> > Peter (Schmitz) says: As I've said on this list before, that's capitalism for you. > 99.5% of American films made since 1975 have been awful. And our system > of distribution generally allows for the most mediocre foreign films to > be shown here. Shows you how the profit motive has dumbed down our > entire culture.
Mark Anderson responds: Wow, what a combination of interesting assumptions. 1) Our culture has been dumped down? I think it's just as smart as it ever was. I don't like most movies that come out, but more than 0.5%. And there were a lot of truly dreadful movies made in the "golden age" of movies in the forties. They only show the best ones these days,and even some of them are pretty bad. 2) The profit motive has been around since the beginning of humanity. Maybe you mean culture has declined since we took it from the apes? And if your comment relates more to the capitalistic system than the profit motive itself, well that's been around quite a long time too, at least since the beginning of the USA. 3) Your essential point seems to be that because you think most movies are crap, the movie industry must be ethically hobbled. I think it's a good thing when the arts are created to serve a mass audience instead of just snobs, which is what the profit motive enforces. Although the discussion started about local theaters and libraries, I see my discussion is moving to a broader topic, so maybe we should move it off-list. Mark Anderson Bancroft TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
