The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Wednesday, March 22, 2017 — 5A

Conversing with ‘CHiPS’ 
stars Peña and Shepard

WARNER BROS.

“Party” is the one word Dax 

Shepard (“The Judge”) used to 
describe his upcoming movie 
“CHiPS,” which he wrote, 
directed and acts in.

The film is an action-packed 

comedy filled with motorcycle 
races and police investigations 
in the heart of Los Angeles. 
Jon Baker (Shepard) and Frank 
“Ponch” Poncherello (Michael 
Peña, “Collateral Beauty”) are 
two California Highway Patrol 
motorcycle officers who must 
join forces in order to figure 
out who within CHP is behind 
the million-dollar heist.

Ponch is a workaholic as an 

undercover FBI agent and he 
takes a pragmatic approach 
to his job. Baker, on the other 
hand, is inexperienced and 
immature, focused on keeping 
his marriage and life together.

“Both 
guys 
could 
easily 

foil the other one’s dream,” 
Shepard said.

Baker and Ponch may not 

see eye to eye, but in real life, 
Shepard and Peña interacted 
as close friends, with constant 
friendly banter. Both wearing 
plaid, this dynamic duo looked 
like real-life best friends.

“The whole thing felt like 

we stole a case of beer and we 
kept getting closer and closer 
to the door,” Shepard said. At 
any moment, they both felt as 
if someone would stop them in 
their quest to create this fun 
film.

“There’s been a stunning 

lack 
of 
motorcycle 
chase 

movies 
… 
[because] 
they 

are 
really 
hard 
to 
film,” 

Shepard said. “CHiPS” used 
drones, helicopters and new 

technology specifically for the 
movie.

Shepard did a lot of his own 

motorcycle stunts, including 
wheelies, riding on the beach 
and going up and down stairs. 
Peña 
had 
never 
ridden 
a 

motorcycle before, but learned 
to say lines while moving at 
over 75 miles per hour. 

“I can die. This is real … 

[Shepard] was proud of me 
like a dad” Peña said about his 
motorcycle experience on set. 
He remarked that he was more 
of a golf guy. 

College students may find 

this movie more relatable than 
it seems. The plot includes 
typical millennial follies, like 
sexting and FaceTiming the 
wrong person.

“That’s 
going 
on 
hourly 

I think on your campus,” 
Shepard said.

“I think this generation 

is definitely the generation 
of who wears the most yoga 
pants,” Peña, whose character 
has 
a 
penchant 
for 
tight 

clothing, said.

Both actors also had advice 

for students who may be 
wishing to pursue a career in 
acting, music or art.

“Just do, do, do,” Peña said. 

No matter what artistic field 
you are seeking, “you gotta 
find your voice.”

“You don’t get better at 

anything by thinking about it,” 
Shepard said on the subject. 
Action is key.

“My biggest passion is cars 

and motorcycles. Second to 
that is comedy. I’m praying 
that I can marry those two 
things together [in the movie],” 
Shepard said. 

“CHiPS”, though based on 

the late 1970’s TV show of the 
same name, surely holds its 

own.

“I wanted it to be its own 

thing,” Shepard said. “[I was] 
aiming towards “Bad Boys” or 
“Lethal Weapon.”” 

Though it takes place in 

the present, “CHiPS” refrains 
from using any contemporary 
music.

“I can’t stand when you see 

a movie that you love from a 
time period but it’s so time 
stamped by those pop 40 songs 
that they put in the movie that 
I find distracting, because they 
don’t age well. Every song in 
this movie has really stood the 
test of time,” said Shepherd, 
highlighting the song choice 
of “Rosanna” by Toto, used in 
the film. 

Shepard seems to add his 

own special mark to all his 
movies. In Hollywood, he is 
known for his ability to create 
high-grossing action movies 
out of a fairly low budget. 
The film “Hit and Run,” for 
example, made $14 million off 
a $1 million budget. 

“The action looks way, way 

bigger than the budget would 
suggest. That weirdly is now 
my sort of niche calling card,” 
Shepard said.

After this movie, Peña is 

on to other works such as a 
movie that shoots in Serbia for 
2 months, as well as “Ant-Man 
2.” 

As for Shepard, one can only 

guess where he is headed.

“Retirement,” Shepard said, 

with somewhat of a knowing 
smirk on his face.

“CHiPS” 
will 
open 
this 

Friday in theaters.

FALLON GATES
Daily Arts Writer

FILM INTERVIEW

Hamid’s ‘Exit West’ an 
emotive refugee romance

Author’s latest work is an exercise in empathy and humanity

I hate it when we talk about 

“humanizing” people. The word 
itself isn’t so bad, but in the 
context of politically-charged 
rhetoric — of people needing 
to read a touching magazine 
profile or a depressing personal 
narrative to simply be, well, 
not racist — I despise it. It’s 
the reason there’s still a sour 
taste left in my mouth from the 
infamous Khizr Khan episode 
at the Democratic 
National 
Convention 
in 

July. Here was a 
Muslim family on 
national television, 
finally 
accepted 

and beloved and 
recognized 
by 

the 
majority 
of 

the media, but I 
couldn’t help but think about 
how off-putting this scene was. 
Is this what it takes, I thought? 
Do I need to fight a war in some 
Middle Eastern country, be 
buried in an American Flag at 
Arlington, posthumously earn a 
Bronze Star and a Purple Heart, 
have 
my 
father 
frantically 

wave the Constitution on a 
stage in Philadelphia, home 
of the Liberty Bell, for Fox 
News to finally consider the 
possibility that we may, in fact, 
be Americans — humans, even? 
I have nothing but respect for 
the Khans, but the rest of us, 
those Muslims who might not 
be so militarily inclined, have 
no choice but to wonder if our 
own brand of patriotism can 
live up.

Midway 
through 
Mohsin 

Hamid’s fantastic new novel, 
“Exit 
West,” 
one 
of 
our 

protagonists, Nadia, a refugee 
fleeing a war-torn country, 
finally has the opportunity to 
wash her clothes. It has been 
weeks since she migrated, and 
her robes smell atrocious, so 
she takes the time to dunk them 
in a steaming hot bathtub and 
clean them. It’s an ostensibly 
trivial scene, even more so 
in such a broad and operatic 
narrative, but Hamid is quick 
to underscore its significance: 
“What she was doing, what she 
had just done, was for her not 
about frivolity, it was about the 
essential, about being human, 
living 
as 
a 
human 
being, 

reminding oneself of what one 
was, and so it mattered, and if 
necessary was worth a fight.”

“Humanizing refugees” — 

it’s a disappointing concept, 
not in its implications but 
in the mere necessity of its 
existence. Human beings don’t 
need to be humanized. Hamid 
understands this, and he also 
understands 
the 
massive, 

global scale of the current 
refugee crisis, and all the 
complications that portends.

“Exit 
West” 
toys 
with 

ideas like universality and 

accessibility. 
It’s a romance 
— a love story 
— between two 
migrants 
as 

they leave their 
dying country to 
try and secure 
a 
stable 
life, 

but it begins in 
an 
unspecified 

country, and our protagonists 
practice an unnamed religion, 
speak 
an 
unidentified 

language. The only characters 
with names in the novel are the 
two that comprise our central 
couple, 
Nadia 
and 
Saeed, 

because when the world is 
shrinking and your continued 
survival depends solely on your 
ability to make it out alive, the 
only ones who really matter are 
the ones you love, and the ones 
who love you, in the present. 
Not even, Hamid writes, the 
people from your past: “For 
when we migrate, we murder 
from our lives those we leave 
behind.”

It’s difficult to ascribe a 

more expansive message to 
a story so specifically about 
two people, but it’s equally 
difficult to read “Exit West” as 
some sort of intimate character 
study when its prose is so 
expansive. Hamid writes the 
story like it’s a fairytale, his 
balletic sentences long and 
run-on, unfurling gracefully 
over the course of countless 
commas and half-pages and 
full-pages 
until, 
eventually, 

they land with a resounding 
thud, 
packaging 
sharp 

social critiques in beautiful, 
mesmerizing phrasing.

The novel is, of course, 

politically relevant; refugees 
and immigration are a hot-
button issue, but Hamid is 
more 
concerned 
with 
the 

conditions that force someone 

to leave their home. Indeed, 
the novel is split down the 
middle, one half chronicling 
the downward spiral of Nadia 
and Saeed’s home country as 
their love blossoms, the other 
half detailing their hop from 
country to country in search of 
refuge.

Into 
this 
backdrop 
of 

political realism Hamid injects 
a substantial dose of Rushdie-
like 
magical 
realism; 
the 

couple’s travels are predicated 
on 
deceptively 
elementary 

premise, a network of doors 
that one simply steps through 
to end up in another country 
across the world. The author is 
interested in distance, it seems 
— distance between countries, 
distance 
between 
cultures, 

distance between people, all of 
it shrinking. Nadia and Saeed 
are plugged into their mobile 
phones, connecting to people 
from across the world, and 
the doors are simply a clever 
thematic device through which 
Hamid explores the ironies and 
nuances of the entire concept 
of immigration. He prods at 
thorny ideas of nations and 
multiculturalism and what it 
means to have a “home.” But 
it’s never once didactic or dull; 
rather, Hamid examines his 
interests through the prism 
of his two broadly drawn yet 
undeniably captivating leads.

It’s entirely possible some 

will read “Exit West” as a 
tender romance and nothing 
more. 
But 
it’s 
virtually 

impossible to not feel, at the 
very least, a sense of empathy. 
As Hamid implies throughout, 
Nadia and Saeed’s story is but 
one of many. They are the focal 
point of this narrative, but their 
experience is not uncommon. 
As much as it hurts to reckon 
with, this world — its leaders 
and its citizens — is lacking 
in empathy. “Exit West,” of 
course, is not a corrective to all 
the ills we have committed in 
the name of “border security,” 
but perhaps it will serve as a 
useful reminder of the unique 
power fiction often holds over 
the stark realities of everyday 
life. The need to “humanize” 
is characteristic only of the 
morally deficient, but if that’s 
what it takes for migrants 
to be considered deserving 
of a home, for refugees to be 
deemed the humans they are, 
then so be it. 

NABEEL CHOLLAMPAT

Senior Arts Editor

New Spoon is adventurous

ALBUM REVIEW

Hot Thoughts is Spoon’s 

ninth studio album, continuing 
a legacy started in the late ’90s, 
and 
the 
fact 

that the band 
hasn’t 
faded 

into repetitious 
irrelevancy 
is 

a feat in and of 
itself. Instead, 
their newest release takes a 
finely honed sound and infuses 
it with harmonies that burst 
with vibrancy. Hot Thoughts is 
a Picasso painting of an album: 
An enthusiastic collection of 
songs that each strive to stand 
out from the rest.

The opening track, “Hot 

Thoughts” 
introduces 
the 

rest of the album with a bang; 
jangling rhythms paired with 
lead 
singer 
Britt 
Daniel’s 

pointed 
vocals 
immediately 

grab 
attention 
and 
add 
a 

sweeping new dimension to 
the standard chorus of “hot 
thoughts all in my mind all of 
the time.”

“WhisperI’lllistentohearit” 

directly 
follows 
“Hot 

Thoughts” and smoothly picks 
up where the first song left off. 

However, instead of continuing 
the same melody, it shifts in 
an 
entirely 
new 
direction. 

Vibrating tempos and Daniel’s 
echoing whisper building to an 
electric shriek of guitar chords 
cloaks the song in a darker, 

more cynical, layer.

The rapid tempo 

of Hot Thoughts’ 
second track comes 
screeching 
to 
a 

halt as the mellow 
tempo of “Do I Have 

to Talk You Into It” crawls 
into the spotlight. Swinging 
harmonies and breezy beats 
diffuses the condensed energy 
built up by the previous song 
and allows a more relaxed air 
to surround the album.

The rest of Hot Thoughts 

continues in a similar way; 
songs 
expand 
on 
elements 

introduced 
by 
their 

predecessors and ultimately 
aim to transport the album in 
a distinctive direction. “Pink 
Up” takes the succession of 
spiraling piano chords and 
harshly 
dramatic 
beats 
of 

“First Caress” and softens 
them, turning the album from 
energetic exclamations to quiet 
murmurs without losing its 
overall flow. “Shotgun” takes 
the sprawling “Tear It Down” 

and 
condenses 
its 
sound, 

speeding up the tempo and 
adding a newfound stability.

Hot Thoughts is a continuous 

cycle 
of 
construction 
and 

destruction; 
no 
one 
track 

sounds the same.

However, even though Hot 

Thoughts is thrilling to listen 
to, it still follows the Spoon 
blueprint. The band has made 
sure every new album released 
added a slight alteration to 
their original sound: A refined 
blend of punk, pop and rock 
that 
was 
well-established 

with the creation of “A Series 
of Sneaks” in 1998. While the 
colorful electronic components 
and funky instrumentals found 
in Hot Thoughts might be a 
novel experiment for Spoon, 
the underlying elements of 
minimalist vocals and brash 
rhythms is nothing new.

But, as the liveliness of Hot 

Thoughts displays, this band is 
not tired in the least, despite 
doggedly sticking to mostly 
analogous album structures. 
Utterly refusing to step away 
from the spotlight, Spoon still 
remains full of ideas for future 
exploration.

SHIMA SADAGHIYANI

Daily Arts Writer

Hot Thoughts

Spoon

Matador Records

Latest release is a colorful exploration into the electronic unknown

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

BOOK REVIEW

“Exit West”

Mohsin Hamid

Feb. 27, 2017

Penguin Random 

House

COMMUNITY CULTURE NOTEBOOK
In spite of the great idea

One of the largest obstacles to 

creation is the development of the 
idea behind it. Often one may sit 
and wait, wondering what to make, 
what to write about or where to 
draw inspiration from.

Often, I find myself waiting 

for inspiration to hit. As a former 
dancer and choreographer, I would 
stand in the studio in complete 
stillness, with no ideas and no 
movement. The idea would never 
come, and I would choreograph 
in 
desperation, 
aching 
for 
a 

breakthrough. 
Eventually, 

choreography would be created, 
usually due to an impending 
deadline.

Some 
people 
argue 
that 

inspiration 
is 
unnecessary, 

that waiting for inspiration is a 
mechanism for artists to hide 
their fear. I have had art teachers 
dismiss the notion of “inspiration,” 
saying it has nothing to do with 
creation. Creation, they would say, 
comes from doing and not waiting. 
One could wait for years and have 
nothing to show for it. These 
art teachers would also say that 
waiting for inspiration is a tactic 
used to let your fears fester inside 
of you, convincing you to never pick 

up the pen, marker or paintbrush. 

This is partially true. Fear is often 

what holds you back from reaching 
greater potentials. However, the 
work done without inspiration 
can be more significant than the 
work done with the great big idea. 
This work contains the true grit 
of an artist, who pushes past the 
fear and insecurities and has the 
courage 
to 
create 
something, 

without the framework of an idea. 
It contains the true essence of 
the artist who lost his way in the 
process of creation but still himself 
along the way, just enough to make 
something. The pieces I have 
created in desperation are the most 
accurate representations of my 
work, because they reflected the 
dedication it took for me to keep 
going.

I have had other art teachers tell 

me that a great idea is very much 
needed, but not at the beginning. 
I 
understand 
parts 
of 
this 

argument, whether or not art needs 
inspiration, because inspiration 
does serve a purpose. It fuels 
artists with a drive to continue 
doing what they do, bringing forth 
an energy and appreciation for 
art. Instead of stopping you in the 
beginning, it feeds you a little bit 
at a time, getting you through the 
exhaustive process of creation. I 
have started out with nothing, only 

to find inspiration at the smallest 
moments in a dance, giving me 
enough to remember why I love it 
and continue to do what I do.

This does not mean that the great 

idea does not exist. While it is not a 
myth, it is rare, which is why it is 
important to keep creating despite 
the great idea. Pushing through 
without a huge surge of inspiration 
gives artists the backbone of their 
practices. It creates discipline, 
training artists in preparation 
for their masterpiece. It gives the 
technique, willpower and artistry 
needed to really polish their work.

In 
this 
way, 
artists 
and 

intellectuals are similar. We all 
go through days of frustration, 
wishing we had a spark of 
inspiration to keep us going. We all 
push through, forcing ourselves to 
continue on the work that we have 
already spent so much time on.

But we will not always have this 

spark at the beginning. We may not 
even have this spark in the middle 
of the process or at the end — 
despite this, we must keep creating. 
Because one day, we will get that 
great idea, and we will be more 
than ready for it. In the meantime, 
we must find the significance 
behind the work we do without 
inspiration, because this work is a 
part of us too, containing our true 
artistic grit and determination. 

NITYA GUPTA

For the Daily

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

