Arts & Culture

Haruki Murakami and the Uncertain Walls of Our Reality

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Haruki Murakami, household name of Japanese literature, has released yet another masterpiece: The City and Its Uncertain Walls. The City is a reworking of a short story of the same name from 1980, which Murakami makes relatable using his stunning finesse of the magical realism genre. Magical realism is a particularly popular genre that invites the idea that even in the regular places we frequent every day, in the tedium of everyday life, there may be something magical that could occur. At any moment we may be swept away to some unknown place or encounter some magical creatures. Murakami in particular thrives in this genre, taking us from the all to known landscape of modern Tokyo and the sprawling Japanese countryside to the dreary unnamed town where part of the story takes place, and  from the ordinary office workers of the Japanese capital to the magical unicorns of the unnamed city. 

The three-part story follows an unnamed narrator as he navigates through life.

Arts & Culture

Catch It If You Can

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This week, Ithaca College bravely tackled the challenge of staging the Tony Award nominated musical “Catch Me If You Can,” based on the real story of Frank Abegnale Jr. With loud dance numbers and emotional realizations, this performance has something for everyone. The performing arts school was definitely successful in putting their own spin on the well-known Broadway musical. Our main lead, Frank Abignale Jr. was played to perfection by the extremely charismatic Grant Halliburton. He walked the stage as our enthralling narrator that crossed the fourth wall perfectly, connecting with the audience like an actor straight off of broadway. From school student to pilot to doctor (though not in actual certification at times) the audience could not help but be charmed by this performance.

Arts & Culture

In Defense of the Humanities

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If I were to keep track of the number of times someone has made a comment about how being in humanities is useless and contributes nothing to the world, I could probably note down every day on my calendar. The world as we know it has shifted completely to be one in which STEM has taken over the spotlight and pushed humanities behind the curtain of everyone’s attention. Though this may seem most practical, as a job in STEM normally provides someone with a much more solid income, and the future lies in the developments of many STEM fields, the humanities arguably have a much greater role to play than we think. What is a doctor without the empathy instilled in them for bedside manner? What is an engineer without their ethics to stop them from crossing a certain boundary when it comes to innovation?

Arts & Culture

The Roots Under the Stage: Connecting to Culture Through Dance

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You’re standing there, costume on, lights pointing down at you. The music is about to begin, and the crowd has gathered in their seats. Then you count down in your head, “three, two, one,” and hear the pounding drum. The dance, the movements are all there is to remember in this moment. You’ve practiced it for hours, weeks, months and now there is a chance to show off your craft.