By: Beckett Saufley

Legends of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is an open world, action-adventure type game. Where you play as a young warrior who is tasked with the quest of saving the world by getting rid of “The Calamity” or “Calamity Ganon”. When you first begin the game, you wake up within the Shrine of Resurrection where you are informed that you have slept in for 100 years. You find out eventually that you were placed there by Zelda, because you had fatal injuries after trying to fight the Calamity 100 years ago. In order to leave the shrine of resurrection you have to complete some simple tasks that teach you the controls of the game. This is the first feature of the game that I enjoy a lot, it basically takes a tutorial and makes it more interesting/fun. After you complete the “Tutorial” you exit the shrine, and find that you are on a large plateau known as the “Great Plateau” this is where you must complete 4 quests in order to gain a glider to glide off the plateau, and begin your adventure. These 4 quests take place within shrines, which are kind of like trials that you have to complete in order to gain power.

Once you are off of the plateau you are able to explore freely while following the main storyline. There are many options when it comes to where you chose to go, the main storyline will point you in a direction, but you can always just explore around that area. This is the second feature of the game that I enjoy a lot, it gives the player free reign to discover the features of the game at their own pace. Along with the main quests there are smaller side quests that you are able to do for fun. Wherever you travel to, there is bound to be some kind of quest, adventure, or battle to experience.

If you decide you would like to beat the game you have to beat Calamity Ganon, who resides in Hyrule Castle. This boss fight can be quite easy, or very hard depending on your gear that you use while fighting him. Along with gear, you can also complete the main storyline in order to gain the power of the 4 “beasts”, and immediately do half of Calamity Ganon’s health with a quick cutscene. I won’t go into too much detail as I don’t want to spoil the fight or anything, however, I will mention that Ganon has 2 forms, one of which you fight with your own gear, and the other you fight with a light bow given to you from Zelda herself.

Overall, I really enjoy this game, and I think that a lot of other people do as well. Some reviews from Polygon, IGN, GameSpot, Game Informer, Edge, and Destructoid all show that Legends of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is worth 10 stars out of 10. I agree with all of these reviews, this amazing game deserves high reviews for all of it’s high quality

By: Ross Wilkerson

If you're trying to start a new series, here are some TV shows that are lesser known that I think you'll enjoy.

#1: Sweet Tooth
Sweet Tooth is a show where some major changes take place, a new fatal disease is found and affects the world deeply. But there's one thing the disease produces: hybrids. A hybrid boy and his father have to try and survive in this new world.

#2: The Good Doctor
The Good Doctor is a show about an autistic doctor and how he does things in the hospital. The show is really cool and I hope you watch it.

#3: Upload
Upload is a show about an advanced world where when you die, you can get uploaded to a virtual heaven. The main character, Nathan, lives in this virtual heaven, and shows his ups and downs. This show is really inappropriate though.

#4: Abbott Elementary
Abbott Elementary is a CBS original about a school that isn't the best, but tries to have a good experience. This show is really funny, and it's PG if you want to watch it with the family. The first episode just released on the 7th, so it's pretty fresh.

By: Ross Wilkerson

Little Nightmares II is a game much similar to Little Nightmares I but has a lot of changes as well. Instead of playing as the character Six, the girl with the raincoat, you play as Mono, a boy with a paper hat. The game has better graphics, physics, puzzles, and monsters than Little Nightmares I. It is really fun and I give it a 10/10.

By: Ross Wilkerson

Overcooked! All You Can Eat is a game that recently came out on November 10. You make food with friends as quickly as possible and try to get 3 stars to beat the level and move on. It has lots and lots of different kinds of food you can make, and a lot of fun levels and maps. This game also has skins you can use that suit you, mostly being animals. This game is fun and I give it a 10/10.

By Sophie Hirschowitz

Number One- The Claus Family, "When his grandfather suddenly falls ill, holiday-hating Jules learns of his family's magical legacy and realizes he's the only hope to save Christmas."

Number Two- A Rich Christmas, "An entrepreneur teaches his spoiled daughter a lesson by making her spend the holidays volunteering at a shelter, where she comes face-to-face with the true meaning of Christmas."

Number Three- Gingerbread Miracle, "Two old friends from high school work together over Christmas to sell his uncle's Mexican bakery famous for its magical gingerbread cookies that grant wishes."

By: Sophie Hirschowitz

Our fellow students have been devoting their AE time, and for many hours outside of school, to the upcoming "Wizard of Oz" play. They are extending this AE for nine more weeks, so you have a second chance to join in on the fun. I know they are all pouring their hearts out and it will show! I can't wait to see it! Thank you, Mr. Donnelly, and the following cast and stage crew!

Oz- Paci Ndwayo - Wicked Witch- Luci Moncayo - Glenda- Evelyn Afenya - Lion- Avneesh Kudrimoti - Tin Woman- Billie Elizabeth Phemister - Scarecrow- Emmaline Mae Lynn - Dorothy- Reagan Alice Judd

Extras and stage crew = Diya Arain, Denny Bohannon, Karly Bonilla, Sonya Bonilla, Ethan Cooper, Maliya Fluker, Liam Gaddis, Ayaan Hasham, Hana Horikawa-Strakovsky, Laween Ismaail, Rosemary Jimenez-Juarez, Bex Kaiser, Liam Marrs, Jessica Martinez, Justin Munoz-Hernandez, Frank Niyonyishu, Alondra Sanchez-Zurita, Harper Shinaberry, Amara Thaktur, Michelle Zhao

By: Sophie Hirschowitz and Corinne Yelowitz

Many people might not realize how common disabilities are. This, of course, can’t only be blamed on them but their amount of exposure to such things. In reality being a person with disabilities is the largest minority, with it affecting one in five Americans. Although you wouldn’t expect it knowing that 3.1% of scripted television characters are disabled and less than 1% in children's television are disabled. Better said by the Ruderman Family Foundation, “20% of the population is disabled, and yet disabled characters make up a paltry 1% in television.” Unfortunately, having a lack of representation isn’t the only problem between reality and entertainment when it comes to disabilities.

The entertainment industry is also full of many different forms of misrepresentation. One being through inauthentic depictions as well as commoditizing disability and then stealing the financial profits from the disabled population. This is all the effect of able actors playing disabled characters. Out of the roughly 1% of characters that are disabled people 5% are played by a person with a disability. Jessica Tomko, a 31 year-old journalist with a disability says, “seeing someone non-disabled play the role of a disabled character directly invalidates my existence. It says to me — I see you and I reject you.” It also isn’t completely accurate as Jessica continues to say there are, “certain experiences and truths that only a disabled person would fully understand and that allow for more authentic representation.”

Also, according to a recent report by The Media, Diversity, & Social Change (MDSC) Initiative at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, only 2.7% of all speaking or named characters in film were shown to have a disability in 2016. None of the leading characters were from an underrepresented racial/ethnic group or the LGBTQ community. It says, “Stories that reflect the full lives of characters with disabilities and the demographic diversity of this community remain elusive in film.” “Breaking Bad’s” RJ Mitte (who has cerebral palsy) states it well when he says, “Disability doesn’t care what your skin color is, where you grew up, how much money you have. It doesn’t care about all these things that define people because it’s blind to that. It affects everyone across the board.” And why should it be shown any differently on TV?

My last misrepresentation that I will touch base on is the misrepresentation through stereotypes. We as a population have struggled with stereotypes, whether it being because of your gender, or race, or anything else and this is no different when it comes to disabilities. Many of us have now learned that stereotypes are harmful and usually inaccurate. The media has a long record of using stereotypes to represent people with disabilities. Some of these being, the villain as shown by Captain Hook with a physical disability and the Joker with many times being described as a schizophrenic. The victim, like shown in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” where a person is pitiful or helpless just because of their disability. It is often used to gain sympathy from the audience rather than genuine compassion and focuses on the disability rather than the person. Another can be the butt of the joke like Ken’s stutter in “A Fish Called Wanda” and Mary’s brother Warren in “There’s Something About Mary,” where they gain cheap laughs by making a mockery of other's differences. And lastly, the stereotype of being eternally innocent. This is shown by the characters being angelic or childlike because of their disability. Some examples are movies like, “Rain Man,” Forrest Gump,” and “I Am Sam.” This stereotype can be particularly harmful because of its inaccuracy and reinforcing patronizing perceptions.

Needless to say, disabilities have been poorly represented in the media despite it being an able and hopeful resource in promoting the equality and normality that people with disabilities deserve.

By: Corinne Yelowitz and Sophie Hirschowitz

A lot of times, when we think of media, we think of movies, tv shows, and pop stars. But a lot of the time, people ignore one form of media that has been around the longest. Books. There are many types of books, as well as any other form of media. There’s fantasy, mystery, coming of age, and more. But one type is seperate from all the rest. Books that portray mental illness. Mental illness is already a very stigmitazed topic in today’s society and is often overlooked, ESPECIALLY in books.

One book that I think very well portrays mental illness is The Bell Jar by Slvia Plath. If you don’t know who Sylvia Plath is, let me tell you. Sylvia Plath was an American poet, who died in 1963. She suffered from multiple mental illnesses, but what makes her different is that she chanelled her mental illness into her writing. While she was a poet, which I will come back to later), she was also an author. She wrote the New York Times best selling novel, The Bell Jar.

This book is more seen by some as a memoir, rather than a novel. It shares the story of the main character Esther, who moves to NYC as a summer model in the 1950’s. It shares the story of her depression and shows hwo vulnerable she is as a character. While Esther is a character in the book, many see her on the same level mentally as Sylvia Plath. She hilights the highs and lows of depression and mental illness and many think only someone who is truly capable of feeling the way she feels can illistruate the emotion that well.

One thing Sylvia Plath is also known for is taking her own life. Like I said, she experienced lots of mental health issues. She actually tried to take her life a few times before she actually suceeded. In 1963, she took her own life after many mental health issues. In an interview with Peter Orr in 1962, Plath stated that some of the themes she tends to attract are “...this intense breakthrough into very serious, very personal, emotional experience which I feel has been partly taboo.” Plath talks about how emotional and mental writing is taboo and stigmatized, yet she still captures it so well.

What makes Sylvia Plath so special is her personal experience. From the time she was born to the time she died, she was always a taleneted writer who wrote from how she felt, and she was truly a genius at it. She had a talent for writing, and all of her poems and her novel truly illustrate that.

Overall, it’s easy to say that Sylvia Plath had a major role is destigmitazation of mental health in books and writing. She has truly changed writing as a whole and is an excellent writer.

Along with her, the media and entertainment industry has been deeply changed by authors like this overall and without deep media that goes into mental health, the world would be a very different place.