Published since 1915 by the students
of Xavier University
Players voice for change
Rosie Swan
Contributing Writer
Last weekend, the Xavier Players put on their annual production of Voices for Change. This socially conscious show is made up of student-written, -directed and -performed pieces that deal with social justice issues.
This year’s show included 10 pieces that addressed issues such as abuse, ignorance, homelessness and depression. The production’s important messages were conveyed through student-written monologues, songs and skits.
The cast was excited to take part in a production that upholds the Xavier Players’ continuous theme of a “Theater of Conscience.” The short but sweet show that ran approximately 45 minutes held the attention of the audience and conveyed several powerful messages. The intimate setting of the Gallagher Student Center Studio made the production feel very real and let the actors truly connect with the audience.
A few of the pieces were based off actual events, such as sophomore Hannah Balash’s piece entitled, “Jesus on the Mainland.” This skit told her story of an encounter with a homeless man in a subway station in Chicago and her resulting feelings and thoughts.
Other pieces took a different approach and discussed important issues in society that many people our age face, but that the writers themselves have not experienced. For example, President of the Xavier Players, senior Dan Maloney, embodied an elderly man who was worn down by life and performed a very moving piece. Junior Briana Hansen performed a pair of monologues, written by Katelyn Davis, that dealt with the loss of her mother and the pain of grieving.
Overall, the show was a great success for the Xavier Players. As a cast, we were happy to perform our pieces and try to make an impact on the Xavier community by letting people know that they are not alone when dealing with tough situations and issues. We are ready to help and work together. We are ready to change.
Rosie Swan is an active member of the Xavier Players and wrote some of the material used in “Voices for Change.”
The age of innocence
Emily Hoferer
Diversions Editor
Perhaps it’s just a phase and maybe it’s even a sign of the times, but these days the best way for people to take you seriously in Hollywood is to strip down to the basics—literally.
Last week, news broke of the newly teenage Dakota Fanning appearing in a film called “Hounddog” at the Sundance Film Festival, which involves a rape and other intense sexual scenes.
Critics are saying that Fanning is entirely too young to play the troubled teen, but Fanning, her mother and her agent all agree that this role was too good to pass up. Her mother even believes that this role could get her an Oscar nomination.
Although it’s still too soon to tell whether or not Fanning will be a future Oscar nominee, her body of work is still impressive. Her breakout role was in “I Am Sam” and since then she’s done some children’s movies, a few intense films with heavyweights such as Robert DeNiro and Denzel Washington and even a sci-fi thriller with scientology nutcase Tom Cruise.
But this is still a departure for Fanning. The director of the film, Deborah Kapmeier, says that Fanning’s intense rape scene does not involve any nudity and that Fanning was never uncomfortable on set.
This is not the only eyebrow-raising news coming from young Hollywood.
Across the pond, Harry Potter superstar Daniel Radcliffe is causing controversy with his role in the upcoming West End production of “Equus.”
The play is written by Peter Shaffer, the same man who wrote “Amedeus,” and is intense (to say the least). The story is about Alan, played by Radcliffe, who is a tortured soul. His parents send him to see a psychiatrist after stabbing the eyes out of six horses. Some of the scenes call for nudity and Radcliffe said in many interviews that he would be doing what the original script called for; In other words, he would be bearing it all.
But that’s somewhat disturbing for Radcliffe’s younger fans and his critics, who say his image of Harry Potter will hurt the billion-dollar movie franchise. But Radcliffe, now 17, says that this is his chance to do something completely different, as the theater is typically done without blue screens and multiple takes.
With all of this news of the young actors taking on heavy material, it leads the public to think that other actors have not done the same thing before. Brooke Shields played a child living in a brothel in a movie that came out in the `70s. It was filmed when she was 12, and she was nude in some scenes.
Anne Hathaway, still famous from “The Princess Diaries” series, was also nude in “Hostel” and “Brokeback Mountain” and claimed that she felt she had to do nudity so she could be taken seriously as an actress, something her “Princess Diaries” co-star Julie Andrews did after her image became too mainstream and motherly from her appearances in the beloved “The Sound of Music” and “Mary Poppins.”
Clearly, the trend has been around for a while; actors are people too, and they have to find work, even if that work is appearing naked on stage in London or being a brutally tormented girl.
Still, if these acting departures are not appealing to you, they will again return to their usual fare. Radcliffe is going to put on the glasses again this summer for the fifth installment of the popular franchise in “Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix” and will also return for the sixth film, set to be released in 2008. Fanning is also lending her voice to an animated family film “Caroline” and is in talks to play the lead character in the film adaptation of “The Secret Life of Bees.”
Whitaker amazes, rules in “King”
Brandy Williams
Asst. Diversions Editor
Newswire Official Rating: 
One of the best movies this year and on the Oscar hot list is “The Last King of Scotland,” which is based on a true story in Uganda. Although the movie portrays real characters and has historical facts, it is still considered a fictional horror film because it is based on a 1998 novel by Giles Foden.
The movie is about Nicholas Garrigan played by James McAvoy, a young Scottish doctor who, in an attempt to escape his dull life and the glare of his patronizing parents, randomly chooses to travel to Uganda during the 1970s and work among the two member staff to assist in aiding the poor locals.
His arrogance and quick wits land him a job as personal physician to one of history’s most psychotic dictators, Idi Amin played by Forest Whitaker. Garrigan quickly becomes engulfed in the luxurious lifestyle of the dictator and is so blinded by his lavish gifts and endearing friendliness that he refuses to see how cruel and corrupt the dictator actually is. It is not until those closest to Amin begin to disappear and Garrigan’s own freedom and life are threatened that he begins to question his role in this tragic episode.
McAvoy portrayed the character of the European voice in African policy really well. He had the carefree stroll of an average teenager and the hormones of one too. In every household he was welcomed into, he welcomed himself to their women as well. His character was believable and gave viewers a fresh perspective on what occurred in Uganda under Amin’s rule.
Whitaker’s depiction of the legendary Ugandan dictator, who is responsible for over 1.5 million deaths of his people, was absolutely amazing! Watching Whitaker’s performance was as if I had traveled back in time to 37 years ago and lived through his brutal reign. What was so troubling about Amin was that at first glance you wanted to love him. He promised hope and prosperity, but like most other dictators, too much power due to unchecked balances caused constant paranoia. Amin went insane and thus brought down his great country and resulted in a devastating period in Africa’s history.
Overall, it was a great movie and a must see. It should clean up several Oscar awards.
Online Exclusive: Pursuit of a Movie Review
Stephanie Metz
Contributing Writer
So, it seems like a movie with the word ‘happyness’ in the title would be filled with fields of flowers, kittens, and smiling babies throughout, right? Well, not in this case. And let’s be clear, the title is The Pursuit of Happyness, not just happiness. Oh, and I do know how to spell happiness, the ‘y’ is explained within the first few minutes of the film. I suppose that I should summarize the plot, but seriously, if you don’t know it by know you are not up on your movie previews. In a nutshell, Chris Gardner (Will Smith) is the patriarch of a working class family that’s barely making it. His wife (Thandie Newton) does laundry, while Chris is a salesman, peddling a type of advanced x-ray machine that most doctors deem unnecessary.
Chris has a brief encounter on the street one day that changes his life. He meets a stock broker, who is driving a sweet 70’s car, and decides that being a stock broker would make life a little easier for him and his family. The rest of the film details his rocky internship with a top notch stock brokerage firm and his struggle to support his only son, also named Christopher (Jayden Smith), even though his internship does not pay any salary and will not guarantee him a job when he’s completed it.
Even if the plot doesn’t sound all that good on paper, this story will get to you in the theater. In a role that reminds you of the Will Smith in “Ali,” (and not “Men in Black,” “Wild Wild West” or “Independence Day”) he is real and raw. In this Oscar-nominated role he simply is the character. In an everyman sort of way Smith honestly portrays his character’s frustration with the hard knocks of life, as well as the intense love a father feels for his son. Maybe that’s because his real son, Jayden Smith, is also his son in the movie. Yes, while it does sound like the casting director got a two-for-the-price-of-one deal at the Smith family supermarket, this gimmick works surprisingly well. Unlike a lot of child Hollywood actors Jayden Smith is a natural. There’s nothing coached or stilted about his performance. Actually, he steals the show in several places just because he’s too darn cute not to watch.
If you’re looking for a fluff picture that paints a rosy picture of middle-class America, this isn’t it. Rather than glossing over the problems working families deal with, this film actually deals with them. The film depicts the dark underbelly of American capitalism and doesn’t skim over uncomfortable aspects of poverty like staying in a homeless shelter. In fact, the things that some people might call uncomfortable are the best and most moving parts of this film. Hollywood got this one right. Once in a while they do make a film that has integrity and style, so don’t miss it.
All the way around this is a great picture. There’s laughter throughout, some tears (look out for the night spent in the subway bathroom), and surprisingly a can’t-look- away sort of scene where Chris puts together a Rubix cube during a cab ride. Interestingly enough, Smith was trained in the art of Rubix-cube-putting-together by experts and was able to do it himself for the scene. My point: there’s something for everyone here, so if you love a great story about everyday people you will love this movie.
Xavier’s BlueTube
We now have our very own YouTube-esque site (xaviertube.ning.com) where we can put videos about life at Xavier. Here’s some of the Newswire’s personal favorites.
1. Xavier student section rocks!!!!
Clearly this is the most intense and
quite frankly the coolest display of
Xavier school spirit on the Internet.
Those blue people are pretty intense!
2. Meet Alex and Steve:
Drummers
rule
The pep bank is pretty much the
bomb-diggity, for lack of a better
word. Good drummers always get
the crowd and the band hyped.
3. The Xavier Blob & D’Artagnan:
Together at Last
Everyone loves our mascots. With
this nice little montage you can check
out how they proudly represent the
Xavier Nation.
4. I love Subway!!!
Subway Rob is the best spokesperson
Subway has ever had, even better
than Jared!
5. Muskie TV: The Office
Now you can really see how those
good people at the Muskie get things
done.
See them all at xaviertube.ning.com.
Emily Hoferer 
Diversions Editor
Sixteen Candles
Love classic movies? At 11 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 1 in the GSC Theater, the Classic College Movie Series is hosting the film “Sixteen Candles.” The movie is free to XU students with their All Card.
Ski Trip
Ready to hit the slopes and ski your way down some beautiful snow-filled hills? This Saturday, Feb. 3 at 8:30 p.m, buses will be loaded and leaving from Buenger Circle headed to the ski slopes at Perfect North. Tickets are $15 and will be on sale from 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesday in GSC and Thursday and Friday during dinner, then brunch on Saturday.
Super Bowl
Party
Colts vs. Bears! Stop in the Romero International Center at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4 to root for your favorite team and watch the commercials, of course! There will be loads of great Super Bowl food and lots of fun.
Invisible: Slavery Today
If you have never been to the National Underground Freedom Center or would like to see the new exhibits, this is your chance. Discounted tickets are available through the Psychology Department, Dr. Cathy Wilson, to tour the new exhibit “Invisible: Slavery Today,” which will be open until Feb. 28. Call x3072 for ticket information.
World Quest
Grab a team and an application because World Quest is back.Xavier’s own International Trivia competition is back, complete with prizes, delicious food and a great time. Sign-up forms are available in the Romero Center and are due by Monday. Make sure you are not sitting at home missing out on this amazing competition.
