Flutterby™! : Dr. T. and the Women 2005-10-02 04:25:02.623013+00

Dr. T. and the Women

2005-10-02 04:25:02.623013+00 by Dan Lyke 3 comments

Every time I see a Robert Altman film, I end up transfixed by the beautifully framed shots, thinking I'm still watching because the craftsmanship necessary to put together a film like that must mean that there's a deeper meaning, and ultimately disappointed by how banal and trite the film ends up being. So it was with Dr. T. and the Women. A few funny bits, but when the bits were funny they were applied with a sledge hammer, and mostly just a cast of unlikeable people without depth or appropriate motivation.

But the Lyle Lovett soundtrack was good.

Theory: Movies, like Newspapers, much reach a critical % of the population in order to be financially viable. I've repeatedly been told newspapers are limited to a 6th grade vocabulary and concept level because that is where the masses are.

I've been reading some classic Sci-Fi lately, and just re-read "The Marching Morons" circa 1951 by C.M. Kornbluth. It's a short piece where a man wakes up in the future. And as a result of low birth rates among the educated and high birth rates among the disadvantaged, a minority of people of normal intelligence maintain the civilization in which the average IQ is 45.

His description of the future, regarding advertising, mass-media, music, movies.. as well as how things are made and why is becoming more apparent in current society every day.

Yikes, meuon. That's really dim and dark. That future assumes the "disadvantaged" all have lower IQs. One of the reasons for public education is that our gene pool is still varied enough that a genius can easily be born of parents with relatively low IQ or be in a disadvantaged position. My own personal take is many very bright, intelligent kids, never make it out of the "disadvantaged" reality because their parents aren't bright enough to help them.

As far as the media goes, I do think 5th Avenue wants us to think as little as possible. Current media and diets are creating a population with very short attention spans. If we all have the attention span of goldfish, then we are very easily manipulated. I also think that ADHD kids are just a little more sensitive to the affects of the media and our diet.

When I speak of diet, I mean stuff that happens relatively unknown to the public. What is the affect of pumping cattle and chickens full of hormones? You get flesh that is rich in fat and poor in proteins and minerals. The RDA requirements don't differentiate between meats that have resulted from factory farming techniques and traditional meats.

Frank Cowan used to talk alot about attention span. It was probably one of the greatest gifts he ever gave me. Attention span is a major component of intelligence that isn't measured by IQ tests. It's also being attacked by the media.

#Comment Re: made: 2005-10-03 20:23:52.274188+00 by: meuon [edit history]

Disadvantaged may be a poor choice or words... but it works for me. Potentially smart kids in 'disadvantaged' households seldom get the opportunities to exploit their potential.

Bad movie: watched "Alien VS Predator" last night just so I could say "I did"... and it could have been a really good movie if they'd gone one short step farther and been a parody. Instead, they were serious. Yet it debuted in top place, and reportedly earned 38 million on opening week. It's a good example of a mass-media successful movie.. and where the masses are.