4 - The Michigan Daily - Weekend etc. - Thursday, September 30, 1993 PCornotPC: That is the question Since I got to college I've noticed a lot of yammering from the women- folk. Marginalized this, and oppressed that, phallocentric this, and monopo- lization of authority via male imposi- tions of identity upon the female re- flecting how male emotional effect distorts its own conclusions in a man- ner predicted by the Heisenberg un- certainty principle and by Derridean philosophy and exemplified by the fictive postulation of penis envy that I realize this will offend many of you and because of this offensive opening (which, incidentally, was inserted by my crass editors) probably nobody is going to take me seriously - if in fact anyone does read the Daily. Hallo out there? Hallo? But all hyperbolic irony aside, I've been struggling to understand femi- nism and its near relative political correctness since becoming an under- graduate. In seriousness, the monopo- lization of authority by the white male throughout European history really has meant a monopolization of the voices in written and spoken dis- courses. The literary, scientific and common representations of human life in general and of disenfranchised groups of people in specific have thus been subjected (consciously or un- consciously) to the psychological and socio-political agendas of the group doing the representing. The image, or identity, of disen- franchised groups has not been con- trolled by the groups themselves, but by this monopolizing authority. I think it is this cultural phenomenon which feminism and political correctness seek to address - and it is both an interesting subject for study and an important one for the progress of our social organization, probably. The problem, however, is that most of what I hear is not a sophisticated attempt at patho-psychology or gene- alogy, not an attempt to understand and thereby defuse (or deconstruct) damaging mythical representations. Most of what I hear is an angry and totally misguided attempt to forcibly suppress the symptoms of this cul- tural pathology without addressing the causes. PC seeks to prevent certain ways of thinking by censoring them, rather than by explaining them, which might check the pathology; symptoms will persist in the presence of the causes. This sort of futile and reactionary assault is really an effort to appropri- ate authority over discourses by mak- ing the disenfranchised the new con- trollers, the thought police, the im- age-arbiters. (I'm allowed such elu- sive abstraction because that's what you're supposed to do if you major in English and also, since I'm attempt- ing to deconstruct the would-be deconstructors- very English majory - some amount of nonsense is ex- pected; deconstruction was invented when Jacques Derrida slipped on the stairs at Ferdinand de Saussure's sum- mer home, and, after suffering a brain hemorrhage, emerged from a coma babbling aphasically about paradoxes, binary oppositions and endless defer- ral of the referent, and proceeding generally to annoy everyone). Any- way, if ways of mass-thinking can be influenced at all from outside, it will never be by virtue of the PC dis- course-lords. Such yammering, aimed at language and not at mindsets, sup- presses negative representations with- out changing the pathological atti- tudes which produced them. Furthermore, PC yammering is not only misguided in principle, but in- discriminate in its targeting. PC-sters seem often to read malice toward the disenfranchised where none can rea- sonably be construed, such as in the disciplinary action last year against the University of Pennsylvania stu- dent who shouted "water-buffalo" out his dorm window. In such cases, a perhaps under- standable paranoia couples with the inexcusable delight in PC power over what representations will and will not be permitted. The result is a kind of unfair and unproductive aggression from the PC, directed at the supposed oppressor. The new discourse authorities have generated a fictional image of their own to supplant the old ones. In that image a ubiquitous oppressor mean- ing insult and violence in every word can continually be stopped and pun- ished by the appropriated powers that PC be. It's a symbolic victory which I'm sure pleases PC-sters with its sig- nified power -but the power and the victory are not real. PC in the end is an abuse of power akin to that practiced by the historical authority-monopoly - the very au- thority to which PC was first a re- sponse. It seems to me that in address- ing the problem of one's representa- tion of another, the goal should be an elimination of the tendency toward pathologically characterizing other groups; and that is perhaps best achieved by examining and defusing pathologies within oneself, rather than enforcing PC points of view in others as part of a reactionary fiction. Coming out of the closet Confessions of a 'Beverly Hills 90210' addict 'Proof' offers pointers in perception By SARAH STEWART There's a game kids play, called Blind Man's Bluff. One player is dragged around by the other, trusting, or at least hoping, that his well-being is secure in the hands of his leader. "Proof," a 1992 Australian film recently released on video, is a com- When Andy is describing the pho- tos, the film's intensity makes it pos- sible for the viewer to appreciate the content of the pictures as Martin does. The descriptions are simplistic, but Weaving's sincere performance as a blind man makes their accuracy be- lievable. Similarly, a scene at the or- chestra abruptly claims the attention of the viewer by blasting Beethoven's Fifth and in a sense drowning the need for the camera's scanning of the musi- cians - the camera work becomes almost ironic. In a more abstract sense, the char- acter of Celia (Geneviere Picot), Martin's housekeeper, personifies hiss need for truth by representing all forms of deceit. Picot works as an obsessive, almost sadistic, character who counters Martin's ideals of truth in such a way that the viewer, watching Celia watch Martin, is uncomfortable knowing something that he does not. It becomes obvious that Martin's need for truth is grounded by his blindness. However, Martin is not a sympathetic character due to his lack of sight, but because of the brilliance he develops in spite of his handicap. Flashbacks to Martin's childhood, unobtrusively worked into the plot, give effective background into his constant state of distrust. Each flash- back scene is recalled throughout the film, giving Martin's past and present a necessary cohesiveness. Although "Proof' is a dramatic film, it is not without humor. Martin is portrayed as a man with serious inten- tions, but his character comes out with several harmless puns about his own inability to see. After their first meet- ing, Andy says, "See you around," to which Martin replies, "So to speak." It is a credit to writer, Jocelyn Moorhouse, that she establishes an appropriate balance between the sig- nificance of blindness in Martin's life and his ability to laugh at himself like a real human being. "Proof" is a movie about a blind photographer, but more importantly it's a lesson in perception. Without becoming preachy, it teaches its audi- ence to be aware of the details of life without bypassing the truth, a mes- sage deserving the medium of film. Proof is available at Campus Video and Liberty Street Video. plex dramatization of this childhood game, which deftly guides the viewer through the obstacles of the blind. Martin (Hugo Weaving) is a blind photographer. His pictures are proof that he senses what others can only see. Martin comes to rely on Andy (Russell Crowe) to describe the con- tent of his photos, and it is through this ritual that Martin's obsession with the truth is first revealed. By KIMBERLY GAINES My name is Kim Gaines and I am an addict- an addict to the Wednesday evening Fox 50 lineup. I admit it, I know everything about the Kelly-Dylan- Brenda love triangle, the almost-kicked-out-of-school Donna, the sexually repressed David, the heartbreaker (or heartbroken) Brandon, the "No, I'm not really middle- aged" Andrea, and the (what's there to say about him) Steve. I know because I watch them every week (yes, I schedule my evening around them, if you want to know) on "Beverly Hills 90210." Why, you ask? Why do I expose myself to this shal- low, superficial, pop culturistic degradation of the Ameri- can teenager? Because I like it. And so, I might add, does almost every woman on my hall who gathers in the loungd at precisely 7:55 p.m. every Wednesday. I'm not shallow or superficial (I swear), but I find myself getting excited Tuesday evening about the upcom- ing episode. I'm not even a television addict in general. Actually, "90210" and the following young adult version, "Melrose Place," are the only shows I watch regularly. Men, do you find yourself wondering what it is about these shows that has captured the attention of so many females? I must say I wondered this myself in my pre- "90210" days. Last fall, I was a normal student who spent her eve- nings studying (among other things) and laughing at my roommate, who would go to our friend's room every week to see the latest "90210" news. I shared my opinions of that stupid, faddish, "Brandon, Brenda, Dylan, Kelly, Steve, Andrea, Donna, David are the only students at West Beverly High,"junior-high-audience-attention-span show. She ignored me and kept watching. I sighed and felt sorry for my poor roommate who had obviously been swal- lowed up by another producer's attempt to cash in on our generation. Until I bought a television - little did I know how this purchase would change my life. My roommate was thrilled (she didn't have to walk those 14 steps down the hall to see the Fox gang anymore) and I didn't really care because I led a meeting with 15 nine-year-old girls every Wednes- day night. I didn't realize the exact time I would get back from my meeting would be about 15 minutes into the "90210" crises of the week. After spending an hour and a half with a bunch of little girls, I wanted nothing more than to lay on my bed for an hour or so. Lucky coincidence, right in front of the TV and the problems, confrontations and relation- ships of this California clique. Soon, I wasn't laying on my bed putting up with the show, I was arguing with my roommate about who Dylan should really be with (Brenda), whether Brandon and' Andrea should get together (I say yes, she says no), if David and Donna will ever sleep together (sure, right about the time Donna starts going to Weight Watchers) and if Shannen Doherty is really the spoiled brat everyone thinks she is (comment not necessary). I realized my problem when I started cutting my meetings 10 minutes short so I could run home and catch the beginning of the show. My girls didn't mind, they wanted to get home and watch, too. It's nice it appeals to such a mature audience, don't you think? How, I asked myself, did I get hooked on the one show.I'd thoroughly enjoyed ridiculing all through high school? Maybe it's because of the ultra-realistic approach the writers take. It just warms my heart to know all of West Beverly High would give up graduating just so Donna could get her diploma. But with a valedictorian who gives up Yale to stay at California U with her buddies, what do you expect? Speaking of college, I don't remember decid- ing where to go after high school commencement, I thought that was a pre-graduation kind of thing, but maybe that's just a midwest hang-up. I guess that's life at Utopia@ High. Or maybe the reason I watch it is so I can keep up on the latest fashion trends. Where would we be without Kelly's hairbun (perfect for those no-shower days), Brenda's retro chokers and let's not forget the founders of the sideburn craze, Brandon and Dylan. In part I think we use it as an escape from our (com- paratively) dull lives into the excitement of a lifestyle we all sometimes wish for. A life filled with fast cars, cool clothes, perfect bodies and (especially for us Michigan-i ders) warm weather. I have to admit, the actors are not bad- looking either. Really, we enjoy drooling over Dylan's sexy smirk and screaming at Donna's anorexic-like fig- ure. While some of the ideas on "90210" may be a bit out there, a lot of the topics they tackle on the show are both realistic and relevant (pregnancy tests, dating, breaking up, suicide, parental problems, death, etc). Everyone on the show comes from a different background and they have a variety of family relationships, from Andrea who lives with her grandmother to almost parentless Dylan to the perfect Walsh family. There's a situation each of us can personally understand. Now that the gang's at college, I think we can relate to them even more. (We want to know how cute Kelly will look after her first all-nighter.) But you know, I still laugh every time I remember they're supposed to be younger than me. 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