Pop Culture

Archived Articles

Art vs AI the takeover of a creative world

By: Jovan Jenkins 

April  12, 2024

As AI has grown throughout the world it's probably more proficient in the art world. How will original artist react if AI replaces the love and creativity of art with one's and zero's


On March 23 TikTok’s Chief Executive, Shou Zi Chew, was brought before Congress and interrogated by U.S. lawmakers about the app’s possible connection to the Chinese government. This hearing exposed how uneducated the U.S. representatives really are about how phones, apps, social media really work. Just this past week Montana became the first state to officially ban tik tok starting January 1, 2024. 

                        By Damien Allen                              June 1, 2023

Complex mental conditons are turned into fantasies by those who do have them nor not truly understand them, and that decharacterizes those who do. 

By: Richard Robinson IIIThursday, June 1, 2023

The classical game of chess has passed the test of time and has become more popular this year than it has ever been.

Disney movies are a staple of many childhoods, and part of what makes them stick out is the many cultures and settings that they attempt to depict. However, Disney's track record when it comes to this is anything but perfect, as whether if those things are depicted properly or not has come into question many times. 

Animation has faced enough

By: Daniel Bowen

January 24, 2023

Animation, despite its efforts and its achievements has always been looked down on to a degree. Some call it "childish", some call it "not real cinema" and all the more, and it's genuinely unfair to the people who pour so much effort into these projects. And this aims to shed light on it

A dive into how fashion helps with expression

By: Sariyah Sparks 

January 24, 2023

For as long as people can remember, fashion has helped people express who they are, and possibly helped others do the same. From people rocking  leather, studs, and combat boots from the 70's Rockstar era. To Denim, big colorful sweaters, and buckethats worn by teens, made popular in sitcoms during the 80's.

In November of 2021, YouTube removed dislikes off their site because according to their CEO, “they were sometimes a reflection of viewers' opinion of the channel and not the video itself”.

Steven Young & Charles Thomas         November 2, 2022

E Cigarates have become a rising trend among teenagers and have had dramatic impact on their lives. We see the affects it has on this teenagers life and how it changed their life.


During last school year and at the beginning of this one, we’ve faced vandalism in the school bathrooms. There were messages and polls scrawled on the walls with many things that make our school community look bad. Often bathrooms are places for vandalism and the lines easily blur between vandalism and graffiti. So what if one could set the record straight. Vandalism is defacing and graffiti is art.


How do Recreational centers affect our community?


By: Tyra Baker & Jayden Colson 
June 1, 2022 

According to a source there are over 300 rec centers in Philadelphia alone. Majority of these rec centers are being used by small numbers of people. 


Video Games Changing Over The Pandemic

By: Joseph Kwee

April 21, 2022

Ever the past years since 2019 the pandemic has changed parts of our lives, including video games but what has changed about it the biggest question.

Let's Be Born Again

Simir HamptonJanuary 25th, 2022

If a musician and forced into a space of mindfulness when they create their music, they also allow us to enter that space of mindfulness where we feel connected when we listen. This connection and love are the same thing we are all in need of when we experience addiction or commit acts of violence. Music is often that space where we can fill ourselves up with that same connection we are craving. It can help us stop falling into unhealthy habits of coping with trauma or stress. Music can be the teacher that shifts our perspective, the space where we feel love, language we need to communicate feelings, and reflection we need in order to cherish those sweet moments even they come bitter ones too. 


 Stone ocean is the most recent part of Jojo to get an anime adaptation. The ongoing series so far has 12 episodes. Here, I'm giving my opinion on the entire series, from the plotlines and character's personalities to the art style and animation. 

Generation Z have banded together and found their love for books again. Some are describing it as a reading renaissance. The social media platform “Tik Tok” has grown exponentially since Covid-19 and pushed regular everyday people to become influencers of their passions. There is a corner for every community, and “Book-tok” has been the place where people share their favorite reads or promote new releases in creative ways. This captured the attention of Gen Z and many have started to be on their phone less and read more.

By: Camaal LawrenceJanuary 25, 2022

The most misunderstood and misrepresented person in the United States is the black woman. Having earned their place on the tv screen after decades of no representation, they still have to face the stereotypes forced on them. With shows like “Love Island”, “Bad Girls Club”, “Dance Moms” and more, black women are often put into a box that usually shines a negative light on them.  From the “angry black woman” to the “jezebel”, reality television is always quick to attach a trope to them. On top of the stereotypes, black women face all types of colorism and racism from not only their cast members but the production team itself.

By: Jo GonzalezJanuary 25, 2021

Starting and upholding a conversation with a stranger is something that usually troubles the average human being. Scientists have studied this and they believe the main culprit for it is small talk; Trivial little subjects that make conversations awkward and meaningless such as "Nice weather we have today, right?" I wanted to perform an experiment to see how this would look at Carver.

A good example of excessive consumerism is when I got inspired to skate. I imagined that I would be practicing skating everyday and would love it and I thought Impala's one hundred in forty dollar skates would fulfill that. After I wasted my money on those skates, I realized that it was all a fantasy. After putting them on and attempting to do the things I imagined I would do, I realized skating was not for me. I tossed those expensive skates into my closet and they were rarely put on again. Most of the time, instead of being worn and skated with, those skates are in my closet collecting dust. It´s another extra object that kind of just sits around in my room, along with my clarinet, sticker maker, and Chinese fans. Everyone in America today, including us students of E&S, buys and consumes, from online shopping, grocery stores, and malls-- but its only where capitalism exists, like in our country, excessive consumerism might be normalized.

By: Amari JacksonJanuary 25, 2022

It’s the evening of May 16th, 1983. People as young as toddlers to as old as seniors, are glued to their screen as Micheal Jackson performs his  hit-record “Billie Jean”. He then breaks out the dance called the “moonwalk”   popularizing a dance that would remain iconic forever. This is just a microcosm of the impact Micheal Jackson’s Thriller album had on music artists, fans, and the music industry in general.  

In the new age of social media, celebrities are often put on a pedestal and seen as role models to the point where their word can be taken as gospel. They give advice on skincare, fashion, lifestyle and more. With the new COVID-19 vaccine coming out earlier this year, various celebrities from Ariana Grande to Justin Bieber have even posted themselves endorsing it or receiving it.

On Wednesday the 20th, 2021 I interviewed two students here at carver. Squid game had a big affect and it's the most trending show, I wanted to see if students will dress up with costumes inspired by “2021 pop culture”


Simir HamptonNovember 3, 2021

Many would be quick to say SOPHIE is a pioneer for queer and trans people in music, but queerness has been in music since it began. Artists like Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Sylvester, David Bowie, Prince, and Little Richard are proof that queerness and boundless expression belongs in music, and never left it. Now we have musicians like Angel Olsen, Kelela, Sophie, Arca, Lil Nas X and Mykki Blanco that bend gender and sexual boundaries as much as they bend musical ones. Music is powerful because it communicates feeling in a universal language, but many of us forget how gay music actually is, and how much queerness plays apart in the way we see it today. 

Everyday content creators from Youtube and Twitch are creating new content and they are finding new ways to spread their content. So at some point they probably will discover discord but some don’t know how to use it.


It has been quite a while since the last episode of Miraculous Ladybug was aired, but don’t worry, because season 4 is on its way! It is expected to premiere in the summer of 2021 on Disney+ and Disney Channel. If that isn’t enough for you, there are several episodes that have already been aired as well as Miraculous World Shanghai: The Legend of Lady Dragon. 

By: Christina TruesdaleNovember 30, 2020


With Quarantine still in place, teenagers around the world, especially in the United States, are now using their phones more at an alarming rate. With more time to sit at home, people, not only teenagers, are more prone to waste their time wandering on the apps that are easy to obtain.  

Playstation 5 Problems

By: Draki' BallardJanuary 26, 2021




In November, the next generation of gaming was released. The playstation 5 was released all around the world. However, it has its issues due to the worldwide pandemic.

What Albums Helped Me Through 2020.By: Valerie Bond January 26, 2021
Pictured: Rina Sawayama

Out of all of the issues 2020 gave us, the music released this year gave us an escape. From the two surprise album drops by Taylor Swift to the return of SZA’s lyrical power, 2020 may have disappointed in many ways but when it came to music there was a place to breathe and relax. Here are a few of my favorite releases this year.


                       By: Elijah Simonvil

                       January 23, 2023

Sonic Frontiers is the 5 year awaited follow-up to the infamous Sonic Forces and it has cemented itself as an amazing return to form for the series. The game boasts an action packed adventure full of interesting heroes and villains or some in between and a variety of environments to explore and have fun with.