The Writing Process

It was a question that stopped me mid-sentence, knocked the writing wind out of me. “Would anyone want to read this?” My instinctive response to your question, Marin, was “Oh god, no! No one is going to want to read this crap.” Why would any sane, sensible person value my opinion on issues that real critics write about, for real. I had, up until this point, been quietly going along with my review writing with the naïveté of a junior sales associate in the women’s petite department at the J.C. Penney in Canton, Ohio. Seriously, though, it had not occurred to me that the point of this writing was not just to be informative but to be entertaining and engaging to an audience.

In my “Gran Torino” review, I filled the space of 500 words with information and some analysis and a definite opinion. While I think my review more or less met the technical requirements of the assignment, the language I employed was certainly too formal (and boring) to be of interest to an outside audience. Nothing about the language was conversational; it sounded more like a critical essay than a review. After reading published, professional reviews of the movie and the reviews some of my classmates had written, I realized how imperative a conversational style and a unique voice are in this genre of writing.

The review I wrote of the KIA exhibit “Spared From the Storm,” was the first time that I really saw my voice and personality come through. With only 500 words, I had to be concise but comprehensive too. I decided that the art itself would not be my focus; I mentioned some artists and made a general quality assessment of the objects but did not stay too long on the subject. I could have chosen to write a 50,000 word history of the artwork and not even come close to completion, and so I chose a more narrow scope. Focusing mostly on the layout of the exhibit, I was able to establish my authority and to offer a unique and critical review of the exhibit’s presentation. This was the first assignment for which I felt I had asserted myself as a legitimate review writer.

When it came time to decide on a topic for the final assignment, I knew that I wanted to write about art. I knew I didn’t want to write a straight art review and wasn’t set on writing a profile of a particular artist. My original plan to write about the future of young artists in an uncertain economy and an art world in decline kept getting too big even when I tried to really narrow the focus. It was also more challenging to keep the piece relevant to my audience of fellow classmates and to local people, and I wanted it to be regionally relevant.

I changed my topic to the failing state of the recently “revamped” Detroit Institute of Arts because I was interested in how the institution reflects the social, economic, and political climate of Detroit and its surrounding communities. I felt that in my analysis of the D.I.A.’s renovations I could be critical and informative and that in comparing the D.I.A. and the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, I could touch on both negatives positives in discussing Detroit’s art culture which would make my piece more comprehensive and engaging. The initial feedback from my classmates was helpful in making me be more focused and relatable in my writing. Martin commented, “Be careful that this doesn’t become too much of an informational sort of news feature.” I definitely tried to keep this in mind while writing. For every informative statement I made, I tried to include a critical and opinionated argument. Getting feedback from my peers was, throughout the course, very helpful for me. It allowed me to better contextualize and focus my writing and to have an audience in mind while writing.

What I most got out of this course, was a new approach to writing that forced me to be bold, concise, informative, and entertaining and to do it in 500 words. I have a tendency in my writing to let quantity of words, replace quality of argument. I allow myself too much space to make an argument that can be stated and proved (and done so evocatively) in many fewer words. This course made me “get at” what I’m really writing about. My writing really needed this.

Hope for Detroit Art Just Down the Road from D.I.A.

The Detroit Institute of Arts is dying. Five years ago this observation would have seemed obvious and inevitable, a reflection of the city of Detroit itself. But it might come as a shock to many just 15 months after a 160 million dollar renovation project was completed at the venerable museum.

Under the leadership of director Graham W.J. Beal, the ambitious project (with an ambitious budget) sought to re-establish the D.I.A. as a cultural center for the city of Detroit and to create lasting relationships with the people of urban Detroit, not just the suburbanites who were the museum’s main patrons. While the re-opening attracted an initial excitement and a rush of visitors in the short-run, the surface changes at the D.I.A. appear to be wearing off as the old institutional bones reveal the museum as the same symbol of urban decay, racial inequality, and social ignorance.

The announcement late last month that it would lay off 1/5 of its employees (56 full- and 7 part-time), was just one in a series of such announcements recently. The museum has also canceled three upcoming exhibits that were to travel to Detroit from other venues. Instead of European Baroque masterworks, D.I.A. visitors will have to settle for a reshuffling of objects from the permanent collection. Not only will there be nothing new to see there will also be less to see and less time to see it. Along with staff reductions the D.I.A. will shorten its hours and close several of the newly added or renovated galleries. Keeping exhibits longer in the galleries that do stay open will also reduce costs.

The increase in visitors the museum saw after its November 2007 re-opening has declined sharply in recent months as the D.I.A. struggles to cover the remaining cost of the now complete renovations. The museum has currently raised only about 125 million of the full 180 million dollars the project cost. With continual cuts to the museum’s endowment and with nearly no support coming from the state of Michigan or the city of Detroit, the D.I.A. is forced to reduce its annual operating budget--which these cutbacks will do by about 6 million dollars.

Lay offs will occur in each of the museum’s departments with careful consideration to preserve the way visitors perceive and interact with the museum’s operation. Director Beal, on the subject said, “Our challenge is to maintain the incredible momentum from our grand opening and to meet the public’s expectation for an outstanding art museum experience.” Despite this budget tightening, the D.I.A. will need more than fiscal responsibility to save its face-lift from sagging back to an old countenance.

The highly celebrated changes to the look and feel of the D.IA. are beginning to reveal less of a permanent structural alteration and more of a simple surface shining. Re-envisioning the art historical approach to the display and presentation of art objects, the new D.I.A. was intended to truly be the democratizing institution that it once had been for the proletariat of an industrial and thriving Detroit. The new layout of galleries and the objects contained within them was meant to contextualize the artworks to make their meaning more accessible to more people.

The re-envisioning of one gallery was intended to connect black visitors to the presence of black American artists’ work in the D.I.A. collection. While meant to celebrate the artists and better facilitate the interaction between black visitors and black artists, the gallery is, by the physical fact of its walls, segregated. It is, in effect, a reflection of the world outside the D.I.A.: black artists huddled together, with Western (white) artists filling the surrounding galleries. If the D.I.A. wanted to celebrate and not segregate the black artists’ works it exhibits, it perhaps would have been better realized had the museum placed the artists alongside their contemporaries, weaving them into a historical narrative where they belong; uniting, not dividing.

In other ways the renovations have also fallen short in democratizing the museum. The new Farnsworth Street entrance (which like the interior alterations is the design of architect Michael Graves) is not, unlike the main Woodward Street entrance, a reflection of classical architectural models, meant to invoke the temple-like quality of the museum. For the sake of democratization of the museum and making everyone feel welcome to enter, the ambition of this design is commendable.

The execution of the design is, however, abominable and welcoming to no one. The cold, grey stone slabs that cover the facade are unfortunately complemented concrete and a high and single row of windows so narrow they are virtually invisible. All in all, the entrance works very well, for the Wayne County Jail. Arriving at the Farnsworth entrance, one has no idea that this is an art museum and certainly does not believe that any artistic treasures await inside. This architectural blunder serves as a visual reminder that what is inside the museum belongs to one world, and what is outside, to another.

With the “new” D.I.A. not living up to its grand expectations as a cultural center for the people who live closest to it, where then do the people of Detroit look for socially relevant and accessible art? Well, they don’t have to look far. Only four blocks down Woodward Avenue stands a small, but potentially huge beacon of new life and cultural vitality for urban Detroit. The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (better known as MOCAD) has, in the two years since its opening, lived up to its promise to “fuel crucial dialogue, collaboration, public engagement, and be responsive to the cultural content of our time.”

The museum is housed in the building of a former car dealership-- a clear symbol of urban decay and renewal. It is apparent even from the outside that the museum engages with its environment, the word “amaze” written in graffiti letters across the building side facing Woodward, stretch from the ground to the top of the one-story structure. Words are a big part of the work MOCAD features. One of the museum’s first exhibits, Words Fail Me, included an exterior light installation by the artist Martin Creed, whose prophetic statement read “Everything Is Going to Be Alright,” across the same outside wall.

It is this kind of interaction with community that distinguishes MOCAD from its big brother down the street. As a non-collecting institution, MOCAD’s temporary exhibits always offer something new, and something pertinent to show and to be seen. But it is not just looking that the museum facilitates and wants. MOCAD provides a regular schedule of concerts, discussions, readings, film showings, and performances that are meant to bring people in and send them back out into the community with a new awareness. It is also the goal of these events to create and build a social network of informed and motivated individuals who can work together for social progress and betterment.

Just this month, MOCAD has on its schedule a film showing and discussion about a 1968 Dodge auto plant strike; a Sunday Family Day centered on the current Black Is, Black Ain’t exhibit; a panel discussion on the use of black images and black words in the media; a reading by two poets, Barry Schwabsky and Tyrone Williams; and a concert featuring young up-and-coming Detroit musicians. The nature of all these programs encourages social dialogue and the discussion relevant race, class, and generational issues. Perhaps what is most significant about these programs is there variety; MOCAD facilitates interaction and dialogue but allows the community to guide their direction.

Where the D.I.A. has spent millions of dollars it doesn’t have to remodel itself as a reflection of the city in which it stands, in large part, it is still a reminder of division and decay. The museum has rearranged the furniture when it needed to change the institutional framework. The pulse of the Detroit Institute of Arts may be fading but just down the road a little but young and gutsy museum beats in the heart of the city.

Fabulous, Even in French

Parlez vous francais? No? A play in French can still be great even if you don’t understand all the words. This was the case Tuesday night for senior Coco Corbitt’s one-woman play performed in the Dungeon Theater. “Stabat Mater Furiosa,” written by Jean-Pierre Siméon is an aggressive and emotional monologue (or conversation) condemning war violence, translating to “Immovable Furious Mother.” Corbitt employed physical language varying vocal intonations to clearly deliver this woman’s message to her audience.

A large, antique rifle propped on two chairs was the only prop present throughout the play. It was also, save three estranged dorm room lamps, the entirety of the set decoration. This minimal approach to staging focused the attention on the dialogue between woman and object, as well as being cost-effective. Without a lot of visual elements to guide the viewing, how does an audience of mostly-non speakers understand and connect to a play solely in French?

Corbitt’s performance seduced and capsulated the audience by revealing the force found behind the words, not just in them. Moving from whispers to shouts to near tears the momentum of the lines propelled the play through it’s 45 minute duration. The varying pace also provided a rhythm and some natural pauses throughout the one-act. The delivery of the lines was reflective of a angered woman speaking her mind and addressing both her transgressions and fears. The moments where little flubs in the words could have been obvious equivocations, Corbitt made the stumble work, like a natural trip in an angry confession.

Confronting the weapon with words and gestures denoting the range of emotions war arouses in those that it affects, Corbitt showed how easy it can be to respond to violence with violence. The control the performer demonstrated with her gestures matched the vocal intonations that conveyed meaning as well or better than words. Moving her body around the stage and in thoughtful relation to the symbolic weapon, Corbitt found an interactive physical presence hard to imagine in a one-person play. Whether lying down and gazing up leisurely or thrashing the air in faux assault, the delivering of lines was married to a prominent physicality.

The play was evidence that passionate feeling can be transmitted without the translation of words. Evidence of a feminist critique, as well as a mother’s singular anger, emerged from the subplot of the play and were charged in Corbitt’s performance. On themes upon which all are familiar, the play and the individual interpretation and performance related the same power and emotion whether you understood the French or just the fierce energy.

Critical Essay Response

In his NYT article from February 15, Holland Cotter examines how the art world faces a time of recession and consolidation that mirrors the nations economic situation. Cotter looks at what artists will need to do in this time to make art that is relevant to the times and critical in its meaning. The article looks at similar situations past when economic situations necessitated artists to reconsider the process and intent of their art making. Cotter tells us flat out that the time for cozy and comfortable art is not now, artists, critics, and historians must all push for art forms that are more than pleasing objects for material consumption. This time of fallow in the art market is the perfect time for new and innovative art to emerge, for artists to work collaboratively, to not allow art to become static and devoid of political and social intent. To Cotter, now is the time for revision and re-vision in all the of the institutions--galleries, studios, museums, schools--that make up the art world; moving forward with new ideas and forms while taking from the impetus of past eras.

The Future of Young Artists (this is all I have for now)

The heroic image of the young, struggling artist is an image, by now, established as cliché. Struggle is, however, exactly what most young artists leaving liberal arts undergraduate institutions and entering the art world can expect to do in this economy. Not just struggle in terms of being able to produce, exhibit, and sell their work; the young crop of artists will have to struggle to find common identity and purpose as a generation whose initiation into the art world matrix comes at a time when art itself struggles to maintain its pertinence in an economy where necessities eliminate luxuries.

The American and international art produced in recent years has been, by and large, a reflection of the times. With a surplus economy there is room for a surplus of individual artists and a surplus of aesthetic objects. The resurgence of painting in innumerable gallery shows of the last decade is evidence that the art market has enjoyed a period of comfort, ease, and predictability. While there is a plethora of artists whose sculpted or constructed objects or mixed-media installations are visually innovative, like painting, these works all fit nicely into the little white box of the gallery space.

As NYT art critic Holland Cotter has noted, the pages that made art periodicals as heavy as an Oxford dictionary in recent years have vanished, leaving the magazines as thick an issue of Tiger Beat. What is missing as of late? It is all of those gallery shows that now cannot afford the advertizing or don’t exist at all.

Final Project Proposal: The Uncertain State of Art and Artists in a Troubled Economy

I propose to examine the state and future of the art market in relation to the current economic downturn. As this subject has numerous perspectives from which critical examination is pertinent, I will focus on the implications of the declining art market for college art students entering the art world in uncertain times. I will use as a point of departure, past examples of the re-envisioning of the art world in times of economic distress and the movements that originated under similar circumstances. New genres of feminist and gay art are examples. Looking at the contemporary art world, I will apply past examples where they fit and note possible adaptations that will need to be made for the specifics of today’s situation.

I will introduce the topic by citing examples that already foretell the decline of the art market, such as changes in art publications and museums and gallery closings. After establishing a sense of the general atmosphere, I plan to explore specifics that focus on the prospects of careers in art for young artists. I will conduct interviews with K art seniors to get their thoughts on the situation and their own plans for the future (and if and how those plans have changed). To get more perspective, I plan to interview one of the K art professors for their take on the issue. Overall, I will argue that the art world and artists will not be able to enjoy the same leisurely success that they have in recent years and that critical changes will have to be made.

With Change Come Improvements, Missteps in Oscar Ceremony

There were large ensemble musical numbers, Jerry Lewis, Eva Marie Saint, and a Kodak Theater stage draped in a curtain of crystals. The 81st Annual Academy Awards had the look (if not always the feel) of the classic awards show from decades past. Changes to the ceremony’s format were apparent and sometimes successful in the broadcast from Los Angeles Sunday night.

Host Hugh Jackman opened the show with a comedic skit that featured nominee Anne Hathaway and intentionally simplistic props. This, along with Jackman’s musical melody with Beyonce Knowles and other performers, were low points in the night, as attempts at old Hollywood-style comedy and song and dance felt like arbitrary time fillers in an already exhaustingly long show.

A part of the ceremony which did not receive much revision, the presentation of the technical and artistic awards were on the whole, the same extended and dull parade of surely talented but definitely unknown and awkward award recipients. If there was a section of the show that was in need of edits, this was it. When producers realize that these people work behind the camera for a reason, everyone (including many of the winners themselves) will be glad that we are no longer made to suffer through these two dreadful hours.

The updated format did allow for many successes, however. The first award of the night, which went to Penélope Cruz for best supporting actress in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” was introduced and presented by a diverse array of past winners in the category. The afore mentioned Eva Marie Saint, Tilda Swinton (the winner last year), Anjelica Huston, Whoopi Goldberg, and Goldie Hawn stood on stage together, each introducing and praising one of the nominees. This method of presentation was carried through all four of the awards for acting; connecting generations of actors and personalizing the acclaim for each performance.

Cruz, perfectly poised and elegant in a vintage Balmain gown was the perfect combination of overwhelmed and eloquent in delivering her acceptance speech. In the acting categories the stars did what they do best: shine. Best actor winner for “Milk,” Sean Penn jokingly acknowledged his own aloofness and used his speech to further the message of the movie and of Harvey milk, calling on those who oppose the constitutional recognition of gay marriage “to sit in reflection.”

This heroic moment was proceeded by another: the acceptance of the best supporting actor award by the family of the late Heath Ledger. Ledger’s father, mother, and sister, each offered short and reserved but thankful comments to the audience, Ledger’s sister accepting the award on behalf of his daughter, Matilda.

The celebratory capstone of the night was the final award, as “Slumdog Millionaire” completed an impressive run of awards winning best picture. The ensemble cast filling the stage behind producer Christian Colson, beamed with joy at the win for the year’s surprise favorite. While there were hits and misses, the updated and throwback format did, for the most part, let Hollywood dazzle for its most dazzling night of the year.

NYT Defense: “Diamonds on the Soles, Paint on the Walls, Nostalgia in the Air,” by Jon Caramanica

Using the recent Presidential inauguration as an attention grabbing lede, NYT music critic Jon Caramanica reviews a concert performed by Paul Simon and friends at New York’s newly renovated Beacon Theater on Friday, February 13. The critic takes the reader back to the origin of the song “American Tune,” for the inauguration of Jimmy Carter. Caramanica seems to use this reference to say that like the song, Simon was at his best in earlier years. The title of the article mentions nostalgia and it is clear that the critic is nostalgic for the Paul Simon of decades past.

In the article from Monday, February 16, Caramanica alternates between mild praise and mild disappointment in his review of the concert. His descriptors relate a mediocre and mixed opinion of the performance. In the third column he uses the words “dour” and “uninspired” as well as “cheerful.” While this is a music review, Caramanica spends some time in the short article with the changes to the theater space, which he also finds to be mediocre after recent renovations, noting the style “toes the line between arresting and gaudy.” It seems that the critic includes the architectural review to further emphasize that both the space and the performance did not live up to expectations, were not all that they once were or could have been. This is a concert review and spending space on the architecture says that the reviewer was not enthralled by the performance. Also noting the other guests in the audience, like Paul McCartney who nearly received more attention than Simon, shows Caramanica’s half-invested interest.

It is not until the end that Caramanica has a definitive opinion of a certain part of the night, where Art Garfunkel joins Simon on stage. “A stirring medley,” are the words selected to describe the shows closing. The closest approximation to a “but,” comes at the article’s close as Caramanica notes the sense of nostalgia for the Simon (and Garfunkel) of the past.

Meeting the Masters

The term masterwork is often employed to evoke the sensations of grandeur and awe and, most of all, greatness in works of art. Including the word in an exhibit title is a sure way of sparking interest. The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts as host to “Spared from the Storm: Masterworks from the New Orleans Museum of Art,” through Sunday, has capitalized on the power of this term as an auditory indicator of high (and therefore “good”) art.

What is in store for those who are drawn in by the lure of the elevated and celebrated artworks? Well, most certainly the art is truly masterful and brings to Kalamazoo and the communities of Western Michigan artists and genres that are crucial in the development of Western art of the last 300 years. The art objects individually and as whole are the triumph of the exhibit. The museum goer sees in the three main floor galleries of the Institute, works by diverse European and American Masters including O’Keeffe, Renoir, Picasso, Pollock, and Monet. While the exhibit focuses mainly on painting, superb examples of changing traditions in sculpture and other mediums are exemplified by the works of Rodin, Degas, and others.

Beside the art itself, the origin of the exhibit has aroused much interest at each of the stops on the exhibit’s tour of city such as San Francisco and Colorado Springs. During the chaos and devastation of Katrina in New Orleans, the staff of the New Orleans Museum of Art worked tirelessly to save the invaluable pieces housed in the museum. In order to raise funds for necessary repairs to the building, the NOMA staff decided to put on a temporary exhibit in New York of some of their most prized possessions of 18th to 20th Century artworks. The popularity of the exhibit launched the traveling show that we see now in Kalamazoo. The exhibit is truly a celebration of the preservation efforts of NOMA and is a rare look at the museum’s holding outside of New Orleans.

But has the KIA done justice to the display of these masterworks? Upon entering the lobby of the Institute there is an immediate problem of presentation. The largest piece in the exhibit and the delegated “star” of the show, the 10 ft. tall portrait of Marie Antoinette by Elisabeth Vigée Lebrun hangs in power and dominion, precisely where it is easily unnoticeable. Positioned on a temporary wall constructed for the very purpose of hanging this portrait, Maire Antoinette hangs (no pun intended) perpendicular to the main entrance doors. Imagine the possessive power the infamous queen of France would have if she were to face the viewer directly upon entering the space; to immediately confirm the true mastery of the works in the exhibit.

Other problems of display are apparent throughout the galleries. Many of the large-scale paintings originally intended to hang in palaces and grand halls appear completely out of place and context on the stunted walls of the KIA’s contemporary gallery walls. And while to counter this effect the curators have attempted to appropriately transform the space, the transformation seems half-hearted. The layout of the galleries often appears arbitrary and does little to highlight the grandeur of the pieces. The worst of the design equivocations occurs in the second gallery where the wall color is more reminiscent of emergency room scrubs than of the Louvre. The gallery of 20th Century modernists somewhat redeems the previous one, as the neutral wall color and actual architecture of the space appropriately present the works.

Anyone considering a visit to the Institute for a masterly art experience should not be deterred by any errors of presentation. The rarity of opportunity to see firsthand the art that has shaped and recorded the history of the Western World for three centuries proves that it truly is masterful as the art stands (or hangs) on its own as worthwhile experience.

A Taxi Ride to the Truth

It is always a difficult enterprise to take contemporaneous events and to present them in a documentary format that maintains the integrity of the documentary. “Taxi to the Dark Side,” it is clear, has a viewpoint that makes a firmly critical judgment on the part of the United States government and military in its use of torture during the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. As a point of departure for the wider message, the film tells the story of rural Afghan taxi driver Dilawar, who in 2001 was kidnapped, arrested and detained at the U.S.’s Bagram Air Base. The atrocities of suffering and humiliation that are revealed in the case of Dilawar and others at the hands of the U.S. military personnel, is shocking and graphic to an extent that its legitimacy, while hard to accept, cannot be denied.

Despite the fact that the film does not offer an opposing viewpoint, it is hard to find the information presented anything but objective and horrifyingly honest. “Taxi to the Dark Side,” triumphs in that it humanizes and makes personal a story which otherwise could be kept foreign and distant. After viewing, there is nowhere to hide from the shame surrounding these events and there remains only the profound feeling of a guilty conscience and the guilt of our leaders.

Photographs of Dilawar and footage of his home and family reveal the story of a man who would otherwise be lost to history. His story, presented in the film is a reminder that the inhumane and unjust destruction of any one life is reason enough to claim war unjust and unnecessary. In a style that typifies recent documentary work but that makes verifiable the story it weaves, “Taxi to the Dark Side” employs interviews with the actual military personnel who were deployed at the various detainment camps and who carried out the torturous acts that occurred within them. This aspect of the film provides those accused of serious offenses to speak, as they do to their own defense, guilt, and to the ultimate responsibility of the United States military and government. While it is important to note that editing always plays a role in how words and messages are delivered, the testimony of these individuals reveals quite clearly their unpreparedness and the lack of moral judgment that is bred in the military today.

Footage of interviews and statements made by senior government and military officials previously viewed, is shown in a new and revealing light and in this context appears newly sinister and appallingly immoral. Interviews with the actual lawyers and legal counsel of the government and military agencies provides an object view of the illegal and inhuman actions taken by the highest leaders in disregarding the laws of justice. No interviews with these officials are presented in the film, yet this doesn’t seem a bias, for as we know actions speak louder than words.

In its brutal honesty, graphic images, and wide range of interviews “Taxi to the Dark Side” makes its case from too many sides to be deceptive or misleading. Some, even many may wish to deny the shocking brutality and disregard for human life but will only do so because the inherent truth and horror of these actions and events is too great to deny as “Taxi to the Dark Side,” takes a journey to bring injustice to light.

Humans Attack!!

In his Pitchfork Media article, Tom Ewing chronicles the history and development of "robotic" sound in popular music. Referring more generally to the use of sound and voice altering technology to give music a mechanical quality that distances the sound from the humans who make it. Ewing's contemporary motivation for the piece is the most recent Kanye West album, "808s and Heartbreak." Maintaining a light but confident sense of humor throughout, the columnist is able to applaud and criticize various attempts at the robotization of music from the last 30 or so years.

Ewing has done his research and supports all of this evidence with analysis of the each artists original intent for their specific breed of robot sound. He as well notes his own reactions to each example and the reactions of the listeners in general. The article is well rounded in that Ewing includes examples from different genres of music and makes connections between them, showing the evolving (or in the case of Britney Spears, devolving) style of robotic sounds as they become incorporated into more than just beats but into the message and emotional drive of the songs as well.

From Gary Numan in the 80s to an artist of today unknown to me, Janelle Monae, Ewing provides complete yet concise evidence for the conclusions he draws about Kanye. The article follows a typical but very well employed format of introducing the focus, providing supporting evidence, and then returning to the focus to conclude. Ewing poses his question not to the reader but himself and then thoroughly and wittily answers it. The style is informal and flows well. For the most part the vocabulary is easy to follow and Ewing does well to explain musical concepts that might be lost on some readers (like this one).

From a personal standpoint, I found myself engaged by Ewing as he takes a similar stance with the album as I do. He is pulled in by the robotic sounds, as they connect with a core understanding out rhythm and voice. He is intrigued by the music, even if like me, he does not want to fall into its mechanical trap.

"Gran Torino" Review, part deux

A second look at my Gran Torino review reveals some mistakes and some alright assessments. I should refrain from using the first person, especially since I threw it in at the end where it is unexpected. I definitely should provide more concrete examples of the poor script and acting scenarios that I criticize--there were certain lines that struck me as particularly bad and the inclusion of an example would back-up my argument. I use the words unconvincing and contrived about 32 times and while I still think they are the most appropriate way to describe the plot and performances, maybe I could show my disappointment through examples more than tell it repeatedly. I think I did a pretty good job (for the first review) of giving enough analysis and not too much summary, although this is an aspect I could improve.

My ledes are ok; they could be stronger and more attention-grabbing. My lede sentences fit contextually but are not strong enough introductions on their own. Overall, my paragraphs could be shorter and more concise. This would allow me more space to touch on aspects of the film that I have left out. My title is kind of cliche but I still like it. I would assign myself the grade B-.

"Live from Baghdad," Still Live in our Consciousness

With sensationalism overtaking the media it is refreshing to be reminded of journalistic integrity and the pursuit of the truth in relaying information. As old and new conflicts arise daily throughout the world, an example of past courage and selflessness in reporting war is depicted in the HBO production, “Live from Baghdad.” The story of the CNN crew who at the start of the Gulf War in 1991, are stationed in the Iraqi capital when the initial assault occurs, follows the anticipatory build-up to war and the highly-charged results of political divergence. Like the reporting of the journalists themselves, the movie aims to record with honesty the unfolding of events that still have relevance this very day.

The story focuses on CNN producer Robert Wiener, who at the movie’s opening requests the Iraq assignment to prove his worth to the company and for the chance to report a career-making story. From the beginning, “Live from Baghdad” moves with the no-second-to-lose pace of a breaking story, as the shot-to-shot editing shows. As Wiener, Michael Keaton assumes the believable role of the crass journalist who will employ any trick to get the story.

The rest of the crew is introduced through the photo page of passports and the typing of their names and titles across the screen. Once in Bagdad, the crew is introduced to the unending supply of bureaucratic roadblocks they will have to overcome in order to do their job.

Not only does the film show the back story of the people who report the news, it shows the stories that never make it to the news and the stories that are either intentionally or unintentionally told in order to misinform. The Iraqi government holding foreign occupants hostage is presented as willing on the part of the detainees. When the CNN crew reveals the true nature of the detainment and the danger posed to the hostages, the safety of the journalists is also put in jeopardy.

The other crew members, most notably Helena Bonham Carter in the role of Ingrid Formanek and Hamish Linklater as Richard Roth play supportive roles that make authentic the film’s perspective on this true story. While the movie is not free of typical Hollywood twists that increase the dramatic and emotional pull, the focus is the people who deliver the story, and as it is their goal to deliver the story with objective integrity, the focus truly is the story. While the hint of romance between Keaton and Carter may have been included to humanize the plot, it is not overly drawn-out, nor does it detract from the more compelling story of human and political conflict.

These reporters do not see themselves as heroes and that is what makes heroic the selfless work they do to find the truth and to capture it for benefit of the world. The inclusion of actual CNN images from the time and Arab music sets the scene and builds the tension testifies to the attempt for honest replication of these events.

What ultimately makes the movie worthwhile is that it doesn’t paint Iraq as the enemy, America as the savior, or CNN as the war hero. The focus remains that the work of non glorified individuals, seeking not fame or sensation, but truth, is the zenith of journalistic pursuit.
With active conflict in the region between the same parties still a constant event and with similar conflicts occurring simultaneously, it is important for us all to have a reminder of how important the truth is when assessing treacherous situations and in hopes of finding resolution.

Gran Torino Crashes, Burns

Clint Eastwood grunts his way to a predictable performance in the new film, also directed by him, Gran Torino. It is difficult to discern whether it is the script or the acting performances that are more lacking. The movie's premise would seem to be a good base for a compelling plot. Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a gruff, rigid retired auto plant worker and Korean War vet who continues to reside in a neighborhood that is now populated by minorities and immigrants. His bigoted opinion of these new neighbors is obvious. Eastwood lives in the past as even his ungrateful family fails to understand his ways.

When gang violence literally spills onto his front lawn, Walt is drawn into the lives of his Hmong neighbors who equally dislike him. After saving the life of teenager Thao, played by Bee Vang, Thao's family is grateful for Eastwood's bravery. Thao's older sister, Sue, played by Ahney Her, becomes Walt's closest acquaintance. As problems escalate, the plot follows predictable and entirely unconvincing scenes of gang violence and interaction. In scenes of assault and danger, Eastwood comes to the rescue like a deranged superhero in an after school special.
While the film aspires to show that commonality and friendship can be found even among the most unlikely people and that sacrifice and decency do still exist, these themes are relayed in such a contrived manner that it is difficult to find them compelling.

As repayment for previously attempting to steal his prized 1972 Gran Torino, Thao is put to work by Walt doing various tasks to better the neighborhood. The bond that forms between Walt and his two young neighbors becomes that of family and at the movie's climax, Walt sacrifices his own life to the gangs so that Thao and Sue can live without fear and with hope for the future. While the cinematography and all the visual elements of the film are believable, the plot and dialogue never match up. Eastwood's performance is undoubtedly the strongest of the cast; however it is a role that does not appear to be a great stretch.

The rest of the cast does a lackluster job of making this man's transformation seem probable. There are too many natural situations that are just too contrived, that fit too well into stereotypes. I was never fully engaged in the plot as I could only view these scenes as possible for a movie and not reality. With all of the things that just don't work for Gran Torino, it is only the green, 1972 hot rod that is smooth.