Sensationalism

While I ordinarily find Rachel Abramowitz's prose to be unduly arch, I feel I must defend her against the ridiculous charge of racism leveled at her because of her recent story ["Not a Fair Comparison," Letters, Oct. 26] on Clint Eastwood's new film, "The Changeling." Abramowitz was comparing the sensationalism surrounding the real-life events upon which Eastwood's film is based to the sensationalism surrounding the O.J. Simpson murder trial, and it's a fair comparison. The Simpson case was in the national spotlight for months, as was the case of the missing Collins child.

They share vintage fashion finds, finish one another's sentences and collectively compose pop-rock songs. Kesha and Katy Perry are fans, and their dream is to perform with Prince. But for now they'll have to settle for appearing at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Friday and April 18, part of a U.S. tour that begins next week. "They" are Haim, the San Fernando Valley-raised sister trio (Este, Danielle and Alana), known for their catchy 2013 debut album, "Days Are Gone" - and their style.

The lovely, heartbreaking "Fly Away" benefits from superb performances and a gripping story managed with simplicity and grace by writer-producer-director Janet Grillo. As sensitive and affecting as this mother-daughter drama may be, the film skillfully bypasses its genre's potential pitfalls, opting for intimacy over sensationalism, poignancy over sentimentality. Jeanne (Beth Broderick) is a single mother devoted to the care of her daughter, Mandy (Ashley Rickards), an autistic teenager soothed by repetition — songs, food, phraseology — but prone to uncontrollable outbursts and rages.

A lyric from the title track from New Zealand rocker Neil Finn's new solo album, "Dizzy Heights," crystallizes much of what the erstwhile member of Crowded House, Split Enz and the Finn Brothers is up to on his latest work. "Help me make up a new sound," he sings, and indeed, much of what he's created for "Dizzy Heights" embodies that idea with spacious aural landscapes and often exotic arrangements surrounding lyrics that delve into a multiplicity of emotions. It's often a far cry from the Beatle-esque pop with which Finn built his reputation as one of the finest songwriters of the 1980s and '90s.

Headlines with a born-again fatalist view of our future ("Red Hunt . . . Armed for Armageddon") are plain sensationalism. A sad comment. Is this what some in religion and politics hope to bring about? Glenn Nash Los Angeles

Kudos to the production team and the actors for the wonderful CBS TV movie, "Go Toward the Light." The story was touching; it was television at its finest. Our family will continue to support programs such as this which emphasize content and enlightenment over the sensationalism and shallowness that is prevalent in most movies today. John J. Brammer, Covina

Katerine Chalkidou ("Don't Raise Fears -- Quell Them," Letters, Feb. 3) complains about the "sensationalism" of comparing today's real estate prices to those of a year ago, which she feels frightens people into feeling that things are getting "horribly worse every day," with the end result being a recession. I wonder how often Chalkidou, a real estate agent, complained about the sensationalism of reporting on rising prices during the previous few years, before the market's recent turnaround.

The Supreme Court made the right decision in striking down the Washington law that gave grandparents and any other interested party free rein in seeking court-ordered visitation with children (June 6). The courts will always be available to assist in matters of troubled family dynamics and flat-out bad parenting. However, there is no place for a blanket law dictating how extended family members interact with each other. By ignoring the emotionalism and sensationalism of the Troxel case and letting the families work out their own problems, the courts will hopefully keep kids from becoming helpless Ping-Pong balls in messy visitation cases.

A mother's agony over the death of her 18-year-old son: Surely a picture like this does not deserve to be printed on the front page of The Times ("Gunman Kills 2, Injures 4 in Garden Grove," Aug. 31). I am appalled to see this newspaper choosing sensationalism over common decency, shock value over newsworthiness. This photograph adds nothing to the story that it accompanies. Moreover, it is completely distasteful and inappropriate. Perhaps when deciding what photos to pair with your stories, you should consider how you might feel if you were that grieving mother.

In the first sentence of your description of Dashti's background, you tell us that "pictures of Islam's holiest places were on his living room wall and guns were in his bedroom." I can't understand why you feel the need to imply that all Muslims share Dashti's tendencies. As a Muslim student here at Berkeley, I have been asked by many to "explain" his actions. Many innocent people were hurt or killed by Dashti; innocent people will continue to suffer as a result of your prejudice and sensationalism.

Venezuela's state-supported music education marvel, El Sistema, offering free instruction to nearly 600,000 young people in all corners of the country, is not without controversy. With an increasingly restive Venezuelan public protesting human rights violations and economic dysfunction, El Sistema, an agency in the executive branch of the government, cannot escape its association with the administration of President Nicolàs Maduro. But those who argue that El Sistema has always been a program above politics and an example of positive social action that is catching on around the world had powerful evidence with the exceptional Los Angeles debut Wednesday night of the Bahia Orchestra Project.

We conclude our annual reviews with the Dodgers' enigmatic young outfielder, the one and only … YASIEL PUIG , 23, outfielder Final 2013 stats: .319, 19 home runs, 42 RBIs, 66 runs, .391 on-base and .534 slugging percentage. Contract status: Remains under contract for the next five years. The good: He was second on the team in batting average, runs, stolen bases (11), on-base and slugging percentages, third in home runs and fourth in hits - despite appearing in only 104 games.

Never underestimate the power of a well-timed "just sayin'. " That was one of the lessons learned by Australian actress Margot Robbie while filming her career-making performance in Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street. " Portraying the Brooklyn-born trophy wife of Leonardo DiCaprio's greedy corporate raider Jordan Belfort - in the $100-million, big-screen adaptation of Belfort's 2007 memoir of the same name - a casual suggestion by Robbie resulted in "Wolf's" most shocking scene.

YouTube vocal sensation Pentatonix joins such major-label acts as Kelly Clarkson, Michael Bublé and Mary J. Blige with seasonal albums topping Billboard's top 200 chart. The a cappella group's holiday-themed PTXmas (Delux Edition) landed at No. 7 on the album chart for the week ended Dec. 8, with more than 59,000 copies sold. The music video for its rendition of "Little Drummer Boy" has racked up more than 17-million views on YouTube in the last two weeks.  Pentatonix came to prominence as the winner of the third season of NBC's "The Sing-Off Competition.

William Wyler's enchanting 1953 Cinderella-esque comedy, "Roman Holiday," made Audrey Hepburn an overnight sensation. She not only won the Academy Award for best actress but she also received a Golden Globe, a British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award and the New York Film Critics Circle honor for her role as Ann, a sheltered princess on a goodwill tour of Europe who escapes her guardians in Rome and finds adventure and a storybook romance....

Yasiel Puig excited a city, electrified Dodger Stadium, spurred record merchandise sales and helped the Dodgers to within two victories of their first World Series in 25 years. He ignited a national debate about how to play baseball the right way. He even lent his name to a rock band called "Puig Destroyer" and a rap song called "Yasiel Puig," which he promptly adopted as his walk-up music. Even with all that, he did not win the National League rookie of the year award on Monday.

I am shocked, disgusted and totally disappointed by the irresponsible, inflammatory statements issued by Mayor Bradley, Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner and other so-called leaders of the Los Angeles area regarding the results of the trial of the officers in the King case. These totally irresponsible statements show that these people had already convicted the officers based on the sensationalism of the news coverage. None of these people heard the entire testimony and their public statements after the verdict was announced are totally indefensible.

For a long time I viewed murder on film as a morbid oddity at which you might sneak a look under a sideshow tent. That was until it took someone close to me. Let me assure anyone who's slightly curious that there's nothing remotely glamorous or fascinating about an experience that's so completely cold and devastating as homicide. It bothers me that the American public is so preoccupied with murder. But what's more unsettling are the producers who feign sympathy about "those dreadful days we all shared" as they take their blood money to the bank ("Murder Most Glamorized," by Peter H. Brown, April 2)

YouTube sensation Talia Castellano moved more than 14.5 million viewers with her makeup tutorials and message “to just keep swimming,” as she famously said in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres in September 2012. The honorary CoverGirl was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, cancer of the nervous system, at only 7 years old. She made bald beautiful when she started posting YouTube videos to express her love of makeup, which she wore in lieu of a wig - Talia hoped to inspire others with her self-confidence.

They laughed when Leon Botstein became president of Bard College in 1975, at the very idea that a 28-year-old could enliven a venerable New York liberal arts college. They laughed in 1990 when Botstein started the Bard Music Festival, which had the appearance of a vanity operation for his own seemingly dubious ambitions as a conductor. They laughed once more when he became music director of the American Symphony Orchestra 20 years ago, especially after some rocky early performances and scathing reviews.