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Show OPINION : t 1 .,. -- - ---- 1 (,...rj ((.------1,.- ( 1 ( I 1, --1- 6,,, - , air, watching CNN or Sports Center. Then something remarkable happened; the sinewy opening riff from Kiss's "1 Was Made for Lovin' You" slithered down from the ceiling speakers, followed by singer Paul Stanley's tenor voice crying "Dci, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do!" hadn't heard this track, the band's 1979 take on disco, for a very long time, and all the swagger and glitter and decadence the song embodies pierced me like a pitchfork. Walking back toward the blackjack tables, I made up puns in my head that only members of the band's fan club, the Kiss Army, would probably understand: "Here am, in this city, Detroit Rock City, with a fistful of Diet Pepsi, listening to Kiss. This is a crazy, crazy night." Everybody knows Kiss the guys who wear face paint and grotesque cosand most people tumes with a radio have heard their songs, especially fresher-smellin- , I BY STEPHEN B. ARMSTRONG Guest Columnist About 10 years ago, was in a Detroit casino with my pal Robert. Robert likes to play blackjack, and don't, so after a half-hoor so of watching him win and lose on small bets, walked off to get a Diet ur Pepsi. All around the gaming area, players hunched over their cards as pop music and cigarette smoke swirled above them. At that point, I think all I wanted in the world other than a Diet Pepsi was to be back in my hotel room and its g , 1 -"34., i 1 LA 4.- - . ET- -A a f"--- 7 ,f . 11i l L- ,,,, "Rock and Roll All Nite," which gets heavy play on classic rock stations. But appreciation for Kiss, despite its popularity and its influence on music acts ranging from the Replacements, King Diamond and Insane Clown Posse to Tone Loc and Pearl Jam has never been universal. Critics have frequently scorned the band's primary songwriters, Paul Stanley. and Gene Simmons, for being more theatrical than musical and for indulging style too often over substance. In our house, however, we unabashedly adore Kiss, and this includes our daughter. We can actually pinpoint the moment when her crush on "the hottest band in the land" began: she was a watching a Scooby-Do- o cartoon in which Kiss and several standout songs (including "Love Gun" and "Shout it Out Loud") play an important part. I myself was 4 years old when Kiss released its first, ld L eponymously titled LP in 1974. Back then, I remember feeling a little creeped out and at the same time charmed by photographs of the band's original lineup Paul, Gene, Peter Criss that and Ace Frehley the on covers of appeared music magazines at the grocery store newsstand. My parents didn't approve, though. The sound of Kiss, like its appearance, was threatening, and they told my sister and me to listen to other music instead: Dolly Parton, Neil Diamond, Crystal Gayle, the Statler Brothers, the Muppets and so forth. So whenever I went to hang out with the Collins brothers, two of my best friends growing up, and we listened to their copies of "Destroyer," "Rock and Roll Over" and "Double Platinum," I experienced a double thrill: not only was drinking in the power-po- p quasi-metsongs that sounded so right, I was also confronting the figures of authority in my life, learn ',777NNs. ) . ,,:::: 1 ( ,, ) i ,..,- -, -- 0 - ,s,, -- four-year-o- ri -- I I , ---- I ,-- 1 LA . . r Cr P--- V,1 -.- I. ,,,..,.,-- 11 i n 7, L '': 1- 1-- 7,-------- - 17-L.- 1 . , ing who I was as a person through the music I let into my ears. The guys in Kiss these day are all fairly old, and they haven't released a consistently wonderful record, arguably, since "Revenge" back in 1992. Nonetheless, the recent announcement that the band is embarking on a tour, with at least one stop scheduled in Las Vegas, is big news for our family. Already we're preparing for the show. We're getting "Dressed to Kill" and ."Creatures of the Night" and "Alive!" out from storage. We're playing the music with the volume set as close to 11 as possible. Why? We love it loud! 1 ,? la 1 I Fr 1 k'l , - , , Lead singer and bass guitarist Gene Simmons of Kiss performs May 1, 2017 during a concert at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia. P Kditf-111:- . .4 ORIGIN: New York City GENRES: Hard rock, heavy metal, shock rock, glam metal YEARS ACTIVE: 1973- - present LABELS: Casablanca, Mercury, Roadrunner, Kiss Universal Music Group 41Vi 44 MEMBERS: Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer, Eric Singer r , 4'i 1.( Ito,,,,f al 1p .1V, PAST MEMBERS: Ace Frehley, Peter Criss, Eric Carr, Vinnie Vincent, Mark St. John, Bruce Kulick SOURCE WIKIPEDIA Old films can be problematic LADIES, THIS IS I "REAL woraD" ESCAPE FIRST! NO FIGHTING! 14 - - moon ,,r,,,,,,.t,,,t , .loo...-',.- I r ,,r, k,r I r t ( BY KELLY SEATON rjSC. 11111 1 NL'O: , kellyseatonDSN :4r,V Mr. Bernstein said in the 1941 film "Citizen Kane:" "Old age. It's the only disease, Mr. Thompson, that you don't look forward to being , Arak, n N (7, I1:TW le(4'416:,11 At,..in 4 '41, t:x) u FOR DSU STUDENTS AND THE PUBLIC AGES 41 ,.1 !11,4i,,;.i,.:' ,..-- :144.. '! '';i 11,1 It i4:,,:'i'i-1- ,, Ast '! ,'''''4., ;AC,, : y held up on a proverbial pedestal when determining the quality of movies altogether. We all know the types of movies I'm talking about: the "'..,i''.' JZ1.1:' Ft: ::;:4:1 6:v.i I 15-8- 0 .;:ri.l..;-4- :' : "classic," black and white, "Golden Age of Movies" type of films. Films such as "Citizen Kane," "Singing in the Rain," "King Kong," "Gone with the Wind," etc. While innovative for their times their film quality, acting and storytelling elements don't meet modem-da- y 11AAiaft.01MIMAg..al. MUST PRE-REGISTE- FOR THE PROGRAM AT R cured of." While widely considered by Ones to be one of the best films ever made ,"Citizen Kane," alongside other classic films, has not withstood the test of time. As such, it and movies like it shouldn't be REALSELFDEFENSEFOMOMEN.COM (1917-1960- ), -- I: z , -- 1 Y 1:).401-c-l'iL4t- 1 L livto i -1 (0- 1.16); standards. 0 7.1 I c-- 1- i'A Pi-- I ell i media. The film implements the use of several cinematography and storytelling techniques that were rarely before seen in films at the time. From the camera's use of deep focus in one of the very first scenes (a technique that had been used in only a handful of movies beforehand and rarely paired with the high-contra- lighting st "Citizen Kane" applied) to it being one of the first films and arguably one of the to be primarmost notable told flashbacks, ily through there's no doubt that this film had a large impact on cinema history. While this ,film was innovative and beloved in 1941, if you watch it without those glasses forced on by various film critics and film teachers, it just sort of falls flat. The moments meant to provoke the audience and inspire a meaningful response just s. don't connect with The witty insights and jokes meant to connect with the audience go over the heads of modem-da- y movie-goer- s, as the films rely heavily on topical humor relatable mostly to those who remember the early 1900s. The rise and fall of Charles rose-color- ed film-goer- Kane's character, once shocking to audiences used to solely heroic no characters, longer has the same impact on audiences who are now used to com- "Citizen Kane," for example, fell at just under two hours. This classic film follows the life of Charles Foster Kane in an expository plex and characters. narrative shedding light on potential corruption in the This same logic applies to other "classic" films as well. three-dimensio- "Gone with the Wind" also falls under this same delusion of being a beacon for modem filmmakers to model their films after. This remains an issue, however, as this film is also highly problematic. It's important to address both sides of this issue, however. These films are a product of their times, and though these times can be looked back on now as problematic, filmmakers in that age were ignorant in knowing their depictions of women and minorities were harmful and damaging. In contrast, it'd be damaging to completely erase the past and act as though these prejudices never existed in media. Appreciating these films for their positive influence in movie making, rather than their lackluster representation and depictions of minorities, helps modem filmmakers learn from the mistakes of the past and build a more positive future for filmmaking. These movies aren't terrible, but they are trapped in the past. It's easy to look at these films through glasses. However, there's so much variety in today's films that it's more important to find those that are unproblematic in today's society, while still keeping in line with the excellent cinematography and story building we love from films of the past. These old films aren't bad, but they've out-livtheir leave to time It's legacy. behind these old films where they thrived: in the past. rose-color- ed --I . |