Author: Megan Westra

  • Paddleton

    Paddleton

    As a child of the 90’s, seeing Ray Romano’s name headlining a movie in my Netflix cue filled my mind with expectations of the laugh-out-loud, “oh my word, at least my family isn’t this bad” brand of humor which shot Romano to celebrity status. It was a lazy Saturday night, my daughter was away on…

  • Beauty, the Beast, and the Boycott

    Beauty, the Beast, and the Boycott

    Full confession: I was not really that excited about the Beauty and the Beast remake. Like most children of the 90’s, I grew up watching the Disney animated original. I even owned a VHS copy. As I’ve gotten older, though, the story of Beauty and the Beast has become increasingly problematic for me. Intelligent, independent…

  • Hidden Figures

    Hidden Figures

    When I was a child the science museum in my hometown hosted a traveling exhibit featuring all kinds of information about the moon, the U.S. space program, and even some samples of lunar rock (which is less interesting to look at when you’re ten-years-old than it sounds). To prepare for our field trip to the…

  • The True Cost

    The True Cost

    It was the only day of the year my eyes ever saw 4am when I was in high school: Black Friday. My cousin, visiting from out of town, and I would rouse ourselves before sunrise, pull on our jeans, slap leftover turkey into a sandwich, and drive to the mall near my grandparents house for…

  • Suffragette

    Suffragette

    Winston Churchill said “History is written by the victors” and while this is true, I will add “especially if the victors are white, educated, land-owning men.” Rarely are the mainstream historical accounts told by the victors, should they be women or people of a racial minority. While the story of Suffragette wasn’t entirely historical, I…

  • The Armor of Light

    The Armor of Light

    Weekdays as I exit the freeway on my way home from work, I frequently find myself at the stoplight behind a car that boasts a bumper sticker reading: “God, Guns and Guts Made America Great!” The first time I saw it I just shook my head in disbelief. Now, whenever I find myself behind this…

  • Musicals and the Soundtrack of Faith

    Musicals and the Soundtrack of Faith

    It was Christmas Day 2014 and my daughter, Cadence, and I were settling into our seats in the theater. Just shy of three years old, her feet dangled above from the too-tall theater seat, excitedly swinging back and forth. “When will it start, Momma?” Her eyes wide with anticipation for her first in-theater movie. The…

  • Selma

    Selma

    I first went to see Selma on the weekend prior to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day this past year. The theater was packed – sold out in fact – and several of the friends I was going with were unable to get seats. We packed in together, elbow to elbow with strangers, the theater a…