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For all and sundry: my best of 2008 mix in a handy downloadable zip file: http://www.sendspace.com/file/28jkjq
enjoy the epicness.
Geoff, and everyone else who watches Lost: my friend's younger siblings run as Lost-themed blog at http://orangepeelmouth.blogspot.com
It's pretty cool, and if you scroll down a bit you find a video for a song recorded by the actor who plas Michael, and it's hilarious.
I mat as well plug my blog as well:
http://bigmattyj.blogspot.com
Happy Christmakuhwanzadan Every Body!
Thus far, I've gotten the second season of SNL, Season 1 of 30 rock, Spaced and season 4 of Seinfeld... I'm going to be watching a lot of TV.
Geoff,
A friend got me the Batman and Philosophy book for Christmas. It might be something you want to look at if your Batman class proposal goes trough. Maybe not making it one of the text, but you could supplement the course with some of the essays... particularly the ones in regards to Batman's morality etc. It's pretty basic 'Intro to Philosophy' stuff and should be easily accessible to your students.
Sara,
I read your comment below on the swearing and it reminds me of a point that I wanted to bring up on that post. Has anyone else experienced the double standard when it comes to 'cussing' teachers?
I have been informed by several female colleagues that their swearing doesn't go over as well. Apparently, while the male teachers who swear (or discuss sex openly) come across as 'cool' while, in the female instructors, it is percieved as crass and... well, unladylike (this is of course not MY opinion but the perception of many students). In fact, our Female GTFs (graduate teaching fellows) are often DISCOURAGED from using profanity or discussing 'sexual' subject matter. Granted, I teach at a small university in southwest Virginia... so, by and large, most of our students come from more conservative backgrounds.
Can anyone else speak to this?
You're totally right about Tropic Thunder and Three Amigos by the way... you've also just given me another pairing to add to my suggestions for my 'Double Feature' assigment.
Hasn't the "Three Amigos" thing become a common movie plot?
I mean, like "Galaxy Quest" and "A Bug's Life" sort of fit that mold as well, right?
(Or am I wrong? Been a while since I saw Three Amigos ...)
Spaced is the best show ever... that is all :)
Geoff,
Saw the Spirit, it's actually pretty decent. It's not Miller doing his Batman movie (unless maybe it's his version of the campy 60's Batman)... Nor is it really him doing his version of Daredevil movie (as I had suspected)... really, it's sort of it's own entity. Anyway, I thought it was fun... if Miller could have reigned in the Sex and Violence just a tiny bit more, it could have been a pretty neat all ages movie.
It might not be 100% accurate to the source material, but I actually do think he did a pretty good job of capturing ... uhm... the Spirit of the Spirit so to speak.
I watched The Spirit yesterday as well. I'm not sure what to think about it. I think I enjoyed the more outlandish elements because it seemed experimental - but somehow it didn't seem to work as a cohesive whole. I didn't hate it - but I didn't leave the theater thinking it was the greatest thing since Sin City either. My thoughts on the film are as confused as the aesthetic of the film itself.
I think part of the problem is that Miller has yet to learn "What works in comics, doesn't necessarily work on film." Not just in terms of visuals, but also timing, pacing etc. Of course, since there have been two movies that were exact panel by panel recreations of his comics; both of which were successful, Miller has had no reason to doubth that you could make a movie just like you would make a comic.
There are times when I don't like when teachers cuss because they hesitate. My geology teacher throws out the F-bomb now and then and it's really awkward because you can sense a slight hesitation in his voice and it sounds strange in the context of...well...geology. I think it's okay when other teachers do it to an extent, particularly younger ones, just as long as it's not overdone and come off as lame attempts to 'connect' to students.
Also, I think that things generally have to be changed when adapting any medium to a film. Suspension of disbelief seems much more limited in movies than it does in books, comics, or even nostalgic films. Take a look at 'The Day the Earth Stood Still,' in the 1951 version, a flying saucer lands in the middle of the capital and a regular (though lanky) guy walks out and then proceeds to talk funny and hang out with little kids and use diamonds as quarters. That may have been fine back then, but just like with 'The Spirit' in its 1940s roots, for it to work with today's more critical, realistic-seeking audience, it needs to adapt.
We spent all week shooting clips (just tests mainly) for our 'Invisible Man' update and we ran into quite a few problems withh what worked back then and what will work now, which I'll detail later on this week in a blog on my own page when I finish the trailer. This is particularly evident with the sciences involved, and, something we overlooked, the physical appearance of the 'protagonist' in bandages. We had to scrap the fedora and guaze and replace it with more modern, gritty elements, because while it may have been great in 1933, it's not so great now.
Not quite sure where I was going with that. I just have internet for the first time in a week and don't want to waste the oppurtunity.
i just hope everyone had a good holiday weekend, is well-rested, well-fed and the like.
Happy holidays, Sara!
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