Tuesday, February 24

Hear This Not That: John Legend breaks barriers, Pete Doherty brings stale sounds

Music fans can find it hard to decide which albums to stream and which to skip, considering the surplus of new music released. Each week, A&E columnist Sean Lee will compare two newly released albums and recommend which one students should listen to. Read more...

Photo: John Legend’s fifth studio album “Darkness and Light” (left) and Pete Doherty of The Libertines’ “Hamburg Demonstrations” (right) were both released Friday. (Columbia Records (left) and BMG Rights Management (right)).


New study break: UCLA students turn to memes

Students’ latest method of procrastinating for finals is sharing UCLA-related memes. The “UCLA Memes for Sick AF Tweens” Facebook page has gained about 8,000 group members since its creation on Nov. Read more...

Photo: A Facebook page created on Nov. 22 has become a platform for students to post memes about everything from Chancellor Gene Block to Bruin Plate culture. (UCLA Memes for Sick AF Tweens)


Q&A: Documentary producer talks skewed American media portrayal of Israel

Sut Jhally said propagandistic media has contributed to the public’s understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The University of Massachusetts Amherst professor hopes to occupy UCLA students’ minds with a different story from the media’s. Read more...

Photo: University of Massachusetts professor Sut Jhally screened his film “The Occupation of the American Mind” at UCLA on Wednesday. (Courtesy of Sut Jhally)


Herb Alpert School of Music to name founding dean in winter quarter

The first school of music in the University of California system will soon have its first dean. The Herb Alpert School of Music, designated as a standalone school at UCLA in January, launched a dean search with a job announcement in May. Read more...

Photo: The Herb Alpert School of Music at UCLA has narrowed down the candidates for its first dean to three finalists from University of Missouri-Kansas City, Columbia University and Boston University. (Daily Bruin file photo)


Q&A: Alumna, director Donna Deitch reflects on 1985 film ‘Desert Hearts’

Alumna Donna Deitch said it takes a powerful, creative force to stand up to injustice. Deitch attended the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in the 1970s and identifies as lesbian. Read more...

Photo: School of Theater, Film and Television executive board member Donna Deitch directed the 1985 film “Desert Hearts,” which will be screened in New York for its 30th anniversary. (Courtesy of Terri Jentz)


Grad student challenges traditional depictions of women in play ‘Eclipsed’

Jayongela Wilder is tired of seeing women in film and theater portrayed as fragile wives, submissive maids or incompetent lovers. Wilder, a graduate student in theater, seeks to change the stereotypical depiction presented in film and theater by directing “Eclipsed,” a play that tracks the tribulations and survival stories of five Liberian women during the Second Liberian Civil War. Read more...

Photo: Graduate student Jayongela Wilder will direct “Eclipsed” at UCLA. An all-female African-American cast will present the play about the Second Liberian Civil War. (Sihui Song/Daily Bruin)


Theater review: ‘Irving Berlin’s White Christmas’

Although Los Angeles doesn’t get snow, the stage production of “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” provides plenty of holiday spirit and song. “White Christmas,” which opened Tuesday at the Pantages Theater and runs until Sunday, revels in the classic song and dance of 1950s Broadway musicals, providing a lighthearted way to ring in the holiday season. Read more...

Photo: “White Christmas,” based on the 1954 musical of the same name, follows the story of army buddies-turned-music recording stars who fall in love with a pair of singing sisters. (​​Courtesy of Hollywood Pantages Theater)