Friday, February 21, 2003

by Holice Kil (Point) and Greg Leiserson (Counterpoint)

POINT

Barbershop makes for a great airplane movie. By that, I mean I saw it on an
airplane. By that, I mean I only saw it; sound costs money when you’re
flying budget.

“Three dollars for a set of headphones? Ha ha, nice try,” I said.

Set in the south side of Chicago, Barbershop tells the life-affirming story
of a man who comes to realize the importance of community and of his place
in his own. (I think.) What ultimately makes this movie work, however, is
not any individual storyline, or even sound, but the glimpses into the
goings-on of a group of people woven together through the neighborhood locale

of a barbershop. Like a good episode of Cheers, it’s about looking out for
your friends. Straight-up cheese, y’all are thinking, but I like cheese.

The only thing that bothers me about Barbershop is that I’m convinced I
remember bits of dialogue from its scenes. I must conclude that the movie is
just that memorable.

Ice Cube heads an ensemble cast that includes Cedric the Entertainer and rap
star Eve in her film debut.

COUNTERPOINT

Beautiful Thing is yet another movie about two teenagers experiencing their
first romantic relationship together. Usually that alone would be enough to
turn me away from the movie but not in this case. Although it’s the first
thing that comes into most reviews, it’s not the twist that the relationship
is between two teenage boys, Jamie and Ste, discovering their homosexuality
that makes the movie deeply moving. The original contribution of the movie
is the way in which it flawlessly works the boys’ relationship
into a vibrant social community. The interactions between the boys and their
mostly dysfunctional families and neighbors are uniquely characterized,
adding depth and interest to the film. Jamie has the benefit of a mother who
seems on the whole willing to accept him for who he is while Ste faces the
real prospect of physical abuse from his father and brother if he comes out
in a public fashion. The other neighbors, including a musically obsessed
young woman who nearly overdoses on drugs, complete the setting and provide
an entertaining and thought-provoking movie going experience.

And if that’s not enough for you, it has tons of music by the Mamas and the
Papas.

*****

by Evelyn Khoo
Living and Arts Editor

Finally done with that paper? Celebrate! Especially because you know next
week is going to hit hard, as the dreaded pre-spring break midterm avalanche
crashes down upon us.

So this Friday, once you’re done with class, drop the book bag and make your
way over to the WRC for the Poetry Slam with Greg Nelson and Nina Simon, two
nationally acclaimed slam poets. If you’re looking for more visual
stimulation, a showing of ‘The Beautiful Thing” a “tender gay love story”
will be held at 7.30pm in the Intercultural Center. At 10pm, head out to
Paces for the long-awaited WSRN Reggae party (postponed from several weeks
ago) and let our musical maestros woo your eardrums.

Come Saturday, party with SWIL at the annual SWIL Root Beer Kegger – hey,
you might discover that it actually is possible to have fun outside an
alcohol haze!

On Sunday, procrastinate even further by escaping the Swat bubble and
heading out to watch Ben Affleck flex his suit-clad muscles in ‘DareDevil’,
which opened on Valentine’s Day.

*****

* According to comments by Pentagon officials on Thursday, 350 US special
operations soldiers will join with the Philippine military next month in an
attempt to eradicate remnants of the Abu Sayyaf rebel organization. However,
a spokesman for the Philippine Defense Secretary said that the plans have
not yet been finalized. Allowing US military forces to fight an open-ended
operation within the territorial borders of the country would require the
government to change the current constitution. The Abu Sayyaf Group is the
most violent of the Islamic separatist organizations operating in the
southern Philippines. Although the ASG claims to be working toward an
independent Islamic state in western Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago, some
have suggested that the group now uses terror primarily for financial
profit.

* Carlos Fernandez, one of the leaders of Venezuela’s recent general strike,
was arrested shortly after midnight Thursday morning while leaving a
restaurant in downtown Caracas. Fernandez faces charges of treason and
instigating violence for the role he played in the anti-government protests
that have crippled Venezuela’s economy. Rafael Alfonzo, an opposition
delegate to recent talks mediated by the UN and the Carter Center, said the
arrest “made a mockery of the  ‘peace pact’ renouncing violence that
government and opposition negotiators signed on Wednesday.” The arrest
follows the discovery of four dead opposition activists whose bodies had
multiple bullet wounds and showed indications of torture in a Caracas suburb
earlier this week.

* The South Korean defense ministry claimed that a North Korean MiG-19
crossed into southern airspace on Thursday. The plane remained in southern
airspace for only two minutes, but the South has demanded a full explanation
and labeled the act extremely “provocative” given the current situation.

* A team of eight international medical experts released a report finding
that the main cause of the AIDS epidemic in Africa is not unsafe sex, but
rather unsafe medical injections and blood transfusions. Initial reactions
to the report were mixed. The World Health Organization and UNAIDS had
already planned a summit for mid-March on the issue of unsafe injections
where this issue will now almost certainly be discussed.

* US Treasury Secretary John Snow told congressional officials on Wednesday
that the US government would hit its debt ceiling on Thursday, at which
point he would begin to take money out of a pension fund to continue normal
operations. US government securities are considered among the safest
investments in the world because the government has never defaulted on its
obligations. Snow asked Congress to increase the debt limit as soon as
possible. The debt limit was increased from $5.95 trillion to its current
level of $6.4 trillion on June 28 of last year.

*****

Friday:

Jerry Woods Lecture: Speaker Barbara Smith
Black Cultural Center, 4:00 p.m.

Poetry Slam with Nina Simon and Craig Nelson
WRC, 6:30 p.m.

Movie: Barbershop
Kirby Lecture Hall, 7:30 and 10:00 p.m.

Movie: Beautiful Thing
Intercultural Center, 7:30 p.m.

Generations Project Dance Concert
Pearson Hall Theatre, LPAC, 8:00 p.m.

WSRN Reggae Party
Paces, 10:00 p.m.

DU “Come Give Me a Hug”
DU House, 10:00 p.m.

Saturday:

SASS, SASA, and SOCA Gala
Upper Tarble, 6:00 p.m.

Movie: Barbershop
Kirby Lecture Hall, 7:30 and 10:00 p.m.

Ninth Annual Swarthmore Follies
Frear Ensemble Theatre, 8:00 p.m.

“Let’s Get Soakin Wet”
Wharton CD Basement, 10:00 p.m,

Root Beer Kegger
Paces, 10:00 p.m.

Sunday:

Breakfast and Meeting for Worship
Friends Meeting House, 9:30 and 10:00 a.m.

Frozen Foot Race
Clothier Track, 10:00 a.m.

Sunday Mass
Bond Memorial Hall, 11:00 a.m.

Forum: “Reflections on Our Homeland” with Saed Atshan and Amalle Dublon
Friends Meeting House, 11:45 a.m.

“Volley for the Cure” Youth Volleyball Clinic
Lamb-Miller Fieldhouse, 4:00 p.m.

Meeting for Worship
Bond Common Worship Room, 5:00 p.m.

Ninth Annual Swarthmore Follies
Frear Ensemble Theatre, 8:00 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

Results of this contest were not available at the time of publication.

*****

Today:
Swimming at Centennial Conference Championships
Men’s lacrosse hosts Manhattanville, 1:00 p.m
Women’s basketball at Haverford, 1:00 p.m.
Men’s basketball at Haverford, 3:00 p.m.
Track and Field at Haverford, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday:
Swimming at Centennial Conference Championships

Sunday:
Swimming at Centennial Conference Championships

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love.”
–Charlie Brown, as penned by Charles Schulz

*****
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