I'm not sure if I told this story here before, but when I worked in Hollywood, I worked with a guy who was a co-producer of "Blind Date," which was one of many dating shows on at the time. He asked me if I ever watched the series, and I told him I personally didn't like it but that my mom was a huge fan. He asked me what specifically my mom liked about it; what I didn't know was my mom had become his own personal focus group, and that he'd become obsessed with making whatever changes to the show that he had to make in order to make her NOT watch it. His series was supposed to be aimed at young people, and he was annoyed that I (who was young at the time... those were the days) didn't watch it and my mom did.
I've stayed out of this one because my feelings about SNL in general have been made clear, some might say, too much and too often. But this isn't really about SNL. What this is about is pop culture, which is what SNL is supposed to both represent and satirize. And pop culture exists only at the say-so of a given generation of teenagers to very early 20-somethings. If you are not 14-24 years of age, pop culture is not for you. You aren't supposed to "get" it, and if you do it is an accident on the part of the content creators. If you are 40-years-old and find MTV entertaining, something has gone wrong somewhere. I don't know the ages of the people who have been commenting on this, but I suspect that whether you liked or disliked Sia's performance and/or whatever was shown on SNL, you weren't meant to like it, and the producers would probably be annoyed if they learned that you did. On Wed, Jan 21, 2015 at 3:12 PM, Steve Timko <[email protected]> wrote: > First off, you're attempting to define art, which is always difficult. > There are things I don't like about that, including the association with > the video and the 12-year-old girl's sexual innuendo in that video with > Shia LeBeouf. I just finished "The Fall" and I'm not comfortable with the > perverse sexuality of the 15/16 year old in that show. (Odd how they > emphasized the girl turned 16. Like they knew censors would be watching). > But the definition of art is broad. Her singing is good so just about > anything she does to accompany it gets the prot ection of being called art. > It was odd, but is it that much odder than David Bowie in a tight, > knee-length skirt or Tom Waits in full hobo regalia? > Steve Allen railed against rock and roll in part because it lacked > artistic merit. > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpxhEoV5IsE > Is Frank Zappa playing the bicycle artistic? > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MewcnFl_6Y > > > On Wed, Jan 21, 2015 at 7:17 AM, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > >> On Tue, Jan 20, 2015 at 11:27 PM, Michael <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Sorry for any offense taken to my reaction to the reaction. The dance >>> routine could be seen as an extension of (if you will) the many ages/faces >>> of Sia, depicting inner struggle, conciliatory moments, heartbreak and >>> playfulness. Or not. Her veil (which she didn't bother with on a recent >>> U.K. TV appearance) would seem to suggest her reticence at public >>> appearance or serves as reinforcement of my idea that the dancers and the >>> mime are extensions of her musical/artistic statement that she is hiding >>> behind in plain sight. Whatevs. I enjoyed it. If she creeps you out or >>> seems pretentious, tune out and have a bowl of your favorite cultural >>> comfort food instead. >>> >> >> I am not offended. I don't mind being called an old fogey (I probably >> am). It is just that this is not a response to a critique of a performance, >> or an answer to the question: "what was she trying to accomplish?" I >> appreciate your attempt to answer that question more specifically above. If >> that is what she was trying to do, I find it amateurish and ineffective, >> but at least would give her credit for having some kind of vision. >> >> I appreciate the philosophy behind the phrase YMMV ("Your Mileage May >> Very"), which we see on this list a lot, and again several times in this >> thread. I think the value of this is to caution us all against the danger >> of moving from "that performance was stupid" to "you are stupid if you >> liked that performance" (or, more generally, if you do not agree with my >> evaluation of that performance). On reflection, I realize that when I write >> things like "Sia's performance on SNL was absurd and stupid", it does come >> close to saying (or at least implying) that "anyone who liked Sia's >> performance on SNL is absurd and stupid". I did not mean the second, and I >> ought to be more careful when expressing opinions that could be taken that >> way. >> >> I do think though that there is a danger of using the sentiments >> underlying YMMV to imply that since art (broadly conceived) is subjective, >> every performance is equal, and there is no point in attempts to engage in >> a critical evaluation. I respect and am interested in the response and >> evaluation of people here to the programs we see on our television, not >> because all evaluations are equally valid or accurate, but because the >> thoughtful response of a group of experienced consumers informs my own, and >> often helps me appreciate performances in ways I would not have on my own. >> At other times we will disagree, which is of course fine, and should not >> lead to ad hominem attacks, but I do find disagreement more informative >> when accompanied by an explanation for the opinion. >> >> -- >> -- >> TV or Not TV .... 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