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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 26, 1998)
larcl rsday • March 26, 1998 Opinion RSPECTIVES iseless moratorium threatens plays’futures Mandy Cater opinion editor lere for art thou, Romeo? This Bniliar query may take on an all too-literal meaning if some |ing Bi its get their way. )cal faction in England’s Royal speare Company (RSC) is on a ^n to “preserve the integrity” of aster’s works with a proposal that "run* ses to be as successful as a star- landsft d love affair — they want to ban rd. Associated Press report said the alers think Shakespeare’s plays are CZjl their original luster in the mod- A1 -a. Tin group believes too-frequent revivals are ruining .■prrjment of surprise and modern adaptations are damag- l]\|e original meanings of the texts. lat fools these mortals be! England without Shakespeare TT(Hawaii without the pineapple, like New York without Cl ,atue of Liberty, like Texas without the big hair. jse “Bard-lovers” are full of baloney. If the element of se was a problem, Titam'c wouldn’t be raking in a gajil- ollars at the box office — it’s pretty safe to say most audi- swir know the boat sinks. |^£^ ( d as far as modern adaptations being detrimental, noth- good or bad, but thinking makes it so. Any text genius ^h to so impact the human experience it has relevance jars later — no matter how loose the interpretation — d be considered amazing. That’s right, Jim Cameron, 400 Who’s king of the world now, buddy? 11 digress. . James Harner, editor of the World Shakespeare Bibliog- ' and professor of English said modern interpretations luce new people to the Bard’s work. yery age remakes Shakespeare in its own image,” Harner ‘Like Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet last year brought inces to Shakespeare that had never before been familiar 'lim.” The bottom line is, people need to quit picking on Shake speare already. First there’s all the yammering about Shake speare’s sexuality. Sure, the guy wore earrings and tights, but so do a lot of guys. And does it really matter if a homosexual or heterosexual wrote Hamlet? No. It’s still an amazingly complex, existential trip through the human psyche. And what if the sonnets were written to a man? It makes them no less moving. Then there’s the debate over who Shakespeare really is and who actually authored the body of work under that name. Yes, that is an intriguing question, but the world may never know. But obviously somebody wanted the world to believe the pointy-nosed guy with the long hair and ruffled collars penned the plays, so why should that be the center of everyone’s attention? It’s like the Bible — it’s not who wrote the chapters that counts, it’s what the literature means to its readers. Sir Peter Hall, RSC’s first artistic director best summed up the current conflict when he said, “It’s absolute rubbish.” Hall said measuring up to Shakespeare’s immense de mands is the real task upon which to focus. Banning performances of the Bard’s plays for a decade is not the answer — censorship rarely is. Any time a piece of lit erature can be presented to the populus or made accessible to common people, society benefits. Taking away some of history’s best-loved theatrical works will do no one any good. Besides, the idea is economic repercussions of the mora torium ensure it will never be a reality. “To try to institute a moratorium is impractical, especially with the reconstructed Globe Theater opening last year,” Harner said. For the record, though, if a moratorium must be en forced and fingers must be pointed, the plays should not be the victims. Shakespeare and the stage should not be made scapegoats. A simple solution could be devised to alleviate the prob lem of “preserving prestige” — ban Branagh. Mandy Cater is a senior psychology major. 7/ \ \1 ■x~y—r I0U! 7 amuai north by northgate Festival dispels A&M’s cookie cutter image I t’s challenging to de scribe this event to an outsider. Seventy performers. Two nights. Seven venues on a narrow strip in a Texas college town. No country-western bands. Then again, any event that defines this community is hard to pin down. Consid ering the stereotypes most people attach to Texas A&M Helen Clancy columnist music festival University, the decision to present such a diverse cross-section of musical talent at North By North- gate must have taken some guts. This event goes beyond most commercial en terprises by finally confronting the misconcep tion that Aggies are all boot-scootin’ Wrangler- clad hicks — Aggies have a unique sense of musical taste. The range of genres chosen to ap peal to this crowd proves the fallacy behind the old stereotype. And concert-goers don’t have to be indigenous to B-CS to appreciate the lineup. Austin isn’t the only music scene NXNG is tapping into. Bands W MAIL CALL loring poor movies ^es not equal racism *sponse to Aaron Meier’s March olwnn: jleier’s column accusing the [demy of racism was absolutely ■xrous. irst, the members of the Acad- ’ are just like most of us — they ( j the same movies we did, and ■ of us saw Eve’s Bayou or even Istad, for that matter. Did Eve’s ,ou ever even make it to the Jlywood 16? yecond, regardless of the im- t tanc e of the story behind A/ms- the movie was ill put together a general disaster, considering what Spielberg is capable of. While I do think Djimon Hounsou gave a better performance than anyone else in the movie, I do not think anyone in the Academy ignored it because of his ethnic background. It just wasn’t a very memorable movie, so when nomination bal lots went out, he was simply for gotten because of the lousy per formances of everyone else surrounding the movie (black, white or green). So, please, Meier, get off your high horse and find a ‘cause’ that actually exists. Deeann Schank Bleifeld Research on cartoon nostalgia falls short I am disappointed to see such a news-worthy article written incom pletely. In the March 23 Battalion Chris Martin and Rhonda Reinhart submitted a well-thought out yet highly incomplete article on car toons of the ’80s. Many highly acclaimed cartoons were not included — especially a lit tle cartoon titled “Transformers.” How many of the cartoons listed had a full-length feature film made, which is impossible to rent any more because everyone steals the copies? I don’t remember a Scooby- Doo movie, oh wait, I do remember an episode with the Three Stooges and another one with the Harlem Globetrotters. I don’t suppose that is the same as a full-length movie though. And an other point of correction, in the G.I. Joe section it was mentioned that Lady Jane was a lesbian. If so, then why was she after Flint all of the time? Mark Breedlove Class of’98 The Battalion encourages letters to the ed itor. Letters must be 300 words or less and in clude the author’s name, class, and phone number. The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 013 Reed Mc Donald with a valid student ID. Letters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Campus Mail: 1111 Fax: (409) 845-2647 E-mail: batt@unix.tamu.edu For more details on letter policy, please call 845-3313 and direct your question to the opinion editor. from Los Angeles to Philadelphia will join local regu lars, achieving an unprecedented fusion of ac claimed and unknown, mainstream and eclectic. Mark McKenzie, a 103.9 disk jockey said, “Anyone who listens to music should be attracted to this. It re flects a broad spectrum of music, everything from the electronic sound to folk.” The festival will reach out to those who are usually neglected in the live-music scene, McKenzie said. By offering artists with followings from other areas, al most every musical base is covered. “There is a diversity in the lineup, since bands from other areas are also playing,” McKenzie said. “Some of these bands also have a strong following. Drill Team is on the verge of going national.” Ruthie Foster and Breedlove, who carry a loyal fan base in this area, are only a few of the standouts scheduled to perform. The unique twist achieved by NXNG organizers lies in the festival’s combination of large-appeal bands and local favorites. Being a college town, this area boasts a number of gifted musicians who are rarely given top billing. B-CS has a hid den music scene that rarely surfaces in such a publicized occasion. McKenzie says the efforts of the organizers allows these obscure bands, “to come out of the cracks and crevices of the music scene.” Widely-recognized groups like Huffamoose and Drill Team will appeal to the listeners that smaller bands struggle to attract. Karma Jet and Clandestine can finally enjoy an audience most performers take for granted. A festival of this magnitude will afford ample ex posure for the many unbilled bands struggling for publicity in this area. And music-lovers who rarely find a performance that satisfies a diverse palate will find a compelling reason to battle Northgate parking on a Friday night. While indulging listeners with this medley of mu sicians, NXNG also introduces a dimension massive concerts fail to address. By donating to charities, the Northgate Merchants Association shifts the focus from commercial gain to community outreach. In its inaugural year, a portion of NXNG’s pro ceeds will go to Junction Five-O-Five and the Brazos Food Bank, proving that profit isn’t the organizers’ primary motive. Although many will compare it to South by South west, it isn’t the size that defines the impact of the festival on this community— it’s the sincerity. Helen Clancy is a senior English major. I Cj\N LooK IN THE NNIRRCR FvND KNOW I HAVENf BESMIRCHED the office of the PRESIDENT.. • 'X%%: Especially since ( PUT ONE ON THE CEILING--