To the editors:
I recently caught up with Jonathan Rosenbaum’s review of the current Indiana Jones offering, “Temple of Dumb,” published in your June 2 issue.
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And Mr. Rosenbaum is certainly entitled not to like the movie–yea, to heap his scorn upon it. I’m not putting it on my 100 Best list, either. But to cry that it’s manipulative and stifles the imagination? He may as well complain that water is wet.
And yes, yes, movies are powerfully manipulative, appealing to the instantaneous, uncritical response of the subconscious–always have been, always will be. So, but to a lesser degree, are the stories, myths, legends and epics of human civilization. All but the simplest narratives are by nature layered with subtext, and subtext is by nature just plain sneaky. And that includes the action serials of Rosenbaum’s idyllic, pre-Joseph Campbell youth.
Patricia Langley W. Jarvis
