The Battalion
OPINION
Tuesday, June 19,1990
Opinion Page Editor
Damon Arhos
The B
S
Tue*
845-3
New Spanish movie promotes
abuse, degradation or women
If you’re planning to see the new film
by Pedro Almodovar, “Tie Me Up, Tie
Me Down,” don’t read this column. I’m
going to give away the plot.
I walked into the theater excited to
see this comedy, though I knew only
four things about it:
• That it was the work of
Almodovar, whose last movie, “Women
on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,”
was highly acclaimed and, I thought,
hysterically funny (I’ve seen it three
times);
• That it was in Spanish with
subtitles;
• That it is being marketed heavily in
the United States;
• And that it was sexually explicit.
(There were signs up saying no one
• under 18 could view the film, but a 17-
; year-old walked in with us without
; showing an I.D.).
But when the movie started, here’s
; what I saw:
Ricky, a 23-year-old man, is released
from a mental hospital and he begins a
search for Marina, a former junkie and
porn star who is currently making a bad
horror movie.
Ricky had escaped from the mental
hospital several times before he was
released. On one of these occasions he
met Marina and had sex with her.
Ricky follows her, finds her address,
forces bis way into her apartment and
hits her when she screams, knocking her
unconscious.
When she comes to, he tells her he’s
23 and all alone in the world, and that
he loves her and he will be a good
husband to her and a good father to her
children.
He just plans to hold her hostage
Ellen
Hobbs
Columnist
until she falls in love with him.
She is, and rightly so, skeptical of his
good intentions. She tells him if he plans
to have sex with her (i.e., rape her) to go
ahead and get it over with.
He does not, however, and holds her
prisoner, tying her up, gagging her and
locking her in the apartment every time
he leaves.
The one time they go somewhere
together, he handcuffs her to him. He
tells her repeatedly that if she tries to
escape, he’ll slit her throat first and then
his own.
She eventually tells him she has fallen
for him, trying to buy some time before
he forces her to leave the country,
hoping that maybe someone in her
family will find her.
Then they have sex, and that’s where
the explicit sex scenes come in.
This goes on for a while, until she
finally does manage to escape.
And then here comes the wacky,
comic part of this film: She returns to
him because, yes, she has fallen in love
with him.
I was appalled.
The film makers lead the audience to
believe that women who are terrorized
and brutalized by men are able to be
won over by cute dialogue, devotion and
good sex.
That philosophy is probably just good
comedy in the film makers’ minds, an
ironic twist calculated to get a laugh. But
as amusing as the dialogue makes it
seem, it perpetuates some beliefs about
women that are not true.
The film says that women can be
violated, and they won’t mind. They
don’t mind being robbed, or held
hostage, or beaten. Maybe they won’t
even care if they are raped. Maybe, in
fact, they’ll like it.
Sure, “Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down” is a
foreign film, and sometimes foreign
films deal with subjects U.S. film makers
won’t touch, and sometimes they deal
with the subjects in a different way than
they would be dealt with in the United
States.
But violence against women is a
world-wide problem, and a problem
educated people like the people who
made “Tie Me Up,” should be working
to end, not to perpetuate.
Women do not like rape. Women do
not appreciate abuse. It is not
something to be tittered about by movie
goers. It is a serious problem and not
something to be laughed at.
I hope that the men and women who
see “Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down” don’t
just relax and enjoy the movie.
I hope you who see the film look
beyond its “comedy” and realize what
it’s really saying. Write its makers a
letter and tell them what the film said to
you.
And, most of all, don’t believe a word
it says.
Ellen Hobbs is a junior journalism
major.
‘Obscene’ music like Two Live Crew’s
should be disregarded, not censored
Will rap die a much needed death
along the lines of disco and punk?
There are a lot of conservative
minded adults, parents and clergymen
alike that hope so. However, the
controversy surrounding rap, spawned
by the porn-like, raucous lyrics from the
highly publicized rap artists (and I use
that term loosely) like Two Live Crew, is
only generating more interest in the
music itself. The whole music form of
rap will be taking a beating just because
of few nasty rap rhymes.
The spontaneous and socially
uplifting shows like Oprah, Geraldo and
Donahue have addressed the subject, as
have the network newscasts and
entertainment-like news magazine
programs. They all drone on about
censorship, about consenting adults
being able to buy such poetic work and
about lack of talent and lack of
intelligence.
I will try not to bring those debates up
— at least, not specifically. I would like
to take this opportunity to point out a
few things that people are ignoring. In
fact, that is something we should all do
with this music (if you can call it that) —
ignore it.
It is not ours to ask whether or not
Two Live Crew is obscene. It is ours to
ask why such material should be banned
from sales while comedian Andrew Dice
Clay is still allowed to think, much less
make comedy albums. It is not ours to
ask whether rap artists (again loosely
used) like Public Enemy or Ice-T incite
violence and social unrest with their
lyrics. It is ours to ask why movies and
books are allowed to portray such
Randy
Lemmon
Reader’s Opinion
violence, while bands can’t put it to
lyrics.
They are all forms of art — some
questionable, others lacking moral fiber.
But if you censor one, you must censor
them all. So, enough with the
censorship angle (the one I said I
wouldn’t talk about).
There could be another controversy
brewing beneath the guise of rap, and
about to blow up in our faces. Rap is a
form of entertainment dominated by
black entertainers and could become
rocked by racial tension (especially if
people who are all-conference white,
like Tipper Gore, are still allowed to
speak out on the subject). Racial tension
could also occur if it turns out that white
judges are the ones handing down the
censorship laws.
I also would bet money that most
teens listen to rap not just because of the
funky, driving, sex-craved dance beat
inherent in the music, but because it is
one thing in life that helps alienate them
from their parents. If the moms and
pops don’t like the music, the child feels
a sense of accomplishment. It is no
social phenomenon; just look at heavy
metal has accomplished that for years.
The difference here is that heavy metal
could make you honor the devil. Rap
just might make you horny as the devil.
(Same thing you say?!)
Rap isn’t going away anytime soon.
Parents, conservatives, clergy and
Tipper should accept that. Rap, to me,
is an attitude and our teens and young
adults are very good at attitudes.
Banning certain groups for being
obscene only helps generate more
interest and attitude.
Rap should go the way of disco and
punk. It may take a few more years.
Remember how long we had to endure
disco? Patience is a much sought after
virtue. But if enough of us ignore it
maybe it will get out of mainstream
entertainment.
Those older teens who listen to rap
will, in a few years, be able to laugh
about what they once listened to. The
same thing happens to all of us
eventually. For instance, I laugh with
great embarrassment when I admit that
I listened to Barry Manilow (Barely
Man-Enough) and Air Supply in my
youth.
And maybe their parents codld get a
bigger laugh if they would take some of
these rap tapes and put them away in a 1
safe place until their children begin
having children. Then, at a family
gathering, the grandkids could get an
earful of what mommy and daddy
listened to as teens. What great fun and
embarrassment!
Randy Lemmon is a communications
specialist at the Texas Agricultural
Extension Service.
As with all columns, viewpoints
expressed in Readers’ Opinions are not
necessarily those of The Battalion.
Persons interested in submitting a
Reader’s Opinion should contact the
Opinion Page Editor at 845-3314.
Mail Call
Foreign students not respected at A&M
EDITOR:
My name is Wong Bao Kim and I am a graduate of engineering atTq
A&M University.
On a recent visit to the Texas A&M campus, my fiance Shim andh t
walking to our car and apparently some drunk students threw a red shoei
of their moving car and hit Shim. No one was injured, but this incidentrt
resents the disrespect that foreign students are given on your campus.
Wong Bao Kim ’88
Two Live Crew album ‘twisted, perverted’
EDITOR:
I am writing in regards to Art Del Barrio’s letter of June 15. It is a shat
that there are people like Del Barrio out there who attempt to confuseit
right to freedom of speech with the act of producing filth and smut. DelBa;
rio described Two Live Crew’s album, “Nasty As We Wanna Be,” as a “symlv
of the depletion of our First Amendment right to free speech.”
Bull! The album is more of a symbol of twisted and perverted values.lt j
the product of a sick mind. There is no excuse for this sort of trash. Thev|
lues and morals behind the First Amendment are far above the values oflJ
Live Crew.
■ I
I am getting sick of people who push the limits of the First Amendraei
Flag burners and other slime are going way too far these days with theirpej
sonal freedoms. Mr. Del Barrio, you can only push decent people solar
too bad that we may actually have to abridge people’s rights with anotl
amendment.
It is shameful that there are people who feel it necessary to challenge3fi
cency with lewdness and perversion. I’m glad we’re in America though,
the people” are the government; if there are enough decent people lefta
there, we will clean up this country. It is possible to have substantial person;
freedoms and to still fit into an orderly, moral society.
Wilhelm Liebmann ’91
Supreme Court justified in flag decision
EDITOR:
This letter is written in response to Damon Arhos’ article concerning Hi
desecration.
Frankly, I disagree with his opinion in opposition to the recent dedsion
the Supreme Court which overturned the federal law prohibiting theburni:
of the U.S. Hag. The highest court clearly made the correct judgement stati
that a federal flag protection law is unconstitutional.
First, two important issues pertain to the matter at hand; one istheem
tional aspect and the other is the rational perspective. I too am not thrill
about people who do burn the American flag.
In fact, it makes me sick. This emotional conviction is a common nation:
istic response arising out of love for one’s country. This is precisely thepni
lem; the proponents of the flag protection statute allow their emotions:
override the rational issue at hand.
Like it or not, flag desecration is one of the many exatKi'ples of freedom!
speech. Therefore, the federal law clearly violated article one of the U.S.Coi
stitution which states that “Congress shall make no law ... abridging the fra
dom of speech.”
I think it is ludicrous that so many people push so vehemently for thistt|
of amendment while disregarding other pertinent proposals. At this time,oi
nation needs much more important statues such as the Equal Rights Amer;:
ment and a balanced budget amendment.
Michael N. Wilkin ’92
Flag burning a question of ‘radical freedom
EDITOR:
I’m sorry but I can’t let Damon Arhos have the last word on the trivial)C
crucial issue of flag burning. Allow me to come out of the closet: On July)
1989, I melted a small plastic flag before a rather inarticulate crowd nen
Duddley’s Draw.
I am not, as a rule, interested in politics. I subscribe to the perhaps nihilt
tic belief that no one intelligent enough to really help other people wouldb
stupid enough to run for office; who would listen to such an unusual voict
(Need I mention Jesus for those who need examples?)
To get back to my point, my only interest in flag burning is the questionu
radical freedom that it raises. Some people don’t seem to need to queslio:
freedom, and they certainly don’t have to. Perhaps I can give an exampletb
most Aggies can probably relate to: Would you respect your father if hedf
manded that you respect him? And if you would, could you then respect you!
self?
I don’t expect most people to understand these ideas. But if anyofya
good Ags feel compelled to express your contempt for my high fallutin’ide«
please try to get beyond the fundamental duality of Highway 6.
Jeff Newberry ’91
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