“Love Island USA”
This summer, Love Island USA’s most sizzling season yet premiered on June 11: season six. Fans eagerly tuned in as this season gained unparalleled popularity. This season, like the ones before it, focuses on a group of young, sexy singles searching for love. Participants pair up and fans are able to get a front row seat to the tumultuous events that unfold during the partnerships. People, love and betrayals come and go during the six weeks that the contestants live in the villa. These singles fight to win the votes and hearts of viewers to avoid the chances of being “dumped,” and instead remain close to the possibility of winning the $100,000 prize and finding love.
“This year there was so much more drama and a lot of people were more engaged in the show,” Madelyn Golden (12) said.
While its predecessors struggled to master the recipe of mass popularity, season six was able to perfect it. This season became the most watched and talked about series on its streaming service, Peacock. It produced a new magnitude of social conversations. Despite season six airing its final episode on July 21, the show still kept its fans raving over the islanders long after. Many of the contestants found themselves rapidly gaining followers following the conclusive episode. One islander, Leah Kateb, amassed 1 million followers after her exit from the island as she initially came in with 15,000. Although it was the end of this generation of contestants, viewers found themselves connected and not yet ready to leave the island of summer memories that it held.
“I feel like right after seeing everyone leave the villa you’re like, ‘I want more,’” Golden said.
“Deadpool and Wolverine”
A long awaited superhero duo has finally hit the big screen in theaters: “Deadpool x Wolverine.” These two icons in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) trudge through a mutant wasteland to save Deadpool’s timeline from being wiped away from existence.
“[‘Deadpool and Wolverine’ have] always had a good connection in the comics,” Aidan Farris (12) said. “So I just wanted to see it on the big screen, especially Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.”
Jackman (Wolverine) and Reynolds (Deadpool), who lead a close relationship in real life, lean into their on screen chemistry to deliver a humorous yet moving depiction of heroism and identity. The two redefine what being a hero means in respect to their characters. They undergo an introspective journey that leads them to understand that heroism does not have an explicit definition or look.
“[‘Deadpool & Wolverine’] definitely met and exceeded my expectations,” Farris said.
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“Inside Out 2”
The sequel to the hit, emotion-filled movie, Inside Out, was released in theaters on June 14. This time around, Riley, the main character, is all grown up and so are viewers. The film centers on Riley’s ascension into the turbulent time of teenhood and her emotions’ efforts to regulate themselves.
“And now she’s a teenager and I’m also a teenager now … so those emotions, especially anxiety, have come into the picture now,” NaCoria Love (11) said.
Like the first one, “Inside Out 2” delivers a message on embracing emotions. The film emphasizes that all emotions are important and need to be experienced — whether good or bad — as they are crucial to identity and personal growth. People cannot choose who they are or what they will become; the best that they can do is lean into their emotions and let them take control as they shape them.
“The message the movie was giving made it really popular,” Love said. “You can’t choose who you’re gonna be … Your sense of self is made up of all types of things and you can’t really force yourself to be something because you’ll kind of end up becoming something else.”