For Bette or Worse

Bette Midler's statement that secretly, we men would prefer our wives to be ''Stepfordized'' but ''are just too scared to admit it'' demonstrates a stereotypical and gender-biased view of men and is degrading to women (News & Notes). I prefer my wife of 26 years just the way she is -- a beautiful and intelligent woman who can think and act for herself. How is society ever going to make any progress toward tearing down the walls of stereotyping and gender bias when celebs like Midler keep building them back up? JOE NICOLA joenicola@yahoo.com Fort Worth

CG Why?

Owen Gleiberman was completely right in his ''Chronicles of Riddick'' review about all the focus being put on the CGI landscapes over the characters (Movies). Haven't these directors learned anything from the disaster that was ''Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace''? Nonstop digital effects become mind-numbing after about five minutes and are not a substitute for good storytelling! Yet since ''TPM'' we've gotten ''The Mummy Returns,'' ''Van Helsing,'' and others that ruin a good idea with too much CGI. In movies like ''Star Wars,'' ''The Thing,'' or ''Robocop'' it was easier to care about characters than about special effects. They also let audience members use their imagination instead of doing all the work for them. DAVID JAMES djames@firstam.com Carmichael, Calif.

CORRECTIONS: ''Donnie Darko'' was financed by Pandora Films (''After Darko''). The line from ''Toy Story'' ''This isn't flying; this is falling with style'' is spoken by Tim Allen's Buzz Lightyear (Pop Culture Quiz).

Originally posted Jul 16, 2004 Published in issue #774 Jul 16, 2004 Order article reprints
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