ARTS| THE PONY
January 24, 2019
A love letter to ‘Mrs. Maisel’
This Amazon orignial captivates audiences in an increasingly unapologetic world By Kylie Schwartz
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midst Doris-Dayinspired classic 50s aesthetic is “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” a show glowing in color and fire and sharp-wit dialogue. Miriam “Midge” Maisel, portrayed by actress Rachel Brosnahan, lives the epitome of life in the late 1950’s: housewife, two kids, a loving, aspiring comic husband, and a house in the ritzy Upper-West Side of New York City. Midge is perfection personified, busying herself with maintaining the ideals of the 1950’s life in a tornado of efficiency. Born with perfectly curled hair and impeccably done red lipstick, Midge knows no way but the “right” way. The woman walked in fully formed, ready to make life absolutely
perfect… until it wasn’t. After a disappointing comedic failure at the Gaslight Cafe one night, Midge’s husband realizes his talent doesn’t match his ambition and, in his anger, reveals that he has been having an affair with his secretary. Everything falls apart in Midge’s carefully constructed existence. She has no direction, no next move; there is no place left for her in the world she thought she belonged to. However, among chaos and uncertainty for the first time in her life, she discovers a voice within herself that she never realized was there. Eventually, she finds herself on the stage at the Gaslight Cafe in an explosion of comedic genius. Midge Maisel is the heroine the world needs
today. In a time where women feel at a loss for words, hearing Midge speak is like having everything you have ever wanted to say being articulated with absolute perfection. She draws out the strength in every person who watches, urging them to be loud, clear, and proud in their own voice. She no longer begs to be let in to a society that does not want her for who she is-instead, she forces her way through and paves her own path while the onlookers stare in awe. Midge represents all the women today who were once apologetic, confused, but are now ready to rant. In her time, she was out of place, misunderstood-- today, she stands as a pillar of strength and empowerment for women everywhere.
Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnan) rants with firey passion to a rapt audience. Courtesy of @maiseltv
A superhero movie everyone will love “Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse” swings into cinemas, and traps viewers with a fresh take on the classic. By Malin Lytle
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e’ve had the SpiderMan origin story told to us tons of times through movies, games, comics... anything you can think of, really. At this point it’s probably one of the more well known origin stories because they keep telling it and over and over again. Every single Spider-Man reboot is basically the same concept every single time. Knowing this, going into “Spider-Man: Into the SpiderVerse,” I was pleasantly surprised to see the direction they took with telling another
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Spider-Man origin story. Rather than the familiar Peter Parker, the film centers around a newer iteration of Spider-Man, Miles Morales, and his story of trying to live up to Spider-Man while staying true to himself in the process. The plot may be a little cliché, but it’s a superhero movie, so honestly I don’t know what anyone was expecting. It doesn’t necessarily have to be deep to be enjoyable, and for sure this movie’s appeal comes from the atmosphere it creates.
That’s not to say it’s poorly-written, though. The dialogue is very well done, with the comedic scenes being actually funny, unlike a lot of Marvel movies, where they try to make anything and everything into a one-liner until something sticks. The fantastic writing lets you ignore the tropes and have a truly immersive and emotional experience. One of the best and most talked-about parts of the film is the outstanding animation and art, which looks like it came straight out of a comic
book with its vibrant colors and unique character designs. All the action scenes are beautifully done, with the animation team really getting the most out of the medium to do what it was always made to do: making stories that could not be told in real life. The animators really go above and beyond to make a super action packed and unique viewing experience. Each version of SpiderMan in the film is animated in a unique manner, fitting each of their unique characters. Another high point of the
movie is the soundtrack, featuring music from lots of popular artists that fit the main character’s personality very well, being artists that would probably be listened to by someone his age and with his style. There’s really something for everyone in this movie. If you’re a fan of animation, it’s a big step forward in terms of taking the medium seriously, and the animation is beautiful, smooth, vibrant, and dynamic. It’s a fun experience that definitely deserves to be seen on the big screen.