2-News
I
n
the
seminal
classic
“Under Pressure,” David
Bowie
sings
what
is
perhaps the most insightful
lyric of the 20th Century:
“Love’s
such
an
old-
fashioned word and love dares
you to care for the people on
the edge of the night, and love
dares you to change our way of
caring about ourselves.”
While it might be considered
an overdramatization of what
is much more often a mundane
and
long-winded
process,
Bowie’s words encapsulate that
beautiful, singular emotional
experience of being in love.
That is the most remarkable
aspect of the lyric. See, while
most of the art promulgated by
our mass media and prominent
in our popular culture glorifies
falling
in
love,
this
song
extolls being in love, which is
supposed to be the best part.
This sets the song apart from
the contemporaries we see
today and gives it a unique,
everlasting presence in our
musical ethos.
Similarly, the film “Palm
Springs” finds itself at the
crossroads
of
a
traditional
Hallmark
rom-com
and
“Groundhog Day,” yet it is
best described as a treatise on
being in love. This makes the
movie a generation-defining
experience to which everyone
under 35 can relate but every
American can appreciate.
In “Palm Springs,” we are
thrust into a world that feels
strangely familiar, given that
we have experienced months
of quarantine. Andy Samberg’s
Nyles
—
boyfriend
of
the
bride’s best friend — is living
in an infinite temporal loop,
experiencing the same Nov. 9
wedding over and over until
one day something different
finally
happens;
Cristin
Milioti’s Sarah — sister of the
bride — joins him, kicking off
the real story. After the quick
obligatory
explanation
of
the loop’s “rules,” the movie
ventures where no predecessor
has dared. It explores the
relationship
between
two
people in a world in which
literally nothing matters and,
in the process, creates the
most insightful perspective on
romance since “Crazy, Stupid,
Love.”
This comes to fruition in
the desert scene — which I
highly recommend you watch
before reading the remainder
of this article. The pair, after
getting high on mushrooms,
spend a night together in the
desert when Nyles explains his
personal philosophy through
the metaphor of a chocolate bar,
essentially claiming that the
past does not matter. He only
cares about people’s actions in
the present because everything
else, the past, the future, is
thin air. Then, in pushing
back, Sarah reveals her past:
The early divorce that scarred
her, the impulsive decision-
making that still haunts her
and so on, which, for the first
time in the movie, changes
Nyles’s
attitude,
forcing
him to briefly reevaluate his
worldview. However, tellingly,
Nyles cannot even remember
his own past, remarking that
“(this feeling) drifts away just
like they all do.” Then, the
two toast to “pretending not to
care,” which is just about the
most Gen Z response to a real
emotion.
See, for Gen Z, likely the
most nihilistic generation, the
world of “Palm Springs” does
not seem so terrible. Sure, not
being able to experience the
future might be difficult to
reckon with, but, honestly, our
world has been so crazy that
having a break is appealing.
Take me for example.
My life began on May 5,
2000, six months before Bush
v. Gore, one year before 9/11
and three years before the
invasion of Iraq. My first
exposure to politics was the
election
of
Barack
Obama
amid a recession that ravaged
communities
worldwide,
including
my
backyard
of
Southeast Michigan.
From there, life has been
a constant barrage of heart-
wrenching
mass
shootings,
devastating natural disasters,
increasingly
dire
warnings
about an impending climate
crisis,
political
scandals,
gridlock and a global pandemic
to top things off; so no, I
need little to no drama from
my personal relationships. I
shiver at the mere thought of
some public grand romantic
gesture. I, and most of Gen
Z, would prefer to just have
someone stable to weather the
storm beside me. That is the
point of “Palm Springs”: In a
world that means nothing, our
interpersonal
relationships
mean everything.
That is why there is a
newfound
audience
for
romance movies and shows that
dare to depict real life rather
than the grandiose fiction of
running through an airport.
Instead, we propel Netflix
originals like “To All the Boys:
P.S. I Still Love You” and “The
Kissing Booth 2” to the top of
the charts, not because the
acting is amazing — it’s not — or
because the lead ends up with
the right guy — she doesn’t,
because both John Ambrose
and Marco got screwed.
We
watch
these
movies
because we love to watch
broken people navigating an
increasingly
complex
world
and making human mistakes.
We love to see this journey play
out because it is the journey
that we are on every single
day. In the words of Nyles from
“Palm Springs,” we are born
lost, but, in each other, you are
found.
9 — Wednesday, December 2, 2020
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Time to modernize SMTD
ANDREW GERACE | COLUMN
“Merry Christmas” vs. “Happy Holidays”:
It doesn’t matter
ILANA MERMELSTEIN | COLUMN
Redefining rom-coms: Treating every day like
it’s our last dance
G
rowing up as a Jewish kid,
I regularly took offense
to strangers wishing me
a “merry Christmas” during the
holiday season. I remember exiting
those interactions with a scowl,
ranting incessantly to my parents
about how “they don’t know that
I celebrate Christmas” and “there
are other holidays during this time
of year.”
I was right: “Merry Christmas” is
far from the most inclusive greeting,
and no one should assume which
holiday somebody is celebrating
(or even that they’re celebrating
one). However, I frequently allowed
this frustration to blind me from
the reality of these interactions
— someone was simply offering
positive wishes for the season in
the only way they knew how. As
I matured, I realized my anger
toward those wishing me a “merry
Christmas” was only hurting myself.
No one maliciously said these
words, nor hoped to dim my little
Jewish spirit as I assumed they did.
I contributed to the divisive nature
of the world in the time of year
when unity is the most necessary,
all because people said a nice thing
to me, which just happened to be the
wrong nice thing.
Others in the world believe
we should only greet people with
“merry Christmas” — that “happy
holidays” is Christianity erasure,
and that those of the opposing view
have declared some kind of “War
on Christmas” by using a more
inclusive greeting. I, however, only
choose to recognize the Grinch’s
“War on Christmas”; the one in
the United States does not exist.
Secularists are not perpetrating any
“War on Christmas” by including
religious minorities when saying
“happy holidays,” and those who
choose to say “merry Christmas”
as opposed to “happy holidays” are
not imposing their religious beliefs,
only offering well-wishes in the way
they’ve been taught. If you choose
to internally (or externally) punish
someone for greeting you with
positive wishes for the season, you
may just be looking for a reason to
get angry, and you’re likely hurting
yourself in the process.
According to Bill O’Reilly in
2004, who coined the term “War
on Christmas,” the use of “happy
holidays” by large retailers to
substitute
“merry
Christmas”
foreshadowed secularist America’s
plot to destroy religion and push
a
progressive
political agenda.
Though religion has not since
been
destroyed,
involvement
with
religion
has
indisputably
decreased as time has progressed.
The results of a Gallup poll
indicate that the percentage of the
American population identifying
with Christianity has dropped by
14% between 2004 and 2019, and
the percentage of the population
not identifying with any religion
has increased by 12% in the same
timespan.
However, if the goal of reducing
religious involvement was to push
the progressive agenda, it certainly
has not been achieved. O’Reilly
cited “gay marriage, partial birth
abortion, euthanasia, (and) legalized
drugs” as examples of progressive
ideals in an areligious America. The
United States has since legalized
same-sex marriage on a national
level, but many states continue to
restrict abortion and most states
list physician-assisted suicide as
illegal, while marijuana is still illegal
recreationally in many states.
Furthermore, another Gallup
poll indicates that around 93% of
Americans claimed to celebrate
Christmas in 2019, which is only
approximately
3%
lower
than
the percentage reported in 2004.
Given that only 67% of people
identified with Christianity in
2019, these results indicate that
around 26% of those who celebrate
Christmas aren’t even Christian.
The
“destruction”
of
religion
following the replacement of “merry
Christmas” with “happy holidays”
has not instituted the progressive
agenda as O’Reilly believed it would,
and it has not been associated
with a significant reduction in the
percentage of those who celebrate
Christmas. My understanding is
that the secularization of the U.S.
has almost nothing to do with the
celebration of Christmas, so the
alleged “War on Christmas” simply
does not exist.
However, those who say “happy
holidays” aren’t completely off the
hook, specifically those who, like
I once did, take offense to being
wished a “merry Christmas.” The
26% deviation between those who
identify as Christian and those who
celebrate Christmas indicates two
things. First, a stranger who says
“merry Christmas” to ten people
will likely be successful with nine,
given that 93% of people report
that they celebrate Christmas, and
only one will have the potential
to take offense to the statement.
However, if the stranger says
“happy holidays” to ten people,
they include all ten with the
neutral statement, but multiple of
the nine may believe in the “War
on Christmas” and take offense to
the statement. The stranger is more
likely to offend fewer people by
saying “merry Christmas.”
Second, if 26% of those who
celebrate Christmas do not identify
as Christian, it can be argued that
the celebration of Christmas does
not have to be a religious institution
at all. In 2017, a Pew Research Center
poll indicated that, though 90% of
Americans celebrated Christmas,
less than half viewed it as a religious
holiday. If someone wishes you a
“merry Christmas,” it is more likely
than not that they simply hope you
eat lots of chocolate and have a good
day on December 25.
Ilana Mermelstein can be reached
at imerm@umich.edu.
JENNA SCHEEN | CONTACT CARTOONIST AT JSCHEEN@UMICH.EDU
KEITH JOHNSTONE | COLUMN
Keith Johnstone can be reached at
keithja@umich.edu.
Design courtesy of Mellisa Lee
A
s I was setting up the
recording session for my
brother Michael’s graduate
school audition, I heard the familiar
sound of a jazz trio warming up.
Warm tones from the trombone were
met with thumping bass and bright
piano. While these sounds were
familiar, the circumstances were
anything but. Usually these sessions
are small and intimate with players
close together to communicate —
12 feet apart and masked certainly
was a strange change of scene. As I
was setting up, I couldn’t help but
think that as music, the gig economy
and the world have changed over
the years, music education at the
University of Michigan’s School of
Music, Theatre & Dance … hasn’t. At
least not at the rate it needs to keep up
with the rest of the world.
To put the antiquated nature
of
some
of
SMTD’s
course
requirements into perspective, every
undergraduate at SMTD must take
at least two semesters of written and
aural music theory while many, like
myself, have to take at least two full
years. The primary focus of these
first two semesters of theory are
counterpoint, a musical technique for
combining melodic lines developed
in the 9th century, and figured bass,
a technique for harmonic structure
developed in the 17th century. After
asking a Theory Graduate Student
Instructor my freshman year why we
are required to learn these techniques
from the rather distant musical past,
I was met with a laugh and a simple
acknowledgement that at this point,
it’s tradition, and we’re one of maybe
three music schools that still do this.
Not a particularly satisfying answer
when paying out-of-state tuition for
an effectively irrelevant course
requirement.
You may be wondering, how is
a technique from the 9th or 17th
century at all relevant to any non-
classical major at the school? The
simple answer is that it isn’t. Beyond
reinforcing a sense of Western music
supremacy arguably tied to white
supremacy, the course does little
to help non-classical composition
majors at the University.
Anna Rosengart, an SMTD and
LSA senior, reflected on many of
these required music theory and
history classes, saying, “newsflash:
white Western music isn’t the
only music, and madrigals and
symphonies aren’t the only way to
study it. … I wish we learned about
other ways to be musical in the ‘real
world’ and could get more exposure.”
SMTD needs to move past tired
curriculum requirements to address
societal and educational realities.
University alum Mohan Ritsema,
a jazz bass player, expressed his
frustration with antiquated aspects
of the curriculum taking the space of
basic skills and lessons that should be
taught.
“Something I’ve always felt about
U-M, that I especially feel now, is
that it’s messed up. U-M requires
everyone to learn figured bass but not
how to use the producing software
Logic. We have to take two years of
classical piano but never learn how
to set up a microphone. I think now,
that is really starting to bite people,”
Ritsema said.
Requiring students to take classes
like these is a waste of time and
money when students aren’t learning
skills that will allow them to succeed
or sustain themselves in the future.
Unless students are going into music
theory, knowing figured bass won’t
put food on the table. But knowing
the basics of sound production or
self-promotion may be the difference
between making it or breaking it in
the music industry.
University alum Brendan Davis, a
pianist, said he wishes “we had had
marketing classes at SMTD.” While
Davis has continued to have gigs
during the pandemic, having self-
marketing or business skills as part
of the core curriculum for SMTD
students would help others translate
artistic skills into economic security.
“I know many musicians who have
had to retire or step away from music
due to COVID. … Learning stuff like
self-marketing would’ve been really
helpful.” As the music industry has
changed across the board both due
to the market and recently COVID-
19, institutions must change to teach
students how to succeed and survive
with their craft, not just the origins of
a distantly related musical language
or history.
SMTD has examples it can and
should follow in-house. Programs
like EXCEL Lab at SMTD provide
students
both
coursework
and
workshops about the music industry,
music entrepreneurship, social media
and other relevant topics. SMTD
should cut other undergraduate
course requirements and make these
courses required. If students want
to pursue topics like medieval music
history or theory, they are welcome
to do so, but shouldn’t be required
to.
While
these
opportunities
theoretically exist for students, both
Ritsema, Davis and I haven’t able
to utilize them during our time at
Michigan due to the number of other,
irrelevant course requirements we
have to satisfy.
“Generational gaps in technology
definitely exist,” Ritsema said about
the faculty and administration.
He went on to say that there is a
general sentiment among faculty
and students that something more is
needed, but they are not sure what. I
urge students to communicate with
the administration about student
needs. However, I more strongly urge
the administration to look around at
the holes that need to be filled in our
education, now more than ever. We
can’t afford to graduate from SMTD
without a better core curricular
foundation in how to operate as a
musician, no matter how artistically
skilled we may be.
If there was ever a time to
modernize SMTD, it must be now, as
the floor has fallen out for musicians
worldwide. Broadway’s doors are
closed until at least May 30, 2021,
indoor performance venues are
closed in Michigan and across the
United States due to actions like
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID-19
orders and in-person music education
has been greatly affected at schools
like SMTD.
As musicians fight to survive in
the ailing industry, it is apparent
that it isn’t their required studies
in medieval musicology or theory
that are helping them survive, but
their ability to setup livestream
concerts, busk, self-promote, write
grants and find virtual gigs; all
necessary skills that aren’t reflected
in SMTD’s course requirements.
SMTD must modernize to address
both COVID-19 and education in the
21st century, providing a teaching
based on educational effectiveness,
not Western music supremacy or
antiquated tradition.
“Even
without
COVID,”
as
Ritsema said, “these were things
everyone needs to know. These are
the skills that you need in the 21st
century if you want to make it as a real
professional musician.”
Andrew Gerace can be reached at
agerace@umich.edu.
Read more at MichiganDaily.com