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Show The Daily Utah Chronicle Jl Tuesday, January 14, 2003 wmmmiimimmimnit""'wi yM"HHiiiiii'wwiimwBiwmi r m iiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiiirii)iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiBuii"'i"'iii""''"'iM THE CHRONICLE'S VIEW THE f MER&EtfCV iOflOFHlg JkHlg week the U Office of is sponsoring in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which takes place on Jan. 20. Activities such as panel discussions, film presentations, artistic performances and guest speakers will take place daily for the next This week. Diversity has always been an intense topic of debate on the U campus. Issues of religious tolerance and gay and lesbian rights have often sparked controversial discussions that have, led to understanding and acceptance. University funds used to promote activities aimed at educating and discussing diversity are well spent. There have been other to celebrate attempts diversity on campus such as Culture Shock week held in October. However, unlike Culture Shock Week, this week's activities present a unique opportunity for students and faculty to not only learn about, but perhaps practice those values of nonviolence, forgiveness, justice and service that King and other civil rights activists promoted. It is easy for students to talk S ASUU STUDENT LOAN COMMITTEE HEARS A CASE. of acceptance and respect, but often difficult for them to walk the walk. By attending this week's activities, students have a chance to show support for the ideals of human rights. Today, a panel of six U faculty and administrators will discuss the effects of economic hardship on public support for equity programs. Tonight, the theater department will give a performance based on the U.S. Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education. A professor from the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America at Brown University will also speak Wednesday in the Union. Next Monday's holiday is not solely intended to recognize one man and his accomplishments. It is intended to educate and encourage all of this country's citizens to exercise alternatives to violence, oppression and hatred. The U has a long history of celebrating its dedication to human rights activism and service, and the U's own students and faculty should support the school wholeheartedly by attending scheduled activities. the KM J0 talk Unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of The Daily Utah Chronicle Editorial Board. Editorial columns and letters to the editor are strictly the opinions of the author. The forum created on the Opinion Page is one based on vigorous debate, while at the same time demanding tolerance and respect. Material defamatory to an individual or group because of race, ethnic background, gender, appearance or sexual entation will be edited or will not be published. ori- 7fF. It's MV MRI rRlFUT)' I blKTHMY 1 V LETTER TO I SPEAjr THIS Y1V PIZZA OH weekend, Bur M5f PAYCHECK MP BEER SO... THE EDITOR Stand Up for People You Hate Editor: Recently, I was finishing my Christmas shopping on Main Street, in front of Crossroads Plaza, when I witnessed an ordinary event. On the public sidewalk, a mall cop detained a powerless looking youth and made him remove a patch from his clothing which read "Nazi Punks F Off." This is a well known political slogan from the leftist rock band The Dead Kennedys. This type of behavior is unacceptable. In limiting dissent, minorities often are forced into positions where the only alternative is aggression, which promotes instability. Furthermore, despite this university's policy of allowing various hairstyles as well as provocative clothing, radicals arc often not tolerated by administrators can tell and police. Any animal rights activist or you that. The act of limiting freedom exists not only from Utah's religious institutions but from any individual in power who does not agree with an opinion and consequently acts to silence it. Freedom of expression in this country means that you must be able to tolerate a fellow citizen advocating that which you would spend a lifetime fighting. neo-Na- zi ENRIQUE Senior, Political Science and Mechanical Engineering ARCE-LARRET- A Sundance Still An Independent Film Festiva truly independent filmmaker. And on Sunday, JEREMY our own Salt Lake Tribune ran an interview with locals who have been involved with the festival since its inception that read more like "Sundance was better when I was the only local film- VOROS ' Chronicle Opinion Columnist maker rubbing elbows with Robert Redford" the middle of January, which means film and entertainment moguls who can't Utah on a map 51 weeks out of the year have the state on their itinerary for one of its most events: the Sundance Film Festival. Restaurants, coffee shops and salons along Park City's Main Street are gearing up for the influx of movie stars, movie critics and wannabe filmmakers from all over the country. Though Sundance is an exciting event that brings a lot of energy and attention to independent film and our underappreciated state, many critics, underground filmmakers and film students pan Sundance as an overly hyped event that has been ruined by movie industry attention. This is attitude is a naive, It's high-profi- le mentality that fails to acknowledge the immense change the festival has brought to contemporary film. In an article published last August, Newsweek Sunwas already declaring that the dance "turned unruly and nearly unbearable as soon it was 'discovered' by the film industry." Parasite events like Slamdance, Digidance and Nodance peddle their smaller festivals as an alternative to the mentality of Sundance," claiming to be more in touch with the "suit-fille- "A-Li- st d" than praising the festival for how far it has come. These criticisms aren't without merit. It would be impossible not to notice the changes that have taken place in the festival over the Sundance was begging years. In the national film critics to take note of it, but now everyone from Brad Pitt to Yoko Ono can be seen strutting down Mail. Street. Most notable is the difference in the production values of the films being shown. Big budget premieres like Ben Affleck's "Boiler Room" are stretching the definition of "independent film" and adding fuel to the smaller festivals' criticisms that Sundance has lost track of its independent roots. But the "good old days" that the festival's critics pine for weren't as halcyon and idyllic as they remember. In the "good old days" independent film was known as "regional cinema" and as the name denotes was only seen by a much smaller, regional audience. In Salt Lake City, only a single screen at the Tower Theater showed foreign and art house movies, and the only way to watch independent film at home was by special ordering videos from New Yorker Films catalogs. Now the cinema landscape is much different. Regional cinema grew into independent film and subsequently vastly enlarged its audience; this year's Mexican hit "Y Tu Mama Tambien" showed, subtitles and all, at the Century 16 mid-eighti- es CHRONICLE OPINION EDITOR JOHN M0RLEY Megaplex; Hollywood's highest paid actress, Julia Roberts, starred in a video feature with a budget of only $2 million for the opportunity to work with director Steven Soderbcrgh; and Hollywood Video stores across the country have a rental section dedicated to Sundance films. These changes did not come by accident. By uniting independent filmmakers in a single festival and providing a venue for independent film to receive national attention, Sundance has managed to make independent film an integral part of the American film tradition. One can trace the emergence of independent film in America by just reviewing the relatively short history of Sundance. The "good old days" Sundance's critics pine for weren't as halcyon and idyllic as they remember. The festival began in 1978, before the distinguished Redford came aboard, as the UtahU.S. Film Festival. The program ran at Trolley Cinemas and consisted mostly of classic films, but had eight regional films in competition. In 1981 the festival was moved to Park City and by 1985 Redford's Sundance Institute had taken over operations of the festival as a venue to show 's projects developed in its filmmakers' lab. undenifestival was an attachment to the able publicity advantage, and in 1989 the mainstream success of Steven Soderbergh's ''Sex, Lies Red-ford- LETTERSCHRONICLE.UTAH.EDU which grossed $24 million in the United States alone on only a $1.2 million budget put independent film on the cultural and Videotape" road map. By '995. "Pulp Fiction," an independent film made by Quentin Tarantino, whose first film, "Reservoir Dogs" played at Sundance, redefined e film and was a huge post-mode- rn box-offic- success. "Four Weddings and a Funeral," became the first Sundance film to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. In 1997, four out of the five Oscar nominees for Best Picture were independent films. And in 2001, "In the Bedroom," a film shown as part of Sundance's dramatic competition, went on to receive five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Some complain that now even independent film has sold out and is more concerned with higher production values, bigger budgets and celebrities. But I congratulate Sundance on raising the stakes in independent film. The fact that a film is "artsy" doesn't necessarily mean it needs to be made on a shoestring budget or look like it was shot in the filmmaker's apartment. There will always be a place for the gritty, "truly independent" film. Whether that place is Sundance or one of the many smaller festivals that owe their existence to Sundance is a moot point. By cultivating independent film, Sun- dance has reinfused the business-orienteblockbuster mentality of American cinema with a healthy dose of artistic expression. Jeremy welcomes feedback at jvoroschroni-cle.utah.edSend letters to the editor to d, u. 581-639- 7 |
