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From Springsteen to Cole: Finding Meaning in Music Biopics

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This week’s blog will be an exploration of biopics. Biopics don’t just celebrate icons; they also explore identity, trauma, and resilience through music. They offer a connection to fascinating real-life figures, provide insight into significant historical events, and help humanize celebrities by showing that no matter how rich and famous they are, they still experience universal human struggles.  The new biopic, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere , starring Jeremy Allen White , takes us back to the early 1980s, when Bruce was on the cusp of global superstardom but struggling to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past. As he records Nebraska , a stripped-down masterpiece that feels worlds away from Born to Run , we see a man torn between who he’s become and where he came from. This biopic is not just about fame or music; it’s about searching for meaning when the spotlight starts to feel overwhelming.  Take Livin’ for Love: The Natalie Cole Story . Gra...

A Month of Killers: Slashers Born from True Crime

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There’s something uniquely terrifying about horror movies that draw from real-life events. While masked killers and supernatural slashers have their place, the idea that the story on screen really happened is what really changes. Over the years, some of the scariest movies of all time have taken inspiration from true crime cases.  Slashers are always frightening , but those based on true events leave a lingering fear after the movie is over. They remind us that evil doesn’t always come with a mask or a supernatural force; it can be a neighbor, a co-worker, or a stranger.  Here are some horror films based on real stories that will terrify you this Halloween!  The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) Perhaps the most infamous “true crime” slasher, Tobe Hooper’s masterpiece was loosely inspired by Ed Gein, a murderer and grave robber in Wisconsin who was known for crafting household items and clothing from human remains. While Gein’s crimes weren’t actually done with a chainsaw...

The Rest of Us and the Resilience of a Generation After 9/11

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Today marks 24 years since the September 11th attacks , a day that changed our country and the world forever. On that morning in 2001, four planes were hijacked by terrorists, two struck the Twin Towers in New York City, one hit the Pentagon in Virginia, and the fourth, United Flight 93, crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers bravely fought back. Nearly 3,000 lives were lost, and the impact is still felt deeply by families, survivors, and all who remember where they were that day. This week's blog invites you to watch The Rest of Us , directed by Dr. Linda G. Mills , an accomplished artist, author, scholar, and the 17th president of New York University . The film explores the tenacity of students confronting a mental health crisis at Blair University's campus. Set in the Fall of 2001 at the campus of Blair University, amidst the aftermath of 9/11, a diverse group of college students spring into action when confronted by the reality of suicide, which forces them to face a c...