March 28,1979
Adventures in the mind
A wolf decides; can we?
By Richard Fulton
Somewhere in the Beartooth
Mountains of Montana lived
Bearwolf, probably one of the
lesser wolves in Northern Mon
tana at the turn of the century.
His great power was symbolized
in his universal wisdom and
bear-like strength.
An old Indian chief who knew
the ways of Bearwolf from
personal experience sat down
with me one night next to his
campfire. Smoking a rosewood
pipe full of freshly picked Indian
spice, the leather vested old man related the following story.
"His strength came from the Northern Black bear, while his
cleverness was derived from the Great Wolf. My people call him
Bearwolf, and his story is known to my people only, therefore this
tale is told to very few."
I squirmed upright in a taller sitting position, while my eyes
became lost in the dancing flames and glowing embers of the
blazing fire. Transforming the reality of the fire, my eyes focused
on a mountain scene almost 80 years ago . .
"Bear quickly became a natural leader, growing in wisdom and
strength everyday. Travelling with the pack for his first three
years, Bear had experienced the ways of the wolf, as well as the
seducing customs of man. Even though many members of his pack
became very close and friendly with the Indians and occasionally a
solitary whiteman trapper, Bear held his distance for he saw many
evils in the wolves' relations with man.
In return for protection and companionship, fellow wolves stayed
for long periods of time with these men feasting on deer and elk
kills of the men. Bear was so furious at his fellow wolves for this
behavior, he was known to attack whole villages attempting to free
his companions, but the "civilized" wolves failed to understand the
self-imposed trap they were caught in. Unable to undo man's evil
ways, Bear collected wild fellow believers and travelled North out
of reach of the seducing hands of man's way of life."
The descriptive picture of a large wolf terrorizing an Indian
village of multi-colored tepees, practically sacrificing his life and
soul in his natural and wild manner, froze before my eyes as I
continued to gaze unconsciously into the flaming fire.
Running full speed across mountain grasslands into a thick pine
forest towards the rock outcropping on the North ridge, my
transformed wolf body disappeared into a wind carved cave to sleep
with my ten young puppies and their precious mother.
"Deer Hunter"not idiots tale
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2 2
By Mike Czysz and Bill
Meikrantz
Thinking it was a grave
mistake to interrupt the surfa
and suds of our Floridian spring
break with "just another Viet
nam movie" we were stunned
with surprise after viewing
Michael Cimino's impressive
production The Deer Hunter
The opening scenes of the
steel mill town of Clairton,
Penn., introduce us to the major
characters; strong, patriotic,
beer-guzzling steel workers liv
ing to work, play, marry, and
hunt their personal prepara
tion for an imminent departure
to Vietnam. The confusion of an
ethnic wedding strewn with
religious ritual, strong liquor,
and swift music is carried by the
men to the mountains for their
final parting hunt. Only one of
the men, Michael, played by
director Robert DeNiro, bags a
deer.
Knowing ahead of time of the
Vietnam atrocities, the au
dience realizes their predica
ment before they do. After the
wedding, the screen abruptly
shifts to the men on the
battlefield. Senseless confusion
prevails. Here, cinematograph
er Vilmos Zsigmond's eye is
brutal, unflinching.
Intense initial scenes of civi
lian slaughter precede the gro
tesque and horrifying portrayal
of the men as captives of the
n, ,^^B||^
Viet Cong The prisoners are
forced to play Russian roulette
-- the only alternative being a
slow, gruesome death in a
rat-infested cage. What is the
root of this absurdity? No
answer is given.
Viewing the vivid games of
violence, we badly want to
leave. The socking fact is that
we can leave but the soldiers
can't. They must play. The
emotional intensity of the reel
reache? a peak when the former
mill wc. Kers escape their almost
certain fate. But did they
escape?
Seen in hospitals, they fight
to hold onto some small piece of
hope and courage to carry them
through; yet it can't be done.
Nick, played by Christopher
Walken, loses his mind Steve,
played by John Savage, loses an
arm and his legs. Beside the
hospital, bare aluminum cof
fins, stripped of their ceremon-
Guilfordian
Bailey impressed with Guilford
By Carrie Hackman
This past week Guilford Col
lege once again provided the
community with exposure to a
new personality and expertise
in the form of a distinguished
Quaker Visitor.
Dr. Jackson Bailey's visit
provided an opportunity for
students, faculty, and the citi
zens of Greensboro, to gain an
appreication, understanding,
and respect for the countries of
China and Japan
Dr. Bailey and his wife Caro
line were here during their
Spring break from Earlham
College in Indiana where he is
director of the Center for East
Asian Language and Area Stu
dies.
He is a recognized specialist
in these areas and most recently
both of the Bailey's were co
producers of a thirty part televi
sion series entitled "Japan, the
Living Tradition."
This series was shown natio
nally on PBS stations in 1978
and at the beginning of this
year. The enormous underta
king and completion of this
series is, however, only one of
many accomplishments in the
life of Jackson Bailey.
To many the most lasting
"Healer" Sun to head conference
After a Standing Room Only
presentation in Dana Audi
torium last year, Patricia Sun
will speak again on campus
sponsored by the Spiritual Fron-
ial flags, are loaded methodical
ly on planes to return "home."
Robert DeNiro as Michael
returns home. He is greeted as
a hero by a town he does not
and cannot recognize. The
church, home, factory, and bar
so once familiar to him are now
foreign. The promising mar
riage, now so distant, must bear
the psychological and physical
pains of the crippled groom,
Steve
Attempting to turn to the
past, Michael and some of the
old crew go on the once tradi
tional hunt. Starting out alone
on a beautiful morning, Michael
tracks an old buck He readies
the gun with the buck insight.
The buck looks at him. Instant
ly remembering the war's cheap
view of life, remembering that
this is not the past, that life
should not be taken cheaply, he
shoots the shell high. DeNiro's
directing is powerful; Cimino's
message is blunt: and the town
and Mike's friends cannot un
derstand any of the lessons
they were not there.
Finally, in order to uphold a
pledge he made to Nick, Mich
ael returns to Vietnam in the
heart of the US pull-out to bring
his friend home. Here, the
cinematography of Zsigmond,
interwoven with actual film clip
of the last days of Saigon, is
used with virtuoso effect. Find
ing Nick mindless as a nrofps
impression of Jackson Bailey
will undoubtedly be his seem
ingly endless supply of energy
and knowledge. This was true at
least for the classes this writer
attended and last Tuesday eve
nings" discussion on "The New
China in a New Asia."
This discussion actually took
the form of questions and
answers lasting approximately
an hour. Dr. Bailey made some
introductory remarks concern
ing problems the United States
and China now have in dealing
with one another.
The fact that there have never
been good relations between
the countries before, creates a
touchy situation in their current
relationship. In the past Ameri
cans have percieved the Chi
nese as souls to be saved
through missionary activity or
as customers for our goods
awaiting exploitation.
The Chinese perceptions of
Americans include memories of
foreign enclaves in their land.
The blindness that has plagued
both sides is now beginning to
be overcome, and the two
societies are beginning to take
stock of one another.
Dr. Bailey stressed the mis
understanding that still persists
tiers Fellowship. Patricia Sun
will do her unique three-hour,
all-in-one lecture/workshop/
and healing experience Aug
13-18. Students are eligible for
signal gambler, playing the
deadly game first seen in the
cages of the Viet Cong, Michael
bribes his way to play at death
with Nick. In this stirring scene
love and friendship fail; the
fateful dice were loaded; Nick
puts a bullet in his head.
Michael brings Nick's body
back to Clairton. In the sadness
of the funeral, contrasting
starkly with the initial wedding
celebration, those who are left
mourn a senseless death. The
priest invokes the blessing of
Cod over the coffin, but does
this justify it? Cimino leaves the
question unanswered. The film
ends with the confused mour
ners gathered for breakfast.
The grief is heavy. For some
reason, someone begins hum
ming. The tune is Cod Bless
America? Slowly, everyone
joins in. The song burns into the
ears of the audience. But still
there remains the unanswered
questions
page five
over American conceptions of
China's Great Leap Forward.
This program was an attempt to
introduce the machine age to
the people of China.
Ideas as basic as the wheel
had to be dealt with in a
population needing advanced
technology in a short while. The
failings of the Chinese to make
steel properly were ridiculed by
those who did not understand
Continued on page eight
Memories of Serendipities past
work scholarships for the week,
or may attend individual lec
tures by ticket.
An extraordinary teacher,
human energizer and natural
healer, Patricia Sun graduated
Phi Beta Kappa with two de
greees after three and one-half
years, from the university of
California, Berkeley. Emerging
from a professional background
as a clinical psychologist with a
PhD in family counseling, she
has lectured at numerous uni
versities and taught all over the
world.
Patricia's lecture will include
her "healing sounds" presenta
tion, in an experiential integra
tion and balance of the right and
left hemisphere of the brain, as
per Ornstein's hemispheric dif
ferentiation of the brain func
tioning.
Commenting in an art incle in
NEW REALITIES magazine,
Patricia describes the sounds
she makes as "very old," they
remind us of something in our
bodies that we have forgotten
The sound can open up the
physical body and allow people
to become more receptive to the
balance and integration of the
right and left sides of the
brain."
Also featured at the SFF
Conference will be Guilford's
Dr. Wjlliam Beidler. Bill will
lead a workshop in Tantric
Meditation, meeting daily He
was instructor at last summer
SFF's workshop on The Ex
perience of Man's Multibodi
ness, a popular workshop dur
ing the conference.
Those who cannot take part in
the entire week may attend
individual lectures, held daily in
Dana Auditorium. For more
information, call Marilyn Neu
hauser, 294-0477.