Stories and the nature of story-telling are natural to the mind because they begin in our minds. The first story we tell ourselves is the story of our own lives. We are often the main character of this story and sometimes the main narrator. We learn who we are through what we tell about ourselves and what we hear told about us, from others. Our lives are folklore.
The audience is important because they transfer the story to us, through response, approval, reaction.
I wish sometimes that my essays, like rock songs, could be recited live, in front of a responsive audience; an audience that recites along with me. Then, I might be able to have an insight, and a change of understanding, like the one Eddie Vedder had about the song “Alive,” as he explained on VH1 Storytellers.
Vedder explains that the chorus, “I’m still alive,” was initially meant as a “curse.” Over the years though, he heard the audience sing it in celebration, and that “lifted the curse.”
A problem for writing is tone. It takes forever to develop and then, one wonders, how many readers can really perceive it? No offense (said softly, and not really seriously), but I only have words to work with. Spaulding Gray had the right idea: stand on a stage and talk aloud with lighting and sound effects. Ideas are a show. An audience is a group of people.
The comment form on blogs and online magazines is a start for audience input, but it is nothing compared to the input from a crowd at a rock concert. The connection that rock concerts offer between the singer and the audience is an immediate one, one that the creator gets to experience. Writing forms a connection over time. And, the connection for the writer is as much in the imagination as the content of the writing is.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
The hearer makes the message: audience and the evolution of meaning
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Kill your television. Watch your computer instead: three one-season shows to see on hulu.com
There are still people in this universe who haven't watched television shows on their computers. In a previous post about the West Wing, I supply three links to other bloggers discussing the new relationship that viewers have with shows now that we can watch them whenever we want to.
More practically, here I'm going to recommend three one-season shows for you to try. These are shows that were on regular networks and never went beyond one season. Watch a season over two weeks or so on your computer; it's like reading a novel. You can see these shows at the full alphabetical listing at hulu.com. I recommend bookmarking that page.
1. Conviction.
This show is the best of the three I am recommending. Created by Dick Wolf, it follows the activities of Assistant District Attorneys. It has Eric Balfour, Claire's boyfriend from Six feet Under. There weren't enough viewers while this show was airing and the producers knew it. So, during the season they wrote the episodes to end as a one season show.
2. Deadline.
Also created by the Law and Order producers, this show focuses on investigative reporters. It is Law and Order meets The Paper (a Michael Keaton movie). Oliver Platt (In-House counsel to Jed Bartlet) stars in this.
3. The Dresden files.
A Chicago-based wizard-for-hire. Need I say more?
