On Feb. 6 Bryan College held a groundbreaking ceremony for a crucial step in the college’s long-term development plan. Paid for by donations from alumni, the new entrance is scheduled to be ready for traffic by Homecoming 2009. See the exclusive Bryantriangle.com video below.
Reporter: Danene Bottiaux
Videographer: Justin Morton
Video Editor: Emily Echols
By Phillip Johnston
The much-warranted complaint has been lodged that The Academy Awards no longer hold any relevance to the average American movie consumer. The fact that “The Dark Knight,” the highest grossing and undoubtedly best film of 2008, was not nominated for Best Picture of the year proves this definitively for many people.
“If that’s the case, then what’s the point of even talking about them?” you may ask.
Let’s get something straight: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Hollywood in general is thoroughly devoted to the craft of moviemaking. Sadly, Hollywood often panders to the lowest common denominator—uncritical viewers who are satisfied with anything that makes them guffaw or prevents them from falling asleep in their seats. This is one of the reasons why we see the sad success of films like “Disaster Movie” and “Saw V.”
The Oscars ceremony tends to sidestep popular comedy, action and horror movies in favor of more dramatic ones simply because these films seem to have been made with quality storytelling in mind.
Still, the ideals and worldview of the Hollywood system at large have never permeated an Oscars ceremony as much as this year. The awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor both went to the film “Milk,” director Gus Van Sant’s biopic of famed gay rights activist Harvey Milk. The film is genuinely compelling and well made, but it is undoubtedly a piece of propaganda. The acceptance speeches by screenwriter Dustin Lance Black and actor Sean Penn followed suit.
Penn, who played Harvey Milk in the film, sarcastically addressed the audience as a bunch of “Commie, homo-loving sons of guns” and chided those who voted for the ban against gay marriage saying that they should be embarrassed for years to come.
Dustin Lance Black was more pointed in his address: “I think [Harvey Milk would] want me to say to all of the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told that they are less than by their churches, by the government or by their families, that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you and that very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights federally, across this great nation of ours.”
Black does get it right when he says that those children are “beautiful, wonderful creatures of value,” but the rest of the theological and political stew he concocts is far from savory.
Even so, a proper Christian reaction wouldn’t be to jump on the complaint bandwagon and gripe about the terrible state of the world. Instead, our undying focus should be on thoughtfully engaging the gay community with the beauty and power of the gospel that we talk about so much, showing them what Christ’s redemption looks like practically and not just theoretically.
Of course, the ceremony was not all doom and gloom. Pixar’s “Wall-E,” a profound and beautiful film directed by Andrew Stanton (a professing Christian), took home Best Animated Feature and was nominated for a slew of technical awards. “Slumdog Millionaire,” a lightning-paced, colorful film about a kid growing up in the slums of Mumbai, took many awards including Best Picture. It’s a don’t-miss film, and to see Steven Spielberg (a veritable symbol of the Hollywood blockbuster) hand over the golden statuette to a nearly overlooked little film made in India was extremely poetic.
The effects of last year’s writers strike were evident in this year’s crop of Oscar films and will continue to show in the next year. If this is the case, it may be up to filmmakers from other nations and movies like “Slumdog Millionaire” to one-up the collapsing Hollywood system. I, for one, can’t wait to see what they come up with.
by Danene Bottiaux, staff writer
The Bryan baseball team dropped three games against King College (Bristol, Tenn.), at home Monday and Tuesday, March 2-3.
Monday’s game started out with senior pitcher Mark Barnwell on the mound. Read full story »
by Danene Bottiaux, staff writer
Sophomore guard/forward Derek Batt looks for an inside pass against Bluefield (Bluefield, Va.), at home Feb. 18. Triangle photo by Emily Echols
The men’s basketball team lost to the number 4 team, Union College (Barbourville, Ky.), during the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Quarterfinals Feb. 26, at King College (Bristol, Tenn.).
The Lions kept the lead for the first half, but the game was held close by Union. Leaving the half with the score 31-28, the Lions needed more strength in the second half to fight off Union and keep the lead.
Even though the Lions started the game with a strong lead, the second half did not start out that way. Union College was able to get through and shoot ahead to take a 40-31 lead. From there the gap only grew between the two teams.
Towards the last few minutes the Lions charged back to close the margin to only three points, but Union was still ahead. They were unable to come back for the win and lost to Union 64-55.
Senior guard/forward Lamarr Shorts led the team in scoring with 12 points, along with sophomore forward Scott Newton’s 11 points, and junior guard Andrew Slikker’s 10 points.
The Lions finished their season with a record of 13-16 overall and were fifth in the conference.
by Joseph Demme
The 81st Academy Awards ceremony took place last Sunday night, hailing itself as “the biggest movie event of the year.” Producers Bill Condon and Laurence Mark set out to bring back the glitz and glamor of years past. Last year was a record low in television viewing, resulting in a need to change it up.
And what better way to make this a reality than bringing in actor Hugh Jackman to host the awards? Jackman, star of such films as “X-Men,” “Oklahoma!” and “Kate & Leopold,” brought a much-needed enthusiasm to his performance. Starting off the night with a low-budget musical that incorporated the nominated films set the tone for the new and improved Academy Awards.
Another change in the schedule had previous award-winning actors and actresses addressing each nominee individually for their respective awards. It was a classy touch, though I miss the videos that showcase their
Producers Bill Condon and Laurence Marck. Photo from Wikipedia.org
performances.
THE AWARDS:
Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Actor: Sean Penn
Best Actress: Kate Winslet
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger
Best Supporting Actress: Penélope Cruz
Best Director: Danny Boyle
Best Original Screenplay: Milk (Danny Lance Black)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Slumdog Millionaire (Simon Beaufoy)
Best Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire (Anthony Dod Mantle)
Best Editing: Slumdog Millionaire (Chris Dickens)
Best Visual Effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Art Direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Makeup: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Greg Cannom)
Best Costume Design: The Duchess (Michael O’Connor)
Best Original Score: Slumdog Millionaire (A.R. Rahman)
Best Original Song: “Jai Ho” (Slumdog Millionaire)
Best Documentary Feature: Man on Wire (James Marsh)
Best Foreign Language Film: Okuribito
Best Animated Feature: WALL•E (Andrew Stanton)
Best Live Action Short Film: Spielzeugland (Jochen Alexander Freydank)
Best Animated Short Film: La Maison en Petits Cubes (Kunio Katô)
(Click HERE for a complete list of winners and nominees)
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