Monday, March 31, 2008

Violence haunts survivors in new film

By Matthew Ritger, The Dartmouth Senior Staff

The characters in “Stop-Loss” (2007), which opened nationwide this past Friday, seem to have trouble making eye contact with one another. In a graveyard brawl, war hero Brandon (Ryan Phillipe) won’t meet his best friend’s eye, even at point blank range; instead he shoves Steve (Channing Tatum) into a headstone, saying “Look at this, this is your future.” And as the two buddies are shipped back to Iraq, a mournful glance from Steve’s fiancée is indeterminate — perhaps because we’re not sure which of the two friends her heart is breaking for. Or perhaps, like the audience at the end of this film and the nation, after five years of the war in Iraq, no one wants to meet the steady gaze of violence. More »

Student dancers travel to New Zealand over break

By Allison Ruderman, The Dartmouth Staff

It’s a good thing the Dartmouth Dance Ensemble only recently learned how to handle a poi. A ball spun rapidly by an attached rope, this traditional object used for dance by the Maori — the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand — is sacrosanct (“tapu” in Maori) and must not be dropped. According to the old custom, mishandling the poi is punishable by death — quite daunting for a group of 13 American dancers new to this native artform. Luckily for them, the offender who drops a poi today only has to do 10 push-ups. And ten push-ups should be a breeze for these guys. More »