Friday. February 9, I962 BY KEN SCHIFF convolvulus “Lil Dulce and “The Movies. such as Vita," "L'Al'mttill‘a,” Seventh Seal." are indications that in our time a new art medium is in the process oi be— ing realized and perfected. While foreign film companies are pro— ducing works of creditable sta— ture, however, the American film industry, the oiiginal pio» neer, with its great wealth or resources. has taken another tack, sensationalism. Succinctly, it has turned toward the large rather than the beautiful. This is not a. condemnation. The American film industry can do something that no oth- er country in the world can do; that is, produce a. tech» nically periect movie oi such awesome proportions that words like “colossal" and “stu- Ipent'laus" are inadequate to describe it, But still, there seems to be no reason why, having outdistanced all others in technique, we can. not turn now to producing sub- stantial works of art as well. At this point, you think I’m about to say that the film in- dustry merely mirrors what the public wants and the American public has long ago been irre- vocably vulgarized by large breasts and loud noises. But i don't believe that this is the case. it an uneducated Elizabethan peasant could trudge into Lon- don in order to see “Hamlet” performed and could cnjoy it, there is no reason why the comparable cannot be true ot a twentieth Century American. Perhaps the problem paradox- ically arises from the very fact that the American film industry is the richest in the world. At any single moment, an audience can be convinced that it is equally as moved by massive. ness as artistry, and it mas. Sireness is the more expensive to produce, it is by the same token. the less elusive. As a result, many films here are repositories tor stock tim- matic conventions; the deeper the love the greater the pass sion; silence denotes strength; a by Mike Horwatt The recent controversy relate ing to the questions of whether student government should take stands on political issues and whether students should cone cern themselves with current political problems suggests the larger question of the academic community's [responsibility to the “outside” world. My next tour columns will consider this problem. Enduring social orders must be adaptable. Changes within the political, economic and social order create the need for philo- sophical and institutional ad- justments. .A large order for any society is to, on the one hand, preserve the values and goals upon which it claims to be established and at the same time rid itseli or beiieis and in- stitutions made obsolete by changing conditions. Thus, the ‘capacity of a society to sustain its ultimate ends and its per- manent existence is contingent upon its capacity to accommo- date to change. Within less than a hundred years irom its inception, the united states was transtorm. ed train an atomistic, agricul— tural, commercial society into an interdependent, industrial manniactining society. in the process, problems unanticipats ed by the Constitution-makers arose. Til ir appearance (Ice manned no means to achieve old ends. i Yet, as oitcn happens, our means had become valueim— pregnated and our cnds ob— scured, VVaItCr Bagehut would solitary drinking means “he’s escaping from himsell"; jazz themes foretell violence; sun- sets denote endings: tuli skirts and blouses denote wholesome. neSS; servants and! L‘hi‘u‘womcn have strong accents; and so on. On the other hand, foreign film companies, in a sense, have nothing else to oiter the public and so must make their movics artistic \\'oJ‘I'< in order to com- pensate tor inadequacies in tech- nical resources. And the artistry or such a movie does not his volve the grain of the film or the size of the cost. it depends upon other taetors. For example. in “The Seventh Seal," the scene cuts from the face oi the silent girl, who is smiling because she is con— tronted with Death, to the lace of Mary, who is smiling be. cause she is eenirontcd with life. I can’t help thinking that Hollywood would have missed this and that the cut would have been, say, irom Dcath‘s right eye to doorknob or something equally as inane. And the casting would have been entirely ditterent. Marlon Brando would have played Jolls, Rock Hudson would have been Antonius Block, and Joseph would have been played by someone like Pinky Lee. Most likely the script would have to he changed, loot Jons and the silent girl would have a lender love scene to Henry Blancini, God would spcak at least once, Joseph would have saved the Witch, and the knight would be rescued at the last minute by an angel. At any rate, whatever the reasons, the American film in~ dustry has fallen behind those of other countries artistically. And this is perhaps something to keep in mind, when we con- sider that in the future. the twentieth century will be r member-ed not only for its bombs and satellites but also very possibly for the advent ot a new art medium, the motion picture. call these valucsinvested means “the cake ol custom." Most civ— ilizations. he remarks, retain their original form and ideas. For this reason, ”stagnation is the rule of the world and prog— ress is the rare exception,” How does ‘a society iacilitate change? According to legchot. “it a‘ nation luls in any con— siderable degree gained the habit, and exhibited the capac- ity to discuss these questions tthe questions involving the visible and pressing interests oi the community) with freer dam, and to decide them with discretion, to argue much on politics and not to argue ruin- ously, an enormous advance in other kinds oi civilization may confidently be predicted" While Bdgehol's claim sullers from Enlightenment optimism, there is much to be said tor his argument, There are a signlfis cant number in our society lilo are still capable o[ recogn 'ng and reacting to truth it they are only exposed to it. Criticism then is a device capable of en. couraging social change and consequently inci’eas s the adap tive ability or society. Since a society's ability to survive is proportional to its on' ity to acconnnotiate,arrd criticism through discus on is a lorce tor change, ‘ can increase a society‘s power to sunlvc. Next time I shall turther ex- plore the consequences or L‘l'ili— cisin and the particular kind of criticism the academic Cums inunity can contribuie to so- ciety. SCARLET AND BLACK Page Three Americans fight Communism in South Vietnam by Gary iianson South Vietnam is one spot uhcre the cold war against come inunisin wax s hot, in the rice paddies and 'ingles at South Vietnam, American forces are training native Vietnamese in a war against communist gue' las. The problems involved in preserving freedom in this tiny Asian country illustrates the dangers involved in conducting American toreign policy. This country isn't viewed by many Asians as the showplnce of democracy necessary to off- Set communist propaganda tac- tics. President Ngo Diem toler- ates no apposrtion parties or {me ClCCthriS in South Viet- nam. The jails in the capital Cily of Saigon are filled With political prisoners seized under the ~prete.t of lilting commuti- ists. Badly needed land reform, Equitable taxation, and increas- ed ClVil liberties are ignored by Diem and his henchmen. Austnre. Catholic President Diem lacks genuine popular— ity with the masses in this IRC concerned by Paul D. Samuel The Americans may be war» mad about the Russians, the Cu- bans may fear the Americans. and the French may be watching the Algerians. But all ct these problems, and many others, have become the concern of Grinnell’s international Relations club, for all of them have to do with the politics or other lands and other peoples. The Inc is Gi-innell's biggest student organization, having over 420 members, more than onc< third of the student population. There are also fire or six lactlls ty members who belong to the club. while other iacuity, ale though not IRC members, have ing reguarly attended many at the meetings. The ice tor meme bet-ship is one dollar a year, or so cents a semester. Dan Figgins is president oi IRC. He is a politi al science maior, and is active in other campus organizations, including thc Friars and the Young Re» publieans. He is a former na- tional Vicesprcsidcllt of the Cole legiate Council tor the United Nations (CCUN), Under Figgins, the Inc has almost doubled its membership in the past yeah The increas- cd iunds which it has reccived have enabled its board oi di— rectors to secure better speak— ers and more interesting events tor its members. But there are other, more important reasons, [0 belonging to the club. ”We have two goals, an im— mediate one and a long—range one,” Figgins said. “Our immed- iate goal is to give our members better and more personal con— tact with the speakers who come here to address the [HQ This would be impossible with more than 400 people, but by breaking the club down into small groups, it is easier to give the students a chance to meet and to speak with the persons who address them it "Our longsi'ange goal, on thc other hand ,exlcnds iar past our lives as students at Grinncll We wish to give America a more inlormed citizenry, one which can exert pressure toward the government in the hope of male ing it a better government. We. like to think that we are malt» ing progress toward this objec» tiVC.” In addition to eating meals with speakers, there are other activities which a student can participate in only it he is a member or me. These include weekend trips to nearby con— ierenccs and conventions (such as the Foreign students Cons iercnce which was held recenta iy in Des Moincs), and mclne bership in one of three study IRC Coiitd. p. 8, col. 1 predominantly Buddhist land. Many lecl his hrotller, the Archbishop of Saigon, iintluly Supports his brother. Proce~ (lure in the Presidential Palace is Illbzlvily formalized and re— sembles the ritual of court, chni’s parade ground army shows little fervor in the tight against communism. Guerillas sneaking into South Vietnam from Laos and North Vietnam are otten looked upon as op. pressed brothers ttghting for a better way of life. Diem’s as- sociates in the ruling clique have greatly profited from the American aid to South Vietnam in recent years. hose people have diverted ioi-eign aid funds badly needed by the peasants to themselves, earning them tortunes from grait and specular tion. One of the most powerful iigurcs in t clique is a sister in»Iaw of President Diem who blithly ignores the need tor so. eiai change in Asia. She blamcs America for the loss of China, North Korca. and North VleL nam, Her solution is more mil- itary and to South Vietnam, 'r‘” l she believes guns, not betts ideas, cul'e levoiutionary cont; Lions. without a peneeiul social revolution and a strong, poi.— ular ruler. South Vietnam can't eifeetively oppose the Communists, and without a social revolution South Vic’— nani can't rully come into ti 20th century. it change doesi come to South Vietnam, tlle pattern oi China and NDrl'l Vietnam may be repeated. Many students, teachers, pea ants, and laborers see litt ditiercni-e between DiemS goon squads and the calnmiiih ist guerillas. Military training in guerila wartare techniques may not be suiticient to save South Vi t nam unless Diem's regi changes. I strongly ouesti 7 further economic or military ad to South Vietnam it its govern— ment gives the people nothing positive to fight and preseni‘ I question open support by American military in this, tena— ous adventure. with politics of other lands CAMPUS by Ann Fetter six juniors were asked the following question: What is your reaction to the junior lib- eral arts comprehensive exam- ination'! Nancy Lee Norton ”It the administration plans to institute these examinations as a graduation requirement they should dcvi a schedule which gives all juniors an equal a- mount oi preparation time. Since 1 was beginning three lower oli- vision courses this semester, ‘1 had an ~ernely short reading period. In addition I found the syllabus unduly redundant." Steve Aldrich “I think that the liberal arts exam should be retained; how- ever, an inordinate weight was placed on the Area test. While recognizing the ditiicuity of testing and grading the essay sections fairly, 1 feel that as the kinks are ironed out more weight should be given to them since more preparation and test ing time was devoted to them. The essay tests require a deep- er understanding of the subject matter than do the area tests," Linda Brayman “My main criticism of the proA gram was the lack of direction given to us. I thought that the philosophy behind the tests was sound i enjoyed reading in fields unrelated to my major, but found it irustrating to try to make up tor courses I‘ve ne\'s or had. It’s impossible to catch up no matter how hard you try. INQUIRER I think that in the main \ needed direction, maybe a le - hire at the beginning of the year. I think, though. that mo “ of the problems can be iron out.” Dick An‘derson “It was stated that the lesé' were designed to test how mu knowledge a person had a . quire-d so (sir, However, insta‘ it was merely a test of two months of cramming. I like tl general idea, that of trying show the integration of coins and how courses relate to oi another; however, a thesis or r search paper would have be- a better means oi achievii this." Sally Singer “1 think that those respoir sible ior writing the test too many purposes in min which turned out to be contlic ing, There was a great lack cf direction; things w -e too broad and vague to allow us to real— ly road for them,” Larry i-iotirnan “The test did not iollow , syllabusrhnnded out by the co — legc, The material we were supa posed to read did not relate to the tests,.at all. it was trcmely hard to use the requile‘. books as a basis ior answering the questions on the test, I fee—1‘ that the ”high pass, low pass” system was a detriment to the test because it gave no incen- tive to the juniors to exei themselves. in my opinion ill-2 test will be a iailure because it was not taken seriously enough by the students and by the people who administered n. KGRW PROGRAM SCHEDULE Monday "‘"I 7 , 8.30 pm. “Johnson's Show" 7 Bill Johnson 8'30 - 10 pin. “Classics Corner" 7 Ray Obstfcld la . 12 p,m. “Lullabye 'n Rhythm" 7 Tuesday Bert Budd 7 , 10 pm. “EL Ceiera" 7 Pat Ealotiu lO - 12 pm. “Tales" 7 Bob Taylor Wednesday 7 - 8:30 1mm, "Classical Sutletees" 7 Peg Sutlcy 8:30 , 10 pm. “The Manger” (news special) — Bruce Portal 10 ~ 12 pm, “Midnite Special" 7 Sam Schlimdn Thursday 7 - 8.30 pm. “The Lonely Crond‘ — Skip Weyrauch 8.30 - 10 p.m. “Mostly Mood” 7 Pete Miller 10 . 12 um, “Gazette" — Ralph Wiitcuffi Friday 7 - 8’30 p.m. “Hummshuck” 7 George Spelrm 8:30 . 1i) p m. ”I‘ll Smitty” lo , l2 pm, “Mox‘ Sunday lo am. — 1 pm “The Al Stanley Shovi — Howard Smith 7 Jack Morris 7 Al Siilnlcy l — 2:30 p.m. “Johnathan Edwards Presents" 7 Paul Nelson 2, 0 , 4 pin. “Specialities" 7 Ray Obsileld