Page 6 July 13, 2017 EL SEGUNDO HERALD Entertainment Check It Out Film Review Ready Player One By Ernest Cline Reviewed by Katrena Woodson, Teen and Young Reader Librarian, El Segundo Public Library This week, I am reviewing a novel by Ernest Cline called Ready Player One. This novel is set in 2045 and even though this is only a few decades in the future, the world that Cline describes is very different from the world we live in today. It is a dystopian world in which the majority of humanity spends all their time plugged into a virtual reality world called the OASIS. Cline packs the novel full of pop culture references from the 1980s, giving the story a sort of retro-futuristic tone. The story follows an 18-year-old orphan named Wade who spends most of his time in the virtual world created by billionaire James Halliday. Halliday devises an elaborate game in which players race to discover a hidden Easter egg in the most video game quest of a lifetime. The reader follows along through all of the twists and turns, trying desperately to solve the riddles and find Halliday’s egg before the Sixers--employees of an evil conglomerate--do. The Sixers have money, power and larger numbers, not to mention that they will stop at nothing to get what they want. However, Wade and his friends are dedicated and determined to beating the Sixers and saving the OASIS in the process. Overall this novel is an excellent read and this very humorous science fiction thriller is suggested for older teens and adults--especially for readers who love video games or 1980s pop culture. The novel does feature some bad language and violence. Cline is a screenwriter turned novelist and it shows in his exquisite storytelling ability. Ready Player One is actually Cline’s first novel. This book feels like it is begging to be adapted for the big screen and it feels as though the reader is watching the events play out in a cinematic way. So it should come as no surprise that it will in fact be adapted into a major motion picture set to be released in 2018. The El Segundo Public Library offers access to its collection of titles in a variety of formats, including traditional hardback, e-books and books on CD. To check out, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline or any other title on your to-read list, please visit the library to apply for your library card, or please contact the reference staff for further assistance. • In Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press, Gawker vs Hogan is a Modern Day David vs Goliath By Morgan Rojas for Cinemacy.com There is no doubt that former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan (real name Terry Gene Bollea) is regarded as one of the most popular pop culture figures of all time. From action figures to reality shows and beyond, Hogan’s public persona has been a part of pop culture for generations. It’s no surprise then that when Hulk Hogan aka Terry Bollea in Nobody Speak. Courtesy of Sundance. the online gossip tabloid Gawker posted a grainy black and white clip of a personally compromising and embarrassing video of Bollea in 2012, the public was shocked. The revelations in the tape contrasted everything that made Hogan so likable. But the man who appears in the tape in Gawker’s possession wasn’t “Hulk Hogan” – at least, that was the response that came from Bollea’s camp of powerful attorneys. In an eye-opening look at the power and consequences of wealth and free speech, director Brian Knappenberger’s new documentary Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press (now streaming on Netflix) is a terrifying exposé raising the question of where does one draw the line between privacy rights and the First Amendment, and how the free media can be controlled by the people with the most influence and resources. But what makes the Gawker vs Hogan case even stranger is what happened next. Silicon Valley venture capitalist Peter Thiel had been discovered to be anonymously funding the legal fees for Bollea and had a very pointed agenda aimed at Gawker: to bankrupt them and shut down the site for good. Thiel had a longtime feud with Gawker and saw Bollea’s case as the perfect time to strike. It turns out that Gawker was no match for the power of a very vengeful and rich Peter Thiel, and in true David vs Goliath fashion, was forced to shut down. In this case, money was all it took to shut down independent journalism and set a frightening precedent for journalists everywhere, asking themselves: can the First Amendment be thwarted if there is enough money involved? Nobody Speak uses Bollea’s case as the prime example of the exploitation of the First Amendment, but his is not the only case examined. A secretive purchase of the Las Vegas Review-Journal by the politically divisive billionaire Sheldon Adelson is told firsthand by the journalists who stood up for what they believed in, which ended up costing them their jobs because they did not want to play by Adelson’s rules. And there is no shortage of footage showing current President Trump undermining and disrespecting the “fake” news media with every opportunity he gets. The Gawker case drew attention for many reasons, but not just because it was another case of a “leaked” celebrity personal tape. Hogan vs Gawker is now regarded as one of the most important First Amendment cases in U.S. history. The blurred lines of a public person’s private life vs his on-stage persona, coupled with the deep pockets of a bitter billionaire, caused a well-established news website to sink, and the scariest part is that this could easily happen again. Watching Knappenberger’s documentary will hopefully raise awareness about the state of jeopardy that independent journalism is currently in, and hopefully prevent a situation like Gawker’s from happening to any other member of the press – such as myself. Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press is not rated. 95 minutes. Now streaming on Netflix. • Visit us online: www.heraldpublications.com Katrena Woodson. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. touch & take off! Plus, enjoy speeds up to 45Mbps at one all-included price, with no extra monthly fees. Call today and pay less 855-977-6038 Internet plan starts at $40.00/ mo Internet speeds up to 45Mbps Wi-Fi Gateway router to connect your devices AT&T Internet Security Suite—powered by McAfee Bundle with another qualifying AT&T service and get internet for $30/mo. 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