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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 6, 1984)
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Out" Fast" "Impact" Zone B. Bachelor Music Television Continued from page 8 that although a group's sound may be of paramount impor tance, as MTV officials staunchly maintain, having an eye-catching appearance and a memorable TV presence also is important to MTV. In a Los An geles Times article, Polygram video director Len Epand said, "If you're not on MTV, then to a large share of music consumers, you just don't exist." This doesn't bode well for tal ented unknowns who have little stage presence or are plain-looking, or can't raise the money to film a slick video. But an MTV source answers, "We don't believe it's true. MTV alone can't make or break an artist. It's just one factor in terms of an artist's success and not the most important one." Just a few of the far-reaching consequences of MTV's success are that it has provided musi cians and directors with a new creative format for self-express ion; it has created jobs for hun dreds of dancers and actors who appear in videos and has helped boost record sales and media coverage of new artists as well as established ones. But the network also has inspired its share of contro versy, mostly because of the sexual and violent bases for many rock videos. Many of the most popular conceptual, fan tasy-type videos cater to the downright bizarre. For example, "When the Lady Smiles," the latest video by the rock group Golden Ear ring, shows a man about to un dergo brain surgery by a drill- weilding doctor. This is the stuff nightmares are made of. Consider Greg Kihn's video, "Our Love's in Jeopardy," in which a young man about to be married looks anything but happy at the prospect. Looking around at the couples among the wedding guests, he ob serves one couple handcuffed together, and another con nected at the waist by a pulsat ing bond of flesh. The symbol ism here certainly isn't obscure. In an undocumented study, the Coalition on Television Vio lence reported an average 18 in stances of violence or hostile ac tion per hour on MTV. An MTV source discounted the report, saying that the network's re search department found "no backup" for it. "We haven't received over whelming reports of violence," she said. "If that had been a documented study, we would comment. But that's the level of personal opinion, which can be a no-win situation. We can't please everybody." Acquisition meetings are held once a week at the MTV studios so that new videos can be screened by executives and de partment representatives. The only selection requirements are that a video be of good quality production, meaning that it must be submitted on a one- inch master tape, and that it fit the channel's format. Officials maintain that "there are no cut-and-dried rules" when it comes to deciding what is too racy or violent to be shown on MTV. The network's bask party line, according to one employee, is that videos containing what it considers "gratuitous nudity or violence" will not be accepted. MTV officials are loathe to elaborate on what exactly con stitutes gratuitous nudity or vi olence, saying only that deci sions about whether a video will receive airplay are based on the its content as a whole. When asked why nudity is al lowed in some videos, such as John Lennon's "Stepping Out," in which a nude Lennon and Yoko Ono walk away from the camera, one source said net work officials will not discuss individual clips. Although Da vid Bowie's "China Girl" was edited for MTV, this source ex plained that the uncut version, which shows Bowie making love with a Chinese model, can not be aired on MTV because the nudity is in a sexual context, whereas the nudity in the Len non video is not. "I just can't get into a dis cussion of that," she said. "It's a matter of individual taste. Peo ple can assume what they want about the symbolism of a video — whether they're offended or not." Another aspect to the MTV controversy was pointed out in a Newsweek article by journal ist Eric Zorn. Titled "Memories Aren't Made of This," the essay is a lament to the tune that rock videos, by virtue of being fanta- siesacted out to a song, are rob bing a generation of their per sonal memories associated with music. "The personal side of music is steadily being replaced by the corporate side," Zorn says, "so that the associations and mental pictures that go along with songs for the MTV generation don't relate to their lives, but to the lives of the people who con ceived the video." "That's not true," defends an MTV official. "Seeingpeople act out music is as old as ballet, op era, etc..." "If you think about it, the best clips leave a lot to the imag ination. The artist's interpreta tion of a song doesn't detract from what you imagine. It's simply another expression of the artist." "For example," she said, "Look at 'Wrapped Around Your Finger,' by the Police. It's just Sting dancing around a bunch of candles. You can cre ate your own associations." MTV determines the popular- See MTV page 15 monday, movies MORNING 9:00® ★★Vi “April Love” (1957) Pat Boone, Shirley Jones. A young man falls in love when he arrives on a Kentucky farm. AFTERNOON 3:00® ★★ “Gunfight At Coman che Creek” (1963) Audie Murphy, Colleen Miller. A detective Infil trates a gang of outlaws for the purpose of exposing their notori ous leader. EVENING 7:00® ★★★Vi “How The West Was Won” (1963) James Stewart, John Wayne. Three generations of pioneers participate in Western expansion in the 19th century. 8:00 0 ffl ★★Vi “Damnation Alley” (1977) Jan-Michael Vincent, George Peppard. The survivors of a nuclear war struggle against tor nadoes and giant insects to make their way to the only city untouched by the holocaust. (R) 0 O ® ★ ★ Vi “Still The Bea ver” (1983) Jerry Mathers, Tony Dow. An out-of-work Theodore “The Beaver” Cleaver has his share of problems in Mayfield when his wife asks for a divorce and he is left to raise their two pre cocious sons by himself. (R) ® ★★ “The Master Of Ballan- trae” (1953) Errol Flynn, Beatrice Campbell. A young Scotsman escapes his country and turns pirate when a rebellion in which he was involved fails. 12:00® ★★Vi “The Man Who Died Twice” (1970) Stuart Whitman, Brigitte Fossey. An artist pre sumed dead is discovered to be very much alive and involved in some very shady dealings. © ★★V* "It Happens Every Spring” (1949) Ray Milland, Jean Peters. A chemistry professor dis covers a formula that turns the baseball world upside down. © ★★★ “Detour To Nowhere” (1972) George Peppard, Christine Belford. An insurance investigator finds both police and business involvement in four murders and an armored truck robbery. 12:30© ★★V4 “The 25th Hour” (1967) Anthony Quinn, Virna Lisi. A Nazi police head sends a Romanian to a prison camp so that he can have the man’s wife. 2:35® ★★ “One Million Years B.C.” (1967) John Richardson, Raquel Welch. A prehistoric pair of lovers from different tribes suc ceed in removing the man’s evil brother from leadership of his people. monday specials MORNING 5:00 ® ACADEMY AWARDS PRE VIEW Interviews with nominees Shirley Maclaine, Jack Nicholson, Deborah Winger, Cher and Albert Finney; also, the impact of “Flash- dance” and interviews with past Oscar winners. EVENING 7:00® © BARBARA WALTERS The public and private lives of celebrities Joan Collins, Jane Fon da and Christie Brinkley are dis cussed in interviews with each of the women. © TV AUCTION A bid-by-phone extravaganza where anything and everything will be auctioned to the highest bidder. ffi AT THE MOVIES OSCAR SPE CIAL Film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert announce their selec tions for the Academy Awards in the categories of best picture, best actor / actress, and best support ing actor / actress. 8:00 0 ® © ACADEMY AWARDS Johnny Carson hosts the award ceremonies live from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. Best actor nominees include Robert Duvall (“Tender Mercies”) and Michael Caine ("Educating Rita”).