Word: detail
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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UNFORTUNATELY, the Jewish runner and the university don are merely two examples of the unconvincing stereotyping that pervades the film. Intent on criticizing the stuffiness and conservatism of the British aristocracy, director Hudson seemingly has forgotten that any portrayal--particularly a negative one--requires detail to convince. But detail does not appear. Instead, scenes flash by disjointedly: Gielgud and his colleague sip port and discuss school spirit; the Prince of Wales languorously puffs a cigarette and tries to convince Liddell to run the preliminary heat on Sunday "for the love of country...
White's device is nothing new. Find a detail, use it to say something. It is careful writing, and even when the subject is the author, the viewpoint is detached. If it succeeds, it does so quietly, but if it fails it sounds trite and silly. There is one notable White failure in this book that illustrates the point--to bring the horror of nuclear war home he seizes on the instructions given schoolchildren for what to do in case of attack. The sketch ends with a line of girls, including White's granddaughter, walking with handkerchiefs over their mouths...
...four assassins encountered little resistance in the first 50 seconds or so as security men and military police dived for cover. One attacker raced to the right flank of the stand, presumably to pin down Sadat's security detail, and later joined another assailant, who charged straight to the podium, unimpeded. The two men stood on tiptoe against the wall, guns raised above their heads, firing a fusillade of bullets into the tangled melee of bodies and chairs. A third killer ran diagonally to the left side of the dais. The fourth attacker joined the others as they emptied their...
...prior to the parade. They were able to sneak live ammunition and grenades aboard their open truck. They positioned their vehicle in the column closest to the reviewing stand. Finally, they were able to reach the stand at the precise moment when the eyes of the President, his security detail and everyone else were focused on the jets overhead. Was the split-second timing an eerie coincidence, or had the attackers known the precise schedule of the parade...
Rodriguez, who served last year as head of the committee on student life, said in his speech that he would concentrate his efforts on producing a "students' rights handbook" which would explain in detail the workings of the Ad Board...