‘Miseducation’ is relatable
for some, important for all
The communal experience
of seeing a movie in theaters
is
often
underappreciated.
It’s a good way to be more
engaged with the film than
alternating between Netflix on
your computer and Twitter on
your phone every 10 minutes.
There’s a certain charm to
watching the newest “Star
Wars”
or
Marvel
vehicle
with
a
slap-happy,
hype-
fed audience that makes an
opening weekend blockbuster
unforgettable.
All
movies
don’t
have
action-packed
conclusions
and
fulfilling
endings though; some leave
you still processing what just
transpired for the last hour or
two. The prevailing remark
from most walking out of
“Sorry to Bother You” was
“what the fuck just happened,”
while my fellow “Hereditary”
goers
mixed
silence
with
shocked facial expressions.
And then there’s movies
like
“The
Miseducation
of
Cameron Post,” movies that
provoke people in the theater
to exclaim “that’s it?” when the
credits roll. This movie may
wind up being a divisive film
simply for the fact that one’s
enjoyment of it is directly tied
to how much it resonates with
them — non-teen, non-queer
audiences might just not get it.
While it only taps into specific
sensibilities, the movie still
has an enriching, powerful
message that everyone should
appreciate.
The story follows the titular
high schooler (Chloë Grace
Moretz, “Neighbors 2: Sorority
Rising”) in early ’90s Montana.
An orphan who lives with her
religious aunt, Cameron is
sent to God’s Promise, a gay
conversion
therapy
camp,
after she’s caught making out
with her friend Coley in the
backseat of her boyfriend’s car
during prom. What follows is
not much, actually, as Cameron
is forced to integrate into God’s
Promise and adjust to this new
life as scenes of high-intensity
drama pepper the narrative.
This superficial mundanity
is hard to peel away. But when
the film manages to do so, it
reveals a heart that is primarily
concerned
with
Cameron
coming to embrace her own
identity
and
personhood.
This is brought about, not
by any life-changing event
or transformation, but the
world around her. Cameron’s
arc may seem static, but she
tacitly moves and adapts to her
changing environment.
Nothing wraps up nicely
in
“The
Miseducation
of
Cameron Post.” The trauma of
the residents of God’s Promise
is brought to the forefront only
to be left there. Fellow campers
Jane
Fonda
(Sasha
Lane,
“American Honey”) and Adam
Red Eagle (Forrest Goodluck,
“The Revenant”) make quick
friends with Cameron and have
similar inertia towards their
own sexual orientations. They
seem surprising targets to end
up at God’s Promise — Jane was
raised in a hippie commune
and Adam believes in his
tribe’s non-gender-conforming
“two-spirit” philosophy — but
they’re there regardless.
The camp itself is run by the
kindhearted Reverend Rick,
an “ex-gay” played by John
Gallagher,
Jr.
(“The
Belko
Experiment”) in a satisfying
subtle performance, and his
sister,
the
oppressive
Dr.
Lydia March (Jennifer Ehle,
“Fifty Shades Freed”). Rick is
slowly revealed to be a tragic
character himself, as he was
a guinea pig for his sister to
force upon the same brand of
“therapy” that they now make
a living off of. Meanwhile,
Lydia is the closest thing “The
Miseducation
of
Cameron
Post” has to an antagonist
(Adam labels her as a “Disney
villain that doesn’t let you
masturbate”), but she is not
exactly a Nurse Ratched type
that threatens Cameron with
electroshock therapy.
In fact, “Cameron Post”
has no fiery conclusion, no
explosive confrontation that
marks the peak of the action.
It drapes itself with coming-
of-age tropes only to pull them
away to unveil a wholly unique
story when the 90-minute
runtime comes to an end.
No one depicted in “The
Miseducation
of
Cameron
Post” is inherently evil; the
only evil is the idea of such a
conversion camp even existing
(while it may seem far-fetched,
facilities like the one depicted
still exist to this day). Cameron,
Jane, Adam and all the other
campers are not physically
mistreated at God’s Promise,
only pushed to their emotional
limits. And while some bend to
the Christian rhetoric of the
camp, others break.
After a traumatic event that
leaves the campers scarred and
the administrators questioning
how it could have happened, a
state investigator is sent in
to monitor the conditions of
the camp. In a conversation
where he questions Cameron
if there is any ongoing abuse,
Cameron maintains that she is
not being physically harmed,
but raises the question: “How
is
programming
people
to
hate themselves not emotional
abuse?”
Therein lies the core of “The
Miseducation
of
Cameron
Post.”
While
Cameron’s
story takes precedence, the
emotional vignettes of the
other
teens
she
is
newly
surrounded
by
prove
that
although invisible, self-love
and acceptance will always
be a more powerful agent
of positive change than any
forced
method
manifested
from hate.
ROBERT MANSUETTI
Daily Arts Writer
FILMRISE
“The
Miseducation
of Cameron
Post”
State Theater
Filmrise
Death Cab for Cutie is no
less emo on ‘Thank You’
ATLANTIC
FILM REVIEW
ALBUM REVIEW
Every time one of my favorite
artists releases a new album,
I get a little nervous. It’s not
necessarily because I don’t
have faith in them to put out
something mind-blowing; it’s
just that I’m scared their new
music will change how I view
their discography as a whole
and the memories I have with
that band. The more music
a band puts out, the more of
themselves they’re exposing.
In recent memory, bands like
Arcade
Fire,
Interpol
and
Weezer have gone from debut
albums that received critical
acclaim to albums that received
extremely mixed reviews, in
many instances giving off the
perception that the band sold
out as not only musicians, but
also people.
So when I heard the first
single “Gold Rush” off of Death
Cab for Cutie’s latest album
Thank You for Today, I became
a
little
nervous.
The
new
song was catchy, but it felt so
different from their previous
work. I couldn’t tell if it was the
Yoko Ono sample, or the lyrics,
but it felt off. I didn’t want it to
change the way I listen to Death
Cab, the band that’s been with
me through the majority of my
emotional teenage life.
But the Death Cab that put
out some of my favorite albums
like Transatlanticism, The Photo
Album and especially We Have
the Facts and We’re Voting Yes
is now over 20-years-old. To
expect them to continue putting
out the same music that they
were putting out back then is to
expect the band to refrain from
any sort of musical growth — a
band that lacks growth lacks
maturity and artistry.
And grow they have. Not
only does this album feature a
completely new lineup for the
band, with the departure of
Chris Walla after 17 years of
playing guitar and producing
for the band, and the addition
of Zac Rae and Dave Depper
(who I had the privilege of
interviewing last month), but
also features a sound different
from any Death Cab album in
the past.
Although
it
could
be
compared to Narrow Stairs,
the album features drastically
different
songwriting
and
sonic textures. They’ve never
shied from incorporating keys
and synths into their music,
and the addition of a full-time
keyboardist shines through in
all of the new songs. In every
song, there’s at least some sort
of ambient pad backing things
up, or a Rhodes electric piano
accompanying guitar, or even
acoustic piano. But although
the core sounds of a Death Cab
instrumental are there, it all
still feels a little different.
Dave Depper does a great job
at creating those lead guitar
lines Chris Walla was so adept
at, but some of the lines feel
less risky. They feel like they’re
missing a little bit of grit.
Granted, this is a completely
different album from some of
Death Cab’s older, “heavier”
stuff, but certain moments like
the last half of “Summer Years,”
brings back a little bit of that
grit that Death Cab used so well,
and so sparingly. The songs are
catchy, but not too corny (with
the
exception
of
“Autumn
Love,” which may be one of
Death Cab’s weakest songs.)
But, Nick Harmer and Jason
McGerr continue to hold it down
in the rhythm section, giving
performances as solid as any
previous Death Cab record. The
band sounds different, but the
new members seem to make it
sound more complete. However,
Walla’s production touch still
feels a little bit lost. One thing
that really stood out about
Death Cab records was how
crisp and dynamic they were.
Thank You For Today seems a
little more compressed than
previous records, but still feels
clear. However, contemporary
indie rockers Foxing’s most
recent record, Nearer My God,
which was produced by Walla,
is unsurprisingly comparable to
old Death Cab records.
However, as good as their
songs are instrumentally, the
band is nothing without Ben
Gibbard’s lyricism and sense
of songwriting. Best known for
writing lyrics that span from
overwhelmingly depressing to
incredibly romantic, Gibbard’s
role as the lead vocalist and
songwriter in the group is
a position that has gained
widespread fame for the group.
Originally, I thought that one
of my biggest complaints about
this record was going to be the
lack of growth from a band
that has been around almost as
long as I have been alive. And
while they have grown slightly
instrumentally,
Gibbard’s
vocals and songwriting ability
have aged like a fine wine. His
voice somehow has gotten more
delicate and smooth as he has
aged.
But the biggest contribution
Gibbard has on this record
are his lyrics. My initial draw
to Death Cab as an angsty
teenager was Gibbard’s songs
about
heartbreak,
love
and
relationships, but hearing a
married 40-year-old sing about
those things would feel kind of
weird. Luckily, as Gibbard has
matured, so have the basis of his
lyrics (I used to joke about how
happy I was when he and Zooey
Deschanel split because of how
good his lyrics were when he
was in a sadder state, as cruel as
that sounds).
Although
Ben’s
happily
married again, he still sings
about things he’s passionate
about. The first single from
the album, “Gold Rush,” for
example, is about the expansion
of the tech industry in the
band’s
hometown.
Although
the message might be kind of
overdone (see: get off your stupid
phone, you dumb kids), it’s done
in a fresh and compelling way.
Songs like “When We Drive”
and “60 & Punk” feel more
grown
up,
commenting
on
relationships and realizing that
your idols aren’t as great as you
once thought they were.
After the first few listens, I
was getting ready to talk about
the regression of one of my
favorite bands. But the more I
put off writing this and listened
to the record, the more those
bad comments started to turn
into good ones. A lot of people
are likely to give this record a
listen and write it off as being
a mediocre indie rock record.
But it deserves more credit.
When you listen to this in the
context of the rest of the band’s
discography,
it’s
clear
that
while the band has maintained
the elements that brought them
such critical acclaim, they’re
also embracing the modern era
of music they find themselves
in.
RYAN COX
Daily Arts Writer
Thank You For
Today
Death Cab for
Cutie
Atlantic Records
MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW
RCA
Donald Glover, better known
musically by his pseudonym,
Childish Gambino, has existed
alone on an island in the corner
of the hip-hop world since his
first mixtape, Camp. Technically
speaking, he isn’t tied to any
of the rap conglomerates of
his peers, like Kanye West’s
G.O.O.D. Music Label or Drake’s
OVO Sound Label. What’s more,
his prominence can’t really be
credited to anyone but himself,
something that cannot be said
for artists like Chance the
Rapper and Travis Scott, who
received endorsements from
already established acts during
their come-ups. In short, Glover
is a lone wolf. This status affords
him a unique perspective in the
hip-hop world, one through
which he can neutrally observe
trends; this lense is exposed in
the newly released music video
for his melancholic sunset track,
“Feels Like Summer.”
The video in a nutshell: An
animated Glover, looking jaded
with tired eyes and a rugged
beard, strolls down a suburban
street with headphones in his
ears and hands in his pockets.
Around him, prominent figures
in hip hop take part in various
scenes that insightfully speak
on the state of the popular genre
today. Drake chases Future,
who rides into the sunset on a
bicycle; Nicki Minaj and Travis
Scott
play
with
children’s
blocks; Lil Pump and Trippie
Redd skip around like toddlers
and seek attention from 21
Savage and Kodak Black; most
interestingly, Michelle Obama
comforts a crying Kanye West.
Through it all, Glover looks
tired and almost desperate for a
new order.
Through
these
images,
Glover brilliantly allegorizes the
hip-hop world in 2018: Drake
owes much of his prominence
to Future’s influence; Lil Pump
and Trippie Redd compete with
acts like 21 Savage and Kodak
Black, but have a significantly
less
mature
image;
Nicki
Minaj has been bickering over
Astroworld’s dominance of her
Queen; Kanye West infamously
made major waves with a Trump
endorsement over the summer.
Amidst all of hubbub, Glover
has remained a true boundary-
pushing artist while avoiding
negative press and trivial feuds,
relying solely on his talent by
embracing the aforementioned
lone wolf characteristic. Based
on the emphatic images of
his new music video, it seems
Glover has also been a silent
observer of the music world
around him, steering clear of
the bad, learning from the good
and establishing himself as hip
hop’s wise man.
-Mike Watkins, Daily Arts
Writer
“Feels Like
Summer”
Childish Gambino
RCA
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Thursday, September 6, 2018 — 5