2B - Thursday, November 20, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 2B - Thursday, November 20, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom STYLECOLUMN The problem with plus-sized' NETFLIX PIX Daily Arts Writers dig through recent Netflix releases to find the movies worth revisiting or discovering. couple of weeks ago, the internet was in a fury - as it usually is - about Calvin Klein's newest model, Myla Dalbesio. In the "Per- fectly Fit" campaign, Dalbesio poses as Calvin Klein underwear models typi- cally do: in her under- ERIKA wear. It HARWOOD wasn't until her inter- view with Elle magazine where they described the size-10 model as "plus-sized" that everyone on the Internet came out in hordes, wielding their fiery fingertips against their keyboards. More recently, size-16 model Candice Huffine has been added to the roster of women included in the 2015 Pirelli calendar. For the unfamiliar, the Pirelli calen- dar is highly exclusive, not only in its distribution, but for its choice of photographers and models. In short: it's a big fucking deal to be a part of it. I'm notcgoing to pretend that I have something groundbreaking to add to the narrative of "plus- sized" models in the fashion industry. A lot, maybe too much, has already been said on the topic. By doing a simple Google search of the women or compa- nies above, views on the matter are ubiquitous and very, very loud. The debate over the term "plus-sized" has been around longer than I've been interested in fashion. Issues like who can be defined as plus-sized and whether or not the term should even be accepted into the indus- try's vocabulary are constantly part of the dialogue. New pseudo- scandals regarding the size of female models pop up a few times each year. They're too skinny, they're too fat, they're not thin enough to be high fashion, they're not big enough to be plus-sized. It's the constant discussion that will never go away, but dear godI wish it would. This column is in no way an attempt to make some poignant statement about the topic of weight in fashion, and believe me, I'd be the last person interested in readingthe thoughts of a self- righteous undergrad on basically anything. Sadly, I pretty much am a self-righteous undergrad and I have a few grievances to air. Body image is a nuanced con- cept that we're constantly trying to generalize; models must be skinny, athletes mustbe bulky, Renee Zellweger's face must always look like Renee Zellwe- ger's face circa 2003. Unfortu- nately (and maybe this is my inner-cranky grandma speak- ing), we live in a time of height- ened self-importance, where every thought is entertained with a "like" or a "favorite" and dignified with additional com- ments of support or fervent dis- approval. Calvin Klein never described Myla Dalbesio as a plus-sized model, and they shouldn't have. The more we see different kinds of women in magazines, on bill- boards, walking down runways with no qualifiers, the faster it will become "normal." Elle made a mistake by labeling Myla "plus- sized," and not just because a size 10 isn't actually "plus-sized" - but because they shouldn't have been labeling her in the first place. But even after they took down the tweet with the erroneous adjective, people were still fueling the hell-storm with tweets, think-pieces and other fluffy bullshit that was shouting very loudly but saying close to nothing. Chrissy Teigen, another model who is no stranger to conversations about weight responded to the controversy by saying"I saw the photo, (Myla) looked beautiful - who cares?" and added that "the Internet is full of fake outrage." Fake outrage that hinders the progress to the issue at hand. Dwelling on mistakes and con- tinuing to point fingers isn't going to make fashion a more accepting place. Applauding and supporting brands that strive for change, take risks and find beauty beyond the conventional will. Fashion is constantly evolv- ing and changing its perceptions of beauty. There were the '70s bombshells with teased, bleach blonde hair, the All-American girls of the '80s and of course, the waify heroin chic models of the '90s. As the concepts of beauty continue to be chal- lenged - as they should - fash- ion will hopefully continue to become a more inclusive space. In an interview with "The Today Show," Dalbesio expressed her excitement about being in the Calvin Klein cam- paign, saying she was "right alongside all of the other girls of varying shapes andsizes, and (Calvin Klein) didn't make a fuss about it." And neither should we. Harwood is self-righteous toa fault. To set her straight, e-mail erikacat@umich.edu. .4 MIRKAMAXl "Kill Bill" "The Fall" BBC When I was 10 years old - yes, 10 years old - I convinced my parents to let me rent "Kill Bill Vol- ume 1." I didn't know who Quentin Tarantino was, but I had an unshakable feeling I was going to like this movie. 11 years later, as I write this against a "Kill Bill" computer background (on a "Kill Bill" sticker-clad computer), I guess you can sayI liked it a lot. And earlier this year, much to my exuberance, Netflix has finally added both titles to its streaming repertoire - the whole gory story. "Kill Bill" details The Bride's (Uma Thurman, "Batman & Robin") roaring rampage of revenge across its sprawling four hour running time. The first volume - a no- holds-barred action epic - juxtaposes the quieter second volume - a cathartic, satisfying western- tinged climax. Tarantino might always be remem- bered for his genius 1994 directorial debut "Pulp Fiction," or for his Academy Award-winning follow- ups "Inglorious Basterds" and "Django Unchained," but it's "Kill Bill" that will always hold the primary cinematic piece of my heart. And what could be bet- ter than this cool, energetic, stylistic masterpiece just a few clicks away? Jamie Dornan is soon to be a household name, if he's not known, already. The Irish-accented, dark- scruffed, suit-and-tied star of the film adaptation of "Fifty Shades of Grey," which comes out Feb. 13, is about to reach sex symbol status. So you are going to know him. But not for the right reasons. Unbe- knownst to most, Dornan also starred in the barely- seen 2013 BBC series "The Fall," alongside "The X-Files" star Gillian Anderson. The six episode first season follows Anderson as a hard-edged English investigator on the case of an Irish serial killer, whose chosen prey areyoung professional women.Inatwist on the whodunnit trope, the first scene of the show reveals Dornan as Paul Spector, the killer, stalking and then attacking a young woman in her home. It's a chilling scene that speaks to the greater themes in "The Fall" - the show is not interested in who is performing the murders, but developing the psychol- ogy behind Paul. Surprisingly eloquent and detailed, "The Fall" goes beyond classic law and order serials to develop a cast of flawed, potent characters. It's Dornan at his best, regardless of how sexy of a Chris- tian Grey he maybe come February. One dream. Four Jasaicans. Twenty below zero. 4 Inspired by the Tre Story of the First Jamaican Olympic BobsledtTeam. Yuja Wang PIANO Leonidas Kavakos VIOLIN Sunday, November 23, 4 PM Hill Auditorium "This was an outstanding evening: bliss from start to finish." (The Guardian) PROGRAM Brahms Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100 Schumann Sonata No. 2 in d minor, Op. 121 Ravel Sonata No. 1(Posthumous) Respighi Sonata in b minor SPONSORED BY MEDIA PARTNERS WGTE 91.3 FM & WRCJ 90.9 FM Photo by Benjamin Ealovega, courtesy of Decca Classics fit 4 s PikctUR Sepnemse W-IMPM M UNN N s DISNEY "Cool Runnings" As far as early to mid-'90s films go, "Cool Run- nings" is royalty ("Heavyweights" is king, of course, but Netflix has yet to get the memo). Very loosely based on the 1988 Jamaican bobsled team, the film follows a group of young men from Jamaica as they train for the Winter Olympics with none other than Irv Blitzer (John Candy, "Uncle Buck") at the helm. If you're wondering if this movie still holds up compared to the last time you watched it, presumably in 1994, it does. And Doug E. Doug gives the performance of a lifetime. Accordingto Wikipedia, "Cool Runnings" is also the last John Candy film to be released while he was alive, cementing its place among cinema's best. The last time I watched it, I drank three to four Bud Light Limes, sat on my bed under my electric blanket and had the time of mylife. "Californication" Like I do for most shows, I started watching "Californication" after it had already finished. I was perusing Netflix one day, and I saw the image of Hank Moody with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. I cued up the first episode, and before I knew it, I was 12 episodes in. I'll be the first to admit it: "Californication" isn't a perfect show. It can be 9 infantile, repetitive, casually misogynist and homophobic, and the last season sucks. But it's such a gleefully wrong show. Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, condensed into half-hour episodes that always manage to have a conscience in the end. Seriously - a successful writer struggles to keep it in his pants, and not drink himself to death. It's every college kid's dream! Eums BE PRESENT Free Bert's Tickets 50% Off Student Tickets Details: ums.org/students I A I A 4