January 20. 1969
The N.C. Essay
Page 4
PEPPERLAND WITH LOVE: THE BEA.TIES NB^ Fim,
YELLO>,^ SIMRIE
(from "MEDIA & METHODS" January^ 1969 issue)
The history of media has been
that of constantly expanding di
mens ions -fiom the singlesense world
- of books, recordings and paintings
to the integration of the visual
and the auditory in television and
films.
Similarly, the history of film
itself has been one of expanding
cinematographic techniques. From
sepia through black and white to
color, from static camera angles to
oinema veritejthe parameters . are
perpetually being reset.
The animated film, entertaining
as well as useful, has enjoyed
little attention on the public
screen, beyond the standard slam-
bang-chase Bugs Bunny short, or Walt
Disney's successful though sacchar
rine feature length fables. With
the sole exception of FANTASIA, Dis
ney's visual interpretation of some
standard classical symphonic works,
a wholly innovative piece of work
has been wanting for some time.
No longer. Consider the Bea
tles ' animated feature YELLOW SUB^^
MARINE. Designed by the Czech Heinz
Edelmann, this 90-minute odyssey to
Pepperlan, in the tradition of
GULLIVER"S TRAVELS AND ALICE IN WN^,
DFRLAND, works its wonders on child
and sage alike, a constantly stimu
lating and practically endless
stream of shapes, colors, visual and
verbal puns. The Bayeux Tapestry
has been psychedelicized.
The plot becomes superfluous as
soon as someone asks "What's it
about?" a question which produces
something like this: "Well, there
are these good guys, who are attack
ed by some bad guys. One good guy
gets away to find help, which ar-
rives and all are saved."
The loss of warm beauty
Home
Kinship
Each of my friends is his own person
All of these people have warmth-
They are creative in their warmth.
There is a key in closeness.
In need.
In true real sharing.
Sometimes it is so hard to grasp the
ocher person-
Hard to, in talking, capture
His essence.
His entity.
To see who he is,
To experience, to live, the close
ness .
Why is it not until loss
that I know value?
I did not see my home
until it could be my home no
Longer,
I never knew my friends
until I needed them.
by Staay Meyer
Sounds like a simple morality
play, you reply. But in the Mcluhan
age nothing is that simple. Al
though this film may be safely ap
proached by 8-year olds in search of
diversion to go with their popcorn
there is much more afoot. Or ahead.
(aon't next week)
HU
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by Mark Walsh
What seems one of the great
ironies of American life with regard
to America's leading men received
surfeit dramatization this week as
the country's two leading weekly
news magazines both managed to omit
entirely any mention of the event of
the week on their cpvers. Perhaps
the importance was given sufficient
recognition when, during the week of
the November elections, Richard Nix
on appeared on the covers of both
TIME and NEWSWEEK, but it seems pe
culiar with the new administration
looming so large in the minds of
journalists all over the country to
see the Italian industralist Gio
vanni Agnelli on TIME'S cover and a
montage-like photo of a man sneezing
with a heading Man vs. Virus on
NEWSWEEK'S cover.
Not that the political events
aren't given enough coverage inside
the magazines - both open with a
full report of inaugural prepara
tions and heretofore completed de
cisions by Nixon, and follow with a
summary of the Johnson administra
tion.
The only thing about it that
really disturbs me is that it's such
a boldfaced reminder that greatness,
popularity and heroism have become
"get -it-while-it's-hot" material,
and "when-it's-cold-it's-dead."
The news services of this
country rush on the main attractions
with enthusiasm that approaches
frenzy and drops them as soon as
they have been superceded (invaria
bly the following week) by the la
test, the greatest, the coolest or
the wildest.
The photographic coverage of
Vice-President Humphrey (Americans
must think it strange that Humphrey
went right on being the Vice-Presi
dent even though they were led to
forget after November 5th) this
week was limited almost exclusively
to those shots of Johnson making the
state-of-the-Union address, in which
Humphrey appears . in the background.’
Little more than 8 xreeks ago, Hum
phrey was, with Nixon, the hottest
thing on the news media, but now cit
zens of his own Minneapolis are pro
bably saying "Hubert who?"
Sex Education
The founder and president of
the John Birch Society said Saturday
that Sex education in the nation's
public schools is a Communist plan
to destroy the morals of youth. .
INFORMATION
ASE
by Terry Tiakle
Claude Reins was a Free French
officer named Renault. Humphrey
Bogart was Rick, owner of Rick's
American Cafe. The place was Casa
blanca. The time, 1943. Bogart was
playing his typical anti-hero. He
had loved once (Ingrid Bergman in
this case); he had fought once (for
the loyalist in Spain—who didn't)
but now he was fighting and loving
only for Rick. It's what is known
as savior-of-the-world~let-down and
is a disorder which only attacks men
in their late twenties or early
thirties. Biological survival
supercedes the reformer instinct.
The movie comes on a little
melodramatic now (It's Casablanca
for those of you who are not Bogey-
philes) but has some of the most
famous lines—"Here's looking at you
kid" and "Play it, Sam" but the one
line which attracks so much atten
tion with the younger generation is
that scene when Reins asks Bogart
why he happened to come to Casa
blanca.
"I came here for the waters."
Bogart said_
Reins in typical bureaucratic
naivite remarked, "But we are in the
middle of the desert. There are no
waters here."
Bogart paused dramatically,
looked over his scotch and said
simply, "I was misinformed."
The Saturday Evening Post was
n't founded by Benjamin Franklin,
Castro plays basketball, J, Edgar
Hoover was invented by the Reader's
Digest, the moon is duty and Richard
Nixon is now president. I was
misinformed.
SINGERS GUILD CONCERT SET FOR TUES.
The Singers Guild under the
direction of David Partington will
piesent a chamber music concert this
Tuesday evening at 8:15 p.m. in the
Salem Fine Arts Center. Tickets for
the concert are available to the
students in Mr. Hyatt's office.
Most of the music to be presen
ted dates from an early period or,
as in the case of out contemporaty
set of works, is in the idion of an
earlier era.
The program will open with a
motet from "Cantiones Sacre" by
Heinrich Schuetz.
"Mass in G" by Schubert will
continue the guild's series of pre
sentations of masses by different
composers.
Madrigals by Morley, Bennet and
Weelkes, late 16th and early 17 th
century English composers, will be
followed by "The Cries of London" by
Richard Dereing..
Four madrigals by Jean Berger
will close the concert.