Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4 — Wednesday, January 11, 2023
puzzle by sudokusnydictation.com
By Tom Pepper & C.C. Burnikel
©2023 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
01/11/23
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Patti Varol and Joyce Nichols Lewis
01/11/23
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
Release Date: Wednesday, January 11, 2023
ACROSS
1 Bit of pond
growth
5 Snatches
10 Map out
14 Earsplitting
15 Anti-harassment
movement
16 Perfect gradually
17 Soft feathers
on a croquet
implement?
19 Billions of years
20 Stick on
21 Bow (out)
22 Judi Dench and
Helen Mirren, for
two
23 Emeril
catchword
25 “No thanks”
27 Proverb
30 Negotiations over
the ingredients of
a milkshake?
35 CBS forensic
franchise
36 Animated film
about a bird from
Brazil
37 Some
unauthorized
creations
38 All the __
40 Font flourish
42 Rascal Flatts, e.g.
43 Casting director?
45 “Shea Butter
Baby” singer-
songwriter
Lennox
46 Day-__ paint
47 Place to park
one’s spiteful
feelings?
50 Bracket shape
51 Drop out of the
conversation?
52 Stately tree
54 Herb piece
56 SoFi Stadium
NFL player
59 Psyched
63 Landing spot for
a cannonball
64 Karl’s years with
the Utah Jazz?
66 Unflappable
67 Honeycrisp, for
one
68 Video snippet
69 Private
employer?
70 Sauce for
gnocchi
71 Sandogasa,
beanie, etc.
DOWN
1 __ mater
2 Be a couch
potato
3 View from
Florida’s west
coast
4 Embrace
spontaneity, in
a way
5 Clock-setting std.
6 Give the decor a
face-lift
7 Resting on
8 Neckwear worn
by Matt Smith on
“Doctor Who”
9 Male offspring
10 Ring-necked
state bird of
South Dakota
11 Has tremendous
influence
12 Baby
photographer
Geddes
13 Loch in tabloid
photos
18 Final, e.g.
22 Spreadsheet
contents
24 Color akin to
brick
26 Common email
attachment
27 “Buzz off!”
28 Yoga position
29 Leeway in a
negotiation, say
31 Falsehood
32 Text at a bat
mitzvah
33 Whale food
34 Seat at the bar
39 Prozac maker
41 Ring of Kerry’s
isl.
44 Vaping device
48 Brightly colored
wrap
49 Escape in a hurry
53 Stick in a book
54 Animal rescue
org.
55 Not great
57 Austrian peaks
58 Lose feathers
60 __ monster
61 Give off
62 Counts at a gym
64 Diagram at a
visitor center
65 Opposite of
paleo-
SUDOKU
WHISPER
“Welcome back
to School!”
“The break was
so short.”
WHISPER
By Rich Norris
©2022 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
12/07/22
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Patti Varol and Joyce Nichols Lewis
12/07/22
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
Release Date: Wednesday, December 7, 2022
ACROSS
1 GI on the lam
5 Annual festival in
Austin, TX
9 Tot’s crumb
catcher
12 Rural strolling
spot
13 Short dog, for
short
14 Forearm bone
15 French
preposition
16 Rationale
17 Gloomy aura
18 Nissan sedans
since 1982
20 Put away, as loot
22 “Blade Runner”
actor Rutger __
23 Lives
24 Take away
26 Brought up
27 “Night” author
Wiesel
28 Finance guru
Suze
30 1815 classic
whose title
character is
played by Anya
Taylor-Joy in a
2020 film
34 Common interest
group
35 “Same”
36 Campus bigwig
37 Novelist Morrison
38 Derby town in
Surrey, England
39 Frigg’s husband
40 Steakhouse order
42 Steakhouse order
44 Database
systems giant
47 Jousting weapon
48 Revenue source
in many a free
app
50 Counterpoint
melody
52 Kid’s plea for
permission
53 Fairway chunk
55 “__ girl!”
56 “Law & Order:
SVU” co-star
57 Storm rescue op
58 2007 U.S.
Women’s Open
winner Cristie
59 Lil Wayne’s
“__ Carter V”
60 File partner
61 “Grand” ice
cream brand
DOWN
1 “Sad to say ... ”
2 Greet from
across the street,
say
3 Phrase of unity
in the Pledge of
Allegiance
4 Itinerary for
touring speakers
5 Health club
amenities
6 Crosses (out)
7 Winter getaway
need, maybe
8 Brunch dish
with ham and
peppers
9 Malaise, with
“the”
10 Cove, e.g.
11 Gets thinner, in
a way
14 Food named for
how it’s baked,
and a hint to
each set of
circles
16 Flatbed scanner
relative
19 Blues-rocker
Chris
21 Lumberjack
competition
projectile
24 Mortgage
balance, e.g.
25 Nonsense
26 Ulan __: former
Anglicization
of Mongolia’s
capital
29 Matterhorn and
Weisshorn: Abbr.
31 Treated, in a
way
32 Primary way in
33 Dudek of “Mad
Men”
41 Matterhorn or
Weisshorn
43 Courtroom VIPs
44 Footnote abbr.
45 Jazz drummer
Max
46 Sleep
disturbance
49 Operatic icon
50 Tie up at the pier
51 Patches, as a
driveway
54 Part of a moving
story
Reports suggest that after its
premiere at this year’s Venice Film
Festival, “Bardo, False Chronicle
of a Handful of Truths” was edited
down by about 22 minutes before
its release on Netflix in early
December. To this I say, “Why
stop there?” Alejandro González
Iñárritu’s (“The Revenant”) first
feature film in seven years is a
flashy,
long-winded,
surrealist
look at the experiences of a
Mexican immigrant to the United
States struggling with his identity.
It’s likely one of the last of Netflix’s
auteur-driven
blank-check
era
— one that provided both stellar
highs
and
unbearable
lows.
Despite its admirable ambition,
“Bardo”
simply
doesn’t
work
because the confusing storytelling
doesn’t mesh well with the actual
story being told.
Iñárritu tries to create a surreal,
dreamlike world. There are some
incredibly bizarre moments, like
when a doctor at the beginning
says that a baby refuses to be born
because the world is “too fucked
up,” but there are also some
minor strange details, like having
Amazon buy the Mexican state
of Baja California. The intended
effect is to create a purgatory
for the main character, Silverio
Gama (Daniel Giménez Cacho,
“Memoria”), as he finds himself
stuck between his two dueling
identities as a Mexican and an
American. The film’s surrealist
qualities lead to the occasional
brilliant moment, like a dance
sequence at a party for Silverio in
which all but the vocals of David
Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” fade out,
showing the emptiness Silverio
feels. It also leads to some truly
baffling sequences, like when
Silverio
meets
with
Spanish
conquistador
Hernán
Cortés
atop a mountain of murdered
indigenous people in the middle
of Mexico City and they discuss
the genocide of the Natives.
The film’s ideas feel all over the
place, and the more it leans into
surrealism, the more confusing
everything becomes because the
surrealist elements distract from
what Iñárritu is saying.
There are a lot of interesting ideas
at play in “Bardo,” but it fails to give
enough attention to any of its major
storylines. The film is simultaneously
about grieving the loss of a child,
political tensions between the United
States and Mexico, the history
of oppression faced by Mexico’s
indigenous people and dealing with
criticism of one’s personal work.
These are a lot of big, heavy ideas, and
ones we don’t see dealt with much in
films released by major Hollywood
studios.
Unfortunately,
because
Iñárritu seems more interested in
how the story was told and not what
story was told, “Bardo” comes off as
one big mess.
Though
it
looks
far
more
interesting than most of the films
Netflix puts out — the vast majority
looking no better than a high-budget
episode of television — the way
“Bardo” is shot doesn’t do much to
elevate the material. Iñárritu and
cinematographer
Darius
Khondji
(“Armageddon Time”) overuse the
wide-angle lens to such a degree that
the intended surrealist effect becomes
disorienting and ugly over the course
of the film’s significant runtime. After
his display of the technique in other
films, Iñárritu’s beloved long takes
feel flashy and hollow in “Bardo.” In
his previous film “Birdman” the long
takes act as an impressive gimmick
— where the entire film is made to
look like one continuous take — and
give the audience a better sense of the
theater’s space. In “The Revenant”
they add a sense of dynamism to chase
sequences. But in “Bardo” they simply
feel like a way for Iñárritu to show off.
Though the film itself doesn’t
work well, it’s a shame that
“Bardo” is likely one of the
reasons Netflix will be moving
away from big, risky films. The
world is far better off with more
“Bardo”s and fewer “The Gray
Man”s. “Bardo” may not have
been successful, but every once
in a while, the home run swing
taken by a filmmaker like Iñárritu
hits, and we are rewarded with a
great work of art.
Alejandro González
Iñárritu’s ‘Bardo’ is too
over-stuffed with ideas
for its own good
MITCHEL GREEN
Daily Arts Writer
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
Loona’s betrayal: A
story about the power
of K-pop fans
It’s no secret that K-pop has
gained popularity in the United
States over the past decade. Songs
like “Gangnam Style” were once
seen as a cultural anomaly, but
we now see world-famous boy
groups like BTS widely catering
to their American audience, with
merchandise found even in your
local Barnes and Noble.
If
you’re
a
new
fan,
it’s
fascinating
to
navigate
the
landscape of K-pop. Each time
a group launches a new song,
it comes with not only a music
video but a photo book, several
promotional stage performances,
custom
choreography,
trendy
styling and more. There are
dozens of groups to discover, but
the groups you’re most likely to
hear about are produced by the
“Big 4” entertainment agencies in
Korea: SM Entertainment (NCT,
Red Velvet), YG Entertainment
(Blackpink), JYP Entertainment
(TWICE, Stray Kids) and HYBE
Corporation (BTS).
However, there are plenty of
smaller companies that produce
K-pop groups with just as much
talent and style. One in particular
has caught a ton of international
attention: 12-member girl K-pop
group LOONA. The group has
gained
popularity
through
their catchy, energetic songs
and choreography, and if you’ve
spent any time on Twitter
in the past five years, maybe
you’ve heard the phrase “Stan
LOONA.” This is because of the
fans’ dedication to promoting
the group across the world.
KATELYN SLIWINSKI
Daily Arts Writer
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
‘The Circle’ season five is nothing
without Raven Sutton
I guess you could say I’m a
longtime “The Circle” expert. From
writing about the early seasons
of “The Circle” in my application
to
The
Michigan
Daily
Arts
(winter 2023 deadline is Jan. 22!)
to enjoying the TikToks of season
four contestants John Franklin
and Alyssa Ljubicich’s real-life
relationship, I’ve been paying close
attention for a while now, which is
higher praise than I can give most
shows. Now gradually releasing its
fifth season, “The Circle,” a voice-
activated internal social media
platform competition, is back —
this time, with its first-ever deaf
contestant.
“The Circle,” a game designed
such that the players never actually
meet another contestant until they
are eliminated or reach the finale,
understandably causes players to be
cautious and distrustful, interacting
exclusively on the virtual platform.
As each player wonders if the
others are who they say they are,
“The Circle” sows the seeds of
conflict and heartbreak. All reality
television requires some level of
betrayal and scandal to remain
entertaining, but “The Circle” stays
relevant and lacks the “ick” that
so many other reality television
shows carry in abundance. What’s
the “ick?” Watching people suffer
horrible mistreatment by both
production staff and other cast
members, all influenced by a tint
of racism, sexism, homophobia, etc.
On “The Circle,” though devastating
blocks and gossip may cause rifts
— even between former allies —
nobody suffers mistreatment by
the production staff or is targeted
because of their race, gender,
sexuality or disability — including
deafness.
A season five “Circle” favorite,
among viewers and other players
alike, is Raven Sutton. Raven, a
Black woman from Maryland,
is the first deaf player in “The
Circle.” Introducing herself as
“#deafasfuck, and … proud of it,”
Raven is a warm, vibrant presence
from the start. With her interpreter,
Paris, by her side, Raven explains
to the audience that, “in the game,
I’m the one calling the shots” and
that, “American Sign Language
is my first language, and yes, I
can use my voice, but I feel more
comfortable using sign language.”
She adds that she comes from a
deaf family, and is third-generation
deaf. From her introduction alone,
Raven intercepts all the questions
a hearing audience might ask and,
despite the fact that she’s probably
received all of the questions many
times, responds preemptively with
grace, clarity and pride.
A self-proclaimed “bad bitch,”
Raven’s presence on the show
is a refreshing and carefully-
handled change of pace. Raven
is
an
autonomous,
incredibly
lively human being, and is never
construed as anything less by
her fellow competitors or the
show itself. When Raven tells her
“Circle” competitors that she’s
deaf in her profile, nobody bats
an eye. Even in a game where just
about everybody comes in either
as a catfish or with the intention of
catfish hunting, nobody questions
Raven.
Disabled
people
are
frequently questioned at every turn
— whether being harassed for using
a disability parking spot or having
to “prove” their own disability
to the government (there’s even
a United States Social Security
Administration page titled “How
We Decide If You’re Disabled”),
disabled people face cruelty on a
regular basis as they go about their
lives. Thankfully, you won’t see
anything of this nature on “The
Circle.” Raven’s treatment on the
show represents both a model for
how the rest of the world needs to
behave and an example of how easy
it is to do so.
EMMY SNYDER
Daily Arts Writer
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
This image was taken from the official trailer for “The Circle,” distributed by Netflix.
Courtesy of Katelyn Sliwinski