page 12 The Signal March 9, 2016
Arts & Entertainment
Bo / Burnham burns ’em in Kendall Hall
Heiner Fallas / Photo Assistant
Burnham uses a combination of music and stand up in his show. continued from page 1
“I like my colleges to sound like a sexually transmitted disease,” Burnham said. “It’s good. ‘Mom, I got into TCNJ.’ ‘What? Edward, she got TCNJ. How?’ You know how dads are Edward.” After some jabs at the audience in an attempt to give them their $5 worth of comedy, everything but the pink lights dimmed as Burnham sat down at his keyboard to reveal “some of the problems in my life.” “God only knows why he cursed me to be a straight, white male,” Burnham sang, interjecting midway, “This song is ironic. I don’t mean any of this, I mean the opposite of this. Are we all clear?” In an interview with The Signal, Burnham said he could understand why the audience might not be aware that his material is satirical.
“The fact that the young people might be coming into their morals and be a little irony-deaf in exchange of not being bigoted is fine,” Burnham said. “The idea that like ‘Oh, my God, kids aren’t so psyched for my subtle racial humor.’ They should understand that I’m actually making fun of the privilege.” Not long after some jabs at the College’s architectural style reminiscent of the colonial era — a time heavy with privilege and bricks — a computerized, high-pitched voice asked Burnham to sing a song that calls him a faggot. Burnham told The Signal that he understands why bits like this can easily offend people. “If someone were like ‘I don’t like hearing that word. I just don’t like hearing it,’ I’d be like ‘That’s completely fair.’ I can defend it in terms of, like, what it does in the show and what it is for me, but if someone’s offended,
then that’s completely fine,” Burnham said. “I mean, that’s what you’re doing. You’re asking for people’s judgement and you’re asking for their approval, so you might not get it.” Audience members, who spent their Super Tuesday at the show, fell silent at Burnham’s mention of Donald Trump. “Nothing makes a room quieter than mentioning Trump to a bunch of college-age kids,” Burnham said. “I can feel the tension. Welcome to the next four years.” Burnham told The Signal that Trump is spearheading the anti-politically correct movement, and even though they might not support the candidate, other comedians think that having to be inoffensive is damaging to their profession. “I think political correctness is a slight over-correction to a problem that needs to be corrected. It’s a little bit clunky… but it’s young people caring about things, so I don’t really care and I’m a tough guy — supposed to be — other comedians complain about it,” he said. “I just think that if comedians spent half the time working on their shows as they did talking about comedy or talking about the problems of comedy, comedy would be a lot better.” Burnham interrupted his show by coming down into the audience to “get to know the kids of New Jersey.” After calling out a few students about their majors, he targeted the police officer in the room. “I know what you do. Justice for the people, baby. Hand on the belt. I am terrified,” Burnham said. “He’s just maintaining eye contact with me. Comedians’ lives matter, all right?” After praying for Campus Police’s patience, Burnham invited the audience to sing along to his older song, “From God’s Perspective.”
Burnham showed a more down-to-earth side of himself as he uncovered the point of the show: performing on stage and in life. The comedian told The Signal that performing, and the attention he receives as a result, is the only thing he feels qualified to speak about and wants to alert people to how strange the process really is through his show. “I wanted to wake people up to what was happening, which is like, there’s a 1,000 of you here,” Burnham said. “I’m up here and I’m trying to be relatable and you guys all like me and I’m the cool guy, but this is so weird. This is truly, truly weird.” To make it weirder, Burnham ended the show by breaking into an auto-tuned tale of his struggles with performing and happiness, inspired by a rant done by Kanye West during his “Yeezus” tour. Though the song appeared personal, Burnham said in an interview with The Signal that it’s not telling of the person he is off stage. “Me on stage is still a character. It still kind of is. It is me as a performer. So for me as a performer, them liking me or not is life and death,” he said. “The good thing is truly in my real life, I have strong personal relationships and stuff that fulfill me to the point where I don’t totally 100 percent need this.” Burnham’s serious side seems to be an honest glimpse into the person behind the persona, but it’s just an exaggeration with a hint of truth. “It’s funny that I do something crazy and funny and people are like, ‘Ah ha ha, he’s kidding,’ and then I do something a little dark or whatever and everyone is like, ‘This is him. This is absolutely him.’ Both are exaggerations of something, but yeah, I mean I’ve never been great with performing… It’s very strange to me. I feel like I signed up for a life that I wouldn’t have necessarily chosen if I had started now.”
‘The Revenant’ reveals rough and rugged journey By Thomas Infante Staff Writer
The 2016 Academy Awards were remarkable for several reasons, including a fevered controversy regarding the lack of diversity among the nominated films. Amid the storm of public outcry, many viewers’ main concern remained not with social justice, but with actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who was nominated for best actor for his performance in “The Revenant.” DiCaprio’s frequent nominations in this category without once winning had become a running joke of sorts, which left
many wondering what role would finally win him the award. His portrayal of fur-trapper Hugh Glass, as it turned out, was that role. Throughout “The Revenant,” Glass is forced through one instance of horrible physical pain after another. Based somewhat on a true story, the film follows Glass’s journey after he is viciously mauled by a bear and subsequently left for dead by his cohort, John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). Before leaving, Fitzgerald murders Glass’s son in front of him, fueling Glass’s intense desire for vengeance, which keeps him alive throughout his adventure.
AP Photo
DiCaprio finally wins best actor for his role as Glass.
DiCaprio’s performance is outstanding — every bit of pain is reflected in his expressions and vocalizations. Much of the film shows Glass alone in the wilderness attempting to survive, and it is here that we can truly admire his prowess as an actor. Engaging an audience with almost no dialogue can be extremely difficult, but effective if done correctly. When Glass struggles to make a fire or climbs inside a hollowed out horse carcass to stay warm, it leaves the viewer truly unsure whether he will live or die. The strong acting is complemented by exceptional cinematography and great direction, which earned the film several other Academy awards, as well. Emmanuel Lubezki, who previously worked on films like “Gravity” and “Birdman,” handled the cinematography for “The Revenant.” The film takes place in the early 1800s in the frontier territory that would later become North Dakota and South Dakota. The sweeping, undisturbed landscape is the focus of many beautiful shots, which only emphasizes Glass’s plight while stranded in the wilderness. Alejandro González Iñárritu, who just last year won several Academy awards for writing and directing
AP Photo
Hardy’s character pushes Glass to his breaking point.
“Birdman,” is the director of the film. The constant stream of violence and suffering gives the film a raw and intense atmosphere that is not often achieved in cinema. The film’s focus on Glass’s survival against overwhelming odds through sheer force of will keeps the viewer interested and in suspense. Another subplot has Glass seeing repeated visions of his deceased Native American wife, which haunt him throughout his journey. These visions make the entire trip seem even more surreal, adding to the already unbelievable
tale. Although there are points in the movie during which Glass’s survival seems ridiculous given the circumstances, it is never absurd enough to disengage the viewer, so long as one can suspend their disbelief. A truly great film is one that leaves the viewer stirring with emotions long after the credits have rolled. Thanks to a remarkable performance by DiCaprio, beautiful cinematography and strong direction, “The Revenant” is an extremely compelling ride that will leave any viewer stunned.