Friday, October 17, 1986
Daily Nebraskan
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glimpse at Africa
By Stew Magnuson
Staff Reviewer
"The Africans," PBS.
In Dakar, Senegal, all types of
people walk down the dusty streets.
Some men and women dress in
Arabic garb; others wear brightly
colored tribal robes. A lanky black
man strolls down the sidewalk in
a three-piece suit while he car
ries his briefcase.
Tube Talk
This scene, from PBS's new nine
week documentary series called "The
Africans," best shows the odd mixture
of Islam, traditional African culture
and the relatively recent Western in
fluences. The series shows how these
three forces influence modern Africa.
It takes a lot for me to turn the
channel from my beloved "Hill Street
Blues" on Thursday nights, but I've
always been fascinated with the Afri
can continent. Still, this fascination
wasn't enough to make me turn the
channel.
When I found out the Reagan admin
istration had labeled the documentary
"anti-western" and "propagandist" in
nature, I knew the show had to be good.
I had watched PBS documentaries
for years about Africa's wildlife. There
are so many of these wildlife shows that
focus on the mating habits of the Sud
anese whooping loon or whatever, that
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I wondered if any human beings lived
on the continent at all. Now PBS has
responded to that criticism by spend
ing millions of dollars on one of the
most comprehensive TV series on Afri
can culture.
By the end of the show, I wasn't sorry
I skipped "Hill Street Blues," but even
I began to see the Reagan administra
tion's points.
The show is written and narrated by
Ali A. Mazrui, the descendant of Mom
basan kings, who left his predomi
nantly Islamic country to study in the
West. Like Africa itself, Mazrui is influ
enced by Islamic beliefs and Western
cluture, as well as traditional African
culture.
His tone is definitely anti-Western,
though, which is just fine with me.
I've studied some African history. Afri
cans have every right to be anti-Western.
But sometimes Mazrui goes a little
overboard. At one point in the program
he stands on the bank of the Suez
Canal and asks why a bridge couldn't
have been built over the Red Sea to link
Arabia instead of using the canal to
separate Africa from the Middle East.
Well, I would think of quite a few
reasons.
Mazrui is my only complaint about
this show. I don't mind him it's
great to have a knowledgeable narrator
who can relate so many interesting
personal experiences and incorporate
them into the documentary. He's far
better than having a faceless voice
simply tell us what is going on in
Africa.
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But he's the only voice.
Mazrui doesn't interview fellow Afri
cans to get their point of view; he
doesn't show us individual Africans
beyond glimpses. His slant against the
West was fine, until I realized that his
was the only slant I would hear.
Just look at the images of Africa and
ignore Mazrui's comments if you want.
Watch a semi-truck roll along an ancient
road through the desert where Arabic
caravans used to trek. Watch Jomo
Kenyatta, the first president of inde
pendent Kenya, address a crowd with
as much charisma as John F. Kennedy.
Watch white Kenyans play croquet on
their plush green lawns.
Watch a Saharan sand dune slowly
creep up on a forest. Nature is still the
most powerful force on the continent,
Mazrui said, and when I saw Ethiopians
march on a seemingly endless trail to
find food during a drought, I believed
him.
Africa is a complex continent with
complex problems, Mazrui said.
My one complaint isn't bad enough
to get me to start watching "Hill Street
Blues" and it's rehashed plot lines
again. I'm going to run home Thursday
nights to satch Mazrui like I ran home
to watch Captain Furrillo and the gang.
Watch "The Africans" and learn. It's
better than seeing Lieutenant Bilker
bite some poor criminal on the nose for
the 200th time.
"The Africans" shows at 9
p.m. Thursday Nights on PBS
Channel 12.
The Judge' hands down
trash, sordid verdict
By Mark Hain
Staff Reviewer
"The Judge," channel 3 3:30
p.m. weekdays
As anyone who listens to any TV
evangelist knows, the blame for Ameri
ca's apocalyptic moral decline lies
squarely on the shoulders of the break
down of the family unit. As anyone
who's seen "The Judge" knows, this is
probably true.
It is probably more than coincidence
that "The Judge" directly follows
"Divorce Court." Together they make
up one full hour of really tacky, blat
antly overacted, delightfully melodra
matic courtroom hullabaloo. The only
flaw in all this fun is these shows tend
to take themselves too seriously. The
credibility the viewer gives to shows
such as "The Judge" is what classifies
them as either a modern-day morality
play or a hilariously far-fetched exploi
tation of human foibles. Although "The
Judge" is obviously aimed at people
who live in mobile homes and believe
that The National Enquirer is gospel
truth; with the right attitude, anyone
can get a good laugh out of the Ameri
can televised judicial system.
Tube Talk
And speaking of The National En
quirer, "The Judge" seems to be avideo
version. Well, actually, The Enquirer is
too literate for this comparison; "The
Judge" is really more of a video Weekly
World News. The "gripping family dra
mas" featured on the program have
titles such as "My Daughter the Prosti
tute" and "Mom is a Bag Lady." No
fooling. Have these broadcasters no
shame? Let's hope not.
Despite all the nasty, sordid things
that take place within this TV cour
troom, the producers try to soften the
impact. The judge himself is far more
benevolent and cuddly than the Divorce
Court's Judge Keene or even ol' Judge
Wopnar. The Honorable Robert J.
Franklin comes off as a cross between
God, Santa Claus and Grandpa. This
image is achieved in part from the
scene that introduces us to Mr. Wond
erful: The opening shot pans to a man
tlepiece and scans a vista of photos of
the Judge throughout his years. Oooh,
he was a soldier; what a good American.
And then he walks into view, adjusting
his suspenders (what, he's stylish too?)
Some of our legal officials might be
in it for the money or prone to corrup
tion, but not this guy. "I chose the law
as my way of serving my fellow man," he
informs us as he begins his busy day.
Yes, it's a kiss goodbye to the lovely
wife (an incredible Barbara Billingsley
simulation), a quick romp with the dog
on the painfully perfect lawn and a
Compiled by
Stew Magnuson
Staff Reporter
At the Zoo:
Charlie Burton is a Lincoln legend,
but surprisingly, he rarely plays in
his hometown. This weekend is a
rare chance to see Burton and his
band, The Hiccups, play the Zoo.
Cover is only $2.50 and the shows
Friday and Saturday nights start at
9 p.m.
At Kimball Hall:
Pianist Charles Rosen will be fea
tured at three different events at
Kimball Hall starting next Thursday.
Rosen, who will be in Lincoln as
the featured speaker at the "Collo
quium in 19th Century French Stu
dies," will also perform an all-Liszt
concert on Thursday evening. Rosen
will deliver' a speech and demon
stration, "Romantic Variants: Bal
zac and Liszt," at 1 p.m. Friday for
the colloquium and will teach a
master class at 3:39 p.m. for UNL
State of the Arts
wave to the beaming neighbors. Oh,
how lucky they are to have such a man
right next door. We know Judgey is
even a good Christian, because he tells
us so. "I pray every day to God to give
me the wisdom to always temper jus
tice with humility." With that kind of
help, how can you go wrong?
You can't. Judge Franklin knows his
stuff. He can tell an unruly witness to
bury himself with more compassion
than anyone. And he's smart, too. Take
this case, for example. Mom and Dad
are divorced, and stepdad is an infor
mant on the mob. To keep the kiddies
from getting rubbed out by the Horse
Head Gang, stepdad and company have
to relocate and assume a new identity.
But then real dad will never see Billy
and Susie again.
Oh dear.
"The government has no right to
change their lives," the dad frantically
hollers. (There's a lot of hollering in
this court; it's pretty informal. Some
times there aren't even any attorneys.)
"But at least they'll have their lives,"
Mr. Cold Government Official responds.
The teenage son, who is, of course, his
school's starting quarterback, takes
the stand and whimpers, "How do you
tell a 5-year-old she's never going to see
her daddy again?"
Cut to a tight close-up of the judge's
kindly, concerned, slightly saddened
face, (there are a lot of those, too). But
mom testifies that she's been sent pic
tures of dead babies, and her 5-year-old
daughter turned up from a kidnapping
wearing a note that said, "I could have
been dead by now." What's an ultra
wise, super-human judge to do?
Don't worry. Things get easier when
dad's attorney turns out to be a conniv
ing witch (after all, most women in a
"man's job" on these shows are). It gets
even easier when dad withdraws his
custody petition. He loves his family
(even his ex) too much to jeopardize its
safety. But that's too sad an ending.
Judge Franklin has a way of making
everything alright. He discovers a way
for dad to be smuggled off by the
government once a year to see his kids
in a secret location. Yea!
"It's the bond of life within you all
that makes this decision possible," the
judge tells the thankful family. Dab
those eyes and heave your sighs, once
again everything is peachy in TV land.
As the closing credits roll, the
announcer reports where to write for a
list of organizations that deal with the
"family issues" seen on "The Judge".
(After all, there are debutante sluts
and stool pigeon step-dads in every
family, aren't there?) But why bother?
Even with all that information, no one
can ever top Robert J. Franklin. Look to
the horizon and shield your eyes from
the blinding radiance of the savior of
America's morality.
They call him The Judge.
School of Music piano students. All
events will take place in Kimball
Hall, and the lecturedemonstra
tion and the master class are open
to the public at no charge.
Tickets for the concert are $10 for
the general public and $6 for UNL
students and may be purchased at
the Kimball Hall box office between
11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
At Sheldon Film Theatre:
I haven't seen "A Room with a
View" myself, but everyone I know
who has, has been hassling me all
week to go see it this weekend. "A
Room with a View" is an adaption of
E.M. Forster's novel of the same
name.
Also showing with "A Room with
a View" is a short film by director
Kenn Summers called "Fingerplay."
Screenings are tonight through
Sunday. Times are 7 and 9:15 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, with a Satur
day matinee at 3 p.m. Sunday's
showings are at 5, 7:15 and 9:30 p.m.
Admission is $3.75.
