The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, September 25, 1995, Page 10, Image 10
‘Chinoiserie’ illustrates art’s effect on audiences By Sean McCarthy Staff Reporter Judging by audience reaction Fri day night, it was not difficult to see that Ping Chong’s “Chinoiseric” struck a nerve. The West’s fears and misunder standings of Eastern culture was the core message of “Chinoiserie.” The show began with a humorous tale of when Chong visited a so-called Chi nese restaurant; Chong pointed out the stereotypes he said go into such a restaurant. The show’s mood quickly became darker. By the end of the performance, some audience members became un settled as a slide was projected show ing how the United States returned to China 20,000 pounds of bones from Chinese workers on the great railroad. The world premiere of “Chinoiserie” at the Kimball Recital Hall showed how art can challenge an audience. “Chinoiseric” could have been seen as just a long condemnation of Western treatment of the Chinese people. It could also be seen as a well performed example on how vital a role respect and communication play in understanding other cultures. The production of “Chinoiseric” was excellent. Guy Kluccvsck com posed a wonderful score, and his heavy use of chimes created a breezy flow for each of Chong’s stories. Though Chong used personal ex amples of racism he has encountered in the last two years, the majority of “Chinoiscrie” revolved around two events in history. The first was the first encounter between Lord George McCartney, the trade emissary from King George III of England in 1793, and Qianlong, the Celestial Emperor of China. The second traced the, origins of the Opium Wars. The production was divided into more than 40 segments. Though this made the production easier to follow, “Chinoiscrie” was still an uneven piece. The segments featuring tensions between McCartney and Qianlong were cut abruptly to scenes depicting opium use. The performances in “Chinoiserie” were tight, though it was the first lime the show was performed in its entirety before an audience. Whether or not people took to the intensity ofChong’s piece, it wasdone with respect. More importantly, “Chinoiscrie” stuck with audience members after the lights went up. . Plug Into the I World with FREE " Internet Glasses Now that you have your computer account on Herbie, UNLCLASS1 or UNLGRAD1 you can discover how to tap into the resources available to you on the internet. These classes are free and no reservations are required. Seats are available on a first come, first served basis. Call 472-9050 if you have any questions. Intro to E-Mail Monday, September 25 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. Bancroft Hall, 239 Tuesday, September 26 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. Bancroft Hall, 239 Tuesday, September 26 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. Bancroft Hall, 239 Friday, September 29 10:00 - 1 1:30 a.m. Bancroft Hall, 239 Friday, September 29 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. Bancroft Hall, 239 Advanced E-Mail Wednesday, September 27 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. Bancroft Hall, 239 Electronic News Thursday, September 28 10:00 - 1 1:30 a.m. Bancroft Hall, 239 INSTITUTE FOR STUDY ABROAD BUTLER UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES IN GREAT BRITAIN AUSTRALIA IRELAND NEW ZEALAND Fully integrated study at British, Irish, New Zealand and Australian universities FALL OR SPRING SEMESTER • FULL YEAR INSTEP • SUMMER PROGRAM • INTERNSHIPS Study Abroad Information Session Representative :^teve Seaworth Date- Monday, Sept. 25 Location: 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. International Affairs Office, 1237 R. St. For further information please contact: Your Study Abroad Office on campus or the Institute for Study Abroad, Butler University, 4600 Sunset Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46208, Tel: 317/940-9336 or 800/858-0229 Fax: 317/940-9704 ---«-— m 11 r B.G. Knocc Out & Dresta “Real Brothas” OutBurst/Def Jam Grade: C Eazy-E is gone but his memory lives on in the new gangsta rap crew B.G. Knocc Out & Dresta. Like Eazy, this duo is plagued by medio cre rhymes and tracks. Like the title “Real Brothas” sug gests, these two are actually broth ers. It seems that B.G. had been working with Eazy-E on “It’s On Dr. Dre 187um Killa” writing rhymes for his shortness to say. Meanwhile, older brother Dresta, or Dre as he is frequently called... hmmm, interesting... was on lockdown in upstate California. This supposedly gave him time to really hone his lyrical skills. That still remains to be seen. Although Dresta is obviously the better of the two, since B.G. ap proaches sounding like a B.O.N.E. rip off, there is more work that needs to be done. This is not to say that they fall flat, just that average rhymes coupled with played-out (did I say that?) gangsta funk equals nothing new. You mi glit hope for something better for these guys. Dresta toys with verbal excellence in “Jealousy” and “Life’s a Puzzle.” The best production comes on the self-titled “B.G. Knocc Out” where the whining synth approaches sounding like bagpipes and the lop ing beat lags in the background. Too bad this track is wasted on B.G. Probably the most shocki ng track is “d.p.g./k” which, in a tribute to Eazy-E’s feud with Dr. Dre, is sim ply a dis rap aimed toward Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Nate Dogg and especially Daz and Corrupt of the Dogg Pound. If the rhymes were even close to good, those multiplatinum artists might even care. Even hard core fans of gangsta rap will quickly tire of the monoto nous funk tracks with R&B chorus and lcss-than-excellent raps. —Greg Schick Showgirls Continued from Page 9 making it to the big time. Naturally, she doesn’t make it into a big show, and instead docs nude dancing at a low-class place, which includes doing lewd lapdancing for a higher price. To keep the idea of a plot moving along, Nomi gets noticed by current headlining Vegas showgirl Cristal Connors (Gina Gershon; remember Tom Crui se ’ s photographer girl friend in “Cocktail?”) and entertainment di rector Zack Carey (Kyle MacLachlan). Gosh, will Nomi be pulled down into the cold, backstabbing lifestyles of the other Vegas personalities, or will she rise above it to claim her individuality? Who cares? As far as a story goes, this movie sucks. We have more than two hours to learn one thing: Lots of show business people have the ethics and conscience of clam dip. The acting in this film is pretty deplorable as well, with Berkley stand ing out proudly as the leader of this gang of overacting twits. The only savinggracesofthismovie are the music and dance sequences. The choreography and music in this film blend together with a passion and power that has to be experienced to be believed. But it’s not playing in Lincoln. So is it worth an hour’s drive to sec? Probably not. Is it worth renting once it comes out on video? Maybe, but the scale of the show will be lost on a small screen. Kids Continued from Page 9 audiences’ heads without them ever even knowing it. This film focuses on one day’s ad ventures with Telly (played by Leo Fitzpatrick), his best friend Casper (played by Justin Pierce) and Telly’s former girlfriend Jenny (played by Chloe Sevigny). Nearly every character in this film, with the exception of Jenny, is virtu ally facing moral bankruptcy. Telly is an HIV-positive high school student who has made a hobby of deflowering virgins, preferably those who are around the ripe age of 13. Casper is an alcoholic, homophobic, drug-using skateboard punk who shoplifts on a daily basis and marvels at Telly’s ability to ma nipulate members of the opposite sex. Jenny, the only character that shows signs of redemption, finds out that she is HIV-positive and spends the rest of the film trying to find Telly and deal with her own emotions at the same time. By the time the final scene is played out, and Telly’s voice-over regarding his philosophy on life is spoken, the film has done its damage and revealed its message many times over—even though no one in the audience may know it. “Kids” is one of this year’s most powerful and realistic films. From the acting to the writing to the directing, every aspect of the film hits with full force. And if you don’t think that you can handle that, then you’re exactly the person who needs to see this film. get the Inside Track on admissions Come to one of our free seminars* . - Sunday, October 1, 1995 Nebraska Student Union Food Court A & B 1-800-KAP-TEST To Register Call: 1-800-KAP-TEST _ _ Co-sponsored by Career Services ■ ■■ flkl 'At Mlactad location*. Not all seminar* offarod at al locations. ■ m I HI ■ si All You Care To Eat Original Sauce Spaghetti, Plus a Trip *Ib Our Garden Fresh Salad Bar & T\vo Slices Garlic Cheese Bread OffrrfttffcrlaiclwRmr-' JHLflrMrtlMNt M ptt iIm trttfhf* I»( nU MmfiUiftitfm-i Expires 10/31/95 228 N. 12th LINCOLN ■■■■■■ NC-17 Continued from Page 9 “Showgirls.” Gina Miller, assistant manager at the Dundee, said moviegoers should be allowed to watch what they want to watch. “Censorship is a bad thing,” Miller said. “It’s just wrong to want to censor movies for everybody.” Although both positive and nega tive responses have come to the em ployees of the Dundee over various NC-17 movies. Miller said the ma jority had been favorable. Steve Herrlcy, manager of the Dundee, agreed. “We’ve gotten a lot of positive comments about running this movie,” Herrley said. “As far as negative comments go, I myselfhave not heard any.” There haven’t been too many problems with enforcement of the NC-17 rating, Herrley said. “We’ve had to turn away a few kids who have tried to gel in,” Herrley said. “I had one kid who tried to tell me his driver’s license said ‘1975’ when it was really ‘1979.’ “They (moviegoers) are pretty understanding. A lot of people are just happy that the movie is showing nere. Enforcement ofthe NC-17 rating didn’t go so well at the AMC 8 Westroads Theaters. Manager Jenny Rands said the crowd was fairly calm, but tense. “The big thing was that we had to card everyone,” she said, “and a few just got real snotty about it.” Rands said she didn’t anticipate any further problems except possi bly on the weekends. “It takes awhile for people to get in,” she said. Employees at the AMC Westroads 8 also had their share of opinions about the NC-17 rating and the release of “Showgirls.” “I’ve never seen so many men in one theater at one time,” said Heidi Juersivich, 18. “A lot of the older crowd is kind of flattered when we ask to seedpiju ID,” said Amanda Blake, 20, “but a lot of people just think it’s ridicu lous.” A rating such as NC-17 does not allow for mistakes on judgment calls on a person’s age, Blake said, and she isn’t doing her job if someone who isn’t 17 years old gets into the theater. “If we card them all, then we won’t miss anyone,” Blake said. One employee said he found the new person-to-person relationship refreshing. “I’m more in touch with these people now because I’m talking to each one of them,” said Nate Agui lar, 16. But Aguilar said he wished he hadn’t talked to so many people. “It is a pretty sad comment on society that we almost sold out.” $3.25 per day for 15 words on individual student and student organization ads. $4.50 per day for 15 words on non-student ads. $.15 each additional word. $.75 billing charge. Personal ads must be prepaid. Found ads may be submitted free of charge. DEADLINE: 2:00 p.m. weekday prior to publica tion. The Daily Nebraskan will not print any adver tisement which discriminates against any person on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, race, religion, age, disability, marital status or national origin. The Daily Nebraskan reserves the right to edit or reject any advertisement at any time which does not comply with the policies and judgments of the newspaper. The advertisers agree to assume liability for all contents of all ads printed, as well as any claim arising therefrom made against the Daily Nebras kan. 00s For Sale Tired of the laundromat? 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