Thursday, June U|
DN
mrsday, June 1,2000
THE BATTALION
Page 5
VITH THE HOLLISTERS
DOUBLEDAVE’S
.IVE MUSIC WITH RIDOl
THIS AND DOLLY BRAII
SATURDAY:
3RD FLOOR CANTINA
'EJANO NIGHT WITH BAI
)Y ENTERTAINMENT DJS
ROAD
Tom Green movie showcases
vorst of college student life
linated
award
The white stuff, to behont
Ihe much-anticipated movie
Rond Trip hit the theaters in rrjid-
May. Many college students
bought, "Finally — a movie that's
Lipposed to be as funny as American
lie and about college."
While Rond Trip is funny, proving
licit college students can laugh at
hemselves, the characters in the flick
a personal, spiritual tfc« re p 0r t ra yed as degenerates. Rond Trip makes the other
is a color I dream abouti^] ass j c co n e g e movig, Animal House, look virginal.
Movie makers have crossed the line in their pursuit of
liaximum gross-out comedy in films, and the conse-
I uences will affect moviegoers as well as movie makers.
Movies like Road Trip create the stigma that all college stu-
ents do wild and crazy things like those shown in the
aovie. Not only are some of these scenes realistic, but they
ould also create problems for young, impressionable view-
ne. 1 feel safe in white beat
down inside, I'm an ange:
d in a telephone interview.
We're graduall]
iking men into
e zone ofbeiwi
able to feel
beautiful, hut
III be able to k
n strong man
about it.”
— Sean "Puffy" Comfc
musician and
fashion designs
Not too many years ago, a scene in The Program
aused unnecessary tragedy. Kids lay in the middle of
he highway after watching characters do it in the movie
ithout being harmed. A vehicle ran over them, and
hey died. Producers of The Program took the scene out of
pe film soon after.
Rond Trip includes several scenes that could be copied,
ome with deadlier consequences than others.
Probably the scariest scene is the road trippers' attempt
o jump a collapsed bridge in a Ford Taurus. Granted, the
ar made it over the gap. But then it exploded.
The road trippers were in the middle of a deserted
:ountry road somewhere in Maryland. Yet, as is normal in
he movie world, they happened to find a somewhat run-
jown, but still decent, motel to stay in.
rs UP Kim and Missy EH ln the real wor,d ' P eo P le mi 8 ht tr y to ) um P a brid 8 e
egend Luther Vandross,Nf ind die ' 0r the y could stuck in the m,ddle of a country
Yankee Derek Jeter, NewY road with no hand y motel to S reet them - 0,1 a country
Patrick Ewing and cornea T oad ^ ke ^e one in the movie, they would be more likely
a Bernhard ' to be greeted with the receiving end of a shotgun,
me typically Combs is re ! The movie contains other activities that could be
as the Grammy-winning Cl
d Boy Entertainment, phis|
ar. He is also owner of treK
's restaurants in New Td
Atlanta, named for one ofl
copied with nega
tive consequences,
like having sex with
someone on the first
date —which was
technically not even
a first date since the
two lovebirds in the
movie just hooked up
at a party.
Smoking marijuana
is portrayed as cool
and normal in the
movie. People who
copy the film may also
drink shot after shot of
liquor in order to have as
much fun as the guys did
the night of the frat party in
the movie.
According to the film,
no one should expect a
hangover, since no
one seemed worse for
the wear in Rond Trip.
These unrealistic portrayals of college life could entice
young people to act like the degenerate characters do in
the movie, which could create disaster on several levels.
Not only could gross-out comedies create tragedy, but
they make American culture look sick — even more sick
than Tom Green's dead-mouse scene.
Some scenes in Rond Trip show people at the bottom of
the moral ladder. For instance, the road trippers ruin their
original car. What do they do? They steal a bus from a
school for the blind. Not a single character, not even the
pimply dork character, questions this move, which makes
American college students look dishonest and cruel.
The moviegoer never finds out whether the characters
return the bus, whicli could leave some viewers to believe
that stealing has no consequence.
Movies with little moral character emphasize the di
minishing values of the nation, as well as its apathy to
ward the outward appearances of its behavior.
Finally, gross-out comedic movie makers will eventu
ally run out of nasty ideas. Yes, there is a point where
shoving things where the sun does not shine ceases to
be possible, let alone funny.
For example, the next Tom Green flick would not be as
funny if he licks a mouse again, since he does that in Road
Trip. To get the desired shocked, grossed-out laugh from the
audience, Tom would have to do something more disgust
ing, like hump a dead moose. Oh, wait — he has already
done that, too.
This kind of comedy, when taken too far, also loses its
humor, and movies like these usually flop in the box office.
JEFF SMITH/The Battalion
A big enough flop could hinder the movie maker's career.
Plus, unsuccessful comedies may cause producers to
avoid the genre altogether, leaving moviegoers with noth
ing to see but Kill Everyone Psychotically and Sappy Romance
3, or create only silly, slapstick films like Ernest Goes to Jail.
The movie Road Trip is hilarious if one does not think of
the consequences to the characters' actions while watching
it. Since the movie has already been made, it will probably
become a classic college flick.
In the future, however, college students should send
the message to Hollywood that they DO have half a brain
that helps them make better decisions than the characters
in Road Trip.
ver the past
I school year,
CARPOOL
[Caring Aggies R
Te's philanthropic, too, I
ided Daddy's House Sodj
;rams in New York City II
leless and foster children !
ird company has a charit
sion run by sister Keisha.
f that's not enough multitas Protecting Over Our
Combs plays the leader of Lives) became a re-
/ York crime syndicate intWounding success
lining film "Made," whicli and a welcome sight
duled for release next year at many Texas A&M
he mogul with a "Bad-Boy
toed biceps, a penchant l(j
Finding a new way home
ARPOOL’s absence teaches Aggies responsibility
ars and keg parties. The program,
hich gave safe, no-questions-asked
sace and a platinum-and-dy rides home to 6,343 drunk or stranded
id cross necklace knows ho 1 students this year, has made
ambine the brains of a mus an impact on many lives.
founder, is that the program directors
will take this time to evaluate CAR-
POOL's freshman year. With any luck,
when CARPOOL returns in the fall, it
will be even more prominent and active
for the Aggie who has had one too many.
Also, one group that took a serious hit
in the wallet when CARPOOL began —
local cab services — will certainly benefit
from the program's absence. It always
seemed harsh for CARPOOL to offer ,for
free, a service that other Bryan-College
1 with the style of a rockstai
I never like to be pinpoint!*
i my style," Combs said. T
plexity of my personality!!
ction of my style.
However, it is summertime,
nd those "Caring Aggies"
re going oh vacation.
The CARPOOL gang will
ake off the entire summer
Vhen it comes to clotk''l^ 16 1° a l ac k of volunteers,
e got a wide range of flavff ’hose neon-green shirts that
I like," he said. What We become as regular a
ealing about fashion, accoa jashion statement on North-
to Combs, "is that you' : pleas dirty white caps will
e missing in action until
all 2000. Have no fear,
[hough, the dirty white caps
ill still be around.
While CARPOOL will
efinitely be missed on the
oosed to experiment. It's!
r supply of color and yoift!
iter. You're supposed to hat
with it."
or his New York
didn't want to look atrl#
to
k preview in FebruaiL
ibs, 30, showed bare-cherff 0rth8 f te summer fashi0n
j i j • • ■ m/si kene, the greatest pain
? models dripping in $14 a 1 j & r
£ . , i 1 from its absence will be felt
worth of jewels and si# ,
. , |>y those Aggies standing
in minK. H •111 i
utside broken phone
■ j .iwooths with money in their
g on," said CFDA presidf
Herman after the sho ; i, . , , r, >
J their heads. CARPOOL s summer vaca-
len you saw those diamopfi .... .
. lion will hurt Aggies without a ride
home by forcing them to call the cab ser-
I Vice phone number on CARPOOL's an-
see g^s wearing o| weringmach . ne
id necklaces and bracelets Although the program is forsaking its
y worked. ■vould-be summer patrols, CARPOOL's
om in Harlem, Combs w jii ac tually benefit A&M. With
1 intern at Uptown Record TARPOOLon hiatus, students should
York City in 1991 to 'T|ake the opportunity to learn to be more
ident. He was soon inst* l-egpongfoig anc j p ar j-yj ng
tal in creating the del’ Not only can students reap rewards
ms of Mary J. Blige J |rom the lack of CARPOOL's services,
ci. In 1993, he signed " but the program will benefit as well. The
ta Records to distribute' |vord from Jeff Schiefelbein, CARPOOL's
Boy label, launching a set
leases that went platinum
JEFF SMITH/The Battalion
Station residents were selling to feed
their families. Now, without CARPOOL,
business will improve for B-CS cabbies.
It seems safe to say the owners of Univer
sity Taxi and other area cab companies
will not be lamenting the void left by
CARPOOL tlais summer.
In the end, though, the group most
likely to benefit from the temporary loss
1 of CARPOOL is A&M students. While
school may be out, the parties will con
tinue, and business at bars will be as usu
al. Richard Penning, the owner of Dud-
dley's Draw on Northgate, said "The
summer scene at Duddley's will contin
ue as it always has, even if CARPOOL is
not up and running." Unfortunately,
that scene will include students stum
bling drunkenly out of Duddley's doors
and looking for their cars. In the absence
of those "Caring Aggies," students
should take this opportunity to protect
over their own lives and be more re
sponsible for their own actions. CAR-
POOL has been a very successful and re
warding program, but it is not an excuse
to get hammered and it should never
be taken for granted.
Students wlio view CARPOOL as a
sort of "get out of jail free" card have
completely missed the program's inten
tions and real purpose. CARPOOL is a
safety net for A&M students, and it is
time Aggies went back to partying re
sponsibly without that net.
The tliousands of rides given by
CARPOOL shows that a large number of
students are literally making the right
call once they find themselves about to
drive home drdnkenly. However, that
lofty number also shows that a lot of Ag
gies are screwing up to put themselves in
that situation in the first place.
With CARPOOL gone for the sum
mer, students need to learn to prevent
those drunken scenarios before they even
occur. Aggies out on the town who Jiave
previously enjoyed CARPOOL's ser
vices sliould revert back to those
lessons taught by so many high
school health teachers. The old
virtues of cutting oneself off hours before
going home and / or designating a driver
* reach new levels of importance without
CARPOOL.
CARPOOL's summer vacation takes
away a certain security blanket from cel
ebrating Aggies, but it also presents stu
dents with the perfect chance to work on
looking out for themselves. The CAR-
POOL service may be of great use to stu
dents, but learning to drink responsibly
is one lesson with a usefulness that never
takes a summer off.
Eric Dickens is a junior English major.
Faculty need not
fear peer opinion
In response to Maureen Kane’s
May 30 column.
1 am really glad I had the op
portunity to read your article as
we students always look to the
faculty for guidance. One par
ticular quote by Rob
McGeachin stands out to me:
"The opinion of this institution
in the eyes of our peers is in
jeopardy if we let Bonfire con
tinue.”
I have been trying to decide
for some time now whether 1
should smoke pot or go on
drinking binges. I have been
getting harassed by my peers,
at this school and other institu
tions, because I refuse to par
take. Now that I know the same
people who have always
warned me against peer pres
sure and not falling victim to it
are hypocritical on that posi
tion, I can now do whatever
everyone else is doing, just be
cause of what my peers will
think of me.
Seems like facts and reali
ty do not seem to matter any-
MAIL CALL
more and 1 am really, really
tired of the same old worn-out
arguments about a waste of
resources. I wonder if these
professors would live in a
house made of post oak?
Marc Barringer
Class of ’92
A&M faculty
should be heard
In response to Justin Seal’s May
31 Mail Call.
The May 31 Mail Call letter
regarding Bonfire is a prime ex
ample of what the Bonfire
Commission termed “cultural
bias,” and an important rea
son why tlqe faculty opinions
concerning Bonfire should be
acknowledged.
The reason this tradition
has existed so long is because
dissenting opinions about
Bonfire are too often quelled.
If the opinion of the Faculty
Senate had been pro Bonfire,
I suspect I would never have
seen such a letter.
The students have had am-
f ill Riley is a senior journalism major.
pie opportunity to express
their opinions (about 90
years) and, in fact, until this
tradition took 12 lives, it
seems that the students’
opinions were the only ones
that counted. Currently, Texas
A&M falsely regards itself as
a world-class institution.
Without the participation of
everyone at this University, in
cluding those with opinions dif
fering from the overwhelming
majority, A&M will compromise
its integrity and never fulfill its
potential to be, indeed, world-
class.
Caleb Kennedy
Class of ’00
The Battalion encourages letters to
the editor. Letters must be 300 words or
less and include the author’s name,
class and phone number.
The opinion editor reserves the right
to edit letters for length, style, and ac
curacy. Letters may be submitted in per
son at 013 Reed McDonald 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: battletters@hotmail.com