In a time of an increasingly competitive educational landscape, teens often find themselves wanting to resort back to a simpler, less stressful time. Whether evoked by a movie, song, or in another way, nostalgia can be used as a powerful tool to transport people to a time of naivety and youthfulness.
Choir Cabaret
The Carlmont choir department revisited childhood favorites in the annual cabaret concert. This year, the theme for the concert was “Happiest Place on Earth.” Every performance was either Disney-themed or focused on messages of happiness and positivity.
“For the cabaret, I sang ‘Crossing a Bridge’ from the ‘Anastasia’ musical and ‘Bop to the Top’ from ‘High School Musical,'” said Carlmont Choir Co-President Marlo Lewis. “I chose these numbers because they are both super fun, and I enjoy singing them.”
The cabaret is an annual tradition that allows choir students to choose what they want to perform as opposed to a set concert program.
Because of the room for creativity, many students opted to perform original music this year.
“It’s really cool to see how people are interpreting this theme. A bunch of people went with Disney songs, but a lot of people sang original music that’s so beautiful, and people also chose to sing songs that they just really enjoy,” Lewis said.
Fortnite
The release of the newest season of the popular video game “Fortnite ” had many flocking to their computers on Nov. 4. In the updated season, many original game features were restored from the game’s first season in 2018.
“There was the OG Fortnite, and that was like Chapter One of Fortnite, and that was when most people played, and then people stopped playing as much,” said sophomore Lucas Zago. “But when chapter one came back, so did all the old graphics, weapons, and maps; it all came back.”
Fortnite’s return to its initial design has garnered much attention on social media and created a new buzz around the game.
“People saw the update on TikTok, and it was like a whole thing, so then everyone got on. There were long queue times, and millions of people were playing at the same time, and it was crazy and super fun,” Zago said.
On Nov. 5, a day after the update was released, Fortnite posted on X, citing Nov. 4 as the largest single day in the game’s history. Fortnite published that 44.7 million users logged onto the game, amassing a total of 102 million hours of total play.
“It seems cringey, but it’s kind of nostalgic, like seeing the old maps and stuff,” Zago said. “I remember I used to play on my iPad as a little elementary schooler with my friends. So it’s fun to revisit that.”
“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”
Many are excitedly anticipating the Nov. 13 release of the newest installment of the “Hunger Games” franchise—”Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.”
“Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is the prequel story to the original “The Hunger Games” trilogy storyline. The plot follows Lucy Gray Baird and Coriolanus Snow as they attempt to survive the 10th annual Hunger Games and redeem their families’ legacies.
Set in the same dystopian universe of Panem, many moviegoers are expecting the same social commentary as the original trilogy.
“As a kid, I read it when I was in middle school and did not understand all of the social commentary in advance,” said senior Zoe Bruckner-Kockel. “I enjoyed it, but hopefully, now that I’m older, I will pick up more of it in this new movie.”
Moreover, the excitement has been furthered by “Can’t Catch Me Now,” an early soundtrack release by Olivia Rodrigo.
“I don’t even listen to a ton of Olivia Rodrigo, but definitely, I’ve seen a lot of people posting the song on social media,” Bruckner-Kockel said.
Whether it’s the social commentary or a hit-filled soundtrack, the upcoming release of “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is proving to be a source of excitement for many.
“I really enjoyed the books when I was younger,” Bruckner-Kockel said. “So, I think my friends and I are for sure going to go see the new movie.”
