Wednesday, January 07, 2004
Originality
I'm not as motivated to write tonight, but I feel like I need to nurse my infant blog in its younger stages, so here goes. Hopefully I'll keep it short.
I'm now 26 years old, and I feel like I've seen a lot of movies and television, heard a lot of songs and stories, and read a lot of magazines and books. I am an admitted insatiable media consumer, and so maybe I'm a bit above the media-familiarity curve for someone my age - but not necessarily to an extreme amount. Furthermore, I imagine that compared to the average 26-year-old from 10 years ago, I've certainly been exposed to more media, given that accessibility is increasing all the time. There are more movies produced each year, more TV stations available, more magazines publish, and of course the internet continues to expand as well.
Where am I going with all this? Well, despite the fact that I've been exposed to a lot of media, I'm still stunned with the lack of originality I see on a daily basis in those media I recently mentioned. In particular, I'm talking about TV and movie fiction, but it extends to other forms as well. What boggles my mind is that I'm only 26, and many of the people who write these shows or produce these movies are twice my age, and should have been exposed to much more media that I ever have. They should know what's cliche and what's trite, and try to avoid it. Maybe it's just a generation gap, but for me, one of the biggest sins a story can commit is to be predictable, unoriginal, or trite. And it seems to be happening with increasing frequency.
Maybe it's just my perception. Maybe I'm seeing more and more different stories being told, as an such, it becomes increasingly likely that I'll see something I've seen before. But hasn't this problem been around since the beginning of time? Didn't the previous generation have much more familiarity with overused conventions than the generation preceeding it? Or maybe it's just recently that being conventional has become a cardinal sin - chalk it up to the so-called "cynicism" of my age bracket.
Don't get me wrong - certain conventions are good and useful. And usually, if I'm immersed in a well-told story, the quality of the telling will mitigate any negative impression I have because of the triteless of the tale. But so many tales try so hard to be original and fail so miserably. And stories don't necessarily need a "Memento" or "Usual Suspects"-like twist to maintain my interest, but so many try so hard, and are not only obviously trying, but obvious failing, and just end up giving in to standard devices.
I don't think storytelling is easy. I like to write, and I know how hard fiction can be. Not only that, but I can certainly appreciate the comfort of a well-told, unoriginal, trite tale, wrapped in a glitzy package. I appreciate my share of mediocre movies - Independence Day, Armageddon, Mission:Impossible 2 - I won't deny that they have a place on my shelf. But these movies don't aim high - they almost revel in the cliches and mostly just try to have fun, winking at the audience that we all know what's coming, but we enjoy it nonetheless. Compare that to a movie like Gladiator or Shanghai Noon - movies that take themselves seriously (Shanghai Noon seriously tries to be funny), but are so derivative and overwrought, it makes you wonder if the writers have ever watched another movie in their lives.
I don't really want to get into movie reviews here, I just am constantly surprised at the lack of attempts at originality. My dislike of triteness carries over into my daily life. Maybe people think that makes me somewhat cynical, but I'm actually a very optimistic person. I just can't stand comments or emotions that seem canned or forced. It's pervasive in the fervent speeches of politicians, and with the war going on, it's becoming more and more frequent and less and less tasteful. People are proclaiming their pride in America not because it's heartfelt (when it is, I certainly respect it), but because it's what they're supposed to do. It's on a smaller scale, too. People proclaim their fondness for alcohol, not because they necessarily like it so much, but because you're supposed to talk about how much you enjoy it. Every movie or story that feels compelled to have a "surprise twist" ending that only makes a minimal amount of sense doesn't realize that by trying to act extremely unconventional, it's only being more conventional than before. It's everywhere - music that tries to be offensive, teenagers that try to be obnoxious, DJs that try to be cutting edge, Men's magazines that try to be loutish and misogynist, etc. It's been done before. Please, find something new to say. And mean it.
I'm feeling a bit like Holden Caulfield here, and so I'm reluctant to continue, but in a way, that perfectly illustrates my point. I don't want to go ranting on about "phonies", because despite the fact that it's my honest opinion, it feels forced and trite. I imagine that's going to be another pervasive theme throughout my blog - me trying to avoid stating what's already been stated, to search for more original means of expression that the standard conventions. Maybe it's elitist, and I'll admit that when someone thinks they're being original and they're not, it comes out looking worse than if they never tried at all, but what the hell - I'll aim high. I wish others did so more often as well.
And while I'm at it, ending a blog with a pithy statement (like I kinda just tried to do) is yet one more form of what I'm railing against. It's so tempting to try it, but also kinda lame at the same time. I'll do my best to avoid succumbing to the temptation, and hope that the quality of the entire entry speaks for itself. So there. Crap, I did it again.
I'm now 26 years old, and I feel like I've seen a lot of movies and television, heard a lot of songs and stories, and read a lot of magazines and books. I am an admitted insatiable media consumer, and so maybe I'm a bit above the media-familiarity curve for someone my age - but not necessarily to an extreme amount. Furthermore, I imagine that compared to the average 26-year-old from 10 years ago, I've certainly been exposed to more media, given that accessibility is increasing all the time. There are more movies produced each year, more TV stations available, more magazines publish, and of course the internet continues to expand as well.
Where am I going with all this? Well, despite the fact that I've been exposed to a lot of media, I'm still stunned with the lack of originality I see on a daily basis in those media I recently mentioned. In particular, I'm talking about TV and movie fiction, but it extends to other forms as well. What boggles my mind is that I'm only 26, and many of the people who write these shows or produce these movies are twice my age, and should have been exposed to much more media that I ever have. They should know what's cliche and what's trite, and try to avoid it. Maybe it's just a generation gap, but for me, one of the biggest sins a story can commit is to be predictable, unoriginal, or trite. And it seems to be happening with increasing frequency.
Maybe it's just my perception. Maybe I'm seeing more and more different stories being told, as an such, it becomes increasingly likely that I'll see something I've seen before. But hasn't this problem been around since the beginning of time? Didn't the previous generation have much more familiarity with overused conventions than the generation preceeding it? Or maybe it's just recently that being conventional has become a cardinal sin - chalk it up to the so-called "cynicism" of my age bracket.
Don't get me wrong - certain conventions are good and useful. And usually, if I'm immersed in a well-told story, the quality of the telling will mitigate any negative impression I have because of the triteless of the tale. But so many tales try so hard to be original and fail so miserably. And stories don't necessarily need a "Memento" or "Usual Suspects"-like twist to maintain my interest, but so many try so hard, and are not only obviously trying, but obvious failing, and just end up giving in to standard devices.
I don't think storytelling is easy. I like to write, and I know how hard fiction can be. Not only that, but I can certainly appreciate the comfort of a well-told, unoriginal, trite tale, wrapped in a glitzy package. I appreciate my share of mediocre movies - Independence Day, Armageddon, Mission:Impossible 2 - I won't deny that they have a place on my shelf. But these movies don't aim high - they almost revel in the cliches and mostly just try to have fun, winking at the audience that we all know what's coming, but we enjoy it nonetheless. Compare that to a movie like Gladiator or Shanghai Noon - movies that take themselves seriously (Shanghai Noon seriously tries to be funny), but are so derivative and overwrought, it makes you wonder if the writers have ever watched another movie in their lives.
I don't really want to get into movie reviews here, I just am constantly surprised at the lack of attempts at originality. My dislike of triteness carries over into my daily life. Maybe people think that makes me somewhat cynical, but I'm actually a very optimistic person. I just can't stand comments or emotions that seem canned or forced. It's pervasive in the fervent speeches of politicians, and with the war going on, it's becoming more and more frequent and less and less tasteful. People are proclaiming their pride in America not because it's heartfelt (when it is, I certainly respect it), but because it's what they're supposed to do. It's on a smaller scale, too. People proclaim their fondness for alcohol, not because they necessarily like it so much, but because you're supposed to talk about how much you enjoy it. Every movie or story that feels compelled to have a "surprise twist" ending that only makes a minimal amount of sense doesn't realize that by trying to act extremely unconventional, it's only being more conventional than before. It's everywhere - music that tries to be offensive, teenagers that try to be obnoxious, DJs that try to be cutting edge, Men's magazines that try to be loutish and misogynist, etc. It's been done before. Please, find something new to say. And mean it.
I'm feeling a bit like Holden Caulfield here, and so I'm reluctant to continue, but in a way, that perfectly illustrates my point. I don't want to go ranting on about "phonies", because despite the fact that it's my honest opinion, it feels forced and trite. I imagine that's going to be another pervasive theme throughout my blog - me trying to avoid stating what's already been stated, to search for more original means of expression that the standard conventions. Maybe it's elitist, and I'll admit that when someone thinks they're being original and they're not, it comes out looking worse than if they never tried at all, but what the hell - I'll aim high. I wish others did so more often as well.
And while I'm at it, ending a blog with a pithy statement (like I kinda just tried to do) is yet one more form of what I'm railing against. It's so tempting to try it, but also kinda lame at the same time. I'll do my best to avoid succumbing to the temptation, and hope that the quality of the entire entry speaks for itself. So there. Crap, I did it again.
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