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The rain falls on her dark hair, runs down the sides of her beautiful face and drips down from her chin onto her warm bosom. You lose yourself in her eyes and you see that she is lost in yours. The cool drops seem to pull you toward her until her slow breath tickles your lips and then… you kiss her. And just like the rain, you fall and you just keep falling. Falling in love, falling for this girl, who twists your world upside down.

That is how rain works right? Or does it? If I recall correctly, nothing in my life has ever even come close to being as romantic as this scene. I don’t know about you but my first kisses usually involve sweaty hands, a mutual feeling of insecurity and just a bit of awkwardness. Just imagine rain adding to these already miserable circumstances. I often ask myself why rain is portrayed so differently in the movies. Not only when it comes to romance, but in general. Let’s look at some examples, shall we?

 

Spiderman Upside Down Kiss

This one is a classic. In the 2002 version, Spiderman’s sweetheart, Mary Jane, is attacked by thugs in a dark alleyway. Spiderman hesitates at first, because he doesn’t have his spider mask, but eventually comes to the rescue. After Spiderman has retrieved his mask and suspended himself upside down from one of his spider strings, Mary Jane, portrayed by Kirsten Dunst, kisses him romantically in the rain.

Have you ever imagined what would happen if you helped out a lady getting attacked by four thugs in a dark alleyway? Exactly. You wouldn’t do it in the first place. You would hide, call the cops and leave the scene before things get icky.
Let’s say, however, you actually mustered the courage to attack the thugs and let’s assume, through some kind of miracle, you actually defeated them. Would there be a romantic kiss? The rain is freezing and alleyways are usually rather windy. Also, there are four unconscious men lying on the ground and the smell of the garbage cans you knocked over in the process of fighting the attackers slowly but surely takes over the alleyway. You look up the  buildings surrounding you and realize that kids are pointing their video cameras at you… That’s just a mood killer!

I vote: Wouldn’t be as romantic in real life!

 

Friends Before The Battle

In Peter Jackson’s epic milestone of a trilogy, the Lord of the Rings, the battle of Helms Deep is the climax of the second movie. Not only men are trying to hold back the evil powers of Isengard, but also Elves and a Dwarf. Although Elves and Dwarves tend to dislike each other due to their complicated past, Legolas and Gimli bury the hatchet right before joining the second most epic battle in movie history. Just before they confess their liking for each other, rain starts pouring down on them. They look at each other in a way that says nothing but “I love you”.

Obviously, it doesn’t make any sense to imagine being in the exact situation described above. Think of it more like bros confessing their love for each other before a massive change in their lives. I’m not going to lie here: I did confess my love to my best bros. A couple of times. If you have done the same for your best bro or best brosephine, then you probably know that standing in the rain would significantly  decrease your level of perceived intoxication, meaning you probably wouldn’t end up confessing your love at all. Not only doesn’t rain not improve this situation, it even prevents it from happening.

I vote: Wouldn’t be as bromantic in real life!

 

One thing that one can notice about movies, is the fact that there is always music in the background making funny scenes more funny, melodramatic scenes more melodramatic and crazy scenes more crazy. Turns out that doesn’t work in real life. Every time I got romantic with someone and started humming a mellow song, they started laughing… at me. I do not recommend you trying that.

So what does all of this tell us about movies: That they are a lie? That they are unrealistic? That they sell us standards no one will ever be able to live up to? We can answer the first two questions with a clear and easy “Yes!”. I think I have proved that extensively here. Answering the third question, however, is a bit more tricky and I shall address it in a detailed manner next week. If I want you guys to take anything away from this text, it is: Don’t think rain will improve anything in your real life, unless you’re a farmer!

 

PS: Remember to be as weird as you can possibly be.

You can tell a story…

(Last night in the Moore Building on North Campus, the Britton Recital Hall housed the Piano Department Faculty Recital. The beautiful instrument with which they performed once belonged to Russian-born American classical pianist and composer Vladimir Horowitz. The Steinway Gallery of Detroit provided this piano, the same Horowitz Steinway Piano he played in the 1986 show in Moscow and his concerts around the world.

I didn’t know the language in which each pianist spoke off stage. Does that matter? No. I did know the language in which each pianist taught. After all, music is a language we all understand.

They conjoined with the instrument to deliver a story that didn’t require words or symbols, a history or a future. They spoke in the melody. They spoke in the moment. Some of the pianists explained the piece from the perspective of the composer before they began to play, while others left the piece open for interpretation. Each of them told a unique story. Whilst they explored their stories, it did not seem like the pianists were playing an instrument. Rather, they fused with the piano to become an inseparable pair.

Christopher Harding executed “Arabesque in C Major, op. 18” of 1839 by Robert Schumann with delicate hands. With a gentle yet masterful touch, he created sounds both loud and soft.

Amy Cheng and Martin Katz demonstrated piano four-hands with “Fantasia in F Minor, D. 940” of 1828 by Franz Schubert. The three units, Cheng, Katz, and the piano, formed a whole. Each note stitched together to form a quilted song. Cheng cued Katz while the pattern of her breath to create flawless seams in the sound. Their fingers bounced off the notes and then feathered back down to the keys to pick up the consecutive notes with eloquence.

Logan Skelton amazed the audience with his rendition. His hands brushed across the keys and painted a vivid setting from the piece. Sound is usually accepted through our ears, but his musical explanation engaged all of the audience members’ senses.

Arthur Greene glided through the measures of Frédéric Chopin’s “Etude in A-flat Major, op. 25, no. 1.” of 1837 and his “Barcarolle, op. 60” of 1846. His face began to flush with red as he charged the piano with another level of intensity, bringing character and passion into the piece.

Matt Bengtson performed Conlon Nancarrow’s “Canon B” from Three Canons for Ursula of 1989. First, he played solely with the left hand, then the right hand, and then brought the two together. The way he played, it sounded as though he disassembled and analyzed each note individually with artistic brilliance.

John Ellis translated “Sunday: Evenin’,” “Tuesday: Sugar Hill,” and “Wednesday: Apollo: Touch the Tree (for Fats)” from Arthur Cunningham’s “Harlem Suite” of 1970. I say translated because it’s like the piano whispered to him and he amplified its voice. He took the listeners back in time to Harlem years ago.)

…Without a single word.

Welcome to award season 2017! It’s Golden Globe Sunday which marks the first big award show of 2017. November through January is always a great time for movies and television, and my goal every year is to see as many of the nominated films and TV shows as possible. This year was more difficult being in my first semester of college, but so far I’m been able to check a few off my list.

Manchester by the Sea, Hacksaw Ridge, Deadpool, La La Land, Arrival, Fences, War Dogs, Stranger Things, The Crown, and This is Us are all of the Golden Globe Nominees that I’ve seen. It’s actually more than I had thought, but there are still so many movies and tv shows that I want to see!
Based on my limited sampling of the nominees I can categorize them into Great, Okay, and Not Great. I didn’t see anything that was terrible, but I would consider this season to be somewhat underwhelming when compared to last year’s selection (The Big Short, Spotlight, the Revenant, etc).
So, “the Greats,” which are still a work in progress as I make my way through the noms, are Manchester by the Sea, Hacksaw Ridge, Arrival, and Stranger Things. If there was an award for most depressing movie ever made, Manchester by the Sea would win hands down, and would probably never be usurped. Aside from the ridiculously tragic plot that gets worse even when you think it’s impossible, Manchester by the Sea was one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. I’d be surprised if Casey Affleck isn’t rewarded for his incredibly moving performance (Nominated: Best Performance by an Actor – Drama). Arrival was also a favorite, but when they went towards a more fantasy approach (Spoiler: she starts time traveling in the end… I think…) the film lost a lot of it’s credibility and intensity and started to get a bit cheesy for my taste. When they were focusing on communication and different responses to the alien invasion I was totally on board. Up until the end it seemed realistic enough for a movie about aliens landing on Earth, and that was the most intriguing aspect.
The “okay” category is abnormally large this year. Like I said, I’m just not as entertained, if you will, by this year’s choices. Deadpool, War Dogs, The Crown and This is Us definitely get spots in this category. However, my opinions on television aren’t very strong as I never really think critically of television. Deadpool was a great comedy, but I had almost completely forgotten about it and had never imagined it would be involved with the award shows this year. I guess I never think about the summer blockbusters making it through to the New Year, but it was definitely worthy of a spot in the comedy/musical categories. I’m actually happy that an actual comedy is featured in this category, when so many times there are movies featured that are the last thing you would think of as a comedy.
Time for the “not greats.” Fences and La La Land. Unpopular opinion: I hated La La Land. Maybe it’s unfair of me to judge due to my preexisting distaste for musicals, but I could barely sit through the whole thing. It takes a lot for me to get bored or restless during a movie, so on the rare occasions that that happens, it usually means that it didn’t hold my interest at all. Now I’ll acknowledge that it was beautiful. The colors, scenery, and cinematography in general was stunning, but that was pretty much all I liked about it. Ryan Gosling (The Nice Guys…10/10 would recommend) and Emma Stone are some of my favorite actors, but lets be honest. They can’t sing. So many “cringey” moments and feelings of second hand embarrassment were induced by their performances which was a bummer because I love them. Also the songs…not a fan. I did like the instrumental parts, but the lyrics were forgetful and annoying. Maybe I’ll give it another chance…everyone is raving about it and I’m sure it will take several awards, but right now I’m still anti La La Land.
Okay, so I’ll stop here since I could keep going on and on. Hopefully I’ll be able to watch the actual award show… the amount of neglected reading I have for women’s studies makes that highly unlikely but I’ll give it a shot. Also, Jimmy Fallon is hosting which seems more promising than past hosts (second hand embarrassment is a very real thing and I am extremely sensitive to it).
I’ll make predictions for the top categories based on what I’ve seen. Hopefully by the Oscars I’ll be able to make more educated predictions.

Best Drama: Moonlight (Haven’t seen it but based on what I’ve heard there is little doubt it will win.)
Best Comedy/Musical: La La Land (yikes)
Best Actor Drama: Casey Affleck
Best Actress Drama: Amy Adams
Best Actor Comedy/Musical: Collin Farell
Best Actress Comedy/Musical: Emma Stone

(Nocturnal Animals, The Lobster, and Jackie are first on my list as I try to catch up in time for the Oscars…stay tuned. 🙂 )

It feels strange to write to you like this. After all, I did not really know you by your true name. No, I, like millions of others knew you from the silver screen first. I didn’t watch the original Star Wars Trilogy until I was in high school. Like all teenagers, I was convinced that it would be too child-like, too unsophisticated. Somehow, you could take this fantastical premise and fill it with wonderment and imagination. You were our Princess, unlike any we had seen before. Leia may have been royalty, but she was also a rebel. When Han and Luke burst into her cell, she shows that she is more than able to hold her own in a fight, entirely usurping both Luke’s and the audience’s preconceptions. In the second and best movie of the trilogy, it is always the relationship between Leia and Han that captures my attention. It was a romance that didn’t apologize for its nostalgic charm, because your caustic vulnerability made it surprisingly refreshing. In the middle of an enormous galaxy, Leia was a beacon of defiance against both the Galactic Empire and stale Hollywood stereotypes.

I also remember where I was when I learned that you had passed. I had just woken up, but as I scanned my phone, I swore it was like I was still trapped in a nightmare. Some might say that it is silly to react this way to someone you only ever saw in the movie theater or on daytime talk shows. Frankly, I don’t care. I am not sure you would either. After all, you had an acute sense of the power of celebrity. You never sought the spotlight, instead it effortlessly chased you. That is what made it especially special when you did choose to embrace the bright lights. You brought awareness to social issues by willingly exposing your personal struggles with drugs and mental illness. There are so many celebrities that seem to chase fame crassly. You managed to achieve a universal presence in our lives, just by being yourself. Your honesty was always impossible to ignore.

It was a very solemn breakfast that day. My sister and I had first watched Star Wars together. We even started a new tradition two years ago, of going to the theater to watch every new release together. We didn’t eat much that day preferring to talk. There was a surreal quality to that conversation, to that entire morning. After all, memorializing the dead is always a difficult task. Everything fades too quickly, flickering like a mirage in front of our eyes. Everything feels transitory, as if I could blink this reality away and exchange it for another. I guess that is why I’m writing to you still. I hope that you knew how much you meant to all of us. I hope that it wasn’t painful. I know you are in a better place now. Hopefully, we will meet again, in a galaxy far, far away.

 

Sincerely,

Corrina Lee

About 43 miles away from the University of Michigan is Detroit, otherwise known as the Motor City. You can commute downtown for a trip to the DIA, a game at the Joe Louis, or a slice of the nightlife. Many clubs and Greek Life communities hold events at venues in the city. Whether you are going alone or with a group, the opportunities are limitless. I ventured to the heart of the spoke wheel intersections in downtown to a place known as Campus Martius Park. Here, they provide ice skating throughout the cold spell in the Midwest every day including weekends and holidays. From the rink, I happened to notice the Quicken Loans building, particularly the two blocks jutting out the side of the structure.

Tell me, why did the architect place these two blocks there? And why are they different sizes? Some may find the randomness displeasing, perhaps unsettling to the eye. Evenness seems correct. This idea could have stemmed from the human body itself; it displays symmetry in its image. We shape glasses to be two identical lenses to fit our eyes. What if we started wearing one round lens and one square lens? Or monocles? Parallelism with shapes reduces chaos and can be satisfactory, so one may try to further understand an object when its appearance isn’t as organized.

In art, there is no such thing as “correctness.” Being difference is what makes it an art. If we went around seeing paintings with literal interpretations of the same thing, or buildings of the same architecture, the world would be uniform, but it would be boring. Asymmetry makes can make a piece unique and beautiful.