Arts: Page 414
Growing Pains
In 2007, Dee Rees wrote and directed a short film, Pariah, about a black teen in Brooklyn struggling to come to terms with her identity as a lesbian. Rees — who interned for Spike Lee’s 40 Acres program — went on to direct two more shorts before returning to the compelling drama of a teenaged protagonist who, in her search for sexual identity, shuffles through personas like masks at a costume ball. Continue reading
Eugene Goes to the Oscars
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front cuts from dramatic media footage, including the burning of a $12-million ski resort at Vail, Colo., and the arson at the University of Washington Center for Urban Horticulture, to the streets of New York City, where activist and ecosaboteur Daniel McGowan was living in 2005. Continue reading
All You Need is Love
Audiences still reeling from the Eugene Ballet Company’s Dark Side of the Moon ballet will be thrilled to know that the company is set to perform another riveting homage to some of music’s finest. All You Need is Love, the new originally choreographed ballet from artistic director Tony Pimble, is a collaboration of The Eugene Ballet Company and acclaimed Portland music group The Nowhere Band — it’s ballet meets The Beatles. Continue reading
Bombers, Bullets and Black History
John Wayne, Audie Murphy, Tom Berenger, Sylvester Stallone — these were the “war heroes” in the movies I grew up watching. All of them portrayed brazen, fearless, patriotic characters in over-the-top flicks that defined the psyches of many American fighting men in service today, as well as Americans who’ve never seen war but love to watch war movies. Continue reading
Ripe for the Garage
It’s refreshing to see a strong woman on stage with a mandolin in her hands. That particular role, typically dominated by male-bodied folk in string bands, is pivotal. The mandolin, usually seen played by women only in its classical guise, defines a great deal of string-band topography — those shrill plucks that carry listeners over musical plateaus to mountain-top exclamations. Continue reading
Third Eye Statesmen
Pretend for a moment that you’re a member of an iconic music crew. You’ve released your seminal work years ago, and prevailing trends have seen the mainstream of your genre devolve from highly educated emcee orators into codeine-guzzling degenerates (here’s lookin’ at you, Wayne). You don’t want to raise a white flag to the wackness, but you’re not about to give up on your life’s work either. What do you do? Continue reading
Sexism on the Stage
Oregon State University presents The Feeble-Mindedness of Woman
Any of you ladies out there ever stumble upon an idea for a huge work project while you’re busy folding the never-ending pile of laundry and dinner is boiling over? Next time this happens, take a moment to appreciate being a woman in the 21st century by reflecting on the challenges that confronted Gerty Cori. A pioneer in biochemistry and the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, Cori had to think and fight for recognition and respect. Continue reading
Wilco & White Denim live at the Hult 2.3.12
“Whole Love” performed by Wilco at the Hult Center February 3, 2012
"Whole Love" performed by Wilco at the Hult Center February 3, 2012. Full download available at http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=552321 Continue reading