Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 9, 1999)
j~HNTERTAINMENT NO ft \ TC± I Q 1 a -n "d" ostefe Differences Clll V w A ClX v XX t Artist shares strong message of diversity By Jeff Randall Senior writer When a guest lecturer steps into a classroom, most students take the opportunity to slouch submissively into their desks or surreptitiously creep out of the room. But when Linda Anfuso is that lec turer, such behavior is difficult to get away with. Racism, sexism and count less other “-isms” are discussed, chal lenged and debated; apathy is not an option. “She just shocked me,” undeclared sophomore Michael Brandt said. “I've never seen somebody grab a classroom like that and refuse to let go.” Brandt is one or tne thousands ot students to whom Anfuso has spoken at universities all over the United States and abroad. She has been an active member of the UNL .Artist Diversity in Residence program for five years, spending weeks at a time in Lincoln sharing her experiences with students. Arid .Anfuso, now in the middle of a six-week residency, will be doing it again tonight at 8 in Avery 217, when she speaks to a mass media class. Race and gender issues will be the order of the evening, and Anfuso promised a frank and eye-opening discussion - but for students who have been lucky enough to have Anfuso visit their class rooms, that is nothing new. She has spoken to students under a variety of occupational hats - as a writer, painter, businesswoman, poet and teacher, just to name a few. “Ever since I was very young. I’ve been interested in a variety of things,” Anfuso said. “And instead of buying into the idea of specialty, I’ve spent my life exploring all of them.” A self-made renaissance woman in both theory and practice, Anfuso is not content to keep her talents to herself. She has published her poetry in two books - “Stolen Daughter” and “Red Coat and Other Poems” - and her visual artistry has been published in the form of “Palette of Period Pigments.” She is currently working on a book that will teach young jewelry makers how to market their creations. But art is not her.only form of expression. Her mind is filled with issues that many students refuse to acknowledge. Anfuso takes her confrontational brand of politics and education directly to the students through her lectures and dis cussions. Most of these discussions cen ter on - for lack of a better term - the politics of inequality. “You have to talk about these things, because ignoring them obviously hasn’t made them go away,” she said. Anfuso knows about such issues firsthand. She was bom and spent the first few years of her life on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation in upstate New York. When she was 3 years old, she was taken from the reservation and her fam ily and placed m a foster home. “I remember some things about (St. Regis) very clearly,” Anfuso said. “I remember my room. I remember my grandmother.” It was soon after leaving the rescrva Please see ARTIST on 10 Daniel Luedert/DN Linda Anfuso, from Wilton, N.H., gazes over her artist’s table she has set up on her sixth-floor apartment in Lincoln. Anfuso is on campus to educate students on Mohawk culture. ‘Cruel Intentions’ a medley of sexual conquest ■ 1 he new movie contains deceit, sex and money, to provide a dramatic twist. By Diane Broderick Staff writer If “Cruel Intentions” intends to cash in on camp value, its makers knew exactly what they were domg. But even if they didn’t intend the kitsch, the film is just as enjoyable - only at its own expense. Set in an elite, Manhattan world of rich teens who go to an upper-crust pri vate school, the film delights in setting up beautiful and sexy, but cliched, char acters in various sexual scenarios. “Cruel Intentions,” an update on the same novel “Dangerous Liaisons” was based on, puts new twists on the familiar story. Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe) are bored, rich step-siblings who play mental and sexual games with their high-school counterparts. Kathryn and Sebastian have parents whom they talk about, but are on holi day for the entire film, which makes it possible for these manipulative teens to pull off their act. These two function as adults in their own right. They live in a mansion with a host of Victorian touches. Sebastian has a classic car and an office that would be the envy of most top-level executives, and Kathryn sports an expensive designer wardrobe, even if it leans toward the trashy side. The step-siblings adore hatching nefarious schemes that make others bend to their will. In their games, lust is often their method, but power is what they truly seek. Sebastian totes his prized posses sion, a journal containing notes on all of his conquests. But the difference between him and his step-sister is that he has a reputation apparently every girl he’s ever seduced has regretted it. Kathryn hides her contempt for almost everyone behind an angelic face. No one seems to realize what evil thoughts lurk behind her smile, espe cially not any adults. Two innocent, virginal targets walk right into Sebastian and Kathryn’s lives. --1 Film Review } The Facts Title: “Cruel Intentions” Stars: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon Director: Roger Kumble Rating: R Grade: B Five Words: Film succeeds at kitsch humor Cecile Caldwell (Selma Blair) is a new transfer student whose mother wants Kathryn, the student body presi dent. to show her the ropes. And Annette Hargrove (Reese Witherspoon) is the new headmaster’s daughter who has written a manifesto in Seventeen magazine entitled “Why I Plan to Wait,” a dare too tantalizing to pass up. Kathryn has reasons for vengeance against Cecile, and Sebastian can’t wait to take on the daunting task of deflower ing the virtuous virgin. A plot is hatched that hinges on sex and deception. And from this point on, the film suc ceeds in some fabulous camp. Gellar, in I-- . • -J—■___I Courtesy Photo KATHRYN (SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR) and Sebastian (Ryan Phillipe) are con niving stepsiblings caught up in a wealthy farcical world of sexual intrigue in “Cruel Intentions. a turn from her saving-the-world role as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is never less than a bitch. And Phillippe s pouty take on a sexual predator flows naturally after a few beginning scenes where the seams on his evil treachery show through. Witherspoon contrasts the evil two Please see CRUEL on 10