Student Reviews | Part 2
A newspaper can't be a newspaper without reviews! Two of the Hunter-Gatherer writers have come together to write reviews for every new release! Take a look below!
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Written By Amelia Cordero on 26 February 2023
"Do Right Woman, Do Right Man"
In honor of Black History Month, I will review one of my favorite songs by the "Queen of Soul," Aretha Franklin was an American singer, songwriter, and civil rights activist. She was born on March 25th, 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee. Aretha Franklin performed specifically gospel music until the age of 18, when she switched to nonreligious music, releasing successful and personal favorites of mine, "Respect "and "Natural Woman." These songs defined the golden age of soul music and later made her known as the "Queen of Soul."
Although Aretha Franklin never claimed to be a feminist, she integrated feminist beliefs into her songs, voicing the mistreatment women get from men. Themes so radical as "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" speak on the difficulties and pain in a relationship where society cannot view the man and woman in fairness, how one plays a more dominant role than the other. She urges others to see how a man shouldn't diminish a woman's place in the relationship and instead should see and treat women as equals. One of my favorite lines in the song is, "They say that it's a man's world. But you can't prove that to me. And as long as we're together, baby, Show some respect for me." This is an essential line for me because the common belief that it's a "man's world" to excuse the mistreatment of women is wrong, and instead, one should treat the woman as an equal and with fairness. In addition, she instructs men to be more loyal and respectful towards them because if they truly love them, they would alongside, she mentions, "A woman's only human. Yes, you should understand. She's not just a plaything. She's flesh and blood just like her man." Aretha Franklin blasted the objectification of women, enunciating that women are humans and should not be meant for men’s pleasure.
Songs like "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" explore the misogyny embedded in our world. In addition, it helps open the message that a man and a woman are equal.
Written By Melanee Leveille on 18 February 2023
The Glory: More Than a Story
The Glory is a Korean television drama series that follows Moon Dong-Eun as she spends eighteen years carefully curating a plan for revenge on her high school bullies. To say she was getting bullied would be an understatement, as she was getting abused. The bullies, Park Yeon-Jin, Jeon Jae-Jun, Choi Hye-Jeong, Son Myeong-O, and Lee Sa-Ra are all part of highly wealthy and influential families, except for Hye-Jeong. The group's tactics ranged from burning Dong-Eun with curling rods and irons to forcing her mother to abandon her. Finally, donning plenty of psychological and physical scars, Dong-Eun drops out because of the bullies. After receiving a beating from a teacher because of this, she begins her 18-year-long revenge plan while she works. Due to her mother signing a non-disclosure agreement with Yeon-Jin's mother and accepting a bribe, Dong-Eun had no choice but to work hard and sustain herself. She eventually ends up working in a factory while pursuing her GED.
With Yeon-Jin being the group's ringleader, Dong-Eun devoted herself to destroying her, starting with her friends, as you have to weaken the opponent's forces to win the battle. She is now a successful news anchor, married to Ha Do-Young, the owner of a prolific construction company, and has a daughter, Ha Ye-Sol. Dong-Eun moved into an apartment with a view of their home and searched through their trash every night until their maid, Kang Hyun-Nam. Then, after being given an unusual proposition, she and Dong-Eun teamed up to take down Yeon-Jin and Ha Do-Young together.
We are brought to a time skip where Dong-Eun is now in college and meets Joo yeo-Jung, a young man she met in the hospital. They meet again in the park as she observes older men playing Go, a strategic board game from China. He offers to teach her the logistics of the game; they are always in the park, rain or shine, playing together. Eventually, Dong-Eun tells him that this will be the last he will ever see of her as she has to move on with her college degree and focus on finalizing a steady stream of income.
Hyun-Nam and Dong-Eun have established a system with each other in which Hyun-Nam would follow people Yeon-Jin was connected to and take pictures. In return, Dong-Eun would tutor her daughter and eventually send her abroad to escape her abusive father. She gets a job at the local elementary school in Semyeong, a small city just outside of Seoul (don't worry, it's not real, I checked). Seol-Ah, Yeon-Jin's daughter, also attends this school, and after having a brief interaction some months prior at their high school reunion, she is fuming over the fact that she's now Seol-Ah's teacher.
Dong-Eun runs into Yeo-Jung after four years of ignoring his texts and has opened his practice in the neighborhood. She confided in him, telling him why she couldn't be as close to him as he wanted. Wanting to seek out revenge of his own, Yeo-Jung agrees to help her as he slowly lets go of all restrictions holding him back.
The Glory is an excellent representation of the importance of money and influence on you and just how far both things can bring you. Bullying in South Korea tends to go to these extremes, and in many cases, the perpetrators get away with it because of their background. The show contrasts the fantasy world many people have of Korea because of K-pop or other romantic dramas. I’d recommend discretion for some scenes as they are just hard to watch, but the show is available on Netflix with a new season rumored to be released on March 10th.