Independent Jazz Spotlight

By Raghav Raj In 2021, a musical year that hasn’t really had the sort of star-studded, critically adored releases that the year before it did (not yet, at least), the underground and independent music scenes have never been more important. We’re only five months into this year, but luckily, there’s been no shortage of great music from the fringes of […]

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Movie review: The Father

Directed by: Florian Zeller Rating: 8/10 Review by: Raghav Raj The first thing that practically leaps off the screen in the opening moments of The Father is the sheer disarray of it all. As Olivia Colman’s character walks to her apartment, striding intently, the camera seems caught off balance by her, almost struggling to stay with her as she walks […]

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Opinion: We need to do more about climate change before it is too late

Raghav Raj | Staff Writer  On April 31, President Joe Biden unveiled new measures to overhaul and upgrade American infrastructure, proclaiming his plan “a once-in-a-generation investment in America.” Officially titled the American Jobs Plan, the initiative is the largest presidential effort to fight climate change ever, dwarfing former President Barack Obama’s 2009 Stimulus bill which allotted a comparatively paltry $90 […]

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Opinion: Perfectly Long Movies

Raghav Raj | Staff Writer With Zack Snyder’s absolutely massive, 4-hour long director’s cut of the 2017 DC film Justice League in the spotlight, there’s a renewed interest in the “long movie,” a remarkably volatile cinematic experience that serves as a double edged sword for any viewers up to the task. If a filmmaker gets it wrong, you’re stuck sitting […]

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Movie Opinion – A missed OPPORTUNITY

Raghav Raj | Staff Writer In an awards season flipped on its head now that COVID-19 has left most movie theaters shuttered for a year, rendering the box office almost all but irrelevant, few films have received the amount of plaudits that Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland has. And, many might argue, for good reason. Zhao’s third feature film is a visually […]

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Teacher Academy creates guide to aid Mason students with disabilities

Raghav Raj | Staff Writer At Mason High School (MHS), aspiring teachers are casting aside their curriculum to make their school a more inclusive learning environment. Over the past few months, students at MHS’s Teacher Academy have paused their curriculum to work on a large-scale project alongside the Mason City Schools’ Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) council. The result is […]

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Movie review – Minari

Review by: Raghav Raj Directed by: Lee Isaac Chung Rating: 9/10 Right from the very beginning, Minari feels utterly, unmistakably entrancing. It is shot in warm, gentle hues by cinematographer Lachlan Milne, who fills the screen with these muted oranges, lush greens, and rich, earthy browns. These colors are met with woozy, contemplative scoring from Emile Mosseri, whose strings and […]

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Ethnic Studies course to be added to 21-22 course catalog

Raghav Raj | Staff Writer At their January 26 meeting, the Mason City Schools Board of Education unanimously approved the proposal for a new Ethnic Studies course at Mason High School. The course, a single-semester Social Studies elective available to all grades at the high school, is set to be included in the MHS 2021-22 Program of Studies, meaning that […]

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Movie Review: Malcom & Marie

Review by: Raghav Raj Director: Sam Levinson Rating: 2/10 The first thing you notice about Malcolm & Marie, the latest project from Sam Levinson (creator of the hit HBO show Euphoria), is how sumptuous it looks.  The 35-mm black-and-white film it’s shot on offers a certain grain to the visual imagery of its spacious beach house setting, playing up the […]

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Sophie : Artist Retrospective

Raghav Raj | Staff Writer SOPHIE, who tragically passed away at the age of 34 on January 30 while climbing a rooftop in Athens, Greece to get a better look at the moon, was not just simply one of the greatest musical innovators of the 21st century, terraforming the landscape of pop music into something new. No, SOPHIE — who […]

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Opinion: Trump’s acquittal reflects lasting effects of political power

Raghav Raj | Staff Writer  On February 13, just over a month after violent right-wing insurrectionists stormed the Capitol building, the second impeachment of former President Donald J. Trump came to an unceremonious, all-too-predictable end. Though a majority of the Senate — by a 57-43 vote — voted for Trump’s conviction, there weren’t enough votes to reach the supermajority needed […]

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Music Review – MF Doom: Artist Retrospective

By Raghav Raj (Staff Writer), Scott Reckers (Staff Writer), and Ann Vettikkal (News Editor) On the last day of 2020, it was announced that Daniel Dumile, better known as rapper MF DOOM, had passed away two months prior on Halloween. As mercurial in death as he was in life, DOOM was one of rap’s greatest enigmas, hiding his brilliant gift […]

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Album Review: Whole Lotta Red

Artist: Playboi Carti Rating: 8/10 Review by: Raghav Raj In many ways, Playboi Carti’s latest album, Whole Lotta Red, is unlike anything else happening in mainstream hip-hop right now.  Despite its affinity for sticky melodies and even stickier hooks, it has no obligations towards any of the viral trends that artists have latched on to. It barely has anything that […]

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Movie Review: Wonder Woman 1984

Director: Patty Jenkins Rating: 2/10 Review by: Raghav Raj After the rousing success of Patty Jenkins’ 2017 reboot of Wonder Woman, the idea of a sequel held the sort of promise that DC hadn’t honestly seen since Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy warped the superhero film into something far more morose and brooding.  In the face of films that followed […]

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Opinion – Going to the movies: a beautiful pastime and its nearing demise

Raghav Raj | Staff Writer  Earlier this month, Warner Media announced that their entire 2021 slate — 17 feature films, including big-name releases like Dennis Villanueve’s ‘Dune’ remake and the fourth installment of The Matrix — would be released on HBO Max concurrently with its theatrical release. This stunning announcement effectively puts an end to the theatrical window before a […]

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