Twelve dollars. Paper tickets. Popcorn, soda, synthetic butter concentrate. Well-worn carpeted floors, soundproof walls, a zit-speckled teenager in a polo shirt directing you to the correct theater. This is how we've always seen movies. However, the release of Netflix's breathtaking first original narrative film, "Beasts of No Nation," could mark the beginning of a new era of cinema. Though the...

By the time I arrived at my biology lab at 8:30 a.m. Thursday Oct. 8, I was already several hours into my day. I tried to wipe the admission stamp off of my hand as I sat counting bacterial colonies, dance beats still playing in my head. An hour earlier, I had been watching a performance by fire dancers. I...

The signs of autumn have finally arrived in Los Angeles. From the brisk chill of 80-degree nights to the crunch of brown lawns underfoot, LA is excitedly pretending, once again, that seasons exist. Of course, nowhere is this autumnal spirit more celebrated than in coffee shops around the city. Setting foot into almost any coffee shop means being bombarded by...

Just a month into their Occidental collegiate careers, first years have already created a buzz in the arts and entertainment scene. From dancing in Hyper Xpressions to photographing for La Encina, these four first years hit the ground running. Megan McKiernanMegan McKiernan describes herself as the girl who shows up to the first meeting with cupcakes. Yet when she arrived...

I remember the first time I heard Kanye West. I had just turned 12 and received a new iPod Nano for my birthday. One of the first songs I bought was a top 10 hit on iTunes called “Heartless," which struck me right away. I searched YouTube for anything that sounded similar — the closest contenders were other songs from...

Jeff Weiss ‘03 doesn’t want to preach. The Angeleno writer and critic steers away from clichés and universal truths. He will try not to ramble — unless he is working on a post. Written rants, when regarding hip-hop or rap, baseball or basketball, literature, recreational drug use or corporate-run publications, are encouraged. The freedom to ramble, to be his own...

A small crowd of IPA-drinking, Stan Smith-wearing, tattooed millennials sprawled out on blankets on the rooftop patio of a secluded mansion to hear bands play in an intimate, two-hour performance Sept. 26 in Beverly Hills. Sound too cool for you? Think again. Introducing Sofar (Songs From A Room) Sounds, an organization that describes itself as an "innovative concept dedicated to...

The montage at the beginning of Kyle Rodriguez's (senior) film "It's Okay" condenses a semester's worth of hiking, kayaking, alpaca petting, exploring local towns, enjoying live music and relaxing on Argentine beaches into a few minutes of video set to upbeat music. Eventually, the music slows as the images turn to ones of routine: a bedroom, a subway station, a...

I’m an adult who likes cartoons. From this statement, one might imagine someone eating cereal and milk in front of the television on Saturday mornings like a sweaty, overgrown kid. I can say only one thing is true of this image: I am often snacking while watching cartoons. The "overgrown kid" image is fading, however, and nowadays it's not as...

Students and community members perused student art displays while nibbling on Brie and grapes at the first Occidental art walk Friday. Tables touting the wares of student artists lined a blocked-off section of Bird Road in front of Haines and Weingart Halls, and acoustic music wafted from stages on the road. Around eight or nine students displayed their work at...