Violent novel fuss not censorship issue
"Oh, honey. The things! could do to
your eyes with a coat hanger.”
— Bret Easton Ellis, "American
Psycho”
Once upon a time, there was a
young, famous novelist named Bret
Easton Ellis who graduated from
Bennington College. This young
famous novelist wrote a novel called
“Less Than Zero” about the perils of
restless youth living in the fast lane of
too much sex and drugs and not enough
love in Los Angeles. The novel was
praised by critics nationwide as a
masterpiece, and its author as a nov
elist of the first order.
Several years later, after writing
another book about overprivileged,
unhappy young adults that didn’t do
as well (“The Rules of Attraction”),
Ellis wrote another novel, this one
supposed to be a scathing critique of
American life today.
Titled “American Psycho,” this
novel was about a twenty-something
yuppie investment banker by day, serial
killer by night who gets his kicks in
his spare time by committing acts of
violence against women, children and
the homeless in New York. When not
tracking the future of pork bellies,
Patrick Bateman bites the breasts off
his victims, skins them, attacks them
with nail guns, and, in one especially
notorious sequence, inserts a starving
rat into a woman’s body — the better
for it to gnaw its way free.
Like all successful authors in fairy
tales, Ellis had a respectable pub
lisher, Simon and Schuster. Every
thing was going happily until this fall,
when bad fairies in the form of Spy
and Time magazines printed excerpts
from the novel.
The public reacted with horror.
U.S. News & World Report’s John
Leo call the book “totally hateful —
in effect, a how-to manual on the
torture and dismemberment of
women.”
The outrage was so great that Simon
and Schuster’s CEO decided to can
cel publication, a month before
“American Psycho” was to be shipped
to bookstores.
Ellis was shocked. So was his lit
erary agent. The Authors Guild got
into the fray, charging censorship.
But the story had a happy ending,
after all. Within 48 hours of Simon
and Schuster’s decision, Alfred A.
Knopfs Vintage Books announced
that it would publish “Psycho” as a
trade paperback in early 1991.
“American Psycho” is scheduled to
appear on bookshelves any day now.
Article after article has appeared
on the book since the controversy
began. Some publications, like the
New York Times Book Review and
many women’s magazines, have
blasted “American Psycho” and ad
vocated its boycott. In return, Pub
lishers Weekly, the Authors Guild
and Ellis himself have levelled charges
of censorship against Simon and
Schuster for refusing to publish
“American Psycho.”
Comparisons of “American Psy
cho” to the 2 Live Crew controversy,
the Robert Mapplethorpe trial and the
NEA funding for the arts dispute have
abounded.
Some critics claim “American
Psycho,” like explicit rap lyrics, is a
disgusting attack against women. Some
argue that the novel itself is terrible,
being nothing more than 362 pages
full of designer labels, violence, no
William
Rudolph
character development and no plot.
But whatever the reasons for dis
liking it, the question remains: Is the
fuss about publishing “American
Psycho” another example of censor
ship in the 1990s?
No.
When Cincinnati curator Qennis
Barrie is put on trial for exhibiting
Robert Mapplethorpe’s nudes, that is
censorship. When a federal agency
denies an artist grant money because
of “immoral” or “objectionable” art
according to so-called community
standards, that is censorship. When a
rap group is arrested on obscenity
charges and a Florida record seller is
indicted for hawking the group’s rec
ords, that is most definitely censor
ship.
But no one is preventing Ellis from
marketing his so-called “critique” of
American society. Publishing is a
business, not a federal agency. Al
though Simon and Schuster refused
to publish “American Psycho,” Vin
tage Books quickly came to the nov
elist’s rescue.
Ellis even stands to make half a
million dollars from his ordeal in
combined advances, not to mention
the sales all of the controversy un
doubtedly will generate. After all,
there’s nothing like a big juicy scan
dal to get the American public sali
vating (and the dollars flying out of
wallets).
No one, furthermore, is issuing
death threats against Ellis. His repu
tation may have been damaged, but
his advances should help buy tissues
to mop up any tears of self-pity —
unlike Salman Rushdie, who still lives
in hiding two years after publication
of “The Satanic Verses.”
And even if every commercial
publishing house decided to “snuff’
Ellis’ novel, as the New' York Times
Book Review urged, Ellis still could
unleash his disgusting excuse for fic
tion upon us all through a vanity press.
This is America, after all. If you’ve
got the money, you can print your
Uncle Ralph’s remembrances of grow
ing up on an ostrich farm or even a do
it-yourself guide to torturing women,
children and the homeless.
I do not plan to read “American
Psycho.” I have better ways to spend
my money. Quite frankly, I’d much
rather waste my time perusing the
side of a cereal box. At least I might
learn something constructive.
But, to paraphrase Voltaire, you
have every right to buy Ellis’ book,
every right to read it — and I will
fight with my dying breath to let you
have the chance to make up your own
mind about it, regardless of what I
think about it.
Once that book is published, if
someone tries to prevent you from
buying or being able to read “Ameri
can Psycho,” then that is censorship
— and that is not only unacceptable,
but evil.
Ultimately, the whole stink about
“American Psycho” comes down to
something more serious than censor
ship or freedom of speech.
The disturbing thing about “Ameri
can Psycho” is not the violence it
depicts. Not the starving rat sequence.
Not even Ellis’ justification in the
novel’s press release for creating a
manuscript full of designer labels and
serial killers biting off their victims’
breasts:
“I don’t think it’s a novelist’s job
to give little moral lessons.”
The disturbing thing is that the
manuscript was ever accepted in the
first place.
If “American Psycho” had been
written by an unknown author, it
wouldn’t have gotten past the slush
pile on the first assistant reader’s desk.
Novels do not come out overnight.
Yet throughout all the editorial meet
ings, all the work involved in bring
ing a book to press, no one apparently
stopped to ask themselves, “Do we
want to be associated with this book?
Do we want to be held responsible for
producing, promoting and condoning
a work like this?”
Why didn’t Simon and Schuster
cancel publication of the novel be
fore the popular press got a whiff of
the content of “American Psycho?”
What does the fact that Vintage Books
still plans to publish it, even after all
the controversy and bad publicity,
indicate about us?
What does it say about American
society today that Bret Easton Ellis
could conceive of this idea, have the
nerve to commit it to paper and sell it
for a combined total of half a million
dollars? And that we; the American
public, will undoubtedly buy it?
The answer is not very pleasant.
William Rudolph is a senior English
major and Daily Nebraskan arts and enter
tainment reporter and columnist.
Texas polka band not all Polish does and beer
By Robert Richardson
Sen/or Reporter
Imagine a polka band from Texas,
with traditional brass, accordian and
percussion beats, that started playing
in mental institutions.
After he graduated from art school,
Carl Finch’s friends asked him what
he was going to do. He said he was
going to form a “nuclear polka band”
and play mental institutions.
In 1979, Finch did just that as
Brave Combo appeared on the Texas
polka scene.
Having just released their eighth
record, “A Night On Earth,” Brave
Combo will be coming to the Zoo
Bar, 136 N. 14th St. on Monday night.
You won’t hear the ‘‘Beer Barrel
Polka” on their latest release, “A Night
On Earth,” but you will hear plenty of
diversity.
Brave Combo’s versatile vocalist
and horns player, Jeffrey Barnes, said
the band tries to do different things
because that fits in with its current
interests.
“We do quite a variety of things as
we’ve been real interested in music of
other cultures as ethnomusicology,”
Barnes said. “All of us have kind of
gotten into it in various and sundry
ways.”
Barnes said even though Brave
Combo does some different things,
they really like the basic polka sound.
And being from Texas, they have
noticed similarities between Mexico
and the United States.
“American Polish polka is some
thing that we like a lot,” Barnes said.
“Polkas have become a part of Mexi
can culture in a number of different
ways.”
“Do Something Different” is a
perfect example of Chicago polka,
Barnes said. The fast-paced tempo
coupled with the strong brass sound
and piano bring in a light-hearted
feeling to a room. The vocals in a
hearty scratch sing, “do something
different... disappear.” This brings
back memories of weddings, beer and
Po/iish dogs.
Brave Combo will be at the Zoo
Bar Monday at 9 p.m. Cover is $4.
Record
Continued from Page 8
president of Doctor Dream Records
in Orange, Calif.
“We’re coming at it from a sur
vival standpoint,” Hayes said. “We’re
not going to shoot our wad and then
not be around next year.”
Hayes said the recession could
“probably have a positive effect” for
some record labels, because “a lot of
labels are dropping bands, so there
are some great bands available for
signing.’’Many groups from major
labels may lose their recording con
tracts if the recession is prolonged,
Hayes said, and that’s good news for
the independent labels.
a ioi oi groups, once uiey vc
been on the main track and found out
what it’s all about, and they’re in debt
for $300,000, they realize that inde
pendent labels offer a way to sur
vive,” Hayes said. ‘‘I’m actually look
ing forward to the recession.”
According to Jonathan Poneman,
however, most independent labels
aren’t interested in picking up acts
that have been dropped by other la
bels. Poneman is co-owner of the
Seattle-based Sub Pop Records.
“As far as I’m concerned, a band
that has gone on to a major label,
they’re basically stiffed. What we’re
interested in is something more than a
pop act. Now, if Van Morrison were
to get dropped, sure, we may try to
pick him up. But of course he’s not
going to get dropped because of a
recession, Poneman said.
“My opinion,” he said, “is that il a
band can’t make it through large dis
tribution, it bespeaks of a greater lack
of market momentum, so we’re not
interested.”
Poneman did admit that “there’s
great business sense to doing that
(signing a band that was dropped), if
you can get someone that transcends
mere pop product. But in terms of the
currency of the independent recortj
profession, we’re looking for new faces,
new names, new concepts. If you start
trying to pump life into a band that
blew its wad years ago, forget iL”
Hayes said the independent record
ing industry can thrive during a reces
sion “because we sell quantities the
retail merchant can still afford.”
In addition to the ease with which
retailers can acquire independent re
leases, Hayes said, independent la
bels offer attractive packages to good
artists.
“The difference between us and
Geffen, for instance, is that we can
make and market an album for be
tween $20,000 and 550,000, and they
can make and market one for between
$200 and $500,000 per album,” he
said.
“Sales of MJ.UUU recoras to me, 1 a
be jumping through the roof,” Hayes
said. “Whereas with a major label,
that would be a complete failure. That’s
the attraction of the independent scene.
We’re self-contained.”
Poneman said he can respect the
major record l.ioels’ drive to maxi
mize sales and increase volume. “At
that level, with Warner Bros, and the
others, that’s what they’re all about. I
mean, Coca-Cola tries to bottle and
sell as many bottles of Coke as they
can each day. But we don’t see our
bands as being just so much product.”
Sub Pop’s strategy for overcom
ing the recession is “to always evalu
ate the bottom line, one way or the
other,” said Poneman. But the mis
sion of the company overrides the
desire for big financial gains.
“We don’t have a plan to slop
signing new acts,” he said. “Frankly,
it’s easier to sign new acts than feed a
big hungry beast of an act we helped
to create.”
“The old Warhol 15-minute quote
is essentially true. Popular culture
eats its young, as it were, and the acid
lest for us is simply whether or not a
band has something to say,” Pone
man said.
Paula Jeffries, president of Gold
Castle Records in Los Angeles, took
a realistic view of overcoming the
recession.
“We look at the situation very
realistically and on a day-to-day ba
sis,” Jeffries said. She added that Gold
Castle Records is not looking to sign
a high number of artists who may be
searching for contracts or “take any
big financial gambles” during the
recession.
“It’s kind of hard to project at this I
point,” Jeffries said of the impact of
the recession. “But we have always |
tried to be quite frugal, and we will |
maintain uiui Miuicgy.
Gold Castle releases arc distrib
uted by major labels; Jeffries dec lined
to mention the labels’ names.
Jeffries said, “but wc have some
specialty products that we distribute
independently into stores that wouldn’t
otherwise carry music, like bookstores
that carry New Age selections, for
instance.”
The recession has had an impact
on the company, according to Jef
fries, but only “to the degree that I
think we’ve been building slowly
towards this for about two years now.”
Retailers have “generally bought
stock for up to 12 weeks in advance,
but now they’re down to purchasing
what they need for the next eight
days, and re-ordering in between to
fill stock,” Jeffries said.
“Certain products arc still certainly
moving,” Jeffries said, “but the vol
ume is more closely regulated.”
Overall, record companies execu
tives expressed optimism about their
ability to endure a recession, and, as
Darrel Anderson, promotional direc
tor of Hightone Records in Oakland,
said, “as far as I’m concerned, it’s not
really going to have a highly adverse
impact. It shouldn’t really affect us.”
A group for individuals who have completed
drug or alcohol treatment and :
• Want a supportive environment for
their sobriety
• Want to attend a group on campus
• Are finding aspects of college life difficult
Meetings on Tuesdays 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
beginning Feb. 19th
Burnett Hall Room 225
For More Info Call:
AnnElizabeth Card at
472-2351 or 472-7440
HNo Fee
Sponsored by University Health Center & F1PSE j
Alcohol Abuse Prevention Project
UNI. is a non-discriminatory institution_ |