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v. 105:no.141
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Opinion
Page 5 • Wednesday, June 23, 1999
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ne
griev
ing
family may
finally ac
complish
what USA
Network
standards
and practices
executives
Ryan
GARCIA
haven’t succeeded at doing
in the past year - restraint
on the professional
wrestling industry.
This much needed check
on an industry that knows
no limits comes after the
family of Owen Hart an
nounced, this month, that
they had filed a lawsuit
against the World
Wrestling Federation
(WWF) and 12 other de
fendants, including WWF
president Vince McMahon.
The litigants believe the WWF is
responsible for the death of Hart, a
34-year-old professional wrestler who
died May 23 after falling from a catwalk at
Kansas City’s Kemper Arena during a pay-
per-view wrestling program.
Hart’s family believes he was pressured
into performing the high-risk stunt as part of a
ratings war taking place between the WWF
and its competitor. World Championship
Wrestling.
The lawsuit centers around the belief that the device
Hart was using was inadequate for its function of hold
ing Hart. According to CBS News, the release of the safe
ty cable required only six pounds of pressure. Questions
remain over whether Hart was properly trained to per
form the stunt in the rush to grab ratings.
The Hart family hopes the lawsuit will bring change
to an industry they believe is more concerned with rat
ings than the safety of its performers. With its Jerry
Springer-like anything goes attitude, the WWF has, un-
a fortunately, shown a steady progression towards possible
tragedies such as the one the Hart family has suffered.
As one of the fastest-growing entertainment industries,
the WWF somehow manages to evade any broadcast
standards by broadcasting live every Monday night. It’s
hard to believe WWF writers don’t know everything
that’s going to take place from Stone Cold Steve Austin’s
choreographed hand gestures to the routine profanity that
is a part of every wrestlers’ image.
What started as a minor expletive every now and then,
has turned into wrestlers demanding that their opponents
“suck it” and worshiping the occult along with its cus
tomary sacrifices. Staged kidnappings resulting in mock
crucifixions in the name of a “dark power” are more com
monplace now than actual wrestling matches.
Although a large portion of WWF viewers are children
with easy accessibility to a popular cable channel, the
WWF doesn’t hesitate to schedule evening gown matches
in which two top-heavy women rip each other’s clothes
off, exposing more plastic surgery than one might think
possible on the human body. If it’s not a wrestler with his
porn-star theme spouting euphemisms for his sexual
prowess before each match, it’s the implied seduction
and fellatio of one wrestler by a transvestite - and that’s
only the first hour.
In a recent Spin article, McMahon offers no apologies
for the current state of the WWF.
In this corner,
pro wrestling has
gone toofar...
He quite candidly admits that everything is done in the
name of ratings and carries himself with an arrogance he
feels is rightly deserved for resuscitating a once-dead
form of entertainment.
McMahon is a shrewd businessman, and if going to
church suddenly became the trend, he would have his
wrestlers toting bibles and reciting the gospel.
Lest fans begin to get the wrong idea about McMahon
and the WWF, they should remember that the WWF’s ex
cuse for continuing the program after Hart plummeted 78
feet to his death was that the fans deserved to get their
money’s worth.
The WWF’s show-must-go-on attitude continued the
next night when, instead of canceling that night’s pro
gram, the WWF dressed up a two-hour lackluster pro
gram as a tribute to the late Owen Hart.
Nevertheless, the WWF consistently receives the high
est ratings on Monday nights and sells out arenas wher
ever it travels.
It is a veritable juggernaut of sex, corruption and vul
garity. In its wake lies the death of a professional wrestler
that could not have come at a worse time for the WWF.
Ryan Garcia is a senior
journalism major.
ince McMahon, presi
dent of the World
Wrestling Federation,
has made more enemies
than friends in his
many years in the
wrestling promotion
business.
The over-the-top
antics and suppos
edly lewd behavior
Jeff
WEBB
of his wrestlers are the target of media
watchdogs, but McMahon’s WWF is far
from being the most offensive program
ming on television.
Each time “The Godfather,” a wrestler
whose persona is a pimp, appears for a ti
tle belt shot with his scantily-clad “hos,” or
“Badass” Billy Gunn bears his thong-cov
ered buttocks on the cable USA network, an
hour-long episode of realistic violence and
bare-bottomed Dennis Franz can be viewed
on a local ABC affiliate.
Nevertheless, the fight against McMa
hon’s wrestling empire has resumed in
the wake of the recent accidental death
of wrestler Owen Hart.
Hart’s entrance before a pay-per-
view match last month ended
abruptly when his harness became
detached from the cable that was lowering him.
After an investigation, it seemed Hart mistakenly un
hooked the cable when the cape from his Blue Blazer
costume became entangled.
Hart completed the stunt successfully in rehearsal
earlier in the day, and the same stunt has been pulled
off flawlessly by Sting, a wrestler in Ted Turner’s sani
tized rival World Championship Wrestling league, dur
ing live cable broadcasts in the past.
The Hart tragedy was not an example of wrestling
going too far. It was simply an unfortunate accident.
The family of Owen Hart filed a lawsuit against the
WWF, in addition to Kempner Arena and the city of
Kansas City, for, among other things, negligence.
However, this should not be the catalyst for an at
tack on wrestling or the WWF. McMahon is forced to
defend the WWF in every interview, but his reasoning
falls on deaf ears.
At 8 p.m. Monday nights, WWF Raw hits the air
waves on the USA Network with its brand of faux vio
lence and racy subplots.
During the Monday night broadcast. Raw directly
competes with WCW Nitro on TNT for viewership,.
Undeniably, Raw contains more bikini-clad females,
more obscene gestures and phrases.
Accordingly, Raw beats WCW in the ratings worse
than wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin would flatten Bill
Gates.
With an almost two-point lead over Nitro, McMa
hon’s plea that the more risque programming is a prod
uct of public desire is justified by the numbers his show
produces.
However, at this late hour, children under 10 need
not apply for viewing. McMahon markets action figures
toward children and has provided a television alterna
tive as well.
The USA Network broadcasts two alternative pro
grams for its younger viewers, shows without repeated
obscenities, but the same entertaining grappling.
Livewire, a WWF news program, runs at 9 a.m. Sat
urday, and WWF Superstars, running 9 a.m. on Sun
days, is an hour-long show filled with wrestling from
... and in this corner,
pro wrestling has
served its public
the prior Monday night performance.
With this milder programming, McMahon proves he
is listening to the concerns of parents and the media.
However, it should not be up to the wrestling pro
moter to be the great moral organ of television.
Parents should be proactive in editing what their
children watch if television programming affects their
kids’ behavior.
However, if children (or college students, for that
matter) wish to imitate what they see on television, it
might not be a negative experience. After all, a young
kid named Mick Foley would never have taken a leap
off his roof in a backyard wrestling match if it hadn’t
been for imitating what he saw on television. Then the
WWF’s Mankind never would have seen action as a
brief Championship title holder.
So the next time Raw is on USA and The Godfather
beckons you to take a ride on the “Ho Train,” accept it
for what it is worth — McMahon, a marketing genius,
pushing the limits of what television will allow him to
do to entertain the masses.
Jeff Webb is a senior
journalism major.
ritics of Jar Jar should back off
EDITORIAL
Mark
PASSWATERS
/ant everyone to know that I am of
fended. I am offended by George Lu
las and his creation, Star Wars,
[. m sutMsode 1: The Phantom Menace.
; j ne " The character of Senator — and lat-
r j vea c'r, Emperor — Palapatine is a white
g^ulale, and stereotypes us as evil manip-
j 0 f Initiators with the sole intention of taking
he ji>v4r the galaxy.
Wait, it gets even worse. The few
,j ty 0 vhite males not intent on doing evil —
. L leads, such as the Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jin and Obi-Wan
^ (emobi, are apparently not smart enough to think on their
11 j awn. They must take their orders from a green, grammati-
1 ally-challenged muppet. How offensive.
Blopefully, this sounds more than a little absurd. Regret-
ably, it is the same line of thought of some people who
lave gone to see The Phantom Menace and have come out
-jurying racism.
ILw 1 gThe horrible creature responsible for most of this out-
ERflSagp? J ar J ar Binks, the computer generated Gugan with the
veird speech patterns.
ORE j Apparently, being from “a galaxy far, far away” does not
l45'fli>revent Jar Jar from displaying stereotypes offensive to
^Bcan-Americans.
Michael Dyson, professor of African-American studies at
-'T'polumbia University, is one of the loudest complainers.
Sf^Pyfeon claims “there were some stereotypical elements to
j^his character that suggested black culture,” saying his
;nt e: .'lujmsiness and speech patterns were blatantly black.
jdisOyson goes so far as to say Jar Jar’s “meesa” can be taken
Daxasds 1‘massa.”
— It must be very slow up in New York in the summer. Has
Jyson considered that Jar Jar Binks also sounds like the
hort guy in “Laverne and Shirley,” and that the clumsiest
.dit ndividual in American history was probably former Presi-
lent Gerald R. Ford—both of whom are white? Closer ex-
imi nation of Jar Jar’s speech would also show that
-^Hnieesa” sounds much closer to “Leeza” than “massa.” Per-
labs Jenny Jones and Ricki Lake should scream discrimina-
ion as well.
M Lucasfilm released a statement to confront this “Phan-
om Menace,” trying to politely show there are more holes
ti this argument than in the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.
‘Star Wars is a fantasy movie set in a galaxy far, far
away. To dissect this movie as if it has some direct reference
to the world [is] absurd,” the statement said.
Ahmed Best, the actor who played the voice for Jar Jar,
concurred, “1 think it’s really stupid for anyone to put their
own prejudices [on] a complete fantasy movie.”
In spite of this, the outrage continues. Dyson claims Jar
Jar’s Gungan tribe shows stereotypes of an African tribe.
Perhaps — but aren’t there more than a few similarities that
can also be drawn to Native American and perhaps even
Scottish tribes?
If everyone was as touchy as Dyson, imagine what
would have happened if the Gungans had said the TYade
Federation could not take their freedom, like in Braveheartl
Goodness, what if they had mooned the battle droids? Half
of Glasgow would be looking for George Lucas.
This is not to say Dyson or African-American activists
are the only ones complaining. Bruce Gottleib, a writer for
the on-line magazine “Slate,” said Watto, Anakin Skywalk-
er’s owner in the new movie, was a Jew.
“Even in a galaxy far, far away,” Gottlieb thunders, “the
Jews are apparently behind the slave trade.” Scary what sit
ting in front of a computer can do to your sense of logic.
What makes Gottlieb think Watto is a Jew? Because he has
a hooked nose? That is grasping at a very small straw.
In a move that should be hailed as eminently logical, the
Jewish Anti-Defamation League said there was no basis for
claiming that Watto was anti-Semetic.
Dyson and Gottleib should adjust their priorities. With
the recent firebombings of synagogues in California and al
legations of prejudice in New York City’s police depart
ment, there are better, more important issues these gentle
men could spend their time on.
It is a shame that Jar Jar and Watto are being attacked in
this fashion, because it is living proof that many Americans
are still in desperate need of a hobby. Instead of tackling In
dustrial Light and Magic creations, there are still real, perti
nent issues in this nation that need to be tackled.
If Jar Jar Binks could indeed speak for himself, he would
probably say something to this effect: “Meesa Jar Jar Binks.
Meesa not real.” Hopefully, these people that have “uncov
ered” the racist underpinnings in Star Wars will get back to
issues that are.
Mark Passwaters is a graduate
student in electrical engineering.
Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the edito
rials board members. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of
other Battalion staff members, the Texas A&M student body, regents,
administration, faculty or staff. Columns, guest columns, cartoons and
letters express the opinions of the authors.
Editorials Board
KASIE BYERS
Editor in Chief
SALLIE TURNER
Managing Editor
VERONICA SERRANO
Executive Editor
CALEB MCDANIEL
Opinion Editor
NON! SRIDHARA
Campus Editor
Brain Drain
University should combat ill-advised visa renewal policy
Thanks to misguided U.S.
immigration laws, red tape will
unfairly tie the hands of some
faculty members at the Univer
sity this fall.
The work visas of several
post-doctoral researchers and
one assistant professor will ex
pire at the end of August, and
they will not be allowed to
work until their renewal appli
cations can be considered for
approval on Oct. 1. As a result,
these highly skilled University
employees will be unnecessar
ily sidelined.
The policy responsible for
this regrettable situation must
be revised.
First, it is pointless for im
migration officials to set the re
newal deadline one month af
ter visa expiration dates.
If the application schedule
were only drafted using com
mon sense, this 30-day lapse
could be avoided.
Secondly, an immigration
policy which denies visas to
highly skilled workers such as
professors and post-doctoral
researchers needlessly harms
our academic institutions.
It is in the country’s interest
to attract intelligent foreign
scholars instead of entangling
them in a poorly designed bu
reaucracy.
Meanwhile, University ad
ministrations must do all they
can to accommodate faculty
members who are penalized by
the excessive technicality of
the visa renewal process.
Texas A&M University offi
cials could examine the possi
bility of hiring substitutes for
the temporarily unemployed
researchers and professors
who are waiting for visas.
If such an arrangement is
made, these employees can re
turn to work later in the se
mester without losing their po
sitions at the University.
Students and other higher-
education faculty members
around the country should ral
ly to propose and support more
sensible legislation that will
speedily approve visas for se
lect high-skilled employees.
Otherwise, U.S. universities,
like Texas A&M, will suffer a
disastrous “brain drain” during
the school year as foreign
scholars are left without visas
and without work. If the Uni
versity wishes to make its fac
ulty one of the best in the na
tion, it must attract and keep
the best minds in the world.