By Margarita Neplokh

Our media and culture is blasted everyday with blame for many different events in our country’s history. Movies dealing with topics ranging from terrorism to school shootings have been set back from release, while some aren’t released at all.

Is our artistic freedom being downsized by our fear of copycats and the politically correct public, or is this decision protecting us from the horrors of the world being sensationalized in our media?

In current news, The Twentieth Century Fox movie, “Phone Booth,” was set for release on November 15. This film is a story of a man named Stuart Shepard, played by Colin Farell, who answers a ringing pay phone in New York City. He learns that there is a sniper on the other line, and if he hangs up he will be in danger of getting shot.

Coincidently, this movie is coming out during the mass hysteria of the current sniper incident, centered around the Washington D.C. area.

This film was set back from its release, and now may have the misfortune of not being released. The question is, what is really in good taste here? Does the movie distribution industry have the right to regulate when the public should view or screen any form of media?

Censorship is always a topic of speculation in the United States of America. With our crime rate being as it is, studio executives assume we cannot be trusted with the images provided for us.

What does that say about our status as a sane movie viewing public? Joel Schumacher