Newspaper Page Text
I
i
■ BEST BET
6 • The Red and Black » Wednesday. October 28. 1992
A&E
The Tate Center is showing "Medium Cool,’ a controversial film
about violent antiwar protests in Chicago at the 1968
Democratic National Convention. This movie mixes real-life
action with the actors’ scenes and promises to be scary.
‘Night and the City’
barely hangs in there •
■ MOVIE REVIEW
8y JASON WELLS
Staff Writer
With Robert DeNiro'e charis
ma jumping all over the place,
“Night and the City” just barely
hangs in there as being worth
your while.
I guese the only way to define
director Irwin Winkler’s new film
is “Martin Scorsese Lite. 1 ' It has
familiar features that enhance
tension and echo Scorsese’s
“After Hours,” “Goodfellas.” and
“Mean Streets’: quick edits,
speed-zooms, DeNiro saying
passing trains, New York
City traffic noise, and the power
of Murphy’s law triumphing over
all.
DeNiro plays schmaltzy shys
ter Harry Fabian, a second-rate
con artist and a financial failure
at everything he gets involved in.
Though he’s subsisting as a pa
thetic attorney, drowning in
debts, seemingly never able to
accomplish his dreams, Harry
never seems to lose his energetic
charm, wit and eternal opti
mism.
Involved with his beet-friend-
the-bartender’s wife (Jessica
Lange), being on the bad side of
the local, evil mob head named
Boom-Boom (Alan King), Harry
is looking for any creative means
to pull himself out of the perpet
ual hole he’s in. And he finds
that means: he becomes a boxing
promoter.
Promising profitable returns
to everyone he knows, Harry
borrows as much money as ha
can get his hands on to pay for
advertising, an arena and a
hard-hitting lineup. As could be
expected, hi6 ideal agenda runs
into a few, suspense-inducing ob
stacles: everything is twice as ex
pensive, those supporting him
hesitate on their loans, Boom-
Boom makes death threats and,
oh, there are many other ele
ments I’m sure you’ll find com
pelling and enjoyable.
All of this wind-up is highly
engaging. DeNiro is certainly
confident about his character,
giving Harry an intriguing du
plicity. We understand and for
give his necessary petty scams
since we always sympathize with
Harry’s overall honest inten
tions. And as usual, DeNiro’s
jazzy, sehticky “bip-bam-badda-
bing-badda-boom’ lingo rolls off
his tongue with effortless good
timing (almost too effortless), al
ways seducing us into liking him
for his ability to persuade.
The relationship with Lange
could have been much better de
veloped, for she seems to be
merely a sexy set piece designed
to test his honesty with those
closest to him.
‘the film’s thematic
strengths get lost In
the pile of endless,
unsoivable problems
laid on top of Its
struggling main
character. .
Ultimately, my biggest prob
lem is that the film creates so
much ground to cover, then sud
denly rolls the closing credits,
leaving many of the plot ele
ments left unforgivably unre
solved. But it’s sure a lot of ner
vous fun on the way, joining
Harry as he sinks deeper and
deeper into a well beyond his
“trust me’ tongue’s grasp.
This isn’t great, it isn’t bad,
but it does invite you to relax and
be entertained. But as far as be
ing the definitive portrayal of the
essence of New York city’s hustle
and bustle, the film’s thematic
strengths get lost in the pile of
endless, unsoivable problems
laid on top of its struggling main
character - problems the film
makers themselves ultimately
give up on.
But, overall, it’s a lively pic
ture, full of oh-no’s, uh-oh’s, a
few ha-ha's, an occasional
“whew,” and an overall “I liked
It.”
‘Children of War’ exhibit opens at Tate
Melody Sumlin and Ben Bowers check out the ‘Children of War’ exhibit.
By STEVE H. HALL
Staff Writer
A pair of hands chained to a prison cell. A
man beaten bloody by soldiers, with tanks and
helicopters roaring by. A group of people throw
ing grenades and firing automatic weapons.
Images such as these compose “Children Of
War,” an exhibit of drawings by children in the
Middle East that conveys the constant presence
of death and destruction in that region. The 31
drawings are now on display at the Tate Center
Gallery until November 13. Tonight’s opening
reception, from 6 to 8, is free and open to the
public.
The exhibit is the brainchild of Ron Boyter,
University Union president, who gpt the idea
for the display when he forked for the Save The
Children Foundation in the Gaza Strip and the
West Bank in August 1991. One day he visited
a United Nations day camp in Rafah, a city on
the Egyptian border of the Gaza Strip, and saw
a group of children drawing.
“All the drawings depicted people being shot
or beaten, or the fear of violence,” Boyter said.
“The situation these kids are living in is what
they saw when they drew.”
According to Boyter, the violence began in
1948, when the U.N. split Palestine into the na
tion of Israel and a region for Palestinians. As
soon as the partition went into effect, war broke
<Jut, and it has been continuing on and off to this
day.
“When I came back, I tried to explain to peo
ple the situation in the Middle East and how it
was affecting the people there," he said. “But it
seemed that everyone could give a reason why
people were being killed. It never really hit
home to anybody that it was an issue that was
destroying human beings, not just a political
agenda.
“But then I showed them two drawings from
the U.N. day camp, and they couldn’t really say
anything," Boyter said. “When you see a 6- or
11-year-old’s painting [depicting the violence],
you can’t just say, ‘That’s politics.’"
The two drawings from the U.N. day camp
are included in the exhibit. Boyter obtained the
rest by sending out letters to the Save The
Children Federation’s field directors in different
parts of the world, asking for drawings. He re
ceived artwork from the Middle East and
Jordan.
Boyter said he hopes people will look at the
drawings and stop condoning violence in the
Middle East.
“These children’s formative years are rooted
in violence and hatred, and that’s definitely go
ing to have an impact on that area of the world
for as long as they live," he said. “The message
is that war is not a political or an economic
question, but a humanitarian one.”
Boyter said he didn’t have the option of
choosing the most negative or cheerful drawings
because all the children at the day camp were
illustrating scenes of war. However, he doesn’t
feel the exhibit’s negative subject matter is such
a bad thing.
“I don’t think you can be too violent or too
harsh," he said. “America has politicized war for
so long, we never see the brutality of what it ac
tually is. What people have to understand is
that when we go to war, this is a situation that’s
created, and it doesn’t end when the shooting
stops. It’s more brutal and violent than any
drawing could ever depict. If people would un
derstand how horrible war is, 1 think we would
see more peaceful solutions to our problems."
John Herring, a senior from Nashville,
Tenn., noted that every drawing has something
to do with war.
“If the children notice all these graphic im
ages, then it’s obviously a big part of their lives
over there," he said. “These same images re
mind me of what’s on TV, but it seems to brf an
everyday part of life for them."
Jessica French, a second-year graduate stu
dent from Marietta, said she noticed other ele
ments in the drawings.
“Some show just war scenes; others show
more of a hope for peace, for something beyond
what goes on around them,” she said.
UGA Theater opens ‘Carnival’
The 1992-1993 UGA theater season opens tonight with the musi
cal "Carnival," with story by Michael Stewart and music by Bob
Merrill.
"Carnival” will run from tonight through Nov. 1. Curtain time will be
at 8 p.m. each night except Nov. 1, when there will be a matinee at
2:30 p.m..
All performances will be held in the Fine Arts Theater on campus.
Ticket prices are $8 for adults and $6 for students. The box office
will open one hour before showtime.
The musical shows the life of a ragtag carnival group making its
way through Europe. It focuses on an orphan named Lili (played by
graduate student Mary Hayes Shiver) who uses this traveling circus
as an escape from the world in which she lives.
Lili falls for a sly magician (played by graduate student Tim Daley).
Meanwhile, a puppeteer named Berthalet (graduate student Jared
Madsen) pines for Lili, but can only express his feelings through his
puppets.
TONIGHT IS LASAGNA NIGHT!
BUY ONE LASAGNA DINNER (INCLUDES SALAD & GARLIC ROLLS)
\St
I
I
I
| Open 7 Days
I ONK.I I I
", DM),
GET 2ND LASAGNA DINNER FOR
HALF PRICE
WEDNESDAYS ONLY!
'Will!
( (>l l*ON
Jprovinefs
Ly Alhen*' Fine Italian Uettunrant''
I
I
I
546-0747 |
5 p.m. til 10 p.m * heat ’ fbit Jtatinn Betiuurunt" 1063 Baxter St.
STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION
SGA is looking for a student to fill the
position of Minority Affairs Chairman
Note: The chairman will act as liaison between SGA and the Minority Affairs Committee.
The goal of the committee is to further minority involvement in SGA.
Interested students should pick up an application in the
Tate Student Center, Room 151 during business hours.
Deadline for applications to be turned in is Thursday, Oct. 29,1992, no later than 5:00 p.m.
Interviews for this position will be held on Friday, October 30, 1992 from 9-11 a.m. and 2:30-5 p.m.
Please set up an interview time when you return your application to Room 151. For more information,
contact the SGA office at 542-8584 or stop by the SGA office at the Tate Student Center.
NOW OPEN
Experience the excitement of a...
'opd
lamour Portrait
Session
WE PROVIDE:
• Make-Up artistry and
hairstyling by Top
Professionals
• Complete Wardrobe,
props and accessories
• Good for all ages
> 20 to 30 pose selections • Lots of fun
Call Today or Come By
For An Appointment
549-4964
After
<s
Creative
Dimensions
Photography
Student Special
$12.95
Regular $24.95 ■ Bring ad with you
CONGRATULATIONS
UNIVERSITY OF
GEORGIA...
PARTY ON!
Playboy's photographer is
now interviewing female
students attending the Uni
versity of Georgia for a spe
cial spring pictorial, Women
of the Party Colleges.
In January 1987, Playboy
shook the nation's walls of
ivy by publishing a list of
the country's top good
time schools. We followed
that with a pictorial tribute
to female students attend
ing those schools. The list
and the pictorial went on
to become two of the
most popular ond talked
about features Playboy has
ever published.
Now, after five years of re
search, Playboy will pub
lish an updated list of party
schools, as well as a picto
rial celebrating beautiful
women at each school.
Congratulations! The Uni
versity of Georgia is on
the list.
Female students interested
in appearing in the maga
zine should call to sched
ule an interview session
that will take place at the
location listed below. To
qualify, you must be 18
years of age or older and
registered as a full-time or
part-time student at the
University of Georgia.
PLAYBOY
WOMEN OF THE PARTY
COLLEGES
APRIL 1993
University of Georgia Students
Call David Chan/Playboy Suite
Wednesday, Oct. 28 - Friday, Oct. 30
Holiday Inn
Bread t Hull Streets
Athens, GA
(706)549-4433