Grace Jordan, arts & living editor
The world rages on with more concerns for the future in the era of COVID-19. Yet, the end of 2021 had some bright spots. There was high praise for games, songs and movie releases. While other news, like the passing of Betty White, was met with sadness. As students go back to school and start a new year, there are some memorable moments to look back on from winter break.
A game that was recently released is Halo Infinite. Halo was originally released in November 2001 and gained so much popularity that it is now one of the highest-grossing media franchises in history. Most Halo games are first-person shooters, games characterized by the usage of weapons through a first-person perspective. The Halo franchise has released a total of 13 Halo games over the past two decades.
Over December, the thirteenth addition to the saga was released: Halo Infinite. Halo Infinite is a first-person shooter that includes an open world and supports multiplayer. According to Halopedia, the game follows a man named Master Chief, who is a human supersoldier that fights an enemy established in prior games. It is set a year after the events of the last main installment in the Halo franchise, Halo 5. According to Comicbook, a website for geek entertainment news, the game has been met with a positive reception. According to Brendan Lowry, a Windows Central writer who loves video games, the game is perfect for avid Halo fans, as well as those new to the franchise. It is reminiscent of the other games in the franchise, while also providing a fresh look.
The Weeknd, a singer that caught fire in 2015 for his popular song “The Hills,” which hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, recently released his fifth studio album, “Dawn FM.” According to Billboard, the album sold 274,000 digital copies in the first week it dropped, not including the 100,000 physical copies sold. According to FSUNews, “Dawn FM” is heavily influenced by 80s synth pop, electronic music and disco. The album is the second installment in a musical trilogy, the first being “After Hours.” While “After Hours” followed a man caught up in the limelight and ended with him dying, “Dawn FM” features that same man caught in purgatory, journeying to death. According to Pitchfork, an online music magazine, the album plays like a radio station, wherein the main character is stuck in a traffic jam on his journey from life to death.
In the era of COVID-19, numerous movies were and have been pushed back. The release of movies has dramatically slowed down since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Yet, Marvel is still filming and releasing movies. In December the much anticipated “Spider-Man: No Way Home” came out. Spoiler alert ahead: This is the third movie in the new installment of Spider-Man movies, starring Tom Holland, Zendaya and Jacob Batalon. The film follows Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland, whose secret identity as Spider-Man has been revealed to the world. In order to go back to normal and hide who he is, he enlists the help of Doctor Strange, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, to alter the minds of everyone in the world so they forget who he is. When the spell goes wrong, chaos ensues. According to DW, an international media outlet, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is the first film since COVID-19 to gross more than a billion dollars in sales, and in less than two weeks. According to Comicbook, the film has been met with high praise, earning a score of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and 8.7/10 on IMDb.
On the last day of December, America got news of a celebrity death. Betty White, only a few weeks shy of her 100th birthday, passed away in her California home of natural causes, according to Rolling Stone. White was set to celebrate her 100th birthday with a movie special centered around her life. The movie was to feature White telling stories of her career and scenes from her filmography and will still be released as originally planned. White has had a busy career full of movies, radio, television and even books. Most notably, she starred in popular sitcoms “The Golden Girls” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” White’s death was received with heavy hearts all around America. News outlets from TMZ and People, to The Washington Post covered her death. White was loved by many and her legacy lives on.
These events brought 2021 to a close and ushered in a new year full of music, games and entertainment.