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The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1977-02-17, Page 24Page 24 Times.Advocate, February 17, 1977 Letter writers express opinion on halting movie )0. WURY, F Dear Editor: As students we were very disappointed with the actions taken by citizens of Exeter who objected to the showing of the unsurpassed masterpiece "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" !fist Friday evening in the high school auditorium. The film is a dramatic and realistic account of a man who enters a mental institution to finish out his jail term in comfort. It tells of his trials and problems and the initial sacrifice of his freedom when he loses his sanity by becoming involved with other patients around him. It is not restricted. A total of three phone calls were placed between the students' council and the film company to ensure this. The movie is a parental guidance film and it was chosen by means of a vote on the part of the whole student body. On Friday night, the principal, Mr. Wooden, was obliged to shut the movie off, by the police, because of complaints they had received. The movie was only half way through the showing. We did not have a certified document saying the the film was not restricted. We did, however, ensure before we received the film that it was not, and we had been assured that it definitely was not restricted for public use again on Monday. We were forced to turn off the film because we were not ready to take on a legal battle without certified proof. As a result, we have suffered. The initial bill for the film was $531 which has been paid. The student council is trying to get this money refunded. The tickets sold Friday night were all refunded, but student council finances are suffering the damages of lost profit. Our disappointments are greatest not here, but with the action of our complainers, "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" won three Emmy Awards in 1976. It is studied, in book form, on the grade 13 English course and it is truly a remarkable film. Some people, however, do not agree with this, perhaps offended by the use of profane language, or a scene in the film depicting a labotamy. We agree that youhave the right to stand up for your beliefs and concerns but we are plagued by one question. Why did you wait so long to lodge your complaint? The movie was advertised two weeks run- ning in the paper, and notes were also sent home to parents. If the complaints had come a little earlier we would have been given the chance to ensure that we were right, and that the film was a parental guidance film. The last minute complaints and the interruption of the film during its showing leaves us feeling very unfairly treated, We hope that our adult com- plainers did not take advantage of us because we are students and also, that we have steered up some of the many misconceptions surrounding this unfortunate incident. On behalf of the students, S.H.D.H.S. Lucy Van Esbroeck Susan Chapman * * * South Huron D.H.S. Students Council To the residents of Exeter The Students Council of South Huron would like to thank those people who have concerned themselves, as to the problem which arose this past week in regards to the film "One flew Over the Cuckoo's nest." It was not the intention of the Council to create such an at- mosphere for its 1977 Winter Carnival as was created. One of the purposes of a Students Council is to raise money for the activities which take place each year, within the school, These activities include Outers, yearbooks, Guardian and especially athletics which requires a substantial amount of financing each year. The Council is able to acquire this money through fund raising events like its Winter Carnival which help supply the $10,000 needed annually to keep the students active and interested in the school system, I feel that the Students Council of South Huron is very fortunate in the'way it is operated! In some schools the Students Council is merely a go-between for the stud9nts and staff, with the ad- ministration ultimately making the decisions. At South Huron, this is not the way the system is run, as the Council would have no real existence and the purpose would have been defeated. At. South Huron the Administration is used as an advisory staff, which is greatly needed and appreciated as they can sometimes see things we overlook, With the incident that occurred this past Friday in regards to the film "One flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" it is the hope of the Council that it will not reflect on our Principal, J. L. Wooden, as he could find no reason that the film could not have been shown ef- fectively within the school, as the book is part of the English course at South Huron. It seems that each time something occurs at a school, the principal is the first to be at- tacked. In most • cases he has approved the function, but as to the way it is run or set up, very little is said unless a problem is overlooked by the Council. The film had been placed in a ballot along with two other films of equal interest. It was through this democratic vote that a 94 percent interest was shown in the film "One flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" a film which received three academy awards in the 1976 awards program. We find it most distressing that the decision of 1000 students (who are supposed to be young adults) can be altered by a couple of persons who don't want their young adults to see such "REALITY" as it could damage the parents' programming of the child into their society. In closing I would again like to thank the majority who offered to help in our problem and to those few in the minority who created it and hope that it will not reflect on our Administration, Students Council or its future activities, Phil Knight President, South Huron D.H.S. Students Council * * * To the Editor To the Community of Exeter and surrounding areas • The world of films has come to be a very controversial subject in the past few years. Different ratings have been sealed onto different movies that may suggest that a child may be ac- companied by an adult or that a person must be eighteen years of age. To some extent these ratings may be true and some are en- forced. It's not hard for a very "angelic" person to comment on a movie that has a few harsh words in it or coarse language. These people, if they are so concerned about the language in a show, they should not be television viewers and their children who are probably "angels" too should more than likely have their mouths washed out with a large bar of soap. I have been a student at South Huron District High School for five good years and not once have I walked down those sacred halls without hearing some language that I myself would not even repeat. Teenagers, if you can call them that, use some language that would rot out your ears, This brings me to the problem we had at the school the past Friday night concerning the movie "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Being an eighteen year old girl I feel that I have a bit of say in this com- munity now that I have reached the voting age. Being on the Student's Council Executive I have taken on a different type of responsibility. We work at having a good time for the kids at school who enjoy what we do for them. We try to stay within reason of the parents concerning such things as late hours. We have dances, concerts and formals at the school which are of some enjoyment to the kids. This year at our winter car- nival we wanted to have a good time but as it seems some per- sons who seemed to be concerned about this movie ruined the evening for about 300 to 400 kids and parents who were out to enjoy a Friday evening at the movies. These people who had so much to say should have came to the school to us the Student's Council to complain. As it was the movie had been advertised for two weeks in The Times-Advocate but as it seems these persons acted very stupid and waited until the last moment to do their so-called complaining. We cannot blame the con- stables for coming to the high school becaue we know that they must do their duties too. It is the parents who we are concerned about. So you, those parents I have to say that if you don't think that your child has heard bad language or even used it himself around friends or behind your back when you have given them static over something then you as a parent are in some trouble. Your child is a victim of this society and there isn't one thing that you can do about it because there just isn't any way of con- trolling it! The time comes when every parent must accept the fact that his; her child has grown up and must face life and parents don't be surprised if your child knows more about some things than you yourself will ever know. When people want to complain about something that we the Student's Council are doing then come to us about it because we represent the student so we are the ones to talk to not the prin- cipal or vice principal but us the students. We aren't hard to get along with but we don't like to be made to look like fools! Something like this kind of an episode of having to shut down a movie hurt us, not because of the money even though the film did cost a lot but because we try to succeed at what we do and when someone stabs us in the back we take time to get over it. Many people are upset over this cancelling of the movie and I am one of them. So to these complaining parents PLEASE the next time come to us because we don't like to be made to look like IDIOTS in front of this community which is where we are a part, Heather Dougherty Social Convener S.H.D.H.S. * * * Letter to Editor In reference to the movie that was to be shown at S.H.D.H.S. last Friday night, I have some suggestions for parents in case this should ever happen again. The first is this: if there should be a questionable movie shown at the high school, don't allow your children to go. Instead keep them at home and let them watch Starsky and Hutch shoot down a few people and smash up a couple cars, or you could join them in watching Rockford driving 80 m.p.h. down the road, shooting at people from the window of his Firebird. Cartoons are also good en- tertainment for kids; especially the ones where someone is killed every 5 seconds and them jumps back to life again. This really helps to give children a good understanding of death. Better yet make it a family affair and take the kids to London to see King Kong stomp on some towns and crush a couple people. The other suggestion I have is this: When you see the movie advertised in the paper two weeks ahead of time don't do anything about it then. Wait until eight in the middle of the movie when the people have already seen half of it and then do something about it. That way the Student Council will lose at least $500. of the students' money and they'll learn a lesson. Whatever you do don't call the school and complain to them, Go right to the police; you'll embarrass the school much more that way and you might even get it in the news. Something has got to be done. We just can't have children seeing these movies and learning what life is all about. Laurie Becker * * * South Huron District High School Exeter, Ont. Editor Exeter Times-Advocate Exeter, Ont, Dear Sir: On Friday, Feb. 11, the South Huron Winter Carnival was dis- rupted by the local police who stopped the showing of the movie "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest", The police were acting on the complaint of an anonymous zealot, eager to protect us from something. I have read the book. I have seen the movie. I highly recom- mend either to anyone of any age. If we had chosen to show Marathon Man, in which the hero is tortured by a sadistic dentist, we would have had no anonymous complaints. If we had shown Dirty Harry, in which villains have their blood and brains splattered across the screen, we would have had no visit from the police. Instead we tried to show a moral and sensitive movie about insanity in which some of ,the dialogue of the inmates is realistic and biting and often fun- ny. We outraged one of the self- appointed saints. This affair has reflected badly on the Exeter police. In my view, they are wrong to let themselves be bullied by a self-righteous crusader. People like this have a narrow, crabbed view of morali- ty and are out of touch with the real moral issues of our time. But it leaves me with the sinking feeling that the cuckoo's nest is still inhabited. Yours truly Bill Johnston * * * To the Editor, Exeter Times Advocate, Exeter, Ontario, Sir: The interruption and sub- sequent cessation of the film "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by the police last Friday evening at South Huron District High School is action that I find very difficult to tolerate. Let me make it at once clear, however, that I have no hard feelings toward the police and do not, in any way, wish to level any criticism in regard to the of- ficer's action; unfortunately, he was put in a very difficult situation and had very little choice in the matter. What angers me terribly is the fact that four persons would put the police in such a position by complaining about the film. Obviously, these persons' con- tentions centred on the argument that the film was obscene (possibly even pornographic) and not suitable for the general audience viewing it in the South Huron auditorium. Furthermore, the complaints were registered with the police on the night of the film and, in fact, during the film, even though it had been advertised in The Times-Advocate for the past two weeks. Why could these people not have come forward during this period, registered their complaint with Mr. Wooden and the Student Council, and cleared up the matter so that, if necessary, another film could be obtained for that Friday night? As it now stands, the Council was forced to refund all viewers the full admission price, and may incur a debt of over $500. The economics of the matter is, however, a relatively minor issue. The crux of the affair is that the 400 people, viewing the film ap- parently had no freedom of choice, but rather, were supposed to be quite content in being subjected to the narrow-minded, extreme morality of others which claims that if the script of a film contains four-letter words, the film is obscene and of no value. It is worth mentioning that about one-third of the audience was adult, and also worth mentioning that some parents, having seen the movie and ap- preciated it for what it is, en- couraged their children (under 18) to attend the showing of the film. Students were in no way coerced or solicited to attend the showing, and any person in the auditorium when the projector was shut down was there of his own free will, As for students there without their parents' permission or knowledge of their whereabouts, I can only say that such parents should have taken what they considered appropriate action to prevent their children from seeing the film, If they did not, they have no right to complain, for it is because of their inadequacy as parents that their children saw the film without their permission. In saying this, I may appear to be agreeing with the contention that the film is obscene, but, let me assure you, I certainly do not. Obscenity is, like beauty, in the eye of the beholder. For those obsessed with it, as the com- plainants obviously are, it can be broken down Into roughly three categories: sex, violence and language. Unfortunately, violence is usually the most overlooked of the three. So therefore, let us start with violence in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". In the past year,, we have been assaulted by an on- slaught of extremely violent films that depict violence in its most brutal and senseless forms, any number of which children could watch on television. No doubt that these films are perfect examples of sen- sationalism that serve to amuse small minds, but the fact is that they are available to children as well as adults, To name a few, we have had: Dirty Harry, Magnum Force, and perhaps the most violent, Walking Tall, Born Losers and Bloody Mama. Speaking quite realistically, these pictures put "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in the fairy tale category. Not only does Cuckoo's Nest not sensationalize violence, it states quite clearly the futility of 'it. Sexually, I have also seen more explicit films on television, which, I would again like to point out, is available to the child. In comparing "Cuckoo's Nest" to television programming, I can only say that sex, sexual over- tones, and subliminal seduction are more apparent in television advertising than in this film. In fact, I can quite honestly say that I have seen just as much naked female flesh in suntan lotion commercials as I did in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". It seems, that for the most part, it is the language that disturbs most of the people that are disturbed about the film. In particular, it is one word—that four-letter slang term most commonly used to signify copulation—that all the fuss is about. As far as other profanity in the film is concerned, there was no expression used that has not — been heard coming from, television sets. Quite obviously, those that maintain that the film should not have been shown should maintain that television should be censored as well. In some cases, I could only agree willingly, but in others—and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is one of them—I can only disagree violently. "Cuckoo's Nest" is not a film that tends to exploit sensationalism, glorify senseless and brutal violence, or encourage sexual promiscuity. In these situations, certain people tend to hear four-letter words first and totally disregard the social significance and educational importance of the film, condemning it vehemently. Such a position is quite similar to judging the merits of a book by observing its cover and is therefore inexcusable. While it can be argued that the film was possibly too deep for younger members of the audience to grasp, I can only say that if one person in 10 un- derstood the themes of the movie, it was a' great success. Fur- thermore, it is not as if everyone in the audience (including .13 and 14 year-olds, which I understand to be the youngest viewing the film) had never heard the four- letter word in question, and was sinfully corrupted. On the contrary, I am quit. sure that everyone there had heard the term before entering the South Huron auditorium, and some, no doubt, had even em- ployed it elsewhere. Thus, the contention that Mr. Wooden, the student council, or any of the teachers, were corrupting the audience by showing the film holds little water. Let me emphasize again that absolutely nobody was under any obligation to attend the film, Those that wished to see it could; those that wished not to see it did not have to, There were ab- solutely no obligations; there was, in fact, a freedom of choice. However, when the four complainants forced the police to shut down the projector, they also , obligated the 400 people viewing the film at the time to accept their narrow-minded viewpoint, In doing so, they destroyed the freedom of choice present when the film was started. Only in our democratic society can a minority of four impose their beliefs on a majority of 400 through the authorities. Nfohover, all Of this was un- warranted and could have been avoided if the complainants chose to be more open and not to employ such dirty tactics. I would appreciate a reply in writing from any one of the fo complainants. Yours truly, Blake Palmer Student S.H.D.H.S, k (H. RIAAH F AA01 ETIT THE GONG PANEL — A local variation of the Gong Show was enjoyed by a large crowd at South Huron District High School Saturday night. The panel shown above included staff member Doug Ellison, student John Gould and vice-principal Herb Murphy. T-A photo PIE THROWERS — Nancy Hern and'Ida Ann Blackwell threaten to toss pies at student council president Phil Knight during Saturday's winter carnival at SHDHS. T-A photo BEST CAKE BAKERS — A cake baking contest for boys was one of the features of Saturday's winter car- nival at South Huron District High School, Above, Paul Van Gerwen, Frank Winters and ban Mittelholtz dish play their prize winning cake, T-A photo BEST BUBBLE BLOWER — Rollie Grenier won the bubble gum blow- ing title during Saturday's winter carnival at SHDHS. Above, Donna Stewart measures one of the champion's creations. T-A photo STELLA AND FRIENDS One of the acts at Saturday nights Gong Show at SHDHS was Stella Star, and the 30's. From the left they are Kirri Kristoierson, Judy DeJong, Ida Ann Blackwell and Karin Kristoferson,