Arts - Washington Square News

Review: Mohammed Amer deconstructs the Palestinian American experience in Netflix’s ‘Mo’

Mohammed Amer stars in his own semi-autobiographical Netflix comedy about struggling to balance his Palestinian culture and traditions in America.

Yezen Saadah, Staff Writer • September 9, 2022

Mohammed Mustafa Amer, most commonly known as Mo Amer, has been a prominent figure in mainstream Arab American media for years, with renowned stand-up specials including “Mo...

Listen To This: After five years, Björk returns with ‘Atopos’

Read about this week’s most notable singles by The 1975, FLETCHER and more.

Yas Akdag, Candace Patrick, Nicolas Pedrero-Setzer, Abbie Thompson and Amy Wang • September 8, 2022

Welcome back to Listen To This! Our first edition of the fall semester starts off strong with plenty of excellent releases spanning artpop, Britpop, electropop … well, just all...

Off the Radar: ‘Breaker Morant’ shatters illusions of benevolent empires and noble wars

Off the Radar is a weekly column surveying overlooked films available to students for free via NYU’s streaming partnerships. “Breaker Morant” is available to stream on Kanopy.

Mick Gaw, Staff Writer • September 8, 2022

“Breaker Morant” opens to an orchestra of men, all dressed in military khakis with their pith helmets, playing their brass instruments under the Union Jack. The film then cuts...

Review: ‘Lapvona’ encapsulates abject apoliticism

As Ottessa Moshfegh’s trademark gallows humor grows formulaic, her newest novel does little more than snicker at a group of Slavic peasants.

Natasha R. Roy, Contributing Writer • September 7, 2022

Everything about Ottessa Moshfegh’s newest novel, “Lapvona,” is noncommittal. It is set in a vaguely medieval era, in a vaguely Eastern European village, and espouses a completely...

Review: ‘Funny Pages’ finds soul between silliness and seediness

Owen Kline’s directorial debut hurls into the madcap world of underground comics with gleeful crassness. “Funny Pages” is currently playing at Film at Lincoln Center and is available for rent on video on demand.

Nicolas Pedrero-Setzer, Arts Editor • September 7, 2022

From the studio that distributed contemporary coming-of-age classics like “Lady Bird” and “20th Century Women,” Owen Kline’s “Funny Pages” is A24’s latest spin...

How Vivien Goldman became NYU’s Punk Professor

What do Bob Marley and the Slits have in common? NYU professor Vivien Goldman, for one.

Clara Scholl, Arts Editor • September 6, 2022

Vivien Goldman, an adjunct reggae and punk professor at the Tisch School of the Arts, grew up surrounded by music in her London home, where she lived with her Jewish parents who...

Incoming filmmakers show why cinema matters at NYU Welcome Film Festival

The NYU Welcome Film Festival is an annual event for first-years and transfer students to showcase their films.

Caitlyn McConnell, Staff Writer • September 5, 2022

Despite theaters fighting low attendance and audiences exhausted of big budget cookie-cutter films, NYU students have shown that the future of film is bright. On Aug. 28, students...

Director & star of A24’s ‘Funny Pages’ talk comics, subversive mentors & trusting your voice

WSN spoke with director Owen Kline and actor Daniel Zolghadri about their recent raunchy comedy. “Funny Games” is currently playing at Film at Lincoln Center and is available for rent on video on demand.

Nicolas Pedrero-Setzer, Arts Editor • September 1, 2022

Spoiler warning: This article includes spoilers for “Funny Pages.” Several years in the making, Owen Kline’s directorial debut “Funny Pages” offers a laugh that’s...

Electric Zoo 3.0: NYC’s biggest electronic music festival is back

New York City’s largest EDM festival takes place this weekend. We broke down who’s playing and why you should go.

Michelle Zhou, Contributing Writer • September 1, 2022

Ravers rejoice! Electric Zoo, fondly known as EZoo, will be returning yet again to Randall’s Island Park this Labor Day weekend, Sept. 2-4. This year’s futuristic theme —...

Listen to This: beabadoobee maintains she’ll ‘See you Soon’

Read about this week’s most notable singles by MUNA, Flume and more.

Yas Akdag, Isabella Armus, Holden Lay and Nicolas Pedrero-Setzer • May 5, 2022

Folks, here we are … the final edition of “Listen to This” of the semester. We’ve enjoyed writing up our favorite — and sometimes least favorite — singles of the week...

Review: ‘The Trojan Women’ is a Native American Greek tragedy

AMERINDA’s adaptation of Euripides’ classic play centers the strength and resilience of Indigenous women in the face of colonization. Performances run until May 15 at Theater for the New City.

Sabrina Choudhary, Deputy Managing Editor • May 5, 2022

I first saw “The Trojan Women” during a rehearsal in a dance studio at Abrons Arts Center, a few days before opening night. Even without the sets, lighting, music or costumes...

Q&A: Time, place and live music with The Front Bottoms’ Brian Sella

The frontman of the New Jersey-born punk rock band spoke with WSN about the evolution of the band’s style and returning to perform in his home state.

Alex Tey, Editor-in-Chief • May 5, 2022

“Everyone blooms in their own time,” promises the first track on The Front Bottoms’ 2020 album “In Sickness & In Flames.” With the pandemic putting live music on...