2008 Woodie Awards
Speak Up
Theatrical talent eclipsed by play's crude content
Alex Poythress
Issue date: 11/7/07 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
When I went to the Samford drama, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" last week, the last thing I expected to see was a play celebrating the use of profanity, extramarital sex and drug abuse.
It's not that I was astonished by the fact that such things actually exist in this world, but I thought the unique fact about Samford - the distinguishing characteristic that sets it apart from what one critic calls "a real college" - is that we can examine the evil in this world without glorifying it. At least, I thought that was the intent of the administration.
The Samford University Web site says, "Students who attend Samford University recognize that it is not like other universities. There is a uniqueness here, an obvious distinction that sets it apart from other colleges and universities, large or small, residential or commuter, public or private."
I am grateful for a university that professes this philosophy, as well as a theatre department that has the talent to portray it effectively. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" had the opportunity to show Samford students many things about power and sacrifice, but the focus on obscenity in the play was an unnecessary distraction from that opportunity and from the mission of the school.
Make no mistake - I know that I speak for many people when I say that I appreciate such issues as sex and drugs being addressed by the university as a whole, but isn't there a difference between discussing the issues and glorifying them? I wonder what the difference is between an administration that affirms such behavior and an administration that actually allows it.
Samford's theatre department is full of talent. I cannot even articulate how impressed I am by the presentation quality of "Cuckoo's Nest." On that note, we, as a professing Christian university, need to make better use of that talent.
It's not that I was astonished by the fact that such things actually exist in this world, but I thought the unique fact about Samford - the distinguishing characteristic that sets it apart from what one critic calls "a real college" - is that we can examine the evil in this world without glorifying it. At least, I thought that was the intent of the administration.
The Samford University Web site says, "Students who attend Samford University recognize that it is not like other universities. There is a uniqueness here, an obvious distinction that sets it apart from other colleges and universities, large or small, residential or commuter, public or private."
I am grateful for a university that professes this philosophy, as well as a theatre department that has the talent to portray it effectively. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" had the opportunity to show Samford students many things about power and sacrifice, but the focus on obscenity in the play was an unnecessary distraction from that opportunity and from the mission of the school.
Make no mistake - I know that I speak for many people when I say that I appreciate such issues as sex and drugs being addressed by the university as a whole, but isn't there a difference between discussing the issues and glorifying them? I wonder what the difference is between an administration that affirms such behavior and an administration that actually allows it.
Samford's theatre department is full of talent. I cannot even articulate how impressed I am by the presentation quality of "Cuckoo's Nest." On that note, we, as a professing Christian university, need to make better use of that talent.