Just a thought

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When I was young (high school and college) the music and films I sought out were older stuff (Dr. Zhivago, James Bond, art films). I wanted to be sophisticated. Maybe, just maybe on one side it made young people yearn to drink cocktails, smoke, and take drugs but there were other, good things that came with the package. I'm not sure we want to grow up anymore or seek out things from our elders. I think now we have grownups trying to be young. It's backwards and it shows in our art. That didn't used to be the case. What happened? Was there a breakdown in the art that was offered?

Usenet · Accepted Answer

Elvis is the KING OF ROCK N ROLL!
He took drugs, made bad movies, got fat, and did karate. He is STILL the KING OF ROCK N ROLL.
What have you done?
I haven't done ***.
But I love Elvis.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]When I was young (high school and college) the music and films I sought out were older stuff (Dr. Zhivago, ... art. That didn't used to be the case. What happened? Was there a breakdown in the art that was offered?[/nq]
I don't think this is at all true. We tend to have selective memory, and compare the best of the past with the average of the present.

Stephen Mack
"Nobody's smart enough to be wrong all the time." -Ken Wilber

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]When I was young (high school and college) the music and films I sought out were older stuff (Dr. Zhivago, ... art. That didn't used to be the case. What happened? Was there a breakdown in the art that was offered?[/nq]
Hopefully this is not a completely orthogonal reference but an book review in Salon (I'm in trouble now) makes the case that media today is smarter, plots more complex, allusions more involved. The primary thesis is that TV and video games make us smarter, and thus requires the smarter writing. The author compares West Wing to Hill st Blues and the subtlety of Sienfield to sitcoms of the 70's.

So the cool stuff that grabs us today like Memento or Being John Malkovich is driving modern minds to crave a complexity that was not common is older films like Smokey and the Bandit or Every Which Way but Loose.
On another tangent, I've noticed 'the house teen' enthralled by quite a few older films.
-sam

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]When I was young (high school and college) the music ... Was there a breakdown in the art that was offered?[/nq]
[nq:1]Hopefully this is not a completely orthogonal reference but an book review in Salon (I'm in trouble now) makes the ... Which Way but Loose. On another tangent, I've noticed 'the house teen' enthralled by quite a few older films. -sam[/nq]
Paste the link, paste the link, why oh why do I ignore the voice in my head... oh yea, it's not always good advice ;-)

Here's the article:
http://www.salon.com/books/review/2005/05/01/johnson/print.html

Here's the book:
Mind Wide Open: Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life Steven Johnson
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743241657/002-9984937-6558410

Just a thought

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