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Opinion
The Clarion \ December 11,2019
'Gifting' for the holidays
By Amber Vance
staff Writer
With the holidays quickly approaching, it’s
easy to get carried away scrambling to find gifts.
But should gifts be so important?
It seems in today’s capitalist society that
the holiday season is a time for people to buy
expensive gifts. Those who cannot afford many
gifts feel awful because they feel like the only
way for them to express their love is through
buying material items.
My parents did not always have enough
money to give my brother and me many gifts
for Christmas. In elementary school, 1 can still
remember coming back from Christmas break
and everyone would be bragging about what
all they had gotten for Christmas. I felt left out
because my parents could not afford much.
Now, I see that there is more to the season than
receiving gifts. It’s about sharing your time with
those that matter.
During the holiday season, commercials for
different businesses are claiming to have “the
perfect gift” and this reinforces the idea that a
person has to find gifts for the holidays. There
is really no such thing as “the perfect gift,” no
wrong or right answers. Christmas is meant
to be a peaceful, joyful holiday not for people
worrying over buying the perfect gifts or being
disappointed when they did not get what they
wanted.
Christmas should be seen as a season of giving
but for people to give a bit of themselves to those
they care about by spending time with them.
Time is a great gift that you can give someone
you love. Any material item you might give
them will eventually wear out but the memories
you give them in time spent together will stay
with them.
So this holiday season, keep in mind that it
should not just be about giving and receiving
gifts. It's about spending time with those close
to you and making memories. Happy Holidays
and have a Happy New Year!
Who doesn't like a
space western?
What to expect in ‘The Mandalorian ’ and Episode IX
By Margaret Correll
Layout & Design
Disney has done it again! They have crafted
an interesting and layered story that I and many
other people have become obsessed with in the
past few days.
“The Mandalorian” captures what everyone
loves about the “Star Wars” franchise:
interesting characters and plot points, suspense
and cute creatures that are able to sell tons of
merchandise. The series airs on Disney + and
has a total of five available episodes with more
on the way.
Episode one introduces us to the character
Mando, played by Pedro Pascal, who is a
Mandalorian and a bounty hunter working for
an organization called “The Guild.” He is a
loner and does his job with no questions asked,
mixing a stoic attitude with an aura that can only
be described as “Clint Eastwood-like.”
Mando is tasked with a job by Empire
loyalists, showing the audience that there are
still supporters after the battle of Endor and the
fall of the Emperor and Darth Vader. He is sent
off to find a “target” and that there should be no
questions asked.
He finds the target after a difficult journey,
realizing that it is a child. He is informed that
it is 50 years old and that many bounty hunters
are searching for it, making it of high value.
The appearance of the child is shocking to
many loyal “Star Wars” fans because it is the
same species as Yoda, former Jedi master whose
species is unknown.
Mando has a change of heart when handing
over the child to collect his payment and he takes
him away, but not without some fighting and
gunslinging. Episodes four and five see Mando
and the child on a journey to evade bounty
hunters and encountering many interesting and
sometimes dangerous characters along the way.
“The Mandalorian,” in my opinion, is a nicely
crafted spinoff of the franchise. I think that it is
refreshing to see characters that we do not know
much about, like Mando and the child. It adds
many more questions to the long list that fans
have about the series and it will open many more
doors for the franchise to continue.
I would give this series a 4 out 5 stars so far.
“Star Wars: The Rise of Sk3rwalker” will be
the gigantic end to another successful saga. I am
very fond of “The Force Awakens” and “The
Last Jedi,” the first two movies in the current
trilogy, and I am very interested in seeing how
they finish this journey.
I am also very excited to see how they
incorporate “The Mandalorian” into the last
installment of this saga.
MANDALORIAN