An Introduction From Living Arts Editor Weslee Tyler:
2024 was undoubtedly a great year for media enjoyment. From “Dune: Part 2” to “Cowboy Carter” and the hundreds of excellent TV shows released this year (too many of which were unfairly cancelled by Netflix), this past year truly had something to offer everyone. This semester, I have had the pleasure of editing and reading some amazing media reviews from our talented writers here at The Scarlet. As Living Arts Editor, the best part of my job is getting to learn more about my peers through the different music, books, movies, and games that they love and cover. As we move into the new year and a new semester, we on the Editorial Board would like to share some of our favorite releases of 2024. Perhaps you will see some familiar titles or maybe get some good recommendations. I hope you enjoy!
Ava Orofino: “Man on the Inside”
The creator of “The Good Place” Micheal Shur brings Ted Dansen to this Netflix series (that has already gotten picked up for season 2!). Dansen stars as Charles Nieuwendyk, a retired professor who gets hired by a private detective to go undercover in a retirement home in San Francisco. As a lover of “The Good Place”, the casting, the cameos, the humor, the sorrow, the mystery element was like a taste of home. It was so silly and a little sad but I really enjoyed it, a short and sweet end to 2024.
Leo Kerz: Longlegs
This movie was like if Twin Peaks and Se7en had a really funny baby. Love it.
Alistair Borg: The Substance
No horror movie has ever genuinely made me squeamish, until now. This is hands down the best movie I watched in 2024. Every scene is significant and it is definitely worth rewatching. I’m a big fan of feminist horror, so this movie blew me away. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the destruction of the original body for the sake of beauty felt really pertinent to what is happening right now with the return of “heroin chic” and constant manufactured insecurities like “legging legs” and the classic hip-dip hatred. Demi Moore won her first award for her role as Elizabeth Sparkle, and her speech made me realize just how fantastic this casting was. Also, the special effects were fantastic and burned into my brain. Absolutely vile- in a good way. Just watch it.
Morgan Parisse: My Lady Jane
It is a great historical fiction show based on Lady Jane Grey, who was queen for nine days. It was a fun watch, but sadly, they canceled it even after having a very popular first season.
Porter Orvetti: Severance
While I watched many great shows over winter break, one stuck with me more than any other. Severance is an absolutely genius show that once I started, I couldn’t stop watching. The show has a simple yet genius premise. In the world of the sci-fi thriller, people can decide to get a procedure called “severance* that splits their work memories from their non-work ones. When you get the procedure, you are essentially creating a second version of yourself to work on your behalf, living a life of constantly working in a never ending office space. The dual narrative of watching characters at work vs them as “outers” (outside of work) is thrilling and, accompanied by incredible acting, creates a horrifying dystopia that is as believable as it is creepy. If I say any more, I would be spoiling it. I can’t wait to see what happens in season 2!
Sophia Lindstrom: Don’t Forget Me–Maggie Rogers (Album)
From someone who has been a fan since “Heard It In A Past Life” came out in 2019, Maggie Rogers’s fourth studio album does not disappoint. This indie-pop masterpiece explores the inevitable changes that come with getting older, and understanding that at this stage–Rogers turned thirty this year–everyone will be at different places in life. This album also featured in Rogers’s first-ever stadium tour this summer and fall. Though it’s just 10 songs and 35 minutes long, “Don’t Forget Me” stands out as one of the greatest albums of 2024. My favorite songs off the album are “It Was Coming All Along,” “The Kill,” and “Never Going Home,” but the album’s title song, “Don’t Forget Me,” has the strongest writing overall.
Gabe Schmick: Balatro (video game)
Balatro is an indie game created by a single developer known as LocalThunk. The game is a roguelike in which you try to score increasingly high scoring card hands through classic poker hands such as a full house, two pair, etc. On top of this, you earn cards known as jokers, which can create multipliers to your scoring (for instance, the “mad joker” will give you a +20 multiplier if you have a hand with four of a kind. I got this game after bashing it during the Game Awards for having nominations in almost every category. After I had completed my final, I bought myself the game and a Mountain Dew and ended up playing until I realized it was dark outside.
Weslee Tyler: The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman
Fans of the fantasy genre will love Lev Grossman’s newest standalone novel, “The Bright Sword.” The book takes place within the world of Arthurian legend and is set directly after the events of Malory’s “Le Morte d’Arthur.” The story follows Collum, a young warrior who travels to Camelot hoping to find glory in the court of King Arthur, only to find that Arthur and his greatest knights have been killed. Collum and a ragtag group of survivors, the outcasts and oddballs of the Round Table, set out on a quest to rebuild their world. “The Bright Sword” was one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, one that I couldn’t put down and was devastated to finish. Grossman masterfully blends together Celtic and Christian mythology to create a rich and vibrant world. Like all works of Arthuriana, “The Bright Sword” builds upon centuries of literature and legend while adding new and unique elements to the story. With this beautiful and heartbreaking novel, Grossman cements a place for himself among this tradition.
Morgan Martin & Rowan Compton: CHALLENGERS, film by Luca Guadagnino
Despite the lack of acknowledgement this award season, Challengers is definitely one of the most iconic films to be released in 2024. The lead actors (Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Joshua O’Connor) delivered, in my opinion, some of the best performances of their career, out performing nearly every other film I have seen this year. Director Luca Guadagnino truly outdid himself with this one, and I believe this will be a film that will undoubtedly be considered a classic to movie enjoyers in the coming years.
