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serynI think there are trends in a lot of things. I saw a discussion about the relative fit of men's clothing now compared to when I was a kid. Men wore tight pants "from the beginning of time *snerk*"; modern styles look really slovenly and unkempt in comparison.
One of the knitting blogs I read, which hardly ever seem to talk about knitting, often talks about staged productions as being superior because of minimalism in sets and costumes and props. I think that's rather cheap. I won't say that acting is a small component, anyone who's ever watched something on the WB or a SciFi Original Movie knows that bad acting ruins a show. But I don't see how one can have a professional production without any of the production. Of course this woman reviewing positively these "no effort made" productions gets her tickets free, and I too have lower expectations for free events. If you went without being her, you'd have paid $38 plus tax and handling and service charges and likely have driven hundreds of miles to be there. For that kind of effort on my part, I'm expecting a pageant-level spectacle.
I saw a minimalist production of Richard III a few years ago in Ashland OR (OSF) and slept through most of it--- there was this handicapped retard dude flailing and shouting at the audience from an empty stage. Random people in jeans and casual skirts would walk out and look repulsed and then leave without saying anything. I couldn't understand a word anyone was saying, even having read a summary of the play before going and knowing the hallmark speeches' significance... it was all just noise to me because there wasn't anything to pay attention to. Those tickets were $55. I later understood that the main actor was neither handicapped nor retarded and was not generally made of flail--- so he must have been a fantastic actor. It was totally believable that he was someone on a day-pass from the group home; that is probably a phenomenal skill level, but it was completely wasted because the rest of the set and props and costumes and actors were absent.
I thought it was a total waste of money. If I just want to hear random shouting I'll walk past the park and listen to the homeless people shouting at birds. If I'd gotten free tickets to that production of Richard III, I would have been a lot more tolerant of the zero-effort staging. I have been to a number of free Shakespeare shows and all of them have good actors. But even though those shows travel from venue to venue, they have sets and backdrops and props and costumes and makeup and crew. It looks like they coordinated in advance because people come onto the stage when they're supposed to be there doing something. The actors don't randomly walk on and off the stage for no purpose and without speaking like it's someone's living room and they've forgotten to bring the new bowl of popcorn.
I actually associate minimalism in stage productions with "cheap" and "unprepared" and "amateurish". Hiring great actors is no substitute for doing the rest of the work of putting on a play.
But we see a lot of minimalism lately. It attracts people who want to feel avant guard, the way black and white photographers tell people it's a more artistic medium and get all sorts of people convinced. The only place we're not seeing minimalism is in men's trousers! Unfortunately for me, it used to be the other way around, fancy productions, women's clothing that covered one's modesty, and men's butts were distinctly outlined through tight trousers. Now we have men wearing low-riding jeans so loose they have to be belted around the knees too--- or maybe that's the only belt and they're really walking around like they've just taken a dump and don't know how to pull up their own pants.
It used to be that fancy food places didn't want you to leave hungry and a meal would have a half-dozen courses. Now fancy food places serve whole meals that are the size of amuse bouches and look aghast that you might want dessert after.
I want stage productions akin to Cirque du Soleil, I want meals to have gravy, and I want to be able to ogle attractive men because they've put their bums on display. You can keep your minimalism if you give me back mine!
One of the knitting blogs I read, which hardly ever seem to talk about knitting, often talks about staged productions as being superior because of minimalism in sets and costumes and props. I think that's rather cheap. I won't say that acting is a small component, anyone who's ever watched something on the WB or a SciFi Original Movie knows that bad acting ruins a show. But I don't see how one can have a professional production without any of the production. Of course this woman reviewing positively these "no effort made" productions gets her tickets free, and I too have lower expectations for free events. If you went without being her, you'd have paid $38 plus tax and handling and service charges and likely have driven hundreds of miles to be there. For that kind of effort on my part, I'm expecting a pageant-level spectacle.
I saw a minimalist production of Richard III a few years ago in Ashland OR (OSF) and slept through most of it--- there was this handicapped retard dude flailing and shouting at the audience from an empty stage. Random people in jeans and casual skirts would walk out and look repulsed and then leave without saying anything. I couldn't understand a word anyone was saying, even having read a summary of the play before going and knowing the hallmark speeches' significance... it was all just noise to me because there wasn't anything to pay attention to. Those tickets were $55. I later understood that the main actor was neither handicapped nor retarded and was not generally made of flail--- so he must have been a fantastic actor. It was totally believable that he was someone on a day-pass from the group home; that is probably a phenomenal skill level, but it was completely wasted because the rest of the set and props and costumes and actors were absent.
I thought it was a total waste of money. If I just want to hear random shouting I'll walk past the park and listen to the homeless people shouting at birds. If I'd gotten free tickets to that production of Richard III, I would have been a lot more tolerant of the zero-effort staging. I have been to a number of free Shakespeare shows and all of them have good actors. But even though those shows travel from venue to venue, they have sets and backdrops and props and costumes and makeup and crew. It looks like they coordinated in advance because people come onto the stage when they're supposed to be there doing something. The actors don't randomly walk on and off the stage for no purpose and without speaking like it's someone's living room and they've forgotten to bring the new bowl of popcorn.
I actually associate minimalism in stage productions with "cheap" and "unprepared" and "amateurish". Hiring great actors is no substitute for doing the rest of the work of putting on a play.
But we see a lot of minimalism lately. It attracts people who want to feel avant guard, the way black and white photographers tell people it's a more artistic medium and get all sorts of people convinced. The only place we're not seeing minimalism is in men's trousers! Unfortunately for me, it used to be the other way around, fancy productions, women's clothing that covered one's modesty, and men's butts were distinctly outlined through tight trousers. Now we have men wearing low-riding jeans so loose they have to be belted around the knees too--- or maybe that's the only belt and they're really walking around like they've just taken a dump and don't know how to pull up their own pants.
It used to be that fancy food places didn't want you to leave hungry and a meal would have a half-dozen courses. Now fancy food places serve whole meals that are the size of amuse bouches and look aghast that you might want dessert after.
I want stage productions akin to Cirque du Soleil, I want meals to have gravy, and I want to be able to ogle attractive men because they've put their bums on display. You can keep your minimalism if you give me back mine!
no subject
Date: 2009-08-22 01:11 am (UTC)I think most restaurants should serve slightly smaller portions and quit charging so much for 1.5-2 servings. Two thousand calories on a plate (Outback Steakhouse, e.g.) is not a single meal unless one does hard manual labor for a living or hasn't had anything else to eat all day.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-22 03:28 am (UTC)Not that I consider Outback a "fancy" place either. Pretty much, if they serve American food, it cannot be a fancy place, inherently.
If I eat somewhere like that, I either take home half, split a dish, or leave some. But most restaurants are getting annoyed about those behaviors too.
Also, about the restaurants packing food with hidden fat... part of what annoys me about the lack of gravy is all the places selling plain mashed potatoes--- you know they've larded those up with 14 gobs of butter per. If they'd just mashed the potatoes with a tiny bit of butter and some milk, they could easily serve them with actual gravy and they'd be healthier!
It seems like if a restaurant could give you a big plate of mostly dry salad first... with crisp vegetables in it... or offer it to people who might still feel hungry after. I'd really like that if I could order my dessert to eat first, have my meal, and then finish with a salad and a glass of a something sparkly. Especially if the dressing were extra sour--- more vinegar than oil (instead of the standard restaurant kind where they make it 3 or even 4 to 1 oil to vinegar... and the nicer the restaurant the more likely they are to use that really stinky "special" olive oil...) ------- I should try that next time I go somewhere moderately nice.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-22 04:09 am (UTC)I definitely wasn't counting Outback as fancy. Basically, odds are, if it's a chain, it's not.
I think the issue with gravy is that it takes someone some time to make properly. I infer, that is, that you wouldn't want them to open a packet of powder to make the gravy with.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-22 04:39 am (UTC)But when I want mashed potatoes and gravy, I have to roast the beef myself because it just doesn't exist around here.
The upscale places near me have itty bitty entree portions because they want to sell you starters and salads and soups and dessert after--- with a matching wine or cocktail for each course, naturally. If you went in and just ordered an entree, you'd leave hungry--- even if there are enough calories in it because they really make it from deep fried lard--- because the volume of food is so small.