Oregon Daily Emerald
Thursday, November 11, 2004
“It is the mark of an educated mind
to be able to entertain a thought
without accepting it. ”
Aristotle
■ In my opinion
RYAN NYBURG
BUDGETRACK
Reality bites:
Campus
cultural life
a crock
Sometimes I get a little depressed about
the state of our culture. What gets me
through is the fact that, when you look at
the big picture, things generally aren’t any
better or worse than they used to be. It’s
the same with arts and entertainment as it
is with politics (big difference there).
Think this is the worse administration
we’ve ever had? You obviously don’t have
much of an attention span.
But there are some things that are indis
putably worse off than they used to be.
Cultural life on campus, for example,
seems bound to sound its death toll any
day now. There was a time when colleges
were on the forefront of almost every
worthwhile cultural movement. Through
out the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s, the cam
pus community could always be trusted
to be on top of what was really happen
ing. Now? Forget it. Sure, you can still
hear better music on average at most col
lege radio stations than the corporate
owned ones, but college radio as a whole
is slowly pigeonholing itself into an indie
rock niche when it manages to be relevant
at all. It’s like that on almost all levels of
campus artistic activity.
You can spot signs of decay here on our
own campus. Just a few years ago the
Cultural Forum hosted showings of art
and avant-garde films every few weeks.
Now, thanks to a deal with the Swank dis
tribution company, we get to see “TYoy”
and “Shrek 2” right here on our own cam
pus. Whoop-dee-crap, second run films a
couple weeks away from being released
on video. Great, that will save me the
trouble of taking the free bus trip out to
Springfield to see the same films for the
same price. How convenient. (Springfield
gets a lot of crap from Eugene residents,
but when you get down to it, who has the
theaters with the stadium seating?)
What’s the point of this? This is aimed
at students, right? As a university, one of
the bastions of intellectual discovery,
shouldn’t we in some way be bolstering
the cultural awareness of students rather
than happily feeding them the same pap
they can find at any local Blockbuster?
Maybe I’m just being an elitist, but in the
words of David Reese: “If ‘elitist’ just
means ‘not the dumbest motherfucker in
the room,’ I’ll be an elitist.”
A few decades ago this subject never
would have even come up. In the 1950s,
college students helped fuel the beat and
folk movements; in the 1960s they were
the home for a wide range of counter-cul
ture activities; in the 1970s they were the
home of experimental and avant-garde
films; in the 1980s they were the primary
audience of underground music. But
since the 1990s this sort of activity has
started to dissipate. And what do we have
today? I’ll give.you a hint: It starts with
NYBURG, page 6
■ Theater review
'Athens' musical tackles risaue themes
Controversial scenes depict
sexual references and remark
on current political situations
BY NAIASHA CHILINGERIAN
SENIOR PULSE REPORTER
The University Theatre’s production of
“Good Morning Athens” is the perfect musi
cal for someone who can’t stand traditional
musicals. Audiences won’t hear indecipher
able language or opera-like tunes in this
show. Instead, show-goers experience hip
hop, sexual themes, political cracks and
common language.
The story line encompasses themes that a
typical University student is likely to relate
to. The plot centers on General Tantalos, the
leader of Athens, who bought himself into
office and is now up for re-election. To gain
popularity, he decides to launch an unjusti
fied war. The women in town are furious that
their men will be neglecting them for a point
less war, so they vow to withhold sex until
their husbands give up fighting. Throughout
this battle of war and sex, characters experi
ence sexual frustration, have conflicts in
their relationships and learn about the reali
ties of combat. This tale is told amid a color
ful, creative set, which includes a wall of
graffiti, pillars, vibrant buildings and a bor
der of female pop singer cut-outs including J.
Lo, Britney Spears and even Janet Jackson
with her exposed breast. An orchestra is ab
sent from this musical; instead, cast mem
bers sing contemporary-style to prerecorded,
instrumental background music.
Political references in the show are abun
dant, hilarious and perfectly reflect today’s
American politics. Tantalos, played by the
ater arts student Joe Oyala, is an obvious
representation of President George W. Bush.
Tantalos mispronounces lengthy words dur
ing his speeches and references the PATRIOT
Act and the No Child Left Behind Act. In re
sponse to his wife’s request to end the war,
1
Lauren Wimer | Senior photographer
From left: Joe Oyala (Tantalos), Danielle Kardun (Chyrsis), Sarah Griner (Lysistrata) and Juliet Strong (Thalia) star
in 'Good Morning Athens.'
he responds, “Where will we get our oil?” In
the meantime, characters mock war by
dancing with prop rifles and a noose tied
around the neck of an accused “unpatriotic”
person.
Controversial and risque themes are
stretched further in the show’s blatant sexual
references. After withholding for a while, the
women begin to crave sex and express them
selves by discussing their sexual dreams and
dancing with vegetable dildos. In one scene,
the cast dances with a giant prop penis and
another showcases a gay makeout. These
highly suggestive visuals, as well as liberal
use of foul language, prove that the cast of
“Good Morning Athens” isn’t afraid to take
chances, and their fearless attitudes are very
admirable.
Exceptional talent radiates from the stage
in this show. One powerful performance
comes from Medea (played by theater arts
and mathematics student Marissa Neitling),
a blunt, alcoholic newscaster and single
mom who struggles with her relationship
with her ex-husband. Neitling gives a con
vincing portrayal of an angst-driven, intoxi
cated woman.
For those still grieving about Nov. 3’s elec
tion results, “Good Morning Athens” might
be a helpful remedy. The show inspires many
laughs by poking fun at the President and his
policies. This wild, risque production that a
“Good Morning Athens” writer calls an “anti
musical,” is sure to please.
natchilingerian@dailyememld.com
Power of speech through poetry
Local poets perform original pieces of work at
Territorial Winery and compete for cash prizes
BY AMY LICHTY
PULSE REPORTER
Edgar Allen Poe, Robert
Frost and Emily Dickinson
are all well known for their
original poetry, which has shaped
the art as we know it today. But
today, there are loads of local po
ets around that might make Poe,
Frost and Dickinson rethink what
they know about poetry. These
poets participate in the Eugene
Poetry Slam, a competitive art of
performance poetry.
Marietta Bonaventure, the
“Slammaster” and brains behind
the operation, has been hosting
the Eugene Poetry Slam for three
years. Until this year, the nine
month-long Poetry Slam season
was held at Bonaventure’s busi
ness, Foolscap Books, previously
located on the corner of Eighth
and Blair. After Foolscap became
a strictly online business, the na
tionally-recognized Eugene Poet
ry Slam lost its home, but not its
100-plus fan following. Luckily,
Territorial Winery, at Third and
Adams, was open for something
fresh, and the Eugene Poetry
Slam got a new residence.
“This is a good venue and it’s
great to get people in here,” Ter
ritorial Winery wine-maker John
Jarboe said. “It’s a big, huge
open space and it’s a good deal
for everyone involved.”
Poetry Slam participant Kitt
Jennings seems to agree.
“It’s a really friendly venue.
It’s really nice and a great atmos
phere,” said Jennings, who took
first place in this year’s first slam
on Oct. 23.
The slamming takes place the
second Saturday of each month
in the winery’s pressing room, a
large warehouse where the wine
is made, and is open to all ages.
For those 21 and older, wines are
always available for purchase at
the wine bar and lounge.
The second round of the poet
ry slam will take place this Satur
day at 8 p.m. with sign-ups start
ing at 7 p.m. A maximum of 15
poets can sign up to perform, but
if more wish to participate, a lot
tery will take place to allow a
few more to join in the fun.
Everyone is welcome to come
watch the poets speak original
work for a $5 cover.
The top three winners of each
slam win a cash prize and are
automatically qualified for the
playoffs, which take place in
April. The winners of each play
off then advance to the finals,
where the top four winners then
become the Eugene Poetry Slam
Team and participate in the na
tional competition, to be held
this year in Albuquerque, N.M.
There’s also an option for
those who love slamming poetry,
but hate the competition side of
it. The Spoken Word Showcase,
held in the Downtown Lounge
the first Sunday of every month,
is open for anyone over 21 who
wishes to spread his or her
words without challenging any
one else.
Slam Poetry has become a
popular art all over the country.
Approximately 70 separate poet
ry slam teams participated in last
year’s nationals, which took
place in St. Louis. The Eugene
team is a good mixture of both
sexes and Jennings warns that
women are the ones to watch
this year.
“Most of the time, the number
of men and women participating
was about even, or at least pretty
close. There were times where it
wasn’t quite even, which disap
pointed us, but we saw it as
progress compared to how it was
before,” Jennings said. “But this
year, I really think that the girls
are the ones to contend with.”
According to its followers, this
growing art form has reached
popularity because of the power
of speech it gives people and the
love for the art of poetry.
“I think the most amazing
thing about slam poetry is there
is a certain controversy to it;
sometimes it becomes more per
formance and less actual poetry
for some people. But basically it
gives people a voice who nor
mally wouldn’t have a voice,”
Bonaventure said. “There’s no
other event where you see peo
ple running outside during
breaks to sit down to write be
cause they’re so inspired.”
“Slam is an interesting game,”
Jennings said. “And I’m glad that
I’ve already qualified (for play
offs) because now I can just sit
back and watch the drama
unfold.”
amylichty@ daily emerald, com