4The Daily Tar Heel Monday, September 17, 1984
'Sugar Cane Alley's9 problems lie
A new genre is developing on the
filmic horizon, and Sugar Cane Alley
belongs very much to this trend.
The "cultural epic" can be character
ized by five major traits, toward which
Sugar Cane Alley and another recent
film, E2 Norte, show strong tendencies.
The first characteristic of the genre
is a concentration on an individual's
struggle to transcend his rich, albeit
suppressed, cultural and social environ
ment. Sugar Cane Alley takes place in
Martinique in the 1930s, telling of a
young boy's self-realization amidst the
deprived class of black harvesters on
a sugar plantation.
Steve Carr
Review
Garry Cadenat, who plays the boy
Jose, instills a wonderful sense of
innocence in his character, and this
marks the second distinction of a
cultural epic: The central character is
an innocent. He is, in fact, so good that
his embodiment of all that is universally
admired borders on being bland.
In contrast to the main character, the
satellite roles prove much more
markedly defined in their personalities
and their environment. Jose's grand
mother, MMan Tine, and his quasi
spiritual father, Medouze, give the.
picaresque story its backbone with their
deeply felt, fully realized personifica
tions of African culture. Particularly
outstanding is Darling Legitimus as
M'Man Tine, who despite her cruelty
desperately wants her grandson to
escape the will-breaking work of the
sugar cane fields.
Inspired in part by Medouze's tales,
Jose shows himself to be an unusually
gifted student, and is accepted into the
competitive high school at Fort de
France. This marks the fourth charac
teristic of the cultural epic: The hero
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In the form of a cultural epic, 'Sugar Cane Alley tells the story of black
overcomes his obstacles and limits, but
not without hardship.
Once at the school, Jose learns he
will receive only a partial scholarship,
which means his overworked grand
mother still will have to provide for him.
Only after Jose writes a brilliant essay
does he obtain a full scholarship, and
even that occurs after the teacher
wrongly accuses Jose of plagiarism.
The production values of Sugar Cane
Alley are surprisingly high but not
extravagant. This is the last mark of
the cultural epic: It attempts to reach
a large portion of the audience through
conforming to certain esthetic and
dramatic expectations. Hence the film's
smooth, somewhat glossy style is in
marked contrast with the gritty, harsh
. way of life that it depicts.
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To regard Sugar Cane Alley only as
the product of a genre would be a
mistake, however. Individual scenes
give the film an identity of its own.
In one scene, Jose's mulatto friend
Leopold listens in as his dying father
disowns him because "It's only a white
man's name."
Another scene shows a girl learning
of her acceptance to the high school,
only to have her father explain that she
must help him in the fields.
At other times, however, Sugar Cane
Alley becomes too pat. Jose's scolding
a black box office cashier for a self
denigrating, racist .remark is one
example, as the cashier is shown behind '
a screen.
The main weakness of Sugar Cane
Alley lies not so much in the film itself
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in its genre
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harvesters on a sugar plantation
as in the qualities of the cultural epic.
Jose does not have to be a multi
faceted character, but he needs more
delineation. The blandness of his
personality relegates him to a lower'level
of identification with the audience,
which finds itself more interested in the
plights of Leopold or M'Man Tine.
There should be some middle ground
between the innocent and the worldly
characters.
When a film comes along that treats
its main characters with a clearer, more
distinct and less allegorical focus, the
genre will have come to fruition.
Campus Calendar
The Carolina Student Fund DTH Cam
pus Calandar will appear daily. Announce
ments to be run in the expanded version
on Mondays and Thursdays must be
placed in the box outside the Carolina
Student Fund office on the third floor of
South Building by 3 p.m: Friday and 3 p.m. .
Wednesday, respectively. The deadlines
for the limited editions will be noon one
day before the announcement is to run.
Only announcements from University
recognized and campus organizations will
be printed.
Monday
11 a an. Registration for Carolina
Union Weekly Features in 213
Union.
1:30 pun. Career Planning and Placement
orientation resume writing
workshop in 306 Hanes. Call
962-6507.
7 p.m. Phi Theta Kappa "organiza
tional meeting in the Union.
8 pan. CG A Lambda staff meeting. All
help welcome.
10 p.m. Anglican Student Fellowship,
Service of Holy Communion,
Chapel of the Cross.
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Textbook reserve set up
Student Government and the
UNC library system have combined
forces in sponsoring a textbook
reserve program for UNC students.
The program will start with 40
textbooks which were financed by
a $800 donation from the library.
UNC professors have been asked to
donate desk copies of books for use
in the program.
Texan band at Cradle
should appeal to students
The most popular bar band in Austin,
Texas is coming to Chapel Hill. Zeit
geist, a neo-psychedelic group, will play
tonight at Cat's Cradle.
Zeitgeist is a German phrase that, by
extension, has come to refer to the spirit
of an age as well as the trend of thought
and feeling in a period.
The band Zeitgeist echoes the
thought and feeling of American rock
V roll of the late "ifSOs, sharing the neo
psychedelic label with R.E.M., Dream
Syndicate and Green on Red.
The band plays Velvet Underground
influenced power pop with a dance beat.
Zeitgeist has opened for Rain Parade
and Dream Syndicate but has more of
a pop feel than either of those bands.
The group compares favorably with the
exuberance of R.E.M. and Austin's
now-disbanded Standing Waves.
Standing Waves was a long-time
Chapel Hill favorite, and Zeitgeist
Tuesday
1 p.m.
International Health Forum
lecture: "Health Problems in the
Ubangi," Dr. Lwo Lanoie in 105
Berry hill.
American Society for Personnel
Administrators organizational
4 p.m.
meeting and guest speaker m T
7 New Carroll.
Y Crafts Bazaar Committee
organizational meeting in 104
Y.
5 p.m. Campus Y Footfalls organiza
tional meeting in the Y Lounge.
Call 962-2333.
6-30 pjn. Navigators small group bible
study in 205 Union.
Delta Sigma Pi business meet
ing for brothers in T-2 Carroll
7 p.m. Delta Sigma Pi pinning cerem
ony for pledges in T-2 Carroll.
Alpha Ejpsilon Delta meeting
with UNC and ECU deans of
admissions, followed by Rush
in 103 Berryhill.
v; N.C. Student Legislature meet-:-:
': ing in 226 Union. ':t: .ir;? V-'
8 pan. Program in Judiac Studies
lecture: "On Dreams, Visions,
and Prophecy: Maimonides and
Freud" by Dr. David Bakan of
" York University, Toronto in
Dey Hall Faculty Lounge.
Repairs:
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iryy tm
JapaneseGerman I
200 W. Main., Carrboro
Where Excc!!crco
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The reserve textbooks will repres
ent 10 to 15 different classes with
attendance of 250 students or more,
and success will determine expansion
of the program, said Student Govern
ment textbook task force leader
Michele Killough.
The textbooks will be in place by
Oct. 15 but won be available to
students until next semester.
probably will appeal to fans of that
band. In fact, Zeitgeist has opened for
the Optimystics, a band formed by two
members of Standing Waves.
Zeitgeist formed late in 1983 with
John Croslin and Kim Longacre sing
ing, writing songs, and playing guitar.
Garrett Williams is the drummer. Cindy
Toth replaced original bassist Kelly
Bradley four months ago to complete
the band's current lineup.
Popularity in Austin clubs led Zeit
geist to record its first single, Freight
Train Rain, which was backed by
"Electra" and "Wherehaus Jamb," an
instrumental. The band hopes to spread
its success through sales of Freight
Train Rain and through its energetic
live show.
Tonight's show will be Zeitgeist's first
appearance in Chapel Hill. No opening
band is scheduled, and the music will
start around 9:30 p.m.
EDDIE HUFFMAN
College Republicans speech
from Bill Cobey in the Union.
Young Democrats Unity Day in "
224 Union. 1
Wednesday
3:33 p.m. School of Business Administra
tion freshmansophomore
admissions preparation meeting
in Carroll Hall Auditorium.
Association of Business Stu
dents Career Planning Commit
tee in 220 New Carroll.
7 pan. Industrial Relations Career
Night in Great Hall.
UNC Outing Club meeting in
the Union. Call 933-7705.
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Items of Interest
Career Planning and Placement will
Sponsor a Minority Career Fair Thursday
from Noon to 5 p.m. in Carmichael
Auditorium.
Career Planning and Placement will
sponsor a Careers in Business Fair with
J 70- companies Friday; Stomj3Q a.ro. to
? p.m n, CrmiQbatUVuditprmtr? k,-
PredentPremed Advising will arrange
rides to the Optometry Information
meeting in Greensboro from 3-5 p.m.
Contract Schools and Optometrists will
present a program. Call J. Allcott, 966
5116 or 962-2157.
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