The Violence Question

Kenneth Turan has deigned to descend from his ivory tower to protect the poor unwashed masses from the insidious movie industry--the same masses he all but castigated as out-and-out morons for flocking to see “Titanic” (a largely nonviolent film, by the by).

Sadly, Turan’s tirade against movie violence smacks more of jumping on the bandwagon than jump-starting any serious exchange on the issue (“Time for a Cease-Fire Before the Hellfire,” Aug. 22).

He quickly points the overall finger of blame for Columbine and other deluded, violent outbursts at the unholy triumvirate of parents, the gun lobby and Hollywood. Then just as quickly he dismisses the parents as unwilling to admit their own culpability or unable to change their lives in a way to affect the situation. Just as quickly--and most astoundingly--he dismisses the gun lobby because of their deep-pocket control of Congress. That, in Turan’s eyes, leaves Hollywood to bear the brunt of the responsibility to change America’s continuing “moral disintegration.” He has taken the least responsible party and elevated them to the prime suspect.

Turan warns that Hollywood’s (or should I say the audience’s?) love affair with violence will eventually lead to strictly imposed government censorship and that the only way to avoid this is to come to some sort of “compromise.” What this entails remains a mystery, since here he becomes characteristically vague. Is he suggesting that only certain violent actions should be allowed on screen? Only in certain situation? Between certain people? Only Turan knows, and he doesn’t seem eager to share his wonderful solution to the problem with the rest of us.

Who should decide how much is too much? Turan? Now that scares me.

STEVEN S. DeKNIGHT

Glendale

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As a discerning moviegoer and high school teacher, I fully endorse Turan’s remarks on film violence and the effects on our adolescent population. Increasingly I am appalled by the senseless amount of gratuitous violence and killing shown on trailers, let alone the movies themselves. I agree that the current movie rating system is a mockery.

Although Turan implies that the filmgoing public are impotent to bring about any change, I believe there are many concerned adults, parents, teachers and even some responsible teenagers who are willing to stand up and challenge Hollywood. My question is, how can these grass-root voices be mobilized into meaningful action?

BILL COUSINS

Rancho Cucamonga

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That the MPAA is guilty of bizarre and inexplicable hypocrisy when it comes to sex and violence is hardly news to anyone who’s been to the movies this decade. Perhaps I didn’t read carefully enough, but I didn’t see a solution in Turan’s article short of the repetition of the word “compromise.” New and improved ratings? An MPAA that’s tougher on violence? What is this “compromise” he suggests?

Lest we forget, the most injurious censorship to any artist is self-censorship; altering your work for fear of shaking up an audience or appearing before a congressional committee.

DAVID AVALLONE

Hollywood

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Turan knows that Hollywood films and television are avidly consumed around the world, especially in Europe and Japan. Yet those countries don’t suffer from the violence that we do. The only reasonable conclusion is that entertainment is not the problem.

Look at those countries, then ask yourself whether the problem might be our easy access to guns. Or perhaps it’s our death penalty, which tells our people that killing is an appropriate answer to difficult questions. Or perhaps it’s our lack of national health care, which tells our people that they don’t matter.

The problem isn’t the Hollywood product that we use to distract us. It’s what it’s distracting us from.

WILL SHETTERLY

North Hollywood

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Turan’s lecture to the movie industry is well done and needed. However, I don’t think that the people that are making extraordinary money creating films that are generally so very poor in content but play to the younger people will react. Couple this with the fact that support for the politicians in place is weighty from Hollywood and they both gain the necessary protection from this mutual constituency. Nothing will be done.

Hollywood will look back in the near future as the country begins to clean up its act and wonder what hit them.

RICHARD JENNINGS

Bakersfield

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I am 17 years old. I have never committed a crime or been arrested. I have seen hundreds of action movies and thought that most of the gore and gunplay in them was “cool” but not to be acted out in public--because my parents did a good job.

It is not the fault of the movie industry nor the National Rifle Assn. that youth violence is on the rise. I lay all blame, not partial like Turan, on the parents. If kids are raised right and taken care of by their parents then things like this would not happen.

COLIN MAXWELL

Pacific Palisades

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“The Godfather,” “The Godfather, Part II,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Raging Bull,” “Psycho,” “The Manchurian Candidate,” “Jaws,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “A Clockwork Orange,” “The Wild Bunch,” “Bonnie and Clyde,” “Unforgiven,” “Blue Velvet,” “Silence of the Lambs,” “Platoon,” “Pulp Fiction.”

Should these movies have even been made, or not?

ERIC CARLESON

Sacramento