“Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (44 USC 2107 Hote}. DATE: 11-14-2017 JFK Assassination System Date: 5/13/20] Identification Form “Agency Information AGENCY: FBI . RECORD NUMBER: _ 124-90143-10430 RECORD SERIES: HQ AGENCY FILENUMBER: 100-370750-333 Document Information ORIGINATOR: CIT ‘FROM: _ [Restricted] TO: — [Restricted]. TITLE: DATE: 01/31/1967 “PAGES: 5 SUBJECTS : JOHN HOWARD LAWSON DOCUMENT TYPE: PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT CLASSIFICATION: Confidential RESTRICTIONS: 1B CURRENT STATUS: —_ Withhold DATE OF LASTREVIEW: — 01/21/1999 OPENING CRITERIA: APPROVAL OF USA COMMENTS: LET, ENV ——- @Occ—q,ooQrorY—— woe a ———— v9.1 Docld: 32339012 Page 1
i { | i eeords Collection Act./of 1992 (44 USC 2107 Hot — SENSITIVE SOURCES INVOLVED | mae _! JOHN HOWARD LAWSON : 948 ELYRIA DRIVE. - : ° LOS ANGELES, CALIF. 90065 January 31, 1967 | “Dear Jay: os Your letter makes me feel that I did not ; read your manuscript with as much insight or sensitivity /° » ‘as I should have brought to it. The fault may be in a! part in the manuscript itself, but I feel that I "oy: Gannot be altogether absolved from blame for not under- l- . gtanding the intent, the inner drive of the thing, even if this purpose is not fully realized. I feel it . ig not realized, yet I believe it is there, wrapped << ‘lthough it may be in detail. sme pence Sateen meinem ~ i ro, + weariness Pe The concept of broadening the study of film, | - 7. ** 9 use it (as yous say) as a lens for the study of a | rn country's history and character, is necessary and I am sure you are well equipped for the task. (Yhe horrib- i oc ly, low level of film history or criticism in the U. &., Ce .. resting as it-does om a phoney aesthetic, has been tame ep * evident to me (gerhaps with some subjective over- pe ~. 0. ° emphasis) ig the treatment of my FILM; THE CREATIVE a ia " .- PROCESS-~- not merely that so many critics attacked | 2 en Jy oo) at, but-that they attacked it without the: faintest -.. guspicion of what it is about. t oo meee Hg es wee nt aap ns Or me i ran I feel that your letter states some of the re -. problems, but also states certain limitations (as I .. gee it) in your approach. Let me make three points: — .. first, you speak ofttaesthetics" and "sociology:". — _You say, "sociology is probably dominant", I feel - there is a danger in this, because it suggests a sep-. - aration of the two approaches, and I feel that we ao ooo) 6 must achieve an integral approach. Marxist thought has | ius .. suffered badly in the cultural field from the separa- | “ <-." tgon, and a rather stuffy certainty that sociology is. [ -ptimary: art in the real sense, the creative realization | ': of human:potentialities, is primary, and I think this | view of art (along with its misuse and degradation in : societies which are not creative) is the basis for a | | “yicher approach, : oo Second point; the theme of "treatment of -womén,' which you mention could, I think, be infinitely “ more revealing, and more realized in terms of filn-- i - and through the lens of film, the whole social situation.; a Third point:'ChronologyvYou are right that | - it must have more freedom-- forward and backward, but “| .* g@mahow the frame of reference, the reality of time, : ‘< must determine the movement back and forward, The “question of time is , I think, a central factor in cinema art-- and-it must be so in your nook, “All these problems face me in somewhat | DocId:32339012 Page. 2 ee).
on aii Collection Act: “pe: Asst Add i AND D weniions Th ‘INVOLVED. c 13113 ye EB LF + ~ Me . ce JOHN HOWARD LAWSON A S ce 948 ELYRIA DRIVE . LOS ANGELES, CALIF. 90065 2 : ian spina lteninen nlite te ara aterm Ee Site ene etree Ea weet ah ote different, ‘put related forms, in my autobiography. iT have withdrawn it, after some mixed and very stimulating comments from friends, § scholars and theatre people, and am ‘yeorganizing, cutting savagely, and carrying it through to the thirties. BI expect to be at this revision the end of _ for months and months and months. Eventually, I shall’ want | and ask four advice. = . a 7 --y wonder if you heard of Jerome's death-- _ almost a year ago. : "3 was not aware of the photo. of Processional Steichen’ Ss autobiography , and shall look it up. ao i . fost alas ay" ‘sue. joins in love to you both. os i it i? igs a woods prpereeestr ram meses Paco erst FouNGhiE =D) CNRS sR ivrewvals mich be iti a fons bee aenige sg nee Docld: 32339012 Page 3
; tat) EDR 3107 Hote). uo \ vi . “fh nN — 4 So Oe day Leyda, oe “CARE OF Filmarchiv, “Rronenstrasse 10, Berlin 108, | * German Democratic Republic | DOWNGRADED AT 12 YEAR INTERVALS [ -| NOT. AUTOMATICALLY DECLASSIFIED | | DOD DIR 5200.10 | * | NOT AUTOMATICALLY DECLASSIFIED | aa “DOD DIR 5200.10 oo DOWNGRADED AT 12-YEAR INTERVALS NOT AUTOMATICALLY DECLASSIFIED DOD DIR 5200.10 a CONADENTIAL. hota g DOWNGRADED AT 12. YEAR INTERVALS | 7 “ : _ CONFIDENTIAL: . “NOT AUTOMATICALLY DECLASSIFIED |. ; DOD DIR 5200.10 - - TDOWNGRADED AT 12 YEAR INTERVALS | - | NOT AUTOMATICALLY DECLASSIFIED |. DOD DIR 5200.10 | | | | Docld: 32339012 Page 4
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