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February 16, 2011 - Image 5

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The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Wednesday, February 16, 2011- 5A

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Wednesday, February 16, 2011 - 5A

Zombie-pocalypse

'Justified' admiration

Prepare yourself; the series follows a handful of
survivors in the Deep South try-
the Zombie Club ing to find their way in a zombie-
ridden world. After its premiere
has arrived boasted 5.3 million viewers,
Entertainment Weekly hailed
By WILL DEFEBAUGH the series as the best new show
For the Daily of 2010. It has just been picked up
for a second season of 13 episodes
Zombies have taken over. (up from the first season, which
It started out slowly, with proj- was only six).
ects like 2009's "Pride, Prejudice "I think something that really
and Zombies" and "Zombieland." makes ('The Walking Dead') dif-
Then came AMC's "The Walk- ferent is that there is a threat of
ing Dead" in 2010. Now, with the zombies, but really the bigger
advent of The Michigan Zombie threat is other humans," Chris-
Club, they have taken over cam- topher said. "Zombies move the
pus too. plot forward, but a lot of the trou-
With 25 members, the club ble is dealing with other humans
dedicates itself to spreading after the apocalypse. Instead of
"zombie awareness." just battling zombies, it's about
"Even though it seems like it how you come together when
may not be an imminent threat, you're fighting for your life."
we should always be prepared," Of course, a large part of the
said LSA freshman Scott Chris- show is still the zombies. One
topher, the club's resident Zom- interesting question the series
bie Specialist. "Especially with raises is whether or not zombies
this economic crisis we went are still people. The zombies are
through, people really didn't often portrayed as victims, illus-
think we could drop that bad, and trating not only the tragedy of the
it just shows you that anything survivors' situation, but also that
could happen - even zombies." of the zombies themselves.
Though club members cite "Zombies are definitely
their interest as having started humans too," said LSA sopho-
long before zombies began trend- more and Master of Zombie Rela-
ing, they are happy to see the tions Kevin Binder. "My job (in
undead getting so much atten- the club) is to make peaceful rela-
tion from Hollywood. Specifi- tions between the humans and
cally, they're excited about "The zombies. I really have an opti-
Walking Dead." mistic outlook towards a future
Based off of a graphic novel, where the two can coexist."

Still, zombies have not become
quite as popular as certain other
forms of undead creatures.
"I don't think people find the
whole eating brains and dining
on raw flesh thing to be quite as
romantic as vampires," Binder
said. "Then again, I don't really
get vampires because they also
drink blood."
It's difficult to say how long
zombies will continue to be pop-
ular or if they will ever be as big
as vampires (or whatever undead
creature is next, for that mat-
ter). Regardless, the Michigan
Zombie Club will be around to
preach the importance of being
prepared.
Today, the club is sponsoring
Zombie Awareness Day, where
members will hand out flyers in
the Diag and inform students as
to how to best protect themselves
from zombies. They will also pro-
vide a life-sized zombie doll and
cricket bats for them to practice
with.
Other events the club hopes to
put on include screenings of "The
Walking Dead" and a You've
Been Bitten By a Zombie Day,
in which the group runs around
and pretends to attack people to
spread awareness.
Also in the works is a "Zom-
bie Infiltration Day," in which
the club members will inter-
rupt classes and attend meetings
for other groups on campus to
See ZOMBIES, Page 6A

By KAVI SHEKHAR PANDEY
Senior Arts Editor
Move aside, brooding antihe-
roes (that's you, Dick Whitman)
- there's a new character arche-
type in town.
Descend-
ing from
the likes of justified
Han Solo
and John Season Two
McClane, it's premiere
the manly
man with Wednesdays atll p.m.
a rogu- FX
ish charm,
cheeky smile, endless stream of
wisecracks and a slow, Southern,
trou-dropping drawl. It was epito-
mized in Sawyer (Josh Holloway)
from "Lost," Jason Lee tried it and
failed in "Memphis Beat," but the
torch carries on with the macho
main muchacho of FX's "Justi-
fied," Raylan Givens (Timothy
Olyphant), who - combined with
the poise and quickdraw of Dirty
Harry - is the coolest cat in acow-
boy hat south of the Mason-Dixon
line. Come to think, north of it, too.
Season one of "Justified"
brought U.S. Marshall Raylan
Givens back to his home state of
Kentucky, reassigned to a Lex-
ington post after a possibly (but
probably) unprovoked shooting of
a Miami gangster. It's a begrudg-
ing return - coming home to a
criminally active father, a newly
remarried ex he's still in love with
and an alarming number of neo-

"Davies mumbles too much. That justifies shooting him, right?"

Nazis and meth-heads, it's clear
why Givens skipped town in the
first place.
Overall, the first season of
"Justified" was marvelous, creat-
ing a Southern rural community
without depicting every inhabit-
ant as a backwoods lout (similar
to "Winter's Bone," except fast-
paced and funny). In one of the
most profound representations
of a villain since Ben Linus on
"Lost," we witnessed the fasci-
nating evolution of Boyd Crowder
(Walton Goggins, "The Shield")
from skinhead to soldier of god.
Most important, the season made
us fall in love with Raylan Givens,
effervescently grinning and sling-
ing zingers even in the most tense
situations (like shootouts!) with
the knowledge that he could pull
out his sidearm and blow 12-gal-
lon hat-sized holes through fools

if he felt like it.
The second season premiere
begins by replaying the final
moments of last season's killer,
though frustratingly unresolved,
finale and wraps up the dangling
plot strands by the start of the
Kentucky fried
'Juestified.'
opening credits. It'll be perplex-
ing for first-time viewers of "Jus-
tified," but they just need to sit
tight, as the hammer for the new
season-long storyline gets pulled
back promptly.
After the dust settles, Givens
and his partner (Erica Tazel)
See JUSTIFIED, Page 6A

Reality far away in
'Dagenham' movie
By DAVID TAO Get") go to excruciating lengths
Daily Film Editor to enforce this image of straight-
forward duality. Lisa Hopkins
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, (Rosamund Pike, "Die Another
far away, there was an evil empire Day"), the disgruntled, Cam-
and a young hero, the last hope bridge-educated wifa of a high.'
for freedom level Ford executive, becomes
and justice. *** O'Grady's woman on the inside,
Through a a spy who lends the striking
series of tri- Made in workers much-needed support.
als and tribu- Similarly, then-Secretary of State
lations, the for Employment Barbara Castle
young hero Atthe Michigan (Miranda Richardson, "Harry
moved closer Potter and the Goblet of Fire") is
and closer Sony Pictures lassics portrayed as a staunch supporter
toward suc- of O'Grady, a starry-eyed cabi-
cess - until finally, he overthrew net minister looking to achieve
the evil empire once and for all. change.
That was "Star Wars." Now, But in real life, Castle lobbied
listen to the plot of "Made in to curtail the power of Britain's
Dagenham." A long time ago, trade unions, while Hopkins cer-
in a country far, far away, there tainly wasn't O'Grady's friend
was an evil company called Ford - O'Grady is in fact a fictional
that made cars and reaped mas- pastiche of women's rights lead-
sive profits by paying hardwork- ers. What's more, the impact of
ing women half what they paid the strike on working families is
the hardworking men. But one practically passed over. Though
day, a female worker named Rita O'Grady and her husband lose
O'Grady (Sally Hawkins, "Happy- work because of the strike, they
Go-Lucky"),the last hope forfree- nonetheless send their children
dom and justice, decided to get to the local private school and
involved with the workers' union. live in the same middle class flat
With the assistance of bumbling, throughout the movie, removing
low-level union organizer Albert the sense of adversity. There's no
Passingham (Bob Hoskins, "The denying the reprehensibility of
Long Good Friday") and fel- sexist labor policy, butthis exten-
low worker Connie (Geraldine sive revisionism undermines the
James, "Alice in Wonderland"), film's power.
she began a massive campaign for . Nonetheless, despite these core
equal pay, taking the women on flaws, "Made in Dagenham" still
strike and overthrowing the evil somehow manages to entertain,
company's evil policy. thanks mainly to Hawkins, whose
raw charisma and pure charm
transform the film into a heart-
Striking back at warming quasi-historic journey
that places the viewer within the
the Empire. frame. Historic questions aren't
important when there's a protag-
onist as engaging asher character,
a waif of an everywoman whose
Sounds familiar, doesn't it? mere presence inspires solidar-
Ostensibly based upon a true ity and confidence. The power
story, this tale of the 1968 Ford behind her performance anchors
sewing machinists' strike at their a talented cast that features
Dagenham production facility in some of Britain's finest character
Britain presents an oversimpli- actors, including Hoskins, James
fied, cut-and-dry version of the and Daniel Mays ("Atonement")
year's events. The film's central as O'Grady's mostly supportive
conflict is reduced from a multi- husband.
faceted issue of ethical business It's this collection of brilliant
practices to an uncomplicated onscreen talent that allows view-
black-and-white struggle A la the ers to ignore the liberties that
Dark Side versus the Light Side Cole takes with history. Equal
- the virtuous British women pay legislation may not have come
* struggle against the malevolent until two years after the movie's
American corporate system and end, and today's Ford plant in
their enforcer, the delightfully Dagenham may no longer manu-
sleazy Robert Tooley (Richard facture cars. But in the context of
Schiff, "The West Wing"). the movie, none of this matters.
Director Nigel Cole ("A Lot When watching Hawkins and
Like Love") and screenwriter her exceptional peers, reality is
William Ivory ("The Closer You indeed somewhere far, far away.

MT&D's arresting new production

By ERIKA JOST the production's director.
For the Daily "Our Country's Good"grapples
with crime and rehabilitation,
In the 1780s, British soldiers and the role that theater - and art
staged a production of the come- in general - can play in that pro-
dy "The Recruiting Officer" with cess. The opening scene reveals
convicts in some of the physical horrors the
'an Australian Australian prisoners face, while'
penal colony. the officers debate how best to
Two hundred Good punish three of the convicts for
years later, stealing. One suggests death,
Australian Toorowat another a less severe punishment
author Thom- 7:30 p.m., Friday and a third officer gives up com-
as Keneally and Saturday pletely. Their exchange is difficult
described at8 p.m. and to distinguish from a contempo-
the historical Sunday at 2p.m. rary discussion about crime in
events of that Arthur Miller Theatre America.
production in Tickets from $10 The colony's leader comes up
the book "The with a more creative solution:
Playmaker," What about aplay?
which itself was adapted into a "What's so fascinating about
play by British playwright Tim- these characters is that they are
berlake Wertenbaker. This week, really transformed by the play,"
the Department of Musical The- said MT&D sophomore Jane
atre will perform this play, enti- Bruce. "It's what theater is meant
tied "Our Country's Good." to do."
"It's theater about how impor- Tulip was inspired in part by
tant theater can be, in its rawest the work of Prison Creative Arts
form," said Malcolm Tulip, an Project (PCAP), an organization
assistant professor in the School committed to cultivating artis-
of Music, Theatre & Dance and tic expression in prison commu-

nities. The testimonials of the R.J. Brown, who plays one of the
prisoners in this project will be convicts. "Malcolm encourages
printed in the play's program. input from the cast, and the play
During rehearsal last week, has really developed."
the 17 actors in the ensemble For many of the actors, all of
stretched in a circle, groaning and whom are musical theater stu-
grunting from the exertion. dents, "Our Country's Good" is
"You guys are like the love olHeirflist"straight"play, meaning
children of Chewbaccas and Tele- it has no musical numbers. While
tubbies, just from all the noises," they explore the flexibility of this
Tulip called out good-naturedly. form and identifywiththegrowth
of their characters, Bruce said she
prefers the somewhat more rigid
tour afforded by musicals.
M usical theater, trDctu f ,
Dsiethis preference, Tulip
said the students are excelling in
m rehearsals.
"It's not different from direct-
ing other students," said Tulip,
In the corner of the rehearsal who leads musical theater stu-
room stood a small table with dents in a straight play every
nearly all the props for the perfor- year. "I have no conceived ideas
mance. The actors will wear black about what the play should look
clothing, Tulip said, with smaller like, and we develop the set and
articles to denote their charac- approach with the actors. It's a
ters, like jackets and hats. Fit- good educational opportunity."
ting with the play's emphasis on a And if acting in a play could
"raw" form of theater, the focus of rehabilitate a group of convicts,
this production is the actors. imagine what it might do for a
"The process has been really rag-tag band of musical theater
accessible," said MT&D junior students.

THE DAILY ARTS WEEKLY
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A sparkr conedy of ideas,
pittig itdulgeqt ronagticism
versus connswq good setse.
George Bernard Shaw's
Directed by Philip Kerr
Feb. 17 at7:30 PM
Feb. 18 & 19 at 8 PM
Feb. 20 at 2 PM
Mendelssohn Theatre
Tickets $24 & $18
Students $10 wlD
League Ticket Office
734-764-2538
www.music.umich.edu
Department of
Theatre & Drama

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