EDITOR
Erin Gibson
OPINION
EDITOR
Cliff Hicks
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Nancy Christensen
Brad Davis
Sam McKewon
Jeff Randall
Bret Schulte
I
i
Our
VIEW
‘Psycho’
analytical
True remake avoids
common hypocrisy
This Friday, Hollywood’s latest contro
versy will come slashing into theaters.
The film in question is “Psycho,” or to
be more accurate, a new remake of the
1960 Alfred Hitchcock-directed horror
classic.
One of Hitchcock’s true masterpieces,
the original “Psycho” was responsible for a
host of eerie images that have lingered in
popular culture - most notably the infa
mous shower scene and the shadowy sil
houette of the Bates Motel.
In many cases, one might expect such a
film to be sacrosanct, particularly to those
who work in the film industry that
Hitchcock so directly influenced.
But Gus Van Sant, a director who has
made a reputation as an uncompromising
and edgy filmmaker, has shown no fear in
his remake.
And this is a remake in every sense of
the word. Van Sant is following the same
shooting schedule, the same script and
mimicking nearly every shot that
Hitchcock conceived for the original.
The actors are different. The film is in
color. Other than that, Van Sant’s “Psycho”
will be exactly like Hitchcock’s “Psycho.”
And an uproar has ensued.
Film scholars and fans alike are crying
for Van Sant’s head. They call his remake a
blatant push for money. They say it has no
artistic merit.
Unfortunately, in doing so, they’ve also
described nearly every other film that
passes for artistic product in Hollywood
these days.
When multiplex theaters are filled with
sequels, contrived stories and blatant
attempts to cash in on sheep-like audi
ences, singling out Van Sant’s “Psycho” as
an abomination seems more than a little
outrageous.
After “Titanic” - a film that recycles
every tired cliche and uses every ugly,
stereotypical character in the book -
became the most-seen movie of the decade,
a remake that stays true to the classic on
which it was based should be welcomed.
Sure, retracing the steps of a proven
film requires little talent and even less
imagination. Sure, some people will go to
see the new “Psycho” and ignore the old
version. Sure, Hitchcock himself may have
disapproved of the whole project.
But one thing is for sure: People will go
to see “Psycho.” People will pay money to
see “Psycho.” And, if this version is only
half as good as the original, it will be one of
the best films in theaters this weekend.
With “Psycho,” Van Sant may not be at
his most original and daring. But
Hollywood hasn’t been there for years.
To be exact, it hasn’t been there since
about 1960.
---
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VIEW
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Star City sex industry
Lincoln should legalize prostitution
JOSH WIMMER is a senior
news-editorial major and
a Daily Nebraskan colum
nist.
Ah, the end of the semester.
It’s a stressful time for most of us
at the university. We students have
finals to study for and papers to order
from those companies that advertise
in the back of Rolling Stone. And
professors have grades to inflate.
Everybody just needs to chill out.
So why don’t we legalize prostitu
tion?
I realize this is a hot-button issue,
one that’s been debated back and
forth during City Council meetings
for as long as I’ve lived here. Local
newspapers run letters to the editor
about it on a weekly, if not daily,
Kacic
And I realize the community is
polarized on this one. Half of us are
like, “Yes! Do it!” and the other half
are like, “No! Don’t!” No one’s riding
the fence.
Except me. Up till today, I refused
to take a stance. Reasonable young
punk that I am, I saw pros and cons
on both sides. And I was willing to let
wiser men and women fight it out.
All that changed last weekend.
See, I’d just finished a hard day’s
work at Carlos O’Kelly’s. And, as is
my wont, after clocking out, I seated
myself at the bar and drank two or
three - or maybe five - margaritas
before 6 p.m.
Well, in our maigaritas at Carlos,
we use the kind of tequila that gets
you drunk. And when I get drunk, my
hormones tend to kick into overdrive.
So when I found myself home alone a
while later, my loins all abuzz and no
one to play with but myself, it’s not
surprising that my first thought was:
“It sure would be nice to get a
prostitute.”
I -■1 *." 1 " - ■ - - .
Crude, perhaps, but who among
you hasn’t been in the same situation,
thinking the same thought? We’ve all
been there.
Point is, I was bored, and if I
hadn’t promptly passed out in my
easy chair, I might have turned to
drugs or violence for entertainment.
Drugs and violence, as all of us know,
are bad. Sex, on the other hand, is
sweet - but much harder to come by.
What really disturbs me is, next
semester I’ll be a part-time student.
My classes and work will use up only
a smattering of my leisure time, and
most of that will be during the morn
ings and afternoons, so my evenings
will be largely free.
Finances permitting, I plan on
drinking a lot. My motto, I think, will
be: “Make it a double.”
Do I need to spell it out? What the
hell am I gonna do if prostitutes
aren’t available in Lincoln? I have
neither the time nor the inclination to
drive to Grand Island a couple times a
It’s not just about me, either. A
few houses of ill repute could do a lot
of good for this city.
Trying to get more tourists to
Lincoln? As any biologist will tell
you, sex is the great motivator. Forget
this new hotel - let’s put a brothel up
downtown. As the saying goes: If you
build it, they will come.
And what about the Huskers?
Don’t those fine young men deserve a
reward? It’s gotta be stressful, playing
in front of75,000 of the world’s most
die-hard fans, especially when the
Huskers have the last few seasons to
live up to. They get those pipes
cleaned regularly, they can focus their
attention on what’s important: crush
ing their opponents.
Damn straight.
Perhaps most importantly of all,
though, we need to do this for the
prostitutes themselves.
Not long ago, I spoke to a friend
of mine who works part-time as a
prostitute here in town. The work
itself has its ups and downs, she told
me, but die downs outnumber die ups.
She shivered, thinking of die
chilly Nebraska winter and how icy
and dark and, hence, unsafe it would
make the streets.
Wouldn’t it be nice, I thought, if
she had a clean, comfortable, regulat
ed place to work?
She shook her head sadly and told
me she and her co-workers could be
bringing in a lot more money, if only
they could form a union. And she
lamented the fact that, because hook
ers don’t see a regular paycheck, she
and her colleagues wouldn’t have any
Social Security waiting for them
when they grew too old to work.
Is it fair, I asked myself, that pros
titutes can be arrested for the relative
ly honest work they perform, while
journalists and university administra
tors go untouched?
She wept openly at the plight of
the male prostitutes, that minority
within a minority. And it’s true - we
forget about them too often.
Hmph.
The people of Lincoln are good
people. They collect donations for
hurricane victims in Central America.
They mail bags of letters to soldiers
stationed in Kosovo.
it maxes me sick mat, inadver
tently, they might let some of the
folks in their own community down.
Especially since legalizing prosti
tution could save us all money.
According to The Associated Press, a
group in San Francisco estimated the
city could save $7 million in taxes if
police didn’t have to comb the streets,
arrest prostitutes and hold them in
jail.
Think of the cash we could save.
We need to legalize prostitution in
Lincoln. It’ll be good for us, good for
the city, good for the prostitutes.
And, I think, such an act of ram
pant capitalism would spade some
thing. Cathouses would spring up
first in the rest of Nebraska, then all
over the Midwest and then throughout
the rest of die United States.
Communism would be stamped out,
the stock market would shoot up
again, and the space program would
get back on track.
I call on Dale Young, in his first
act as mayor of the city of Lincoln, to
publicly endorse die profitable and
time-honored profession of whoring.
Mr. Johanns, it is your civic duty to
do so.
I thank you for your time. Let’s do
what’s right, people of Lincoln.
Let’s do what’s right.
, 34NebraskaUnion, 14O0’1'8? St, jLiacoln,
* ,%7‘ Tz C—^ fSrfaxto (402) 47^-1761, ore-mail<letter9@untii»fe.unLedu.
Tj rifle must be signed and inclnd* a phone number for verification
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