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Show PACE EDITOR 7 Angie Smith, Tuesday, January 22, 2008 586-548- 8 v Petersen connects movies, literature' the same time. He said there are many differences books between Some and films. "A classic is a things experienced in books cant be in films, experienced A while some things experienced in films is a arent experienced in books. is no There comparable training Todd Petersen in how to view Petersen media. said. In a book there is no subtlety. is powerful to can happen at You have to say it. By ASHLEY LARSON to look at films from sophisticated FOR THE JOURNAL perspectives. He displayed films from clips such as Amadeus . and RatatouiUe Children of Men that exhibited examples of this sophisticated Captivating a small audience that hung on his words. Assistant Professor of English Todd Petersen provided a lecture on literary experiences in films at the Cedar City Library in the Park Jan. 15. Steve Decker, Library Director, introduced Petersen as well as the library board chair. Petersen has been professor of the g author. year and is an Petersen presented the audience with a lecture that challenged people to discover different ways award-winnin- view. If we start to become sophisticated viewers we start to notice many things going on at once. Petersen said. What me (in films) is w'hat beck that psepie keep buying. masterpiece book that people keep reading' Also discussed was the quality of books that Petersen finds worthwhile to read. A classic is a book that people keep buying, Petersen said. A masterpiece is a book that people keep reading. In his book, Long After Dark , Petersen wrote about the topic of religion. I tnink Im trying to get people to think about, or maybe to recognize, the fact that having a religious life or being a person of faith doesnt eliminate complexity, Petersen said. The world is still a tricky place to live in, even if you believe in God. r RICHARD PAYSON UNIVERSITY JOURNAL Assistant Professor of English Todd Petersen compares books and movies at the Cedar City Library. American Idol 7 growing stagnant I remember the night I learned the truth about the Tooth Fairy. g theen velope A fter that held my dental remains with a piece of yarn and sunglasses (dont ask), I awakened and crept ninja-lik- e down the hallway until I spied my dad counting out some pocket change at the kitchen table. I was ecstatic to have made such a thrilling discovery, a la Nancy Drew, until I realized that the Tooth Fairy and Santa had the same handwriting. What little bit of magic was left in my childhood evaporated in a nanosecond. I fed the same way booby-trappin- cutting edge, and Puck was the San Francisco king. Now the houses and cities blur together and the cast members are simple n the angry caricatures girl, the frat boy in a puka shell necklace, the token homosexual. American Idol is suffering African-America- the same fate single the African-America- n mother, the tone-deforeigner who loves American music, the disillu sioned over-age- d creepy guy in a leopard-prin- t vest. moved and amused the first 50 times I saw a girl dedicate her audition to her sick mother or a guy sing in a horribly bizarre pitch I balked at Simons with heartlessness millions of other 18 to (make that for 8 to years, but now it even seems like Simon is I was about American Idol. What was once a IDOL priceless gem, a treasure trove of childish delight, has been reduced to coins the found under any couch cushion. Like The Real World tiring of the relentless on MTV, American Idol predictability. popped onto television At this point the only nationwide screens reason I still tune in fresh, cool, a unique to American Idol is to snowflake amid the gawk and mock Ryan ANGIE SMITH Seacrest. Whether hes doldrums of network Stars like prime-timawkwardly patting the shoulder of a sobbing, swearing Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson and Chris Daughtry lit up our reject, or somehow lying at the bottom of a family dogpile, the living rooms twice every week. manicured Mr. Seacrest never And then there was Sanjaya. And William Hung. And the "Like disappoints my funny bone. a Virgin guy. The novelty has My hope is that the producers of American Idol recognize their worn as thin as last summer's s. downward spiral before it turns into Real WorldRoad Rules for course Of every Challenge, because although I disappointment (Cory Clark) can let go of the Tooth Fairy, I there is a brief glimpse of true dont ever want to give up Santa. talent McPhee), (Katharine but American Idol has evolved into something unworthy of its Angie Smith is the Accent Editor the University Journal. She can for pedigree. be reached at asmithsuujournal. Back to the Real WbrWexample: was York New completely com . pt PHOTO COURTESY OF SKOTT CHANDLER Associates. Rucker displayed a slide from the Web site kidshannon.com, featuring Skelly the Skeleton Girl, a childrens book written by Jimmy Pickering. Justin Rucker presents a lecture to students at Thursdays Art Insights seminar. Rucker is an agent for artists represented by the company Shannon 0 e. flip-flop- Agent offers insider advice to students By ANNA COLE acolesuujournai.com Justin Rucker, the guest lecturer at Thursday nights Art Insights, focused his presentation on how art is about variety and that marketing is important. Rucker is an art agent representing Shannon Associates, a company that deals with commercial illustrations, advertising, designers, photography, childrens books illustrations and other forms of art. Rucker graduated from BYU in 1999 with an illustration degree. I did an internship between my junior and senior year, he said. I went to BYU and we (did) a spring program where we (went) and (worked) there. I wanted to do it, and I did the internship with Shannon Associates, and they hired me when I graduated from school. I realized that I really loved the communication with six-we- clients, the communication with artists. Rucker said that being a successful artist is the same as running a small business, and artists need to go about selling their work in the same way. Artists should always look for investors, research to improve their product and innovations, know' the market and how their product fits, remain current in their artwork and have good customer service. Rucker also urged students to believe in their work and only show the best. Realize that no one will want to invest in something they do not believe in," he said to the assembled students, faculty and staff. Rucker advocated preparedness for the market by having a variety of work available. I think his (best point) was just how to build up a portfolio and all the resources you need, all the pictures you need, and ever-changi- different styles, said Caitlyn Kennedy, a junior communication major from Fraser Park, Calif. and he kept so didnt have you along moving right time to get bored, said Caitlin Christie, a sophomore art major from Denver. Colo. It really gave me a good feel for what its like in the professional illustrating world. He was very it Shannon Associates currently represents more than 150 artists through their Web sites, and is able to monitor current art trends by observing which pieces and artists are most viewed. Many of the represented artists and artwork can be seen at wwvv. editorialzone.com and www.kidshannon. com. Shannon Associates has also worked with a number of books, including A Series of Unfortunate Events, Harry Potter, and repackaging The Chronicles of Narnia. high-profi- Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell judge hopeful contestants on Season 7 of the Fox reality series American Idol. Understanding begets tolerance, lessens discrimination the Every year in America land of the free and the home thousands arc of the brave because simply persecuted people choose not to understand one another. In 2006 alone, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported over 7.000 hate crimes, in which individuals arc victimized on the basis of race, religion or sexual orientation. And beyond that. I have to wonder how many crimes of this nature go unreported and unnoticed. In the 1800s, more than 600,000 died as Americans fought brother vs. brother on our own soil to abolish a longstanding tradition of selling human beings as objects. In the 1940s, across the Atlantic Ocean, a man convinced his followers to aid him in the systematic murder of more than 11 million people on the basis of undesirable qualities. In the light of recent events of accusations discrimination grounded in race and sexual orientation, it has become quite clear that this issue involving is not a foreign one at SUU. And it has become easy, in the aftermath of said accusations, to at those claiming point fingers to be victims, and also at those whose personal or religious views place them in a position to be labeled a bigot. Its important to remember that, while ideas are often onedimensional, people rarely are. For example, if someone who knew little about me picked a singular position I take and painted my whole image with it, they would probably be way off the mark. Too often wc give ourselves certain allowances because we understand that we are complex individuals; its necessary to allow other people the same leeway. Dont misunderstand; hardly suggesting I am that we all need to be best friends and love any and every idea that crosses And whether or not you decide you enjoy the person's company, at least you would be making an informed decision. You can association decline politely with a person or group without turning up your nose at them. But even as I join rny voice with those who are speaking out against this w'ar of prejudice fought with rifles of racism and bayonets of bigotry, let us remember that the sword cuts both ways. Just as it is wrong to shun people because of what they believe, it is also an error to frequently cry the wolf our paths. It would be unwise to blindly accept and agree with any that perspective comes our way; docile reception is an error in and of itself, but we can HEEDED respect and love people without agreeing with everything they stand for. More than once in my life I hae prematurely an opinion formed about a person, only to find out I was off base completely once I actually spent time with that person. Its a good thing to KATIE HAV.'KES of ostracism. keep that principle in I if yon spent a recently mind one of my favorite novels: The week with someone, you would Crucible , by Arthur M filer. If you most likely have a different are unfamiliar with the premise opinion of that person entirely the story, it is an allegorical of week. the end the of by take on the McCatihy Era via a look into the fanatical world of the Salem witch ttials. While the book is purposely and people arc portrayed as easily swayed to murder by the overzealous accusations of a handful of teenage girls, Millers underlying theme speaks to a larger trend that exists even to this day: As movements for civil rights and tolerance have become increasingly prevalent, I think people find it too easy to jump on the bandwagon of offense and label themselves victims. In more frank terms, I am saying that it is necessary for tolerance to come from both sides of the fence. Yes, people need to be more tolerant of the fact that Kourt Osborn chose a lifestyle different than most of his peers at SUU, but it is equally as wrong to immediately say that he suffers because he lives in a prejudiced community. Yes, it is unfortunate that a foreign exchange student would feel discrim mated against while visiting the ,5UU campus, hut perhaps her native culture was of a more interpersonal nature than exists in Cedar City. Maybe her treatment was not wrong -maybe it was just different and unexpected. If it is deemed politically incorrect to discriminate against the minority, why is it patriotic and commendable to throw labels and accusations at the majority? Dont get me wrong, I hardly think a healthy dose of tolerance equates to a magical panacean but it would healthy, nonetheless. cure-al- l, still be Katie Ilawkcs is the copy editor the University Journal. She can be reached at khawkes suujournal.com for |