MUSIC | The Damn Personals

Boston indie band the Damn Personals headline. Attend for catchy, hummable tunes of the emo persuasion. Runner and the Thermodynamics, the Space Shots and American Car also perform. 9 p.m. $10; 18+. T.T. the Bear’s Place, 10 Brookline Street. (SLS)

READINGS | The Best American Essays 2003

Each year The Best American Essays series collects some of the year’s most provocative writing under the supervision of such illustrious editors as Cynthia Ozick and Susan Sontag. This year, Anne Fadiman, editor of Phi Beta Kappa’s literary and intellectual quarterly The American Scholar, has put together a diverse selection of works on such subjects as driving lessons and animal rights. The Harvard Bookstore sponsors an event featuring Fadiman and a selection of the authors discussing the series and their respective works. 6 p.m. Free. First Parish Church, 3 Church Street. (MSH)

READINGS | Dershowitz and Chelser

Frankfurter Professor of Law Alan Dershowitz and Emerita Professor of Psychology and Women’s Studies Phyllis Chesler discuss their recent books. Dershowitz’s much-discussed The Case for Israel responds to the arguments leveled by the many opponents of the Jewish state and its policies. In The New Anti-Semitism: The Current Crisis and What We Must Do About It Chesler warns readers of what she perceives to be a recent rise in the popular acceptance of old-fashioned anti-Semitism. 7 p.m. Free. The Charles Hotel, 1 Bennett St. (MSH)

thurs, oct 2

FILM | Chicago

Instead of painting the town this Thursday night, sit back and watch Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger on the big scene dancing the night away. Whether you love the dramatic story, have a secret (or not-so-secret) crush on one of the lovely stars or simply want to know what made this movie Oscar-worthy, don’t miss this Undergraduate Council sponsored event. 9:30 p.m. $1 students $3 adults. Science Center B. (MAM)

films

11’9’01

Eleven directors explore the terrorist attacks of two years ago for this feature-length anthology, made up of eleven short films lasting exactly eleven minutes, nine seconds and one frame each. The chapters jump freely along any number of tangents to the events of Sept. 11, 2001‚ from sharp political observations to moments of simple human loss. The film appears in American theaters at last, following a lengthy struggle to find a distributor here after being branded un-American. Though it was conceived of and assembled by a French television producer, September 11 has an international spirit: each renowned director hails from a different country. America is represented by Sean Penn, while Ken Loach, the acclaimed observer of social ills, comes out for Britain; Mira Nair, who won a Harvard Arts Medal this spring‚ represents India. (SWVL)

American Splendor

One of the most refreshing films of the year, American Splendor skillfully manipulates the medium of film in the same way last year’s Adaptation toyed with the basic structures of the screenplay. Splendor’s foundation is the life of chronically cantankerous graphic artist Harvey Pekar, whose series of autobiographic comic books in the ’70s and ’80s captured the innate complexities of a simple existence and ultimately revolutionized the comic book industry. These books had a number of different illustrators, and the varying styles are translated by directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini into various visual presentations of Pekar. For the majority of the film, he is portrayed by Paul Giamatti, who pulls no punches in presenting the artist in all his ill-tempered glory. At other times, the actual Pekar appears in the form of footage from David Letterman appearances or to comment on the film’s production. At other times, he is shown as no more than a pencil sketch. These interpretations intermingle to give a fully realized portrayal of this oddly compelling figure. By maximizing the potential of the motion picture art form, Splendor manages at once to revel in its constructions and transcend them. (BYC)

Camp