Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Buffy Blogthrough: 1.12 "Prophecy Girl"

Parenthood has slowed both my TV watching and my writing. It's way past time to get back into both habits!

1.12 “Prophecy Girl”
broadcast:  June 2, 1997
writer:  Joss Whedon
director:  Joss Whedon
The season finale is early Whedon at his best―not incidentally, it's also his directing debut. He manages the climax of the romantic rectangle with particular elegance: Willow turns Xander down in one emotionally fulfilling scene, and later Xander invites his rival Angel to help him rescue Buffy. Their actions mirror Buffy's maturity in facing the Master despite a deadly prophecy. Her reaction upon hearing that fate is the episode's peak, and her subsequent resurrection feels like a reward. But to evaluate “Prophecy Girl” honestly, the battle royale of the back half feels anticlimactic. The witticisms pale (“Oh look, a bad guy!”?), the combat is hard to follow, and the tentacles that wave from the Hellmouth suggests that the budget has been exhausted. Maybe the over-earnest heroics need more time than they're given. Instead, Whedon spends that time resolving character conflicts, a gesture that sets Buffy apart.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Buffy Blogthrough: 1.11 "Out of Mind Out of Sight"

Parenthood has slowed both my TV watching and my writing. It's way past time to get back into both habits!

1.11 “Out of Mind, Out of Sight”
broadcast: May 19, 1997
writer: Joss Whedon (story) and Ashley Gable & Thomas A. Swindon (teleplay)
director: Reza Badiyi

Non-linear television is rare enough that this episode's black/white flashbacks are noteworthy. But otherwise, where the last episode succeeded by abandoning Buffy's established structure, this one works mostly because it follows the blueprint so well. “Out of Mind” applies the monster-rific metaphor of invisibility to a high school wallflower. The student aims to avenge her condition by mutilating Cordelia for her haughtiness and narcissism, which, coupled with the Hellmouth, has caused her condition. Her motivations are relatable but ostracism renders her psychotic (a classroom allusion to Shylock fits in here). But this episode excels in its characterizations. Buffy remembers her pre-Slayer popularity as May Queen and feels like a third wheel in Xander and Willow's long friendship. And Cordelia, finally centerstage, admits to her own streak of alienation but (again like Shylock) uses it to justify her cruelty. In a bonus subplot, a prophecy sets up next week's finale.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Buffy Blogthrough: 1.10 "Nightmares"

Most mornings, to warm up my brain I write & edit 150 words on yesterday's entertainment — a TV episode, movie, news item, or whatever. Now that I've got Lady Hotspur watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I've decided to post these exercises so you & she can enjoy them too!

1.10 “Nightmares”
broadcast: May 12, 1997
writer: Joss Whedon (story) & David Greenwalt (teleplay)
director: Bruce Seth Green

Buffy has already flirted with dream-states—think of the fake-out that opens “Teacher's Pet”—but it makes a commitment in “Nightmares.” The plot is an afterthought, almost a means to an end: a comatose Little Leager accidentally conjures dreams into reality. The episode's tension, and it gets intense, is seeing what the characters truly fear. Some of their arcs are conventionally cathartic, like Xander punching a scary clown. Then there's Buffy's absentee father visiting Sunnydale to explain her role in her parents' divorce. Their conversation is staged without even a touch of surrealism; it's hard to tell whether it happened or not. The scene may be Gellar's strongest performance in all seven seasons. Plotwise, on the other hand, “Nightmares” is one of the series' slackest. It's a mirror image to the rest of Season One, abandoning the formula of well-made, socially-driven metaphors for a more formally adventurous style.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Buffy Blogthrough: 1.9 "The Puppet Show"

Most mornings, to warm up my brain I write & edit 150 words on yesterday's entertainment — a TV episode, movie, news item, or whatever. Now that I've got Lady Hotspur watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I've decided to post these exercises so you & she can enjoy them too!


1.9 “The Puppet Show”
broadcast: May 5, 1997
writers: Rob Des Hotel & Dean Batali
director: Ellen S. Pressman
Buffy already has shown a gift for final scenes, but the one in this episode—Buffy and pals performing Oedipus very poorly—is especially winsome. This coda typifies the tone of “The Puppet Show”, the series' first episode to go all-out for comedy without compromising on action and thrills. “Show” even cheerfully undercuts Buffy's triumph over this week's monster by showing us the baffled reaction of the new principal (Armin Shimerman as a perfect martinet) to the typically gory scene. The light touch eases the potential silliness of the titular puppet, who's not the predictable demon-doll but a demon-hunter cursed to inhabit a ventriloquist's dummy. That twist is one of the plot's many red herrings, which get turned so deftly they cover for the lack of a social theme. Taken alone, “The Puppet Show” is forgettable fun, but the success of its execution points ahead to better episodes.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Buffy Blogthrough: 1.8 "I Robot, You Jane"

Most mornings, to warm up my brain I write & edit 150 words — a TV episode, movie, news item, or whatever. Now that I've got Lady Hotspur watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I've decided to post these exercises so you & she can enjoy them too!

1.8 “I Robot, You Jane”
broadcast: April 21, 1997
writer: Ashley Gable & Thomas Swynden
director: Stephen Posey

So far, Willow has gone woefully underdeveloped. But rather than reveal new facets to her personality, this episode simply leverages her established mousiness and tech savvy into a story. The plot follows the template set by “Teacher's Pet”, subbing a paranoia about computer dating for the earlier episode's sexual anxiety. Of the show's social issues, this one has dated worst all around: in concept, special effects, and in its stereotypical computer geeks. But as shaky and cliché as “I Robot” is, on balance it's slightly stronger than “Pet.” The show's voice is more confident, so that Buffy and Xander have a goofy camaraderie as they snoop around a factory. And while Giles extols the value of books in a fine speech, his viewpoint is balanced by his potential love interest, “technopagan” Jenny Calendar. Oh, and this was the first episode of Buffy I ever watched!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Theater: Title Bout (July 19)

Every week, I compose listings on the week's new plays for Metromix NY. I'm often disappointed by the titles that playwrights choose for their work, so I review their titles. Not the shows, just the titles. To read about the content of each show, click through its link to my listing.


THE PARTING GLASS
It's not a glass that sets apart, it's a glass drunk when people part. The key is that the reference is Irish, and so it has a poetic style that more literal English-speakers might miss. It's actually the title to a 18C folk song that you might recognize; it was interpreted by the Clancy Brothers, Bob Dylan, and the Pogues.

THE SILVER TASSIE
Sean O'Casey came up with this title and drama. I haven't read the play (yet), but I'd guess the title refers to a significant prop or metaphor. A “tassie” is a cup or bowl; it's one of those British words with a whiff of archaism. “Silver” adds value, & conjures the image of something like a grail. As titles go, this is a little vague without context but it's unique and therefore memorable.

THE TEMPLE OF THE GOLDEN PAVILION
Even if you don't know this existential novel by Mishima―or the masterpiece of Kyoto architecture that it refers to―you might suspect it's set in Japan or at least the far East. The title has that non-European structure that doubles up on nouns (it's a temple and a pavilion) and ornaments the subclause delicately. The image is lovely, isn't it?

Friday, July 15, 2011

Buffy Blogthrough: 1.7 "Angel"

Most mornings, to warm up my brain I write & edit 150 words — a TV episode, movie, news item, or whatever. Now that I've got Lady Hotspur watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I've decided to post these exercises so you & she can enjoy them too! 
 
1.7 “Angel”
broadcast: April 14, 1997
writer: David Greenwalt
director: Scott Brazil

Despite its ugly score and the uncharacteristic gunplay at its climax, “Angel” is the first episode to suggest the level of storytelling that Buffy would reach. That's not just because it's the first to complicate the slayer/vampire relationship, to delve into backstory, or to kill a major character. It's not the minor moments like Giles' hospital conversation with Joyce. Partly it's that the driving metaphor is more than a “teen social issue” this time around, it's one actually freighted with stakes (Angel must get over his ex before he can date someone new). Geller's portrayal of Buffy's calf-love for her Byronic stranger makes shocking the otherwise predictable revelation that he's a vampire. Then there's the episode's portentous final beat, where her kiss literally tortures him. Best of all, the episode shows characters who grow and relationships that change, which is why Buffy finds its voice with “Angel”.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Buffy Blogthrough: 1.6 "The Pack"

Most mornings, to warm up my brain I write & edit 150 words — a TV episode, movie, news item, or whatever. Now that I've got Lady Hotspur watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I've decided to post these exercises so you & she can enjoy them too!

1.6 "The Pack"
broadcast: April 7, 1997
writers: Matt Klein & Joe Reinkemeyer
director: Bruce Seth Green

Xander gets a second chance to take center stage in another episode based on high school “issues”. On a zoo trip, he and a gang of bullies get zapped with an animal-possession spell. Their violently feral actions culminate in the gang devouring the principal! As juicy and hardcore as that twist is, the hyena behavior and its use as a metaphor for cliques are both a bit silly (especially the stoner giggles). It only really works when Xander is the focus. His transformation into an asshole is stronger as a real teen concern than simple cliquish bullying — and one that the show will return to. It also takes good advantage of the Buffy-Xander-Willow triangle, especially since it finally gives Willow a substantial role and emotional stakes. And the outcome — that Xander is ashamed at acting on his more caddish impulses, even inadvertently — feels as authentically true to life as anything on Buffy so far.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Theater: Title Bout (June 27)

Every week, I compose listings on the week's new plays for Metromix NY. I'm often disappointed by the titles that playwrights choose for their work, so I'm reviewing their titles now. Not the shows (I haven't seen them yet) just the titles. To read about the content of each show, click through its link to my listings on Metromix NY.


ALL NEW PEOPLE
Ambiguity usually adds to a title, but here it detracts. Maybe it means “All-New” (as in “All-New, All-Different X-Men”)? Or does the title mean to invite only new people, and all of them at that, as if it were a barker? The more it's examined, the less sense this dull title makes.

TRYST
An odd word, mostly because it looks archaic but it's not. It's got the very specific meaning of “romantic rendezvous," which works in this one-word title's favor by setting up a pair of lovers and a clandestine tone. As a title, “Tryst” encourages you to imagine the beginnings of a story, which is what a good title should do.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Buffy Blogthrough: 1.5 "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date"

Most mornings, to warm up my brain I write & edit 150 words — a TV episode, movie, news item, or whatever. Now that I've got Lady Hotspur watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I've decided to post these exercises so you & she can enjoy them too!
 
1.5 “Never Kill a Boy on the First Date”
broadcast:
March 31, 1997
writer: Rob Des Hotel & Dean Batali
director: David Semel
As a superhero, Buffy is a riff on Peter Parker, where ethical responsibilities frustrate the hero's normal adolescence. This conflict gets dramatized in the series' best episode so far. Buffy's first date with a hunky bookworm becomes a vampire hunt; though everyone survives (except the vampire, of course), she turns down a second date. The basis for her decision gives an extra twist to the Parker Archetype: the problem isn't her secret identity, it's her beau, who's a thrill-seeker and so a danger to himself and others. The episode's plot plays more as a structure to hang the character conflict on than a key development in the season's arc. The bat-like vampire king recruits an “Anointed One” who, according to prophecy, will kill the Slayer. The fake-out — this Anointed One isn't the scripture-quoting psycho vamp but a little kid — is satisfying mainly because we know the truth but Buffy doesn't.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Buffy Blogthrough: 1.4 "Teacher's Pet"

Most mornings, to warm up my brain I write & edit 150 words on yesterday's entertainment — a TV episode, movie, news item, or whatever. Now that I've got Lady Hotspur watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I've decided to post these exercises so you & she can enjoy them too!

1.4 "Teacher's Pet"

broadcast: March 24, 1997
writer: David Greenwalt
director: Bruce Seth Green

Of all the supporting characters, Xander has made the strongest impression so far. So he's the logical first choice for a focus on the supporting characters. In “Teacher's Pet,” he bumbles into a sexual encounter with a substitute teacher. But, this being Sunnydale, she's actually a human-sized praying mantis who implants her eggs in young male virgins. That's a zesty metaphor for adolescent male sexual anxiety about the mysteries of reproduction and female desire. But the execution, by Greenwalt and Green, is rough. The predictable plot does let Buffy exhibit her intelligence, first by using a vampire as a bloodhound and then by applying her science lessons to defeating the she-mantis. As nicely feminist as this turn is, it shifts the drama away from Xander and leaves his sexual anxiety unresolved.  Buffy's dedication to its secondary characters is an admirable strength, but this first example is a poor demonstration.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Buffy Blogthrough: 1.3 "Witch"

Most mornings, to warm up my brain I write & edit 150 words on yesterday's entertainment — a TV episode, movie, news item, or whatever. Now that I've got Lady Hotspur watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I've decided to post these exercises so you & she can enjoy them too!

1.3 "Witch"

broadcast: March 17, 1997
writer: Dana Reston
director: Stephen Cragg

Part of what makes early Buffy appealing is how it dilutes the teen melodrama by couching them in a comedic-heroic tone. This week's subject is parental pressure on children. Buffy auditions for the cheerleading squad despite her mother's lack of enthusiasm (Joyce was on the yearbook staff). Their conflict parallels another blonde student, who's pressured by her mother, once the pep-squad leader, to excel at an activity she's ill-suited for. This being Sunnydale High, someone uses witchcraft to eliminate the competition, a predictable plot except for one clever turn: the mom has swapped bodies with the daughter! This magic twist makes literal the theme of mothers living through their children—a dramaturgical tactic unavailable to realistic dramas. Still, the plot does resolve itself conventionally (though the witch's fate caps the episode nicely). The richer drama is on the margins, in Joyce's displays of maternal clumsiness and in Xander's bumbling crush on Buffy.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Theater: Title Bout (May 17)

Every week, I compose listings on the week's new plays for Metromix NY. I'm often disappointed by the titles that playwrights choose for their work, so I'm reviewing their titles now. Not the shows (I haven't seen them yet) just the titles. To read about the content of each show, click through its link to my listings on Metromix NY.


H4
Is this a Shakespeare play titled for the Age of Twitter? Or would that be H4.1 and H4.2? Then it's the final shot in a cutthroat game of Battleship? Or a more generic grid location? A pun on “age four”? Please drop other suggestions in the comments!

I MARRIED WYATT EARP
I like this title's confessional, slightly lurid mid-20C quality, like I Was a Teenaged Werewolf. Presuming it's accurate, the title also gives us a period and subject: the legendary lawman of Tombstone, AZ.

THE ILLUSION
As generic as this definite-article/noun title is, the topic can easily send a potential audience down an whimsical avenue in search of the theme. After all, isn't all theater just an illusion? Isn't life? In fact, this is an adaptation of Cornielle's 17C drama L'Illusion comique, usually translated as The Theatrical Illusion. The original French title focuses on genre, not medium, and hints at the illusion's delight.

THE LADY'S NOT FOR BURNING
One of the great titles of 20C drama. It's such an odd statement! Just what transpires in this show that requires clarification about who shouldn't be burnt? Witchcraft, probably, but it does inspire the imagination. And the iambic syncopation makes the title so memorable.

ONE ARM
This title wears its subject on its sleeve; it's a play about an amputee. That missing limb has the potential to be a smart symbol as well.

SHAKESPEARE'S SLAVE
A bit of poetry that Will might appreciate. Every vowel sound is long, with the “ay” echoing across the gap of the “ee”, making it three stressed syllables, and the sibilant “s” acting as glue. As for content, this title conjures a ironic character from the imagination: a slave owned by one of the most compassionate depicters of human nature.

WTC VIEW
The reference to the Twin Towers helps to date this play's period, but so, cleverly, does the allusion to that lapsed style of classified ads. It's a play about an apartment search and roommate situation, with the heavy portent of the terrorist attacks implied as well. Does 9/11 figure in? Even if not, that reference has been activated.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Buffy Blogthrough: 1.2 "The Harvest"

Most mornings, to warm up my brain I write & edit 150 words on yesterday's entertainment — a TV episode, movie, news item, or whatever. Now that I've got Lady Hotspur watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I've decided to post these exercises so you & she can enjoy them too!

1.2 “The Harvest”

broadcast: March 10, 1997
writer: Joss Whedon
director: John D. Kretchmer

This episode can't stand alone as easily as Part 1 did, mainly because it gets bogged down in exposition and resolution. An okay comedic beat at the climax (“You forgot about sunrise…”) undercuts a sense of Buffy's triumph. And the low point has her trundle through tunnels while the vampires simply lurk in longshot. The pleasures of “The Harvest” are in its supporting characters. The cast fills their roles out nicely, especially Nicholas Brendan as sidekick Xander, who delivers the episode's best lines with great timing. The Master, Buffy's arch-villain, makes a good impression: his origin is Lovecraft and his look is Nosferatu, but his style is as casual as the teens'. And the show all comes together when Buffy's mother grounds her, saying, “Everything is life-or-death when you're a 16-year-old girl”. Then Buffy pulls her slaying paraphernalia from a closet stash and sneaks out the window to save the world.
 

Buffy Blogthrough: 1.1 "Welcome to the Hellmouth"

Most mornings, to warm up my brain I write & edit 150 words on yesterday's entertainment — a TV episode, movie, news item, or whatever. Now that I've got Lady Hotspur watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I've decided to post these exercises so you & she can enjoy them too!

1.1 “Welcome to the Hellmouth”
broadcast: March 10, 1997
writer: Joss Whedon
director: Charles Martin Smith

Originally the pilot was two hours, but it's got two directors and on DVD it's two episodes. Part 1 focuses on Buffy's character and setting, showing a springier step than Part 2. The setting—Sunnydale and its high school—have the genre hallmarks of teen life that go back to Archie Comics (the name of the cool girl, Cordelia, echoes her Archie analogue Veronica). But Buffy stands out in this episode with her courage and confidence. Though she does protest initially against her destiny, she then goes straight to work hunting vampires. Buffy has prior experience as a vampire hunter, but she also already finds her destiny incompatible with her typical teen lifestyle, having been expelled from high school in LA for burning down a gymnasium full of the fiends. Her personality is defined, and her conflict is encapsulated by the show's comedic title: a preppy teen fighting vampires.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Theater: Title Bout (May 10)

Every week, I compose listings on the week's new plays for Metromix NY. I'm often disappointed by the titles that playwrights choose for their work, so I'm reviewing their titles now. Not the shows (I haven't seen them yet) just the titles. To read about the content of each show, click through its link to my listings on Metromix NY.


CRADLE AND ALL
A quote from the rhyme “Rockabye Baby”. It's an astute reference, since it alludes only obliquely to the grisly fate of that nursery baby. Hopefully, the play itself deals as darkly with the theme of new parenthood.

DESPERATE WRITERS
This title's awfully bland and only kind of functional. It conveys its subject but nothing of the tone.

JUMP
An imperative verb can be okay, as one-word titles go. But even if this one accurately describes the show's content, it's way too common a title to work well. Plenty of songs have used it (see especially Van Halen and Criss Cross), and a quick check on Wikipedia shows that it's also been used for a movie, a TV show, a TV episode, albums, a funk band―and this very show, a Korean martial arts performance!

A LITTLE JOURNEY
Probably not a jukebox musical about the '70s/'80s rock band. “Journey” is a conventional structure for a tale, which suggests this play won't be too experimental in form. That “Little” is kinda cute, but journeys are short, not little.

MANIPULATION
Abstract nouns like this make weak titles, especially when they're unambiguous. Manipulation promises intrigue and subtextual motives for its characters, but it's also terribly pretentious.

NARRATOR 1
A meta title! Is the show named for its protagonist? Is the subject a duel between Narrators 1 and 2? As promising as that sounds, it also suggests that the show features the device of direct address, which I abhor as undramatic.

THE SHAGGS: PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD
The deliberate misspelling of slang with several meanings (among them, longish hair and casual sex), the long, grandiose subclause: if this sounds like a 1960s rock band's album, that's because it is. Only rock cultists will recognize the reference though, to an execrable sister-act that Frank Zappa and later Kurt Cobain dug.

WOMAN BEFORE A GLASS
The words might be generic in other situations instead summon up an image that's enigmatic and compelling. Who is the woman? Why is she looking in a mirror? Or is she in front of a glass cup, and what's in it and why is that significant? 

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Theater: Title Bout (February 8)

Every week, I compose listings on the week's new plays for Metromix NY. I'm often disappointed by the titles that playwrights choose for their work, so I'm reviewing their titles now. Not the shows (I haven't seen them yet) just the titles. To read about the content of each show, click through its link to my listings on Metromix NY.


THE BODY POLITIC
Refitting a phrase for your own ends can be clever, if your work's content adds irony. But the danger is that, on its own, your title will look dull. “Body” gives this writer space to maneuver, offering several readings (even a hint of sex!), while “Politic” slips the  work's subject in.

THE DIARY OF A MADMAN
Gogol's short story, sometimes published without a definite article (Russian doesn't use them). A problem here is that diaries make for poor drama―even worse than letters, which at least imply a pair of characters! Of course, it does promise us a madman! So do you change the title, keep it for the Gogol reference, or change it to Gogol's Madman?

GOOD PEOPLE
On the face of it, Good People is too gentle to thrill. But something about its flatness suggests a struggle, that its people fall short of being good or that their goodness isn't enough.

IN YOUR IMAGE
A good prepositional phrase extends beyond itself to imply an entire sentence. In this case, the use of the second-person implies even more: a pair of characters. To add more to the puzzle, In Your Image inverts a Biblical allusion, “Let us make Man in our image,” says God(s) in Genesis. It's a bit compelling but also amorphous and a little pompous to boot.

INVASION!
Gotta love that exclamation point! It gives this one-word title an extra kick, turning it into some '50s sci-fi B-movie.

THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
This title stinks of nostalgia. It's pretty clearly a show about a winning sports team. But unlike In Your Image above, the preposition refers to the clause (i.e. it's a demonstrative pronoun), which makes it a little solipsistic. That's where the nostalgia comes from.

THINNER THAN WATER
Here, the title creates irony by reversing a standard turn-of-phrase. It also cuts the cliché's opening, which makes the reader do a little work. Presumably, the show's about the weaknesses and frustrations of the family bond. But to its credit, the imagery is strong: water, like air, can literally be thin. But by cutting the first half of the cliché & leading with "thinner than", the metaphor of thinness comes as a surprise.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Theater: Title Bout (February 1)

Every week, I compose listings on the week's new plays for Metromix NY. I'm often disappointed by the titles that playwrights choose for their work, so I'm reviewing their titles now. Not the shows (I haven't seen them yet) just the titles. To read about the content of each show, click through its link to my listings on Metromix NY.


A PERFECT FUTURE
An optimistic title generally gets rendered ironic by a work's content. Hopefully, the arc of disillusion is traced by a character as well as the audience. But while this title covers the basic structural narrative, it doesn't point beyond that to content, themes, etc. It's good journeyman work but generic.

LA BARBERIA
Hey, that's not English! Our polyglot country doesn't extend far into the theater community, which is pretty damned segregated. Here's a good start: a Latinate word that's very similar in English. So a squeamish ticketbuyer might say, “Oh, this show's about a Hispanic barbershop!” and pluck up courage to see the show.

COMPULSION
That's a fifty-cent word! This writer's got weighty theories about human behavior and has written a drama to investigate them. Hollywood used Compulsion for a 1950s courtroom drama based on the Leopold & Loeb case, to give you some idea of how heavy the word is. Wonder if this is an adaptation?

THE HALLWAY TRILOGY
Someone, maybe a comedian, observed that hallways aren't actually rooms, they're just the space between rooms. So maybe this title means to be existential. Regardless, a triptych about hallways doesn't sound like a thrill. Each play in the trilogy does have its own one-word title. Though as a group they're cryptic, as distinct titles they're a good collection. There's Rose: a flower freighted with symbolism (both Christian & romantic) & a given name besides. Then Paraffin: a rare, fun word that can refer to a common wax (on candles & crayons) and also to kerosene. Part three is Nursing: a gerund―always good, see next entry―that could be caring for an invalid or feeding a baby.

INTERVIEWING THE AUDIENCE
Gerunds tend to work well in titles because they imply an action in the present moment. But interviewing is rarely a thrilling act. Plus, we could stay home & watch it on TV. Finally, even a hint of participation will break the deal for many potential audience members.

THE MAN WHO ATE MICHAEL ROCKEFELLER
This title's fantastic: very specific and memorable. It sets up two characters in a unique relationship. The first complex clause, “The Man Who Ate” adopts the convention of a case-study. That lulls the reader, so that the cannibalism shocks all the more. And the name “Rockefeller” has baggage of its own, implying the filthiest of rich families in America. By extension, the title promises a sort of comeuppance.

MY SCANDALOUS LIFE
This title also follows a conventional form, though it's closer to memoir than case study. As such, it implies a character, one who would call his or her own life “scandalous”. The tenor of the word suggests a perverse pride, even narcissism, which is reinforced by the “My Life” format. Ironically, by following convention, the title belies its subject's claim to scandal.

NEXT
Interesting as one-word titles go. The word looks forward and implies momentum. Also, isolated as it is here and without a referent, it has almost a sinister tone that causes us to wonder, “What is next?“

VIEUX CARRE
A second foreign language in one week! French for “Old Square”, the phrase is another name for the French Quarter in New Orleans. So the title is presumably the play's setting, and it underscores the exotic quality of the location.

THE WII PLAYS
'Wii' being the game console. FYI, I like how the name implies fun (“Wheee!”) and a relationship (“we”). The misspelling is whimsical and probably smart branding. The two lower-case I's look like an abstract pair of kids (the dots representing noggins). So props to Nintendo. This show's title trades on the product, of course―if you don't know what a Wii is, maybe this isn't your show―but it also subtly puns on “play” as both a unit of drama and a verb involving games. Ironically, in this case the console plays the game, not the people!

A WORLD APART
“Apart” does the heavy lifting here. The title could mean that two characters are alien to each other at some point in the play's arc. Or it could mean that the protagonist sees his or her life collapse. These are broad brushstrokes and somewhat introverted in tone. Though it doesn't seem like much, A World Apart has a story to tell.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Glenn Beck is Right! or, My Obligatory Spider-Man Post

Glenn Beck saw Spider-Man, twice, & it doesn't surprise me too much that he lurved it. He's so obviously into spectacle: think of his beloved blackboards! Whatever his flaws, the man knows that entertaining the crowd helps to get your message across. So yep, he digs opera and he enjoys splashy Broadway musicals like La Cage aux Folles.*


I don't watch or listen to Beck's shows, so this is my first real experience with his straw-man M.O. At one point, he adopts a snooty, vaguely French accent that's meant to be a New York theater critic. Beck-as-critic has never heard of Bono, disparages rock music, and looks down his nose at comic books. Now I'm existential proof that theater critics can enjoy rock music & comics.**

But I also partly agree with Beck's point. For one thing, yes, there are Broadway musicals that rock out. But the genre's stylistic mainstream is still bemoaning how the Beatles edged West Side Story off the Billboard charts. The fact that we still distinguish rock musicals from … what, “conventional musicals”? says something. So does the fact that it took thirty years for punk rock to go from CBGBs to the St. James. And the genre has made few attempts, such as In the Heights, to assimilate hip-hop into its idiom.
And another thing: conventional American drama is still beholden to realism. At its best (like Ruined) it's socially relevant, a throwback to Ibsen; more often, it's domestic dramas like August: Osage County and Rabbit Hole. There are few successful shows that couldn't be translated easily into a movie. In the context of popular American dramas & musicals, a sci-fi superhero work of fantasy like Spider-Man really is alien.

I'm also surprised and impressed at Beck's reading of Spider-Man. He notes the that Spider-Man's powers derive from an atheist scientist's government-funded experiment, then points out that the Daily Bugle's demagoguery supports the scientist & condemns the superhero. Is the show as politically conservative as that? Despite reading the handful of reviews & talking to attendees, I couldn't say. Anyhow, regardless of his accuracy, by putting the show's content into its cultural context, Beck does the job of a critic. That's work that none of the (debatably premature) critics have done; they've mostly just lambasted the show for its dramaturgical problems.
My point is, resistance to Spidey within the theater community is a lot more complex than schadenfreude at the hubris of moneyed producers & starry creators. I have read intelligent theater critic takes Spider-Man down, pointing out valid flaws in the hopes that the critique might change the system, its tastes, & its tendencies. But (apart from Glenn Beck, of all people!) I haven't read or seen anyone celebrating how unconventional Spider-Man is or analyzing its content as well as its style. The circus of money and injuries have distracted us from asking some basic critical questions about the show and its context in the world and community.


Finally, lest you think I've turned coat and become a Glenn Beck booster, here's a final point. The asshole checks his text messages during the show! Then he shows the text message to your wife, so she can cackle at a dramatically weighty moment?! That's some shabby, juvenile behavior.


* Surprised at this? Nah. The show's parody of gayness is broad enough that a conservative can laugh at it rather than with it.

 ** Here's hoping I can write off my comic book purchases as work-related research this fiscal year!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Theater: Title Bout (January 11)

Every week, I compose listings on the week's new plays for Metromix NY. I'm often disappointed by the titles that playwrights choose for their work, so I'm reviewing their titles now. Not the shows (I haven't seen them yet) just the titles. To read about the content of each show, click through its link to my listings on Metromix NY.


AMERICAN SEXY
An iteration of the convention 'stick “American” before a word to make it resonant' (see American Buffalo, American Idiot, etc.). What makes American Sexy a cut above the rest is that it uses an adjective instead of a noun.

CYMBELINE
Following the practice of his era, Shakespeare (or his producers) (or the editors of the First Folio) name this show for its most regal character―even though he's not particularly central. Not a great one frankly, especially since the Folio perversely calls it The Tragedie of Cymbeline when it's no such thing.

FLIPZOIDS
A funny, nonsensical title, which works for & against it: easy to notice, hard to remember. It sounds like a 1980s toy imported from Japan.

THE MISANTHROPE
Characterizing the title character (rather than naming him, which wasn't Moliére's style anyway, Tartuffe aside) as a misanthrope is dodgy from a marketing point-of-view. But it's great from a dramatic one & especially a comedic one. You expect a caustic work full of personality clashes &, ultimately, probably, unhappiness.

ROOM 17-B
A title after the setting rather than the protagonist. There's a portent to this one―it's a little like Room 101 in 1984. But the randomness of the number & the subdivision of the room adds a bureaucratic confusion to the setting.

SCREENPLAY
Surprisingly, Wikipedia only lists one movie with this name, & it's a porno. Doollee also lists only one other playscript with this title (AR Gurney). So most writers, or their producers, know enough to stay away from such a bland, generic title.

THREE SISTERS
This production of Chekhov's classic drops the standard definite article, which is okay because Russian doesn't use articles at all. Its absence does make you stop short. With or without “the”, this title has always sounded a little like a fairy tale to me.

THE WHIPPING MAN
It sounds like a 18C portrait, full of detail but also slightly allegorical. It also has echoes of a 'whipping boy', the surrogate for a naughty prince who's too high-born to receive the punishment he deserves. So does this title refer to the person whipping or the one being whipped? A good script will play upon that ambiguity…

WHAT THE PUBLIC WANTS
A modern version of As You Like It? Maybe it's the contemporary style, maybe it's the 'public'―but this sounds more like pandering than Will's titles did. But it could also be a show that examines & critiques the title subject. Not a great title, but its ironic fold adds a layer or two.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Theater: Title Bout (January 4)

Every week, I compose listings on the week's new plays for Metromix NY. I'm often disappointed by the titles that playwrights choose for their work, so I'm reviewing their titles now. Not the shows (I haven't seen them yet) just the titles. To read about the content of each show, click through its link to my listings on Metromix NY.

THE ANNIHILATION POINT
Sounds like a sci-fi story―and wouldn't you know, it is! 'Annihilation' is actually one of my favorite words, with its root 'nihil' or 'nothing'. And 'Point' has a Newtonian specificity. I imagine the term to be analogous to 'event horizon'. My point is, it inspires a little imagination if you're inclined to faux-science terminology.

BEIRUT
The location of America's first modern encounter with suicide bombers, Beirut might be the prototypical “war-torn Middle Eastern city” for Americans. Savvy historians will also recall the city was once the Paris of the Middle East. So whether the play is actually set in the titular city or not, the word evokes a concrete image. Better than many cities that could be used in titles.

FREEDOM CLUB
I'm not sure about this one. It sounds like a term George W. Bush would've come up with (“Iraq is now part of the Freedom Club, a coalition of freedom-loving nations.”) or, more likely, a right-wing thinktank. And ironically, it also sounds like the policy they'd come up with: beat our enemies with a freedom club.

GREEN EYES
A generic title that tells us nothing whatsoever about the show. Nor is it specific enough to evoke an image or sensation.

GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES
The implication of children getting hurt, and badly, has to be quite a turnoff for ticketbuyers―I admire the playwright's willingness to alienate before the show's even started! Sonically, it's pretty good but not great. The 'g' & 'j' sounds echo one another well, & so does the proximity of the 'r' & 'oo' sounds in 'grue-' and '-jur-'. But it lacks syncopation.

HONEY BROWN EYES
A clear improvement on Green Eyes. 'Honey blue eyes' is more standard (though it makes less sense to me), which adds a small cognitive hook to the title. And there's something smart about honoring the most prosaic eye color with poetry.

THE INTERMINABLE SUICIDE OF GREGORY CHURCH
I like this. Like Gruesome Playground Injuries, it dares its audience to see it. It also takes a classic titling structure―“the (adjective) key action of the character”―and adds dark humor. And paradox too: note that the root of 'interminable' is 'terminate', so it's an ending that never ends!

JOHN GABRIEL BORKMAN
Our first 'title = protagonist' of 2011. Ibsen (for he wrote this one) includes the character's middle name. It's an allusion to the Archangel who served as God's messenger (& would blow the trumpet at the Last Judgment). And 'bork' is Norwegian for, uh, 'bark', as of a tree. What's that signify? I dunno.

MEN GO DOWN
This phrase is almost stubbornly ambiguous. Which men? All men? Go down where? To their death, to the seaport, on other men, or what? If it's a quote, it's too obscure to catalog.

THE MILK TRAIN DOESN”T STOP HERE ANYMORE
I'm fond of full-sentence titles. This one implies isolation and decline. A milk train stopped at every podunk station to pick up milk & deliver into the city; obviously, if the milk train no longer stops 'here', it's been abandoned by the outside world.

NEARLY LEAR
A rarity: a clear yet elegant title. This show adapts Shakespeare's Lear, apparently. The triplicate long 'e' leaves no syllable unstressed, while the 'r' & 'l' swap positions from one word to another.

THE NEW YORK IDEA
In the late 19C, the New York Idea referred to the notion that Gotham is the most modern, sophisticated place on Earth. (I believe, but can't prove, that it was actually a term of reverse snobbery by non-NYers.) In circa 1906, Langdon Mitchell took it as the title to his prototypical screwball comedy, which sees rich divorcees celebrating that they can marry for love.

PANTS ON FIRE'S METAMORPHOSIS
Not to be confused with Ovid's Metamorphosis, presumably. Actually, I don't take issue with that distinction. It's the company's name, Pants on Fire, that sinks the title. It's very contempo British theater: past zany to outright inane.

2011 COIL FESTIVAL
I'm not sure what the curators of the Coil Festival intend by the name. 'Coil' isn't an acronym, and it's has no meaning in a theatrical context. I guess it's distinctive & therefore kind of memorable. But mostly it does nothing for me.

2011 CULTUREMART 
Culturemart, on the other hand, has a nice ring to it. It implies that it's a one-stop shop for arts culture. But  there's a tongue-in-cheek tone that's hard to pinpoint, suggesting that the curators don't support the commodification of art after all.

2011 UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL
From experience, I can tell you that this showcase offers more imagination than its title implies. 'Under the radar' is such a cliché that it comes across as crass, clumsy marketing. The curators would do well to consider changing it.