Relevance of Movies

Is James Pinkerton (“Nihilism--Chic Is No Longer Profitable,” Commentary, Oct. 28) suggesting that Hollywood rush out to make movies about schoolchildren who shoot up their classmates and teachers, in order to more accurately reflect the preoccupations of the media or the public? Is “Bringing Out the Dead” any more irrelevant than “The Blair Witch Project”? Hollywood is almost never about relevance. It’s about money.

JEFF SCHOENWALD

Thousand Oaks

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Someone should point out to Pinkerton that “Taxi Driver” and “Blade Runner” were not huge box office successes. Indeed “Rocky” and “ET: The Extra Terrestrial,” respectively, were much bigger at the box office in those years. “Blade Runner” was a disappointment at the box office. Pinkerton’s fuzzy logic correlates three mayors with nationwide crime trends. I suspect the economy has had more to do with crime reduction.

ERIC FITZGERALD

Topanga

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Everyone who loves movies knows what a real treat it is to find a great film you’ve somehow overlooked. When it happens to me, it’s wonderful and I hang on to the feeling as long as I can. That is why I envy Pinkerton; he hasn’t seen “Blade Runner.” True, because the film doesn’t contain a fearful overclass--or a teeming underclass--as he has written. The commentary only reveals Pinkerton’s dislike and ignorance of the film industry.

JIM PATRICOLA

Newport Beach