David Ansen’s critique of the new “Star Wars” movie, “The Phantom Menace,” says that the casting is bad, the acting is bad and it’s badly written (" ‘Star Wars’: The Phantom Movie," Society & The Arts, May 17). When I was little and my parents took me to see “Return of the Jedi,” I didn’t notice any flaws like bad dialogue or bad casting. I saw a shiny gold robot and his little buddy, a little green man who talked funny, a blond hero ready for anything, a giant hairy thing that growled like a big puppy, a pretty girl with long hair, a cool pilot and, last but not least, a very scary guy in black. I didn’t pay attention to the critics. So why should I start now? People go to these movies because they want to see something that will capture their eyes and hearts–as the previous trilogy did many years ago. Do critics out there really think those avid fans and their children are going to listen to their negative reviews? Justin Scott Mooresville, North Carolina
On May 25, 1977, a pretty girl and I stood in line for three hours to see “Star Wars.” Now, 22 years later, I wanted to see “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” with her, but then I realized that the chances of getting in on opening night were tantamount to my winning a lottery. But the anticipation of seeing it in July, when it opens in Japan, may be as delicious as the original experience. The Force is still around. Michael G. Driver Ichihara City, Japan
I am sorry David Ansen didn’t like “The Phantom Menace.” I’m also sorry he thinks that it’s overhyped, and that Lucas is “rusty” and “his rhythm is off.” However, I can sum up the feelings of all real “Star Wars” fans in three words: We don’t care! Do you believe for one second that any of the ugly reviews we’re reading will deter any of us from seeing the movie and loving every minute of it? Not on your life! Penney Nile Hollywood, California
David Ansen, shame on you. At a time when tragedies such as Columbine demonstrate that children need entertainment devoid of gratuitous violence, gore and self-destruction, you turn into the Grinch That Stole “Star Wars.” “The Phantom Menace” is an entertaining and original adventure that introduces fantastic new creatures, worlds and characters while exploring the archetypal theme that made the first “Star Wars” trilogy so timeless–the eternal conflict between good and evil. The reintroduction of a popular children’s entertainment that dares to state there are forces of good and evil in this world, that one must choose between the two and take responsibility for one’s actions, is a breath of fresh air from the stale lungs of Hollywood. Ted Spellman Stevenson Ranch, California
I’m sorry to hear that David Ansen found “Star Wars: Episode I” disappointing. Anyone who has studied a little bit of “Star Wars” knows that the saga is not just about “urgency.” Director George Lucas set the basis in “Phantom Menace” on which “Episode II” and “Episode III” will be built. It might be true that this is “the ultimate example of cultural auto-intoxication.” But Ansen himself is the victim of 20th-century Drang (German for drive, desire) for hype and speed if he thinks we should have the whole story in just 20 minutes. Jan T. Sielecki Paris, France
David Ansen seems to be upset that Anakin Skywalker’s character isn’t evil enough. What was he expecting? “Omen in Space”? Did it ever occur to this critic that the reason why Anakin Skywalker isn’t evil is because he’s young and has not been corrupted yet and that that will come in later episodes? And that by having Anakin Skywalker be a more or less innocent kid at first will make his downfall in later episodes all the more dramatic? Of course not: the critics were determined to dislike the film. I think we live in a society where being cynical is a fad. And when filmmakers like George Lucas have soft and childlike emotions in films, critics bash the filmmakers and their movies in every way possible. I must say I applaud George Lucas for making this movie critic-proof. Nelson E. Argueta Lancaster, Massachusetts
Here in Brazil, we do not have any tradition of waiting in lines for movies. The marketing machine doesn’t pay too much attention to the film industry. But the “Star Wars” saga touched many people. We’re waiting in line for the saga that has followed us from childhood to adulthood. It’s not because of the media coverage, but because the movie makes for a good party (“The Selling of ‘Star Wars’”). Since George Lucas–portrayed as a nasty rich man in your article–is the one who created this wonderful tale, we just have to adore him. We’ll spend a lot of money on “Star Wars” memorabilia, but not because of the movie marketing. When you go to a beautiful country, you bring back souvenirs that remind you of all the fun you had there. “Star Wars” stuff is just like postcards to us “Star Wars” fans. Ana Lucia Polessi Itatiba, Brazil
I read with interest your articles about “Star Wars.” Part of the lure of the “Star Wars” series is that it continues to have a cross-generational appeal. I still remember my brother saying about “Return of the Jedi”: “You’ve got to see this movie!” And so we did. The whole family went to see a movie together. This is something that had rarely happened since the Disney movies of my childhood. For my parents, it was the Saturday serials all over again. For the rest of us it was something we had never seen before. And we loved it. Together. Look at the lines that now feature 30- and 40-year-olds buying tickets for their parents. That is part of the reason why “Star Wars” will continue to get rave reviews from the real fans. Patsy Carruthers Ludlow, Kentucky
Twenty years ago, Star Wars was a remarkable milestone in the entertainment industry. Today, with “The Phantom Menace,” we’re witnessing the most overwhelming marketing campaign ever seen. There’s no doubt: the Force is still with George Lucas. Marco Polo Lindoso Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
More Than One China Telecom
Your article, on the opening of mainland China’s telecommunications industry, made numerous references to “China Telecom” (“The Last Emperor Exits,” Business, May 17). To avoid any possibility for misunderstanding, we at China Telecom (Hong Kong) Limited hasten to point out that “China Telecom” is not a reference to our company, which is publicly traded, with shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol “CHL”) and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited. China Telecom (Hong Kong) Limited providescellular mobile telecommunications services in Guangzhou, Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces through three subsidiary companies. As of Dec. 31, 1998, our aggregate subscriber base exceeded 6.5 million customers. Wang Xiaochu, Chairman and President China Telecom (Hong Kong) Limited Hong Kong
A New China Syndrome
If the last several weeks in Yugoslavia have proved anything, it is that we cannot win a war in the air that we are unwilling to fight on the ground (“What Do We Do Now?,“Europe, May 17). After the accidental bombing of the Chinese Embassy, how can we continue to cling to the notion that carrying on a strictly air offensive will spare the loss of innocent life? As the death toll in Yugoslavia mounts, it is becoming obvious that despite our humanitarian pretensions, we simply value the lives of our own soldiers above those of Serbian, Kosovar–and now Chinese–civilians. Tod R. Pleasant Greenfield, Massachusetts
The return of three American soldiers was cheered by millions in the Western world. Do the lives of three Chinese killed in the embassy bombing weigh less? And what about the many lives of innocent civilians killed in this war in the name of justice? Are their lives worth even less? It is high time Slobodan Milosevic is brought to justice. Kyoko Smith Kobe, Japan
Fareed Zakaria ends his article, “What Do We Do Now?” by asking a very shortsighted question: “Why should we be involved in this crisis? Because we made it worse.” NATO is guilty of planning mistakes, failures in action and consequently too many civil casualties. But the same can be said about the Allies during World War II. Every single dead civilian was regrettable. But what was important in the long run was the peace, prosperity and freedom that was made possible by the combination of victory and the Marshall Plan. We’ve enjoyed the longest period of peace in Central Europe. The “ethnic cleansing” in the Balkans was not started by NATO and we would’ve preferred not being involved. But now is the time to do the same for southeast Europe as was done for Central Europe. Then there will hopefully be a new Serbia–just as we today see a new Germany. Karl-Heinz Reinartz Wettringen, Germany
In his article, “What Do We Do Now?” Fareed Zakaria offers intriguing answers to the war against Serbia. Yet he ignores two aspects that make a diplomatic solution unlikely. NATO’s involvement did not worsen the crisis. The original aim was to finally stop an ongoing genocide (“ethnic cleansing”) that started as early as 1991, when the Serbs invaded Vukovar. The United States’ global commitment to democratic values has kept dictators in check for the past 50 years. Zakaria’s article seems to imply a fatalistic return to isolationism. But this would allow all the Saddam Husseins and Slobodan Milosevics of the world to commit crimes against humanity, yet remain unpunished. When it comes to standing up for morality, the “civilized” world has always turned to the United States for help. This is what is happening in Kosovo today. B. Baier Arnsberg, Germany
China should thank NATO for bombing its embassy in Belgrade. Because of the bombing, China got the world’s sympathy and no one remembers that 10 years ago, the Tiananmen riot started. Young students were only peacefully demanding democracy, but the Chinese government considered them a threat. On June 4 it sent tanks and armored troops in to stop the riots. What are three people killed because of NATO’s bad intelligence compared with the Chinese government’s killings of its own citizens–only because they asked for something as “childish and naive” as democracy? Harri Hakala Helsinki, Finland
The negligence involved in the “mistaken bombing” of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade undid, in a few seconds, all the slow, gradual nurturing of good U.S.-China relations over the past two decades. The mistake was especially galling since even tourist maps purchased in downtown Belgrade showed the embassy’s correct location. My wife and I traveled last month in China–Suzhou, Hangzhou, Yellow Mountain. We were struck by the friendliness of people (who usually spoke no English) smiling at us in parks and at scenic sites. I wonder if anyone there is smiling at Americans today. Paul Hertelendy Piedmont, California
I received the May 17, 1999, issue of NEWSWEEK today and was very disappointed with it even before reading a single article. Why does an overhyped fantasy movie make the cover and get nine pages of space, when the U.S. bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia gets only four pages? This bombing will continue to affect U.S.-Chinese relations for years to come. Your magazine is only serving to reinforce the idea in Chinese minds that America really doesn’t care. While Americans flock to their movie theaters to engage in trivial escapism, more than a billion Chinese curse America and demand an end to the war. Keith Andreve Shanghai, China
In response to the tragic incident in Littleton, the president of the United States said that adults should show children by their own example that violence is wrong. I fail to understand how he can say that while NATO is in the process of bombing Yugoslavia. What Milosevic is doing in Kosovo is horrendous. Still, you don’t “accidentally” drop a bomb on another country, or on Kosovar refugees, in the process of correcting the wrong, and you certainly don’t kill people from countries on the other side of the world by bombing their embassy “by mistake.” If all these people are casualties in the war for peace, what kind of peace is NATO fighting for? Hana Habayeb Amman, Jordan
The western press makes a big deal out of the fact that a number of Kosovar refugees have been killed as part of “collateral damage.” But are the Serbs accidentally killing Kosovars in Kosovo? Are the Serbs accidentally forcing hundreds of thousands of Kosovars to leave their homes? Greg Hilker Worms, Germany
Brazil’s ‘Real’ Crisis
Your article on Brazil’s ability to override last January’s financial crisis was well written and informative, but it missed some important details (“Brazil Comes Back,” World Affairs, May 10). To say that the governor of Brazil’s Minas Gerais state, Itamar Franco, caused the January devaluation of the real is to overlook much more important structural factors like the internal debt. The debt stood for about 60 billion reals when he left the presidency at the end of 1984 and has increased tenfold in the Cardoso presidency, due to the surreal interest rates intended to prop up the real at any cost. The cost, we all know, is a record-high unemployment rate, crime and human destitution. Leandro Moura Sao Paulo, Brazil
The Columbine Massacre
As a European, I don’t think American teenagers are more violent than other teenagers in the world (“Anatomy of a Massacre,” Special Report, May 3). It is evident that the main reason for the school massacres in the United States is American teenagers’ easy access to all kinds of weapons. And what do American authorities do to stop this? Far from enough, if you ask me. Marcos Mosquera Boquete Ordes, Spain
In the end, war, violent movies, videogames or the Internet don’t affect children as much as the people around them, especially their parents. I know that I couldn’t get away with building bombs in my garage without my mother peeking her head in a lot to ask what I was doing. At the very least, my mother would be in with food, worried that I wasn’t eating while I planned mass destruction. Young people who feel authentic connections with others, especially those who are there to guide them (teachers, counselors, coaches and parents), do not feel that the world is against them, and in turn usually do not have an urgency or desperation to denounce others or correct matters on their own terms. Carol Soudah Glendale, California
Regarding the Columbine massacre, the trend is unlikely to stop unless the U.S. government gets serious about gun control. Until that happens, the inscription on the dollar bill should be changed from IN GOD WE TRUST to IN GUNS WE TRUST. Femi B. Adeleye Harare, Zimbabwe
To us “outsiders” looking in, it is obvious where the problem lies: the American love affair with the gun. Until Americans start to address the real issue–the easy availability of weapons–these tragedies will continue. With 70 million gun owners and some 200 million guns in circulation, maybe it’s time to consider “responsibility” over “rights.” Your blind spot over guns is even more absurd set against your obsessive zeal over tobacco. Which is really the bigger killer? I don’t see cigarettes taking out bright young teenagers in the prime of their lives. Nick Foxall Hong Kong
NEWSWEEK, you recognized all the causes for tragedies like the Columbine High massacre (guns, abuse, culture, biology), except one–the craving of so-called nobodies for celebrity. I was shocked by the full-page color portrait of Eric Harris. How many troubled teens will hang Harris’s picture on their bedroom wall and think, “I could do that”? You have the responsibility to cover stories like this in a manner that will minimize, not encourage, copycat killings. Bill Boersma Shanghai, China
An Intolerable Tradition
Congratulations on your story on slavery in Sudan (“Out of Bondage,” World Affairs, May 3). It is intolerable that we still have slavery as we approach the year 2000. I’m glad Kofi Annan is the head of the United Nations, but there are still too many bureaucrats to wake up. I hope copies of your article will reach U.N. headquarters. Nicolas Pavicich Rosario, Argentina
Thank you for publishing the article “Out of Bondage.” Now the world has a chance to learn about the hell we have to suffer. I’m from southern Sudan, but because of what is happening at home, I’m now living in Germany as a refugee. The United Nations hasn’t done anything to protect human lives in Sudan. If what is being done in Kosovo had been done in Sudan, we refugees could have returned to our homeland. The U.S. Committee for Refugees, which estimates that almost 2 million Sudanese have died as a result of the war, should change the number to 4 million. The Muslim Sudanese government cannot deny the slavery. It is intolerable. Where else in the world is slavery still allowed to continue? Bond Emanuel Munich, Germany
