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APRIL 2021 • ISSUE 8
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Why Batman V Superman (2016) Is A Masterpiece
10 Television Show Recommendatations For April
Up and Coming Artist Frenzzy Valorous
Join us as we take a look at and review Zack Snyder’s incredible 2016 film, Batman V Superman, a film that broke the internet when it was released.
A list of 10 television shows we recomend you watch in April. Perfect for when you are bored, looking for something to binge, or simply looking for incredible content to stream.
Join us as we take a look at Frenzzy Valorous, a young artist, poet, and creative in South Africa who has plans to make big moves in the industry, starting with his music.
CONTENT 3 Editorial 6 Why Man of Steel (2013) Is A Masterpiece 8 Why Batman V Superman (2016) Is A Masterpiece 15 10 Television Show Recommendatations For April 20 New Games Coming Out This Month 24 10 Most Streamed Artist On Spotify - April 2021 25 Up and Coming Artist - Frenzzy Valorous 27 Poetry 29 Photography
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This Month’s Writers: Nigel Wurayayi/ Khaya Dumakude / Frenzzy Valorous/ Emmanuel Naicker/ Dalton Cooper 2 | Alpha Magazine
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EDITORIAL D
ear Alpha Magazine readers, thank you so much for your patience. As most of you know, we did not publish a March issue of the magazine, and the reason for this is because we faced quite a lot of challenges during the month that prevented us from publishing the magazine, but we are back now and we have plans in place to make sure that we don’t go without publishing again. Enjoy this month’s magazine. It is shorter than usual, but next month we
will be back at full strength so do not worry about that.
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rom the Alpha family to you, thank you for your support and for taking time to read through each issue of our magaine. We put a lot of time and effort into each issue, and it really makes us happy that you read and enjoy them, so thank you. Enjoy!
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FILM
CONTENTS 6. Why Man of Steel (2013) Is A Masterpiece 8. Why Batman V Superman (2016) Is A Masterpiece 15. 10 Television Show Recommendatations For April
Why Man of Steel (2013) Is A Masterpiece By: Emmanuel Naicker
Zack Snyder is one of (if not THE) most Divisive filmmakers alive today. Some may hate his films, while others absolutely love them, I fall into the latter category. From what I have seen, he is one of the most unfairly hated directors I’ve seen. All you need to do is go to Twitter and see the toxic reactions people have toward him just because they are not fans of his movies, going as far as to personally attack him and disgustingly poke fun at his family tragedies, while others see his movies and are struck by them, in the best way possible. This man has made a career out of using breathtaking visuals to convey his stories in the most provocative way imaginable. His first film was a remake of George Romero’s horror classic, Dawn of The Dead. This put him on the map and led to him getting offers to Direct adaptations of beloved graphic novels, 300, and Watchmen, that would catapult him to new opportunities, those being taking creative control of the 2 most iconic characters in all of fiction, Superman and Batman. Here I will review and analyse his 2 DCEU Films Man of Steel and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Background In 2013, Snyder released Man of Steel, a much anticipated reboot to the Superman franchise, starring Henry Cavill, and the first film to feature the character since the 2006 film, Superman Returns. After the overwhelming success of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, Warner Brothers decided to move forward on bringing Superman back to the big screen. However, Nolan did not feel comfortable directing it and he soon found the perfect man for the job, Zack Snyder. From the offset this film was meant to be a more realistic telling of the classic superman story, set in our own world, full of paranoia, scepticism and a 24-hour news cycle.
Story
The film starts on Krypton where we see the natural Birth of Kal-El, on a planet where all life is made in artificial birthing chambers with predetermined roles for each citizen. We see his 6 | Alpha Magazine
father Jor-EL, played by Russell Crowe, track down and retrieve The Codex, the genetic template for all Kryptonian citizens, he implants the codex into his infant son, filling him with the potential to be anything he wishes to be before launching ship and sending him to Earth. Before the ship takes off, Jor-El says a line taken Verbatim from All Star Superman: “They will Race Behind You, they will Stumble, They will Fall, but in Time they will Join You in the Sun, Kal”. During the launch sequence, General Zod, played by Michael Shannon, arrives to confront Jor-El and retrieve the codex, so he can use it to create more Kryptonian life in order to populate other worlds after Krypton’s impending destruction. Zod kills Jor-El in a fit of rage, stabbing him with a retractable arm blade built into his suit. The film shows us the growth of Kal-El and him adapting to his emerging powers through flashbacks. General Zod and his forces find their way to Earth in search of Kal to extract The Codex from his DNA, and in a response to this ultimatum we witness the first appearance of the Superman to world. In order to stop General Zod and his army of Kryptonian Survivors from Terraforming Earth into a New Krypton and driving humanity to extinction, Superman devises a plan to trap them all back in the Kryptonian Prison Dimension known as the Phantom Zone. He manages to launch their ship along with almost all of them into the Phantom Zone, only leaving General Zod himself behind. Zod then gives a monologue, telling him that with the destruction of the other Kryptonians and his ship, there is no chance to save Krypton, in a burst of Anger he promises Superman that he will kill every last human on the planet out of vengeance and spite. Unable to find another way to imprison Zod in the Phantom Zone, the 2 of them duke it out in a Visually Stunning Fight Scene as buildings topple over their clash, their fight takes them flying all around Metropolis, into space and back down to Earth, all for it to end with Superman breaking Zods neck to prevent him for killing more innocence. After Zod is killed, Kal drops to his knees, visibly shaken before letting a scream of
agony. This was the first life he’s ever taken, and even though he did it to save an innocent family, he killed off the last known member of his race, leaving him all alone.
Characters
Man of Steel gave us updated characterisation for these characters that we know and love, while still having them feel true to the source material that came years earlier. The characterisation of Superman in this film is influenced by how we see him in the graphic novel Superman Earth One, written by J Michael Straczynski and illustrated by Shane Davis. We see Clark conflicted about his place in the world, but recognizes it is his responsibility to protect it when invaders from his home world arrive. General Zod is a surprisingly compelling villain, since his only goal is to ensure the Survival of his Species, he does not fight for Power, Wealth, Glory or Control over the Universe, but he is acting out of desperation and motivated simply by Survival and Fear. This paints a picture of No Good Guys or Bad Guys, but simply two men who are convinced they are right and will do what they must for the survival of their loved ones. The character of Lois Lane is a significant improvement from her previous iterations in my eyes, in this film she is more than just Superman’s love interest, but she plays an important part in the story. We see her doing what she does best, investigative journalism, as she follows lead after lead and eventually deduces Superman’s Identity, and helps him save the world by sabotaging parts of the invading Kryptonian’s ship.
Aftermath
The release of the movie caused a divide in the fanbase that would only be topped by the release of Batman V Superman 3 years later, but we’ll get to that in a while. There were many criticisms and complaints made against the movie’s portrayal of Superman as “Too Dark and Brooding”, This film showed us what it would be like if Superman existed in the real world, and because of that we saw a more introspective Superman in a film that dares ask “What Does it Mean to Be Human?’. A lot of the complaints I can see thrown this movie’s way is “iTs tOo dARk”, “SUpErmAn dOEs’nt sMIle”, “tHEres tOo MUch dEStrUcTIon”. Yes, the film does not have a fun and happy tone because it’s meant to be set in a realistic world. Superman does not smile often because the movie focuses on him becoming the man he’s meant to be (Not
to mention there are several shots where he does smile, such as his First Flight, when he returns home to Smallville to see his mother and the very last shot where he joins the Daily Planet as a Reporter). The criticism of there being too much destruction in the climax is one of the dumbest nit-picks I have ever heard, you have an invading Alien Force arrive to re-establish their own race using your world, then you defeat most of them, leaving behind their vengeful leader who promises to destroy all humans, and you complain about city destruction, when the antagonist is doing what the antagonist is supposed to do. People ask why did Superman not move the fight to a less populated area, and the answer is, he did, he took Zod into space, and Zod took the fight back down to Earth, to purposefully cause as much damage as he could. Weirdly enough I’ve never heard this specific complaint laid against The Avengers film, but that movie is fun and made by Disney so I guess its Immune to criticism. To put it simply, a lot of People who disliked this movie went in to it expecting to see a new version of the bright and hopeful Christopher Reeve Superman movies, but found something that challenged their expectations instead of pandering to them. The fact of the matter is, this is not a Superman Story, it is a Kal-El Story.
Final Thoughts and Score
As I say during every review, even if I consider something a Masterpiece, it is nigh impossible for any piece of art to be PERFECT. To be fair with myself and you the reader, I always give mention the flaws I think are present in a film or game I am reviewing, but after rewatching this film 3 times in preparation for this article, for the life of me I genuinely cannot name anything I dislike about this movie. The only thing I can possibly think of that can improve this film is making it longer with more flashback scenes to have even more character development for Clark, and maybe even more flashbacks of Zod, further developing his views in this desperate time as well as his relationship with Jor-El and his regret for murdering him. My score for Man of Steel is a 9/10.
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Why Batman V Superman (2016) Is A Masterpiece By: Emmanuel Naicker
Never in my life have I seen a movie break the internet as much as this film did, from the extremely mixed reactions of the casting news saying Ben Affleck would be taking up the Cowl of The Batman to appear alongside Henry Cavill’s Superman, to Jessie Eisenberg being set to star as Lex Luthor in a more unique take, and then the film dropped, and it broke the internet even more! As I said earlier, this film split the DC Fanbase even more than Man of Steel did, this movie is hated by many, as well as beloved by many, I obviously fall into the second camp. Batman V Superman is THE most Misunderstood and Unfairly Criticised film I have ever seen in my entire life. Although I do understand why the haters feel this way about it, but first we need to take a look at the story.
Story
Batman V Superman Dawn of Justice opens with a poem read by Bruce Wayne that goes: There was a Time Above, A Time Before, There Were Perfect Things, Diamond Absolutes, but Things Fall, things on Earth, And what Falls Is Fallen. These words play over the image of a CGI Maple Leaf that falls as we fade in to see the Coffins of Thomas and Martha Wayne being taken to their burial crypt. We then see a flashback of the night the Waynes got killed, in a Hauntingly Beautiful scene shot with slow motion combined with the Heavy Emotional musical score from Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL. This intercuts with the funeral, and young Bruce running off into the woods, as he trips and falls down a cave, where he sees what looks like hundreds of bats on the cave sealing. They swarm around him, and they carry him up into the light as the music swells, as Young Bruce is taken into the light and the entire screen fades to white, we hear his older voice again, saying: In the dream, they took me to the Light, A Beautiful Lie. And on the full white screen, black text slowly fades in, that almost looks as if it’s the introduction page in a History Book, with the text reading Metropolis: Mankind is Introduced to The Superman. From there we pick up during the climax of Man 8 | Alpha Magazine
of Steel, during the Kryptonian Invasion, only this time everything is seen from Bruce Wayne’s point of view as he rushes through the city and destruction to rescue his employee and friend from the chaos, to whom he doesn’t make it to in time. We see the massive amount of destruction happening as these aliens with godly power fight, killing humans in their wake. Bruce arrives on the street of the building he owned just to see General Zod’s heat vision melt right through it, brining the building crumbling down, and Bruce runs straight towards it as the dust eclipses the screen, he goes through the rubble trying to find any survivors, and he finds one of his employees trapped under rubble, they manage to free him, only to see his legs are broken and require amputation. While trying to find more survivors, Bruce saves a young girl from being crushed under falling debris, he tries to comfort her and tell her it’s ok, he asks here where her mother is, and the little girl with tears in her eyes, points up to the building destroyed by General Zod’s heat vison. Then he hears the sonic boom of Superman and Zod re-entering the Earth’s Atmosphere as they fight their way back down. We cut to see Bruce looking up at them flying, with nothing but anger in his eyes. The next scene takes place in present day, we see a fishing expedition led by the employees of Lex Luthor, in the Indian ocean, near the wrecks of one of the Kryptonian ships, divers venture into the deep and pull out debris from the floorbed, and we see a large chunk of glowing green Kryptonite. We immediately cut to Lois Lane and photographer Jimmy Olden on their way to Interview an African Warlord, guarded by private security contractors, only for Lois to find out that Olsen is a CIA Agent, tracking the Warlord, Jimmy is killed and Lois is taken Hostage by the Warlord. The CIA commanders seeing Olsen has been killed, authorises a drone strike on the village, just before the rocket hits the village, Superman flies straight through it, also destroying the drone in the process. Superman goes to rescue Lois but meanwhile the warlord’s private security starts killing innocent villagers. They round up all their
bodies and burn them, all to frame Superman for the bloodshed. We see an African woman giving her testimony of the death and destruction she saw in her home at the United States Capitol. Believing that Superman was the cause of the massacre at the village, the United States Government issues a challenge to Superman, arrive at the US Capitol to be held accountable for his actions and motives, and to hold open discussion on his ability to act unilaterally. Meanwhile we see Batman capturing a human trafficker and leaving him tied up for the cops, only for them to find a Bat Symbol burned on to the criminal’s chest, being branded by Batman. As he returns to the Batcave we see investigating an elusive figure called the White Portuguese, with one of the pictures on his computer screen being the leader of the private security contractors, who we’ll call The Russian that killed the villagers and framed Superman in the African Village. Seeing this as his only lead he decides he must investigate further. We have a scene Lois sitting in her and Clarks apartment, going through her things , then she finds a bullet lodged in her notebook that she used in Africa, she pulls out the bullet and decided to investigate it. We then cut to a dark dirty room with the sound of tape being torn, as the camera pans we see the same Wayne employee who lost his legs during Superman and Zod’s battle, dressed in old raggedy clothes in a wheelchair, we see him go up on a statue of Superman in the Metropolis Park and spray paint “False God” on the statue before getting arrested. Once he’s in police custody, we also see the human trafficker with the Bat brand on his chest, moved from Gotham Prison to Metropolis out of fear as the Bat brand is essentially a death sentence. Bruce Wayne tracks down and finds The Russian in an underground fight club, and manages to hack his phone. He’s able to uncover a data stream being fed from The Russian’s phone straight to the home of Lex Luthor. Bruce and Alfred debate the viability of Batman infiltrating Lex Luthor’s home to obtain the data, Alfred said that won’t be necessary as Bruce Wayne has been invited to a party at Lex’s home. During the party we can hear a rendition of the song Night
and Day. Among all the guests you can see US Senators, The Russian and a mysterious woman in a red dress, who we later find out is Diana Prince, Wonder Woman. When Bruce arrives at the party, we see Clark Kent there reporting for the Daily Planet, and for the first time ever, we see Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne on screen together in the same movie. A scene plays out where Lex Luthor introduces the two before leaving them to have a quick conversation about Batman and Superman and their necessity before Lex delivers a speech about power and knowledge. During Lex’s speech, Alfred communicates with Bruce via his earpiece and tells him where to go to extract data from the house, and with his enhanced senses, Clark hears this and figures out that Bruce is The Batman. Clark follows Bruce downstairs to try and confront him but sees a disaster being covered on the news before he decides to fly off and save lives. Bruce goes to retrieve his hacking device just to find out it was stolen by Diana. From there we cut to a montage of Superman saving lives all around the world being crosscut with political commentators and debaters, along with the legendary Neil Degrasse Tyson discussing Superman’s action, his motives, and even the importance of humanity in the grander scale of the universe now that they have concrete evidence that other intelligent extraterrestrial life exists. In my opinion, this montage is very important to the film, because it shows us the scepticism and mistrust that is felt by the people, especially in a post 9-11 world. We then cut to the Metropolis Prison, where we see The Russian pay off an inmate to stab the Human Trafficker Criminal with the Bat Brand on his chest. Right after we see the disabled Wayne employee get bailed out, only to find Lex Luthor waiting for him in his home with a brand new Automatic Wheelchair. We then see the Disabled Wayne Employee go to the US Capitol and say he will also testify against Superman. We see Lois track down a military officer she met in Man of Steel and he takes the bullet from her to run analysis. In the next scene, we see Bruce Wayne meet Diana Prince in a Museum to take his hacking device back, he goes back to the Batcave to start decrypting the drive. From there we are thrown into a Nightmare Sequence, in a post apocalyptic April 2021 | 9
desert looking city, with the bay of water that separated it from Metropolis completely evaporated. We see Batman wearing a heavy trench coat, holding a machine gun with a Joker Card tapped to its stock. He looks through his binoculars to see an armoured convoy come his way. He meets with one of the members of the convoy, to ask if they successfully stole a hunk of Kryptonite, only for it to be a double cross. We see soldiers in black uniforms with Superman’s Crest on their shoulders killing Batman’s allies, from there we see Batman retaliating, fighting back as hard as he can, and doing the unthinkable, Batman uses a gun, while fighting off many more soldiers we see insectoid like creatures flying down from the sky and carrying away people away before one ones down and knocks batman out. He awakens to find himself in a prison room with two of his allies, before Superman flies and kills the both of them with his heat vision. Superman pulls off Bruce’s mask and says: “She was my World, and you took her from me.” He punches Bruce through the chest as he screams in pain, only to wake up to see the Flash, travelling through time to warn him, screaming out: “Bruce, listen to me know, its Lois Lane, She is the Key.” We see a look of shock on The Flash’s face as he realised he is too soon. He then says: “We were right about Him, you’ve always been right about him, Fear Him. Find Us Bruce! You Have to Find Us!” After The Flash disappears, he sees the Decryption is complete, he searches the drive, and discovers that the White Portuguese is a ship. Here we have an important conversation that shows us Bruce’s current mental state. Bruce tells Alfred that the ship is carrying a large piece of Kryptonite and he intends to steal it from Lex Luthor, Alfred says it will be good to keep it out of Luthor’s hands and to destroy it. Bruce disagrees, and tells Alfred he intends to use it to kill Superman. Alfred tries to change Bruce’s mind by telling him that Superman is not an Enemy. Bruce doesn’t listen, stubborn and set on his ways, he says: “He has the Power to Wipe Out the entire Human Race, and if there is even a 1 % chance that he is our enemy, we have to take it as an Absolute Certainty. 20 Years in Gotham, what did that bring us? How many Good Guys are left? How many stayed that way?” This conversation is essential to the story, showing us that this is an old, jaded Batman who has been through hell, and is now consumed by paranoia and wrath. He is about to abandon his 10 | Alpha Magazine
No Killing rule for what is a righteous cause in his mind, to prevent the possible death of billions more. We then see Clark Kent, at his desk at the Daily Planet get delivered an envelope of pictures, showing the dead Human Trafficker with the Bat Brand on his Chest. With words written in Red Ink on every page, Judge, Jury, Executioner, visibly shocking him. From there we are treated to an excellent chase sequence as Batman in his Batmobile peruses the Russian and his mercenaries as they are escorting the Kryptonite. We witness shocking violence of Batman mercilessly running through cars and criminals tying to get to the front truck carrying the green mineral. Only for him to turn the corner and see Superman waiting, the Batmobile rams into superman, and veers off the road, not moving Superman an inch. Superman tears open the doors of the Batmobile and tells him to stop being a vigilante or face the consequences. Batman replies by saying: “Tell me, Do You Bleed? You Will!” Batman makes it back the Batcave in a damaged Batmobile, to see a tracker he placed on the lead vehicle, delivering the kryptonite to Lexcorp. The next scene is us seeing the African Woman on the bus on her way home, only for her to see The Russian waiting outside, wanting to tie up loose ends. She then goes to the US Capitol on the morning of the hearing, to tell one of the senators the truth that she was paid and threatened by Lex Luthor to lie and give a false testimony against Superman. We cut to see Lois meeting with the Military Officer who informs her that the bullet was made from an artificial metal produced by Lex Luthor. It is at that moment she realises Lex Luthor knows Superman’s Identity, and arranged for him to be framed in the village and he knew Lois was set to conduct her interview with the warlord, knowing that Superman would drop out of the sky to save her. On her way to the hearing, Lois walks past the African Woman, for us to start following her as she is tailed by The Russian. The African Woman is then pushed onto the subway tracks by The Russian and killed. Superman arrives at the US Capitol and enters the building. In the room where the hearing is being held, we see the disabled Wayne employee. This scene is cross cut with us seeing Bruce Wayne in his office, he sees his ex-employee and asks why
he has not been getting his monthly disability cheque, only for him to see the cheques have been returned with writing in red on them. Superman then enters the room as the Senator addresses him. The senator stops mid sentence as we see an empty chair was is reserved for Lex Luthor. Then the disabled Wayne dmployee’s wheelchair explodes in a massive burst that is felt throughout the building.
In the wake of the Capitol bombing, the people who are unsure of what happened in the building, think Superman might have been responsible for the attack, or at least a co-conspirator, news footage of protests are shown, where civilians burn superman figures in anger. Lois continues her investigation and discovers that the bullet from Africa and the disabled Wayne employee’s wheelchair were made of the same metal, and it was lined with lead so Superman couldn’t see the bomb. We have one final discussion between Bruce and Alfred, in the burnt ruins of Wayne Manor, as they talk about his choice to kill Superman. Bruce shows us more of his negative point of view, saying: “Criminals are like Weeds, pull them out and another will grow in its place, this is about the future of the world. The first generation of Waynes made their fortune trading pelts and skins with the French, They Were Hunters.” For Alfred to give a fitting response: “So Falls the House of Wayne.”
the Russian. Lois is brought to the helipad of the LexCorp building and is confronted by Luthor. She tells him she figured out what he’s done by framing Superman, he then pushes her off the roof to get Superman’s attention, he catches her and leaves her safely on the ground before flying up to confront Luthor. It is revealed that Lex Luthor figured out Superman and Batman’s secret identities and has been playing them against each other since the beginning, orchestrating the incident in Africa as well as using the disabled ex Wayne employee and the Capitol bombing to help push Batman over the edge. Lex gives Superman an ultimatum, either he goes to Gotham City and kills Batman, ruining his reputation with the people of earth permanently or his mother dies, Luthor reveals he does not know where she is being held and he has given Superman less than 1 hour to kill Batman. Lex delivers a line that tells you everything you need to know: “If God is All Powerful, He Cannot be All Good, and if he is All Good, then he Cannot be All Powerful.” Superman flies back down to Lois to tell her about the situation before flying off to Gotham. In the background, the Kryptonian Ship charges and drains power from the city as Zod’s body mutates. Superman finds Batman and pleas with him to listen to what he has to say, that Lex Luthor has kidnapped his mother, but Bruce doesn’t listen and he uses remote control machine guns and sonic disruptors against Superman. Realising that Batman won’t listen to reason, Superman decides to throw him around to put some sense into Batman, while holding back and making sure not to hurt or kill him as he tells Batman to stay down ,and if he wanted it, he’d be dead already. Batman then shoots a Kryptonite Gas grenade at Superman with it exploding in his face. There Superman feels Pain for the first time. The fight continues with Batman trying to move Superman closer towards to Kryptonite Spear, using another one of his Kryptonite Gas Grenades in the process and also literally hitting Superman with a bathroom sink. Meanwhile as the fight is going on, Lois Lane gets on a helicopter and heads towards Gotham where the fight ensues.
From there we see Batman in his heavy metal suit ready to fight superman, as he puts the Kryptonite Spear in the ground and lights the signal to attract Superman. Right after that we see Superman’s adoptive mother kidnapped by Lex Luthor’s thugs, and right after that Lois Lane is kidnapped by
After Superman is beaten and lying on the Floor, Batman pulls Superman towards to spear teling him: “I bet Your Parents taught you that you mean something, that you’re here for a reason. My Parents taught me a Different Lesson, Dying in the Gutter, for no reason at all. They taught
Superman is physically unharmed by this but has a look of immense pain and grief on his face. We see him help bring survivors out of the rubble before flying away. We then cut to Lex Luthor on this way to LexCorp to find out that Batman has stolen the Kryptonite. Lex then decides to take the dead body of General Zod to the Kryptonian Ship, and put him into the Genesis Chamber, to mutate his body into a Living Weapon as a last resort to kill Superman. We are then treated to a training montage of Bruce preparing to face Superman, we see him crafting Kryptonite Gas Grenades and using a laser to sharpen the hunk of Kryptonite into the shape of a Spear.
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me the World only makes sense, if you Force it to.” reaches for the Spear, he puts his foot on Superman’s neck, and cuts his face before telling him: “You were Never a God...You were Never even a Man.” At this point we see the single most misunderstood moment in Cinematic History, Superman knowing he is about to die says: “You’re letting him Kill Martha, Find Him, Save Martha.” Right after that we see a very quick flashback montage of Bruce’s Parents getting killed in the ally and his father’s last word, accompanied by the emotional music of Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL before Bruce screams and asks why he said that name. Batman continues asking him why he said that name just for Lois to arrive and say it’s his mother’s name. The majority of people saw this and thought that they had stopped fighting just because their mothers share the same first name, without thinking of the subtext and what it meant. The reason Batman stopped is because he knew at that time, he was about to take a son away from a mother by breaking his no killing rule, he saw Superman’s last act was begging for his mother’s life and not his own, at that moment he realised Superman wasn’t a faceless alien but instead he was raised as a human by a human, and he was about to become Joe Chill and break up a family. Batman helps Superman get up and we see a tear flow down Bruce’s face and he makes Superman a promise that he’ll save his mother from Luthor’s Thugs. Before the next scene, Lois Lane gets rid of the Kryptonite Spear and throws it into a deep pit of water in the abandoned site they were fighting in. We are then treated to what is probably the best fight scene in all of comic book movie history as Batman fights his way through 2 dozen thugs in an effort to save Martha, with fight choreography ripped right out of Rocksteady’s Batman Arkham Games and saves her by blowing up the flamethrower used by The Russian. In the next scene, Superman flies to the crashed Kryptonian ship to confront Lex Luthor, Lex notices Superman did not kill Batman and orders his thugs to kill Martha, only to hear Batman’s voice on the other end. Because of this, Lex unleashes his last resort as we see the body of general Zod mutated and resurrected in the form of Doomsday. The monsters first act was to kill Lex by throwing a punch at him, just before its fist is caught by Superman. The fight is taken into the city, we see the raw power of this beast and the destruction it is causing, Diana sees the destruction on the 12 | Alpha Magazine
news. Superman then does the most logical move, he takes Doomsday into space, once they are high enough, the US Government decided to launch a Nuclear Warhead at them in an attempt to kill the monster, while acknowledging that Superman might be collateral damage. They launch the Nuke and it impacts, making the night sky glow bright yellow, Doomsday comes crashing back down to Earth, only stronger having absorbed energy from the blast, Supermans’s body floats in space, absorbing Sunlight to make a recovery. Batman sees Doomsday and realises that it’s a Kryptonian Beast and only Kryptonite Weapons can kill it. Batman draws Doomsdays attention towards him to lead him back to the port where he and Superman fought, to lead Doomsday back to the Kryptonite Spear. Doomsday, who can fire heat rays from his eyes and mouth, damages the Batplane, causing it to crash. He charges up another blast to kill Batman, right before Diana, dressed in her full Wonder Woman attire, swoops down and saves Batman by blocking the blast with her magical shield. Superman, revitalised by the sun, flies back down to Earth to join the fight, and now for the first time ever, we see The Trinity... Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman on screen together in the same movie. The fight scene that follows is a glorious action set piece where we see Superman and Wonder Woman going full force against Doomsday, with Batman working as a distraction to help split up the monsters attention. Seeing and hearing the destruction, while remembering the electrical surges from the Kryptonian Ship, Lois Lane put two and two together and realises that Doomsday is of Kryptonian Origin, she then races back to the spear to retrieve it but the shockwaves of the destruction cause the building to cave in, trapping Lois underwater with rubble above the surface, leaving no room for her to push out. During the fight Superman and Doomsday lock in a clash of Heatvision, with Doomsday overwhelming Superman and pushing him back, Wonder Woman steps in and cuts off Doomsdays right hand using her magic sword, for us to see a sharp bone growing out of Doomsdays wound. Superman gets ready to lunge at Doomsday again just for his super hearing to pick up Lois trying to free herself, he saves her, and the dives into the water to retrieve the spear. The fight continues as Wonder Woman holds off
Doomsday, Superman emerges from the water holding the spear, visibly weak. Wonder Woman tried to subdue Doomsday with her Lasso of Truth, Superman looks at Lois, and he tells her that she is his world, before flying at Doomsday, Kryptonite Spear in hand. Wonder Woman struggles to contain Doomsday but is then assisted by Batman, firing his last Kryptonite Gas Grenade at the beast weakening him for Superman to fly at the monster and pierce his chest with the spear. Doomsday screams in pain, and breaks out of the lasso’s hold, he grabs Superman with his left hand and stabs him through the heart with the protruding bone on its right arm, killing Superman as Clark lets out a loud shout. The dust settles and we see the lifeless body of Superman being held in the hand of Doomsday. We have a quick scene of a SWAT Team entering the Kryptonian Ship to find Lex Luthor communicating with one of the New Gods, Steppenwolf, setting up the next film. We proceed to see a grand public funeral for Superman, in the style of JFK’s Funeral, intercut with the funeral of Clark Kent in Smallville, Bruce talks with Diana and tells her: “I failed him in Life; I won’t fail him in Death. Men Are Still Good.” Lois drops a handful of dirt on Clark’s coffin, as we see the dirt rise for a split second before we cut to black.
My Thoughts
Yeah, so that was a lot to take in, I personally love this film, because of all the complex questions it raised about the nature of humanity and morality, and the fact that this is a new unique story that we have not seen in the comics before, while still taking inspiration from several different stories. As I said earlier, This film is THE most Misunderstood and Unfairly Criticized film I have seen in my entire life. And I’d like to take some time to address some of those criticisms as I feel a lot of them are invalid when you start thinking of the movie. Before we address those, we need to talk about the most important factor as to why this movie was first received so poorly, and that is all the fault of Warner Brothers. Not everything I described to you in the above story section was in the film that was seen in theatres. Warner Brothers gave Snyder a mandate that his film be 2.5 Hours long in the cinema, but the film was 3 hours when completed, so Snyder had no
choice but to allow 30 minutes of this film to get cut out, and these weren’t just action sequences, but important plot points. Sections such as the CIA Drone Strike, and The Russians mercenaries killing African civilians to frame Superman was cut out of the movie, as well as finding out the testimony from the African Woman was lie. The Russian organizing the branded human trafficker to be killed was cut from the film, as was Clark Kents investigation into the Batman, and Lex communicating with Steppenwolf. Having all of these moments cut out led to plot holes and jarring leaps in logic appearing in the theatrical version of the film. I watched this movie in the theatre in 2016, and I was underwhelmed by it, but when the film was released on Blu-Ray we received a Director’s Cut that kept all the cut out footage brining the film to a solid 3 Hour runtime with all the plot holes erases, providing a much better story. And it was only after this Blu-Ray Directors Cut was released that people started to see this movie for how amazing it really is and truly appreciate it. Cutting out half an hour of PLOT from your film and expecting it to still be as good is quite simply a nonsensical decision made by the Warner Executives.
Character
The development of Superman as a character continues in this film directly from Man of Steel. Where that movie was about him revealing himself to the world, this film is about him trying to find acceptance in this paranoid, conflicted world. He cannot be that smiling, bright Christopher Reeve clone, not yet. What Snyder was showing us is the journey Superman had to take to become that optimistic beacon of hope we all want him to be. His entire story is about growth. He does the right thing without ever being asked to and the people of the world still do not trust him no matter how much he wants them to, which makes sense as his very existence changes everything, and shakes the basis of people’s faith. There are those who complained saying Superman should’ve given the spear to Batman or Wonder Woman so he wouldn’t die. Is sacrificing himself to save the world not the heroic thing Superman should do? The beast came from his world, it’s his responsibility, was it not? In this film we saw Superman take on the ultimate journey that is faced by humans, our own mortality. And if anyone thinks he was killed too early, well I’m not April 2021 | 13
willing to wait 22 Movies for them to take a single risk and kill off a character. Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal of Lex Luthor was not well received by the mass audience when this film was released, many feeling that he felt more like The Riddler than Lex Luthor and because of that, some still dislike his performance. When this film came out I felt the same way about it, but I began to think more about what I saw. At the time this movie came out, I had not read Superman Birthright, that story was the inspiration for the characterisation of Lex Luthor that would be done here, this story shows off the eccentric Mad-Scientist side of the character more than the businessman side that we are more used to seeing after Gene Hackman’s performance in the Christopher Reeve films. The film is meant to be set in the real world, to this iteration of Luthor being so young works, because ask yourself this: How many people in their mid twenties and around that age group reject the Idea of God? And then Boom! God shows up and all your wealth and intellect can never replicate that kind of power, so you decide to kill the god. Love him or hate him, everything that character says and does IS Lex Luthor. Which is more compelling: this version of Lex Luthor or the version of Lex Luthor who only wants land and real-estate to get richer? People went into this movie with a certain vision in their minds for how Lex Luthor should be, they wanted Walter White and were disappointed when they got Lex Luthor. Lex’s Plan backup plan was to kill Superman, what he really wanted was to make people Hate Superman, and you know what...It Worked. Batman. It is hard seeing your heroes fall. Besides the film being Too Dark, the biggest complaint people have with this film is: Why does Batman Kill so many People? The fact that people complain about this really irritates me, because all it tells me is that they were not paying attention to the story. This is a Redemption Story of a Fallen Batman. The Design and Characterisation of Batman, was Inspired by one of the most iconic Batman Stories ever written, Frank Millers’ The Dark Knight Returns. The internet is constantly divided over this, on one hand we have fans who absolutely hate that Batman kills in this movie and believes the very act of him wanting to kill Superman should not have been in the script, that it is some kind of Blasphemy to even touch the topic. And on the other hand you have those 14 | Alpha Magazine
who love the journey the character went through. I do believe that The Icon that is The Batman is Defined by his No Killing Rule, but Batman CAN Kill if The STORY is about How He Should Not Kill, like this film. This film dared to take Batman’s no Killing Rule and make it a direct plot point for the character, instead of just mentioning it once and Glossing over it for the rest of the movie like with Michael Keaton or Christian Bale’s Batman (Even though there are compilations on YouTube of these Batmen killing, guess it’s only a problem when Snyder does it, smh.) A lot of the Dialogue Bruce has with Alfred is them debating whether or not Bruce can go through with the deed of looking Superman in the eye and thrusting a Spear through his heart, with the criminals he killed in the process being necessary collateral damage in his paranoid quest to try and save the world. We have already seen the story of the young Batman who is steadfast in his ideals and him being challenged by his villains, so what is wrong with letting us see this story of an older, jaded Batman who lost his way, regaining his Hope. FINAL THOUGHTS Like Man of Steel, people criticise Batman V Superman because of its tone, feeling it is too dark and serious. And I say, why is that a problem? Marvel has already cornered the Market with their bright Family Friendly cinematic universe, why not let DC be their own thing? Superhero Movies should not be all homogeneous, Competition Breeds Success. If all Superhero Movies were bright and joyful we wouldn’t have gotten masterpieces like this, or Todd Phillips Joker, which I will definitely write an article about in the future. I noticed more and more people flocking to these DC Movies because they have their own Cinematic Identity, they all feel unique, where with the MCU, a lot of those movies feel too similar, formulaic and overly safe, and a lot of hate was given to Batman V Superman because people were already used to the Marvel Formula and Expected this film to be FUN, but were disappointed because this is a movie you are meant to actively think about, and ponder. I love these DC Films because they fill the void and provide us with more emotionally and intellectually rich stories, giving us more variety in Comic Book Films. I Give the Extended Cut of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice a 9.5/10
10 Television Show Recommendatations For April By: Nigel Wurayayi
As a filmmaker, and a lover of the screen in general, I watch quite a lot of movies and televisions shows on a regular basis, and I would like to share some of them with you. In this article, I will share 10 tv show recommendations for you to watch. This is not a top 10 list, and not all of the shows on this list are 100% amazing, but all of them are worth watching. I will create a list just like this each month and hopefully you will enjoy the movies and shows listed. Next to each recommendation, you will find the genre of the movie, as well as a short logline (synopsis) that will give a bit of information about what the movie is about. Enjoy!
1. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-2022) Genre: Comedy, Crime Age: 14+ Comedy series following the exploits of Det. Jake Peralta and his diverse, lovable colleagues as they police the NYPD’s 99th Precinct.
2. The Boys (2019- ) Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime Age: TV-MA (Mature) A group of vigilantes set out to take down corrupt superheroes who abuse their superpowers.
3. Amazing Stories (2020) Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama Age: PG Executive produced by Spielberg, “Amazing Stories” will transport the audience to worlds of wonder through the lens of today’s most imaginative filmmakers, directors, and writers.
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4. APB (2016-2017) Genre: Crime, Drama Age: 14+ After witnessing a violent crime, a tech billionaire purchases a troubled police precinct, rebooting it as a private police force.
5. The Good Doctor (2017- ) Genre: Drama Age: 14+ Shaun Murphy, a young surgeon with autism and Savant syndrome, is recruited into the surgical unit of a prestigious hospital.
6. Servant (2019- ) Genre: Drama, Mystery, Horror Age: TV-MA (Mature) A Philadelphia couple is in mourning after an unspeakable tragedy creates a rift in their marriage and opens the door for a mysterious force to enter their home.
7. The Punisher (2017-2019) Genre: Action, Crime, Drama Age: TV-MA (Mature) After the murder of his family, Marine veteran Frank Castle becomes the vigilante known as “The Punisher,” with only one goal in mind: to avenge them.
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8. Almost Human (2013-2014) Genre: Action, Crime, Drama Age: 14+ In a not-so-distant future, a human cop and an android partner team up to protect and serve.
9. Deadly Class (2018-2019) Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy Age: TV-MA (Mature) A coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of late 1980s counterculture, which follows a disillusioned teen recruited into a storied high school for assassins.
10. How To Sell Drugs Online (Fast) (2019- ) Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama Age: 17+ To win back the love of his life, a high school student and his best friend launch Europe’s largest online drug business from their teenage bedroom.
Bonus. Grimm (2011-2017) Genre: Drama, Crime, Fantasy Age: 14+ A homicide detective discovers he is a descendant of hunters who fight supernatural forces.
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Gaming
CONTENTS 20. New Games Coming Out This Month
6 New Games Coming Out This Month By: Dalton Cooper
The first quarter of 2021 is coming to a close, and traditionally, it’s one of the slowest times for new video game releases. New game releases should start heating up over the next few months before slowing down again in the summertime, and it looks like April is getting the second quarter started off with a bang. April 2021 will consist of a variety of major new video game releases, including Outriders from People Can Fly, New Pokemon Snap on the Nintendo Switch, and the PlayStation 5 exclusive Returnal. There should be something to look forward to for players on all consoles, and it will definitely be interesting to see which game comes out of April as the most popular new release of the month.
1. Outriders
Release: 1 April 2021 Developer: People Can Fly April is kicking off with a bang. Outriders is a new third-person shooter/RPG hybrid with a focus on co-op gameplay and the promise of providing players with a complete experience at launch instead of being yet another live service title. The Outriders demo has been met with enthusiasm by the community, and it will be interesting to see if that enthusiasm translates to strong sales for the game. Outriders will also be available through Xbox Game Pass on launch day, which should ensure that it has an even bigger community of players than it would have otherwise.
2. Oddworld: Soulstorm
Release: 6 April 2021 Developer: Oddworld Inhabitants First announced way back in 2016, the latest entry in the Oddworld series finally arrives this month as a Sony console-exclusive titled Oddworld: Soulstorm. Billed as a re-imagining of the second game in the quintology, 1998’s Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus, Soulstorm sees the return of the unlikely hero Abe the Mudokon as he leads a revolution to save his fellow slaves from being turned into a drink called Soulstorm Brew by their overlords, the Glukkons.
3. Star Wars: Republic Commando Release: 6 April 2021 Developer: LucasArts
Star Wars: Republic Commando originally launched in 2005, but the game is set to get a new lease on life on modern platforms come April 6. An enhanced port of the original game, Star Wars: Republic Commando is the latest classic Star Wars game to get ported to new consoles. It’s a tactical FPS about the Delta Squad group, with players taking on the role of RC-1338 in the campaign. The events of Star Wars: Republic Commando is technically no longer canon, but it should still make for a fun time for fans of the sciencefiction franchise. And while this enhanced port is so far only releasing for PS4 and Switch, it’s worth pointing out that the game can also be played on Xbox One and Xbox Series X consoles thanks to the backward compatibility program. 20 | Alpha Magazine
4. Returnal
Release: 30 April 2021 Developer: Housemarque
The Nintendo Switch isn’t the only console with an exclusive new game launching on April 30. PlayStation 5 gamers can look forward to the release of Returnal, an intense-looking sci-fi shooter game that also features horror and roguelike elements. Developed by Resogun studio Housemarque, Returnal looks to be one of the studio’s most ambitious games, as well as one of the most impressive-looking PS5 games so far from a visual standpoint. Housemarque’s track record speaks for itself, so odds are that Returnal will live up to the hype, but fans will just have to wait and play it come April 30 to find out for sure.
5. Terminator: Resistance Enhanced Release: 30 April 2021 Developer: Teyon
This is a weird one. For those who may have missed it, Terminator: Resistance originally launched in 2019, a first-person shooter that was met with generally unfavorable reviews. But while the original release of Terminator: Resistance was not exactly praised by critics, it still managed to find an audience of players who actually liked the game. And now Terminator: Resistance will get the chance to find an even larger audience as a remaster is coming as a PlayStation 5 exclusive game at the end of April. And those that already own the PS4 version can upgrade to the PS5 version for free.
6. New Pokemon Snap
Released: 30 April 2021 Developer: Bandai Namco Studios April 30 is an especially stacked day for the video game industry when it comes to new releases. One of the new releases includes New Pokemon Snap, the long-awaited sequel to Pokemon Snap that fans of the Nintendo 64 original have been waiting decades for. New Pokemon Snap looks like a natural sequel to the original game, vastly improving the graphics and adding all kinds of new gameplay features to bring things up to modern standards. Of course, New Pokemon Snap features plenty of the new Pokemon that were introduced to the franchise between the release of the original Pokemon Snap and the new game, so there should be plenty of new creatures to snap photos of. Arguably one of the biggest Switch exclusives of 2021, New Pokemon Snap is also one of the most notable video game releases of April 2021. April 2021 | 21
MUSIC
CONTENTS 24. 10 Most Streamed Artist On Spotify - April 2021 25. Up and Coming Artist - Frenzzy Valorous
10 Most Streamed Artist On Spotify - April 2021 By: Nigel Wurayayi
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Number: 1
Number: 6
Artist: The Weeknd
Artist: J Balvin
Monthly Listeners: 69.81 Million
Monthly Listeners: 53.66 Million
Number: 2
Number: 7
Artist: Justin Bieber
Artist: Bruno Mars
Monthly Listeners: 69.73 Million
Monthly Listeners: 52.90 Million
Number: 3
Number: 8
Artist: Dua Lipa
Artist: Ed Sheeran
Monthly Listeners: 61.74 Million
Monthly Listeners: 52.73 Million
Number: 4
Number: 9
Artist: Drake
Artist: Maroon 5
Monthly Listeners: 57.37 Million
Monthly Listeners: 50.51 Million
Number: 5
Number: 10
Artist: Ariana Grande
Artist: Khalid
Monthly Listeners: 56.09 Million
Monthly Listeners: 48.95 Million
Up and Coming Artist - Frenzzy Valorous By: Khaya Dumakude
To quote a young man from The Garden Route District in the Western Cape from the infamous town of Mossel Bay: “Life is a poem”. If you ask Soundcloud it’ll tell you his name is Frenzzyvalorous a stage name inspired by his childhood and his own lyrics which state: “I had rules and responsibilities, values of valour and victory” which is Menzi’s subtle way of telling us that he is courageous and brave in the face of failure, which is why today he is chasing his dreams of being a multi-talented creative, hugely inspired by Donald Glover (more commonly known as Childish Gambino). Menzi has aspirations of showing the world that he is more than a musician. Growing up in school he wasn’t the most athletic kid around but if there was one thing he knew how to do and do well it was to perform and act in theatre, there he got his first taste of the media industry and somebody call the psych ward because we have an addict, from there Shakespeare touched his soul and poetry slipped into his bones and as the acronym of RAP dictates ‘Rhythm and Poetry’ is what RAP is and as he evolved so did his art.
to a still image along with the competitive nature of photography, the challenge of being able to bring something different to a table filled with incredible feasts excites the multi-talented Mr Shabangu. Being a film student and words being his gift he excels in scriptwriting and says to expect at least one short-film from him this year along with a fire collaboration with IM¬_RE-AL. With him pushing himself on all fronts, Menzi says his New Year’s resolution was “to be consistent IN ALL FORMS of media”. When questioned on whether there was anything he’d like to pursue outside of media he simply said “I’d love to open a coffee shop where anyone and everyone come and relax but I want it to be different from all the others”, perhaps they’ll write their menu’s backwards no one knows but him, but what I do know is that he is an Alpha. Menzi “Frenzzy Valorous” Shabangu, Alpha Magazine recognises you and we wish you good luck on this journey. It’s not for the faint of heart, bu you’re cold-blooded, so feast young man feast!
There are two things I’m certain of, one Frenzzy Valorous is still very much figuring out who he is an artist and two, he loves afro-centric hiphop, so ladies, be on notice, he isn’t afraid of his emotions. Frennzy Valorous has released two EP’s to date namely Dawn (2019) and Dusk (2020). Dawn “was the beginning of Frenzzy” where he gave himself the opportunity to go a little old school by the book and introduce himself to the world representing not only himself but his city as well. Dusk tells us a story of a boy who was on the brink of losing hope, and with both EP’s he was “acknowledging that I need God, I need a divine power”. CUT TO: today Menzi is not only working on three EP’s but he has also ventured into photography and described the experience as “fun” and the draw being the ability to add depth April 2021 | 25
poetry
I know you
By: FRenzzy Valorous
I saw him coming from the corner of my eye . Slowly, but he saw me and his spirit woke like there was a gate way out of his mind . A gate way to a conversation. Even if it was two minutes. Two minutes of communication, dialogue and connecting . My gate opened slightly. But I was occupied with guests that didn’t even know my name, neither did he. “Wassup my man “ “Awe bra” Like the feeling you get when you turn on the radio and you only caught the last minute of your favorite song . He came, got the morsel of connection he wanted, he faded away into the realms of his world like he had something important to deal with. He didn’t. As he walked away from our 1 bar WiFi connection of a conversation,I realized I know him .
How much more can you offer me By: FRenzzy Valorous
How much more can you offer me. How much more do I have to give of myself. Do I have to sacrifice myself for your pride, or will your pride produce something new to inherit.Is your love for free, or is it shackled like mine?
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PHOTOGRAPHY
Model: CLEOPATRA TISANA IG: @cleopatratisana
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PHOTOGRAPHER: FRenzzy Valorous IG: @frenzzyvalorous
heartofalpha@gmail.com
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PHOTOGRAPHER: emre keshavarz IG: @emrekeshavarz
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Model: CLEOPATRA TISANA IG: @cleopatratisana
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Model: CLEOPATRA TISANA IG: @cleopatratisana
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photographer: Vitória Santos IG: @vitoriasantosph
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Lebohang Lephatsoana @Iamlebohang_
model: Omolemo Mohlakane IG: @drippyboy_lemos
heartofalpha@gmail.com April 2021 | 35
photographer: Keith Lobo IG: @k3ithvision
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Lebohang Lephatsoana @Iamlebohang_
photographer: Vitória Santos IG: @vitoriasantosph
heartofalpha@gmail.com April 2021 | 37
model: Jaysen Scott IG: @JaysenScott
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Lebohang Lephatsoana @Iamlebohang_
photographer: Dellon Thomas IG: @elsimage
heartofalpha@gmail.com April 2021 | 39
