10A - Monday, January 27, 2014
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
iDA - Monday, January 27, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
'Palestine Interrupted'
to reveal hidden stories
"Well according to this edition of the Michigan Daily..."
Fall g head over
heels for Hollow'
By ANNA SADOVSKAYA
Daily Arts Writer
Shrouded in conflict, popu-
lar perceptions of Palestinians
are often clouded by war, and
of the ongo-
ing search Palestine
for resolu-
tion. New Interrupted
York artist Through Feb.14
Adam Abel
challenges Exhibit Reception
the endless with artist's talk:
battle-tinged Jan.28,5:40 pm
narratives
coming from
the West Bank and seeks to show
a different version of Palestine
- an interruption from the bar-
rage of news stories depicting
fighting. This is told through his
piece, "Palestine Interrupted,"
a work geared toward the softer
side of the small sliver of land on
the banks of the Jordan River.
"Palestine is something that
I feel very close to," Abel said. "I
come from a Jewish family, and
I come from Philadelphia, and so
that also has made me very much
connected to what's going on in
Palestine and with 'my people.'
I ended up marrying an Arab-
American playwright from Leba-
non."
The interest in Palestine was
piqued during his time at Parsons
The New School For Design, when
hebeganvisitingthe state and met
a Palestinian activist who became
his partner for "QALQILYA," a
documentary that explores the
difficulty in telling a Palestinian
story to a Western audience.
"In the beginning, it's inescap-
able to notice the checkpoints
and the walls and surveillance
and the Israeli military vehicles.
There's too many of them," Abel
said of his trips to Palestine. "I
thought of all of these as the bar-
riers; after spending so much time
working onthis project, I realized
that a bigger wall was that nar-
ratives just can't leave Palestine.
The people can't tell their own
stories."
To combat this, Abel focused
on telling the other story - the
one of kids beat-boxing, of skate-
boarders and rollerbladers - of
times outside of strife. Abel began
"Palestine Interrupted" by imag-
ining a physical space that could
best showcase the different nar-
ratives.
"This circle idea is how it start-
ed," Abel said. "It's about process,
and life is about thinking about a
way of what needs to get done. I
started looking at all my footage
and picking out these moments
that weren't necessarily going
to be part of the film, but that
I would use near the end, that
I think served to convey ideas
about emotion."
Originally, Abel envisioned a
perfect circle of nine monitors,
each showing a clip on repeat.
Swivel stools would be at the cen-
ter, and each person would turn
from one monitor to the next. But
because different exhibit areas
call for different installation tech-
niques, Abel wanted to tell the
story of movement beyond bor-
ders - for his work to go beyond
the installation.
"I approached it from a central
place, with the idea of the circle
engaging with movement and, not
incidentally ... the story is about a
bunch of kids who use movement
to break barriers of confinement,"
Abel said. "So I was really inter-
ested in kind of taking that idea
into the spaces the film was going
to be featured in, with the narra-
tives and the expression of move-
ment."
Rather than tell one story,
Abel's nine clips tell the story of
routine, mundane, typical occur-
rences for the Palestinian people,
without focusing on the political
and military conflict.
"There's a piece about olives,
and it's a story of an olive becom-
ing olive oil. Then there's a goat
that becomes a holiday meal; You
see the goat alive and then you see
the goat dead, chopped to pieces,"
Abel said. "Then there's a narra-
tive about some sort of object in a
bag, and the video is shot inside of
the bag, and it's gone through the
process of inspection."
Focusing on real
portrayals of
Palestinian life.
More interested in what's not
shown than what is, Abel delib-
erately leaves out the war-torn
shots, in order to bring to life
something he hopes to be more
meaningful.
"I would like everyone to expe-
rience something; maybe some-
thing that they hadn't before or
find out something they didn't
know," Abel said. "I would be
interested in knowing how a
viewer engages with their own
understanding of Palestine
through the experience of see-
ing the work. I don't want them
to think a certain way or direct
them. I'm just interested in how
they engage with their own
understanding."
Fox develops a
brilliant serialized
drama
By ALEX INTNER
Daily Arts Writer
The serialized drama is a
very difficult thing to get right.
"Lost" launched a movement
when it not
only became A
a huge hit
right out of Sleepy Hollow
the gate, but
also gar- Season One
nered criti- Finale
cal acclaim Availablefor
and awards.
After "Lost" Streaming
succeeded, Fox
there were
many (mostly
failed) attempts to duplicate its
success. Then, "Sleepy Hollow"
premiered with a storyline that
was as fresh as it was crazy, cre-
ating the best drama of its kind
in years.
"Sleepy Hollow" follows
what happens when Ichabod
Crane (Tom Mison, "Parade's
End") is resurrected after being
dead for 200 years, along with
the Headless Horseman. The
event serves as the catalyst for
the apocalypse if the Horse-
man, his boss and those under-
neath succeed in their mission.
Crane enlists help from Abbie
Mills (Nicole Beharie, "42"), a Headless Horseman shooting at
lieutenant in the Sleepy Hol- people with a machine gun. Ton-
low police department, in order ally, the show successfully mixes
to stop the forces of evil from in humor, using it to balance out
destroying the world. the darkness that the writers por-
While degree of difficulty in tray evil with in the story.
the story that "Hollow" tries Even while "Hollow" was still
to tell is ridiculously high, it's developing the arc, the relation-
able to execute it very well. ship between Mills and Crane
Over the course of the first sea- at its center was enough to make
son, the show takes the idea of the show worth watching. Their
a war between good and evil friendship grounds the show as
and builds to the point where the serialized arc kept increas-
it seems it just can't take any ing the craziness and the stakes.
more story. Then the writers add Throughout the season, the writ-
more layers and details. Despite ers use little moments to bring the
all that, the story never becomes two characters closer together;
convoluted. Each step, even if They have them sitting in a room
it seems crazy, is a logical jump having a small conversation,
from the last idea. As the layers which builds to a scene in the
are added, they start to build into finale where Crane leaves Abbie
a whole. In the last moments of in Purgatory, changing the entire
the season, the show reveals the dynamic of their relationship.
true identity of the Henry Parrish This moment only has the impact
character (played by the fantastic it does because of the work that
John Noble, "Fringe") as Crane's was done leadingup to it.
son and the second Horseman of IfI'm Warner Bros. Studios and
the apocalypse. This reveal works Fox, I'd already be in the process
because hints have been placed of making a deal with Netflix or
throughout the season and it ties Amazon Prime to put "Hollow"
together many of the elements of on streaming. While the show
the story. is a hit, there's a lot of room for
"Hollow" never takes itself too growth, and it has the right com-
seriously and that allows this type ponents to get a "Scandal" or
of storytelling to work. There "Breaking Bad"-esque growth
are always subtle references to in its second season. If someone
the ridiculousness of the story, new starts watching and sees the
especially when outsiders are show's brilliant use of serializa-
introduced to the group of people tion and the great relationship
"fighting the war." It embraces at its center, they'll have a hard
the silliness, with camera shots time not falling head over heels
like one in the pilot involving the for it.
WE ARE THE
GREATEST
THING IN THE
HISTORY OF
SOCIAL MEDIA.
@MICH IGANDAILY
Absurd story kills 'Frankenstein'
By MAYANK MATHUR
Daily Arts Writer -
"Youeitherdieaheroorlivelong
enough to see yourself become
a villain." Or in Aaron Eckhart's
("Olympus Has
Fallen") case,
an insipid rep-
resentation of a .
classic literary 1, Frankenstein
character in Rave 20 and
the gloriously Quality 16
absurd fantasy,
"I, Franken- Lionsgate
stein," directed
by Stuart Beat-
tie ("G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra").
It's difficult to discuss this film
since there really isn't much to
talk about. It's downright weird
and thoroughly un-enjoyable -
the result of terrible storytelling.
The film starts off where the tale
of Victor Frankenstein and his
monstrous creation, as told by
author Mary Shelley, is about to
end - with Frankenstein's death.
Frankenstein dies in the pursuit
of his creation, who killed his
fiancee, and the creature buries Talk about open MRIs.
him in his family's cemetery.
However, amid all the bury- demon prince, thu
ing and the not-so-sentimental end this once and fc
goodbyes comes an attack upon
the monster by the demons. The
monster, now biblically named
Adam, is given aid by gargoyles
that turn into humans at will. lun bers a:
The gargoyle queen explains
that the attack has now inducted speaking
him into the gargoyle club. He
must fight against the demons dreary v
and their prince, Naberius (Bill
Nighy, "About Time"). Adam
politely refusestobe part ofthis
battle and leaves for the farthest If Adam had fo:
corners of the Earth. However, sitting in a pub an
he is still hunted by the demons - and the story -
and is able to repel their attacks deemed this afittin
using the weapons he stole from of ten dollars. Hos
the gargoyles. as easy as it look
So, after about 200 years, intervention causes
Adam returns to human civiliza- to collectively lo
tion, complete with a neat hair- and hit the panicb
cut and a hoodie, to re-entangle ironic considering1
himself in a battle from which wanted Adam in th:
he had conveniently, albeit inef- first place. What fol
ficiently, excused himself. Why out war between t
the sudden return, you ask? with Adam caughti
Because he gets pissed off with Questions of Adai
demons cutting into his alone do the right thin
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us seeking to and empathy are thrown around
or all. during the course of the conflict,
but are never fully explored.
Movies without coherent plot
structure are often forgiven
rt if the performances are
rouiind captivating enough ("American
7 Hustle," anyone?). Sadly, this is
not such a film. The characters
are one-dimensional and
oice. ishallow, and the actors pitch in
with listless performances. one
has to wonder why Eckhart, a
talented actor, chose to work
und Naberius on a film with such an absurd
nd killed him storyline. Even if the appeal of
I would have playing the iconic character of
gexpenditure Frankenstein's monster was
wever, it's not high, Eckhart simply does not
s, as Adam's do enough except lumber around
the gargoyles and speak in a deep, dreary voice.
se their shit It's a pity to see an acting talent
utton. This is wasted in a very strange movie
the gargoyles that is too outlandish, even
is battle in the considering its "fantasy" label.
llows is an all- "I, Frankenstein" has neither an
he two sides, interesting story nor compelling
in the middle. performances that paper over
m's ability to the cracks, making it an empty
g despite his creation, much like its titular
time and decides to head for the
lack of human emotion, morality character.