Norwegian show takes the world by storm

I’m usually not a fan of shows about teenagers because the characters tend to be cliched stereotypes, and the storylines are too “out there.” Where are everyone’s parents? Do these people ever go to school? Why couldn’t they just text each other in this crisis situation? So, as crazy and exciting as show premises may be, not many people want to stay tuned if there is too large of a disconnect between what we are willing to accept as “believable” and what we are seeing on the screen.

And this might be why the hit Norwegian show SKAM (translated: “shame”) has taken the world by storm; it all just feels so real. I often felt as if I was overhearing a personal conversation between the characters because the acting is incredibly authentic, and the dialogue doesn’t feel scripted even for a moment. Maybe that’s why it’s watched by people of all ages in Scandinavia. I also love that SKAM focuses on the daily dramas and heightened emotions of young people that are often dismissed.

The show centers on the students of Hartvig Niessen School, with each season focusing on one character and a specific dilemma that they are facing. The audience watches them struggle, learn about themselves and eventually accept themselves. They deal with rape culture, Islamophobia and homophobia, and it’s all addressed in an authentic way, unlike the preachy, afterschool special vibe present on so many teen shows.

Besides the realistic dialogue and acting, the series also has each episode posted online in real time. For example, if a character texts another that there will be a party on Wednesday night, that segment of the episode containing the party will be posted online on Wednesday night for viewers to watch – almost as if they were right there with them, and were personally invited. Then, all of the segments are combined at the end of the week to form one complete episode. The characters also have their own Instagram accounts, and text messages between them are also posted sporadically online. The young actors themselves, however, are incredibly sheltered from the public to maintain the authenticity of the show. They have made few promotional appearances and are strictly forbidden to talk about the show, which only adds to the mystery and allure.

The creator of the series, Julie Andem, auditioned over 1,200 actors for the roles, and built the characters around the chosen actors, adding to the realism. I have reluctantly gotten used to 25-year-old male models playing 16-year-old sophomores in high school, so I was a little taken aback by how accurately young and acne-ridden the characters are — truly a refreshing sight today in television.

Since the show is entirely in Norwegian, some fans have been adding subtitles themselves and spreading the content online. NRK, the Norwegian producer of the show, will not be providing subtitles for the show despite its massive popularity, stating that “the music rights are only negotiated for a Norweigan speaking audience.” This has apparently caused issues, as no one expected the show to blow up quite like it did, and it’s become a complicated process to work out music rights of featured songs by NAS, Justin Bieber, Lana Del Rey and N.W.A. Hopefully, this will all be worked out in time for Season 4, which is set to premiere in March.

So far, each season has ended on the character on whom the following season was focused, but the answer isn’t so clear for the fourth season, and there’s been a lot of speculation online. Looks like we’ll just have to wait and see.

Written by: Pari Sagafi — arts@theaggie.org

Get your baby-blue meth and popcorn ready; we’re cooking Breaking Bad again

(Editor’s note: This article contains spoilers.)

My dad never watched Breaking Bad, and his reasoning was surprisingly poignant  — the concept of a dying teacher turned bad was his worst nightmare. Indeed, a show about the absurdly creepy scenario of a lower middle-class suburban New Mexican family hit way too close to home. Breaking Bad turned an awkward character like the dad from “Malcolm in the Middle” into “the one who knocks.”

Breaking Bad has left its mark beyond the dramatic 2013 finale, and it was rightfully deemed one of the best televison series of all time — earning the awards to prove it. As an avid fan and former binge-watcher of the show, I, prompted by that week-too-long winter break, decided to rewatch the show. Rewatching all five seasons (I’m not lying when I say I’m a binge watcher) brought about new revelations and ideas concerning the masterful show. I gained further appreciation for the main character’s (Walter White, played by Bryan Cranston) complexity and show creator Vince Gilligan’s genius. In case you haven’t watched or finished the series yet, spoiler alert ahead.

After a second look, the extreme use of foreshadowing became blatantly apparent. The episode “Box Cutter,” notably, had a single shot in the opening scene that focused a second too long on a box cutter, and would serve as the clue for the gruesome act that would follow. There are plenty more examples, but their significance stems from Gilligan’s shot-by-shot detail of the show. Each scene is handled with care and contributes to the show’s most important moments, making them all the more dramatic, often without the viewer even noticing. This minor artistic detail is, however, the least of what I overlooked in my initial viewing.

Walter’s wife, Skyler (Anna Gunn), emerged as a much more interesting character than before. I’ll jump on the bandwagon with most viewers’ opinion: Skyler is really annoying. But only at first. She goes through three stages in the show: first, the overprotective, suburban wife, and second, a sympathetic, naive and confused character who is grieving and piecing together the lies of her dying husband.

Her final stage is the most interesting. At this stage, she transforms into a version of Walter. She is manipulative, controlling and brutal. Her full-fledged new persona is especially evident in her request for Walter to kill Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), justifying it as merely “one more” murder. Of course, this could be interpreted as trying to keep herself and her family safe from the dangers of Walt’s meth business. But she is much more powerful and complicated than that. She publically kicks Lydia out of her car wash, she “f****d Ted” out of defiance, she buys a car wash to launder money and, most importantly, when her brother-in-law and DEA officer Hank Schraeder (Dean Norris) gives her a free send-Walt-to-jail card, she keeps quiet.

She protects her husband, even though she was previously “waiting for the cancer to come back” so she could be released as his “slave.” She’s smart, and she proves this throughout the show with her wit and manipulation. She even faked a panic attack in front of a locksmith in order to break into Walter’s apartment. Though simply an annoying character at the start of the show, Skyler proves she is not subservient — she gets to the bottom of things.

And thus my sympathy for her diminished by the end of the show. As much as she would not admit it, she consciously involved herself in the meth business, beyond the basic purpose of survival. She is not a “slave” to her husband. Instead, she knowingly becomes the right-hand woman of a meth dealer, and had an oddly interesting development in the process.

Walter White had similarly interesting character developments. At first, viewers are sympathetic with Walter — he is a dying high school chemistry teacher with little to his name. While that sympathy remains dominant in the first couple of seasons, by the end, all sympathy has vanished: he is a drug dealer, a murderer, and will go to any lengths to manipulate others for his benefit. Especially noteworthy is his relationship with Jesse, who he claims is “like family.” That may be so, but he nonetheless destroys everything Jesse holds dear, taking advantage of his underlying innocence.

Each of his actions are seemingly for the benefit of Jesse, yet they turn out to be a ploy in the grand scheme of Walt’s plans. While Walt is complicated, my disgust for him as a character is unwavering. I might add, however, that though Walt is a horrible person, he ends up a scared man who, as Skyler puts it, “is way in over his head.” He is not Tuco. He is not Krazy 8. He is not Gus Fring. He is a chemistry genius who was at the right place at the right time and who managed to pull off his Drug Lord facade well.

He is undoubtedly smart, but simply being book-smart does not make one cut out for such endeavors. Walt knows this, and he despises it. There appears to be an internal struggle with Walt as he battles his own capabilities, desires, fate and free will.

While he can pose and slide by as much as he does, he is still chained to his inevitable death in the finale. No matter the degree and multitude of his accomplishments, there is no avoiding this conclusion. That is why the finale is so perfect — he has to die. It was destined from the moment he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Even though he could create a brand for himself and his scientific genius, he is a simple, cowardly man who cannot escape death.
Written by: Caroline Rutten — arts@theaggie.org

UC Davis’ freeform radio station serves as platform for alternative community

Whether through through music, talk shows, announcements or advertisements, KDVS 90.3 FM, UC Davis’ freeform radio station, serves as an ongoing resource for the community. While the station is both literally and figuratively underground, its utility for the campus and Davis/Sacramento community is limitless — KDVS runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round.

Though the station has evolved since its birth in 1963, its commitment to alternative music and news remains. Originally run out of the laundry room of a campus dorm, the station first operated as KCD in February of 1964, according to the KDVS website. The station has since relocated its tower, modernized and renovated, but it remains one of UC Davis’ most influential nonprofit organizations.

UC Davis alumna Janie Lozano first joined KDVS in 1998 as an undergraduate student looking to get more involved. Like all KDVS members, she began as a volunteer, cleaning and organizing music.

“I didn’t think I wanted a radio show at first, but then people kept asking me, ‘So what kind of show are you gonna do?’ And so I thought: maybe I could do a rock show,” Lozano said. “I was starting to get into punk rock at the time, so I started a punk rock show in April of ’99.”

Since her first show (for which she was admittedly nervous to go on the air), Lozano has continued to DJ, and she still DJs for the station to this day. She noted that, among other changes, more women have become involved with KDVS since she began volunteering.

“I think when I first started I could count on one hand all the female DJs that I knew about,” Lozano said. “And now, it’s pretty 50/50. It’s better; it’s not as male-dominated. And, as you know, our general manager is Olivia [Henderson].”

Volunteers at the station have a variety of duties, primarily helping DJs so that their shows run smoothly and the station functions efficiently. Volunteers organize records, mark songs with radio or TV profanities and perform a variety of other tasks as needed.

“Everyone gets a show if they put in the work,” said Henderson, a fourth-year communication major.

Henderson has been the KDVS manager since 2015, and, because KDVS is mostly comprised of volunteers, she noted that the station is entirely self-run.

“The DJs are responsible for their own transitions. The only time myself or the programming director get involved is if they’re showing up late or there’s a content issue on their show,” Henderson said. “Otherwise, they are supposed to be there 15 minutes early — because it runs 24/7 — but if they’re irresponsible and they don’t show up, the programming director issue[s] them a violation.”

This emphasis on independence translates into KDVS’ content as well. As a freeform radio station, the music and talk shows played on-air are original content and represent an underground community ignored by many mainstream radio stations.

“The DJs have agency over their own content,” Henderson said. “We bring the music that no one else is going to hear.”

Owen Martin, the KDVS business manager and a second-year sustainable agriculture and food systems major, is consistently amazed by KDVS’ self-sufficiency.

“It kind of blows my mind every time that I go down [to Lower Freeborn] that our completely student-run station — which at pretty much every other UC has at least one faculty member — runs itself,” Martin said. “These hundreds of volunteers coordinate to make this thing run 24 hours a day, seven day[s] a week, 365 days out of the year.”

Part of this commitment to alternative music includes hosting KDVS’ annual festival, Operation Restore Maximum Freedom (ORMF). The festival varies in music from year to year, depending on the KDVS events director and what bands are on tour around that time.

“KDVS has always been really closely linked to the alternative art scene, and what that shows up as […] is events like ORMF,” Martin said. “One of the business managers for the school itself was suggesting bringing bigger artists like Chance the Rapper, but we were thinking we have to cater to the alternative community, because we’re one of the only outlets, physically.”

Throughout her time at the station, Lozano has also grown to recognize that KDVS fills a particular niche within the Davis community and campus.

“I think it fulfills a need for scratching underneath the surface for music that wouldn’t be heard anywhere else,” Lozano said. “And also for opinions that aren’t heard elsewhere. Because not only do we do music shows, but we also have news shows.”

In addition to organizing ORMF, the radio station hosts various house shows within the Davis/Sacramento area. Student bands have the opportunity to perform and promote their content at these shows, as well have their music on air.

“KDVS — it’s not just a radio station. It extends into real life,” Lozano said. “There’s often a show and it’s a ‘KDVS Presents’ show.”

But for Lozano, having command over the content played on air — whether it’s new music or a morning talk show — is liberating in many ways: “If I’m not DJing, it feels like I have a super power I’m not using.”

Those looking to become involved at KDVS may email the general manager, Olivia Henderson, at gm@kdvs.org.

Written by: Ally Overbay — arts@theaggie.org

SAYS promotes social justice and empowerment of youth

“If you’ve got something to say — say something!” is the mantra of Sacramento Area Youth Speaks (SAYS), a literacy program that supports the improvement of schools, teachers and students through spoken word and social justice curriculum. Dr. Vajra Watson, who started SAYS nine years ago, has her students participate in this call-and-response before each spoken word performance. She started the program after completing her doctorate in education at Harvard University, and she wanted to apply her dissertation to the Davis and Sacramento area, where there is a need for students to improve their literacy and writing skills.

“Young people have been at the forefront of every transformative, revolutionary and radical work in the world,” Watson said. “There’s something unique as young people look at our society and determine the type of world they want to go create, and I think that’s where agency comes in, that’s where voice comes in, and that’s where empowerment comes in. So a lot of work is not seeing young people as the leaders they’re becoming but as the leaders they already are.”

SAYS includes a variety of different programs and events, including classroom residencies. Through the residency program, poet-mentor-educators go into middle and high schools, often ones they graduated from, and teach lessons to the students for one hour each week. Other programs SAYS includes are assemblies, after-school workshops and poetry slam competitions.

“The young people and classroom teachers, every single year they say that [SAYS] gives them life, and it makes literacy alive in their lives, and if it wasn’t relevant to them, we wouldn’t do this work,” Watson said.

Denisha Coco Blossom, the operations manager for SAYS and a third-year African-American studies and communication double major, got involved with the program after SAYS visited the school she worked at. She has now been involved with SAYS for six years, and the program encouraged her to apply and attend UC Davis. She said that the work isn’t only rewarding for the students, but also for herself.

“The best part about spoken word is that it’s healing,” Blossom said. “I see my students being involved with their story and I see them being able to release with their stories, so spoken word is healing.”

Patrice Hill, the program coordinator for SAYS, finds that spoken word offers a unique experience that many other art forms don’t allow.

“I think spoken word is maybe derivative of hip-hop or actually supersedes hip-hop because in spoken word there’s no beat — just a poet and the words,” Hill said. “So it allows for the human connection that is not communicated thoroughly through other art forms because there’s no music. There’s no beat and there’s no instruments to get in the way — there’s just human voice and a story and a passion for it to be told.”

Hill was originally a performer herself and was the grand slam champion of Sacramento from 2003 to 2004. Now, as an educator in the program, Hill sees the positive impact spoken word can have on the youth.

“I kept coming back simply because this is transformational for the young people,” Hill said. “I wasn’t introduced to poetry or spoken word until college, and if I would have had this opportunity to be introduced to the power of my voice in middle or high school, what could that have done for me and my journey?”

In light of recent events, the work of SAYS has become even more relevant and poignant, its staffers said.

“I believe [SAYS is] something very pivotal to this country at this time,” Blossom said. “Especially in a time where we are going to be silenced, we’re probably going to be voiceless. People are not going to care about the youth and giving [them] the actual opportunity to share their voice and to share their challenges and share their opinions. Because I believe the youth are the truth and children will change the future.”

Each year, 1,000 middle and high school students from across the region come to UC Davis to participate in the annual SAYS summit. The students are introduced to spoken word and can perform their pieces at the end of the event. For many of the students, it is their first experience with spoken word.

“Spoken word performance poetry has so much to do with authentic voice and experience,” Watson said. “We say that you don’t just have a story, we are our stories. So if we are the living embodiment of our stories, what does it mean to first name them, write them, but also share them in this collective process of becoming more human and finding out who each other truly are?”

In addition to teaching the students about poetry, SAYS interweaves common core curriculum with social justice, covering topics like the school-to-prison pipeline and the prison-industrial complex in their class residencies. At the end, students share the poems they created.

“Sometimes they share a word, sometimes they share a sentence, sometimes they end up sharing pieces and pieces, and they’re part of our slam team,” Watson said. “But our goal is to turn that pen into a weapon of self-expression. And the microphone? It can come and it can not come — not every kid is going to end up on the final stage.”

In order to help the students find inspiration to write, the poet mentor educators pose questions to their classes.

“In the end young people create these poems with even writing a poem,” Hill said. “They’re just writing about their lives and their experiences.”

The SAYS Youth Slam Finals will be held on Feb. 5 and Feb. 17 in Sacramento. These events will whittle the contestants down to the final six, who will go on to perform at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento on Feb. 25. The event is open to the public and the tickets are $5.

Those interested in more information on SAYS may visit its Facebook page, website and Instagram. SAYS is located at 3725 Marysville Blvd. in Sacramento.

Written by: Abigail Wang — arts@theaggie.org