3/5 Stars

Frank Herbert’s seminal 1965 sci-fi novel “Dune” is soon to be returning to the silver screen this December after its film debut in 1984. This time, helmed by acclaimed director Denis Villeneuve, who directed Blade Runner, 2049, Sicario and the Arrival, and featuring an all-star cast, including Timotheée Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Dave Bautista, Javier Bardem and Jason Moamoa, this film appears likely to gain considerably more traction that other adaptations could not. 

The initial 1984 release told the story of a wandering messiah of Arrakis, and was shot by a young, eccentric director, David Lynch, fresh off of box office success with 1980s historical drama, “Elephant Man.” Much like Villeneuve, Lynch had selected a cast that was popular but perhaps not the most talented given an enormous production budget, which he failed to recoup. Due to COVID-19’s impact on theater attendance numbers, the 2020 make of “Dune” is set for a rolling release date. New and old fans alike can expect this new iteration to be a breath of new life, and an opportunity to look back on Lynch’s attempt to bring movie magic to the world of Dune. 

The 1984 film opens with a rather strange voiceover performed by the daughter of the Emperor of the Universe, as she explains intergalactic trade and relations, which are based around a highly sought-after spice located exclusively on the planet Arrakis. It seems like an odd choice, as her character is so promptly dismissed and has next to nothing to do with the rest of the film. We are then introduced to Paul Atreides, our protagonist, son of Duke Leo, the ruler of House Atreides, and next to assume control of the Arrakis mining operations. Eager to travel to the new world and leave home, Atreides is prepped for assuming the additional responsibilities by his mentors, including officer Gurney Halleck, played by the notable Sir Patrick Stewart. 

Shortly afterwards he is given a mysterious test that upon passing, unknowingly begins his quest to fulfill an ancient prophecy and save the spice-rich desert planet. On the other side are  the depraved rulers of House Harkonen, the mortal foes of House Atreides. They are sour at having been kicked off of Arrakis by the Emperor, and biding their time until Duke Leo touches down on the planet, they pull a trap on Atreides, resulting in his exile. From there, Atreides must make connections with the planet’s native people, in order to fulfill the ancient prophecy in its entirety.

Truth be told, “Dune” is not a great film for a litany of reasons, and at a runtime of two hours and 17 minutes, it can feel like a bit of a slog to get through the whole thing in one sitting. For one, there are far too many voice-overs. These break the age-old principle of “show, don’t tell” when it comes to filmmaking, and they are likely due to the sheer amount of information that the viewer needs to understand the scene. Herbert’s “Dune” is in no way short on content, but by adding in this sort of lifeless regurgitation of information, it only serves to muddy the water in terms of clarity as it feels like a different character gets to play the role of narrator in every scene.  

The props and set can feel quite chintzy at times, and this really shouldn’t be the case with a  $40 million production budget. While the production company might not be expected to be on par with Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light and Magic, it also shouldn’t look like it was filmed at the same time and with the same budget as “Star Wars: A New Hope,” which was filmed 10 years earlier. On a more positive note, there are many great models of the spaceships House Atreides uses and some eye-catching costume design, but in most areas it simply feels dated. The score is a bit of an odd one; Recorded by rock band Toto, it doesn’t seem to fit with the grandiosity of the tale and shows its age, and it instead drones on in the background. The performances are fine, with standouts being Kenneth McMillan’s portrayal of the vile Baron Harkonnen and Kyle MacLachlan’s regal Paul Atreides.

In many ways, “Dune” (1984) was a springboard for those involved, many involved going on to have shining film careers. MacLachlan would go on to star in Lynch’s “Lauded Blue Velvet” and TV hit “Twin Peaks.” Sean Young, who plays Atreides’ love interest, would land a role in the Ridley Scott directed “Blade Runner,” and Lynch himself would move on to better films such as “Wild at Heart” and “Mulholland Drive.” Looking forward to the future, with any luck, Villeneuve will be able to craft a film that provides some much needed justice to Herbert’s literary vision in his 2020 release.

Warning: this movie will melt your brain, and I mean that in the best way possible. 

“Tenet” is the newest film from acclaimed director Christopher Nolan, who you may remember from the good Batman movies (you know the ones), the slightly confusing but enthralling “Inception,” “Interstellar,” and my personal favorite “Memento” — the list goes on. Needless to say, Nolan is proven box office gold, and with his latest film, he has put his absurdly high production budget of over $200 million to good use, creating one of the most mind bending, heart thumping, action movies to date.

The movie kicks off strong, without any sort of intro sequence, opting for a hard cut from the last trailer straight into an intense, undercover seige of an opera house wherein a hostage situation is unfolding. The camera follows a CIA agent, known only as the Protagonist played by the son of renowned actor Denzel Washington, John David Washington, as he infiltrates the local police force to gain entry. During this scene, he witnesses something unspeakable, and shortly thereafter, when he is detained by Russian security forces, he bites into a cyanide pill and discovers that he has been recruited to work for a group known only as “Tenet.” He follows the trail of the “inverted” bullet to various contacts, including the affable Neil, portrayed by Robert Pattinson, and discovers that a Russian oligarch of the most corrupt and depraved order has acquired the power to travel back through time to enrich and empower himself. Things get progressively worse for the buddy-cop-like duo as they come face to face with time-traveling bad guys, paradoxes that will make your head spin and consequences of the highest order in their quest to save the world.

It may not be Nolan’s best work, as the script can feel a bit clunky at times with more than a few unintentionally comical lines. All jokes aside, the actors all hit the mark with their performances, with a highlight on Pattinson’s charming and friendly Neil and Kenneth Branagh’s terrifying portrayal of the maniacal oligarch Andrei Sator. My one gripe with some of the character development is that most players seem to lack motive, save Elizabeth Debicki’s character Kat, who struggles to remove her son out from under the iron grip of the sadistic Sator. Otherwise, under the watchful eye of Nolan, everything appears quite polished, the shots are breathtaking, the locations timeless and the action sequences impeccably put together. There are too many scenes to count where characters, or in some sequences tens of them, walk backward or complete an action in reverse in the same shot. It’s mind-blowing to watch, and even more confusing when trying to comprehend how the shot was captured. 

Nolan manages to make a film that leaves you wondering what details you might have missed or what plot points you might be able to discover had you looked harder. This is in no way a detriment, as the progression flows naturally, and the plot makes sense upon its first viewing. It is, however, an indication of the superb level of craftsmanship that went into its making. At least for me, a great film is something that makes me want to come back to discover new details that enrich my viewing experience time and time again. Nolan has assuredly done this with “Tenet,” and I know I’ll be back.

5.0 stars

In this gripping 1973 autobiography, activist Huey Newton authors the tales of his childhood and family life, experience in college and the founding of the Black Panther Party (BPP) with fellow student Bobby Seale, ending with his release from prison after an overturned conviction in the fiercely contested case of a slain police officer. Newton does all this with a searing sense of clarity, able to dissect the various social and economic conditions which play a role in the formation of his views on both class struggle and race, as well as how they have helped him set plans for the future of the BPP. 

“Revolutionary suicide” is a term coined by the late BPP co-founder to describe the extreme challenges faced and sacrifices made by those who wish to change any system of oppression. By opposing the forces that would drive one to suicide, one can hope to live a life in pursuit of changing the exploitative social conditions under which they live, and even in an instance such as an untimely death at the hands of the oppressor, have stood for change. 

Newton paints the act of revolutionary suicide as an uncompromising one, and one he lives throughout his life, in encounters with police and, perhaps most visibly, in his several experiences with the prison system. Instead of breaking and giving in to the demands of the prison staff for preferential treatment, Newton faces down long stretches of solitary confinement. He develops techniques to maintain his mind and composure, which, in time, instills a sense of both awe and fear in the guards as they understand that they cannot break him. 

Not one to rest on his laurels, upon being freed Newton jumps back into navigating the perilous waters of the political setting, battling those who seek to use the movement as their means to a personal end. He copes with the loss of fellow Black Panthers and seeks to jump back into coordinating the social programs promised in the ten point program he and Bobby Seale formed so many years ago.

This book is incredibly hard to put down once picked up. It offers valuable context and key insights into the formation of the BPP, its principles, and how its trajectory changed over the course of time, leading the reader to think critically regarding modern racial justice. Perhaps the most striking aspect of Newton’s work is how relevant his thoughts are in today’s political climate regarding race in America, and how so little has changed in regards to policing and the prison industrial complex.

Midnight Breakfast is a funk and soul-influenced band that’s been making waves in the local music scene. The group consists of vocalist Jennifer Shevlin-Fernandes, guitarist Matthew Donovan, percussionist Reggie Kollman, saxophonist Loren Pinkham and pianist Benjamin Flanagan. Originally covering contemporary pop, rock and R&B works, they’ve transitioned into creating their own arrangements while working the University of Maine’s bar scene. 

Their most recent move, however, could be one of their biggest. The band submitted one of their songs, “Bittersweet” in a competition to be featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series. 

The series, which takes established musical artists and jams them in between cluttered desks and bookshelves at NPR headquarters to perform their hits, is opening up the platform to public submissions. NPR will crown a winner later this spring season, promising a spot in the limelight and eventually tour dates. This might be the big break Midnight Breakfast is looking for, and could help push their careers to new heights. 

“If things take off we’ll go with them,” Shevlin-Fernandes said. “[ We’re] having fun and sharing with the world something that we love in a way that doesn’t feel forced or unnatural.”

“[The band] has become something greater than the sum of its parts,” Donovan said of watching the growth of the band’s music and influence. 

As for their submission in the Tiny Desk Concert competition, Midnight Breakfast recorded “Bittersweet,” an original tune, on the UMaine campus. The song, like many others written by the band, was a collaborative effort and selected for entry based on its unique composition, as it doesn’t follow any prescribed lyrical format. For the filming of the performance, they chose a location that held special significance to the band members.

“Room 107 in 1944 Hall was such a great spot because we’ve all sat in there [for classes] so we were familiar with the space,” Shevlin-Fernandes said. Donovan joked that one of the contest’s stipulations is that there must be a desk in the shot and that by performing in a room full of desks they’ve got a one-up on the competition. 

“It’s always interesting to see what the artists will bring to the space,” the band members said, noting that some of their favorite Tiny Desk Concerts so far have been Anderson Paak, Hozier and Rex Orange County. 

The band also plans to add more of their own recordings to their YouTube channel in the near future.

The coronavirus pandemic has hit the band at what seems to be a transitory period, as they had planned on hitting the studio during this time.

“Maybe it’s the universe saying I should stay in Maine for a bit longer,” Donovan said. “I’m gonna make as much music as I can in the meantime.” 

Donovan had been preparing to move to New York to pursue a music career upon his graduation this May. 

They also discussed how the quarantine has taken away a lot of the steam the group has been building, resulting in the cancellation of a show at Woodman’s, among the loss of opportunities the group had been exploring for summer gigs. All hurdles aside, the members of Midnight Breakfast seemed optimistic about reuniting and pushing forward with live shows this coming fall. 

3 Stars 

“The Call of the Wild,” a new release directed by Chris Sanders, is based on the infamous Jack London novel of the same name and centers around a dog, Buck, and his adventures in the Yukon region during the Klondike gold rush of the 1890s. 

Buck is a charming and emotive dog brought to life by CGI motion capture. You may have seen some of the videos that circulated prior to the film’s release of Harrison Ford in front of a green screen talking to a man on all fours in a motion-capture suit. It appears on a surface level to be a misstep to rely so heavily on CGI and motion capture in a film that centers on the exploration of the natural world, and by and large, this observation holds true. The lack of an actual dog and the use of such technology certainly dispels any sense of realism. However, it does produce curious character interactions. 

In animal movies that cast real animals, there is usually a disconnect between the actors and their domesticated counterparts that can feel comical as animal reactions are hard to control and predict. “The Call of the Wild” manages to sidestep this issue entirely. Buck, whose motion capture was done by Terry Notary, is unsurprisingly treated by the other actors like a human. That is to say, generally, they appear more emotive and open to conversing with Buck, and there is a back and forth between human and canine character in this regard. This aids in establishing a connection between the audience and Buck, even if at times it doesn’t feel the strongest.

The relationships Buck forms along the way with Yukon mail carriers Perrault and Françoise (played by Omar Sy and Cara Gee respectively) and prospector John Thornton (Harrison Ford) add warmth to the story but lack a sense of purpose. The plot has several issues with how it presents the story of Buck in that it doesn’t quite know what it wants for the main character. There is a lack of development, likely due to the difficulty of explaining the mindset of a dog, which Ford’s narration tries to do, but to a large degree fails. It’s harder still to understand what Buck wants or why he is on this adventure when events are happening to him and not because of him. The shuffling from one master to another hampers the depth of any relationship Buck is able to establish with his human companions. That being said, the movie does eventually hit some sort of stride when Ford, who plays a thoroughly convincing grumpy old man, is paired with Buck in the movie’s third act. Their partnership yields some very touching moments and feels like the story we deserved from the get-go. 

There are several other missteps that, while perhaps minor by themselves, add to a  general sense of mediocrity. The failings of CGI are mostly to blame, as lighting discrepancies and odd scene transitions are prevalent. There are also other nagging details, like when Buck and Ford come out the other end of a waterfall with Buck being soaked in digital water and Ford bone dry. Similarly throughout the film, the characters are consistently placed in frigid environments, yet I cannot once recall seeing any of the characters’ breath in the cold, and there are several panoramic scenes that are meant to display the natural beauty of the Yukon wilderness, but can almost immediately be distinguished as CGI, eliminating any sense of awe. CGI can be and has been effectively used in films for years to further narratives, but in this case, it feels overused and underdeveloped.

“The Call of the Wild” is assuredly a mediocre movie, but one with genuine moments of suspense and joy. Overall the adventure flick has its place in the cinematic landscape, even if it’s only to pass the time with family or friends. 

On March 3, Archaeologist Gabriel Prieto gave a lecture about ritual sacrifice on Peru’s coast to a packed room in the Bodwell Area in the Collins Center for the Arts. University of Maine Professor of Archaeology Dr. Dan Sansweiss introduced Dr. Prieto, an assistant professor at the University of Florida at Gainesville, professor at Peru’s National University of Trujillo, and National Geographic grantee. 

“It’s very rare to not find [examples of] human sacrifices in different societies around the world, and that it’s something that is embedded in human cultural practices,” Prieto said in the opening, framing the several human sacrificial sites he’s investigated. The sites Prieto analyzed were mainly child and camelid, meaning of the camel family, sacrificial sites. Prieto went on to explain the environment in Peru and how its variability and volatility led to the societies he examines being developed under strenuous circumstances, and that ritual sacrifice was indeed tied into this relationship. 

Using other sites in the region for reference, Prieto made the case that “violence was closely related to [these people’s] ideological beliefs,” and that sacrifice was an extension of this. Archaeologists have known for decades that the people in question, the Moche, and later Chimu, practiced human sacrifice in the region, but previous archaeological finds were not nearly as encompassing as Prieto’s current undertaking. 

The first site, Huanchaco, is not far from the infamous archaeological site of Chan Chan, once a large Chimu city. Prieto noted that he cannot currently dig in the Chan Chan, as the Peruvian government is currently doing its own excavations, but is doing his best to dig around. He also spoke of the El Nino occurrences and the effect these likely had on the Chimu economy and society, adding that he thinks the answer to the reaction the Chimu had is found at sites like Huanchaco.

Prieto’s work started in 2011 when he got a call from a local business owner who said he had noticed his children playing with human bones. Prieto remarked that in a place like Peru, it’s not uncommon for people to come across ancient artifacts. 

“It seems like everyone has some sort of ancient ceramic vessel lying about,” Prieto said of the number of ancient artifacts in Peru. In this case, the owner’s property yielded 43 children and 43 llama sacrifices, numbers much higher than Prieto expected. He then decided to put together a team to tackle the growing project. 

The team, consisting of a forensic anthropologist, zooarchaeologist and archaeologist, was able to secure funding via National Geographic grants that allowed them to explore the archaeological phenomenon. In total, they discovered the remains of 137 children and 205 llamas. Most of the children ranged from ages six to 11, with DNA analysis showing them to have been both male and female. Almost all the children were buried with at least one young llama. 

The team discovered that the sacrifices were likely carried out together in one large event. All the children’s chest cavities were opened with extremely clean cuts to the sternum, which is not typical.

 “Usually there is some hesitation in the executor or the victim moves, causing imperfect cuts,” Prieto explained. He went on to suggest that it’s possible, as it was not an uncommon practice, that the heart was then removed from the chest cavity as a sort of “transfer of power.” 

Adding to this theory was the discovery of a 40-year-old man on the sacrificial grounds that had an extremely strong right arm, which suggests he might have been the executor. Prieto explained that in some human sacrificial cultures, the executor is killed after he performs the executions as he is seen to have acquired the power of his victims, and if the organizer wanted that power he would have to kill him. 

Prieto’s team also found data that showed the children were in excellent health upon their death. 

“[Their health] shows they were not just kids taken from the streets to be used in the sacrifice, and that they likely didn’t come from poor families,” Prieto added. He talked about the children’s ethnic affiliation and geographic location, suggesting that occipital flattening of the skull in about 10 percent of cases alludes to variation. 

Prieto is currently digging at a second site where the number of sacrificial victims is already surpassing the Huanchaco site, with the remains of around 230 children and over 400 llamas. He made note of the many conditions that inhibit his work, such as variable weather conditions, difficulty in working in the sand and damage to sites. The second site is especially interesting to Prieto as it represents an era in Chimu history where the Inca were also present. Prieto said that with this site, he was confident that sacrifices were used “as a form of political discourse” and not just as a result of El Nino weather occurrences.

Prieto closed out the lecture by talking about how he was looking forward to future excavations and discoveries, as there is much potential in the region. The event was sponsored by the Rising Tide Center in partnership with the UMaine Unido project, helmed by professors Dr. Dan Sandweiss and Carlos Villacorta, which aims to bring speakers from Latin and South America to UMaine.

4 stars

In the modern age of horror cinema, there is a certain disdain for the characters that lifted the genre into the mainstream. Characters like Count Dracula, Dr. Frankenstein’s Monster, the Invisible Man and the werewolf appear worn, and that’s because, to a large degree, they are. Studios have produced dozens of movies starring these characters, and as a result, their stories appear less shocking and more predictable. Sure, they’re classics, but they lack creativity and vision. Leigh Whannell, director of “The Invisible Man,” aims to change this, and does so with striking taste. It’s no small feat to modernize such a dated character and to do so with such success.

The movie centers around Cecelia Kass, played by Elisabeth Moss, an architect and girlfriend to an impossibly rich and megalomaniacal tech tycoon. When the relationship turns abusive, Cecelia, or “C,” executes a daring departure from her boyfriend Adrien’s estate. The movie continues through escape, fear and guilt, following C as she faces the trauma of being an abuse survivor while fearing for her own safety. The movie follows her through her gradual descent into a frenzied hysteria, and numerous twists and turns escalate the narrative.  

As far as the performances go, Moss gives Cecilia her all and plays the character quite convincingly. Her fear is palpable throughout the film and is aided by the camera work. Moss’ co-stars also deliver commendable performances, in the form of characters James and Sydney, played by Aldis Hodge and Storm Reid respectively. Harriet Dyer plays Cecelia’s sister, but the character seems a bit off in relation to the rest of the cast and movie. However, this may be due to the script more than the performance itself. The cinematography has more potential than is realized, but Whannell does use several long shots to his advantage, as well as camera angles that give the impression that C is being watched, which only adds to the unnerving atmosphere. And just when the plot seems to be slowing down, an event takes place that reinvigorates the film, giving it a jittery quality. The ending also leaves the viewer with several questions, a ploy I personally enjoy.

“The Invisible Man” is a well-executed film that deserves every penny of its box office earnings. The modernization of the film material is clearly evident and works to make the film feel relevant without reliance on pop-culture, which so many movies falsely depend on. Like any good movie, it’s a combination of the many little details that work to make the viewing experience enjoyable.

On Friday, Feb. 28, students and faculty members gathered in the Bangor Room of the Memorial Union for a presentation entitled “China and Latin America: a Poetic Experience” given by Peruvian poet Florentino Diaz Ahumada. 

The presentation was a unique auditory and emotional experience for those in attendance. Ahumada opened by explaining what drove him to consider taking part in a trip to China, and how his love of poetry influenced him throughout his early life. It was soon after the publication of his book, he recalls, that he began to get interested in traditional Chinese medicine. 

Ahumada’s interest in Chinese culture began unexpectedly when he sought acupuncture treatment over a decade ago. The treatment eventually prompted him to study traditional Chinese medicine, completing the first part of his training in 2009. 

“Like with any passion, we practice a sort of continual learning,” Ahumada explained, speaking about subjects we deeply care about. As he continued his studies, and the more he began to explore other areas of Chinese culture, the more he realized that it was, in some ways, very similar to the Andean way of life in which he was raised. He explained that the human role in creating poetry is as an intermediary one, shifting between the physical and emotional realms of being and interpreting the life force that the Chinese call Ch’i. 

Ahumada also invited all those in attendance to participate in a relaxing breathing exercise. Playing soothing music, he asked the audience to remain present and experience the emotion inside themselves. He went on to explain in greater detail some of the ties the practice had to Chinese cultural beliefs, such as “meditation being elemental food for the soul” among other things.

Ahumada went on to explain the paradox poetry represents, particularly “in describing things that are [intangible] in relation to reality,” he said, calling “the fact … that we can be moved emotionally by such things” a contradiction in itself. He related the emotional transformation present in poetry to the concept of Ch’i and Chinese calligraphy, which similarly uses movement to map energy. 

Sickness, he explained, is something he categorizes in a general sense, calling it “a disharmony between the Ch’i around you and the Ch’i within you,” and noting that to harness the Ch’i, or movement, it is necessary to dance with it rather than struggle against it.

Ahumada evidently took this knowledge to heart when he visited China, connecting with people from a variety of different countries, including fellow Latin Americans, with whom he conversed constantly on a wide range of issues. He noted that the removal from his home country allowed him to discuss contentious topics like politics with others from the region, with greater freedom than he might have been able to otherwise, and he contends that this removal allows for such interactions to occur because it’s such a great platform for adaptation. 

During the lecture, Ahumada took time to touch on other abstract concepts, providing interesting angles from which to approach them. For example, in discussing the idea of emptiness, Ahumada explained that emptiness is of great importance in that it doesn’t have to represent nothingness; instead, it can represent all that can be done in the available space. He also suggested that sharing your opinions and experiences with a group enables the group as a whole to balance the Ch’i and better interact with one another.

Always animated and engaging, Ahumada’s energy and skills as a storyteller were on display as he closed out the presentation with a tale about the power of conquering one’s fears. With Ahumada exploring what it means to create poetry from intangibles, and how movement and Ch’i play a vital role in how this creative energy is managed, the presentation was an opportunity for the audience to engage in Ahumada’s fascinating viewpoints. Especially noteworthy was perhaps the meditative practice, which compelled attendees to examine their own thoughts and emotions from a fresh perspective.  

The event, sponsored by the Rising Tide Center in partnership with the University of Maine Unido project, helmed by professors Dan Sandweiss and Carlos Villacorta, which aims to bring speakers from Latin and South America to the University, will be presenting another lecture later this week. On March 3, archaeologist Gabriel Prieto will give a free lecture on El Nino-related sacrifices on Peru’s northern coast in the Collins Center for the Arts.

4.5 Stars

If you’ve seen one Adam Sandler movie, you’ve seen them all. At least this appears to be the general sentiment concerning Adam Sandler’s filmography in recent years. Sure, there are bright spots, such as “Punch Drunk Love,” but it seemed for a long time that Sandler was on the painful downslope of an extremely successful, yet heavily critiqued acting career. Does “Uncut Gems” change this? In not so many words, yes.

The film is directed by brothers Josh and Benny Safdie, who have been gaining popularity with the A24 film crowd in recent years, starting with the 2017 film “Good Time,” starring Robert Pattinson. “Uncut Gems” resembles “Good Time” in many ways, feeling like a loosely related sequel. On the surface, “Uncut Gems” is a similarly gritty character study, albeit one with a star-studded cast and a larger budget. 

Set in 2012, the film opens with several Ethiopian miners working to smuggle the eponymous uncut gem out of a cave. As one of the workers removes the stone, an opal, its luster catches his eye, and the camera falls into its kaleidoscopic refractions. The film then opens to Sandler’s character, Howard Ratner, a New York City Diamond District hustler, degenerate gambler, lousy family man and not-so-avid The Weeknd enthusiast.

Howard is always on the move, constantly “robbing Peter to pay Paul,” as the movie puts it, in order to get himself out of sticky situations in a pinch. This gives the film a frenzied sense of movement that doesn’t let up for a second. The film follows Howard, who owes money all over town, in his journey to pay back one of his most sizable debts, which is where NBA superstar Kevin Garnett comes in as Howard’s potential way out of his self-inflicted troubles. Interestingly enough, Garnett plays the role exceptionally well for one not well-versed in acting. The Safdies employ several other non-actors in roles throughout the film, to varying degrees of success.

The viewing experience itself is unique in that it feels somewhat draining and stress-filled, making it sometimes borderline uncomfortable, but it never ceases to captivate. The film was certainly one of the best of 2019, and its twist ending will leave you speechless. Unfortunately, it made headlines for the wrong reasons this past Oscar season, as it failed to receive any nominations. Considering the quality of the script, actor performances and slick cinematography, this lack of Oscar nods is abhorrent. This is not altogether surprising, considering the Academy’s past record in recognizing excellence in film, but it is lamentable nonetheless.

It’s likely that if you’re reading this movie review, this is a film you’ve heard and read about, but haven’t yet seen. I am here to tell you that as soon as this film is released to streaming platforms, you should reach for your wallet. 

On Thursday, Feb. 20, students, faculty and community members gathered in the Bangor Room of the Memorial Union for a student panel, titled “Experiencing Racism Today: Experiences of Student Activists and Historical and Philosophical Insights.” The event, held as a part of the Socialist and Marxist Studies Series, sought to shed light on the realities faced by people of color throughout their lives and how they have been impacted.

The event was kicked off by panelist Nathaniel Watkins acknowledging the Penobscot Nation’s right to the stolen land on which the campus was built. Moderators Elisabeth Redwood and Professor of Philosophy Doug Allen then stepped in to pose questions to the panel, which included student activists MJ Smith and Gabriela Reyes.

A topic of particular significance to the panel was the process of othering. The panelists each shared several personal experiences in which the people and social structures surrounding them actively worked to reject them.

“You should always be making someone next to you more comfortable than you are yourself,” Smith said, speaking about the stress of having to mask their own identity to avoid alienation by others.

The conversation then shifted towards the subject of colorblindness, or those who purport to not color in a racial context. The panelists unanimously agreed that, while most have good intentions when using the phrase, seeing and acknowledging one’s race is of great importance.

“The sentiment behind trying to assert that you’re colorblind is on the surface level a positive one, but telling someone who has a generational lineage of pain and erasure that ‘it worked’ is all you’re really doing,” Watkins said. 

Others added that part of seeing race is seeing the disenfranchisement faced by people of color, and that to ignore or not see race is to effectively allow for those discriminatory power structures to continue to exist.

The event went on to cover numerous race-related topics, as Reyes shared personal experiences and anecdotes that furthered the discussion. The panelists also talked at length of the plight faced by the people of Puerto Rico, who are denied various basic rights, bringing up their inability to vote in U.S. general elections and the lack of support they received during and following Hurricane Maria.

Connecting the students’ stories to historical figures and events related to racism in America, Allen touched on a variety of leaders, such as Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr. He made points concerning student activism, comparing the lack of student activism during the civil rights movement to what is seen today. 

The event closed with a discussion of what the UMaine community can do to improve, such as hiring more professors and mental health care professionals of color, and providing more funding towards departments that promote diversity. 

“Being able to expose students in different disciplines to diversity is very enriching,” Reyes said, noting that the university should include more non-western narratives in curriculum.

As the audience asked questions towards the end of the event, one listener brought up the fact that traumatic narratives were a symptom of racism being ingrained in the construction of the country, maintaining that those narratives still exist for a reason. 

“Focusing on cultivating a culture for African Americans and an identity that isn’t rooted in a reaction to something painful is a long-term goal,” Watkins explained. “But it’s not where we are now.” 

The Socialist and Marxist Studies Series will present its next discussion, “What is Decolonization,” on Feb. 27 in the Memorial Union.