20 Years Later a Fi Lm Lover Looks for What Has Changed in Austin and Himself Since the Release of Slacker in 1991
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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 re- minds teach- ers 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 amend- ment?” 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.