The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Tuesday, March 15, 2016 — 5

‘Thread of Lies’ takes 
on a taboo discussion

By VANESSA WONG

Daily Arts Writer

Cheong-ji (Kim Hyang-gi, “A 

Werewolf Boy”) was every parent’s 
dream — top of her middle school 
class, kind to 
her financially 
struggling 
single 
mother 

and 
helpful 

around 
the 

house. But one 
day, her family 
returned home 
to find that she 
had committed suicide — with 
no explanation left behind. In 
the aftermath of the tragedy, the 
Korean film “Thread of Lies” fol-
lows Cheong-ji’s older sister Man-
ji (Ko Ah-Sung, “Snowpiercer”) in 
unraveling the interactions with 
classmates and family that lead 
Cheong-ji into unnoticed depres-
sion, and ultimately convinced her 
to end her life. 

At first glance, the film’s por-

trayal of girlhood seems intoxi-
catingly sweet. Airy, light-filled 
cinematography and shrill giggles 
relay a quintessential image of 
youth’s charms, but pressure to 
live up to that image forces girls 
into devastating social warfare. 
The flashback-heavy narrative 
framework allows for an econom-

ical use of screen time, a multi-
character reconciliation of guilt 
and loss and an expose into teen 
girls’ labyrinthine social nexus all 
at once.

Given 
Cheong-ji’s 
reserved 

nature, her friendship with Hwa-
yeon, a pretty and popular class-
mate, seems out of place. Man-ji 
finds that their “friendship” was 
a subtly manipulative power 
dynamic in which Hwa-yeon 
demanded gifts and favors from 
Cheong-ji and actively set up situ-
ations to mock her in front of other 
girls. Those other girls, who felt 
they were kinder, still were com-
plicit in ignoring Cheong-ji and 
trapping her in a situation where 
Hwa-yeon was the only friend 
she had. Even her family failed to 
notice times that Cheong-ji tried 
to reach out to them. Early teen-
age years are characterized by a 
pervasive need for group accep-
tance, creating a predicament 
where to ensure self-survival 
means putting another down. 
With naivety and no appropriate 
emotional outlet confounding the 
problem, each girl’s personal inse-
curities quietly fracture Cheong-
Ji’s emotional health, wearing her 
down over time.

As more realizations unfold, 

it’s clear that what originally 
seemed like a blame game turns 

out to be a complex web of guilty 
behavior, some parties actively 
bullying Cheong-ji into emotional 
isolation and some unconsciously 
furthering her depression by not 
recognizing it. So often bullying 
is portrayed as simply explicit 
taunting or physical violence, 
making it difficult to understand 
it when it happens. The success 
of this film comes from probing 
into deeply fleshed out character 
motives, with every act of cruelty 
guided by realistic, common inse-
curities. Subtle yet emotive per-
formances from all cast members 
reveal how personal fear of blame 
and social isolation made it diffi-
cult for the classmates and family 
members to come to terms with 
their involvement.

South Korea has the highest 

suicide rate among Organisation 
for Economic Co-operation and 
Development-defined 
developed 

countries, and “Thread of Lies” is 
a nuanced exploration that pen-
etrates the social pressures that 
devastate teenage girls and opens 
up a conversation about how 
symptoms of depression can easily 
go unrecognized.

“Thread of Lies” was screened 

as part of the Korean Cinema Now 
series at the Michigan Theater, pre-
sented by the Nam Center for Kore-
an Studies.

CONCERT REVIEW
Citizen eases nerves 
with blood and punk

By SELENA AGUILERA

Daily Arts Writer

“I just bit my tongue open,” 

was something I heard come out 
of the mouth of a girl with blood 
stained all over her shirt. She 
ran out of the crowd during Citi-
zen’s set to her friends that were 
admiring the band from afar. She 
drank a lot of water, stepped out-
side for a few seconds and delib-
erately immersed herself back 
into the crowd.

Any bystander would have 

been worried, but I didn’t find 
anything too unsettling about 
this situation. This isn’t the first 
time something like that has hap-
pened at a show I’ve attended. In 
fact, it’s one out of tens of situa-
tions. And I think it has every-
thing to do with the type of 
people who attend shows, who 
love live music more than most 
things in this world — the people 
who are willing to sacrifice their 
comforts just to see their favor-
ite band play in the flesh. And I 
don’t think I’ve ever witnessed so 
many sacrificial music lovers in 
one place.

Personally, I am a bundle of 

anxiety, and through my experi-
ence, I have come to find that a 
lot of avid concert attendees are 
bundles 
themselves. 
Walking 

into a venue filled with hundreds 
of people standing shoulder to 
shoulder makes my heart beat out 
of my chest, my breath starts to 
shorten and I regress to my nail 
biting addiction that I thought 
I kicked in tenth grade. I play it 
cool by babbling about irrelevant 
things with friends, but my eyes 
scan the room to find other peo-

ple fidgeting in place spewing 
word vomit too.

So, why would I pay to be this 

anxious? Because once that first 
strum of the guitar hits your ears 
the anxiety disappears.

I was standing among strang-

ers biting my nails as punk rock, 
grunge band, Milk Teeth took 
the stage. Coming from the UK 
with a badass front woman, Milk 
Teeth rocked so hard my hand 
was too busy tapping my leg to 
be subject to nail biting. How-
ever, openers are always a rough 
spot because people are still awk-
wardly standing in place.

After an anxiety-filled set 

change Sorority Noise took the 
stage. During the set front man 
Cameron 
Boucher 
expressed 

his diagnosis of manic depres-
sion and created a peace of mind 
in the crowd by acknowledging 
the reality of mental illnesses. 
The 
Connecticut-based 
band 

opened with “Art School Wan-
nabe” and the anxious skin shed 
off the crowd as they went from 
awkwardly standing to jumping, 
pushing and screaming “Maybe 
I’m my own greatest fear/ Maybe 
I’m too scared to admit that.” 
And when the band played their 
last song the crowd was chant-
ing “Encore!” displaying the evi-
dence that Sorority Noise was an 
absolute crowd pleaser.

The air began filling up with 

word vomit again until Virgin-
ia-based Turnover started to 
play. Turnover created a sensual 
experience with their indie, emo 
kind of vibe and the music com-
manded everyone to sway left 
and right. During their set full 
of songs from their dreamy new 

album, Peripheral Vision, strang-
ers became friends after sing-
ing emotional ballads to each 
other. Vulnerability and comfort 
replaced the anxiety because 
something about live music elim-
inates the fear of judgment.

By the time Citizen came on 

stage, the level of discomfort in 
the venue was almost completely 
stripped from the crowd. Open-
ing with “The Summer” off of 
its debut album, Youth, Citizen’s 
live presence wiped every ounce 
of awkward anxiety out of the 
Crofoot. With no exaggeration, 
almost everyone in the venue, 
besides about three rows of out-
side bystanders, were pushing 
and shoving each other enjoying 
the live music experience at its 
finest. The crowd was a collective 
wave of movement and not only 
did people voluntarily experience 
their mental discomforts to see 
Citizen, they experienced their 
physical discomforts as well.

Neck veins from strenuous 

singing have never been so vis-
ible. The frontman, Mat Ker-
ekes handed the microphone to 
crowd surfers creating a personal 
show while the rest of the band 
slammed on their instruments. 
I’ve never seen a more engaged 
and alive crowd experiencing 
their discomforts for the love of 
music.

So, why do anxiety-ridden 

people sacrifice their mental and 
physical comforts for something? 
Why am I totally OK with that 
guy’s sweat dripping on my shoul-
der? Because being able to see a 
favorite band play live gives me a 
high that makes me feel normal, 
even if it’s just for a little while. 

TV NOTEBOOK
When comedy fails: 
Silverman as Hitler

By SHIR AVINADAV

Daily Arts Writer

Sarah 
Silverman 
went 
on 

“Conan” as Hitler last Thursday, 
and it wasn’t cool.

The 
long-standing 
question 

of what is or isn’t OK to repre-
sent comically is constantly being 
put to the test. We often take for 
granted the ways in which comedy 
serves as a vehicle for the truth 
— mainly because we’re too busy 
laughing to notice. But it’s impor-
tant to consider the implications of 
this power. With comedy, we can 
say what we normally wouldn’t 
about things we typically wouldn’t 
address.

Sarah Silverman’s appearance 

on “Conan,” dressed as Hitler, is 
an example of the failure to ade-
quately consider the repercussions 
of humorously addressing a tyrant 
and murderer. Though I per-
sonally enjoy Sarah Silverman’s 
comedy and admire her ability to 
brazenly say what’s on her mind, 
her portrayal of Hitler in response 
to the increasing likening of the 
former ruler to GOP presidential 
candidate Donald Trump was an 
instance of poor judgment in taste.

Trump is known for his con-

troversial 
policy 
ideas 
about 

minorities, and more recently, for 
increasingly spitting out hateful 
comments directed at minorities 
in the U.S. Regardless of whether 
he truly believes the things he says 
or if his bigotry is just a ploy to stay 
in the limelight, his statements are 
no laughing matter. And neither is 
the comparison of him to Hitler.

On 
Thursday 
night, 
Sarah 

Silverman went on “Conan” to 
address this comparison as none 
other than Hitler himself. Aside 
from the jarring experience of see-
ing a man responsible for the geno-
cide of millions reincarnated in a 
cartoonish costume on live televi-
sion, Silverman’s humanization of 

Hitler has just as little place in the 
media as do Trump’s discrimina-
tory statements. 

You might think to yourself, “It’s 

only a joke,” or, “It’s OK because 
she’s Jewish.” Well, it’s not just a 
joke. As Charles Churchill wrote, 
“A joke is a very serious thing.” 
Jokes give us the power to criticize 
our society, because they knock 
our guard down and expose us to 
truths we don’t want to face before 
we can put our guards back up 
again. Silverman, dressed as Hit-
ler, exposes “Conan” ’s audience to 
a truth that is both unintended and 
unfounded — that manipulating 
Hitler’s ideology to make light of 
both his and Trump’s beliefs is OK. 

Though pretending that even 

Hitler would denounce Donald 
Trump drives home the point that 
he has some problematic views (to 
say the least), it has a very power-
ful, unintended side effect: it paints 
Hitler in a light that ignores the 
nature of his beliefs and actions. In 
essence, Silverman is making the 
case that Trump is someone who’s 
worse than Adolf Hitler — whose 
Nazi regime oversaw the brutal 
persecution and ultimate extermi-
nation of six million Jews, as well 
as millions of other victims.

Silverman walks on stage greet-

ing the audience with a casual 
“Heil,” then proceeds to speak in 
her own voice as Hitler, saying, “I 
agree with a lot of what he says — 
a lot. Like 90 percent of what he 
says, I’m like, this guy gets it.” Sil-
verman acts like herself, reciting 
Nazi ideology in a manner more 
in line with her own than Hitler’s, 
making her statements all the 
more unsettling. Silverman (AKA 
Hitler) then proceeds to take 
issue with Trumps “crass” way of 
speaking. Yeah, because Trump’s 
delivery of the hateful garbage is 
the problem.

Her intention, of course, is 

not to promote Trump’s or Hit-

ler’s ideas, nor is it to offend the 
generations of people actually 
victimized by the man she por-
trays. But her casual delivery of 
the racist attitude that effectively 
led to the deaths of millions trivi-
alizes the image of Hitler and 
events that took place under his 
rule. Since the beginning of the 
difficult healing process follow-
ing these events, much debate 
has surrounded their appropri-
ate representation in the media. 
Though many years have passed, 
no amount of time can buffer the 
difficult sentiments associated 
with evoking images of the Holo-
caust. And it will especially never, 
ever be funny — no matter what 
the intentions are in satirizing it. 

Comedy isn’t only great, it’s 

also an essential part of discourse 
in our society. But as with most 
things, it has a place and time. 
And making Hitler, the most hated 
man in our world’s history, funny, 
has neither a place nor a time — 
especially not on Conan O’Brien’s 
couch and not during his show. 
Silverman’s performance, though 
intended as a wake-up call to the 
kind of person that’s in the run-
ning for leading our country, sim-
ply makes fun of something that 
isn’t and shouldn’t be funny.

When you have a voice as pow-

erful and established as Silver-
man’s, it becomes necessary that 
it be used judiciously. I’m not try-
ing to attack Sarah Silverman or 
chide people for what they think 
is or isn’t funny. But this instance 
of misguided humor serves to 
remind us of the delicate balance 
between making fun of some-
thing and trivializing it. While it 
is important to remember the con-
sequences of what Hitler did, his 
image and memory should stay in 
the past, where they belong. And it 
is our duty to remember that when 
it comes to humor, there are some 
things that are out of bounds. 

UBU FILM

Peace and selfies.

FILM REVIEW

A

Thread 
of Lies

Ubu Film

Royal Oak hosts 
two great comics

Shlesinger and 

Johnson combine for 
a hilarious weekend

By CHRISTIAN KENNEDY

Online Arts Editor

Friday: Iliza Shlesinger at 

Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle

About a month before Iliza 

Shlesinger was set to record her 
third hour-long TV special, she 
took the Comedy Castle’s stage 
in ill-fitting jeans (which were 
appropriately incorporated into 
jokes throughout the set) and 
a yellow t-shirt with an orange 
outline of Michigan.

Opening with a lively and per-

sonal set about the mitten state, 
Shlesinger set the tone for her 
animated, aggressive and always 
witty live show: comparing a 
class of children raising their 
mittens to show where they’re 
from to Hitler’s salute and mak-
ing it clear to the crowd that no 
one besides Michiganders know 
about the Upper Peninsula. “I 
thought this was a cloud,” she 
said pointing the the U.P. on her 
shirt.

The #PartyGoblin segment 

from “Freezing Hot” returned 
in her new material with a kill-
er expansion into the hangover 
stage, waking up with cush-
ion scars and how party gob-

lins strike when they hear, “I’m 
only have one drink.” The “Last 
Comic Standing” winner also 
found continued strength in her 
male / female dynamic commen-
tary. She took the crowd through 
a recent break-up, as well as 
mulling over the absurdity of 
women being able to give birth 
with just “grit,” yet on any other 
day she can’t do 20 push-ups.

Of the show’s highlights, 

Shlesinger’s 
uncanny 
ability 

to convey what she refers to as 
“white girl crazy” was in full 
effect as she narrated the time 
she dumped out an entire purse 
on a dancefloor looking for a lip 
liner, ignoring the fact that she 
wasn’t currently wearing any, 
and eventually terrifying the 
bouncer out of her face.

Shlesinger was loud, she was 

brash, she was honest; and as 
per usual, her comedic timing 
and ability to deliver a punchline 
were as strong as ever.

Saturday: Anjelah Johnson @ 

The Royal Oak Music Theater

Anjelah Johnson gave fans the 

show they wanted — she did her 
staple nail salon joke, kept “Not 
Fancy” ’s “I would be a bad police 
officer” bit, offered up some Bon 
Qui Qui “ghetto fabulousness” 
and brought in plenty of fresh 
material.

The show started with Bon 

Qui Qui coming over the speaker 
system to let everyone know all 

the rules. Then, after an opening 
set from Rahn Hortman, John-
son took the stage to raucous 
cheers from the the theater.

Similar to Shlesinger, John-

son also opened the show with 
a Michigan-centric bit. Starting 
with some obligatory weather 
commentary, the show really 
got started as she detailed her 
time thus far in Detroit / Royal 
Oak. The expectation of cross-
ing from Detroit to Royal Oak 
and seeing a stark change in 
scenery is far from reality, she 
said. “Yeah, you classy, Royal 
Oak,” she teased as she told 
the crowd about a man she saw 
walking down the street with a 
pair of socks in his mouth by a 
local BBQ restaurant.

Newer material included an 

hilarious bit on impulse-buying 
a first home with her husband. 
Between 
her 
not-so-handy 

husband, her mom-less, land-
lord-less reality and a possible 
intruder, Johnson finds some 
of her strongest material in her 
new set.

Acknowledging that she’s get-

ting older, yet is still a “full-grown 
child,” Johnson stuck to some of 
her earliest material and come-
dically piled her newest, boldest 
material on top. Saturday’s per-
formance showcased Johnson’s 
talent, past, present and future, all 
of which is extremely bright — and 
more importantly, hilarious. 

NETFLIX

“You get a fur! You get a jet!”

EVENT REVIEW

