The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - 7D
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, Seotember 8, 2009 - 7D
Hipster label shouldn't stick
OCTOBER 12TH, 2008 -
The need to slap a label on
every single person is getting out
of hand. The other night, while
telling a bad joke involving baked
goods and a great deal of profan-
ity, I was accused of being a hipster.
The punch line was a tough one to
follow unless you strongly grasp
irony, and while several people in
my group of acquaintances gave a
chuckle, one girl turned her nose
up at me. Her voice dripping with
sarcasm, she growled, "Wow,
you're so ironic. You trendy little
hipster you."
Color me confused, because I'm
about as non-hip as a person can
get. I mean, for God's sake, I have
a collection of plastic dinosaurs
in my bedroom. Since when does
that make a person hip? And since
when have hipsters been able to
corner the market on concepts like
irony? So either I'm a hipster with-
out knowing it, or people have an
obsession with tacking on labels
that don't exactly fit.
For those of you who are living
on the moon rather than campus,
people tend to give the bare-bones
definition of hipster as someone
with a hoity-toity taste in indepen-
dent music. These are the cats who
can explain the difference between
the "electrosonic" and "shoe-
gaze" genres, plus list 99 reasons
why your favorite band sucks. But
increasingly, "hipster" indicates
an entire lifestyle. It's claimed that
they dress a certain way (thrifty),
live a certain way (vegan) and even
think a certain way (dog-eared
copy of "Catcher in the Rye"). This,
coupled with hipsters' reputed
sense of entitlement, means that
everyone else is supposed to revile
them. God knows you don't want
to be called a hipster, you stuck-up
jerk.
Just go and asksomeone who, for
all intents and purposes, is a text-
book example of a hipster. You're
likely to get similar answers: "God
no, I'm not one of those." "Maybe
I like this band, but I'm not like
them." "I think I'd kill myself if
people thought'of me like that." So
should we believe them or the peo-
ple who are branding them? Are
these hipsters some sort of snobby
hive mind, or are they individuals
expressing their beliefs and inter-
ests?
The answer is clear - like all
labels, hipster just doesn't fit.
I would like to think that group-
ing people into convenient stereo-
types had gone out of style in high
school,butapparentlythat's notthe
case. I can't even count how often I
hear people sneering about frater-
nity brothers and sorority sisters,
as if the simple act of wearing a
polo shirt somehow automatically
lowers one's IQ by about 20 points.
But some of the smartest and hard-
est-working people I know are
involved in Greek life. The truth of
the matter is that there is almost a
compulsion to stereotype.
We want to feel special. Other-
wise, we wouldn't waste so much
time categorizing everyone else.
In high school, there's a myriad of
social groups that we construct for
ourselves: the jocks and the nerds,
the preps and the punks. Certainly
some types of people tend to stick
together, but how many do that
based on label rather than person-
ality?
And while we tend to put oth-
ers in groups and sneer derisively
at them, we categorize ourselves.
Because let's face it, it's much more
time-efficient to look at a person's
clothes and friends and smack
them with a label. It's also an easy
way to feel inherently superior to
someone.
But I think the obsession with
belonging to - or distancing your-
self from - a particular group can
have detrimental effects on what
you get out of life. Consider the
movie "Juno." When I discussed it
with people who knew about so-
called hipster culture they sneered.
"God, it was trying too hard to be
quirky. It's a trashy hipster movie."
But those who were unfamil-
iar with hipster counter-culture
thought it was cute, and took the
quirky humor at face value.
I'm not saying you're shallow if
you didn't enjoy "Juno." I'm saying
that some people get carried away
with assuming everyone belongs
to a particular group. So don't
judge just because someone has
horn-rimmed glasses or an ironic
T-shirt. It's starting to feel like a
war zone out here; labels are fly-
ing in all directions, and I'm afraid
they'll start to stick.
Eileen Stahl is an LSA junior.
FILM FESTIVAL
From Page 2D
feminist ideals and an "Out Night"
program that centers on LGBT
issues.
"With animation you see a lot of
films that deal with very graphic -
whether it's graphically funny or
graphically violent- subject matter
in really creative techniques," Har-
rison said. He cautioned that many
of the films in the animation cat-
egory will be very intense and that
the program is not for everybody.
Almost all screenings will be
held at the Michigan Theater,
except for a midnight movie ("The
Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle," fea-
turing the Sex Pistols) showing at
the State Theater. There will be a
LUPE FIASCO
From Page 2D
"I'm Jewish," Mirtenbaum
said.
"How much money we talk-
ing?" Fiasco replied.
There were a few seconds of
awkward laughter.
"I think he was making jokes
the entire time so I didn't take it
offensively," she said.
handful of lectures attheWorkGal-
lery and a music video showcase at
the newly renovated UMMA Stern
Auditorium. The festival's organiz-
ers also intend to expand the scope
of the festival far beyond past years:
Visitors can seek out an "alternative
walking tour" of Ann Arbor and an
international film tour featuring
selections from the festival, which
is scheduled to hit the road in June.
Harrison pointed out how these
efforts fit into the theme of geogra-
phy and travel.
"We're going to do more to make
it so there's not things just happen-
ing at the Michigan Theater," Har-
rison said, adding that he's hoping
local businesses will get into the
action as well. "You're going to see
more things happening throughout
town."
Jennifer Yin, a senior in
the Business School and a col-
lege representative for Fias-
co's record label, arranged the
event.
"He's real, he's not going to
hide anything in. He's not going
to pretend like he's not going to
offend anyone," she said. "I think
he handled the questions very
well. I think he's very respectful.
That's who he is - that's the type
of person he is."
FILM INDUSTRY
From Page 3D
After "Youth in Revolt" left the
city, others followed. Part of Drew
Barrymore's roller derby film
"Whip It!" was filmed in Ypsilanti
in late August. The cast members
made Ann Arbor club Necto their
late-night destination one Friday.
Necto owner Scot Greig said the
visit from Barrymore and about 20
other people was unexpected, and
though he gave the group the club's
VIP room, they preferred to walk
around the club and mingle with
the crowd.
In mid-November, when an
existing metro Detroit location fell
through for the raunchy Rob Sch-
neider comedy "Virgin on Bourbon
Street," the crew used Ingalls Mall
on short notice.
The arrival of the "Betty Anne
Waters" cast and crew marks the
first long-term, major project to be
filmed in the city - and the first
time residents and businesses in
Ann Arbor can truly evaluate the
extended effects of the tax incen-
tive program.
The movie, based off a true story,
follows a woman's attempts to
prove the innocence of her brother,
who was convicted of a murder he
didn't commit. She puts herself
through law school and exhausts
his appeals in hopes of proving him
innocent.
"Betty Anne Waters" will be set
in Massachusetts, and producer
Andrew Sugerman said he consid-
ered filming in both Massachusetts
and Rhode Island before deciding
on Ann Arbor. Though the primary
reason for shooting in Michigan
was the financial incentive, Suger-
man said he specifically found Ann
Arbor attractive because the archi-
tecture in the city was similar to
New England's.
When filming starts in February,
only about 20 percent of the film
will be shot on campus, he said,
with much of the movie set in a
private home. He declined to name
specific University or off-campus
shooting locations.
"We're not seeing that much
exterior scenes and streets," Suger-
man said. "A large portion is in inte-
riors. And the days we are shooting
exteriors, it will be cold, so I don't
think it will be that much fun to
watch for long hours."
Sugerman said about 60 percent
of the "Betty Anne Waters" crew
will be brought in from out of state,
especially for technical positions.
The movie plans to hire local extras
and possibly actors for some of the
film's smaller roles.
FILM STUDENTS SHUN
L.A. AND STAY
The biggest piece of the Ann
Arbor economy isn't local business-
es - it's the University. And with
the incentive, some students are
finding opportunitiesto become a
part of the state's fledgling movie
industry.
Burnstein, who also heads the
screenwriting program at the Uni-
versity, said this is the first year
that a significant number of Michi-
gan film students are staying in
the state after graduation instead
of immediately leaving for Los
Angeles to find work.
One recent graduate landed
his first out-of-college job when
Burnstein referred him to "Youth
in Revolt" director MiguelArteta,
who was looking to hirea student
as his assistant while he and Cera
made changes to the script.
"After a few days, (the student)
says to Miguel, 'Is it okay if I say
something? I sort of got an idea,'
" Burnstein said. "So he tells him,
and it's great. It's in the script.
This kid who's three days out of
school has now played a vital role
in the end of the production."
For other students in the Uni-
versity's Screen Arts and Cul-
tures program, the rebate money
has allowed them a larger budget
to make independent films. This
summer, LSA senior Eddie Rubin
and University alum Debashis
Mazumder co-produced the film
"Art House," about a co-op of art
students who risk getting evicted
if they don't prove they can be pro-
ductive artists.
"Art House" was shot entirely
in Ann Arbor, mainly at Black Elk
Co-Op House near the corner of
Washtenaw Avenue and Hill Street
and at Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity
on Oxford Street.
Although the majority of the
actors and crew came from in state,
the film hired the lead actors, pro-
duction designer and sound crew
from outside of Michigan. Rubin
said that if not for the tax incen-
tive, the film wouldn't have had
the money to approach talent like
Iggy Pop (from Iggy Pop and the
Stooges) or Tim Brennen ("Han-
cock"), who both had sizable roles
in the film.
AFarmingtonHillsnative,Rubin
said he plans to stay in Michigan
after graduation to continue his
film work. Having founded the pro-
duction company Deep Blue Pic-
tures with University alum Danny
Mooney in 2007, Rubin said he has
recently been talking with several
out-of-state producers, directors
and investors to fund scripts and
get films into production.
"We're trying to really bring
people back," Rubin said. "A lot of
our friends who have moved up to
L.A. and New York are continually
coming back to Michigan for work
and auditions, and we're trying to
set ourselves up as one of the pre-
mier production companies here in
Michigan."
BUILDING THE
FLEDGLING INDUSTRY
While the immediate results
of the initiative are encouraging,
Michigan has some work to do to
reap the maximum benefits.
The state's inexperienced work-
force and lack of permanent infra-
structure present problems to
filmmakers looking to shoot here.
Without sound stages and studios
in the state, post-production must
happen elsewhere after a film
wraps up shooting in Michigan. A
lack of studios also makes it diffi-
cult to shoot in the winter, prevent-
ing the industry from providing a
year-round source of revenue.
Other states with successful tax
credit programs have followed up
by developing infrastructure -
Louisiana now has six soundstages
and studios in its three largest cit-
ies. Michigan started to take that
nextstep in early January, whenthe
Michigan Film Office announced
plans to build three production stu-
dios in the state.
"The Steam Experiment" pro-
ducer Martinez said the program's
success in Michigan can only be
evaluated after a minimum of five
to 10 years, after investment oppor-
tunities start to take shape and the
reputation of the state as a good
filming location flourishes among
filmmakers.
"If it's not a permanent program,
that would be a waste," Martinez
said. "Those tax incentives make
sense only if there is a long-term
plan."
Both Martinez and "Youth in
Revolt" producer Permut noticed
on their sets that crewmembers
hired in state hadn't quite learned
the ropes of the industry yet.ww
"If you go to Louisiana today and
you want to hire someone for a job,
you have the choice of 10to 12 peo-
ple that apply for that specific job,
and they are very, very qualified,"
Martinez said. "In Michigan, you
have a couple. So that means that
what we had to do on this film was
train alot of people."
Both the tax credit percentage
and the amount of funding required
to launch a new industry are high,
but Burnstein estimated that for
everyrebate-eligible dollarspenton
production, three more are spent in
the local economy - meaning small
businesses stand the most to gain
from the tax credit program.
And it can't be ignored that
one of the industry's main advan-
tages is its glamour - especially
in Michigan, where a little star-
studded stimulus could go a long
way in counterbalancing the dis-
mal economic news preoccupying
residents.
"People can read the front page
stories and see Hollywood is tak-
ing notice of Michigan, and then
they go to the movies and see it
up there on the screen," Burnstein
said. "You don't think people take
pride in that? 'Hey, that was my
neighborhood.... That is my friend's
house they shot at.' That's worth
something, and to not figure that
into the equation would be a huge
mistake."
COME SING WITH US!
MASS MEETING September 10th, 7pm
September I1th, 3-7pm
REHEARSAL TIMES Thursday & Sunday 7-9pm
CONTACT umwgc-exec@umich.edu
nr vkif www-tjmirh eduI/-wac
Ann Arbor Civic Theatre
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