The Michigan Daily - Weekend etc. - Thursday, December 2, 1993 - 3 A kinder, gentler war pic By JOHANNA FLIES There have been plenty of movies made about World War H. Jimmy Stewart skied down mountains, whisking beautiful maidens to safety in "The Mountain Road." Melanie Griffith and Michael Douglas dodged Nazis in Berlin in "Shining Through." There was once even a production about some general named Patton. 'lind Melon may have been dubbed alternative by MTV, but Bumble Bee girls do not alternative music make. No alternative indeed Music television has manipulated the sound scene By MATT CARLSON Let's get one thing straight before you read this article - Pearl Jam is not an "alternative" band. At least they *houldn't be. Yet, they have been dubbed as such by record companies, radio stations, magazines and espe- cially MTV. This is not to detract from their music - they are a great rock band. But what makes their music any more alternative than, say, Aerosmith? Certainly, Pearl Jam has a more interesting lead singer and more intelli- gent lyrics. The music, however, has the same song structure as any other rock band that got together before 1991, so what gives? Nirvana gave. Propelled by MTV, Nirvana changed the face of rock music, a genre that had stagnated in the sate'80s so much that every time you would turn on MTV, all you could see were Bon Jovi's, Warrant's and Poison's poodle haircuts. Then Nirvana released "Smells Like Teen Spirit." MTV recognized a good tune when they heard one, played the video thousands of times, and quicker than you could say "Kurt Cobain shoots junk," every kid in the country knew every note of the song - all four. What did this mean for the major record companies and their promoter MTV? They had to scurry to create a new label for bands like Nirvana that differed somewhat from the mainstream and succeeded popularly anyway. Hence, alternative was born. Actually, the term "alterna- tive" was around before Nirvana's explosion, but the label wasn't in what you would call the public eye. For the most part, pre-Nirvana alternative was what you couldn't see on MTV or hear on the radio, whether it was the Brit-pop of the Smiths, the industrial metal of Ministry or the deranged rock of the Pixies. Post-Nirvana alternative is what you can see on MTV or hear on the radio. This drastic change in defining "alternative" has cre- ated a dilemma. Any band with guitars and/or long hair has to be marketed as alternative to become popular. How else do you explain the sudden rise of horrible hippie-rock bands like the Spin Doctors and Blind Melon? They both played on the last two "alternative" MTV tours, yet they are about as alternative as Bon Jovi. And speaking of Bon Jovi, didn't their "big come- back" last all of about two seconds? This is most likely explained by the fact that Bon Jovi didn't have the capa- Oility to be marketed as alternative or the large fan-base that bands like Aerosmith and AC/DC have. It also ex- plains the demise of Warrant, Poison, Motley Crue and other hair bands. Thus, alternative is now a label used for marketing purposes only. Any rock band that came into the spotlight after 1991 had to be marketed as alternative in order to survive. This is why we saw Pearl Jam and see White Zombie (a kick-ass metal band) in MTV's Buzz Clips. Everybody's looking for the next big thing. Yet, the term alternative is misleading. Check any dictionary and you'll see a definition of alternative like this one that appears in the American Heritage Dictionary: "Existing outside traditional or conventional institutions or systems." But, in the last few years alternative music has become the mainstream and, therefore, cannot realis- tically be called an alternative. Personally, I gag when someone says they're into "alternative music." Do they mean the fucked-up stylings of Mr. Bungle? Or perhaps Helios Creed or the Cows? These bands are so inaccessible that they will never be played on MTV and will always be an alternative to the mainstream. Most likely those into "alternative" mean the boring college rock of the Lemonheads (Evan Dando has smoked so much dope, he now sees himself as some "deep" messenger of a sexual renaissance - what a load of dung) or grunge retreads Stone Temple Pilots (lead singer Weiland, noting Eddie Vedder's recent brush with the law, is now looking for a bar where he can get into a brawl - man, does he deserve a pie in the face). This music is completely watered-down in order to be disseminated to all the MTV junkies in the form of Buzz Clips or Alternative Nation videos. This spineless music that takes no risks shoots right up the charts while artists with real soul like The Cynics, The Humpers and Billy Childish play small clubs and make independent record- ings. Most likely, they are happy there where they don't have to deal with the fickle mass audiences. However, the fact that they don't get the recognition they deserve while U2 makes more musical masturbation like "Lemon" or "Numb" is enough to make this critic want to drop a bomb on the next Zoo TV concert site. In the end, I can only say that there are two types of rock music - good and bad. It's up to individuals to make their own decisions about their tastes. Just don't let MTV make up your mind about what's "cool" or "alternative" by labeling these artists and playing their videos millions of times a day. Look around yourself. Write independent record companies or listen to independent radio stations. Find the real shit. All of these movies are chock-full of big bombs, good Americans fighting evil Germans and heroes escaping Armageddon to live happily ever af- ter. This may be entertainment, but this is not war. "A Midnight Clear," based on William Wharton's novel, is a much quieter and much more engrossing drama than most Hollywood V-Day productions. In the winter of 1944, an American intelligence division is sent to an abandoned chateau in France to set up a scout post. While there, this group of six young men encounters exhausted German soldiers eager to surrender. With some haphazard trans- lation and a lot of emphatic gesturing, a truce is established and a plan for a peaceful surrender is put under way. The plot is fairly simple, and it is because of this simplicity that the characters and the images of the film achieve such great significance. Ethan Hawke is Will Knott, the squad's leader. Knott fully under- stands the military's hypocrisy and the consequences of the mindless deaths of so many young soldiers. Hawke's narration throughout the film creates an intimacy with his character and the rest of the squad, while at the same time revealing his pain. His in- telligence and emotion vitalize his character, making him a sympathetic and compassionate leader for the group. The rest of the cast turn in equally admirable performances. Gary Sinise is Mother, the weary, unstable sage of the group. Frank Whaley is Father, a would-be priest who is the most opti- mistic and elated at the Germans' friendly overtures. Kevin Dillon's Avakian is the real soldier of the bunch, numbed by all the horrors he has seen, but still silently hoping for a reprieve from his hell. John C. McGinley is chilling as the former mortician Major Griffen who is more concerned about his razor than his troops. In the chateau, away from the front lines, the soldiers attempt to rejoin humanity. But the war, just when they are almost beyond its reach, refuses to Gary Sinise plays Mother Wilkins, the wise, unstable soldier of the division. spare them. Its dehumanization and destructiveness are impossible to es- cape and, as the film's final scene suggests, are pervasive and long last- ing. The war is not about glory and honor; it is about the death which strikes unjustly and uncontrollably, it is about boys forced to act as men, and it is about losing innocence and hope. Writer-director Keith Gordon must be praised not only for com- manding such persuasive perfor- mances but also for creating such a striking, honest depiction of the sol- diers' experiences. The bleakness of the snow and mud compliment the bleakness of the situation. Haunting music emphasizes tragedy and Gordon's technique of fading scenes to black and then cutting to explosive action produces not only a sense of urgency and danger, but also creates a documentary feel. The sarcastic hu- mor and sometimes silly, juvenile behavior of the squad not only save the picture from being too heavy, but also remind the audience that the sol- diers are, after all, just boys. This film is not a sugarcoated pro- paganda reel about the rewards of patriotism. It is instead a beautiful and potent tale of relationships forged and tainted by war. The message is clear. The emotions are strong. The ideas are honest. One of the most overlooked films of the past few years; "A Midnight Clear" shines brightly with good reason. A MIDNIGHT CLEAR is available at most video stores. TELEVISIONS FOR RENT * 13" OR 19" Screens " Color and Cable Ready F ree Delivery Rent now until April 20 for: ONLY $76 CALL: 763-1661 or 624-2282 'U - I -- . I - .1 - '. , - - 7 T T VA 7 , - .., I I ? 7 7 , 7 , - . 7 , , - - - 7 i; * - . v LI -. 3 s u F E 'S. P 0 ' 'I I T .t t-. . 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