SHOCK FILMS

I don’t think we are scared of our imaginations. Maybe we’re sick of film directors telling us our lives are worthless or that goodness is a superficial veneer over man’s inherent evil. We want heroes in cinema because we want the best in man, rather than the worst.

Goldstein never mentioned “The Name of the Rose.” This neglected film showed the cultural results of the “Blue Velvet” philosophy . . . destruction of the human intellect while fear and darkness prevailed.

Since Sean Connery and his young companion overcome these dark elements and ultimately use reason against irrationality, I can see why this film was ignored. “Blue Velvet” offers us no answers and critics love ambiguity.

People need “Star Trek IV,” “Crocodile Dundee” and even the mindless “Rocky” movies to remind them of the best to which man aspires. We are not scared of our imaginations, it’s just that there is nothing gained from viewing the excessive wretchedness in certain of today’s films.

JOE R. CORNET

Pasadena