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The Michigan Daily Tuesday, September 29, 1987
Page 7
Bigelow:
New
star
shines
brightly
By John Shea
In the nighttime sky of
Hollywood, Kathryn Bigelow is not
the North Star. She does not shine
the brightest or the best. And a
random search of either one of the
Dippers would prove to be fruitless
as well. You have to look for her
elsewhere, off in the distance. As
astronomers might say, she spins in
her own orbit.
"To be successful," she says,
"you have to be doing something
wrong. If everybody likes it ... wait
a minute. You really have t o
question it."
Bigelow was in Dearborn last
week, promoting her first feature
film as a director. The film is called
Near Dark, and it opens this coming
Friday. In Bigelow's own words, it
is an "exotic thriller about modern
day vampires roaming the country
roads in search of blood."
Okay. So she's not Steven
Speilberg. She wants to please you
badly but isn't going to alter her
vision of a project just for you. It's
her orbit. And whether you like it
or not, she'll give you an
experience.
"Thank you for coming," she
says, walking across the room with
her hand extended. She seems to
inherit the same qualities of the
night itself: a quiet dignity -and
grace, a gentle glow and a dash of
the unknown that makes her
mysterious. She is a question mark,
period and exclaimation point - all
at once.
Bigelow is something of a free-
spirit. After graduating from high
school in 1971, she attended the
San Francisco Art Institute for two
years, and later received a
scholarship to the Whitney
Independent Study Program. This
program enables 15 students a year
to learn from leading contemporary
artists. It was here that Bigelow's
work expanded to three-dimensional
installations which involved
creating environments as works of
art.
Bigelow's first love is painting,
but in 1979 she won a scholarship
to Columbia University's Graduate
Film School where she studied with
Milos Forman (Amadeus, One Flew
Over the Cuckoo's Nest ). Her
interactions with Forman convinced
Bigelow to put aside painting and
pursue film.
"His enthusiasm is very
contagious," says Bigelow. "It's
hard to not get too infected by it."
Infection is one thing. Being
able to do it? Well, that's another.
Bigelow is an intriguing "star," yet
she is a distant one. That's to be
expected, with Near Dark being her
first feature film. But some might
say she's not in the same galaxy as
Angeles... Hopefully these issues
will break down in a few years. You
won't even be concerned if it's a
woman or a man who directed it.
That'll be a moot point."
"I think that this notion of a
'woman's aesthetic' or 'woman's
eye' is a little concerning, a little
problematic, because it sort of
ghetto-izes women," she adds.
So don't bother Kathryn
Bigelow with ratios, numbers, or
odds of any sort. She doesn't want
to hear them. Part of her scorns this
dominantly male industry, and part
of her is afraid. She has gone on
doing her thing with a tunnel
vision. "It's the only way I could
go forward," she confesses.
Bigelow has gone forward and
made a movie to her liking. Near
Dark is absent of vampire myth-
ology. There's no teeth, no holy.
water, and no garlic salt. Just lots
of black humor, special effects and,
oh yes, lots of blood. The visual
imagery is intense. But make no
mistake about it. Near Dark is not
for everyone.
"If you could only have one
thing, critical acclaim or an
audience, which would you take," I
ask her.
"If I had a gun to my head," sIh
says, "and had to choose?. I'd;
probably say an audience."
Director Kathryn Bigelow shoots a scene from her new film 'Neap
who plays a vampire.
men. The issue of women behind women directing?" I ask her.
the camera nags on. It is still with "I really don't know. To say
us. what the ratio is? No."
"Do you know off-hand what She really doesn't seem terribly
the ratio is* between men and concerned, either. Bigelow believes
that "things are getting better" for
women in film and television.
"It's definitely opening up," she
says. "I've noticed that in the last
six years I've been in Los
I:
fir
U
I
ERS
T
B
R
W.O.R.
S. H.0.P.S
The University Library offers workshops
on searching online databases via DIALOG
and BRS. These brokers offer access to
more than 300 databases. Databases
are available in the following broad
subject fields: business, education, life
sciences, medicine, physical and applied
sciences, social sciences and humanities.
Examples of individual databases are:
MANAGEMENT CONTENTS, ERIC
(Educational Resources Information
Center), BIOSIS (Biological Abstracts),
MEDLINE (Index Medicus), COMPENDEX
(Engineering Index), DISSERTATION
ABSTRACTS ONLINE, and ARTS AND
HUMANITIES SEARCH.
Faculty, students, and staff are invited to
enroll to learn how to do your own online
searching, and/or to understand what is
involved when library staff does an online
database search for you. Library staff
can assist you in acquiring your own BRS
and/or DIALOG account. For additional
information, contact any campus library or
send a message using the MTS message
system to ONLINE-SEARCH-SERVICES.
Additional courses will be announced in
the Michigan Daily.
BRS System Seminar -
This workshop is designed for novice
BRS users who have little or no previous
experience searching the databases
available on BRS. BRS Information
Technologies is a commercial company
that brokers access to bibliographic and
full-text databases.
The seminar covers basic system
commands, Boolean search techniques,
and database selection. The lecture
includes a discussion of sample'search
questions and how to construct search
strategies. Online practice time is
provided.
Prerequisite: None
Dates and Times:
Sept. 29 10:30am-12:30pm
Nov. 10 9:30-11:30am
Location: Undergraduate Microcomputer
Center (fourth floor)
Instructor: James Crooks
Registration: Required, send to
University-Library-Courses using the
Basic system commands, Boolean
search techniques, and database selection
are covered. The lecture includes a
discussion of sample search questions
and how to construct search strategies.
The two-hour session also provides online
practice time.
Prerequisite: None
Dates and Times:
Oct. 6 10:30am-12:30pm
Nov. 17 9:30-11:30am
Location: Undergraduate Microcomputer
Center (fourth floor)
Instructor: James Crooks
Registration: Required, send to
University-Library-Courses -using the
MTS message system or call 936-2408.
Fee: No charge.
BRS Colleague System Seminar -
This workshop is designed for people
with existing access to BRS Colleague.
Participants learn basic system features
and Boolean search techniques, and also
receive an introduction to the MEDLINE
database.
After a short introductory lecture
participants use their own Colleague
passwords to access the system. During
the practice time, librarians are available to
provide assistance with system commands
and search strategy design.
Prerequisite: Participants should have
access to BRS/Colleague.
Dates and Times: Sessions will be
scheduled for groups of 10 or more.
Location: Alfred Taubman Medical
Library
Instructors: Librarians, Alfred Taubman
Medical Library
Registration: Required, call Barbara
Shipman to arrange classes (763-2037).
Fee: No charge.
Going Online -
The 15 minute video Going Online:
An Introduction to the World of Online
Information (published by Learned
Information, Inc.) offers a concise,
highly comprehensible overview of online
searching. It explains the online searching
process in theory and demonstrates
Prerequisite: None
Dates and Times:
Sept. 22 10:00-11:00am
Nov. 5 10:00-11:00am
Location: Harlan Hatcher Graduate
Library Classroom 806
Instructor: University Library Staff
Registration: Required, send tc
University..ibrary..Courses using the
MTS message system or call 936-2408.
Fee: No charge.
Introduction to Pro-Cite -
Preparing bibliographies for publications
or papers is often a time consuming
task. This workshop introduces Pro-Cite,
the bibliographic information management
system that allows you to create a personal
database of bibliographic citations and to
produce perfectly formatted bibliographies
automatically. Workshop participants will
have the opportunity to build a practice
database and will learn the basic principles
of storing and retrieving information
through keywords or subject headings
using the software. The workshop uses
Zenith microcomputers; a Macintosh
version of the software is also available.
Prerequisite: None
Date and Time:
Oct. 30 9:00am-noon
Location: Undergraduate Microcomputer
Center (fourth floor)
Instructor: University Library Staff
Registration: Required, send to
UniversityJLibraryCourses using the
MTS message system or call 936-2408.
Fee: No charge.
Computerized Literature Searching
Using Wilsonline -
If you have ever searched Reader's
Guide to Periodical Literature, Social
Sciences Index, General Science Index or
any other periodical index, you may want
to consider using Wilsonline, an online
information retrieval system providing
access to 15 frequently used databases.
The workshop provides an introduction to
the principles of Boolean search strategy
and to the content and commands of the
Wilsonline system. Participants will have
the opportunity for "hands-on" searchina
Using the Labadie Database -
The Labadie database is a subfile
of pamphlet and serial holdings of the
Labadie Collection, which is part of
the Department of Rare Books and
Special Collections, University of Michigan
Libraries. The Collection's holdings are
mainly in the areas of Social Protest and
Reform Movements, including Labor, Gay
Liberation, Feminism, Left and Right Wing
Movements, and Anarchism.
The seminar covers basic Spires
commands, used to search this MTS
database. The lecture includes a
discussion of sample search questions
and how to construct search strategies.
Online practice time is provided.
Prerequisite: You must have an account
on MTS (CCID).
Date and Time:
Oct. 14 1:30-3:30pm
Location: Undergraduate Microcomputer
Center (fourth floor)
Instructor: James Crooks
Registration: Required, send to
UniversityJLibrary-Courses using the
MTS message system or call 936-2408.
Fee: No charge.
Women's Music Collection -
The Women's Music Collection (WMC)
is a database created by the staff of
the Music Library. WMC indexes the
musical works of 2000 women composers
publishing between 1750 and 1950. The
database includes songs, operas, and
chamber music. The seminar covers
basic SPIRES commands used to search
this MTS database. Boolean search
techniques, and database selection.'The
lecture includes a discussion of sample
search questions and how to construct
search strategies. Online practice time is
included.
Prerequisite: You must have an account
on MTS (CCID).
Date and Time:
Oct. 27 9:30-11:30am
Location: Undergraduate Library
Microcomputer Center (fourth floor).
Instructor: James Crooks
Registration: Required, send to
UniversityJ..Library.Courses using the
MTS.message system or call 936-2408.
Fee: No charge.
Using the RLIN Database -
RLIN (Research Libraries Information
Network) allows searches in a machine-
readable database that holds the
equivalent of the University of Michigan's
own card catalog (most materials
cataloged after 1975), catalogs of other
major research libraries, and cataloging
produced by the Library of Congress.
Searches can be made by using personal
and corporate names, titles, and subject
headings.
The seminar covers basic system
commands, Boolean search techniques,
and database selection. The lecture
includes a discussion of sample search
questions and how to construct search
strategies. Online practice time is
provided.
Prerequisite: None .
Dates and Times:
Oct. 6 10:30am-12:30pm
Nov. 5 9:30-11:30am
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