OT: Michigan in other media

Submitted by M Go Dead on

So this will probably be negged or just swamped by BBQ updates, but while watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics there was an ad for a show called "The Good Place". The star Kristen Bell had a scene wearing what appears to be a Michigan shirt...featured on her assets?...if that is OK to say.

Looking into the show it is from Michael Schur who created Parks and Recreation that had Rob Lowe and Rashida Jones characters moving to Ann Arbor to work for UofM. Schur was born in Ann Arbor.

So my question is what is your favorite mentioning of Michigan/Ann Arbor in some other media, be it music, movies, video game, book etc?

Jumper will be the all time classic obviously, but my vote would go for "Mainstreet" by Bob Seger,mainly because people are shocked to learn it is about Ann Arbor and really Ann Street.

grumbler

August 5th, 2016 at 11:19 PM ^

My college-aged nieces have recently seen it, and didn't even realize that it was as old as it was, until they started to recognize the actors and understood how long ago those acors were that young.  The story worked very well for them.  They could identify with all of the characters (Meg Tilly's Chloe character was the hardest for them) because ideas have come almost full circle.to, once again, punish the innocent.

1VaBlue1

August 6th, 2016 at 8:23 AM ^

You know, I had the unfortunate of watching the first Twilight movie because the wife wanted to see what the fuss was all about.  Gotta say, I wasn't impressed with her.  Maybe she grew up well?  Don't know, completely lost any psuedo-interest I might have had in her career because of that horrid movie.  (I do recognize the writing was awful and that it was aimed at teenagers, but still...)

We each have different tastes!

nerv

August 5th, 2016 at 11:00 PM ^

Listening to the lyrics from Mainstreet it always sounded to me like the was talking about stalking a girl home from the bar.

MichiganTeacher

August 5th, 2016 at 11:18 PM ^

Seger also with the Mackinaw City shout out on "Roll Me Away." I'm from Petoskey, so I have a northern LP bias. Also, that song is the song that rolls over the ending credits of the 1984 sadly obscure classic film, "Reckless," which was partly filmed in Steubenville, Ohio, my dad's hometown (don't worry, he went to UM and stayed out of the worst state ever for the rest of his life).

Kid Rock "All Summer Long." It's basically the summers of my last two years of high school word for word.

Ernest Hemingway Nick Adams stories like "Big Two-Hearted River."

Obviously Eminem 8 Mile.

Robocop (1987).

Many more. 

M Go Dead

August 5th, 2016 at 11:49 PM ^

Really? I read that book junior year of high school in a great books class, but I do not remember the Ann Arbor bit. I don't really remember much of that book other than overall themes. Maybe I was just a bad student.

I was also in Ohio at the time, and other than a couple generations back relatives I had no connection to UofM.

TheRonimal

August 5th, 2016 at 11:47 PM ^

It wasn't really a major mention in the movie, but I believe in Aziz Ansari's apartment there was some type of Michigan decorations. There was a lot of hype in my area for the movie because a bunch of it was filmed in Grand Rapids. I lived a few blocks away from the pizza place that they filmed in (Vito's Pizza, honestly not that great of a place, but pretty solid for a small local pizza place), too, so it was really interesting recognizing some of the areas where they filmed.

xtramelanin

August 6th, 2016 at 8:46 AM ^

and a life-long family friend.  though he grew up in kansas, he spent his summers up north which is how i know him.  incredibly creative and funny.  he has called me a few times in the last couple of years for law enforcement information/insight as he is trying his hand at writing mysteries.  i believe those are set in michigan also.

ironically, if you drive by the house up here you'll see some sparty stuff.   i guess that's disrepekt at it's finest....

MaizeMN

August 6th, 2016 at 3:23 AM ^

I also saw the Good Place trailer and noticed the MICHIGAN shirt. I looked into it to see if it was UM or a directional school, or other. After about 50 freeze-advance-frame back tries I determined it says MICHIGAN LAW. She is originally from Huntington Woods, so she must be a UM fan.