The Culture Wars: Debate on social impact of mass media starts at Wheaton
Wednesday, September 1999
The man whose life is the subject of a controversial film blamed for inspiring a West Paducah, Kentucky teen to gun down classmates in 1997 will debate the impact of popular entertainment on youth and society with the attorney representing the families of victims of the school shooting in a public discussion on Wednesday, Sept. 22 at Wheaton College.
Poet Jim Carroll, author of The Basketball Diaries, will debate attorney Jack Thompson in Cole Memorial Chapel at 7 p.m. The discussion, titled The Culture Wars, will be moderated by Wheaton Professor of English Sam Coale. The public is welcome; admission is free.
Carroll first gained national prominence in 1979 with the release of his coming of age classic The Basketball Diaries. The diaries, written when Carroll was between the ages of 14 and 17, chronicle his descent from inner city basketball legend to heroin addict and his subsequent recovery. In 1995, the book was turned into the now-controversial film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Carroll appeared in 1997 at Wheaton College and read his works to a record crowd.
Thompson brings a unique perspective and personal history to the culture wars debate. The Coral Gables attorney has made a name for himself as a conservative crusader against "indecency" in the mass media and entertainment industry. Thompson is representing the families of the victims in the Dec. 2, 1997 Kentucky school shootings. The families are suing the makers of The Basketball Diaries film, charging that it inspired the shooter, who cited the film in his statements to police.
The event at Wheaton, which is sponsored by the college’s Student Government Association Programming Council, marks the first time that Carroll and Thompson will meet publicly and kicks off a national tour for this debate.