The Way We Are

In the closing days of 2001, I’m sure there will be more enthusiastic but nonetheless empty encapsulations of what has come before Sept. 11 and what will follow (“Those Were the Days,” by Paul Brownfield and Christopher Reynolds, Dec. 23).

American film, TV, publishing and music corporate powers for almost three decades have been more concerned with researching and rating audiences--with force-feeding us their “entertainment.”

It’s not as though the creative side--writers and directors and producers and actors--has not wanted to tackle serious examinations of the human condition as they have in generations past (1940s and early 1970s-era Hollywood) within either solid dramatic material or the genres of tense and exciting B-movies.

And it’s not as though artists from other countries aren’t doing as solid work as ever before, because they are (“Amores Perros” is just one example that comes to mind).

It comes down to the almighty dollar.

I truly hope this country has changed, but the responsibility for change usually comes down to individuals.

Believe me, the next Akira Kurosawa, John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock, John Steinbeck or Gabriel Garcia Marquez is out there, already hard at work, unrecognized and struggling, and knowing full well the new technology age has the potential to allow them to bypass the corporate system altogether.

MARK GEORGEFF

Los Angeles