Why Oscars 2022 show changes are making these readers unhappy

The Oscar for disrespect

Regarding [“Telecast Changes Anger Industry” by Josh Rottenberg, Feb. 25]: If the Academy thinks deleting some very important categories from the award ceremony will make the show better, they are dead wrong. Disrespecting these branches by not having them announced during the actual ceremony only helps the audience not understand their importance to filmmaking.

I thought the academy was about educating the general public about the art form that filmmaking is.

Karen Rogers
Toluca Lake

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I am a charter member of the wonderful Academy Museum. I can’t believe the academy is making the reported cuts to the TV ceremonies. The chopped categories are at the core of movies. Film editing, makeup and hairstyling, production design, score, sound — what would features be without these efforts? They wouldn’t be, is the answer.

With respect to the nominated features, none would have been contenders without the grand services of the now chopped pros.

Here’s hoping that Oscar committee reverses itself as it did in 2019.

Loren Mark
Los Angeles

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Filmmaking is a collaborative effort and every aspect of a film deserves to be acknowledged to the world for its efforts, especially where the music is concerned. That is the first thing you hear when a film begins — it is the most intrinsic and integral part that sets the tone and takes you on a journey along with the story.

Frances Terrell Lippman
Sherman Oaks

Audience therapy

Thank you for the wonderful article by Inda Craig-Galvan on “Slave Play” [“Able to See Beyond the White Gaze,” Feb. 27]. My wife and I are in a biracial marriage and loved the show. As expected and desired, it brought up a lot for us to discuss.

My only problem was in the depiction of the two therapists in the production. I am a licensed marriage and family therapist as well as a registered drama therapist who has spent a good portion of my career helping to guide a diverse group of clients as they navigate many of the issues that Jeremy [O. Harris] is tackling here. My objection was with the direction of the two ladies as over-the-top comedic foils to offset the intensity of the play.

While I appreciated that the issues in their relationship were mirroring the power conflicts in their group, I hope that their rolling eyes and winking caricatures will not further the distrust and apprehension that many in some cultures feel about therapy in general.

This kind of roleplay and processing can be vital to the healing that must continue in all of us as we learn to re-empower ourselves during this fraught time in history.

Bradford Bancroft
Glendale

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Black playwright Inda Craig-Galvan says “Slave Play” should have “Black out” shows, when only Black people can attend. She does not think white people laugh or say the right thing during the play. So much for diversity and inclusion. I will tell my white friends not to go, we are not wanted.

Donna Doyle
Desert Hot Springs

Review needs more review

Robert Lloyd spent most of his review of the new “Law & Order” season [“Revival Does ‘Law & Order’ Justice,” Feb. 24] telling us the plot and quoting bits of dialogue. He said nothing about the quality of the acting or whether the portrayals were engaging and satisfying (they were not).

Did Lloyd think it was any good? Please include some judgment of quality in future reviews.

Carl Sunshine
Los Angeles

Double duty in the ring

Meg James’ story on KTLA’s history [“75 Years of Shaping L.A. TV History,” Feb. 20] brought back many memories. In the mid-’50s KTLA began local boxing coverage from Olympic Auditorium. What made it unique was that the ringside announcer was also the boxing writer for the Los Angeles Times.

My father, Cal Whorton, was doing double duty by announcing the fights as well as filing a story on the matches for The Times. And yes, the paper approved his added responsibility of working for KTLA. I believe he was one of the first to cover the same event for both print and local television. Back then, he sure made his son very proud.

Richard Whorton
Studio City

Double standard in beauty

From what I can tell from the review [“‘Cyrano’ Wants to Win Your Love,” by Justin Chang, Feb. 28] the Peter Dinklage version of “Cyrano” is delightful.

The message, of course, is that even a physically unattractive fellow can win the beautiful girl. At a certain level there is some irony in the point that looks shouldn’t matter for a man but they certainly do for a woman.

Can we hope there will ever be a story of how a physically unattractive girl can win an attractive guy?

Erica Hahn
Monrovia