One thing that social networking has done is that it has provided me with a moderately comprehensive view of the likes and enjoyments, guilty pleasures, and robust artistic allegiances of a circle of friends and associates.
I think this is probably bad.
In a world where religion is a taboo topic, instead of judging people by a professed belief system I find myself judging them by a pronounced or implied aesthetic system. How can I seriously speak to someone who views "Inception" as a major work of cinematic art? How do I talk to people who believe "How I Met Your Mother" to be the funniest show recently produced on television? A friend, director, and potential collaborator recently called "Warrior" the best movie he'd seen 'in forever'. There's nothing wrong with 'Warrior' -apart from its length, over-reliance on cliche, and a painfully stupid split-screen musical montage at the 90 minute mark. But it's nowhere near Hardy or Edgerton's best work ('Bronson' and 'Animal Kingdom' respectively).
I recognize that in the milieu of 'social media news' (and I think Facebook's use of "news feed" maybe one of the most preposterous appropriation of the word news possible) to have your message, thought, or needless personal contribution noticed it is important to imbue it with gravitas, levitas, or overstatement- but at what point am I supposed to take you seriously?
The question of the value of influences, the value of preferences, the value of aesthetic in any creative process dogs me. It is my suspicion that a creative process in which all of the collaborators share the same aesthetic values runs the risk of being stale. On the other side, if somebody's heroes are unworthy does it make sense to aspire with them?
What is the point of announcing these preferences anyway? I am quick to tell people that "The Wire" is my favorite show. My hope in telling people this might be several things: 1) I want people to know I didn't miss out on what was the most well-thought out piece of popular art work I can remember. 2) I want people I like not to miss out on this event. 3) I want people who feel similarly towards this show to recommend other shows that they have liked. Here you can see I am trying to brand myself with the show, equate its excellence with my own excellence, and hopefully be guided by like minded types to further excellence.
Here are a group of things that I think are good right now, things that I would offer as positive without hesitation.
Peep Show.
Community: Seasons 2, 3, and 1 in that order.
Tiny Fuppets.
"Charlie Rose" by Samuel Beckett
If I think of other things I like, I'll add them.
Also, I need to provide huge credit to Josh de la Noco whose daily blogging has really made me want to return to this bastard form of communication.
I think this is probably bad.
In a world where religion is a taboo topic, instead of judging people by a professed belief system I find myself judging them by a pronounced or implied aesthetic system. How can I seriously speak to someone who views "Inception" as a major work of cinematic art? How do I talk to people who believe "How I Met Your Mother" to be the funniest show recently produced on television? A friend, director, and potential collaborator recently called "Warrior" the best movie he'd seen 'in forever'. There's nothing wrong with 'Warrior' -apart from its length, over-reliance on cliche, and a painfully stupid split-screen musical montage at the 90 minute mark. But it's nowhere near Hardy or Edgerton's best work ('Bronson' and 'Animal Kingdom' respectively).
I recognize that in the milieu of 'social media news' (and I think Facebook's use of "news feed" maybe one of the most preposterous appropriation of the word news possible) to have your message, thought, or needless personal contribution noticed it is important to imbue it with gravitas, levitas, or overstatement- but at what point am I supposed to take you seriously?
The question of the value of influences, the value of preferences, the value of aesthetic in any creative process dogs me. It is my suspicion that a creative process in which all of the collaborators share the same aesthetic values runs the risk of being stale. On the other side, if somebody's heroes are unworthy does it make sense to aspire with them?
What is the point of announcing these preferences anyway? I am quick to tell people that "The Wire" is my favorite show. My hope in telling people this might be several things: 1) I want people to know I didn't miss out on what was the most well-thought out piece of popular art work I can remember. 2) I want people I like not to miss out on this event. 3) I want people who feel similarly towards this show to recommend other shows that they have liked. Here you can see I am trying to brand myself with the show, equate its excellence with my own excellence, and hopefully be guided by like minded types to further excellence.
Here are a group of things that I think are good right now, things that I would offer as positive without hesitation.
Peep Show.
Community: Seasons 2, 3, and 1 in that order.
Tiny Fuppets.
Also, I need to provide huge credit to Josh de la Noco whose daily blogging has really made me want to return to this bastard form of communication.
3 comments:
If I like this on my FB page, have I completely missed the point?
Before anything else, I really like your likes. That was a nice ten minutes.
Now, as to posting likes, I think the WORST PROBLEM MAYBE LIKE EVER?.... is hyperbole. Conversations are so much better with a touch of prudence and honesty.
The problem with the "like" button is that there is no room for subtlety. "Like," like how? Enjoyed, Intrigued, Mesmerized, Taken Aback, Adored, or were you even Delighted?
Facebook is great for a lot of reasons.
But besides "news feed," they have also really fucked with the words "friend" and "like."
Also, Gracias por la shot out.
This snuck in under my radar, Twunch. It's unfortunate that I dread The Wire, as I did Precious -- Hear me Out! It's the "telling the gritty truth about urban black plight" line that some of its fans sanctimoniously spout. I was able to watch Precious with you, and enjoy what turned out to be something very different from what I feared. Too bad The Wire is too long to watch with you and your wife. Perhaps I can have you as a "first call" after each season.
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