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Rides at past Campus Carnivals. The 2016 Carnival will be held Saturday
SUA will hold carnival Saturday
▶ OMAR SANCHEZ
@OhMySanchez
To close out the summer season, Student Union Activities (SUA) will be bringing back the annual Campus Carnival on Aug. 27 at the Lied Center parking lot from 5-8 p.m. The event serves as a welcome for new and international students with free rides, food and games.
"Carnival is meant to be an opportunity to socialize and share a relaxing experience with other KU students," Garrison Krotz, president of SUA, said.
Campus Carnival will be one of the larger events planned by SUA this year, Krotz said. It will feature carnival rides, photo
booths, live performance pieces and a new addition to the carnival - food trucks.
Marcea Say, coordinator of communications for SUA and this year's carnival coordinator, said she is excited about the food trucks and hopes the students will enjoy them as well. It is a shake-up to the usual food selection and something Say said SUA is "trying out for future events."
In addition to food trucks, there will also be a magician to interact with carnival goers, a prospect Krotz said he is most looking forward to.
"I've been a huge fan of magic since I was young and look forward to the
opportunity to relive my childhood. It's my personal hope that carnival allows many other students to have that same relaxing experience." Krotz said.
According to Krotz, both he and Say, along with a whole team of collaborators, have worked hard to make this one of the best carnivals the University has had. It will be the seventh overall, with a two year hiatus before the event's return to campus last year.
"Carnival serves as a wonderful opportunity to complete our mission," Krotz said. "It is SUA's goal that these one-of-a-kind social experiences foster an atmosphere of a welcoming community for all in attendance."
For Say, setting up the event to create this welcoming feeling and opportunity for bonding is memorable and rewarding in its own way.
"Seeing happy attendees and then reflecting on this massive, beautiful and also extremely difficult event is one of the most rewarding feelings, and it's why I love being in SUA." Say said.
Each attendee with a valid KU ID will receive 10 free tickets at entrance, with more available for purchase. More information on the Campus Carnival can be found at SUAevents.com.
- Edited by Matt Clough
Lavin: Superhero movies successful, but stagnant
MICHAEL LAVIN
@KansanNews
Superhero films aren't necessarily a new phenomenon. Go to the theater and you'll see at least two or three trailers for one. The growth in popularity superhero films have enjoyed recently is substantial. The monstrous box office success films like "The Avengers," "The Dark Knight" and the "Iron Man" trilogy have had are evidence of this. Those films didn't just make a lot of money, they were also incredibly well received by critics and audiences.
but Marvel and other studios can continue to drag out the superhero lore. This method is especially easy in this genre of films because the source content is so vast. With thousands of comic books to pull from, opportunities and options for writers make the process of pre-production a lot easier, allowing them to churn out films. But the repetitive plot lines can make this a disadvantage.
Promotional still from "Suicide Squad," one of many movies adapted from comic books in recent years.
doesn't progress these films in quality.
One reason for the incredible popularity of superhero films is their ability to create open-ended stories. Popular series like "Harry Potter" and "Lord of the Rings" had endpoints,
Superhero films certainly bring a lot of people to the movie theaters, which is fantastic for the film industry in terms of financial success. But these films are usually more glamour than substance. The predictable storylines of the hero always winning or a constant bombardment of over-the-top action sequences
Rarely do superhero films have unexpected twists like some other dramatic films due to the formulaic design of the plot, with the good guys always finding a way to win in the end. Another disadvantage is that these films may lack in quality at the rate they are released, and there really isn't any care taken into the writing and production.
Contributed Photo
The progression of computer graphic capabilities is another big reason for the increased popularity of superhero films. The realism is increased with technology able to virtually create anything. However, with the visual improvements, producers and directors put a far bigger emphasis on visual appearances in the
films rather than improving writing or cinematic techniques.
Increased visual technology, solid media presence, millennial support,and a strong inclination to progress the story keep superhero film fans wanting more. Marvel and DC both continue to add films to their schedule of releases until 2020 and there isn't any plan of letting up. Howev-
er, despite their growing popularity, superhero films aren't pushing films to the next level in terms of writing and cinematic technique.