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Thursday, September 4;2008 - 4B

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A perfect match - go figure.

Enlightenment
without religion

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he saw n

egularly, I'm thankful Bible in the living room, which
for having read the Bible. I'd brought home during winter
Note: I'm not saying I'm break. I now keep that copy on my
l for reading the Bible shelf next to something else I'd
y - I haven't since I was consider a bible for literature - a
d to for a Great Books Norton Anthology.)
reshman year, butI'll get The first time I came across a
biblical allusion in a text post-Bi-
of all, ble exposure, I remember think-
hbe ing, "Wow - this finally makes
ble to sense now." It was as if literature,
mpre- especially poetry, was written in
st how code and I suddenly understood
female it. I could place references to the
is in line, "and said it was good," and
ibe ImERy suddenly I knew in what context
guest CHOU the parable of the lamb among the
The wolves was. New cultural asso-
us Date Rape" without ciations sprung up in my mind
tome knowledge of the that were different than before -
Daniel. where I maybe recognized a cer-
e advising listeners, "if tain line or part of a story only as
n the wrong season, that used in a mediocre Keanu Reeves/
ou gotta break," in this Al Pacino film. (Sad, but true. I
ld-mean-no-so-don't- do own a video cassette of "The
and-just-sleep-on-the- Devil's Advocate," and I stand by
ong, the Tribe raps about that movie to this day.)
's intended lady friend: Reading the Bible as a literary
otter than Meshach,Shad text does not necessarily make me
d Abednego." (You'll have feel closer to God, or even con-
ut that copy of The Low sider that I have the capacity to be
rory for the line's context, closer toa God - there are other
ell you the line preceding things that do that for me.
res - somewhat taste- What it did was create a back-
ome female anatomy to ground for my reading and liter-
Is of Jericho.) ary study..It's certainly changed
ort, the story of Meshach, the way I approach poetry analy-
h and Abednego tells sis. And looking just at hip hop, I
young men who refuse haven't even mentioned the Beast-
's orders to worship a ie Boys' "Shadrach," which uses
dol because of their faith the fiery furnace story to explain
King Nebuchadnezzar the rap group's situation with its
ently orders the boys to record label during the late 1980s.
(Which would make King Nebu-
chadnezzar... Rick Rubin? Russell
Simmons?) For the indie kids,
think about the brother-sister
an be found act Fiery Furnaces again. Just
a suggestion. So much room for
n the least symbolism!
(Another note: My lapsed
)ected places. Seventh-day Adventist friend
tells the Meshach, Shadrach and
Abednego story with emphasis on
the trio's meat-free lifestyle. But
wn into a fiery furnace, but explanation of American Seventh-
saved, essentially, by the day Adventist-run vegan grocery
God; Nebuchadnezzar is stores will be saved for a,later
by this miracle - he actu- column.)
them walking in the fur-' Reading the Bible may Very
:h the son of God - and well change the way you read,
them. He also tells every- too, even if you have read it before
op worshiping the golden in a different context. For those
worship God instead; the who are skeptical of religion, the
nd their faith prevail. Bible is not scary, and reading it
hotter than Meshach, does not mean you are subscrib-
h and Abednego after that ing to anything new (despite my
sode - well, that's pretty father's fears). For those who have
read it before in a non-academic
so a great story and context or who are Christian, look
y one I would have never at it again as a work of literature.
nto without takinga lit- It's not just The Good Book - it's
class in which sections of a great book. I know that may
e were part of the required sound flip, but I'm just saying it as
a reminder.
ot writing this because I'm If you're lookingto expand your
out of a year during which knowledge of the Bible as litera-
the majority of my friends ture, check out Ralph Williams's
abroad, b) "got spiritual," course on that very topic. Great
erienced something that Books 192 will also cover parts of
d (their) lives" (which the Bible (including the entire Old
dude but is not limited Testament, Daniel, Ezekiel and
es a and b). ButI do speak my two favorite gospels).
one who grew up in a Ultimately, this column is not
ld very apprehensive of just about the Bible. (I certainly
ed Western religion, and wish I had known more about the
one who has never gone to Quran and the life of the Muham-
ave for a one-week sum- mad before I picked up The Satan-
rch day camp my mom ic Verses.) It's about opening up to
to because it was free. (I texts or looking at an old text in
er wondering as a kid why a new light - and isn't that what
r celebrated Easter, until reading is about anyway?

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His ego's the size of a Buick.

Master filmmaker
hits the Michigan

Throughout the fall,
Comic Masters Film Series
presents select group
of WoodyAllen's
finest comedies
By BRANDON CONRADIS
Senior Arts Editor
As part of their Comic Masters Film
Series, the Michigan Theater is showing
a select group of Woody Allen's films all
through the month of September and Octo-
ber. I'm ecstatic.
I have seen many films. I have seen good
films, bad films, quite a few films I would
qualify as "great" and many whose DVDs
I wouldn't even stoop to use as coast-
ers. Through all of the countless hours of
worshipping at the flickering screen, I've
encountered maybe a handful that have
stunned me into silence.
After finishing Woody Allen's 1979 film

"Manhattan," I felt as if I had just seen the
end-all be-all of American cinema. This was
it. This was the culmination of a truly except
tional decade of American filmmaking,
known for the emergence of so many great
cinematic talents (Scorsese, Altman, Coppo-
la) and countless extraordinary Hollywood
films. More so than even "Apocalypse Now"
(1979) or "Raging Bull" (1980) - both fan-
tastic films in their own right - "Manhat-
tan" demonstrates the sheer perfection of
the craft that had developed over the course
of those ten tumultuous but defining years,
beginning in 1969 when "Easy Rider" paved
the way for the new generation of American
filmmakers to break the mold.
From the pristine black and white cin-
ematography, to the heart-breakingly genu-
ine performance of Mariel Hemingway as
Woody's teenage love interest, "Manhattan"
remains one of the few films I can honestly
say is perfect. Only Peter Bogdanovich's
"The Last Picture Show" can match it.
And so, I squared off with friends and fam-
ily alike to debate them on the matter. And,
surprisingly, each person I talked to gave me
a different Woody Allen film they admired.
"Hannah and Her Sisters" (1986), "The
Purple Rose of Cairo" (1985) and "Crimes
and Misdemeanors" (1989) were all named.
One friend of mine still thinks "Annie Hall"
(1977) is his best, and, for that matter, one
of the finest comedies ever made. Another
picked "Stardust Memories" (1980), surely
his most underrated. And, as I listened to
them rattle off the films' best one-liners,
or argue why they thought their respective
pick was the best, I honestly couldn't find
any reason to disagree with them.
All of this is because every film
Woody Allen has made is at least
worth something. A balding neu-
rotic with a diminutive frame and
large glasses may seem like an odd
choice to be the "high priest" of
American cinema. But in a span
of 30 years, Woody has made
Satleast a dozen of the finest
films to come out of this coun-
try. He is the only Hollywood
director who has been able to
achieve serious artistic and
commercial success while
remaining largely on the
sidelines of the mostly artless
empire we call "Tinseltown."
Even the most powerful pro-
ducers can't touch him. He has
remained, for decades, the one
American director - save for
maybe Quentin Tarantino - to
have complete artistic freedom,
and with good reason.
He's so prolific I haven't even
seen all of his work. Among the
films playing at the Michigan
Theater are "Sleeper" and "Radio
Days," two of his lesser-known
films. So maybe, just maybe, I'll
have a new favorite by October.

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pointed out to me that we
Christian. He's also the
freaked out, mildly, when
ny New Oxford Annotated

Chou prays to the god of hip
hop and Rushdie. E-mail her
at kimberch@umich.edu.

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