From: Norma Jean <nsawicki>
Date: Fri, 09 Jul 2004 09:51:07 -0500

Polar Express and The Lord of the Rings sold incredibly well...millions...before any thought of a movie. That they are thought of as classics by many is, to my way of thinking, the reason they became movies. It is not always true that a movie increases the sale of a particular book...it is true in some cases but not in others. From the chair in which I sit, I do not consider these particular books popular culture...unlike the books by Madonna and Jay Leno. While there are kids/ adults who love reading/ books, my fear is that reading/ books will become an "elitist " activity just as it was when the country was founded. That one had to be able to read in order to vote...and voting was then considered a privilege...is one of the reasons many people wanted to learn how to read. Reading was a way of moving ahead, and becoming integrated in American society.

As far as movies are concerned, I think of some as popular culture and others not. To my way of thinking it is an art form that consists of trash as well as first-rate movies that can hold their own with terrific books. Norma Jean
Received on Fri 09 Jul 2004 09:51:07 AM CDT