The Stargazer

ELVIS starring Austin Butler follows the life of the king of rock and roll, but there are a few things that got overlooked, glamorized, and oversimplified for the sake of the screen. 

The end of the 20th century saw the creation of a ton of queer musicals, featuring LGBTQ+ characters and stories on stage and on screen. Many are known to those outside of the musical theater community, such as the Rocky Horror Picture Show and Rent, while others tend to be known by Broadway fans only. Hedwig and the Angry Inch falls into the latter category. Despite being a bit lesser known, Hedwig remains a powerful story that still resonates with audiences today, dealing with topics like longing, loss, acceptance, and self-love.

Do you have a passion for filmmaking? Would you like to see your work up on the big screen? Then there is an event coming up just for you! FSU’s Student Life Cinema, in partnership with Aquila Entertainment, presents the Full Circle Film Festival on September 29th. This is an opportunity for all aspiring filmmakers to submit their short films for consideration and get to network with other like-minded people. And even if you aren’t a filmmaker yourself, this is a wonderful chance to see what your peers are capable of creating.

In the late days of November 2002 came the release of a film that should have been another multi-million success story for Walt Disney Studios. After all, how could it possibly do bad? A movie about space pirates combined with striking colorful visuals and the first Disney film to use a combination of 2D and CG animation? Every seat in a theater for the next few months should have had a butt teetering on the edge in anticipation for the lights to dim and for Treasure Planet to play. This, however, was not the case. Being awarded one of Disney’s greatest flops, Treasure Planet only made about $110 million worldwide while the film cost about $180 million to make. This means Treasure Planet lost Walt Disney Studios around $70 million even though it included the mighty allure of pirates in space and a hoverboarding angsty teen. So, why didn’t Treasure Planet fully set sail at the box office?

The tight grip that the ‘80s has on our generation is gnarly, as they used to say. A time of hairspray, phones that resembled cement blocks, and the uprise of what we recognize today as a modern society. For those not born anywhere close to the ‘80s, we have probably all seen sprinkles of it throughout our lives, more than any other decade. For those born closer to such an unforgettable decade, the revival of its trends and music brings nostalgia and life to your inner child. This experience is partly due to fashion and the recurrent nature of trends; however, the most significant influence on our generations’ love for the ‘80s lies within the Wheeler’s basement, where a session of Dungeons & Dragons is taking place.

Are you ready to relive your childhood? Or continue your hobby as an adult? The ASLC has the perfect event coming up. One word: Legos. Who doesn’t love Legos? The silly and whimsical, hard rectangular blocks that many of us can remember fondly from our childhood. I can’t think of anything better than a party dedicated to this toy. Get ready and mark your calendar for September 9th from 4 PM to 6:30 PM for one of the best days of your college career. And don’t be shy because all are welcome to this event!

Ancient Greece started thousands of years ago. Being one of the first advanced civilizations, not only is its lore rich and diverse, but much of the modern-day also has roots in Greece or Greek traditions. One of these similarities is through the ever-growing media landscape. The influence of Greek mythology on contemporary media has been profound. There are many examples of media that are directly associated with Greek mythology or make reference to it. I am Greek- American and I grew up listening to old Greek folk tales and myths. It was very exciting for me as a child, as well as now, to see that Greek myths are greatly represented in media. You might wonder why they have stuck around so long. Well, the power they hold has meaning for many people. The values, ethics, and morals they pass down through storytelling are something many cultures have in common.

Thirty-six years after the first film, audiences had the opportunity to bundle into theatres to view Top Gun: Maverick, the long-awaited sequel to 1986’s Top Gun. Reaching Mach-10, the action sequel hauled in more than a billion dollars at the worldwide box office and became the global blockbuster of the year. Many directors and studios generally shy away from sequels for the simple fact that they are difficult to make. Recapturing the lightning in a bottle success of a first film is tough. However, building on a first installment’s foundation to meaningfully explore different stories and new characters is even more challenging. Top Gun: Maverick proves that this laborious task is achievable. Revisiting the Goose-Maverick relationship at its heart, making callbacks to fan-favorite moments from the original, and displaying the soaring technological advancements made during its lengthy absence, Top Gun: Maverick leaves audiences mesmerized.

The American public education system while, having undoubtable strengths, has been a lesson in imperfection. For the past fifty years, funding constraints, compensation dilemmas, and resource shortages have been perennial plagues of an arrangement designed to educate the Union’s brightest. Abbott Elementary takes a deep dive into these issues through the eyes of comedy. Written in large as an ode to educators, Abbott delivers necessary commentary on an often-defective system. The show deftly highlights the crippling obstacles faced by the nation’s most important institutions, while unearthing nostalgia, sharing laughs, and delivering brilliant deadpans.

If you’re anything like me, you look forward to the summer semester for its calmer, less stressful course load, not to mention Tallahassee’s diminished traffic (as a college-driver, I would like to apologize on behalf of my schoolmates for the nonsense we pull on Tennessee St). With the reduced summer coursework, you might be looking to fill some of the time that’s been freed. Luckily, streaming platforms are here to capitalize off your boredom, with a great deal of shows and seasons premiering throughout the months of June, July, and August.