Dumbing everything down

My last post ended up being an incoherent rant of sorts after starting out with some legitimate topics I wanted to address... Hopefully this one is more concrete.

I stopped listening to Top 40 stuff or 'mainstream' music when I got into college, thanks largely to the soundtrack to the movie 'Garden State' (that got me started into a whole new world of musical experience for me... so thanks, Zach Braff). I am however, not completely ignorant of what is going on, just because you can never quite escape the really popular tracks being played outdoors at festivals or fairs, at the bar and at parties, and many a times, being played on TV or the cinema. Now, I could go on and on about how generic music sounds these few years thanks to mass commercialization of the music industry, but let's leave that for next time.

However, I was dismayed recently, when talking with a colleague about a particular piece of song that's been making the rounds recently. The song in question is 'Look at Me Now' by Chris Brown, Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne. As I said, I stopped listening to mainstream stuff, but some of these music are brought to my attention in various forms as explained above. What really struck me about this song was why people like this song. (OK, I'll admit, I've always enjoyed Busta Rhymes rapping really fast.) For someone like Chris Brown, the man who has been popular for a while, who brought hits (literally) such as 'Forever', 'Kiss Kiss', 'Run It!' and others, this song would be appropriate if this was his breakout song and a shout out to those who doubted his talent or never really gave him props. But he's been around for a while now, so what is he trying to say? Does he really need to reiterate the fact that now he's famous, rich and can be obnoxious about it?

Being obnoxious in hip hop is nothing new, so I won't pin the blame on Chris Brown. I'm sure I'm not the only one who came to that conclusion, so my question is, why do we as listeners or consumers, buy into songs like this that only propels him to feel entitled to be obnoxious? It's almost as if one's paying him to talk down to you (I don't judge if that's your thing), but when I raised this question, I was met with a hesitant admission of the situation, but ultimately dismissing the question because at the end of the day, it's a good song and they liked it.

The question about whether the song is good or not can be debated. The bigger question is that people recognize that they can like something that they fundamentally disagree with or even acknowledge the poor taste. I'm sure many others have met those that seemingly acknowledge watching their 'guilty pleasure' in watching trashy reality TV shows or liking trash music. Shouldn't everyone be alarmed that we're consciously lowering standards to meet some sort of a requirement or need to fulfill needs? When did we stop demanding artists to break new creative boundaries, push the limit of artistic achievement, seek various art forms that will cater to our enjoyment?

I myself have been guilty of this, though it was almost 10 years ago. My excuse is that I did not know to judge a quality of music, TV or film in a critical manner back then, but the point is, I have since learnt to do so (and still continuing), so I was able to recognize on my own. It's part of the experience to go through that, recognize what you went through and learn from it. When you're young, you can be excused since you don't know any better. The difference is, everyone grows, so that's another phase everyone should get past. It seems many have not completely grown out of that phase where music, TV shows, movies and even books are just shoved down our throats to be enjoyed.

Once I figured out that every form of entertainment I was seeking was rudimentary at best and pandering to those who lacks proper understanding of these art forms to meaningfully appreciate, I took a completely different approach to everything. I started paying more attention to lyrics - are they just reading out meaningless drivel or expressing something? Are the TV shows showing any generic setting or cross examining a particular topic? Are the books I'm reading just entertaining or is it expressing some idea that will stick with me?

My somewhat vague rule since then has been the question of longevity. Will the piece of music I'm listening to express something that still can be appreciated 5-10 years from now? Will the movie I watch stick with me down the years, instead of becoming irrelevant over time, will the books I read give me new perspective I'll internalize instead of being named Bestseller and being forgotten few years down the line? If it's not going to give any benefits like that, is it worth my time to 'consume' these forms?

I'll admit, I never learnt to play any instruments (though if I could, I'd love to play the drums), I don't claim to write well, considering English is the 3rd language I picked up. (Though I'm pretty proud of the fact that I got from not being able to converse in English at all to reading a 300+ page novel in about 3 years or so), I may sound like a pro in all these things, but I'm just an amateur appreciator of sorts, so I'm not in a position to be able to judge critically, but there are very basic things anyone can notice in inherent lack of quality or point to many things we 'consume.'

Acknowledging that something is bad, but yet enjoying it should be alarming to everyone. There are folks that are becoming 'artists' because of this and seriously undermining the true artists and creatives. It really doesn't say much about movies like 'Transformers' and such doing so well and being positively received by those who can't objectively and critically analyze what a movie should be. (Note: I maintain that a movie can be enjoyable while not compromising artistic integrity) I've heard some ridiculous excuses as to why some don't appreciate foreign movies, one of the best ones being that they don't want to read when enjoying a movie. When did reading become such a chore to do? Is it really hard to pay attention to what is going on in the movie and glance at the words below?

There's nothing wrong with enjoying these art forms to satisfy a short term need. The question becomes if it's something of worthy quality instead of a low level form that caters to the instincts.

All these talk often are received as being elitist or too demanding for everyone and that may or may not be true. I've also often heard complaints such as how one can't approach every art forms critically and that entertainment is not supposed to be taken so seriously. I do agree with all that, but since when did being entertained mean completely letting go of any standards and allowing yourself to be receptive to anything, be it good or bad? Why is 'thinking' regarded in such a negative light? What is the source of such attitude towards anti intellectualism?

I've said enough for the night, perhaps answering those will be for future posts...

Consider your sources

*** Gave this post a quick read through after I initially typed it... This is going to look more like a rant than anything. However, this is just an initial exploration into the oversimplification or snap judgments I am seeing at an alarmingly increasing rate that I felt compelled to start addressing. ***

Many a times, we talk to our peers regarding that brilliant TV show, movie, artist, etc. The usual exchange of such conversations tend to follow the lines of 'have you seen/heard of such and such?' after which, it is usually followed by 'no, what is it' or 'I heard about it, but tell me more.' It's often from such conversations with peers whose taste one trusts that allows for expansion of an experience, so as to say.

I know for myself, I would never have tried to listen to a certain type of music or artist/group had it not been for the trust that I have in some of my peer's music taste. Same goes for a different set of peers for whose taste in movies I trust. This goes on for many other things, such as editorials/op-eds, etc.

This taste or credibility will no doubt vary between person to person. For example, I look for solid character development and a complex, yet believable plot or a storyline in which values or a stance is conveyed in movies. I fully understand that not everyone shares that approach and instead is looking for something that purely provides entertainment and nothing more. It's not that I have anything against that (though in many cases, those who know me well have heard my rants about such approaches - this will be explored in a future post), as mentioned before, everyone has their preference.

Having said that, there's a particular group of people I'd like to point out. The type that for some reason values their own opinions above anyone else. Now, don't get me wrong, of course we'd like to think we're right in the decisions we make or the taste in something we've come to assume. However, I'm singling out the ones that has an opinion about something that they are not knowledgeable about.

A good example of such a person can be best described by the sample conversation.

Person A: "Have you watched 'The Thing'? It's quite possibly one of the most under-rated horror movies out there."

Person B: "No, and because I have never heard of it, it must not be good, because I like horror movies."

Many of us have encountered a conversation with Person B before. The very quick to judge types, how very convenient and easy for him or her to proclaim that just because they have never heard of it, it must not be good and thus not worth looking into it or bothering about it at all.

Most of the time, I honestly believe this is down to ignorance, be it pure or assumed. It is extremely interesting especially when this comes out of whose taste you don't trust. In many of my cases, it came from those who had a specific taste in movies and had no desire or interest in expanding or branching out.

Here's where my problem with this approach comes about. You're assuming that your taste is good, when in all honesty, that has to be verified. Is your view on movies valued by others? If so, are their views also valued by their peers? What I'm trying to get at is, do you have an authority or credibility in passing such judgment? If that is the case, then people will be coming to you to ask your views on which (in this case) movies to watch, what to look out for, etc. If one's skills are more refined, you'd be writing reviews, analysis, etc for your own blog, a contributing site, etc and getting comments about the quality of your insights and such.

What posses one to have the audacity to consider their own opinion on something so highly? There are so many bodies of work out there. It is almost impossible to dig through all movies or music unless your life is dedicated to a particular form. For one to simply blurt that just because one has never heard of it, it must be bad is a gross simplification of what could otherwise be an opportunity for one to judge a body of work for themselves. How many times have you been surprised or disappointed when giving a movie you've never heard of or watched with past knowledge a chance? Have you even considered a slight possibility that maybe the reason why you've never heard of it is because your sources may not be good? Where do you obtain your information from? What sort of authority do you have to back up the fact that your sources are good? Just because you get all of your sources from the same 5 sources for the past 3 years and you seem to be happy with what they provide are not necessarily compelling reasons why you came to such a judgment.

I find it extremely disrespectful especially when such comments come from those who have none or little background or knowledge on the work that goes behind a production of a TV show, movie, music, etc. I myself don't know a lot, but have seen bits and pieces to at least admit that I know very little and that it's a very complicated process putting a work of art, be it good or bad, together. I am at least willing to keep an open mind about something, which probably explains why I have been more liberal with regards to trying out a new genre or music, movie or something else, so that I can at least judge a body of work for myself and expand my knowledge or refine my taste.

And for folks to assume that their taste is what needs to be catered, that's what I have an issue with. If you're the author of a book that is being adapted to a movie, then you have reasonable assumption that your thoughts or view will be catered to. If you sold your rights for the adaptation, you may lose a little influence on the input, but nevertheless, you're a stakeholder in the decision. Majority of the time, folks making the derogatory comments are ones who have absolutely no influence at all and feel they are entitled to pass their opinion just because they paid for it. The decision to pay for a movie or performance was never forced, it was completely voluntary, and even then, that still doesn't allow one to make snap judgments about a body of work.

What am I really trying to say here? In short, one has to be able to recognize that there is a significant difference in saying that you don't like something and calling something bad. I can recognize a piece of music and say I don't like it, but can admit that it's a good piece of work, as opposed to calling it bad altogether. I personally feel that there's an increasing movement of thought towards 'if i don't like it, then it's bad.' It takes a lot to admit your dislike for something, but at the same time recognizing the merits of it. There's plenty of movies I disliked, sometimes even hated, but I was able to recognize that there's appeals that caters to others. You have to be able to to recognize that not all forms of work are catered specifically for your taste and as a result, you can dislike a movie you have been waiting to see. It may appeal to a broad set of interested folks, but you have to be mature enough to recognize that it wasn't catered specifically for your taste.

What really makes one think that it's their very interest that's being catered to? What makes one think so highly of their taste and preferences? I've gone on a bit of a rant here instead of this being a more structured post (which was my original intent), but I'll plan on exploring this topic in a future post.

Back for the first time

I've contemplated for a while about blogging again for various reasons, but never got around to it. I thought, maybe I'll have a blog post here and there, then the initial desire to consistently post thoughts, opinions and general feeling will dissipate. I've gone through it before, where I feel the non-existent pressure of having to post something on a regular basis and soon, the passion dies off. (As evident by the blog history... 4 total posts in 2007-2010, 24 in 2006)

I've decided to get over that and post whenever I have something to post instead of keeping up on a schedule of sorts. After all, this is for personal and not something I'm doing to get paid and all (though if this were to eventually evolve into something like that... I don't know).

In any case, many of the reasons why I decided to kick-start his again stems from the fact that there's so many events and issues that I feel the need to address constructively, as opposed to being limited to the occasional Facebook or Twitter updates.

I actually had created a shadow blog that was private only to me to record personal thoughts that I felt the need to preserve without public exposure. I might take some pointers from the several posts I had there here future posts here.

Looking back at the shit I used to post primarily as a high school student and somewhat sparsely as an undergraduate is fun at times, but just reminds me of how inconsistent and immature I was.

But then again, that was many years ago. I'm not exactly sure what point I'm trying to make here. That you can try to run or hide from your past, but it'll always be there? Isn't that a line from one of Goo Goo Dolls' songs? (Yes... From the song 'Name' - "Scars are souvenirs you never lose , the past is never far")

Simply put, I want to start on a blank slate. Let's see where this goes.

My Oscars 2009 Prediction

Right, this year, unlike other years, I have not exactly kept myself up to date with some of the best movies of the year. Most of my time being taken up by Senior Design in the early half of 2008, graduating, summer trip and moving off for a new job and a serious lack of a quality art theater near where I stay now has prevented me from my favorite activity, catching quality cinema. Instead, I resorted to BitTorrent for some, which may have limited my appreciation for some of these fine works.

The past 3 years or so, I would have seen most, if not all, of the movies nominated for major awards to make an informed opinion on who should win and who is likely to win. For my friends reading this for the first time (I had deleted my Facebook account at one point, so I was not able to recover my earlier entries) I make my pick in 2 ways. 1, my personal pick, if I were a voter and could vote, that's what I would vote. 2, most likely to win is my 'prediction' of who's likely to win, since my thoughts sometimes may not necessarily be how others view the pick.

Here it goes.

Best Animated Feature Film of Year
My Pick: Wall-E
Seriously, has there been an impressive animated movie as Wall-E in the recent years? Bolt and Kung-Fu Panda are good, but Wall-E is on another level. If it were up to me, I'd nominate Wall-E for best picture too.
- Most Likely to Win: Wall-E

Best Foreign Language Film of Year
My Pick: Vals Im Bashir (Waltz with Bashir)
This will give Wall-E a pretty good competition if it was up against each other. It goes for a Persepolis styled visuals and effectively conveys the raw emotions felt through the movie. Entre Les Murs may have a shot.
- Most Likely to Win: Vals Im Bashir (Waltz with Bashir)

Best Documentary, Features
My Pick: Man on Wire
Man on Wire was just simply, amazing. Encounters at the End of the World also had impressive visuals, but didn't captivate me as much as Man on Wire.
- Most Likely to Win: Man on Wire

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
My Pick: Slumdog Millionaire
Can't disagree, bringing a book to life is hard, but can't quite out-do an already interesting tale.
- Most Likely to Win: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
My Pick: In Bruges
In Bruges was charming, witty and enjoyable. Colin Farrell did a great job of bringing that out. On the other hand, making Milk also took a lot of effort and deserves the nomination and maybe the award ahead of In Bruges.
- Most Likely to Win: Milk

Best Achievement in Directing
My Pick: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
As I mentioned, a fun script, but bringing that to life takes a lot of effort, creativity and genius. Danny Boyle nailed it. I would have thought Christopher Nolan will be in the running, but even if he were, he wouldn't stand for a good fight against Boyle.
- Most Likely to Win: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
My Pick: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Christina Barcelona
Penelope had only few hours to read through the script and decide if she wanted the role. Thank god she did, because the role seemed perfect for her. She was crazy, she was hot and she made me believe she was her.
- Most Likely to Win: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Christina Barcelona

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
My Pick: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
OK, I really would like to beg the question, because it seems like it's a sin if you don't automatically give out this award to him; would he have been an automatic choice if he hadn't died? I'm in support for giving out the award to the best, not posthumously. Yes, his portrayal of The Joker was simply perfection, but I feel bad for all the others nominated because they simply don't stand a chance of winning now.
- Most Likely to Win: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
My Pick: Kate Winslet, The Reader
Kate always showed streaks of brilliance in some of her other works, but she managed to keep it alive for the entire movie in The Reader. Meryl Streep gives her a good competition for this award, but I see Kate pushing through for the win. And Sarah Hawkins from Happy Go Lucky should be in this list.
- Most Likely to Win: Kate Winslet, The Reader

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
My Pick: Sean Penn, Milk
I think Sean Penn nailed this role. He was enigmatic, convincing and made the character alive again. But then again, Hollywood and America loves the underdog or the rags to riches story. In which case, it will end up going to Mickey Rourke, whose career was considered pretty much over. He did pull off a man man show though, props to him. I just preferred Sean Penn over him.
- Most Likely to Win: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Best Motion Picture of the Year
My Pick: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Most people would be shocked, offended, because Slumdog Millionaire was so good. I don't deny that, it was great. But I personally think The Curious Case was a masterpiece in terms of overall quality of a movie. I for one, think Slumdog Millionaire is slightly overrated. Great, but not 'oh my god' great. Curious Case had the intriguing story, the characters, Pitt, Blanchett, cinematography and the overall package of what makes a best movie of the year. Both are great movies, I think Curious Case is slightly better. But as I mentioned above, we know what people love. So it's going to Slumdog Millionaire.
- Most Likely to Win: Slumdog Millionaire

Honorable Mentions
Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino
Seriously, how was he not even nominated for Best Actor?

Check out the list of nominations and see for yourself.

Probably the best lyrics ever?

So there's a song by Radiohead that I'm just addicted to, and I can't go on with the day without listening to it. It's called 'Let Down' and it's even better that their most well known song, 'Karma Police' follows right afterwards and is also preceded by 'Exit Song (For a Film)' in OK Computer.

Here's the lyrics, and this can be interpreted in many different ways... Truly brilliant lyrics.

"Transport, motorways and tram lines
Starting and then stopping, taking off and landing
The emptiest of feelings disappointed people clinging onto bottles and
When it comes its so so disappointing

Let down and hanging around
Crushed like a bug in the ground
Let down and hanging around

Shell smashed, juices flowing wings twitch, legs are going
Don't get sentimental, it always ends up drivel
One day I'm going to grow wings
A chemical reaction, hysterical and useless hysterical and

Let down and hanging around
Crushed like a bug in the ground
Let down and hanging around let down again

You know, you know where you are with you, know where you are
With floor collapses floating, bouncing back and one day
I am gonna grow wings
A chemical reaction, hysterical and useless hysterical and

Let down and hanging around
Crushed like a bug in the ground
Let down and hanging around"

Back from the hiatus

Not like it's going to be a big news, but I'm back in the blogosphere. I'll explain more as time progresses, but now that I'm done with the hard part of my college life, I thought this would be a good time to get back to blogging.

Big news for now - Thierry Henry's moving to FC Barcelona! This is going to trigger a set of chain reactions - Arsenal may swoop for Newcastle's Obafemi Martins, who we found out this week has a get-out clause for 13 million quids, and if ex-Thai PM gets his way with Man City, then the likely manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson will be tempted to get Michael Owen, who also has a clause for 9 million pounds, which will leave our strike force depleted.

Fret not, I have confidence in our new gaffer Sam Allardyce - apparently he's planning a swoop for ManUre's Alan Smith, or Sevilla's Freddy Kanoute.

Joey Barton, Mark Viduka, David Rozehnal and Smith/Kanoute?

Hmm, summer's off to a good start.

I made a mistake

I made a serious mistake in not posting consistently in 2006. It has been probably the most instrumental year in my life. The last 5 months or so has been a true testament of what made me who I am - I'm realizing that I am human afterall. Those simple words cannot convey accurately the things I've gone through, the knowledge I've picked up, the friendships I've forged. I'm changing - constantly. I'm feeling, allowing myself to be influenced and not influence. I'm thinking in ways I've never thought myself. As this year comes to a close, I'm becoming a different person again. The line from The Verve's 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' 'But I'm a million different people from one day to the next' couldn't be any further from the truth.

Updates

I thought I might as well put in some bits and pieces of what's going on with my life, considering I didn't write anything at all in the last few months.

- I finally saw Goo Goo Dolls live in a concert. However, I was left a little disappointed as they opened for Counting Crows (I thought it was the other way round, as it was the Goos that had a new album) and played a really short setlist. Left out many of the other songs I considered to be good.

- GT vs No. 2 Notre Dame was probably the biggest game I was a part of. We lost 10-14, but we made the Irish look really bad. I still haven't gotten over the tight loss.

- I'm in the 2nd half of my college life. The summer was rough. I took maximum classes and never worked so hard before. And after all that, I still made average grades, which really sucks. I pulled off a string of 3 all nighters in a row which I swear never felt like it was going to end. I'm back working until December, but taking 3 online classes, so I'm going to take a break.

- I'm thinking of graduate school already. Let's leave it at that.

- I won't be travelling too far this winter. There was a plan to go to Bangladesh, as I hadn't been there since 2000. Then that plan was replaced by a plan to go to Kyoto. That was also discarded a week ago.

End of the road

Unfortunately, it seems I won't be able to update as much as I'd like to. Balancing school, work and extracurricular time takes up more time than I have.

It's been a good run of 3 years blogging here. I've not made up my mind as to whether I should just leave this blog, or to archive it somewhere and remove this from the web. Until I've decided what to do with this, I'm just going to leave this here for now.

One

One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should
One life
With each other
Sisters
Brothers
One life
But we're not the same
We get to
Carry each other

Carry each other