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Arts
Wednesday, January 10, 2018 — 5A
I hated “Star Wars: The Last
Jedi.” I thought it was a terrible
movie with a poor plot, weak
character
development
and
a total lack of understanding
of what made the previous
films great. I’ve had a lot of
conversations with people over
the past few weeks about why I
believe that is. As I’ve watched
discussion and debate about the
film play out online, I’ve come
to an even more important
realization. I’ve been a “Star
Wars” fan all of my life, which is
why I don’t like the newest film.
But what I take even more of an
issue with than the film itself is
the discussion surrounding it.
Almost as soon as “The Last
Jedi” was released in theaters,
it became clear that this was a
divisive movie, maybe the most
divisive ever for “Star Wars.”
The originals are generally
loved and the prequels generally
loathed,
with
“The
Force
Awakens” and “Rogue One”
both falling somewhere in the
pretty-good-or-maybe-great-
but-not-amazing range. Before
it was released in theaters
worldwide, “The Last Jedi”
boasted a stellar 94 percent
on the critical aggregate site
Rotten Tomatoes. That number
has since gone down to a still
impressive 90 percent. But for
whatever
reason,
audiences
didn’t take to the film in the
same way. The audience score
on the same website currently
sits at a middling 49 percent,
the worst ever for a “Star Wars”
picture. Across the Internet,
debate raged about whether
the movie was the best one
yet in the series or a disgrace
to George Lucas’s legacy. But
rather than a productive debate
about the merits of the movie’s
themes, commentary on its
characters or possibly what it
was actually trying to say and
whether or not it succeeded in
it, much of the discussion that
surrounds “The Last Jedi”
resembles that of a political
debate
or
a
Twitter
feud
between celebrities. It’s a fight
filled with ad hominem attacks
rather
than
constructive
criticism.
One
of
the
prominent
narratives that surrounds this
film is that the people who
don’t like “The Last Jedi” don’t
like it for one of the following
reasons:
All
of
its
main
characters are either women
or people of color, it doesn’t
respect white males and makes
all the male characters stupid
and they can’t let go of the old
“Star Wars” they remember
from when they are kids. Now
let me preface this by saying
that by no means are these the
only criticisms being leveled at
the film’s detractors, but they
are the ones making the loudest
splash and the ones that are
most dangerous for allowing us
to have a meaningful discussion
about the film itself.
One article that was making
the rounds over this past
weekend was titled “Why So
Many Men Hate ‘The Last Jedi’
But Can’t Agree on Why.” The
author’s argument essentially
boils down to this: “Because
there is no central criticism of
this film that everyone agrees
upon, the reason people don’t
like it must be sexism.” She
points to the prequel films as
examples of films everyone
agrees are bad for the same
specific reasons and uses that to
explain that if “The Last Jedi”
were actually a bad movie,
everyone would have the same
criticisms of it. This line of
reasoning is nonsense. Art is,
by its very nature, subjective.
The reasons I hate “The Last
Jedi” may be the same reasons
another person loves it. People
who agree that something is bad
are perfectly free to disagree
with each other about why it’s
bad. I loved the scene in which
Carrie Fisher’s General Leia
flew through space, and I hated
the movie, but the majority of
people I know who both liked
and didn’t like the movie hated
that scene. There isn’t a one
size fits all for criticism, film or
otherwise.
I think that it is important
that we as liberals not (to
quote “Revenge of the Sith”)
become the very thing we
want to destroy. If we attack
anyone who criticizes a movie
that features a woman in the
starring role simply because the
movie features a woman in the
starring role, we do ourselves a
disservice. Do I think there are
probably some crazy people out
there who hate “The Last Jedi”
because it’s about a female
Jedi, a Black stormtrooper and
a Resistance led by women
and people of color? Yes, of
course, there are those people.
But those people probably also
hated the similarly diverse
“The
Force
Awakens”
and
“Rogue One” and neither of
those movies created the kind
of division that “The Last Jedi”
did.
My issues with “The Last
Jedi” involve basically every
single part of the film, but what
I do not have any issue with
is the casting or the nature of
the characters. Far from it, I
believe these characters and
these actors have been severely
underserved by the story they
were given. In my estimation,
Daisy Ridley is far and away the
most talented actor to ever lead
a “Star Wars” film. She’s much
better than Mark Hamill in the
original trilogy and she is eons
beyond Hayden Christensen.
She is a gifted actress who
had a great character in the
first movie that I believe was
wasted in “The Last Jedi.” Rey
basically sits on the sidelines
for the entire third act of the
film, in which Luke Skywalker
and Kylo Ren take center stage.
Her entire storyline revolves
around needing a man to bring
back to the fight (first Luke,
then Kylo). I don’t believe that
“The Last Jedi” is bad because
it stars a woman. I believe
that it is bad because it doesn’t
feature
its
main
character
(who happens to be a woman)
nearly enough. It makes Rey
into an agent of Luke and Kylo’s
storylines, rather than using
them as supporting players in
hers.
“The Last Jedi” wants to be
seen as the most progressive
and
forward-thinking
“Star
Wars” yet, but in the last act
of the film, it gives up on all of
that to fall back on everything
it claims it wants to forget.
The film purports to be about
realizing your heroes were
flawed and not looking for an
old man to come and face down
an entire evil army, and then
at the end of the movie Luke
Skywalker comes out of hiding
to face down an entire evil army.
Seemingly the entire point of
Benicio Del Toro’s character
was to show that this isn’t a
conflict with straight lines of
good and evil, but one filled
with shades of grey. And yet at
the end of the movie, we are left
with good guys vs. bad guys, one
side that blows up planets and
one side that saves lives. Rey
and Kylo Ren are supposedly
conflicted
characters
grappling with the darkness
and light inside of them, but
at the end of the movie Rey is
unquestionably good and Kylo
is unquestionably evil. There is
no moral ambiguity about the
ending of “The Last Jedi.” Even
the movie’s attempts to critique
the Han Solo archetype Poe
Dameron fell flat on its face.
While he is chastised early on
for having a dumb plan that
gets a few people killed, he later
initiates an even dumber plan
that leads to all but 10 members
of the Resistance getting killed
and nobody seems to care.
You may agree or disagree
with the last two paragraphs
and my assessment of the
movie. You make think I’m
crazy and that I missed the
genius thematic storylines that
the film employed. You may
think I just wanted to see “The
Empire Strikes Back” again.
Regardless, we should be able
to have a conversation about
a movie about space wizards
who can make rocks move
and fly through space without
becoming mortal enemies in
the process. Not everything
is black and white. Not every
movie is going to be universally
loved or hated and not everyone
is going to agree on why they
love or hate it. That’s the nature
of the beast. These things are
complicated. Isn’t that what
“The Last Jedi” is trying to tell
us? I thought so. But then again,
I hated the movie, and from
what I understand that must
mean I just didn’t get it. So be
it then.
‘The Last Jedi’ and the
State of Film Criticism
IAN HARRIS
Dial ‘9-1-1’ and you’ll get
star-studded mediocrity
Fox’s new drama, “9-1-1,”
aims to share that even those
who come to our rescue daily
and appear to tackle any danger
still carry their
own
unfixable
burdens of life.
The
series
—
created
by
the
celebrated
duo
from
“American
Horror
Story,”
Ryan Murphy and
Brad Falchuk —
follows the lives
of
a
squad
of
first responders,
who are still occupied with
their own personal struggles
back home while saving lives
and fighting crime. Though
the pilot episode is packed
with unique criminal activity,
moments of sheer humor and a
star-studded cast, “9-1-1” falls
flat and comes off as formulaic.
The episode opens with 911
operator Abby Clark (Connie
Britton, “Nashville”) leaving
her sick, bedridden mother
to hustle into work and start
receiving calls for the day.
Her character’s most pressing
work
dilemma
is
feeling
underappreciated and out of the
loop, as every time help arrives
on the scene of an emergency,
the caller hangs up and forgets
about her dispatcher efforts
forever.
Britton
embodies
Abby as a first responder who
chooses to distract herself
from her personal trauma by
investing herself in the fate
of the panicked people on the
line. Remarkably, Abby stays
calm and in control, and only
faces her emotion while on the
job.
Then there’s the fire force,
composed of Captain Bobby
(Peter Krause, “Parenthood”),
newbie Buck (Oliver Stark,
“Into
The
Badlands”),
the
brassy
Henrietta
(Aisha
Hinds,
“Under
the Dome”) and
the witty Howie
(Kenneth
Choi,
“The Last Man
on Earth”), who
together form a
rag-tag
family.
There is a clear
and
palpable
chemistry
between
the
members of the
fire squad, though so far, their
characterization and storylines
appear
run-of-the-mill
and
leave much to be desired. While
we get insight into some of their
personal
dramas,
including
an alcohol addiction and an
affinity for meaningless sex,
we only see the development
of one character arc, Buck’s.
In taking on the trope of the
rookie who must earn his
stripes, Buck goes from being
fired by Captain Bobby for
secretly taking the fire truck to
pick up dates, to saving a little
girl from a home invasion and
ultimately being brought back
on the squad. This leaves me
wondering what more could
come from this character, as
his whole story was seemingly
spoiled in a single episode.
Lastly, there’s the police,
whose force is questionably
composed of only one meager
— yet extremely badass —
member,
Sergeant
Athena
Grant
(Angela
Bassett,
“American Horror Story”). Her
internal struggle may be the
most sentimental out of all,
as she is tasked with fighting
crime by day and coming
to grips with her husband’s
coming out to their family by
night. Her portrayal is strong
and energetic, and it is her plot
arc that appears to have the
most potential for raw emotion
and dramatic encounters.
One
of
“9-1-1”’s
most
prominent
weaknesses
is
its jumbled and zig-zagging
plot.
We
rarely
see
the
three different fields of first
responders interact in this
episode, and the plot rapidly
and unexpectedly jumps back
and forth between emergency
and field far too often. The pilot
lacked major cohesion, which
I’m hoping will be generated as
the season progresses.
Overall,
no
matter
how
chaotic and cluttered, because
of its uncommon plot points,
considerable cast and edge-
of-your-seat potential, “9-1-1”
just might be worthy of tuning
in for another week. For what
it’s
worth,
the
emergency
scenarios presented in the
show were quite original as
compared to anything that
I’ve seen before. In the first
episode alone we were privy
to a premature baby flushed
down the toilet and stuck
in the pipes and a woman
choked by her own collection
of exotic snakes. This led
to some moments of pure
suspense and entertainment,
but ultimately, staying aware
that this is a network drama,
it was wearily known that
the first responders couldn’t
and wouldn’t possibly leave
an
emergency
unattended,
unsettled or unsolved.
MORGAN RUBINO
Daily Arts Writer
‘9-1-1’
Series Premiere
Wed @ 9/8c
FOX
FOX
TV REVIEW
Not every movie
is going to be
universally loved
or hated and not
everyone is going
to agree on why
they love or hate
it.
Bruno Mars’s new video for
“Finesse (Remix) (feat. Cardi
B)” is a certified throwback.
“Finesse” originally appeared
sans Cardi B on Mars’s 2016
record 24K Magic. The track
oozes with ’90s pop staples:
record scratches, boy-bandy
backup vocals and a jumpy beat.
But the music video manages to
elevate the aesthetic to a whole
new level.
Directed by Bruno Mars him-
self, the remixed video is youth-
ful, lighthearted and nostalgic. It
begins with quick cuts of Mars
and Cardi B dressed in brightly-
colored retro outfits, goofing
around with paint brushes
against a white-sheet backdrop.
As Cardi opens, rapping about
making people “shook,” Mars
looks like a kid,
grinning and
dancing goofily
in the back-
ground.
After Cardi’s
verse, the
scene switches
to Mars and two male backup
dancers in classic ’90s apparel
(conveniently re-trending now
in 2018) of layers, short-sleeved
sweatshirts, light-wash jeans
and white sneakers. They bop
smoothly on the stage of what
looks like an outdated televi-
sion set while three similarly
fashioned female dancers swoon
playfully from a nearby balcony.
These ladies — as well as Cardi B
— eventually join in
on the feel good fun,
dancing and DJ-ing
as Cardi picks up
the tempo rapping,
“got it going on,
don’t it feel so good
to be us?”
The video wraps up with
Bruno Mars, Cardi and the
five dancers posing silently as
“Dedicated to: Living in Color”
rolls onto the screen. This
’90s-inspired video is a homage
to the sketch comedy show “In
Living Color,” which aired for
five seasons on Fox beginning in
1990. Standing alongside NBC’s
sketch comedy program “Satur-
day Night Live,” whose cast was
comprised of primarily white
people, “In Living Color” had
a majority-black cast and gave
rise to the careers of Jamie Foxx,
Jennifer Lopez and Jim Carrey.
While the “Finesse” video is
a cute throwback to an iconic
time, the video fades to black
and breaks its conclusive silence
with an iconic bit of modern pop
culture: a signature Cardi B sigh.
Never heard one of those? Just go
watch the video.
- Avery Friedman, Daily Arts
Writer
MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW
“Finesse”
Bruno Mars ft.
Cardi B
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
WALT DISNEY PICTURES
DAILY ENTERTAINMENT COLUMN