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