arts / 10

The dogs revolt in ‘White God’

» Hagen is left to fend for himself, learns how to fight back

Josh Cabrita
The Peak (NUW)

?

| ave you ever seen one
of those tear-jerking

SPCA commercials with the
manipulative Sarah McLachlan
song bellowing? If you find
those brief ads insufferably
painful, White God, a new
Hungarian film, will be almost
impossible to watch.

Dog lovers will be able to
relate to the young girl Lili’s
heart-wrenching dilemma:
allow her father to put Hagen

the dog down, or release Hagen
on the street to fend for himself. :

Lili’s mother and stepfather are
leaving the country to go toa
conference, leaving the young

girl to stay with her cruel father

who lives in an apartment
complex that charges an extra
fee for having dogs stay in the
home.

tracking Hagen down, Lili
decides (under protest) to
have the dog released out

on the street, where animal
conservation officers run wild
to track down stray dogs and

With the hope of eventually :
: with voiced-over dialogue

: like ina Disney movie, but

: through the juxtaposition of

: the faces of the animals. It’s

: an amazing achievement that
: Mundruzo has stitched together :
: give the film its power. I’m sure

throw them into the prison-like
pound. After being picked up by :
a member of a dogfighting ring, :

Hagen, along with the other
low-life delinquents, stages a
revolution to stand up against

their human oppressors—likea :

Marxist revolution by dogs.
The title of Kornel

: Mundruczo’s new film that

: won the Un Certain Regard

: section at last year’s Cannes

: Film Festival, is an allusion to
: Samuel Fuller’s 1982 cult classic :
: White Dog, the story of a black
: dog trainer who must retrain a
: white dog that viciously attacks :
: any black person.

Fuller’s film dealt with

: race relations in America and
: questioned whether racism

: could be cured. Mundruczo

: has taken Fuller’s idea of

: using a dog as a metaphor for
: social issues, wrapping his

themes within a framework of
accessible genre elements.
White God is part sci-fi

: allegory and coming of age
: movie, but its power and

inspiration comes not from the

: themes or human characters
: but from the cinematic
: characterization of the dog.

Hagen’s interactions with
the other dogs are not done

a coherent narrative based on
the interactions of animals that
cannot speak.

Because of the way they

: are personified, we understand
: the animals’ motivations and

thought processes. The main

: dog, Hagen, emerges asa
: more complex and profound

: character than any of the
: humans in the film.

White God crosscuts

between Hagen’s struggles

living on the streets and Lili’s

: inability to find her place
: within the new environment

of her father’s apartment. Lili’s

: story relies on trite clichés

: and formula, while Hagen’s

: story immersed me in its

: originality and poignancy. The

: film feels uneven as it mixes

: tired genre conventions and

: simplistic allegory with inspired
: storytelling and some of the

: best animal performances ever

: filmed.

By the end, White

: God turns out to bea

: straightforward political

: allegory wherein the dogs

: represent oppressed racial or

: class groups. Lili’s family’s elitist
: sensibilities (Lili is enrolled in

: classical music class and both

: of her parents are well-off and

: educated) are contrasted with

: Hagen’s daily life on the street.

None of it is overly thought-

provoking, but the scenes
: that depict the abuse and

interactions of Hagen are what

: that if the SPCA used parts of
: this film their donation lines

: would be ringing around the

: clock—no Sarah McLachlan

: required.

White God is playing at the

: Vancity Theatre in Vancouver
: until April s.

 

 

theotherpress.ca

Poster for ‘Average Dicks’

Not your average comedy

» ‘Average Dicks’ web series review

Alex Stanton
Staff Writer

: establishes the tone, humour,
: and sensibility of the series as

: awhole. I’m looking forward

f there’s one thing the

Internet has irrevocably
altered for the foreseeable
future, it would be the way
entertainment content is
delivered. Whether you're
streaming shows on Netflix
or viewing videos on
YouTube, technology has
changed the way we have our
entertainment delivered to us.

Average Dicks is a web

series that features a duo of
stone-headed, suburban,
white 20-somethings named
Mike (played by series’ co-
creator Mike Doaga) and Joel
(Bruce Novakowski). In the
first episode of the series,
they get the idea to enter the
lucrative business of becoming :
YouTube rappers from the
inappropriate Pastor Cody
(played by series’ co-creator
Joel Ashton McCarthy). The
scene absolutely nails and

: to more creator cameo

: appearances from the frozen

: yogurt-loving pastor. Blue

: comedy isn’t for everyone,

: but, asa presence, McCarthy’s
: character is more than

: welcome in my eyes.

One thing that worked

: to the benefit of this very

: adult, buddy comedy is the

: deconstruction of stereotypes.
: By the end of episode two,

: there are two characters

: who are openly gay, one of

: whom is a roommate of the

: protagonists, and neither of

: them is token or even slightly
: stereotypical. They’re just

: funny characters, regardless

: of their orientation. It’s

impressive enough to be worth

: mentioning.

I’m going to err heavily on

: the side of recommending this
: series.

 

Killer cuts by the contemporary king of Compton

» Kendrick Lamar's ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ album review

Alex Stanton
Staff Writer

OOOO

Kens Lamar’s debut
studio album good kid,
m.A.A.d city was nothing short
of the greatest rap album of the
year, and perhaps the greatest
deconstruction of gangster rap

days of Dre and friends. Lamar
crafted a concept album that
explained, in the grittiest and
most honest detail, what life
was actually like growing up as
an underprivileged, black male
living in Compton.

On his latest album,
To Pimp a Butterfly, Lamar
hopped out of his storytelling
chair and decided to create an
album that lacked a storyline

: among all of the tracks: racism

: and the black experience in

America.
The tracks have many
influences, from George-

: Clinton-style funk (the man
: himself appears on the opening :

: track), to spoken word poetry
: (arguably a precursor to hip
: hop), and even to avant-garde
: free jazz. Lamar brings back

since the genre’s creation in the ; BD" Dre and Top Dawg as

: executive producers, among
: the likes of newcomers

: Pharrell Williams and Flying
: Lotus, whose sound works

: so well with Lamar’s verses

: that you question why they

: weren't on good kid, m.A.A.d
: city. Lamar goes absolutely

: borderline experimental with
: his production on To Pimp

: a Butterfly. It’s not quite as

: accessible as his previous

yet contained a unifying theme : record, but it rewards open ears

: with attention to production

: detail.

so”

i,” the first single from the

: album, is an incredibly upbeat,
: borderline funk rock cut that’s

: a far cry from the rapper’s more
: serious work. That said, it is

extremely catchy and certainly

: first single material, while

: its theme of being proud of
: yourself no matter what fits
: wonderfully into the overall
: theme of the record.

Single two, “The Blacker

the Berry,” is an emotional

: tour de force for an artist who,
: as it is, throws everything he

: has into every song. He lashes
: out at the racial injustice

: in America with a fury

: unmatched by any of his past

: performances.

Lamar has followed up his

major label debut with what
: could be considered the Great
: American Rap Album.

 

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Cover of ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’