My friend and fellow blogger Bill McDonald aka Morongobill, said in reference to a comment I made about some movie once while riding down to Sammy's Camera, "it's only a movie." But is it? Isn't it more? You could also say, it's just a book. A lot of people over the centuries have said just that. Bill has a preference for books, but none for movies. Like most people he sees movies as nothing but entertainment, like a fictional book, just a story, with no value beyond that. But is that true? Think about it. Non-fiction is easy basically it's history. But, let's look at fictional books for a moment. In fiction, the writer has a tougher job than a non-fiction author, he must create a world that we the readers recognize, understand, and accept, at the very least as possible, if not being our own world. He must create characters that fit the same parameters. For this reason the job is at the very best difficult, at the worst impossible as illustrated by thousands of bad books. For instance regarding bad books, I started reading a book called "A Game of Thrones," a fantasy which with the others in its series is the basis of a TV show. It was recommended by a guy I work with, who watches the TV show. So far I'm about 30 pages into it and the ignorance and violence, the psychotic nature of the characters is disturbing and unreal. It's set in a supposed time I suppose similar to the middle ages.
But, you can't say it's just a book, I'd like to, but a lot of people enjoy and believe the story it tells, and see the characters in themselves. See the fantasy world disturbing as it is as possible.
To me most movies, and books, are windows into worlds I'll never experience or into the past. But some like "Game of Thrones," and its ilk, like a lot of video games are windows into worlds most of us could not, or would not, or should not recognize.
Thinking about it I have to add: It seems that all of it, movies, TV and books of all kinds are descending to the lowest common denominator at the speed of light, as are people themselves and life in general in many ways. I'll leave the how and why to your imagination.
Lee Murray
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Seems that I have developed a preference for blogs as well. You are right that in my life I have often retreated to a good book. But in the last few years, they have been replaced mostly with reading from the net.
ReplyDeleteI have been coming around little by little to your take on movies, if I can get over my addiction to old "Law and Order" episodes on the tube.
I agree It's very annoying that it's so hard to find the better one, the original Law and Order.
Delete