Opinion
Kansan
Published daily since 1912
Jodie Chester, Editor
Gerry Doyle, Managing editor
Ryan Koerner, Managing editor
Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser
Marc Harrell, Business manager
Jamie Holm, Retail sales manager
Dan Simon, Sales and marketing adviser
Justin Knupp, Technology coordinator
Thursday, October 29,1998
Tim McCabe / KANSAN
Perspective
Producers free to make The Siege; audiences free to ignore message
I miss the days when people complained to the ticket booth if they didn't like a movie. Now, they file lawsuits and predict nothing short of Judgment Day if certain films are produced and released.
Last week, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee roundly panned Denzel Washington's upcoming film, The Siege, claiming the thriller will spark harassment and hate crimes against people of Arab descent.
This came barely more than a week after the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that a lawsuit could proceed against filmmaker Oliver Stone. The plaintiffs insist the producers of Stone's 1994 movie Natural Born Killers ought to be held liable for crimes committed by those who mimic the movie's violent scenes.
Jeremy Doherty
Guest Columns
Each of these incidents should raise the eyebrows of anyone who cares about an artist's right to free speech. Scrape away the politically-correct statements made by Washington's and Stone's detractors, and it becomes apparent that what they are demanding is good, old-fashioned censorship.
This becomes clear in the case against Stone. In 1996, the family of Patsy Byers charged that Stone and Warner Bros., the studio that released Natural Born Killers, were accountable for the actions of the two persons who shot Byers during a 1995 robbery.
Byers' suit alleges the producers distributed a film "which they knew or should have known would cause and inspire people to commit crimes such as the shooting of Patsy Ann Byers." The suit further complains Natural Born Killers glamorized random violence and criminals.
This is a curious take on a film that quickly is becoming the most misunderstood movie of the decade. Stone's film is a satire that dissects the I-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine relationship between celebrity criminals and the electronic media. The film's violence is excessive to the point of absurdity; anyone who thinks it is making crime or blood-shed sexy is missing the point. Even Rolling Stone's Peter Travers, who picked Natural Born Killers as
1994's worst film, agreed the themes about violence and sensationalism came through loud and clear.
The case of The Siege is less simple to dismiss. For one thing, it is not due for nationwide release until Nov. 6. Secondly, its critics would have us believe that it will be the most offensive film since Birth of a Nation, the silent epic that depicted Klansmen as gallant protectors of the American way.
If that is the issue, then anyone who sticks up for The Siege stands the risk of appearing to defend racism. But will this movie, regardless of its merits as a work of art or even pulpy entertainment, have the power to incite acts of violence against Arab-Americans?
I doubt it. A film is a reel of plastic. The images and sounds it carries provide passive entertainment; each viewer brings his own preconceived ideas, philosophies and prejudices to the viewing experience. No clear-thinking individual will come away from The Siege suddenly burning with the desire to terrorize every Arab-American within walking distance.
As a movie critic for more than five years, I've seen more carnage and gore disguised as entertainment that I care to admit. I've yet to harm anyone. Watching *Scarface* multiple times has not transformed me into a cocaine-snorting, profanity-spewing mobster.
The complaints against The Siege and Natural Born Killers are symbolic of a larger problem in the United States. People prefer to raise a fuss about the quality of popular entertainment instead of tackling society's problems head-on. But if parents don't want their kids to listen to Marilyn Manson or watch Boyz N the Hood, there is a simple solution: Take the CDs away and turn the TV off.
If the producers of The Siege are guilty of racism, so be it. We as consumers have the right to ignore their product. Educators then could use the film as an example of how far we still need to go before the United States can be classified as colorblind
But claiming that the film will inspire more hatred won't be a step forward. It will be a massive leap in reverse.
Doherty is an Olathe senior in journalism and the Kansan movie critic.
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Broaden your mind: Today's quote "I always voted at my party's call, and I never thought of thinking for myself at all." — W.S. Gilbert
Broaden your mind: Today's quote
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ELECTION Endorsements
Graves deserves support of University community
Sometimes you have to stick with who you know, and the Kansas gubernatorial race is no exception. University of Kansas students and Kansans should cast their ballot for Gov. Bill Graves on Nov. 3.
Graves, a Kansas native, has served as governor for the last four years. During his term, he has proven himself as a moderate governor — a welcome role for a liberal to moderate university in a Republican-dominated state.
A selling point for Graves is his willingness to invest in education — especially higher education. His budget recommendations to the Legislature include increased funding for the Regents universities, funding for technology, increased salaries and operating expenses. The overall funding increase to the Regents during his term has been 17.8 percent, $77.2 million. In his budget for the 1999 fiscal year, he proposed a 5.1 percent increase, $25 million for the Regents.
To maintain and attract faculty to Regents institutions, Graves has recommended a 4 percent salary increase. The University of Kansas is on the low end of the paying scale when compared to peer institutions. But it should be at the same level as peer institutions.
Along with his dedication to financing Regents' institutions, Graves has supported community colleges by allocating additional funds. The support amounted to a $2.5 million or a 4.4 percent increase this year. During his administration, he has supported a 16.3 percent, $8.7 million, overall increase for community colleges.
His opponent, Tom Sawyer, a democratic Kansas Legislature member from Wichita, has raised valid proposals for education in Kansas. His Student Tuition Assistance Recognition Scholarship or STARS program served to be the main thrust of his campaign. Although the program has been shunned by some as implausible, programs much like it are working in other states.
The program calls for the state to provide as much as $2,600 a year to be applied to tuition costs for eligible Kansas students. The scholarship could be used for any Kansas university, community college, vocational school or independent college. To be eligible, recipients must be Kansas students with at least a "B"
Graves
Sawyer
average in high school, maintain a 2.75 grade point average in college and come from a family that makes less than $85,000 each year.
In addition to Grave's support for education, he believes in a "pro-family" approach to the abortion issue and encourages alternatives without legislating against abortion. In an attempt to promote alternatives, he proposed and signed into law a $1,250 tax credit to families who adopt a child. In 1997, he supported and signed legislation that ensured a woman meets with her physician before an abortion procedure to obtain information about the procedure, alternatives to abortion and community support outlets.
The program, costing $42 million each year, would be financed by the lottery. The idea of aiding Kansas students should not fall by the wayside simply because it is a part of Sawyer's campaign. Sawyer has good ideas, but he appears to be more of an idealist rather than a realist by proposing increases and supporting the elimination of sales tax, which brings in about $213 million each year.
The race for governor has not been closely contested and both candidates have run clean campaigns, which could be in part because of the one-sidedness of the race. But nonetheless, both candidates deserve praise for acting civil and appropriately discussing the issues in Kansas. Graves has served Kansas well for the past four years, and we should keep him in a position to continue. Sawyer has offered insightful ideas for higher education and should push those in the state legislature. Regardless of who you support, vote. Students have valuable perspectives and should voice them Nov.3.
Democrats most favorable candidates for U.S. Congress
The University Daily Kansan editorial board endorses the Democratic Party ticket in the upcoming Kansas senatorial and congressional races.
Senate
Kansas politics, in particular the congressional races, are marked by Democratic candidates who are afraid to put the "D" word or the donkey on their printed material for fear of scaring away potential voters before candidates can say, "My name is ..."
Abortion rights and gun control were the primary measuring-rod issues in the board's decision to support the Democratic Party, as was the Republican Party candidates' propensity to vote in accordance with far-right, extreme views.
That, along with candidates' unwillingness to take stands on divisive issues unless forced, can make it difficult to pin down their ideologies.
The passing of a concealed-handgun law only would aggravate, if not exacerbate, the already violent environment that exists in many Kansas urban centers and increase the number of gun-related accidents in Kansas homes. The board does not support any candidate who would back such legislation.
The anti-gun-control stance as well as the religious right has become synonymous with extreme-right ideology.
Freedom of religion is a cornerstone of our democratic society but so is freedom from religion. Because this is a
Feleciano
Brownback
Ryun
2nd District
Clark
democracy and interest groups may petition the government for whatever policy changes they see fit, it is up to the citizens of Kansas to vote out candidates who would use religious beliefs or campaign donor allegiances — namely the Christian Coalition, or in the case of gun-control, the National Rifle Association
The above were the prominent issues to the board.
Senatorial candidate Paul Feleciano, a 26-
year Kansas Senate member and Vietnam War veteran, has taken firm stances against both a concealed-handgun law and the limiting of abortion rights. And as a Hispanic American, Feleciano would bring a welcome perspective to the minority starved U. S. Senate.
- The board made no endorsement for the 1st District race. Republican incumbent Jerry Moran is running uncontested. Moran is against abortion in all circumstances.
The 2nd District pits Democratic candidate and Vietnam veteran Jim Clark against incumbent Republican and Olympic silver medalist Jim Ryun. Clark supports abortion rights, national environmental standards and is running to prevent "right-wing extremists" from running Congress. Ryun would like to make abortion illegal and has supported abolishing the Environmental Protection Agency.
3rd District
The 3rd District race has been hotly contested between two prominent eastern Kansans: Democrat Dennis Moore and incumbent Republican Vince Snowbarger. Moore served as the Kansas Assistant Attorney General and had a successful 12-year stint as the Johnson County District Attorney. He has come out against a concealed-handgun law that Snowbarger supports. And Moore spoke before KU students outside Wescoe Hall about his belief in bolstering support for higher education.
Moore
Snowbarger
4th District
Lawing
□ Tiahrt
In the 4th District, Democrat Jim Lawing, a former head of the Kansas Civil Liberties Union, is running against incumbent Republican Todd Tiahart. Although Lawing has taken no firm stance on abortion rights, he has been against the federal government coming between women and their physicians. He has made promises to maintain the ban on assault rifles and lists student grant and loan programs among his priorities.
Editor's note: The Kansan editorial board, which is made up of KU students, is an independent voice of The University Daily Kansan. The board members voted individually on candidates and decided whom to endorse. The Kansan editor and managing editors are members of the board but did not participate in this year's candidate endorsements. The opinion page editors did not have a vote in the endorsements.