4 Arts and Culture The Death of a Pop Legend; Goodbye MJ September 16, 2009 + Over the Edge SAMANTHA FARROW ARTS EDITOR The year was 1982; I was five years old. Much Music was fairly new, especially up north, There it was, the coolest video Thad ever seen, Thriller. And thus began my earliest crush on a star; Michael Jack- son, In those days, he was hot; young, cute, appearance unaltered. My parents were cowboys when I was younger, like true blue, my dad rode in rodeos, cowboys. By this point in my life, all I had really ever heard for music was the “cry in your beer” stuff about broken hearts, lost loves, crying in the rain, cheat- ing... you know what I am talking about. Michael Jackson was the start of my love of music that didn’t involve cowboy hats and oversized belt buckles. At five, I owned Michael Jackson posters, buttons, and the infamous red and black jacket. I played the tape of the album, Thriller, over and over again on my Fischer Price tape deck (yes, we're talking old school, I haven't seen a tape in years). I rewound Thriller so many times, that my parents had to buy another copy of the tape for me, I was obsessed. By the time I was eight, Bon Jovi had replaced Michael Jackson. I was going to marry Jon and we would live happily ever after. I still loved Thriller, but was waiting for another album of that caliber to come out. In my mind, it never did; I wasnt a fan of Bad. As I got older, Mi- chael became just a freak in the tabloids. Then came the allegations from Never Land, Michael's private ranch, Michael Jackson, accused pedophile. Maybe the allegations were true, I thought, and I lost even mote respect for Michael. Sure, he wasnt convicted, but there was always that thought of what if? From allegations of molestation, lightening his skin, to a strange resemblance to Elizabeth Tay- lor, I stopped waiting for a good album. Even if he did produce one, how I felt for Michael tainted how I saw his music. Sure, listening to Thriller and Billie Jean were still awesome, however, those songs came out in the days when Michael still seemed sane, June 25, 2009. I am in a class in Fort St. John. Seeing as I have my laptop, I do what most students do when they're bored in class; I check Facebook. People's status updates are talking about the death of MJ. My first thought was ‘this has to be a hoax.” I quickly went to Google to see what I could find. No hoax, Michael was dead. I put up my hand and announced it to our class, “Our MJ?” my instructor said; our MJ? And then I thought about it. The man who brought pop and other music into my life, who saved me from a life of listening to bad country songs was dead. Sure, he was odd, he was an accused pedophile and there was the whole Eliza- beth Taylor look, but in that moment, all of that was forgotten and Michael was Michael from the Thriller years. I had to wonder if this would be a moment remembered in history; like where were you when Kennedy was shot? Where were you when Elvis died? Where were you when Lennon was shot? Where were you when MJ died? I was in a classroom, making peace with how I felt about the death of this legend. Many of you probably feel it’s old news; youre right, in this ever changing world, it is. However, this is the first issue we've put out since his death, and seeing as I am the Arts Editor, I thought I would use this article to reflect on my own feel- ings. There are mixed emotions when it comes to the death of Michael; some mourned extensively, some were indif- ferent, and then there are those who are glad he’s dead because they believe he was a pedophile. I am not saying that he isn't, it’s possible, but my belief is this; Michael was a very messed up man who preferred the company of small children because they didn't expect as much as we did. In the end, I think we're just as responsible for what Michael went through; when you're that famous, the weight of the world seems like it’s on your shoulders to perform. No wonder he went screwy. In closing, I would like to pay tribute to Mi- chael; he was messed up, was the center of a lot of scandal, and he lost his edge awhile back. However, he did influence many artists, helped black artists stand out more in music, truly loved what he did, and most importantly, saved me from a life of bad country. Here's to you, Michael, may you find the peace in death you never found in life; I am sorry for contributing to the expectations which were partially responsible for your be- havior later in life. Friday the 13'" The Remake SAMANTHA FARROW ART EDITOR Seeing Rob Zombie's Halloween remake was an epic disaster, I was a little appre- hensive about the Friday the 13 remake. Rob took what was supposed to be one of the original slasher flicks and turned it into House of a Thousand Corpses; gratuitous violence with no real point, the story behind Michael was better left untold. However, not so with Friday the 13", directed by Marcus Nispel; this re- make was actually remade with cinematic taste. In this installment of Friday the 13", the whole 1980's thing is redone where Mts. Voorhees is running around, killing the camp counselors. Like the original, the last intended victim beheads Mrs. Voor- hees with a machete. The movie then veers off in a slightly different direction, with a young Jason watching from a tree. He then jumps down to collect her body and the machete. In the original, the only person left alive gets into a canoe and goes out on the lake, waiting to be res- cued. Just before she's rescued, she has a vision of young Jason coming out of the lake and pulling her in. Flash forward to present day, in the re- make, where a girl named Whitney, her boyfriend Mike, Amanda, her boyfriend Richie, and Wade go off to the woods to find an outdoor pot grow-op. They set up camp for the night, and Wade tells the camp fire story of Jason, his deranged mother, and Crystal Lake. Of course no one believes this little tale is true; one couple goes off to their tent to have sex (bad idea) while the rest remain by the fire, drinking (another bad idea in a hor- ror movie). Wade wanders off to take a leak, finds the grow-op they were looking for, and a really pissed off Jason, played by Derek Mears. Mears is an excellent choice for this role; he is the tallest Jason yet. He was also a fan of the original ser- ies, and wanted to make sure he did the part justice, which he did. Jason slaugh- ters Wade, and then finds the rest of the unlucky campers. Let me tell you, I will never camp somewhere named Crystal Lake, and I have issues with drinking, sex, or drugs in the woods, part of the effects of growing up as a fan of the series in the 80's. Obviously, this unlucky group never watched the original Friday the 13". Six weeks after the slaughter of these campers, Whitney's brother, Clay, comes to Crystal Lake, in search of his missing sister. He stops a local convenience store, where he runs into another group of teens, coming out to spend the weekend at one of their parent's cabin. The kid whos parent's own the cabin, Trent, gets mouthy with Clay and they have an alter- cation. Trent's girlfriend, Jenna, breaks it up. She takes one of Clay's Missing post- ers and the group continues on to the cabin. A little later on, Clay unknowingly shows up at their door and Jenna offers to help find Whitney, much to the irrita- tion of Trent. He is still having a temper tantrum a couple of hours later when Clay and Jenna come back to warn him of Jason, whom they have spotted in the woods. By this point, Jason has managed to kill off a couple of the others, including one really cool kill where a bikini clad girl gets run down by a motor boat. All in all, the violence level of this movie was kept the same as the original. Un- like Rob Zombie's remakes, there was no violence just for the sake of violence, the original story wasn't strayed from a lot, and there were no parts created just so the director's daughter could play a role. As a slasher movie buff, I was quite impressed by this remake and if I had to give it a rating from one to ten, I would give it an eight. Any original fan of Friday the 13 would probably agree. The next thing I am hoping to see from this series is Freddy vs. Jason vs. Michael, which has been talked about, but so far, it still on the cutting room floor. Hopefully, New Line Cinema, or Paramount, will take this project up soon.