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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 1990)
The Battalion OPINION Monday, February 12, 1990 2 Opinion Page Editor Ellen Hobbs 845*32 "I I mill Mail Call Don’t like it? Don’t see it EDITOR: Hey guys! Do you really feel it is necessary to pass around a petition to boycott the Aggie Cinema for showing an X- rated movie? Don’t you think that’s a bit too much? If you don’t like what is being shown, then just don’t go and see it! It’s that simple! Why make a big deal of it, especially when you haven’t even seen the movie? I personally am glad that I am at an institution that sup ports the showing of any kind of movie, “pornographic” or not. I can understand you getting upset if the movie was triple-X rated — which actually shows penetration. But the one that was shown had only a X rating, which shows frontal nudity and excessive violence at most. I don’t necessarily agree with your belief that “pornogra phy of any kind can potentially lead to sex crimes,” although it is plausible that this can happen, especially when the person is mentally ill. But I can assume that most of men at A&M are somewhat sane, and that we can go to a movie such as “The Last Wo men” with an open mind without undoing our trousers and masturbating! If you really feel that X-rated movies are so bad, then that’s fine! That’s your opinion and your belief. But as I’ve al ready stated, if you don’t like it, then you don’t have to see it. No one is forcing you to see it or tolerate it. Mike Turner ‘90 Censorship not the answer EDITOR: I’d like to direct this letter to Jennifer Wolling and Matt DeWoody, the two students who are distributing the petition to boycott the Aggie Cinema because of its showing of “The Last Woman.” I respect you for stating your views of the pornography issue. It is very rare to see students stand up for what they be lieve in. However, I do not agree with the measures you have taken. I believe that if young adults are intelligent enough to gain admittance into this world-class university, they are capa ble of deciding which movies to watch.By boycotting the Ag gie Cinema, you might limit their right to choose. I do not agree that censorship is the answer to the problem. Texas A&M is a public institution embracing people from many religious, cultural and moral backgrounds. This kind of diversity enables us to not only learn about others, but also about ourselves. Let’s keep this university exactly what it is — universal. Restricting exposure to foreign films because of someone’s dislike of the content is not intelligent. Mari Palou ’91 ‘Smut’ pervades A&M campus EDITOR: With the recent outcry against pornography in the Aggie Cinema, I decided to take it upon myself to check the campus for other forms of pornography. ^ I went to the library and looked through the card catalog, (which is, by the way, how I spend all of my free time), for any kind of pornograpy. And do you know what I found? I found SMUT. Piles and piles of SMUT. There were Playboy magazines, romance novels, medical books with explicit pictures of male and female genitalia and the book that has perhaps been the greatest threat against life, liberty and the American way: “The Catcher in the Rye.” Can you believe our school has this kind of filth in our li brary? Of course I didn’t read or look at any of this stuff, I feell can determine what is filth just by reading the synopsis that is in the card catalog. To save the students and faculty from themselves, i am starting a petition to get rid of all objectionable material in our library. And who, you ask, should determine what is ob jectionable? Well, there are two outstanding students right here at A&M. Jennifer Wolling and Matt DeWoody would have our library “clean” in no time. They don’t even have to read the books. They can tell if they are pornographic just by their covers. < Of course you can expect research to Ire a little more diffi cult with only edited versions of books by Dr. Seuss, but such is the price of freedom. Felix Pierdolla ’91 View it before you condemn it EDITOR: I was startled to learn of petitions being circulated by two I students protesting the showing of an X-rated film on com- I pus. I have been taught to judge people and objects on con- f tent, not appearances, so 1 was still even more shocked to read i that Jennifer Wolling and Matt DeWoody had not even taken I the time to see the movie. 1 heir suggestions of a consumer | boycott of the Aggie Cinema is an idea that encourages small- | mindedness and the stagnation of growth. Film is an artistic | means of communication, and, to the benefit of society, the f least we can do is view it before we condemn another human | being’s beliefs or ideals. Mark Platt ’91 Petition creator defends Aggie Cinema boycott On January 23, 1990 the Aggie Cinema featured a film entitled, “The Last Woman.” On the following day a petition was created. The petition reads, “I am 100 percent against the advancement and promotion of pornography of any kind and resolve to boycott the Aggie Cinema the remainder of the semester for their decision to feature an X-rated movie on January 23, 1990.” This petition has drawn much attention, both positive and negative. 1 am writing this letter to address the most common negative responses. 1. You didn’t see the movie. This is perfectly true. What if I had seen the movie? The word “hypocrisy” would be bouncing off the walls of Rudder. I did not see “The Last Woman.” However, the following information was suf ficient to conclude that the film contained at least some pornographic material: The movie was indeed X-rated. The Aggie Cinema did display numerous Matt DeWoody Reader's Opinion yellow signs warning of potentially offensive “sexually explicit material.” Also,'Andrew Gardner, of The Battalion Staff, jureviewed the movie. According to Gardner, the two main characters are Gerard and Valerie who “come to live together in Gerard’s apartment, where almost all of the action of the movie takes place.” Gerard is “woman-hating” and “makes it clear that to him, sexual prowess is the foundation of manhood.” Gardner continues: “Be forewarned that this movie contains explicit nudity and sexual scenes. T hese scenes are especially disturbing because of their link with Gerard’s brutal, animal-like nature. The film also contains an equally disturbing violent scene at the end of the film. You will be warned about the film’s explicit nature several times before entering the theater. Do not take these warnings lightly.” 2. The movie was not pornographic. Just because it was X-rated does not mean it was pornographic. I agree that the scenes and language depicted in the film were probably not pornographic all of the time. However, there is no doubt that the movie did contain some pornographic material. An X rating almost always forewarns the vievver of sexually explicit scenes and/or language. Besides, if the film was so Disney-like, why all the warnings? What do you think explicit nudity and sexual scenes are? Webster defines pornography as, “Literature or art calculated solely to supply-sexual excitement; obscene literature or art.” Read the petition again.dt states, “pornography of any kind.” “The Last Woman” is a kind of pornography, even if its sole purpose was not for.sexual excitement. 3. Don’t shove your morals down my throat. I am not. If you wish to view an X-rated movie, go to a privately owned business. I have no desire to be associated with an institution that even remotely promotes any form of pornography and I definitely do not want to support such material through my taxes and tuition. 4. Censorship — we have our rights. Welcome to the United States. It is a fact that law censors numerous aspects of life. Certain behavior, including what we see, hear and say is indeed censored. Why the shock? Without some censorship, we would live in chaos. 5. If you don’t like it, don’t see it. That is exactly what I did. Thank you for your support. In turn, if you don’t like the petition, then don’t sign it. 6. The movie was educational and cultural. Even if it was, were there no alternatives? “The Last Woman” was not the ony foreign film available that would educate us and make us culturally literate. 'There are thousands of foreign films. Why notobtainonc that is not so objectionable? Thelinel to be drawn somewhere. 7. What is so wrong with pornography? I here is some evi that pornography can potentially lead sexual crimes. A&M regularly proro various safety programs. Date rape. | assaults and the like are a significant social problem on our campus,andtl. Aggie ( anema’s decision to show a j: mov ie featuring sexually explicit material in no way helps the situation.I What if one mentally disturbed pen j viewed the movie, became sexually | aroused and raped someone? Would I Lance Pat i and liis associates be so I confident and pleased with theirchoil Would he still have not regrets? We do not want another X-rated I movie to be shown on the A&Mcampi 1 his is why the petition andtheboycJ was initiated. This is also why it will I continue. Matt DeWoody is a senior martini major. . People shouldn’t try to turn morality into legislation A friend once said to me, “It’s strange. You can watch murder all you want, but you’re not allowed to do it. With sex, it’s the opposite: You can do it, but you’re not supposed to watch it.” We live in a funny world. Several semesters ago, Aggie Cinema showed the film “Blue Velvet.” I had heard a little about it, so I went. The acting was good, the plot strange and the cinematography interesting. Parts of the film were outrageously hilarious. The main antagonist was a sick, brutal sadist. Much of the film was nauseating; the images that haunted my mind for days afterward were profoundly disturbing. I can handle a lot of sex in a movie, and a certain amount of violence as well, but I don’t like them mixed up. I eventually regretted having seen the film at all, and would not repeat the experience. Anyone who asks me about it will be told in no uncertain terms w hy I didn’t like it: graphic depictions of sexual violence and torture. This movie, Jeff Farmer Columnist (for what it’s worth), was R-rated. The flap about the X-rated film shown by Aggie Cinema a few weeks ago is almost amusing to me, given this previous experience. People seem to be far more interested in the rating than the content; the word “pornography” is being bandied about. From what I have heard about this film, it had a lot more in common with “Blue Velvet” than with “Deep Tfmoat.” The film contained some nudity and explicit sex; this is apparently what some people object to. The objections to having this film shown here arise from something very- common in our society: confusing legal and political issues with morals. This confusion appears in the debate on many issues of our day, from drug use and abortion to racial relations and AIDS education. The problem can be stated simply: People often think that just because something is bad, it should be illegal. This leads to attempts to legislate moral choices; these attempts today come almost as often from the political “left” as from the “right” (though on different issues). Laws and rules exist to protect the rights of individuals to live in peace and freedom as they choose; in doing this they allow us all to live together. Morality is something much different and much larger — it involves choosing honesty over deceit, kindness over meanness, generosity over stinginess, forgiveness over revenge and love over hate. Moral principles operate in every sphere of life and cannot be legislated. Attempts to make people “good” by passing laws are ridiculous; people are good or bad by their own choice. If you force me at gunpoint to speak kindly to my neighbor, my words have no meaning and no moral content. Law's are necessary, but enforcement is always problematic — we should resort to making rules only when they are both clearly needed and can be rationally justified. We must resist the temptation to prohibit behavior which is merely stupid or immoral; if the actions do not infringe on the rights of others, respect for f reedom demands that we allow them. In the case at hand, I support those who speak out against sexual violence. I accept the decision of some not to view a film because of its explicit depictions of sex (or violence), and I appreciate the way they have spoken out and tried to convince others that they are right. But if theii goal is to force the creation oil] policy that will prohibit the showing film because of its subject matteror content, then I believe they misunderstand both freedom and morality. To be signif icantly moral, choices I must be f ree. Morality is also specifitl person, place and time; it isboundtoj the individual choices we make inevel part of oui lives. Attempts to outlaw I prejudice or hatred, abuse of one’s t?] (be it by eating, drinking, using drugs! smoking or surgery), or alternative | forms of sexual, artistic, political or social expression invariably fail. Hopefully, they always will — forthcl day that such attempts succeed is the day that human freedom and moraltl disappear from the face of theeartli Jeff Farmer is a graduate student! mathematics. Adventures In Cartooning by Don Atkinsoni The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Scot Walker, Editor Monique Threadgill, Managing Editor Ellen Hobbs, Opinion Page Editor Melissa Naumann, City Editor Cindy McMillian, Lisa Robertson, News Editors Richard Tijerina, Sports Editor Fredrick D. Joe, Art Director Mary-Lynne Rice, Lifestyles Editor Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper operated as a community service to Texas A&M and Bryan-College Station. 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