“Man in the High Castle” Proves Insightful and Politcally Relevant

Amazon Studio’s TV series, “The Man in the High Castle,” opens with quintessential images of American symbols of pride: the beautiful skyline of New York City, the Golden Gate Bridge and a statue of an eagle, poised to fly. You can almost hear such symbols saying “God Bless Our Homeland,” yet these images quickly become warped. Over the New York skyline quivers the projection of a swastika. A radiant red sun with rays spreading down, overtakes the Golden Gate Bridge to evoke Japanese imperial im

Not Just For Kids: Cartoons With Decidedly Adult Perspective

Yes, adult TV shows and thought-provoking movies are absolutely fantastic, but occasionally it’s good to kick back with some good, nostalgia-inducing children’s television. Over the summer, I began watching two TV shows that have achieved significant popularity not only among their targeted demographic (actual children), but also among many cartoon-loving adults — and for completely legitimate reasons. Cartoon Network’s “Steven Universe” and Disney Channel’s “Gravity Falls” are some of the best

Amherst Faculty Showcases Wide Range of Original Creative Pieces

Amherst’s faculty held the Art Faculty Performance on April 19, showcasing the talents and professors in the Departments of Music, Film and Media Studies and Theater and Dance. Oftentimes students forget that professors too are creators so the performance was a welcome reminder that that once faculty members were students, working on their theses, projects, compositions, and today they continue to create new work. I found the faculty performances interesting, but I felt so out of my depth that I

Friday, April 10 Kicks Off the Arts at Amherst Annual Spring Festival

The Arts at Amherst Annual Spring Festival kicks off this Friday, April 10 with an opening reception at Arms Music Center, and continues for another nine days of arts-related events, concluding Sunday, April 19. The events range from student-led performances featuring the talents of Amherst College students to musical productions led by outside ensembles and a variety of film screenings. The idea for an arts festival stemmed from a collaboration among the major four arts departments and institu

Amherst Ensembles Perform Joint Rendition of Mozart’s Great Mass

The Amherst Symphony Orchestra and the Amherst College Choral Society performed a joint rendition of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor, K.427 in Buckley Concert Hall on Saturday, March 7. The concert featured the Glee Club, Women’s Chorus, the Concert Choir, and the Amherst Symphony Orchestra. Mark Lane Swanson conducted, and six guest vocal soloists from the UMass vocal program were also present. The evening was noteworthy both for the number of organizations and people involved

Circus Literary Magazine Sponsors Five College Translation Contest

Since its founding in 1971 as a themed series of lectures, films, courses and theatrical performances, the Copeland Colloquium has sought to engage members of the Amherst College community uniquely and intentionally. This year, the Copeland Colloquium’s events have been centered around the theme of translation and its role in today’s culture. Last week, members of the Colloquium editorial board revealed a literary contest that had a cash prize of $200. The contest will be coordinated by the Cope

The Mead Art Museum Debuts Three Asian Art Exhibits

The Mead Art Museum opened up three new exhibits featuring Asian art on Friday, Feb. 5, marking the first time the Mead has ever simultaneously featured three Asian art exhibits. The exhibits are a collection of Japanese prints called “Nature, Pleasure, Myth: Animals in the Art of Japan,” an exhibit on 20th-century Japanese history in “Fifty Years of Showa Japan: The photography of Kageyama Koyo,” and a collection of miniatures in the exhibit “Gods, Kings, and Lovers: Paintings from Courtly Indi

"The Imitation Game" Presents a Stirring Look into the Life of Turing

As World War II wrecks continental Europe and spreads throughout the Pacific, a ragtag group of British mathematicians, logicians, cryptographers and linguists stands around a clicking machine each day trying to crack a Nazi code. When it hits midnight, the Nazis change the code’s key and the code-breakers’ work for the day day is rendered useless. The next morning, they start again. This is the premise of “The Imitation Game” a dramatized biographical film that follows the struggles of mathem

Five College Art to be Celebrated at Powerhouse

The Powerhouse will host an art exhibition this Wednesday, Dec. 3, called “Celebrating Herstory: A Celebration of Art For and By Women,” featuring female student artists from the Five College Consortium. The student-curated project aims to showcase both young local artists and the Powerhouse as a new gallery space. Students from the research seminar “To Sculpt a Modern Woman’s Life” created this exhibition. The professor of the course, Natasha Staller, usually plans an event that she calls a “h

Newest Mead Exhibitions Showcase Never-Before-Seen Works

The Mead Art Museum showcased two of its newest exhibitions on Oct. 3: “Images of the Unimaginable: Art from the First World War,” and “Paper Landscapes: Prints of the American City and Countryside, 1820-1920.” Earlier this year, the museum debuted another exhibition: “Pain’s Pyrotechnic Spectacle: The Sino-Japanese War in Print.” All three display never-before-seen items from the Mead’s hidden holdings and show the versatility of the print medium and the different techniques of printmaking in v

First-Year Musicians Shine in Amherst Symphony Orchestra

The Amherst Symphony Orchestra opened its season on Saturday, Sept. 27 with a fresh and inspiring performance. The season preview concert, dedicated to the Amherst class of 2018, was titled “Vienna: City of Music, City of Dreams” and directed by Mark Swanson. What set this concert apart from previous performances was the overwhelming amount of first-year musicians involved. The audience entered Buckley Recital Hall to see only about half the orchestra members sitting in their seats, practicing

“When Paris Went Dark:” A Fresh Look at the City of Lights

Good books are apt to attract a lot of press attention, and books with dramatic titles and beloved subjects are even likelier attention-grabbers. Professor of French and European Studies Ronald C. Rosbottom’s recent book “When Paris Went Dark” is no exception. “When Paris Went Dark” is a description of France’s capital city under the Nazi occupation during the years of 1940 to 1944. In his text, Professor Rosbottom explores the darkening effect the Nazi Occupation placed on Paris by showcasing