The Arts Desk’s weekly picks for music, movies and more
By AALIYAH ESPAÑOL-RIVAS — arts@theaggie.org
TV Show: “Big Brother” by John de. Mol (2000)
Do you ever feel like you’re being watched? Well, if you’re on the reality show “Big Brother,” your fears can become a reality. With 100 cameras and microphones following their every move 24/7, “Big Brother” follows 16 contestants, or houseguests, as they compete week after week for $750,000 in a house that they cannot escape. The show has produced seasons every summer since 2000. Akin to “Survivor” (minus the grueling outdoor environment), houseguests face challenges that test their math skills, endurance and memory as they attempt to stay off “the block” to avoid eviction. Mixed with heightened emotions, secret alliances and twists that can blow up the entire game in one second, you always have to expect the unexpected. While the current season is still airing on CBS, be sure to tune in to catch the last four houseguests remaining.
Movie: “Theater Camp” dir. by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman (2023)
Any theater kids out there? No…?
The film “Theater Camp” is exactly what the title implies — “theater” and “camp.” In a mockumentary-style film following a struggling theater camp, counselors Amos (Ben Platt) and Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon) attempt to keep the camp afloat amidst a plethora of problems while trying to prepare the campers for the final performance. Filled with drama between counselors, a replacement owner who knows more about being an influencer than theater and a musical sequence of kids singing as pieces of cocaine going into a paper-mache nose, the film is every theater kid’s worst nightmare and dream.
Song: “Pushing It Down and Praying” by Lizzy McAlpine (2024)
Lizzy McAlpine has killed me once again with the song “Pushing It Down and Praying.” The lead single off of her deluxe album, “Older (and Wiser),” explores the tumultuous relationship of two individuals whose relationship is only being held together by intimacy. The song opens with a depiction of an intimate moment shared between the artist and her partner, with the accompanying melancholic melody, as McAlpine questions her partner’s love for her. Throughout the song, McAlpine alternates from thinking she loves him while still wanting more from someone. The song is raw, with an overall feeling of defeat. While McAlpine may want something more, she’s pushing that feeling away and praying it all works out.
Book: “Picking Daisies on Sundays” by Liana Cincotti (2023)
In the same realm of books such as “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” and “Better Than the Movies,” the book “Picking Daisies on Sundays” by Liana Cincotti is a perfect pick for those who love the childhood friends to lovers trope, fake dating and golden retriever boys. The book follows Daniela, otherwise known as Daisy, a college student in New York who dreams of becoming a fashion designer and deep down yearns for romance. However, after getting rejected by her boy best friend, Levi, in high school, Daisy continues to face challenges in the dating scene. That is, until she ends up running into Levi at a bar four years after he rejected her. He proposes for her to fake date him, leaving Daisy thinking: maybe all hope isn’t lost with Levi.
Written by: Aaliyah Español-Rivas — arts@theaggie.org
Written by: Aaliyah Español-Rivas — arts@theaggie.org
