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April 1996, Week 3

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Sender:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:
From:
Jerry Johnson <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 12 Apr 1996 01:02:40 -0500
Reply-To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (42 lines)
Tony Williams writes:
 
> I'm afraid I must circulate some critical comments re the TAXI DRIVER
>"crap or classic" posting circulated by Arnett. While circumstances exist
>when participants need help in finding films or noting that certain
>areas involve intensive discussion, a posting such as this really illustrates
>laziness on the part of the mailer.
 
I predict that Arnett's posting on "Taxi Driver" will prevoke much
satisfying discussion on the film- much more, I'm sure, than anything Tony
Williams has ever presented on this discussion list.  And I'm looking
forward to this discussion; especially for a list on which 25% of the
postings in the last week or so have concerned themselves with whether
Prince was in "Fargo" or not!
 
>  As an "instructor" Arnett should be doing the necesary preparation or drop
>out of the field entirely.A wealth of critical commentary exists on this
>film which the poster should be reading. This mailing suggests that he is too
>damn lazy to do the work himself and is wanting participants on this list
>to do it for him.
 
The "wealth of critical commentary" on this film has been written almost
exclusively by 40+ individuals well established in either the academic
field or one of the multitude of published periodicals.  If Williams was at
all familiar with these commentaries on "Taxi Driver" (which I doubt), he
would find they have reached a certain degree of repetitiveness.
 
When Arnett poses this simple question to Screen-L, he is inviting the
opinion of new and young critical voices (disciplined or not- I'm sure we
can discern) which do not yet have access to the traditional forms of
publication and distribution.
 
 William's ascerbic response leads me to believe that he sees these new
voices as a threat to that thing he so reverently refers to as "THE FIELD."
 
 
Jerry
 
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