.Doge Four
^I HE MICHIGAN DAILY
Sunday, October 3, 1976
Pa .ge Four IHE MICHIGAN DAILY
SUNDAY MAGAZINE
PERSPECTIVES
he new journafism comes
out squarelyfor iberalism
By STEPHEN HERSH And apart from the fact that views have seemed to stand Day speech." Thompson couch-
the publication doesn't usually for Rolling Stone's. es his praise of the former
IY/HEN ROLLING STONE: do any political backslapping, Few were prepared for Georgia governor in the stand-
magazine threw its party, the endorsement was a little Thompson's endorsement of Car- ard Hunter Thompson curse-
for Jimmy Carter during the , bit of a shocker also because' ter. The piece was entitled "Jim- studded diction. But the writing
Democratic convention this , Rolling Stone has always givens my Carter & the Great Leap style only makes the praise
summer - a bash which ' the vague impression that it's: of Faith." Like most of Thomp- seem more sincere.
amounted to a wholesale en- somehow politically radical. son's political narratives, it was Thompson describes the Law
dorsement of the candidate-the! Obviously, that's a false im- written in an irreverent style. Day talk alternately as "a rare
magazine conveyed the message pression. When a magazine Actually, irreverent is a hope- piece of oratorical artwork"
that what it most wants to be ;makes a no-holds-barred en- lessly mild understatement. and "a king hell bastard of
is hip. ' dorsement of a Democrat like Thompson is always getting off: a speech." To convey the pow-
The kind of hip status that Carter, any illusions that it may on interminable tangents, some- er of the speech, Thompson
comes from crowding into the be radical evaporate. times making amusing but rid- notes that he's been carrying
spotlight with Carter is a far iculously implausible accusa- a taped copy of it with him
cry from the rock star chic IVEN UNCLE DUKE agrees tions about the personal lives for years, listening to it at odd
that's been Rolling Stone's reg- with that. of famous politicians, some- moments when he's needed a
ular stock in trade for years. Uncle Duke is a Doonesbury times describing his own heavy lift. Thompson often played the
comic strip character who is use of drugs. tape, he writes, while Carter
modeled after Rolling Stone What with all the anger and was still unknown to the na-
- writer Hunter Thompson. In a disenchantment with the politi- tion at large. He would turn'
recent worKS by Irecent Doonesbury episode, cal process that Thompson has the tape on "in some extreme-
Duke, who's been living in Chi- implied in articles for Rolling ly unlikely situations for peo-
Elien W ilt & na, is asked by his interpreter, Stone, it seemed fair to guess ple who would look at me likel
"Rolling Stone - isn't that a that he really does have leftist I was finally over the hump
Norma G revolutionary paper?" sympathies. into terminal brain damage
He replies, "Revolutionary? Even some of Thompson's di- when I'd say they were going
Sure, if you call throwing a gressions in his endorsement to spend the next 15 minutes
sequin-laced coming out party storygive the distinct impres- listening to a political speech!
Sept.28-HO RSO for Jimmy Carter's campaign sion that at least part of his by some ex - governor of
Oct.17 w. J.:i~l e" ,staff revolutionary." alienation is channeled into left- Georgia."
RECEPTION:Sep 30 7P *4-3 . . Duke's comment is right on wing political conviction. It's quite possible for a radi-,
but it' s ignd ofironc A good example is the "Spe- cal to endorse a Democrat for
target, cial Bulletin" which appears in the presidency.
that the remark comes from the the middle of the Carter story. Some leftists argue that while
mouth of a character based on The bulletin is a mock-serious someone like Carter may not]
Thompson. After all, Thompson hard news report relating a be satisfactory in an absolute.
FIRST FLOOR MICHIGAN UNION himself endorsed Carter at the statement made by "Anarchist sense, he may create an atmo-
beginning of June - on the presidential candidate Hunter sphere more friendly to the left
pag~es of Rolling Stone.
- Thompson." than would a Republican presi-t
Thompson has always given Well, the rest of the Carter dent.
Sas iryoff vaguely radical vibes in his article proves that Thompson is But the only reservation
Rolling Stone stories. And be- no radical. His support for the Thompson professed in his en-
SMAcause he writes more political candidate is more or less based dorsement of Carter was based
commentary for the magazine on a speech Carter made a few on the possibility that the can-
T r 2 . than anyone else, his political years back-the so-called "Law didate may not come through
Complete Showings Todayl
At 1-3-5:30-7:30
Produced by SAM SHAW
wri#ten and Directed by JOHN CASSAVETES
Wolfe Thompson
on his campaign promises. He I reporter to keep from explicit-
doesn't question whether those ly stating his own views on
promises are adequate in the his subject. But he seemed to
first place. subtly convey a sympathy for
Thompson writes, "Admitted- the radical viewpoint.
ly, a vote for Carter requires a There were a couple of spots
certain leap of faith, but on the where - rightly - he raised
evidence, I don't mind taking his eyebrows at various parts
it." of the Panther program. But
Anyone who takes an attitude you don't have to swallow the
like that is no radical. Panther whole to be a leftist.
I IKE T H 0 M P S 0 N, Wolfe's sympathetic descrip-
writer Tom Wolfe has a tion of the Panthers' general
history of giving the impres-
sion that he's a radical - and
he, too, has recently come out
four-square for liberalism.
Wolfe is a contributor to Roll-
ing Stone and one of the found-!
ing fathers of the "new jour-
nalism" school of writing. Most
of what he's written for Rolling
Stone has not focused on poli-
tics - his most notable writ-
ing for the magazine has been
his series on America's astro-
nauts.
But in his most notable work,
Radical Chic, Wolfe deals ex-
clusively with politics and re-
lated social issues. That short
but pithy volume on the rela-
tions between the Black Pan-
thers and the wealthy Fifth
Avenue Leonard Bernstein
crowd established Wolfe's repu-:
tation as one of the country's
foremost young writers.
Throughout Radical Chic,
Wolfe was as careful as a news
1complaints about social injus-
tice gave the impression that;
he had a leftist leaning.
But Wolfe is no radical now.'
In a recent article for New '
York magazine, called "The'
'Me' Decade," he dismisses out
of hand the need for radical
change in this country.
"In America," Wolfe writes,
"truck drivers, mechanics, fac-
tory workers, policemen, fire-
men, and garbagemen make
so much money - $15,000 to
!20,000 (or more) per year is
not uncommon - that the word
proletarian can no longer be!
used in this country with a
straight face."
Wolfe sees this as the realiza-;
tion of the radical dream.
"Well, my God," he says,?
"the old utopian socialists of
the nineteenth century - such
as Saint-Simon, Owen, Fourier,,
and Marx - lived for the day,
of the liberated workingman.
They foresaw a day when in- lions of workers. But in dismis-
dustrialism (Saint-Simon coined I sing radicalism, Wolfe doesn't
the word) would give the com- even mention the millions who
mon man the things he needed our free enterprise system
in order to realize his potential wrongs. Consider the unem-
as a human being: surplus ployment figure in these times
(discretionary) income, politi- of relative economic stability.
cal freedom, free time (lei- The unemployment figure will
sure), and freedom from grind- shrink if Carter becomes presi-
ing drudgery." dent. So consider the sad state
Wolfe continues, "The old of our inner cities. Our free en-
boys never dreamed that the terprise system has never
new freedom would come to shown itself capable of chang-
pass . .. as the result of a Go- ing the face of our cities ef-
Getter Bourgeois business boom fectively.
such as began in the United And then there's . . . but
States in the 1940's." wait, it isn't necessary to cata-
What Wolfe is obviously infer- logue a list of social problems.
ring (as usual, he doesn't state The point of all this is that
it directly) is that we've made Wolfe has ruptured the impres-
so much social progress here sion that he's a leftist.
in America that the old theory Rolling Stone magazine, and
of the necessity for the down- writers such as Wolfe and
trodden social class to lift itself Thompson who are associated
up is outmoded. with it, are not of the estab-
Wolfe's analysis b e c o meslishment. They're rebellious -
superficial when he suggests on the way oey tend to refle
that because the working class yon iepits n-i hi
has notended tp the way the sio'eering of new prose styles.
old socialists figured it would, But politically, they're liberals,
thd caltsfuradatwhangedswith feet planted firmly into the
the call for radical change isstatus quo.
obsolete.
Sure, our free enterprise sys- Stephen Hersh is the Sunday
tem does relatively well by mil- Magazine editor.
They -shoot f m
(Continued from Page 5) I think so, absolutely.
FRIED CH ICKEN DINNER wi th whipped potatoes !between say, the religious au- Do you think that that can
FRI.-SAT.-SUN. thorities and the police authori- partially explain the success of
Iand c-SAT.S $2..99 ties. the government's attempt to'
and coleslaw $1.99 M IsDo you think that the relig- repress the expression of these
ious authorities and the police desires?
" Sunday afternoon football on our seven foot authorities work together
l au horiies ork oget er.O h yeah, I think that the in-
T.V. screen C O N EY Wll. r .I hnthat thesl oh t th
TV sceniiterests 1rthink thatestitutions have worked in very
re very ose well with that establishment.
GIn the light of this relaxa-l But I think that things are im-
" DANCING: 9-12 pm.I2-string, 6 string, b a n i o, tion of taboos, why do you think nd slowly they wl
A:frtless bano, harmonica, con- that hardcore pornography is proving,..ndsoytheybstll
cFrtn, etcd still pbeingbannedror discoura periences I had with my film
For good FOOD, MUSIC, and FUN,nn ed think it is just that pornog- "El Triciclo" was with young
raphy can become too obvious.
You know we are very sneaky; Why do you think that was?
' Folk it's really a double standard. Because, sometimes they are
We? able to see things a little more
FestivolWe Latin Americans. Prosti- clearly. And they accepted the
Fet-otution is very open. Everybody contradictions in some of the
knows that a lot of people go characters a little more natural-
1421 H I L L761-1451 to whore houses. And these are ly than the rest of us.
still things that men don't talk Was it because they were
--- --- -- about in mixed company. Por- younger, or less experienced?
nography, I guess, would be-
)come too obvious. There are Maybe . . . less repressed. We
Ia few theaters that show "X nbe eybrt ndvy
rated" movies because it would tender at the same time. And
be too direct, it would be open.: they don't excuse the brutality.
Prostitution is locked behind That is something that the Cath-
doors. Appearances have to be olic church has never done,
1ILhia % fdI II kept. It could be considered dis-. they have always excused the
611 CHURCH (In the lower level of the Campus Arcade) Phone 665-5955 rii1 II'IL1C I I lruptive. brutality. So when the time
Do you think that the repres- comes, we are allowed to cut
sion of political/sexual desires; off somebody's heads as long
grieFIRST MEETING grained in Latin American
ture? their shoulders.
S MON., OCT. 4-9 GpEO
CENTRAL CAMPUS GEC
SPORTS BUILDING MEMBERSHIP
Regular Meetings- Tue, & Thur. 8-10 pm MEETING
ReuPrM mg ~ M n.9 :30 pm
Albert & David Moysles' 1975 Mon. 9-10:30pmThe Oct. 5 Contract Deadline has
GREY GARDENS arrived. Wht will our next move
be, Come show your support and
This is the ANN ARBOR PREMIER of the most recent documentary by help decide
the Maysles Brothers. It delves into the daily lives of the eccentric rela- *
tives of Jackie Onassis, Edith Bouvier Beale and daughter Edie. "Extra-UU
ordinary. One of the oddest, most beautiful films ever. "-London Times-
' HATE --
TUES: CITIZEN KANE
SE STATE? ANN AUU0C0 ILM C-=C
CIN MA GU LDTONIGHT AT OLD ARCH. AUD ***t****"******"""**********..s 0
7:00 & 9:05 Admission $1,25 TONIGHT in the MLB
THEN GIVE WOODY TWO FILMS BY AKIRA KUROSAWA
THE BIRD! TOSHIRO MIFUNE in
1the WOODYISAPECKER TStirt YOJIM BO 7 only
Sicnoias Roez s 1971 )o -sSend One of Kurosawa's most popular films, YAJIMBI has the flavor
Se 00 pius $50xpostage and handbug of an American western. Instead of the professional gun-
f / n~i.d ndicate sreeSM, L Xu or whe fighter, we have an unemployed Samurai (Toshiro Mifune)
W A L KB O U Tstroling into town, playing both gangs of bad guys against
oResidents Add 5.5% Sales Tax.) one another, slicing them into ribbons and leaving town, his
(Ohio s.job well done. Donald Ritchie has called it Kurosawa's "first
"A film rare for its purity of vision." Two Eur children abandoned l-length comedy" and Pauline Kael described it as "The
EurosApeAn, AAI V_ - first shaggy-man movie." Japanese with subtitles.