Panorama Volume 3 Fall Issue

Men’s rights activism / Joker and Incels / An approaching recession / Misogyny in music

November 2019 • Volume 3, Issue 1

AN UNBEARABLE SITUATION The scope and severity of the sixth mass extinction

By Kyra Hudson

Volume 3, Issue 1

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

14 4 6 10

#Meninism

By Jessa Glassman and Joanna Im The Sixth Mass Extinction

By Kyra Hudson

2

In Defense of Animation

The underappreciated artistic value of animated films

By Spencer Klink

12 18

Falling for Fall

By Casey Kim

A New Recession

By Emma Shapiro

Inside Incels’ Minds

By Ruoshan Dong

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Melodious Misogyny

By Evie de Rubertis

Editors-in-Chief: Kyra Hudson Casey Kim Spencer Klink Lauren Nehorai Executive Managing Editors: Joanna Im Emma Shapiro Junior Editors: Lauren Cho Evie de Rubertis Ruoshan Dong Tanisha Gunby Hannah Han Siobhan Harms Mak Krickshiun Frank Jiang Celine Park Chloe Schaeffer Senior Editors: Caitlin Chung Jessa Glassman Jeanine Kim Lindsay Wu Adviser: Jim Burns Art Director: Annabel Zimmer

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS:

A

t the back corner table of Joan’s on Third, Studio City were four rising seniors, three Chinese chicken salads, a peanut butterand-jelly sandwich and two previous issues of Panorama Magazine.

Toward the end of the summer, we gathered for the first time to excitedly discuss our plans for this year’s magazine.

As the editors-inchiefs, we will continue to produce creative

content and report on worldly issues, while revamping our media presence and magazine layout in order to reach a broader audience.

Furthermore, with the introduction of a new management structure and sophomore layout assistants, we look forward to widening the scope of our coverage and design work.

We are honored and enthusiastic to carry Panorama’s legacy for its third volume.

PANORAMA MAGAZINE IS A SPACE FOR: In-depth stories Stories that extend beyond the bounds of our campus Human-interest articles Powerful design

In this issue, we’re covering stories from the sixth mass extinction to the emotions evoked by Autumn. Panorama’s goal is to uphold the truth, share narratives that matter and document the broad spectrum of human experiences. We hope that our articles will inform our readers on topics they had not thought about before and help them view issues in a new light.

Panorama Magazine is the student magazine of Harvard-Westlake School, and is affiliated with The Chronicle, the student newspaper. It is published four times per year. Letters to the editor may be submitted to chronicle@hw.com or mailed to 3700 Coldwater Canyon, Studio City, CA 91604. Letters must be signed and may be edited for space and to conform to Chronicle style and format.

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The men’s rights movement has emerged as a response to alleged misandry in society. Activists from all sides of the debate reflect on whether the movement is valid or merely backlash against feminism.

BY JOANNA IM AND JESSA GLASSMAN The year was 1982, and long-time activist and feminist Zoe Nicholson joined with six other women in Springfield, Illinois to fast for 40 days. Nicholson had a clear political goal in participating in the fast: to show support of the Equal Rights Amendment, which would guarantee equality under the law for all American citizens regardless of sex. But as Nicholson endured the grueling conditions of her fast, she also faced harsh and violent opposition.

“There was a man arrested with seven knives with [the fasters’] names carved in each of them,” Nicholson said. “I had a man put cigars out on my arms as he walked past me going to the elevator. People don’t want change [because] it threatens the status quo. Imagine if black women were paid the same as white men.

The world would implode.”

For Nicholson, it is not effective for activists to try explaining their social justice efforts or start discussions with those who disagree, she said.

“Don’t waste your breath, don’t waste your time [and] don’t waste your light with people who are entrenched and believe they are solely correct,” Nicholson said. “That’s not what you are called to do, and that’s not really what this is about at all. You can’t walk into a second grade class and expect them to under-

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stand 12th grade material. It would be cruel [and] a waste of your gifts.”

In response to the rise of feminism, an opposition movement called men’s rights activism has emerged, according to NPR. Andrew Gong ’21 said that he believes the rise of men’s groups is due to their fear of losing social privilege.

“Feminist movements are gaining more attention with the advent of social media, and women are breaking glass ceilings and closing achievement gaps,” Gong said. “I think that makes a lot of men uncomfortable because they perceive that women are gaining a lot while their own rights are stagnating.”

Like any movement, different men’s rights groups focus on different issues. Some of the problems they seek to address include family court biases, false sexual assault accusations, masculine stereotypes, circumcision and even toxic feminism, according to A Voice for Men, a prominent men’s rights organization.

“It is the mission of A Voice for Men to provide education and encouragement to men and boys: to lift them above the din of misandry, to reject the unhealthy demands of gynocentrism in all its forms and to promote their mental, physical and financial well-being without compromise or apology,” founder Paul Elam wrote in A Voice for Men’s mission statement.

Though many feminists perceive men’s rights groups as misogynistic and offensive,

that is not the case for documentarian Cassie Jaye, who directed The Red Pill to show her experiences interviewing both pro-men activists and feminists about respective groups.

“When I started this project, my perception of [men’s right’s activists] was definitely negative,” she said in an interview with The Telegraph. “I thought they’d say shocking things and it would be a peek inside this mysterious, misogynistic community. All I knew about them was the cherrypicked, shocking comments used on feminist websites. But when I started to really listen to them, I started to empathize with a lot of their issues. Our cultural conditioning is that women have been oppressed and men are the oppressors. But I saw that wasn’t so.”

For Jaye, discussing specific problems facing men is important, which some feminists like Gong agree with. However, men’s rights groups often misunderstand feminism and make cooperation between pro-men and pro-women activists impossible, Gong said .

“I think while [men’s rights groups’] goals and messages are incredibly important, they often end up being counterproductive conservative echo chambers,” Gong said. “I’ve seen many of these movements get taken over by conservatives who only use men’s rights [activism] as an innocent cover for misogyny. What I’ve seen a lot of men’s rights

movements misunderstand is the idea of toxic masculinity. They often assume that when feminists call masculinity toxic, it’s bashing all men, or masculinity as a whole, when in reality, it’s simply labeling a specific social norm that’s been incredibly damaging to both women and men. That’s why I’m hesitant to support men’s rights movements.”

Meanwhile, some feminists like Olivia Feldman ’21 believe that the entire men’s rights movement is invalid and offensive to socially subordinated groups.

“I think the men’s rights movement, while it may bring up some important points, ignores the fact that the main issues specific to men stem from the patriarchy and toxic masculinity, which feminism works to fight,” Feldman said. “Using things like statistics about suicide and custody to shut down feminist movements is counterproductive and unacceptable. Society was also built to favor white men, so those people turning around and claiming to be oppressed when they face any hint of struggle is insulting to [the people] who they’ve historically marginalized.”

Through her time working one-on-one with these activists, Jaye said she learned men’s rights advocates are not the misogynistic and offensive people they are made out to be by feminists, which shocked her.

“Within the feminist community, there is a lack of compassion,” she said in an interview

with The Telegraph. “There is a feeling ‘they have been the oppressors, and now it’s our turn’.

Some prefer to step on men in the process. Even when men were suffering, like falling behind at school, I heard a lot of talk about ‘toxic masculinity’ – that it was somehow the fault of the patriarchy, that men caused their own problems.

But the While [men’s rights [men’s right’s groups’] goals and messages activists] are incredibly important, they weren’t loners or often end up being counterproductive conservative echo misogynists. chambers.”

Most of - Andrew Gong ’21 them are in loving relationships and have children, and that was shocking for me.”

Though the men’s rights and feminist movements currently oppose one another, Gong believes the most powerful social change will come from an increased mutual understanding and respect, which he believes is currently better accomplished by feminists.

“My strongest view on men’s rights movements, however, is that they are not mutually exclusive with feminist ones,” Gong said. “Their communities devolve into bashing feminism and women’s rights struggles when in reality, I think a lot could stand to be gained from cooperation between the movements.”

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THE SIXTH MASS EXTINCTION

By Kyra Hudson

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W

hen my Advanced Placement Environmental Science teacher projected an image of a starving polar bear during my second period class, I had to look away. A clear outline of the bear’s skeleton was visible under its mangy fur as it was stranded on a northern Canadian freeway. My teacher went on to explain that the bear’s habitat had melted due to human-driven global warming and had to migrate to dangerous urbanized areas to survive.

An immense guilt overtook me; I thought of every plastic water bottle I had used, every time I had been on a plane and every cattle product I had consumed and felt personally responsible for this polar bear’s agony.

Now, I would not consider myself an animal person; I adore my dog and smile at videos where a baby goat and pig become friends, but I never gave a second thought about eating a piece of bacon.

But, in that moment, I wanted to do everything I could to help that polar bear.

It is not just this bear being harmed due to climate change, but the entire polar bear species.

With declining sea ice providing less access to their primary food source, seals, polar bears have declined by 40 percent in the last 10 years and are continuing to decline, according to the World Wildlife Foundation.

Polar bears are not alone in a loss of habitat leading to starvation, relocation and mass death

due to climate change. In fact, if current warming trends continue, one-third of plant and animal species are predicted to be extinct by 2050, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. Currently, one species goes extinct every twenty minutes.

In other words, after finishing just one episode of “Friends” on Netflix, one more species no longer exists. This trend leads experts to believe that the planet is currently in the sixth mass extinction, more commonly referred to as the Holocene extinction, according to PBS. “There are a variety of factors that are driving a [sixth mass] extinction, including land use, pollution and over-harvesting,” director of the Institute on the Environment and Ecolab chair for Environmental Leadership at the University of Minnesota Jessica Hellmann said. “And, sadly, that extinction event seems to be already underway. The concern is that climate change will increase or accelerate that process.”

The most recent mass extinction, known as the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction, occurred 66 million years ago and killed off three-fourths of Earth’s population, including dinosaurs. The pace of that extinction, which is thought to have been from an asteroid colliding into Earth, is highly debated among scientists, according to National Geographic. Similarly, co-director of the Lorenz Center and professor of geophysics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Daniel Rothman

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ONE SPECIES GOES EXTINCT EVERY 20 MINUTES 8

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said that the rate of the current mass extinction cannot be measured quantitatively.

“Scientists, like me, compare present trends to the past, and create models that lend insight,” Rothman said. “However, the climate system is complex, with a great many interactions that are poorly, if at all understood.”

While climate change may not be the only factor driving the mass extinction, it is responsible for its rapid acceleration. Climate change’s effects are visibly prevalent in modern ecosystems, with some more apparent effects being a loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise and longer, more intense heat waves, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Not only is climate change causing the Holocene extinction, but other human-made issues are also harming species by causing habitat loss, pollution and overharvesting, AP Environmental Science teacher Nadine Eisenkolb said.

“The species at the greatest risk are [those that are] the most specialized, [such as ones that] feed on a particular host plant, for example, or live in a particular habitat type, the most restricted in their geographic distribution,” Hellmann said. “[Species] living in only a narrow set of climatic conditions, [and those] living in places on earth where climate is projected to change the most or where there’s nowhere to escape a warming climate [such as] species at the top of mountains or polar species, [are at risk].”

A United Nations report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) released this year stated that one million species are at risk of extinction. The rate at which different animal classes are being affected drastically varies, with amphibians being the most affected with close to 50 percent of the class being threatened by extinction, according to Eisenkolb. “[Birds, mammals and reptiles] are the animal groups that we have a lot of relationships to, but I wonder how many people have looked at fish or bugs,” Eisenkolb said. “We care about some species

more than we care about others and therefore put resources to establish their numbers in different proportions.”

While the rate of different class extinction differs, changes in global ecosystems are prime reasons for decreasing biodiversity. Alterations in ecosystems not only affect one species, but the entire population because of interdependent species relations, biology and society PhD student at Arizona State University Olivia Davis said.

“When we lose certain species in an ecosystem, a niche, or job, in that ecosystem is lost,” Davis said.

“Sometimes, another species can fill that role, but other times, there is not another species available to do that. As a result, the whole ecosystem can decline.

One example of what can happen when biodiversity declines is coral bleaching. Coral reefs have historically housed 25 percent of the world’s marine organisms and provided them with food and shelter and have also protected coasts from erosion, provided a source of ecotourism and compounds for medicines.

When corals are bleached, they are unable to fulfill these duties, and the organisms that depend on them are in danger of declining as well.”

What makes this extinction unique, however, is that humans are aware that they are accelerating and can help reduce immense species deprivation, yet they are taking necessary action, Eisenkolb said.

While humans cannot prevent this extinction, there is still a lot people can do to help reduce climate change, better the planet and decrease the rate of this global event.

“When shopping, it is important to consider if your food is being sourced sustainably, as food production is one of the greatest contributors to greenhouse gasses,” Davis said. “Eating less meat and dairy, as well as buying locally, are great ways to do that.

Also, many processed foods contain palm oil that was grown on lands that have destroyed habitats.”

So, next time you reach for a plastic water bottle or munch on a beef hamburger, think of all the species that are being affected by an anthropocentric mass extinction. Consider the polar bears, frogs and tropical fish, and make environmentally friendly choices so you can do your part to reduce the amount of species gone forever.

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WHY SO SERIOUS?

By Ruoshan Dong

Illustration by Siobhan Harm s and

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Mak Kriksciun

Long after the rest of the audience had already left the theater, Dan* sat alone in the back row, unable to remove the jarring image of the Joker’s bloodsmeared smile from his mind. Hidden in the darkness, he found himself twisting his lips into a similar grimace, wanting to emulate the character he was so enthralled by.

“This might be weird to say, but I see the Joker as myself,” Dan later wrote on Reddit. “I’ve been bullied all my life.

No one stands up for me. I’m manipulated on almost a daily basis. I have no friends. I’ve never been able to have a relationship. I hate my life. I hate women.

They’re manipulators, selfish and never express themselves honestly. Every pain and struggle the Joker went through is something I’ve experienced in my everyday life. Watching the movie was like watching my own life through someone else’s eyes.”

Dan is part of an online community called incels, a lonely and misogynistic hate group bound by the shared belief that men are entitled to sex and romantic relationships with women, according to Vice.

Incels, short for “involuntarily celibate,” have a large online presence on forum-based sites such as 4chan, incels. me and Reddit. Their views are largely based upon a sexist ideology called “the blackpill”, the belief that men’s success with women is entirely determined by their physical characteristics, according to the Incel Wikipedia. Non-incels are referred to as being “blue-pilled.” Bluepilled individuals are seen as being naive and easily fooled by mainstream media.

The blackpill ideology portrays women, “Stacys,” as shallow, evil and exclusively attracted to “Chads,” the most attractive men. According to incels.me, “black-pilled” individuals view sex as an indispensable marker of success and victimize themselves as being unfairly discriminated against.

Unlike Dan, Phillip* said that the online friends he made through the incel community inspired him to adopt a more optimistic outlook on life and encouraged him to focus on motivating and improving himself.

“I feel that joining [incel] has made me more aware of how much looks matter, and that has led me to try and selfimprove my own looks and to pay closer attention to maintaining my looks,” Phillip said. “It has also encouraged me

to ‘get out there’ before I get too old.

This means joining clubs and attempting more extracurricular activities. It’s also comforting that I’m around people who are like me. Finding people who were in my situation makes me feel less bad, less like an outsider.”

Although many men suffer from loneliness and isolation, the anonymity and accessibility of online incel forums serve as platforms for these feelings to be radicalized into intense hate and misogyny. Unrestrained by typical social boundaries, people who post on Reddit often resort to “trolling” and posting threats of violence to express their frustrations, according to an incel documentary produced by Vice. Daniel*, a 20 year old man, said that although he agrees with most incel ideology, he believes the community is very toxic and onedimensional.

“I feel that incels are sometimes too misogynistic to a certain degree,” Daniel said. “There is too much generalization on gender rather than focusing on all types of people. The community is an echo chamber since we just repeat the same anti-women stuff over and over, with no actual progress and discussion being made. You’ll see posts about ‘oh, let’s kill all women’ but nothing about ‘how can we be make women like us?’”

For some users like Elliot Rodgers, commonly referred to as “Saint Elliot” by the incel community, these threats are more than just letting off steam. In 2014, Rodgers , a self-identified “supreme gentleman” and incel, published a 140-page document about his personal suffering before killing six people and committing suicide in Isla Vista, according to ABC. In the manifesto, Rodgers expressed his frustration over his virginity and his deep-rooted loathing of women.

“Ever since I was 17, I often fantasized about becoming powerful and inflicting suffering upon everyone who

has wronged me in the past, but I never thought I would actually do it,” Rodgers wrote. “At this point, after going through so much suffering and injustice, all of my innocence had been swept away.

The world had been cruel to me, and it molded me to become strong enough to actually have the capability of returning that cruelness to the world. I wouldn’t hesitate to kill or even torture my hated enemies if I was given the opportunity[…] I am the true victim in all of this.

I am the good guy.”

Although Rodgers expressed sentiments that are largely embraced by the incel community, commenters in an r/ AskanIncel post titled “Do You Relate to the Joker?” are divided over whether they agree with the extremity of his actions.

S o m e members, including u/ TakeemToontown, said that they admired Rodgers for having the courage to make his voice known and speak to society on behalf of the incel community.

“I have never related more strongly to anyone than Saint Elliot,” u/TakeemToontown wrote in a Reddit thread. “I think he was one of those special few in every generation who really gets it.”

Other incels, including u/Riddle_ Snowcraft, said that despite agreeing with Rodger’s manifesto, they believe that violence is not a viable method to resolve their suffering.

“He was right about most things, except killing people,” u/Riddle_Snowcraft wrote. “He got [himself] killed along with innocent people over his impulsiveness and utter lack of intelligence to actually do something with the [incel ideology] he built.”

Since its release last month, members of the incel community have begun to draw parallels between Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker and Rodger. Critics such as Michael Rozsa, a reporter for Salon, have deemed the movie dangerous,

claiming that it justifies violence and murder.

“And yes, there is good reason to worry that this film will appeal to incels,” Rozsa wrote in his review for Salon. “The character of Sophie Dumond exists for no other purpose than to be a supposed love interest who is stalked, obsessed over, has her apartment broken into and is eventually reduced to a plot gimmick. She is, in other words, an object in [the Joker’s] world rather than a three-dimensional character, with her main function that of reinforcing [the Joker’s] sense of failure and justify his resentments against the world.”

The protagonist of “Joker,” Arthur Fleck, is a lonely male rejected by women and beaten down by society who turns to violence in an attempt to assert power over himself and his oppressors.

Movie critics have warned that incels resonating with the Joker’s struggles could be inspired by his violent actions.

Before the release of the movie, Warner Brothers issued a gun violence statement warning moviegoers that the Joker’s actions were not intended to be sympathized with.

“Gun violence in our society is a critical issue, and we extend our sympathy to all victims and families impacted,” the statement said. “Neither the fictional character Joker, nor the film, is an endorsement of real-world violence of any kind. It is not the intention of the film, the filmmakers, or the studio to hold this character up as a hero.”

In the first week after the movie’s release, police enforcement has been present at movie theaters in Los Angeles and New York. No violence has been reported at any of the showings, according to the Washington Post.

Despite desiring to have sexual and romantic relationships with women, Dan said that he lost faith in femininity and has given up on finding love.

“If only you could spend a week living in an unattractive guy’s body, you would see how devoid of empathy, cold and shallow females are,” Dan said. “Incels have been disrespected, rejected and bullied their entire lives by the people they want to feel loved by. It grinds the soul to dust, and they have to cope with it every day. Could you blame them for hating women considering their predicament?”

*names have been changed.

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Falling for Fall

By Casey Kim Fall is the season of oversized sweaters, hot chocolate and home-cooked chicken pot pie. It’s cable-knit cardigans, rom-com marathons and dinner with family and friends. But for me, it’s also 90-degree weather and allergy medicine.

While the rest of the country prepares for a chilly winter, I sweat through my cashmere sweater as I sip on an iced pumpkin-spice latte.

And though the grass is still green and the sky just as blue as it was in the summer, autumn has arrived in Los Angeles.

Living in a city with only one season yearround, summer, has often caused me to feel nostalgic about classic, traditional fall experiences that I have only become familiar with through a screen.

Whether it’s watching Harry and Sally walk through a romantic path filled with colorful trees or Monica and Rachel sport their pastel turtlenecks in “Friends”, I have always enjoyed curling up into a ball under my covers and imagining my life as a movie that takes place in some chilly, East Coast city. I like to picture myself with a large, hot coffee in hand and in a furry pair of earmuffs, toes tingly from the chilly air and nose bright red.

It is true that many people envy L.A. for its amazing weather, and I do not mean to sound

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ungrateful for the home town I grew up in. I feel extremely lucky that I can pay a visit to the beach with my friends and experiment with different fashion trends at any time during the year. And despite the warm weather, the emotions and sentiments that come along with the season allow me to have a unique fall experience.

For example, my parents and I go to Santa Barbara every Thanksgiving break for an annual reunion with extended family members and friends. We play intense rounds of Monopoly and stuff ourselves until, eventually falling into a food coma. The night of the big dinner, we drive to the nearest mall to take advantage of the Black Friday sales and buy gifts for the upcoming holiday season.

Fall traditions such as these add so much to the happy and celebratory sentiments of the season. Along with family autumnal traditions, I also feel so fortunate during this time of the year for every person and moment in my life: my supportive parents, at-times annoying 10-yearold sister, best friends and teachers who always have my best interest in mind. I’m grateful for my home, education and endless opportunities. And even though I do have to pop a few Benadryl pills every once in a while, I love this season for reminding me to always be thankful.

Autumnal Apple Berry Pie

By Lauren Nehorai Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup of granulated sugar 2 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch 1 tablespoon of sanding sugar 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon of salt 2 1/2 pounds of apples 2 1/4 cups of blackberries 2 tablespoons of cold, unsalted and dicedbutter 1 large egg yolk

Inspired by Martha Stewart’s Apple-Blackberry Pie. Photo Illustration by Spencer Klink and Lauren Nehorai

Instructions:

One: Whisk together granulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt into a bowl Two: Add apples and blackberries to the mixture and toss to coat.

Three: Pour filling into prepared pie crust, and dot with butter Four: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place rack on lowest position of oven.

Five: Coat the edge of the pie crust with an egg wash.

Six: Using extra pie dough, cut out leaf shapes and place them over the filling.

Seven: Brush over the top of the pie with egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar.

Eight: Freeze for 30 minutes Nine: Place parchment on a baking sheet, and then set the pie on said sheet.

Ten: Place it in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden.

Eleven: Turn the baking sheet around and reduce the heat to 350 degrees.

Eleven: Bake the pie for one hour and 45 minutes, or until juices bubble in center.

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IN DEFENSE OF ANIMATION

By Spencer Klink

H

ayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away is a masterpiece in the truest sense of the word. The twohour-long animated film is composed of approximately 90,000 hand-drawn frames, and the magic contained within every aspect of the film has earned it an Oscar, a perfect rating from Pulitzer Prize winning film critic Roger Ebert and overall universal acclaim according to Metacritic.

Despite this, Disney only released the movie in 151 theaters for its premiere in the United States, as opposed to the normal 3,000 granted to almost every other Disney film. Additionally, many

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adults disregard Spirited Away altogether, justifying neglect for this film with some variation on the assertion that animation is just for kids.

This understanding of animation is highly problematic, since it closes one off to the deeply political messages imbued within many animated stories.

Brushing off Spirited Away, for example, which explores ten-year-old Chihiro’s transition to adulthood as she is trapped within a bathhouse occupied by spirits, means one could not appreciate the film’s mature themes. These motifs, which scholars like Tufts Univer-

sity professor Susan Napier analyzed, include violence in acculturation and toxicity in western materialism.

Additionally, understanding Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant as a childish story about the friendship between a boy and a destructive robot ignores a harsh criticism of Cold War-era paranoid politics, as film critic Jonathan Kim from ReThink Reviews wrote.

Another issue with this orientation toward animation is that it ignores every single artist producing animations exclusively for adult audiences.

For example, Satoshi Kon’s film Perfect Blue, among many others he has worked on, masters the psychological thriller genre through its stunning use of the color red and effective character establishment and development. Additionally, Ari Folman’s animated movie Waltz With Bashir explores the experience of a young soldier in the Israel Defense Forces during the 1982 Lebanon War. Despite the existence of many mature animated films,

many individuals continue to deny that animation is capable of producing such a complex cinematic experience.

As a result, I often cannot help but ask myself: would Fight Club still have such prestige if it were an animated film?

Would Vertigo still be considered suspenseful if it were animated? And when I realize the answer is a definite “no,” I then wonder: Why is the style of art allowed to determine how a film’s message is received? Or whether that message is even received in the first place?

To that question, I find no clear answer, especially in the context of animation.

First and foremost, animation is a form of art liberated from the shackles of reality and finance; all it requires is a pencil and paper. It is capable of capturing all the same emotions that the most powerful paintings can, and it definitely has, but due to arbitrary conceptions about animation, is often considered a juvenile form of expression.

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Without animation, artists’ most vivid ideas would be impossible to capture, including those in live action films. Without animation, Luke Skywalker would never have left Tatooine in Star Wars, dinosaurs could never have come back to life in Jurassic Park and the Aveng“Appreciating and ers could never have fought preserving a pluThanos in rality of art forms is Avengers: Endessential to maingame. tain a rich, complex To make matculture in society.” ters worse, animation is largely a dying art.

Although 3D animation, championed by studios such as Pixar, continues to generate immense profit, other forms of animation are no longer considered as captivating as they once were.

2D animation, as implemented in Spirited Away, is used much less frequeuntly. Studio Ghibli, which is responsible for the production of Miyazaki’s

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film, has shut down, and the last 2D animated feature film from Disney, Winnie the Pooh, was released in 2011. Similarly, 3D animation has also begun to replace stop motion animation, where individuals reposition objects in small increments while taking photographs to create an illusion of movement.

This is not to say that 3D animation is a flawed form of artwork. As an artistic medium, it has brought several powerful films like Wall-E and Up, which explore loss to the environment and personal loss, respectively.

However, 3D animation should not replace all other forms of animation because there is inherent artistic value in expressing oneself through a plurality of mediums.

Ultimately, appreciating and preserving a plurality of art forms is essential to maintain a rich, complex culture in society.

Respecting 2D animation as a form of artistic expression is necessary; otherwise, it might fade into obsolescence.

IMAGE FROM CRAIG DUFFY

Spirited Away is an animated film composed of over 90,000 individual frames.

PICTURE FROM NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

The Star Wars series was made possible through animated effects.

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Stepping into a

New Recession

By Emma Shapiro

Illustration by Hannah Han and Frank Jiang 18

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B

rought about by a failure within the housing market, the 2008 Recession hit our economy almost as intensely as the Great Depression.

Now with 2020 fast approaching, another housing market recession is predicted, according to CNBC. In order to avoid this possibility, we need to be proactive in addressing this scare and fix our government programs to prevent another downfall in our economy.

The housing market acts as one of the largest contributors to our nation’s economy.

With it in shambles, our economy will be in dire condition.

Around $1.15 trillion of the nation’s economic output comes from real estate construction, according to The Balance. Since our economy is dependent on real estate, the housing market could soon be in turmoil.

Over a decade ago, at the start of the Great Recession, the housing market collapsed.

Banks granted loans and individuals with low credit scores purchased houses, making mortgage payments almost impossible for working-class citizens.

Eventually, the high-risk bank loans accumulated for millions of people, causing them to lose their jobs and banks to foreclose their homes.

As a result, homes lost their value because of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac).

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two government enterprises that operate under a congressional charter, offer liquidity, affordability and stability within the housing market, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The enterprises work in conjunction with federal banks to provide the most beneficial and coherent loan system for Americans. Although initially created by the United States Department of the Treasury, these enterprises now operate on a shareholder-owned status.

Although Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were both made to increase the affordability and availability of loans, during the 2008 Recession, the two companies were ineffective because they accepted subprime mortgages, or faulty loans, which ultimately assisted in causing the economic downfall. Faulty loans are disadvantageous to Americans, as they are impractical for borrowers trying to pay back the money they owe, according to Investopedia.

We as a country need to increase our government’s control on nonprivatized companies, which are major contributors to our economy.

An increased control would help keep these companies regulated and ensure another recession, particularly the impendingi 2020 recession, won’t occur.

The two enterprises also used derivatives to alter their portfolios which adjusted their interest-rate risk. By doing so, both companies essentially used these twisted numbers to remain competitive with banks.

We also need to recognize the real estate mogul, President Donald Trump, who negatively affected the housing market by repealing a significant portion of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. After the introduction of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, mortgage payments and rent payments were made easier for the working class.

The economy was in disorder because of the repeal, since the policy provided low-income families with

more economic opportunities in the long run due to Americans paying less than 10 percent of their income, according to CNN. The Trump administration has made headway on removing the conservatorship surrounding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Getting rid of the conservatorship would privatize the companies and lessen the government’s control on issues such as mortgages.

Ideally, since Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were contributors of the 2008 Recession, their privatization would benefit the federal banks, but without them, mortgages’ availability would decrease.

Currently, statistics indicate that a recession is approaching by the end of this year, according to Investopedia.

Despite Trump’s attept to prevent another crash by privatizing certain financial companies, the possibility still looms.

New home sales fell by 24 percent, which is the greatest downfall since 2005, according to Investopedia. This downfall is further evidence of a potential recession in 2020.

Due to homes being a huge economic contributor, the substantial decrease in sales would cause the housing market to loose sales which would lead to a drastic dip in the economy.

A 2020 Recession is a likelihood, and ultimately our economy will be affected by the aftermath of a real estate decrease.

In order to prevent a recession, we need to eliminate subprime loans.

These loans are one of the major causes of the Great Recession, and the federal government, specifically the Department of the Treasury, needs to hold federal banks accountable for granting faulty loans.

PANORAMA MAGAZINE 19

Melodious Misogyny

By Evie de Rubertis

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A couple of weeks ago, I was listening to some music in the car with a friend. A song we both liked came on, and we began, as any normal person would, screaming the lyrics two beats too fast at the top of our lungs. It was one of those moments that you’ll hold onto throughout the harder parts of high school: the sun was setting, we were driving slowly and our screeching was punctuated with bursts of hysterical laughter.

It was fun and silly and felt like the closest thing to freedom we could achieve as law-abiding minors.

We were about halfway through the song before I realized what exactly we were singing, what I was yelling too loudly from the passenger seat of a teenage girl’s first car, what I was mouthing to the smiling driver that pulled up beside us. I realized exactly what I, an avid feminist, was saying: “That p*ssy should only be holding exclusive rights to me, I mean / He flew you in this motherfucker on first class / Even went out of his way so you could check in an extra bag / Now you wanna divide the yam like it equate the math? / That shit don’t add up, you’re mak“That p*ssy should only be holding ing him mad as fuck.” exclusive rights to me, I mean/ He Yes, it is flew you in this motherfucker on probably very first class/ Even went out of his way jarring to read this and be so you could check in an extra bag/ able to clearly Now you wanna divide the yam like it discern every equate the math?/ That shit don’t add word, to hear in your head up, you’re making him mad as fuck.” itwithout any background melody. So I hope it is clear why I found this all very upsetting, but let’s still break it down.

First, Kanye West, the narrator, reduces a woman down to her genitalia. The food metaphor works to dehumanize the genitalia even further, making it a thing to be used and consumed by its owner, with absolutely no say in the matter. The narrator also lays claim to this woman because he paid for her flight, even going so far as to let her check an extra piece of luggage on his dime. Additionally, he makes it clear that he does not approve when she exerts autonomy over her own body and becomes involved with oth-

er people, because after paying for her travel, “that pussy should be holding exclusive rights” to him.

And as a result of her lack of loyalty, he has become aggressively angry with her.

I recognize that Kanye likely didn’t mean for his lyrics to be so offensive, and he probably didn’t even realize what his language was implying. I recognize that almost no one would ever say these kinds of things on a daily basis, or any basis really, and that they’re just the lyrics to a catchy song.

Yes, these songs are catchy, and there are times when we’re trying to grind through math homework we’ve been dreading or need to finish out that last mile strong, and it really helps to listen to an upbeat and intense song.

We will listen to it, and with enough listens, we will remember the words, and now, whether you want it or not, you have this language in your head.

And you might say, “Well, what does it really matter? I don’t objectify women or claim rights to their genitalia! I’m not sexist!” And no, you are not sexist.

West probably isn’t even sexist. But these songs are, regardless of whether they were intended to be so.

The mere fact that they were written, produced and performed on such a large scale proves we’ve become subconsciously comfortable with deeply derogatory language when it comes to our music.

And worse, these songs and lyrics are not just being produced, but listened to, gushed over by young, impressionable minds.

We are considered to be the most progressive generation of American youth yet, but the anthems of our adolescence are fraught with both subtle and outright misogyny.

This isn’t an isolated incident either. Almost every popular rapper has contributed to this image of women as dispensable, cheap sluts trading sex for clout. Lil Xan says in his song “Betrayed,” “Yo’ bitch just like Crayola / You can draw her on the table, flip her like some yola.” Famous Dex says in “JAPAN,” “She fuckin’ me for the fame, so I fuck her in the Range.” Tyler, the Creator says in “Tamale,” “Somebody said bands make her dance / You think you’re getting cash, no bitch, you’re dumb / The only thing that you’re gonna get is this dick… Before I cum, I’m calling your sister / When she comes over, I take picture / Instantly put it on Instagram and su-

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plex her off a building if I get banned.” And this song came out among rumors that Tyler, the Creator was gay, meaning he wouldn’t even be interacting with women on this level, yet he still wrote the obscenely offensive and descriptive lyrics. Tekashi 6ix9ine sang in a song featuring Nicki Minaj, arguably the most successful female rapper, “She a Fefe… she eat my dick like it’s free, free...Why I hit that? / All I know is that I just can’t wife that / Talk to her nice so she won’t fight back.”

Cardi B is a new star on the block, singing songs about owning your wealth and success, a lot like most male rappers. Yes, this may seem like a fantastic thing to have a woman saying, but in one of her first major hits, “Bodak Yellow,” she says, “I don’t bother with these hoes, don’t let these hoes bother me / They see pictures, they say, ‘Goals,’ bitch, I’m who they tryna be.” Clearly not as vulgar, but the lyrics are nonetheless demeaning, specifically to women trying to better themselves.

We can even take a look at music by other female artists. Lizzo has recently become incredibly popular with the release of new songs. In one of these songs, called “Juice,” she owns her new level of success and is unapologetically confident in her skin.

These seem like great messages, especially for young girls, but about half-way through the song Lizzo sings, “Don’t make me have to take your bitch,” when addressing a man. Even from a feminist warrior like Lizzo we still see this term “bitch” used in a possessive manner, as if someone’s girlfriend is their property, not to mention the derogatory nature of the term itself.

We could assume that a female artist using this word is a sort of reclaiming of an offensive term, but then why is it used in the same context? That women are trophies that represent the fame or success of a

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man, or in this case, a woman?

This language has, in a way, lost its meaning to the artists using it and has become a staple of rap music. But instead of this taking the impact out of the words, it has just made it socially acceptable for a greater variety of artists to use it. Now, the lyrics are becoming increasingly offensive and more widespread.

Furthermore, this trend is not specific to male artists, but it’s also not confined to a specific genre of music.

Though the language is not as vulgar, sexism is still present in pop music. Ariana Grande’s “God is a Woman” was speculated to be a modern feminist anthem, worthy of playing at rallies and protests. Instead, we got a party song that suggests the only context in which a woman would be considered God is during sex.

The song said nothing of a women’s capabilities or the true gender of God and instead claimed that she would perform so well sexually, that you’d believe, in a lust-crazy haze, that God must be an all-powerful woman.

In an industry that already over-sexualizes every female artist at increasingly young ages, Ariana Grande’s song reaffirms the well disguised melody of sexism in modern music.

“YOU THE HOTTEST BITCH IN THIS In 2013, Robin PLACE... OK NOW HE WAS CLOSE, Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” topped Britain’s TRIED TO DOMESTICATE YOU.” All-Time Downloaded chart, while simultaneously being banned from over 20 UK student unions because it alluded to date rape with lyrics like, “You the hottest bitch in this place…

OK now he was close, tried to domesticate you.” The song was disturbing enough to be banned from various institutions, but at the same time, it was not dis-

Illustration by Alexa Druyanoff

turbing enough to get us to stop listening.

It brings rise to the questions, where is the line?

What words are beyond the point of no return and what topic is unacceptable to sing about, even with a catchy tune? And possibly most importantly, why are we okay with any of this?

A few years ago, seniors from an elite, Los Angeles private school got in trouble with the administration at their school for a video of them singing the n-word in a song. None of these students were racist and every one of them was hard-working, looking forward to bright futures. When the administration found the video, they were forced to send letters to their future colleges, alerting them of the incident.

Even with so much at stake, these students couldn’t resist singing along to a catchy song and it cost some of them their futures.

So is it so hard to believe that even if we resist singing them, we will still internalize the lyrics on some level? That some part of us now has this image of women in our heads, subconsciously affecting our behaviors? Maybe we were too old when this music became truly popular to have it ingrained in our subconscious opinions of women.

When I was in middle school, one of my friends’ little brother (aged six) listened to a lot of rap and consequently picked up some new vocabulary. One day he greeted me with, “What’s up, bitch?” I’m not gonna lie, having a little boy barely out of diapers

Illustration by Mak Kriksciun

casually call me a bitch was pretty funny. The humor quickly dissipated when he called one of my other friends, who was African-American, the n-word.

He didn’t understand the meaning of the words, other than they made his mom mad. So he kept saying them. How do you even explain the complexities of sexism and racism to a rambunctious six-year old with a knack for mischief?

We might be safe from the influence of these lyrics as young adults, but when a child grows up hearing it, the language becomes the norm and is never properly explained. And assuming we circumvent the issue of offense altogether and settle for stating that they simply weren’t allowed to use the words, the nature of the industry itself sends mixed messages.

How would we even explain this dynamic to a child? We like these artists because they are talented, successful and charming, but don’t repeat the words that made them famous because most of it is incredibly offensive. Got it? We put these musicians on such a pedestal for their art, and then gloss over the literal message of their music.

The eradication of misogyny will never be possible when this language, these words are still used so casually, regardless of context.

If we are to demand equality, then there can be no limitations, no conditions, no exceptions, or it is not equality.

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