PAGE TWO
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
TUESDAY, MAROR 15,1906
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Life in America:No Chicken, All TV
By LIZ WISSMAN
It used to be "a chicken in
every pot." Men rosesto fantastic
heights on that one, slim' promise
and it seemed that no portion of
the American populace could sur-
vive the pain of a pan that was
chickenless.
But time passed, and like all
peevish children, the noble citi-
zenry began to bore of even their
feathered friends. After all, what
can one really do with a chicken,
provided that one is not an egg?
And, too, there is something
just a little bit strange about a
bird who has nothing better to
do than to lay around in a pot all
day. (They begin to cluck to them-
selves.)
A hopeless social misfit, the
potted chick might at least per-
form some meaningful function
in American life. But no-it neith-
er gave commands nor received
confidences, and, if everyone had
one (one chicken being relatively
-du ou s1Me a e.aL (Eaufoue e31I
preciable prestige value. What Cal
Coolidge and Jim Audobon adored,
the American public soon aban-
doned as totally visionary. Then,
came television.
Ah, television-now there's a
medium that you can really sink
your
consi
long
mirro
an a
In
suspi
Is-M
the
agon
Th
that
nagg
can
possi
girlis
we f
is a
euph
exist
stree
No
enjoy
in
reall
lem
prov
thor
Shin
gran
trad
gera
seek
Al
sion
JUnderratedi
By JAMES SCHUTZE
The Daily's review last Sunday
of John Schlesinger's movie, "Dar-
ling," called the movie a good
disappointment. The two review-
ers justified their decision with
s o m e acceptable observations
about the technical production of
the film. But their review serious-'
ly short changed "Darling's" real
worth when it delved into the
nature of Darling herself.
Darling was described in the re-
view as a woman "intended to be
disagreeable . overwhelmingly
self centered and appallingly
smug." She is in truth an em-
bodiment of the doubting despair
of most women and most men,.
and the movie created around her
is a unique discussion of each of
us.
Yes, Darling is smug and self
centered, and the external effect
of her nature is a disagreeable
cruelty. But egocentricity is only
what she half-heartedly decides to
believe about herself: Darling
doesn't really know her own ad-
dress in life and must therefore
attempt to invent a plausible
habitation.
People who, can't really decide
who or why they are often explain
themselves with selfishness. To
move, and say words, and exist,
one must have a name, a self
definition. That misty wandering
from touch to hesitant touch
which tempts many unsure minds
cannot be a life: Some unifying
concept of purpose must condense
the mist into a pool of workable
personality.
And when there isn't anything
else around to grasp, lost people
sometimes assume selfishness as
their only possible purpose.
Most men eventually must adopt
some synthetic self definition, and
some believe in the result more
than others. Only a few can find
a genuine self. The rest must
pretend a self if they are to be
capable of functioning.
And the ability to believe that
one is an objective searcher or an
earstwhile aggressor or a cheerful
comforter or whatever else one
may decide to be is often the
offspring of one's own credulous
simplicity, or perhaps of one's
insensitivity;
Maybe Darling can't quite be-
lieve. Perhaps the uncomfortable
mist can never quite condense,
and a still small voice of near
despair continues to whisper
somewhere on the edge of her
being. Perhaps that is why Darling
evokes our own uneasiness when-
ever we meet her.
Of course, Darling is a mean
prostitute, as far as we can choose
to be concerned. We don't live
within people but with them. No
matter what delicate lostness may
be the parent of her cruelty, she
is n
be l
not
WE
end,
tion
exte:
Date
our
easy
with
most
false
the
for
In
ful i
actei
visci
stro'
may
ling
littlq
wan
of s
her
thos
and
are
up I:
So
mak
Higi
dom
beau
a w
teeth into. It gave self- "Testing" program. A.B.C. may
cious America what it had so have shocked us with Narcotics -
been seeking; a sort of magic exposes, C.B.S. troubled us witht
or into which it can peer like the growing menace of collegen
cne-prone adolescent. students, and N.B.C. buried usZ
this modern life arises the beneath the litter of "Whiten
cious ache that Something- Papers," but still we remained
issing, somewhere in between hopelessly tranquil.f
sigh and the cybernetic, the What was needed was a palpables
y and the alkaseltzer. threat to our peace of mind, a
stiff-uppercut to the psyche. And
ere is advertising, of course; this is the essence of the "Testing"k
helps. But there remains a trend. The program is subtle int
ing growl in the great Ameri- format, sneaking up in the sheep-b
stomach. Not that we could ish guise of a routine analysis ofb
ibly mistrust the flush and Good Citizenship or mild-manner-1
h zeal of a Katy Winters- ed Driving Test.
ully believe that deoderization tAIdp geauaqIng
potential source of near- woolly surface, lurks all the de-k
orious fun. But, ponders the monic force of Sigmund Freud.
entially tortured man in the Consider the scene: a group of
At, is fun enough? viewers gather around the warm-t
, no my friends-it is not ing glow of a t.v. set-when sud-
yment that we strive for. Deep denly-Frank McGhee lunges for-
ur secret Citizen-souls, we ward menacingly and demands-
y thirst for misery. The prob- "H Quick i Yo Eye"
with advertising is that itHwQ isYourE ."
ides us with an eight-lane Immediately, a silent tensionv
oughfare to Sweet-breathing, erupts in the atmosphere of thea
y-sinked heaven. How much room, broken at intervals by shrillt
ider it is to follow- in the titters of guilty laughter. Each
ition of Dostoyevsky, Fitz- viewer begins to examine himselfc
ld, and Lucy Van Pelt-to for that one black fault, sor
the quiet hell in life. noxious that it is evident to evenj
1 this is reflected in televi- Frank McGhee, far behind hisE
's newest creative effort, the screen of glass.c
= FILMS1
ee's 'Performancec
in Darling' Reviewr
evertheless cruel and cannot understand much of life, is at oncea
oved. But somehow, that does the most' plausible and the mostv
quite dismiss her. tragic object of our attention. Shet
e must condemn Darling in the attracts and repels us with a dis-v
because our only communica- tressing vaccilation that finallya
with each other is necessarily drives-us away forever.x
rnal, and because the externalnThose brief moments when Dar-
ling is a mean prostitute. But ding's despair breaks out in self-c
condemnation must be an un- hating repentance and intense de-E
measure, because something sire to be possessed and protected
in her soul reflects the doubt make us hate her the more, be-
t of us harbor and deny, the cause they reinforce our doubting
ness of this world we make, of her absolute visciousness and
community lie we have to live throw the blame on the phoniaass
want of another way to talk. of our own accepted self deception.
fact, we must be doubly care- Julie Christie's lip-biting stare
in judging Darling as a char- and pacing frustration finally
r. We can justly condemn erupting into a pulsing sob por-
lous people because they de- tray the outward signs of inward
other human beings. But we wandering with a jungent accuracy
be tempted to condemn Dar- which can only be the result of
with a little more ferocity, a excellent acting.
extra vehemence, because we The entire film's exaggerated
t to wash away the uneasiness progress serves effectively to dis-
elf which our suspicions about till into two hours the thousand
call up. We want to flood out stimuli which we could meet in
e small hot sparks of doubt a real life Darling only through
distant sympathy because we months and years of experience.
so desperately afraid of going "Darling" is. a moving comment
n smoke ourselves. about a lot of things, from a
mething about Julie Christie woman's only half-recognized de-
es her the perfect Darling. spair to a world which fails to
hly intelligent people can sel- answer despair. If the movie did
evoke our sympathy. But the not move you one way or the
itiful little girl who ends up other, then that's a moving com-
hore because she can't quite ment about you.
HELD OVER
2ND BIG WEEK
"It's great to see a spy movie
GJ I, Ias realistic and believable"
-New York Times
Academy Award Nomination-Best Actor
PARAMOUNT PICTURES prsts
RICNRD BURTN
CLAIRE BLIOE
"THE SPY
F ine CAME IN
x FROM TNE.CO .D
A MARTIN RITPFRODUCTNT
S STARTS FRIDAY
'IlE GROUP' v ES
A CHARLES KFELDMAN PRESENTATioN taiM m
THISPICTURE ISRECOMMENDED FORADULTS iR.E im uNI ARTISTS
And of course, it is a logical
necessity that the entire popula-
tion of the United States is
noxious in one way or another.
The exact phrase used does not
matter: any question which is ac-
companied by an appropriately
fierce gesture of accusation is
sufficient.
The announcer snarls out his
probe into the Average American's
knowledge of Driving Rules and
the public silently acknowledges
him with tormented memories of
bed wetting and frustrated Father
lust. We are all certain that some-
how, through the wizardry of
audio-visual, the television set
knows all.
What ensues is a complex mor-
ality play, in which an entire na-
tion splits into 180 million manic-
depressive pieces, each warring
with the other in a desperate ef-
fort to win back honor. Here, the
game becomes crooked-the net-
works serving up rigged percent-
ages of imaginary people who have
taken the test previously.
If your answer to a testing
question is correct, you are sum-
marily informed that the entire
United Nations General Assembly
answered incorrectly. You may be
correct, but you are now removed
from membership in the brother-'
hood of man. And if you are
wrong, the happy moderator di-
rects your attention to the fact
that the only persons who missed
that answer were a group of spe-
cially imported Australian abo-
rigines, all under the age of two.
All this leaves the contemporary
man shaken to the base of his
psyche, and able only to slither
along the gutterways of life, like
a half-animate slime mold. In a
word, he is exactly where he wants
to be. In our precious new torture,
we have discovered at last the
"pain of being" which we know to
be the real meat of existence.De-
lightfully alienated, joyously psy-
copathic, we have achieved the
American dream.
College Ac
SeIif-ServicM
= ea
Franconia College in New
Hampshire is experimenting with
a new admission policy which lets
students admit themselves, no
questions asked.
The policy is designed to let a
student start "clean," and avoids
prejudicing him in his chance for
admission because of previous
academic shortcomings. The new
admission policy is an experiment,
but the innovator of the study,
Robert G. Greenway, director of
educational research at the col-
lege, said the program's aim is to
"break the vicious circle of aca-
demic success or failure which
frequently results when students
are judged on the basis of their
past record."
Every third person applying to
UAC-Creative
Saturday,I
THE NEW JAZZ COM
* THE NEW MUSIC, T
3:00-Panel Discus
-Multi-purpose Ro
* ARCHIE SHEPP QUA
8:00-Avant-Garde
-Trueblood Audit
* SESSION-PARTY, Ro
10:30-Jam Sessioi
-VFW Hall, 314 E
THE YEAR'S MOST EX(
- DON'T b
I
He will automatically be accept- -
ed on the basis of his decision
alone if there is room in the stu-
dent body. During the entire pro-
cess the college does not ask the
student to give them any informa-
tion about his background, aca-
demic or otherwise, that he does
not want to reveal.
Dr. Greenway said he hopes that
these students will feel a higher
obligation to learn and a more
candid relationship with the
school than if they were admitted
in the more traditional way.
Arts Festival
March 19
AES TO ANN ARBOR!
he Negro and America j
5sion-Free
om, UGLI
RTETf
Jazz-$1.75
)rium
n Brooks, host
n, Refreshments-75c
Liberty
CITING JAZZ EVENTI
MISS IT!
-s--
UNIVERSITY PLAYERS
res c iiI
THE OPERA DEPARTMENT, SCHOOL OF MUSIC
OPENING TOMORIOW
The Max Reinhardt version of
JOHANN STRAUSS' Die Fledermaus
with
RALPH HERBERT
As Gabriel Von Eisenstein
JOSEF BLATT, Conductor
WEDNESDAY thru SATURDAY
.
.. .
_ --_--
mission:
Policy
the school is invited to partici-
pate in the experiment. The stu-
dent is invited to visit the school,
get a feel for its life and climate,
and then decide whether or not he
wants to enroll.
-.. _ _
E V"
LUNCH-DISCUSSION
TUESDAY, March 15, 12:00 Noon
U.M. International Center
SUBJECT:
"ONE VISITOR'S VIEW OF THAILAND"
SPEAKER: DR. MARY JANE LAGLER
(Recently returned from 15 months in Southeast Asia)
For reservations, Sponsored by the
cal 662-5529 Ecumenical Campus Center
8:00 P.M.
Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre
110
II
II
r
L
r
BOX OFFICE OPEN 12:30-5:00 TODAY,
12:30-8:00 on performance days
Ii
U - -
NOW
1 0
114mm m
DIAL
8-6416
Best Picture!
Best Actress!
ACADEMYBest Director!
ru Best Screenplay
AWARD Best Costume ;.
Design!
NOMINATIONS!
LAURENCE HARVEY DIRK BOGARDE
JULIE CHRISTIE'
a powerful and bold motion picture...
madeby adults...with adults... foradults!
TODAY AT NEXT
7 AND 9 P.M. "JULIET OF THE SPIRITS"
Ij r announces
PETITIONING OPEN for
SOPH SHOW CENTRAL COMMITTEE
1. Director
2. Treasurer
3. Programs
4. Make-Up
5. Production
6. Stage Manager
7. Properties
8. Tickets
9. Costumes
10. Publicity
11. Secretariat
12. Choreography
13. Music
MASS MEETING: Tuesday, March 15, 1966.0. 7:30 P.M.
LEAGUE-VANDENBURG ROOM
Petitions also available at League and Union Offices Monday, March14, 1966
DIAL 662-6264
ENDING WEDNESDAY
WALT DISNEY'S "THE
UGLY DACHSHUND & WINNIE
THE POOH" at 1-3-5-7 & 9:00
IURSDAY
THE MAN WHO
MAKES NO MISTAKES!
MARCH 18
HILL AUDITORU
MICHIGAN FRATERNITIES AND'SORORITIES PRESENT
"AN EVENING OF SONG"
I
0
Delta Upsilon and Alpha Phi
Sigma Phi and Alpha Zi Delta
Beta Theta Pi and Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Phi Alpha and Alpha Kappa Alpi
Theta Zi and Delta Gamma
Sigma Alpha Mu and Sororis
TICKETS $1.00
ON SALE MARCH 14-18: UNION, FISHBOWL, DIAG
W
1
E 0
0'
"own
I
it
CH ESSMATE
COFFEE HOUSE
Detroit, Michigan
NOW APPEARING
TOM RUSH
THRU MARCH 20th
TOMORROW NIGHT
8:00 P.M.-ANGELL HALL, AUD. A
"THE FREEDOM REVOLUTION
AND
THE CHURCHES"
University Lecture by
DR. ROBERT S. SPIKE
PRESENTS
PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
5CCANDIDATES
Dr. Spike is executive director of the
National Council of Churches' emergency
Commission on Religion and Race; author
of a number of books including The Free-
dom Revolution nd The Churches; cur-
rently Director of 'the Doctor of Ministry
- . . . -J. r - I I.., - s. At fGi.
I
I
11
UI
I
ED ROBINSON
I
BOB BODKIN