The Wake, Issue 2, Fall 2016

fortnightly student magazine

volume 16 — issue 2

representation or manipulation?

p. 5

Q&A: erica zaffarano

p. 16

recycling poor tactics

p. 11

milkweed books

p. 19

MPLS french fries

p. 13

justin vernon vs. beyonce

p. 22

want your ad here? cheap rates. thousands of readers. con tact Effi e Mog us u at emog u su @wakem ag .org

VOLUME 16, ISSUE 2 representation or manipulation?

p. 5

head of BLM St.Paul steps down

p. 7

celebrities aren’t real people

p. 10

recycling poor tactics

p. 11

can actors do more than act?

p. 12

MPLS french fries

p. 13

Q&A: erica zaffarano

p. 16

under the radar spooky films

p. 18

milkweed books

p. 19

television’s story

p. 20

justin vernon vs. beyonce

p. 22

3 reviews

p. 23

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR I’m a big fan of distractions. We’re often made to feel like we should always be engaged with the serious issues of today, but reading headlines (usually just 10 different Donald Trump-isms) for about five minutes takes a toll on you if you’re someone who can’t separate emotion from reason like me.

It’s my last semester, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling like I’m being swallowed up by everything going on – beyond just the pressures of graduating, the political tension on campus and nationally makes me feel on edge at all times. So I distract myself.

That’s not to say that I’m not passionate about what’s going on, but sometimes, you need to mentally check out for a few hours. I’m not judging. Go ahead. We’ve got a list of spooky October movies for you to watch instead on pg. 18, and when you’re done with those, read about the best fries in Minneapolis on pg. 13 – the best distraction I can think of.

©2016 The Wake Student Magazine. All Rights Reserved.

Take care.

Established in 2002, The Wake is a fortnightly independent magazine and registered student organization produced by and for students at the University of Minnesota.

Abby Richardson Managing Editor

The Wake was founded by Chrin Ruen & James DeLong.

Disclaimer: The purpose of The Wake is to provide a forum in which students can voice their opinions. Opinions expressed in the magazine are not representative of the publication or university as a whole. To join the conversation email avanabemma@wakemag.org.

The Wake Student Magazine 126 Coffman Memorial Union 300 Washington Avenue SE Minneapolis, MN 55455

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PRODUCTION:

THIS ISSUE:

Editor-in-Chief

Alex Van Abbema

Executive Director

Lianna Matt

Photographers

Managing Editor

Abby Richardson

Creative Director

Kate Doyle

Kellen Renstrom, Mariah Crabb, Xavier Wang

Cities Editor

Erik Newland

Art Director

Taylor Daniels

Voices Editor

Emma Klingler

Designers

Andrew Tomten

Sound & Vision Editors

Olivia Heuskinveld

Kellen Renstrom

Shawnna Stennes

Olivia Novotny

Online editor

Carson Kaskel

Finance Manager

Chris Bernatz

Copy editor

Alex Wittenberg

PR/Ad Manager

Effie Mogusu

Laura Beier

Social Media

Holly Wilson

Chelsea Reynolds

Web development

Laurel Tieman

Faculty Advisor

Julia Holmes Editorial Interns Avery Boehm, Bella Dally-Steele, Emily Martens, Gabby Granada, Hannah Kloos, John Blocher

Production Interns Brooke Herbert, Grace Steward, Rakshit Kalra Art & Design Interns Emily Hill, Helen Teague, Lindy Wirth, Katie Heywood, Megan Smith, Xavier Wang, Weiying Zhu

Illustrators Andrew Tomten, Emily Hill, Helen Teague, Katie Heywood, Lindy Wirth, Madison Digiovanni, Rachel Lepinski, Taylor Daniels, Weiying Zhu Back Cover Megan Smith Contributing Writers Abby Richardson, Ally Deitermann, Benjamin Halom, Chris Shea, Claire Becker, Cody Perakslis, Colin Miller, Emily Martens, Gabby Granada, Hannah Kloos, Helena Mueller, Jacob Van Blarcom, John Blocher, Lianna Matt, Liv Martin, Karl Witkowiak, Madeline Lerche, Olivia Heusinkveld, Sam Batistich

WINK ! ONE-PAGE MAGAZINE

10 Worst Things To Hear as a Server

BY HOLLY WILSON 1. Don’t worry, we eat fast and will be out by the time you close.

2. You know, we’d really love a booth.

3. *customer has absolutely clean plate* I didn’t like this at all, I don’t want to pay for it.

4. We’re really in a rush, so if we can get our food out right away that’d be great.

ART BY AN D R E W TO MT E N

5. We can order by jersey number.

6. We’re celebrating a birthday today.

7. *customer talks so quiet I begin to question my hearing abilities* 8. I’m gluten-free and vegan, so my food needs to be made completely separate from all other food.

9. We’re gonna split the bill eight ways, and we all have coupons.

10. *signals for the check from 50 feet away*

What’s the least creative 2016 Halloween costume?

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Harambe

41.77%

Clinton or Trump

36.71%

Anyone from “Suicide Squad”

20.29%

DJ Khaled

1.27%

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T H E WA K E

CITIES

Representation I M AG E C O URTESY OF STA R TR I B U NE

or

Manipulation?

HBO Show “Mogadishu, Minnesota” set to begin filming despite protests

BY BENJAMIN HALOM

When Somali-Canadian rapper K’naan Warsame came to Minneapolis for the West Bank Block Party on Sept. 9, he was expecting a much warmer welcome than he received. Only two songs after he took the stage, the rapper was escorted away by police, as the concert broke out into a protest against his other project, an in-development HBO show called “Mogadishu, Minnesota,” which was slated to start filming in October. Signs and chants accused K’naan and Kathryn Bigelow, the show’s producer, of exploiting the Somali community, which many fear it will present as terrorists.

After imploring the crowd to calm down and “let [him] explain,” K’naan left the stage and Minneapolis police became involved. Events quickly spiraled out of control as police moved into the crowd, spraying people with pepper spray in an attempt to quickly disperse them. Members of the crowd began throwing bottles and taunting the police before the event was completely dispersed. Two people, including a member of the Black Liberation Project, were arrested on suspicion of rioting.

Despite the Sept. 9 protest, the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority board voted to conditionally allow HBO to film at the Cedar High Apartments at the intersection of Cedar Avenue and 6th Street. However, the resident council vote that followed on Oct. 5 voted unanimously against filming inside the building, which the MPHA had to comply with.

Videos from protesters, like those shared by protest organizer Filsan Ibrahim on Facebook, show a divided community. Some people carried signs; others shouted chants. Many people refused to back down before the police until they were pepper sprayed. However, other individuals in the crowd urged everyone to head home. Parents moved to get their children away from police. For many, the fear of getting arrested or pepper sprayed by police overcame any fear of misrepresentation in the media.

Some community members believe there is good reason to fear. Entertainment and news alike remain fixated on the images of Somali terrorism, from films like Captain Phillips to news reports on terrorism set to a backdrop of the Riverside Plaza housing

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development. For many in the Minneapolis Somali community, this show seems no different. Originally titled “The Recruiters,” Hollywood Reporter described the show’s original concept last December as a “jihadi recruitment drama.” The producer, Katheryn Bigelow, is known for directing the terror-focused films “”The Hurt Locker and “Zero Dark Thirty,” the second of which Senator Dianne Feinstein accused of failing its “social and moral obligation to get the facts right,” about torture practices in the CIA. The film depicts these practices as key to finding Bin Laden.

However, K’naan claims the series, now titled “Mogadishu, Minnesota,” will only address terrorism only “in proportion to what it is in life,” focusing instead on the struggles of fictional immigrant families in Cedar Riverside, following a second-generation Somali immigrant named Sameer. There is hope that the show will bring representation to the Somali community, as well as creating jobs and opportunities for locals and unknown Somali actors. The cast announced Sept.

29 includes many previously unknown actors, and many hope the show could be a chance for more Somali actors to break into the mainstream. Even though many fear negative stereotypes, positive representation is desperately wanted as well, and many, such as City Councilman Abdi Warsame, “think what [K’naan’s] doing is courageous.”

“It saddens me that my presence had anything to do with this,” K’naan said on Twitter. After the protest, the rapper-director told the Star Tribune he had “a newfound empathy” for those opposed to his show, and held a community meeting in order to explain his project and try to garner more support.

Not everyone was convinced, however. Southside Pride newspaper quoted one community member calling the meeting “fake,” and the show itself “Islamophobic propaganda.” One of the protest’s organizers, Burhan Mohumad, said the “show is to promote the fear of Muslims.” Many feel as though K’naan has betrayed them, and that even if, as Councilman Warsame claims, he “would [not] intentionally make the community look bad,” he may be lending legitimacy to a project that achieves this exact result. The demands of the network may twist K’naan’s positive vision into a negative stereotype of the community.

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C IT IES

THE WAKE

PAVING FOR THE PEDESTRIANS Minneapolis’ new community pathway hasn’t reached its final destination After a summer of construction, the woonerf on W. 29th Street officially opened on Sept. 15 at 2 p.m. Its pavement was smooth, the parking lines of the quasi-public spaces painted, and the trees planted. However, a locked chain link fenced stopped the path before it crossed underneath the street bridge, the place where the apartments’ private properties ended and the Park Foundation’s half of the woonerf would begin.

A woonerf is an urban planning device that means “home zone” in Dutch. The goal of it is to create a public space that is centered on the pedestrian; cars and bicycles also share the space but with reduced speeds.

Originally, the woonerf was just going to be a public path between two developments, the affordable apartments Mill City Quarter and Ecumen’s senior high-rise, Abiitan. They had set aside the land as their contribution to public space due to Minneapolis Parks Board & Recreation requirements, but when the Parks Board heard about their project plans in 2014, they proposed extending the woonerf to reach the riverside.

The woonerf will lead the way to the $25 million public parks project Water Works, which is meant to highlight the mill industry ruins and the waterfront, Parks Fellow Bruce Chamberlain said.

At the time of project development, Chamberlain was the assistant superintendent for planning for the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board.

Although the woonerf represents two very large projects that seek to make Minneapolis more diverse and accessible, Chamberlain dreams past its initial completion.

“In 25 years when there will need to be some inevitable reconstruction of spaces like this, we will be in a different place societally around how much we use our cars,” Chamberlain said, “and hopefully more pedestrian amenities and activation will be able to be infused.”

H E L E N TE AGU E

BY LIANNA MATT

THE BATTLE FOR DOWNTOWN

While other venues fall, First Avenue stands tall

BY HANNAH KLOOS After a four-and-a-half year run, Minneapolis music club Mill City Nights recently announced that it would be closing its doors. Located in the heart of downtown, Mill City Nights was set to be a competitor to legendary downtown “danceteria” First Avenue. Catering to a more niche punk and rock audience, Mill City Nights drew performers that wouldn’t otherwise stop by the Twin Cities.

However, the AEG-owned nightclub had struggled to stay afloat from the very beginning, when it received scathing reviews for its inaugural show. That Jane’s Addiction concert faced overcrowding issues so extreme that the club, formerly known as The Brick, decided to change its name and embark on a four-month rebranding effort. Long story short: not a stellar first impression.

K ATIE H EY WOOD

First Avenue has been a mainstay of the Minneapolis music scene since the early ‘80s, when Prince exalted it to fame in the classic film “Purple Rain.”

However, even First Avenue has faced its setbacks. When its roof collapsed last year, leaving three injured and many bewildered, news went viral. This kind of incident could easily lead to the closing of another venue. However, the club was up and running only mere days after.

Why has it been able to succeed while other venues fail?

Stage Manager Conrad Sverkerson credits First Avenue’s staff for the venue’s ability to bounce back on its feet.

“I think it’s a testimony to the staff and the higher ups and the worker bees. I like to say we’re a very functional dysfunctional family. First Ave is not one person, it’s a collective,” he said.

While Mill City Nights often could sell more expensive tickets, Sverkerson believes First Avenue has an advantage because of its intimate environment.

“It’s really important to touring bands that they can play to people, a lot of bands are loyal to the club because of that,” he said. “They might get paid more money playing somewhere else but there’s something intangible about First Avenue where musicians really feel they can connect with the audience. We’re not going anywhere.”

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OCT 17–3 0

T H E WA K E

CITIES

I M AG E C O U RTESY O F P I ONE E R PR ES S

HEAD OF BLACK LIVES MATTER ST. PAUL STEPS DOWN

What does this mean for the BLM movement in St. Paul?

BY EMILY MARTENS It was announced early in September that Rashad Turner – head of the St. Paul chapter of the Black Lives Matter movement -- was stepping down. Turner had been with the organization for close to a year and a half and spearheaded several of the chapter’s defining protests. Now that Turner has resigned from his position with the group, many have begun to question what comes next.

Founded in 2012 as a response to the murder of Trayvon Martin, Black Lives Matter is a protest-based organization with the purpose of creating social and legal justice for African-Americans. The organization revolves around the mantra, “We are talking about the ways in which Black Lives are deprived of our basic human rights and dignity.” To date, the group has coordinated many protests staking a claim to their civil rights.

The St. Paul chapter of BLM has accomplished many successful protests under the leadership of Rashad Turner. In 2015, the group temporarily shut down access to the Minnesota State Fair. The aptly named “Black Fair” made national news for closing down entrances to the second largest state fair in America. Along with many other smaller-scale protests, this event brought BLM St. Paul national recognition and officially divided them from BLM Minneapolis. Turner wanted it to be clear that the two chapters were separate entities. Thusly he lead BLM St. Paul to stand up against the issues that impact African-Americans in St. Paul.

that charter schools only contribute to segregation and limit opportunities for AfricanAmerican children. As such, Black Lives Matter has condemned charter schools. Turner disagrees with this choice, instead claiming that charter schools provide parents with the chance to send their children to schools they can stand behind. Charter schools provide the opportunity for children to go to school outside of the geographic boundaries set by the state school system. Turner argues that this can provide students in socio-economically deprived areas with a higher-level education and a better future.

This division of moral values has resulted in Rashad Turner stepping away from BLM. Turner reflected on his resignation and spoke well of the situation in which the movement currently resides. With the rise of other marginalized groups in search of civil justice, Turner feels comfortable leaving the organization. The current prosperity of social groups in St. Paul provides longevity to the BLM movement despite Turner’s resignation.

What does the future hold for Black Lives Matter St. Paul? It is impossible to say what lies ahead, but the group continues to hold protests and fight for their human rights.

Even without Turner, the St. Paul chapter is confident it will continue to thrive. BLM has yet to announce who will become the new leader of the St. Paul chapter.

However, Turner has reached a moral impasse with the national group and has chosen to resign from his position. The national organization recently made claims

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C IT IES

THE WAKE

Is a Personal Driver Worth Your Personal Safety?

How the most lucrative startup has come under fire

BY HELENA MUELLER WE I Y I NG ZH U

Uber was first created in 2009 and in these past seven years it has expanded to 66 countries and 507 cities worldwide. Since its inception, it has been barraged by lawsuits. Of course, not all these lawsuits come from passengers. They come from drivers filing against the company, some come from the government, and some from other companies like taxi services that have had their business drastically cut. But the lawsuits from passengers still come.

According to the Boston Globe, a woman was riding in an Uber with three of her friends in Boston in 2014. Her friends got dropped off and she stayed in the car to go to a different location. Once she was alone, her Uber driver sexually assaulted her until she was able to get out of the car and get help by calling 911. This driver was charged with both indecent assault and battery after this incident. The Consumerist also published a story this year about a woman in Chicago who is planning to file charges against Uber. She accused the driver of turning violent, dragging her out of the car and slamming the door on her leg repeatedly when she refused to get out of the car at an unsafe drop-off location.

Then there’s Minneapolis. On Sept. 14, 2016 the Twin Cities Pioneer Press published a story about a girl who was taken back to her Uber driver’s home in St. Paul instead of her own house for what the driver said was to be “quick sex.” She was able to get in contact with the police before it went any further. The driver is currently waiting for his first court date on Nov. 14. These are only three stories out of dozens. However, they all have something in common; a woman is alone and is forced to fear for her safety when using this service.

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Whenever an incident report is filed, Uber always responds by taking the driver out of its system instantly.

However, when you get in a car, you are placing your life and safety in your driver’s hands. Although it’s great to know that if something happens they will suffer the repercussions, would it not be better to know that nothing is going to happen? According to Uber’s website, a prospective driver has to accommodate three rules to start driving for them: be 21 years of age or older, have a vehicle model 2001 or newer and pass a background check. It’s that easy.

and in addition to meeting an age requirement, passing a background check, and proving that they are a legal US citizen, a new taxi driver must also pass a chauffeur’s licensing exam, pay an upfront fee (for licensing or to the company), and must complete on-the-job training. Uber’s easy acceptance of new drivers may be attractive to possible employees, but having a more rigorous registration process as a new driver may help to increase its safety.

People use Uber to not use a taxi and yet Uber drivers go through less of a process than taxi drivers. The DMV lays out what is required of a taxi driver on their website

A new startup called “SafeHer” aims to address the problem. It is a driving service starting in Boston this fall and will soon expand to more cities nationwide. It

employs female drivers and only accepts women and children as passengers. It is impossible to ignore that this new company speaks volumes about the current safety of other driving services.

There’s no easy answer for Uber. They offer a fantastic service, however in order to protect themselves and their customers, it seems as though a new step has to be taken.

OCT 17–3 0

T H E WA K E

VOICES

M AR I AH C RA BB

October 17th

BY MADELINE LERCHE The United Nations General Assembly in 1993 designated Oct. 17 as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. This day is dedicated to increasing public awareness, creating an inclusive environment for those experiencing poverty, and expressing solidarity in the fight to end extreme poverty (living on $1.25 or less a day). As the world joins forces, a poverty-free world is suddenly within reach for future generations.

Poverty’s manifestations—hunger, inequality, discrimination, lack of health services and education— continue to be at the forefront.

In addition to these barriers, others exist that hinder the ability of those living in poverty to improve their situations, such as humiliation, social exclusion, and the lack of participation in decision-making. This year’s theme, “Moving from humiliation and exclusion to participation: Ending poverty in all its forms,” highlights the humiliation and exclusion that, unfortunately, is a constant presence in the realities of those living in extreme poverty.

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

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economic and security reasons to and opportunity for those living encourages those excluded and invest in ending extreme in poverty. However, these gains marginalized members of the poverty globally. have not yet reached everyone. international community to speak More than 800 million people still up. With first-hand experiences, It is in the best interest of U.S.live in extreme poverty. they are the ones that can bring based companies to increase World leaders have made a the issues to life. It is through the foreign aid spending. According time-bound commitment to end experiences of children, young to the Center for Global poverty everywhere and create people and adults that have to Development, 95 percent of a sustainable environment for live with the physical and invisible world’s consumers live outside all through the adoption of the barriers of poverty that we learn the U.S. Fifty-four percent of 2030 Agenda. The ability to how to deliver more effective those potential consumers, or end extreme poverty by 2030 is and efficient initiatives. In this roughly 4 billion way, the fulfillment people, are of the needs and “CONSIDERING THE RESOURCES AND living in poverty. aspirations of TECHNOLOGY THAT ARE AVAILABLE This sector of everyone are met, TODAY, IT IS UNACCEPTABLE TO STILL the population promoting shared makes it the prosperity amongst HAVE MORE THAN 800 LIVING IN largest untapped this and future EXTREME POVERTY.” market on Earth, generations. accounting for $5 trillion in purchasing power. possible. According to Economist In September 2000, world This explains why companies Jeffrey Sachs, it would cost $175 leaders organized a global like Microsoft, Coca-Cola, billion pooled by the global partnership to reduce extreme Ford, Google and Boeing community annually to end poverty. The plan that they advocated for the protection extreme poverty. In 2016, the U.S. outlined became known as the of the International Affairs will spend $238 billion just on Millennium Development Goals Budget in 2012, suggesting their interest payment on debt.

(MDG). This effort produced the an increase in foreign aid most successful anti-poverty spending. Boeing’s largest deal Considering the resources and movement in history. Since 1990, in commercial aviation history technology that are available the number of people living in went to an Indonesian airline. today, it is unacceptable to still extreme poverty has declined Aid investments have improved have more than 800 million by more than half. The collective living conditions for millions of living in extreme poverty. Moral efforts made by the international people in Indonesia, spurring a obligations aside, there are community have provided hope

growth in the middle class. Now more people in Indonesia have the ability to purchase beyond subsistence level, like being able to travel.

In addition to moral and economic benefits, it also becomes a matter of national security. President Barack Obama recognized that ending extreme poverty is a moral, economic and security imperative: “For we’ve seen how spikes in food prices can plunge millions into poverty, which, in turn, can spark riots that cost lives, and can lead to instability.

And this danger will only grow if a surging global population isn’t matched by surging food productions.” Obama emphasized international peace and security in explaining the importance of reducing poverty and hunger worldwide.

Our generation is known for our inclusivity, social awareness, and emphasis on equality for all. With the combined efforts of the international community, our generation can be the first to witness a world without extreme poverty.

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VO IC ES

THE WAKE

TAYLO R DA N I E LS

Celebrities Aren’t Real People Holting the Conversation SHOULD DEBATE MODERATORS FACT-CHECK CANDIDATES?

BY CHRIS SHEA We knew the question would come up, and when it did, Moderator Lester Holt knew he wouldn’t make the same mistake his colleague Matt Lauer made during the Commander-in-Chief Forum in September.

The question, of course, was about Donald Trump’s claim that he opposed the invasion of Iraq in 2003, which Lauer did not question him on at all. Holt pointed out that the Republican nominee had openly supported the war in 2002, which has been proven multiple times. Trump was not a fan of Holt fact-checking him.

Prior to the debate, many pundits wondered whether Holt would fact-check the candidates and what the role of a moderator should be. If you have been following the election, this may seem like an odd thing to debate about. Journalists are the ones that moderate these debates, and isn’t fact-checking part of being a journalist?

Yet traditionally, moderators don’t tend to engage in a lot of fact-checking. The only other notable moments of candidates being fact-checked by a moderator were Candy Crowley fact-checking Mitt Romney in 2012, and the time Gerald Ford said there was no “Soviet domination of Eastern Europe” in 1976. This is odd considering that when these same journalists are conducting one-on-one interviews, they do some on-the-spot fact-checking.

Moderating a debate has always been a high-stakes, high-pressure task, and this election cycle is no different. But just because it’s primarily up to the candidates to call each other out on their claims does not mean that moderators have a license to ignore the facts. Moderators are journalists; it’s their responsibility to make sure the truth gets out.

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BY CLAIRE BECKER Upon hearing the dreadfully tragic news that Hollywood’s most quintessential couple, the physical manifestation of true love, Brangelina, was splitting up, I did what any sane and non-heartless mortal would do: wrapped myself in a blanket, made some Chamomile tea, and wept profoundly whilst watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith in a desperate attempt to revive my belief in true love. …Or did I? In actuality, when I heard the news of the Brangelina split, I let out one of those little half-laughs where you sort of blow air out of your nose faster than usual— more of a grunt, really. Then I went back to washing my breakfast dishes.

Here’s the deal: I don’t care about the Brangelina breakup. Like, I aggressively don’t. Does that make me a bad person? I mean, they’re real people with real lives and real friends and real children (dozens of them, I’ve heard) whose lives this divorce will likely drastically impact. All I can focus on, though, is the grand meme of it all.

The internet—or the media in general, I suppose—has a tendency to depersonalize people, celebrities especially, by showing us a segmented, often branded outlook of who they are. The lives of celebrities are like a spectacle to us. We watch them on TMZ, browse their Instagram accounts, make memes with their photos, even start fan clubs and make T-shirts—but we don’t really know who they are. Angelina Jolie could be a cyborg commissioned by the CIA to test humanity’s ability to tolerate intense beauty for all I know. She’s not real to me, because celebrities aren’t real to any of us. They exist only in our minds as broken images of the people we (and their PR teams) construct them into being.

So, no, I don’t care whether possible cyborg Angelina Jolie remains hitched to also possible cyborg Brad Pitt. I have dishes to do.

E MILY H ILL

Well, debates are different from interviews; the focus is centered on the candidates.

When the moderator gets involved it becomes a back-and-forth between the moderator and the candidate. The point of the debate is lost—it’s the candidates who are supposed to be engaging. Essentially, the role of the moderator is like being a referee during a boxing match. While this approach may have worked in previous election cycles, 2016 has been much different.

AN ANALYSIS ON THE BRANGELINA SPLIT

OCT 17–3 0

T H E WA K E

VOICES

RECYCLING POOR TACTICS

M AR I AH C RA BB

Respectability Politics and Muslim Americans

BY CODY PERAKSLIS Crimes against Muslim-Americans are on the rise.

Mr. Levin’s nonpartisan group estimated there were around 260 hate crimes committed against American Muslims in 2015. Here in Minneapolis, we saw this hate firsthand with the shooting of two Muslim men last June. Many attribute this rise to the negative rhetoric against Muslims in politics today. In order to calm the Islamophobia felt around the U.S., well-meaning groups of Muslims are using a tactic known as “respectability politics.” Respectability politics is when a minority group is told to behave like the majority group for the betterment of the minority group. It’s good that something is being done to try to curb hate against Muslims, but respectability politics will do more harm than good.

Respectability politics is an issue that has plagued African-Americans for at least the last hundred years. The phrase was coined to describe the tactics of the black Baptist women in the early 20th century of admonishing other members of their race to act respectable. The same shortcomings of respectability politics that African-Americans experience will exist when Muslim-Americans use it.

Respectability politics blames bigotry on the victims of bigotry. It tells Muslim-Americans to act less Islamic if they want to be treated with basic respect. This implicitly states that Muslim-Americans deserve less respect, which is a self-defeating rhetoric. The worst thing a Muslim-American can do is to take this message of inferiority to heart.

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These actions also don’t reduce hate against MuslimAmericans. When Muslim-Americans distance themselves from their faith to appeal to a common humanity, the religious hate is never addressed. A hate that is never corrected is allowed to fester and manifest itself not only in hate crimes but also in daily interactions.

Two Islamic respectability politics videos sparked this debate: “I’m Muslim, But I’m Not…” and “MEET A MUSLIM.” The reactionary video, “’I'm a Muslim, but...’ - A response to Buzzfeed” was widely viewed as well. These short videos provide a good understanding of the debate. The videos depict Muslim-Americans expressing basic commonalities with non-Islamic Americans, sometimes by admitting to act counter to their faith. An example of this was one person conceding to have accidently eaten bacon once (and liking it). With this said, the videos achieved what they set out to and should be recognized as such.

The purpose of the videos was to spread the message that Muslim-Americans are individuals. The videos and the reaction videos served to push forward the national dialogue on the mistreatment of MuslimAmericans. A problem not acknowledged is a problem not addressed. The videos led to evermore discussion, despite the harmful tactics they used.

The videos rely on the assumption that fear and hatred can be cured through contact and re-education. This assumption fails to address the irrationality of people, especially their fear and hatred. The rational brain

is overcome by instinct and shuts down in times of overwhelming stress. Real change can be reached by addressing sources of people’s irrational Islamophobia.

None of the videos address the role of the media in the rise of hate against Muslim-Americans. The media only exists if it can make money, and it only makes money if it can get people to care. Fear sells. One can only hear about the terrible acts of Islam for so long before fear develops. And with fear comes hatred.

Convincing the rest of the world that those radical terrorist groups don’t speak for Muslim-Americans is a noble cause. It is also not the job of Muslim Americans.

If they wish to express their common humanity, that is their prerogative; but in a perfect world, they wouldn’t have to do so. Living to prove your humanity is not really living; it is bending the knee to the force’s bigotry.

It makes no sense to expect all Muslim-Americans to be responsible for themselves and those who hate them.

This is the trap that respectability politics falls into. To give someone a responsibility is to reduce their freedom, which goes against one of the founding principles of the United States.

Respectability politics has done well in the sea of wrongs that should not be overlooked. It pushed forward the conversation. The legacy of this debate will be decided by what happens next. We cannot allow respectability politics to be the norm going forward.

Culture coexistence does not mean cultural subjugation.

True peace can only come from acceptance.

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VO IC ES

Can Actors Do More Than Act? A satirical response to UK columnist Rod Liddle’s self-righteous opinion on actors in activism

KAT IE H EYWOOD

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THE WAKE

BY GABBY GRANADA If Leonardo DiCaprio posts one more picture of oceanic wildlife on Instagram with a caption urging us to save the environment, I’m going to lose it. If Leo wants to help our world, why doesn’t he give the people what they really want and post a selfie?

The question of whether actors have the right to contribute to the betterment of our world has been a controversial topic for quite some time. The public indubitably gets to decide what actors can and cannot do with their lives, which only seems fair. Still, somehow actors feel they can perform charitable acts on their own merit. With no real qualifications on this topic whatsoever, UK columnist Rod Liddle settles this debate once and for all.

When I first stumbled upon Rod Liddle’s recent excerpt in the The Sun, I thought, “At last, a highly irritable, misogynistic, old white man to tell me what to think!”

Liddle concludes his irrefutable argument by saying, “I don’t object to [actresses] having views and expressing them. I just don’t understand why we take them seriously.”

Not long after Liddle’s article hit the stands, many people publicly condemned him on social media for exemplifying the very sexism Watson was referring to in her speech. After letting his remarks simmer for a little over a week, Liddle so nobly published yet another article in The Sun. Only this time, he wrote a backhanded apology, somehow still unable to refer to Emma Watson by her real name.

“I was stupid enough to say nasty things about Hermione Granger — you know, that lass from Harry Potter who was good at spells and shagged Ron Weasley. I think.”

In his “apology,” Liddle broadens his initial and impressively narrow-minded argument by not only scrutinizing female actresses, but also all actors regardless of gender. He does this by mentioning once that Bono’s charitable efforts Liddle’s controversial remarks were in are annoying too, then response to the speech -quickly returns to what Emma Watson gave he knows best: critiquing at the recent United “I SUGGEST YOU TAKE Nations summit in New ROD LIDDLE’S ADVICE AND women.

York. She delivered a COMMISSION YOUR LOCAL “There is no greater powerful speech about the grotesque level of PLUMBER FOR ASSISTANCE reason to invite Emma gender inequality and Watson to address the UN IN DISMANTLING THE sexual violence prevalent General Assembly than PATRIARCHY INSTEAD.” on university campuses there is to invite your local across the globe. butcher, plumber or cab -driver,” he adds.

At 26 years old, Watson is a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN, a Brown University How dare Watson use her global recognition alumnus, and a feminist icon — but Rod to speak out against gender inequality and Liddle reminds us that her only noteworthy sexual violence for the myriad of women told accomplishment involves waving a wand to stay silent? Sure, actors can be powerful in front of a camera. I agree, Rod, her sounding boards for the millions of voices qualifications are dismal to say the least. around the world that are not heard, but that’s not important. I suggest you take Rod Liddle’s advice and commission your local plumber for Liddle reports, “Hermione Granger has assistance in dismantling the patriarchy instead. been addressing the United Nations General Assembly. Nope, not kidding.” He adds, “Instead of telling them all the rules of Some may make the accusation that what Quidditch or how to turn someone into a frog, Liddle wrote isn’t journalism, it’s misogyny she bored them all rigid with whining, leftie, hiding behind a keyboard. Some may try PC crap. Just like all actresses do if people are to argue that gender inequality and sexual stupid enough to give them the chance.” assault should be bipartisan issues. Some may even go so far as to describe Rod Liddle as a bigot with clouded judgment who talks so The “whining, leftie, PC crap” Watson droned much about issues he knows so little about. on about was her feminist coalition’s latest groundbreaking project: HeForShe’s IMPACT 10x10x10 University Parity Report. This program It is with the utmost confidence and complete charts the progress of several globally and utter lack of substantial evidence that I renowned universities as they work towards assure you that those people are wrong. achieving gender parity. The program spans across eight different countries, affecting over I commend you, Rod Liddle. If only we had a 40,000 faculty members and 700,000 students man of your exceptional temperament and in collegiate education. stamina over here across the pond. We should be so lucky.

I know what you’re thinking. I wasn’t all that impressed, either.

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T H E WA K E

FEATUR E

A n E x e r c i s e i n S a lt & G r e a s e :

the wake samples

Minneapolis Minneapolis

French

Fr es On a Wednesday evening, eight of our staff members dared to go where a bunch of hungry, drunk people have probably already gone before – we ate a big helping of fries at four restaurants across town in search of the very best. Two of these are local to campus (Annie’s Parlour and Five Guys), one is in Northeast (Anchor Fish & Chips), and one is in Uptown (Muddy Waters), all known for having good fries. Cut, texture, “mouth feel”, flavor, portion size, seasoning, and dips all went into our analysis of each bite.

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Meet the team of fry samplers:

Kate Doyle, Creative Director Abby Richardson, Managing Editor Alex Van Abbema, Editor-in-Chief Emma Klingler, Voices Editor Erik Newland, Cities Editor Carson Kaskel, Online Editor Kellen Renstrom, Designer Holly Wilson, Social Media Manager

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313 14th Ave SE

Annie’s PArlour KD (Kate Doyle): I feel like they’re very moist. Like, so moist.

AR (Abby Richardson): You’re really getting what you pay for here with serving size.

AV (Alex Van Abbema): Not very much flavor.

AR: These would taste really good dipped in a malt.

KD: They pair really well with sweet.

Only dip offered was ketchup. One half order: $3.95 Average rating: 7.125 / 10

five guys

P H OTO S BY KE L L E N R E N ST R O M

1413 4th St SE

EK (Emma Klingler): Wow. A lot of seasoning.

EN (Erik Newland): I can like, chew the seasoning.

KD: Oh, it’s so spicy.

CK (Carson Kaskel): Very poignant and sharp.

AR: It’s like, sitting in the back of my throat.

KR (Kellen Renstrom): They have a really good texture.

KD: I would say too soft. There’s no satisfying crunch.

KR: My insides are Cajun now.

HW (Holly Wilson): These are drunk fries.

Only dip offered was ketchup. One regular order: $4.19 Average rating: 3.5 / 10

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FEATUR E

302 13th Ave NE

Anchor Fish & Chips I L LU ST R AT I O N S BY H E L E N T E AG U E

KD: It tastes buttery almost. They’re not the standard cut, either.

EN: I rate them a 9 for mouth feel.

HW: Imagine these with fish and tartar sauce.

CK: They kind of melt in your mouth.

HW: I feel like they use a yellow potato.

KR: A full-bodied fry.

AV: This was a truly magical experience.

No dips, but typically served with tartar sauce for .50 cents extra.

One large side order: $5.25 Average rating: 9.75 / 10

2933 Lyndale Ave S.

Muddy Waters AR: They’re better with the dip, I think. It’s an aioli.

EN: That is a very crunchy, salty fry. Flaky, I’d say.

KD: Smokey.

KR: Delicious. I think the seasoning itself is the best seasoning of any fry.

EK: These are crispy on the outside and soft in the middle like Annie’s, but they mesh better.

CK: Very smooth chew.

HW: Good portion size.

EN: This is a different kind of fry. This is a fry that stands alone.

AV: I’m about to pass out.

Served with ketchup and herbed aioli. One side order: $4.50 Average rating: 8.625 / 10

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THE WAKE

Q & A

Erica Zaffarano

BY OLIVIA HEUSINKVELD With more than 35 years of experience designing for theater, film and, television, Erica Zaffarano is no stranger to bringing the imaginary world of actors and storytellers to screens and stages across the country. Currently, Zaffarano is based in Minneapolis, working as a freelance scenic designer.

At the time of our conversation, Zaffarano was simultaneously designing “Urinetown” at Macalester College, “The Realistic Jonses” at Rochester Reparatory Theatre, “The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail” at Iowa State University, and “Pump Boys and Dinettes” for Troupe America.

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IM AG ES C O U RT ESY O F E R I C A Z AFFAR AN O

The Wake: How do you typically describe your line of work for people who may not be familiar with theatre?

Erica Zaffarano: Crazy, no {laughs}. I call myself a designer, a designer-collaborator.., I think as a scenic designer, you’re also a scenic artist, you’re also part carpenter, perhaps part welder. You should ideally know how an actor or director will use what you’re designing… I like to say a set of mine doesn’t come alive until an actor steps on it. What does it for me is when the lights come into play and the actors step on and make it alive, that’s what I’m excited about.

When you are starting the design for a new project, do you typically follow one process, or is it different for every theatre, every director?

EZ: Well it’s very different for every theatre and director because sometimes you have a show where you have to do a lot of research, and when it’s a show that’s created from the fantasy of your mind and has no specific time or place, it’s a whole different thing. Now, I work a lot with John Ferguson [of] Theatre Forever, and his type of theatre is a real collaborative effort. The actors are often part of the writing team and they are very instrumental in how things work and look, so everything is quite different. If I don’t know a director, I often will first talk with him or her, and ask them if there are certain things they really need to see or have like entrances and exits and if there is a time period or a color palate that they prefer. And then based on what they say, I take off from there.

In what ways is set design for the stage different from designing for movies, television, or even interior design?

EZ: In interior design, the client is up close and personal with what you’ve done. You have to be precise in your delivery. In film and television, it’s the same way

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Q & A

actually, because the camera can have a real closeup on what you do. Although they are looking more at the actor in front, you still have to be fairly precise.

But theatre--what I say as a scenic artist is if you can stand back 10 feet and squint, if it looks good, then the audience will probably think it looks good too. There’s a lot more leeway in theatre because the audience is so far away, comparatively. I like to work fast and I like to work big. I like this big canvas that I have as a set designer.

How is your career different from what you expected or envisioned when you were first starting out?

EZ: I’m not sure what I expected. I think that I was in this for the fun and the adventure. It has allowed me to travel various places and meet so many different people. …When I was in Los Angeles I envisioned having large amounts of money, being able to do whatever I want, travel where I wanted, and I was able to. It’s different in that I decided to have children and I decided I wanted a more sane climate for them and to move back to the Midwest. You sacrifice a little for what’s more important. And so the sacrifice, if it is that, is the financial aspect, but the satisfaction is huge. I love everything, the film, the television, but I really enjoy the opening night of a show and again, working with so many diverse people.

What advice do you have for students who might be interested in a career similar to yours?

EZ: I would say it’s a passion, and if you have that passion, if you don’t mind a kind of hard-scrabble life, a very active life, if you like to laugh, if you like research, if you like working with people, it’s a great career. It won’t make you necessarily famous, but it will keep you young…

And it will make every day a new adventure.

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AFRAID

Under The Radar Spooky Films

Looking for some films to give you the heebiejeebies this Halloween season? Here are five under the radar films you need to add to the top of your must-watch list.

“It Follows” (2014) This film has resonated with viewers because it’s disorientating; one never fully knows the time period in which it takes place. Half of the time it feels like late ‘70s with the décor, clothing, and muted colors. The other half of the time it comes across futuristic, specifically due to a gadget used that is shaped like a shell. This movie manages to be scary all the way through. Jay, the main protagonist, wakes up to find that her boyfriend has used chloroform on her, tied her to a wheelchair, and learns that she is now being followed by “it.” To add insult to injury, no one even believes Jay when she claims something is following her, but is unable to describe what that something is. “It Follows” has an aesthetic that makes every shot look like a photograph out of a museum, while simultaneously making you want to update your Instagram. Every beat of music, every shot, and every scare is carefully and pointedly thought out resulting in this haunting narrative.

“Night of The Living Dead” (1968) This list has to include a classic. “Night of the Living Dead” could be credited for creating the “Zombie” we all know and love. This film holds up over time for it feels eerily similar to

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how a zombie outbreak would be handled today. The outbreaks start off scattered and eventually induce a national panic. The fear and anxiety for the characters’ own safety starts to sink in, producing a sense of impending doom in the viewer. These “zombies” the characters’ once recognized as their friends and family have changed into creatures that are no longer recognizable.

When the film is coming to a close, there is a poignant twist of what happens to any of those who managed to survive.

“Hush” (2016) The concept of “Hush” is relatively simple. A psychopathic killer targets an unsuspecting girl, Maddie, who is living alone in the middle of the woods. Surprisingly, this film takes this horror trope and flips it on its head.

Maddie is deaf and the killer uses that to his advantage. He slips in and out of her house going unnoticed, and begins to treat this whole scenario like a game. He even goes as far as to remove his mask when she writes on a window that she won’t tell what has happened. He treats her like prey and seems like he has read “The Most Dangerous Game” a few too many times. It is clear that he not only enjoys stalking and taunting her, but also finds his horrific acts funny.

“The Hills Have Eyes” (2006) Remember when you used to hide under your covers at night? That’s what you’ll get

after watching this “fun” family road trip. It has all the makings of a horror film: gore and guts, creepy creatures, a perverse rape scene, isolation, and murderous characters.

The trip clearly takes a turn for the worse, not mentioning the “shortcut” through an old atomic testing zone from the U.S. government that lead them to be attacked by mutants.

You’ll never listen to The Weekend’s “The Hills” the same way ever again.

ART BY E M I LY H I L L

BY ALLY DEITERMANN

Night of The Hunter (1955) This film is odd. Reverend Harry Powell decides to prey on a recent widow and her two children after discovering they are hiding $10,000. However, the majority of the creepiness of the film comes from Powell.

He is a master at manipulation. He uses these tactics to convince the mother, and the town, about himself and his so-called teachings. Meanwhile, the two children, John and Pearl, have no choice but to stand idly by watching this unfold, and turning their mother into someone they do not recognize. One particular scene shows how ruthless Powell can be, when he stages the mother’s murder in a scene that is overtly stylized in the film.

The mother can be seen sitting upright in a car that is completely submerged underwater with both her hair, and the seaweed around her, flowing in the river current. It is only after the camera closes in on the mother you can see her throat has been slit and you fully realized what has just occurred.

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“Fire, Fire, Burning Bright; Transform the Darkness into Light” MISSISSIPPI WATERSHED MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION TEAMS UP WITH LOCAL SCULPTOR TO INSPIRE YOUTH

BY JOHN BLOCHER

Local sculptor James Brenner has been turning challenging environmental issues into opportunities for beauty and improvement in recent years. In 2013, Brenner created a series of light-up sculptures that change colors based on the amount of energy being used in the Holland neighborhood of Northeast Minneapolis. “The idea is to combine art with utility to create awareness that wouldn’t otherwise be there,” Brenner said.

The sculptures were placed near Edison High School, perhaps a subtle nudge to get students thinking about their energy use. Future plans include a solar panel canopy and water cistern that could power the entire school.

Brenner’s focus this fall has been on City of Lakes Waldorf, a K-8 charter school, and their involvement

with the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization. The idea was to get students thinking about opportunities for sustainable improvements, tying these conversations in with certain virtues they have selected to work on in the coming year, such as “patience” or “self-confidence.”

Waldorf’s 6th and 7th graders spent September designing medallions for their chosen virtue, which they carved into sandstone molds using spoons and scalpels.

8th graders created Viking-esque ships that housed the medallions, after they were brought to life by Brenner and his team, who poured molten metal derived from old radiators into the molds.

On the night of October 1, Waldorf held a lighting ceremony where parents and staff held torches above the student’s heads, chanting: “fire, fire, burning bright; transform the darkness into light.”

Students then dropped a piece of paper or an origami creation bearing the name of their virtue into the cast before they were set ablaze. It was a strange and

TAYLO R DA N I E LS

Awareness is fleeting, change is slow, but art is undying.

What attracts people to a cause–and how they stick with it–is often stimulated by how they think about it, and how they wish to convey those thoughts to others.

wonderful sight, with a ritualistic flavor that made one curious as to how the kids really felt about the whole thing.

“It’s a privilege,” remarked 7th grader Jacob Parkinson.

“Public schools don’t get to experience things like this.” With a night as inspiring as this, an important question going forward might be this: How can the Minneapolis Public School system become involved with projects of this magnitude, all while keeping a shrinking budget in mind?

MILKWEED BOOKS: The Newest Neighbor of Downtown East Minneapolis THE LITTLE BOOKSTORE HAS BIG PLANS FOR FOSTERING COMMUNITY PASSION FOR TRANSFORMATIVE, INDEPENDENT LITERATURE

Although this one-room business just opened last month on September 20, the store’s parent, Milkweed Editions, has been operating as a nonprofit organization publishing books since 1980. In the past few decades, Milkweed has cultivated a passionate community for heartfelt literature. The publishing house has now taken the next step to grow their community by creating a physical retail location that’s worth welcoming to the neighborhood.

Opening up a bookstore was always a distant, cloudy dream for Milkweed Editions. It wasn’t until this past January that the stars finally aligned for this vision to become a reality. When space on the ground floor became available in the Open Books Literary Arts Center, where Milkweed Editions and three other art tenants are located, the team (under the direction of CEO Daniel Slager) knew the time was right to open up a shop.

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Stepping into the sleek, modern Milkweed Book store, customers find themselves drawn to the two shelves that line adjacent walls, stocked full of indie reads. Team members Celia Mattison and Daley Farr describe the books the Milkweed store has as an “eclectic selection,” offering many titles not found at other bookstores in addition to those published outside of Milkweed Editions.

The Milkweed Bookstore also plans to host various events. “We’re looking forward to having fruitful growth here. We want this to be a space for people to gather,” Farr said. She explained that as soon as this January, there will be many more author visits in addition to the launch of book subscription and bike delivery services.

“We want to give people a neighborhood bookstore here– that cool, welcoming space where they can talk about and get new books,” said Mattison, “and it’s so exciting that that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

Milkweed Books is located on the corner of 10th Ave S and Washington Ave S, just a short walk off the metro from the station at US Bank Stadium. The center is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

LINDY W IRT H

Nestled quietly on the first floor of the Open Books Literary Arts Center in downtown Minneapolis, meet the city’s newest, smallest, and arguably most-chic bookstore: Milkweed Books.

BY JACOB VAN BLARCOM

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Television’s Story A survey of TV history from FDR to the age of information

BY SAM BATISTICH

But Netflix is not a forlorn phenomenon; it is the necessary response to an eighty-year evolution forming the intricate saga of television history.

So, where and when does this epic tale begin?

Telegraph Hill, 1927 Philo Taylor Farnsworth, the forefather of modern television, transmitted the first televised picture via his image dissector camera tube in a laboratory in San Francisco’s Telegraph Hill on September 7, 1927. Fittingly, the image that appeared on the receiver meters away was a dollar sign. Though possibly the furthest thing from our contemporary notion of household entertainment, Farnsworth’s creation of the first all-electronic television system would eventually prove to have profoundly transformed popular culture.

Broadcast Television Soon after the 1939 World’s Fair, the inaugural American televised broadcast filled the screens of several thousand television sets throughout Los Angeles and New York, launching the long reign of the broadcasting empires CBS and NBC in the United States. Soon, progressive capitalists crafted the television program as a miniature, serialized film enjoyed exclusively in one’s home. These pocket-sized movies were crude, produced using a single camera that failed to reflect discernable contrasts. It wasn’t until the end of the second world war that the staples of commercial television emerged, ushering in the most decisive era in the medium’s history: The Golden Age. Television’s First Golden Age Between 1947 and 1960, a revolution was staged by television networks met with a markedly greater concentration of television-equipped homes.

From the corny, unsophisticated remains of early programming flowed a

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swell of innovative, cutting-edge television offerings. Anthology series such as “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” (1955-62) and “The Twilight Zone” (195964) embodied a higher class of television, a visual and emotional variety pledging an epoch of well-crafted and engaging TV. The New Golden Age of Television: HBO, “Mad Men”, and the Union of TV and Film In the late ‘90s, a second Golden Age arose, this time distinguished by the introduction of cable channels. These exclusive networks provided for living rooms nationwide a leap in program quality analogous to that delivered by the network behemoths of the ‘50s. HBO spurred the movement with three high-budget productions: “Oz,” “The Sopranos,” and “The Wire.” This beloved trio reflected a newfangled maturity on the television screen, employing skilled acting to portray characters of true density and intrigue.

The 21st century further progressed this rise of the tragic drama series,

“But Netflix is not a forlorn phenomenon; it is the necessary response to an eighty-year evolution forming the intricate saga of television history.”

ART BY KAT I E H E Y WO O D

In the heart of my awkward mid-teens – an era I still struggle to escape, even as I stumble into my third decade of life on Earth – I discovered a passing consolation from my fundamental lameness in the richly disillusioned yet unfailingly sophisticated near-historical realm of AMC’s acclaimed series “Mad Men.” “Mad Men” was complex, it was impossibly cool, and it offered an experience once reserved for the oversized red armchairs of the cinema. And the series’ ultimate distinction was precisely that: “Mad Men” felt cinematic, even when consumed wholesale on Netflix from the sanctuary of your living room sofa. “Mad Men” drew me into Netflix, and the the provider’s endless offerings never let me go. This newfound, nation-wide obsession with Netflix and its content-delivering relatives was a prophecy foretelling a period of great television delivered to our collective front pockets, whenever we wanted. Today, this promise has been realized by the dozens of new and original series produced for the rapidly expanding online TV conglomerates, from the psychological comedy of “BoJack Horseman” to the nostalgiatriggering horror of “Stranger Things.”

serving a rapidly growing viewership with an array of theater-grade television productions. These ranged from ABC’s original cerebral sci-fi masterwork “Lost” to HBO’s highly successful high fantasy adaptation “Game of Thrones.” In 2007, a faltering AMC released “Mad Men,” setting a new precedent of quality for the decade to come, a decade defined by a movement of programming from the bounded television set to the extensive network of the internet. In a new environment, TV expanded rapidly. Last year saw a record-breaking 409 scripted series productions between classic networks and their online offspring, including Aziz Ansari’s acclaimed Netflix series “Master of None” and the equally beloved “Mr. Robot” from USA. Television is better than it ever has been, and God only knows what lies in its rapidly approaching future.

Sequestered in our dens or concealed beneath our comforters, with loved ones or alone, for eighty years, television has permitted us a necessary escape from the frequent monotony of everyday life. Television progresses, and so do we, travelling to places across space and time, from 1960s Madison Avenue to the Nekrit Expanse of the 24th century.

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r u i o c u i s V M AR I AH C RA BB

Why 3D People Identify with 2D Characters

BY COLIN MILLER As children, most of us emulated our favorite characters from TV and movies, aspiring to the qualities they embodied, be it bravery, cunning, insight, or comic relief. From Power Rangers to princesses, these figures are early role models, the opposite of our shortcomings. However, even as we grow, acquiring skills and backstories of our own, the distinct appeal of making fictional characters into reference points for the selves we want to be remains. But why? What compels us to care about, and even strive to be like people who stop existing when you turn off a screen or close a book?

A few possible, partial explanations for this phenomenon jump to mind. First, there’s the fact that these characters are simultaneously condensed and diluted, their personalities funneled into easilyunderstood, digestible frameworks. Our constant attempts to know ourselves are often futile, with ill-defined boundaries between the traits we naturally exhibit and those we deliberately imbue.

Especially during childhood and adolescence, the internal world is as confusing and mysterious as the external, so the ability to outsource some certainty to a predictable entity takes away considerable stress.

Similarly, having a template for dealing with complex situations can alleviate the pressure that those situations bring. Take love, for example. Some people spend their whole lives looking for it and still never quite figure it out. Enter Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly, subjects of the primary romantic arc on the hit NBC mockumentary series “The Office”. Over the course of years, viewers watch as friendship turns

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into courtship, and later to a phase of comfortable dating, followed by a tension-wrought marriage as Jim has to choose between the family he’s created and his dream career. Evaluating our own relationships relative to Jim and Pam’s affirms our feelings about them, underscoring issues like compatibility, priorities, and behavioral dynamics that can seem foreign to us no matter how long we’ve been in the game.

Imitating fabricated characters has its dangers, though. On the screen and in the script, things tend to work out for the best; every good guy gets a good girl, karma’s hammer falls upon the wicked, and rarely does the impact of single decision extend past the closing credits. Traipsing through life with the assumption that it’ll play out the same way runs the risk of self-sabotage. After all, IRL objects of affection are not objects at all, but autonomous, decision-making individuals. When they reject an advance, it’s typically the end of the road, not an invitation to persist until they’re sufficiently worn down to kiss you in a parking lot.

Plus, while characters seldom face negative consequences incurred by their actions, the threat of those consequences generally deters people from committing similar ones. Action heroes don’t stand trial for—or even seriously consider—the slew of killings they commit, incorrigible doofuses (doofi?) like Michael Scott don’t answer for their idiocy, and chronically sarcastic curmudgeons aren’t abandoned to suffocate in clouds of their own smugness. In the realm of flesh and blood, all of the

above are all-too-real possibilities. A false sense of confidence instilled by years of fantasy reinforcement can only make them all-too-realer.

Of course, not all emulation is bad. Freaks and Geeks, in its modest one season of airing, managed to perfectly capture the tribulations of being an outcast in high school, a supremely empowering, terrifying, relatable experience. Navigating the morally ambiguous social minefield of experimentation, rebellion and growth is a daunting feat, especially without a Lindsay Weir to guide us.

We get to ride alongside her on an emotional roller coaster that’s stimulating yet safe. Struggling to read her moral compass and yearning for acceptance, Lindsay slips up from time to time, as anyone in her position might, but the series’ inconclusive ending teaches us that no matter what you do, the future will always remain an enigma.

The best part of living vicariously through characters is that, at any point, we can snap back to reality and enjoy our actual, factual world, filled with the beautiful complexities and frustrations that make us human.

As much fun as it is to play Dexter Morgan or Nancy Botwin or Jack Donaghy, the true lives of those people would entail their own unique sets of challenges, and who’s to say they wouldn’t turn on the tube and find simplistic solace in a show about you?

“After all, IRL objects of affection are not objects at all, but autonomous, decision-making individuals.”

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Justin Vernon Unfairly Criticizes Beyoncé Bon Iver front man argues it was wrong for Beyoncé to accept millions from Pepsi

BY LIV MARTIN We all know Beyoncé. Many of us worship her. We love her not only because of her youthful looks and amazing voice, but because she is a force in the music industry.

Many of her songs are about female empowerment, and she is not afraid to promote self-love. For many young girls in our generation, Beyoncé is a role model.

Justin Vernon, the man behind indie folk band Bon Iver, knows this about her. In a recent interview with The Guardian, Vernon criticized Beyoncé, saying: “I’d prefer Beyoncé didn’t do a Pepsi tour. Do not take two million dollars from Pepsi and be a role model for young girls.

Do not do that. That stuff does anger me. And I feel like I am not afraid to talk about that stuff.”

Did Beyoncé really sell out for Pepsi like Vernon infers? If selling out means taking endorsements from companies, then Beyoncé has been doing that since 2002, when she was just starting to become famous. Beyoncé grew up in a working class family in Texas and she crafted her own career. She started out as a member of Destiny’s Child and then transitioned into her career as a solo artist, breaking racial barriers and making a name for herself along her journey to stardom.

It is not fair for Vernon to criticize Beyoncé for taking endorsements when he himself was a brand ambassador for Bushmills whiskey, appearing in their 2011 campaign.

Now, he says he regrets being a part of the campaign, but that does not excuse him from effectively selling out –the very thing for which he has targeted Beyoncé.

In a 2015 interview with former pop culture blog Grantland, Vernon said, “[Bushmills is] run by a corporation, and you kind of forget that they’re not interested in you or really what you’re doing. They’re interested in your popularity and your reach, and it felt really sickening after a while.”

So, what is so revolutionary about that? Advertisers have been using celebrities to promote products for years. That is the amazing thing about being a celebrity; people know who you are and you have a fan base.

Although Vernon has his own personal issues with his celebrity in general, Beyoncé proves that having an influence on her fans can be positive and meaningful.

Beyoncé has, in recent years, taken a firm political stance against police brutality and crimes against black people. On her most recent album, the song “Formation” and its accompanied music video are a recognition and celebration of blackness. Beyoncé performed “Formation” on the world stage at the 2016 Super Bowl Halftime Show. She makes significant statements with her music and the visuals in her music videos, but she and husband Jay Z also have given back to the black communities of America many times. They are outspoken supporters of President Barack Obama, attended the vigil for Trayvon Martin, donated money to the people of Flint, Michigan, and have bailed Black Lives Matter activists out of jail.

Beyoncé is a smart and capable woman, and she embraces her fame and the power that comes with it. In the big scheme of her career, she will not be remembered for her partnership with Pepsi. The fact is, Beyoncé is an incredibly positive role model for many girls, especially those of color. She has proven to billions of young girls that women of color can be smart, successful, savvy businesswomen, and lead fruitful lives. This is what she will be remembered for.

The fact that Vernon finds himself to be morally righteous for taking a different path with his career is misguided. It is completely fine if he is uncomfortable with his celebrity and all of the implications of his fame.

However, he has no authority to criticize Beyoncé for her business decisions, especially because he had succumbed to being an ambassador for a major brand during his career as well. Beyoncé has proven that her money can be used for good. Whether it is the millions she has acquired from her album sales or the millions from participating in advertisements, Beyoncé spends a portion of her earnings on political activism. So, next time Vernon feels comfortable enough to have an interview, he should be wiser about choosing battles that are really worth fighting.

E MILY HILL

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Beyoncé’s devoted fan base, christened “The BeyHive,” is so powerful that it was able to shut down a government website. Beyoncé took to her own website to voice her passionate feelings about police brutality following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. In addition, she left The BeyHive with a link to the website where citizens can contact their representatives in Congress. Her fans got to work and overwhelmed the site so much that it crashed.

OCT 17–3 0

S OUND & VIS ION

Why You’ll Be Snoring Before You’re Scared

BY JOHN BLOCHER Although our protagonists are equipped with sweet modern gadgets for recording the adventure, such as ear-wrapping Bluetooth cameras (those are a thing?), they only seem to have grown more lost.

The story is led by James, the brother of Heather from the first film, and his long-shot mission to find out what exactly happened to his sister. He is accompanied by Lisa, a documentary filmmaker, his close friend Peter, and his fiancée, Alyssa, as well as two guides from Blair Village. Unfortunately, the only reason these names are important is so you can track who is yelling at who in the big scary forest, a dilemma that comes to dominate most of the film’s dialogue.

Oh yeah, they have one of those quad copter drones, too! Unfortunately, it crashes early on due to “poor service” coming from Lisa’s phone. Perhaps this could have been an opportunity for T-Mobile slip in a cheap and appropriate product placement. It would seem that the camcorder they used in 1994 was more serviceable.

What is sure to disappoint many of the original “Blair Witch Project” fans is the way the film is shot. Gone is the found footage feel, replaced instead by relatively neat cuts between a variety of different cameras employed by the characters. In some ways this is relieving, though at the price of a certain charm that made the series popular in the first place.

In the end, there are probably better ways to get scared this Halloween season than “Blair Witch”.

RAC H E L L E P I N S KI

Blair Witch-ItWas-Better

H E L E N T E AU GE

RAC H E L LE P I N S KI

T HRE E RE VIE W S

Mild Mild West A Review of “The Magnificent Seven”

BY COLIN MILLER What do you get when you mix “There Will Be Blood,” “Django Unchained,” and literally any traditional western ever? The answer is “The Magnificent Seven”, a two-hour romp with big names and bigger gunslingin’ standoffs. Perhaps the most magnificent aspect of the film is the element of fantasy that miraculously protects the protagonists from any physical harm until the final showdown. In a refreshing change of pace from recent Tarantino fare like “Hateful Eight”– shockingly unrelated–and the aforementioned “Django,” “The Magnificent Seven” manages to pull off a western setting nearly devoid of racist overtones.

With ethnic minorities representing more than half of the titular brigade, it was refreshingly charming to step into the past without wading through a bog of slurs and references to someone’s “kind” (disclosure: there are one or two of the latter, still #progressive!). That being said, some cliché traps just couldn’t be avoided; the two native characters face off and the heavy-hearted deserter not-so-reluctantly returns to fight one last battle. Also, the leading female trains with a gun the whole movie, but can’t defend herself when attacked and only ever fires a useful shot against a distracted and already-moribund villain? Come on! Though predictability and awkward dialogue are the film’s greatest detractors, it’s an unpretentious and engaging gallop minus the historical guilt.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds “Skeleton Tree” Review

BY KARL WITKOWIAK The making of Nick Cave’s latest album “Skeleton Tree” occurred during a complicated time in the singer/ songwriter’s life. A majority of the tracks on the album were already recorded when Cave received the news that his son, Arthur, tragically lost his life. After the accident, Cave went back to the studio, rewriting most of the songs and releasing one of the most heartbreaking albums of the year.

Nick Cave is known for intricate wordplay and use of metaphors; while his son isn’t directly mentioned in any of these songs, the main themes of loss and sorrow over losing him are still prevalent. On “Jesus Alone,” he parallels a plane crashing in the fields of Adur to his son falling from a cliff, leading to his death. “Magneto” mention his anger and confusion towards strangers giving him condolences, while “I Need You” shows his emptiness without his son in his life. As the album goes on, the mood of the album gets darker and more depressing, as the instrumentation gets increasingly spacy and hollow, and Cave’s vocals get increasingly more broken and sorrowful. However, the last two songs of the album “Distant Sky” and “Skeleton Tree” offer a bittersweet ending to the album, showing Cave moving on from the seemingly unending grief that his son’s death has brought about.

“Skeleton Tree” is only eight songs long, but it feels just right in terms of length, covering the heartbreak and eventual reprieve to perfection. It may not be an easy listen, but it’s definitely a rewarding one.

O C T 1 7–30

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