tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post2221413215994431220..comments2024-03-28T18:59:21.172-04:00Comments on Face to Face: Don't improvise in period moviesagnostichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-21130565395398917002014-03-27T03:49:31.477-04:002014-03-27T03:49:31.477-04:00"Did guys back then go around pretending to b...<i>"Did guys back then go around pretending to be gay for laughs? I don't think they did, and would probably have been offended by it."</i><br /><br />I don't see how that scene is much different than Bugs Bunny always humiliating Elmer Fudd by kissing him on the mouth (John Lennon also does that in Hard Day's Night). I asked a friend who went to high school in the 1970s, and he said that the Cooper/C.K. scene was recognizable rowdy behavior for that time. (Wolf of Wall Street has similar scenes for the 1980s)Jason Malloyhttp://humanvarieties.org/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-80228517934316966992014-03-26T14:29:15.874-04:002014-03-26T14:29:15.874-04:00"cosplay" ---I hadn't heard of this ..."cosplay" ---I hadn't heard of this word until a couple years ago, now I see it more frequently. Just looked it up...I see it's short for "costume play." FWGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-33594522202598038052014-03-26T14:25:06.026-04:002014-03-26T14:25:06.026-04:00Anonymous, your first point sounds a lot like the ...Anonymous, your first point sounds a lot like the "fantasy" sports as well. Like, caring more about what your fantasy team is doing than your actual favorite team. Speaking of which, my fantasy baseball draft is tomorrow night...FWGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-36036664171268157442014-03-26T14:05:00.889-04:002014-03-26T14:05:00.889-04:00Specifically, I'm not sure why there has been ...Specifically, I'm not sure why there has been an explosion, in the last year or so, of participation in 5ks. I'm don't know if this is a relevant factor or not, but most of the races are rather expensive - $50-100.Curtisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-42202255710300802192014-03-26T13:59:15.043-04:002014-03-26T13:59:15.043-04:00The running fad seems like it might be tied more i...The running fad seems like it might be tied more inequality than cocooning - running took off in the 70s. "Face to Face" has equated it with cocooning, though - like using a stationary bike or weight machines, its obsessive, solitary activity.<br /><br />Curtisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-54959225936575824572014-03-26T06:45:06.998-04:002014-03-26T06:45:06.998-04:00Can you write about the following:
-The increasin...Can you write about the following:<br /><br />-The increasing fascination with NCAA tournament bracket contests, with less attention being paid to the actual tournament. You're more likely to hear someone complain about making the wrong picks, than being disappointed that their favorite team lost.<br /><br />-The rise of the "fun run" in various forms: 5k races for a charity (or sometimes not) with some perversion such as costumes, mud, obstacles, paint, indoors in the dark, etc. Some of these don't even measure times, and everyone is a winner for participating. On one hand, I can see how this corresponds to the "special snowflake" syndrome, but on the other hand, these do seem like social, community bonding events, however silly.<br /><br />Also, you should watch and review the movie Her. The main character is a loser yet his romance with the AI is glorified. On the meta level, the movie is not very good (not original, realistic, or uplifting) and its popularity says a lot about modern day SWPLs. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-45063997906270310772014-03-26T01:23:47.354-04:002014-03-26T01:23:47.354-04:00"that scene where Bradley Cooper pretends to ..."that scene where Bradley Cooper pretends to hump the other guy doesn't seem like something you'd see in the 80s."<br /><br />That was another frat pack moment. Also took me out of it because he's a closeted homosexual in real life. (Why was there no chemistry between him and Amy Adams' character? That's why.)<br /><br />"Most period pieces in Western literature and cinema were more concerned with aesthetics than historical accuracy."<br /><br />What's aesthetic about Christian Bale improv-ing a miffed "Really?" or Bradley Cooper humping a dude? Nothing. In fact, these ad libs cause jarring disruptions in tone -- switching from the vibe circa 1980 to a totally alien one from circa 2010.<br /><br />Focus on what is said, not what allows you to fart off a dismissive internet comment. That was not the claim -- "Does, not, compute, details less than 100% a-cu-rate." No period piece will be totally accurate, because of language if nothing else.<br /><br />Rather, the claim was that when they shift from one period's style, tone, look-and-feel to that of another period, and then back again, and then back again, etc., it's hard for the brain to decide which period they're really going for. Is it supposed to be the original, or are they doing a contempo comedy/drama in period cosplay?agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-16513094081921120332014-03-25T23:42:05.494-04:002014-03-25T23:42:05.494-04:00> in the 80s. Did guys back then go around pret...> in the 80s. Did guys back then go around pretending to be gay for laughs?<br /><br />In South African high schools we did. 'Course mine was an all-boys school so we were freer to be crude. expatnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-79338962227984541112014-03-25T23:34:42.793-04:002014-03-25T23:34:42.793-04:00I disagree. The obsession with getting period accu...I disagree. The obsession with getting period accurate details of clothing, physical settings, and vocabulary is a recent phenomenon.<br /><br />Most period pieces in Western literature and cinema were more concerned with aesthetics than historical accuracy. As far as I can tell, this fad took off in the 90's. In other words, in Agnostic's latest period of falling crime.Cahokianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-55414788655392040782014-03-25T14:35:23.211-04:002014-03-25T14:35:23.211-04:00yeah, that scene where Bradley Cooper pretends to ...yeah, that scene where Bradley Cooper pretends to hump the other guy doesn't seem like something you'd see in the 80s. Did guys back then go around pretending to be gay for laughs? I don't think they did, and would probably have been offended by it.Curtisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-76383991592355958912014-03-25T07:41:47.164-04:002014-03-25T07:41:47.164-04:00A lot of what is important is the illusion of peri...A lot of what is important is the illusion of period-accurate language. I write historical fiction and frequently have my editor and agent flag words and phrases that are authentic to the period, but feel modern. Other things, such as phrasing, that I know are modern, nobody seems to notice. My most recent book was set in 1676 Boston and of course you have to translate it into modern English. I wouldn't be capable of writing in that dialect, and it would be difficult reading if I did.KMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-27737872133015764142014-03-25T07:06:19.036-04:002014-03-25T07:06:19.036-04:00This post made me think. It's an interesting q...This post made me think. It's an interesting question what someone from a different era or culture would seem like in the First World in 2014, because he would have to be able to adapt to interact with these new people and integrate stimuli that are not prevalent in his era. Presumably, the closest thing to a 1980s cop personality etc. immersed in a 2014 milieu would be an emulation, underneath which some characteristic 2014 elements are retained.Gaspare Allamalegrohttp://malencovdallemalagalalegaro.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-78213058072565556862014-03-25T04:14:12.948-04:002014-03-25T04:14:12.948-04:00OT, on the slight chance you haven't seen this...OT, on the slight chance you haven't seen this yet<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz0o9clVQu8<br /><br />best moment: 2.55 <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com