2B - Thursday, February 7, 2008

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom

REDUCTIVE REASONING
Picking one and one apart.

The Daily Arts guide to
upcoming events
Today 2.7.08
Penny W. Stamps Distin-
guished Visitors Series
Presents Satoru Takahashi
5 p.m.
At the Michigan Theater
Free
Brown Bag Lecture: William
Bolcom, Pulitzer Prize-Win-
ning Composer
12 p.m.
At the Institute for the Humanities (202
South Thayer St.)
Free
Grocer's Daughter Choco-
late Truffle Tasting
7 p.m.
At Zingerman's
$30/advance, $35/at the dor; reserva-
tions required: 734-663-3400
Tomorrow 2.8.08
The Chicago Classical Ori-
ental Ensemble
8 p.m.
At Rackham Auditorium
$20-ad0
Comedian Dave Dyer
10:30 p.m.
At the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase
$10/advance, $2/at the door
Hullabaloo with Forty Lash-
es and Sons of the Gun
9:30 p.m.
At the Blind Pig
$7/Under 21, $10/18+
Saturday 2.9.08
Guarneri String Quartet and
Johannes String Quartet
8:00 p.m.
At Rackham Auditorium
$22-$46
Bob Marley Birthday Bash
Featuring Turbulence
8:30 p.m.
At the Blind Pig
$25/advance, $30/at the door
Award-Winning NPR
Reporter Ira Glass
7 p.m.
At Borders on Liberty Street
Free
Sunday 2.10.08
"The Vagina Monologues":
A Benefit for SafeHouse
Center
2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
At the Ark
$25/general seating, $35/reserved
seating
Please send all press releases
and event information to
artspage@michigandaily.com.

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COURTESY OF WARNER BROS.
'A FACE IN THE CROWD' (1957)

TRAILER AND SINGLE REVIEWS
r1_ a Trailers
"LEATHERHEADS"
~ UNIVERSAL
George Clooney returns as ... George Clooney. Would you
want him any other way? This trailer for the new roman-
tic comedy - with Renee Zellweger - set amid the back-
drop of early twentieth century football looks like it could
be fun, with a pleasing, quirky sense of humor that's a nice
alternative to the typical "team bonding" over-dramatics
of most sports films. But watch out, this looks like it could
easily fall into that "Friday Night Lights" style.
BRANDON CONRADIS
"MAMMA MIA!"

A political film with
curreilt appeal
By BLAKE GOBLE he gets to spite his former jailer.
Daily Arts Writer Notoriety comes next.
It's our heavily-covered and

4 /

Ugh. "Rent," "The Phantom of the Opera," "Hairspray"...
it was only a matter of time before Hollywood got to this
popular Broadway musical carried by the music of ABBA.
Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan star amid lots of danc-
ing and suspiciously fake-looking Greek locales in this feel
gooder. I won't see it, but my mom will love it. Too bad
ABBA still isn't any good.
BRANDON CONRADIS
Single
"THE ARM"
ISLANDS
The Unicorns are dead. Islands sounded like a fine rein-
carnation, and their first album came close to proving it.
Now we have "The Arm," supposedly one of the first tracks
from their forthcoming follow-up. A snappy guitar riff and
an electronic string section whip the song along in bright
fashion, and there are even hints of the whispery, growling
vocals of the Unicorns of old. Things get a bit dramatic near
the end,butfinishwithagiddy crescendo.Ifthistrack doesn't
get you jazzed for Islands's next album, nothing will.
MATT EMERY
COME WRITE
FOR US
G u d p E-mail cgaerig@umich.
edu for an application.

So uh ... who you gonna vote for
this fall?
Now, don't be shy. It's OK to
admit you're supporting someone
(as long as it's not Huckabee). In
'60, everyone wanted to vote Ken-
nedy. In'84, you were either voting
Reagan or just not admitting that
you were. Jeez, if this were 1957,
you'd be loudly marking ballots for
Lonesome Rhodes.
Wait a minute. You've never
heard of Lonesome Rhodes?
Maybe it's because he's only a
fictitious character, but he's been
likened to both George W. and Bill
Clinton. Budd Schulberg and Elia
Kazan's "A Face in the Crowd" is
arguably the most unappreciated
political satire ever put on film. A
parable on the dangerously entic-
ing power of media and its ability
to make anyone a target, "Face" is
still relevant - perhaps even more
so than it once was - in today's
political climate.
Meet Lonesome Rhodes (Andy
Griffith of, yes, "The Andy Griffith
Show"). He's crafty - a classically
crooked and heartless public fig-
ure willing to sell his image and
do whatever it takes to keep a high
approval rating. Rhodes just wants
your support. How? By watching
his show and donating generously,
of course.
This is the story that politicians
only wish they could brag about.
Rhodes is initially discovered in
a prison. Mean as hell and suspi-
ciously happy on cue, it's his guitar
playing and "simple rural" ways
that make him a hit. By chance he
gets his own radio show. Rhodes is
quick to see the power of being on
the air. Free food comes first. Then

quickly-forgotten news world that
enables people like Rhodes to run
for office. Just watch ol' Lonesome
hawk placebos one minute, only to
have a hugely successful NBC pro-
Politicians only
wish they could
be this mean
gram the next. It's instantaneous,
outrageous and completely believ-
able.
From there, Rhodes is an over-
night sensation. After conquering
television, it's only natural that he
plans to enter the political arena.
Contextually, this film hasn't
aged a day. "Face" holds up incred-
ibly well because it all seems too
possible. With the screen writers
on strike, news coverage becom-
ing more and more softball and
more stars willing to share their
celebrity with leading nominees,
it's a popularity contest. Rhodes is
abusive, short-tempered, manipu-
lative and just downright awful.
But to the loving audiences that
follow his every breath, he's just
another good ol' boy speaking to
the people.
"Face" has been called a poor
man's "Citizen Kane," but since
its release, it has become uber-rel-
evant thanks to its themes of the
ever-changing face of news and
media coverage. This film probably
makes John Kerry weep. We tend
to trust the people we see on TV,
often leaning slightly towards the
better-looking and better-sold
candidates.
"Face" is a perfect addition
to our political climate. Besides,
where else can you get entertain-
ment with such relevant informa- *
tion?
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1 II'l I I " r



STRUGGLING TOWARD
JUSTICE IN EDUCATION
Thoughts
from ames Anderson
Historian of Education
4-- 5:30 p.m.
February 7, 2008
Rackham Amphitheatre, 4th floor
Rackham Graduate School
Reception to follow
For more information, please visit:
www.ncid.umich.edu