Pleasantly condescending comments from an academic who seems to believe, in proper fashion, that we should spend valuable time pondering the influences of the "people's" ignorant, boorish, greedy tastes on the conceptualizing of film "text." I maintain that film as a medium would be as powerful, useful, meaningful and experimental if the Oscars never existed at all. And to many, they don't. As to whether we need criteria at all? Only tenure committees really need criteria. The rest of us need honesty and authority. Where is Pauline Kael when we need her? Paul B. Wiener Special Services Librarian SUNY at Stony Brook 516/632-7253 [log in to unmask] ---- For past messages, visit the Screen-L Archives: http://bama.ua.edu/archives/screen-l.html