Welcome back to ‘In the Loop’! It’s your newsletter team, Sarah, Gia, Macy, Kateleen, Marcy, Naimah, Annette, Ella, Erin and Eliot. We’ve got a good one for you today.
To start, we have an opinion on the downfall of TV writing compared to what it was like in the 2000s. Then, we have information on a famous cinematography duo visiting DePaul this week and a bill proposal looking to legalize self-driving cars in the city. Next, we have updates on the Artemis II space mission that launched last week and a kidnapped journalist’s release in Iraq. Finally, we have news on the fallout of allegations against activist César Chavez around Chicago and a recommendation for a thought-provoking horror movie.
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With that, let’s get into it!
OPINION: TV Shows Are So Awful Now That I’m Going to Run Out of Early 2000s Media to Watch
By Gia Clarke
A couple of weeks ago, I started watching Love Story, a limited series about John F. Kennedy Jr. (informally known as JFK Jr.) and Carolyn Bessette. I didn’t have any expectations walking into it, but my faith in Ryan Murphy has been lost since The Glee Project aired. This loss of faith then turned into full-blown Murphy-related atheism when I tortured myself sitting through the pilot of All’s Fair.
I’m only on episode three of Love Story, and honestly, I’m not keen on continuing. It wasn’t necessarily bad like All’s Fair was. I loved the aesthetics and overall vibe of Bessette, a fashion icon, getting ready in her West Village apartment — all things completely up my alley in terms of the media I consume.
But then, the dreaded script came.
Scripts now seem to care more about explaining the whole plot to audiences rather than letting events play out. In a locker room after a football game, for example, JFK Jr’s cousin, Anthony, actually turns to JFK Jr. and goes on about how he’s America’s sexy hunk who cannot pass the bar exam. We already know this based on the tabloids shown in the establishing shots of the show — you don’t have to keep verbally repeating the point because no real person talks like this. This explanation tactic is something that I’ve seen shows (even ones I enjoy) make side characters do, like in Gilmore Girls when Lane rants to Rory about her overbearing mother. But even then, it felt more like a natural conversation that any teenager would have.
This brings me to The Vampire Diaries. I was 12 years old when I watched the pilot. Upon first watch, I never picked it up because I thought it was dumb that the Salvatore brothers could have plot device rings that could make them immune to daylight. I thought Elena was a boring main character and that she and Stefan had no chemistry whatsoever. So I never watched it again — until now.
As of this moment, I have seen up to episode nine and am officially obsessed. We truly have lost the rudimentary basics of good storytelling. First, the pilot leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Who is Katherine? Why does she look like Elena? Who is this mysterious Stefan? What is Damon planning, and why did he come back to Mystic Falls? I had to keep watching because I had to know more.
I think TV shows have declined in quality and storytelling so much over the last 20 years because of many reasons: getting rid of the 45-minute and 22-episode format, investing more in cinematography over writing and catering to the phenomenon of playing a show in the background while scrolling social media.
Honestly, the biggest downfall in history has to be having to wait years for new seasons. Austin from Ginny and Georgia is supposed to be a fourth grader, yet he’s taller than Ginny. Stranger Things came out when I was 11 years old and ended as I graduated college.
According to Megan Peters from ScreenRant, shows now are often more expensive to produce and don’t invest in long-term planning. For example, an episode of The Walking Dead only cost about $3.5 million to produce, whereas an episode of The Crown cost $10 million. Because it’s more expensive, it’s riskier for investors to put their money in quality stories, which is why Hulu will greenlight any slop Murphy wants to develop, but actual thought-out, well done shows get canceled after one season (I’m still mourning The Society).
Conan O’Brien made a joke while hosting this year’s Oscars about how people now write films as if they’re background noise for scrolling social media. While funny, I don’t think this is the greatest pipeline to go down. TV shows should be for the people actually watching them. If someone wants to doomscroll simultaneously, they can watch Master Chef in the background. Maybe we shouldn’t encourage audiences to continually not care about the media they’re consuming rather than actually create quality television.
I always preferred TV over movies because I value plot and character-building over flashy cinematics. But now, it seems that all media is becoming an empty Birkin bag — all the aesthetics and branding are there, but none of the substance.
DePaul News
By Macy Hildebrand
Roger and James Deakins to return to campus — “Team Deakins,” including renowned cinematographer Roger Deakins along with his creative collaborator and spouse James Ellis Deakins, will visit DePaul’s campus from April 9 to 11. Some of Roger’s best-known works include The Shawshank Redemption, The Big Lebowski and Fargo. Attendees will have access to a book signing and a conversation with Roger and James about their approach to their craft. For more information and to RSVP to the events, follow this link to the Visiting Artists Series website.
Attend the upcoming Study Abroad Showcase — DePaul’s Study Abroad Showcase will take place this Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Lincoln Park Student Center Atrium. The event is open to all students and will feature information about future study abroad opportunities, perspectives from students who have previously enrolled and faculty members who run each program. Students interested in studying abroad in the future or wanting to learn more can access resources here.
Public Safety releases updates for campus safety — On Monday, the Public Safety Department released an email update about safety enhancements around DePaul’s campus. New protocols like alert systems were developed to “initiate outreach to local neighborhoods with updates during active threats” and emergency training was conducted for resident assistants and several department offices based on community feedback. Additional training opportunities will be offered throughout the year to expand safety measures. Find safety tips here and visit Public Safety’s website here.
Chicago Headlines
By Kateleen Quiles
Bill seeks legalization of autonomous vehicles — Street testing and mapping for Waymo’s automated vehicles has been underway in Chicago after Illinois State Rep. Kam Buckner (D- Chicago) introduced the Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Project Act in January. The act was an early step in the process of getting autonomous vehicles on the streets, beginning in counties in Illinois with over 1 million residents. In a statement, Waymo spokesperson Chris Bonelli said the company has not yet announced plans for vehicles outside of Cook County, but is committed to “continuous improvement” amid testing: “While rare incidents will occur over the more than four million miles we drive every week, our entire fleet can learn from these events and continue to make our roads safer.” Read more from Jacques Abou-Rizk with ABC7 Chicago and Eliot Solomon with 14 East.
Board of Education to vote on resolution rejecting support of publicly funding private schools — The Chicago Board of Education will vote Wednesday on a resolution that urges Gov. J.B. Pritzker to reject the Trump administration’s efforts to support private schools with public funds. The federal program aims to provide “dollar-for-dollar tax credits to donors who give up to $1,700 to scholarship-granting nonprofits.” If governors opt in, funds can go to certain student expenses for those enrolled in private, public schools or home-schooling whose families make up to 300% of the local median income. This is an ongoing story. Read more from Reema Amin on Block Club Chicago.
Supporters protest for charges to be dropped on woman accused of killing boyfriend — Keshia Golden, a Chicago mother, is currently facing murder charges amid her boyfriend’s death in 2022. Golden was eight months pregnant when her attorney says her boyfriend attacked her and she defended herself by stabbing him. Now, supporters of Golden are protesting and demanding Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke drop all charges, including in a rally Monday: “We want all survivors released,” the crowd chanted. A trial date was set for August after Golden’s Tuesday court appearance. This is an ongoing story. Read more from Jasmine Minor with ABC7 Chicago and Cindy Hernandez with the Chicago Sun-Times.
CPD officer suspended for a third time — Chicago police officer Richard Rodriguez Jr. “should be suspended for a third time in less than four months” after an agency tasked with investigating misconduct allegations against the officer agreed, records show. Rodriguez Jr. was a member of the Near North (18th) Police District tactical team and is accused of “improperly stopping and searching Black men downtown.” He is connected to eight misconduct incidents dating back to 2022 and was first stripped of his police powers in February. Read more from Heather Cherone with WTTW.
National Headlines
By Marcy Menzes
Iran rejects temporary ceasefire deal, President Trump continues bomb threats — On Monday, Iran state media said the country turned down President Donald Trump’s temporary, 45-day ceasefire proposal and countered with its own proposal to permanently end the war. Following Iran’s rejection of the proposed deal, Trump reissued threats against the country’s bridges and power plants if the Strait of Hormuz wasn’t reopened. According to legal experts, “attacking civilian infrastructure that doesn’t contribute to military action” would be considered a war crime. This is an ongoing story. Read more from staff at NPR.
Astronauts aboard Artemis II set space distance record — After launching last Wednesday, the boarding crew of Artemis II surpassed the space travel distance record of 248,655 miles during their six-hour lunar flyby on Monday. The original distance record was set in 1970 by Apollo 13. Shortly after setting the record, the astronauts named two new lunar craters they observed. Artemis II serves as NASA’s first moon mission since Apollo 17 in 1972, setting the stage for next year’s Artemis III mission with plans to practice docking with lunar landers in orbit around Earth. For more information, Marcia Dunn from the AP at PBS News has more.
Georgia runoff decides who replaces Marjorie Taylor Greene after Trump fallout — Voters in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District will decide Tuesday whether Republican Clayton Fuller or Democrat Shawn Harris will replace the former GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who resigned from Congress three months ago following a “bitter falling out” with President Trump. In a special election on March 10, Harris performed slightly better than Fuller, but neither were able to secure a majority of the vote, which forced a runoff election. At the time of publishing Tuesday evening, polls have closed and 67% of votes have been counted with Fuller — who Trump endorsed — slightly in the lead. For more information, Caitlin Yilek with CBS News has more.
ICE releases wife of Army staff sergeant after arrest at military base — After being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last week while registering as a military spouse, 22-year-old Annie Ramos has been released from custody. Ramos was born in Honduras and was 20 months old when an order of removal was issued in 2005. She is eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and had applied before, but hasn’t received updates following a yearlong court battle challenging the program. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson said Tuesday that Ramos will wear a GPS monitor while the government continues removal proceedings.
“I am proud to serve this country. I am proud to be her husband. And I will stand by her, no matter what it takes,” Ramos’s husband Matthew Blank said, as reported by Armando Garcia with ABC News.
International Headlines
By Naimah Arteaga
U.S. military strikes on Kharg Island — The U.S. carried out strikes on military targets on Kharg Island in Iran Tuesday, though a U.S. official stated the strikes did not target oil facilities. Vice President JD Vance highlighted that the strikes do not signal a strategic shift ahead of President Donald Trump’s Tuesday night deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. previously struck Kharg Island in March, hitting 90 military targets including missile and naval mine storage facilities. Iranian state-affiliated media cited local sources who said most of the oil transport hub’s infrastructure was intact. This is an ongoing story. For more information, read Billy Stockwell’s article with CNN.
American journalist Shelly Kittleson freed after being held in Iraq — American journalist Shelly Kittleson was released Tuesday after being kidnapped in Iraq one week ago by Iranian-backed group Kata’ib Hezbollah. Kittleson had been specifically targeted by the group, which maintains a list of names of American journalists for potential abduction. She was released on the condition that she must immediately leave Iraq, according to a spokesperson for the militia. U.S. officials had warned Kittleson of threats from Hezbollah, including the night before her abduction. Her current whereabouts were unknown upon release. This is an ongoing story. For more information, read Tucker Reals’ article with CBS News.
More than 80 migrants missing following Libya boat disaster, according to U.N. — More than 80 migrants were reported missing Tuesday after a boat carrying about 120 people capsized shortly after departing the Libyan town of Tajoura, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. 32 survivors were rescued and two additional bodies were recovered. According to the IOM, early 2026 has been the deadliest start to a year for migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea since 2014. “The issue of people crossing the Mediterranean is really dependent on what else is happening in the world and the factors at the moment,” IOM Director General Amy Pope said. For more information, read Fatma Khaled’s article with the AP.
14 East Pueblo: Cesar Chavez Murals and Memorials Continuously Removed as Illinois Senate Honors Dolores Huerta
By Annette Prado
Across Chicago, murals and memorials of Cesar Chavez are continuing to be removed after sexual assault and grooming allegations against the Latino activist came to light.
These allegations were revealed in a March 18 New York Times investigation in which Dolores Huerta, a longtime ally of Chavez in the labor rights movement, told the publication that Chavez had sexually assaulted her.
The Illinois Senate has since adopted a resolution to honor Huerta and declared April 10 as “Dolores Huerta Day” in Illinois, wrote Kade Heather with the Chicago Sun-Times.
“In recent months, Dolores Huerta has shown profound resilience and courage in sharing her own experience of harm, doing so in order to uplift the stories of countless women whose voices were overlooked or silenced,” the resolution states.
After the release of the investigation, artwork across the city that honored Chavez are now being repainted, some with murals of Huerta.
The same day the investigation was made public, the Chicago Federation of Labor President Bob Reiter said the allegations that Chavez sexually assaulted children, women, workers and labor organizers “is a betrayal to our movement.”
Chavez, who passed away in 1993, has been a part of Chicago’s Latino community for decades. Aside from numerous murals across the city, a post office in Pilsen and a public elementary school in Back of the Yards are named after him.
The school, Cesar E. Chavez Multicultural Academic Center, has also initiated the process that could lead to a new name and is gathering community feedback, according to Chicago Public Schools officials.
A mural at Cafe Tola in Lakeview, a plaque in the West Loop and a part of the “Libertad” mural in Pilsen are just a few dedications to Chavez that have been covered since the release of the New York Times investigation.
Hey, Check This Out!
With Featured Columnist Eliot Solomon
Despite my complex relationship with my Catholic upbringing, I have always loved the ideas of sacrifice, resurrection and everlasting life that come up every Easter. To celebrate the holiday this year, I rewatched The Wicker Man (1973) — a film that I think portrays these ideas in a thought-provoking and visually beautiful way.
The film follows Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward), a British police officer, as he investigates a missing child case on the secluded Scottish island of Summerisle. As he asks around about the missing girl, Rowan Morrison (Gerry Cowper), the audience is met with stunning sites of the island’s coast, hills and charming architecture, as well as the colorful costumes and personalities of the locals. Howie, however, is frustrated to find none of the locals saying they know or have heard of the missing girl.
Howie further explores the island and is shocked by the locals’ peculiarities. A conservative and celibate Christian, he is judgmental toward the town’s sexually accepting and abundant lifestyles, as well as their other pagan rituals to promote fertility in preparation for their May Day celebration.
He meets with their leader, Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee), and hears about the fairly recent history of the island. It was founded and purchased by Summerisle’s grandfather, who began growing imported fruits and reintroduced the more ancient worshipping of pagan gods to support the harvest.
With the knowledge that the island’s economy is reliant on exporting fruits along with the discovery that the most recent crop season failed, Howie suspects that Rowan is more than a missing child and instead a sacrifice to the pagan God and Goddess of the Sun and Orchards.
I like how the film presents neither Howie or Summerisle as entirely good or evil — both act on what they believe is best based on their own religions and communities. Does Summerisle truly believe in pagan gods, or are they a way to shift the blame when crops inevitably fail? Are the people of Summerisle any worse than Howie, or does he just see them that way because they reject his Christian morals?
I also appreciate how the film brings up different moral questions for the audience, such as the morality of sacrifice. Is it worth the loss of one individual if it leads to the prosperity of many? Is there a loss of life if the sacrifice is to be reborn in the form of a bountiful harvest? Who are we to judge the island of Summerisle’s rituals, if institutions in our society murder and exploit so many more for far less?
Pondering the role and power religion has in shaping an individual’s life and society as a whole was the perfect way to spend my Easter Sunday, but the film is also a great way to welcome the warmer weather. It is oddly satisfying to see how the Christian police sergeant seems to completely misunderstand the true nature of sacrifice.
Resources
Need resources regarding warming centers, rental assistance, abortion access, COVID-19 testing and vaccines or mental health? Check out our complete list here.
International students concerned about their visa status can contact the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Students can check their visa status through the Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC) or the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).
That’s it for today! See you next Monday.
The 14 East Newsletter Team