On August 3, 1962, just a day before her heartbreaking death, Marilyn Monroe, actress, and captivating public persona, "pours her heart out" in a published LIFE Magazine article. In the article’s interview, Monroe makes an everlasting statement. "Please don’t make me a joke. I want to be an artist, an actress with integrity." A simple wish, but a wish that people decades later simply could not grant her.

On September 16, 2022, Netflix released its anticipated film Blonde, a film starring Ana De Armas as the established idol Marilyn Monroe. What would follow throughout the movie’s 2-hour and 46-minute runtime, however, would illustrate anything but the essence of Marilyn Monroe’s legacy. Depicted in the movie’s revolting imagery and engraved in its questionable dialogue was a harmful depiction of a life full of only sadness and pain. The portrayal of sexual abuse, father issues, and overwhelming mental illness in a form of disrespect of the highest degree. Marilyn Monroe was no longer a person, but a doll to decorate with tinsels of trauma and spray paint as the world’s biggest sex symbol. She was no longer a talented actress who starred in over 35 movies during her career and was an advocate for equal pay in Hollywood. Marilyn Monroe had become an object. A pawn for directors to douse in tragedy, suffering, and heartbreak. Hollywood had successfully once again taken a legend and turned them into a tragedy. Another biopic highlighting and worsening the hardest moments of a legacy’s life.

Since the creation of cinema, society's fascination with biopics has grown into a powerhouse of interest and judgment. People have developed an obsession with seeing the lives of public figures molded into flashy entertainment. Recently, in the confines of Hollywood, the world of biopics has been at an all-time high. From Blonde (2022), Elvis (2022), The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021), Rocketman (2019), and Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), the release of biographical cinema currently has watchers in a gripping chokehold. People simply can’t get enough of seeing dramatic moments of past celebrities' lives depicted on a screen.

Anyone will gladly enjoy seeing the misery of Elvis Presley’s drug abuse if it's surrounded by Baz Lurhman's flamboyant editing style, or even watch Freddie Mercury battle AIDS if it’s followed up by a glitzy, captivating rendition of "We Are the Champions." Biopics are cheap entertainment. Real-life people are depicted by modern celebrity lookalikes, and society gets the parasocial enjoyment of feeling a deeper connection to the celebrity life they are consuming. Seems like a win, win right? Hmmm, maybe not so much

Austin Butler, recognized for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in the recent biopic of the king of rock and roll, took more away from Elvis than an estimated high paycheck. The 31-year-old actor from Anaheim, California, had permanently developed a deep southern drawl. Something that has been heavily scrutinized on social media. It can't, however, be worse than Blonde star Ana De Armas publicly admitting that she believes she’s being haunted by the ghost of Marilyn Monroe. If biopics were not already mistakes, the actors/actresses surrounded by clouds of delusion will become a tragedy of their own. Being intertwined and overtaken by someone else’s life, biopic actors often come out of their movies with an obstructed mindset of their own being. Biopics just don’t cause harm in theaters, they also cause chaos on red carpets.

Though biopics will always be hits at the box office, the obstructed reality and sometimes disrespect that flows from them is a major cinema concern. Depicting the worst moments of a legend's life saturated in eye-catching props and costume design, biopics are an easy check for many directors to make in Hollywood. Simply put, biopics have easily become one of cinema's greatest tragedies.

Although a lot of horror movies were released in the late of September, the ones churned out in October are equally as worth it. Thrilling films such as Pearl and Don’t Worry Darling pulled in tons of excited movie-goers. In October, a new batch of scary movies were released such as: Smile, Halloween Ends, and… Lyle Lyle, Crocodile? The acclaimed movie starring Shawn Mendes playing as an animated talking crocodile has swept the box office. In its opening weekend, it estimated $11.5M.

Ahead of Lyle, a new frightening horror movie, Smile, has also taken the box office by storm with an estimated $50M. The advertising for Smile outdid any other movie that came out. Many actors were seen standing behind the home base at MLB games staring into cameras with creepy smiles glued to their faces. Meanwhile, Shawn Mendes promoted Lyle and Jamie Lee Curtis promoted Halloween Ends with many videos of her with Michael Myers. Halloween Ends was made for long-term fans of the Halloween franchise, which began in 1978 and officially ended in 2022.

Another film that circulated on the internet is Amsterdam. It received harsh feedback from social media after its failed debut and controversial director. It estimated a $6.5M in box office compared to its $80M production cost. Towards the end of the month, Black Adam topped global box offices with a $140M debut. The film starring Dwayne Johnson took 15 years of development before being produced. Meanwhile, Ticket to Paradise, the anticipated romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney, received mixed reviews. The New York Times declared it “a screwball adventure that forgets to pack the laughs.”

After a month of mixed reviews about a variety of films, one could say October was a good month for box offices all around the world. From romantic comedies to scary children’s movies, one thing is for certain: a good time will be had. Be sure to check them out at the nearest theatre!

No matter the opinion of the listener, producer, etc., the music industry is different and it will only continue to change.

Music production as a whole is contrasting. Technology is fluctuating and full, physical performing bands are not necessarily required anymore. Using their personal devices, musicians can use apps like GarageBand and Adobe Audition to include virtual guitars, pianos, drums, and other instruments to create a sound nearly identical to authentic, physical instruments.

Within the growth of the internet, music streaming platforms have been introduced and essentially ruined the need for record stores and physical copies of music. Though CDs and vinyl records are still incredibly popular, virtual playlists run through consumers’ ears more often than anything else.

From the 1960s to the early 2000s, musicians like Elvis Presley, KISS, Fleetwood Mac, Blondie, and Nirvana ultimately shaped the music world. Artists like this are perfect examples of what many believe to be true, raw talent.

In 1981, MTV, or music television, debuted with The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star” music video, a 1979 chart-topper. The program is as it sounds--music television. In its first few years of running, the station struggled as there weren't that many music videos, but became very popular later on and supported artists like Madonna and Duran Duran.

The 2000s began a rise in the use of auto tune after Cher’s “Believe” was released in 1998. Leading into the 2010s, the ‘80s sub-genre electropop became more and more popular as electronic musical software hit the music scene.