Don’t Suppress ‘Nation’

I was seriously disturbed by two items that appeared in Calendar last weekend. The first item, in the Aug. 5 Morning Report, concerned the cancellation of screenings of “The Birth of a Nation” at the Silent Movie Theatre because of threatened NAACP boycotts. The second item was Michael Phillips’ perspective piece on Aug. 6 concerning the inappropriateness of staging “The Taming of the Shrew” in this day and age on the grounds that the play is misogynistic.

I do not disagree that both works contain material offensive to our modern-day sensibilities. In fact, it could be successfully argued that the offensive aspects of both pieces far outweigh whatever redeeming value either might possess. But, no matter how repugnant I might personally find some of the material contained in both of these works, these calls for their suppression based on their content bother me more.

I am a mature, intelligent, adult human being. I can survive being challenged and even offended. I’m not sure I can survive the loss of my freedom.

RAY MORTON

Glendale

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The content of “The Birth of a Nation” is well known, and the portions dealing with the origins of the Ku Klux Klan are universally reviled, thanks in large part to the NAACP’s ongoing criticism of its reprehensible point of view, dating back to the time of its release in 1915.

Still, it is the seminal work of American cinema. It makes no sense to me, at this late date, why the NAACP must insist on banning its public showing. Millions are exposed daily to media junk ranging from Rush Limbaugh to gangsta rap; why deny a few hundred people the opportunity to view an 85-year old movie?

I’m saddened that an organization that has done so much to fight for the underdog feels that the only way it can win an argument is by silencing its opponent.

PAUL OWEN

West Hollywood