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The Dartmouth
August 25, 2026
The Dartmouth
Arts
Arts

Review: Taylor Swift’s ‘Lover’ tells stories of love and loss

By Mia Nelson | September 20, 2019

Taylor Swift. The name of one of America’s most successful musicians conjures up images of cowgirl boots, sparkly dresses, Twitter feuds and boyfriends. Often the mere mention of Swift induces a chorus of eyerolls or sighs of disgust. Very rarely do conversations about Swift mention her enormous success as a musician, including the fact that her most recent album “Lover” became 2019’s best-selling record in just a week.

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Arts

Q&A with Pass By Catastrophe musician Zach Plante ’18

By Veronica Winham | September 17, 2019

Alumnus and musician Zach Plante ’18 has taken his passion for music coast to coast and is set to release his first extended play record with the band Pass By Catastrophe on Sept. 27. Plante, who plays bass, guitar and piano in Pass By Catastrophe, is accompanied by Dexter Simpson, Max Kilberg and Sam Silverman. The band produces rock, indie rock and pop rock that is, according to Plante, reminiscent of the past but with a new modern twist.

Arts

Review: ‘The Goldfinch’ fails to live up to novel’s standard

By Lauren Segal | September 17, 2019

When word broke that Donna Tartt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Goldfinch” would be adapted into a movie last year, I sighed and dreaded the worst. There is something sacred that is destroyed when a much-beloved novel makes its on-screen debut. Movie adaptations of novels rarely do their written counterparts justice. Instead, they bury them in piles of scathing reviews and Rotten Tomato ratings that sully not only the film’s reputation but also that of the novel (for example, “The Hunger Games”). 

Arts

Q&A with Jeff Sharlet, author of Netflix-adapted ‘The Family’

By Lex Kang | August 16, 2019

In his two books “The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power” and “C-Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy,” English and creative writing professor Jeff Sharlet takes deep dives into the political influence of the Christian organization known as “The Fellowship” or “The Family” both within and beyond the U.S.  Recently adapted into a five-episode Netflix docuseries titled “The Family,” Sharlet’s shocking exploration of the entanglement of church and state focuses on high-profile politicians from all over the world who had personal connections to Doug Coe, the former head of the organization. In an interview with The Dartmouth, Sharlet discusses the Family, his experience investigating the organization, as well as the process of adapting his literary work into a new medium.

Arts

Review: HBO’s ‘Euphoria’ presents a diagnosis of Generation Z

By Jordan McDonald | August 9, 2019

In the Drake-produced HBO series “Euphoria,” Generation Z is diagnosed and deified. Drawing attention to teen sex lives, drug abuse, family troubles and identity crises, “Euphoria” defines a generation by its most dramatic manifestations. The show’s narrator, lead and Gen Z translator Rue Bennett, played by former Disney Channel star Zendaya, is a biracial teenager struggling with drug addiction and the loss of her father.

Arts

Review: Aretha Franklin’s musicality astounds in ‘Amazing Grace’

By Madison Wilson | July 19, 2019

“Amazing Grace,” the 2018 movie about the two days spent recording Aretha Franklin’s bestselling live album of the same name, showed at the Hopkins Center for the Arts last weekend. The movie is a true feat, resurrecting footage taken at the event in 1972 but unavailable until now due to technical problems in which video failed to sync with the sound. Finally, in this incredible film, we are able to see the Queen of Soul perform her album “Amazing Grace” at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles.

Arts

Review: ‘Ma’ fails to be a horror film, let alone a good horror film

By Savannah Miller | July 5, 2019

Typically, disappointment has shaped my experience with horror movies. I watch them expecting to be scared and they wind up making me laugh more than some top-billed comedies. Incohesive plots, stupid characters and cliché twists are far too prevalent in most commercially successful horror films. I wish I could say this spring’s latest horror film, “Ma” was any different, but the most credit I can give the film is for its self-awareness — “Ma” knows just how campy it is. 

Music

Album Review: Snoh Aalegra’s next project promises to deliver

By Madison Wilson | June 21, 2019

On June 14, Iranian-Swedish singer-songwriter Snoh Aalegra released a new song, “Find Someone Like You,” in anticipation of her sophomore album coming in August, “-Ugh, those feels again.”  “Find Someone Like You” delivers what Aalegra always promises: real emotions with R&B classic backing and Aalegra’s velvety vocals. Often compared to Amy Winehouse, Aalegra is more influenced by R&B but listeners may find that the comparison rings truest for Aalegra’s vocals, especially in this latest song. 

Arts

"Game of Thrones" fails to "break the wheel" in its final season

By Sebastian Wurzrainer | May 28, 2019

At this point, it’s no secret that the eighth and final season of “Game of Thrones” was extremely polarizing. The mileage of fans and critics varied, but the general consensus seems to be that the final three episodes torched what has quite possibly become the most popular TV series of all time. Showrunners David Benioff ’92 and D.B. Weiss resolved the show’s two major plot threads by essentially splitting these last six episodes into two mini-seasons; whereas episodes one through three feature the long-awaited confrontation with the White Walkers, episodes four through six cover the subsequent power struggle over the Iron Throne, the seat of power in the story’s fictional Seven Kingdoms. While the first arc was generally well received, it’s the baffling storytelling in the second that will haunt “Game of Thrones” forever. 

Arts

Review: ‘Boston Calling’ Music Festival lives up to the hype

By Lex Kang | May 28, 2019

Going to a music festival is always an exciting experience to look forward to, but I have to admit I wasn’t expecting too much from Boston Calling. In the wake of Dartmouth’s Green Key, I felt I had my share of concerts for the term and was preemptively annoyed with the loud and obnoxious drunk people I would inevitably be surrounded or suffocated by at the concert venue. In short, going to Boston Calling felt more like a poorly-timed task that I had to complete rather than an exciting weekend away from campus.

Arts

Review: ‘Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé’ is illuminating

By Nicole Aboodi | May 23, 2019

We have all seen it: a huge sensation, a star burning brightly and boldly. But then, the star crashes down, never to resurface except in commercials for yogurt and the occasional magazine shot that boasts a collection of “Hollywood Has-Beens: Where Are They Now?” Beautiful poetry, films and plays have been written on the idea that there is an upper limit to the number of stars our world can worship and, thus, some must fall. But not Beyoncé. Never Beyoncé.

Arts

Review: Netflix’s series ‘Bonding’ is derivative and unnuanced

By Lex Kang | May 21, 2019

BDSM is a topic of fascination that has been rising bit by bit outside of the shadow of stigma in recent years. With videos like Buzzfeed’s “Couples Try Bondage For The First Time,” released two years ago, and “I Became A Dominatrix To Control My Anxiety,” released just a year and a half after — with plenty of other tangentially related videos in between — it’s clear that BDSM is no longer something people are ashamed of talking about. If anything, kinky has become cool, and there’s a large market of people who want to know more. 

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