Several people close to me have said at various times over the years that they don't regret anything they've done, only things they didn't do. I'm more of an equal opportunity regretter, myself - there are plenty of things I've done that I really shouldn't have, even for "educational" value (i.e., "at least now I know...I'll never do that again..."). There are a couple of things I didn't do that really stand out when I think about them, though.
I was watching some making-of feature about Almost Famous years ago, and Cameron Crowe was talking about how he makes a mix tape every month as kind of an audio diary of things going on in his life at that point. He's done this for years, and can go back and listen to songs to be reminded of experiences from that time in his life. I heard that, and I thought, "That's a good idea; I should do that." But I didn't.
Around the same time, I was watching something about George H. W. Bush. He apparently ends every day by spending 15 minutes to write a short letter longhand to someone. Could be a person he met that day, an old friend he hasn't seen in a while, or Barbara. He, too, has done this for decades. I heard that, and I thought, "That's a good idea; I should do that." But I didn't.
I think the former would've been nice to have that time capsule back in time in my own life, and the latter certainly would've helped me keep in touch with people I've lost over the years. Realistically, I don't know that I have the discipline to keep up with either of these, but that wasn't the reason I didn't try. I didn't try because neither was my idea.
That may sound petty (and it may be), but I've always had an aversion to intentionally doing something if it's a direct copy of something someone else is doing, especially atypical things such as these. I don't really know what it is. If I had to guess, I'd say it's a reaction to materialism and our culture of advertising. It bothers me when I go back and glance at the comic books I had as a kid, and the percentage of video games I owned that were advertised in there is staggaringly high. It bothers me when I go to Taco Bell and get a Pepsi with my meal, and there's a large Pepsi staring at me from the menu, and I honestly don't know if I would've gotten a Mountain Dew or water if that image hadn't been there. I don't like the idea of following, and I fear these ideas may have gotten lumped into that part of my brain that viscerally reacts against being manipulated.
I suppose it's not too late to start...
Monday, October 17, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Citizenship and You
A common joke among my liberal friends about some of the proposed requirements for U.S. Citizenship was that it's about time people aren't guaranteed citizenship just because they were born here - now people will finally have to learn something about their country. I'm quite sure it won't come to that, but it does depress me how apathetic so many people are about their obligations as citizens of this country, even as many of them criticize me for not being patriotic enough.
My wife asked me to write a guest post on her blog about this very issue. It's running today; check it out!
My wife asked me to write a guest post on her blog about this very issue. It's running today; check it out!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Ignorance is Bliss
Yesterday I mentioned in passing that I've somewhat given up on Hollywood and explained, in part, why. Perhaps a bigger part of it, though, is that I was (almost) a Film Studies minor in college. (As a transfer student, I ended up 3 credits shy even after completing an independent study, and it didn't seem worth dropping almost a grand just for bragging rights.) I rate everything I see on IMDb, and I haven't given a movie a 10 in over eight years - since the summer before I went to college.
The last 10 I gave out? Bruce Almighty.
I immediately lose all credibility among my fellow cinephiles film snobs when this comes up, and get puzzled looks from just about everyone. Many assume I'm joking, but I'm totally serious. I generally like Jim Carrey, and this movie in particular struck a cord with me. I thought it was extremely well-done, had a good message, and took an interesting path to make its point.
I am not unaware that, if I were to watch it for the first time today, it would not be a 10 for me. This is the case for at least 13 of the 16 movies I've given a 10 over the years. It's not just nostalgia, or that I was younger at the time. It's that the more I learn about the process of filmmaking, the more flaws I can see, and I can't simply turn that part of my brain off and ignore them like I used to.
This isn't unique to film, or even entertainment. I painted an interior room for the first time in my life about a year ago, and was unsatisfied with the outcome. There were globs here, splashes onto the trim there, a bit of streaks in the color. Other rooms don't look like this, I thought. I've failed. What I've noticed since then is that other rooms actually do generally look like that, or worse. Even professionally painted ones have minor versions of the flaws my son's room has. One might think that would make me feel better about my work, but it actually makes me feel worse that humanity hasn't come up with a more attractive way to paint rooms.
This may sound horribly pessimistic, but it's more that I'm a perfectionist, and I hold others to the same standard I hold myself. My criterion for a 10 rating in movies is that, if I were shown that version of the film and had final cut, I would not make any changes. As I learn more, there are fewer things that make that cut. The more things I learn about, the more I understand why some people prefer willful ignorance. Learning is definitely valuable, and worth it, but it can sure suck the fun out of things.
The last 10 I gave out? Bruce Almighty.
 |
| Yes, that Bruce Almighty. |
I am not unaware that, if I were to watch it for the first time today, it would not be a 10 for me. This is the case for at least 13 of the 16 movies I've given a 10 over the years. It's not just nostalgia, or that I was younger at the time. It's that the more I learn about the process of filmmaking, the more flaws I can see, and I can't simply turn that part of my brain off and ignore them like I used to.
This isn't unique to film, or even entertainment. I painted an interior room for the first time in my life about a year ago, and was unsatisfied with the outcome. There were globs here, splashes onto the trim there, a bit of streaks in the color. Other rooms don't look like this, I thought. I've failed. What I've noticed since then is that other rooms actually do generally look like that, or worse. Even professionally painted ones have minor versions of the flaws my son's room has. One might think that would make me feel better about my work, but it actually makes me feel worse that humanity hasn't come up with a more attractive way to paint rooms.
This may sound horribly pessimistic, but it's more that I'm a perfectionist, and I hold others to the same standard I hold myself. My criterion for a 10 rating in movies is that, if I were shown that version of the film and had final cut, I would not make any changes. As I learn more, there are fewer things that make that cut. The more things I learn about, the more I understand why some people prefer willful ignorance. Learning is definitely valuable, and worth it, but it can sure suck the fun out of things.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Typecasting
I've somewhat lost track of Hollywood in recent years, but now and then I stumble upon articles like this one, about the box office numbers for this past weekend. In first place was Real Steel, which is apparently a sci-fi movie about robot boxing staring Hugh Jackman and Evangeline Lilly. The paragraph that most jumped out at me is quoted below:
"'The men might have been more attracted to this idea of boxing robots and the Rock `Em Sock `Em part of it. For women, it was more Hugh and the Hugh and Evangeline angle,' [Disney head of distribution Dave] Holis said. 'For families, it's this father-son story and the somewhat redemptive rise to glory toward the end.'"
Reading this actually made me cringe. How cynical have we gotten as a society that we've allowed marketing departments to assemble our entertainment in such a way to try and fit in something for everyone (or, at least, every major demographic)? More to the point, why are we OK with such frank admissions of such?
This isn't limited to Hollywood. I've been observing this frequently in almost every area of entertainment, and even in politics. While not quite as nauseating as most campaign commercials, I find what passes for political commentary, even by "legitimate" news organizations, is rather lacking in substance. I listen to NPR with some regularity, and during the midterms I heard so many things about "the Hispanic vote" or "suburbanites" that suggested those heterogeneous groups would all vote as one that I even started to get defensive about it. "That's not me," I thought at the radio. And I found it insulting that they would put it like that.
What actually bothers me, though, is that they tend to be right. Real Steel did indeed open at #1 this weekend. Obama did indeed carry the voting blocs they said he would, and ditto McCain. How did we all get to be so predictable? For a country that upholds individualism as a great virtue, we sure are great at going along with the crowd.
"'The men might have been more attracted to this idea of boxing robots and the Rock `Em Sock `Em part of it. For women, it was more Hugh and the Hugh and Evangeline angle,' [Disney head of distribution Dave] Holis said. 'For families, it's this father-son story and the somewhat redemptive rise to glory toward the end.'"
Reading this actually made me cringe. How cynical have we gotten as a society that we've allowed marketing departments to assemble our entertainment in such a way to try and fit in something for everyone (or, at least, every major demographic)? More to the point, why are we OK with such frank admissions of such?
This isn't limited to Hollywood. I've been observing this frequently in almost every area of entertainment, and even in politics. While not quite as nauseating as most campaign commercials, I find what passes for political commentary, even by "legitimate" news organizations, is rather lacking in substance. I listen to NPR with some regularity, and during the midterms I heard so many things about "the Hispanic vote" or "suburbanites" that suggested those heterogeneous groups would all vote as one that I even started to get defensive about it. "That's not me," I thought at the radio. And I found it insulting that they would put it like that.
What actually bothers me, though, is that they tend to be right. Real Steel did indeed open at #1 this weekend. Obama did indeed carry the voting blocs they said he would, and ditto McCain. How did we all get to be so predictable? For a country that upholds individualism as a great virtue, we sure are great at going along with the crowd.
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