UC Davis students weigh in on their study music preferences

By CORALIE LOON — arts@theaggie.org

It isn’t uncommon for students to pop in some headphones and listen to a favorite Spotify playlist when in need of some extra motivation. Music can be a fun way to help make studying more interesting and make the hours feel like they’re speeding by. But does listening to music while studying actually improve productivity? And if so, what’s the secret?

I sent out an anonymous survey through both text messages and an Instagram story to UC Davis students and of the 15 respondents, the majority (about 90%) reported listening to music while studying either “always,” “often” or “sometimes,” with “always” being the top response. While listening to music is a popular study habit, not everyone agrees that it helps productivity.

Nova Tambke, a first-year computer science major, sometimes listens to music when studying but finds it distracting for reading. 

“If I want to maximize my productivity, no music would probably be best,” Tambke said.

In fact, when asked about listening habits while reading, the number of students who responded to the survey with never listening to music jumped to around 70%. A few studies have shown that listening to music lowers reading comprehension and might harm the retention of information, a slightly discouraging finding for study-music lovers.

However, reading a difficult passage in a textbook is only one type of studying. When it comes to non-reading forms of studying, music shows more promise in helping productivity and focus.

One well-circulated theory dubbed the “Mozart Effect” argues that listening to classical music is the superior way to go and that it can even boost intelligence and cognitive abilities. However, despite its continuous reappearance in online media, it has been debunked.

In reality, any benefits classical music might have on productivity probably have more to do with its lack of lyrics and relaxing effect (which anyone who has listened to “Flight of the Bumblebee” knows is not an intrinsic quality).

Genevieve Hasslen, a third-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major who is trained in classical ballet, understands the benefits of classical music. 

“Listening to classical ballet music and different concertos and sorts helps me relax and take deep breaths,” Hasslen said. “I typically will do that, the classical music, if I’m needing to read or it’s something that I need to put a little bit more analysis into.”

But while being “relaxed” may help focus to a certain extent, is it really the right mindset for studying? The fact that many students turn to coffee to alleviate productivity slumps, a stimulant that can increase anxiety, argues for a different perspective.

When asked about what music helps her feel the most productive, Hasslen’s preference was a Lofi hip hop playlist she listens to on YouTube. 

“It’s weird, every beat almost keeps me accountable, keeps me going,” Hasslen said. “It’s nice listening to it.”

“Lofi,” which a Forbes article describes as an “instrumental blend of traditional hip-hop and jazz,” is arguably one of the most popular study music choices.

In the same survey of UC Davis students’ listening preferences, the top responses to the question “What type of music makes you feel the most productive?” were “upbeat music” and “instrumental music.” Coincidentally, lofi hip hop might be the perfect combination of the two, combining relaxing instrumentation with more motivational electronic beats.

Those who find lofi to be an effective studying genre may even want to try out video game music, which is designed to be stimulating without being distracting, two traits that study music benefits from, and has been shown to help with focus and efficiency. 

Of course, there are many options of music to study to, and some students seem to have no problem listening to traditional pop or rap while grinding. However, the overarching theme seems to be that wordless yet stimulating music is the key to a rewarding study session.

Of course, a quiet environment can be just as helpful, if not more helpful, for memory retention. But in a public setting, silence can be hard to come by, and music can be a slightly more entertaining version of white noise.

“[Music] doesn’t make me more productive than if I just didn’t have any music,” said Megan Midkiff, a first-year sociology major. “It just makes me focus a bit better when there’s distracting noises.”

Both study habits and music habits are deeply personal preferences that vary according to the individual. In the end, the bottom line for study music is: do what works for you, but keep an open mind. Who knows, the Super Mario Bros soundtrack may just be what gets you through your next essay.

Written by: Coralie Loon — arts@theaggie.org

Through the exploration of infinite possibilities in a multiverse, the film reminds us that we should cherish and celebrate our finite, current lives

By SUN YIE — arts@theaggie.org 

Spoiler warning: The following article contains spoilers about the film “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

A24’s latest film, “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” follows the story of Evelyn, a Chinese-American immigrant, as she struggles to navigate the complexities of American life with her family. Divided into three arcs, the film defies any traditional classification of a genre, stitching together elements of absurdism, sci-fi and fantasy to produce a narrative that is concerned with mending generational trauma and finding individual purpose in the absolute mayhem of the universe. 

The film opens with Evelyn engaged in a heated discussion with Waymond, her kind and soft-spoken husband, about Gong Gong, her father, and his arrival from China. Their conversation is conveyed mostly in Mandarin, but the flow of their dialogue is often interjected with bits of Cantonese and English vernacular, reflecting their precarious attachment to their identities as immigrants. Though Evelyn’s husband does his best to allay Evelyn’s anxieties, she seems locked in a frenzy and unable to situate herself in a stationary setting — in fact, she is quite literally everywhere at once, flitting between a desk flooded with tax receipts and other legal documents about their failing laundromat business, and the rest of the room, which is shown to be equally claustrophobic in its chaos. 

Evelyn’s pride and stubbornness prevents her from turning to Waymond or Joy, their daughter, for help, and her forced insistence that things are fine has pushed all of them to their breaking points. She remains ignorant of the pain she inflicts on others, as she harbors a deep resentment toward her husband, who she often calls “stupid,” and blames him for the failure of their laundromat business; yet, it is only through Waymond’s efforts that their family survives, although she isn’t conscious of this until much later in the film. 

Additionally, she introduces Joy’s girlfriend, Becky, as a “friend” to Gong Gong when he visits, invalidating her daughter’s sexuality and identity and rendering their already damaged relationship almost irreparable. Evelyn is too concerned with impressing Gong Gong to stop Joy from storming out, and she is then left alone to navigate her tax files with Mrs. Deirdre, her IRS auditor, without a translator. This event triggers Evelyn’s exposure to the multiverse, where she meets “Alpha” Waymond, another version of Waymond that has traveled from the “Alpha” universe to enlist her help in stopping Jobu Tupaki — the villain of the multiverse who has grown fond of hunting and murdering multiversal Evelyns. 

Given Evelyn’s proclivity of hurting the people closest to her, it comes as no surprise when the villain is revealed to be Joy or, at least, another version of Joy. Alpha Waymond teaches Evelyn to “verse jump” to help her acquire necessary combat skills from other versions of herself to defeat Jobu Tupaki. He informs her that the jump into different multiverses can only be achieved if she acts in improbable and illogical ways — she later proves to be quite adept at this, as she snorts houseflies and even pees herself during her confrontations with Jobu Tupaki and her henchmen. 

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” seems to have fun playing around with the concept of infinite possibilities existing through a multiverse, as this is where the elements of absurdism, sci-fi, fantasy and even pop culture references intersect; for instance, Evelyn travels to one universe where she is a chef and her coworker is controlled by a raccoon, because she confuses “Ratatouille” for “Raccacoonie.” There are other universes in which Evelyn and Joy fight as two-dimensional scribbles, glutinous blobs, styrofoam puppets and even rocks with googly eyes — truly, these artistic decisions reflect the limitless possibilities of storytelling in itself.

The film’s multiverse exists between the boundlessness of imagination and liminal spaces, and suggests that even though people might appear to live in stasis, as Evelyn does with her failing laundromat business, there is that much more room for their unfulfilled potential — they’re presented with bottomless possibilities of who they could be. Alpha Waymond relays this wholesome message to Evelyn, who at first doubts her ability with a comedic twist: “Every rejection, every disappointment has prepared you for this moment. You’re the worst Evelyn, but that’s why you’re the key to saving reality.” 

The culmination of all of these different elements produce a pandemonium, making the film’s overall message a little difficult to follow, although I wonder if this was a deliberate artistic choice as well — perhaps the directors, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, had intended for the audience to find their own meaning within the chaos of this film, as the characters do in its closing scenes.

In Joy and Evelyn’s last confrontation, they have exhausted themselves from fighting, and Joy has been reduced to her original self, although the effects of Jobu Tupaki’s influence still linger within her. She is left with the nihilistic belief that nothing matters, because the universe is so large and humans are such an insignificant part of it, but Evelyn counters: “Since nothing matters, the only thing that can matter is the choice you make.” 

Within their last confrontation, the two also nod to the possibility of leaving the movie’s interpretation in their audience’s hands. Joy laments, “Here, all we get are a few specks of time where anything actually makes sense,” to which Evelyn then replies, “Then I will cherish those few specks of time,” emphasizing the importance of choosing to find value in the present moment and redefining what it means to be human. 

Written by: Sun Yie — arts@theaggie.org

The two-night event was back in person this year after being celebrated virtually for two years

By CLARA FISCHER — arts@theaggie.org

On May 16 and 17, Varsity Theater held the annual UC Davis Film Fest. Back in person for the first time since the start of the pandemic, the event showcased works under eight minutes that were directed, filmed and edited by undergraduates, graduate students and alumni. 

The first night featured 16 short films, while the second saw 10 showings. Ranging from experimental cinema to stop motion to documentary-style films, the selection of genres was eclectic and widespread. This was fitting, given the variety of students that occupy the Department of Cinema and Digital Media Department at UC Davis.  

A plethora of related artistic departments, including Art Studio, Art and Art History, Cinema and Digital Media, Design, Music as well as Theatre and Dance, are also involved. The incorporation of various departments demonstrates all of the best parts of the fine arts — a sector that is truly enriched by collaboration in a way that few others are.  

The energy in the theater was high as the community gathered to watch the selected works. The excitement reflected the love that the Davis community feels for the arts, whether from well-established artists or, as in this case, passionate students who are just starting out. 

For someone who doesn’t consider themselves an expert in cinematography, the selection of films was perfectly balanced: innovative and intriguing without being too experimental or trite. 

One of the crowd’s favorites, “Perspective,” directed by students Milou Korthouwer and Dominic Dal Porto, featured a clever, Matrix-esque storyline that started as a humorous depiction of the average college student’s day, which then devolved into something deeper and more philosophically provoking. This was accomplished with the help of several kinds of visual effects, including glitches and play with the picture’s saturation level. 

Seeing this kind of visual manipulation on the screen was a testament to the skills that students of these various departments have obtained during their time at UC Davis and emphasized the importance of the Film Fest’s mission  “[to showcase] the variety of student talent through animation, documentary, narrative shorts, and experimental films,” according to the event’s program.

Other standouts included “unconditional.,” directed by students Jada Simone Hayes and “Welcome to Sunnyvale,” directed by Miranda Comstock and Sarah Sy. Both of these shorts were recognized in the awards ceremony at the second night’s conclusion, and the directors went home with both a titular win and a cash prize. 

Following the conclusion of the awards ceremony on the second night, the audience gradually wandered out and eventually ended up congregating outside to mingle and talk amongst themselves; filmmakers, family, friends and plain old lovers of the arts included. 

This impromptu gathering after such a long period of virtual meetings and anxiety around social gatherings reminded me of just how much we were missing out on and how crucial the arts are as a facilitator of our culture. The coordinators of the event acknowledged this and described the UC Davis Film Fest as “a vibrant supporter of voices that do not often get the chance to be heard” — which is just about as accurate of a description of the festival’s significance as anyone can give. 

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that “Welcome to Sunnyvale” was directed by Bea Alexa Rondon. The article has been corrected to state that the film was directed by Miranda Comstock and Sarah Sy. 

Written by: Clara Fischer — arts@theaggie.org

The Arts Desk’s weekly picks for television, movies, books and music

By JACOB ANDERSON — arts@theaggie.org

Movie: “Bonnie and Clyde” dir. by Arthur Penn (1967)

Seen by many critics as the turning point of American independent cinema, “Bonnie and Clyde” was highly controversial at its release for both its frank depiction of violence and sexuality and its presentation of the eponymous criminals as proletarian heroes —- frustrated symbols of depression-era class hatred, loved by everyone except the police. Penn’s most famous film is also possibly his best: Bonnie and Clyde come across extremely well as a pair of misfits carving an idyll out of one of America’s most troubled periods by any means necessary. Beyond the fantastic performances and script, “Bonnie and Clyde” also carries one of the most explosive and memorable endings of any film from the decade. It’s thrilling and genuine in every frame — so check it out if you get the chance.

Book: “A Tomb for Boris Davidovich” by Danilo Kiš (1976)

“A Tomb for Boris Davidovich” is one of Yugoslav author Danilo Kiš’s best works. It’s a collection of stories about rebellion and death, all occurring under the omniscient, opaque, almost supernatural panopticon of Soviet bureaucracy. Each is reported by Kiš in his famously terse and perfect style, which injects poetry into simple sentences without fail. The world of “A Tomb for Boris Davidovich,” more than just a setting of dreary tyranny, manages to create something funny and wondrous out of the impossible plots, imprisonments and murders experienced by his menagerie of eastern-European thinkers and killers. Every page of this book is full of life, even when the characters within are chained or dead. Harold Bloom included this in his canon of 20th-century fiction for a reason — there’s very little else that approaches Kiš’s mastery. Plus, at a slim 140 pages, it shouldn’t be too hard to make the time to finish this. Couldn’t recommend it more.

Album: “Cull Ficle” by Asian Glow (2021)

Internet darling and prime representative of a recent explosion in emo-shoegaze-esque Bandcamp releases from South Korea, Asian Glow has quickly earned a name in the world of independent rock. “Cull Ficle” sounds a bit like if Indian Summer’s self-titled album and Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” were played at the same time — blown-out acoustic guitars and percussion blare over invisible, boyish vocals. Sometimes tracks halt and resume at different tempos or seem to dissipate completely into a wave of crushed noise. One of the most impressive things about this album is how adroitly it fuses the extremes of musical intensity: an ambient break can crackle and detonate in a way indistinguishable from the climax of another song. There’s not much — outside of the South Korean group Parannoul and a few western analogues like Weatherday — that sounds like Asian Glow, and despite some roughness in the production, “Cull Ficle” was without a doubt one of the best releases of last year.

TV Show: “Mythbusters” (2003)

Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage’s notorious show is probably best known for its stunts. Every week, Hyneman, Savage and a crew test the veracity of various myths, and at their disposal is a huge workshop with all sorts of industrial machinery and heavy-duty explosives. Despite a relatively standard presentation and format, “Mythbusters” remains one of the most rewatchable and pleasant shows on television. It’s not quite as good nowadays, but the cast is eminently likable and the experiments are always distinct and interesting. If there’s one episode that deserves recognition among the others, it’s doubtless the 72nd, in which Savage nearly dies while testing whether a car door can open after falling into a body of water before it’s fully submerged. As it turns out, Savage could have easily died while filming.

Written by: Jacob Anderson — arts@theaggie.org