Review of Call Me by Your Name

By Jay-Dani “Ousmane Atheneus Aabid Aakil Fārūq Farzan” Guzmán Sánchez ~

"Call Me By Your Name" introduces a romance story incorporating the now-known LGBTQ+ community, in a familiar yet impactful manner, even for those outside that same community. To unpack this perspective, I shall explain that I am not a part of the LGBTQ+ community. There are, however, people in my circle of friends and family who do identify in this way, and to me, they are just like everybody else. With my assumptions established, it's worth noting the significance this book holds for me. I was first introduced to it during my senior seminar in English at Lehman College, a place that holds particular significance, as the alma mater of the author himself, André Aciman. It's truly remarkable to consider that this global sensation, which has touched the lives of countless individuals and even spawned music and a film adaptation, traces its roots back to our very own community.

As a book enthusiast, I find myself cautiously echoing Aciman's words when he asserts, “People who read are hiders. They hide who they are. People who hide don’t always like who they are.” (Aciman, pg. 114). While I can't claim this sentiment to be a universal truth, it undeniably holds significance to comprehending the intricate narrative that unfolds within these pages and in the unraveling of the people steering this cautionary tale forward. The two central characters, Elio and Oliver, are both products of academically driven families and have embedded themselves deeply in the very books that define them, too. As Jewish homosexual men navigated the terrain of the 1970s, they witnessed the continued struggle for civil rights, including LGBTQ+ rights. It was a time when homosexuality was gradually becoming more visible and accepted, but discrimination and prejudice persisted. The AIDS epidemic, although not yet widely recognized, would soon become a major health crisis. 

Yet, not everything in their lives is veiled by the cloak of history or the separate landscapes we and they call home. In a culture that places premium value on logos [logic] for reasoning, we often dismiss the primordial realm of pathos [emotion] as irrelevant, and at times, even contemptible. However, frequently, the distinction between "comprehending" something and failing to grasp it altogether hinges on the presence or absence of understanding within one's own heart. In this logo-centric world, we are prone to disregard the significance of pathos [emotion], yet it holds the key to unlocking deeper layers of meaning in the stories we are prone to encounter. Thus, our ability to comprehend often pivots on the abundance or scarcity of what resides in one’s heart.

           	As Elio reflects in the book, "I wish I had one friend I wasn’t destined to lose" (Aciman, pg. 180). He goes on to caution us, "We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster than we should that we go bankrupt by the age of thirty and have less to offer each time we start with someone new. But to feel nothing so as not to feel anything—what a waste!" (Aciman, pg. 217).  This story overarches the importance of feeling your emotions, even pain. Those who do not feel pain are not truly alive. They belong to the realm of the living dead. This existence is a test, and those who refuse the test meet their end prematurely. This is true for all. Wisdom is to be had in every story, not just our own… we need to be bold enough to see the lessons. 

In the landscape that Elio and Oliver navigate, their divergent paths offer profound insights, Elio grapples with an elusive dream, much like his identity, concealed but not forgotten. Conversely, Oliver forges a fulfilling existence, embracing family, and contentment. Their journeys serve as a poignant reminder that life often presents unexpected twists and turns. What we should aspire to, like Oliver, is to find purpose and fulfillment in the ever-changing landscape of living. Elio and Oliver remind us of the resilience needed to navigate life's uncertainties and reveal that, in the end, purpose transcends the goals we set, as these goals are ever-changing while purpose remains a timeless beacon guiding us forward.

Best Readings,

J-D.O.A.A.F.F.G.S. ~

Episode 3 of The Last of Us Drastically Changes Source Material

By Nicole DeVincentis

Episode 3 of HBO’s The Last of Us premiered Sunday, January 29th, and shocked fans of the original video game source material with a heartfelt alteration to the ‘Bill and Frank’ storyline.

In an apocalyptic zombie-ridden world, the adaptation offered a beautiful rendition of the inspiring love story between its side characters ‘Bill & Frank’ that the video game merely alludes to. Original fans of the video game have expressed varied reactions to the show’s decision to change the source material as this choice unequivocally eliminated the possibility for further development for its characters Bill and Ellie.

Spoiler Alert:

this change was illustrated in the episode’s finale with both characters, Bill & Frank, choosing to take their lives, unlike the video game which only saw Frank’s untimely death. Some distressed fans felt the decision to change this storyline will hinder the show’s ability to display the progression of the relationship between its main characters Ellie and Joel.

Executive producer Neil Druckmann said in Episode 3’s Inside the Episode, “When should we deviate and when should we come back? If it’s kind of the same or worse, we stay where the game is. If it’s better we deviate.” According to Warner Bros. Discovery, this third episode brought the series to a whopping 21.3 million viewers, tying it with other renowned HBO productions including House of the Dragon and Euphoria. HBO’s Inside the Episode also featured Australian actor, Murray Bartlett, playing the character of Frank. Bartlett said in response to a question regarding his reaction to the episode, “My first reaction to the episode was surprise. It was this unexpected, beautiful love story in this bleak world.”

Among new fans of the adaptation, some have been quoted dubbing the series’ third episode as HBO’s magnum opus. The show used a full 80 minutes, longer than its second episode but shorter than the first, to depict the heart-wrenching love story from the couple’s wary first encounter to their bittersweet final moments. Between the episode’s first and final acts, Druckmann displayed a blossoming and utterly real relationship that saw Bill’s character grow from paranoid and asocial to a loving, protective husband.

Lehman student and (non-game player) avid show-watcher Angela Williams commented, “I really did enjoy the episode. I think it did a good job at highlighting the difference between the show and the game. For game players, the beauty of the game is survival and winning, but for people watching the show, there has to be more. There can’t just be meaningless violence every episode. What episode 3 accomplished was providing hope to a hopeless situation.”

While opposition to the series’ decision remains valid, it is quite clear that an overwhelming majority of fans embraced Druckmann’s radical choice to embellish the already existing storyline and resolve it in a fashion that stood true to Bill’s ‘new’ character. Now it is up to showrunners to continue demonstrating the virtue of their choice in further episodes.

Afghanistan War Vet Pens Touching Tribute to Late Brother

By Michael Omoruan

A photo of Scott DeLuzio(L) and Steven DeLuzio(R). Courtesy of SgtStevenDeLuzio.com.

Everyone remembers where they were the Twin Towers fell on 9/11. Without exaggeration, it  is a day that we, as a nation, will never forget. Scott DeLuzio definitely won’t. The day inspired him to serve our country by joining the national guard which eventually led to him joining the war effort in Afghanistan. 

His parents weren’t too thrilled to say the least since his younger brother, Steven had enlisted in the Vermont Army National Guard “as a part of A Company 3/172 Infantry Regiment”, Steven notes in Surviving Son, a gripping, intimate book The Meridian was fortunate to receive an advanced copy of. 

In it, Scott details the early years spent with and his brother’s time spent overseas serving our country along with coming to terms with his death on August 22, 2010 during Operation Enduring Freedom, according to the Military Times. Despite the harsh reality he was faced with and challenges he endured, he was soon able to find it in himself to push forward. 

The two were inseparable growing up. They would re-enact their favorite scenes from the 1986 dog-fighting classic Top Gun with a spoon and couch cushions and visit army bases with their parents. Both of which instilled respect in them for those who served at an early age. 

It wasn’t too long after that they begin attending baseball and hockey games. In one memorable instance, after the DeLuzios’ Boston Bruins laid waste to the Montreal  Canadiens, Steven’s bellowing of “USA! USA!” was powerful enough to get a stadium chock-full of Bostonians to join in unison after exiting their seats.

Scott’s book was released on August 30, 2021 and was based on journal entries he would write shortly after returning home. In an effort to let out what he experienced while also giving his children and also others an idea of what life was like for him, he began to write what would eventually become the finished piece.

Despite the dark and heavy subject matter, Scott packs in plenty of pathos and humor which was unexpected but necessary at points. When asked about this in an exclusive interview with the Meridian, he stated that he likes to joke around. “I think I got that from my brother. I recognized that part of the reason for writing this was so that we could understand who the person is behind this name and picture that you might see in the newspaper or television. And his personality was a funny personality, he was just a funny guy.”

Being released just as the country and the world at large seems to reverting back to normalcy post-pandemic, the book is also a great resource for overcoming what may seem insurmountable obstacles. 

When asked on having any trauma or PTSD during the height of the pandemic, surprisingly Scott, who is also the host of the Drive On podcast where he talks with veterans to inspire hope and resiliency, stated that one of the first actions taken by veterans who may be afflicted is to self-isolate and limit going outside. 

“One of the strange things was when all the lockdowns and this whole thing started with the pandemic started last year. I looked around and everyone seemed like there were panicking and I was like ‘Should I be acting any different right now? Because this is how I normally am. When people were talking about 6 feet, I was like ‘Is that it?’

Also the founder of Amplify Plugins, an online company that provides plugins for almost everything from digital downloads to restricting purchase of products someone’s store may have in certain countries, Scott gave some great last words of wisdom for those that may need it. “When there’s something you want to do, even though it’s a hard and challenging thing to do, you figure out a way to do it. I think everybody has it in them. It would take a lot of failures. I had plenty of my own with learning everything that I did. But all those failures, you learn from and you get better from them.” 

Surviving Son is available for purchase now on Amazon in Kindle, hardcover, and paperback

Cyberpunk 2077: Its Rise to Glory and Immediate Destruction

By Ryan Pullido, Staff Writer

     In 2018 in a gaming trade fair called “The Electronic Entertainment Expo”, otherwise known as E3, the developers of CD Projekt Red unveiled the first glimpse of gameplay for Cyberpunk 2077. With bated breaths, excited gamers are enthralled looking at the stage salivating at the game they are witnessing. A beautifully crafted world filled with vibrant and unique NPC’s. Celebrities such as Keanu Reeves, Grimes and ASAP Rocky added fuel to the hype of the game. Magazines such as Kotaku heralded the game as the most anticipated title of the century. As the days counted down towards the release of the game the hype reached its peak. But when gamers finally got their hands on the product, they found an entirely different game from the trailers.

     Cyberpunk 2077 was first announced way back in 2012. It was in development hell for seven years before it was finally released on December 10, 2020. By comparison, Final Fantasy XV was first announced back in 2006 in a different title (Final Fantasy versus XIII) but was finally released in November of 2016. It was stuck in development hell for 10 years and the concept of the game changed dramatically throughout those years. But when the final game came out, although the game felt and looked different from the previous demos and trailers, the game felt complete. The same can’t be said about Cyberpunk 2077.

     In the E3 2018 demo, CD Projekt Red showcased Night City as a vibrant and alive world. NPC’s were going to have their own unique actions depending on the time of day with unique interactions. According to CD Projekt Red developers they aim to make “the most believable city in any open world to date.” It was reminiscent of the NPC’s from Grand Theft Auto IV. They were well fleshed out too, taking out their umbrellas when it was raining, dropping their grocery bags when the players bumped into them, etc. The city, albeit depressing, felt very much alive. However, when the game debuted in 2020, the city felt desolate compared to the 2018 demo. The vibrancy of the NPC’s that was previously shown weren’t there. The unique interactions that were promised were nowhere to be seen in the final iteration of the game. Night City and the surrounding Badlands feel empty because of this which is frustrating because the locations were beautifully crafted.

     The combat system in the game was not revolutionary, as it copies the formulas of most first-person shooters; run and gun. However, there are some fun aspects of the game that differed from other RPG games; such as the Beat on the Brat mission (which tried to recreate boxing by forcing players to fight opponents in fist fights.)

      The only reputation system implemented in the game is “Street Cred.” This system, however, does not affect your reputation with any of the affiliated factions in the game. This, in turn, makes the player not care about the other groups from the game aside from the main characters.

     Although the 2020 launch of the game was plagued with bugs and broken systems,  one of the things that CD Projekt Red nailed was the story development and how the character developed throughout the game; which created a lasting impact on the players. According to screenrant.com writer Nicole Rennolds, she writes “Some of Cyberpunk 2077’s best moments are the personal connections with V’s friends and allies, while others involved questlines that force players to grapple with morality, religion, abuse, and exploitation.”

     For all its faults, Cyberpunk 2077 is still a gem. The story tackles a heavy issue that a lot of people can relate to and that is your mortality and identity. The main core of what makes Cyberpunk 2077 good is its gripping story, and if you are a person who can overlook the flaws of a game and be enthralled by a story then go buy this game. Furthermore, CD Projekt Red aims to better improve the game by additional content and fixing the bugs in the game. In a public statement released on January 13, 2021, CD Projekt Red stated, “We are committed to fixing bugs and crashes and will continue to work and improve the game via future updates to make sure you are enjoying the game regardless of the platform.” On February 15, 2022 they made good on that promise by releasing Patch 1.5 which fixed the majority of the bugs as well as adding new features and content on the game. Without a doubt, the Cyberpunk 2077 2020 launch was a catastrophic failure and it will most likely be remembered for that launch. But there are players who have put their trust in CD Projekt Red and the devs intend to not make the same mistake twice. Overall, with this recent patch and more content on the horizon Cyberpunk 2077 does deserve another chance at the spotlight.