I never would have predicted it, but apparently Terrence Malick has morphed into a modern day William Castle. Yes, Virginia, there still is showmanship in filmmaking. It appears that Terrence Malick's most recent film, The New World will be shown in Smellovision at a Japanese theater displaying the epic.
Had someone told me that the director of Badlands, Days of Heaven, and A Thin Red Line, who happens to be a former philosophy professor at MIT by the way, would have a film "enhanced" by a scent producing process, I would have told them that it sounds like a John Waters movie. Oh, and before you start yelling, "But Mike Todd invented Smell-o-vision," I can read, I just think that William Castle embodies the showman/filmmaker character. Check out the list of gimmicks he used in movies at his Wikipedia entry, or ask my friend Jay if you have any questions about Castle.
BTW, the effect in his version of Thirteen Ghosts is nothing short of genius. If you watch the film with the ghost revealing glasses, and then once without them, you are watching two very different films. In the first version, the ghosts are real and in the second they aren't, yet the film still works. Good Stuff.
Apparently, according to the blurb that is the article, the idea of using Smell-o-vision is that of the theater and not Malick...too bad, it was nice to dream that some director still valued showmanship surrounding their creations.
On a side note, before you think that the idea of people with advanced degrees in philosophy making cheesy genre films is unlikely, don't forget Wes Craven.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Movie Games for Cinefiles
People like to play games and have interesting conversations. Combine this with the number of people who love to watch movies, it is natural that people would make conversation games about the film industry. When it comes to "movie conversation games" the giant on the mountain is 7 Degrees of Kevin Bacon, but my wife (Bacon number 3) and I (Bacon number 3) aren't very good at the game. Actually it's surprising given how many movies we've seen, but we aren't very good at the Degrees of Kevin Bacon game.
My wife and I prefer to play a game called "The Life of ____." In this game we treat an actor's career as if it were a single lifetime. For example, after learning how to travel through time and learning history Keanu Reeves becomes depressed after his "princess babe" dies he dates a terminally ill Cherlize Theron. Due to her rejection he studies the occult, attempts suicide, goes to hell, comes back and fights evil as John Constantine. The point of the game is to fill in the gaps of how the "avatar" went from one role to another, but as if they were the same person. This can become difficult when an actor, say John Wayne, plays characters who lived in different time periods.
So my wife and I borrowed a note from the Wold Newton Universe idea, a creaton of Philip Jose Farmer, and pretend that the later characters are decendants of the original. The Wold Newton Universe is a fictional universe where Farmer postulates that famous characters from fiction are related to one another as decendants. On of the best uses of this concept was in his book Tarzan Alive which included a fictional geneology for Tarzan, the book was a "fictional biography" that was written as if Tarzan had really lived.
So in our modified game the John Wayne of She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is the ancestor of him in Green Berets. It's even more interesting when you discover wonderful things like that Merlin is the ancestor of Sherlock Holmes and Little John, or that Henry VII is the decendant of Quint the ship captain and Custer.
I'm still trying to figure out if Neo is the decendant of Ted Theodore Logan or him later in life. The whole time travel question adds new dimensions to the game.
In case you were wondering...my wife was an extra (and director's assistant) on Chumscrubber which has a large number of Bacon Number 2 stars, and she was also an extra in Sister Act with more Bacon Number 2's. I was an intern on Joy Ride with Steve Zahn (Bacon Number 2).
My wife and I prefer to play a game called "The Life of ____." In this game we treat an actor's career as if it were a single lifetime. For example, after learning how to travel through time and learning history Keanu Reeves becomes depressed after his "princess babe" dies he dates a terminally ill Cherlize Theron. Due to her rejection he studies the occult, attempts suicide, goes to hell, comes back and fights evil as John Constantine. The point of the game is to fill in the gaps of how the "avatar" went from one role to another, but as if they were the same person. This can become difficult when an actor, say John Wayne, plays characters who lived in different time periods.
So my wife and I borrowed a note from the Wold Newton Universe idea, a creaton of Philip Jose Farmer, and pretend that the later characters are decendants of the original. The Wold Newton Universe is a fictional universe where Farmer postulates that famous characters from fiction are related to one another as decendants. On of the best uses of this concept was in his book Tarzan Alive which included a fictional geneology for Tarzan, the book was a "fictional biography" that was written as if Tarzan had really lived.
So in our modified game the John Wayne of She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is the ancestor of him in Green Berets. It's even more interesting when you discover wonderful things like that Merlin is the ancestor of Sherlock Holmes and Little John, or that Henry VII is the decendant of Quint the ship captain and Custer.
I'm still trying to figure out if Neo is the decendant of Ted Theodore Logan or him later in life. The whole time travel question adds new dimensions to the game.
Monday, April 10, 2006
80stalgia
Often when I am sick, in bed, at home I flip the channels and pass an 80s classic film. The moment my fingers have found Pretty in Pink or The Breakfast Club, I become overwhelmed with 80stalgia. I become sad wondering where all the people I knew in High School are today.
It is surprising to me how few I kept in touch with as the years passed. And what is even more odd, is that my lack of contact has nothing to do with a lack of desire. I am just too lazy to correspond as much as I ought.
Oh, and before you think that I am like Robert E. Howard, or his creation, and filled with "gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth" due to some crisis or state of adulthood, I have always been this way. I was nostagic for lost friends when I was in high school, and when I was in college. I moved a lot and communicated insufficiently. Most of the time, I am free of any kind of nostalgia, but those darn 80s movies get me every time.
It is surprising to me how few I kept in touch with as the years passed. And what is even more odd, is that my lack of contact has nothing to do with a lack of desire. I am just too lazy to correspond as much as I ought.
Oh, and before you think that I am like Robert E. Howard, or his creation, and filled with "gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth" due to some crisis or state of adulthood, I have always been this way. I was nostagic for lost friends when I was in high school, and when I was in college. I moved a lot and communicated insufficiently. Most of the time, I am free of any kind of nostalgia, but those darn 80s movies get me every time.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Is Dungeons and Dragons Online Really Dungeons and Dragons?
Last month Dungeons and Dragons Online (DDO) went live for the game playing public. It seems odd that a Dungeons and Dragons based massive multiplayer online roleplaying game would take so long to come into existence. D&D was the first roleplaying game and I was one of many who hoped that it would also be one of the first game IPs (intellectual properties) to navigate the unexplored waters of the interwebonetosphere.
The Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game is one step closer to a fantasy every roleplayer has had from time to time, total immersion, and D&D's founders and players have speculated about such games for a long time. Total immersion speculation, and fiction, are as old as roleplaying itself. Shortly after the original D&D came out Andre Norton wrote the novel Quag Keep
where D&D players find themselves inserted into the World of Greyhawk (a D&D game world). Joel Rosenberg wrote a series of fantasy novels where players are transported into a fantasy roleplaying environment with his Guardians of the Flame Series. Science fiction authors Larry Niven and Steven Barnes combined the joy of roleplaying games with Michael Crichton's Westworld in Dream Park, a kind of rpg Disneyland.
Combining roleplaying and player immersion has had a lively life in fiction, but it has also been becoming a reality with the creation of Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games. In these games, the players are able to actually see the world they are interacting with (rather than merely imagining as with table-top rpgs) and are able to design the appearance of their own avatar. Even the world's worst artist can have a great looking character thanks to skilled graphics programmers. MMORPGs make the mechanics of play largely transparent to the player which has the effect of minimizing, but not eliminating, metagaming. Metagaming is when players think of game effects in terms of mechanics rather than narrative. In a table-top session, metagaming can (but doesn't always) detract from the illusion many players attempt to create when playing rpgs. In other words, baring the invention of the holodeck (or interdimensional accidents like that in the D&D cartoon) MMORPGs are the closest thing to total immersion in existence today.
MMORPGs, in one form or another, have been in existance since around 1978, but those were text based affairs that didn't in anyway capture the modern gaming experience. Actually, saying they existed in 1978 is like comparing Hack to Baldur's Gate, but the early text based MUD's were multiplayer gaming experiments. The first modern total immersion style MMORPG was Meridian 59 in 1996. My own personal first experience was Ultima Online (1997), followed by Everquest (1999), Asheron's Call (1999), City of Heroes (2004), and World of Warcraft (late 2004, though I started in 2005). I just recently started playing Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Given that the first modern MMORPG was created in 1996, and that most MMORPGs are based on D&D style "generic" (as opposed to genera)fantasy worlds, what took the owners of the Dungeons and Dragons IP so long in entering the marketplace?
I can think of quite a few reasons actually.
So...how did Turbine Entertainment do with their version of Dungeons and Dragons Online? For me, they did an almost perfect job. They captured the feel of D&D's newest game world, Eberron, combined it with a Player vs. Environment world which requires "adventuring parties" (groups of players) and doesn't require a large commitment of time to play.
Dungeons and Dragons Online, is just right for the casual MMORPG gamer like me. If you want to play your MMORPG and still have time to play pen and paper D&D on the weekends, it is certainly the game for you. The game, with minor exceptions, utilizes the mechanics of the Dungeons and Dragons game and integrates them into the MMORPG format with remarkable ease.
Which leads to my criticisms, or rather to the criticisms because none of these issues affect me as a player (well except one).
As the game currently stands a devoted player can finish all the dungeons and max out their character level in a relatively short time. Not me, I'm still Level 3 (rank 2), but the typical 1337 player who often plays MMORPGs won't be very satisfied and will quickly return to World of Warcraft. I see this as a good thing. I had "leet" power "doods" and prefer those who are there to have a good time.
The game is Player vs. Environment and lacks a Player vs. Player element. Many people enjoy PvP interaction in their massive multiplayer rpgs. They want to beat up on other people, defeating computer "bots" isn't sufficient for them. These gamers need MMORPGs to simulate the most dangerous game, killing real people. I tend not to like PvP players, finding that they are mean spirited and what they really want to do is be bullies to less experienced players. Traditionally, at least as Gygax and others present the game, the D&D game is players vs. environment with the DM as judge/narrator. Sometimes people viewed it as DM vs. Player, but that is short sighted and leads to unsatisfying gaming. Some players want "inter-party strife" and backstab for treasures etc. That tends to create short lived campaigns. Heroes battling evil, or villains conquering worlds, makes for good long term narrative and thus promotes campaign play. PvP elements tend to detract, in my opinion, from the overall enjoyment of an rpg. The day DDO goes PvP will be the day I unsubcribe.
The game doesn't perfectly reflect the rules of D&D. In DDO, there are spell points, 30 hit point first level characters, multiple ranks per level, and "free real-time" movement. If you want 5-foot steps and low hit points, this is not the game for you. The addition of multiple ranks per level comes with two key changes from the table top game. First, players essentially get one additional feat (ability) per rank (rather than once every 4 levels). Second, the current "10" level limit is in actuality closer to a 40 level limit in some respects. I understand that the emulation of D&D within the structure of a MMORPG requires some modification and these changes seem natural to me.
There is a great deal to praise about the Dungeons and Dragons Online MMORPG.
Graphically, it is beautiful. I love exploring new areas just to see what they look like. Turbine's game is more demanding in its hardware requirements than World of Warcraft, for good and for ill. By requiring more power, they were able to make the world look richer, but they also narrowed their audience to people with newer (meaning in the 21st century) computers.
The music and sound effects are great. My favorite adaptation/innovation is the incorporation of an omnicient DM voice when you enter some areas of dungeons. I was pleasantly surprised when I was informed that my ability to "Listen" revealed the sound of air passing beneath a wall. The DM voice narrates and describes dungeon environments and provides clues to players based on the skills they have selected. What this means is that the gaming experience is altered by your skill choices, cool innovation.
But when it comes to why I will continue playing DDO rather than other MMORPGs it's really very simple. When I sit down and play for a mere two-hours, I can accomplish an adventure and meet new people. In fact, I am required to interact with others. Recluses can have a heyday on World of Warcraft, but they would have a rough time on DDO. My only hope is that I start to find more people who want to play DDO in character.
If you are one of them Soulfinder Symbol is waiting to help you in your quest to fight the forces of the Dragon Below.
The Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game is one step closer to a fantasy every roleplayer has had from time to time, total immersion, and D&D's founders and players have speculated about such games for a long time. Total immersion speculation, and fiction, are as old as roleplaying itself. Shortly after the original D&D came out Andre Norton wrote the novel Quag Keep
where D&D players find themselves inserted into the World of Greyhawk (a D&D game world). Joel Rosenberg wrote a series of fantasy novels where players are transported into a fantasy roleplaying environment with his Guardians of the Flame Series. Science fiction authors Larry Niven and Steven Barnes combined the joy of roleplaying games with Michael Crichton's Westworld in Dream Park, a kind of rpg Disneyland. Combining roleplaying and player immersion has had a lively life in fiction, but it has also been becoming a reality with the creation of Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games. In these games, the players are able to actually see the world they are interacting with (rather than merely imagining as with table-top rpgs) and are able to design the appearance of their own avatar. Even the world's worst artist can have a great looking character thanks to skilled graphics programmers. MMORPGs make the mechanics of play largely transparent to the player which has the effect of minimizing, but not eliminating, metagaming. Metagaming is when players think of game effects in terms of mechanics rather than narrative. In a table-top session, metagaming can (but doesn't always) detract from the illusion many players attempt to create when playing rpgs. In other words, baring the invention of the holodeck (or interdimensional accidents like that in the D&D cartoon) MMORPGs are the closest thing to total immersion in existence today.
MMORPGs, in one form or another, have been in existance since around 1978, but those were text based affairs that didn't in anyway capture the modern gaming experience. Actually, saying they existed in 1978 is like comparing Hack to Baldur's Gate, but the early text based MUD's were multiplayer gaming experiments. The first modern total immersion style MMORPG was Meridian 59 in 1996. My own personal first experience was Ultima Online (1997), followed by Everquest (1999), Asheron's Call (1999), City of Heroes (2004), and World of Warcraft (late 2004, though I started in 2005). I just recently started playing Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Given that the first modern MMORPG was created in 1996, and that most MMORPGs are based on D&D style "generic" (as opposed to genera)fantasy worlds, what took the owners of the Dungeons and Dragons IP so long in entering the marketplace?
I can think of quite a few reasons actually.
First, in 1996 TSR --the company who created Dungeons and Dragons-- had ceased to make games of any sort and were on the verge of extinction. The company had tried to emulate the success of trading card games with its own collectible dice game. They over invested in that game while simultaneously branching into new areas in its tried and true RPG line. They overpublished Dragon Dice, and they overpublished new game worlds in 1995. The company was in the process of being purchased by another entity, Wizards of the Coast, and had little to no room to think about expanding into new markets.
Second, the "standard" computer RPGs for the D&D game were highly successful and set a very high standard of playability. If a D&D MMORPG were to come out, it would be instantly compared to the existing games based on the Baldur's Gate engine.
Third, as soon as Wizards purchased TSR they began planning for a new edition of the D&D game with new rules and character design innovations based on the past 20+ years of roleplaying "playtesting." If the D&D MMORPG wanted to emulate the experience, it would have to reflect these changes. Most players of a D&D MMORPG would want it to "feel" D&D and not like some random other MMORPG.
Fourth, the separation of player and Dungeon Master in the traditional rpg gaming format. Bioware's re-designed Neverwinter Nights was a genuine attempt to create computer based roleplaying where a dungeon master could design the adventures and the players could play them. It was, and is, an extraordinary game and for many makes the idea of an MMORPG unnecessary.
Fifth, game world. Which of D&D's many game worlds would be used in the creation of an MMORPG? Greyhawk? The Forgotten Realms? Mystara? Dark Sun? D&D has a lot of worlds and each has its own very devoted fans. Choose one world and you might lose potential clients who are fans of the others.
Sixth, the expectations for a game based on the original roleplaying game were huge. Whoever was to create the game would have to be willing to be under electron-microscope-like scrutiny. No matter what was made there would be detractors.
So...how did Turbine Entertainment do with their version of Dungeons and Dragons Online? For me, they did an almost perfect job. They captured the feel of D&D's newest game world, Eberron, combined it with a Player vs. Environment world which requires "adventuring parties" (groups of players) and doesn't require a large commitment of time to play.
Dungeons and Dragons Online, is just right for the casual MMORPG gamer like me. If you want to play your MMORPG and still have time to play pen and paper D&D on the weekends, it is certainly the game for you. The game, with minor exceptions, utilizes the mechanics of the Dungeons and Dragons game and integrates them into the MMORPG format with remarkable ease.
Which leads to my criticisms, or rather to the criticisms because none of these issues affect me as a player (well except one).
As the game currently stands a devoted player can finish all the dungeons and max out their character level in a relatively short time. Not me, I'm still Level 3 (rank 2), but the typical 1337 player who often plays MMORPGs won't be very satisfied and will quickly return to World of Warcraft. I see this as a good thing. I had "leet" power "doods" and prefer those who are there to have a good time.
The game is Player vs. Environment and lacks a Player vs. Player element. Many people enjoy PvP interaction in their massive multiplayer rpgs. They want to beat up on other people, defeating computer "bots" isn't sufficient for them. These gamers need MMORPGs to simulate the most dangerous game, killing real people. I tend not to like PvP players, finding that they are mean spirited and what they really want to do is be bullies to less experienced players. Traditionally, at least as Gygax and others present the game, the D&D game is players vs. environment with the DM as judge/narrator. Sometimes people viewed it as DM vs. Player, but that is short sighted and leads to unsatisfying gaming. Some players want "inter-party strife" and backstab for treasures etc. That tends to create short lived campaigns. Heroes battling evil, or villains conquering worlds, makes for good long term narrative and thus promotes campaign play. PvP elements tend to detract, in my opinion, from the overall enjoyment of an rpg. The day DDO goes PvP will be the day I unsubcribe.
The game doesn't perfectly reflect the rules of D&D. In DDO, there are spell points, 30 hit point first level characters, multiple ranks per level, and "free real-time" movement. If you want 5-foot steps and low hit points, this is not the game for you. The addition of multiple ranks per level comes with two key changes from the table top game. First, players essentially get one additional feat (ability) per rank (rather than once every 4 levels). Second, the current "10" level limit is in actuality closer to a 40 level limit in some respects. I understand that the emulation of D&D within the structure of a MMORPG requires some modification and these changes seem natural to me.
There is a great deal to praise about the Dungeons and Dragons Online MMORPG.
Graphically, it is beautiful. I love exploring new areas just to see what they look like. Turbine's game is more demanding in its hardware requirements than World of Warcraft, for good and for ill. By requiring more power, they were able to make the world look richer, but they also narrowed their audience to people with newer (meaning in the 21st century) computers.
The music and sound effects are great. My favorite adaptation/innovation is the incorporation of an omnicient DM voice when you enter some areas of dungeons. I was pleasantly surprised when I was informed that my ability to "Listen" revealed the sound of air passing beneath a wall. The DM voice narrates and describes dungeon environments and provides clues to players based on the skills they have selected. What this means is that the gaming experience is altered by your skill choices, cool innovation.
But when it comes to why I will continue playing DDO rather than other MMORPGs it's really very simple. When I sit down and play for a mere two-hours, I can accomplish an adventure and meet new people. In fact, I am required to interact with others. Recluses can have a heyday on World of Warcraft, but they would have a rough time on DDO. My only hope is that I start to find more people who want to play DDO in character.
If you are one of them Soulfinder Symbol is waiting to help you in your quest to fight the forces of the Dragon Below.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
DVDs, The Future, and Kong
Bill Cunningham of DISContent works in the Direct to DVD industry and sees the future of the entertainment industry in the models being developed due to DVD sales. That is to say that he understands that there has been a sea change in the sources of filmmaking profits. The majority of profit, and revenue, comes from DVD sales. Bill, as he mentioned in his piece on Netflix, understands that DVD sales (like any other medium for entertainment delivery) are not the "future" of the film industry, they are the "now." The future will lie in an even more demand driven model. Whether that model will be On Demand, or another, remains to be seen. One thing is certain, the industry had better remain flexible. For the most part it has, but there are some dinosaurs who see projected celluloid (or digital images) as the only medium there is to watch movies.
Let's face it, I love going to the theater to catch movies on the big screen. I even believe that many movies are best seen in that environment. But I also believe that the best way to see La Boheme is in a theatre. That doesn't mean that it should, or rather will, be the primary means of distribution. Come on, are you really missing any of the subtleties of Herbie: Fully Loaded on your good sized television? And even if you have a film with subtle sound design like Kill Bill vol. 1 (vol. 2's sound isn't as "intentional" but that is another discussion), the film is still damn fine on the television. So long as you are watching movies in the proper aspect ratio, which varies from film to film, you aren't missing any of the director's vision and if you have a sophisticated sound system you are probably getting better sound at home than you would at the googleplex. Those Baby-Boomers don't want to shut up, if you know what I mean. For John Rogers over at Kung Fu Monkey it's the teens (BTW, it would cost almost $7.00/hr in CA not the $4.65 he proposes), but for me it has always been the Boomers.
Late last year, drudge and crew wanted to create a narrative wherein Kong was demonstrably a "flop." I responded fairly sternly. Well..it appears that not only was Kong not a flop in the theaters (its gross so far is $218 billion in the US and $544 billion total), it has apparently set a DVD sales record. Yet another sign that the now of visual entertainment is the DVD, and that market is largely about ownership not rental.
Let's face it, I love going to the theater to catch movies on the big screen. I even believe that many movies are best seen in that environment. But I also believe that the best way to see La Boheme is in a theatre. That doesn't mean that it should, or rather will, be the primary means of distribution. Come on, are you really missing any of the subtleties of Herbie: Fully Loaded on your good sized television? And even if you have a film with subtle sound design like Kill Bill vol. 1 (vol. 2's sound isn't as "intentional" but that is another discussion), the film is still damn fine on the television. So long as you are watching movies in the proper aspect ratio, which varies from film to film, you aren't missing any of the director's vision and if you have a sophisticated sound system you are probably getting better sound at home than you would at the googleplex. Those Baby-Boomers don't want to shut up, if you know what I mean. For John Rogers over at Kung Fu Monkey it's the teens (BTW, it would cost almost $7.00/hr in CA not the $4.65 he proposes), but for me it has always been the Boomers.
"Honey? Why are their frogs raining from the sky? And what does that have to do with Exodus 8:2?"
For the record: "8:2 And if thou refuse to let [them] go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs: "
Late last year, drudge and crew wanted to create a narrative wherein Kong was demonstrably a "flop." I responded fairly sternly. Well..it appears that not only was Kong not a flop in the theaters (its gross so far is $218 billion in the US and $544 billion total), it has apparently set a DVD sales record. Yet another sign that the now of visual entertainment is the DVD, and that market is largely about ownership not rental.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Opening Day
We have passed through the Void, largely unscathed, and reached the opening day of baseball.
We enter this year's season with hopes and worries. The World Baseball Classic gave us hope, hope that the game would expand to new markets, hope that a new era of international competition was beginning, and hope that American's could see how beautiful their national pastime is to watch.
The new book, Game of Shadows, with old allegations has us worried that people will let the sports writers create the narrative of the game. I'm not saying that steroids are not a serious issue for baseball, they are. But Game of Shadows is a re-presentation of the allegations, and evidence, which led Congress and the public to put pressure on baseball to have its current "3 strikes you're out" steroids policy. It seems small minded to me for the press to continue talking about the Bonds story as if it is new, rather than a continuation of an existing scandal.
Sports writers, contrary to the representation in Gehrig's speech in Pride of the Yankees, are the traditional "enemy" in baseball narratives. Think about The Natural (book and movie), Eight Men Out, The Southpaw, especially The Southpaw because there is no ambiguity regarding the protagonist's heroism. Remember that if sportswriters want to be more than presenters of statistics they have to find scandals or narratives of heroics. They need to tell stories in order to justify their existence. When few of the writers are talking about the amphetamine problems (""That's going to shake it up a little bit," Estrada said. "Amphetamines have been around since the days of Ty Cobb and Mickey Mantle. It was kept hush-hush and just accepted. Now that they're in the public eye, guys are getting criticized for taking them. I've heard guys say they'd retire if they can't take amphetamines. I don't know if they're joking or not.") of players, and focus on Steroids, they are overlooking the other problems of the game for the "crisis du'jour."
As anyone who studies baseball knows, cheating has always been a part of the game. It is baseball's dirty little secret. A-Rod "bumps" the first baseman, like Cobb used to "ram" the first basemen. Anyone who has read Old Time Baseball knows that a part of the great tradition of baseball is the correcting of past, less than moral, occurances.
Fritz once shared with me a funny bumper sticker regarding car racing, "There are two kinds of drivers...cheaters and losers." I think that the history of baseball is filled with this mentality. Even players who don't cheat won't hesitate to play as sneakily as the rules allow. The struggle of rules makers is to find the cheaters and punish them when they find them.
Let's enforce baseball's stricter new steroids policy. Let's not dwell in the past, recent or distant. Because, trust me, if you think there is some golden age when baseball was pure, I would be happy to talk with you about Mickey Mantle's bacterial infection and its causes or Joe D and his "wonderful treatment" of Marilyn Monroe.
We enter this year's season with hopes and worries. The World Baseball Classic gave us hope, hope that the game would expand to new markets, hope that a new era of international competition was beginning, and hope that American's could see how beautiful their national pastime is to watch.
The new book, Game of Shadows
, with old allegations has us worried that people will let the sports writers create the narrative of the game. I'm not saying that steroids are not a serious issue for baseball, they are. But Game of Shadows is a re-presentation of the allegations, and evidence, which led Congress and the public to put pressure on baseball to have its current "3 strikes you're out" steroids policy. It seems small minded to me for the press to continue talking about the Bonds story as if it is new, rather than a continuation of an existing scandal.Sports writers, contrary to the representation in Gehrig's speech in Pride of the Yankees, are the traditional "enemy" in baseball narratives. Think about The Natural (book and movie), Eight Men Out, The Southpaw, especially The Southpaw because there is no ambiguity regarding the protagonist's heroism. Remember that if sportswriters want to be more than presenters of statistics they have to find scandals or narratives of heroics. They need to tell stories in order to justify their existence. When few of the writers are talking about the amphetamine problems (""That's going to shake it up a little bit," Estrada said. "Amphetamines have been around since the days of Ty Cobb and Mickey Mantle. It was kept hush-hush and just accepted. Now that they're in the public eye, guys are getting criticized for taking them. I've heard guys say they'd retire if they can't take amphetamines. I don't know if they're joking or not.") of players, and focus on Steroids, they are overlooking the other problems of the game for the "crisis du'jour."
As anyone who studies baseball knows, cheating has always been a part of the game. It is baseball's dirty little secret. A-Rod "bumps" the first baseman, like Cobb used to "ram" the first basemen. Anyone who has read Old Time Baseball
knows that a part of the great tradition of baseball is the correcting of past, less than moral, occurances.Fritz once shared with me a funny bumper sticker regarding car racing, "There are two kinds of drivers...cheaters and losers." I think that the history of baseball is filled with this mentality. Even players who don't cheat won't hesitate to play as sneakily as the rules allow. The struggle of rules makers is to find the cheaters and punish them when they find them.
Let's enforce baseball's stricter new steroids policy. Let's not dwell in the past, recent or distant. Because, trust me, if you think there is some golden age when baseball was pure, I would be happy to talk with you about Mickey Mantle's bacterial infection and its causes or Joe D and his "wonderful treatment" of Marilyn Monroe.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Introduction
Christian has done something many would consider insane -- he's graciously allowed me to post here at Cinerati. I'm very excited for the opportunity to share in the conversation about pop culture on this blog. For those of you who don't know me, I have my own blog called Shouting Into the Wind where I typically blog about TV, film and specifically screenwriting. I hope to post on these topics here at Cinerati as well as whatever else I dream up.
So thanks, Christian for the invitation. I hope I don't let you down.
So thanks, Christian for the invitation. I hope I don't let you down.
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