Trib Blogs

The 4,300-passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground off the Italian coast on Friday.

When Costa Concordia capsized off the Italian coast Friday, passengers described mass chaos: men pushing past children in attempt to board lifeboats first, men and women fighting over lifejackets, and elderly women being left to fend for themselves.

Newly-released infrared film footage shows crew members securing their own lifejackets before passengers were even notified of the ship’s sinking status. Since the death toll has risen to 11, the ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, has been subjected to mass criticism for refusing the Italian Coast Guard’s orders to assist in the evacuation, then ”tripping” and “accidentally falling” into a lifeboat.

But according to the (very ambiguous) laws established by the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, none of the above scenes described are illegal.

Beliefs that “women and children go first” and “the captain goes down with the ship” are mere social conventions mainly upheld by Americans and Brits. In most European countries, these notions do not exist.

Men who boarded lifeboats before women during ship evacuations in the 19th century were deemed “cowards” by society, and after being publicly shamed a few times by news reports, they adopted the prioritization of women and children. Writers of the times called this act “pure manhood.”

Daniele Perruchon, a 68 year-old woman who was aboard the Costa Concordia when it capsized, says she saw no examples of this manhood from fellow passengers.

“At no time did anyone come and help us,” Perruchon, who was traveling with an 80 year-old friend, said. “We felt abandoned. So much for women and children first.”

Our chivalrous conventions–even those regarding life-and-death situations–are falling to the wayside, leaving us to wonder: Is the entire chivalry concept a thing of the past?

As the Harry Potter books taught me, when there is good, there must be bad. In a world with delicious Dr. Pepper must come Tab. Movies are no different, and in 2011, there were plenty of awful and mediocre films to balance out the few sparkling diamonds. Here are the worst films from a year most movie fans would probably choose to forget.

5. “The Hangover Part II”

Photo via Warner Bros. Pictures.

Todd Phillips, director and co-writer of “The Hangover Part II,” I’m glad that we both agree that the first Hangover film was very funny and entertaining. However, that does not mean that audiences wanted to see the exact same movie all over again. This blatantly unimaginative sequel is everything filmgoers hate about sequels, merely changing the setting from Las Vegas to Bangkok, as well as some of the plot devices. As a result, the fresh originality that made the first film a hit felt tired and tediously annoying. The writers treated the original movie’s script like Mad Libs and the audience like walking ATMs. Unfortunately, considering the movie’s $254 million gross, we fell for it.

4. “Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World”

Everyone seems to be over the 3D craze of a few years ago when movies like “Avatar” and “Beowulf” squeaked by on their eye-popping visuals. Everyone except “Spy Kids 4” writer/director/producer Robert Rodriguez, who shoehorns 3D, as well as smell-o-vision, into his already overly busy children’s film. Neither of the gimmicks work; the 3D is unnoticeable, and the scratch-and-sniff cards are clumsy to use and smell like candles instead of whatever they were supposed to smell like.

Even if they were effective, it wouldn’t save the film from its numerous convoluted plot developments, amateur acting by both the adults and the children, cheap special effects and below-juvenile humor. After “Spy Kids 4: All the time in the World,” it’s safe to say it’s time for this franchise to go away.

3. “The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)”

In the trailer for “The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence),” director Tom Six states that he wants to make “the sickest movie of all time.” I suppose he succeeds, but that’s like trying to set the record for longest fingernails; it’s not really a title worth having. What Six fails to do is create a horror movie. It’s too absurd to be scary or horrifying, but it’s also too unpleasant and surprisingly pretentious to be a fun late-night thrill. Six has proven he can be gross, but he has yet to prove he can make scares, much less a decent movie, out of that skill.

2. “Dream House”

Photo via Cliffjack Motion Pictures.

It was a bad year for Daniel Craig. His wannabe summer blockbuster “Cowboys & Aliens” flopped at the box office, and worst of all, he starred in the woeful psychological thriller, “Dream House.” The movie’s cast and crew is remarkably overqualified; the director, Jim Sheridan, has been nominated for six Oscars, and Craig’s supporting cast includes Oscar-winner Rachel Weisz and Oscar-nominee Naomi Watts. Yet somehow, they all got suckered into a clumsily scripted thriller that provides more unintentional laughs than thrills. Sheridan even requested that his name be taken off the final product. Bond and the rest of the talented cast should have followed suit.

1. “Creature”

Some may say that placing a micro-budget horror movie that approximately fifty people bought tickets to see is unfair when there are big budget travesties that are more deserving of my scorn. Well, those people clearly did not see “Creature,” an embarrassingly scare-less horror movie whose plot ranges from confusing to preposterous and features acting that a middle school production of “My Little Pony” would find amateurish.

With that description, one might think that “Creature” would be an unintentionally fun time, similar to Nicolas Cage’s “The Wicker Man” or an episode of “Mystery Science Theater 3000.” Surprisingly, however, the movie ends up being bad and dull instead of bad and hilarious. True, the bar was set pretty low, but it could have been set on the bottom of a 25-mile-deep hole to China, and “Creature” still would have tripped up.

Dear Marquette Worrier,

I’ve overheard a lot of people talking about how much their books were this semester, but I haven’t even looked at my booklist yet. Am I behind, or are they too far ahead?

A great question deserves a great answer. First of all, you’re definitely in good shape. The last thing you want is to deal with a complete stack of books after professors mention a few of those aren’t necessary. It doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does, it’s just nicer to have not jumped the gun.

I’m glad you brought up books.

I’m definitely on board with the whole idea of books being a scam because it’s ridiculous how much some of our books cost. Luckily, now some professors have caught on to our troubles, and the tech-savvy ones will even help out here and there. For instance, sometimes the prof. can put a (hopefully legal) copy of an entire book in .pdf on D2L that you would’ve had to buy otherwise.

We need to do everything we can to save on books and whatnot before they start making every required book be a super special “Marquette Edition” that we have to buy through the bookstore. That way they can finally force people to buy from Bookmarq at outrageous prices.

But until then, stick with Amazon, Half, Chegg, and this helpful site

It’s not a boycott of Bookmarq, because we obviously don’t want to bankrupt it. Yet, it is kind of a vicious cycle, as less people will buy from Bookmarq so it will probably have to make up for it by increasing some prices. My attitude is that I’m in and out of here in only four years anyway, which doesn’t seem like much time to ruin a bookstore if i never buy from it.

And selling books back? It comes down to what you care about. If you merely want to get books off your hands, fine—sell them back to the bookstore. If you want to get some cash, go through the trouble of setting up and shipping them out through sites like Amazon Buyback.

Until next time.

A couple days ago, I stumbled upon a disturbing list of “Top Five Date Rape Anthems,” compiled by the Washington City Paper.

Most of the songs listed deserved the title–and maybe a little legal action. Even Jamie Foxx’s “Blame It On The Alcohol” is pretty sketch; it’s basically about a man who wants to sleep with a woman who will only consent after she’s had enough goose, ‘tron, blue tap, etc.

Amongst the list of painfully obvious date rape allusions was one that kind of broke my heart: Frank Loesser’s “Baby, It’s Cold Outisde.”

I’ve heard this argument before from friends of mine. “Just listen to these lyrics,” they say. “So creepy.”

And I’m not saying they’re wrong:

“I really can’t stay—Baby it’s cold outside
I’ve got to go away—Baby it’s cold outside
This evening has been—Been hoping that you’d drop in
So very nice—I’ll hold your hands, they’re just like ice
My mother will start to worry—Beautiful, what’s your hurry
My father will be pacing the floor—Listen to the fireplace roar
So really I’d better scurry—Beautiful, please don’t hurry
well Maybe just a half a drink more—Put some music on while I pour

The neighbors might think—Baby, it’s bad out there
Say, what’s in this drink—No cabs to be had out there
I wish I knew how —Your eyes are like starlight now
To break this spell—I’ll take your hat, your hair looks swell
I ought to say no, no, no, sir—Mind if I move a little closer
At least I’m gonna say that I tried—What’s the sense in hurting my pride
I really can’t stay—Baby don’t hold out
Ahh, but it’s cold outside”

But I don’t want to say they’re right, either.

I’m not going to argue with the lyrics–alcohol is considered a date rape drug, and the dude’s clearly pouring his girl’s drink with a heavy hand. All the evidence supports this song’s date-rape anthem title, and I understand that date rape is a terrible pratice.

But this is a Christmas song. One we’ve heard piped through the stereos of jam-packed malls, and sung with our friends and families during long car rides. The nostalgic value of this song, along with all Christmas songs, is enormous, and it’s unfair to imply that those who sing along are endorsing sexual violence.

On She & Him’s Christmas album, Zooey Deschanel sings the man’s part of this song, and M. Ward sings the woman’s. And yet it’s still exceptionally creepy, proving that these lyrics make for one hopelessly offensive song.

But if you send me down that road, I can run a whole lot of Christmas cheer into the ground.

For example, in Justin Bieber and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” video, Justin (a minor!) lusts after 40 year-old Mariah, who plays the part of a mannequin dressed in a skimpy Santa costume. Come on, that’s creepy.

Or, in light of Japan’s earthquake in March, what the hell is going on in this Coca-Cola commercial ?

We can keep tallies on human faux pas during the season (of which there is no shortage), or we can stop searching for problematic lyrics and video concepts, and just be merry.

For the sake of a happy holiday, I’m going to chill on the gender preaching. This is a season during which a percentage of the population believes in fat men shimmying down chimneys and reindeer noses that glow like lightbulbs–can’t we momentarily believe that this song is a harmless anthem about a lopsided love affair?

Please?

(Those interested in preventing sexual violence against women should check out the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and consider giving to the cause this holiday season.)

The past year has been wild. As my roommates and I were looking over BuzzFeed’s 45 Most Powerful Images of the Year, we were commenting on 2011′s momentousness.

The revolutions, the riots, the fallen dictators, the natural disasters. It is impossible to know how the history books will comment and spew these news stories. But it is probably safe to say Marquette news from 2011 will not make major history books. Thus, I feel the need to comment– so here are my top 5 Marquette news stories from 2011.

1. We got a new President. Despite some early concern, he is a Jesuit, but he has yet to don a yellow sweater vest. That being said, Fr. Pilarz has started on an excellent foot. Handling many student concerns by sending out regular e-mails and living on the fourth floor of Campus Town East, he has made himself accessible to students. I know he has been down for a lovely dinner chat or an impromptu hello on a walk down Wells. He also really likes Bruce Springsteen, which automatically makes him cool. So far, so good.

2.  We played sports. Pretty well actually. From what I understand as a very casual fan, we played basketball and got a lot of air time, making it to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA March Madness Tournament. I watched some of those– it seemed thrilling. We played even better in men’s soccer, winning the Big East championship. I never went to a game, and for that I am an awful fanatic. The women’s soccer team also had a phenomenal season and the women’s volleyball team are well on their way to a victorious season.

3.  We made 16th and Wells legitimate. Which is to say, Angelos was replaced by the only thing that could ever come close to being sufficient: Sobleman’s at Marquette. It looks nearly the same inside as before, but serves burgers instead of pizza and favors real IDs. I think it is safe to say that not having to cross the 16th Street bridge and walk down those intimidating stairs to get to the best burgers in Milwaukee (no matter what Food Wars says) is a delicious delight.

4. We addressed some issues. Better late than never, I suppose, but still really disappointing that we had to address them at all. Although sexual assault is a far too common crime on college campuses, I personally had always felt Marquette men and women to be upstanding– or at least aware of Jesuit ideals, one of which is Cura Personalis– care of the whole person.  Since the allegations broke, and newspapers nationwide have covered the alleged cover-up of the alleged incident, students, faculty and administration have clearly made efforts to reform our reporting system and our awareness to such crimes. Underclassmen were required to attend a training session, and Fr. Pilarz has sent numerous e-mails and a few Letters to the Editor of some major news sources– including the New York Times. An awful incident in itself, at least there seems to be some commitment to student safety and awareness. Speaking of which,

5.  We got roughed up. The Marquette bubble was deflated a bit this summer, when a rash of campus robberies afflicted our little neighborhood. To address this issue, we are now not allowed to jay-walk. Just kidding. But seriously, we are not allowed to jay-walk, and there has not been an emergency DPS e-mail in a while.

Of course, many other exciting and important events occurred within the Marquette community. But these five incidents each impacted the student body in an significant way.  And while  they may not make any BuzzFeed lists for 2011, its important to acknowledge our own quietly momentous year.