2B - Thursday, March 13, 2014
The Michigan Daily - michigandaiiy.com
2B - Thursday, March 13, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
What ifwe just
make our own
myths?)
n 1831, Victor Hugo
published "The Hunch-
back of Notre Dame,"
hoping the novel would raise
awareness of the decaying state
of the titu-
lar cathedral - -- -
and prompt
renovations.
When tour- e
ists began
pouring
into Paris
to catch a JOHN
glimpse of JOHN
the fabled BOHN
Quasimo-
do and see
firsthand the beautiful archi-
tecture Hugo had painstak-
higly described, city officials,
embarrassed by the dilapida-
tion and fearful that it would
come to represent the city
among outsiders, hired Eugene
Viollet-le-Duc to restore the
Gothic vision of Notre Dame's
12th century architects. It's a
simple gesture. To save some-
thing he loved, Hugo created
his own myth, one that enliv-
ened the interest of others in
what he held dear.
Restoring Notre Dame might
not be the most progressive
gain in the history of social
activism, but I think the action
contains a kernel of truth that
might be useful for those with.
more ambitious goals in life.
When I saw "We need new
cultural myths" scribbled onto
a San Francisco sidewalk last
spring, Hugo's gesture came to
mind. To me, it offers a vibrant
response to this demand, one
that's not entirely unrelated
to a long-standing tradition of
political action -in American
history. Over the course of the
19th century, many individuals
and communities, feeling dis-
content with the world around
them, simply packed up their
bags and headed west to make
their own world. The idea is
not to reform an unjust society,
but instead, make it irrelevant.
For cultural politics, following
Hugo, what if we just make our
own myths?
In our "society of the spec-
tacle," the greatest pleasures
of life are presented to us as
always being "out there." But
"out there" is where we want
to be. Everyone wants to get
into Studio 54, but that's where
Andy Warhol and Liza Minneli
hang out. We devote so much
energy to following the every
move of celebrities because
they live the life we desire, a
life our vapid roles in society
do not offer us.
Instead of investing all of
this emotional energy into Hol-
lywood, though, why not for-
get it? Save that seven dollars
you would spend at the mov-
ies. Don't turn on the T.V. The
last thing we need is to open
another magazine and let pho-
to-shopped models make us feel
insecure about our bodies. In
other words, limit the influx of
unhealthy myths that the media
tries to sell us. Even in the most
seemingly progressive moments
of pop culture, Jay-Z still has a
piece of cake for Annie Mae. At
what point do we just give up?
I'mnot saying this is the most
effective politics, especially
when combating structural rac-
ism, sexism, heteronormativity
and classism. But the politics
of irrelevancy do remind us
of the little power we actually
have in our everyday life. We
won't change the world - that's
not art's place - but we might
be able to make ourselves feel
just a little less shitty about
ourselves and our situation.
Instead of getting invested in
who's going to win the Oscars,
read your friend's poems. Write
about them as much as you
write about what Justin Bieber
did the other day. Invest your
emotional and creative energies
in the people and places around
you. Start spinning myths that
enliven this immediate world,
that creates worlds more inclu-
sive and less harmful than what
has been given us.
For those who have the
opportunity to asend to the
Remember:
There's a lot
going on in A2.
heights of media and effect
change, by all means, go for it.
I seriously wish you the best of
luck. For those who do not have
such opportunity, and they are
legion, create your own com-
munities with their own myths,
symbols, icons and histories.
I This politics has always
been in my mind while
working for Community
Culture. Over the years, I've
only found more ways of
articulating what exactly I'm
getting at and why Community
Culture has always been so
important to me. I've had
the chance to interview, and
give space to, the voices of
so many wonderful people in
the community. Of course, as
a University campus, there's a
lot going on here in Ann Arbor.
If, like me, you're straddled
with debt after college and may
have to return home, where not
much is really going on, a lot
can be happening.
This is Bohn's last column.
Send your farewells to
jobohnycumich.edu.
HBO
When will bucket hats die?!
Hit HBO show's first
season comes to a close
Discussing the ins
and outs of the
'True Detective'
season finale
By CHLOE GILKE and
AKSHAY SETH
DailyArts Writer and
ManagingArts Editor
Chloe Gilke: That was quite
the finale. I knew there would
be some sort of twist ending,
but ... optimism? From Rust
Cohle? You got me, Pizzolatto.
But aside from that spectacu-
lar final scene (you can be sure
McConaughey has that Best
Actor in a Miniseries Emmy
Award on lock), "Form and
Void" was another fantastic
installment. The chase of Errol
Childress was beautifully shot
and acted, and the relative quiet
of the last third of the hour,
with Rust and Marty contem-
plating their revived friendship
and their "victory" over Chil-
dress was satisfying. Damn, I'm
going to miss this show.
Akshay Seth: I'm so happy
it looks like you enjoyed the
finale as much as I did because
I really didn't want this recap to
devolve into arguing. I watched
it with a bunch of cynical ass-
holes/my friends (hey, guys!)
who all felt Pizzolatto "bitched
out" and didn't really give the
type of shocking revelation they
had been looking forward to
the entire season. Whein I asked
them what this shocking revela-
tion, in their discerning views,
ought to have been, I got, and I
think marijuana has something
to do with this, "well, I don't
know - what if the spaghetti
monster was real and the last
shot was Rust and Marty trying
to eat him to death."
ANYWAYS, this finale was as
close to perfection as you can get
after the insane, thrilling ride
we've had all season. Pizzolatto
has been saying for a long time
that he's going to end the season
on a predictable note because
he respects his audience too
much to pull a last-minute twist
that nullifies hours of build-up,
and that form of thinking was
really apparent here. The epi-
sode iummoed along cleanly and
peaked in the type of chase that
so many serial killer movies end
in. Everything was predictable,
but as is what we'd expect from
the best show of the year, it was
done with poise and beauty.
Chloe Gilke: I had a pretty
ideal viewing experience. My
friend (who stopped watching
the show, which I will never
understand) let me watch it
alone in his room while he was
at work. There is no better way
to watch "True Detective" than
in enormous HD, while try-
ing not to spill cashews on his
unmade bed. But I digress. I
think this finale was exactly
what the show was headed
toward its entire run. Pizzolat-
to stated that he "doesn't care
at all about serial killers" and
although this is a show that
appears on the surface to be
conducive to mystery and con-
spiracy, when it comes down
to it, that's not really the case.
"True Detective" is about the
two men who had tried for 17
years to crack a case, and who
persevered even while their
partnership and family lives
fell to shambles. The criti-
cism that the show has faced
(mainly its lack of regard for
female characters) is because
of its narrow focus. But when
it comes down to it, I thought
that seeing Marty and Rust
defeat Childress (with the cool-
est POV gunshot wound since
"Breaking Bad") was a satisfy-
ing enough end. One especially
poignant moment was when
Rust believed that the real evil
hadn't been defeated, since the
Tuttles remained unscathed (of
course, this didn't bother Marty
so much). Even in the end, a dif-
ference of opinion between our
two detectives.
Akshay Seth: Ugh, and the
final monologue from McCo-
naughey is just reaffirmation
that no matter how much you
hate him as a human being, he
can sure as hell act. As you said,
this show has been about the
obsessive journeys of two men
brought together by the hands
of evil. Marty, for 17 years,
obsessively tries to find some
modicum of normality while
Rust attempts to bury his past
in his chase for Dora Lang's
killer. Repetitively, both men
are brought together by the
murder case and the last few
minutes of this episode are so
cathartic because it's that same
murder case which helps them
finally get over what they've
been trying to put behind for so
many years. Marty finally sees
some redemption in the eyes of
TRAILER REVIEW
Well, you can't say you
didn't see this one coming:
"Transformers 4: Age of Extinc-'
tion." The first
wasalright,
but thesecond
was not;asto Tranformers
the third,to 4 eof
quote Shake-
speareIsay, Extinction
"thou art the Paramouts
son and heir
of a mongrel
bitch," which makes this fourth
film something truly awful..
Thiis lswhathappens when we
keep giving Michael Bayour
money. So stop, because now
we have robot dinosaurs... yes,
dinosaurs.
Our trailer begins with the
venerable Marky Mark Wahl-
berg- since Shia Laboeuf is just
tooartsyfor"Transformers"
now - a workingclass, single
father finding an old semi he
intends to strip for parts so as
to putchis daughter through col-
his estranged family and Cohle,
and for the first time, is able to
confront how he felt about his
slain daughter. It ended on such
a human, hopeful note mirror-
ing the two men's journeys.
Chloe Gilke: And although
the tie-in with Carcosa and the
Yellow King was a little weak
(leave it to the novelist to make
everything a metaphor), I still
didn't find too much of a fault
with the plot/action aspects. In
my opinion, this episode even
had some of the best action
sequences the show has had.
The tracking scene with Chil-
dress was absolutely chilling,
and his Carcosa lair seemed
straight out of one of my NyQuil
nightmares. The overgrown
plants and chaotic mess of Chil-
dress' home was gorgeous. I'm
not sure if season 2 will also be
set in Louisiana, but as a sucker
for Southern Gothic lit, I'll cer-
tainly miss the color that the
Louisiana landscape brought
to "True Detective." Heck, I'll
miss Marty and Rust, MCo-
naughy monologues and 6
minute tracking shots. I could
talk forever (time is a flat circle,
and that must be mentioned at
least once in every recap I do)
about my "True Detective" sad-
ness. But my sections of this
recap have been Rust-mono-
logue long, and I have to stop
myself before I talk into the flat
circle of infinity.
Akshay Seth: Goddammit,
I was hoping neither one of us
would say "circle," and I'd just
end the recap with "CIRCLES,
DROP MIC." Anyways, we have
to talk about Errol Childress -
probably one of the most fucked
up antagonists I've seen in a
while. He was played perfectly
by Glenn Flesher and the whole
"making flowers" scene was a
brilliant way for Pizzolatto to
put us out of our comfort zone
whenever we saw him. Even his
weird southern/British accent
just made the hair on the back
of your neck stand on end. When
we finally see him, off in the dis-
tance, looking at Rust, for the
first time, you really realize that
McConaughey isn't going to be
back next season and this chase
might as well mean the end of
the line for both protagonists.
Chloe Gilke: Maybe it was
the anthology structure of the
series or just the brilliant plot-
ting of the episode, but I loved
not knowing whether Rust and
Marty were going to make it
past Childress alive. Too often,
especially with finales, plots
and endings can feel predict-
able. The heroes are in danger,
and because it's the last episode,
probably there will be a shoot-
out and someone would die. But
until the hospital scenes later in
the episode, I really wasn't con-
vinced Rust had survived that
brutal stomach wound. Even
after the gunshots and Chil-
dress' death, the suspense was
still just as gripping, Maybe this
is just because I was watching
it live, or the threat of dropping
cashews on my friend's floor
was too real. But the finale was
engaging and just the perfect,
beautiful ending to a perfect,
beautiful show.
And I say this cheesy high
praise without a smirk on my
face. Rust ended the series with
the optimistic line that "the light
is winning," soI think my words
are pretty appropriate.
Akshay Seth: CIRCLES.
DROP MIC.
lege. But it's no ordinary truck:
it's Optimus Prime. When the
governmentcomes to put the
robotcdown because apparently
the "Age of the Transformer"
is done, Optimus effortlessly
escapes. But thentthe dino-
saurs and some other evil space
robots come - the government
undoubtedlyneedshelp, so
Optimus steps up and literally
backhands a T. Rex transformer
in the face.
The trailer is complete with
PARAMOUNT
finishing touches such as a robot
whose face turns into a gun,
screaming, explosions and slow
motion. Basically, it's everything
you wantoutof a Michael Bay
movie with the addedbonus
of being only two and a half
minutes long. So, enjoy this sad
excuse of a trailer and don't see
the actual moviebecause God
only knows what monstrosity
will be cooked up in Trans-
formers 5.
-JAMIE BIRCOLL
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