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100 Years of Song and Poetry: The Modern Stanza of the Hebrew People

Regardless of how thoroughly extensive the cruelty of hatred can be, the Hebrew people have done more than just survive: we have thrived. “To thrive,” however, has nothing to do with tangible success; the Hebrew tribes celebrate the mere yet potent joy of being alive. Throughout history, our community has been forced into diaspora where we were chased by the Santa Inquisicíon, decimated by the rise of the Führer, faced the Russian Pogroms, had our practices outlawed by Colonel Mengistu Mariam in Ethiopia, and were once again forced into exodus by several Middle Eastern countries at the latter half of the 20th century. So, it is simple. Every waking moment that a Jew gets to be alive is a reason to rejoice. What is the lesson of our history if not to never take life for granted? Organized by Brandeis’ Hebrew Department and the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, 100 Years of Song and Poetry had this joy precisely as its central goal: to be a marker of our resilience, celebrating the modern revival of the Hebrew language and a unified Hebrew people. 

Persona: An exploration into the human story

A staple of Boston’s fine arts culture is the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Opened in 1903 after the passing of her husband, John Lowell Gardner, the Gardner Museum was opened as a way for Gardner to share the expansive art collection her husband acquired through trips abroad. Gardner sought to personally connect to her community through the sharing of fine arts and to foster art education in Boston proper. Since 1903, the museum has featured pieces such as Titian’s “The Rape of Europa,” a piece considered one of the most important Renaissance paintings in art history, as well as Rembrandt’s “Self-Portrait, Aged 23,” another highly regarded piece in the art world. From 1903, when Isabella Stewart Gardner opened the doors to her art museum, to the present day, the people of Boston have delighted in the privilege to witness real art and real stories in modern times.

Road to the Oscars: “Sentimental Value” and “Train Dreams”

In the lead-up to the 2026 Academy Awards, many people try to watch all 10 Best Picture nominees to see which movies should be considered the best of the year. However, with the time that it takes to find and watch all of the films, it can be easy to miss a film and then have no idea why it was nominated for Best Picture. But now, you do not have to worry about missing a nominee: the “Road to the Oscars” articles have begun! Over the next two weeks, I will be watching and writing reviews for all 10 Best Picture nominees so that you, faithful Justice readers, can hear my opinions about the films and gain some insight into why each movie was nominated. These reviews will be published primarily on the website, but here in print is our first pairing, so you can read my thoughts.

Psychology, Subtle Storytelling, and Allegorical Interpretation: Here’s What You Missed in Zootopia 2

As a dear friend and I walked into the movie theater, the anticipation of the new Disney movie, “Zootopia 2,” made us wonder about the quality of the movie we were about to see. Was this going to be another hit from the company that carried on the legacy that movies like “Snow White” (1937), “The Lion King” (1994) and “Encanto” (2021) left behind? Or — and this option we feared the most — would this follow the company’s recent unfortunate streak of movies like “Wish” (2023) and “Snow White” (2025) that, though not as bad as people make it out to be, look subpar by Disney standards? 

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“Iron Lung” Review: Blood, Voices and More Blood

A new independent horror film has landed on the big screen with a bloody splash. “Iron Lung,” based on the 2022 video game of the same name, is the most recent passion project from Mark “Markiplier” Fischbach, who wrote, directed, produced and acted in the feature film. For those who are unfamiliar with Fischbach, he is a YouTuber who has been posting gaming content primarily for the past 13 years. At the time of writing “Iron Lung,” he had over 38 million subscribers. Although Fischbach is known for his “let’s plays” videos — especially of the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” games — he has experimented with filmmaking and storytelling on his channel many times over the years. However, “Iron Lung” is his first foray onto the big screen. 

Bad Bunny’s America: The America We all deserve

In times of political instability, art has been a refuge for many time and time again — which you could argue is supremely unsurprising. Art is a fundamentally political sphere, but also one where ideas of progress and liberalism have almost always dominated. The Grammy Awards are meant to recognize the best of the best in musicianship and recording prowess and span more than three hours of scripted speeches, jokes, wins and losses. With this in mind, one would think that the Grammys would be a similarly political event — one where common values of community, compassion and activism are mutually agreed upon. This hasn’t been the case, however. Up until now, the Producers have carefully distanced the event and its place in the cultural zeitgeist from any sort of unequivocal political stance, which seems antithetical to its purpose to begin with. Recognizing art means to recognize the values that come with it — but to the Grammys, high viewership, overly scripted jokes and luxury have been the main priorities, so it seems. That being said, we as a nation are in a time of great stress. America is going through a politically unstable period: large swaths of communities across the country are being targeted, injured and killed and millions of voices have risen in an outcry. If there was a time to get political, it would be now, and the Recording Academy seems to have come to the same conclusion. The question is: Is it enough? 

Modernity at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston

As a part of their “Reimagining Modern Art” collection, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston has revamped and recontextualized works from the early 20th century. In new individual galleries, presented alongside new information and highlighted for their skill and innovation, paintings by Remedios Varo, Joan Miró, René Magritte and more are exhibited with new life and light. Juxtaposed with works by Alexander Calder and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, these new galleries become an explosion of color, a labyrinth of changing forms and an emotive well of oil, canvas and metal. Truly a collection of exemplary works from expressionism, surrealism and modern sculpture, the MFA useum of Fine Arts has done an excellent job at continuing a popular trend in museums of recontextualizing their works in new relationships to one another. As museums constantly endeavor to reconsider and look at works through new lenses, this new gallery expansion is an excellent opportunity to see how museums work with their collections. Additionally, as our nation quickly moves towards the values of the past in a conservative movement that is gripping our globe, modern art highlights the possibilities of a different future.

“Pluribus” from the New Mexican Perspective: More Accurate Than “Breaking Bad”

Vince Gilligan, the creator of the ever-popular shows “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” has done it again. “Pluribus,” Apple TV’s newest foray into science fiction (which, in my opinion, is its strongest genre — just see “Severance”), is Gilligan’s first science fiction story and his third New Mexico–centric show. As someone who grew up in New Mexico and has grown used to hearing people immediately say “Breaking Bad?” any time that I mention where I’m from, I was curious to see how Gilligan, who masterminded one of the most influential shows of the 2010s, was going to present New Mexico in a universe completely disconnected from that of Walter White and Saul Goodman, which is the setting Gilligan’s recurring crew has been working in for the better part of two decades. My biggest question: How would New Mexico be shown?

The Library is for Everyone: Library Lion’s Messages of Empathy and Literacy

As 2026 started to unravel, a new jaw-dropping children’s spectacle proudly roared onto the Adam Theater. “Library Lion,” directed by Ran Bechor, has ended its run and solidified itself as a truly meaningful show in an era of otherwise thoughtless entertainment. As a musical adaptation of the award-winning book by Michelle Knudsen with the same title, the audience was transported into this wonder-filled library, and, behind the children’s amusement, a clear message was portrayed. Through creative blocking, farcical acting, pseudo-melodramatic musical accompaniment and an impressively-built full-functioning lion puppet, “Library Lion” has taught its young audience the importance of empathy when faced with rigid rules while propagating literacy amongst children. 

Finding a New America on The Hellp’s Newest Release

We’re halfway into the 2020s, and so far it has been a decade defined by throwbacks — Y2K fashion is coming out of exile, the 90s are making a reappearance, and — for this review — most importantly, 2010s indie sleaze is back with a vengeance. We saw The Dare suddenly emerge as a new artist to follow in 2024, followed by an onslaught of similar — yet not derivative — bands in his wake: Bassvictim, MGNA Crrrta, The Truth, 2hollis — and, most importantly, The Hellp. The Hellp have been around since 2021, making music drenched in muddy synths, angular drumming and glitchy production that creates a musical experience that, yes, harkens back to the indie sleaze artists of the 2010s (LCD Soundsystem, The Strokes and MGMT, to name a few) but is all the same fresh and intriguing. “Riviera” will be the third album the band has released, and it has a lot to live up to: at their best, the musical chaos that so defines The Hellp’s discography is elevated into something beautifully transcendent — but at their worst, the chaotic nature of The Hellp leads to something undefined and messy. “Riviera” is proving to be an album that might not be that simple to define — for better or for worse. 

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Broadway Playwright, Larissa Fasthorse receives Brandeis' Creative Art Award

Her authorship of “The Thanksgiving Play,” alongside a myriad of feats of great theatrical grandeur, such as an adaptation of Peter Pan on Broadway, makes Larissa Fasthorse more than worthy of our praise and recognition through the Brandeis Creative Arts Award. The Award has been previously granted to notable figures including Leonard Bernstein, Charles Chaplin and Stephen J. Sondheim, with our newest recipient showing her might on equal footing. Fasthorse’s ceremony was held in the afternoon of November 21, 2025 and soon thereafter, she would attend the opening night for the Brandeis Theater Arts Department’s production of “The Thanksgiving Play.”

The UTC’s “Ride the Cyclone”: You Just Had to be There

There is no easy way to encapsulate the thought-provoking, fully and incredibly moving experience that was the Undergraduate Theater Collective’s fall musical, “Ride the Cyclone.” Directed and choreographed by Greg Roitbourd ’26 and assistant directed and choreographed by Kennedy Robertson ’28, the show was flashy, with monumental set pieces designed by Triona Suiter ’27, projections by Milo Giordano ’29, energetic choreography, fun music that occasionally overpowered the singers, and a massive array of costumes designed by Sam Taxman ’27, Jae Fioribello ’28 and Madelyn Zimbalist ’28. The show was laugh-out-loud funny, with characters belittling each other and songs that ranged from a rap about how “awesome” a character’s life was to a glittery song about humanoid-cat aliens — more on that later. It was also incredibly dark, diving headfirst into its central theme: What makes life worth living?

Thoughts on Trump’s Aesthetic Policies

As we enter into the final months of the first year in Donald Trump’s second presidency, America has witnessed many renovations of historical monuments and the generation of new architectural plans for Washington D.C.. With the Aug. 28, 2025 Executive Order “Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again,” the second Trump Administration has stated, 

"Only Murders in the Building” Season Five Took a Gamble and Walked Home Empty-Handed

“Only Murders in the Building,” Hulu’s murder-mystery comedy starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez, has been a favorite of mine since it was first released in 2021. It has tight, consistent humor, a quirky ensemble, unexpected celebrity cameos and most of all, outstanding mysteries. Each episode, new details are revealed: a shocking twist or a new piece of evidence that makes the viewer wonder how they hadn’t seen a critical clue and constantly shifted suspicions between a host of equally likely suspects. For four seasons, I was excited to turn on the television every week to get a step closer to figuring it out, and to see if I could piece together the puzzle before the characters in the show did — and even if I didn’t, the “whodunit” answer still felt like a satisfying conclusion each season.

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