Angela Mathew // The Observer

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Scene Selections: Summer reading

Anna Falk, Claire Lyons, Maggie Eastland, Isa Sheikh, Matheus Herndl, Kate Casper, Reyna Lim, Angela Mathew, Gracie Eppler, Cecelia Swartz, Natalie Allton, Nicole Bilyak and Justin George | Friday, April 22, 2022

When’s the last time you read for fun? Yeah. That’s what we thought. But when finals are over and the dust settles, $cene hopes you pick up some summer reading. “I am the Messenger” by Markus Zusak Claire Lyons, Interim Scene Editor Imagine “Taxi Driver,” except it’s wildly optimistic and made in Australia. The

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Students gather for the U.S. collegiate student solidarity vigil for Ukraine

Angela Mathew | Friday, April 8, 2022

The chapel of Stanford Hall was rich with the smell of incense and was adorned with icons Thursday night. The Ukrainian Society at Notre Dame hosted a Moleben, or prayer service, for peace in Ukraine and the protection and victory of the Ukrainian people in the war. The service was a part of the nationwide

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Reading Adichie’s ‘Americanah’ as an Indian in Indiana

Angela Mathew | Thursday, April 7, 2022

Sitting in the Leighton Concert Hall on March 25, I felt like I was on another plane of existence. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was on stage in a gorgeous red dress, and I couldn’t stop smiling. I had never met the masters student with the glorious Afro sitting to my left or the young Nigerian

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Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie speaks about grief, feminism and identity

Angela Mathew | Monday, March 28, 2022

New York Times bestselling author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie spoke at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center on Friday. Adichie’s novels “Americanah,” “Half of a Yellow Sun” and “Purple Hibiscus” explore themes of feminism and race both in Adichie’s native Nigeria and in the United States. Adichie is a MacArthur Genius Grant winner and is known for

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Houseless, not homeless: ‘Nomadland’

Angela Mathew | Monday, September 6, 2021

If you’re a city person like me, “Nomadland” will make you slow down. This film was showing in the Browning Cinema in DPAC this past weekend; I was lucky enough to go on a journey with Fern, “Nomadland”’s elderly protagonist (Frances McDormand). I followed Fern, dipping my toes into a stream of rushing water, taking

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The moral grayness of inter-class interactions in a black-and-white screening of ‘Parasite’

Angela Mathew | Monday, April 12, 2021

2019 Oscar winner “Parasite” was screened at DPAC this past Saturday in black and white. The South Korean film is a black comedy about class tension in which the poor Kim family use deception to obtain service jobs in the house of the wealthy Park family. “Parasite” suggests that it’s not just the poor who

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A meditation on memory: Chris Marker’s ‘Sans Soleil’

Angela Mathew | Monday, March 29, 2021

“Sans Soleil” is a 1983 film that defies explanation. It could be called a documentary, but it contains neither a singular thesis nor a clear subject area. The film largely consists of footage of Japan and Guinea-Bissau. This footage is supplemented by a voiceover in which a female narrator reads out various letters written by

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‘Minari’: Asian-American dreams in technicolor

Angela Mathew | Monday, March 15, 2021

“Minari,” produced by A24, is the story of the Korean-American Yi family who moved to rural Arkansas in the ‘80s in pursuit of their American dream. The film’s plot moves slowly but makes use of stunning cinematography to tell an evocative but often neglected American story. “Minari,” like other immigrant stories, details how difficult life

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‘Moxie:’ A feel-good, feminist film

Angela Mathew | Monday, March 8, 2021

“Moxie,” a recently released Netflix original movie, tells the story of girls at a high school in Oregon standing up to sexist norms. The film, directed by Amy Poehler, is based on the young adult novel by Jennifer Mathieu. “Moxie” brings up a lot of the issues which have plagued high school girls for years:

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Folk Choir to perform outdoor benefit concert for the Center for the Homeless

Angela Mathew | Friday, October 23, 2020

The Folk Choir will perform “Fratelli Tutti” in concert at 1 p.m. Saturday on Bond Quad. Students who plan on attending are encouraged to bring non-perishable foods with them, as it is a benefit concert for the South Bend Center for the Homeless. The concert is a collaboration with two other musical groups on campus,