Arts and Entertainment
Snails, Seahorses, and Modernist Pottery
In 61 stunning works, Making it Modern explores how turn-of-the-century European ceramicists took the ideas of the modernist movement and married them with the traditions of pottery.
The Sydney Sweeney Ad: Our Thoughts
By The Arts & Entertainment Department
In a rare moment of consensus for the department, our esteemed artists and entertainers share their general skepticism about the cultural significance of American Eagle’s recent ad campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney.
Weapons Hits its Target
Weapons, directed by Zach Cregger, is a zingy, funny, yet spine-chilling horror movie that exceeds expectations and serves to delight viewers.
Big Thief’s Double Infinity: Exploring Love and What Can’t Be Said
By Mira Anant
Big Thief’s new album Double Infinity is a raw, exploratory folk-rock record that embraces imperfection and contradiction, using Adrianne Lenker’s intimate lyricism and the band’s loosened sound to explore love, memory, and the beauty of the unknown.
PlayAsia #5: End of Summer Albums
With the end of Summer comes new music: new releases from Asian music artists to add to the playlist.
The Conflicted Wit of Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend (2025)
By Sofia Sen
Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend falls flat with unoriginal lyrics, overused sensual themes, and a confused direction that backtracks her past success
The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards: Some Deserved, Some Not
By Sara Bhuiyan
The 2025 VMAs was a ceremony full of amazing performances and some questionably picked award recipients.
Playlist
By The Arts & Entertainment Department
School’s back and our phones, laptops, and other internet enabled devices are all gone. With their New York Times and Spotify apps locked away in a velcro pouch, Stuyvesant students have returned to using The Spectator as their main source of news and entertainment.
Its a Bird! Its a Plane! Its Superman (2025)!
By Kabir Madan
Although Superman falls into many modern superhero flick cliches and plot points, its uniquely hopeful and positive messaging makes it a breath of fresh air in an era of superhero-fatigue.
Justin Bieber Redefines His ‘Swag’
By Sama Daga
With SWAG, Justin Bieber trades teenage bravado for a quieter, more honest portrait of adulthood and love.
Look Up!
By The Arts & Entertainment Department
The Arts & Entertainment Department curates a James Gunn–style playlist that reimagines a Stuyvesant student as a superhero, mixing hip-hop, rock, trap, and alternative vibes!
Ring, Ring, Ring, Tyler Has a New Album Out!
Tyler the Creator released his newest album DON'T TAP THE GLASS, an upbeat call for listeners to dance and step away from the realities of the world.
Rot and Rain: A Season of Decay in The Last of Us
By Sama Daga
The Last of Us Season Two is a bold, brutal dive into grief and revenge that trades comfort for raw emotional honesty.
“Scandinavian” Scarves and More: The Erasure of South Asian Influence on Western Fashion
By Mira Anant
The frequent appropriation and rebranding of South Asian influence in fashion without acknowledgment reflects a deeper issue of cultural erasure, highlighting the urgent need for genuine appreciation, historical recognition, and ethical collaboration.
Bread, Brotherhood, and Bracknell: Reviewing the STC’s The Importance of Being Earnest
By Kabir Madan, Oscar Scribner
STC’s Spring comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest, was a triumphant, laughter-filled production that emphasized the promise of Stuyvesant’s future productions.
Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) Was Pretty Fantastic
By Emi Shimada
Fantastic Four: First Steps creates a visually-stunning, heartwarming viewing experience featuring some writing missteps.
Caught Stealing: Old Tropes in Old New York.
Caught Stealing is a contradiction: both a clichéd crime flick and a surprisingly layered performance piece.
A Minecraft Movie: Charming or Poorly-Written?
A Minecraft Movie has just been released, but is its bad writing enough to undermine its sincerity to the source material?
Recasting the Past and Shaping the Future
By Albert Shen, Elizabeth Chao
Recasting the Past, the Met’s newest asian art exhibition, offers a fresh perspective on the art of Chinese bronzes and works to establish later bronzes’s cultural significance (with an interview with Curator Pengliang Lu).
The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen is Born Again
By Kabir Madan
While certainly weaker than any of the original seasons, especially due to a weaker supporting cast, Daredevil: Born Again delivered excellent action, great legal cases, and two final episodes that show promise for season two.
How A Miku Who Can’t Sing Speaks Volumes
Colorful Stage! A Miku Who Can’t Sing hits the big screen, cementing itself as a milestone in Vocaloid history… but is it only for the fans?
Lust for a Deceased Head: Richard Strauss’s Salome at the Met Opera
By Albert Shen
Opera review for Salome at the Met
“A Century of The New Yorker”: The NYPL’s Love Letter to the Magazine
The New York Public Library’s exhibit “A Century of The New Yorker” honors the unique, distinctive style of The New Yorker while also giving viewers a clear understanding of the publication’s history.
Grime, Gloss, and the Death of Post-Sovietism
Gvasalia’s latest stunt with Balenciaga marks the surgical erasure of Post-Soviet culture he once championed, replaced with an austere, corporate elegance.
Tempered Rebellion in We Live in a Society
JPEGMAFIA and Flume came together in the EP We Live in a Society for an artistically unbalanced collaboration.
American Sublime: Recognition of the Black American Dream
By Ruby Kennedy
Amy Sherald’s Whitney exhibit American Sublime motivates viewers to clear a space in realism for all Americans to achieve the American Dream.
Ethnofiction’s Rebirth: Fusing Memory and Documentary
Ethnofiction’s growing influence in modern cinema directly provokes traditional documentaries, underscoring the importance of first-person storytelling.
Sinners: A Coogler Masterpiece
By Sofia Sen
Although Sinners stumbles in its attempt to weave together more complex themes with horror elements, Coogler’s ambition is evident as glimpses of the film’s true potential shine through.
Thunderbolts* Jolts the MCU Back to Life
By Kabir Madan
With exhilarating action, deep storytelling, and an instantly lovable band of misfits, Thunderbolts* is easily one of the strongest films Marvel has released in the post-Endgame era.
Through Gilded Doors: A Homecoming at the Frick
The Frick Collection’s reopening blends historic charm with subtle renovations, offering an intimate setting for famed works of art.
The Opera of Terror - Poulenc’s Díalogues Des Carmélites in Juilliard
By Albert Shen
Reviewing The Juilliard School’s performance of the opera Díalogues Des Carmélites
F1: Cliché Yet Thrilling
By Molly Gupta
A review of F1: The Movie (2025), a film that is entertaining and enjoyable, despite the cliché plot and shallow relationships.
Rot and Rain: A Season of Decay in The Last of Us
By Sama Daga
The Last of Us Season Two is a bold, brutal dive into grief and revenge that trades comfort for raw emotional honesty.
“Scandinavian” Scarves and More: The Erasure of South Asian Influence on Western Fashion
By Mira Anant
The frequent appropriation and rebranding of South Asian influence in fashion without acknowledgment reflects a deeper issue of cultural erasure, highlighting the urgent need for genuine appreciation, historical recognition, and ethical collaboration.
Bread, Brotherhood, and Bracknell: Reviewing the STC’s The Importance of Being Earnest
By Kabir Madan, Oscar Scribner
STC’s Spring comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest, was a triumphant, laughter-filled production that emphasized the promise of Stuyvesant’s future productions.
An Impossible Mission… One Last Time
By Kabir Madan
While Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (2025) is weighed down at times by heavy exposition and clunky plotting, these flaws are negligible compared to the emotional payoff and jaw-dropping action.
Lilo and Stitch: Changed For the Better or For the Worse?
By Sara Bhuiyan
The Lilo and Stitch live-action remake changes the plot of the original film, but do the changes make the film better or worse?
How A Miku Who Can’t Sing Speaks Volumes
Colorful Stage! A Miku Who Can’t Sing hits the big screen, cementing itself as a milestone in Vocaloid history… but is it only for the fans?
Lust for a Deceased Head: Richard Strauss’s Salome at the Met Opera
By Albert Shen
Opera review for Salome at the Met
“A Century of The New Yorker”: The NYPL’s Love Letter to the Magazine
The New York Public Library’s exhibit “A Century of The New Yorker” honors the unique, distinctive style of The New Yorker while also giving viewers a clear understanding of the publication’s history.
Grime, Gloss, and the Death of Post-Sovietism
Gvasalia’s latest stunt with Balenciaga marks the surgical erasure of Post-Soviet culture he once championed, replaced with an austere, corporate elegance.
Tempered Rebellion in We Live in a Society
JPEGMAFIA and Flume came together in the EP We Live in a Society for an artistically unbalanced collaboration.
American Sublime: Recognition of the Black American Dream
By Ruby Kennedy
Amy Sherald’s Whitney exhibit American Sublime motivates viewers to clear a space in realism for all Americans to achieve the American Dream.
Ethnofiction’s Rebirth: Fusing Memory and Documentary
Ethnofiction’s growing influence in modern cinema directly provokes traditional documentaries, underscoring the importance of first-person storytelling.
A Minecraft Movie: Charming or Poorly-Written?
A Minecraft Movie has just been released, but is its bad writing enough to undermine its sincerity to the source material?
Sinners: A Coogler Masterpiece
By Sofia Sen
Although Sinners stumbles in its attempt to weave together more complex themes with horror elements, Coogler’s ambition is evident as glimpses of the film’s true potential shine through.
Thunderbolts* Jolts the MCU Back to Life
By Kabir Madan
With exhilarating action, deep storytelling, and an instantly lovable band of misfits, Thunderbolts* is easily one of the strongest films Marvel has released in the post-Endgame era.
Through Gilded Doors: A Homecoming at the Frick
The Frick Collection’s reopening blends historic charm with subtle renovations, offering an intimate setting for famed works of art.
Recasting the Past and Shaping the Future
By Albert Shen, Elizabeth Chao
Recasting the Past, the Met’s newest asian art exhibition, offers a fresh perspective on the art of Chinese bronzes and works to establish later bronzes’s cultural significance (with an interview with Curator Pengliang Lu).
The Opera of Terror - Poulenc’s Díalogues Des Carmélites in Juilliard
By Albert Shen
Reviewing The Juilliard School’s performance of the opera Díalogues Des Carmélites
The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen is Born Again
By Kabir Madan
While certainly weaker than any of the original seasons, especially due to a weaker supporting cast, Daredevil: Born Again delivered excellent action, great legal cases, and two final episodes that show promise for season two.
The Noguchi Museum, A Hidden Gem of NYC
The legacy of mid-20th-century artist Isamu Noguchi lives on at his museum in Astoria.
The Old Therebefore: Sunrise on the Reaping’s Success
A review and analysis of the newest Hunger Games release.
So Close to What: Tate McRae’s Pop Throwback
By Molly Gupta
A review of Tate McRae’s most recent album, So Close to What; although somewhat redundant, it is well put together and musically appealing.
Invincible Pulls No Punches With its Third Season
By Kabir Madan
The third season of Invincible is arguably the greatest, with compelling stories, excellent writing, and amazing voice acting
Snails, Seahorses, and Modernist Pottery
In 61 stunning works, Making it Modern explores how turn-of-the-century European ceramicists took the ideas of the modernist movement and married them with the traditions of pottery.
The Sydney Sweeney Ad: Our Thoughts
By The Arts & Entertainment Department
In a rare moment of consensus for the department, our esteemed artists and entertainers share their general skepticism about the cultural significance of American Eagle’s recent ad campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney.
Weapons Hits its Target
Weapons, directed by Zach Cregger, is a zingy, funny, yet spine-chilling horror movie that exceeds expectations and serves to delight viewers.
Big Thief’s Double Infinity: Exploring Love and What Can’t Be Said
By Mira Anant
Big Thief’s new album Double Infinity is a raw, exploratory folk-rock record that embraces imperfection and contradiction, using Adrianne Lenker’s intimate lyricism and the band’s loosened sound to explore love, memory, and the beauty of the unknown.
PlayAsia #5: End of Summer Albums
With the end of Summer comes new music: new releases from Asian music artists to add to the playlist.
The Conflicted Wit of Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend (2025)
By Sofia Sen
Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend falls flat with unoriginal lyrics, overused sensual themes, and a confused direction that backtracks her past success
The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards: Some Deserved, Some Not
By Sara Bhuiyan
The 2025 VMAs was a ceremony full of amazing performances and some questionably picked award recipients.
Playlist
By The Arts & Entertainment Department
School’s back and our phones, laptops, and other internet enabled devices are all gone. With their New York Times and Spotify apps locked away in a velcro pouch, Stuyvesant students have returned to using The Spectator as their main source of news and entertainment.
Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) Was Pretty Fantastic
By Emi Shimada
Fantastic Four: First Steps creates a visually-stunning, heartwarming viewing experience featuring some writing missteps.
Caught Stealing: Old Tropes in Old New York.
Caught Stealing is a contradiction: both a clichéd crime flick and a surprisingly layered performance piece.
Its a Bird! Its a Plane! Its Superman (2025)!
By Kabir Madan
Although Superman falls into many modern superhero flick cliches and plot points, its uniquely hopeful and positive messaging makes it a breath of fresh air in an era of superhero-fatigue.
Justin Bieber Redefines His ‘Swag’
By Sama Daga
With SWAG, Justin Bieber trades teenage bravado for a quieter, more honest portrait of adulthood and love.