Category: Arts and Culture

by Lucas David

Human desire to project themselves onto the divine is highlighted by how the most honorable roles in society are often connected to godlike qualities. Virgil’s Aeneid, written as a Roman epic for Emperor Augustus, subtly explores politics while highlighting these divine ideals. The gods are more powerful than humans, yet their behavior often mirrors mortal traits. By showing the divine as flawed reflections of humans, Virgil helps explain why people act as they do. This connection between human ambition and divine example allows readers to see their own values and flaws amplified in immortal beings.

The gods’ human-like motives are evident in their emotions and actions. Juno’s relentless pursuit of Aeneas reflects stubbornness, jealousy, and personal grudge-holding that are all too human. She acts out of emotion rather than justice, demonstrating that even the powerful can be petty or vengeful. By giving the gods these traits, Virgil emphasizes that desire, anger, and pride are universal across mortal and immortal beings. The gods, then, act as mirrors that reveal human passions in an exaggerated and enduring way.

The gods also reflect political ambition and human manipulation. Jupiter, for instance, balances the ambitions of other gods, acting like a ruler managing competing factions. Minor deities, such as Allecto and Iris, carry out secretive schemes that resemble human tactics of propaganda and covert influence. Through these examples, Virgil shows how pursuit of power often involves deception, strategy, and ethical compromise. The epic suggests that ambition is inseparable from the challenges of moral and social responsibility.

Moral inconsistency and emotional volatility further link the gods to humanity. Juno and other gods often justify their actions while breaking their own laws, showing hypocrisy and moral relativity. Their feelings can shift quickly, from rage to protection or favoritism, much like human mood swings. Neptune’s sudden change from stormy anger to calm guidance illustrates this emotional unpredictability. By portraying the gods this way, Virgil highlights the complexity of morality and the struggle to act ethically, even for the powerful.

Ultimately, the gods in the Aeneid reveal human nature on a grand scale. Their passions, grudges, and ambitions make the epic relatable, even its immortal cast members. By exaggerating human traits in immortal beings, Virgil explores timeless themes of conflict, loyalty, and moral struggle. The divine challenges Aeneas, emphasizing that heroism comes from navigating both fate and human flaws. Virgil’s brilliance lies in using the gods to humanize his epic, showing that understanding human behavior is as important as understanding the world itself.

by Aleena Haimor

Stage Directing:

Soon after the actors and actresses first came together, staging rehearsals began. That was where they started setting the stage and working on choreography. A wonderful stage director, Omer Ben Seadia, and amazing choreographer, Gina Cerimele-Mechley, worked together at staging, setting out props and objects to really make the story come to life. 

Ms. Ben Seadia, whom I had the pleasure of talking to, came in from Oakland to Bloomington for the opera. She is a world-famous director who has done numerous operas, and is also an incredible person. Her interview was so fun to do!

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Aleena Haimor: What is the largest responsibility that comes with directing an opera?

Omer Ben Seadia: The biggest responsibility is to build the artistic world where the story takes place, and setting the tone of the rehearsal process, which you share with the conductor.

AH: What’s your favorite part?

OBS: My favorite part is when I convince a singer that they can do something they never imagined they could do.

AH: Any advice for young stage directors or actors?

OBS: You can make as many performances as you want. You don’t need to wait for someone to give you an opportunity. 

Thank you so much, Ms. Ben Seadia!!

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As you can see, directing an opera is a huge responsibility. The director is in charge of everything the audience sees on stage!

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Orchestra Rehearsals:

Actors and actresses aren’t the only part of an opera. The orchestra plays a huge role in shaping the opera’s story! 

Alongside the staging rehearsals with the stage director (and the conductor), there are orchestra rehearsals as well. The musicians, like the actors, first discovered they were playing for the opera around May. There are five student orchestras with IU, and the one playing for both shows was the fourth one. 

At rehearsals, my dad, Fawzi Haimor, stood at the front of the room at a podium. They would start the rehearsal by reviewing notes and tuning instruments, then move on to doing a run-through of certain parts of the pieces. Since the opera was only 45 minutes long, they performed another piece, Bolero (also by Maurice Ravel) before the opera. Overall, the show was only about an hour and five minutes. 

After playing certain parts of Bolero and the opera and making notes, the orchestra would do run-throughs of the entire show.

My dad agreed to speak with me about his experiences conducting where he went to school.

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Aleena Haimor: What has been the most difficult thing about working on this show? What was the most nostalgic thing for you, being back at IU?

Fawzi Haimor: I wouldn’t say that anything was particularly difficult, but I’d probably say that the most challenging part is getting to the point where you’re putting all the pieces together: staging, set design, and of course the music.  When you work with incredibly talented people, like I did at IU, the whole process actually went rather smoothly.

AH: You’ve conducted many orchestras over your career, what particularly stood out to you about this student orchestra at IU.

FH: I was so impressed by the level of talent these students had at such a young age. They were so hungry to play music at the highest level.  They genuinely were enjoying every moment of this experience and I had so much fun working with them over the month-long project.

AH: Okay, now for a general question. What is the best piece of advice you’ve received over your career? 

FH: The best advice I ever received was from my father.  He said “You were born with two ears and one mouth, try to listen more than speak.”

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Thank you to these incredible people for enabling me to write this article!

Actors/Actresses: Sarai Burgos, Leah Nykaza, Chloe Hopson, Kathleen Simunek, Natalie Vong, Pelagia Pamel, Maggie Stall, Kathrine Barbour, Jisoo Choi, Morgan Feeney-Davies, Brynn Jacobs, Nate Paul, Jeremiah Angel, Evan Gunter, Cody Horne, Andreas Psillos, Molly Singer, Cathrine Tamayo, Ana Ambartsumian, Ambriehl Ivy, Nina Royston, Kirsten Tierney, Yixin Yang, and Langelihle Mngxati.

Chorus: Julianna Banfe, Emma DiSanto, Savanna Holley, Laura Looper, Ruby Miller, Sabrina Schubert, Lauren Smedberg, Brittany Weinstock, Issana Yaguda, Simo Brea, Tynan Butler, Robbie Erickson, Lane Harden, Gannon Hays, Xiang Li, Preston Rogers, Stephen Stavnicky, and Tyler Whitney.

Production: Fawzi Haimor, Omer Ben Seadia, Walter Huff, Lydia Spellman, Russell Long, Gina Cerimele-Mechley, Olivia Essebaggers, Virgil Fok, Katrina Keat, Rachel Rock, Jennifer Hong, Miles Swaminathan, Shuichi Umeyama, Chuck Prestinari, Janice Kim, and Elsa Quéron.

Sources: 

https://www.eno.org/discover-opera/articles/the-beginners-guide-to-opera/

https://www.glyndebourne.com/opera-archive/explore-our-operas/explore-lenfant-et-les-sortileges/lenfant-et-les-sortileges-synopsis/

https://operaballet.indiana.edu/events/lenfant-et-les-sortileges.html

by guest author Johnathan David

Amari And The Despicable Wonders, by B.B. Alston was a fun read. It had an interesting plot, intriguing twists, and there was well done balance between the highs and lows. For example, there are times in the book laden with suspense. But, there are also points that are straightforward and clear. The book showed good story design, with a solid start, great build up, amazing conclusion and a bitter-sweet finish. Set in a modern time, you follow teen girl Amari as she races to get “the wonders” before the villain, Dylan Van Helsing finds them. It is recommended for ages 8-12. I don’t want to give away too much information, but if you’re a fan of adventure and mystery, you might enjoy this book.

by Lucas David

If you’ve ever made an animation yourself, or have watched a decent amount of animation yourself, you will have noticed that some animations look more lifelike than others, especially in different art styles. In this essay, I will be breaking down one of the components of an animation that makes such a difference in its believability.

I call this aspect of creating a convincing 2D illusion “slow ins and slow outs”. To help explain it, I will compare two iconic pieces of animation. One is of a character from the cartoon Steamboat Willie

In the video above, you saw Pete the Cat turning from Mickey Mouse to the wheel of the ship. You probably also saw that Pete’s body moves completely evenly through the entire motion. When you are making an animation, this can often feel like a good idea, but in reality it creates a very machine-like movement. In real life, we have the most energy in the middle of a movement, because we have the most momentum, and we have to slow down at the end of each movement to stop. Even movements that stop suddenly slow down at the end as your muscles stop your momentum.

Above is an example of an animation with a slow in and a slow out, which is noticeably more natural than the one before it. This is because it is an animation of a living creature, and therefore should imitate the behaviors of a living creature. There are exceptions to the slow ins and slow outs rule, such as a motion being interrupted un-naturally, or a mechanical creature that moves robotically, but more often than not, successful use of slow ins and outs are key to creating a convincing animation.

Overall, animation is like acting with drawings. Every movement says something to the audience, especially with the movements of a living creature. To create convincing animation, you not only need an ability to draw, but also an understanding of what we expect movement to look like. Hopefully, this information will help you bring your animated stories to life.

by Meru S.

Far across the desolate sands lies the Verdant, rumored to be a lush land filled with what the Wastes’ deserts lack. And the only map to this idyll is branded onto the backs of Delta and her friend Asher, who has been missing for years. Delta must keep her back concealed, as many in the Wastes would go to any lengths for the map. Her life is already arduous, but when her mother and fellow villagers are captured in a raid during a storm, and her village burned to cinders, she must undertake the perilous journey across the Wastes to find her family.

In Erin Bowman’s captivating and thrilling novel, Dustborn, Delta braves travails only to find that she can trust nearly none in the Waste. Daring escapes lead to the unveiling of mysteries—the most unforeseen of them all hidden at the Verdant.

Published in 2021 by Clarion Books, Dustborn has been recognized as a Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) “2022 Best Fiction for Young Adults title,” a New York Public Library “2021 Best Teen Books” title, and is a 2022 Bank Street selection for “Best Children’s Books of the Year.”

Kirkus Reviews has commended the novel as “intense, gritty, and propulsive . . . Will keep readers turning the pages,” and the Publishers Weekly praises the plot as “absorbing world-building [that] propels this fast-paced adventure.” 

A perfect read for enthusiasts of The Hunger Games, Dustborn follows a post-apocalyptic and dystopian plot. Delta’s initial callous temperament evolves into caring determination; her character arc will, no doubt, have readers cheering her on, wishing her success on a journey that will tickle your funny bone and set your heart beating. Erin Bowman wields her words to seamlessly weld together action, romance, loss, and adventure, forging a tale that will leave bibliophiles eager to peruse its pages yet again.

Dustborn is available at Barnes and Nobles, Indie Bound, and on Amazon.

Erin Bowman is a New Hampshire-based author. Her teen and young adult fiction includes the Contagion duology, the Taken trilogy, the Vengeance series, The Girl and the Witches Garden, and In the Dead of Night. Additionally, she has contributed to an historical anthology titled Radical Elements, which features tales of young women who stood up against society’s will. Visit her website at embowman.com.

by Elaina David

I have always been fascinated by the ancient city of Pompeii and the horrible disaster that so well preserved its past. For those who are unaware of what Pompeii is and was, I will take a moment to explain. Pompeii was a Roman city that was famously destroyed in 79 AD by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, a volcano that is still active today. I watched documentaries, read books, and annoyed many people with my incessant tales of the death and doom that took place there. After years of being completely obsessed with the place, I discovered that there was a whole other story that I had been missing. That was when I found out about Herculaneum.

Herculaneum is a city located in Campania, Italy, roughly 5 miles southeast of Naples.

          As is depicted in the map to the left, the placement of Herculaneum is noticeably closer to Mt. Vesuvius than Pompeii. You’ll also notice that Pompeii is south of Mt. Vesuvius whereas Herculaneum is to the west. Both of these observations will play key roles in the fate of Herculaneum.

Herculaneum is actually, believe it or not, better preserved than Pompeii in many ways. One example of this is that in Pompeii there is no preserved wood or actual skeletons. Yes, there are plaster casts that are really cool, but they can only tell us so much about the citizens of Pompeii’s last moments. In Herculaneum, there are hundreds of skeletons, 300 in the boathouses alone. The Herculaneum boathouses provide so much insight into the lives of Herculaneum’s residents.

One such insight is a look at the people’s diets. Archaeologists have used an archaeological technique known as Compound-Specific Isotope Analysis, or Stable Isotope Analysis. This basically means that a bunch of people in white coats ran tests on some bones to identify specific isotopes from different plants and animals that may have been eaten in that time period. The results showed that females in Herculaneum ate more terrestrial animals, and males ate more fish and marine life.

Another insight is through the aforementioned preserved wood. As I’ve said, there is no wood left in Pompeii. In Herculaneum, the wood and paper were carbonized, leaving behind exact carbon replicas of beds, chairs, tables, and even scrolls! This is where the positioning of Herculaneum comes into play. Pompeii was downwind, to the south of Mt. Vesuvius, so huge clouds of ash and pumice (a light, porous type of rock common at volcanic sites) covered the city. The pumice fell from these clouds, piling on and destroying the roofs of houses. This crushed the civilians sheltering underneath them, although some people survived. This meant that the wood was surrounded by porous rock, which allowed the wood to slowly rot away.

When volcanoes erupt, they spew hot magma onto the surface, which is terrifying to see if you’re too close. In reality though, the reason eruptions are so deadly is not the lava. It’s the superheated pyroclastic flows and surges that do the most damage. These are floods of volcanic ash and hot gases from an eruption. They suck oxygen from the air, cause terrible burns, and block out all sunlight. In Herculaneum, there was no pumice, just hot ash encasing everything, leaving no air to rot the wood.​ The superheated gases caused the wood to carbonate, protecting the wood against erosion. In Pompeii, the flows and surges had lost some heat and the wood had already been buried in pumice.

I mentioned in an above paragraph the Herculaneum boathouses. These were arched, beachside rooms where citizens waited for boats. When Mt. Vesuvius erupted, hundreds of people took shelter there. You may wonder, Why didn’t they leave the city? Why stay? The answer lies in history. A few years before the eruption, Herculaneum was struck by a terrible earthquake that destroyed much of the city. The boathouses were the perfect shelter during that natural disaster. In the days preceding Mt. Vesuvius’ eruption, there were also earthquakes as is common before eruptions. Many people hid in the boathouses under the assumption that this was another earthquake.

There is one final amazing artifact from Herculaneum that I’m going to share about. The artifact in question was found in a temple devoted to Augustus called the Collegium Augustalium. A forensic archaeologist named Dr. Pierpaolo Partone discovered the only example of a vitrified human brain there. (Vitrified means turned to glass.) The superheated temperatures, followed by a sudden decrease in temperature, turned a man’s brain to glass. He was found lying in his bed. No where else has there ever been found a vitrified human brain. This is one of the things that make Herculaneum such an important archaeological site.

Herculaneum is a treasure trove of history, and new technologies are helping to uncover more and more about this ancient city’s past. I hope that this article has imbued in you a want for more.

Sources:

Britannica. Herculaneum. 23 August, 25.

https://www.britannica.com/place/Herculaneum

Giordano, G., Pensa, A., Vona, A. et al. Unique formation of organic glass from a human brain in the Vesuvius eruption of 79 CE. Sci Rep 15, 5955 (2025). 

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-88894-5

National Geographic. Lost Treasures Of Rome. 24 August, 25.

https://www.natgeotv.com/za/shows/natgeo/lost-treasures-of-rome#episodes-t3

Piercy, L. BREAKTHROUGH: Discovery made from within 2,000 year-old Herculaneum scrolls. 13 October, 23.

https://uknow.uky.edu/research/breakthrough-discovery-made-within-2000-year-old-herculaneum-scrolls

Research Gate. Herculaneum victims of Vesuvius in AD 79. 24 August, 25.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Pierpaolo-Petrone

Science Advances. High-resolution dietary reconstruction of victims of the 79 CE Vesuvius eruption at Herculaneum by compound-specific isotope analysis. 25 August, 21.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abg5791

The Past. Wooden Wonders Of Herculaneum. 24 August, 25.

https://the-past.com/feature/wooden-wonders-of-herculaneum/