ecn-pa.bruner (08/03/82)
[This is in response to an article in "net.movies" (nsc.212); I'm replying here because the subject is not specifically related to movies and movie reviews.] I'm sorry you didn't enjoy TRON. I'm not sure I understand how Disney sold out to Falwell, though, since there are several serious flaws in the analogy between TRON and Christianity: There are a multitude of Users (polytheism). Flynn, as the User who went to the computer "universe", didn't die there; obviously then he couldn't be resurrected. Belief in a User did not include the assurance of life after death. Programs that "de-rezzed" were dead, period. Communication with Users could occur only at I/O towers, through the action of a guardian. Prayer requires no special location or intermediary. If the existance of some form of mass media (movie, book, magazine, etc.) which espouses a moral or religious philosophy [note: I'm not conceding that TRON is doing the latter; I might concede that the former is the moral theme of good-vs-evil] constitutes repression, then I could classify a very large percentage of the mass media as repressive. It appears that you'd prefer that things like TRON not be made; well, I'd prefer that magazines like Playboy not be printed. If I tried to ban the publication of Playboy you'd accuse me of trying to abridge Hugh Hefner's First Amendment rights. How does that differ from wanting to curtail production of movies like TRON? I agree that the Moral Majority is not the answer; while I don't differ greatly with their philosophy, I can't accept their methods. But two wrongs don't make a right. A little tolerance and consideration is needed on both sides. As a matter of fact, I was unhappy with the religious implications of TRON (for exactly the opposite reasons that you were), but I overlooked it because it was just a fantasy film (despite its billing as "science fiction"). I wasn't happy with the "Genesis Effect" in Star Trek II either (creating life from inert matter), or with the "Force" in the Star Wars films, but they didn't ruin the films for me. It seems odd that the belief systems that cause the most controversy when used in mass entertainment are those which resemble Christianity. John Bruner Purdue University/EE Department