Playing a so-called sugar baby on the SXSW film "The New Romantic" made actress Jessica Barden second guess what defines a healthy relationship.
“Lots of things in regular relationships do mirror parts of transactional relationships,” the actress told Cheddar in an interview. “There’s usually always going to be one person who’s providing more.”
The movie, which premiered at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Tex., follows Barden’s Blake, an aspiring journalist whose love column gets cancelled. In hopes of redemption, she takes on a relationship with an older man and chronicles her experience.
In taking on the role, Barden learned that while power dynamics exist in all types of relationships, society tends to cast judgement on the ones where there’s a significant age difference.
“Even if you’re not a sugar baby, there will at least be one person that has an opinion,” she said.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/exploring-a-different-kind-of-relationship-in-the-new-romantic).
Universities like UCLA, Yale, and Duke have announced they're implementing remote learning amid the COVID omicron variant surge, despite President Biden recommending that K-12 schools should continue in-person education. Jared C. Bass, senior director for Higher Education at American Progress, joined Cheddar to break down what institutions of higher education might be considering differently. "I think some universities are allowing periods of a bit of a respite to allow students to get testing and make sure when they do return back to campus that they're healthy," he noted.
The typical holiday rush to malls and other retail outlets on "Super Saturday" fell by 26 percent compared to 2019. Melissa Gonzalez, CEO and founder of retail strategist Lionesque Group, told Cheddar that shopping habits had already been changing. "I just think there's a shift in general. And then there's just a lot more pre-planning, and I don't think that's going to go away," she said. "You saw a lot of holiday gift guides go out earlier and deals go out earlier, so I think that's just going to be a trend going forward." She also discussed how cryptocurrency is going to play a role in retail in 2022.
Jeanenne Tornatore, travel expert, media personality, content creator, and former Orbitz senior editor, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where she runs through items flyers should be mindful of this holiday season as the omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread.
With only two days left until Christmas, last-minute shoppers are facing major issues caused by supply chain shortages and the rising omicron variant. Kristen Gall, president of Rakuten Rewards, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Waze launched its first-ever "Year in Rear View" survey. Andrew Stober, Waze Head of Public Partnerships and Carpool, takes a look back at the year in travel to see the places we drove the most, the books and music that kept us entertained, and what we can expect in 2022.
Juan Perez Jr., education reporter for Politico, breaks down why Black Americans are leaving Chicago and how political controversy is impacting representation.
Marvel's "Spiderman: No Way Home" is the third highest-grossing film of the year and could be the only one to reach the $1 billion mark of 2021 with ticket sales already surpassing $750 million.
