The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
6 — Wednesday, December 1, 2021
I can’t in good faith say that I’m a Swiftie.
I’m a Swiftie in the sense that we all are Swifties
— because you can’t avoid her. Her music has
defined a generation, whether you like it or not.
Even if I don’t buy tickets to Taylor’s shows, it’s
still a Swift-dominated world, and I still reap
the benefits of breakup songs. Everybody loves
her femcel anthem, and I literally go crazy any
time any of her singles play at a party. Part of
the reason people joke about her being a crazy
girlfriend with a self-described long list of
ex-lovers is that she’s so lovable that we wish we
could hate her, like our ex-boyfriend’s newest
lover. She, like her Cool Girl contemporaries
Jennifer Lawrence and Anne Hathaway (who
supposedly has her own connection to “All Too
Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)
(From the Vault)”), is just a beautiful, talented
woman who seems a little too good to be true,
and we tend to be distrustful of that. Maybe
my lowered expectation of her is why I actually
kind of love this short film.
If you haven’t heard yet, Taylor Swift and
Jake Gyllenhaal (“Nightcrawler”) dated for
three months when she was 20 and he was 29.
While nine years might not be as egregious as
the infamous age gaps in Bradley Cooper and
Leonardo Dicaprio’s relationships, there was
a massive gap in experience. She had only just
released her first album a few years before, and
Gyllenhaal been in the public eye since he was
a child. Looking back at those paparazzi shots
of the two of them, you can’t help but see how
different Swift looks.
The greatest directorial choice Swift made
for “All Too Well: The Short Film” was in her
casting. Dylan O’Brien (“Teen Wolf”) plays
Him and Sadie Sink (“Stranger Things”) plays
Her; the actors are the roughly same ages that
Gyllenhaal and Swift were when they were
together. I can’t say definitively if nine years is
too much of an age difference if both parties are
consenting adults, but when I first saw O’Brien
and Sink lock lips, it was a bit jarring. I couldn’t
help the queasy feeling in my stomach. I’m
sure Swift knew what she was doing when she
chose Sink; her role as a child actor is still fresh
in the world’s mind, and we can’t help but feel
that she’s still too young, that she’s still 13 in our
minds. It makes me think that this is how Swift
must have felt during this relationship: frozen in
time, feeling like a little girl trying desperately to
grow up.
The highlight of the short film is the acting.
It has been way too long since O’Brien has had
the chance to do dramatic acting on such a large
stage. Swift said that much of the “electric”
dialogue in one particular scene was improvised,
giving a really natural feel to the atmosphere.
O’Brien puts dirty dishes away and half-laughs
as Sink explains her hurt feelings, calling her
selfish only to backtrack by saying, “You’re acting
selfish.” He repeats a half-hearted, weightless
apology like in an early 2000s rom-com where
men never know what they’re apologizing for
but want to get out of the doghouse.
Worse still, O’Brien’s performance is still so
romantic and charming. If it were me, I could
never convince myself that he was anything
else but a handsome guy who makes me laugh.
I’m tempted to believe him a bit when he says
he didn’t mean to brush off his girlfriend’s
hand at dinner, that he really was just having
fun with his friends and maybe she is making it
about herself. But, just as magnetic as he is, this
nameless man turns on a dime and slams a car
door in his girlfriend’s face, throwing the keys
at her. A Twitter user writes, “Jake Gyllenhaal
having a ‘fuck the patriarchy’ keychain while
dating women 10 years younger than him does
track.” Men always seem to find a reason to
make us hate them, don’t they?
Anonymity is the internet’s most sacred
asset. The freedom to say anything, to ignore the
draconian social rules of everyday life, is what
made the anonymous messaging application
Yik Yak popular after its initial launch in 2013.
The app shut down in 2017 after cyberbullying
concerns, but in August of this year, Yik Yak
re-appeared in app stores. This Yik Yak is
a buggy yet functional reincarnation of its
previous self — the app centers around “yaks,”
text posts with a 200-character limit shown
to anyone within a five-mile radius. Users can
upvote or downvote posts, and enough upvotes
can earn yaks a spot on the “Local Top Yaks”;
yaks that receive more than five downvotes are
hidden from the feed. Each poster is nameless;
the only way to tell users apart is from their
representative emoji randomly chosen by the
app — this can be changed at any time.
Whether it’s from the nostalgia of the
2010s, the excitement of returning to campus
after a year and a half or the innate desire to
connect with people, the Ann Arbor Yik Yak
bubble has been populated with hundreds,
possibly thousands, of University of Michigan
students. From South Quad to the UGLi
to North Campus to the Blue Leprechaun,
Ann Arbor’s pandemic-weary student body
has yikked every yak, putting every fleeting
thought on blast no matter how obscene. It’s
unclear exactly how many people actively
use Yik Yak, but the archive of “Local Top
Yaks” gives an idea — the most popular yak in
the area exceeds 450 upvotes, which doesn’t
account for the additional downvotes the post
may have received or the users who simply
didn’t interact.
Over the last several weeks, I’ve happily
shoved aside impending midterms and
assignments to pursue the more stimulating
task of researching the University’s Yik Yak
scene. At first, I tried to reach out to the Yik Yak
community and ask them what they would like
to say to The Daily. The responses included,
but were not limited to: “Don’t go to class, eat
ass,” “Fuck MSU,” “No one in the daily knows
how big my dick is” and “balls.” With this, I
determined that the best move forward would
be to leave the yakkers up to their own devices
and simply observe. So, I did — from morning to
evening, I took in every new yak, scrolling with
abandon during any and all spare moments.
With a paralyzing amount of confessionals,
complaints, jokes and drunken rambles, I was
able to interpret Yik Yak as a microcosm of local
youth culture.
Yik Yak is a place for speaking your mind —
evidently, the minds of U-M students are fraught
with dysfunctional group projects, midterms,
Math 116 assignments on “WeBWorK” and the
hassle of finding an unoccupied study space in
any campus building. On a fundamental level,
all students can relate to personal experiences
with stress and exhaustion. After all, suffering
is easier when it’s shared.
When the dining halls are open, you might
see complaints about the long lines at South
Quad or the quality of the food from that day.
One user posts detailed dining hall reviews,
ranking their experience with the culinary
competence of Gordon Ramsay. Other notable
yak topics include the resounding shrieks of 6
a.m. Amtrak trains, midnight fire alarms at the
residence halls, offensive B.O. on the Bursley-
Baits Loop and scathing fraternity slander.
The lighthearted innocence of Yik Yak
stops there. Sometimes, actually most of the
time, yaks lean towards the cruder side — on
a mid-October evening, an influx of yaks
revolved around an alleged poop-related
incident in the Stockwell showers. With 62
upvotes, the sentiments of many residents
were memorialized in the following yak,
“Trying to go to sleep but I cannot knowing
the stockwell shitter walks free.” As much
as there was disgust, the jokes ran rampant
too: one yak reads, “Just went to take a shit
in Stockwell and there was a shower in the
way??!” and another “McCarthyism, but it’s
the poop in the shower.”
On the other end of the “out-of-pocket”
spectrum, hormones rage with reckless
abandon. After the sun goes down, roughly
one out of every three yaks is a cry for help, an
S.O.S. from the throes of loneliness. I couldn’t
forget them if I tried: “I’m so down bad I might
just try finding love with the next snapchat
sex bot that adds me” and “what are boobs?
I’m a visual learner btw” are the tamest of
the tame. The efforts of Yik Yak’s community
guardrails are of no avail of even the most
vulgar expressions of biological needs.
The “Leaders and Best” of Ann Arbor share a
propensity for all things toilet-related, whether
it’s debates of the best bathroom on campus
or anecdotes of traumatizing experiences — I
wouldn’t address the fixation on potty humor if
it wasn’t for its alarming frequency.
‘All Too Well: The Short Film’ rekindles age gap discourse
Ann Arbor’s Yik Yak scene
‘Always Jane’ falls
short of its potential
Design by Michelle Kim
MARY ELIZABETH JOHNSON
Daily Arts Writer
LAINE BROTHERTON
Daily Arts Writer
MOLLY HIRSCH
Daily Arts Writer
puzzle by sudokusnydictation.com
By Joe Deeney
©2021 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
12/01/21
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
12/01/21
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
Release Date: Wednesday, December 1, 2021
ACROSS
1 Surpasses 21, in
blackjack
6 Top-level
performance
11 NBA legend,
familiarly
14 Company that’s
proud of its
quacks?
15 Chopper topper
16 Like the top half
of Monaco’s flag
17 Craven endeavor
19 In the style of
20 Solar panel spot
21 Blockhead
22 Like energy-
efficient buildings,
e.g.
29 Together, in
music
30 Acid found in
olive oil
31 34-Across has
one of them
34 Historic ship
35 QB’s try
38 Territorial
complex
dissolved during
the Napoleonic
Wars
41 Senator Klobuchar
42 Orator’s art: Abbr.
43 WWI president
44 Dough
45 Resistance units
46 Acclaimed
2016 Broadway
soundtrack, with
“The”
52 “By Jove!”
53 Ticket datum
54 __-country
55 Final leg ... and a
hint to each set of
circles
62 Cartoonist Chast
63 Precipice
64 Like an egg
65 Table for __
66 Passing words?
67 Tranquilizing
brand
DOWN
1 “Harrumph!”
2 Eerie sky sight
3 Canon letters
4 Pitch
5 Org. whose
income taxes are
passed through
to shareholders
6 Tanks and such
7 Digress
8 Dune buggy,
briefly
9 L’état, à Louis
XIV
10 Bard’s before
11 Outlined,
maybe
12 Museum piece
13 Website for
Jewish singles
18 Sushi topper
21 Half a
Northwest
airport
22 Yoga term
meaning “force”
23 “Under the
weather,” say
24 Water-formed
ditch
25 Actress Lamarr
26 Director of many
“This Is Us”
episodes
27 What people who
need People
might do?
28 Coconut Grove
city
32 Swashbuckling
Flynn
33 Très chic
35 Tyler of “Archer”
36 Tread heavily
37 Future, e.g.
39 Ten-time NBA
All-Star Anthony,
to fans
40 Story arc
44 Prefix with day
46 Symbol of
affection
47 Lit up
48 Passover staple
49 Hides
50 Wednesday kin
51 Copy, in a way
55 “Industry”
network
56 Celestial
sphere
57 Customizable
Nintendo
avatar
58 Green of
“Casino Royale”
59 Shade on the
beach
60 Windy City
train letters
61 Curse
SUDOKU
WHISPER
“Did you hear?”
“Yeah. Go Blue.
First time in 10
years!”
WHISPER
By Dave Taber and Laura Moll
(c)2021 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
11/24/21
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
11/24/21
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
Release Date: Wednesday, November 24, 2021
ACROSS
1 Little __ Muffet
5 Roger Bannister,
famously
10 Speaker in
Cooperstown
14 Elvis or Coca-
Cola
15 “The L Word”
co-creator
Chaiken
16 Whisper
17 Interstate hauler
18 Ad prizes
19 Dramatic opener
20 Adagio and
allegro
22 Leave the city to
evade arrest
24 Like some tanks
27 Where the old
woman lived
28 Permits to enter
30 Title of respect
31 Exec, slangily
33 Schoolmarmish
35 List to-dos
39 Intense anger
40 It has just one
64-Down
42 Shapiro of NPR
43 Delivery, as of a
baby
45 Inter __
46 Recipe word
47 Relieved (of)
49 Comes to light
51 Secret fraternity
member
55 Party or wild
follower
57 Bit of
encouragement
59 Vinyl-covered, as
a floor
61 Worldwide: Abbr.
62 Absinthe flavor
65 Half a round on
the links
66 Ohio’s lake
67 R&B family name
68 Budget sister
company
69 Runs out of juice
70 “It’s true!”
71 Guido of Baroque
art fame
DOWN
1 Light fog
2 Relatives of
Slurpees
3 Server with a
blush?
4 Piece of prose
5 A hot one can be
problematic
6 Laid up
7 Island necklaces
8 Long, thin soup
mushroom
9 Viscous plant
substances
10 “Bingo!”
11 Japanese
electronics
company
12 Cut down the
middle
13 “Goosebumps”
series author
21 Gomez’s furry
cousin
23 French capital
25 Road trip game
26 Approximately
29 Nabisco brand
name
31 Jem, to Scout
Finch
32 Psychic Geller
34 Ballerina Shearer
36 Completely
dominates
37 Med. injury
detector
38 Title for two
Beatles
40 The good dishes
41 Discomfort cause
44 Makes four into
twelve, say
46 Advanced course
offering
48 Hold for questions
50 Take care of a
kitty
51 Went down a
slippery slope
52 Matisse of the art
world
53 Knot again
54 Old-time laundry
soap brand
56 Red Square figure
58 Place for singles
60 He loved Lucille
63 Cinque e uno
64 Watcher ... and
homophone of a
letter that appears
exactly once in
every clue and all
but two answers
Reality television has monopolized the TV screen for
years. From “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” to “The
Bachelor,” audiences around the world are immersed in the
overwhelmingly ridiculous lives of celebrities or those who
want to be celebrities. Nevertheless, the genre is expanding
to encompass people of different backgrounds, with different
stories. This includes Amazon Prime’s new docuseries
“Always Jane.”
This four-part series focuses on Jane Noury, a transgender
teenager, and the Noury family throughout her transitioning
period. The audience is given a glimpse into their world at a
time that precedes much change: Jane prepares for college,
awaits her gender-affirming surgery and takes a chance on
modeling. Fortunately for her, she is supported by her parents,
two sisters and grandfather throughout it all.
While “Always Jane” takes on a sensitive and highly
relevant topic, the first episode falls short of its potential.
Undoubtedly, the show is engaging and the audience can’t help
but fall in love with the Nourys: They are the quintessential
boisterous and overprotective family. In fact, throughout the
pilot, Jane reiterates how grateful she is for her parents and
their unwavering love during what is an extremely pivotal
time in her life.
And so, as we watch the show, we can’t help but feel relief
and pure happiness for Jane, who is a lively, passionate and
silly teenage girl. However, while the series aims to present
the difficulties that a trans teen like Jane faces in the political
and social climate of today’s world, it doesn’t entirely live up
to this goal.
The way the story is presented is too simplified and
superficial. Through videos Jane takes of herself and clips
of her day-to-day life, the only thing the show reveals is
how strong she is as an individual and how understanding
her family has been throughout her transition. However,
it doesn’t touch on the fact that a support system and the
acceptance of friends and family is not a luxury that every
person in the LGBTQ+ community is lucky enough to have.
So while Jane discusses her past issues of bullying and
self-acceptance, the series only barely scratches the surface of
what is a much larger issue. And inevitably, this undermines
the main intention of the show: to address the larger struggles
transgender people endure on a daily basis.
“Always Jane” doesn’t necessarily devalue Jane’s journey
and the many obstacles that came with her decision to
transition. Yet, it doesn’t dive into those obstacles nearly as
much as it otherwise could have. Simply put, the tribulations
Jane has experienced and will continue to experience as
a trans woman are only briefly mentioned but not further
developed within the episode. For instance, her mother Laura
explains that there was a process the family had to go through
in order for Jane to play on the girls’ soccer team at school;
however, nothing else like this is addressed. The audience isn’t
explicitly told what that process was like, how long it took or
how it affected Jane personally. Instead, it is mentioned and
never talked about again.
So, while “Always Jane” attempts to show viewers the
implications of being a young trans person in the 21st century,
it does so in a very surface-level way. Rather than being privy
to the adversity Jane faces, we are just onlookers into the life of
a teenager as she gets into college, hangs out with her friends
and spends time with her family.
Design by Jessica Chiu
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
Read more at MichiganDaily.com