Time to Walk into the Deep Water

Edward Hopper. Office in a Small City. 1953. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From an arts blogger

I come to my third and final entry in a series discussing the significance of a quote by the late visual artist, Edward Hopper. (If you have not read the first 2 parts, it would probably be good to do so before continuing: Part 1 & Part 2.) Previously I have discussed the meaning of Hopper’s words and how his opinion would translate to the art of dance. For my summation, I will present my perspective on the subject of “pure dance” followed by an examination of various performance examples. First, for one final time, here is the quote of interest by Hopper (as taken from a video retrospective produced by the National Gallery of Art).

There is a school of painting called abstractionist or non-objective, which is derived largely from the work of Paul Cézanne, that attempts to create pure painting – that is an art which will use form, color, and design for their own sakes and independent of man’s experience of life and his association with nature. I do not believe such an aim can be achieved by a human being. Whether we wish it or not, we are all bound to the earth with our experience of life; and the reactions of the mind, heart, and eye and our sensations by no means consist entirely of form, color, and design.

So, is Edward Hopper right? Is there no such thing as pure art or pure dance? For the most part, I agree with the opinion of Hopper as it relates to dance. I believe that there are those that create dances for dance sake, focusing solely on the medium – movement, space, energy, time, etc. And I think that some of them perhaps have the goal of creating a pure dance, a dance that is separate from the rest of human experience, while others simply do not care whether or not a piece has possible connections to reality. But whether they try to create a pure dance or not, I do not think that creating a pure dance is possible. I agree with Hopper that we are all bound to our experience of life, and seeing a dance (just another life experience) cannot be separated from the rest of our lived experiences. As an audience, we bring to the performance all that we know and have seen before. And our senses, our minds, and our hearts cannot react solely to the substance on the stage; they are naturally and automatically bound to respond to the performance based on our entire lifetime of sensations, thoughts, and feelings. Because we are human, it is impossible for a work of art to be purely non-objective or abstract, no matter the artist’s intentions.

San Francisco Neighborhood Newspapers: Creating Healthy and Informed Environments and Neighborhoods

For everyone interested in the future of print journalism:

 

 

 Student Price $7, but if you email me I can tell how to get in for free...

http://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2014-09-22/san-francisco-neighborhood-newspapers-creating-healthy-and-informed-environments-a

Ian Port's Guidelines for Freelance Reviewers

Ian’s Last Night guidelines

- Remember that what happens onstage/behind the decks isn't the only thing readers are interested in. Sometimes the crowd and the scene make for a better story than the performance itself. Make sure to give readers a sense for the night as a whole, not just the show.

- We're critics, not cheerleaders. Don't slam anyone undeservedly, but don't refrain from making critical comments – or even ripping the artist a thoughtful, evidence-supported new one, if that’s warranted. If something really sucks, don't mince words about it. On the flip side, don’t gush at length about how great a performance was. It’s ok to be very positive, but aim to show your readers why something was good or bad, rather than just telling us it was so.

- You don't have to look at these as straightforward, stodgy concert reviews. Feel free to think up a funny or weird angle, write a review as a list (or some other format), write it like you’re an alien experiencing human/San Francisco culture for the first time, or go off the wall in some other way. But be sure to make it clear what you’re writing about.

- Shoot for somewhere between 400 and 800 words overall.

- band/group names are always singular (Simian Mobile Diso is, has, loves, etc.) unless it's something like The Frogs, in which case you'd give it a plural verb.

 - It's ok to use first-person a little bit, but the general thrust of the article should not use first-person. It's partly a matter of taste and partly company policy. It's just as easy to write without the first person, and sometimes the whole It-struck-me-like-this style can come across a bit self-indulgent. That said, it's ok to go there sometimes.

- Avoid cliches and tired words/phrasing ALWAYS. Mind Orwell's five rules of writing (http://grammar.about.com/od/writersonwriting/a/OrwellRules.htm ) -- actually, live by those rules and you'll be a better than writer than 90 percent of your competition.

- One of the challenges of your job is to find new words to describe people dancing, beats dropping, and other common club occurrences. I'm not pretending this will be easy, but use your imagination. We want to avoid the commonly used words and phrases to make the reviews exciting to read. Think of new ways to describe what's going on -- they can be wacky and funny and weird as long as they're understandable.

- Your reader doesn't know what you know and may not have even been there -- so in order to write coherently, you will have to describe and mention things that would be obvious to people who were there. Strive to write so that someone who has lived in a cave for the last 30 years could read your post and get the gist of it.

- We're often inclined to write reviews in chronological order -- starting at the beginning of the night and writing to the end -- but this usually isn't the best way to do it. You may want to start with the interesting stuff and a gripping main idea to hook your reader, give a brief summary of what happened, then go into other details. You also don't have to say everything that happened -- just point out the funny/unusual/otherwise noteworthy stuff.

How to Write a Joke

Just in case you can't afford the $1.99 an episode

Gravity Falls: Episode 1 (Full Episode)

 

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x12c34p_gravity-falls-s01e01-tourist-trapped-1080p-web-dl-aac2-0-h-264-it00nz_animals

Sullivan Laughs Again from 'Sullivan's Travels'

What Effects Does TV Have on Kids?

Tales from the Crypt (comics) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A distinguished colleague writes:

Michael, from my own perspective, media effects is one of the most difficult questions in sociology. Indeed, I began my career as a media researcher in 1989 with a focus on children and television advertisements. And now I have a definitive answer.

To cut to the chase, it think that Steven H. Chaffee from Stanford captured the essence in a personal conversation we had in the 1999, shortly before his death.

For many years he said, we (at Stanford) tried to answer the question, “Does television affect children?”  After 20 years, hundreds of studies and millions of dollars, we essentially failed to come up with an answer.

The reason he said was that he asked the wrong question.  The question we should have asked, Chaffee said, is: Howdoes television effect children?

In other words, would should not have asked a “yes” or no” question, but one of method and degree. How does television shape attitudes and behaviors of children? A strong or a weak force? What is the complex interplay of influences that act upon childrenat the individual and social levels — as an innocent child becomes cultured to the ways of adults? 

So Chaffee's research on television concluded impotently: "Some children, in some conditions, some of the time” — that was the summary of all his findings.  And yes, that gets you the position of Dean of Communications at Stanford University, and the approval of the advertising to children industry: "We can’t say, so it’s okay.” 

There are too many independent variables to be able to make a clear and statistically valid cause-and-effect statement.  Too many moving parts, too many inputs.

So, Michael, if you want to know about the effects of TV (specifically sitcoms) on viewers (specifically kids under 10)? I have the answer:

"Some children, in some conditions, some of the time.”   That's pretty definitive.  

Damsels in Distress - Tropes vs. Women - Smart Stuff

As always it’s important to keep in mind that it’s entirely possible to be critical of some aspects of a piece of media while still finding other parts valuable or enjoyable. - Anita Sarkeesian

War Between Gamers and Some of Their Reviewers Turns Ugly

Here are the headlines from the Guardian story.

Gamergate: the community is eating itself but there should be room for all

The last fortnight has seen a raging battle between self-identifying gamers and games writers and critics. Does it have to be this way?

The bottom line is that this is an art where reviewers/critics seem to matter.

Enter the critics

With mainstream interest and contrasting voices, with idiosyncratic, challenging games on one side and massively successful brands like GTA and Call of Duty on the other, cultural critics began to take an interest in games and game-makers. The people who used to study movies and music for their sociopolitical significance turned their attention to games. Suddenly, there were cultural critics like Anita Sarkeesian applying an analytical lens to game tropes and conventions – and their ideas chimed with a new generation of games critics who wanted to investigate games in new ways.

Related articles

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• Female Game Journalists Quit Over Harassment, #GamerGate Harms Women - "Ethics of game journalism" my ass.
• Slut Shaming and Concern Trolling in Geek Culture
• Gamergate-related controversy reveals ugly side of gaming community
• Death threats drive Anita Sarkeesian from her home
• Anita Sarkeesian Threatened with Rape and Murder for Daring to Keep Critiquing Video Games

Some Guidelines for Writing Your Review of Gravity Falls

The New Yorker (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

* No boring leads, please. Look at the three leads in the sitcom package. They are designed to keep you reading, all three of them just a little cheeky and provocative, in the case of the New Yorker writer wonderfully specific. But don't get hung up on the lead if it doesn't come quickly. Jump in, start writing and later, during editing, take that insight or that description that fills you with pride and make it your lead.

* Somewhere in your review you will provide the basic facts of the plot and description of the characters, not just summing them up but connecting them to your ideas about the show. "When character X did Y, it made you think that.... " A review that consists almost entirely of a synopsis of the plot is boring and useless. Also, one of the things that makes this kind of TV reviewing easier is that you don't have to worry about spoilers. You can follow the story right through to the end. Indeed, the end is probably when the point of the episode - and the arc of the series - start to come clear. You are describing an episode - or episodes if you're ambitious - of a show that's already out there. Even if you "spoil" an episode or two, viewers will have plenty of surprises left. (If I were reviewing a whole season of a show, no, I would draw back at certain points and refrain from spoiling key episodes.)

* Don't forget your aim is to recommend, for or against. It's possible you'll say parents might want their kids to watch, but those kids wouldn't enjoy it. Or vice versa. You may say you love it but kids and parents will hate it. And vice versa. Just as in the restaurant review, you give it a star rating.

* Earlier in this blog I posted some basic facts about Gravity Falls to allow you to comment on its relative popularity. You will probably very briefly want to refer to that info. A word or two and a hyperlink will be enough.

* I'm assuming that - at least in passing - you will comment on this whole question of whether or not TV shows have an effect on viewers, particularly kids. You can speak to that point from your own experience being exposed to kid culture of any kind.

* I've talked a lot about TV shows being a window on culture, on how they resonate with all sorts of contemporary social issues like race, gender, sexuality and class. I expect you to touch on one or more ways in which Gravity Falls, in  your opinion, tells us something about who we are and how we live. But obviously you can't spend too much time on such topics. You don't have enough space to explore all the issues that could be explored. Be selective.

* And so we return to our original point. Be entertaining. Write in an accessible, conversational style. Write like a TV reviewer whose work you like. At the end of your review, let me know what audience you are writing for. But it can NOT be aimed at stuffy university professors who don't like lively, clever writing with a bit of attitude..

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