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Arts
Tuesday, November 17, 2015 — 5
ALBUM REVIEW
Justin Bieber’s new
aggressive apologies
‘Purpose’ is a good
career strategy with
a modern sound
By RACHEL KERR
Daily Arts Writer
On
Friday,
Justin
Bieber
released his fourth studio album,
Purpose, to let us all know he’s
really,
really
sorry for every-
thing
he
has
done in the last
couple of years:
for the time he
was detained on
charges of driv-
ing under the
influence
and
resisting arrest, for the whole
vandalizing-his-neighbor’s-
house-with-eggs-and-causing-
$20,000-in-damage thing, for
assaulting a limo driver in Toron-
to, for spitting on fans from a
balcony and for, of course, aban-
doning his pet monkey in Munich
(possibly his worst transgression
to date).
But like he explains on the hit
single “Sorry,” “you know that I
try but I don’t do too well with
apologies.” That’s evident on
Purpose; it’s his attempted ret-
ribution narrative, rather than a
well-curated collection of songs.
Bieber asks his fans — and his
ex-girlfriend and singer Selena
Gomez — to forgive him, maybe
with a little more aggression that
we’d like.
The opening track, “Mark My
Words,” begins Bieber’s apol-
ogy and promise to be better.
“I’ll Show You” has the singer
reminding us, “Don’t forget that
I’m human / Don’t forget that I’m
real.” On “No Pressure,” he takes
responsibility for his actions, “I
made a few mistakes / I did it
to myself / I’m the only one to
blame.” The unironically titled
“Life Is Worth Living” addresses
the scrutiny he’s faced, “They try
to crucify me / I ain’t perfect,
won’t deny / My reputation’s on
the line / So I’m working on a
better me.”
And his apology culminates on
the final track, the album’s title
track, “Purpose,” which ends
with a minute-long monologue
about his coming of age expe-
riences, “You can’t be hard on
yourself for these were the cards
that you were given, so you have
to understand that these, like …
that’s not who you are.”
Still, when Bieber’s on, he’s
on. By modern-production stan-
dards, Purpose contains some
outstanding tracks. With the
help of household house music
producer
Skrillex,
we
for-
get about Bieber’s overeager
redemptive narrative and just
enjoy
ourselves.
Pre-released
singles “What Do You Mean?”
and “Sorry,” which follow each
other successively, mark some
of the most satisfying moments
on the album. Despite the unin-
spired lyrics on “Where Are U
Now” (“Where are you now that
I need you? / Where are you now
that I need you? / Where are you
now that I need you?”) and “I’ll
Show You” (“My life is a movie
and everyone’s watching”), the
synthesized dance beats boast
Skrillex’s dominant presence on
the album. “Mark My Words”
offers a Bieber exposed, and “No
Pressure” calls to mind Confes-
sions-era Usher, the more sultry
sound highlighting Bieber’s raw
vocal talent.
But the cacophony of dif-
ferent genres feels a bit jar-
ring. The grotesquely insincere
“Children” asks, “What about
the children? / Look at all the
children we can change / What
about the vision?” before enter-
ing into a Skrillex-produced beat
drop. On ballad “Life is Worth
Living,” Bieber compares his
love life to an avalanche — “Rela-
tionship on a ski slope” — almost
immediately after tracks with
Travi$ Scott and Big Sean fea-
tures; it feels unnatural. In the
Ed Sheeran-written “Love Your-
self,” Bieber regresses back to
his 2009 “Baby” sound, displac-
ing the album’s “look at me, I’m
growing as a person!!” narrative.
Bieber may not be great with
apologies, but this project proves
it’s never too late to say sorry.
And as far as career strategies
go, this album is a damn good
one. The singer may have slightly
compromised his sound and his
vocal abilities to fit the current
dance club-driven music scene,
but Purpose shows Bieber’s got
just that again.
B-
Purpose
Justin Bieber
Def Jam
DEF JAM
“What do you mean that I left my monkey in Germany?!”
STAND-UP SPECIAL REVIEW
Maturing Mulaney
By MATT BARNAUSKAS
Daily Arts Writer
In the three years since John
Mulaney’s last stand-up special,
the 33-year-old entertainer has
gotten
mar-
ried, bought a
house and cre-
ated one abject
failure of a sit-
com. Yes, it’s
hard to believe
that
someone
as
witty
as
Mulaney could
create
some-
thing as unfun-
ny as last year’s
“Mulaney,” but
the comedian persists with his
new special, “John Mulaney: The
Comeback Kid.”
Performing in The Chicago
Theatre, Mulaney never direct-
ly addresses his experience of
making a failed TV series, but
the challenges of change make
themselves clearly present. With
an oddly boyish appearance, the
comic seems to defy aging itself
— but that doesn’t stop an aging
point of view.
The
girlfriend
Mulaney
referred to in “New in Town,”
Annamarie Tendler, is now the
stand-up’s wife in “The Come-
back Kid.” At one point, Mulaney
says someone warned him, “Why
buy the cow when you can get the
milk for free?” in regards to his
marriage. Mulaney’s penchant
for breaking down the inherent
insanity of certain subjects comes
into play as he points out the ini-
tially insulting and nonsensical
meaning behind the statement.
He also uses the arguments own
logic against itself. “Why buy
the cow?” he asks himself before
answering, “Because everyday
the cow asks you when you’re
going to buy it.” Mulaney contin-
ues, “Because a lot of people think
that you like bulls,” before con-
cluding, “because you love her.”
Mulaney’s delivery and abil-
ity to inhabit several characters
allows his setups to take shape,
portraying memories as slightly
absurd reimaginings. In one
instance, Mulaney describes his
grouchy French bulldog as an
old French woman who easily
asserts her Alpha status over the
Mulaney household, prompting
a dog trainer to tell him, “You
need to show dominance over
your puppy.” “These are things
people say to me,” the comedian
marvels at his own weakness.
But there is a growing matu-
rity in the man. This isn’t the
guy who gets pushed around
by Delta Airlines in “New In
Town.” Instead, Mulaney is able
to assertively ask that his wife
board the plane with him. Yet,
the man’s childishness never
escapes him. Filled with refer-
ences to ’80s and ’90s hallmarks
like “Back to the Future,” “Saved
by the Bell” and Jonathan Taylor
Thomas, “The Comeback Kid”
paints a picture of Mulaney’s
adolescence, applies a univer-
sality to it and contemplates the
encroaching concept of adult-
hood. “I am very small and I have
no money. So you can imagine the
kind of stress that I am under,”
Mulaney says of his mindset as a
child, but also capturing the Mil-
lennial experience.
Mulaney’s parents are promi-
nent figures in his special, espe-
cially his father, lawyer Charles
Mulaney. Starting as background
figures, the parents become a
recurring theme throughout the
performance as Mulaney sees
that they aren’t so different. At
one point Mulaney tells how his
father, with a car full of children,
went into a McDonald’s drive-
through, and ordered a single cup
of black coffee. Despite child-
hood frustration, Mulaney says,
“In retrospect that is the funniest
thing I’ve seen in my entire life,”
as he calls his dad his hero.
Mulaney closes his set with an
extended look into a childhood
memory, much like he did with
the Salt and Pepper Diner closer
from 2009’s “The Top Part.” Now,
the comedian details the time
he met Bill Clinton, the political
Comeback Kid, during his first
presidential campaign. Amid rec-
ollections of the finale of “The
Fugitive” and his parents’ clash-
ing ideologies, young Mulaney is
swept up in childhood wonder at
meeting the personable Clinton.
This contrasts with his father’s
cynicism towards the future pres-
ident, an outlook punctuated by
the bit’s final act of irony.
At one point, Mulaney remem-
bers an old employer, Mr. Finch,
who once said that he was “Too
old to be a duckling.” The odd
statement
perplexes
Mulaney
every day, but it begins to take
on meaning as “The Comeback
Kid” comes to a close. Mulaney
has changed; he’s too old as well.
His views have shifted with time
and what was simple becomes
complex. Youth has left Mulaney
behind and has been replaced by
the responsibility of adulthood.
He looks back at his childhood
fondly but he doesn’t disregard
its difficulties. This ubiquitous
challenge faced by all ages is
emphasized in Mulaney’s final
story where obligation trumps
personal opinion. Despite his own
struggles, Mulaney’s witty sense
of humor continues to persevere,
allowing him to communicate
growing up in a way that only he
can.
A-
John
Mulaney:
The
Comeback
Kid
Netflix
STYLE NOTEBOOK
Annual V.S. show’s
promising advances
By EMMA KINERY
Daily Arts Writer
The 20th annual Victoria’s
Secret fashion show was filmed
on Nov. 10, but the peasantry of
the world will have to wait until
Dec. 8 to see it aired on CBS.
This year’s show ushers in a
new league of showstoppers,
after long-time, iconic Angels
Karlie
Kloss
and
Doutzens
Kroes walked their final Victo-
ria’s Secret show last year.
Ten models were anointed
to be Angels this year, but all
eyes will be on the rookies.
While nine models will walk
in this particular show for the
first time, two of them seem to
be attracting all of the media
attention — top models of the
year, Kendall Jenner and Gigi
Hadid. Jenner was asked to
walk last year, but chose to do
the Chanel show instead.
Hadid has modeled for Guess,
Versace and starred in several
music videos, but for the past
two years has been denied a
spot in the Victoria’s Secret
show. Her acceptance this year
is undoubtedly partly due to her
rise to fame as part of T-Swift’s
girl squad (I kid you not) and
friendship with Jenner, but
Hadid put in a lot of work too —
becoming and being an Angel is
far from angelic. Many women
work all year to maintain a star
physique — only to be denied
one of the 47 spots in the show.
In a video the company
uploaded to YouTube as part
of a series on how the show is
produced, casting director John
Pfeiffer said out of the 400 to
500 model submissions, he sees
300 auditions and two days of
callbacks for around 100 girls.
But, as the show hits its
20-year mark, it becomes a time
to look back on what (if any-
thing) has been accomplished
by it. The program and brand
have consistently shown one
unique and extremely demand-
ing body type: thin, tall, light
girls with long hair, washboard
abs and thigh gaps as wide as
the Grand Canyon.
All of which comes at an
incredibly demanding physi-
cal price for an industry that
doesn’t pay what it used to.
According to Business Insider,
contracts for veteran models
like Alessandra Ambrosio are
in the millions whereas newer
models are only offered a 10th
of that.
For some models, the time
requirements and stress to stay
in shape isn’t worth the pay —
Kroes left Victoria’s Secret for
better pay in Europe. Famous
Angel Miranda Kerr allegedly
left because Victoria’s Secret’s
extensive demands.
The narrow, demanding body
requirements both pushes mod-
els out and prevents them from
joining in the first place. Volup-
tuous Kate Upton was denied
for her body type, despite being
named “Sexiest Woman Alive”
by People Magazine.
The brand has said it wants
women to not only be attractive,
but likeable to other women —
insinuating that Upton’s shape
and sex appeal deems her
unmarketable to other females.
If women don’t like the model,
they won’t buy the bralette.
Hadid — while not exactly
“thick” and nowhere near “fat”
— represents somewhat of a
deviation from the wafer model
type, and has had to address
criticism online because of it.
Accepting Hadid into the show
is a good start — if only an
increment forward.
However, the most monu-
mental change to the show was
the brand allowing Angolan
model Maria Borges walk her
third show with natural hair.
Past shows have been predomi-
nantly filled with long strands
of straight and softly waved
hair. Essence reported that
Borges told her agent to ask
Victoria’s Secret if they would
allow her to walk with her natu-
ral hair.
“I was nervous, but I had to
do it,” Borges said. “When they
said ‘yes,’ I didn’t expect it, but
I was so happy!”
This approval marks another
step forward in diversifying the
appearance of the show, but,
overall, Victoria’s Secret show
has a long way to go before
breaking the mold.
The show is great voyeur-
ism: it’s extravagant “fantasy,”
and with musical stars like this
year’s Ellie Goulding, Selena
Gomez and The Weeknd, it’s fun
to watch. But it should be taken
at face value: a “fantasy.” If you
do tune in, watch it over cheesy
bread and wine with your girl-
friends. Watch it for Selena
Gomez, who looked bomb in a
low cut black gown (or for her
drama with JB). Watch it for the
fashion, but don’t watch it for
the bodies. These women are
genetically blessed and work
hard all year to perfect it.
Bieber ditched
his pet monkey
in Germany.
COURTESY OF JOHN MULANEY
“What’s new, pussycat?”
FILM NOTEBOOK
‘Room’ is the perfect
coming-of-age film
By JACOB RICH
Daily Film Editor
Spoilers for “Room” to follow.
You should go see “Room.” It’s a
great film and this won’t make any
sense unless you’ve seen it.
“Room,” a film currently sus-
pended in a sea of Oscar-buzz, is
difficult to confine within a single
genre. It’s billed as a thriller, but,
being about the imprisonment
and rape of a teenage girl by a ter-
rifying criminal, the label “hor-
ror” may be a better fit; there’s
no lack of horrific imagery here.
However, the most apt genre to
classify “Room” with is one that
has, so far, rarely been assigned to
it by critics: “Room” is a coming-
of-age film.
“Room” doesn’t have cute teen-
agers, nostalgic music, first sexual
experiences or gross-out humor
(the usual codifiers of the genre).
Rather, “Room” ’s two-act struc-
ture depicts the central theme of
the genre: a passage, from child-
hood into adulthood.
In the first act, we are intro-
duced to Jack and his mother
Joy, the captives. Jack was born
in Room, and has never seen any-
thing outside of it. He is not aware
of the limitations of his existence;
Room is his existence. Given the
circumstances, he’s a happy and
healthy kid. He’s still a little kid
running about, taking pleasure in
playing with toys and interacting
with his mother.
Then, he turns five. His mother
considers him old enough to learn
the truth: They’re captives, and
they can’t leave.
This is the moment, an exclu-
sively human explosion of con-
sciousness we all experience at
different times in our lives: we
discover exactly who, what and
where we are. These are concepts
that are vaguely known in child-
hood but don’t really come into
complete
understanding
until
young adulthood.
It’s a vastly important moment
of self-reflection, but not usually
a pleasant one. The ego is formed.
Here enters the haziness and
murkiness of reality, the realiza-
tion that we aren’t a floating con-
sciousness that has always been
and always will be, but a thorough-
ly mortal biological construct.
There may be more out there, but
we have no method of understand-
ing it. We are alone together. We
are not complacent; we are limited,
and our time is running out.
We
understand
now
that
“Room” is not unfamiliar to us.
“Room” is our new reality when
we hit this point in our lives. Now
that we understand what we are,
we have a pervasive discomfort
that bleeds into everything that
was once simple and easy. While
the physical manifestation of
“Room” in the film is given context
and emotional weight as a terrify-
ing situation of imprisonment and
abuse, it also represents this more
mundane sense of understanding.
Joy and Jack do not escape
“Room” when they leave its
walls. They’re still prisoners of
their reality. Beyond the initial
catharsis of their observed free-
dom, they cannot find a way to
escape the humanity that they
were born into.
Their freedom only comes
when they re-examine their
reality. The final scene, in which
the pair returns to their place
of captivity, finally puts the two
at peace. They look at each part
of Room unblinkingly. Through
acceptance, they are able to
enjoy their lives again. No lon-
ger are they stuck within the
turmoil, the hatred of their own
understanding. This is adult-
hood.
No, “Room” does not aestheti-
cally resemble the traditional
coming-of-age films like “The
Breakfast
Club,”
“American
Pie” and “Almost Famous.” But
it does explore similar themes,
and represents a similar pas-
sage. “Room” is a primal film, a
harrowing and emotional explo-
ration of what it’s like to compre-
hend one’s humanity.
A24
“On the bright side, we’re in a perfect coming-of-age film.”