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THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, January 23, 2002 5 TTT^ “]| /TTT7 . ’ THEY SAID IT CONTACT US I—I \/| I X 1 i ■/ I ■ /» phrase to near, m science, the one that her Story ideas? Questions? Comments? 8 8 8 J I W I 8 / % aids the most discoveries, is not‘Eureka!’ E-mail us at gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com —■ ■ ■—B B» (I found it!) but, ‘That’s funny... ’ ” 300 YEARS OF SOUTHERN JEWISH BY CHARLES TOMLINSON Tift (JASKCOCK Through May 19, USC’s McKissick Museum is playing host to “...A Portion of the People: Three Hundred Years of Southern Jewish Life,” an exhibit of the history of Jewish people in South Carolina. According to USC’s cultural calendar, the exhibit focuses on “Jewish involvement in the military, politics, commerce, the de velopment of towns and societies and the early foundations of Jewish life in America.” The idea for the exhibit came from the mind of George Terry, Thomas Cooper Library’s former dean. McKissick curator Jason Shaiman said Terry thought this groundbreaking exhibit would make peo ple more aware of the Jewish presence in the South, particularly South Carolina. “We really want people to understand how much South Carolina has contributed to American Jewish life,” Shaiman said. After the American Revolution, 500 Jews, one-fifth of the United States Jewish nnnnlatinn lived in Charleston The exhibit says, “Charleston was the home to the largest, wealthiest and most cultured Jewish community in the world.” Artifacts on display complement the walk through Jewish history. The exhibit displays 18th- and 19th-century portraits of prominent South Carolina Jews, as well as several antique objects they owned. The only questionable object was a Confederate captain’s uniform. Housed in a glass case, it was simply labeled as a Confederate captain’s uniform. It was un clear whether it even belonged to a Jewish person, or whether any Jew served in the Civil War in a capacity other than soldier. If not, it seems the uniform was only taking up space in the exhibit. Walking through the exhibit is like taking a logical and linear stroll through Jewish history in South Carolina. Exemplary displays were those of Bernard M. Baruch and Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim. Baruch was a Camden native and an ear ly 20th-century millionaire broker. His dis play featured an entire room devoted to the prominent South Carolinian businessman and his contributions. It illustrated his many accomplishments and honors, in cluding his presidential appointments dur ing the world wars and the founding of Hobcaw Barony near Georgetown. Baruch’s collection of antique silverware, donated to USC, was on display in the same room. The KahalKadosh Beth Elohim, a syna- ^ gogue in Charleston, is the oldest reformed \ synagogue jn the country. Its display, as well as Baruch’s, provides a good example of the impact South Carolina Jews have had throughout history. The exhibit covers a variety of topics, from Jewish participation in the world wars through the present-day “Palmetto Jews.” The evolution of Jewish life in South Carolina seems to come full-circle with a series of modern photographs featuring an African-American Jewish man from South Carolina. i ne exmun is maiuiig ail impact ai uoc. Shaiman said quite a few students, includ ing some from art and English classes, have visited. Through the exhibit, the museum hopes to reach out to USC’s history pro gram as well as the Hillel program, an or ganization for Jewish college students. The big plan, however, is to reach out even farther. “We don’t want to restrict this to something only for the Jews around the state,” Shaiman said. The exhibit will trav el to three other museums: the Gibbes Museum in Charleston, in fall 2002; the ——i-*—j-Yeshiva Museum in New York, in spring 2003; and the Museum of the New South in Charlotte, N.C., in fall 2003. PHOTOS SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK Portrait of Caroline "Caro" Agnes Mose Lopez, by Theodore Sidney Mose. Oil on canvas, c. 1875. Silver candle sticks. Poland, mid-19th century. WUSC Top Ten Albums FOR THE WEEK OF JAN. 13-20 1. BELLE AND SEBASTIAN “I’m Waking Up To Us” ^VARIOUS ARTISTS “Music from the Motion Picture ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ ” 3. THE AVALANCHES “Since I Left You” 4. MASTERS OF THE HEMISPHERE “Permanent Strangers EP" 5. THE DEADLINES “Fashion Over Function" 6 TONY BENNETT “Playin’ With My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues” 7. THE GET UP KIDS “Eudora” 8. THE LARRY KEEL EXPERIENCE “The Larry Keel Experience” 9. MISFITS “Cuts From The Crypt” tr...1 10. RES “How I Do" MOVIE REVIEW Grim film comes close to reality of war BLACK HAWK DOWN Starring Josh Hartnett ★★★★ out of BY BROOK BRISTOW THE GAMECOCK Walt Whitman once said, “Future years will never know the seething hell and the black infernal background, the countless minor scenes and interiors of the secession war; and it is best they should not. The real war will never get in the books.” Whitman might never have fought in a battle, but he did see its results while ministering to the wounded during the Civil War. And even if “real war” never gets close to reality in the books, it sure comes close in the movies. With “Black Hawk Down,” director Ridley Scott delivers another classic in his warfare vein. It’s probably one of his best, contending with “Blade Runner,”;*Alien” and even “Gladiator.” Scott’s vision of war is astounding as he creates a living hell on screen while crafting a moviegoer’s heaven off screen. “Black Hawk Down” is a captivating, visually stunning spectacle that follows the vicious 15-hour battle between U.S. troops and Somalian militia in the streets of Mogadishu near an area known as the Bakara Market in 1993. What is supposed to be a quick mission makes an ahouliacE_ rnui u or fcUIAL IU I Mt IjAMtOU^fN Ty Burrell, left, plays Wilkinson and Jeremy Piven, on stretcher, plays Wolcott in the Columbia Pictures/Revolution Studios presentation, “Black Hawk Down.” when a helicopter goes down in the heart of hostile warlord controlled territory. What follows is a fight for survival and a pledge to “leave no man behind.” While no actor gets much to work with, everyone lands a perfect 10 for his performance. Josh Hartnett is much more convincing than he was in “Pearl Harbor,” and Ewan McGregor can actually believably play someone other than a Jedi Knight. Tom lieutenant colonel. The performances of the rest of the cast only add to the already incredible ambience of reality. A few things to remember when watching: First, this isn’t “Saving Private Ryan.” Both are stellar movies on war being hell, but it doesn’t seem right to compare them. “Black Hawk Down” isn’t trying to be “Saving Private Ryan”; it’s trying to convey the reality of the battle at Mogadishu. That grim reality is one that some, one hopes, /~vt r/"v»•» hmm _ imagine; but for others, it’s as clear in their minds as glass. Second, this film is intense. Scott is a master of action. One hundred of the film’s 144 minutes are devoted to the conflict in the streets that left 18 Americans and almost 1,000 Somalians dead. His attention to detail is fantastic, but this is what separates the men from the boys and the true war movies from the epic thrill rides. O') m mp.nts_onJJiJxstQn2Z£=. - * CD REVIEW Rockers stick to same old message THE PROCESS OF BELIEF Bad Religion ★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BY WILLIAM MILLS THE GAMECOCK Isn’t it nice how some things never change? “The Simpsons” is still there to make us laugh, “Steel Magnolias” is still on Lifetime every now and then to make us cry, and Bad Religion is still putting out albums that make us question authority. In an ever-changing society full of confusion, constants such as punk rockers Bad Religion are comforting. Its latest album, “The Process of Belief,” is no different from its last five. The 14-song release is stacKed high with songs about the sad state of the future and lyrics calling everyone to arms against conformity. It seems / rather strange, however, that Bad Religion’s race against the mainstream has led it to prominent indie record label Epitaph, where it has stayed for nearly all of its albums. Songs such as “Materialist” and “Destined for Nothing” embody the feeling of the entire cuuuiu. wnt-t: yuu vc neai u uicac two songs’ pessimistic outlook, you can put down the album. Greg Graffin is still pumping out the same old songs he pumped out on the band’s debut album, “For God'and Country,” so many years ago. Why is Graffin still preaching the same things five years later? Like an overly opinionated professor, he spews lyrics that flew over our heads when we were angst-driven teens. Now, we ask, “What is he talking ' about?” Hey, the world isn’t really that bad. Graffin is either the most loyal person ever to his beliefs or he’s still upset that not enough people are hearing his message. Maybe if he made the songs a little different from the last album’s, more people would buy the new one. Old-fashioned punk ballads fill the entire album, and there’s nothing about “The Process of Belief’ to set it apart from any previous Bad Religion release. Steady four-chord guitar riffs and unvarying drumbeats lay the track for Graffin’s “sophisticated” lyrics. Now that we’re grown and the big words make sense, however, we see that every song is essentially the same. This fact is both comforting and unfortunate. It’s nice to know you can still pick up a Bad Religion album and expect the same message the band delivered last year. That makes decisions in a record store a lot easier. Instead of being conflicted about which album to purchase, you can walk in and grab one with the knowledge that they’re all essentially the same. It doesn’t matter which one you pick up. Of course, this makes distinguishing between its albums and answering the question, “What’s the name of that song about a pathetic future?” increasingly difficult. Bad Religion hasn’t lost all of its appeal, however. Everyone still respects the band for its good intentions,and it’s because of this respect that it deserves one of the two stars it’s awarded here. It also deserves some notoriety for it empowering lyrics. The album’s ballads leave you wanting to think about changing the world, or at least picking up some litter.