Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 1996)
SStHE Battalion hursday ebruary 1 o, 1 996 lenct Aggielife Page 3 nenti ^ s conipui! ered by -nts would! 'nd ideas, eas if the s ' n Kle depa at of more, he concent; Russell si The Friends C R A Z E students become infatuated with TV show, merchandise y Amy Protas he Battalion e degrees 5 changes rl T at the enili e a ires.is anii >uld certairi the facet hey have great apartments, great clothes and of course, great hair. We only get to spend time with hem on Thursday nights, but somehow hey have become our best friends. What 90210 was to the late ’80s, 'riends has become to the ’90s. It is a how that defines hipness for Genera- ;ionX and is shrouded in popularity. Jimmy Hyland, a Friends fan and a Taduatesi un ^° r account '^ n S major, said he suc cumbed to the Friends craze because ngineennj: realigmr.EC ;en kinks, cess, the Ik ' said. “IHk y addresstt with manf n ill cations,’ s being stm two depar e thorough! ;he show was a unique alternative to ither bland TV fare. “The first time I ever saw it, I bought it was different from every- hing else on TV,” Hyland said. “Of :ourse, they try to be too hip so they can ippeal to the 20-something audience, he coffee shop people, but it is still a unny show.” lore success ssearch sc udy uphol i\ elements re,Pa% e1 Ross (David Schwimmer) and Phoebe (LisaKudrow) star in Friends. David Fernandez, a junior biomed ical science major, said he got drawn into the show by his roommate, who is also a fanatic. He likes the show be cause of the characters’ chemistry. “The characters are really likable and funny,” Fernandez said. “They work well together, and each character is counter-balanced by another. They all seem to click. It seems real, at least as real as TV gets.” Everyone has their favorite character they identify with or at least have a crush on. Lori Pollack, a sophomore business administration major, said Ross holds a place in her heart. “My favorite character is Ross,” Pol lack said. “He’s really cute. He’s such a shy guy, and he’s a typical guy who waits for the relationship to happen because they’re scared. He’s also the most educated.” Not since “Who Shot J.R?” has a TV question been more debated than “Will Ross and Rachel do it?” Last week, the mystery was solved, and the answer was yes. Candice Hausler, a freshman wildlife and fisheries major, said the show will lose some of its appeal now that the two have slept together. “I think the show isn’t going to be as good since they slept together,” Hausler said. “They’ve been building us up for so long. Most shows end shortly after that because it’s something they’ve been aiming for.” Even local businesses have jumped onto the Friends bandwagon. The Bra zos Brewing Company hosts a Friends night on Thursday where friends can eat, drink beer and watch the show. Jere Blackwelder, a Brazos Brewing Company owner, said Friends night has been one of the company’s most success ful advertising projects. He wanted to create a place where friends could hang out like the hang out on the show, The Central Perk. “The night of the pseudo-ice storm we thought no one would come,” Blackwelder said. “But we had a record crowd. The place just exploded. I thought the glass was going to break. One punch line and everyone laughs together.” At Friends night, the brewery gives away huge cof fee mugs and “Rachel” hair cuts at the Other Eclips Hair Care. Gretchen Colford, an em ployee at Command Perfor mance, said the “Rachel” haircut is one of the most demanded styles. “They come in and say they want the ‘Rachel’ or ‘Friends’ haircut,” Colford said. “It’s actually called ‘An Increased Layer.’ It’s been around a long time before Rachel got it, but she’s the one who made it popular.” Diet Coke is traveling across the country giving away 50 parties at 50 differ ent universities. Leslie New, a self-described Friends fanatic and a senior jour nalism major, said she was chosen to have one of the parties. “The idea is that I invite 20 of my friends,” New said. “Diet Coke provides the drinks and food, and on February 22, we will have the party. Supposedly, they will be surprising us with Friends gifts. I love Friends. I watch it, tape it and distribute it to those who don’t have cable.” The Friends name has become as good as gold. Attach the name to the product and most likely it will be a big seller. Another trend that has spawned from the show is the Y-necklace. Julia Omar, owner of Julia’s Silver Boutique, said she was surprised at how popular the necklaces have become. “They are sterling silver necklaces with beads on them,” Omar said. “You couldn’t get them in this area, and I saw there was a demand for them. I got a lot of response because I called it the Friends necklace.” But not everyone has bought into the craze. Suzanne Stocking, a junior anthro pology major, said she hates the show and all the hype that goes along with it. “The show is extremely annoying,” Stocking said. “I just think they knew people would go nuts over it and want to emulate that entire cool 20-some thing lifestyle. They’re milking it for all they can. And it’s working because I look around campus and every girl I see has one of those haircuts.” Academy uses faulty logic in choosing Oscar nominees f.ws EdiTOR r ITOR lies Editor DR mifer ly nne ater, , i in a and $50 P 6 ’ ellil and except 0 " ,5 post a S e os A&td A s I pored over the Oscar nominations Tuesday morning, a question from The Simpsons popped into my head that I would like to pose to the Oscar voters: “Are you deaf, or are you just stupid?” But before I proceed, let’s get everything out in the open. The Academy and I have not been happy bedfellows ever since last year, when Forrest Gump won the award for Best Picture. The Shawshank Redemption, Quiz Show and Fhilp Fiction all rated higher on my Best Picture list, and I was supremely dis pleased when the Academy of ion Picture Arts and Sciences gave in to a bleeding-heart film that outranked the other nomi nees only in the number of times the audience went “ahhh!” But now the Academy has thrown down the gauntlet. It has crossed the Hollywood Rubicon and slapped me in the face. I, in return, have declared war on that most hallowed, yet incred ulously ignorant, organization that is the AMPAS. This year’s nominees for Best Picture are a motley crew: the :e odyssey Apollo 13; the quirky animal film Babe; the Ital ian-made The Postman; the Jane Austen novel film Sense and Sen sibility; and Braueheart, the epic about Scot tish rebel William Wallace. Amazingly ab sent from the ranks of this “ech elon” of the year’s best films is Leav ing Las Vegas, the tragic love sto ry between a prostitute and a self destructive drunk. Let me repeat this: Braveheart is up for Best Picture and Leaving Las Vegas is not. Until the Academy gets its head out of the sand, I won't recog nize them as a true yardstick of the top movies. Who let the inmates start run ning the asylum here? Don’t get me wrong. Brave- heart was a solid film with a plethora of good points. But anyone who elevates this film past the dynamic and grip ping Leaving Las Vegas either has the major hots for Mel Gibson or is getting kickbacks from the William Wallace Mutual Admira tion Society. Vegas had more critical praise than any film of the year, includ ing the nod as Best Picture from the Los Angeles and the New York film critics associations; but still no Oscar nomination. Once again, the Academy has ignored the most powerful film of the year in favor of a tamer, less- disturbing film. Sure, watching a bunch of Scots running around half-naked and swinging swords isn’t Mister Roger’s Neighborhood, but it can’t compare to watching Nicholas Cage slowly descend into the abyss of an alcoholic death for al most two hours. Perhaps Vegas was slighted because it is extremely brutal. The film was tough and raw, and it was so traumatic for some viewers, they walked out. The same can be said for Pulp Fiction and its foul language and blood- riddled violence. The old guard of Acad- ______ emy voters needs to wake up and realize that not everything in life is a bowl of cherries. Yet for the past two years, the Academy has turned a blind eye to the darker, gritter film. Truth be known, however. I’d rather see a gore-filled, foul- mouthed movie that struck a nerve than some grandly filmed epic about Scotland six centuries ago. Until the Academy gets its head out of the sand, I won’t rec ognize them as a true yardstick of the top movies. Wes Swift is a junior journalism major. The 1996 Oscar Nominees Best Picture Apollo 13 Babe Braveheart The Postman Sense and Sensibility Best Director Mike Figgis — Leaving Las Vegas Mel Gibson —Braveheart Chris Noonan — Babe Michael Radford — The Postman Tim Robbins — Dead Man Walking Best Actress Susan Sarandon - Dead Man Walking Elizabeth Shue — Leaving Las Vegas Sharon Stone — Casino Meryl Streep — Bridges of Madison County Emma Thompson — Sense and Sensibility Best Actor Nicolas Cage — Leaving Las Vegas Richard Dreyfuss — Mr. Holland's Opus Anthony Hopkins — Nixon Sean Penn — Dead Man Walking Massimo Troisi — The Postman Best Supporting Actress Kathleen Quinlan — Apollo 13 Mira Sorvino — Mighty Aphrodite Mare Winningham — Georgia Kate Winslet — Sense and Sensibility Best Supporting Actor James Cromwell — Babe Ed Harris — Apollo 13 Brad Pitt — 7 2 Monkeys Tim Roth — Rob Roy Kevin Spacey The Joan Allen — Nixon Usual Suspects MSC Student Conference on National Affairs presents Governance of America in the 21st Century SCAN A 4 1 Thursday. February 15: 6:00 p.m. MSC 201 Keynote Address “Governance of the 21st Century” Dr. Thomas Mann, Director of the Government Studies Program, The Brookings Institution All Presentations are open to the Public For more information, call 845-7625 Persons with disabilities please call 845-1515 to inform us of your special needs. We request notification three (3) working days prior to the event to enable us to assist you to the best of our abilities. . Sfe '"SipPfpS* 1 - ■ -mm? 1 Have tjact ahvayo wanted to traoef to the Breezy Tropical Carribean ? Idelcome to OOMMCf) Spend year first summer session in the rainforest of the "fff)TUR£ /SLfdVD "while earning TBltlU creditl (NfoamTiomL meetihgs art TUESBRY. FEMUfiRY 13. t-2 RM IPEOHESMY FEBRUARY ft. 11-12 PM. mURSBPY EEBRUPRY IS. 3N PM. 'Ififfe. 'vmW ROOM 3S8 BtZZELL HPLL (BEST for more information contact Or. Keith Prnaid Or. James GiooKey J, , fL? 202 Nagle. or 3 IS MO. Neep ' ^777 Study PbroadProgram Office SVS 93V9 tbt OizzeU Nall (Pest ets-osw HURRYl SPACES ARE UNITEbl jf <0
