Some people have condemned modern culture as a “culture of death,” prone to immorality and violence. Considering the continued popularity of zombies in film, television and video games, it’s more like a culture of un-death. Read more...
Photo: Universal Studios Hollywood opened its year-round “The Walking Dead” attraction Monday because its seasonal Halloween experience was so popular. (Matthew Fernandez/Daily Bruin)
Elyn Saks felt suffocated, trapped in a room filled with doctors. She lay restrained with leather bounds, her hands and feet tied, she said. It was her first year at Yale Law School; she was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, a psychosis defined by paranoid delusions, hallucinations, dysfunctional ways of thinking and agitated body movements, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Read more...
Photo: UCLA alumnus Stephen Karr will conduct the opera “The Center Cannot Hold” beginning Friday. It was composed by Professor Kenneth Wells based on the memoir of Elyn Saks, a professor at USC, who was previously diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. (Ken Shin/Daily Bruin)
“Big Sky” makes even the most dysfunctional of families look cuddly in comparison. The Geffen Playhouse’s latest show is hilarious and touching; there is something horrible yet intriguing about being privy to another person’s dirty laundry. Read more...
Photo: (Courtesy of Darrett Sanders)
After watching Beyonce perform “Formation” at the Super Bowl, two UCLA alumni said they felt empowered to create something that celebrated their South Asian culture. YouTubers Krishna Kumar and Kausar Mohammed released “Namaste,” a video parody of Beyonce’s song and video “Formation,” in May in order to exaggerate and critique negative stereotypes and to increase the visibility of South Asians in the media. Read more...
Photo: UCLA alumni Kausar Mohammed and Krishna Kumar were inspired by Beyonce’s “Formation” music video to make a parody about South Asian culture. They shot their video completely on an iPhone and filmed in Indian grocery stores and threading salons from their hometowns. (Courtesy of Krishna Kumar)
Josh Lehrman and Kyle Stegina spent hundreds of hours in the glow of their computer screens watching countless viral YouTube videos. The pair had postponed their typical Friday night plans in order to research cyber-world trends and lingo for their upcoming project – Disney Channel’s new TV series. Read more...
Photo: “Bizaardvark” executive producer Eric Friedman said UCLA alumnus Josh Lehrman and partner Kyle Stegina were the “success story” of the Disney Channel Storytellers Program’s first year. Through the program, the pair co-created Disney Channel’s newest show. (Eric McCandless via Disney Channel)
Thuyet Nguyen knelt down in front of Royce Hall and snapped a photo of a graduating senior. The shutter of the camera clicked just as it had in Vietnam when he photographed students playing soccer at the local temple of his hometown. Read more...
Photo: Alumni Sonny Bui and Thuyet Nguyen created Fotohearts in May. They offer free graduation photo shoots in exchange for optional donations toward students in Vietnam. (Courtesy of Thuyet Nguyen and Sonny Bui)
Sahirr Sethhi and his film crew prepared for a scene in India’s Kanha National Park, utilizing the sunset’s tint on the green environment as the backdrop for a shot. Read more...
Photo: UCLA alumnus Sahirr Sethhi won a College Television Award – a student Emmy Award – for his thesis film “Zoya,” which was filmed in the forests of Kanha National Park in India. (Miriam Bribiesca/Photo editor)
