HAPPY
TUESDAY!

Classifieds

Call: #734-418-4115
Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com

ACROSS
1 Greek sandwich
5 Happy
gatherings
10 Baby cow
14 Control for an
equestrian
15 In full view
16 Buckeye State
17 Horse feed
18 TV’s “The
Practice,” e.g.
20 “Bummer!”
22 Ford fiasco
23 Provides staff for
24 “That makes
sense”
26 Champagne
stopper or
popper
27 Genius Bar pro
29 JFK’s successor
32 High-card-wins
game
33 Enjoy
35 Submitted tax
returns with a
click
38 Door holder’s
witticism
41 Part of Congress
42 Somali-born
supermodel
43 Wide shoe size
44 Frat. counterpart
45 Aid in a felony
47 Traps in an 
attic?
49 Deborah of “The
King and I”
51 Fictional
Hawaiian police
nickname
52 Rage
55 Procter &
Gamble laundry
detergent
60 Australia’s
“Sunshine State”
... or where you
might find the
ends of 18-, 
20-, 38- and 
55-Across?
62 “Go back”
computer
command
63 Sch. near the
U.S.-Mexico
border
64 Tweak, say
65 Raise a big
stink?
66 Pops a question
67 Outlaw chasers
68 Hours next to
flight nos.

DOWN
1 Branch out
2 “Okey-dokey”
3 Second actress
to win an Emmy,
Grammy, Oscar
and Tony
4 GM system with
an AtYourService
app
5 Helps with the
laundry
6 Happily __ after
7 Maker of the
Genesis game
system
8 Like many
Shakespeare
plays
9 MLB Cardinal’s
cap letters
10 Lear’s youngest
daughter
11 “I get it” cries
12 Green citrus fruit
13 Baby horse
19 Lousy grade
21 Sock that covers
the joint it’s
named for
25 Biblical
queendom
26 Pet store
enclosures
27 Ref’s ring decision
28 Spine-tingling

30 Margarine that
shares its name
with Texas’ state
flower
31 Ballet leaps
32 “Now, where __ I?”
34 “Sadly ... ”
36 Red Sox ballpark
37 Hair coloring
39 Cocktail makers
40 Ambulance fig.
46 S.O.S shelfmate
48 Make certain of
50 Fish-eating eagle

51 Rapper with a
title
52 Poolside shade
53 Pecans and
cashews
54 Nerdy type
56 37-Down
containers
57 Singles
58 Binged (on), as
snacks
59 Pans for
potstickers
61 Maple extract

By C.C. Burnikel
©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
01/31/17

01/31/17

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

RELEASE DATE– Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

xwordeditor@aol.com

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FOR RENT

6 — Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

In the summer of 2014, sixth-

graders 
Morgan 
Geyser 
and 

Anissa Weier lured their friend, 
Payton Leutner, into the woods 
and stabbed her 19 times. When 
they were arrested, they claimed 
they committed the act in an 
attempt to become proxies, or 
servants, of the Slenderman, a 
fictional demonic entity with its 
roots in Internet forums and fan 
fiction. The story dominated the 
news for weeks, and for many the 
incident raised questions of the 
impact that the Internet can have 
on children. It is from this story 
that the new documentary from 
Irene Taylor Brodsky (“The Final 
Inch”), “Beware the Slenderman,” 
emerges, using its terrifying base 
story to explore both the events of 
the “Slender Man Stabbing” and 
the effect of loneliness on young 
people.

From 
its 
opening 
scenes, 

the strengths of “Beware the 
Slenderman” become apparent. 
Its 
story 
is 
as 
consistently 

engrossing as any true-crime 
tale, and in many ways, it recalls 
“Making a Murderer” and fellow 
HBO documentary “The Jinx.” 
Its story is inherently interesting 
and horrifying, and Brodsky does 
well in threading the initial police 
interviews with the girls through 

the film to produce a constantly 
eerie 
atmosphere. 
The 
girls’ 

description of the events leading 
up to the stabbing, as well as the 
stabbing itself, provide some of 
the most chilling material of the 
feature.

It also becomes immediately 

clear what the pitfalls of the 
project 
are. 

Both 
of 
the 

aforementioned 
documentaries 
were series. They 
had an episodic 
format that assisted 
in expositing every 
aspect 
of 
their 

stories. “Beware the Slenderman” 
has to get the same amount of 
information across, but it only 
has a two-hour runtime to do so. 
It is trying to tell so many stories 
at once that something always 
inevitably gets lost, causing a 
disjoint, especially in the first 
act. Here, much of the crime is 
explained, but the lack of info on 
the titular monster which would 
take the brunt of the blame in the 
media, leaves this part feeling 
unfinished. Without motivation, it 
is hard to completely understand 
the story Brodsky is trying to tell.

After the loads of exposition 

that bog down the first act, the 
second portion dives into both the 
lore of the Slenderman and the 
themes of the documentary. One of 
the variety of experts interviewed 

states that the Internet “can serve 
as a peer or peer group” to those 
with few friends of their own, 
and that the Slenderman itself 
gains his followers through their 
own loneliness. It is the picture 
of this isolation that “Beware the 
Slenderman” paints that begins 
to tie the thing together, as it 

draws 
parallels 

from the allure of 
the Internet, and 
Slender 
Man 
in 

particular, to the 
solitude of Weier 
and 
Geyser’s 

personal 
lives. 

It never seeks to 

make excuses for their actions, 
but it does seek to explain them, 
and in this, it succeeds.

In the same way, Brodsky seeks 

the origins of the Slenderman and 
explores the role of the Internet 
in creating web-based horror 
stories, or “creepypasta,” like 
the story of the creature. She 
draws a line from “Slender” to the 
Internet culture of memes to the 
classic folk lore of the Pied Piper, 
and makes it clear that while the 
Internet provided a breeding 
ground for these ideas to multiply 
at a faster rate, the concept has 
been around for centuries. In the 
end, in the film’s most chilling 
segment, it is revealed that Weier 
and Geyser have themselves 
become a part of the Slenderman 
legend.

JEREMIAH VANDERHELM

Daily Arts Writer

“Slenderman”

True-Crime 
Documentary

HBO

‘Slenderman’ chills bones

FILM REVIEW

Iranian-American director Ana’ 

Lily Amirpour once said she con-
ceived the idea for her debut film, 
the vampire thriller “A Girl Walks 
Home Alone At Night,” while 
skateboarding down West Coast 
streets one night. As her black 
chador whipped behind her like 
the wings of a bat, Amirpour had a 
vision of heroine: A young Iranian 
girl who skateboarded around the 
streets of the fictional Bad Town, 
her chador rippling behind her like 
a cape.

Through combining traditional 

and modern elements of Iranian 
culture, as well as including both 
Western and Eastern influences, 
Amirpour creates a masterpiece 
that transcends all previously 
drawn boundaries. “A Girl Walks 
Home Alone At Night” is a melting 
pot of influences, seen in the pair-
ing of chador and fangs, seen in 
the Iranian tattoos on a crass pimp 
and, most importantly, seen in the 
soundtrack itself.

Contrasting the stark, noir 

aspect of the entirely black and 
white movie, the soundtrack of 
“A Girl” is an eclectic mash-up of 
Iranian songs, both old and new. 
Novel Iranian bands like Radio 
Tehran and Kiosk stand next to 
classic singers like Dariush; it’s a 
playlist that not only beautifully 
melds past and present, but also 
shapes the fictional world of “Bad 
Town.”

Much like its lack of color, “A 

Girl” lacks excessive dialogue, 
choosing instead to let its charac-
ters speak through the music that 
fills the negative space.

The main character, The Girl 

(played by Sheila Vand), is a point-
ed collection of contradictions: 
She is mostly silent, entrapped in 
shadows, yet the music that accom-
panies her pays homage to vibrant 
‘80s synthpop. At the beginning 
of the film, The Girl dances alone 
in her room while Farah’s “Danc-
ing Girls” plays; the song contains 
both Farsi and English lyrics, yet 
the techno wave of its background 
melody, along with the lone disco 
ball The Girl sways back and forth 
under, is reminiscent of American 
bands like a-ha and Blondie. Far-
ah’s lyrics — “she’s just a normal 
girl / dancing to her favorite song” 
— create a sense of intimacy and 
vulnerability at odds with the fan-

tastical vampire nightmare.

Even though the scene contains 

no dialogue, it speaks volumes 
about The Girl. Its contrasting 
components 
divulge 
a 
multi-

dimensional character who moves 
past the flat trope of the stereo-
typical horror movie monster. 
Instead, we get a vampire who puts 
on makeup surrounded by muted 
fairy lights and saves abused pros-
titutes, then brutally murders an 
insolent pimp.

The soundtrack is not just a 

voice for the characters, but a 
shape for the movie as a whole. 
The largely instrumental band Fer-
derale makes several appearances 
throughout the film. The Amer-
ican-based ensemble is heavily 
influenced by soundtracks from the 
’60s & ’70s era of Italian “Spaghetti 
Western” genres and, through this, 
allows “A Girl” to transcend cultur-
al boundaries. Songs like “Sarcoph-
agus” and “Black Sunday” feature 
dramatic orchestral declarations, 
bringing to mind the theatrical 
standoffs of iconic Old Westerns, 
while the underpinnings of folk 
melodies speak to conventional 
Iranian films. A spectral woman’s 
voice is often intermittently added 
as a glossy layer over the entire 
compilation; its echoing European 
opera sound traces the barren des-
ert setting in fine lines of elegance.

Ferderale’s “Sisyphus” narrates 

a relatively simple, but quintes-
sential, scene within the film: An 
unnamed character in drag dances 
with a balloon to music in a court-
yard. The fringe on her button-
down shirt and ostentatious silver 
buckle of her belt is at odds with 
the hijab on her head. It’s a strange 
juxtaposition replicated in the song 
as it weaves together musical ele-
ments from a variety of different 
eras.

The band allows the fictional 

Bad Town to exist within multiple 
spheres, blurring the lines between 
distinct movie genres and distinct 
cultures. It’s a quiet gesture, this 
remix of convention to include 
input from other cultures, but a 
powerful one. With “A Girl Walks 
Home Alone At Night,” Amirpour 
constructs a story without limita-
tions; instead, it masterfully tra-
verses the rift between Eastern 
and Western ideals and finds a way 
to mend the disconnect.

What it means to me as an Ira-

nian woman, more than just as 
a good horror movie, more than 
even a movie empowering Iranian 

women, is that it celebrates the 
power of opportunity. It’s doubtful 
Amirpour would have been able to 
create a movie of this magnitude if 
her family had remained in Iran, 
instead of taking the chance to 
immigrate to Europe and, later, to 
California.

Even though Iran’s culture is 

based predominantly around the 
arts — seen in the timeless impact 
of poets like Hafiz and Saadi — its 
current political climate has an 
iron grip around the advancement 
of artistic expression; it places tight 
restrictions over any creative pro-
duction, not allowing for deviation 
from the established norm.

Many of the artists featured on 

this soundtrack, though Iranian-
based, produce and perform their 
music outside of Iran; the radi-
cal socio-political commentary 
found in the lyrics of songs from 
bands like Kiosk or Radio Teh-
ran is explicitly forbidden in Iran. 
Instead of remaining silent, they 
chose to immigrate to Europe, 
Canada and (mainly) the U.S, 
becoming the voice of a majority of 
Iran’s younger generation and per-
mitting Iranian culture to continue 
to progress.

In light of President Donald 

Trump’s recent ban on travel on 
seven Muslim-majority countries 
(Iran being one of them), pieces of 
art like “A Girl Walks Home Alone 
At Night” and its soundtrack need 
attention: The future of Iran lies 
within the ideas of its youth. When 
young Iranian citizens emigrate 
to search for new prospects, they 
are not fleeing from the historic 
culture of their homeland. Rather, 
their innovative ideas push the cul-
ture to evolve in order to accommo-
date new perspectives, redefining 
what it means to be Iranian.

With 
its 
multifaceted 

soundtrack, “A Girl Walks Home 
Alone At Night” represents the 
endlessly creative potential of the 
Iranian youth.

It’s an ingenuity that I saw 

whenever I strolled the streets in 
Iran: Young artists with revolu-
tionary ideas on the brink of look-
ing to make a life for themselves, 
many of them exploring the option 
of moving to America. And even 
though the ethnocentrism in the 
continuing view of America as “the 
land of opportunity” is a problem 
in itself, it does not draw away from 
the fact that, for many bright stu-
dents, closed borders means closed 
opportunities as well.

SHIMA SADAGHIYANI

Daily Arts Writer

MUSIC NOTEBOOK
The voices of a generation: 
‘A Girl Walks Home Alone’

PBS

“Divorced, beheaded, died, 

divorced, beheaded, survived.”

“Secrets of the Six Wives,” a 

new HBO historical documen-
tary series, begins with this 
schoolyard rhyme that helps 
remember the fates of the six 
wives of Henry VIII. The pre-
miere 
episode, 
“Divorced,” 

gives an account of the first 
action Henry VIII takes once 
crowned: marrying his late 
brother’s Spanish widow, Cath-
erine of Aragon, born to Queen 
Isabella and King Ferdinand. 
The show alternates between 
documentary 
narration 
by 

historian Dr. Lucy Worsley 
and dramatic reenactments of 
scenes from the Tudor Court, 
often 
based 
on 
eyewitness 

accounts. While Worsley her-
self is a captivating storyteller, 
the style and format of the show 
often pull focus from the actual 
content.

“This is the ultimate true 

story of love, loss and betrayal,” 
Worsley begins, her tale chroni-
cling the anything but meet-
cute of Catherine and Henry 
VIII. She details their relation-
ship’s arc from start to finish, 
talking about the seven years 
it took to nail down a marriage 
contract 
and 
incorporating 

the 
successive 
relationships 

between the king, the “viva-
cious” Mary Boleyn and then, 
more famously, her sister Anne. 
She frames Catherine’s appeal 
to the Pope during Henry’s bat-
tle for the annulment as an act 
of brave defiance.

The historical reenactment is 

slowly paced, with lots of smol-
dering glances from the king 
and concerned facial expres-
sions from all the 
ladies-in-waiting 
surrounding 
the 

various 
queens. 

Worsley herself is 
dressed as a maid 
or lady-in-waiting, 
in the background 
of several of the 
dramatic reenact-
ments before turn-
ing to address the 
audience 
directly 

after 
a 
scene. 

Much of the dialogue is cringe-
worthy, especially the parts 
surrounding pregnancy.

“Secrets of the Six Wives” 

breaks the norm of how this 
story is usually told: Instead of 
focusing on the whims and tan-
trums of Henry VIII, the show 
attempts to tell the story from 
the perspectives of the women 
unlucky enough to be pulled 
into his orbit. Worsley’s nar-
ration is succinct and insight-
ful; she offers well-thought-out 

interpretations of interactions 
and 
events, 
especially 
sur-

rounding Catherine of Aragon’s 
false, or phantom, pregnancy, 
the truth of which is still up for 
debate. She also offers insight 
into aspects of 16th century 
England that tie into the cur-
rent day, talking in front of 
palaces and often using paint-
ings of the six wives as props 
in her storytelling. However, 

the 
switching 

between dramat-
ic reenactments 
— 
which 
are 

mostly 
uncom-

fortable anyway 
— and documen-
tary 
narration 

is 
jarring 
and 

annoying. 
I’d 

rather watch an 
actual documen-
tary or a fiction-
alized T.V. show 

based on historical events.

While the subject matter is 

interesting — and the title of the 
series is perfect — the format 
reminds me of the documen-
tary clips that history teachers 
used in middle school. The six 
wives deserve to have their sto-
ries told with a fresh voice and a 
sharp eye, to escape the largely 
skewed perceptions of them 
that have been handed down 
and embellished through the 
centuries. But this isn’t it. 

‘Six Wives’ premiere misses mark

Period piece fails to cohesively blend the factual with the progressive

“Secrets of the 

Six Wives”

Season Premiere

January 22nd

PBS

TV REVIEW

SOPHIA KAUFMAN
Daily Book Review Editor

