Friday, «pHI 23,1993 Arts^Entertainment
[Taboo cartoon story line stirs contention
By Patrick Hambrecht
Staff Reporter
Lynn Johnston is plagued by tele
phone calls: tidings of praise, angry
criticism from the pulpit and the inter
view offers from gay publications and
national morning news programs.
All this attention is centered on the
imaginary ordeals of a boy who
“comes out of the closet” in Johnston ’ s
com ic strip,‘‘For Better or For Worse.”
The closet-departed youth,
Lawrence Poirier, is a friend of
Michael, the oldest boy in the Patterson
cartoon family.
Lawrence, 17, revealed to his fam
ily and friends that he was involved
romantically with an older man.
Michael eventually accepted his pal’s
abrupt switch, but at home Lawrence
was thrown out by his raging father .
.. to be concluded.
Publications across America have
either canceled their subscription to
“For Better or For Worse,” praised it
or denounced it.
Some have even resubscribed after
canceling a few days before in a Fit of
confusion. About 20 newspapers have
canceled the comic.
Newspaper editors are in turmoil,
Predictions
constantly
changing
ling i fe Ur”
Palm trees growing in Michigan.
Manhattan under water. The Great
Plains a drought-wracked, perpetual
dust bowl.
It’s not an SF story line, but rather
a prediction from some scientists as to
what will occur if we continue to
pump carbon dioxide into the atmo
sphere.
Is any of it for real?
Back in the mid-70s, global cool
ing was the rage among doomsday
game planners. Neutrino emissions
from the sun were down and the aver
age temperature was decreasing, they
warned. One could almost hear the
glaciers rushing southward.
Then, in 1988, somehow global
warming became chic. In the midst of
a drought, with record-high tempera
tures being set that summer and
Yellowstone burning, the Senate con
vened a committee to investigate glo
__:_
But a few things got lost in the
shuffle and only recently are being
brought out
Dr. Dixy Lee Ray, former head of
the Atomic Energy Commission and
former govemoroi Washington, wrote
‘Trashing the Manet” in 1990. In it
he punctures some environmentalist
assumptions.
Most carbon dioxide, Dr. Ray
wrote, is produced by nature, not man.
Much of what the media trumpeted
as evidence of global wanning a few
years ago is not new or strange. W ilh
a bit of homework, they might have
discovered the truth.
Global warming might be occur
ring. But it is an entirely natural pro
cess. Millions of years ago, the aver
age tern pcratureol the Earth was much
warmer than today.
Then came a few icc ages, and it
dropped to its present level. Viewing
the problem in geological terms, over
billions of years, who’s to say what
“normal” global temperature is?
Just as a thought: Is it just possible
that we’re in an ice age now, but all
the warming from carbon dioxide,
natural or not, is preventing us from
noticing it?
Larry Niven, Jowy-Peomellc and
Michael Flynn \yrotc‘‘Fallen Angels”
in 1991 based on that premise. Shut
trying to figure out exactly what to do
with a politically volatile family car
toon amidst strong, opposing reac
tions.
Craig Swanson, editor of the Lin
coln Journal, hasembraced Johnston’s
politically correct gambit, quoting
people who called it “compassionate,
- a
author was “extremely intolerant”and
chose the wrong place for a contro
versial message.
Frank J. Fellone, a senior editor at
the paper, said Johnston was “com
pletely insensitive to the problems of
the people who buy her product.
“She’s alienated newspaper edi
Andersen said.-“It’s about a young
man talking to his friends, talking to
his family.”
She called the comic strip’s accus
ers “people who would prefer to think
that gay people don’t exist and that
there has never been a gay character
in comics before.”
She's alienated newspaper editors so that no matter what we did, we were
danged if we did, and danged if we didn’t.
— Fellone
i senior editor of the Littie Rock (Ark.) Democrat-Gazette
humorous and of inestimable value.”
“There was no justifiable reason
for dropping ‘For Better or For
Worse, Swanson said. “And since
we’re not in the censorship business,
the handful of papers across the coun
try that did so should be ashamed of
themselves.”
Griffin Smith, the executive editor
of the Little Rock (Ark.) Democrat
Gazette, disagrees. Smith’s staff said
he dropped the comic strip because its
I
tors so that no matter what we did, we
were danged if we did, and danged if
we didn’t,” Fellone said. ‘‘(‘For Bet
ter or Worse’) bcingafamily strip, the
cartoonist chose the wrong place for
that message.”
At the Universal Press Syndicate
— the capital of cartoons — “For
Better or For Worse” editor Elizabeth
Andersen couldn’t disagree more.
“They say this subject is not family
values; this is a family value issue,”
-99 -
The first gay character in the funny
pages was Andy Lippincotl, a
“Dooncsbury” personality who ap
peared in 1977 and died of AIDS in
1991.
“Doonesbury” editor Lee Salem
said controversy also followed
Lippincotl, with about 10 papers can
celing the strip, but people expected
to be startled by Garry Trudeau’s
comic.
The reaction to “For Belter or For
-1
Therrese Goodie tt/DN
Otto Green of Peace Nation and Grant Kauffman of Class K practice to open for
Positive K Saturday at Pershing Auditorium.
Rap artists to showcase talents
By Anthony D. Speights
Staff Reporter
The rap scene will hit Lincoln
with a vengeance Saturday night
at 7:30.
Artists Positive K, A Lighter
Shade Of Brown and Rob Base,
along with Muvement Enterprise
groups Klass K and Peace Nation,
are coming to Pershing Audito
rium to pul their skills on show
case for everyone to enjoy.
Even though Positive K is mak
ing good on his debut LP “The
Stolls That Pay Da Bills," he is not
a newcomer to the rap scene. Posi
tive K has also worked with MC
• Lyle and Grand Puba.
His current single, “I Got A
Man," is one of the hottest rap
tunes of the spring and i! gelling a
lot of airplay on radio stations.
Positive K’s performance will
have a lot to offer from his LP.
Look for him to work the crowd
with some of the better cuts from
his LP, like “Minnie The Moocher,”
“Nightshirt” and “Shakin.”
A Lighter Shade Of Brown is
also headlining this concert.
These four Latin rappers from
Los Angeles are starting to make
some headway in the rap world
with their second LP, “Hip Hop
Locos.” This LP features the cut
“Homics," which is set to the music
from Smokey Robinson and The
Miracles’ “Tracks Of My Tews.”
LSOB is a socially conscious group
that has the elements of fun incor
porated in its raps and should pro
vide a good show.
Rob Base stepped into the scene
in 1988 with the immensely popu
lar track, “It Takes Two,” from his
debut LP of the same name. Al
though he has since come out with
another LP, he has been absent
from the rap scene for nearly three
years.
Opening for the above three art
ists are local rappers from The
Muvement Enterprises: Klass .K
featuring DJ Dino-Mike and Peace
Nation. These local groups are
breaking into the scene. Tney’re
hoping to have a similar reaction
from Saturday’s crowd as they re-1
ceived in February when they
opened for Omaha’s 311 at the
Ranch Bowl.
According to MC OG, The
Muvement’s mission is to “stand
against miseducation, examine
oneself and encourage awareness.
The Muvement Enterprises will
have a collaborative effort out this
week entitled “Introspection.”
off the greenhouse and the icebox
follows.
Predicting the future is always a
dicey proposition.
Countless examples abound, from
doomsaying prophets who swore the
world would end Oct. 18, 1843 (it
didn’t, but it lode a while for their
flocks to dissipate nonetheless), to the
current crop predicting Greenhouse
Earth (witness the CBS miniseries
“The Fire Next Time,” which was
aired this week).
The future, and our conception of
it, is an elusive, ever-shifting thing,
about as tangible as a puff of smoke.
It can alter with the si ightest breeze.
The same goes for future disasters.
What may be a sure-fire bet for Arma
geddon today can be nothing more
than ill-informed, crystal-ball gazing
tomorrow. But, of course, it won’t
stop us from trying to see it, human
nature being what it is.
One could have fun trying to pre
dict what future predictions of the
future may be. Killer asteroids in2008,
anyone?
— Sam Kepfieki
Worse” is far greater than the re
sponse to “Dooncsbury,” Salem said.
“People expect ‘Doonesbury’ to
be controversial,” Salem said. ‘“For
Better or For Worse’ is a gentle comic
strip; the negative reaction was much
greater.
“My guess is that it won’t be the
last time a gay character appears in
the comic strip.”
Salem ’ s statementcould be gloomy
from the vantage point of the editors
at The Memphis Commercial Ap
peal. The newspaper, which currently
is running the strip, serves a city where
opposi lion to Johnston ’ s com ic is more
widespread and ardentihan anywhere
else in the country.
Reprobation of the strip has been
“substantial” but does not involve a
large percentage of Commercial-Ap
peal subscribers, managing editor
Harry A. Stokes said.
“We get a lot of biblical quotes
from people — and I’m not saying I
disagree—who believe homosexual
ity has no place in their home or their
children, and are not particularly tol
erant of other views,” Stokes said.
Fighting, kicking,
intensity fill plays
During these troubled, high-stress
times, the latest Theatrix perfor
mances may be just what you need to
soothe your spirit.
Or if not that, at least you’ll be
getting a pretty damn good deal.
Today and Saturday you can show
up at Studio 310 in the Temple Build
ing at 8 p.m., pay $2 and watch
“Riches,” the play that inspired the
film “The War of the Roses.”
Then you can see another play,
“Julie,” next door in the Studio The
ater — without having to pay any
more.
If that doesn’t suit you, there’s
always the matinee performance Sun
day at 2 p.m.
“Riches,” by David Stevens, deals
with communication, or, in this case,
the failure of communication between
the two characters, director Jeanne
Long said.
For this performance of the play,
Long has picked a sparse set. On stage
is a bed, a rug and a writing table that
comes crashing down as the charac
ters’ level of communication degen
erates to kicking, scratching, clawing
and strangling.
But, for dramatic purposes, the
play deliberately makes use of less
violence than the film version, Long
said.
And while the two characters in
“Riches” are in their mid-40s, Long
said she intentionally cast younger
actors.
“The characters act like children,”
she said. “In their struggle to be adult,
they act childish.”
The second play, “Julie,” is Ingrid
Bergman’s adaptation of August
Stringberg’s play “Miss Julie.”
“It’s basically a sex and death trip
from the top,” director Gregory
Tavares said. ‘*It’san intensity junky’s
wet dream—I'm an intensity junky.”
Tavares said the appeal of the play
to him was in the appeal of the char
acters, especially the main character
Julie, who is to be played by Catherine
Bozell.
The original author of this 100
year-old piece, Stringberg, had cer
tain bizarre habits such as shooting
morphine into plants, Tavares said.
He was also a woman-hater.
This performance is taking that
misogynist element of the play and
turning around, Tavares said.
And if all that isn’t good enough,
after Friday night’s performance, there
will also be a free demonstration of
improvisational game-playing by
Tavares’ newly formed “We’re Not
Your Mother’s Players” company.
•
— Matthaw Grant
