From “Pussy Riot no more than hooligans” by Jordan Bohannon
Somebody needs to tell the members of Russian femme-punk band Pussy Riot to quit while they’re ahead. Otherwise, we should just force them to watch the last few seasons of “American Idol.” After initial arrests and rise to fame in 2012, the punk rock collective has tapered off into a tailspin of drama, meaningless antics and irrelevance. … The timing [during the Olympics] was perfect for Pussy Riot to do something really special, but, running with a sports metaphor, it dropped the ball. This is bigger than just dropping the ball this time — this is a sign that Pussy Riot is done for good. It has done all it is going to do, and it needs to step off the international stage. … Almost two years ago … Pussy Riot’s members were saviors to punk idealists everywhere. Now they are little more than the hooligans they were originally convicted of being.
The State Press
Arizona State University
From “Oscar recognition of ‘Palestine’ a good step” by Yasmeen Serhan
Increasingly over the past few years, films about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have made their way from the war-torn region to Hollywood. This year, however, there’s a notable precedent — for though the Palestinian territories are yet to be recognized as a state by the United Nations, Palestine already has an Oscar nomination to its name. … This nomination, however, is more than just recognition of a nearly 50-year-old military occupation. It’s also about a people who, despite the daily struggle of living under occupation, manage to create art that can tell their stories. … The national identity of a film can be abstract, especially when it comes to contested land such as the Palestinian territories. Yet … this nomination goes to affirm the legitimacy of the Palestinian people, both socially and culturally.
The Daily Trojan
University of Southern California
From “You’re not fanatic enough to count as a fan, are you?” by Cassie Ruud
To be in a fandom is to be part of a strangely sophisticated hierarchical order that depends on how much of the creative media you’ve consumed, and how you intellectually apply it to your life. … Casual fans are on the lowest rung of the fandom ladder. The true and big fans see them as inferior. Eventually, what all of this revolves around is similarity of interest between human beings — we want to be able to talk to others about things we’re passionate about. If people are incapable of understanding things the way we do, then it’s likely that the lack of common interests has the potential to drive us away from them. … When this contextual communication does exist, it has the potential to do great things — like the Harry Potter Alliance, which formed to educate folks about social issues and create civil engagement in the subjects of literacy, equality and human rights.
The Daily Barometer
Oregon State University
