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.
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are
those of the editorial board or the author, and
do not necessarily represent the opinions of
Texas A&M administrators, faculty or the
Board of Regents.
The Battalion is published Monday through
Friday during Texas A&M regular semesters,
except for holiday and examination periods.
Mail subscriptions are $17.44 per semester,
$34.62 per school year and $36.44 per full year.
Advertising rates furnished on request.
Our address: The Battalion, 230 Reed Mc
Donald, Texas A&M University, College Sta
tion, TX 77843-1111.
Second class postage paid at College Station,
TX 77843.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas
A&M University, College Station TX 77843-
4111.