the stentorian I ncssm
opinion/en tertainmen t
may 2013
Stop taking Airband so
seriously
By Jordan Harrison
Lately I’ve noticed a
common scheduling conflict
popping up all over the place—
Airband rehearsals. So-and-so
can’t meet to work on a project
because their hall is practicing
after check.
It’s making me wonder,
how much do you really need
to rehearse for Airband? It’s
supposed to be fim and silly.
Airband is almost upon us, but
juniors, take note for next year.
I definitely don’t want to
discredit the good work people
are doing with Airband acts,
but it is entirely unnecessary to
rehearse for an hour and a half
every weekday. I have Ifiends
who quit their hall Airband
acts because they were such a
stressful commitment, which is
ridiculous.
Another thing I’ve noticed is
that Airband has morphed from
a lip-syncing performance to a
dance performance.
Where are the black and
white face-painted KISS
impersonators? Where are
the over-the-top renditions of
Bohemian Rhapsody? Most made up most of the hall acts
acts, judging fi-om last year’s last year, many of which tried
performances and snippets very hard to be flirty or sexy. I
I’ve seen from various halls’ feel this excludes people who
Block Tango”, for instance. I
am merely suggesting that we
should have a more diverse
group of acts.
Second Hill and Friends perform “Double Dream Hands ” in Airband 2012
rehearsals, are focused so
much on the choreography that
people don’t pretend to sing.
In my opinion, this focus
has also created a gender
imbalance in Airband: girl halls
want to be involved with their
hall but don’t have that kind of
physical confidence.
Some suggestive Airband
acts have in the past been
very good—last year’s “Cell
I think so many people
overdo Airband because of
the mindset we often have at
this school. Most of us run
from one activity to the next
with a “get it done” mentality.
We want to impress, to be
perfectionists, but now is not
the time for that.
Seniors will soon be off to
college and especially have
nothing to lose, and juniors
have very little time left with
their senior fnends.
Now is the time to have
fun, to laugh at ourselves, and
to not be afraid to look a little
ridiculous onstage. So stop
taking Airband so seriously.
My favorite Airband act
from 2012 was “Second Hill
and Friends”, which recreated
a viral Youtube video called
“Double Dream Hands”. It
was well put together, but the
choreography also seemed
easy to follow—in fact, the
song lyrics told you what to
do.
It was also the act with the
most male performers that
year. Basically, it was silly—
by no means' sexy—and it
made me laugh, and honestly,
at the end of the year, I want
to laugh and have a good time
with friends much more than
I want to watch sexy, polished
dances to Top 40 music.
John Green: Will his writing endure
or be forgotten?
By Marcy Pedzwater
After the release of John
Green’s latest book. The Fault
in Our Stars, it became nearly
impossible to not have heard
of John Green. Fans of his past
novels became more vocal
than ever, while a new set of
followers emerged.
But one question remains:
what is it that has caused this
cult following of John Green:
is it his writing prowess, or
simply his ability to devise
and follow a well-calculated
formula?
I read my first John Green
novel a few summers ago
after a friend from camp
recommended An Abundance
of Katherines. I read it,
enjoyed it, and promptly forgot
about John Green until last
spring, when I heard several
people around campus raving
about the novel The Fault in
Our Stars.
Over the summer, I read the
book, and I really enjoyed it.
It was poignant and moving,
had beautiful language, and
just enough sarcasm to keep
it interesting without being
annoying. Afterwards, I read
Paper Towns and Looking for
Alaska, which were also well-
written and interesting.
However, I find myself
struggling to understand what
it is about John Green that
warrants the level of attention
and devotion he receives from
so many fans. I am by no
means attempting to dismiss
his writing as substandard or
poor and indeed, I will even
venture to say that in many
ways it is above average.
I do, however, fail to find
the deference for his writing
that so many others have. His
books may be on the upper end
of the spectrum in regard to
quality of books 1 have read.
Young adult writer John
Green
but it certainly is not at the
very top of the spectrum. In
many ways his books are not
so different from other young
adult fiction novels.
A problem I have with
his writing is that the same
character seems to reemerge
in different books. Alaska,
from Looking for Alaska, and
Margo, from Paper Towns are
very similar, if not, in essence,
the same. Both characters are
quirky, live slightly on the
edge, have family issues, are
spunky, and capture the heart
and imagination of the main
character in both of the novels.
So why is it that so many
teens have fallen in love with
John Green’s novels? I would
venture to say that
it is his ability to re
envision the cliche,
and to write with
enough finesse to
make it acceptable.
John Green
captures the heart of
teen angst, crafting
brilliantly cynical
characters that appeal
to a teenage audience.
He creates characters
that give voice to
the feelings of our
generation, but what
he does differently
is he makes them
multi-dimensional
and real enough that
you can’t write them
off as being whiny,
poorly written representations
of every teenager.
The second thing he does
is to allow his characters to
have the conversations that
we wish we could have. They
broach subjects that for many
teenagers are considered off-
limits, and though we may
not have the courage or desire
to be these characters, we fall
in love with them because in
many ways they effortlessly
disregard the boundaries
society sets for us.
Lastly, what makes his
novels so wildly popular is that
he is quotable.
What he does with his
novels is what young adult
fiction writers have been doing
for years. The difference is he
does it in a way that deserves a
standing ovation.
His novels are littered with
pithy, profound, quotable
statements, evidence of his
writing abilities. Surely
anyone who can create such
fabulous quotes must be a
phenomenal writer, \ve say.
This is why he is so popular:
he writes about cynicism and
disillusionment so well, that
his writing is not a reflection,
but an embodiment of the
cynical and the disillusioned.
Overall, credit must be
given where credit is due, and
John Green deserves credit for
his writing abilities.
However, his books
should not be confused with
great literature. They lack
an element of timelessness
and originality to make them
worthy of surviving beyond
our generation.
J-
Courtesy of
NPR
the
stentorian
the north Carolina school of science and mathematics
1219 broad street, durham, nc 27705
V
Editors for 2013-2014
Editors-in-Chief: Adam Beyer, Su
Cho, and Jungsu Hong
News: Kanan Shah
Features: Sarah Colbert
Opinions: Andrew Peterson
Entertainment: Ava Gruchacz
Sports: Steven Liao