Category Archives: Arts & Entertainment

Mass Media and the Monoform

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Some essays by Peter Watkins caught my eye recently. In particular, the essay about what Watkins refers to as the Monoform is especially well written and worth reading-

“The MONOFORM is the internal language-form (editing, narrative structure, etc.) used by TV and the commercial cinema to present their messages. It is the densely packed and rapidly edited barrage of images and sounds, the ‘seamless’ yet fragmented modular structure which we all know so well. This language-form appeared early on in the cinema, with the work of pioneers such as D.W.Griffith, and others who developed techniques of rapid editing, montage, parallel action, cutting between long shots/close shots, etc. Now it also includes dense layers of music, voice and sound effects, abrupt cutting for shock effect, emotion-arousing music saturating every scene, rhythmic dialogue patterns, and endlessly moving cameras.”

Watkins builds a case for the notion that what people see and hear in the media is the result of a type of editing philosophy that has become common over much of the world. In large part because of the precociousness of American media. What we see and hear is always a type of presentation put on by people who want to emphasize particular aspects of events in a manner that satisfies their need to supply a stimulating stream of imagery.

I think most of us have always understood that the mass audio visual media (MAVM) have always had a show business flair, but that the persuasiveness of editing was always secondary to content. Watkins suggests that editing is what primarily influences viewers in terms of the sequence and stimulus provided by well chosen cuts. It is an interesting viewpoint and one worth considering.

Bagpipes, Bangers, and Beer!

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7 September, 2008, Estes Park, Colorado.  It is the last day of the Scottish Festival in Estes Park. Th’ Gaussling and family made way to this annual festival to hear bagpipe music and to see the spectacle.  There were several quite decent bands as well as a variety of highland games to watch. You could even lunch on haggis.

It was interesting to see a police officer dressed up in a kilt and scooting around on a Segway. Then there was the curious juxtaposition of holstered stun gun and a kilt.
Parade of the Clans

Parade of the Clans

These highland festivals seem to involve quite a bit of pomp and circumstance. The Marine Corp Marching band put on a show bobbing and weaving to the tuba playing a jazzy beat. Cannons were fired on the top of every hour and a collection of siege engines (wooden trebuchets) hurled stones towards an inflatable Nessie floating in Loch Estes. And at noon, a pair of WWII training aircraft did a formation flyover. Airplanes, beer & bangers, and bagpipes. It just doesn’t get any better than that!

 

 

Review: “Little Women” at the Lyceum

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August 30, 2008, Arrow Rock, Missouri.  Like most boys, I failed to read Louisa May Alcott’s novel Little Women.  Okay, to be fair, a slight elaboration is needed. I failed to summon the interest in reading it.

So imagine my surprise when I learned that we were going to drive 744 miles (one way) to see a musical based on the book. The musical production of this story was staged at the Lyceum Theatre in Arrow Rock, Missouri. The theatre is a refurbished church and sits on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River valley. Lewis & Clark stopped there according to the historical markers.

Arrow Rock is a charming though obscure tourist village configured with a handfull of antique shops, B & B’s, and minor eateries. The town was a mid-19th century river port. Numerous warehouses and transport operations were once in operation. Eventually, the town went into a prolonged quiescent phase with the coming of rail transport. As if to cement its extinction, the Missouri River later changed its course and moved a mile away.

The town is now part of the Arrow Rock State Historic Site. The historic site status of the area has brought some traffic into this sleepy little hamlet.

And then there is the Lyceum Theatre. What is notable about this Theatre is not so much the setting as the quality of the actors it attracts. The productions are Actors Equity operations and the casting calls are in New York City. The actors fly in and reside in a dormitory in Arrow Rock for the duration of the production.

The result is a musical talent pool of high quality. We found the production of Little Women to be cleanly energetic and very crisp.  The stagecraft was very professional and relied on a liberal use of scrims and lighting.

The vocal talent across the cast was superb. The actor playing sister and lead character “Jo” was Mallory Hawks. She captured considerable depth in the part and displayed a verve that never failed to charm. This actor’s voice was exceptionally strong and clear. She was cannily emotive and lead the audience through an emotional series of highs and lows during the performance. I wish her well in her career.

For accomodations I would recommend the Down Over Bed and Breakfast in Arrow Rock. It is run by a charming retired couple who present a fantastic breakfast spread. It is reasonably priced and provides a relaxing setting for chronically twittered city folk.

Farewell George Carlin

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June 22, 2008, Santa Monica, California. Comedian and satirist George Carlin died sunday evening after checking into a Santa Monica hospital complaining of chest pains. He was 71.

Carlin was a brilliant social satirist and comic. He had the ability to look at ordinary things from a different angle and see the obvious obsurdity in things most of us accept as simple background noise. This is one of the key attributes of a successful satirist and comedian.

I think it’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately. 

The very existence of flamethrowers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, “You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I’m just not close enough to get the job done.”

I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, “Where’s the self-help section?” She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.

There’s no present. There’s only the immediate future and the recent past.

Not only do I not know what’s going on, I wouldn’t know what to do about it if I did.

-George Carlin

Carlin was a serial quipster who pushed the boundaries of social norms. His Seven Dirty Words ended up as the center of a 1978 Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the right of the state to bar “indecent” of speech on the public airwaves.

While it is common for contemporary comedians to exploit “indecent” speech for shock value today, few seem to have the facility with language that Carlin had. He was able to reduce to a few short humorous sentences the dark uncertainties that many of us have with common subjects.  Carlin’s observations on taboo subjects put him well ahead of his time.

Let’s get some new archetypes and paradigms. Please?

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I viewed the new version of The Andromeda Strain recently. The miniseries is directed by brothers Ridley and Tony Scott and was broadcast on A&E. I really like and respect Michael Crichton for the book and the original movie was quite good. And, Ridley Scott is one of my favorite directors.

But this remake is a problem. The production value is excellent and the cinematography is quite inspired in a few places. I couldn’t do better than Ridley Scott, so who am I to complain? But there is the rub. While it is technically competent and visually stimulating, the storyline is a bit … well, I’ll just say it … overwrought. The updated storyline is just too bloody complex. Too many little cul-de-sacs and backstories to keep track of. It has that same manic, runaway train feel as ER. Just like Crichton’s most recent books. I can’t finish them.

Part of the problem with much of contemporary movie making is the persistance of formulaic and over used themes. Tired, threadbare archetypes of reluctant heroes, corrupt politicians, and busty nubiles who are handy with martial arts and firearms. I enjoy watching Angelina Jolie spraying machine gun fire as much as the next guy, but enough! Lets move on to something new.

Which brings me to the latest Indiana Jones movie. This movie proves that even George Lucas is subject to the Peter Principle. The storyline is a patchwork of whatever few baby-boomer oriented euphamisms that haven’t already been hijacked by the trolls at Industrial Light and Magic. It’s a contrived piece of cinema that was apparently designed by MBA’s and industrial psychologists to extract money from your debit card. (But I did enjoy some Milk Duds during the show.)

For Gawd sakes, George, go out back and dig up some of that money you have buried in the back yard and buy a better script next time.

Some Men Like Cheese

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If you appreciate the famous cantata Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, you’ll love this interpretation. It is not a small download, but it is worth it.

Enjoyed a decent local production of Guys and Dolls last night. The parts of Miss Adelaide and Sister Sarah Brown (soprano) were particularly well played. The soprano could really belt it out- It was spectacular.  I shared the table with a theatre director and a quantum physicist. Interesting mix.