Spanish film festival brings culture and education with Lope

By Emily Feldmesser
Transcript Correspondent

The most recent installment in the first year of the Spanish Film Festival is the film, Lope. The film is inspired by the life events of the Spanish playwright, Lope de Vega.

Ohio Wesleyan students have taken an interest to these foreign films. Freshman Emma Drongnowski says that Lope “was really different from American films in the way that the characters were portrayed.” Assistant professor of Spanish, Glenda Nieto-Cuebas, one of the curators of the festival, says about “80 to 100 people attend each film.”

“The film festival is made possible due to a grant awarded by Pragda, which is an independent, New York based cultural initiative. The grant was made possible with the support of Pragda, the Secretary of State for Culture of Spain and its Program for Cultural Cooperation with United States University. Our university received the grant as a result of a proposal written by Glenda Y. Nieto-Cuebas and Andrea Colvin, assistant professors of Spanish at OWU,” Nieto-Cuebas said.

The film festival brings a sense of culture to students and faculty at Ohio Wesleyan. Colvin said, “Watching films from Spain and Latin America is a great way for our students to learn more about the cultures they study in class.”

The films help connect what students are learning in the classroom to real, applicable Spanish and the cultures that go along with it.
Freshman Raina Graham said, “It’s great that they show and expose us to different cultural movies.”

These movies also expose students to different “accents, phrases and different facial and corporal expressions that complements the spoken language,” Nieto-Cuebas said.

The films help “create a forum for the discussion of important socioeconomic and political issues that relate to many Spanish-speaking countries,” she said.

Students are enjoying these foreign films being shown at OWU. Drongnowski said, “It was very interesting to see a film made from a different nationality perspective.”

Colvin said, “The film festival is a fun way to bring students, professors and other members of the Delaware community together and build relationships outside of class.”

The movies range from animation to live-action and all have different subject matters.

Colvin said the “Spanish Film club provided a list of films to choose from.” In order to get the variety they desire, Colvin and Nieto-Cuebas picked films from different countries and that covered a wide range of topics.

As for the future of the film festival, Colvin said, “We would love to do it again in the future (perhaps biannually), but due to funding, it may not be realistic for it to become an annual event.”

With the student and community feedback given, the film festival may be able to continue for the foreseeable future.

Delaware sees a new generation of fine dining

By Samantha Simon
Transcript Reporter

Three generations of the Sims family have collaborated together to open Generations Fine Food and Spirits.

The restaurant has a goal to open Nov. 1 on 5 N. Sandusky Street, where Nova Restaurant used to reside.

This is father and son, Marty and Jeffrey Sims’ first restaurant, though they have been in the business for many years. Marty worked as food and beverage director in Columbus at the Holiday Inn, and Jeffrey worked as a chef at Tartan Fields country club in Dublin. The two had thought of opening a restaurant for some time and then Marty received a phone call to come look at the N. Sandusky street space.

“We came up and looked at it, and decided to give it a try,” Marty Sims said.

Generations will serve lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday. The restaurant will also have a full bar as they have secured a liquor license and are currently waiting on the beer license from city council to be approved. The bar will be open for happy hour from 4 to 7 p.m.

A large projection screen will be a main focal point for those who choose to sit at the bar, while the main dining room hopes to serve as a more formal setting suitable for a date or nice night out.

Besides from a few minor changes, they plan to keep the interior of the restaurant intact. Marty Sims said that there wasn’t much to change to the restaurant, and they ran into a great opportunity of an almost completely set up space.

The building is 100 years old with an industrial style look, which is perfect for the atmosphere they hope to create with their casual fine dining menu. They plan to offer a variety of menu items from different generations along with timeless classic pasta dishes, like spaghetti and meatballs and more modern dishes like lobster macaroni and cheese.

“We won’t have fried mozzarella sticks, but we will have fried brie with a raspberry mango chutney sauce,” Marty Sims said.

Some other menu items will include a gourmet grilled cheese with three different cheeses, tomato, onion and brushed with herb mayo. The menu also offers several flat breads ranging from a traditional margarita, to a more modern flatbread topped with gorgonzola, granny smith apples, bacon, onion and parmesan.

“There will be something for everyone, whether you like a burger, flatbread, steak or salad we will have it,” chef, Jeffrey Sims, said.

Marty Sims said the goal of Generations is to serve good quality and good consistency. Jeffrey Sims also said that a strong goal of theirs is to offer good service.

“This is our first venture into to the Delaware community and we want the city to be proud. Everyone in this process has been very helpful so far,” Marty Sims said.

Meeting their goal to open Nov. 1 would allow the restaurant to participate in Delaware’s First Friday of November, a community celebration that Marty and Jeffrey Sims hope to be a part of right away.

First Friday occurs every month in downtown Delaware, where venders, live music and special promotions line the street attracting many community members to dine out for the evening. The restaurant hopes to become a favorite for Ohio Wesleyan students.

Editors Note: In order to reach the projected opening date of Nov. 1, Generations is now hiring for various positions. Please contact Marty or Jeffrey Sims at 740-362-1195 or generationsfinefoodandspirits@hotmail.com for more information.

Actors take flight in The Fairy Queen

Left: Sandy Harned, flying master from ZFX, boosts up sophomore Hannah Sampson in a rehearsal of the Fairy Queen.

Direct Left: Sampson practices her lines in mid flight in a rehearsal of the Fair Queen. The Fair Queen will be showing Nov. 2-3, and Nov. 9-11. Other fliers in this production include senior Joe Lugosch, junior Josh Boggs and junior Hillary Fowler. This is the first time actors have “flown” on stage in a production at OWU. Harned trained both the performers and the crew on how to fly properly using cables and harnesses without injuring themselves. The Fairy Queen was adapted from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and features music by Henry Purcell.

Love Your Body day reinforces importance of self love

By Jenna Rodcay
Transcript Reporter

On Oct. 16, Ohio Wesleyan took part in the national celebration of Love Your Body Day, a campaign established by the National Organization of Women (NOW) to encourage and promote healthy body images.

The NOW website said, “The Love Your Body campaign was created as a response to media portrayals of women, particularly in advertising, that promote narrow and unhealthy ideals of beauty.”

This year marked the Love Your Body Day campaign’s fifteenth year of celebration.

Junior Natalie Duleba, a member of the Women’s House (WOHO), was the organizer of the OWU effort this year and did it as her house project for the semester.

According to Duleba, every member of the SLU community is required to do a house project that promotes their house’s mission each semester.

The WOHO works mainly to enhance knowledge about women’s, LGBT and feminist issues. Each year a different person takes Love Your Body Day on as a house project.

“I’m interested in body issues because they’re not talked about enough and they affect literally everyone,” Duleba said.

NOW encourages people to take part in the movement and bring attention to their communities.

Events take place on campuses across the country and the NOW website noted the diverse ways people express their support for the campaign; “they include blogathons, fashion shows, pickets, educational forums, athletic events and more.”

Duleba decided to incorporate a photo campaign into her project. She took photographs of volunteers for two weeks before Love Your Body Day and created two photo albums of the volunteers. She said the idea is a simplified version of what another housemate wanted to do.

The event’s Facebook page described the photo album as “normal people who love their bodies just the way they are.”

Each of the 39 models was photographed in front of past Love Your Body Day banners.

“There was no set number of people I was looking for,” Duleba said. “I got a lot more people than I was expecting.”

Duleba took head shots of the models, as well as pictures of them standing up, sitting down and showing off their favorite body parts. She chose four of her favorite photos to put in the albums and accompanied each of the model’s photos’ with a slip of paper that said their name, age, class year and favorite body part.

Duleba said most people chose their eyes and butts, while others chose their collarbones, legs, and wrists.

Though the NOW campaign focuses mainly on women, Duleba was able to photograph men and women of several different races and class years, Greek members, SLU members and those unaffiliated.

“I was super impressed by the amount of diversity I was able to get,” Duleba said. “I felt that leaving men out would be too limited. Body issues affect men too. I wanted to be more inclusive than NOW made it seem.”

Junior Gus Wood, a member of the WOHO, was one of the volunteer models. “I thought it would be an interesting opportunity,” Wood said. “It’s important for men to participate in this kind of project because it’s not just a women’s issue.”

Junior Katie Sponseller said she first participated in the campaign to help Duleba accomplish something she was so passionate about but found after participating she felt a real “inner beauty, outer beauty” experience.

“It was amazing to see the things that other people find beautiful about themselves,” Sponseller said.

Duleba presented the albums to the campus on Oct. 16, the day before national Love Your Body Day because OWU did not have classes on the national celebration day, while tabling in HamWill.

Duleba also encouraged people to sign this year’s Love Your Body banner. She said more than 50 people declared their favorite body part on the banner.

The banner will hang in the HamWil atrium from Oct. 22 to Oct. 26 and there will be a Love Your Body display in the atrium display cases during the first week of November.

Duleba said the campaign was a great first house project and motivated her to get more involved with other events, such as Written on the Body, a body image speak out sponsored by the Women’s Resource Center (WRC).

“It helped me express my passion for this issue and gave other people the opportunity to support a good cause,” Duleba said.

Editor’s Note: Natalie Duleba is an editor of the The Transcript, but the issue discussed is relevant to the campus as a whole. Duleba played no part in the construction of the article.

The Arjune DJs adds a new spin to campus nightlife

Freshman Bhuneshwar Arjune, member of twin music duo the Arjune DJs, mixes music at an event. His brother, Krishna Arjune, performs with him, DJing parties across the Ohio Wesleyan campus.

By Julia Stone
Transcript Correspondent

Freshmen twins Bhuneshwar and Krishna Arjune are taking over Ohio Wesleyan’s music scene by racking up gig after gig with their DJing business.

The “Arjune DJs” have already worked events including Viva’s Latin American Independence Day Dance, Stuying Up All Night and the International Fashion Show, which raised money for Save a Child’s Heart.

On Dec. 4 they plan to DJ at Up ‘til Dawn, the charity event for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

With help from their friend, senior Iftekhar Ahmed Showpnil, the Arjune’s DJ business has skyrocketed. Iftekhar uses his connections to sororities, fraternities, and other organizations to find the twins gigs.

Crowds have responded well to the Arjune DJs. When asked how the Viva dance went, Iftekhar said, “Good, very good. As far as ratings go it was the best on campus so far.” The twins focus on smooth transitions between songs and playing music that fits the event to please the crowd. They never play from one set playlist, instead they adapt to the crowd’s reaction.

When asked why they decided to become DJs, the twins said their upbringing was a major influence. They have always been surrounded by music; especially Caribbean beats which influence their current style. DJing came naturally to them because they have drumming experience, which helps them blend beats and match tempos.

The twins’ family is an important part of their DJing business. Krishna said, “They have always been very supportive of everything that my brother and I do.” Their father encouraged them to start the business at the end of their junior year. Their parents help pay for DJing equipment and give moral support.

The twins have learned many lessons during their DJing careers. They have learned to adapt to please different crowds. They also value the principle of respect in business, and in life in general. Bhuneshwar said, “It doesn’t matter how good of a DJ you are, if you aren’t respectful then no one will respect you or your music.”

According to the twins, it is important to respect everyone’s taste in music at the event, but you can’t please everyone. Respecting different ages is also important to the twins’ music selection. Krishna said, “If there are younger children present, you must use your discretion.”

The twins taught themselves how to DJ. They ran their high school DJ club where they taught younger students the art of DJing and how to run equipment safely. Their first gig was a graduation party, which Krishna said went very well.

OWU appealed to the twins because of its high academic standing and the DJing opportunities it offers. When they had an overnight visit last May they talked to their Alpha Sig hosts and started making connections for their business.

So far the twins’ favorite music-related experience at OWU was Will.I.Am signing their business card.

The twins said, “Meeting Will.I.Am was such an influential experience because it has given us the motivation to improve our musical abilities, to become the best DJs we possibly can.”

In the future, the twins hope to continue DJing at OWU. After graduating they want to DJ at weddings and proms.

They look forward to upgrading their equipment and bringing enjoyment to others through their music.

New talent shines bright in Scenes! 2012

By Ellin Youse
Transcript Reporter

The newest additions to Ohio Wesleyan’s theater department took to the stage for the first time last Saturday night at the Chappelear Drama Center in “Scenes!”

The performance is an annual collaboration between the Theatre and Dance department’s directing class and students who are new to the program, both freshmen and transfers.

“Scenes!” allows both groups of students to experience a new area of drama, with the new students taking the stage for the first time and the upperclassmen stepping down from it.

Junior Jason Bogdany said this transition from acting to directing was the highlight of the production, despite the difficulty of having to sit back and watch as opposed to performing.

“My favorite part of ‘Scenes!’ was, for the first time, actually being able to direct actors and getting them ready for their performance,” Bogdany said.

“I have experienced performances as an actor or working backstage, but it’s a completely different feeling when your work has shaped a scene that you no longer have control over. It can be a little scary, but exciting at the same time.”

Freshman Maeve Nash said her director, junior Megan Pinto, taught her most of her knowledge on acting in just the first few weeks at OWU.

“My director (Pinto) was absolutely amazing to work with,” Nash said. “She helped me and my scene partner explore our characters; I actually learned a lot about acting in just my first weeks here! It’s hard to believe it was her very first time directing.”

The students performed ten scenes pulled from various productions, each lasting about four minutes.

However, what the scenes lacked in length they made up for in intensity, each portraying an extremely dramatic scenario.

From a pair of skateboarding grandmothers to a pair of old girl friends unmasking their love and sexual tension for one another, the actors balanced highly melodramatic content with comedic silliness.

While some scenes took either a dominant comedic or dramatic tone, some scenes combined both. Junior Kati Sweigard’s scene from Tennessee William’s “Suddenly, Last Summer,” depicted a desperate aunt begging a surgeon to perform a lobotomy on her niece.

Despite the complicated and dark content of the script, the one-liners delivered by freshman Lane Bookwalter during his performance as Dr. Cukrowicz inspired chuckles from the audience despite his scene partner, freshman Hannah Simpson’s harsh, threatening lines.

Sweigard said she took pride in her actors’ ability to combine these light and dark moments interchangeably.

“The best part about rehearsals was that we were able to have fun while getting a lot of work done,” Sweigard said.

“Lane and Hannah and I had a really good balance of silly and serious, so there was never a dull moment although our scene was very serious and tense.”

Although the four weeks of rehearsal demanded high-intensity acting, Simpson said her experience working on the show was a fun and energetic experience that allowed her to connect with her cast mates.

“Getting to know Kati and Lane so well was my favorite part of ‘Scenes!’” Simpson said.

“We all worked so closely with each other, and we all clicked very well. Kati is a great director; she gives clear, concise notes and still allows her actors the freedom to explore their characters on their own. Lane is just a wonderful scene partner; he is so full of energy, and he is so committed to what he does. And, of course, it was amazing to watch my cast mates perform and see their hard work pay off.”

Junior Gus Wood, director of the scene from Steve Martin’s “Underpants,” said he was only able to share in his cast members’ excitement after his scene was over.

“I mean this in the best possible way, but my favorite moment was right after my scene was over,” Wood said.

“I was so nervous about it, just because that’s how I am. I was wringing my hands but as soon as they got onstage and the laughter happened, I could feel myself breathing again.”

Wood said although performing and directing comes with a healthy anxiety, his passion and appreciation for theater always brings him back to the stage.

“What draws me to the theatre is its honesty,” Wood said. “It’s one of the rawest and most spontaneous communicative art forms we have left.”

Freshman makes the magic happen at Ohio Wesleyan

By Margaret Bagnell
Transcript Reporter

Freshman Bill Boaz performs a card trick for junior Rebecca Overbeeke in Smith Hall.
Freshman Bill Boaz may appear to be a typical college student, but he’s got something different up his sleeve. Boaz is an 18-year-old magician.

At a very young age Boaz said he fell in love with magic and now has dozens of awards and his own company, Magic & Illusions.

“I first got interested in magic when I was about four years old,” Boaz said. “I remember watching TV and back then there were all these shows of magic on TV, and I saw David Copperfield making a glass ball float and it was the most beautiful thing in the world. So for my fifth birthday my parents gave me a magic kit and I never grew out of it.”

Boaz said receiving the kit for his birthday was the first inspiration to get into magic. Now he can perform the glass ball illusion trick, just as Copperfield did.

Boaz said Copperfield was something of an idol as he began his journey into the world of magicians. By the time Boaz was in middle school he was performing for small events and birthday parties. Up until the age of 15, Boaz said he taught himself all of his own tricks.

Magicians can perform tricks by using a “close up” show or “stage illusion.” Boaz said his favorite way to perform is through the use of a close up show, which is magic that uses small objects like cards, coins or a watch.

“It’s the most effective form of magic,” he said. “Stage magic is a grand illusion where on stage you can make tigers appear, girls vanish, things like that. I can’t bring large illusions to college. I can’t store them in my dorm room. But I enjoy both of them in different ways.”

Two of Boaz’s more recent acts are called “Luck be Lady,” which is one of his originals and “Shape of my Heart.”

“The hardest one that I’ve learned is choreographed to music,” he said. “Incorporating music into your show makes the audience feel the show more. It’s a routine to music by Sting and during the song they talk about all of the different playing cards and all of the sudden all of the aces pop out of the deck on queue with the music. A sequence of that kind of nature is very difficult.”

Some of Boaz’s favorite tricks to perform involve cards and a lot of hand movement. He is an international champion of close up magic with cards and started using cards when he was 8.

One trick Boaz performs is the “nun” trick, where all of the Queens, the sisters, find each other in the deck. Another card trick Boaz said he likes to perform involves the question of fate or chance.

“I believe in fate,” said Boaz as he performed another trick involving a deck of cards.

Before every show Boaz said he performs a series of four hand exercises to warm up and the last one onstage leads into a trick.

“In class I do these exercises sometimes when I’m just sitting there and I start twiddling my fingers,” he said. “I did one trick in class before, but what happens a lot is people will tend to call upon you to entertain the class, so I don’t really publicize myself as a magician in class. I keep it secret unless people already know about me, but I don’t want anyone to treat me differently.”

All of Boaz’s effects are his own and he said he created the majority of his magic, but when he does buy special props for a certain trick they come from custom sites used primarily by magicians.

Boaz was a self-taught magician throughout his earlier years of training and during this time he learned some tricks by other magicians at conferences. At 15, Boaz received a scholarship to go to Canada and learn from some of the world’s best magicians, which is where a lot of his influence came from.

In Canada he spent one week in the summer learning the tricks of the trade and hanging out with well-known magicians. Boaz has won numerous awards based on his skills and has been recognized for his exceptional talent in stage and up close magic.

“My home conference was at Magi-fest, the world’s oldest magic organization, where I won my first award at age 14,” Boaz said.
“It’s in Columbus and it’s kind of an underground thing. It’s sort of like a gathering for magicians. It’s one of my favorite conventions.”

Boaz said he travels frequently with his magic from New Jersey to Las Vegas, and has performed all over the country. “Las Vegas was my favorite concert week, I was one out of 10 magicians in the world to be showcased and perform in the showroom,” said Boaz.

Traveling has been set aside for Boaz as he focuses on his college education. However, Boaz is still performing his magic
“Because of college it’s a lot harder to book shows, it makes traveling a bit more difficult. It would be cool if a show appeared at Ohio Wesleyan. If someone asked me to do a show I would definitely go for it,” Boaz said.

Art collaborative explores femininity

By Taylor Stoudt
Transcript Reporter

Women’s bodies have always been a hot topic of discussion.

Whether it is the many things the female body can do or the rising number in body image disorders, it is something people notice.

However, four fine arts students have taken the discussion and turned it into art.

Seniors Chelsea Dipman, Allyson Hays, Chelsea Leeds and Danielle Muzina are the featured artists in the “Women by Women” exhibit in Edgar Hall.

The series consists of 19 paintings and drawings depicting women in a range of poses and varying from fully clothed to completely nude.

One of the models featured in the show is senior Carly Hallal.

“I definitely had some hesitation because I was in my underwear when (Dipman) was taking the pictures,” Hallal said.

“I knew that they were going to be all up over the school but at the same time it’s quite an honor to be hanging up in a gallery and she does such a great job.”

A shared desire throughout the artists was the desire to convey the beauty and strength they see in the models as women who impact their lives every day.
“Personally, I chose models who are women in my life who I admire,” Leeds said.

“I am surrounded by strong, independent and driven women and my motive for painting them is to be able to portray their personalities and those qualities in my paintings.”

Each of the artists made the decision to create pieces using female models during their second and third semesters of college painting.

It was not until later that the overlapping themes were taken notice of by the artists and a collaborative show was presented as an idea. A collaborative show was planned thereafter.

“Women by Women” exists because of a shared fascination with the bodies, lives and intricacies of women,” Leeds said.

“As a woman, painting the women in my life who I have admired has also allowed me to reflect on my own self.”

“There is a personal connection with the piece because of the subject matter that encourages an inner struggle.”

According to Leeds, her fascination in the female form has been progressing since she first came to college her freshman year.

However, for Dipman, the inspiration was sparked unintentionally.

“At the beginning of last year I struggled with finding something I was passionate about painting so one day I just ripped out a page from a Victoria’s Secret catalogue,” Dipman said.

“What I discovered by painting these models was that their bodies were so contorted and the angles of their bodies reflected what society has decided women should aspire to look like.”

“It was then that at the end of the semester and into the spring that I began to paint real women around me. I chose these women because they were more than just beautiful on the outside; they all had an inner beauty as well,” she said.

“Women by Women” is currently up for viewing in the Werner Gallery of Edgar Hall and there will be a formal reception held on Wednesday, Oct. 10.

Exploring the marriage plot: professor examines the greater subtexts in works of literature by women

By Ellin Youse
Transcript Reporter

Professor Sally Livingston’s new book, Marriage, Property, and Women’s Narratives, intersects history, economics and medieval literature to investigate the psychology behind women and their finances.

Livingston began to write the book while writing her dissertation as a graduate student at Harvard. After a year of revisions, she finished the book upon her arrival at Ohio Wesleyan last fall.

“When I saw the finished product, I couldn’t believe how small it was,” Livingston said. “When I sent it off to the publishers, it was so thick! Now it’s just this tiny little thing.”

Livingston owned a consulting firm for most of her adult life and said much of the inspiration for her book comes from working with her female consultants. She said the women “had an ‘I can’t deal with it, someone else handle it’ attitude with their finances.”

“I was thinking about this book even before I went back to school at Harvard because a lot of these women consultants I had were really afraid of money,” Livingston said. “They were usually in their thirties or forties, and they were brought up with old fashioned ideas of money; they were used to being dependent on others, and they were scared. I figured it just had something to do with math, but in reality they just felt utterly incapable of understanding money and investments.”

Livingston left consulting to work towards her Ph.D at Harvard where she continued to think about women and money.

As she studied medieval literature from the 11th century, Livingston said she began to compare and contrast the women in her readings to her former clients.
She realized the attitudes of women before they lost the right to own property were immensely different from the attitudes modern women typically have towards money.

“The idea just randomly clicked with me while I was reading a book for my fairy tale class,” Livingston said. “I was just reading and then I realized, like, this is all about economics.”

Livingston said she took a literary and historical approach on how women began to think about money.

“Before the 11th century in many places in western Europe, women could own and pass property down in their own name, and literature written by women during this time was very autonomous,” Livingston said. “Women lost their right to property as economic circumstance changed, and everything that was theirs now became ‘his.’ These women had no autonomy, even mentally. To have money is to have freedom, and when you have that taken, you become dependent on a man.”

Livingston said she traced her ideas of women and their loss of property throughout the middle ages and into the era of Jane Austen.

She studied how female writers of this time talked about themselves, marriage and property.

“In any Jane Austen novel, ‘the marriage plot’ is always the central theme,” Livingston said.

“So much of the literature women write, even today, is about romance. And I think a lot of that comes from the fact that women really did have to find husbands.”

To achieve an expansive view of women writers throughout history, Livingston said she examined what would have happened if they’d never lost property. To do this, she looked at works by Russian women, since Russian women never lost their rights to own property. Livingston found that in these works, marriage and romance were scarcely mentioned if mentioned at all.

“If women had the right to own property throughout the last 800 years, literature would have been vastly different,” Livingston said. “I always asked myself the question: why in heaven’s name do we have such trouble with money? And I now realize it’s because we lost ownership of ourselves. We began to see ourselves as property.”

Livingston is working on another book focusing on medieval fairy tales and their underlying economic themes. In her new book, Livingston said she examines how medieval fairy tales reflect social anxiety over the era’s change from an equalitarian, bartering economy to a commercial, speculation economy. Livingston is currently teaches a freshman honors tutorial about the fairy tales, which she said directly benefits her writing.

“This time around I’m teaching the subject as I’m working on the book, and the input I receive from my students is just amazing,” Livingston said. “Their perceptions are just incredible and give me so much insight. I’m absolutely going to have to give them credit in the book.”

Senior Madeline Lank is a humanities major currently working with Livingston on her independent study. Lank’s independent study focuses on medieval fairy tales, and she said she benefits from her influence.

“She’s very passionate about what she does, and a terrific resource,” Lank said. “Working with her is the highlight of my week. She takes my ideas seriously and brings out her own info to guide my thoughts. I have the utmost respect for her and I love working with her.”

Students can order Livingston’s book Marriage, Property, and Women’s Narratives on Amazon, or pick up the copy on reserve at Beeghly Library.

Lawless is far from flawless

Period drama “Lawless” tells the story of three bootlegging brothers in Prohibition-era Virginia struggling against a new special deputy who has come into town to control and profit from the illegal moonshining business.

The tale is based on the novel “The Wettest County in the World,” which tells the story of the real-life Bondurant brothers Jack (Shia LaBeouf), Forrest (Tom Hardy) and Howard (Jason Clarke).

It’s established in the first scene that youngest brother Jack is not as inclined to violence as his older brothers, and his naivetĂ© is continually emphasized throughout the film as he charges into situations half-cocked, whether it be to woo the preacher’s daughter or take revenge on the special deputy.

Forrest, the undisputed leader of the trio, communicates mostly in grunts, but the viewer grows more attached to him than the supposed main character of the drama, Jack.

Hardy portrays him as steadfast and unwilling to bend to the special deputy. He is also quick to resort to violence when it’s needed to intimidate.

The third brother, an obvious alcoholic, comes and goes, but doesn’t evoke much feeling beyond when he fails Forrest.

Guy Pearce’s portrayal of the germophobic, eyebrow-less special deputy is creepy and effective—the audience quickly learns to distrust him. He’s seen beating Jack quickly after Forrest’s refusal to pay the new bribe required of moonshiners, and his obvious contempt for the brothers and all the mess they cause adds to his general air of disgust.

The strange love story between Jack’s character and the preacher’s daughter is juxtaposed with stunning scenes of violence.

The love story and the violence are jarring next to each other, but both have a certain richness to them, especially in the case of Forrest’s brass knuckle-wielding fist.

The film builds up to a final confrontation with the special deputy that feels like a long time coming.

It seems like a shotgun to the special deputy’s face 15 minutes into the film would have prevented all the problems he caused, including the multiple attempts on Forrest’s life.

Despite some missing pieces, the attention to detail of the era and the impressive performances on Hardy and Pearce’s parts make for an intense film filled with violence, moonshine and lawlessness.