Hollywood, U.S.A.

Earl Hutchinson’s letter to Calendar has nothing more than a rehash of every complaint ever leveled at Hollywood, under the guise of crying “censorship!” (Calendar Letters, July 3).

The picture he painted of this town is a tired and ignorant one, and my guess is that he wrote the letter only because he knows that cynicism will always be published.

First, Hutchinson blasted the studios for following the dictates of commercialism,” then lamented that “the general public has no more say so over what they watch than a Soviet audience.”

Just what does Hutchinson think commercialism is? For better or for worse, the public votes daily on their choice in entertainment at the box office, and the studios respond by giving them more of the same. It isn’t a perfect system, but what democracy is?

What is encouraging is that out of this flawed system have come films like “Full Metal Jacket,” “Ironweed,” “The Emerald Forest,” “Local Hero” and “The Color Purple.”

Some of these films are masterpieces. But when Hutchinson asks, “Where are the films that confront such issues as racism, homelessness, pollution (and) corruption,” these and other recent films answer quite loudly.

Film lovers know that movies are better now than they’ve been since the early ‘70s perhaps since the ‘40s. This is because more and more film makers know what the public wants, and they are trusting enough of their own artistic instincts to know when the people don’t know what they want.

DARRIN NAVARRO

San Gabriel