Saturday, April 4

Film with diverse cast depicts plight of undocumented transgender Latinas

Jennifer scours every corner of her cluttered room, but she can’t find her estrogen pills or the money to buy a refill. Her boyfriend doesn’t understand why she resorts to the sex trade to keep her transition going, but as an undocumented transgender Latina woman, she doesn’t have much of a choice. Read more...

Photo: Fine arts graduate student Steven Liang (back left) directed the short film “Afuera,” about the struggles of transgender Latinas. The film was written by Steven Canals (back center) and stars Jennifer London (front right). (Courtesy of Steven Liang)



Album Review: ‘Dangerous Woman’

Ariana Grande has never been less apologetic than with her most recent album, “Dangerous Woman.” Last July, the tween-pop singer was caught on a bakery’s surveillance camera licking a doughnut she did not buy and then proclaiming “I hate America.” Grande’s words generated massive backlash from people who accused her of shaming overweight Americans. Read more...

Photo: (Courtesy of Republic Records)


Love | Hate: How will The Lonely Island’s upcoming film critique the music industry?

Comedy trio The Lonely Island is stretching their popular music videos into an upcoming full-length film “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.” The film, set to premiere June 3, depicts the life of Conner4Real, an egotistical pop star finding a way to climb back into the spotlight after his last album flopped. Read more...

Photo: Comedy trio The Lonely Island, known primarily for its music videos, will release its first feature-length film, “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping,” on June 3. (Courtesy of Paper Magazine)



Muslim students to unveil truth behind stigmas at the Hijab Monologues

Damali Stennette was wearing her hijab when a Christian preacher singled her out from the Bruin Walk crowd. The preacher said, “You are evil, and everything that will come out of your womb is evil because you are Muslim.” Stennette, a fourth-year anthropology student, said she chooses to continue wearing the hijab despite occasional harassment because Islam, like her race and gender, is an integral part of her identity. Read more...

Photo: Despite experiencing Islamophobia, fourth-year anthropology student Damali Stennette wears a hijab because, like her race and gender, it is an integral part of her identity. She will join Muslim UCLA students – women and men – in sharing their relationships with the Muslim custom of wearing the hijab through a spoken word performance at the Hijab Monologues on Tuesday in Franz Hall. (Daniel Alcazar/Photo editor)


Second Take: Will the ‘Jumanji’ reboot be a downgrade from the childhood classic?

Hollywood’s recent trend of remaking timeless classics to exploit fan bases for higher profits clearly has no problem trampling all over my childhood favorites. The latest classic film to fall victim to the money-grabbing is “Jumanji,” the 1995 fantasy-adventure comedy film starring the late, great Robin Williams and co-starring Bonnie Hunt, Kirsten Dunst and Bradley Pierce. Read more...

Photo: The 1996 film “Jumanji,” starring Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt, Kirsten Dunst and Bradley Pierce, will be remade with actors Jack Black, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Kevin Hart. (TriStar Pictures)