Molly Mullen's Words

Won’t you please come to Chicago

mollymullen — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:45:20 +0000

With all this 1960s syuff running through my head, I am definately in a great mood. I have Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young playing, and they are helping me trudge through all my work. That said, here’s what I got:

1968: Revolution in Retrospect

Imagine a time at Creighton when Jesuits would get arrested ar a political riot, and lead marches against political candidates. Imagine a Creighton less than half the size, when tuition cost just over $1,000 a year, and campus didn’t stretch East of 24th Street. Imagine an International syudent waking up in his dorm to find out his home village was bombed during wartime. This was Creighton just 40 years ago.

1968 was a time historians are still mulling over in American history. The Vietnam War was in full swing, and America had reached a boiling point in terms of racial, political, gender and economic conflict. Omaha, and Creighton, were caught up in the rush as well. Although it might sound far-fetched today, candidates for president came to campus to rally support from Creighton students. Students banded together to get their voices heard, and although Creighton has changed dramatically, much of that changed spiralled out of this dramatic year.

We finally made it into the big time (or did we?)

mollymullen — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:57:49 +0000

So, I’m surfing the Internest because I want to forget about how much homework I have, and I stumble on this gem on the New York Times website. I got so excited that Omaha was mentioned for something other than the College World Series and Bright Eyes. Well, then I read it and seemed effing demeaning to Omahans. It sounds like we’re a bunch of hicks who don’t know good movies, who need this woman to give us all a little culture. Whatever, it is what it is.

When Omaha Met Cinema

By ERIC KONIGSBERG
Published: March 16, 2008
WHEN I grew up there, in the 1970s and ’80s, Omaha was a great place to live if you were interested in insurance, softball leagues, college football, steak or hamburgers.

Chris Machian for The New York Times
Rachel Jacobson, shown outside the Film Streams theater, which she founded, said when she started, she encountered “a kind of resistance that I guess I hadn’t expected.”
I took an interest in a great many of those things (the exceptions being softball and insurance). But my parents, transplanted New Yorkers, were under-stimulated — particularly my film-buff mother, who lamented the tendency of local moviehouses to decline (as “foreign films”) most anything that didn’t star Henry Fonda or Benji. It was not uncommon for her and my father drive three hours to Kansas City, Mo., early on a Saturday to take in two or three movies not available in Omaha and — so that my father might endeavor to deem the trip “practical” — stop by Brooks Brothers between curtain times.

Omaha still doesn’t have a Brooks Brothers, but last July Rachel Jacobson opened Film Streams, a nonprofit independent cinema that is betting on the belief that the town’s interest in movies has — or might be — broadened.

In doing so, Ms. Jacobson, a native Omahan, has faced a couple of particular challenges. First and foremost, she said in an interview, the showing of small films —though there are certainly more of them being made nowadays — is not great business. “That’s why a nonprofit is the way to go,” she said. “Because that’s the only business plan that allows you to show good movies. The multiplexes have just taken over, especially in cities like this.”

And a city like that — Omaha, that is — hadn’t, and perhaps hasn’t, yet realized that what it needs is an arthouse film center. In raising $2.2 million so far (about $1 million of which has been spent to get Film Streams up and running), Ms. Jacobson encountered “a kind of resistance that I guess I hadn’t expected” when she began work on the venture in early 2005.

Such resistance has included a wealthy, “extremely intelligent businessman” who kindly informed Ms. Jacobson that he had seen all of two movies in the last five years (he ended up contributing $5,000, nonetheless) and a number of people who said it had never occurred to them that films, like museum exhibitions and opera, could constitute art.

“One time I was speaking to a group of Northern Natural Gas retirees, and a man asked if there was a language barrier when we showed foreign films,” she recalled. “Not everybody knows about subtitles.”

Another would-be donor asked how Ms. Jacobson planned to censor the nude scenes in order to screen “Lady Chatterley’s Lover.”

“I lived in New York for five years after college, and I came back to Omaha with the attitude that everyone gets it,” Ms. Jacobson said. “So I was a little bit wrong about that.”

Ms. Jacobson, 29, is anything but a snob about Omaha — she’s just a film snob. “I always planned to come back home at some point to be near my family,” she said. “I wanted to work in the movie business, and there aren’t exactly a lot of jobs in film that you can have in Omaha. It’s been a challenge figuring out what you can give people without a lot of trying to convince them, and what you can’t.”

Overloading

mollymullen — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:24:15 +0000

I wanted to talk briefly before class about the issue of overloading students. I’m not talking about homework (because as most of you know, I’m not all that concerned with homework).

Let me paint a picture, if you don’t mind.

Tuesday morning, I woke up, finished “The Worst Hard Time” and went to my 9:30 theology class where we talked about the subjigation of women in the Helenistic period. Apparently the brain copacity of women was somewhere between that of a small animal and that of a man. Then, I was off to lunch where I discussed human rights violations against illigal immigrants in the southern border states. Finally, I went to my black studies class where I watched a movie about torture and murder of children in South Africa.

I left the class crying. Luckily my next class was cancelled because I was a mess. I wasn’t sure where my professors expected me to digest this information. Was I supposed to be able to walk off after viewing that movie and skip along to my computer science class? How could they expect that of us?

Maybe other students don’t go through this, and maybe they do. One thing is for sure: yesterday, I felt like the only person on campus who has ever felt this way. As I walked up the mall, teary-eyed, I saw girld talking about their Blackberries and people enjoying the good weather, and it made me feel like I was.. what? Maybe I was wring to feel that way.

So this is what I want to know. Obviously, Carol’s class is the only class I have where we have absolute teacher attention, and we a re free to discuss the meaning of certain materials. We are free to discuss our reactions and how we feel as journalists, students and human beings. But, the rest of the classes aren’t like that.

So what are we supposed to do? What do our teachers expect of us?

All I am saying is it seems like in college I just get bogged down with Bad News 101, Bad news 201 and so on. Other than the thereputic art of blogging, it seems like we are not offered outlets to discuss how to digest the information we learned in class. By the time I get home at night, my head is just swirling with new information and I don’t know where to file it all. What information takes priority? What issues am I supposed to get angry about? Who am I supposed to be an advocate for as a journalist? The Native Americans in South Dakota, or the illegal immigrants in Omaha, or the Sudanese in Africa (or right around the corner from campus for that matter), or what?

Professors need to assume that students take what they teach to heart, and offer time for discussion rather than lecture. Sometimes, we studetns need a BREAK!

Will you friend me?

mollymullen — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 19:24:45 +0000

So Facebook. I want to pretend I’m too good for Facebook. But every time I’m on the computer, I have to check my page. I’ve been with a guy for weeks now, and I’m waiting for him to make it official by sending me a relationship request on Facebook.

So what is it about this website that has sucked me (and millions of others) into its trap?

Well, I was having a conversation the other day with some fellow Creighton students, and somehow the topic of conversation turned south, and someone said, “masturbation is the most thing a person can do.” Everyone has heard this one before, and there’s some legitimacy to it. But, since we go to Creighton University, and therefore can’t discuss matters such as that, I’ll just say this: Creating a Facebook account is the most selfish thing a person can do.

We get on these accounts and update our profile pics and our statuses regularly, assuming someone will look us up and find us witty, or even care that we’re studying or eating, or sleeping, or freaking out about class. It’s a search for verification. We put up lists of our favorite books and quotes and hope someone will see and think, “Wow, this person is witty,” or “This person sure reads a lot.” Something.

It’s not true!

Who’s Facebook profile do you look at the most? Your own. When was the last time you looked at anyone’s information for more than a few seconds?

That’s the reason Facebook is so popular. It was designed for people like me who want to believe that all of my hundreds of friends on the site are truly interested in my status, or my new favorite movie. It makes me feel good to get on this Web site for more time than I’d care to admit, and be completely self involved.

What is my favorite book? What would make the list of quotes I want to share with the world? As if even my family members would care.

It’s a scam.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go update my status before class.

There’s a reason I’m a journalist.

mollymullen — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:27:26 +0000

So, I’m in between classes, way to stressed to even spell my own name, but somehow Carol suckered me in to promising I’d go hear Steven Kinzer speak. I hobble down the stairs of the student center, the weight of midterms bogging me down and halfway collapse in my chair next to Dr. Wirth. It turns out I’m the first one there. So here I am, sitting next to a PhD and an effing New York Times reporter. I felt really cool for about a half a second. Anywho. His talk was outstanding (sans his bit about how important it is to blog). I’ll never see the light on that issue. This guy was amazingly amazing. Outstandingly outstanding. There is a reason why Mike and I kept looking at each other, saying, “Wow. That’s exactly what I think.”Let me just give some highlights, since I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who took notes. —He said there is nothing more important than writing regularly, no matter where. This is close to my heart, seeing as how I write in my journal every single day, and I write a few letters every week. I’m not at my best spiritually when I am not writing. — “There are two sets of skills for a journalist: writing and reporting,” he said. He said he hates nothing more than people who can write and use that skill to cover up a lack of reporting. —Journalism is all about the psychological mindset. “Move away from the idea that you represent the powerful,” Kinzer said. ”Instead, be the voice of the people who have no voice. The people who have the most amazing stories have no way of getting their stories out there. THIS IS THE REAL REASON TO BE A JOURNALIST.” He said the government can’t tell you what to write, they can merely suggest. It is we who set the agenda. —”There are no boring lives, just boring stories,” he said. “If you wrote something bad, it’s not because of that person, it’s because YOU didn’t find it.” He said we have to be aggressive to find out what’s going on beneath the surface of society. “It’s all about telling stories. There is something inside the human soul that loves hearing stories.” —There is a distinct difference between objectivity and fairness. “Emphasize the stories of people who have honest grievances with power,” he said. That was helpful for me. I wonder every time when I write something, “Am I writing this because it’s my agenda or because it matter to people?” He answered that question. My agenda is to write something that will matter to people, either the people in my stories or my readers (or, hopefully, both). He encouraged all of us to be “champions for change” and to be offbeat. —Be unpopular. “We are the check on the government. We should be unpopular,” Kinzer said. Well, if you look back to one of my first blogs, I was grappling with the fact that I am going to take shit for the rest of my life because I live, breathe and eat journalism. Kinzer said, that’s the way it should be. — “When a person has access to a journalist, they have access to power,” he said. Minus the gramatical error in that quote, it means a lot because he’s not talking about the government here, either. He means we give power to the powerless. —One last bit tat really helped me out was the idea that journalists should look at news differently. When I asked him for some story idea-gathering tips, this is what he said, “Journalists should not read the paper the same way a civillian does.” I like the fact that he used the word “civillian.” Maybe it’s just years of war corresponance, or maybe he looks at journalism as a battlefield. I prefer the latter. He told us to look behind the story and ask why the paper is running it.” So… yeah, that was my Monday. Pretty nice, eh? I got to chill with a bona-fide news man. Mike, we’ll be touring colleges someday. I can guarantee it.

Let’s talk about caucus, baby, let’s talk about you and me.

mollymullen — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 01:26:38 +0000

So, I wrote a story about the caucus, and took photos, and because I’m self-involved, I copied a link to a few selects below.

http://pollingplaces.nytimes.com/content.cfm?page=photo_detail&voterID=3330422&photoID=10811497&fromSearch=1

I wasn’t surprised by the turnouts, to be honest. And, let’s face it, more people turned out for the democratic primary four years ago, than turned out to caucus this go around. But still, getting a whole corral of liberals in a tiny gymnasium at 10 in the morning is just more fun.

It seems like the caucus was a hit, and everyone talked to was pleased. I’m just hoping that the energy generated at the caucus sites continues down the road in Novemeber and people actually get out and vote. More importantly, I’m hoping this will keep going four years from now, and the caucus sites will be twice as packed.

But the caucus isn’t the only thing I was covering last week. Chelsea Clinton, along with Barack Obama made stops in out great state. That’s great for us. Nebraska was Clinton’s last state to ever visit, much less during election season. It gave us some faith that Nebraska really matters.

My caucus is HUGE

mollymullen — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:02:34 +0000

So, I walked home yesterday and was greeted at my door with my smiling roommate saying she had a present for me. She held out her hand, with a button reading “my caucus is HUGE.” Jon Stewart said it best when he said, “Tomorrow is Super Tuesday,” and the crowd went wild. “What kind of an audience do I have,” he said. “You guys get this excited over primaries.” As of right now, dozens of UNO students are wandering around campus with the same button on, getting people excite about the first Nebraskan democratic caucus. Where did all this excitement come from? I’d like to blame it on the media, but maybe that’s just my ego. Without Newsweek Magazine running a cover story on young voters, without MTV having multiple election events (in between marathons of America’s Next Top Model), without the Daily Show and Colbert Report, along with Letterman and Conan, talking with and about the candidates, I don’t think the turnout would be anything to impressed with. Maybe it still won’t be, but caucusing is in the air.I think Nebraskans are getting revved up for Saturday’s events, young and old. We Nebraskans aren’t used to grassroots politics, and it’s exciting to think that our voice will be heard.The caucus is a good step in getting younger voters to turn out because it’s more than just talking heads and hanging chads. It’s yelling and mobilizing and cheering, and all the good aspects of a Jay’s game.

Pretty cool

mollymullen — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:00:30 +0000

After getting my new fancy camera from Fr. Doll for the semester, this is one photo that I though was pretty sweet. An action shot of someone breaking a lightbulb on a street light.

Here are some other cool photos I took of the SOA trip.

1968

mollymullen — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:43:32 +0000

If there can be books written on the year 1968, if Tom Brokaw can do an entire special on it, then surely I can find something interesting to do a story about.The world as we know it seemed to be crumbling and it all came to a climax that fall.Well, it’s been 40 years since then. The rabble rousers of the time are the ones in charge. Tom Hayden is now a senator. Neil Young is a millionaire. Bob Dylan is doing commercials for Victoria Secret.Knowing what little bit I know about Omaha’s history, it seems relevant to take this 40-year anniversary to look at how things have changed, and hear about people’s personal accounts about what they were doing around town, and what was going on on campus.Some important points I want to hit are: Bobby Kennedy coming to Creighton, the Omaha Black Panthers working around town, Gov. Wallace speaking at the Civic Center, and the general atmosphere on campus. I want to find people on campus who were students at the time, and use their old yearbook photo next to their current photo, and have then talk about what they learned. If I can find anyone really interesting, I’d like to do a Q and A with them.

What is it about reporting?

mollymullen — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 16:37:57 +0000

This summer I was about to get a ticket for running a stop sign until the cop recognized me as being a reporter and let me go. That’s probably the best part about journalism. Just kidding.I can’t begin to say what I love about reporting. I love the job itself, I love the idea of journalism, I love considering myself a member of the media. Each individual angle of it is special. For instance,in the day to day of reporting, I can get myself excited about and interested in three or four different topics, and i always go home learning something new. One top of that, I get paid (or hopefully will get paid someday) for talking with people all day. Then there is the idealistic part of journalism: the idea that I could change the world with a story. I could have an effect on policy or school board decisions. Even on a smaller scale, doing a story on a 6-year old and her dog is important, because it makes that individual feel special for a day or two.I love it. I love it.That’s all I can say. From copy editing to deigning to photographing to writing, I love it all, and I want to be good at all of it.That’s not to say that it doesn’t come without a price. When I tell people I want to be a reporter, they ask me why I couldn’t find an honest job. People assume all reporters are part of this evil secret society called ‘the media.’ They assume that I am dishonest or without morals, when the opposite is true.Unfortunately, it is easy enough for people to call me dishonest. If I print something that someone is embarrassed about saying, all they have to do it lie, and say I made it up. It is too easy to get you character questioned in this business, and for me, that is the worst part.