6A — Monday, November 9, 2015
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
“Parents” focuses on Dev
and his friend Brian (newcomer
Taiwanese-American
actor Kelvin Yu) and their
generational
gap
between
their hard-working, immigrant
parents. “Hot Ticket” presents
Dev’s
date
gone
wrong
as
an
examination
of
the
unexpected pitfalls of romantic
relationships.
Despite
how
most topics covered on “Master
of None” are used in Ansari’s
stand-up
and
best-selling
book
“Modern
Romance,”
the dialogue on the show still
sounds
rich
and
authentic,
evoking a naturalistic style
reminiscent of works by Woody
Allen and Richard Linklater.
When watching “Master of
None,” it’s easy to draw parallels
to Louis C.K.’s acclaimed meta-
satire “Louie” and Chris Rock’s
star-studded
comedy
film
“Top Five.” Each primarily
takes place in New York City,
uses
innovative
aesthetic
techniques and features famous
celebrities
as
exaggerated
versions of themselves. Rock,
C.K. and Ansari also write
and act in their own work,
playing characters who embody
the traits of their creators.
However, “Master of None” is
noteworthy in its own right. It’s
not as cynical as “Louie” nor as
flashy as “Top Five.” “Master of
None” simply combines the best
qualities of both and adds its
own distinctive flare.
Visually, “Master of None” is
incredible to look at. It employs
a
warm
color
palette
that
saturates the streets of New
York and scenes of Nashville
from
the
Ansari-directed
episode
“Nashville.”
The
show also boasts an incredible
soundtrack that includes music
by Mac DeMarco, Lou Reed,
Father John Misty, Broken Bells
and Beach House. Ironically,
Beach House’s dreamy tune
“Master of None” is used in one
episode, possibly as a tongue-in-
cheek nod to the show’s title. In
addition to the gorgeous visuals
and outstanding music choices,
“Master of None” enlists a
fantastic cast of talented actors:
Eric Wareheim (“Tim and Eric
Awesome Show, Great Job!”)
plays Dev’s dorky single friend
Arnold; Noël Wells (“Saturday
Night Live”) plays Dev’s love
interest Rachel; screenwriter
Lena
Waithe
plays
Dev’s
deadpan lesbian buddy Denise;
Ravi
Patel
(“Transformers”)
and H. Jon Benjamin (“Archer,”
“Bob’s Burgers”) play Dev’s
actor friends. Even Claire Danes
(“Homeland”), Danielle Brooks
(“Orange is the New Black”)
and rapper Busta Rhymes make
some
unusually
delightful
cameos. Ansari manages to
craft these characters as three-
dimensional
and
intriguing
people, rather than portraying
them as superficial, clichéd
caricatures. Surprisingly, each
side character also seems to have
natural chemistry with Ansari,
especially the lovely Wells.
While “Master of None”
delivers Ansari’s topical humor,
the show challenges viewers
with socially relevant issues
as well. In the seventh episode
“Ladies
and
Gentlemen,”
feminism and sexism come to
light as Dev gradually comes
to
understand
the
double
standards women face in today’s
society. In the standout episode,
“Indians on TV,” Dev ruminates
over the misrepresentation and
stereotypes of Indians seen in
television and movies, citing
Ashton Kutcher’s brownface in
a Popchips commercial as an
example. In one pivotal scene,
Dev auditions for the role of
“unnamed cab driver,” where
he is reluctant to use an Indian
accent when asked. “You know,
Ben Kingsley did an (Indian)
accent in Gandhi and he won
the Oscar for it, so … ” the
casting director remarks. “But
he didn’t win the Oscar just for
doing the accent,” Dev retorts.
“I mean, it wasn’t an Oscar
for Best Indian Accent.” This
exchange not only showcases
Ansari’s quick-witted humor,
but also underscores the casting
director’s microaggression as
an example of how the industry
undermines people of color in
acting roles. These are just one
of the many instances in “Master
of None” that exhibit Ansari’s
range
as
a
groundbreaking
actor and writer.
“Master of None” is a classic
coming-of-age story, but Ansari
perfectly nails every facet of
a young person’s life, whether
it’s discovering new things,
falling in love or thinking
deeply about the world we live
in. One thing is for sure: Ansari
may be a “master of none,” but
based on this show alone, he
has the potential to become the
“master of everything.”
The finer points of
reading for pleasure
COMMUNITY CULTURE NOTEBOOK
By BAILEY KADIAN
Daily Arts Writer
There’s no doubt that, at this
point of my life, time is limited. I
have a never-ending to-do list and
as a result, I surrender one of my
most treasured and beloved hob-
bies — reading for pleasure.
By no means am I suggest-
ing that I have been deprived of
reading. My syllabi provide me
loads of reading opportunities. I
have enough textbook reading to
last me the rest of the semester.
But reading for pleasure? I have
put that off for months now, and
I have been deprived of delight-
ing in this hobby. So I decided to
write about it.
I miss my reading chair, my
reading lamp, my infinite stack of
books begging me to spend hours,
days, weeks reading them. I miss
going to Barnes & Noble, stocking
up on books and actually reading
what I have so meticulously picked
out. I miss the satisfaction of con-
cluding an engrossing and capti-
vating story, just to be instantly
transported into another.
As I flashback to the days of ele-
mentary school, I catch a glimpse
of the opportunities for pleasure
reading that I didn’t appreciate.
Our allotted afternoon reading
time, our library trips, our book
fairs — my third grade self didn’t
know this precious time would be
taken away and nearly impossible
to get back.
On Fridays, I go to an elementa-
ry school in Detroit and read with
fourth grade students. My visits
with them remind me how amaz-
ing literature is. Every student
gets something different out of
the story, but they are all equally
excited and passionate about their
discoveries. If I can’t read for fun
on my own, at least I can enjoy
my time watching them do so. For
now, reading through children’s
books is all I have.
From May to August, during
the long-awaited summer vaca-
tion, I’m driven to read as many
books as I can without assign-
ments hindering this pursuit.
The satisfaction tends to wear
off a few months into the semes-
ter, when I know it has been too
long since I’ve done this. We’ve
reached that point.
My reading for pleasure is
equivalent to the rest of the pop-
ulation’s love for TV series and
movies. I don’t binge watch TV,
I binge-read books — and having
to do without this hobby for most
of the academic year is more than
disappointing. It’s defeating.
The problem is that even if I
make time for some light reading,
it’s just not the same. Part of the joy
derived from pleasure reading is
the peace of knowing that is all you
have to do. Hours and hours filled
with reading books of my choice,
like prose, historical fiction, even
plays. The freedom and bliss of this
hobby is found in your willingness
and ability to enjoy it.
For now, I’ll just have to con-
tinue piling my list of “must read”
books, like Harper Lee’s “Go Set
a Watchman,” Tolstoy’s “Anna
Karenina” and maybe even round
two for “Harry Potter,” when the
opportunity presents itself to
indulge. Until then, I’ll just have
to enjoy some reading of “Psy-
chology: From Inquiry to Under-
standing.”
By RACHEL KERR
Daily Arts Writer
Last November, I penned
an open letter to Frank Ocean,
pleading with him to fill us in
on where he’s been, what he’s
doing and, most importantly,
when some new material would
drop.
On
Thanksgiving,
he
released the short and unsatis-
fying “Memrise,” showing his
first signs of independent artis-
tic life since CHANNEL Orange.
Though the rest of 2014 was rel-
atively quiet, 2015 looked bright:
he released another short song
in January, and then in April,
announced
his
new
album
would be out in July.
Well, now it’s July fucking
129th and still nothing. The
initial announcement of his
new album was made on his
Tumblr and featured a photo
of the artist sitting with stacks
of magazines titled “Boys Don’t
Cry,” with the caption, “I got
two versions. I got twoooo
versions. #ISSUE1 #ALBUM3
#JULY2015 #BOYSDONTCRY.”
So not only was Frank teas-
ing a new album, but also an
apparent new publication. Both
seemed to be titled “Boys Don’t
Cry.” But who knows, because
we never got either of them.
As the days in July dwin-
dled down, fans continued to
hold out hope. Even as August
opened, the Internet was quick
to defend Frank; he liked doing
things on his own time, like
in 2011, with nostalgia, Ultra,
when he was feeling ignored by
Def Jam and just went ahead
and released the album with-
out a label. And though Ocean
remained silent, his mother was
tweeting to fans about patience,
and his ex-girlfriend confirmed
the completion of the album.
But things got personal for
me when Ocean canceled his
performance at FYF in late
August. Two days before he
was set to perform, the festi-
val released a statement say-
ing that he had “decided on his
own terms to cancel his appear-
ance,” making it very clear this
was his doing and not theirs.
There was talk of him being
in London trying to finish his
album. But, like, what the fuck?
Though I wasn’t one of those
people that bought a $200 ticket
solely to see him perform, and
though his replacement was one
of my favorite artists of all time,
Kanye West, he couldn’t just do
that! Yes, I may have literally
cried when Kanye performed
“Runaway,”
but
I
probably
would have cried when Ocean
performed “Bad Religion,” too.
I guess we’ll never know.
August
passed
with
an
announcement that Ocean had
signed with a new PR agency.
September brought a sighting
at a sushi restaurant in SOHO
— at least we know he’s alive —
and some talk that Yung Lean
would appear on the album.
In late October, his barber, of
all people, said the album was
coming soon. All the while, his
website has been mysteriously
taken down, changed from
frankocean.com to boydont-
cry.co, and then put back up.
There’s been a merch tab added
and a different font used, but
absolutely no word on the new
projects.
I get that we have to respect
the creative process, but Ocean
is being kind of an asshole. He’s
gotta’ give us something to look
forward to, or we’ll all begin
giving up. I’ll hold out until the
end of 2015, then I might have
to move on.
DEF JAM
“I’ve been thinking bout’ you ... you’ve been thinkin’ bout me too. Lol.”
I miss my
reading chair,
my reading
lamp.
Where in the world
is Frank Ocean?
I don’t binge
watch TV, I
binge-read
books.
Respect the
creative process,
but Ocean is
being an asshole.
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
NETFLIX
Existential Raaaaaaandy.
MASTER OF NONE
From Page 1A
Visually,
“Master of
None” is
incredible.
The show
challenges
viewers with
relevant issues.
“Master of
None” is a
classic coming-
of-age story.
TV REVIEW
WE NOTICED THAT IT’S 2015, SO WE MADE A BLOG.
READ IT. BE THE FUTURE.
NO FILTER