Films on trains

From Kompas

On March 23, 1997, I took the 12:30 p.m. Parahyangan train from Gambir station to Bandung in West Java. Video clips were shown, along with a film named Hellraiser-Bloodline.

The film had atrocious scenes. A man was knifed in the throat and his head was cut. Blood spilled. The headless body fell. A large screw was drilled into another man's body. Close-up scenes of the drilled flesh were seen. Still another man had the skin of his face partially peeled off. Screams and the gushing of blood were continuous. These were only some of the horrors which were shown in the film.

In front of me was a six-year-old girl, who was also watching the film. Behind me there was a family with a young child, also viewing the film. I am sure there were other children who watched the film.

I would like to suggest to PERUMKA, the state railway company, to contribute part of its profits from ticket sales to snacks and magazines as a service to passengers, or to contribute it to people in slum areas along the railway, instead of on television sets and video cassettes.

I am convinced that passengers with common sense, especially families with children, will not object to the above idea, unless they consider human violence an unavoidable, natural characteristic. Do we care? Does PERUMKA care?

EVELINE

Bandung, West Java