Cheating the Inner City

Re “ ‘Cheaters’ a Smart, Thought-Provoking Tale” (by Steven Linan, May 20):

The artistic merits of HBO’s “Cheaters”--the based-in-fact story of an inner-city academic decathlon team that cheats its way to victory--aside, the problem with finding mitigation of the moral dilemma at the core of the real-life story in the plight of inner-city schools is twofold: a) It perpetuates the myth and stereotype that kids in these schools can’t succeed in larger competitive arenas on their own merits; b) it just doesn’t wash with the facts. In the last several years, for example, a team from inner-city Venice High in Los Angeles has won the National Science Bowl championship. Twice.

Because their story is so anti-hip--with the help of a dedicated teacher, an interracial group of really smart kids works incredibly hard and performs when the chips are down--it will never end up on screen. And neither will the myriad other similar stories that abound throughout this city and the country at large. And that’s a shame for anyone who’s concerned about which mirror we hold up to our children.

DARYL G. NICKENS

Los Angeles

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