Tuesday October 10, 2006 arts.michigandaily.com artspage@michigandaily.com ART s 5 Ars politica - or not FINE ARTS COLUMN f you happen to be one of the crowd that knows about Banksy, then maybe you under- stand my admiration of political art. Maybe this column is just a continu- ation of that sentiment, but this time the context is our University. The subject of political apathy among students has been tossed around the Daily's Opinion page often enough, and the dialogue extends to The Michigan Review and beyond. What hasn't been noticed is a distinct artistic apathy regarding politics, and though this is a more specific approach to a larger issue, in ANDREV a university with as KL much opportunity for free expression as ours, it's just as relevant. There are plenty of examples of this freedom, from Natural Resources and Environment students putting up installations on the Diag and in The Nichols Arboretum to performances of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Mono- logues" and Moises Kaufman's "The Laramie Project." But with the possibility of a few exceptions, the above examples represent the extent to which our University's art scene pushes the political envelope. The fact remains that not everyone is (or should be) politically oriented, nor should everyone should be held to a stan- dard of artistic expression. But students in our School of Art and Design and School of Music, The- ater & Dance seem to keep a tight lid on any overt political leanings - at least, there's little to no politi- cal expression to be experienced by the campus as a whole. The public forum is inarguably the most poignant sphere of expres- sion, British graffiti artists aside. Sexual organs scribbled on the side of the University's Museum of Art would probably attract more atten- tion from the bulk of the campus community than any exhibit in the actual building. The whole cityscape v1 is a canvas, a stage, a sounding board for any and all who wish to see it as such. And within the University itself are many avenues to be explored. The most obvious is theater, with several venues open to all students. The Residential College, the Rude Mechanicals and Base- ment Arts are all the- ater groups that accept submissions from the studentbody, regardless of department. Though space on the Diag can be tightly regulated, there are several student art galleries throughout campus, such as the Piano Room on North SARGUS Campus and the study EIN lounges in the Union. The poetry scene is slightly better off, with a significant amount of slam poetry readings and open mics around campus and Ann Arbor asa whole. Political activists and political art- ists need to understand that collabo- ration will only further their cause - and in case it isn't clear, I'm speaking to the political left, where the bulk of the artistic demographic lies. By utilizing political art, pro- tests and demonstrations could be better publicized, causes expanded to include more students. Republicans have a significant amount of money to push their dubi- ous, inflated morals on the public, and while the Democratic Party might not know exactly where it's going, it does have the bulk of lib- eral artists under its wing. We need to cash in on the resources we have, and the main asset still sitting on the backburner is artistic expression. Enormous amounts of theater and performance art have been gener- ated in the wake of Sept. 11, but little of it seems to trickle down to our bastion of liberalism. Artists with a desire to see our nation finally produce more good than evil, wake up: Your country needs you. - Klein can be reached at andresar@umich.edu. Gosling takes it all thwayi 'Nelson' By Kristin MacDonald Daily Film Editor When play gets rough at an urban high school basketball game, there's only one thing for the typical movie coach to do - let the soundtrack swell kk* self-righteously, furiously storm the offending ref Half Nelson and shame him into justice At the Michigan with some articulate brow- Theater beating. But when coach ThinkFilm Dan Dunn (Ryan Gosling, "The Notebook") explodes at an unfair official, it's with a rambling string of ineffectual exple- tives. Promptly ejected, Dunn scowls, stomps off and allows himself one last pathetic "so there," weakly chucking a sideline ball at the ref's turned back. Dan Dunn is not the saintly inner-city teacher he'd like to be. He's unconventional, certainly, slipping street slang into his classroom discus- sions and joking easily about The Man with his middle school students. But he's not revolution- ary - nowhere in "Half Nelson" will you find any sanctimonious speech-making or falsely inspirational uplift. When Dunn confronts Frank (Anthony Mackie, "She Hate Me"), the crack- dealing family friend of a favorite young student, even he doesn't know what grounds he has for accusing the man of being a corrupting influ- ence. Dan, it turns out, is a frequent customer. A crack addiction makes for a startling take on the cliche of the encouraging teacher, and "Half Nelson" neatly avoids its potential gimmicky pitfall. The bulk of credit for this surely goes to Gosling, a thinking person's leading man tal- ented enough to make something believable even out of the schmatlzfest that is "The Notebook." Gosling is the antithesis of the Sean Penn-style scenery-chewer, forgoing showy dramatics for focused intensity and a naturalism so convinc- Courtesy of ThinkFilr "Tell me honestly. Will I ever be as hot as I was in 'The Notebook'?" ing that Dunn never comes off as an emotional stretch. Director Ryan Fleck's muted screenplay assists by skimping on the dialogue. Although at times the silence seems strained, Fleck's artsy minimum of communication allows his actors unusually free rein. Consider the early pivotal moment when Dunn, holed up in a girl's bath- room stall for an afterschool fix, is discovered with pipe in hand by one of his own students, Drey (admirable newcomer Shareeka Epps). As crafted by Fleck's jumpy, close-cropped camera- work, teacher and student share their disappoint- ment with eyes alone. Drey is naturally quiet anyway, preferring a constant Kojak-like lollipop to saying much, even among her playground friends. With an absentee father and mother always at work, Drey has a lot of time on her hands, and though she's far too reticent to ask anyone for sympathy, she doesn't mind pressing Dan for an irregular ride home. He gradually grows protective of the duty, and the two developa tentative friendship, drawn together by a shared uncertainty of how else to occupy their time. "Half Nelson" works as a twisted riff on late 20s' ennui, contrasting the indecision of a young adult with that of a just-turned teenager. While many 20-somethings find themselves saddled with mere jobs instead of careers, Dunn is stuck in a more extreme sort of rutresigned to an addic- tion of which he is as ashamed as he is accept- ing. Drey, meanwhile, with little else to do, finds herself obliging Frank's overtures of friendship, eventually accompanying him on house calls to serve as a drug-delivery gopher. The two extracurricular paths of teacher and student finally meet with wrenching inevitabil- ity, and the titular wrestling maneuver of "Half Nelson" - a stranglehold - becomes a deft description of their respective situations. Dunn never cries mercy, but he doesn't wriggle out either. "One thing doesn't make a man," he sagely tells Drey after she makes an obscure allusion to his addiction. The platitude is half- hearted and defensive at best. Dunn neglects to add how one thing can actually keep a man from making himself. U.S.AIR FORCE R+*T*C Woody's at it again By Blake Goble Daily Arts Writer In the Woody Allen catalogue, there are three different kinds of movies. There are the undeniable classics that we all love ("Annie Hall," "Sleep- er"). There Zelig are the forget- Tonight at table show- 7 p.m" ings of old age At the ("Celebrity," Michigan Theater "Anything Else"). And then there are the underappreciated greats ("Crimes & Misdemeanors," "Interiors"). "Zelig" fits into the last cat- egory, as possibly Allen's most underappreciated work. With his typically nebbish neuroses pol- ished for mass appeal, it's top- notch screwball comedy. Meet Leonard Zelig, a man who's not a man, but rather a few hundredmen.Allow me toexplain. Zelig has multiple personality disorder. In a tragically comedic role, Allen literally becomes other people in an attempt to blend in with any group. He can gain weight immediately to make an obese man feel better. Then in the same breath, Zelig is an authentic black jazz musician. To top it all off, Zelig is later found under the influence of Nazis. The comic invention is all Allen, but he gets great sup- port from cinematographer Gor- don Willis ("The Godfather"). To achieve the look of older film stock and insert Zelig into famous historical scenery, Willis allegedly stomped on the footage in his bathtub. Great punchlines, clever sight gags and historical literacy are just a few of the appealing come- dic aspects here, but Allen's already strong writing and acting are elevated by his rare attempt at some technically demanding camerawork and the hero's ulti- mate fate as a sad clown. Zelig is a man with no real character for himself. He yearns so desperately to belong to every- one that he actually belongs to no one. Allen's self-referential poignancy achieves a delicate balancing act, elevating Zelig's comedy with a glimpse of his identity trauma. Like the man himself, "Zelig" has a little bit for everyone. MY STATEMENT. What are your rights? This year the Statement of Student Rights & Reponsibility will be amended. What should it say? Speak Out TODAY at this year's Forum: Oct 10th, 6:00 - 7:30 PM, MSA Chambers (The Union) or E-mail c-cab@umich.edu. Sponsored by the Code of Conduct Advisory Board and the Office of Student Conflict Resolution. 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