8 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, October 21, 1997
'X-Files' Cancer Man lands at EMU
By Gabiel Smith
FQr the Daily
- Often clouded in smoke and mystery, William B.
Davis' character has become a favorite among "X-
Files" fins across the country. Aptly dubbed "Cancer
Man" by the internetters, Cancer Man has served as a
giant thorn in the side of chief
character Fox Mulder (David
Duchovny). U
Ironically, the man who plays
the chain-smoking nemesis is a Pe
former chain smoker himself,
who hasn't touched a cigarette in
more than 15 years. The ciga-
rettes that are smoked on the "X-Files" set are herbal.
Davis is on hiatus at the moment, and will bring the
crisp suits and second-hand smoke of Cancer Man to
Ypsilanti and Eastern Michigan University. Davis will
perform in the character of Cancer Man, cigarette in
hand in Pease Auditorium at 7 tonight. Afterward, he
.will moderate a debate titled "Aliens: The Truth is Out
.There," featuring experts John Mack and Gentry Lee.
"The aura of mystery about his character makes
him a perfect choice to moderate this event," said
Melissa Ginotti. Eastern's Spectrum Lecture Series
Program Coordinator.
John Mack is an M.D. and professor of psychiatry
at Harvard.Medical School along with being a Pulitzer
Prize-winner. Mack has spent four years working with
76 patients who claim contact with aliens. In a New
Fork Times book review, Mack said he has "grown to
w
?a
believe that aliens are calling us to participate in the
wisdom of a larger, more generous reality."
Opposing him is B. Gentry Lee, a science fiction
novelist, aerospace engineer and computer game
designer. Lee has authored "Cradle" and the "Rama"
series with legendary sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke.
Lee's books have been national
EWbest-sellers. He was also the Chief
E V I E Engineer for the Galileo space-
Cancer Man craft that encountered Jupiter,
se Auditoruim, along with holding a variety of
EMU leadership positions on Viking,
Tonight at 7 - free the space mission that landed two
spacecraft on Mars in 1976. Lee
has also partnered with the late Carl Sagan in the cre-
ation and production of the Emmy-award winning
"Cosmos" television series.
When the X-Files premiered in 1993, Davis' char-
acter didn't even utter any lines, and it wasn't until he
appeared in 20 more episodes that Cancer Man got to
speak his first line. Without fail, Cancer Man grew in
popularity, and that meant a greater role for Davis.
Growing up in Toronto, Davis studied theater and
philosophy at the University of Toronto, then trekked
to Great Britain to train at the London Academy of
Music and Dramatic Arts. After a year of study, he
stayed in Great Britain, directing the Dundee
Repertory Theatre.
In the mid-'60s, Davis found his way back to Canada
where he became the artistic director of the National
Theatre School of Canada. After many years of teach-
ing, Davis found his way back to acting. Roles on
"MacGyver" and Stephen King's "It" followed, along
with the extremely short-lived series "Airwolf 2." On
the big screen, Davis can be seen in the comedy hit
"Look Who's Talking" and "The Dead Zone." Davis
moved to the West Coast in 1985 to run the Vancouver
Playhouse, and opened his own school: The William
Davis Centre for Acting Studies. In an interview with
the Toronto Sun last year, Davis talked about the driving
force behind the enigmatic character.
"I'm really saving the world. It's imperative to shut out
people like Mulder because if they actually reveal what
the truth is, the world would be overcome with chaos,"he
told the Sun.
However, many people would beg to differ, includ-
ing "X-Files" creator Chris Carter.
"Chris has referred to the character as the devil. So
there's this kind of sense of smoke as well as of
course, the malignancy of cancer," Davis said.
Currently, Davis has been keeping busy with roles
in television's "The Outer Limits" and "Poltergeist,"
along with brand new "X-Files" episodes. With
Cancer Man's popularity ever increasing, that means
more appearances for Davis.
Davis will return as Cancer Man along with David
Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as Mulder and Scully in
the brand new "X-Files" movie, slated for next summer.
Cancer Man's character allows us a glimpse into a
world where darkness surrounds us; paranoia and fear
are rules of life. Davis will keep coming back on the
"X-Files" with more surprises.
"X Fies"'s Cancer Man brings mystery to EMU's Pease Auditorium tonight at 7.
I ____________________________ ______________ 1
RAND INFORMATION SESSION
Thursday October 23, 1997 4pm
Michigan Union - Bates Room
RAND, located in Santa Monica, CA is a nonprofit
institution that helps improve public policy through
research and analysis. RAND researchers operate on
a broad front, assisting public policymakers at all
levels, private sector leaders in many industries, and
the public at large in efforts to strengthen the nation's
economy, maintain its security, and improve its quality
of life. They do so by analyzing choices and develop-
ments in many areas, including national defense, edu-
cation and training, health care, criminal and civil
justice, labor and population, science and technology,
community development, international relations, and
regional studies. RAND has a variety of research
opportunities for Ph.D. candidates and also offers
summer internships for students who have completed
at least two years of Ph.D. work. The RAND
Graduate School of Policy Studies offers a fully
accredited Ph.D. program awarding the Doctorate in,.
Policy Analysis. RAND also has postdoctoral
opportunities including a Professional Development
Fellowship for Minority Scholars. For more informa-
tion, see our Web Page at http://www.rand.org or
contact Kenneth Logan, RAND 1700 Main St, PO
Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407
RAND is an Affirmative Action Employer.
Overworked themes plague
Wenders' fragmented 'Violence'
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By Neal C. Carruth
Daily Arts Writer
The new Wim Wenders picture "The End of Violence" pre-
sents an intriguing, but ultimately unsuccessful, vision of the
difficulty of achieving genuine human contact in our increas-
ingly wired world. The film stars Bill
Pullman, Andie McDowell and Gabriel R
Byrne, and is based on a screenplay by R
Wenders and Nicholas Klein.
Pullman plays Mike Max, a
Hollywood film producer who turns out
slick, violent films that give the audience
exactly what they want. He manages his
productions from his sumptuous oceanside home, where he
sits by the pool in a specially designed contraption that allows
him to take phone calls while watching the dailies for his
films-in-production.
Parallel to the story of Max runs the story of Ray Bering
(Byrne), a computer scientist who has been hired to develop
a surveillance system that will monitor the entire Los Angeles
metropolitan area to increase police response time and pro-.
vide clear-cut evidence in criminal cases. As one character
says, "It will bring about the end of violence as we know it."
But it is obvious that the project will be put to malevolent
and authoritarian uses by a sinister character named Brice
Phelps (played by "Murder One"'s Daniel Benzali). As the
film wears on, and begins to wear on one's patience, Winders
weaves together the stories of his central characters and puts
them both in jeopardy.
A forgotten chance meeting between Max and Bering
results in a pile-up of bodies. Max becomes a murder suspect
and is forced to live underground with a strong-willed, hard-
working Mexican family. Max's protectors teach him that
money and power are not as important as trust and decency.
For a filmmaker as talented as Wenders, this material is
incredibly heavy-handed
What makes "The End of Violence" even more irritating is
that most people already assume that the information revolu-
tion has made it possible for the government to monitor our
E
.E
lives. We have already accepted the potentially Orwelli
consequences of this sea change, so there is little room for
Wenders to provide a cautionary tale. To put it crudely, helhas
merely given us an art-house version of "The Net."
But he does not possess the right configuration of talents
to craft a slick thriller, like Hollywood
E V I E. W (or Mike Max) would have made with
this material. Wenders is motivated by
The End of different concerns. Unfortunate1y, they
Violence seem somewhat jumbled in "Violence"
** as though Wenders wasn't exactly sl*
At Ann Arbor 1 & 2 what he wanted to say.
In addition to these by-now trite
information age themes, Wenders wants to explore the
nature of the medium of film. The opening images of the
movie call attention to themselves as scenes in afilm.
Wenders also plays around with problems of genre and
makes witty references to the cinematic process.
However, he does not consistently pursue this track
throughout, leading his ideas to appear as something of
an afterthought.
On the positive side, one cannot complain about t
acting, reassuring the concerned viewer that Wende
still knows how to work with actors. Pullman hasa4l.the
right qualities to play a contemporary noir figure, and he
does a fine job here. Byrne, in line with expectations,
lends his patented melancholy intensity to the character
of Bering. And Andie McDowell, who is usual.ly-just
short of embarrassing, is impressive as Max's wife
Paige.
As if his plate weren't full enough, though, Wenders
throws in a "hopeful" romantic subplot involving an
over-educated detective (Loren Dean) and ast
woman/aspiring actress (Traci Lind). These two cto
complicate the emotional register, doing violence to the
film, and causing it to fragment even more. While all of
the lead and supporting actors shine in their respective
roles, the individual performances and overworked
themes fail to fit together into a coherent whole,"
Wa~yne State Lkiversity
FOUR URBAN LIBRARY FELLOWSHIPS AVAILABLE
AT WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
Students interested in working in public, school, or academic libraries in
urban areas are encouraged to apply for one of four fellowships avail-
able through Wayne State University's Library and Information Science
Program. The fellowships will provide tuition, fees, books and a stipend
for one year. The Library and Information Science Program will provide
funding for all management and project costs. To be eligible, applicants
must meet Wayne State University's Graduate School and Library and
information Science Program admission criteria and must plan to spe-
cialize in public or academic urban librarianship. Awards are limited to
ethnic and racial minorities. Upon completion of the fellowship, students
will be awarded a Master of Library and Information Science degree.
Fellowship applicants should forward a letter of interest,
a current resume and a two-page statement that
includes information on current academic status, career
goals and the applicant's qualifications for this fellowship
by Nov. 10, 1997 to:
Dr. Robert P. Holley
Urban Libraries Career Training Fellowship
Library and Information Science Program
Wayne State University
106 Kresge Library
Detroit, MI 48202
Manguel brings History' to Shaman
By Jessica Eaton
Daily Books Editor
The ability to read is something
that comes to us magically when we
are four or five years old. We look at
the random symbols in front of us and
know why they are there and what
they mean. Suddenly, at that moment
in time, the world seems to make a lit-
tle more sense, yet it also expands in
a frightening way. These strings of
characters connect us to everything
outside of our tiny realm of safety.
WEE r
"Oustanding...Four Stars!"
--The Detroit News
"One of
Michigan's Top Ten!"
--The Zagat Guide
We grow up, and reading becomes a
function as natural to us as breathing.
We go through the stage when we read
every word in front of us, including
advertisements and
street signs. We
read junior-high PR
young adult novels, Alb
cookbooks, math
books. We "read"
other people
around us.
Most of us
never actually think of the process of
reading as we peer studiously into a
textbook or consider the choices on
the menu at McDonald's. Very few of
us still gaze into a novel with the
same wonder we had as we read
"Good Night, Moon" when we were
young. Alberto Manguel recognized
that problem, and it inspired him to
write "A History of Reading." He will
be reading from this book, recently
released in paperback, this evening at
Shaman Drum.
Manguel readily admits that he is not
a scholar; this is not a book of literary
analysis or criticism. Rather, it is simply
his rambling expression of his joy in
reading, a "love letter" to the creation of
the written word itself.
Manguel began the project with an
essay, an examination of what charac-
teristics classify someone as a reader
and why books are written from the
point of view of the writer, rather than
the reader - when the reader deter-
mines what will constitute a classic.
He discovered that his ultimate goal
was to know what a book is. Seven
xarc ater. he wac nfinhrI it hi
er
are chapters on what exactly make
reader, why people read silently, why
people own books and what happens
when one reads for a specifie.pur-
pose.
This book is by
E V I E W no means.meant
rto Manguei as a technical
resource ,for the
Tonight at 8 student of-litera-
Shaman Drum nture. It is mean
Free_ for the pers
who loves reading
as much as Manguel does and can
appreciate each of his various tan-
gents.
"A History of Reading" also cortains
a fold-out timeline displaying the high
points of ... well, of the history Qf read-
ing.
Peppered with quotes from- Vtaire
and Whitman, it covers a time spanning
from 4000 B.C. to the present ;day.
Though not meant for the casua
reader of romance and suspense nov-
els, literature lovers may find this
trivia (such as the fact that Denis
Diderot cured his wife's depression
by reading raunchy literature to her)
fascinating.
Manguel, in a recent interview,
said, "Readers seem (through this
book) to discover that they belong to
a community; they hadn't dared.*
believe that they belonged to=,.ACcom-
munity and that they had certain pow-
ers. Now they feel ... that they have a
history."
And what about you, the reader of
textbooks, who hasn't read ,a-novel
since the seventh grade and-_would
never real hook for the sheer nleasure