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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

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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+

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