Arts & Entertainment What I've Been Watching Kevin Lalonde, OP Arts & Entertainment Editor L, honour of Black History Month, here are snapshots of two films, one about a riveting film which examines a young, white, crack-addicted teacher’s relationship with his predominantly poor and black students. In Half Nelson, the teacher’s favourite student supports him, but how would you feel if your eighth-grade history prof was a crack head? In the other film, activists and media figures reflect on the life and struggles of one of history’s most popular icons, John Lennon. Half Nelson. Directed by Ryan Fleck Following my trend of reviewing artsy films featuring drug-addled lead characters comes Half Nelson, veteran heartthrob Ryan Gosling’s newest picture. So let’s break it down. Dan Dunne (Gosling) is a caring, involved, and interested/ing inner- city high-school teacher who’s... um...addicted to cocaine. Despite his obvious unorthodoxy, Dunne manages to effectively connect to his students as he walks them through the civil rights movement. Shockingly enough, most of his students are black. But of course, coke is expensive, and teachers don’t make no scratch, so he switches to crack instead. As he falls deeper and deeper into his habit, his relationship with one particularly promising student, Drey (Shareeka Epps) becomes more strained. I always believed that if a film, a book, or a record made you feel strongly in some way, good or bad or happy or whatever, it was a successful endeavour, and never before have I felt so undeniably uncomfortable watching a film as Half Nelson. Gosling plays this remarkable young dude who’s just inexplicably hooked on crack, and even though I don’t have a very good idea of what inner-city life is like for a 13-year- old black girl, Epps is insightful and extremely riveting. Also, the filmmakers would occasionally shift to one of the students presenting a two-minute report on one event in the civil rights movement, constantly bringing back to the viewer’s attention the nature of violence and inequality in modern, urban society. Makes me glad that my teachers weren’t addicted to crack. Or were they? FROM THE STUDIO THAT BROUGHT YOU AAMRENMEIT 9/1? tue US. vs. JOHN LENNON The U.S. vs. John Lennon. Dir. David Leaf and John Scheinfeld Wow, another documentary! What can I say, I’m down with the learnin’! The U.S. vs. John Lennon showcases the most well-publicized events in the pop icon’s post Beatles life, covering with great skill his marriage to Yoko Ono, his time spent in New York, the “bed-ins” that he and Yoko were so hated and admired for organizing, their global “War is over if you want it” poster campaign, and finally the extreme harassment on the part of the Nixon administration that culminated in a years-long fight against deportation. I loved the footage in this film, but don’t be confused: it’s not a music DVD. It’s a doc about a massively Too! popular and influential guy and his struggle for greater civil and humanitarian rights, including his own fight for his family to stay in New York city to continue his work. Most of the interview content is pretty great too, featuring Gore Vidal, Tariq Ali, Noam Chomsky, Walter Cronkite, a hilariously douchebag-ish G. Gordon Liddy, and Yoko Ono, which is kind of amusing, because most of the archive footage of John and Yoko shows reporters constantly dismissing Yoko when she speaks as if she isn’t there. Big recommendation for anyone who was ever at one point passionate about human rights, activism, or even just great music. We should get to know each other. www.campusresearch.ca (Get it? It’s a research study. And you could win up to $2500 for participating.) Fine print: Prizes: One $2500 grand prize, one $1500 second prize, one $1000 third prize and twelve $250 extra prizes. Contest is only open to students currently enrolled at a Canadian post-secondary institution. The good news is it's available for a very limited time, so your odds of winning are awesome. This survey is sponsored by your campus newspaper and Campus Pius, a division of Canadian University Press. All personal information provided is private and confidential and will be used for research purposes for the improvement and advancement of campus newspapers in Canada. View our privacy policy online at Www.Campusplus.conVprivacy.aspx.