ACID STRIP
Re: Glasgow Fabulous Despite an underwhelming response to their first piece of overexposure, you've decided to run the Glasgow Fabulous strip sneakin tucked away at the arse end of the club section. 800 to you.
While the creation and ridicule of public figures in comic form is a time-honoured and politically responsible form of social commentary. it has always been done with some degree of intelligence and more than healthy dose of humour (see John Fardell). However. rather than provide what could have been an intelligent and satirical take on egocentric jocks and mass- market clubbing. the Glasgow Fabulous boys have chosen to use their medium to embark on some juvenile and quite personal attacks on some of Glasgow's grassroots clubbing community.
Michael and Daniel don't seem to realise that a cartoonist's work often reveals much more about its creator than it does about its subject. All the GF strip seems to say is: “We're bitter’.
Fad Lip via email
STAR WARS
Re: F For Five Stars
Louise Henderson appears to make a mistake that is all too common among 'discerning' fans of film when she confuses her opinion with fact. I know. because I've made the same mistake in the past myself.
2 THE LIST 14—28 Mar 2002
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Instead of being part of some global conspiracy to make pepple watch bad movies. maybe the reviewers who watched the six films she lists just liked them (a lot) more than she did.
As for five stars being an indication of perfection in a film, it that was the case then the category would be pointless since it couldn't ever be awarded.
Maybe. more realistically. it just means ‘an excellent film', ie one you walk away from with a sense of real excitement. a desire to think and talk about what you've just seen and a feeling that you are desperate to go and see it again.
Now I realise that I've just described some peOples' feelings toward Titanic. a film I absolutely detest. Then again. who am I to tell those people that their favourite film isn't a five star one?
Stuart Craig via email
SUM TIME
Re: A Beautiful Mind (issue 435)
I've just been reading Miles Fielder's review of A Beautiful Mind. What is math?
Does the tragi-comic figure of Miles Fielder mean maths? Or has he gone nuts (again)? Jim Higgins Glasgow
FOR THE RECORD The same old song Starsailor have just released the excellent ‘Pooi Misguided Fool' as the fourth single from their debut album Love Is Here. Their fourth single. Here we go again: another excellent band being forced to whore themselves for the record company dollar.
Don't record companies look at the charts these days? If they did. they'd realise that the reason most single releases from albums are on a scale of diminishing returns is that people get fed up of paying for
the same songs two, three or even (heaven help us) four times.
Isn't it time the record companies started giving bands more studio time so they could come up with something new?
Jonathan Muirhead via email
NEGATIVE EQUITY
Re: Funny business
(issue 435)
What Sandy Braveheart Nelson fails to understand is that there are a number of very talented and professional comedians in Scotland who are barred from appearing at the Stand for no solid reason.
Sandy Nelson knows fine well what I am talking about when I say that Equity members need to “think again'. He along with other comedians who are Equity members have continued to perform at the Stand while his comrades have been treated. and continue to be treated. in a despicable manner.
I have total respect for the other comedy clubs he mentions in his email as I have performed at all of them. They. unlike the Stand. allow all talented comedians to perform at their clubs and do not hold petty grudges.
Vince Willis
via email
The Stand told us it hadn 't heard of Vince Willis, let alone barred him, so had no reason to comment on this letter: ed
Tl-IE SNOG REMAINS THE SAME
Re: Ain’t that a kick in the head (issue 435)
Miles Fielder’s thoughtful Opinion article about movie violence makes an important point about the media's association with violent films and violent behaviour. Too often they give no evidence of a causal relationship. And you don't need to have too much perspective to appreciate that
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LIST.
there isn't one. Bad stuff happens and films happen. that's all.
Statistically, in any given year, there will be a number of violent crimes. All it takes is for a violent film to coincide with one of these crimes and the media pundits throw their hands in the air and forecast the end of civilisation. Next. we hear talk of censorship. This is very dangerous.
The same is true of. say. teenage suicides. Statistically, a certain number of teenagers will kill themselves each year. It's very sad. but it happens. And it's spurious to connect such deaths to the music any given teenager happens to have been listening to.
The true test is this: think of an innocuous event. the kind of thing that grabs no headlines. Let's say people kissing in the street. Now wait until you see a movie in which people kiss in the street (you shouldn't have to wait long). Leave the cinema, keep your eyes open and. within an hour or so. you'll have your own tabloid headline: “Romantic movies produce surge of street snogging'.
Rebecca Donne via email
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