Spanish movies, Scottish buildings and jungle techno - you read about them in this issue. If you’ve got an opinion on these, or any other subjects, write us a letter and you could win a bottle of Jose Cuervo tequila.
Calling Time
You have to admit The Time Frequency talk a good fight: ‘Why am I in such a fickle band when I want to be in Nirvana . . . I know I’m more musical than Kurt Cobain ever was.‘ asserts lead TTF mouth Jon Campbell (The List, 229). Talk about tean'ng down the statues: in this case one that has only just been erected. There’s no denying the man has nerve. but why be so defensive. so determined to talk up their abilities rather than let the music do it for them. Choosing the rave scene as your field of artistic endeavour does make it rather hard to establish any credibility. but to try makes TTF sound even more preposterous. My advice is lighten up and enjoy it while it lasts, which won’t be long I‘m afraid. Sorry guys, this musical talent bit won‘t wash. Opportunism is what it is.
Paula Fielding
Perth Crescent
Clydebank
Potter about
Channel Hopping managed to show it really cares about television as an
artistic medium in an excellent eulogy to Dennis Potter (The List. 229). l was
. ‘t "to,
i D a R ‘~&\'
LETTERS
similarly moved by Potter’s final public appearance in conversation with Melvyn Bragg.
I suspect I‘m of a generation that was first allowed to stay up for Potter's dramas around the time of The Singing Detective (was his work ever shown before the watershed?) Thereafter his importance as television‘s statesman seemed to have tnore to do with his brave denouncement of Murdoch and the BBC than his artistic output. Maybe Blue/(eyes will be regarded more kindly by posterity than it received at the hands of the slavering tabloids. but it‘s hard to be certain. Even a retrospective of his earlier work — what‘s left of it in the archives — might do little to convince those who feel they‘ve missed
: something.
I suspect the Nigel Barton plays were so oftheir time it would be hard to
appreciate them as anything other than archaeological finds. Those of us who
2 joined the story late will have to
cherish the The Singing Detective. Let's hope that Cold lazarus and Karaoke
I . ' ~ * 1'" ‘wfl‘l ‘ ~£v Vt. . .
see Potter leaving on a high note which unites audiences. rather than fuelling the squalid tabloid sneers that have greeted his more recent work.
George McLellan
Ferry Road
Edinburgh
‘ JE .:
'I‘hanksfor tlte letter. George. There's a
bottle of tequila it‘aitingfor you in the Edinburgh office.
Movre madness
How odd it is that films like Shopping. which I haven't yet seen. and Reservoir Dogs, which I have more than once. were singled out for special treatment by the classification board. The underlying assumption is that violent screen action leads to real life violence because it ‘normalises' brutality. It seems strange then that the films that have run into problems are those that show the damage of. say. a gunshot in a realistic way. rather than the Die Hard approach of cartoon screen violence.
r "w m\« . “ _.....a...;=l-'r’
TTENTIO
lf violent films do actually acclimatise us to real-life violence (at best an unproven idca). surely it‘s tnore likely that those where the action on screen is totally divorced from reality are more likely to have that effect. I accept that a shoot ‘em up movie may. for a small minority. glamorise guns but I fail to see why the film that shows in detail the aftermath does it tnore than one that spares us the gore.
lfthe board of classification is so concerned about the effect of violent images on our actions after we leave the cinema. logically they should start looking seriously at any films which use violence as the basis for entertainment.
BBFC James Ferman has said he is acting on the will of Parliament by delaying the video release of movies like Shopping. This may be true. but Ferman should not. automatically. accept that politicians have any more insight into the relationship between celluloid violence and real life.
Censorship is apolitical issue and
David Alton. a member of one of the opposition parties the last time I looked. played straight into the Government's hands by allowing this scapegoating of far more fundamental problems in society. Labour ought to have known better and made it a point of principle. rather than keeping a low profile for fear ofbeing seen as ‘soft on cn'me‘.
Until we stop clouding the issue of censorship with these kind of knee—jerk responses. it is impossible to have a proper debate about whether there should be restrictions on film content. and if so, where those limits should be. Recently, the issue has been twisted to serve other interests.
Jane McEwan Royston Road Glasgow
Colour scheme ldon't think I'll be going to see Three Colours: White. despite your description of it as ‘supremely crafted filmmaking' (Tlte List, 229). I found Blue. the first of the Kieslowski ‘French flag‘ trilogy. an intensely boring experience.
The sole device for trying to secure
the viewer's interest was its star Juliette Binoche. lf Binoche had played a character in a Hollywood movie. critics would have fallen over themselves to say what a passive, two-dimensional character she played; how she was there for her looks but not her acting ability. But because this was a European film she was ernoting. not pouting sulkily and the critics bought it. Now it looks as ifJulie Delpy is filling a similar role in White but the director gets away with it because he‘s made a conceptual tn'logy. lfyou can fool 'em once. you can fool ‘em three times. it seems.
John Paterson
St Stephen Street
Edinburgh
No sell out
What is Henry Rollins playing at? His musical career has been based on the ‘never sell out at any price' principle; his body is a temple and his albums
, remain as uncompromising as ever. But
of late he's showing signs of wavering. First it was appearing in a Gap ad. now its the corny Hollywood caper The Chase. And playing a cop. too. How could you Henry? By all means make movies. but next time chose something
' with a bit more suss. a bit more artistic
merit. Otherwise it looks like you are doing it for the money — please tell me it ain't so.
Fiona Wylie
Eskbank Street
Glasgow
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NEXT ISSUE OUT THURSDAY 14 JULY
Tln The Park: Strathclydc Park hosts- Scotland‘s biggest ever rock festi v'al. All the news. names and previews. Crowded House. Primal Scream (left). Bjork. Teenage Fanclub. Cypress Hill and the rest.
The F [in/stones: Yabba dabba doo with John Goodman in the prehistoric caper.
PLUS: Beverly I’Ii/lbillies. t'l/Iaverii'k. Sleeping Beauty at the Festival Theatre.
ORDER YOUR COPY TOMORROW
92 The List 1—14 July 1994
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