I very much appreciate hearing Professor Bordwell's perspective on this issue. It is well to remember, however, that postings to list-serv's are generally done from memory and not based on careful study and research: this is both their strength and their weakness. They are generally a form of social interaction more than a form of publication. Nevertheless, although it is easy to be chatty and casual on a list-serv, a strongly stated and thoughtful statement serves a useful purpose in reminding us to take our chit-chat seriously. But there was another thread or aspect of this topic which Professor Bordwell does not address and which I, for one, would like to hear him address. This is the question of the rationale for using much-appreciated masterpieces, as opposed to popular cinema with which students would surely already be familiar. Is there a complete antithesis between these approaches, or might a work like _Film Art_ profitably include examples which students could recognize, to link them to great films of the past? And even if the text itself did not include such examples, would Professor Bordwell be antagonistic to using well-known contemporary films in this way--or is that quite against the point of teaching film as an art? Sincerely, Edward R. O'Nell Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow Bryn Mawr College ---- Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite http://www.tcf.ua.edu/ScreenSite