Year: 2015

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Opinions

Raining On The Straight Parade

About a week ago I stumbled across a shared photo on Facebook that read these words: “Apparently it is now bigoted and intolerant to be straight and proud in this upside down, politically correct society we live in. I invite everyone who is straight and unashamed to post this on your wall.” I was shocked to find other pictures like this on this person’s timeline. I, personally, had never encountered anyone with the belief that there needed to be a “Straight Pride.” I understood the concept, be proud of who you are regardless of your sexual orientation, however a straight pride movement does more damage than it does good.

Michaela.Wuethrich_LukeLauer_RGBTherefore, I would like to get one thing straight; Straight pride does not exist. I want to be clear with what I am not saying. I am not saying that people should be ashamed of their heterosexuality. I am not saying that you should not be proud and happy with who are.

The LGBT Pride movement began for the single purpose of making others aware of their existence. To make others aware that they, like heterosexuals, are human. It began with the single mission of achieving the rights they deserve, the same rights as those who identify as straight.

When I was a first year here at Houghton, even speaking about this issue was so taboo that people would come up to your table in the cafeteria and ask you to stop talking. Houghton has come so far in it’s acceptance of LGBT minorities since then. But as is often said, Houghton is but a small part of this beautiful world created by God. While Houghton has improved, there are places in the world that are in drastic need of tolerance and acceptance.

In Russia, Members and Allies of the LGBT community face death on a regular basis for simply wearing or distributing anything that could be perceived as LGBT paraphernalia.  Gay men and women face increasingly dangerous prejudice, violence, and discrimination in Uganda. In America, transgender teens are committing suicide due to the alienation they receive from family, peers, and church. It is Illegal to be gay in 76 countries. That is roughly 40% of this world. Just to put this in perspective, being a Christian is only illegal in 54 countries.

So why is there not a straight pride movement? Why does it not exist? Journalist L.Z. Granderson said it best, “Gay pride was not born out of the need to celebrate not being straight, but our right to exist without prosecution.”  There is no need for straight pride, because those who identify as heterosexuals already posses the rights that those who are part of the LGBT community are fighting for. No person has ever been alienated by their church congregation because they were straight. No one has been unjustly fired from their job because they were straight. No person has ever been kicked out of their parent’s home because they were straight. American Congress has never passed a law that forces heterosexuals to hide their sexual orientation from their peers and colleagues. A straight person has never been told they were going to hell, that they were disgusting, that they have a disease, that they do not deserve to be alive all because of their sexual orientation.

Michaela QuoteThere is no straight pride movement because heterosexuals do not need a movement. There cannot be an equal rights movement for the already privileged members of society. There is no white and proud movement, other than the KKK and Aryan Nations, because people who are white have the social and economic world constantly working in their favor. A straight pride movement is unnecessary and mocks the importance of an LGBT pride movement.

Be proud of who you are, regardless of your gender, skin color, and sexual orientation, straight or gay. But do not take away the importance of the movements that fight for the equal rights of underprivileged minorities.

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Opinions

Profit: The Need For Greed

Over my time at Houghton I have heard many students complain about the greediness of corporate America, and the unfairness associated with the division between rich and poor. These students never discuss their own greed or how appeals to it motivate them to helpful and efficient action.

Famed English political economist, Adam Smith wrote, “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard for their own interest.” Smith argues that in order to have sustenance, we must appeal to the self-interest of those around us.  In economics, we learn that this is both an effective and efficient way to run an economy.

BradleyOliver_RGBWithout even knowing it, we all are part of a system that relies on appeals to others’ self-interest.  Schools prompt you to learn by giving you grades, employers pay for your performance, and governments subsidize good choices.  The same self-interested behavior that we display is the motive for businesses as well.

Businesses emerge to fulfill a want or a need, and they succeed by providing it at a lower price, or with a higher quality, compared to others.  By doing this, they create a competitive advantage that allows them to use resources more effectively than the average person can.  For example, a bread maker must buy ingredients to make the bread, mix the ingredients, knead the dough, let it rise, and finally bake it before it can be sold.  The bread maker can leverage the size of his operation and expertise so as to make a hearty loaf for much cheaper than the average person can, especially when considering the time it takes to gather and process those resources.  For the bread-maker to do this, he will require some sort of compensation which comes in the form of profit.

The word profit causes many Christians and other advocates for non-profit organizations to cringe, but profit is actually Biblical and necessary for our economy to advance.  Businesses operate by giving money to their most efficient uses, and profits are no different.  Businesses need profits to grow, to research, and to pay back what they have borrowed.  Profit can also be used by businesses to support local sports teams, food pantries, and church groups.

Bradley QuoteThe beauty of this system of appealing to another’s self-interest is that it does not just help the rich; instead, it helps everybody. Much that we use on a daily basis has been created as a result of somebody figuring out a way to produce and sell it at a profit.  While it seems that the rich keep getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, generally people are better off today than they have been in the past because of for-profit businesses.

The one caveat here is that efficient commerce requires a strict set of moral values on which businesses, and the nation are built.  For Smith and others, commerce must be guided by enlightened self-interest. America has done a great job creating a strong sense of ordered liberty, tempering justice with freedom that have allowed businesses to flourish.  While our system is not perfect, and examples of abuse arise constantly, I am thankful for the self-interested behavior that has provided me with the amenities I enjoy everyday.

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Letter to the Editor Opinions

Response to LGBQ Inclusion

The Community Covenant should not be amended as Luke Lauer proposes in his piece, “LGBQ Inclusion: Community Covenant Amendment.”

Lauer’s proposed change misses the word, “Biblical.” If, to quote Wynn Horton, we want “‘to serve the college’s purpose while maintaining its loyalty to a Christian heritage’,”, then why would we remove the word “Biblical”? What, besides the Bible, should define the “bonds of marriage” for a Christian college?

Moreover, if the change included the word “Biblical”, the Covenant would still implicitly forbid homosexual lifestyles.

The core of “homosexual behavior” is sexual attraction between people of the same sex. “Behavior” implies activity in fulfillment of that attraction. When a newly dating straight couple kisses each other but refrains from sex, they are not breaking Biblical bonds, but they are still acting in partial fulfillment of the sexual attraction between each other. A partial fulfillment of sexual attraction also takes place when two gay men kiss each other. The difference is that the kiss of the same-sex couple cannot find an appropriate ultimate fulfillment in the sexual union of the marital relationship. Homosexual behavior, then, has no proper telos. Thus, the problem for our LGBQ community members trying to reconcile even the partial fulfillment of homosexual sexual desires with Christianity is that such reconciliation is, by any honest reading, biblically impossible (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

For these reasons, I also disagree with the contention that the wording about which Mr. Lauer complains is truly vague. We can determine from the college’s policy enactments and from the words of Dean Michael Jordan that when the college forbids “homosexual behavior”, it certainly forbids homosexual intercourse. But it also forbids more than that. And rightly so, for other forms of “homosexual behavior” outside of intercourse are also, by logical extension of the Bible’s words, unchristian and unacceptable.

It is indeed unfortunate and problematic if homosexual students feel isolated from their heterosexual peers. However, the way for gay and straight students to be reconciled is not to sever Houghton from biblically-based bans on sinful behavior. That would primarily serve only to sever Houghton from the Christian faith.

-Aaron Rider ‘15

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Campus News

President Mullen Becomes U.S. Citizen

On Feb. 19, 2015 President Shirley Mullen officially became a United States citizen. Her previous citizenship before this date was in Canada, where she was born and grew up.

Mullen has been living in the U.S since 1966, but chose to wait to gain citizenship partially because she has a sentimental attachment to where she grew up. She also felt there was a chance she would go back to Canada at some point in her life. She stated, “As I’ve realized that I’m probably not going to go back to work in Canada ever, it just seemed like the sensible thing to do, to make the change by becoming a citizen.”

President MullenMullen explained that while she was waiting for her interview, which happened in Buffalo, she was surrounded by people who were seeking citizenship to gain refuge in America. She shared that it was a fascinating experience. “I was more affected by the process than I thought I would be,” said Mullen. “There were people from 16 different countries represented the day of the interview. It was moving to see the value of American citizenship through the eyes of people who in a sense needed this… We take safety and freedom for granted.”

To become a U.S citizen one must undergo a process called naturalization. Some of things that can come along with citizenship include taxation, voting rights, military service, and jury duty. According to the official website of homeland security, one must firstly fill out an application which includes questions about family, traveling, and other practical questions. The next step in the process is a background check where they take fingerprints. After this  is a test of American history, which is followed by an interview. The last step of the process is a formal swearing in.

Mullen said the experience was a great realization for her of the culture that we experience every day in the U.S and too easily take for granted. People from all over the world are blended together in the same place to find freedom. In most countries there is a sense of never giving up citizenship, but the American citizenship is seen by many as more of a man-made process. Anyone can come to find hope of a bright future.

President Mullen was also reminded that although our citizenship to a country is important, “Our citizenship to a country is always secondary to our citizenship in God’s Kingdom.”

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Campus News

Houghton to be Visited for Reaccreditation

Next week, Houghton College will be toured by its accrediting institution for the once-a-decade re-accreditation visit. The process for re-accreditation began in the 2012-2013 academic year and will most likely come to fruition in the next several weeks.

Accreditation2RGBThe Middle States Commission for Higher Education (MSCHE) is the regional body, part of a much larger national composite, which accredits Houghton College and most of the other accredited institutions in the Middle Atlantic states. According to President Shirley Mullen, accreditation is like “a seal of approval from your peers.”Accreditation is also as if a group of your respected peers said, “We see that you are doing what you say you’re doing.” She noted, “The way we validate higher education institutions is uniquely American. We do it on a peer-based system, while other developed states often conduct accreditation through the federal government.”

“There are fourteen standards by which the MCHSE evaluates an institution,” said Mullen, regarding the process of re-accreditation. “In preparation, Houghton does its own self-study of how we are doing on each of those standards.” The standards include things like “Mission and Goals,” “Institutional Resources,” “Student Admissions and Retention,” and the like. The self study for this round of accreditation began in 2012.

Students play a significant role in the self-study. According to Linda Mills-Woolsey, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college, “The college is always trying to keep tabs on what we are doing, so we gather data every year. Students help us by participating in surveys like NSSE and by filling out IDEA forms…during the 2012-2013 school year we began to plan for our review, appointing Dr. Paul Young to form a steering committee in consultation with President Mullen … to supervise the self-study. In 13-14 groups made up of faculty, staff, and students conducted the studies needed for the report.”

Accreditation4RGBDr. Paul Young, associate dean for social sciences and psychology professor, added student involvement in the study made it “a better process and document.”

This could have several tangible, practical effect for typical Houghton students.

Young stated, “Studying at an accredited institution, which Houghton has been since 1935, opens doors not only to financial aid but also to graduate and professional schools.” Graduate and professional schools generally place greater weight upon the quality of a candidate’s education if he or she attended an accredited undergraduate school.

President Mullen expanded on this point, saying, “Pell and Tap grants may only be spent at accredited institutions.” In this way, the state and federal governments issuing these funds may know that “their money is being spent well.”

Woolsey added, “employers and graduate schools are more likely to trust the quality of a degree from an accredited institution. Accreditation can also be important when we are asking donors to invest in us or seeking grants from regional and national foundations.” These grants directly impact Houghton students.

President Mullen, who has served as the chair of review committees for other institutions seeking re-accreditation, noted that she believes the “Mission and Goals” standard is that which the quality of the proceeding 13 standards flow out of. “I would be most concerned about an institution which did not have a clear mission” by which it acted upon, she said. She also said she believed the area in which Houghton has improved since its last re-accreditation is in assessment of student learning. She was quick to note, however, that she believes Houghton is doing very well in all the areas by which the college will be evaluated.

There is evidence of this, as Houghton has had no problem with re-accreditation by MSCHE since it was first accredited in 1935. “I want students to know that this is a normal process that every accredited institution must undergo every ten years, and that we have never had a problem in re-accreditation,” stated President Mullen.

Woolsey, speaking of the upcoming visit (the week of March 15) said, “The MSCHE visitors will be very interested in what students have to say about the quality of their education and their experience at Houghton. If they are like past campus visitors, I am confident that they will find the quality of our students the best testimony to our effectiveness in carrying out our mission.”

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Campus News

Two Majors to be Replaced

Plans have been put in place for the outdoor recreation and physical education majors to be phased out and replaced with a sports recreation and wellness management major. The new major is a hybrid of the old majors, but adds new requirements, including some business courses.

According to Linda Mills Woolsey, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college, outdoor recreation and physical education are two of the oldest majors offered at Houghton. After periodically evaluating all the majors, these two were put under consideration to be critically examined, due in part to their curriculum being outdated.

highlander-groupBoth outdoor recreation and physical education are the only majors at Houghton that have not had developement since the major was initiated, according to Woolsey. Many students who declare this major seek to be employed in careers such as camp directors or physical education teachers. However, according to the data gathered by Woolsey and her team, the career outlook for those with degrees in outdoor recreation and physical education is slim. The job market for those interested in this industry is aligned more with sports and wellness management, an industry that includes jobs such as fitness instructor, professional team manager, nutritionist or dietician, and physical therapist.  Creating the sports recreation and wellness management major will enable students to have more options when deciding on a career.

The new major’s collaboration with the business department will give students the opportunity to enter into a wider variety of management positions, including the traditional camp director or national park specialist.  “The business department at Houghton does a very good job in setting up our students to be socially and ethically responsible,” said Woolsey. The incorporated business courses will capitalize on a student’s complete set of skills.

The decision to phase out the outdoor recreation and physical education majors was first brought to the Academic Council, which, for this particular change, included Professors Sandy Johnson, Andrea Boon, Ken Bates, and two students.  After the council approved the change, it was sent to the faculty to be discussed at the first of two monthly meetings. If the faculty approve the new major, it will then be brought to the New York State Education Department to be approved.  Woolsey plans to have the major available for the incoming fall class of 2019.

The old majors will be completely phased out by 2018.  Woolsey encouraged those who have already declared an outdoor recreation or physical education major, “We are committed to students in the major currently and want to hire the most qualified people to help and be attentive to those students’ needs.”

Due to Professor Thomas Kettlekamp’s retirement at the end of this semester, Laura Alexeichik, who has previously taught at Houghton, will be stepping in as an adjunct professor for the department. Alexeichik has a Ph.D. in recreation with interests in intercultural studies and a dissertation on an “experiential learning environment.”

According to Woolsey, students who typically go into this field, whether with the old majors or the new hybrid, are people who want to serve. These students are not just  interested in finding a job, but more so in helping and serving those in their community through things such as physical therapy or summer camp management.

Woolsey stated, “We are, at the same time, phasing out old programs and building in new ones. This is the way any thriving college should operate, practicing frequently examining all programs to meet the career needs of its students.”

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International News

Iraqi Militia Vs. ISIS

The Iraqi military, alongside thousands of Shiite militia fighters, began a wide-scale offensive on Monday March 2, 2015 to retake the city of Tikrit from the Islamic State.

This was not the first time the Iraqi military has sought to retake Tikrit in the months since the city, Saddam Hussein’s hometown and a Sunni stronghold, fell into rebel hands during the Islamic State’s blitz through the country after seizing the northern city of Mosul in June of last year.

Joe Poyfair GreySeveral times since then, the Iraqi army and allied Shiite militias have begun counteroffensives, only to abort them shortly after. These counteroffensives were sometimes in the defiance of objections from American officials, who would warn the Iraqi military of a blood bath should they try and enter Tikrit.

By sundown Monday, March 2, 2015 fighting raged in the areas surrounding Tikrit, but the army and militia fighters had not yet pushed on the city’s center. ISIS, during this time, released a video that was intended to terrify the citizens who were considering aiding the advancement of the Iraqi military forces.

The video clip showed the execution by gunshot of four men dressed in orange jumpsuits. These men were said to have been local tribesmen collaborating with the Iraqi Military.

In a speech Monday to Parliament, Mr. Abadi echoed the words of President George W. Bush in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trades Center, saying that the residents of Tikrit were either with Iraqi or with ISIS. “There is no neutrality in the Battle against ISIS. If someone is being neutral with ISIS, then he is one of them.”

The fight against ISIS has brought the United States and Iraq into an awkward alliance in Iraq. While the United States’ effort has been in airstrike campaigns, Iraq has taken the most prominent role on the ground.

In a statement that addressed the worries over militias taking retribution on the local population, the United Nations representative in Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, said Monday that “Military operations reinforced by international and Iraqi air support must be conducted with the utmost care to avoid civilian casualties, and with full respect for the fundamental human rights principles and humanitarian law.”

Rebels undertook a series of attacks in and around the Iraqi Capital Baghdad on Thursday, March 5, 2015 killing at least 16 civilians. These attacks by armed insurgents were mostly targeting civilian areas as Islamic State militants (ISIS) in the country’s north, set oil wells ablaze in an attempt to slow the Iraqi Government forces that were battling to reclaim territory.

In separate attacks on an outdoor market in the Baghdad suburb of Nahrawan, thirteen civilians were killed. At least thirty-nine individuals were wounded in a residential area in the southern district of Dora and in a market in Mahmoudiyah only twenty miles south of Baghdad.

An attack targeting a military patrol in a northeastern district, a bomb killed three soldiers and had wounded seven.

These armed attacks continue to come as government forces, Iranian-backed Shiite militias, and Sunni volunteers continue their fight to recapture areas around Saddam Hussein’s hometown, Tikrit, which fell to Islamic State Militants in June of 2014.

On Thursday, March 5, 2015 militants set fire to some oil wells outside the city. The smoky fires were apparently meant to obscure targets from government bombing raids. The Iraqi government took part in wide-scale operations that began Monday, March 2, 2015.

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Stories In Focus

Activity of the Week: Skiing

Cross-Country and Downhill Skiing, Snowboarding, and Snowshoeing.

“Warm is bad, cold is good. Sun is bad, snow is good.” This chant echoed across the snow as Professor of Recreation and Physical Education Thomas Kettlecamp’s cross-country skiing class began their first day of swishing through the snow on slick runners.

During a winter in which temperatures plummeted and remained at the bone-chilling -30 degrees, the opportunity to catch a little fresh air without freezing your lungs seems like a distant memory. Though this winter has been record-breakingly cold with frigid temperatures that froze boogers in between classes and paralyzed productivity, activity on the trails and at the ski hill has been bustling. For skiers, snowboarders, and snowshoers alike this winter has been ideal. The cross-country and downhill skiing classes did not get canceled once, a new record according to Kettlecamp.

JonEckendorf Skiing - Killington,VTParticipating in outdoor activities such as skiing, snowshoeing, or snowboarding provides an opportunity to stretch out the legs and unflatten the behind. Skiing is one of the most beneficial activities to participate in, since it targets muscles all over the body much like swimming. It is also a physical activity that can continue into older age as other exercises become more difficult or too damaging to the body. While snowboarding or snowshoeing may not provide as complete of a workout or may take a larger toll on the body, they are nevertheless popular sports that provide a refreshing break from what can become the dreary days of winter.

As we lift our heads to the wind to sniff long anticipated signs of spring, do not forget to catch the last few days on the slopes before the snow melts! Send out winter with a wave and the mantra that all Kettlecamp’s classes do: “Cold is bad, warm is good. Snow is bad, sun is good.”

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Stories In Focus

Recent Graduates Return as Assistant Coaches

Each year Houghton openly welcomes back its graduates as they accept jobs in all departments, especially athletics. This year, six 2014 graduates returned for jobs on the Houghton athletics coaching staff, while numerous alumni from previous years still hold jobs in the athletic department.

Stepping straight into the professional world directly after graduation can be a big step that not everyone is ready for or wants right away. Having the opportunity to be an assistant coach at Houghton often acts as a buffer for postgraduates. It gives them time to take a breath, have fun, and figure out what is next in an environment they know and love.

Hatch, Carpenter, RichardsFor Kaiden Bowers, assistant coach of the Houghton baseball team, that was exactly what he needed. When discussing his role on the baseball team he said, “Post-graduation, many students struggle with adapting to the “real-world” which entails starting a career and becoming an adult. Working with the baseball team does not feel like work as I thoroughly enjoy and love being on the field.”

For those who graduated last year, the role they play for their team is exactly their title; they assist. “Coach Hager [head cross-country and track and field coach] describes me as his ‘right hand man,’ I work with him a lot to make his job easier,” said David Richards, assistant track and field coach.

“As a student-athlete, you are unaware of all the behind-the-scenes aspects of coaching,” said Bowers.

Though an assistant coach is strongly a part of the team, the first role of their job is to help the head coach. “I do a lot of administrative work, like submitting trip itineraries to the Athletics Department Administrative Assistant and sending out orders when people want to order running shoes,” explained Richards.

“I’ve definitely gained a lot of experience in recruiting prospective athletes, as well as the administrative duties, such as budget management, scheduling, and inventory planning, just to name a few,” Bowers added.

Yet despite the monotonous office work, the love these coaches have for their team is apparent. “The best thing about being a coach for this team is that we have a great group of guys that are fun to be around and I enjoy watching them get better at lacrosse everyday,” said Nathan Hatch, assistant men’s lacrosse coach.

For Richards it is, “attending meets, where [he] can see the athletes [he has] helped coach push themselves to better and better performances.”

Yet, when talking to the coaches it also became apparent that the very thing they love about their job also makes it difficult. “It has been tough trying to find a balance between [being] a coach and friend,” explained Bowers.

Being on a team means creating lifelong relationships, and when you return to coach those very people, being viewed as a coach can prove to be difficult. Bowers went on to say, “As much as I want to continue developing close relationships with my friends, I have had to hold back and remove myself from situations that may be misconstrued as a conflict of interest.”

Hatch expressed similar feelings when he said, “Being a coach that was a player the year before, you tend to have some players that might not exactly like having you as their coach, but the guys on this team have all been respectful towards me in my new position.”

Despite the long hours in the office and the changed relationships, these coaches took the job for the same reason: for their love of the sport and the people it comes with. Bowers put it best, “This opportunity has truly been a blessing as I continue to gain valuable coaching experience and build my resume, but doing so in a familiar environment.”

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Reviews Stories In Focus

The Expected Virtue of Birdman

Winner of the Oscar for Best Picture Lives Up to the Hype

BirdmanThe newest inductee to the lucrative Best Picture club is Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). With such a high honor being bestowed on a film there is often ample skepticism as to its actual quality. Is Birdman truly better than American Sniper or Boyhood? The plot summary is this: Riggan Thomson, played by Michael Keaton, is a former blockbuster star, made famous and beloved for his roles as Birdman, a superhero in the 80s and 90s. Having fallen from stardom and faded into relative obscurity in the public eye, Riggan attempts to jumpstart his stagnant career with a self-directed, self-written, and self-acted Broadway production in hopes to once again find relevance in the entertainment industry.

While the story may seem simplistic at face value, what makes Birdman truly great is its execution. This is one of the most artistically invigorating and emotionally stimulating films that I have ever seen. Every convention of good filmmaking is present here and done to the highest level of quality.

The casting of Michael Keaton as Riggan is no coincidence. Many probably remember his role as the brooding caped crusader himself in Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989, Keaton reprising the role in 1992 in Batman Returns. Given his history in the industry, Keaton’s casting in Birdman makes his struggle a deeply personal one as an actor fighting to stay relevant and be taken seriously.

Riggan’s character is effortlessly relatable. He is nervous, unsure of himself, erratic, and emotionally unstable, making him an easy target to be written as the token underdog character. Thankfully, the movie transcends that trope by refusing to make him spotlessly perfect, Riggan is human after all. He is divorced, has an estranged teenage daughter, has issues maintaining relationships, and can at times be a little bit of a jerk. As a character who receives the viewer’s sympathy, reprehension, and respect all in one movie, Keaton absolutely shines playing Riggan, making his Oscar nomination for the Best Actor especially justified.

While Keaton is the one most in need of an encore, by no means is the rest of the cast undeserving. Most notably are Emma Stone as his cynical, sarcastic, just-out-of-drug-rehab daughter, Edward Norton as a last minute cast-replacement playing a hysterical parody of himself as a brilliant actor who is difficult to work with on and off the stage, and Zach Galifianakis, of all people, who takes a surprisingly nuanced turn as Riggan’s best friend and production manager.

Birdman’s tone fluctuates between reality and the surreal, garnered by Riggan’s unique perspective of the world around him and grounded by his more “level-headed” cast members. Whether the camera traverses the stage during rehearsals, follows Riggan through his daydreams or certain cast members through the tight corridors of the theatre and down the streets and alleys of New York, the shot composition is hypnotizing. The camera is always rolling, never cutting, making Birdman resemble one enormous tracking shot that would make even Wes Anderson blush. The more ethereal scenes are accompanied by full orchestras playing muted symphonies, lulling the viewer into its dreamlike atmosphere and for the majority of the film, Birdman marches along anxiously and excitedly to the pulsating beat of drums, pounding in cacophonous syncopated rhythms, able to carve out the tension of the scene unaccompanied.

Seeing Murphy’s Law take effect as more and more things continue to go wrong for Riggan takes its toll as it becomes apparent that this play is his everything. Through all of the melancholy, the personal drama, the selfish desire to sell out and be thrown right back into the blockbuster formula, Riggan’s stress is shared with the viewer. If the play bombs, the rest of the cast might emerge embarrassed but relatively unscathed, but for Riggan this is his last chance. “We should have done that reality show they offered us,” says the voice in his head, forcing him to turn back, but there is no going back. For Riggan, this is all or not