By Cheryl Felicia Rhoads

Director/raconteur, Joshua Logan related an incident during the making of the film, The Garden of Allah starring Marlene Deitrich. Logan was working as the dialogue coach and he and Dietrich were working on her dialogue. At one point in the filming, the German femme fatale, who struggled with the English language turned to Logan ala Elmer Fudd and complained "Tell me the twuth, Josh. It’s twash, isn’t it?" Well, it certainly was no Casablanca!

The "twuth" is that in today’s society, there is a lot of "twash."

Sometimes, in television and films, nudity and vulgarity can be portrayed as artistically truthful and even be essential in depicting man’s struggle with his soul. Such is the case with the film, "Schindler’s List." On television, The Sopranos and NYPD Blue are both examples of excellent dramas that have certainly "pushed the envelope". However, the recently Emmy honored "Sex In The City" many feel is highly touted "twash".

It is interesting to note that at the post-September 11th, long delayed televised Emmy presentation, best actress recipient, Edie Falco from The Sopranos drew thunderous applause for praising New York City now former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. As with the rest of the country, Giuliani’s popularity was and is at an all time high with members of the entertainment industry due to his own fine performance since the terrorist attacks. However, pre-September 11th, it was a different script altogether. Earlier this year, the Mayor said that the Brooklyn Museum of Arts should have its funding pulled and thrown out of city-owned land for allowing a controversial showcase depicting the Virgin Mary covered in elephant dung to be displayed. Folks like Susan Sarandon and others weren’t applauding back then. They were incensed.

Many declare it is simply an "creative choice", when artists depict obscenities as in the case of the painting with the Virgin Mary being defecated on.

I had a friend who kept a list of the 50 people he’d most like to push down, if he met them on the street. Promoters of moral relativism and "anything-goes-ism" are high on my list of pushing prospects.

I considered a pushing spree when I visited the web site www.thecelebritycafe.com. Consider artistic freethinker, Rick Denzien, recording artist. Mr. Denzien informed an interviewer that as a kid he was hit by a fly ball and then he said he was able to play the guitar after that. He remarks that today he compares the latter incident to his current work "something hits you and you’re inspired."

With regards to the controversy at the Brooklyn Art Museum and former Mayor Giuliani, when asked, "What is your opinion of the controversial art exhibit depicting the Virgin Mary in Elephant Dung?" Mr. Denzien remarked, " it is just like the U.S. Senate to poke their big fat big brother f---ing nose in something that they could never understand or know anything about. They just use this kind of press to cover up something evil and corrupt that they are doing. " (Guiliani was considering running for the Senate, and for Denzien that made him a Senator in fact.)

However, at the same site, jazz pianist, Alan Roubek had these comments, "Three words: Demeaning, degrading and offensive. If words such as these enter your mind for even a second, then it is clearly unacceptable to support these self-proclaimed "artists." Shock factor doesn’t equate to talent. " While Denizen is a "prime push-ee", at least on my block, Mr. Roubek will be found standing.

Irregardless of the contrasting opinions of the artists above, the larger point is that there is a distinction between art that is freedom of speech as the Left alleged in the case of the New York museum, and art that is subsidized by the taxpayer. It was denigrating a religion at taxpayer expense. Always the Left wants to confuse that issue if they can to make people think that Congress is for "censorship" of the arts. Congress could care less how "twashy" an artist wants to be as long as neither the art work or the museum are paid for with tax dollars. Often, the Left looks upon public money for the arts as a right instead of a subsidy for the wealthy because they are unwilling to pay for it out of their own pockets.

But, perhaps the public is once again expressing their preference for good art vs. bad art via their wallets, as in the cases of recent box office successes THE LORD OF THE RINGS and A BEAUTIFUL MIND. The latter two films are also the most nominated of this year’s Oscar contenders. Hopefully, their success will influence the creative powers that be, because prior to September 11th, our culture seemed to have been up for grabs.

As far as government funded art, it is important to remember that at least, Ms. Dietrich’s "twashy", "The Garden of Allah" was produced on the free market. Yet, I think that carefully preserved in a vault "Casablanca" will last the test of time. After all, the latter is a tale of a fight for love and glory. When you think about it, in a way all great works of art are. Truth, not trend, brings excellence instead of exploitation. Everything else can often be reduced to elephant dung.

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