The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Thursday, September 18, 2014 - 3B w The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, September18, 2014-38 Literacy missions are vital By GRACE PROSNIEWSKI Daily Literary Columnist L ast Monday was significant for quite a few reasons. For many of us it marked our first Monday classes of the semes- ter. For some of us it may also have marked the first classes of the year we attended hun- gover. No judgment, it was a rough weekend to be a Wol- verine. And for others, includ- ing myself, we went to check our Tumblr and learned that Monday also marked the UN's annual International Literacy Day. The United Nations Edu- cational, Scientific and Cultural Organization first proclaimed Sept. 8 as Inter- national Literacy Day in 1965. Since then, UNESCO and other partners have worked together to advocate globally for the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and society as a whole. The critical point of UNESCO's mission with International Literacy Day is that literacy is a human right and a basis of education. According to UNESCO, some 781 million adults are illiterate. That's nearly 16 percent of the world's popu- lation. Women make up 64 percent of the adult illiterate population, and those liv- ing in conflict-affected areas face even greater barriers to education. Poor literacy rates are'directly connected with increased levels of severe poverty, poor health outcomes and prejudice against women. Even within the United States the numbers don't look good. According to a 2013 study by the U.S. Depart- ment of Education and the National Institute of Literacy, 32 million adults in the United States, or 14 percent of the population, demonstrate a "below basic" literacy level. Internationally and domes- tically, the benefits of literacy are vast. For example, literate individuals are more likely to participate in the democratic process, contribute to sustain- able economies and advocate for better healthcare and education opportunities for themselves and their chil- dren. While the numbers paint a disturbingly clear picture of just how much is at stake, they don't quite express the heart of the issue. To be illiterate is to be disenfranchised from one of the most powerful forms of imaginati6n. It is to be denied the critical think- ing and comprehension skills that enable one to make sense of the world and one's place within it. It makes language a prison when it should in fact be a site of transformation, of transcendence. In "A Dance With Drag- ons," George R.R. Martin writes, "A reader lives a thou- sand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one." Books can fill our lives with so much more: more time, more color, more intensity. Think of your favor- ite book. Think of the places, the characters and the emo- tions. Now imagine that you had never read that book, that you couldn't read that book. It's like a piece of you would be missing. Who would I be if I never fought against the Dark Lord with Harry? How else could I take a turn about a regency ballroom and trade witty barbs with a handsome gentleman? How would I know about the rolling green hill of Hobbiton, the underground Dwarven city of Moria, or the white city of Minas Tirith? Shakespeare, Dickens, Tol- stoy... the list goes on and on with authors and works that have not only delighted and entertained me, but chal- lenged me and profoundly informed who I am today. I can't imagine my life without being able to read a good book and I don't think anyone else should have to live without being able to either. And I'm not alone. Countless writers, including Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison and Amy Tan, have all contributed to UNESCO's literary mission to promote the importance of the written word and the power of a literate society. International Literacy Day may have already passed this year, but there's still plenty you can do to make a dif- ference. I encourage you to donate your time or your money to literacy outreach programs, like the Residential College's partnership with Telling It, a children's literacy community service program. You can be sure that your efforts will go toward improv- ing someone's quality of life. And remember just how lucky you are the next time you crack open a book. Prosniewski is thankful for books. E-mail gpros@umich.edu and tell her about your favorite novel. MICHIGAN From Page 1B "(By 1964), people said 'I like this director, I like this star, I like this type of movie, I'm going to go to that movie,'"he said. Intense competition from other Ann Arbor theaters, though - along with a declining quality in Hollywood films - meant that by the '70s the Michigan Theater was struggling. With the building itself also needing some serious repair, and the Power Center less than10 years old, many were advocating tearing it down and replacing it with a food court or a shopping mall. "When things get to be 30 years old, they don't tend to be thought of as historic, they're just thought of as old." Collins said. Despite a downturn in the economy, a group of Ann Arborites including Henry Aldridge, then-mayor Lou Belcher and key donor Margaret D. Towsley helped gather support for the nonprofit Michigan Theater Foundation. But while they were able to save the Theater, they still needed somebody to run it. Enter Russ Collins in 1982. At just 26 years old, the Ann Arbor native was fresh out of graduate school at the University with a Master'sin Theater Management (a program that no longer exists at the University). Back in the baby-boomer decades, there was a vibrant film culture on the University's campus, where student film clubs would host screenings of a diverse selection of movies for other students to enjoy. "It seemed like you'd go watch a movie at every building at some point during the semester," said ScottBultman, aFilm/Video and Music composition double major who attended the University in the'80s. The. success of screenwriter and University graduate Lawrence Kasdan told students that Hollywood success was possible, but at the same time, a culture of experimental films also thrived. "We all had Super 8 cameras and went out and did a lot of experimental work and then come back to wind them up into the projector and watch them," Bultman said. "A lot of people were doing some really interesting kinds of things, drawing on film and stop- motion animation. You were at a big university and there were obviously Hollywood connections, but at the same time you really felt like you were doing these really low-level film projects." "It was a real postwar passion of students," Collins said. "It was before the Internet, and these foreign films, documentary films and classic films were considered alternative media. In much the way that students are passionate about the alternative media they can get over the Internet, students back in the '50s, '60s, '70s and into the '80s were passionate about cinema." This pre-Internet, intense film culture was centered on hard-to-get, non-commercial movies. Out of 50 people who applied for the CEO job in 1982, it was Collins who was hired and faced the difficult task of piloting the nonprofit into a new era. "It was exciting and daunting. I was 26 years old, so on one level I knew everything in the world," he laughed. "Butin reality Ihad a lot to learn. So that was scary, but in a good way." It's Friday, Aug. 1, 2014. "Boyhood" is playing at the Michigan Theater on its opening night in Ann Arbor. The 7:00 showing is sold out (probably because it's in the smaller, newer screening room instead of the main theater), but there are still seats available in the regular theater for the 8:00 show. The audience is pure Ann Arbor - a well-dressed collection of people from all age groups, who look like they spend their days listening to NPR and chatting about literature in coffee shops. Not only the main floor, but even the balcony has a fair share of excited moviegoers. They listen to a young man on stage talk about the theater and thank them for coming, discuss among themselves which of the 'U' alumn Russ Collins took over as CEO of The Michigan Theater in 1982. previews seem worth seeing, and then they sit back in their chairs as the opening chords of Coldplay's "Yellow" plays over a blue-sky backdrop, signaling the start of the film. The incredible, nostalgic movie - potentially one that will join the ranks of many now-classic films to have had their main Ann Arbor runs at the Michigan - is in part about noticing the subtle changes as things get older, but the Michigan Theater today looks as pristine as it did in 1930. Bathed in the golden glow of the walls and ceiling, everything from the concession stand to the drinking fountains seems to take on a greater historical importance. Everything from the towering staircases that lead up to the balcony to the ticket booth out front has been designed to meet pre-remodeling specifications. According to the book "The Michigan Theater" by Henry Aldridge, the much more modern-lookingScreeningRoom in the annex was added in 1999. When production companies like Miramax became frustrated at live events'interrupting the runs of popular independent movies, generous gifts, grants and a fifty- cent surcharge on tickets helped fund the new room. In addition to first-run art house movies, the Michigan Theater is the setting for year- round live events and special film series. For the theater's entire history, even before the renovations, the place has attracted top national talent - particularly the ones with large followings in college towns. Iggy Pop, Journey, The Replacements, Gil Scott-Heron, R.E.M., The Police and King Sunny Ad6 all played here, as well as current indie acts like Death Cab for Cutie and Bright Eyes, and experienced, respected legends like Elvis Costello and David Byrne. While the 1,700-seat theater doesn't have a bar and can't accommodate standing general admission like Detroit venues such as The Fillmore, it's still an attractive place for artists in between the club- and arena- show levels. "Artists like playing (in Ann Arbor) because the audiences are very receptive and smart about what they see," Collins said. "They tend to be better informed than your average audiences and more appreciative of artists of a certain caliber. And that can be old-fashioned classical artists, or it can be contemporary artists." Besides the musical acts, the theater also has run regular film series, which deal with a wide variety of topics from live music accompanying silent films to Hitchcock to Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema and the Science on Screen series. It even had a Valentine's Day .sing-a- long presentation of R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet" hip- hopera. Events unique to the Ann Arborscommunity populate the schedule, as the Michigan Theater is home to the Ann Arbor Film Festival, which is the longest-running experimental film festival in the country. Because there's no international film festival in Detroit, the theater also worked with the DIA, the University and other t partners to pitt on the Cinetopia festival. This summer, the third year of the festival, saw a 25th anniversary screening of "Do the Right Thing," hosted by Spike Lee himself. On top of all of this, the Michigan runs a national conference for art houses in association with the Sundance Institute called the Art House Convergence, cementing its reputation as a top-notch cinema and creating a nationwide network of cutting- edge art house theaters that can exchange ideas. The next step for the Michigan Theater actually involves the theater across the street. Last summer, the Michigan Theater Foundation purchased the State Theatre, which lies just a few steps away on State Street. The closing of the Ann Arbor Forum - previously the top art house in the city - when its owners built Quality 16 in 1998 left the State and the Michigan as the only two theaters in downtown Ann Arbor. The main floor of the State, which has been around nearly as long as the Michigan Theater, was turned into Urban Outfitters by Tom Borders in 1989, but the former balcony remains as a two-screen theater. While the Michigan has partnered with the State in selecting and marketing films since 1999, now there's a chance to make real improvements to a theater that isn't even handicapped-accessible yet. No immediate improvements will be made without approval from the community, but Collins hopes that the remodeling work will be done in time to celebrate the State's 75th anniversary in March 2017. Despite media articles that constantly depict the movie industry as one on the edge of a cliff, ready to free fall, Collins is adamant that the business he's in is a stable one. Since TV became ubiquitous in the '60s, movie attendance has been trending slightly upwards. There are ups and downs, and in 1988, when everybodybought a VCR, Collins said "business went to hell," but in '89 and '90 the receipts rebounded. Online streaming doesn't worry himeither, andhe said that increased accessibility in the Internet age has actually made for more informed movie watchers, and even though everything is available at home nowadays, people still enjoy the experience of going out to the cinema. The theater also has something unique to offer at many of its evening movies: the Historic Barton Theatre Pipe Organ, which has been at the Michigan since its 1927 and is today one of the-few of its kind still in its original location. Still in excellent condition (though at the moment undergoing maintenance), talented organists entertain Ann Arbor audiences before films and give them a rare taste of what going to the movies was like when the pictures were still black and white. Credit the passionate work of Henry Aldridge and a group of organ enthusiasts for repairing the organ and saving it from destruction in the '70s. "In 1970, about half of (the organ) didn't work," said Aldridge, organ curator and recently-retired film studies professor at Eastern Michigan University. "So we got a bunch of people together, and we would meet down there on Sunday mornings, and we took everything apart and cleaned it up and resoldered wires and put things back together, and got it going in about a year." The organ was originally meant to accompany silent films, but was played regularly until 1950. After the restoration and repair, the organ has been played regularly before evening films and lectures, with four different organists on staff to playthe demandinginstrument. The Barton Organ is a special attraction that always impresses theatergoers. "The fact that we have this beautiful instrument and the fact that people are playing it regularly tells patrons that somebody really cares about the Michigan Theater," Aldridge said. The theater also receives financial help from its donors - a base of 4,000 members who (including their families) Collins said represent around 10,000 people. 40 percent of its budget, the part that doesn't come from ticket sales, come from these dnots. Whfn fundraising, Collins said, "you not only have to ask in a compelling way, but you also have to prove that what you're doing is valuable." Under his tenure, the theater has striven to showcase its connection and value to the community, and Ann Arborites have responded with contributions that have led to impressive tangible results. When you're confident and have a good relationship with the community, "it's really kind of magical the way people will support you." "The Michigan was not built for today only," a booklet available at the Bentley Historical Library commemorating the theater's openingreads, "butconstructed in the hopes that it might be a monument for years to come and a credit to the community even when the city is many times its present size." Back in 1928, it was easy to read those words as empty rhetoric, but today, they seem oddly prescient. While it has undergone changes over time, 80 years later the Michigan Theater still fulfills its intended purpose, and then some. The famous pipe organ remains in its original location, the movies are still shown in a gorgeous setting and the community supports the programs that the non- profit coordinates. Collins attributes the popularity of the many programs offered and the continued resilience of the Michigan to the tastes of the town. "(Ann Arbor) is a town that's genuinely interested in the arts,and whether it's cinema or whether it's music, or theater or dance, there's a genuine interest in the population," he said. "So consequently, you're always pushed ... the very smart people that are attracted to this town, they're alwayspushingyou to say 'What about this? What about this? What newinteresting programs are you going to do next? I like this one but what are you going to do next?"' SLOOKING FOR AN OUTLET FOR YOUR POP CULTURE OPINIONS? JOIN THE FILTER, THE MICHIGAN DAILY ARTS BLOG. E-mail adepollo@umich.edu to request an application.