The Two Towers countdown.....

[Ronn_Bman]

We getting ready to watch the 3 1/2 hour Director's cut LotR DVD now as a build up for TTT tomorrow morning. We're going at 10AM.

There's a midnight showing tonight, but I just couldn't talk the wife into getting home at 4 in the morning...lol.

Anyone going tonight?

[andrewas]

I got tickets for friday. Would go sooner, but my brother is coming visiting that day and going before he got here would not be polite. Plus hes vicious when hes angry.

[Mack_Attack]

You are all so luck I have to wait until the new year to see it. So enjoy your self I am sure it is going to be a great movie.

[Piestrider]

I'm going Friday. I can't wait to see some of the battle scenes. I'm really looking forward to the ents and the Battle of Helm's deep. It should be real good.

[Spade]

I can't go until Saturday. [img]graemlins/crying.gif[/img]

I have Christmas exams all week and I have to study. [img]graemlins/1pissed.gif[/img]

[Cerek the Barbaric]

I'm leaving work tomorrow around 2pm. The Cinema has a 3pm matinee...and I expect a fairly large crowd even though we are in a very rural area.

[NiceWorg]

But why does everyone have to talk about it? [img]smile.gif[/img]

There is something in popular books and movies that makes them so hard for me to check out - the book might be good, though, or so I´m told.

[ 12-17-2002, 11:28 PM: Message edited by: NiceWorg ]

[pritchke]

My sister is going tonight, actually she has been watching for an half hour already. I am going tomorrow at 8:30pm. I have no choice but to go tomorrow or I would have to wait until after New Years as well.

[Lady Blue03]

The book might be good! GAH! It's one of the best books I've ever read in my entire frickin life! I even took the trouble to analyze it from cover to cover for a stupid AP Lang project, ugh. I've been dancing on my toes ever since i saw the 1st trailer in the theaters for it. My best friend and I are going at 11am tomorrow(wednesday for me). Goin to our 1st period and skipping the rest. We have these neato cloaks that are elven style that we're wearin too, lol. I can't wait [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Yorick]

Originally posted by NiceWorg: But why does everyone have to talk about it? [img]smile.gif[/img] There is something in popular books and movies that makes them so hard for me to check out - the book might be good, though, or so I´m told.

That's crazy. So the only reason you wouldn't check something out is because many of your fellow humans decide that it's enjoyable?

I've never understood that line of thinking. Culture is culture. Popular culture is no better or worse than alternative culure. It's all subjective judgement of humans.

When I was in high school there was a band called RatCat. Independent. Alternative. It was cool to like them.

Then a lot of people started liking them. Very quickly.

So then it became uncool to like RatCat.

So RatCat plummetted into oblivion. Very quickly.

The same people that four months before had said they were the best Aussie band ever, were saying they sucked. Ridiculous.

When I taught creative expression at colleges, I encouraged the embracing and exploration of all culture. Watching foreign films in Australia is considered hip, cool and cultured, But a cool French film could be perceived by French as popular culture there, and ignored by the hip cool French.

What does that all prove?

So, I tried to encourage the removal of this sort of bias when apporaching art. Take it on it's own merits, not whether it's popular or not. The inverse - only validating things that ARE popular, and ignoring seminal or overlooked works is also not a great thing to do, especially if you want to be a creative.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy was far more a part of 'popular culture' in America than in England where it had more of a cult following.

The books were influenced by mythologies that have been part of Teutonic culture for generations. Tolkien's books in turn influenced a generation of writers, dreamers, gamers and those with imaginations. They were groundbreaking in regard to the depth and detail of the mans created world. It inspired and enriched countless creative minds. Ah, the possibilities of human imagination.

The film is an incredible work for that medium. It is the most ambitious and groundbreaking work yet. Jackson has presented an incredible vision of Tolkeins world. It will inspire and enrich countless creative minds. Ah, the possibilities. Film truly can take you to another world.

It is also worth seeing, simply to be in touch with what millions of people are experiencing. To have a finger 'on the pulse' of what people across the globe are experiencing. Information, knowledge, experience.

Art does reflect society and in turn shapes society. If you reject popular culture totally, you do so at the risk of totally losing relevence.

Your choice.

[ 12-18-2002, 01:43 AM: Message edited by: Yorick ]