RE:
POSTED BY: pingjing
UPDATED: Friday, March 3, 2006 02:03
VIEWED: 11977
PAGE 3 of 3
Quote:
originally posted by: Television Without Pity
"Philosophy in practice is the science of governance. Politics is the ground from which we take flight, the disposition of the body politic -- a lot of ones combined into the many, a sea of the personal becoming the political as a consequence of sentience -- the highest application of philosophy. Welcome to hell, Operative. Shoulda watched Battlestar Galactica, you cryptofascist bitch."
Cute. Make our eyes cross with all the metaphysical mumbo-jumbo, then bop us over the head with a snarky comment. I like it!
As for the rest of the review, I got through the first half. At some point, you have to say enough is enough. When I realized I was 15 pages into it, with more than half the movie still to go, I called it quits.
Joss would be the first person to say that, first and foremost, a storyteller's job is entertaining people, not sending Big Messages. Not that there's anything wrong with doing so, but it can't be the main focus. Much as I appreciate the reviewer's love of the movie, I just get the feeling that he (she?) completely missed the point.
Yes, the film raised some pertinent questions about governments and freedoms, but the reviewer obviously brought more than a little baggage to the analysis. I can't help thinking that Joss would get two pages into the review and start thinking, "Wow. Never would've thought of that!"
It's similar to a problem I have with Shakespeare and literary analysts. Literary analysts spend years poring over a line of dialogue that Shakespeare dashed off in five minutes. He was a genius, no doubt about it, and he had greater insight into human nature than any other writer I've known. However, he was also a man just trying to get his play in by deadline, get paid and eat, and maybe entertain the masses for a few hours. The idea that his plays would be pored over, combed through, and finely sifted for meaning for the next 400 years would have been laughable to him.
Remember what I said about baggage? Well, there's mine. I hate over-analysis. Sometimes a movie is just a movie.
All that being said, it is refreshing to know that somewhere out there sits a group of people who write well-thought out and thorough reviews, instead of saying things like, "This stinks!"
"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.
"There is another which states that this has already happened." - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
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I think the Shakespeare comparison is very apt. Joss has that gift for distilling meaning on many levels as he simply writes. He often *does* have a Big Idea in mind - see the existentialism in Objects in Space, as he explained very eloquently in the commentary. But then there are so many details and elements that flow into his ideas, that he may not consciously plan, but that expand what's underneath. He had to have moments where he looked at the finished product and thought: "Damn, this is even better than I thought!"
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"There's the true signal, the reality he picks up, and there's the carefully packaged For Only Xenophobes news that the administration doles out carefully."
Nice dig at FOX news there.
Had some misses in there, It was Jayne that fired into the vault, not Mal. Some other stuff also.
RD
Cogito Ergo Mal
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Quote:
Originally posted by Ana:Quote:
originally posted by: Television Without Pity
As for the rest of the review, I got through the first half. At some point, you have to say enough is enough. When I realized I was 15 pages into it, with more than half the movie still to go, I called it quits.
Joss would be the first person to say that, first and foremost, a storyteller's job is entertaining people, not sending Big Messages. Not that there's anything wrong with doing so, but it can't be the main focus. Much as I appreciate the reviewer's love of the movie, I just get the feeling that he (she?) completely missed the point.
Yes, the film raised some pertinent questions about governments and freedoms, but the reviewer obviously brought more than a little baggage to the analysis. I can't help thinking that Joss would get two pages into the review and start thinking, "Wow. Never would've thought of that!"
It's similar to a problem I have with Shakespeare and literary analysts. Literary analysts spend years poring over a line of dialogue that Shakespeare dashed off in five minutes. He was a genius, no doubt about it, and he had greater insight into human nature than any other writer I've known. However, he was also a man just trying to get his play in by deadline, get paid and eat, and maybe entertain the masses for a few hours. The idea that his plays would be pored over, combed through, and finely sifted for meaning for the next 400 years would have been laughable to him.
Interesting point you raise. I'm an art history grad student, so you could say I'm one of those analysts - Ipore over a painting maybe never intended to be more than a paycheck. On the other hand, analysts need paychecks too, and who's going to give them one if no one thinks this stuff is worth poring over?
Seriously, though, during the lower points of the semester, I agree with you. At my happier (and more idealistic) moments, I like to think that pondering over different interpretations of a line poetry can unlock new ways of thinking, new meanings about life and the world.
Sorry, that got a bit off-topic. [/hijacking my own thread]
JuliaNOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by pingjing:
Seriously, though, during the lower points of the semester, I agree with you. At my happier (and more idealistic) moments, I like to think that pondering over different interpretations of a line of poetry can unlock new ways of thinking, new meanings about life and the world.
Julia
Okay, you got me there.
I agree with you. I don't have a problem with looking for underlying meaning in books, movies, or anything else. I enjoy it a great deal of the time, actually. I can talk a subject to death if I have a receptive audience. I just have a problem with overdoing it.
Like I said, I have my own baggage about analysis. As with everything else, you can have too much of a good thing. And that is what I think happened with this particular review. I'm not denying the author's obvious relish for this sort of thing. I only wish he hadn't piled on the mustard along with it.
"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe if for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.
"There is another which states that this has already happened." - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
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Quote:
Originally posted by allarticulate:
Hmm, I read TWoP regularly and I have to say that was quite an odd recap. Heavy on the philosophy and lit crit and light on the snark. It was cool and all, but I wonder what one of my favorite recappers would have done with it. This guy obviously loves the show and noticed little moments that I didn't.
Also, notice that the page header says "Firefly: Season 2, Episode 1"
WAAA
I love Jacob. Jacob is frelling amazing. *lights another candle at her shrine to Jacob*
Of couse, I only read the Galactica recaps so I'm a little biased. I'm getting a graduate level course in BSG from his recaps. He has also done many shout outs to Firefly. (Last week was, "She stalks off, aiming to misbehave," in reference to Starbuck.) I totally love his indepth analysis that brings together mythology, literature, pop references, humor and snark where it's needed.
All this is a long-winded way of saying that I did the dance to joy to find out that Jacob recapped the BDM.
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You ended that sentence with a preposition! Bastard. - O'Neill
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I don't know if this has been posted yet, but if you go to TWOP and check the list of current shows they are recapping, Firefly is on the list.
SO COOL, even if it is only temporary to get people to read the recap.
Anyway, it gives me a little chill.
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