41I LUNCH • DINNER • COCKTAILS Saturday Special Dinner Includes: Glass of Wine • Soup and Salad Choice of Atlantic Salmon or Whitefish -Grilled Vegetable Napoleon • Fettuccine Alftedo Chocolate Torte $25.00 Brad Pitt and Edward Norton in "Fight Club." President Clinton has•asked the Office of Surgeon General to investi- gate the impact of violent program- ming on children. As part of the pend- ing Juvenile Justice Bill in Congress, we may witness the creation of the National Commission on Youth Violence, intended to evaluate popular culture's impact on our nation's teens. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) had been trying to garner support for a special Senate inquiry on "violent and vulgar" entertainment titled the Senate Committee on American Culture. Although his attempt to form this committee failed, he has been pushing to create a different body called the Task Force on the State of American Society. Potentially more meddling is the Federal Trade Commission's ongoing inquiry into violence in the media. The FTC has already asked to review the Motion Picture Association's rat- ings board files. Now, the FTC has set its eyes on documents prepared by the major studios that outline their mar- keting strategies. While the government couches these investigations as a way to combat the marketing of violent fare to chil- dren, the consequences of the govern- ment riffling through studio files seem obvious and chilling. These practices would only seem to intimidate Hollywood into producing entertain- ment product that lines up with the government's slanted view of the world. How else can Weiss or Sallan or Sarner interpret these investigations as anything other than a roundabout way to discourage their creative freedom? Robert Avrech, a screenwriter best known for Body Double and A Stranger Among Us, noted that if you are con- cerned as a parent about the effects of violent programming, you should take responsibility for what your children are watching. You do not need the government to investigate or legislate what you or your children watch on television or see in the movie theaters. The last time Hollywood was inves- tigated in this way, the blacklist was formed and Joe McCarthy destroyed countless lives. It is not such a stretch to envision the Office of Surgeon General, the National Committee on Youth Violence, the Task Force on the State of American Society or the Federal Trade Commission devising blacklists of producers and writers who create what they subjectively deem to be vio- lent entertainment. The question is whether the Jewish community will exercise the collective free will provided to it in Deuteronomy and the Talmud and oppose. the efforts of a government that professes to honor creative freedom but apparently would rather dictate what type of entertainment we create and consume. What should the Jewish response to violence in the media be? Government, stay out. ❑ In "The Industry," Hollywood insider and attorney Brad Pomerance takes a look at issues in the world of entertainment. Pomerance enjoys family ties to the metro Detroit area. His wife Tina's aunts and uncles include Arnie and Marge Fuller of West Bloomfield and Shel and Harriett Fuller of Bloomfield Hills. Opening this Saturday at 8:00 7295 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield, Michigan 48322 Robins Nest Shopping Plaza 24 8-932- 8934 Reservations Suggested VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT: wwwladifference.com Corner of Drake Walnut Lake Road cets \ ic . 4 N„\ • Take Out • Superbowl Packages • Friday Night Dinner • Custom Catering 15-200 • Elegant Luncheon & Sandwich Trays • Classic Pasta Dishes s%;, Delive • •Filet w/Zip Sauce •Veal Entrees •Grilled Vegetable Pizza •Assortment of Desserts & Pastries • Closed Mondays • Delivery Available • 36-Hour Notice for Catering Events • Service Staff Available (248) 788-2500 • Fax: (248) 788-4302 5540 Drake Rd. West Bloomfield "10,Ilk` KITCHEN Authentic Indian Cuisine DELICIOUS!! MOUTHWATERING!! r . ,,,,..--, ,. , ' ..N1 N T South Indian Specials • N „‘":;;`,,,, , ,, , , , , es,,A. • Cocktails Available s , , - 7. - - ', , -,, ,,,,,,..A., ,--,,,,,, 44.. --,%, \,,,, when a 2nd menu item of equal or • Catering For All Occasions ,,,.. (248) 661-8414 OPEN 7 DAYS greater value is purchased Not good with any other offer. Exp. March 31, 2000 L ' Valid Anytime • Dine In Only J 5566 DRAKE ROAD (Formerly Old Mexico) • Corner of Walnut Lake Rd. 2/25 2000 87