The New Face of Annie

As I sat in the movie theaters a few days ago awaiting the start of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1, a trailer for the new production of Annie appeared before my eyes. The preview immediately captivated my attention. This Annie clearly strayed away from the traditional elements of the classic Broadway musical and Oscar-nominated 1982 film. In the new Annie movie, which will be released on December 19th of this year, Annie lives in a foster home (instead of an orphanage like in previous versions of the production) in present-day New York. The trailer makes the hustle and bustle of 2014's Big Apple evident, yet the most surprising and positive change I noticed in the clip was the casting of Annie. In the new movie, Quvenzháne Wallis, an 11-year-old African American actress, portrays the lead role of Annie. Maybe we are finally making strides in Hollywood by including more racial diversity among casts.

Annie over the years:
Aileen Quinn (left), Alicia Morton (center), Quvenzháne Wallis (right)

In the 1982 production of Annie, Aileen Quinn plays a redheaded, freckle-faced Annie, living in an oprhanage during the Great Depression. Quinn is surrounded by almost all other white actors. Geoffrey Holder is listed as the only black actor in the cast. However, he plays Punjab, a bodyguard and butler, who can be described as a servile, supporting character. A new Annie film was released in 1999, with Alicia Morton, another young white actress, portraying the role of Annie. Like the 1982 version, the lead characters in this film are almost all played by white actors and actresses. Yet, Grace Farrell, Warbucks' secretary, is portrayed by a black actress named Audra McDonald. Despite earning more screen time than Geoffrey Holder, Audra McDonald still plays a supporting character.

15 years have passed since the 1999 release of Annie and the cast in the 2014 production looks completely different. Actors and actresses of color have finally been cast as lead roles in the film. African Americans Quvenzháne Wallis and Jamie Foxx play Annie and Will Stacks (Warbucks), the two main characters in the movie. The black actors and actresses are no longer just the helping hands to the leading white characters. Now, they shine in the spotlight. Hopefully, more films follow the example of 2014's Annie and start to include more African Americans in leading roles. The 2014 Annie should represent more than just a new era with modern technology; it should represent changing times in cinema and society.

Got Milk: Got Problems

This morning, my breakfast consisted of a bowl of Frosted Flakes and milk. A few years ago, I probably would've mentioned drinking a glass of milk with breakfast, as well. Yet, I never drink a glass of milk anymore; I only have milk when I occasionally eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast. My mom started to worry about my lack of milk consumption so she encouraged me to take a Vitamin D/Calcium supplement. For babies and infants, milk has been shown to have a very positive impact on the body. However, recent studies have shown that after childhood, drinking milk seems unnecessary and possibly even more harmful than beneficial. Maybe my mom had no need to worry about my milk intake?

According to a study of over 100,000 people, milk was associated with no protection against fractures in men. Women who drank lots of milk actually had an increased risk of fractures. There have been several other studies, similar to this one, of hundreds of thousands of people, all reporting the same results: drinking milk as an adult does not lead to stronger bones or fewer fractures. This news shocked me. I had been told all my life that people should drink 3 cups of milk a day in order to make their bones strong and healthy. Apparently, that advice does not need to be followed.

With this information in mind, I don't feel that drinking 3 cups of milk is necessary at my age, let alone beneficial to making my bones stronger. In fact, there are almost 130 calories in 1 cup of 2% fat milk. Drinking 3 cups a day would mean consuming about 390 extra calories. That would cause me to feel more unhealthy than anything else. Nevertheless, I wonder whether these newly released studies will have an impact on many people who drink milk regularly. Since so many of us have been advised to drink 3 cups of milk per day as a part of a balanced diet, I'm not sure it's possible to convince people to stop drinking so much milk until more studies are conducted and news about milk becomes common knowledge.

Community Grants Dying Boy's Holiday Dreams

Ethan Van Leuven wearing his Halloween costume 

Most children are out and about trick-or-treating in their favorite costumes today. Yet, these children don't understand that trick-or-treating is a privilege, an opportunity many children unfortunately miss out on. Ethan Van Leuven, a 4-year-old who was diagnosed with Leukemia at age 2, feared he wouldn't live to celebrate Halloween this year. Recently, Ethan stopped responding to his cancer treatment. Merrill Van Leuven, Ethan's father, recounted the moment when he heard the horrible news: "The doctors basically said he's got two days to a couple of weeks left to live." Yet, Merrill Van Leuven wanted to make the last few days of Ethan's incredibly short life his best. He gathered support from his entire community in Utah. Together, they provided Ethan with the wonderful joys in life he otherwise wouldn't have been able to experience.

On October 21st, Ethan celebrated Halloween. All across the Van Leuven's neighborhood of West Jordan, children dressed up in their favorite costumes, willing to participate in early trick-or-treating so that 4-year-old Ethan could enjoy the holiday. Unfortunately, Ethan passed away a week later on Tuesday, October 28th. At least he had the chance to celebrate an early Christmas and birthday with his family before his life was cut short. Although it is very difficult to hear about Ethan losing his fight to Leukemia, I admire the Van Leuvens' decision to focus less on the inevitability of Ethan's death and more on enjoying the time they had left with him. The West Jordan community also provided incredible support.

I can't imagine what I would've felt if I had discovered that someone I loved had only a few days to a few weeks left to live. I just hope I would handle the news similarly to the way the Van Leuvens dealt with Ethan's situation. Hopefully, as time goes on, fewer people will be delivered this horrible diagnosis. Yet, at the moment, "cancer remains the second most common cause of death in the US, accounting for nearly 1 of every 4 deaths." We need to find a way to lower this number. No one should have to undergo what 4-year-old Ethan and his family experienced.