Lauren Replogle
With the school year winding down, you might feel bored or burnt out. Luckily, after all the exams and graduations, May is a great time to slow down and sit down with a book, watch a movie or listen to an amazing album.
Watch: Final Destination Bloodlines
The first installment of the Final Destination franchise was released in 2000, and 25 years later, we’re getting the sixth movie. The movies are known for their absurd premises and gruesome deaths. “Final Destination Bloodlines” seems to be no different. Releasing May 16, the plot follows Stefani, a college student going home to her grandmother Iris. She is one person who can stop her recurring nightmares of her family’s death before they all meet their inevitable demise.
From the trailer, it seems the inciting incident occurred decades ago when Stefani grandmother had her own premonition that saved countless lives. However, it seems that death has finally caught up to them and begins killing off the family of the survivors, as they were never supposed to exist.
The Final Destination movies are so unique and interesting because the villain isn’t a masked killer who can be stopped, but death itself. These characters cannot escape fate, no matter how hard they try. Not to mention that the deaths themselves are very memorable. Whether it’s a fire escape ladder through the eyes or sucking out the insides of a person via the intake jet at the bottom of the pool, each death is gruesome and sticks with you long after the film is over. To this day, I can’t ride in a car behind a log truck.
Listen: All Things Must Pass by George Harrison
May can be stressful and chaotic at the end of the school year. However, George Harrison’s first solo album, “All Things Must Pass,” is a calming but reflective album that can be soothing at the end of a stressful day. It was released a few months after The Beatles’ breakup in 1970 and shines light on Harrison’s writing ability and his signature slide guitar.
My favorite song off the album is “My Sweet Lord,” a song that Harrison intended to praise the Hindu god Krishna. However, you don’t need to believe in a god to enjoy this song. As an atheist, I interpret the song as longing for someone you love with lyrics like, “I really wanna see you/ Really wanna be with you/ Really wanna see you, Lord/ But it takes so long, my Lord”
The other songs on the album are equally as philosophical and graceful. With it being released after The Beatles’ breakup, it was healing for fans who saw the best-selling music act break up at the start of the ‘70s. “All Things Must Pass” is a lesson we all have to learn as we grow up, especially as college students, when everything feels overwhelming and time refuses to slow down.
Read: The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
Ocean Vuong is a Vietnamese American writer and poet who is releasing his second novel after the success of “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous.” On May 13, he will release “The Emperor of Gladness,” a novel about Hai, a young boy who befriends Grazina, an old woman with dementia after she finds him about to jump off a bridge. Grazina urges him to keep living, and Hai becomes her caretaker. They are two people who are on the margins of society, being both very young and very old, but find solace and friendship in each other’s company. Vuong reminds those of us who feel disconnected or lost that we’re never truly alone.
As a longtime fan of Vuong, I was ecstatic to hear that he was releasing a new book. His poetry is equally as thoughtful and bittersweet. “Amazon History of a Former Nail Salon Worker” seems like just a list of items, but it is absolutely devastating with every read. His first book, “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous,” explores a Vietnamese American boy’s first relationship. If you’re looking for a novel this summer that is heartwarming but also heart breaking, “Emperor of Gladness” is the perfect book to read. Vuong’s writing never disappoints and his work has such vulnerability that it makes it impossible to put the book down.
Edited by Alyssa Royston | aroyston@themaneater.com
Copy edited by Emma Harper and Ava Mohror | amohror@themaneater.com
Edited by Chase Pray | cpray@themaneater.com