Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:21 Live from WMUR news. I'm Alex Harrison. You're listening to the six o'clock news on the D on WMUR 89.3, FM HD one Evanston Chicago it's Monday, February 14th, 2022 tonight on WMUR news, a conversation with 2020 presidential candidate, Marianne Williamson, a deep dive on why romantic movies are so effective and compelling and Northwestern gamers make time for the valor and grind those stories and more coming up now on WMUR news at six. Thanks for tuning in on this lovely Valentine's day, evening, or wishing you and yours a low stress time as we enter week seven in campus, local tonight 2020 presidential candidate, Marianne Williamson visited Northwestern last Thursday, speaking at a town hall hosted by NYU political union reporters, Highland Bradshaw, and Nick song interviewed Williamson before the event discussing war ideology, higher education and more here are the first 10 minutes of that interview. The full interview originally aired on Thursday, February 10th, 2022.
Speaker 2 00:01:34 Okay, so to begin, um, you you've said before that your father took you to Vietnam as a child to see the realities of, and really introduce you to that. What do you remember when you went there? Do what do you remember seeing and feeling and how did that impact?
Speaker 3 00:01:49 Uh, when I was in the seventh grade, I came home from dinner one night and I said that my teacher had taught us the domino theory. And that was the idea that if we didn't fight in Vietnam, if we didn't fight the communists in Vietnam and stop it there, then all Southeast Asia would be overrun. And one day we would be fighting on the shores of Hawaii. And my father jumped up and said Soufiane or sweetheart, as they often called her, uh, get the visas were going to Saigon. And he started his rant about how the military industrial complex was not going to eat his children's brains. Um, my parents were international travelers and not only did we go to Vietnam, but I traveled many, many places starting when I was 10 years old. My father used to always say that people would say to him, why are you taking your kids all around the world?
Speaker 3 00:02:47 They'll never remember. And he used to say, these things will get under their skin. And it's really true. I'm a, I'm a different person, I think, than I would have been had I not only traveled to all those places, but particularly as a child, you know, Americans do tend to be very under traveled. And as a consequence, we are vulnerable to propaganda that I don't think people in other places are as vulnerable to because other countries are close. Other countries, aren't some distance far off land. I mean, obviously we have Canada and Mexico, but just having Canada, Canada, and Mexico on your Northern and Southern border does not of itself give you a large sense of the global community.
Speaker 4 00:03:42 Sure. Um, and you know, I guess we're wondering, obviously going to Vietnam at any point in history is going to change how you view the U S what was it like going back to, um, you said you were in the seventh grade, so going back to middle school or high school, um, in the U S after seeing the realities of war as you put it
Speaker 3 00:04:05 Well, on one hand, you knew fewer people at that time, a kid growing up in school who was likely to have traveled on their summer vacations as we did. But on the other hand, in a weird way, it was a more open society. In those days. People didn't jump to conclusions about where you had been and what you had done, because people didn't jump to conclusions about every little thing the way they do today. So I think people at that time were like, oh, wow, tell us what it was like, you know, this was 1965. We were just at the beginning of what would become the, the gargantuan anti-war protest movement of that time. I was 15, 13, was I 15? No, I was 13. By the time I was 16, 17, 18, 19 full on anti-war protests, et cetera, which I think I would have been part of, even if I had not made that journey.
Speaker 3 00:05:25 I think the larger point for me is that that trip was indicative of my father's sensibility in the home I grew up in, which was not only very international in perspective, but also in all ways, emphatic that the human experiences of people mattered and must always be behind the mask of official political propaganda, whether it was people in the other side of the world or on the other side of town, my father was an immigration lawyer. So I grew up in a home of profound humanitarian sensibility. And, you know, I was, I think I tweeted the other day. My father is the wake up in the morning. He'd walk around the house, beat the system, kids, beat the system, beat the system kids. And I think I was 50 years old before I realized how not kidding. My father was, he had grown up in poverty, you know, a lot of, and a lot of people in his generation because they'd been through the depression.
Speaker 3 00:06:50 He grew up in rural poverty. And he, I remember sometimes he would, we would be somewhere and he would point out someone, a janitor, someone cleaning up an office, building someone we saw on a corner and he would make us stop. It's I see that, see that kid, see that woman or see that man. And he'd say she has a hard life, or he has a hard life. He wanted, he did not want us to not notice. There was a, uh, there is a play, it was written by Arthur Miller, um, death of a salesman. And one of the famous, famous lines is when Linda Willie Loehmann's wife says to her sons about their father, attention must be paid. You must always pay attention to what human beings are going through. That's what I got from my father, not my mother, because my mother executed the vision. You know, he was, he was railing in his armchair, you know, she was the one making it all happen.
Speaker 4 00:08:12 Definitely. Um, and speaking of theater, when you were 17, 18, um, you decided to go to Pomona college, uh, and study theater. I was wondering what
Speaker 3 00:08:23 Brought you there
Speaker 4 00:08:25 And philosophy. I was wondering what brought you there to Pomona, um, to begin with as well as the decisions.
Speaker 3 00:08:33 I, I look back on that because my choices at the time were that or Brandeis university. And I wonder, I wonder, um, how my life might have unfolded differently with certain educational choices. I left college when I was in my junior year and then went to classes at university of Texas and university of new, but I never, I never, um, graduated, but I think that in a weird way, you know, I'm at an age where you, you know, I read a book once where there was, it was a German writer. I can't remember her name. She said in youth, you learn in age, you understand? And I think that I have learned as much from my successes as my, as from my failures. And I've learned as much from things I've learned from everything. I think the only failure in life is what you fail to learn from. And I grew up, um, how can I put this? My not graduating from college? And I'm certainly not bragging about it. And I'm certainly not suggesting it. So kids stay in school. Um, I experienced the level of outcast, a level of feeling a failure that I don't think I would have otherwise experienced. This
Speaker 1 00:10:08 Is because you didn't graduate from college
Speaker 3 00:10:09 Because I didn't graduate because I did. I mean, I think sometimes what would have happened if I had finished school, I probably would've gone to law school. My father was a lawyer and my brother's is a lawyer. I, and I think about what my life would have been, but I don't think I would have had the career that I have had. But once again, that's not in any way to say that's a reason to drop out of college guys. Um, I'm just saying, I, I realized some things happened in my life because I fell off the bridge because I fell out of something. I realize that, you know, there's a, there's a saying in, in spirit, in religion, there is no spot where God is not wherever we are. There are things to be learned and things to be gained.
Speaker 1 00:11:13 You can find the full interview with Marianne Williamson on our website, w N U r.news onto arts and entertainment. On this Valentine's day, you might find yourself watching a classic romantic movie to get yourself in the spirit, but what makes these films so compelling? Reporter Katherine Odom, talk with romance, some movie aficionados, a student filmmaker, and a relationship expert to get to the bottom of why we love watching love this story. Originally aired on Friday, February 4th, 2022.
Speaker 3 00:11:49 Everyone has a favorite romance movie, 10 things. I hate
Speaker 5 00:11:52 About prejudice,
Speaker 6 00:11:57 Love and basketball.
Speaker 7 00:11:59 Whether you watch them with your best friend, your significant other, or all by yourself, romances and romantic comedies, have a special power to make us laugh, cry. And imagine our crash standing outside our window with a boombox WMUR is arts and entertainment editor. Maria Komanya said she watches romance movies religiously with her roommates.
Speaker 8 00:12:22 Yeah.
Speaker 7 00:12:29 These iconic lines have filled the dreams of generations of romantics. Just like, come on you. One of colonias roommates, Natalia Camino said she likes watching romances with her roommates because they all have different opinions and preferences
Speaker 5 00:12:44 Very tastes when it comes to to men or just like romaines in general, watching long together is always entertaining because we'll have
Speaker 7 00:12:54 C'mon use other roommates. I mean, I almost said that she loves the enduring power of classic romances. There are themes in love and in those little stories that are still important to modern audiences elicit such an emotional reaction, but what is it that makes stories of love? So timeless and universal,
Speaker 9 00:13:13 If it is like living vicariously through characters, which is, I think why a lot of people enjoy watching romcom.
Speaker 7 00:13:19 That's Coby. Resnik a sophomore radio television and film major. And filmmaker Resnick is the cinematographer for an upcoming student produced film with a romantic storyline, Dr. Alexander Solomon assessed you professor licensed clinical psychologist. And the host of the re-imagining love podcast said it's in our nature to be drawn to romance and the movies we watch
Speaker 6 00:13:41 Hardwired to be social creatures. So we are, um, it's our default setting is to be fascinated by relationships. Um, especially around antic relationships. We are, um, sort of organically voyeuristic about other people's love stories.
Speaker 7 00:13:58 Solomon herself said she enjoys watching romance on screen and even uses it as a teaching aid in her class marriage 1 0 1
Speaker 6 00:14:06 With Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer, um, Goodwill hunting, Matt Damon, and your driver. Those are the two that I would have in my head. And we would use a movie clip to demonstrate a concept in action.
Speaker 8 00:14:22 You say that you don't love me, because if you say that
Speaker 7 00:14:32 Solomon used that clip from Goodwill hunting to teach about how trauma can impact our relationships. She said there can be a downside to on-screen romance though
Speaker 6 00:14:40 At risk of feeling confused by our own struggles in relationships, because there's no way of avoiding comparing our own love.
Speaker 7 00:14:53 Solomon said she also wishes there were more representation in romance movies so that more people can see themselves in these stories,
Speaker 6 00:15:00 Absentee ballots, for example, queer love stories and makes it really difficult. And for somebody to say like, I deserve this, I am entitled to this. This is something that's for me, right? That's why representation matters.
Speaker 7 00:15:10 Romance movies can also perpetuate unrealistic expectations and stereotypes for romantic relationships. Resnick said his team is actively working to combat these pitfalls and his upcoming film
Speaker 9 00:15:21 It's that men have in movies, which is like, they have to play the stoic, like quiet, mysterious figure. I think like women are generally not realistic characters and those strong comps, or they're not, they're not people they're pretty two dimensional
Speaker 7 00:15:38 Resonate added that he appreciates what a rom-com breaks norms and avoids cliche. But sometimes he admitted even the cheesiest romcoms can just make us laugh and feel good. That's a clip from my all-time favorite. Rom-com clueless. I've watched it countless sleepovers over the years. For me, the power of clueless is not in Alicia. Silverstone's yellow plaid outfit or the slightly questionable storyline where she ends up with her stepbrother. It's in spending time with friends and bonding through an inherently human experience.
Speaker 5 00:16:16 I feel like there's like a real sisterhood and washing romance movies, because I think it's something about like, like, you know, media that is not accepted as like maybe serious or like good, because they're like, oh, it's so trashy. It's corny. It's cringy. But like, you know,
Speaker 7 00:16:36 So near far, wherever you are, I hope you find some time to enjoy a romance of either solid tines day, Catherine Odom w and you are
Speaker 1 00:16:53 Whether you prefer comedies dramas or dramadies, we hope you can get your fix of romance tonight and out there. And oddities, even with the school's heavy coursework, Northwestern gamers are always on the grind reporter Emily's O talk to players of riot games, tactical shooter valoran that also happened to be students here on campus.
Speaker 10 00:17:16 This is the sound of e-sports.
Speaker 1 00:17:21 Oh, no,
Speaker 10 00:17:26 But what does e-sports sound like here at Northwestern today? I talked to some players slash students of the tactical shooter game. Valoran about the vibrant e-sports community we have on campus, as well as thoughts on the current state of the game at large,
Speaker 11 00:17:40 Because our school has such kind of a hyper competitive nature. People think it's a waste of time. Um, and I would argue that it's definitely not. Uh, so I think there's probably a lot of like closeted gamers on campus that just don't want to tell anyone
Speaker 10 00:17:54 You just heard from the Dean Mansky, a senior in BiDil calling for Northwestern gamers to rise up. But even if you're not an expert gamer like Mansky, you've probably heard of the likes of league of legends CS go or fortnight valoran, which was released in 2020 by the same company that owns league of legends is currently one of the most popular games out there. And Northwestern e-sports club is definitely playing in.
Speaker 12 00:18:16 I'd say in a week I play, let's say 10 to 15 hours. My name is Matt Lee. I'm a freshmen in Weinberger. Now
Speaker 10 00:18:25 Lee plays competitively for one of Northwestern's Valerie teams.
Speaker 12 00:18:29 Uh, he, because of the B-team, I now consider a hundred kind of an extracurricular. Um, but I also do do other things like I'm on the Frisbee team,
Speaker 10 00:18:40 Edison tan, another freshman in Weinberg agrees
Speaker 13 00:18:43 Because I should have been really interesting treating something that I've had as a pastime, more as a extracurricular, like having set meeting times practices, scrimmages, that type of stuff. It's a, it's definitely been interesting. It kind of broke what I thought was the distinction between my own hobbies and the school extracurriculars
Speaker 10 00:19:02 At tan speak. He was one of the top 1% of players in his region
Speaker 13 00:19:06 Got as high as the top 3000, but the sense, then I'm playing less and lose the
Speaker 10 00:19:13 Given that it's only ten second quarter here. I asked how he's found Northwestern's gaming and Bellarine community.
Speaker 13 00:19:19 Uh, I think the student ran communities bigger than I expected. I just quickly took a glance at the e-sports discord we have, and there's five people playing right now. Um, so it's, it's definitely more extensive than I assumed it would be because when you come to university, especially with Northwestern being prestigious and whatnot, you would assume it's all academics. And the social life is more like party. It's not, you don't really think of games or video games. So it's definitely more extensive than I thought.
Speaker 10 00:19:49 Um, the student community may be tan. Doesn't feel like the school is supporting the e-sports club to the same extent that Northwestern's peer institutions are.
Speaker 13 00:19:58 We don't have like a school supported e-sports program as much as other schools, like for, just for example, UC Berkeley, or even some of the Ivy leagues, uh, really have started expanding their e-sports programs, like giving their students practice rooms, certain types of gear and support at the say they don't have access to a computer. So I think the students definitely have a strong community here, but it's not technically a school supported one like completely officially
Speaker 10 00:20:26 Mansky who you heard from the very beginning also serves as the vice president of Northwestern e-sports club. What is the next step for Northwestern? E-sports
Speaker 11 00:20:34 I tell you a little bit, I will tell you as much as I can. We are really working on getting more funding for our club. Uh, there's a lot of people who really want to be involved in a competitive capacity, uh, but we don't have as many resources as other schools because we haven't really been recognized as kind of an official e-sports, you know, organization, club, whatever. Um, but we're working with, you know, we have there's, there's things of the works that we're working towards getting more funding and recognition for our players. And of course there's always opportunities. I think people think that e-sports club is only for people who want to compete collegiate competitively. And it's certainly not like we have a great community of people who play games casually, as well
Speaker 10 00:21:27 As a casual, balanced player myself. I'm excited to see what's next ly from WMUR news. I'm a Viper main, a sentinels fan. And also Emily's though
Speaker 1 00:21:40 One day we'll all get to a mortal rank in the headlines today. Northwestern's women's basketball team pulled off a huge upset at home Sunday defeating the fourth ranked in Michigan Wolverines 71 to 69 in double overtime. It was a full team effort by the Wildcats with double digit scoring by four players, including a career high 18 points from freshmen guard. Jillian brown next up for the cats is a trip to Bloomington this Thursday to take on the fifth ranked Indiana Hoosiers in other sports news at super bowl, 56 was played Sunday night at Sophie stadium in Los Angeles. The Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams kept it close throughout the game. But the Rams triumphed in the end off of a pass to wide receiver Cooper cup for the game winning touchdown with one minute 25 seconds left this anchor who happens to be from Cincinnati would advise listeners to watch out for more bangles appearances in the Superbowls to come turning to international affairs.
Speaker 1 00:22:36 Us secretary of state Anthony Blinken announced Monday that the American embassy in Ukraine will be temporarily moved from the capital city of Kiev to the Western city of Levine. This move comes after repeated calls for American citizens to leave Ukraine in the face of continued Russian military buildup along the border ahead of a possible invasion Ukrainian president Volodymyr. Zelensky also announced Monday that his administration believes a Russian attack will occur this Wednesday, February 16th on wall street today stocks took minor losses across the board. The Dow Jones dropped 172 points finishing at 34,566. The NASDAQ lost about one quarter of a point staying at 13,791. And the S and P 500 cells fell 17 points down to 4,402. Taking a look at the weather, the cold snap we'll continue tonight with a low of 21 degrees, cloudy skies and light wins, but heading into Tuesday, temperatures will get just above freezing with a high of 38 and a low of 35. Mostly cloudy skies will keep things shady, low, stronger winds of up to 15 to 25 miles per hour. We'll keep things Chile on the walk. The class finally Wednesday will be unseasonably warm, but wet with a high of 50 and rain showers and high wind gusts throughout the day.
Speaker 1 00:23:58 That's all for WMUR news at 6:00 PM for more news updates and reports. Follow us on Twitter at WMUR news and Instagram at WMUR news 8, 9 3. You can listen to these and other stories of the day on our Spotify, Google podcasts and SoundCloud. You can also find us on our new website, w N U r.news. Our producer today is Justine Fisher. Our reporters are Helen Bradshaw, Nick song, Catherine Odom, and Emily's owl. I'm Alex Harrison from all of us here at WMUR news. Thanks for listening. Catch our next show. This Wednesday, February 16th at 6:00 PM. Now back to scheduled programming.
