<<I get nervous when I
sense that the formal aspects of film are being invoked as a kind of
detachable
(or disposable) consideration . . . they seem to me to be implicit and
central
to any theoretical or critical perspective.>>
 
Allison-
I share your anxiety. I see these artificial demarcations as part of a
deplorable trend, visible in virtually all human endeavors these days, to
"balkanize" and "polarize" every conceivable concept, from politics to
history.
At the risk of sounding Marxist, I believe that synthesis rather than rigid
separatism is necessary to make sense of whatever world one is discussing.
Over-specialization, often I fear in the service of self-aggrandizement, has
narrowed us in subtle and overt ways. What is needed is a clarity of
statement that all things are interconnected and that the broadest possible
range of knowledge is as necessary in academic circles as it is throughout
life.
Gene Stavis- School of Visual Arts, NYC