5A — Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

DISCOVERY

Pablo Escobar stars
‘Escobar’ is a break from 
Discovery’s typical drivel

Discovery adds to the multitude of drug lord-related series

Over the last few years, there 

has been a strange phenomenon 
brewing among the world’s TV 
viewers: An obsession with 
the infamous Colombian drug 
lord Pablo Escobar, a man who 
was simultaneously a brutal 
killer and one of the most 
wanted men in the world, but 
also one who was beloved by 
many. Series such as Netflix’s 
hit “Narcos” have been the 
main sources of this new rise 
in 
interest, 
and 
Discovery 

Channel continues the trend 
with the documentary series 
“Finding Escobar’s Millions.”

The show centers around 

two ex-CIA agents: Doug Laux 
and Ben Smith, the former 
having 
previously 
gained 

recognition after writing a 
memoir about his time in, and 
the discomfort he experienced 
while in the agency. Right 
off the bat, it is apparent that 
these two are legitimate and 
qualified selections, and the 
show will not be too similar 
to some of the drivel that 
channels such as Discovery 
and The History Channel have 
recently produced. The pair are 
investigating the existence/
location of millions of dollars 
in cash hidden by Escobar 
throughout his lifetime spread 
all around Colombia. They 
enlist the aide of figures who 
were in Escobar’s inner circle, 
scientists who provide high-
tech equipment and journalists 
from Colombia’s most prolific 
newspapers.

As one could expect, such an 

investigation requires the two 
leads forced to interact with 
some unsavory and dangerous 
figures in some of the poorest 
neighborhoods of cities such 

as Bogotá and Medellín. The 
show does address this and 
lets the viewer understand 
the stakes at each stage of 
the mission. Unlike in many 
“reality 
shows” 
produced 

by Discovery, the dangers in 
this series are real and not 
exaggerated 
for 
dramatic 

effect. Ironically, despite this, 
the show doesn’t do a great 
job transmitting that fear into 
the audience. While a Sicario-
esque atmosphere would have 
felt out-of-place, the cheesy 
and generic music and sound 
effects used during some of 
the 
most 
tense 
sequences 

simply 
felt 
cheapening. 
In 

general, many of the shots 
feel extremely repetitive and 
similar to shots viewers would 
have seen a hundred times.

The show does however 

provide suitable context and 
background 
information 

regarding Escobar and his life, 
and goes into further detail, 
especially in certain sequences 
in 
important 
Colombian 

newspapers. It does feel that 
the leads are doing a legitimate 
investigation. Another benefit 
of having such qualified leads 
is that they provide valuable 
insight into their thinking 
during 
certain 
situations. 

Some of the best parts of the 
show are when one of the two 
provides a brief, but realistic, 
assessment of the situation he 
is in, taking into account the 

body language of the person he 
is speaking to, the movement of 
the people and things around 
him and how the environment 
and mood changes around 
him, 
highlighting 
the 

perceptiveness and training 
the individuals draw upon 
constantly 
during 
such 
a 

mission. For example, during a 
conversation with an Escobar 
associate 
in 
a 
precarious 

neighborhood, Laux walks the 
viewer through how he was 
gauging the mood and tone 
of the associate, and how he 
applied certain techniques to 
extract as much information as 
possible, while trying to endear 
himself to an influential, yet 
dangerous, man.

What 
remains 
relatively 

unexplained, 
however, 
is 

the 
pair’s 
motivation 
for 

undertaking such a mission 
in the first place. It is briefly 
touched upon, but all we learn 
is that money is not their 
motive, since they have to give 
away 95 percent of any money 
they find to the Colombian 
government anyway. It would 
be nice to know why two 
former CIA agents have such 
a desire to go on a dangerous 
mission, and why they care in 
the first place? Perhaps their 
motive is simply the thrill of 
the mission.

“Finding Escobar’s Millions” 

is a gripping account of a very 
real story about a man that has 
captured the imagination of 
TV viewers around the world. 
Unfortunately, the production 
and cinematography of the 
show detract from, rather than 
enhance, the engaging topic 
and 
storyline. 
Nonetheless, 

it is a series that should keep 
viewers 
coming 
back 
for 

more to explore how Laux 
and 
Smith’s 
investigation 

continues and concludes.

SAYAN GOSH

For the Daily

TV REVIEW
COMMUNITY CULTURE PREVIEW
Jewish identity is explored 
in Basement’s ‘Bad Jews’

Stereotypes and more are placed in conversation in Harmon’s play

Three cousins sit in a small 

studio apartment on Riverside 
and 84th street in New York 
City. They are arguing about 
a necklace — which holds far 
more value than what appears 
on its surface.

This week, Basement Arts 

presents “Bad Jews,” a play 
written by Joshua Harmon. 
It is a story that projects the 
significance of familial ties, 
tradition and how a family’s 
history influences the present.

“It is the night of the cousins’ 

grandfather’s funeral, who was 
the patriarch of the family 
and a Holocaust survivor,” 
said School of Music, Theatre 
& Dance Senior and director 
Noa Gelb. “They are currently 
discussing who gets the relic of 
the family, which is this Haim 
necklace, the Jewish word for 
‘life.’”

The play revolves around four 

characters who each provide 
different perspectives on topics 
of identity and understanding 
the impact of their Jewish 
roots. Daphna, played by LSA 
sophomore Sydney Prince — 
from her thick, curly hair, to 
her headstrong and assertive 
demeanor 
— 
embodies 
the 

stereotypical Jewish woman. 
Daphna’s cousins, Liam, played 
by 
SMTD 
junior 
Matthew 

Kemp, 
and 
Jonah, 
played 

by 
LSA 
sophomore 
Devin 

Raymond, are very different in 
personality. Those differences 
bring about their own series of 
problems within the ongoing 
debate.

“Liam 
and 
Daphna 
are 

very similar, but on opposite 
sides,” Gelb said. “They have 
a lot of conflict, but they are 
essentially the same person, 
just with opposite opinions.”

The 
playwright, 
Joshua 

Harmon, 
illuminated 
these 

similar-but-opposite dynamics 
in his script.

“Harmon does this great 

thing — every time they speak 
without the other in the room, 
they have all these repeated 
lines that they don’t even know 
the other person is saying,” 
Gelb said.

Melody, played by Nursing 

freshman Ashley Musleh, is 
immensely different than the 
other three characters. She is 

the “non-Jew,” who acts as the 
well-behaved juxtaposition to 
the rest. She is Liam’s girlfriend 
and finds that she clearly does 
not fit in with the company 
surrounding her.

“She 
[Melody] 
is 
thrust 

into this situation of this 
very 
strong, 
independent, 

opinionated Jewish girl, her 
also strong, opinionated cousin 
and their youngest cousin, who 
is trying to mediate between 
them without causing conflict,” 
Gelb said. “It’s a great show 
about relationships, family and 
outsiders.”

As the play moves through 

the incessant debate of who 
will receive the relic of the 
family, there is an added twist.

“This 
necklace 
was 

used as a ring, almost as a 
proposal mechanism for the 
grandmother for the “next” 
person, and the next spouse. 
Now Liam wants to propose 
to his girlfriend, using this 
necklace, thereby taking it 
out of the faith and out of the 
family,” Gelb said.

The initial conflict becomes 

far more complex as new 
problems arise in considering 
how a symbol of the Jewish 
family 
can 
be 
transferred 

outside of its traditional realm. 
Gelb described how unique 
the Jewish faith is in that it 
represents a set of religious 
practices as well as a cultural 
community.

“They all have very different 

views of what being Jewish 
means,” Gelb said. “What does 
it mean to be Jewish and not 
want to carry on the faith in 
the way that your community 
expects you to? What does 
it mean when your faith is 
your community and when 

your community betrays your 
faith?”

In 
considering 
more 

questions that the play grapples 
with, Gelb discussed recent 
discoveries while studying the 
script with the cast.

“One thing that the show 

has created controversy for is 
the stereotypical nature of the 
characters,” Gelb said. “The 
very pure Gentile, very strong, 
opinionated woman and this 
fragile masculinity — they are 
all very heightened. One thing 
that we have explored is how 
we can take these stereotypes 
and add a little sympathy to 
them.”

To combat the limitations 

posed 
by 
stereotypical 

depictions, the cast aimed to 
find depth in each character 
and 
challenged 
existing 

standards. Among the many 
topics 
this 
play 
explores, 

Gelb 
defined 
the 
specific 

stereotypes 
that 
surround 

the Jewish people: the idea 
of being “chosen people,” the 
Holocaust as an incredibly 
formative event of the past 
and the extreme importance of 
maintaining Jewish identity in 
our modern world.

“It so important that people 

identify as Jewish,” Gelb said. 
“Not only did they come from 
a Jewish background, but that 
they are Jewish.”

When 
asked 
about 
a 

rewarding part of the project 
as the director of the show, 
Gelb recalled a certain moment 
when she watched everything 
begin to piece together.

“Normally I shout out things 

they need to fix, as I direct 
the scene. There was one 
point when we were doing it 
yesterday and we were sort of 
drilling it over and over until 
we got what we wanted,” Gelb 
said. “I forgot to stop them 
because I was so immersed in 
watching it. We had reached 
the end of the show and they 
were sitting there for like 
three minutes because I had 
forgotten to call blackout.”

Gelb’s explained that when 

she first saw “Bad Jews” in 
D.C. she thought the show was 
funny and informative: “It was 
true to my identity as a Jew. 
It was a beautiful, theatrical, 
educational experience.” She 
hopes to provide a similar 
experience for audiences this 
weekend.

BAILEY KADIAN

Daily Arts Writer

“Finding 
Escobar’s 
Millions” 

Series Premiere

Discovery 

Fridays @ 10 p.m.

Basement Arts 
presents “Bad 

Jews” 

Studio One 

(Walgreen Drama 

Center)

November 9th @ 7 

P.M.

November 10th & 
11th @ 7 and 11 P.M.

Free

MATADOR

Look at those two
Vile and Barnett are the 
perfect pair at Royal Oak

The duo performed in Michigan right on the heels of their release

Just 
four 
days 
before 

her 
birthday, 
Australian 

Scorpio and, perhaps more 
importantly, 
musician 

Courtney Barnett made a stop 
in Royal Oak for a show with 

American rock’n’roller Kurt 
Vile, on tour in support of their 
collaborative album, Lotta Sea 
Lice. Released in early October, 
the album came as a relative 
surprise, an eventual product 

of Barnett and Vile’s recent 
friendship which bloomed after 
they met on the festival circuit 
last 
summer. 
Consisting 
of 

almost the entirety of Lotta Sea 
Lice, as well as hits from each 
of the duo’s solo discography, 
their 
performance 
on 
Oct. 

30 
was 
conversational 
and 

relaxed, much like the album 
itself. As the two wound the 
audience through their folk-
rock 
musings, 
it 
became 

evident that the collaboration 
between them was just as much 
authentic friendship as it was 
an exercise in musicianship.

Barnett and Vile, supported 

by the Sea Lice — Janet Weiss, 
Stella Mozgawa, Rob Laakso 
and Katie Harkin — opened 
with the first several songs 
off the album, in order. The 
two 
are 
charismatic 
but 

unassuming, both with their 
unkempt 
brown 
hair 
and 

quiet 
manner. 
Few 
words 

were spoken between songs, 
but watching the two interact 
onstage spoke volumes. When 
they played their fifth song, 
leading 
single 
“Continental 

Breakfast,” Barnett and Vile 
shared a not-so-furtive smile 
as they harmonized on its final 

lyric, as if perhaps they had 
stumbled over the moment 
numerous times in rehearsing 
it. There was a spontaneity to 
the act, and the sense that it 
was involuntary for each of 

them evidenced joy at its most 
carefree and honest.

Similar 
moments 

characterized 
the 
rest 
of 

the show, as the audience 

was treated to more than a 
performance, but a window 
into the friendship between 
two of the greatest lyricists 
of the day. “This song is about 
wakin’ up, and smelling your 
bandmate in the bunk next to 
you,” Vile playfully jabbed at 
Barnett before one song. Later, 
he thanked her for “taking 
him on tour,” an act of subtle 
deference that hinted at the 
deep sense of mutual respect 
between the two.

Aside 
from 
their 
banter, 

Barnett and Vile’s interactions 
within the music itself was 
fascinating. Vile on lead guitar 
for Barnett’s “Depreston” and 
“Avant 
Gardener” 
gave 
the 

songs a new, more spacious 
dimension 
while 
Barnett’s 

support on Vile’s “Life Like 
This” and “Pretty Pimpin’” 
contributed 
a 
subtle 
edge. 

The synergy between the two 
performers — as well as the 
Sea Lice — ultimately made for 
an engrossing, and thoroughly 
wholesome, evening of music. 
It’s unclear whether this is a 
one-off collaboration or just the 
first installment. Regardless, 
this is one intercontinental 
friendship you shouldn’t miss.

SHIMA SADAGHIYANI

Daily Arts Writer

Vile on lead guitar 

for Barnett’s 
“Depreston” 
and “Avant 

Gardener” gave 
the songs a new, 
more spacious 

dimension

SEAN LANG

Daily Arts Writer

CONCERT REVIEW

