textile design
MORTON
eeds in business,
. In this weekly series, we examine the exceptional work and
of individual students in art, dance, musk, acting and design.
When shoppers walk into most stores in Lincoln, they are
tantly barraged with sights and sounds that make up the
shopping experience. -
What the average consumer may not realize is that every
display and every product in a store is dis
played and placed for a particular reason.
Beth Hunsicker, a University of Nebraska
Lincoln senior from Ottumwa, Iowa, has been
studying the ins and outs of clothe6 merchandis
ing and learning how to channel her business
tendencies creatively. * rjL JSm
nunsicKer came 10 u«Lin
ng scholarship and origin
come up with a m
Remembering
the Titans"
forgets history
■ Denzel Washington stars in the movie based
on the racial integration of a Virginia high school.
BY SAMUEL MCKEWON
“Remember tfye Titans” is based on a true %tory,
and that’s its greatest asset; it’s hard to imagine the
movie working as a fictional tale at all, considering
the level of “smile on your brother” attitude that
drips from frame to frame.
A true story somehow could work though,
especially for the younger set that “Titans” was
obviously geared toward. And while there were
long bouts of dead action in the midst of a suppos
edly highly active
movie about the
1971 integration
of a high school
football team in
Alexandria, Va„
the big play in the
Movie Review
Remember
the Titans
big game matters -(Director
like it should. v-—-—
This is a standard
measure of a
sports picture.
There are
other measures,
of course, and
“Titans,” directed
by Boaz Yakin,
★★of 4 stars
nas tne subject
matter to surpass them. And I imagine that the
original trappings of the Gregory Howard script
more adequately dealt with the complex issues of
busing and racial integration.
But the final version of the film, and Denzel
Washington’s iffy portrayal of the intense and
angry black coach, Herman Boone, put a soft and
fairly happy haze on the proceedings. “Titans” suf
fers for it. But its box office will improve for the
same reasons, and with Jerry Bruckheimer as a
producer, well, we know that's the main idea here.
The movie plays out on three broad fronts.
First, there's the integration of T.C. Williams High
School. Second, there's the integration of the foot
ball team after the popular coach, Bill Yoast (Will
Patton, a Bruckheimer regular), is demoted to
make way for Boone. Finally, there’s the football
team itself, which turns out to be a balling force of
football might in the face of all its critics.
Boone is a real taskmaster, a man that loves to
drill his team into runs that are hours and hours
long. They have four practices a day when they
don’t learn how to get along. They do up-downs
while Boone screams “fourth quarter!” And the
team runs six plays.
I'm unsure if that was the reality of T.C.
Williams, or if the makers have tweaked the Vince
Lombardism to a level that goes beyond the great
Packers’ coach. *
I'm figuring a mix of both because
Washington’s performance can’t match the brute
force of a coach like A1 Pacino’s character in “Any
Given Sunday.” Washington was twice as intense
in “The Hurricane.” He seems to gear down here. A
Please see TITANS on 9
■ Buddy Big Mountain brings his world-famous
show to the Carson Theater to entertain students
and to educate his audience about issues
concerning American Indian culture.
BY MELANIE MENSCH
Using humor, song and magic, Buddy Big
Mountain will discuss American Indian stereo
types at the Johnny Carson Theater this week.
But don’t bother reading his lips; they won’t be
budging an inch.
Instead, puppets like Awesome Fox, Iron Horse
and Windell
Snodgrasz do
most of the
talking in Big
Mountain’s
entourage of
zany charac
ters.
B i g
Mountain, a
world-famous
puppeteer and
the first
nationally rec
o g n i z e d
American
Indian ventril
oquist, brings
an entertaining, educational show to the Johnny
Carson Theater, 11th and Q streets, as a part of the
Lied Center for Performing Arts Family Favorites
series.
Supported in part by The Cookie Company and
Nebraska Bookstore, the first of three sold-out per
formances will begin tonight at 7 p.m. Big
Mountain will also perform Oct. 3 and 4 at 7
p.m.
Coming trom a rich, mixed
heritage of Mohawk,
Comanche, Apache,
Welsh and
English, Big
Mountain has
entertained
audiences since he was a 2-year-old, performing
traditional American Indian dances with his fami
ly at theme parks.
Intrigued by the theme park ventriloquists he
met in the late 1970s, Big Mountain began to dab
ble in the craft. Soon, he began touring with his
own handmade puppets and marionettes.
With the help of puppets, Big Mountain uses
comedy, ventriloquism, singing and magic to
address American Indian issues and stereotypes.
“I want to change the stereotypes people have
of Native Americans - of being stoic, of not being
funny,” he said.
His humorous, thought-provoking shows pro
vide insight on American Indian culture.
Helen Long Soldier, a multi-cultural affairs
education specialist at the University of Nebraska
Lincoln, said she saw Big Mountain perform at ar
American Indian conference in the mid- 1990s. a
“He's very imaginative, warm and funny,” sh^
said. “It's appropriate humor for the Native people!*
Even though he’s using humor, he's not ridiculing
anyone.”
D 1
Mountain
called him
self “the
straight
man” in his
troupe of
whimsical
puppet
friends.
/' Tmthe
hand and
mind
behind the
show,” he
said.
7 want to change the stereotypes
people have of Native Americans -
of being stoic, of not being funny."
Buddy Big Mountain
ventriloquist
Big Mountain said he patterned puppet char
acters after friends and family.
"Iron Horse is after my father, and Awesome
Fox is very much like me, “ he said.
Iron Horse, a respected tribe elder, often talks
about his younger days to Awesome Fox, a young,
modern and curious American Indian. Windell
Snodgrasz, a white singer and friend to the
American Indians, is the jokester of the gang.
“I hope people see that Native Americans are
like everyone else,” Big Mountain said. “I leave lit
tle messages through my shows. I want people to
see and hear (the messages) and take them home
when they leave.”
Charles Bethea, the Lied Center’s executive
director, said Big Mountain’s shr offered audi
ences a special mix of comedy, cuuure and family
entertainment.
“He’s fun and funny,” Bethea said. “It's a chance
for families to enjoy the performing arts together,
especially of that of another culture.”
As a member of the Iroquois Nation and a reg
istered member of the Mohawk of Kahnawake
Tribe of Canada, Big Mountain said he hoped to
entertain and educate audiences about American
Indians.
“I bring the culture to all people,” Big Mountain
said. “I touch the child people have in them. I
hope to teach people to keep a song in their
heart and a smile on their face.”
Jerry Morgan/DN
