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From: barry@ames.UUCP (Kenn Barry)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Corp. for Public B'cast (Testament)
Message-ID: <697@ames.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 12-Dec-84 18:45:51 EST
Article-I.D.: ames.697
Posted: Wed Dec 12 18:45:51 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 14-Dec-84 05:42:13 EST
References: <240@ssc-vax.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: NASA-Ames Research Center, Mtn. View, CA
Lines: 36

[]
	From Michael Esco (ssc-vax!esco):
> First, what right does a government-funded agency have to be in the
> commercial film industry, investing tax dollars to compete with legitimate
> private enterprises? Will the department of agriculture open a chain of 
> fast-food places next? Second, why is a government-funded agency spending tax
> dollars on an overtly political film? Will they be producing the sequel
> to `Red Dawn' to balance the scale? Thirdly, why should there be a CPB at
> all---or a National Endowment for the Arts for that matter. What business
> is it of government to fund `art' that the majority of people would find
> of questionable value?
  
	The question of government funding of the arts is a reasonable
one, and I don't know that I'd disagree with you, except to emphasize
that TESTAMENT was only one minor example of this, not the start of a
new trend.
	Turning your indictment around, here's an intriguing question
for libertarians: if commercial TV is a fair example of what the free
market produces, and PBS a fair sample of "socialism", are you *sure*
you prefer to rely on market forces? I've seen a lot of good stuff on
PBS, but almost everything on the commercial networks makes my stomach
hurt. Oh, well, probably not a fair example.
	My *real* reason for writing this is to dispute the idea that
TESTAMENT is an "overtly political film". Yes, I can infer the opinions
of the filmakers on issues of arms control; I don't share them. But,
in all fairness, they did not propagandize their (presumed) views in
the film (which was excellent). The only explicit statement I saw in
the film was that a nuclear war would be a horrible thing, and ought
to be avoided. Did I miss something when I went to the bathroom?

-  From the Crow's Nest  -                      Kenn Barry
                                                NASA-Ames Research Center
                                                Moffett Field, CA
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