Idols

BUZZSAW October 2017

Make American Idol Great Again pg. 8

Murderabilia pg. 24

It’s Britney, Bitch

Taylor Swift and White Feminism pg. 30

Buzzsaw presents...

EDITORS’ COMMENT

The Idols Issue

News & Views Upfront Ministry of Cool

A groundbreaking reality television series, used to hu- Prose & Cons miliate and glamorize people.

Sawdust Buzzsaw presents…

The Idols Issue An idol is a someone whose abilities and skills in a particular field makes them look something like a god. An idol can also be the coolest and baddest person on the scene. We all have people or things we worship, whether it be politicians, Ariana Grande or altoid boxes from our childhood.

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Art Website Social Media Production

Can we really separate appreciation for an art form from the mistakes of its creator? It can be hard to draw a line in the world of rap where the quality of the music overshadows everything else. But maybe that shouldn’t be Advisor the case. One music enthusiast weighs both sides to the Founders issue (Unwrapping Rappers p. 5) Volunteering abroad, also known as voluntourism, attracts do-gooders intent on saving the world. But do such efforts actually help those they are meant to? Buzzsaw examines the imperialism and saviorship inherent in the voluntourism industry and how this impacts those who are on the receiving end of “help” from volunteers (A Not So Helping Hand p. 14) Are high heels a symbol of empowerment or oppression? Buzzsaw examines their provocative and complicated past and present (High Heels: a Personal History p. 29)

BUZZSAW: Idols Issue

BUZZSAW

Divider and Table of Contents Photography

By Jenna Piazza Jenna Piazza is a Freshman at Ithaca College in the Film, Photography, and Visual Arts B.F.A. She grew up in Old Bridge,New Jersey. Her photographic interests include street photography and taking pictures of people.

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Mila Phelps-Friedl Alexis Morillo Evan Popp Alex Coburn Kimberly Caceci Jordan Aaron Julia Tricolla Tatiana Jorio Tara Eng Brianna Pulver Claire McClusky Christine McKinnie Kevin Swann Maya Rodgers

Jeff Cohen

Abby Bertumen Kelly Burdick Bryan Chambala Sam Costello Thom Denick Cole Louison James Sigman

Buzzsaw is published with support from Buzzsaw is also funded by the Ithaca College Student Governance Council and the Park School of Communications.

Vanguard Printing is our press. (Ithaca, N.Y.) Buzzsaw uses student-generated art and photography and royalty-free images.

Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editorial staff or of Ithaca College.

Feedback and contributions should be sent to buzzsawmag@gmail.com.

Front cover art by Megan Banning Center art by Francesca Hodge Back cover art by Alexa Salvato

Write Us Our magazine exists to inspire thoughtful debate and open up the channels through which information is shared. Your comments and feedback are all a part of this process. Reach the editors by email at: buzzsawmag@gmail.com.

Table of Contents Seesaw ..........................................................4 Print media is dead, check out multimedia on the web.

News & Views .................................................5 Current events, local news & quasi-educated opinions.

Upfront ........................................................13 Selected dis-education of the month.

Ministry of Cool ........................................28 Arts, entertainment and other things cooler than us.

Prose & Cons .............................................40 Short fiction, personal essay and other assorted lies.

Satire threatening the magazine’s credibility since 1856.

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BUZZSAW News & Views

Sawdust .......................................................46

IDOLS

A Wasted Crisis: Second-year, Andrew Hallenberg

Seesaw Asks: Who’s Your Idol? Third-years, Julia Tricolla & Tatiana Jorio

Big Thief: First-years, Audra Joiner

Icons, Explained Third-year, Julia Tricolla

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Unwrapping Rappers

A deeper look into the reality of idolizing rap artists and the lives they lead

By Segaro “Bo” Bozart, Staff Writer

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termine class ranking and XXXTentacion was arguably the top of his class.

I’d only recently become a fan of XXXTentacion (about a month after “Look at Me” was released), and watching him develop from, “that rapper with that one song,” to arguably the most talented Freshman in the XXL 2017 class gave me hope for the future of hip-hop. I searched his backlog of music that includes artists like Ski Mask the Slump God and found a new subgenre of hip-hop that might not even be hip-hop anymore. It sounded metal as hell. It was loud and scary but exciting and tapped into societal and racial issues with both depth and the “F**k Off” mentality that teenagers are stereotypically known for. They’re young and angsty and they have something to say. The anger in his voice perfectly matched his iconic blown-out-bass focused production. Over time, I interpreted his whole sound as “Black Teen Angst Incarnate.” Punk rock for black kids. I was sold.

17 showed me more than his anger.

Now-hit “Jocelyn Flores” is a heartbreakingly slow jam dedicated to his friend who committed suicide. The album discusses themes of family, friendship, mortality and a lot more than what I thought X was capable of as an artist.

Now that the news of his alleged abusive past has spread, the question becomes whether or not he’ll face consequences within the hip-hop community. I doubt he will.

Hip-Hop has a history of being very forgiving to horrible people, as long as your music bumps. Kodak Black has a fanbase that has to actively either defend or ignore his sexual assault charges, Chris Brown’s career is still very much intact after he abused Rihanna and it seems like everyone straight up forgot about Rick Ross rapping about dropping drugs in a woman’s drink to “Take her home and enjoy that.” I know he’s not technically hiphop, but R. Kelly should be in prison for the rest of his life, and yet, to this day, his lyrics “My mind is telling me no, but my body’s telling me yes” are sung with gusto.

It looks as though the hip-hop community doesn’t care who makes good music as long as they can listen to good music. With new artists sprouting up every day, why do people feel the need to keep the abusers on a pedestal? At

this point, I don’t think the question is if it’s a problem or not. It is.

While in some cases, the music might actually have a positive tone/ message that overshadows an artist’s potentially problematic behavior. I personally have a problem with Logic using the N-Word. A friend of mine played “Everybody” by Logic and I was stunned to hear not only Logic saying the N-Word with a little too much gusto, but a dramatic pause afterword as if to say, “Yeah. I just said that. Listen to me.” So I did. I asked my friend to play the line back so I could get some context, all while my white as snow friend repeated, “Don’t worry bro, he’s biracial, he can say it.” I listened again and heard the context. He explained that he has a black dad and a white mom and that being biracial meant he was never fully accepted by either community. As a black/black passing kid raised by two black/black passing parents, I obviously can’t speak on his experiences in that regard.

That said, as a black/black passing kid raised by two black/black passing parents, I don’t think it’s cool that the rapper that most people see as white uses the “N-Word”. While fans of his are so eager to point out his biracial heritage, most of the fans defending his use of the “N-Word” are white kids trying to let the white-ish rapper get away with saying it.

I see Logic as a door for white rap fans to say the N-Word. The Logic fans that I know, who defend him the most, are the very kids who don’t understand the social and historical implications of saying “nigga” at the end of a line. They don’t understand that hip hop was not, and is not for them like every other genre is. Hip-Hop is black culture turned pop culture and Logic is proof of this. What I am really wondering is, can you separate your appreciation for the art from the artist, and even if you do — will it change anyone’s mind other than your own? I don’t want to come across as a dick for ruining everyone’s favorite artists with the horrors of reality, but it is a hard balance to find, especially in a world that idolizes artists while overlooking their flaws. ___________________________________ Segaro “Bo” Bozart is a third year IMC Major, who is incredibly passionate about staying woke and would like others to do the same. They can be reached at sbozart@ithaca.edu

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News & Views

Image by Claire McClusky

his was supposed to be my first album review.

I was going to write 500 words praising the emotional depth and versatility of XXXTentacion’s album 17. Then I saw the news.

In 2016, XXXTentacion was charged with aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, false imprisonment, domestic battery by strangulation and witnesstampering. The alleged victim’s 142page testimony details graphic patterns of both psychological and physical abuse over the course of their relationship. I was horrified, but I wasn’t surprised. And after a while, I became horrified that I wasn’t surprised.

After his single, “Look at Me,” dominated SoundCloud and later Spotify, popular hip-hop magazine XXL added him to their 2017 XXL Freshman Class, a group of up-and-coming rappers they feel will dominate the sound for the next few years. (Past Freshmen include Chance the Rapper, Lil Yachty, Lil Uzi Vert, 21 Savage and more of today’s greats). Being an XXL Freshman doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be widely accepted as the “New Wave” but it’s still an honor and a huge boost for that artist’s exposure. Each new Freshmen gets a moment to shine in the highly anticipated annual XXL Freshman Cypher, where artists have a chance to express themselves, both individually and as a group. If the XXL Freshman Class list determines the honor roll for hip-hop, the cyphers de-

Not So Post-Racial

Examining overt and subtle racism on college campuses

By Mahad Olad, Contributing Writer

BUZZSAW: Idols Issue

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hen I was applying for colleges as a high school senior, I took serious note of the political climate of each campus. I believed, and naively so, that perhaps a more “progressive” campus would be accepting of a black immigrant student from Somalia. I thought that the pervasiveness of racism would be drastically less compared to, let’s say, Alabama State. Of course, politics wasn’t the only thing I took into account. I was more concerned about receiving enough financial aid and the types of majors and degrees available at a school. However, this idea of a “liberal” campus being a better learning environment for students of color was an immense deceit, one that I fell for.

I wasn’t the only one. My best friend from high school applied to Oberlin College specifically because of its long progressive history (it was the first college to formally admit black students and women). My other friend, who attends UC Berkeley, was attracted to that college in large part because it’s a hotbed for student activism. Both have since complained to me that their respective campuses aren’t as “progressive” as they initially envisioned.

I feel the same way, especially after recent events on the other hill at Cornell University where a black student was beaten and called “nigger” by a white fraternity member.

Two weeks prior to that incident, fraternity members allegedly chanted “build a wall” near a residential house for Latino students.

There’s an awful lot to unpack in this intense and escalating debate about racism on campus. And as a black student at a primarily white institution, there’s a lot at stake for me, as well as other folks of color.

Am I going to flourish in this environment? How does one cope with traumatic instances of racism?

My first instance of direct and personalized white racism was here at Ithaca College. A white student kept casually using “nigga” and made derogatory comments about black women. I was speechless at first. I

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didn’t expect to encounter such undisguised racism barely a week into my freshman year. I confronted the student, who actually went out of their way to justify using “nigga.”

This problem is especially common at parties, where non-black students scream the N-word at the top of their lungs.

I subsequently became frustrated and disillusioned. After constantly hearing from other students of color about the type of racism they encounter in Ithaca, I seriously questioned whether this place was truly “progressive.” I placed tremendous trust in my Northeastern liberal arts community, only to find out I was ridiculously naive.

The issue of racism on campus cannot be separated from the broader institutional and societal issue of racism in America, which used to openly segregate people. Since then, it has morphed a bit through red-lining and white flight to achieve those same goals in less obvious ways. It went from a bullhorn to a dog whistle, more subtle and open to plausible deniability. By and large, we aren’t lynching people for looking at a white woman the wrong way anymore, but there’s still an alarming lack of accountability when a cop kills a black person and isn’t able to justify it to the satisfaction of the public. In that sense, racism has become more sinister because it can be hard to know with certainty when it’s at play.

Racism and discrimination continue to be a part of the daily lives of students of color on college campuses, especially at primarily white institutions. At times, this racism is overt, such as being called racial slurs and physically assaulted. However, racism on campus often manifests itself in subtler ways, like white

Image by Claire McClusky

students believing that a black student was admitted to college solely because of affirmative action and not due to their academic merits. This is the added pressure students of color must deal with at institutions of higher learning — in addition to the regular things that stress out college students.

Navigating these difficult environments can certainly take a toll on the mental and emotional well being of students of color. According to researchers at Vanderbilt university, there is a direct link between antiblack racism on campus and mental health issues.

Given this reality, where do we go from here? It’s incredibly important that we pause and ask ourselves a number of uncomfortable questions.

Is Ithaca truly a “progressive” college environment? Are the colleges on both sides of the hill actually addressing the needs of students of color? How do you have a meaningful conversation about racism and justice with white people?

When racist incidents occur on campus, college administrators should act swiftly and aggressively — even if that calls for expelling pampered frat boys and closing their fraternities. Students of color should also share their painful stories to a broader audience so as to raise awareness about issues of race and justice. I’m disappointed that Ithaca isn’t as welcoming an environment as I had thought, but if some of these actions are taken I have hope that I can still call this place home in the future. ___________________________________ Mahad Olad is a second-year politics major who enjoys when people aren’t assholes. You can email them at molad@ithaca.edu.

Shapes of Time

Examining the Handwerker Gallery’s newest art installation through the eyes of artists

By Margaret McKinnon, Contributing Writer

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ten histories we have locked away behind their steel facades.” Brack challenges us to grant our time to the ordinary, to spend a few moments exploring what our eyes have been trained to overlook.

Weisend’s work in Time Breaks Open emphasizes geological structures embedded within earth’s landscape. She believes that the exhibit, “reflects on and celebrates my participation with the landscape” and aims to “drop all assumptions of humanity’s place of privilege in the world.” She hopes hoping viewers will “see all life as valuable.”

As Weisend reflected on her collective work, she was particularly excited by the “fluid” and “relational” aspects of the exhibit. Throughout the creative process, she routinely considered, “how the individual pieces would relate to one another to make one coherent statement.” In reflecting on Weisend’s work, I appreciated how each piece had power in its individualism, yet there was something more poignant about engaging with the relationship between the works. I felt she granted me the liberty to create my own version of the exhibit’s interconnectedness.

As the Handwerker’s curator, Baldwin puts thorough thought into the function of juxtaposition between the exhibits. She believes that the, “sorts of conflicts and comparisons between exhibitions is one interesting thing in having two shows at the same time.” The salient differences between Time Breaks Open and Memorandum inspire us to note relationships that live beneath the surface.

Baldwin unpacks an interesting cross between the content and technique, explaining how, “Susan is thinking about something really Earth made, but her pieces are very manmade. Meanwhile, “Leslie is talking about man made piles of paper,” yet “the earth like quality of the paper takes over the surface because their water colors begin to buckle.”

In talking with Baldwin about her

hopes for the Handwerker Gallery’s use on campus, she sees its potential as a “space for gathering.” Spending time in the Handwerker Gallery results in enriching takeaways. With carefully crafted exhibits, students are gifted the tools needed to sharpen their means for critical thinking and observation. Weisend and Brack are only two examples of the many artists that will challenge us to dive deeper into content that frequently lives uncontested.

The Handwerker Gallery hosts a variety of entries into questions about the human experience. Art serves as a digestible medium for us to explore abstract concepts like time with pieces that prompt dialogue. Gathering together on campus couldn’t be more relevant in a time where isolation is frequently provoked by fearful rhetoric. In a grounding space like the Handwerker Gallery, our campus community can begin to explore universal themes of humanity - like time. ___________________________________ Margaret McKinnon is a second year writing major who prefers to finish her assignments in the Handwerker Gallery rather than in the library because she doesn’t like climbing all those stairs. They can be reached at mmckinnon@ithaca.edu.

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News & Views

tarting each academic school year, Ithaca College’s Handwerker Gallery embraces a new theme, connecting a diverse set of exhibitions under a universal term. This year “Shapes of Time” acts as the umbrella to the amalgam of art that will occupy the space.

Mara Baldwin, the gallery’s curator, says part of her inspiration came from The Shape of Time by George Kubler. Through her reading, she noted many questions that Kubler, an art historian examining Mesoamerican objects, explored: “If I’m piecing together a history that has two really different modes of making being done in two places that weren’t even conscious of one another, how can I have these two histories in the same book? How do I write history? How do I describe the passage of time?

From these points of introspection, time emerges as a rich theme for study. Baldwin also notes that the gallery’s 40th anniversary and Ithaca College’s 125th anniversary were other reasons to bring time into focus. This first phase in the Handwerker lineup features Memorandum by Leslie Brack and Time Breaks Open by Susan Weisend.

Brack explores file cabinets in a series of watercolor portraits that feature different expressions of this commonly used object. She recalls being “surprised at the variations in something we take to be so standardized.” Walking through the gallery, I found that her approach allows us to meet the embodied form of her attentive observation, as each piece harbors elements of individuality and nuance. She exposes both the vulnerability and beauty through the series, employing impressive uses of subtle color Brack hopes that those who visit the exhibition will discover an alternative perspective on file cabinets, “maybe letting their gaze fall on them for a second longer, possibly wondering at the vast and forgot-

Make American Idol Great Again Examining the rise of reality tv and the fall of actual talent

By Alexis Morillo, Upfront Editor

BUZZSAW: Idols Issue

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f you were to Google search the judges of American Idol, the running list would likely be longer than the list of the show’s memorable winners. As I remember it, the American Idol panel consists of none other than Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell. I embodied my role of “dedicated viewer” long before the original cast changed the first time but I’ve seen enough of the latest seasons to be confident in this decision.

There was just something about those first few seasons of Idol that are completely unmatched by the new revivals of the series. Maybe it was because at its original premiere on the Fox Network in 2002, it was the first American reality talent show of its kind or maybe it was because of the seemingly genuine dynamic that those original three judges shared.

Paula played to the nostalgia of the parent demographic of viewers, they grew up with her music and therefore saw her as a credible judge, one that could really sense potential stardom because of her own professional experience. She added the feminine point of view that was oftentimes endearing to viewers and always gave contestants a chance before judging them at face value. Randy was a character of sorts; his “It’s a no from me, dawg” made his rejections wholesome rather than jaded and his background with the production side of the industry made his opinion matter. And Simon, of course, with his two sizes too small black t-shirt and resting mean face added the shock value of brutal honesty to the panel. If there was a ridiculous performance (William Hung, anyone?) Simon would not withhold judgement. If there was an exceptionally outstanding performance, Simon would hesitantly compliment the contestant and the viewers at home would have no choice but to fall in love with them, too.

The way this trio interacted with each other on screen made for a great, somewhat candid plot line that lasted throughout the course of the

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original show. From tryouts to finale nights, the judge’s made it known who their favorites were so when you sided with a contestant, you were siding with a judge as well — Paula’s favorites were typically mine and my mother’s as well. My dad usually sided with Simon.

Since American Idol was the first reality singing competition of this era, its success was not surprising.

The cable talent show had no other singing shows to compete with it until America’s Got Talent premiered on air four years after Idol in 2006. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, that fifth season of American Idol in 2006 yielded its highest ratings since season two. The top ten finalists of this season without a doubt make up one of the most talent heavy rosters, including Katharine Mcphee, Chris Daughtry and Kellie Pickler.

It seems after this season the winners and finalists became more culturally irrelevant.

And honestly, many times the first place title doesn’t necessarily lead to the greatest success. This might be because the first place spot is often accompanied by a binding record deal or maybe it’s ingrained in America’s obsession with rooting for the underdog.

Kelly Clarkson, the first ever winner of the series, put Idol on the map and made it more than just a channel surfer’s pit stop. And you can’t think of American Idol without associating Carrie Underwood and Jordin Sparks (both first place winners) with the show. But many of the other names that may come to mind — Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken, Adam Lambert — were not title winners at the end of their respective seasons and are making moves in the music industry to this day.

For its first few seasons, Idol yielded music icons and even some iconic bad auditions, too. William Hung, who I mentioned earlier, is notoriously known for his audition with Ricky Martin’s hit song “She Bang.”

Although his singing was atrocious,

as viewers we loved the shock value he offered and the reactions of the judges as they tried to keep their composure. It wasn’t just one thing about the show that made America first fall in love with it, it was many: the seemingly novel plot, the dynamic of the original trio of judges, the mix of pure, raw talent intertwined with memorable yet horrible auditions.

After season seven, though, American Idol’s ratings maintained a steady decline as reported by Billboard and by season eighth the original judging panel added a fourth: Kara DioGuardi. As I write this I still genuinely could not name a single song of hers off the top of my head, but according to her website she’s been nominated for a Grammy before and has experience performing on Broadway. Either way, she only lasted for two seasons and thus began the ever changing cycle of Idol judges.

In my opinion, this is where it all went south. In order for a reality competition show to succeed in my eyes, there has to be consistency with the aspects of the show that the audience likes. In Idol’s case, this was the three original judges. If they wanted to mix things up in an attempt to raise their ratings they could have added some sort of twist to the competition aspect of the show like, hmmm, maybe having the judges be blindfolded during auditions or something so they couldn’t judge an act based on their looks? (The Voice would do this very thing in 2011 and has had continued success since). I know that there were definitely contracts and professional moves that were made by producer puppeteers behind the scenes of the judge swaps but I truly believe that if it’s not broken don’t fix it, and as a viewer Randy, Paula and Simon didn’t need to be changed. So it goes.

American Idol’s final season was to be in 2016 but the rights of the show were supposedly picked up by ABC and it will be returning in 2017 on this network after 15 years on Fox. The new judges, in somewhat of an act of desperation by the network

by giving us the musical icons that it did. I just hope that this final attempt at making American Idol what it once was does the original show some justice because if not, it’s a no from me, dawg. ____________________________________ Alexis Morillo is a third year journalism major who enjoys wearing small black shirts just like Simon Cowell.

They can be reached at amorillo@ithaca.edu.

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News & Views

(maybe? probably.) will be Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie. A trio that in ways similar to the original judges, plays on nostalgia with Richie and adds a feminine perspective with Perry — but the real question is: who of these three will be the hardass and tell it like it is? No one can be that the way Simon was in Idol’s infancy.

Other competition shows have gotten the hang of it.

America’s Got Talent originally had radio personality and producer Howard Stern as their voice of reason and oftentimes pessimism and Nick Cannon as their Ryan Seacrest-esque but much less vanilla host.

After these two left, the new cast consists of Howie Man- Image by Yarra Berger buzzer of del, Mel B of the Spice Girls, America’s Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks as Got Talent. The twists are needed durthe host and, of course, Simon Cow- ing this day and age where singers ell. How these decisions were made and stars can be found on Youtube or and how AGT got the best hand in Vine. Shows need to offer something this game of reality roulette I can- besides a way to show off talent, the not be sure, but whatever business contestants need to be challenged to plan they’re following seems to be really engage viewers. working. Although this is not excluDon’t get me wrong, I have absolutesively a singing show like Idol, they ly no knowledge of what truly went on thrive off of singing contestants of after those epic seasons of Idol that all ages and backgrounds. The lack made its demise seemingly inevitable. of an age requirement between 15 It had to be more than the changing and 28 years old, like Idol, makes it cast but I think it had so much to do easy for America’s Got Talent to find with the changing audience as well. stars that are sustainable long after We loved watching the success of the their seasons end. One of their recent first few season’s winners and other winners, Grace Vanderwaal, is only finalists but eventually, as other net13 years old and already a singing works caught on, they instilled compowerhouse. Due to her age, I’m sure plex competition rules to let us, as an AGT will be profiting off of her talent audience get more involved than just for years to come. voting in via telephone. We now get So yes, long gone are the days of excited when drama unfolds and one my family gathering on our sectional judge wants to steal a singer from ancouch after dinner to watch Holly- other judge’s team and we get chills wood hopefuls sing their hearts out when an 11-year-old sings Whitney in an attempt to earn themselves a Houston to a tee. golden ticket to the next step in their Nevertheless, American Idol made a journey toward stardom. At least, not lasting impact on the television world in the way that Idol once made us. by proving a singing competition can Now I opt for shows with added chal- be more than just a space filler during lenges to the plot: blind auditions of a summer season. Moreso, Idol made The Voice, creating singing groups out a lasting impact on the music world of strangers like Boyband, the golden

The Man Behind the Magic Examining the latent sexism and racism behind Disney’s Greatest Masterpieces

By Meredith Burke, Contributing Writer

BUZZSAW: Idols Issue

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or generations, Walt Disney has been idolized and considered a national hero. After all, he founded the company that owns all the classic stories and iconic characters we know and love today. However, looking at Disney’s history, there are more than a few concerning facts about both the company and the man himself that do not quite fit in with the concept of “Disney magic.”

Looking at the company from a contemporary standpoint, the question that often arises is who doesn’t like Disney? Being a phenomenon that’s so intertwined in our culture, it is difficult to find an individual that hasn’t come into contact with Disney as a child, whether through movies, television shows, theme parks or a number of their other products.

Many people have praised the current Disney company for its recent strides towards diversity and inclusivity, but does this entirely erase the company’s troublesome history?

This praise is not undeserved, given the racially diverse and strong female leads in films such as Mulan (1998), The Princess and the Frog (2009), Brave (2012), Frozen (2013), and Moana (2016). Additionally, newer Disney television shows have also been noted to include feminist and inclusive main characters. Despite potential disagreements people have had with the Disney company in the past, the general consensus now seems to be that the company is at the very least trying and that more diversity is to be expected in the future.

It is not wrong to enjoy products of the Disney company, or to praise the company for its recent strides.

However, it is important not to gloss over the past just because we like what Disney has become. Viewing the company from a modern perspective, it seems like they’re doing everything right, but a deeper examination of the company’s innerworkings and products reveals a less happy tale.

From racial insensitivity to the treatment of workers, the early Disney

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company fails on multiple fronts.

Perhaps the most infamous example of Disney’s racially insensitive content is the 1946 film Song of the South. The errors initially start with the fact that the film is based on Uncle Remus’ stories —famous African American folktales — which are then adapted by Joel Chandler Harris, a white male. Whitewashing stories from another culture is inherently an issue. The film then goes on to employ stereotypes of African American slaves, such as offensive dialects and incorrect traditional folk songs, to the point which it was heavily criticized by organizations such as the NAACP, along with even government officials such as Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Ultimately, the story was denounced for the dismissal of the authentic slave narrative. The film did little to address the actual difficulties and hardships African Americans experienced in the American South, both prior to abolition and during the antebellum period. This was likely because the director would have no personal experience with the issues that marginalized communities faced. Although the film theoretically took place after the abolition of slavery, this was unclear to many audiences, since the time period was never precisely stated in the film.

According to Christine “Chrissy” Guest, a professor of Media Arts and Sciences and Studies at Ithaca College, the film projects the message that if slaves would just act happy, their hardships would disappear.

“I think … in not respecting the viewpoint of slaves [African Americans], the true suffering that was happening at that time … the film was an affront to American minorities, it dismissed the true story of slavery,” she said.

Another Disney byproduct that can be considered racially insensitive is the 1943 film Der Fuehrer’s Face, an anti-Nazi propaganda short film that Disney was commissioned to create by the U.S. government, already a clear conflict of interest. While at face value, the film seems to be a basic

propaganda piece in which the character Donald Duck finds himself in a nightmare working with the Nazi party, closer analysis indicates a much more offensive premise.

Despite the film’s slandering of nearly all Nazi and fascist ideals, one that the piece does not touch upon is anti-Semitism. Throughout the film, there is no indication of the Nazi party’s most sinister actions, that being the genocide they committed against the Jews. If not an act of discrimination, at the very least, this appears ignorant on the company’s behalf.

Another issue epidemically shown in Disney’s early media products, although one that has been addressed multiple times in the past, is the blatant sexism displayed through the “Disney princess” franchise. Three films that specifically come to mind were those created during Walt Disney’s reign over the company—those being Snow White (1937), Cinderella (1950) and Sleeping Beauty (1959).

These films, despite them having female leads, all have plots which rely heavily on the men in the story.

In each film, the princess is victimized in some way, requiring them to wait for a prince to come and rescue them. Additionally, each film heavily perpetuates the concept of elitism and monarchy. Once a protagonist is able to move up in society through marriage and wealth that all of their problems are solved and they are considered “saved.”

Going beyond its actual media products, the Disney company’s shameful history can be tracked through its hiring processes. This is a combined result of the people the company put in charge of hiring animators and story creators, as well as Walt Disney’s own prejudices.

An example of this hails from the Mar. 19th, 1946 edition of the Freeport Journal Standard. The article’s title, “Women Can’t Become Good Cartoonists, Says Walt Disney,” speaks for itself. According to Bob Thomas, the author of the article, Disney claimed that cartooning done by women was “inevitably too fine

of Walt Disney’s own character. Despite having been idolized for generations, is Disney truly deserving of his reputation? Would he have been as successful as he was during his time if he started his business today?

The way Guest put it, if Disney were to attempt to pursue an entrepreneurship today, he would be a charismatic salesman and an exceptional storyteller despite having little formal education and a naive sense of business. While he utilized creativity as a form of escapism, which was the basis of his company, he could not animate or draw well himself, which led him to find people that could to employ.

Ultimately, for myself and many other media consumers, the direct answer of Disney’s character remains muddled. However, while examining Disney’s character as a person, it is difficult to ignore its darker aspects.

Ryan Beitler is a journalist who has written multiple features on Walt Disney for Past Magazine, primarily about his anti-Semitism and other prejudices. Beitler noted that while, yes, Walt Disney did hold racist, sexist, and anti-Semitic opinions, there were none that were considered outlandish for his time. However, this is still no excuse for these opinions and does not justify his idolization in American media.

In both the interview and one of his articles, Walt the Quasi-Nazi: The Fascist History of Disney is Still Influencing American Life, however, Beitler does address a more interesting affiliation that Disney also had: his ties to fascism.

According to Art Babbitt, a renowned animator who worked for Disney for years, Walt Disney attended multiple meetings of the American Nazi party prior to World War II, which, despite Disney creating anti-Nazi propaganda later during the war, still has a significant impact on Disney’s character, as well as his company.

“He was a reflex capitalist throughand-through,” Beitler said, meaning that he would not hesitate to make American propaganda, especially for a commission.

Perhaps the most significant way Disney’s fascist tendencies show through his projects, Beitler said, were his initial plans for Epcot. Rather than the theme park we are all familiar with today, it was planned to be an actual city of the future. In Disney’s vision the city would have no landowners, thus no voting rights and all citizens would be required to work, which essentially completely followed Mussolini’s own definition of capitalism.

Once again, while the majority of the modern Disney company’s endeavors do not reflect this mindset or opinions, the history of the company, or the man, should not be ignored.

Ultimately, while fans should enjoy the company for all its positive and impactful projects, they should do so with an informed perspective. ____________________________________ Meredith Burke is a first year journalism major who feels guilty for thinking Gaston is hot. They can be reached at mburke@ithaca.edu

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News & Views

and dainty” for his company’s standards, as well as that cartooning requires a sense of humor, which “too often a woman lacks.”

Whether it was due to the ideologies of the time or Disney’s personal concept of gender roles, “Disney employed people that were misogynists and racists, and that is very evident in the way women were treated as employees,” Guest said. “[Disney’s] story department was comprised of mainly men, for the majority of the early days. Women were not elevated beyond the ink and paint department to full animators.”

Another event which is particularly indicative of to the way the Disney company treated their employees is the Animators’ Strike that took place in the 1930s. Although the strike spanned across multiple animation companies, the reason Disney’s animators participated was because many of them were severely underpaid. Due to the economic turmoil of the time period, as well as Disney’s concentration of funding towards its parks, many animators lost their bonuses, causing their overall income to be significantly lower.

Another reason for this was because the payment system at Disney was incredibly disorganized and lopsided. While some of their most renowned animators were making as much as $300 a week, there were others making as little as $12. Additionally, company privileges that were previously open to all employees — such steam rooms, a gymnasium and a restaurant — were restricted to only those of higher rank, leaving a corporate hierarchy that included major gaps in both financial and social standing within the company.

According to Guest, Walt Disney took the strike very personally once it occurred. Essentially, she had said that Disney viewed all of his employees as family, which translated to him feeling as though he did not need to pay them adequately for their work, and that the opportunity to work with him was enough. By the end of the strike, many participators were blacklisted by Disney, ending their careers in Hollywood animation.

With this event comes the question

Ithaca College’s New President

Hope and accountability in the Shirley Collado era

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BUZZSAW: Idols Issue

By Evan Popp, Upfront Editor

fter student-led protests rocked Ithaca College during the last two academic years, there’s a new feeling on campus this Fall: one of

hope.

The shift seems due primarily to the appointment of Shirley Collado as the college’s ninth president. After nine years under former President Tom Rochon, whose common response to student concerns was to ignore them until they reached an irreversible fever pitch, Collado certainly seems like a new kind of leader.

At a student media conference in August, she talked about the need for transparency and openness between the administration and the campus community. She expressed a desire to learn about the college and speak to as many different people as possible. And she acknowledged the pain of the past few years and said rebuilding trust between different members of the college community will be priority. In its entirety, the session was an encouraging display of what responsive and dynamic leadership should look like at an institution of higher education.

Still, even though Collado said all the right things so far, students, faculty and staff should exercise caution before singing her praises. As the old adage goes, actions speak louder than words. Collado has simply not been at the college long enough to have a substantive track record of decisions for the community to evaluate.

Given this, it is important for the campus community to remain vigilant. Those in power, if left to their own devices, often lose sight of who they’re supposed to be representing.

The best way students, faculty and staff at the college can ensure Collado becomes an effective president is not by blindly praising her speeches, but instead by remaining prepared to hold her accountable if she doesn’t follow through on her pledges.

However, so far the campus community — and in particular students

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at the college — have done a poor job of this. It’s not uncommon around campus or in classes to hear students say how much they love our new president. The general consensus seems to be that by simply not being tone deaf and closed off like Rochon, Collado is already deserving of praise and trust.

It’s fine to be encouraged by Collado’s promises of new leadership.

But by simply trusting her promises of openness and transparency, students run the risk of giving a powerful figure a blank check with which to govern the college.

Collado herself has already shown the dangers of the excessive faith many have placed in her. On September 21, she announced the creation of the Division of Student Affairs and Campus Life and directly appointed Rosanna Ferro, currently the associate dean of Williams College, to head the new division. However, as The Ithacan pointed out in an editorial, by directly appointing Ferro instead of conducting a formal search process and by not disclosing where the funding for the newly created division will come from, Collado contradicted her pledge to be open and transparent.

When Rochon unilaterally appointed Roger Richardson to the newly created position of Chief Diversity Officer, the negative reaction — particularly from many faculty members — was swift. Collado shouldn’t be immune from the same criticism simply because she’s new to the college and is a better politician than Rochon.

But beyond that, there’s another reason to be cautious of Collado’s ability to produce positive change at Ithaca College: she’s not technically the one at the very top.

Instead, the ones ultimately in charge of the college are those who formally hired Collado and serve as her bosses — the Board of Trustees.

And the makeup of that group raises questions about Collado’s ability to push through meaningful reform.

For example, the board predominantly consists of white men. And,

courtesy of Rochon, it’s stacked with people from corporate backgrounds over those with backgrounds in education or liberal arts. Because of this, it’s quite possible to imagine the board standing in the way of progressive, justice-oriented reforms and prioritizing financial considerations instead.

It also doesn’t bode well that the Board of Trustees has largely escaped responsibility for the upheaval at the college over the past few years.

While Rochon was an unresponsive leader and deserved to be sent packing, as the ultimate power brokers at the college, the board also played a role in creating the conditions that led to student, faculty and staff displeasure. Yet, only Rochon was replaced while the leadership of the board remains intact. Therefore, to expect a sea change in the direction of the college when the majority of its top leadership remains the same may be unrealistic.

None of this is to say that Collado’s presidency cannot possibly lead to meaningful reforms. But Collado still needs to prove she can deliver.

So while students, faculty and staff should be optimistic about the future, they should also remain cautious and prepare themselves to, if necessary, hold Collado — and the Board of Trustees — accountable for their promises to bring about change at the college. ____________________________________ Evan Popp is a fourth-year journalism major whose favorite President is Al Gore. Goodluck Shirley. You can email them at epopp@ithaca.edu.

PFRONT. UPFRONT. UPFRON

Selected dis-education of the month.

Upfront

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A Not So Helping Hand

How voluntourism perpetuates a dangerous saviorship complex

By Celisa Calacal, Staff Writer

BUZZSAW: The Idols Issue

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hen Pippa Biddle traveled to Tanzania on a service trip with her high school, she was buoyed by the expectation that she would change a person’s life.

The reality, however, was far different — and far more sobering.

“While I was invariably better because of my trip, I couldn’t say the same for the places I was going,” Biddle said, reflecting on the service trip years later.

Biddle’s experience is emblematic of the growing phenomenon of voluntourism: the combination of traditional volunteering with tourism during which aspiring volunteers — driven by the desire to do good and change the world — travel to another country to engage in service work. The building blocks of voluntourism are fairly straightforward — voluntourism organizations target do-gooders by advertising trips to regions that are often underdeveloped, impoverished and in need of basic necessities. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the most frequent types of volunteer activities include fundraising, tutoring or teaching, food service and general labor or transportation.

Voluntourism is a booming industry, attracting about 1.6 million people and amounting to about $2 billion per year, according to the 2008 study by consultant company Tourism, Research and Marketing.

According to a study by the same group, a majority of volunteers are women as well as young adults aged 20 to 25. The study also points to a rise in the number of high school students volunteering abroad. The most popular regions for voluntourists include Latin America, subSaharan Africa and southeast Asia — often focusing on the poorest countries.

Despite the seemingly innocent and laudable intentions of volun-

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teers, a bevy of reports on this burgeoning industry have shown that the end result of these volunteer trips leaves much to be desired. For instance, a review on the impact of orphanage voluntourism — in which volunteers visit local orphanages and form bonds with the children there — found that interactions between volunteers and orphans often leave the children with psychological attachment issues.

The problems with orphanage voluntourism speak to the fundamental issue with voluntourism itself: that sending predominantly white, young people from Western countries to poor nations to satiate their desire to change the world comes at the expense of the communities they are attempting to help. The act of volunteering then becomes more about the volunteer and their own personal experiences rather than the actual well-being of the local people. And while wanting to improve a community and enact positive change is, on its face, a pure moral intention, the voluntourism industry can transform intentions like this into actions that may not be as beneficial to the local community as expected.

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any of the issues with voluntourism lie in the volunteer industry itself, and the ways organizations capitalize on the “do good” philosophy and the strong desire to change the world to boost their profits. Biddle said just having these organizations operate within an economic environment that prioritizes profits is an issue.

“Obviously companies have a bottom line, they need to make money,” Biddle said.

“Even nonprofits have to, at some point, be financially fluid. Whether that’s through income, through a product, or income through donations, money has to come in so these things can stay afloat.”

For the volunteer organizations, their flow of income is predominantly reliant on getting customers — the very people who want to change the world — to buy the “product” of changing a community or a child’s life. Yet in this transaction between the companies and the volunteers, the community receiving the help almost becomes an afterthought, as Biddle notes that the people on the ground do not become stakeholders in the company. And because these volunteer companies make money from the volunteers and not necessarily the communities being helped, Biddle said the satisfaction of the volunteer gets prioritized.

set can improve an entire community through their actions. However, this introduces what Noelle Sullivan, an anthropology professor at Northwestern University, sees as a fundamental moral problem at the heart of voluntourism.

“We flatten every place that we assume to be poor into a place that’s so poor that any help is better than no help at all,” she said. “And that really helps people from more privileged backgrounds to sort of imagine themselves as a kind of helper beyond the capacity they would be permitted to go in their hometown.”

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nother problem with voluntourism is the racial politics involved with attempting to help a community in another country.

Given that a majority of volunteers are white, the optics of having predominantly white volunteer groups enter mostly impoverished areas that are made up of black and brown people perpetuates the white savior complex — the notion that white people, by virtue of their whiteness, are inherently tasked with “saving” the non-white masses. It is an idea that has been historically wielded to justify colonialism and has been further reinforced in Western culture throughout centuries, from Rudyard Kipling’s “White Man’s Burden” to Western frontier movies that depict benevolent American explorers civilizing “brutish” Native Americans.

Biddle said the white savior complex within volunteering is further exacerbated when volunteers cannot speak the language of the community they are serving or when they enter these areas unskilled.

“They’re going into these places, and there’s a level of assumption of [their] right to be there,” she said.

These inequalities become worsened by the fact that saving the world requires some level of economic privilege, given that the price tags on these trips can range from a couple hundred dollars to a thousand dollars. Biddle said the combinations of racial and economic privileges can make for an imbalanced power structure between the volunteers and the communities they enter.

“That immediately sets a tone for interaction that is unequal, where

the power is not in the hands of the locals,” she said. “The voluntourists are allowed to run roughshod over these places just because they have this name tag … that says, ‘I’m here to help’ — and so they can do whatever they want.”

Biddle said that while many white people often become defensive when discussing their racial privilege, it is pertinent to discuss these racial issues plaguing the industry as well as the breadth of historical context that shapes these conversations.

“We have to remember race is a part of this, it has always been a part of this,” she said. “Acting out of neocolonialist attitudes is a very real thing.”

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oluntourism can come in different, more niche forms as well, such as medical voluntourism.

And while the fundamental, institutional flaws are similar, there are specific problems with medical voluntourism that can make the consequences more destructive.

In medical voluntourism, volunteers with a background in medicine or healthcare travel to foreign, often poor, countries to assist in local medical facilities and their operations. Despite the focus on medical practice, most voluntourism organizations will allow volunteers to join these programs regardless of their experience in medicine. Projects Abroad, a popular voluntourism organization, allows anyone over the age of 16 to participate in its medical volunteering programs, with no additional requirements. And International Volunteer HQ offers medical volunteer abroad programs for any person, regardless of their qualifications.

“I can’t think of any form of medical volunteering that I’ve come across that is, at least in terms of unskilled labor, at all helpful,” Sullivan said.

With a focus on global health and medical anthropology, Sullivan has studied medical volunteering in Tanzania since 2011. During her study, Sullivan said, she has seen medical volunteers — most of whom were not medical professionals and were inexperienced — perform medical procedures they were not skilled to do,

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“That is a very, very clear conflict of interest, where the people they are supposed to be helping are not the people they have to make happy,” she said. “The people they have to make happy are their clients. And so every decision … is based on what makes their clients happy.”

One of the most effective methods volunteer organizations employ to entice potential customers is aggressive marketing. For example, the company Projects Abroad advertises that voluntourism will help “to implement long-term development.”

Another popular volunteer organization, GoVoluntouring, lists the following as some of the benefits of voluntourism: improving local communities or the environment, helping others in need, fulfilling your sense of self, becoming a global citizen, spreading happiness and improving your resume.

Biddle said much of this positive language emphasizing the desire to change the world was a driving force in promoting the service trip to Tanzania she participated in.

“The language used around it, very much, was, ‘You’re going to save the world. You’re going to save some children. You’re going to hold some babies. You’re going to change your life,’” she said.

Of course, what this advertising does is cloak one of the harsher realities of changing the world: that solving a community’s problems is not as simple as building a school or teaching English for a short period of time. Change, in reality, is more complex than the oversimplified story promoted by the industry — it does not occur through one specific action or even overnight, but oftentimes over a long period, through a sum of many actions as well as inactions.

Author Natalie Jesionka addresses this deception in her article for The Muse, titled “The Reality of Voluntourism and the Conversation We’re Not Having.”

“And that’s the hard part to confront; that change happens slowly and often banally, without the ‘lives are forever changed’ that the industry sells us.”

Part of the attraction of volunteering abroad is the wholesome idea that a person with no specific skill-

BUZZSAW: The Idols Issue

such as delivering babies or helping with surgeries.

Sullivan said this attitude stems from a presumption that Western medicine is inherently superior to other forms of medical practice.

“They still presume that they are somehow on a scale above what they see in place without ever asking why medicine is done in the way that it is in that place,” she said. “And so that justifies, for them, a lot of times pushing the local health professionals out of the way in order to practice medicine themselves.”

A primary contradiction within medical voluntourism is the assumption that a Westerner or another foreigner — particularly one who is not a medical professional and has no adequate medical experience — can assist a local community more than the locals can.

“If they needed people with no medical skills to go in and assist with another set of hands in a health facility, then anyone off the street is better equipped to do that than you as a foreigner,” Sullivan said.

“They’re just infinitely more familiar with what’s going on.”

Perhaps one of the strongest forces fueling the medical voluntourism industry are colleges, graduate and professional medical programs that emphasize the importance of a clinical experience. Sullivan said that because “clinical experience” is an ambiguous phrase, it can be easily applied to medical voluntourism trips.

To Sullivan, the common industry practice of sending medical volunteers to rural, impoverished areas or even regions that have suffered from a natural disaster is, ultimately, unsustainable and unhelpful.

“Nothing is sustainable about sending strangers every few weeks to provide care because everyone arrives knowing as little as the previous ones did when they arrived,” she said. “So they’re never there long enough to really be helpful.”

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he issue with voluntourism is a two-fold problem — one being the manipulative practices of the entire industry and the other being the blind, noncritical desire to change the world on the part of the

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volunteer. Biddle says to even begin reforming voluntourism, attention must be focused on both the individual and the system.

“I don’t think the two can be done separately, I think that both have to be addressed simultaneously, because the industry only exists because there are customers, and there are only customers because the industry exists,” she said.

Biddle said one way to challenge and reform today’s voluntourism industry is for the people to demand change from the companies themselves.

“If we as consumers demand a different product, that product will be created,” she said.

With so much critique focused on the voluntourism industry, a new niche market has opened up for volunteer organizations that try to combat the harmful effects of the practice through programs that are different from the typical voluntourism experience. One such company attempting to grapple with the aforementioned problems is United Planet, an organization dedicated to fostering “cross-cultural understanding” and “addressing shared challenges to unite the world in a community beyond borders.”

While this jargon bears similarities to other traditional volunteer organizations, a representative from United Planet said they make sure to emphasize the importance of understanding American values in the face of other cultures as well as being respectful of another culture’s traditions through pre-departure trainings.

“That’s pretty much a time where us and the Boston office sit down and really go over what it’s like to travel abroad, what it’s like to really immerse yourself in a new culture,” said Callie Roberts, international programs supervisor at United Planet. “To make sure people are open minded and respectful and flexible with any biases that they might have, conscious or unconscious.”

Roberts said one way the organization tries to grapple with the merits of voluntourism is by being honest with its potential volunteers about their role in the community. The organization’s motto — “Individually we are one drop, together we are an

ocean” — reflects its vision for volunteering abroad.

“We always tell volunteers that you’re not going to change the world in the two weeks that you’re in Nepal, but you are really contributing to a community that needs any help that they can get,” Roberts said.

“That’s the kind of small impact that really works.”

However, it is often the case that the well-intentioned desire to enact positive change gets lost within the profit-driven motives of voluntourism organizations. Changing the way voluntourism and volunteering operates will undoubtedly require a paradigm shift on the part of individuals and the greater system.

And while critiques of this growing industry will likely not deter people from traveling abroad, Biddle said one way to move the practice in a better direction is to contribute more to the local economy.

“I think the greatest thing they can do — and for some reason it just doesn’t click for people — is buy local, stay local, spend local,” Biddle said. “And I think that it’s a big mental shift for people. It’s hard sometimes, people want to get their hands dirty. But guess what, you can get your hands dirty, you just don’t need to do it with the label ‘volunteer.’” ___________________________________ Celisa Calacal is a fourth-year journalism major who voluntarily excoriates Western imperialism and white saviorship. You can reach them a ccalacal@ithaca.edu.

Debunking the “City Upon a Hill”

Examining America’s sordid history of foreign intervention

By Owen Walsh, Contributing Writer

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here is an American narrative as long and potent as American history. In fact, it often shapes history itself. It both guides our actions, and influences the way we recall them. This is the narrative of America: the benevolent world leader.

The idea that the United States is the country others look to for guidance and inspiration is echoed constantly in the rhetoric of politicians and through the lens of the media.

Puritan leader John Winthrop envisioned the new country as a shining “City Upon a Hill” with “the eyes of all people upon us” in 1630. This

Image by Claire McClusky

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n 1970, the people of Chile chose Salvador Allende as their leader, making him the first democratically elected Marxist president on that continent. Allende promised reform to the exploited working poor and middle class, redistribution of wealth and land, and independence from controlling global powers like the U.S. The news of this election came as a shocking blow to the American government, which had already — as declassified documents would later prove — covertly spent millions trying to get Allende’s opponent elected. President Richard Nixon met with National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger, Attorney General John Mitchell and CIA Director Richard Helms. Together, the four men hatched a plan to oust Allende.

According to Helms’ handwritten notes from the meeting, Nixon ordered them to appropriate at least $10 million to assign “the best men” to the job, and to “make the [Chilean] economy scream.”

As documented in Peter Kornbluh’s The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability, by September of 1970, the C.I.A. had successfully created enough disarray in Chile to foment a coup. The Chilean military attacked the capital, took control of the government by force and installed the genocidal military rule of General Augusto Pinochet.

Phillip Josselyn, an activist with the Committee in Solidarity with The People of El Salvador, said stories like this are not uncommon. In fact, the U.S. displays a nasty pattern of supporting violent foreign leaders who will cater to U.S. economic interests and ensure that dissenters are suppressed.

After returning from the Vietnam War, Josselyn was dissatisfied with

the disparity between his own personal experiences there and how the U.S. media framed the war as being about nation-building. “It had not been about bringing democracy to Vietnam,” Josselyn said. “It was really about controlling the region.”

Josselyn has since seen the U.S. repeat this type of behavior all over the world.

During the 1980s, the citizens of El Salvador engaged in a movement against a military dictatorship, which had ruled and repressed them since the 1930s. Josselyn said the government’s response was so extreme that the military and closely-linked death squads were rounding up leftists and murdering about 800 a month in order to keep down the insurgency. The United States financially supported the Salvadoran army, “to the tune of a million dollars a day,” Josselyn said.

A very similar case can be observed during the same time period in Nicaragua. After years of dictatorship, Nicaraguan citizens known as the Sandinistas rebelled against the government. Again, the U.S. funded a counter-insurgency force, dubbed the Contras, to beat back this democratizing effort.

The conflicts in both countries lasted until the early 1990s. Josselyn said that during these revolutions, some 30,000 Nicaraguans were killed by the Contras and 70,000 Salvadorans were killed by the state military.

But the U.S. doesn’t just intervene in foreign affairs through the incitement of coups and funding of militaries. Sometimes it takes a more direct approach and influences actual elections themselves.

Dov Levin, a researcher with the Institute for Politics and Strategy at Carnegie Mellon, has studied the frequency of major global powers influencing foreign elections. Levin found that the U.S. has influenced 81 elections between 1946 and

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Upfront

biblical image has survived in the words of John F. Kennedy in 1961, Ronald Reagan in 1989, and — more recently — former FBI director James Comey in his Senate hearing.

Unfortunately, the pure and noble connotations of this image seem incongruous with the way in which the United States often spreads its influence — through foreign intervention. These interventions often promote exactly what the country’s leaders claim to condemn and work to suppress the values the U.S. was supposedly founded upon. To understand what really motivates U.S. intervention, the methods used and the goals accomplished must be

evaluated. The case of Chile is a good place to start.

2000, more than twice as often as Russia, which has the next highest frequency.

The U.S. is usually successful in getting their chosen candidate elected. According to Levin’s data, American intervention boosts the preferred candidate’s total votes by an average of three percent. “That is enough in many cases to give the side the United States wants the winning edge,” Levin said.

There are several different methods of influence the U.S. uses in foreign elections. One such strategy is funding a certain candidate’s campaign. Levin said this could involve C.I.A. agents literally delivering big bags of cash to the preferred side.

More public methods may also be used. Levin gives the example of an American ambassador threatening to cut foreign aid if a particular candidate or party wins. On the other side of the coin, sometimes the U.S. promises an increase in aid if the proper candidate is elected.

Levin says the U.S. has also engaged in the dissemination of disinformation about opposing candidates. Levin calls this “the non-digital version of what the Russians did in 2016.”

Other methods include the designing of campaign posters, the preparation of television ads and the training of locals on how to get people out to vote for the “right” person. Covert methods are usually preferred to ensure that there is no counterproductive backlash from the citizens of the targeted country, Levin said.

BUZZSAW: The Idols Issue

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uring his Senate hearing, James Comey was asked why Americans should care about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. Comey broke into a smile and said warmly, “We have this big, messy, wonderful country where we fight with each other all the time.

But nobody tells us what to think, what to fight about, what to vote for except other Americans.”

Comey’s response typifies the American belief that interference with our elections is an attack on our democracy. But how can a nation whose rhetoric so reveres democracy be the same nation that meddles in many foreign elections

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and financially backs the slaughter of foreign citizens fighting for democracy? If U.S. intervention is not motivated by democracy, what is the motivation?

In many cases, it seems neoliberalism is the guiding force shaping America’s interventionist behavior.

In the cases of Chile, El Salvador and Nicaragua, the U.S. chose to repress the efforts of citizens and to protect the structure of oligarchies that provided economic benefits to them.

Patricia Rodriguez, an Ithaca College politics professor from Chile, believes the problem is a distorted perception of democracy in the U.S. “There is a narrative perpetrated by U.S. leadership of all stripes that the country epitomizes freedom and that capitalism is a synonym of democracy. But this needs to be questioned,” Rodriguez said.

Through his work as an activist, Josselyn has found that U.S. intervention is often in the interest of multinational corporations. For instance, in 1954 the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration launched a coup in Guatemala to overthrow a newly-elected president whose reforms would have benefited citizens but hurt the profits of United Fruit Company — now known as Chiquita. Josselyn said that “What [the U.S.] prefers is a weak, local oligarchy that will put down the peasants, but not operate in any way that’s going to threaten U.S. economic interests.”

The U.S. continues to serve industry today. “In the early days, they were operating in the interests of big agriculture … Now they’re operating in the interest of big oil and big mining companies. They’re going after resources,” Josselyn explained.

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t home, there is not much mainstream criticism of the past or current interventionist measures the U.S. has taken. Rodriguez feels that this ignorance is manufactured: “Many people are not aware of U.S. intervention in other countries because the propaganda machine and secretive dealings are a priority and because critical voices are criminalized and muffled,” she said.

The policies of neoliberalism seem

to transcend national boundaries.

Following the various democratizing efforts of the 1960s, the business sector of the U.S. community realized quickly that something had to be done to stop this trend. Just one example is a memorandum that Lewis Powell, who later became a Supreme Court Justice, sent to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce titled “Attack on American Free Enterprise,” in which he warns of the risks of democracy, writing, “Business and the enterprise system are in deep trouble and the hour is late.”

No matter the country in which it happens, democratizing efforts by citizens are considered unacceptable threats to the business world.

Citizen participation in government has a long history of being beaten back by a pro-corporate, militarized state. Whether it is El Salvador, Nicaragua, Chile, Guatemala, Vietnam, or the United States, the conclusion is clear: democracy is bad for business and the military is an instrument in minimizing it.

All of this points to the fact that the United States’ behavior abroad conflicts seriously with the popular image many people in the U.S. have of America as the gold standard of freedom and the benevolent bestower of democracy abroad.

Rodriguez calls this attitude antiquated, colonialist and racist. Given all that the U.S. has done internationally, Rodriguez doesn’t believe it can be held up as an idol or an example of freedom for the world to follow.

“The U.S.,” she said, “has no standard of democracy at all.” ___________________________________ Owen Walsh is a third-year journalism major whose article will probably be banned by the Texas Board of Education.You can email them at owalsh@ithaca.edu.

Celebrity Status

Why we obsess over people we’ll never meet

By Mattie Beauford, Contributing Writer

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ers and what it really takes to reach celebrity status. The answer is difficult and uncertain, though various theories have presented themselves.

Writer Jake Halpern, author of Fame Junkies: The Hidden Truths Behind America’s Favorite Addiction, which investigates America’s obsession with the lives of celebrities, argues “there are a confluence of factors” to explain our preoccupation with celebrities. One factor, he suggests, is evolutionary.

He then presents the prestige theory, which is “the idea that over time, people that could find alpha males in their group and either learn from them or ingratiate themselves to them stood a better chance of surviving and having offspring, which

Image by Claire McClusky is a key for an evolutionary trait.”

“In a way,” Halpern continues, “this argument posits that over time, there would be a gene or kind of trait, and that trait would be in some way a kind of star-gazing, celebrity-worshipping type trait, where you’re admiring, learning from, and gravitating toward people who are powerful or have skills that can teach you something.” While Halpern recognizes society has significantly evolved, he argues the impulse to gravitate toward celebrities

remains.

Another theory Halpern postulates derives from the research in Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, written by Robert D. Putnam. The book explores data stating Americans are lonelier than they’ve been in the past; they live alone more often and families are smaller than they have been traditionally. As a result, Halpern argues individuals form a relationship of sorts with celebrities, classified by psychologists as “parasocial” relationships. “They follow the celebrities and these magazines like Us Weekly kind of plan it out and target celebrities on a first-name basis — like Brad, Ben and J-Lo.” While many will agree our society overemphasizes the importance of celebrity, whether the effects of celebrity adulation are detrimental is subject to debate. Most individuals’ admiration of celebrities is reasonably healthy, but others suffer from what psychologists call “celebrity worship syndrome,” an obsessive addictive disorder in which individuals, to the detriment of their mental health, become desperate to unearth the details of their idols’ lives.

Originally coined in 2003 by The Daily Mail writer James Chapman, the term referenced the celebrity worship scale originally published

by Dr. John Maltby and colleagues in “The Journal of Mental and Nervous Disease.” In contrast to earlier research on “celebrity worship” conducted by Dr. Lynn McCutcheon in the early twenty-first century, Maltby and his colleagues described three independent dimensions of celebrity worship — entertainment-social, intense-personal, and borderline-pathological.

The first dimension relates to a celebrity’s perceived ability to entertain and socialize; the second to compulsive attitudes regarding a celebrity; and the third to individuals with uncontrollable behaviors

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Upfront

he word “celebrity” almost instinctively lends itself to visions of glamorous models, mansion-dwelling musicians and questionably talented actresses, all of which are recipients of immense fame and wealth. However, our current perception of celebrity has not been consistent throughout history.

The word itself derives from the Latin word “celeber,” meaning “frequented or populous.”

In Ancient Rome, original celebrities included gods, whose fame was enhanced by the creation of myths by admirers who sought to personalize these idols. While monarchs and civic leaders achieved a degree of fame, gods surpassed these individuals in recognition. It was also during this era that individuals began to idolize athletes, victors of the Olympic Games and gladiators for their strength.

With the Dark Ages’ increased influence of religion, monarchs began to reach greater status; martyrs, saints and other religious figures achieved newfound fame. However, the lack of widespread literacy only allowed fame to spread through word of mouth, lessening its permanency.

As the arts flourished during The Renaissance, sculptors, painters and artists acquired greater popularity than civic and religious figures, a trend that arguably continues to this day in some form.

Mass, lasting celebrity status like we see today was not achieved until the rise of the printing and publishing industries, which resulted in increased literacy rates during the late eighteenth century. By the twentieth century, the advent of film, television and radio allowed actors and athletes to achieve widespread fame.

As social media and reality television allow individuals of questionable talent to achieve enormous fame, the question remains why we worship certain individuals over oth-

BUZZSAW: The Idols Issue

and desires relating to said celebrity.

Further studies indicate a correlation between pathological characteristics of celebrity-worship syndrome and high anxiety and stress levels as well as poor body image.

However, the negative effects of celebrity are not limited to those who fervently worship their celebrity idols. The objects of idolization can be equally affected. In rare cases, one’s obsession with their idol may become violent. Noted examples include the murders of musician John Lennon and actress Rebecca Schaeffer by deranged fans.

According to psychologist and author of Confusing Love with Obsession: When Being in Love Means Being in Control, John D. Moore, celebrity worship can become problematic. “Generally speaking, when the person becomes consumed with another person to the point where they start to stalk them, there is a potential for something bad happening.” He argues when stalking no longer fulfills their desires, and obsessed fans discover a stark contrast between fantasy and reality, “it can cause an unwanted response… sometimes this can mean violence.”

While Moore states that worship of celebrity “can be a sign of a delusional disorder,” and individuals with “very low esteem or self-concept” are particularly susceptible to stalking behavior, others argue the media’s crucial role in celebrity obsession. Many cite books, diets, food, jewelry and other material items advertised to consumers as possessions that may help individuals achieve standards set by their idols. With the rise of social media and subsequent ascendancy of its stars, such standards are now worryingly created behind the facade of Instagram or Twitter. Nora Turriago, a regular contributing writer for The Huffington Post, believes the constant coverage of celebrities leads more young adults to view fame as a viable life goal. “They see people their own age, or even younger, who are living a very attractive lifestyle.

And these are famous people who don’t even have a particular talent or skill… it seems to require no special gift or ability.”

Despite the troubling, sometimes violent examples of celebrity wor-

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ship, positive examples of its benefits do exist. Many celebrities use their fame and fortune to visibly support charitable causes, as did actress Brooke Shields when she sought to raise awareness of postpartum depression. Reality shows such as “The Apprentice,” are credited by some viewers with encouraging them to achieve their dreams. While Jessica Radloff, contributor to Glamour magazine, concedes that while idolization of celebrities has negative effects, she nonetheless argues it has some positive benefits. “We’re moving away,” she states, “from celebs that often seem so unattainable…. to those that are not afraid to admit they are complex and going through things like anyone else. No celeb is perfect, but now the conversation is moving towards embracing the ‘real’ and not just the facade that we often saw decades ago.”

As for many individuals’ complaints that social media, reality TV, and other hallmarks of modern celebrity are ruining America? Halpern argues “there was an element of American culture that was always pretty slapsticky and silly… I think there’s just a part of a human being that loves stupid humor and silly, stupid stories. And I think that, in a way, there’s nothing wrong with that.” He warns potential danger can arise when celebrity worship seeps into one’s everyday activities. “Entertainment creeps into the realm of news, so that you go to a news place that you typically rely on getting hard news and instead, they’re kind of covering soft celebrity stuff.”

Turriago expresses similar views.

“Even established news outlets like The New York Times and CNN write about the latest celebrity updates.”

She considers this phenomenon to be evidence that such news outlets are “either trying to expand their reader base and, most importantly, the celebrity craze has become such a crucial fixture of our society that not reporting it would be ignoring a powerful group of influencers.”

As Radloff points out, our focus on celebrities is not necessarily bad.

While others may argue the incessant coverage of celebrities hinders society from focusing attention toward “real” issues, she notes that there are plenty of resources avail-

able to get news and information 24/7. And for those who want to preoccupy their time in other ways, “it also helps to have the lighter celeb moments in the wake of what seems like a 24/7 dire news cycle.”

Today, in an era where violence and poverty are ingrained into our everyday lives, one cannot deny the likability of such tender moments as Beyonce and Blue Ivy wearing matching mother-daughter outfits, or North West skipping to ballet class. Maybe the ancient Greeks who enjoyed the Olympic Games realized something we as a society have yet to — we idolize these individuals for their ability to make us laugh and cry. We rely on celebrities in order to transport ourselves into a fantasy far less dreary than our reality. While our obsession with them may go too far, one cannot deny that by tapping into the parts of the human soul that beg to be touched, celebrities perform an essential role in society. ___________________________________ Mattie Beauford is a first year writing major who thinks Perez Hilton is a credible journalist. You can email them at mbeauford@ithaca.edu.

On Being Busy

America’s fixation with preoccupation

By Catherine Colgan, Staff Writer

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efit those who have elicited the most wealth from such a lifestyle.

Kathryn Dudley, an anthropology professor at Yale University, recognizes the maximum limits of American perception of busyness. Faced with the collapse of structures for secure and stable employment, what’s left is a “small percentage of people with a great amount of privilege, who manifest these packed schedules.”

These types gain general admiration and favor, embodying the ‘cult of busyness’ described by Ehrenreich. Dudley stresses how we neglect to extend the same admiration to the majority of workers who go to extreme measures to earn a living.

Instead of recognizing the efforts put forth by the non-leisurely lifestyle of the working class, their grueling day-to-day feats go unnoticed. “That precarious, frantic need to make ends meet can certainly be considered as ‘busy,’ but it’s not valued by the economy or the culture,” Dudley says.

Being exceptionally preoccupied does not necessarily translate to a favorable outcome. In terms of productivity, multi-tasking may not be indicative of accomplishment.

A study published by University of Michigan found that switching from one task to another increases the time it takes to complete both tasks by 25 percent. According to Forbes Magazine, there is a sort of bottleneck in the brain preventing concentration on two subjects at once. Alice Walton, a health writer with a background in psychology and neuroscience, takes the time to recognize the key to a truly valuable schedule is stability. “To foster a constant sense of distraction is unhealthy…. But keeping intellectually busy, having hobbies, being socially engaged — this kind of busyness is well illustrated to contribute to better cognition later in life.”

A productive lifestyle can prove beneficial for the mind without go-

ing to an extreme. A University of Texas study concluded that out of all people who participated in testing, those who reported to have the busiest lifestyles scored the highest in tests of mental cognition, reasoning skills and long-term memory.

This study, however, does not take into account the impact of stress on the mind and body. Thus the results may be best taken with the kind of mental awareness recommended by Elisha Goldstein, psychologist and founder of a course in mindful living.

“Working hard is not a bad thing; we should just make sure to take more time to integrate more calm and more awareness of our bodies, so we don’t get caught in a stress response too often.” To combat this, New York Magazine urges the importance of juxtaposing more demanding tasks with leisurely ones, to allow the brain to expand creativity.

In achieving this sort of balance, one could reap all the mental benefits of being engaged without experiencing the stressful downfalls from being overworked.

Busyness has taken on a new a significance in modern times. People are attracted to keeping busy due to the prestige and cultural value surrounding this ideal in correspondence with the American Dream.

However, given that only a few see the social benefits of following this lifestyle, and the instability busyness imposes on the average individual, being too busy combats true productivity. Instead, a balance between work and leisure serves as a much more mentally efficient and feasible way to engage in a demanding setting. By mastering this technique, workers or students can maximize what they have to offer without sacrificing a sense of self and serenity. __________________________________ Catherine Colgan is a second year exploratory major that somehow found time to write this piece. You can email them at ccolgan@ithaca.edu.

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Upfront

n the 1980s, Barbara Ehrenreich published a New York Times article observing the culture of “busyness” around her. The packed schedules and strained rush from one task to the next. The otherwise futile work, engaged solely to occupy idle hands. She takes a skeptical stance, and urges her audience not to lose who they are for this ‘cult’ of being busy.

In the thirty years since, the United States has neglected her warnings. In fact, one could say the work culture and general environment of the country has intensified to levels previously untapped. This sort of vigorous lifestyle is a staple of modern culture, yet it was not always so.

As recent as the early 20th century, social mobility theorist Thorstein Veblen proclaimed that one’s leisure time is the most reliable measure of success, in the context that one who is wealthy can more than afford to relax instead of work. Yet as the century progressed, this ideal gave way to a more familiar image: hustling to achieve no matter the physical or mental cost. This phenomenon is so prevalent that a study by the University of Chicago concluded we actually fear inactivity and associate it with failure. The busy culture of today’s society results from the values and circumstance that drive us to perform in this way, particularly with attention to status.

One of the most common themes of this prestige is that busy people are perceived as scarce and in demand. This is a finding shared by Psychology Today, which confers that by reputing themselves in this way, individuals display how valued they are by the market while giving credit to their ambition and competence. Whereas other cultures laud those who inherit their status, the U.S. revolves around the image of one who is self made, direct from the manifesto of the American Dream.

Yet, this image only seems to ben-

Up On a Pedestal What idolizing politicians does to our democracy

By Isabel Brooke, Staff Writer

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ecently, at Ithaca College’s All-Student Gathering, new President Shirley Collado remarked that “people miss the humanity behind what it takes to be a real leader, and the mistakes that you make and the chances that you take.” By demanding room for error, Collado effectively cautioned against blind faith in being uncritical of her leadership.

This warning was healthy, as the consequences of idolizing authority of any kind can be damaging, and, in some cases, catastrophic.

It is worth being wary of the relationship between a citizenry and authority, especially when it is one of obedience and unquestioning loyalty. Our world is rife with examples of this kind of relationship — on a national scale, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders both share this kind of bond with many supporters. And internationally, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is an idol to some Canadian supporters, and even to many Americans.

appeasing supporters,” Trish said it is a necessary quality in a healthy relationship between the politician and supporter.

What does it mean, though, to idolize politicians? If we define loyalty as steadfast support and idolization as excessive admiration, then idolization can be considered an extreme form of loyalty. Trish said it is when loyalty turns into idolization that the “transactional element goes away” and the relationship between politicians and their supporters can become unbalanced.

This raises the issue of accountability, which Trish identified as the main issue in idolizing a leader. “It gives [them] a pass of sorts on following through on campaign promises,” she said, granting them the freedom and power to disregard the constituents’ true interests.

Donald Trump’s rise and his passionately loyal core following are an apt example of political idolization. During the 2016 election cycle, the alarm of establishment politicians and the

BUZZSAW: The Idols Issue

Politicians, and especially candidates for any public office, actively attempt to connect emotionally, whether honestly or artificially, with constituents. They listen to and amplify voters’ concerns, and then propose solutions, pledging to solve their problems.

But an examination of these politicians and figures calls into question the validity of this idolization, who (or what) we are actually idolizing and the gap between the political leaders’ intended role and the role they occupy in our society.

Barbara Trish, a professor of political science at Grinnell College, contextualized loyalty to political figures by describing it as “one side of a transactional exchange,” wherein supporters exchange faith “for the leader advocating the positions of the supporter.” To this end, since loyalty gives “the leader some room to maneuver genuinely, without having to constantly worry about

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media grew with each tweet, rally or statement Trump issued. With each “misstep,” this alarm was matched, even arguably topped, by the enthusiasm and passion of his core supporters.

Nine months into his presidency, Trump’s approval rating is hovering between 35 to 40 percent, according to Gallup. In the bubble of a college campus, it seems hard to believe that more than one in three Americans continues to approve of the job Trump is doing as president.

But while not a Trump supporter, Eric Rodriguez of The Hill identified a key aspect of his

presidency and leadership that many like: “[Trump] is one of the few candidates who unabashedly will decry our political system for the sham it has become.” Rodriguez touches on a common theme among supporters — they like his anti-establishment rhetoric.

In addition, when The Atlantic collected explanations from Trump supporters in 2015, many cited his bluntness as the reason they like him, with one saying that Trump’s appeal is in “the collective middle finger to the establishment” that he represents. Another person responded that “those of us who buy Trump’s vision, nearly to the point of blind trust, are loudly professing our disgust with the current immoral situations that taint and threaten our blueprint of the American dream.” Finally, another said, “Trump makes brash and uncompromising statements about issues many people feel very passionate about.”

These and many other explanations in the collection suggest it is not Trump’s character which people idolize, but his ability to rattle our country’s stagnant political climate. Trump doesn’t fit into our image of how a president should behave and communicate — instead of offering lengthy, academic and professorial solutions, he speaks in 140 character superlatives. His tone is confident, even if the truth of his statements are often questionable.

Anne Norton, a professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, expanded on this, arguing that Trump is idolized “not because he is … a representative of some lost great America, but because he spits in the eye of this one.” The mainstream political environment becomes tiring and even absurd to onlookers whose health, opportunities and lives are being compromised by partisan gridlock orchestrated and perpetuated by conceited, overpaid and egotistical politicians.

The disconnect between establishment politics and the lives and struggles of everyday Americans

ing, imagery, and hashtags make political affiliation trendy and idolizing candidates easy. John Wagner of The Washington Post pointed out that the Sanders campaign introduced initiatives to capitalize on the age of their demographic. They poured energy and resources into Reddit and other social media platforms and created an app to mobilize and transport voters to events.

“Feeling the Bern” became a rite of passage for 2016 millennials.

While the Sanders campaign social media presence was strong, it was also spurred on by a collective, enthusiastic, change-driven group of fans who unequivocally defended him on (and off) social media against any and all criticism. The danger in this, again, is in the lack of accountability. If a candidate has an automatic green light from supporters, then they may operate solely out of personal interest, rather than duty or honest representation. That isn’t to say that this is guaranteed to happen, but the potential for the power of politicians in our culture is significant and must be monitored by citizens in a democracy.

While the idolization of politicians is exemplified by Sanders and Trump, it is not limited to them, or to the United States. Politicians, and especially candidates for any public office, actively attempt to connect emotionally, whether honestly or artificially, with constituents. They listen to and amplify voters’ concerns, and then propose solutions, pledging to solve their problems. This very function of politicians makes idolization easy — quick fixes are attractive, and it is the goal of the politician to convince voters that solving all of their problems is as simple as selecting the politician’s name on the ballot.

And while Trump and Sanders are convenient examples, they are not the only ones. This type of political idolization takes place in countries around the world. One example is Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has become an idol to many Canadians as well as to many Americans. NPR’s Jackie Northam has argued that Trudeau’s popularity is due, in part, to his ability to “control his image and build his brand.” Social media and video culture play a large role in creating this image of

Trudeau, but it is deceptive in that it is a controlled, secondary image created by a team.

Northam says Trudeau uses skilled branding “as a foreign policy tool to help shape Canada’s image in the world.” However, Policy editor and publisher L. Ian McDonald told NPR that the idolization this has spurred among Trudeau fans gives the prime minister “permission slips from the voters to do a lot of things.” In saying this, McDonald highlighted the main danger in putting blind faith in politicians: that it gives those in power a blank check. Failing to hold politicians accountable prevents us from being critical observers and citizens, giving Trudeau and other leaders a dangerous and powerful pass.

It is in our best interest to hold politicians accountable, since they can more accurately represent us when we do. To return to Ithaca College, it seems prudent to give President Collado the room for error that she is asking for, but also to be alert, critical, vocal and engaged. She deserves the opportunity to learn from her mistakes, but without criticism or engagement she may not know what those mistakes are.

Respect President Collado, political leaders and every authority enough to tell them when they’re wrong. __________________________________ Isabel Brooke is a second-year politics and philosophy/religion double major who will rip apart all your fave political figures. You can email them at ibrooke@ithaca.edu.

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Upfront

creates an extreme environment that not only allows but invites a character like Trump, who is abrasive and polarizing, to emerge as an idol to some.

However, there are significant consequences that come with this blind idolization of Trump. It is fair to argue that the influence of big money in politics has resulted in willfully out-of-touch party leadership, but standards of decency are sacrificed in Trump fans repeated rejection of any criticism directed at the president.

Joseph Graf, a professor of public communication at American University, pointed out that “with President Trump, we see a portion of voters willing to toss aside standards of decorum, civility and respect for the law out of loyalty to their candidate.”

Norton said this gives Trump license to violate everyday civil norms like “using profanity, mocking the handicapped, calling for violence, [and] praising himself,” because he doesn’t have to worry about losing his core supporters.

This freedom from the consequences of one’s actions and disregard for civility are precisely the issues with idolizing political authority.

While his pitch to voters was far different than Trump’s, Bernie Sanders was also able to forge an energized, emotional connection with his core supporters in 2016, capitalizing on widespread fears and struggles which remain unaddressed in establishment politics today. New Yorker columnist Nathan Heller pointed out that Sanders’s passion for the necessity of a “political revolution” was an invigorating alternative to the measured, calculating, incrementalist tendencies of Hillary Clinton.

However, Norton said one of the differences between the idolization of Trump and the idolization of Sanders is that while Trump supporters focused on his attitude, Sanders supporters were fixed on policies like free college tuition, ending student debt, health care as a right and curbing the influence of big money in politics. It is this vision of a more equal United States, rather than Sanders’s personality, that supporters idolized.

For a candidate who is revered by millennials more than any other demographic, the role of social media cannot be overstated. Brand-

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BUZZSAW: The Idols Issue

Murderabilia

When true crime fascination turns into infatuation

By Audra Joiner, Staff Writer

Upfront

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I

n an era where media violence is the subject of much debate and conjecture, it’s hard to imagine that a film like John Waters’ Serial Mom would ever be made.

The dark comedy, which features Kathleen Turner as a mother who commits multiple murders at the slightest faux pas, is a cult favorite.

Released in 1994, it sets mass-media murderers in a satirical light, and it points a finger at a killer based on her infatuation with True Crime novels. Today, we might not make this same connection between a devout interest in true crime and actually perpetrating one; criminology culture is growing.

With blogs, TV shows and novels amassing a large fandom focused on the study of criminals, as well as the sales of “murderabilia,” or objects belonging to famous killers, it’s somewhat common to explore this community of killing.

For others, however, it’s hard to imagine that there is a place dedicated to dissecting the Columbine killers’ journals or bidding on

selves looking for answers. They post memorials for the victims on their birthdays, share quotes from families looking for closure, and write condemnations of the killer’s behavior.

In some bios, however, a single word sets the tone for the content of the blog: condone. According to another user, who goes by the username “ericstrenchcoat,” (a reference to the infamous trench coat worn by Eric Harris, one of the Columbine shooters) certain members of the community “[condone] the actions of the perpetrator.”

While others, according to ericstrenchcoat, “realize that this can be a sensitive subject to some” and, as a result, they “try to be respectful to the victims/their loved ones/everyone involved [sic].”

These members of the community refuse to condemn the killers that

John Wayne Gacy’s clown art, let alone to imagine the reasons why.

And yet, some of the same people who question it are those who love horror classics, Criminal Minds and Agatha Christie novels.

So why do people love killers, whether they’re real or fictional?

The answer may lie in the depths of the popular blogging platform Tumblr, one of the most prominent places where one can find a cult following amassed by murderers, serial killers or school shooters.

This corner of the internet calls itself the True Crime Community; it features many blogs, often run by teenagers and twenty-somethings, that center around the nuanced details of murders and shootings.

Many of these bloggers have their own opinions surrounding why they are so fascinated by true crime; one blogger by the username “truecrume” says that they found their interest in this subculture after hearing people ask, in the wake of a tragedy, “how could this happen?” Some bloggers find them-

they idolize.

Surprisingly, many members of the community fall into the category of “condoning” such violent acts. Although a more uncommon phenomena in the True Crime Community, there is subsection of people “who openly condone and disrespect the victims, people who say they’re ‘saving themselves’ for a dead serial killer,” according to ericstrenchcoat.

The modern equivalent of those who would write love letters to imprisoned murderers, these bloggers seem to lack the educational perspective that many members feel is so integral to the group. Many of these bloggers have a very select form of content on their blogs: fanart and fanfiction. They can range in nature from cutesy drawings of the Columbine shooters in flower crowns to pornographic images involving themselves and Ted Bundy.

This subsection of the True Crime Community is a fandom in its own right; people gush over photos of

the shooters, dissect their writings and debate over whether or not the killers were truly problematic by their definition. Dr. Scott Bonn, acclaimed criminologist and author of Why We Love Serial Killers, claims that this infatuation is not all that surprising. “It’s not uncommon for these murderers in prison to receive fan mail and love letters from [people] who are obsessed with them,” Bonn said, “I think there’s a little bit of the bad boy phenomenon going on. Some of these serial killers have groupies, and I’ve talked to them. Their claims seem to be that ‘he may be a bad boy, but I’m the only one who understands him. I can fix him.’”

Oftentimes, these bloggers are the ones sending such letters, containing their art or their stories. Even more shocking than the content, however, are the creators: after examining the TCC, it’s clear that most of the members of the True Crime Community are teenage girls.

Many people are more shocked by the demographics of the community than they are by the actual content. However, Tumblr user

BUZZSAW: The Idols Issue

When one creates a sexualized and racially homogenous picture of murderers, not only are they creating a dangerously glamorous vision for future killers, but they’re ignoring the impact it has on both survivors and victims.

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“babyklebold,” again named for one of the Columbine shooters, Dylan Klebold, offers one simple explanation for why so many young girls are involved: aesthetics. “The majority tend to be drawn to the looks of the person,” they said, “and it’s just a teenage girl’s typical reaction to a guy they find cute.”

It’s easy to make this connection, as the killers that young girls tend to focus on are often considered to be aesthetically pleasing, at least

by Western standards of beauty.

But Bonn says it’s part of a larger phenomenon. He notes that murder is often an intra-racial crime, or a crime that is mainly committed within the same race.

“There seems to be a pattern to the types of stories that receive the most attention,” Bonn said, referring to major media portrayals of murder, “and oftentimes the victim is a very attractive, young white woman.”

It’s a common phenomenon with dangerous results. When one creates a sexualized and racially ho-

with soft moments that, while often interpreted by fans as a nuanced and complicated character, truly lend themselves toward an unhealthy expectation for young fans, one that frames emotionally abusive and often violent tendencies as romantic.

Tate is well-loved, and photos of him are common on the same Tumblr blogs that also feature killers such as John Wayne Gacy, Adam Lanza and Charles Manson.

Many people consider Tate to be forgivable even though he commits rape and murder. And, although he’s an easy example of an on-screen killer who is beloved offscreen, he’s far from the only one.

Such roles are common — in fact, they seem to dominate both large and small screens of every single era. A pattern emerges, where we see the murderer rapidly becoming the romantic partner, as in Scream, or more recently, Get Out. Filmmakers even make a pass at real killers; the soon-to-be-released indie film My Friend Dahmer focuses on the humanization of Jeffrey Dahmer by considering his personal struggles, as well as the series of events that led up to his rape and murder of sixteen young men.

In addition to the Western ideal of beauty that is often associated with the popularity of certain killers, Bonn believes that there is another force at work. “I think there’s a little bit of the bad boy phenomenon going on — some of these serial killers have groupies, and I’ve talked to them,” he said.

“Their claims seem to be that ‘he may be a bad boy, but I’m the only one who understands him, and I can fix him.’”

It’s a well-loved trope in modern media; everyone from the aforementioned Tate Langdon to Christian Grey of Fifty Shades of Grey seem to fall into the archetype of the “bad boy” who is only good to his girl. And it’s just as dangerous; it creates an unhealthy belief that the bad boy relationship is the ideal.

The younger teenage girls who feel this level of involvement seem to get sucked into the belief that they can fix a man who can and will hurt them. As a result they feel attracted to an abusive relationship. It’s readily promoted by the media, as well; while Bonn

says that while he urges media to “depict reality and not promote stereotypes,” oftentimes, it’s impossible to wholly escape the reasons that people love these killers.

It’s easy to claim that people who participate in serial killer culture love murderers because they idolize them, and because they, too, would like to commit murder.

But that’s not reality. It’s easy to imagine that this fascination is outside of the mainstream, but murder culture isn’t just limited to true crime killers, it’s in mass media, too.

The truth is that people love killers because they know why they’re afraid of them, but they are so distant that there is a certain safety from them. Once a person knows a killer, whether they’re real or fictional, they’re behind bars. They can be poked and prodded, explored and warped into an urban legend. Their fans can choose to believe, at that point, that they can be changed. They can choose to ignore that the person they’re idolizing is a murderer, or a racist, or a rapist, and instead focus on them as the victim. They explore the unknown through the facts that they do know, and it’s this touching of the void that enables the controlled kind of fear humans crave. __________________________________ Audra Joiner is a first year exploratory major that killed this article.

You can email them at ajoiner@ ithaca.edu.

P

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Upfront

mogenous picture of murderers, not only are they creating a dangerously glamorous vision for future killers, but they’re ignoring the impact it has on both survivors and victims.

“The stereotype that all serial killers are young white males is simply not true, and it does an injustice to the minority victims of serial killers,” Bonn said. “If we don’t pay attention to when young African American women are getting killed, it very much does an injustice to those victims and their families, and yet, this is the case.”

Bonn believes that, due to the stereotype that most serial killers are white men, and the fact that murder is an intra-racial crime, not enough attention is put on minority victims and their families.

Bonn notes that, in many of the shows he consults on, there’s a drive toward emphasizing attractive, white male killers, simply because media loves to focus on upper-class, white women. In part, this creates a cycle; young white women find themselves attracted towards young, white male murderers, who in turn murder young white women and create more fascination.

“It’s interesting, the audience of the True Crime genre of books and movies does skew female. To a certain extent, it’s the closure in those TV shows; people like to be frightened, and while women are certainly not alone in that, it’s the closure that shows that the bad guy is always caught, and it makes them feel safe,” he said.

It’s the paradox of horror. Although people want a healthy environment to experience fear, they don’t actually want to be in danger. This creates a demand for horror related media, especially in the realm of the True Crime Community. As Bonn points out, “One of the lures… is that idea of being frightened, with a heightened adrenaline, and yet, at the end of it, feeling very safe and secure.”

This theory is immediately evident in modern media, especially on television. Millions of teenage girls gush over American Horror Story’s Tate Langdon, a school shooter and serial rapist who captures the heart of a young girl named Violet. Langdon, played by Evan Peters, is brutally romanticized. His portrayal is fraught

BUZZSAW: Idols ISsue

TRYofCOOL. MINISTRYof

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High Heels: A Personal History

Is the high heel ideal empowering or restricting?

By Mila Phelps-Friedl, News & Views Editor

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of gaining height and stature. In Italy, courtesans would wear an extremely restrictive kind of shoe called a Chopine: a stilt of a shoe that restricted movement and were nearly impossible to walk in, unless a man could lead them around in a very degrading manner. And of course let’s not forget the practice of foot-binding prevalent in ancient Chinese culture, a process of literally breaking women’s feet to create a ‘dainty’ walk and limit their mobility.

So now that we know the random and sometimes horrible origins of the high-heel trend, we must examine when exactly high heels became a sexualized, hyper-feminine aspect of fashion—especially if they started out as a symbol of masculinity or insane restriction for women. According to a Bustle article by JR Thorpe, it would take a long time before the aristocratic definition of the heel would become more accepted by common society.

Puritans in Massachusetts banned all heels outright because they wanted to be so completely separated from the aristocrats from whom they had fled.

In fact it wasn’t until men began to notice the effects heels had on women’s bodies—the way they created curves, chiseled their calves, and sexualized their walk—that they began to incorporate them into women’s’ fashion.

So yes, there is definitely a misogynistic history to those beautiful, red-soled Christian Louboutins you have been eyeing. Says Wright, “If comfort was the goal in how we dress, we’d all be running around in fleecy onesies like Teletubbies. It would be an awful, sexless, tasteless world. But then, I’m biased. I love high heels.

They’re fascinating historical symbols of power and wealth — and one thing that I don’t think of them as being is particularly feminine.” It is very clear that heels have different meanings, uses and symbols to every person who chooses to wear them.

Women have worked very hard to define high heels for themselves in the last few hundred years or so. I truly believe that the appeal of the high heel was reclaimed by the likes of Marilyn Monroe, icons who could wear a pair of heels for the sexual appeal and yet also inspire an entire generation of women to take back their sexuality. Instead of focusing on the male gaze, it focused on women’s empowerment and self esteem.

Where do high-heels stand now? Is their history too steeped in misogyny for women to really feel powerful in them?

Absolutely not. Woman have continued to define their own standards for how, when and why they will wear heels.

That’s not to say that there haven’t still been circumstances where the misogyny has seeped through — in 2015 at the Cannes Film Festival, many women protested after they were turned away from screenings because they weren’t wearing high-heels. The festival had apparently tried to make a fashion statement of their own by declaring that towering high heels were the only shoe worthy of the red carpet walk. It is times like these, when the decision to feel powerful and tall is taken out of the hands of the current wearers and mandated by a third party, that the history of high-heels becomes far more of a statement than the heels themselves. According to an interview with Kristin Chenoweth for CBS News, “There’s just something about a heel — especially for women [in] a man’s world — that makes me feel stronger. I mean, I could gouge your eyes out with my heel if I wanted to, I’m just saying!”

At the end of it all, I love high heels.

When I wear them I feel classy and powerful and put-together. I don’t see myself as wearing a symbol of male sexualization of women, because I have the ability to define my own symbolism for the heels I choose to wear. From the very first pair of mocha stilettos to my much more trendy block-heeled strappy sandals, or my pink velvet wedges with a flower embroidered on the side or my favorite black mules I got for $7 at a thrift store — I have a great relationship with the shoes I feel good in. I’ll never be the Carrie Bradshaw type who can throw on a pair of Manolo Blahniks and then run to catch a taxi cab mere moments later — I will always choose my own comfort over the beauty of a well-angled high heel. The important thing is that I continue to feel like myself in whatever I wear, and that I choose to wear them for me. It’s not for everybody, but it is for me, and that is totally okay. _____________________________________ Mila Phelps-Friedl is a third-year Journalism major who wears high heels to her 9 a.m.You can reach them at mphelpsfriedl@ithaca.edu

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Ministry of Cool

bought my first pair of grown up heels when I was 14 years old.

They were the color of mocha and squished my toes together when I wore them in the comfort of my home, but they were heels and they were mine. Mind you, I never wore them outside of the house — for some reason I felt like I wasn’t old or classy enough to break out brown stiletto heels in the conformist hallways of my middle school.

Another thing that made it hard for me to take this great leap of fashionforward faith was the fact that none of the women in my family really believed in wearing heels. My mother dressed me in practical shoes for an everyday life; but I didn’t want an everyday life.

I wanted long legs and poise, an air of elegance punctuated by the crisp noise that heels make when they hit the floor, to follow me everywhere that I went.

I’ve never related more to Isla Fisher than I did in the beginning of Confessions of a Shopaholic, as she narrates, “When I was a little girl, there were real prices and mom prices. Real prices got you shiny, sparkly things that lasted three weeks, and mom prices got you brown things... that lasted forever.”

Heels are most definitely impractical, and as many times as we hear about the “most comfortable heel” being reinvented, our feet are not made to be positioned at any angle other than flat on the ground. So why do heels still hold such a significant place in the fashion industry? High heels have a very turbulent history, a history only complicated by the numerous debates about whether heels are a symbol of power or oppression.

Firstly, let’s strike down the notion that heels are the epitome of femininity, because they were originally intended for men. That’s right, you can look all around the internet and you’ll find their origins in platformed shoes for Grecian actors, as well as ruling class in ancient Persia. In an interview for an article by Jennifer Wright of Racked, Elizabeth Semmelhack, one of the curators of Bata Shoe Museum, explained that, “When the soldier stood up in his stirrups, the heel helped to secure his stance so that he could shoot his bow and arrow more easily.”

The same article details the power of French, Persian and even ancient Egyptian upper class males as they chose to wear heels for the symbolism

Taylor Swift and White Feminism

From Amy Schumer to Lena Dunham, white feminism cannot truly be feminism

By Celisa Calacal, Staff Writer

BUZZSAW: The Idols Issue

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ccording to herself, Taylor Swift is a feminist: She’s not afraid to be emotional through her songwriting, she’s unapologetically successful, she turns her nose up at degrading and sexist media coverage of her romantic life and she surrounds herself with other powerful women to form her quintessential, always-there-for-her girl squad.

Yet, through these qualities and characteristics, Swift is only a feminist as much as she understands feminism.

And if her understanding of feminism is as bland and homogenous as her Instagram girl squad, then she most certainly does not understand feminism.

The fundamental issue with Swift’s feminism is the notion that girl power and supporting women encompasses the definition of feminism. However, feminism, as defined by Merriam Webster, is “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.” The type of faux-feminism Swift embodies can more aptly be called white feminism: the reframing and redefining of feminism that serves and operates solely for the interests of white, middle-class, Western women. Margaret Jacobsen at Bitch Media provides another definition of white feminism: “Looking out for the white female while stepping over and on top of women of color.”

Swift is not the only white female celebrity to embody this type of feminism. Despite her assertions that she is a feminist, Lena Dunham has been readily criticized for her racist, tone deaf comments about black men, particularly when she implied that NFL player Odell Beckham Jr. ignored her at the Met Ball because he did not find her “fuckable.”

On a similar vain, Amy Schumer, another famous white female comedian, has come under fire for making racist jokes during her stand-ups and, most recently, doing an ill-informed parody of Beyoncé’s “Formation.” Saturday Night alums Tina Fey and Amy Poehler have also casually invoked racism and

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fatphobia in their comedy.

The fundamental issue with white women like Swift, Poehler and Schumer is that the platform and legitimacy they have, whether consciously or unconsciously, has contributed to the concept of white feminism. And while these celebrities have rightfully been criticized for their problematic feminist practices, the danger lies in fueling false conceptions about feminism that can impact how young women and girls think about and engage with the movement.

“I think it’s very broad because it’s easy to say, ‘Girls can do anything,’” said Cate Young, a frequent writer on feminism. “I think that’s a really nice, feel-good sentiment. But it doesn’t do anything to really change the system that would need to be changed in order to make that a truth.”

For white feminists like Swift, it almost seems as though they became a feminist overnight, switching from disassociating with a term and distancing themselves from it one day to preaching about girl power the next. This whiplash-inducing move, however, is rooted in the rising popularity and subsequent mainstream support of feminism.

While being a feminist was largely considered a dirty term decades ago, it has now become a proud label worn by celebrities and young girls alike.

And although the greater acceptance of feminism is indeed promising, the promotion of girl power, whitewashed feminism among celebrities can increasingly warp into opportunistic marketing attempts to boost that woman’s brand. This move is often referred to as brand feminism and shares many similarities with white feminism — both encompass vapid, surface-level depictions of feminism.

“You could focus on bummers like the lack of workable family-leave policies for low-wage workers,” writes Andi Zeisler in her book, We Were Feminists Once: From Riot Grrrl to

CoverGirl®, the Buying and Selling of a Political Movement. “But wouldn’t it be a lot easier to seize your power and tap into your inner warrior?”

For white feminists like Schumer, Poehler and Swift, it is not so much about how they can contribute to the feminist movement, but what the feminist movement can do for them.

Zeisler’s book provides a critique of brand feminism and the ways it forgets its political and radical roots.

“There’s a mainstream, celebrity, consumer embrace of feminism that positions it as a cool, fun, accessible identity that anyone can adopt,” Zeisler writes in the introduction. “It’s decontextualized. It’s depoliticized.

And it’s probably feminism’s most popular iteration ever.”

White feminism is easily marketable, as its lack of tenacity in critiquing patriarchy and its emphasis on empowering women allows it to appear more respectable, and thereby more palatable, to a mass audience. And for stars like Swift, who want to appeal to their audiences but don’t want to incite too much controversy, white feminism becomes an effective way to seem in touch with the sociopolitical sphere without the baggage.

Young said that while there is a place in feminism to support women, it cannot be the only action that is taken.

“It’s fine to say, ‘Oh, well, we should be equal to men,’” she said. “Well that’s great but how are we actually going about making that happen? We need to have an actual plan of action, and I think that’s where things start to fall apart.”

At the same time white feminism seemingly promotes the supporting of women, it fails to offer a substantial critique of capitalism or systemic patriarchy. In fact, because white feminism only prioritizes the experiences of Western, white, middleto-upper-class women, it ends up maintaining the white supremacist, capitalist structure.

Arts, entertainment and other things cooler than us.

can’t simply think that a one-size-fitsall approach is going to address all of the issues that we have in our lives.”

While white feminism has increased in exposure, intersectional feminism has also been gaining traction as a more inclusive, unapologetically political type of feminism. First coined by Kimberle Crenshaw in 1989, intersectional feminism recognizes the overlapping identities of a woman, from her race to her class to her sexuality, as well as the overlapping systems of oppression that impact each woman’s experience.

Young sees intersectional feminism as the antidote to white feminism because of the ways it recognizes how different women have different issues.

“It recognizes the uniqueness of our issues, and it recognizes compounding identities and compounding oppressions,” she said. “And that each of those oppressions need to be tackled differently.”

With Swift’s current popstar image manifesting that of a wronged victim hellbent on revenge, many wonder if she will ever abandon her unconscious embrace of white feminism for intersectionality — after all, the popstar never once expressed her viewpoints during the 2016 election, nor did she seem to meaningfully participate in the Women’s March. Despite the attention that may be placed on female pop stars and their feminism or non-feminist actions, Young said she advises against putting any person on a pedestal.

“I think that we have to engage with everyone’s feminism critically. …

I think that it’s also imperative that we recognize that everyone is at different points in their feminist understanding and we need to give people the room to learn and grow,” she said. “It doesn’t mean that we should never support them again, but it does mean that we have to hold them accountable for how they respond to our criticism and how they move forward in remedying the issue.” ______________________________________ Celisa Calacal is a fourth-year Journalism major who does not care about Taylor Swift’s girl group. You can reach them at ccalacal@ithaca.edu

Image by Terri Landez

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Ministry of Cool

Swift’s own brand of white feminism reflected this dangerous shortcoming in 2015 when she engaged in a Twitter fight with Nicki Minaj. The argument began when Minaj pointed out her lack of a Video Music Award nomination for her work and later criticized the music industry for snubbing the work of black women. Swift, who did receive a VMA nomination, thought Minaj’s tweets were jibes at her. She tweeted: “@NICKIMINAJ I’ve done nothing but love & support you. It’s unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot.”

Of course, what Swift misunderstood was Minaj’s systemic critiques of the music industry. Her tweet’s emphasis on love and support versus conflict completely negates the institutionalization of a European beauty ideal that has helped Swift and hurt Minaj — it simply reduces feminism to a blind, support-allwomen mantra without ever employing an analysis of the structures that treat white women differently from women of color.

Young said this is another danger with white feminism: it erases the political qualities and systemic critiques of traditional feminism.

“It allows us to forget that feminism is not just a belief, it’s a political system with specific goals,” she said.

“And when we say it’s about making women feel great about themselves, it’s about making them feel empowered, it kind of sands off the edges of what should be specific goals for social and political action.”

Another fundamental issue with white feminism is how it alienates any woman who is not white, financially stable or from the West. For instance, just scrolling through social media photos of Swift and her all-white, European-beauty-standard-fulfilling girl group can convey the message that feminism only operates for certain kind of women. Yet at the same time white feminism prioritizes white women’s experiences, it attempts to hide this bias by homogenizing the experiences of all women and placing all women — regardless of race, class, religion and sexuality — into the same basket.

“Simply because we’re women doesn’t mean we all have the same relationship to the patriarchy, and understanding those differences is key to addressing them,” Young said. “We

Taylor Swift Wants You to Hate Her

And other reasons we’re somehow still talking about Taylor Swift.

By Val Digloria, Contributing Writer

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entire battle discography, with the most popular song reaching 4.3 million views on their site alone. Hyping up the animosity between the two rappers caused people to take sides, and they voted with their dollar, bringing in revenue for both sides of the fight.

However celebrities get into headlines is almost always a good thing, and most commonly, it’s by getting in a feud. Paul Wall and Chamillionare recognized this, releasing Controversy Sells, an album stemming from an argument between the two in 2004. Fights aren’t all that put people in headlines, either.

When Michael Jackson died, his sales went through the roof. Same thing happened with Price, and David Bowie.

We, as a collective audience, want the interesting, the new.

George Torok, a marketing agent, noticed a long time ago that this is marketing that works. “The secret to marketing is branding,” he says, “And powerful branding comes with both friends and enemies.” That’s exactly what these media moguls want: fans who will support them no matter what they do and people who will argue with

BUZZSAW: The Idols Issue

aylor Swift, like all other up-and-coming media moguls, began her story innocently. She was just a girl with a dream, a great voice and a knack for stringing words together to make something that struck a chord in those who heard her. Along the way, something went terribly wrong. Or, is it terribly right? Swift went from America’s sweetheart to America’s resentful ex, and along the way, became more famous than anyone ever could have imagined. Swift became controversial, and that is the secret to her success.

The media is nothing if not filled with celebrity drama. The industry figured out a long time ago that squeaky-clean doesn’t equal big hits.

Sex sells, and so does controversy.

When Drake and Meek Mill made headlines with their feud in 2015, everyone was talking about it. Or, rather, everyone was talking about the 12 diss tracks released from the two combined. The lyric-explaining website Genius.com covers their

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Image by Claire McCluskey

their name and talent. After all, no press is ever truly bad press.

Some artists know this and capitalize on it. Swift herself learned this early in her career, during the infamous 2009 VMAs. This is the moment Taylor Swift got her first taste of the popularity machine, and the exact moment her career skyrocketed.

As soon as Kanye grabbed that mic from Swift, he cemented her to go down in history. Swift made herself a career out of controversy. First, showing herself as a sweet country girl in her albums Taylor Swift and Fearless; then, a girl who was relatable in love with Speak Now and Red. This worked for a while, but eventually grew stale as society turned on her, calling her a slut, saying she was the problem, and making fun of her lyrics and relationships.

So, she rebranded. Single girl living in the big city! Welcome to the era of 1989. Romance, but only touches, more in a pop music sense than a “serial monogamist.” But then, people came for that, saying that her “girl group” was fake and personality constructed. Finally, Swift gave up, and decided to create a persona nobody saw coming — one who was totally and completely over every other personality she had constructed by herself and the media in the upcoming album Reputation. And the one thing that all of these personas had in common? They all shared something that made at least some people dislike the person she had become. _____________________________________ Valerie Digloria is a second-year Writing for Film, Television, and Emerging Media major who did not watch the music video for “Look What You Made Me Do.” You can reach them at digloria@ithaca.edu

Tragic Idols

Why does our culture idolize tragedy?

By Charles Musante, Contributing Writer

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ragedy is tragic. More obvious words have never been spoken. We mourn tragedy every time it occurs.

So then why do we adore tragic figures?

People like Kurt Cobain, James Dean and Marilyn Monroe are all idolized and celebrated today even though generations have passed since their tragic passings. There are celebrities who outlived their contemporaries by decades and yet never receive the same relevance or popularity.

One way of looking at it is the human fascination with tragedy.

For some reason, humans always gravitate toward tragedy, whether it be Shakespeare’s plays or our inability to look away from car crashes. When a tragedy occurs, it is the water cooler talk of the day. This incessant human need to understand why tragedy happens is further amplified when it befalls our favorite icons.

For some, maybe it is the art these people made. Marilyn Monroe won multiple Oscars and is looked at as one of the most iconic actresses of her era. Her life story, however,

is extremely tragic. Between abusive marriages, the oversexualization of her image and her desire to be taken seriously as an actress, Monroe is the embodiment of the archetypal Hollywood downfall story. Perhaps we pity her because we feel that she did not deserve the cards she was dealt. She made such great art and was the person that everyone wanted to be, so why was her life so miserable?

Perhaps the oversexualization of her image caused her to become the standard by which we measure beauty in modern society. Or maybe it is mysterious life that they led. This is the case with James Dean. His possible bisexuality makes him an early hero for the LGBTQ+ community. Not only that, but he was played by very popular actor James Franco relatively recently, keeping his name fresh in people’s minds. Dean was also seen as the most passionate performer of his time. But what really makes James Dean such an icon is his mystique. No one really knows about his personal life. It is unclear who he dated, loved, was friends with and had sex with. This level of mystique grabs at the human desire to be in the know. We so desperately want to know every detail because everything

we uncover feels like a new discovery.

Maybe there’s a longing to see what these people would have done had they not died so young. Imagine Cobain at age 50 and the nuanced songwriting from all of the years of experience he would have built up. Most bands get to grow and change, but Nirvana never got to do that; Nirvana only made three albums. There is this longing to know what would have happened if they had continued. There could be anthologies of his work by now. Instead, we only have his work with Nirvana and a few demos.

Or maybe their idol status is preserved because they never had a chance to fail before they passed.

They never had to face obscurity for making subpar art. Instead, what they created lasts because their work is near flawless. Nothing can be said that can take away from the overall impact their work had on society and thus, they become timeless entities.

They become gods in their own right, gods who created the culture we call our own. _____________________________________ Charles Musante is a first year Politics major who has been James Dean for Halloween five years in a row. You can reach them at cmusante@ithaca.edu

The Switch Six Months Later Half a year after its release, is the new gaming console worth the hype?

By Segaro “Bo” Bozart , Contributing Writer It’s been 7 months since the Nintendo Switch was released worldwide. A while back, I wrote a piece called “Dear Nintendo” essentially asking Nintendo for a few basic things I thought necessary for the Switch to succeed. Now that the hybrid handheld-console has been on the market for half a year, I wanted to discuss the current state of the Nintendo Switch.

After playing around with it for a few months, I still see myself using my PS4 as my primary console, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I use my Switch in handheld mode about 90% of the time (the other 10% being if I want to show it off or play MK8 with my girlfriend). The docked mode looks great, but handheld mode honestly feels more natural. The Joy-Cons are perfect when used like a handheld console, but feel small in the grip included with the console. Holding a joycon in each hand is surprisingly comfortable, and using the attachable wrist straps for Arms made me realize

the potential of good motion control.

For those wondering whether or not now is the right time to buy a Switch, I would say the only thing that should stop you is Nintendo’s lack of systems in the wild. I had to drive an hour away to get mine and I’m considered lucky.

Mario Odyssey comes out October 27th and as that date inches closer and closer, Switch demand will only rise. If you were on the fence like I was, know the Switch is worthy of the hype. _____________________________________ Segaro “Bo” Bozart is a third-year IMC major who bought the Switch the day it came out. You can reach them at sbozart@ithaca.edu.

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Ministry of Cool

I bought my Switch in June with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Zelda blew me away with its depth and amount of content. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the best Mario Kart game I’ve ever played — and I’ve played every Mario Kart since 64. Even games I bought later

like Arms and Splatoon 2 impressed me more than I thought possible. With Mario Odyssey slowly approaching, It’s a great time to own a Nintendo Switch.

RAW SAW

A Ghost Story

FROM THE

Movie Review Arleigh Rodgers

BUZZSAW: The Idols Issue

Contributing Writer

There is a nearly palpable despondency to David Lowery’s A Ghost Story; a hushed, poetic film that explores time’s staggering enormity, it is narrated by a story just as poignant as its subject matter. The film relays the woeful tale of a recently departed husband (Casey Affleck), who, after his death, reanimates as a specter donning a white bedsheet with two eye holes reflective of a child’s recreation of a ghost for Halloween.

He remains an invisible presence upon his awakening and his return home, where he finds his bereft wife (Rooney Mara) mourning his death.

He watches her learn to navigate a life without him; and unbeknownst to her, the spectral companionship that now exists in their house was once her husband.

Unable to physically console his wife, all the ghost can do is watch.

His increasing disorientation, brought forth by the absence of

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control he wields over time and the people who inhabit the house, is acted out in the usual horror movie ploys of flickering lights, moving objects and the opening of doors.

However, his actions are portrayed as not terrifying, but as the actions of a despairing spirit whose aggravation for his position in the universe is understandable.

How Lowery’s deft hand behind the camera draws open and delves into sorrow is what translates these feelings so directly. Scenes in which the camera lingers on its subjects long enough for the emotions of the scene to render the hearts of the audience quiet are his most effective, even if at times they feel interminable.

There is a slight sense of monotony, the feeling of the tediousness that the ghost surely experiences. One particularly long take comes to mind, in which Mara’s character, called “M” in the credits but nameless in the film, devours a pie left for her by a consoling friend. Each second feels as if there will always be another to follow, its grueling five minutes comprised of the harrowing emotions so clearly illustrated upon M’s face.

The unmoving camera allows the audience to understand the ghost’s reality of watching, waiting, unable to physically contact those he haunts, as if the white sheet that covers his body is a barrier between his word and theirs.

Eternity, and the immensity of

it, lays heavy on the mind of our anguished protagonist. The endless nature of these scenes mirror the ghost’s hapless inability to change the situation around him. He stands in the background of many shots, a silent onlooker like the audience, watching something that at times feels too private for his and our eyes. These visceral scenes carry the somber notes that so define the film. Time, now rendered futile in the ineffable face of eternity, is nothing to the ghost, and we too feel this sense of dread for the clock’s sudden meaninglessness. And long after the doleful score rings out its final notes and the narratives dives and disappears into the vast history that these characters so yearn to be remembered by, a haunting figure hangs over the viewer; a ghost of their own, perhaps, that lingers long past the film’s close.

Before The Storm LCD SoundSystem

they are both.

It’s made worse that lead singer Elena Tonra’s voice seems to be inconsistent, or that she has yet to understand her own talent. It’s the kind of situation that could be understandable if this were the band’s first album, but is instead perplexing and unfortunate considering this is the third.

Having listened to the album on shuffle the first time, I thought I was in for a cringe-fest of an album as “All I Wanted” played, where at times Tonra seems to be reaching the upper limits of her vocal range and even trying to surpass it without success. It’s smoothed out by a mixture of the electronic reverb and the bass guitar; and thankfully, Tonra returns to her lower vocal range. Still, with lyrics that have no purpose other than to set a mood and successfully-crafted instrumentals, it seems that it would have been better to omit the lyrics entirely.

The only song on the album that really seems to break this trend is “Burn It Down,” which actually crafts a balance where lyrics support instrumentals. Otherwise, the songs with minimal or no distractions from the music itself prove why Daughter was chosen to helm the successful video game’s score.

Although it starts out slower than one might expect from the band that started with songs like “Dance Yrself Clean” and “Daft Punk is Playing at My House,” LCD Soundsystem’s American Dream has a “dreamy” excellence right off the bat. As the band’s first release since their 2011 breakup and the 2015 announcement that they would be returning to the stage, it brought high expectations from fans, and it lives up to them.

It’s an apology letter, a nod to Murphy’s idols, and the beginning of a new era for the band, and all of that is clear from the get go.

Beginning with “Oh Baby,” it’s clear that its sound is different and that, for the most part, the album chooses to shirk the sarcastic edge of LCD Soundsystem’s earlier work for a more self-conscious and bittersweet sound. It has themes of closure, of new eras and of shirking responsibilities; it even seems to acknowledge that things have changed. In “Change Yr Mind” Murphy voices his anxieties about the band’s revival, and, in typical LCD Soundsystem fashion, it feels too honest to be true. He sings to fans, apologetic and sardonic, “But if you don’t like what it feels like/and you don’t/don’t like where it’s been/it could be over if you change your mind.”

It’s certainly more isolating than any of the band’s previous releases — but that’s not a bad thing. The whole album feels incredibly personal for Murphy, even with listeners drawing ties to bands like Talking Heads and Suicide. Lyrics like “The hobbled veteran of the disk shop

inquisition/set to parry the cocksure of men’s sick filth/with my own late era middle-aged ramblings” are a beautiful parallel to songs like “Losing My Edge” from the band’s first album, whereas lyrics like “I have a penny for your thoughts/if you could keep them to yourself” have the same sarcastic tone as “You Wanted a Hit.” Tracks like “Tonite” do both; they acknowledge the chaos of artistry and the difficulties of creating honestly while remaining closer to their earlier work.

The album’s closer, “Black Screen,” is possibly the most emotional song on the album: It’s Murphy’s eulogy to one of his idols, David Bowie, whose death left a hole in the music industry in January of 2016. With the recent confirmation that LCD Soundsystem reformed under Bowie’s counsel, it’s a touching goodbye from the band to their greatest influence, and it gives the album a mellow sendout. It’s not nearly as chaotic as LCD Soundsystem’s earlier work; there’s an overall cohesiveness that’s hard to find in earlier albums, and this is where many fans take issue. However, the emotional take is refreshing, the change in synths is more interesting, and it has an ebb and flow that shows a great deal of artistry. While early releases bemoaned the difficulties of growing irrelevant, this album embraces the idea that not every track will be a hit, and not every album will be your best.

LCD Soundsystem have aged gracefully out of their mid-life crisis, and while “This is Happening” proclaimed itself to be “the end of an era,” the era that this album ushers in is truly everything that long-waiting fans could have asked for.

American Dream Album Review

Audra Joiner Staff Writer

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Ministry of Cool

Fans of the video game Life Is Strange had more than just the game to look forward to when the prequel was announced. The original game is well known for its hipster characters and their accompanying indie music score.

English indie folk band Daughter provides the new game’s soundtrack with their third album, Music From Before the Storm.

The strength of most video game scores Music Review is their instrumentals, and Music From Before The Storm clearly follows that trend.

Jackie Kazim Every song blends together a stereotypical Contributing Writer melancholy of indie folk with a sense of upbeat identity. Plugging in headphones and walking around campus with Daughter’s instrumental command paired with light electronic manipulation is sure to send one back into that high school rebellion/“Nobody Understands Me” headspace.

Where it falters is when the vocals come in.

Perhaps it is a desperate attempt to feel like they could take their identity as a band and separate it from the game they are scoring for the album. Nonetheless, the magic seems to be lost every time words are added to the songs.

The lyrics themselves are commonly repetitive or mind-numbingly cliché. Too many times

The Killers Wonderful Wonderful Album Review

Charles Musante

Brand New

Contributing Writer

Science Fiction

BUZZSAW: The Idols Issue

Album Review Charles Musante

Contributing Writer

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The Killers first album in five years and fifth overall, Wonderful Wonderful blends experimental, funky electronic undertones with their older, passionate rock-groove in a complex and cohesive album. Frontman Brandon Flowers wanted to call back to The Killers early success in Hot Fuss and Sam’s Town, and pushed the band to create a unified record. Wonderful Wonderful is a reward for patient fans, like an ice-cold lemonade when all you expected was a lukewarm glass of water.

The title track, “Wonderful Wonderful,” sounds off an album that, if you closed your eyes, could put you right in the middle of the Nevada desert. The song is an anthem and reassurance that someone will always be there for those who sometimes feel like they’re making the journey alone. “Life to Come” backs it up, singing “If you call my name I will run whether or not it’s tonight or the life to come.”

Religious undertones intermix with questioning motifs throughout the album, Complementing the religious motif is one of resilience and confidence, notable in the infectiously upbeat, “The Man.” Even though Flowers said it was written about the regret he feels about his ego from when the band formed, he is unmistakably proud of that man.

The optimistically methodic song centers on resilience from the perspective of Flower’s wife, who has post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Run for Cover,” perhaps the catchiest song on the album, could be the perfect song to

listen to if North Korea were to drop a bomb on the United States and you needed to run for cover.

The song was originally written nine years ago, but has evolved into a political statement, references include “fake news” and “He held a conference and his wife was standing by his side He did her dirty but no-one died.”

The album gains momentum throughout, peaking at “Tyson vs Douglas.” On the surface the song is about Mike Tyson’s first career loss to Douglas, but underneath Flowers discusses maintaining an aura of invincibility for his fans and family. Directly after, “Some Kind of Love” contrasts in the measured hypnotic melody, once again depicting the comfort in never truly being alone. The song is one of the most personal on the album, again about Flower’s wife.

“The Calling” collaborates with Woody Harrelson, who delivers a spoken word religious intro. The song blends the religious judgment day motif with that of doubt and questioning. “Lie, cheat, steal, hope they fix it all up in post,” imagines a world similar to a movie, with editing options available to remove sinful aspects.

The album finally becomes meta on the final track, “Have All the Songs Been Written?” When struggling with writer’s block, writing about the cause can open up to a completely new subject.

There is a sense that Flowers is singing directly to you, reminding you that they make music to “get through to you.” Overall Wonderful Wonderful lives up to its name and can be enjoyed as a whole piece of art but also individually song by song.

The following sentence is likely the most played out joke in music history: There is a brand new Brand New album.

Brand New have finally released a new album after eight long years. After releasing a single in the spring of 2016, hopes were high that they were coming back with a new album. Those hopes were crushed when they announced that they were not releasing a new album that year.

At that point, many believed that a new Brand New record would never happen considering it seems they will be breaking up in 2018.

And then suddenly it did.

Where to begin with Science Fiction? The expectations for this album were mammoth.

When a band takes eight years to make an album, it better be worth it. Especially if that band is a band that made a masterpiece like 2006’s The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me. In today’s music industry, that is an insane wait for new music. The wait combined with fans’ expectations created a metric ton of hype for this album.

Not only did Brand New meet those expectations, they exceeded them and made a damn near flawless album.

Science Fiction is a front to back experience.

It starts with a creepy atmospheric intro and then weaves its way through a dreamlike hour of gorgeous music. The atmosphere and vibe of this album is what makes it work. From bizarre samples to airy synths, this album is a masterclass in mood.

The music takes on a much more indie feel

than Brand New’s past work. Whereas Daisy and Devil and God were much more abrasive, Science Fiction is much more chill. Instead of Fender Jazzmasters blaring through multiple fuzz pedals and screamed vocals, Jesse Lacey and friends opt for more acoustic guitars and lower, cleaner vocals.

The result is a more mature and natural feeling record which suits this band so well.

The lyrics brush on a variety of topics including religious hypocrisy, mental health and even nuclear war. As always, they are incredible. Jesse Lacey’s ability to craft a message in his music is more potent than ever on this album. Every word on this album was carefully chosen and it shows.

This whole album is full of perfect tracks, but the standout moment on Science Fiction is how it closes. “Batter Up” is the most perfect eight minutes of music that have ever been put on an album.

With Brand New likely disbanding soon, it was expected that they would give us a farewell track and by God is this the best farewell track. Not only are the lyrics perfect, but the instrumentation is exceptionally poignant. The harmonized, reverbed guitars that paint the track are tear inducing. This track is a beautiful way to end this album and thus, a beautiful close to Brand New’s incredible career.

Science Fiction is one of the best albums made this decade and furthermore this century. Someday, kids will discover this album (and this band) the way the kids of today discovered The Smiths and cherish it as a piece of 2010’s nostalgia from when their parents were their age. May Science Fiction always be remembered as one of the best albums of its generation. Thank you, Brand New.

Lil Uzi Vert Luv Is Rage 2

Album Review Ed Willshire

mother!

Staff Writer

Film Review Mateo Flores

Contributing Writer

Playboi Carti’s “*wokeuplikethis,” he takes on his imitators and detractors. As the album continues into its second half, a tonal shift begins to occur.

The confident and proud Uzi that flexed his wealth and status in songs like “Neon Guts” and “Sauce It Up” begins to reveal the darker influences in his work. While satanic themes permeate the project (look no further than the title of the second track “444+222”) the real pain Uzi draws from is his breakup with his long time girlfriend.

Uzi’s breakup is probably best highlighted in the song “XO Tour Llif3,” which was initially released as a single in March and went on to be his top charting solo record. The song remains a stand out on the project, and it is arguably Uzi’s peak of both popularity and artistry. The production by TM88 is still top-notch and is only rivaled by a few other standouts from the album such as “X” or “No Sleep Leak,” which don’t reach the same lyrical quality.

While far from a game changing or even artistdefining project, Luv Is Rage 2 definitely succeeds in delivering to fans another mostly quality collection of tracks. While the long wait might have left some disappointed, the album stands strong amongst the rest of Uzi’s catalogue and should effectively keep him relevant for some time. If his next project receives this much delay and build up, it could be a serious problem for the young artist. However, for now, Uzi continues to be riding a powerful wave he helped to create.

“You give, and you give, and you give,” is what Michelle Pfeiffer’s character tells an anxious Jennifer Lawrence about the angst of motherhood. At times, this feels like a line directly to the audience from Darren Aronofsky, whose latest film is riddled with symbolism, biblical implications and metaphors. In the first week of its release, mother! has been a source of criticism for heavy handed themes, outrageous storytelling and pretentious filmmaking. mother! received an F from CinemaScore, a dishonor owned by less than 20 films. While some of the criticism is fair, most seems unwarranted, as mother! is a deeply disturbing and panic attack-inducing nightmare; its beauty is in its ambiguity.

We are introduced to an anonymous married couple (Javier Bardem and Jennifer Lawrence), and soon after a new ominous married couple arrives at their house. This delights Javier Bardem’s character, who welcomes new company almost blindly, while Jennifer Lawrence’s reserved character does not trust them outright.

Ed Harris, as the male guest, is as mysterious as an old kindred spirit; his wife (Williams) is almost his exact opposite. She’s intrusive and entitled, making Lawrence’s home her own within a few hours of being there. She throws wet laundry on the floor, sneaks into rooms unauthorized, and criticizes the dynamics of Lawrence’s marriage.

Pfeiffer’s sharp dialogue creates a woman that’s really easy to hate, but Lawrence’s reactions make it even more shocking.

Lawrence, the reserved and quiet homeowner, holds the entire film on her back; she appears in every scene. Aronofsky uses only POV,

over the shoulder and close ups of Lawrence’s reactions to tell the story. Aronofsky’s direction is artful and powerful; it’s clear he had a very distinct vision. He created a story using reincorporation in not just the sequence of events, but also in the camera movement and angles. At times it even feels extremely claustrophobic; leaving the house is almost impossible for not only Lawrence, who defends her home with determined fervor, but also the audience, whose discomfort becomes normalized by the third act.

Aronofsky wrote the entirety of mother! in five days, and it does feel apparent in his succinct use of symbolism. If you’re paying attention, it should be pretty obvious very early on who the characters represent. Some have called the symbolism and theme of the film heavy handed, and I can definitely see where they’re coming from. While I did enjoy the symbolism and metaphors in the film, I thought that it was a little weak and on-the-nose. But Aronofsky himself has said that he knows the symbolism is obvious, and by the time the credits are rolling his hand is exposed. What the symbolism does for mother! is stimulate conversation that I haven’t seen in modern filmmaking in awhile.

I think the reason mother! wasn’t so well received by audiences is due to its marketing. Trailers and advertisements that make the film seem like a typical horror movie, along the lines of Annabelle: Creation.

Be warned: mother! and Annabelle: Creation are nothing alike. Annabelle: Creation is a fright fest that puts its strengths in entertaining scares. mother! at its core is a drama that sets out to unnerve you and play to your deepest social anxieties.

37

Ministry of Cool

After initially announcing the project in November of 2016, fans of Lil Uzi Vert’s unique, genre-bending style have had to wait nine months for his debut studio album, Luv Is Rage 2. Blame for the delay mostly goes to Atlantic Records, which held back the release to maximize Uzi’s growing hype, against the artist’s wishes. Serving as a sequel to the artist’s debut mixtape, it should first be noted that this album very much acts as an extension of Uzi’s already well established sound and persona.

While technically still a hip-hop album, Uzi’s form focuses significantly more on flow and melody rather than lyricism and verbal clarity.

The term “mumble rap” to describe Luv Is Rage 2 and other similar sounding music doesn’t accurately reflect the value in the lyrical form artists like Uzi and Young Thug utilize. So consider this a preemptive warning to those still struggling to see the quality in this style of music: Uzi is making no attempt to win over any skeptics of mumble rap with this project.

Taking it for what it is, Luv Is Rage 2 certainly succeeds. Uzi delivers all the melodies and vibes we expect from him at this point. The album opens strong with “Two®,” produced by Don Cannon, LeDuff, and Uzi himself, setting the tone that carries strongly through the first half of the album. Uzi has arrived and knows the impact he has made. Following up on themes Uzi has addressed in notable features like his appearance in Migos’ “Bad and Boujee” and

In This Corner In of the World BUZZSAW: The Idols Issue

Film Review Tyler Obropta Staff Writer

The Japanese anime In This Corner of the World recreates wartime Hiroshima and its neighboring port city of Kure through the eyes of a young woman and her family. It’s personal, emotional and deliberate, and by the time the Allied planes are flying overhead, you’ll have forgotten that this is all leading up to two nuclear bombs being dropped on Japan.

In This Corner of the World is abnormally slow-paced, philosophical and patient in ways that even most Eastern animations aren’t. Our window into Japan is the sweet, unassuming Suzu Urano (Non), soon to be married to Shusaku Hojo (Yoshimasa Hosoya).

The story begins with Suzu as a child in the 1930s, when her family runs a seaweed fishing business in a quiet seaside town. In This Corner of the World watches the characters sail on the ocean in gorgeous long shots, and the film later indulges Suzu’s fantasies as she tries to make her little sister giggle. There isn’t a plot, per se, in these early segments — an audience will have to wait until at least the hour mark before the film gains any sort of narrative momentum. But there’s a delightful humanism in the vignettes, something beautiful in its existential focus. Suzu takes her sketchbook down to the sea to paint the white caps hopping like rabbits in the waves, and life seems innocent and still, immovable and eternal.

Before long, the industry of war undercuts the joy and purity — Japan’s involvement in the global conflict looms large over

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the characters — but co-writer and director Sunao Katabuchi keeps his story focused on the families. Suzu, her family and Shusaku’s family drive this story. We’re with them when their food gets rationed during the war years, we’re with them when the air raids begin, and we’re with them when they’re digging out shelters.

Suzu flexes her inner creative culinarian during these years of intense rations, telling the audience how to puff up rice overnight to make it taste richer and to tease out the minuscule portions. It’s a YouTube cooking tutorial by way of watercolor animation. Suzu remains optimistic and the grass on the Japanese hills remains green, but the cities of Hiroshima and Kure take on a muted, dull palette — a nation on the brink of fading away. “It’s a waste of salt to cry,” someone reminds Suzu.

In 1945, when the low rumble of incoming bombers rises over the mountains, Katabuchi’s editor does not dwell long on the planes.

Instead, in a brilliant expressionistic sequence, the Japanese anti-aircraft guns target the Allied bombers, and the gunshots explode in the air in clouds of green, yellow, red and blue.

Suzu watches from below, wishing she’d brought her sketchbook.

Many stylistic sequences crop up during In This Corner of the World, from a series of slapstick snapshots with Suzu and Shusaku to a scene where Suzu is lost in the rich quarter of the city and the smells quite literally drift off of the upper-class women she encounters. These segments are quirky and welcome moments of levity tucked away amidst the muted drama.

In This Corner of the World is animated in a hand-painted watercolor style that lifts beauty from the mundane. The film often utilizes long, wide shots, dwarfing its characters in their environments.

The movie wants to spend as much time as possible watching those clear skies and sunsets before the sun is blackened out by ash. And Katabuchi is in love with the little details, too, like the steam that rises from the stove and the smoke from the chimney and the breath from frigid mouths, all of which come out in exaggerated clouds that loiter in the air. Suzu blushes in rosy hatch marks and loose dandelion seeds sail thoughtlessly across the clouds. “Even in war, cicadas cry and

butterflies fly,” Suzu says, and that’s what In This Corner of the World captures most elegantly of all.

Katabuchi’s story doesn’t have a narrative outside of these loose vignettes. Other than the threat of the next bombing and the ticking clock of nuclear devastation, we have nothing driving Suzu’s story except Suzu herself. Is she going to go back to Hiroshima or stay with Shusaku? Will she finally tell the handsome sailor Tetsu (Daisuke Ono) how she feels about him, or will she stay loyal to her husband?

Will the cold-hearted widow Keiko (Minori Omi) ever accept Suzu as a member of the family?

These small conflicts are the story.

They rarely involve shouting or tears, instead opting for more realistic moments of quiet conversation over dinner or just before bed. Katabuchi has told one of the most understated war epics in cinema. His Empire of Japan is calm and silent. We see wives hanging wet bandages on clotheslines, not soldiers fighting overseas. Warships rest in the background in the bay of Kure. We never go aboard them, but they’re always there. The deaths are quick and unexpectedly devastating. We almost never know the characters that die on-screen, but the film’s final act is nevertheless a tragic, emotional march sure to bring tears.

Each loss is more devastating for what it represents: The gradual death of an innocent Japan.

Just as Suzu walks through Hiroshima with her sketchbook, drawing the loveliest buildings with graphite and ink, so too are Katabuchi and company using their film to paint a portrait of 1940s Japan. It’s a world that will never return. Their endeavor becomes one of immortalizing a time of innocence — that calm, that composure the war took away forever. It’s a salient reminder of the cost of nuclear warfare, a warning for the future.

Katabuchi’s film is the kind of solemn, personal tragedy that audiences don’t see often enough in this corner of the world.

If his DM’s are so full why does the sex feel so empty?

Anonymous

I can see the snapchat ghost dancing, mocking me, jumping from side to side. My breath is heavy and my cheeks are hot. Tears well in the corners of my eyes.

“Bathroom!” I say again, a little louder but no less convincing. I sprint into his bathroom and rummage through the toiletries on the sink in search of a comb.

Without luck, I comb through the ends of my hair with my fingers and stare at my topless reflection. I turn around and bend over in an attempt to see what my panty-clad behind might’ve looked like in the picture he sent his friends.

Why aren’t you excited?! Why aren’t you ecstatic?! He is a legend… isn’t he? *** “You’re beautiful, you know that right?” He caught me off guard one day as we chatted between classes. I craved the affirmation he provided, the affirmation that I was incapable of providing for myself.

My heart ballooned, swollen with his compliments. He held onto me firmly for a few months and my confidence stayed intact until one day he let go.

Skyward I floated, Propelled upwards by the validation dispelled below.

For a while I stayed adrift

And became smaller and smaller,

Until one day, I realized that his words had no weight. & my words

& my thoughts

keep me grounded.

39

Ministry of Cool

No. No, no, no, no, no. I thought it was right by my feet. I feel around with my right foot, careful not to move too quickly and wake him.

Nope, nothing but a wad of cold sheets.

His chest rises and falls rhythmically and his nose twitches as he lets out a series of disjointed snores. Suddenly he wakes and wraps his arm around me, pressing me into his armpit.

“One sec… bathroom.” I smile awkwardly and wriggle from his embrace. I climb out from beneath the covers and crawl to the end of the bed in search of my bra.

FLASH. A bright light shoots out from behind and reflects off the computer screen adjacent to his bed.

“Oh shit,” he laughs, glancing at the screen of his phone and typing quickly. I shoot up from all fours and shield my bottom with his wrinkled grey sheets.

E&CONS. PROSE&CONS. PR

40

Plucked

by Alexandria DeVita

His lips were kind, whispering sweet nothings wishing sweet dreams.

He took my smile. *Pluck* he loves me

His hands soft in mine, no blisters or bruises the entire world was ours.

He took my spirit. *Pluck* he loves me

He lied with his eyes, that deceitful, sapphire gaze meshed with murky shades of gray told me she was no one.

He took my trust. *Pluck* he loves me not

His ears, they were paranoid, corrupting his tongue yelling names and accusations.

He took my tears. *Pluck* he loves me not

Just took and took until he couldn’t anymore— I was left bare— pieces scattered unable to be found.

he loves me

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Prose & Cons

He left me with nothing, no smile, no trust no spirit, no tears.

Yet all he could say was

Waves

by Val DiGloria when i was younger, i thought “lost at sea” meant someone had flown a little off course sailed their ship into the wrong group of islands i thought anyone who was lost at sea could find their way back. this mindset never left as i grew i thought amelia earhart became old on an undiscovered beach or washed ashore in a small village where she met the love of her life and decided not to go back to the land she once knew. i still don’t know if that was hopeful or idiotic all i know is that you left me next to the ocean and there’s still a part of me a hopeful, idiotic part that believes you’re only lost at sea and you’ll find your way back.

BUZZSAW: The Idols Issue

i know that’s not how life works i know amelia earhart’s plane most likely landed on jagged rocks with jagged waves lapping I know you most likely found someone who is just a little sweeter who would be alright if you left her cold, on a wind-soaked beach warm, because that’s the last glimpse she would have of your sky. there’s this part of me, idiotic, hopeful, that still believes you could love me. as i got older i learned i am more forgiving than the ocean who is fair, not cruel, who takes only what she deserves and allows the rest, harsh, at times, but warm, and beautiful, she reminds me of you.

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you, and your waves, disappearing, sending thousands to their death but giving even more the chance to finally feel alive. i’ve missed the way you made me feel Alive. when i was younger i would visit the sea, think of all of the people who were lost who had found themselves thrust into an unforgiving place asking redemption from an unforgiving mistress hoping they were not to be the last i would bury my feet in the sand hear whispers, thoughts of a you i didn’t even know yet, as bitter saltwater filled my lungs like i imagined their last breaths to be. i guess i still believe you can be found if you’re lost at sea, that news stories are just pessimists and the ocean will, just once, be kind. it’s the last thing i have of you, saltwater waves, you were never lost at sea just lost to me, but i still think hopeful, idiotic, you’ll find your way back.

I love him, but still I run, with tentative tip toes anywhere, away.

Love and Fear can’t be unspun.

A volcanic voice shoots sparks like a gun, but softness is revived by melancholy smoke.

I love him, but still I run.

An unresolved game, it’s never been won he’ll roll the incalculable dice, but the Love and Fear can’t be unspun.

Broken words, the pieces weigh a ton, brushed with affection and a trying connection.

I love him, but still I run.

Though never far, love’s never done, but Scars can’t be absconded, and Love and Fear can’t be unspun.

I’m sorry. I just can’t forget.

Please remember: I love you, but still I run because Love and Fear can’t be unspun.

I’m Sorry: Margaret McKinnis

Prose & Cons

43

BUZZSAW: The Idols Issue

A game of musical chairs could go one of two ways with Rubin Grayson-Merriweather. Either he’d be high as a skyscraper and stumble his way through the game with his mind in a cannabis cloud, or he’d be completely sober and everyone playing, plus the possible bystander, would die. Isaac hoped for the former, but when Rubin walked into the living room in his tight white tank top and paisley joggers with a frightening fire in his blue eyes, Isaac knew blood would be shed.

“Let’s do this!” Rubin barked. “I’m going to make these chairs my bitch!”

“Oh my God,” Filiz huffed, angling herself so she could both direct her words towards Isaac and still monitor Rubin from across the room. She had opted for an azure hijab that evening and sported a pair of nonprescription glasses with blue frames to match.

“I thought he was going to smoke after dinner so that he wouldn’t be so…himself.”

Isaac watched from across the room as Rubin started to do some lunges which he declared everyone should do to limber up before the game. He didn’t want anyone to pull a hammy.

Eleanor, hostess of game night, had pushed the couch and love seats against the walls and was setting up four chairs in the newly cleared space.

“It’s musical chairs, Rubin,” she said, rolling her eyes. “People don’t usually pull a hammy.”

“People tend not to get bloody noses from a game of Parcheesi,” retorted Jericho.

He had just emerged from the kitchen with a Dixie plate piled high with mashed potatoes and drumsticks. “And yet I went home with tissue shoved up my nostrils last game night.”

“I said I was sorry,” said Rubin who now jogged in place, but Jericho didn’t look convinced.

“Why are we even playing musical chairs?” Filiz questioned Isaac under her breath, as if to not agitate Eleanor. “I haven’t played musical chairs since second grade music class.”

“We’ve played every other game imaginable, remember? I guess Eleanor thought this was the best option. We don’t want another Candy Land incident do we?”

Filiz sneered and shuddered at the memory.

“Can we get this game going?” Rubin asked. “I’m running on adrenaline here.” His blond hair stuck up in odd angles, giving him a wild look.

“If you punch me in the face again, I’m going to be pissed,” said Jericho through a mouthful of potato and chicken. A dribble of potato fell from his mouth and clung to his graphic t-shirt with a Star Wars logo printed across the front.

Eleanor plugged her phone into the audio jack connected to a pair of speakers stationed against the wall and clapped her hands together. “Okay people, enough chatter.

I want a fair and clean game. No hitting below the belt and no dirty talk.” She spoke like one of those referees at a boxing match.

Everyone took their places around the chairs. Isaac craned his neck to look at Rubin standing behind him and said, “I’m going to be pissed if you break my leg.” He tried to say it humorously, but his grave concern was palpable.

Rubin merely smiled his moon-crater dimpled smile and winked an eye.

Taking her place in front of Isaac, Eleanor clicked the play button on a tiny black remote and music came over the speakers.

“Okay, here we go,” said Eleanor, words riddled with trepidation.

“Gird your loins,” Jericho muttered.

“What have I gotten myself into?” Isaac asked himself. He figured he’d find out soon enough.

by Thomas Pettitt

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Musical Chairs

Empty Feelings

by Sophia Wells

My heart is pounding Thump, thump, thump.

Drops of sweat trickle down my face tickling my cheek, my chin, splashing as they hit the floor.

My throat is dry as a desert.

The voices inside my head scream at me as the devil takes control of my brain.

I hate this life of mine.

I want to cry, drown in my tears so I don’t have to face these emotions haunting me.

The blade between my fingertips looks so painfully beautiful.

It glistens and gleams as I twirl it around.

You don’t have to do this.

You are better than this.

If only I didn’t feel so alone, so invisible like a speck in this big, scary world.

The smiling, shiny blade now cries red tears.

Drip, drip, drip.

For a split second, nothing matters.

No one ever says how good it feels to feel nothing at all.

Prose & Cons

45

DUST. SAWDUST. SAWDUS

atire threatening the magazine’s credibility since 1856.

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Incoming FreshmenAfraidToAsk Each Other WhoTheyVoted For A journey to understanding

By Thomas Petit, Contributing Writer

F

ollowing the shocking results of the 2016 election of Donald J. Trump into the Oval Office, much chaos ensued throughout the nation. Between the Russia scandals, the US backing out of the Paris Climate Accords and the copious number of tweets flooding social media, another problem draws the attention of Americans across the board with the start of the new academic year.

With freshmen moving into college dorm rooms for the first time everywhere, there remains a single itching question unspoken between roommates. It’s the big red, white and blue Republican elephant in the room and nobody seems to want to address it: Who exactly did you vote for in the 2016 election?

Everyone hopes to get along with their roommates, especially in their first year of college, but they seem to be walking on eggshells to keep the peace. This mainly entails skirting around this question at all costs.

“I just can’t bring myself to do it,” says freshman, Charlie Chunks. “I really like Chad and I don’t wanna ruin the bromance we’ve got going on. What if he tells me he voted for Trump and I vomit

all over his stuff? He’ll never let me use his X-Box again!”

This is a common fear these days.

Even with the election being over ten months behind us, emotions appear to still be running raw and high.

Freshmen seem to be approaching the situation from different angles.

A particularly interesting method fearful freshmen adopted is simply getting plastered whenever they are with their roommates.

“After a while, I got tired of being constantly afraid the conversation would become too political,” explains Charlie. “So now whenever Chad and I are together, we drink.” He admits this has proven far more difficult than he imagined since he now is in a constant state of inebriation and disillusionment.

“It’s better than the alternative,” he admits.

Freshman Computer Science Major, Alicia Pickles, decided to take a subtle approach in revealing to her roommate that she supported Clinton during her campaign. “I figured it’d be better to just drop hints to Ellie instead of asking her who she voted for straight up,” says Alicia, who has taken to wearing sensible and ‘stylish’ pantsuits for the

semester. “I think she’s getting the hint and hopefully will speak up about it when the time comes. I’m even keeping hot sauce in my purse!”

However, what not just freshmen, but people on campuses everywhere need to remember, is our political differences shouldn’t divide us. At least that’s what freshman Sociology Major, Coco Christian has chosen to think.

Coco tells Buzzsaw, “Whether we really like big walls or sensible pantsuits, or if we’re white or orange, we are all still human.” She chose the radical route of sitting down with her roommate, Gina, to engage in an open dialogue about their political opinions. “Even though Gina and I didn’t vote for the same candidate, we realized we both wanted Rachel to end up with Brian on The Bachelorette. Now I feel like we are closer than ever. Goes to show we aren’t that different after all.” ________________________________________ Thomas Pettit is a second-year writing major who voted for John McAfee, the Presidential Nominee of the Cyber Party.

You can reach them at tpettit@ithaca.edu.

OPINION: I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO EAT FOR DINNER AND I’M MAKING IT EVERYBODY ELSE’S PROBLEM How food is a symbol of our own existential dread

By Will Cohan, Contributing Writer

eggs for the rest of your life? Anything you’ve ever eaten has went through hell to feed your lazy ass. It’s all pain and suffering. Everything is suffering.

So maybe you have no sympathy for animals and this isn’t really reaching you. Maybe all you can think about is your own well-being. Do you want to get salmonella? If you eat chicken or eggs, you will get salmonella and die.

Have you ever eaten a sandwich? Did the sandwich have bread? The bread was probably bleached. You just ate bleach, you fucking psycho. Anything sweet has high fructose corn syrup.

Ever heard of it? It’s basically liquid cancer. Everyone has cancer.

Don’t act like you’re getting out of this if you’re a vegetarian. Tofu is a sad excuse for meat, you are a sad excuse for life. Tofu gets its taste by absorbing the flavors of foods around it. Alone, tofu is nothing, just like

you. You are not original. You only feed off the life energy of those around you. You are a disease. Everything is a disease.

Just eat dirt. The only thing you can eat is dirt. Everyone is going to die and turn into dirt anyways. We’re all just animals shoving food into our mouths as we flop around a shitty rock floating through the abyss of space. The universe will grow cold and dark and everything will decay into nothing.

That greasy hamburger you’re eating will be nothing but a faint whisper in the memory of the cosmos. One day, everything you love will be cold and dead. Everything is dead. ________________________________________ Will Cohan is a third-year student studying Cinema & Photography. They get grumpy when they’re angry. You can reach them at wcohan@ithaca.edu.

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Sawdust

All food is bad for you and will kill you. If it tastes good, it’ll kill you faster. If it tastes bad, it’ll kill you slower but you’ll be more miserable in the process. Anything you eat will make you sad and lonely. All food is poison.

Everything is poison.

If food doesn’t make you miserable, it’s making something else miserable.

When you eat meat, you eat the flesh of another animal. A living thing actually had to die to sustain your existence, as if you contribute anything to the world in the first place. The honey industry is the enslavement of bees.

The beekeeper literally cracks a whip forcing poor little bees to gather nectar and vomit it out. But it’s fine because you just need to drizzle honey into your tea, you inconsiderate monster.

Oh, you like eggs? You like chicken?

How’d you like to spend every waking hour in a tiny cage squeezing out

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OPINION: MY OPINIONS ARE BETTER THAN YOURS Your opinions are far inferior to these opinions

I

By Casey Koenig, Contributing Writer hate Gerry.

Who is Gerry, you ask? Oh, I’ll tell you who Gerry is.

Gerry is a guy who has brown hair with way too much gel in it. As a result, his hair looks like it is glued to his head. However, he has one single piece of hair which proves to be an exception, as this one piece of hair simply sticks up in the air like he’s Alfalfa.

Gerry likes to wear bow ties with stripes and polka dots on them. God, his bow ties make me want to gag.

Gerry likes to pick his nose and eat it.

That is absolutely disgusting. No one should do that. Ever.

The absolute worst part about Gerry, though, is the fact that he likes to talk about how mustard is better than ketchup.

No. Ketchup is the best condiment ever.

Mustard can suck ketchup’s bottle opening.

Today in English class, our teacher, Mr. Kittle, decides to pair me and Gerry together as partners to discuss questions based on the book we just finished reading, Persons Who Wander by someone named Robert Matheson. Supposedly, Robert Matheson is Mr. Kittle’s pen name, and he is making our class read his book so it will sell. The book is pretty awful. It’s about some dude who can’t decide what the hell he wants to do with his stupid, pathetic life, so he keeps going to these different places and meeting all these people and can’t hold down a job for the life of him. I feel like this is Mr. Kittle’s autobiography from his early twenties.

Good old Gerry, who is not only wearing a polka dot bow tie today, but socks with mustard bottles drawn on them, loves this damn book. Whenever we have open class discussions, he blabbers on about how

“I think you know exactly what I mean, Gerry,” I say. “I know your hair looks bad, because I know what looks bad and I’m always right. I know what tastes awful, and mustard tastes awful. I know what looks stupid, and bow ties with stripes or polka dots on them look stupid. I’m never wrong, Gerry. My opinions are really facts, because anyone who thinks any differently from me is wrong. W-R-O-N-G wrong!”

“Well, I know a lot of people who would disagree with you, Jamison.”

“Yeah?” I sneer. “Like who?”

“Well, like me, for instance. What if I told you that my opinions are far superior to yours and your opinions are inferior next to mine?”

“I know they’re not, because my opinions will never be inferior to yours, Gerry,” I say.

Just then, there it went. The finger up the nose.

“Gerry, you’re about to do it again!” I say.

“Do what?” Gerry’s mouth curled sideways as if confused.

“You’re picking your nose, and then you’re going to eat it. That is disgusting. Find a different snack!” I exclaim.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he snaps.

“Jamison, I don’t think Gerry actually eats his own boogers,” Jenny, one of the girls in the class, says from the back of the room.

“You must not pay very good attention then,” I say.

“I like mustard,” a boy named Roger says.

“You may say that you like it, but it’s bad,” I say.

“Why?” Roger asks.

“Because I said so!” I say, “Whatever I say goes, people!”

Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Good. This means we are out of time to discuss the horrors of that horrible book.

I stalk out of the room, unable to get the image of Gerry’s finger up his nose out of my head. My thoughts churning. Tomorrow I will come to school with ketchup socks and a solid color bow tie on. I’ll gel my hair and make it spike up. Everyone will love it.

They’ll see. I’ll be receiving compliments left and right. I just know it. I’m always right.

Everyone will at least be thinking of compliments, anyway. Some will just be too scared to come up and say anything. ____________________________________________ Casey Koenig is a third-year student majoring in Outdoor Adventure Leadership.

They’ve spent years working on their opinions and looks forward to responding to your arguments. Just email them at ckoenig@ ithaca.edu

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Sawdust

Image by Francesca Hodge

beautiful all the imagery in the novel is and how he didn’t want to put the book down and blah blah blah. Whenever he opens his mouth I want to stick my foot in it.

Gerry is very excited to discuss this pure piece of crap book with me. He is all giddy and smiling with his mouth shut, probably because he just ate his own boog. His Alfalfa hair, sharp and pointy, sticks up in the air as per usual.

“Jamison, didn’t you just love this book? It was so powerful!” I’m pretty sure about a gallon of spit lands on my desk when he sputtered this sentence.

“No,” I say. “I couldn’t stand this book one bit. This book sucked.”

“Jamison!” Gerry gasps. “How on earth could you possibly hate this book?”

“Because it was bad,” I say matter of factly.

“No it wasn’t.”

“Yeah, it was, Gerry. You’re wrong.”

“No, you’re wrong.”

“No, YOU’RE wrong!”

“Gentlemen, please,” Mr. Kittle walked by, “The discussion questions are meant to be discussed, so please discuss them.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Kittle,” I say. “But there is nothing worth discussing. This book was awful. Period, end of story. Anyone who thinks anything otherwise is wrong.”

Mr. Kittle turned scarlet. “Why would you say that, Jamison?”

“Because my opinion is far superior to everyone else’s. I know what’s good and what’s bad. This book is bad. Gerry’s hair looks bad.

Gerry’s bow ties look bad. Mustard is bad.

Gerry’s snacking habits are bad. You can’t argue with that, because I know that I’m right.”

Mr. Kittle’s neck twitches. “You know, Mr. Matheson worked really hard on this book and put a lot of time, blood, sweat and tears into the writing of this novel, so you could at least try to find some good parts about it.”

“Well, Mr. Matheson, there are no good parts about it. I hate to break it to you. Also, why are you using a pen name? Is it because the only way your books will get read is if you force your students to read them, and “Robert Matheson” is a cover up for the real you?”

If Mr. Kittle was scarlet before, now he is a fire engine. “I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, Jamison. I would never force my students to read my works.”

“Mhhhmmmm,” I say.

“What about me?” Gerry asks.

I looked at Mr. Mustard Socks. “What about you?”

“You said that my hair, bow ties and mustard are bad. And my snacking habits! What does that even mean?”

Carolina Hurricanes Fans Excited For BUZZSAW ASKS WHY… 2017-18 Hurricane Season They’re excited for the tropical storms, too

By Kirby Wihelm, Contributing Writer

BUZZSAW: The Idols Issue

C

arolina Hurricane fans have no problem with 2017 being called the “year of the Hurricane” by the non-sports media.

When asked about the use of the phrase, Carlos Gale of Greenville, South Carolina, responded “2017, in this year of our Lord, better be called the year of the Hurricane. My Hurricanes. Just how it should be every year.” Carlos started pumping up a twenty-foot-tall inflatable Doppler radar to throw on top of his roof to celebrate the current and coming season, while also watching the birthing of the next super storm in the Caribbean on local news. Carlos proceeded to whoop and holler as the precession of dark orange and light red lines marched through the tiny islands dotting the near east of the sea before getting back to doing more pumping.

“I really don’t care what happens there, but my Hurricanes are being hashtagpromoted internationally, and that really makes me happy. Anyway, it’s too hot to play Ice hockey way over there.

Are there even any Puerto Ricans in the American National Hockey League?

Probably not, and I don’t care.”

Autumn Winns, of Charlotte, North Carolina, made it clear what this connection between the intense Hurricane season and “her boys” means to her. “I have no connection with anything involving these natural hurricanes, so I’m much more interested in how my boys are doing,” Summer told us while cleaning her collection of Stormy the Pig mascot memorabilia with moist Q-tips® and wearing just a pig-snout mask. “And by boys, I mean just all my different Stormies®. I have over 300 pieces in my collection. Little known fact, but Stormy came into existence as a way to honor the 74,685 dead hogs murdered in cold blood by Hurricane Floyd in ‘99.”

Chipper Storm-Surge the II of Fort Myers, Florida was even happier than previous fans we’ve spoken to about the proclamation of 2017 being the year of the Hurricane. Chipper, a lifelong Hurricane fan (born in

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1997, like his team), literally just found out that the local minor league hockey team in town, the Everblades, is an affiliate of the Hurricanes. “I’m so happy that I just found this out. Even though I consider myself a super-fan, sometimes I learn things ‘bout my team that hits just so close to home, stuff that I didn’t even know. All I know is I hate those Tampa Bay Lightning, and I guess real lightning too.” Chipper rolled out of a reclining chair laying horizontally in his home’s flooded, opened garage as it thundered outside. “I can’t wait to eventually go see a team, one that’s connected to my main team, play so close to me. I guess I’ll have to wait until the arena stops being used as a hurricane shelter, even though I feel so darn lucky I can one day maybe even see a country music concert or rodeo or monstertruck rally there.” Chipper waved goodbye to us as he waded waist-deep to a motorized dinghy boat idling nearby to take him to the same arena he craves to watch a puck-game. “I can’t wait for this season to start!” ______________________________________ Kirby Wilhelm is a third-year sociology major who usually roots for the Lightning. You can reach them at kwilhelm@ithaca.edu.

Is

everyone always making hot takes?

I’m addicted to social media – specifically Twitter. There’s nothing more exciting than the onslaught of hot-takes.

And these hot-takes are short! In just one sentence, politicians, journalists, comedians, entertainers, reality stars, cooking show hosts, random people who are bored at work and Russian bots can all participate. Got something on your mind? Put it right here.

I’m addicted. Even at its most harmful, I get a crazy rush. And there’s all sorts of highs of this drug. Your hot-take made me laugh? RETWEET. Your hot-take made a poignant critique on a current event? FAVORITE. Your hot-take is racist, sexist, xenophobic or all of the above and even more? QUOTE RETWEET WITH A ONE-LINER JOKE MOCKING THE ORIGINAL POST. These aren’t the only types, but I’ll leave it there to save your precious time.

But it’s also so self-important. Why are any of our hot-takes actually important?

The only satisfaction we get is the pat on the back for being informed and vocal, and the favorites and retweets are nothing more than strokes of ego.

So, what do I do now? I’ve accepted my addiction, but will I stop? It’s not all negative. There’s plenty of information and knowledge to gain in the information bubble of social media, but on the other hand, it’s hard to get past the self-indulgence and congratulatory nature of “speaking out.”

At the end of the day, none of this will change – it’s too easy and too fun.

Your editor in being angry on twitter, Jordan Aaron (@belovedwizard)

WE EXIST

ONLINE

WWW.BUZZSAWMAG.ORG

@buzzsawmag

Sawdust

www.facebook.com/BuzzsawMagazine

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