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Arts
Wednesday, October 28, 2020 — 19
FILM REVIEW
TV REVIEW
Review: ‘The Chicago Seven’ ‘Someone has to die’
is compelling
On the night of Aug. 15, 2020, a
Black Lives Matter protest marched
through downtown Chicago. Hordes
of police officers descended upon
them,
encircling
small
groups
of people in a process known as
“kettling.” They sprayed eyes with
tear gas, beat limbs with batons and
indiscriminately shot rubber bullets
and arrested Americans whose only
crime was exercising their First
Amendment rights. Does this sound
like America?
Unfortunately, it should.
While the fascism on display in
Chicago and many other American
cities in the summer of 2020 may have
seemed shockingly foreign to many
Americans, it’s nothing new. It’s all
happened before.
Aaron Sorkin’s (“Molly’s Game”)
“The Trial of The Chicago Seven”
is about another time when police
smashed their way through American
citizens: 1968, outside the Democratic
National Convention in Chicago. A
coalition of left-wing groups met to
protest the Vietnam War and were
denied permits by Chicago’s Mayor
Richard Daley. When thousands of
people took to the streets anyway,
it didn’t take long for police officers
to remove their badges and start
smashing skulls. Nights of violence
followed.
The left was blamed, of course.
After Richard Nixon won the
Presidency, his administration held
a show trial for seven disparate left-
wing leaders whose organizations
attended
the
protests,
including
Tom Hayden from Students for a
Democratic Society (SDS), played
in the film by Eddie Redmayne
(“Fantastic Beasts and Where to
Find Them”), Jerry Rubin, played by
Jeremy Strong (“Succession”) and
Abbie Hoffman, played by Sacha
Baron Cohen (“Borat”), of The Yippies
and Bobby Seale, played by Yahya
Abdul-Mateen
II
(“Watchmen”),
of the Black Panthers. They were
accused of planning a “radical left”
conspiracy.
The
language
of
reactionary
conservatism hasn’t changed, and
neither has its baselessness. There
was no conspiracy, and the groups
behind the “Chicago Seven” simply
protested together. That didn’t stop
the trial from going on for months,
though, and ruining entire lives.
“The Trial of The Chicago Seven”
is the rarest of courtroom dramas:
one that shows the limits, and even
total failure, of the American justice
system.
The
performances
roar
with
urgency, especially the scene-stealing
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
Sacha Baron Cohen also effortlessly
inhabits
the
radical,
drug-fueled
Yippie Abbie Hoffman who, like
Cohen in real life, stirred up trouble to
display the absurdity of the American
establishment.
For a writer and director known
for his unrelenting, machine-gun
dialogue and idiosyncratic characters,
Aaron Sorkin shows an unusual
amount of restraint here. Unlike “The
Newsroom,” his characters rarely
sound like Aaron Sorkin. Sorkin, for
the most part, keeps all the brouhaha
to a minimum and instead lets history
take the stage. The fluidity of his
direction, which allows the camera
to drift from a closeup to a long take
in one shot, also keeps scenes riveting
when the dialogue inevitably piles up.
“Chicago Seven” has moments of
cheese that might make a cynical eye
roll, but even the most schmaltzy of
its scenes have a gobsmacking power
in this nation’s current, troubled
atmosphere. While Sorkin made the
genius choice to intercut scenes with
news footage and photographs from
’68, rooting the film in brutal reality,
there are moments, especially when
downtown Chicago is filled with
tear gas and riot-geared national
guardsmen, that the movie could be
about the summer of 2020.
“The Trial of The Chicago Seven”
is a call to arms that could not have
come at a better time. Released just
weeks before the 2020 election, it
shows how corrupt, racist, oppressive
and downright silly the American
government can be at a time when it’s
at its most corrupt, racist, oppressive
and downright silly.
The film displays the destruction
wrought
when
America’s
law
enforcement
and
justice
system
overstep their bounds and persecute
who they should protect. It shows
how the American right to protest
is vital to democracy, and how it can
perhaps even save America itself.
This is the history lesson this
country needs right now.
Daily Arts Writer Andrew Warrick
can be reached at warricka@umich.edu
Rating pop culture’s canines
The phrase “all dogs go to heaven” has
been tossed around a lot. Most notably, the
popular 1989 animated film of the same
name leads us to believe that all dogs,
regardless of behavior or upbringing, are
deemed “good” in the eyes of society. This
is simply and unequivocally false. Some
dogs are good. Others aren’t. Today, I’d like
to review the profiles of some recognizable
canine characters throughout popular
culture in order to deduce whether or not
these childhood icons are worthy of our
reciprocated affection.
Toto from “The Wizard of Oz”
The Cairn Terrier that portrayed
Dorothy’s companion Toto in the 1939
film “The Wizard of Oz” was in fact a
dog actress named Terry. In classic prima
donna fashion, Terry was paid a salary of
$125 per week for her work on the film.
I’m pretty sure that’s more than what
the Munchkins got offered. Surprisingly
enough, her toe was accidentally stepped
on and broken by a Munchkin actor, so
they didn’t even use her for the whole
movie shoot – lame. After the film’s
success, her owner had an autobiography
published for her titled “I, Toto,” which
is pretty egotistical, even for a dog. Terry
passed away in 1945, but her grave was
later demolished to free space for the
ventura highway in Los Angeles.
Evaluation: Terry was a classic
Hollywood elite, and is therefore a Bad
Dog.
Balto
The 1995 animated movie “Balto”
is inspired by the real life story of a
Siberian Husky of the same name. A
sled dog belonging to musher Leonhard
Seppala, Balto gained fame in 1925 after
leading his sled team on a medicine run
from Anchorage to Nenana, Alaska, in
order to combat a diphtheria outbreak.
Ten months later, a statue of Balto was
erected in New York’s Central Park,
where he was present for the statue’s
unveiling. After Balto died in 1933, his
remains were mounted by a taxidermist
and donated to the Cleveland Museum
of Natural History, where his body still
resides today (creepy).
Evaluation:
Controversy
still
surrounds whether or not Balto was
actually the lead dog on his own sled
team, based on other mushers’ claims
about the dog’s track record. Still – it’s
much easier to live in blissful ignorance
and assume that Balto is in fact a Good
Dog.
Clifford the Big Red Dog
Clifford is a big red dog. What more is
there to say? He is a menace to society.
His size is often inconsistent: While he
is shown being about 25 feet tall from
paws to head, Clifford can appear much
larger in picture books and television.
His owner, Emily Howard, often rides
him like a horse. The two live in New
York City, where keeping a dog of
normal proportions is already a logistical
nightmare. The creators of the show of the
same name have confirmed that Clifford
can grow and shrink depending on the
life force of the children around him. I
can only deduce from this information
that Clifford must be a mutant.
Evaluation: Clifford is a monstrosity,
a mistake of human hubris. He must be
stopped. He’s a Bad Dog.
McGruff the Crime Dog
McGruff the Crime Dog is an
anthropomorphic animated bloodhound
created by advertising agency Dancer
Fitzgerald Sample in the 1980s to spread
crime awareness and personal safety
information, usually through the ad
council. The same advertising agency
is famous for inventing the Wendy’s
commercial tagline “Where’s the beef?”.
McGruff sounds like he smokes two
packs of cigarettes a day and labels
himself as a crime “Pre-tective,” which is
not a job. Aside from being a total narc, I
don’t think McGruff ever prevented any
real crimes, and was merely a totem to
deal with manufactured public fear over
rising homicides in the late 1970s.
Evaluation: As much as I’d love to
follow his advice and “Take a bite out of
crime,” I am admittedly very frail. No
amount of preparation could equip me to
defend against a home invader. And for
the most part, I trust my neighbors – Bad
Dog.
Air Buddy
After some research, I discovered that
Air Buddy is the true name of the athletic
golden retriever featured in the 1997
sports comedy film “Air Bud.” Prior to
being given his franchise name, he was
known as “Old Blue,” and serves as the
companion of an alcoholic clown. I wish
I was making that up. After being given
to and consequently rescued from the
pound, his new owner Josh discovers his
uncanny ability to play basketball. Buddy
ends up leading Josh’s middle school
team to a championship victory. The
movie grossed $28 million dollars, and
the rest is history. In the 1998 sequel, “Air
Bud: Golden Receiver,” it turns out Buddy
is also incredibly skilled at American
football.
Evaluation: I am glad this dog is not
real because he’s clearly much more
coordinated than me. Good Dog.
Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo
is
the
eponymous
character
and
protagonist
of
the
animated television franchise “Scooby-
Doo,” created in 1969 by the American
animation
company
Hanna-Barbera.
He is a male Great Dane and lifelong
companion of his owner, amateur
detective Shaggy Rogers. The duo love
to eat tall stacks of club sandwiches and
run away from monsters. He can also
talk sometimes, which is pretty cool. The
2002 live action film “Scooby-Doo” —
y’know, the one where the gang travels to
a haunted resort island, and Scooby’s pure
protoplasmic soul is nearly sacrificed via
cult ritual — remains a hallmark of early
2000s cinema.
Evaluation: How can you not love
Scooby? Good Dog.
Scrappy-Doo
Take everything you love about
Scooby-Doo and throw it out the window.
Scrappy-Doo is the complete opposite.
Introduced to the franchise in 1979
as Scooby’s nephew, Scrappy is quite
possibly the most annoying addition to
any children’s cartoon franchise. Scrappy
has no basic, subtle, relatable or even
recognizable character traits with which
viewers can connect. His whole schtick
is that he can talk without a speech
impediment, unlike his uncle Scooby.
While his smarts often help to advance
the plot, Scrappy’s shrill and high-pitched
voice gets easily rattled into your brain.
Even after encountering hundreds of life-
or-death situations, he still thinks he can
beat up the monsters himself as per his
signature one liner: “Let me at ’em!”
Evaluation: The idea for this dog
should’ve stayed in the boardroom. Bad
Dog.
Snoopy
If you have no clue who Snoopy is, I
don’t know why you bothered to get this
far into my article. Snoopy is a beagle
who belongs to Charlie Brown, the main
character from a comic strip franchise
that hasn’t made anything new in a very
long time. I digress. Snoopy is a black
and white beagle who spends his free
time imagining alternate lives, including
being an author, a college student known
as “Joe Cool,” an attorney and a British
World War I flying ace. He constantly
refers to his owner as “that round-headed
kid” and has seven brothers. Snoopy’s red
doghouse defies the laws of physics, and
is shown to be bigger on the inside than
the outside.
Evaluation: Snoopy might be a dog,
but his acuity for extreme wonder and
boredom encapsulates the vast expanses
of the human condition. Begrudgingly,
he’s a Good Dog.
LIGHTING
ROUND
(NO
REASONING WILL BE PROVIDED)
Marley from “Marley and Me” – BAD
Blue from “Blue’s Clues” – GOOD
Old Yeller – GOOD
Spuds Mackenzie – GOOD
Dogbert from “Dilbert” – BAD
Gromit – GOOD
Beethoven – GOOD
Beethoven 2nd-5th – BAD
The Dog from “Duck Hunt” – BAD
Beverly Hills Chihuahua – BAD
Dalmations 1-79 – GOOD
Dalmations 80-101 – BAD
Pluto — GOOD
Goofy — BAD
Marmaduke – BAD
Muttley from “Wacky Races” – BAD
Snoop Dogg – GOOD
Daily
Humor
Columnist
Maxwell
Barnes, a senior studying Communication
and Media and the proud owner of a Betta
fish named Lebron, can be reached at
mxwell@umich.edu.
ANDREW WARRICK
Daily Arts Writer
MAXWELL BARNES
Daily Humor Columnist
BEN SERVETAH
Daily Arts Writer
Dressed in expensive fashion, the
first characters we meet in the new
Netflix mini-series “Someone Has to
Die” are Cayetana (Ester Expósito,
“Elite”) and her brother Alonso
(Carlos
Cuevas,
“Merlí.
Sapere
Aude”), who pass time shooting
pigeons
at
their
family
range.
Cayetana tells her brother that
someone named Gabino has finally
returned to marry her. He freezes.
Before we can decide whether it’s out
of anger or worry, Alonso takes aim,
screams and shoots.
Frantic violins guide us through
a wealthy home. Regal, yet sinister.
It’s a place where appearances are
kept,
traditions
are
prioritized
and unadjusted newcomers are not
welcome. So it’s no surprise that when
Gabino (Alejandro
Speitzer, “Enemigo
Íntimo”)
returns
with Lázaro (Isaac
Hernández),
an
attractive Mexican
ballet
dancer,
their
friendship
becomes a magnet
for accusations of
homosexuality.
“Someone Has to
Die” is the follow
up effort of Manolo
Caro, who debuted
his
critically
acclaimed dramedy
series “The House
of
Flowers”
in
2018.
With
this
new three-episode
mini-series,
Caro
has
ditched
the
humor and amped
up the drama for
a
period
piece
about
wealthy
conservatism
during
Spain’s
Franco regime.
Ten years before
his return, Gabino
was sent to live in
Mexico. His arrival in Spain marks
the first time anyone has seen
him since he was a child. Within
the context of the series, the two
countries represent very different
ways of life. Spain is a world where
manners
and
practicality
pump
through its veins like venom. There
are strict expectations of how one
should behave, and if anyone dares
try to wrinkle its “perfect” image,
every pillar of its structure is
designed to eradicate them. Mexico
represents the opposite. It’s a free
world with less money, less rules and
more personal expression. To Spain,
its very existence is a plague to be
spat on and forced into submission.
Gabino’s time there has given him
pride and clarity: two traits that
prove particularly dangerous. He’s
not insecure about his sexuality or
his right to express it. He’s able to
see his family’s manipulation for
what it is, and his refusal to submit
to it means that it’s only a matter
of time before the systems of Spain
weed him out.
To
make
matters
far
worse,
Gabino’s father, Gregorio (Ernesto
Alterio, “Unknown Origins”), also
happens to be in the least convenient
profession
possible:
managing
a
facility that imprisons, overworks
and tortures homosexuals.
This
dynamic
of
being
a
homosexual in a world that is
hell-bent on destroying anything
different is where most of the show’s
tension comes from. It’s a structure
that is so simple and so effective that
it stands to point out how limited
stories there are about the plight
of LGBTQ+ members. Whether in
Spain, America or anywhere else
in the world, there is so much more
progress that needs to be made in
the fight for gender and sexuality
justice.
There are two sides to Gabino’s
family, and their contrast is not
unlike the one between Spain and
Mexico. Gregorio is a product of
his
mother.
Cold-blooded,
and
deeply instilled with the virtue that
business and beliefs come before
love.
Gregorio’s
wife, Mina (Cecilia
Suárez,
“The
House of Flowers”)
is
more
in
line
with
Mexico.
She’s
passionate,
understanding and
prioritizes her love
for her child over
all else. To Gabino,
Mina is the only
human
being
in
their rich Spanish
society that accepts
him for who he is.
In this way, she
is the sole beacon
of
hope
for
his
happiness.
There
is
so
much
about
this
show that works
well. It’s carefully
constructed,
sufficiently
engaging
and
unafraid to make
artistic
choices
when it wants to
deliver an emotion.
The
score,
as
mentioned before,
is fantastic. Recurring haunting,
anxiety-ridden strings paint such a
vivid portrait of affluent tension. In
fact, there’s no aspect of the show
at all that comes off as particularly
weak.
However,
“Someone
Has
to
Die” lacks a certain vigor which
keeps it from being one of the more
memorable projects to debut this
year. The culprit may be its format.
With
only
three,
approximately
hour-long episodes, the finale feels
rushed. The first two episodes were
wonderfully paced, but by its ending
I wished that Caro had taken it
further. So many interesting seeds
were planted for each character that
never got the pay off they deserved.
Because of the lack of time, the series
became
more
plot-focused
than
character-based, and it lost out on a
lot of opportunities for hard-hitting
moments as a result.
Though it may not have reached its
full potential, “Someone Has to Die”
does a compelling job at exploring an
important piece of LGBTQ+ history.
Daily Arts Writer Ben Servetah can
be reached at bserve@umich.edu.
NETFLIX
With this three-
episode mini-series,
Caro has ditched
the humor and
amped up the
drama for a period
piece about wealthy
conservatism
during Spain’s
Fraco regime.