The Wake, Issue 4, Fall 2015

MORE THAN 1000 WORDS

HOMEGROWN REALITY

// PG. 5

PG. 13 //

AGEISM IN FILM

GLOSSED OVER

// PG. 11

PG. 21 //

HOMEGROWN REALITY VOLUME 15, ISSUE 4 // NOV 16–NOV 29

Works by Areca Roe November 19–January 24 | Art Opening: Friday December 4, 6–8pm Open to the public

Areca Roe

arts

FALL 2015 EXHIBITIONS

culture AT THE COFFMAN ART GALLERY COFFMAN MEMORIAL UNION • FIRST FLOOR

sua.umn.edu

VOLUME 15, ISSUE 4 MORE THAN 1000 WORDS // PG. 5

HOMEGROWN REALITY // PG. 13

MEDIA LITERACY // PG. 9

MICHAEL FLORA // PG. 16

AGEISM IN FILM // PG. 11

GLOSSED OVER // PG. 20

EDITORIAL: Sound & Vision Editors Peter Diamond Shawnna Stennes

Editor-in-Chief Grace Birnstengel Managing Editor Lauren Cutshall

Art Directors Lizzie Goncharova Max Smith

Cities Editor Kevin Beckman

Copy Editors Alex Van Abbema Joe Rush

Voices Editor Kayla McCombs

Editorial Interns Emma Klingler Sammy Brown Olivia Heusinkveld Carson Kaskel Faculty Advisor Chelsea Reynolds

PRODUCTION: Executive Director Kelcie McKenney Head Designer Becca Sugden Graphic Designers Caleb Vanden Boom Kate Doyle Olivia Novotny Web Manager Carter Gruss

Public Relations/ Advertising Manager Sara Erickson Social Media Manager Abby Richardson Finance Manager Nels Haugen Distributors Abigail Rommel Sam Gunderson

PR Interns Jenna Ogle Photography Interns Juliet Laske Kellen Renstrom Illustration Interns Aaron Musickant Taylor Severson Madison Digiovanni Design Interns Breanna Vick Erin Bankson

THIS ISSUE: Photographers Kellen Renstrom, Juliet Laske, Kelcie McKenney Illustrators Lizzie Goncharova, Aaron Musickant, Max Smith, Kellen Renstrom Taylor Daniels, Taylor Severson, Madison Digiovanni Contributing Writers Logan Carroll, Lauren Cutshall, Carson Kaskel, Emma Klingler, Kelsy Ketchum, Kayla Song, Auston Borowitz, David Blonden, Olivia Heusinkveld, Colin Miller, Karl Witkowiak, Abel Mehari, Aaron Job, Aaron Musickant, Shawnna Stennes, Jenna Ogle, Kayla McCombs

©2015 The Wake Student Magazine.

All Rights Reserved.

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

The Wake was founded by Chrin Ruen & James DeLong.

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

The Wake Student Magazine 126 Coffman Memorial Union 300 Washington Avenue SE Minneapolis, MN 55455 www.wakemag.org facebook.com/ thewakemagazine @the_wake wake-mag.tumblr.com

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR As it starts to get colder, tests become more frequent, and the going gets tougher. It can be hard to remember why we get up in the morning. Especially in college and as many of us are approaching graduation more rapidly than expected, our love for the world around us can be clouded by obligations, unpleasant emotions, and a general feeling of being lost.

Here at The Wake, we’re all about finding love in the little things. We see light in our darkest moments and humor even when we’re afraid. That being said, it’s vital to look into our hearts and try to understand why certain things have value to us and why we care. That means giggling at the latest Trump quote while we analyze his politics and getting pumped over what major league soccer will mean for thousands of people in the Twin Cities.

My wish for you, dear reader, is that in the coming months you continue to find that extra bit of love for the things that make you tick. Eat your favorite breakfast slower, enjoy the early sunsets, and remember that your love of life and all that comes with it will always matter in the grand scheme of things.

Kayla McCombs Voices Editor

The Top 7 Worst (and Most Controversial)

Thanksgiving Foods

BY KELCIE MCKENNEY

1

2

Canned cranberries at room temperature

3

Stuffing with giblets (the parts of the bird you aren’t supposed to eat)

Questions You Can Expect at Thanksgiving

BY KAYLA MCCOMBS

4

Far-too-creamy green bean casserole

5

Coagulated, cold gravy

6

KE L C I E MC KE NN E Y

Burnt or dry turkey

Liquid-y mashed potatoes

7

The fourth day of leftovers 4 // NOV 16–NOV 29

• Why didn’t you bring your boyfriend home? You’re still together, right?

• Do you really not eat [turkey/stuffing/cranberry sauce]?

• So, what are you studying at school?

• How exactly are you planning on making money with that?

• Have you thought about doing what your cousin Danny does?

• So if you’re gay, does that mean you don’t want to have a family?

• Not trying to imply anything, just curious, but do you find time to work out at all anymore?

• When was the last time you called your grandmother?

• You still like Aeropostale, right?

• How do your Muslim friends feel about terrorism?

• Did you know you can talk to your phone and it’ll type out what you say?

• What should we get your father for Christmas?

• Why is Nicki Minaj so loud?

• So, are high-waisted pants, like, back in style or something?

• Don’t you think it’s time for a haircut?

WHAT’S THE BEST DEFENSE AGAINST

BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPERS?

A HIGH-PITCHED SCREAM 28.57%

PEPPER SPRAY AND/OR TASING 3.57%

SPILLING ROUND CANDY ALL OVER THE FLOOR 25.00%

STAYING HOME 42.86%

THE WAKE // CITIES

More Than 1000 Words “FRAME BY FRAME” DOC

SCREENED BY MINNESOTA JOURNALISM CENTER

//A good photo shows what something looked like, Zerbe said. A great photo

//

KE L L E N R E NS T RO M

shows what something felt like.

BY LAUREN CUTSHALL Directed by filmmakers Mo Scarpelli and Alexandria Bombach, Zerby began the discussion by mentioning the contrast in In the photo,Tarana Akbari is 12 years old. She is wearing green breaking news photography and photography of daily life, and she is screaming. She is the one of the few people standing. the documentary is beautifully shot and poignantly edited. Even with the four, strong central characters, the star of the film is both of which were covered in the film. While each of the She was a witness of a suicide bombing that occurred at the photojournalists would “go right to the news,” the film also Abul Fazel Shrine in Kabul, Afghanistan in December 2011. not a single person, but photography itself. pointed out how they spent time photographing the normal, Photojournalist Massoud Hossaini snaps her photo. In times daily life in Afghanistan. Photojournalism is about more than of tragedy, celebration, and even everyday life, photojournalists “I’m certain that a photo can lead to change,” Wakil Kohsar said in the film. One project Kohsar worked on tapped into both just capturing the news, Zerby said, and it should include the run toward the news to share it with the world. addiction and recovery, chronicling the life of drug addicts. smaller moments of daily life more often.

The documentary “Frame By Frame” opens with several A common theme of empathy resonated throughout the film. Other comments in the discussion brought up the importance photojournalists racing toward the scene of a suicide bombing As one of the journalists explained, their duty is to empathize of telling someone’s story through photojournalism. Even when in Afghanistan. Narration includes details of Afghanistan’s faced against a tragic event or a heartbreaking situation, people photography ban during the Taliban Regime, from 1996 to 2001. with the subject of the photo. want their story to be told.Yet the story belongs to the subject, The documentary follows four photojournalists in the field Even today, a hesitance toward photography hangs in the air, not the photographer, Zerby said. working on projects ranging from breaking news photography to more project-based photography, regarding women’s rights, because many are still wary of the information it can so clearly convey. One of the journalists, Farzana Wahidy, whose focus is and the lives of drug addicts.

Throughout the film, the journalists were constantly pushing photographing Afghani women, is often met with hesitation and further to make an empathetic connection between the viewer opposition. One scene in the film shows Wahidy’s struggles as and the subject in order to tell that story properly.While it can At the Nov. 2 screening hosted by the Minnesota Journalism she tries to photograph women in a hospital in Heart—a city be tempting to settle for a “good enough” photo, continuing Center, students and community members watched the 2015 in western Afghanistan—who suffered serious burns from self- to shoot is often the difference between a good photo and a documentary and followed up with an open discussion.The film immolation. Earlier in the film, Wahidy says she will be selling Pulitzer Prize-winning photo. gained traction at SXSW in 2015 and has since been submitted some of these photos to UNICEF. Eventually, Wahidy meets for Oscar consideration. Funded in part by a Kickstarter with a victim in her home and learns the woman’s in-laws campaign, the documentary drew in over 70,000 dollars from One student attendee also pointed out the necessity for the burned her before being forced to give up her own daughter. photographers to do more than just take photos. “First you’ve 1,200 backers.

In a tender moment,Wahidy lifts her camera and takes a photo got to interact, then you take the picture,” he said. of the woman.

The film details the importance of both photography and the issues brought to light by the photographers. After the media A good photo shows what something looked like, Zerby said. A After the film, the Minnesota Journalism Center hosted the ban in Afghanistan was lifted, local journalism became much great photo shows what something felt like.To extract emotion discussion, partially led by School of Journalism and Mass more accessible. As described on the Kickstarter campaign from a slice of a scene is the job of a photojournalist.

Communication professor and photojournalist Mike Zerby. page, “The need for local photojournalism [in Afghanistan] Colleagues of Zerby, along with several of the visiting Edward “If it’s good enough, you’ll know it,” Zerby said. “And you’ll couldn’t be more important in documenting the country’s R. Murrow Press Fellows also commented in the discussion. issues both now, and in the future.” say, damn!”

WAKEMAG.ORG // 5

THE WAKE // CITIES

Soccer in St. Paul

MAX S MI T H

KELLEN R ENS TRO M

2015: THE YEAR OF LEGAL ISSUES FOR UMD

Plans continue to unfold for MLS stadium in midway

BY ABEL MEHARI Six months have passed since Major League Soccer (MLS) announced plans to bring a franchise to Minnesota, and a $120 million stadium deal has been made in St. Paul.

In the last couple of weeks, St. Paul Port Authority, the Metropolitan Council, and the St. Paul City Council signed a joint power agreement to begin leasing negotiations for a soccer stadium to house the Minnesota United FC team.

The team’s owner owner, Bill McGuire, and the city of St. Paul made the announcement during a press conference on Friday.

The stadium will be built on vacant property owned by the Metropolitan Council, just off of University and Snelling avenues on Interstate 94 in St. Paul, according MPR. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and the city council are forming a community advisory committee, made of 15 to 20 members, where city residents will help aid the project and be involved in the development plans of the stadium.

While the Minnesota United FC is paying to build the stadium, team officials are seeking tax relief from the state Legislature.

“Soccer is the world’s game. It belongs in the state of Minnesota, it belongs in the Twin Cities, and it belongs on the midway site,” St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman said at a recent press conference.

“This project will help create 1,500 jobs initially, but this will create further jobs after completion, and the stadium will help generate revenue which will attract corporate sponsors,” councilmember Chris Tolbert said during a recent phone interview.

The original plans were to award a franchise to an investment group led by McGuire, who envisioned stadium plans in Minneapolis, as announced by MLS earlier this year. But those negotiations fell after the city and team could not reach a tax incentive agreement.

McGuire said the team hopes to break ground in May or early June of 2016 and begin play in 2017—pending MLS approval.Although the stadium will not be completed until 2018, the United will probably play somewhere else in 2017, according to the Star Tribune.

6 // NOV 16–NOV 29

A total of three coaches and 13 graduate students sued UMD in one month

BY KAYLA SONG Discrimination and fraudulence have been the words associated with the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) for the past couple of months. With 24 graduate students unable to receive their standard teaching licenses, and the suspension of three openly gay female coaches, UMD has been struggling with the lawsuits that have followed the students’ and coaches’ complaints.

Thirteen of the 24 education program alumni are suing the University for “elaborate fraud” after discovering that their 4-year degree in the Integrated Elementary and Special Education, or IESE program, was not accredited. Upon graduation, the students were unable to obtain a full-time licensure like they were promised.

Apparently, UMD had not submitted the proper paperwork to the Board of Teaching before the December deadline when the board reconfigured various standards within the program in 2012 and 2013. Though the school previously knew that their teaching program was insufficient, they were negligent in informing the students participating in the curriculum. This led to the 14 students’ complaints of alleged “reckless misrepresentation” and “intentional infliction of emotional distress and breach of contract.”

Representatives of the University have stated that all students who have graduated from the teaching program have been granted full licensure. Nonetheless, each student is demanding $50,000 in relief. UMD continues to keep the students up to date with information, but the damage to the students’ reputations and job opportunities has been done. Many of the students lost prospective job offers because of the delayed licensure.

Students were not the only ones affected by UMD’s administration this year. Shannon Miller, Jen Banford, and Annette Wiles claim they were fired from the athletic

department due to discrimination against their age, national origin, sexuality, and gender.

The lawsuit claims that all three women were subjected to various types of harassment, including hostile mailed messages from other staff. An apparent shift in leadership within the University’s athletic department was said to be correlated with the recent discharge of these coaches.

At age 51, Miller served as UMD’s hockey coach and brought the school five NCAA National Championships in the past. After being called derogatory names and sending formal complaints, Miller claims that no action was taken by the school administration to relieve the situation.

Banford, 34, was the hockey team’s director of operations and the school’s softball coach. She claimed she received violent threats from fellow co-workers, and accused Jay Finnerty, UMD’s assistant athletic director, of isolating her from the rest of the staff.

Since 2008, Wiles, 41, alleges to being discriminated against based on her sexual orientation and gender.Wiles also spoke at a National Coming Out Day luncheon in 2014 and claimed she suffered “uncivilized behavior” from staff thereafter.

Not only have the women’s gender and sexuality been targeted, but their country of origin has been the object of intolerance as well. Both having a Canadian background, Miller and Banford mention in the lawsuit to have been hassled for their nationality.

As our sister university tackles their assorted lawsuits, one can only hope to expect honest and satisfying solutions for all parties involved. Resolution is already in affect as the graduate students receive their rightfully earned degrees, and as the coaches find justice for the way they were treated while employed at UMD.

THE WAKE // CITIES

Sigma Alpha Epsilon in the Headlines RECENTLY SUSPENDED FRAT

MAKES NATIONWIDE NEWS

BY LOGAN CARROLL

In October, the University of Minnesota suspended the campus chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) until 2017 because of “a complaint regarding harm to a person, hazing, disorderly conduct, possession or use of drugs or alcohol, underage drinking, and theft, property damage or vandalism.”

A complaint. As in one. One epic complaint for what we can only assume was one very epic party.

Still, it’s unfair to stereotype a national organization, and its 200,000 members, as beerchugging predators based on one incident. One night doesn’t make a pattern.

But a quick Google News search shows what a few of the 217 chapters of SAE were up to last month.

Oct. 31: “Volunteers perform winter weather prep” Sixty-five members of a West Virginia chapter volunteered to help senior citizens weatherproof their houses. Okay, good start.

Oct. 30: “One year later, Emory rape investigation still under wraps” A woman was raped in a Georgia SAE house on Halloween 2014. The article ends: “the wheels of justice are moving very slowly when it comes to sexual assault cases.”

Oct. 28: “Community service part of life for SAE, Chi-O” A Texas chapter hosts at least one philanthropic event every year, and has already hosted two this fall.

Oct. 23: “University of Minnesota suspends Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter over student conduct violations” SAE was also suspended from Iowa State in August.

Oct. 16: “Women asked to bare breasts in name of greek brotherhood” Pledges in San Diego were asked to get women to take pics with “Rush SAE” written on their chests. Later in the month, this chapter hosted a breast cancer fundraiser.You stay classy San Diego.

Oct. 15: “Police investigating alleged sexual assaults at off-campus CSULB fraternity party” Two women were sexually assaulted during a Long Beach, California SAE party.

Oct. 9: “Mud Bowl’s future at U-M muddied by banishment of frat” Fraternities, including SAE, were disinvited from a University of Michigan event to try to rein in the “hard partying that leads to sexual assaults.”

Oct. 7: “SAE Tackles Cancer with Powderpuff” A Connecticut chapter hosted their annual “Tackle Breast Cancer Powderpuff Tournament”, which at this point seems less philanthropic than Freudian.

TAY LOR DANI ELS

I’ll leave you with the opening lines of the SAE creed: “The True Gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety, and whose self-control is equal to all emergencies.”

WAKEMAG.ORG // 7

THE WAKE // CITIES

PROMISING FUTURES MAX S MI T H

How the Bush Foundation is funding major change for the city’s youth

BY KAYLA MCCOMBS The Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood (SPPN) will be able to extend its efforts to a fourth school in the Frogtown and Summit-University neighborhoods after a funding boost from the Bush Foundation. SPPN is an education initiative that aims to help close the achievement gap for students of color in areas of St. Paul that are made up of primarily low-income families.The Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood currently aids Jackson Elementary, Maxfield Elementary, and St. Paul City School. Benjamin E. Mays International Magnet School will also be covered by the Bush Foundation’s $1 million grant, which will span across a two-year period.

//With the extra funding provided by the Bush Foundation, the Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood will be able to extend its services to the Benjamin E. Mays International Magnet School and continue to provide for the current

//

schools in the program.

While the goals of SPPN are largely focused on education, the initiative supports multiple facets of what constitutes a successful educational experience for children. The program addresses issues such as high mobility rates, health problems, and unstable housing situations, but is also sensitive and specific to cultural needs of families. Over 80 partner organizations come together in an effort to ensure accessible resources and opportunities, and each resource is designed and funded with certain goals in mind.

The Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood has a variety of useful resources that aim to provide a personalized experience for families in the city. The Navigation System, for example, offers access to computers and opportunities for family and parent networking. It also has a specific focus on Hmong and African American parents and places an emphasis on the cultural aspects of their needs. Similarly, resources such as the Community Stabilization Project target the diverse needs of families and children in the St. Paul area. The CSP, in particular, provides an educational opportunity for landlords and tenants where they can learn about finding stable and affordable housing options, how to be a responsible tenant or landlord, and clear information about their legal rights in those situations. For the children specifically, SPPN has a couple of literacy and music-based programs geared towards promoting enthusiastic attendance at school.

With the extra funding provided by the Bush Foundation, the Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood will be able to extend its services to the Benjamin E. Mays International Magnet School and continue to provide for the current schools in the program. The new grant will allow specifically for the improvement and expansion of out-of-school resources for both children and their parents.

8 // NOV 16–NOV 29

THE WAKE // VOICES

Media Literacy and the 2016 Presidential Race Exploring the hold Hillary Clinton has on major media companies

While on vacation this past summer, I was watching the news on the presidential race with my family. I heard a gasp from my mom. She turned to me with wide eyes and said, “2016? We seriously have over a year left of this presidential race?” When you think about it, it is pretty crazy how much the presidential race dominates media even now, when we have a little over a year left until Election Day. It is the most important job in our country, so I am personally glad that there is a lot of fuss over it. But for a lot of people, my mother included, the political coverage can get to be a bit much. It can be nice to relax and enjoy fictional stories that need not be applied to their everyday lives. Unfortunately, the stories people try to avoid may already embody those elements of fiction.

During the broadcast of the first Democratic presidential debate, there was a flurry of discussion on the Internet, and people were sharing their opinions and favorite moments on social media. The following morning, large news organizations published stories of the most important moments, topics that were debated, and who “the winner” was. Polls were also opened up so individuals could offer their take on the latter issue, but the user polls didn’t reflect what was being published in the large articles.

The viewers, in large part, favored Bernie Sanders’ performance.

On TIME’s website, a poll showed that 70 percent of individuals believed Sanders won as opposed to Clinton. On other media websites, the margin between the two was even larger; CNN’s poll had Sanders at 83 percent and Clinton at 12 percent. The editors, however, seemed to have a different idea of who was

L I Z Z I E G O NC H A ROVA

BY ERIN STEVENSON

the most successful. Both CNN and TIME boasted headlines such as “Clinton in Control” and “Clinton’s Confident Sweep.” Why is there such a gap between the information gathered from the people and what the major media outlets publish?

This isn’t the first instance of mismatched cohesiveness between the media and the general public during a presidential campaign—it’s not even the first time a Clinton was involved. The 1993 documentary “The War Room” gives a behind-the-scenes look at Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign and how the strategists behind him were able to manipulate media in order to stay successful in the midst of scandal.

In political comedies like HBO’s “Veep,” this total control of information is satirized through the situations and characters in the show. For example, foreseeing that sharing a name with a potentially destructive hurricane could cause her approval rating to go down, VP Selina Meyer gets her media team to change it. The reason that this sort of comedy is considered satire is because it does in fact have basis in fact.

The Clinton family, although purported to be advocates of progressive thinking and change, are a familiar name in the political world and are supported by massive companies and corporations through super PACs,or political action committees Included in these massive monetary funds are news companies like CNN. When you observe their website and published stories

// Over half of Clinton’s campaign

contributions come from businesses, while 96 percent of Sanders’ contributions have come from individual donations.

//

in depth, it becomes clear that they represent a skewed version of events and how the public has perceived them. Over half of Clinton’s campaign contributions come from businesses, while 96 percent of Bernie Sanders contributions have come from individual donations. It is clear that one candidate is representative of American businesses and their values, while the other stands for the regular people, citizens of a country dominated by those large corporations.

A research project that aimed to find the likelihood of each candidate’s chances of securing the Democratic nomination placed Hillary Clinton at an 87 percent chance. This result was largely due to numbers taken from her market price, which takes into account the large businesses that have given her their support and give them a large weight. Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, was given a 12 percent chance of earning the nomination, despite the fact that user polls and general public show overwhelming favor to him as a candidate.

It is important to be wary of the media and the role it plays in the current U.S. political system. Whether you believe it to be flawed or not, it is always important to remain media literate by staying informed on what goes on behind the scenes.

Be aware of candidates’ backgrounds and the funding behind their campaigns. Is it through the financial support of large corporations, or through small contributions from numerous American citizens? Make your choice, but make sure its an informed one.

WAKEMAG.ORG // 9

THE WAKE // VOICES

Biden Isn’t Running

How his decision will affect the rest of the race

L I Z Z I E GO NC H AROVA

BY DAVID BLONDIN With the presidential election about a year away, many people are starting to pay attention to the party debates, state primaries, and caucuses. These events help determine who will occupy the highest executive office of our nation. The Democratic Party, the incumbent party, has two main leaders in the polls, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. A potential candidate who made the decision not to run on October 21 was the current Vice President, Joe Biden. To understand how his decision could affect the election, we have to look at his role as vice president and his tenure as a senator.

Words like “moderate” and “leftist” can be very subjective depending on a person’s interpretation, and Biden’s voting records are that of old school Democrats. He promotes social welfare but wants some fiscal responsibility and social conservatism. Although publicly pro-choice, Biden only has a 75 percent with NARAL Pro-Choice America. This is most likely due to his advising, along with chief of staff McDonough, against forcing corporations to provide contraceptive or abortion services in their health care plans. His comparable moderate views make him almost all but likely to win a democratic nomination. However, not from winning an actual election.

Joe Biden is not a new figure in American politics. He was first elected senator for Delaware in 1970, a tumultuous time in American politics with the war in Vietnam. Biden also ran for the presidential nomination several times as a Democrat.

Biden represents a different type of democrat compared to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, or Bernie Sanders. Biden is considered moderate compared to his political peers, and this reflects the era of which he was most influential as well as his target demographic.

Biden’s main ability is to draw votes, which is why President Obama chose him as his V.P. Not only is Biden very approachable, but he attracts the moderate working-class white demographic.

He has the same effect that Bill Clinton had in the ‘90s, a winning effect. Because of his choice not to run, it is clear that the Democratic Party has officially shifted left, as the baby boomers will fade from the scene. The real question is, will either Sanders or Clinton ask him to be their running mate, or a cabinet member?

Who Let the Declawed Cats Out? Keeping your feline friend inside is important Winter is fast approaching here in Minnesota, and for most, that means that it is especially important to think about keeping our pets indoors. This should be particularly true for owners of cats who have been declawed and would face extraordinary challenges being alone in the outdoors.

I disagree with the choice to declaw a cat for many reasons, seeing as it’s painful for the animal. However, if you or someone you know has made that decision or adopted a cat who was already declawed, do not allow the cat outdoors without supervision. Coming as no surprise even to dog people, cats rely on their claws for survival when they are in an environment which requires survival skills. They use their claws for climbing trees, fending off other animals who could pose a threat to them, and catching food. Without the ability to do these things, and without an owner to take care of them on a day to day basis, a declawed cat will be lucky to survive a week in the outdoors.

10 // NOV 16–NOV 29

It seems like common sense—you wouldn’t put a person with no hands in the ring with a professional boxer, so why would you let a cat with no claws into an environment which demands the use of claws for survival? In case the message hasn’t been received properly already, I am going to ask a simple question to make sure everything is clear. Does your cat have claws? If you answered “no” to this question, then please do not let it outside for its own safety. If keeping your cat inside of the house is too much of a burden for you then please contact me, because I would gladly take him or her off of your hands.

AA RON MU SI CKANT

BY AUSTIN BOROWITZ

THE WAKE // VOICES

Ageism in Film: A Discrete Form of Sexism J U L I E T L A S KE

The pressure to stay young and beautiful is more apparent than ever

BY JENNA OGLE “Great Gatsby,” “Pretty Woman,” “Fish Tank,” and “Labyrinth.”

What do these films have in common? A male lead with a significantly younger female romantic interest.

This theme has been common in film for decades. Think of old Hollywood films with classic beauties such as Audrey Hepburn on the arm of Humphrey Bogart. While this age disparity was nothing uncommon in early film, we still see it in modern-day blockbusters. The issue is that this is not so much a trend, but rather a deliberate casting choice that undermines women in more ways than one.

mere age of 27. Ironically, Timberlake was actually three years older than Wilde during the production of the film. For a 20-something actress to be cast as a mother speaks volumes about what the media values most, and the pressure to stay young and beautiful in Hollywood is more apparent than ever when these casting choices are made. The measure of beauty is set to unachievable standards that are reinforced time and time again by the roles female actresses receive.

Women are considerably disposable in the industry. Kim Cattrall, a star of the television series “Sex and the City,” stated it perfectly. “We get covered up, we disappear, not to be seen, because we are no longer young and beautiful and sexually desirable.” Aging male actors continue to get screen time while the search to find the newest and hottest female actress is a competitive process. Men are celebrated for their timelessness, while women are not supposed to embrace their maturing looks. At least not to the extent that men can, as demonstrated in the casting choices of Hollywood filmmakers. Additionally, many older actresses are going under the knife, a trend spawned from the effort to keep up with the ever-evolving, cutthroat beauty standards set forth by the film industry.

//As leading men in Hollywood

are getting older, they continue to receive starring roles while their female counterparts stay roughly the same age.//

As leading men in Hollywood are getting older, they continue to receive starring roles while their female counterparts stay roughly the same age. An article in Vulture demonstrates the gap between the ages of stars such as Denzel Washington, Harrison Ford, Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise, and their love interest’s age. In almost every example, the actors are at least twenty years older than their love interest. It’s so common now that it’s a norm.

Some may not see this as problematic, but I see it is as a discrete form of sexism that takes roles away from “older” women, as well as the same respect reserved for the male protagonists. Once a female actor reaches a certain age, the glamorous roles diminish. Instead of playing the love interest, an actress may be get a maternal role without complex character traits or speaking parts.

Take Olivia Wilde, for example. In the 2011 sci-fi thriller, “In Time,” Wilde was cast as Justin Timberlake’s mother at the

Additionally, this raises the question of why the age disparity exists for females while younger males are rarely cast beside an older love interest. Not only is it a double standard, but also it demonstrates how women are cast in movies based on their physical appearance rather than talent. For filmmakers, the desire to find a young, beautiful love interest for the male hero trumps the desire to find a skilled actress at an appropriate age. When older actresses are cast next to a younger male, however, they are given derogatory names like “cougar.” Famous male leads receive praise for their performances, but females are rarely given an equal opportunity to prove their talent. That is, unless they have already established their name in the movie business.

Perhaps if the focus was to discover an actress based on skill alone, rather than keeping up with the hottest faces of Hollywood, the script could be rewritten. And perhaps if we celebrated women for their expertise, and beauty was only supplementary, there would be more on-screen authenticity. Unfortunately, I do not foresee this day coming anytime soon. Years of media reinforcement have defined our values, which translate into real-world priorities. Still, I remain optimistic that women in both Hollywood and regular society will receive the respect that traditionally was reserved for men. Only then will the objectification of women in media dissolve.

WAKEMAG.ORG // 11

THE WAKE // VOICES

AMERICAN MADNESS The most absurd statements made by the 2016 presidential candidates

“Anderson, can I come into this discussion at some point?”

Jim Webb spent most of the first Democratic debate complaining about his lack of speaking time, and with the number and caliber of candidates currently in the race for the presidency, it’s no surprise that the candidates have to fight for the spotlight. On the Republican side, the frontrunners are comprised of celebrity businessman Donald Trump and several other outsider candidates, whose forthright and inflammatory comments have earned them both criticism and praise from the divided media. On the Democratic side, the once-assumed Jeb Bush: shoo-in candidate, Hillary Clinton, is now struggling to maintain her top spot as Bernie Sanders, the 74-year-old senator from “Immigrants are more fertile.” Jeb Bush’s Vermont, wins over young Democrats throughout the nation. solution to the need to fund social security is to promote immigration, because the The diversity of ages, backgrounds, and personalities of the immigrants will give us more children to work candidates is to be expected in a field of this size. In an effort and pay in.Although probably well-intentioned, because he seems to stand out from the sea of competitors, the candidates like a nice guy, Bush’s comments come across rather creepy. have each produced some truly amazing quotes on the issues, ranging from the offensive to the downright absurd. Let’s take a Rand Paul: look at some of the best, starting with the Republicans.

“Just because a couple of people on the Supreme Court declare Donald Trump: something to be ‘constitutional’ does not make it so.” Except that is literally what it means.

“I think the only difference between me and the other candidates is that I’m more honest and my women are more beautiful.” While It is not just the Republicans who have come out with some like politics throughout his campaign. Just look at his strong there is an absolute plethora of absurd Trump quotes out there absurd statements. The first Democratic debate left us with start to the race: “Here’s a bold embrace of internationalism: to choose from, this one sums up his bold personality, egotistic some gems to reflect on as well. let’s join the rest of the world and go metric.” So bold. So attitude, and misogynistic views very nicely. inspiring. It’s too bad he’s already dropped out.

Jim Webb, when asked by Anderson Cooper during the first Ben Carson: Democratic debate about the enemy of which he was most Hillary Clinton: proud: “I would have to say the enemy soldier that threw the “ObamaCare is the worst thing that has happened in this nation grenade that wounded me, but he’s not around right now “I represent Wall Street as a senator from New York, and I went since slavery. In a way, it is slavery, because it is making all of to talk to.” Yeah, pretty sinister. Webb made the moment to Wall Street in December of 2007—before the big crash us subservient to the government.” Yeah, forced labor and even more intense by pairing this suggestive comment with that we had—and I basically said, ‘Cut it out! Quit foreclosing dehumanization is practically the same as the push to get all a frankly terrifying grin. While not the political enemy that I on homes!’” A strong, decisive command to Wall Street; no Americans health insurance. Carson, who lately has surpassed think Cooper was looking for, Webb’s answer certainly leaves wonder she’s on top. It’s rare to find a verbal misstep from the even Trump with his brashness, has quite the collection of an impression.

Secretary of State. However, her defense at the debate came senseless quotes under his belt. Some are offensive, such as across as more of a scolding mother than a stern politician. his insinuation that trauma in prison can cause someone to Lincoln Chafee: become gay. Others are pretty fantastic though. Just look at With a little over a year until the general election, we look forward to Carson explain why the theory of the big bang doesn’t make “Anderson, you’re looking at a block of granite when it comes many more amazing sound bites from these natural entertainers. any sense: “What you’re telling me is if I blow a hurricane to the issues.” Poor Chafee. The “block of granite” comment through a junkyard enough times over billions and billions of spawned an unexpected number of memes and jokes at the years, eventually, after one of those hurricanes, there will be a 747 former governor’s expense, the culmination of a really poor fully loaded and ready to fly.” Yep, you got it.That’s what we’re saying. debate performance. Chafee has demonstrated his bold, granite-

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L I Z Z I E G O NC H A ROVA

BY EMMA KLINGLER

THE WAKE // FEATURE

HOMEGROWN REALITY Four stars, one state

BY KELSY KETCHUM Think of all the reality television you watch (it’s OK, we do too). Is Minnesota the first reality TV location that pops into your mind? Probably not. We don’t have any Kardashians, and it’s hard to have a hot tub party on “The Bachelor” when the weather is 40 below. But the 10,000-lake state has been breeding reality TV stars for years, everywhere from NBC to the Food Network. Whether you’re seeing them on TV or in the local grocery store, take note of some of these home-state heroes.

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THE WAKE // FEATURE

I L L U S T R AT I O NS B Y MAX S MI T H

KAT PERKINS, “THE VOICE” Kat Perkins was a semifinalist on the sixth season of NBC’s “The Voice” in 2014, eventually eliminated in the fourth week of live shows. Perkins grew up in Scranton, North Dakota—a town of less than 300 people—but moved to Minnesota when she was 18. Though she was new to Minnesota at the time, she wasn’t new to music or performance.

“Even at the early age of four, I remember singing in front of people,” Perkins, who grew up with a music teacher for a father, said.

MINNESOTA BOUND When she was 15, Perkins formed her first professional band with members of her family. Right out of high school, she performed in The Medora Musical in North Dakota, which featured a lot of Teddy Roosevelt and country music, earning it the title “the greatest show in the west.”

Many of the cast members were from Minnesota and encouraged her to move to Minneapolis, she said.

“Minneapolis was the closest big city to my family,” Perkins said.

“Plus, there wasn’t much opportunity in North Dakota.”

Perkins said she always wanted to be a singer, but got a cosmetology degree as a backup plan. Bonus perk?

Cosmetology experience meant she could do her own hair and makeup for performances, too.

Perkins journey to “The Voice” began in an airport. She performed during a layover in Amsterdam, someone posted a video of her performance to YouTube, and the rest was history. When she was discovered, she was working as a nanny in the Twin Cities. After seeing the video, producers for the show contacted her to audition privately, and the “nanny by day, singer by night” was chosen to move on to television.

“The kids that I nannied for, five kids in Edina, they’re the ones that pushed me to do it,” Perkins said. “They gave me all the confidence in the world to do it.

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Perkins watched the first five seasons of the show religiously, and was now on the inside. Though it was weird, Perkins said, the experience was also overwhelmingly positive.

“It’s a very positive show, you could tell everybody was on your side and the coaches believed in the contestants and wanted them to succeed,” Perkins said. “Being around all the same kind of people—it started off as 200 of us, and everyone wants to be a singer, be a professional singer and entertainer—it was great.”

UNDER PRESSURE Yet being on the show meant performing consistently every week on a busy schedule. The pressure was almost overwhelming, Perkins said.

months in advance, both excitement and disappointment must be kept under wraps.

“You actually know the outcome way before the general public does and have to be good at keeping secrets from friends and family,” Perkins said.

Once America has seen all the build up, the shows moves to live rounds, when the country decides who moves further in the competition. Not only do contestants have to learn their song and choreography from the show’s creative team, they have to maintain a certain image and manage the whole package of engaging with fans on social media, doing promotional events, and trying their best to get people to like them (not an easy task on the best of days).

“13 to 15 million people watch every week. It’s very nerve- “It’s really a lot of work to be the best you can possibly be with only a week to learn your song,” Perkins said. “You have wracking, and stressful, and intense, and the pressure you to be living life out loud and showing personality on social feel to do well is enormous,” she said. “You learn a lot about media outlets, because at that point everyone is talented and yourself, it’s the biggest stage you’ll ever be on in your life.” everyone can sing so you have to set yourself apart.”

The first round of “The Voice” are blind auditions—where the In addition to the pressure of performing every week, which coaches don’t know what the singer looks like, and have to Perkins likened to “the scariest thing you’ve ever done, times decide if they want that performer on their team based on their ten,” contestants are kept in a motel and are often too busy to voice only. Perkins surpassed the blind auditions and moved on talk to their loved ones. to the battle rounds. She fought for a spot on coach Adam Levine’s team and was chosen, beating out seven others and moving on to the “knockout” round. Since the show is filmed

THE WAKE // FEATURE

“I think the hardest part was being away from my friends and family and that sense of being isolated out there. I wasn’t even able to talk to my friends and family,” she said. “Granted, some of my family got to come out but you can’t see them that much—we see what America sees of them in the audience.”

The competitive nature of the show was another difficult aspect for Perkins.

“Music and competition, that’s a very unnatural setting,” she said. “It makes for good television, but music is supposed to be entertaining.”

RAINA HEIN, “AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL” Hein was born in Minnetonka and competed on the fourteenth cycle of “America’s Next Top Model” in 2010, making it to the finale before becoming the runner-up. Hein has since modeled for companies including Macy’s and Target and has also appeared in music videos for Maroon 5, Bon Iver, and The 1975.

POST-REALITY Even after elimination, Perkins continued to watch the show.

Now, she serves as a correspondent on two radio programs, 107.1 “My Talk” on Tuesdays, and “The Marilu Henner Show” on Wednesdays.

By appearing on “The Voice,” Perkins has cultivated the standout quality that is so necessary in the music industry, allowing her to work with producers and songwriters she admires.

“Asking to work with certain producers for recording music, or getting press—especially out here in Minneapolis—it was way easier to knock on those doors having ‘The Voice’ on my resume,” she said. “I feel like my career is on another level.”

SAMEH WADI, “IRON CHEF: AMERICA”

Though her post-show experience hasn’t been perfect. How do you adjust to going back to regular everyday life after being on a reality television show? Finding the balance between the stardom of “The Voice” and nannying in Minnesota was harder to find than Perkins first thought.

Wadi was the first Minnesotan to appear on the Food Network’s “Iron Chef: America” in 2010, and was the youngest ever competitor on the show. He now owns critically acclaimed Minneapolis Mediterranean-Middle Eastern restaurant Saffron and casual Mexican restaurant World Street Kitchen in Uptown.

Wadi also recently unveiled his own line of gourmet spices, called Spice Trail.

“I felt this incredible sense of loss, I wanted to keep my life moving in that forward direction. It affected my relationship with my boyfriend and friends because I wanted to keep progressing.”

She missed the friends she met on the show and the producers she talked to every day, along with the professional vocal lessons and development.

Even with those downsides, Perkins wouldn’t change a thing about her experience.

“I really truly feel like I did the best I possibly could,” Perkins said.

“The entire state of Minnesota and the entire Midwest lifted me up. I call it the culture of kindness—people want you to do well, especially in your hometown.”

LAURA OSNES, “GREASE: YOU’RE THE ONE THAT I WANT!” Born in Burnsville and raised in Eagan, Osnes has appeared in five Broadway plays and was the winner of NBC’s short-lived 2007 reality show “Grease: You’re the One That I Want!” She competed against six other women to win the role of Sandy in a Broadway production of “Grease,” and has since starred in Broadway’s “Cinderella” and “Bonnie and Clyde.”

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THE WAKE // Q & A

Q&A: Michael Flora

P H OTO S C O U RT E S Y O F MI C H A E L F L O R A

The local experimental composer on the craft of computer music and his love of the abstract

BY SHAWNNA STENNES

The Wake Tell me about your history, in regard to music, and how you got inspired to create digital sound art.

Through his recordings and sound installations, local musician Michael Flora creates soundscapes of a digitalized world. With sounds reminiscent of frogs and bees and birds, his creatures virtually live in the hardware of a laptop computer. The Wake met up with Flora for a chat about the Nada music label he curates, the effectiveness of “play” when composing, and acknowledging what’s missing in Twin Cities music.

Michael Flora: When I was a kid I wanted a guitar, so I asked my mom for one and she was kind of just like “No.” But everyone grows up having a computer, so I just found some free software off the Internet. I was also really into electronic music. In the ‘90s there was this whole rave scene in Los Angeles, which is where I’m from, and they would have desert parties and warehouse parties and things. For me it was really surreal because the music was so synthetic sounding. I think once I found some more experimental composers and people doing abstract stuff, it really resonated with me.

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For much of the music you create, it seems like you are essentially taking ordinary sounds and processing them through computer software to digitize and manipulate the sounds. Could you describe this process?

MF: I guess I have two modes of working. One is really more conceptual. Like recently I was really interested in the flocking behavior of birds, so I utilized this computer algorithm that simulates the behavior of birds and the way that they flock.And then I sonified it so that each individual bird has a unique sound character. When it was set up in

a room, there would be multiple speakers throughout the room and you could hear the “birds” moving throughout the space. So I would say in that sense it’s really conceptual, where you make this system and it’s able to interact with itself and essentially play itself. And then another way is… there was this composer from the French music concrète tradition, and he was really into this idea of “jeu” which is French for “play.” The idea is to play with sound and the composition will then reveal itself. So that’s the other thing.

I’ll just take sounds or make synthetic sounds and I’ll add different effects, or chop things up, or rearrange the tail to the front, and I think just through play you come up with interesting things.

I’ve noticed your music can be very peaceful but it can also be kind of unsettling. From your experiences, what kind of reactions does your music often evoke from listeners?

MF: I find that a lot of times, even when a sound is synthetic sounding, people will say “Oh it sounds like a tornado siren,” or “It sounds like cicadas,” and I think it’s like that idea of our brains always looking for patterns.

And that’s one of the cool things about abstract music, it allows people to create their own narrative.

THE WAKE // Q & A

you consult it whenever you are in a creative rut. So you pick a card at random and consult it, and it’ll have a phrase on it that’s really kind of esoteric but it causes you to think in a different way. Oftentimes they’ll be statements that attempt to minimize things like,“Get rid of everything you don’t need.” They’re really cool. I like things that are really vague like that and then you can take it to mean whatever you want.

You’ve done shows in the past at places like The White Page gallery, the Seward Cafe, and the Eagles Club. How do you create a “live” experience out of your digital music?

MF: Certain things are pre-composed and are created with patches. I use software environments and they utilize programming languages so you can create your own patch and your patch is your instrument, it’s gonna do a specific thing.

One patch might play a sample of a bird, for example. Maybe that patch can adjust the pitch of that sample, or maybe it can chop up that sample. So by utilizing these patches you have a loose structure in that they can only do certain things. So when I play live, it’s a mixture of improvisation and pre-composed things. And it’s all within the computer, nothing I do is outside the computer.

Do you think there is an experimental electronic music community in the Twin Cities?

MF: There’s definitely people doing stuff here; there’s a small group. But I think people have different schools of thought and backgrounds and they gravitate towards different venues or different mediums for distributing their tapes. There’s a couple different clans in the Twin Cities. Like the venue Secret Service has a lot of experimental musicians come through sometimes. I know Cole, who books a lot of the shows there, he tends to do more techno-y stuff, but some of the stuff can be quite abstract.

So a few years back you started a local label of experimental sound artists called Nada. Could you tell me about that and what inspired it?

MF: In the 2000s I was really into small edition record labels and tape labels and CD-R labels, it’s kind of something I just discovered through the Internet. I think because I was a DJ and was always into collecting things, I got interested in this kind of culture. So in 2010 I started Nada as a label just to disseminate and distribute my own work. I had just gotten back from this trip to Asia and I had all these field recordings I made and I compiled them in two releases. So it started from there, and then friends and I would record something and put that out there too. So Nada is kind of just something that came from a DIY tradition.

Is there anything you think is lacking in the Twin Cities music scene or in your musical community specifically?

MF: I think there’s a real lack of venues. I would like to see more events in unique places. It doesn’t even have to be experimental music, I would just like to see promoters getting creative and utilizing public space more. I think that would be really cool. I think for me, I don’t wanna play in a bar or a club.

I don’t want people to come just cause they want to party, drink beer, and socialize, you know? I want people to come because they want an experience. So I prefer environments where people come to listen. I think there should be more spaces that cultivate that environment.

You mentioned working and recording with other people.

How does collaboration work with this kind of music?

Why do you think that is?

MF: In the past, when I worked with my friend Austin, a lot of it was just conceptual or process driven. We’d use this modular synthesizer and my computer and we’d just improvise together and react to each other and then record the output.

The other thing we would do is, we were really into “oblique strategies” which are a stack of cards created by Brian Eno, and

MF: I think it’s the lack of infrastructure. There has to be people and places that want to be innovative and try new things. And a lot of times these sort of events don’t make money, the people have to be grant-funded just to make the event happen. I think that’s part of the problem.

// Recently I was really interested in the flocking behavior of birds, so I utilized this computer algorithm that simulates the behavior of birds

//

and the way that they flock.

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J U LI E T LAS KE

THE WAKE // SOUND & VISION

Surrealist Playing Cards, “Shit Art,” and Books from the 16th Century The co l l e ct i o n of od d it ies k n ow n a s t he G o r m an R are Ar t B o o k C o llec t io n

BY AARON JOB There’s a canon on campus filled with the obscure and unconventional. It’s littered with centuries-old rare and original books, a deck of playing cards created to symbolize society’s hierarchy, and an instructional on how to do your own street performances. It’s called the Gorman Rare Art Book Collection and it boasts over 4,000 rare oddities combined into a research haven for those who aren’t entirely sure what they’re looking for.

The collection is located on the fourth floor of Wilson Library on West Bank, in the James Ford Bell Library.

It was created in 1987 by an alumnus of architecture, Francis V. Gorman, who made an endowment to the library specifically set aside for use by the art librarian.

The University of Minnesota invested the endowment, and now all collections are acquired using only the interest created by the investments.

I was able to sit down and look at the collection with art librarian Deborah Boudewyns, and her assistant Lindsay Keating.The variety of things the two pulled for me was a mere glimpse into the vast collection hidden in the vault, but it spoke to the immense range of styles, genres, and cults of creativity available in the collection.

The first item we looked at was an original scroll created around 1908 by Sem, a French caricaturist during the Belle Époque period. It features psychedelic

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horses, pulling Sem’s satirical take on the high society of that time. It was actually designed as a blueprint of sorts for a larger, 3-D diorama to be put on exhibit.

It draws fun at the lavished lifestyles of the rich and famous and their habits, such as a prostitute-like horse wearing leggings and a corset. The scroll itself is 35 feet long, so I was only able to see half of it, but Keating told me that one carriage depicts Colette (the famous French author of “Chéri”), Willy her husband, and even her luxurious female lover.

The next oddity we examined was a deck of playing cards. Fifty-two cards, four suits, and two jokers— standard. This deck, however, turns convention unconventionally as it symbolizes the pilgrimage of surrealist artists trying to escape Nazi-occupied Europe. In 1941, André Breton and a group of his friends were trapped in the French port of Marseilles while trying to get to America. Here, they created a deck of surrealist playing cards known as “Le Jeu de Marseille.” As a communist, Breton despised the traditional court hierarchy and reconstructed the order as Genius (King), Siren (Queen), and Magus (Jack). The group also renamed the suits: black locks representing knowledge, red wheels for revolution, black stars depicting dreams, and red flames embodying love and desire. The art itself signifies an early start of abstract expressionism.

One of my favorite pieces was a collection of items aptly self-titled by the international network of artists known as “Fluxus.” According to Boudewyns, the name's meaning is a nod to a literal meaning of “shit art,” which is fitting because it manifests itself as a collection of “anti-establishment-do-it-yourself-howto’s.” It’s meant to be an instructional, which examines the physical areas that art can manifest itself in the here and now. Their goal was anti-art. They were trying to create art that was accessible to all, so that everyone can experience, collaborate, and experiment within the open spaces of life's vast voids. For example, one piece told the reader to burn holes in a newspaper and pretend to read it outside of shops in urban areas.

Open space was their medium, ordinary people their brushes and the result: beautiful, beautiful, shit art.

The Gorman Rare Art Book Collection is expansive, and these are only a few of the timeless pieces housed there.

Keating and Boudewyns are knowledgeable guides in this lake of rarity and are more than willing to help. It’s a vast well of art, rare books, and timeless collections, exhibiting and examining the artful critiques of generations past.

The James Ford Bell Library is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Go. It’s for everyone, especially those eclectically looking for something they’ve never experienced.

THE WAKE // SOUND & VISION

THE NEW GHOSTBUSTERS Three reasons to ignore the haters and get excited

BY OLIVIA HEUSINKVELD

1 TAY LO R S E V E R S O N

It’s in good hands “Ghostbusters,” coming out the summer of 2016, is directed by Paul Feig who co-wrote the script with Katie Dippold, both of whom have resumes that speak for themselves. Feig created “Freak and Geeks” and has directed “Bridesmaids,” “The Heat,” “Spy,” “The Office,” and various other hilarious masterpieces. Dippold wrote “The Heat” and produced and wrote for “Parks and Recreation” for multiple seasons. Beyond the creators of the reboot, the actors reprising the iconic ghost-busting roles are Leslie Jones, Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, and Kate McKinnon. With backgrounds in SNL and blockbuster comedies, these women are guaranteed to be a laugh and a half. You may be nervous about the idea of a reboot, but with creators and actors like these, it is clear the reboot is in very capable hands.

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Girl power!

In film and television, women comprise only 31 percent of all speaking roles, 11 percent of writers, 23 percent of producers, 5 percent of visual effects supervisors, and the list of underrepresentation continues. Not only is the script’s co-writer and four leads all female, but the crew is overflowing with lady professionals. Women can be found in the crew as hair and makeup artists, prop stylists, stuntwomen, production assistants, and many more. It would be nice for this to not be a big deal, but given the current disparity in employment between men and women in Hollywood, this is exciting.

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Alumni say it’s going to be good Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver, and Ernie Hudson have all expressed their support for the movie. Dan Aykroyd has even said that because of CGI and the movie’s humor, he thinks the “Ghostbusters” reboot might even be funnier than the first two movies. If the original group is saying the reboot will be good, it’s a good idea to trust them.

When You Were Young Music from artists at their earliest

Breakout artists are getting younger and younger by the year, and it is interesting to hear how well known artists got their start. Here are four solid songs from well-known artists before they made it big.

Muse’s “Sober” Written by Matt Bellamy of Muse when he was 18, this song was later featured on their first album after appearing on their earlier EPs. The song has themes of alcoholism, referencing liquors such as Royal Canadian, and with lyrics such as “it burns inside of me.”

The song utilizes their guitar-heavy sound that characterizes Muse’s earlier years. It’s interesting to see how experimental their sound has become in later years.

Ray Charles’ “Confession Blues” R&B legend Ray Charles had his start in the music scene in the late ‘40s, and wrote “Confession Blues” at age 19. It’s a simple song about reminiscing on a former relationship with a woman whom he loved but didn’t love him back. It follows the typical blues scale, complete with a short guitar and piano interlude.

It was a great starting point for an R&B legend like Ray Charles.

Arctic Monkeys’ “Fake Tales of San Francisco” Arctic Monkeys front man Alex Turner released and performed this song off of the band’s first EP released in 2004 when he was about 18 years old. It sounds just like you’d expect from an Arctic Monkeys song, a mix of pop punk a la Green Day and the lyrical prowess of Alex Turner, making for a good stepping stone for the simplistic, yet hard-hitting sound of the Arctic Monkeys.

TAY LOR SEVERS ON

BY KARL WITKOWIAK

Stevie Wonder’s “Fingertips” Well before his major breakout in the early ‘70s, Stevie Wonder got his start touring around American theatres at the age of 12. While “Fingertips” doesn’t have his characteristic groove or funky vocals, it is instead a live recording of Wonder playing harmonica in front of a live audience.

It’s more of a big band jazz song than anything else, where Wonder’s impressive harmonica skills are at the forefront. Even at such a young age, Wonder is still as impressive and talented as ever.

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THE WAKE // SOUND & VISION

Is This Venue Accessible?

Baltimore musician creates website for music lovers with disabilities

BY CARSON KASKEL

J U L I E T L A S KE

Imagine going to a music venue to see your favorite band perform live but being unable to dance with the crowd, easily move about the venue, get drinks, or go to the bathroom. For many able-bodied people, this scenario is very unlikely, but for the disabled community, it’s a reality, and it’s a much bigger issue than most realize. Sean Gray has been attending shows, producing, and performing punk music for over 15 years, and he also happens to have cerebral palsy.

// People need to start looking at disabiliy and accessibility as oppression. When a venue is inaccessible, I’m not allowed to go.

//

Just last year, Gray created a website called “Is This Venue Accessible” to raise awareness of the inaccessibility of music venues for the disabled community, and to give details as to which venues are handicap-accessible and which aren’t. “I was disappointed that there were so many venues in D.C. that were either completely inaccessible or inaccessible in ways that I couldn't experience the whole thing if I went to a show,” Gray said. “I would go to shows and there would be mountains of stairs.”

The website provides vital information, such as if there are stairs and the location of bathrooms. “It was born out of anger and frustration. A lot of communities that are oppressed are built out of that.” Gray said.

In his personal experience, Gray has found that just attempting to attend a concert at an inaccessible venue can be dangerous.“You’re sacrificing your body in some ways,” he said. “Disability is that one group you could instantly be a part of in a minute.”

The inaccessibility of music venues has much deeper implications for the disabled community beyond just entering the venue.

“There’s a huge social aspect when you go to a live show,” Gray said. Being unable to access the bathroom limits the concert experience, making the idea of drinking nearly impossible. “I don’t have the luxury of moving around the venue,” Gray said1.This can range from getting a drink at the bar to meeting with friends.

For the disabled, attending shows requires more planning and logistic consideration than an able-bodied person. It’s an extreme inconvenience that deters them from attending concerts. It underrepresents the disabled community. They become invisible, and makes the issue go unnoticed. “People need to start looking at disability and accessibility as oppression.

When a venue is inaccessible, I’m not allowed to go,” Gray said.

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“It’s really easy to write off a group of people that are invisible.

You don’t see the oppression they’re going through.”

Venue inaccessibility not only affects concert-goers, but musicians as well. Gray himself fronts the Baltimore punk band Birth (Defects). The band typically chooses to only play at accessible venues. “If you have the option to not play an inaccessible venue, you should,” Gray said.This doesn’t keep the band from playing inaccessible venues however, as Gray, with the aid of a walker, uses them as a way to prove how difficult it is as a disabled musician to perform there. He believes that bands have a very strong influence in this movement. Saying no to inaccessible venues sends a message, “Once you start hurting their bottom line, which is money, they’re going to think about it.” Gray plans on participating in an unofficial DIY panel on this issue at SXSW in Austin,Texas next March. He originally campaigned for an official panel, but his request was denied.

So how can we go about fixing this issue? Gray says there is no simple solution. “I don’t think there’s a one-size-fits-all answer.

That scares a lot of venues and people. Because you really have to think about this.” The most important suggestion from Gray is what he has done with his own website. “Information is key.

That’s the number one thing.” A lack of information is what keeps such few members of the disabled community from even attending a show in the first place. Not knowing whether a venue is accessible or not is certainly a legitimate deterrent.

This lack of information marginalizes the disabled community, and in a way, shuts them out from the world of performing art and music. “When venues provide that information, you will see a greater increase in people with disabilities going to shows and being a part of music and culture and art. It’s all about access,” Gray said. He sees social media as a vital tool for communicating access to venues, suggesting that bands use their Facebook pages to spread the word. He also suggests that accessible venues make it clear that they are. “If you’re totally accessible, you should be proud of that,” he said. Gray also stresses that inaccessible venues should make people aware of the obstacles, and not in a demeaning manner, “If you aren’t accessible, it isn’t people calling you out, it’s just you being real and honest for people who want to go to your show or frequent your venue.”

THE WAKE // SOUND & VISION

GLOSSED OVER Transgender musicians are here, too

Last month the West Coast shoegaze band Whirr learned the same lesson as countless middle and high school students across the country: what happens online has real world consequences. Some transphobic statements targeting G.L.O.S.S. (a feminist punk band from Washington whose name stands for Girls Living Outside of Society's Shit), were issued

by Whirr's official Twitter account, though front man Nick Bassett has since shifted the blame to a friend of the band. Regardless, the tweets were disparaging and gratuitous, though they paled in comparison to the responses to public outcry, which included further barbs about transgender people and suicide.

As a result, Whirr lost their backing from two record labels, trading it for a slew of disapproving finger-wags from blogs and outraged social media messages.

The work of trans musicians is typically more fringe than mainstream, reflecting the artists' experiences as outsiders to heteronormative culture. Many choose to don the punk aesthetic, rebelling against the status quo and strengthening their voice through loud, chaotic sonic force. Others, like the rapper Katastrophe, use a more familiar format to bring atypical issues of privilege and self-worth to the hip-hop dialogue.

What makes Katastrophe's prolific success especially noteworthy is his persistence despite the general insensitivity of the rap community. In addition to releasing several full-length albums, Katastrophe has put in work representing and catering to trans people by starting the magazine “Original Plumbing” in 2009 with Amos Mac. The magazine was the first of its kind written by and for trans men.

This is only the most recent incident in a long history of transphobia in the music industry. Rappers including Lil' B, Waka Flocka Flame, and Eminem, to name just a few, have made transsexuality the butt of a joke or the crux of an ignorant on-air utterance.

But rappers aren’t the only offenders; Bikini Kill's Kathleen Hanna caught some heat of her own for her involvement with a festival that perplexingly excludes trans women with its “womyn-born-womyn only” attendance policy. Of course, transphobia is hardly limited to the musical realm, but creative expression has often been a positive outlet for the frustrations of marginalized groups, not to mention a way to celebrate diversity.

Though they may not receive widespread recognition, plenty of trans artists' work also greatly impact mainstream culture. Take Wendy Carlos, for example; the name may not ring any bells for most people, but her soundtrack compositions for Stanley Kubrick's “A Clockwork Orange” and “The Shining,” not to mention the original 1982 “Tron,” earn her a firm spot in film score history. Previously, Carlos swept the 1969 Grammy awards with her electronic take on the classical, “Switched-On Bach.” Her contributions, while not necessarily a direct expression of her trans identity, underscore a fact that should have been obvious all along: trans people are people like everyone else and must not be reduced to one aspect of who they are.

Apart from the social stigma that the trans community endures, trans individuals face an internal struggle with gender dysphoria, a self-identification with the gender opposite the biological one assigned at birth.

Gender dysphoria can cause feelings of detachment and alienation with your body, as expressed to Interview Magazine by the eccentric trans DIY artist Geo Wyeth. Wyeth is best known for his work with the band Jive Grave as well as his ability to fabricate foreign sonic landscapes by combining elements of music theater, folk, and experimental sounds into a semi-psychedelic experience. Laura Jane Grace, the lead singer of the group Against Me!, echoes Wyeth's sentiment with her coming-out song “Transgender Dysphoria Blues.”

By and large, the music and art produced by trans artists is rich with raw emotion and broadly diversified from the sexual to the spiritual; a reverberation of their uniqueness with a message that is equal parts revolutionary and relatable. As pop culture begins to embrace trans people (Laverne Cox of “Orange Is The New Black” is objectively killin' it), we must remember the long and tortuous road that led them here and respect their plight as well as their personhood.

MA DIS ON DI G I OVAN NI

BY COLIN MILLER

When Billboard reached out to G.L.O.S.S. for their response to the Whirr situation, lead singer Sadie Switchblade eloquently replied, “Whirr can suck my transexual dick now and forever… no one cares. Bye!”

WAKEMAG.ORG // 21

KELLEN RENS TROM

THE WAKE // SOUND & VISION

Acid Drag, Hippiedom, and The Spectrum of Gender “Hippie Modernism” exhibit at the Walker includes Cockettes collection

BY AARON JOB Imagine a house filled with patterns. Floral, paisley, diamonds, and everything else. There’s something smelly; hippies with long hair crammed into almost every conceivable space. Three season porch? Sure. Shed in the backyard? Throw a hammock in there and it’s a bedroom.There are artists, writers, performers, and a cat or two. Every day consists of an LSD-fueled shopping trip. Sexuality was surreal and clothes were optional.Welcome to the house of The Cockettes, a troupe whose history is part of The Walker Art Center’s “Hippie Modernism” exhibit.

The Cockettes were a psychedelic gender-bending theater troupe whose parents were the HaightAshbury neighborhood of the ‘60s. They came to San Francisco one by one. First they got naked, then they went organic, and if they made it past those stages of hippiedom, they went acid-drag.

The early ‘60s were shaded by the shadow of devastations that were World War II and Korea; no one was looking back and all the mainstream wanted was new, new, new. So naturally the group came together in one of San Francisco’s decaying Victorian houses. Cheap and affordable.There was no such thing as “vintage,” but the Cockettes defined thrift store culture.

They were influenced by early artistic surrealism and “oldie” movie star attire. They dressed in drag from the fashion of eras past and styled surrealistically, buying up any old clothing they could find. They were gay, bi, lesbian, and everything in between. Sexuality is a spectrum, one end being a male aura and the other, female; there is never a finite spot you can occupy. The Cockettes were fluidly changing their sexual identities; love was in the air, hair, and derrière.

This open minded mantra led to their psychedelicized approach to theater. After the ‘60s melted away, the group found themselves in New York City performing a bewildering and bedraggled form of dragtastic dynamic theater. They would dance, love, and sing away nights to adoring fans, often unscripted. Their theater-trips are still influencing pop-culture today. As LGBTQ issues head further into mainstream acceptance, a nod of appreciation must be given to its grandparents, the Cockettes and all that they achieved.

For a history of eclectic and erotic theater endeavors, check out the Cockettes collection included as part of the Walker’s Hippie Modernism. Dress accordingly. Hippie Modernism runs through Feb. 28.

22 // NOV 16–NOV 29

D E AFH EAVEN. C O M

NEO NI ND I AN. C O M

LAUR EN C UTS H ALL

THE WAKE // SOUND & VISION

Ben Sollee Deafheaven at the Fine Line

BY AARON MUSICKANT

Neon Indian’s

“Vega Intl. Night School”

at The Cedar Cultural Center

BY LAUREN CUTSHALL

BY LOGAN CARROLL Glam, goth, electronica, disco, cumbia, Peruvian folk, Argentine rock; “Vega Intl. Night School” is a medley of North and South American influences. Alan Palomo, Neon Indian’s front man, deconstructs each style to its most funky parts and rebuilds them into a beautiful kind of musical chimera. It’s a pretty great album.

Perhaps the most enticing aspect of Deafheaven is their unique mixture of heavy, raging black metal and beautiful, tranceinducing shoegaze. The band released their third studio album “New Bermuda” in early October as the follow up to 2013’s “Techno Clique” could be a Moby song, and “Baby’s Eyes” could critically acclaimed “Sunbather,” which launched the band into be Depeche Mode or Virus (an ‘80s Argentine new wave band). mainstream fame. There were a lot of expectations for this “61 Cygni Ave” is all hip-shaking cumbia, where the guitar, synth, album, but without a doubt, it delivers. drums, and even the vocals drive the on beat.

Respect among the artists was as seamless as the music at the Oct. 30 Ben Sollee and Mother Falcon show. At the intimate, seated show at The Cedar Cultural Center, Kentucky-born cellist Ben Sollee was followed on stage by the many musicians of Mother Falcon, a symphonic rock band from Austin,Texas.As the group of fifteen came on stage with trumpets, saxophones, and string instruments for what effortlessly became a collaborative show, Sollee summed it up: “They just keep coming!”

Instead of playing two separate sets, the artists joined together to play most songs collaboratively. With exceptional balance, Sollee danced on the border of the modern classical he was taught and the R&B he heard growing up. Mother Falcon soared in their dynamic range of full and partial ensemble pieces, consistently matching Claire Puckett’s breathy, ethereal tone with Diana Burgess’ soulful alto, all the while complementing Ben Sollee’s earnest belting.

The band played the entirety of “New Bermuda” at their “Vega Intl.” is one of those golden albums: every song could be show in downtown Minneapolis at the Fine Line Music Café the single. Pick one to download off iTunes and throw it onto on October 28. While “Sunbather” elicits the feelings of—well, your next party playlist. It will work, if that’s how you listen sunbathing—“New Bermuda” has a more cooling, waterside to music. essence. For the majority of the show the band was simply The sets were well balanced with diverse song choices and a bathed in blue lights that truly captured the essence of the Neon Indian is synonymous with chillwave, and while “Vega comfortable banter between artists. Nothing stopped them calmer instrumental moments of the album.

Intl.” might be their most danceable album yet, it’s not from going off on a musical tangent, but the level of skill on the demanding. The album is content to set the mood while you small stage made for a trustworthy detour. During Sollee’s song, After seeing recorded live performances from Pitchfork Music have a conversation over a drink or a smoke, if that’s how you “It’s Not Impossible (Boys Don’t Cry),” he sat across the stage Festival where the crowd stands still, I wondered if the same listen to music. from friend and percussionist Jordan Ellis, as the two played a would happen at Fine Line. As the drone noises of “Brought simple but crisp version of the playful piece. Always thoughtfully to the Water” closed and the hammering drums and guitar While a lot of electro-pop gleefully revels in superficiality, “Vega came in, the crowd began to warm up. Thankfully, the venue Intl.” explores the origins and possibilities of the sounds we love, precise but never lacking in creativity, they brought the audience along on their musical detour. Overall, the skill on stage was as was populated by a majority of people who love black metal, taking us from the clubs to the Andes and back again. “Never metal, or hardcore music in general. The demonic vocals of bright and clear as the sound that echoed from it. coming home again till they see the world as I see it,” Palomo sings George Clarke commanded the room, transforming it into a in “Baby’s Eyes”. If you will let him, if you will give it an hour and pit of anger. It really was a fantastic show of passion on both really listen to the music, Neon Indian will take you on a trip. the sides—the crowd and the band. The beautiful fusion of elegance and rage that is Deafheaven is something that must be felt in person.

WAKEMAG.ORG // 23

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