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Arts
Wednesday, September 28, 2022 — 3

Like every award show, the 
Emmys had plenty of big wins, a 
number of snubs, a few questionable 
red carpet looks and whichever 
comedian they could wrangle into 
hosting. Some highlights of the 
evening include Jennifer Coolidge 
dancing to the outro music intended 
to cut her speech off, the “Only 
Murders in the Building” trio being 
the only presenters to land a joke 
and “The Bear” stars Ayo Edebiri 
and Jeremy Allen White presenting 
together (when he called her “chef,” 
my heart did melt, thank you for 
asking). No notable fist fights to 
report, but Jimmy Kimmel did 
“play dead” on the floor after losing 
in his nominated category. He then 
proceeded to lie there well after the 
bit was up and Quinta Brunson was 
called up to the stage to accept her 
award, which made the whole thing 
go from mildly awkward to outright 
disrespectful and interruptive to 
Quinta’s big win. I don’t know when 
we as a society will accept the fact 
that late-night show hosts are kind 
of the worst, but major props to 
Quinta for not kicking him right off 
the stage.
But alas, now we move on to the 
shows, the thing that the Emmys are 
actually about … right? 
Succession
Could any other show have truly 
won Outstanding Drama Series? I 
mean, come on, it’s “Succession.” 
A 
masterful 
depiction 
of 
a 
dysfunctionally filthy rich American 
corporate dynasty with an all-
around treasure trove of an ensemble 
cast, each acting with the passion 
of a soap-opera character vying 
for the role of best scene-stealer. 
At a whopping 25 nominations, 
“Succession” dominated the rest of 
the pack, with 14 going to its actors 
alone, breaking the record for the 
most ever acting nominations for 
a series. Although it lost out on the 
main acting categories aside from 
Matthew MacFadyen’s well-earned 

Supporting 
Actor 
win, 
British 
creator Jesse Armstrong came out 
on top with an Outstanding Writing 
win for that iconic third season 
finale of finales, “All The Bells Say.” 
During his acceptance speech, 
Armstrong jokingly remarked that 
it was a “Big week for successions. 
New king in the U.K., this for us,” but 
that there was “evidently a bit more 
voting in our winning than Prince 
Charles.” 
Ted Lasso
After its acting category sweep 
last year, “Ted Lasso” is 2-0 for the 
gold and won Outstanding Comedy 
Series once again. In just two 
seasons, the Apple TV hit has racked 
up 40 nominations and 11 wins at 
the Emmys, with a notable win this 
year in the Outstanding Directing 
category for MJ Delaney and double 
streak acting wins for Jason Sudeikis 
and Brett Goldstein. Goldstein, 
consistent as ever, cheekily tried and 
failed to once again make it through 
his acceptance speech without 
swearing, an all too characteristic 
trait of his role as soccer player Roy 
Kent. At this point, a true Emmy-
darling, the show’s second season 
proved that it was in fact not a one-
season wonder. With all the heart of 
a sentimental underdog sports team 
and the sweet-talking optimism 
of nearly one too many puns, “Ted 
Lasso” is a kind, hopeful favorite 
among critics and viewers alike. 
The White Lotus
The 
HBO 
anthology 
series 
“The White Lotus,” which went 
viral during the pandemic era for 
its comical portrayal of wealthy 
privileged vacationers, took home 
five awards: Outstanding Limited 
Series, 
Directing, 
Writing 
and 
Supporting Actor and Actress. 
Almost every member of the 
main cast was nominated in the 
Supporting category, which goes 
to show just how solid everyone’s 
performance was. Jennifer Coolidge 
and Murray Bartlett were more 
than deserving of their wins, with 
Coolidge’s performance as Tanya 
McQuoid evoking some of the 
most cringey hilarious moments of 
the series, while Bartlett played a 

spiraling hotel manager whom you 
just couldn’t take your eyes off of. 
Speaking of Coolidge, her acceptance 
speech served to prove that her 
comedic timing knows absolutely 
no bounds. She had me literally 
gasping for air while laughing, when 
she shouted “Wait! Hold on!” as 
she danced to the outro music and 
continued on with her speech. Mike 
White won back-to-back awards for 
Writing and Directing, joking that 
his success has now increased his 
threat level à la “Survivor.” In short, 
White and the employees and guests 

of the White Lotus resort know how 
to make a showstopper first season.
Squid Game
Continuing the “Squid Game” 
hype streak, Lee Jung-jae took home 
the award for Outstanding Lead 
Actor in a Drama Series, making 
history as the first Asian man to win 
in the category and the first winner 
in the category to come from a non-
English show. Hwang Dong-hyuk 
triumphed in the director category, 
promising a better second season 
of “Squid Game” in his acceptance 
speech, 
which 
was 
ironic 
considering just how many records 
the first season broke. Considering 
the anxiety that “Red Light, Green 
Light” put me through, the win came 
as no surprise. I got some flashbacks 
when I saw that doll on stage. “Squid 
Game” effectively changed the 
genre of dystopian TV with a season 
that was equal parts terrifying 

and thought-provoking. The series 
served as a platform to showcase 
the absolute powerhouse that is 
the Korean film and TV industry, 
evidenced by the fact that it is still 
the most-watched series on Netflix 
since its release on Sept. 21, 2022, 
holding onto its number one spot 
even after the release of season four 
of “Stranger Things.” Season two of 
“Squid Game” is highly anticipated, 
although it doesn’t look like we’ll be 
getting it for another two or so years.
Abbott Elementary
As one of the few network 

comedies still in the running at these 
award shows, “Abbott Elementary” 
revitalized the sitcom genre this 
year and quickly became one of 
the most popular comedy series on 
the air. The mockumentary-style 
sitcom features a strong ensemble 
cast, 
with 
Emmy-nominated 
recognition for its creator, writer 
and star Brunson, as well as its 
supporting 
cast 
Tyler 
James 
Williams and Janelle James, with 
a monumental win for Sheryl Lee 
Ralph. With seven nominations 
and three historic wins, Brunson 
became 
the 
second 
Black 
woman ever to win an Emmy for 
Outstanding Writing in a Comedy 
Series. Its first season hit all the 
right notes, equally hilarious and 
heartwarming, with all the signs 
of a sitcom classic in the making, 

Whodunits 
are 
a 
classic 
subgenre of mystery. From Agatha 
Christie’s work to modern takes 
like “Knives Out,” these stories 
take the conventional idea of a 
detective story a step further by 
immersing the audience in the 
mystery, giving them clues so they 
can, theoretically, figure out the 
puzzle for themselves. Parodies of 
the genre are almost as old, like the 
black comedy mystery “Clue.” “See 
How They Run” attempts to unite 
the authentic and the satirical, but 
fails to understand what makes 
mysteries interesting in the first 
place: the mystery itself.
Set in 1950s London, “See How 
They Run” tells the story of novice 
Police Constable Stalker (Saoirse 
Ronan, “Little Women”) and jaded 
Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell, 
“Jojo Rabbit”) who are investigating 
the death of condescending asshole 
filmmaker Leo Köpernick (Adrien 

Brody, “The French Dispatch”). 
Köpernick was murdered at a 
party for the 100th performance of 
Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” 
— a real play that has run for over 
70 years on London’s West End. 
Despite attempts from filmmakers, 
the play has famously never been 
made into a movie. Its contract 
rights stipulate it could only be 
adapted to film once six months had 
passed since its stage run ended. 
Because of its historic run, however, 
this has yet to occur. We are instead 
given a whodunit about the classic 
whodunit.
Ronan does the heavy lifting in 
the character department of this 
film. I found it impossible to care 
about any character but Stalker, 
as she was the only person in the 
movie with depth or a likable 
personality. Ronan by far has the 
best comedic timing of the cast. 
I laughed at almost every joke — 
which were few and in between — 
that came from her. Stalker is the 
only character who feels like she 
has motivations for her actions, 

naively writing down every piece of 
information she hears in an attempt 
to solve the mystery as quickly as 
possible. She is the saving grace of 
this film, giving the audience a thin 
thread of emotional connection to 
the plot and characters.
Besides Ronan, the rest of the 
star-studded cast all play eccentric 
characters, but none of whom the 
audience is given reasons to like or 
care about. Rockwell’s Inspector 
Stoppard is meant to be a man 
broken by years of work, a war injury 
and an unfaithful wife, but he comes 
across as an uncaring detective 
to which the writers forgot to add 
depth. I’m especially disappointed 
with Rockwell’s acting; he won 
an Oscar just five years ago for his 
performance in “Three Billboards 
Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” but here 
he seems content mumbling all of 
his lines without emotion. The time-
hardened detective is an enduring 
trope with which Rockwell does 
nothing.

I must confess — I didn’t actually 
want to read “Sense and Sensibility.” 
It was mid-June and I was 
sprawled on the floor of my 
childhood 
friend’s 
bedroom, 
listening to the choppy audio and 
occasional laughs emanating from 
the corner of her bed where she 
was wrapped in blankets, scrolling 
through TikTok. I sat up and 
started scanning her bookshelves, 
pulled out Jane Austen’s “Sense 
and Sensibility” and read the first 
30 pages before realizing that it 
was boring and I’d rather not. But 
it was too late — 30 pages is a lot 
when you’re reading Austen’s tiny 
font size and dizzying sentence 
structure. I couldn’t throw away my 
hard work, so I read the whole book.
Surprisingly, I don’t regret it. 
Sure, “Sense and Sensibility” is 
frustratingly long and overall quite 
boring, and the actual plot doesn’t 
start until over halfway into the book 
— but none of these unfortunate 
aspects detract from an incredibly 

thoughtful and redemptive ending 
that has stuck with me these past 
couple of months. 
“Sense 
and 
Sensibility” 
is 
essentially about the love lives of 
two sisters (though I would argue 
that it’s more a character study 
than a romance). Elinor, the elder 
of the two, is level-headed and 
always strives to do what’s right. 
She tends to think thoroughly about 
an issue before deciding on a course 
of action. Marianne is pretty much 
her opposite: spontaneous and 
passionate in everything, she never 
holds back from fully expressing her 
joys and sorrows. Over the course of 
the novel, both sisters fall in love 
with men who end up breaking their 
hearts, and the way they respond 
to these bitter disappointments 
is the focal point of the story. 
Marianne leans into her pain with 
no restraint, sobbing constantly and 
refusing to eat. For most of the latter 
third of the novel, she’s pale-faced 
and fragile, wandering the house 
in the dead of night like a ghost. But 
Elinor, out of love and consideration 
towards her mother and Marianne, 
bears her own sorrow with quiet 

fortitude and carries on without 
betraying the slightest hint of inner 
turmoil. 
When 
Elinor’s 
secret 
heartbreak is revealed, Marianne is 
shocked and humbled by her sister’s 
self-denial — that’s the best part of 
the book. 
The 
boring 
 
exposition, 
monotonous dinner parties and 
uninspiring 
conversations 
are 
worth it for this singular moment, 
when Marianne makes a life-
altering realization that challenges 
her entire worldview. Marianne, 
who always dismissed her sister’s 
self-possessed manner as a lack 
of passion, is shocked to find that 
what she mistook for indifference 
is actually love in its purest form: 
restraining oneself for another’s 
gain. 
Pop culture typically teaches us 
to associate love with passion and 
gushy feelings. Everyone says to 
“follow your heart,” embrace your 
inner desires and pursue them 
without reserve. In short, be like 
Marianne. 
This 
individualistic 
mentality extends to our general 
attitude toward life — if something 
good doesn’t feel right to you 

anymore, maybe it’s time to throw 
in the towel, because our emotions 
are everything. To be sure, there 
are times in life when putting 
yourself first is the right thing, 
like if you need to protect yourself 
from a harmful relationship. That 
said, this philosophy is problematic 
when taken too far: As Marianne 
herself experiences in “Sense and 
Sensibility,” pursuing your desires 
without consideration for other 
people can be hurtful and damaging. 
This exact brand of selfishness 
is what caused Marianne’s lover, 
Willoughby, to break her heart and 
crush her spirit — just so he could be 
rich and comfortable. Marianne’s 
unceasing devotion to her own 
desires made her so preoccupied 
with personal sorrow that, to her 
bitter regret, she was unaware 
of the immense pain Elinor was 
shouldering. Ironically, pursuing 
the intense emotions and desires 
that we assume will lead to great 
personal satisfaction can actually 
result in even greater selfishness. 
Contrast this with the image 
of Elinor, suffering in silence 
and controlling her own heart-

wrenching emotions in order to 
shield her mother and Marianne 
— who are already burdened by 
Willoughby’s betrayal — from 
the additional blow of Elinor’s 
heartbreak. This kind of self-
denying love is something we 
recognize in our own lives, most 
often in our mothers. A loving 
mom is sacrificial and attentive 
to their child’s needs. Regardless 
of how tired or emotionally 
drained they might be feeling, 
they somehow set aside their 

own preferences in order to give 
their best to their kids. When you 
think about everything moms 
do on a daily basis, it sounds 
exhausting — and yet, a mother’s 
care is often celebrated as the 
noblest, most elevated form of 
love known to humankind. There 
is true beauty in sacrifice, and it’s 
far more weighty and honest than 
the dizzying infatuation that is 
sometimes passed off as love.

And that’s what you missed on … the Emmys!

‘See How They Run’: 
A whodunit with no mystery

Jane Austen still knows a thing or two about love

Design by Kate Shen

SERENA IRANI & 
SWARA RAMASWAMY
Daily Arts Writers

ZACH LOVEALL
Daily Arts Writer

PAULINE KIM
Daily Arts Writer

In 2022, like in years before, the 
writers of The Michigan Daily Arts 
are stretching out their hammies to 
participate in a grueling challenge 
of mental fortitude and physical 
fitness: the Probility Ann Arbor 
Marathon. A little pretentious, a 
little weird, The Daily team is a 
mix of ex-trackletes. For the sake of 
journalism and prestige, The Daily’s 
tenacious review-writing gremlins 
are closing their laptops, tying up 
their Brooks and hitting the Ann 
Arbor pavement. Non-gremlin but 
marathon-interested 
University 
of Michigan students can sign up 
for the marathon with the discount 
code “Goblue25.” Individuals in the 
Campus or Ann Arbor community 
interested in volunteering at the 
Oct. 2 event should contact alise@
epicraces.com for more information. 
Read our first installment of runner 
introductions here.
Laine “Just Scraping By” 
Brotherton
My relationship with sports 
is like that of a child and their 
grumpy piano teacher — nothing I 
do is right and I never know where 
to put my hands. Seven-year-old 
me didn’t play soccer so much as 
she kicked the ball once or twice 
before losing track of where it was. 
Nine-year-old me was just fine on 
the neighborhood swim team, but 
competing made her anxious to 
the point of nausea. Ten-year-old 
me served a four-year tenure term 
playing softball but quit before it 
got too serious.
Despite this, I recognize that 
being fit and healthy is a privilege, 
and I really do feel my best when 
I’m in shape. The pandemic brought 
forth the most sedentary period 
of my life, and roughly a year ago 
I had a relatively invasive surgical 
procedure that prevented me from 
any high-impact activity. Following 
that period, I could hardly run a 
mile; now, after about two months 
of light running, I can comfortably 

run three. I may run like someone 
whose arms and legs don’t belong to 
them, and I may up my tempo and 
end early simply because I’m bored, 
but I want nothing more than to 
become a true runner: Someone 
who knows when to rest and when 
to go, how to stretch and what to 
eat. If I’m being completely honest, 
I also want to be someone who 
carries around pockets of flavored 
energy goo, just to see how it feels.
At present, I’m confident I would 
vomit before crossing the finish 
line, but I’m putting in writing my 
intention to turn that around before 
Oct. 2. Despite seven-hour days 
in the Chemistry building, 9 a.m. 
classes or my tendency to smack 
headfirst into the pavement when 
I run at dawn without glasses, 
I’m going to make it happen. 
Following the pattern of most of my 
decision-making — a declaration of 
commitment without forethought 
— I have sworn myself to do 
something that I truly believed I 
would forever be capable of.
Zach “Hates Running But 
Loves Being Outside” Loveall
My first real experience with 
running was in middle school 
when, in an attempt to stay active, 
I signed up for the school track 
team. I was always a half-hearted 
participant — one of my events was 
the long jump because it meant a 
large chunk of practice was spent 
standing in line. I loathed the 
idea of running long distances. 
Every day that I had to run more 
than a couple of miles increased 
my temptation to quit the team. 
I stopped going after one year, 
switching to tennis instead.

Daily Arts runs a marathon: 
Introducing the runners (part 2)

Design by Francie Ahrens

DAILY ARTS WRITERS

Design by Abby Schreck

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

Read more at MichiganDaily.com
Read more at MichiganDaily.com

