TV REVIEW ‘MasterChef Junior’ fun despite its issues By MATT BARNAUSKAS Daily Arts Writer If there is one show that makes me feel like I’m underachieving in life, it’s “MasterChef Junior.” Entering its fourth season, the pint-sized spin-off of the hit FOX show “Mas- terChef” continues to present chil- dren of such culinary excellence that it puts most of its viewing audience to shame. I may be able to cook a burger, but I highly doubt I’ll ever make something that looks half as good as eight-year-old Kya’s Wagyu beef burger with two kinds of cheeses. “I think it’s time for a girl to win ‘MasterChef Junior,’” con- testant Avery says as she walks into the MasterChef Kitchen. For its first three seasons, male contestants have been the favorite sons of the series, with all three winners having been boys, along with two of the runners-up. This dominance stands in stark contrast to the adult-oriented “MasterChef,” which has boasted five female winners over the course of six seasons. However, the distribu- tion of the final two contenders, seven females to five males, is far more balanced. This dynamic between the two shows brings an eyebrow- raising dynamic. While the show seeks to share culinary knowledge with a young gen- eration, it has become increas- ingly narrow in its selection of elite contestants. The lack of young diversity is a shame con- sidering the wider represen- tation present in the flagship “MasterChef” program itself. By having one of its young competitors address the lack of female winners from the begin- ning, “MasterChef Junior” seems to be challenging itself to broaden its horizons as it looks for its next champion among a sea of bright young faces that burst with energy. It’s this enthusiasm and won- der that carry “MasterChef Junior.” Representation and gender politics aside, the show is still, in many ways, a joy to watch. Gone are the petty rival- ries and cynical reality show machinations of the adult alter- native, replaced by the sincerity of childhood. The common tendency of reality to turn characters that stand out. One contestant, Adam, emphasizes his Brook- lyn origins and talks with the delivery of a stand-up come- dian, while Avery, dressed in overalls, plays up her bayou roots with recipe a called the “Sportsman’s Paradise Burg- er.” These basic archetypes are common, but “MasterChef Junior” steers away from the negative tendencies that type- casting usually resorts to in competitive reality shows. No child is made out to be a villain or a jerk; they’re just kids that want be the best cooks they can be. Even though it’s been on for four seasons, the show’s pervading positive attitude still makes for a nice refresher from the inherent nastiness of sev- eral reality competitions. The universal encourage- ment extends to the judging. Instead of resorting to put- downs and angry rants meant to artificially heighten drama, judges Gordon Ramsay, Gra- ham Elliot and Christina Tosi (her first time on “MasterChef Junior”) bring valid construc- tive criticism. Tosi excels in the instance when presented with a marshmallow pie by contestant Alexander. The pie is, frankly, a mess and Alexander knows it, but Tosi searches for the good and offers necessary comfort for a young boy in a stressful situation. This goodwill towards inno- cence fosters a show with a constructive atmosphere. As Alexander and fellow contes- tant Kade are eliminated, the rest of the participants gather around for a big group hug. It’s a common scene on the show, but the comforting sentiment continues to carry over across seasons. “MasterChef Junior” still has issues of finding diverse cham- pions; a challenge made even more difficult considering it’s hard for audiences at home to assess the abilities of the young chefs. However, the positive atmosphere continues to create a show that offers up the best in its young competitors. B MasterChef Junior Season 4 Premiere Fridays at 8 p.m. FOX Stands in stark contrast to adult-oriented ‘Master Chef.’ Enviro-folk from Jeremy Loops South African singer blends music and message By CATHERINE BAKER Daily Arts Writer It’s seven in the morning and I’m woken up by the pounding of rain on my window. Panicking briefly that I’d left my car windows rolled down, I remind myself that I do not have a car here and I am not, in fact, still in high school. After this minor disruption in my heart rate, I soothe myself with the repetitive patter against my window and the sporadic flashes of light that illuminate my messy room. The beating of the raindrops is continuous and takes root inside my mind to make sure that I won’t get any more sleep tonight. And Jeremy Loops does the same. His use of new musical techniques and limited instruments create music that will linger long after it has stopped playing. Rain has always been associated with reflection, just like Loops’ lyrics on life, love and simplicity will make you think. Jeremy Loops, originally from Cape Town, South Africa, is a mod- ern folk singer and environmental activist. Speaking out for aware- ness through both his organization Greenpop and his lyrics, he seeks to battle deforestation and travels around Southern Africa teaching underprivileged schoolchildren how to better protect their planet. His important ecological advocacy follows the similar messages he portrays in his music, combining traditional folk instruments with contemporary lyrics. In 2014, Loops debuted at #1 on iTunes in South Africa and recent- ly released his first full-length album Trading Change in August 2015. Since this recent claim to fame, he has begun touring along- side Twenty One Pilots in Europe. Trading Change’s opening track, “Sinner,” is characterized by a quick banjo and gravely vocals, with lyrics that create a feeling of community around the idea that humanity is full of sinners. Loops displays his vocal range right off the bat, looping his own voice and instruments to create interesting and original layers of sound. “Down South” was the first song from Loops I heard and the layered opening a cappella drew me in like a moth to a flame. Transforming into a full band sound while still maintaining a sense of simplicity is a talent I have only found in Loops. The lyrics, “Remember how we say / Someday we’ll set sail / It took me so much to get where we are,” dream of looking ahead to the future and still pleading for stag- nancy in the present. Combining all of these elements, “Trip Fox” utilized snaps, more banjos, strangely syncopated lyr- ics and dueling harmonicas. “Tell me you’re living free / Tell me we can do it again” reiterates the same themes of being content where you are while dreaming of a place far away. Brandishing a wicked banjo solo (trust me, that feels just as strange to write as it does to read), “Trip Fox” transcends the label of “modern folk” and becomes simply amazing music. “Running Away” showcases Loops’ versatility as an artist as he gets in touch with his rock roots, yet retains an aggressive harmon- ica in place of a bass line. As the title suggests, the song glorifies escaping from all responsibilities and taking to a life on the road, a sentiment that most of us can echo. I may not be in high school anymore, I may not have a car and I may not always be ready to move on from the past, but Jeremy Loops makes the future look pret- ty enticing. The play is set in an unnamed dystopian society with its main character, Katurian, as a short-sto- ry writer. After detectives discover an eerie similarity between the gruesome violence of Katurian’s stories and several recent child murders, he is brought in for ques- tioning. When Katurian hears that his brother Michael has confessed to the murders, including sharing details on their twisted upbring- ing, Katurian suffocates him as a kind of mercy killing. His mission is to save his stories from destruc- tion. Many of these stories are recounted within the play. With two weeks to put together this five-week production, Rich casted the show based on the abil- ity to capture the emotional depth of these highly complex and trou- bled characters. “Each character is so specific and different in what they’ve gone through in life, and really an understanding of that and an understanding of drama is what I was looking for from actors,” Rich said. Although originally scripted as a cast of all men, Rich bent the gender of one of the detective characters in an effort to make the production more relatable to female audiences. The produc- tion has innovated in other ways, too, in order to make such a mul- tilayered play possible. “When I first started thinking about proposing this show, it was two years ago and I said to myself, ‘No, it’s too challenging of a piece,’ ” Rich said. “I didn’t know how I was going to do the stories, because I wanted to do each one a different way. So now, we have shadow play, we have puppets, we have lighting changes, and we have some that are just stories read aloud.” Expect laughs to turn to tears, breaths to be drawn and irresist- ibly uncomfortable moments to last too long. Revel in “The Pil- lowman” ’s bleakness and you’ll be just fine. PILLOWMAN From Page 1A MUSIC NOTEBOOK The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Arts Friday, November 13, 2015 — 5A Balmain x H&M is style hype at its peak STYLE NOTEBOOK By JULIA DOYLE Daily Arts Writer The highly anticipated, highly promoted release of Balmain x H&M featuring designs by Bal- main Creative Director Olivier Rousteing occurred this past Thursday, Nov. 5 at 8 a.m. To many a consumer’s displeasure, by noon that same day the only item left on sale was a tiny, simple, white ban- deau. So what’s the deal? Dedicated shoppers lined up for hours (and in some cases, days) outside of the various H&M stores lucky enough to carry the collec- tion. Masses of people, men and women alike, waiting for those clear doors to open. Once they did, chaos basically ensued — on- lookers videotaped the craziness of shoppers storming the racks. Comparable to a Best Buy on Black Friday, these H&M stores were completely run-through only minutes after the crowds stampeded. Online, the situation was far worse. The website was so flooded with volume that it completely crashed, and to shop- pers’ disappointment, once it did go back online, all the items were gone. Sold out. Poof. Vanished. So, why all the hype? We chalk it up to two simple reasons. The first reason for the unprec- edented success was the campaign itself — what many would call a genius fashion marketing cam- paign. If you have a social media account, the ads for this collection were everywhere. Not to mention putting Kendall Jenner’s face on anything at this point turns said item into coveted gold. But to use her face, name and brand alone wouldn’t have made this big of an impact. However, throwing in Gigi Hadid along with Jourdan Dunn was what added to the suc- cess of it all. But still bear with us, because that wasn’t what made it stand out. It was the entire pro- duction of the campaign. Lashy, high-fashion and constantly in your face — from a music video as edgy as the line itself, to a launch party so highly publicized by Kendall, Gigi and Jourdan them- selves, to the sheer amount of star power at that launch party (Kylie Jenner, Ellie Goulding, Cameron Russell, among others), this cam- paign was buzzed about since May 2015. Given the six months of unmatched anticipation for this line to drop, can’t say I’m too sur- prised about the lack of hangers on the shelves. The second reason for such sold-out success is sheer quality product — the entirety of the line itself was fabulous. Yes, we estab- lished that Kendall Jenner could sell essentially anything. But had these looks not been as great as they truly are, there’d be no reason for fans to line up. Rather, they’d simply look online at the pretty pictures of Kendall and Gigi walk- ing hand in hand down the red carpet at the release, which at this point is the only thing most con- sumers (including myself) can do with the line. Each piece encom- passes the signature design, fit and look of Balmain as a brand, taken to new heights by Rousteing. The pieces aren’t for those looking for simple cocktail attire. From huge pops of bright color to decadent patterns to colorful faux leather and decadent fur jack- ets, each piece is bolder and more dauntless than the last. Clearly resolute in every piece from the collection, Oliver Rousteing does a fantastic job of making the line effortlessly edgy from head to toe. Encompassing the trademark black and gold silhouettes that Balmain is coveted for, Rousteing is not afraid to put a twist on these designs, made for the modern and high fashion woman. While the collection itself is worth the hype surrounding it, it would seem that this collabo- ration between high fashion and mass produced retail, between Balmain and H&M, is anything but for the masses. That being said, my hesitation with this line is the pricing. Yes, this is Balmain, but this is also being sold at H&M — a retailer for the average person. When people shop at H&M, their intention is not to drop $500 on a cardigan. Collab- orations between a top tier design- er and a retail store like H&M are created to provide an affordable way for us “average peasants,” we non-Kardashians to wear design- er-quality clothing. Clearly H&M is missing the point here. In the past, H&M has done collabora- tions with huge names. The list is endless and quite impressive: Stel- la McCartney, Versace, Roberto Cavalli, Isabel Marant, Alexander Wang, Beyoncé, David Beckham, Karl Lagerfeld and so on. So it would seem everyone who is anyone in fashion, style and pop-culture has collaborated with H&M. Yet in each of these lines, I saw prices that soared above $400. Clearly H&M knows they can prof- it on these lines. Unfortunately for us, the “average” consumers, we may just have to be content with looking at these designs from afar, because it would seem that appar- ently the prices are not going to change any time soon.