What have I learned this semester?

Through writing and reading my work this semester I have learned several things about myself and my writing.  The main things I learned are 1)  I wanna go back to being entertained by pop culture rather than trying to analyse it 2)  I realise that when I do try to analyse music or film I try to put meaning to the work over simply qualifying what I find interesting and 3) my tastes are very limited.

First, I want to go back to the time before I tried to analise pop culture.  What can I say, ignorance truly is bliss in this situation.  I would much rather(and I know this sounds like I didn’t love the class, but I did) run a spreadsheet in exel than try to figure out how a particular episode of House fits in with the rest of the series or whether I think the new album by Keith Urban is a step in the right direction for him.  Basically I took this class with certain expectations like “it doesn’t sound challenging”, but participating in this class made me realize just how much information exists that is concerned with pop culture in some way.  For me, that much information is sensory overload (which may explain my blog).  I also have an understanding about the pace at which pop culture changes.  This really makes me pity the critic that tries to comment on every new album, movie, television program, or book that is realeased in a particular genre.  Seriously I don’t have enough televisions to watch all of the new programing this season, much less review all of the previous episodes.  Yes, this does sound like I hated this class, but I didn’t.  This class gave me a whole new respect for the people that actually attempt to do what I have described.  They must truly be dedicated and love their work to produce criticism for a living.  I imagine it to be somewhere between garbage man (seriously, you gotta love your work to make a career out of it), psychotherapist, social worker, and, well, author (dedication, dedication, dedication).  Which brings me back to my main point…criticising pop culture (more specifically, selecting a topic and analysing the topic) is not something at which I feel that I could be successful.  There, maybe that’s better?

Next, I have realized that when I do decide on a topic, I really try to find something meaningful in the piece.  Maybe some things are meant to be pure entertainment, but I find entertainment value in things that are meant to be enlightening in some way.  There are things that exist not to enlighten, however, so perhaps my criticism weakness is not anaysing but filtering. I might be trying to find meaning in music that is meant to be meaningless melodies, rhythms, and harmonies; designed just to be pleasing to the ear.  Maybe the movies I have tried to apply historical context or reason to have been meant to simply make me laugh, cry, cheer for, or be afraid of.  If so, that’s fine, just put filtering under my list of weaknesses.  I mean, beautiful films are still pleasing to the eyes even if the plot is as stimulating as snail sex.  So then why can’t I just say “that was really beautiful” when I see the beautiful snail sex movie?  Probably because I just spent twenty bucks to see it when if I wanted to see something beautiful I could just watch the sunset.  To me, if I’m spending more than two hours working to get the money to see a movie or buy a CD it had better blow me away aesthetically as well as intellectually. 

Finally, I have realized that over the years my tastes have not widened but narrowed.  I admit I am disappointd in myself on this point.  I have made a concious effort to expand my horizons into exotic food and different preperations of food (oh hey! maybe I COULD be a food critic….topic for a class? sounds delicious), but maybe my subconcious has tried to compensate by limiting my tastes in popular culture.  For example, when I was younger I listened to and enjoyed country music, but in recent years I have completely excised country from my playlists.  As far as television is concerned, at one time I watched This Old House on PBS, but when the new home makeover shows started poping up I couldn’t be forced to watch them.  Some of the recent television programing hasn’t helped me expand my viewership either.  Specifically The Real Housewives of wherever.  I never thought they would make a television show that would make me want to go away from the television, but appearently they did. 

In conclusion, I now have found a whole new respect for the poor people who have to slave over pop albums, television programing, and films.  I have also discovered that I have limitations (intentional or not) that are too broad and are in need of reexamination. 

John Ford

John Ford was one of the greatest directors in American cinematic history.  He won four Academy awards for best director and is most remembered for his western films.  Ford is the director associated with helping to create the legendary John Wayne’s acting career, because Wayne appeared in twenty four of Ford’s films beginning with the classic Stagecoach. 

Ford is also known for his work in silent films.  He produced over twenty films that stared Harry Carey (not the baseball announcer) who was one of the film era’s first superstars.  Ford produced films throughout the later part of the silent film era and made the transition to films with sound and color as the technology became available.

One of Ford’s most distictive stylistic qualities is the long shot.  The shots of the characters against endless majestic landscapes helped provide the sense of isolation, of being in the wilderness, that was central to the plot of most of the westerns he directed.  He was also a fan of the art of Frederic Remmington and his filmmaking was influenced by Remmington’s paintings and sculpture. 

While Ford is most famous for his western films, he also made many films about World War II and Korea.  During the second world war, Ford served in the Navy directing documentary and propaganda films.  During the war he won two Academy Awards:  one for The Battle of Midway, and one for December 7 which was a propoganda film.  Ford was also present on Omaha Beach on D-day and filmed the battle from behind.  After the war, Ford served as Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy Reserve.  John Wayne, curiously, did not accompany Ford during WWII, he stayed behind partly due to the studio not wanting to lose their most popular actor and partly due to his own lack of motivation to join the military force.

Ford did not let Wayne’s lack of military service prevent him from becoming a star in post-war films, however.  Ford and Wayne returned to Hollywood and released They Were Expendable, a film about the Navy’s use of PT boats in the Philippines during WWII, in 1945 which was nomminated for two Academy awards.

John Wayne was not the only superstar to work with Ford, Henry Fonda also stared in several of Ford’s films including The Grapes of Wrath, The Battle of Midway, and Fort Apache.  Jimmie Stewart also stared in Ford’s films twice alongside John Wayne in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and How the West Was Won.  Other famous actors that worked for Ford include Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Maureen O’Hara, Spencer Tracy, and Katharine Hepburn.  It seems as if Ford had stars ligning up to work for him, but it wasn’t fun and games on the set.

Ford developed a reputation for loosing his temper with his actors.  He demanded excellence from everyone involved with the film, and, thanks to his style of filming, wanted everything to be right the first time.  He took pride in the fact that his films left very little film on the editing floor.  Ford was famous for his ability to edit during filming.  He would shoot each movie in sequence and only shoot footage that was needed.  Even with all of the reported bullying handed down from Ford to his actors, they all agree that Ford brought out their best work. 

Without John Ford, the history of American film would be quite different.  Imagine the United States without John Wayne, without films like The Grapes of Wrath.  It just doesn’t sound like the United States we live in.  Truthfully, John Wayne is an American icon:  as American as apple pie, or baseball.  John Wayne embodied the masculine independance of the American man and the American west, the pioneer spirit, and the phrase “speak softly and carry a big stick”.  This would not be so were it not for the one man that could reportedly make John Wayne….cry:  John Ford.  In twenty four films Ford molded the quintessential American man on camera, but he ensured his own place in history by winning the Academy award for best director four times (only one film starred John Wayne).  In other words, John Wayne would not exist without John Ford, but John Ford would still be great without his most famous star. 

Another aspect of Ford’s directing that ranks him among the best ever, is the fact that he directed films during times of transition in the art of film.  He directed silent films, early films with sound, and films with sound and color.  From the old school to, well, the really old school his adaptability allowed his films to continue to win Academy awards even as other directors were continuing to adapt their visions to the new media. 

Ford’s accomplishments as a director are tremendous.  His work has inspired countless directors from the unknown to George Lucas and Martin Scorsese.  He is credited with taking the creativity of film back to the director’s chair.  His legacy as an artist and filmmaker will certainly never be forgotten.

Ford, it seems, was allways ahead of the game.  Future sucesses like Spencer Tracy and Humphrey Bogart got their film debuts with Ford.  He won not one, but two Academy awards while serving in the United States Navy.  He was one of the first directors/cinematographers to master the long shot’s effectiveness in a film.  Finally, he had the foresight to befriend the biggest American film acting legend in the history of American movies.

 

The Searchers

The Searchers starring John Wayne opened in 1956, and it was probably my father’s favorite movie.  It is a widely influential western film which features the legendary duo of John Wayne and director John Ford.  John Ford is credited with taking back creative control from the editors.  He shot his films in sequence and performed his cuts in camera.  John Wayne appeared in twenty four of Ford’s movies and, perhaps, owes much of his legendary status to Ford.

I have seen The Searchers more than twice as many times as any other movie.  Like I said, it was my father’s favorite movie so he watched it on at least a weekly basis.  The story begins when Wayne’s character returns from fighting with Union troops in the Civil War, and he is reunited with his family and local townspeople.  Within days of his return, a raid by Comanche Indians leaves his brother, sister-in-law, and nephew dead.  His two nieces are abducted during the raid and the chasee begins.  Wayne and Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter) pursue the raid party along with the fiance of one of the girls.  They try to ambush the party but the older girl is killed and her fiance charges into the camp to his death.  Wayne and Hunter then wander for five years in search of the younger girl.  They eventually find the Comanche camp and speak with their chief, Scar.  Wayne’s character hates Native Americans, and the Comanche chief hates white people.  The two equal and opposite egos are pitted against one another inside a tee pee where the young girl the two main characters are searching to rescue holds a spear decorated with scalps (one from her sister and one from her mother) between Wayne and Scar. 

It is at this time that Wayne’s character undergoes a dramatic change; no longer does he wish to rescue the youngest girl, but he actively plots to kill her.  He fully believes that living like a Native American is worse than death.  Ultimately, Wayne cannot kill the young girl and brings her to live with another family.  There are the requisite ten gallon hats, six shooters, gun fights, and manly nicknames for John Wayne (Scar calls him “Big Shoulders”), but this film focuses on the characters as they search for the abducted girl and the transformation they make along the way.  One example of this is Hunter’s character who is in love with a girl, but during his journey only writes one letter in five years, accidentally marries an Indian woman by trading for a blanket (it was a package deal), and ultimately returns to find the girl he loves engaged to a local cowboy.  Hunter plays into the main plot not only as an untrained Indian fighter and comic relief, but he is also responsible for saving Debbie (the young abductee) from John Wayne’s deadly intentions.

Wayne’s character is the simplest to understand and undergoes the greatest change.  He begins the film as a soldier returning home from war.  There is some mention of him being somewhat of a wanted man which gives his character a mysterious quality.  He also completely hates Native Americans.  I’m talking about full blown disrespecting the dead kind of hate.  There is a scene shortly before Wayne and Hunter set off alone, after they find the older girl’s body, where the posse of soldiers finds the hastily buried body of a “comanch”.  John Wayne rides up to the freshly discovered corpse and fires two rounds from his revolver into the eyes of the dead man.  When he is questioned why, he responds “by what this comanch believes if he ain’t got eyes he can’t enter the spirit world and must wonder for eternity between the winds”.  While he does not ever fully rid himself of this hate, it is tempered greatly when he spares Debbie’s life.  He was fully prepared to murder the girl to “save” her from being one of Scar’s wives.  He is completely filled with hate, but he is not a fool when it comes to tracking their quarry.  He knows the Comanche language as well as Spanish.  He meets a Mexican man who ultimately leads Wayne and Hunter to Scar’s camp. 

As in most of his films, John Wayne is portrayed as a strong willed, confident, and powerful man.  I would argue, however, that he is not the hero of this film.  The hero of this film is Hunter.  Though his transformation is not as exciting, we see a boy grow into a man, then we see that man get beat up a couple times, and finally that same man saves the life of Debbie. 

This film was not one of Wayne and Ford’s most famous films, but it’s cinematography, character development, and plot make it an outstanding classic western that will remain near the top of the list of great western movies for the foreseeable future 

 

My favorite movie (one of)

One of my favorite movies is Anchorman staring Will Ferrell.  I understand that comedy isn’t considered serious film (there is no Oscar for comedy after all); however, I believe that one of film’s greatest goals is, simply, to entertain.  Anchorman fulfills this goal masterfully.  Will Ferrell of SNL fame puts on a terrific performance (easily one of his best in my opinion) as sexist anchorman Ron Burgundy.  Steve Carell plays Brick the station’s mentally retarded weatherman.  Carell’s performance rivaled his performance in The 40 Year Old Virgin which was released one year after Anchorman.  However, it was the combined work of every actor in the film that made this movie truly a work of comedy that stands out among many films staring Ferrell. 

The movie involves bringing a woman into the anchor position at a news station in the 1970’s.  Ferrell and his fellow male news ‘stars’ give her a difficult time, but Veronica Corningstone (played by Christina Applegate from Married With Children fame) perseveres and finally pushes Ferrell out of the head anchor position and becomes co-anchor.  Ferrell and his team face off with a rival news team in an alley, and after the police arrive, they retire to the news studio where Ferrell must face Applegate (who he was previously dating).  The confrontation results in the relationship being terminated, and during ensuing broadcasts the co-anchors quarrel.  When Applegate discovers that Ferrell always reads what is on the teleprompter, she changes his sign-off from “stay classy San Diego” to “go fuck yourself San Diego”.  This leads to his termination from the station.  Ferrell then faces disgrace and failure in his own eyes and must face an angry public. 

Eventually, Ferrell restores his former position by saving Applegate from a grizzly bear.  Actually, Ferrell gets his butt kicked by the bear, and it’s his dog, Baxter (who was lost when a biker played by Jack Black kicks him off a bridge) who convinces the bear to leave them alone. 

This movie is incredibly humorous.  During the fight scene, for example, all of the news team members produce weapons.  When Brick (Carell) pulls out a hand grenade, Ferrell asks, “Brick, where’d you get a hand grenade?” to which Carell’s character replies “I don’t know”.  Ferrell and Carell formed a comedic duo in this movie that had great chemistry on screen. 

Artist from the past – John Lennon

John Lennon was a member of The Beatles from 1957-1970.  He is considered by many people to be a creative genius and peace advocate.  Interestingly, Lennon failed out of art school before joining The Beatles where he wrote and co-wrote many hits during Beatlemania.  After The Beatles broke up, John maintained a successful solo career until he was tragically murdered in New York City on December 8, 1980. 

In 1971 Lennon released Imaginewhich is his most recognised solo project.  The title track has become synonymous with his life and his message of peace.  Several other tracks on the album were also politically charged.  These songs were representative of the political upheaval that was occurring towards the end of the Vietnam war and Nixon’s presidency.  The album struck such a chord that it quickly became the #1 album worldwide. 

Lennon’s political activism and philosophical lyrics place him squarely in the same category as other folk singer/songwriters of the same period.  Lennon, however, separated himself in one obvious way:  he was the “John” from “John, Paul, George, and Ringo” — the most popular band in the world at the time.  Lennon’s activism was not limited to his lyrics, however, as he was an active supporter of the civil rights movement and anti-war protests.  Imaginealso featured former Beetle George Harrison on the track “How Do You Sleep?” 

No discussion about Imagine could be complete without a discussion of the album’s co-producer, Yoko Ono.  Yoko co-wrote one track from Imagine, but was the topic of two songs.  Some disgruntled Beetlemaniacs saw this as Yoko self-promoting herself on the coattails of Lennon.  The song “Oh Yoko!” was written entirely by Lennon as an ode to the woman he loved.  Yoko has since attempted a musical career of her own, but is more celebrated as a visual artist and political activist.  Forever dubbed “the woman that destroyed The Beatles” Yoko was married to Lennon and was his business partner throughout his solo career.  She also supervise the remastering of Imagine in 2000.

Of course, Lennon was one of those public figures who are met with throngs of supporters wherever they go.  However, with great love there often comes great hate.  Lennon preached free love, togetherness, peace, and a Marxist view of society.  The things that he stood for ultimately led to his murder during the Cold War era in 1980.  Lennon has been compared to such figures as Gandhi for his selfless struggle for peaceful relationships around the world and in his own country, and ultimately being killed for his views.  

Imagine is not only an album or a song, it is the inscription on the Lennon memorial commemorating the life of John Lennon in Central Park in New York City.  The man and the album inspired activism for peace and developed ideas within the people of the United States that may have ultimately led to such events as the destruction of the Berlin wall and the end of the Cold War which had raged since the end of World War II.  While there is no direct evidence that these events were caused by this album, I like to think that the idea of peace throughout the world was developed by people associated with (and who listened to) John Lennon’s work.  His political activism for peace surely struck a chord with many Americans.

Contemporary artist – Ben Harper

Ben Harper performed four years ago at the Bealle Street Music Festival.  I had listened to several of Ben’s songs before and was highly impressed by the way he mixed blues, reggae, and gospel with rock and roll.  Of course his vocals are what pulls everything together; the instrumentation of his band changes from pure percussion, to acoustic guitar, and to everything in between.  The night he played in Memphis was completely unexpected and exciting.

The night began three hours earlier with Jack Johnson.  Ben introduced Jack to the man who eventually produced Johnson’s first album.  The two had done considerable work as a duo previously so I settled in for what would surely be another one of those performances.

At the end of Johnson’s performance, the roadies cleared the stage and set up a steel guitar center stage.  Everyone who stayed after Johnson’s performance had just been lulled at sunset, and they were in for an awakening.  Harper appeared on the stage to cheers and applause, sat down at the steel guitar, and proceeded to rock harder than I had ever heard him rock before.  The next three hours were filled, not with lullabies and acoustic guitar, but with intense, up-tempo, screaming steel guitar.  I enjoyed Ben Harper before, and after that performance I freaking loved Ben Harper.  Just when I thought I had pinned his favorite style in his albums, he completely blew my mind in the live concert.

To me, Ben Harper is the stereotypical singer/songwriter:  rhythmical melodies, thought provoking lyrics, and emotional.  He did, however, break the mold in this live performance.  The melodies were sill rhythmical, the lyrics were all the same, but the emotions he expressed were more angry and energetic than depressed. 

Many of the songs he played that night were from his new (at the time) album Diamonds on the Inside, and when i returned home, I promptly went out and bought the album.  Yes, I bought the album.  It was a rare moment in my musical history.  To my surprise the album was not as similar to the live performance as I had hoped. 

While there are some songs that rock fairly hard, the majority of the songs on the album point back to my previously held conclusions about Harper.  Many of the tracks were slow spiritual tunes, and others were like a lullaby.  I still put that in that disk while I’m driving on occasion, but the majority of my favorite songs are on my iTunes account. 

 

 

 

The last CD I bought

The last CD I bought was a compilation of Bob Marley’s greatest hits.  I bought this CD after my wife and I returned to Arkansas from our one week honeymoon in Jamaica.  I had heard some of Marley’s hits over the years ( No Woman, No Cry; Jammin; One Love just to name a few), but the two disk compilation included songs that I had never heard of before.  I soon found that these new songs replaced what songs I had formerly enjoyed from Bob.  Songs like “Punky Reggae Party” and “Waiting in Vain” only served to readjust my view of the early mainstream reggae that Marley was writing and performing. 

Of course, while we were in Jamaica we could not go anywhere without hearing a Bob Marley song, seeing a poster of Marley, or getting into a conversation about him with the local people.  He is absolutely a legend, national hero, and source of pride for the Jamaican people.  Since I am a Biology freak I stayed in the surf or snorkeled one of the reefs near our resort every day (much to my wife’s displeasure, she wanted to relax on the beach, go figure) so naturally my hair was clumped together by salt crystals.  This ultimately led to conversation with the locals about Bob Marley because they would approach me and say “you got a famous face” and produce an image of Marley that they carried with them allways.  I said that Bob Marley was a hero to the people, and he was a tremendous one.  Marley’s songs of social unrest, his tremendous charity towards the people of Jamaica, his friendly demeanor, and his utter defiance of western ideas that conflicted with his Rastafarian traditions made him the ultimate authentic icon of what it was to be Jamaican.  In fact, I do not believe that this entry does justice to just how loved he still is by his own people.  Yes, they have moved forward musically through the genre that Marley pioneered for mainstream culture, and yes, other music is played there; however, if a Jamaican could be found that does not praise Bob Marley’s life and all that he did for Jamaica, that man would be committed to an insane asylum by his family and friends.  The man does not yet have his face on Jamaican currency, but I cannot believe that time is far off.  But I digress.

The CD Bob Marley and the Wailers:  Gold is a collection of 34 of their greatest hits.  Both the familiar and the unfamiliar are represented, but all are works of reggae genius. 

My “favorite band of all time” is a difficult decision.  I like all different kinds of music for different reasons.  However, if I was being shipped off to a desert island and could take the complete collection from one band with me, the band would have to be Led Zeppelin.  Their music encompasses blues, rock and roll, and heavy metal.  Now I feel it is important to define “classic” rock.  Most people consider “classic” rock to be rock music produced prior to 1980, but to me “classic” rock simply means that the music follows the style of classical music:  every note falls on a specific beat or portion of a beat, the rhythm is regimented, and there is no “sloppiness” with the rhythm like what you find in blues, jazz, or reggae.  Now, given that definition of classic rock very little of what is popularly considered “classic” rock is included since rock and roll came from blues and jazz and the genre’s that came from rock and roll (country for example) cannot be considered classic.  In fact, for this discussion I will reduce classic rock to that form that has nearly completely disappeared from musical knowledge:  bebop.  Now, Led Zeppelin does not fit into bebop style at all, and, therefore, it cannot be classified as classic rock.  To me Led Zeppelin fits into the genre of rock and roll, because Zeppelin’s rhythm strays from defined up and down beats into the realm of blues-like-just- behind-the-beats and, in other examples, into the driving beat-anticipation of what is considered hard. 

So why would I pick Led Zeppelin to last me for the rest of my life in my hypothetical desert island scenario?  Is it just their style?  Of course not, “I love Zeppelin” is not the same as “I love Zeppelin’s musical styling”.  Zeppelin represents the entire rock and roll spectrum to me.  From their bluesy rock ballads like “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You”, to their iconic, metal, turn it up until it hurts “When the Levee Breaks”. 

One thing that cannot be overlooked about the saga of the seventies that was Led Zeppelin is their outlandish excess and escapades.  They were routinely witnessed trashing hotel rooms, throwing rowdy parties, and taking advantage of young women.  While this isn’t exactly role model material, it is the very definition of sex, drugs, and rock and roll.  In reality, Led Zeppelin and sex, drugs, and rock and roll fit together so well you could use the terms interchangeably.  The members of Zeppelin ultimately paid the price of their Led Zeppelin lifestyle (you see what I did there) with the death of drummer John Bohnam in September, 1980.   His death abruptly halted the phenomenon of Led Zeppelin days prior to a concert tour of the United States.

Zeppelin influenced countless rock groups that appeared on the scene including artists that have appeared in the 21st century.  It seems almost automatic to see an interview with a hard rock/heavy metal group from 1980 to the present where the interviewer asks “Who influenced your music?”, and the interviewees reply “Led Zeppelin…”  According to Rolling Stone Magazine Led Zeppelin is not only “the biggest band of the 70’s” but also “the heaviest band ever” distinctions that the magazine’s namesake band cannot claim.  Each of their non-compilation albums reached Billboard’s top 10 list.  Not only is Zeppelin arguably the greatest rock group ever, but it seems like no other musical act in any genre has the cult following and legend status that Zeppelin enjoys. 

In 2007 Zeppelin announced a possible reunion tour including stops in the U.S.  Should that happen I will be there.  I have taken pride in attending concerts from musical legends, often forgoing the opportunity to see new acts for the chance to see legends of the past.  As a prime example I went to the Beale Street Music Festival several years ago.  That year Ben Harper was playing at the same time as Willie Nelson (and yes I am a Ben Harper fan), but I chose to watch Willie and jam out with the 40+ crowd (yes, I skipped George Clinton and P-Funk for Bob Dillon).  It was a great experience.  Should Zeppelin come on tour to the states, I would break into my wife and I’s vacation savings to get tickets.  I would go through the formality of asking permission first, but she’s already said we would do whatever was needed to go.  I mean, it’s Led Zeppelin for god’s sake; not a cover band, not a tribute band, Jimmy Paige, John Paul Jones, and Robert Plant–John Bohnam’s son will be on drums–Led Zeppelin.  Basically, I don’t care if I never see another concert again, if the last one I see is Led Zeppelin I can die knowing I have seen possibly the greatest rock band ever to pick up instruments.  Unfortunately, they are one of the most intact rock acts from their time.  Other acts I would have loved to see (from any time) include Janis Joplin, Jimmie Hendrix, The Beetles, The Who, Nirvana, and Blind Melon; all of whom suffered tragic ends before the foreseeable ends of their careers. 

There is something romantic about rock and roll.  Yes, rock starts are “sexy” and that’s not romantic, and yes, rock stars often are considered to be “junkies” by the more proper members of society and that’s not romantic, and yes, they often take advantage of groupies which is not romantic.  However, the power and emotion with which rock and roll (especially Led Zeppelin) is played, and the trageties they often encounter in their lives is reminiscent of a Shakespearean romance-tragedy which most people agree is the epitome of what is romantic.  It’s no wonder that so many of Led Zeppelin’s groupies were “taken advantage of”; they had fallen in love with and were willing to give themselves to Zeppelin’s sound, attitude, and lyrics, the men that played the instruments were simply the physical, human form of sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

non-fiction television show

Yea, I don’t know why this didn’t get posted on time….but I dug it out of the website and maybe it’ll publish for me 🙂 

The Weather Channel is the only news channel that I watch on a regular basis.  The other twenty four hour news channels ignore the weather until a major disaster occurs that they can sensationalize, but The Weather Channel is twenty four hour weather information.  In my opinion, no matter what is happening in the world the weather has the greatest impact on what we do on a day to day basis.  For example, the weather effects what we wear; if it’s sunny and warm, we wear shorts and sandals, but if you change even one of those two qualifiers, we wear the appropriate clothing to keep us from being soaked or freezing.  The weather also effects our mood.  It’s hard to be in a bad mood on a beautiful day, but let it be foggy, rainy, and cold, well you’d better watch out.  Of course there are the big disasters:  hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and ice/snow storms, but there are also little disasters like severe thunderstorms, windy days, and dense fog that claim their share of property damage and, ultimately, human life. 

The Weather Channel has it’s share of programing in addition to it’s weather coverage, but six times every hour you get your local forecast on The Weather Channel’s “local on the 8’s”.  They also do more than their fair share of weather safety information like “get into a building with plumbing and electrical wiring during a thunderstorm”, or “do not drive through a flooded area of a street if the water is moving”.  The Weather Channel is a life saving service.  That is something that the other twenty four hour news channels can never truly say.  Sure they outline what you should do in case of a chemical/biological/terrorist attack, but can they predict them? Nope.  The other twenty four hour news channels make a living off of celebrity gossip/”news” and showing up after a disaster has struck to sensationalize the loss of life. 

This is why I watch the weather channel at least once a day.  I get informed about what the weather is going to be like today, and I take the necessary precautions.  Maybe when Fox News gets into the business of investigation of the stories they cover, I’ll watch their show on a daily basis.  Until that happens, I’m very happy just watching TWC.

The Cosby Show premiered in 1984 on NBC and ran for eight seasons.  During five of those eight seasons it was the most watched sitcom on television.  The show focused around the Huxtables, an upper-middleclass African-American family living in New York.  Bill Cosby, who was a pioneer in African-American mainstreem standup comedy, portraied Heathcliff Huxtable, a local physician.  He would come home tired from work, and try to relax while his wife and five children interrupt him.  Not that he minds of course, the family interraction in the home was the focus of nearly every episode.  So of course Dr. Huxtable put on a smile and entertained the children, from Olivia, Rudy, Theo, Vanessa, and even Sandra.  The show was designed to portray what it is like to raise children of all ages, and thus five children ranging in age from five to twenty, and to this end it was very successful.  The Huxtables never ostracised or physically punished their children, of course, but there was still their own style of ‘tough’ love:  the comedic style. 

Not only was the show the top rated sitcom for five consecutive seasons, but the show also won three Emmys and three Golden Globe awards.  The success of The Cosby Show in the early eighties made it a household name, and this success has allowed it to remain on cable as an endless cycle of reruns twenty years later.  While the show is no longer a staple of network television, it is still on everyone’s list of greatest television shows/moments of all time.  It also launched the careers of a few aspiring actors.  Raven Symone has her own show today, the Disney channel’s That’s So Raven.  Malcolm-Jamal Warner moved on to the silver screen for a handfull of roles, but, ultimately, he found his greatest success on television:  starring in the spinoff of The Cosby Show, A Different World, as well as made for TV movies, and making many cameo appearances. 

As this icon of television began when I was four years old, and stopped airing on network television when I was twelve