The start of fall semester signals two more beginnings; school is starting to ramp up and so is football season. The Technique sat down with one of the biggest personalities on campus and on the football field: Buzz himself!

Chenyang “Randy” Liang is a recent Tech graduate who formerly served as Buzz. As he delved into details about what occurs inside the costume of Tech’s mascot, Randy shared some exclusive behind-the-scenes moments with the Technique.

Randy admitted that he was at first hesitant to take on such a high-profile role, considering the magnitude of the beloved mascot’s presence.

As a symbol of student life at Tech, Buzz is expected to pump up crowds at athletic events and lift spirits around campus. Randy was unsure about whether he would be a good fit.
“At first it came as a joke,” he said, “but after six months it became a passion. It was awesome.”

Once he gained more confidence, Randy began to enjoy many aspects of his new role. He shared some of the highlights from his “awesome” time as Buzz.

“It was a way for me to release all the stress and the pressure,” he said. “School at Tech can be difficult, and this was my fun and my passion.

“Another thing that made it awesome was the connection I was able to make with people as Buzz. Many people don’t know me — but they all know Buzz. It was also a way to take my creativity to the next level, since I was always thinking about what to do next!”

Randy shared the ways in which his creativity helped him in his role as he aspired to create a culture of fun surrounding Buzz.

He explained how creating this culture could be as simple as showing up — the mascot was such a recognizable and unifying force that built up energy and camaraderie among students of all different backgrounds.

“Within the Georgia Tech community, Buzz represents swag and fun,” Randy said. “It gives a stage to break the gap between people.

“I didn’t even have to talk — I just had silent communication. Buzz is a perfect platform to feed off people’s energy, build it up and overcome differences.”

Buzz not only had the opportunity to feed off of the energy at Tech, but from places all across the U.S., such as Chicago, Orlando and New York.

Tech’s mascot is not just popular around campus, but also receives “buzz” from all over. He is requested to travel to events ranging from elementary school visits to NCAA tournament promotions.

“I experienced things that I would not have been able to otherwise,” said Randy. “And on top of that, I could give people memories that they will remember … Through Buzz I learned and developed a passion and pride for my school. I love Georgia Tech so much.”

Randy’s role as Buzz not only gave him the chance to create lasting memories for others, but it also provided him with many memories of his own. He cited ceremonies as being of special significance to him.

“For me, the most special thing was graduation and senior day,” Randy said. “This is because I know that this is everybody’s last time ­— their peak moment in college. You sacrifice for so long, and this is your moment.”

As Randy revealed, serving as Buzz is a serious commitment. Although the famed mascot is a staple of student life on campus, Randy acknowledges that the role is not suited for everyone.

Randy offers his advice to readers pursuing any commitment, mascot-related or not. “Know what you are getting into. Own your own craft and fully commit to the job. Take pride in your work, do it with your heart and have passion.”

For 50 years now, Tech’s art and literary magazine Erato has provided a platform for artistic expression. The magazine’s 55 pages are a physical embodiment of a campus rich with thoughts and ideas. Each issue, from 1969 to the present day, represents a snapshot of a moment in time at Tech, and the stories the community has to share with the world.

Each year, the magazine is carefully curated by its staff and published in the spring. This year, in celebration of its 50th anniversary, an additional issue of the magazine, containing 50 works that span the last 50 years, will be published in November.

“[Erato] has been around for 50 years, and it’s come a long way. People back then cared a lot about writing and art, and people now still do,” said former Editor-in-Chief Gautami Chennur.

While the first issues of Erato were simple black and white leaflets comprised of photography on film and a handful of mailed in submissions — digital photography and internet submissions had not entered the scene as of yet, even at a technology school — recent issues of the magazine are completely in color, with a digital submission process on their website that has maximized efficiency.

During the 2018 – 2019 school year, Erato received around 350 submissions. In addition to pieces submitted on the website, all artwork submitted to the Clough Art Crawl is sent to the magazine for consideration. Once the submission deadline has passed, members of the magazine staff look through the art and literary pieces to select the ones that will be published.

The staff determines which pieces will be paired together, heeding the tone and messages of the works. They then lay out the pages accordingly.

The artistic essence of the magazine is in the submitted works, as well as in the design the staff has carefully crafted to present the pieces as a story.

“The best part of being involved in the magazine is seeing all the work that comes through,” Chennur said. “A small percentage of it makes it into the magazine, but we get a lot of amazing submissions, and it’s really hard for us to decide what really makes it through at the end. But just being able to see all that gives me a lot of confidence in the Georgia Tech arts community.

“It’s really fun designing something that complements other people’s art,” the former EIC continued.

“When you’re creating your own art, it’s often that you decide the topic and the focus, but when you’re designing the magazine, it’s a lot about complementing the literary pieces and art and coming up with something cohesive. I think putting all the pieces of that puzzle together has been very fun.”

The staff of the magazine is comprised of passionate students representing an array of majors at Tech, from LMC to the natural sciences.

“Erato is very open to new people and new ideas about art, so even if you don’t really have experience, or if you have experience and aren’t sure about how that can be translated into art, come talk to us and we can help you,” said current Editor-in-Chief Sabrina Wilson.

“We can teach people the skills if they’re interested in designing the magazine, and if they’re looking for people to review their work, we’re here. We’re here for the artistic community of the school.”

During Erato’s next 50 years and onwards, the magazine’s staff, editors and dedicated readers hope to continue to see it blossom and expand across mediums.

“The magazine has come a really long way. Just the fact that we have the amount of presence that we have is great, and we’ve been working towards making it more exciting for everyone.

“It used to not be in color, and really over my time here, we’ve gotten to see all the pages come out in color and create a really interwoven experience for the reader.

“The goal is to take that forward, to keep looking for amazing art, and also maybe try to integrate more with the technology side of things,” said Chennur.

Meetings are held on Mondays from 6 – 7 p.m. in the student publication office of the Student Services building. The office is an open and inviting environment for all undergraduates and graduates to learn about the magazine and express their ideas.

Seersucker suits, cicada songs and makeshift paper fans: all the staples of a Southern summertime gathering were present on Sept. 4th in Harrison Square at the celebration of the first African American students at Tech.

The highlight of the celebration centered on the unveiling of the two “Trailblazers” sculptures.

“The Three Pioneers” honors Ford Greene, Ralph Long Jr. and Lawrence Williams, the first African American students at Tech, while “The First Graduate” honors Ronald Yancey, the first African American graduate from Tech.

The bronze statues are life-size replicas of the students as depicted from the early ‘60s.

The pioneering alumni were commemorated next to the “Continuing the Conversation” statue that was erected in Spring 2018, which celebrated the work of Rosa Parks.

The earlier piece depicts Parks at ages 42 and 92, with an open seat inviting students to join in the discussion of how to combat discrimination. Today the “Trailblazers” statues help to continue those conversations about diversity on campus.

The President of the African American Student Union Nandi-Assata Tavares weighed in on the importance of this historic event for the way in which it paved the path for diversity to increase within Tech’s student body.

“Without [the Trailblazers’] hard work and resilience, the black Georgia Tech community would not be where we are today,” said Tavares.

Dr. Archie W. Ervin, vice president and chief diversity officer at Georgia Tech also shared his input. For Ervin, these statues are a message about what kind of community he wants to see here at Tech: one that is more accepting of diversity and differences.

“As you look upon the statues of these four trailblazers who came here, upon this very campus in 1961, let us remember the courage and commitment that it took for them to be here,” Ervin said.

“We should be reminded to be strong as we continue to make Georgia Tech the kind of community that it should be for all members.”

Dr. Ángel Cabrera, only two days into his new position as Tech’s 12th President, thanked former President Bud Peterson for working to make these statues a possibility. Cabrera also discussed the diversity panel that was held at the Institute’s 11th Annual Diversity Symposium earlier that morning in which the trailblazing men shared their experience at Tech.

“Sometimes when change happens at the magnitude of what happened in this country, students think that change is inevitable, that it would have happened anyway,” said Cabrera.

“We should know better. It takes individuals to actually drive change. Those statues mean that to us. For what you did for this place, I, on behalf of the entire Georgia Tech community, say thank you.”

Provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs at Tech Dr. Rafael Bras cited the Korean War Veterans Memorial statues in Washington, D.C. as the inspiration for the Trailblazers design.

“Interactivity was the ultimate aim,” said Bras. “The idea behind ‘The Three Pioneers’ and ‘The First Graduate’ is that our students, faculty, staff and any visitors would be able to walk among them and be seated beside them.”

“We have come a long way since Rosa Parks started a movement that fateful day in December 1955, but not far enough. Discrimination is still alive and well, and I have seen it and I have lived it. Bigotry and exclusion have a pernicious impact on people, creating self-doubt, isolating the mind and the intellect. They are weapons of marginalization of the spirit. It takes incredible self-assurance and fortitude to survive.”

Bo Gobold, who initially conceived and funded the project along with his wife Betsy, reminded participants that this moment was one of celebration for the Tech community.

“I’ve had some people wonder why I don’t have on a dark, appropriate business suit,” Gobold said, referring to his bright yellow polka-dotted blazer. “This ain’t a funeral. This is a celebration!”

“These statues to me are permanent reminders to the campus now and in the future of what life was fifty-eight years ago, and so I would like today’s students, next year’s students, Ralph’s grandson, my grandson, to look at those someday … and continue to move forward, not backward,” Gobold said.

The statue “The Three Pioneers” is on display in Harrison Square, while “The First Graduate” is in G. Wayne Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons.

This past Thursday, Hurricane Dorian finally made landfall in the coastal areas of Georgia. After sitting over the Bahamas for a long period earlier last week, Dorian began creeping up the Atlantic coast. Areas of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas evacuated in the days leading up to the storm. Many Tech students who live in these areas aided family members as they evacuated. Alex Carter, a second-year ME from St. Simon’s Island, Ga., described helping her family pack prior to evacuating.

“As we secured our home in preparation to leave due to [Dorian], I took one long look back and realized … our lives could be very different 24 hours from now,” Carter explained.

Despite ominous reports leading up to Dorian’s impact, the devastation was minimal to most areas of Georgia. Governor Brian Kemp took a cautious approach and enacted mandatory evacuations in various counties east of I-95 early last week as well as declaring a state of emergency in 21 counties.

“We do not want to have a death in Georgia because of the storm, because of somebody not taking it seriously,” Governor Kemp was quoted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Early this week, Georgia Power finally restored power to the few areas that experienced outages along the coast. Apart from power issues, some of the barrier islands along the Ga. coast like Tybee Island and St. Simon’s Island experienced high winds, fallen trees and rising water along the coastline. Luckily, no serious injuries or fatalities have been reported in Georgia.

Dorian’s slow movement across the Caribbean was considered unusual by many experts. Zachary Handlos of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences here at Tech commented, “It is very rare to see that happen over land, such as what occurred in the Bahamas a few days ago.” At one point, the hurricane slowed to less than 1 mph when passing over the Bahamas.

Meteorologists reported that the high-pressure system over the Bermuda Area pushed Dorian west toward the Bahamas where it slowed after making landfall. This resulted in a large deviation from the original estimated trajectories reported by the National Weather Service. As a result, Dorian hit the Bahamas hard, but was downgraded to a category two storm before reaching the US coast.

Due to the damages sustained in many areas of the Bahamas, the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs here at Tech has started a relief drive to benefit Bahamians in need as a result of the storm. They are collecting monetary donations as well as food and specific goods listed on their website at iac.gatech.edu

Tech students ought to consider donating and checking on friends and family that may have been affected by the storm. As hurricane season continues for the coming months, areas of the Caribbean and the Atlantic are expected to face additional storms.

On Monday, Sept. 9, U.S. News and World Report released its annual undergraduate rankings of 1,921 colleges from around the world. On this ranking, Tech ranked as 5th in the country for public universities, 29th in the country overall and 69th in the world. Tech shot up from its rankings in 2018, from 8th in public universities and 35th in the nation, as well as edging up from 71st internationally.

Colleges at Tech were also highly ranked as were individual degree programs. The College of Engineering is tied with the California Institute of Technology for 4th-best undergraduate engineering program in the country. Each undergraduate engineering program made the top five of its kind in the country. 2020 marks the 25th year in a row that the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering makes the top of the list for industrial engineering programs.

The College of Business ties with seven other universities for the 22nd spot in the best business program category, and many of their programs ranked in the top-ten nationally.

Tech also ranked fourth in the innovation category, fifth for co-ops and internships and eighth for undergraduate research and creative projects.

The rankings are calculated based on data from the 2018 school year. U.S. News and World Report evaluates schools in the following broad categories: regional colleges, regional universities, national liberal arts colleges and national universities. Tech is classified as a national university because it is among schools that “offer a full range of undergraduate majors, plus master’s and doctoral programs, and emphasize faculty research or award professional practice doctorates.”

Each school is evaluated on fifteen indicators of success, each of which is weighted differently based on importance. The factors include outcomes, such as graduation and retention rates, graduation rate performance, and social mobility; faculty resources, such as class size and faculty salary; expert opinions; financial resources; student excellence, such as standardized tests and high school standing; and alumni giving.

Based on the ranking and weight of each indicator, each college is assigned a score on the 0 to 100 scale. Tech’s final score was 72. Graduate program rankings from U.S. News and World Report are released annually in the spring.

Rankings are just numbers, but they are numbers that can greatly impact the way students choose which school to go to and the way employers evaluate the prestige of a degree. U.S. News and World Report uses just one method of ranking a school; others include the Times Higher Education Rankings (38th internationally), Forbes (65th nationally) and Niche (5th among public schools).

These rankings reflect not only the quality of the university, but also the student body. The prestige belongs to all Jackets.

In the current media landscape, it can be easy to conflate an onslaught of franchise installments with a perceived drop-off in movie quality. While 2019 has admittedly had one of the weakest original-movie outputs in recent memory, a number of terrific small-budget films exist just outside the mainstream public consciousness. For those who have been unable to keep up, here is a selection of 2019’s finest works that should not go unappreciated.

BookSmart

Upon realizing that their apparently unsophisticated counterparts have managed to excel academically while also enjoying their adolescence, a pair of do-good students (played extraordinarily by Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein) set out to make up for four years of lost time with one extraordinary night on the eve of their graduation.

While the popular comparison to “Superbad” certainly proves apt in myriad ways, attaching such a moniker undersells the merits of “Booksmart.” In fact, comedy is only one scintilla of the value “Booksmart” has to offer, though the movie is funny enough to make critics uncross their arms.

While the narrative may at times feel aimless, the final act ties everything together with a terrific completeness. Penned by four female screenwriters, the script is dedicated to deconstructing character archetypes while never losing sight of the movie’s heart — one incredible friendship.

Moreover, in her directorial debut, Olivia Wilde delivers a flex that surpasses some longtime filmmakers. Where lesser comedies are often visually uninspired, her direction deftly maximizes the effect of every individual scene with incredible vision and imagination. The combination results in a comedy that transcends the genre’s usual shortcomings of characters, visuals, emotional resonance and message.

The Farewell

Writer-director Lulu Wang’s real-life grandmother was diagnosed with cancer and given only a few months to live. Rather than inform her of the prognosis, the family deemed it best to withhold it from Wang’s grandmother in an elaborate lie. Wang — the daughter of Asian-American immigrants — had difficulty reconciling this common Chinese practice with her personal American values. Based on her own real-life experience, “The Farewell” is an immigrant story about her family’s journey back to China to visit her grandmother, all under the guise of her cousin’s wedding.

Once the film has succinctly laid out this premise over roughly its first ten minutes, viewers are thrust into the center of this dramatic family conflict. Still, where the circumstances feel deeply emotional, the performances and execution are carefully undramatized with nuance and subtlety.

In what may be the best ensemble acting of the year, the cast captures the silent emotions and simmering turmoil of a grieving family, led by a particularly revelatory showing from Awkwafina as the central character. Wang’s writing and direction both display a great magnitude of patience, thoughtfulness and craft. The specificity is what unlocks the film for those unable to personally relate, giving them a resonant and impactful exploration of family, grief and immigration.

The nightingale

“The Nightingale,” — the second feature from writer director Jennifer Kent — is a period drama set in 19th century Australia about an Irish convict seeking retributive justice towards the British officer who committed horrific, unspeakable crimes against her, involving sexual assault and the deaths of her husband and child. After said crimes, the protagonist Clare (Aisling Franciosi) chases into the woods after her perpetrator with the guidance of Billy (Baykali Ganambarr) — an indigenous black man.

Although “The Nightingale” is directed and acted quite well, the narrative alone is what carries the film. The script finds commonalities between Clare and Billy, reflects on the trauma of the crime and subsequent fight for justice, provides a definitive stance on how justice should look and is compelling all the while.

This premise is not to be taken lightly, though, as the film explicitly displays graphic, intense rape scenes numerous times. However, Kent’s employment of such imagery is not misguided and exploitative, but rather intended to fearlessly examine sexual and racial politics in addition to exploring what true justice entails. In fact, what makes this gruesome, provocative story worth enduring is Kent’s filmic perspective and how it relates to the “Me Too” era.

The Last Black Man

In their debut feature film, writer-director Joe Talbot and writer-actor Jimmie Fails deliver a dazzling visual feast. The lifelong friends’ movie, “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” is close to their hearts and homes, set around gentrification and marginalization in the titular city.

When his childhood home suddenly goes on sale, Jimmie Fails — the character, played by the actor of the same name — decides to do everything he can to reclaim it. Aided by his friend Montgomery Allen (played by Jonathan Majors), Fails initially squats in the home before meeting with realtors and decorating. Meanwhile, Montgomery works on his writing which will ultimately bring about the film’s climax.

While the subject matter might be what draws viewers, the stylistic flourishes are what makes the film great. The cinematography — by Adam Newport-Berra — and the art direction of Olivia Kanz produce scenes so exquisitely beautiful that they are not just memorable but emotionally resonant, and Emile Mosseri’s music is a gorgeous orchestral complement. The dual combination imbues the film with life and a deep sense of yearning. While other movies may deliver more thrills, few incite feeling as well as “The Last Black Man in San Francisco.”

Consider the action game, a staple of gaming from its inception. The player defeats enemies and traverses levels, overcoming obstacles to eventually reach a predetermined goal. Even the earliest action games like “Spacewar!” (1962) have an implicit story told by the shape of the player characters: two rockets made to look like Kennedy-era spacecraft that compete to destroy each other. This interaction between story and play is often called “ludonarrative.” Challenge in action games creates two narratives: the story presented to the player by the game, and the story created by the player through the game.

What happens when a developer crafts an excellent ludonarrative action experience in one game, but fails to do the same in subsequent titles? One need look no further than the case of “Far Cry 5” (2018). The Far Cry series consists of first-person shooters which place the player character alone in an exotic locale and task them with surviving in the face of enemy humans, vicious wildlife and disease. The player graduates from mere survival to outright dominance of the world they inhabit, in many ways resembling old adventure stories like Robinson Crusoe.

“Far Cry 3” and “Far Cry 5” are superficially similar. Most mechanics are shared between them, and they retain a uniform art style. The key differences between these two titles are in how story and gameplay interact, specifically, in terms of character progression.

Many action games give the player some indication that they and the player character are increasing in strength; this may be as simple as the number of weapons held in “Doom,” or as up front as the changes to X’s costume in “Mega Man X” with each upgrade gained.

“Far Cry 3” opts for the latter, where upgrades selected by the player after gaining enough experience points not only provide new gameplay options for the player, but also appear as parts of a tattoo on the player character’s arm, visible in the first-person perspective. The player character is a wealthy Californian who is kidnapped while vacationing with his friends in the Pacific, and the formation of the tattoo on his arm, caused by the player improving their skills in the game, represents his alienation from his former life. By the end of the story, the player has mastered the world of “Far Cry 3” and defeated every challenge before them, but the player character cannot return home because of the actions perpetrated by the player. The actions of the player directly relate to the story of the player character — this is a strong ludonarrative connection.

Alternatively, “Far Cry 5” gives the player control of a sheriff’s deputy stranded in a section of rural Montana controlled by a cult. The game’s story follows the deputy helping create a resistance to the cult and eventually toppling their leadership, but the progression of the player and player character have no interaction whatsoever. Story and gameplay do not intersect. In fact, story actively impedes gameplay. The player no longer uses plants and animal skins to create ability and capacity upgrades; they are all tied to generic experience-based upgrade tokens that completely strip the survival aspect from the game and story. These upgrades also have no physical presence in the game outside of widening the character’s ability pool, but the player character is a trained law enforcement officer rather than a doughy trust fund baby, completely divorcing player and player character progression from one another.

The breakdown of ludonarrative quality between “Far Cry 3” and “Far Cry 5” represents a general downward trend in quality of AAA game narratives, one that regresses video games as a potential narrative medium and contributes to the mindlessness that the public associates with video games as an art form. “Far Cry 5” and other action games of its time are a step backward for gaming and ought to be examined as such.

Today I was asked the question, “Do you carry your stress well?” Without much thought, I chuckled in response. When I realized the question was serious, I raised my eyebrows and said, “You do realize it’s my last year, right?”

Sure, it’s possible I was being dramatic. However, I am two and a half weeks into my senior year, and the only response I could manage was a laugh and an incredulous look.

It is not exactly the workload that is responsible for this overwhelming feeling. While upper-level courses do bring their fair share of work, they are not necessarily the root of the issue. At this point in my academic career, I am confident in my ability to manage my classes and my extracurricular activities (something I am grateful for).

Rather, my internal dilemma is one I think many students are faced with: how do we reconcile enjoying the present while continuing to be laser-focused on our futures, especially with said future feeling very, very close? I recognize that I am perhaps more nostalgic than the average 22 year old and that maybe this dilemma is not quite as universal as I imagine it to be, but I think many people who are approaching one of life’s biggest transitions can relate to that unavoidable feeling of “Where am I going?” — especially with the career fair right around the corner and your well-meaning relatives prodding to find out your plans for the next two, five, ten years.

Senior year is meant to be fun — and it is. That is, when the question “What’s next?” does not pop into my brain every few minutes.

This year brings the awareness of a lot of “lasts,” which, inevitably, brings the desire to make the most of these moments. Yet, it also seems to exist at an intersection of two mindsets.

The first, to live in the present and enjoy these moments, and the second, to plan for what’s next. I want to make time for my friends that are moving across the country in May, and I want to spend my available evenings at my favorite spot on campus. I want to bask in all of these things that I love about Tech while I am still here.

But I also want a job. I want to plan for the future. I want to know that I am using this degree I’ve worked hard for.

So that begs the question, do I spend the night in and perfect my resume, or do I go get ice cream with my friends? I do not think that these are mutually exclusive — but sometimes it is difficult to enjoy the present when I am so consumed by the future. Tech is not exactly a place that makes postponing the job search any easier, either. For every Canvas update in my email inbox, there are at least two emails about career opportunities or applications opening. Most of my conversations with my peers have revolved around our future careers, too.

However, I know that time doesn’t stop for me, and whether I feel fully prepared or not, this is my last year as a Tech student. And that knowledge is what makes me say yes to ice cream and to spending my evenings at my favorite spot on campus. But, you will find me simultaneously scrolling through Careerbuzz and updating my LinkedIn profile in the hopes that I can peacefully exist at this crossroads for the next few months.

For those who have wondered what it would be like to go to a grown up version of the Scholastic book fair, the Decatur Book Festival offers an answer. The festival is the perfect chance to scour shelves and tents of books with more to spend than the $20 mom provided in elementary school.

Every year, the Decatur Book Festival, sponsored by The Atlanta Journal Constitution, spans from Friday to Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Located just 20 miles from Tech’s campus in the middle of Decatur Square, the festival is just a short MARTA ride away for students looking for something free and fun to do.

Sometimes overshadowed by the grandeur of Dragon Con, which occurs on the same weekend in various locations around intown Atlanta, the Decatur Book Festival has something for everyone. The festival features local authors from all around the state, independent bookseller stands, an array of food trucks and most importantly, King of Pops and Steele City Pops stands on seemingly every corner.

This year, the festival welcomed Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to speak about and offer signings of her children’s book “Just Ask!: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You.” Free tickets for the event sold out within ten minutes of the announcement being made in August.

Those that weren’t able to snag Sonia Sotomayor tickets in time still had the opportunity to get their women-in-leadership fix on Saturday with a special session from Stacey Abrams. Abrams sat down to talk about her New York Times bestselling book “Lead from the Outside: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change.”

New to the festival this year was the child-oriented Graphix Con. The Graphix Con served as a miniature comic book and graphic novel convention where children could to work at different booths to illustrate and write their own comics.

For those not interested in reading, Decatur Square itself is home to a whole lineup of small shops and boutiques for browsing. All this is not to mention all of the good restaurants around the square, including but not limited to thai, sushi and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams.

The accessibility of the festival by MARTA and its abundance of affordable parking space located in the Dekalb County Courthouse parking deck make the festival seem easier to get to in comparison with most Atlanta based festivals. Although the festival is on the smaller side it is jam packed with fun events and good food that make it perfect for a Labor Day weekend day trip away from campus.

Green lights flash as the roller coaster jolts to a start. The camera pans to the left, revealing Travis Scott, up close and personal. Released on Aug. 28 the Netflix Original “Travis Scott: Look Mom I Can Fly” is a roller coaster ride similar to the one that the Houston, Texas born rapper enjoys in the opening scene of his documentary.

The film highlights the tumultuous and highly successful past two years of Travis Scott’s career, while also further exploring the perplexity of his personal life and the cyclical nature which connects both his past and present. The majority of the first half hour of the hour and twenty-four minute long documentary is intense footage from the rapper’s concerts.

A certain passion courses through the veins of every concert goer, founded in a combination of obsession and appreciation for Travis, and his energy within each performance is palpable through the screen. Images of flashing lights, pyrotechnics and an abundance of fans heaving their bodies into a wild crowd characterize his concerts with a unique vibrancy and fascination.

This fast paced beginning is soon juxtaposed with old home videos of Travis Scott’s childhood, a time when he went by Jack, short for Jacques Webster Jr. Throughout the documentary this personal film is inserted sequentially in order to develop the multifaceted connection between his past and present personal life and career.

The most frequent scenes of Webster’s past are those of his time in Astroworld, a defunct amusement park in Houston, which served as the muse for his triple Grammy nominated album “Astroworld.” The footage of his own childhood experiences is used next to that of his and Kylie Jenner’s daughter, Stormi, in order to highlight the repetitive nature of Scott’s life and the way he reflects upon in many different aspects of the past two years.

Similarly, videos of young Jacques Webster with his family are used in combination with recent footage of them attending his concerts as an emotional trigger to further build the concept of Travis Scott as much more than an enigma who only exists in the media.

However, as implied by the metaphor of his roller coaster ride in the thrilling opening scene of the film, Travis Scott’s journey has not been a simple route to stardom. The volatile nature of the rapper’s life is depicted through footage of his arrest and release from jail, conversations with his lawyer and his mugshot.

Later, the documentary takes a more morbid turn in order to pay homage to DJ Screw who Travis notes as a key influence in the development of “Astroworld” and his music making process as a whole. The scene serves as a reflection on the mortality of all lives, even those of celebrities.

In addition to his exponential success over the course of the last two years, the movie explores his greatest disappointment: the 2019 Grammy’s. Although Travis received three separate Grammy nominations for “Astroworld,” all of them failed to come to fruition, resulting in an extended period of self-loathing and stress. The documentary successfully captures how public yet personal the loss was for Travis and uses this setback as a catalyst to exhibit his ability to overcome his failures.

Though the movie does not necessarily comply with the typical characteristics of an informative documentary, it successfully provides a personal, visually intriguing insight into the life of Travis Scott. The film closes with footage of young Jacques Webster leaving Astroworld and then cutting to recent family footage of him, Kylie and Stormi. The imagery serves as a somewhat cliched yet genuinely heartwarming ending and highlights Scott’s appreciation for the consistent support from those in his personal life throughout the highs and lows of his capricious lifestyle.