5 — Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

LITERATURE COLUMN

Exploring ‘Jest’

T

he start of my enthrall-
ment with David Foster 
Wallace would have 

infuriated the deceased, reclu-
sive author — it began when 
I watched 
someone else 
espouse his 
ideas in a film 
version of his 
life. I found 
his persona 
fascinating 
in “The End 
of the Tour,” 
the movie 
adaptation 
of last few days of the “Infinite 
Jest” book tour. Upon further 
research after viewing the film, 
Foster’s magnetism drew me in 
even more. I decided I had to 
embark upon a literary journey 
unlike any other I have previ-
ously contemplated — I had to 
read “Infinite Jest.”

But to read “Infinite Jest” is 

to voyeuristically look into Wal-
lace’s past, which provided much 
of the backbone of the novel. 
Wallace, born in 1962, attended 
Amherst College and struggled 
with depression and addiction 
to drugs and alcohol throughout 
much of his young life. After 
writing “Infinite Jest,” which is 
1,100 pages with 330 footnotes, 
Wallace continued to write and 
teach at Emerson College and 
Illinois State University. On Sept. 
12, 2008, Wallace committed sui-
cide in California. The few inter-
views with Wallace, who is such 
a soft-spoken, fumbling neurotic, 
are captivating and heartbreak-
ing.

The most difficult question 

to answer about “Infinite Jest” 
is: what is it about? Because the 
answer is everything. There are 
over 1,000 pages of content about 
depression, loneliness, addiction, 
tennis, familial relations and love 
on which you can focus.

As Dave Eggers said in his 

original review of the novel, 
“Infinite Jest” is “more about 

David Foster Wallace than any-
thing else.” Eggers, who wrote the 
foreword for the most recent edi-
tion, is correct. It’s about Wallace’s 
deep desires and secrets, but most 
of all it’s about what he wanted for 
the future of his craft. Wallace was 
hell-bent on changing fiction 
 —and 

he did. This book is confusing and 
strange and downright disgust-
ing at times. But it is beautiful and 
challenges its readers like nothing 
else ever has.

It is set in the future in a uni-

fied North American superstate 
called the Organization of North 
American Nations, or O.N.A.N. 
There is not a chronological plot 
or a clear-cut conclusion — we 
jump from location to location, 
from characters we get to know 
well to characters with agoniz-
ing secrets to whom we are only 
exposed once.

There are two major loca-

tions in which the stories take 
place: the prep school, Enfield 
Tennis Academy and, down the 
street, the Ennet House Drug and 
Alcohol Recovery House. The 
physical closeness of these two 
locations leads to the intertwining 
storylines. James O. Incandenza, 
the patriarch of the Incandenza 
Family, has recently committed 
suicide. He was a filmmaker and 
the founder of Enfield Tennis 
Academy, and the plot somewhat 
revolves around the missing mas-
ter copy of his last piece of work, 
titled “Infinite Jest.” Canadian 
separatists are attempting to 
locate “Infinite Jest” to commit 
terrorist acts against the United 
States. The novel carefully exam-
ines the neuroses of the rest of 
the Incandenza family and the 
way that their insanity bleeds 
into the school. But some of the 
most jarring parts of “Infinite 
Jest” come from the sections on 
Ennet House, where Wallace 
unforgivingly examines the gro-
tesque and disgusting parts of the 
human psyche.

When I told people that I 

was reading “Infinite Jest” for 

my literature column, everyone 
seemed to have a considerable 
reaction. “Wow, but it’s so long!” 
was a common one. A fellow Daily 
Arts Writer warned me that she 
heard it was a “bro book,” which 
is valid, as the novel is mostly 
concerned with the preoccupa-
tions and compulsions of its men. 
But the most common reply was 
“I haven’t read it yet.” In my life 
full of predominantly English and 
humanities majors and professors, 
only one and a half people have 
actually read “Infinite Jest” — one 
friend has read the first 400 pages 
three times but hasn’t gotten past 
that point.

For all the novel’s glory and rec-

ognition, it seems impossible that 
so many academics and students 
still have not read it. I’ll admit it; 
the sheer depth of it is intimidat-
ing. For the first few days after 
buying it, it sat next to my bed 
while I just admired it and tried 
to wrap my head around the fact 
that I would be reading over 1,000 
of the most acclaimed pages ever. 
Before actually plucking up the 
courage to start reading, I used 
“Infinite Jest” as a small stand 
for my computer and a weight for 
my arm exercises. But the book is 
incredible because even with so 
much content, in the actual book, 
it never felt like any of it was 
unnecessary. Even the three hun-
dred or so footnotes are entirely 
essential to understanding any of 
the plots. Every page felt heavy 
with the importance that Wallace 
so delicately embedded in it.

“The truth will set you free. 

But not until it is finished with 
you.” This line stuck with me 
until the end of the novel. But this 
book has so much truth in it that 
you would have it read it about 10 
more times before you ever get 
close to liberation. It seems the 
only thing to do is pick it up and 
start again.

Lerner is setting up a game 

of eschaton. To join, e-mail 

rebler@umich.edu.

REBECCA

LERNER

TV REVIEW
Triumphant ‘Dance’

By SAM ROSENBERG

For The Daily

Young adulthood can be one of 

the most transformative periods 
in a person’s life, as well as one of 
the most chal-
lenging. 
It’s 

a time when 
you 
develop 

relationships, 
become 
inde-

pendent 
and 

figure out what 
you want to do 
with the rest of 
your life. How-
ever, being a 
young 
adult 

also involves dealing with a lot of 
angst and self-doubt. In her touch-
ing documentary “How to Dance 
in Ohio,” filmmaker Alexandra 
Shiva (“Stagedoor”) offers some 
insight on this topic by focusing 
on a group of teenagers and young 
adults from Columbus, Ohio all of 
whom are on the autism spectrum. 
With the help of clinical psycholo-
gist Emilio Amigo at his family 
counseling center, these individu-
als spend 12 weeks preparing for 
their first spring formal dance, 
learning how to improve their 
social and communication skills — 
and of course, how to dance.

Filmed in 2013 and premiered 

at this year’s Sundance Film Fes-
tival, “How to Dance in Ohio” 
gives more than a simple depiction 
of people with autism. Through 
Shiva’s sensitive direction and the 
film’s unobtrusive cinematogra-
phy, “How to Dance in Ohio” high-
lights the daunting experience 
of breaking out of your comfort 
zone and how it can lead to per-
sonal growth. Nothing about this 
film feels manipulative or exploit-
ative; rather, it offers viewers the 
chance to see both the struggles 
and triumphs of young people with 
autism.

Although the film portrays the 

sessions that take place at Ami-
go’s Family Counseling, it mostly 
centers around the perspectives 
of three young women from the 
group: Marideth Bridges, 16; Car-
oline McKenzie, 19; and Jessica 
Sullivan, 22. Regardless of their 
different ages, they each encoun-
ter difficulties in learning how to 
adapt to the world around them.

Marideth, 
a 
self-described 

introvert, spends most of her time 
on the computer and reading ran-
dom facts in world almanacs. She 
also likes researching, but feels 
uncomfortable explaining to the 
camera what she is researching 
exactly. Though Marideth’s perse-
verant habits and her reluctance to 
interact with others are common 
among people with autism, the 
film conveys just how hard it can 
be to live with such a condition. In 
one of the film’s most heartbreak-
ing scenes, Marideth expresses to 
her parents at a sit-down restau-
rant that she might not want to 
have kids and wonders if she will 
even get married some day. It’s 
an emotionally stirring moment 
that’s guaranteed to make view-
ers’ hearts drop, yet it reminds the 
audience that Marideth’s autism 
doesn’t need to hinder her from 
living a normal life.

As a director and storyteller, 

Shiva does a great job of showing 
how people with autism are just as 
ambitious and open to opportuni-
ties as anyone else. For example, 
Caroline mentions her enrollment 
as a student at Columbus State 
Community College, her hopes 
of becoming an early childhood 
educator and her dream of trav-
eling to Japan. Early in the film, 
Jessica negotiates a plan with her 
parents to live on her own, and 
she is later seen working at a bak-
ery called Food for Good Thought 
for young adults on the spectrum. 
But much like Marideth, Caroline 
and Jessica undergo the stresses 
of social anxiety and the pressures 

of being perceived by others in a 
negative way. Caroline agonizes 
over dancing well at the formal 
and what to do if she becomes too 
overwhelmed to ride the public 
bus to class. Jessica becomes frus-
trated when the bakery’s owner, 
a psychologist named Dr. Audrey 
Todd, tells her that Jessica has 
developed a superior attitude 
towards her co-workers. Despite 
Jessica, Caroline and Marideth’s 
ongoing difficulties with fitting 
into the mainstream, the film 
presents their situations in a hon-
est and respectful light. In addi-
tion, the interviews with their 
families showcase both the con-
cern and support that they have 
for their children who go through 
this difficult journey every day.

While the film can be very 

emotional at times, there are some 
humorous and sweet moments as 
well. In one scene, Marideth and 
her younger sister discuss Chief 
Keef, the irrelevance of Soulja 
Boy, the turbulence of Miley 
Cyrus’s career and long-haired 
men. The sequence where Caro-
line and Jessica go shopping for 
formal dresses with their mothers 
is also particularly heartwarm-
ing. Not only do these clips give 
the documentary heart and depth, 
but they also illustrate how young 
adults with autism have the same 
interests and goals as any other 
young adult. At the actual for-
mal, the climax of “How to Dance 
in Ohio,” you can see how this 
group has developed so quickly 
and overcome their initial fears in 
such a short amount of time. The 
only arguably flawed moment in 
this film is the inclusion of Katy 
Perry’s pop hit “Firework” in the 
credits scene. But even though 
“Firework” makes the ending 
slightly cheesy, you can’t help but 
feel overjoyed to watch these indi-
viduals do something that most 
people with autism don’t get the 
chance to do.

A-

How to 
Dance in 
Ohio

HBO 
Documentary 
Films

FESTIVAL REPORT

Killers’ classic debut

By REGAN DETWILER and 

RACHEL KERR

Daily Arts Writers

This week, Daily Music Writ-

ers are looking back on the first 
albums they ever loved. Today, 
Regan Detwiler and Rachel Kerr 
remember The Killers’ Hot Fuss. 

I first heard “Mr. Brightside” 

when I was nine years old, on my 
home town’s locally owned alter-
native station. It quickly became 
a car ride highlight, and soon my 
mom bought the Hot Fuss CD 
from Barnes & Noble. Months 
later when I heard it on the local 
pop station, I felt that first twinge 
of angry dejection at the injustice 
of hearing a song that you dis-
covered out for the whole world 
to hear. (Thus began my life as 
an obnoxious alternative music 
snob.)

My nine years of life thus far 

had been fairly — OK, incred-
ibly — innocent. I was that kid 
who wasn’t allowed to watch PG 
movies (don’t even think about 
PG-13). It’s no surprise that “Mr. 
Brightside” sparked my excit-
able curiosity: I didn’t know 
what “taking a drag” was — dare 
I guess? This, and lines like “But 
she’s touching his chest now” 
and “He takes off her dress now, 
letting me go” made my imagina-
tion wander to places I had never 
been.

This mysteriously and darkly 

ambiguous lyrical style paired 
with 
The 
Killers’ 
perfume-

stained 
velvet 
rock 
carries 

through the whole album, which 
I listened to religiously well into 
the next couple of years. Memo-
rizing every word and every 
melody, I indulged myself in 
imaginative gymnastics in an 
effort to decode the messages 
waiting behind the shadowy 
phrases, like in “Believe Me 
Natalie”: “Forget what they said 
in SoHo, leave the oh-no’s out” 
— what could they have said in 
SoHo? What were the oh-no’s?

As a sort of musical coming-of-

age, Hot Fuss not only appealed 
to more explorative aspects of 
this stage in life, but also to the 

turbulent emotions character-
istic of pre-adolescence. Lying 
alone in my room, a pathetic 
puddle of self-pity after my first 
real fights with my parents, I 
must have listened to “Every-
thing Will Be Alright” a million 
times over the course of about 
two years. But at least I had “All 
These Things That I’ve Done” to 
pick me back up.

This was also my best friend’s 

favorite album at the time, so 
when our families made the 
13-hour drive to South Carolina 
that summer, you know what 
was in the CD player. We drove 
through the Rockies with the 
sun up and the windows down 
and let Hot Fuss play three times 
through. Now when I hear a song 
from this album on the radio, I 
can start singing the next track 
on the album as soon as that one 
ends. 

 — Regan Detwiler
It’s December 2004 in Las 

Vegas. I’m at the Rubio’s, six min-
utes away from my house with 
my grandma, eating a chicken 
burrito off the kids’ menu. At the 
table next to me is Ronnie Van-
nucci, eating a quesadilla, alone. 
For all of you who weren’t obses-
sively in to The Killers, Ronnie 
Vannucci is their drummer and 
for all of you who grew up east of 
the Rocky Mountains, Rubio’s is 
a Mexican fast food chain.

“That’s the drummer of the 

band that sings ‘Mr. Brightside!!!’ ” 
I whispered to my grandma. And 
of course, she knew what I was 
referring too because, in 2004, 
even 60-year-old women couldn’t 
avoid that song. She urged me to 
say something to him — “tell him 
how much you like his band!” 
— but she didn’t understand. I 
didn’t like his band, I loved his 
band. And would I even say?

Should I start by apologiz-

ing for even recognizing him? I 
mean, how often does the drum-
mer of an up-and-coming band 
get stopped in public places? And 
by a nine-year-old, no less? How 
did I explain that’d I memorized 
all their faces and that Brandon 
Flowers, the lead singer, was my 

first real crush?

Or do I just begin by thank-

ing him for Hot Fuss, the band’s 
debut album, my first favor-
ite album, full of Joy Division 
decadence and Depeche Mode 
moods? Or even further, for my 
yet realized love of ’80s pop-rock 
music, whose origin could only 
later be traced back to years of 
listening to Hot Fuss and their 
follow up album, Sam’s Town, on 
repeat?

Do I mention that I, like the 

band, am also from Las Vegas? 
Or maybe explain that I noticed 
the influence the city had had 
on the album, from its grandi-
ose production to its lush lyrics, 
and wanted to thank them for 
capturing how it feels to live in 
Las Vegas in a sound? Could I 
tell him that I really identified 
with the “Sin City” cynicism of 
the album, despite being in ele-
mentary school and not having 
any idea what that even meant 
yet?

Was it weird to tell him that 

my dad had cried to “All These 
Things That I’ve Done?” To 
explain 
that 
the 
otherwise 

tough guy who openly discussed 
his atheism with his 10-year-
old daughter had been deeply 
affected by the line “I got soul 
but I’m not a soldier” because 
it explained how he felt about 
grappling with faith and moral-
ity and the meaning of life.

Or did I just tell him that I 

liked his shirt because it was a 
really pretty shade of blue?

No, I couldn’t say any of these 

things to him, so I panicked and 
decided to say nothing. I let him 
continue to eat his quesadilla, 
while I nervously continued to 
gawk at him eating his quesa-
dilla. When I got home, I went 
straight to my room and let Hot 
Fuss play over and over and over 
again, because how many times 
do you get to see the drummer 
of your favorite band at Rubio’s? 
Probably only once. And how 
many times to you get to have a 
first favorite album? Definitely 
only once. 

 — Rachel Kerr

YouT
ube all grown up

By KAREN HUA

Daily TV/New Media Editor

Last weekend, the third annu-

al Buffer Festival welcomed You-
Tube filmmakers from across to 
globe to Toronto. The familiar 
videos we usually watch on our 
personal mobile devices and 
laptops streamed in front of live 
audiences in the extravagant 
theaters of Toronto’s historic 
entertainment district. And the 
familiar YouTubers we connect-
ed with through a screen graced 
a red carpet before us, discussing 
their work with us personally.

Less chaotic than the fan-

crazed Playlist Live, less uptight 
than the business venture Vid-
Con has become, the humble 
Canadian Buffer Fest empha-
sizes not the lucrative business 
behind YouTube, but the struc-
tured, 
scripted, 
high-quality 

content emerging on the plat-
form. Spread over three days, 
videos were screened in catego-
ries: short films, comedy sketch-
es, travel and adventure, gaming 
and animation, among others.

“YouTube is moving toward 

a direction of professionalism,” 
said Corrado Coia of Apprenti-
ceA Productions, one of the four 
co-founders of Buffer. “Some of 
these YouTubers have feature-
length films in episodic format, 
and they do actually rival Holly-
wood quality. So they need to get 
the proper treatment — get them 
in a nice theater.”

Events 
like 
Buffer 
also 

encourage creators to experi-
ment beyond new media — to 
work with podcasts, long-form 
scripted film, TV pilots — to mix 
other mediums with YouTube.

Adrianna 
DiLonardo 
and 

Sarah Rotella of the Gay Women 
Channel are the writer and 
director, respectively, of “Almost 
Adults,” a coming-of-age LGBTQ 
feature film that was funded on 
Kickstarter.

“(YouTubers are) using new 

media and their fan base to 
launch them into what they 
want to be doing outside of new 
media.” Rotella said. “Everyone 
is making their own content, but 
all of these YouTubers are get-
ting books and doing movies, 

too.”

The effect of their film has had 

a trickle-down effect. Firstly, 
they have integrated their exist-
ing YouTube fan base into view-
ership for their film. Secondly, 
their loyal subscribers have 
become devoted to the movie’s 
actors, who have their own up-
and-coming channels. Winny 
Clarke, a budding actress who 
plays Elliot in “Almost Adults,” 
just launched her own channel 
in October and plans to produce 
weekly comedy sketches.

“The traffic that the Gay 

Women Channel has is amaz-
ing, so every time I do something 
with them, it just sends traffic my 
way, as well,” Clark said.

The best part though, as 

DiLondardo noted, is that “it’s 
nice being your own boss.”

Similarly, Louis Cole, who has 

gained a following of over 1.6 mil-
lion subscribers with his travel 
videos, mentioned how he’s ready 
to experiment beyond vlogging. 
Next year, he’s scheduled to cir-
cumnavigate the world in a plane 
with fellow YouTuber, JP.

“I’d love to explore partnering 

with someone and creating long-
form content, like a documenta-
ry, would be fun,” he said.

Cole predicts the future of new 

media will look quite different.

“I think everything will over-

lap, but there’ll be specific con-
tent on different platforms,” Cole 
said. “So there’s still gonna be the 
very homemade relatable content 
on YouTube. There’ll also be the 
high-end content other sites put 
out like with their subscription 
service. I don’t think that’s gonna 
replace the homemade content.”

However, 
Cole’s 
sentiment 

about homemade content may be 
challenged by the very platform 
that encourages him to experi-
ment. On Oct. 21, just two days 
prior to Buffer Fest, YouTube 
Chief Business Officer, Robert 
Kyncl, 
announced 
“YouTube 

Red” — a $9.99 monthly sub-
scription service that that allows 
for ad-free, offline streaming.

Red will also feature exclusive 

original content from the most 
popular YouTubers. Felix Kjell-
berg (PewDiePie) has already 
unveiled a reality-horror series, 

produced 
by 
“The 
Walking 

Dead” creators. A Lilly Singh 
(||Superwoman||) 
world 
tour 

documentary is also projected. 
Thus, Red will prompt creators 
to strive for high-quality, high 
production-value content, much 
like the material screened at Buf-
fer Fest.

On the other hand, many at 

Buffer Fest wondered if, in the 
aim for higher quality, YouTube 
is trying too hard to be the love-
child of Netflix and Spotify pre-
mium – trying too hard to become 
the “future of television.”

“I’m not sure I want You-

Tube to look like cable TV when 
it grows up,” said author John 
Green in a recent vlog explaining 
the pros and cons of Red. “You-
Tube isn’t something you watch — 
it’s something you’re part of.”

While Red protects all con-

tent creators (especially small 
up-and-comers) from AdBlock, 
which restricts advertising and 
thus their main stream of rev-
enue, Red arguably creates more 
inequality than the level play-
ing field it intends to. Before, 
YouTube was a flat, universal 
platform of equal opportunity; 
anyone with Internet had just 
as much potential to reach an 
audience as anyone else. How-
ever, Red will create two class-
es of viewers: those who can 
pay and those who can’t. Now, 
regular YouTube users will be 
without access to the high-end 
content that events like Buffer 
Fest emphasize and celebrate.

One petition to stop Red 

already has over 16,000 signa-
tures in just 10 days. YouTube is 
supposed to be an equalizer; a 
platform that anyone, regardless 
of age, nationality, experience, or 
socioeconomic status — can both 
consume and create on. I have 
the same opportunity to make a 
viral video just the same as Jenna 
Marbles once did with her web-
cam. Furthermore, YouTube as 
become a gateway to branch off 
into a variety of other mediums 
– films, podcasts, etc. To create 
inequality at the basic consumer 
level now is to restrict the con-
tent creators of the future. We all 
started as consumers, subscrib-
ers and fans.

MUSIC NOTEBOOK

