Movies are projections. Yes, literally, in the
sense of filmstock and screens and projectors
and bulbs. But movies can also be projections of
ourselves — a momentary snapshot of the internal,
the introspective, the metaphysical. Given the
circumstances, we as the film beat are seeing less
literal projections in movie theaters and doing
more projecting ourselves. So what are we thinking
about? Among them are “Wicked,” Dcoms (Disney
comedies, for uncultured readers) and of course,
apocalyptic cinema. This series will traverse the
cinematic doomsday in its eclectic iterations. After
all, why grapple with an uncomfortable reality
when you can watch movies that hyperbolize it
completely?
— Anish Tamhaney, Daily Film Editor
I don’t like apocalypse movies, or zombie
movies, or any horror movies really. I’ve never
gotten much joy out of the suspense before a
grisly murder or the stress of watching the world
end. Yet, for some odd reason, I really like “Shaun
of the Dead.” Edgar Wright (“Baby Driver”)
and Simon Pegg’s (“Star Trek Beyond”) zombie
apocalypse movie is filled with stress and gore,
but is also laced with humor and emotion that
feels very true to life. In the time of coronavirus,
it’s fascinating to see how a manufactured and
somewhat comedic apocalypse can parallel a real
one.
The titular Shaun (Pegg) is a loser, a creature
of habit who doesn’t fully put in effort for his
loved ones. His contentious relationship with his
stepdad Philip (Bill Nighy, “Love Actually”) has
caused rifts between him and his mother Barbara
(Penelope Wilton, “Downton Abbey”). His
flatmate Peter (Peter Serafinowicz, “The Tick”)
is sick of Shaun’s excuses for his sloppy friend
and roommate Ed (Nick Frost, “Hot Fuzz”). His
girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield, “This Little Life”)
is tired of his empty promises and his inability
to put effort into their relationship. Liz’s friends
Dianne (Lucy Davis, “The Chilling Adventures
of Sabrina”) and David (Dylan Moran, “Black
Books”) don’t know how to feel about Shaun and
watch uncomfortably as his and Liz’s relationship
splinters. This all changes, though, when he is
thrust into the zombie apocalypse, pushed outside
of his sphere of safe comfort and forced to fight.
The onset of the apocalypse is subtle: a woman
falling at a bus station, clips on the news, tanks
rolling past the electronics store where Shaun
works and the chronic sound of sirens in the
background. It’s so subtle that Shaun and Ed don’t
even seem to notice, still ignoring the signs of
apocalypse even as the audience knows exactly
what’s going on. On the street, Shaun and Ed
comment lightheartedly on a pair of people who
appear to be making out, but the man’s head falls
off as soon as they turn their back. Shaun walks
bleary-eyed past bloody handprints and dead
bodies, oblivious to the clear explanations of
what’s happening on the news. Ed starts taking
pictures of what he thinks is Shaun fending
off a romantic advance from what is clearly a
zombie. All of the puzzle pieces are there, so it’s
maddening to the audience to watch them take so
long to understand the kind of danger they’re in.
By the time they figure out what’s going
on, they’re immediately propelled into action.
Watching Shaun thrust into a survival situation
is fascinating. The change between his boring
(albeit safe) life one day to the zombie apocalypse
the next is staggering — though he looks like
the classic pasty-faced loser protagonist, he’s
surprisingly good at taking down zombies with a
cricket bat. A team is quickly formed in the throes
of survival, an odd collection that includes Shaun,
Ed, Liz, Barbara, Dianne and David, forced
together in a time of trial.
As we’ve seen in the crisis today, the apocalypse
brings out the best and the worst in us. In “Shaun
of the Dead,” Shaun’s best is drawn into focus,
as he becomes level-headed and confident in his
decisions, as well as being a pretty good fighter.
However, it brings out the worst in David, who is
so worked up about his negative feelings toward
Shaun that he starts working against the group.
With coronavirus, we see this same dichotomy,
seeing the best in the healthcare workers who
work tirelessly to take care of patients, and the
worst in the people ignoring CDC guidelines to
party or the people stocking up on essentials to
sell them for profit. The fight-or-flight response
becomes commonplace during a crisis, and the
characters in “Shaun” have to decide between
helping others and saving themselves on multiple
occasions.
“Shaun of the Dead” is the first film in the
“Three Flavours Cornetto” trilogy by Wright and
Pegg, consisting of “Shaun,” “Hot Fuzz” and “The
World’s End” (an alien apocalypse movie), and
is consistent with the quirky, fast-paced humor
that the writing duo is associated with. It’s, for
lack of a better term, very British, with quick
cuts, quick humor and an exorbitant amount of
cussing. The threat of zombies is ever-present,
but so is the humor, and sometimes they coincide:
A particularly comical scene occurs when Shaun,
Ed and Liz fight a zombie while accompanied by
Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now,” hitting the zombie
with pool cues in time to the music while Dianne
and Barbara watch and bob their heads to the
song. Throughout the movie, bickering between
characters over personal struggles that seem
insignificant in the face of the crisis is ridiculous,
but also deeply human.
The parallels between the apocalypse in
“Shaun of the Dead” and that of our current age
are staggering, so much so that Pegg and Frost
made a parody PSA of one of the scenes (and a
sly apology for a joke that didn’t age as well). The
slow realization of danger and the quick spread
are similar, as well as the advice given by the
authorities to isolate anyone who’s been bitten
and to avoid physical contact, even with loved
ones. The core characters’ main goals are to get
somewhere safe where they can hole out until the
apocalypse ends. Sound familiar? This is how it
feels these days, like we’re all just sitting around
waiting for something to happen, with no idea
when this will be over. Watching the characters in
“Shaun of the Dead” holing up in a bar and talking
about nothing while everything rages outside
feels right.
On paper, “Shaun of the Dead” is a zombie
movie, but in reality it is more than that. If you
can get past the gore, you arrive at a movie about
love and self-sacrifice, about weathering through
the end of the world with the people you love.
One of the wildest parts of the movie comes at
the end, when a news montage explains what
has happened one year after the apocalypse with
the title of “Remembering Z-Day.” Everything
seems to have gone essentially back to normal.
This part was craziest to me because it was a wild
reminder that, as hard as it may be to believe, this
will all be over too. One day, we’ll look back on this
crisis as a horrible period of time that happened
but, thankfully, passed. There will probably be
a catchy nickname that lasts for decades, and
one day history books will talk about the global
pandemic that took thousands of lives. But it will
pass, eventually, and everything will seem to go
back to normal, even as the scars of the ordeal
remain.
Wednesday, April 8, 2020 — 5A
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
TM & UNIVERSAL PICTURES
KARI ANDERSON
Daily Arts Writer
Scenes from an Apocalypse: Revisiting ‘Shaun of the Dead’
FILM NOTEBOOK
The social distancing rules put into effect in
response to the COVID-19 crisis have affected
everyone greatly, but those who are in creative
and artistic professions — whose livelihoods
depend on public engagements — have been
hit extremely hard by these changes. In the
University of Michigan community, important
student
and
faculty
projects
have
been
postponed or canceled altogether, many of which
were milestones in students’ artistic careers, like
senior recitals and theses.
School of Music, Theatre & Dance senior
Ayana Terauchi, a flute performance major
from Midland, Mich., is one of those artists.
Terauchi has won top awards in numerous
national competitions, including second prize
in the National Flute Association Young Artist
Competition, first prize in the MTNA Senior
Woodwind National Competition and first
prize and award for best performance of a
newly commissioned work in the National Flute
Association High School Soloist Competition.
She has been featured on the NPR radio show
From the Top during their national tour in
Kentucky, as well as the prestigious music
program, YoungArts, held every year in Florida.
Terauchi chose to attend SMTD to study with
Professor Amy Porter, her flute teacher and
mentor since high school.
“There was so much I was able to still learn
from her, and I admired her so much as a
musician, being so knowledgeable about not
only the technical but emotional and general
life aspects to her teaching,” Terauchi said.
“Professor Porter really strives to constantly be
innovative with her pedagogy.”
Throughout her four years here at SMTD,
Terauchi has had many memorable performance
experiences, but one performance stood out the
most. On Oct. 10, 2019, Terauchi was a featured
soloist with the University Symphony Orchestra
at Hill Auditorium, where she played the
Liebermann “Concerto for Flute and Orchestra,
Op. 39” as a winner of the 2019 Undergraduate
Concerto Competition. Performing at Hill
Auditorium is an honor for any performer, but it’s
especially notable for students at the University.
“It was amazing to be able to play as a soloist in
Hill, knowing all the historical figures who have
been on that same stage,” Terauchi said.
Terauchi
not
only
reminisced
on
the
performance itself, but also the camaraderie she
felt from her peers and professors leading up to
the performance at Hill.
“I’m really grateful for the support I got from
everyone throughout the process, like the people
in my studio class who held mock performances
and auditions for me and all the support from my
peers before and after rehearsals,” Terauchi said.
“It really made me appreciate the people around
me a lot more than I already did.”
Teruachi was supposed to give her senior
recital on Mar. 26. Senior recitals culminate the
past four years of intensive study on students’
respective instruments. In SMTD, friends and
relatives far and wide flock to the Earl V. Moore
Building to support their beloved graduating
seniors in concert, from that odd cousin twice
removed you didn’t really know existed to both
sets of grandparents. The recitals showcase
every individual student, and are usually around
an hour to an hour-and-a-half of formidable
solo repertoire featuring virtuosic and artistic
prowess. They are free and open to the public
with a substantial reception to follow. The senior
recital is a necessary degree requirement to
receive a bachelor’s degree in music from any
institution. However, at SMTD and other leading
music schools, they have been canceled for safety
reasons due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“I had around an hour(’s) worth of music
prepared that was mostly aligned with what I
had prepared for graduate school auditions,”
Terauchi said. “I had repertoire from all different
eras, like the Bach flute sonata in B minor, the
Gaubert Fantasy and the Franck violin sonata
transcribed for flute.”
Terauchi loves rhythm-heavy romantic music,
especially by German and Russian composers.
However, she decided to program music from a
range of musical styles and eras that have been
pedagogically important to her playing.
“There are some pieces that are just so famous
that you have to play them, like the Franck
sonata, that are really challenging to learn, but
fulfilling once you can finally play it. Once you
learn to really play something, you learn to love
it,” Terauchi said.
That process of really being able to play any
piece is tough, according to Terauchi.
“Playing solo concerts is difficult because you
have to work on so many pieces, you can’t hide
behind a big ensemble or other musicians in a
group, and they require so much stamina. It’s
so emotionally charged because you’re there to
show off what you’ve accomplished over four
years in front of all your peers and colleagues,”
Terauchi said.
Terauchi’s method of preparation is exemplary
in its attention to detail and artistry.
“A few days before the performance, I lock
myself in my room for a couple of days to really
dive into the music and be completely immersed
in it,” Terauchi said. “What that looks like, for
me, is not only studying my own music to bring
out the best interpretations, but also listening to
many other pieces by the composers whose work
I’m playing to get an even deeper understanding
of the composers’ style and intentions. There’s a
lot of important practice that can be done without
actually playing your instrument.”
COMMUNITY CULTURE STUDENT PROFILE SERIES
Creative Spotlight: SMTD senior, flautist Ayana Terauchi
ELLEN SIROWER
For The Daily
Read more online at
michigandaily.com