> Subject: Re: silent films and history Surely I can't be the only one out here who finds this entire discussion petty and slightly ridiculous. How can somebody summarily dismiss 60+ years of cinema with a mere wave of his/her hand? What about Hitchcock? Kubrick? Ridley Scott? Scorsese? Even the more commercial directors such as Billy Wilder? Speilberg? James L. Brooks? These artists have all pushed modern cinema in slightly new directions. The people involved in the inception of a new technology inherently have a much easier time breaking ground, seeing as how there so much ground to be broken, but let's belittle the contributions of others. This writing-off of modern cinema most likely comes from the same line of thinking that spawns such groaners as, "Springsteen never did anything worthwhile after his 2nd album." Or how about, "Most modern ballplayers couldn't hold a candle to Joe Dimaggio." Or even, "The '65 Mustang is the last great car." Give me a break. Come to think of it, this whole discussion sounds suspiciously like a Levi's Dockers commercial. {{{{{ | Chris White ( @ @ ) | Research Information Systems | U | | (619) 944-0373 | ~ | | ~~~~~ | Dammit, Jim. I'm a writer, not a doctor!