Author: Hannah Noble

Comedienne Tina Fey probably said it best in her 2011 autobiography, Bossypants: “To this day, all I know is there are between two and four openings down there and that the setup inside looks vaguely like the Texas Longhorns logo.”

Portland artist Bailey Winters is showcasing his work of the past and present in a solo show at PSU’s Littman Gallery titled Bailey Winters: New and Old Work. The exhibition will be on view through Wednesday, Feb. 22, and the artist’s reception will take place Thursday.

“Anthropologists are fond of saying that we endeavor to ‘make the strange seem familiar and the familiar seem strange,’” said Hillary Crane, associate professor at Linfield College.

And this is exactly what Crane intends to do. On Tuesday, Feb. 7, this anthropologist will present her most recent ethnographic field research in her lecture, “Men in spirit: the masculinization of Taiwanese Buddhist nuns,” in Cramer Hall.

Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story—a film that focuses on government oppression, women’s rights, corrupt politics, true love and the desire for freedom—will be shown Friday, Feb. 3, at Northeast Portland’s Hollywood Theatre as part of the 22nd annual Cascade Festival of African Films.

While you may be familiar with Harry Belafonte in his role as African-American singer and entertainer, Sing Your Song, a documentary following his life up to the present, reveals yet another side of Belafonte: the activist.

This 2011 HBO film spends less time presenting Belafonte objectively and more time displaying a controversial can-do hero who just happened to top the charts with the “Banana Boat Song” between his noble political endeavors. Belafonte was certainly heroic, but the film itself comes off as too slanted and ultra-glamorized.

Italy is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful, evocative locations on earth, especially for artists.

Made in Italy, an art exhibit featuring pieces by graduate and undergraduate students from Portland State, University of Oregon, Southern Oregon and Oakland College in Michigan, is the response of one group of students to their summer trip to the country.

In a theater auditorium of approximately 170 seats, I was one of four audience members at a 6:40 p.m. showing of My Week with Marilyn. This has less to do with the quality of the film than with its artistry and the miniscule amount of ad time it received on television and in cinemas.

Let it be known, however, that with this film director Simon Curtis delivers the best work of his career—primarily composed of TV movies and mini-series—and blends just the right amount of humor and heart. The film is based on a piece of nonfiction of the same name, and the entire production emanates a sense of class.

Any avid follower of geopolitical events has likely asked the question: What does the future hold for Egypt?

“No one knows, and this is what I will try to address, even though it may sound like I’m reading a crystal ball,” said Nohad A. Toulan, Dean Emeritus of Portland State’s College of Urban and Public Affairs.