Page 2 December 30, 2021 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Letters Travel
23 Travel Movies, One
Series, and Counting
Article and photos
by Ben & Glinda Shipley
What makes a travel movie? We really have
no idea. Does it require a journey? Not really.
Should it offer some insight into the modern
version of a country? Possibly. Does it have to
be watchable? Not quite. It probably doesn’t
hurt if the movie depicts the more benign side
of a culture—we’d be surprised if Slumdog
Millionaire, Hotel Rwanda, or Apocalypse Now
drove a lot of tourists to jump the next plane
to Delhi, Kigali, or Saigon. But beyond that…
We’ve watched a slew of movies and binged on
a ton of TV series over the years, and probably
Thanks Community for Support
The Scouts, Parents, and Leaders of the two
Cub Scout Packs and four Scouts BSA Troops
who meet at the Scout House wish to thank
the El Segundo community for supporting our
annual Christmas Tree Lot. Your continued
support of this 70+ year tradition is what
funds our Scouting programs and allows us
to operate and maintain the Scout House. The
hard-working parents and Scouts are proud
to stand and deliver fresh premium trees into
your homes and grateful to all who let us
be a part of their Holiday tradition. Happy
Holidays, and we wish you the best in 2022!
– Mike Rotolo, President
El Segundo Scouthouse Association
could have gone on listing into the hundreds
here. So if we miss your particular favorite,
accept our apologies, but don’t be surprised.
We specifically excluded two popular current
series, Emily in Paris and Ted Lasso. Both
feature naïve millennials instructing honored
and ancient civilizations in the finer points of
subtlety-free American political correctness.
In Lillehammer, Steve van Zandt attempts
something vaguely similar (turning Norwegian
hicks into American mafiosi), but the natives
ambush him with a seductive natural hospitality
that would encourage any tourist pull the
See Travel, page 11
Bran, Romania—Count Dracula opts for photogenic, or at least
his castle does.
Corleone, Sicily—the road to The Godfather is lined with
colorful ruins.
Entertainment
Check It Out
This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
By Teen Reviewer Max Stahl
This Savage Song, by Victoria Schwab, is
a YA fantasy novel set in an alternate reality
United States where the country is split into
a number of territories, each governed by its
own independent government.
The story takes place in the territory of
Verity and its capital, V-City. 12 years before
the novel begins, monsters began to appear
all across V-City, springing up at the scenes
of violent crimes. Flesh-eating Corsai, blooddrinking
Malchai, and soul-stealing Sunai.
The city split into two main factions, Callum
Harker, who ruled through fear and charged
people for safety, and Henry Flynn, an idealistic
man who led a militia to stop criminals and
hunt down monsters. After 6 years of fighting,
Flynn and Harker agreed to a truce, splitting
V-City directly in two. The main plot of the
story is set 6 years after the truce, as tensions
between the two factions begin to rise again.
August Flynn is Henry Flynn’s adopted son and
one of three Sunai that exist in V-City. August
wants more than anything to help his father
keep the city safe, and so finally Henry relents
See Review, page 9
This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab.
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