The OWU English Department Blog
Recommended by Serena Sweeney
East of Eden follows the histories of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, from the mid-1800s until the early 1900s, and explores how their lives intertwine and influence each other. Adam Trask and his sons Aron and Cal live on a farm in California’s Salinas Valley.…
The figure who inspired Babylonia was unknown to me before reading this novel, but I did recognize two other aspects of the book–the author, Costanza Casati, and my fondness for books with blades on the cover. A little different from the previous books in this series, there is at least confirmation of its titular figure being a real person. …
Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel follows the titular character, Kaikeyi, a figure from the Hindu epic the Ramayana, which I’m admittedly much less familiar with than Greek mythology. Unlike Circe, I was drawn to this book (and impulse bought it at a Goodwill bookstore) less out of familiarity with the original story and more out of my interest in stories of mythology.…
My fascination with the stories of women in myth and history began with Circe. My first exposure to the mythological figure of Circe was in The Sea of Monsters, book 2 of the Percy Jackson series. Embarrassingly, it wasn’t until I read the Odyssey for the first time my freshman year of high school that I realized the “real” Circe does not, in fact, turn men into guinea pigs, but into regular pigs.…
Looking for some good thriller movies to watch this Halloween? The Sturges Script has you covered! Check out these recommendations from editor Serena Sweeney:
1) Pearl (2022)
Pearl (2022) is a film directed by Ti West and is set in 1918 Texas. It is bursting with horror, gore and emotion. The film follows Pearl, a young woman brought up on a solitary farm who strains under the pressures of caring for her immobilized father, beneath the scrutinizing eye of her demanding mother.…
“Organic Evil.” These are two words that Alfred Hitchcock uses to describe the tone of the stories that make up the collection titled Alfred Hitchcock Presents: More Stories NOT for the Nervous. Hitchcock and author Robert Arthur worked together to gather many thriller short stories that they thought were amazing and put them all together in this collection.…
When I first sought to play the game Death Stranding, I did so from a place of curiosity. It had been three years since the release of the game by legendary video game creator Hideo Kojima, which had received mixed reviews and sparked heated online discourse. In the past, Kojima was celebrated for his continued championing of the Metal Gear series since its inception in 1987 with the original Metal Gear to its contemporary titles like Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.…
Did you know Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) has a rating of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes? Let’s dive into what makes this film highly liked by individuals. I believe it represents the Black community well, and I aim to evaluate why it is a good source of representation. The Spider-Verse series utilizes visual presentation, themes of identity, and emotional impact to enhance a story of Black representation.…
“The Sopranos” was released to the public via HBO on Jan. 8, 1999, and has been revered as one of the greatest television shows ever. In 2024, the show reached its anniversary of 25 years, sparking new fan interest. Airing from 1999 through 2007, the show follows Tony Soprano as he works his way up the ranks from capo (made man/captain) to boss of the New Jersey-based DiMeo crime family.…
Star Wars’ The Acolyte was an exciting prospect for Disney Plus’ collection of limited television series for the franchise. This 8-episode show took a chance by branching out in the Star Wars universe. Set about 100 years before the first chronological Star Wars Film, The Phantom Menace, the show would detail the secret rise of the Sith, the main antagonistic force of Star Wars.…