By C.C. Burnikel
©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
10/30/18

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

10/30/18

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Release Date: Tuesday, October 30, 2018

ACROSS
1 Beauty queen’s 
topper
6 Standoffish
11 Irish folk dance
14 Naysayers
15 “Z: The 
Beginning of 
Everything” star 
Christina
16 Santa __ winds
17 *Easy-to-read 
character
19 “Real World” 
channel
20 Triangular Indian 
pastry
21 Skinny fish
22 Buzzing insect
23 Luxury bag 
monogram
24 *Cruise stop
28 Like much 
Scotch
30 Purchase at 
Lowe’s
31 July 4th 
nonstarter
34 Kagan of the 
Court
37 “Grr!,” say
40 *Microsoft 
Outlook service
42 Freight weight
43 *FaceTime 
alternative
44 1988 film farce 
fish
45 Asian part of 
Egypt
47 Assist
48 Goes to seed
50 “Enchanted” 
fantasy film girl
52 *Emphatic 
typeface
56 Patriots’ org.
59 Stool pigeon
60 Put a spell on
61 Decline to 
participate
64 Cigar refuse
65 Parting words 
suggested by 
all or part of 
the answers to 
starred clues
67 Peg for a round
68 “Grr!”
69 “Tomorrow” 
musical
70 Slip up
71 Cozy spots
72 Rent-a-car 
choice

DOWN
1 File folder 
projections
2 Mosaic technique
3 Molecule parts
4 Cough drop 
name sung in 
ads
5 Seeks answers
6 “__ you 
listening?”
7 Soda bottle size
8 Four pairs
9 Spotted wildcat
10 Evergreen tree
11 One-pot New 
Orleans dish
12 Major chip maker
13 Chairperson’s 
order keeper
18 Place for a 
campaign button
25 “Waiting for 
Lefty” playwright
26 Archaeologist’s 
find
27 Fail suddenly, 
with “out”
29 Desserts in Little 
Italy
31 Morning drops
32 Actress Thurman
33 Longtime “CBS 
Evening News” 
anchor

35 “There’s __ in 
team”
36 Building add-on
38 Hudson Riv. tech 
school
39 Went first
41 Worshiped star
46 “Iron Chef 
Gauntlet” host 
Brown
49 Devious plan
51 San __: Texas 
city, familiarly
52 Steaming mad

53 Law enforcement 
shocker
54 Overflows (with)
55 Yank in Yemen, 
for short
57 No longer lost
58 Saint __: 
Caribbean island
62 School bake sale 
orgs.
63 In that case
65 They’re related
66 Cards checked at 
the gate, briefly

Where to begin? The new 

“Heathers” 
has 
a 
simple 

message: 
People 
from 

marginalized groups do not 
deserve to have confidence and 

should be stopped at all costs. 
That’s it. Roll credits. I had my 
suspicions that this would more 
or less be the central message 
undercutting the “Heathers” 
reboot, but I decided to watch it 
for myself before I crucified it.

It’s crucifying time.
Just in case everyone else 

forgot (like the showrunners 
clearly did), the pitch-black 
humor of the 1987 “Heathers” 
solely 
worked 
because 
the 

victims 
of 
the 
murders 

themselves were horrendous 
people. 
They 
were 
hyper-

privileged, 
conventionally 

attractive, evil embodiments 
of 
the 
conformist, 
white 

suburban culture the movie 
set out to skewer. The three 
Heathers and their comrades 
having 
enormous 
privilege 

is a non-negotiable factor in 
constructing 
the 
humor 
of 

the movie, which is why the 
universe took a collective side-
eye when it was announced 
that the new eponymous clique 
would be re-cast with actors 
who all come from a different 
marginalized group.

Blonde-haired, 
blue-eyed, 

statuesque Heather Chandler 
has been reimagined as plus-
sized and androgynous, yet 
her 
cold 
persona 
remains. 

However, rather than her evil 
energies being directed at nerds 
and losers, it is being directed 
at a popular jock for wearing a 
culturally insensitive shirt. And 
we’re supposed to hate her. The 
new Heathers are rounded out 
by Heather McNamara (Jasmine 
Matthews, 
“Sweetbitter”), 

now a lesbian of color, and a 
genderqueer 
Heather 
Duke 

(Brenden Scannell, “Bonding”). 
As aforementioned, the choice 
to “diversify” the Heathers was 
eyebrow-raising, 
a 
decision 

that felt like a case of good-
intentioned 
tone-deafness 

at best. The episode quickly 
contradicted this perception.

It is very clear that we are 

supposed to hate the Heathers 
for 
supposedly 
using 
their 

“differences” to guilt people 
into making them popular. 
Icky. This pilot represents a 
stark 
misunderstanding 
of 

what 
marginalized 
groups 

mean 
in 
terms 
of 
better 

representation and inclusion 
in media. It also proves to be a 
missed opportunity for quality 
content. The new “Heathers” 
could have easily been a satire 
on disingenuous allyship that 
exposed the vapidness that 
so often lingers beneath the 
surface. Instead, “Heathers” 
is an unfunny mess where our 
villains are minorities who dare 
enough to not take anyone’s 
shit, and our “sympathetic” 
protagonist, Veronica, (Grace 
Victoria Cox, “Twin Peaks”) is 
a self-important white woman. 
Go figure.

In addition to the weak 

foundation the show is built 

upon, it also fails to take a solid 
stance on anything. It attempts 
to mimic Ryan Murphy’s acerbic 
wit found in the first seasons of 
“Glee” and “Scream Queens,” 
but fails miserably — primarily 
because from scene to scene it is 
unclear what they are arguing 
for or against. Veronica calling 

Heather Chandler “fatty” is 
supposed to be lauded, and J.D. 
(James 
Scully, 
“Quantico”), 

who for some reason is in 
possession 
of 
serious 
Nazi 

paraphernalia, is still treated as 
the unquestionable, smoldering 
hottie.

For 
a 
show 
that 
so 

desperately 
wants 
to 

distinguish itself from its 
movie predecessor, it still 
allows the 1987 film to do most 
of the heavy lifting when it 
comes 
to 
characterization. 

Viewers who have no prior 
knowledge of the movie would 
be deeply confused by many 
elements of the pilot episode. 
Character 
relationships, 

personalities and motivations 
are murky and hastily thrown 
at the audience. For example, 
in the movie, Veronica latches 
onto J.D. after he pulls a gun 
on bullies Kurt and Ram; in 
the show, J.D. just randomly 
approaches 
Veronica, 
a 

member of a top clique. Based 
on the politics of Woodcrest 
High School that the show 
itself presented to us, this 
feels unrealistic. In addition 
to J.D. and Veronica’s torrid 
relationship feeling rushed 
and 
contrived, 
Veronica’s 

urge to kill Heather Chandler 
comes 
across 
as 
baseless. 

A movie should not feel as 
though it has better pacing 
than a show that has nine 
episodes to lay everything out.

Hopefully, 
the 
havoc 

“Heathers” is wrecking on 
television will be limited to 
the nine episodes already 
released. Not only is the show 
irresponsible in many of its 
“daring” social stances, but 
also the show has nowhere 
else to go. “Heathers” is a 
narrative best told with a clear 
ending in sight, and with the 
pointless plotlines the show is 
opening up, I fear what else is 
next.

Paramount’s ‘Heathers’ 
reboot needs to be buried

ALLY OWENS
Daily Arts Writer

PARAMOUNT NETWORK

For a show that 

so desperately 

wants to 

distinguish itself 

from its movie 

predecessor, 

it still allows 

the 1987 film to 

do most of the 

heavy lifting 

when it comes to 

characterization

TV REVIEW

“Heathers”

Series Premiere

Paramount 
Network

Keira 
Knightley 
(“The 

Imitation 
Game”) 
and 

European period dramas go 
hand in hand. Whether she 

takes on the role of Elizabeth 
Bennett or Anna Karenina, 
Knightley delivers wittiness 
and 
sells 
the 
historical 

throwback 
with 
ease. 
She 

could be a time traveler, an 
actress actually born in the 
1800s and 1900s, sent to the 
future to give audiences a taste 
of life before computers and 
social media and clubbing.

Set at the turn of the 

20th 
century, 
“Colette” 

follows Gabrielle Colette, the 
true author of the popular 
French 
Claudine 
novels, 

and 
her 
husband, 
Henry 

Gauthier-Villars, 
pen 
name 

Willy (Dominic West, “The 
Square”). Willy has relied on 
ghost writers for his success, 
approaching literature as a 
marketing 
challenge 
rather 

than 
an 
artistic 
pursuit. 

When bills pile up and he 
can 
no 
longer 
afford 
the 

men who wrote his earlier 
works, he turns to his wife, 
Colette. Colette draws from 
her memories and deepest 
thoughts 
to 
create 
what 

Willy initially rejects: the 
most popular book in France, 
particularly 
among 
women 

readers. However, since Willy 
publishes the book and its 
sequels under his own name, 
Colette receives none of the 
acclaim or credit.

The great American (or 

British) novel has always been 
a 
male-dominated 
pursuit. 

The lists of classic “greats” 
usually showcase white men 
like Ernest Hemingway, Tom 
Wolfe and Jonathan Franzen. 
“Colette” dives into the psyche 
of this obsession, showing 
Willy’s views of what makes 
a book enjoyable — plot, sex, 
action — versus Colette, who 
focuses instead on literary 
elements. Willy wants a story 
about school girls for the 
fantasy-fulfillment 
factor, 

while 
Colette 
wishes 
to 

connect with her readers and 
convey her personal truths.

Along 
the 
way, 
Colette 

discovers a taboo truth about 
herself: She does not solely love 
men. As Willy openly pursues 

other women, so does Colette. 
Their 
marriage 
reaches 
a 

surprisingly progressive state 
where the two spouses carry 
out affairs and inform one 
another. However, as Colette 
soon realizes, she is still an 
oppressed woman. Willy only 
allows her to take on female, 
not male, lovers, and does 
so in the hope of sparking a 
higher rate of production for 
the Claudine novels. “Colette” 
explores the hidden LGBTQ+ 
community 
in 
the 
early 

1900s 
with 
simultaneously 

refreshing 
casualness 
and 

an alarming lack of politics. 
Although 
Colette 
and 
her 

trans lover are harassed at a 
show, the film does not address 
how the society as a whole 
treated or was aware of non-
heterosexual relationships.

“Colette” suffers from trying 

to cover a large period of time, 
but does justice to the woman 
who was almost written out of 
history. Knightley carries the 
weight of the film, appearing 
in nearly every scene and 
making a lasting impression 
in 
one 
particular 
uncut 

monologue. She embodies the 
role with thoughtfulness and 
a quiet rage. Knightley and the 
real life Colette remind the 
world why women should not 
be ignored.

Keira Knightley shines 
and keeps ‘Colette’ afloat

MEGHAN CHOU

Daily Arts Writer

BLEECKER STREET

FILM REVIEW

“Colette”

Bleecker Street

State Theatre

“Taking the Arrow Out of 

the Heart” is the first bilingual 
poetry book of Alice Walker’s 35 
published and prolific works. The 

first female African American 
winner of a Pulitzer Prize in 
fiction, Walker’s writing shows 
all the marks of a revered author, 
poet and activist; each poem is 
eloquent, honest and touching. 
Many 
admirers 
recognize 

Walker for her work in “The 
Color Purple,” a novel tracing the 
life of Celie, an African American 
girl who is impregnated by 
her stepfather. In “Taking the 
Arrow Out of the Heart,” Walker 
once more explores themes of 
feminism and humanity, while 
writing with a sense of urgency 
for 
action 
and 
constructive 

contemplation. If Mother Earth 
could form audible words, they 
would be the words of Walker 
in “Taking the Arrow Out of the 
Heart.”

Walker chooses to opt out of 

polarized political circles, but 
makes it clear she is on the side of 

the oppressed. Through poetry, 
Walker 
replaces 
bereavement 

for 
the 
past 
with 
valuable 

fragments of hope for the future, 
but she makes clear that a better 
humanity is only feasible through 
immediate action against past 
wrongdoings. Her words lead 
you towards the light, but doing 
that involves a sense of humanity, 
sorrow and action against the 
darker shades that infiltrate the 
world at large. With poems for 
the children of Palestine, Iraqi 
women, the mothers of police 
brutality victims and many more 
oppressed 
groups, 
Walker’s 

words of sorrow and redemption 
account for all forms of oppression 
against 
the 
intersections 
of 

marginalized people globally. 
She further memorializes artists, 
activists and other brave fighters 
of oppression and injustice, like 
Martin Luther King Jr.

Walker 
recognizes 
the 

deprivation of all forms of life 
beyond humans with lines like 
“Anybody 
who 
assassinates 

rivers, oceans, and the air, is not 
from here. / You can sleep on if 
you like. But this is the easiest 
way to tell who is not Earthling.” 
Alice Walker is not blindly 
optimistic, but rather pragmatic 
and compassionate. She asks if 
dreams for the future are at the 
climax of possibility with the 
following questions: “Is it the 
peaceful nation in which every 
child is wanted and adored; 
where every woman has a voice? 
Where every man’s dignity is 
rooted in nonviolence?” 

Walker further interrogates 

power structures that employ 

privileges to favor some while 
leaving 
others 
silenced 
and 

unheard. She rightly confirms 
that 
people 
who 
have 
the 

privilege to ignore the disparities 
faced by so many are basking 
in ignorant grandeur and not 
stepping up to the plate of dignity 
for humankind.

Within the 70 poems in 

“Taking the Arrow Out of the 
Heart,” lines like “Blackness is 
not where whiteness wanders 
off to die: but that it is like the 
dark matter between stars and 
galaxies in the Universe that 
ultimately holds us together” 
really stick out. These lines are 
from the poem “Here It Is,” 
commemorating Jesse Williams’s 
(you may also recognize him as 
Dr. Avery from the TV series, 
“Grey’s Anatomy”) speech after 
winning 
the 
Humanitarian 

Award at the 2016 BET Awards 
for his work with the Black 
Lives Matter movement. Walker, 
like Williams, refuses to define 
Blackness as the absence of 
whiteness, and further speaks to 
eliminate “fear of Blackness in 
white culture.”

“Taking the Arrow Out of the 

Heart” is a four leaf clover for 
all activists and fighters against 
injustice needing a glimmer of 
hope. Alice Walker writes with 
patience and understanding, but 
remains demanding while posing 
reformative thoughts. Kind but 
necessary; grateful but urgent. 
Walker doesn’t just capture the 
reader’s attention — she pulls 
you soothingly against her chest 
and gets right to the heart of the 
matter.

‘Taking the Arrow Out of 
the Heart’ glimmers hope

TESSA ROSE
Daily Arts Writer

“Taking the 
Arrow Out of 

the Heart”

Alice Walker

Atria Books

Oct. 2, 2018

BOOK REVIEW

6— Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

