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Page 18
A&E
theTrinitonian OCT.25.2013
arts and entertainment
17
Antihero TV: the end of an era
graphic by Caroline Jakubowski
Walter White’s meth lab has gone dark. Dexter Morgan has put away his kill knife. And a year from now, the
immaculately dressed Don Draper will no longer grace our TV screens. An era of television—call it the Dawn of the Antihero— is coming swiftly to a close. In my estimation, it began around 2001, when “The Sopranos” started to gain national attention, and it will end when “Mad Men” calls it quits in 2014. As such, I think a postmortem review is in
order. What is it that made these shows so popular? So memorable? So important? First and foremost, many of them helped bring about the greatest visual revolution the medium has known. “Sopranos” showrunner David Chase had an idea. Some of his friends in the movie industry “storyboarded” their scripts, creating careful drawings which roughly
Q: What can fans expect from your concert in San Antonio? A: Switchfoot has always tried to break down the barrier between the band and the crowd. On this tour, we are definitely pushing that further than we have before. We’re loose on stage, like being in your living room. You can shout out questions and there will be back and forth interactions. We’ll always dive into what makes each night special.
new ways of approaching the record. The movie was truly a songwriter’s dream. We went to Australia, Indonesia, South Africa and all over the U.S.
outlined what they wanted each sequence to look like up on the screen. Since TV was also a moving-pictures affair, why not do some storyboarding for every episode? The rest is television history. Making use of everything from tilted angles to extended steady-cam shots, “The Sopranos” raised the bar for TV aesthetics. “Mad Men” did it one better. It was more than stylistic—it had a look, the way a Quentin Tarantino movie might. This escalation of stylistic detail was matched by an increase in thematic ambition. These shows made history by coming to the obvious but important conclusion that a longer work of art could delve into its themes in greater detail. But these shows matter not just because of how they delved, but because of the theme into which they delved. Each of them asks the same timely question: why do seemingly good men do evil deeds? In the second season of “The Sopranos,” Tony Soprano, a mob boss, is asked pointblank if he considers himself responsible for the crimes he has committed. Feeling
Switchfoot “Fades West” By: Carlos Anchondo
This Sunday, alternative rock group Switchfoot will perform live in Laurie Auditorium at 7 p.m. This concert is a part of the Fading West tour, which began Sept. 20 in St. Louis and will end Nov. 24 in Abilene. Promised to be a “personal and interactive experience,” the performance not only features songs from their upcoming album, “Fading West,” but includes viewing of their new film, also entitled “Fading West” and a Q & A period with the band. Tim Foreman, bassist with Switchfoot, spoke with the Trinitonian regarding Switchfoot’s tour and upcoming concert in Laurie.
Q: What is it like to tour with Switchfoot? A: It’s an honor to be a band as long as we have. This is our ninth record and there are so many things that I am thankful for, that we are passionate about. As much as we love what we do, it would be hard to spend time away from our families and not sing songs that we believe in. They are honest songs that really speak to us.
Q: Describe your movie, “Fading West,” and what the creative process was like. A: The film has been a dream of ours for some time. It combines music with surfing and the journey we’ve been on as a band. At the start, we didn’t really know what we were getting into. We are so proud of how it came out. There are some personal and changing moments, the highs and lows of what we go through behind the scenes. Q: What defines this film for you and the rest of the band? A: “Fading West” is about chasing the sun, about that nostalgic feeling of going home. We purposefully put ourselves in locations that would inspire
Q: Do any of those places have a particular significance to you? A: We have a pretty special relationship with South Africa. About eight years ago, we went there and visited orphans affected by the AIDS crisis. The struggles they face are remarkable, yet they continue to have undeniable hope. Joy came through their eyes, and it was inspiring to be around them because they have have so little in what we consider wealth. These various struggles are present in our music, which is a place where you can ask the big questions that might be uncomfortable in a conversation.
Q: What will viewers learn about you and the band from the film? A: As far as bands go, we’ve been transparent all along and we wear our hearts on our sleeves. What you see is what you get. A lot of things in the film are extremely personal, showing what we feel and
experience doors.
behind
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Q: How long did the film take to create? A: It took about two years start to finish. We filmed for about a year, and then editing and scoring took another year. There are songs in the film that are specifically scored for it. The record is not strictly a soundtrack for the film. In addition to the film, Switchfoot is set to release its album, “Fading West,” on Jan. 14, featuring songs “Who We Are,” “Love Alone Is Worth The Fight,” and “Ba55.” Switchfoot released a three-song digital extended play on Sept. 17 via Atlantic Records/Word. Foreman said that the band has stayed together throughout the years due to their “deep respect for one another.” “It really has become a band of brothers,” Foreman said. “We are five brothers, traveling the world, trying to figure things out.” Tickets to the Oct. 27 performance are still available on ticketmaster.com. “The Fading West” official trailer can be viewed at http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=iJ1ynQ46984.
defensive, he responds, “We’re soldiers. Soldiers don’t go to hell. We follow orders.” In this scene, we see the haunting answer that each and every one of these series provides: good men become evil by granting themselves absolution. Sure, murder is terrible, but it has to be done in the mob business. Sure, meth-making is dangerous, but has to be done to save a family. Sure, cheating and lying are unsavory, but they have to be done to get ahead in the corporate rat race. There are plenty of real-life corollaries here. Lying about an affair with a White House intern is wrong, but it has to be done for the good of the presidency. Covering up a sex abuse scandal is sickening, but it has to be done for the reputation of the Church. This is how reasonably good people commit unreasonable crimes—by putting their deeds in the passive voice. They themselves are not doing it; some external force is making them. It is that piercing insight— and the beauty and power with which it is conveyed— that makes many of these programs not just shows for our time, but for all time.
Want to know what our brilliant Ben Conway wrote this week? Check out our website trinitonian.com