J," r

The Tenant, a film by

Oman Polanski, isfnow laying or has played at‘ ertain Island theatres.~ his film is as far\re- Oved from the pioneer

racula, Phantom of the

a and so,on) as Hyde Dr. Jeckyll. The traditional opposition of God and evil has been superseded by the attempt to contrive a sensation of total depravity. If this is accepted as its aim

The Tenant might well be judged a success.

I am not learned in the devices of film criticism. Perhaps if I were more abreast of developments

in the film industry,

more familiar with the 'mace-setting” trends, I might have been more com- fortable or even pleased.

This is a copy of an nclosure in a letter from rt Laffin, leading player n last year's Panthers who 5 I'now a player—coach

or a basketball team in olland. Art has always een interested in the light of the neglected lderly and wrote a lOng- rticle for the Cadre early n the 75—76 school year. his OUGHT to be food for bought for those who

ave "thought about" go-

mg to the Provincial

one for the Aged but

ho just havent managed

0 make it so far.)

The below appeared when n old Iaay died inlthe ' eriatric Ward of‘a hose m ital near Dundee, Scotland. t was felt that she

ad left nothing of any

lue then the nurses oing through her pos- essions found this poem. he quality of it so im— ressed the staff, copies_.; ere duplicated and dis— ributed to every nurse n the hospital. * CRABBITOLD WOMANMRDTE THIS aht do you see nurSe, what 0 You see?’ Are you think- ng when you are looking at e‘ a crabbit old woman, not ery Wise.f Uncertain of hab- t: with far away eyes, who‘ rlbbles-her food and makes 0 reply when you say in a' 03? voice— "I wish you'd rY:. WhOTSeems not to- otlce the things that you O’and forever is losing

Stocking or sho......

0, unresisting or not, Sts’ You do as you will, ith bathing and feeding, hztlong day to £111. Is

What you are thinking, 8 that what you see?. I

Orror classics (Frankenstein,

s...” lam-inn...“

with the character and

"quality of the movie. As it

was I found it disturbing and it raised in my mind some disturbing questions. The raw power of the media of film is truly extraordinary. As an art it is still in its in- fancy and as techniques become‘more and more sophisticated the rangnof possibilities grows. It

‘ has been said that photo-

graphy acts as a kind of time machine by captur- ing on film , in the minutest detail, the. events of the past; there to be shared for posterity. If this is so‘then the medium »of film extends .this power immeasurably

by enabling us to ex- ‘ perience the unimaginable, the unreal, the 'never was', with all the force

a crahhitg old woman

tell you who I am as I sit here so still; I'm a small child of tan with a a father and mother, a young girl of sixteen, with wings

on her feet. Dreaming

that soon now a lover she'll meet; abride soon a twenty-

my heart gives a leap, Remembering the vows that I promised to keep; At twenty— ‘five now I haVe young of my own, fwho needs me to build .a secure, happy home; A woman of thirty, my young now grow fast, Bound to each other with ties that should last. ' , At forty, my young sons.have grown and are gone, But my ' man's beside me to see I don't mourn; At fifty, once more babies play round my knee, Again we know child- ren, my loved one and me. Dark days are upon, me, my husband is dead, I look at the future, I shudder with‘ dread. ,For'my young are all rearing young of their own, and I think of the years and the love that I've known. I'm now an old woman and nature is cruel- Tis just to make old age look like a fool. The body it crumbles, grace and vigour depart, There is now a stone where I once had a heart. But inside this old carcass a young girl still dwells, And now and again my battered heart swells. And I remember the joys, I remember the pain, And I'm loving and‘ living life over again. I think of the years all . too few gone too fast, And accept the stark fact that nothing can last. So open your eyes nurses, ' open and see. Not a crabbit old woman, ldok closer — see me}

and clarity available to us through the senses of sight and hearing.

What are the effects or posSible effects of this presentation of the unreal or the 'never was' on .society, on the real world in which we live? Are the feelings (the joys, .hopes and fears) of our age natural ahd in- stinctive or are they . learned? Can new feelings be implanted? In the face of such a possibility ought some control .be ex- ercised over the film industry and other Centres of media influence? If so what sort of controls

would be feasible and how ought they be arrived at and implemented?

These are not just questions of censdrship or of freedom of artistic ex- pression. Movies are by now an important part of modern culture. The media in gen- eral might be said to be

'the'single most dominant

influence on modern culture. We know that just as man creates his culture it

in turn shapes him.

Seen in this light the

act of artistic creation,

bé-C'o'nl

The Cadre, vol. 8, no. 11 December 2, 1976 page 5.

rolled ?

particuIarIy when intended

for mass consuption, be-

comes an act 0f self-creation, with wide-ranging consequences for the whole culture and the whole species. — .

The controversy IS more akin to that raging over the desirability of continuing to advance research in the field of genetics (test—tube conception, artificial breed— ing, etc.) or that over the prolongation of life by artificial means. Must every avenue of artistic expression be explored, simply because it is tech- nically possible or is it wiser, in certain cases, to ,exercise discretion, pre— ferring for fear of the consequences, "not to Know"?

These are questions to 1which the answers are dif- ficult and uncertain. For the purposes of dialogue I invite your comments and response.

Frankenstein may have -= been supplanted as a box office attraction by mOVies like The Tenant but thesé’ movies themselves have raised Shelley's theme in a much more frightening guise, as a real threat, not just an illusory one.

Scott Sinclair

“77/5 17

i772;- flaéazfl 0555mm 17”"