Tag Archives: entertainment

culture, entertainment, fall, Hobby, television

TV To Watch Over Winter Break

By Tanya Chen

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

[3 minute read]

Quarantine has been extremely difficult. The days seem to pass by slowly and they each feel like an endless, repetitive loop. During quarantine, I have picked up a few hobbies out of boredom. Some of these new ventures include making Dalgona coffee, baking banana bread, and learning Photoshop. As these hobbies have come and go, there is one hobby that has stayed consistent throughout the past six months: watching Netflix. In this article, I will recommend three shows that I think international students will enjoy watching and learning from. We can all watch TV shows to relax during this time, and with winter break fast approaching, I highly recommend all of these!

Criminal Minds (Genre: Mystery/Suspense; Seasons: 15; Episode Length: 40 minutes)

Photo by Michelle Ding on Unsplash

Criminal Minds is an extremely addictive crime show. The show follows a team of FBI agents who work in the Behavioral Analysis Unit as profilers. FBI profilers are law enforcement agents who use psychology to study and investigate who the suspects behind crimes are and what motivates them. It is interesting to watch the team travel across all over the US and study a criminal’s behavior. The 40-minute episodes are always filled with twists and turns that keep the audience on their feet. However, many of these episodes are very heavy and intense, so it is good for those who get scared easily to watch this show with a friend. Criminal Minds is a great show for international students because it introduces them to many different parts of the US and teaches them about the cultures, customs, and dialects that are popular in all the different states and cities. From tracking a killer in Miami, Florida to following robbers in rural Montana, Criminal Minds is a great introduction to varying social climates of the many states in the US.

Emily in Paris (Genre: Romantic Comedy; Seasons: 1; Episode Length: 20 minutes)

Photo by Nil Castellví on Unsplash

After watching too many scary episodes of Criminal Minds, I was lucky enough to discover a show that’s a bit more light-hearted and fun: Emily in Paris. This newly released show follows the adventures of Emily, a young marketing agent from Chicago, as she travels to Europe for a new job. The audience is able to watch her learn a new language, adjust to a new culture, and get acclimated to the people around her. The episodes are extremely funny and beautifully shot. I enjoyed being able to vicariously live through Emily as she explored the beautiful city of Paris. Since there are only 10 episodes, this show was extremely easy to binge and I was able to finish it in one sitting. I would recommend this show to any international student because the show does a great job of documenting how a young adult is adjusting to living in a new country, making friends, and learning a new language.

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Art, college, entertainment, Hobby

Virtual Games to Stay Connected

By Gina Samec

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

2½ minute read]

Whether you have moved back to LA or have remained at home for the fall semester, we are all adjusting to the disconnection we feel from our friends who may be thousands of miles away. While Facetime or a Zoom call is a great way to catch up with friends, we are severely limited in the activities we can do together. There’s always Netflix Party for when you want to wind down at the end of the night and watch a movie with friends. However, if you are trying to find more engaging activities to do with friends, virtual games are the perfect solution. Below are some virtual games I have enjoyed playing with friends who I do not get the privilege of seeing in person anymore. 

Photo by Dylan Ferreira on Unsplash

Kodenames:

This game is perfect for friends who are good at guessing what the other person is thinking. This spy game involves two teams which are each led by a spymaster. The spymaster gives one word clues to their teammate to help them figure out the secret identities of agents. However, the spymaster has to be careful that their clue isn’t misinterpreted because one card is the assassin and if guessed by a teammate, it will immediately end the game. Find the link here: kodenames.io

Spyfall:

This game is also spy themed, and any of your friends who are good at lying will master it. In this game, everyone is at a location but one person, the spy, does not know where they are. Each person gets to take a turn asking each other questions to figure out if they know the location without revealing where they are to the spy. At the end of the round, if the spy is not voted out, they win. The game is hosted online at spyfall.app.

Photo by Eliott Reyna on Unsplash

Among Us: 

Similar to Spyfall, Among Us also involves an impostor and is reminiscent of the game Mafia. Taking place in outer space, everyone is a crewmate except for two people who are impostors. While everyone else on the ship is completing tasks, the impostors will be trying to discreetly attack them. Every time a crewmate is attacked, there is an opportunity for people to discuss who they think did it and for people to defend themselves. If at least one impostor survives, they win. You can find the game on the App Store and play on your mobile device.

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Art, college, entertainment, television

Quarantine Watch: The Social Network

[4 minute read]

Run-time: 2h1m

By Natalie Grace Sipula

While on my phone the other day, I accidentally scrolled to the menu that records my daily screen time. To put it lightly, I was shocked by the amount of time I have been spending on my phone lately. I think most of us can relate to an increase in screen time occurring in our daily lives since quarantine began. Technology and social media have connected us in ways that were never thought to be possible, and they allow us to stay contributing members of society even from home. It makes me wonder how we would have reacted to quarantine 15 or 20 years ago, but then, one doesn’t miss something which is unknown to them. That transition to global interconnectedness through technology is truly unique to this generation, and social media has played a large role in that transition. If you are looking for a film to watch at home that explores this very topic, look no further than The Social Network.

Photo by William Iven on Unsplash

Academy award nominated film The Social Network, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, and many others, directed by David Fincher, traces the development of Facebook from its humble beginnings: Mark Zuckerberg’s college dorm room at Harvard. The film employs a variety of timelines to chronicle the story of Facebook’s creation, the personal lives of its founders, and the ensuing intellectual property lawsuits that plagued Zuckerberg’s young career. It is fast-paced, exciting, and rife with witty banter.

The first time I watched this movie I was struck by the impressive dialogue and pacing. The director shot this film in a way that moves almost as fast as the connections millions of people make on Facebook every day. The dialogue is rapid, the interpersonal relationships between the characters are complex, and the story weaves between the business and personal narratives of its subjects, which are as intense and messy as anyone would expect from college students finding themselves at the forefront of a multi-million dollar idea. Prior to watching, I expected the movie to be more similar to a biopic of Mark Zuckerberg’s life, but it focused on the narrative of his life objectively from multiple perspectives, leaving the viewer to draw their own conclusions about the series of events. This, along with the variety of short scenes taking place in different locations in a non time-sequential order, truly makes you feel like you are piecing together Zuckerberg’s story from pieces of information found in various places on the Internet. It surely leaves a strong impression on the viewer along with questions about the influence media has on our lives.

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash
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