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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

Ryan Yau

Ryan Yau, Living Arts Co-Editor

Ryan Yau (he/him) is a third-year journalism student and Co-Editor for the Living Arts section. He is interested in writing criticism, primarily film but also the other arts. Various (former) interests include playing saxophone, rock climbing, and being a waiter.

Latest from Ryan Yau
Cerise Lim Jacobs, founder of White Snake Projects. (Courtesy of Kathy Wittman)

Ever heard of an activist opera company? White Snake Projects tells new stories through old traditions

By Ryan Yau, Living Arts Editor / December 3, 2024

To most Americans, the “holiday season” only refers to one thing. But through the power of opera, Cerise Lim Jacobs hopes to change that. In 2018,...

From Boston to Nashville and back: Meg Elsier returns eight years and an album later

From Boston to Nashville and back: Meg Elsier returns eight years and an album later

By Ryan Yau, Living Arts Editor / November 20, 2024

Most indie artists would try to hide their suburban roots. Singer-songwriter and guitarist Meg Elsier, who grew up in Westborough, Mass., a town 40 minutes...

Behind the scenes on "La Bibliothèque." Courtesy Dana Koops

Emerson alum Dana Koops commemorates her brother with short film ‘La Bibliothèque’

By Ryan Yau, Living Arts Editor / November 6, 2024
Dana Koops, BFA '23, wrote, directed, and starred in her thesis film "La Bibliothèque,” which follows a woman receiving a supernatural FaceTime call from her recently deceased brother.
A booth selling books by AK Press, a worker-run publishing and distributing company.

[Photo] Faces of the Boston Anarchist Bookfair

By Ryan Yau, Living Arts Editor / November 3, 2024

A booth selling books, comics, and zines by LB Lee.

"Nobuko Miyamoto: A Song in Movement" (2024) dir. Tadashi Nakamura, Quyên Nguyen-Le. Courtesy Boston Asian American Film Festival

The Boston Asian American Film Festival opens its doors once again

By Ryan Yau, Living Arts Editor / October 18, 2024
The 16th annual Boston Asian American Film Festival will be held from Oct. 17 to 27.
The exterior of Paramount Theater on Washington Street.

Warner Bros. brings ‘Sex’ to Emerson

By Ryan Yau / September 27, 2024
Boston Film Festival collaborated with Warner Bros. in anticipation of the upcoming third season of “The Sex Lives of College Girls.”
There is a Bright Light that never goes out

There is a Bright Light that never goes out

By Ryan Yau, Living Arts Editor / September 18, 2024
Near its 10th anniversary, the Bright Lights Cinema Series has introduced three generations of Emerson students to hundreds of independent films, highlighting social issues and marginalized perspectives.
Courtesy Cannes Film Festival

“May December” and the politics of scandal

By Ryan Yau / December 13, 2023

Todd Haynes’ latest directorial effort “May December” has been making waves since its Netflix release on Dec. 1. The movie features the double power...

Illustration by Ryan Yau.

[Photo] “Thankskilling 3” Will Stuff Your Turkey.

By Bryan Liu, Assistant Opinion Editor / November 29, 2023

Illustration by Ryan Yau.

Alamo Drafthouse brings beer and community to Boston cinemas

Alamo Drafthouse brings beer and community to Boston cinemas

By Ryan Yau, Ryan Yau / November 8, 2023

Since Mesopotamia, there has been beer. And since Eadweard Muybridge, there has been cinema. No one had ever thought to combine the two—until 1997, when...

Alum book “The Woman with a Purple Heart” gives an unsung hero her own novel

Alum book “The Woman with a Purple Heart” gives an unsung hero her own novel

By Ryan Yau, Ryan Yau / November 1, 2023

When we read about history, who gets remembered? In historical fiction, who gets to be a protagonist? Emerson alum Diane Hanks ‘91 wrote her latest novel...

"Eileen," the Fall Focus series' opening film /  Courtesy Jeong Park

IFFBoston Fall Focus brings some of the year’s buzziest films to Boston

By Ryan Yau / October 19, 2023

Independent Film Festival Boston is hosting its Fall Focus series from Oct. 19 to 23 at The Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square. Since the main IFFBoston...

Lawyers will love ‘The Burial’

Lawyers will love ‘The Burial’

By Ryan Yau / October 8, 2023

Though it may be too soon to decree a courtroom drama revival, Maggie Betts’ latest movie “The Burial” is a fun example of a legal crowd-pleaser...

Courtesy Kevin Becerra

Roots of the nation: At ArtsEmerson, conversation is The Point

By Ryan Yau, Ryan Yau / September 14, 2023

What is art? Or more importantly: what is considered art, and by whom? These were some of the questions touched upon in the latest conversation for...

The Maximilian Mutchnick Cafe.

Forsake minimalism, embrace the Max

By Ryan Yau / September 13, 2023

The Max, formally the Maximilian Mutchnick Cafe, underwent its now-infamous remodel over the summer. Gone are the homely red tile, oil-slick couches, and...

Multi-hyphenate Emerson alum releases second book ‘The Other Side of Infinity’

Multi-hyphenate Emerson alum releases second book ‘The Other Side of Infinity’

By Ryan Yau / April 26, 2023

Emerson alum Joan F. Smith ‘10 released her second young adult novel “The Other Side of Infinity” on April 25. She graduated from the Creative Writing...

Corporate nihilism for a post–‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ apocalypse

Corporate nihilism for a post–‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ apocalypse

By Ryan Yau / April 19, 2023

I should be stoned for enjoying “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” The movie represents everything I dislike about contemporary children’s cinema:...

How to narrativize an ethical argument

How to narrativize an ethical argument

By Ryan Yau / April 12, 2023

Daniel Goldhaber’s “How to Blow Up a Pipeline,” adapted from the 2021 book of the same name, is concerned with one question: why can’t fun movies...

Wicked Queer is here: alum-programmed film festival uplifts LGBTQ voices

Wicked Queer is here: alum-programmed film festival uplifts LGBTQ voices

By Ryan Yau / March 29, 2023

The Boston LGBTQ+ Film Festival—now known as Wicked Queer—has survived the ups and downs of queer history. It was founded in 1984, before gay marriage...

Boston Underground Film Festival preview: the subterranean avant-garde

Boston Underground Film Festival preview: the subterranean avant-garde

By Ryan Yau / March 22, 2023

What was once an all-night film marathon hosted by a single person—founder David Kleiler—is now one of the most celebrated film festivals in Massachusetts....

Illustration by Ryan Yau

[Photo] Right-wing conservatives declare war on the FBI for doing its job

By Dennis Catrini, Beacon Correspondent / March 8, 2023

Illustration by Ryan Yau

Boston SciFi: the future of film is independent

Boston SciFi: the future of film is independent

By Ryan Yau, Assistant Living Arts Editor / March 1, 2023

The Boston SciFi Film Festival is unstoppable. It began in the legendary Orson Welles Cinema, once a staple of the Boston-Cambridge independent film scene....

Fresh Ink in the quest to uphold local theater

Fresh Ink in the quest to uphold local theater

By Ryan Yau, Assistant Living Arts Editor / February 23, 2023

In a post-“Cats” franchised theater landscape, every show seems to be a long-running play. To counter this, Fresh Ink Theatre Company is helping new...

The ramifications of a post-'Avatar’ blockbuster landscape

The ramifications of a post-‘Avatar’ blockbuster landscape

By Ryan Yau, Assistant Living Arts Editor / January 25, 2023

When James Cameron announced that the “Avatar” sequels had set release dates, internet discourse commenced about the original movie’s cultural impact—or...

Alum film 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' leads with 11 Oscar nominations

Alum film ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ leads with 11 Oscar nominations

By Ryan Yau, Assistant Living Arts Editor / January 25, 2023

Tuesday’s announcement of this year’s Academy Awards nominations came as an impressive feat for the Emerson film community. Emerson alums Daniel...

‘The Five Fingers of a Dog’: Emerson students debut horror short film

‘The Five Fingers of a Dog’: Emerson students debut horror short film

By Ryan Yau, Staff Writer / December 7, 2022

No filmmakers have been bold enough to suggest dogs have fingers. Classical thought considers dogs’ forelimbs to be legs, making the phalanges on their...

‘Bad Axe’ is family business

‘Bad Axe’ is family business

By Ryan Yau, Staff Writer / December 1, 2022

Bad Axe, MI, is a town with a population of 3,000, where everyone is friends on Facebook and within two degrees of separation in Walmart. “Bad Axe”...

Illustration by Ryan Yau

‘Wednesday’ is plagued by the influence of the CW

By Ryan Yau, Staff Writer / November 30, 2022

The new Addams family spinoff “Wednesday” released last Wednesday.  The eight-part miniseries focuses on a teenaged Wednesday Addams as she transfers...

Emerson graduate student receives first Harlequin Diverse Voices scholarship

Emerson graduate student receives first Harlequin Diverse Voices scholarship

By Ryan Yau / November 30, 2022

Some people yearn for scholarships. For others, scholarships fall in their laps. Graduate student Ying Gao is the first recipient of the Harlequin Diverse...

The faces of the Boston Asian American Film Festival

The faces of the Boston Asian American Film Festival

By Ryan Yau, Correspondent / November 2, 2022

The annual Boston Asian American Film Festival was held in the Paramount Theatre from Oct. 20 to Oct. 31. This year’s program contained three narrative...

Portraits of Pride intersects the past and future of LGBTQ history

Portraits of Pride intersects the past and future of LGBTQ history

By Ryan Yau, Correspondent / October 14, 2022

At the intersection of Boston Common and the Public Garden, two of the oldest parks in America, lies the Portraits of Pride exhibition. The exhibition...

'Smile' will make you grin and grimace

‘Smile’ will make you grin and grimace

By Ryan Yau, Correspondent / October 6, 2022

This article contains spoilers. Parker Finn’s feature directorial debut “Smile” is a genre relic. In the post-streaming, post-COVID era of cinema,...

To save Chinatown, we must Experience Chinatown

To save Chinatown, we must Experience Chinatown

By Bryan Liu and Ryan Yau / September 29, 2022

Through the Chinatown gate lies a wrinkle in time against the backdrop of metropolitan Boston. The neighborhood evokes a sense of anachronism: faded, old-fashioned...