arcli The Battalion 1H1 ©i MI M 01 is rat Imos: rofitt. >scars praise rop of morally- movies Dave Johnston columnist k is Ihe Oscar gala has come and gone. |i Hi; Actresses paraded the most bizarre Esi outfits in California and producers id j to keep the show running on sched- 10 [is always, the nominees are samples his >llyv\ ood’s finest efforts, but they are fatt examples of vulgarity and gore. Estf religious weekly offered reviews of all and Ims nominated for best picture this i n and the reviews included sum- b\v es of all the questionable material in tap picture. The list is startling, shut 1 summarize their list of offenses in 'e movies, there were close to a hun- m profanities, several dozen obscenities, four sexual situa- Esiei, several nude scenes (including several nude sketches), an [m, ene gesture, several instances of bigotry, a few beatings, a fe|! le of killings, a suicide, one cynical diatribe about working \fel< ie government and frozen bodies bobbing in an ice-cold I’Oi: n. wiiL-ttfinly a movie does not have to be shocking to be good. L . two years ago the Oscars-nominated films were much gen- ve; nd J amily-oriented. A summary of the offensive material in L; ilms then might read, “a few dozen vulgarities, a love scene L s flefting nudity, a few suggestive scenes, a view of hundreds f oohing Scotsmen and one urinating pig.” A much more e list than this year’s tally. i 1(s ichael Medved, a syndicated columnist and movie critic, L lady comments on the downward spiral of American enter- L nent. He particularly takes issue with Hollywood’s fascina- L with bad language and bodily function. He admits that vio- action films appeal to a certain segment of the population, tlp ie also points out no one leaves a theater saying, “that film Jidn’t have enough f-words.” H r . f course, directors and producers insist they only give audi- t l s what they want, but Americans do not really want their L ing entertainment riddled with vulgarity and awkward con- itions. ledved researched movie profits over the last several years , found movies with lower ratings had higher average box-of- 1 I mcdess. Despite the assertions of members of the movie in- L‘ ry, more Americans will spend their money on a film with a ting than an R-rating. ollywood insiders continue to defend their creations, claim- hey only reflect reality. Again, the argument seems disingen- 5. The same celebrities who say their films reflect reality also is to suspend belief and view their films as an “escape.” Not y people want to escape to a world so filled with foul- ithad, amoral citizens. liorrodticers and directors cannot expect a few seconds of nudi- in make the difference between a box-office flop and the next bat^fc.[American viewers will not stay home because an other- insi in tie resting film lacked sufficient skin scenes, but nudity Ly; drive away audiences. L /bile Quentin Tarantino movies depict unconventional and L, king scenes, the films are not box-office giants. Tarantino is , j, ting his version of art, but his films are not appealing to most Die. If Tarantino were trying to please audiences he would . e very different films. ilm is a unique industry where success can usually be mea- d by profits. Excepting a few odd instances like Citizen Kane ; It’s a Wonderful Life, if a film achieves it goal of providing en- 1 ble entertainment, it will bring in money. ertainly not all producers and directors are trying to appeal | rrls wide audience. Spike Lee, for example, makes films to pro- forie a cause, and he does a magnificent job. Lee's films cannot idged by their audience appeal, but he realizes his message reach more people if larger audiences are attracted, he movie industry is not what it used to be. Theaters are Hfi 1 with 90-minute plays lacking substance. Titanic made its . ie by presenting a meaningful (and true) story in the tradi- if of the studios decades past. ' erhaps the public’s encouragement will bring finer movies to 2 ; Dig screen soon. ACADEMY Dave Johnston is a senior mathematics major. discrimination Awards ignore minority contributions in film J night news editor "esse Jackson where are you now? Last year, his holiness decried the lack of mi nority representation in the nomination list of the Academy Awards. Even though Cuba Gooding Jr. took home the Best Sup porting Actor trophy that night, headlines where made about the white washing of Hollywood and Oscar’s gold-dipped finish was tarnished with the accusation of racism. If only the reverend had waited a year, he would really have been able to cry foul. A glance at this year’s nominations proves Hol lywood isn’t as color blind as it would like to think. A Klan rally cannot claim to be as ethnically pure as this narrow spectrum of actors ranging in shades as pasty white as Kate Winslet to the bot tled tan of Burt Reynolds. Most notably absent from the list is Eve’s Bay ou, the story of a African-American family in the 1950s. Critics have heaped the praise on this dra ma. Roger Ebert took time out from his busy schedule of shoving donuts down his throat to make Eve’s Bayou his pick for favorite movie of the year. It was the most successful independent re lease last year. Although not raking in the bucks Titanic is seeing, it still is turned a mighty nice profit for a film that was rejected by every major studio, further evidence of Hollywood’s narrow mindedness, before being picked up by Trimark, a studio more known for its flicks about homici dal leprechauns than its dramatic fare. Oscar handicappers were predicting at least a nomination for best original screenplay, while most were including cast members in die list. How ever, when rabid movie fans woke up early two months ago to watch the nomination ceremony, the words “Eve’s Bayou” were never mentioned. It is not as if Hollywood forgot to make ethnic film’s this year. How could anyone forget the media blitz be hind Amistad, directed by the Oscar wunderkind Steven Spielberg. Even if voters forgot the movie, I’m sure the Oscar’s resident African-American choreograph er Debbie Allen, who produced Amrstad, would have been able to drop hints during rehearsals for last night’s ceremony. Ironically enough, the only major nomination the film got was for Anthony HopWns, an admit ted white person. The nomination should have gone to fellow cast member Djimon Hounsou. His heart- wrenching delivery of the line “Give us free!,” left audiences in tears, but the cries fell on the deaf ears of voters. Hopkins wasn’t the only white nominee from a cast honored by other awards for its black actors. Relative unknown Robert Forester got a nod for his sleepy portrayal in Jackie Brown a film that had Travolta-like comeback role for Pam Grier. Also of note was Samuel L. Jack son’s role in the same movie. Jackson sub mitted two performances both worthy of Os cars this year only to be snubbed by a voting pool which still includes Nancy Regan. Wesley Snipe’s role in One Night Stand won him the acting prize at last year’s Venice Film Festival but went absolutely ig nored even in the pre-Oscar fanfare. One film this year can boast a “victory” for African-Americans. 4 Little Girls, a documen tary directed by Spike Lee tells a story about the civil rights movement. However, this film is buried in the Best Fea ture Documentary category, not a award that generates screams from audiences when the envelope is opened. African-American’s are not the only group being ignored by Oscar. Some critics point to Jennifer Lopez’s performance in Selena which garnered her a Golden Globe nomination. Racism is not the only accusation being leveled at Oscar. Homophobia kept Chasing Amy from re ceiving any nominations as well as prevent ing Rupert Everett’s scene-stealing antics in My Best Friend's Wedding from being recog nized as a best supporting actor material. The Oscars of old are gone. Hollywood can no longer pay lip service to their sup posed open-minded philosophy. The not- to-distant memory ofWhoopi Goldberg’s victory and Tom Hank’s tearful acceptance speech after winning his first Oscar for his role as a homosexual AIDS victim in Philadelphia are the Academy’s token of ferings to minorities. After parading John Singleton around the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion as the first African-American director to be nominat ed, they quietly relegated him to the back of the auditorium along with other visionaries such as Spike Lee and the Hughes brothers. Recently an explosion of quality films have been about African Americans made by African-Americans marketed to African-Americans. Eve’s Bayou just marks another in a long string of ignored films and it is time to ac knowledge that African-Americans have evolved from the days of A1 Jolson in black face in The Jazz Singer and Mammy in Gone with the Wind. re r Aaron Meier is a junior political science major. ERSPECTIVES ■Elementary school offers chance to honor A&M founder Donny Ferguson columnist !or a state so -H steeped in ii| tradition pd reverence for ir Confederate ;roes, the fact a gnificant part fits history was jiritten by freed 'avis may seen a { |t odd. ( All Aggies /DOW of f / ( rwrence Sulli- fin Ross’ contributions to the Univer- r tmd Texas history books chronicle wever, in the flood of Jim Crow r^ws and anti-carpetbagger propagan- i which followed Reconstruction, a to! our history was lost, and now the v yan-College Station community has 1 opportunity to recapture it. This June, the Bryan Independent phhtbol District will begin construction d its sixteenth elementary school, to be located in the Austin Colony subdi vision. The school has yet to be named and BISD is accepting name sugges tions of prominent Texans until April 15. While “R.C. Slocum Elementary” and “George Jones Elementary” are ter rific ideas which will undoubtedly be submitted, one Texan has gone for over 120 years without due recognition. BISD has been given a unique op portunity to name their newest school after a local figure, whose dedication to education and perseverance in the face of adversity make him a significant contributor to education, a central fig ure in the establishment of this com munity and a badly-needed role model in an age of disillusioned children. To recognize the achievements of black Texans after the Civil War, and to pay homage for his role in the estab lishment of public universities in Texas, BISD should name the new Austin Colony School the “Matthew Gaines Elementary School.” Gaines, a minister and former slave, became the first African-Ameri can to represent Washington County in the State Senate. In 1869, thou sands of freed slaves elected Republi can Edmund J. Davis as governor and sent a Republican-controlled legisla ture to Austin. The new chief executive and legisla ture worked together to establish a public university system in Texas under the federal Land Grant College Act (Morrill Act), sponsored by Congress man John Smith Morrill, a Republican from Vermont. Gaines and his black colleagues in Austin introduced a bill in 1871 to es tablish the “A. and M. College of Texas” which provided for a black college as well, if state officials chose to segregate blacks and whites. Democrats in the legislature viewed educating blacks as both a waste of tax payer money and a loss of good field hands. It was through hard work, over the opposition of white supremists and Democrats, that Gaines and the 12th Legislature created what are today known as Texas A&M University and Prairie View A&M. We students and the Bryan-College Station community as a whole are the heirs of Gaines’ dedication to educa tion. Had it not been for the passionate support of Matthew Gaines, the A&M system would never have been created, College Station would not exist and Bryan would be nothing more than a few houses and bluebonnets alongside a railroad track. Clearly, Gaines and his black col leagues deserve recognition and grateful thanks from our community, and nothing would serve as a more fit ting monument to his belief in the power of education than an elemen tary school bearing his name. Campus organizations such as the College Republicans have worked to erect a statue honoring Gaines on campus, but the $200,000 price tag proves troublesome. An elementary school in his name re quires no additional costs, however. The Matthew Gaines Elementary School would not only honor the achievements and work of Gaines, but it would also honor the memory of other prominent black Texans in the 12th Legislature who fought for the passage of the A&M cre ation bill, despite the resistance of white racists and Reconstruction Democrats opposed to public education We at A&M and in the Bryan-College Station area owe the existence of this school and community to a former slave who fought for the Texas A&M University system on the floor of the Texas State Senate, in an era in which black lawmakers and public education were often met with harsh resistance. The least we should do to show our gratitude to a man who overcame in credible odds to give the gift of educa tion is to grace his name upon our newest school. Hopefully, in a time where racial ten sions are high and role models are hard to come by, especially among minori ties, children filing into the Matthew Gaines Elementary School will be in spired by his story and someday impact the history of our great state, just as Matthew Gaines did. Donny Ferguson is a junior political science major.