Every week, I make it a point to check out AICN.com for their latest dvd reviews. Most of the time, they will spotlight a title I've never heard of so it may spark my interest to want to get it. As far as those go, so far there have been several out there that I have added to my Netflix queue. However, it was their review of the re-release of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" that had me reminiscing.
The reviewer was talking about how he remembered seeing the flick in theaters before he was old enough to see Rated "R" movies. He and his cousin sneaked in and sat way in the back, hoping they wouldn't get caught. Here's the thing...I did the EXACT same thing to see the EXACT same movie.
I can recall I was an eager youth just starting to get his mustache. I thought using some Vaseline on it would make it pop and make me look old enough to buy tickets for my sister, myself and our cousin, Danielle. It actually worked! Now that I look back on it, I'm pretty certain the guy knew we weren't 17. But it wasn't like we were trying to buy alcohol or cigarettes or something. It was just a movie. I'm sure he didn't make enough to try to run off some kids who wanted to have the bejesus scared out of them.
What I remember most vividly about the flick was how original the concept was. Up to that point, we had been exposted to movie monsters and villains of all types that would try to instill fear. A unique and creative as many of them were, they all had one thing in common: they posed no real threat in your dreams. Freddy Krueger came along and created an entirely new facet of terror by being able to do that.
That wasn't even the worst part. The dude was multi-dimensional! Just when you think you're safe because you're awake, he managed to find a way to get you there too. He was the first movie serial killer that was able to terrorize his victims in both their dreams and real life. It made him the ultimate boogeyman. He had every right to be cocky and Robert Englund portrayed him perfectly as a conceited psychopath.
"A Nightmare on Elm Street" was released at a a time when sequels usually weren't that bad. The second installment to the series did a capable job of raising the stakes by nearly eclipsing the scare factor of the original. The only problem was they slowly teetered Freddy towards cheekiness. He would eventually fall over that edge in the several sequels that followed which is why they all blend together for me.
I was one of the biggest detractors that said this is one classic that should never get remade. That was until I found out that Jackie Earle Haley would be playing Freddie. He has just the right talent to give Freddie the twisted psycho demeanor that he deserves. His biggest asset is he already looks creepy without the make-up whereas Englund just looked a little nerdy. They have until the April 30, 2010 release date to work out any kinks, but so far based on the trailer and the casting, things are looking promising.
Greekfest
Folks from around these parts both young and old are very familiar with the annual tradition of the Drake Relays Stepshow. Even if it isn't what it once was, everyone knows that come Drake Relays weekend, historically Black frats and sororities are going to have a good old-fashioned stompdown somewhere on the Drake campus. What many folks don't know is there was a time when that stepshow wasn't the only stepshow that folks looked forward to around these parts.
Greekfest was an event that was native to the Iowa State campus. It was always held around November sometime while Drake Relays always fell in April. For that reason, I'm fairly certain that Greekfest probably began with the idea in mind that it would serve as sort of a warm-up for the Iowa State frats and sororities to get prepared for the Relays stepshow. Although Greekfest was also different in the aspect that it only featured organizations from Iowa State. So it was ultimately a chance for us to show out and show up for our own campus.
The event slowly began to evolve over the years to the point where it was a reunion of sorts. Brothas and sistas that had since graduated would make it a point to come visit on that weekend. It gave them a chance to catch up with old acquaintances while still being able to see who had the tightest stepshow on the yard. For a while there, we considered it the ISU Black Homecoming. There was never anything official about it. It just became common knowledge that come Greekfest weekend, you could count on seeing familiar faces from the past.
A funny thing happened throughout the years. Greekfest slowly started getting bigger in popularity than the Relays stepshows. There was a time when organizations would only step at Greekfest and pass on the Relays stepshows. The reason being because Greekfest began to get more competitive. VERY competitive. What started out as an exhibition became a paid competition. Then every organization became focused on winning Greekfest as it would give your organization bragging rights on the yard. As well as a decent little cash award.
The picture you see was taken at Greekfest 1991. Special thanks to frat Joel (alias Pyramid Stalker) for providing it. I used to have a video of our show from this year, but have conceded that it is somehow gone for good after being unable to locate it for years. As I look at this pic, it brings back all the glorious hours of blood, sweat and tears that we put in to prepare for that show. I can remember the late night grueling practices. The countless hours of trying to teach my LB Mike one step in particular that took him forever to get right.
We were just as driven as every other frat on the yard was to win Greekfest. Every year, it seemed to be a showdown between us and the Sigmas. It was a given that each year our organizations would bring something new to the table to up the ante. The Omegas had a couple of years where they deviated from their norm and made a good run. The Kappas? Well they provided good comic relief every now and then. Nevertheless, you could pretty much always count on the same top two.
What's most significant about this picture is it represents our first victory as Greekfest stepshow champions. It just so happened to be the first year they had it as a competition as opposed to an exhibition. It began a streak of victories at Greekfest that would span 7 years. It got to the point where after winning so many years in a row, the Greekfest organizers eventually decided to switch it back to being an exhibition again. Then organizations decided to stop participating. Then the eventual death of Greekfest.
There was talk of bringing Greekfest back a couple of years ago, but the planning never materialized and it eventually fell through. It probably doesn't help too much that the Drake Relays stepshow has lost so much of its luster. It probably also has a lot to do with the fact that the mentality of today's Black greek's around this area is much different than it was back in the more competitive years. So for now, we have pictures like these and our eternal memories that will remind us of the days when one event was able to energize a community.
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