Arts & Entertainment
UNL film moves on to next round of contest
By Trevor McArthur
Staff Reporter
A University of Nebraska student
film will move on to the semifinal
round of judging in the Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
15th Annual Student Film Awards.
“Whose Kids are These?,” the
story of a “typical” rock band and the
product of the 1987 16mm filmmak
ing class at UNL, was one of eight
entries selected in the dramatic cate
gory at the Region 5 preliminary
judging in Lincoln Saturday. The
eight entries will advance to the
semifinals on April 16 in Chicago.
One film from each of three catego
ries — documentary, animation and
dramatic — and one extra “wild card”
film will be chosen to go on the final
judging at the Academy in Los Ange
les on May 10,12 and 14.
Region 5 includes schools in Ne
braska, Michigan, Indiana, Wiscon
sin, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, North
Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas and
Missouri.
There is also a category' for experi
mental films, but none of this year’s
experimental entries from
Nebraska’s region was given the
seven-point average rating needed to
go on to the next round. Only one
animated film was chosen, “Cat and
be made as logical as Euclidean ge
ometry. At 46 minutes, by far the
longest film in the competition.
• “The Waitress Conspiracy”
from Northwest University in Evan
ston, 111., directed by Robert Borden
and Bruce Cooper. The restaurant’s
kitchen is conspiring to make you feel
like a fool, and they arc very experi
enced at it.
• “Atonement” from Columbia
College of Chicago, directed by Dan
Moran. The story of man who con
fesses his sins while being hunted by
the mob as a result of one of them. A
film with a strong religious message.
• “Norma Jean” from Southern
Illinois University, Carbondale, 111.,
directed by John Bchnkc. A humor
ous documentary about an elephant,
her death and the town that remem
bers her. Best line — “I think if you
can’t help someone, (even) if it isonly
an elephant, why should you be
here?”
• “Just Keep Going” from Colum
bia College of Chicago, directed by
Ellen Meyers. A look at a shelter for
the homeless and the three women
who run it.
• “Special Feelings” from the Uni
versity of Iowa at Iowa City, directed
by Dirk Eitzen. A look at persons with
severe physical handicaps and their
romantic relationships.
• “Around Round Bams” by Jon
athan Mednick and Dirk Eitzen.
School affiliation unavailable. A
documentary about farmers in Iowa
who own historical round bams. It
explores their uniqueness, their histo
ries and the possibility of their demise
and extinction, and the parallels with
the people who own and work in
them.
This year the Academy is experi
menting with allowing entries on
videotape. The last three documenta
ries listed — “Just Keep Going,”
‘‘Special Feelings” and “Around
Round Bams” — were entirely shot
and presented on video. Unfortu
nately, the Sheldon Film Theater,
where the screenings were held, was
not set up for viewing video presenta
tions and the audience had to move
down to the front rows when they
were presented to sec the two stan
dard-sized TV monitors, after watch
ing films projected on a feature-size
screen all day. In addition, there were
technical problems with the tape
player or tapes which occasionally
interrupted the screenings.
Dan Ladcly, curator of film and
facilities coordinator for the Sheldon
Art Gallery, said the reason for the
video experiments was to give a
chance to people with budgets too
small to cover all the costs associated
■■ ■'
with shooting film or producing a
projectable print. Some entries were
shot on film but either edited on vide
otape, transferred onto video or sub
mitted as taped copies to save on
shipping.
Apparently, this method of pre
senting films is not popular with the
judges. June Levine, UNL professor
of English, chairwoman of UNL’s
film studies program and a judge for
the event, said she does not think the
quality of a video image can compare
with projected film.
“Everyone I talked to thinks it
should be only film, and I agree,”
Levine said.
She said the videos were hard to
watch. She doesn’t really like to
watch television, she said, but could
sit through all 16 hours of a Werner
Fassbinder film the Sheldon pre
sented over two days once.
Wheeler Dixon, assistant profes
sor of English and art and another
judge, agreed.
“Videotape should be banned
from the competition because it’s not
film and because it encourages people
to make very long and formless docu
mentaries,” Dixon said.
The screenings were also held all
in one day, practically 12 hours of
viewing, rather than spread over two
days as in previous years.
—
I
T-shirts make progress, statements
By Joseph Bowman
Staff Reporter
If you’ve ever watched “Leave It
To Beaver” or other old sitcoms,
you’ll know that people didn’t al
ways just wear T-shirts. Generally,
all the guys would have to wear
some stiff and scratchy shirt that
Primarily this stemmed from the
lingering Puritan elements in
American society. Many promi
nent, influential theologians and
higher-ups in the churcn still be
lieved, even as late as the 1950s,
that clothing should be uncomfort
able.
But out of the social, sexual, po
litical and cultural upheavals of the
I_I
Dave Hansen/Daity Nebraskan
Avarn Card employee Angie Carver in the store’s
window display.
cither Mom or the wife starched to
a uniform crispness. The kind of
attire that would make a grown man
whimper and chafe.
In the summer, they were simply
fiendish torture devices, especially
if you had a heat rash or a sunburn.
They were made not only to look
bad, but to feel bad.
’60s came the T-shirt. The new lib
erality and the widespread accep
tance of casualness in all things
climaxed in the 100 percent cotton,
thoroughly comfortable, outerwom
undergarment. No longer did men
have to hide their secret to peace of
mind beneath an outer shell of vio
lently clashing polyester knits.
Now, for the first time in Ameri
can history, they could brazenly
promenade down any city street in
just a T-shirt
Nowadays anyone can walk into
any number of clothing stores and
ask for, in a candid and level tone, a
T-shirt There’s no mystery, no
clandestine slipping on of the T
shirt in some back room. Now we
have a freedom that is taken for
granted by most
In the ’80s, T-shirts have even
become indispensable fashion ac
cessories. People wear solids,
stripes, black, white and the entire
spectrum of colors. They are an
accepted and expected expression
of one’s individuality. In a world
that demands so much conformity,
clothing is one of the few domains
left to the individual.
By now you’re probably think
ing, “Wow, he’s right. So how can I
carve out a little individuality for
myself?’’ Well, you can go to a
variety of shops within walking
distance of City Campus to find the
kinds of T-shirts you’re looking for.
i ne ursi ana most odvious stop
is Nebraska Bookstore. They carry
a full line of UNL and football
shirts, but if you want to stand out in
a crowd here, you can’t do it wear
ing red. Fortunately, they also have
a good selection of comic shirts,
like the well-known Far Side and
Bloom County. And, augmented by
the popular “Dick, Jane and Spot’’
line, they successfully round out
their customer appeal.
If you’re into music (like every
one and her dog), then you already
know about the stuffed shelves and
racks at Twisters, Pickles and
Trade-a-Tapc. They all offer simi
lar types of designs featuring popu
lar bands, concert shirts, tie-dyes
and others.
However, Trade-A-Tape dif
fers, selling shirts with artwork
from Marvel and DC comic books,
and from some underground bands
that aren’t carried by the other
stores.
But no other store really comes
close to the spangled variety of
choice at Avant Card. As an inspir
ing bastion of liberty in fashion,
they are the model to which all
others aspire.
Avant Card carries several de
signs you simply can’t find any
where else in town. They stock the
same sort of shirts carried by all the
aforementioned stores except for
the music-oriented motifs and the
“Better Red than Dead” stuff.
Start with the pseudo-Oriental
prints. They’re all prints of fish.
Really big prints of fish. Still,
they’re just pictures of fish. But the
art is of such high caliber that it
succeeds in taking something like
an ordinary trout and transforming
it into a creature of mystery.
They also provide a selection of
some extremely witty shirts that ad
dress common college themes; sex,
drinking and politics. For example,
the shirt in which one bitter chick
offers her friend comic consolation
after a hard breakup; “You’re not
alone, honey. My shampoo lasts
longer than my relationships.”
In addition, Woody Jackson’s
distinctive green herclord cow
shirts are available. Besides the
well-known “Holy Cow” design,
there are two other “cowagraphs,”
one of mother and child, and the
other of cows with landscape.
Jackson works in Vermont, a state
with more cows than humans in it.
He’s constantly in a state of inspi
ration.
Above all other brands tower
the creative giants of Artwear and
Fabric Art T-shirts. As their names
suggest, this clothing falls under
the definition of wearable art.
Some of them simulate A/.tcc rug
weaves. Some hatch a peephole
egg view of fantastic lifestyles. A
few simply portray a discrete
bunch of flowers. However, it is the
season, and bright blossoms like
those still may add a flush to one’s
cheeks.
The best thing about a lot of the
shirts at Avant Card — they’re
uncommon and relieve the poverty
of originality one may feel when
pressed into the masses at school.
If you’re looking for a unique,
comfortable gift for yourself or
someone else, T-shirts arc the way
to go. They’re hip, they’re stylish,
they’re you. So step into the lime
light and buy some popularity.
Don’t just listen to me, listen to
your friends. They’ll tell you that
buying T-shirts is more than just a
trend, bigger than a mere hobby.
Above all, it’s die right thing to do,
babe.
The Lincoln Parks and Recreation
Department is sponsoring a Wildlife
Babies Seminar at the Chet Ager
Nature Center on Sunday, April 10,
from 2-10 p.m.
This family program is free of
charge. Pre-registration is required.
Call 471-7895 to register.
* * * * *
The Nebraska Wesleyan
University’s Union Program Board is
sponsoring the NWU Jazz Fest Sun
day at Pinewood Bowl in Pioneers
Park. Performing will be Fusion
Force, an Omaha-based group spe
cializing in New Age and fusion jazz,
and Mother’s Big Band and the Lar
son Brothers, both more traditional
jazz groups based in Lincoln.
The show will run from 2-6 p.m.
and is free and open to the public.
Rain site is Knight Field House, 53rd
and Huntington on the NWU campus.
* * * * *
Burke High School, 120th and
West Dodge Road in Omaha, presents
an evening with Maynard Ferguson,
tonight at 8 p.m. Limited, reserved
scat tickets are $10
* * * * *
The 18th Annual Lincoln City
Library Foundation Book Sale will be
held will be held at Bennett Martin
Public Library, 14th and N, in the
Fourth Floor Auditorium, until Sun
day. The schedule is as follows:
Today — 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Saturday — 9 to 5:30
Sunday — 1:30 to 5 p.m.
A wide variety of books arc for
sale. Prices range from 10 cents for
Reader’s Digest condensed books to
$1 for hardcover and trade paper
backs.
* * * * * *
The Fifth Annual Heritage Room
Adult Spelling Bee will be held April
12, at 8 p.m. at P.O. Pears, 322 S. 9th
St.
In the past four years the competi
tion has been between businesses,
organizations, the university commu
nity, government officials and indi
viduals. Heritage Room Adult Spell
ing Bee will be held at P.O. Pears, 322
S. 9th St.
There is a $30 registration fee for
contestants and a $2 cover charge at
the door for supporters. All proceeds
will be used to match a 5100,000
Challenge Grant from the National
Endowment for the Humanities.
For more information call Barbara
Hansen at Lincoln City Libraries,
435-2146.
Rat,” featuring the two title charac
ters in a comical chase through vari
ous forms of animation. It was pro
duced at Columbia College of Chi
cago and directed by James
Richardson. It received a perfect
score of 10 from the judges. “Whose
Kids” received seven points.
Two other UNL films were en
tered in the competition, both in the
dramatic category, but are not mov
ing on: “The Writer,” described as
“an existential melodrama about en
tropy and pizza,” by Stephanie Strait
and Ray Brown, and “Milk &
Honey,” a fantasy of incredible inno
cence and violence, by David
Stilwell. Stilwell also directed
“Whose Kids” for the filmmaking
class. He said he was surprised that
“Whose Kids” was chosen.
Four other dramatic films and four
documentaries were chosen to go on
to the semifinals. They are:
• “Puppet Show” from Southern
Illinois University at Carbondalc,
directed by Stephen F. Tcmpc. A
thriller about a young boy whose
psychologist father is treating a dan
gerous psychopath.
• “The Geometry of Love” from
the School of the Art Institute of
Chicago, directed by Rafael Wang
and David Allison. The story of an
architect who tries to find how life can