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Arts & Culture

The Cornell Daily Sun

Julian Gallo ’16, New Jersey Folkers Stun at The Nines

By Arts & Culture Department · Sunday, Nov. 22, 2015

It seems that the only thing Stephen Herek's Rock Star offers is an opportunity at stardom for the many unknowns which happen to comprise the majority of the cast. Were I any of them, I wouldn't hold my breath for instant fame; Rock Star is an average film, and, with its mediocre performances and regurgitated plot, as easily forgettable as its generically simplistic title. Chris Coles (Mark Wahlberg) is a zealous fan of rock-and-roll band Steel Dragon, so rabid in his adoration that he plays in a cover band and demands its members to play Steel Dragon's music to perfection. This attitude soon leads to Chris' elimination from the group, and he's left to make music on his own with the support of his girlfriend/manager Emily (Jennifer Aniston). And then, one morning Chris gets the opportunity of a lifetime -- an offer to replace the lead singer of Steel Dragon. He flies out to L.A. with Emily in tow, meets his idols, and soon begins to live the life of a rock star, savoring the ups of worldwide fame while Emily endures the downs of being the girlfriend of an international icon. The couple must cope with their dichotomous experiences if they want to remain together, while the audience must cope with the inevitable outcome that they probably will. The major problem with Rock Star is that it's nothing new. The plot is wholly predictable; there are no twists or turns. And yet while relying on so much predigested material, it's still hard to tell what kind of movie Rock Star aims to be. While there are a few humorous moments, there aren't enough to qualify it as a comedy (although it's funnier than most films I've seen which have been classified in that genre), nor does the manner in which the plot is carried out really lend itself to such a label. And if Rock Star is indeed intended to be an overall dramatic piece, then any weight the film hopes to convey is nullified by the series of outtakes accompanying the first minutes of the closing credits. The wishy-washy character of Rock Star resonates with the audience more than the plot itself does. With Rock Star, Mark Wahlberg continues to portray typical wide-eyed innocents who have just been initiated into worlds they have only heard or dreamed about. He did this superbly in 1997's Boogie Nights, as the well-endowed neophyte Eddie "Dirk Diggler" Adams, on the brink of a successful career in adult film. Wahlberg is good here too, but one cannot help but wonder if he is slowly but surely -- despite films such as The Perfect Storm or Planet of the Apes -- limiting himself to such a role. When one considers the many similarities between Boogie Nights and Rock Star -- including the time period, among other things -- one wonders whether Wahlberg is attempting to carve himself some sort of safety niche. Aniston is adequate as the girlfriend Emily, save the fact that, in reality, she appears a bit too old for the role (their ages are never revealed, but presumably Chris and his girlfriend are in their early 20s). Still Aniston succeeds in distancing herself from her role as Rachel on Friends and makes the role of Emily a believable one. It's unusual and worth noting, again, that that with the exception of stars Wahlberg and Aniston, all other actors appearing in Rock Star are unfamiliar Hollywood faces (the 1960's Batmobile excluded). This level of anonymity may have been used to lend a certain level of realism and credibility to the picture; if so, it doesn't entirely succeed because of Wahlberg and Aniston's presence. Rock Star is a rehash, plain and simple. It's as if Herek merely merged the plot of the aforementioned Boogie Nights with that of 2000's Almost Famous and came up with something that takes from both without offering anything new of its own.Archived article by Adam Cooper

O'BRIEN | Loving Rock N’ Roll As a Woman

By Arts & Culture Department · Sunday, Nov. 22, 2015

Shaken The entertainment industry has all but shut down in the wake of Tuesday's horrific terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.

Mockingjay Part 2: An Epic Ending?

By Arts & Culture Department · Sunday, Nov. 22, 2015

The Cornell Daily Sun

TEST SPIN: Adele — 25

By Arts & Culture Department · Sunday, Nov. 22, 2015

There wasn't much to do early last Saturday night. It was 6:45, the U.S. Open men's semifinals held some allure (although Sampras was spanking Safin), next week's class readings weren't any more appealing, and nothing was going on for at least three hours -- more likely four. Yet I had tentatively promised to stop by the men's soccer game against Colgate. Rather than subjecting myself to complete boredom, I decided to try my luck with the game. I took my student ID and walked up to Berman Field, thereby guaranteeing that I would be casually late and sure to find at least one of The Sun's men's soccer beat writers. When I reached the field it was 7:18, and there was 33:47 left in the first half. Not only could I not find any of the beat writers, I couldn't even find a seat! After walking the length of the bleachers and half way back, I finally recognized a familiar face. As I maneuvered to where my friends were sitting, they even had to scootch over so I could get both cheeks on the bench. Eventually I had to move down a row to avoid asphyxiation. How did this happen? Yes, Cornell has a pretty decent soccer team; yes, it was a nice day; yes, it was a convenient time. But I had gone to games in the past under similar conditions, when claustrophobics could have attended without any fear and where you only scootched over if you spilled your drink. But never had I previously witnessed the raucous atmosphere --

The Fourth Annual Ithaca International Fantastic Film Festival

By Arts & Culture Department · Sunday, Nov. 22, 2015

The Cornell Daily Sun

Stick to the Formula Next Time, CUPB Presents: Mike Birbiglia

By Jesse Weissman · Sunday, Nov. 22, 2015

Cornell's graduating class of 2001 followed career paths which did not include medical school last year, reflecting a nationwide trend of four straight years of declining interest in the field. Applications to the nation's medical schools fell 3.7 percent in 2000, a percentage also mirrored among Cornell applicants. Exact numbers for University undergraduates were not available in time for publication. Attractive jobs in dot-coms and information technology, along with the prospect of big medical school debts, may be among the reasons for the decline, said Barbara Barzansky, secretary of the American Medical Association's (AMA) medical education council and author of the study. Add the increased paperwork, regulations and concerns that have come with managed care and, she said, ''it's not as friendly an environment as it used to be.'' Judy Jensvold, the senior associate director of health careers at Cornell and one of the advisors of pre-med undergraduates, agreed that applications to medical school may be tied to the economy. "There will always be people who go to medical school no matter what," she said. "Then there are some people who say, maybe if I can get a terrific job, I won't go to medical school right away." The decline appears to be leveling off; it was 6 percent in 1999. Karin S. Ash, director of Career Services at Cornell, expects to see a turnaround in terms of the number of people applying to medical schools. "When the economy goes down, everyone goes back to school," she said, noting that many students previously took of advantage of the opportunity to make quick money in the financial services sector. "It always goes in cycles." In addition, she said, more high school students are applying to college than ever before which may also help boost applications to medical schools. Jensvold, however, did not expect to see an instant spike because the economic downturn is still a relatively-recent occurrence. "These things aren't an immediate reaction. There's an echo effect," she said. The applicant pool last year totaled 37,092. It included 17,274 women, a 0.9 percent drop from 1999, the report found. The number of minorities climbed 2 percent to 4,266. At Cornell's Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical School in Manhattan, applications also fell to 6,344 in the fall of 2000, according to U.S. News and World Report. However, the acceptance was still a mere 3.5 percent for this year's class, which was made up of 101 students. Officials at the medical school were not immediately available for comment. Despite the drop in applicants, ''there are still more than twice as many applicants as there are places'' for them, said Dr. Jordan Cohen, president of the Association of American Medical Colleges. The recent decline in applications may, however, mean good news for pre-med undergraduates -- but only slightly. In 1989, when applications to medical school were at their record lowest, the acceptance rate for Cornell students who desired to go to medical school was 90 percent. This number dropped to 55 percent in 1996 when applications were at their record high. The current decline began in 1997, and in 1999, the Cornell acceptance rate was 70 percent. Jensvold noted that although deans of medical school are always concerned about a drop in applications, she added, "It's a pretty soft drop; it's not a precipitous drop." Considering the thousands of applicants who compete for about 100 seats at any medical school, a three percent drop isn't a cause for alarm, according to Ash. "They turn away people with 4.0 GPAs," she said. The AMA report, published in today's Journal of the American Medical Association, also found that the number of patients available to participate in clinical teaching during 2000-01 decreased in almost half the nation's 125 medical schools. Some experts say managed care is partly to blame. Insurance companies may be steering patients away from teaching hospitals because the care there can be more expensive, Barzansky said. The shortage may help explain the results of two other new studies in the same journal that suggest that some medical schools may not be adequately preparing students to deal with common problems and procedures. One study, by Massachusetts General Hospital researchers and based on a 1998 survey of 2,626 students completing their residency assignments nationwide, found that more than one in 10 felt unprepared to handle certain treatments and procedures. Medical school typically lasts four years, followed by three to seven years of residency. Training in handling ''nontraditional patients'' such as those with AIDS, drug abuse and chronic pain was cited as particularly deficient. ''Teaching hospitals and medical schools need to provide residents with quality training that reflects the diversity of the patients they will one day treat,'' said Dr. David Blumenthal, the study author. The other study found a serious inability to perform an abdominal exam among first-year residents in internal medicine and pediatrics at two New York medical institutions. The study involved 148 graduates of U.S. medical schools and 35 from foreign schools and measured how many of 13 procedures each student performed in an exam on a young adult patient. Well over half the foreign students did all the procedures, which included exposing the abdomen, inspecting it and squeezing it to feel the liver, kidneys and spleen. Fewer than 10 percent of the U.S. grads performed nine of the 13 procedures, according to researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Downstate Children's Medical Center. Barzansky said her report found that 58 percent of the schools are undergoing major curriculum changes, with many trying to focus more on small-group learning and hands-on work in the community instead of traditional lectures. The Associated Press contributed to this report.Archived article by Beth Herskovits

Style Over Substance: The Assassin

By Arts & Culture Department · Friday, Nov. 20, 2015

Cornell's nuclear research reactor, the last of its kind in New York and one of only 26 left in the country, will soon hit the graveyard, further endangering a rare technology in an era when nuclear engineering is on the rise. The Board of Trustees voted unanimously last summer to decommission the reactor and close the Ward Center for Nuclear Studies, according to Henrik N. Dullea '61, vice president for University relations. Heated controversy met the decision, which had been requested by President Hunter R. Rawlings III and recommended by a special faculty oversight committee. The decision to decommission the reactor had been rejected by the full Faculty Senate under the grounds that the center provides "a diverse array of service to the Cornell community and beyond." Alumni and industry users had also addressed inflammatory responses to the administration. And about 20 undergraduates were gathered outside Day Hall to present a petition with 200 signatures opposing the closure. Despite these efforts and the announcement of a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to help save the reactor and make it financially independent from the University, the reactor is scheduled to shut down on June 30, 2002. Money cannot be the main reason for closing the reactor because the phase-out is going to be very expensive, said Kenan

COLLINS | Terror in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

By Arts & Culture Department · Friday, Nov. 20, 2015

Three major rule changes are in effect for the upcoming Ivy League volleyball season. First, and to the chagrin of some of the Ivy coaches, there will be a whole new way that the teams will play out their fall schedules. Last season the Red faced each of its Ancient Eight foes once during the conference season. The postseason conference tournament followed, sending the eventual champion to the NCAA tournament. Instead of only having one opportunity to stuff Princeton this year, the Red will have two opportunites during the in-conference regular season. This double round robin format, in conjunction with the axing of the season-ending tournament, will intensify the in-conference matches and leave less room for error. In past seasons, a team could drop a match to an opponent and then have the opportunity to exact revenge in the tournament. Nevermore, says the majority vote amongst the Ivy League Athletic Directors, who voted this all into effect this year. "This season will present a whole new set of challenges," said coach Christie Jackson. Remember the number two right? The second change has to do with rally scoring. Fifteen points used to determine the victor of a set and now... you guessed it, thirty points is the new mark. Jackson speculated, "All of these rule changes might be in effort to make the matches more television friendly." The third rule change makes the net serve kosher for play. In the past, if a serve coming over the net touched any part of the net cord and still managed to fall on the other side, the point was replayed. Now those instances are good for live play. As a result of these changes, Jackson said that, "There will be a challenge to keep the team motivated through the whole season."Archived article by Donald Lee

F is for Fake: Welles Explores Truth in Deception

By Arts & Culture Department · Friday, Nov. 20, 2015

The Cornell Forensics Society has a long-standing tradition of excellence, and this year's team is no exception. After a long year full of daily practices and weekend (sometimes week-long) competitions, the team finally closed out the year with their last events and is now reflecting on their accomplishments. The Cornell Forensics Society, consisting of roughly 40 members, is subdivided into speech and debate teams and is an opportunity for students with all levels of skill and experience to compete in intercollegiate speech and debate tournaments across the nation, according to the team's website. This year alone, the students collectively attended over 40 conferences around the nation. According to Parichay Rudina '00, the team's Director of Rhetoric Scholarship Laboratory, "Traveling was one of the best parts of the forensics experience. We've been to numerous schools all around the nation this year." After spending four years as a member on Cornell's team, Rudina decided to stick around and coach for the speech side of the team. "This year has been ridiculously fun,' Rudina said. "A lot of our more experienced members graduated last year, so we were left with a very new, young team. They all really stepped up and brought new energy to the team. It's been a great challenge for all of us and a wonderful learning experience." The changeover did not seem to affect the team's legacy of excellent competition, though. The debate team ranked ninth in the nation in the CEDA division and eighth in the National Debate Tournament division. The speech team ranked 17th in the nation in the American Forensics Association division and seventh in the National Forensics Association in their division. In addition, Steve Zammit '01, who recently won first place at the American Forensics Association National Individual Events Tournament, took home first place again, this time at the National Forensics Association Individual Events Tournament. He is the fifth person ever to win both national events in the same year and the second from Cornell. "The level of experience in our group is very diverse this year," said Jethro Hayman, director of forensics. "We have people from all different backgrounds competing in all different levels. After a year together, both teams have grown significantly in maturity and skill and are much more seasoned." Students on the Cornell Forensics Society teams spend countless hours throughout the year preparing for their events. "It really is a daily involvement," said Tzvetana Tochkov '03, a member of the debate team. "But I find that after the work we do with debate, classwork is actually much more enjoyable. Taking notes in lectures becomes a nice break from the intense reading, writing and quick-thinking in debate." With the end of yet another successful year, the team is anxious for the future. "Speech and debate is really becoming a global phenomenon," said Hayman. "The one thing the public fears more than death is public speaking. For this reason, we really are a secret society. Things like being able to break down the quality of an argument and the ability to think and respond quickly are such advantageous skills. These are skills you will use for the rest of your life." Archived article by Aylin Tanyeri

The Bad Dads of Indie Pop: A Chat with Guster's Ryan Miller

By Arts & Culture Department · Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015

The Cornell Daily Sun

ALUR | Finding Solace In Sound

By Arts & Culture Department · Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015

The Cornell Daily Sun

Spinning Singles: Pusha T, "Untouchable"

By Arts & Culture Department · Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015

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STANTON | Aziz, Louie and New York City

By Chris Stanton · Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015

The Cornell Daily Sun

Master of None: On Aziz Ansari's Smart New Sitcom

By Shay Collins · Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015

Pg-7-Arts-Court

Bombay Comes Alive in Court

By Hadiyah Chowdhury · Monday, Nov. 16, 2015

The Cornell Daily Sun

next to normal at Risley Theatre

By Arts & Culture Department · Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015

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DOOLITTLE | History Has Its Eyes on You: Revisionism on Stage

By Arts & Culture Department · Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015

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MEISEL | White Supremacy, Poetry and You

By Stephen Meisel · Friday, Nov. 13, 2015

foxing-dealer

TEST SPIN: Foxing — Dealer

By Arts & Culture Department · Friday, Nov. 13, 2015

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A Chat with Local Punkers, why+the+wires

By Arts & Culture Department · Friday, Nov. 13, 2015

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