The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Monday, September 20, 2010 - 7A
"Jenks! You owe me a Coke."
A won derful 'World'
Andrew Jenks ferent people for one week each,
trying to gain perspective on how
documents a week in they live and the challenges they
face.
the life on MTV Jenks first finds a roommate in
rapper Maino ("All the Above").
By ALEX RUSS Maino has one request for Jenks
Daily Arts Writer before moving in with him: "No
cryin', no bitchin'." But while
Everyone has heard the phrase Maino unsurprisingly proves to
"you never know until you try it" be quite the clubbing aficionado,
at least once in their life. Someone Jenks is still able to uncover more
might assume about the artist's life than most
they can know of his fans would know. After
the everyday watching Lady Gaga show up at
hardships of a World of this year's VMAs wearing a dress
homeless per- made of meat (or more accurately,
son, for example, JenkS watching her any time she shows
but if they expe- Mondays at up anywhere), it's pretty easy to
rience life with- 10 p.m. assume most popular musicians
out a roof over are crazy and out of touch with
their head, those MTV the real world. Sure, Maino is liv-
harsh realities ing the life for a good part of the
can become all the more clear. episode, but we also catch a less-
This concept is what the new er-known side of him: Maino the
MTV series "World of Jenks" father who faced hardships to get
is trying to convey: You must where he is.
immerse yourself in something Maino spent 10 years of his life
to truly understand it. Though in jail for kidnapping, and when
we've seen this idea on TV before he finally opens up to Jenks, he
(see Morgan Spurlock's FX series means it sincerely when he says
"30 Days"), "Jenks" still carries "Sometimes you gotta go through
the possibility to show us a world hell to get to heaven." Maino went
most of us will never truly under- on to get his GED and began writ-
stand. The series follows young ing his music, all while in prison.
aspiring filmmaker Andrew Jenks These are the kinds of raw, inti-
("Room 335") as he travels around mate moments that give the show
the country and lives with dif- its power.
In planning the show, Jenks
made sure that his style of docu-
mentary wouldn't simply watch
someone's life from the sidelines.
He immerses himself in Maino's
life and does what he does for a
whole week, from picking his son
up at school to paying a visit to
Maino's old neighborhood. How-
ever, given that the show is deal-
ing with a whole week's worth of
footage, it's difficult to see how
the entire experience could be
displayed in 30 minutes of air-
time.
There's a lot more that could
be learned about the lives of
these people if the time was
lengthened. While the audience
does see and learn a lot in the
30-minute span, the limitations
of the runtime take away a lot of
possibilities for further delving
into the lives of Jenks's tempo-
rary roommates.
Jenks may only have seen a
glimmer of the spotlight for now,
but if he comes back to his audi-
ence every week with inspiring
stories like Maino's and presents
them in a similarly captivating
manner, it won't be long before he,
too, is thrust right into the spot-
light. Sure, we may have seen this
style of show before, but Jenks
has something special going on. It
will be truly exciting to see what
he does each week.
My past as a trailerjunkie
B ack in May, Geoff Boucher, the theater to watch "Knight and year-old mind, they simply sucked.
a blogger for the Los Ange- Day" in June, I shielded my eyes I've learned to be temperate in
les Times, posted an article from the "Inception" trailer that ran my excitement for upcoming films
about his visit to a local radio sta- before it. Whenever an "Inception" - meaning I talk little about them,
tion, where he TV spot popped up in the weeks study only the basics and very
spoke about leading up to the film's release, I rarely watch a trailer outside of the
upcoming sum- muted the TV and looked away. theater. Perhaps that leaves me out
mer blockbust- With the evolution of Internet of a few conversations, not to men-
ers and what video, movie trailers are more cre- tion far out of step with my fellow
movies to watch ative, imaginative and ubiquitous Screen Arts & Cultures majors, but
for. In his visit, than ever before. Trailers no longer every film feels new, and I allow
lie blurted out exist solely to run before theatri- each of them to screen unencum-
rather pre- ANKUR cal releases, as they did in the days bered by previous experience. It's
cipitously that SOHONI of "The Phantom Menace." These not objectivity, necessarily, but it
Christopher ---- days, you can view a trailer online allows film watching to be as in-
Nolan's "Incep- without ever stepping into the the- the-moment as possible.
tion," due to be released more than ater. There was no need to go catch In the case of "Inception," I
two months later, was "the only "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" to see worked extra hard to hide from the
movie that matters." the new "Harry Potter" trailer. A hype until July 16 and the film's
Boucher's declaration was a sign quick search on YouTube brings it release. And even as director Chris-
of the movie world's burgeoning to you in full HD. topher Nolan continues to build up
obsession with the film, provoked That said, Internet trailers aren't a reputation of creating films that
by its explosive trailer. Knowing full new. I was quietly binging on Apple. actually meet the hype, I'll still
well how huge the hype for "Incep- com's flourishing collection of trail- avoid the pitfalls of adolescent film
tion" would become, I became ers in the early-to-mid 2000s, dete- obsession with his upcoming work.
increasingly hesitant, yet increas- riorating into a little ADD movie It turns out, however, that
ingly tempted, to join the excite- freak and memorizingthe sounds Boucher was somewhat correct
ment. I was surprised that Boucher, and images of every single one. I in his original assertion. When I
someone who had undoubtedly seen think of movies from summer 2010,
countless blockbusters pass without "Inception" is the first and only
living up to their hype, would make .lfilm that really springs to mind. But
so speculative a statement about How trailers I can afford the effort to think a
something so uncertain. little harder. I saw numerous films
As important as film is to me, ruinedthe this summer, and more than one
and as vital as blockbuster movies m - f e has left a lasting impact. This was
are in sustaining Hollywood, it's mindeed the summer of "Inception."
difficult to be open to hype, given But it was also the summer of "Toy
how disappointing long-awaited Story 3," "Scott Pilgrim vs. the
films often are. It's a common prob- watched them over and over and World," "City Island" and "Cyrus."
lem, especially among those who over again. I ended up knowing the One may rise above the rest, but I
pin their hopes to a certain film, trailers better than the films. wouldn't love movies if I only loved
that the film's release crashes and Case in point: summer 2004. I them one at a time.
burns, leaving the hype and hope was more hyped up for that sum- "Inception" should not be the
crippled in its stead. mer than any other season before. only film from this summer that
The problem begins with trail- I was shooting up the trailers for matters to you. If that's the case,
ers, the movie geek's most tempting "Van Helsing," "Troy," "The Day perhaps you've been swayed by
and yet least-fulfilling drug. The After Tomorrow" and "Spider-Man movie trailers and have forgotten
cry of "we don't want to miss the 2" like there was no tomorrow. And to focus on the real thing. If you're
previews - that's the best part!" is when the films came around, they looking for more fulfilling trips to
well and alive these days - just not didn't even stand a chance. The the theater, maybe it's time to stop
quite like it used to be. trailers rocked; the films sucked. checking out trailers and just check
Trailers ruined movies for me, at Perhaps that was unfair, because out the films.
least for a few years. I went full film the films didn't objectively suck
geek and overdosed. And I promised (with the exception of "Van Hels- Sohoni doesn't eat appetizers for
not to go in that direction again. ing"); they just sucked relative to fear of overhyping his meals. Send him
That's why, when I sat down in their trailers. But in my then-14- some oysters at asohoni@umich.edu.
S1S
GET YOUR
SENIOR PORTRAIT
TAKEN
Monday 9/20 - Friday 9/24
in the Sophia B. Jones room
of the Michigan Union
Rosanne Cash brings
country to UMS lineup
By JOE CADAGIN
Daily Arts Writer
For the first time in its 132
years, the University Musical
Society will fea-
ture a country Amejican
music artist -
Rosanne Cash. Roots
The daughter Arneiican
of the immortal
Johnny Cash,
Rosanne Cash Tonight at
is far from your 7p.m.
typical guitar- Cobblestone
picking country Farms Barn
crooner. When
she emerged as
an artist in the Rosanne
late '70s and early Cash
'80s, Cash stirred
excitement with Saturday
a number of at 8 p.m.
chart-topping Hill Auditorium
hits, including Tickets from $10
"Seven Year
Ache." Her unique style, which is
heavily influenced by rock and pop,
attracts a wide fan base inside and
outside the realm of country music.
"(Her) lyrics weren't the same
old stories of love gone wrong
as in usual country music," said
WCBN radio host and long-time
country enthusiast Jim "DJ Tex"
Manheim. "They had fresh lit-
erary devices in them. She was
The sitting fee is just $10!
This price includes your portraitfeatured in
the 2011 Michignensian Yearbook
Sign up online by visiting www.OurYear.com
and entering School Code: 87156
Phone 734.418.4115 ext. 247
E-mail ensian.um@umich.edu
Rosanne Cash last came to Ann Arbor for January's Folk Festival
wPCA
Bring in this ad and receive $2 off the sitting fee.
enormously successful."
For her UMS debut, Cash will be
applying her cutting-edge style to
a very traditional set of songs from
her newest album, The List. The
album was inspired bythe advice of
Cash's legendary father.
When Cash was singing backup
vocals on her father's tour, John-
ny Cash noticed that his teenage
daughter knew very little about
country music. In order to expand
his daughter's knowledge, Cash
jotted down a list of "100 Essesntial
Country Songs" for her to explore.
"I think he was alarmed that I
might miss something essential
Cross country
off 'The List.
about who he was and who I was,"
Cash said on the UMS website. "He
See CASH, Page 8A
Michiganensian
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