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Am I the only one that laughs out loud when I see an esteemed author go into an in-depth discussion about....American Idol? Granted, I don't watch much (any) TV these days. I go to school during the day, practice piano all afternoon (music major) and work at night. But with OSC's busy schedule--I mean--wouldn't you have to set aside time on purpose to watch the show?
Maybe I'm passing judgement too quickly on the show--I've only seen it twice (painful both times). Pop singing isn't really my thing, and the show seems to be marketed towards the 15-year old audience.
Then again, maybe it's valuable family time for the Cards.
Which brings me to this: I was raised to believe tv was evil and mind-numbing. I know OSC enjoys and plugs a few tv shows here and there. I wonder what OSC thinks about TV and how much we watch as a culture. Isn't there something better to be doing?
Posts: 1314 | Registered: Jan 2006
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In moderation, TV is not bad, especially if you are picky about what you watch. Lots of channels have very interesting shows. TV is not evil and mind-numbing in sort of the same way wine is...Too much will hurt your head Posts: 1918 | Registered: Mar 2005
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Launchy, I can't speak for the Cards, but for the Wren family, AI is the one of the only shows we can all watch together. Most shows have so much objectionable content that I often feel uncomfortable having them watch what I watch. Spongebob Squarepants is a favorite with our kids, but I can only watch a little before I'm ready to go do something else. The only other show we watch together is Extreme Makeover Home Edition.
Of those three shows, AI seems to generate the most conversation, not only between us, but with our friends as well. A lot of my friends feel the same way about it and enjoy watching it with their kids. So, you can call it mind numbing if you want, but I think two hours of tv together as a family per week is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if it sparks interesting conversations. Is playing Chrononauts or Fluxx (also reviewed by OSC, and coincidentally both favorite games in our house) better? No doubt. But our three year old can't play either of those games, but she does like AI.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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I think all of OSC's review columns are written with his tongue slightly in his cheek. I mean, he calls it Uncle Orson Reviews everything . And he goes into detailed explanations of the most random things. I love it . I love his logic, his randomness, and his honesty in those articles.
Posts: 2054 | Registered: Nov 2005
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I love them too. (Most of the time . . . but why go into the exceptions?)
I don't watch TV, but that's a personal preference. I am sure there is quality stuff there. And also, the things I don't personally enjoy may be great for other people. I just wish I knew how he had time for everything he seems to do. He teaches, he commutes forever, he writes, he watches TV, he spends time with his family, he does community theatre. Between my job, my theatre productions, and my family, I don't seem to have any time left. I write when I can, but I write much more when I'm on vacation. I don't know when I would watch TV if I wanted to. (Of course, I do spend more time here than OSC does . . . )
(And the only exception I make, TV-wise, is for sports. And I'm sure there are people--OSC included, I believe--for whom that would seem a colossal waste of time.)
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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No reason at all to think that some quality, heartfelt art can't find its way onto TV. The fact that it shares a medium with Desperate Housewives and Ditech commercials doesn't make, say, Buffy, any less insightful and artistic. It's just as valid a form of storytelling as theater or written word.
American Idol is a different case, of course, but there is always some insight to be gleaned, if you have an eye for it.
And, even were none of this the case, it would still be absurd to condemn TV watching. What exactly is the StickUpOurAsses Crowd's problem with a person sitting around twiddling his thumbs and watching Wheel of Fortune? Ah yes, it's one of the few tools they can employ to feel superior and enlightened.
Watch TV with my family? There's no TIME, man. Glory and fame are clearly the higher things in life.
"Better things to do"? What does that even mean?
Posts: 88 | Registered: Apr 2005
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"Serious" people complain about any art form that ordinary people enjoy. That's why you'll find people who sneer at all who read, say, women's romances, or science fiction/fantasy - even though anybody who reads fiction AT ALL is part of a small minority - a literary elite if you will.
Besides, there ARE distinctions of quality even in the most despised arts. I have no clue what makes one rapper or hip-hop singer better than another in the eyes (or rather, ears) of their audience - and yet some of them become superstars and most of them languish at lower levels. The audience takes some to their hearts, and not others. And the job of a critic is not to tell them that they shouldn't like what they like, but rather to understand what it is about the favorites that makes them stand out above the others.
I find that I can only speak knowledgeably about my own experiences and preferences. So when I review something and either like it or disdain it, I recognize that others will disagree with me. Sometimes, for humorous effect, I pretend that they would have to be idiots. But in fact I'm quite aware that on any given subject, I might well be the idiot.
Still, I don't just point at stuff and say "Hate hate!" or "Love love!" I try to analyze why one thing is better (to me) than another. That's what my essays are all about.
I didn't watch AI for the first 2.5 years, and then I got hooked because my wife and daughter were and so were other people whose taste I have learned to trust. As I watched, I began to care about the people on the show. It's not really surprising, though. I think of these performers as students, struggling to "graduate" by getting better and better. I'm a theatre teacher at heart - I love to work with actors to help them find the voice, body, and heart to succeed in many different roles. That's not unrelated to what is going on in American Idol. That's why the Barry Manilow week is always the best - because he really works with the performers and understand music and performance. Everybody who actually listens to him gets markedly better. He's a real teacher as well as being a great practitioner of pop music.
Is it my favorite kind of music? Heavens no. I love the standards, especially with a jazz spin, or Brazilian MPB (jazz/samba), Ruben Blades's kind of Latino, Broadway showtunes (well, much of it, anyway), but also classical that isn't about virtuosity (I hate busy, whiny violins, for instance) and good film music, which is where audience-accessible program music had to flee after Schoenberg. And country! The last holdout of the tuneful song of character! Plus the folk-rock of Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and others of that ilk, though few still sing that way today.
In short, I like a lot of things. But the overdecorated, overemotional, anti-melodic style of, say, Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey, which is precisely the kind of singing that prevails on AI, I don't like very much.
And yet I still like watching the show! I sing and have worked with singers on stage, so when I listen, I hear not just what they ARE doing with their voices, but what they COULD have and sometimes SHOULD have done.
So why not write about it? Those who care about AI will enjoy agreeing or disagreeing with me; I might inform some people of things they hadn't noticed or thought of; I might make others delightfully furious with my wrongheaded opinions (What? You liked CONSTANTINE?). But it's all good fun. And those who couldn't care less about AI ... well, you can always skip that part of my essay; or you can read it and think, Well, who knew? Maybe there's something to be said about this silly contest show after all.
And in defense of AI, let me point out: This is not a reality show about who is nice and who is nasty, who can be trusted, etc. This is a show about human beings who are trying to better their talents and offer entertainment in an artful way. You get to watch people grow. You get to see lives of talented people genuinely change as they get a real shot at finding an audience. That's WAY better, in my view, than watching train wreck shows because you find it entertaining to watch dorks act dorky ... as in, say, The Apprentice.
Posts: 2005 | Registered: Jul 1999
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quote:This is not a reality show about who is nice and who is nasty, who can be trusted, etc.
That's one of my favorite things about the show, too. It illustrates that you can be in competition with someone and still be supportive of them in their efforts. I hate to say I'm regretting that Kevin Covais got booted off. Of all of them, he had the most positive things to say about his castmates, about how much he really cared about them all, what friends they'd become.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
Thanks for clarifying everything, Mr. Card.
As a music major(piano/voice)/theatre minor, I'm glad to say we've got a good bit in common. Unfortunately, my voice minor requires singing mostly Schubert Lieder and Italian arias--I only get to sing Cole Porter and Gershwin standards on my own time.
I think part of the reason I didn't like American Idol (besides the fact that I also don't like the overly-embellished pop style)--is the fact that they all have much, much better voices than I have <sigh>
...anyway, back to studying Schoenberg and Webern like a good music major :-)
Posts: 1314 | Registered: Jan 2006
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While AI is not as thougth provoking as something like Buffy, as was mentioned in an earlier post, it is a very entertaining and amusing show. Sure I like to be challenged. I like to watch Buffy and see what meaning Joss is trying to convey, I like to read OSC and try to imagine being in the awful moral and ethical positions that he presents. But sometimes I also like to be only entertained, to watch or read something solely for the that purpose. AI fulfills that for me. Sure I dont have to think when I am watching it and it cetainly adds no value whatsoever to my life. But it is an hour a week where I am doing nothing for sake of doing it. It is a welcom refreshment.
Posts: 63 | Registered: Mar 2006
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Oh, now, Launchywiggin, I am quite sure that they don't ALL have better voices than yours. Besides, better for WHAT, eh? I bet they can't touch your performance of Schubert lieder.
Posts: 2005 | Registered: Jul 1999
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Now...wouldn't it be COOL if they had a show like American Idol that showcased performing classical solo repertoire? Just think--it could make classical music "hip" again! People would return to the concert halls in droves!
(and then we can play some hindemith and scare them away again! <maniacal laughter>)
(note: I love paul hindemith--but he did write some scary stuff)
Posts: 1314 | Registered: Jan 2006
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quote:Unfortunately, my voice minor requires singing mostly Schubert Lieder
I consider that lucky! Although perhaps you should ask them to vary your homework with some Schumann. His Heine lieder are the bomb.
I agree with Mr. Card! Can you imagine Elliot or Taylor doing a beautiful rendition of "Gutte Nacht"? Or Chris Posts: 484 | Registered: Feb 2006
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. And he goes into detailed explanations of the most random things. I love it ![[ROFL]](graemlins/rofl.gif)
