By Lauren Johnson

With the cold season comes the desire to stay inside, pour a hot drink, and cozy up with a novel. But what novel? Below are some novels that might just draw you in. With every book be sure to check the trigger warnings if that is something you might be worried about.

They Both Die At the End
By Adam Silvera

If you are if search of a fast-paced, futuristic romance with LGBTQ+ representation, look no further. This book is guaranteed to pull people in until the very last line, leaving readers questioning their perspective on life.

The main characters of the story, Mateo and Rufus, are on death’s doorstep and have the choice between letting fear control their last moments, or live carefree with the time they have left. Adam Silvera does an exquisite job at creating a story that is filled with so much joy, and heartbreak. All in all, this novel is and always will be a top read.

Readers who are sensitive to death, gang violence, homophobia, mental illness, panic attacks, suicide, and drowning may want to stay away from this novel.

Little Women
By Louisa May Alcott

The story is set in Boston through the duration and after the Civil War and follows four sisters attempting to find their way in the world while struggling to overcome poverty and societal expectations.

If you are looking for a comforting read with a strong and independent female protagonist, this is the book for you. Louisa did a wonderful job at creating such an enticing story that brought light to many problems of the time. This classic from 1869 is a must read for everyone.

Readers who are sensitive to racism, sexism, and antisemitism may want to stay away from this novel.

The Priory of The Orange Tree
By Samantha Shannon

This 848-page novel is the perfect blend of fantasy, modern ideology, and romance. Although intimidating, this standalone is a masterpiece that will not leave you unsatisfied.

The story is set in medieval times where men and women hold equal positions of power that is not limited to race, sexuality, or gender. The only barrier between people is, unfortunately, their economic status. Within the pages of this book is fantastic representation all around. The only complaint you might have in the end is that there was not more to the story.

Readers who are sensitive to death, childhood trauma, racism, implied domestic violence, and drug use may want to stay away from this novel.

By Catlyn Anderson

Supernatural is a 15 season CW show that is available to stream on Netflix about Sam and Dean Winchester who hunt and kill monsters.

Their family has been burdened with tragedy from the very beginning. Their mom, Mary was killed by a demon, which led to their dad, John to hunt her killer. The boys were young, but they grow to learn what hunting monsters was all about.

The show is a drama, mystery, funny, and a little bit scary. If you can get past the gore and fights, it can be entertaining.

Sam, Dean and many characters come and go throughout the show. Some stories include God, angels, Lucifer, demons, hell, and heaven. Yes, even vampires, and werewolves.

All 15 seasons are addictive and you may even want to watch it all over again.

By Carter Phillips

The Possessed (1965)

The Possessed is not a film in The Criterion Collection and not a film which is studied in film school, it is lost to obscurity, thankfully spotlighted by Blu-ray boutique label: Arrow Video.

Wrongfully forgotten, the film is an early Giallo (Italian crime thriller) about a writer who seeks a woman he used to know.

Upon discovering she’s died under mysterious circumstances, the small town he used to use as a hideaway now becomes a deranged world where reality and dream mix.

Falling from life to slumber, imagination to possibility, he stumbles into evidence, coming closer and closer to the conclusion.

He is obsessed and he is grieving yet little is known about their relationship. They may have just been acquaintances.

Tokyo Twilight (1957)

Tokyo Twilight’s director Yasijuro Ozu is most well known for Good Morning (a remake of his silent film: I Was Born But…) and the Noriko Trilogy: Late Spring, Early Autumn, and Tokyo Story.

All are films worth watching, however I think more attention should be payed to his 1957 masterpiece: Tokyo Twilight which shows the ongoing lives of a family, but mainly of a daughter going through a secret abortion.

All of Ozu’s films were technically similar. His style was so precise that it becomes instantly recognizable when a film was made by him, yet also obvious when another was attempting to use his style.

He specialized in small-scale dramas about everyday people living in Japan. He never made the same film twice, even when reusing plot or remaking an older film, there were also vast differences. His worlds were one in the same yet miles apart.

His films are slow. The shots linger as to mimic real conversation and to spotlight the true nature of time. They were meditative. A person can get lost in an Ozu film, get to know the characters as if they were close friends, and then have they’re emotions shattered by the turmoil.

The one I picked is his darkest and as the name would suggest, it takes place mostly during the nighttime. The subject matter is both controversial and emotionally devastating. All this is contrasted with the snow of the winter season. It is Ozu’s only film that takes place during winter.

The film never picks any sides. All characters have deeply human viewpoints, they are nuanced. Specifically on abortion, the film still doesn’t pick a side. The camera is a spectator.

The main character can’t escape the shadow of her almost noble sister, the favorite. This perhaps unintentionally harkens back to James Dean in East of Eden.

She’s bad. She’s all messed up… Or is it just the world?

The film has many levels it can be viewed at, depending on your intelligence. In simplicity there is complexity. The depth does not come from what is spoken, but what is not.

The Third Man (1949)

A post-war Vienna is crime ridden. The police Lieutenant is doing the best that he can, but the film is not about him.

Holly Martins is an American pulp novelist who came in search for his friend.

His friend is dead, but the stories don’t add up.

He decides to do his own amateur sleuthing but puts himself in danger.

Meanwhile, the friend’s old lover is grieving for a man who may not have even cared for her.

Although made in 1949, it’s a cinematic page turner. Having seen it multiple times, I’m always enthralled by the film as if it’s a first watch.

The Third Man excels in every aspect, rightfully believed to be the best British film todate.

It’s noir cinematography, breezy street-music style score, incredible characters, perfect acting, splendid plot twists, great direction by Carol Reed and somber world-weary endued tone make it one of the best accomplishments of cinema.

By Carter Phillips

On October 16th at the Fargo Theater the halls were filled with organ music that birthed from the auditorium. Buster Keatons first feature length film ‘The Three Ages’ was depicted on the screen, but it is from 1923 meaning it has no sound. It is a silent film, a relic of a dead age.

The silent era of cinema is the most important simply because it was the Genesis of its art-form. Because there was no sound, the first auteurs discovered that to tell a story well, they have to convey the plot visually. This made for films with much stronger effort and style.

Today however the majority of silent cinema is forgotten by the general public and the small amount of people who watch them is dwindling.

Besides Mary Pickford, Buster Keaton, and Charlie Chaplin which movie stars of the time are even remembered? And more importantly, does it matter that these films are slowly becoming less and less relevant to contemporary moviegoers?

In 1996 Susan Santog wrote an essay titled: The Decay of Cinema and it brings up many points that Martin Scorsese would later vocalize.

Cinema is becoming tarnished by the people running the American film industry. It’s no longer about telling good stories, it’s about world building, marketing, merchandise and controlling the monopoly.

People stopped watching movies for stars, only famous characters. Not because they care, but because everyone else cares.

Streaming services curate what films each person watches through algorithms. Films become lost in the flow, leaving only the big-budget films recommended. Unless somebody seeks them out, there are no ways to find the next Rocky, Star Wars or Alien.

In the year 2015 I saw a silent movie for the first time, which was so old that by then everyone involved in it was dead. It was the 1925 adaption of The Phantom of the Opera, Universal Pictures first foray into the horror genre.

It was unlike anything I’d ever seen. It came from a completely different world. I witnessed ghosts returned to life. I had a window into that past.

The whole cinematic grammar was different. The frame rate, aspect ratio, acting style, musical accompaniment, color tinting and visual quality all toppled together to create an enchanted, unsettling and most importantly uncanny experience.

What followed was a fascination with these films and a desire to watch as many surviving as I could.

They were made simply because they could be made. Despite limitations, people pursued. It wasn’t about theater domination to the masters of cinema, that was just a benefit.

This otherworldly atmosphere, sheer creativity and historical relevance is what attracted me.

Contrast this with the money makers of today. They’re fun and they entertain but are they lasting? How long has it been since cinema became something special!? Not just white noise to play from Netflix while you wander around on your phone.

When was the last time you went to a film at the movie theater and really felt something? The last time you got lost in a story, that you wondered, “How did they do that?”, or simply felt any emotion other than distraction from reality?

Cinema is not dead, the recent Dune film is a major step-up from most blockbusters of today, however it is an exception.

Still, where are the next franchise starters. They live only as streaming service originals.

The way we watch films is changing too. It’s loosing its social appeal. The movie theaters have been on the decline sense television but now if a film comes out, most people just wait until it is dropped on a streaming service and now people can do that on release date depending on the film.

It used to be an event to go to the cinema, like church for storytelling. They used to be grandiose and elegant. Most importantly, it was social. You were stuck in a room, with a bunch of strangers, but it didn’t matter. In the cinema everyone was equal. Everyone just sat down and watched a movie.

So what is all this rambling leading to? How do I conclude?

The main take away is that silent cinema is something I love, and it’s slowly being forgotten. Nobody notices any historical or artistic relevance to these films.

There’s a thing about films. They outlive they’re creators. They are made to be eternal, to be a statement on the person who made them and to represent humanity through the confines of plot. Yet people nowadays don’t give old films a chance just because they have a preconceived notion that all of them are boring. To deprive yourself of this is to deprive yourself of art.