Winter Indulgences

Corrina Lee Leave a comment

I think I may have a little bit of a problem. It is located somewhere between my canine and my incisor. I’m talking about my sweet tooth and I believe it may be destroying my life. As any University of Michigan student can attest, the end of the fall semester is a desperate time. Every walk takes a little longer and is a lot damper. Our winter coats weigh us down and make us sweat, even as they protect us from the bitter wind. So, is it any surprise when we are drawn to sweet food like ants to a picnic during these never-ending winter months? We are reaching out for a comfort that a simple calorie count cannot measure. I am not just consuming a piece of chocolate cake. I am floating on a sinful cloud of light frosting on a crumbly, airy structure. And there are more slices waiting for me, cooling under the delicate lights of the dining hall. It makes it so easy to say yes, again and again. It is so easy to allow myself just one more tempting bite. Before, you know it, you have consumed several cookies, many more glasses of hot chocolate, and a stray brownie that simply demanded to be eaten. After all, every bulging waistline can be hidden under another chunky sweater.

Indulging my worst desires is a pleasure in itself. The semester is an exercise in restraint. Can I go out with my friends tonight? No, there is an economics worksheet to be finished. Can I finally read even a page of that book taunting me from my bookshelves? No, I must start on an English paper before my procrastination results in all-night typing session. Every time, I hold myself back, force myself to take a more long-term view. But while a failed midterm can sink a GPA, a brownie is a relatively small failure of self-control.

The night is withering away. The minutes keep ticking towards midnight. The days keep ticking towards the end of the semester. I focus, instead, on something more solid, a small bar of dark chocolate. The only critical decision I have is whether to take small careful bites or feel the whole thing crunch in my mouth. The moment arrives, and I melt with the chocolate until there is nothing left.

Whitewashing in the Media

vle Leave a comment

I recently watched a funny video featured in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver–although it was produced in 2016, the issues presented remain prevalent. It questions why whitewashing is still a thing, especially in major films.

Whitewashing is when white characters portray characters that are supposed to be depicting a person of color, or a recasting where white actors take the place of a character of color, perhaps from a book adaptation. Popular examples are white people playing Egyptians, Latinx characters, Asians, or even acting in blackface (in older years).

For example, The Last Airbender movie featured a white cast, to the dismay of audiences due to the series’ cultural Asian setting. Another example is the casting of Scarlett Johansson as a Japanese character in the live action version of Ghost in the Shell, an original Japanese media franchise.

Often the consequences of this whitewashing include offensive, stereotypical acting and cultural erasure. Whitewashing has been a common practice in Hollywood for decades, yet still is a significant issue in mainstream media despite racial progress that we may have made. When white actors portray people of color, these roles are taken away from potential actors of color. Racism is perpetuated through these practices.

In recent times, however, we have seen positive changes–like the Black Panther Marvel movie, or Idris Elba being chosen to be James Bond. As people produce media, we must be cognizant of cultural and social contexts when casting characters, in order to make beneficial progress in racial equality.

Watch the video for yourself here!

 

 

Raising Awareness Through Music

Elizabeth S 3 Comments

Music is a powerful thing. It has the ability to evoke emotions and trigger unexpected feelings. Different genres affect different people, with something out there for everyone. Because of this, it’s no surprise music often acts as a comfort or escape from everyday life. While we are influenced by music and its components, we also have the ability to connect with it. Music can affect people on a deep emotional level, which is why it can be a powerful tool in building empathy and shaping our perceptions. Next week, RC Singers plans to use music in this way for a refugee benefit concert aimed to raise awareness for Freedom House Detroit.

Currently directed by Joseph Kemper, RC Singers is a mixed choir affiliated with LSA’s Residential College program. Composed of University of Michigan students with a variety of academic interests, the choir studies and performs an assortment of choral music literature. This involves multiple time periods and genres, which results in a unique collection of pieces with their own styles and sounds. In addition to areas like music literacy and vocal technique, the songs for this year’s concert revolve around expression and empathy.

As mentioned earlier, the concert is aimed to raise awareness and money for Freedom House Detroit, a “temporary home for survivors of persecution from around the world who are seeking asylum in the United States and Canada,” according to the foundation’s website. Their mission is “to uphold a fundamental American principle, one inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty, of providing safety for those ‘yearning to breathe free.’” This mission is supported by the music in the concert, with “yearning to be free” directly translated into the lyrics of the song, “The Lady of the Harbour.” The concert has over ten songs covering styles such as folk, classical, and pop, all of which carrying themes related to openness and helping one another. Some songs specifically pertain to the refugee crisis, such as Caroline Shaw’s “To The Hands,” which has a movement listing data on displaced persons during global refugee movements. The content of the songs supports the mission of Freedom House Detroit:

“Guided by our belief that all people deserve to live free from oppression and to be treated with justice, compassion and dignity, we offer a continuum of care and services to our residents as well as to other refugees in need. We advocate for systemic change that more fully recognizes the rights of refugees and asylum seekers.”

Overall, with the use of powerful lyrics, harmonies, and instrumentals (live strings and a pianist), RC Singers hopes to build awareness and empathy while demonstrating the musical skills developed throughout the semester.

Joseph Kemper, Conductor

Sarah Jordan, Assistant Conductor

Minji Kim, Collaborative Pianist

Deb Drennan, Guest Speaker, CEO Freedom House Detroit

More information on Freedom House Detroit: https://freedomhousedetroit.org/

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/296021157787656/

Note: Concert takes place Thursday, December 6th (not December 7th) at 7:30 P.M.

Adult Onesies

Jordan Brown Leave a comment

Last week was Thanksgiving break, which means that most students have brought their winter wardrobe back to school with them.  They replaced all of their tank tops with sweaters. A big part of a winter wardrobe is layers of warm clothing, and the past few years have created a new trend; adult onesies.

Onesies are most popular for babies, and then for pajamas for young children.  They are nice because it is just one piece of clothing that is nice and warm. Recently a trend has risen for adult onesies, and not pajamas but for costumes and to wear to events.  Adult onesies are great because you can layer clothes under them depending on how cold it it outside and it doesn’t ruin the outfit because onesies are meant to be big.

Different styles of onesies are popular.  Animal onesies are the most popular. Most are unisex and you can now buy at Walmart or Kohls.  Some of the most popular adult animal onesies are giraffes, penguins, and pandas. Another big trend is characters.  Instead of buying a several piece costume to look like a character, you can just buy a onesie that already has the characters costume printed on it.  Onesies also do not require a mask no matter what character you are being because the hood is your mask. An example of this would be Darth Vader or the Power Rangers.  Another style of onesies is professions. You can be an astronaut or a nurse as a onesie instead of as a costume. This style is less popular than the others, I think it is because it is easy enough, and more realistic, to find clothes of the actual profession than to wear pajamas that resemble them.

With fun costume onesies rising in popularity, normal adult pajama onesies have also increased in popularity.  Now at big and popular stores like Victoria’s Secret or L.L.Bean, or even the Mden have pajama onesies that people can buy.

My friend and I took advantage of all of the benefits from wearing onesies and we were the yellow and blue Power Rangers to the last Michigan home football game.  It was perfect because we could layer under the onesies with warm clothing that did not have to be Michigan related and we were still supporting the team!

The Value in Reviving Old Musicals

Julia Leave a comment

Over Thanksgiving break I was in Chicago with my girlfriend and her family. One night we went to the Cadillac Theatre to see the national tour of the musical Miss Saigon, a story about a Vietnamese bargirl and US soldier during the Vietnam War. It is based off of the 1904 opera Madame Butterfly by Puccini, written in Italian about a Japanese girl and a US naval officer. The music of Miss Saigon would sound familiar to fans of Les Miserables because the music was written by the same team of composers: Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Bobil.

The performance we saw was incredible. The cast was huge and well-balanced with white and Asian actors playing the appropriate roles. From the research I’ve done, it hasn’t always been that way. Over the years many controversies have erupted over the casting of white actors as male Asian characters, but the role of “Kim”, the Vietnamese bargirl, has always been played by an Asian woman. The musical score also includes non-Western instruments, but I couldn’t find information on exactly what they were. The story is that Kim and Chris (the American soldier) meet and fall in love in a Vietnamese brothel. Chris promises to bring her back to the US, but he is forced to go home in an emergency evacuation, leaving Kim behind. The story cuts to three years later, where Chris is living with his American wife, Ellen, in Atlanta, and Kim is still waiting for him to return to her. It is revealed that Kim has a three-year old son and Chris is the father.

By the end of the first act, you can tell that things probably aren’t going to get much better for Kim. It’s true, (warning: spoiler ahead) because when Chris returns to see Kim and take his son back to America, Kim kills herself. 

The plotline aside, I was absolutely stunned by both the talent onstage and the technical effects. At one point there was a literal helicopter flying above the actors, rotors and all. There was always so much going on onstage with the ensemble and everyone was completely committed to who their character was in Saigon. The details in every scene made watching it seem like a movie.

It’s interesting to see older shows like Miss Saigon make a comeback in 2018. As great as the show was, the racist and sexist undertones didn’t just roll off of my back. I had a similar experience watching My Fair Lady at Lincoln Center in May. The story is about a wealthy man teaching a poor woman how to speak proper English so she will be respected. While these male savior plotlines may have been popular in the 20th century, today they’re just kind of tiring. New musicals don’t base their plotlines on discrimination and they’re darn good!

I still think it’s okay to put on revivals of old musicals, even if they’re problematic sometimes. The music in Miss Saigon is fantastic and doesn’t deserve to be forgotten. Kim’s story does not deserve to be forgotten. An important part of protecting the art of today is protecting the art of the past because it serves a purpose. We should trust audiences to acknowledge these issues and to know better, but to also just enjoy the show.

Coffee Shops

sarahshu Leave a comment

Its no secret that coffee shops are places students always frequent. I’ve always thought that  its the vibes they give off, not too quiet, not too noisy but the perfect amount of white noise in the background. Sounds of coffee grinding permeate the air, small talk ensues between the cashier and customer and the creaking sounds of the door open and close. I’ve loved coffee shops for its ambience it gives off. You can chill with a cup of chai, catch up on homework and even readings over coffee or have short catch up sessions with friends in between classes. The coffee shop embodies warmth, especially with the coming winter.

I was very disappointed when Michigan Union closed down for renovation because I was really fond of the Starbucks there. The bar stool seating is my favorite, tucked away perfectly near the coffee machines, private and public all the same. I usually camp out there for two hours, writing or reading. Bumped into a lot of friends while we both get coffee. One even commented, saying that she always finds me there. Another personal favorite coffee shop of mine is Comet Coffee, hidden in the nook of Nickel’s Arcade. It looks very hipster and a passerby might think that the drinks are expensive but that isn’t true. The food and drinks here are surprisingly reasonable given that it is in Ann Arbor. Its affordable in comparison to Starbucks. I find myself coming back here so many times, alone and with company. I suppose everything about the shop attracts me, from the affordable tea/coffee and the interior design, with the barstool seating overlooking Nickel’s Arcade. You can sit there, sip tea and people-watch or do work. Maybe even ponder upon your place in life. Engage in some meta-thinking.

Another reason I really like coffee shops is because of the memories I’ve had there with people. I gone to the Michigan Union Starbucks frequently with a good friend of mine after class. We each grab coffee and get into small talks. Some of the times, those chats turn into deeper discussions, from how tough Michigan is on students to the double standards we face as women in the family. Other times are when I brought family friends to Comet Coffee and we each ordered different drinks so we could try different drinks together, great times I’ve missed now. There are moments when I was stressed out and needed advice, so I met up with a friend and told him my frustrations. I left the coffee shop feeling lighter, finally understanding that sometimes I needed to leave some situations be just as they are, so it sorts itself out.

Funny how a small tiny shop contains so many memories, and that it can mean so much.