The Arts Desks’ weekly picks for movies, books, music and television shows.
Television: “Buzzfeed Unsolved: Supernatural”
I first found out about “Buzzfeed Unsolved: Supernatural” while mindlessly scrolling on Instagram. Someone edited a video of one of the first episodes where a priest profusely tells Ryan Bergara and his co-host Shane Madej not to call on spirits or attempt to interact with them in any way. The video later cuts to Madej repeatedly making fun of spirits and demons in an alleged haunted house. This small clip completely sums up this oddly entertaining show. Madej is a skeptic about everything related to the supernatural and refuses to accept anything but scientific fact. Even as they go on trips to places that are strongly believed to be haunted, Madej is quick to dismiss the strange noises and electronic voice phenomenon with simple scientific explanations. Bergara is Madej’s perfect counterpart: He jumps at the sight of his own shadow and is consumed with the idea that one day they will find hard proof that ghosts exist. The unlikely duo explains and investigates unsolved crimes, mysteries and hauntings.
Movie: “The Little Prince” (Netflix Original)
“The Little Prince,” based off of the book written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, follows a young girl on a strict path to get into an elite school. Her life is planned out and written on a schedule that is mounted on the wall. Every minute of every hour is accounted for and messing up one single minute could potentially ruin her entire schedule. Soon after getting into her dream school, the young girl meets her next door neighbor, an elderly aviator. The aviator introduces the young girl to the story of a little prince who falls in love with a rose. The animated movie’s beauty and heart-wrenching plot made me sob. Although it might be a little slow for some viewers, it’s perfect for a quiet Friday night. The audience faces the reality of what it means to be an adult and learns how to feel alive again.
Novel: “Me and Earl and The Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews
“Me and Earl and The Dying Girl” is told from the perspective of Greg Gaines, an awkward and friendless teenager. Greg goes through his life making bad parody films with his ”co-worker” Earl. They go through their high school career avoiding a clash with school cliques in order to stay alive within the walls of their high school. But when senior year comes along, Greg’s neighbor Ella discovers she has leukemia and his mother forces him to go over and befriend the dying girl. Although most young adult novels would make this story a romance novel that would do nothing more than make me roll my eyes, Andrews manages to turn this story into one of friendship and shows the reality of a self-deprecating teen who faces the worst that life has to give.
Album: “Busyhead” by Noah Kahan
Vermont-native Noah Kahn’s debut studio album found its way into my heart this summer, sparking a love for the singer-songwriter. He brings in the best songs to sing along to in the car and when the days get a little darker. Kahn’s debut album is undoubtedly a pop album, but it brings in minimalistic tones that strip down his music entirely and allow the listener to focus on one thing: him. His story, his voice and his pain are all evident in the album. It’s raw and doesn’t have a single skippable song, but the one that’s most worth a listen is “Mess.”
Written By: Itzelth Gamboa — arts@theaggie.org
