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Weekly Entertainment Section ★ The Daily Tar Heel
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Not long ago, I saw the movie “Primary
Colors.” Yes, everything you’ve heard about it
is true. John Travolta is straight out of Little
Rock, Ark., and perfects the slick Clinton politician
type with seeming grace: the slightly tight polo shirt,
lazy southern voice, charming smile, hand on the
shoulder when shaking hands and womanizing
smoothness. Who would have thought the disco
dancer turned “Pulp Fiction” hitman would ever be
imitating the powerful presence and scandalous shad
ows of Bill Clinton?
But interestingly enough,
this is not just a case of a single
movie imitating real-life
events. In a broader sense, it
raises the question of how art
imitates life and how life imi
tates art. Both feed off one
another and, often, the line
between the two is blurred. No
doubt this influences how we
see the world.
Take the media for instance.
Sit down, flip on the tube and
guess what you’ll probably
see? You got it. Anew allega-
tion from someone named Lewinsky, Jones or Willey
or practically any other female ever claiming to have
met our president. Then, at the end of the story, you’ll
hear something that goes like this: “Despite so-and-so’s
latest allegation, President Clinton’s approval rating
remains at an extremely high level. ”
Reports like these are extremely powerful. True,
they do inform us of American public opinion. But
without doubt, they also help to shape that opinion.
It’s a vicious cycle. The media tells us what we think,
and much of what we think is formed by what we hear
and see in the media. In a sense, art has dictated to,
and been dictated by life.
And how about director Oliver Stone and his polit
ically scathing depictions of the U.S. government in
the films “JFK” and “Nixon”? While they portray
Stone’s beliefs and supposed findings about presidents,
scandals and conspiracies, they also help breed nega
tive sentiments that many people have about political
leaders. Are militias, Freemen and the bombings of
federal buildings and abortion clinics direct results of
artistic expression? Not a chance. But they are related
in that art not only reflects our attitudes, but also
shapes the way we (Militia members and bombers
included) perceive Washington and the entire world.
But again, the relationship between life and art is cir
cular. Tupac Shakur’s lyrics were obviously a product
of his social environment. But they also feed back into
society, painting a picture for us of places and circum
stances not quite as scenic as life in the quad on a
sunny spring day. Art has the ability to awaken us from
our utopian collegiate slumber and show us the world
from a different perspective than our own.
In addition to expressing his personal experiences
with racism and violence, Tupac’s music also helped
shape a society increasingly prone to the types of vio
lence described in his lyrics. Unfortunately, die societal
evils depicted and partially created by Tupac’s brutal
ly realistic vision stabbed one of their most harshly
honest storytellers in the back. Tupac’s life imitated his
art in the most tragic of forms: his own death.
The implications of this are huge. Every time we see
a movie, listen to a CD, attend a play and read a novel,
we are exposed to a certain artist’s impressions.
The real question rests in our decision either to reject
those impressions or accept them as our own. Either
way, the actions we take in our lives, whether political,
religious, social or what-have-you, imitate the artistic
expressions hurled our way faster than allegations
thrown at President Clinton. And that’s pretty fast.
The Weekly Barometer
Lost in Space $20.2
ijwiarcury Rising slO.l
Colors $4.7
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With his pudgy belly pushing out from under his shirt, John Travolta
strikes his best Bill Clinton pose for Mike Nichols' 'Primary Colors."
Life becomes canvas
BY JIM MARTIN
ARTS & DIVERSIONS EDITOR
The creators of “Primary Colors” at Universal Studios
know what they have started with their fact-or-fiction
motion picture. But as Entertainment Weekly maga
zine reported in its March 27 issue, the filmmakers and exec
utives deny any chronicling of real life on their film reels.
So what happens when life starts to look indiscernible
from art? As Entertainment
Weekly found out, “Ask the
makers of ‘Primary Colors,’...
they'll say they don’t know what
you’re talking about.”
But “Primary Colors” is a
drama focusing on a Southern
presidential candidate who lies,
eats a lot and has an even more
insatiable appetite for sex.
Throw in his strong wife and a
couple other side plots and the
film bears a striking resemblance
to the life of President Clinton.
While people often expect art
to imitate life, sometimes it can
be very unnerving to see life
start imitating art. When “Wag
the Dog” was released late last
year, critics and audiences raved
it as witty and well-written. But
when the events of the movie
started happening in real life, things got sketchy.
In “Wag the Dog,” weeks before a presidential election,
the current president who seeks reelection becomes
embroiled in a sex scandal, and so to divert attention from
this unsavory view of him in the public eye, political strate
gists start up a fake war which sends the president’s ratings
skyrocketing. Interestingly enough, just a week later in real
life Washington, D.C., the Monica Lewinsky story broke;
perhaps not coincidently, at the same time Clinton stepped
up his war rhetoric towards Iraq. Lo and behold, his ratings
artea happening in real lire, things got sketchy. Hinkley stalked Jodie Foster,” Sadenwasser said. “That was with something in the
In “Wag the Dog,” weeks before a presidential election, a clear case of when someone consciously acted that way.” news.
le current president who seeks reelection becomes This case is just one of many where people copycat
nbroiled in a sex scandal, and so to divert attention from events from movies and other media productions. For
iis unsavory view of him in the public eye, political strate- instance, the child who set his house on fire after viewing
sts start up a fake war which sends the president’s ratings MTV’s “Beavis and Butthead” or the accusations that teen SESHbi
- suicides are connected to the music they listened to,
Fe Washington, D.C., the Monica Lewinsky story broke; like Marylin Manson, prior to their deaths. an
jrhaps not coincidently, at the same time Clinton stepped However, these cases of liability are gen
? his war rhetoric towards Iraq. Lo and behold, his ratings erally unsubstantiated.
ent up. Audiences, then, Sadenwasser said that life
ther raved or criticized copying art could be
film. pretty scary for ■■ s'* : SdrfS
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Illustration by Jake Zamegar
went up. Audiences, then,
either raved or criticized
the film
Reality takes shape under mask of art
BY MATT MILLER
STAFF WRUER
Art imitates life. So the old adage tells us, anyway.
But is this statement an oversimplification? Art
comes in many forms, and while “Primary
Colors” hopes to imitate the 1992 presidential campaign,
it is hard to say how the new Van Halen album imitates
anything. Even if art does imitate life in some way, what
does that mean?
Some art hopes to imitate life in the literal sense by
recreating actual events. James Cameron’s “Titanic”
comes to mind. The director’s exceptional attention to
detail brings a sense of ‘you are there’ realism to the
film. Cameron has said that he spent years thinking
about the Titanic and how he could bring those real
events to life on the screen. Die historical novels of
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many forms, and while “Primary His 1992 film “Husbands and Wives” is the most striking P rizing it. Orson 1
mitate the 1992 presidential campaign, example of this. Woody plays an aging intellectual who to power of newsp
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Gore Vidal are also evidence of
this concept of history-as-art
An artist can also incorpo
rate elements from his or her
own life into his or her art. This
is done in many ways. Kevin
Williamson, creator of the tele
vision show “Dawson’s Creek,”
used the town he grew up in as
the setting for his coming-of-age
drama. Die mood and
atmosphere of the town
as he remembers it per
meates the series.
Larry David,
co-creator of—
“ Seinfeld,” wrote ele
ments of his own life
into die show. Cosmo
Kramer is based on
his real-life best
friend Kenny
Kramer, and die
Thursday, April 9,1998 ■
This phenomena of
life’s events mirroring those V^. iui
on the silver screen did not start at the
end of last year, though. Orson Welles’ classic
“Citizen Kane” is notorious for its controversial ties to
William Randolph Hearst. But, the two films of 1997 and
1998 happening so closely together have caused quite a fer
vor among critics and Hollywood insiders looking back into
the roots of this dichotomy between art and life.
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Dustin Hoffman received an Oscar nomination for his
role as the producer of "Wag the Dog"s fake war.
Hinkley stalked Jodie Foster,” Sadenwasser said. “That was
a clear case of when someone consciously acted that way.”
This case is just one of many where people copycat
events from movies and other media productions. For
instance, the child who set his house on fire after viewing
MTV’s “Beavis and Butthead” or the accusations that teen
Soup Nazi episode stemmed from a real-life encounter
with A1 Yeganeh, owner of Soup Kitchen International,
where one could really hear, “No soup for you!”
Woody Men is a master of this technique. His films
often incorporate situations and events from his own life.
His 1992 film “Husbands and Wives” is the most striking
example of this. Woody plays an aging intellectual who
considers leaving his wife for a 20-year-old woman. Men ,
Page 5
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Look to 1993’s “The
Program,” which had a
controversial scene taken
out after teenagers mimic
ked parts of the movie. In
the scene, players laid
down in the middle of the
road while cars passed by
on both sides. A teen died
by actually duplicating
what was onscreen.
Tim Sadenwasser, a
Teaching Assistant in
Movie Criticism in the
English Department, said
many famous parallels
existed between life’s
events and onscreen
events.
“One of the most
famous of those cases is
with ‘Taxi Driver’ when
Movies /’■ .
public and movie producers as well.
“Obviously, there is a great fear of life imitating art, oth
erwise we wouldn’t have decisions about responsibility in
filmmaking,” Sadenwasser said. “We are very concerned
about portraying certain things on film because it could
cause people to imitate them and also be desensitized to
them.”
The parallels go on, but one thing remains crystal clear
when art imitates life all is right in the world as writers
write what they know, but when life imitates art, suddenly
everyone starts believing Nostradamus’ prophecies again.
Online movie critic Zak Weisfeld published on the
“Weekly Wire” an article concerning how life’s imitation of
art in today’s cinema causes cynicism, something he said
was not found in other, earlier decades of cinema, but start
ed on television.
“Television lowered its gates to the outsiders with shows
like ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Seinfeld’ (and ‘The X-Files,’ sort
of),” Weisfeld wrote. “ ... Mainstream Hollywood manned
the barricades, relentlessly producing heartwarming, uplift
ing, redemptive or vindictive fare for the masses.”
The rise of these films into the mainstream does not
mean that they will be on more than 2,000 screens every
week because no planning can predict when a film will strike
people to either duplicate the film’s actions or whether or
not the content coincides
with something in the
news.
Mia Farrow (who, ironically, plays his wife in the film), for
a younger woman
Sometimes, artists do this without even being conscious
of it. Stephen King, for example, saw a childhood playmate
get hit by a train when he was very young. Though he
claims to have no memory of the event, his novella “The
Body” (the basis for “Stand by Me”) is based around the
idea of a child who is hit by a train.
Some artists attempt to imitate life through sati
f' rizing it. Orson Welles critically examined the rise
to power of newspaper magnate William Randolph
Hearst in his masterpiece “Citizen Kane.”
Every week, “The Simpsons” provides some of the best
satire on TV by holding up a mirror to the stereotypes we
hold of the nuclear family, ethnic groups and politicians.
Simply presenting a realistic story can be another way in
which art imitates life. Although the events may not have
really happened, the realistic nature of the story can
. cause an audience to relate it to their own lives.
Award-winning author Doris Betts, professor of
English said, “If you are writing from what you
know, the ring of truth gets into the prose.”
“Writing from what you know” need not
mean creating art purely from your own physi
cal experiences. If that were true, no fantasy,
sci-fi or horror stories would be made, nor
abstract art, surrealist films or other valid and
powerful art forms that are not inherently realistic.
But in order to be effective, art must incorporate
the artist’s emotional experiences. This is why fan-
tastic and unreal art forms are often able to touch
l people. They forge a connection to the audi-
ence by appealing to universal emotions, art
imitating the inner life.
i The statement ‘art imitates life’ is an
oversimplification, for there
are many different ways in
which art can imitate life. But, one
can’t deny the truth behind the
adage, for art is inherently to
s- life through the artist, and the
artist’s life cannot help but color
his or her art.
'Lost in Space' ranks up there
with the likes of "The Pest'
and'Mr. Wrong'with its bad
direction, plot and other film
accessories gone awry. Even
with the evil Gary Oldman on
board, the movie is not a
compelling, watchable show.