Are you ready to relive your childhood? Or continue your hobby as an adult? The ASLC has the perfect event coming up. One word: Legos. Who doesn’t love Legos? The silly and whimsical, hard rectangular blocks that many of us can remember fondly from our childhood. I can’t think of anything better than a party dedicated to this toy. Get ready and mark your calendar for September 9th from 4 PM to 6:30 PM for one of the best days of your college career. And don’t be shy because all are welcome to this event!

Ancient Greece started thousands of years ago. Being one of the first advanced civilizations, not only is its lore rich and diverse, but much of the modern-day also has roots in Greece or Greek traditions. One of these similarities is through the ever-growing media landscape. The influence of Greek mythology on contemporary media has been profound. There are many examples of media that are directly associated with Greek mythology or make reference to it. I am Greek- American and I grew up listening to old Greek folk tales and myths. It was very exciting for me as a child, as well as now, to see that Greek myths are greatly represented in media. You might wonder why they have stuck around so long. Well, the power they hold has meaning for many people. The values, ethics, and morals they pass down through storytelling are something many cultures have in common.

Thirty-six years after the first film, audiences had the opportunity to bundle into theatres to view Top Gun: Maverick, the long-awaited sequel to 1986’s Top Gun. Reaching Mach-10, the action sequel hauled in more than a billion dollars at the worldwide box office and became the global blockbuster of the year. Many directors and studios generally shy away from sequels for the simple fact that they are difficult to make. Recapturing the lightning in a bottle success of a first film is tough. However, building on a first installment’s foundation to meaningfully explore different stories and new characters is even more challenging. Top Gun: Maverick proves that this laborious task is achievable. Revisiting the Goose-Maverick relationship at its heart, making callbacks to fan-favorite moments from the original, and displaying the soaring technological advancements made during its lengthy absence, Top Gun: Maverick leaves audiences mesmerized.

The American public education system while, having undoubtable strengths, has been a lesson in imperfection. For the past fifty years, funding constraints, compensation dilemmas, and resource shortages have been perennial plagues of an arrangement designed to educate the Union’s brightest. Abbott Elementary takes a deep dive into these issues through the eyes of comedy. Written in large as an ode to educators, Abbott delivers necessary commentary on an often-defective system. The show deftly highlights the crippling obstacles faced by the nation’s most important institutions, while unearthing nostalgia, sharing laughs, and delivering brilliant deadpans.

If you’re anything like me, you look forward to the summer semester for its calmer, less stressful course load, not to mention Tallahassee’s diminished traffic (as a college-driver, I would like to apologize on behalf of my schoolmates for the nonsense we pull on Tennessee St). With the reduced summer coursework, you might be looking to fill some of the time that’s been freed. Luckily, streaming platforms are here to capitalize off your boredom, with a great deal of shows and seasons premiering throughout the months of June, July, and August.

Bel-Air and Atlanta, with undeniable bravado and charisma, captured the imaginations of viewers and reinvigorated modern storytelling in unlikely ways. The story behind the creation of these two televised gems, even more unlikely. Before solidifying their spots in the cultural zeitgeist, neither drama was certain to make it to the screen; their origin stories themselves bordering on the edge of sheer serendipity and limitless luck. What’s unique about Atlanta and Bel-Air, is not their cool characters, exhilarating arcs, timeless twists or ‘blink-and-you-miss-it’ moments. In defiance, it’s how both creative entities manage to tackle serious issues, explore meaningful themes and unapologetically challenge and change the narrative for coming-of-age Black & POC stories on television, in avant garde fashion.

With the new season of Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy being released June 22nd, Elliot Page has announced that his character in the TV show will be transitioning from Vanya to Viktor Hargreeves. In his Instagram post, Page re-introduces his character as Viktor Hargreeves. Upon Page’s announcement, the character’s new gender identity within the show was widely celebrated, both because the change helped to reflect Page’s own journey with gender identity, and also because of the historic moment it represented to let a character transition alongside their actor. In fact, the transgender community has a disheartening past of experiencing poor representation in television and media, so this comes as a welcomed joy. Current shows that represent the trans community have been working to undo these false narratives, focusing more on their personal journeys and their gender in more nuanced, meaningful ways. But progress doesn’t come without drawbacks, and there are still issues to be resolved within modern representation.

I recently ventured to unlock my inner ~gamer girl~ persona by joining my friend’s D&D campaign. I’ve always loved the idea of role-playing games (RPGs) but have never really made an effort to learn about them. Now that I have started playing DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (arguably one of the most complex role-playing games for beginners), I can say I’m certainly learning a lot, and boy, is it an effort.

There is no more time for denying. Climate change is real and people around the world have already been feeling the consequences due to the inaction by those in charge. Evidence to support climate change is given in an abundance of ways, one being documentaries, like 2040, by Damon Gameau.  Even if there was a lack of confirmed peer-reviewed scientific evidence, would you not rather veer on the side of caution?

The Legend of Vox Machina is Amazon Prime's newest adult-geared animated fantasy series based on a DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (D&D) campaign by Critical Role, a well-known D&D roleplay group. If you just read DUNGEONS & DRAGONS and immediately thought “nerd-fest” and “LARPing”, I’m here to tell you it’s way more than that. While DUNGEONS & DRAGONS has a bad rap from non-players and conservative parents alike, it’s actually a really fun roleplay game, great for any group of friends wanting to take on new personas and/or flex their improvisation and quick-thinking skills. Vox Machina, while based off a D&D campaign, really appeals to more than just the tabletop game fanatic and is a great choice for anyone looking to broaden their streaming horizons or discover their next favorite fantasy show.