A Mother’s Message to Hollywood

* Re “Hollywood Sells Kids on Violence, FTC Says,” Sept. 11: I am the mother of three kids, 19, 17 and 15 years old. I remember vividly the first time I sailed a CD that my son had just purchased out the window of my car into a dumpster after hearing only the first few lines. I also remember when “Mortal Kombat” arrived in the stores and all the kids “had to have it” because it was so graphically bloody and violent.

There are people making major profits off this stuff who say we, as parents, should be policing what our kids hear, play and see. It’s real hard when that is the only thing they are offered and when we parents are so busy trying to make ends meet that we don’t have the time to preview all of the industry’s offerings. To the entertainment industry: Take off the red ribbons! You are doing more to promote the spread of AIDS by jamming indiscriminate sex down the throats of our youth for your own financial gain.

EILEEN JOHNSON

Northridge

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Michael Ramirez’s Sept. 12 cartoon depicts the dumping of toxic waste from the Hollywood community into the head of a child. However, it’s missing an incredibly important ingredient--the parent. Somewhere between the WWF and “Mortal Kombat” there needs to be a capable, responsible adult in each child’s life who teaches the values the child will need to respect himself/herself as well as others. Teaching my child right from wrong is not the responsibility of the government or the entertainment industry--and don’t get me wrong, I think there’s a lot of garbage on television. The good news is that my children think so too.

RICHARD E. GREENBERG

Pacific Palisades

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Citizens should file a class-action suit against the studios in Hollywood for marketing a violent product. The funds could be used to build playgrounds and to educate and shield young people against violence. This could be a Rob Reiner-type of plan against a product equally as destructive as tobacco. Removing violence from the lives of the young is certainly as important as removing tobacco.

RICHARD A. REYNOLDS

Lomita

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As I recall, it was only four short years ago when Bill Clinton and Al Gore dumped all over poor old Bob Dole for his stand on Hollywood and violence for kids on TV, movies and video games. Now it looks like old Bob was right after all. How hypocritical of Gore to take millions in cash from Hollywood, muzzle Joseph Lieberman on the subject and now to declare himself the savior of children. I guess in an election year one goes with the flow.

MICHAEL L. FRIEDMAN

Torrance

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The only connection with the 1st Amendment relating to freedom of speech by the film producers, writers and actors is the freedom to make money.

DON R. BEAVER

Monarch Beach