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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 2003)
Heading for the game? stop for a eK/iispy ^K/teme Zonta Club of Eugene Doughnut Sale $7 per dozen YOWWEEE... 2095 Centennial ■ Saturn of Eugene Saturday, November 22 8:00am 0 0 t/> ai <u Neighbors Offers Eugene's Widest Selection Of Draft BeerTo-Go! Call Today To Reserve Your Party In A Barrel Pumps,Cups, & Ice Available 1417 Villard, Just 2 Blocks East Of Campus—541.338.0334 The Oregon Humanities Center PRESENTS THE 2003-4 Robert D. Clark Lecture i w the Hum am i t i k s «ndCUrkTml FIDD1.ERAND LIVING HISTORIAN Daniel Slosberg Monday, November 24 8:00 p.m. Gerlinger Alumni Lounge > f 1468 University Street UNIVERSITY OF OREGON owed by a reception. For more information, or for disability accommodations, please call (541) 346-3934. Today's mindless TV shows reflect those of years past 1 don't watch a lot of television. Occasionally some Comedy Central at a friend's house, an odd episode of "The Simpsons," some CNN for kicks or the Fox News channel for laughs. That about sums it up. Never seen an episode of "Survivor." Never sat through "CS1: Crime Scene Inves tigation," "Fear Factor" or "The West Wing." The intricate human dramas of "The O.C." and "Smallville" re main unseen by these eyes. Is this some sort of statement? Maybe some rebellion against the homogenization of society? Will I be living in a shack in Montana by the end of the year, typing poorly spelled anti-authoritarian manifestos and mumbling incoherent phrases about the Industrial Revolution? I doubt it, as would anyone who has spent win ter gnawing undercooked squirrel meat in a poorly insulated wooden structure in the middle of the woods. Eventually you lose your revolution ary zeal and return to a comfortable life of warm food, toilet paper and shampoo. But I digress. So why this fatwa against televi sion? Not malice, for sure, and cer tainly not some kind of intellectual pretense, as I've never really seen my self as "too good" for anything, ex cept maybe UPN. It might have something to do with the fact that my television doesn't pick up any channels, but if I were really serious about it I could Fix that problem in a few minutes using nothing but cop per wire and duct tape like McGyver. No, the solution is not that simple. It might have something to do with the fact that I find most of what I see on television to be insufferably boring crap of the most questionable entertainment value. Yeah, that might be it. Television today suffers from the fact that it is essentially an Ryan Nyburg Budget rack advertising supplement and pro grammers are more interested in get ting viewers than creating anything of quality, substance or artistic mer it. Not that this is any better or worse than before. Some people have this odd belief that society in general is degrading and that somehow if we all pull together we can make it bet ter and more like it used to be. This strikes me as a suspicious as sumption, especially when talking about television. There is a lot of talk about the beloved shows of the past like "The Honeymooners," "1 Love Lucy," "The Gong Show," etc. Be cause these shows are talked about so much they are taken as the pro gramming norm for that era. The majority of programming is forgot ten because the majority of program ming sucked. Tell me how “The Love Connection" is any better or worse than "Joe Millionaire." Is "7th Heav en" of more or less cultural impor tance than "The Beverly Hillbillies"? Do you remember "My Mother the Car"? Have you ever sat through an episode of "Hee Haw"? What I am getting at is the idea that television has always been bad. It tends to reflect the worst values of society, and our worst values have re mained pretty awful for quite a long time. So, having lost all hope for tele vision, I make no effort to watch it. 1 will watch on occasion, but I don't go out of my way to do so. This might seem like an odd choice for someone who has chosen to write about entertainment, but I'm more concerned about my sanity than my career. And if you can prove to me that television as a whole can and will give anything positive to our cul ture, I might be willing to reassess my opinion. Until then, the only se rious television I'm going to take in will be through indirect methods, i.e. old "The Twilight Zone" and "Mys tery Science Theater 3000" DVDs. That's about it. Hope you all come back now, you hear? Contact the senior Pulse reporter at ryannyburg@dailyemerald.com. His opinions do not necessarily represent those of the Emerald. Shattered Glass’ details decline of successful magazine writer m_ i. «»i ■ 'Pi Courtesy Hayden Christensen and Peter Sarsgaard star in ‘Shattered Glass.' Christensen plays Stephen Glass, a journalist who fabricates stories. Courtesy (Left to right) Christensen, Chloe Sevigny and Melanie Lynskey share a scene in 'Shattered Glass.’ The film, based on a true story of a fallen journalist, will begin its Eugene run at the Bijou on Friday By Helen Schumacher Pulse Columnist We've all told them — those little lies that begin harmlessly enough, but snowball to epic proportions when we try to cover - our tracks af |W| m/I P ter susPicion has been 11 £ || I ££11 aroused. - And once the snow balling starts, there is no stopping it until there are no more lies left to tell. This is what happened to writer Stephen Glass in 1998. As an associate editor for the prestigious magazine The New Republic, Glass fabricated 27 of the 41 stories he wrote for the maga zine. The film "Shattered Glass" tells the story of this charming and bright journalist as he first wins the loyalty of The New Republic staff and is eventu ally exposed by an online news site. In the beginning of the film, Glass, played by Hayden Christensen, seems to be at the top of his game. He's a 25 year-old reporter for The New Repub lic, the "official in-flight magazine of Air Force One." His co-workers love him. Editors at other magazines such as Harper's and Rolling Stone offer him freelance work. Glass even gets accept ed to Georgetown University's law school. However, the very thing that makes him popular — his fascinating stories, with colorful leads and too-good-to be-true details — also becomes his un doing. One of his stories, "Hack Heav en," catches the eye of Adam Penenberg (portrayed by Steve Zahn), who writes for the Web site Forbes Dig ital Tool. After Penenberg is chastised by his boss for getting scooped by Glass and his "Hack Heaven," he does a few simple Internet searches for Jukt Micronics, the software company men tioned in the article The searches turn up no matches for a supposedly giant software company. From here, things begin to crumble for Glass. The movie does a praiseworthy job of tackling journalistic integrity with out all The New York Times/Jayson Blair brouhaha of this past spring. It re veals how easy it is for people to be swayed by charm and also how quickly they panic under pressure. The cast — which also includes Hank Azaria, Peter Sarsgaard, Rosario Dawson and the al ways remarkable Chloe Sevigny — de livers nuanced performances that con tribute to this great newsroom drama. "Shattered Glass" opens Friday at the Bijou Art Cinemas, located at 492 E. 13thAve. Contact the Pulse columnist at helenschumacher@dailyemerald.com. Her opinions do not necessarily represent those of the Emerald. DREfiflN DAILY EMERAID yonr independent sindent newspaper
