Guest Column -by David Matthews

Laws unnecessary to control movies

The fuel is poured, and the fire is lit. Once again, the men and women of Washington take aim at their sworn enemy- Hollywood. This time, the controversy is about the movie "The Money Train."

The movie contains a scene where a transit worker's toll booth is firebombed.

Although the character in the movie escapes serious injury, the same can't be said for a real transit worker who was seriously burned when a similar incident occurred days later.

Was it perhaps a coincidence? Perhaps, according to one New York reporter who commented this was only the ninth such incident in five years.

But not according to the right-wing extremists who are now using the incident as yet further proof in their McCarthyist indictment against those in the media and the motion picture industry. They are hitting the airwaves in force, from Senate majority leader and presidential wannabe Bob Dole- who has already shown his scathing vendetta against the media by attacking Time Warner- to Sonny Bono, who used to be a part of the very media he now hypocritically attacks.

Book burnings

And what are they saying? They are all saying the same message- that the media has created a "climate of violence" where the difference between what's on the large or small screen and reality is minimal. Where violent acts can be inspired and copied in real life. And they are saying that the media should take responsibility for creating the violence in our society.

This is not a new argument. Back in 1950's, at the height of McCarthyism, there was a call for regulating or outright banning of certain comic books.

They too had their experts like Dr. Fredric Wertham and their reported proof that such publications, most notably the horror comics such as "Tales from the Crypt" that were designed for adult readers, created a culture of violence that desensitized their readers and blurred the line between fantasy and reality. Indeed, their criticism resulted in book burnings, the banning of such publications, and even hearings by a US Senate subcommittee, before forcing the comics industry to self-regulation.

Boycott

Much to their credit, the rantings of today's media critics often stop short of calling for government regulation or an outright ban on such shows and movies.

Instead they only call for a boycott. But yet their very anger to the full context of the constitutional freedoms we are all entitled to is but a prelude to a future conflict of their own choosing.

As we enter the Information Age, we are beginning to experience a technology that is getting less social and more personal.

Between the potential 500-channel cable television, the potential 1000-channel satellite television, and the ever-expanding Internet, the means of entertainment and information will indeed offer a cornucopia of tastes for each person. Indeed, the best form of control over such a personal technology is not legislated community control, but self-control and self-responsibility.

To do otherwise would not only betray that technological future, but also deny the very rights and freedoms that these critics claim to hold dear.

David Matthews 2 is a Gainesville freelance writer, not to be confused with the Rev. David H. Matthews of Popular Springs Baptist Church.

(I didn't add this cartoon to the article.. but it was printed right underneath it, so I figured it would be only appropriate to include it here!)