‘Ben-Hur’ Challenge

I have a challenge for Ms. Valdespino. It is an experiment in intellectual dexterity as well as a warning for her future as a movie lover. By today’s standards, all of those “sword and sandal” epics (“An Almost Religious Experience,” April 8) may seem ridiculous and absurd to her now, but she ought to try this exercise nonetheless. She must watch her favorite ‘90s movie (no comedies allowed) with the exact same cynical attitude with which she would watch “Ben-Hur”--easily the best “sword and sandal” epic ever made that also happens to be a multidimensional masterpiece of storytelling, which is just one of the reasons why it is considered to be so great. Then she must watch that very same “Ben-Hur” as if it were her favorite ‘90s drama, using the exact same reverential attitude with which she would normally view that--and keep in mind, 40 years from now some smart-aleck teenager such as herself may just write an article utilizing the hip, cynical standards of 2039 to belittle, trivialize and otherwise rip to shreds her favorite dramatic, romantic and/or religious movies of today.

RICHARD G. RODRIGUEZ

Newport Beach