‘Bedroom’s’ Global Values

In Stephen Farber’s cynical piece on the White House’s call for more movies that express “American values” to aid in combating terrorism, he unaccountably leaps to the conclusion that Karl Rove wants Hollywood to produce more “gung-ho war movies” that show Americans as somehow uniquely courageous and self-sacrificing (“In Search of a Truly American Film,” Jan. 6). He correctly notes that Americans do not hold a monopoly on bravery or community spirit (as if that is in dispute).

So what recent films illustrate uniquely American values? “In the Bedroom,” for one, according to Farber. He claims that it “makes a persuasive and terrifying case for the notion that vigilantism is an irrepressible American impulse.” How? Well, for one thing, after the protagonists do their dirty work, the director “makes a point of focusing on the American flag.” No wonder this film is up for so many awards.

I’m not sure why Farber took pains to argue that courage and other admirable attributes are universal, but not the impulse to take the law into one’s hands. One might say Osama bin Laden and other terrorists around the world have made a more “persuasive” case that extra-legal violence is far from a uniquely American impulse.

ALISTAIR LATOUR

Santa Monica