RQuesada.ES@XEROX.ARPA@sri-unix.UUCP (07/19/84)
There is an article in the July 19 (that's today, Thursday) edition of the Los Angeles Times, calendar section, page 14 about the movie "Seventeen" that might be quite interesting to read. Looks like there's an extra filmex screening for those who have missed it the first time. The July 7 show was sold out days before that date but there was midnight showing that was not announced till later that day. I watched the midnight show and I thought that this was a real good film, very realistic and down-to-earth. The actors didn't seem like professional actors to me - looks like they were the actual people in the town of Muncie, Ind. who portrayed themselves. If you missed the last show, I suggest you check out this coming one. It is quite interesting, too, to see what sort of films Xerox would not approve of. Excerpts... "..."Seventeen" initially was commissioned as one of six documentaries that would make up a series for the Public Broadcasting Service called "Middletown," each examining a different aspect of life in Muncie, Ind. Kreines and DeMott (the filmakers) focused on the lives of a group of high school students during the 1980-81 school year. The film was never broadcast, however, because of a controversy that arose over its contents. The two-hour documentary showed teenagers drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana, using profanity and racial slurs, talking about sex and dating interacially. They were seen interacting with their peers, their parents and their teachers. For reasons that were never made public - but which followed complaints from citizens in Muncie and from Xerox, the corporate underwriter of the "Middletown" series - PBS demanded an extensive series of changes in the program. Peter Davis, excutive producer of the series, withdrew the film rather than comply....."