The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, September 23, 2011- 7
BEHIND THE SCENES
The business side of art
Students learn
there's no business
like show business
By ARIELLE SPECINER
Daily Arts Writer
They say that if someone is
right-brained, he or she is more
of a creative thinker. If someone
is left-brained, he or she is more
logicalwhen reasoning. But some
students tackle problems with
both sides of the brain and start
their journey to an artistic career
on a less artistic pathway.
Though most might assume
students in the Ross School of
Business or College of Engineer-
ing would end up in math-heavy,
structural careers, there are
many students who would like to
engage in something a bit more
creative with their degrees.
Senior Kathryn Pamula is
working on her BBA from Ross as
well as a BA in Performance Arts
Management from the School
of Music, Theatre & Dance. She
hopes to one day be a company
manager for a Broadway show.
"I came into the University
kind of knowing that this is what
I wanted to do," Pamula said. "I
was poking around online and I
saw there was a career for people
who want to do theater but want
FILM REVIEW
to do management stuff."
This is not an uncommon
career path at the University.
With prestigious schools such
as Ross, the School of MT&D
and the College of Engineering,
it's no coincidence students who
have such aspirations would
come here and blend the schools.
However, there are also those
who simply stumble into this mix
of programs.
"I can't picture myself sit-
ting at a desk and managing a
corporate budget - being one
of a million," said dual enrolled
Ross School of Business and LSA
junior Alex Schrader. "SoI decid-
ed one day that I'm going to try
something completely different. I
was getting bored of my classes."
After atrip to the theater with
her mother, Schrader decided to
sign up for MUSKET - and that
was the start of her interest in
theater arts.
Some students go the other
way around, like engineering and
MT&D student Charlotte Camp-
bell, who started out in a creative
setting but then didn't feel chal-
lenged enough and transitioned
to the technical side of theater.
"I get a lot of funny Jooks
when I tell people my double
major," Campbell said. "They're
like, 'Wait, how does that work?'
When I say sound engineering,
they sort of get it."
It makes sense that most peo-
ple wouldn't initially think cre-
ative careers need matter-of-fact
thinkers to propel the industry.
But after all, show business is a
business - there is a need for a
Wall Street brain on Broadway
Avenue. The University provides
an outlet for that.
"I think that there are a lot of
opportunities within the man-
agement field," Pamula said.
"That's one of the things I've
learned from being here. There
are a thousand different things
you can go into. You can go into
marketing, you can go into com-
pany managing, general manag-
ing or producing."
Though there isn't much
crossover between schools, these
students make the most of what
they have. By taking marketing,
strategy, logic design and other
out-of-the-box classes, students
with creative business aspira-
tions are able to overlap their
schedules to learn skills for both
degrees.
"You do have to wear hats. I
have to go to the business school
and put my business hat on,"
Pamula said. "The theater stuff is
definitely a creative outlet. There
have been some classes in Ross
where it's good to have a little
creativity - but I'm not going
to write a play about my finance
classes."
Campbell explained how her
theater skills helped her excel
in her engineering classes - not
because of the content she was
learning, but through the people
skills she learned from it.
"It's the study of people,
bringing other people to life
through stories," she said of the-
ater. "I like to think that I can
bring a lot of that teamwork into
engineering."
Other ventures prepare these
students for their real-world
careers, too - not just classroom
time. Both Schrader and Pamula
landed internships in the theater,
though they have business back-
grounds. University clubs like
MUSKET and Basement Arts
also prepare them for real world
experiences.
"I think it's a learning pro-
cess," Schrader said. "Not every-
thing in the theater you learn in
the classroom, you just have to do
it. I learned a ton from MUSKET
last year that I never thought I
would learn."
Making it in show business,
or any creative career, is diffi-
cult. Fortunately, these students
have the advantage of a business
or engineering degree that they
can fall back on in case the artsy
maneuver falls through.
"I have an option for myself,"
Campbell said. "There's a whole
myriad of opportunities."
Kasabian is sad today.
Kasabian roars on
new 'Velociraptor!'
'Straw Dogs' remake has no bite
By TIMOTHY RABB
DailyArts Writer
Plenty of remakes, like "Scar-
face," "The Departed" and
"Ocean's 11," hit the bulls-eye,
and plenty
more fall short.
And then
there's the $traW DOgS
occasional epic
fail that's so out At Quality16
of touch with and Rave
its roots, it sets
a new standard. Screen Gems
The remake of
"Straw Dogs" is one such trav-
esty - unfaithful to its source
material, unjustly stereotypical
and offensive on multiple lev-
els. For those who haven't seen
director Sam Peckinpah's origi-
nal, Rod Lurie's interpretation
will come off as more of the usual
fly-by-night Hollywood schlock,
albeit more shocking and violent
than most. But if you remember
Dustin Hoffman's hair-raising
metamorphosis from timid
pacifist to cold-hearted killer,
this reimagining of Lurie's -
stripped of all substance - is a
film that simply shouldn't be.
The original was purpose-
ful, intended as a metaphor for
the effects of the Vietnam War
on society. Leading good guy
David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman,
"Stranger than Fiction") brutally
massacres his home's would-be
invaders to protect the mentally
disabled Henry Niles from their
bloody vengeance, then he drives
Niles into town. Niles turns to
Sumner and remarks, "I don't
know my way home." Sumner
smiles and turns to meet Niles's
gaze, reassuring him, "It's OK,
neither do L"
The 1971 Sumner's reply is a
By ELLIOT ALPERN
Daily Arts Writer
All one needs to know about
Velociraptor! can be gleaned
from the album cover: It's
dark, brood-
ing and has a
few screaming
band members. Kasabian
But none of
that detracts Velociraptor!
from Kasa- Columbia
bian's fourth
effort, which
takes more than a few strides
from 2009's West Ryder Pauper
Lunatic Asylum. The British out-
fit has always toed, with finesse,
the fine tightrope line between
indie and hard rock. But with
the advent of Velociraptor!, that
line has been blurred to obscu-
rity.
Despite taking its name from
Charles Manson's female get-
away driver, Kasabian draws
some influence from a couple
of fairly conventional bands.
"Let's Roll Just Like We Used
To," the first track on Velocirap-
tor!, begins with the combina-
tion of a lone horn and creepy
background vocals, but eventu-
ally settles into traditional form
- it could easily double as a
modified hit off the latest Muse
release. "Re-wired," in all likeli-
hood one of the best songs Kasa-
bian has put out, has a shade of
that cool British disdain that is
oh-so-inherent to bands like the
Arctic Monkeys, among oth-
ers. The key here is that while
the record does borrow some
sounds, it's wholly distinguish-
able as an entirely separate
work, making it well rounded
instead of plagiaristic.
Velociraptor! also fortunately
runs into one of the rare ben-
eficial accidents of the music
industry. Well-received singles
are few and far between and are
infrequently overshadowed by
the rest of the album. However,
"Days Are Forgotten" is one of
those "perfect storms" where
not only is it the hit represen-
tative of the record, but it's not
even the best on it - the single
essentially leads listeners to a
wealth of great material. That
being said, "Days Are Forgot-
ten" engages a left-hook chorus
that will keep it a lasting fixture
on alternative radio stations in
the coming weeks.
Kasabian is also clearly
undaunted to showcase its dark-
er side. "Switchblade Smiles,"
which can be heard on the
upcoming "Fifa 12" soundtrack,
is all but a lock to be the second
single released. Beginning with
a deep, fuzzy bass riff, the song
switches to a few moments of
warbled vocals reminiscent of
an imam's call to prayer, before
the drums thunder in and the
already intense track picks up
even more. "I Hear Voices"
is less creepy than one might
expect from the title, but the
fluid guitar and fluctuating
synthesizer meet perfectly at
the chorus as frontman Tom
Meighan issues his countdown:
"One minute to, one minute to,
one minute to midnight!"
Dinosaurs have
never been
so bloody
British.
The Leicestershire locals
have always been known for
their grand, driving power-
rock anthems, and Velociraptor!
only gives them more occasion
to dial up the intensity. Aside
from "Goodbye Kiss" - an out-
of-place ballad with actual sen-
timentality - and a relatively
dead track in "Neon Noon," the
record is packed with bravado
and bold audacity. On the heels
of its last work being overshad-
owed by the death of Michael
Jackson, Kasabian has taken
advantage of its latest opportu-
nity to make a statement. The
band has issued the proclama-
tion that it will be heard and
that its name will be spoken
along with Muse and the Arc-
tic Monkeys as some of the best
that England currently has to
offer.
Warning: Hot blondes in mirror may be closer than they appear.
tidy summary of every war film be screaming from the studio
that rode the wake of Vietnam. rooftop that he's not about ideal-
Sumner isn't a mathematician ism, metaphor or really much of
on sabbatical but a soldier, naive anything else.
to the battle that awaits him. The new elements Lurie intro-
Forced to resort to savagery to duces in his 2011 remake say
save his home, his family and his nearly as much as what's left out.
Instead of Cornwall, England,
the "Straw Dogs" revamp is set in
T tthe Deep South. Rather than an
unassuming mathematics teach-
er, Sumner is a suave screen-
writer fresh out of Hollywood.
camel's back. By leaning on Southern stereo-
types - preachers who pray for
the football team, indiscriminate
fights - Lurie neglects real char-
life, he emerges from the fray a acter development. And when he
shadow of his former self, lost replaces the old, quiet Sumner
and devoid of purpose. with the bombastic new one,
Funny that the remake should Lurie denies him the moral fiber
copy nearly every nuance of the that justifies his killing. The new
original plot and keep all the vio- Sumner is tough to like. Should
lence, yet omit its most impor- we root for him when his house is
tant scene. Lurie might as well attacked by an F-150 decked with
confederate bumper stickers and
loaded with rednecks, or did the
pompous little bastard have it
coming?
The 1971 masterpiece included
a powerful statement about the
effects of violence on the human
psyche. It was a brutal reminder
of how a government with an
itchy trigger finger could throw
soldiers with stable minds and
families into the fog of war, only
to toss them aside like "straw
dogs" after their years of faith-
ful service. Today's version is
a revenge thriller of the basest
kind, no better than rape revenge
flick "I Spit on Your Grave" in its
glorification of depravity.
Like a soldier before the war,
the original is : composed and
purposeful. But Lurie's take on
Peckinpah's classic looks more
like some returning soldiers - a
vapid, empty shell of a film.
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