In honor of the Oscars last night, I thought I would write a post about dialogue, specifically in movies. Now, my favorite movie of all time is Pulp Fiction. In my humble opinion, the dialogue in that movie is unbelievable. Something about the interaction between the characters (especially Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta) thoroughly entertains me. For instance, I love the irony of the trivial conversation Jules and Vincent are having about cheeseburgers and foot massages right as they are about to kill three men.....Genius. Anyways, I won't ruin any more of the movie for you guys. Just go watch it and comment back after.
But I digress, let's discuss the dialogue in some of the nominated films this year.
#1. The King's Speech -I am going to be honest, I did not see this one. I'm going to be honest again: I had no desire to see this British period piece about speech impediments. However, The King's Speech took home the award for best picture, and I may just change my mind. Any movie that can win an Oscar despite such boring subject matter must have some superb dialogue.
#2. The Social Network - I did see this one, and I loved it. The dialogue (and the acting) was stellar. I found myself constantly entertained and emotionally invested in the characters. Jesse Eisenberg was fantastic and his lines were extraodinarily clever and biting and witty. I also thought Justin Timberlake did a great job as Sean Parker. The dialogue of the Social Network really engaged me and I caught myself getting pissed off at the characters of Zuckerberg and Parker. That's how I know that the dialogue was successful.
#3. Inception - I have seen Inception twice and neither time did I pay particular attention to the dialogue. However, looking back, I can definitely pick out spots where the dialogue really contributed to the character development and enhanced my viewing experience. The dialogue from Leo DiCaprio's wife in the movie is especially compelling. While it only occurs in brief spurts, the language in her lines really reveals the nature of her troubled and delusional state. The Oscar judges must have felt similarly, seeing as they nominated Inception for Best Original Screenplay.
#4. Inside Job - The final nominated film that I saw was the documentary Inside Job. I watched it for extra credit in my macroeconomics class and ended up liking it a lot. Now because this is a documentary, you may not think there is a lot of dialogue, which is true. However, there are numerous unscripted interviews that require strategic finessing and careful editing to produce the required result. In this case, the goal was to make all the elite bankers and politicians sound guilty and Inside Job definitely succeeded.
Now that I've taken a closer look at a few of these movies, I think the power of dialogue is clear. The things a character says are the best way for a viewer/reader to understand the character and become invested in the story. The language in dialogue is especially powerful because, it comes straight from the character, with no opportunity for miscommunication. In that way dialogue becomes realer than even the most detailed descriptions.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Wake Up Everybody!
This Sunday, the 2011 Grammy Award Ceremony took place. And while I was thoroughly amused by Lady Gaga's latest shenanigans, I was happily shocked when they announced the winner for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Wake Up Everybody by John Legend & The Roots (Feat. Common & Melanie Fiona) took home the Grammy much to my personal satisfaction. Now perhaps I should explain my happiness..... It seems to me that nowadays, the subject matter of most successful songs is all the same. Everywhere I look (or listen in this case), all I hear is someone singing or rapping about how much money they have or their bedroom escapades or how many drugs they have done/sold. And while I am certainly not opposed to all songs that may concern these topics, in my opinion it is getting a little old. That's why I was so excited when Wake Up Everybody won. Here is the video and the lyrics (originally written for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in 1975 - except Common's verse) :
Wake up everybody
No more sleeping in bed
No more backward thinking,
Time for thinking ahead
The world has changed
So very much
From what is used to be
There is so much hatred
War and poverty
Wake up all the teachers
Time to teach a new way
Maybe then they'll listen
To what you have to say
'Cause they're the ones who's coming now
When the world is in their hands
When you teach the children
Teach the very best you can
[Chorus - John Legend & Melanie Fiona]
The world won't get no better
If we just let it be
The world won't get no better
We gotta change it, yeah
Just you and me
Wake up all the doctors,
Make the old people well
They're the ones who suffer
And who catch all the hell
But they don't have so very long
Before the Judgement Day
So won't you make them happy
Before they pass away
Wake up all the builders
Time to build a new land
I know we can do it
If we all lend a hand
The only thing we have to do
Is put it in our minds
Surely things will work out
'Cause they do everytime
(Chorus)
[Common]
It's the God hour
The morning I wake up
Just for the breath of life I thank my maker
My mom say I come from hustlers and shakers
My mom built it on skyscrapers and acres
He said take us back to where we belong
I try to write a song
As sweet as these arms the one the type to bare arms
And wear my heart on my sleeve
Even when I fell in God I believe
Read the days that weave through the maze
The seasons so amazing
Feed them and raised them
Seasons are aging
Earthquakes, wars, and rumors
I want us to get by but
We're more than consumers
We more than shooters, more than looters
Created in His image so God live through us
And even in this generation, living through computers
Only love love love can reboot us
Ohh Wake up, everybody
No more sleeping in bed
Ohh Wake up, everybody
I said I need a little help, y'all
Ohh need a little help, y'all
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Need a little help y'all
Ohh Need a little help, y'all
Wake up everybody
Wake up everybody
Wake up everybody
Celebrities and musicians have had a prominent place in American society for a long time. And like a wise man once said, "with great power comes great responsibility." Now more than ever, they are constantly in the public eye and influence over millions of people across the globe with the language in their songs. The last thing we need is for more musicians to fill the heads of Americans with songs that glorify drugs, sex, violence, etc. The more we hear this type of language, the more we believe it. Let's get this straight, I am not censuring these types of songs in any way (I know I have several on my iPod). But the incredible onslaught of music with this sort of subject matter is certainly not good, especially for young and impressionable kids. That's why the emowering, positive message of Wake Up Everybody was such breath of fresh air. The fact that it won a Grammy tells me that there is hope for the music industry yet.
Wake up everybody
No more sleeping in bed
No more backward thinking,
Time for thinking ahead
The world has changed
So very much
From what is used to be
There is so much hatred
War and poverty
Wake up all the teachers
Time to teach a new way
Maybe then they'll listen
To what you have to say
'Cause they're the ones who's coming now
When the world is in their hands
When you teach the children
Teach the very best you can
[Chorus - John Legend & Melanie Fiona]
The world won't get no better
If we just let it be
The world won't get no better
We gotta change it, yeah
Just you and me
Wake up all the doctors,
Make the old people well
They're the ones who suffer
And who catch all the hell
But they don't have so very long
Before the Judgement Day
So won't you make them happy
Before they pass away
Wake up all the builders
Time to build a new land
I know we can do it
If we all lend a hand
The only thing we have to do
Is put it in our minds
Surely things will work out
'Cause they do everytime
(Chorus)
[Common]
It's the God hour
The morning I wake up
Just for the breath of life I thank my maker
My mom say I come from hustlers and shakers
My mom built it on skyscrapers and acres
He said take us back to where we belong
I try to write a song
As sweet as these arms the one the type to bare arms
And wear my heart on my sleeve
Even when I fell in God I believe
Read the days that weave through the maze
The seasons so amazing
Feed them and raised them
Seasons are aging
Earthquakes, wars, and rumors
I want us to get by but
We're more than consumers
We more than shooters, more than looters
Created in His image so God live through us
And even in this generation, living through computers
Only love love love can reboot us
Ohh Wake up, everybody
No more sleeping in bed
Ohh Wake up, everybody
I said I need a little help, y'all
Ohh need a little help, y'all
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Need a little help y'all
Ohh Need a little help, y'all
Wake up everybody
Wake up everybody
Wake up everybody
Celebrities and musicians have had a prominent place in American society for a long time. And like a wise man once said, "with great power comes great responsibility." Now more than ever, they are constantly in the public eye and influence over millions of people across the globe with the language in their songs. The last thing we need is for more musicians to fill the heads of Americans with songs that glorify drugs, sex, violence, etc. The more we hear this type of language, the more we believe it. Let's get this straight, I am not censuring these types of songs in any way (I know I have several on my iPod). But the incredible onslaught of music with this sort of subject matter is certainly not good, especially for young and impressionable kids. That's why the emowering, positive message of Wake Up Everybody was such breath of fresh air. The fact that it won a Grammy tells me that there is hope for the music industry yet.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Commercial Language
Lately, I've been doing a lot of analyzing and commenting on issues and whatnot. So, I've decided to bring it all back down to Earth and talk a little bit about me and what has been on my mind lately (with a language twist of course).
Being a sports fan, this weekend I watched the Green Bay Packers win Super Bowl XLV. Now, I won't say I was happy that the Packers won, but I was thrilled that the Steelers lost. Moving on, what really inspired me to write this blog was of course.......Super Bowl commercials. Gotta love 'em right? Anyways, as I was watching them, I realized how numb I have become to the actual words being uttered in each commercial. The sensory overload that happens as a result of constant advertisements, causes me to completely tune out any commercials unless they are 1) funny or 2) have high enough shock value. Nowadays, it seems as if many companies are dead set on creating a commercial that is as funny as possible, and then, they slap their name at the end of it.
When I thought about why that is, I came to a conclusion: obviously, the funny/shocking commercials are the ones I remember and even if I don't know what the advertisement is promoting, I remember the company's name. However, it doesn't stop there. Commercials that try simply using language to describe a product, without humor or shock value, are dull and obsolete. We have been overloaded by so many advertisements that the words in commercials are no longer important because everyone is saying the exact same thing: their product is the best. This can be seen almost everywhere, especially with car commercials. With out even listening to a commercial, I can already assume that a classic car advertisement is going to mention the car's awesome performance, excellent safety rating, great fuel efficiency and likely some sort of sale or promotion going on at the dealerships. What else is new? Subconsciously, I know what these car/beer/paper towel/fertilizer/etc. commercials are all going to say, so I tune out.
It seems companies have begun to realize this and thus, are focusing more and more on the funny/shock factor and less and less on the words. I will tell you this, I can only remember two car commercials the Super Bowl off the top of my head. Neither of them said one word about the actual car.
The first is the Volkswagen commercial with the kid dressed as Darth Vader.
The second was a Kia commercial where the car was "caught" by a helicopter but then Poseiden came out and grabbed it, sent it into a UFO where it drove into a black hole and emerged in a Mayan-like civilization. Yeah, quite strange, but I remembered it for some reason.
In a nutshell, thinking about this new breed of commercial made me recognize the limitations of language in our modern society due to information overload. However, understanding this concept made me further appreciate the power of language that comes in the form of a great book. It is unparalleled.
Being a sports fan, this weekend I watched the Green Bay Packers win Super Bowl XLV. Now, I won't say I was happy that the Packers won, but I was thrilled that the Steelers lost. Moving on, what really inspired me to write this blog was of course.......Super Bowl commercials. Gotta love 'em right? Anyways, as I was watching them, I realized how numb I have become to the actual words being uttered in each commercial. The sensory overload that happens as a result of constant advertisements, causes me to completely tune out any commercials unless they are 1) funny or 2) have high enough shock value. Nowadays, it seems as if many companies are dead set on creating a commercial that is as funny as possible, and then, they slap their name at the end of it.
When I thought about why that is, I came to a conclusion: obviously, the funny/shocking commercials are the ones I remember and even if I don't know what the advertisement is promoting, I remember the company's name. However, it doesn't stop there. Commercials that try simply using language to describe a product, without humor or shock value, are dull and obsolete. We have been overloaded by so many advertisements that the words in commercials are no longer important because everyone is saying the exact same thing: their product is the best. This can be seen almost everywhere, especially with car commercials. With out even listening to a commercial, I can already assume that a classic car advertisement is going to mention the car's awesome performance, excellent safety rating, great fuel efficiency and likely some sort of sale or promotion going on at the dealerships. What else is new? Subconsciously, I know what these car/beer/paper towel/fertilizer/etc. commercials are all going to say, so I tune out.
It seems companies have begun to realize this and thus, are focusing more and more on the funny/shock factor and less and less on the words. I will tell you this, I can only remember two car commercials the Super Bowl off the top of my head. Neither of them said one word about the actual car.
The first is the Volkswagen commercial with the kid dressed as Darth Vader.
The second was a Kia commercial where the car was "caught" by a helicopter but then Poseiden came out and grabbed it, sent it into a UFO where it drove into a black hole and emerged in a Mayan-like civilization. Yeah, quite strange, but I remembered it for some reason.
In a nutshell, thinking about this new breed of commercial made me recognize the limitations of language in our modern society due to information overload. However, understanding this concept made me further appreciate the power of language that comes in the form of a great book. It is unparalleled.
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