4B - Thursday, December 2, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 'iEATERS From Page 3B toward the outskirts of town, where the land is cheaper. Flight ofthe first-run films Still, the lack of options and big feature films close to campus raises questions. There are two movie theaters right next to cam- pus. Why can't students see the big titles there? Louis Dickinson, the State The- titer manager and Michigan The- ater front of house coordinator, said that part of the reason the State and the Michigan don't show first-run Hollywood films is due to capacity. The two local theaters don't have enough screens to make showing big Hollywood films like "The Dark Knight," "The Town" or "The Social Network" attractive to distributors, and the promise of a certain number of screens on Which to play the film is necessary to make a venture profitable. " 'Jaws' is what changed movie theaters," Dickinson said. Before the release of the 1975 Steven Spielberg blockbuster, "you could be a small one-screen theater. You could have an engagement of a film for a week. You could make a pretty good return on it. And you could change out another film after that week was over." According to Dickinson, "Jaws" was the first film for which distrib- utors required theaters to show a film a certain number of times on a fixed number of screens. Once the film clamped down contractually, its model started to surface for all first-run Hollywood films. Both the Michigan and the State have only two screens, modest next to the monster screen capac- ity of Quality 16 or Rave. LSA senior Amanda Seppala doesn't feel miffed about the lack of first-run films at the State and Michigan. "It makes sense that the State and the Michigan allocate resourc- es to movies people wouldn't nec- essarily see," Seppala said. "I feel more disenfranchised about the loss of the dollar theater at the (Briarwood) mall (this past sum- mer)." LSA freshman Adam Berkovec agrees. "I know that the movies at the State and the Michigan aren't mainstream movies, and it doesn't bother me," he said. "It would suck if I didn't have friends with cars." In terms of whether he feels the Michigan and State ought to show big blockbuster films, Berk- ovec said, "It might .be beneficial to them. But it's also cool that they don't show movies you can see any- where else." The film selections of the Michi- gan and the State are also based on ideology. The Michigan is commit- ted to bringing films to Ann Arbor that wouldn't normally get such a big run. In 1979, the Michigan Theater was in danger of being torn down, and the Michigan Theater Historic Trust was established to save the theater. Since then, the Michigan has been a nonprofit whose central mission was at first live theater and music before transitioning to mov- ies in the late '80s. "The Michigan sets the trend for a certain demographic," Dickinson asserted. "I know that we show films that wouldn't really fly at the other two theaters. The hope is that someone might come and see a film here that they might not nec- essarily seek out." Despite a trend toward inde- pendent, foreign and shorter-run films, the Michigan has shown its share of mainstream blockbusters. Pixar's "Up" played there in 2009 and was the first movie to use the theater's Sony 4K projection sys- tem. The Sony 4K projector at the Michigan is the most powerful 3-D projector in the state. "'Up' was the flagship movie - we had to show it," said Dickenson. Oddly, the projector has only been used for one project since "Up": "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dino- saurs." It flopped. Dickinson said that the film just didn't work for their audience. "We were able to market ("Up") because it's a Pixar - top-of-the- line 3-0 computer animation," he said. "It fits into the art house men- tality. Pixar films are gorgeous." In order to get "Up" from its dis- tributor, the Michigan had to open at nine in the morning and show seven screenings each day until the theater closed at midnight. LSA senior Courtney Rabideau said that she sees a movie about once every three weeks. When she does, she isn't upset about them not being first-run Hollywood films. "AnnArbor prides itselfonbeing a vehicle, a platform for older and independent movies. It is a point of pride for Ann Arbor," she said. "You can't see movies you can see anywhere else, because Ann Arbor isn't anywhere else." Music, Theatre & Dance sopho- more Erin Mernoff said, "It would be more convenient if the theaters showed big movies," but added, "I like that they show the indepen- dent films because most theaters don't mention them." LSA senior Noah Stahl, a con- centrator in the Screen Arts and Cultures program and a former writer for The Michigan Daily, val- ues the unique experience he gets from seeing films at the Michigan and the State. "Whenever I sit down in the Michigan Theater, I have to take a moment to appreciate this jewel. It's like walking into a time cap- sule," he said. Stahl too enjoys the "grungy '70s feel" of the State and claimed the experience "takes you out of Ann Arbor." He assumes that people would find it annoying to have to drive out to Carpenter or Jackson to see a film, but there is "some- thing unique about having small independently oriented theaters" here in town. Stahl's bottom line: "Both places - the Michigan and the State - have a ton of personal- ity. More than any of these multi- plexes." Despite the trial she faced attempting to see a mainstream movie her freshman year, Phil- lips doesn't feel that the role of the Michigan and the State theaters should change. The films they play, she said, "give (the theaters) a dif- ferent atmosphere. If they showed blockbusters, they'd be more insti- tutional or commercial." However, she admitted to never having seen a film in either theater in all of her time at Michigan. In any event, the role of the Michigan and the State theaters doesn't stand to change any time in the near future. For now at least, most of those in student neighbor- hoods will continue to spend Sat- urday night in Ann Arbor having a ball somewhere else besides the movies. The three main historical Michigan songbooks were published in 1889,1904 and 1913. A snapshot of $ONGBOOKS turn-of-the-century Michigan from Page 1B ties and happenings at the Univer- tity." These three historical song- books - compiled in 1889, 1904 and 1913 - represent a golden age of Michigan songs. Although two more songbooks were arranged in 1967 and 1990, only a smatter- ing of newly composed songs were added. "There was obviously a need for these songbooks and lots of songs to fill them because there was so much singing going on," Rardin said. "These are the ones that have 1 een handed down to us and we love them." Smith, who sang second tenor in the Men's Glee Club during the mid-'60s, is a Michigan songbook aficionado. He has made it his mis- sion to collect every edition of the three historical songbooks. Along with Rardin, Smith recently co-edited a new song- book - "Sing to the Colors" - that Was released earlier this year to commemorate the 150th anniver- sary of the Men's Glee Club. The handsome hardcover volume is the product of a year and a half of research, compiling, editing and notating. As an added bonus, the book contains a small "pocket songbook," which offers the gui- tar chords, melodies and lyrics for sveral Michigan songbook favor- ites. "With this one tiny little article that we could stuff nicely in the back cover, we were able to include a great many pieces," Rardin said. "The pocket songbook takes care of our longing to sort of return to the day when you would have needed to carry around your song- book to the football game or to the tailgate or to the dorm meeting." Rardin's remark reveals how popular singing was on campus around the turn of the century and into the '40s. Michigan songs and recreational singing were an essen- tial part of social life, acid were deeply ingrained in the residential and Greek communities. "The fraternity and sorority sys- tems were extremely strong," Smith said. "(Members) had to dress for dinner, and they brought their songbooks to dinner. They would go around the table every night and somebody would lead the group in song. You didn't have the Internet, you didn't have TV. Back in the teens and '20s basically all you had were parties. I imagine that (they would sing) after football games, before football games and at concerts." "It was just a totally different environment," he added. "It's hard to imagine U of M with a third or a quarter as many students as we have today and no North Campus and no Michigan Stadium - you played football at Ferry Field or Regents Field." Though students today may claim to be die-hard Wolverine fans, their devotion is different from that of early University students. While present-day fans may claim to know the lyrics of "The Victors" by heart, students of the early 20th century could sing an extra set of lyrics to this march that are rarely heard today. Moreover, early University students had dozens more chants and fight songs at their disposal to cheer on their team. "I love this place today in 2010, but these folks back then must have loved it an awful lot because they generated all these songs to sing about it," Rardin said. "I think they're wonderful for modeling loyalty to the University. Having a high-profile athletics program as we do here, some of that's built in." "It's easy to feel a certain sense of allegiance," he continued. "But I think for people to feel it on an artis- tic level rather than on an athletic level is very moving to me - the idea that we could express loyalty to the University through music." The Michigan songs serve as windows onto this long-gone era. By reading the lyrics, one can get a sense of how students lived during the first half of the 20th century, as well as how different campus was then. "Some of the songs reveal places that are no longer there that are interesting: Joe's and The Orient, the P-Bell, which I think was called the Pretzel Bell," Smith said. "These were watering holes that don't exist anymore. And I think those are fun references to hear and think, 'Wait a minute - I wonder where that build- ing was,' or, 'I wonder what that's a reference to.' That can, I hope, spark some curiosity about campus as it used to be." Many of those songs serve as a kind of map of early campus, describing University buildings that standtoday, and manythathavelong since disappeared. The bittersweet "Michigan Goodbye" from the 1909 Michigan Union Opera "Koanza- land" gives a nostalgic picture of campus: "Farewell to you, old State Street / And so long Tappan Hall / Good bye to you, dear Barbour gym /Library chimes and all." "The Bum Army" from the 1910 opera "Crimson Chest" makes sev- eral references to social events and practices of the time. The song mentions an event known as the "Junior Hop," or "J-Hop" for short. This popular school dance was held annually by the junior class begin- ningin 1872. "The Bum Army" praises the beauty of the "Ypsi girls" and "Ypsilanti maids." Smith explained that at the time, Eastern Michigan University was a "normal college" meant only for education students. Because students at normal colleges were predominantly female, Ypsi- lanti was an ideal place for a Univer- sity of Michigan man to find a date on Saturday night. WWII: Beginning of the end Yet just as these places and events faded away with the passing of time, so too did the tradition of singing Michigan songs. Today, only the Men's and Women's Glee Clubs and the Michigan Marching Band keep the flame of Michigan music burn- ing through regular performances of pieces from the songbooks. There is no single explanation as to why Michigan songs are no lon- ger a part ofcampus life. In organiz- ing the latest songbook, however, the editors drew some conclusions from their research. "These books used to be pub- lished every 10 years up to the 1920s and '30s," said Gavin Bidelman, .a 2007 'U' alum. He went on to explain that as the years passed, the books were pub- lished less and less frequently, in an "exponential decline." A doctoral candidate at Purdue, Bidelman transferred vocal scores from the original songbooks into a computer to be printed into the lat- est edition. "It's probably due to the dying interest in performance," he said. "People used to sit around pianos and sing at holidays, and I don't think anybody does that anymore. It's a different time - a difference in era." Smith pointed to an emergence of popular new forms of media, including the radio, phonograph and television, as competition with the performance of Michigan songs. With the ability to listen to music on records or over the airwaves, Smith argued that live performance at home or in the dorm lost its impor- tance. Perhaps the most significant fac- tor leading to the demise of Michi- gan music, Smith said, was the second world war. "You had a tremendous change on campus during World War II and focus really for the total war effort," he said. "Most major research cam- puses of any large size turned their total effort to providing officers and other specialized training for the war effort." Smith said that following the war, the University exploded in size, leading to an entirelynew way oflife on campus. "I can only guess (it was the) sheer size of the institution, change in the atmosphere of students from pre-World War II to post-World War II, influx of G.I.s needing jobs, less partying and more down-to- work," Smith said. "(A University education) became more expensive, though nowhere near as expensive as it has been over the last four years," Smith added. "But still, a real change in atmosphere - new buildings, just a sheer expansion in research, more focus and attention on academics." With a larger and more career- oriented student body, the traditions of the past, including Michigan songs, became lost in the shuffle of campus life. According to Smith, students no longer had time to learn fight songs or University hymns. The songhooks today Sixty-five years after the end of World War II, the Michigan song- books have yet to make an entrance into contemporary student life. Thanks to groups like the Men's and Women's Glee Clubs, however, the tradition of writing new Michigan songs has not been wiped away for- ever. In fact, Rardin recently wrote a song entitled "Michigan Remem- bers" for the newest edition of the songbook. "The words get to you every time because it's a beautiful, beautiful song," said LSA junior Matthew Griffith, who serves as the public relations manager of the Men's Glee Club. "The imagery of it reminds you of a fall semester in Ann Arbor." "I think a lot of times we kind of take for granted our college experi- ence. We focus on work and getting things done. We forget about how unique and beautiful the college experience is." Although a handful of students, alumni and faculty are still devot- ed to preserving and expanding the Michigan songbook, Rardin believes it is unlikely that the Michi- gan songs will ever gain the main- stream appeal on campus that they once had. "I hate to sound pessimistic, but I think it's a tall order," he said. "Singing is so specialized now. Now the view is that singing is something you do if you're a music major or if you go to church or synagogue." While it is improbable that the University will ever see a renais- sance of Michigan music, Griffith hopes that the Michigan songbook will garner some interest among 21st-century students. "It would make my heart warm to have students know these songs," he said. "Do I see them being as popu- lar as they were in the past? No ... but I think that there is still an inter- est in these songs." In spite of the songs' archaic references and old-fashioned lan- guage, there is much in the Michi- gan songbook to which students can relate. While it may be difficult to imagine a modern frat boy in a bow tie and tails singing "Goddess of the Inland Sea," it's less of a stretch to picture him holding a red cup and belting "The Friar's Song": "Drink! Drink! Joy rules the day, / Who will have thought of the'morrow?" The lyrics to Michigan songs also reveal similarities between turn- of-the-century students and those of today. The 1904 song "Blue Book Man" shows that blue books have been a source of worry and distress for over 100 years, as does 1918's "Bluebook Blues": "Never miss'd a test or got below a 'B' / Finished the semester with a Bluebook labeled 'K!' Another shocking similarity can be found in the ditty "A Faithful Pipe to Smoke" from the 1908 opera "Culture": "Yet even such misfor- tunes / To freshblown hopes will lead, / Ifa fellow draws his troubles / In a pipeful of the weed." While "weed" is probably in reference to pipe tobacco, one can't help chuck- ling at how pertinent this line is to the a certain hobby of many stu- dents today. Although there is much for cur- rent students to relate to in the Michigan songs, these gems are in jeopardy of being lost forever. Even if the glee clubs and the march- ing band preserve some remnant of these songs, their fate lies, ulti- mately, in the hands of modern-day students. Students may never again sit around their dorm, fraternity or sorority to sing one of the rousing choruses from the Michigan song- books. But one can still hold on to the hope that one day, the students of the University will once again gather around the Tappan Oak to join in the words of the alma mater: "Sing to the colors that float in the light; / Hurrah for the Yellow and Blue!" 9 0 0 NOW OPEN at 108 S. Main in Ann Arbor! Vegan fare even omnivores are coming back for again and again! Taking vegetarian cuisine to a whole new level! 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