“Solar Power,” the third album from New Zealand singer-songwriter Ella Yelich-O’Connor, more widely known as Lorde, is a sharp sonic departure from her earlier work. So far, “Solar Power” has been met with mixed reception from both long-time fans and critics. Released on Aug. 20, 2021, the album’s stripped-back, acoustic sound — reminiscent of pop songs from the early 2000s — ushers in a new chapter in her artistry.
This past spring, the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum and the department of Spanish, Latina/o and Latin American studies announced a new student award, the inaugural Mariposa Prize. The prize was funded by and based around the work of Hector Dionico Mendoza, a mixed-media artist who teaches in the visual and public art department at California State University, Monterey Bay.
“Seaspiracy,” a Netflix documentary released on March 24, attempts to draw viewers in as it takes them on a journey across the globe. It begins by explaining how ocean debris affects marine life, and the film soon transforms into an in-depth look at the corruption of the fishing industry and the destruction of the ocean it causes. Here’s what “Seaspiracy” explores through its investigative journalism.
Chances are that if you’ve spent any amount of time on the Mount Holyoke campus, you have probably encountered at least one of the many flyers that can be found urging students to “TAKE RUSSIAN: NOW IS THE TIME.” This past week, the department welcomed the Mount Holyoke community to the annual arts event “Wild Honey: An Evening of Russian Poetry.” The event is named after the play by Anton Chekhov and hosted by the Mount Holyoke Russian Club.
[Image text: WMHC has been Mount Holyoke's independent, student-run radio station since 1952. To catch WMHC’s most recent programming, scan this QR Code or listen on air at 91.5 FM.
WMHC Music Director Top Songs from February:
Sophie Maxfield '21→ NOTICE by JIMMY EDGAR
Lucy James-Olson '22 → Reason to Believe by Vagabon ft. Courtney Barnett”
Anyone close to me knows that I’m a hopeless romantic who watches ABC’s popular reality dating programs, “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette,” to see love-crazed singles attempt to find their future spouses. I became interested in the franchise as a sophomore in high school, and I have been obsessed ever since. As a white viewer, I wasn’t focused on the shows’ lack of diversity even though the majority of contestants were white and the first Black lead, Rachel Lindsay, only appeared in 2017.
Following the pattern set by her earlier films, Chloé Zhao ’05’s “Nomadland,” which launched on Hulu and in select theaters on Friday, Feb. 19, is an intimate portrayal of an often overlooked community. Frances McDormand stars as Fern, a woman who lost her husband, her job and her town — Empire, Nevada, a real place which closed after the local factory shut down — and embarks on a journey that takes her across the country and back again in pursuit of work and meaning.
“If Britney can get through 2007, you can get through anything” is just one of the viral pop culture phrases often thrown around social media. But the 2021 New York Times documentary “Framing Britney Spears” urges the audience to consider Spears today, living under the conservatorship of her father. The documentary provides an extensive view of the pop sensation and her career, dealing with the life of Spears not as a celebrity, but as a person.
From a young age, Kay Brown ’24 has had an affinity for the arts. As a Black woman, she often did not see herself represented in the fields she was interested in. Using her Southern roots and a passion for racial justice dialogue as her inspiration, Brown launched the e-magazine “Disturbance” in August 2020. The Mount Holyoke News recently met with Brown to ask her some questions about the last six months of publication and what the future might hold for “Disturbance.”
A Black woman in an intricately patterned quilted gown examines herself using a hand-held mirror. The other hand rests delicately on her temple. Her face is frozen in a state of self-analysis.
This photograph, titled “I Looked and Looked and Failed to See What so Terrified You,” is just one image from artist and photographer Carrie Mae Weems’ series “The Louisiana Project.” Weems’ piece was the concluding image in the student-led guided art tour “Through Their Eyes: Blackness Across Media,” which took place last Friday, Feb. 5.
Grammy-nominated music producer and trans activist Sophie Xeon passed away last week in Athens, Greece, in an accidental fall. The artist, who went by the mononym SOPHIE, was 34.
Transgressive and Future Classic, SOPHIE’s record labels, said in a joint statement, “True to her spirituality[,] she had climbed up to watch the full moon and accidentally slipped and fell. She will always be here with us. The family thank[s] everyone for their love and support and request[s] privacy at this devastating time.”
By Jendayi Leben-Martin ’24
Contributing Writer
“Bridgerton,” a show released on Netflix on Christmas, is a period drama and romance series that has become so popular it’s brought Regency-era jewelry back into style. The show centers on the wealthy Bridgerton family and the people surrounding them as they embark on a journey to find love in one of the most affluent towns in Regency London. With Netflix being recently criticized for a lack of diversity in its casts and its portrayal of characters of color (when they are cast), many eyes were on “Bridgerton.” The show comes close to breaking through the standard Netflix has set for storylines of Black and queer characters, but regrettably misses the mark.
The drama features characters of all races living in historically inaccurate harmony in wealthy London. For several episodes, “Bridgerton” doesn’t acknowledge the question that seems obvious to me: How did this racial harmony come to be?
The casting directors used a method called “blind casting” where they didn’t select actors based off of their race. While “Bridgerton” is not the first project to use this method (ever heard of a musical called “Hamilton”?), it is not as “woke” a decision as many might think. Aside from the pros and cons of blind casting itself, I thought that the writers and producers (including Shonda Rhimes, who is also responsible for TV sensations “Scandal” and “Grey’s Anatomy”) chose to completely ignore the idea of race in the show and simply have the characters interact with no mention of their differences. Though I can’t say I completely agree with this method or with blind casting in general, I initially thought that this was a refreshing way to produce a show. I appreciated that the Black actors did not play Black characters, but simply played characters.
Unfortunately, just as I was making my way through the season and my respect for the show was growing, it all shattered in one scene.
In the fourth episode, Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) explains how racial relations in their society came to be. She reminds Simon (Regé-Jean Page) that the marriage between King George and Queen Charlotte, who is Black, has given Black people the opportunity to integrate seamlessly into society with no lasting negative effects or biases. While I understand that “Bridgerton” is a romance and that the creators are more committed to the sex scenes than they are to historical accuracy, the blatant disregard for race and the struggles undergone by people of color is hard to ignore. Put plainly, Black people have been literally risking their lives for hundreds of years just to be seen as equal to white people under the law, and in 2021, we are still so far from that goal. For the writers of “Bridgerton” to say that all racism and racial biases end with the union of a white king and an incredibly light-skinned queen is a slap in the face to the bitter reality of racism that has been at the forefront of many of our minds for the past year.
Unfortunately, race is not the only heavy theme “Bridgerton” brushes over. When Benedict, one of the Bridgerton brothers, attends a party with his friend Henry Granville, who happens to be a successful artist, he finds Henry in a room making out with an unknown man. I had been anticipating something like this, as I sensed sexual tension between the two from the moment they met. However, the show does not go anywhere with this story. Benedict simply confronts Henry, who is married to a woman, and he responds with a short monologue that can be summed up along the lines of “love is love.” Of course, we can all agree that representation is important in shows and movies, but one of the troubles of trying to include different types of marginalized characters simply for the sake of including them is that the characters often fall flat. This is exactly what happens with Henry Granville.
All in all, “Bridgerton” does a good job of creating a beautiful, whimsical world for viewers to escape into for eight episodes. However, shows shouldn’t haphazardly include Black or queer storylines that they are not prepared to flesh out. When writers, directors and producers add diversity to their casts and characters simply in order to say that they have done so rather than because they actually care about those stories, it shows. I regret to say that “Bridgerton” comes across as one of those projects.
By Mariam Keita ’24 and Rose Cohen ’22
Section Editor and Staff Writer
Last Tuesday, Dec. 1, the Swedish audio streaming service Spotify released their yearly Spotify Wrapped personalized experience, which tells eligible users about their top artists, top songs and minutes listened. In order to receive Wrapped, listeners would have needed to have an account before Nov. 15, listened to at least five different musicians and 30 different tracks.
“I’ve seen people bond over music all the time and I think it’s a really beautiful thing because music is a universal language,” Tiwani Ariyibi ’24 explained, when asked about the music streaming platform’s annual feature. “Spotify Wrapped can build a community around your favorite artist which I think is really nice, even if the algorithm is a little messed up.”
Ariyibi, like many subscribers, enjoys the Wrapped feature. However, she was not necessarily satisfied with this year’s summary of her listening habits.
This year, the creator of the Broadway musical “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda, appeared among her Spotify Wrapped artists.
“I really liked the [Hamilton] movie and I would play [the soundtrack] a lot, but that was a phase. It lasted like a solid month and then I never went back,” Ariyibi explained.
Mae Philippe-Auguste ’24 was also surprised by her Spotify Wrapped this year.
“A lot of my stuff also came from my sleep playlist so I didn’t even bother posting,” Philippe-Auguste wrote in response to an Instagram story about this article.
Students in the class of 2024 listened to a good deal of sad music, according to Pearl Young ’24.
“People started listening to emo music that was popular when we were younger,” she said. “I saw a lot of people in our class had Mitski [sic] somewhere in there [sic] top 10.”
Ariyibi poses one theory as to why so many people had such wistful sounds in their Wrapped this year. “In a pandemic, you can’t really see your friends or family — things that would normally bring you comfort — and you have to find new ways [of coping].” Additionally, Ariyibi explained that Spotify users are turning to the artists that they listened to in their childhood. “I listened to a lot of Lauryn Hill [which] my mom used to play when I was younger,” Ariyibi said.
Joliet Morrill ’21, who has approximately 12,000 Spotify followers and creates Spotify playlists for her Tik Tok followers, suggested that people are returning to their old favorite songs for a sense of nostalgia. “[They want to] remind themselves of a different time,” Morrill said.
Since 2020 began, Morrill found that Tik Tok users have been requesting mood-based playlists. “I have to create a story by giving the playlist an interesting title and cover,” Morrill explained.
Erica Weathers has noticed similar trends while working as a Clinical Social Worker for Mount Holyoke College Counseling Services.
“Many students that I work with use music as a way to self-soothe and relax or distract themselves from stressful emotions and to uplift their spirits. I also have had students that struggle with ADHD listen to relaxing music in the background while they're doing their work which provides just enough stimulation that can help them focus,” Weathers said.
“If I had to guess about why students are listening to music from earlier stages of their lives, my best guess is that the music they listened to when they were younger can trigger positive memories and associations,” Weathers added. “The music is something that is known to them and in that way, can bring comfort during a time of great uncertainty.”
Philippe-Auguste seemed to fit into this trend of listening to old music. “I’m a theater kid so songs from shows that I’ve been in, [they remind] me of my cast,” Philippe-Auguste explained. “I think it just takes you back to these good memories and people that you can’t necessarily connect with as much right now.”
Ariyibi thought the comeback of childhood music-related well to the year 2020. “I don’t think I can find someone who is happy about this year. Sometimes you just need music to help you cope through anything you’re going through and I think that’s why a lot of people had depressing music,” Ariyibi said.
Graphic by Vivi Corre
By Anika Singh ’24
Staff Writer
There is something immersive about Vivi Corre’s art. It is minimal yet enthralling — it entices the viewer to look, to relate. It draws them in. Gathering inspiration from current events, Corre sketched her latest piece, idly creating patterns influenced by her environment and ready to shape her newest work.
Corre’s art journey wasn’t a straight line. “I used to not like art as a subject at all in high school,” she explained. “My own ideas and creativity were limited since the classes followed a technical flow and strived for a perfect depiction.”
Corre did not find solace in this. “Art isn’t meant to be perfect, it’s supposed to be you!” she remarked.
It all started with a birthday gift. New iPad and pencil in hand, Corre explored the new features the device offered, her love for art growing by the minute. Corre remarked that it is incredible what a simple instrument can do, whether it's brightening up your favorite biology teacher's day as you give her your art as a baby shower gift (featuring the words “Future Stemminist”) or celebrating your college acceptance to Mount Holyoke by drawing Jorge enjoying M&Cs. These projects guided Corre to feeling a close affinity for art.
“The Jorge artwork was definitely a turning point for me,” she said. “I had sent it out to [the Office of] Admission and they liked it so much that they reposted it on their Instagram, which led to people DMing me to ask if they could get it in a sticker format. That encouraged me to put my art out there,” she added.
This resulted in the creation of a Redbubble account that now displays a handful of her creations.
Art is everywhere, Corre believes. She described how her artistry comes to her, saying, “One of my favorite creations came to me as I sat in front of the television watching the 2020 vice presidential debate. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris shut down Vice President [Mike] Pence by her iconic ‘I’m speaking’ quote. That's where I got the idea to draw a loudspeaker with the quote.”
Corre’s ideas are innovative and shine the brightest when her art is influenced by current events. A remarkable piece was her “AOC+Among Us” drawing, which came from the famous U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez livestream during which she played the game Among Us to encourage the youth of America to vote in the 2020 presidential election. This piece is playful, displaying cutesy Among Us figurines while highlighting the political climate of America. Ocasio-Cortez seems to play a significant role in Corre’s art, as some of her quotes serve as catalysts for her creations.
“I’m glad to see that my art can reach people,” Corre reflected. “I, unfortunately, don’t get to see who purchased my art, but at times my art is purchased from states or countries that I might not know people from, and I’m overjoyed to know that my art is now not only something I enjoy but other people do as well. Such a feeling can’t be replaced.”
To support Corre and her art, check out her Instagram art account, @vivicdesigns.
