4 - Friday, November 1, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4 - Friday, November 1, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom c l e micbifan ly Whores and horrors Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com MELANIE KRUVELIS and ADRIENNE ROBERTS MATT SLOVIN EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS MANAGING EDITOR ANDREWWEINER EDITOR IN CHIEF Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors. An unnecessar gambe Detroit is not in the position to take on more debt at this time Last week, Detroit City Council rejected a $350-million loan pro- posed by Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr. If approved by federal Judge Steven Rhodes, who's overseeing the city's bankrupt- cy case, the loan would provide the city with money to pay off debt, invest in the city and fund public services. The council rejected the proposal and won't put forth an alternative deal. The loan is being floated to help pay off the city's $18-billion debt. Yet, the current debt owed by Detroit was incurred from previous loans and the subsequent failure to pay them back. Taking on more loans to pay for previous loans is simply continuing a pat- tern that has gotten Detroit into its current financial situation. A bout a week ago, while walking up the steps to my co-op, I noticed a new presence on our front door. Among the papers plas- tered across our door windows advertising var- ious communal activities was KATIE a particularly STEEN loud poster: "Luther Hal- loween," it read in electric green Goosebumps style. Beneath the text was a drawing of a ghoulish uninvited guest bursting through a door with a bloody chain- saw. To the left cowered a terrified and bodacious redhead, mascara streaming down her cheeks as she braced for the intruder. Of course she was only wearing a purple thong and a size XXS camisole. Of course she's got the body of a Vic- toria's Secret Angel. Of course her nipples are erect. Something about the thong and the cami and the nipples - they're just so .:. unnecessary. So done- before. And I know that's part of the fun of the poster - it's a paro- dy of that classic horror trope. Of course the girl in the underwear is goingto murderedbythe chainsaw- wielding zombie / skeleton / vam- pire / madman / man ina raincoat / male figure in general. As Gretchen Weiner, from the movie "Mean Girls" would explain, it's, like, the laws of horror movie anti-femi- nism. But why? It's no secret that horror films traditionally don't like the ladies. There tends to be at least one woman who ends up anywhere from partially to completely naked and then sliced, hacked and other- wise butchered. Let me diverge for a second. Recently, wanting to find a qual- ity horror movie to watch, I went on IMDb and looked up a list of the top 100 classic horror movies. I noticed a trend within the movie descriptions. Antagonists include "a practical man," "an obsessed (male) scientist," "a (male) doctor," "a young man," "a brilliant (male) surgeon," some more doctors and young men. Victims include "the virtuous young Mina," a "beautiful woman," "a (female) secretary," a bride, "nice young women," - just, you know, "women ... " many of whom are displayed on the front covers in skin-tight ensembles show off their conveniently sized DD boobs. So, basically, what we have here is hot women beingkilled by men. Yes, occasionally females are the "bad guys" - wow, masculinity is even in the name. There's Stephen King's Carrie, the shy girl who you can't help but sympathize with even though she kills everyone and her mother. There's the possessed girl with the green puke in "The Exorcist." There's the girl with the hair in her face from "The Ring." There's the woman with the hair in her face from "The Grudge." Those are a few examples that immediately come to mind, but I think it's notable that the common factor with these female terrors is that they're all somehow inhuman - essentially "crazy" or possessed by something else. These female antagonists aren't completely in control of their actions, but rather have been corrupted by something bigger than themselves. Granted, the "Cabin films I cited earlier are clas- Woods" c sics, so these movies weren't tradition exactly created during the peak roles in ho of feminism. But, really, not too much has changed since then. Women continue to be - the vic- tims - de-robed and sliced up on screens across the world. The thing is, I really like scary movies, but part of liking horror is having to willfully ignore blatantly misogy- nistic themes a lot of the time. Until now. Now being yesterday. I watched "The Cabin in the Woods" for the first time. I know, I'm a little late in the game. I'd been told countless times to watch it by my friends. But, sitting at the dining room table a few days ago, a friend of mine sug- gested that I watch "The Cabin in the Woods." "It's sort of feminist," she said. "But they still show boobs. They just had to show boobs." Yeah, they do show boobs in "Cabin in the Woods." Of course they're the boobs of a blonde - "the Orr put out inquiries for loans to about 50 financial institutions, with four committing loans to the city. To secure these loans, Orr pledged income and casino tax revenue as well as $10 million in proceeds from the sale of city assets. The loan, from the London-based bank Barclays, is broken down into two por- tions: $230 million going towards the pay- ment of previous loan debt and $120 million going towards the funding of city services and investment in the city. There are many concerns about this loan. It has a floating interest rate, meaning that the rate could potentially rise based on market forces, further deepening the city's debt. Orr has pledged revenue from the sale of city assets to secufe the loan. He has not said, however, what would be sold to acquire the $10 million. The sale of city property - possibly Belle Isle or works of art from the Detroit Institute of Art - is a point of contention for many Detroit resi- dents who are patrons of these establishments. This loan is being secured and promoted during the city's bankruptcy trial. Orr, who is also a bankruptcy lawyer, is the main force behind the loan and is also the main promoter of the city's filing for bankruptcy. Orr is pro- moting both further loans as well as bank- ruptcy for the city as ways to save money and restructure Detroit's finances. This appears to be a conflicting attempt to tackle the issue from two different angles: One of the main reasons for the current fiscal crisis is debt from previ- ous loans. In 2005, Detroit took out a $1.44-bil- lion loan - also based on fluctuating interest rates - to finance its two pension funds, which backfired and left the city even more in debt and still trying to pay off the pensions to this day. Filing for bankruptcy is a safe route for the city - no more debt can be incurred while.the legal system helps the city responsibly liquidate its assets and pay off its debts. The city made the decision to file for bankruptcy, and it should attempt to utilize that route before putting into action other plans for rescuing the city from financial ruin. Although Detroit's city council rejected the loan, the proposal is now to be decided by Ste- ven Rhodes. The decision is being deferred to the judge because the city council chose not to propose an alternative option. Under the emergency manager law, city councils are only offered 17 days to consider such a proposal by an emergency manager. While Orr's office had ample time to compile and present the loan from Barclays, the city council is given an extremely short time span to come up with a counterproposal with "the same level of benefit to the city." This is not nearly enough time to create a counterproposal, especially one to pay off millions of dollars of debt. This loan is a continuation of the actions that got the city of Detroit into the dire fiscal straits in which it currently finds itself. Taking on more loans to pay for previously incurred debt will justcontinue the downwardspiral, one that could potentially put up the prized possessions of Detroit - the DIA, Belle Isle - as collateral. Under the direction of Orr, the city is already attempting to deal with its financial crisis by filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. Detroit should continue down that path, and only upon failure should it attempt to find alternative ways of dealing with its debt. 1 : .c )l whore"- and, of course, the boobs are exposed when she's engaging in some form of sexual pleasure, right before being attacked by a zombie redneck torture family. But that's the whole point. While waiting for the quintessential blonde to show some tits, one of the technicians in the film even says, "OK, baby, let's see some boobies ... Gotta keep the customers satis- fied." He watches the boobs/zombie attack scene with close attention - partly, because he wants to see boobs, but also because that's what people expect when they see a cute young woman ina horror movie. "Cabin in the Woods" challeng- es the traditional role of females in horror movies in that it follows the traditional tropes to an almost absurd degree. The "whore" is pumped with pheromones until she's a horny, ass-shaking vixen who makes out with a taxider- mied wolf - it was a dare, but still, she appears to really enjoy it. The "virgin" is naive and clueless, con- stantly in need of male guidance and consolation. Even the female killers in the movie are pretty in the useless - there's the "Grudge"- hallenges like ghost girl who's defeated al female by a classroom full of ador- rror films. able Japanese schoolchildren, for instance, and then there's the girl zombie, who's overall pretty unintimidat- ing and useless - except for when she actually helps the protagonists of the film. I get that alot of scary movies are meant to be fun - that not every portrayal of women is going to be realistic, just like Freddy Krueger and Count Dracula aren't the most realistic men. But "Cabin in the Woods" does a damn good job at showing how hackneyed - and comical - these female characters are. If you're looking for a solid hor- ror film to cap off the Halloween season, perhaps consider "Cabin in the Woods." But no matter what film you decide on, keep a critical eye on the women in the movie - and not just on their tits. - Katie Steen can be reached at katheliz@umich.edu. s6 " EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Kaan Avdan, Sharik Bashir, Barry Belmont, James Brennan, Eric Ferguson, Jordyn Kay, Jesse Klein, Melanie Kruvelis, Maura Levine, Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald, Victoria Noble, Adrienne Roberts, Paul Sherman, Daniel Wang, Derek Wolfe ALLEN WU| Response to 'Hood Ratchet Thursday' 0 It's not black and white T he City of Detroit's 2013 mayoral race he thinks needs to be said in order to win an could've been a slugfest. It could've election, hoping to ultimately serve the city in been bloody, bruising and divisive for the best way possible as its top official in 2014. a city and region too often But, at the same time, these jabs intentionally at odds within and among expose old wounds and a deep-seated racial itself. antagonism that has permeated city-subur- And yes, I'm talking ban politics for decades. about more than just the Fortunately for the city, though, Detroit competitiveness of the elec- voters aren't having it. What could've been a tion, with the most recent perfect storm for stirring up municipal and poll numbers giving candi- , regional animosity regarding race has turned date Mike Duggan, former ' into an election campaign characterized by CEO of the Detroit Medical ALEXANDER indifference to racial politics. Center, a commanding 2 to HERMANN One poll from September found that race 1 lead over Wayne County is not a factor for nearly 80 percent of Detroit Sheriff Benny Napoleon. voters, a city that's almost 83-percent Black I'm also talking about according to 2010 census data. the explicit racial implications. Urban planning Prof. June Manning Thom- "The white guy, Mike Duggan," as one voter as, who has written extensively on race and in Detroit's August primary election wrote on Detroit, said residents desire a candidate who his ballot, defied all political and campaign possesses the skills to get the job done and logic by taking a commanding 51 percent of demonstrates competent leadership, regard- votes in August's primaryelection asa write-in, less of race. candidate after being thrown off the ballot due Left unexamined are the broader implica- to complications with his residency. tions for Duggan's probable election, which Before then, and even would make him the first now, pundits, - commu- white mayor of Detroit nity officials and outside Detroit's since Roman Gribbs left observers insisted that office in 1974. the election be about race, mayoral race is Appropriately,the Taub- using every opportunity man College of Architec- to turn the conversation characterized by ture and Urban Planning toward the juxtaposi- is hosting a symposium tion between Duggan's ,racial indifference. today titled "Planning whiteness and Napoleon's in a 'Post-Racial' Society continued residency and (?): New Directions and black legitimacy. Challenges" in the University of Michigan Although Duggan was born and raised in Museum of Art. Though many claim that the Detroit, he lived in suburban Livonia for years United States has progressed into a "post- before returningto Detroit in 2012, anticipating racial nation," mountains of evidence exist to a potential run for mayor - garnering the "car- the contrary, with racially segregated Met- petbagger" moniker from those most skeptical. ropolitan Detroit oftentimes comprising the Even Napoleon's camp has engaged in unflat- contradiction peak. tering political discourse, making frequent Regardless, though, Duggan's seemingly allusions to Duggan's status as an outsider. imminent election indicates some healing in According to Napoleon campaign spokesman a city and region desperately needing even Jamaine Dickens, in a recently published small moral victories. Detroit Free Press article, Duggan "couldn't And given Detroit's current turmoil, we'll find a specific Detroit neighborhood without a take all the wins we can get. navigation system." In part, these statements comprise accepted - Alexander Hermann can be campaign practice. Napoleon is saying what reached at aherm@umich.edu. As the host, and author of the event "Hood Ratchet Thursday," I would like make a formal response to Erin Fischer's viewpoint. First, I would like to sincerely apologize for any negative emo- tions that you and any other offend- ed members of the community may have felt. Let me be the first to admit that the party's theme and the lan- guage used in the event description were insensitive and distasteful. Please allow me to clarify my moti- vations behind this, because it was never my intention to purposefully offend or degrade another culture or gender. "Hood Ratchet Thursday" started out as an idea for a party centered around hip-hop music - a genre that I've grown up with and still love. As with all music, it's nearly impossible to separate from its culture, and hip hop has a particularly prolific one that per- vades mainstream consciousness. At most college social events, the music of choice, if not electronic dance. music (EDM) or pop, is hip hop.. Thus, hearing, and rapping along to, the lyrics of A$AP Rocky's "Fuckin' Problems" or Juicy J's "Bandz A Make Her Dance" - the songs from which I derived the phrases "bad bitches" and "ratchet pussy" respectively - or other vul- gar songs on any given night while out with friends is not unheard of, if not commonplace. Mainstream hip hop is now dom- inated by rappers who glorify sex- ist and superficial themes. These are the artists whom the media promotes and whose music we all consume at social events and at our own leisure. As an avid consumer of the music, it's easy to get caught up in the lyrics and attitude. Herein lies the first mistake I made: trying to emulate the culture and attitudes prevalent in the music. Of course, I'm aware of hip- hop's roots in African-American culture, and I understand why so many are upset at my usage of the words "ratchet," "twerking," etc. But let me be clear: in no way was it my intention to appropriate Black culture. I was attempting to emu- late the distasteful party culture of hip hop, not as a synonym for Black culture, but rather as the musical genre that is consumed by all races. Because, at least in my opinion, when hip-hop culture reaches the level of appeal which it enjoys with listeners of all races and differ- ent cultural backgrounds, it tran- scends strictly racial definitions. And that's how we can sometimes forget, as I did, that it's not always OK to emulate respected hip-hop artists; that racial sensitivity is no small issue; and that people can, and will, negatively perceive Black culture because of media and social stereotypes. I wish that we lived in an age where we as people could collectively celebrate the music that we consume without aggravating racial sensitivi- ties. It pains me to see that "hip-hop parties" are immediately cast under a racial lens, even if not so intended. Just because we celebrate and enjoy the music and terminology used by predominantly Black hip-hop artists, that does not mean we are attempt- ing to appropriate Black culture. We take it for what it is, and that's hip hop as music, and thus, hip-hip cul- ture. If current hip hop is dominat- ed by terminology like "twerking," "ratchet," and "swag," then that's what its audience absorbs as hip hop: it doesn't have to be Black. But if peo- ple perceive it as so, then I agree that it's completely inappropriate. As a fellow minority, I sympa- thize with you for the racial preju- dice leveled against you. I could never pretend to understand what you face. But as someone who has experienced firsthand how rac- ism, whether blatant or subtle, can affect our emotions and livelihood, I apologize for any hurt that I've caused in our community. Again, I would personally like to offer my sincere apologies to those affected by my lapse in judgment and would be open to joiningthe conver- sation on how we as a community could-find ways to educate ourselves on controversial race issues so that we can avoid future misunderstand- ings, and move forward asa healthy, unified community. Allen Wu is an LSA junior. 0 4 CHECK US OUT ONLINE Keep up with columnists, read Daily editorials, view cartoons and join in the debate. 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