Book Review: Pulphead

Pulphead: Essays by John Jeremiah Sullivan (New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 2011. 365pp)

John Jeremiah Sullivan is a contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine, a contributing editor of Harper’s Magazine, and editor of The Paris Review. He is the author of two books: Blood Horses: Notes of a Sportswriter's Son and Pulphead.

“Greatest Hits” 

I recently picked up a couple books containing essays by reputable journalists. The first being Distrust that Particular Flavor by William Gibson, and the second being Pulphead by John Jeremiah Sullivan. What I’ve found difficult about these books is that both are rather like listening to a compilation album, or better yet, a “greatest hits” album by an artist you love. On such an album, there are bound to be songs that you love and songs that you hate. Similarly, there are essays in John Jeremiah Sullivan’s Pulphead that are pure genius, while others were best to skip over. I’m going to spend time on the pure genius, as I think those essays are reason enough to buy this book.

Creation Fest 

Photo by Altus

In my opinion, the best essay in this collection is the first essay, a commentary on Christian culture against a background of hilarity. In this essay, Mr. Sullivan was assigned to cover a festival in Missouri where Christian bands were playing. But, in a penchant for the more elaborate, instead of merely covering the bands, sitting on the side of the stage, and writing a brief report, he decided to recruit some young Christian folk to travel in a RV with him on the way in order to get more honest material. He posted on a chatroom looking for some travel companions:

“I had failed to grasp how ‘youth’ the [Christian rock] phenomenon is. Most of the people hanging out in these chat rooms were teens, and I don’t mean nineteen either, I mean fourteen. Some of them, I was about to learn, were mere tweens. I had just traipsed out onto the World Wide Web and asked a bunch of twelve-year-old Christians if they wanted to come for a ride in my van” (5).

Five pages into his book of essays, and Sullivan had me hooked. Not only is he talking about Creation Fest, a Christian festival I attended long ago, but he’s funny! He also grasped the Christian “rock” phenomenon quite accurately. Christian rock is somewhat of a separate genre from the rest of rock in general. Sullivan describes why.

“A question must be asked is whether a hard-core Christian who turns nineteen and finds he or she can write first-rate songs (someone like Damien Jurado) would never have anything whatsoever to do with Christian rock. Talent tends to come hand in hand with a certain base level of subtlety. And believe it or not, the Christian-rock establishment sometimes expresses a kind of resigned approval of the way groups like U2 or Switchfoot…take quiet pains to distance themselves from any unambiguous Jesus-loving, recognizing that to avoid this is the surest way to connect with the world” (19).

Photo by Robb and Jessie Stankey

I’m a Christian, and I’m a musician, but ask me if I like current Christian bands and I’ll genuinely laugh you out of a room. This kind of statement certainly rings true.

Covering the Christian rock concert marathon that is Creation Festival, Sullivian, listening to the bands suddenly exclaims “Shit, it’s Petra” (those who know of Petra understand the fact that swearing is entirely warranted in this circumstance due to their unnaturally awful sound) and begins to talk about his Christian upbringing in a long exposé. In some of the most honest, beautiful prose discussing one’s personal faith in regards to Christianity, he says that his problem with Christianity is that,

“I love Jesus Christ…He was the most beautiful dude. Forget the Epistles, forget all the bullying stuff that came later. Look at what He said…His breakthrough was the aestheticization of weakness. Not in what conquers, not in glory, but in what’s fragile and what suffers—there lies sanity. And salvation…once you’ve known Him as a God, it’s hard to find comfort in the man. The sheer sensation of life that comes with a total, all-pervading notion of being—the pulse of consequence one projects onto even the humblest things—the pull of that won’t slacken. And one has doubts about one’s doubts” (33).

That’s raw. That’s honest. And, it’s something that I think more people need to think about. Christians have done a lot of stupid things in the name of Christ, to the point that a guy won’t consider himself a Christian because he loves Jesus, not the religion and mantra that’s behind it.

Michael Jackson is Awesome 

Photo by Andy Leddy

Among this book of brilliant essays was a piece about Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson has singlehandedly changed the world of pop (he is, after all, known as the King of Pop) and he gets a bit of a bad rap. He terribly disfigured his face through surgery, did some creepy things, and played in a world of perpetuated childhood. In the essay, Sullivan writes,

“His art will come to depend on his ability to stay in touch with that childlike inner instrument, keeping near enough to himself to heed his own melodic promptings. If you’ve listened to toddlers making up songs, the things they invent are often bafflingly catchy and ingenious. They compose to biorhythms somehow” (112).

The thing that we dislike Michael for so often was also the thing that brought him such beautiful music. It’s true; he may have been a serial child-molester, but then again maybe not. Maybe, Sullivan purports, he just loved children with a similar childlike innocence. Sullivan also muses, that we have perhaps done him an injustice, especially in regard to his looks,

“We have, in any case, a pathology of pathologization in this country, It’s a bourgeois disease, and we do right to call bullshit on it. We moan that Michael changed his face out of self-loathing. He may have loved what he became” (126).

Sullivan succeeds in tugging at the heartstrings of the reader, and forces him or her to come to grips with either former prejudices or doubts about the famous, and perhaps infamous, pop-star that is Michael Jackson.

Sullivan has several other essays that are worth reading as well, one on his time in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina; one on The Real World reality TV series and the reality TV phenomena in general; one on Axl Rose (remember him?); and one on Bunny Wailer (singer and guitarist with Bob Marley). These essays are just a few of the ones I enjoyed in the collection. I highly recommend that you check them out for yourself, as the clarity and honesty he brings to these essays brings out things you wouldn’t think about, or perhaps wouldn’t want to. He tells a story about this world that most of us don’t know, and it’s too honest, raw, and compelling to not read. You just have to find the essays that are the best, as in the end not all of them spoke to me. If all of the essays were as good as the ones I mentioned, I would rate this book much higher. But, Pulphead: Essays is certainly still worth picking up and reading as the good far outweighs the bad.

Verdict: 3.5 out of 5

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Posted by: Andrew Jacobson

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Book Group: The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Donovan’s Version: (New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1955. 127 pp)

Andrew’s Version: (New York: Scribner, 1980. 93 pp)

Since both of the contributors are actively involved in a book group, we thought it might be interesting to review the books we read for this group in a “book discussion” style. What follows is less a critical reflection on the literary themes in a particular work and more a discussion about the novel. What we liked; what we didn’t like; what we thought the author intended to say; whether or not we thought the author succeeded in communicating those thoughts. Who knows how it will end up but here we go!

Donovan: We just finished Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, Andrew, and before we analyze the book, we should probably give a brief plot summary. A short novella, The Old Man and the Sea is Ernest Hemingay’s Pulitzer Prize-winning and final work. Set in Cuba during the Joe DiMaggio-era (sometime in the 1940s), the tome follows Santiago, an old fisherman riding the longest fishing drought (84 days) of his life. Although a typical day of fishing involves the help of a young boy and apprentice, Manolin, Santiago’s recent string of bad luck results in the boy moving to another fisherman.

Faced with another day at sea with no help, Santiago rows out into the gulf on his small skiff. Unlike previous days, a giant fish takes the bait early on during the day.  After an early and intense struggle, Santiago realizes that he has hooked no ordinary fish. With the creature swallowing an enormous length of line and Santiago’s calloused hands struggling to fight back, the fisherman knows he has a hefty marlin on the line. What follows is a story of humanity’s fight with nature and the will of an old man to reel in one final catch.

Q: So Andrew, what did you make of The Old Man and the Sea? Did you enjoy it? Was it a simple man-in-nature story or did Hemingway intend to write something with more depth?

Photo by Fadzly Mubin

Andrew:  Well, as I started the story, I harkened back to my high school years when I was forced to read it. So, I began reading the story with some trepidation, seeing that all I remembered was an old man fishing, which doesn’t resonate well with a teenager. But, as I began to re-read the story, I saw some pretty obvious Christ imagery jump off the page, even from page one, when Hemingway describes the main character, Santiago.

"His hands had the deep-creased scars from handling heavy fish on the cords...” (1).

Later on while out at sea,

“He had pushed his straw hat hard down on his head before he hooked the fish and it was kitting his forehead.  He was thirsty too...” (40).

And, finally, toward the end of the work, Santiago mimics Christ by showing Santiago climbing the road home,

“He started to climb again and at the top he fell and lay for some time with the mast across his shoulder. He tried to get up. But it was too difficult and he sat there with the mast on his shoulder and looked toward the road” (89).

And those were the more obvious ones: Christ’s scars on his hands from the nails, on his head from the crown of thorns, and falling from the weight of the cross. Imagery like this is somewhat rare to find, and I think it enhanced the depth of the novel.   

Q: What about you, Donovan?  Did you see any depth in the novella?

Donovan: I did, Andrew. To be honest, I did not readily see the Christ imagery you so eloquently stated. While I read The Old Man and the Sea, I continued to link the story back to Hemingway. With this book acting as the final work before Hemingway’s death, there is certainly a link between Santiago as the over-the-hill fisherman and Hemingway, an author whose best work many considered behind him.

Photo by Kivanc Nis

Thus, there is a sense in this novella that Hemingway is pouring out his creative passion to prove that despite his eleven year absence in the literary world; his work remains a force in literature.

Moreover, I found Santiago’s continual yearning for the young boy’s assistance during his bout with the marlin to link to the vigor of youth. Hemingway writes,

“If the boy were here he would wet the coils of line, he thought. Yes. If the boy were here. If the boy were here” (83).

As a fisherman struggling not only with the strength of the fish but also with the limits of his frail body, Santiago longs for the boy’s help not just to catch the marlin faster but also as a sort of eulogy to the vigor of youth long lost.

They say the moment you turn 40 your body exponentially declines. I can’t help but link Hemingway’s advancing age, his length between novels, and the old man looking at youth with fondness.

Q: So Andrew, you have clearly found a depth in Hemingway’s imagery. But let me bring you back to the surface level. Did you enjoy reading The Old Man and the Sea? Did the novella’s length enhance or inhibit the work? Would you recommend that those who have yet to read this book do so?

Andrew: For me, good short reads are hard to find. While I enjoy longer novels, because there is a depth of character and plot development, I found that Hemingway achieved the same level of character depth in this novel. I think the length enhanced the work, as it was as though Hemingway was telling the story orally to friends that he knew. It was very refreshing, and a good read overall. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Q. What about yourself? Would you recommend this novella to others?

Donovan: I would. This book reminded me of the reality television show, River Monsters. Previously, I believed fishing to be a pacific exercise. I thought the act of catching a fish carried less significance than the serenity around waiting for a fish. River Monsters and The Old Man and the Sea depict the torturous action of catching a fish. Simply put, fishing is brutal through the time and strength it takes to put a fish in a boat. Hemingway’s novella expresses bravado, brokenness, and the basic fight with nature. The Old Man and the Sea is a classic well worth reading. I give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1899, Ernest Hemingway began writing in 1917 for The Kansas City Star. He served as an ambulance driver during World War I and moved to Paris in 1921. While in Europe, Hemingway associated with a group of notable expatriates such as Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, and Ford Madox Ford. Noted for his terse prose, Hemingway’s fiction won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954 and his work, The Old Man and the Sea, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953. He died in Ketchum, Idaho on July 2, 1961.

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Posted by: Donovan Richards and Andrew Jacobson

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Film Review: Waiting for "Superman"

Waiting for "Superman" directed by Davis Guggenheim (Electric Kinney Films, Participant Media, Walden Media, PG, 111 minutes)

Starring: Geoffrey Canada, Michelle Rhee, and Bill Strickland

A Good Teacher Is Hard to Find

I’m a teacher and I consider myself a decent one. I care about my students, work hard, and push myself constantly so that I can stay ahead of the curve. One would think that this mindset would be the norm for education professionals, but it isn’t. Reality suggests that good teachers are few and far between; this state should not exist. Geoffrey Canada says it this way in Waiting for "Superman",

“No matter where we live, or what we believe in, when we believe in our school systems, we take a leap of faith.”

In the documentary, Geoffrey Canada (CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone), Michelle Rhee (former chancellor of the Washington D.C. public schools), and Bill Strickland (CEO of the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild) look at the failing American school system, and why it isn’t working. For the sake of brevity, I’ll outline two of their reasons for you in this review: teachers and unions.

Good and Bad Teachers

Unbeknownst to me, there is a kind of school termed a “dropout factory” where over forty percent of students fail to graduate. The film used Theodore Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles as an example, where two thousand students annually don’t graduate. Most place the blame of this terrible dropout rate on the marginalized neighborhood, but the opposite of this statement is true. Failing neighborhoods result from failing schools, and failing schools are based on failing teachers. Canada states,

“You simply cannot have great schools without great teachers.”

While it might seem obvious, most have ignored this simple fact. Terrible teachers impede both the success of a school and a student’s life. Waiting for "Superman" discusses this fact in great depth, mourning the notion that bad teachers are allowed to have job, mainly due to tenure and the teacher’s union.

A bad teacher is characterized as a teacher who only covers fifty percent of the material, while a good teacher covers one hundred and fifty percent of the required curriculum (curriculum that is required by the district and general education standards). Sadly, the documentary reveals that these bad teachers effect the U.S. education tremendously. Canada argues,

“If we replaced the bottom six to ten percent of teachers with average teachers, we would bring the level of U.S. education up to the level of Finland.”

Finland currently leads the world in education, and the U.S. could find itself level if it replaced the lowest of our teachers. It doesn’t require huge educational reform, just getting better teachers.

Getting Better Teachers

If I had a dollar for every time I considered leaving the teaching profession for better pay, I could retire right now. Teachers get paid terribly, and that seems to be part of the problem.

Michelle Rhee, when she was acting chancellor of the Washington D.C. public school system derived a way to get better teachers—give them better pay. The catch was that if they denied tenure, they would get a six figure salary (any teacher reading this blog now is assuredly drooling).

If the teacher chose to keep tenure, they would only get a modest pay increase. That way good teachers would flourish financially and push themselves to be better teachers for fear of losing their jobs due to lack of tenure, and the bad teachers could remain with modest pay.

To me, this idea sounded like a brilliant solution: better pay attracts good teachers. And, with the better pay came a price, the teachers actually had to work for it. But, the unions shot it down, and wouldn’t even raise the proposal for a vote.

Unions: An Utter Failure

The NEA and the AFT (the two biggest teachers unions) believe that distinctions shouldn’t be made among teachers. Frankly, as a teacher who works hard to improve, I don’t want to be lumped in with the mediocre and terrible. According to Michelle Rhee, teachers unions won’t even allow the increase in teacher pay so that all can be somewhat equal around the country.

Therefore, Waiting for "Superman" states that unions have become an impediment to reform in education. Until unions allow the education profession to be performance based like the rest of the job market, reform simply won’t happen.

Though it is my profession, I teach in private schools, and haven’t been really involved in the policies of public education. This movie is saddening, bewildering, and frightening at every level. It reveals through poor teaching quality, low pay, and stubborn unions how a society has given up on the one thing in life that can never take away from us: our education. I recommend this documentary for anyone wanting to see the inner workings of our educational system, and how it might be reformed.

Verdict: 5 out of 5

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Posted by: Andrew Jacobson

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Book Review: A Game of Thrones

A Game of Thrones: Book One of a Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin (New York: Bantum Books, 1996. 720 pp)

George R. R. Martin is an American author and screenwriter of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Born in New Jersey, Martin earned a B.S. and M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University. He began writing fiction in the early 1970s with his first works earning him a Hugo and Nebula award. In the 1980s, he began writing in Hollywood for the The Twilight Zone and Beauty and the Beast. Martin is best known for his critically acclaimed epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, which was developed into Game of Thrones, an HBO television series.

The Consuming Quality of Role Playing Games

I have a friend who has metaphorically lost his life to World of Warcraft on multiple occasions. Fashioned around a fully realized fantasy world, World of Warcraft offered almost everything one would require in life. With an online community of support, my friend would play this computer game in marathon sessions as he battled enemy clans, bought and sold in the marketplace, and worked diligently to gain experience. Upon quitting the game (and selling his level 60 characters for a generous sum), my friend warned against the dangers of role-playing games (RPG) arguing that they remove individuals from reality by substituting in its place a fake world.

Similarly, despite my affinity toward sports video games, I find myself most often lost in an RPG. I can play a couple games of FIFA 12 and conclude my session in an hour. On the other hand, the RPGs I have owned impelled me to play for hour after hour until time melts into infinity.

For me, the draw to RPGs surrounds the concept of a universal made-up world. These games don’t focus on a single character in the world we know; they create from scratch an entirely separate plane.

To translate this illustration to literature, George R. R. Martin’s first installment in his A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Game of Thrones, carries similar life engulfing qualities.

Biblically weighted at over 700 pages, A Game of Thrones comprehensively tells the story of a fictionalized world in three separate settings. The principle storyline follows murder and political intrigue that brews war in the united Seven Kingdoms. The protagonist, Eddard Stark (Ned) rules the northern state of the Seven Kingdoms from Winterfell.

Danger in the Seven Kingdoms

Photo by Claudio.Ar

Upon housing Robert Baratheon, king of the Seven Kingdoms, in Winterfell, Ned learns about the death of the lord holding the office titled “the Hand of the King” and King Robert’s resulting wish for Ned to fulfill that vacant office. While honored by the offer, Ned feels wary about the position, especially considering both the dubious death of the previous Hand and the untrustworthy nature of Queen Cersei and her powerful family of House Lannister.

Traveling south to the capital city of King’s Landing to fulfill the office, Ned encounters evidence of political espionage that forces tension as rival nobles quarrel for positioning in the event of the unfortunate death of the King.

The Brotherhood of the Night’s Watch

In the second storyline, Ned’s bastard son, Jon Snow, swears an oath to the Brotherhood of the Night’s Watch. At the northernmost boundary of the Seven Kingdoms lies a 700-foot high and 300-mile-long wall fortifying the nation from the unruly and supernatural evils of the forest beyond the wall.

From legend, we learn that the forest is occupied by the children of the north, supernatural forces that bring life to dead men’s bones, and the darkness of winter.

By this last point it is important to note that this world experiences seasons in a remarkably different way than we normally do. For them, seasons last for years. In fact, currently, the Seven Kingdoms have lived in a 9-year-long summer. Seasons, as always, end; and the Stark family eerily pronounces that “winter is coming” at every turn of events.

Jon has sworn an oath with the Night’s Watch to protect the Seven Kingdoms from these evils beyond the wall as the winter darkness approaches. With summer comes hope and optimism; the purely horrific stories of winter have faded in citizen’s memories but Jon worries that the old wives’ tales of pure evil beyond the wall might be true.

A Dethroned King of the Dragons

Photo by One Lucky Guy

Finally, across the sea in the Free City of Pentos, Viserys Targaryen, deposed heir to the throne of the Seven Kingdoms, lives in exile with his sister Daenerys (Dany). With the hope of compiling an army to retake the throne from “usurper” King Robert, Viserys weds his sister to Khal Drogo, a powerful leader of the Dothraki, a nation of nomadic horse warriors.

The Targaryen family is said to have come from Dragons and for her wedding, Dany receives three fossilized dragon eggs for a wedding gift. Much like the dinosaur bones we see in museums, dragons in this world only exist in memorialized story and in fossilized bones.

Beautiful Prose and the Disconnect of Power

Setting aside the dense plot, Martin writes colorfully about his setting. Discussing Winterfell, the castle in the north through which the Stark family rules, he writes,

“The gods of Winterfell kept a different sort of wood. It was a dark, primal place, three acres of old forest untouched for ten thousand years as the gloomy castle rose around it. It smelled of moist earth and decay. No redwoods grew here. This was a wood of stubborn sentinel trees armored in grey-green needles, of mighty oaks, or ironwoods as old as the realm itself. Here thick black trunks crowded close together while twisted branches wove a dense canopy overhead and misshapen roots wrestled beneath the soil. This was a place of deep silence and brooding shadows, and the gods who lived here had no names” (18).

On top of the gorgeous writing that vividly depicts the setting of this story, Martin’s epic tale illustrates the evils of power and its disconnect with the common man.

“’The common people pray for rain, healthy children, and a summer that never ends,’ Ser Jorah told her. ‘It is no matter to them if the high lords play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace.’ He gave a shrug. ‘They never are’” (196).

At the core of A Game of Thrones resides this very idea present in the previous quotation. Enemies to the north, the east, and at the center of the King’s court position themselves for the throne. Every step for each character leads them one step closer to open conflict and worldwide war.

With beautiful prose and an intriguing plot, Martin keeps the readers eyes glued to the page. Much like World of Warcraft consumed my friend into marathon sessions of game playing, A Game of Thrones kept me up at night as I found myself reading one more chapter; and then one more chapter; and then one more chapter. Of course, A Game of Thrones, like many RPGs, is not for everyone. I highly recommend this book for those who enjoy epic literature and fantasy novels.

Verdict: 5 out of 5

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Posted by: Donovan Richards

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Book Review: Distrust That Particular Flavor

Distrust That Particular Flavor by William Gibson (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2012. 259pp)

Born in 1948, William Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction writer. His debut Novel, Neuromancer (1984) effectively predicted the internet. He has also written for TIME, Wired, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times. He has been awarded the Hugo, Nebula, Philip K. Dick, Ditmar, Seiun, and Prix Aurora awards.

Science Fiction: A Future Truth

The future is always something that has amazed me. What’s coming next? How will humanity change for the better? Or for the worse? All these questions find potential answers in the realm of science fiction. Though I’m not a hard-core science fiction fan by any means, I’ve been known to dabble in shows like Star Wars and Star Trek from time to time. As a science fiction writer, William Gibson has made several predictions about the future, including coining the term “cyberspace”.

While successful in the world of science fiction, Gibson’s Distrust That Particular Flavor serves as a collection of essays and journalistic articles compiled over the years. These articles are presented amidst the backdrop of a savvy retrospective, much like a postscript, which Gibson paints at the end of each chapter; he recollects with either distain or contentment the articles he wrote seemingly long ago. As a science fiction writer, he is often asked “What do you think will happen?” Gibson states,

“The day I reply with anything other than a qualified ‘I haven’t got a clue,’ please shoot me. While science fiction is sometimes good at predicting things, it’s seldom good at predicting what those things might actually do to us. For example, television, staple window dressing for hundreds of stories from the Twenties through the Forties, was usually presented as a mode of personal communication. Nobody predicted commercials, Hollywood Squares, or heavy-metal music videos” (15).

The Nostradamus Quality 

A careful investigation of Gibson’s writing and articles through this collection provides evidence that Gibson has a certain Nostradamus quality (though he wouldn't admit this) about his predictions regarding technology and the future (the best example would be his prediction of the internet). But, he also has incredible insights about the current state of today’s affairs. Take this quotation as an example:

“People my age are products of the culture of the capital F-Future. The younger you are, the less you are a product of that. If you’re fifteen or so, today, I suspect that you inhabit a sort of endless digital ‘Now’, a state of atemporality enabled by our increasingly efficient communal prosthetic memory. I also suspect that you don’t know it, because, as anthropologists tell us, one cannot know one’s own culture” (44).

Will We Have Computer Chips in Our Heads?

Photo by Eyemage

Gibson seems to view the world, both present and future, with the fresh eyes of a child. As a result, Gibson’s writing is able to make countless predictions, as well as intriguing commentary. When asked “will be have computer chips in our heads?” he writes in TIME magazine,

“It won’t, I don’t think, be a matter of computers crawling buglike down into the most intimate chasms of our being, but of humanity crawling buglike out into the dappled light and shadow of the presence of that which we will have created, which we are creating now, and which seems to me to already be in process of re-creating us” (218).

So, if these quotes seem a little arrogant to you, let me caution you. I’ve cherry-picked these out of an entire book, so they are a little out of context. Gibson doesn’t claim that he predicts the future well, or that he’s influenced the development of products. He doesn’t claim that without his fiction business wouldn’t have been creative enough to innovate. Rather, he claims that somehow he had an idea where technology would go in some cases.

This collection of essays shows an eye for the uncanny and the unperceived. From observations on film technology, to why Japan is so seemingly ahead of the curve, this collection serves as a great reminder of our past, as well as something to foster a curiosity for the future. Distrust That Particular Flavor would be a good read for anyone wanting to see stories of an autobiographical nature that map thinking about technological advances at the same time.

Verdict: 3.5 out of 5

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Posted by: Andrew Jacobson

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Film Review: The Descendants

The Descendants directed by Alexander Payne (Ad Hominem Enterprises, R, 115 minutes)

Starring George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, and Amara Miller.

In Remembrance of Those Lost

Tragedy does silly things to a human being. It can either bring family together, or ruin what little semblance of family remaining. It causes people to find religion, or causes others to dive headfirst into addiction. When a loved one passes, we speak of them glowingly as if our words create a halo around the deceased. Through tragedy we resolve to live better as if life changes could honor the memory of a loved one passed.

Yet in death, just as in life, people carry their demons alongside their virtues. In Alexander Payne’s The Descendants, Matt King (George Clooney) struggles with the impending death of his wife Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie) and what it means to move forward with his two daughters, Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) and Scottie (Amara Miller).

A Lawyer and His Daughters

Matt, a lawyer and sole trustee of 25,000 acres of land in Kauai which has belonged to his family for generations, lives in Honolulu. Despite the vast material wealth accumulated in past generations, Matt believes in the virtue of hard work and the notion that a parent ought to give his children just enough money to do something, rather than too much money so that descendants do nothing whatsoever. As such, the Kings live modestly despite the impending sale of the family’s 25,000 acres of land.

Matt’s wife sits in a coma, a victim of a tragic high-speed boating accident. With news of her deteriorating condition, Matt faces the unenviable position of relaying the news to his family and friends.

Upon learning of her mother’s fate, Alexandra, Matt’s daughter, interjects news of her mother’s supposed affair. Shocked, Matt begins investigating the claims. As a result, the rest of the movie teeters between the memorialization of a dying loved one and the intense pain of betrayal by that very same person.

Where Beauty Meets Pain

As a backdrop, the pristine beauty of Hawai’i balances the dark, depressing themes of the film and the book upon which the movie is based. In passing, we all think that living on the Hawaiian Islands represents some sort of paradise. To reside there, one hopes, is to live on a perpetual vacation filled with mai-tais and a perfectly balanced tan. But, this film reminds us that nobody can escape the perils of life. A cheating spouse and the death of a family member still happen in the midst of beautiful backdrop.

I wonder whether this movie could succeed outside of the tropical location. In truth, it is a depressing film; yet the beauty of nature counteracts the grim topics. Had this movie been set in Chicago, it might not have succeeded.

An Oscar Worthy Performance

Finally, I must mention George Clooney and his acting that stabilizes the film. With inner strength and a quiet pain, Clooney musters an impeccable performance worthy of the nominations he is receiving. Is it Clooney’s best? It’s hard to say since I haven’t watched all of his movies. Of the performances I have encountered, Clooney’s acting in The Descendants is one of his best; yet at the same time, the performance does not offer a stark departure from Clooney’s previous work.

The Descendants reminds us of the frailty of human life and relationships. We ought not consider the loved ones we have lost in a softened light; we ought to remember them in their frailty and humanity. To forget the dirty spots is to forget the person. While carrying a sad tone, The Descendants reveals a beauty well worth watching.

Verdict: 4 out of 5

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Posted by: Donovan Richards

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Book Review: Real Marriage

Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together by Mark and Grace Driscoll (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2012. 236 pp)

Mark Driscoll is the founding pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. He was named one of the "25 Most Influential Pastors of the Past 25 Years" by Preaching Magazine. He received a B.A. in Speech Communication from Washington State University, and holds an M.A. in Exegetical Theology from Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. He is the author of fifteen books. Grace Driscoll is Mark’s loving wife, and a fellow founder of Mars Hill Church.

My Indie Rock Church

Photo by Mars Hill Church

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve been going to Mars Hill Church in Seattle since it was a burgeoning church of seven hundred people (it now holds services for 10,000+ people). I began going in 2003, when Pastor Mark still swore frequently, indie rock was a new fad, and both mohawks and tattoos littered the halls of Mars Hill Church. Being yelled at was fun—well, not so much fun, but it was needed. Pastor Mark and the worship pastor at that time baptized me and my roommate at the time, and I’ve had the pleasure of serving alongside him. Since my first time stepping in the doors of Mars Hill, I’ve become a deacon in the church, trained leaders, led a worship band, and baptized people—something I never thought would happen. I’ve seen tons of lives changed in my nearly nine years there. So obviously, my review of Mark and Grace Driscoll’s new book, Real Marriage, will carry a certain level of bias.

The Last Day Matters 

Photo by Joy Candido

Driscoll’s newest book, Real Marriage is something that I think will change lives. Marriage is on a severe decline in the United States and across the world, either due to economic decline and the fear of monetary consequences, or due to a dramatic culture shift. Nonetheless, the Driscolls propose that it’s not the first day of marriage with all its pomp and circumstance that matters the most, it’s the last day that carries significance.

“To finish well on the last day of your marriage, it is not enough to simply have passion and principles. You also need a plan. Marriages start with passion and over the years accrue principles, but apart from a plan, the passion and principles are powerless. You must choose whether you will spend your time making plans or excuses” (204).

The Driscolls also outline, through a series of helpful questions, ways to reverse engineer your marriage so that it is successful. They break up the questions into annual, quarterly, weekly, and daily plans. The questions include topics on health, friends, learning, daily habits, housing, the bedroom, and more.

Candor 

What I’ve also enjoyed about Mark Driscoll throughout the years is his frank sense of candor. He shows his honesty in discussing two topics: marriage in general, and sex in particular.

Mark and Grace address men and women specifically regarding marriage in their own respective chapters. Grace discusses how to respect one’s husband, and Mark how to love one’s wife well. Mark says that the guy’s biggest obstacle in a marriage is a tendency towards prolonged adolescence.

“We are left with indefinite adolescence and a Peter Pan Syndrome epidemic where some men want to remain boys forever. If we do make the transition to manhood, many husbands and fathers revert back to adolescence with something called a midlife crisis. Even some old men revert back to adolescence, trading in their wives for the youngest girlfriends they can” (43).

Mark then suggests that it is appropriate for men to be tough and tender. Men need to be tough when defending their wives, daughters, and providing financially. But, they also need to be tender when caring for their wives and daughters. Rarely do men find this balance of tough and tender, or even worse, they don’t care to. As a result, many married men remain adolescent young adults.

Sex & the Celebrity Complex 

Photo by Bigger Picture Images

The second part of the book is about sex, which is a part of the Bible, believe it or not. The Old Testament book The Song of Solomon is actually dedicated to this physical act. But, in marriage, the Driscolls outline three ways that we can look at sex: as god, as gross, or as a gift. They then explore the best ways to view sex, and how to overcome some common obstacles in a marriage regarding sex, including sexual frequency, the problem of porn, and being selfish lovers. Perhaps the best sentiment they provide is,

“Sex is a part of your life, but it is not your life. If you allow sex to become your life, you will compare your spouse’s appearance and performance to other people in general, and sinful people in particular, thereby becoming dissatisfied. This opens the door to temptation” (152).

I think the celebrity complex is the problem of our culture. Popular culture has promulgated the idea that if you’re dissatisfied with your marriage, or if it’s too much work, you need to move on. Because we have become an over-sexualized, me-based culture, if our needs aren’t met, it’s simply not good enough. Driscoll and his wife address these issues head-on in an effort to save marriages all across the country.

It must be noted, however, that there is a certain controversy around Driscoll. He comes at marriage from a reformed Christian perspective, so people who aren’t Christian or are part of mainline denominations might not enjoy it as much as evangelical Christians. But, at the same time, I think that Real Marriage also speaks to people that might disagree with the Driscoll quotes that they’ve heard. Any marriage, healthy or not, could benefit from this book, if it’s approached with an open mind.

Verdict: 4 out of 5
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Posted By: Andrew Jacobson

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