Each week, the staff here at The Anchor give their recommendations on an album, book and movie to enjoy. Here are our recommendations for the week of 10/21-10/27.
Album (Cailyn R.): Heligoland (2010)
Massive Attack’s fifth studio album Heligoland is nothing short of fantastic. The British trip hop group brings a series of ethereal tracks, one after another. This album features vocals from the voices of Massive Attack itself, Robert Del Naja, Adrian Thaws, and Grant Marshall. However, the album features other various artists, most notably, Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz, (on “Saturday Come Slow”), Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star, (on “Paradise Circus”), Guy Garvey of Elbow (on “Flat Of The Blade”), among others. Each track offers a unique rhythm and feeling, every twist and turn leaving the listener never bored. The album really makes a stand out in Massive Attacks discography, and is really a great example of their personal unique style. If you want an album that really feels like a journey from track to track, Heligoland might be a perfect option.
Movie (Castalia L.): Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Wes Anderson’s sixth film is the animated Fantastic Mr. Fox, telling the story of the titular character, his family, and his struggle to avoid raiding the local humans’ farms. The film is chaotic, but controlled enough that the plot is clear, and the childish appearance is contrastly perfectly with underlying, darker themes that more mature viewers will pick up on. Admittedly, as a child, something about the animation style always unsettled me, but with later viewings, this aspect has actually increased my enjoyment of the film. The animal-human dynamic another of my favorite themes throughout, as it is both complex and entertaining. One quote summarizes the movie perfectly: “We’re all different. Especially him. But there’s something kind of fantastic about that, isn’t there?” While the movie strays from what you’d expect upon first glance, the movie is still a great — and intellectual if one desires — movie viewing experience.
Book (Simon E.): Animal Farm by George Orwell (1946)
Published almost eight decades ago, George Orwell’s novella Animal Farm remains relevant as a genius commentary on political radicalism and serves as a model for all contemporary satirical works. In this fictional farm in England, a group of animals overthrows the oppressive farmer that owns the farm, establishing their “animal utopia.” Over time, the perfect society begins to deteriorate into another oppressive regime, with the pigs that led the revolution taking over. They spread lies to the other animals, retell earlier events with some changes, and slowly increase the work hours to higher than what they were before the revolution. Orwell wrote this at the height of Soviet power in the world as a satire on the Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalinism, with several key characters in the novella meant to represent historical individuals and organizations such as Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, and the Soviet Secret Police. Coming in at under 150 words and only an hour-long read, Animal Farm is an excellent introduction to the dangers of propaganda and the corrosion of revolutionary thought that every high-school social studies student should read.
