The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 - 5

Tears for the TV

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e letting media affect gie Gyllenhall's and Jeff Bridges's
'emotions. I laugh aloud performances, but the constant
comedies, I feel embar- knowledge that I was surrounded
when fictional people make by strangers kept me from letting
s and I my emotions run wild.
when I generally don't watch TV
ng with other people, but I definitely
ctedly don't watch TV dramas with other
in a - people. I lead the life of a busy col-
ovie. lege student and watch TV when
3t of all, I get to it, so most of my television
cry. viewing happens late at night.
'ed to CAROLYN When I'm exhausted, lying in my
en I KLARECKI bed, falling asleep to the soft glow
I'm cry- of the TV screen and I know that
'some- none of my friends can make fun
tional and the realization of me, it's easy to cry when Kurt
rathetic truth usually Hummel hits the high note.
me cry harder. Strangely Sometimes those late nights in
of all the emotions I read- front of the TV lead to me watch-
willingly display as a result ing a movie or two. You'd think
media, I usually don't cry the isolation of my apartment
ything but TV. would allow me to spill some
rever cried at a play. None tears when watching a movie, but
espeare's tragedies, none no. When watching "Titanic" on
rodern plays commenting TBS, I don't cry when Jack tries to
l decay have made me hold on to Rose in the icy Atlantic
ear. I watch my friends Ocean. I cry for the characters
chick flicks and think to in my TV shows because I know
'fou're crying at this?" I them. I've been with them for
en tried to cry with music. episode upon episode and season
upon season. I've seen "Titanic"
five or six times, but Rose and
lTJack always develop the same way,
e W est W ing and I never learn any more about
them. The events and characters
akes me cry. in my shows have the room to
change and evolve, whereas plays
and movies are always the same.
rough day, I plop down at Even when I'm re-watching an
puter, put my headphones episode, the events and characters
try to cry to Radiohead's have more context and backstory,
and have never suc- and therefore I'm more affected
I turn the TV to the right when something devastating or
nd I instantly need a box uplifting happens.
es. TV allows for a more personal
d no fewer than seven connection than film or theater.
re first time I watched the You don't have to make the trek to
rg "Doctor Who" episode the theater, or sit in uncomfortable
rt and the Doctor." It was chairs in order to get lost in a TV
rappy and beautiful! I cry show. You don't even have to leave
ipation each time I watch your house to rent or buy a DVD.
est Wing" season two pre- And you can be as involved as you
eason two finale and sea- want. Watch casually or religious-
ee finale. I'll probably later ly. TV accommodates you.
dmitting that I've cried at And that accommodation and
of "Modern Family." Hell, personalization allows me to com-
ew episodes of "How I Met pletely unwind while watching a
other" have touched my TV-show. So though I'm sure I'll
nough that I couldn't con- be mocked relentlessly for admit-
tears. ting how emotional I get while
be it's a little weird that watching TV, I'll just pop in the
ad during a few episodes season three finale of "The West
" and that I watched Wing" and weep at the impact of
Heart" in theaters, stone- awesome TV.

90 '
Hip hop's biggest hipster
Kid Cudi gets all
emotional on his
sophomore album
By EMMA GASE
Daily Arts Writer

Kid Cudi's new album cover
really says it all. It features Cudi
alone in a room,
clad in his signa-
ture skinny suit
and slumped Kid Cudi
forlornly in a
wooden chair, Man on the
head down, Moon 11: The
with a paint- Legend of
ing of the starry Mr. Rager
galaxy behind
him, pondering Univetsal Molown
his status as the
most messed-up of all hip-hop
stars today. This is quite possi-
bly one of the most emo hip-hop
covers in recent memory. But
all these obvious metaphors for
his inner turmoil raise the ques- Look oat far that track.
tion: Is Scott Mescudi really this
screwed up, or is the "lonely ston- It should come
er" just frontin'? that the opening1
Cudi's first album, Man on the "Scott Mescudi vs
Moon: The End ofDay had the clas- Where Cudi goe

as no surprise
track is titled
. The World."
's, narcissism

does not stray far behind. Though
he still clings to the minimal-
ist spaceship atmosphere that
he perfected in the first Man on
the Moon, this time around it is
undoubtedly darker and not near-
ly as chock full of sunny radio hits.
The first note of "These Wor-
ries" isn't a musical one, but rath-
er the swooshing sound of a joint
being inhaled. Not surprising con-
sidering Cudi's ongoing love affair
with weed (he even has a track
simply titled "Marijuana" that
clocks in at exactly 4:20, showing
true pothead dedication). "These
Worries" gets some much-needed
punch served up in the form of
Mary J. Blige's guest vocals. Cudi
describes his angst simply but
straightforwardly as Blige takes

it away: "These worries are heavy
/ They rest on my shoulders / My
pride it won't let me / Fall victim
no more."
Single "Erase Me" is Cudi's
attempt at some alt-rock/pop
crossover. With a cheesy '80s
drumbeat and chugging guitars
leading off the song, Cudi sounds
about as close to hip hop here as
Lil Wayne was on Rebirth. But
unlike Weezy's ill-fated attempt
at a rock album, "Erase Me" is
actually listenable. Though the
lyrics are forgettable ("I keep on
running, keep on running / and
nothing works/ I can't get away
from you"), Cudi strikes the per-
fect self-aware hipster chord with
Kanye West's trite guest verse and
a chorus that will take up residen-
cy in your brain for days.
All signs on Man on the Moon II
point to Kid Cudi's mental deteri-
oration. Kanye's young protig is

holding his own now, but he isn't
handling fame all that gracefully.
Yes, he has the requisite cocky
pretension of any Kanye disciple,
but lately Cudi's rep has been tar-
nished due to his recent arrest,
onstage tussles with fans and his
ongoing trend of showing up to his
performances drunk and totally
strung out.
On Man on the Moon II, Cudi
jumps from reveling in his fame
to chasing women to contemplat-
ing suicide to realizing that even
though he's trapped in his own
anguished mind, "Hey, it's not that
bad at all!" Cudi's emotional issues
(and weed) are the epicenter of
every song. Sure, "Mr. Rager"
and "GHOST!" are the two of
the best tracks Kid Cudi has ever
produced, but by the end of this
despondent hipster-hop album we
are leftworriedly wondering: Will
this guy just get a shrink already?

sic martyr potential of Kanye's
808s and Heartbreak to be a one-
off outlet of emotional despair as
Cudi lamented his father's death,
his obsession with pot and his
plaguing nightmares. After the
popularity of his debut, you'd
think Cudi would buck up a lit-
tle, revel in his success and then
continue to churn out sub-par
pop anthems about getting high
to maintain his newfound ghet-
to-fabulous lifestyle. Instead,
Cudi comes out with Man on
the Moon II: The Legend of Mr.
Rager. On the album, he delves
even further into his psycho-
logical pain, twisted soul and
depression. it would appear Kid
Cudi is not fronting.

)on't get me wrong, I
"Crazy Heart" was
it didn't make me cry.
I could've cried at Mag-

Klarecki will e-mail you when she
stops crying. To never get a response,
e-mail her at cklareck@umich.edu.

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YEARBOOK

"You'll never guess where my dragon tattoo is."

'The Girl' loses its sting

By EMILY BOUDREAU
DailyArts Writer
Lisbeth Salander is back, and
she's as pierced and tattooed as
ever in the third
installment of
the Swedish
films adapted The Girl
from Stieg Lars-
son's best-selling Who Kicked
series. the Homet's
Not only
is Salander Nest
(Noomi Rapace) At the
an outstand- Michigan
ing hacker with Music Box
a photographic
memory, but she
seems to be some sort of superhu-
man. The film opens right where
the second left off, with Salander
surviving a shot in the head and
digging her way out of her own
grave. Sadly, she digs her way out
only to face charges of attempted
murder. It's up to Mikael Blom-
kvist (Michael Nyqvist), Saland-
er's journalist friend, and her
lawyer, Anrr ka Giannini (Annika

Hallin), to save the day and unrav-
el the government conspiracy in
which she's been tangled up.
Though engrossing and packed
with assassination attempts,
threatening e-mails and nerve-
racking undercover investiga-
tions, the plot is sometimes hard
to follow. This may be because its
subtitles are packed with names
and places that read like some-
thing out of an IKEA catalog.
While the story manages to
engage viewers beyond its occa-
sional incomprehensibility, the
most captivating character,
Salander, is out of commission
for pretty much the entire film.
In the past two movies, Salander
was established as a cool heroine
with a major attitude and anti-
social tendencies. "The Girl Who
Kicked the Hornet's Nest" is actu-
ally somewhat of a misleading
title. The film doesn't really end
up being about the girl; it's more
about the wonCer-boy journalist
who tries to save her. Ordinar-
ily, the switch from heroine to
hi-co wouldn't be that prltem-

atic, but the purpose of the books
was to establish an alternative
to the Nancy Drew-type female
detective. And, in the past films,
Salander has delivered a femi-
nist message that has the same
strength as her punches.
But this time around, Salander
spends a lot of her time in a jail
cell or recovering from her head
No screen time
for our heroine.
wound and obviously can't be out
hunting down the bad guys. The
book itself is guilty of relegating
Salander to the background as
well, but onscreen her absence is
more evident simply because she
isn't present in the majority of the
scenes. Also, the books provided
alternative storylines for Salander
that highlighted women's issues
including stalking and sex-slave
See HORNE S NEST, Page 6