Film Review: "Eighth Grade"

I often try to suppress my memories of middle school because, if I'm being completely honest, it was horrendous and I never want to go back to that time in my life ever again. With that in mind, Eighth Grade is a movie I never thought I'd like in a million years. I had heard it was so realistic it hurt, and it really hit the nail on the head when it came to encompassing an age in one film. I decided to give it a shot anyway, and I think I've found my new favorite movie.

Eighth Grade, written and directed by Bo Burnham, follows Kayla Day (Elsie Fisher), an eighth-grader dying for acceptance, companionship, and interaction, all through a lens of social media.

The opening scene of the film introduces us to Kayla's character as she records a YouTube video. In the video, she discusses the topic of "being yourself." Her dialogue is scattered and imperfect, chock-full of filler words like "um" and "like." It's authentic and endearing, which sets up Kayla's role to be a believable one.

In the following establishing scenes, you are introduced to her school and generation as a whole. Kids are shouting out vine references, adults are dabbing in an attempt to be "hip," and all the students seem to be glued to their phones. Despite whatever generation you may be from, we, as viewers, are immediately forced into Kayla's world of Snapchat, Instagram, Tumblr, and Buzzfeed and are able to get a real feel for the type of environment this middle school is.

Credit: slashfilm.com

There is an obvious divide between generations in Eighth Grade. The adult characters, like Kayla's father (Josh Hamilton), teachers, and peers' parents, all try to relate to the younger generation, while the kids want nothing to do with them. In an early scene, popular girl Kennedy(Catherine Oliviere)'s mom (Missy Yager) invites Kayla to her daughter's birthday party and tells Kennedy to invite her to the event on Facebook, to which Kennedy replies, "No one uses Facebook now." There is a clear disconnect between all three of the characters in this scene: Kennedy stares at her phone as her mom and Kayla chat, trying her best not to acknowledge her classmate; and the age gap between Kayla and Kennedy's mom is so evident as they speak that it's almost unbearable to watch.

The film uses Kayla's career on YouTube (or lack thereof) as a bridge between scenes to further enforce the central themes. In her videos, she gives advice in the perspective of having mastered socialization and "putting yourself out there," when really she's just trying to convince herself that she can actually do those very things. She utilizes YouTube as a way of making her aspirations public so that maybe, if she verbalizes them, they will come true.

Multiple times throughout the movie, Instagram DM is used to communicate between characters: Kennedy DMs Kayla to halfheartedly invite her to the party; Gabe (Jake Ryan) DMs Kayla for friendship and ends up being left on read because Kayla doesn't view him as being cool. This form of interaction envelops you into Kayla's social-media-absorbed reality. It's incredibly realistic and shines a light on how disconnected we all really are.

Kayla also turns to the Internet and social media for help that she doesn't feel like she can get from her father or classmates. Wanting desperately to be liked by a cute boy in her grade, she impulsively tells him that she gives really good BJs, then later turns to YouTube for tutorials on how to do such a thing. One way or another, this is a scene that just about everyone experiencing the Internet Age can relate to: when you don't feel confident enough or don't have an outlet to turn to someone else for advice, you seek it from strangers on the web.

Social media and Internet usage are seamlessly integrated into the plot of Eighth Grade. It feels natural, and it clearly reflects the current generation of eighth graders and their interaction with each other. Social media really drives the story line and determines a lot of how Kayla views herself. She feels the need to use Snapchat filters and YouTube beauty tutorials to be presentable, and she posts her own YouTube videos as a way to express herself and speak up about what she's really feeling.

Eighth Grade truly is a wonderful film that captures adolescence accurately, respectfully, and beautifully. It's just the right amount cringey and just the right amount corny. It's a lovely, goodhearted catalog of the pressures of fitting in and being liked, all while your body is changing and your anxiety is heightening. It brought me back to my middle school days, but in a bittersweet and hopeful way.

A Conversation with Photographer Eric Hsu

I recently had the pleasure of getting in contact with Eric Hsu, a street photographer based in NYC. When I went to Photoville last month, I saw his work for the first time and was immediately intrigued, then later decided to follow him on Instagram. Eric seemed like the perfect candidate for my "Admiration Outreach" assignment as I'd never met him before, yet loved his work and was able to find a way to reach out to him through social media.
Eric is self-taught and currently focusing on film photography and using manual cameras. He draws inspiration from photographic legend Helen Levitt. Levitt is a classic street photographer noted for her brilliant shots of life in NYC. When scrolling through Eric's Instagram, you can see how that inspiration translated into his own work. His shots are beautifully articulated and visually interesting. There is a distinct color pallet that carries you through every photograph.

credit: Eric Hsu

As far as getting established out in the world of photography, Eric gives credit to three main tools: Instagram, his website, and photo groups. He uses Instagram as an outlet to connect to people and "reach a larger audience"; his website to showcase his best work and provide the best ways to contact him; and photo groups to meet other photographers in person, learn from them, and gain exposure for his work. These, in tandem, helped him be both accessible and noticed in the photo world, hence how I was able to find his work.
I always find it interesting whether or not the photographers I look up to have had a formal education in the craft, so I asked Eric about his educational background. He studied bioengineering in school and has a full-time job apart from photography. He told me that he improved his technique and skill by "starting with the basics, practicing, and experimenting." Eric also emphasized to not hesitate when taking a photo and "just go for it."
Eric was very kind and helpful when answering my questions and provided a lot of insight into his experience in the photo industry.

It's Over

I genuinely cannot believe that the semester is over. It feels like I was just graduating from high school yesterday. All together, my first semester of college went surprisingly well. I passed all of my classes, and I have a strong hunch that I got all As. I had some great professors along the way, too.

Since starting college, I feel I've broken out of my shell a bit. As I'm sure I've made it abundantly clear in the past, I am a massive introvert and, with that, I also hate attention. With that combo going for me, having my work critiqued in Digital I was quite terrifying at first, but forced me to become confident in my work. Even in my English 101 class I learned to be more self-assured. My professor for that class was amazing, which lead me to gain enough strength to share with her a short story I wrote that was very close to my heart. She encouraged me to submit the story to Cassandra, so I did. Before I came to Suffolk, I never would have been able to stand in front of my peers and talk about my work, let alone submit one of my personal short stories to the school literary magazine.

As corny and lame as it may be, I'm proud of myself and the progress I made this semester. I started off as a passive aggressive teen, frustrated at my parents for making me go to college, and now I'm a more bold and positive person, slightly excited to see what the next semester has in store for me. So there's that.

An Introvert in an Extroverted World

This past Thursday was my last Digital I class which means the final was due. The final project was a little intimidating, but I'd like to think I did a decently good job on it.

Throughout the whole taking photos process, all I knew is that I wanted to focus on landscapes and lines, and I went with that. I traveled across the island to Stony Brook, Port Jefferson, Greenport, and Head of the Harbor to find some pretty landscapes. Taking the photographs was the easy part, though. Deciding what they meant was the hard part.

I've never considered myself an artist. I guess I create art, but I'm not really an artist. Artist means you have some sort of creative, deep intent with your work, which I've never really had. I just take photos that I like and show them to people. 

As far as what my final means, I really don't know other than just the comfort of solitude. I am very introverted, so taking photographs that lack people and are abundant with silence satisfies me. I like landscapes because I'm not in a rush to get the perfect photo (which is very important to me). So I guess that's what my final means to me.

The Time I Got Stranded in the Middle of Nowhere While Shooting a Project

As the semester comes to a close, the due date for my Digital I final comes closer and closer. It's been quite an adventure thus far with deciding what I was going to shoot and what it was going to represent. Last weekend, I made a lot of progress towards it and got seven photographs for my final, so I only needed to get three more this weekend.
I decided to go to one of my favorite photo spots in Head of the Harbor. Since my car doesn't have four-wheel drive and the spot is super rocky and sandy, my dad drove me with his and took some photos too.
I was able to get a few shots that I liked, but was quickly losing all of my body heat, so I asked to go home. My dad and I hopped in his Ford Explorer and were ready to take off when he took out his keys and... oh no... the car key snapped in half.
Of course, we were in the middle of nowhere in Head of the Harbor, so there was a lack of cell service. So, it was freezing cold, we couldn't start the car, and we couldn't call home. It was pretty awful.
Eventually, my dad was able to find a few bars to call my mom and have her bring over the spare key, so we were saved, but it was still a slightly traumatic experience. Well, at least I got some photos for my final, so I guess it was worth it.

Lots and Lots of Landscapes

Since it was gloomy and rainy earlier in the week, I took advantage of this beautiful weekend and spent my days shooting for my final project in Digital I. On Friday, my dad and I walked around Avalon Park and down Harbor Road to Harmony Vineyards. Since my dad grew up in Head of the Harbor, he knows quite a bit about the history of the area. He spent his youth wandering the parts where we were walking, so not only did I get a few shots for my final, but I also got the chance to hear a few stories from my dad's childhood and about the history of the town.
On Saturday, I went on a drive to Greenport with my mom to get some photos of the water. We also made a stop at Crazy Beans and had a Gilmore Girls inspired lunch (coffee and fries). It was very cold, but we had a great time finding locations to shoot at and places to stop to warm up. One of those warm up locations was Burton's Bookstore, a quaint little book shop that just about made me cry in happiness. You could say it was a successful outing.

On Sunday, my parents, my brother and his girlfriend, and I went to Port Jefferson for the Charles Dickenson festival. We took a horse and carriage ride around town and saw a few carolers. Of course, it was freezing, so unfortunately we had to cut the day off early to avoid hypothermia. Before going home, though, we went down to the water and I was able to get a few more landscape photos.
It was a pretty productive weekend for me in terms of my final assignment in Digital I. Now it's time to do some work for my other classes...

A Rather Chilly Nature Shoot

This morning, my best friend Angela and I went out to breakfast at Crazy Beans in Stony Brook. Very close to Crazy Beans is a nature reserve called Avalon Park. Avalon is well-known for The Tree With The Rainbow Rope. (The rope has since been removed.) After finishing our yummy meals, we took a walk around and had a little autumnal shoot.
I brought along my fisheye lens to see how some landscape shots would look with it, and I was rather satisfied with my results. For some odd reason, I really like how the fisheye distorts and softens the edges of the image. I'd like to do something with landscapes for my final in Digital I, so I thought experimenting with different lenses could focus my idea (no pun intended).
We also took a walk to Cartas al Cielo, which is a reflective sphere that you can put notes into for someone without an earthly address. Angela and I are fascinated by it, so she was intently examining it when I noticed the light that was being reflected onto her. I quickly switched to my 50mm lens and asked her to pose. The shadows were so interesting that I just had to capture it.
We had a nice time, despite the very, very cold temperature. It was a great way to kick off thanksgiving break. Happy Thanksgiving!

The famous tree during the summer of 2015.