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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 3, 2004)
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We buy used texts and other good books throughout the year 768 East 1 3th 525 Willamette (541) 345-1651 (541) 343-4717 one block from U of 0 near the Post Office www.smithfamilybookstore.com 1973's The Wicker Man' toys with religious themes Christopher Lee plays Lord Summerisle, the leader of an island of creepy pagans By Ryan Nyburg Senior Pulse Reporter It's surprising how few films take religion seriously. The numbers are even worse for horror films, which ei ther use religion as a stand-in for "the power of good" or simply co-opt the _ heaven/hell FORGOTTEN FILMS mythology to introduce demons into the mix. The whole attraction is that it provides a clear black-and-white moral universe that translates easily into the simple minded structure of most film scripts. "The Wicker Man," originally re leased in 1973, takes faith seriously while avoiding any clear-cut moral answers. Part mystery, part horror, part who-knows-what, the film deals with a strict Christian police sergeant Neil Howie (played by the nearly stoic Ed ward Woodward) who flies to a small isolated Scottish island to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. Upon arriving, he finds the island is inhabited by a modern-day pagan community which claims to never have heard of the child. From this, "The Wicker Man," seems to have set itself up as an inter esting, if light, mystery story. But as the story progresses, further layers are revealed, and the film becomes a morality tale setting the devout sergeant's Christian beliefs up against the more nature-oriented, erotic beliefs of the islanders. From there, the film slowly descends into a nightmare world of conspiracy, pa gan rituals and murder. Odd stylistic choices can be spotted throughout the film, beginning with the strange, seemingly out-of-place music, which consists of odd folk tunes which break out in the same style as in most Hollywood musicals. Yet these never distract from the film, instead adding to the increasingly bizarre tone. Garish colors, strange costumes and seeming irrational be havior sit side by side with the dank, moody atmosphere of the town. Soon, the film gains a dreamlike mood, which only gets darker and more perverse with every scene. While the police sergeant is set up as the heroic character, this distinction becomes less and less clear. While the actions of islanders might at first seem sinister, much of it is explained away by the island's ruler, Lord Summerisle, played by the excellent Christopher Lee. While Lee is more often known for his villainous roles, for much of this film he plays a man of gentle hu manism who does not seem per turbed in the slightest by Sergeant Howie's condemnations, although how much of this is a front and how much real is left unclear. By the film's halfway point, the sergeant is no longer sure whether Turn to WICKER, page 11 Ml RAH continued from page 8 the guitar or we split it up, and some times I'd be playing and sometimes he'd be playing and we pieced it to gether on tape. Most of the recordings aren't recorded very live. Only a couple of times have we done that. Like the song 'Light the Match' from 'Advisory Committee' — that was recorded live and I'd hardly ever done that before — everyone playing at the same time." Mirah began playing guitar when she was 19, during her second year at The Evergreen State College. She start ed attending college when she was 17 years old. After she mentioned that, we all had something in common — my friend started attending college when she was 16, and so had I. Before I started rolling tape for the interview, I expressed my issues with being an interviewer; I tried to eschew the traditional question/answer for mat and actually have a conversation. "I forget to also ask questions and be engaged in a reciprocal way," I said, "because it feels like I'm the wall and I'm getting these words bounced at me, and I have to respond, and it's not that natural." With that said, I didn't feel like just jumping in with another question. Rather awkwardly, I continued: "We're just having breakfast." Breakfast with a tape recorder rolling, that is. About the time Mirah's food finally arrived, the topic of conversation had shifted to voting. "I was really excited for the first time I could vote. It wasn't like, 'Yay, I can fi nally make a difference, this is going to mean a lot,' but I was excited to try it. 1 voted for Bill Clinton. It was (his) first term, because I thought, 'An independ ent candidate's never going to win, and this is what I should do. It is my right to have this power to cast a vote' So I voted and afterwards, I felt so shitty. I felt so used — immediately. I had a very dis empowering experience," Mirah said. "Then I started realizing local politics does make a difference, like who's on the city council, and that stuff." Earlier, Mirah had asked my friend Amy whether she had real maple syrup with the waffle she ordered. Ttoo months out of every year, Mirah makes maple syrup at her family farm in Pennsylvania. "During sugaring season, we seri ously just drink it. Because, you know, you have to test each batch," she said. "It's a lot of hard work, which I find fun." Mirah began singing when she was young because her family always sang. She recently toured with her sis ter, who is also a musician. "My sister is amazing; I think her voice is more beautiful than mine," she said. To which I responded: "I don't know about that." During her shows, Mirah often sings a capella songs. "It's such a different experience to be singing a capella because when there's a lot of other sounds going on, you have to try to listen to all these different things, and check everything all the time. It's not just some natural thing that's coming out of your body — it's like your ten arms. When I sing alone, I'm more present in my body." Surprisingly, Mirah's beautiful full guitar progressions are not grounded in theory. She played violin when she was young and could sight read then, but she has since lost the knowledge. "It didn't occur to me that I had learned a language and it would be useful for me to remember it and in corporate it into my life," she said. "I do regret that. It's not quite important enough for me to go there. I'm not theory based at all with either my songwriting or guitar progressions. I don't keep track of what chords I'm playing. It's just by ear." By the time our time had expired, it was 10 a.m., so we hurried off to class. Mirah moved outside to finish her breakfast with her bandmates, and as we rode past on our bicycle, we waved goodbye one last time. Amy Lee Seidenverg contributed to this reporter's notebook. Contact the Pulse editor at aaronshakra@dailyemerald.com. LUERS continued from page 7 examples of sources of global warm ing on June 16,2000, he said he took every precaution to make sure no one was injured. Still, starting a fire in a public place is an act even Luers' supporters find unwise. "I don't think what he did was strategic," Avakian said. "We're only against the length of his sentence." University Spanish instructor Jesus Sepulveda said Luers' act was harm less in comparison to the damage SUVs are causing to the planet. Luers has been called a "terrorist" by some authorities, but Sepulveda believes his act fought against terrorism. "It was a political statement and he didn't intend to hurt anyone," he said. "It was a political statement against vi olence — violence is anything that harms living creatures. The only real terrorism here is state and corporate terrorism, which goes against people and the planet." Some supporters believed that po lice had been monitoring Luers, who was a well-known activist, and even followed him the night of his crime and watched him set fire to the vehicles without stopping him so they could ar rest him for arson. Luers' supporters feel he was evaluated and sentenced not for his crime, but for his political beliefs. Eugene resident Carly Deicher, who raises awareness with different or ganizations about Luers' case, said his punishment was entirely unjust. "He received such a lengthy sen tence because what he did had politi cal motivation," she said in an e-mail interview. "Had he done it for money or some other 'socially acceptable' reason his sentence would have been the same as others — usually about three to five years. Rape is frequently an eight-year sentence — manslaugh ter might be 10 years. What Jeff did was property destruction. His crime involved no violence against a human being, and for him to receive a sen tence more than double that of a vio lent crime such as rape or manslaugh ter is clearly unjust." The reason for Luers' term of 22 years and eight months is Oregon's mandatory minimum sentencing guideline, which requires Luers to serve seven years for each car burned plus additional time for possession of in cendiary devices and attempted arson. Currently, Luers continues to be active in prison. He has published writings and artwork and is taking sociology and paralegal courses. His appeal process is coming up in July, which could possibly lead to a re duced sentence. "He is very strong and is making the most of his time and his situation, but he is locked up, a condition that is torture for anyone, but especially someone who is so connected to and concerned with the environment," Deicher said. "There is nothing natu ral around him in prison. He is sur rounded by men, many of whom he has nothing in common with except that they are forced to live in the same concrete and barbed wire structure." WOW Hall is located at 291 W. Eighth Ave. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are available for $5 at WOW Hall's box office. Contact the Pulse reporter at natashachilingerian@dailyemerald.com.
