Chris writes:
> For me -- with a play or a film -- I tend to be pulled in and held tightly
> right away (if at all) -- and then -- if I'm lucky -- I'm in thrall to end.
>
We're different then. Recall: I claim a novel, play, film, opera is not a
SINGLE creative act, but many, many creative acts. Start with an opera. I find
most operas have lots of down time. But then a great moment comes -- most often
with an outstanding aria -- and with it, often, an a.e. Then later in the
opera comes another aria. . .
Same with many plays. In Brian Friel's TRANSLATIONS, there is, for me, one
great moment, and it's worth sitting through the whole play. It's the scene
between the Irish girl speaking Gaelic (it's in English for us the audience,
but
the playwright has eased us into the convention -- we know that whenever an
Irish speaker utters something it's "in Gaelic"), and the British officer is
speaking English. We know they cannot translate a single word of the other's
speech, but we also can see they undersand each other perfectly. The moment is,
as
the phrase goes, "Magic". Big a.e..
Friel's DANCING AT LUGHNASA provies a similarly effective moment when the
kitche-bound women silently begin to dance. Terrific stuff, but only a moment
in
a long play.
Chris goes on:
> So -- it's not at all like the intense moments in sports. (where, actually,
> I only tune in during the ninth inning or fourth quarter)
>
I can see that. The a.e. moments in sporting contests do usually come near
the end. Although I've recently had this thought while watching the very best
professional basketball players. Most of us have watched with some pleasure the
grace, adroitness, attack, elevation, and body control of great male ballet
dancers. I tell you you can see flashes of comparable grace, adroitness,
attack,
elevation, and body control, plus an execution-goal in Michael Jordan, Kobe
Bryant, LeBron James, et al, especially right under (and then sometimes OVER)
the basket. That physical act -- regardless of the score of the game -- can
be breathtaking. Rather like DiMaggio gliding with astonishing effortlessness
to catch the ball in the outfield. One shouldn't be too quick to insist no one
can get aesthetic pleasure from watching that.
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