Friday, November 28, 2003

The 'Cat' goes splat

I would like to thank the Post-Gazette for its detailed exposure of the unexpectedly crude material in "The Cat In The Hat" ("Getting the 'Cat' in the bag," Nov. 21). Your coverage served as an excellent warning to parents who were considering taking their toddlers or pre-teens to the movie, but may not have been prepared for the adult subject matter.

Because "The Cat In The Hat" and Dr. Seuss' other books are geared for children who are just learning to read, one may have made the mistake of believing that this is a family movie. Sadly, Hollywood feels that children should learn to read at the same time that they learn the language that the article described: "hip-hop slang for a prostitute and a four-letter acronym for excrement."

What is even more depressing is that tens of thousands of parents will cart their children off to this movie despite its inappropriate content. With every dollar that they fork over for adult movies cloaked in children's themes, these parents give a resounding vote of acceptance to Hollywood's tactics. When fed such large volumes of revenue, the moviemakers see children as a market that is begging to be continually served with edgier material and more liberal ratings. What's next -- a G rating for "American Pie 4"?

Thanks to the Post-Gazette's enlightening review, I withheld my money -- and my endorsement for kids' movies polluted with adult material -- from Hollywood's greedy grip.

CHARLES DOMINICK, C.P.M.
MOON

The side effects of TV

The idea that television shows cause side effects on society ("Advocacy group blames NBC's 'ER' for nurses' shortage; wants more realistic scripts," Nov. 25) is nothing new.

Many popular shows have had a major impact on our society. Some are obvious such as people becoming dry cleaners in order to be like George & Weezie, while others have caused unexpected side effects.

When cousin Oliver first appeared on "The Brady Bunch," legions of conservative Christians predicted the world would end because the Antichrist had been spotted. Only later after seeing Horshack from "Welcome Back, Kotter" did they realize Oliver was merely a lesser demon.

"Blossom" caused an increase in calls to suicide hot lines, especially after episodes that featured her singing.

"TJ Hooker" increased prostitution & hurt sales of toupees.

"Roseanne" caused sales of condoms, Slimfast and beer to skyrocket.

"M*A*S*H" caused in increase in whiny sissy men.

The TV version of "Lost in Space" caused pedophiles to join the space program (Danger, Will Robinson!).

"The Golden Girls" created a shortage of gray wigs due to cross-dressing men who wanted to be Bea Arthur.

"Star Trek" continues to create legions of nerds.

"Magnum PI" also created a shortage of gray wigs due to cross-dressing men who wanted to be Bea Arthur.

The point is that it is only TV and if someone is gullible enough to make career decisions based on a show, do you really want them in charge of your medication in a hospital??

JAMES TOBIN
HARMONY TOWNSHIP

Art of the Steel Valley

In the recent article "Art shows capture Homestead's history" (Nov. 19) reporter Leslie Hoffman quoted one of our dedicated board members by stating " 'We really haven't drawn people from the outside areas until the Waterfront went up,' he says, disappointed that people didn't come before, without the shopping incentive," when in fact the misquote could not have been further from the truth.

Celebrating its 10th year as a community arts organization (but it has done arts programming for years prior with the community group), the Steel Valley Arts Council has been programming, motivating and connecting the community long before the Waterfront development came.

Prior to the Waterfront, The Steel Valley Arts Council hosted the Smithsonian Art Train, which brought classic works of art from the Smithsonian on a train for people to view. Thousands of people attended this marvelous event. SVAC also provided the community with an arts festival and holiday concert.

As the article mentioned, SVAC now hosts a gallery, art space 303, displaying the works of emerging, national and international artists, filling the space with attendees every first Saturday of the month. The group runs a vending initiative called the Homestead Sidewalk Art Carts Project to encourage art vendors on the avenue. SVAC implemented a progressive arts education component like no other in the region.

The Eighth Avenue main street, with so much potential, has been blossoming through the years and the Steel Valley Arts Council is the leading organization to make those important community connections happen. Many artists are now buying affordable storefront property without the tax burden of the city, envisioning the same engagement the arts groups represent.

ERIC SLOSS
VICE PRESIDENT,
STEEL VALLEY ARTS COUNCIL

Editor's note: The quote referred to was mistakenly attributed to Steel Valley Arts Council treasurer Michael Solomon. It was actually said by Susan MacLeod, former Steel Valley Arts Council president.

Master should command

It must be a reflection of our culture when a terrible film like "The Cat in the Hat" can sell more tickets than a wonderfully intelligent and exciting film like "Master and Commander: The Farside of the World"?

Here is a film, based on the exceptional writings of Patrick O'Brian, directed by a master of filmmaking, Peter Weir, and a cast headed by super talent Russell Crowe and a raft of stellar reviews to its credit. It ends up in fourth place for ticket sales in the U.S. behind such garbage as "Cat" and "Gothika."

I suppose it is true that America's taste these days is all in our mouths!

JAMES ROSSI
PENN HILLS

Switch to Dish

I would like to answer Michael Greenberg's letter regarding Comcast moving the Sci-Fi Channel to digital ("Mad at Comcast," Feedback, Nov. 21).

Michael, get a satellite! Seven years ago we got our Dish Network and I have never been sorry. We get a lot of stations that are not carried on any of the cable networks. I think Sci-Fi is carried on the basic Dish package. We have the America's Top 150 package with the local stations and two receivers and pay $61.16 per month. We have a lot of premium stations like TMC West and Encore West along with TCM and Fox movies. Also BBC America. I don't know exactly what the cable costs or offers, but I like what we have. Back when we got Dish, we had to buy our equipment. Now they are offering all kinds of deals to stay competitive.

This morning I called Dish Network. I haven't had to call tech support in years and I wanted to see if their response time is now. I got connected to a human being in less than 60 seconds. The beauty of the satellite is, most of the problems are able to be fixed by me, the buyer. In the past, the only problems I had were computer glitches, which were fixed in the matter of minutes of calling Dish network.

As much as I like Dish, it is not without it's problems. I get knocked off the satellite when there are bad storms and if we have a heavy, wet snow that clings to the satellite dish. There is now a defroster that can melt snow and ice from your dish.

LINDA BEAR
WASHINGTON, PA.

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