Directed by Kelly Reichardt and released this October, “Certain Women” pensively explores certain distinctively female experiences by presenting snippets of the lives of three women (played by Laura Dern, Michelle Williams and Kristen Stuart) living in the same, small town of Livingston, Montana. The film is set in the cloudy, washed-out, yellow-grey atmosphere of wintertime in Livingston, and its mostly silent score and slow pace makes it a largely visual, meditative film.
Camila Dominguez ’18 exhibited her art project “Pin Up” in Alumni Gym on September 30. The project was for her advanced art seminar on public art and social practice. She placed pictures of current female Amherst students over pictures of male athletic teams, and her installation remained in the gym for about a week, prompting lively discussion between athletes and non-athletes alike. A talented artist and art major, Dominguez’s work has already left its mark at Amherst, and she will surely continue to surprise and stimulate us with her art.
This summer I had the pleasure of discovering the author Karl Ove Knausgaard, a 48-year-old Norwegian who made enormous waves in the literary world for his inimitable six-volume, 3,600-page autobiographical novel titled “My Struggle.” The novel documents Knausgaard’s entire life, from the smallest details of making coffee in the morning, to the overwhelming difficulties of dealing with his father’s death. For fans of Knausgaard who are probably finishing up the series by now, this is old news.
Miu Suzuki is well known among her peers for her impressive performances in Dance and Step at Amherst College (DASAC) and her strong commitment to building community and fighting for progressive causes on campus — both officially and unofficially. Her friends agree that she has an infectiously friendly, conscientious and insightful air about her. When asked to describe Suzuki, her close friend Andrew Lindsay ’16 said, “Sublimity connotes a type of majesty that exceeds representation. Miu Suzuki is sublime.”
Annika Nygren ’16 was inspired to write her senior thesis on romance and intimacy on college campuses after studying abroad in Madrid, Spain. She often refers to her thesis as an exploration of “hookup culture” and its complex effects. I had the fortunate opportunity to sit down with Nygren and discuss her fascinating research and writing.
Rose Miller ’16 is a senior psychology major. Her thesis explores aspects of of friendship, such as how friendships develop, whether or not they last and what people seek most in friendships. Her thesis adviser is Professor Catherine Sanderson in the psychology department.
It’s unfortunately clear that a vibrant music scene doesn’t exist in the mainstream social fabric of Amherst College. In my experience, when concerts happen on campus, very few people know about them and attend them. And on Saturday nights, the social dorms tend to radiate the same ten pop songs. Certainly, people have schoolwork to do, jobs to work and higher priorities than participating in the creation of a more sophisticated musical culture.
