I have fond memories of “The Cosby Show” from my childhood. Growing up in a broken home with no cable may have helped, but it may have stemmed from seeing such a harmonious and functional family at a time when everything looked bleak. At the time that show aired, and for years prior, Bill Cosby must have seemed like...
Canonical cinema rarely gets much richer than Ridley Scott’s 1982 film “Blade Runner.” Of course, by “Blade Runner” I refer to the “Final Cut,” Scott’s definitive version of the film whose themes are mirrored in the fragmented identity of its various renditions (for context, seven versions of the film are known to exist). The film, loosely adapted from Philip...
This month augured two tragedies on the world stage: One, the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States and two, the passing of legendary singer-songwriter, poet, novelist, overall genius, Leonard Cohen. To commemorate the tragic loss of an iconic artist, it is crucial to celebrate the life and legacy of an artist of such stature.
Cohen’s...
Public intellectuals are a thing of the past and in some sense reached their heyday in the ‘60s. The days when intellectuals such as Gore Vidal and Norman Mailer reached massive audiences through television is no more, and the thought that of all people, an art critic could be a public intellectual is definitely gone. And yet, the first...
Dear Reader,
If you have begun reading this, then that could only mean that you have arrived at the Arts & Entertainment section of The Highlander, UCR’s student-run school newspaper. You have turned the pages on the trending news, various opinions and event features the student writers have showcased only to come here to read this “In Retrospect” article for...
I’m losing my edge. New technologies have paved the way for unprecedented synthesis between high and low, the personal and public, known and unknown, a process that is far from over. Nothing is ever truly “gone,” everything can always be “remembered.” So if it’s going to be a funeral, let’s have the best funeral ever.
LCD Soundsystem started as a...
“All Praise Be to God to Whom All Praise Is Due.” — 51 years ago, these words graced and encapsulated a weakened and broken man, an alcoholic and a heroin addict and also a talented saxophonist who had been kicked out of his own jazz band for his vices. 51 years ago, the feeling of grace, which motivated him...