The drive-in: A
11-46 SIX L1ves or
HERY '~VT 4e I S~t1 A
By JAMES VALK
IF . THE MOTION picture industry is
a representative archetype of tradi-
tional glamour in America, where does
that deviant known as the drive-in thea-
ter fit in the scheme of things?
When compared with the indoor thea-
ter, its sister / competitor, the drive-in
surfaces more as a blight on the aesthe-
tics of the industry than a facet of it.
It is indeed unfortunate that the out-
door heaer is not recognized in its right-
ful place within the industry as the great
American institution it is, falling some-
where between tacos and the $1.50 pizza.
It is yet another fabrication of conven-
ience, drawing appeal by peddling quan-
tity rather than quality.
(unless, of course, it could be paired
with The Exorcist or The Swingin'
Cheerleaders).
Indeed, there is an aesthetic sacrifice
made when watching movies outdoors
-one is no longer at the strict mercy
of the film in a darkened room where
attention is only directed at the screen.
AT A DRIVE-IN, PATRONS who are
serious about cinema - who wish
to become involved with a film rather
than just watch it - find their atten-
tion easily diverted, either from an ele-
ment inherent in the drive-in structure
(a noisy adjacent car, flashing head-
lights, the sudden illumination of your
windshield by the brake lights of the
neglect
trons from their cars to the snack bar,
where the waiting food becomes a wel-
come alternative to 10 minutes of 1959
hype on the screen.
Of course, should the clock simply be-
come too much for an irate customer
to endure, his only option for revenge is
not to start rhythmic clapping (like oc-
casionally occurs at indoors), but to
invoke the most feared retaliatory mea-
sure of the drive-in patron: sounding his
car horn.
Not only does this gesture of rebel-
lion extend an open invitation to the hun-
dreds of other cars, but invites calls
from neighbors who didn't pay $2.50 a
head for the privilege of honking their
horns. Neighbors always want piece and
ed
rite
."x""n rr .,.".y a r. '.}wavr;4-""^7yY "r"'f: {rr}:"".v "?5:"",w.": "y,"}':; r":fi: a.;rt;:",vr '"" """'",: yAM "ff ir9",:P'"J tiN : ""}; ,gp ' "yri}}
;2...:::}:;'" .mot '{ y {. , .+.. 'rrr" '± ts r,'. ;y. '+r +6v:,[ "Y j$'"+$: , . .:". .r. - v..fi.', " :4".wt+ r. fe"!-'"'-d{
...'rv: , a?-.,qr A "-if.'.:??i x{: v:Y:%x'"nF ...'3:::fi .eJ1i.:t5aifirr}:"r .4"ti.:-.:.". " "i ti" } "x r a.w4:".ax.".'."
This- is, the third of five
articles on the movie in-
dustry.
"It is indeed v
recognized in it
American institL
I
r,
M 4l,
gi~e o&r440- rn Dait
Eighty-Six Years of Editorial Freedom
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Ml 48104
Thursday, April 15, 1976
News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students at the.University of Michigan
Te new blight on MSA
When Watergate conspirator Gor-
don Strachan ended his career in the
Nixon Administration, he offered a
sad, broken suggestion: that young
people embarking on careers count
out the possibility of a lifetime in
government. Strachan was pitied and
his comment was condemned; a new
optimism was sweeping the nation
following Nixon's fall, and it was
thought that integrity would be the
new vogue.
Here on campus the spirit was
especially fashionable but its demise
has become painfully apparent in
the recent shabby practices of can-
didates for the Michigan Student
Assembly (MSA). In recent days Bob
Matthews and Irving Freeman, both
MSA candidates, have been accused
of the sort of political tactics that
would send a chill of satisfaction
down the spine of G. Gordon Liddy.
According to a witness, Matthews,
of the Responsible Alternative Par-
ty, distributed campaign flyers pur-
porting to be written by the Student
Editorial positions represent
consensus of the Daily staff.
Organizing Committee (SOC). The
flyers linked SOC to the killing of
"466 beagle puppies" by the Univer-
sity; SOC vigorously denied any con-
nection to the leaflet.
Election director Elliot Chikofsky
charged that Freeman, after being
denied challengers credentials, told
Chikofsky, "We're going to get you.
Not physically because that's against
the law." According to Chikofsky,
Freeman also threatened to hinder
his progress toward graduation.
It is disheartening to note in the
midst of these petty scandals that
voter turnout for last week's MSA
election was the highest in four
years, indicating an upswing in stu-
dent confidence in the organization.
Let us hope that MSA will clean its
laundry and get on with its business.
Above all, let it play the game fair.
TODAY'S STAFF:
News: Charlotte Heeg, Lois Josimo-
vich, Stu McConnell, Rob Meachum,
Ken Parsigian, Karen Schulkins,
Bill Turque
Editorial: Jim Tobin
Arts: Jeff Sorensen
Photo Tech: Pauline Lubens
Outdoor theaters offer unique fea-
tures that separate them from indoor es- and
tablishments. Since a drive-in patron
never has to leave his car, attire can be vei
completely informal (and often is). qua
Moreover, there are none of those nui-
sance added expenses that pile up <
when one plans an evening at an indoor
-paying the babysitter, parking fees, car in
what to do for the rest of the night when posed
the 7:00 showing suddenly expels you mentt
onto the sidewalk at 8:30, and so on. 10 min
All of these elements are economic freshf
coefficients of a cheap night out - an ind
which is precisely what the drive-in pro- are twi
vides: a full double bill of entertain- Butt
ment, without the stuffy, high society the dr
climate that often prevails at a more Driv
prestigious indoor heater. havea
Consequently, outdoor managers must that is
cater to different tastes in and perspec- termis
tives on cinema - middle and lower simple
socio-economic classes that are drawn percen
more to Charles Bronson and Burt Rey- gross.
nolds than, say, Stanley Kubrick. Thes
I have spent the past five summers popcor
managing a drive-in in western Michi- eral fi
gan, and I have enough memories to second
last me several lifetimes. (the mi
Drive-ins are notorious for their out- the au
landish bookings: I Drink Your Blood ed ad
and I Eat Your Skin is a typical double (the u
bill marketed especially with the out- The1
door screen in mind. Running a film like direct
Nashville would prove economic suicide its ind
TherghU
The heart of the Arab-Israeliconflict is not the
history of the conflict (so there is no reason to
get involved in an endless historical argument).
It is not a question of borders, political expansion-
ism, economic warfare, oil politics or superpower
intervention, even though all these are complicat-
ing factors. So what is it? It is the way the
two sides see the future, that is, their basic
ideology. There can be no peace as long as the
two sides see the future in terms conflicting so
badly that there is no room for compromise be-
tween their basic political programs.
Most Israelis claim that Israel is the historical
homeland of the Jewish Nation and has the right
to exist as an independent Israeli State with se-
cure and, recognized borders. Most Israelis, how-
ever, also recognize the rights of the Arabs and
a very significant number recognize those of the
Palestinian Arabs for self-determination within
what is considered by them as "historical Pale-
stine" (and by the Jews as "historical Israel").
Last Feb. 18, here on campus, the Israeli Consul
from New York, Zeidan Atashi (who himself is
an Arab), declared officially (in the name of the
Israeli Government) that Israel recognizes this
right of self-determination of the Palestinian
Arabs in the form of a Palestinian State alongside
Israel. On the practical side Israelis demand that
the creation of such a Palestinian State should be
accompanied by a declaration of peace between
it and Israel.
The Palestinian position, as represented by the
PLO (and the Arab students on the Michigan
campus) is that all of historical Palestine has to
become the "Arab State of Palestine" and that
Israel must be destroyed. They do not recognize
the right of self-determination of the 3 million
Israeli Jews, only the right of self-determination
of the 3 million Palestinian Arabs. While the pre-
vious Palestinian leader, Ahmed Shukeiry said
back in 1967 that he wants "to throws the Jews
into the sea", the present Palestinian leader, Yas-
sir Arafat says that he wants "non-zionist Jews"
to be citizens of the future Arab State of Pales-
tine. What really matters ideologically is that he
does not recognize the rights of the Jews for self-
determination, he rather wants to determine their
future for them wihout giving them any national
rights whatsoever. He is bound to the "Palestinian
Arab covenant" - the central document of the
PLO, which says: "claims of historical or relig-
ious ties of Jews with Palestine are incompatible
with the facts of history and the true conception
of what constitutes statehood. Judaism, being a
religion, is no an independent nationality. Nor
do Jews constitute a single nation with an iden-
tity of its own . . ." Just last February the PLO
111. 11G 1 nilaa 1~ .a ua
theater management pets a This week
tage of the concession stand marks the
completion of
standard device used to enhance the editorial
n sales is "the clock" one of sev- directorship of
lm clips that (1) ticks away the
s until the second feature starts Stephen Hersh
nerciful version) or (2) pommels Steve will head
dience with a barrage of outdat- the Sunday a
s for soft drinks and Bar-B-Q's Magazine staff
nmerciful version). beginning
power of "the clock" is not the next fall.
selling influence of the ads, but
direct repugnance that drives pa-
representative at the U.N. declared that "the
Jewish Ghetto State has to be destroyed". They
want Palestine to be a 21st Arab State, in addition
to the existing 20 Arab states: Syria, Iraq, Egypt,
Saudi-Arabia, Algeria, Morocco, etc., etc. How- V
ever, they deny the right of existence of the only
Jewish State in the world, located in the Jewish e
historical homeland, even though the State of
Israel has now existed as a State longer than
most of the world's present states. They keep us-
ing the word "Arab", but never the word "He-
brew".
The Arabs accuse Israel of expansionism, rac-
ism, imperialism, etc., but they do not demand
that Israel stop being expansionist or racist or
imperialist. They openly say that even if Israel
were a perfect democracy, even if Israel gave up
all occupied territories, even if Israel allowed
every Palestinian refugee to return- to his home-
land and receive compensation (irrespective of
compensation for 1.5 million Jewish refugees fromr
Arab lands), they still want to destroy Israel and =
deny the right of self-determination to its three
million Jews. They want to turn these three mil-
lion Jews into second rate citizens in an Arab $
Palestinian State - second rate at best because
their national rights, national language, national
culture and national heritage will be denied to .
them.
The heart of the Middle East conflict is the r
following: The Arabs believe that it is accept- t
able for Iraq to officially be an Arab state,
though 1/3 of its population is non-Arabs (Kurds); .P
it is acceptable for Sudan to be officially an Arab .
State with 40 per cent of its population non-Arab
Blacks, but it is unthinkable to recognize the right
of existence of a Jewish State of Israel, even
though 86 per cent of its population is Jewish. .'
Even the risk of an atomic war has not changed :_
their ideology of exclusive Arab rights, i.e., only i
Arab dominated states can exist in the Middle
East.v
The Israeli ideology, as also expressed by the 3
Israel Students Organization, calls for a pluralis.
tic Middle East, where non-Arab (and non-Mos- '
lem) people are able to retain their inalienable
right of self-determination. The conflict will stop L
once all sides recognize the right for self-deter- s>
mination of all people in the Middle East. We
claim that we recognize the rights of all the
people in the area. We also claim that Israel has
as much right to be a Jewish State as Syria or
Egypt have to be Arab States.
This article was prepared bl,
1nembers of the Israeli Student
Onimat n n ~Amr A rbr
HEALTH SERVICE HANDBOOK:
'Personal' help
QUESTION: When I came to Health Service last month,
I checked the box labeled "personal" because I did not wish
to reveal the nature of my complaint out loud. Despite this,
the receptionist kept asking me what was wrong in front of
a whole line of people. What's the point in checking "per-
sonal" if you people don't respect it?
ANSWER: Behind the blue doors we have been grappling
with this problem for some time now. The intent at Health
Service has always been to respect a patient's desire to
keep his or her complaint personal. Our receptionists have
ever been instructed to inquire discreetly only about the
general nature of the patient's ailment in order to match
as closely as possible the particular malady with the phy-
sician who may be most qualified to handle it. While all
of our medical staff are - essentially general practitioners,
many have either a greater interest or a more concen-
trated experience in specific areas of medicine.
We have found, however, as in all institutions staffed by
those creatures known as human beings, that some of the
personnel can handle things discreetly and others are not
overly sensitive to such things. Thus, the proper handling
of the "personal" issue has depended on who was at the
desk when a patient came in. As a result, this very month,
our high chief of the medical clinic has emerged with a
new plan. Whenever a patient checks "personal", he/she
will be asked to put in writing the nature of the complaint
and this paper will be directed to the physician but will not
be attached to the patien's record. We hope his will elimi-
nate the embarrassment of a verbal announcement of your
ailment at the desk.
QUESTION: What is "crotch rot" and how come every-
one (almost) in the dorm gets it?
ANSWER: A charming assortment of such terms as
"crotch rot", "jungle rot", and "jockey itch" are common
synonyms for the more scientific term, Tinae cruris, a fun-
gus infection of the groin area. The fungus causing this
irritating and often unsightly infection grows best in warm,
dark, moist areas of the body. Thus, the inner, upper
aspects of the thigh make an ideal milieu for growth once
the fungus has been introduced. Tightly fitting and perhaps
infrequently changed underwear seems to promote the in-
fection. Our G.I.s in the South Pacific and Southwestern
Asia suffered severly with this infection. Some Dermatolo-
gists refuse to treat the condition unless the patient agrees
to change to boxer type shorts, at least for the duration of
treatment. It is not clear how this disease is transmitted but
it doesn't seem to be necessarily spread through sexual
contact. As a matter of fact some people seem to be more
naturally immune than others. At any rate, some degree
of immunity seems to result after infection with the fungus.
It is most commonly seen in young male adults although
it can infect both sexes in approximately the same ana-
tomical areas. The armpits, also being dark, warm, moist
regions, may also be infected with the fungus. The fact that
you seem to perceive that almost everyone in the dorm
has "crotch rot" is probably due to your talking to a num-
ber of people who, coincidentally, happen to be susceptible
types. Treatment is fairly simple with a variety of lotions
and salves. However, as in most other medical problems,
correct diagnosis is essential to proper treatment. The skin
may react in the same or similar fashion to a variety of ir-
ritants, infections and infestations. Overcoming overtreat-
ment by any number of "over-the-counter" medications of-
ten masks the true diagnosis and complicates the physician's
role in the treatment of "crotch rot."
Send any health concerns to:
Health Educators
U-M Health Service
207 Fletcher
Ann Arbor, Mich.
... ?ff*r "g*ywr... :S{L." ;...Lt.".:};4:. ^
the $1.50
ence, drawi
ity.
front, inclement
by it (the famil
that "the snack
nutes - still tim
family-style pizz
door and Shamp
to different film
the movie itself
ive-in experienc
e-in theaters, un
a "slight pause
affectionately re
;in"The ration
unfortunate that the outdoor theater is not
is rightful place within the industry as the
ution it is, falling somewhere between tacos
pizza. It is yet another fabrication of con-
rng appeal by peddling quantity rather than
r:"r::."" ..:::: ".} ? .ir.; y,. .,y -. " .
,.. i"'.":+.;'>;;" ~i - .''.: ,":°i:Y::i% ""%.-.-_. :;f.r~: :%:;rF,:,"2"S .w,.6' j' "::1 '." .t,."} Y"" "
unsold because patrons prefer High
Plains Drifter to the "taste tempting
treat" that he clock promised.
reat" that the clock promised.
NATURALLY, WHEN the second fea-
ture is a total bomb (the double bill of
M*A*S*H and Hard Contract comes to
mind), the food business either flour-
ishes (thanks to audience boredom) or
drops completely (because one by one
cars start pulling out of the theater).
Some distributors just don't have the
product to put up a good second drive-
in feature. Last summer, Cinerama Re-
leasing actually sold the amazing double
bill of Walking Tall, a picture tailor-
made for the drive-in crowd, and Ing-
mar Bergman's The Touch.
Imagine a -warm Saturday night with
500 carloads of patrons eager to watch
Buford and his club establish law and
order. By the film's tearful finale, one
could hear a popcorn kernel drop. And
when the sheriff claims his revenge by
kissing a gentleman's knee with his car,
the horns are blowing in jubilation, my
phone is ringing, and the clock hasn't
even started.
Intermission passes without incident,
yet I notice shortly after the second fea-
ture begins that popcorn business is un-
commonly slow. A glance at the exit
ramp tells the story - a mass exodus of
the theater. After 30 minutes of The
Touch, only 25 of the 500 cars are left
on the premises.
"When does Ingrid Bergman show
up in this damned thing" one irked film
fan asks me.
"I don't know," I reply. "But Return
to Macon County starts Wednesday."
James Valk is The Daily's film critic.
t weather) or im-
iar PA announce-
bar will close in
e to get an oven-
za"). Shampoo in
oo in an outdoor
S.
f is only part of
e.
nlike the indoors,
between shows"
eferred to as "in-
nale here is quite.
quiet - and it is the job of the manager
to cease the rowdy horn honkers. (My
first hand experience indicates that a
threatening announcement over the PA
- "I'll call the cops" - only increases
the noise by about 20 per cent.)
The only real cure, of course, is to
start the second feature. But unfortu-
nately, that sends would-be concession
stand customers back to their cars, leav-
ing the manager with five dozen hot dogs
___________________:" _________________"... : ":: ' Xn~.1 {+ . .
I TELL YOU 1TE6E CONSUMER
GROUP5 SHOULD BE REPORrTED1 Y
WUE FAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTCES
COMMIT'EE
~1.
- .,- 4-
i a
WIAT AE TEY VOING,
CONGRW'5'MMAN ?
FOU49 fdgY Pfd
Oi~AE~/~AMP UfAIJU !
~
ll1 ! GflFl.c:"Lf t [U7L 771 rinif .n f uuT.
A-'100
1OLVING US ACCOUNrAKE
FOR OUR VO7 IN RECORD!
WOW.' 14 AT I
UN PEMOCRATA
!
Kc!
Letters
pendent role to play in society.
Thus it's not surprising that the
campuses are stable in the cur-
rent period of relative calm,
coupled with the bourgeoisie's
harraso "ef ornm" and "anti-
to-
The Daily
Iicf
1
t ry'} s.
f4' ..
l fi '"
}
/ ' _ s
CIA/NSA
To The Daily:
THE VOTE supporting CIA/
NSA campus recruitment in
the MSA-sponsored referendum
lutionary Student Brigade, who
both dropped out of the strug-
gle. The Post-Teach-In demon-
strated its unseriousness by
quitting when support for the
trugale haan in dwindle The
The Young Socialist Alliance,
which was part of the Coalition,
must also feel in a quandary.
They opposed CIA recruitment
on campus; yet they should be
relieved hv the vote: for over
men of imperialism's needy
clandestine armies of death, ter-
ror and counterrevolution. We
will continue to fight for a revo-
lutionary solution to the exploita-
tion. oppression. and misery of
,W,
I
I