The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 -5
More than just words
"Really, I don't even know where the hell I am right now.
Holy matters?
ylast day in Manhat-
tan began with a walk
through SoHo's art dis-
trict, and it ended in a tiny apart-
ment at the edge of Little Italy
and Chinatown. -
There I found
myself in the
tight embrace of
my grandmoth-
er, who asked
me in Toisanese
if I was going to 'WHINEY
return to New
York next sum- POW
mer. I said yes,
and told her to take care of her-
self, because we don't say "I love
you" in Chinese; we ask if you're
healthy, if you're safe; we show
things, do things. That evening,
she.wouldn't stop filling my din-
ner plate with my favorite fish and
eggplant dishes, asking me repeat-
edly ifI was full enough. I told her
to stay safe for me. I think this can
be an effective, albeit frustrating,
method of communication.
There is no word for love that
we (my extended family and I)
say with frequency. The closest
spoken equivalent of"I love you"
is something that sounds kind
of like "ngaw oy nay" (a phrase
which is slightly, if not culturally,
awkward to say in all practical
situations) and we don't really use
hugs or kisses or any traditional
means of communicating feelings
of endearment. In my grand-
mother's apartment, I'll usually
end up sitting on the couch, heart
bursting with affection for the
small woman who is diligently
boiling water at the oil-spattered
gas stove, cutting bananas from
the fingery bunch of them bought
from the Chinese fruit vendor
downstairs, sitting in her seat and
amiably trying not to doze off as
she underlines the spidery char-
acters in the Chinese newspaper
with a red grease pen.
This is the woman who held
me when I was young, who saved
the drawings I drew for her when
I was three years old and who
ARTS IN BRIEF
still periodically shows them to
me, face beaming proudly, as if
I were still in toddler's clothes
and had just presented her with
my scribbled artifact. This is the
woman who insisted on walking
me to the subway station some
days that summer, who would
stand on the subway platform,
watching me slowly depart
toward Union Square to my job
at Publishers Weekly. She would
diligently wave until I was just
the leftover presence of a steel
car filled with business people
waiting to arrive at their desti-
nations. She didn't walk me to
the subway out of obligation or
worry - I knew my way to work
and consider myself street-savvy
- she walked me there because I
mattered to her.
It's bothersome to realize
that words don't work. I usually
won't know how to express my
affection for her until my lungs
become tight and full with so
many unspoken words. So instead,
I'll suddenly decide to start doing
the dishes, or I'll clear off the
tiny dinner table of dirty plates
and cups and wipe it down with
a cloth rag, or I'll offer to take
out the trash and bring it down-
stairs to the garbage bins. Seeing
all this, my grandmother will
respond with all the ferocity that
her four-foot, eleven-inch frame
will allow, saying in terse broken
English that I should sit down and
please stop washing the dishes; go
and eat something, there are buns.
in the fridge.
I know that I'll be told not to
do whatever cleaning I'm doing.
But to me, the act of trying (some-
times fighting) to be helpful is
meaningful, especially to my
grandmother, even when I know
that it will inevitably end with
me eating a bun or two. Events
like this will conclude in my
grandmother's scariness petering
off, and, rubber gloves donned,
scrubbing away at the tea rings
in her gigantic blue mugs, she'll
say to my mother that I'm a "gwai
neuri," or a good girl. This is the
highest term of endearment Ican
receive from my grandmother,
and when I hear it (often through
my mother), affection for this
tiny woman bursts in me again,
and then I might go around car-
rying her shopping basket up two
flights of stairs to the apartment,
or insisting on carrying all of the
groceries back from the market
on Mulberry Street, or bringing
her some egg tarts from the bak-
ery when I'm walking home from
work.
There isso much that can be
expressed silently through the
mere act of doing, of making
meaning through the actions we
create. Sometimes when I'm in
my grandmother's kitchen and
I'm contentedly reading a book,
she'll approach me, tell meI need
Dissecting the
limited capacity~
of language one
word at a time.
to stop slouching and direct me to
a chair with a comfortable back-
ing. Then she'll go out of her way
to retrieve a small, red, paint-
chipped incandescent lamp and
place it in front of me, insisting I
use it so that my eyes don't go bad.
Next, she'll go to the refrigerator,
retrieve a large box and ask me if
I would like some taro root buns
and then she will start a kettle
boiling so that she can make me a
quart-jar-sized mug full of peach
ginger tea with honey.
The words "I love you," will
only go so far, you see.
Pow really, really misses her
grandmother's eggplant. E-mail
her at poww@umichedu.
HBO's Maher leads
da. Maher's the admitted "I don't
know" kinda guy on a journey for
quest for religious discovery.
So what kinds of religions are
answers about on the chopping block? Just about
all of them. Christianity, Judaism,
worlds religions Islam, Mormonism and even the
Church of Cannabis get prodded
By BLAKE GOBLE in this one-man quandary. All of
Daily Film Editor them are preposterous in the eyes
of Maher. Normally, it might seem
It seems appropriate to discuss selfish for one guy to go against all
peoples' thoughts on personal faiths from the get-go. Who the
religion and the hell is he to say what we should
touchy nature believe in
of Bill Maher's But Maher jokes in equal-op-
film "Religu- portunity offense. He acknowl-
lous." All critics ReligloUS edges religion's uses and
seems to have. At the Michigan manipulations by man, which
bragged about Theater and is ostensibly selfish in itself. He
their own faith Quality16 absolves himself in acknowl-
and whether or l edging and mocking this idea
not they agree from the start. Self-reflexivity's
with the film's a blessing here, as Maher never
ideology. Those are not reviews. forgets to distinguish himself
With "Religulous," we should try from the prophets and speakers
to deal in logic, style, argumenta- of Gods. He's smug and sarcastic,
tive decisions and whether or not but that's because he's genuinely
the movie was any good. But it's interested and has questions.
hard to not react when an orator From a cinematic perspective,
ends his movie by demanding that this is brilliant provocation, and
we "stop all religions." his arguments never lack clarity
Ultimately, the film is a fasci- or rationality.
nating, funny and ballsy docu- When Maher interviews
mentary about the absurdity of church-goers, he asks earnest
organized religion. Moderated by questions, like, "Why should we
talk-show host and comedian Bill trust the New Testament when
Maher (TV's "Real Time with Bill it was obviously written by the
Maher"), "Religulous" is a sincere powers that be, suiting their own
deconstruction with a brave agen- needs?" and "Can we believe in
events occurring such as talk-
ing snakes and virgin births?" It
sounds like a fairy tale, and you
can either leave the conversation,
disgusted with such hogwash,
or you could claim that you've
seen miracles - unexplained and
unsubstantiated.
This is not to say that Maher is
infallible. In his quest to dissect
religions, he fails to acknowledge
any and all positive input such as
morals and kindness, but that's
not the point Maher's trying to
make; he's a necessary evil. For-
tunately, he's a laughable one, too.
The hypocrisy and antagonism
of these organized religions is
mocked with each segment. Dino-
saurs lived among people? The
Holocaust had to happen? There's
absolute good and evil?
Add some lightning quick,
uber-clever intercutting, and
Maher hits his point on the idiocy
of some practices and beliefs. It's
OK to laugh here. When an inter-
view with a "reformed homosex-
ual" is spliced with gay porn, it's
laughable because it's silly. When
discussion on politics and faith
are met with violent footage, it's
laughable because we use these
organizations as an excuse for
malevolence.
Barring personal belief, this
film is absolutely right in its argu-
ments, and they're hard to refute.
"Religulous" is a powder keg of a
film that people need to see.
i
Tuesdays
Are South Of The Border
Corna/Du BqUip Specias13 AU Night
254 Off All Mexican Fare NO COVER
1310 MyAwmd , ~$-71 .010 l#01 4d ad is tAiMd 1i"dS w
a
Maggie,' wide awake
ByJACK PORTER harmonies and backed by acous-
For theDaily tic guitars. Speeding up, the song
travels into an auditory idyll, warm
Indie iconoclasts Deerhoof chords animating the imagery of
made waves last year with the a peaceful forest. Aesthetically,
equally poppy and experimental "Family of Others" is a fish out of
Friend Opportunity. Employing a water on this album and emerges
heightened pop sensibility and a as its centerpiece. It's a joy to hear
newfound disci- r this folksy and subdued side of the
pline, the band band.
crafted the album The album closer "Jagged Fruit"
thatbecame argu- Derhoof is another beast altogether, delving
ably their career into the troubled subconscious of
zenith. But rather Offend Maggie Offend Maggie. It offers a glimpse
than delivering Kill Rock Stars of a truly haunted Deerhoof. The
another opus, chord progression drips with
Deerhoof decided anguish, and frontwoman Satomi
to scale things back on their lat- Matsuzaki's vocal performance
est release. Offend Maggie is less sounds wounded and afraid. Sud-
accessible, expansive and ambi- denly, thunderous vultures of gui-
tious than its predecessor, and the tar distortion terrorize the somber
album misses the knockout dyna- verse. The band flirts with black
mi'sm of Friend, often feeling like metal here. Meanwhile, the drums
a collection of b-sides and singles. rejoin with complex bass and snare
The good news is that the disc is fills. Ending on the jagged edge of
still full of exuberance, emotion a note, the album is brought to a
and eclecticism. screechinghalt. Deerhoof'sbodyof
"Chandelier Searchlight" strikes work is famously enigmatic, mar-
a nice compromise between the rying avant-garde tendencies with
diverse moods on Offend Maggie. a sense of childish innocence and
While the verses have the rollick-
ing jazz cadence and patchwork
feel of Tago Mago-era Can, the cho-
rus's delicate and lilting melody is
closer to Simon and Garfunkel (or it
could just be the reprise of "lie, lie,
lie, lie, lie"). Throughout the song,
the shrill guitar takes turns with
harmony, counterpoint and melod-
ic answers to the vocals. In spite
of these accessible elements, the
slippery song structure splits the
bridge into at least three separate
parts, making for a series of con-
founding but pleasing left turns.
"Family of Others" is an oddity
as far as Deerhoof goes: It's an ach-
ingly beautiful pop piece propelled
by Pet Sounds-inspired male vocal
discovery. This ending leaves us
with more questions than answers
to that riddle.
Inaway, OffendMaggiehasitall:
rockers like "The Tears of Music
and Love" and "My Purple Post"; a
loopy childlike rant in "Basket Ball
Get Your Groove Back"; and more
somber and complex pieces like
Less accessible
than before, but
worth the effort.
"Numina O." Compared to earlier
works, the biggest changes seemto
be a greater focus on guitar pres-
ence and an earnest descent into
darker emotional realms. Offend
Maggie is another incredibly solid
entry in the Deerhoof catalogue,
and reveals new thematic and
musical territory for the band to
explore.
Film
Disney sent into
the doghouse
*""
"Beverly Hills Chihuahua"
At Quality16 and Showcase
Walt Disney Pictures
"Beverly Hills Chihuahua" is
Walt Disney's version of "The Sim-
ple Life." Instead of Paris Hilton,
the movie places an equally filthy
animal - a Chihuahua named
Chloe - as the star. Chloe, voiced
by Drew Barrymore ("50 First
Dates"), is a spoiled, pampered
pup that lives the doggy-dream
life in posh Beverly Hills. Through
some outrageous mishaps, Chloe
is separated from her caretaker
and caught in Mexico City's dog-
fightingscandal.
You'd think that with such a
"creative" and "thought-provok-
ing" premise the movie would tar-
get precocious children and highly
intelligent individuals. Further-
more, it could highlight the atroci-
ties of underground dog fighting
while providing a fresh look at
Mexico's rich culture.
Wrong. Disney is known for
crafting engaging plots that appeal
to both children and adults while
teaching some basic, human life
lessons, but this film doesn't fit in
with the studio's old classics. "Bev-
erly Hills Chihuahua" is not only a
very boring movie, but it also con-
tains none of the charm so closely
associated with many now-classic
Disney movies, such as "The Lion
King." Additionally, the movie will
probably do a poor job of holding
the attention spans of children,
with few action scenes and many
lengthy moments of dialogue.
Despite Disney's many success-
es, it inevitably releases a movie
every once in a while that is an
utter flop. "Beverly Hills Chihua-
hua" is one of those. This puppy
needs to be put down.
HANS YADAV
4