ROCKET FALL/WINTER 2023

Rocket VOL. XXIII, ISSUE 1

FA L L / W I N T E R 2 0 2 3

THE COLLEGE OF WILLIAM & MARY ROCKET@WM.EDU @ROCKETMAG

ANNA VAN MARCKE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ALEXA CARMENATES CREATIVE DIRECTOR MONICA BAGNOLI EDITORIAL DIRECTOR CHARLOTTE DAUM ART EDITOR LAUREN DRZALA, LEXIE FARRIS, GURUTAARA KHALSA, MELANIE LLOYD, MATTHEW LUCHS, KIRIN MACKEY, ELISE TSAO ART TEAM BREE ROCK BEAUTY EDITOR BIANCA CABALLERO, MIA DIZON, NEVAEH GALLUCCIO, EMILY HAN, DANELL MONTES, MAK PETERSON, ARYA RAJESH, MIA K. REGINELLI, SANA SLOTBOOM BEAUTY TEAM LIVIA MARTINEZ DIGITAL EDITOR FAIZA ISA, GWEN SARGENT, CLARA WHITNEY DIGITAL TEAM KATIE TAGUCHI, HARPER MCCALL FEATURES CO-EDITORS ACADIA DYSON, LILLY TANENBAUM, SYDNEY SHOULDERS, SOFIA WARFIELD FEATURES TEAM JORDAN LERNER LAYOUT EDITOR CAROL GRACE ANDREWS, MONICA BAGNOLI, ALEXA CARMENATES, CHARLOTTE DAUM, ELLE MOUNTFORD, MOLLY MIDKIFF, ANNA VAN MARCKE LAYOUT TEAM SHELBY MUNFORD MARKETING EDITOR CAROL GRACE ANDREWS, SAM GASTEIGER, REMI MARCUS, ELISE NORQUIST MARKETING TEAM

HANNAH MONTALVO PHOTO EDITOR DANA ABRAHAM, SELAH BALL, DAWN BANGI, MEG CASTONGUAY, CECILIA ELSISI, EMMA KAUFMAN-HORNER, SARAH KIM, JORDAN LERNER, RACHEL PERKINS, VALENTINA ROZO, MIA RYAN PHOTO TEAM AVA HAGEE, SHARON SANDLER PRODUCTION CO-EDITORS CARSON BELMEAR, REILLY JACOBS, LOUISA KEAN, SARAH MCDONALD, INAYA MIR, LILY SZALAY, SAIRA YUSUF PRODUCTION TEAM DYLAN DAVID STYLE EDITOR SIENNA ARROBIO, JENNA ASHTAR, ERIN CHAN, NIKITA CHELLANI, CHLOE DISTASO, BELLA GRACE FINCK, NINA HADLEY, LAILA HAMER, SAMMY JENNINGS, HANNAH MCMINN, EMANUEL SHOMALI, ALEX STEVENSON, OLIVER SUN STYLE TEAM TIFFANY NGUYEN WEB EDITOR CHIDY AKUNWAFOR, EM EBALO, ROSHNICA GURUNG, CHEYENNE HWANG, KAILYN PUDLEINER, GELILA YIMTATU WEB TEAM

letter from the editor Finally, none of this would be possible without Alexa and Monica. We met at our very first ROCKET photoshoot three years ago, and I have been lucky enough to never have to do one without them since. I am so proud of what we have created over the years, and can confidently say that this is our best work yet.

Leading the magazine this year alongside them has been such an honor— and the most fun. I can’t wait to do it one more time.

Throughout the issue, we have referenced our favorite surrealist media— the music, movies, art, and books that leave us feeling unsettled, introspective, and inspired. Our cover shoot references Guy Debord’s Society of the Spectacle, a 20th century media theory that is more relevant now than ever. Everything these days feels oversaturated— with media, technology, ideas, and opinions. It is hard to know where to direct your attention. I know I constantly find myself overwhelmed and overstimulated.

ROCKET is back and weirder than ever. This semester we have carefully curated the ROCKET collective subconscious and are proud to present you with our Fall/Winter 2023 issue: Surrealism. It’s out of the box, provocative, at times unnerving, and always #chic.

ROCKET has been a dream creative outlet and given me opportunities and experiences I never imagined I would have on this campus, including the privilege to write to you now as Editor-in-Chief. I am so beyond grateful to the ROCKET staff for putting their trust in me this semester— for humoring my big ideas and putting their all into making them happen, and for caring because I care. That is the greatest gift and I cannot thank you enough.

Thank you to our amazing Editors. They are some of the most creative, hard-working, incredible people on campus and the time they have dedicated to making this issue happen has made all the difference.

I hope that this issue can be a breath of fresh air— something to remind you that it is okay to take a step back, to question everything, and do things your own way. It’s not self-indulgent to talk about the things you love. We have worked hard to create a space for ourselves to talk about what fascinates us and create what excites us. I hope among the pages of this issue you find a place to do the same.

I could not be prouder that this is ours, and could not be happier that it is now yours.

Talk to you again soon.

Anna van Marcke

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folie a deux a little party KNOCK KNOCK THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE EXPERIENCE OUR CONSUMPTION OBSESSION

OFF YOUR FACE LUXURIATE IN THE LIMINAL FRACTURES, FIGMENTS, & THE FAMILIAR MULTIVERSE FATIGUE SOCIETY OF THE SPECTACLE

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photography by DAWN BANGI production by SHARON SANDLER, LOUISA KEAN, INAYA MIR, LILY SZALAY, SARAH MCDONALD

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beauty by BREE ROCK, NEVAEH GALLUCCIO, BIANCA CABALLERO style by DYLAN DAVID, OLVER SUN, LAILA HAMER, NIKITA CHELLANI, ERIN CHAN, CHLOE DISTASO, ALEX STEVENSON 10

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modeled by GEETHAN RAMESH, SAM TURNER, FRANCESCO PAVANO, NAMIT NALLAPANENI, SEBASTIAN PARKER

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photography by DANA ABRAHAM additional photography by HANNAH MONTALVO, MIA RYAN, EMMA KAUFMANHORNER, SARAH KIM production by SHARON SANDLER, SARAH MCDONALD modeled by JORDAN LERNER

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written by ACADIA DYSON Picture: the sight of a neon sign flickering in the rain; driving back to your hometown after a semester away; preparing dinner for one; quietly watching the bustle of an airport; or feeling overwhelmed at the sight of leaves falling, the environment in flux – these moments could all be scored by the shoegaze genre.

Shoegaze arose in the UK around the late 1980s. In order to achieve its distinct sound, artists had to focus on the various pedals by their feet that would distort their instruments.

Generally their stage presence was pretty still and stoic, thus earning the name “shoegaze.” It borrows heavy inspiration from 1980s postpunk new wave and alternative rock– with similar sounds to the Cure, Sonic Youth, the Velvet Underground, and Siouxse and the Banshees – while also providing the foundation for the grunge movement that characterized the 1990s.

Best enjoyed with headphones, shoegaze warps reality, turning traditional sound into a playground where rules don’t apply.

Audio is distorted and stretched, synth beats abound, guitars and drums echo and bend, melancholic vocals pervade – all to craft a hazy chamber of reverb in your mind. Most of the time, it feels as if the lyrics themselves aren’t even meant to be understood, and their purpose is to aid the sound rather than convey a message. Despite this, most of this music does deliver an acute feeling, one of nostalgia, or a sort of desolation. Shoegaze:

it’s dreamlike; it’s dizzying; it’s exciting; and it can be miserable! What’s not to love??

I was introduced to this music through watching some of what are now my favorite movies and shows. I wondered why these movies felt so elevated; how did they make a typical coming-of-age story feel so intimate, so honest? I soon realized it all came down to the soundtrack – this was the distinguishing factor that made people resonate, the perfect accompaniment to these familiar stories of disillusionment and apathy. This music provided a different level of compassion, a special glimpse into the internal. Once I noticed this genre’s ability to transform the mundane into something inspiring, I was hooked.

Shoegaze, to me, voices the intangible. It embodies the feelings you can’t express, or those you’re embarrassed to because they feel so singular – though everyone around you feels the same. While the music can often feel aimless, there still is that undeniable click, that subconscious recognition upon listening – thus ever-teetering in a liminal space between familiarity and disorientation.

Some will dismiss it as angst-filled, senseless noise…and at times, yes, true… however, it’s so much more fun to think of it as some multilayered metaphor for growing pains and yearning! Sulk a little; it’s good for you.

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It feels criminal to write about shoegaze and not spotlight the pioneers…

My Bloody Valentine (MBV) was formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1983, consisting of Kevin Shields on vocals and guitar, and Dave Conway on vocals – though he left the band quite early on. They soon moved to London, England and completed their band with bassist Debbie Googe, drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig, and singer/ guitarist Bilinda Butcher. Their 1991 album, Loveless, is regarded as their masterpiece, with gritty hits such as “Sometimes” and “When You Sleep.” MBV’s edgier, amped up sound is a lot (pro-tip: turn down your volume) – with dominating, discordant instrumental effects and a prolific use of reverberant, fuzzy vocals.

Their experimental, detached nature played a

large part in what would be the grunge era of the 90s. After the success of Loveless, they disbanded in 1997. Kevin Shields would go on to collaborate with Yo La Tengo and make music for the film Lost in Translation (2003) directed by Sofia Coppola, and Colm Ó Cíosóig would join Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions alongside the voice of Mazzy Star (Hope Sandoval). They reformed in 2007 and released m b v in 2013, with some stellar tracks such as “if i am” and “new you.”

Slowdive is a band of five – Nick Chaplin, Rachel Goswell, Neil Halstead, Christian Savill, and Adrien Sell (soon replaced by Simon Scott) – that came together in 1989 in Reading, England. Their most reputable album is Souvlaki, released in 1993, a feat that’s altogether gloomy, yet undoubtedly beautiful.

With collaborations from ambient legend Brion Eno, Souvlaki’s “When the Sun Hits” and

“Alison” are era-defining shoegaze tracks.

After the release of their third album Pygmalion in 1995, Slowdive disbanded. Fortunately, the band reunited in 2017 with the release of Slowdive, and continue to make music with the recent 2023 release of all things are alive – a much more upbeat album than Souvlaki – with great ambient-techno tracks such as “kisses” and “skin in the game.”

The Cocteau Twins were formed in Grangemouth, Scotland in 1979, and remained together until 1997. The band consisted of guitarist/drummer Robin Guthrie, bassist Will Heggie (who soon left and was replaced

by Simon Raymonde in 1983), and vocalist Elizabeth Fraser. Fraser’s impressive lilted convolution of lyrics is what put the Cocteau Twins on the map and cemented them as figureheads of the shoegaze/dream pop scene. Coincidentally, we also rarely have any idea exactly what she’s saying…she could be belting a random grocery list, but man, does

that noise sound great! Masters of reverb and instrument crescendos, this goth-rock group released 9 studio albums. Most memorable of these 9 albums would be the 1990 cult classic Heaven or Las Vegas – with dreamy hits such as “Heaven or Las Vegas” and “Cherry-coloured Funk.” My personal favorite album is the 1993 effortless, whimsy-filled Four-Calendar Cafe, which I find to be their most cohesive (it’s sublime… no skips to be had). They disbanded in 1997 after relationship dramas between Guthrie and Fraser.

The Jesus and Mary Chain were formed in 1983 in Glasgow, Scotland, chiefly consisting of the two Reid brothers, both guitarists and vocalists, William and Jim. The unique band name was chosen specifically to provoke, to make people at the time uncomfortable, hence the alternative, disaffected following they’ve garnered over the years. Not shy with white noise nor near-deafening drums and

guitar, Psychocandy (1985) and Darklands (1987) differentiate themselves amidst other 80s punk-rock albums, unwittingly trailblazing shoegaze. “Just Like Honey,” with its pulselike drumbeat, bold guitar riffs, and gauzy vocals, remains their biggest hit. They formally disbanded in 1999 due to disagreements between the Reid brothers.

Other shoegaze artists who deserve an honorable mention: Ride, Beachhouse, The Radio Dept., Mazzy Star, Lush, Chapterhouse, and the Drop Nineteens, to name only a few.

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Ultimately, this ambient, blurry whirlwind of indie rock and dream pop pushed the boundaries of what sound was known as, and provided a whole new means to communicate a palette of emotions typically left unexplored. Via this surreal soundscape, shoegaze created a unique sphere where, paradoxically, distortions clarify, transitions stagnate, and the otherworldly better portrays reality.

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Here’s a QR Code to the messy amalgamation of great shoegaze tracks. I hope you enjoy this genre as much as I do – happy listening!!

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art by CHARLOTTE DAUM

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photography by MEG CASTONGUAY, MIA RYAN production by AVA HAGEE beauty by BREE ROCK, EMILY HAN, MIA REGINELLI, style by DYLAN DAVID, ERIN CHAN, ALEX STEVENSON

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fractures, figments, & the familiar

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modeled by MADELINE BURDGE

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In the face of ever-multiplying drag bans and anti-trans laws, I present the gender dysphoric experience: the fractures (the cracks in our self-image chiseled by the rigid bounds of societal standards), the figments (the phantasmagorical remnants of the person others have wanted us to be), and the familiar (the expression that has felt right to us all along).

—MEG CASTONGUAY

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art by KIRIN MACKEY

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multiverse fatigue

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t e i c o “S e h t of p S

Rocket Magazine presents...

Featuring

lydia lee, hamoodi Estaiteyeh, emma allen, jt kaufmann & jasmine dickerson as “the others”

ty ” e l c a t c e p photography by

hannah montalvo

Starring

Ananya Gomatam as “the Girl” 39

THESPECTACLE ISTHEBADDREAM

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production by AVA HAGEE, SHARON SANDLER, SARAH MCDONALD, LOUISA KEAN beauty by BREE ROCK, MAK PETERSON, DANELL MONTES, NEVAEH GALLUCCIO style by DYLAN DAVID, SAMMY JENNINGS, ERIN CHAN, CHLOE DISTASO, ALEX STEVENSON, NIKITA CHELLANI

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OFAMODERN SOCIETYIN CHAINS.

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INDIVIDUAL REALITYIS ALLOWEDTO APPEARONLYIF...

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ITIS NOT ACTUALLY REAL.

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art by LEXIE FARRIS

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digital photography by SELAH BALL film photography by DANA ABRAHAM

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beauty by BREE ROCK, SANA SLOTBOOM, MIA DIZON, MAK PETERSON, ARYA RAJESH

production by AVA HAGEE, SARAH MCDONALD, SAIRA YUSUF, LILY SZALAY, CARSON BELMEAR, REILLY JACOBS

mirroring nina’s body written by HARPER MCCALL

I

n all honesty, I thought my classical music words, a difficulty distinguishing between

phase had prepared me to watch Black Swan (2010). For the first thirteen years of my life, I exclusively listened to classical music.

My obsession meant that I was familiar with the plot of Swan Lake. I knew Prince Siegfried was going to fall in love with Odette (the white swan); Baron von Rothbart, the evil sorcerer, was going to pull a Freaky Friday situation with Odile (the black swan); and that Odette was going to face a serious reality check by the end of the ballet. I took this understanding with me the first time I sat down to watch Natalie Portman star as Nina, a gifted ballerina who takes on the role of Odette in her company’s rendition of Swan Lake. What I was NOT prepared for was just how complex the movie was–something that, as I started to pay attention to the mirrors in the movie, appeared to make some serious critiques about ballet and, by extension, the expectations imposed onto Nina’s body.

Before I dive into Black Swan’s use of mirrors, I think it’s necessary to give a brief overview of the movie’s plot. Nina, a talented ballet dancer, is cast as both Odette and Odile in her company’s rendition of Swan Lake. From the movie’s beginning, it is clear that Nina’s mom, a retired ballet dancer, is obsessive over her daughter’s body and work ethic. Her mom’s obsession with Nina’s body introduces the movie’s core issues–amidst her instructor’s, Thomas Leroy’s, disgusting conduct; her allconsuming obsession with Lily (aka Mila Kunis); and her all-consuming admiration of Beth Macintyre, Thomas’ previous protege, Nina experiences a physical and mental breakdown that is negotiated through her body’s breakdown.

Specifically, Nina copes with external pressure and abuse through self-harm. Disordered eating and self-scratching, combined with abuse from peers and family, forces Nina to succumb under immense cognitive weight and experience a form of psychosis (in other

what is real and what is imagined). Her physical and mental degradation throughout the movie is conveyed through one medium: mirrors and their relationship to Nina’s body.

At the beginning of the movie, Nina’s relatioship with her mother bears a darker connotation through the presence of mirrors.

Most notably, mirrors reflect Nina’s pirouettes as she prepares to audition for Swan Lake.

Nina’s practicing takes place in her mother’s home; the mirrors, in particular, reflect her mother’s pervasive gaze that influences Nina’s perfectionist tendencies. Through this relationship, mirrors and their relation to ballet bear a negative connotation.

Dancers spend much of their time in front of mirrors to perfect their craft; each turn, while being watched by her obsessive mother, highlights that Nina is unable to achieve the perfection she strives for. This relationship, as illustrated in bathrooms and dressing rooms, pervades Nina’s consciousness as she succumbs under the expectations that come with performing in a leading role.

Mirrors in isolated locations give readers a stronger glimpse into Nina’s regressing psyche. The infamous lipstick-on-the-mirror scene, for example, provides insight into the trajectory of Nina’s breakdown. After enduring unwanted advances from her instructor and the uncertainty of casting, Nina learns that she has claimed the role of Odette. Nina’s excitement, however, abruptly ends when she leaves a bathroom stall and finds the word “WHORE” written in red lipstick. Through the camera angle, the red lipstick lays over Nina’s reflection. As prior interpretations depict mirror as Nina’s imperfections, the lipstick represents an observable mark against her morality and character–an exchange that, as the movie progresses, pushes Nina’s intrinsic fears into reality.

modeled by RICHA VERMA, ALYSHA WASEEM

style by DYLAN DAVID, ERIN CHAN, LAILA HAMER, BELLA GRACE FINCK, ALEX STEVENSON, SAMMY JENNINGS, HANNAH MCMINN

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T h e slippage between Nina’s psyche and reality occurs after a night out with Lily. As Nina crumbles under the pressure and expectations set by her peers, Lily invites Nina out as an apology for overstepping during rehearsal. While out, Lily reflects Nina’s intrinsic desires; for example, she eats a burger without guilt and confidently flirts with two men at a bar. As the night progresses, Nina’s role as Odette and Lily’s as Odile undercuts their relationship.

Nina, the perfect white swan–while with the abrasive black swan, Lily– must confront that she will never embody the confidence and darkness needed for Odile’s role. This comparison, read as an abstract reflection of Nina’s insecurities, influences her to take ecstasy with Lily and ‘let loose.’ The only thing that loosens, however, is Nina’s control over reality.

Lily becomes Nina’s abstract mirror before the movie meets its wild end. After her night out with Lily, Nina’s distress materializes around her. She imagines a homoerotic sequence with Lily after clubbing; a stabbing sequence involving a hospitalized Beth; and a Baron von Rothbart figure terrorizing the female dancers before Nina’s debut performance. As her delusions surmount, Nina imagines her own body evolving into a literal swan. The pressure put onto Nina surmounts throughout her delusions, in turn reflecting her fracturing psyche all around her. Mirrors, at this point in the movie, are almost non-existent. If they are present, Nina’s back is turned to them, or they are an integral component of one of her torturous fantasies. Neglecting mirrors pushes Nina’s breakdown into reality–during the movie’s final moments, Nina uses a mirror to transpose her darkest fantasies into her reality.

Spoiler warning if you haven’t seen the movie–I am about to give away the biggest plot twist, so stop reading here if you have never seen Black Swan before. After defying her mother and attending the first show, Nina’s psychotic breakdown consumes her reality. One of Nina’s delusions centers itself around Lily stealing her role as Odile; to resist Lily, Nina wrestles her to the ground and smashes her into a mirror (or so viewers initially think). As Nina dances, her mirrored reality appears to diminish as she literally becomes the black and white swan. During intermission, however, Nina realizes that she had never actually gotten into a fight with Lily. In fact, Nina used a broken piece of glass to stab herself. The mirror’s glass, in this instance, fills Nina with her darkest fears, as the reflections that plague her diffuse into her body. Her show stopping performance as Odile relies on Nina absorbing her delusions and becoming maddened by her crumbling reality. As she, like Odette, falls to her demise, her ‘perfect’ routine reflects Nina’s struggles against the expectations imposed onto her body.

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art by ELISE TSAO

A little ParTy a modern reimagining of the great gatsby

written by SOFIA WARFIELD

It’s the roaring twentytwenties. You moved east as a well-to-do but awkward teenager to attend the highest-rated university you got into, the College of William and Mary. Now, recently graduated and a little lost in life, you decide to work in the bond business.

After all, everyone you know works in the bond business, so you figure it can hold one more person.

Making it out on your own, you move into a slightly run-down but very affordable townhouse in the West Egg. At the time of buying, you don’t think too much about the colossal mansion next door beyond the fact that it’ll save you the cost of buying some curtains – so massive and tall, the real estate agent claims it blocks the midday sun. You tell her, “As long as the place is cheap.”

The move-in process becomes the longest three weeks of your life, but once it’s all over, you spend your days reading and working, losing yourself in the monotonous rhythms of your life.

The only real great excitement is the coming and going of your neighbor– you see him most nights standing at the highest window in his sprawling

estate, staring across the water where a green light glows faintly.

Then one morning, as you’re checking the news by scrolling through TikTok and various other reliable news sources, your life becomes forever changed by the entirely unexpected arrival of a Rolls-Royce in your driveway. From the car emerges a chauffeur dressed in a robinblue suit, and he approaches you with a letter in hand.

The letter reads, “Having a little party at my place tonight around 11, hope to see you there –Gatsby” So of course, after reading, the first thought that passes through your head is: I don’t have anything to wear!

You raid your closet for something, anything, to wear. But the note was so vague, and it’s virtually impossible to put together a party outfit without knowing the theme. So you try on everything you own a couple of times over, all the while berating yourself for only buying sweats and athleisure during the Covid pandemic because now it’s all you own.

The low-rise skinny jeans in the back of your closet died back in 2010, so you toss them behind you into the pile of rejects. Along with it goes flying the leather jacket you bought on an impulse back in your freshman year, as 57

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well as the top you ruined by trying to upcycle.

So many trends to follow, but which one would best suit a Gatsby party? Well, there’s dark academia, old money, cottagecore – no, none of those are right.

And then your eyes fall back on the outfit you had first picked out before all the madness, but now it doesn’t look nearly as hideous as it did before. The decision is made when you try it on in front of your bathroom mirror, and it looks just as good as it did at your best friend’s wedding three years ago.

That same night, you arrive punctually at seven. There were so many times in the process of getting ready that you almost decided to stay in, but once you step foot into Gatsby’s manor, the nerves transform into awe. The inside of the estate is exceptionally large, and following a hallway lined with paintings leads you straight into a ballroom packed to the brim with guests. Crystal chandeliers stretch towards you from where they hang on the ceiling, their diamonds cutting through the dim-lighting by reflecting the neon disco lights. There are buffet tables as far as the eye can see, and colorful cocktails floating throughout the room as if of their own accord. The live band in the corner – some underground group that everyone swears will be the next big thing but you just can’t seem to get into their music – infuses the room with a sense of vitality.

So much for a ‘little’ party.

As you take in the scene before you, you pay special attention to what the other guests are wearing. You see plunging necklines and equally low backs. Hands are filled with rings, hair is parted down the middle, eyeliner wings are dramatic. Everywhere you look: corset tops, bolero sweaters layered over fitted maxi dresses, knee-high red boots, hair ribbons, and pantsuits. Surrounded by such well-dressed people, you begin to second guess your own choice of outfit.

At last, you spot a familiar face in the crowd, one of your cousin Daisy’s good friends, Jordan Baker. She’s dressed in a crimson satin maxi dress that cinches at the

waist and flows loosely down to her shins.

You wave to her, and she lifts her hand … only to run it over the top of her slick-back pony. You decide then and there to check out the back porch.

In the sea of well-dressed party guests, you spot someone that at once provokes a feeling of familiarity and curiosity. His outfit stands apart from the others, the pink of his linen button-up lined with pinstripes could cause an eye to twitch.

You approach him, and after a brief conversation in which you discover having once worked the same internship one year apart, you finally ask him the question that has been pressing you all night: Where is Gatsby?

“Oh, I thought you knew,” he replies. “I’m Gatsby, old sport.

And I like your fit.”

“I’M GATSBY, OLD SPORT.” art by MATTHEW LUCHS 59

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Knock knock

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knock knock written by HARPER MCCALL photography by SARAH KIM

Anyone who knows me can attest to my love of literature. Once I learned that I was named after Harper Lee, the author of To Kill A Mockingbird, my namesake introduced me to the world of books. A consistent fascination of mine is the home in different literary works. For example, structures appear to indirectly characterize and foreshadow those living within a given space. The home and a character’s body appear in tandem, which symbiotically drives a given novel’s plot. A few of my favorite examples are from Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë and Emma by Jane Austen. In Emily’s novel, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange represent the novel’s core tension–the relationship between the passionate and wild Catherine Earnshaw, the brooding Heathcliff, and the inhabitants that catalyze the novel’s greatest love. Between these structures lies an old church that, like both homes, reflect Heathcliff and Cathy’s unattainable, crippling infatuation with one another. As their love rises and falls, so does the church: nature, a powerful force within Brontëan fiction, consumes the fallen church and roots itself in the graves of the

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fated lovers. Homes and buildings within Emily’s Wuthering Heights coalesce and diffuse the novel’s core tensions into the environment, which casts the entire landscape in the passionate dynamics between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. Like Brontë, Jane Austen also uses the home to characterize her heroines. In Emma, Jane Austen introduces Miss Woodhouse, a handsome, clever, and rich matchmaker who weaves into other’s affairs and drives Emma’s plot to its Austenian ending. Hartfield, in particular, mirrors Emma’s introductory qualities and provides the heroine with enough literal space to enact her matchmaking endeavors.

Hartfield, like Emma herself, ebbs and flows throughout Austen’s plot, in turn depicting the heroine and her home as symbiotic entities as the novel progresses. Though Brontë and Austen are some of my favorite examples of the home embodying its inhabitants, this trope is commonly found throughout literature–in this instance, art, and its ability to depict space as a narrative medium, continues this popular literary tradition and influences different interpretations of space.

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As you look at this cottage, who do you imagine living there?

What do you think their daily life looks like? Contextual clues within the cottage undoubtedly influence a subjective reading of the space’s inhabitants.

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This is the beauty of space within art, as it is not meant to communicate a specific narrative. Rather, space relies on the viewer’s past experiences and attention to detail to decide who inhabits a given structure.

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The narrative for this home is truly up to you. Use your creative eye to construct a story, like many authors and artists before, and dive into the character of, quite literally, the house itself.

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made with love by ROCKET Art Team

CHARLOTTE DAUM, LEXIE FARRIS, KIRIN MACKEY, GURUTAARA KHALSA, LAUREN DRZALA, ELISE TSAO

the PICTURE experience written by SYDNEY SHOULDERS photography by MONICA BAGNOLI art by LAUREN DRZALA 70

production by AVA HAGEE, INAYA MIR beauty by MIA REGINELLI, NEVAEH GALLUCCIO, MIA DIZON, MAK PETERSON, SANA SLOTBOOM

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E

ven when I knew nothing about the Rocky Horror Picture Show, I knew about the Rocky Horror Picture Show. It is referenced in many shows and movies, yet somehow, it always evaded me.

My freshman year, I saw the Rocky Horror Picture Show live for the first time.

A large V was written on my forehead to denote my Rocky Horror virginity. The plot of the show was still unknown to me, but I eagerly sat, excited to uncover this longstanding mystery. Suddenly, I was yelling at the screen with a surprising ease, donning a party hat in unison with the crowd, and disruptively throwing playing cards in the air. I looked around and saw so many kinds of people. Regardless of our backgrounds or previous experience, together, we all entered Rocky Horror’s universe.

Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) is a film adaptation of a popular British stage production. It follows Brad and Janet, a recently engaged couple, as they “accidentally” wander into the castle of Dr. Frank N Furter, “a sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania.” Brad and Janet’s puritanical values are challenged as they are both seduced by Frank and face the antics of characters like Magenta, Columbia, Riff Raff, and the Frank’s (titular) creation, Rocky. Inspired by Frankenstein, the Rocky Horror Picture Show is a really gay tribute to ridiculous horror B-movies of the 1930s. It satirizes homophobic, fear mongering notions that queer people indoctrinate others into their alternative lifestyles.

Complete with a loud, catchy glam-rock soundtrack, Rocky Horror is a fun spectacle that, if nothing else, demands your attention.

The movie was unsuccessful until it was played at midnight screenings nationwide. Virgins, or first-time viewers, arrived at the theater expecting a quick laugh over a bad movie, completely unaware of the fact that they would be changed forever. Rocky Horror’s initial skeptics became its first champions. Their shouts at the screen with frustration or in jest created callbacks: moment(s) where specific scenes trigger audience members to yell phrases at the screen together. The best would be repeated and spread among theaters, creating an everexpanding canon.

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The Satanic Mechanics are William and Mary’s oncampus Rocky Horror troupe. They are Sadler’s most popular event, commonly having sold out shows. In two years, the organization has nearly doubled, a testament to Rocky Horror finding and resonating with new audiences decades later.

I asked Joey Sceppa, Magenta in the Satanic Mechanic’s 2023 production of Rocky Horror, about their favorite callback. They mentioned one that replaces “heavy petting” in a song to “heavy metal,” with a subsequent callout referencing Slayer and Pantera, two popular metal bands from the era of Rocky’s initial film run. This line is still yelled today, even though most people do not understand its context or humor. Callbacks allow the voices and ideas of Rocky fans past and present to live forever in its future fans. “The older people from Rocky, the seventy and eighty year olds, are still yelling at the screen with us,” Joey explains.

Rhys McKee, who will be playing Frank-N-Furter, was first exposed to Rocky because of his mom’s love for the show. When she was in high school, she played Magenta at her local midnight screening. When he was twelve, he was first shown the movie.

Naturally, he fell in love with it too. “Rocky Horror was a complete awakening…now, it is an integral part of my experience as a human being,” he says.

A Rocky Horror show is so much more than a screening. The movie is played on a large screen and in-person stage actors mimic characters in sync with the film. Combining elements of drag and theater, this mode of performance is called shadowcasting. It allows the fantastically queer world of Rocky Horror to become tangible to our real lives.

Rocky Horror’s behind-the-scenes processes completely disrupt conventional theater practices. For example, The Satanic Mechanics employ genderless casting and use a “voteocracy” system to determine roles. Prospective auditionees for a specific role all lip-sync a song on stage. Immediately after, everyone else present raises their hand to decide who had the best lip-sync. For the Satanic Mechanics, this method combats potential directorial biases and allows for everyone to have an equal role in crafting the best show possible.

An echoed sentiment among the Satanic Mechanics was that Rocky Horror does not demand perfection. Practices are long and frequent, but their goal is creating a familiarity with the original movie and connecting with the cast and crew. When talking to Sofia Strick, this year’s director, we discussed how to ensure screen accuracy while still allowing for actors to take their own creative liberties. She emphasized the importance of balance, but she actively encourages bits between actors, even if they deviate from the original film, so long as they are in the spirit of the show’s canon and enhance everyone’s enjoyment. Sofia explains that “It doesn’t have to be perfect and it doesn’t have to make sense. The audience doesn’t care if you mess up, they care about whether you make them laugh or if they have a good time. People walk in only expecting to have unbridled, unfiltered fun. That’s the most important aspect or convention to RHPS for me.”

Rocky Horror is not centered around the craft and execution of theatrical performance; it exists to celebrate the film and its subsequent culture of campy, r i d i c u l o u s pleasure. If it was fun, it was a successful performance.

Rocky Horror redefines what it means to be an audience member. The invisible wall between audience and performers is blurred and often broken. Whereas most shows expect silence from spectators, Rocky Horror invites its audience to create the fun via callbacks and games on stage. Usually, Rocky Horror casts have ensemble groups called Transylvanians, referent to the alien species in the original movie. Transylvanians are crucial to the audience experience by directly engaging with them, being a distraction from the main plot, and forcing the audience

to abandon their rational senses to be fully present in Transylvania. Audience participation is a crucial, almost mandatory part of the pleasure that is experiencing Rocky Horror. It is so much more than a spectacle to idly marvel at.

“Audience members are still a part of the show and making the experience for other people; it’s just in a way where you aren’t necessarily on stage. Rocky Horror is a collaborative effort between the audience and the cast members,” Rhys McKee explains.

Rocky Horror is horrific and absurd and defiant and melodic, all at once. The film gave its fans a story that empowers the marginalized and othered, while still being vibrant and silly. In return, its fans gave R o c k y Horror a legacy of passion a n d creativity through the creation of a unique

performance genre that blends fiction and reality. After my conversations with the Satanic Mechanics, I’ve realized that the variability of Rocky Horror is what I appreciate most about it. Shadowcasting allows Rocky Horror fans to freely push the boundaries of interaction in performance and express their own meaning in a greatly beloved film. Rocky Horror exceeds being merely a production. It is an experience where anything becomes possible, and all are welcome to join. styled by THE SATANIC MECHANICS 75

is camp, but the word camp is bedazzled and it also has on big red, pleather boots.

–Joey Sceppa

modeled by RHYS MCKEE, EMMA BLACKWOOD, WILLIAM MCCANN, MARY BEIGHLY, JOEY SCEPPA, SEBASTIAN CANNITO, ERIN YOUNG, CAMERON JONES

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OUR

CONSUMPTION

THE RISE OF CANNIBALISM IN MEDIA

written by KATIE TAGUCHI art by MELANIE LLOYD

W

ithin the first five minutes of the premiere of Showtime’s Yellowjackets, it’s evident that there’s something exceptionally dark going on.

After their plane crashes on the way to national championships, the show follows a high school soccer team as they learn to survive in the wilderness.

The first episode promises gruesome rituals and not-so-subtlely hints at the team’s inevitable embrace of disturbing methods of survival. I binged both seasons of the show over the summer, intrigued by the show’s clever dual timeline and the complicated portrayal of girlhood within the most extreme of circumstances.

As I watched, I thought about the only other 2023 show that captured my attention like this: HBO’s The Last of Us. Similar to Yellowjackets, I loved the show’s portrayal of humanity in the face of survival. I couldn’t help but focus on one thing that the two shows have in common– not the interrogation of what makes a person good or bad, or the lush cinematography, or the focus on survival– but instead how both shows depict people eating other people. Towards the end of The Last of Us, teenage protagonist Ellie finds herself trapped in a community that has turned to cannibalism for survival and she must fight to escape. As I watched, completely enraptured by both shows, I couldn’t help but wonder: why are we so obsessed with cannibalism?

Yellowjackets and The Last of Us aren’t the only two pieces of popular media to capitalize on this dark trope - 2022’s Bones and All follows two cannibalistic teens falling in love, while Fresh, a film that follows a young woman who gets kidnapped by her cannibalistic boyfriend, came out the same year. Ryan Murphy’s Dahmer hit Netflix last year as well, following the notorious serial killer who murdered and ate his victims. And it’s not just Timothée Chalamet that draws us into this type of story. The recent surge in cannibalism media is undeniable–but what does it mean? What does it say about us as viewers?

The trends in science fiction, dystopian, and post-apocalyptic media offer an especially interesting commentary on current issues. Susan Sontag pointed out this relationship, writing that science fiction films “reflect world-wide anxieties, and they 81

serve to allay them.” The media landscape, no matter how dramatized, is a reaction to our current world. For instance, after 9/11, there was a rise in superhero films because of an American desire to feel both reassured and saved by the “good guys.” These larger-thanlife movies offered us a fantasy catharsis where we were saved from trauma; they gave us a world where morality prevails and tragedy is avenged. So what is it about our current world that has caused the increase in us watching people eating other people on our TV screens?

I have a couple of theories about why popular TV might have turned to cannibalism.

We’ve always had a fascination with the macabre, and pushing the boundaries of entertainment by depicting various taboos has been popular for centuries. Cannibalism is the ultimate taboo, the ultimate shock value addition to any dark story. But I think there’s much more to it than cannibalism being appalling and jaw-dropping. Similar to how superhero media was a result of post 9/11 anxieties, perhaps this trend is a result of post pandemic anxieties.

After living through lockdown–a terrifying period ripe with death, political turmoil, and environmental disaster– we look for media that echoes themes of what we are going through while remaining decidedly separate from our world. Cannibalism–the taboo of all taboos–feels so far-fetched and inhumane that it could never become something that we will have to face. It’s an opportunity for us to process our anxieties at a safe distance.

Cannibalism also functions as a compelling symbol within these pieces of popular media. In Yellowjackets, cannibalism illustrates the corruption of humanity and

morality in the face of survival. The ritualistic ways in which cannibalism occurs in the show can easily be seen as religious; the way the young girls partake in eating each other is almost reverent. Cannibalism gives them faith, it gives them something to believe in, it gives them hope of survival. In the wilderness, the rules of humanity no longer exist. This is quite similar to the function of cannibalism in The Last of Us, as eating human flesh becomes a survival tactic. However, in contrast to Yellowjackets, it’s impossible to root for and see the good in these cannibals; the leader of the cannibalistic community in The Last of Us is a megalomaniac, and likely the most evil character in the show.

This shows us how quickly human instinct can turn sinister and violent because of a desperation to survive.

But no matter the function of cannibalism within these popular stories, it’s something that draws us in.

What I think it really comes down to–the real reason cannibalism media is so popular–is our insatiable desire to consume. In both The Last of Us and Yellowjackets, this consumption of human flesh is necessary for survival. Of course, it’s on a vastly different scale, but we too feel as if we have to consume others to survive. It’s easier than ever to consume other people, to devour every detail we can find out about a person.

Through social media and a boundless internet, our appetites have become unquenchable. We want to know everything, we put our favorite celebrities on pedestals and eat up their every move. We consume everything we can, but we often still want more. Within capitalistic society, we are natural born consumers, and cannibalism is the paramount representation

“WHAT I THINK IT REALLY COMES DOWN TO– THE REAL REASON CANNIBALISM MEDIA IS SO POPULAR– IS OUR INSATIABLE DESIRE TO CONSUME.”

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“DESPITE BEING AN EXTREME EXAMPLE, CANNIBALISM SHOWS US THE MOST REPULSIVE ASPECTS OF CAPITALISM, CAUTIONING US AGAINST THE ACUTE LEVELS OF CONSUMPTION THAT WE HAVE BECOME ALL TOO FAMILIAR WITH.”

of consuming someone to the highest degree.

Chelsea G. Summers, author of the novel about cannibalism A Certain Hunger, describes how this idea of consumption is now a part of our everyday lives: “We don’t just win; we devour. We don’t just vanquish; we roast our rivals, and we eat them for breakfast.”

In Fresh, cannibalism acts as a vehicle to showcase this fervent and inextinguishable hunger.

Sebastian Stan’s character Steve sells human meat to the elite for an absurd amount of money, and the elite in this film don’t question the morality of this sale. They purchase and eat human meat because they can, because it’s the most expensive thing they can consume, because they are at the top of the food chain and they want to consume something that only the 1% can consume.

Despite being an extreme example, cannibalism shows us the deepest, most repulsive aspects of capitalism, cautioning us against the acute levels of consumption that we have become all too familiar with.

Whether it’s a story about a stranded girls soccer team, a world ravaged by an unforgiving infection, or the disgusting desires of the upper class, cannibalism is undoubtedly the hottest taboo in media right now. A new horrific trope will likely be on the rise within the next few years. We’ve seen vampire stories, dystopian stories, apocalyptic stories– anything could be next. But for as long as we stay ravenous to consume the lives of others, cannibalism remains on the menu.

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