Thursday, February 15, 2007
Note To All Single People: You're Single
That's right. Another Singles Awareness Day has come and gone. If you're single, be aware of it. The rest of us are involved in a little something called a relationship, and we're loving it (or at least I am). Try to solve this problem by next year.
Life has been kicking my butt for the past few days. I've had my hands full keeping up with school, my various areas of employment, study abroad applications, tests, etc. For example: Today I went to finally work out the last part of my study abroad application. They've been giving me the run-around as to who I need to get to sign what for the past few weeks. So I went today to the two people I thought I was supposed to go to. It turned out I was supposed to see three other people as well. So, fed up with it all, I went right away to go see these people and get it all out of the way. The result: it's finally all done (I hope) and will be turned in tomorrow. However, I missed class in order to achieve this.
I've got three tests this week. I already had Sociology and Weather tests, which I began studying for a couple of hours before they began. Not cool. Also, this Friday I've got a Chinese test which I'm betting is not going to be very fun at all. With everything going on I haven't had as much time to focus on Chinese as I probably need.
Thank God for Netflix. There's nothing like running around all day, finishing everything you need to do, and being able to plop down on the couch and watch a good movie. I think I would have gone insane by now if I wasn't able to entertain my brain for an hour and a half every few days.
I recently saw two movies related to sales: Boiler Room and Glengarry Glen Ross. I got the first because a lot of Southwestern guys love it, and the second just because it seemed like every day or so for a week I heard someone mention it and how good it was. Both are decent films, particularly the latter. Boiler Room follows a young man who becomes a stock broker for a company that he discovers is ripping people off. A lot of the movie involves people making cold calls on the phone, trying to sell stuff. There were many times, particularly when they talked about selling (eg. the importance of the close), when I thought to myself, "Hey! That's like Southwestern!" Except, of course, that Southwestern is legit. Anyways, it's a decently entertaining film, except for the soundtrack which has too much rap for my tastes. Not fantastic, but good. Ben Affleck also makes an appearance in one scene and nearly steals the show.
Glengarry Glen Ross is written by famed playwright/screenwriter/director David Mamet, and follows four real estate salesman (again, phone calls) involved in an intense sales competition: the winner gets a Cadillac, the loser gets fired. Similar to Boiler Room, Alec Baldwin makes a killer cameo in which he basically sets up the entire film. It's only one scene, but I think it's probably the best performance I've ever seen of his. That's how good it is. I had heard from a lot of people that the dialogue in this movie was supposed to be excellent. At first, I didn't think so. That's mainly because I was expecting "excellent" to mean witty and humorous and original, Taratino or Kevin Smith style. With the exception of a couple lines here and there, the dialogue isn't that witty. However, it suddenly hit me after watching the film that the dialogue really flowed. It had a rhythm and a realness to it that a lot of films lack. Combined with incredible performances by all the leads, the result is a very good film that easily could have been boring since there are really only 2-3 main locations. It's obvious that it's based on a play, and that's probably where the strength of the dialogue comes from. Worth seeing.
This afternoon I was on a conference call with Billy Bob Thornton (star of The Astronaut Farmer), Mark Polish (writer of The Astronaut Farmer) and Michael Polish (writer/director of The Astronaut Farmer). Guess what movie the call was about? Anyways, it went well. I asked the Polish Brothers two questions. Billy Bob also happens to be a very funny guy.
I've got three advanced screening tickets: Ghost Rider, Reno 911: Miami, and Amazing Grace. I'll probably end up going to all three of them. I mention this only because it makes me feel good being able to see movies before the general public. Even if the movies suck.
Be warned: the following paragraphs involve a discussion of strong language, and contain strong language.
My screenwriting class is going awesome. I've been turning in my assignments, some of them receiving a more favorable response than others. I've noticed a detail that might be the sign of phase I'm going through: In the past two of three assignments, I've focused on two main characters. One character is pretty reserved and polite. The other is basically the exact opposite, and spews enough profanity to make Eddie Murphy blush. Okay, maybe not that much, but you get the idea. I wonder if my subconscious is trying to tell me something, or if perhaps this is simply due to the fact that lately I seem to have to be coming to terms with many polar opposites and conflicting forces. But anyways, after some deep thought, I have come to a realization that confirms a suspicion I've had for years now:
This is how people really talk, and this could arguably be considered regular English. Not quite, but almost.
I grew up listening to people complaining (and complaining myself) about the amount of profanity in movies. It's unrealistic, they said. It's just vulgarity for vulgarity's sake. There's no need for it.
I have come to realize that this is how people actually talk nowadays. And it's not because people in the movies said "fuck" one too many times. It's vice-versa. People in the movies say "fuck" because that's what people in real life say.
People like to complain about how Hollywood pollutes our culture. I'm not saying it doesn't - in fact, I think in many ways it does. However, at the same time, Hollywood just takes what's already present in a culture and puts it in movies. Writers go, "If I'm going to tell a story people relate to, I have to tell a story that contains real dialogue and real situations. My characters have to be like real people."
Consider this: Psycho was the first film to contain a toilet flushing. Before then, I guess studios thought it was too vulgar to make bathroom references. Before that, people probably freaked out when Clark Gable said "damn" in the famed line from Gone With The Wind. But one would be foolish to assume that "damn" was the most serious curse word floating around even back in 1939, or that it was unacceptable. In many ways, film has simply followed cultural values, rather than shape them. In 1939, "damn" was probably strong, but it wasn't strong enough not to be culturally acceptable. I'm sure a lot of the words people use today (if they were around then) would have been deemed too strong to use in that film. I'm sure certain words back then were so socially unacceptable that only a few people used them - hence them not being included in the film. But since "damn" was (I believe) used by a sizeable portion of the population, it was realistic to include it in a movie.
In 2007, "fuck" is 1939's "damn." I'm serious. The word is basically now an accepted part of the English language. The majority of my friends use it - at times, very frequently. Not because it's vulgar and they'd like to seem "cool" or "rebellious", but for the opposite reason. It's not vulgar anymore. It's acceptable. Is it still considered by some to be a strong, curse word? Yes. But people can say it without fear of being thought of as an offensive minority. If anything, they are an offensive majority. They say it not because their vocabulary is lacking, but simply because it's a common word. It can be used as nearly any part of speech, for a variety of intended effects. It can easily be shocking, or even comedic.
Therefore, is it unrealistic to have a lot of swearing in a film? No. In fact, one might even argue that it is necessary to have a lot of "swear words" in a film simply because so many people now use them so freely. Is it possible to go overboard? Absolutely. Like any other word, curse words, if used in the wrong way, can make for some bad dialogue. Although a lot of people use a lot of profanity, they don't use it a couple times in every sentence. However, nowadays it would be foolish to shy away from using those words simply because they were still in the category of "profanity." If that's the most realistic and effective word to use, that's the most realistic and effective word to use.
Perhaps this is why most profanity in film doesn't bother me anymore, and lately I seem not to have a lot of qualms with writing it (though I'm betting this is a phase, and I'm already fairly positive my feature-length screenplay project will not call for a lot of it, since in some ways it really can be a lazy man's way out when it comes to writing). Profanity in many ways just doesn't seem like profanity anymore.
This begs the question: Are they any real curse words left? Are there any words that are still so taboo that society hasn't yet accepted them, and thus they haven't made their way into many films? I can only think of one: cunt. I think I've heard that used in a movie maybe 2-3 times, and each time it caught me off guard (as it probably was intended to). You just don't hear it a lot in movies because you don't hear it a lot in real life - it's still very much unacceptable. However, words like "fuck" and "cock" and "pussy" and "bitch" are now very much acceptable, and very much realistic, as they are very much used (at least by most of the people I know). In many ways, like "hell" and "damn" before them, they have made the transition from "curse word" to "regular/okay word."
Anyways, regular or not, I still don't use them in real life. I guess it's the way I was brought up - it would feel unnatural to curse (and I still notice when I hear them, if that makes sense), even though I guess I really don't have much of a problem with most curse words today, and wonder if they should even be considered curse words at all.
Wow, that was a long tangent.
Back to my screenwriting class. I will hopefully have a general outline of my big screenplay written by next Tuesday. I've discussed my idea with the professor, and we've both agreed that it's very risky. If handled improperly, it could really fall apart. So within the next few days I plan on sitting down and really figuring out how everything is going to piece together. I'm very excited about my idea, I just have to be careful how I develop it. Wish me luck.
Quotes of Da Moment:
"To love is to suffer. To avoid suffering one must not love. But then one suffers from not loving. Therefore to love is to suffer, not to love is to suffer. To suffer is to suffer. To be happy is to love. To be happy then is to suffer. But suffering makes one unhappy. Therefore, to be unhappy one must love, or love to suffer, or suffer from too much happiness. I hope you're getting this down."
--Woody Allen, Love and Death
"There's an important phrase that we use here, and I think it's time that you all learned it: Act as if. You understand what that means? Act as if you are the fucking President of this firm. Act as if you got a 9-inch cock. Okay? Act as if."
--Boiler Room
"A-B-C. A-Always, B-Be, C-Closing. Always be closing, always be closing."
--Glengarry Glen Ross
Life has been kicking my butt for the past few days. I've had my hands full keeping up with school, my various areas of employment, study abroad applications, tests, etc. For example: Today I went to finally work out the last part of my study abroad application. They've been giving me the run-around as to who I need to get to sign what for the past few weeks. So I went today to the two people I thought I was supposed to go to. It turned out I was supposed to see three other people as well. So, fed up with it all, I went right away to go see these people and get it all out of the way. The result: it's finally all done (I hope) and will be turned in tomorrow. However, I missed class in order to achieve this.
I've got three tests this week. I already had Sociology and Weather tests, which I began studying for a couple of hours before they began. Not cool. Also, this Friday I've got a Chinese test which I'm betting is not going to be very fun at all. With everything going on I haven't had as much time to focus on Chinese as I probably need.
Thank God for Netflix. There's nothing like running around all day, finishing everything you need to do, and being able to plop down on the couch and watch a good movie. I think I would have gone insane by now if I wasn't able to entertain my brain for an hour and a half every few days.
I recently saw two movies related to sales: Boiler Room and Glengarry Glen Ross. I got the first because a lot of Southwestern guys love it, and the second just because it seemed like every day or so for a week I heard someone mention it and how good it was. Both are decent films, particularly the latter. Boiler Room follows a young man who becomes a stock broker for a company that he discovers is ripping people off. A lot of the movie involves people making cold calls on the phone, trying to sell stuff. There were many times, particularly when they talked about selling (eg. the importance of the close), when I thought to myself, "Hey! That's like Southwestern!" Except, of course, that Southwestern is legit. Anyways, it's a decently entertaining film, except for the soundtrack which has too much rap for my tastes. Not fantastic, but good. Ben Affleck also makes an appearance in one scene and nearly steals the show.
Glengarry Glen Ross is written by famed playwright/screenwriter/director David Mamet, and follows four real estate salesman (again, phone calls) involved in an intense sales competition: the winner gets a Cadillac, the loser gets fired. Similar to Boiler Room, Alec Baldwin makes a killer cameo in which he basically sets up the entire film. It's only one scene, but I think it's probably the best performance I've ever seen of his. That's how good it is. I had heard from a lot of people that the dialogue in this movie was supposed to be excellent. At first, I didn't think so. That's mainly because I was expecting "excellent" to mean witty and humorous and original, Taratino or Kevin Smith style. With the exception of a couple lines here and there, the dialogue isn't that witty. However, it suddenly hit me after watching the film that the dialogue really flowed. It had a rhythm and a realness to it that a lot of films lack. Combined with incredible performances by all the leads, the result is a very good film that easily could have been boring since there are really only 2-3 main locations. It's obvious that it's based on a play, and that's probably where the strength of the dialogue comes from. Worth seeing.
This afternoon I was on a conference call with Billy Bob Thornton (star of The Astronaut Farmer), Mark Polish (writer of The Astronaut Farmer) and Michael Polish (writer/director of The Astronaut Farmer). Guess what movie the call was about? Anyways, it went well. I asked the Polish Brothers two questions. Billy Bob also happens to be a very funny guy.
I've got three advanced screening tickets: Ghost Rider, Reno 911: Miami, and Amazing Grace. I'll probably end up going to all three of them. I mention this only because it makes me feel good being able to see movies before the general public. Even if the movies suck.
Be warned: the following paragraphs involve a discussion of strong language, and contain strong language.
My screenwriting class is going awesome. I've been turning in my assignments, some of them receiving a more favorable response than others. I've noticed a detail that might be the sign of phase I'm going through: In the past two of three assignments, I've focused on two main characters. One character is pretty reserved and polite. The other is basically the exact opposite, and spews enough profanity to make Eddie Murphy blush. Okay, maybe not that much, but you get the idea. I wonder if my subconscious is trying to tell me something, or if perhaps this is simply due to the fact that lately I seem to have to be coming to terms with many polar opposites and conflicting forces. But anyways, after some deep thought, I have come to a realization that confirms a suspicion I've had for years now:
This is how people really talk, and this could arguably be considered regular English. Not quite, but almost.
I grew up listening to people complaining (and complaining myself) about the amount of profanity in movies. It's unrealistic, they said. It's just vulgarity for vulgarity's sake. There's no need for it.
I have come to realize that this is how people actually talk nowadays. And it's not because people in the movies said "fuck" one too many times. It's vice-versa. People in the movies say "fuck" because that's what people in real life say.
People like to complain about how Hollywood pollutes our culture. I'm not saying it doesn't - in fact, I think in many ways it does. However, at the same time, Hollywood just takes what's already present in a culture and puts it in movies. Writers go, "If I'm going to tell a story people relate to, I have to tell a story that contains real dialogue and real situations. My characters have to be like real people."
Consider this: Psycho was the first film to contain a toilet flushing. Before then, I guess studios thought it was too vulgar to make bathroom references. Before that, people probably freaked out when Clark Gable said "damn" in the famed line from Gone With The Wind. But one would be foolish to assume that "damn" was the most serious curse word floating around even back in 1939, or that it was unacceptable. In many ways, film has simply followed cultural values, rather than shape them. In 1939, "damn" was probably strong, but it wasn't strong enough not to be culturally acceptable. I'm sure a lot of the words people use today (if they were around then) would have been deemed too strong to use in that film. I'm sure certain words back then were so socially unacceptable that only a few people used them - hence them not being included in the film. But since "damn" was (I believe) used by a sizeable portion of the population, it was realistic to include it in a movie.
In 2007, "fuck" is 1939's "damn." I'm serious. The word is basically now an accepted part of the English language. The majority of my friends use it - at times, very frequently. Not because it's vulgar and they'd like to seem "cool" or "rebellious", but for the opposite reason. It's not vulgar anymore. It's acceptable. Is it still considered by some to be a strong, curse word? Yes. But people can say it without fear of being thought of as an offensive minority. If anything, they are an offensive majority. They say it not because their vocabulary is lacking, but simply because it's a common word. It can be used as nearly any part of speech, for a variety of intended effects. It can easily be shocking, or even comedic.
Therefore, is it unrealistic to have a lot of swearing in a film? No. In fact, one might even argue that it is necessary to have a lot of "swear words" in a film simply because so many people now use them so freely. Is it possible to go overboard? Absolutely. Like any other word, curse words, if used in the wrong way, can make for some bad dialogue. Although a lot of people use a lot of profanity, they don't use it a couple times in every sentence. However, nowadays it would be foolish to shy away from using those words simply because they were still in the category of "profanity." If that's the most realistic and effective word to use, that's the most realistic and effective word to use.
Perhaps this is why most profanity in film doesn't bother me anymore, and lately I seem not to have a lot of qualms with writing it (though I'm betting this is a phase, and I'm already fairly positive my feature-length screenplay project will not call for a lot of it, since in some ways it really can be a lazy man's way out when it comes to writing). Profanity in many ways just doesn't seem like profanity anymore.
This begs the question: Are they any real curse words left? Are there any words that are still so taboo that society hasn't yet accepted them, and thus they haven't made their way into many films? I can only think of one: cunt. I think I've heard that used in a movie maybe 2-3 times, and each time it caught me off guard (as it probably was intended to). You just don't hear it a lot in movies because you don't hear it a lot in real life - it's still very much unacceptable. However, words like "fuck" and "cock" and "pussy" and "bitch" are now very much acceptable, and very much realistic, as they are very much used (at least by most of the people I know). In many ways, like "hell" and "damn" before them, they have made the transition from "curse word" to "regular/okay word."
Anyways, regular or not, I still don't use them in real life. I guess it's the way I was brought up - it would feel unnatural to curse (and I still notice when I hear them, if that makes sense), even though I guess I really don't have much of a problem with most curse words today, and wonder if they should even be considered curse words at all.
Wow, that was a long tangent.
Back to my screenwriting class. I will hopefully have a general outline of my big screenplay written by next Tuesday. I've discussed my idea with the professor, and we've both agreed that it's very risky. If handled improperly, it could really fall apart. So within the next few days I plan on sitting down and really figuring out how everything is going to piece together. I'm very excited about my idea, I just have to be careful how I develop it. Wish me luck.
Quotes of Da Moment:
"To love is to suffer. To avoid suffering one must not love. But then one suffers from not loving. Therefore to love is to suffer, not to love is to suffer. To suffer is to suffer. To be happy is to love. To be happy then is to suffer. But suffering makes one unhappy. Therefore, to be unhappy one must love, or love to suffer, or suffer from too much happiness. I hope you're getting this down."
--Woody Allen, Love and Death
"There's an important phrase that we use here, and I think it's time that you all learned it: Act as if. You understand what that means? Act as if you are the fucking President of this firm. Act as if you got a 9-inch cock. Okay? Act as if."
--Boiler Room
"A-B-C. A-Always, B-Be, C-Closing. Always be closing, always be closing."
--Glengarry Glen Ross
# posted by Andrew Johnson : 2/15/2007 01:26:00 AM 
