Your observation on remembered scraps of random films and TV programmes is very accurate for the 80s. I recently (well, in the last few years) watched The World of Suzy Wong, having a vague memory of having previously seen it at around the age of six. It really was a case of watching whatever happened to be on. Sometimes it was wonderful as in the case of my first viewing of It’s A Wonderful Life, on a random Sunday afternoon in Spring, well before it became a seasonal classic. At other times (as with Suzy Wong) it was just a bit odd. I do think though, and I feel I might have said this before, that the scarcity of content has led to me having a love of films of all genres and of all ages, something my children will absolutely not entertain.
Yes! I keep meaning to write something about the deep Astaire and Rogers craze I and my sisters went on as the result of a BBC 2 season. Such a strange thing for a bunch of ‘80s British teenagers to be fans of, but it was exactly what you say: there was nothing else on, so we watched them (and then learned all the lyrics to the Berlin songs). The lack of choice led, perversely, to a wider cultural lexicon.
Thank you! I assume the Death Star had cleaning droids and that Luke Skywalker’s heroic actions didn’t lead to the deaths of thousands of minimum wage janitorial staff.
I think I saw it the same day, hopped up on Star Wars but with an endorsement from my dad (a 2001 fan). I think child-me identified with the melancholy vibe. I remember being upset by the two robot “deaths”, leaving one alone to tend to the forest. They were astonishingly anthropomorphic and emotive for square boxes.
Yes - I should have said more about that weird melancholic air. A sense that the future was going to be inevitably awful, despite all the spaceships and poker playing robots, and we were just going to have to put up with it. I identified strongly with that too.
Thank you for "greebling". I always felt the total urge to invent a term for that, but now I don't have to bother any more.
Perfect phonetics too. And it goes well beyond just "adding meaningless [but delightful] elements to models", hell I guess you could apply it to most of your essays :). And it makes all the difference. I guess you always need a healthy amount of greebling in everything.... I'll teach that to my students.
Hahaha - I suspect you've put your finger on precisely what I do with these things, raiding other kits for parts that will make this essay more believable. And you're right about the onomatopoeia: it's like rococo or finial, it accurately describes the visual effect.
And now you've also made me think about how that 'add details to add verisimilitude' has permeated cinematic design - I'm thinking of the multilayered, multi-textured suits that movie superheroes are always dressed in these days
Thank you for "greebling". I always felt the total urge to invent a term for that, but now I don't have to bother any more.
Perfect phonetics too. And it goes well beyond just "adding meaningless [but delightful] elements to models", hell I guess you could apply it to most of your essays :). And it makes all the difference. I guess you always need a healthy amount of greebling in everything.... I'll teach that to my students.
WALL-E! Why had that never occured to me before? That's a really neat point, and now I have to re-watch it too (we haven't done a Pixar for this format yet, either, maybe that'll be the one)
In space no one can hear you prune
Space. The final front garden.
Your observation on remembered scraps of random films and TV programmes is very accurate for the 80s. I recently (well, in the last few years) watched The World of Suzy Wong, having a vague memory of having previously seen it at around the age of six. It really was a case of watching whatever happened to be on. Sometimes it was wonderful as in the case of my first viewing of It’s A Wonderful Life, on a random Sunday afternoon in Spring, well before it became a seasonal classic. At other times (as with Suzy Wong) it was just a bit odd. I do think though, and I feel I might have said this before, that the scarcity of content has led to me having a love of films of all genres and of all ages, something my children will absolutely not entertain.
Yes! I keep meaning to write something about the deep Astaire and Rogers craze I and my sisters went on as the result of a BBC 2 season. Such a strange thing for a bunch of ‘80s British teenagers to be fans of, but it was exactly what you say: there was nothing else on, so we watched them (and then learned all the lyrics to the Berlin songs). The lack of choice led, perversely, to a wider cultural lexicon.
I would definitely read that essay!
Also, the line about sinister intergalactic empires and their cleaners really made me laugh!
Thank you! I assume the Death Star had cleaning droids and that Luke Skywalker’s heroic actions didn’t lead to the deaths of thousands of minimum wage janitorial staff.
I think I saw it the same day, hopped up on Star Wars but with an endorsement from my dad (a 2001 fan). I think child-me identified with the melancholy vibe. I remember being upset by the two robot “deaths”, leaving one alone to tend to the forest. They were astonishingly anthropomorphic and emotive for square boxes.
Yes - I should have said more about that weird melancholic air. A sense that the future was going to be inevitably awful, despite all the spaceships and poker playing robots, and we were just going to have to put up with it. I identified strongly with that too.
I just had a pang of melancholy when you mention the robot deaths. I saw this in the theater as a youth.
It is brilliant quite how emotive they make the drones - really terrific performances too
Thank you for "greebling". I always felt the total urge to invent a term for that, but now I don't have to bother any more.
Perfect phonetics too. And it goes well beyond just "adding meaningless [but delightful] elements to models", hell I guess you could apply it to most of your essays :). And it makes all the difference. I guess you always need a healthy amount of greebling in everything.... I'll teach that to my students.
Hahaha - I suspect you've put your finger on precisely what I do with these things, raiding other kits for parts that will make this essay more believable. And you're right about the onomatopoeia: it's like rococo or finial, it accurately describes the visual effect.
And now you've also made me think about how that 'add details to add verisimilitude' has permeated cinematic design - I'm thinking of the multilayered, multi-textured suits that movie superheroes are always dressed in these days
Thank you for "greebling". I always felt the total urge to invent a term for that, but now I don't have to bother any more.
Perfect phonetics too. And it goes well beyond just "adding meaningless [but delightful] elements to models", hell I guess you could apply it to most of your essays :). And it makes all the difference. I guess you always need a healthy amount of greebling in everything.... I'll teach that to my students.
No mention of WALL-E? Andrew Stanton might not consciously realise there is a connection but your review makes me go watch it.
WALL-E! Why had that never occured to me before? That's a really neat point, and now I have to re-watch it too (we haven't done a Pixar for this format yet, either, maybe that'll be the one)