Category: Entertainment

Believe it or not, “The Vow” is based on a true story.
The film takes its premise from an eponymous book by Kim Carpenter that details his wife Krickitt’s recovery from memory loss following a car accident that left her unable to remember him, her husband, or their marriage.
This sounds like an episode of a soap opera, but it actually happened. It happened to two people, two very real human beings, on which it undoubtedly took a great emotional toll.
The film, however, fails to reflect this fact whatsoever.
The romantic-drama dream team of Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams star as Leo and Paige, a twenty-something Chicago couple.
They first meet shortly after Paige, a Northwestern law school dropout, moves into the city to study at the Art Institute. After a series of unconventional dates, they eventually wed—in an art museum, naturally.
This back-story is told by a series of flashbacks following the events of the film’s first five minutes, during which a large truck slams the couple’s sedan at a stop sign.
I’d like to digress for a moment to point out the utter inconceivability of this accident.
The couple’s car is stopped legally, and the truck can be seen approaching at full speed, its horn blaring as Paige and Leo make out unapologetically. This raises some questions, none of which the film ever attempts to answer.
First, why is the driver making no effort to avoid the car? Unless both the truck’s brakes and steering were disabled, anyone with common sense would try to go around it. I find it difficult to believe any sane person with an advanced driver’s license would become so enflamed with a pair of absent-minded newlyweds that he or she would attempt vehicular homicide.
Additionally, why is there no kind of legal dispute between the couple and the driver? Leo and Paige are both uninsured (a fact not revealed until more than halfway through the film), so their treatments have burdened them with massive medical debt—which the certain monetary settlement or judgment a lawsuit would provide would probably have helped assuage.
Finally, why do neither Paige nor Leo notice the behemoth big rig behind them? My experience has been that kissing, no matter how passionate, cannot induce temporary deafness and blindness—the only logical explanation as to why the horn and blinding headlights elicit no reaction from the couple.
These holes, however, are the least of the film’s problems.
Because Paige’s seatbelt was unbuckled when the truck struck the car, she was thrown out the windshield headfirst, causing a traumatic head injury.
She awakens from a medically induced coma several days later with an intact long-term memory—she can recall her childhood and contacts her wealthy parents, whom she had been estranged from for several years—but no recollection of Leo or her marriage.
In the early stages of her recovery, Paige does fairly well adjusting to the strange man claiming to be her spouse. But Leo undermines this progress on several occasions.
When Paige first reluctantly goes home with him, she finds his apartment full of her friends—none of whom she remembers. Understandably, she’s disoriented and overwhelmed, and leaves the room in tears.
Leo’s strategy of aiding his wife’s recovery introduces too much, too fast. Instead of gradually reintroducing Paige to her daily routine with him, he drowns her in a life vastly different from anything she remembers.
Instead of having any empathy for her, he gets angry when she doesn’t want to be around him.
Leo’s expectation of his wife to want to return to life with him obliterates the notion of consent. In his eyes, she is obligated to be with him because their relationship had worked so well in the past, and he’s willing to make no concessions to return to his idea of normalcy.
However repugnant this may be, Leo is not solely guilty of treating Paige like an inhuman possession.
Her parents, along with her former fiancée, are equal perpetrators.
They take advantage of her limited memory to coerce her into returning to the life she willingly left.
The fact that she was unhappy as a socialite law student has no weight—they want her back, and they use far more reprehensible means than Leo’s to achieve that end.
The despicableness of Paige’s former family is the only device the film uses to form any emotional connection with Leo—the audience is compelled to root for him simply because he’s the lesser of three or four evils.
But that does not mean he has any actual redeeming qualities.
In addition to this subtle misogyny, the film fails to introduce basic character details at the appropriate times and establishes several unresolved subplots that are largely implausible completely irrelevant to the central story.
For instance, it was unclear whether Leo had a job until 45 minutes in, when it’s revealed he owns a recording studio; and it’s not disclosed until the end of the film that Paige abandoned her former life because her father had an affair with one of her childhood friends.
Overall, “The Vow” is the worst kind of bad movie—it’s awful enough that the nearly one hour, 45 minute runtime drags by, but not so execrable as to be funny in any way.

The Benes Rooms were filled with frequent gasping, shaking of heads and laughing last Monday.
As part of celebration of Women’s History Month, “Miss Representation,” a documentary about gender inequality, was shown to students. Men and women filled the Benes Rooms to view the film.
Written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Miss Representation exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. The film challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls, which make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel empowered.
Sophomore Rachel Tallmadge was one of the students who planned the screening.
“I have always been interested in gender equality,” she said. “This film addressed many issues with gender equality and supported them with facts.”
Tallmadge said she was amazed by movements the documentary has sparked across the country.
“The action and attention that this film has caused really sparked my interest to get involved,” she said.
Stories from teenage girls and provocative interviews with politicians, journalists, entertainers, activists and academics (including Condoleezza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, Margaret Cho, Rosario Dawson and Gloria Steinem) voiced their opinions and shocking statistics were presented.
Senior Michael Raszmann said he really enjoyed the film and what he liked the most was the political dialogue explained.
“I like how they made the very clear distinction between the pragmatic rise of the media and sexism through capitalism, they made that very distinct,” Raszmann said.
Junior Clare Whitaker said she thought the documentary was fascinating.
“I thought some of the things they brought out were so true, one of the biggest points was the idea that half of the population doesn’t support the other half,” she said.
Whitaker said it is amazing how men never watch the things that women are in, which portray women as protagonists – a point that was stressed throughout the film
“I feel like, after watching this, it’s so important for women to watch it and learn to be confident and learn to be individuals, but I think men should also view this and embrace it because they need to understand the same things as women,” she said.
Senior Ann Merrell, who helped plan the screening along with Tallmadge, said she is going to be more critical of the way the media portrays women.
“I am someone who loves chick flicks and fairytales, but I think it is important to remember the effect that those kinds of stories and films have on women and their image of themselves,” she said.
“I think that we know that stripper scenes degrade women, but also these fairytales where women are powerless and need a man are also very harmful. So I am going to pay attention to that,” Merrell said.
Tallmadge said she was really excited that a lot of people showed up and came to this house project.
“I think it sends an important message to the campus,” she said. “The action doesn’t stop here. I hope people are inspired by this to spread the message.”
“We are still discussing how to keep the action going,” said Merrell.
She said she is hoping the communities she is a part of will be open to dialogue about the representation of women in the media.
“I want to give members of the Ohio Wesleyan community a chance to get involved in the beginning of this wave of change and education,” said Tallmadge.

To know Say Anything’s music is to know Max Bemis’ life story.
The prolific frontman’s songwriting is always deeply personal, and the band’s discography chronicles every aspect of his life, positive and negative.
The sexually frustrated teenage Bemis emerged on “Baseball,” Say Anything’s debut; the sophomore “…Is A Real Boy” brought his struggles with drug addiction and bipolar disorder to the forefront; and the epic “In Defense of the Genre” portrayed a man in a state of recovery, reflection, anger and confusion. On the 2009 self-titled record, he had found solace in marriage and continued work in facing his demons.
The story is a roller coaster—a disconcerted boy turns too quickly into an angry, alienated man at the hands of mental illness and addiction, realizes and confronts his flaws in a flurry of catharsis, and as a result finds love and takes a break from being indignant.
With “Anarchy, My Dear,” Say Anything’s fifth full-length release, the saga continues.
Present here is a much more conscious Bemis—he’s surfaced from his previous haze, and while certainly happier, he’s still as angry as ever.
This is a major departure from the preceding self-titled record. There, Bemis was making light of his hardships in an attempt at moving on.
Here, Bemis has realized there’s still work to be done. He knows his demons are still lingering, but their presence doesn’t stop him from hating them. This is obvious on “Peace Out.” Accompanied by harps and acoustic guitars, Bemis sings a sardonic, biting ode to his former self.
“I’ll be fine,” he croons. “Sever this for all time/Laugh it off when this ends/You can
just go get high with all of your dumb friends.”
Along with this newfound animosity toward his own history, Bemis maintains his loathing of his critics.
On “Admit It Again,” the continuation of a hate letter to his detractors began on “…Is A Real Boy,” he berates the hipsters who are “fueled by a potent mixture of cocaine and latent insecurity, defining (their) own self-worth by the opinion of a stupid website with Satan as its figurehead.”
In addition to being once again filled with rage, Bemis is as in love on “Anarchy” as he was on the self-titled release. His infatuation with his wife, Sherri DuPree of indie rock quintet Eisley, is exhibited clearly on “So Good” and “Say Anything,” which could have been blared from John Cusack’s iconic boom box – were he an anarchist punk rocker.

Bemis’ writing provides tangible evidence of his increased happiness.
His words may be scathing in some places, but his voice sounds less tortured than on “…Is A Real Boy” and “In Defense of the Genre.” The instrumentation is less lighthearted and more stripped down than the self-titled record, but it’s cleaner and much more polished.
Many Say Anything fans claim the self-titled album was Say Anything’s worst because of its brighter sound and lack of emotional depth. They wanted an angrier Bemis, the anguished twenty-something heard on the band’s earlier work.
Their desires are sated on “Anarchy,” and it’s good to hear Bemis angry again.
But it’s also refreshing that he’s holding onto the positivity in his life. Someone who has been through as much as he has, and been completely open about it in his work, deserves to do so.

Sophomore Matthew Jamison used the art of dance to convey emotions and issues concerning sexual violence at Orchesis 2012, which took place March 2-3 and the American College Dance Festival during March 7-10. Jamison drew upon personal experiences in creating his work.
“Last semester, I was training to be an advocate for survivors of sexual assault at HelpLine, I was taking Women’s and Gender Studies, reading about assault and coercion, I was having my own emotional and internal struggles, and I didn’t have a way to accurately or safely communicate what I wanted to say to anyone. My body worked through what my brain could not, to communicate what my words could not,” Jamison said.
In attempting to create a piece that accurately told the stories he wanted to tell, Jamison listened to and read testimonies by rape and sexual assault survivors and incorporated several elements into the piece, including Nicole Blackman’s poem “Victim.”
Junior Andrea Kraus, lighting designer for the piece, was compelled to work on Jamison’s dance because of its message.
“I was the only female lighting designer for Orchesis, and as a WGS major I felt connected to the project. I felt emotionally and academically compelled to be a part of it,” Kraus said.
Jamison and Kraus worked to make the performance convey a clear message about surviving sexual violence. The dance began with a minute of dark silence to draw the audience in, followed by the sound of slapping.
“There is something really disconcerting about the sound of hands slapping bare legs. I hope this discomfort then invoked catharsis, anger, curiosity,” Jamison said.
Kraus built off of Jamison’s desired message in designing the lighting for the performance.
“A lot of women feel unable to talk about rape; they’re hidden from society. That’s why we designed the lighting darkly, to create a deep, raw, emotional feel. The piece is edgy and political, which to me is what art should be,” Kraus said.
Jamison also explained that he wanted his audience to experience the performance as not only art but also a call to action.
“Everyone that saw this piece now bears the responsibility to put an end to the components that contributed to its creation—the act of assault, the social stigma against victims and survivors, the social stigma against those who admit they need the help of a therapist and the perpetuation of rape culture in this country,” Jamison said.
Sophomore Alyssa De Robertis, a performer in the piece, also stressed the importance of its message. She and the other dancers worked with Jamison to tell the desired story through body movement.
“When I was dancing, I made myself feel trapped by my feelings, like I wanted to get out but I couldn’t. I wanted to show that people who have these experiences can feel that way, and to hopefully show that they can get out and be helped,” De Robertis said.
The piece was one of two selected to be performed at the American College Dance Festival Association conference March 7-10. There, the dancers performed it for three adjudicators who offered constructive criticism.
Ultimately, Jamison’s goal in creating the piece was to tell stories he thinks need desperately to be told.
“I made this piece because I don’t know what I would have done had I not made it. I made it to develop my voice, so that I can scream for myself and others. I am working to develop my craft so that it says something, so that every gesture says something, and I am working to develop my body so that it screams it,” Jamison said.

As seniors near the end of their last semester at OWU, those graduating with theater degrees are finishing their senior projects, and juniors are beginning to plan their projects for the upcoming academic year.
These projects are required of senior theater majors and have to be approved by the faculty in the theater department.
Senior Edmund Howland said there is an “incredible range in size and scope” for projects seniors can choose.
“For example, my senior project is doing the lighting design for a main-stage show, which is directed by department faculty,” he said.
“However, other projects include directing small shows, writing research papers or approved outside internships.”
Howland said he chose his project because lighting design is his concentration within theater. His senior project is creating the lighting design for “Ring Round the Moon,” which is the final main stage show for the 2011-2012 season.
“The projects are meant as a demonstration of everything we have learned in our time at Ohio Wesleyan,” he said.
“I chose this project because it is the best reflection of my abilities as a designer, as well as the biggest challenge as an artist that I can face here before graduating and moving out into the world.”
Junior Leah Shaeffer is focusing on directing for her senior project. She said she will be working with junior Ellie Bartz to perform the scenes in her project.
“For my senior project, I will be directing Ellie in a few scenes and monologues from plays written by American woman playwrights of the past century,” Shaeffer said.
“Each scene will relate to an experience or struggle that American women continue to face in today’s world, focusing on issues such as the ongoing stigma attached to lesbianism, physical, verbal and sexual abuse or women, familial relationships, and communities formed between women, and more.”
She said her project will be combined with her honors project, where she is doing a research project on American woman playwrights and their influence on the feminist movement.
She said she is hoping to have guest speakers from female-centric organizations on campus and in the community introduce each scene with a short statement about the issues the scene will encompass.
“I chose to do this project because during my time at OWU, I have become very passionate about feminism and women’s issues, and I feel that there is a lack of connections between the theater arts and the feminist movement on campus,” she said.
She said this project will also serve as her house project for the Women’s House, where she will be a third-year resident. She said her project is currently untitled.
Shaeffer said her project will be performed in the fall semester of 2012 and Howland said “Ring Round the Moon” will be performed April 13, 14, 20, and 12 at 8 p.m. and April 22 at 2 p.m.
“I am really excited to work on a project that is really my own rather than part of the department season or a class,” Shaeffer said. “I hope to involve many different groups on campus and in the surrounding community, and to raise awareness and support for both the arts and the feminist movement.”
“I really couldn’t be more excited for this production,” Howland said. “Quite literally this is what I do, and having the chance to do it is absolutely incredible. To be able to come to the table and add my artistic vision to a group of professional theater artists and be taken seriously carries amazingly powerful sense of validation.”

The ladies of Pitch Black, OWU’s female a cappella group, competed against 10 other groups at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) on Feb. 25.
The competition was held at Kettering High School in Kettering, OH.
The group sang “I Want You To Want Me” by Letters to Cleo, “I’ll Fly Away” by Alison Kraus and Gillian Welch, and a piece combining “Not Over You” by Gavin DeGraw and “Someone Like You” by Adele.
Senior Emily Knobbe said she felt the group sang well for their first time competing and incorporating choreography into the performance.
“We learned a lot about the quality of a cappella outside of OWU. Choreography was a big part of the judging, and this was our very first experience with choreography, so it was a lot to take on,” said Knobbe.
Junior Clare Edwards, president of Pitch Black, said she was glad the group was able to travel to a competition such as the ICCA, since the last time the group performed off campus was at Denison in the fall.
“The competition was really fun because we got to meet other groups and sing our sets for each other,” she said.
Edwards said the two groups who went on to the next round were “Buck That,” the men’s group from The Ohio State University, and “The Rip Chords,” an all women’s group from The University of Illinois.
Senior Julia Alkon said the experience was more about group bonding than winning, and the group sang well regardless.
“Although I really enjoyed getting to perform together in front of judges and a big audience, the best part was having the opportunity to be part of something like this and getting to hear all of the other groups,” she said.
Knobbe said she has high hopes for the ladies of Pitch Black as competitors in years to come.
“The winning groups were from very large schools, so we feel proud to have pulled off what we did, coming from such a small school. In future years, the group will have more practice with incorporating choreography into our set. We also were able to see the extremely high energy levels of many of the groups, and we will work even harder to meet that level,” she said.

The audience roared and applauded at this year’s 2012 Orchesis performances presented by the Department of Theatre and Dance at the Chappelear Drama Center March 2 and 3.
Orchesis is OWU’s student dance company. Orchesis provides company members with the opportunity to perform their own choreographed pieces, and work with guest and faculty choreographers to showcase their talent. Each piece performed Saturday displayed a wide array of emotions. Pieces explored suvh topics as stress, disaster, the military and sexual violence.
Assistant Professor of Theatre and Dance, Marin Leggat, artistic director of Orchesis said the rehearsal process was not without its challenges.
“I think the more complex part of organizing the concert was scheduling. There are 22 dancers, 8 choreographers, 6 lighting designers and an entire technical crew whose schedules need(ed) to coordinate to get things done on time. Choreographers rehearsed 3 hours every week, and often ran into schedule conflicts when their dancers were involved in other academic and extra-curricular activities.”
“I remember Pledge Week was especially challenging, because our guest choreographer, Kristen Groves, was setting her dance on eight dancers that week. Most of these dancers had to plan well ahead of time to be able to participate in Pledge Week and attend all of Kristen’s rehearsals,” said Leggat.
The show drew a full house both nights.
“I was thrilled, but not surprised, by our large audiences. The students have worked so hard since mid-October, and are really proud of the work they’ve done. I knew they would spread the word to get their friends, families and faculty to attend. I’m glad so many people got to celebrate these students,” said Leggat.
The performance consisted of vibrant costumes for each set piece, as well as different lighting sets all coordinated to make the overall expressions of the dancers reflect on the audience.
“I thought the costuming and lighting looked stunning. We had a wide range of colors, fabrics, styles and moods from dance to dance. Jackie Shelley did a lovely job coordinating those costumes. Under the guidance of Glen Vanderbilt, student lighting designers Dave Winnyk, Ed Howland, Nathaniel Barber and Andrea Kraus created a new world for each dance,” said Leggat.
The dancers endured long practices in order to perfect each move and be in synch with one another. With all of that hard work and dedcation, came a slight injury for Freshman Victoria “Buzzy” Biddinger. Weeks prior to the performance Biddinger dislocated her knee cap.
Biddinger said, “I took a few days off, but jumped back in when the swelling went down. My knee was starting to feel better, until I did it again during Yvonne (Hendrick’s) piece on Monday (of technical rehearsal week). My knee made a loud ‘pop’ and the instant pain made me feel queasy. I went to the doctor the next day and he said that I was going to need an MRI because he was concerned about my ACL. This made me super stressed because I’ve already gone through two ACL surgeries. I was really struggling with walking, so I told Marin that my gut feeling was that I wasn’t going to be able to perform. I was in five pieces and they all had to be changed a little bit, due to my absence. It was really hard to sit out and watch because I love being on the stage and have been training since October for Orchesis. However, the cast was so supportive of me and still made me feel important.”
Biddinger later got an MRI and was told she had a large tear in her meniscus, and that her ACL was fine. She got approval from her doctor that she would be able to dance on it but it would be very painful.
“I iced, elevated, took ibuprofen, and jumped into rehearsal Thursday night. I had to be taken out of April (Warner’s) piece because of all the jumping and intense movements, but I got to be in the other pieces with slight changes. My knee was a bit tender, but I had an amazing time Friday and Saturday on and off the stage. I’m so incredibly happy that I got to have this experience and I will treasure these memories forever,” said Biddinger.
Students who attended the performances were impressed by the intricate dance moves but, more importantly, the skill of the dancers.
“I attended the performance because it was required for my Intro to Dance Technique class,” said senior Kellianne Devine. Overall I thought the performances were unique and well designed. The lighting and the music really completed the dances.”
“There were key dancers like April Warner and Yvonne Hendricks that I especially enjoyed watching. Their passion for dance was shown in every move and expression,” said Devine.
Senior Yvonne Hendricks acted, danced and choreographed her own piece called ‘Human’.
“I loved dancing in it and I had so much fun on stage with my dancers. The reactions of my dancers made it worthwhile,” said Hendricks.
Sophomore Emily Hostetler was another student who was a choreographer and dancer in the performances.
Hostetler said, “It’s so hard to choose my favorite dance. All of the dancers and choreographers worked their butts off for this show. My favorite dance to watch had to be Kristen’s piece. Everyone who wasn’t in her piece would dance to the music back stage. My favorite piece to dance in had to be Yvonne’s piece. African dancing is definitely not something I thought I would ever do, but it was an absolute blast.”
This year’s Orchesis performances were successful due to the use of publicity on campus.
“I think the performances went extremely well. We had quite a few dancer injuries but everyone pulled through and put on one of the best Orchesis shows we have had in years. I was so impressed by the OWU community showing their support and selling out two shows. It’s such a great feeling when people appreciate the months of work you put into something. The show, the experience, the people, everything surpassed my expectations. What I thought would be a good show turned into a fantastic performance,” said Hostetler.

DJ and performer Amanda Seales put on a one-woman musical narrative encouraging men and women to re-examine how women are treated in the mainstream media Saturday in Grey Chapel.
Death of the Diva uses music, humor, and monologue to portray Seales’ message.
The event was presented by seniors Alexis Williams and Samantha DeJarnett, HBC, WOHO, Sisters United, Black Men of the Future, SUBA and the Women’s Resource Center.
Seales received her master’s in African American Studies from Columbia University while serving as an MTV video-jockey. She appears regularly on VH1 and HLN as a music expert and commentator. Williams said she discovered via Twitter that Amanda Seales wanted to begin performing on college campuses.
“She connected her email to her Twitter, so I contacted her. I didn’t expect a response, so I was happy when she replied to the email, and I immediately contacted the heads of various academic departments and clubs to see if they were interested.”
Williams said she hoped the audience would take a different look at how women are portrayed in pop culture after seeing the performance.
“I hoped students would start to re-evaluate the people that they ‘look up to’ or become fixated on. I used to watch the Kardashians and Jersey Shore, but now I feel differently as I think about the messages that are being sent.”
Seales’ performance consisted of various musical and monologue acts explaining the media’s portrayal of women.
In one part of the performance, she acts as a male rapper who regrets recording negative lyrics about women as he holds his infant daughter. In another part, she sings about a woman at an audition with a critical audience.
She communicates all sides of this issue to her audience.
Seales, according to her website, considers her effort a “war against the overwhelming amount of negative images in pop culture.”
DeJarnett, moderator of the House of Black Culture, said Saturday was Seales’ third time performing “Death of the Diva,” and her first time performing the show on a college campus.
“People are becoming complacent with the treatment of women in music and on TV because that’s how one has to be to become successful. I guess the most important thing I took away from it was that Hollywood is making a lot of money off of the negative image of women, and will continue to because the reality (TV show) age is all the youth know and all they want to be. It needs to be made aware to us, and then we need to change it,” she said.
Williams said there are several traits she thinks the term “diva” should embody, and although she thinks it will be difficult, the diva can be revived.
“One of my favorite acts Seales performed was when she pretended to be at an audition, listening other people criticize her,” Williams said.
“A person that stays true to themselves amidst constant rejections knows they’re good at what they do and at being themselves … that’s a diva to me,” she said. “Amanda Seales is the diva that we hope to see in the future … I think more performers under the radar, like Amanda, need to be recognized and acknowledged for the message they are sending.”
DeJarnett said she has no doubt Seales’ show influenced the student audience gathered Saturday. “There’s no way the audience didn’t walk out of there rethinking their favorite TV shows and how they affect their viewers. Somehow we lost sight of the power behind a strong, educated and polished woman…I think women should be portrayed how they used to be to give the younger generation, both male and female, role models for the types of people they want to be and the types of people they want to be with.”