thursday, november30, 1978
page 8
daily nebraskan
arts & entertainment
Sensual films give new image to women animators
By R. A. Weigel
It's fun and it's different than most animated films one
has come to know. Mary Beams' films project a personal
view of life through the eyes of a pioneer independent
film-maker.
Animation is a time-consuming and often pain-staking
process where one has to do one frame of film at a time,
keeping in mind the overall context of how to move the
images from one moment to the next.
Beams said, "Once 1 was drawing my family, working
from film I shot the year before, and 1 spent three days on
about 10 seconds. . .".
Short films
Her films are images of art that encompass short
periods of time fitting content and thought into them. It's
much like pen and ink drawings set to movement and
made to speak. The only realistic element of her films is
the sound track. The rest has an Alice-Through-The-Looking-Glass
quality about it.
movie review
Eleven short films are shown and each has a specific
flavor. Tub film is a fun opener about a bathing woman
who gets sucked down the drain when her cat pulls the
plug. Seed Reel No. 7 is a three-part fantasy of sensuality
including such pieces as sniff and lick.
Paul Revere best
The best of her films might be Pairl Revere Is Here.
The seven minute film deals with the statue of Paul
Revere in a North Boston Park during the time of the
Bicentennial. It is a once removecjbview joi the American
citizenry as it would appear if one bothered' to really
take a look. The neighborhood residents are encouraged
to comment upon the statue and the deed of Paul Revere
and portray a funny story about things like Revere Wear
and silver polish.
Beams was a film student at Harvard who liked to draw
and found that she could make her drawing come to life
through the process of rotoscoping, or drawing over live
action footage.
Create new image
She said that she sees women animators as too often
lovable and she is trying to create a new image for women
animators and film-makers. Much of her work has sexual
overtones and a decidedly idealistic view of the way things
should be.
While not polished perfection, there is substance to her
films and although not engaging they are entertaining.
Young film-makers often grow up to be well known film
makers. Wouldn't you like to have seen the premiere per
formance of Steamboat Williel
Screenings of The Films of Mary Beams are at 1:30
and 7:30 pjn. today, and at 3:00 and 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Beams will be at each of the evening screenings to discuss
her work with the audiences.
m If ij
111 it it . $ ! fsL; Isi lHwi5gsW t g? Ti
mfmp
Feasting season breaks hamburger habit
By Ben T. Shomshor
Another Thanksgiving has come and gone. As always, it
marked the beginning of the festive feasting season. And,
despite the fact that students have spent the last week
munching on left-over dry turkey, stale slices of mince
and pumpkin pie, and old-fashioned Pepperidge farms
original cornbread and sausage dressing packed in genuine
tupperware, they seem to look forward to more such
"goodies" the next trip home.
It seems odd. Throughout middle-class America, the
boards of absurdly laden tables groan under the weight of
a feast so opulent that it would embarrass a robber baron
with its extravagance.
Fast to feast
1 can only assume that it is an attempt to overcompen-
satc for the deprivation of the ion;
ritual fast
which precedes the feast season-a fast characterized by
the consumption of Big Macs, Tuna Helper, and 43 differ
ent artificial flavors of gelatin desserts. During feast and
fast, both prayers and sacrifices in the form of the young
est son's college tuition are offered to Mr. Kahn that we
might be released from the bondage of inflation.
If this writer sounds bitter about the ritual Thanks
giving and Christmas feasts, it is for good reason. It is
only on these occasions that people still demand "real"
food. Students feel cheated if they return home to find
store-bought pies, but are merely complacent if every
thing is in conformance with their "home-made"
demands.
They feel even more cheated if they are asked to help
with the dishes following the meal. During the rest of the
year, canned soup and tinned pate are more than suffi
cient and they prefer not to have little Joey sit down at
the table and do his funny imitation of John Belushi.
Annual hypocrisy
I do not propose a solution to the annual hypocrisy.
All I can suggest is that people once again place feasting
in a reasonable perspective. The feast is a time for cele
bration but not gluttony. While the food for a feast does
take extra time, and skill, this is done to make the occas
ion special and memorable, not for the sake of traditions
dug out of the roasting pan and dusted off once a year.
Meanwhile, there are still a few bright spots to the
notes from table 8
season. Those with a penchant for baking should now be
preparing fruitcakes if they have not already done so.
Others should be readying the plum puddings-that most
glorious king of dumplings-so that it might have time to
age before Christmas. Cranberries (in short supply this
year) and chestnuts (always in short supply because too
few cooks know what to do with them) are finally on the
grocery shelves.
Those of you who still haven't mastered the mysteries
of the festive kitchen should not despair. The weather has
finally turned chilly enough to try the family Tom and
Jerry recipe, brace yourself with shots of icy vodka
before class, or drink plenty of hot toddies as preventive
"medicine." Yes, there are a few bright spots to the
season. . . hie.
Taper Chase5 has less than happy days in time slot
By Pete Mason
Television programmers are a breed
apart from the rest of us. Particularly
CBS's programmers. Why else would they
take their possibly best new show of the
season and air it in opposition to number
one and two shows in the country, Happy
Days and Laveme and Shirleyl To the un
informed observer, the poor viewer, it
would seem the programmers have some
sort of death wish.
After all. doesn't it make more sense if
you want a show to survive the ratings, to
find a time slot that guarantees a few
viewers? For al' I know I may be the only
person in America watching The Paper
Chase.
The Paper Chase was a nice, tight, enter
taining little movie. It's also a nice, tight,
entertaining little show. Too bad hardiy
anyone watches it. For better or for worse,
the Fonz still is king.
However, The Paper Chase has a king of
its own, in the form of John Houseman, an
Academy Award winner, Orson Welles
Mercury Theatre contemporary and teach
er of drama at Julliard.
Prime viewing
Houseman has revived his role of Pro
fessor Kingsfield, for which he won the
Oscar in Paper Chase, the movie, for Pape
Chase, the television show. And he and the
TV review
producers have been careful not to fool
around with the Kingsfield character. He's
still the stone-faced, curmudgeonly, dictat
orial so-and-so we all loved to hate in the
movie.
The Paper Chase, the television show
may well be one of the best written series
on the air today. Added to Houseman's
presence and an outstanding supporting
cast, this makes for prime viewing in a less
than choice season.
The show's premise is perfectly in keep
ing with the original. It is a continuing
story of first-year law students trying to
survive amidst the pressures of enormous,
unceasing study loads and an uncompro
mising professor of contract law.
No matter how many other teachers
may confront these students in their first
year, it's Kingsfield who wields the power
of academic life or death. Hart, played by
James Stephens, is the most visible of the
freshman heroes in search of that holv
grail, a law degree.
Airy optimist
Hart is the quintessential Midwestern
youth, bubbling with enthusiasm and
energy and owning an airy optimism which
is perfectly set off by the other members
of his "study group," all of whom are ur
bane and therefore suitably cynical Each
of the members studies law for his or
her own reason, be it because Daddy said
so or because of big bucks. It sounds
stereotypical and a bit cliche, but actually
it works quite well, thanks to good writers.
Everyone is in awe of Kingsfield but
only Hart has made Kingsfield his own per
sonal nemesis. Hart is determined not to
become just a name on Kingsfield's atten
dance roster. In the first episode of the
series, Hart was "shrouded," and act which
had doomed less fortunate freshmen to
anonymity in Kingsfield's class. To be
shrouded means to have died and been
buried. Hart reacted by attending class in
a long white sheet. Kingsfield was duly
impressed and Hart was reprieved. It was a
very nice scene.
As of this writing. The Paper Chase is
hanging by its fingernails, 40 stories up, in
a stiff breeze. Hopefully CBS will pull it
off the ledge and put it on some less pre
carious perch before it falls. Certainly the
show is good enough to survive the ratings
m another time slot. If The Paper Chase
dies before it gets a chance to live, one
would be hard-pressed to say whether the
death was a murdeT or a suicide.