‘Balanced’ art?

TO the Beverly Hills resident who complained about the defense of a non-”balanced” play, I say: If you don’t want to watch a play that offends you, you can always watch “The Phantom of the Opera” (though that play improperly slanders people with facial deformities, so maybe not) [Letters, April 30].

Since political works of art have the intent of swaying popular opinion, the only political works of art that are worth a damn have clear biases. (Remember Steven Spielberg’s mainstream “Munich” received much grief because it was a commentary on the destructive power of murder without distinguishing between those committed by the Palestinians and those committed by the Israelis.)

Regardless of one’s biases, criticizing a play based on the writings of pro-Palestinian activist Rachel Corrie is like criticizing “The Adventures of Huck Finn” for not being “fair and balanced” toward the pro-slavery movement.

JOHN R. SINGLETON

Los Angeles

Singleton directed “Boyz N the Hood” and other films.