NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper
WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS Vol. 41, No. 78
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2013
nyunews.com
Gordon Brown leads review of Declaration of Human Rights By MICHAEL DOMANICO
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‘Forbidden NYU’ cast discusses changes to show By NATHAN HO
“NYU. You love it. Now mock it.” This is the mantra of the annual “Forbidden NYU” which starts its latest round of performances on Friday, Oct. 18. “Forbidden NYU” is a musical parody hosted by the College of Arts and Science Theater troupe, reworking popular Broadway musical numbers to reflect qualities of NYU that students cannot live with or without. The performance has been a CAST production since 2008, when “FNYU”
first appeared as a series of one-act plays. This year, “FNYU” is directed by Steinhardt juniors Stephen Morrash and Torrence Browne. For this year’s incarnation, “FNYU” presents the Extreme Makeover Edition of 2013. Several songs from previous productions have been rewritten or cut, and eight new songs have been added to this year’s production. “We really pushed to re-imagine parts of the show and refresh it as a whole with new songs,” Morrash said. “The cast is incredibly talented and they have all been
hard at work for the last two months.” The satirical format of “FNYU” is inspired by the original Off-Broadway revue called “Forbidden Broadway.” By applying different lyrics and choreography, “FNYU” messes with the content of hit Broadway classics to target NYU tropes, such as the imbalanced gender ratio, the enormous LGBTQ presence, the stereotypes of the different colleges, and the cold atmosphere of New York City. “‘FNYU’ is a show written by NYU
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‘Slave’ delivers fresh take on familiar tale By ALEX GREENBERGER
One of the many reasons “12 Years a Slave” is great is its resistance against depending on violence to elicit an emotional reaction. Of course, because the film is a slave narrative, director Steve McQueen never holds back from showing the brutality of the whippings, rapes and emotional torture inherent in the practice of slavery. But McQueen doesn’t rely on this harsh material for dramatic effect. Instead, McQueen finds cathartic, emotional releases in lengthy, pensive shots of the film’s characters. Most of these shots are of the film’s protagonist — Solomon Nor-
thup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841, and then remained a slave for 12 more years. The long, reflective takes do little to advance the film’s riveting narrative. In fact, there are whole scenes of Solomon looking off into the distance, pondering his circumstances. The audience receives very few details prior to the shot, but they still can understand everything he’s thinking. That’s the sign of minimalist direction that actually works. McQueen’s impressionistic approach is what makes “Slave” such a fresh take on slavery. It lends the sweep-
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Chiwetel Ejiofor astounds as the lead in “12 Years a Slave.” ing tale a sense of cinematic grandeur that prevents it from being manipulative. If anything, McQueen helps the
audience stay on their toes. He forces his viewers to be
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Former U.K. prime minister Gordon Brown, who has been a distinguished global leader for NYU since 2010, is spearheading a commission to investigate whether updates should be made to the 1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights. The first meeting of the Global Citizens Commission will take place on Oct. 18 at the University of Edinburgh. Even though the inaugural meeting is taking place in the United Kingdom, NYU will play an integral role in the work of the commission in examining the post-World War II document that provides a standard for human rights globally. “[NYU’s] Global Institute for Advanced Studies has helped to establish and provide the necessary funding for the Philos-
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University teams enjoy varying success over weekend By WILLOW FREDERICK
Women’s Tennis Ithaca College hosted the New York State Championships on Sunday, Oct. 13, where NYU’s women’s tennis team finished its fall season. Sunday concluded tournament play, where two number-one seeded Violets — Gallatin junior Mari Tzakis and LSP sophomore Madeline King — competed in the finals but ultimately fell short. Tzakis was defeated by the number-three seed from Skidmore College and King fell to the number two seed from Vassar College. King remained optimistic about the team’s play moving forward. “We wrapped up a good fall season at Ithaca this past weekend,” King said. “We had some tough matches and opponents, but it’ll help prepare us for the upcoming spring season.”
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