Category: Arts & Entertainment

By Shane Soderland

Michael Moore’s latest documentary “Fahrenheit 11/9” offers a scattershot portrait of American people and politics. The film illustrates American politics as a black hole of status quo and showcases the spirit of the nation’s citizens.

“Fahrenheit 11/9” presents itself like an expose on the Trump administration from the start, but leaves room to discuss how we got here, much to its own detriment.

The film details social and political issues, such as health care reform, school shootings and the broken political system, yet they feel unnecessarily tacked on to the advertised Trump narrative.

Moore’s biting social commentary and sharp wit can be seen throughout the film. His trademark blue collar sarcasm is utilized to full effect in his latest directorial effort. Moore spares nobody, holding all ends of the spectrum accountable for Trump’s presidency: political figures, voters, even Gwen Stefani is implicated for directly influencing Trump’s campaign.

Unafraid to blame himself and others for being friendly with now unsavory individuals, Moore’s display of nonpartisanship is commendable. Unfortunately, Moore takes numerous cheap digs at right-wing politics towards the second act, which goes against his take-no-prisoners mentality from the onset.

The film is ambitious — it attempts to link various political matters to Trump, which is reasonable considering how chaos tends to enshroud the Trump administration, but it sloppily and frantically draws its connections to POTUS.

Moore trails off topic several times, including an unnecessary segment implicating Trump of having an incestuous relationship with his daughter. His usually crisp editing doesn’t work towards transitioning from one idea to the next; instead, it’s used for cheap visual and auditory gags, such as a segment showing Trump’s words overlaid at a Hitler rally.

The film hits its stride when Moore settles down in Flint, Michigan to focus on the community’s water crisis. Moore targets Republican Gov. Rick Snyder for his hand in the matter — going as far to make a citizen’s arrest.

It’s arguable that Moore wanted to make a film about Snyder, given his passion for the sequences involving him, and this focus makes Trump feel like an afterthought.

Moore periodically makes assumptions regarding intent without sources to support hisassertions, which speaks against his impartiality and professionalism.

For instance, Moore affirms that Snyder’s hand in Flint’s water crisis was raciallymotivated, but he offers no evidence to that claim or several others.

I could forgive many issues with this film, but its fatal flaw is a lackluster ending that fails to go out with a bang.

It feels like Moore capitalizes on a moment in history rather than creating one of his own in the film’s climax. Moore’s ending drags two minutes too long and robs the audience of a fitting conclusion, which directly relates to his theme of activism.

Excluding me, five individuals departed the theatre promptly following the movie’s ending. A spectator voiced his opinion exiting the theatre. “Scattered!” the viewer said. “I looked up and was like ‘What?’”

These ideas could have worked, but Moore’s research and reliance on hearsay works against the film. I can’t recommend this film to general audience goers, but there is some value to its aspiration. Die-hard fans of Moore’s work will appreciate this entry nonetheless, despite it being flawed.

Contact Shane Soderland at communitarian@mail.dccc.edu

By Emily Steinhardt

Under the direction of Stephen Smith, nine actors successfully brought to life the story of Clybourne Park, the fall drama that ran from Nov. 9-11 and 16-18.

According to DCCC’s website, “Clybourne Park is a razor-sharp satire about the politics of race, written partly as a prequel/sequel to one of the greatest plays ever written in this country, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry.” The play takes place in the same house as A Raisin in the Sun in the same suburb of Chicago.

The first act is set in 1959 as a white family is selling their house to an African-American family. Act two jumps to 2009 as the descendants of the Younger family from A Raisin in the Sun are selling the home to a young white couple as the neighborhood experiences gentrification.

The show comes full circle at the end as it flashes back to 1959 and the audience meets Kenneth (Ben Vuocolo), a character that is mentioned throughout the show but never seen. It was the final moment of the show, and it tugged my heart out as I finally understood many subtle things that were discussed in the play.

In both acts, themes of racism, mental illness, gender, disability, and class are examined at large. The actors portrayed these very relevant topics in a believable manner that mirrored how many people still talk about them today.

The show was chalk full of standout moments from each of the actors. Performers played two different characters from the separate acts that echoed each other. They were all very successful in highlighting those similarities, especially Daniel Thach, Matt Morris, Terence Stroman, and Casey Innes.

Set designer Mimi Smith truly transformed the space. Stage crew and actors helped “change” the set during intermission to show the passing of time in the house by taking off a changeable wallpaper among other things.

Costumes were designed by Samantha Angelina, who was also one of the actors in the show. She captured the feeling of both eras, making it easy for the audience to believe they were back in the 1950’s or 2009.

Stephen Smith directed yet another fantastic play that “examined ways we still need to reckon with our national history which sadly keeps dividing us” as he said in his director’s note.

Bravo to the cast and everyone involved in such an excellent production.

Contact Emily Steinhardt at communitarian@mail.dccc.edu