The Michigan Daily - michigandailv~com Monday, February 2, 2009 - 5A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, February 2, 2009 - 5A Spray-painting on the campaign trail "Step one: Conquer Cuba. Step two: Conquer the T-shirt of every rebellious American 7th-grader." A muddled Soderbergh's mammoth biopic lacks the focus to reveal the nuances of its legendary subject By IMRAN SYED Daily Arts Writer Che Guevara is unquestionably one of the most polarizing figures in human history, continuing even today to inspire masses of both lovers *Ik and haters. The guerilla war- Gie rior at the heart of At the Michigan the Cuban Revolution, IFC Films Guevara remains the most enduring symbol of the radical left, seen as a selfless libera- tor by many and as a ruthless mercenary by just as many others. Director Steven Soderbergh's sprawling 257-minute trib- ute to the man is similarly enigmatic, with a lively first part to draw in audi- ences and a grueling second part to drive them away. Most viewers will see the two parts separately, but the "Special Roadshow Edition" playing at the Michigan The- ater through Friday is a chance to take in a truly unique experience. For an elevated ticket price ($12 for students), viewers can see both parts with a 20-minute intermission and also get a handy little collector's edition program. If the thought of over four hours of gue- rilla action is too daunting, the theater is permitting viewers to leave at inter- mission and return on a later day for the second part. Part one of the film is about the Cuban Revolution, with a young Guevara (Bene- cio del Toro, "Traffic") commanding guerillas for Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement. Interspersed among the gritty action sequences are cuts forward in time to Guevara speaking to American report- ers and to the United Nations on behalf of Castro's Cuba. What emerges is a rather complete image of a man convinced of his I epic cause and unrelenting in his methods. Fart two focuses on Guevara's subse- quent attempt to launch a leftist revolu- tion in Bolivia. Older and - in the cold mountain air - more prone to the asthma attacks that plagued him his whole life, Guevara is weaker, his efforts errant and unsuccessful. Del Toro, whose work earned him the Best Actor award at last year's Cannes Film Festival, drives both parts with an intensely focused, brooding performance. The film is appropriately dark and elusive, yet also unfocused and mud- dled. It embraces Guevara's immortal persona, one del Toro wears very well. But ultimately, there's no answer to the questions of "why this film?" and "why now?". Most directors who take on ambitious projects about timeless icons will have a deeply personal or socially timely reason for doing so. If Soderbergh feels such a connection to this work, he certainly hides it well. Just as he did with his abrasively naive approach to "The Good German" three - See CHE, Page 7A Ilike graffiti. It's not because of the allure of running around at ungodly hours and spraying art all over estab- lishments and alleyways, or the danger of being caught by "The Man" for the sake of artistic - creation. I like graffiti because it's art made by the people, seen by the people. You can't get N9NTEY better free visibility any- PW where else than on pub- lic property, because "public property," in some circles, also means "public visibility." While the passing of the Ann Arbor anti- graffiti ordinance might suggest an urge to repress graffiti art, I think we've begun to see more of a cultural acceptance of graffiti- type images in contemporary culture. Take the Barack Obama "HOPE" poster by Shepard Fairey, for example. Those bright patches of solid red and blue and thick, contrast-heavy lines are reminiscent of spray-painted graffiti art stencils and silk- screen prints, a la Andy Warhol's Marilyn (Monroe) prints. The iconic image of Obama was original- ly created by Fairey in an attempt to get the word out about the then-presidential can- didate. Fairey is also a graffiti artist and the person behind the Andr6 the Giant "OBEY" graffiti posters that had begun poppingup wheat-pasted to buildings in cities like New York and Chicago. Fairey mentioned in his interview with Stephen Colbert on "The Colbert Report" that, instead of resorting to illegal distribu- lion tactics forhis Obama image, he wanted to get the word out legitimately - he decid- ed to wait for the support of the Obama campaign administration. Once permission was granted, his "HOPE" became the unof- ficial image of the Obama campaign. This legitimizing of graffiti art is intrigu- ing because graffiti has classically been labeled as illegal and somewhat of a nui- sance to property owners. It's easy to get mired down in all the political and prop- erty-based arguments against graffiti, but it's equally importantto look at graffiti art's visibility and how Fairey's stencil graffiti- style "HOPE" became so widespread and iconic. I think it has a lot to do with two elements - the image's stylization and its extensive distribution. Fairey's Obama stencil image manages to find a middle ground between the pho- torealistic and the abstract. Certain details are made more prominent, like the detailed, contemplative eyes that look off the plane of the poster, and the mouth that's drawn in a way that not only makes the face more recognizable, but gives the image a more regal, self-assured look. And certain details are removed, like skin textures and hair textures that may serve to smooth over indi- vidualistic details, moving the image from the realm of "individual portrait" to that of "recognizable icon." We've seen this in Warhol's Marilyn. The lack of detail in the image, in conjunc- tion with its recognizable quality, makes the image pop out and become something visible over a longer distance. It's simi- lar, in a way, to logo branding. When you simplify a restaurant chain's name into two golden arches, you make an "M" that people equate with "loving it," Big Macs and fries. Similarly, when you boil down a person's image to its simplest parts, you create a symbol. Marilyn Monroe's image became a symbol for glamour and fame in the'60s. Obama's image is equated with "HOPE" or "CHANGE," as these are ideas his cam- paign tried to introduce into the mass con- sciousness. But don't forget the visibility of the image. The mass-produced quality of War- hol's Marilyn prints is important to the artwork as well. One of his pieces features ten silkscreen prints of Monroe's face set next to one another; each image is produced using different colors for the lips, eyes, skin and mouth. The repetition of the image, The Obama campaign left a lasting mark on the world of public art. and the use of the image of a famous figure, seem to recreate what happens when an image is placed everywhere for the public to see: It becomes immediately recognizable by large groups of people. Similarly, Obama's face has had incred- ible visibility as a symbol and logo. The red and blue"O"logo is more than just an "O;" it represents the beliefs and slogans -of the entire Obama campaign. The idea of mass-visibility has also changed a great deal since society placed more importance on the internet as an information highway. Fairey's poster was initially released online for the public to use and distribute, and it immediately went viral, spreading between users through e-mail, forums and online communities. It's interesting to see the spread of image visibility occurring primarily within a vir- tual space. The internet was the starting point that spawned stickers, T-shirt and See POW, Page 7A p '0.. @0e 0@ 0 Everything Begins with an IDEA ... And several U-M graduate students recently won $10,000 for their "winning ideas" related to environmental sustainability. It was all part of the Dow Sustainability Innovation Student Challenge managed by the Graham Institute. Hats off to these award-winning students who have proven that sustainability really does pay. BURRITO WHEN YOU BUY ONE BURRITO AT THE REGULAR PRICE. Just take a picture of the JAGTAG above with your AT&T or Verizon phone and send the picture to 524824 (iPhones send to iphone@jagtag.net). We'll send a very delicious Buy One Burrito Get One Free coupon right back to your phone that you can redeem at any Ann Arbor location (up to a $6.50 value). Bring your phone with you when you come in and show us your coupon when you check out. Yummm. Now by North Campus! Plymouth Road & Murfin Avenue 2252 South Main @ AA-Saline Road Washtenaw Avenue & Huron Parkway f MEXICAN GRILL www.graham.umich.edu Coupon expires 2$/69. Available only to AT&T and Verizon customers. Standard messaging rates apply. Void where prohibited, taxed or restricted. Consumers must pay any salesotax. Not responsible for misdirected, garbled, delayed, lost or late coupons. Certain other restrictions may apply. To view program Terms & Conditions, visit http://www.jagtag,com/support/TermsConditions.htm. 4