ustxtxb_obs_1993_11_12_50_00022-00000_000.pdf

Oil 11111.SAIllg IShIlld g e Available ‘Or private parties k ej Ilk Unique European Charm I/ 11 & Atmo.sphere . d , Economical Fall and \\\\*MILT Rates To , j Pets Welcome # Air te 1423 11th Street 410 .4110 Port Aransas, TX 78373 ‘$ call for Reservations I on* eV Sea ea Horse I Inn % Kitchenettes Cable TV Heated Pool be.vide the Gulf of Mexico .y, 44 001″111 ASSASSIN SYMPO ON JOHN F. TION IUM NNEDY CO-SPONSORED BY THE TEXAS OBSERVER he is proud to supervise. A consummate English butler, Stevens allows nothing not mockery from the patricians he attends nor affection for Miss Kenton to ruffle his feather duster or damage his dignity. He is always “Mr. Stevens” even to those who aspire to intimacy with him and even to his 75-year-old father, whom he also calls Mr. Stevens. The younger Mr. Stevens engages the elder Mr. Stevens as under-butler of Darlington Hall, and when, after 54 years of attending the tables of the English elite, the old man dies on the job, Mr. Stevens the Younger will not permit his personal loss to divert him from his duties to Lord Darlington or to undercut his professional dignity. “decent and honorable and well-meaning gentleman” by a visiting American Congressman that: “International affairs should never be run by gentlemen amateurs.” But Darlington, convinced that Germany was wronged by the Treaty of Versailles, dabbles in world affairs. He convenes the leaders of Europe for clandestine councils at his estate. By 1935, when the most fateful and resplendent of these occurs, it is clear that Darlington has become a dupe of the Nazis. He orders Stevens to fire two maids merely because they are Jewish, and he pressures the British government to sanction German aggression. Stevens, more concerned about polishing doorknobs and positioning crystal, makes himself as oblivious to the consequences of the meetings he makes pogsible as he is invisible to their participants. He is happiest just following orders. Anthony Hopkins’ Mr. Stevens is a different species from his ostentatious Hannibal Lecter, who chewed the scenery and several humans in The Silence of the Lambs. This is a considerably more subtle performance, making manifest the nuances of a character whose aspiration is self-effacement. Emma Thompson’s Miss Kenton is not quite so repressed, but she, too, is compelled to sacrifice her personal happiness to the illusion of a public good. At the end of the day, suggests The Remains of the Day, self -denial camouflages self-deception and facilitates oppression. On the global scale, Darlington blinds himself to the devastation he abets. His faithful servant, Mr. Stevens, pours the wine while millions die. If history is the sum total of tiny acts, the butler indeed did it. And Stevens’ own private life is blighted by a refusal to recognize any value beyond duty. Two movies do not make a trend. But it is remarkable how two of the most notable new releases forego flesh and blood explicit eros and violence for the subtle pleasures of suggestion. Both The Remains of the Day and Martin Scorsese’ s The Age of Innocence adapt novels about lives lived among’ the very rich and sacrificed to oppressive convention. Both center on the renunciation of passion between a man and a woman for whom love is inconvenient Both conclude with wistful separation, when the conventions of Hollywood urge embrace. Without slashing a single throat, both films manage to suggest more emotional violence than most of the gory offerings that now arouse audiences and appall Congressional committees. Why does Mr. Stevens always have to hide what he feels? Beyond a good bowl of soup, he is serving the cause of art. Ivory’s art is in concealment and in partial revelation. HYATT REGENCY DALLAS NOVEMBER 1 5-22, 1993 November 22, 1993, marks the end of the third decade of questions about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Since and researchers to lay out their individual pieces of the puzzle. Co-sponsored by The Texas Observer, ASK hopes to be a vehicle to allow those pieces to come.together in a manner that can facilitate finding truth as well as spotlighting needed changes in government policy and procedures. On the 30th anniversary of this international tragedy, more people than ever before will convene at Dallas’ Hyatt Regency Hotel, just blocks from Dealey Plaza, for the 1993 Assassination Symposium. They will be privy to four days of all new panel discussions, eyewitness testimony, first-hand accounts and other presentations. The keynote speech for the event will be given by Norman Mailer,and other confirmed panelists include Dr. Gary Aguliar, Jean . Hill, Ed Hoffman, David Lifton, Jim Moore, Beverly Oliver -Massagee, Peter Dale Scott, Arthur Swanson and Dr. Cyril Wecht. The ASK Mart will feature a wide variety of displays and merchandise, including many of the newest books in the field, some of which can be autographed on the spot by the author. Registrants will also be able to participate in other special events related to assassination research and the anniversary observation. Fees are $150 if postmarked by October 27 and $175 walkup. Send name, address and phone number to ASK at the address listed below. A.S.K. BOX 4999 AUSTIN TX 78765 512/467-7979 FAX 512/451-0754 22 NOVEMBER 12, 1993