Cale’s cinema critique: remembering Philip Seymour Hoffman

Cale Strickland

Managing Editor

On Feb. 7, the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York, announced its plans to permanently display a bronze, life-size statue of the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Hoffman, who passed away at the age of 46 in 2014, is one of my favorite — if not my favorite — actors of all-time.

After reading a handful of articles on the museum’s plans to honor him, I found myself, once again, going down a YouTube rabbit hole, spending close to an hour watching bits and pieces of his old interviews and rewatching clips from my favorite performances of his.

Within minutes, I was in tears — and I felt weird about it. At the time of Hoffman’s passing, I was a 12-year-old with no idea who he was.

When Kobe Bryant, one of my childhood heroes, passed away in 2020, I felt as if my devastation was justified. Basketball was, for years, a cornerstone of my life. I can still remember sitting in front of my family’s small tube TV, watching Bryant win his fifth and final title with my father. The image of Bryant standing on the scorer’s table, looking out at the L.A. faithful, arms outstretched as confetti falls to the floor, is seared into my soul.

Yet, Hoffman’s impact on my love of film is not any different from Bryant’s impact on my love of basketball.

Paul Thomas Anderson is my favorite director of all-time, and he cast Hoffman in five of his first six films, including “Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia” and “The Master” — three films that are foundational for me.

It is hard to put into words exactly why I connect with Hoffman’s work as much as I do, but one thing is for sure: His range was undeniable.

Just within his handful of collaborations with Anderson, Hoffman mastered a myriad of peculiar personalities. As an oddball outcast, he steals the show from his big-name “Boogie Nights” co-stars, Mark Wahlberg and Julianne Moore. In “Magnolia,” he stands out amongst an all-star ensemble — which includes prime Tom Cruise — as an angst-ridden nurse. He finds himself screaming at Adam Sandler — a tall task in and of itself — in “Punch Drunk Love.”

Oh, and in “The Master,” he joins Joaquin Phoenix — one of the best actors, if not the best actor, of his generation — in an eerie exploration of manipulation and power.

Yet, despite his alltime acting pedigree and plethora of roles in high-brow productions, Hoffman was far from pretentious. He gives just as powerful of a performance in J.J. Abrams’s “Mission Impossible III” as he does in the Coen brothers’ comedic classic “The Big Lebows- ki.” Whether he was on the set of a big-budget blockbuster or an austere Oscar contender, Hoffman’s esteem for each project was ever-present.

I am often reminded of Hoffman’s acceptance speech for his one Oscar, which he won for his leading role in Bennett Miller’s “Capote.” In a matter of mere seconds, he thanked a handful of his loved ones, including his mother, for their support, and he rushed off the stage, as if he was scared of the spotlight beaming down on him. He did not attempt to deliver a grand, sweeping provocation on the art of acting — because he did not need to. He left it all on the screen. Rest in peace, Mr. Hoffman.

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Although more than 80 people have been charged for participating in the riot, the Seefrieds have been criticized more harshly by the media for their involvement — and rightly so.

In Wilmington, Delaware, the pair surrendered to authorities. The arrest took place after the younger Seefried boasted his involvement in the rally to co-workers, clearly not showing shame or remorse for his actions. Federal authorities identified these two men via a photograph that was blasted to the public, seeking assistance to identify the man carrying the Confederate flag.

It seems a common theme that the right wing loves to cry sentiments of oppression and persecution; in actuality, they are the ones proudly flying Confederate flags and maintaining supremacist values. There is absolutely no excuse for the Seefried men or any other individual that tries to explain away their purpose for having a Confederate flag. It is basic knowledge that the purpose of the Confederacy was a fight in favor of slavery and utterly against its abolishment.

The Confederacy is not a nod to “southern heritage” as some right-wingers may claim. It is a nod to some of the worst aspects born in the south, the dark history that precedes us and should symbolize nothing but shame and remorse. To claim it is anything else is simply an attempt to hide behind an excuse while maintaining supremacist values.

Unfortunately, a citizen’s right to fly the Confederate flag remains protected by the First Amendment. How many times will the First Amendment protect what is harmful, despicable, racist and supremacist before a change is made? For how long will citizens of this country be able to hide behind their First Amendment rather than take accountability for actions that should not go unpunished? Thankfully, the Seefried men were required to take some level of responsibility for trespassing the Capitol. But that does not excuse away the countless individuals that manage to weasel their way out of punishment for discriminative and damaging behavior. That does not change the shameful protection this country offers to those that do not deserve it, and the lack thereof to those that do.

So many of the people partaking in these riots and endorsing this behavior are white and privileged. And yet, so often, these same people still cry oppression, claiming that because they are being silenced for racist, sexist and supremacist remarks, they are somehow being oppressed. This country should not have put privileged people in a position of security for being racist. Because of that security, these people feel in a position of “oppression” when they are forced to finally take accountabil- horrendous, disgusting and evil that it should do nothing but bring you shame over the sins of your ancestors. For those that defend these ideals, take accountability instead of making excuses and stop pretending that you are doing anything other than supporting slavery and toxic domination. And if you are white, stop pretending that you know what it is like not to be. I say this as a white person myself. As a woman, I feel a personal outrage towards the women I see that defend this behavior and take part in it. Defend-

Pump the iron or practice Pilates

Abigayle Allen Opinion Editor

By this point, I am sure that you have seen the boom of the Pilates industry on any form of social media. Whether it be your favorite TikTok influencer or your neighborhood workout fanatic, people are buzzing about the benefits of Pilates. This poses the question: Are people out with traditional strength training and in with Pilates?

I have spent the past year learning how to use and move my body in ways that I never have before. During this process, I became an avid strength trainer, runner and I dabbled in Pilates and yoga for recovery workouts. Through this journey of self-discovery and pushing my body to extreme lengths, I have heard more and more of the people I look up to within the fitness community drop the weights and transition to Pilates. Maybe it is time for a change.

Pilates was originally created by Joseph Pilates and has now blossomed into a group of low-impact workouts. Pilates can be described as a series of movements performed on a mat or chair that aids in growing strength, stability and flexibility. Pilates works in strengthening your muscles stemming from your core and spine, helping to support mobility and stability within the person completing these workouts. Many of the movements done within a Pilates class can be recognizable to those who have never taken a workout class. In the tonal.com article, “How lunges, planks, and core work—from yoga, physical therapy, or the warmups and cooldowns in your strength training workouts. That’s because Pilates improves flexibility and range of motion, both of which are beneficial for all types of fitness goals.”

Pilates is used to sive creatures. If you are a woman that defends the flying of the Confederate flag, you are supporting their ideals of the time. In The Atlantic article, “Gender, Race and Rape During the Civil War”, by Julie Beck, some of the standards maintained towards women during the Civil War are brought to light.

“If he was holding a gun to her head and she was scared to death, that was still considered that she had given her consent.”

If these are the type of values that you choose to defend, there is nothing more to say on the matter aside from shame on you.

It is incredibly sad that one of the worst ist’s beliefs is the unbudging perspective that they maintain. They are unwavering in their feelings and consistent in their denial. Despite the progressive nature this country attempts to bring on in modern day, racism, sexism and white supremacism still reside under a blanket of protection in the U.S.. A blanket that continuously gets denied or talked around by the Republican party. It is the outlet to an excuse that Republican extremists use when they are claiming that they are being silenced for their beliefs. within each workout is longer in comparison to traditional strength training, where a person will only be in motion for a matter of minutes.

Because of this, Pilates has been proven to improve flexibility – one of the main focuses of this type of workout.

Many tradition- the number of calories burned throughout the day. Strength training activates multiple muscles and joints through compound movements. These workouts are proven to be more efficient because they offer smaller, specific movements.

According to the tonal.com article, “How they can burn more calories and create more lean muscle mass.

I am no expert, but I think in the combination of both heavy resistance training, low-rep weightlifting and lower-resistance, high-rep Pilates, a person could achieve a well-rounded muscle development. Pilates can help with mobility and flexibility, which are imperative when practicing traditional weight-training techniques. The core strength gained from practicing Pilates can also help with practicing different compound lifts, such as front squats.

Does Pilates Compare to Strength Training?”

by Karen

lorio Adelson,

the author shares some of the familiar exercises one might experience in a Pilates class.

“Even if you’ve never taken a Pilates class, you might recognize certain moves—like improve range of motion and flexibility, which can contribute to any type of workout.

The methodology behind Pilates is to focus on the eccentric, or lowering phase, of movement, in which your muscles are lengthened. The time under tension al strength-training workouts focus on the principle of progressive overload, which induces stress and forces your muscles to adapt.

As a person gains more lean muscle through strength training, they can boost their metabolic rate, increasing

Does Pilates Compare to Strength Training?”

by Karen lorio Adelson, strength exercises, “re-

cruit more muscles in less time…[whereas]

Pilates exercises may be more isolated to a small, specific movement.”

When a person works large muscle groups,

I think the bottom line to this discussion is that any movement is good movement. I think, in our society, it is so easy to fall into comparison of how someone looks based on the workouts they do rather than how that workout may make them feel. At the end of the day, it is imperative that you listen to your body, do what makes you happy and block out the outside noise. If you are stuck in a crossroads about where to start in your fitness journey, maybe try combining two different types and decide what works best for your body.