20 Years Later a Fi Lm Lover Looks for What Has Changed in Austin and Himself Since the Release of Slacker in 1991

UT ASNE Volume 1 Issue 1 1 University Station Austin, Texas 78712 austinthe

Nomad’s an Island pg. 4 What’s the Point? pg. 2 1 For All pg. 2 racle 20 Years Later A fi lm lover looks for what has changed in Austin and himself since the release of Slacker in 1991. By Daniel Sadicario lick. Click. Click. New York, 1992. While fl icking through channels and trying to keep cool on a hot summer day in New York, I clicked into the middle of a movie where a guy passionately explained his JFK assassination theory to a girl in a book store. Something about this strange fi lm that moved from subject to subject with the logic that would accompany channel surfi ng— click: girl trying to sell Madonna’s pap smear; click: auto mechanics discuss- ing parts—kept me transfi xed. The movie ended with the camera being thrown in the air, and an image of colors and light spinned frenetically until cutting to black and a roll of the end credits. I was only 13. I was stunned. My notion of what movies could be transformed and the intensity of that change seemed to ricochet and spin my very sense of what was pos- sible in the world itself. I went on to grab a video camera and make my own movies Click. Click. Click. Austin, June 23, 2011. A vast parking lot the size of a football fi eld, a super-watt light bulb, and a thin sheet of compounds created from nitrocellulose and camphor, plus dyes and other agents are the elements needed for a perfect night according to many residents of Austin. Many of those people, including myself, slouched in camp chairs and sprawled out onto blankets in a parking lot to share an experience that to us was sacred. The fi lm Slacker was originally released in 1991 and to mark the 20th anniversary, the Austin Film Society put on an outdoor screening of the fi lm on the lot of Austin Studios. Those in charge of ticket sales claimed approximately 600 were in at- tendance. Richard Linklater, resident of Austin and director of Slacker, trotted to the front of the crowd and explained his shared surprise at how long it has been since the movie was fi rst released. For me, see- ing Richard Linklater speak was a perfect highlight amidst my fi rst ever journey to Austin and a helpful piece of the puzzle I was trying to put together about the place. At 32, this was a pilgrimage to the source of one of the fi lms that changed my life. Slacker was shot in Austin and is known for its experimental narrative, but it makes the city itself something to be noticed in the fi lm and, much like Woody Allen’s New York City in Annie Hall or the Cohen brother’s Los Angeles in The Big Lebowski, something to be romanticized and adored. When I fl ew to Austin, I was not sure At 32, this was what I would fi nd, but I knew that my mission was to compare: Was it the same place and community as a pilgrimage to the alluring world in the fi lm I fi rst saw in 1992? Had the source of one it developed into something new? Had the artists and weirdoes been pushed out? Was Austin still Austin? of the ﬁ lms that Since I had never been to Austin before, the “ whole thing felt like I was going to a place after only changed my life. discovering it in a dream. As my fl ight descended into Austin, the fi rst oddity was the barrier of gray under the cloud line I discovered later was a layer of smoke from all the fi res blazing across Texas at the time. The city was in the midst of dealing with an STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 ecological crisis that was not as urgent 20 years ago. “ “ page 2 Austin Oracle - June 30, 2011 page 3 1forALL speaker reminds teachers of 1st amendment by Adriana Lopez Ken Paulson, the founder of 1 for All, visited the ASNE 2011 class on Friday, June 24th to educate the class on First Amendment rights. Paulson was there to explain how many Ameri- cans take the First Amendment for granted and are uninformed of what rights the First Amendment guarantees. His organization, 1 for All awards grants to teachers to facilitate the spread of First Amendment rights. It has several celebrities that contribute to spreading the word; Ke$ha, LL Cool J, and Brad Paisley to name a few. The website has many classroom resources to assist in teaching the First Amend- ment. Paulson is currently the chief execu- tive officer of the First Amendment Center. He was a member of the origi- nal founders of USA Today and served as editor and senior vice president. During his presentation Paulson said, “Only 5% of Americans know the five freedoms covered under the First Amendment.” He went on to say that 5% is the highest number he had seen; the percentage used to be 2%. He also informed the class that only 33% of Americans can name one of the five rights guaranteed by the First Amend- ment. He asked the class to ponder the reasons why? Karen Shaver responded, “The last time most of us saw it [1st Amend- ment], we were 17 years old.” The class agreed. Paulson remembered asking himself, “Did I get taught the first amendment?” He then showed the class What’s the point? examples of textbooks and government The Abuse of Powerpoint Breeds Frustration naturalization flash cards that all ne- glected to correctly list all five freedoms An Editorial by Keith Higbee covered under the First Amendment. she insisted that she would “teach until dead,” so there Paulson pointed out that most school is hope that they will one day learn to properly employ texts have left out the freedom to peti- the presentation tool. Unfortunately, for the majority tion because they do not want students of the ASNE class of 2011, there was no hope. to believe they can do whatever they Cathy Fong, one frustrated ASNE fellow, be- want. He reminded the class not to moaned the improper employment of PowerPoint, simply tell the students, “you can say saying, “Tell me something I can’t read on my own.” anything you want and we can’t do Her reaction is common among the victims of anything about it.” inept PowerPoint users worldwide. Rather than using After the presentation, Victoria the tool to accentuate an already solid presentation, Hallberg, a high school English teacher it has now become the norm, from corporate board- from Graham, WA and an ASNE rooms to PTA meetings, to treat a PowerPoint slide- fellow, said she was afraid that her show as a perfectly packaged substitute for an intel- students might think they can do and ligent, informed, and captivating speaker. say whatever they liked when learning Jaime Loke, an assistant professor at The Univer- about the First Amendment. Hallberg sity of Oklahoma and 15 year sufferer of PowerPoint ASNE fellows try to focus during a PowerPoint presentation. said she would educate her class on the abuse claims that of the countless presentations to First Amendment, but she would be Standing in front of a room of seasoned educators, which she has been exposed, only 1% have made suc- careful about how to do it. Hallberg the presenter made a bold pronouncement, “If you walk cessful use of the tool. would teach the First Amendment in away with one thing today, I’ll feel like a success.” Based “PowerPoint’s not everything,” she said. “You need her class by, “finding the underrepre- on the stupefied stares of her audience, odds were good to drive the PowerPoint. You’re on the stage. You’re sented voice to avoid the mob mental- that there would be no such feeling on this particular day. the one presenting.” ity.” Hallberg believes that her students PowerPoint, developed by Dennis Austin and Thomas But in an age of budget shortfalls and corporate might misinterpret the First Amend- Rudkin, has been a game-changing presentation tool ever downsizing, the number of skilled speakers capable ment to mean they have the right to since it was acquired by Microsoft and made a part of of wielding the presentation tool have steadily dimin- do whatever they want. She fears this the seminal Microsoft Office Suite. While the program ished. In their place has arisen a mass of PowerPoints could lead to mob mentality. freed presenters from whiteboards, blackboards, and which can be freely shuttled across the world at the She plans to have a discussion to ed- overhead projectors and offered them tools for visu- click of a mouse without the economic inconvenienc- ucate her students on the First Amend- ally appealing, animated masterpieces, it also opened the es of airfare and hotel fees. In theory, these Power- ment’s history. Hallberg said she would door to a countless number of sub par presentations. Points require nothing more than a warm body with definitely look at the 1 for All website Though the presenter taught “for a long while,” on basic reading skills and the ability to click a remote, to use some of the teacher lessons and this particular day it was clear that proper use of Power- but as anyone who has had to sit through such a pre- ideas available for her classroom. Point was a skill that they had yet to master. Thankfully, sentation knows, this is not the case. page 2 Austin Oracle - June 30, 2011 page 3 Born ToTeach How do you teach in Austin, when you were raised in Mumbai? by Julie Geiger Most people take cross walks for granted. Monica Chadha doesn’t. It’s sistant for 2 years. Dahlby, director of the University of Texas’ over 9,000 miles from her hometown of Mumbai, India to Austin, Texas, School of Journalism, said “Monica is a born teacher.” He liked and she is keenly aware of everyday things that might attract unwanted atten- how she worked with students one-on-one to improve specific tion to her – like crossing against the light. stories and work through problems. “She invested time in the “I was very conscious of being a minority when I first came,” Chadha students and it paid clear dividends.” said. Five days after she arrived in Austin, she was standing at the corner In addition to compassion, Chadha brings a wealth of of 45th and Guadalupe waiting for the bus. An aggressive young white guy journalistic experiences to her teaching. She started writing for started mouthing off to two dark-skinned men who looked south Asian to a national newspaper, The Asian Age at age 16 in Mumbai. She Chadha. moved on to The Indian Express and finally to the Mumbai “Stop staring at me!” he yelled. division of the British Broadcasting Corporation. She spent The men were simply watching for the bus, and the aggressive man was eight years honing multimedia skills and international reporting standing directly in their line of vision. He proceeded to attack one of the with the BBC. young men, knocking off his hat before others Her experiences boosted her teach- restricted him and pulled him away. ing ability and gave her broad perspectives For Chadha, the dread of committing a cultural “I just remember in contemporary journalism. “One of the faux pas has receded; even though her brown skin things that struck me about all three media and lilting accent can still instigate condescend- that for every rude (Indian, British and American) is the critical ing words and attitudes from some people. “I just tone adopted by the western journalists,” she remember that for every rude person, there are 10 person, there are 10 said. “Indian journalists are not as skeptical of who try to make me feel comfortable.” those in power.” Even though her English fluency is more profi- who try to make me When it comes to criticism of authority, British cient than other native English speakers, she’s a bit journalists are even tougher than Americans. “The self-conscious about her word pronunciation. In British media is more irrever- ent and third grade, she was assigned to stand up and nar- feel comfortable.” possibly more challenging of rate a joke. When she mispronounced a word, her their government and other teacher interrupted her and corrected her in front of the class. “I was so authoritative figures than American media,” said embarrassed,” she said. Chadha. That early memory stuck with her and she’s still mildly apprehensive about As far as the purpose of journalism, correct pronunciation of words. “In one of my classes at UT, I pronounced Chadha feels the ultimate goal “is to start pedometer like peedometer, and the whole class laughed.” The incident trig- conversations on topics that people gered feelings of embarrassment lingering from her third grade experience. want to talk about and those they But, she applied the lessons she has learned to her own teaching practice. don’t.” Sometimes stories need to “I learned you don’t have to be rude to be honest.” be told and heard, whether or not ASNE fellow Lindsey Walcott from Waukesha West people want to hear them. High School in Wisconsin likes how Chadha uses her Chadha added that journal- experiences to enhance her teaching. “Using personal ism’s duty is to make sure experiences is a good way for teachers to hook “people don’t forget the their students and she did that really well.” important things in life…so As a doctoral candidate, Chadha that we know better where was Tracy Dahlby’s we are going.” teaching as-

Jacqueline Morrisey, center, asks Chadha a question. Lydia Brooks and Brian Higgins listen attentively.

photos by Daniel Sadicario page 4 Austin Oracle - June 30, 2011 page 5 Nomad’s an Island Two teachers sound off about wanderlust and how it adds meaning to work and life By Amy Ritchie Mark Ajluni, 40, lounges near a hotel pool in downtown Austin, Texas, with an iced hired by the ISS (International School Services) as a theatre director for an coffee and a copy of the New York Times. His cool, laid-back demeanor reminds one of a American school. smooth-talking salesman, rather than a ten-year veteran of urban public high schools. “I didn’t know what I was doing. I thought, Burma: that sounds like a “I came into teaching sort of through the back door,” Ajluni said. “Traveling in my thir- fun country all I knew was that I had to have a play to put on by the time I ties around Central and South America, wandering, hiking. I went and learned Spanish. I arrived in Myanmar. So I chose Arthur Miller’s ‘All My Sons’. went to med school for one year to ‘do the life of the mind,’ but I just kinda needed a job Once Hallberg got into the process and became accustomed to the to keep living in Cali.” more restrained culture in Myanmar, however, she was concerned that the So in 1998 he became a substitute teacher in San Jose, California. “I was gonna try to subject matter of the play could carry negative repercussions. The parents stay in the Bay Area but needed a place I could afford.” Ajluni takes a sip of his coffee, the of her students were diplomats and as her rehearsals brought students closer to opening night, Hallberg says she worried that things would back- fire. “After opening night, these dignitaries are giving the performance a standing ovation. My apartment was filled with flowers from everyone’s parents.” She laughs and picks up her pace on the sidewalk. “I was thanked for doing such a serious play that challenged the ideas of democracy. Even the kids wrote me thank you notes telling me how much they appreciated the experience.” Most of the time a teacher doesn’t know for sure whether or not they’ve been influential; those times when it’s obvious are said to be the equivalent of the surge of adrenaline. Maybe that’s what keeps the good ones, the inspired ones, in the game for the long haul. Hallberg appears to be one that plans to stick around. “I love that I get to meet new people every day. I get vacations. I do something that isn’t static - it changes every day. It fits my lifestyle.” When asked about what she could have done instead of teaching, Hall- berg goes wide-eyed and laughs. “Physical Therapy,” she said. “But teaching is so much better. [Educa-

ice melting quickly in the sweltering Austin sun. He adjusts his aviator shades. “Ended up going to Denver. No credentials, but I got hired teaching at an urban school. I got my credentials in an alternative fashion with a school-to-work program at Manual High School. I had subbed at many schools and had mixed experiences.” He spent the next six years teaching in Denver, Colorado, honing his chops despite hit- ting roadblocks with bureaucracy. He still did not find what he was looking for. He thought he might find it on a distant shore. “I went to Beirut to teach. I really loved it, but wanted to exercise my freedoms more; I left about a week before the Israelis bombed the airport. I had a paid round-trip ticket to go home once a year to see my family in the summer, but I didn’t get to go back.” Ajluni took a year off to regroup, and to reflect on what it all meant. He began to real- ize the importance of teaching to him. He has gained valuable insights, and even though insight always comes with its own lessons, those lessons mark the final experience. “My career has been very satisfying and rewarding. I like the idea of mentoring kids. I like ideas, literature, books, psychology, and art. I like the idea of teaching as performing an art.” But Ajluni says that traveling has impacted his teaching more than anything else, and has made it all more meaningful and worthwhile. “It has kept me connected to my passion, my community. Integrity and social transfor- mation are the things that keep me going.”

------Victoria Hallberg, 34, has wild hair and an untamed spirit to match. She walks down Guadelupe quickly, to avoid being late to her morning overview session. She offers her face to the sun, with eyes closed, and talks in a laid-back West Coast manner about some things that have marked her career as an educator. tion] is an amazing important tool to give to the kids.” “I was the first in my family to go to college—I didn’t even know about buying text- Teachers like Hallberg and Ajluni have a lot in common. Many teachers books! I went to Cal State, Long Beach. I had to learn how to study through trial and error. who are truly inspired appear to be spurred on by their love of change, It’s something I make sure to teach my students now so they’ll be prepared for college.” their love of travel. They’ve been around the world, essentially. They love If there is value in experience, it’s apparent that Hallberg was impacted greatly by her to learn and to pass that on to others. And that is worth more than all the initial encounter with college. It marked her so intensely that she wanted to share that with money in the world. others like herself. “What I want is for people to feel like they’re not imprisoned by stuff they don’t like. Hallberg stops, having arrived at her destination. She puts on the You have choices, you know? You don’t have to remain stuck.” nametag that identifies her as a participant in a Conference for Journalism Hallberg said that some of her family experiences led her to forming her value system. teachers. She looks up at the sky, noticeably bothered about having to go “I know there are kids who feel trapped out there. They need to know that through educa- inside and abandon the sunshine. She smiles widely, waves goodbye and tion they can be liberated.” ties up her wavy hair, and disappears into a sunlit doorway. Her teaching experiences have led her all the way to Myanmar, Burma, where she was page 4 Austin Oracle - June 30, 2011 page 5

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Most of the front page of the newspaper in the terminal dealt with a debate find many at the mass meditation session in front of Whole Foods and over the coming water shortage and the other fourth dealt with Austin’s first on Saturday mornings, many are at the farmer’s market. Suzanne San- ever ban on all fireworks for the 4th of July because of the fire hazard. tos, creator of the 4th Street farmer’s market, the city’s largest, explains Austin has become consistently hotter and more arid since 1991; the that in 1991, there was no such thing as a farmer’s market. After she economic climate has become hotter too, but the citizens’ seem engaged in began the farmer’s market on May 3, 2003, she had, “doubled sales in making it all work. The newspaper was the first of many pieces of evidence the second year” and it has steadily increased since then. “It just keeps to show this. Another was the curious lack of shopping chains (Wal-Mart, going up” says Santos. “It’s mainly a lot of educated foodies.” Target, etc.) in the core of the city; this is apparently due to strict zoning and There is also a great increase in the number of restaurants and a curious level of integrity by government officials. Likewise, one of Austin’s bars, and the folks that inhabit them seem to be business types and main television channels is a nearly around-the-clock broadcast of its town tourists. The Austin Small Planet Guide, along with several other hall meetings. Despite civic engagement, this city is not entirely void of tourist sites that repost its text, claim that “it may be hard for visitors change. to Austin’s vibrant, creative and hip neighborhood known as SoCo to “It’s definitely changing” says TJ Hill, resident of 11 years and believe, but just a few years ago South Congress Avenue was a little bass player for a honkey-tonk band, Armadillo Road. “Condos are pop- seedy.” The overly proud marketing makes me wonder if this spirit of ping up right and left. The population is growing like wild fire,” he says, “weird” is just manufactured as its own business; maybe the “creative perhaps unaware of his metaphor’s connotations. He explains that despite and hip” of Slacker has been exploited to attract tourists like myself the population growth, the “hipster types” from around a decade ago when and potential residents with whom I share this romantic view of Aus- he moved in are here to stay. “The only problem is that everyone moved in tin. for the music, but it’s literally gotten too loud.” Now, there are many noise The city is still hospitable to the arts, but there’s a reason for that ordinances that have in various ways pushed the music out. That said the and there are rules to this hospitality. The City Council is committed to culture is here to stay. The “majority of Austin is supportive of weird,” as keeping music and arts because it’s a part of the economy. The South he puts it. TJ cites the example of Leslie Cochran, a homeless cross dresser by Southwest music and film festival is the highest revenue-producing (white, male) who ran for mayor in 2003. TJ explained that he nearly won special event for the Austin economy, with an estimated economic and claims it as an example of Austin’s genuine appreciation for “weird.” impact of at least $110 million in 2008. Austin’s government is no Actually, a quick walk down many streets in the central urban dummy to the fact that its identity as an arts and music community is core will show you that there is an abundant homeless population, which wonderful tool. makes sense based on Slacker; the film depicts a struggling artist commu- Ryan Robinson, demographer for the city, explains that “without a nity with cynical financial ambitions. But something is off. The “slacker” sizable share of middle class families to stabilize the urban core, work- community of artists and intellectuals are here, but they don’t seem to be as ing class families suffer because the rung above them on the socio- abundant as they are in the film. The homeless seem out of place now, like economic ladder has been removed, making it more difficult for them old watchmen of a community that no longer exists. to achieve upward social mobility.” Artists are the natural resource of Click. Click. Click. Saint Louis, 2011. Technology has changed too. I Austin and seem inexplicably and forever tied to the seedy side of an moved from New York, and I now have over a dozen short films to account artistic community. The government and those that are gentrifying the for (most pretty amateur), and their formats tell the tale of the time in which neighborhood would probably like to see the seedy aspect go, but it I grew up: my high school and college films were shot in VHS and 16mm seems to be film while my films in graduate school and beyond have been digital SD Rick Linklater also explained his subversive reasoning for making (standard definition) and eventually HD. NYU film school use to have a the film. “We’re flattered that this film kind of went on to be repre- heavily used arsenal of tough, 16mm cameras that had been used for over sentative of Austin…This film was very much underground, from the 40 years and were made to last forever. At 20, a year after I learned how to counterculture, I always thought of it as a big (gestures the middle use them, the era ended and NYU, along with film schools across the na- finger) ehhhh to the Regan, Bush, all for the left-behinds of that time,” tion, switched to digital. Film splicing, flatbed Steenbecks and giant video said Rick. Being a teenager during the Clinton years more than the editing booths were also replaced with computers and the first, now consid- Regan years, this was sentiment I didn’t directly identify with but who’s ered terribly clunky versions of video editing software like Final Cut Pro and essence I understood. Ironically, for me, Slacker was a movie that I first Avid. Like an arranged marriage, none of it was chosen but rather stood as saw when I only first began to question the social system in place. a collection of things that I encountered on the artists’ road that had already After a week in Austin, I am maybe leaving with more questions been decided. My romantic vision of the intellectual artist had taken hold. than answers. The only things that seem definite realities are that Aus- Click. Click. Click. Austin, June 24th, 2011. “There is a joke in Austin tin still has an authentic art community and as long as there is poverty, [that goes] “Austin used to be great till x,”” Bob Jensen, professor at UT there will be great art and artists. Yay poverty! The main question that Austin’s journalism department tells me. Jensen explains that each decade remains is where we go from here; where I go from here. was “about something” and that was gone when the next decade came After being here for a week, I want to hate on the powers that along. “What people are really saying is that, “the good old days are before exploit this community of artists, but after my inquiry, I am quite aware YOU came.”” That said, he maintains that Austin has always been a “liberal of the fact that I too am here to fulfill a romantic vision of what I want bubble” of Texas and a “magnet” for those types of people. In the 60’s there Austin to be. But there is an important difference between businesses was an SDS chapter and other radical hot bed communities. “That endures looking to make a buck and an educated cinephile like myself: my although I don’t think it’s a terribly radical place [anymore].” Jensen feels love is real. As one of my final destinations, I attended a screening of a that the slacker culture is still around and still real, but “a lot of it’s [really 1969 cinema verite documentary called Salesman at The Alamo Draft- just] youth culture.” house and the show sold out to seventy people happy to sit through He’s right on one thing. The main similarity of Austin in Slacker and two hours of a “slow,” black and white film with little editing and no the Austin of 2011 is that there are a damn high number of people in their narration. twenties and many of them seem to be the ‘hipsters’ of 1991. The main After the screening of Salesmen at the Drafthouse, Ben Stein- difference, however, is where they are located and what they look like: in bauer, director of Winnebago Man, and two of his buddies and fellow 1991 they wore clothes that signaled a genuine self-expression and hung film enthusiasts took their places at a table in front of the audience around run down burger joints and clubs; now, they seem to have a similar, and discussed the movie and the art of filmmaking for forty minutes, spirited sense of style (although now they are aware of it?), and they sport a and I couldn’t help but notice that no one was shuffling in their seats great number of tattoos. The tattoo phenomenon here is one were you are or showing any other signs of people wanting to get up and go. There’s more likely to feel a part of the group if you have them than if you don’t. something about this that seems embedded in our DNA to want to Now, they hang around Whole Foods and, still, clubs, although many of the stay. clubs have been remodeled or boarded up. On Sunday mornings you can Click. Click. Click…