Arts and Entertainment
When Objects Dream: Man Ray and His Art from Another World
By Ruby Kennedy
The work of Surrealism founding father Man Ray is on display at the Met, from rayographs to cinepoems, and it shines a light on what purpose art was serving after World War I. Art/Photo Request: Le Violon d'Ingres (1924) or a piece from Champs Délicieux
Peacemaker… What a Joke
By Kabir Madan
Although Season Two had great character moments and an interesting premise, the uneven pacing significantly held it back. 11
Mad Max x Hugh Glass: Chaos, Revolution, and Paul Thomas Anderson
By Kabir Madan
The positives clearly outweigh the negatives, due to the amazing cast and direction, as well as the overall experience through the storyline and entertainment. Art/Photo Request:
Kinhaven Music School Semester Program, an Innovative Classical Music Initiative
By Maggie Miao
Kinhaven Music School’s new Semester Program immerses high-school musicians in a unique experience where they can receive high-level music instruction while maintaining a regular academic schedule.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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!
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.
Caught Stealing: Old Tropes in Old New York.
Caught Stealing is a contradiction: both a clichéd crime flick and a surprisingly layered performance piece.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
When Objects Dream: Man Ray and His Art from Another World
By Ruby Kennedy
The work of Surrealism founding father Man Ray is on display at the Met, from rayographs to cinepoems, and it shines a light on what purpose art was serving after World War I. Art/Photo Request: Le Violon d'Ingres (1924) or a piece from Champs Délicieux
Peacemaker… What a Joke
By Kabir Madan
Although Season Two had great character moments and an interesting premise, the uneven pacing significantly held it back. 11
Mad Max x Hugh Glass: Chaos, Revolution, and Paul Thomas Anderson
By Kabir Madan
The positives clearly outweigh the negatives, due to the amazing cast and direction, as well as the overall experience through the storyline and entertainment. Art/Photo Request:
Kinhaven Music School Semester Program, an Innovative Classical Music Initiative
By Maggie Miao
Kinhaven Music School’s new Semester Program immerses high-school musicians in a unique experience where they can receive high-level music instruction while maintaining a regular academic schedule.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Caught Stealing: Old Tropes in Old New York.
Caught Stealing is a contradiction: both a clichéd crime flick and a surprisingly layered performance piece.
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.
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!
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.