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FEATURES
Feb. 9, 2007
www.guilfordian.com
Greensboro. N.C.
During a time of healing, ‘Journey into
Blackness’ celebrates diversity
Kevin Smith | Staff Writer
The words "we shall overcome"
echoed throughout Dana Auditorium
Saturday evening as the clapping audi
ence for "The Collective" helped to
top off the weeklong "Journey into
Blackness" program.
The weeklong program consisted
of four events including a community
festival, storytelling, a presentation
about African ancestry and finally a
performance of "The Collective."
Two other planned events, "The
Day of Silent Identity" and "The
Significance of Red, Black and Green,"
were postponed due to inclement
weather. The other events had low
attendance.
Rick Kittle, an associate professor
from the University of Chicago, gave
the presentation "Finding the African
in African Ancestry." Kittle discussed
the genetic variations within Africa
and how genetics has helped many
African Americans gain knowledge
about ancestry that was lost during
The Middle Passage.
At the end of his presentation.
Kittle explained the significance of his
research.
"People ask me 'why you do this?
Why do you get so excited?'" Kittle
said. "When I was growing up and
I was in school, I would go to my
friend's house, and they would have
a coat of arms,
family shields
... all I had to
identify with
were the horrific
images of The
Middle Passage.
So this is why I
do what I do."
Kittle's talk
was well received
by his audi
ence. President
of the Campus
Activities Board
Marcus Rowe
was quite moved
by the talk.
"I was aware that all of us have some
sort of connection to each other, but P
had no idea that that connection ran as
deep as genetics," Rowe said. "I took a
lesson from that, seeing that we essen
tially are related so that kind of makes
"I think his research is
magnificent. Just to be able
an an Africana person to
possibly know what region
of Africa I'm from is really
exciting to me."
Holly Wilson
Africana Community Programs Coordinator
us all a family, and you're accountable
to your family; so everybody can work
together to make a change, especially
in light of what's been going on on
campus these last couple of weeks."
Holly Wilson, the coordinator
of Africana
Community
Programs, was
also affected by
the presentation.
"I think his
research is mag
nificent," Wilson
said. "Just to
be able as an
Africana person
to possibly know
what region of
Africa I'm from
is really exciting
to me."
The week's
events were concluded with "The
Collective," a series of opera-like per
formances about the meaning of black
ness. "The Collective" was by far the
best-attended event of the whole week,
and was applauded tremendously at
its end.
"I've seen that show before, and I
get something out of it every time,"
Rowe said.
Both Rowe and Wilson were disap
pointed with the low attendance of the
event, but agreed that it was expected
due to various reasons.
"They were definitely under-attend
ed, but I have a feeling it had a lot to do
with the week before, unfortunately,"
said Wilson, who still considered the
program a success. "A lot of people's
energies were towards the incident
that happened on the (Jan.) 20th and
between catching up on homework and
sleep. I'm a firm believer that people
who are supposed to be at events are
there."
Marcus Rowe agreed that the events'
low attendance was expected, but still
believed they were important to have.
"It's kind of expected when you have
events that are centered around topics
dealing with minorities; it's kind of
hard to get people who aren't in that
minority to show up," Rowe said. "We
learn from these events, and what I
think is really good for the community
is just to know how close we all really
are.
Fantasy and reality collide in Pan's Labyrinth
Fairies and fauns in Franco's Spain
Kevin Bryan | Staff Writer
"Pan's Labyrinth" is one of
the best fairy tales produced
in years. No child should see
it.
Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) and
her pregnant mother. Carmen
(Ariadna Gil), go out to the
country to live with her new
stepfather. Captain Vidal
(Sergi Lopez). Vidal is a cap
tain in Franco's army , dur
ing The Spanish Civil War.
He brings his sick wife to
his remote fort where he is
tasked to destroy the last few
rebels who live in the nearby
woods.
He wants to be there for
the birth of his son.
Ofelia has not been in the
country before, only reading
about it in fairy tales.
She searches for the
fantastical and finds
it. "Pan's Labyrinth"
does a wonderful job
of showing the fantas
tical that most people
either miss or ignore.
Too focused on the war
or the pregnancy, none
of the adults notice the
labyrinth or the strange stone
totems in the woods.
Not only is "Pan's
Labyrinth" a fairy tale, but
it is also about fairy tales.
Ofelia escapes the horrible
violence of her stepfather and
the worsening state of her
mother by escaping into a
fantasy world in the nearby
woods.
The first insect she sees
she assumes to be a fairy. It is
one. The fairies are not pret
ty; they do not grant her gifts,
but they take her to someone
important. Down at the very
bottom of the labyrinth she
meets a faun (Doug Jones).
The faun tells her a story.
She is the princess of the
king of the underworld. If she
accomplishes three tests and
proves her identity, she can
return to her kingdom. She
can escape her human life.
The tasks are unusual; the
'Beautiful and exhilarating
A fairy tale for grown-ups.
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun Times
tasks are deadly, and some of
them are wrong. Ofelia won
ders if she can trust the faun.
The story weaves back
and forth between the faun's
tasks and the difficulties of
her normal life. She makes
friends with one of the house
servants, only to discover that
she is aiding the rebels.
The fantastical in the story
is similar to one of Grimm's
fairy tales. There are diffi
cult tasks, there are horrible
monsters, and there is moral
uncertainty. Anything in the
fantastical world, however,
pales to the darkness of the
reality she tries to escape.
Captain Vidal is the true
villain of this film, and the
element that sets it apart.
Vidal kills an innocent man
and is annoyed only because
his time was wasted. Vidal
wants a son, not a wife, and
certainly not Ofelia. He acts
without remorse almost
to the point of seeming
inhuman. He might just
be too much of a mon
ster to watch.
The rest of the humans
seem human. They have
their own doubts and
limits, and all have their
own way of relating
to Ofelia. The house
keeper Mercedes (Maribel
Verdu) once believed in fair
ies but now instead believes
in a rebellion that is just as
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unlikely. The doctor once
believed in the rebellion but
still believes that honor can
exist in so dark a world.
Her mother dreads the day
Ofelia will wake up from the
fairy tales and see the way
things really are. The rebels
know they will die but no
longer care. Vidal's soldiers
gasp at his actions but con
tinue to assist.
ClNEMATICAL.COM
Ofelia is caught between a
man she knows is evil, and a
faun that she does not trust.
Watching her story alone
would make this movie worth
watching. The depictions of
both worlds — the bleakness
of the real and the newness of
the fantastical — make this a
movie to watch again. _
But not too often, or Vidal
might make you sic^.