Skip to Main Content
Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Arts

Battle of the Bands hits a high note

Battle of the Bands hits a high note

October 7, 2015

Five acts took the Little Building’s Cabaret stage for a shot at winning the audience’s support and the judges’ votes at the Battle of...

Campbell, alum, wins most promising young poet award

Campbell, alum, wins most promising young poet award

October 7, 2015

Ever since he was 15, Blake Campbell has had a knack for poetry. Earlier this month, Campbell, who graduated summa cum laude from Emerson in 2015, won...

Film Theories: Tattoo culture in Hollywood

October 7, 2015

With tattoo culture becoming more and more accepted within the mainstream, actors are facing a new problem: how to sport ink in real life while hiding...

Academy recognizes alum's screenplay

Academy recognizes alum’s screenplay

September 30, 2015

John Bickerstaff is living his LA dream. Immediately after graduating in spring 2014, the Emerson alum began working for AMC’s television series...

Professors' play "Academy Fight Song" premiere

Professors’ play “Academy Fight Song” premiere

September 30, 2015

He sits hunched over at his desk, staring desperately down at his half-finished work. Crumpled papers fall listlessly onto the ground as he rises from...

Opening acts: the real cost of paying to play

September 30, 2015

When Andrew W.K. comes to town, he always brings the party. The performer’s stop in Boston last month was supposed to be a night of his punk party...

Activist Angy Rivera advocates for undocumented voices

Activist Angy Rivera advocates for undocumented voices

September 24, 2015

Angy Rivera proudly stands in a public street. She wears a white t-shirt emblazoned with the word “undocumented” in bright red letters, and...

New poetry group gets the timing just right

New poetry group gets the timing just right

September 23, 2015

An idea that had previously only existed in Tori Hawks-Ladds’ mind came to life with the beep of a timer and the drop of a pen. All students in attendance...

The negative consequences of digital filmmaking

September 23, 2015

Film or digital? The age-old question has plagued the minds of cinephiles since “Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones” introduced digital...

Chasen Parker chases a filmmaking career at Cannes

Chasen Parker chases a filmmaking career at Cannes

September 16, 2015

Every year since he turned 18, Chasen Parker has flown to Cannes to showcase his short films. No, not at the Cannes Film Festival, where directors compete...

Emerson Poetry Project hosts show on the Common for all

Emerson Poetry Project hosts show on the Common for all

September 16, 2015

An intermittent breeze interrupts the balmy breath of the last days of summer, a perilous portent of the winter to come—and the clock tower rings....

Bright Lights highlights marginalized voices

Bright Lights highlights marginalized voices

September 16, 2015

There’s a new rating system tucked in the pages of the Bright Lights Fall 2015 program—instead of classifying a picture based on the content’s...

Guilt-free pleasures: making peace with pop music

September 16, 2015

Let’s be honest—everything Beyoncé has put out over the last 10 years has been an absolute banger. At one point in your life, Taylor...

Beacon’s Boston: fiction, film, and fine arts

September 9, 2015

Take a look at these book nooks With over a hundred years of history, Brattle Book Shop is the one of the oldest used bookstores in the country. Located...

The poems that changed my life

May 7, 2015

I look forward to the imminent end of my undergraduate career with a mix of anticipation, apprehension, and relief. And when I feel uncertain about the...

Year In Review: Art as social change

May 6, 2015

Emerson’s motto, “Expression necessary for evolution”, reminds us of the value that art plays in promoting social justice and distributing...

Hellos, goodbyes, and Ghibli

Hellos, goodbyes, and Ghibli

May 6, 2015

Weeks from my own college graduation, I recently saw the stunning The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya, the latest (and perhaps greatest) film from the revered...

The importance of film criticism

May 6, 2015

Heartbreaking but uplifting, the recent documentary Life Itself  explored the importance of film criticism through the prism of the 20th century’s...

Nominated for nothing: the unsung cinema of 2014

May 6, 2015

  During awards season, even the most pretentious and cynical of cinephiles can get caught up in the hype. After seeing quality products like Boyhood,...

Atypical romance films for Valentine's Day weekend

Atypical romance films for Valentine’s Day weekend

May 6, 2015

Valentine’s Day in America has a vast cultural reach. Increasingly, I’ve noticed many film studios have put the same focus on using the holiday...