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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 1978)
What really happened to the Class of ’65 ‘Mistakes’ abound in this glittery effort What really happened to the Class of '65? $2.25 paperback, 360 pp. copyright 1976, Ballantine Books Like so many bestsellers (too many, in fact) What Really Hap The assumption was a mistake. The social upheaval that followed in the 10 years which are chroni cled in this glittery “then and now” tale was a mistake. Trying to pass a community in Southern Califor nia off as a microcosm of those pened to the Class of '65? has been made into a television series. That is definitely a mistake, but only one of a dozen mistakes when it comes to this book. Mistakes abound in this 360-page volume. Time magazine made a big mistake back in January, 1965, by profiling the senior class of Southern California's Palisades High School as an example of a gener ation of American youth “on the fringe of a golden era.” The members of that class, mostly affluent, upper-class and psuedo-sophisticated snobs, were thought to be just one portion of the vanguard of what was left of the New Frontier. turbulent years was still another mistake. To be quite honest, the only way to characterize this entire book is to mercifully label it a mistake. Time magazine made the first mis take; Michael Medved and David Wallechinsky made the second mistake by writing it; The Book Of-The-Month Club made the third mistake by choosing it as one of their featured selections and now NBC is making a mistake by putting it near the family hour as a valid TV show. It would be unfair to say that this book won’t make good television viewing. It does have its high points, most of which any high school student could remember from their own experiences. Footnote fare combines electronics, modern dance A blend of modem dance, satire and chamber music will be the fare Friday night at Beall Hall as three-member Footnote arrives from California for a multimedia performance. The show will include songs, in strumental pieces and electronic music, against a background of rear-projected images, strobes, floodlights and lasers. The group was formed in 1974 at the California Institute of Arts (CIA), and has performed in such diverse places as taverns, churches, and universities. “Footnote’s freshness of insight and interpretive sophistication re sult in a brilliantly appealing con cert event,” said one critic, while another called it “first-rate com edy.” Bill Moulton is the pianist of the group and also serves as com poser and choreographer. He holds an MFA from the CIA, where he now instructs. Choreographer-dancer Piper Pickerell also earned her MFA from the CIA. She has taught crea tive movement for children in such places as Oklahoma City, Tus caloosa, and Temple. The bassoonist for the group is John Steinmetz. He is a member of the California Double Reed Quartet, the Val Verde Bassoon Sextet, and the CalArts African Music Ensemble, and also per forms Indian classical music on the bassoon. Their tour repertoire includes dancer/bassoon acts, several duos for piano and bassoon, and a theater piece called “Food Piece.” One piece is for bassoon and tape, and another, “Like Water,” is billed as “a semi improvisational work adapted to suit the unique aspects of each performing space. The concert begins at 8 p.m. Admission is $1 for students and $2 general, and tickets are availa ble at the door. H.M.S. PINAFORE by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan 8 pm Friday and Saturday, Jan. 14,20 and 21 EUGENE OPERA 1977-1978 3 pm Sunday, Jan. 15 and 22 Sheldon High School 2455 Willakenzie Road (Jm. 13 performance canceled) $6 general admission and $8 reserved seating available at Eugene Opera Office, 1192 High, or phone 485-3985 for reservations. Group, $3 senior and student discounts available through City of Eugene, Transient Room Tax Fund That’s part of the trouble with this book. Medved and Wal lephinsky try to pass off the selected experiences as a glow ing example of some American golden era for Youth, when in ac tuality they are nothing more than standard fare for anyone who has undergone secondary schooling. It’s the ultimate Californianism; the ultimate insult to the other 49 states in the Union. It’s almost as if the authors actually believed what Time said about them 12 years ago. We certainly don’t. All insults aside, What Really Happened to the Class of ’65? begins with the authors’ explana tion of the meaning of the book. They detail the Time article of 1965, and try to put it in some time frame for readers with flashbacks and memories in Studs Terkel narative fashion. That’s pretty much the way the rest of the book goes. It is divided into nine subject sections, ranging from classmates’ reactions to John Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 to Graduation, Sexual Re volutions, Getting Stoned and fi nally, the 1975 Reunion of the “golden era” class. There’s not much more to tell. Each section contains naratives of what happened to the most popu lar head cheerleader, or whatever became of the class intellectual turned John Birch Society political candidate, etc. The purpose of the narratives, as near as can be discerned, is to show some social metamor phosis of that entire generation. If 4 that’s the case, then they fall far short. What comes through is a chronicle of misdirected lives, anarchistic politics and near conceit economic stuffiness. That isn’t to say that the authors couldn’t write a decent book. David Wallechinsky (aka Wal lace), son of novelists Irving and Sylvia Wallace, has been suc cessful in his People's Almanac and The Book of Lists. Michael Medved, voted Most Intellectual and “Really Radical” during his 1965 senior year, may have flunked his first major book effort, but that doesn’t mean he can’t re deem himself later. “What Really Happened to the Class of ’65?” Who really cares? wkot’) an «*\o? /WHERE-X CAN I X eXPERTKMC.K \ A CiS > EKK.l'-v t4>lzi\ Vfp Tiff-: Ff<;RTH k, i K P f -“All the things of the Universe Wheel have spirit and life, including the rivers, rocks, earth, sky, plants and animals. But it is only man, of all the Beings on the Wheel, who is the determiner. Our determining Spirit can be made whole through the learning of our harmony with all our brothers and sisters and with all the other spirits of the Universe.” Hyemeyohsts Storm TUTOR Grammar Literature Reading Science Math Social Studies 3 undergraduate or graduate credits... For information and applications contact: High School Equivalency Program Emorald Hail x3531 Also available is a work study position at $2.65 an hour.
