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Bigger is better: The movies won't lose their magic
Everyone's a Critic I Media Column
By Kristin MacDonald
THE DAT ILr DT-si
Teaching
Laura Kasischke, RC Professor,
By Kate Sd
t is bare testament to the sheer
power of a packed movie palace on
.. opening night that the greatest cin-
ematic moment I ever experienced came
in a no-less-lamentable movie than "Star
Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones." I
and 500 of my fellow film goers may have
snickered our way though more than two
hours of the worst in wooden drama, but
when Yoda's shadow draped over that 65-
foot screen in dramatic prologue to his
final light saber battle, the theater's explo-
sion of cheers all but split the place in
two. Every time he jumped, every time he
clashed blades, every time the little green
guy so much as narrowed his eyes, a fresh
roar of approval flew deafeningly from
the crowd, and even Hayden Christensen's
woefully mechanic facial expressions sud-
denly seemed a paltry price to pay.
Though dullsville plot particularities of
"Clones" have long since faded from mem-
ory, I still remember the flush of that after-
movie high as the giddy audience poured
from the theater. You can discuss it in the
academic terms of Nietzsche's Dionysian
or simply compare it to the thrill of a home
game touchdown in the stuffed stands of
the Big House, doesn't matter; the experi-
ence of communal viewing is something
you can't capture, duplicate or forget.
Such an experience, however, may be
increasingly endangered. At least, so say
some cinema pundits, eyeing the movie
industry's rising use of digital technology
with anticipation of a turn away from the-
ater-going. After all, it's no new observation
that the improving technology of home-
viewing set-ups means more and more peo-
ple are content to take in their movies in the
comfort of their own living rooms.
But are future movie releases going
to make that jump to the couch immedi-
ately? With shrinking box office atten-
dance in mind, director Steven Soderbergh
("Ocean's Eleven") recently attempted to
release "Bubble," his latest production,
by simultaneous introduction to both the-
aters and video stores on the same day.
While the strategy admittedly didn't work
for "Bubble," the shoestring-budget indie
perhaps did not make for the most prime
of test-cases (indie film being a genre for
which it is already notoriously hard to
drum up interest).
The possibility of this day-to-date style
of release is understandably frightening
for theater owners. But with the iPod's
current ability to play TV shows in your
palm, it seems an inevitable step. Besides,
convenience has a time and place. Waiting
around in a doctor's office or, god forbid,
an airport, who wouldn't want a movie at
the ready?
A movie on a tiny airplane monitor,
however, is only entertainment. A movie
spanning meters of screen high above
your head is an event. Revival screenings
of old classics ably demonstrate the dif-
ference. Our own Michigan Theater often
retrieves classic films from DVD exile for
a triumphant return to their big-screen
roots. Purists may seem irritatingly insis-
tent that the big screen is the way the
movies were meant to be seen, but after
catching the Michigan's grand screening
of "Roman Holiday" last month, I can't
help but concur that grainy black-and-
white Audrey Hepburn becomes far more
glamorous prancing about a large-scale
Rome than my own living room TV.
With DVDs, you stop the movie - for
fridge raids, for bathroom breaks, for
phone calls. In a theater, you stop for the
movie. You look up, you gape, you take in
a vista far more encompassing than even
the biggest of Best Buy's latest TVs could
ever hope to be. The visceral impact of the-
ater-viewing looms large in the dark quiet
of a giant room - movies look bigger,
they sound sharper and, depending on the
size and raucousness of the crowd among
whom you take it all again, they resonate
deeper, too.
In a recent Time magazine article inves-
tigating the future of digital media in Hol-
lywoodGeorge Lucas, a long time pioneer
of all things digital, compares heading to
the cineplex to watching a football game.
"Who in the world would go out in 20-
below weather and sit there and watch a
football game where you can barely see
the players?" Why not get a front row seat
from your favorite recliner?
There's no denying the comfort of con-
venience, and it's certainly no negative
that once a movie inevitably leaves the-
aters the technology now exists to view
it at home in high quality. But Lucas's
metaphor proves apt - while it is perhaps
relaxing to take in Monday Night Football
from the living room, but what about actu-
ally watching the game from the stadium?
The experience itself becomes utterly
more vibrant, with the din and smells of
the surrounding crowd, the action unin-
terrupted beneath the sharp glow of the
lights. So it goes with movies. There is an
indisputable place for DVD home-view-
ing, and it will probably end up biting
considerably into the pockets of theater
owners. But theaters themselves will not
become a dying breed. The type of movie
watching they offer is too singular, and
too strong.
- Kristin MacDonald can be reached at
kmacd@umich.edu
With six collections of poetry and
three novels under her belt, Laura
Kasischke's writing career has
yielded one success after another.
Although her impressive list of acco-
lades includes the National Endow-
ment for the Arts, the Pushcart
Prize, and the Elmer Holmes Bobst
Award for emerging writers, she
insists that the act of writing itself
has been her greatest reward. For
Kasischke, who received both her
B.A. and M.F.A. from Michigan,
transforming her passion into a
career has been nothing short
of a dream come true. Now a
creative writing instructor in
the Residential College, she
attempts to instill in her stu-
dents the confidence to follow
their own ambitions.
The Michigan Daily: Describe
your experience as a creative writing
student at Michigan.
Laura Kasischke: When I
came to the University, I had a
vague idea that I wanted to be
a writer. But, it seemed like an
unlikely scenario. No one in my
immediate family was a writer,
so I didn't have a notion of what it
would entail. In the Residential Col-
lege, I received a lot of support from
my teachers, Ken Mikolowski and
Warren Hecht, who are now my
colleagues. After I got a Hopwood
Award for my poetry as freshman,
I felt encouraged. My goals seemed
possible for the first time, whereas they
had been a fancy before. At Michigan,
I learned to incorporate writing into
my daily life. Had someone told me, at
that time, that I would be back here to
teach, I wouldn't have believed it. It's
an amazing dream fulfillment.
TMD: When you look back at your early
writing, how do you feel it has changed?
LK: I find it hard to examine the
differences in my own writing. It's
kind of like trying to notice the chang-
es in your face as you grow older.
You can look at photographs, but you
don't really perceive the changes while
they're happening. I'm more surprised
by how much my writing has stayed
the same. I think my skill level has
become more sophisticated, but I'm
largely dealing with the same themes.
I vaguely remember writing a poem in
the dorm about clothing wearing away.
It was sort of a metaphoric epiphany
about transition and loss. Those ideas
have always haunted me.
TMD: Every writer has her own writ-
ing process. What is yours?
LK: I try to write every day. Ideally,
I'll get it over with in the morning. Before
I had a child, I was more rigid, but once
my son was born, everything went out the
window. Now, my schedule varies. But, I
believe in the whole habit of the art. I really
encourage my students to make writing a
part of their lives, not just when they're in
the act of writing, but also, when they're on
the bus, at a store, or at a party. You can't
just wait around for a burst of inspiration;
you have to go out and look for it.
TMD: How does your process differ
when writing a poem versus a novel?
LK: A poem requires more specific
energy. Most of the time, I have an idea
worked out in my head before I begin to
write it. When I'm working on a novel, I
usually start with a character and a place.
But, I often feel like I'm goofing around
for about 100 pages before I figure out
where it's all going.
TMD: With which of your works are
you most pleased?
LK: "Fire and Flower" contains many
poems about my son. I like this collection
the most because the writing was very
meaningful for me.
TMD: As a writer, there were prob-
ably many places where you could have
settled. Why did you choose to stay in
Ann Arbor?
LK: After undergrad, I actually left
Ann Arbor and went to New York to get
my M.F.A. at Columbia University, but
I ended up coming back after a year. I
found that the instruction at the MFA
program at Michigan was much better.
I still love the breadth of activities for
writers in Ann Arbor. There are great
bookstores and wonderful lectures.
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An ode to Hash Bash
You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?
I
Campus Life Column
By Mark Giannotto
t comes only once a year. The festivi-
ties last just one day. The event brings
together people from many different
backgrounds. It is one of the defining character-
istics of this campus and city. Oh yeah - it's
Hash Bash.
Yes, the name is a bit misleading, because I
seriously doubt those who celebrate this glorious
event actually smoke hash on Hash Bash. But it
still stands in epic lore, at least in my mind.'
But as great as Hash Bash is, it does have
some serious issues associated with it. And see-
ing as this is my last column before one of the
greatest days of the year, I figured I would write
something to pump it up.
I feel like there are a lot of misconceptions
about the event. Yes, it is a good excuse to get
really high, but you could get high any day of
the week if you wanted.
There is a real reason for Hash Bash, and it
isn't to smoke egregious amounts of marijuana
(although that's always fun). This will be the
35th year of the celebration, and a lot of people
on campus still don't know what it's all about.
The event centers around a rally in the Diag,
organized by the Michigan chapter of the
National Organization for the Reform of Mari-
juana Laws to gain support for the legalization
of marijuana. This year the rally is taking place
at high noon on April 1.
I came to a realization a few weeks ago about
Hash Bash. It's been going on for 35 years, yet
has been largely unsuccessful. Pot is still illegal.
And people who smoke pot (don't call us ston-
ers because that carries a negative connotation)
are still left on the outside of political discus-
sions. And then I realized what my Hash Bash
experience was last year. Basically I got way too
stoned to even attend the rally. So I was part of
the problem.
And the fact that the rally is in the Diag is a
huge damper, considering there are cops around
and smoking pot carries a heftier fine on Uni-
versity property.
But all Hash Bash needs is a little more expo-
sure. Something along the lines of a marketing
campaign might do the trick.
So we'll start by creating a Hash Bash slogan.
A catchy slogan, which could be plastered all
over Ann Arbor. It could have positive effects
on the attendance at this rally.
Ijust so happened to be watching "Dazed and
Confused" the other night and came upon the
perfect Hash Bash slogan.
It involves the character of Wooderson (Mat-
thew McConaughey), and his first encounter
with Mitch (Wiley Wiggins), the eighth grader
who hangs out with all the high schoolers.
They enter a car and Wooderson asks Mitch,
"Say man, you got a joint on you?" Mitch
answers, "No, not on me, man". And Wooderson
responds, "Well it'd be a lot cooler if you did."
There's your slogan: "You got a joint on
you? Well it'd be a lot cooler if you did." That
was easy.
Now that we've got our catchy slogan out of
the way, we need to give Hash Bash some enter-
tainment. The entertainment can provide a new
platform to get the message out. What better
way to do that than with a concert?
I mean, what band doesn't smoke pot? And
what pothead doesn't like music? It's a perfect
combination. I'm betting a good number of peo-
ple who wouldn't ordinarily attend a rally for the
legalization of marijuana would show up to see a
cool concert.
I do realize the logistics of holding a concert
can be tricky, but I'm not dealing with that stuff.
I'm just throwing ideas out there for the cause.
Hopefully someone else can do the heavy lifting.
Now, I've heard complaints about the stoners
who come into Ann Arbor for this glorious day.
If you haven't seen them before, it can be a shock
that there are people like that still around. And I
realize I have made fun of these people in prior
columns, but that was only about Coke. I'm cool
with them on everything besides that. And I can
assure you, these people are not weird. There are
plenty of people around the world just like them,
and if you talk with them, they are really interest-
ing. You don't have to agree with their thinking or
their way of life, but you do have to realize what
interesting people they are.
Last year at Hash Bash, I met this group who
lived on a commune in Vermont, and they said
their commune pooled its money together and
bought a Starbucks franchise. They are aspir-
ing entrepreneurs just like those straight edges in
business school.
I feel like Hash Bash should be successful.
There are so many people who smoke pot on a
regular basis. And there's a lot more who smoke it
occasionally. If we put every student at Michigan
in the Big House and asked all who had smoked
more than five times in their life to stand up, I bet
75 percent of the people would be standing.
Maybe I'm naive because I hang out with
people who smoke, but in the words of my friend
Becca, "C'mon, think about it. Almost everyone
smokes pot."
And I bet each and every person reading this
knew about Hash Bash before they came to the
University. It was one of those "neat" things about
the school when you applied. It made the Univer-
sity different in your eyes. It's part of the tradition
here at school. There's Football, cold weather and
Hash Bash.
So why are you turning your back on some-
thing that makes this place unique? Even if you
completely hate marijuana and all it stands for,
you have to admit that Hash Bash is really fasci-
nating. There aren't many places where you could
pull off something like the Bash. But that's why I
love Ann Arbor.
So, I hope you light up a fatty for this writer,
and support the cause. It's kind of insane that
a plant is considered illegal in so many places
around the globe. I'll see you in the Diag at noon
next Saturday ... if I'm not too high.
- Giannotto can be reached by e-mail at
mgiann@umich.edu
The Weekend List
7IY jda\
3240
Satrday\
3,16,0
Sundmay
5,19,06
Astronomy Open House
The Student Astronomical Soci-
ety hosts this event on the fifth floor
Angell Hall observatory. This monthly
event gives the public an opportunity
to view the moon, planets, constella-
tions and galaxies. The event is free
and runs from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Pink Floyd Cover Band
The Surrogate, known for their
covers of Pink Floyd, music come to
the Cavern this Friday. The shows
features lasers, fog and videos and
their music has been described as
"right on." The show is free and
begins at 10 p.m.
The Silver Jews
Rock band The Silver Jews take
over the Blind Pig on Saturday
night. Ann Arbor is their final stop
on a tour which took them through
the U.K. and across the United
States. Spiritual Family Reunion
will open the show. Doors at 9:30
p.m. and cover is $18.
Halfass Show
The East Quad Music Co-op
features Dykehouse, Starling Elec-
tric and Jib Kidder. The show is
all ages and begins at 9:30 p.m. at
East Quadrangle Residence Hall.
Cover is $5.
Peggy Seeger
Activist songwriter Peggy Seeger
comes to The Ark to perform. Seeger
plays six instruments and is known for
her Anglo-American songs. Doors open
at 7 p.m. for the 7:30 p.m. show. Tickets
are $17.50.
Best of Banff Film Festival
This eighth annual festival features
films from the Banff World Tour. The
festival is touted as the world's best adven-
ture sports films. Local outdoor commu-
nity organizations will also be on hand.
Doors open at 5:15 pm. for the 6 pm.
Rackham Auditorium show, and tickets
are $10 in advance and $12 at the door.
10B - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 23, 2006
The Michigan Daily