THE TIES THAT BIND :

Why Hollywood relies on déjà vu films (Michael Medved, June 11, 2002, Jewish World Review)

Today, very few people can recall a stirring observance of Washington's birthday, or even explain the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day and Labor Day and the Fourth of July.

In fact, one of the few universal associations with Memorial Day is its traditional role in marking the beginning of the summer movie season--a milestone all but obliterated by Hollywood's jump-the-gun eagerness to roll out its latest wheezy, breezy, recycled offerings.

Many Americans may not have observed Memorial Day this year, but all America paid attention to the Star Wars release day--and some of us even took off from work for the occasion.

In a fragmented culture, we eagerly embrace such reassuring icons. For Hollywood, familiarity doesn't breed contempt, but instead inspires reliable profits.

I've long thought it would be kind of neat and socially useful if the networks established a tradition of showing certain films on certain days every year, the way NBC has done with It's A Wonderful Life or ABC has done with The Ten Commandments. Someone could show The Quiet Man on St. Patrick's Day, Gettysburg on the 4th of July, Groundhog Day, and so forth. There might be something worthwhile in providing the opportunity for the whole nation to share in these cultural artifacts on days when they mean something special, to share the experience with family, to spark conversations in the days that follow. It's a sad second best to our actually gathering in our respective communities to observe such occasions, but it's something. Posted by Orrin Judd at June 11, 2002 7:28 PM