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In which a Project is found
Dec. 21st, 2009 11:13 pmThe other night, I had a dream. In that dream, I was in a classroom (potentially a classroom in my high school, as the teacher was my high school history/theatre/politics teacher.) I was sitting for an exam in a subject that I know well, and though it was hard, I think that I did well. The subject?
Muppet History.
You see, I find a subject that interests me and I try to dive in and take in as much about it as I can. This is why I tend to own complete series of books and TV shows, why I own a truly ridiculous number of board games, why I own soundtracks to Broadway shows that most people have never heard of (e.g., "Sherry", James Lipton's musical adaptation of "The Man Who Came To Dinner" with Nathan Lane, Carol Burnett, and Bernadette Peters.) And, as evidenced by the dream that I was just talking about, why I know more about the Muppets than it's probably healthy for a nearly 30-year-old man to know.
A side effect of my enthusiasm for these things is that I talk about them. A lot. And while most of my friends share a lot of my interests, I do get self-conscious about it.
(I promise, this is going somewhere...)
A quick side-trek into seriousness: Lately, I've been worried about myself. Not that I think I'm a danger to myself or anything like that; I'm not depressed in any way. I'm worried that I'm losing cognitive ability. There have been times lately (and by "lately" I mean the last year or so) when putting together a coherent stream of thoughts has felt like thinking through a layer of cotton. This feeling has been especially prevalent when speaking or writing; the transition from idea to words has never felt like it needed to be forced or worked at until now. It's not fun, and it's a little scary.
So over the past day or so, these two trains of thought have converged into an idea for a project. Or, I suppose, since I'm blogging about it, it should be a Project.
I need something to occupy my time and my need to delve into a subject, and I need to write, to exercise that part of my brain that translates concepts to language. Also, to become a better writer (I hope.)
It was while I was thinking about this last night that I started watching "It's A Wonderful Life" for the first time. That's right, folks. I managed to turn 28 without ever having seen that movie. And you know what? I regret that. But more on that later.
While I watched it, I did what I always do: I went to the wikipedia page on the movie, and then to the tvtropes page, and then to the wikipedia article on Jimmy Stewart and...
...and holy cow, I think I just found something new to study in my amateur sort of way.
There are a lot of areas that I know a lot about when it comes to film and television. The aforemention Muppets. Doctor Who. QI and the other works of Stephen Fry. British comedy in general. Film Noir. Fantasy epics of the modern era. Musicals. But there's a gaping hole when it comes to classics of the 40s and 50s that AREN'T noir or musicals. As an actor, as a director, even as a "movie person", I should be a little ashamed by that!
So with the encouragement of some good friends over on Facebook, I'm going to watch classic films and write about them, starting with several Jimmy Stewart movies, then moving on to Cary Grant, and who knows where it'll go from there. I'm certainly open to suggestions. I can't think of a catchy name for the Project at the moment (The JMS/JMS Project is too derivative after all, and not many people know that Stewart's middle name was Maitland anyway), but maybe one will come to me. In the end, I hope that what I write about the movies will spark discussion, reaction, maybe prompt you to see something you haven't seen.
Two posts to follow this one in the next 24 hours: one with the current list of movies on the list, and then the first movie-specific post for "It's A Wonderful Life".
Muppet History.
You see, I find a subject that interests me and I try to dive in and take in as much about it as I can. This is why I tend to own complete series of books and TV shows, why I own a truly ridiculous number of board games, why I own soundtracks to Broadway shows that most people have never heard of (e.g., "Sherry", James Lipton's musical adaptation of "The Man Who Came To Dinner" with Nathan Lane, Carol Burnett, and Bernadette Peters.) And, as evidenced by the dream that I was just talking about, why I know more about the Muppets than it's probably healthy for a nearly 30-year-old man to know.
A side effect of my enthusiasm for these things is that I talk about them. A lot. And while most of my friends share a lot of my interests, I do get self-conscious about it.
(I promise, this is going somewhere...)
A quick side-trek into seriousness: Lately, I've been worried about myself. Not that I think I'm a danger to myself or anything like that; I'm not depressed in any way. I'm worried that I'm losing cognitive ability. There have been times lately (and by "lately" I mean the last year or so) when putting together a coherent stream of thoughts has felt like thinking through a layer of cotton. This feeling has been especially prevalent when speaking or writing; the transition from idea to words has never felt like it needed to be forced or worked at until now. It's not fun, and it's a little scary.
So over the past day or so, these two trains of thought have converged into an idea for a project. Or, I suppose, since I'm blogging about it, it should be a Project.
I need something to occupy my time and my need to delve into a subject, and I need to write, to exercise that part of my brain that translates concepts to language. Also, to become a better writer (I hope.)
It was while I was thinking about this last night that I started watching "It's A Wonderful Life" for the first time. That's right, folks. I managed to turn 28 without ever having seen that movie. And you know what? I regret that. But more on that later.
While I watched it, I did what I always do: I went to the wikipedia page on the movie, and then to the tvtropes page, and then to the wikipedia article on Jimmy Stewart and...
...and holy cow, I think I just found something new to study in my amateur sort of way.
There are a lot of areas that I know a lot about when it comes to film and television. The aforemention Muppets. Doctor Who. QI and the other works of Stephen Fry. British comedy in general. Film Noir. Fantasy epics of the modern era. Musicals. But there's a gaping hole when it comes to classics of the 40s and 50s that AREN'T noir or musicals. As an actor, as a director, even as a "movie person", I should be a little ashamed by that!
So with the encouragement of some good friends over on Facebook, I'm going to watch classic films and write about them, starting with several Jimmy Stewart movies, then moving on to Cary Grant, and who knows where it'll go from there. I'm certainly open to suggestions. I can't think of a catchy name for the Project at the moment (The JMS/JMS Project is too derivative after all, and not many people know that Stewart's middle name was Maitland anyway), but maybe one will come to me. In the end, I hope that what I write about the movies will spark discussion, reaction, maybe prompt you to see something you haven't seen.
Two posts to follow this one in the next 24 hours: one with the current list of movies on the list, and then the first movie-specific post for "It's A Wonderful Life".
