Colour-Blind on Sundays
SIR,—John- Wells's criticism of the colour supple- ments (May 20) is, for the most part, glib and sterile. It is an excellent example of modish jour- nalism based upon the very spurious liberalism which he himself condemns.
First of all, the colour supplements are primarily a piece of entertainment, in spite of what Lord Thomson or anybody else says. To attack the ad- vertisements in such a shrill fashion betrays a mock seriousness which does no credit to Mr Wells's view of modern life. The cigar advertisement, for in- stance, caused in John Wells the Pavlovian reaction common to all pseudo-liberals, that anything which is remotely critical about the working class, even if it is harmlessly critical, must be challenged with evangelical fervour. In other words, it is modish to sneer at the middle class, or people who pass as the middle class, but other sections of society must remain sacrosanct.
How does John Wells know that pictures of emaciated beggars leave middle-class housewives un- moved? From whose purse does John Wells think that donations to Oxfam, etc., predominantly come?
Finally, what suggestions has John Wells got for improving the contents of the colour supple- ments? I. --tm sure their various editors, faced with filling these lush pages each week, would welcome
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