Christina With An A

I’ve been a little baffled by the reaction to Pixar’s newest short film, “Bao.” Based on internet comments, it seems there have only been a handful of people who liked or appreciated it. The majority found it weird and “didn’t get it.” What’s not to get? Sure, it’s a little unusual compared to some of the other Pixar shorts like “For the Birds,” which Pixar itself calls “deceptively simple” in terms of its plot and humor. Maybe that’s where viewers got lost with “Bao”: it is neither simple nor light, which one would expect for children’s entertainment. For those who haven’t yet seen “Bao,” the short film preceding The Incredibles 2 , let me give you a rundown of the story. Like most (all?) Pixar shorts, there is no dialogue, which I find quite impressive. The short opens with an older Chinese-Canadian woman preparing dumplings and an extravagant meal for her husband, who gobbles up some of the food before leaving for work abruptly. The mother begins to clean up the mess when one o...

I have re-watched the entire series of The Office many times. I still laugh just as hard as I did the first time at Jan’s erratic behavior. I still cry when Michael proposes to Holly. I still enjoy the banter between Kelly and Ryan. In spite of all this, however, one thing doesn’t remain the same, and that is my opinion on PB&J. No, not the sandwich. That’s Pam and Jim (thank you, Kevin Malone). While every character in the cast is unique, has unique relationships, and does unique and interesting things, it is clear that Pam and Jim were intentionally written as the strongest supporting members in the show. They are often portrayed as the only competent characters in the Scranton branch. With an unorthodox and inappropriate boss like Michael Scott, a gun-slinging beet farmer like Dwight Schrute, and an “alcoholic” and a “floozy” like Meredith Palmer (her words, not mine), the bar isn’t set high for Pam and Jim to be “normal.” Their starting points in the show make them e...

Eating disorders, as I have recently learned, are not necessarily about being thin or controlling weight. I say “necessarily” because I am neither a doctor nor a therapist, I have no experience with eating disorders myself nor with people who have eating disorders, and the only source of information I have regarding eating disorders comes from what I’ve read in biographies and, as of last night, the new Netflix original movie, To the Bone , starring Lily Collins and Keanu Reeves. My boyfriend and I are always looking for a new show or movie to watch. We stumbled across this one a few nights ago and thought it seemed interesting. Last night, we delved into it, and I was not prepared for it. Something particular about this movie hit close to home for me: at one point, Karen, the inpatient counselor played by Alannah Ubach, points out to her group of inpatients (and to viewers alike) that eating disorders are not always about numbers on the scale—they can, in fact, be a result of ad...