8 -Tuesday, October 28, 2008
.y 2The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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e
For one couple,
life with wolves
is a reality
beyond TV
By JAMIE BLOCK
are the most engaging moments
We wanted to fight the law, but we never had the chance.
Anin
"Living
all the
nature
hauntit
tures.I
follows
ish wo
Shaun
his g
assista
Jeffs.
workin
Combe
Wildlif
Ellis
heartec
to actu
show d
to integ
she can
species
insight
It's h
out byt
the wol
meat v
with t
Daily Arts Writer of the show. Unfortunately, these
moments are extremely rare.
mal Planet's latest venture, The show's name gives away
g with the Wolfman," saps its principle flaw. For a show on
excitement out of one of Animal Planet, "Living with the
s most Wolfman" spends way too much
ng crea- . time focusing on Ellis and Jeffs. If
The series . you're watching a channelwith the
Brit- lvig word "animal" in its name, that's
If expert probably what you're tuned in
Ellis and Wihthe for. But what you get here is some
irlfriend/ Wolfman disturbingly public flirtation and
nt Helen repetitious confessionals, maybe
While Tuesdays with a few sprinkles of actual wolf
g at the at10 p.m. footage.
Martin Animal Planet The show follows a basic struc-
e Park, ture: Ellis says something to the
whole- camera, Jeffs says the exact same
dly seized the opportunity thing to the camera, then a com-
ally join -a wolf pack. The mercial airs and then a recap of
ocuments his recent efforts what Ellis and Jeffs both just said.
grate Helen into the pack so In this way, the show stretches
betterunderstand the wolf roughly five minutes of actual
andhelp Shauntogainnew events into a half-hour program.
s into female wolf culture. Additionally, the faux-unscripted
ard not to be a little creeped style can be painful to watch. Ellis
the closeness Ellis has with and Jeffs try to act naturally, as if
ves. He licks them, eats raw the camera wasn't there, but con-
cith them and even fights stantly add awkward and unneces-
hem for dominance. Jeffs sary explanations. For example, in
the second episode, the two decide
to try out a human pregnancy test
on a female wolf. Every time Ellis
egurgitating or Jeffs use the words "pregnancy
food g is just test," the end of the sentence will
N food is just inevitably be, "but it might not
work, because she's a wolf." The
he norm in whole dialogue feels like an unre-
hearsed middle school drama
wolfland. performance, and sure enough,
human pregnancytests don't work
on wolves. Shocking.
When Jeffs is first introduced
kes some pretty big steps to to the wolf pack, it's a little excit-
ff her abilities as a female ing to see whether or not she'll be
including "regurgitating" accepted.
uckily, she doesn't actually On the other hand, would the
but just puts the food in her show really be airing if the entire
chews it, then immediately experiment failed in the first epi-
out. While this all feels a sode? The physical interactions
weird to be real, it seems with the wolves manage to bring
worked. Ellis's knowledge some drama to an otherwise
f culture is apparent and tediousshow,butintheend,there's
sive, and his explanations just too much focus put on the man
workings of wolf society and not enough on the wolf.
THE CLASH
SWINGS FOR
THE FENCES
RE
rax
t]
Twenty years later,
The Clash releases
live album of storied
concert in NYC
By DAVID WATNICK
Daily MusicEditor
During its heyday, The Clash
fancied itself as a living legend of
sorts. More often than not, it lived
up to its mythical
status, and when *
fans labeled it
"The Only Band T
That Matters," The Clash
those fans meant Live at Shea
it. So for the Stadium
Clash, which at Epic
its best was the
rightful heir to
The Beatles's rock'n'roll throne,
releasing a live album recorded
at Shea Stadium (also the site of
famous 1966 Beatles show) is a valid
self-celebrating action.
The irony of the Shea show is
that it doesn't really communicate
The Clash's revered live heroics.
Far from virtuosos, the members of
The Clash always got more mileage
out of their energy and passionthan
their musical chops. The spacious
confines of Shea, however, deflated
much of The Clash's trademark
intensity. By this 1982 date opening,
for The Who, The Clash was no lon-
ger the lean machine that threat-
ened to bring down concert hall
roofs a mere three years earlier.
And the recent departure of ever-
present drummer Topper Headon
wasn't helping much. Yet they were
still too damn great to suck.
The dueling guitar riffs of Joe
Strummer and Mick Jones that
jumpstart opener "London Calling"
spit venom, and the rest of the run-
through is relentlessly note-per-
fect. But there's a hint of fatigue in
Strummer's fiery cries and a perva-
sive emptiness that must mirror the
acoustic oblivion of a baseball sta-
dium. Later, both "Should I Stay Or
Should I Go" and "Career Oppor-
tunities" are superficially lights-
out, but they, too, are a few degrees
from Clash-exclusive ferocity.
Live at Shea Stadium first hits
its stride with Paul Simonon's "The
Guns of Brixton," which relies
more on understated, brooding
political passion than adrenaline
feats. And that's when Shea really
works: when The Clash doesn't
have to go balls-to-the wall. Even if
the performances are rather calcu-
lated, "Spanish Bombs" and "Train
in Vain" are highlights of the set
simply for their classic melodies.
"Bombs" is also the beneficiary of
splintering Mick Jones guitar fills
that were rarely let loose in the stu-
dio.'
The biggest surprise - and the
most redeeming moment - of
Shea is a particularly hot serving
of "The Magnificent Seven." While
the bass-carried disco version that
kicked off Sandinista! was truly
impotent, the guitar-heavy live
rendition explodes with vigor.
The caustic, lightning riffing
is essentially proto-Rage
Against the Machine. Frus-
tratingly, "Seven" is split
in half by "Armagideon
Time," an embarrassing
example of The Clash
going reggae.
"Rock the Cas-
bah," which would
soon become the
only U.S. top-10 hit
for the band, is an
utter failure. Lack-
ing its signature jumpy
keyboard rhythm, the Shea version
is something of an overworked,
afterthought hard-rockimess.
EvenifLive atSheaStadiumcan't
do justice to The Clash's on-stage
fire-breathing, the seminal songs
themselves keep 'the whole set
afloat. Besides, the best live magic
is nearly impossible to capture on
tape. And if the Shea Stadium per-
formance is only average at best
for The Clash, it would be a career
high-water-mark for most other
bands. When The Who took the
Shea stage later that evening, they
must've feared the show was
already stolen.
0
also tal
show o
wolf,
food. i
vomit, 1
mouth,
spits it
bit too
to have
of wolf
impres:
of the
Mother-daughter duo sweeps the sales rack,
but fails to impress in new NBC comedy
By TRINA MANNINO mom so much that she leaves her
DailyArts Writer husband because she "has to do
stuff," like microwave dinner while
In the '80s, women couldn't get Kath breaks up with her boyfriend
enough ofspan- because Kim supposedly needs
dex workout * her. The dysfunctional depen-
clothes, leop- dence creates uncomfortable yet
ard prints and "Kath & Kim" funny situations, setting the show
midriff t-shirts. Thursdays at apart from TV's other mother-
But if a girl daughter duos. Think "Gilmore
today wore any 8:30 p.m. Girls" meets Dolly Parton's closet.
of that, she'd NBC Despite its offbeat premise, the
most likely show disappoints in some parts.
receive bewildered looks and end The chemistry between Shannon
up on TLC's "What Not to Wear." and Blair feels overly contrived.
The female characters of, NBC's Blair tries to act like a spoiled and
"Kath & Kim" aren't just clueless immature 20-something, but
when it comes to current fashion instead, her whiny voice
trends - they're generally clueless just sounds like nails
in life, too. on a chalkboard.
"Kath & Kim" - based on an The only thing
Australian comedy of the same gratifyingabout
name - follows the lives of a self- Blair's perfor-
absorbed divorcee and her equally mance is her
recent weight
gain for the role.
In addition to Blair's
A cutesy premise weak performance, many
of the jokes aren't even funny,
doesn't always except when Shannon occasion-
ally succeeds. (Her meltdown in a
bring out the best suburban mall after her sandwich-
n H ' v maker boyfriend finds out she ate
m. "another man's sandwich" is just
plain hilarious.)
Shannon's performance is simi-
lar to her previous quirky roles in
narcissistic, newly married daugh- movies like "Superstar" and "Tal-
ter. The pair isn't your typical ladega Nights." She's become an
mother and daughter duo who like expert in convincingly portray-
to shop and have lunch together. ing an overbearing mother with
Kath (Molly Shannon, "Saturday bad taste in men. However, even
Night Live") and Kim (Selma Blair, with Shannon's veteran status, the
"Hellboy II") live to shop at the show doesn't muster up the laughs
mall, but are a little out of touch to hold its own while being sand-
with what's actually considered wiched between "My Name isEarl"
"in" these days. Despite their fash- and "The Office." "Kath & Kim"
ion faux pas, they wear their tacky has to quickly redeem itself before
outfits proudly. it's dropped from NBC's lineup. Its
Some women may call their peculiar female characters deserve
mom or daughter their best friend, praise when many female char-
but Kath and Kim take that idea a acters on TV are generic and
step further. Kim depends on her stereotypical. Unfortunately,
Blair's lackluster performance, Selma Blair show off her new muf-
along with mediocre writing, stops fin top while stuffing herself with
the show from receiving the suc- a corn dog.
cess it deserves.
If noth-
ing else, w
the show
is worthf
watch-
ing
to see
EROTIC
From page 5
studying these pornographic texts
in' the context of homosexuality.
He will be presenting his lecture,
"Libertine Masculinity: Homo-
sexuality and Homosociality in
Late Imperial Pornographic Fic-
tion," tomorrow at noon in Room
1636 of the School of Social Work
Building.
Male-male erotic scenes appear
throughout Chinese fiction,
including in "The Plum in the
Golden Vase" as well as the equal-
ly acclaimed Cao Xueqin novel
"Red Chamber Dream." Other
stories with homosexual relations
include Li Yu romantic tales, such
as "Silent Operas" and "Tower for
the Summer Heat."
But homoerotic texts didn't
begin with the birth of the novel.
homoerotica in China dates back to
the 6th century B.C.E. Justlike the
ancient Greeks, Chinese emperors
traditionally had male "favorites"
along with the usual concubines.
These favorites tended to be ephe-
bic, androgynous-looking youths,
preferably about 16, who would
assume the supliant, receptive role
in relations.
Homosexual relations contin-
ued openly outside of palace walls
as well, thanks to the theatre. As
in Shakespearean England, only
males were allowed to acton stage,
and those who played female roles
often dabbled in prostitution.
Thus, when patrons came to sup-'
port the arts, they also had the
option of supporting the actors.
Such exchanges defied all stan-
dards of class - performers work-
ing anywhere from back-alley
housestothe Peking Operahabitu-
ally provided sexual services, with
cliental rangingfromfishsellers to
high officials.
Yet this sexual freedom became
much more restrained in the 17th
century, at least on paper. In 1734,
the first law prohibiting consensu-
al sodomy in China was instated.
During the same period, edicts
banning erotic fiction' began to
appear as well, which threatened
to persecute the writing or distri-
bution of pornographic literature,
which was previously a highly
respected and widely read genre.
According to Vitiello, however,
judicial events don't accurately
reflect the cultural climate.
"We cannot look at the laws.
The laws do not tell the whole
story," Vitiello warned.
Despite the new doctrine,
homosexuality continued to flour-
ish in China. No recorded cases of
sodomy being punished have ever
been found, except when juxta-
posed with more serious acts such
ashomicide or rape -whichmeans
the law was rarely enforced, if ever.
Vitiello fortified this argument by
pointing out that until 2003, many
states in the United States had
anti-sodomy laws in their consti-
tutions. This doesn't necessarily
mean Americans are less tolerant
of homosexuality than countries
that abolished such laws earlier,
such as modern-day China. Nor
does it means Americans are more
intolerant than countries that
have never had legal homophobic
doctrine, such as North Korea.
That's why Vitiello focuses his
research on the literature writ-
ten, which often contradicts poli-
tics. He also puts homosexual
attitudes in China in perspec-
tive to the Western world at the
time. Homosexual novels may
have been banned in China, but in
Europe the Catholic Church was
burning sodomites alive.
"China has traditionally been a
bisexual culture, as far as men are
concerned," Vitiello said.
China's antique
erotica would
likely shock,
even today.
A lot of Chinese erotic fiction
has been destroyed or has dis-
appeared from record, but a lot
remains. These samples provide
insight into mainstream homosex-
ual attitudes, as well as the format
of such sexual relations, which
isn't always the unexpected pizza
delivery or late night plumber.
"Most are repetitive," admit-
ted Vitiello. "You know, porn is
porn. But some of these stories
are absolutely extraordinary."
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