tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6487559076567001812024-03-05T04:54:59.877-08:00Alaina's Arts Journalism BlogAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648755907656700181.post-62436046780363575432013-03-20T04:55:00.000-07:002013-03-20T04:55:37.615-07:00Process Writing<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
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{page:WordSection1;}</style><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> Writing reviews is hard. Writing good reviews is
harder. This class has been both a thrill and a challenge as I’ve learned how
to cover and effectively review a whole plethora of mediums. Out of all the
mediums we have covered, I felt most comfortable writing about theater and
movies. I have been deeply involved in
theater and musical theater from a very young age and have a solid background
in stage production. Because of my experiences and knowledge of this type of
performance art, I could write my reviews of shows like <i>Les Miserables, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)
[Revised]</i>, and <i>Sherlock Holmes: The
Final Adventure</i> from a place of authority.
I knew what I was talking about and could present a legitimate critique
to my readers. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I felt similarly about
the movies I reviewed, <i>Django Unchained </i>and
<i>The Queen of Versailles</i>. Here at Kalamazoo College I have taken
several film and film theory courses that have prepared me to speak
intelligently about movies. I have also been exposed to movies my entire life
and have developed a pretty clear idea of what kinds of films I consider to be
“good” and why. It was incredibly
interesting for me to read the works of former <i>New Yorker</i> film critic, Pauline Kael and learn how she approached
film reviewing. I really appreciate that
she sought to talk about movies the way real movie watchers talk about them
upon leaving the theater. I think this kind of mentality can be helpful when
reviewing mediums across the board. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Book reviewing proved to
be a struggle for me. I had trouble
deciding what elements I should include in my reviews of <i>Afterglow </i>and <i>The Submission </i>and
what elements I should omit. Since both books we read had received substantial
acclaim, I also found myself being swayed by the opinions of <i>The New York Times </i>or <i>The New Yorker </i>before I’d even finished
reading the books. Interestingly enough, I didn’t have the same experience when
reviewing <i>Django Unchained, </i>which I
knew had been nominated for several Oscars before I viewed it. I think, in part, this was because I didn’t
feel as comfortable reviewing books as I did movies, so I relied more on other
people’s opinions. Aside from books, I also had trouble reviewing the Academy
Awards ceremony because, again, I wasn’t sure exactly what I should or could
focus on. Also, the fact that the Oscars
had a divided audience- both the physical in-house audience as well as the
television audience- also tripped me up. I wasn’t sure how to navigate this
division and wasn’t even entirely sure that the show did or could accommodate
both audiences. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> In general, I think one
of the biggest challenges of this course and of writing reviews as a whole is
that I’m not always prepared or confident enough to make a bold stance and run
with it. I found this to be particularly true with my final assignment; my
critical essay on AMC’s <i>Breaking Bad. </i>I
seemed to have competing opinions within my own head and found so much evidence
to back up both arguments about the series, that I had trouble deciding what I
really believed and why. It’s also scary and unnerving to put myself out there
and make a statement, especially because <i>Breaking
Bad </i>is a television show that so many people feel passionately about and
also because my piece can be read by a larger audience than our (forgiving)
journalism class. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> As I move forward, I
want to continue building my confidence as a writer and continue developing my
voice. The exposure I received in Arts Journalism to so many different types of
reviewing, however, has definitely helped to build that confidence and has
helped me see that I can, in fact, maintain a position of authority about a
large variety of subjects, even if I’m not necessarily an expert in every field
I am reviewing. This class helped solidify
my passion for this type of writing and I am looking forward to doing more of
it in the future.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648755907656700181.post-29172914966912183912013-03-19T20:15:00.000-07:002013-03-19T20:15:26.533-07:00Breaking Bad: A Critical Essay
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9buZQJrHlJ1h1WcPeDaEwhkE3mE_roePv7IclhtLaz6-07pxUjnf-eVHmKaKmlQi4OMfSUUVu6yO3vAm_kewuwh0uf7ekoDPF9yAJ1VVz4d_0XBwmTEA9z_IxlZg1R1vgXPAJ-gUrJxu/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-03-19+at+11.12.33+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9buZQJrHlJ1h1WcPeDaEwhkE3mE_roePv7IclhtLaz6-07pxUjnf-eVHmKaKmlQi4OMfSUUVu6yO3vAm_kewuwh0uf7ekoDPF9yAJ1VVz4d_0XBwmTEA9z_IxlZg1R1vgXPAJ-gUrJxu/s320/Screen+shot+2013-03-19+at+11.12.33+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">“This
is a story about a man who transforms himself from Mr. Chips into Scarface,”
producer Vince Gilligan told
Sony Television executives in 2005 when he pitched his idea for the new AMC
melodrama, <i>Breaking Bad.</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i> </i></span></span> </div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This
one-liner turned out to be a clincher, and it remains as poignant a description
as any of Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston), the cancer-stricken high
school chemistry teacher who, ostensibly to pay for treatment and to support
his family, begins to manufacture the most pure, most coveted methamphetamine
in all of Albuquerque, NM.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">But
what unfolds in the five season series—the final part of which will resume this
July—is far more complex than one man’s transformation from a protagonist to an
antagonist. <i>Breaking Bad </i>reflects the
human face of the recent economic downturn and reveals the increasing social
class inequality in the U.S.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">When
the series<i> </i>first aired in 2008, the
U.S. economic recession was just reaching its peak. As the year ended, over 2.6
million people were left jobless—the most in six decades, according to CNN—and
those who did manage to hold onto jobs were often overqualified or
undercompensated for their work. Walter’s bleak financial situation and
unfulfilling career resonated with the harsh realities of everyday life of people
across the country. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The
only thing more deflated than the U.S. dollar or job market in 2008 was
national morale, which was captured by best-selling author Fareed Zakaria in
his book <i>The Post American World </i>and
later by Thomas Friedman in his bestseller, <i>That
Used to be Us. </i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The
country was reaching what a former editor of <i>The Christian Science Monitor</i>, John Hughes, described as a “tipping
point in America’s mood.” Perched precariously on a ledge of uncertainty—an
uncertainty that was only heightened by the two very different presidential
contenders, John McCain and Barack Obama—Americans were searching for a way
out. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So
was Walter White. Throw in malignant lung cancer, a pregnant wife, and a son with
cerebral palsy, and suddenly Walt’s decision to reject cancer treatment doesn’t
seem so radical. In fact, his choice to devote his remaining time and resources
to providing for his family is actually quite understandable.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">But
somewhere between lying to his wife, Skyler (played by Anna Gunn), outsmarting
a Mexican drug kingpin named Tuco (played by Raymond Cruz), and cooking up
batches of 99.1 percent pure crystal with his sidekick and former student,
Jesse (played by Aaron Paul), Walt’s motives change. Around season three, he
stops cooking meth to support his family and continues cooking for himself.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">As
the show presses on, Walt moves deeper into the Scarface stage. With a swell of
self-importance, he lets a young woman overdose after she’s gotten in his way.
With a hint of arrogance, he poisons a child to regain Jesse’s loyalty. By the
end of season four, having successfully murdered the leader of an international
drug cartel, Walt has risen to the top of the methamphetamine food chain. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Curiously,
viewer ratings skyrocketed to an all-time high as Walter breaks to his “baddest”
point yet.<span> </span><i>Breaking Bad’s </i>fourth season finale drew in a whopping 2.9 million
viewers and was ranked the most engaging series on television by Nielsen, a Los
Angeles based data analysis company.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Fascination
with Walt’s transformation from geeky suburban dad to ruthless drug lord reflects,
in part, the increasing inability of Americans to cross social and class
boundaries. A plot that reverses the usual social equation of lower class Americans
struggling to make it is intriguing. Instead, the storyline in <i>Breaking Bad </i>hinges on a middle class
man’s ability to earn street cred with Albuquerque’s working class Latino
population. It is far afield from the typical rags to riches story.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Walt’s
relatively comfortable lifestyle—which initially includes a steady job, a home
with a pool, and two cars, despite the occasional financial pinch—is thrown
into sharp juxtaposition to the lifestyles of the people he encounters on a
regular basis when trying to move his product. In order to effectively conduct
business, Walter shaves his head, changes his wardrobe, and learns the drug-market
lingo, which, more often than not, is one of violence. <span> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Walter’s
commitment to this new line of work means he’ll do what it takes to
succeed—even if that means crossing moral or ethical lines. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">When
confronted with the dilemma of killing or letting go a threatening thug in the
second episode of season 1, Walter scribbles down a panicked ethical calculus:
Con: “MURDER IS WRONG.” Pro: “He’ll kill your entire family if you let him
go.”<span> </span>It’s not hard to see why Walt strangles
Krazy-8 with a bicycle lock just two hours into the show.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In
keeping with this new, tougher image, Walt later refuses to accept financial
assistance for his chemotherapy bills from well-to-do family friends, despite
his inability to pay. Instead, he opts to double his meth output, which
simultaneously boosts his entrepreneurial pride and drug dealer status. He has
become the number one crystal distributor in the city. Walter White has
successfully and unabashedly written his own American Dream story. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">“How
much is enough?” Skyler asks her husband midway through season five. She has
taken Walt to a storage warehouse to see the stacks of money he has made in the
last few months. Skyler isn’t asking for a number, she’s asking, when will it
all end? </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It
is a question many middle-class Americans, too, have asked repeatedly over the
last decade as the economy groans under the weight of a wealth disparity gap
between the nation’s rich and poor, which continues to grow more pronounced.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>Breaking Bad’s </i>popularity is
not only based on the acting—which is stellar—and the compelling storyline of
Walt’s transformation, it also reflects the economic conditions in the U.S.
today. In a country where the scope of financial inequality has itself become unethical,
it is unfair to judge Walt too harshly on grounds of morality. </span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648755907656700181.post-65689250761067142822013-03-19T04:59:00.000-07:002013-03-20T05:00:33.257-07:00In Defense of Pauline Kael (Revised)<style>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyy9oPumMk-oBlzfspFiK-f9OpRdeq-9CCQwYaD1hpl-x0YuE9LlVA1QHpnK5B3eaeSJ9rX5BoR3VTYUUN3qEpsgowZMyLYUKzsJN4LfJmaTMZK2kzDs8O2FLjk2qBOVI89wDaXB4tB-s9/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-03-20+at+7.59.02+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyy9oPumMk-oBlzfspFiK-f9OpRdeq-9CCQwYaD1hpl-x0YuE9LlVA1QHpnK5B3eaeSJ9rX5BoR3VTYUUN3qEpsgowZMyLYUKzsJN4LfJmaTMZK2kzDs8O2FLjk2qBOVI89wDaXB4tB-s9/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-03-20+at+7.59.02+AM.png" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">Pauline Kael rarely saw a movie twice. She disliked American
icon Charlie Chaplin, deemed award-winning director Steven Spielberg a waste of
potential, and once scoffed that Rodgers and Hammerstein’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sound of Music </i>was <span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">“the
single most repressive influence on artistic freedom in movies.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">Yet <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New Yorker’s </i>former chief film
critic had unabashed voice, taste, and dedication to her medium and to her
readers, which shone through in her work during her 23 years on the magazine’s
staff (1968 – 1991). Her love for movies meant she asked a lot from them and
she held screenwriters, producers, actors, and viewers alike to high standards.
Through unapologetic reviews and a willingness to speak her mind, Kael
redefined film criticism of the 20th century and set the bar for the modern-day
industry. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">One of
Kael’s most distinctive and controversial features in her reviews was her
voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Snarky and urgent, unrestrained
and authoritative, Kael was adept at writing both conversationally and
critically about films, similar to the way people really talk about them upon
leaving the theater.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She never forgot
that her readers were real people and real movie lovers who wanted to know if a
film was worth their time and money.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">“Star Wars is like getting a box of Cracker Jack which is all prizes,”
she wrote in 1977 of the film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“It’s
enjoyable on its own terms, but it’s exhausting, too: like taking a pack of
kids to the circus.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kael provided a
collected voice of reason among the excited screams of fans calling Star Wars
the film of the year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">Her
linguistic mannerisms, quirks, and devices earned her credibility and a
reputation among her readers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was
known for frequently using rather abstract or subjective words to describe
films— such as, “whorey,” “mythic,” and “trashy,”—but always offered concrete
examples from the movie to contextualize her assertions. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">For example, in her review of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">My Left Foot, </i>Kael clearly paints and
recounts a scene between a son and his dying father before declaring it
“mythic.” By <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">showing </i>the scene before
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">telling</i> about it, Kael allows readers
to draw their own conclusions before offering her opinion.
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">Yet Kael’s
professional successes do not escape critique. Her stubbornness sometimes got
her in trouble, such as when she refused to acknowledge her factually false
representation of the outdoor sequence in the film<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></i>Her affinity for particularly gory and violent films, as well as for
movies with hot sex or bizarre alien scenes is also irksome. She tended to give
priority to such movies and sequences, even when they did not necessarily merit
the attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span>Kael is not
afraid of being wrong or of addressing issues that make readers uncomfortable,
however.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As writer Ken Tucker says in
his essay, “A Gift for Effrontery,” this sort of critical independence is
increasingly rare and is really what makes Pauline Kael sound like Pauline
Kael.
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648755907656700181.post-57847496467686666772013-03-09T13:12:00.003-08:002013-03-09T13:14:26.645-08:00What's the Real Cost of Writing for Free?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMSpPTfevQRh_O1CkouqdUWOegNHykYmuToGhanhO6xqMCTnv-VkBIVahNCxEHQy2NfQrhnwYp9Nfbed9lqHpCLKVMAZZaCK_XWfW3AMK8oPXQ84_UbezLoo4E2CJWpQ_l2CqJKlQczDSv/s1600/Picture+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMSpPTfevQRh_O1CkouqdUWOegNHykYmuToGhanhO6xqMCTnv-VkBIVahNCxEHQy2NfQrhnwYp9Nfbed9lqHpCLKVMAZZaCK_XWfW3AMK8oPXQ84_UbezLoo4E2CJWpQ_l2CqJKlQczDSv/s200/Picture+2.png" width="200" /></a></div>
In the wake of all the hoopla this week surrounding Nate Thayer - the journalist who refused to give <i>The Atlantic</i> permission to republish his work without compensation- <a href="http://gawker.com/5989280/when-people-write-for-free-who-pays">Gawker </a>posted an article that addresses the real cost of writing for free.<br />
<br />
It's an interesting read, especially considering that many of us will do (or have already done) some freelance work.<br />
<br />
What do you guys think- is their harm in working for free? What about unpaid internships or internships for "college credit" only? Do you think it's okay that young journalists sometimes have to put in their time with certain publications before officially getting put on the pay role? Where is the line between doing a little free freelance work and being exploited?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648755907656700181.post-31153286470606338802013-03-06T13:03:00.000-08:002013-03-06T13:04:25.482-08:00The Submission Review<style>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVx-XKoxGgMgOiuUr1q4d3hZ0YSXOwIE_2jIGywBX8BeIJkh_zeeeSM1AvvZzvj_tt1sdhM40Gi-HJgHOZ6DjfTcMF6eq3KnItgfdGtS3PBTZ1xLJ-kjVNruixpVrq_GYZ7AmUg0LPXYj/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-03-06+at+3.57.40+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVx-XKoxGgMgOiuUr1q4d3hZ0YSXOwIE_2jIGywBX8BeIJkh_zeeeSM1AvvZzvj_tt1sdhM40Gi-HJgHOZ6DjfTcMF6eq3KnItgfdGtS3PBTZ1xLJ-kjVNruixpVrq_GYZ7AmUg0LPXYj/s320/Screen+shot+2013-03-06+at+3.57.40+PM.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">At the center of Amy Waldman’s beautiful novel, <i>The Submission, </i>lies a dilemma—a dilemma
so haunting, so ironic, and so painstakingly plausible that it blurs the line
between what actually happened in the fallout of the September 11 terrorist
attacks and the stuff of fiction. Waldman’s first book is written with grace
and guts, and accomplishes the feat of being factually fictitious, yet accurate
in all the details that matter most.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Waldman, a former reporter for the <i>New York Times</i>, sets her story in 2003— though her book was written
just before the 2011 Park51 ground zero Islamic Community Center debate and
published shortly after. The author stokes a political fire by projecting what
would happen if a New York jury in charge of selecting a 9/11 memorial were to choose,
from among hundreds of anonymous submissions, a structural design that is created
by a Muslim-American architect named Mohammed Khan. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">What she imagines is a chaos that is all too familiar: the families of
victims are aghast, the media descends, the Muslims defend, and the bigwigs try
to compromise.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The author serves as a mediator between all parties involved. She
fluidly moves from a local Bangladeshi grocery store in Brooklyn, to the ritzy
martini bars of Midtown, to a quiet Chappaqua home of a widow and her two young
children, as if the author, too, were leading readers down a path of stones
meant to guide the lost home. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Yet Waldman proves that home is not so easy to find, particularly for
Muslim-Americans, such as “Mo,” and other minority immigrants. She raises and grapples with relevant,
pressing questions such as, What does it mean to be American? Who is the real
enemy? And, how does a wounded nation heal and move forward? Her answers to these questions reveal the
complex interconnectedness of politics, religion, and emotion. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">They also reveal an aggravatingly neat and clichéd ending in which the
“Other” is defeated. Such tidy conclusions are irksome in a novel, but were it
a work of non-fiction they could be sadly appropriate. Paired with seemingly
shallow statements such as, “The problem with Islam is Islam,” which are
sprinkled throughout the text, the ending actually offers a critique: the
problem with Islam <i>isn’t </i>Islam. The
problem with Islam is how it is perceived in the U.S. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Amy Waldman’s <i>The Submission </i>is
a multi-layered, thought provoking piece of literary architecture. It is a must
read in a post 9/11 world.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648755907656700181.post-7934308886502133112013-03-05T14:18:00.003-08:002013-03-05T17:34:05.082-08:00Critical Essay Response<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsvcztzo0-72AS440FA7o2JW1kH2tLqupPOXMgqjLp82IJEDQEaOjoDMM8YtOPIM1Cewjsxo1LPUT8B3GtT0ByfVec_qrfHTBzSVAW8QnSIr5W9r37i8j7_ZNvJ6-mcgAGv-syNLfkmbwH/s1600/Picture+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsvcztzo0-72AS440FA7o2JW1kH2tLqupPOXMgqjLp82IJEDQEaOjoDMM8YtOPIM1Cewjsxo1LPUT8B3GtT0ByfVec_qrfHTBzSVAW8QnSIr5W9r37i8j7_ZNvJ6-mcgAGv-syNLfkmbwH/s400/Picture+2.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
For my final project, I've decided to nix the Oscars Re-visited idea and will instead write a critical essay about AMC's television series "Breaking Bad." Specifically, I am interested in analyzing the main character, Walter White, and evaluating whether his position as both the protagonist and the antagonist reflect the economic and political climates of the United States from 2008 to the present.<br />
<br />
I want to ask and potentially answer the questions, Why is Walter White relatable? Why do I root for him/When do I stop rooting for him? Where is the line between good and evil or can it even be determined? How have the political and economic climates shifted since the show's debut and what do they have to do with how I relate to Walter White?<br />
<br />
To help get the evaluation process started, I've done a little research. One article I came across in <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/08/the-big-secret-of-breaking-bad-walter-white-was-always-a-bad-guy/261833/#">The Atlantic</a>, written by Scott Meslow, posited Walter White as a man who already "broke bad" before the series even started. "In chemistry terms, cancer was merely the catalyst for Walter's transformation: all the elements that have since turned him into a monster were already in place," Meslow stated.<br />
<br />
I'm not entirely sure I agree.<br />
<br />
I'm not convinced that the Walter White we meet in Season 1 is as "bad" as Meslow makes him out to be. In fact, his visible un-badness is what makes him a relatable, reliable, (even mundane) protagonist. He is a middle American in middle America. His "goodness" makes him familiar.<br />
<br />
While Walter does change over the course of the series, I believe the change is gradual- and intentionally so on the part of the producer, Vince Gilligan. If Walter were to transform from relatable protagonist to morally questionable antagonist too quickly, he'd lose his audience.<br />
<br />
As Walter White is played, he is still relatable even in Season 5. His actions are still (somewhat) forgivable. He still seems morally ambiguous. There's still hope for him to come back to the "good" side.<br />
<br />
This is one point I hope to explore more in my own critical essay. I want to look closely at the moments when Walter's transformation is really solidified (or if it ever is). It's important to ask why/how/when the boundaries between good and bad are crossed and how they are relative and situational.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648755907656700181.post-39530081410576064142013-02-28T18:55:00.000-08:002013-03-15T18:56:34.235-07:00Follow Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPT-HT_pYlZX5o659ChjaxTLvmyBz_x8nwADGiJLCe3dcX3ZksuVLM9j5ia_CRDHZv8NPHQ4ZuRDmDkzM_3dCLrvejj7VAVjQcC8xJYxQO3-_Eh4TTxNnOFPhh0DRPqFHk4eOhppp9GvyW/s1600/Picture+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPT-HT_pYlZX5o659ChjaxTLvmyBz_x8nwADGiJLCe3dcX3ZksuVLM9j5ia_CRDHZv8NPHQ4ZuRDmDkzM_3dCLrvejj7VAVjQcC8xJYxQO3-_Eh4TTxNnOFPhh0DRPqFHk4eOhppp9GvyW/s400/Picture+3.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/02/follow-me/">Check out this incredible</a> Instagram Photo series, Follow Me, by Murad Osmann.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648755907656700181.post-3601221389299989132013-02-27T04:53:00.002-08:002013-02-27T05:20:02.129-08:00Final Project Proposal: The Oscars Revisted<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjhELrnwbsPpfLHkZUv8y8W8zML059Nglz7To5RsbXcd2D7VrppTVFQ1jJviPdZ1IuZDJlPVb_8mz5rQosmq2-SpQ2HdVVeiVzUJ9z0bpcs92L6yL1H2sgHOxRY4FO3WQoQvCBaMZJHi-X/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjhELrnwbsPpfLHkZUv8y8W8zML059Nglz7To5RsbXcd2D7VrppTVFQ1jJviPdZ1IuZDJlPVb_8mz5rQosmq2-SpQ2HdVVeiVzUJ9z0bpcs92L6yL1H2sgHOxRY4FO3WQoQvCBaMZJHi-X/s320/Picture+1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I wrote my original review of the Oscars on Monday morning, I evaluated the ceremony in terms of entertainment value. I considered the show a successful spectacle, complete with dynamite performances from the likes of Adele, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Jennifer Hudson, as well as heartfelt speeches, and a fabulous light show, all of which took place among host Seth MacFarlane's uncomfortable and inappropriate jokes.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But after an in-class conversation in my Sex and Sexualities class on Monday afternoon, I've decided that the entertainment value is not the most important issue at hand. The ceremony needs to be evaluated for its sexist content and for the way it celebrated and reinforced patriarchal values to a billion viewers worldwide. From McFarlane's tasteless "We Saw Your Boobs" opening number to his final disgusting jab at nine-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis, both the host and the Academy proved that the feminist cause still has so, so far to go.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
For my final project, I propose to write a critical essay in which I consider the Academy Awards ceremony through a feminist lens. Specifically I want to look at the moments in the ceremony in which women were devalued, degraded, mocked, humiliated, categorized, labeled, and objectified. I want to revisit MacFarlane's opening number which, in four instances, glorified the breasts shown in rape scenes, as well as made the viewer of these scenes resolutely male. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I want to look at how MacFarlane's comments about Rhianna and Chris Brown's relationship only perpetuate violence against women. As <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2013/02/seth-macfarlane-and-the-oscars-hostile-ugly-sexist-night.html">Amy Davidson from the New Yorker</a> points out, relationships are complicated and if any woman who goes back to an abusive relationship is told she has forfeited sympathy and is now an object of mockery, we're going to end up with more dead women.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I want to consider how the female body is an object for men to control, discuss, and criticize. I want to bring up issues of weight, eating disorders, and body image. I want to look at why a black female child was pushed to the forefront of MacFarlane's jokes. (Was Dakota Fanning ever mocked like this?) </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I want to pair all of these moments with women's actual performances during the Oscars which, to me, prove that women work harder and are a hell of a lot smarter than MacFarlane could ever hope to be. (Adele showed Hugh Jackman up, Jennifer Lawrence waved off male assistance when she fell, Meryl Streep didn't even need an introduction.) </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's important and necessary to point out that what many women strive to do in the entertainment industry is seriously under-valued and over-criticized. That's precisely what I aim to do in this final project.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By re-watching the Oscars, using my course material from Sex and Sexualities, and reading up on other publications' takes on the ceremony, I will be able to craft a well-informed and well-argued piece.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648755907656700181.post-60001625631542414082013-02-25T09:47:00.000-08:002013-02-25T09:47:21.200-08:00A Night at the Oscars<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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There were tears, wipeouts, and whole lot of jokes that just
didn’t land at the 85th annual Academy Awards ceremony at the Dolby Theater in
Los Angeles, Calif. Yet Sunday night’s show was still an entertaining spectacle,
complete with a few surprises. </div>
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Ben Affleck was snubbed for a Best Director nod this year,
but his passion project <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Argo </i>took
home several awards, including Best Motion Picture, Adapted Screenplay, and
Achievement in Film Editing. Affleck used his podium time to deliver a
heartfelt and teary-eyed speech in which he thanked his<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> wife, Jennifer Garner, their children,
and reminisced about his first Oscar win for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Good Will Hunting</i> when he was "just a kid."</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Jennifer Lawrence, too, was a bit choked up when she accepted her
first ever Academy Award for Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Silver Linings Playbook</i>. Having just
fallen up the stage steps in front of hundreds of Hollywood A-Listers and a
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Host Seth MacFarlane’s fumbles were more offensive and deliberate.
The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Family Guy </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ted </i>creator opened the evening with an
uncomfortable number titled, “We Saw Your Boobs,” in which he name-checked
various actresses who had bared their breasts in films. His anti-Semitic jokes
and plug for John Wilkes Booth were also classless.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Adele, however, sparkled with a performance of the 007 song,
“Skyfall,” which she sang with pizzazz and showbiz bravura amid a fabulous
light show. The Bond film went on to win Original Song and, for the third time
ever in Oscar history, faced a tie with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Zero
Dark Thirty </i>for Achievement in Sound Editing.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Catherine Zeta-Jones rocked the stage with her rendition of “All
That Jazz,” from the 2002 film, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Chicago. </i>10
years later, Zeta-Jones’ performance was every bit as stunning and sexy as her
original.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jennifer Hudson followed in
suit by belting out the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dreamgirls </i>hit,
“And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” with gusto.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Anne Hathaway’s Best Actress acceptance speech was a little
weird—she whispered, “It came true,” to the statue in her hand—Sandra Bullock
had an awkward envelope-opening moment, and Michelle Obama surprised everyone
by showing up at the end to announce Best Motion Picture. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Despite the various faux pas, the evening was upbeat, lively, and
well received. With a room full of Hollywood’s best, little else is expected.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648755907656700181.post-13069941469626922182013-02-21T06:24:00.000-08:002013-02-21T06:24:13.209-08:00Hasn't it All Been Said Before?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeyiO7bApSCO9_A7fxZKcSG6s8hRTqGaQx_PgmHuAmCTL9hIfPLadY_S81D6oNBdm26DU1Ljq3BMJk_p9EBD046L3AawhR0quw0LA_EAZhWaIR3TvUNCGieiiK_-gYdBxiQ8RlZK888In/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeyiO7bApSCO9_A7fxZKcSG6s8hRTqGaQx_PgmHuAmCTL9hIfPLadY_S81D6oNBdm26DU1Ljq3BMJk_p9EBD046L3AawhR0quw0LA_EAZhWaIR3TvUNCGieiiK_-gYdBxiQ8RlZK888In/s200/Picture+1.png" width="197" /></a>Oscar Wilde wrote in his essay, <i>The Critic as Artist</i>, "We are sometimes apt to think that the voices that sounded at the dawn of poetry were simpler, fresher, and more natural than ours, and that the world which the early poets looked at, and through which they walked, had a kind of poetical quality of its own, and almost without changing could pass into song."<br />
<br />
This quote reflects my experience as a writer. I've often thought that the words I want to write and the critiques I want to give, have already been said before (and said better). I struggle with the ideas of innovation and originality, and making my writing fresh or my own. If only I'd been born earlier, I sometimes think. Or, if only I'd thought of an idea first.<br />
<br />
Yet, Wilde also condones impersonation. "The mere creative instinct does not innovate, but reproduces," he wrote. And impersonate, I do. I try to model my writing after the works of my professors at "K," after writers I admire, such as Jon Franklin, Gabrielle Hamilton, or Sam Sifton, and after my peers.<br />
<br />
But at the end of the day, I am left wondering, Is my work authentic? Is my work my own? Is it my voice? How can I even identify my voice, when I'm not entirely sure what it sounds like?<br />
<br />
How do great writers emerge if every great writer impersonates? When does the replication become the original? <i>The Critic as the Artist </i>raises more questions than answers for me.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648755907656700181.post-66964153396829159132013-02-18T04:26:00.000-08:002013-02-18T04:26:08.218-08:00In Defense of Pauline Kael
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8f8edCkpPoaU3treiqf0igP7KyIK_SPPTasywg37sSA5VhNe4dvUF2eEibAeqjYQaUTGsfNRQRKw9mceu-kbzM_uwP56ZOpzX-otQQUNVYcxKk3vjRWQhRiOBKLbM1wU0Mfl9UI38phz_/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8f8edCkpPoaU3treiqf0igP7KyIK_SPPTasywg37sSA5VhNe4dvUF2eEibAeqjYQaUTGsfNRQRKw9mceu-kbzM_uwP56ZOpzX-otQQUNVYcxKk3vjRWQhRiOBKLbM1wU0Mfl9UI38phz_/s1600/Picture+1.png" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Pauline
Kael rarely saw a movie twice. She disliked American icon Charlie Chaplin, deemed
award-winning director Steven Spielberg a waste of potential, and once scoffed
that Rodgers and Hammerstein’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sound
of Music </i>was </span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“the single most repressive influence on
artistic freedom in movies.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yet
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New Yorker’s </i>former chief film critic had
unabashed voice, taste, and dedication to her medium and to her readers, which
shone through in her work during her 23 years on the magazine’s staff (1968 –
1991). Her love for movies meant she asked a lot from them and held
screenwriters, producers, actors, and viewers alike up to high standards. Through
unapologetic reviews and a willingness to speak her mind, Kael redefined film
criticism of the 20th century and set the bar for the modern-day industry.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One
of Kael’s most distinctive and controversial features in her reviews was her
voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Snarky and urgent,
unrestrained and authoritative, Kael had the power to make or break opening
weekend box office sales.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was
adept at writing both conversationally and critically about films, similar to the
way people really talk about them upon leaving the theater, writer Francis
Davis explains in his book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Afterglow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Kael never forgot that her readers
were real people and real movie lovers who wanted to know if a film was worth their time and money.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Star Wars</i> is like getting a box of
Cracker Jack which is all prizes,” she wrote in 1977 of the film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“It’s enjoyable on its own terms, but
it’s exhausting, too: like taking a pack of kids to the circus.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kael was a collected voice of reason
among the excited screams of fans </span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">calling <i>Star Wars</i> the film of the
year.</span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Her
linguistic mannerisms, quirks, and devices earned her credibility and a
reputation among her readers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kael’s frequent use of about nine favorite words—which included mild
variations of “whorey,” “mythic,” and “trashy,” points out Renata Adler in her
essay “House Critic”— made for easy comparisons between reviews.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Readers moved fluidly from one piece to
the next, toting Kael’s vivid vocabulary in tow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yet
Kael’s professional successes do not escape critique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adler is keen to point out the critic’s flops, including
Kael’s refusal to acknowledge her factually false representation of the outdoor
sequence in the film<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Butch Cassidy and
the Sundance Kid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Her affinity
for particularly gory and violent films, as well as for movies with hot sex or
bizarre alien scenes has also been a topic of disfavor.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><div style="font-size: 12pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
Kael
is not afraid of being wrong or of addressing issues that make readers
uncomfortable, however. As writer
Ken Tucker says in his essay, "A Gift for Effrontery," this sort of critical independence is increasingly rare,
and is really what makes Pauline Kael sound like Pauline Kael.</span><!--EndFragment-->
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648755907656700181.post-73472417987441065512013-02-17T13:07:00.003-08:002013-02-17T13:55:39.611-08:00New York Times Critical Defense: As Not Seen on TV<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our defense examines <i>New York Times</i> food critic Pete Wells' recent review of celebrity chef Guy Fieri's new Times Square restaurant, Guy's American Kitchen and Bar. We hope to explore the scope of arts criticism and the question, Is food considered art? In addition, we'd like to discuss the intersection of television celebrities and pop-dining.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our presentation will address these major issues:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. What is considered an art review? How does medium influence reviewer approach and reader expectations? What external factors impact reviews across media?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. Is this review "successful?" How can we gauge success, particularly when it comes to commercial and culinary success? Is this review a justifiable pan? Is Wells' voice too critical or is this type of critique merited? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> How does a piec</span><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;">e </span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f3f3f3; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%;">full of interrogatives</span>
alter the reader’s experience? How does it alter the diner’s experience at the restaurant after
reading the review?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. How can we connect Pete Wells' review to Pauline Kael's reverence for the popular? How can we relate this discussion of pop to highbrow and lowbrow culture? Is this an appropriate piece for <i>The New York Times</i> dining section?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our stance: By infusing his piece with interrogatives, his review mimics the disjointed nature of the menu, atmosphere, and experience. While this is an nontraditional format, nevertheless this is a successful art review.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You can read the Pete Wells' piece <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/dining/reviews/restaurant-review-guys-american-kitchen-bar-in-times-square.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&adxnnlx=1361131578-pIW4%20cD/LKl1DLB6N90hnA"><span id="goog_198884766">here</span><span id="goog_198884767"></span></a>.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For additional reading, check out another review <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lunch-at-guy-fieris-restaurant-2012-12">here.</a></span> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648755907656700181.post-45473132289635410492013-02-11T04:34:00.000-08:002013-02-11T04:47:01.525-08:00Live Performance Review: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised]<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">On Saturday
afternoon the Novi High School Theater Department attempted an unprecedented
feat. Eight actors performed the complete works of William Shakespeare —that’s
37 plays— in less than 45 minutes as part of the Michigan Interscholastic
Forensic Association’s One Act Traveling Plays series.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The result was an
entertaining performance that was both creative and funny, yet also somewhat
rushed and, well, high schoolish.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Based on an
original script written and performed by the British theater troupe, The
Reduced Shakespeare Company, <i>The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
(abridged) [revised]</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> infuses century-old plays with new life and
present-day humor.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Novi’s eight
actors rotated roles, costumes, and severed body parts with gusto and wit, all
while wearing Chuck Taylors and making regular pop culture references. The
ideal audience is one that is familiar with Shakespeare’s works, though anyone
who can appreciate a cross-dressing Friar or a series of overdramatic deaths is
in for a laugh.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Senior Sarah
Campbell, who played Juliet and Ophelia (among other tragic heroines), and senior
Hannah Patterson, who held a robust Scottish accent, both commanded the stage.
The two young women energized scenes such as Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth with their
clever antics and prompted their fellow actors to follow in suit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yet that energy fizzled when the actors began breaking the fourth wall
and asking for audience participation. When an audience member’s reaction
deviated from the supposed rehearsed responses, the actors were unprepared to
improv.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Moments such as these spoke to the performers’ inexperience, as did some
basic vocal projection problems and the frequent rushing of lines— though when performing
the </span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">entire canon of the Bard in under an
hour</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">, a little rushing is expected.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The lights, costumes, and props were surprisingly well done for a
traveling high school production. In the scene Titus Andronicus, red lights sprayed
across the stage like blood as a throat was cut. The effect was simple but spot
on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The awful wigs and retractable
combat swords, too, were modest yet effective and provided just enough context
and comedy. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even the programs were creative. They took the form of stage notes,
complete with intentional typos and an individualized message written by a
member of the cast or crew.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So sure, Novi’s rendition of <i>The Complete Works of William
Shakespeare (abridged) [revised]</i> was a bit amateur, but for 45 minutes and
a high school budget, it was well done. </span></div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
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<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648755907656700181.post-24589456827936103682013-02-10T07:18:00.000-08:002013-02-10T07:18:14.210-08:00These Incredible Sketches Look Like Digital Photos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
27-year-old Kelvin Okafor uses a pencil and charcoal to produce an impressive series of celebrity portraits. Yet a recent article in <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/shortcuts/2013/jan/31/kelvin-okafor-drawings-photographs-art">The Guardian</a> posed the question, is Okafor's work really art?</div>
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<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Though the definition of "art" has expanded considerably in recent years, I believe there's something refreshing and humbling about an artist whose primary tools are a sharp eye and a sharp pencil. For me, these portraits should absolutely be considered art. Okafor's work instills value on the skills of looking, thinking, and really seeing.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpPKQ1r9hWVYWz-m94qXeTyGmhbDB7h0jAAKUy8CAq48hfjKg7UbyLQxBOxSYe_xavKIKQ-Ndx4ANbi8hb5L3TdXx9eNNo-nRxceUzP2Nrn9CL3FGUU-qcUxaWZfj09SC9Jf898m2rUV0f/s1600/Picture+9+09-26-20.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpPKQ1r9hWVYWz-m94qXeTyGmhbDB7h0jAAKUy8CAq48hfjKg7UbyLQxBOxSYe_xavKIKQ-Ndx4ANbi8hb5L3TdXx9eNNo-nRxceUzP2Nrn9CL3FGUU-qcUxaWZfj09SC9Jf898m2rUV0f/s320/Picture+9+09-26-20.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648755907656700181.post-32749538202268944072013-02-06T06:31:00.000-08:002013-02-10T06:50:22.551-08:00A Hypothetical Review: Sherlock Holmes, The Final Adventure<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy9fi00LrWTjgJzoCoPx6_C6mJNuJZG2Wt7zk2TRFsvxOzyTfl79IqYWZNJqJJAk1zcSEDPd4q-N6dD3c_OeUfCbxGDiE10pM9VUOkgZT4s43vsst7rF9U3aE0Wv1uMmPAUlhgge676XCG/s1600/Picture+6.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy9fi00LrWTjgJzoCoPx6_C6mJNuJZG2Wt7zk2TRFsvxOzyTfl79IqYWZNJqJJAk1zcSEDPd4q-N6dD3c_OeUfCbxGDiE10pM9VUOkgZT4s43vsst7rF9U3aE0Wv1uMmPAUlhgge676XCG/s1600/Picture+6.png" /></a></div>
If I were reviewing "Sherlock Holmes, The Final Adventure," I would have researched more about the play before the viewing.<br />
<br />
I would have liked to know more about the characters and their relationships with one another. I had a hard time understanding the history between Holmes and his arch-nemesis Dr. Moriarty, for example. The reason why I was supposed to hate the doctor and root for Holmes was lost on me. When reviewing a show that's part of a larger series, it's always good to be familiar with the previous installments.<br />
<br />
Knowing more about the Kalamazoo Civic, too, would be helpful in constructing my review. It's important to factor in things like budget, actor experience, director experience, rehearsal time, etc... when reviewing a performance. Knowing the limits and constraints of a production, I think, would help me make a more fair evaluation.<br />
<br />
With so many adaptations of Sherlocks Holmes (and across so many mediums), it would be hard to compare The Civic's productions to the other versions that are out there. Knowing relevant context about the theater company itself and the larger Sherlock Holmes story would have been beneficial to a review.<br />
<br />
For me, reviewing theater can be less challenging than reviewing a movie. I've been deeply involved in theater- high school, community, and professional- since I was eight years old and have a solid background in the medium. I think this is an advantage for reviewing plays and musicals, since I may pick up on aspects of the show that others would not.<br />
<br />
In the context of Sherlock Holmes, for example, I noticed several things that perhaps my peers did not. For starters, the actors did not stand far enough off in the wings before their entrances. I was sitting on House Left and could see the toes and hands of actors off stage. For an audience member, this kills the magic. It distracts from what's happening on stage and shows the actor outside of his or her character. Secondly, some of the actors had trouble cheating out and turned too far upstage when delivering lines.<br />
<br />
I also recognize the limits of community theater. For a low budget shows comprised mostly of volunteers, I thought the costumes and sets were well done. Finding a local actor who can convincingly plays Holmes is also quite a feat. Overall, the play was mostly what I would expect from community theater.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648755907656700181.post-43666203719938400832013-02-04T04:42:00.000-08:002013-02-04T04:42:38.110-08:00Live Performance Review: Les Misérables
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4wi0ebnm2Lev0KoMEm_an0dsQwYKm9Sxh3LrOQSm-kliQX4ZnSGmOD2j1cS8L0zAZ2hrDaVzIqhPTO6JirySsnoPA3er5nw7OGevYiMZPsjzrhBX_feYG6ncOBVjxObvD6pdYLiAd_2bg/s1600/Picture+15.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4wi0ebnm2Lev0KoMEm_an0dsQwYKm9Sxh3LrOQSm-kliQX4ZnSGmOD2j1cS8L0zAZ2hrDaVzIqhPTO6JirySsnoPA3er5nw7OGevYiMZPsjzrhBX_feYG6ncOBVjxObvD6pdYLiAd_2bg/s320/Picture+15.png" width="221" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">The stage adaptation of Victor Hugo’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Les Misérables, </i>performed as part of the PNC Broadway in West
Michigan series at Miller Audition, is luminous and bewitching. The 60-member
cast and crew work together seamlessly to create a well-oiled and evocative production.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Peter Lockyer plays Jean Valjean, the dependable
protagonist, who, per the request of the dying Fantine, rescues Little Cosette
from the clutches of a despicable innkeeper and his wife. Lockyer’s vocals and
stage presence are as sturdy as his character. He leads the cast with ease and
grace in numbers such as “The Bargain” and “In My Life.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Natalie Beck, who plays the innkeeper’s wife and Andrew
Varela, who plays Inspector Javert, are also a delight to watch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though minor characters, both actors command
attention when on stage. In the number “Master of the House,” Beck’s use of
body language and props, including a French baguette, are outrageously funny (and
crude). Varela’s soliloquy in Act I, titled “Stars,” is one of the sweetest, richest
vocal numbers of the production. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">The children, too, hold their own in the show. The voice of
9-year-old Erin Clearlock as Little Cosette is harrowing and raw. Her rendition
of “Castle on a Cloud” evokes a seismic emotional reaction that sends chills up
the spine. Joshua Colley, who plays the mischievous Gavroche, delivers cheeky
one-liners in a squeaky voice to gruff men twice his height and three times his
age. Colley helps lighten the mood of the somber story and dark musical
accompaniment. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Gloomy as it may sound, the live orchestra, conducted by
Lawrence Goldberg, infuses life into all aspects of the production. Ryu Cipris’
flute solo in the number “On My Own,” for example, is even more haunting than
the words the heartbroken Éponine
sings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The orchestra also makes
set changes nearly undetectable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Standing
at least 20 feet tall and often jutting far across the stage, the sets are
incorporated effortlessly into the actors’ spheres. The multi-layered barricade
in Act II creates new spaces for the performers to explore and gives breadth
and depth to the stage. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">The combat scenes, choreographed by Ben Gunderson and
Heather Chockley, also deserve accolade. While far from complex, the stage
fights are fluid and believable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is clear the actors trust their bodies and fellow performers.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Heart wrenchingly tragic, but not over-the-top, the Broadway in West Michigan rendition of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Les Misérables </i>leaves
little to be desired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648755907656700181.post-76559206243781786292013-01-29T08:53:00.001-08:002013-01-29T08:53:51.461-08:00"ZOMG BEYONCE LIP SYNC SCANDAL!!!"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6h1TnWyASRuOf_lQkhlW5jqWfhtMe734gQCy5q11cXrmxb9h0KG6MZpPfiFSc0IBNpnjQXmt7Uc01QR1KV8cmB8xCs3QRg6h2WkLRz6C43xIxl0qLn0V7MFOx5SqYJT1wpr7qc3-WuSs/s1600/Picture+7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6h1TnWyASRuOf_lQkhlW5jqWfhtMe734gQCy5q11cXrmxb9h0KG6MZpPfiFSc0IBNpnjQXmt7Uc01QR1KV8cmB8xCs3QRg6h2WkLRz6C43xIxl0qLn0V7MFOx5SqYJT1wpr7qc3-WuSs/s400/Picture+7.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Sasha Weiss from <i>The New Yorker </i>wrote an article last week titled, <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2013/01/why-we-care-about-beyonce.html">Why We Care About Beyoncé</a>. In her article she assess the reasons why the American public was simply shocked (!!!) that the diva would dare to give an unauthentic performance on the day of the Presidential Inauguration.<br />
<br />
One reason Weiss gave was that juxtaposed with "the earnest idealism" of the event, Beyoncé's supposed fakery "implies some larger fakery at the heart of the entire enterprise." <br />
<br />
But isn't the Inauguration, too, just a performance? "How else can we explain that it is through the recitation of scripted words in a ritual call-and-response that the President assumes his position of power?" Weiss asks.<br />
<br />
The debate surrounding Beyoncé's performance speaks to America's obsession with "authenticity." Why is it such a scandal if Beyoncé played a scripted version of herself during a performance? Isn't that what all celebrities do? Isn't that what Obama did when he memorized his Inauguration lines?<br />
<br />
Just yesterday I read a piece about the growing of trend of <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2013/01/a-fake-facebook-wedding.html">fake Facebook weddings.</a> Fake. Weddings. What?? The Internet is just one of the many mediums, where people can and will blur the lines between reality and fantasy. Reality T.V. is another.<br />
<br />
Applying these ideas to our journalism class, what does this mean for us when we review a performance? A movie? A book? How do we navigate the authentic and the unauthentic in our reviews? Does it really even matter?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648755907656700181.post-37008192003159320712013-01-27T20:54:00.001-08:002013-04-02T07:24:41.572-07:00Documentary Review: The Queen of Versailles<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Directed by Lauren Greenfield</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
Featuring David Siegel and Jacqueline Siegel</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Running Time 100 minutes</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When
director Lauren Greenfield began her documentary “The Queen of Versailles,” in
2007, she intended to record the construction of the biggest home in America,
funded by Westgate timeshare mogul David Siegel and his trophy wife, Jackie.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
first part of the film is flecked with absurd and impossible-to-relate-to
images of the 90,000 square foot </span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">French-chateau-style
Orlando mansion, affectionately nicknamed Versailles, where the couple and their
eight children planned to host lavish balls, attend the theater, play baseball,
and oh, live. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But
when the housing crisis hit in 2008, the film took an unpredictable and
humbling turn, transforming into a story that resonates with households across
America. Greenfield brilliantly and candidly illustrates how no one, not even
the one percent, is immune to the devastating effects of a national market
crash.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The
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shopaholic mom who’s lost touch with reality. She reigns over her children and
pets from afar. Her live-in nannies take care of both. Despite her airy
personality and R rated cleavage, Jackie’s loyalty to her husband, for richer
or poorer, is endearing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It’s
also painfully tragic. To David, his wife is just like any other designer
accessory he owns: beautiful, but replaceable. 31 years her senior, David
regularly jokes he’ll trade in Jackie for two 20-year-olds. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One evening she
asks her husband, “Why are you in a bad mood?” The camera catches Jackie
peeking through the den door, like one of the kids. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Maybe this month
I won’t pay the electricity bill,” he responds, upset the front door was left open.
“When they shut off the lights you’ll appreciate the electricity.” One of his daughters enters. David doesn't turn to her as she speaks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The close ups of his
haggard face and the long shots of a room flooded with unnecessary clutter, show
that money presses on this self-made billionaire’s mind. Almost overnight, his
American Dream turns into the American Nightmare as he watches his company
crumble.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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lets 7,000 Westgate employees go and cuts his staff at home in two. David’s financial
problems speak loudly to the harsh realities of America’s unemployed. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Greenfield
paints a sympathetic, though satirical portrait of a financially overextended
family trying to stay afloat. Minus the limos and $17,000 Gucci crocodile
boots, it’s a tale that speaks volumes to the American public.<!--EndFragment--> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<!--EndFragment--></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<!--EndFragment--></span><br />
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648755907656700181.post-80848045124788941022013-01-20T19:30:00.000-08:002013-01-31T04:21:24.160-08:00Revised Movie Review: Django Unchained<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Directed by Quentin Tarantino</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L.
Jackson<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Running time 2 hours, 45 minutes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Rated R<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Django Unchained, directed by Quentin Tarantino, is offensive, quixotic,
and unforgivingly violent. At its heart lies a villain so despicable and greasy
that recalling his leering, half-rotted smile sends chills up the spine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">But while that eerie shiver symbolizes fear and contempt, it also reflects
unrestrained delight. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance as Calvin Candie, a wealthy plantation
owner who forces slaves to fight for sport, is deplorably delightful. He moves
fluidly from charming host to vile slave hater.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">One moment DiCaprio offers his guests dessert, the next he slams down his
hand, crushing a crystal glass and spurting blood everywhere. (<a href="http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118062924/"><span style="color: #0022e4;">According
to Variety</span></a>, the blood is real and DiCaprio actually required stitches.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Like DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson's performance as Stephen, a grumpy
and sharp-tongued house slave, also leaves a lasting impression. His
semi-crippled shuffle and sardonic expressions reveal more about his character
than do his words. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">The film is set on the cusp of the U.S. Civil War and opens
"somewhere in Texas." It tells the story of an unlikely business
partnership between a well-to-do white bounty hunter named Dr. King Schultz
(Waltz) and a quick-witted black slave called Django (Foxx).</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Django Unchained offers a refreshing alternative to pre-Emancipation
Proclamation scripts of white power. For once, the black guy is the hero and
idealized for "killing white folks and getting paid for it." (Though
the question begs to be asked, is this a white director’s story to tell?)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">The guts and gore that have earned Tarantino his reputation are as
explosive and goopy as ever. Handguns and rifles are the weapons of choice, yet
hammers, whips, and flesh-eating dogs make appearances as well. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Despite the serious subject, the script is sprinkled with
unfiltered humor that is both uncomfortable and hilarious. A scene of silly banter
among the KKK wagon raiders on the impracticality of masks with tiny eyeholes,
for example, is side-splittingly funny. These comedic scenes, the zingy one-liners,
and the eclectic soundtrack, make the 2 hour and 45 minute film move.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">The sets are unassuming and the costumes are modest, except for
Django's brilliant blue suit. The movie’s X factor is really the talented cast
and crew, including cinematographer Robert Bridge Richardson. The magnified
takes of beer foam and gun barrels give depth and breadth to everyday objects. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">It’s no secret that Tarantino is a master of his craft. Django
Unchained proves he’s done it again.</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648755907656700181.post-7170321998747799652013-01-18T05:18:00.000-08:002013-01-20T19:13:12.509-08:00A Secret History of Women and Tattoo<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJGiGOtVBeKfYgsJdD8t78U4sn_iDMSzBCvXf6gtpCr47q-lPi_eE7Jkdvh6zTzr7FIYLDyy7orN7c92tC-u2QfAqqIgiblI7EXo7csH-SmDy6j3K0H55HCpu2wdgLTEwLyQxoB0Gx3u4/s1600/Picture+4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJGiGOtVBeKfYgsJdD8t78U4sn_iDMSzBCvXf6gtpCr47q-lPi_eE7Jkdvh6zTzr7FIYLDyy7orN7c92tC-u2QfAqqIgiblI7EXo7csH-SmDy6j3K0H55HCpu2wdgLTEwLyQxoB0Gx3u4/s320/Picture+4.png" width="254" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maud Wagner, tattooist, 1911.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The third edition of Margot Mifflin's book, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">“</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://www.powerhousebooks.com/site/?p=13792" style="color: black; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Bodies of Subversion: A Secret History of Women and Tattoo</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span">,” was released on Tuesday. The book examines the history of female tattoo culture in the US which, surprisingly, dates back to 1851 when white Native American captives were inked by their captors. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">“Tattoos appeal to contemporary women both as emblems of empowerment in an era of feminist gains and as badges of self-determination at a time when controversies about abortion rights, date rape, and sexual harassment have made them think hard about who controls their bodies—and why,” Mifflin writes in her book's introduction.<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">The New Yorker's Maria Lokke points out in her slideshow that Mifflin's work and photos are particularly relevant as today marks the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To view the Lokke's complete slideshow, click <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/photobooth/2013/01/slide-show-a-secret-history-of-women-and-tattoo.html#slide_ss_0=1">here</a>.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Photograph from “</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://www.powerhousebooks.com/site/?p=13792" style="color: black; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Bodies of Subversion: A Secret History of Women and Tattoo</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span">,” by Margot Mifflin, published by PowerHouse Books.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648755907656700181.post-73968997250055365302013-01-13T18:42:00.000-08:002013-01-13T18:42:00.110-08:00Movie Review: Django Unchained<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkQqciY0xcU7Krzv-7TjUznCLdJpvvmt3eBiAFmW6lU_3883G5vIvQeqzXMaAi_uLLUSbuBSe5ihs87GqIURk1kkFbUz-2mPf1483oh_WF_EcgjkEqp8k_ajj6nj_EpM2mNBf-w1rjMsLK/s1600/Picture+5.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkQqciY0xcU7Krzv-7TjUznCLdJpvvmt3eBiAFmW6lU_3883G5vIvQeqzXMaAi_uLLUSbuBSe5ihs87GqIURk1kkFbUz-2mPf1483oh_WF_EcgjkEqp8k_ajj6nj_EpM2mNBf-w1rjMsLK/s400/Picture+5.png" width="230" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Directed by Quentin Tarantino</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Running time 2 hours, 45 minutes</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Rated R</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></span>
His latest film, Django Unchained, will offend some, amuse others, and once again prove that Quentin Tarantino is an over-the-top director who knows his craft exceedingly well.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Set on the cusp of the U.S. Civil War and opening "somewhere in Texas," Django Unchained tells the story of an unlikely business partnership between a well-to-do white bounty hunter named Dr. King Schultz (Waltz) and a quick-witted black slave called Django (Foxx).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The movie offers a refreshing alternative to pre-Emancipation Proclamation scripts of white power. For once, the black guy is the hero and idealized for </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">killing white folks and getting paid for it." </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yet many aspects of the film are quixotic and predictable. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The guts and gore viewers have come to expect from Tarantino are as explosive and goopy as ever. Handguns and rifles are the weapons of choice, yet hammers, whips, and flesh-eating dogs make appearances as well. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The ending is also nothing revolutionary-</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> the evil white miscreants are gruesomely killed, the damsel is saved, and the hero and his lover ride off together into the night.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The acting, however, is predictably excellent. Tarantino's reputation for creating particularly despicable villains (think Hans Landa from Inglorious Bastards) is met with vengeance. DiCaprio plays</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Calvin Candie, a greasy plantation owner, who moves fluidly from charming host to contemptible slave hater. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One particularly powerful scene occurs at the dinner table when DiCaprio slams down his hand, crushing a crystal glass and spurting blood everywhere. (</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118062924/">According to Variety</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, the blood is real and DiCaprio actually sliced open his hand.) </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Samuel L. Jackson's performance as Stephen, a grumpy and sharp-tongued house slave, also deserves accolade. His semi-crippled shuffle and sardonic expressions reveal more about his character than do his words. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Despite the rather serious subject, the script is sprinkled with unfiltered humor that has some viewers chuckling uncomfortably and others giggling uncontrollably.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The silly banter among the KKK wagon raiders on the impracticality of masks with tiny eyeholes, for example, is side-splittingly funny. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Without these comedic scenes, the zingy one-liners, and the eclectic soundtrack, the 2 hour and 45 minute movie would drag.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The sets are unassuming and the costumes are modest- except for Django's brilliant blue suit. The movie's X factor is the incredibly talented cast, both on screen and off.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tarantino's films have a way of growing on the viewer long after the credits have ended. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Django Unchained is no exception. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02796432779309014742noreply@blogger.com3