Category Archives: Media

Dallas Remembers Forgotten Monticello Slaves

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Thomas Jefferson’s largest and well-known plantation, Monticello Jefferson in Charlottesville, VA. He promoted freedom and equality for all in The Declaration of Independence, yet enslaved 600 African-Americans. Photo Credit of The African American Museum of Dallas.

As the author of The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson promoted freedom and equality for all individuals. While describing slavery as an abominable crime, the third president owned over 600 slaves.

“That’s what’s most important about this exhibition. Thomas Jefferson enslaved throughout his eighty-three year life. That means he had more than one plantation. Monticello, which is the most famous and the largest, was not just the home to him and his white family, but to black families as well. In fact, there were more black people in Monticello than there were white people”, said Gayle Jessup White, Jefferson’s descendant, and Monticello Community Engagement Officer.

 

The African American Museum of Dallas presents The Slavery at Monticello: Paradox of Liberty September 22-December 31, 2018. Photo Credit: The African American Museum of Dallas

The African-American Museum of Dallas will be the first to host the updated exhibition regarding the forgotten slaves at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello plantation. As the heart of The Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: Paradox of Liberty exhibition, their lives will be displayed through additional items and highlights September 22-December 31, 2018.

“We focus on the enslaved people that are part of this exhibit. It’s opening in Dallas. It’s the first time the exhibition has toured since 2015. This is as far west as the exhibition has ever been”, said White.

The exhibit will include digital attributes, such as the Picture Mulberry Row recreation, Slavery at Monticello App, and many more.

“It features 300 artifacts and different articles representing not the life of Thomas Jefferson, but the lives of the people he enslaved”, said White.

Gayle Jessup White, a descendant of Jefferson and Hemings speaks about the importance of the updated exhibition. Photo Credit: The African American Museum of Dallas

White, along with The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and The Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello made sure the enslaved individuals and their contributions were no longer unheard. “It’s the enslaved people that saved that place. They did all the work and it was a 5,000 acre plantation, so figure how much work that it took. They built the building that is now a house museum, where some point of 50,000 people visit”, said White.

With proper respect, White desires the audience to remember the Monticello slaves, instead of forgetting them. “My hope is always that the audience hears the voices of the past, voices that were forgotten, voices that people thought were dismissed, because the enslaved were not considered important”, she said.

Historical figures, such as civil-rights activist William Monroe Trotter will be mentioned during the exhibition. “He was an American hero, but forgotten. He was a co-writer of W.E.B Dubois and a challenger of Booker T. Washington. He was the founder of the Niagra Movement and the newspaper, Boston Guardian. A forgotten American hero, but he was a member of Monticello’s family descendants. He’s probably the most prominent of Monticello’s descendants”, said White.

White remembers Trotter’s unstoppable activism for African-American freedom and equality. “He was most notable for challenging President Woodrow Wilson’s position on Jim Crow and the African-American mistreatment. William Monroe Trotter went to the White House twice challenging Woodrow Wilson. In addition to that, he led a campaign against a racist film called, “Birth of A Nation”, so that it would be shot in Boston where he lived”, she said.

Another forgotten historical figure and ancestor of White is Peter Hemings. “Peter was my great, great, great-grandfather. He was a cook for twelve years at Monticello, then he became a brewer at Monticello, described as very intelligent by Thomas Jefferson”.

According to White, Peter was a trained cook and brewer by a special individual. “He was a brewer at Monticello trained by his brother, James Hemings an exchanged deal made by Thomas Jefferson. One brother was to be free after he taught the other brother cooking. The other brother, my ancestor remained a slave for another twenty-five years. Imagine what it must have been like for the two of them. That’s the story of working together, so that one member of the family could be free”, said White.

The exhibition will include a special feature selection of a Monticello enslaved woman named, Sally Hemings. The newly featured selection is an additional piece seen outside Monticello. Photo Credit: The African American Museum of Dallas

The exhibition will feature a special section regarding a Monticello enslaved woman known as White’s three-times great-aunt, Sally Hemings. “Sally Hemings came on the scene publicly in 1803. This article written by James Callendar. It was a news piece that was printed in the Richmond newspaper. It had accused Jefferson of keeping a slave woman as a mistress and her name was Sally”, said White.

As the hidden affair became a public scandal, so was Sally. The Jefferson family denied the allegations, including the six children Sally bored him. “Jefferson never actually addressed it. Never came out and said no it’s not true. His daughter and grandchildren denied it. They said yes there was a slave woman named Sally and yes she had children from one of two Jefferson’s nephews, not Thomas Jefferson”, said White.

Sally’s remained a scandalous name, until her light was shed. “Throughout decades, Sally Hemings was seen as a scandal in the life of a great man. Many people did not accept that she was his concubine. However, there was evidence that she was”, said White.

With proper research, evidence, and previous testimonials from their son, Madison Hemings, Jefferson’s affair with Hemings was indeed true. “There’s circumstanstial evidence that documents that Thomas Jefferson kept his notes, farm book. Every time Sally gave birth it was nine months after he’d been to Monticello from Washington where he was President. It’s an indication, especially the testimonials that everything was true. In addition to that, ten people that Thomas Jefferson freed that were allowed to walk away from that plantation, four were children of Sally Hemings”, said White.

Despite a hidden affair, Sally Hemings is known as an influential historical figure throughout the Monticello exhibition. “At Monticello, what we wanted to make her totally dimensional. We didn’t want to paint this picture of a scandal and rob her from her humanity. We sought to give Sally back her humanity and help our audience realize that she was a daughter, a mother, a world traveler, and ultimately a liberator, because she liberated her children. It was her ability to negotiate with one of the country’s most influential men the freedom of her children. Out of 600 people he enslaved, ten were free. Four of them were her children”, said White.

White’s final words described her three-times great aunt’s intelligence and strengths during her enslavement. “She was different than most enslaved woman. Her children were free. She negotiated their freedom. That means that her children would’ve been freed in 1826 almost forty years before the Emancipation Proclamation”, said White.
With digital contributions, 300 works of art, and additional features, the exhibtion will feature a film of descendants of the Monticello slaves sharing ancestrial stories. “Our Getting Word is history project, which is a collection of world histories about the descendants of the enslaved”, said White.

All visitors are welcomed to view the following film along with additional features about the hidden American story. “This is an American story. This is a story for everyone to learn about. Yes, the focus is on the slaved people, black people, or American people, but it’s a subject that I hope in my heart everyone cares about. We are all one people. We are all Americans”, said White.

Thomas Jefferson’ Monticello Plantation’s Aerial West Front and South Wing. Photo Credit: The African American Museum of Dallas

As an unapologetically African-American woman, White gives credit to her ancestors and the Monticello slaves as the backbone of America. “They were not considered part of the American family. In fact, our African-American ancestors were essential to the American families. Without the enslaved people, America would not have become the industrial power house that it did, because it was built on the backs of the enslaved people of free labor. If people get anything, I would like it to be that message that black people built the country from the very beginning. We are part and I say we, because I am a proud African-American, we are part of the American fabric”, she said.

All ages are welcomed and tickets can be purchased, click here.

The exhibition will take place September 22-December 31, 2018 at the African American Museum of Dallas at Fair Park 3536 Grand Avenue Dallas, TX 75210.

For additional information regarding the exhibition’s time and holiday schedule, click here.

For more research and information about the Monticello slaves, click here.

To visit the Monticello plantation in Charlottesville, Virginia click here.

Retro Review: Clear as a Bell

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Courtesy: Filmways Pictures

Students interested in film might want to take a look at a classic that focuses on one of the more overlooked aspects of movie making.

The 1981 motion picture Blow Out is a deep dive into the world of sound. It is the story of a B-movie sound technician and his relationships with audio: analyzing, acquiring, following, and implementing.

The viewer is purposely made overtly aware of the process of hearing in the first scene. A masked slasher stalks around a girl’s dorm. He is breathing, stepping into, and sampling the vignettes of sorority life window by window.

As a first time viewer, one is ready to turn this trite trash off, but soon discovers the goings on are being observed by two sound men working on a film: Co-ed Frenzy. Elements of sound engineering are seen in the opening credits as analog level indicators are used as a wipe between names of folks in the film.

Our protagonist, Jack, played by John Travolta, needs to find the perfect scream to complete a project. Now starts the most interesting part of the movie for this viewer: seeing all the tape, the reel-to-reels spinning, cutting/splicing, and just remembering how the world of sound manipulation used to look before the most disappointing offering of sound throughout this film: the dialogue.

This is a good example of a movie resonating with one of its elements of production. The telephone scenes are filmed with care and make use of several Hollywood conventions: A to B cuts with the conversation, dialogue overlaps in a shot/reverse style, and picture by picture sharing both parties’ conversation. One scene uses what is now called autonomous sensory meridian response or ASMR. While Jack is trying to compile evidence he peruses the pages of a magazine. While doing so his hands are touching and turning the pages, making one cringingly aware of the texture. Then in a classic ASMR move, he cuts the pages with scissors slowly and loudly, creating tension through sound.

Another fun point is that Jack’s antagonist is also a sound man of sorts. Burke, played by John Lithgow, can be observed wearing a telephone service man’s uniform. He also uses sound against Jack by erasing all of his tapes and manipulating the sound of phone conversations.

[SPOILER AHEAD] Music is used efficiently to move the action along during car scenes and to transition between scenes. In the final act our hero attaches a “wire” to Sally, only to discover that unbeknownst to her the killer is there. Jack uses the transmitted audio to determine her whereabouts: hearing the turnstile, train whistle, and fireworks. Ultimately Jack does not save the girl. He does, however, save the audio created from her fatal encounter with Burke. He languishes over this sound-bite in a snow-covered cemetery, internalizing every plea for help and each frantic attempt to appeal to her killer. The last scene of the film echos the start: with two sound-guys engineering audio for a movie.

This time Jack got his great scream and is tortured by it, and rightfully so. One can only assume that the ending has something to do with how the film making process requires a creator to use sometimes painful personal elements of their real life to complete a project.

Everything a Gamer Can: Insomniac’s Spider-Man

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Image courtesy of Sony and Insomniac Games

With a myriad of Spider-Man games and even more superhero games that have hit the market over the years, does Insomniac’s latest attempt at bringing the red-and-blue-clad hero manage to stand out? With confidence, I can say that this is not only the best Spider-Man game ever made, but also a destined classic for the PS4 and the superhero genre.

After a four-year dry spell of mainstream Spider-Man games, the last being the mixed Amazing Spider-Man 2, Insomniac has done what Rocksteady Studios did for Batman in creating an experience that delivers both in narrative and gameplay.

PLOT

Image courtesy of Sony and Insomniac Games

With Dan Slott, a veteran Spider-Man comic scribe, and Insomniac’s writing team, the game spins an impressive web. Peter Parker, our friendly neighborhood web-slinger, has been at the superhero game for roughly eight years. He’s working as a research assistant for Dr. Otto Octavius, is behind on his rent, has put away plenty of his classic rogues behind bars, is helping out at the local homeless shelter (called F.E.A.S.T.) with his Aunt May, his relationship with Mary Jane Watson is on the rocks, and has finally put the notorious kingpin of crime, Wilson Fisk, behind the bars. However, with Fisk out of the way to manage crime in the city, Peter’s problems only seem to get worse as criminal misdeeds begin to spike in Manhattan when a new crime syndicate, the Demons, led by the mysterious Mister Negative, come into play.

What makes this plot work is how the writers are able to bring together so many elements from Spider-Man’s history in such a glorious fashion. Like plenty of classic Spidey stories, he’s down on his luck but manages to persevere with a grin and snappy quip to get him through it, but, thankfully, there are some twists along the way. While you have the usual stuff with Peter and how he tries to balance his personal life with his superhero life, there are also some of the newer components from the comics. He’s long since passed working at the Daily Bugle as a photographer, and is now working as a scientist. Mary Jane is no longer a model, and now works as an investigative reporter, much like her Ultimate universe counterpart. Miles Morales, one of the most popular Spider-Man characters in recent history, has been integrated into Peter’s life as a friend and helping hand around the F.E.A.S.T. center. The list goes on. With all of this interwoven with a plot that juggles Peter’s tragic friendship with Dr. Octavius, repairing his relationship with Mary Jane, the backstory and motivation of Mister Negative, escalating danger in New York, a conspiracy involving Norman Osborn (the city mayor and CEO of Oscorp), and the formation of Peter’s most reviled enemies, the Sinister Six, you’ve got yourself an engaging story that celebrates all eras of Spider-Man that’s both satisfying for fans and newcomers.

PERFORMANCES

Image courtesy of Sony and Insomniac Games

With motion capture blending together with voice acting, nearly every member of the cast give it their all in elevating the script and story to excellence. Yuri Lowenthal, best known for his roles in Ben 10, Persona 4, Paprika, absolutely shines as Peter Parker. With so many people that’s played as the character in the past, it was, no doubt, a difficult task to stand out, but Lowenthal accomplishes this in spades by delivering a performance that balances the traits of the character from his jovial mood, his unwavering sense of responsibility, his enthusiasm for science, etc. There’s such a level of humanity in his acting, once again praising the motion capture for capturing the subtle nuances in his face, that you don’t normally see that it’s not only refreshing, but also captivating. Other standout actors include Laura Bailey as Mary Jane, having great chemistry with Lowenthal, William Salyers as Dr. Octavius, giving us what I believe to be the best iteration of the character, Nadji Jeter as Miles, and Nancy Linari as Aunt May. All of these actors and more bring their A game and pull off the spectacular.

GAMEPLAY

Image courtesy of Sony and Insomniac Games

With fancy new gadgets, weighty web-swinging, and refined combat, it’s never felt so good to traverse the Big Apple while dealing out justice. Taking a page from the Arkham games, the fighting in Spider-Man mainly consists of punching, kicking, dodging, and using the environment to fight bad guys. Thankfully, unlike the gameplay from Beenox’s Amazing Spider-Man games, this manages to stand apart from being another inferior clone of the Batman games by emphasizing Peter’s agility and the use of various web-based tools to keep Peter fast and on the move. It works in adding a whole other layer to the style of gameplay as it doubles the variety you’d normally get with this type of gameplay. More on the gadgets, a handful of them are at the player’s disposal such as standard webbing to immobilize or yank weapons from enemy hands, impact webbing, web mines, taser webbing, robot spiders, and other such gizmos to meet whatever the player’s method of play. There are even stealth stages and side challenges scattered throughout the map, some even relating to other classic characters, such as Black Cat, Harry Osborne, and Taskmaster. While much of this seems familiar, no doubt bringing the mind to Spider-Man 2 or even other open-world games, it remains engaging because of these components working together with exceptionally polished execution.

If there’s one other thing the game had to get right, it was the web-swinging, and, like everything else, it’s just as skillfully realized. The weight of the character coupled with the momentum creates what’s possibly the most realistic swinging. It can take getting used to, but once it’s mastered, it makes for some fast and fun travel that never gets old. This along with the web-zipping and parkour-like moves all add up to the best traversal of New York ever developed.

Besides the usual stuff fans have come to expect from Spider-Man games, there are some new things brought to the table with some mixed results. Some sections of the game are dedicated to Peter in his civilian clothes as he solves two types of puzzles in Dr. Octavius’ lab and investigating, and stealth sections with Mary Jane and Miles. These sections are much slower in comparison to the rest of the game, so it can feel like the game comes to a halt, but they’re still amusing in their own right and provide a different perspective that’s unique in a superhero game.

GRAPHICS

Image courtesy of Sony and Insomniac Games

From the character models, to the breathtaking in-game map of Manhattan, to all the interactive components, the game looks and plays really well. After there was some concern about the frame rate only being 30 fps, it was a pleasant surprise to see the game run smoothly with such gorgeous visuals. The people in the game have a slightly stylized look, but the subtle details of the eyes and body language give them a realistic presence, and this goes for the city as well. Never have I experienced such a lively rendition of the often used city, and it’s the smaller details that help it come alive. There are squirrels scampering in the park, citizens having parties and lunches on rooftops, and so much more that feels organic to such a busy, populated place. Not to mention the occasional weather effects look absolutely beautiful, partially the rainy sections. There were some graphical hiccups with my character being stuck in a wall during the last boss fight, as well as a moment where the target icons cluttered the screen, but a few updates could handle that in no time if this problem applies to other copies.

FINAL VERDICT

From the story, to the acting, to the gameplay, Spider-Man is a triumph. If you haven’t already converted to Sony and bought yourself a PS4, then this is definitely a game worth buying a console for. Never before has it felt so good to do everything a spider can.

9.5/10

Now available for digital download and physical purchase.

Twice the Sting: Ant-Man and the Wasp

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Image courtesy of Marvel Studios

With Black Panther, one of Marvel Studios’ most praised films, and Avengers: Infinity War, their highest grossing film so far, out of the way, was the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) successful in giving audiences one last thrill for the year?

In word: yes.

Image courtesy of Marvel Studios

In the follow-up to Peyton Reed’s 2015 superhero film, Ant-Man, our story picks up where the life of Scott Lang, once again played by Paul Rudd, has gone since he aligned with Captain America in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. He’s under house arrest after brokering a deal with the government. With only a few days left, and the superhero game behind him, Scott is inches away from freedom. However, he’s pulled back into the growing and shrinking shenanigans by Hope Van Dyne and Hank Pym, played by Evangeline Lily and Michael Douglas, when he begins to have mysterious visions of Hope’s long-lost mother, played by Michelle Pfieffer, within the immeasurably microscopic “Quantum Realm.” With Scott’s help, and with Hope donning her own shrinking suit, taking on the name of the Wasp, they might free her from her miniscule confines. Unfortunately, a phantasmic, cloaked woman who can walk through anything, referred to as Ghost, means to claim the energies of the Quantum Realm for herself, and our heroes must use their strengths, wits, and abilities to grow and shrink at will to stop her

While the previous film was enjoyable, it didn’t rank particularly high on my list of films from the MCU. The villain, Yellowjacket, felt like an uninteresting retread of Iron Monger from 2008’s Iron Man, Scott didn’t have a high enough personal stake when it came to helping Hank and Hope, Hope was insistently angry throughout most of the film, the humor didn’t always strike a chord, and the title hero wasn’t given enough dignity or credit for what he tries to accomplishes. With that in mind, I went into this film with a minimal set of expectations.

That said, I’m happy to announce that Ant-Man and the Wasp was a much better outing for the character.

Image courtesy of Marvel Studios

To begin with, the villain, Ghost, played by Hannah John-Kamen, is a far more interesting antagonist than what we saw before. Her motivation is a fairly unique one – her powers are killing her and she needs the Quantum Realm to fix it. This could spell danger for Hope’s mother, which is why the heroes are on the opposite end of things, but this doesn’t necessarily make her a bad person. Apart from that, the actress provides a fairly unsettling performance in some scenes, coming off as physically and emotionally erratic. While certainly not the best villain we’ve gotten out of the MCU, Ghost is among the most interesting in how different she is, in look, abilities, and motivation.

Image courtesy of Marvel Studios

Another positive that this film has over the other is the plot. The first film was a serviceable origin story with elements of a heist film, but  this film is a little more engaging. Apart from the race to keep Hank’s research out of the hands of Ghost, there are a few subplots being juggled around. We have one where Scott is trying to keep up the appearance that he’s back home and not pulling off illegal activities with Hank and Hope, another where a group of arms dealers, led by an amusingly Southern Walton Goggins, want Hank’s research as well, Scott’s old gang, with a returning Michael Péna doing his usual funny shtick, working on a security company, and Hank’s old colleague, played by Laurence Fishburne, getting involved. We see the return of Giant Man, there are car chases with shrinking and growing objects thrown into the mix, and psychedelic imagery could compete with Doctor Strange. There plot goes in many directions, but it never feels exhausting, and it all around felt fresher and more energized than the previous film.

Image courtesy of Marvel Studios

The biggest hurdle I felt the film had to leap was the relationship between Scott and the Pym’s. As I said, Scott didn’t feel as involved with the stakes of the plot as he should’ve been. Part of the reason behind that was his relationship with Hank and Hope. Hank treated him as a necessary helping hand and Hope, mostly, didn’t want anything to do with him. This got old for me fast, but, thankfully, they improved that here. Scott has a greater personal connection because he wants to make things right for stealing Hank’s suit, going to Germany without telling anyone, and causing his friend’s to be put on the FBI’s most wanted list for being associated with him. There’s a reason this time for people to dump on Scott as he made a massive mistake that dampened the bond between everyone, and you want to see them patch things up. Not to mention with Hope becoming the Wasp, which was a joy to see another classic character come to life, this allowed Rudd and Lily to have more moments of banter and camaraderie and much less of Hope being an angry, wet blanket. This not only improved Hope’s character, but her relationship with Scott, and eventual romance, feels much more authentic than it did before.

After so much had happened in Infinity War, it was nice to have a smaller (excuse the pun) adventure with Scott and the gang. It’s not a particularly deep film or a game changer in the superhero genre, not to mention being the 20thfilm of the MCU, certain points can be a little confusing to the uninitiated, but it is a visually pleasing, well acted, mostly funny, action packed film that served as a great closing for the summer and for the this year’s run of MCU films.

8/10

The film is available now in digital stores, and will be available next week on October 16 on DVD and BluRay.

The Nun is not Conjuring Audiences

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Strap in and get ready for the thrill of your life: another vaguely creepy priest movie has hit the theaters and you’ll predict every second of it! Sounds exciting, right? With October in its grasp, no wonder Hollywood has jumped on the spook factor and graced us with a fairly interesting line-up of horror films. Releases to look forward to include Blumhouse’s new take on an old John Carpenter classic, Halloween (2018), or the interesting mash-up of war and mutant experimentation, Overlord (2018). Recently released, however, was a new addition to a long-lasting series of intertwined films, The Conjuring and Annabelle film series. All have different names, except the direct sequels, such as Annabelle Creation (2017), a clever ploy to entice the viewer with only subtle linking that they feel they’ve discovered themselves. This could produce more viewers because they just have to know more. On September 6th, a film to tie up loose ends graced the market: The Nun (2018).

This film is an origin story (so it stands as a prequel of sorts) of a dark demon like figure, known as Valek. The character shows up somewhere around the release of the second Conjuring in the form of a nun, which isn’t surprising once you’ve sat through The Nun (2018). This looming figure follows a pair paranormal investigators (husband and wife), seemingly with no ties to them other than their career. The Nun (2018) changes that. 

Addressing characterization is crucial because it  provides the tone of the film. We all know what to expect when going into a horror film based on our experiences with similar films. However, the mood set in this film was off in comparison to those before it, particularly because of one character, Frenchie. The man is a lowly French-Canadian farmer in a small Romanian village. What throws the tone is his comedic nature. In this series, and many other possession films such as Constantine (2014) or The Rite (2011), there haven’t been characters that joke to this extent. At one point, he grabs a shotgun to fight off a demon and uses it to bludgeon a walking corpse, explaining that it wasn’t important enough to waste bullets. Later, in a more intense scene, he fires a shot exclaiming that the time was now appropriate. Whether this was character building is unclear. Frenchie becomes a conduit for the demon, so it’s possible that they were trying to offer this as foreshadowing. Or maybe the writers thought to try something new and get an audience reaction. Either way, I am not sure it worked. The film was less creepy because of it and was cringe worthy at times.

Another less than satisfying factor is the plot. Not to suggest that the audience shouldn’t know what to expect, but the extent to which the film fulfills these expectations makes it worn out and generic. The Vatican summons a priest and a not yet vowed Nun to investigate grounds where a sister committed suicide. They were to decide whether the grounds were holy (shocker: they’re not). Upon arriving they meet cheeky Frenchie, who takes them into the woods by carriage until the horse won’t go any further due to its fright. They then venture further into the woods, arriving at the convent standing next to a graveyard where plague victims were once buried. Long story short, they spend the movie finding out that the demon is Valek, who has claimed the lives of every nun who once roamed the castle halls. Predictable, right? And because it’s part of a running series, the show must go on. The film ends with Frenchie being possessed and exercised by the before mentioned investigators, clearing up the connection. The film spends over an hour and a half explaining something that could be said in ten minutes. I felt as though I had already seen the film before, and I was just waiting for the interconnection. The movie felt like a rush to produce something, despite its clean graphics and beautiful mise-en-scene.

In the end, the film is worth seeing. It’s not as exciting as other films nor is it as creative, but it is a missing piece to a puzzle with some important information. Maybe you should go on discount Tuesday at Texarkana’s Cinemark!

Check it out!

Tamut Drama presents Molly Sweeny

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Three characters, three stories, and three ideas lead to the fall of a woman: Molly Sweeny. Sweeny, blind since birth, is convinced by her husband to undergo an operation to restore her sight but is ultimately used by the doctor for his own benefits and betrayed by her husband.

This is the TAMUT Drama Department’s latest undertaking. Molly Sweeny is being played by Nathalie Gounaud, her husband, Frank, by Hollis Thompson and the doctor, Mr. Rice, by David Zwirn. The chorus consists of Chandler Moree, Daniel Jones, Hanna McClain, and Allyson Couture.

The show will run April 26th, 27th, and 28th in Talon Theatre, located in the University Center, room 326. All shows will start at 7:30 pm. General admission will be $8; all students and A&M employees will be charged $5. For more information, contact Brian Billings at bbillings@tamut.edu.

Tex*Rep Rolls with Ogres and Giant Peaches

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A lovable ogre and a giant peach launch Tex*Rep’s 28th season.

Shrek The Musical opens on Friday, May 4th at 7:30, with performances on Saturday evening at 7:30, and on Sunday at 2:00 at the Stilwell Theatre in the Texarkana College Humanities Building.

Shrek will run on the same schedule the following weekend (11th-13th). The director has informed the cast that at least one Saturday matinee might be added if needed to keep up with demand. The theater will open thirty minutes before show time, so audeince members should arrive early to get the best seats.

Shrek The Musical is based on the 2001 Dreamworks film. First opening in 2008, the show ran on Broadway for two years, and has been on multiple tours domestically and abroad ever since. It has been nominated for twelve Drama Desk and Tony Awards.

Following Shrek, Tex*Rep’s annual Drama Camp will take place June 11th-23rd. This summer’s show is James and the Giant Peach, Jr., a musical based on the book by Roald Dahl.

Over two weeks, young actors from kindergarten to college freshmen learn and perform an entire show. This is a valuable opportunity to make new friends, get to know the local theatre organization, and learn lessons that will last for years to come. It is truly a fun and educational experience for all involved. No prior experience necessary.

There are only spaces available for the first 100 registrants, so it is best to act quickly.

Tex*Rep will be offering Drama Camp scholarships, but they must be applied for and approved in advance.

They also offer the option either to register and pay online, or fill out a paper application to mail in.

Public performances (Showcases) will be Friday, June 22 at 7:30pm and Saturday, June 23 at 7:30pm.

For any questions or concerns on Tex*Rep’s Drama Camp, email artistic director Michael Cooper.

For more information, news about upcoming shows, archives of past shows, volunteer opportunities, memberships, and much more, be sure to visit Tex Rep online. You can also find the Texarkana Repertory Company on Facebook and on Instagram (@texreplife). Make ticket reservations online or by phone at (903) 831-7827.

RRILH Event: RRILH Festival of Creative Work!

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The main event is almost here! Join us in the Humanities Lab for the RRILH’s first Festival of Creative Work! It is a celebration of the creative talent we have on campus here at Texas A&M – Texarkana, so don’t miss it!

When: April 23rd at 12PM

Where: The Humanities Lab in SCIT 120

On the flier above you can see the individuals that are participating in this inaugural event – if you see them, tell them congratulations!

PLACE/RRILH Event: Henry Jenkins Skype-in Discussion

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Join us in welcoming Henry Jenkins (Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism and Cinematic Arts and Author of Convergence Culture) for an online discussion of his work in Media.

When: April 25th at 1PM

Where: Texar Room

This will be a PLACE event held in association with the Red River Innovation Lab for the Humanities.

A Game for the Ages

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Team Fortress 2 (TF2) is a team-based first-person-shooter game released by Valve in 2007. On Steam, a popular digital distribution platform, TF2 is still one of the most played games, despite lower player numbers. To what does it owe its longevity? As someone with over 2,200 hours clocked in the game, I hope to articulate what makes TF2 so enduring.

The first of two main factors is charm — TF2 is rich in personality. From the production design to the voice acting, the characters (or classes) are easy to become invested in. Take, for example, the Scout: a loud, obnoxious narcissist with a heavy Bostonian accent, or the soft-spoken, amiable Engineer from Texas. These personalities are augmented by not only the cartoonish style of the game, but by in-game taunts and customizable cosmetic loadouts, as well as miscellaneous lines of dialogue spoken throughout rounds.

Of course, personality couldn’t carry TF2 for ten years if the gameplay itself wasn’t solid. Each class has its own arsenal, but there is a common element throughout most of their primary weapons: they are powerful and single-fire, rather than automatic with each bullet doing little damage. This means that every shot fired is hit-or-miss, and consistently landing these shots rewards the player with high damage per shot. Coupled with the sound design, these weapons are extremely satisfying to use, and make players want to improve their aim so they can feel more of that satisfaction.

Since being hit by anything will most likely reduce a big chunk of your health, an important technique to abuse utilize is movement. The ability to dodge effectively is overpowered in TF2, despite the simplicity of the mechanics, using only the letter keys and Space Bar. If you stand still in TF2, you will be backstabbed, headshotted, or suffer any other number of quick deaths. Movement is key to survival in this game; strafing combined with careful mouse movement can result in unpredictable movements, making one a harder target to hit.

One class that benefits significantly from movement is the Spy. The Spy has low health and a decent primary weapon, but his distinguishing factor is a knife which, when attacking an enemy’s back, instantly kills him. As a Spy main myself, I cannot stress how crucial it is to properly move when playing the class. In a technique called the Matador, the player strafes in one direction when an enemy is approaching, then quickly switch directions and stab, fooling him into looking away and exposing his back to the knife. 

I hope this article helps you understand why a game so old is still enjoyed to this day.