Let's Get Started
July 18th 2008 00:00
You are on the road now
Welcome to my blog.
Please let me preface this column once, then I promise not to burden you again in the future.
As you continue to join me over the months and years, it is my goal to help open up both our minds to ever-increasing knowledge. We will take a look at most everything. I do not pretend to be an expert on cameras, movies, IT, mechanics, art, writing, politics, religions, farming, or any particular topic. But, I can learn and, it is hoped you are willing to learn with me.
Please feel free to comment. This is how we both grow. I do not want to stand on a soapbox or talk from a "bully pulpit." We can gain knowledge and evolve together.
Now, with this having been said, let's get started.
_____________________________ _____________________________ _____
Our first subject will be about discipline in the motion picture and television industries.
Credit should be given to the motion picture industry and television media for the fine work they do overall. I do not wish to sell them short. Credit should be given where credit is due.
Perhaps it is because, while in college speech classes, if we made mistakes in our outlining, preparation, grammar, or delivery we were immediately docked grade points for not "respecting our audience" enough to give it our best. We were videotaped, reviewed, and graded by the entire class, as well as the professor.
How many times have we witnessed the poor use of the English language from people who either should know better or assume a hypocritical role that says "I know," when, in reality, he/she may not.
One of the classic examples, which comes first to mind, was the mistake read from the teleprompter on the evening news in Orlando, Florida, a couple of years ago. The announcer was talking about the advertising agency retiring the little dog from the Taco Bell commercials. He pronounced chihuahua as "chee hew a hew a." Mistakes are made, but a professional should have been thinking, not just reading. Now, would you agree that this television personality should have been thinking beyond the teleprompter? This is what all of us should be doing in life -- THINKING BEYOND THE TELEPROMPTER. More on this as we go along.
As another example, how about the movie "Rhodan," during which collapsing buildings revealed a "Made in U.S.A." label on one of the walls?
During the movie "Tombstone," starring Kurt Russell, the sign over the local law enforcement office read "U.S. Marshall" with two L's. You know the difference. Or what about the wagon allegedly filled with women suffragettes parading down the dirt street with the words embrazened, "Equal Pay for Equal Work?" Now, really -- women in the late 19th Century were having enough of a time just obtaining the right to vote. Do you think, with over 95% of the males engaged in the workforce, that young stay-at-home mothers took the time to ride in rough, bouncy buckboards on dusty roads to ask for equal pay when they were not in the workforce to begin with?
The majority of movies and television dramas are shot in Southern California -- a varied and beautiful place. One of my biggest pet peeves is watching movies supposedly set in colder cities wherein one sees palm trees in the background. If you have not already noticed this, then keep a sharp eye out the next time the setting is in Cincinnati or Chicago and filmed in L.A.
See what I mean? It is called showing respect to your audience. The movie writers, producers and the director have an obligation to the public to release a proof-read, and accurate product. If they move too far off the mark, then people will reject their efforts, believing they themselves have been set up and ripped off by amateurs. In many cases, they may feel unrespected and that their money and/or time was wasted.
Now, my wife castigates me for watching movies and television while criticizing. She is probably right. I just feel that people in the limelight have a "you understood" obligation to their audiences to produce a quality product every time. This includes not only proper settings, dialogues and props, but a devotion to the audience who is asking for proper attention to detail.
My next article will address how movies and the media are used to control our thinking.
In the meantime, keep it between the lines until next time,.
| 55 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
