Re: [Mid] Shakespeare In Love and Highlights

Something I picked up in my professional classes for teacher certification
could be an explanation....

The average attention span of the average American is growing shorter.
Causes have been attributed to TV and Radio as well as videogames (which
have pictures that are changing so fast that a warning is now included for
people who have seizure disorders).

This could be a vicious cycle. Shorter attention spans = shorter sound bites
= shorter attention spans...

In regards to Archery, I think that it is fascinating, but then again I
shoot in as many tournaments as I can. As I only started in January after a
7 year break I am not anywhere close to being good yet.

On the other hand, I find that after an hour or two, heavy weapons tourneys
get old. I am trying to get armor to get into it, but until I start
fighting, it will remain beyond my total enjoyment. My point here is, for me
(with the exception of Figure Skating) unless I play or have played a sport
or activity my attention span is shortened greatly.

I loved Shakespeare in Love! Actually, my best friend and I went to see it
after Maidens in Champaign, IL (Jan 23 (?)). We left the event and went
straight to the theatre. We were asked if we dressed just for the movie (a
common occurrence believe me). The employees were fascinated with the
costumes.

My 2 cents worth (maybe more than 2 cents worth),
Emma de Lyons
(Ann Mestern)

>From: "Charles J. Cohen" <charles@eecs.umich.edu>
>Reply-To: sca-middle@midrealm.org
>To: sca-middle@midrealm.org
>Subject: [Mid] Shakespeare In Love and Highlights
>Date: Wed, 2 Jun 1999 10:49:06 -0400 (EDT)
>
>I greatly enjoyed the movie, "Shakespeare in Love". I thought it was
>well written and acted, and had a great time watching it.
>
>However, I heard a commentary on NPR today that got me to thinking.
>The commentary was by Frank DeFord. He is a sports writer, and
>although I really despise professional sports (ever since I discovered
>that such sports broadcasts would always preempt my favorite science
>fiction shows), I have found that I enjoyed Mr. DeFord's insightful
>commentaries.
>
>Today's talk was about how sports highlights are ruining the sports
>profession because, since everyone is used to seeing highlights on
>television news and the like, actually watching the game has become,
>well, boring. Slam dunks are exciting, but free throws are boring.
>Especially practicing free throws is boring. [I realize that not
>everyone would agree with these statements, but DeFord was referring
>to the many comments he has heard lately.] On news, they mainly show
>the hockey fights, the home runs or amazing catches, the long pass
>touchdown and the like. But watch an entire game? Boring.
>
>He equated this to politics. Politics is boring. Politicians are
>boring. Well, except for Clinton and his scandals, and that is what
>makes the news. But listen in on a debate about taxes? Most people
>don't do that. Boring.
>
>Then he discussed "Shakespeare in Love", which like a network news
>sports report, is a collection of *highlights* of Shakespeare. He
>postulates that the movie is the worst thing that could happen to
>Shakespeare. Why go see "A Midsummer's Night Dream" when you can get
>all the good quotes in "Shakespeare in Love", including a sword fight,
>death, and a partially nude sex scene. Shakespeare never had a
>partially nude sex scene - boring.
>
>Well, while I personally don't find Shakespeare boring, I get the
>point that DeFord was trying to make. "Shakespeare in Love" really is
>a highlights movie, when I think about it.
>
>Or is it?
>
>It kind of reminds me about some debates I'm seeing about Pennsic and
>the war points. Some people say that watching Archery Shoots is
>boring, when compared to a massed field battle of 2000 people, and
>this explains why we don't have nearly as many people watching
>Archery. But should we change Archery so it is more exciting for
>spectators? Could the heavy combat battles be changed so they are
>more fun for the participants even if that makes it more boring for
>the spectators, and if so, should we?
>
>Comments are appreciated. Even though I strayed into war points, I
>really would like people's opinions on "Shakespeare in Love" and the
>idea that people, in general, might only care about looking at the
>exciting small-time-span highlights.
>
>- Midair
>
>From: "Charles J. Cohen" <charles@eecs.umich.edu>
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From: "Ann Mestern" <atllantia@hotmail.com>
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Received on Wed Jun 2 13:31:40 1999