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Friday | October 30, 2020 | Volume 93 | Issue 20

CLARIFYING RECORDING 02 | MyWeberMedia.com| October 30, 2020

RESTRICTIONS IN THE

STUDENT CODE CONTINUES

By CATIE WEIMER Reporter

Weber State University is still working on clarifying what students can do with recordings they make in class; specifically, tightening the language in the student code that says students need permission from both a faculty member and other attendees to share recorded information.

After three hearings on changes to the student code in regard to recordings — the first of which did not take place because of technical

difficulties — the proposed adjustments will move forward to the senate of the Weber State University Student Association.

The hearings’ purposes were to answer questions and listen to feedback on the policy changes from members of the WSU community.

Changes to the policy were first brought up around six years ago by Vikki Deakin, a professor in the history department and the chair of the presidential task force. She heard about an incident that took place at her alma mater, which incited her to bring up changes here.

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“A professor was recorded without permission, and things went haywire, and the University of Missouri recognized that they didn’t have a policy to match 21st-century social media,” Deakin said. “This is a conversation that has been in the making for a very long time; it isn’t just the result of recent events.”

At WSU, the changes to the student code are meant to clarify language on a student’s permission to create recordings, in order to make the university’s expectations more transparent.

Patrick Thomas, of the university legal council, noted that the language already states people need permission from a faculty member to record in a classroom setting.

“What was unclear is what that person could do with that information,” Thomas said.

“We clarify that if someone wants to share that information, they not only need to ask for permission from their faculty member but also from the other attendees in the meeting.”

The code changes only apply to non-public, university-sponsored events and educational experiences.

If someone needs an accommodation for a disability that requires some sort of recording, the student should contact Disability Services to discuss the matter, as it goes through a different policy.

The Disability Office can then speak to the faculty member to discuss an agreement for the student.

One anonymous attendee of the hearing asked if the new policy changes would require faculty members to get students’ permission when recording a lecture, which many are currently doing on Zoom with online and FLEX courses.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act already protects students from this, and faculty members are not allowed to share recordings outside of the university.

“I can say that, as a faculty member, FERPA is something that, as a federal law, the faculty is well aware of; we undergo regular training,”

Deakin said. “We take it very seriously.”

When asked about the potential consequences students may face for sharing a recording without permission, Jeff Hurst, from the Dean of Students Office, said determining a punishment was a difficult question to answer because each case would have different circumstances.

“We consider the intent and the impact as well, so it really does vary on a case-by-case basis,” Cecilia Dockery, also with the Dean of Students Office, said. “We would evaluate kind of all of the factors of the incident in order to make those decisions, and the outcomes would align with the level to which those factors are met.”

Other questions included what action the university could take if a student turned the footage over to the news media and how faculty members should word a syllabus when discussing the new policy.

The policy only addresses what can be controlled at an institutional level, but a request to the media to take down the footage could be made. Issues with syllabi are dealt with in other policies and code, and faculty members can word their syllabi how they want.

“You can put in your syllabus language, ‘I give students permission to record in these circumstances; I give students permission to report in subsequent semesters,’” Deakin said. “You can do that however you want, so you have the ability to set your parameters how you wish; it’s just that the default is they cannot.”

After the WSU Student Association Senate considers the proposed changes, the Admission Standards and Student Affairs Committee will try to reconcile any differences between the Student Association, comments and feedback from the hearings and the proposed policy.

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NIGHTMARE ON 13TH

04 | MyWeberMedia.com| October 30, 2020

Nightmare on 13th takes health precautions to keep attendees safe despite CDC classifying haunted houses as high risk.

By CAITLYN NICHOLS Section Editor

By SARAH EARNSHAW Videography Editor

The CDC guidelines listed “going to an indoor haunted house where people may be crowded together and screaming” as a high-risk fall activity that should be avoided during the pandemic. However, many haunted attractions in northern Utah have found ways to remain open this Halloween season.

Salt Lake City’s Fear Factory recently

signed the Stay Safe Stay Open campaign, a pledge for small and local businesses to fulfill COVID-19 safety requirements in order to stay in business while also assuring customers they are safe there.

Rob Dunfield, COO and co-owner of Fear Factory, said many people want to get out and have fun safely, so businesses need to be willing to follow the rules and take the necessary precautions to allow for such activities.

“If you went to a haunted house that operates prior to COVID, and they still operate the same way, then you prob-

ably are at higher risk,” Dunfield said.

“But if you comply with the guidelines, I think it’s very safe.”

Fear Factory made many changes to its attraction to comply with CDC guidelines, including a new, timed ticketing system to allow only a certain number of guests to come in during a certain amount of time, which reduces crowding in the attraction.

In addition, queue ropes are marked every 16 feet for groups to be distanced from each other, masks are required for everyone present, hand sanitizer is provided everywhere, actors stay more dis-

tant people and the company has hired a new team of people specifically for sanitizing common touch points every ten minutes.

Dunfield said the attraction has also made many changes specifically for keeping employees safe. The temperature of every employee is checked at their arrival, and they answer questions about symptoms and travel; makeup stations are divided into stalls where only the artist and the actor are allowed and if an employee gets sick, they must get tested for COVID-19 and cannot come back to work until they are cleared.

MyWeberMedia.com| October 30, 2020 | 05

Dunfield said when people ask him why he still opened during the pandemic, he reminds them that if people want to come, then they can and it will be safe. If they don’t want to go, then they shouldn’t go.

Dana Bird and Mikayla Williams, students of Weber State University and attendees of Fear Factory, both said the experience this year was almost better than past years because of the lack of crowds. They liked being spaced out from other people since they don’t like being so close to strangers anyways.

Williams said that, while the attraction was almost the same as normal, it did seem a little less scary because actors couldn’t get as close and in your face, and they also seemed to scream and yell less due to the masks.

Salt Lake City’s Nightmare on 13th has taken similar measures to open during the Halloween season, according to General Manager Jake Mabey. They’ve switched to timed ticketing, staff mem-

bers are now screened and temperatures are taken each day, sanitizer stations are available and everyone is required to wear a mask for the whole night.

In addition, groups are directed to keep distance from each other through signage and markings on the ground, and employees walk around outside making sure that guests keep their distance and their masks on.

Mabey said they also have a dedicated staff for regularly cleaning common touch points throughout the night, in addition to professionals who come in to clean everything every day from the night before.

Mabey said Nightmare on 13th will be negatively affected by reduced attendance this year, due to spacing, but it’s a sacrifice they are willing to make to stay open and provide entertainment to guests.

“We are so excited that we were able to open up and give Utah somewhere to go to try and escape the true horrors in

the world for an hour or so and have a really fun and safe experience,” Mabey said.

Frightmares at Lagoon is also keeping groups of guests distanced while in line for their attractions by using markers on the ground, and actors walk around the queues specifically watch to make sure the social distancing and mask policies are enforced.

At the entrance, sanitizer is provided and guests are instructed that if they try to take off their mask or touch the actors and props while inside the walkthrough, they will be escorted out. Actors keep more distance than normal.

Asylum 49, a haunted attraction in Tooele famous for its full-contact experience, advertised on their website that due to COVID-19 there would be no contact this year. However, while there, we observed a few actors touching guests on set. Masks were also required, though some guests had them down around their chins without any mention

from staff.

Castle of Chaos, an underground haunted house in Murray, had time slots for attendees much like Fear Factory and Nightmare on 13th. The amount of actors was significantly less than in years past and there were hand sanitizing stations throughout the attraction.

While these haunted houses are rearranging the layout of their attractions and making changes to keep attendees safe during the experience, numbers continue to rise across the state. All of these haunted houses are located in counties that are marked as having over 200 cases reported in a 14-day period on coronavirus.utah.gov.

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FEAR FACTORY

Below: Fear Factory takes health precautions to keep attendees safe during pandemic.

Al DIAZ | Miami Herald/ TNS

ALREADY-LOADED ARSENAL

BRADY’S BUCS ADD MORE FIREPOWER TO THEIR

06 | MyWeberMedia.com| October 30, 2020

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) and Patriots’ Antonio Brown (17) celebrate after scoring in the second quarter against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 15, 2019, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

MIKE EHRMANN| Getty Images/ TNS

MyWeberMedia.com| October 30, 2020 | 07

An overhead view during the game between the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on Sept. 20 in Tampa, Florida.

TYLER HASLAM Columnist

Over a year ago, the New England Patriots released star wide receiver Antonio Brown, just 11 days after signing him, when allegations of wrongdoing off the field sprung up around him.

Brown landed himself on the commissioner’s exempt list while the NFL conducted an investigation into Brown’s off-field issues. After some months, the NFL’s investigation concluded, and Brown was given an eight-game suspension, making him eligible to play week nine of this season.

Last week, reports started cropping up that the Seahawks had been showing interest in signing Brown. A few days after that, there were reports saying that the Buccaneers were also interested in signing him.

Almost immediately after news broke that the Bucs were interested, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Brown intended to sign a oneyear deal with the Buccaneers.

To be honest, when I heard the news, I wasn’t really surprised. The Buccaneers have been turning the paper clip, stick of gum and spare change in the pocket of their old jeans into offensive firepower this whole offseason.

First and foremost, they signed the greatest quarterback of all time to a two-year, $50 mil-

lion deal. I know he’s old, but $25 million a year for Tom Brady — at any age — is a bargain when you consider the money owners are throwing at quarterbacks nowadays.

They traded a fourth-round pick for recently un-retired Rob Gronkowski, and they signed the disgruntled-yet-talented Leonard Fournette to a one-year, $1 million deal.

Therefore, the Bucs signing a four-time allpro receiver to a one-year, $2.5 million deal seemed about right.

Back when Brady first signed in Tampa and before the Buccaneers made all the other transactions, I thought the Tampa Bay offensive weapons might be the best that Brady has ever had in his career.

Many, myself including, considered Chris Godwin and Mike Evans to be the best wide receiver duo in the league.

Add Gronkowski, Fournette and Brown to the mix, and the idea that this supporting cast is the best that Brady has ever played with is no longer a claim; it’s just a fact.

Some may argue that Brown isn’t going to contribute or play like he used to, given he is 32-years-old and hasn’t seen live football action in over a year. If you are one of those people, let’s consider some things.

Before all of Brown’s crazy shenanigans with the Raiders and off-field issues, he was considered the best wide receiver in the league. Brown had an NFL record of 35 consecutive games with at least five catches and 50 receiving yards.

Brown didn’t achieved this high level of play because of physical traits (he’s only 5’ 10” and 185 pounds) or game-breaking speed (he ran a 4.47 40-yard dash at the Combine, which is

about average for today’s receivers).

Brown played at that high level because of his elite route-running skills and his ability to find the open spaces in zone coverages. Both these skills are things that Brown will still be able to do at a high level, even if he has lost a little bit of his speed.

Simply put, if Brown is 70 percent of the player he was two years ago, he’ll still be the best third wide receiver in the league. For example, the Jets’ third wide receiver is Braxton Berrios, and I’m pretty sure you have no clue who he even is.

Some may also argue that signing Brown is a risk because he’s been such a liability for his past few teams when it comes to his off-field antics. Considering this, I don’t think there’s a better fit in the league right now for Brown than the Buccaneers.

Head coach Bruce Arians and Brady are both no-nonsense guys, and if Brown starts to run off the rails, they aren’t going to put up with it at all.

In fact, in an interview with Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer, Arians was asked what his message to Brown would be. Arians responded that Brown either acts like a team player, or he’s gone.

It’s clear to me that Arians and the Bucs will have absolutely no tolerance for any behavioral issues Brown may present. With that being the case, this move really is a no-brainer for them.

The scary thing about this signing is that the Bucs look like they’re finally starting to hit their stride.

In addition to the aforementioned stacked offense, the Bucs also arguably feature the best defense in the league led by the most

underrated linebacker on any team: Lavonte David.

In the last two weeks, I’ve marveled as I watched Tampa obliterate what many considered, at the time, to be the best team in the league: the Green Bay Packers. They also easily handled a Las Vegas Raiders team that was coming off a stellar victory against the Chiefs.

Speaking of marvels, after the news broke that the Buccaneers were signing Brown, retired running back DeAngelo Williams tweeted, “So @TomBrady is Nick Fury and assembling the damn avengers in Tampa huh?”

For those of you who haven’t seen the “Avengers” movies, thank you for reading this far, but you can move on to the next story now because this analogy won’t make much sense to you.

The comparison to the Avengers made me laugh, but I think a comparison to Thanos is more accurate.

Remember how it felt watching the “Infinity War” movie when Thanos had only two infinity stones and still seemed unbeatable? Then he just kept on getting more stones and became even more invincible.

I’ve felt that same way watching the Buccaneers play the last couple weeks.

Brady just keeps on adding piece after piece and, like Thanos, it looks like he’s getting more and more unbeatable.

The NFL needs to watch out, because once he gets Brown, all Brady might have to do is snap his fingers, and he’ll make a Lombardi Trophy appear.

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Asst. Graphic Design Editor

Inktober, a yearly drawing challenge during the month of October, was created by artist Jake Parker back in 2009. Each year, Parker posts the official prompt list, which encourages those participating to come up with an original piece that corresponds with a single-word daily prompt, like “ghost” or “temptation.”

It encourages artists to draw every day to enhance their skills and develop positive drawing habits.

What started out as an ink-andpaper challenge has since grown to include practically every artistic medium. The rules are simple: make a drawing, post it, hashtag using #inktober, repeat.

Some choose to do it daily or just reach the halfway point.

Some do every other day or week.

It’s meant to be enjoyable and encourage you to share your art.

Inktober has evolved so much that now other artists participate by creating their own themed prompt lists, like Pinktober, Dreamtober, Oceantober, etc. The Signpost’s full graphic design team participated this year, as much as their schoolwork would allow. For more information on Inktober go to https://inktober. com/ or follow Jake Parker on Instagram @Jakeparker Comment on this story at signpost.mywebermedia.com

KELSEY FERRIN | The Signpost

By ALLI RICKARDS

BLYTHE EVANS | The Signpost

By AUBREE ECKHARDT

Graphic Design Editor

AUBREE ECKHARDT | The Signpost

08 | MyWeberMedia.com| October 30, 2020

AUBREE ECKHARDT | The Signpost

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MyWeberMedia.com| October 30, 2020 | 09

EASY THANKSGIVINGS

10 | MyWeberMedia.com| October 30, 2020

WITH MEAL DEALS FROM WEBER DINING

By ADAM RUBIN Senior Reporter

ALTARES Y OFRENDAS

NOW-MID NOVEMBER MONDAY - FRIDAY 8 AM-8 PM

JOIN US FOR ALTERS IN THE SHEPHERD UNION GALLERY

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Shepherd Union Access & Diversity

Please contact Andrea Hernández to request accommodations in relation to a disability: 801-626-6957

Sodexo with Weber Dining is offering an alternative for Thanksgiving meals, designed to help the community stay connected with family and friends.

Weber Dining is offering redesigned Thanksgiving dinners this year. Options include ham and turkey, different sizes of Thanksgiving meals with dessert and the option of either pre-cooked meals or ready-tocook Thanksgiving dinners.

The Executive Chef Trek Kryger came up with offering traditional turkey or ham alongside yams, cranberry sauce and mashed potato stuffing. All ready-to-eat meals will be fresh as Weber Dining will start cooking all the orders for ham and turkey right before pickup.

These are available to all students, faculty and staff as well as the public.

Sodexo considered how hard 2020 has been on everyone; including them, as their revenue is not quite what it was before the pandemic hit.

Their team devised a way people could spend more time this Thanksgiving with their families, escape the “hustle and bustle” of the kitchen and preparation of Thanksgiving dinners and focus more on spending time with loved ones.

“The ideal customer is anyone who wants to take a break this year and focus on what they are thankful for with people they love,” Steedley said.

All people need to do is email or call in orders, choose what meal fits their family’s needs and setup a curbside pickup time for the order.

Marketing Manager for Weber Dining Robert Steedley explained how their team was concerned with making Thanksgiving as easy as possible this year. They wanted a smooth ordering and pickup process to make things as accessible as possible.

Orders can be placed until Nov. 16. Readyto-eat meals can be picked up on Nov. 26, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and cost $200 for a six-to-eight person meal or $230 for a 10-to12 person meal.

Ready-to-cook meals are available for pick-

up on Nov. 25 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., and the prices are $10 less than their ready-to-eat counterparts.

Meal-making will start two days before the meal is picked up, and ready-to-eat meal options will be hot and ready when picked up.

“Meal pickup will be done from the circle drive in front of the Browning Center,” Sample said. “Customers will call and let Weber Dining know that they are there, and we will take their meal to their vehicle.”

With safety as a top priority for Sodexo, Weber Dining has been following all the suggested safety precautions to keep everyone healthy and safe, while still being accessible for both the Wildcat Family, and the community.

Director of Catering Jason Sample explained how, since last March, their team has been waiting for the right time to resume their operations, and they are grateful to have the chance to reach out to help families.

By extension they are excited to be reaching out to the community outside Weber State University, which is something they have not done for Thanksgiving in past years.

“We hope to help make the Thanksgiving meal planning and preparation process a bit easier and less stressful.” Sample said.

“Purchasing all of the ingredients necessary to cook a Thanksgiving meal can cost quite a bit.”

For many families, Thanksgiving 2020 also brings new types of stress, including not being able to visit family. The current pandemic has isolated many people.

“This year is different from previous years with the pandemic affecting lives on so many levels,” Steedley said. “We at Weber Dining just want people to focus on the meaning of the holiday and give themselves a break and enjoy a meal the family will enjoy.”

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Go to weber.edu/shuttle to sign up.

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MyWeberMedia.com| October 30, 2020 | 11

12 | MyWeberMedia.com| October 30, 2020

DARYN STEED Columnist

NIC MURANAKA Columnist

So, this is the way the movie theater industry ends: not with a bang but with a whimper.

After six months of forced closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, 68 percent of movie theaters reopened over Labor Day weekend, according to the New York Times.

Theaters were banking on Christopher Nolan’s new blockbuster, “Tenet,” to bring crowds back in droves; Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” “Dunkirk” and “Inception” all made billions over their time in theaters, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

But “Tenet,” which cost $205 million to make, made just $9.4 million in its first weekend and just $29.5 million over its first two weeks in North America.

Theaters didn’t reopen in New York or Los Angeles, the two biggest markets in the United States.

Several other factors played into the dismal box office sales: theater capacity was limited to 50 percent or less; “Tenet” is a complicated film with few big names to draw audiences and moviegoers were concerned about safety.

After “Tenet” bombed at the box-office, production studios postponed all upcoming big movies. “Wonder Woman 1984” was pushed to December, “A Quiet Place II” was pushed to April and “Black Widow” was pushed to May.

Some studios are considering skipping theater releases altogether and premiering on streaming services instead.

Critics didn’t enjoy “Tenet,” but that’s because critics don’t enjoy having fun. Nolan has had his ups and downs with critics during his filmmaking career.

“The Dark Knight” is tied with “Avengers: Endgame” for the highest-critically-rated live-action superhero movie according to “Rotten Tomatoes.” On the other hand, “Tenet,” “Interstellar” and “The Prestige” all sit firmly in 70 percent critical favorability on the website.

“Tenet” is ambitious and requires more focus than the average blockbuster, but it’s entertaining by any standard.

The Signpost’s resident film critics are back to review “Tenet” and let you know if it’s worth risking your life to see it in theaters.

We’re about to embark on the impossible: reviewing a film that is nearly unexplainable.

The film is helmed by John David Washington, who plays an unnamed character called The Protagonist, and Robert Pattinson, who can actually act, to the surprise of “Twilight” fans circa 2008. They use backward time warps in an attempt to prevent the destruction of the world by egomaniac Andrei Sator, played by an unrecognizable Kenneth Branagh.

While the plot is grueling for first-time viewers, the payoff is worth it. This is also a movie that holds up remarkably well in rewatches, and might even be more enjoyable.

That being said, let’s unpack the biggest sources of confusion and frustration. There’s no fun in talking at length about the good parts of the movie, anyway.

Daryn: The film begins with The Protagonist and a team of CIA agents infiltrating a Russian terrorist attack at an opera house. The Russians, led by “Tenet” villain Sator, are trying to acquire a piece of the Algorithm, a device Sator plans to use to end the world.

After watching the movie twice, I’m happy to report that I still have no idea why the opera scene is in the film at all. It lasts ten minutes and really bears no consequence on the rest of the film. Sator somehow acquires that last piece of the Algorithm even after The Protagonist stops him at the opera house.

Nic: The opera scene introduces us to Pattin-

son’s Neil, though we don’t know that yet on a first watch. It also introduces us to inverted weapons, though we don’t know that yet either. Finally, it introduces a man who possesses a piece of the Algorithm, who never comes back in the movie and, therefore, seems to ultimately not matter. However, the scene does set up that The Protagonist is selfless and a good guy, so, you know, plot.

D: Let’s discuss Kat. Elizabeth Debicki stars as the villain’s abused wife, who makes several highly questionable decisions throughout the film. The weight of the world is literally on her shoulders multiple times, and by the grace of God and a little movie magic, her mistakes are never costly.

If you’re looking for a film that features powerful women making their mark on the plot, this film is not for you. Kat is a disaster, plainly told, with seemingly no grasp of the significance of her actions. She does whatever she wants whenever she wants, the fate of humanity be damned.

N: Is Debicki a good actress, or is she just tall?

D: The only other woman we see on-screen is Priya, played by Dimple Kapadia. Priya is supposedly the mastermind of the mastermind, always one step ahead of The Protagonist. But in the end, she’s bested by him without much effort on his part. She only gets about six minutes of airtime total, which makes it hard to believe she’s supposed to be orchestrating the end of the world.

N: Nolan sets Priya up as a powerful woman. The Protagonist and Neil go to confront an arms dealer in India: Priya’s husband. After the pair breaks into the arms dealer’s apartment, however, Priya reveals herself to be the brains behind the operation; her husband simply fronts for her in a male-dominated field. It’s like the Bronte sisters changing their names to write, except Priya sells guns.

D: Female villains are sorely lacking in action films. But unfortunately, Priya falls flat, mostly because we aren’t supposed to know she’s the villain until the final seconds of the film.

N: Speaking of women in the movie, the only other woman of consequence in the movie is a scientist, played by Clémence Poésy,

probably best known as Fleur Delacour in the “Harry Potter” film franchise, who helpfully explains inversion technology to The Protagonist. It’s good to see Delacour grew up to become a theoretical physicist, but her explanation of the technology makes about as much sense as anything else in the film. Read: next to none.

D: The science behind this movie will make sense if you happen to be a quantum physicist. If not, good luck understanding the mind-boggling action sequences. Buildings collapse and come back together simultaneously, characters can be alive and dead at the same time and armies are moving forward and backward through time concurrently.

N: Neil conveniently does have a masters degree in quantum physics, so he can explain what exactly is going on. Unfortunately, the scene where he’s about to explain everything to Kat cuts away from them before the conversation transpires. Nolan really wanted to make sure viewers knew next to nothing.

D: The tension in the plot relies on the Algorithm. A scientist in the future has created a device that can retroactively destroy the humans who ruined the earth. However, the scientist realizes that killing everyone from the past will simultaneously kill everyone in the future, resulting in the end of the world.

She sends the device back in time in parts, thinking nobody from the past will have the technology or information necessary to piece it all together.

N: Sator, however, is selected by the future to put the Algorithm back together. When assembled, its destructive power can be unleashed, reversing the flow of time in the past and erasing the people who eventually cause global climate collapse.

D: Sator is somehow able to communicate with the future using text messages, because… if there are two things that never die, it’s love and emojis?

N: When Sator sends a text message or email in the present, that information stays recorded. The people in the future can then access that information.

D: Which then gets into time flowing non-linearly in the “Tenet” world. But only for some people.

Tribune News Service

MyWeberMedia.com| October 30, 2020 | 13

“Tenet,” Christopher Nolan’s latest film release, opened to a $9.4 million box office in its first weekend in the U.S., much lower than its $205 million budget.

N: The future scientist people have technology that allows them to reverse the entropy of objects, causing them to flow backward in time; i.e., how the Algorithm arrives in our present. This power, called inversion, somehow makes weapons particularly lethal. People can also invert, allowing them to run their personal time backward and enter scenarios with the benefit of seeing their resolution.

Head hurt yet?

The inversion technology comes to a head in the final fight in the film, which takes place as The Protagonist runs forward in time while Neil runs backward.

D: This fight is absolutely insane. The Protagonist and Kat have worked out exactly when Sator decided to end the world. They travel back in time ten days to stop him. To do this, the Tenet army splits up, with half of them moving forward through time and half

moving backward.

N: The soldiers moving forward in time enter the fight with the benefit of knowing what the team moving backward already encountered.

However, for the purposes of linear time progression, both fights happen simultaneously.

D: The logistics behind filming any of this will make your head spin. Nolan is famously averse to using CGI, but I can’t imagine how he could’ve made this movie work without it.

At one point, a collapsed building comes back together, crushing a soldier inside.

N: Then, soldiers detonate the top half of a building while moving forward in time and the bottom half of the same building while moving backward. This is really cool.

Neil’s story also concludes during the final fight, engaging some of the most mind-bending time travel in the movie. Neil is probably the most important character in the movie and

he’s definitely the coolest, but his timeline is also the most confusing.

D: Neil and the Protagonist meet after the opera scene at the beginning. They travel to India together to meet Priya and inquire about the Algorithm.

N: Technically, they meet during the opera scene, though, again, we don’t know that yet.

D: Anyway, I’m entirely unsure how Neil and the Protagonist end up in India together, or how they even found out about the Algorithm, but in a film where time is non-linear, there’s crazier shit going on than some minor plot jumps.

All throughout the film, Neil seems to take everything in better stride than The Protagonist. We assume this is because he’s a quantum physicist and can wrap his head around the manipulation of time.

N: However, Neil claims his first introduc-

tion to time travel comes from when The Protagonist explains what is going on halfway through the movie. Then, at the beginning of the third act, Neil reveals that he knew what was going on all the whole time as he and The Protagonist discuss paradoxes.

D: All time travel films, from “Back to the Future” to “Avengers: Endgame,” grapple with paradoxes. Most just ignore them altogether, because working paradoxes into the plot is clunky and doesn’t usually solve the problem anyway. “Tenet” takes a different approach, with Neil explaining the grandfather paradox to the Protagonist.

This paradox is a logical problem that arises with virtually every time travel movie. The name comes from the idea that if a person traveled back in time and killed their grandfather, it would make their own birth impossible, making the action of killing their

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››continued from page 13 grandfather impossible.

Neil explains this is why the characters in “Tenet” cannot interact with their past selves.

They don’t actually know if the grandfather paradox is real, i.e. they have no idea if changing the past would actually change the future. After all, if you’re able to travel back in time to kill your grandfather, it means you’re still alive somehow. But because Neil believes changing the past does change the future, they never change the past.

This creates a very interesting dynamic with the characters’ actions. For example, just before The Protagonist decides they have to go back in time to stop Sator from killing everyone, he poses the question, “We’re here now. So doesn’t that mean we won?”

The Protagonist assumes because they are still alive, ten days following Sator’s attempt to end humankind, they must have defeated him. But Neil explains that’s precisely why they have to go back in time: obviously, they did reverse time to defeat Sator, so they must do it now.

Nolan was able to sidestep potential paradoxes with this explanation, but he also cut off his characters’ agency. As Neil tells The Protagonist, they don’t really have a choice about going back in time. They are stuck in one giant time loop. Everything is predestined. They did go back in time to stop Sator, so they have to go back in time to stop Sator.

N: In the final fight, The Protagonist is just seconds from saving the world when he gets held up by a locked door. He’s in a cave underground, and has no way out. He notices a Tenet teammate with a red badge laying on the other side of the locked door. Just then, the teammate rises from the ground, unlocks the door and gets shot by a bad guy. The Protagonist is able to get through the door and save the world.

After the Protagonist escapes

the cave and reunites with Neil, they celebrate their saving the world. The Protagonist thinks they’ve won and now they can go on their merry way, but Neil turns to walk into the cave. We notice that Neil is wearing a red badge, and he says he’s the only person who could pick that lock and help The Protagonist get through the door.

D: Unrelated, but we’re really supposed to believe Tenet has advanced enough technology to move through time, and only one of their members is capable of picking basic locks?

N: I mean but seriously though.

The Protagonist tries to stop Neil. He asks Neil if changing the past really will change the future.

But Neil doesn’t even consider it. He knows that he did go into the cave and sacrifice himself to open the door, so that’s what he has to do now.

One of the issues with comprehending Neil’s sacrifice, though, is that Neil also bails The Protagonist out by dropping a rope down into the cave and lifting The Protagonist out before the cave explodes, which allows Neil and The Protagonist to reunite.

Therefore, Neil saves The Protagonist twice: once, by unlocking the gate and dying and once by pulling The Protagonist from the cave. He’s Schrödinger’s mixed analogy, alive and dead at once.

D: Before he goes back into the cave, Neil reveals the biggest plot twist yet: he is actually an agent from the future, recruited by the Protagonist at some later date to join Tenet. He had to travel back in time to help The Protagonist stop Sator. He tells The Protagonist “This is the end of a beautiful friendship for me and the beginning for you. We get up to some stuff. You’ll love it.”

N: Meanwhile, everyone’s least favorite character — Kat — has an important role during the final fight: she has to distract Sator so he forgets to kill every

living soul.

D: She does this by taking a shower and trying to seduce him on their ridiculously large yacht.

Keep in mind that Sator is emotionally and physically abusive, has torn Kat away from everything she’s ever loved (read: her son) and has no qualms about murdering billions of people from both the past and present. So we can probably assume he’s a psychopath.

Kat succeeds in distracting Sator for a few minutes, and even seems to convince him that she still loves him.

(Again: abusive, genocidal, psychopathic.)

Then, for really no reason at all, Kat decides she wants to kill Sator. This is a terrible idea, because Sator dying will set off a bomb that will trigger the Algorithm and end the world.

N: Kat is allowed to kill Sator, but only at the pre-approved time, after the heroes manage to get the Algorithm away from the bomb.

D: But Kat doesn’t care about that, because she doesn’t want Sator to die thinking he won.

She reveals that she is actually from the future, knows about his plan and kills him. There’s a really grotesque moment where she throws Sator off the yacht and he breaks his neck against a railing on the way down.

N: However, the heroes don’t pay a price for Kat jumping the gun. She says she knew they’d find another way. Apparently they did.

Now, for the finale of the movie, before the characters go back in time to stop Sator from destroying the world, The Protagonist hands Kat a phone. He tells her that if she ever needs help, she should send a text or leave a voicemail on the phone, and no matter how far in the future he is, he will receive the message eventually, invert, and come back to help her.

This comes around when, in the final scene of the movie, Kat

meets her son to pick him up from school. She spots a strange car parked in a position where the driver can watch her, pulls out the phone, and leaves a voicemail.

The cameras pan to the car, where we see Priya watching Kat. This is menacing for some reason.

D: Again, Priya is an underdeveloped villain, and at this point we don’t even realize she’s a villain yet.

N: The Protagonist arrives in the car, where he reveals not only that he was the one providing Priya the information in the future, he also founded Tenet. He just didn’t know it yet in the present. The final scene of the movie cuts to black as he fires a gun, presumably killing Priya.

After hours of conversation, we decided that Priya probably intended to kill Kat because Kat killed Sator. This theory would assume that Priya had traveled back in time to kill a younger Kat. If younger Kat died, she would have never been able to kill Sator, thereby ensuring he was able to trigger the Algorithm and end the world. Maybe.

D: Considering none of these people know whether or not the grandfather paradox is real, it’s hilarious that they travel back and forth between time trying to kill each other, and even sacrificing themselves, under the assumption that it is. Why don’t we have one character who just takes a shot in the dark and ignores the paradox altogether?

Also, up for debate if we could have chosen a more confusing film to review.

In summary: time travel, bad female characters, great action sequences and a headache on the drive home. 10 out of 10, see it twice.

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