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Nobody likes Norman Rockwell for his personal story. Norman Rockwell captured America as many Americans knew it and, bigger still, he emphasized larger truths about God, man and family. In spite of whatever problems he may have suffered, his work is timeless and will endure. In many ways, that is one of the quintessential traits of generations past.

Spielberg, OTOH, is just another tedious boomer bringing his distorted views of God, humanity and family dysfunction to the screen. He doesn't lift anyone up through genuine morality or restate cultural truths that have guided Western civilization. No, other than wringing emotion wrought by screen stealing children or the physical relief at the end of hair raising escapades, he really doesn't have anything to say at all. In fact, if you discount the fantastic effects and the rehashing of stolen plots and proven genre, I don't know that much would be left of his work other than some Rod McKuen poetry.

Sure, the comment has already been posted that artists merely reflect their times, but that is just a tad too trite to be meaningful. We all know that 'artists' try like hell to influence people (hence the symbolism and commentary), but if they get caught in the wringer they weep like old women protesting their innocence. The truth is that in the wake of the tidal wave of social and familial disintegration (which is the true boomer legacy), the only religion, values, culture or bonding many dysfunctional people receive is through shared consumption of popular mediums. At the forefront are the best of the Pied Pipers. Spielberg is merely the reigning head clown in a circus of the bizarre.

Uh, Rockwell was an illustrator. The intent of his illustrations was to sell magazines, in this case The Saturday Evening Post. When he switched over to Look in the 1960s, his style changed to meet the needs of that magazine, which was probably closer to his own thinking. He was, afterall, NYC born and raised.

If artists don't reflect their times or if that is too trite, then what times should they reflect? Few artists of any talent set out by saying, "Hey, ya know what? I wanna do something morally uplifting. Yeah, that's the ticket!" What they do is look at the world around them and reflect it back through the lens of their own intellect.

I'm no Spielberg fan, but you really give him too much credit and power. Families fly apart because they can. Women are no longer bound to their husbands financially. Husbands are often unable to meet the financial obligations of raising a famiy. And both husbands and wives say, "I'm unwilling to spend the rest of my life in this situation. I refuse to accept that this is as good as my life is going to get." Whether that's morally right or not, it's not Spielberg's fault.