Thursday, October 21. 1971
nice Brooks
4
9
1
one lacjsin
The Daily Tar Heel
"Maidstone: A
Mailer. Signet.
S 1 .50.
Mystery" by Norman
Oct. 1971. 191 pages.
Pull out your steak knives and put
away your taste - it's time for Norman
Mailer, Punchy Culture Hero and
existentialism-scarred Artistic
Revolutionary.
"Maidstone" is his new film, and this
book is the screenplay (after the fact,
since it was transcribed from the
completely ad-libbed movie), descriptions
of filming, and (ahem) a "a major essay
on filmmaking by the author-duector-star
of the revolutionary movie." The book,
probably even more than the movie
because of the 44-page explication of film
theory, is the quintessence of Norman
Mailer, and shows me clearly that Mailer
at his best is "art" at its worst.
The first section, the only part of the
book not explicitly claimed by Mailer's
authorship, is the description of filming.
Three journalistic Mailer-groupies
ejaculate images of Mailer-as-Godhead
while he scratches his stomach and
belly -laughs his profound way through rus
"commando raid on the nature of
reality" (which is Mailer's own
description of his film-process). The
reverent descriptions of Mailer are filled
with ruch phrases as "steel-wool headed"
and "stocky Pugilist's frame" (how many
times have you heard that description?
Why doesn't someone ever say "fat jock's
body"?
The descriptions show us what Mailer
did before the filming, during the filming,
and somewhat after the filming. He first
told everyone to drink, drown, screw
each other, and make up their own
dialogue and stories while roaming
cameras filmed them. Then he named a
few of the characters (and subsequently
claims to have written the entire movie,
improvisation and all), punched out
several people whose action he didn't like
(exercising the power which weakly
justifies his "Director" title), and ran in
front of cameras more often than anyone
(thus becoming the "star").
Betts' novel at press
Doris Betts' fifth book of fiction,
"The River to Pickle Beach," will be
published in late winter or early spring by
Harper and Row publishers, New York.
The novel by the University of North
Carolina creative writing instructor has a
North Carolina setting and takes place in
an imaginary Brunswick County resort
during the summer of 1968.
Her two earlier novels, "Tall Houses in
Winter" (1958) and "The Scarlet Thread"
(165), won the Sir Walter Raleigh Award
for the best fiction by a N.C. author in
their respective years. She has published
two books of short stories, "The Gentle
Insurrection" in 1954 which received the
UNC - Putnam Prize, and "The
Astronomer and Other Stories" in 1966.
Her short stories have appeared in
numerous literary magazines and
quarterlies.
A former Guggenheim Fellow, Betts
joined the UNC faculty in 1966, and has
taught courses in creative writing,
comtemporary American and British
fiction and freshman composition.
Mailer squawks and shrieks that film is
and should be totally divorced from any
literary associations or values. Inrespor.se
to this I would normally take the script
of his movie with several grams cf salt
and make aDowances for its lacks. But I
cannot respect Mailer's sincerity about a
literary' divorce if he transcribes a script
here one did not exist and then
publishes it ahead of the movie. So, in my
eyes Mailer is totally liable for this
script's weaknesses as a script and not just
as a bit of superfluous literary folderol.
The weaknesses are infinite, and the
screenplay is hardly readable. Mailer tried
to spice it up by replacing the usual
objective shot descriptions with italicized
propaganda and explanations disguised as
objective comment. This cheating is
consistently pitiful. There is, of course,
no literary dimension to evaluate here;
there are only many views of a stocky
pugilist's silly artistic shortcomings.
The Film Essay (the major essay) is
more Advertisement For Myself, this time
as a genius whose "cinematic reality was
finer by far than all but the very best film
artists." Mailer pretends that he is the
first to see that a film isn't a book or a
play and he thrills to his insight with
various manipulations of his juvenile
existentialism. Between the abstruse and
meaningless catch-phrases of insipid
pretentiousness there runs an iron core of
unjustified self-love, so if you like Mailer
less than he does it will sicken you.
If not for his insincerity Mailer
would be just another of those
outspoken, tiring drips whom America
embraces as nifty artists; but his stupid
hypocrisy makes him offensive and
wasteful. All this book shows me is that
his artistic process is an hysterical
pregnancy and "Maidstone" is the newest
load of gas he has birthed.
97t
974
TODAY
4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Beef Chunks on Bun
BACCHAE
entrance behind the Zoom
Q7$ self service 97$
THE
IN THE COMPANY
OF MEN
UCWONSTIIATIKG
ODCSTN0 ONI
)
Thursday Oct. 21 7:30
Carolina Union Coffee House
9OMSOKC0 Tuf CU( ! COMMiTTf f
MCE
3
Bu a Coke
Trade-mark
and keep the glass
A contemporary
glass for Coca-Cola
Collect your set
of 6 or 8
Fin o riC 3 1
Ly
AT YOUR NEAREST SNACK BAR
AVERY EHRINGHAUS NOOK
(Public Health)
JAMES SCUTTLEBUTT LUNCH BOX
MORRISON Blue Ram THE BAR
(Y-Court)
CRAIGE OSLER CIRCUS ROOM
(Health & Science)
stqjcHent stokes
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
VN CAMPUS1
. -T4 -: - J : f' J
Li j V hWJn V ..rrrr'-r .
- V j ill irC r ' - v
4 'f0
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L.
Gordon Pearlman (L). technical director for the upcoming Tuesda in the Graham Memorial Lounge Theatre, will uvr
music, lichts. and oer 20 arious projectors m it
Carolina Pbvmakers production of "Amanita: The Death
Angel," and Howard Cherniak (R). computer coordinator, performance. Tickets are now on sale at the Plamakcr
work over one of the manv instruments which the multi-media Business Office and at Ledbetter Pickards.
production necessitates. "Amanita. which premieres next
On Record
Shortco
by Norman Draper
"U.F.O. 1 "Rare Earth RS 524
Grand Funk Railroad and Black
Sabbath have earned my respect. Their
success has been phenomenal, and they
have attained a rapport with their
respective audiences that defies belief.
In the wake of this phenomenon
comes U.F.O. - a blasting, raucous band
that has plagiarized the worst of music
and concept from groups such as Black
Sabbath, Blue Cheer, Quicksilver, et al.
The Daily Tar Heel is published by the
University of North Carolina Student
Publications Board, daily except Sunday,
examination periods vacations and
summer periods.
Offices are at the Student Union
building, Univ. of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill, N.C. 27514. Telephone
numbers: News, Sports 933-1011;
933-1012; Business, Circulation,
Advertising 933-1 163.
mings mar
"UFO 1" is nothing but a collection of
antiquated rock cliches that night have
worked in 1967 or 196S. but becomes
regurgitated noise in 1971.
All the hackneyed gimmicks of the
"heavy" rock band are employed to no
avail on "UFO 1." Fchoes. "phasing" (a
jet plane-type effect), the ubiquitous
wah-wah pedal, and assorted weird sound
effects meant to replicate the droning of
a "U.F.O." (what e'lse?) are all here in
abundance.
Even with all this electronic wizardry
and perverted sense of eclecticism, U.F.O.
manages to be an awful group in its own
right. With the exception of drummer
Andy Parker, who is skilled and
adventurous enough to deserve at least a
mediocre band, the musicians have not
one jot of technical virtuosity.
Had U.F.O. a comic sense of their ow n
47T TTZTVrh?
acute shortcomings, a charactenst;,
makes the MC5 a "fun" group,
might have been able to pull it of:
when vocalist Phil Mogg sings ln,
"Little girl, you're so fine. W;::i
body you've got to be mine. You v. u.
brownie and I wuz a scout. Bab . I
knew how you shook it about." or.- c,
an idea of how badly this alb.;:- :
failed. 1 suppose you could call I" ! O
third-rate Blue Cheer (complete
token Fddie Cochran number).
My recommendation is this: i: , ;
this kind of music, stick wnh L
Farner and Co. - they're not half j t
as the "music elite" would have
believe. "Survival" indicates to ir.e ;'
Grand Funk's going in the right direct.
And sometimes, even though 1 still h
to admit it, my feet will impulsivelv 1.,
tapping in time with "Gimme Shelter "
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Activities Fee (1.1.1.4 of the Student
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appropriation for the 1970-71 academic
year is $28,292.50 for undergraduates
and $4,647.50 for graduates as the
subscription rate for the student body
($1.84 per student based on fall semester
enrollment figures).
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away copy it considers objectionable.
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typographical errors or erroneous
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Daily Tar Heel will not be responsible
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several times. Notices for such correction
must be given before the next insertion.
Continues with manv more titles
added to the show!
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