Oregon daily emerald., January 12, 1996, Page 2, Image 2

EDITORIALS OPINIONS LETTERS TO THC EOITOW
University takes a day
off for wrong reasons
■ OUR OPINION: Kings
birthday has become an
act of political correctness
instead of action
Thousands of student*
will take the day off Moo*
day without giving much
thought to why
Of courts, everyone
knows it is Martin Luther
King Jr.4s birthday, but fow
slop lo examine why a uni
varsity that refuses to close
for Columbus Day . Veterans'
Hay or Presidents' t)av
would decide to shut its
doors.
The answer is surprising
ly simple. The University
will be «iniied ten auso it is
the politically correct thing
to do
Without question. King
deserves a national holiday.
His vision and leadership
helped spirit a national
movement that guided this
country to a new level of
racial understanding. To
date, he is ihe only African
American lo lw* recognized
on a caliber with the usual
cadre of white guys. Even
now, his message continues
to resonate in an America
whore inequality soems to
be enlarging rather than
diminishing.
That sairl, however, it
cannot lw ignored that the
University felt compelled to
give students the day off
because electing not to do so
would have brought charges
of racism against this insti
tution
In addition, it raises an
interesting parados If we
intend to celebrate the life
of King, the last place we
should be is at home watch
ing Hit ki Lake, We should
lie in school.
Unlike King, civil rights is
not a dead issue Each year
w«* art* told R> take a
moment of "quiet reflec
lloa" and w«»th the arm "I
have a dream" sound bite on
every network and t able ,
t hannel until we t an ret it*
it by rote. tV« are reminded
of how African American*
began the modern si niggle
toward equality.
All of this valuable But
King's legacy Sand the lega
cy of the hundreds of other
black loader* who seem to
get overshadowed by this
holiday! deserves more We
deserve more.
The discussion of civil
rights rawly lakes place out
side the contest of a few his
tory, ethnic studies and law
courses Yet, it is one of the
few subjects that relates to
almost every field of study
at the University,
Rather than dismissing
students, each department
should use this day to link
some aspect of civil rights
with the curricula.
What role does equal
opportunity play in eco
nomics on both a micro and
macro level? What are the
psychological aspects of
oppression? How did the
media report on the move
ment? What were the inter
national effects of the
movement? What role does
geography play in racial
division? The possibilities
are almost iimiliess.
Yet we choose to remain
silent Some of us will
attend the event at the Hull
Center, but for the majority
of us. the day will pass
without notice. Not only is
this inconsistent with the
lessons of King's life, it is
antithetical to the purpose
of a liberal arts education.
I.et Veterans' Day get the
"quiet reflection " let's
leant something instead
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Stone’s ‘Nixon’ rewrites history and fails
Oliver Stone's most recent i inematn;
estra vagan ta. Ntxott, eras released dur
ing our winter break Although there
ha* l>e**n a great deal of discussion
abmit the film * value, the truth is that the
movie doe* not stand up onematirally or politi
cally
To mm why. Nison should let analyzed in two
separate parts first, simply as a film. then, as a
political statement
The strongest cinematic element of the film is
the supporting cast loan Allen has been right
fully lauded for her rigid yet sympathetic Pat
Nison, a rote that should earn her an Oscar nod
Also, aside from the horrid lames Woods, the
group that plays the president's men is special ■
u!ar
A* for Anthony Hopkins who plays President
Nison, there is little positive to say It seem*
that to portray the man. Hopkins went to the
LMogenc-% sc hool of acting he simply placed a
handful of |elibl»* in his cheeks, than got in
front of the camera and started speaking
Tin* result* in an odd delivery that sounds
nothing like the former president For esample
the line 'Mrs Nison’s finished, is delivered a*
Mu shush Nuke huns funushrd
The cinemalograuhy, by KoU-n Ku hard son is
wonderful (or a horror film the living area
of the White House is lit so darkly and ts to
oddlv exposed that »t looks mom like Dracula *
castle than the residence of Amenta's chief
esc* utivv
Adding n> this mood is the « u» by John
Wills.nu* Hit music, which teems to bo ioin
pw**f wxi lusively of minor and diminished
i hards. sounds morn appropriate for a slasher
film Uke Friday the tsth than (or a historical
drama
The script contains a low interesting sea no*,
but those worth watching could havo boon con
densed into an hour'long television special.
However the film runs more than three hours, a
length that had mo ( hocking my watch ovary 10
minutes.
All in ail. for $43 million, a sum that would
make a person with ethics blush, much is left to
be desired
Politically. Nixon is also a failure in its por
trayal of Nison the man, he Is shown as an awk
ward drunk who can barely put a sentence
together, both behind the scenes and in front of
the public
If he really was as bumbling and clumsy as he
was in the film. Richard Nixon would never
have been elected president of an elementary'
school student body, let alone twice to the high
est office in the world
A* for the alleged drinking problem, John
hhtlichinan, who unlike Stone, actually knew
and worked with the real Nixon, has written:
do the fiv.- years i was with President Nixon. I
I never saw him drink in anv of his oli
only rarely elsewhere ” In the film, hr is almost
constantly clutching a tumbler of scotch, no
matter where he is.
More troubling than the personal affronts to
the former president however, is a connection
that Slone has created between Nixon, the assav
smation attempt on Fidel Castro, and the death
of President John Kennedy
ftlmJU
Mb
In the Him, whan Hunt is
discovered its one of Sh«> Water
gate burglars, the Nixon char
acter states that ho knows of
hun as a former CIA operative
who worked on the plot to
assassinate Castro — a plot that
lie had approved of when he
was Dwight Eisenhower's vit*
president. This plot was then
supposedly turned on Kennedy
by the same CIA group
l ve» it Ninon had approved of the OA actum
against ('.aidr<>. to nay that this somehow led to
the Kennedy assassination and that this trou
bled Ninon through his life, as it doe* in the
film, it ludicrous.
In reality, Ninon did not even know of the
original (IIA plot Richard Bissel. who actually
planned the assassination, told Newsweek
Iwfom his death that Ninon had no role in the
attempt on Castro's life and that he was not
briefed on the subject.
hhrltchmun. in the same essay mentioned ear
lier, wrote. "In my 15 years of ever closer assi* s
ation with the real Ninon. I never heard a hint
that he might have been Involved in such a (-as
tru ploi - or that he was guiltily obsessed with
JKK's murder.'*
It is unfortunate that Oliver Stone thinks a!
himself as so powerful, and so exempt from
judgment, that it is acceptable for him to rewrite
history In a manner that is not attuned with the
facts, but with his liberal sensibilities
He has taken liberties not with fictional char
acters. but with real people who have real fame
lies that will see their lives and the lives of their
friends trivialized and bastardized on the silver
screen.
Richard Ninon was guilty of his crime*, and
he deserved to he impeached for them But. for
Stone to spit on hi* grave in order to make a few
bucks and brainwash the public is not only a
waste of a talented director's time, it Is immoral
Pruno A.I, Fontana, a senior majoring in act*
nomics, is a columnist for the Kmerald
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
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