January 2021

The Blue and Gold
January 2021
Entertainment
maldenblueandgold.com
21
Krishany Marius
Lead Reporter
Grand Army aired on Netflix
October 16th, 2020. It covers
the many obstacles that teenagers
face in the real world and how they
deal with differences. Grand Army
has many ups and downs that five
teenagers are trying to deal with:
racial injustice, misogyny, high expectations
from parents, struggles
of fitting in a group, sexual assault,
sexuality and most importantly trying
to find themselves in a world
where they are not understood or
accepted. The show focuses on the
many topics that teens struggle with
and they should be talked about in
many places throughout the world.
These five teens are Sid, a senior
who struggles with his sexuality
and is trying to meet his brown
parents’ expectations. Dom, who
struggles with keeping her grades
up and taking care of her family
financially, staying in a small house
trying to cooperate with everything
all together. Joey, who throughout
the show is being shamed because
of the way she feels comfortable in
her own skin; her story in the show
is a traumatic experience that is
overlooked because of the way she
shows her body.
Jay, a saxophone player who he
and his friend Owen got in trouble
for messing around, only to have
Owen be suspended for 60 days
because they were playing around
in a lockdown. The principal barely
Show Review: Grand Army
shows empathy towards the situation.
Lastly, Leila who is a Chinese
adoptee wondering what is her
place and where does she fit in society;
she is a teenager completely
oblivious to her own toxic traits and
manipulative ways.
The show goes on and focuses
on the main topics of what many
people in society overlook, like
Joey’s performative activism, where
she shows her devotion but in reality
she is looking for validation to prove
people that they support her. Joey
sees that Dom and her friends are
kneeling during the “Star Spangled
Banner”, so she does it too because
she thinks it will prove that she is
with them, but she never holds her
friends accountable when they were
racist or homophobic.
The principal suspending
Owen for 60 days because of playing
around during a serious event
was excessive but he allows the two
white boys who had a sexual assault
allegation come back to school. It
goes to show that the principal does
not care for the black students in
the school and pushes away the fact
that black kids are more likely to get
targeted and pay the consequences.
This also happens in real life where
black students are stereotyped and
targeted for their skin color.
The show Grand Army goes
on with the struggles of identifying
sexuality and how terrifying it is to
come out to parents who probably
are not accepting towards that topic.
The struggles of keeping up with
grades and helping your family and
trying to see where you fit in this
world and see who you really are.
I would recommend this show
to anyone, especially teenagers who
know the daily struggles of being a
teenager in this society and having
to deal with so many things that are
thrown at them. Grand Army is a
show that allows people to get a better
understanding of many things
and helps relate to the main topics
that are not talked about. It is not a
cheesy teenage series but an understandable
and educational one.
Netflix series Grand Army poster. Photo taken from Wikimedia.
Monthly Playlists: Curated by You!
Cover art for The Blue
and Gold’s monthly
playlist for October.
Art by Lulu Harding.
Lulu Harding, Head of Sports
Julie Huynh, Managing Editor
Introducing: Malden High’s Playlist
of the Month!
This year, The Blue and Gold
is involving the students of Malden
High in creating a monthly playlist.
On the first of every month, there
will be a survey posted on our Instagram
Story to ask the community
what they are currently listening to.
These songs will then be added to a
playlist that will be shared both on
our website and our Spotify.
During these current times
with everyone stuck at home due to
the pandemic, it can be easy to feel
alone and disconnected from each
other. We hope that these monthly
playlists will help bring the Malden
High community together, as well
as become something that people
look forward to being a part of.
Each month’s playlist includes
songs from various different genres,
languages, and artists. This is a
chance for you to discover new artists,
while also seeing what others
are listening to right now.
Cover art for The Blue
and Gold’s monthly
playlist for November.
Art by Carolina
Cuevas.
Follow us on Spotify
@ The Blue and Gold
to listen to all our
monthly playlists!