The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Wednesday, January 27, 2021 — 7
Those
familiar
with
Samuel
Beckett’s magnum opus, “Waiting for
Godot” will immediately recognize
the dramatic setting presented in
Antoinette
Nwandu’s
absurdist
tragedy “Pass Over.” Set “now, right
now / but also 1855 / but also 13th
century BCE,” the radio play features
two men standing, eating, talking
about nothing in particular and
awaiting something that never comes
to pass. Nwandu, however, adds a
pivotal new dimension to the theatre
of the absurd through his integration
of the poignant and painfully relevant
realities of racism and police brutality.
We the PROUD, We the People
Representing
Our
Unifying
Diversity Polycultural Productions,
is
a
polycultural
student
organization here at the University.
Their radio play “Pass Over,”
presented via YouTube, serves as
the final product of a semester-long
investigation into the play, primarily
focusing on the themes of police
brutality, racism and the importance
of everyday Black narratives. School
of Music, Theatre & Dance senior
Miguel Aviles-Elrod and LSA senior
Bryce Foley star as both Moses and
Kitch, switching roles from night
to night to accurately encapsulate
the multitudes their respective
characters contain.
The play opens with Moses and
Kitch standing on the block of an
unnamed ghetto, from which they
hope to escape. The two are shown
counting the ten wishes they will
receive when they “pass over” into
the promised land. This grocery
list of dreams spans everything
from collard greens and pinto
beans to the return of a brother
from the dead.
Their shared dream of getting
off of the block is inextricably
intertwined with an ever-looming
fear of death, which Nwandu
illustrates through the constant
surveillance of the “po-po,” or
police, who were responsible for the
murders of dozens of Kitch and Mo’s
friends.
We the PROUD Present ‘Pass Over’: a reflection on
prejudice, privilege and pinto beans “Pass Over”
YOUR WEEKLY
ARIES
You may be very concerned with
your public image this week,
Aries, wanting to promote or
protect your reputation in some
way.
AQUARIUS
GEMINI
Be careful with how you
communicate this week, Gemini.
You normally pride yourself on
your communication abilities,
but with the dramatic Full Moon.
SAGITTARIUS
CAPRICORN
SCORPIO
CANCER
Money worries may be
highlighted as the luxury-loving
Full Moon shines a light on your
inability to afford something you
would dearly love to have.
TAURUS
The Full Moon shines an
emotional and sentimental light
on your zodiac sign's family zone,
and you may be commemorating
a special event this week.
VIRGO
PISCES
LIBRA
LEO
A Full Moon in your own sun sign
is a good chance to take stock of
these first few weeks of the year
and to check that where you’re
heading feels right for you,
emotionally.
Read your weekly horoscopes from astrology.tv
Got a secret, Virgo? If you have,
you may find this week’s Full
Moon rather uncomfortable, as it
will tend to shine a light on things
you’d rather have remain hidden.
This week’s Venus-Pluto
conjunction occurs in your home
and family zone and could signify
fireworks if someone is very
controlling or manipulative within
or around the family.
Don’t be surprised to feel
extremely emotional regarding
your career this week. The Full
Moon falls in your career zone.
This week’s energy is about
learning limits, Sagittarius.
Specifically, perhaps, limits to
what you can and cannot
currently afford, and why that
matters.
Affairs of the heart are front and
center this week, notably during
the Full Moon in your passion
zone, which coincides with a
Venus-Pluto conjunction in your
own sign.
A Full Moon in your love zone this
week finds you in an uncharacter-
istically demonstrative mood,
Aquarius, showing open affection
and love.
A very hectic few weeks may be
taking its toll on your mental
health or your vitality. When this
week’s Full Moon occurs in your
health zone.
Memories of my dad watching golf
(or napping through it) go back as
long as I can remember. He brought
me and my brother to driving ranges
since we were little and that “fore!”
means duck. He’s shown us how to
hit out of a sand trap. Yet, he’s never
been a fan of Tiger Woods. In fact,
he admits that he usually cheered
against him. But despite all of this,
through every point of the man’s
career, through the record-shattering
highs and the gut-punching lows, my
dad has maintained the same mantra:
“Golf is more exciting when Tiger’s
on the green.”
The sentiment rings true in the
two-part, HBO Max documentary
“Tiger.” No matter the shortcomings
of the filmmakers, delving into the
sometimes admirable, and often
controversial, life of Tiger Woods can
never be anything short of fascinating.
At a time when many of the clubs
didn’t even allow Black people on
the course, Tiger ripped through
old Masters like they were children.
In a sport known for its quiet
meticulousness,
Tiger
pummeled
his competition with vigor. He was
the first and only golfer to become a
pop culture icon, and the world could
not get enough of him. In the eyes
of his best friend and former Green
Beret father Earl Woods, Tiger was a
God-like prophet sent down to unite
humankind. Of course, according
to the documentary, these absurd
expectations are precisely what led to
his downfall.
The end of the first part teases an
interview appearance from Rachel
Uchitel, a woman who has unfairly
come to be known by the world
for one thing and one thing only:
Tiger’s mistress. From here on out,
the series picks up, and it picks up
quickly.
Part two begins with the first
rumors of Tiger’s infidelity and
follows him through all of his vices,
poor decisions and the over-the-
top backlash he received for it. It
notes that with just about every
Tiger Woods cheating scandal, the
women involved never described the
encounters as casual. Many of them
loved Tiger, and most felt he loved
them back.
As the documentary clearly frames
it, Tiger didn’t simply go out and
have sex. This was a tortured man,
and he needed help. At all points of
the episode, the filmmakers remain
empathetic to Tiger, his ex-wife Elin
and even the mistresses — an aspect
I really appreciated. Many women
have been relentlessly crucified and
slut-shamed for being with Tiger.
Elin specifically was unable to escape
paparazzi following the controversy.
It’s important to note that there
doesn’t have to be a single “bad guy” in
the story. We can remain empathetic
to
Tiger’s
uniquely
difficult
upbringing while having sympathy
for those he hurt. Or, at the very least,
that’s what the documentary tries to
show us.
But as interesting as “Tiger”
can be, it is certainly not the most
impartial. The documentary feels
both too neat and too superficial
to tell this story with justice.
Relying primarily on the word
of ex-girlfriends and former best
friends, the series has moments
that feel blatantly gossipy. For a
project that often criticizes the
way Tiger had his life forced upon
him without his say, it feels pretty
hypocritical to watch it do just
that.
Based on the book of the same
name, it’s clear that the people
behind this knew exactly the story
they wanted to tell. There’s no
input from Tiger himself, nor from
anyone who remains close with
him today. Interview footage is
often used to supplement the pre-
crafted ideas and guesses that old
acquaintances have speculated,
rather
than
to
challenge
or
enrich them. In other words, it’s
uninventive filmmaking. And at its
worst, cheap journalism.
Nonetheless, it’s exciting. Because
at the end of the day, Tiger Woods
is exciting. He’s an athlete unlike
any other in history, and his story
is so ripe with debate, it’s nearly
impossible to not be intrigued.
“Tiger” is a compelling guess at a
man who lived a life like no other. I
just want more.
Regardless of what’s been going
on in the outside world, 2020 was a
pretty major year for games. “Animal
Crossing: New Horizons” came out at
the perfect time to help everyone get
through the start of lockdown (check
out The Daily’s Dylan Yono’s coverage
here), Sony dominated the summer
with the one-two punch release of
“The Last of Us Part II” and “Ghost of
Tsushima” and the next PlayStation
generation began with a running start
just last month.
Despite the great games released,
I didn’t expect to fall in love with not
one but two games centered around
Greek mythology.
I love Greek myths. I spent
my childhood buried in “Percy
Jackson” novels and will steadfastly
tell you I am a child of Athena. So I
felt blessed by the gods when two
high-profile, polished but vastly
different games came out within
months of each other.
“Hades” by Supergiant Games
concerns itself with Zagreus, the child
of Hades and Persephone, as he tries
to escape from the Underworld to
find his mother. He can choose one
of six powerful weapons to fight his
way through the demon soldiers that
inhabit Hades. (Note: Hades is both
the name of the god of the dead and
his realm — it’s confusing, I know.)
When you die — and hoo-boy will you
die often — you get sent back to the
start to try again.
No run is ever the same: Each
room, enemy and treasure are chosen
at random. The gods may assist you,
but the game relies on skill, so the
more you play, the better you get and
the more you can upgrade Zagreus
and go further before you die again.
Tie this addicting gameplay loop with
a thoughtful, carefully paced story in
a world full of compelling characters,
and you come out with something that
many are calling Game of the Year
material.
Oh my god this game is good. I was
obsessed with “Hades” for a good
two months and I know that I will be
revisiting the land of the dead as soon
as I’m finished writing this article.
One important thing to note about
the game is that it sets out to decolonize
Greek history and mythology. It is
admittedly silly to believe that the
ancient Greeks were as white-bread
as modern entertainment portrays
them — Greece was a sailing society
smack dab in the middle of the
Mediterranean, indicating a darker
skin tone like their Italian neighbors.
Supergiant Games set out to present
the gods as a much more diverse, and
frankly attractive, group of immortal
beings. I truly believe it is impossible to
view the portrait work of this game and
not come out crushing on at least one
character. The writing also elevates
these static (but again, beautiful)
portraits into complex, entertaining
characters brimming with personality.
“Hades” is a wonderful first step in
the direction of retracting the white-
washing of history, and hopefully
sets a precedent within the games
industry as a whole going forward.
Another game, “Immortals Fenyx
Rising,” from the team at Ubisoft
Quebec, is much more standard,
which is by no means a bad thing.
Typhon the Titan has arisen once
again and captured all the gods, so
Zeus turns to Prometheus for help.
Prometheus offers help, but only if
the hero he creates fails. Thus, players
get to create and control the titular
Fenyx as they try to rescue the gods
of Olympus and defeat Typhon. As
soon as players are off the leash, the
entirety of the Golden Isles is at their
disposal.
Do you want to save Aphrodite
first? Or maybe Ares or Athena and
oh, what’s this chest doing here? The
world of “Immortals Fenyx Rising” is
littered with enemies to fight, goodies
to collect and vaults of Tartarus
— essentially bite-sized themed
dungeons — to explore.
The exploration often feels great;
being able to climb anything or glide
anywhere helps make traversing the
rather large world an easier task than
it initially seems.
Possibly the best part of the game is
its comedic tone. Whether it’s Hermes
and Aphrodite gossiping about the
clothing of the other gods or Zeus
and Prometheus bickering over the
exact way an event happened, the
game is full of laughs. However, that’s
not to say everything is a joke. I was
happily surprised to find moments of
sincerity and self-reflection mixed in
with the light tone. Ten hours deep
into the game, I was just getting to the
second exploration area, so I can say
I was thoroughly enjoying my romp
through the Golden Isles.
The comparison between how the
two games use specific characters is
interesting to examine. In “Hades,”
Achilles is a friend and mentor to
Zagreus, providing him with the
weapons needed to help slay the
hordes of the underworld. Achilles is
compassionate, slightly reserved and
holds a mysterious past, bristling at
the mention of his former friend and
probable lover Patroclus.
Conversely, in “Immortals,”
Achilles is a wraith, one of four
great heroes who failed to stop
Typhon and has been corrupted
into serving the Titan. He haunts
the land, a literal shadow of his
former self and is another thing
for Fenyx to help set right on their
path to save the gods. The Greeks
gods’
characterizations
also
have interesting similarities and
differences, always benefitting
the tone and story of the game
they are in. Much like Arachne,
the
gifted
weaver
in
Greek
mythology, the developers took
the same starting material and
weaved two startlingly different
tapestries.
“Hades” and “Immortals Fenyx
Rising” are two sides of the same
drachma: the former using its
Greek mythology for a story driven
rogue-lite and the latter for open-
world checklist game that Ubisoft
is known for. These two approaches
are nothing alike beyond their
shared mythos. “Hades” limits
player exploration in favor of
randomly generated maps, skill-
based combat and a slowly doled
out story, while in “Immortals”
the player can go anywhere, climb
anything and do whatever their
demi-god heart desires.
‘Tiger’ is a cheap, but
riveting, guess at the world’s
most sensational golfer
‘Hades’ and ‘Immortals’: It’s not Greek to me
M. DEITZ
Digital Culture Beat Editor
SUPERGIANT GAMES
BEN SERVETAH
Daily Arts Writer
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
DARBY WILLIAMS
Daily Arts Writer
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
WE THE PROUD
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