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new MUSICTaylor Swift has released her eleventh album, The Tortured Poets Department. Listen now!
BOOK MARKThe newest edition to the Crescent City series, House of Flame and Shadow, is out now!
this month's
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why i love the rocky seriesBY: SHANNON BOND
STUDENT LIFE INSIDE EDITOR “Yo Adrian, I did it!” Perhaps you’ve heard this iconic line before. Or maybe you are familiar with the famous one hand punch at the top of the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps. Both of these quintessential movie references belong to the astounding, inspirational, romantical, comedic, cinematic masterpiece that is the Rocky Series. I have a special place in my heart for the series and I will be naming my firstborn daughter Adrian. You might be thinking, aren’t the Rocky movies just some stereotypical boxing movies? Yes. BUT, they are done so well. Honestly, they are what other stereotypical boxing movies wish they were. They set the framework for the genre. The characters go through such great character development, there is a wholesome romance, and of course the best boxing matches you’ve ever seen. Even though, spoiler alert, you know Rocky will always win, you are sitting at the edge of your seat, yelling at your screen for Rocky to win. The first two were released in the 70’s and the next two in the 80’s, the golden age of pop culture. The third movie has Mr. T, and the fourth one even goes into the Cold War. As a lover of the 70’s and 80’s, it really encapsulates the time period, and makes me love it even more. Being released in that golden age also means that the soundtrack is IMPECCABLE. (I highly recommend listening to it before a competition, during a workout, or just anytime you need a boost of motivation.) It is the perfect mix of dad rock and inspiration. And of course, going hand in hand with the soundtrack, there are the famous training scenes that make me feel like I could sprint up Mount Everest, swim across the pacific ocean, and then lift a car. These movies were directed by Slyvester Stallone, written by Slyvester Stallone, and starred - you guessed it - Slyvester Stallone. This allowed for the movies to be extremely cohesive and well thought out. Even Junior Max Adams commented “I think it’s cool that Slyvester Stallone directed it, which makes it better.” As mentioned before, these movies are so inspirational. The main character Rocky once said, “It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!” Absolute bars. Now tell me you don’t want to persevere through every challenge life throws at you. “I’ve never seen them,” says sophomore Tess Walker. Don’t be like Tess. Do yourself a favor and watch at least the first two. You’ll probably end up watching the rest because you’ll be hooked. Thank me later. POSTED 4/23/24 rocky fun facts
JOJO SIWA NEW MUSIC BY: CADEN FELLOWS
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Last week, Dance Moms star Jojo Siwa re-entered the music scene. This new song was meant to be the polar opposite of her last song Boomerang, if you could call it that. Her first song was catered to young children, and her new song was catered to slightly older children. There’s lots of drama surrounding this new song Karma, and the opinions have rolled in. Many people are saying that she seems to be overestimating what this song is. She seems to be disillusioned with how scandalous this song actually is. Prior to the release, she talked about this song endlessly. Anywhere on social media, you could not escape little snippets of this song, mostly accompanied by videos of her talking about how raunchy and scandalous it is. However, the song came out, and the worst thing she did was curse once and say she was a “bad girl” in the entire three minute song. After the release, she talked with Billboard, and practically admitted to lying about being a “bad girl”, saying “I was 18. I didn’t want to say I was a bad girl because I wasn’t a bad girl.” |
Along with the overestimation on her end, people seem to already be sick of Jojo Siwa as it is. She seems to be simply overmarketing herself, funny enough. The New York Times reports that she has not one, but two cars wrapped with pictures of her face. Unfortunately, this is real. She has a Tesla and a Lamborghini, and any search on TikTok will show endless videos of people finding these hideous cars out and about. This is only the tip of the iceberg of the Jojo Siwa marketing tactic, and there’s endless opinions on the internet about why this is.
The icing on top was the music video. This video is, for lack of better words, disgusting. I decided to show it to some classmates in debate, and one classmate, Kaelyn Armijo, was horrified. “Why? Just why?” she said. She says she was “traumatized” by this video, especially at a certain scene that is probably too inappropriate for this article.
Jojo attempted and failed at a rebrand, and it’s mostly her fault. She simply thinks she’s something she’s not, and it’s best exemplified when she once said, “Nobody else in my generation has made this drastic of a shift.” Yes, Jojo, they have.
POSTED 4/15/24
The icing on top was the music video. This video is, for lack of better words, disgusting. I decided to show it to some classmates in debate, and one classmate, Kaelyn Armijo, was horrified. “Why? Just why?” she said. She says she was “traumatized” by this video, especially at a certain scene that is probably too inappropriate for this article.
Jojo attempted and failed at a rebrand, and it’s mostly her fault. She simply thinks she’s something she’s not, and it’s best exemplified when she once said, “Nobody else in my generation has made this drastic of a shift.” Yes, Jojo, they have.
POSTED 4/15/24
OTHER JOJO SIWA PRODUCTS FOR YOUR CURIOUS SOUL
1. Jojo Siwa curry
2. Her ICONIC bows
3. Cereal
4. Lunch Kit
2. Her ICONIC bows
3. Cereal
4. Lunch Kit