Dance Marathon participants began incorporating handstands and planks into their dance moves in order to give their legs a break during the 22nd hour of the event. The fatigue had begun to set in. But when hip-hop dance team NSU Modern was announced over the loudspeakers, marathoners surged toward the stage, cheering excitedly. Despite technical […]
Author Archives: Olivia Mazzucato
Alum’s podcast ‘Digits’ explores relationship between humans, numbers
This post was updated on April 2 at 2:10 p.m. James Simenc spends a lot of time in his car, which helped inspire his new podcast. While driving, Simenc often listened to a variety of podcasts that varied in genre and format, helping to familiarize him with the medium and motivating him to explore it […]
Reel Representation: Diversity in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is less radical than Disney claims
Diversity in film and television came into the spotlight in 2016 with #OscarsSoWhite. A USC study in 2016 found only about a quarter of speaking characters belonged to nonwhite racial groups. In “Reel Representation,” columnist Olivia Mazzucato discusses different issues of race and representation in media as they relate to new movies and TV shows. […]
Students to tell stories of incarcerated people via modernized ‘The Wiz’
Hip-hop theater performance “What It Iz!” is like a modern-day version of Shakespeare for Ayanna McKnight. “Spoken word and poetry, in and of itself, go together,” said the third-year theater student. “It’s just a very artistic way to deal with something so serious.” “What It Iz!”, presented by the UCLA department of African-American studies, opens […]
Q&A: Professor reflects on role of documentaries in guarding civil rights
A UCLA professor’s documentary turned 30 years old this year, but its plot bears eerie parallels to the hate crimes of today. Renee Tajima-Peña, a professor of Asian American studies, helped direct “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” which documents the murder of Chin, a Chinese man beaten to death by two white autoworkers, Ronald Ebens and […]
Movie review: ‘Kong: Skull Island’
Even Tom Hiddleston’s brooding blue eyes can’t save “Kong: Skull Island.” The actor spends a surprising amount of screen time gazing off into the distance ponderously, despite the fact that it’s the latest action-packed film about the legendary King Kong. The film struggles to find a tone or make use of its A-list cast, dishing […]
Reel Representation: Marvel, DC struggle to produce diverse, inclusive superhero films
Diversity in film and television came into the spotlight in 2016 with #OscarsSoWhite. A USC study in 2016 found only about a quarter of speaking characters belonged to nonwhite racial groups. In “Reel Representation,” columnist Olivia Mazzucato discusses different issues of race and representation in media as they relate to new movies and TV shows. […]