Gloria - <<I have a feeling that you are establishing a hierarchy where American cinema must come first and foremost. If I misread you I apologize.>> I think you are confusing an entire history of cinema curriculum with early cinema. The fact is that, whether we approve or not, the earliest developments of cinema (i.e. pre-1915) came almost exclusively from "Western" countries. Whether because of technology, prejudice, economic reasons, there is simply no extant evidence that, in this specific period, significant pioneering work was done outside traditional Western countries (France, GB, Italy, U.S., Germany, Russia, Scandanavia). This is not a value judgment, it is simply a fact of history. And, in terms of artistic development (in this early period), that is where the most influential work was done. Now, in teaching the history of cinema in its entirety, there are doubtless people who emphasize one culture over another. That is just as invalid as distorting history by attempting to impose today's cultural imperatives on the facts of history. But, as long as these courses are taught by human beings, distortions will certainly occur. That is no excuse for imposing deliberate distortions on history with no evidence for doing so. When I teach the history of films, there is a wide representation of cinema throughout the world. I do my best to let history speak for itself (although I have as much cultural bias as anyone does.) All the fervent wishing that history conform to our "enlightened" view simply does not make it so. Gene Stavis - School of Visual Arts, NYC