AIM HIGH

You need to divide Calendar into somewhat equal portions: pop entertainment and the arts. Calendar pretends that there is no difference between them and that you treat them equally. Neither is true.

Despite attempts to equate “high/low” forms of artistic expression, “low” or pop tries merely to titillate or shock, or to make one feel good by presenting no challenges and confirming cliched notions. Most mainstream movies have sunk to this level, causing a major portion of their former viewers to give up on them. Last Sunday’s “Summer Sneaks” issue of movie chat and the in-depth treatment of Tom Cruise’s dilemmas as a producer does not rate as much more than an extended industry advertisement, awash in advertisements.

Why not give the arts themselves fuller play? The level of discourse in the Opinion section could be a benchmark to strive for. You could move the arts to the Book Review section and relabel it Books and the Arts.

Young and old are in search of the dreaded “q” word, quality. That’s the unreported story of the decade.

ROBERT CHIANESE

Ventura