0 a v 5 9 U ; l s .0 .. .....h.1M1 ...... ...........................r.............. . . . ........... r.... ::....... ....... . ... .:": .....s%.. . ::.n... ...............................................................................v. . . . ....v................. . . . . Christine Choy Film maker talks on her film on the murder of Vincent Chin, justice in the U.S. INTER VIEW Christine Choy - the critically acclaimed documentary film maker--is the first speaker in University of Michigan Asian Student Coalition series: "Asian Americans: Making an Impact - Directions for Social Change Education." Tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the Rackham Amphitheater Choy brings her latest film, "Who Killed Vincent Chin" to Ann Arbor for a special, exclusive screening followed by a lecture. This film has won numerous awards including this year's Best Documentary Film in the Global Village Documentary Film Festival. Choy is an associate professor in the Tisch School of Arts within the film department at NYU and a visiting professor at Cornell University. She has won many other awards including first prize in the 1974 International Black Film Festival for "Teach our Children" and the 1982 Ann Arbor film festival's award for subject manner for "To Love ,Honor , and Obey." On Sunday Choy will host a workshop on the impact of media on racism and racial stereotypes at the Michigan League, room D. Choy recently spoke with Daily news reporter Donna Iadipaolo. WEEKEND: You have worked as producer, director, and cinematographer on some documentaries and narrative films. Why do you chose documentary films as your form of expression over reenactments or so- called "artistic films"? CHOY: Well, actually I don't like to distinguish between documentary, non-fiction, and fiction. To me what's important is not the form itself, its how you tell a story and how you are either able to - with that particular story - influence people, raise a question, or change people's minds. Documentary is interesting because you are directly relating to the subject manner. Unfortunately in America, documentary has a very negative connotation. Historically, documentary has always been looked upon as propaganda or newsreel rather than a creative art form. Thank god things have changed in the last few years. W: Although we have seen documentaries receiving more exposure in recent years, they still don't get the same play as mainstream films. Do you worry about some of the "dry" images that people have about documentaries? C: Well, that's precisely what I'm trying to change.. And, the reason the Vincent Chin film is different from any other documentary film is number one: there is no narration. A documentary usually demands a narrator, this Joe-Blow-X/God-voice to spoon-feed you or the audience. It's never going to happen in my films. The audience is a participant in the film itself. It's almost structured as a narrative form: there's drama; there's a story; and there's the way pf telling it. So it's both entertainment as well as educational. W: Your film has been said to cover a lot of complex as well as disturbing topics in it's ninety-minute frame. How effective do you feel you were able to tackle such issues as the economics of the automobile industry, the history of Asian immigrants, blue collar aspirations, and justice all in one film? See INTERVIEW, Page 11 The Da1i Well elections are over; the bal- lots have been cast; and voters are left to face four years of George Bush et al. When I talk about elec- tions, I don't just mean Bush vs. Dukakis, I mean the premier event of the season: It was bigger than the Emmys, Oscars, Tonys, Joes, or Moes -- The Michigan Daily Elections. You might be thinking, The Daily, big deal, but check this out. When approaching the brown- brick, two story building on 420 Maynard, one cannot help but no- tice the unkempt lawn. Grass patches here and weeds there; it represents a lawn with eczema if such exists. The Student Publica- tions Building casts a grey and gloomy shadow even on the sunni- est of days. Once inside the gloomy double doors, you are hit with the smell of dust and old musty, yellowing newspapers stacked on a wooden bench near the door. The foyer con- tains more hard wood benches and marble window ledges. The con- gested placement of the furniture and the maze of doors and hallways would make even the most stable people a bit claustrophobic. The brown and orange specked pattern on the linoleum floors is reminis- cent of a bus station lavatory. ly's The air gets hotter and the smell of decaying papers more pungent as you climb the black marble stairs to the second floor. Ah yes, the second floor, a hub of activity. At the top of the stairs used to stand an old Coke machine, and when I say old, I mean the thing dispensed 10 oz. bottles of Coke, Sprite, and Crush for 35 cents. Recently a modern, more expensive one was installed. Looking across to the main room or news room of the Daily, one spots the stained glass windows on the wall. Decoration not ventilation is about all they're good for because the windows open and close when they want to. The lift or pull of a human rarely has any effect on them. Also in this room is a long row of Macintosh computers. Piles of computer disks are scattered between them along the long, grey formica table. Some of them have been given silly names like Summer fun, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Safe Sex. Sometimes the disks stick to the table, bonded by old sticky pop or big( UR SHEALA DURANT 0 r lecisions pizza cheese, both of which - if allowed to sit long enough -make a cement that rivals Krazy Glue. Looking across the foom to the left, one spots a row of desks. I chose one of them to describe, and upon it rested papers, books, pop bottles, a pizza box, hair pins, a jacket, a spoon, a tennis shoe, and-a styrofoam cup, but such is the state of many of the other desks. Before you sit down, it is a good idea to remove the loose strands of long hair that become imbedded in the upholstery of the swivel chairs. Official reports show that the Daily has had five janitors since Septem- ber. After you've seen this place for yourself, you really can't blame them for leaving. Amidst all the conversations, hooping, hollering, keyboards clicking, and multiple phone lines ringing, blares a Bob Dylan song or some such nonsense from a portable radio. All these factors add to the general confusion of the sec- ond floor, but what could one pos- sibly expect? The weird thing about the Daily elections is that there are actually people vying for control of this 99 year-old bohemian landmark. The elections for Editor in Chief of the paper began at 5 p.m. last Friday See DURANT , Page 11 RECORDS Conti nued from Page 4 But it's the ballads which really entrench themselves with you. Torn from their cinematic context, they seem obsessively romantic and loaded with poetic despair. "The Darkness sheds its Veil" medley includes an unaccompanied Suzanne Vega intoning "Stay Awake" (from Mary Poppins), and Syd Straw singing the lusciously melancholic "Blue Shadows on the Trail." My personal favorite is Betty Carter's "I'm Wishing." The world's great- est living jazz singer turns this song into an evocation of painful lacking and aching desire. You'll die a little every time you hear it. Another lyrical cry of need comes in "Someday My Prince Will Come" from Sleeping Beauty. Sinead O'Connor makes it into the lament of, an old prostitute who, although her dreams of finding true love have faded, is still trying to convince herself that romance is just around the corner. There's more slippage in "The Mickey Mouse March" which Aaron Neville and Dr. John turn into a plaintive, yet heroic anthem rivaling "The Red Flag." Neville sings his with such painful sincer- ity that one is forced to think of the 60 year-old rodent as if he were Che Guevara or Ho Chi Minh - a real hero. There are a few throwaways on the album, however. Sun Ra & his Arkestra romping 'through "Pink Elephants On Parade" sound great in theory, but the cosmic wonder is unusually restrained here. Likewise the Replacements don't do much to "Cruella Deville" other than crank out another of their te- dious bar room rockers. Harry Nillson and James Taylor have great material to work with in "Zip A Dee Doo Dah" and "Second Star. to the Right" respectively, but I hate their voices, so the tracks passed me by. Now if Captain Beefheart and Scott Walker had done these songs... The instrumental tracks on the album almost all evoke sorrow, pity, and romantic yearning.Stay Awake is so appealingly depress- ing. If you love Billie Holiday, Pet Sounds, Patsy Cline, Phil Ochs, Chet Baker, Astral Weeks , and a whole record cabinet of depressants (which ultimately uplift), then you'll love this weird and essential collection. -Nabeel Zuberi Roger Eno Between Tides Warner Bros. I Opal Records Having always caressed the ambient richness of Brian Eno's aural soundtracks and pop produc- tion efforts (U2), I can see how the expectations I had been holding up to Between Tides are the kind that have made his act so tough to fol- low. One might expect to see brother Roger Eno eager to prove he can really do his own thing with this new LP. Even so, the opening track - "Dust at Dawn (The Last Cowboy in the West)" - comes off as somewhat of a shocker. Employing an ensemble' of three strings, woodwinds, and percussion to ac- company his own piano, Roger Eno creates a sound so pleasantly mannered that the first thing which springs to mind is perhaps Manto- vani or some brand of "beautiful" mus oter to 1 brot B Whi are bra% lege Rog rew, laxe nev sign spar tivel arpe spac onc sica MOTHER Continued from Page 6 parents; Liam Neeson (Excalibur, Suspect ) is convincing in the role of Anna's new boyfriend; and little Asia Vieira is quite talented for a seven year-old. Director of Photography David Watkin should also get a nod from the Academy for his beautiful footage of Anna's grandparent's home and her Cam- bridge, Mass. neighborhood. The Good Mother has a few mi- nor flaws. Keaton's narration of a flashback is a little stilted and takes some getting used to. Elmer Bern- stein's music is effective, but the punky music of Sinead O'Connor during love scenes? Come on, ,.Anna's not that hip. Also, Nimoy overlights a few scenes resulting in an unnatural look. Still, these criticisms are petty in comparison to the quality of the rest of the film. The plot of The Good Mother borders dangerously close to sappiness and melodrama, yet because of Nimoy's direction and Keaton's performance, there is not a single dishonest moment. This is not the film to see if you go to Showcase Cinema and find that Halloween IV is sold out. In- stead, go see The Good Mother when you want to see something serious and worthwhile. THE GOOD MOTHER is playing at the Movies at Briarwood and at Showcase Cinemas. Call for times. OFF THE WALL Hypocrisy - America's leading export -Alley outside Tally Hall Only a dead fish goes with the flow -Alley outside Tally Hall Drugs make your eyes bleed - Alley outside Tally Hall Prosecutors will be shoplifted -Mason Hall No matter who you vote for the government always wins -Mason Hall Political Awareness Pop Quiz: The Republican nominee for president is: A). Mr. Bush B). Mr. Rogers C). Mr. Magoo D). All of the above - Undergraduate Library Everyone who votes for Bush is out of the loop. (IN RESPONSE) Everyone who votes for Dukaka is out of their mind. (IN RESPONSE) I ain't votin' for neither, and I'm outta here- Toronto here I come. -Graduate Library SKETC LAA F ZINN ozr TvACA1Tb. TAPi~iw 't~tta3 W ; (AN sWA c Tap vq~ '65=2O34 In- M VALUABLE COUPON tAnARS SANDWICH ANN ARBOR 1220 S. UNIVERSITY 4 VALUABLE COUPON - BABY PM*JPPANUTM $j59 Plus Tax Prce valdin USA only Two adorable little individual-sized pan pizzas with cheese and pepperoni for one low price. Valid only with coupon at participating Little Caesars. Expires: El I I I I ORIGINAL S DEEP DISH with 2 items approx -S '" Voted Best Pi 'The Michigan Daily" MAIN NORT CAMPUS CAMF 665-6005 995-91 WOMEN'S GI Annual Fall Friday, Novemb * 7:00 Pl Rackham auc $5.00 General Admissic For Information c I I I I I I I I ~ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ I I- I I I I L'7/ _ _- - /b/ ' '' a 1988 Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc.M -- VALUABLE COUPON - -- TWO SMALL PIZZAS with cheese and 2 toppings* Plus Tax Price valid in USA only. Valid only with coupon at participating Little Caesars. *Excludes extra cheese. Expires: It and a 12 oz. Soft Drink Plus TaxI Price valid in USA only Valid only with coupon at participating Little Caesars. Expires: 1988 Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc. MD m VALUABLE COUPON TWO MEDIUM PIZZAS with cheese and 2 toppings* $ 9 Plus TaxI Price validin USA only Valid only with coupon at participating Little Caesars. *Excludes extra cheese.' Expires: r EnerrseI n '1988 Little Caesar Enterpses, Inc MD -- UtVALUABLE COUPON C 1988 Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc. MD VALUABLE COUPON = - PAGE I Q, WEEKEND/NOVEMBER 11, 1988=,9 WEE gt4D/NOV M, PERAJ JMB