Pointer Press June 2024

The Pointer Press

Congratulations Class of 2024!

Contents

Is Journalism Dead?

By Isabelle Zarrin

Journalism has long been the backbone of society, continuously reporting crucial information on local and global events to keep the public informed. However, in the current digital age we find ourselves in, journalism is facing unprecedented challenges. With the expiration of traditional media and the dominance of online platforms, journalism as we once knew it is undergoing a tremendous shift. This shift raises critical questions about the future of journalism and its ability to survive in an era where the consumption of information is rapidly evolving. In navigating this new age, it becomes increasingly important to examine the implications of these changes and urges the survival of journalism as a whole to be questioned.

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The once thriving business of journalism is now on life support. Newspapers and magazines are struggling greatly to keep up with modern digital news practices, with the New York Times reporting that news outlets such as the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post have “eliminated hundreds of journalists between them.” Additionally, “One out of four newspapers that existed in 2005 no longer does,” leading many to question the longevity of traditional journalism. Traditional media is failing to adapt to the digital realm, where social media platforms offer free, instant news access, causing paid news outlets to become less relevant. Social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter have revolutionized news consumption with curated algorithms and constant updates, but at what cost?

Audiences are now gravitating towards digital platforms, subsequently abandoning the traditional media they once relied on.

Recent layoffs have harmed the journalism community, with major outlets cutting their workforces. According to CNN, the past year was “the worst year for job cuts in the journalism sector since Covid19 upended the world in 2020, with roughly 2,700 jobs eliminated.” Jeff Jarvis, a journalism innovation professor, argues that the lack of adaptation among legacy outlets will result in a downward spiral for the field. He explains that the loss of journalists increases the existence of news deserts, which are areas where there is limited or no access to local news coverage. This is particularly concerning when considering the rampant spread of misinformation online.

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Without reliable news sources, residents in news deserts may turn to less reputable sources or social media for news, where accuracy and truth is not a guarantee. The absence of credible journalism leaves these communities vulnerable to believing dishonest reports. Without reliable news sources, how are we to stay intellectually informed?

As outlets fight to stay relevant, they are producing content that the general public wants to see, rather than work that is inherently truthful. Magazine analyst Samir Husani tells the New York Times that “Time magazine just selected Taylor Swift as the person of the year... [and] She was the first entertainer. We’re becoming more about marketing in journalism than truth in journalism because we’re depending on the customer to pay the price rather than advertising…the thing now is to make everybody happy. But that was never the role of journalism.”

With so many influential figures to choose from that contribute world changing work to society, why name a billionaire pop star as the “person of the year”? By using a popular figure to create interest in consuming their content, Husani argues that Time is placing more value on catering to audience appeal than they are on journalistic integrity. In the long run, placing more value on popularity than accuracy could push away audiences that seek trustworthy information, further harming the industry.

Now, the lingering question remains: is journalism dead? Perhaps not yet, but it is undoubtedly on the brink. As we confront looming threats, it is crucial to remember that journalism's fundamental role in society is essential. The survival of journalism is not just about protecting a profession; it's about preserving the foundation of news consumption in an ever-evolving world. The future of journalism depends on a collective effort from society to value truth over sensationalism and to support reliable outlets.

OPINION

Challengers and the Misunderstood Art of Class Commentary

By Julia Peavey

Luca Guadagnino is our modernday master of making films about desire, and 2024’s Challengers is no exception. His latest feature is wacky, in a word. It hits all the expected beats of thrill in unexpectedly experimental ways, from innovative point-of-view shots, to conversations edited like tennis matches, to a pulsing synth score. Challengers is therefore an undeniably amazing moment in film: it pushes the boundaries of the medium while still having both considerable box office success and heavy traction within pop culture discourse. Though it first garnered such attention after being virally marketed as a femme fatale-themed flick, this is but one exceedingly limited dimension of the true story and triumph of the film. At its core, it’s an exceptional character study, perfectly balancing each corner of the complex, triangular

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relationship between the film’s three protagonists: Mike Faist’s Art Donaldson, a dominating star player on a mission to recover from injury and regain his confidence, Josh O’Connor’s Patrick Zweig, a has-been pro player who’s never reached the heights of fame or success, and Zendaya’s Tashi Duncan, Art’s coach and wife who’s promising tennis career was cut short by a life-altering injury. As these characters’ lives irreparably tangle over the course of a 13-year timeline, the film treats its constituents (along with their web of manipulation, obsession, and codependency) with striking boldness. And yet, surprisingly, there are subtler layers toofound within the sincere observational commentary which Guadagnino makes on wealth and privilege.

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The film opens without hesitation, to an immediate foundation of divide. Art embarks on a rigorous, meticulously planned morning routine: physical therapy with state-of-theart equipment, painstakingly portioned nutrient shakes and electrolytes, sponsorship deals glowing like a halo around him. We meet Patrick, on the other hand, in a moment of desperation. He’s tired and unshaven, being turned away from a motel which he can’t afford and stooping as low as to attempt trading his rackets for a comfortable place to sleep. He spends the night in the back seat of his car, and is scolded by a suspicious country club manager who assumes him to be a homeless trespasser. Once again Patrick must wield his racket - this time revealing that he is in fact playing in the day’s challenger competition. He uses his final remnants of sports status to maintain his country club parking spot and gain half of a former fan’s breakfast.

This line-in-the-sand underdog trope seems overtly typical - until it’s entirely undermined. As the film flashes back to 13 years prior, when the characters first meet as teenagers, it reveals that both Patrick and Art come from the wealthiest of backgrounds. They’d been raised in a private boarding school focused on high-level tennis training from an early age, they tune into political broadcasting which presumably affects their family’s monetary interests in their downtime, they call massive mansions home. It’s Tashi who comes from a background without such privilege, for whom there’s no safety net: tennis is everything to her. The sport’s elitist, exclusionary world is the only source of power, recognition, and stability for her and her family. It’s this difference that, in part, fuels how tightly Tashi clings to tenniswhile, even after reaching success under her coaching, Art has long since tired of it. As for Patrick, his own present-day, motel-rejected struggle is nothing more than a performative act.

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The persona he’s exhibited throughout the film - a past-hisprime, down-on-his-luck professional - is ultimately a choice. A job in his family’s company, immediate financial support, and a roof over his head are a mere phone call away. He doesn’t have to sleep in his car, nor borrow breakfast, nor worry over his every expense and source strangers for a last-minute bed. Yet Patrick’s self-imposed sense of desperation fuels him and his tennis; he revels in the ability to get by on talent alone, is motivated by the artificial construct of having an obstacle to conquer, a hill to climb, a goliath to defeat. In the end, the trio’s respective backgrounds and how far they’ve strayed from them prove the film’s closest statement to a thesis: “This is a game about winning the points that matter.” Tennis, relationships, status within a capitalistic society –the points add up everywhere, determining everything.

Even amidst these complex hints of class ladders and disparities, the world of Challengers is one which basks in opulence. Written as an ‘it’ couple, Art and Tashi bring undeniable presence to the screen through the wealth of their hotel-hopping lifestyle, their glinting watches and golden bracelets, their luxury brand deals. The film therefore nails the element of modern celebrity, which is further emphasized by its powerful performances and unusual attention to detail. The majority of its product placement in particular has a rare believability - the different sodas each character chooses to drink, the evolution of the shoes they wear, the marketing contracts they sign; despite this unambiguity, it plays into their sports stardom and intricate dynamics with an audacious sort of cleverness.

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While this level of incorporating commerciality into storytelling is new to Guadagnino, subtler elements of class politics aren’t. In 2022’s Bones and All, the isolation, stagnancy, and day-byday living of rural, midwest America is the core of the story’s atmosphere. In 2017’s Call Me By Your Name, the quiet integration of working-class individuals into the background of scenestending to orchards, cooking meals, cleaning harvest - reveals the privilege inherent to the protagonists’ and audience’s dreamy Italian escapism.  In neither of these movies could these class-related characteristics be labeled “commentary” in a traditional sense, however. And that’s certainly true of Challengers as well.

The film doesn’t have a message to say or universal thesis to exalt, and yet there’s deeper chaos lying just beneath its surface, waiting to be explored. It proves that class commentary need not have broad implications, nor must it always make definitive, passionless, applicable statements about the unfair nature of society.

Challengers succeeds in demonstrating what class commentary (and social commentary in general) should be at its most feasible. It trades overstatement for believabilitybelievability which allows viewers to get wrapped up in the same tangled web as the characters. Commentary as Luca Guadagnino does it is not a declaration but an observation, one which plays into the audience's perceptions and manipulates their natural sentiments only to subvert them, immerse them, and leave them reeling with wonder. In a character-driven film like Challengers, it’s only human to be tempted to pick a side, to carve pathways of blame and apologism between the interactions of Tashi, Patrick, and Art, to identify a single root of their mutually assured destruction.

Guadagnino knows this, and he prevents it from being so simple. Whether it's through reversing underdog narratives or using celebrity and commerciality to tell stories, he hasn’t yet lost the art of combining commentary with character development, of utilizing disparity’s presence to command and disrupt an audience as dramatically as any plot twist. A breath of fresh air in an increasingly oversimplified media landscape, Guadagnino uses hooks of observation and interpretive meaning to uniquely capture what has always been the true driver of his filmography: desire. One can only hope that future filmmakers follow in his footsteps.

OPINION

The Most Attractive Male Leads Ever

By Ella George

This piece is a comprehensive study of the three male actors that have been determined to be the most attractive male leads ever.

Each of the men was judged by their looks, their acting, the character they portray, and the movie that they were in. The three actors selected will be a surprise when they are revealed.

The Most Attractive Male Leads Ever

To start us off, we have Christian Bale for his role as Bruce Wayne in The Dark Night, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Dark Knight Returns. These movies are often cited as the favorite Batman movies that have ever been made. The special effects are just incredible, including his really cool motorbike. His Batman voice is also very captivating, which is amazing and is also why Bale really deserves to be recognized. If you look at the photo of Bale standing next to the batsuit, you can see his gorgeous arm muscles and chest, which are visual evidence of Bale’s greatness.

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The Most Attractive Male Leads Ever

Coincidentally in American Psycho, Bale as Patrick Bateman is so scarily attractive that it's almost enough to forget about how deranged he is. Patrick Bateman takes care of himself; he works out and showers every day, his house is clean, and he has a well paying job. All very good attributes. However, it is hard to get past the fact that Patrick Bateman KILLED A DOG.

Unforgivable. I mean, all the women could be excused if you were on as many drugs as Courtney (the only woman Bateman is attracted to but doesn’t kill) but a dog? No way. This factor puts Bale and his role as Patrick Bateman at the bottom of this list but he is still on it because let's be real here, he’s Bale. Bale did a great job portraying the character especially when he broke down and called his lawyer to admit to his crimes. Bale also somehow is able to make himself attractive while frowning (photo included). You have to be gorgeous to look good even when you are frowning which just proves how wonderful Bale is and why he deserves to be on this list..

The Most Attractive Male Leads Ever

Another very attractive character is John Preston in Equilibrium, played by none other than Christian Bale. The tricks and the way he walks is so captivating. His outfits are also very nice, so clean cut and fancy. The fight scenes are especially eye-catching in the way he moves around so awesomely.  It is important to add that when another character is shooting puppies, Preston heroically saves one of them, which is a heartwarming end to a traumatizing scene. He showed no emotion for most of the movie but his blank stare is strangely compelling in the same way Bale portrays Patrick Bateman in American Psycho.  The ironically drastic difference is that the main character saves a dog in Equilibrium, while in American Psycho, he kills one.

In the end, Christian Bale is clearly the greatest of them all because he has the best arms, the best cold stare, and the greatest outfits. What really earned him the top ranking was Equilibrium even though it is sort of unoriginal, hey…it’s still Christian Bale.

Sports

CIF Division II Champions

Boys Lacrosse

Isabella Ramos PLHS School

and Field

Gates

Congratulations to Our Pointer Spring Sports Champions Track and Field

Gabriel Xavier, Jonah Turner, Toby Feiler and Diego CardenasWallenfelt

PLHS School Record 4x800m relay

2nd at San Diego CIF Sectional CIF CA State Qualifiers

Student Life

1st Place – SDUSD

Cinematic Arts & Multimedia

#1 Ranked Program in SDUSD

1st Place – Film/Multimedia Program in San Diego County

iVIE Awards: San Diego Student Film Festival

1st Place – Short Narrative Film Category “Fogged In”

Student Life

Pointing Out the Obvious:

PLHS

Students Advocate for Mental Health

By Danya Do and Anna Wang

The Aspen Challenge, a non-profit based in Aspen, Colorado, empowers youth across the nation with the opportunity to improve the world. This year, nine students at Point Loma High School have risen to the challenge of improving mental health access in their community and beyond. Named Pointing Out the Obvious, the team started their solution by surveying students on which issues they were most concerned about. In only two days, almost 550 responses were collected from across San Diego County.

“The people that need the help the most don't get it due to an outlook that nobody can help them or that they don't want help,” and, “[it] would be nice if there was some way for us to safely express our problems,” were just a few of the worries voiced by students in the survey. To alleviate such concerns, Pointing Out the Obvious aims to increase the availability of mental health resources as well as introduce a new resource for students that wish to stay anonymous. The goal is for everyone to know where to go and what to do when seeking help for their mental health.

In order to tackle this challenge, Pointing Out the Obvious aims to code a website (potopl.com) that provides teens with all of the necessary information and resources to help them through their mental health struggles during high school. In addition to the website, the team is developing an app, Soul Sync, that will connect high school students with local college students studying psychology. SoulSync’s mission is to “point out the obvious” of the community needing a place to properly address teen mental health needs. The app gives high schoolers the chance to talk with someone that was likely in their shoes not long ago, while simultaneously providing college students experience working in the psychology field. The college students will also be provided community service hours for their time, and the app will be completely anonymous. This type of service is similar to a Warmline, which are confidential call lines dedicated to providing emotional support, but the PLHS team has decided to take SoulSync a step further, focusing strictly on youth and youth’s access to mental health services.

Coaches Jorge Hernandez Leon and Michael Tritchler, math and engineering teachers respectively, are excited to see what the students will come up with. Although the team has a limited amount of time to present this solution to the official competition, PLHS will continue to work on their vision for not just their school, but to create something that can be of a greater impact to our society.

Student Life Amplifying

Youth Voices: A Collaborative Approach to Mental Health Advocacy through Art, Dialogue and Solution-Setting

By the SWEAR Committee and UCSD CAPIE Program

Anxiety, depression, and stress in youth is on the rise, creating issues that can be carried into adulthood. Finding beneficial resources, or an outlet to help manage negative emotions has proven to be difficult, as youth across the nation emphasize their lack of aid in times of need. The mental health crisis has begun and shows no sign of slowing down.

Due to the extensive reach of mental health issues, two organizations formed a partnership to amplify and empower youth voices around topics of mental health: the UC San Diego Child and Adolescent Inclusive Excellence Program (CAPIE), and the Student Wellness Education and Resources Committee (SWEAR). The CAPIE program was designed to grow a more inclusive CAP workforce, exposing medical trainees to careers in psychiatry, topics of youth and family mental health, cultural empathy, and community collaborations. The SWEAR committee is a student-led group promoting systemic mental health change in the San Diego Unified School District, combating the stigma evolving in schools.

In February 2024, CAPIE and SWEAR collaborated on their most recent event, a youth mental health roundtable, to have meaningful discussions about experiences with mental health in the school setting. The SWEAR Committee invited their peers across the school district to submit original artwork based on the theme, “What I Wish My Teachers Knew.” The event was intended to be a forum for artistic expression that, through generative discussions, could lead to actionable solutions for the most prominent challenges.

After months of planning, the roundtable was held at a community venue in San Diego. The team was intentional about access to the location and timing of the event in order to decrease barriers to attendance. The guest list included medical students in the CAPIE program, SWEAR committee representatives, local high schoolers from the school district, and other mental health advocates, including UC San Diego’s LOTUS Project undergraduates. Each group was invited due to their unique interest and focus on mental health advocacy, passions for destigmatization, and unity among youth and emerging medical professionals.

On the day of the event, guests trickled in around 4:00 pm, connecting over welcoming activities like the self-care check-in board and mingling with one another before the programming began around 5:00 pm. At this time, the energy turned toward the youth art presentations. A medical student facilitated a group reflection on the art pieces and their relevance to mental health. Some artists shared their work on stage and opened up the space to invite vulnerability and strength to flow through the room.

During the reflection, students shared how they saw themselves in the artwork and talked about their own perspectives on various drawings, difficult topics, and echoed what children across the nation currently experience. Realizing that while mental health seems to be center stage recently, many youth are still unable to speak out about it. While stigmatizations and barriers hold youth voices hostage, during these reflections many students opened up. Many embraced the artwork to share their own experiences, voicing their feelings and thoughts.

When art is able to depict and share these feelings with others, a welcoming space is cultivated where discussions of mental health are encouraged. Something our communities, our classrooms, and our homes are still struggling with. Art has been a way for these students, and others, to break free of the mind’s confinement - it speaks when words aren’t working. It is no longer enough to say mental health should be talked about, as active approaches should be instilled to pry open the door to necessary conversations. Coming to the end of the first segment, the facilitator slowly regrouped everyone to head into a restful break.

A brief intermission with Mediterranean food served as an opportunity for deeper connection among guests. After dinner, the event shifted to themes and solutions; the final portion of the night. To guide discussion, two main questions were asked: what are common themes that came up from the artwork about mental health today? And, now that pressing mental health topics have been presented, what can be done to combat them? Four prominent themes emerged from these conversations: 1) the problem of stigma surrounding mental health, 2) feeling emotionally disconnected from oneself, others, and the environment, 3) the challenge of building a healthy identity and finding purpose, 4) and the “superficial limelight” of mental health (in other words, a lot of people talk about mental health, but no one is doing anything substantial to make it better). Dividing into groups, all attendees present brainstormed solutions to specific themes assigned to them. Solutions included training for teachers on mental health topics including bullying and how to be present with students, opportunities for more screen-less human connection in and out of school, and strategies for uplifting freedom, creativity and purpose within the classroom.

In the final minutes of the event, SWEAR leadership spoke about a bill vetoed by California Governor Gavin Newsom. The bill would have required 40 percent of all teaching staff that come in direct contact with students in school districts to receive youth behavioral health training, which would have had a positive impact on students across California. The conversation surrounding the bill tied neatly into the event, as it highlighted the lack of necessary action on the state government’s part when students' mental health is concerned and the need for mental health advocates (like those attending the event) to lead vital conversation.

To wrap up, SWEAR and CAPIE members who contributed to the event shared thank-yous to the event attendees and artists whose work allowed for the art roundtable to occur. Event attendees who resonated with any of the themes deciphered from the artwork and/or the solutions, were given the opportunity to leave their contact information for further collaboration. The event’s focus on creating solutions to common mental health concerns voiced by students across San Diego garnered productive conversation and resulted in new connections fostered between members of varying programs. The event had been deemed a success due to the amount of conversation and solutions explored in the timeframe. 100 percent of the attendees who completed the feedback form rated the event as extremely positive, and many expressed the wish to see events of the same sort in the future.

Pop Culture

AJR and The Maybe Man Tour

By Maggie McAteer

On May 1st, thousands of people flooded Pechanga Arena for the sixteenth night of AJR’s The Maybe Man Tour. Pre-show tunes included songs from the musical Annie and Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the latter of which had the entire stadium singing along. Soon, the lights were shut off and the show seemed ready to begin. But instead of the band coming out, “Swimming Pools (Drank)” by Kendrick Lamar started playing instead. Lamar has been cited as one of AJR’s influences, particularly on The Click, their second studio album. The song is even referenced in the bridge of their song “Steve’s Going to London,” from their newest album The Maybe Man. Eventually, all grows quiet once again, or rather louder when the crowd erupts into screams as purple lights begin to glow. The words “AJR Presents: The Maybe Man Tour” flash onto the screen, backed by dramatic choral music. Before the first track, “The Maybe Man,” also the premiere track from the eponymous album, starts to play, the audience is invited to imagine where they would go if they could snap their fingers and go anywhere. Images of falling snow and past albums appear on the huge screen that acts as the background of the stage, finally landing on footage of a stadium filled with people or “thousands of people who for once like all the same s--t you do” as the low voiced narrator puts it. The crowd screams, because of course there’s nowhere else they’d rather be on this chilly Wednesday night. With a snap of the giant fingers on screen, Jack Met begins singing.

The minds behind the New York based indie-pop band AJR are intensely creative, strange, and not afraid to get personal. Taking a scroll through the many music videos on their YouTube page reveals the unique perspective they offer to the music industry, from lead singer Jack trying to escape from a giant version of himself in “Touchy Feely Fool” to two animated astronauts falling in love backed by the track “Turning Out.” At one point trending on TikTok, the video for “World’s Smallest Violin” even features Jack, joined by his older brothers Adam and Ryan in an apartment surrounded by instruments as various odd incidents keep occuring. The complex VFX includes instruments floating, things breaking, and even a tornado. This creative genius shines through in their ongoing tour, the Maybe Man Tour, named after their fifth studio album. The three brothers take full advantage of the capabilities of a stadium, utilizing screens, harnesses, and shadow puppets to bring their album to life

The band first started by playing covers in Central Park, but soon gained enough money through busking to acquire better recording and sound editing equipment to write and produce their own songs. First becoming popular on Youtube for their mashups and covers, AJR released their first single “I’m Ready” in 2013 and their debut album Living Room in 2015. They are best known for their songs “Weak” from their fourth EP What Everyone’s Thinking, which was certified platinum in six different countries, and “Bang!” from their 2021 album Ok Orchestra, which won “Top Rock Song” at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards. The band has collaborated with artists such as Steve Aoki, Lil Yachty, Daisy the Great, and Weezer, even having lead singer Rivers Cuomo featured on their track “Sober Up” from their second album The Click released in 2017.

Over the years, AJR has developed a unique and clearly recognizable style. Many of their tracks feature a loud, catchy trumpet riff or an emotional piano line, and while on the surface they seem like mainstream pop, their lyrics convey real life struggles. The Met brothers grew up as big theater kids, and that influence can be clearly seen both in their music and also on tour. They tried to combine this with their love of hip hop, explaining “We’re not trying to pretend what we’re making is cool. We’re just gonna sing or rap loudly and proudly, and that’s fun.” Many of their songs talk about struggles with anxiety and depression, like the song “Humpty Dumpty”, which describes Jack having a panic attack (“Remember Vegas/I can't take another panic episode/When I get off the stage, man”); Or “Karma”, in which he sings to his therapist about how even though he’s doing everything right, it still feels like everything’s going wrong (“I've been so good, I've been helpful and friendly/I've been so good, why am I feeling empty?”).

As pianist and songwriter, Ryan describes, “We wanted to talk about things we are passionate about, and hope that this little subsection of society relates to it. We found that those fans often are the outsiders of their friends group, they’re socially anxious, they’re sometimes depressed, they need a community, that’s exactly what we were like when we were younger.”

The previously described intro of the tour perfectly serves to set the tone and expectations for the rest of the show. After Jack starts singing “The Maybe Man,” the band turns the theatrics up even higher with various people dressed in Jack’s iconic flannel and trapper hat placed at different spots to give the illusion that he is traveling faster than light. As the song builds up to its climax, the lights suddenly go out again. Someone shouts “One, two, pandemonium!” and all hell breaks loose. Smoke machines go off, lights strobe in a thousand colors, and all three of the Met brothers are launched out of the ground on a toaster like contraption. The brothers are filled with so much energy it almost feels tiring just to watch them, and somehow over the course of the show it doesn’t lessen. In fact, their vivacity only seems to grow. The next tune, “Sober Up,” follows without much drama, only a psychedelic swirl of colors that appear to fly off the screen. Naturally, this means that the next song has to go completely off the rails. A superheroesque font announces “Yes I’m A MessStarring: Jack Met”, and although it starts off partially normal for the second chorus Jack is attached to a harness and raised above the screen, on a treadmill that combined with the screens make it look like he’s walking, biking, and skiing through the song. For the breakdown at the end a judicious use of smoke machines and animation causes the stage to “explode.”

The next time the big guns dramatics are pulled out is for “Bang!”, which is introduced by Adam as starting out as the band’s “most broadway sounding song,” turning into their “darkest,” and finishing as their “weirdest song.”  And, as Adam puts it, “after all that, for some reason, it became our biggest song.”  A sheet is set up in front of the back screen in order to show off Jack’s shadow. Innocuous enough at first, the band’s true intentions are soon revealed when Adam and Ryan get down in front of the main light and begin performing elaborate shadow puppets, making cars, a singing face, and their younger brother crowdsurf. Further on in the song a drum solo is added, performed by Jack and his rebelling shadow, which goes off on a cowbell solo long after his human counterpart has stopped performing. These Broadway-like tricks and special effects are part of what makes the show so fun to watch. Sometimes, it feels less like a concert and more like a theater production. They’re also utilized in “Touchy Feely Fool,” when the band is joined by astronauts and the stage is seemingly launched into space, in “Karma,” where Jack goes skydiving (attached to a harness and spinning about behind a screen) and gets hit by a plane, and “Burn the House Down,” which needless to say features fire effects, although no real pyrotechnics just screens.

Of course, not every song can pull out all the stops. The show features two mashups, one of which Ryan claims they found on Youtube from a fan (“I Won’t”/“Birthday Party”). The other is a mashup of the Turning Out trilogy, which features “Turning Out,” “Turning Out Pt. II” and “Turning Out Pt. iii,” which were released across three non-consecutive albums (The Click, Neotheater, and The Maybe Man).  As Ryan, the main songwriter and singer for the trilogy describes, the first song is about thinking he was in love, the second is about realizing he wasn't in love at all, and the third is about actually falling in love. The three stand out as some of the few ballads from the group, which mostly focuses on high energy electropop. Ryan performed the stripped down mashup alone on stage, armed with only his piano and a microphone, prompting many in the crowd to pull out their phone flashlights. Flashlights could also be seen during “God Is Really Real,” a deeply personal song written about their father as he was dying (who has since passed).

One memorable moment comes when Adam, Jack, and Ryan make their way into the crowd and play two songs, “The World’s Smallest Violin” and “Steve’s Going to London,”  AJR shared that it has long been a dream of theirs to perform a song from the stands, and what better to play than their two self-described “sing-a-long” songs. Also on stage during the show are trumpet player Arnetta Johnson, violinist Ginny Luke, and drummer Chris Berry. Berry has been with the band since 2018, and Johnson joined soon after in 2020 replacing their original trumpet player JJ Kirkpatrick. However, while Luke is brand new to the band, she more than makes up for it with boundless energy, bending backwards and jumping around all while surrounded by lasers, like in “Inertia.” In addition to being the band’s first ever violinist, Luke also plays the saxophone for some of the songs (“Bang!” and “Burn the House Down”)

Since the production of their music is such an integral part of the band’s music, one cool part of the show is the “How We Made” section. In the past, AJR has broken down “Weak” and “Burn the House Down” on the OK ORCHESTRA Tour and The Click Tour, respectively, but have released other videos detailing the production of their songs and the making of their music videos on their Youtube page. For the new tour, they broke down “Way Less Sad” from OK ORCHESTRA. Starting with the drum beats, to collecting weird sounds like the clap of a plate being set down, to the piano and bass lines, they outlined every step of the songwriting process. Narrated by Ryan, the band shared how they found the trumpet line from a comment made in a library, and the melody in old home videos. It was such an interesting, and surprisingly personal, way for the band to share their creative process and connect with the audience, even in a crowd of thousands.

Overall, AJR’s “The Maybe Man Tour” is a highly enjoyable show, filled with insane special effects, relatable and heartfelt lyrics, and packed to the brim with so much creativity and heart it feels like it could burst. Though they have already played in San Diego, you can still catch AJR in Los Angeles on July 14th at the Kia Forum (as of now, tickets are still available). They can be found at @ajrbrothers on Instagram and X (Twitter) and @ajr on Youtube, and their official website is www.ajrbrothers.com. All of their music can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, or wherever you listen to your music.

Creative Writing

Liberation

By Kalika Patel

Every bit of this is unexpected, disoriented, and imperfect. It resembles life and our emotions.

Humans are disasters of grief. We know the exact time, place, and date of our birth, yet we thirst and hunt for any clues to our death. Everyone is terrified and curious of death, even the most remarkable people.

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Each is insignificant to a glance, each may be the same, and their object is common. Nevertheless, none are the same even if manufactured in the same facility; to the molecule they are different. In a way, that is a vague, common description of each person. We may look, act, and seem the same, but it is impossible that we are clones of one another. Inside, however, we share a desperation. An ongoing cycle of feeling trapped in a dead-end life. One with no meaning, and a freedom we cannot grasp. Mindlessly watching the time go by, the common person wishes their life was different no matter how perfect it may appear. We wish to escape whatever chases us; whatever traumas, experiences, dread haunts our every thought. No one is truly happy, but we hope for the common ground between euphoria and emptiness.

Death and life, peace and happiness; they all collide into one another causing a catalytic effect: liberation.

Though you start a blank canvas, colors soon absorb into every crevice occupying the once empty region. Just like accidentally spilling paint on something, not every color may be one you’ve wished to see. Red may conquer the yellow, mixing then with blue to create a purple, later transforming into a grotesque color because of other splotches of vibrant hues. The brush strokes are out of your control. Everything seems to be. What is life if one can't even grasp a sense of their own self?

Melting into life and death´s cycle, both are spiritual abysses that no one knows the answer to. Whatever the question may be. But you so badly wished that you did. You wish that somewhere in this bleak world of yours, there is a hidden answer. A treasure that will magically be revealed to you, only you, because somehow you are special. You are wrong. We all are. Humans are so occupied with trying to discover a truth that they dismiss and waste the life that was cultivated in front of them, for them. A hard reminder: no matter your desperation for answers, they will never be revealed. Instead of searching for them, contemplate the notion, what if I am not meant to know? Ah. But even with reflection comes denial. Humans will always refuse to listen to the logical parts of the mind, the parts that force us into reality. You will never find the answer to death if you live without the ability of acceptance. You will never find the answer to death if you ignorantly live life.

Within nothingness, there is a harmonious peace. Peace does not need to be a grand awakening once someone believes their life is truly filled with happiness, though this is a misconception often preached. Happiness can generate from peace, while peace is cultivated from happiness. One who has faced consistent turmoil knows that peace is not granted, you have to search as it comes in hidden interactions. A stranger´s smile, watching koi fish embrace the water, a breath of fresh air, ambience lighting a room of darkness, or witnessing flowers bloom each season - it all combines to minutes of peace that can make a life worthwhile. Because the smartest know that even if we take memories with us, we will ultimately forget them; which is why it is important to live in the present to the best of our ability. Peace and happiness are not forever, they are momentary, yet 60 seconds of either can make life tolerable no matter the disasters and grief it entails. Humans may not remember interactions, but feelings, feelings last an eternity.  -

What is liberation?

Liberation is security in the unknown.

Liberation is finally knowing you can live life with even the smallest bit of content.

Liberation is freedom from yourself.

No one should wish to wait for their death. No matter how mundane life may be, one must not forget it is equally as complicated; connecting to the fact that within depression, loneliness, and the unforgiving brutality of life, there will always be a savior momentone where happiness shines through. Liberation frees you from the cycle of desperation, and can make one forget about their inevitable death, be happy, and feel loveable. However, it is only achieved through the practice of appreciating life.

Therefore, one will never be liberated if they hunt for death, letting it seep into their demise while being alive. You will never find the meaning of your life if you live as if you're dead. And so, why act dead when you are living?

Do something that liberates you.

The Albatross

By Maggie McAteer

“They made you into a weapon and told you to find peace.” She looks at him, his face hidden away in the shadows. Images flash through her mind. She looked up at the man in front of her, his eyes twin mirrors of despair. Death. She turned and rushed through the streets, her feet desperately pounding through the labyrinthine roads of the City. Blood. The swords in her hands felt natural to her now. They were a part of her, extensions of her arms and she twirled across the battlefield, slashing and cutting through the lives barely hanging on. And War. So much War.

“They took an innocent little girl and destroyed her.” Memories. So many Memories that his voice brought back. Faint glimmers of life Before. Her mother’s voice, softly calling a long-forgotten name she could no longer remember. Her father’s large, strong hands, cradling her, and telling her everything, everything would be alright. Her heart, so small and so full of love, drinking them in. Believing his lies. Because everything was not alright. And maybe it never had been.

“Then, they let her go without a second thought.” Her life now was no better than it had been during the War. If anything, it was worse. The man was right. They had destroyed the girl she had been before, tearing her to pieces. Then they had abandoned her. Maybe she hadn’t loved them or even remotely liked them in some cases, but the Soldiers were all she had. Her parents had let her go, not bothering to protest. She had trained hard and fought harder. She had risen to the top of her ranks, becoming the perfect Soldier. The perfect Weapon. A gleaming sword poised to strike down the Enemies of the Nation.

“When they left the War, they left you too. Where are you now?” Alone. In the dark. In an unfamiliar City. She was all Alone. The Soldier who had once been a girl looked over at the man in the shadows. She could almost feel the small smile he would be wearing if he ever smiled. Before she had been powerful. Now, she was lost. The two men, meeting across a long table. The paper, bearing the words that would determine her future. The Peace that would come, a fragile layer between hope and reality. Peace and War. And then her life had become useless. She was a tool to be set aside, her twin swords confiscated and eyes watching her every night. Making sure she wouldn’t hurt anyone. As much as it had broken her, the War had also been her one reason for living. Her Purpose. What she was meant to do with her life. But now it was gone, and she felt an odd, empty feeling that she couldn’t quite identify.

“What are you proposing?”, she asked him. “I have no wish to return to War.” That much was true. She had never loved it, the killing. She had loved being good at it, had loved the feel of the swords in her hands, feeling the way they moved through the air. But she had never loved the killing that came with War. She still had nightmares. Of the dark. Of faces, half-glimpsed and voices barely heard. A photo in the mud, a smiling woman, and two grinning kids. A look of despair as he whispered, “Take care of them,” to a God who wasn’t listening. The lives she had broken haunted her still, describing the horrors she had committed. Whispering that she was damned. Telling her what she deserved. No, she did not want to return to War, even if the alternative was this.

“I wasn’t suggesting you would,” the stranger returned. “But I do have a proposal. My employer is a very powerful man, with very powerful enemies. We are willing to make a deal with you if you agree to work with us.” Does he want me to be an Assassin? Her training had covered some of the basics. The cold wind whipping through her hair as she crawled expertly across the top of the building. The feeling of cool metal against her fingertips as she threw the knives across the room, each one hitting its mark. Or is it just to keep me away from the others. His ‘very powerful enemies’. If so, then his employer was a smart man. She could be very dangerous when she wanted to. But he was also deluding himself. She wouldn’t be used by anyone, ever again. Never.

“I will not be used by anyone, no matter how powerful they are. I am not a weapon to be controlled, then discarded when I am no longer useful.” She did not want to go through that again. The man took a step closer to her, the outline of his body becoming visible in the dim light.

“We know. A deal is a two sided agreement. If we get something out of it then so do you,” Another step closer as the man told her she could ask for anything. Anything within reason, of course. But what did she want? What would make this deal worth it to her? Then it came to her. She knew what she wanted.

“I want to know Why. I want Answers. Who am I? Where did I come from? And Why? Why?” Her voices trailed off into whispers of regret and longing. “Can your employer provide that?” If he could, she would do whatever he wanted. Why? She asked them. But they shook their heads and told her not to ask questions. “That’s not what you’re here for,” they told her. But what was she here for? All she seemed to do was Kill and Destroy. And for what? Why? She caught a glimpse of the man’s smile.

“Yes, we can arrange that.” Good, she thought, fiercely. Then I’ll know who to blame.

A Bleak Portrayal of Senioritis

By Kalika Patel

Sharply glancing at the clock, 11:03 pm subtly stands out; as if the numbers are trying to hide their contents from me knowing the outcome. Gripping onto the steering wheel just slightly tighter, only a couple more minutes till home rings in my brain as the drive from overtime only survives with upbeat music from my CarPlay.

Removing my shoes and the skin tight black jeans, exhaustion swells from my feet to head. Six hours at school, two hours at home (one in which was spent in a meeting), and six hours at work create an enticing look from the couch. Laying out with a lousy dinner, computer, and warm enough blanket I give myself a total of fifteen minutes before heading straight into four hours of homework.

Groaning as my stiff neck arises from its bent position on the laptop, I mentally scold myself for having fallen asleep in the middle of homework. So much left to do with such little time. Checking the clock, I realize that my alarm had not gone off (because I never turned it on), causing me to scramble the pieces of clothing I could put together, rushing to school knowing every minute counts.

Exhausted and unfulfilled, I see that my lunch was left at home due to morning anxiety, and that my water bottle has so little left of the liquid inside of it. Accepting fate for the day, I open my laptop during one of my numerous clubs to get any sort of homework done from the night before or currently, and any extracurricular agenda items that need to be finished. Checking the date also becomes a glass of ice cold water thrown at my face as I realize mundane tasks such as nail/hair appointments for prom, cap and gown decorating, scheduling hangouts with friends and family, and connecting with advisors for next year leadership positions become oddly apparent. It suddenly becomes hard to find time to be mentally alleviated.

Ah. But this is Senioritis is it not? Is it my seeming procrastination and lack of motivation, or my sleep paralysis and distasteful sense of self? Is it my stereotypical change in attitude, or complex emotions that I don’t even know how to label? Or is it my late work, or my struggle to catch up to the burdens around me? In my opinion, it is knowing I do not find comfort in my own academics, in my home, and in my mind. This is supposed to be a sentimental part of my transition to my future, yet I cannot even seem to share a genuine laugh, or create my final everlasting memories in months that feel like despair.

I never knew what Senioritis truly meant until I was 17.