Digital Islamic
Studies Curriculum 

Unraveling the 
Arab Spring
Egypt since 2011

Panelists: Samer Ali, CMENAS director, U-M; Juan Cole, Richard P. Mitchell 
Collegiate Professor of History, U-M; Jean Lachapelle, Weiser Emerging 
Democracies Postdoctoral Fellow, U-M; Bassem Youssef, satirist

Moderator: Pauline Jones, DISC director

Free and open to the public

Co-sponsored by the Center for Middle Eastern & North African Studies, 
Islamic Studies Program, and University Musical Society

digitalislam.umich.edu

Panel
Tuesday, November 7, 4 pm
1010 Weiser Hall

“Blocking a tank in Tahrir,” By Sherif9282

THE CW

The case for ‘Riverdale’ 
and other ‘trash television’

When I watch the CW’s 

“Riverdale,” 
two 
thoughts 

come to mind: One, this show 
is horrible and two, I can’t stop 
watching it. As an updated, 
mystery-filled adaptation of 
the Archie comics, “Riverdale” 
makes for equally fantastic and 
absurd entertainment. Coming 
to terms with this paradox 
made me want to explore how 
“Riverdale” became such a 
phenomenon and why it’s an 
example of modern day trash 
TV.

Trash TV, by definition, 

refers 
to 
a 
subgenre 
of 

television with a focus on 
controversy and confrontation. 
The term is often associated 
with tabloid talk shows that 
play on miniature TV sets in 
doctor’s offices or at the DMV: 
“Dr. Phil,” “Judge Judy,” “The 
Jerry Springer Show,” you get 
the idea. But more recently, 
the connotation of trash TV 
has 
broadened 
to 
include 

any show, tabloid or not, that 
sensationalizes and exploits 
violence, profanity and nudity 
as spectacle. Essentially, a 
trash TV show is considered so 
awful, you can’t look away.

This definition has found 

its way into more reality-
based shows like ABC’s “The 
Bachelor” and its spinoff, “The 
Bachelorette.” Both programs 
illuminate the worst parts of 
human relationships through 
a dating competition show, 
where one lucky hot person 
must decide whom to marry 
among a selection of 25 other 
hot people. Despite critical 
ire, “The Bachelor” and “The 
Bachelorette” have been met 
with commercial success since 
their premieres in 2002 and 
2003, respectively. Other iconic 
trash TV shows like MTV’s 
“Jersey 
Shore” 
and 
“Teen 

Mom” have also encountered 
similar 
prosperity 
during 

their runs, attracting loads 
of viewers for their tasteless 
portrayals of American life. 
Even though they weren’t the 
most 
sympathetic 
subjects, 

douchey club-goers from New 

Jersey and pregnant teenagers 
from rural American towns 
made for great television.

How, then, does “Riverdale” 

fit into the trash TV mold? For 
starters, “Riverdale” is a hot 
mess. It has the melodramatic, 
mawkish appeal of a daytime 
soap and the contrived acting 
of a teen after-school special. 
The show also lacks compelling 
writing, 
with 
characters 

mustering up excessive pop 
cultural references that are 
way too obscure, cheesy and 
confusing for its own good. 
“Can’t we, in this post-James 
Franco 
world, 
just 
be 
all 

things?” was a legitimate line 
of dialogue from the pilot — let 
that sink in. The characters 
themselves, 
unfortunately, 

don’t do any justice for the 
script either, resembling far-
fetched, 
one-dimensional 

caricatures straight out of 
a campy musical about high 
school (no disrespect to “High 
School Musical”). Even though 
“Riverdale” may not embody 
the typical traits of a trash TV 
show, it certainly embodies a 
trashy, cringe-inducing ethos. 

Along 
with 
exemplifying 

the spirit of the trash TV 
show, “Riverdale” also gets 
an extra boost from its online 
popularity. According to a 
Vulture article, the streaming 
platform may have had a role 
in 
“Riverdale”’s 
continuing 

success when the first season 
was made available on the 
streaming platform. There is 
plausibility to that argument: 
“Riverdale”’s second season, 
which 
premiered 
on 
Oct. 

11, reached a ratings high, 
peaking at 2.34 million in the 
first episode.

And “Riverdale” isn’t the 

only serialized TV show that 
has capitalized on their trashy 
appeal 
through 
an 
online 

presence. Back in 2012, Spike 
TV’s “Blue Mountain State” 
drew a heavy cult following 
once its first three seasons 
made its way to Netflix. The 
show 
depicted 
a 
fictitious 

college 
football 
team 
that 

indulged 
heavily 
in 
the 

stereotypical, 
over-stylized 

luxuries of American college 
life. For devoted fans, the 
insane binge drinking, toxic 

masculinity 
and 
objectified 

female 
characters 
inherent 

in “BMS” made the show 
both 
relentlessly 
amusing 

and 
wildly 
idiotic. 
The 

show’s growing, post-mortem 
fanbase was enough to ignite 
a Kickstarter campaign for a 
“BMS” movie that reached its 
goal of $1.5 million. Perhaps 
trash TV deserves more merit 
than we give it.

Of 
course, 
“Riverdale” 

isn’t 
without 
its 
perks. 

Underneath its flashy murder 
mystery plot, the show has a 
charming, diverse cast, stylish 
production values and tight 
structuring. Like other teen 
dramas, “Riverdale” discusses 
topical themes, such as mental 
illness, sexuality, the strains 
of 
friendship 
and 
family 

dynamics, 
with 
surprising 

nuance. Though most of the 
characters 
aren’t 
exactly 

A-level complex, “Riverdale” 
makes a concerted effort to 
develop their arcs. And during 
some of its most climactic 
moments, 
“Riverdale” 

understands how laughable the 
drama can get.

Cole Sprouse (“Suite Life 

on Deck”) exemplifies some of 
“Riverdale”’s best and worst 
traits 
as 
the 
introspective 

Jughead Jones, playing his 
role with an equal amount 
of 
grating 
self-seriousness 

and sly self-awareness. One 
of his most infamous scenes, 
which involves telling Betty 
(Lili Reinhart, “The Kings of 
Summer”) that he’s a weirdo, 
has 
spawned 
numerous 

scathing responses. At the same 
time, it has also become one of 
the most memorable, defining 
moments 
in 
“Riverdale”’s 

first season, enough to spark 
momentum and conversation 
among fans and non-fans of 
the show.

To be clear, “trash TV” isn’t 

just bad TV that gets good 
ratings (looking at you, “The 
Big Bang Theory”). It’s the type 
of “so-bad-it’s-good” show that 
breeds its own intense, devoted 
fandom, 
whose 
presence 

becomes so powerful that it 
develops into a cult following. 
People watch trash TV not 
just because it is so ineffably 
entertaining, but also because 

it inadvertently forms its 
own community. Watching 
a crappy TV show like “The 
Bachelor” with a group of 
people seems just as common 
nowadays as watching an 
acclaimed 
TV 
show 
like 

“Games of Thrones.” Trash 
TV remains a relevant staple 
in modern day entertainment, 
even in the age of so-called 
prestige television. Whether 
you love to hate “Riverdale” 
or hate to love it, it’s a show 
that subverts the dominant 
standard 
of 
quality 
TV. 

Depending on your taste, 
maybe that’s something we 
can all get behind. 

SAM ROSENBERG

Daily Arts Writer

JOIN
DAILY
ARTS

Just e-mail us at 

arts@michigandaily.com 

for info on applying.

CBS

‘Mom’ season premiere 
brings comedy, advocacy

In a world where laptops 

take the place of television 
sets and cellphone companies 
produce 
well-founded 
and 

popular entertainment (yes, 
really, just look at AT&T), it 
is easy to forget that quality 
television is still available on 
the classic broadcast networks 
we all used to love so dearly.

Entering its fifth season, 

“Mom” continues 
to stay true to 
its 
foundation, 

delivering sharp, 
if not sometimes 
slapstick, 
comedy 
while 

also confronting 
difficult 
questions 
about 

relationships, addiction and 
moving forward after hitting 
rock bottom. The fourth season 
ended with Christy (Anna 
Faris, “The Emoji Movie”) 
representing 
her 
mother 

Bonnie (Allison Janney, “Sun 
Dogs”) after she was tracked 
down by the IRS for $18,000 
worth of unpaid taxes. Now 
in the fifth season opener, 
Christy is studying for the 
LSATs as her mother struggles 
with a fear of commitment 
after her boyfriend, Adam 
(William 
Fichtner, 
“Hot 

Summer Nights”), proposes.

Within just this episode, 

both 
main 
and 
secondary 

characters 
demonstrate 
the 

difficulty of putting your life 
back together after a misstep 
or two. Bonnie wonders if she’ll 
be able to handle a marriage 
the way she has learned to 
handle her alcoholism. Christy 
prepares for law school after 
years of wrestling self-doubt 
and addiction. Her friend, 
Natasha (Missi Pyle, “Highly 

Functional”), looks for a job 
so she can get her child out of 
foster care, even though the 
only thing she’s ever done for 
money is strip and sell drugs. 
These are storylines that you 
wouldn’t expect to go hand-
in-hand with a laughing studio 
audience 
and 
jokes 
about 

G-spots, but after five seasons, 
“Mom”’s methods continue to 
be effective.

One 
particular 
stand-out 

moment in the premiere was 
when Adam first proposed 
to Bonnie. In a span of thirty 

seconds, 
you 

watch 
Bonnie 

spiral 
from 

complete 
joy 

to 
utter 
panic, 

ultimately 
sprinting 
away 

from her lover. 

In between the comedic banter 
and a joke about Bonnie’s 
inability to make meatloaf, the 
classic housewife dish, viewers 
are shown a woman still facing 
the mistakes of her past and 
grappling with the idea that 
she may not be good enough to 
truly be loved.

It is work that is clearly 

Emmy-worthy, and in fact the 
show has won quite a few of 
the golden statues, but this 
year something changed. Back 
in May, the producers and 
stars of “Mom” announced 
that they would be donating 
the show’s $250,000 Emmy 
campaign budget to Planned 
Parenthood. Allison Janney 
and series co-creator Chuck 
Lorre announced the effort 
amid President Trump and 
the Republican’s plan to push 
the American Health Care Act 
through Congress, a bill which 
would have detrimental effects 
on the work of the women’s 
health organization.

The move was reminiscent 

of a similar act by the United 

Talent 
Agency, 
which 

canceled 
its 
traditional 

Oscar party in February to 
protest Trump’s views and 
policy on immigration. While 
deeply 
political 
in 
nature, 

both “Mom”’s donation and 
UTA’s 
cancellation 
send 
a 

clear message not just to our 
elected officials but to the 
entertainment industry as a 
whole: It has a responsibility to 
speak up against injustice.

Movies, 
music, 
television 

shows and everything else we 
consume through screens and 
earbuds are meant to serve 
as distractions from reality. 
But in a culture where so 
many Americans and others 
worldwide are feeling targeted 
and unsafe, to ignore the 
problem is to submit to it. There 
are things in this world more 
important than praise and 
recognition, and it’s about time 
more people in entertainment 
learn that. If a television show 
wants to remain relevant and 
beloved, the people involved in 
making it should be ensuring 
their viewers that they care 
about them and are willing to 
use their platform to fight for 
them.

“Mom” has fallen on the 

good side of the fight, not just 
exploiting the story of a young 
mother for entertainment, but 
actually providing funds to an 
organization that will fight for 
that young mother once the TV 
is turned off. It’s a shame that 
we must rely on pop culture 
to act in the humane way our 
president fails to, but as group 
after group is marginalized by 
the people this country has put 
into power, somebody has to 
start making sacrifices so that 
we as a society can get better. 
And who better for that job 
than a mom?

SAMANTHA DELA FERA

Daily Arts Writer

“Mom”

Season 5 premiere

Thursdays 9 p.m.

CBS

COMMUNITY CULTURE REVIEW
UMS’s CrossCurrents and 
its display of fusion music

Growing up in an Indian 

household, 
Zakir 
Hussain 

has always been a household 
name for me. I’ve listened to 
his music crackle out from the 
boombox in our kitchen, the 
sounds of the tabla resounding 
off the walls. I’ve danced 
Kathak, a traditional form of 
Indian classical dance, to his 
compositions and have been 
astounded with the speed that 
is necessary to keep up with 
his 
tempo. 
Understandably, 

when I heard Zakir Hussain 
was coming to Ann Arbor with 
his band CrossCurrents, I was 
stoked.

Hussain is widely recognized 

as one of the most influential 
musicians of our time. Born 
in Mumbai, India, Hussain 
is 
treasured 
worldwide 
as 

a maestro player of tabla, a 
traditional 
type 
of 
Indian 

drum played with the hands. 
CrossCurrents, 
Hussain’s 

latest endeavour, is a blend 

between classical Indian music 
and Western jazz. His band is 
composed of a stunning array 
of musicians: the revered bass 
player Dave Holland, known 
for his large contribution to 
jazz, and Shankar Mahadevan, 
one of the top vocalists to 
come out of India in the last 
two decades. Others include 
leading saxophone player Chris 
Potter, the “Godfather of Indian 
Jazz” Louiz Banks on keyboard, 
Sanjay Divecha on guitar and 
Gino Banks on drums.

CrossCurrents capitalizes on 

the high level of improvisation 
in both Indian classical music 
and jazz, blending the two 
styles together to create a new 
and unique sound. To all those 
who are skeptical, rest assured, 
CrossCurrents 
seamlessly 

switched from Indian classical 
to jazz in a way that was fresh 
and exhilarating.

The band walked out to a 

full audience in the Michigan 
Theater on Wednesday evening, 
and everyone whooped and 
hollered when Hussain entered 
and bowed to the audience with 

his palms pressed together, an 
Indian gesture of greeting and 
respect. Dave Holland dressed 
in 
a 
kurtha, 
a 
traditional 

Indian garment worn by males, 
and the audience chuckled in 
admiration. With full smiles on 
their faces, they started to play.

The first piece started with 

the tabla and sax, a contrast 
that jarred the audience at first 
but slowly won their awe. The 
sharp, ringing sound of the 
sax contrasted greatly with 
the mellow, deep tabla, yet 
both complimented each other 
perfectly. Hussain fed off the 
sax’s leads, maintaining eye 
contact and following his pace 
the whole time. Gradually, the 
other instruments joined in, 
some tentatively and others 
loudly. CrossCurrents’ sound 
could be described as intervals 
of all the instruments playing 
together with random breaks 
for a rapid tabla sequence or 
sax solo. The effect was nothing 
short of beautiful.

TRINA PAL
For the Daily

Read more online at 

michigandaily.com

TV NOTEBOOK
TV REVIEW

6A — Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

