Speak No Evil About the Screenplay : Heston’s Point

Regarding the Counterpunch by Gerardo Paron (“Heston Should Have Studied Up on HIV Test,” Nov. 25) to a Counterpunch by Charlton Heston concerning the TV show “Studs,” I feel compelled to point out that Paron seems to have missed the point completely. As I read Heston’s marvelous article, in which he thoroughly lambasted that show, I wondered how many people were not going to understand his intent. Well, at least one!

Dear Mr. Paron, he was not writing about AIDS or HIV. He was, in a gloriously cynical piece, expressing his outrage that a show so tasteless and vulgar could even exist today--particularly in this era of the AIDS epidemic.

It is depressing that so many people could be so ignorant as to allow a television show to thoroughly exploit their foolishness as a means of entertainment. It is especially stupid when the guys “score” with one of those silly females. In addition to the drab tastelessness, there is a great deal of purely macho chauvinism--which adds up to a total package of garbage.

Heston was not writing about AIDS or HIV or promoting healthy sex on that show. He was--with tongue-in-cheek, with a good bit of black humor and a great deal of sarcasm--expressing his gross displeasure at one of TV’s “hit” shows.

KATHY LONGLEY

Sherman Oaks