Movie/TV recommendations

[ThunderPeel2001]

I haven't seen the show (hadn't heard of it till you mentioned it actually) so I may have got the wrong idea here, but here's the problem I'm seeing:

Telling people they are beautiful when they are not is counter productive. This perpetuates the idea that beauty is the be all and end all and will only ever end in tears for the vast majority people. What you should be saying is that not being beautiful is OK. Most people aren't beautiful, if they were it would just be called being normal.

As I say I haven't seen the show, this is just my impression of it, so I could be way off base here.

Yeah, you're a little off base here, IMHO. I think it's more about improving self-confidence and self-esteem, not about telling people that "beauty is the most important thing in the world". I do think it's genuinely a good show because it goes against the commonly sold belief that airbrushed pictures of women in magazines are what constitutes beauty... and anyone who doesn't look like those women should just curl up into a ball and die. That's my take, anyway.

Also: I can't believe we're discussing Gok Wan.

On a different note, how did your other London interview go, Signor?

[Nachimir]

I've often wondered how actors and actresses who are cast to play ugly/fat characters (or ones that are utterly contradictory to any kind of widely held physical ideal) deal with their self-image. There has to be a level of healthy self-acceptance there somewhere.

[Scrobbs]

Yeah, you're a little off base here, IMHO. I think it's more about improving self-confidence and self-esteem, not about telling people that "beauty is the most important thing in the world". I do think it's genuinely a good show because it goes against the commonly sold belief that airbrushed pictures of women in magazines are what constitutes beauty... and anyone who doesn't look like those women should just curl up into a ball and die. That's my take, anyway.

This. I can't beleive we're discussing Gok Wan either... and I brought it up!

[Wrestlevania]

The new Doctor Who special was craaaap. It had material for one crappish episode, but was twice as long. I can't wait for Moffat to be in the reins. At least I can hope the series will be better.

Just switched it off around the 20 minute mark, when they

climb aboard that fucking stupid novelty robot and race off

.

Was actually looking forward to The Waters of Mars, but it's clear all the original ideas and decent writing disappeared a long time ago. It's just weakly written, poorly directed, generically/predictably/badly cast filler now. Doubly so, seeing as they managed to drag this one out into two hours.

Still think the early "new Who" stuff was good though, especially the Dalek story.

[eljay]

Doubly so, seeing as they managed to drag this one out into two hours.

It's only one hour long, but yeah it wasn't exactly great. Here's hopping Moffat does a grand job with the new series!

[Psych]

I've often wondered how actors and actresses who are cast to play ugly/fat characters (or ones that are utterly contradictory to any kind of widely held physical ideal) deal with their self-image. There has to be a level of healthy self-acceptance there somewhere.

It probably helps that in TV and movies ugly is still pretty good looking.

[Nachimir]

Touché, but I mean, really. Not all actors and actresses are good looking. They tend to be, but some of them are, you know, just very good at what they do instead.

It reminds me of a guy who pitched during one of our projects. He was tall, fat for his height, and wearing a tiny t-shirt that was way too short and let his belly poke out of the bottom. He then got out a pink PSP to show mockups on. He noticed the panel he was pitching to start snickering, and came straight back, in a broad northern accent, with "Look, I know I look funny and have a pink PSP, but I'm happy with that. I'm secure with myself and know who I am". His pitch was bloody excellent.

[DanJW]

I forgot that season 6 of House had started.

And fuck me if the opening feature-length episode isn't a fantastic, sublime piece of television. Breaking the format really worked (and indeed the episode is named 'Broken').

Now to watch episode 2... err it's called 'Epic Fail' and starts inside a computer game. Hmm....

[ThunderPeel2001]

It reminds me of a guy who pitched during one of our projects. He was tall, fat for his height, and wearing a tiny t-shirt that was way too short and let his belly poke out of the bottom. He then got out a pink PSP to show mockups on. He noticed the panel he was pitching to start snickering, and came straight back, in a broad northern accent, with "Look, I know I look funny and have a pink PSP, but I'm happy with that. I'm secure with myself and know who I am". His pitch was bloody excellent.

That's awesome.

[Psych]

It reminds me of a guy who pitched during one of our projects. He was tall, fat for his height, and wearing a tiny t-shirt that was way too short and let his belly poke out of the bottom. He then got out a pink PSP to show mockups on. He noticed the panel he was pitching to start snickering, and came straight back, in a broad northern accent, with "Look, I know I look funny and have a pink PSP, but I'm happy with that. I'm secure with myself and know who I am". His pitch was bloody excellent.

There's being fat and there's being a slob. You should never leave the house without a shirt that covers your entire gut, even if you have to knock out a wall to do so.

[toblix]

Hey, did you want to shit into my brain? Sorry, I already (just) watched 2012. I intentionally set my expectations really low for the movie as a whole, as I was just watching it for its destruction CGI and I've seen some of Emmerich's other films. Even expecting a huge stinking piece of shit it managed to disappoint. It was weird -- the destruction sequences were amazing, and worth the price of admission alone, but all the scenes where continental shelves weren't flying through the air into exploding skyscrapers were even more awful than I had braced myself for. Especially the second half was just horrible. I hope they release a destruction-only cut of this on Blu-ray, because those scenes were glorious.

[Nachimir]

There's being fat and there's being a slob. You should never leave the house without a shirt that covers your entire gut, even if you have to knock out a wall to do so.

That comes over as really patronising.

If you can manifest the charm to carry it off, it really doesn't matter. Learned this during a week when I was making something or other, made no effort to dress well at all, shave etc., and needed to go to various places to ask advice and pick up materials. I looked like shit, but because I was feeling confident and excited about what I was doing, everyone was helpful and a couple of them went to extraordinary lengths to help.

Basically, you're free to feel however about whoever, and they're free and often perfectly justified in thinking "fuck how you feel about me". Your appearance influences initial judgements, but behaviour influences people a fuck ton more when it comes to actual interaction.

[brkl]

Touché, but I mean, really. Not all actors and actresses are good looking. They tend to be, but some of them are, you know, just very good at what they do instead.

I wonder if Psych is British. British television is pretty comfortable with hideous (but excellent and often really charismatic in their peculiar way!) creatures like whoever plays Dalziel in Dalziel and Pascoe. US Television... not so much. Some ugly people, obviously, but pretty much all above average.

I actually have quite a lot to say about this subject, in theory, but I can't really put all that into words very well. It's a difficult issue. I started thinking about it after befriending a number of girls who, in different ways, do not represent the actress/model standard of beauty and seeing them struggle with their self-esteem.

I think even discussing beauty using just that simple term paints a picture of people's (well, men's really) tastes basically reflecting game review scores. Women's looks are a scale that runs to a 100. 80 is acceptable, 70 is not really, no one is a 100 etc. But it's just way, way more complicated than that. Women simply do not have to be beautiful in the way portrayed by the media in order to find men to fawn over them. And I don't mean that men will overlook a "plain" face or a non-sickly body because of personality, but will actually find ordinary women attractive.

That's only some of it, I could try to say more about stuff like dual (or more...) standards of beauty people have (what they think they like, what they actually like, and what they feel they should like), but I just don't have a clear picture. Brain hurts.

[Psych]

That comes over as really patronising.

No, that comes over as insulting, which is pretty much how I intended it. But it's not only me that feels this way, try showing up to an interview (for something other than life guard) in flip flops and you'll see what I mean.

I wonder if Psych is British.

Nope. American

[brkl]

Yeah, that's what I was going for. What Nachimir sees on the tv daily is a different from what you see. Not completely, but substantially.

[Psych]

Well you're right about that. We even have a show called Ugly Betty starring a woman who is quite attractive in real life.

[Thyroid]

I saw the first episode of Skins today. I thought it was interesting, and they set-up the series nicely. It's a little exaggerated, I guess, but it was a little eerie how much these kids resembled people I know.

I guess I'll watch the rest while I search for a copy of the first season of The Wire. Seems worth watching.

[Nachimir]

What Nachimir sees on the tv daily is a different from what you see. Not completely, but substantially.

I don't watch much TV, but yeah, I've noticed that as a distinct difference between British and American casting.

Psych, it's true there are pragmatic and contextual limits, but they're not concrete. They shift based on people's charisma, and the amount of sensitivity and snobbishness surrounding them too. In turn, all of those shift depending on not just personality, but also how good or bad a day someone is having, how vulnerable they feel, etc.

Beyond those you're free to dictate what people should and shouldn't wear as if they're absolutes, but you'll just sound like an ass. To clarify: the guy you just called a slob pitched a game to some powerful people, got prototype funding and now has it in greenlight, so screw your absolutes on how people should and shouldn't present themselves to each other.

[ThunderPeel2001]

No, that comes over as insulting, which is pretty much how I intended it. But it's not only me that feels this way, try showing up to an interview (for something other than life guard) in flip flops and you'll see what I mean.

What? In Nachimir's original story... The man in question WAS at a pitch for a job, and Nachimir WAS there to witness it

*shrugs*

I think it's pretty awesome if you can get people to look past your obviously garish exterior and see that you're actually a very talented and hard-working individual.

Edited November 21, 2009 by ThunderPeel2001

[Scrobbs]

Doesn't this dovetail nicely into what TP and I were saying why we thought Gok is good... He will see beauty in females that traditionally the media will ignore, and call ugly.

[Ben X]

Doesn't this dovetail nicely into what TP and I were saying why we thought Gok is good... He will see beauty in females that traditionally the media will ignore, and call ugly.

And then he tries to change them!

[ThunderPeel2001]

And then he tries to change them!

Yes, he tries to change their self-esteem from "low" to "high".

[vimes]

I might go to Pirate Radio too, soon. That was The Boat That Rocked in Europe, half a year back.

By the way, do you know how The Boat That Rocked was titled in France ?...

Good Morning England

[DanJW]

Heh, well done on possibly the first legitimate use of the SOILER tag

[Kolzig]

Hey, did you want to shit into my brain? Sorry, I already (just) watched 2012. I intentionally set my expectations really low for the movie as a whole, as I was just watching it for its destruction CGI and I've seen some of Emmerich's other films. Even expecting a huge stinking piece of shit it managed to disappoint. It was weird -- the destruction sequences were amazing, and worth the price of admission alone, but all the scenes where continental shelves weren't flying through the air into exploding skyscrapers were even more awful than I had braced myself for. Especially the second half was just horrible. I hope they release a destruction-only cut of this on Blu-ray, because those scenes were glorious.

I saw it also last weekend with my wife and it was really shitty movie. I didn't have any expectations about it, didn't even really want to see it, but my wife did so we went to watch it. Both of us shared the same opinions about it though after we left the theater. Too long, boring, bad and all about CGI.

Great news though on the theater front, my home town theater will finally and very surprisingly get a 3D movie theater! Apparently they will get some quite cool projector that can do about 4x the resolution of fullHD? I haven't followed up on movie projector technology so I don't know were they lying or not...