Tag Archives: stay home

college, entertainment, Language, technology, television, Travel

Travel Through Television

By Connor Brown

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

[3.5 minute read]

Over the past year, I’ve spent almost all of my time at home (as most people have), doing my part to flatten the curve and stop the spread of Covid-19 by doing absolutely nothing. Well, not exactly nothing, as I’ve filled the time with a number of TV shows and films I’d been meaning to watch but had previously not had time for. The pandemic certainly freed some time up for me to catch up on these shows. Watching a show or movie can be more than just mindless entertainment; it can be an informative or even educational experience, especially if you watch the right things. By watching American classics and international standouts, I believe my quarantine binge-watching habits have been more productive than one might expect.

With travel being impossible, I’ve scratched the itch to go abroad by watching shows and movies that take place in Mexico and Italy. I speak Spanish, but I know that in order to maintain fluency in a language, practice is essential. As such, I began watching Netflix’s Club de Cuervos, a show about a soccer team in a small town outside of Mexico City. It was not only highly entertaining (I enjoyed it so much I watched the spinoff series it produced), but it also helped me maintain my ear for the language. The show even improved my understanding of the Central Mexican dialect and a variety of accents which are quite prevalent in Los Angeles.

Photo by Ruben Leija on Unsplash

I’ve also been learning Italian at USC for the past couple of years, and by watching a number of classic Italian films on Kanopy, a streaming service for classic and indie films (which all USC students have access to), I’ve bettered my understanding of the language while watching some of the most artistic films ever made. Here’s a tip: if you’re watching a show in a foreign language you’re trying to learn, turn on the subtitles in the foreign language. For me, Spanish and Italian are much easier to understand when I have subtitles on and can read along. If you’re working on your English, try using English subtitles and the dialogue should be easier to understand.

Photo by Tech Daily on Unsplash

Travel needn’t take place abroad as traveling through time may arguably be even more exciting. I was quite young when AMC’s Mad Men and HBO’s The Wire first began airing, and having heard nothing but good things about the shows, I’ve always wanted to watch them. Quarantine provided the time for that. Mad Men is set in 1960s Manhattan. The title is derived from the show’s main focus, which is the advertising industry along Madison Avenue. It’s an excellent period piece, and I enjoyed all seven seasons. It helped pass the time in the early days of lockdown. It also provides fascinating insight into 1960s America and the professional and business world. The show includes important examinations of misogyny and sexism through the story arc of Peggy Olson, one of the main characters and a fan favorite, as well as the social and racial justice movements of the 1960s. It also provides revealing vignettes of American culture. It’s not only an excellent show, with great shots and suave styles, but an interesting look into American history.

Photo by Unseen Histories on Unsplash

The Wire, a Baltimore-based crime drama, is also quite insightful. I just wrapped up the first season and it very deftly handles controversial subjects such as the criminal justice system, drug trade, racial tensions, and corruption. It shows the perspectives of all parties involved, giving the audience the space to receive the information and interpret it on their own. It also has some of the best scene transitions I’ve ever seen, and I eagerly look forward to watching the remaining four seasons. While the show was made in the early and mid-2000s, the topics it covers are still wholly relevant today.

These shows are worth watching, especially if you are an international student that wants to gain a better understanding of American culture, language, and history, just as I learned by watching shows from Mexico and Italy. These shows also help pass the time, because even though schoolwork is a large load on all of our plates, there still isn’t much to do besides staying home, staying safe, and watching shows.

Featured Image by Nicolas J Leclercq on Unsplash

Connor is a junior majoring in History and Italian at the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. Born and raised in California, in Los Angeles and the SF Bay Area, he has long been interested in experiencing diverse cultures and learning new languages. He is fluent in Spanish and proficient in Italian, drawn to both by his love of history and cuisine. He enjoys adventuring in both the urban and natural landscapes of California, as well as playing and listening to music, and is always happy to recommend the best taco spot to eat at, beach to walk along, or album to listen to. He is a huge sports fan and loves to chat about everything from the Lakers to soccer.

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
Continue reading Quarantine Watch: The Social Network →
Advice, Art, entertainment, exercise, health

Stay Home and Productive

By Natalie Grace Sipula

[5 minute read]

It’s that time of year again. We’ve pushed through finals, labored on final projects, completed all of our assignments for the semester just in time to…sit at home. So this isn’t exactly the beginning of the summer that we all had planned. With events being rescheduled, trips being postponed, and internships and jobs being canceled or modified, many people are at a loss as to what they can occupy their time with for the next month or so. It is very easy to fall into a trap of sitting around, watching Netflix and scrolling on your phone for hours, but at the end of the day that won’t make you feel better about staying at home. What will make you feel better is engaging in activities that will either pull you away from a screen or which are productive and/or creative. I have listed below a few ideas, some large and some small, for activities and goals to work on during this sometimes frustrating time period.

Establish a Workout Routine

Photo from Pexels

Creating a workout routine is an easy way to get out of the house and stay active during quarantine. For some people, not having access to a gym is upsetting, and for some, it has made little to no difference in their daily lives. I would encourage everyone, however, to create some sort of small but consistent workout routine to implement into your day. If you choose to work out around the same time every day, you have suddenly added some structure to your day that mimics the structure of normal daily activity, and it can lift your spirits significantly. Even if your workout consists of just taking a jog around your neighborhood, it gives you a chance to get some fresh air. Plus, it will make relaxing and watching your favorite show feel more acceptable because you spent part of your day going out and doing something.

Learn to Cook Something New

This is an activity that not only eliminates the time you spend in front of a screen, but is rewarding because it leads to a final product: food! It doesn’t matter what level your cooking skills are at, there are recipes all over the Internet for everyone from beginners to master chefs. While cooking can be laborious sometimes, it is an activity with endless possibilities that can be catered to your specific tastes. The best part is, once you learn a new recipe and try it a couple of times, you will have something new to cook or bake for your friends and family once quarantine is over!

Make Playlists

We all love music. We also all know the feeling of looking for that perfect song to match your mood while walking to class or work and then failing to find it. Making playlists takes a surprisingly long amount of time, and finding new music is equally time consuming. Making new playlists, naming them, and choosing a cover photo for them can be quite fun. It also feels highly productive because it is a way to organize something that you spend a lot of time with. I would personally recommend using Spotify to create playlists, and one of my favorite ways to find new music is by searching up playlists by the mood I’m in or going on Youtube and watching videos where people share the music they are listening to currently. This is a never-ending task that can be a lot of fun.

Edit Your Resume, Cover Letter Template or LinkedIn Profile

This suggestion is probably the least fun but also probably the most productive. Editing your professional documents and profiles is a detailed and time-consuming process, one which we push to the side a lot of the time during the busy school year or work day. Now there is no excuse to keep neglecting this task. There is always more editing that can be done, and perfecting these documents can be very helpful before returning to class and work. There are innumerous resources that can give suggestions on how to make edits, and there is no better time than now to make use of them.

Read a Book

Photo from Pexels

Forgot you can do that outside of school? Sometimes we all do. Most students spend a lot of time reading materials for classes, and sometimes those readings are books but sometimes they are textbooks or documents. Regardless, so much reading can sometimes take up the time we could normally use to read for fun. Now is the perfect time to crack open a good book on a topic you’re interested in. Curling up with a good book inside or outside can pull you away from all of the distractions of social media and the internet, and can make you feel like you did something creative and productive during the day. It doesn’t really matter what you read, just engaging with a material outside of technology can be rewarding.

Play a Card Game or Board Game

If you are quarantining with family, a roommate, or a friend, playing some type of strategy game can be a great way to engage your mind in a challenging task. Oftentimes we forget about the board games we have stored away at home, and playing a game can be a great way to bond with the people around you at this time. If you don’t have any games at home, a deck of cards is very inexpensive and can be found at your local Target or on Amazon. There are dozens of card games, and learning how to play one of them is a fun skill to have. Some games that are quick to learn but challenging to play that I would recommend are Cheat, James Bond, Egyptian Ratscrew, or Slapjack. You can find tutorials for these anywhere online.

Start a Film or Show Review Club

Photo from Piqsels

This last suggestion is a great way to transform the time you already might be spending watching Netflix into a social activity. Get a group of people together and decide on a list of movies or episodes of a TV show to watch, and then schedule a meeting time via Zoom to watch the show or movie at the same time and then talk about it after. If it is too hard to coordinate a time to watch an entire film together, then just schedule a time to talk about it together so everyone can watch the film when it is convenient for them. This way, you have something social to look forward to even while you are just sitting at home relaxing. 

While these can be difficult and trying times, taking advantage of the time spent at home can help you to adopt a new way of thinking about the whole situation. Many of us may never get an extended period of time spent at home like for a long time after quarantine is over, so spending time with family, relaxing, and learning new things can make this time more enjoyable than you might think. Stay safe!

Featured image by Szabo Viktor on Unsplash

Natalie Grace Sipula is a Philosophy, Politics, and Law major with a Spanish minor and plans to pursue a career in law or research science.  She is a rising sophomore from Cleveland, OH and is a Presidential Scholar studying in Thematic Option.  Natalie is an active member of Phi Alpha Delta (Director of Recruitment) and QuestBridge Scholars.  Growing up she was dedicated to theatre, including studying and performing at Cleveland Play House.  She graduated high school as a Global Scholar, Mock Trial state competitor, and Varsity Cross Country team member. She is a volunteer camp counselor with Mi Pueblo Culture Camp in Cleveland. Since arriving in Los Angeles she has enjoyed volunteering with City of Angels Pit Bull Rescue and in her free time enjoys reading Russian and ancient Greek literature.