Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 1980)
page 10 daily nebraskan thursday, november 13, 1980 'Elephant Man' falls prey to evils of exploitation By Jennifer Bauman There is a discrepancy between what The Elephant Man intends to show and what it actually does. From the advertising featuring repeated instances of John Mer rick, "the elephant man," saying, "I am not an animal," we are led to believe that the film will explore the Merrick behind the grotesque deformity. The trailers for the film are so elegantly made that they prepare us for a subdued, honest account of the man's life. Although some portions of The Ele phant Man do successfully show Merrick as more than a freak, many other parts of the film sensationalize and exploit him. Pararnount's refusal to give out pre-release pictures of John Hurt made-up as Merrick built up suspense about eaxctly how grue some he would really look. Scenes of Merrick in murky light with hurdy-gurdy music in the background put the movie audience in the position of the thrill-seekers that come to gawk at Merrick in the film. People who attend The Ele phant Man to learn something of Merrick's life may feel betrayed at these times. Director David Lynch's first feature length film was Eraserhead, a slimy, punk, surreal look into the world of the mun dane. EraserheacTs bizzare images and flip pant handling of human deformity are suc cessful because the whole film is kept in the realm of fantasy. Film sensationalizes But The Elephant Man deals with the story of a person who actually lived. The portions of the film that show the pathos of Merrick's existence cannot be reconcil ed with those portions that focus so com pletely on sensationalism. Scenes of a cruel mob attacking Merrick and, forcing two young prostitutes to kiss his deformed face seem to be embellish ments upon Frederick Treve's actual ac count of Merrick's life even though the film claims to be accurate. And these scenes go on far too long to be human or tasteful. Late in the film, we have accumulated a good deal of empathy for Merrick, we have to watch a crowd relentlessly pursue him through a train station and rip off the hood that he wears in public to protect himself from people's reactions to his appearance. They finally corner him at the end of a row of urinals where he cowers and cries out, "I am not an animal; 1 am a human being." It's not a very subtle way to make a point that we already understand. Impressive cast In spite of all this, there are aspect of The Elephant Man that recommend it highly to prospective viewers. An impres sive cast has been massed together for the film (John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins, Wendy Hiller, John Gielgud, Anne Bancroft), and none of them disappoint us. Hurt, es pecially, has an incredibly difficult task to convey Merrick's feelings from under ex tensive makeup that restricts his ability to speak or move and that makes facial ex pressions nearly impossible. The Elephant Man is filmed in black and white and, like Stardust Memories, it shows the immense possibilities of the technique. In some ways the black and white images shelter us from the realities of Victorian England that are seen in the film. An oper ating room scene, with doctors elbow-deep in blood, and views of the squalor of In dustrial Revolution London are less ugly than they might have been in color. Like Jacob Riis's photographs of New York City tenements, the effect is that sometimes the horrible is rendered picturesque. Neverthe less, The Elephant Man generally shows an 5 17T7 U" -J "- "I .1 rm Photo courtesy Paramount The Elephant Man, an excellent study of exploitation. unglamorized picture of a time that has often been romaticized in films. Finally, The Elephant Man is an excel lent study of exploitation. If the film itself falls prey to the evils it seeks to ex pose, that only strengthens its statement about the part of human nature that is fascinated by the misfortune of others. As Merrick goes from the degradation of being a freak-show exhibit to a different kind of exploitation by the upper crust of London society, viewers can test their own reactions to what they see. American dance to air on NETV The sixth season premier of Great Per formances: Dance in America and two introspective documentaries are among the highlights airing next week on the Nebras ka Educational Television Network. As zany as the Marx Brothers and as clever as Houdini, the Pilobolus Dance Theater is featured on the premier Dance in America program, "The American Dance Festival: Pilobolus," airing Monday, No vember 17, at 8 pjn. on the Nebraska ETV Network. Known for its energy, originality, humor, and unusual way of working, Pilo bolus' choreography is characterized by various multiple body combinations that incorporate slapstick, mime, gymnastics and theatrics. Featured in the 60-minute program are four dances wluch span the company's nine-year history: "Walklyndon," a walking piece; "Alraune," an eight-minute sculptural and graphic duet; "Momix," the company's newest piece; and "Molly's Not Dead," an uproarious satire of Appalachian culture. For five decades Isamu Noguchi has been exploring art's many frontiers, from calligraphy to stage design to sculpture. Recognized today as a sculptor, the life and work of this master artist are profiled in an hour-long documentary, "Isamu Noguchi," broadcast Monday, Nov. 17, at 9 p.m. on the Nebraska ETV Network. Thorogood revives old blues numbers with style By Casey McCabe They just don't make tilings like diey used to. Well, at least most of the time. The old adage that you don't appreciate what you've got till it's gone applies to much of the music being pumped out these days. As the grist for the mill wears thin, it sends the faithful scurrying back to the oldies racks, seeking out the folks who started this whiole thing of rock 'n' roll, and who are the inevitable object of modern comparisons. "I. reuievj On one level, this logic explains the re surgence of such bands as The Doors, The Kinks, and The Byrds. Going back another step, we see a growing appreciation for the blues masters whose works are still surfac ing today. George Thorogood seems to reason that for all the energy spent trying to homgen ize, modernize and otherwise alter the rock 'n' roll basics laid down by the blues, you might as well shuck the pretense and get down to the basics. Refreshing spirit It is again with that refreshing spirit that George Thorogood and the Destroyers offer their third album, aptly titled More George Thorogood and the Destroyers. The main feather in Thorogood 's cap is his con viction that the blues groundwork of 20 and 30 years ago can be just as contempor ary as it is nostalgic. Perhaps more so. In Thorogood 's rulebook, anything can be timeless if you want it to be. For More. . . Thorogood has on hand the works of such notables as Willie Dixon, McKinley Morganfield (aka Muddy Waters), John Lee Hooker, Elmore James and Mound Dog Taylor. To say they are all bluesmen would be too great a generaliza tion, for they all pioneered their own styles, and to each separate style Thoro good remains as true as possible for a young white kid from Delaware. The Destroyers have fun with the blues, realizing they don't need dark glasses, a briefcase, or John Belushi to pull it off. "I'm Wanted" opens the album with a tight rendition of the Willie Dixon classic, as Thorogood tries to fit himself into the role of he ageless Sugar Daddy. "Kids From Philly" is the only original song on the album, assuming that the "Jorge Thoroscum" on the credits is but a humble disclaimer on the part of The Man himself. The short instrumental sug gests that Thorogood has been taking good notes along the way . Authentic flair The Destroyers tackle John Lee Hooker's pulsating "One-Way Ticket" with strong, deliberate intensity as Hank Carter's throbbing saxophone pulls you in with seedy conviction. But here more than anywhere else on the album, Thorogood 's lack of a convincing growl is apparent. It's a matter of who has paid the most dues, and Thorogood still has a few years to go. As a guitarist, Thorogood shows an authentic flair without the traditional rock theatrics. He does well in catching the unique slide techniques of Elmore James and Hound Dog Taylor on "Goodbye Baby" and "Just Can't Make It" respective ly. As a rhythm section, Jeff Simon and Billy Blough deliver as terse a musical back bone as a front man could ever ask for. The Destroyers also dredged up the Strangeloves' mid-60s hit "Night Time," a good driving rocker to shake up the party, but in a rare case on the album it could have used a good hook to separate it from the original. Thorogood ulso likes to cover old 50s country territory, lending an appropriate twang to Carl Perkin's "Rest less." George Thorogood and the Destroyers certainly don't make any claims of being original, for that has not been the point in the course of the band's three ulbums. They are, however, authentic and that in itself makes them unique. Like many of the artists whose music he revises, Thoro good is neither an awesome guitarist nor a striking vocalist. But his vision is true and his music is guaranteed to start the blood flowing. As long as Thorogood gets his hands dirty and keeps his intentions clean, ori ginality doesn't seem to matter. " 11 1 ""T" '21 - J "u 11 11111 C J V- K it ) O SL. Album cover courtesy Rounder Records Corp. George Thorogood 's latest album. More George Thorogood and the Destroy r'ers.
