By: Dara Udobong ‘23

Nothing says Netflix & Chill like Valentine’s day ’21 mid-pandemic. With restrictive local and state guidelines and (honestly) nowhere to go, the thought of recreating the festive atmosphere in your bubble can start to feel very claustrophobic. Without all the fancy shenanigans—candles, chocolates or violins (give me a break)—streaming platforms are gearing up for the long weekend with new releases, movie premieres and special episodes. Here are some of my favorites:

By: Sophia Pei ‘22

It’s a new year and you want new interests. I’ve got you covered. Not sure what to do in your final week of winter break? Keep reading for my book, show, and movie recommendations.

By: Sophia Pei ‘22

Online classes, canceled internships, and a lot of unstructured time. Keep reading for some of my favorite books, shows, movies that will be worthwhile investment of your time.

By: Talia Walters ‘20

I had the recent, somewhat horrific discovery that Valentine’s day is currently less than 3 days away, and I have planned almost nothing for this weekend. In that panic, I realized I needed to figure something out and fast. So if you also happen to be in that boat (I super don’t blame you, this year is already flying by), then take the research I’ve already done so you can get all of your planning out of the way super fast. Here are a few cool things happening around LA this weekend. At the time of posting, all events still had tickets available, but act quick as I’m sure they’re bound to sell out soon.

By: Karla Leung ‘22

If you watch enough television and see enough movies, it’s likely that you’ve seen a scene filmed on USC’s campus without even knowing it. Here are a few of the most notable films and TV series filmed on campus!

By: Natalie Oganesyan ‘22

For self-care purposes, obviously. I don’t know about you, but for me, Netflix is on par with therapy (okay, maybe that’s an overstatement). However, I can recall turning to Netflix for help any time I was upset, overwhelmed, angry, or felt any other negative emotion. Not only do I believe that taking your mind off of things by watching TV is stress-relieving, but I also believe media, movies, and shows can enrich your mind. Especially nowadays, more and more movies offer political and social commentary on important topics and present themes which were previously left untouched. So, without further ado, in the name of self-care and college student survival tips, I present to you my comprehensive list of the most binge-worthy shows and movies to watch on Netflix.

By: Camila Grases ‘21

We all know this time of the semester can be stressful. Midterms around every corner, your work throughout the whole semester is culminating suddenly. Sometimes, the best thing we can do for ourselves and our mental health is step away from these stressful situations and take some time to allow ourselves to be transported to different worlds. Here is a list of some of my favorite movies to watch based on the moods and anxiety you might be feeling. Of course, as with anything, this is my own list. These are movies that I love, regardless of whether they are considered “good” or not. All I can hope is that this inspires a movie session or two.

By: Joy Ofodu ‘18

Delta Kappa Alpha is a coeducational professional cinema fraternity meant to foster lifelong character, collaborative and creative storytelling, ethical and productive business practices, philanthropic action, and fraternal bonds by and between students of the cinematic arts.

By: Danielle Collins ‘20

I love movies, and I love seeing movies at the theater. But in LA, too many movies nights can break the bank. Coming from my hometown where movie tickets are $7, going to the theater in LA was a shock. So I’ve done my best to figure out how to keep seeing movies without draining my bank account. My two biggest recommendations are buying tickets from the USC Ticket Office, or investing in MoviePass if you’re a serious moviegoer. Keep reading to learn about those options and a couple of other suggestions!

By: Terry Nguyen ‘20

On Sunday, April 2, the Women in Cinematic Arts hosted its first ever Feminist Media Festival. Although this was an inaugural event, the organization hopes to host more festivals in future years to improve inclusivity and diversity within an industry predominantly represented by cisgender white men. The USC School of Cinematic Arts is diverse in its student demographics — the school’s demographics reveal that it is 50% female. Unfortunately, the film industry does not reflect these numbers, as only 3% of women direct the top films of the field. Such events like the Feminist Media Festival aim to create and build a network of feminist filmmakers to pave the way for the film future.

By: Michael Boyle ‘18

Last Saturday, a series of films were screened seeing if USC students could make better films in 24 hours than the notoriously awful filmmaker Ed Wood could his entire life. Trojans 360 was there to capture the results.