Observer Department: Arts and Entertainment
Beauty in the mundane: Find inspiration, challenge yourself and see things differently
A big thing right now is finding strong enough inspiration during these trying times that will give you a desire to create. A lot of creatives have found new ways of finding inspiration, and it’s been a surprise to realize that sometimes inspiration comes from the things that we might…
Limited resources: Making the most with what you have
As if the pandemic and social distancing wasn’t enough, it seems like even our resources are growing scarce. Things have been tough lately and we all may not have access to everything we once did. With unemployment rates higher than ever, a lot of creatives are struggling and are very…
Interactive comedy hour offers a night of laughts
On Wednesday evening March 3rd, NECC Student Life Activities presented an online interactive comedy hour to have fun and loosen up life during COVID times, hosted by professional stand-up comedian and adjunct professor David Rattigan. The crowd warmed up “with a tiny bit of education” as Rattigan put it, with…
How local artists are keeping in touch with creativity during COVID-19
When it comes to creativity and artistic expression, human interactions and experiences can sometimes be one’s main source of inspiration. The COVID-19 pandemic has made our precious and ‘normal’ lives seem like a distant memory. Every group of people—from teens to retirees, infants to the elderly—have been impacted by this…
Students engage with Black History Month through African dance class
On Feb. 24, students gathered through Zoom to meet with Bisi from Izizwe Dance Studio, stationed in Lawrence Massachusetts. The goal was to learn more about Black History Month and culture. Students learned different dance moves and routines while the cheerful and traditional music played. Stephanie Haskell, the student life…
NECC alumn, Gyani Wasp, discusses creative inspirations and pursuit of a career in filmmaking
Gyani Pradhan Wong Ah Sui (a.k.a. Gyani Wasp), 18, is an international student and NECC film major alumni who is currently majoring in screen studies at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. Originating from Mauritius, a country in East Africa where his father grew up, Wasp moved to Sikkim, India, where…
“The Ringer:” Lighthearted fun or deeply problematic?
If someone told you that there was a comedic movie, about a normal man who lies to compete in The Special Olympics, you would be rightly outraged. This is the basic plot of the movie “The Ringer” but the movie is deeper than that in the way it depicts its…
Books to read this Black History Month
This Black History Month, reading and exploring the many the works of Black writers and novelists is just one quick way of supporting and celebrating Black history. Each of the novels and collections on this list are a testament to just how inimitable the illustration of the black experience is.…
Music review: ‘Whole Lotta Red,’ whole lotta greateness or a whole lotta hype?
On December 25th at 12:00 am on Christmas, the Atlanta rapper Playboi Carti dropped his long awaited second studio album “"Whole Lotta Red"”, it received mixed reviews from the fans but to fully understand the album and the strenuous release schedule we must go over the brief history of the…
Super Bowl Sunday 2021
This past year has been difficult for people everywhere. Every rising month seems to come with an unexpected curveball. With Super Bowl Sunday being held in February 2021, this was a big surprise for a lot of people. Throughout the year 2020 people were forced to transfer to online work,…