8A - Monday, March 31, 2014
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
8A - Monday, March 31, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
'rEVOLUTION' to
exhibit local works
Students
and alumni
to contribute to
SAPAC exhibition
By GRACE PROSNIEWSKI
Daily Arts Writer
Now in its ninth year,
SAPAC's rEVOLUTION exhi-
bition seeks to present infor-
mation about
sexual assault 9th Annual
in new and EOUIN
often striking LUTION:
ways. MakingArt
The Sex- for Change
ual Assault
Prevention Monday
and Aware- through Friday
ness Center, Art Lounge atthe
the sponsor Michigan Union
of rEVOLU-
TION, works Free
to cultivate
an environ-
ment of respect and safety for
all members of the University
by providing educational and
supportive services related to
issues of sexual violence, sexual
harassment, intimate partner
violence and stalking.
SAPAC is composed of a
highly dedicated network of
allies and volunteers, includ-
ing LSA senior Nicole Corrigan,
who serves as co-coordinator
for the Networking, Public-
ity and Activism program at
SAPAC. Part of SAPAC's out-
reach includes the "rEVOLU-
TION: Making Art for Change"
exhibition.
"I believe that art is an excel-
lent way to engage with audi-
ences that are usually less
receptive to SAPAC's message,"
Corrigan said, "Which allows
us to connect with more people
on campusuand raise awareness
around issues of sexualized vio-
lence. The slogan 'Making art
for change' reflects our desire
to use art to positively affect
our campus, with our end goal
always being the eventual end of
sexualized violence."
"We ask for submissions of art
of any medium that follows the
themes of sexism, gender, sex-
ual violence or empowerment
and display the art for a week in
April, which is Sexual Assault
Awareness Month," Corrigan
said. "At the end of the week,
we hold a closing reception for
people to come view the work,
and we have musical or spoken
word performances, along with
remarks by administrators of
the University."
The exhibit continues to
develop and recently added new
pieces that provide a better fit
for SAPAC's overall mission.
The number of submissions each
year has been on the rise, giv-
ing the event's organizers more
freedom to highlight the best
pieces.
"Over the years, as rEV has
become more established and
better-known, we have increas-
ingly received more submissions
from not only local artists, but
also artists from the other side
of the country," Corrigan said.
Art may not seem like the
most likely tool for an organi-
zation that deals with sexual
violence, but the past success of
the exhibition has proven how
effective art can be at communi-
cating SAPAC's message.
"I hope that people who come
to rEVOLUTION who have
never been exposed to SAPAC
or worked to end sexualized vio-
lence will gain some knowledge
and comfort with these issues
and be interested in learning
more in the future," Corrigan
said. "This show will help raise
awareness about what SAPAC is
and what resources we provide
for the campus in an enjoyable
and approachable way."
Thanking Him for her post-Potter roles.
A visual, thematic feast
of biblical proportions
YOU KNOW YOU
WANT TO.
FOLLOW US.
Aronofsky's 'Noah' of sin.
Sounds like a tight plan until an
turns religious ill-tempered descendant of Cain
(the dick son of Adam and Eve
tale into visceral that murdered his brother Abel)
decides to intervene with the help
experience ofhismilitantkingdom. Their plan
is to raid and overtake the ark as
ByANDREW MCCLURE soon as the first raindrop hits.
DailyArts Writer What follows is a chaotic unfolding
of events, equal parts mortifying,
"Noah" makes it clear that you tense and emotive. Noah's shoul-
need be neither Bible-thumper dering of God's morally ambiguous
nor an unbeliever to appreciate agenda leaves usjust as indecisive.
its message. But it's that indecision that
Or its visual makes this venturesome ride
feast. Or its ace worth riding. Aronofsky, who has
performances. Noah no qualms with scaring his audi-
One-movie- ence with what skewed conviction
every-three- Quality16 can doto people, as he did in"Black
years director and Rave 20 Swan" and "Requiem for a Dream,"
Darren Aronof- is trickier this time around. You'd
sky ("Black Paramount think that the moral agenda of a
Swan") mas- biblical epic would be straightfor-
terfully transposes the biblical ward: listen to God because he's
chronicle into a current visceral smart and ignore the God-hater
experience that speaks volumes on with a dirty two-pronged beard.
the most human platform possible. It's more complicated than that.
As the story goes, God fore- Saving these innocent animals is
warns Noah (Russell Crowe, "Les a generous act, but it comes at the
Miserables") that He plans to cost of losing equally innocent,
"cleanse" the earth of mankind's oppressed people of that Cain's
sin and filth through a cataclysmic coldblooded, royal descendant.
Deluge. It's a tall task for one man, It's important to mention how
his wife (Jennifer Connelly, "He's lawless a "monarchy" Aronofsky
Just Not That Into You"), three has created to juxtapose against
sons and an unofficial daughter Noah's six-person, don't-hurt-the-
(Emma Watson, "The BlingRing"). flowers community. They're nearly
Fortunately, fallen-angels-turned- antithetical - but only superficial-
giant-stone-creatures vow to help ly. In one of the film's best scenes,
Noah build a hangar-sized ark to Noah tells his wife that, after wit-
protect the "innocents" from the nessing the king's people devour-
storm. The innocents, according to ing innocent fauna and sacrificing
Noah, are any and all animals that women as fodder, "We are still no
"have not changed" since Adam different from them." Suddenly
and Eve discovered sin, making there's no unambiguous team to
them redeemable. This way, God root for. And indecision never felt
can essentially restart humankind so good.
where it began: pure, kind and free Crowe fuels these frayed emo-
tions in a strong, at times domi-
neering, bravura. He shifts from
dad to husband to de facto Cho-
sen One to person with a sense of
humor and effortless grace. And
his character arc winds in tandem
with his likability. Though Jen-
nifer Connelly has a few indelible
imprints, Emma Watson brings
unexpected poise asthe parentless
fourth child of Noah. Finally, Ray
Winstone ("The Departed") adds
much-needed sinister chops as the
king of Cainian anarchy.
Like any epic film, naturalistic
or fantastical, everybody loves to
talk about the visuals. Forget the
mouth-ajar long shots of the build-
ing of the ark, which iscompleted
mostly by these quasi-bionic stone
creatures, when you have a three-
minute-long montage-driven
depiction of evolution: from dark-
ness came light and ... you know
the story. Except once Noah fin-
ishes telling this bonfire story, he
insists that, "Everything that was
good, we shattered. Mankind must
end." So when his family tries to
convince him they - and not the
innocentking's people - are worth
saving, he hits the proverbial fork
in the road on the largest stage
ever: purge all mankind or entrust
his loved oneswith the Great task?
The poignant tale, if anything,
reminds us, in 2014, that hard-as-
shit decisions are older than-time
itself and we should beso lucky to
deal with ever-trivial dilemmas
instead of ones with earthshat-
tering magnitude. In the closing
remark, a man lends a tip to pos-
terity, "Be fruitful, multiply and
replenish the earth." The film
resonates because it reaffirms that
Cain and his lineage were jerks,
but that doesn't make Noah an
angel.
@MICHIGANDAI LY
'Girls' ends on an exciting note
By MADDIE THOMAS
Daily TV/NewMediaEditor
Relationships are fucking hard.
Building one singular, function-
ing adult life is difficult enough;
trying to coor-
dinate two in
tandem can be
nearly impossi- Girls
ble. Sometimes
things work out Season 3
but sometimes Finale
they don't, and
for a significant HBO
population of
overachieving twentysomethings,
chasing the elusive idea of "per-
sonal success" ends up taking
priority over maintaining relation-
ships. In both romance and friend-
ship, thisnwas the mantra of"Girls"
season three. Sometimes you have
to be selfish, and though Hannah
Horvath is generally a little too
good at putting herself before oth-
ers, the writers of "Girls" are final-
ly giving her a chance to do what
she does best.
Warning:Spoilersfollow.
"Two Plane Rides" effectively
wrapped up all of the season'splot-
lines in one way or another. Adam
and Desi's play, "Major Barbara"
opens on Broadway. Shoshanna
learns that she is three credits
short of graduating from NYU
on time (thanks to a failing grade
in "glaciology"). Marnie finally
makes out withDesionly tolater be
confronted by his girlfriend. Jessa
agrees to help her new employer,
BeeDee, commit suicide, and ends
up frantically dialing 911 when
BeeDee changes her mind at the
last minute. Oh, and Adam's sister
who disappeared four episodes
ago finally re-appears! Turns out
she's been living downstairs with
Laird, and she's pregnant with his
spawn.
The episode's most impor-
tant revelation, though, comes
in the first five minutes. Hannah
is accepted to the Iowa Writers'
Workshop, (described by Marnie
as, "like, the best MFA program
in the world"). In typical Han-
nah fashion, she sneaks backstage
before opening night of Adam's
Broadway debut to share the excit-
ing news (brag), effectively mess-
ing up Adam's mojo on the biggest
night of his professional life.
The strain in Hannah and
Adam's relationship comes from
thebalanceof professionalsuccess
and personal fulfillment - not
uncommon territory for televi-
sion relationships, but somehow
totally refreshing in this youth-
ful, creative setting. The tension
has consistently been sharp, well
developed and thoughtful all
season. Hannah attempts to play
the supportive girlfriend role
while Adam achieves his acting
dreams, but she ultimately can't
control the jealousy that comes
with watching someone close to
you succeed creatively while you
struggle. It's a testament to the
show's writers, that when Adam
and Hannah fight at the end of the
finale, we're not left in emotional
turmoil over whether or not they
will break up; the episode's final
shot is of Hannah clutching her
Iowa acceptance letter close to
her heart, smiling.
The best parts of "Girls" this
season explored the nuances
of what relationships are really
like for young adults. Hannah's
friendships with the other Girls
are disintegrating, not because
of any dramatic moment that can
be pin-pointed, but more because
they're all headed in different
directions and chasing different
things. Sometimes people drift
apart and that's just the way life
is.
The third season of "Girls"
wasn't without its faults -
Shoshanna and Jessa continue to
be criminally misused supporting
characters - but the strength of
Adam and Hannah's arc, espe-
cially in the finale, has somehow
managed to make up for it. There
aren't many shows out there that
dare to separate their protagonist
from the rest of the characters,
but a season of Hannah in Iowa
could be a great thing for "Girls"
in terms of generating bold and
interesting content and in terms
of giving the supporting cast a
chance to shine.
Now is the time for Hannah to
put herself and her career first.
As her parents remind her, when
an opportunity as life changing
as Iowa comes along, you take it
and you make it work. Hannah
is finally in a position to be self-
ish for good reason - even if it
means leaving her "friends" and
boyfriend behind to begin a new
chapter in her life. It's uncharted
territory for the show, but ven-
turing into uncharted territory is
exactly what Lena Dunham and
"Girls" thrive on.