Mount Hood

TikTok ban: Beneficial or harmful?

Written by: Isabelle Jones | Lifestyle Editor

Content warning: this article contains mentions of suicide

With Inauguration Day right around the corner, many Americans are keeping a close eye on Jan. 19. Recently, the Supreme Court has weighed whether TikTok is considered safe for Americans. This hot topic has one wondering how the app currently affects its users. Just like any other social media platform, it has its benefits and its faults — but a deeper look into the app might provide some clarity on its effects.

TikTok is a social media platform that allows users to create and share short form content. Gen Z and millennials alike flocked to the app when it went viral back in 2018. Many of its current users argue that TikTok needs to remain untouched by the federal government because their intervention would be a violation of the First Amendment. Indeed, TikTok has connected the world in a way like no other platform. Its ability to give anyone a voice and possibly have it reach millions of people is very enticing. Anyone can become an advocate and spread awareness to the masses, unlike other platforms like Instagram or Facebook, whicho rely more on follower count, celebrity status or celebrity endorsement.

Another reason for TikTok’s popularity is its plethora of niche communities, or safe spaces. Many users are able to easily connect with others who share similar interests, lifestyles, sexual orientations, values and so forth. With the app mainly enjoyed by younger generations, many communities are able to freely share their experiences. 

While a ban may feel like a major loss for many, it could potentially serve as a turning point for social media culture. TikTok has come under scrutiny for its lack of regulations on handling the exposure of cyberbullying and inappropriate content. There are major concerns of the negative effects of TikTok’s algorithm, one of which being that it provides a sense of instant gratification. With a single swipe of a finger, a user is exposed to a variety of content, helping the system learn what the user is interested in. In a short period of time, the algorithm provides content that a user wants to engage in. With this, a user can spend hours on the app not realizing how much time has passed. A ban would encourage Americans to take a break from their screens.

Another reason why a ban might be beneficial is that TikTok can push inappropriate or harmful content. TikTok cannot keep up with the amount of content that its creators push out. With a younger audience, users can be exposed to obscene content such as indecent exposure, crime, self-harm and extreme violence. 

Lastly, TikTok is just like any other platform. There are harmful trends and unrealistic beauty standards that get pushed towards its young and impressionable audience. With cyberbullying running rampant, and TikTok helping just about anyone go viral, it can fall to the toxic, and at times dangerous, side of the app. With poor mental health and, sadly, suicide happening at an alarming rate, the question remains: has TikTok done more good than harm? Should Americans accept the loss of their favorite app? 

Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu

Holding space for “Wicked”

Written by: Jaylin Emond-Hardin | Entertainment Editor

Content warning: This article contains spoilers

“Wicked” has officially hit theaters. Fan excitement for the movie skyrocketed in the spring of 2023 when first-look pictures were released. Filming had started the year prior, but was halted from July to November due to the Screen Actors Guild strike. 

Being split into two movies, “Wicked” is a screen adaptation of the Broadway musical that originally premiered in 2003. The musical is based on the 1995 novel, “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” by Gregory Maguire, which is, of course, based on the 1900 L. Frank Baum novel, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” and its 1939 film adaptation, “The Wizard of Oz.”

Told from the perspective of witches Galinda and Elphaba, the musical follows events from before and after the arrival of Dorothy. As it progresses, the audience learns about how Elphaba and Galinda become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good. Titled “Wicked: Part One,” the movie follows Act One of the musical, with “Wicked: Part Two” set to release sometime in 2025.

With the musical talents of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as the leading ladies, the film excels in its production design and emotional storytelling. Bathed in shades of pink and green, “Wicked” shows the importance of challenging what might be a societal norm and understanding the nuances of good and evil. Elphaba’s journey, for example, from outcast to Wicked Witch shows how society’s perceptions and labels of someone can change their identity. 

“Wicked” has also smashed box office records. With a United States opening of $114 million and a worldwide opening of $50.2 million, it is currently the biggest opening ever for a film based on a Broadway show, as well as the third-highest earning premier weekend of 2024. The original cast recording has broken records, as well, with “Defying Gravity” and “Popular” racking up a combined 7.8 million streams within the first three days of its release. 

Rounding out the cast is Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard of Oz, Johnathan Bailey as Fiyero and Ethan Slater as Boq. All actors will reprise their roles when “Wicked: Part Two” is released, though some will be in different forms. Bailey and Slater’s characters Fiyero and Boq are set to become the Scarecrow and the Tinman, two of Dorothy’s companions in the iconic “The Wizard of Oz.”

In my opinion, “Wicked” is an adaptation worthy of being seen. Between its well-rounded cast, a live soundtrack and allegorical messages, it is a film that can be enjoyed by all, whether one is typically a fan of musicals or not.

10/10.

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Meet Trey Vincent

Written by: Sadie Latimer | News Editor

If you have seen someone dancing down the streets of Monmouth wearing a pair of iconic sunglasses, it’s most likely been 20-year-old Trey Vincent. He has lived in Monmouth for about 13 years and will find any excuse to show off his moves around town. Even though he is not a student, he may still be found dancing down the sidewalks of Western’s campus. When asked if he was enrolled, he replied, “No, I just like walking around all the time.” 

“I absolutely love listening to my music, and I also like dancing,” said Vincent. “There’s a perfectly good road ahead of me. Why not dance and listen to music?”

Specifically, Vincent prefers tunes from anywhere between the 1940’s and 1990’s. Most recently, Vincent had “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” by Dean Martin on loop. “(Dean Martin) is called the ‘King of Cool,’” said Vincent. The song was released in July 1960 and was originally written for the film “Ocean’s 11.” 

“Also, I’ve been listening to ‘From Russia with Love’ by Matt Monro. It’s one of the James Bond theme songs, and I’ve been watching the Sean Connery Bond films,” said Vincent.

Although his favorite songs are not from this century, he does branch out occasionally.

“My friends have been trying to get me into Sabrina Carpenter and I’m not going to lie, for a modern performer, she does pretty good,” said Vincent. Although it may be a bit controversial, he admitted to not being a fan of Taylor Swift.

Although the weather has been less than ideal recently for those who love the outdoors and the sun, Vincent can still occasionally be spotted frolicking down a sidewalk. 

“Sometimes I’m just not in the mood to dance in the rain. But there are some times I have all this pent-up energy and I just gotta head down (a road).”

No matter what — rain or shine — Vincent can always be spotted wearing a pair of sunglasses. It’s the one item he can’t live without, and he owns fourteen pairs. 

At heart, Vincent is an extrovert. He loves meeting, starting conversations and sharing his music with new people. 

He is currently working at a police academy in Salem, Oregon, as a roleplayer. He acts out scenarios with the cops-in-training, such as pretending to get arrested or being in a high-speed chase. He also occasionally acts out behavioral health scenarios for practice. “Apparently I’m very believable,” said Vincent. 

He’s been working as a roleplayer since March 2023. “They post notices every few months. For me, it was in January of last year, and then I got the job in March. They also do another hiring process in October,” he said.

In his spare time, Vincent loves to do karate. He first joined mainly to make new friends, however, he was also influenced by the TV show “Cobra Kai,” a modern continuation of the “Karate Kid” movies. 

In school, Vincent’s least favorite subject was math, with his favorite subject being P.E.

“I never got a chance to do acting in high school … so P.E. was my favorite by default.” He does hope to do more acting in the future, inspired by his favorite actor, Robert Downey Jr. 

Despite not being fond of math, he loves learning new things. “I would like to build up as many skills as possible and learn as many languages as I can before I turn 25,” said Vincent. “Apparently the more languages you learn before 25, the more languages you can easily comprehend and have at your disposal later in life.” He is already fluent in American Sign Language, knows a small amount of German and is teaching himself Spanish. 

“(Learning Spanish is) not that easy, because all I have is a book and no one to practice with,” said Vincent. 

Another thing he has learned is how to be patient. “(I’m proud I was) able to build my patience. It isn’t naturally one of my strong suits,” said Vincent. 

He has many goals for the future, including his main goal of acting in films. He plans to build as many skills as he can before he turns 25, on top of his language learning goal. He also wants to get his barber’s certification and become a film hairstylist, before he eventually becomes an actor himself — leaving the future bright for Western’s “Dancing Dude.”

Contact the author at howlnews@mail.wou.edu

Nunsploitation horrors: An immaculate review

Written by: Lili Minato | Freelancer

Content warning: this article contains spoilers and discusses dark themes involving pregnancy and religion. 

The infamous nunsploitation genre is back with two new blockbuster films that have left audiences rattled and disturbed. 

Nunsploitation is a film subgenre that involves the exploitation of nuns in a horror or thriller setting. Some of the most popular films of this genre come from “The Conjuring” universe, specifically the movies “The Nun” and “The Nun II.”

“Immaculate,” which hit theaters on March 22, gave audiences a more artistic approach to the often repetitive and predictable horror subgenre. “Immaculate” follows an American nun, played by Sydney Sweeney, who joins a hospice convent in Italy. Besides the slightly off-putting comments and actions by the elderly nuns who are cared for in the convent, Sweeney’s character, Sister Cecilia, considers the Italian countryside her new home. 

As the days and weeks pass, Sister Cecilia notices more odd and unusual occurrences around the convent, corresponding with her worsening health. Cecilia becomes increasingly more ill and requests to see a doctor. In return, she gets a checkup by the convent’s appointed physician, 

where the devout nun finds out about her pregnancy. There is nothing that has caused the said pregnancy so it is ruled to be an immaculate conception. Sister Cecilia was going to give birth to the next baby Jesus. 

The first half of “Immaculate” is predictable and filled with plot holes; there is nothing too unique about it. As the film progresses, though, the artistic values start to show.

The final scene provides a beautiful “Rosemary’s Baby” finale for the film. 

Sister Cecilia has just escaped her captors and is free from the convent. She stands outside, surrounded by the beautiful countryside, but the beauty starts to deteriorate as she goes and squats by a tree. The camera moves up close to Cecilia’s bloody face as she begins to scream. 

The screaming lasts for multiple minutes without any camera cuts. After a while, a crying baby can be heard. The camera then pans out and follows Sister Cecilia as she goes and grabs a heavy rock, she brings it toward the crying infant who is out of the frame. She holds a rock above the baby and drops it. With that, the film ends. 

Sweeney gives an excellent performance that proves she has the pipes to be the next big scream queen. 

Along with “Immaculate,” another blockbuster nunsploitation film was released two weeks after the former. “The First Omen” is the sixth installment in the “Omen” franchise and shares a very similar synopsis with “Immaculate.” 

“The First Omen” also revolves around an American woman sent to Italy who becomes suspiciously pregnant on arrival. The only difference is that the main character faces an arguably more sinister birth than Sister Cecilia did. 

Both films are currently in theaters with “The First Omen” getting slightly better ratings than “Immaculate.” For nunsploitation fans, both seem to be worth the watch. 

7/10. 

Contact the author at lminato22@mail.wou.edu  

Tiktoks don’t belong in film

Written by: Lili Minato | Freelancer

Content warning: this article contains spoilers 

The original song “Sexy” starts to play as Karen Shetty — played by Avantika — appears on the screen to record a TikTok about Halloween. As she ends her video, multiple other tiktokers appear on screen singing the same song. A collage of vertical videos fills the large movie theater screen, complete with off-brand heart, share and comment emoticons inspired by the social media app. 

The film’s desired effect of relatability does not occur as the audience is vocally taken aback. The implementation of social media apps in films created by an older generation for a younger audience often does not have the desired effect on audiences. 

This trend has been prominently used in coming-of-age Netflix movies for an indulgent audience, with the hopes that it will convince children and teens alike to relate to their poorly written main characters. Now, this idea has infected the big screen. 

Ironically, the recent “Mean Girls” musical — which has been even more popularized through TikTok — has tried and failed to cater to the youth of today. While having a good chance of being a decent film, the consistent usage of social media caused the downfall of the musical. 

Hailee Carmody — a sophomore at Western — shares her opinion on the matter, “I think it (TikToks) takes you out of the movie quite a bit, especially when the phone frames the scene,” Carmody said.

Later in the film, TikToks are used once again to show the spread of Regina George’s downfall. In the clips of students sharing their grievances against George, tiktokers and celebrities — like Megan Thee Stallion — appear on screen as well. 

This causes shock within the audience — whether it be negative or positive. Carmody related to the former option, “Including tiktokers is more promotion (for the film) and I think they added nothing to the story, they were just a face,” stated Carmody.

The TikTokers that were included are popular on TikTok but outside of social media, they don’t have much of an impact on viewers. It’s simply another half-hearted attempt to relate to the target audience of teenagers.

Social media and film are the oil and vinegar of media, they never mix well. The off-brand icons and the internet slang age movies and take audiences out of the watching experience. 

Instead of its intended use of relatability, TikTok turns good films into tacky, laughable cash grabs with little substance.

Contact the author at lminato22@mail.wou.edu

Upcoming Frankenstein films

Written by: Lili Minato | Freelancer

Content warning: this article contains mentions of suicide

The iconic story of “Frankenstein” has been retold upwards of 114 times through the artistic media of film, the first recorded example being a movie by the same name made in 1910. Now, there are two new “Frankenstein” adaptations coming to the big screen in the upcoming year and a “Frankenstein”-inspired film that is up for an Academy Award. 

These three movies all follow the general themes and plot of “Frankenstein,” while also bringing their own original ideas to the table. From original stories to stylistic elements and cinematography, the classic story continues to spark new life in these adaptations. 

“Poor Things” is an artistic blockbuster that premiered in December of 2023. The story, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, follows a suicidal pregnant woman — played by Emma Stone — who is resurrected with her brain switched with the underdeveloped brain of her unborn child. She then goes on to explore the world through those new set of eyes. 

While not technically a publicized reproduction of the original story, it takes many elements from the stereotypical depictions of “Frankenstein” — a mad scientist and the resurrection of a new organic creature as well as the exploration and the understanding of society by said creature. The connections to the original Mary Shelley novel are abundant. 

The upcoming film, “Lisa Frankenstein,” takes a different approach to the generic recurring plot points of past “Frankenstein” adaptations. Described as a “coming of rage love story” by IMDb, the plot consists of a teenager in the 80s bringing a corpse — who happens to be her crush — back from the dead. They go on a joint mission to find missing body parts which results in murder, love and possibly happiness.

Even though this isn’t a completely original retelling of the novel, the film seems to be taking on something new with a campy and gothic style that will be loved by younger and older audiences alike. 

Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” is a remake of the 1931 classic by the same name. From what the public knows, this film doesn’t seem to stray as far from the original story compared to the other two films mentioned. 

However, audiences shouldn’t expect another repetitive “Frankenstein” movie — del Toro’s past films should inspire viewers to still expect an elevated level of beautiful, stylistic work. Combined with the acting skills of Oscar Issac, Mia Goth and Jacob Elordi, fans of del Toro and “Frankenstein” should anticipate creativity and beauty from this upcoming film.

Contact the author at lminato22@mail.wou.edu

Lessons from the school of SAW

Written by: Aubrey Laine Baker | Freelancer

The late September release of “Saw X” met box office success and critical acclaim as the film grossed $29.3 million worldwide on its opening weekend. Long-time fans of the “Saw” franchise have rejoiced at its return to the limelight, inciting countless sentimental reflections on its colorful history and cultural relevance. For almost 20 years, the continuing saga has dispensed dopamine fixes and unified audiences across the globe through their insatiable desire for psychologically unsettling storytelling, complex moral quandaries and labyrinthine narrative twists. Or, maybe they’re simply brought together by their hardwired, human hunger for ultraviolence.

While some critics dismiss the films with labels such as “torture porn,” others praise them for their deeper philosophical outlooks and metaphorical explorations of redemption — needle pits, anyone? But whether one is binging on gore or strung out on the subtleties of cinema, “Saw” leaves viewers of any disposition with a timeless takeaway: life is to be cherished.

I want to play a game. The game I want to play is not unlike the game of life. There’s a slow-acting poison coursing through the world that each and every person has the antidote for.

Are they going to watch themselves die, or are they going to do something about it?

Thankfully they’re not typically strapped by their teeth to a home-brew head shredder on a timer, and they don’t need to face their most personal flaws in a grimly ironic, gruesome death room. They don’t need to push the limits of self-mutilation or sacrifice the well-being of others for their survival.

But they will have to do some surgery. Somewhere inside of them is the glow of their passions. Can they find it?

Will they tend to it and radiate with its warmth? Or let it dwindle and die, and rob the world of their brilliance.

Life is a gift and it’s not to be squandered. In our contemporary world of nihilistic persuasion and ever-rising suicidal tendencies, it can be easy to forget that. 

In the words of John Kramer, “Congratulations, you are alive. So many people are ungrateful to be alive, but not you. Not anymore.”

Contact the author at

albaker23@mail.wou.edu

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