On Wed, 15 Dec 1993, Daniel B. Case wrote: > I do not know what troubles me more: the National Endowment of the > Arts denying funds to artists like Karen Finley and Annie Sprinkle > because their work is "obscene," or undergraduate students rebelling > at being "forced to watch" artworks which offend them. In my view, > to shock and disturb an audience is one of the most important effects > that an artwork can achieve. The idea of 18-23-year-olds putting > forth a "right" to be protected from such artworks and insisting that > they only be exposed to artworks which provide pleasant experiences > strikes me as one of the most disturbing trends in our culture. Daniel (and whomever else may be interested): I agree with you. This is a most disturbing aspect of this culture; and it is not limited to young people. We live in a "Coca Cola culture" (sickly sweet, over-bubbly, and artificially stimulated). Why else do movies have to have sickly sweet "endings (with relatively few exceptions) in order to be considered viable at the box office?