6

Thursday, July 14, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ARTS

TV REVIEW

P4K fest offbeat

By ANAY KATYAL

Summer Senior Arts Editor

This year, Pitchfork celebrates its 

titular festival’s 11th year — arguably 
enough time for it to be considered 
among the sum-
mer’s bonafide 
musical events. 
In its decade-
long existence, 
the festival has 
moved from its 
cheaper, folksy, 
fringer 
roots 

to 
something 

that resembles 
a more main-
stream, 
large-

scale 
fixture 

— 
presumably 

with more of 
a corporate twist thanks to their 
recent takeover by publishing giant 
Condé Nast. Some might fear the 
oft-touted “beacon of musical coun-
terculture” that is Pitchfork may be 
on the verge of selling out to com-
mercialized interests as a result, but 
talking to Pitchfork president Chris 
Kaskie could convince you that the 
publication’s adherence to quality, 
consistency and culture has yet to 
waver.

“Ultimately, our goal is to be both 

a resource and a place to celebrate 
discovery,” Kaskie said. “Whether 
it’s fill in the gaps or expose and 
cover music as it gets noisier year-by-
year, our prerogatives don’t change.”

It’s a credo that has bound Pitch-

fork since its inception 20 years ago, 
and defines the festival and the com-
pany’s other initiatives to this day.

The latest iteration of the festi-

val boasts a typical (and welcome) 
smorgasbord of artists representing 
a wide variety of genres. From ambi-
ent artist Oneohtrix Point Never, to 
contemporary soul musician Blood 
Orange and indie sweetheart Sufjan 
Stevens, the festival deviates a bit 
from what audiences might usually 

expect from a token summer music 
festival. It’s that kind of difference 
that Pitchfork prides itself in.

“I don’t think festivals are some-

thing to be homogenized,” Kaskie 
said. “I think live music is as impor-
tant as ever. I think you can argue 
that discovering is as important as 
ever — and as hard as ever — and I 
think when you create an event that 
is a carbon copy of about, you know, 
an innumerable amount of other 
(festivals), it’s not very inspiring to 
us.”

Though the festival benefits from 

greater financial and corporate sup-
port than previous years, the phi-
losophy and culture seem to remain 
intact.

“(Being) different is what we offer, 

and it really comes down to, you 
know, the prioritization of the music 
over the party and not the other way 
around,” Kaskie said. “We want peo-
ple to walk in and know what Pitch-
fork Festival is [about] regardless of 
whether or not they’re aware of any 
of the bands there.”

With just three stages littered 

across Union Park, all hosting a wide 
range of artists, the festival effec-
tively functions as a vehicle for music 
discovery and appreciation more 
than simply being an opportunity for 
mindless debauchery (at least rela-
tive to its competitors).

As Kaskie put it, “...we try to build 

a program that is reflective of Pitch-
fork readers specifically, and more 
broadly, what we feel music looks 
like.”

The latest iteration of the fest looks 

to be no different, with the expecta-
tion that somewhere around 50,000 
people will overtake Chicago’s Union 
Park this weekend. Despite having 
its fair share of doubters and naysay-
ers, Pitchfork is ready for yet another 
successful summer that embodies 
the publication’s offbeat persona.

Can we trust the man 
behind ‘Mr. Robot’?

Season premiere 
a chaotic look at 

protagonist and world

By MATT BARNAUSKAS

Daily TV/New Media Editor

On 
Sunday, 
USA 
Network 

released the first half of the two-
part “Mr. Robot” season two 
premiere for a 
limited time on 
several 
social 

media 
sites. 

This is a review 
of that half.

There 
are 

few, 
if 
any, 

television 
shows 
with 

the 
kind 
of 

rapport 
“Mr. 

Robot” 
has 

with its viewer. The show’s use of 
an unreliable narrator in the form 
of protagonist Elliot Alderson 
(Rami Malek, “Need For Speed”) 
engenders 
an 
uncertainty 
in 

viewers. However, series creator 
— and now sole director — Sam 
Esmail (“Comet”) didn’t just settle 
for narration, but also actively 
asked us to become a part of 
the series as Elliot’s lone, albeit 
imaginary, 
confidant 
— 
even 

going as far to have Elliot call us 
“friend.” But as the true depth of 
Elliot’s disturbed mental state 
reveals itself, we’re forced to 
reevaluate everything we’ve seen 
and realize we can’t trust Elliot 
because, ultimately, Elliot cannot 
trust himself.

But as Elliot narrates his “loop” 

— the strict daily regimen he 
practices in an attempt to contain 
the chaotic Mr. Robot (Christian 
Slater, “Pump Up the Volume”) 
side of his personality — we’re 
drawn back into our relationship 
with the Elliot that was established 
in the first season. Only when we 
realize Elliot isn’t addressing us, 
but his therapist, Krista (Gloria 
Reuben, “Saints and Sinners”), 
do we recognize things have 
changed between us and Elliot. 
The mistrust we’ve been feeling 
is a two-way street, as Elliot no 
longer fully trusts us with what 
he knows. This shrouds events 

in even more ambiguity, while 
introducing us, the audience, to 
a form of mental voyeurism that 
challenges our complicity in what 
we’re watching. Did Elliot permit 
us to witness his session with 
Krista, or are we peering into 
something that was meant to be 
private?

In a modern world of instant and 

constant connection, loneliness 
pervades throughout “Mr. Robot.” 
The series’ distinct visual style 
frames its characters in off-center 
close-ups, isolating individuals, 
even when they’re in a crowded 
room. Now, we join the cast in 
their solitude as our anchor, Elliot, 
keeps us at arm’s length. The 
first-half of the premiere keeps 
us in the dark and leaves many 
questions partially or completely 
unanswered — what happened to 
Tyrell Wellick, where is the rest 
of fsociety, what side is Whiterose 
on, etc. These lack of conclusions 
force us to look harder, searching 
for answers in places we perhaps 
shouldn’t explore and reaching 
for connections with possibly the 
wrong people.

The series breeds paranoia 

in the first hour by effectively 
removing most elements of trust 
in us and Elliot. Only when we 
look into Elliot’s mind are we 
united 
with 
our 
protagonist 

through uncertainty. Dominated 
by Mr. Robot, Elliot’s mind is 
always at war with itself. Malik 
embodies the vulnerability of 
Elliot, trying to keep on a mask of 
control as what lies underneath 
threatens to break through at any 
moment. On the other side of the 
spectrum is Slater’s Mr. Robot, a 
twisted manifestation of Elliot’s 
deceased father who represents 
the worst things the man can do. 
Precariously kept in check by 
Elliot’s “loop,” Slater plays Mr. 
Robot as a caged animal, snarling 
and lashing against his cage, and 
the bars are bending. All this is 
played out on a battlefield where 
the rules are always changing and 
never certain. Suspense lingers 
whenever Mr. Robot comes into 
the frame and reality is called into 
question.

Meanwhile, many characters 

are caught in the crossfire of 
this mental warfare. Darlene 
(Carly Chaikin, “Suburgatory”) 
desperately continues to wage 
a 
losing 
war 
against 
“Evil” 

Corp, even when Elliot and 
most of society have scattered 
to the winds. Gideon (Michael 
Gill, “House of Cards”), one 
of the few beacons of good in 
the series’ world, finds himself 
under investigation and pleading 
for Elliot to do the right thing 
while Mr. Robot looms in the 
background. As Mr. Robot holds 
a knife to his former employer’s 
neck, we, and Elliot, can only 
hope what we’re seeing isn’t real 
as the knife cuts and blood flows. 
Every scene in “Mr. Robot” has 
the potential to descend into a 
nightmare of madness, leaving the 
viewer to question — which dream 
will come true?

USA

Is this just real life? Is this just fantasy?

PITCHFORK FESTIVAL

Happy New Year! Wait, shit, wrong time of year. 

The series 

breeds paranoia 
in the first hour.

Pitchfork 

Music Festival

July 15, 3-10 
p.m.; July 16, 
12-10 p.m.; July 
17, 12-10 p.m.

Union Park; 

Chicago, Ill.

$65 single-day pass, 

$165 three-day pass

A

Mr. Robot

Season 2 
Premiere

Wednesdays 
at 10 p.m.

USA

MUSIC FESTIVAL PREVIEW

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

