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"American Horror Story" recently
unleashed its third installment to its anthology series with
"American Horror Story: Coven." The first episode aired on October
9 and since then it has dominated the ratings. Averaging 7.7
million viewers each week, "Coven" may end up passing "Sons Of
Anarchy" as the highest-rated series in the history of the FX
channel. Compared to the previous two seasons of "American Horror
Story," "Coven" has surpassed the second season by 41% and the
first season by 90%. The reason behind the overwhelming success of
the show is no secret to TV-MA fans. The premiere of season three
hooked its audience with an abundance of controversial themes.
Abuse, racism, and violence dominate the screen along with other
touchy subjects that spark debate among some viewers on the purpose
of these aspects to the show. Some fans argue
that such things are useless to the series. But what can’t be
ignored is that "American Horror Story" has an amazing ability to
provoke disgust from its viewers. The show has pushed boundaries in
seasons one and two, but the early episodes of season three have
left even its most loyal fans questioning their ability to continue
watching. Part of the appeal of "Coven" is that it enlists an
all-star, female-dominant cast including Jessica Lange, Sarah
Paulson, Taissa Farmiga, and Emma Roberts. These Gucci-wearing
witches introduce themes of feminism and family into the show,
especially mother and daughter relationships. The charming
characters that these women play attracted large amounts of viewers
from 18 to 49 years old, the most popular demographic among "Coven"
fans.
Along with the series’ recent successes, Producer Ryan Murphy
has announced that "American Horror Story" will continue with a
fourth season that is already underway. Rumors surfaced that the
fourth season would continue with the "Coven: storyline, but an
inside source quickly put those to rest, saying, “Definitely not.
It's not
about witches. It's about something else entirely."
However, fans of the show won’t have to wait very long to find
out about the fourth season as Murphy has said that he will drop a
clue in the season three finale as to what the new season is all
about. With the overwhelming successes of "Coven" this year, Murphy
knows that season three is going to be his toughest act of the
series to follow yet. Although, the seasoned producer is no
stranger to the challenges of writing for shows that often seem
impossible to top. Murphy, the brains behind "Glee" and "Nip/Tuck"
confessed in a media interview, “We go through five or six drafts
on this show every script just to make sure it’s good.” So whose
names will be listed on the scripts of Season 4? Well it’s
confirmed that next year will be Jessica Lange’s last year on the
show. In a recent interview, the face of the franchise admitted,
“It’s like doing a stage play, between the rehearsal and the run.
This is a six-month commitment every year. I want to have more time
to myself, I guess. I think four years of doing something
is a sufficient amount of time.” The question that is on every
fan’s mind cannot be more obvious. Who will fill the void left by
Lange’s character in Season 5? Rumored actresses include Legally
Blonde’s Reese Witherspoon and Michelle Pfeiffer who played
Catwoman in the 1992 film Batman Returns. But more pressing
questions are that which surround Season 4. Murphy dropped a few
hints about the upcoming season saying, “It’s not contemporary.
It’s either gonna shoot in New Orleans or it’s going to shoot in
Santa Fe.”
As excitement builds over this season of black hats and voodoo,
one can only hope that Season 4 of "American Horror Story" will be
just as disgusting and unconventional as "Coven."
Season of the Witch New "American Horror Story" chapter keeps
audience spooked
THE ZOMBIE INFECTION SPREADS TV, fi lm, and even races have al l
capitalized on the fad
The zombie apocalypse is upon
us! The undead have swept the nation and have begun to take
roots on other continents. The hit show “The Walking Dead” has had
a major impact here in the United States with so many students and
teachers alike talking about the show on a Monday morning. In fact,
the show has almost 20 million viewers and has claimed the #1 show
spot from former record holder, “American Idol." Additionally,
World War Z proved to be a wildly successful summer blockbuster
with its sequel already in development. And this Halloween saw
zombie costumes, parades known as zombie walks, and Zombie Mud Runs
popping up all over the country.
The Zombie Mud Run is one event that has capitalized on the
popularity of the zombie craze. The run is a post-apocalyptic 5K
obstacle Mud Run teemed with zombies infected with the living dead
virus. It is held in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Delaware, and New Jersey
throughout the summer and fall. Obstacles include the “Corn Maze of
Death” which requires runners to navigate through a corn maze
packed with the undead who are chasing you down to remove three
flags around your waist that symbolize your life. Lose all three…
you’re "infected!"
The creator of the 5K New Jersey course remarked, “Whether you
are an avid mud runner or you have never participated in a mud run,
the Zombie Mud Run promises to be the most amazing, heart pounding,
adrenalin producing mud run ever created!”
Several humans at A-C participated in the Mud Run in East
Windsor, New Jersey this past November.
Senior Nate Morgan said, “ It was a ton of fun, and you don’t
even realize that you’re working out! The Zombies were very
realistic and it felt like I was really in a post apocalyptic
area.”
“It was the first 5k that I ever ran. And let me tell you, it
was one of the most thrilling and exciting experiences of my life.
The intensity of the zombies chasing you, while maneuvering through
obstacles and protecting your flags was exhilarating. I can’t wait
to do it again!” exclaimed senior Derrick Sanders.
And the students weren't the only ones experiencing the thrill
of running away from zombies. The Dutchman Crier advisor Mr. Ryan
Clements also participated in the November race and thought it was
a clever way to disguise fitness through having fun.
"Look, if you told me a few
months ago that I would be slapping a number on my chest in
preparation for running a 5K race, I would have called you
delusional. But I'll admit, I had so much fun. Granted, it was
really tough because there were so many obstacles, so much
sprinting involved from dodging zombies, and so much mud to crawl
through. It was a demanding race, to say the least, but I felt like
I was right in the middle of 'The Walking Dead!'" Clements
said.
Inspired by the hit TV show, ordinary people dress up as zombies
and act out an undead apocalypse. And the fad is not limited to the
United States; hundreds took part in Chile's fourth annual Zombie
Walk last month in the capital of Santiago, and fancy-dress clad
zombies also took to the streets of Serbia. The ghouls and boys
wore "blood" splattered clothes with creepy makeup and limped
through the streets.
The culture's view of zombies in 21st-century America and Europe
is mostly thanks to television and film. Starting with George
Romero’s 1968 cult classic Night of the Living Dead, followed by
the popular AMC series "The Walking Dead," and including the recent
film World War Z, the personalities of these "living dead" have
grown increasingly prevalent.
No doubt this zombie fascination exploded as a result of “The
Walking Dead," the American horror drama television series
developed by Frank Darabont. The first season aired three years ago
and ever since has been attracting more and more viewers. The show
is based on the comic book series by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore,
and Charlie Adlard. Even if you have read the comics, you will find
them to be very different from the show. There have been some
different and exciting twists in the show that you can’t find in
the comics. The series stars
Andrew Lincoln as sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes, who awakens from
a coma to find a post-apocalyptic world dominated by flesh-eating
zombies, nicknamed “Walkers."
The show’s plot focuses primarily on the dilemmas Rick’s group
faces as they struggle to maintain their humanity during the
day-to-day challenges of surviving in a hostile world. This
includes battling the zombie hordes, coping with casualties, and
dealing with predatory human survivors. The director and cast have
worked hard to create both lovable and hateable characters.
And watching the show together has even become a ritual for
some.
“Every Sunday night, we get the crew together to watch our
favorite show. We order pizza and have a good time, because we
always get there an hour early to talk about last week's episode
and get ready for a new thrilling episode,” said senior Matt
Reigle.
"Although I'm not there physically with anyone watching, I tweet
throughout the show. To me, when something huge happens in an
episode, I use Twitter not only to share my own shock but also to
see what others from across the country are saying," added
Clements.
In most post-apocalyptic worlds filled with more zombies than
human beings, survivors must come to grips with the reality that
the enemy can't think, can't reason, can't feel, can't talk, can't
relate, can't build, can't create, can't share, can't change, and
can't be trained. They exist to eat you. They don't discriminate
among the old, sick, pregnant, young, smart, or stupid. They show
no mercy, have no plan, and are driven by no motives. They are pure
destruction. So, if the zombie apocalypse started tomorrow… how
would you survive?
On Thursday November 21, hundreds of thousands of Hunger Games
fans lined up in anticipation to see the second movie of the
series, Catching Fire. With a whopping $158 million made on its
opening weekend, it is safe to say that fans all stormed the
theaters to see what happened to their favorite Panem tributes
since they left off from seeing them return from the 74th annual
Hunger Games. Catching Fire indeed picks up with Katniss and Peeta
about to set out to embark on their Victors Tour after winning the
most recent Hunger Games. Along the way, there is a sense of
tension and rebellion in the air. Nevertheless, a 75th Hunger Games
is planned but with a unique twist: an “All-Stars” Hunger Games,
featuring all former victors included in the reaping. Who will
survive, and who will be the next victor? I had high expectations
for Catching Fire, and the film delivered! There was not a moment
of boredom during that movie for me. As much as I enjoyed Hunger
Games, I liked Catching Fire even better. Many improvements have
been made since the first of the series. One in particular no one
could ignore is the improvement of special effects. There was a
much better sense of quality and reality within the graphics of
Catching Fire. The battle scenes were more intense and suspenseful
with these new graphics and personally left me sitting on the edge
of my seat. Another reason why I loved Catching Fire was that it
was far more emotional than The Hunger Games. A good portion of the
movie focused on the complicated relationship between Katniss and
Peeta. Now this might not seem appealing to male fans of the
series, but don't worry! The battle scenes were just as good, if
not better, than the sappier scenes. In Catching Fire viewers get a
better sense of who Katniss and Peeta really are and how they
actually feel about being victors in the Hunger Games. It was
refreshing as a viewer to get to see that side of the two famous
victors. Overall, I would give this movie 5 out of 5 stars! The
combination of the special effects, intensity, and different
viewpoints of what was going on made for a great movie. No rotten
tomatoes here; Catching Fire was fresh! I would even go as far to
saying that the odds were ever in this movies favor.
“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”
M o v i e R e v i e w
By Sam Soliday STAFF MEMBER
By Kaitlyn Pavelsich STAFF MEMBER
By Christian Kreamer STAFF MEMBER
(Above Left): Muddy senior Sam Soliday finishes the November mud
run in New Jersey as a “survivor.” He was able to finish with two
of his three flags. (Above Right): Journalism teacher Mr. Ryan
Clements slides down the side of a hill on a tarp into a pool of
muddy water in his quest to finish the race. He finished as a
“survivor” with one flag.
