Sunday, December 03, 2006

Perception Of TV-Shows

People's reception and perception of TV-shows varies greatly. In this entry I will be focusing about my own view of some TV-shows as well as opposing views of two of my friends.

Lets first consider the comedies: My personal favorite comedies are Becker and Seinfeld. One of my friends argues about Seinfeld: "Seinfeld is merely a series of unfortunate events, thats not comedy, thats annoyance." Apparently, my favorite kind of humor is defined as a series of unfortunate events!! I love Seinfeld because it has a strong connection with reality. The show is about the life of Jerry Seinfeld and his friends. Each one of his friends has a unique and interesting character. The show doesnt introduce unnecessary spice, everything is plain. I also love Becker because Becker's character is a realist with negative attitude. So just like Seinfeld, Becker has a strong connection with reality. Its negative attitude only adds to the irony and sarcastic perspective of the show.

Other comedies that I love include Ally McBeal. This show includes way too much irony that appeases my taste. Numerous references to the LGBT culture, and the unisex bathroom adds spice to the show, and shows that the makers of the film are more open-minded than the average.

Another controversial comedy show is the standup comedy of Russel Peters. If anything, that show is practically one racist remark after the other. Its too fucking hilarious!!

Now lets consider horror movies: I think horror movies are a disappointment. I think that a horror movie should instill horror in the hearts of those watching it. It fails to deliver that feeling to me, and thus it is generally a disappointing experience. A friend of mine disagrees. He argues: "Think of the director as your mentor. Horror movies are supposed to entice your imagination, to help you create your own little scary world. With the help of visual aids, and ideas that the directors suggests to you through the produced movie, that would become an easier task." I really miss that here. I think of the director as my enemy, a person who is trying to instill fear in me. I think of the movie itself as a challenge not a hint. My friend elaborates: "Don't just watch. Learn. Don't just watch. Use your imagination. I once watched a film where in one scene, there was a little baby about to cry. Once he cried a Meow sound came out of him. If you were just watching, that event would be meaningless. The point is, people are afraid of what they dont understand, what they are unfamiliar with. We are used to babies crying with human sounds, not those of a cat. From this point use your imagination to instill fear in yourself. Its not the director's responsibility to instill fear in you. Its your responsibility. The director is only giving you hints how to do it."

Finally, lets consider teenage romantic comedy movies: Arguably my favorite genre of movies. It deviates from the boring classical genre of romance, although has its own set of cliches. It includes many comical references. My favorite ones also include references to use of drugs, alcohol, sex, and vice in general. All of these factors add together to make a whole movie. Examples include: 40 days 40 nights, Euro trip, Dorm Daze, Not another teen movie.

Other TV-shows that I like are teenage cartoons like: Futurama, South Park, Drawn Together. South Park for example introduces ideologies in a sarcastic manner, and conveys those ideologies through elementary school kids. The concept is similar to stories that use animals (or otherwise) as tools to convey ideas. This kind of use makes it easier for the viewer to digest those ideas since animals\kids are usually denoted of as neutral agents.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

seinfeld is not that bad, i enjoy watching it.. same as becker. for me all the comedies are a comedies :)
I dont watch horror movies at all..
but other kind I really enjoy watching, comedy, romance, action, and cartoon :)
nice post

Anonymous said...

Seinfeld is one of the top sitcom shows ever produced. But I don't know, i just can't stand a minute of Jason Alexander [George Costanza] whining over and over and over. URGGH
Or a Jerry-George dialogue that consists only of one sentence repeated, again, over and over and over. [did u hate it yet ?? LOL :P] Here's what i'm talking about : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUv0MbpJmfc
LOOL
Anyway man, I love your choice of shows and movies :D

Tala said...

Seinfeld is my favourite, Becker is ok, but he is too negative, i like fraiser more :)

i hate horror movies, i can't stand them, because they are very unrealistic and disgusting and meaningless and has nothing to do with imagination.

Devil's Mind said...

Hehe, Amer, yes, those family guy guys do make a valid point, but I still love Seinfeld, even the repeated phrases part! ;)

And I agree with Wedad all comedies are comedies, I do get along most types of humor.

Tala, I like Fraiser as well, but I like Becker more. I also agree that horror movies are unrealistic and meaningless, but I disagree on the disgusting part. They dont move me a bit, disgusting would be a big complement. I dont think they deliver any feeling of disgust, not for me at least. The only feeling they deliver is disappointment!

Amer said...

Hey, i just noticed that you're a Computer Engineering student in JUST!! No kiddin ??!!
I'm too a CE student in JUST, a sophomore actually :)

Tala said...

tagged :)

http://published-tala.blogspot.com/2006/12/book-tagg.html#links

Devil's Mind said...

Answer to the book tag upon request from Tala:

(10) X2 = 4X1 - 16,
which has infinitely many solutions; hence (9) has infinitely many solutions. If we chose a value X1 in (10), then the value of X2 is uniquely determined. For example if we include the equation X1 = 2 in the system (9), then from (10) we compute X2 = -8.

Name of book: Numerical Methods Using Matlab.

Authors: John H. Mathews - Kurtis D. Fink

I decline to pass the tag - so as to avoid chaining (chain-letters-like activity)..

Devil's Mind said...

Amer, we go to the same Ethics class!!

Rania said...

"I think of the director as my enemy, a person who is trying to instill fear in me." I just realized that's something I often do: instead of just watching, you make yourself aware of the director's attempts at instilling fear in you. You watch out for them, anticipate them and want to make them fail. You're challenging the movie rather than helping- even allowing- it to make you chill, and that's probably what stops you from enjoying it! Your friend put it well. I hate most horror films. I agree with Tala- they either lack a point, are disgusting, or ask you to be naive.

I go for any comedy that cracks me up. I need certain moods to really enjoy Becker:)

Amer said...

Aha,
so you are a frerawy ? that's the only zeid i can figure out lol

Amer said...

Tayyeb can you be a dear and tell me what are the chapters that should be studied for the second exam ?? I guess 3 and 4, willa fee ishi kaman, lol

Devil's Mind said...

Yes, I was in Freres school. And I don't know about the second exam!!

Anonymous said...

A brilliant and underrated example of what a horror movie should be is "Frailty" directed by Bill Paxton http://imdb.com/title/tt0264616/ . It's almost bloodless, there are no real "boo" scares, but the entire sense of dread throughout hinges upon the sheer NORMALITY and ACCEPTANCE of the horror that transpires, as well as the eventual understanding by you as a viewer of the complete situation by the movie's end.

You expect to get a jump or a gasp from the audience with a masked slasher, say, suddenly jumping through a closet door, but when you can get that exact same reaction from, of all things, your cheerfully smiling dad sitting next to an open phone book, THAT is a masterful example of direction.

Please take the time to see it. I recommend buying a copy, I did so myself. It creeped me out through no easy mechanisms, and I suspect it will strike you hard as well for the exact same reasons.

-Troy Z

Devil's Mind said...

Thanks Troy, I read the review and the film seems interesting. Whenever I come across this movie I'll find a couple of hours to watch it.

Anonymous said...

If I may also direct your attention to another nomination for your viewing consideration, try "Donnie Darko" (http://imdb.com/title/tt0246578/).
This category-defying film divides its audience into love-it-or-hate-it camps, but if you're a heathen with a messiah complex like I am, it has a particular lasting resonanace. (Note: You need not bother with the Director's Cut, the regular release is fine, if not even more streamlined.)
What is striking about the creepiness of this film is that the sensation gets established early that the world is going to end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds, so anything, AnyThing, you'll do until then is somehow protected, sanctioned and inevitable. Until then, you will be, unspoken yet understood, insulated in a bubble of safety. The fact that this is established calmly by a skull-faced six-foot tall bunny rabbit named Frank just makes, once again, the dread perfectly normal.
Yes, you read "skull-faced six-foot tall bunny rabbit named Frank" and "normal" together in the same sentence. That's how unique this movie is.


...Oh, and how could you NOT include "Weird Science" in your Teenage Romatic Comedy movie roster? Are you too young to remeber that? Geez, I must be old now. I need a lawn just so I can chase kids off of it. [spit-TANG] You kids today with your Internets and your I-Puds, why, we had to power our boomboxes with a rack full of "D" batteries back in our day and we were GRATEFUL. GET OFF MY LAWN!!

-Troy Z