Community News

What Expecting Mothers of Del Norte Need to Know About COVID-19 Immunization

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Expecting mothers are worried about how COVID-19 immunization will affect themselves and their growing baby during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Tens of thousands of pregnant women have been immunized with no complications, and they will pass along antibodies for COVID to the infant while nursing. 

Nevertheless, few pregnant women in Del Norte County are immunized against COVID-19. With our high rates of disease transmission and the fact that pregnant women get more sick when they contract the virus, immunization is urgent. 

For more information, check out our video and visit https://covid19.ca.gov/ .

Community News

COVID-19 and How it Threatens the Homeless of Del Norte County

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Homelessness SUCKS. Food insecurity, exposure to the elements, and insufficient rest all contribute to that difficult life. And because of these factors, the COVID-19 pandemic is even more threatening to people who are homeless. 

Luckily, there are steps an unhoused person can take to protect themselves! Wearing a mask, using hand sanitizer, getting immunized, and safely socially isolating as much as possible are things they can do to help keep themselves safe. Del Norte county has many resources that offer help.

Masks and sanitizers are available at:

-Rural Human Services on 286 M Street

-The Department of Health and Human Services on 880 Northcrest Drive

-Community Assistance Network on 355 Standard Veneer

Radio

The Redwood Voice Anthology: March, 2022

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March, 2022—we gather the many works that have slipped through the cracks from the Redwood Voice Crew, primarily their contributions to local news. Join Persephone Rose, Director of Redwood Voice, and Paul Critz, Station & Program Manager for KFUG Community Radio, for a review of the many recent projects the ever-growing Redwood Voice team have submitted to the KFUG Community News program—stories that are most often sent to broadcast and not heard again. Until now, that is, through the planned-to-be monthly editions of the Redwood Voice Anthology.

On this anthology we’ll discuss and review these stories, as well as give them a place to air in full. The stories in this Anthology include:

  • (0:04:56) STORM Stands Before County Board of Supervisors
  • (0:16:13) Commentary on Youth Vaping
  • (0:22:45) Redwood Voice’s Top 6 Movies of 2021
  • (0:32:44) “Welcome to the Friendly City! Fortuna’s Passed Ordinance Criminalizes Camping”
  • (0:39:07) The Point-In-Time Count
  • (0:48:31) Receiving the Promise Neighborhood Grant
  • (0:55:57) Local Houseless Vaccination Effort
  • (1:00:58) Quarantine Guidelines Unchanged in Del Norte County
  • (1:02:21) Beachfront Mural for Sister City Project
Community News

Yurok Tribe, KCSD sign permit to upgrade Klamath water system

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The following is a PSA from the Yurok Tribe:

The Yurok Tribe and the Klamath Community Services District signed a permit to initiate the installation of a much needed 125,000 gallon water tank on a tribally owned property in Klamath Using a combination of general fund and Indian Health Service grant dollars, the Tribe is funding the design and implementation of this forward looking project, which will greatly improve KCSD’s water storage capacity.

“We are happy to work with KCSD on making our community more water secure,” said Joseph L. James, Chairman of the Yurok Tribe. “In addition to improving water security, the new tank will support the ongoing expansion of our Tribe. Right now, we are in the middle of a major growth period. We are starting new businesses, creating jobs and building recreation al facilities for all reservation residents. I would like to thank the Indian Health Service for investing in our community.”

“I am really excited about this project and what it means for our community,” added Yurok Tribal Council Member Ryan Ray, who represents the Requa District. “I look forward to working with KCSD so that together we can ensure the water system has the capacity to meet the community’s needs now and in the future. We need a system that can support the growth of our community, especially when it comes to facilities like the emergency operation center. The signing of the agreement represents the first step toward the completion of this critically important project.”

Signed by Chairman James and KCSD Board President Margaret Caldwell, the permit allows the services district to construct the new tank on tribal lands. The KCSD will own and operate the system. The Tribe has already completed the engineering work for the tank installation. The Yurok Planning and Community Development Department will soon distribute a request for bids, which will be used to select a contractor to implement the project.

Community News

Crescent City’s Teens Speak Out About Youth Vaping

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As a young person in Del Norte, I have seen that vaping is an issue affecting other young people. And I’m not the only one to notice this. A group of Del Norte High School students, part of the organization, Storm,which stands for,  standing together and overcoming addiction with a radical movement. led by the NorCal4Health project director, Amber Wier, Went to the City Council meeting on Monday, January 10th, asking them to help with stopping vaping issue hurting our fellow teens. Storm told the council about their experiences with vaping and to ask the city to implement a tobacco retail license, especially one that would ban flavored vape products or limit the places where youth can see these products, with some of the members giving personal stories of their families experiences and some sharing more overall experiences that the youth faced. 

When the members of STORM were giving their presentation and sharing their stories, some members had brought up that it was impossible to use the restroom during their breaks, and Council Member Smith said,

 “I’m very very concerned that its that big of a problem at Del Norte County High School, where all the kids go to, and the reason I’m concerned is because obviously the staff isn’t doing anything about it. That’s my concern, where’s the staff? Where’s the staff when this is going on in the bathrooms?”

But what would you want the school to do? The current admins are already busy enough dealing with what they already have to do, and even if they hired new people for this, it would cause outrage in a second. Think about this, if the school hired people just to watch their kids inside the bathroom, every single parent would be calling to complain about the invasion of privacy going on at the school, and if they were outside the room, it would be impossible to catch anyone vaping since it’s so easy to hide. Vape pens can be slightly larger than a USB drive. It’s really easy to hide it in a sleeve, glove, pocket, or even in a backpack. In order for the school to be able to catch these vapes, there would be a huge price to pay in the privacy of students, and also a price on the taxpayers for the school to be able to afford the new monitoring systems. And on top of that, no matter what the school put in place, the students could still have their vapes 

When the meeting was going on, I decided to contact youth I knew who vaped and tried to find out what their experience with vaping is. None of them wanted to share their names, but I’ll let you know what they told me. I asked all of them if they use nicotine vapes or something else, and if they were flavored. All but 1 told me that they used nicotine vapes, and EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. told me that they have only used flavored vapes. One of them told me, “Yes. the flavored ones are the only ones people get, they’re targeted at teenagers. Everyone knows its bad. It’s just the mentality.” When the youth themselves are saying that they only use the flavored vapes, its something we should consider taking action against. 

The council also talked about how they thought this was a parenting issue, with members saying,

Smith: “Us as a local government, it’s not our job to parent these kids. It’s their parents’s job.” 

Inscore: “I agree”

Greenough: “And I’ll just kinda piggyback off that, It really feels like we’re gonna try and parent the parents by limiting their choices.”

But it ignores where most of the students are getting their vapes, Their friends. When talking to these people who vaped, some of them told be they didn’t want their name attached, just because they were worried of their parents finding out, because their parents didn’t know about it, so if the parents don’t know their kids vape, it’s not something that the parents can fix. 

I also asked them how their friends who did buy them got their vapes. I was told that some of them did buy them in town, and while this wasn’t all of them, it’s something to consider since even one of the store owners said in the meeting, “The state can pull my license if I sell underage.” but someone is still selling them to youth, so the current California licenses don’t completely stop these sales since it’s still happening. 

After the presentation, when the board was discussing if they should do anything, Council Member Inscore said,

“Does big tobacco have the right to try to make money in our community? And if you guys don’t see it that way I’ll respect your opinions, but the bottom line is you’re defending the right for big business to make money at the expense of the health of our citizens, and we know that. There’s no doubt that that’s what they’re doing. They’re making billions of dollars at the cost of our health.”

At the end of the discussion, the council agreed to discuss this further at a late meeting. 

The whole discussion between Storm, The City Council, and the public comments was really interesting to watch, and I’d recommend anyone who has some free time to watch it. It’s available at the City of Crescent City, California Youtube page, with the video that was streamed live on January 10th, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVTYz3vXP0g , with the vaping  discussion happening between 42:00 and 2:39:14

I’ll finish this off by saying one last thing. People often say that the youth are our future, and  right now, some of the youth are telling you that vaping is a problem and that it is hurting their future. Maybe we should listen to them and see what’s going on

Community News

Nourish Yourself with Coastal Connections’ New Cooking Class

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The audio version of this PSA, as made for radio—by Persephone Rose.

Nourish yourself, mind and body, with Coastal Connections’ new cooking class for youth aged 14-21! Over the course of 6 sessions, develop your cooking prowess and learn to mix it up in your diet! It’s free, hands-on, and sure to be a whole lot of fun. Explore a growing healthier relationship with food preparation, cooking, and of course the fun part: eating! Registration includes a student workbook, nutrition resources, and even raffle prizes for each class to assist in building your very own healthy living toolbox.

This class comes both virtually and in-person. The virtual series will be happening every Monday from January 31st to March 14th, 3pm and 4:30pm on Zoom. The in-person series will be happening every Thursday from January 20th to February 24th, 4pm to 5:30pm at the site itself.

For more information you can call (707)464-3060, or stop down at Coastal Connections down on 475 K Street in Downtown Crescent City, California. Again, that’s (707)464-3060. Come cook with us!

Education

Yurok Language Program launches amazing new project

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Yurok language lessons will soon be more accessible than ever before—the following is a PSA from the Yurok Tribe.

The Administration for Native Americans recently funded the next evolution of the Yurok Language Program’s comprehensive effort to fully restore the everyday use of the Tribe’s first form of communication. Over the next three years, the Program will use the ANA award to make learning the Yurok language more accessible than ever before. The primary goal of the project is to reintegrate the language within households, workplaces and community events. To accomplish this objective, the Program is creating a series of digital platforms containing interactive educational tools, implementing culturally relevant learning exercises and developing a virtual archive featuring a diversity of resources. The Program is also establishing a community-wide team of language liaisons, comprised of tribal staff and local residents, who will help promote and participate in learning opportunities.

“When we designed this project, we focused on how we could best serve the community, while supporting the development of new and existing language speakers. We wanted to ensure that language is spoken in the home, that language is spoken in the workplace, and that we hear and speak the language at our ceremonies and gatherings,” said Yurok Language Program Manager Victoria Carlson. “We also thought about the elders who dedicated their lives and energy into preserving the language.

The Yurok language team feels we are on a path they would want us to pursue.

“The Yurok Language Program has developed an outstanding teacher training program. The language is now taught in head starts and public schools. We have built an amazing foundation to take the next step, which is to move the language out of the classroom and into the community. We want to empower people to use the language in their day-to-day lives,” said Distance Learning Coordinator Brittany Vigil.

“We’re really focusing our efforts on bringing the language back to where it belongs, which is everywhere,” added Yurok Language Cultural Coordinator James Gensaw. “One of the things they did when they tried to exterminate us was remove language from the home. One of the primary goals of this project is bring the use of the language back into the homes of all of our members.”

The Planting Seeds: Reclaiming Yurok Language Domains and Building New Circles project reflects the input of more than 130 Yurok citizens, who provided feedback on the Program’s future goals. The three domains, which include Reintroduction to Ceremony, Yurok Tribal Employees, and Distance Learning and Community Engagement, were each selected for a specific purpose.

“The domains touch on the aspects of our daily lives as Yurok people. We want to normalize the use of the language in everyday situations,” said Distance Learning Coordinator Brittany Vigil, who is leading the development of the digital assets.

The first online platform is a new website, yuroklanguage.com Currently under construction, the site will contain language curricula, digital animations with Yurok songs and much more. The Language Program is also building a series of applications offering on-demand learning materials, including videos and audio recordings of tribal elders telling traditional stories.

“I want people to see the Yurok language every day of their lives. They’re going to see it in their email, or at a community class or on social media. We want to normalize the everyday use of the language,” said Distance Learning Coordinator Vigil.

“Once the distance learning courses, digital platforms and the online archive are in place, they will be available to the community. For as long as there is a Yurok Tribe, all of these learning tools will be organized in one place for future learners,” added Barbara McQuillen, the Yurok Language Collections and Teacher Training Coordinator.

The Program has already organized the first of many immersive activities, including acorn-gathering and eel hook-making events where participants learned terminology related to the activity. Plans are in the works to put on similar events in the near term. The language will also be incorporated into the Tribe’s most high-profile gatherings, such as the Salmon Festival and Spring Flings.

“There are numerous studies that show hands-on learning stimulates language acquisition. Immersion is actually the best way to learn. It triggers a ton of language growth,” said Yurok Language Cultural Coordinator James Gensaw. “The online and in-person language activities cater to every learning style.” There are benefits that go well beyond language acquisition and retention too. For example, second language learners regularly perform better in reading, math and language arts. Indigenous communities who have higher levels of language retention are shown to have lower rates of cigarette smoking, substance abuse, suicide, domestic violence, and diabetes. Native Children who learn their language have higher levels of self-esteem, higher levels of confidence in their own abilities, and decreased levels of anxiety.

“New research indicates that those who learn their native language are less likely to attempt suicide too,” said Language Collections and Teacher Training Coordinator Barbara McQuillen. The Program is currently looking for 15 language liaisons from the tribal government and the community. In addition to supporting the Program, the liaisons will receive assistance with achieving an intermediate-low level of proficiency in speaking the language. The Program encourages all interested community members to sign up to become a liaison. If you’re interested, please email Yurok Language Distance Learning Coordinator Brittany Vigil-Burbank at bvigil@yuroktribe.nsn.us.

The Planting Seeds Project represents a natural progression of the successful Yurok elder-led campaign implemented between the 1950s and early 2000s to preserve the language. At every juncture, the Yurok Language Program team acknowledges their predecessors’ dedication to saving the language. Taking the mantle, the Program has made the language available in the Tribe’s Head Starts in addition to public high schools on the Yurok and Hoopa Reservations and in Del Norte and Humboldt Counties. The language will continue to be offered in these educational institutions for the foreseeable future. During the past five years, the Program has trained a team of talented teacher candidates and continues to develop new instructors. In fact, some the teachers from the initial class are now training new language educators. The Program also provides community language classes. Prior to the pandemic, the courses were taught in-person, but now they are available via Zoom.

“We believe this project is a reflection of what our fluent elder speakers would have wanted us to carry on to ensure the survival of our language. I feel confident our language team will be able to accomplish the goals of this project,” concluded Yurok Language Program Manager Carlson.

Source: (Joana Jansen, Northwest Indian Language Institute, University of Oregon; Lindsay Marean, Owens Valley Career Development Center; and Janne Underriner, Northwest Indian Language Institute, University of Oregon)

To stay informed about learning opportunities, visit the Yurok Language Program’s Facebook page, which can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/yuroktribelanguage

Health, Radio

Del Norte County Releases COVID-19 Guidelines, Quarantine Remains 10 Days.

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This is the audio for the story that aired on KFUG Community News on 1/6/22

On Wednesday, Del Norte County Public Health released guidelines about Quarantining for Covid-19 in Del Norte. The new guidelines say that if you’ve been exposed and are unvaccinated or eligible for the booster shot and don’t have it, you must quarantine for 10 days after last contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 and take a test within 5 to 7 days of last contact. If you have your booster shot or are not eligible for the booster, you only have to quarantine if you experience symptoms of Covid-19. These guidelines are more strict than the recent guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control 

KFUG contacted Del Norte County Public Health for clarification on the guidelines, we spoke with program manager, Melody Cannon-Cutts. According to Cannon-Cutts, Public Health is continuing the 10 day quarantine period previously directed by the CDC instead of the recently implemented 5 day quarantine period. According to Del Norte Public Health, this is because of concerns over rising Covid cases in Del Norte and Surrounding areas and because of concern that the 5 day quarantine isn’t long enough to protect Public Health in Del Norte County. According to Public Health, this is a County wide mandate. However it may conflict with the Del Norte Unified School District, which currently has a less restrictive policy. (We have to be clear that Public Health didn’t say it would conflict with DNUSD. I think this minor rewrite takes care of that).

As a DNUSD High School student, I have been told that the high school’s policy is that they would only require students to quarantine if they had been exposed and hadn’t been vaccinated or were experiencing symptoms, and while the Public Health Guidelines are similar, they are more restrictive than the school district’s. Public Health’s requirement of those exposed and eligible for the booster shot who have not received one is to quarantine for 10 days which could require most juniors and seniors to quarantine when they didn’t need to before. KFUG contacted the DNUSD office to check if they were changing their requirements to match those issued by Public Health on Wednesday afternoon, but we received no response by the time of recording.

In a related story, the Humboldt-Del Norte League (HDNL) has imposed a temporary mandate not allowing spectators at all HDNL athletic events beginning on January 7th until January 23rd. HDNL Commissioner, Jack Lakin, stated that this is because they are seeing rising Covid case numbers and this is likely the beginning of another surge. By taking this action, they want to help prevent more cases of Covid-19 in our area.

Since the original publication, we have found the Del Norte Unified School District’s updated Covid quarantine guidelines. The guidelines now require students to quarantine if they’ve been exposed to someone and had their vaccine more than 6 months ago without receiving a booster.

Opinion

Redwood Voice’s Top 6 Movies of 2021

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2021 was no exception to being a year packed with jaw-dropping, heart-wrenching, action-packed, and thought-provoking movies. In no particular order, here are 6 of our top movies from the past year!

A Quiet Place Part II

One anticipated film at the beginning of this year was A Quiet Place Part 2. Taking place seconds after the events of Part 1, Evelyn Abbott (played by Emily Blunt) and her 3 kids desert their compromised home to travel outside, where the smallest sound can leave them the most vulnerable. In a flashback at the start of the movie, we learned that the ultrasonic hearing monsters who brought the apocalypse are from space. And they can’t swim, which finally gave the humans an advantage.

Evelyn’s daughter, Regan (played by Millicent Simmonds), discovered there was a possibility that people were taking refuge on an island just off the New York coast. The last thing her mother wanted was to lose another family member, but Regan took the initiative to make the journey to find security.

Evelyn’s fear for her children’s safety throughout the movie contributed significantly to their family’s growth as they learned to believe in each other’s capabilities. With Regan being deaf, the son Marcus (played by Noah Jupe) being easily frightened, and Evelyn having to keep her newborn healthy and quiet, each member finds a way to overcome their obstacles in order to save each other’s lives by the end.

In a way, this movie portrays what every parent might be feeling during the pandemic.  Extra precautions, knowhow of the outside world, and possessing skills of their own showed Evelyn that the kids are alright. The sequel did a great job of expanding their world as well as the lore, and left watchers hungry for Part 3. If you prefer watching a family in a horror setting rather than a horror movie with family in it, the A Quiet Place movies have a profound story to dive into. 

Halloween Kills

2021 saw the next installment in Michael Myers’ killing spree in Halloween Kills. The story has some major holes, but the message is a little more solid. Starting off right where the 2018 movie ended, it’s revealed that Michael Myers did indeed survive the house fire. The plot is split between two parts, Michael’s journey to his childhood home and the town coming together to form a mob to hunt him down. Most of the issues with the story happen because of the message it’s trying to send.

In the middle of the movie, there’s this long scene where the town hunts down some guy who they think is Michael, despite evidence to the contrary, and eventually kill him. This scene and surrounding ones try to paint a picture that people need to think for themselves and not just follow the group; that one needs to see the world for themselves before making decisions.

 At the same time, the movie also discourages lone wolf behavior, with many fight scenes involving Michael being those where 1 person decides that they’re enough to take down the killer. The only time in the movie where people succeed is at the end: when a group of people come together, there’s confirmation that it is Michael Myers, and then take action. 

Of course, he doesn’t stay down for long since every movie nowadays has to set up for the sequel, this being no different. The last 5 minutes are spent showing that Michael isn’t dead yet and he’ll return in the next installment, Halloween Ends.

Dune

The 2021 reboot of Dune brought a sense of scale and epicness that wasn’t seen in many other movies this year. And even though most didn’t grasp an understanding of what was going on until their second viewing, the show-stopping visuals and acting balance with the fast-paced plot.

Dune is a sci-fi adventure packed with action, drama, suspense, and betrayal. In the year 10,191, The planets of the House Atreides and House Harkonnen are mortal enemies that serve the Imperial Emperor from House Corrino. When Atreides becomes responsible for overlooking the manufacturing of spice on the planet Arrakis, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen orders the sabotage of their operation and the annihilation of the royal family. It’s up to Duke Leto’s son, Paul Atreides (played by Timothee Chalamet), to form a relationship with the Arrakis people and save their worlds. 

Everything such as the flawless cinematography, booming score by Hanz Zimmer, daunting spaceships, the fear you feel from the giant sandworm approaching, and the performance each actor brings to their character all make this film a very unique blockbuster. 

Luckily, “this is only the beginning.” This first movie only covers half of author Frank Herbert’s novel. Keep an eye out for a Part 2 that’s coming soon!

No Time to Die

The final installment in Daniel Craig’s run as James Bond released in 2021, with some parts of the movie being great, and other parts not so much.

Throughout No Time to Die, it’s clear that they haven’t forgotten the previous movies, with Vesper Lynd’s grave being used as the starting point for the conflict between Bond and Madeline Swan. Felix Leiter and Ernst Blofeld also return to play important roles in Bond’s conflict with Safin, with both of them meeting their ends in the arms of James. 

The villain Safin (played by Rami Malek) can leave many desiring more out of his character, however, the story makes up for it with Bond’s relationship with Swan and her daughter. Throughout the movie, its slowly revealed that Swan’s daughter also happens to be Bond’s. And while this can bring up some questions on how it happened due to Le Chiffre’s destruction of Bond’s… parts, in Casino Royale, it can be easily overlooked in order to experience this softer side to Craig’s Bond. 

His new daughter is a huge reason Bond sacrifices himself at the end of the movie. With his sacrifice, the audience is left feeling the pain experienced alongside Madeleine at his death.

 No Time to Die is the dramatic send off to the story started in Casino Royale all the way back in 2006.

Tick, Tick…Boom!

Lin Manuel Miranda’s film adaptation of the musical Tick, Tick…Boom! was arguably one of the best this year next to West Side Story and In the Heights. His direction helped to portray all the highs and lows of the late Jon Larson’s life.

Tick, Tick…Boom! is a pop/rock autobiography of his life and work on writing his newest musical, Superbia. Jon’s legacy would live on through his next musical, Rent, but before that, he would face many struggles leading up to his 30th birthday. Before he hit the big 3-0, he had to compose the most vital song to Superbia, hire musicians for its workshop, support his friends who were threatened by HIV, and give an answer to his girlfriend on whether he wants to move out with her or not. The story shows how his commitment to this project impacts his relationship, friendships, and time to think about other important matters.

Like in every other role he’s played, Andrew Garfield brings his all to resembling a real figure, like Larson, through his mannerisms and even style of singing. Garfield was handpicked by Miranda for this role, so he learned how to sing in just a year in preparation.

From what musical fans have seen from this year’s adaptations, creating a movie from a stage production has the potential to be executed very well with the right cast and crew. And Tick, Tick…Boom! was a perfect example of an adaptation done right.

The Suicide Squad and Zach Snyder’s Justice League

DC’s new THE Suicide Squad, directed by James Gunn, showcases DC learning an important lesson. That if you’re working in a creative medium, give the creative people some control.

If you compare David Ayer’s Suicide Squad to James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, you’ll see a huge difference between the two movies. A part of it’s because of their different stories, but the directors of both admit that the first movie would have been better if not for DC’s meddling. James Gunn actually thanked Ayer on Twitter saying that without the troubles during his time directing, Gunn’s version of the Suicide Squad would have been a lot harder to make. 

You can also see the change in DC’s ways with their other movie of this year, Zach Snyder’s Justice League. Snyder’s gave us a huge opportunity to compare what would happen when the director has full control over the movie and when the studio gets to decide what happens. When comparing the two, there’s still plenty of flaws in both versions, but Snyder’s original vision is the better of the two, as long as you’re fine with the extra 2 hours. 

My favorite part of the “Snyder cut,” as fans call it, is the addition of Cyborg’s story. In the original, Cyborg felt like he had a lot of missed potential. Luckily, Snyder was able to give him more screen time in this newer rendition.

While Snyder’s version of this universe won’t continue, I’d recommend people wanting to get into the DC universe his version over the studio’s.