July 16, 2007

Two Last Thoughts (From my last two brain cells)

Well, the good news is that I've only got two more chapters left in the Almighty Brain Consuming Expansion & Revision job. YAAAY! The bad news is that I have two brain cells left rubbing together. However, rubbing together, my brain cells have managed to produce a spark, so I shall point you to these bloggerly goodnesses with its feeble flickering flame:

Journalist Anastasia Goodstein, usually found on Ypulse, guest wrote a piece for The Huffington Post on young adults and their lack of news savvy. She cites Al Gore's CurrentTV as a potential means to reaching this hard-to-reach demographic, and joins Harvard's JKF School of Government in bemoaning the fact that fewer of the 13-20 demographic read the paper and are only interested in "soft news" like celebrity deaths and the imprisonment of certain famous-for-being-famous anorexics who shall not be named. I am always interested in the idea that young adults know less than ever before, when they have more access to information of all kinds -- if they want it. They... don't. At least not in the way it is aimed at them, flung at their heads, peppered at their ears, and heavily sugared up, dumbed down, and laced with entertainment and flashing lights (aka breathless, CNN moment-by-moment celebrity news: "She's got her hairdresser with her... yes, that's her stylist... and she's... walking through the front gates of the minimum security facility where she has languished this last week... yes, she's walking... and she's out! Skinny Blonde Hotel Heiress Type is free!") If young adults don't watch the news it's because the REAL entertainment stuff -- stuff actually intended to be entertainment -- is a lot more ...um, entertaining.

I dunno -- I read the comics for most of my life and drew cartoon bubbles on the Sears models in their bras until I was WELL into high school and should have been busily reading the Wall Street Journal, apparently. So, if a lot of young people don't read the paper seriously ... should the adults who do read the newspaper seriously worry? What about you and the newspaper? At what age do you figure people they supposed to start? It seems like this endless hand-wringing is another excuse for someone to start marketing yet another product/service/program to young adults... because, cynic that I am, I have a hard time with the idea that all of these people are worrying that young adults aren't getting enough information to make "informed life choices." I'm not sure I buy that at all.

Septimus Heap the book series will soon be -- Septimus Heap, the Warner Brothers film. Well, for all of you fans of the series, begin crossing your fingers now. With the debacle that the movie formerly known as The Dark Is Rising, but which I will now call The Stench Is Rising has become, actual fans -- that is, people who have read the books? Will need all the universe's assistance they can get to have a movie in anywise remotely resembling the book that they loved and read. WHY. CAN'T. MOVIE. DIRECTORS. COMPREHEND. BOOKS?!

All right, I can tell the lights from ye olde brain cells are starting to spit sparks and die out. I'm sure I'll have more cynical observations tomorrow. Until then...

1 comment:

Sara said...

Heh. The Stench is Rising. Good one.

I still haven't forgiven the butchery Disney did to The Black Cauldron. It's so bad that I want to find every copy in America and shout HOW DARE YOU??? at each one.

Sadly, I think I'll feel the same way about The Stench. Why, oh, why is it so hard? I mean, if you don't want to understand (or even LIKE) a book before you direct a movie based on it, at least find a fan or two who will gush to you about what is important and what is NOT.