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The Warrior • Entertainment
December 19, 2024
Publicity and Relationships: How Fame Shapes and Shakes Celebrity Lives
by Matilda Hawkins ‘27
Ask any teenager in 2024
about a certain celebrity relationship
scandal, and most of the time
they will be able to give you indepth
details of the hot gossip.
Celebrities’ personal lives are
publicized constantly, and this
leads to having no privacy whatsoever.
The most recent exposure
of a celebrity’s relationship issues
is Zach Bryan, who is best known
as a famous country star.
Bryan recently went through
a public breakup with Brianna
“Chickenfry” LaPaglia. The
ex-couple first started officially
dating over a year ago, and in
late October the country star announced
their breakup on his Instagram
story. The story did not indicate
any hard feelings and that
it was a mutual decision, but Brianna
Chickenfry took it to another
level. She claimed on a BFFs
Podcast episode that the country
singer had emotionally abused
her throughout their relationship.
She also expressed that he had offered
her a 12 million dollar NDA
and a New York apartment to
not talk about their relationship,
which she did not take.
Although the public airing
of this situation may seem at first
Wicked Much More than a Musical
by Aby Lo ‘26
The 2024 movie adaptation
of Wicked brings the beloved
Broadway musical to life on the
big screen in a wonderful and
meaningful way. Starring Cynthia
Erivo as Elphaba Thropp and
Ariana Grande as Galinda (later
Glinda), the film focuses on the
two characters in their adolescence
and how they went from
hating each other to becoming
best friends. Everything changes
quickly when the two leave their
university together to go to the
city of Oz. Wicked touched upon
important topics like betrayal,
trust, and friendship. Songs, typified
best by “What Is This Feeling,”
are fun and catchy.
Wicked is largely set at Shiz
University, where Elphaba, a girl
with green skin who has extraordinary
powers, is an outcast who
struggles with her identity and
harsh judgment from the students.
Galinda is a popular and bubbly
student who goes out of her way
to try to impress the school’s
headmistress, Madame Morrible,
played by Michelle Yeoh. Galinda’s
obsession with wanting the
teacher’s approval creates tension
between her and Elphaba, who
Morrible can see is the one with
actual magical powers. However,
as the story progresses, they
glance to be bad publicity for
Bryan, it likely has benefited him.
It led to him having a larger social
media presence due to its trending,
and in modern times, this can
help grow a celebrity and their
brand, resulting in a financial
windfall. In a world where social
media and the internet are such
a big factor in social aspects and
many work environments, does it
matter whether relationship publicity
is bad or good if it results in
more attention for the person?
Take the Zach Bryan drama:
although the situation painted him
in a bad light and may have caused
harm to his image, it also gained
him more attraction through more
people hearing about the situation
leading to them knowing of him.
Publicity is one of the main ways
that celebrities can gain more
attention, which allows them to
gain more profit. So looking at it
from an economic view, whether
it’s bad or good media, the attention
given to the celebrity can
lead to more money.
The impact on a celebrity’s
image and reputation is a little
trickier. Suppose the celebrity can
be exposed for being a bad person
or just generally doing bad things,
like Zach Bryan. It is speculated
start to understand each other’s
struggles. One of the film’s best
strengths is how it highlights that
being unique isn’t something to
be ashamed of, but rather something
to be celebrated. What also
really stands out in Wicked is how
it teaches viewers that not everyone
in your life will always have
good intentions for you. People
will betray or try to take advantage
of you, and others may judge
you simply for being yourself.
One of Wicked’s central conflicts
revolves around the oppression
of animals in Oz. This
is caused by a system that was
created to oppress animals, making
them second-class citizens. In
Oz, animals are becoming forbidden
from speaking and stripped
of their rights. Dr. Dillamond,
voiced by Peter Dinklage, is a
goat who is Elphaba and Galinda’s
history teacher at Shiz University.
Dr. Dillamond warns Elphaba
of the danger to animals in
Oz, which propels the action in
the final third of the film.
The character of Fiyero,
played by Johnathan Bailey, is a
charming and rebellious prince
caught between Elphaba and
Galinda’s growing friendship
and the larger conflict with the
oppression of animals. His relationship
with Elphaba, especially
Google Images
as it evolves, creates an emotional
connection that deepens the
central conflict of the film without
overshadowing the themes
of friendship and standing up for
what’s right.
The performances in Wicked
are amazing. Songs in the movie
like “Defying Gravity” capture
Elphaba’s determination to fight
for what’s right, while “What Is
This Feeling?” is a catchy song
that perfectly captures Galinda
and Elphaba’s initial hatred
for each other. The music then
becomes more emotional, with
“For Good” serving as a beautiful
rhyme that sums up their journey
and the impact they’ve had on
each other’s lives. The soundtrack
complements the story well, with
songs that range from lighthearted
to emotional and powerful.
Wicked 2024 is a must-see
for anyone who likes a mix of excitement
and depth. It combines
awesome visuals, unforgettable
and rhythmic music, and inspiring
themes to create a story that is
both entertaining and meaningful.
Best of all, the film is only part 1
of the story, and its ending leaves
viewers anticipating part 2 that
comes out next year.
Grade: A
13
Moana 2 Sails Short of the First
by Paloma Illanes ‘25
Google Images
Zach Bryan and Brianna “Chickenfy” LaPaglia at the Grammys
that Zach Bryan canceled his tour
and got off Twitter and Instagram
because of the backlash he
received from the scandal. This
shows that through these scandals
celebrity’s reputation can be tarnished,
and this can lead to the celebrity
disappearing to attempt to
cover up the issue. This can then
lead to previous fans disengaging
from their content, and in some
cases lead to the celebrity getting
“canceled.” Cancel culture
is a significant issue that occurs
through social media, and often if
a celebrity is exposed for abusing
their spouse, or other relationship-related
scandals, this can
then lead to the celebrity being
canceled. This would mean that
fans stop supporting the celebrity
and their work, almost like an
online boycott. Zach Bryan is not
the only example of a celebrity
relationship scandal being aired
out to the public. All of these
incidents, whether they involved
cheating or full-on lawsuits, had
a significant outcome on not only
each celebrity’s public image, but
also the amount of attraction that
was dragged towards them and
their careers.
In 2016, the beloved Disney
original movie Moana was released,
and now the sequel is out
eight years later. The beloved first
movie was a unique film set on a
Polynesian island in danger and
Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) is the
only one who can save her people
with the help of demi-god Maui
(Dwane Johnson). This movie
attracted tons of popularity and
praise, with people raving over
the music, animation, and story-line.
While Moana 2 is still a
great watch and tries its best to
match the energy and quality of
its predecessor, it ultimately falls
short in comparison.
Disney has a track record
of making unsatisfying sequels
to classic movies that typically
end up diminishing the memories
from the first film. With all
the sequels, live action remakes,
and spin-off series from previous
franchises Disney has been producing
lately, one would think
the company is desperately trying
to make more money even while
running out of ideas.
One of the main reasons
Moana was such a huge success
was due to the several hit songs
it produced such as “You’re Welcome”
and “How Far I’ll Go,”
written by Lin Manuel Miranda.
The absence of Miranda’s lyricism
in the second film is greatly
noticeable as the songs are
not as catchy or clever. While
the new writers Abigail Barlow
and Emily Bear do a great job
matching the feeling of the new
movie, their songs are not nearly
as fun as Miranda’s. Throughout
the soundtrack it seems as if the
songs are trying to imitate the hits
from the first one, or be the next
best “You’re Welcome,” but to no
2022 - Shakira and Gerard
Piqué, who had been together for
eleven years and had two sons,
had separated leaving the pop
singer heartbroken. A year after
in 2023, Shakira revealed that
the soccer player had cheated on
her with his now girlfriend Clara
Chia Marti while she traveled to
see her father who was in the hospital.
2023 - Ariana Grande broke
it off with her now ex-husband,
Dalton Gomez, whom the singer
was only married to since 2021.
Not long after, it was exposed to
the public of her relations with the
Broadway star Ethan Slater, who
not until very recently was not single.
2024 - Popstar singer Sabrina
Carpenter has been found to
have broken up with actor Barry
Keoghan, and the actor has been
rumored of having an affair with
the influencer Breckie Hill. This led
to Keoghan deactivating his Instagram
account to avoid the hate,
and Breckie Hill bragging about
taking a guy from his ex, which
people are assuming is about
Carpenter and Keoghan.
avail. Maui’s solo song “Can I Get
A Chee Hoo?” has lots of energy
and enthusiasm, but leaves fans
wishing Miranda wrote it instead
as rhymes such as “Come on-a”
and “Moana” make their way into
the song.
The second film introduces
many new characters such
as Moana’s little sister Simea
(Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda), a mini
version of Moana, and their sisterly
love adds new meanings and
themes to the story. As Moana
embarks on her next adventure to
save her people yet again, she recruits
a bigger team to help break
a curse and reunite Polynesian
villages across the ocean. Her new
crew consists of story-teller and
number one fan of Maui, Moni,
stubborn farmer Kele, and clever
engineer Loto. These new characters
along with lovable animal
sidekicks from the first film, Heihei
the indestructible chicken
and Pua the pig, help convey the
moral and show the importance
of collaboration and perseverance.
The lessons each character
learns on the treacherous journey
are impactful and make the movie
wholesome yet action-filled.
Regardless of the somewhat
disappointing soundtrack and
overly obvious hints to the first
movie, Disney captures the rich
Polynesian culture and gorgeous
scenery through incorporating
Maori language and traditions as
well as top tier animation quality
to encapsulate the vibrant colors
of the ocean and beaches.
As far as Disney sequels go,
Moana 2 is definitely worth the
watch, but the first film will remain
an unmatched classic.
Grade: B+