The New Year Lists

I love reading through the multiple lists that act as retrospectives on the year that has passed. These include both "Best of ..." and "Worst of ..." and invariably evoke strong reactions. Given the vast choice of books, films and television programmes we are all exposed to, I am excited to at least recognise works referred to. These lists also provide a blueprint for books and videos I will look out for in the new year to rent and borrow. I know they are subjective, but they function as a good starting point in a world that contains too much choice for me to effectively select from myself.
Here is a link to one of my favourite online sources. Recognise any of the films? http://www.salon.com/topic/best_of_2011/

Super Girls

Speculation has it that this equivalent of American Idol has proven too popular for the CCP. The show's mass appeal has been evident by the millions who voted for their favourite contender. Authorities responded by restricting voting to only those physically present in the performance hall. The increasingly androgynous looks and fiery individualism of the participants also contributed toward the discomfort of the authorities who supported more stereotypical feminine looks in state-run shows. Read more about the termination of this talent show:

Super Girl Cancelled Too Subversive for
China Perhaps Too Democratic

Shanghai : China Sep 19, 2011

BY BMcPherson

A popular talent show in China has been given the boot for being too subversive,
unhealthy and sloppy about time limits. The show called Super Girl was originally
launched in 2004 and quickly became a winner with the Chinese, at one time the
audience was estimated at 400 million viewers. The premise of the TV program was
to find top female talent by having the audience vote on their favorites. The show ran
into difficulties in the past with the government censors and was pulled for a time, but
was successfully re-launched in 2009. It's been pulled again.
Hunan Satellite TV has stated that the official reason for cancelling the show was
that there were sometimes overruns in the time allotted. However, much vitriol has
been directed towards the show by government officials who have condemned it for
corrupting the youth and offering a low sort of entertainment.
Li Hao, speaking for Hunan Satellite TV is quoted:
"Hunan Satellite Television obeys the state watchdog's decision and will not hold
similar talent shows next year," he was quoted as saying.
"Instead, the channel will air programmes that promote moral ethics, public safety
and provide practical information for housework."Yahoo News
Other programing around China has been hit by new restrictions from the censors
who seem to be tightening up on sitcoms and shows that appeal to youthful
audiences.
In the complicated world of Chinese governance something that is promoted and
praised might be quickly made illegal and pronounced subversive. It looks as if the
American Idol knockoff Super Girl was a hit until the authorities realized that it was a
training ground for the practice of popular democracy. Indeed, the idea of people
practising voting to choose a winner is a creeping threat to any dictatorial
government.
China has been tightening control of its population in the wake of the Arab Spring
which saw revolution brought to many countries in the Near and Middle East.
BMcPherson is based in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, and is an Anchor for
Allvoices

How do you recognise genius?

A thoughtful consideration of taste, good artists, great artists and genius, as recognised in The Turner prize: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/artblog/2007/oct/02/theturnerisnotaboutbeauty

The Biggest Loser

Vinod's post brought to mind an article in which the writer makes a case for "The Biggest Loser" as being the archetypal American show. Vinod refers to this show to illustrate the fallaciousness of assuming that popularity (i.e. viewership numbers) translate into the popularity of the concept celebrated in the show (losing weight). Read Vinod's post and this article for some thoughtful, but also entertaining ideas: http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2010/05/25/biggest_loser_most_american_show

J-Horror: pop culture and a nation's history

Andrew O'Hehir claims that Japan's obsession with disaster (through its pop culture) seems to have been anticipating Apocalyptic events. If you are not too horrified by the main claim of this fascinating article, read on ....

http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/andrew_ohehir/index.html?story=/ent/movies/andrew_ohehir/2011/03/15/japan_disaster&source=newsletter&utm_source=contactology&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Salon_Daily%2520Newsletter%2520%2528Not%2520Premium%2529_7_30_110

Here is a taste from O'Hehir's article:

Japan's cinema of disaster, from Godzilla to J-horror
The island nation's great and strange pop culture has been preparing for apocalypse ever since Hiroshima

I don't imagine this offers much comfort to the Japanese people right now, but no culture in the world has been so shaped by disaster, or so obsessed with it. It is beyond words like "irony" or "coincidence" to express the fact that the only nation ever to suffer the effects of nuclear war now faces a nuclear catastrophe of unknown scope and unforeseeable consequences, following one of the biggest earthquakes in history and the resulting tsunami. Furthermore, I recognize that it borders on profanity to start talking about movies after thousands of people have died, and many thousands more face a dangerous and unstable situation. Culture cannot "heal" those kinds of wounds, and cannot make the dead live again. But it represents the collective means for the survivors, over time, to come to terms with what happened. One can argue that Japanese pop culture, in the years since Hiroshima and Nagasaki, has become an extended course in post-traumatic psychology and disaster preparedness.

Sometimes the connection is obvious, as in the first "Godzilla" film of the mid-1950s, whose undisguised anger at nuclear-armed Yankee imperialism had to be concealed in a bastardized, American-friendly version. But it's striking that so many areas of Japanese pop culture that have nothing to do, at least officially, with World War II or the Bomb, are so concerned with violence, war, disaster and nightmarish transformation, from yakuza films to apocalyptic science fiction and gruesome horror flicks. All that becomes even stranger when you consider that postwar Japan may well be the least violent society in human history: While 21st-century America has averaged five or six murders a year per 100,000 population (which is fairly low by our standards), Japan averages much less than one murder per 100,000, with other violent crimes also barely registering.

Interactive Oscars

So, we were all invited to the new awesomely interactive Oscar Award ceremony. Cameras would allow us access to the red carpet, backstage and on stage, making our vantage point better than guests attending in the conventional way. Sadly, my entry was denied; mine and all those outside of the USA. Not fair! Check out http://oscar.go.com/ for a disappointing no-go.

the Oscar Bloopers

http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/film_salon/2011/01/28/oscar_controversies_revisited/slideshow.html

The appeal of "The King's Speech"

With the Oscar season upon us, critics are trying to read a public/nation/culture's psyche through the films that they love. Jonathan Freedland (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jan/18/kings-speech-republican-challenge-war-queen) reveals his own ambivalence toward his British heritage in his reading of "The King's Speech" as a study in reverence for class and British Royalty. Have a look at his interesting analysis of the film, and of those who like it.

Politics and prizes

Here's an interesting interpretation for the "kinder, gentler" route that American Idol's judges are taking:

"And the horrific shooting in Arizona earlier this month raised our collective consciousness about the power of aggressive speech, and whether taking the overall tone of conversation down a notch might not be such a bad idea. Even when it comes to telling people they can't sing."

Prizes reflective of the mood of the times?

According to the article found at
http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/2011/01/20/kinder_gentler_american_idol/index.html
the selection of judges for this reality show was informed by the need to recreate an image, not just of a show, but of a country.

the golden globes

Who cares about the winners? It's fashion, cynicism and bad taste that makes for great viewing. See the article below:

http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/2011/01/17/golden_globes_2011/index.html

Art Prizes - British Style

The bookies are taking bets; the protesters are getting worked up. The Turner shortlist has been announced. There is a rich (some would say an impoverished) tradition of controversial artists getting acknowledgement from the Turner Prize judges. The debate about whether this is ART is lively. If the intention is to get people who are not interested in art, talking about art, it works.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704584804575644672469156424.html

The Man Booker is announced

The judge chair announced that the choice of a winner was simple: it won because it was the best.
However, 3 out of 5 judges voted for it, which means that 2 judges do not think it is the best! Spot the contradiction?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/12/howard-jacobson-the-finkler-question-booker

Afghan Star question

The documentary, "Afghan Star" uses the prize narrative (Street, 2005, p.832) to explore what defines "Afghan identity". How is this identity represented?

The Ig Nobels

The silly, but serious, alternatives to the Nobels: http://chronicle.com/article/A-Whale-of-a-Time-at-the-Ig/124759/?sid=at

classical music prizes

Some fodder here for Macdonald. The writer, Tom Service, contemplates the lack of classical music awards to equal the Mercury or Turner in terms of "media impact and artistic seriousness". Do look out for concert etiquette in the mid-1820s. Those were the days ...


Tom Service: The Mercury music prize combines star power and industry credibility – isn't it time that classical music had something similar?

I return to the blogosphere to find there's another debate on concert etiquette going on, triggered by the nation's favourite grey-haired electronica maestro, Jonathan Harvey – I agree with commenter MVMountwood, who said he wished that Harvey's music "routinely attracted as much media attention" as his comments on classical music culture – and to see that Mark-Anthony Turnage has ripped off Beyoncé at the Proms. And also to find that minimalist indie band the xx have walked away with this year's Mercury music prize.

TD
These events prompted the following thoughts, in no particular order. Firstly, that classical music still lacks any award ceremony to match the combination of media impact and artistic seriousness of the Mercurys or the Turner prize (and no, the Classical Brits and their record-industry back-slapping don't count). The nearest we have are the venerable Royal Philharmonic Society awards and the PRS new music award.

The PRS gong ought to be the real Turner equivalent. The winner, announced on the 16 September, gets £50,000 for a new piece of music – more than twice as much as the Mercury victors will get, and double the amount Britain's most prestigious art prize nets its winner. The difference with the PRS award is that the cash goes on producing the composers's ideas, not straight into their bank account in honour of work they've already done. In previous years, this has meant digging a big hole for Jem Finer's Score for a Hole in the Ground, and creating a nationwide virtual instrument for The Fragmented Orchestra.

Collectively, however, the vision of "new music" the PRS advocates on its shortlist is just plain weird: a range of inoffensive, mostly genreless sound-art and new-instrument ideas that will upset no one, that ticks boxes marked "politically correct" and "innovative", but that will sadly end up making as much difference to the media and musical culture as a wet sock on laundry day.

I hope I'm proved wrong, but is this really the best use of the nation's most generous financial award for new music? How about giving the money for a piece the PRS can actually collect royalties from: a new orchestral work that uses live electronics, or an album that puts a cutting-edge classical composer alongside a studio artist (to pick only two of many ideas that might stand a better chance of pricking the public consciousness)?

Thought number two, regarding concert etiquette. Here's Hector Berlioz writing about going to the opera in Paris in the mid-1820s:

As I was intimately acquainted with every note of the score, the performers, if they were wise, played it as it was written; I would have died rather than allow the slightest liberty with the old masters to pass unnoticed. I had not notion of biding my time and coldly protesting in writing against such a crime – oh dear, no! – I apostrophised the delinquents then and there in my loudest voice, and I can testify than no form of criticism goes so straight home as that ... Accordingly, when the Scythian ballet [in Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride] began I lay in wait for my cymbals ... Boiling with anger ... I shouted out with all my might, "There are no cymbals there; who has dared to correct Gluck?" ... But it was worse in the third act, where the trombones in Orestes' monologue were suppressed, just as I feared they would be; and the same voice was heard shouting out, "Not a sign of a trombone; it is intolerable!"

I have long wanted to try this at concerts when a conductor, orchestra, or singer is up there massacring one of my favourite pieces, but have so far lacked the courage of my convictions. Until now. Let's bring back Berlioz's instant feedback system at concerts. Jonathan Harvey would surely agree with me.

And so to the final item on the agenda: the Turnage-Beyoncé stooshie. It would all surely have mattered more if the new piece weren't so unimaginative in what it did with its material, whatever its provenance. But that's just, like, my opinion, man.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media 2010

It's the Booker time of the year!

Read the gushing announcement and look out for the gossipy controversy at the beginning, the lashings of contradictory claims for the type of book that makes a Booker winner, and finally the marriage between art and commerce.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/07/booker-prize-shortlist-drops-frontrunners

A lament for one of the classic prize competitions: the beauty pageant

From a politically correct perspective I would never acknowledge caring about this outdated phenomenon: the beauty pageant. But this lament is for ripping the heart and sponteneity - albeit misguided - from the event, and sanitising it into a slick formula. It reflects what happens when in the entertainment vs economics tug-of-war, the latter totally dominates, and good ole fashioned show business goes out the window. Brains (the huge ego of Donald Trump) has comfortably beaten beauty, and the result is dead boring. http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/2010/08/24/miss_universe/index.html

A quirky Prize

Thanks to Justin for this delightful contribution to our collection of prizes: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/114989-crocheting-adventures-wins-diagram-2009.html
You are all helping to develop a sense of the prize as sublime, sacred, bizarre, pretentious, parodic, etc.

"Idol" machine cranks out a new star

Alessandra Stanley introduces her topic by describing the final results of “American Idol” Season 8 as a metaphor for American values. What follows is an extended metaphor in which “American Idol” as a franchise is compared to a product manufactured on an industrial line. There is a formula or basic prototype, and this is churned out for consumption by a satisfied audience. The entire article, from the title onward, is constructed using images that contribute toward this reading. The article is thus cleverly and coherently constructed. But, I find that ultimately it contains a contradiction: the economic context within which Stanley situates this analysis is of a country in which the production line is exactly NOT running smoothly, and seems, in fact to be grinding to a halt. As such, her metaphor: “American Idol” = “state of America” falls flat. However, if she means that America could learn from “American Idol” in terms of how it runs itself (internally), how it markets itself (America seems desperately in need of good international PR), and the nature of its international involvement (anything that does not involve invasion may be a good idea), then the comparison holds. The success of the article – for me - therefore lies in how one interprets the fourth paragraph.

Steven Tyler is Idol Judge

In the quest to remain fresh and watchable for a public with a short attention span, American Idol is doing a major overhaul of its judging panel. The article in The Straits Times of Friday, August 20 2010 (Life, page C14) justifies the selection of Steven Tyler by emphasising his entertainment value: he "lives to be in front of an audience... can be counted on to deliver - maybe even sing - witty, Little Richard-style verdicts on the performances" etc. So, judging is about .... entertaining? There is mention of the hard rock element that he will introduce as opposed to an Idol history of soft ballads: a suggestion that the next winner may look and sound different from the previous ones? It depends on the choice of the other two judges. Any predictions or suggestions?