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August 2000, Week 3

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Subject:
From:
"Sarah L. Higley" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 18 Aug 2000 10:37:41 -0400
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TEXT/PLAIN (55 lines)
I agree entirely with Thomas and Klaus, both of them in Germany.  I'm an
American, and frankly I'm dismayed to see this issue raised in American
university teaching.  It seems that what with the corporatization of
American universites, the treatment of professors as "commodities," and
the backlash moralization about film and textual content, "academic
freedom" is not what it used to be. I'm reading the posts of my fellow
professors tiptoeing around this subject--"this is complex," "we need to
take this seriously." Yes it is, yes we do, but we can't let the new (?)
American prudishness intimidate us.  Ask your students why they are taking
a film course if they cannot watch what has been treated as serious
subjects in film.  As I said before, my gut reaction is to tell the
complaining student that he or she is free to drop the class.  I'll warn
him about the content of the class, but I'm not going to accommodate him.
That's just crazy.

I remember when we tried to pass a proposition in California almost thirty
years ago about "explicit nudity" in museums and art galleries.  The
proposition, if passed, would not allow any museum or gallery within "x"
miles of a grammar school to display explicit human nudity.  Not even
posters of Michelangelo's David.  Thankfully, it was voted down.  Are we
coming back to this????

Sarah


On Fri, 18 Aug 2000, Klaus Bardenhagen wrote:

> Quite frankly, the idea that a student could object to certain films (and
> the teacher changes his course schedule)

...or even take extra time to show other films to this student, or in any
way treat this student as special...

seems ridiculous to me. Whoever
> decides to do film studies is a) a grown-up person, b) does not have the right
> to force his moral standards onto others and c) cannot limit his studies to
> just the films or subjects he likes or finds acceptable. Banning "Clockwork
> Orange" is like studying English literature and not reading Shakespeare,
> because of the violence in his plays.

Absolutely.  Smacks of censorship.
*********************************************************************
Sarah L. Higley                            [log in to unmask]
Associate Professor of English                office:  (716) 275-9261
The University of Rochester                   fax:     (716) 442-5769
Rochester NY, 14627
*********************************************************************
Py dydwc glein / O erddygnawt vein?
"What brings a gem from a hard stone?"               Book of Taliesin
*********************************************************************

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