The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, October 15, 1986, Image 6

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    PRLdiNANT? Chiid N
5 Placement Center offers free
counseling to help you cope
with your unplanned preg
nancy. Call 696-5577
CASH
for gold, silver,
old coins, diamonds
Full Jewelry Repair
Large Stock of
Diamonds
Gold Chains
TEXAS COIN
EXCHANGE
404 University Dr.
846-8916
3202-A Texas Ave.
(across from El Chico,Bryan)
779-7662
Accident &
Injury Center
Back & Leg Pain?
Dont’s ignore these
danger signals:
• Numbness in leg
• Hip & leg Pain
• Diffculty sleeping
• Nervousness
• Painful joints
• Recurring headaches
• Neck, shoulder, arm pain
/.
Insurance Assignment of
Benefits Accepted:
This means we will bill your insur
ance compnay directly.
With qualifed insurance, we will
wait for payment.
Ill
Call
776-6666
Dr. Stewart D. Stephenson, D.C.
3020 E. 29th Bryan
Cullinane
25%
OFF
Through
Oct. 18
3601E. 29th Suite 8
Bryan, Texas 77802
ANNIVERSARY
CLEARANCE SALE
25%
OFF o» Every
Item In The Store
Including:
AOace'KfDfM.wct.
m mm*
Taipei Swivel
Bars tool
Reg. $ 79.99
i asi*
pp
■it.,.*.,.,™
1
;4@g
Italian Grey
Laquer
Dining
Table /Chair
Reg. *399.99
Mini
Sleeper /
Sofa
Reg. *249.99
.Im'iux
Page 6/rhe Battalion/Wednesday, October 15,1986
Texas on list
of worldwide
rights violators
LONDON (AP) — The execution
of a Texas man for a murder com
mitted when he was 17 was among
the human rights violations that
have been reported to Amnesty In
ternational for last year.
The group said Wednesday it re
ceived reports alleging human rights
abuses in 128 nations last year, rang
ing from unarmed civilians mas
sacred in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka
to conscientious objectors jailed in
Western Europe.
The United States, where 18 con
victed murderers w'ere executed last
year, was cited for the Texas case
and because Georgia executed a
man who was a murder accomplice.
The report also protested execu
tions by lethal injection in the United
States, saying the method “appeared
to cause prolonged suffering.”
In its annual worldwide survey,
the London-based rights group as
sailed the use of arbitrary arrest to
suppress political dissent, execution,
torture and unfair trial.
The 386-page report cited pur
ported abuses in 80 percent ol the
159 U.N. nations during 1985.
Warped
by Scott McCullfl!
n\Y GOOpHtSZ, BZRtfICEL,
LOOK AT ALL THE COOKING
APICES rve. ACCUMULATED
OVER Ttit- YEARS...
IN FACT YOU'RE
&ETTIN6 OLP
gEFDRE goR
THAT'5 ALV/M5
PROBLEM WITH
CLEANING or THE.
MESS
Waldo
by Kevin Thou
NOW... YOU ALL NEED TO &£ VERY
CAREFUL A5 YOU PERFORM THIS LAB
EXPERIMENT, BECAUSE THESE ELECTRIC
GENERATORS CAN...
IS THIS A
"WEED-OUT"
COURSE?
Movies 'involving, not just entertaining'
Society takes artistic view of film
While Qaiiothies Last
Sale Ends l(M 8-86
Manor East Mail (adjacent to OothworW)
Texas Avenue at VUJ» MariaH&ryaa, Texas
TO am to 7 pm Weekdays-iO am to * pro-Sat.
779-8771
He*
By Matt Diedrich
Reporter
Does the phrase “art film” conjure up images
of a pretentious, boring movie for intellectuals?
Would it surprise you if someone called “Easy
Rider,” a movie about a pair of cocaine-dealing
hippies on motorcycles, an art film?
“Easy Rider” was the first film shown this se
mester by Texas A&M’s Student Art Film So
ciety, a group that screens movies every other
T hursday night in the Blocker Building at no
charge to the general public.
“You don’t go to the Film to escape
as much as you go to the film to
learn. (Art films) contain real situa
tions and real human problems,
and they attempt to address issues
that exist outside the theater. ”
— Richard Storm, president of the
Student Art Film Society
The aim of the film society is to bring films to
campus that might not otherwise he shown here,
says Richard Storm, the president of the society.
T he eight films screened in a semester are se
lected from a pool of suggestions made by film
society members, so the main criterion for what
will be shown is what the members want to see,
Storm says.
For Storm, an art film is not as much enter
tainment as it is involvement, he says.
“You don’t go to the film to escape as much as
you go to the film to learn,” he says. “(Art films)
contain real situations and real human problems,
and they attempt to address issues that exist out
side the theater.”
For Wesley Dean, the film society’s vice presi
dent, the intent of the filmmaker is an important
consideration.
“An art film can be practically anything in
which the director had the intention of produc
ing a piece of art — as opposed to a money-mak
ing venture,” he says.
Dr. Larry Hickman, associate professor of phi
losophy and adviser to the film society, says the
label “art film” is a loose designation indicating
there’s something of value in the film beyond
mere entertainment.
"(An art film) explores the human condition in
a way that causes us to think more critically and
more seriously about who we are and what we
are," he says.
Films of Orson Welles, such as “Citi/en Kane"
and “Touch of Evil,” fall into this category, Hick
man says.
Hickman says that in the case of “Easy Rider,"
the story of two hippies driving across America
becomes an exploration of the American hero
and a search for American values.
Storm says the selections made by group mem
bers tend to reflect their auteurist tastes. The au
teur theory is the view that the director is the true
author — the primary creative force — of a film.
“They believe in the power of the director and
in the director’s responsibility for a work,” Storm
says. “They’ll (often) suggest films not by title but
by director.”
Storm said one film that many group members
have recommended this semester is "Brazil," di
rector Terry Gilliam’s satiric vision of a future so
ciety. Gilliam's direction is what makes the film
special, Storm says.
“It reminded me a little bit of Welles' 'Citizen
Kane’ — the scenery in front of the camera, the
types of perspective and the claustrophobic situa
tions that were created,” he says. “Just visually,
without the sound even, the film would lie exc it
ing."
Dr. Harriette Andreadis, associate professor
of English and occasional guest speaker at film
society screenings, says anotner important aspect
of the art film is that it explores the technical pos
sibilities of filmmaking.
"Certain filmmakers . . . explored the possibili
ties of their medium and thereby pushed the me
dium beyond where it was at the time, creating
possibilities for the future,” she says.
Hickman said a recent example of this is inde
pendent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch’s “Stranger
T han Paradise.”
“ ‘Stranger Than Paradise’ introduced us to a
new way of looking at films,” hesays, Tttt
lot of chances.”
T he film is composed of about 50 m
shots, or shots that normally establish the It,
ning of a scene. But there is no editingwithii'
scene and there are no close-ups. This ted® I
keeps production costs down without com)!
mising the quality of the subject matter,Hidis
says.
"It's a brilliant solution to the problemoIb
mg a good, quality low-budget film,"hesays'
an innovative solution to a cinematic pr#
and it creates a visual delight as a result."
"(An art film) explores the hut
condition in a way (Zial causes us j
think more critically and worn
riouslv about who we areandm
we are. ’’
— Dr. Larry Hickman, adwserl
the Sunlent Art Film Society.
Andreadis says some art films achievestitlB
tus because they are the first of their kindp
cited "Five Easy Pieces," which the filmsmB
showed last spring, as an example of Ml.
that was the first to deal with a profoundwtp
"('Five Easy Pieces') was the first of the im*
in this country to deal with the alienatiDEiT:
voting man: his alienation from hit farnkbs-:
ability to love and his inability to copeWlkiy
ern American life," she says. "That mowfi
reallv the first to broach that subject,"
Student Art Film Society screeningsuitifel
elude a short introduction by a guest speak: |
Hickman said the introduction usualhsT \
to place the film in its context and togivefet
dieiue hints about what to look for.
“The assumption of people in theStudt'j J
Film Society is that you don’t just lookaiif
and see everything there is to see untie!*
run," he says. “That’s why there are fil
films that one sees over and over again,
SAVE
at
these
CAMPUS
LOCATIONS
Dorm Service Building
Complete Washateria
Washers 50#
Dryers 35#
PHONE 846-2131
6 a.m.-2 a.m.
Old Hospital Building
Complete Washateria
Washers 50#
Dryers 35#
PHONE 846-1903
OPEN 24 HOURS
30-40%
SERVICES
INCLUDE:
* SANITONE DRY
CLEANING
* COMPLETELY FINISHED.
LAUNDRY J
* ALTERATIONS
* ONE DAY SERVICE ON
REQUEST
* ABOVE SERVICES
AVAILABLE TO ALL
STUDENTS, FACULTY
AND STAFF
2617 SouTi Texas Ave. Ridgecrest Shopping Center
822-1583 3502 Texas
OPENING SOON: Post Oak Square
Westgate Cenler
4343 Wellborn
1887 Briarcrest
Texas Ave.
at Southwest Pkway