I know who he was. One of the Wilson brothers from the Beach Boys! <];~)
--- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, Lighty <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On 10/3/05 4:27 PM, "bluebishop82" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Gary please don't mistake my question for an assertion. I've taken > > no position here. I'm just trying to understand what you are > > saying. I still need an answer. Why does a place like Great > > Adventure thrive financially with no government subsidy, yet > > theaters and art districts, which you maintain are "big draws" need > > subsidy? > > I guess you have to look at the bigger picture. Why do trashy television > shows get better ratings than shows that try to make a statement? Why do > trashy novels sell more than pure literature? > > One could say that in a free market society that this is a good thing; > however, why is it that schools will include great literature in their > classrooms but ignore the trashy novels that outsell those books 6- 1? Could > it be because it's part of a greater good? I think so. I think that's why > the government tries to help businesses get off of the ground. > > Let's face it, Six Flags is part of a gigantic corporation that can afford > to run tons of ads down the throats of the masses while a normal theatre > cannot ever expect to do so. While there is a lot of costs to running an > amusement park or a Fortune 500 company, there are plenty of costs involved > in running a theatre (as you, more than most, are aware of). In addition to > rent, there are hefty utility costs, salaries to stagehands, directors, > actors, lighting crews, stage designers, marketers, etc. Unfortunately, you > would be very, very hard-pressed to survive at $20-$50 ticket prices. And > that's the rub. > > Theatre exists to show the good and bad of society. It is our truth teller. > It's our pathway from the past to the present and where we are headed. > Theatre tries to do this at a price that people can afford. Sometimes it > may seem expensive, but when compared to what a normal business would have > to charge to make a profit (or just survive) it is a bargain. But that > bargain comes with a price. It means tons of fundraising, begging everyone > from single subscribers to giant corporations to the government. > > And the government plays the smallest role of any of them. It plays a > necessary role, but a small one. Theatres have been forced to find > alternative sources for 96-98% of their operating budget. > > What does it cost per person to subsidize PBS? It's a meaninglessly small > number. I don't care if you never watch PBS, if you're gonna complain about > what the government subsidizes towards arts & culture than you better go > through the budget and pick out the thousands of other things that have no > bearing on your life and complain about those as well. > > Subsidization may sound awful, but it happens in almost every industry. Why > do people feel bad about the poor farmer who's got a decision about selling > the family farm for a couple of million dollars to a developer who wants to > put up a shopping mall but they hate the fact that artists are being helped? > > Maybe the problem is that America shoots for the lowest common denominator. > We despise our European roots because they still believe in things like art > & culture as defining a society. We fail to understand how there could be > Muslims who are so offended by what we call art these days that they want > our society to be wiped out. To MOST OF THE WORLD, arts & culture is how > they want to be remembered. I guess Americans would rather be remembered > for how well their stock did today. We don't think of legacies or legends; > heroes or people who changed the world. We think of immediate > gratification. > > August Wilson passed away yesterday. In some places around the world, I > expect there is a significant loss being felt. It's a shame that 99% of the > people in America have no idea who Wilson was. And that's why the arts > should be subsidized in my opinion. Because men like August Wilson have > done so much for society that people SHOULD know about them instead of > having them linger in obscurity... While we linger in ignorance. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/Y2tolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
