Survivor thoughts :: Interests meme
Mar. 18th, 2004 11:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pauraque_bkEep. I was confused by the fact that Survivor aired last night, and forgot to watch American Idol. Could somebody fill me in on what happened?
I wasn't sorry to see Ethan go. I rooted for him in his season, but he's been getting on my nerves. And I've been perfectly happy to be manipulated into seeing Jerri as a protagonist this time around -- "redeemed evildoer still persecuted by her new allies" makes for good TV, yo.
I like Lex and I like the way he plays, but I wasn't very impressed by his decision not to blindside Ethan. I understand the impulse to protect a friendship, but honestly, if a friendship is destroyed over a game, it wasn't very strong to start with.
On a non-spoilery note, I've been thinking about the fact that everything we see on Survivor is manipulated, and how little that bothers me. I see a lot of people remark that they don't like seeing misrepresentative portions of what happened, and find it hard to judge the players' actions based on what's on TV.
I completely disagree. To me, there are two different things going on here: 1) What Actually Happened, the events as the people involved experienced them, and 2) The TV Show Survivor, an intentionally manipulated storyline populated by characters molded out of the raw material of What Actually Happened.
When I say "I don't like her" or "He shouldn't have done that" or what have you, I'm speaking solely in the context of 2). I'm basing my judgments on what we saw, and not worrying about the fact that I don't know enough to judge in the context of 1). It's a story, these are characters. It isn't real, and I knew that going in.
A strange collision happens when we see something meta-game on TV, like Sue's evidently real emotional breakdown. I don't much like the fact that some fans passed "real" judgment on the players' reactions to those events, because what we saw was manipulated, just like any other event on the show. The seriousness of the situation didn't change the producers' commitment to creating characters and a storyline. I'll happily judge what Tom or Kathy said in the context of the show -- their callousness probably hurt their game, and was icky on top of that. But are they nasty people in real life? Possibly, but I don't think I have the grounds to say so.
Just my take.
*
And, hey, I'll do the interests meme. Take a look at my LJ interest list, pick one, and ask me 1) what it is, or 2) why I'd be interested in it.
*
[EDIT: Comments contain American Idol spoilers.]
I wasn't sorry to see Ethan go. I rooted for him in his season, but he's been getting on my nerves. And I've been perfectly happy to be manipulated into seeing Jerri as a protagonist this time around -- "redeemed evildoer still persecuted by her new allies" makes for good TV, yo.
I like Lex and I like the way he plays, but I wasn't very impressed by his decision not to blindside Ethan. I understand the impulse to protect a friendship, but honestly, if a friendship is destroyed over a game, it wasn't very strong to start with.
On a non-spoilery note, I've been thinking about the fact that everything we see on Survivor is manipulated, and how little that bothers me. I see a lot of people remark that they don't like seeing misrepresentative portions of what happened, and find it hard to judge the players' actions based on what's on TV.
I completely disagree. To me, there are two different things going on here: 1) What Actually Happened, the events as the people involved experienced them, and 2) The TV Show Survivor, an intentionally manipulated storyline populated by characters molded out of the raw material of What Actually Happened.
When I say "I don't like her" or "He shouldn't have done that" or what have you, I'm speaking solely in the context of 2). I'm basing my judgments on what we saw, and not worrying about the fact that I don't know enough to judge in the context of 1). It's a story, these are characters. It isn't real, and I knew that going in.
A strange collision happens when we see something meta-game on TV, like Sue's evidently real emotional breakdown. I don't much like the fact that some fans passed "real" judgment on the players' reactions to those events, because what we saw was manipulated, just like any other event on the show. The seriousness of the situation didn't change the producers' commitment to creating characters and a storyline. I'll happily judge what Tom or Kathy said in the context of the show -- their callousness probably hurt their game, and was icky on top of that. But are they nasty people in real life? Possibly, but I don't think I have the grounds to say so.
Just my take.
*
And, hey, I'll do the interests meme. Take a look at my LJ interest list, pick one, and ask me 1) what it is, or 2) why I'd be interested in it.
*
[EDIT: Comments contain American Idol spoilers.]
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no subject
Date: 2004-03-18 11:19 am (UTC)Long story short, LEAH got booted. YAY!
Long story long, you can read here (http://www.realitynewsonline.com/cgi-bin/ae.pl?mode=1&article=article4265.art&page=1). :)
I will think on your Survivor thoughts and come back later to respond. Good food for thought, but right now I need real food. So, see you after lunch! *g*
no subject
Date: 2004-03-18 12:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-18 12:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-18 03:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-18 07:00 pm (UTC)"And 'zompist' was a word invented in 7th grade by a friend
of mine to describe our shared sense of humor."
;P
How about "tim bayliss"; what's a "tim bayliss"?
no subject
Date: 2004-03-18 10:56 pm (UTC)Tim Bayliss is the character played by Kyle Secor on the dearly departed detective series Homicide: Life on the Street, considered by all who know what they're talking about to be The Best Damn Show Ever. Of all its fascinating, subtly nuanced characters, Tim happens to be my favorite. If you've never seen the show, I'd strongly recommend keeping an eye out for the DVDs. You'll be hooked.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-19 01:00 am (UTC)But tell me what fascinates you about akhenaton! :)
no subject
Date: 2004-03-19 04:21 pm (UTC)There's a lot of psychological interest in Akhenaten's behavior. Why insist on humanistic, realistic portraiture when you yourself are disfigured? Why make that part of your legacy? By his actions, he comes through to us as a powerful personality.
The Amarna period in Egyptian history is short, but fascinating. The politics, the personalities, the wild swings from one religious power to another and back again, the unexplained disappearances and murders-- notably that of Akhenaten's son-in-law Tutankhaten (or Tutankhamen as we generally know him). And it all ended with the famous Ramesside period, that of the Exodus. Monotheism strikes again!
Well, I could go on all day. Suffice it to say that Akhenaten is one of the most fascinating people in Egyptian history. :)