FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 1969
PAGE 2
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
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I went into Franco Zeffirelli's film of "Romeo
and Juliet" sort of hoping that it would be as
good as almost everyone was saying. Unfortunately,
it wasn't. I had also halfway hoped that it would
be bad, because when any movie is supposedly
so warm, human and touching, I tend to cringe
(remember "A Patch of Blue?"). So, this is my
verdictFranco Zeffirelli has made a boring movie,
with some good photography, good set and costume
design, tolerable acting, and bad direction and
music.
First the relatively good things. The
photography is pretty, the costumes are pretty,
the det designs are pretty. The makers of the
film obviously eared enough to spend the very
best. Since most the action isn't very interesting,
it is good to have something to look at besides
the madly cavorting actors.
WHICH BRINGS us to the Zeffirelli method
of directing actors he has them gesticulate,
weep, moan and all but hev up the scenery.
This method may be good for slapstick comedy,
but a succession of scenes in which everyone is
milling, running, crying and-or writhing in agony
tends to become boring, at least for me. Everyone
seems close to hysteria most of the time, and
two hours is a long time to sustain hysteria. It re
mainds me of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,"
which was one of the most boring comedies of
all time simply beca'use it was so long and so
pathetically frenetic.
If Zeffirelli knew how to direct action se
quences, his addiction to movement might be
understandable. But here, as elsewhere, he doesn't
know when to stop. Romeo and Juliet's
meeting begins well as Zeffirelli moves with the
dancers, alternating close-ups of the star-crossed
lovers. But he drags it out too long, and shows
us his whirling effect three or four times (ap
parently to make sure that no one misses it) so
that any interest is soon dissipated. The fight scenes
are standard he doesn't know what to emphasize,
it's just one furious movement after another.
IN FACT, the only long scene that comes off
6Romeo
is the balcony scene here Zeffirelli's decision
to use teen-agers seems right, for the scene
becomes charming comedy as the hot young lovers
pant with passion. It is like a refreshing Nichols
and May skit thrown into the middle of an embar
rassingly bad soap opera.
A word must be said about the music. It Is
wretched. Nina Rota piles of the stuff with reckless
abandon, or else tries to be very lyrical for about
30 seconds during the love scenes (such as they
are) until the violins start laying it on again (as
when the lovers part after their first and last
night together). Must we have this goo in order
to react? In this case we need something, like
a little talent to match the expenditures, but instead
we get a lush soundtrack. I imagine the album
is selling well.
I SUPPOSE I SHOULD also say something
about the acting. Olivia Hussy and Leonard Whiting
are pretty as Juliet and Romeo. Milo O'Shea is
convincing as the friar until his inexplicable exit
at the grave. Michael York and John McEnery
as Tybalt and Mercutio are dashing, and McEnery
is actually able to suggest a character despite
all the frenetic action. Pat Heywood overacts rather
winningly as the nurse. Everyone else is there
and moving.
In short, "Romeo and Juliet" is lovely to look
at, but is distinguished by little bes ides its sets
and costumes. Orson Welles' "Falstaff is far
superior, but it is not, of course, about Young
Love tragically Ruined by the Syste m. We can
only look forward to the day when Zeffirelli films
"Hamlet," that touching story of a lovable student
radical, caught up in forces beyond his control.
But first we'll have to have "North Side Mory
to provide inspiration.
PREVIEWS OF COMING attractions: Some
enterprising students are bringing Norman Mailer's
film ''Beyond the Law" to Sheldon on April 18
and 19. Tickets are now on sale. Go buy some
- it should be a very interesting cinema vente
dissection of the police and of Norman Mader.
Even "Variety," not noted for its love of art
films, gave it a good review. Mailer stars a s a
captain of detectives. Rip Torn and George
Plimpton are among the featured players I ha te
to make it sound as if going to any movie is
a duty, but in this case it almost is particularly
if any interesting newer films are to be shown
here by anyone except the Union Film Society.
Let's have a party
The demise of campus political parties would
be the end of nothing much.
Whether or not useful a few years ago, they
have now proven farces and have contributed con
siderably to ineffective student government.
By their very nature, parties should provide
strong, central student action. Instead, ASUN
politicans have used the party labels as vote-getting
devices only.
In the past, parties like PSA which can claim
no actual annual continuity crop up about this
time of year. Everyone is doing his own thing
to get in the "right" party. And for the last few
years the right party has been the only party
PSA.
But, immediately after election day, no matter
what PSA claimed to be, the student senators go
about their individual ways . . . collectively doing
nothing.
Further, political parties, as they have evolved,
actually thrive on prejudices and irrationality.
Whatever they are and whoever they involve,
the parties have been good for little. And they
have - prevented some capable people from being
elected to student government.
So, as Bob Zucker, Randy Reeves, Bill
Chaloupka and any others map their campaign
strategies, they should consider parties for what
they are.
They, and the voters, should make the parties
responsible and valid, or shut them down. And
the latter looks by far the more practical.
Ed Icenogle
uiiinnmiii'Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
1 The Daily Nebraskan is solely a stu- f
dent-operated newspaper independent
of editorial control by student govern-
ment, administration and faculty. The
opinion expressed on this page is that
1 of the Nebraskan's editorial page staff.
H
EuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiMiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiia
'YOU ML YOUJtfELVtf ltEAUtfS ANt YOU WANT To PUT All
1WISI PEOPLE OUT OF WORK?"
Neb
raska in revolution; a cow coup
It finally happened, just as all Nebraska knew
it would. The state has been overthrown. Six weeks
ago, at sunset, the protestors rose up and suc
cessfully gained control of Nebraska's government
The coup happened just before milking time on
a cold Tuesday night, when Nebraska least expected
it. What was even more unexpected was that the
conquerors were not Communists, but cattle.
The revolution was lightning fast and complete.
A large Mack Angus bull Immediately moved into
the Governor's mansion; his color alone is enough
to make the average Nebraskan shudder. Hundreds
KlllllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllMlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllB
A parody on the Great State of Nebraska,
this English 186 paper was written by Kathy Sass
this semester. Tbe letters quoted actually p
peared in the Omaha World-Herald.
iiiiiiiiuiiuiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'iiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiii
of cows now have their hoofs on the desks in
the state capitol building and in the county
courthouses. Virtually every police station and
sheriff's office Is now being run by brown-uniformed
cattle, uid cows can be seen cruising the streets
in official police cars.
ONE OF THE most important steps in the
coup was to gain control of radio and television
networks and newspapers throughout the state. It
is through these media that the cattle can
brainwash the people of Nebraska, bully them into
total submission and ultimately herd them into
the abandoned cattle pens and pastures. These
are their long-range goals, but so far the cattle
have given the people of Nebraska nothing to fear.
According to news received through radio,
television and newspapers, there have been no
dramatic policy changes since the overthrow; the
cattle have gained control of Nebraska's govern
ment, but their plans and political views are the
same as those of their predecessors.
Many of the changes that have taken place
since the coup are slight and have had no
unpleasant effects on Nebraska's people. For ex
amine, when the cattle changed the name of the
World-Herald to the Wild Hereford, many
Nebraskans expected to find a radical newspaper
on their porches in die morning. The cattle did
not make any big changes in the policies of the
paper, however, indicating that their own views
were the same as those of the people who had
published the paper before.
ONE OF THE most interesting features of the
Wild Hereford is the editorial page, which is exactly
the same as it always was except that the Public
Pulse is now called Uie Bovine Beat. Nebraska's
people read the Bovine Beat with interest because
it contains letters from cows all over the state,
plus a few letters from people to discourage the
rumor that cattle are prejudiced again human
beings.
Most human subscriber; to the Wild Hereford
have been pleased with the attitudes and opinions
shown by the cattle who write to the Bovine Beat;
the cows show the same education and insight
that Nebraskans always showed when they wrote
to the Public Pulse. For example, here is a letter
from a cow in Springfield, Neb.:
"Our schools could not play the "Ava Maria"
yet they cram the monkey theory down the
throats of our children. It is taught as fact, not
theory.
"The Supreme Court ruling was drawn up with
the express intention of driving religion out of
our land."
DAILY NEBRASKAN
aeon daa poeiage paid at Lincoln. Neb
Telepbonee EdlU. 472 I')! New. 72 2MB Biutneu 472-2590.
Subnet ipuoa rale art $ per eemeeter or i6 per academic year.
Piibluaed Monday Wednesday rbureday and Friday during Um acbooi
year wcapl during vacation.
Editorial Staff
editor: ltd Icanoglei Managua Editor Lynn Oottarhalk! Newt Editor
iino Evtagen Night Newt Ediloi Kent Cockaon; Editorial Aeaunant
un Wagoneri Aaaiataiu Ncwi Editor Andy Wood, Sporu editor Mark
Gordon. Nerxaakan Stan writer John Dvorak, fun federaen, Connie
Winkler, Sue Jenkiiu Rill Smltherman. Soe Schllrhtemeter, Sue
Petty. Roe) TaJoutt, Joaneile Arkerman, Bachittu Sim Is. Photographer!
pu Lad-ly, Linda Kennedy Mike Haymui iUportei-Pbotograpnerf
Ed Anaon. onn Notlendorfai Copy Editort J.L Schmidt. Joan Wago
ner, Par Ilia Adaiaatoa, Dave Ktupl tarn Sch winder, fcni Muni.
Business Staff
Bnetnea Manafer Roger Boyei Local Ad Manager Joel Derlei
Production Manager Randy (rev, Bookkeeper Ron Bowlint Secretary
Janet Boatman i ClaMified Ada Jean Baert Subscription Manager
Linda (Jlrk-hi CliculaUor Managere BVwt Pavelka Rick Doran, Jamee
Stelzeri Advertising Represenlativee Meg Brown. Can GraavquiaL
Uoda Rlrnneoe. J. L Sciwudl. CoarlotM VV&lker.
SPEAKING OF monkeys, the cultural values
of the ruling cattle are about the same as those
of Nebraska's human beings. Here is a letter from
the Bovine Beat on Jan. 18, 1969:
"I didn't know the Monkees are people.
Anyway, they are dead."
"Long live Lawrence Welk!"
Nebraska's cattle show an acute interest in
the affairs of their state. Like people, they use
letters to the editor as a means of bringing about
important changes in government. For example,
here is a letter from a cow who clearly wants
a change:
"Is there anyone in Omaha who is really
satisfied with the garbage collection system?"
ANOTHER COW, this time a teen-ager, shows
the kind of political insight that Nebraskans like
to see in the younger generation:
"We conservatives, who, for the most part,
believe socialism and communism are inseparable
terms, exert our Influence by telling the truth,
not by deception such as the Communists use.
"Methods of trickery have been used by several
administrations in the United States. We have been
suspiciously close to Communism at times . . ."
There are, of course, some radical cattle whose
letters are printed in the Bovine Beat. This letter
is from an English cow, that is writing in answer
to another cow's comment on the Fabian Society
as a Communist plot:
"MY HUMBLE advice to Clarence Spring is
to read a little more on the Fabian Society,
preferably in a work such as the Encyclopaedia
Britannica, or is that venerable work considered
a Communist plot also?"
When reading this letter, one must remember
that the writer was a foreigner.
It Is now thought by most Nebraska people
that the cattle coup was not Buch an unpleasant
event after all. It is doubtful that there wiil be
any noticeable changes in state or local govern
ment. Many people are growing fond of the cows
and consider them to be honest and dedicated
leaders. The cattle show Insight into the affairs
of the state, and they are outstanding lawmakers,
dedicated to the noble endeavor of maintaining
the status quo. .
The crowded conditions of the Library became
so terrible last Tuesday evening that the only places
to sit were in the third floor men's room. When
these became occupied, the Campus Police had
to be called in to restore order.
The rising protest against the seating conditions
and excessive book fines prompted me to visit
the Director of the Library to find out what was
happening in the halls of Love.
AS I CROSSED the threshold, I had to grab
a chair to retain my balance for I had sunk into
a soft carpet four inches thick. The director, sitting
behind a massive mahogany desk, motioned me
towards a gilt 16th Century French chair.
During the opening moments of our interview,
I glanced about the room, noting the original
Picasso prints which hung behind the desk, the
hidden stereo speakers piping soft classical music
into the room, and the open liquor cabinet which
displayed an enviable collection of quality labels.
OUR CONVERSATION centered on the new
system of book fines. The Director stated that
contrary to rumors, fine money was not being
spent by the staff on luxuries, but rather was
being applied to library improvements. He noted
that $100 of boards and bricks had been ordered
that day for the construction of new shelf space.
As I shook hands with the Director at ths
end of the interview, I saw that his desk was
covered with travel brochures of Monte Carlo and
the Caribbean, mixed with deposit slips from
several Swiss Banks.
OUTSIDE THE director's door was a sight
which gave me a great shock. A crowd of peti
tioners had jammed the hall seeking relief from
their library fines. They were dirty and dressed
in rags. As I walked out of the office, a young
woman thrust her baby at me and yelled "Mercy
sir. We are poor." A quiet young man tried to
restrain her and quiet her tears.
Others rushed up waving envelopes, clothing,
car keys, and savings bonds, yelling that they
would give these things to me as a down payment
on their fines. I assured them that I was a visitor
to the library, not an employee.
As I left this scene, I realized that the library
was in deep trouble. The clicking of the book check
er's counter at the head of the second floor stairs
sounded faintly like the last seconds running out
on a time bomb.
Justice for Terry
Dear Editor:
May I compliment you on your legislative pic
ture page and accompanying quotes in Monday's
Nebraskan.
The quotes chosen typify to a degree each
of the state senators pictured except one . . . Terry
Carpenter.
I feel you've again given the Scottsbluff Senator
a slap in the face when, for once, he deserves
a pat on the back.
Carpenter's remarks concerning Governor
Tiemann's budget recommendations, following the
January 29th budget message were, contrary to
the passage quoted, quite complimentary, I feel.
I believe you've quoted Carpenter 180 degrees out
of context.
True, he did say that Tiemann seems to know
more about state agencies in two years experience
than he, Carpenter, has learned in fourteen.
But following that statement, Carpenter moved
to wholly accept Tiemann's budget recommenda
tions, without question or exception, saying in ef
fect, if the Governor knows this much about agency
requests, let's take his word for it, fellow
senators.
LThf University wull have been much better
off had Carpenter's motion been given considerat
ion. Reflective of the mistrust and suspicion
between the legislative and executive branches of
our state government, however, Carpenter's motion
to accept in toto was immediately and soundly
defeated.
In my estimation, the budget will ultimately
be chopped beyond all definition of the word
'progress," despite Senator Carpenter's attempts
to salvage it. In this matter, if in no others, he
ought to be complimented.
John King
Editor's note: Direct your attention to the
Nebraska Legislative Journal, page 295, Jan. 29,
Then:
1' r CarP",er moved that this Body meet
at 9.00 a.m. Monday, February 3, 1909, for at
least one hour, for the purpose of attempting by
Slrr, ,CUtSSl,n' thLe Procedure and sense of
direction to take in the area of the conditions
of the Governor's Budget."
The day when Terry Carpenter would want
Jo salvage anything in the name of "progress''
Is a rare one indeed. Perhaps he doesn't deserve
a slap in the face. But he doesn't deserve a pat
tatter ' UC really deScrm a Uck
