Archive for May 2013
Wizard of Oz: The Meaning of Text
Couple weeks ago we read and talked about the Wizard of Oz. First off this is a much darker "children's" story than I ever imagined. Secondly our discussion brought up a very interesting idea of text and it's originality.
Origin's of text can very significantly and can be best represented by asking a comic book nerd who is the real batman; The 60's batman or today's batman.
It comes down to the reader. For me Wizard of Oz was a Disney movie with midget munchkins and red shoes where as a couple generations before me know Wizard of Oz as a relatively dark story with a ding bat girl as the main character. Scarecrow was popping the heads of crows for silly's sake. The viewer makes the difference and as I went back to read the original I found myself liking Disney's version better. Not because it was, in fact, a better telling of the story but because it was what I first knew of Oz.
Similarly you'll never be able to convince me that the movie Jurassic Park is any less brilliant than the novel. It's just more suspenseful as an imaginary novel.
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Jazz/Swing
After doing a small listening study involving bands such as the Boswell Sisters, Django Reinhardt and Louis Armstrong I've decided I'm in the wrong era. On a serious note these famous musicians were interesting to hear not only because they had such a different direction than today's musicians but because they were not concerned with marketing.
There is a huge difference between branding yourself in the 40's and 50's than there is now. We have instant access to our favorite singers via internet radios. Today's musicians are very concerned about how they look, how big their tours are and if their songs are instant hits on YouTube. They are under constant visual scrutiny. With voice alterations through the computer their live performances don't even need to be authentic.
Older artists such as Louis Armstrong proved themselves by singing common songs and by the pure brass of their voice. They had to sound like angels and work with live audiences. Often singers would get together and need to know how to perform well with other talented artists. The focus was on their voice not their looks.
