6A — Monday, February 16, 2015
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Storytelling is still
valuable for all ages
By BAILEY KADIAN
For the Daily
When I was little, I insisted
that my dad tell me stories before
I went to bed. I didn’t have any
guidelines — I just wanted a
story. They ranged from child-
hood memories at our cottage to
days at school to anything else
that came to his mind while sit-
ting at the edge of my bed.
Bedtime stories serve as a way
for children to feed their grow-
ing imagination with pieces of
narration. Children have youth-
ful spirits that long for adventur-
ous and exciting stories. And I
don’t think I am all that different
now. My imagination still yearns
for some sort of adventure and
I, along with presumably many
others, turn to storytelling as a
means of satisfying that desire.
My eagerness to expand my
imagination through storytell-
ing is just as prevalent now as
it was 10 years ago. My dad’s
description of “a warm and
sunny day at the cottage” or “a
cool, but beautiful football Sat-
urday” sparked the growth of
my imagination. Storytelling,
whether
through
literature,
film, music or my dad’s sponta-
neous narratives, exists as a way
for us to learn more about our-
selves through an exchange of
reality for fictional exploration.
Now, I’m the nightly sto-
ryteller for my younger sister
Tess. As I have grown to real-
ize the importance of this ritual
through my own childhood, it
comes as no surprise that my sis-
ter is just like me. She wants to
listen to stories, too. There is an
art within storytelling in which
every person longs to engage.
My sister and I aren’t the first
children to insist on bedtime
stories, and we certainly won’t
be the last.
Storytelling
will
always
remain a dominant part of our
culture, but we must realize
that there is a crucial compo-
nent to this practice that can-
not subside: the need to feed our
imagination through our own
creativity.
In this rapidly developing
world,
technology
is
every-
where, and children most often
hear stories through digital
media such as TV, games and
whatever is immediately avail-
able electronically. As a result,
young children are not devel-
oping their visual imagery, but
relying on the images already
handed to them. The exchange
of storytelling from person to
person is valuable, and though
our culture is moving past the
simplicity of it, I’m not sure
that’s much of a benefit to our
society.
We know the entertainment
industry is vast and will continue
to grow because people want to
consume entertainment that is
relatable. Psychological research
has even proven that storytell-
ing involves the process of our
brain projecting ourselves within
the story being told, creating an
attachment and interaction with
the work. As such, we can better
understand ourselves. And, I’m
not sure I’ll ever figure myself out,
so I’ll take all the help I can get.
The value of my father’s bed-
time stories comes from the free-
dom I had to imagine. The way
his stories were recited to me was
real, the way they were recalled
was real and through their hon-
esty, I was able to connect with
them.
Our
imaginations
are
fueled by creativity and it is cru-
cial we nurture these elements. In
an age where we want to make an
impact on the world and develop
our minds to achieve amazing
things, the core of that pursuit is
found in the vastness and depth of
our imaginations.
So am I too old to listen to
bedtime
stories?
Yeah,
that
would probably be childish.
But do I still want to grow and
develop my imagination through
a story, just as I did when I was a
child? Yes, I do, and I encourage
you all to do the same.
WALT DISNEY STUDIOS
“Dad, can you tell us about the time someone tried to mess with the Zohan?”
‘50 Shades’ won’t
please audiences
The BDSM-lite film
almost lives up to
its potential
By CHLOE GILKE
Managing Arts Editor
By 2014, E L James’s erotic
fantasy “Fifty Shades of Grey”
had sold over 100 million copies,
been
translated
into more than
50 languages and
unseated
J.K.
Rowling’s “Harry
Potter” series as
the
fastest-sell-
ing novel of all
time. Some critics
reviled the book
for its inaccurate
portrayal of the
BDSM
commu-
nity and glorifica-
tion of an “abusive” relationship,
but U.S. sales continued to sky-
rocket. With a novel this virile
and phenomenal, the obvious
next step was to adapt it into a
movie so the series could rake
in even more cash — and, more
importantly, give millions of fans
the opportunity to see all the
bondage-suffused, manipulative
romance played out on a screen,
not in their imagination.
As I have never read James’s
novel, I wasn’t entirely sure
what to expect when I saw “Fifty
Shades.” But upon leaving the
theater, I was struck by how seri-
ously the film took itself. “Fifty
Shades of Grey” rejects its trashy
pedigree, using an R rating and
the stylistic specificity of film to
transform the scruffy plot and
find its inner goddess. Director
Sam Taylor-Johnson (“Nowhere
Boy”) swathes the film in desatu-
rated tones and gorgeous close-
ups and sets the action to the
pulsing musical beats of Beyoncé
and The Rolling Stones. The film
uses every tool in its cinemato-
graphic playroom to let viewers
know that this isn’t the same fan-
tasy they read on their flight to
Newark. It’s a slow, sleek and sexy
film, markedly subtle even when
it doesn’t have to be.
The film’s two-hour runtime
unfolds in languid confidence.
At times, the deliberate pacing
borders on sluggish, but often-
times this carefulness works in
the plot’s favor. After Anastasia
Steele (Dakota Johnson, “Ben
and Kate”) attempts her fate-
ful interview with millionaire
entrepreneur
Christian
Grey
(Jamie Dornan, “The Fall”), the
pair take almost 40 minutes to
climb into bed. But their ensuing
foreplay is delightfully fun, and
these awkward encounters serve
as a means of demonstrating who
they are as characters. Christian
meets Ana in the hardware store
where she works and asks her to
show him where he can buy the
cable ties, ropes and tape he needs
for his handyman collection. It’s
a cheeky way to introduce that
Christian is into all things kinky,
and Ana can’t look into his dreamy
gray eyes without blushing.
The film is surprisingly well-
cast, and Johnson’s performance
as Ana is especially strong. She
embodies the dichotomy of Ana’s
character perfectly — despite her
contractual status as a submissive,
she’s smart and self-confident,
always setting her limits and pull-
ing back when Christian doesn’t
treat her with respect. Dornan
gives a slightly less compelling
performance as Mr. Grey, but with
those eyes that seem to simulta-
neously scream “fuck me” and
“I have a room full of zip ties and
tape and I might use them for more
than just sex stuff,” he embod-
ies the character even without a
spectacular performance. Despite
rumors that the two actors despise
one another in real life, they exude
chemistry whenever they share
the screen. Especially in the more
tender scenes where Christian
exposes his emotional vulnerabil-
ity, Johnson and Dornan shine as
a couple.
But their romantic encoun-
ters translate rather poorly to the
screen. Maybe it’s because the film
is rated R instead of the NC-17 that
the book surely merits, but the sex
scenes are remarkably unsexy.
Nudity isn’t a crucial component
for a scene to be steamy; still, it’s
unfair that the woman must bare
all and the camera cuts away
before viewers could glimpse a
naked man. For a film shamelessly
marketed for female viewers, and
written and directed by women,
the film displays Ana like some
piece of spineless meat rather than
the strong lady we (and Christian)
know she is. Christian holds his
whip and leers at her, while the
camera shows her suffering from
his point of view. The screen rarely
affords us her perspective. This is
quite a far cry from a novel narrat-
ed by Ana. And much of what goes
on in the playroom doesn’t read as
particularly titillating. Everyone
around me in the theater burst
into giggles when Christian tick-
led Ana with a giant, absurd prop
peacock feather. This silliness is
characteristic of the sex scenes in
the rest of the movie; for an adap-
tation of an erotic novel, the bed-
room action is fairly flaccid.
“Fifty Shades of Grey” may be
best encompassed with the words
of Christian Grey: this movie is
“fifty shades of fucked-up.” While
it’s endowed with a good cast and
features solid filmmaking, like
Christian himself, the movie has
a hollow heart. With the abusive
undertones implied in Christian’s
final seduction and an ending
that gives viewers the cinematic
equivalent of blue balls, the film
wipes out any semblance of fun
it built up in the previous two
hours. “Fifty Shades” tries to be
serious, but its inner goddess gets
buried under a mountain of nar-
rative problems that might have
been avoided had the film just
embraced the beautiful trash it
was meant to be.
B-
‘Fifty
Shades
of Grey’
Rave and
Quality 16
Universal Pictures
Kanye goes couture
By MARA MACLEAN
For the Daily
Just a few days before New York
Fashion Week, square, crinkled,
plastic packages were sent to
some of fashion and music’s big-
gest names. After a few cryptic
instagrams of the anorak invites
from Eva Chen and Khloé Kar-
dashian appeared online, Kanye
West revealed Yeezy Season 1, his
sportswear
collaboration
with
Adidas, would be shown on Feb. 12
as part of fashion week.
Yeezy Season 1 didn’t seem to
be as much about the clothing,
but more about West’s reasoning
behind creating. He shared his
philosophy in a voice recording
before the models were illuminat-
ed in uniform rows.
“I want people to feel like it’s
OK to create and follow what their
dreams are and not feel boxed in. I
want people to feel like awesome is
possible,” he said.
West paired with conceptual
artist Vanessa Beecroft to cap-
ture “the relentless pace of con-
temporary lives.” The collection
featured many nude bodysuits à la
Beecroft on models of all shapes
and sizes. The ripped sweaters
and oversize sweatshirts were
not particularly new to the run-
way, but unique additions to an
athletic wear line nonetheless.
The jackets and outerwear, like
the white shearling coat, were
standouts as compared to the
rather blah collection.
The line’s accessories — leg
warmers, oversized backpacks
and leather duffels — proved
stronger
than
the
muted
bodysuits. The Yeezy Boost, a
chukka boot inspired sneaker,
was the show’s focus, and right-
fully so. The sneaker showcases
everything West stands for: inno-
vation, beauty and simplicity.
Love him or hate, Kanye’s
determination to create is admi-
rable. The collection, in terms
of aesthetic quality, was not
exactly comparable to Thakoon
or Comme des Garçons. How-
ever, there is much to be said
for West’s commitment to doing
something different, even if it’s
30 plus looks involving tights.
He wanted to show that no
artist should fear creating or
awesomeness. West is consumed
by the idea of what impact he
will leave on the world. Some
believe this to be arrogant or
narcissistic, but aren’t we all
trying to leave a positive impact,
whatever that may be? Kanye is
pursuing every different route of
art in the hopes of a great effect.
So what if he calls himself a
designer? He’s trying, he’s creat-
ing, he’s promoting this lifestyle.
And he has Anna Wintour’s
backing.
But even if fashion isn’t his
forte, West closed the show with
his new single “Wolves” featur-
ing Sia and it was dope.
ADIDAS ORIGINALS
Yeezy season approaching.
UNIVERSAL PICTURES
“I’m fifty shades of fucked up.”
FILM REVIEW
COMMUNITY CULTURE NOTEBOOK
STYLE RECAP