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Mirabella McDowell

This is Us: A Case for Cathartic Television

When “This is Us” won for Best TV Drama Ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild Awards this past January, the reactions from its cast were priceless. Each member emanated joy and humility: Chrissy Metz threw her hands up, incredulous; Sterling K. Brown performed an epic handshake with his beaming wife; Mandy Moore reached the microphone first, and warned with breathless delight, “It’s going to be a minute, there are quite a few of us!” As the actors filed onto the stage, their diversity – in terms of race, gender, and age – was apparent, a reminder of the varied voices that frame the show. There seemed to be a genuine sense of closeness amongst the cast, too—a warmth that was palpable....
CULTUREFILM & TVREVIEWS

Troye Sivan: Authentic Artistry in the Age of Social Media

It’s five minutes past 6:30pm on a rainy Monday evening when the news is delivered: Troye Sivan’s golf cart has died en route. There are audible gasps and a collective murmur from the jam-packed auditorium teeming with USC students, some of whom have been waiting well over an hour just to be in the same room as the social media icon turned pop-star. Restless excitement permeates the air, and now, a buzz of heightened anticipation for Sivan’s arrival. The student next to me anxiously taps his phone on his knee, screen already fixed on camera mode. Another behind me whispers giddily to his friends, “Can you even imagine, like, being on campus right now and Troye Sivan just casually walks past you?”...
ESSAYSMUSIC

‘Two Sisters’: One Year After the Las Vegas Shooting

A young girl and her sister are sitting side-by-side in a Parisian outdoor scene, framed by swirling greens and icy blues. Lush trees tower over a shimmering lake in the distance, setting the two against a pastel backdrop. The older girl dons a cherry-wine colored bonnet and keeps her equally crimson lips pursed in a Mona Lisa half-smile, eyes transfixed on something outside our view. Her young sister clings close beside her....
ESSAYSVISUAL ART

Mirabella McDowell

Social Media Manager and Arts Essayist

Mirabella McDowell is an arts and culture writer and journalist from San Diego, California. In 2018, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.A. in English and a specialization in Modern Literature. She also previously worked as the Social Media intern for UCSB’s Humanities and Fine Arts Division. She is passionate about storytelling, with much of her work focused on empowering women by critically examining institutionalized misogyny and gendered language in media. She loves traveling, film & television, and just about anything written by Shonda Rhimes.