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
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