Review: Introducing the Newest Barbie: Existential Barbie
(07/28/23 6:00am)
“Life in plastic, it’s fantastic!”
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“Life in plastic, it’s fantastic!”
I went into the dual premiere of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” (coined “Barbenheimer”), cautiously optimistic. Since the advent of streaming services, Hollywood has grown disgustingly commercial, with films existing as a product first and an artistic mode second. “Where is the soul?” one might ask, upon watching “Don’t Worry Darling” or “Don’t Look Up.” I worried Barbenheimer would be the same gig — theatrical blockbusters compensating for a lack of depth with aesthetics. When the integrity of a film rests solely on its cast and production budget, the story usually suffers.
When summer term rolls around, there may be fewer students on campus, but that does not mean it’s any quieter than before — especially when the sounds of student bands spill out onto a moonlit Webster Avenue. Within the first few weeks of the term, some students have already formed new bands that span a variety of genres, while previously established bands continue to practice and play on campus.
Where the White River pours into the Connecticut, in the valley between the Green and White Mountains, local artists Jakob Breitbach and Tommy Crawford came together for the second year to host the Riverfolk festival variety show. Held in the Courtyard Theater at Northern Stage in White River Junction, Vermont on July 17, the night featured local artists such as Breitbach and his wife, Jes Raymond, in a duo called Beecharmer. Other performers included two Dartmouth students comprising the band Ramblers & Co and traveling artists, including Guy Davis and the House Band. Presented by Here In The Valley, a music collective by Breitbach described on their website as a “home for live acoustic music and arts in the Upper Valley,” the show sold out both their 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. performances.
In Woodstock, Vermont, just a few turns off of Central Street and down a quiet gravel road, Charlet and Peter Davenport ring in their 35th annual Sculpturefest. Charlet Davenport says she initially founded the year-round exhibition in an effort to raise money for outdoor art — inspired by her visits to outdoor galleries like Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, New York.
THEA 65, ‘Summer Theater Lab’ — a course offered only in the summer by the theater department — exposes students to experiential theater through student, alumni and professional original works. The course is divided into three projects: VoxLab, Frost award-winning, student-written plays and the New York Theater Workshop.
I haven’t missed a daily dip all summer; it’s become the perfect tradition. With the sweltering heat and a room that is barely air conditioned, I’ve found it necessary to cool off with a nice plunge into the Connecticut River.
Towards the end of week one, students from all areas of campus with varying degrees of experience flocked to dance, improv and a cappella auditions. Whether to revisit a long lost talent, try something completely new or meet different people, summer performance groups are a highly anticipated part of sophomore summer, according to students.
If Dartmouth was a movie, sophomore summer would be the cliche to end all cliches. But there’s no doubt that this term means many things to rising Dartmouth juniors. For some, it marks their first term taking a break from a sport they’ve played their whole time at Dartmouth; others take two classes and split their time between the river and Webster Avenue. For me, it means finally getting back to writing after a term as an editor for the Mirror. But I won’t lie to you, the other day, when I was researching films to write about, I thought to myself, “Why am I even doing this?”
American auteur Wes Anderson has been churning out unique, visionary films since the mid 90s. As his career has progressed stellarly, The Wes Anderson Film can virtually classify as its own genre. Filled with colorful canvases painted by brilliant ensemble performers and striking attention to detail, the classic Anderson film is a meticulously designed collage of joy, love, grief and most notably, a bit of dysfunction. From his offbeat caper debut “Bottle Rocket” (1996) to the visual Renaissance spectacle “The Grand Budapest Hotel” (2014), Anderson’s films carry a cinematic quality unlike any other. “Asteroid City” (2023), the newest installment to the Wes Anderson universe, manages to continue Anderson’s impeccable form and style but also shows his fans and the rest of the Milky Way that he does have something more to offer.
On June 26, writer and professor Megan Fernandes held a poetry reading in Dartmouth Hall, where she read excerpts from her upcoming poetry collection, “I Do Everything I’m Told,” which will be published by Tin House in Summer 2023.
At 7:54 p.m., “it’s been a long time coming,” echoed through the speakers of Gillette Stadium. Every seat was filled with a programmed, light-up bracelet as Taylor Swift emerged for The Eras Tour on Sunday, May 21. The Eras Tour does not just break the record for the first billion dollar tour, but it marks 17 years of Swift’s music and fan memories.
This article is featured in the 2023 Commencement & Reunions special issue.
This article is featured in the 2023 Commencement & Reunions special issue.
This article is featured in the 2023 Commencement & Reunions special issue.
This article is featured in the 2023 Commencement & Reunions special issue.
The Dartmouth Dance Ensemble will hold their annual May performance this Saturday in the Bema at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. The performance, titled “A Spring Day,” will feature original choreography by professional and student choreographers and will showcase a variety of dance styles.
Friday, May 26
On May 10, poet-anthropologist Nomi Stone ’03 read excerpts from several of her poetry collections and participated in a Q&A session at Still North Books & Bar. Stone is an award-winning author of the poetry collections “Kill Class” and “Stranger’s Notebook,” whose poems have appeared in “The Atlantic,” “The American Poetry Review” and “The Best American Poetry.”
Student bands are an enduring aspect of Dartmouth’s musical community, which is composed of students from across class years. The most current iteration of the student band Shark is made up of Jacob Donoghue ’22 on keys and vocals, Patrick Howard ’23 on guitar and vocals, Kirusha Lanski ’23 on drums, Bo Farnell ’26 on guitar and Ian Moore ’26 on bass and backup vocals. In an email statement to The Dartmouth, Nick Deveau ’16 wrote that he co-founded the band with Pablo Marvel ’15 and Zach Wooster ’15 in the fall of 2014.