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Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - 5A
EVENT PREVEW
Festival to feature
Chinese cinema
Electric Shadows
Film Series to bring
five popular works
By KATHLEEN DAVIS
DailyArts Writer
A cinematically stunning his-
torical revenge thriller that chron-
icles the life of the kung-fu master
who trained
Bruce Lee. Electric
A roman-
tic comedy ShadOWS:
that follows UM Premiere
a ditzy Bei-
jing socialite Contemporary
as she moves Chinese Film
to Seattle to
have her mar- SeneS
ried lover's Wednesday,Sept.
baby with- 10 to Wednesday,
out scandal, Oct.8
but mostly
because of The MichiganTheater
her love for
"Sleepless in 9 p.m.
Seattle." A
sci-fi mystery about ayoung detec-
tive trying to solve the mystery of
agiant sea serpent stalkinghis city
at night.
Varied as these summaries are,
they describe three of five Chinese
films to be shown at the upcoming
inaugural Electric Shadows Film
Series, presented by the Lieber-
thal-Roger Center for Chinese
Studies and UM's Confucius Insti-
tute. The institute, established by
former University President Mary
Sue Coleman, serves to strengthen
ties between educational pro-
grams in Ann Arbor and China.
Electric Shadows will run from
September 10 to October 8, and all
screeningsare free and opentothe
public and accompanied by Eng-
lish subtitles.
The films described above
("The Grandmaster," "Fiqding
Mr. Right" and "Young, Detec-
tive Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon"
respectively), along with "Ameri-
can Dreams in China" and "Jour-
ney to the West" were chosen for
being the most popular and excit-
ing Chinese language films of2013.
The festival is curated by Markus
Nornes, professor of Asian Cinema
in both the Department of Asian
Languages and Cultures and the
Department of Screen Arts and
Cultures at the University..
Electric Shadows Film Festival
is not the first of its kind in Ann
Arbor. Regular film series have
been held over the years through
UM's centers for Japanese, Kore-
an, South and Southeast Asian and
Chinese studies, and are frequent-
ly met with great acclaim. In fact,
the University's Center for Japa-
nese Studies film series began in
Ann Arbor in 1975, making it by far
the oldest Japanese film series in
America and, accordingto Nornes,
likely anywhere outside Japan.
Over the years, the University
has featured numerous Chinese
language films in Ann Arbor,
however many of these have
been documentaries rather than
mainstream blockbusters. Elec-
tric Shadows will mark the first
mainstream Chinese film series
presented by the Confucius Insti-
tute at the University, a large step
for fans of Chinese cinema in Ann
Arbor.
Nornes is happy aboutthe ways
the University has been accom-
modating for Asian cinema in
the past, and is optimistic about
the possibilities for the future.
According to Nornes, his position
as Professor of Asian Cinema at
the University was also the first
of its kind in North America, a
springboard he's used to col-
laborate with the Asian centers
on campus to bring unique film
events to Ann Arbor. With this
inaugural collaboration with
the Confucius Institute, there
is potential for even more pos-
sibilities for future Chinese film
eventsi
"Because this is one of my
research specialties, I've often
been involved in the selection of
films and invitation of guests (for
Asian film events)," Nornes said.
"These included bringing one of
the greatest action stars of Hong
Kong cinema, and even inviting
the programnmer and filmmakers
of a banned film festival to show
their films in Ann Arbor. They
have always been exciting times."
While Nornes' professional
focus is typically on Japanese cin-
ema, specifically documentaries,
his expansive knowledge in these
two fields has helped him create
an exciting and thorough festival
lineup for Ann Arbor residents
interested in mainstream Asian
film.
"There is great diversity in this
selection, from arty action films
to straight ahead melodramas,"
Nornes said. "They are all in a
popular mode of filmmaking that
is really engaging."
Nornes noted that this engag-
ing style of film is not unlike
contemporary American cinema.
Similarities between these films
and recent American movies are
certainly present, whether this
was the intention of the filmmak-
ers or not. For example, the sec-
ond film in the series, "American
Dreams in China," is a fast-paced
business drama about college
friends with an innovative mon-
eymaking idea that propels them
into fortune and leads to endan-
gered partnerships. The film
quickly brings to mind David
Fincher's 2010 box office hit "The
Social Network," in both plot and
engagingcinematic style.
"(This style) mirrors the
diversity of our own cinema in
America, and Chinese filmmak-
ers tweak things according to
their own artistic, cultural and
historical sensibilities," Nornes
said. "Viewers with little expe-
rience watching Chinese film
will be fascinated by the echoes
they'll see between the genres and
approaches they are used to here
and their Chinese versions."
Dude, where's my bike?
'Sons of Anarchy' drags
in season premiere
FX's motorcycle
gang saga is
running out of gas
By CHLOE GILKE
Daily TV/New Media Editor
In the final minutes of the sev-
enth-season premiere of "Sons
of Anarchy," an innocent man is
beaten and tor-
tured while a +
Southern rock
cover of "Bohe- Sons of
mian Rhapso-
dy" plays in the AnaWhy
background. Season Seven
While "SoA" is Premiere
reliably violent
and difficult to Tuesdays
watch, the rea- at10p.m.
son I cringed
and covered )X
my eyes this
time wasn't just out of sympa-
thy for the rival gun-runner. I
couldn't stand to watch Jax Tell-
er (Charlie Hunnam, "Pacific
Rim"), the supposed hero of the
series - the man who wanted to
change the gang for the better
and live a peaceful life with his
high school sweetheart, the dis-
senting voice and idealistic son
- pour salt in a man's wounds to
avenge a murder his poor victim
didn't commit.
It's frustrating to be a long-
time viewer of "Sons of Anar-
chy." As the series limps toward
its end, moments like this have
become more typical. That's
due in part to the fact that
there's more of "Sons" to watch
than ever before. The premiere
is 75 minutes long without com-
mercials and the show uses that
extra running time to insert
moreunnecessary musical mon-
tages set to classic rock covers
(the opening of the episode is a
five minute montage to "Never
My Love" that serves zero pur-
pose). The entire first half hour
of the episode could have been
cut with little consequence, as
most of it just reestablishes the
score from last year. Dragging
conversations are interrupted
with violence that only exists to
ramp up the body count, usually
at the expense of the women
and characters of color on the
show. This wouldn't be as much
of a problem if every female
character on the show wasn't
either dead, gonna die or a porn
star.
Gemma Teller (Katey Sagal,
"S Simple Rules") used to
be one of the most colorful
characters on the show, but
lately she's been=reduced to a .
sad caricature of an Evil Mom.
The injustice is evident in the
usually-great Katey Sagal's
performance, as she mumbles
her lines with little conviction
or interest. Gemma is walking
on eggshells after the murder
of her daughter-in-law last
season, trying to throw the cops
and Jax off her trail by passing
it off as an act of gang violence.
This could be good material, if
only Gemma's motivations were
more clear. Who exactly is she
devoted to? Why would she
allow the club she's so adamant
to protect fall into danger under
the leadership of her reckless,
grief-stricken son? Gemma is
an inscrutable witch in black
leather, the potential of a great
anti-heroine wasted with
poor plotting and halfhearted
performance.
Since everybody on "Sons"
is always so miserable, it's not
easy to find joy in watching the
show. I didn't write the pre-
miere date on my TV calendar
and didn't watch my screen-
ers until the last minute; not
because I didn't want to, but
because I don't want to see
how it all ends. It's inevitable
that the end is gonna hurt like
hell - I've read "Hamlet," upon
which "Sons" is loosely based,
and I've browsed interviews
and fan speculation about who
will die. (There's practically a
time-stamp on the bottom of
the screen, telling you that poor
Juice is episodes away from
meeting the Reaper.) But unlike
Shakespeare, which deals out
the pain and tragedy in a three-
hour play and five quick acts,
by the time it's over, "Sons of
Anarchy" will have dragged the
agony to 92 hours.
Despite the slow parts, the
most brutal moments of "Sons
of Anarchy" are viscerally
painful and point toward the
power of this show. Somehow,
these rough and rude men slip
through the cracks of their
poorly-written dialogue and
brand themselves onto your
heart like the SAMCRO tat-
toos that decorate their backs.
I wince my way through a
hundred musical montages
and lament the poor character
development of Gemma Teller,
because I hate that I care so
damn much. I'm harsh, because
I know "Sons of Anarchy" could
be powerful and good (if not
great) if it simply would get all
its shit together. And I know
I'm going to watch regardless
of whether it actually does that,
because I'm a sucker for misery
porn and I can't look away.
Daily in the Alley
up cycles art
Dally in the Alley is
like the laid-back love
child of the Ann Arbor
Summer Art Fair and Sonic
Lunch. Artists, musicians and
vendors line
the streets
of the Cass
Corridor
in Detroit,
winding
between
alleyways
and behind PAIGE
apartment PFLEGER
complexes.
Twinkle
lights are strung between build-
ings and across parking lots,
dangling over soundstages
and hand painted signs that
read "whatupdoe? Dally 2014,"
appropriately adorned with
rainbows.
The event draws an eclectic
crowd, from the local Detroit
hipsters to frat bros from Michi-
gan State. The performers and
artists that make the event what
it is, however, have one thing in
common: They create art that
fosters community in the city,
and promotes Detroit for what
it really is - a kick-ass creative
commons accessible to everyone.
"Dally has always been one
of my favorite events," Najah
Neimah, a Detroit resident and
University alumna said. "The
neighborhood comes together,
there's good music, great ven-
dors, and amazing food. I love
the pierogis," she added with a
laugh, "Gotta' go get some."
This is Neimah's seventh time
at Dally, but this year is differ-
ent. Instead of walking the rows
of vendors, she stands beneath a
white tent amongst racks of vin-
tage clothing. She's selling her
line of hand-picked clothes for
her business, Norah's Vintage.
Amongst the lineup of Dally
vendors, there were more vin-
tage stores and some clothing
vendors with a twist: print shops
that screen-print Detroit-centric
designs on T-shirts. Detroit-
based SMPLFYD carries stores
throughout Detroit and even
the U.S., like City Bird, owned
by a University grad, or Signal
Return in Eastern Market.
"We are really able to get our-
self out there to crowds that nor-
mally wouldn't see us," Justin
Fishaw, co-owner of SMPLFYD
said. "It's a very collective, eclec-
tic crowd. That guy has one of
our shirts on," he said, pointing
at a man walking by in a Tiger
t-shirt with the word DETROIT
stamped on the front.
Snap-back hats that read
"Detroit Players" and a shirt that
shows off The Supremes, one of
Motown's legends, hang from
the tent walls. He swats at a few
bees that are buzzing around
him - an infestation that is
pretty common for Dally. He
was stung twice last year.
A lot of Dally artists use
something less conventional
than clothing as their canvas,
like Kyle Dubay, who makes
home-decor out of reclaimed
wood found across the city
for his business, Woodward
Throwbacks. The table is scat-
tered with burnt wood coasters,
or placards that stamped with
"Motown," "8 Mile" and more.
Under the table are wooden six
pack carriers, equipped with a
handle and a bottle opener on
the side.
"They're all a little bit differ-
ent," Dubay said to a customer
eyeing the carriers. "Even the
handles, some of them are
broom handles, some of them
are pieces of railings." Though
the products vary, Dubay picked
each out of dumping sites or out
of the streets of Detroit.
Found
object art is a
popular trend
in the city.
Aubrey Smythe and his wife,
Elena, take found objects from
the city and repurpose them
into something new, whether
it be jewelry or a collaborative
painting. The Smythe's busi-
ness, Armageddon Beachparty
& Co., matches the vibe they
give off - bohemian style vests,
dreads laced with beads, and
necklaces of wrapped copper
wire.
"Everything we paint on is
from the streets of Detroit in
an attempt to clean up the city,"
Smythe said.
Not surprisingly, found object
art is a popular trend in the
city and at Dally. With Detroit's
historical buildings and neigh-
borhoods, a pile of bricks or bro-
ken glass could be considered
relics of a different time. That's
part of what makes the current
art communities in Detroit so
innovative - they are building
upon what most would consider
torn down, taking objects and
inspiration from the ashes and
arising to create the Detroit that
stands today.
Pfleger is dallying around
the city. To join her, e-mail
pspfleg@umich.edu.
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