I hate Lisa Schwarzbaum with a passion. For those of you who don't know who she is, Schwarzbaum is one of the headlining film critics at Entertainment Weekly, a weekly magazine covering all facets of the entertainment world. Those familiar with her work probably know about the flack she has received because of her brutal review of David Fincher's 1999 film "Fight Club," where she gave the film a D rating - most likely to emphasize her thoughts that the movie was "dumb."
Schwarzbaum is an insanely narrow-minded critic who admittedly goes into a film with a score already branded into her mind. She stands firm on her opinions while making concrete, pseudo-feminist arguments and refuses to sway the least bit from them.
Good for her.
People may or may not like it, but a person has the right to express his or her opinion without any kind of censorship. I may not like what Schwarzbaum has to say, but it is her right to share her opinions, and I read them because it's a way for me to have a different take on something. Information should not be censored no matter what, and Student Association President George Pape's decision to restrict press interviews is a blatant attempt to control the flow of information received by the student body to his liking.
Far be it from me to rant about politics - because I am, in all likelihood, the least political individual on the face of this planet - but when something like this makes me turn my head, it must be important.
In a decision made behind private walls, Pape has closed the doors to face-to-face interviewing for all campus periodicals except the SA newsletter Visions. All interview questions have to be asked via e-mail, and will be answered in "a timely and prudent fashion," as stated by Pape.
Now the great thing about e-mail is that it's instant, right? Technically, that is true, but how many times have you forgotten to check your mail and missed a message that needed an immediate response? It's happened to the best of us, and there is no guarantee that the good folks at SA will always remember to check their mail each and every hour every day.
I could be mistaken though. Maybe they will respond to every e-mail they receive in an attempt to prove me wrong. But how can I be sure that it was the individual that I questioned who responded back to me?
E-mail is a very secretive method of information exchange, sort of like a phone-sex line. We can only hope that the girl on the other line is a sexy little minx, much more attractive than she is claiming to be. However, the only certainty regarding the situation is that we can't be certain. I'm sure most of us would like to see the face of who is pretending to be interested in us, so SA needs to do the same and come out to give us a cheap little thrill.
The interests of government and media often conflict. With Pape and SA being public figures, however, the media has the right to publish and broadcast stories about them, especially when major events such as their efforts to fight over representation for Sub-Board I are brought to light. Yes, it is true that occasional mistakes are made on the media's side such as misquotes and incorrect interpretations, but people are only human, and this does not give SA the right to isolate itself from the press.
SA has an interest in promoting its own image, but they also have a certain obligation to voice their opinions and let known the status of the government to whoever wants to know in the quickest way possible. I'm sure California governor hopeful Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't too fond that both his opponents and the media are digging up dirt about his private life in order to dissuade people to vote for him.
The sexual and mind-expanding escapades revealed show he isn't squeaky clean, but Ahhnold isn't hiding behind his weight set like a muscle-bound coward. He is defending himself and going to the press to explain his actions - a way of using the media to even the odds.
Pape needs to take a lesson from Arnie: He has to use the press to defend his name. This type of control over the media is far more positive than trying to limit what the public will receive. Press is press, so if he is worried about bad publicity, think of it this way: Student apathy is a growing problem, and the more press there is, the more informed student body will be. You can't deny that.
As much as I would hate to use a reference taken from Schwarzbaum, Pape and SA need to come out of hiding and stand up to the press, because the "swiftest remedy for the malaise lies in freely and mutually beating the crap out of each other." That's my opinion and, whether you approve of my stance or decide to put me in the same shameful league as Schwarzbaum, my work here is done.
