Letters

Inside the New Star Wars

As a lifelong fan of the Star Wars saga, I have nothing but the utmost respect for writer-producer-director George Lucas [ARTS, April 29]. I'm looking forward to Star Wars: Episode II--Attack of the Clones, but Star Wars: Episode I--The Phantom Menace was a bad movie because it was a weak story poorly told. It focused on arcane trade disputes and internecine politics instead of characters. Too many key scenes were designed to show off all the new tricks and special effects. As for Lucas' assertion that he can't make his films for fans, I agree that he can't seriously consider every criticism. But sometimes the fans' understanding of the world Lucas has created exceeds his own. RICARDO ALLEYNE Toronto

I enjoyed the Phantom Menace and can't wait to see Attack of the Clones. Filmmaker George Lucas has taught the world the meaning of special effects and deserves all the credit he gets. I don't believe it's fair to criticize his approach to making the Star Wars films. He has the ability to make exciting movies, and if it takes years of solitude between making them, that's fine with me. Titanic can't compare in quality and ingenuity with the Star Wars saga. REBECCA SAKSEFSKI Louisville, Ky.

Star Wars fans can only hope that Attack of the Clones makes up for the disappointment of The Phantom Menace. GARY MARTINEZ Winnetka, Calif.

You quoted Lucas as saying "The next film is really dark...The issue is, Will people stand for it?" Not only will we stand for it, it's what we've been waiting for all along. We want the darkness. It's what makes the story truly interesting, and it's the reason The Empire Strikes Back is my favorite movie in the saga thus far. A happy ending may please the crowd, but a dark ending will make people think. There are plenty of saccharin-sweet movies out there. I want something I have to wrap my mind around. MELISSA MORTH Houston

Lucas may pretend that the Star Wars movies are meant to enlighten us about the degeneration of democracies into dictatorships, but, as you wrote, it is closer to the truth that "the movie extends the franchise's target audience from 12-year-old boys (the action stuff) to 15-year-old girls (the smoochy scenes)." What these movies are about is filling seats and selling Star Wars merchandise. PETER DALEY Purcellville, Va.

--Readers longing for a respite from hard-news cover stories registered their gratitude for the guide to the new Star Wars movie. "Thank you for reporting on something that does not blow up civilians on a bus, drive tanks through refugee camps, molest children or plot to destroy America," wrote a relieved Virginian. "I'm content to focus on events that take place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." Agreed a New Yorker: "A little comic relief is frequently necessary for survival, when we consider the times we live in." And a North Carolina teen asked, "Can't this crazy world learn a thing or two from that sagacious Jedi master, Yoda?"

Renewable Resources

Are the environmental policies of George W. Bush's Administration green enough [POLITICS, April 29]? Decidedly not, but neither were those of his immediate predecessors. All of them and their environmental advisers missed the point. It's not whether we should be exploring for more oil and natural gas on public lands. Instead, we should be investing in technology that promotes renewable fuel sources, such as solar and wind power. Putting our economic and technological muscle into renewable sources will pay far greater benefits than any new drilling plans. BRIAN ILLES Glen Allen, Va.

"How green is the Bush administration?" AstroTurf green is the color that popped into my mind. LINDA GUNSHEFSKI Walla Walla, Wash.

How to Treat a Taboo

Thank you for the very first balanced and intelligent article on pedophilia I have read [SOCIETY, April 29]. Once we realize that it is a human problem and not just one for the Roman Catholic Church, we will be able to make progress in dealing with it. In the past, a calm, investigative approach has usually led to solutions to problems facing our society, and that method should work again with this one. (THE REV.) WILLIAM D. TURNBULL Stillwater, N.Y.

Here's how to minimize the effect of sexual abuse on children. Remove the whole issue from the public sphere and give up the mentality of revenge. Find ways to separate abusers from any contact with potential victims without a public criminal trial. Let families and social-service agencies work it out, then punish those offenders who don't comply. As children approach adolescence, put less emphasis on protecting them and more on preparing them to deal with the larger world in which they will soon be making their own decisions. Multi-million-dollar settlements to child-abuse victims do not aid the healing process. They are the result of opportunistic scams that should be recognized as a misuse of lawsuits. GERALD JONES Los Angeles

Ever Elusive Peace

Both the Israelis and the Palestinians need more than President Bush's demands or Colin Powell's briefcase full of ideas to halt their barbaric war [WORLD, April 22]. They need realistic incentives. Powell blew a golden opportunity to provide them by not solidly supporting the Saudi peace proposal during his recent tour of the Middle East. This proposal offers incentives for everyone. The Palestinians would get their sovereign state. Israel would get peace with the Palestinians and Arab neighbors. The Arab states would get a reduction in the threats to their internal stability fueled by popular sympathy for the Palestinians. And the U.S. would get improved relations with the Muslim world. HENRY M. BRADFORD Wolfville, N.S.

The Saudi peace proposal has become a pan-Arab plan agreed upon by all Arab countries. The U.S. acknowledges it as a good move toward peace. Yet the Israelis and Palestinians continue to receive direct and indirect aid to buy weaponry from Saudi Arabia and the U.S. The Israeli and Palestinian people are pawns in a chess game of oil supply and demand between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. DOUG SNEDDEN Ottawa

Calling the Kettle Black

Your story on al-Jazeera, the Arab news network, stated, "At times, al-Jazeera's coverage has resembled that of a national news channel rallying its people to war" [LETTER FROM CAIRO, April 29]. With all due respect, haven't you been watching CNN, Fox News, MSNBC or the American network news shows lately? Your statement portrays nationalistic reporting as something only foreign networks do. But how is al-Jazeera so different from American TV and the way it has rallied Americans to the so-called war on terror? DYLAN B.R. KERRIGAN Petit Valley, Trinidad and Tobago

Stop Viewing, Start Living!

Joel Stein's piece on turning off his television set for a week and not being much the wiser for it was simply inane [ESSAY, April 29]. I quit watching TV because I am nauseated by pop culture, and 90% of what's on TV panders to the most banal desires of humankind. Few Americans will ever produce a truly great work, not because we lack the skill or intelligence but because we have been taught that if it isn't instantaneous, it isn't worth the effort. We want everything right now. TV perpetuates this. OLIVIA GAFFORD Peabody, Mass.

I couldn't disagree more with Stein's rejection of a TV-free existence. While there is a small amount of quality adult programming, most shows dumb down our culture and provide terrible role models. Why not unplug the TV and start living? Since Sept. 11, we've invested more of our lives in meaningful interaction with real people. And that has released us from a culture defined by Top 10 lists. BEVERLY PHILLIPS Woodbridge, Va.

Does Stein really find reading boring? Does he truly believe that the hacks who foist unwatchable TV shows on us write better than, say, contemporary novelists Ian McEwan and the late W.G. Sebald? Or is Stein's Essay just a put-on? PHIL HARRISON Columbia, Mo.

Corrections

Our report on Samsung Electronics' success [BUSINESS, March 25] included a graphic showing Samsung's global market share for various products. The section on DRAM chips listed Samsung first, with a 27.9% market share, and Philips second. In fact, Micron is second, with a 20.3% market share.

The new study about the offspring of married first cousins [SOCIETY, April 15] began with a quote from a song popularized by Elvis Presley. We should have given credit to songwriters Fred Wise and Randy Starr for their 1964 composition Kissin' Cousins.