The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 67, No. 20, Ed. 1, Friday, February 22, 1980 Page: 13 of 23
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Abilene Christian University Library.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
wmmmmmmmmm
MI
A-14
1
Who movie looks at lost young man
'dPIHBkBy DAVID RAMSEY
Optimist Staff
Jimmy Cooper is searching
searching for something to hold to
something to give his life meaning.
"Quadrophenia" a new film
produced by the rock band the Who is
ine story ot jimmy s
life and death. The
movie is an
exhilarating though
explicit look at
1 Jimmy's passionate
wandering tnrougn
the streets of London
-inthemid-60s.
Rated R for a stiff dose of profanity
sex and violence "Quadrophenia" is
showing at the Mall of Abilene.
Jimmy (played by Phil Daniels) is a
young Englishman who has dull
parents a dull job and in general a
dull life filled with little promise. But
Jimmy desperately wants to be
someone.
The Mods are a gang of young men
who wear preppie outfits pop
greenies listen to loud music and ride
the streets of London on shiny
motorcycles. The group's favorite
pastime however is fighting with the
Rockers a group of young men who
differ from the Mods only in their
attire black leather and their
musical tastes.
In order to obtain an identity Jimmy
joins the Mods. He wholeheartedly
embraces their belief in violence and
soon plunges into their lifestyle.
The music the Mods listen to is much
more than entertainment for them. It's
a means of release of expression.
The Mods also vent their frustrations
through violence. A holiday riot bet-
ween the Mods and the Rockers in the
resort town of Brighton is the focal
point of the movie. (The incident ac-
tually took place 15 years ago.) Here
Jimmy finds what he thinks he wants:
an orgy of violence the girl of his
dreams and noteriety.
In his own eyes Jimmy is on top of
the world. But what he finds when he
returns to London destroys him. His
girl has taken up with his best friend;
his parents kick him out of the house;
and worst of all his prized possession
his motorcycle is destroyed in an
accident.
Disney changes style
With his world crumbling around
him Jimmy again flees to Brighton the
place where he soared. But the an-
swers he seeks aren't there either. It is
on a cliff overlooking the ocean that we
last find Jimmy.
"Quadrophenia" doesn't pull pun-
ches. It shows without flinching an
ugly lifestyle. Various practices snown
in the movie drug use promiscuity
violence could be offensive to some
but none of the practices is condoned.
The Mods who believe in these
practices so fervently are shown
exactly as they are lost. Their
pastimes may distract their despair
but it doesn't quench it.
But people must believe in
something. Jimmy believes the high
life he leads is the answer to the pain
he feels inside. Whether it be London
1964 Guyana 1978 or Abilene 1980.
people are searching.
Many live a life of quiet desperation;
Jimmy and pals lead one of roaring
desperation. But the point is that
desperation exists. Jimmy can't face
life's dead end.
The answers to the questions the
access through life's dead end are
held bv one Man. "OuadroDhenia"
reminded me of how lonely and dif-j
f icult it must be for someone wno lives
without the answers Jesus offers.
Some might call Jimmy rebellious.
But he actually was only searching.
I wonder how many Jimmys are
there?
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Walt
Disney Productions with the
longest-running prime-time
series on the air "Disney's
Wonderful World" has decided
to get serious about television.
Next season Disney hopes to
use its 26-year-old NBC anthology
as a launching pad for situation
comedies and dramatic series. In
addition the studio will make
movies and miniseries for airing
outside its traditional Sunday
time period.
"Disney has all the facilities to
do new and creative things" says
William R. Yates a one-time
prosecuting attorney who's now
the studio's soft-spoken but
aggressive new vice president for
television.
In recent years the show has
dipped in ratings particularly
under the stiff competition of
CBS' "60 Minutes" and the
studio has devoted more of its
attention to feature film
production than to television.
Yates says he hopes .to
diversify the show's appeal with
such fare as a story of teen-age
pregnancy a story of a mother
who returns to school a
documentary on a handicapped
gymnast and back-to-back
situation comedy pilots.
"I think there's been an ob-
vious lack of experimentation in
the kinds of programming that
might have been done" says
Yates who took over his new job
last June.
Although "Disney's Wonderful
World" is often taken for granted
now it was a pioneering series in
its early days. It made its debut
on Oct. 17 1954 on ABC as
"Disneyland" and has undergone
four title changes since. In 1961 it
switched to NBC.
m
Midnight
Movies
Every Friday &
Saturday Night
Tickets on sale
from 10:30 p.m. to
12:30a.m.
Listen to KFMN-FM
And KORQ for Details
Call Theatre For
Titles.'
MuattmmPHmTtn Bargain .Matinees
S2..i0
MUUMAUhSTbOMHWYMI .(lilllX UlltU ." .lll .
Held Over
Saturn 3 (R)
Times: l:U3.U5:57:4S9-45
2nd Big Week
Jaws II (PG)
Times: 1:U4MJ6. 459:15
Buffalo Rider (PG)
Times: 1:303:305:307:309.30
Held Over
Foolin' Around (PG)
Times: 1:303-305:307:309 30
3rd Week
The Fog (R)
Times 1:453 455-457:459.45
Penetentiary (R)
Times. 1:453.455 457:459.45
Nancy Drew greets fiftieth
MAPLEWOOD N.J. (AP)
Can it be that Nancy Drew is
actually a middle-aged spinster?
Can it be that The Girl Sleuth -the
slender Utian-haired amateur
detective who breezes daun-
tlessly around the globe
unraveling intricate mysteries
will turn SO this year?
Yes. And emphatically no.
"Nancy Drew is not SO. She is 18
years old. This is an anniversary
not a birthday" sniffs Harriet
Adams who is herself a wizard at
the art of aging without growing
old.
Under the pen name "Carolyn
Keene" this delicate plucky 87-year-old
great-grandmother has
authored 57 Nancy Drew stories
since 1930 a litUe more than one
cliff-hanging globe-trotting and
yes covertly educational tale a
year.
Fifty years after she began
Mrs. Adams says she's not nearly
finished with the shadowy world
of crime. Neither she adds is
Nancy. Her 58th Nancy Drew
yarn "The Flying Saucer
Mystery" appears in February.
It was Mrs. Adams's father
''IK St. .- - I I f i i .
Edward Stratemeyer who in-
vented Nancy Drew.
During 50 years as an amateur
operative Nancy has changed
little: Her hair went from blonde
to a reddish brown "titian;" her
"blue roadster" became a sedan
then a convertible now a sports
car; for a time she wore only
skirts and dresses though today
on occasion she'll slip into blue
jeans.
But Nancy Drew doesn't
smoke nor drink nor blaspheme.
She is well-groomed kind
respectful articulate and
compassionate.
The Girl Sleuth's popularity
has endured through sex
education and television hot
pants and marijuana. Currently
about five million copies "of
Nancy Drew mysteries are sold
each year. Since 1930 70 million
Drew books have been sold.
The Nancy Drew stories- are
Mrs. Adams's 'favorite
Stratemeyer books. She says
Nancy "is like my own daughters
' except Nancy always does
(what J say and she never talks
back."
A 11 Jffi - jSw m
MKnf
"I
N
Box Office open
9:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Tickets: $5.50 & $6.50
Saturday 8 p.m.
Bobby Bare
Night of the Concert:
Beauty Contest
During the song
"Numbers"
Coming March 6
The Great American
Honky-TonkTQiir
Starring Michael Murphy
& Hank Thompson
Tickets are limited now available at Paramount Box Office
' Call Paramount Opry.of Abilene for ticket information: 677-2454
&
y V k Jt IrfW C
&
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 67, No. 20, Ed. 1, Friday, February 22, 1980, newspaper, February 22, 1980; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth91989/m1/13/?q=%22%22~1&rotate=270: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.