The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, April 23, 1999, Image 11

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    'he Battalion
o PINION
Page 11 • Friday, April 23, 1999
love with Shakespeare
mense number of Hollywood remakes proves ‘you can't get too much of a good thing'
~Virget George Lucas. Forget
| H lames Cameron. There is
* fcnly one true king of the cin-
naland he is back and as cool
From turning feminism
n its ear to echoing the OJ Simp-
Dn trial, this man is a storyteller
tho understands the times and
lieu I cure.
I Did I mention he has been
&ad for over 400 years?
KYei' William Shakespeare is once again giving the
plllwood hacks ideas for teen blockbusters. Howev-
;,poor Billy boy must be turning over in his grave to
»e some of the incarnations his creations and his life
ave taken.
For instance, Shakespeare was in love. While
takespeare is somewhat of a celebrity, is that any
■ason to broadcast his philandering ways on the big
i IK[ ® :reen? He is only a playwright, not President of the
nited States. And even though the movie won many
do Shakespeare’s descendants feel any better
lout having their dirty laundry aired out in front of
'eryone?
Probably not.
.Jn 1 While the details of Shakespeare’s life are one
n: ling, ins plays are another thing. Hollywood has
;en enamored with filming his plays since the be-
nning. However, as good as Shakespeare is, there
in be too much of a good thing — Kenneth Bran-
igh s rendition of “Hamlet” for example. If one can
it beyond the four-hour running time, the movie is
sorry, 1 could not get beyond the four hours stuck
■ a theater.
" And while Shakespeare might be the bane of high
hool English classes, he is a boon to companies
iping to attract teenage audiences. “Romeo and Juli-
” turned into a box office bonanza thanks to Claire
anes and Leonardo DiCaprio.
However, Billy boy probably would have had a
ird time identifying his story of teenage star-crossed
lovers amidst director Baz Luhrman’s rapid-fire se
quences and pulsating score. Yet, Shakespeare’s
words still had the same dramatic impact of Franco
Zefferelli classic version. Even if they were spoken by
Leo.
Shakespeare is the workhorse of the cinema and
theater. No matter what age, no matter what period,
Shakespearean plays are easily adaptable. But one
wonders how adaptable they really can be.
One had a hard time believing Keanu Reeves as
villain Don John in “Much Ado About Nothing.”
However, William cannot be blamed for Reeves’ dra
matic shortcomings; the script can only carry so
much of a scene.
Taking “The Taming of a Shrew” and setting it
against the background of an American high school is
also workable. But taking Calista Flockhart and plac
ing her in “A Midsummers Night’s Dream” — Ally
McBeal meets Puck? The jury is still out on that one.
When it comes down to it, Shakespeare’s plays
have been so successful and lasting because they are
universal in theme and exquisite in language. Shake
speare had talent, and in a world full of Britney
Spearses and Sylvester Stallones, talent is a refreshing
thing. It is only natural for people to capitalize on
something as precious as true talent.
And thankfully, most of the time, cinema and the
ater do it rather well.
Blockbusters may come and flops may go, but true
artistry is forever. Even when it is watered down and
spoon-fed to the MTV generation, Shakespeare still
retains its luster, the kind no actor or director can to
tally dull. Perhaps if more screenwriters strived to
work for quality instead of box office quantity, more
classics would be created instead of duds. Because if
one counts all the receipts and the awards, it is easy
to see what wins out in the end.
Forget the jedi. This is the return of the Bard.
Manisha Parekh is a junior psychology
and journalism major.
Manisha
PAREKH
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Colorado school shooting result of poor parenting, lack of caring
3
Mark
PASSWATERS
n Apr. 20,
1999, the fac
ulty and stu-
?nts of Columbine
igh School in Little-
ood, Colo., went to
ked thool. Most of the
udents were enjoy-
s a sins ig themselves, as
n namedle spring semester
f theWefipsfcuickly slipping
ggiesw toftheir rear-view mirror,
whether : |The chatter was probably what you
? of the ould expect from high schoolers, talk-
.g about who is involved with whom,
might hat was on TV last night, and where
.nidpla e bjg party was going to be on Friday,
worn irsome kids, walking around in John
way or Joe Sakic jerseys, the conver-
tion was probably about if the Bron-
s (Quarterback would return next year
|pw their beloved Colorado
/alanche would do in the Stanley Cup
ayoffs, which started the following
ght.
•epair Those kids were targets.
By noon on Apr. 20, 1999, the sim
plistic life of these middle-class high
schoolers had exploded. Fifteen of their
classmates lay dead, massacred by their
fellow students.
For hours on end, these children
cowered in corners, hoping to save their
lives from members of the “Thenchcoat
Mafia,” a group of outcasts that were
out for revenge.
The school’s daily announcements,
posted on the school’s Website, remind
ed children to see their counselors to in
form them which colleges they had se
lected. It also told the boys to register
with Selective Service. By noon, these
things were far from the minds of the
students of Columbine High School,
who could think of one thing — sur
vival.
All of this on Apr. 20, 1999 — the
110th anniversary of the birth of Adolf
Hitler.
These kids in the “Trenchcoat Mafia”
were a morbid bunch. They were re
ferred to as “Goths,” and put on make
up like war paint. Dressed all in black,
they often made comments about death
and destruction. They also were White
Supremacists, who had a special hatred
of not only minorities, but the “jocks,”
who they felt had tormented them
through their first three years of high
school.
The “Trenchcoat Mafia” had made
repeated comments about how they
were going to show that they had “the
power” and had told people that some
thing big was going to happen on April
20. Nobody listened.
As a result, these children who had
been pushed down the road of torment
finally jumped into the chasm of luna
cy. Their cries for help — for someone
to pay attention to them — finally be
came screams of help from students
and teachers who had been hurt in this
disaster.
Some people are trying to make this
into a platform for more regulations on
handguns. In its typical wrong-headed
fashion, the Clinton Administration has
already come out with new proposals
on handgun legislation.
Of course, the fact that these children
also had bombs and were using illegally
obtained automatic weapons and rifles
is being ignored.
What is also being ignored is that all
of this could have probably been avoid
ed had the parents of these children
paid attention to them.
Children who dress in all-black and
spout Nazi propaganda are reasons for
parents to be concerned, even if they do
not shoot up their high school.
However, it appears that in this case
the parents of these kids were blissfully
innocent of what had happened to their
children and how they intended to get
payback.
American society has become too
egocentric and self-absorbed. The re
sults of this can be found in the hall
ways of Columbine High School, where
(as this is being written), the corpses of
the victims still lay since the halls are
booby trapped.
People are always stunned about this
and vow to never allow it to happen
again — and then look to the govern
ment to stop it. This is not the answer.
Something like this can only be stopped
by average citizens.
In 1992, the media and the
Clinton/Gore campaign mocked Presi
dent George Bush when he talked about
a return to “Family Values.”
By 1996, the concept did not seem
so absurd. Even though both parties
claim to embrace “Family Values,” this
event shows that it really does not mat
ter what the politicians say as long as
the people do not follow suit.
Maybe this is the prodding that the
nation needs. Our children need people
that are willing to listen to them, to
hear their pleas for attention. America
needs to listen to its young, to care-to
simply give a damn. Then, and only
then, will these disasters cease.
Mark Passwaters is a graduate
electrical engineering student.
leaders discuss
Jttleton shooting
j response to Caleb Mc-
e/’s Apr. 21 opinion column.
As usual I have to disagree
. another Caleb McDaniel ar-
4lW
Although he made some very
lid points as to why the
agedy in Colorado occurred —
)or parenting and society’s
opensity for macabre enter-
inment — again he missed
m e main point.
I Guns are not the problem,
lople are the problem. Crimi-
als who use guns to commit
I Ul'jf imes will get guns whether or
at law-abiding citizens can.
^All laws that restrict access
"" Jguns will do is leave people
tthe mercy of those that go
round the system instead of
trough it.
||This problem is not going to
e|solved by more laws and reg-
Islions.
The only thing that is going to
averse this growing epidemic is
II hanging society’s basic values.
|■■need to value the sanctity of
'/ fe and the importance of par-
fiing.
^Jarents need to actually par-
int instead of expecting our ed-
pational system to teach and
fj^krture our children.
f(ir l»i4 I do not know what is going to
w ii,iii dring about the needed
jpnaP langes, but I hope this tragedy
m open people’s eyes to the
1,11 r eality of this problem and the
MAIL CALL
underlying issues. One of these
issues is not gun control.
Jana Page
Class of ’99
If McDaniel believes adding an
other anti-Second Amendment
law to the other 20,000 gun con
trol laws, he is sadly mistaken.
Everything these boys did was
prohibited by harsh anti-gun laws,
yet it did nothing to stop
them.McDaniel should note that:
True “assault rifles” have been
outlawed since the 1930’s.
Sawed-off shotguns are al
ready illegal.
Pipe bombs are already illegal.
Carrying a gun on school prop
erty is already illegal.
It is already illegal for minors
to buy guns.
Murder, obviously, is already il
legal.
Rather than place the blame
on an inanimate object and pro
ject himself as intellectually supe
rior to those who forged a system
of constitutional state craft which
has made the United States the
most powerful and productive na
tion the world has ever known,
McDaniel should have looked into
the real cause of this tragedy, a
lack of a solid moral foundation.
By all accounts the “Trench
coat Mafia” described itself as
atheists, Satan-worshippers and
bisexual. In fact, the gunmen
walked up to one young lady, and
asked her, “Do you believe in
God?”
When she looked them in the
eyes and answered "Yes, I do,”
they shot her in the head and
laughed.
This is the result of a culture of
death and violence which mocks
God, mocks morality and relishes
hate, sexual deviancy and the oc
cult.
This should be a time of
prayer, spiritual reflection and an
opportunity for this nation to reaf
firm its Christian heritage rather
than serve as a platform for
those on the Left who believe our
nation and our freedom are a mis
take, and who ghoulishly await
horror like this to advance their in
tellectually and morally shallow
anti-Second Amendment agenda.
McDaniel, consider our painful
moral crisis and stop using this
tragedy for leftist gains.
Donny Ferguson
Houston, Texas
I completely agree with Mc
Daniel’s view on regulation of
firearms and weapons in America.
I also share his overwhelming sor
row for what our society has be
come, as reflected by recent
events.
However, I would like to encour
age McDaniel and his readers not
to look at the world and our soci
ety in particular so dismally.
There are many parts of our so
ciety that I would be happy to
change. However, it is hard to mo
tivate oneself to work toward a
change when the world is por
trayed in such a dim light.
Horrible atrocities such as the
Colorado shooting occur in our
world every so often, and we defi
nitely should work to prevent
these occurrences.
I would like to point out
though, that there are many won
derful occurrences every day that
do not make the headlines: giving,
helping, etc.
We need to hold onto these
events so as not to lose hope.
They are the fabric which binds us
together as a people. The
tragedies only remind us of what a
world is like without them.
Sarah Hutchison
Class of '00
Abridging rights
harmful to citizens
In response to Lisa Foox’s Apr.
20 column.
“Congress shall make no law
abridging the freedom of speech,
or of the press ...”
Apparently the founding fa
thers held the freedom of free
thought very highly or they would
not put it in the Constitution.
Now we jump ahead two cen
turies to the present. Yes, things
have changed and there are prob
lems now that were not around
when the Constitution was writ
ten.
That still, however, does not
mean it is okay to meddle with
the Constitution for the sake of
racism, bigotry or any other
thought “crime” that is what its
name implies, just a thought. I do
not agree with the ignorance that
these people display, but when
our government begins to legis
late our individual thoughts we
have indeed entered a scary new
chapter in American history.
Foox wants to legislate the
freedom of speech and press to
get rid of supposed thought
“crimes.” If the government is al
lowed to do this, what is to stop
it from legislating other aspects
of speech and press or other as
pects of our inalienable rights
such as freedom of religion.
The recurring theme here is
thought. What good is thought
without the freedom to express
it? You cannot legislate what a
person thinks and creating laws
that simply stop them from ex
pressing these views still will not
change the way they feel. It is a
task accomplished through edu
cation, not oppression of the ig
norant and those around them.
Making certain types of
speech illegal would not only
prove to be a fruitless endeavor
but would also be a direct viola
tion of the First Amendment.
Once exceptions are made to the
rule, they will never stop and that
is why the First Amendment must
be held up absolutely, no matter
how good a change may seem at
the time.
Shane Rotter
Class of ’01
The glaring fallacies of Foox’s
arguments demonstrate the igno
rant generalizations from dismiss
ing ideas without thorough study.
Foox’s Hitler-like accusations
and advocacy of Gestapo tactics
of punishing those exercising free
speech makes one wonder which
one point of view has more to lose
from open discussion.
David Duke, however, welcomes
debate; he writes, “I have no fear
of free speech because I truly be
lieve my position is consistent,
factual and defensible. Of course,
others are trying to limit freedom
of speech. They are like witnesses
who cannot stand the exposure of
cross examination.”
Finally, Foox’s policy towards
the suppression of historical de
bate is already law in Europe. A
78-year-old Swiss author was re
cently imprisoned for the “thought
crime” of merely implying that
parts of the Holocaust was exag
gerated. And how does all of this
relate to Texas A&M University?
The Evans Library collection of
Holocaust literature presents both
sides of the issue, and I am proud
to attend a world class university
that leaves students free to find
the truth on their own.
Israel Morrison
Class of ’01
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