2016 NFL season.

Other points within the conversation that Chris has with Rose’s father is that Rose’s white father would have “voted for Obama for a third term.”

If you’re a person of color, some white Americans will use Obama to discredit the reality of racism in America. I’ve heard the words “but how can racism still exist when we have a black president?” come out of the mouths of white Americans way too often.

Jordan Peele is stating very clearly, voting for Obama does not mean you care about the black struggle or that you are not racist. Actually, after Obama was elected in 2008, KKK submissions grew tremendously.

From 2014 to 2015, active hate groups had a 14 percent increase. There are 917 active hate groups in America to date, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

During the couple’s visit at Rose’s parent’s house, they announce a party that they’ll be having for her grandfather, that includes many friends of Rose’s family.

Rose proceeds to introduce Chris to all her family friends, almost all of which are white. They each had something to ask him that is stereotypical to the black community, athletics, art, and even if the sex is better.

New England Patriots tight-end, Martellus Bennett, touched on this earlier in the year with a series of tweets capitalizing on the fact that black children too often are pushed into thinking being a pro-athlete or a rapper is the only way of life.

And too often you hear the phrase “once you go black you never go back” putting potentially unattainable sex standards on black men.

Chris decides he needs a breather, and goes out into the woods to photograph. While this is happening, he and Rose have a conversation about the strange events happening at the house. While they are having this conversation, the movie switches to the father auctioning off Chris to his party goers. There is a photo of Chris and they are auctioning his body off without him knowing in complete silence.

This silence represents how quiet society and the government is in regards to the treatment of black life. That even in modern day, black people are still considered property by some and are in less control of their own life.

They are hosting a modern-day auction of Chris’s body to their guests, just as what was done in slave days, tying in black history.

Within the group of people at the party, there are two people of color. One Asian man, and one black man. The Asian man represents the blind eye that other people of color have towards the black community. The black man’s demeanor represents how it seems white people would prefer blacks to be in America to gain respect.

Once Chris flashes the camera towards the black man, character name billed as Andrew Logan King, he warns Chris about the mental manipulation that is taking place. The camera flash eventually saves Chris’s life at the end of the movie as well. The flash triggers their true self. This represents people being able to “see the light” and “be enlightened.”

Near the end of the movie you learn that Rose’s mother has hypnotized each black man and women that they have kidnapped and enslaved, and brainwashed them into believing that they are doing these actions out of their own free will. Meanwhile, their soul is in “the sunken place” longing to “get out.”

This represents the brainwashing of black America into believing that the system is truly set for everyone to succeed, and that all men are treated equal, as well as believing in “truth liberty and justice for all,” when there are so many injustices done to black America on the daily.

The reason why the family kidnaps, brainwashes, and experiments on black people is because there is an obsession in the white community with certain aspects of black culture. There is a fear of greatness in people of color and a need to continue to suppress and yet attain themselves. There is such a power within, that there are continual campaigns to diminish it.

This continues in society, and we must truly “stay woke” and fight against this oppression and division within society.

Rihanna honored with Harvard award

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By SHELLIE FRAI

Grammy award-winning singer Rihanna is no longer just recognized for her influence in the music and fashion industries but also for her impactful involvement in a number of charitable causes.

On Tuesday, Rihanna accepted the Harvard Foundation’s prestigious 2017 Humanitarian of the Year Award. It is an honor that was given to gender-right activist Malala Yousafzai and workers-right activist Dolores Huerta in years past.

For most of Rihanna’s career she has worked to better the lives of children, the poverty-stricken and the sick.

When she was just 18 she founded the BELIEVE Foundation, a charity to help critically ill children.

Six years later, she founded the Clara Lionel Foundation, after her grandmother passed away from cancer, where she was able to build a state-of-the-art oncology center in her hometown of Barbados.

As a pop star and fashion icon she has used her influence to become a global advocate for access to healthcare, women empowerment and education.

She has served as an ambassador to the UNICEF Tap Project, which raises money for clean drinking water, as well as being involved in the Global Partnership for Education and Global Citizen Project, which helps children get an education in more than 60 developing countries.

When she accepted her award, Rihanna gave an inspiring speech that was followed by a standing ovation from the crowd, which included dean of Harvard College, Rakesh Khurana.

She explained how she use to watch television commercials that asked to donate 25 cents to save the life of a child that was suffering. She would wonder how many quarters could save all the kids in Africa.

“People make it seem way too hard, man. The truth is, and what that little girl watching those commercials didn’t know, is that you don’t have to be rich to be a humanitarian. You don’t have to be rich to help somebody. You don’t gotta be famous,” said Rihanna accepting her award.

While, Rihanna’s philanthropic endeavors include a global scholarship program and bringing education to developing countries, Rihanna herself has never attended college.

In her speech, she acknowledged her regret for never going to college and her wish to be able to go.

“I mean I wish I was [college educated], especially today. I might come back. So, I made it to Harvard. Never thought I’d be able to say that in my life, but it feels good.”

Oscar’s Hollywood-sized mistake

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By CHELSEA LOVELL

Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, the presenters for the final award of the biggest night in Hollywood, were incorrectly given the Best Actress Award envelope. Beatty got confused after he saw Emma Stone’s name and the name of her film, “La La Land.” He handed the envelope to Dunaway who then announced the musical as the Best Picture winner.

The cast of “La La Land” took the stage and even began giving their speeches, however, the group stopped midway through when those on stage began to realize there had been a mistake.

Jordan Horowitz, producer of “La La Land,” shocked the audience of the Dolby Theatre when he announced “There’s a mistake. ‘Moonlight,’ you guys won Best Picture. This is not a joke, come up here.” The producer added, “Moonlight has won Best Picture.”

Beatty went to the microphone to explain what happened. He said “I want to tell you what happened. I opened the envelope and it said Emma Stone, ‘La La Land.’ That’s why I took such a long look at Faye and at you. I wasn’t trying to be funny.”

“Moonlight” beat out “La La Land,” “Hidden Figures,” “Manchester by the Sea,” “Arrival,” “Hacksaw Ridge,” “Hell or High Water,” “Lion,” and “Fences.”

This incident was easily the highlight of the night. The video went viral on Twitter and Facebook. Every news station headlined the Oscar’s using the big mistake as their attention grabber and the story led most news coverage throughout Monday.

Perry performs eye-opening awards act

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By VERONICA SPAGNA

The 2017 Brit awards took place last Wednesday in London and are Britain’s annual pop industry music awards, in other words, the British version of the Grammy’s. This year’s ceremony took an unexpected turn, as when it was time for the American singer Katy Perry to perform, the viewers were presented with a politically charged performance.

Katy Perry, a popular figure in the international world of pop music, performed her new single “Chained to The Rhythm” live at the Brit awards alongside Skip Marley, Bob Marley’s grandson.

The performance raised awareness on the importance of encouraging unity and stopping the hate. It had a lot to visually intake as it involved a lot of subtextual symbolism.

It is important for me to point out that even though the visual aspect of the performance already sent a powerful message, the lyrics really helped highlight and intensify the idea.

The performance started with rows of lit-up miniature houses held by backup dancers, seemingly portraying a pop-up neighborhood. Katy Perry wore a pinstripe pantsuit, she started walking among the houses singing, as the backup dancers dressed like homes moved around her.

As the performance continued, a dancing Skelton figure dressed in a black suit with a red tie entered on one side of the stage, simultaneously another dancing skeleton figure dressed in a red blazer and skirt entered on another side of the stage.

These two figures were quickly noticed to be representations of Donald Trump and Theresa May, the prime minister of the United Kingdom and leader of the conservative party. The two skeletons danced around the houses on stage and met in the front center of the platform. Skip Marley then came out to rap his verse.

The verse rapped by Marley in “Chained to the Rhythm” clearly refers to the lies and chaos brought by the political situation in the United States and invites the listeners to take a stand, referring to the people as lions. Donald Trump has attacked a variation of minorities and groups, threatening to build walls and making unacceptable generalizations leading to hate speech and intangible segregation of the people.

Skip Marley rapped:

It is my desire, Break down the walls to connect, inspire”
Ay, up in your high place, liars
Time is ticking for the empire
The truth they feed is feeble
As so many times before
They greed over the people
They stumbling and fumbling and we’re about to riot
They woke up, they woke up the lions

Towards the end of the performance the skeletons held hands, the act ended with the two singers holding hands together and pumping a fist in the air symbolizing taking a stand together and fighting back with nonviolence and unity.

I do believe that the lyrics do make the overall message incorporated in the performance stronger. Katy Perry clearly shared her concern to the people on how this situation cannot be ignored, but people are distracted by other things and if something isn’t done there will be consequences. This was the first verse:

Are we crazy?
Living our lives through a lens
Trapped in our white-picket fence
Like ornaments
So comfortable, we live in a bubble, a bubble
So comfortable, we cannot see the trouble, the trouble

Lately Katy Perry has been saying that she intends to make her pop music “purposeful.” Perry had never really made any political statements before the 2017 Grammy Awards, she has always been a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton and actively campaigned for her when she was running for office.

If you didn’t watch the 2017 Grammy Awards, Katy Perry performed the same song with Skip Marley, also sending a message through symbolism and collaborating with the online No Hate Speech movement. The No Hate Speech movement is youth campaign for human rights online to reduce the acceptance levels of hate speech and to raise awareness on the impacts that hate speech has on society.

At the Grammy’s, she was striding around a home surrounded by picket fences on stage, wearing an armband with the word “Persist.” Ending the set with an image of the U.S. constitution projected on the screen and shouting “no hate.” Perry’s shouting of “no hate” is associated with the online No Hate Speech movement.

There were individuals who responded to these performances with aggravation, as they were a little irritated that politics was involved in this sort of scene at the Brit Awards. But personally, I think that people are not going deep enough in understanding the message behind the performance.

Some assumed Katy Perry was just trying to make Donald Trump and Teresa May scary or just intentionally mocking them.

The irritation of certain individuals to this politically charged performance highlights what Katy Perry and Skip Marley were trying to communicate, that we cannot live in a bubble and ignore what is happening around us.

The articles covering this performance were more focused on covering the act as a parody. At some point in the performances one of the backup dancers dressed as a house fell off stage. The news media refer to this dancer as Perry’s “New Left Shark,” because during her Super Bowl performance last year, one of her dancers wearing a shark costume forgot the moves and since then the dancer has become known as the “Left Shark.”

There were many articles that focused on how funny the backup dancer that fell off stage was and not enough coverage on Katy Perry’s association with the No Hate Speech movement.

Numerous news article titles referred to Katy Perry’s performance as funny and entertaining. Journalists focused on covering how Perry made fun of Donald Trump by making his skeleton figure dance on stage. I think that this type of media coverage is distracting from the actual message of the performance and that more attention should be given to its purpose.

I admire Katy Perry for taking a risk in performing her single “Chained to The Rhythm,” her intentions are good and eye opening. Although a big part of the news media portrayed the act as a parody and focused on its political orientation, it is beautiful to see how the performance went beyond politics and entertainment, encouraging unity and respect.

Chance demands his independence

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By ANDREA HUETE

You may have heard of an unconventional rapper out of Chicago named Chance The Rapper. He did a song with Kanye West on West’s “Life Of Pablo” album in 2016 called “Ultralight Beam” that gained lots of attention in the music industry.

Chance The Rapper’s album cover.

That being said, Chance The Rapper dropped his third mix tape in 2016, “Coloring Book,” and was nominated for seven Grammys in this past awards show, according to the New York Daily News.

Well, Chancelor Johnathan Bennett, aka Chance The Rapper, took home three of those seven Grammy’s without even dropping an album yet.

One of those wins was Best New Artist, which has not been received by a black artist since Lauryn Hill in 1999.

The most insane part about all of this, is that Chance The Rapper is still labeled an independent artist.

Chance The Rapper.

Despite sources saying Chance was turning down $5 million signing deals with major record labels before his Grammy wins, the artist is choosing to hold on to his freedom.

Chance The Rapper addressed the choice in staying an independent artist in one of his acceptance speeches saying “I know that people think independence means you do it by yourself but independence means freedom.”

Essence magazine, one of the pioneers in black magazines, reported that Chance The Rapper is now turning down deals since his three Grammy wins that are twice the amount of the deals before. Labels are offering him $10 million to sign with them.

Lauryn Hill.

However, could his reasoning for staying independent be linked to his pride in his blackness? The 23-year-old rapper is very involved in social justice issues.

“I think #BlackLivesMatter is a huge campaign that is important and integral to our advancement as a people,” he said in an interview with Hot 97.

Being from Chicago, he’s also addressed gun violence, as well as colorism and discrimination against the beauty of black women. In one of his songs he even refers to the mother of his child as his “black queen.”

The music industry, like the rest of the world, is white washed. The award with the most extreme racial divide, Best New Artist, has white artists winning the award 77 percent of the time historically.

From left, Beyonce, Chance and Jay-Z.

In addition, Solange Knowles, addressed the white washing of the Grammy’s in a tweet saying “There have only been two black winners in the last 20 years for album of the year there have been over 200 black artist who have performed.”

Chance The Rapper is very close to the Knowles and the Carters, even calling Beyoncé his auntie, and Jay-Z unc.

By staying independent, Chance can attribute his success only to the people that he chooses to surround himself by, and not an organization that is so blatantly white washed and bias, two things he speaks up against frequently.

Oscars try to shake things up

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By CHELSEA LOVELL

In 2016, a trending hashtag was #OscarsSoWhite.

Well, you might have noticed you haven’t seen it any more. This is not because the hashtag just went out of style. This is because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’s voting board made some major changes. Along with the voting board being shaken up, this year’s nominees are showing a lot more diversity.

In 2015, all the acting nominees were white. “Selma” a drama about civil rights received nothing for its cast or for its director, Ava Du Vernay. Activist April Reign responded by tweeting “#OscarsSoWhite they asked to touch my hair.” This tweet catapulted a hashtag movement bringing a light to Hollywood’s diversity problems that the Academy could not turn a blind eye to.

For best actor Denzel Washington accepted his seventh for “Fences.” This nomination extends his record as the most-nominated black actor.

Oscar nominees Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone and Viola Davis at the Oscar nominees luncheon in Beverly Hills on Feb. 6, 2017 (Photo by Aaron Poole, courtesy of AMPAS).

His co-star Viola Davis was nominated for best supporting actress. With three nominations, she is now the most-nominated black actress.

Other black actresses getting their acknowledgements are Octavia Spencer for “Hidden Figures” and Naomie Harris for “Moonlight.” Mahershala Ali landed a nomination for supporting actor as well for “Moonlight.”

Also recognized in supporting actor was Dev Patel, a British actor of Indian descent, for “Lion.”

In the lead actress category, Ruth Negga was nominated for her work in “Loving.”

Acting wasn’t the only category where colored people got acknowledged. “Manchester by the Sea” was nominated for best picture. Kimberly Steward is only the second black female to be nominated for producing. The first was Oprah Winfrey for “Selma.”

The Oscars will take place on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center. It will be aired live on ABC.

Adele pulls a Kenye, makes Beyoncé cry

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By CHELSEA LOVELL

Adele pulled a Kanye, but on herself this time, at the Grammy’s on Sunday in Los Angeles.

After winning the Grammy for “Album of the Year,” she dedicated her award to Beyoncé. Her hit “25” not only beat Beyoncé’s “Lemonade,” but she also beat fellow nominees Drake, Justin Bieber, and Sturgill Simpson.

“I can’t possibly accept this award and I’m very humbled and very gracious and grateful, but my artist of my life is Beyoncé and this album to me — the ‘Lemonade’ album is just so monumental, Beyoncé,” an overwhelmed Adele said to the audience.

Beyoncé was nominated for nine categories and won for “Best Music Video” and “Best Urban Contemporary Album.” However, Adele made a clean sweep. She was nominated for five awards including, “Record” and “Song of the Year” for “Hello” and she left with all five. Now her Grammy award total is 15.

In her acceptance speech, she took the time to thank the Recording Academy, the team that worked on the album and her husband and son, but she was driven to shift the focus of her speech on Beyoncé’s powerful visual album.

“[It is] so monumental, and so well thought out. And so beautiful and soul-baring and we all got to see another side to you that you don’t always let us see, and we all appreciate that, and all us artists here… adore you,” she continues while Beyoncé starts to tear up.

“You are our light and the way that you make me and my friends feel — the way that you make my black friends feel — is empowering. And you make them stand up for themselves and I love you and I always have, and I always will.”

Other events that happened that night were Chance the Rapper’s three wins, making history for becoming the first artist to win a Grammy without selling physical copies of his music—or selling much of his music at all, for that matter.

There was a tribute to George Michael, which was performed by Adele. Despite these and many other special moments that happened at the Grammys, nearly every entertainment news organization headlined Adele’s heartfelt speech to Beyoncé. Chance the Rapper made history, yet he was overshadowed in the news media by Adele and Beyoncé crying.

Gaga reacts to hate comments

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By COURTNEY ADELMAN

Some negative comments were made about Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl performance. Most of these comments were made about her physique during the show

But Lady Gaga is not sweating it. After all her entire song “Born This Way” captures the message of loving yourself.

” I heard my body is a topic of discussion so I wanted to say, I’m proud of my body and you should be proud of yours, too,” the pop sensation wrote on Instagram.

Being in the spotlight is hard and most of the time someone will always have something to say about it even if their comments are not true.

Gaga was called fat along with a lot of other negative comments about her outfits during the half time show.

Although she may have had some outfits that showed off her midriff, Gaga did not give into all the hate comments.

She took action on social media to let her fans know that she wasn’t bothered and also to offer some advice.

“Be you, and be relentlessly you. That’s the stuff of champions.” Gaga said.

Her words spread all over social media by many other women celebrities who have been ridiculed before for their bodies.

Lady Gaga knows that being in the spotlight all the time and performing at an even as big as the Super Bowl will always come with negative comments even if the performance was truly amazing.

Gaga continues to reassure fans that these hateful comments did not and will nit effect her.

She encourages fans and everyone to love themselves love who you are because “baby you were born this way.”

Nickelodeon introduces new princess

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By COURTNEY ADELMAN

Nickelodeon is now one of the top children networks surpassing Disney. The network has now decided to try something they don’t normally do. They are putting their weight behind a princess.

In past years, Nickelodeon has tended to leave princesses to Disney. But the Viacom-owned cable network is now generating $5.5 billion a year in merchandise alone for their new princess “Nella the princess Knight.”

“Nella the Princess Knight,” will be aired on Nickelodeon beginning next Monday in a programming block specifically for pre-schoolers.

There has been negative connotations towards Disney princesses in the past. Academics have used princesses like  Snow White and Sleeping Beauty to make points about negative impacts on young girls. Will Nickelodeon now find itself in a similar situation?

“Nella” is a self- empowered girl who isn’t afraid to push boundaries. She is bi-racial with a white mother and a black father.

Studies have shown that by 2020 most children under 12 will be biracial. The character also mashes gender roles.

“Nickelodeon’s princess may strike some adults as subversive, particularly given the surge of conservatism that helped push Donald J. Trump into office. But children see mixed-race families and the blurring of gender lines as normal,” Cyma Zarghami, Nickelodeon’s longtime chief told The New York Times.

“Adults might say, ‘Oh, look — she’s biracial,’ but our viewers just say, ‘that looks like my friend,” she added.

Zarghami said that she led Nickelodeon to ratings strength in 2016 among all viewers. She is super excited about the new series because it is already taking a life of its own.

Carter family grows by two

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By ERYKAH DAVENPORT

The queen of breaking the internet just recently revealed her pregnancy via Instagram. Although it was posted on a reliable source, it didn’t become breaking news until reported by CNN, The Huffington Post, Time Magazine, and Us Weekly in the celebrity mom’s section.

Billboard.com made it known that the unleashing of such news generated a record breaking number on the amount of like on one picture as well as over half a million tweets in just an hour.

Billboard also included some congratulatory posts made by some fellow celebrities. CNN also covered this story describing Beyoncé as the new queen of Instagram.

She also released a plethora of images from her maternity shoot on her website in an album titled I have three hearts, implying that she is having twins. Once news sources got a hold of these remarkable photos, they made it their priority to release them ASAP. The music industry as well as fans felt a sense of attachment to the celebrity since she was sharing this with the world and more specifically her fans.

There has also been talk about how she has two performances coming up and the 2017 Grammy Awards and at Coachella. People are worried she may not perform even after they have already purchased tickets.

My assumption is that she’ll still perform, but her show will have to be a lot more conservative and mellow. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the expecting mother takes this opportunity as a album dropping outlet. She would definitely draw the attention of millions as she’s done already.

Haute couture becomes political

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By SHELLIE FRAI

Protests, bans, inequality and violence. Those are a few of the things that we as citizens of America and the world have witnessed since the year began. Protests in airports and in the streets of the world’s most popular cities. Multiple shootings where innocent people have died for being at the wrong place at the wrong time and an exponentially-growing divide between the nation’s political parties.

In the midst of this chaotic environment, one of the most opulent and lavish events took place: Haute Couture Fashion Week. Haute couture is synonymous with high-end fashion. The clothes are custom-made using only high quality fabric and with extreme attention to detail. Haute Couture Fashion Week has been a part of the fashion industry since the mid-nineteenth century.

This year, the shows took place in Paris just a week after the Women’s March, where thousands upon thousands of men, women and children marched through the streets in cities around the world to protest President Trump. Thus, to have something so glamorous and over-the-top right after a worldwide protest seemed inappropriate and unnecessary to some.

However, the beautiful fabrics and glittering silhouettes was how the fashion industry took part in the protest. The designers created clothing that gave the audience a feeling of optimism and hope for the future of our world.

Elie Saab, debuted a collection of golden, beaded dresses and silky skirts that the designer, Saab, said was inspired by the turn of the 20th century in Egypt.

During that time the people in Egypt were able to freely express themselves in a progressive and cultural hub. Saab used that idea to embroider his dresses with pictures of city skylines and boats sailing along the Nile River.

The dreamlike dresses gave the audience a sense of wonder. The collection served as a reminder that while the present is chaotic, there is always something to look forward to on the horizon.

Valentino, showcased a collection that depicted a pure and classic aesthetic that is reminiscent of Grecian goddesses and architecture. The smooth lines and flowing cloaks reminded me of the popular saying “less is more.”

The simplicity of the collection was a direct contrast to the complexity of our reality. It served as a much needed simple distraction to the disarray that is so apparent in our daily lives.

The Vetements show was a praise to one’s unique and individualistic attitude, something that seems to be at risk in this political climate. The inspiring collection was modeled by people of different ethnicities, races and ages.

They walked down the runway wearing eccentric ensembles including all leather outfits, long fur coats and silk dresses over hoodies.

Imprinted on some of the outerwear were saying like “Not Your Resident,” which mirrored the popular saying against President Trump, “Not My President.”

While these are just three examples of the way designers used the uneasy political mood as a major theme in their haute couture collections, many other fashion houses did the same like Maison Margiela, Jean Paul Gaultier and Chanel.

The designers took advantage of their stature, the large audiences and publicity of the week to make a statement. That statement being: there is a light at the end of the dark tunnel.

Rockefeller tree is a WOW

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By AMY TAINTOR

A swarm of positive stories passed through the news this week as the Rockefeller Christmas tree made its way to the Big Apple. This year, the tree is 94 feet tall and will be lit on Nov. 30.

This holiday tradition marks the beginning of the most wonderful time of the year in New York City. The tree lighting will begin at 7 p.m. with performances until 9 p.m. It has not yet been announced which entertainers will be singing at the tree lighting this year, but the news media have hinted at Mariah Carey, Miley Cyrus and Michael Bublé. Of course you can also expect to see the Rockettes and their mile-long legs dancing to “Jingle Bell Rock.”

The coverage of this story in the news hasn’t been as prevalent as last year, perhaps because nobody is ready to accept that Christmastime is near and Thanksgiving will be past before we know it.

The tree lighting will be broadcast on NBC starting at 6:30 p.m. Join as millions watch the live televised event, or show up early to watch it up close.

If you want to skate at Rockefeller Plaza and see the most festive tree in America, you have until Jan. 7, 2017. That will be a sad day for all of us Christmas lovers.

Wade met with thunderous applause

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By NICHOLAS BRUENS

At the end of the 2015-16 NBA basketball season, Miami Heat fans were nervous.  Dwyane Wade, the greatest player in franchise history was a free agent.  Fans new Wade was older now but still a “Heat Lifer” in many fans minds.  As nervous as the finds were, they were also just as confident that basketball mastermind, Pat Riley would keep him in South Beach for a few more years and maybe the res of his career.

But on July 16, their worst fear was realized.  The former NBA Finals MVP, Scoring Champ and 12-time All Star signed a contract with the Chicago Bulls. And since that day in July, every heat fan was waiting for Nov. 10.  The day Dwyane returns to the American Airlines Arena to take on the Heat as a Bull.

I was lucky enough to attend this game and I was excited.  There was so much anticipation from the crowd getting to see there former idol again.  But with all storylines going into the game, the news media was unsure of how the crowd would react.  After all, he did leave the city for another team that one could argue is not much better than the situation in Miami.  Also, there was the Riley vs. Wade storyline pitting the two figures against one another.

But despite all the speculation and reason to boo D-Wade, what I witnessed was an act of genuine love by the Miami Heat community toward a man who have 14 years of his life to a franchise and never wavered for those 14 years.  There was not a single person seated in the AAA and all were applauding, cheering, and chanting his name. Even though he left, it is still “Miami-Wade County.”

This great moment was exactly what the media was hoping for and they had a field day.  Multiple tweets, articles and TV spots were put out on the return.  And in every single one he was the local hero coming home to a warm welcome.

Wade ended the night by reminding the fans he still has it when he hit the two free throws that secured the win for Chicago.

Meet baseball’s bounce back boys

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By AMY TAINTOR

The Cubs seemed destined to lose the World Series going into game five. They were trailing three games to one to the Cleveland Indians. However, they pulled off a miracle.

You may be wondering why you should care about any baseball team other than the Red Sox or Yankees, so let me answer that for you.

It has been a considerable amount of years since the Cubs have won a World Series, 108 to be exact, and, to show you how long ago that was, here are a few things that weren’t around when they last won a World Series. Radio or television, super glue, hula-hoops, bar codes, the state of Alaska, credit cards and diet soda, to name a few.

The Cubs came back in this series winning game five, six, and eventually, seven.

History was made last night as the Cubs and Indians were in a tie game going into the 9th inning. The game was still tied 6-6 as the 9th inning ended, requiring extra innings. However, it wasn’t too long after that the Cubs claimed Victory. The Cubs scored two runs in the top of the 10th and left the Indians just one run short.

The final score of the game was 8-7.

History was made, tears were shed, and Chicago fans everywhere were happy. Unfortunately, the Indians have another year to wait before making history, again.

CNN spews celebrity gossip

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By ELIZABETH GELBAUGH

Kim Kardashian West was robbed at the No Address Hotel in Paris on Oct. 3. News media speculated the robbery was motivated by Kardashian West’s flaunting of her wealth, particularly a 20-carat diamond ring, on social media.

screen-shot-2016-10-27-at-7-32-04-pmKardashian West has kept a low-profile since the incident, particularly on her many social media pages, leaving fans concerned.

The robbery was old news until hotel employee Abdulrahman, who preferred to use only his first name for security reasons, sat down with Entertainment Tonight and claimed he believes the thieves were after money, not jewelry.

With this new evidence, apart from the impressive haul and Kardashian West’s celebrity status, the incident sounds like your average, everyday robbery.

As expected, entertainment media have dedicated a lot of time and effort in thoroughly covering the case since celebrity gossip is what their audiences want. Even if the incident had been far more minor, voyeuristic interest would still tempt readers to pick up a copy.

But why are news media, which typically focus on hard news, such as CNN, still covering it?

Across the nation, this year’s unprecedented presidential election has caused citizens to question party values. In North Dakota, hundreds are protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline. In Indiana, a 25-year-old mother overdosed in her car with her 10-month-old son in the backseat.

With all the newsworthy happenings of the world, why is a nonviolent robbery worth mentioning on a hard news site, regardless of the celebrity status of the victim?

It goes without saying that a robbery is a terrifying incident for the victims and should be taken seriously by authorities and the news media. However, the personal distress it causes a victim doesn’t automatically warrant newsworthiness.

Kardashian West should not receive special treatment or coverage by media, unless that medium’s focus is entertainment and celebrity gossip.

Rather than dredging up old events the public is already aware of, news media should focus on educating readers on the various far-reaching events taking place around the globe.

News morphing into entertainment

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By MARISSA VONESH

Hollywood actress Shailene Woodley was arrested along with 27 other people after protesting against the Dakota Access Pipeline on Oct. 10, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, in North Dakota. The protest, Standoff at Standing Rock, gathered 200 people who attempted to create a blockade on the pipeline’s construction sites.

The pipeline is in the process of being built on grounds considered sacred by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. There is also a fear that the pipeline will create contamination of water via fossil fuels.

Woodley, along with the other protestors, were met with armed police officers in large trucks. Although there was no violence at the event and protestors left the land when asked, Shailene among 27 others were arrested.

Woodley was targeted specifically for her arrest due to her Facebook live stream. Approximentally 40,000 viewers were watching the event live off of Woodley’s Facebook page.

Woodley pleaded not guilty to criminal trespass and rioting charges.

Most news sources, aside from news dedicated to strictly Hollywood entertainment, failed to report the event until days after and, for some, even a week after.

Woodley expressed her concern in a penned article in TIME magazine.

“It took me, a white non-native woman being arrested on Oct. 10th in North Dakota, on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, to bring this cause to many people’s attention. And to the forefront of news publications around the world,” Woodley wrote.

Woodley elevates an important notion: News media often do not cover stories that are vital for the public to know about. It should not take a celebrity to make a topic important. News media should be advocating for the public, for rights of the people, to create an informed society.

It should not take a celebrity to make a topic important. News media should be advocating for the public, for the rights of the people, to create an informed society.

Modern journalism and mainstream news media are quickly approaching a territory that is motivated by money. News outlets are businesses, but what about ethics? What about stories that matter? Although reporters and editors commonly choose stories that sell airtime or print editions – which in itself is not bad, far too often are necessary topics of debate pushed aside.

With the changing platform of news, it is difficult to get readers and viewers attention; however, maybe the public doesn’t care because they aren’t informed or people feel like things don’t impact them.

In Woodley’s Facebook video, as she is walking away, handcuffed and escorted by officers, she shouts backward to her mom who is holding her phone. “I hope you’re watching mainstream media.” Woodley’s statement highlights the need for media to focus on topics that impact the environment, cultures and society, such as the pipeline.

News outlets could do a better job at gearing the topic of stories to the issue, such as contaminated water, opposed to the “gossip” or “selling point,” such as Woodley.

Journalism is changing, but that doesn’t mean the integrity, wit and depth of journalism have to.