1996_09 The Daily Collegian September 1996

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THE DAILY
COLLEGIAN
Friday, September 6,1996
Opinion
Telephone: (209) 278-5732
Movies ease
'back-to-schooP
transition
As summer ends and school begins,
try sampling from this list of classic
school-themed flicks.
By Jim Ward
The Daily Collegian
Every year, students stumble,
into the ivy-covered halls of
academia (at Fresno State it's more
like dust covered - but hey it's
cheaper than Harvard) to seek edu¬
cation, a diploma and - if you are
in a fraternity or sorority - to get
drunk.
Over the years, college life has
been fertile ground for Hollywood
filmmakers. Directors and writers
have tackled subjects ranging from
the serious issue of sexual harass¬
ment to the not-so serious toga par¬
ties and panty raids. So, in recog¬
nition of the new academic year,
here's a list of some of my favorite
films - all available on video tape -
about (or linked to) college life:
National Lampoon's Animal
House (1978) - The mother of all
raunchy college movies. The late
John Belushi steals the movie as a
cosmically ill-mannered fraternity
brother. Sure, it inspired countless
bad imitations, but anyone who
doesn't find the dead horse in the
dean's office funny needs a sense
of humor;
Higher Learning (1995) - John
Singelton's third film is an ambi¬
tious, passionate film about race
relations on a Southern California
campus. Michael Rapaport is chill¬
ing as an unhinged undergraduate
who gets caught up in a neo-Nazi
movement. Rapper Ice Cube and
Larry Fishburne turn in good sup¬
porting performances:
Paper Chase (1973) - You
thought your professor was tough?
John Houseman plays the profes¬
sor, from hell in this well acted tale
about the trials and tribulations of
a law school student. It's funny and
touching. Houseman won the Os¬
car for Best Supporting Actor for
his performance;
L£r$ vor£ rox.
Real Genius (1985) - Val Kilmer
stars in this film about scientific
prodigies doing top secret research
for the military at a MIT-like col¬
lege. It's sort of like "Animal
House" for the brainy set. Lots of
funny scenes;
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
(1966) - Ever wonder what your
professors' home life is like? If it's
anything like poor Richard
Burton's, it's no wonder he's mis¬
erable. Based on Edward Albee's
play. Burton plays a meek English
professor married to a vicious
shrew played by Elizabeth Taylor.
It's a searing, and at times uncom¬
fortable to watch, drama about the
disintegration of a marriage
One on One (1977) - Robby
Benson plays a college basketball
player terrorized by his-coach. The
film exposes the darker side of col¬
lege athletics without being preachy
like the awful "Blue Chips." G.D.
Spradlin is excellent as the sadistic
coach;
Oleanna (1994) - David Mamet
adapts his own play about sexual
harassment for the screen. William
Macy (from TV's "ER") gives a
great performance as the accused
professor. A bit stagy, but well acted
and thought-provoking;
Blue Velvet (1986) - David
Lynch's extremely weird film about
a young man who returns home
from college, and gets wrapped up
in the seedy underworld of his
home town. Dennis Hopper turns
in a great performance as an ether
snorting psychopath with an ex¬
tremely unhealthy sex life;
Lords of Discipline (1983) -
With both the Citadel and VM1 go-
ing'coed, this film, about the
Please see MOVIES page 4.
Dr. Bones has got the cure
By Alice Egoian
Special to The Daily Collegian
If you really dig the musical part
of music and are not overly con¬
cerned with the lyrical quality, then
'Dr. Bones' by the Skeletones will
surely cure your blues. The rhythms
are fun and jazzy, as well as seduc-
that what I said about their lyrics    just make sure the computer is
earlier isn't entirely true. Songs    plugged in when it's talking to you.
such as 'Technology' and 'Sorry
Sucker Jeb' have some pretty bold
things to say. The first of these is
pretty brash in its view of the world.
It says: "They distribute their dis¬
ease/ To random places o n the map/
Don't be blind can't you see/ They
tively melodic. During some songs,    are killing you and me." Okay, so
yo.u might feel
as though
you've heard
this all done be¬
fore. Don't pre¬
occupy yourself
with that
thought too
much'or you'll
miss out on the
possibility of
enlivening your 	
day.    You've
probably heard similar stuff. The
beat is a bit reminiscent of Oingo
Boingo and you can catch the pulse
of ska faves Lets Go Bowling, or
even Fishbone, throbbing in the
heart of their style. Truth is. they've
got the ska requirements: an ooz¬
ing horn and that little boop-boop-
boop-boop rhythm to which every
skanking dude or dudette has
trained their feet to tap.
I should probably mention now
Truth is, they've got the ska requirements: an
oozing horn and that little boop-boop-boop-boop
rhythm to which every skanking dude or dudette
has trained their feet toiap.
they aren't exactly the latest cre¬
ative geniuses when it comes to
word choice, but they get their point
across.
If you like to chat with your
mates about government con¬
spiracy and the possibility that Big
Brother may someday be watching
your every move, perhaps you'll
have an appreciation for these dec¬
larations of inevitable destructions.
Don't freak out, computer lovers -
Ahem, as I was saying.... The sec¬
ond one of these, 'Sorry Sucker
Jeb-', suggests that-die grass prob¬
ably isn't so green on the other side,
much less greener. And if it is
greener, I'd beware because it's
probably mold. Stay where you are.
"Anatomy of a Perfect Woman"
gets close to the
—^-   point of eroti¬
cism, but its ex¬
tremely upbeat
tune defies that
mood     com¬
pletely.    The
closest to sultry
they    get    is
"Take        the
Time". It is a
   strangely slow
and rhapsodic
track, although there is something
alarming about hearing "The living
dead is here to take us all to hell"
against a backdrop of dreamy horn-
blowing. And I'm still trying to fig¬
ure out what "Vicissitudes" (which
simply means change oj-alteration
if you haven't looked at the dictio¬
nary in the past few years) has to
do with "Daddy's little girl turned
Please see DOCTOR page 4.
Daily Collegian
California State University, Fresno
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Tom Sepulveda
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Yazdanpanah
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Lievre. Woody Miner, Matt Croce
Circulation:
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