Spring 2017 Volume 113 Issue 01 by Santa Monica College Corsair Newspaper

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CORSAIR

MARCH 08, 2017 | VOLUME 113 ISSUE 01 | SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

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THE PIPELINE BREAKING DOWN THE DAPL (P.4-5)

FEMINISTS MARCH FOR IMMIGRATION (P.3) THROUGH THE EYES OF VR (P.6) BEWARE OF LOGAN (P.7)

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CONTENT

VOLUME 113 ISSUE 01 •MARCH 08, 2017 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

EDITORIAL STAFF ZIN CHIANG

.................................. Editor-in-Chief

corsair.editorinchief@gmail.com RYANNE MENA

............................ Managing Editor

corsair.managing@gmail.com DANIEL BOWYER

............................... Photo Editor

corsairphotoeditor@gmail.com MARISA VASQUEZ

.............................. Photo Editor

corsairphotoeditor@gmail.com

MAZYAR MAHDAVIFAR..................... Design Editor

corsair.designteam@gmail.com OSKAR ZINNEMANN

.......................... News Editor

CHRISTINA KELLEY

................ A&E/Culture Editor

corsair.newspage@gmail.com corsair.culture@gmail.com ISAAC MONTOYA

.............................. Sports Editor

corsair.sportsppage@gmail.com LAZARO CARRANZA

.......................Opinion Editor

corsair.opinionpage@gmail.com

CORSAIR STAFF Zane Thornton, Emeline Moquillon, Edward Lee, Michelle Ayala, Luis Valladares, Jazz Shademan, Abraham Barkhordar, Trevor Schock, Maya Toolin, Chelsey Sanchez, Vanessa Wyatt, Brian Vu, Miguel Gonzalez, Pedro Xavier Hernandez G, Juan Gomez, Angie Ramos, Oscar Steven Carranza, Sam Green, Daniel Han, Daniel Lee

A family sings amongst the demonstrators during protesting against sweeping immigration bans of travelers from 7 Muslim-majority countries at (LAX) Los Angeles International Airport in Englewood, California. January 28, 2017. (Zin Chiang)

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

FACULTY ADVISORS ASHANTI BLAIZE-HOPKINS

Zin Chiang

...... Journalism Advisor

gerard burkhart.........................Photo Advisor

Editor in-Chief

AD INQUIRIES: corsair.admanager@gmail.com (310) 434-4033

Dear Readers,

FRONT COVER Elders retreat into the distance on February 28, 2017. Hundreds of heavily militarized and armed police raid Oceti Sakowin camp, the protest camp established by the seven councils of the Lakotatribe in order to resist the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline. Photo by:

RUTH LORIO

As I write to you on the eve of this issue’s deadline, I am surrounded by a brand new staff of student writers, editors, photographers, artists, and designers. There must be twenty desks of different sizes and shapes in this newsroom at the Letters & Science building. We have restructured within a week and have just gotten to know each other for the first time. The chair I’m sitting in right now looks older than the age of both Photo Editors combined, and yet I’m typing in a Google Doc on a state of the art computer. This old newsroom has nurtured both earnest historians and curious rebels at Santa Monica College. We have diligently recorded the losses and wins of collegiate athletes, welcomed a visit by then California Governor Schwarzenegger, lamented your parking woes, and pushed for solutions to your academic obstacles. 2017 has taken most of us by surprise no matter who you are and how you view the world. Within two months, we’ve witnessed

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shocking changes and unrest across American society as well as within the field of journalism. This new environment makes our predecessors’ already urgent goal of digitizing The Corsair a top priority. As we experiment with virtual reality, 360 video reporting, live stream broadcast on social media, and numerous new and perhaps unorthodox ways to deliver news to you, one tradition will never change: We will always be honest, factual, sincere, and compassionate in our work. The age of social media has challenged our perception of truth. Reality seems to shift on an hourly basis. I am, however, optimistic. “I was there the camera does not lie, the approaching storm, the Death Strip in Berlin, it was real. Jesus on the Cross, who knows? It was so long ago. True or False? It must have been flesh and blood and stone and mortar, otherwise it would not be on film.” -Helmut Newton, Monte Carlo, 1991

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VOLUME 113 ISSUE 01 • MARCH 08, 2017 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

NEWS/SPORTS

FEMINIST PROTEST FOR IMMIGRATION OSCAR CARRANZA STAFF WRITER

On Sunday, March 5 feminist group Af3irm held a march in Downtown Los Angeles to mark International Women’s Day. Af3irm is a transnational feminist organization whose goal is to “fight against oppression in all its forms,” as stated by the Af3irm website. Despite rain and dark skies, and a crowd that appeared to be smaller than anticipated, the event continued into the mid-afternoon. Af3irm members lead the march from a flatbed truck as they passed City Hall, LAPD headquarters, and the Metropolitan Detention Center. Though it was intended to honor International Women’s Day, protesters also voiced their support for the rights of undocumented immigrants and the Black Lives Matter movement. Af3rim also invited musicians to play outside the detention center, hoping to send a message of compassion and solidarity to immigrants being detained. Barbra Ramos, National Communications Director for Af3irm, said “The purpose for stopping at the Metropolitan Detention Center was to bring awareness to show solidarity with immigrants or migrants who are in detention or are being detained as well as those who have been deported under different policies that target our communities of color.”

Christina Isais spoke out about the issues her family faces due to America’s controversial immigration policies. “I have to drive my grandmother to certain places because she’s scared that someone is going to stop her. In South Central, we have had checks where they check for green cards and papers,” she said. Although her grandmother has a green card, she does not plan to return to her hometown of Jala in Colima, Mexico, for fear she will not be allowed back into the US, according to Isais. “My uncles are currently in the process of getting their papers done. They feel like this is going to jeopardize their opportunity to help their family progress,” said Isais. Pouneh Behin, a doctor of veterinary medicine, has dual citizenship with Switzerland and Iran, but moved to the U.S. as a teenager. Behin says she faced blatant discrimination while traveling when she was an undergraduate student at UCLA and UC Riverside. “When I was flying from D.C. to LA they took my ticket, told me that I wasn’t on this flight, and that I couldn’t board. After arguing for a bit I told them, ‘No, I’m boarding. You have my ticket in your hands; this is not okay and I’m going back home to LA,’ and so after that they allowed me on,” said Behin. “Time again the U.S. has gone

Tamara Attia (left) marches with her friend in Downtown Los Angeles, California in advance of International Women’s Day on March 6. (Zin Chiang)

after migrants and refugees and has taken people's rights away entering the country regardless of if they were documented or undocumented. We’re all immigrants to them and so we’ve been target throughout the twentieth century,” Behin asserted. The march ended in the same place it had begun, between LAPD headquarters and LA City Hall. There the truck that led the march parked, and Af3irm began their second run of performances, which

included more musicians and speakers. At this point, the crowds began to thin out. Even with a small turnout a sense of accomplishment was visible on the faces of Af3irm members as they spoke with their most passionate supporters who seemed to embody the organization's slogan, “A woman’s place is at the head of the struggle.”

FOR THE LOVE OF TENNIS "I Started Playing When I Was 5 Yeas Old"

ZANE MEYER STAFF WRITER Mayra Jovic has proven she’s a problem for anyone on the tennis court. Not only isshe the current captain of the SMC women’s tennis team, she’s won state tournaments in both singles and doubles in 2015, and has been ranked as high as #2in her home country of Argentina. With a big serve and blistering ground strokes,Mayra looks to continue her dominance with even better performances in 2017. Q: So, how long have you been playing tennis and when did you first start competingin tournaments? A: I started playing when I was 5 years old and my first tournament was when I was 8,so I’ve been playing tennis for 16, almost 17 years now. Q: Wow, you started really young. Did your parents play a part in getting you involvedin the sport? A: My dad has always been my coach. So when we first came to this country he wanted me to play a sport, so he put a racquet in my hand and he’s been my coach since I was 5. Q: Where were you born and did you play there at all?

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A: I was born in Argentina, and I did. When I was 15 I moved back and I just trained on clay courts, I didn’t really go to school much. I just trained on clay courts and got to be #2 in the country. After that I ended up coming back up here to finish high school and then I found SMC. Q: So it seems like you’ve played all over, whether it's junior tournaments, high school, and now college. Ultimately, where do you see yourself going with this? A: Ultimately, I want to be able to coach professional athletes. It’s always been an aspiration of mine to become a professional athlete and I’m still going to try to do that. Right now my goals are to transfer to a Division 1 school, go there, and there’s tournaments I can play within that realm that can get me to qualifiers or even wild cards for big tournaments. So I want to give it a shot, see how I do, and ultimately coach and train professional athletes.

Santa Monica College Corsairs women's tennis captain Mayra Jovic practices with her teammate Abby Mullins before the teams match against Victor Valley College from Victorville California at Ocean View Park on February 28.

Q: Well it seems like you’re on the right track so far. You’ve been playing your wholelife and probably have a ton of moments from tournaments, but do any of them stick out as the best moments for you?

Q: That definitely sounds like a truly unforgettable experience. Lastly, how do yout hink the team will do this season? A: I think we will do very well. We are looking really strong and we have a great group of girls this year who are all dedicated and excited to be playing.

A: It would have to be when I won singles and doubles in states. I was both exhausted and ecstatic at the same time. I was so US

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(Zane Meyer)

happy that I had won both titles that my racquet fell out of my hand and I started crying. I put everything I had intothose titles so it was a really surreal moment for me.

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VOLUME 113 ISSUE 01 •MARCH 08, 2017 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

PHOTOSTORY

Water protectors push their bike up a hill in an effort to evacuate Rosebud Camp before Federal and state authorities (seen in the distance far right) move over the Cannonball River from Oceti Sakowin into the neighboring protest camps. (Rosebud Camp, Cannonball, North Dakota Thursday February 23) (Ruth Iorio)

CHELSEY SANCHEZ STAFF WRITER

uard dogs and tear gas. Water cannons and rubber bullets. Triumph gained and triumph lost. After eleven months of protesting against the location of the Dakota Access Pipeline, adversity is no stranger to The Standing Rock Water Protectors. The pipeline has faced fierce opposition since its construction has been rerouted from Bismarck to underneath the Missouri River -- placing it within half a mile of The Stand-

ing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation. The Oceti Sakowin camp in CannonBall, North Dakota has since become the epicenter of an earthshaking series of events. While North Dakota’s white winter’s pale optimism protesters also face their own opposition. Peace and hope can seem like useless weapons when critics deem a cause unworthy and unnecessary. Then, victory arrives in the form of an executive order: The Obama Administration orders a halt to all construction on the pipe-

April 1, 2016: Group of about 200 Native Americans ride horseback to protest the pipelines location.

line and, in doing so, validates their fight. However, with the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the camp waited with bated breaths. With the new administration, how long would the camp’s relief last for? Since Trump signed an executive memorandum that instructed the Army to expedite the review and approval process for the unbuilt section of the Dakota Access Pipeline, construction has resumed, militarized and armed authorities have joined forces to evacuate Oceti Sakowin camp, the seven councils

July 27, 2016: The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sues the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and seeks an emergency stop to all construction, protesters arrive shortly after. September 3, 2016: Guard dogs attack and private security maces the protesters at the site of the pipeline.

have split, and a new camp at Cheyenne River has opened less than a mile away from Oceti and Sacred Stone. However many pitfalls they fall through, adversity is still no stranger to these Water Protectors. What may seem like the beginning of an end, elder Johnny Aseron of the Cheyenne River tribe sees an ongoing battle. “We come together, and then we drift apart,” he said. “It’s the way of our people. Nothing has ended.”

December 3, 2016: Around 2,000 U.S. veterans, part of the group Veterans Stand for Standing Rock, begin arriving at the camp site.

The Fight FOR

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PHOTOSTORY

A few lone water protectors hold the front line of Rosebud camp in North Dakota as the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs tribal police) advance from Oceti Sakowin shortly after the raid on Wednesday morning which resulted in 47 arrests on February 23. Standing Rock, North Dakota (Ruth Lorio)

Water Protectors stand on the hill overlooking Oceti Sakowin, watching highly militarized BIA, ATF and Morton County Sheriffs bulldoze the remains of the camp several hours after the raid on Wednesday morning on February 23, Sacred Stone Camp, North Dakota (Ruth Lorio)

Water Protector Kei Kuromoto sits in her tent at Cheyenne River camp, established by the four bands of the Great Sioux Nation just over two weeks ago in order to provide a place for Native Americans to continue to pray and hold vigil near the site of the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline even after the fall of Oceti. (Ruth Lorio)

December 4, 2016: The Obama Administration issues an executive order to halt all construction on the pipeline. January 24, 2017: President Donald Trump signs an executive memorandum instructing the Army to expedite the review and approval process for the unbuilt section of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

February 23, 2017: heavily militarized and armed Federal authorities, Park Rangers, Morton County Sheriffs and tribal police from the Bureau of Indian Affairs joined forces to evacuate Oceti Sakowin camp in CannonBall, North Dakota.

February 7, 2017: The Keystone Pipeline company immediately began construction near the crossing under Lake Oahe.

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VOLUME 113 ISSUE 01 •MARCH 08, 2017 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

CULTURE

VIRTUAL REALITY

The world of the VR comes to the SMC ADRIANNA BUENVIAJE STAFF WRITER

Imagine that a person could hop into a magical car which would teleport them to a Beatles concert in the 1960s. After the concert, the person could get back into the car and be teleported into a sci-fi world of Dungeons and Dragons. Soon after that, the person might decide to get back into the car and be brought back to the 21st century—only this time they'd find themselves on the other side of the world discovering new cultures. Imagine the opportunities for learning, given a car like that. This is an experience that Stuart Cooley, a professor for the Sustainable Technology Program at Santa Monica College, wants to give his students— through the use of virtual reality or VR. Sitting inside his office in the HSS building, Cooley exudes a fresh sense of hope for this new technological innovation. The Sustainable Technology Program is part of SMC's Career Technical Education Program, a course of study aimed at equipping students with specific skills for a given industry. In Cooley’s case, his solar installation classes make students proficient in working with the installation and use of solar panels. “My thought was to bring virtual reality in, film the experience of the installation, and then have that experience available with Google cardboard devices, so that they can put it on, turn their heads and be ‘on the roof,’” he says. Cooley’s plan sounds like the most practical use for VR, both efficient and accessible. However, the road to VR is still quite primitive, both in his arena and the broader technological world. “We’re just starting out with this,” he discloses. In 1935 the American sci-fi writer, Stanley G. Weinbaum's short story, Pygmalion’s Spectacles, was published in Wonder Stories magazine. It presented the idea of a magical pair of goggles that could allow the user a fictional, yet realistic, experience through the engagement of the senses. Fast forward to 1962, and an American cinematographer, Morton Heilig, patented the Sensorama—a simulator machine designed to wholly engage individuals in artificial experiences. With stereo speakers, 3D-footage, windblowing fans, aroma meters, and a vibrating chair, Heilig’s Sensorama stimulated all the senses, creating a realistic environment and planting the seeds of modern-day VR. It wasn’t until the 1980s that Jaron Lanier created the virtual programming lab (VPL) and was credited with coining the term “virtual reality.” In the 1990's several attempts were made at introducing VR as an everyday accessory in video games. However, companies such as Sega and Nintendo failed at incorporating VR into their respective consoles primarily because the development of realistic graphics had not yet been achieved. In our modern, technology-driven world where smartphones function as an extension of human thought, it seems only natural that virtual reality is the next big thing in the realm of technological innovation. The formation of the Global Virtual Reality Association (GVRA) in Dec. 2016, stimulated the further development of VR by “promoting the growth of the global virtual reality (VR) industry,” according to their website. FOR

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360 Photos By: Daniel Bowyer Illustration By: Andrew Khanian

With companies including Google, Facebook’s Oculus, and Samsung supporting the non-profit organization, the perfection and incorporation of VR into various fields ranging from psychological therapy to gaming, is on the horizon. “I see the gaming world is jumping all over this, and of course it makes for very engaging games. But to me, it can make for very engaging education as well,” says Cooley. His plan for SMC's Sustainable Technologies program is to utilize VR technology and create an interactive experience with the types of tasks students will be expected to perform in a workforce focused on the installation of sustainable tech. Some conditions that VR may expose

more engaging. Immersive is how Professor Cooley describes it. He discusses a short VR film, 'Clouds Over Sidra," that moved him emotionally. The film highlights the devastating circumstances facing Syrian refugees in Jordan. “It really brings home what is really going on in the refugee situation,” Cooley says of the powerful short film. “If it can be more immersive, then it can be more compelling.” Justin Feldman, Director of Education of the Students Supporting Israel (SSI) Club, uses VR as an effective method of storytelling. “I think ultimately storytelling is going to play a big part in virtual reality as people realize that sometimes it’s a necessity, not just for people who work for different organizations or fields, but also for people who might not otherwise have any exposure to any other parts of the world,” he explained. As SSI’s Director of Education, Feldman’s main goal is to engage students in Israeli culture, politics and daily life. To do so, Feldman set up an SSI booth in front of the Santa Monica College library displaying pamphlets, flyers, and banners with Middle Eastern history, and a VR headset containing live footage from Israel. “When you put it on, you’d be taken to Israel, and you’d be traveling to different cities throughout the land from Jerusalem to Haifa, to the beaches of Tel Aviv,” said Feldman. Chris Milk, a filmmaker and CEO of Within, a leading VR production company, describes VR in his TED talk as being “an empathy machine.” Using "Clouds Over Sidra" as an example, Milk described that when looking at the film's footage shot in a 360-degree perspective, the user is 'sitting' with Sidra, whom the film follows, in her refugee camp. “And because of that, you feel her humanity in a deeper way. You empathize with her in a deeper way,” said Milk. Using 360-degree footage, SSI's VR headset brought students an immersive experience in Israel. With awareness and knowledge being at the core of Feldman’s hopes for immersive storytelling, VR also brought to students

"I think ultimately storytelling is going to play a big part in virtual reality." students to include working on a rooftop and crawling through a tight attic but without exposure to the risks of actually being in either situation. “There’s a reason for colleges to like this, because we have to pay for the insurance if we take students up on the roof,” said Cooley. With the use of VR, Cooley imagines a near-future where students can experience and adjust to possible conditions while never leaving the classroom. “We’re now at the point where I think we can do some good filming,” Cooley explains. His classroom at Santa Monica College’s Airport Campus has the equipment needed to create the VR experience. Among the gizmos and gadgets are several types of VR goggles. There are VR cameras from the Ricoh Theta S 360 Camera, to a seven-camera GoPro Rig, and an ambisonic microphone, which captures full-sphere surround sound. The important purpose of the tech behind VR is to make the experience US

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who viewed the film a greater sense of what Milk had described, empathy. “The greatest thing about it was that it really humanized the situation in the Middle East, and especially in that region,” Feldman tells me. “You got to see a lot of the stories up front, even though a lot of people don’t get to fly there, even out of this country.” When asked about what the reactions were like of those who were able to experience the film on Israel at the SSI booth, Feldman laughed and imitated the “Wooow!” that students shouted as they experienced VR. According to Feldman, some students were speechless and many began asking questions about Israel as the VR experience opened the door to an engaging conversation. VR may also have a strong influence in advertising and marketing campaigns of the future. What if an individual in Sweden interested in attending Santa Monica College could gain a quick preview of each program at SMC using VR technology on their computer? Professor Cooley, along with Redelia Shaw, a Santa Monica College Media Adjunct Professor, has been working on a project that could bring the SMC experience to a series of VR films for potential students to view. Along with VR's innovations comes anxiety and fear of its power. Because VR exposes users to a stew of stimuli Shaw wonders what the effects of viewing an entire feature-length film through a VR experience would be, and she points out that constant exposure to any stimuli can desensitize people from its subject matter. This is paradoxical compared to Chris Milk’s description of VR as an “empathy machine.” However, Shaw makes the case that the benefits or drawbacks of VR "depends on how it’s used.” To prove her point, she holds up her iPhone and smiles knowingly. To some people, it’s a distraction and a catalyst in the personal disconnection from others. While to others, it’s a device of convenience that helps students stay in-the-loop and connect with others.

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Spoiler Alert!

If you couldn’t tell from the title, I was not a fan of Logan. This film could have been a great story about discovering X-23 and the "Weapon X" program run by Essex Corp. Instead, what we get is basically just a bloodbath, an excuse for Hugh Jackman to still feel young and important at the end of his career playing everyone’s favorite cranky Mutant. The film opens on Logan as an older man, having trouble using his claws due to what we can only assume is age. He can retract and extend them but only to a certain point and one “blade” won’t extend all the way. In addition, his healing powers are also slowed and less effective, indicated by him pulling one of the “blades” out and it cutting his hand open while contemplating suicide. Logan, working as a limo driver, reluctantly accepts a job to take a young girl, Laura, and her "mother" to a mutant refuge called “Eden”, which appears to be a rendezvous point in North Dakota. From there they will cross into Canada where the girl can be safe from genetic experimentation. When Logan goes to fetch them, however, he finds the “mother” dead, with a videotape explaining that there is no more money and that she was a nurse at the facility where the little girl was created. Side note: why does it seem like the United States and Mexico are the only countries in this film that have not banned genetic experiments? Now mind you, this film is set in the future and I don’t recall if they gave us an exact year, but Logan is an older man now, and Professor Xavier is losing his mind due to a mental illness -- literally. Logan makes frequent trips to Mexico to bring Xavier medication that keeps him sedated because due to his illness he is no longer fully in control of his mental faculties,

which includes his telekinetic powers. This plays a huge role in getting our band of heroes and misfits into trouble. If Xavier doesn’t take his meds, he has seizures that essentially paralyze everyone, save for our Logan and Laura, likely due to their bones made of Adamantium, a fictional metal alloy. Even then, they are hit by a strong wave of pain until Xavier either calms down or is knocked unconscious. Like any mutant power, it of course works both ways. It's both a blessing and a curse. I guess

being one of the world's most powerful mutants and having Alzheimer’s works out in the long run. Sort of. Throughout the movie Logan ends up protecting the girl and showing her the ropes of how to use her powers in addition

to rest for the night because Essex Corp. has been chasing them. Essex finds them at a small farm in the country at the home of some innocent civilians. Essex sends in X-24, another Adamantium bonded knockoff clone who looks like Logan to retrieve

the girl and kill everyone else. Before he enters the building, we see the clone take a serum that boosts his regenerative powers. He kills the entire family, despite their best efforts at fighting back, and even kills Xavier! Due to Xavier's mental issues, he mistakes X-24 for Logan and by the time he realizes what’s going on, it’s too late. This is probably the best plot twist in the entire film, as it goes against every stereotype I expect as a critic. The hero never dies, but in today's films that's not the norm. Even in TV shows, you can safely assume that, unless our hero has magic or some other fantasy gimmick, that they’re not going to die, because, once they’re dead, they tend to stay dead. So, when they killed Xavier, and by the way they killed Xavier no tricks, I was in shock! Ultimately Logan and the band of mutants makes it to North Dakota, but we'll stop here because we don’t want to give away all the spoilers. I have to give the writers credit for the finale, “Well done Fox!” I did not see this ending coming! Overall the film's plot felt weak and not very fleshed out. Things like Xavier’s mental illness, Logan’s sudden employment as a limo driver, and “Eden” all contributed to the feeling that the film was designed to let Jackman go out with a bang, rather than actually provide any real closure to the Logan/Wolverine story arc. Despite the film's utterly predictable nature, it still manages to throw a few curve balls at the audience -- most notably, the death of our main hero. Regardless, when all is said and done, the amount of senseless violence and missed potential makes Logan fall flat. Just leave the R-rated stuff to Deadpool, okay Fox?

The Life of Zelda

Amazon Studios new series Z: The Beginning of Everything is the show you never knew you needed. Based on the fictionalized novel Z: The Story of Zelda Fitzgerald by Anne Fowler, Amazon's new series brings to life the story of the fun and rambunctious wife of one of the most respected and legendary writers of all time, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Anyone who has studied English in high school or college is most likely familiar with the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald, from his short stories like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to his larger than life novels like "This Side of Paradise" and "The Great Gatsby." Zelda Fitzgerald also had a career in writing with her only published novel "Save Me the Waltz" which was a semiautobiographical story of her life and marriage to Scott. Zelda in the show is played by none other than Santa Monica native Christina Ricci, The 37-year-old actress who has been in dozens of movies like The Addams Family and Sleepy Hollow, she has also spent some time in the T.V world on the show Grey's Anatomy. Ricci, who is also the executive producer of the show pitched the idea to Amazon Studios three years ago after reading Anne Fowler’s novel. When asked what it was like to play someone like Zelda Fitzgerald Ricci told Collider.com “It’s really fun to play a complicated, complex, unpredictable, undefinable woman because I feel like that’s real.” F. Scott in this Amazon series is played by 38-year-old Swedish-born actor David Hoflin, David is known for roles in the T.V shows American Crime and Neighbors. When describing how he prepared to play F. Scott, Hoflin told Refinery29 he read COVERAGE

to trying to instill a sense of wrong vs right in her. She was a “test tube baby," planted inside of an unsuspecting woman’s womb in Mexico and raised in a facility for artificial mutants. She has all of the same powers as Logan, but we learn that her Adamantium claws are also in her feet. According to Xavier, this is a trait exclusive to female mutants with Adamantium skeletons. This never really gets explained, so that’s another strike against the film. At this point in the film, the team stops

Illustration by: Andrew Khanian

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all of Scott's novels and continued by saying “The first thing I read was This Side of Paradise. The main character in that, Amory Blaine, was pretty much [Scott] and how he viewed himself, and that was important.” Z: The Beginning of Everything is a 10 episode series that gives us a glance into the lives Zelda and Scott lived during the time

the box. These first episodes serve as a typical love story of two people from two completely different backgrounds but are different from other couples when it comes to their outlook on life. Scott constantly throughout the first few episodes expresses how he is one day going to be a famous writer and Zelda reminds everyone time and time again

Image from Amazon Prime Studios

they first met and also how they lived after marriage during the success of Scott's first published novel This Side of Paradise. The show starts off in Zelda's hometown of Montgomery Alabama where she is living with her family and Scott is a young soldier stationed in Montgomery waiting to see where he will be deployed during World War 1. The first three episodes may move slow for some but they are good at portraying what Zelda was known for, being free and outside US

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how Montgomery is always going to be the same and how she wants different in her life. The show picks up around mid-season when Zelda makes her big move to New York City to marry Scott just after he releases his first novel. As Scott gets his first taste of money, himself and his new bride are the buzz around New York City. The liquor and parties are an everyday occurrence for the Fitzgeralds around this time in the show. This series does extremely well at •

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capturing all the glamor of New York City during the roaring ‘20s and is comparable to the 2013 film version of F. Scott’s novel The Great Gatsby that starred Academy Award Winner, Leonardo DiCaprio. From the speakeasies to the luxurious parties and fancy cars, Z: The Beginning of Everything really brings you into the life of the rich and famous so many years ago. Like any show, there is going to be conflict and for Zelda and Scott, it starts with their alcohol habits. The pressure to be great catches up to the couple by the last few episodes, Scott struggles to put words on a page to follow up his first novel and Zelda can't seem to get her drunken husband to focus on his work while she struggles to find her own identity so far from home. As good and informative this show is, it still lacks in a few areas and is still far from great. The series writers seemed to drag out the issues that F. Scott was facing and failed to realize that the show should have focused more on its leading lady Zelda. With only ten episodes running just over 25 minutes each, the show covered a very small portion of Zelda's life. Without giving away too much, the show does end back in Montgomery, Alabama where there is a big reveal and clearly ends with a cliffhanger. The future of the show is still unknown while in the hands of Amazon Studios, but a season 2 could possibly incorporate F. Scott Fitzgerald's biggest novel The Great Gatsby and could give fans a unique look at what influence Zelda had in the creation of this timeless novel. You can stream season one of Z: The Beginning of Everything right now on Amazon Prime.

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VOLUME 113 ISSUE 01 •MARCH 08, 2017 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE