On Oct. 27, 2020, I wrote my very first article for the Trinitonian. It feels so surreal that I’ve been writing here for all nine of my semesters at Trinity University, but here we are — my last column.
This has been a bizarre experience, but in the best way possible. Movies have been incredibly important to me for almost my entire life, and I’ve always loved talking about them. So a publication allowing me to do so over the course of four years and a whopping 86 articles means the world to me — also love the money.
As a way of looking back, I would like to go through some of my favorite articles that I have written.
My favorite piece that I have written is a three-part column entitled “An Eye for an Eye: A Defense of ‘The Last of Us Part II.’” I wrote it almost a year after the game had launched, and I wanted to defend the divisive narrative, referring to it as the antithesis of a traditional revenge story. I will admit that my thoughts on the game have soured a bit due to the game’s intended references to real world events, but I still have a lot of love towards the game and would consider this threepart column to be my most in-depth and personal piece.
A close second would be my April Fool’s piece “Why ‘Velma’ is the greatest show of all time.” On one hand, it was probably the most difficult column of my career because I spent the entire piece sharing an opinion that I do not agree with in the slightest. However, I still enjoyed satirizing the poor treatment of the animation industry and pretending to lose my mind throughout. There are moments where I do feel like I was a bit too smug or just thought that my jokes were funnier than they were, but it is still something that I can look at fondly.
My third favorite might be “Why I still love the ‘Saw’ franchise,” which I wrote in anticipation of last year’s “Saw X.” I feel like I run the risk of coming off as pretentious with how I talk about every movie, essentially treating fun blockbusters like they’re attempting to be this profound work of art. But this felt like a fun way for me to delve into some of the dumb stuff that I like. “Saw” is still one of my favorite horror franchises, and I recommend the uninitiated to enlighten themselves by reading my article. Okay fine, I am a bit pretentious.
While it may not seem like it, these articles have played a big role in my artistic journey. For those who don’t know, I want to write and direct movies. In fact, I’m currently finishing the first draft of my first full length screenplay. Not only have I written about some of my biggest influences, specifically Mike Flanagan, but discussing the good and bad elements of certain films subconsciously informs me on what I should or shouldn’t do when crafting a narrative. Granted, I’m not suddenly an amazing writer, but this constant engagement with the medium helps.
To be honest, I think I’m running out of ways to express how important the Trinitonian has been to me. I want to thank all of my editors and editor-in-chiefs (EICs) who have been so supportive throughout the years, and to the amazing illustrators who have made consistently great images for each of my pieces. I would also like to give a very special shout out to former EIC Kayla Padilla for hiring me during my first year.
But most importantly, thank all of you who read my columns. It has been very validating to see the strong level of engagement on many of my pieces, with my review of “The Casting of Frank Stone” currently being my highest viewed with over 11,000 views. I really appreciate the ego boost.
I’m going to miss this job so much, and this is such a bittersweet piece to write. To end things on a better note and to quote my favorite film — Edgar Wright’s “Hot Fuzz” — “the little hand says it’s time to rock and roll.”
And to whoever’s taking over the position of arts columnist: don’t fuck it up.
TRINITONIAN RATING : 10/10
