Monday, April 8,1996 Page 9
■. I . ¥
Cliff Hicks
Europeans
crack down
on violence
Allow me to set the scene. The time
isearly June ofl 994. The setting is the
city of Rome, at a youth hostel. Herb
and Joel are my roommates on the
tour.
We were on a tour of Italy and
Greece as part of our Latin Club. Herb
walked into the r<x)m first and turned
on the television. It was a game show
that involved stripping.
“Look at the stuff you can find on
cable over here,” Joel said.
“This isn’t cable, Joel,” I told him.
“This is public television. Look,
they’re going into a news flash.”
So here I am, almost two years after
having seen Europe, and look what 1
find but a local debate over Playboy.
Let me provide some contrasts.
In Europe, nudity and sex arc not
censored on television, nor do their
film ratings reflect sexual content.
What they screen out is violence.
. I hat s right, wiiat might earn an R
rat ing or worse over here might qual i fy
for only the equivalent of a PG rating
over there.
But the “Tcrminator”-type films
with guns blazingwill get a cautionary
rating slapped on them quicker than
an action hero can reload (so fast you
don’t even see it!).
I asked Derek, one of our lour
guides who everyone on our tour will
remember, what the deal was about
violence and sex over in Europe. Derek
spent most of his life in Europe, but
had lived in the United States for a few
years.
“They aren ’t ashamed of their bod
ies over here. Sex is something bliss
ful and special to be shared between
two people, not,something hid in the
dark and taught in back alleyways by
women with horrible fashion sense,”
he told me.
“And violence? How come they
don’t have action films and cop
shows?” I asked.
“See, it’s reversed in Europe. The
censors crack down on violence, not
letting murder and such on the tele
during daytime.”
It was funny because I did a little
research on the subject when 1 got
back. See, Josh, another guy in my
tour group and I went out for food at 1
a.m. in Rome. We were hungry and
wandered the streets for almost an
hour, quite safely. It was unbeliev
able. Rome felt like a big small-town.
Europe has about a third of the
violence the United States does. The
crime rate is a lot lower. There are
fewer unwanted pregnancies over
there, as well as, fewer sexually trans
mitted diseases. Europe is just a much
nicer place to be.
Granted, Europe isn t as tree as
the United States, but in just a per
sonal comparison between the two,
Europe seems to be amuch nicer place,
socially, to live.
I was only there two weeks, so the
statement I’m making may be a little
broad. But from what I saw and what
I was told — this holds. -
So riddle me this. Why do we cen
sor nudity/sex and not violence? Arc
we really that afraid to admit who we
arc and too scared to deny what we
shouldn’t be?
lllcks is a freshman news-editorial and
English major and a Dally Nebraskan staff
reporter.
Instrumental
Tom Deppe, vocalist for Plattsmouth band Rasputin, performs in front of an enthusiastic crowd. Ph° ° by H° ly Thumann
Rasputin follows its own road to stardom
By Brooks Hitt
Staff Reporter
Havingplaycd its first show a little longer than
a year ago in the upstairs of the Godfather’s Pizza
in Plattsmouth, Rasputin is beginning to establish
itself as a power on the local music scene.
Playing with national talents like Fear, Season
to Risk and Hammerhead helped the band’s fan
base grow enormously. They recently scheduled
a recording session at Eclipse Studios in Omaha.
In other words, Rasputin is counting on sticking
around for a while.
Originally from Plattsmouth, Rasputin doesn ’t
plan on following the recent trend of some local
bands. They plan on moving to — not from —
Omaha.
“No one from Plattsmouth understands, and
everyone condemns us,” drummer Corey
Thumann said.
Guitarist Chris Miller added that the musical
tastes in Plattsmouth were not exactly up to the
times.
“It’s not uncommon to hear someone blasting
‘Shout at the Devil’ from their Trans-Ain.”
The band plans on completing its move to
Omaha in a little more than a month.
Headed tothe studio with up-and-coming pro
ducer Mike Saklar, the band has been catching
the cars and eyes of many people. Nothing is set
in stone, but plans are being made for the release
of “Hidden Agenda,” one of its most powerful
songs, on a seven-inch by the end of the summer.
Rasputin plays the post-punk-TouchNGo
Jcsus Lizard style of rock to perfection, complete
with a stage-diving madman.
Thumann sets the pace with quick, tribal beats,
followed closely by bassist Ken Deppe’s run
you-into-thc-ground bass lines. Both Thumann
and Dcppc form a frame in which Miller creates
havoc with his guitar.
The gritty, minor key playing meets with the
proper use of effects to set the tone for an ccccn
t ric front man. V ocal i st T om Deppe uses a combi -
nation of rambling and screaming to round out
this unique blend. And in case you’re wondering,
Ken and Tom are brothers.
Unlike most bands, Rasputin admits that lyric
come second.
“Instrumental music is definitely the most
important thing,” Tom Dcppc said. “The lyrics
are nothing more than the music in words.
“I just listen to an instrumental version of a
song and get a feel for it, and go from there.”
‘Faithful’ fares
better on stage
than in movies
By Brian Priesman
Film Critic
What do you get a loving, rich wife for her
20th wedding anniversary? In Paul Mazursky’s
newest film, “Faithful,” she gets a contract taken
r-—-out on her head.
movie
ft
Cher, in her first movie since
“Mermaids,” plays Margaret,
a suicidal housewife who has
known for 10 years that her
husband, Jack (Ryan O’Neal),
has been cheating on her.
Jack, in an attempt to cash
in on her rather large life insur
ance policy, hires a mafia
hitman to rape and kill her.
As Margaret is ready to kill
herself, Tony, the mafia hitman (Chazz
Palminteri), breaks in and announces his own
plans to kill her.
As he’s tying her up, the two get into a philo
sophical discussion about love and fidelity. As
Tony begins to like Margaret, he is forced to call
his shrink for an impromptu session about whether
he should or shouldn’t kill her.
Needless to say, it’s pretty macabre.
“Faithful” was originally a stage play. And
that’s all it should have been.
The film is charming at times, funny at others
and sometimes it’s even deep and philosophical.
But it tries to be too big. Mazursky should have,
instead of making a movie version, directed the
stage version.
Photo courtesy of New Line Productions, Inc. and Savoy Pictures
Cher is a suicidal housewife and ChazzPalminteri is the philosophical hitman hired
to kill her in the black comedy “Faithful.”
Cher is annoying at times and cute at times.
But she has aged too mueh to be considered a
“sexy” woman. O’Neal is overbearing and ob
noxious as Jack. And that’s all he needs to be.
The only real redeeming performance in the
film comes from Palminteri. His philosophical
mafia hitman is right on the mark. Unfortunately,
by the end of the film you wish he’d shoot both
Cher and O’Neal.
“Faithful” is, all things considered, not worth
the price of admission in a first-run theater. Stay
faithful to your pocket book and wait for cable.
Film: “Faithful”
Director: Paul Mazursky
Starring: Cher, Chazz Palmintcri, Ryan
O’Neal
Rating: R (language)
Grade: C
Five Words: Cher needs a face lift.