Love Him Or Hate Him, Tucker Max Is Here To Stay

by Christa Fulenwider

Tucker Max is a blogger-turned-book-author-turned-filmmaker who is stirring up controversy where ever he goes.  His new movie, “I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell,” is the topic of heated conversation on college campuses across the United States.  Activist groups, like SAFER CAMPUS (Students Active for Ending Rape), are labeling the Duke Law School grad as a promoter of rape culture and going as far as to say he hates women.  The NY Times Best Selling author is not taking the bad PR lying down.  Max, staying true to his fashion, has responded openly in interviews with news reporters, as well as on his blog to the accusations telling protesters, “Bite Me.”  Not the most eloquent response, however, Max does pose viable questions to his cynics, such as “If my art is misogynistic and promotes violence against women, then why are half of my fans women?”

Prior to its release, Max and co-writer Nils, took the movie on a 31 city tour to college campuses; not only screening the movie, but sticking around to answer questions, sign books, and interact with fans.  The Q & A sessions along the tour are posted to YouTube and tales of the tour stops are documented on Max’s blog at TuckerMax.com.  In these clips and posts, Max addresses a lot of the bad PR directed towards the film and towards him.  While screening the film on NC State’s campus in Raleigh, N.C., Max, in his response to silent protesters, was quoted saying “[Rape’s], like, not a joke, and I feel like [the protesters'] hearts are probably in the right place, to be honest.”  But he believes they aren’t using the right forum by protesting the film, saying “…what they’re doing is really kind of devaluing the seriousness of an actual crime. . . the discussion about where consent lies and doesn’t lie is an important one, and should be had.”  Max, adamant to preserve the film’s reputation, is not as quick to come to his own defense.  He continues to tell fans his unfiltered opinion and is proud to be a self proclaimed narcissist.

Whether you think “I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell” is something new and different or you think the film promotes a rape culture, you need to educate yourself on the facts.  To completely remove the subtext this  means go read the book, go to the website or see the movie.  How else will you form your own opinion?  In today’s media, you cannot afford to shoot from the hip in front of a camera.  With a microphone in front of them many of these protestors are failing to deliver substantiated, intelligent opinions of why this film promotes a rape culture, admitting that they in fact have never read the book nor seen the movie.  Max will continue to have to answer questions regarding the content of his writing, but for now he is responding with honesty and continuing to play the devil’s advocate by challenging the views of others.

The last big question is will the movie be a hit?  Will audiences go see it? Being a member of the movie’s target market (young, female, and a recent college graduate) I will be one of the first ones in the theater.

The best selling book now turned movie premiers Friday, September 25 in theaters nationwide.

Photo courtesy of beautynewsnyc.som

Local Universities Deal With Swine Flu

by Audrey Beckett

For most of us, the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, has begun to feel like old news. It has constantly been a staple in both national and local news since the first cases of American swine flu were documented in April. While the average American is likely less concerned about this pandemic now than they were when it first came onto the scene, it remains one of the most relevant issues for university officials. With a number of major universities nearby, it is important to consider both how the virus is affecting our universities and how officials are responding.

What Are They Dealing With?

A Sept. 16 News and Observer article described the impact that H1N1 has had on local universities. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was leading with approximately 700 cases so far this semester. Other universities have considerably less with about 309 at North Carolina State University and 170 at Duke University. However, all of the area’s universities have had cases reported.

How Are They Handling It?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has acknowledged that universities and colleges are at heightened risk.  With this in mind, the CDC has developed recommendations for how universities and colleges should respond to the virus. Our local universities and colleges have demonstrated excellent compliance with these recommendations, even though many, such as altering absence and sick leave policies, are highly inconvenient to schools.

It is obvious that our universities aren’t taking the issue lightly. UNC-CH, N.C. State and N.C. Central all feature swine flu updates on their homepages. For UNC, these updates include links to swine-flu related messages and communication the university has released. N.C. State’s updates direct students to register for a vaccination. N.C. Central’s homepage link includes preventative tips and a video demonstrating these tips as well as links to health departments where students can get more information. Duke University got a jumpstart on developing its response to the virus when it had to cancel a summer camp program, for the first time in three decades, due to swine flu outbreaks. Duke health officials are stressing the message that health is an important part of academic success and are offering a list of tips to help students remain healthy.

I want to take a second to give our universities a pat on the back. Dealing with the swine flu has been the toughest on them and, in all likelihood, they will be dealing with it for months to come. They have done a great job and their efforts to promote health are greatly appreciated by the Research Triangle community.