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Monday, January 31, 2011

Superman Trifecta



This takes me back to when movies still made me feel awestruck and excited about going to the cinema. The colours! The Technicolor!

I like all three of these because they are so different. The Popcorn Eventness of the third, the stripped down and unexpected of nr. 2, and the awesomeness of putting Jor-El on the first, his son shooting like a red-streaked star into his psyche. Yes, you will believe a man can fly!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Use Of The Word "fuck" – A (semi) Serious Discussion

I was watching P!NK's new video for her song "Fucking Perfect" when I started thinking again about why we use so-called "curse words", and classify them as such. They're words just like any other, a combination of letters that make up a specific sound. But somehow they have attracted meanings that make people cringe and tell us we have potty mouths.

Words like "shit" and "fuck" and "cunt" are at their core no different from words like "mother", "baby" and "porridge"; it's just that different letters give them a different sound, and the sound has a different meaning. Are we actually upsetting people with a sound rather than a word? It might seem like a silly question, but remember: we used sound to communicate long before languages existed.
It has a lot to do with context, of course.

Language is a complicated beast. These sorts of questions can't be answered in a blog post. But back to P!NK. Would the song have had the same effect if it was just called "Perfect" instead? (For those who prefer, that will be the radio version). Have so-called "bad" words become more integrated into everyday language because we have been hearing them more frequently on TV and in films? You hear them more on TV now and less in films, too, which is interesting, because 30 years ago it was the other way around. TV reaches far larger numbers than films, so the potential for incorporation throughout a variety of cultures is so much greater.


I grew up in South Africa, where we use a lot of harsh words. As I've thought about this more it seems to be as if it was part of the culture, ingrained in our language as a means of expression that somehow reflects the troublesome landscape, both socially and geographically. Most people I have met in New Zealand don’t nearly cuss like a Boer, but you know, maybe that's a good thing.


People do still shirk at the use of words like "fuck", otherwise the censoring of songs for radio play like the above mentioned P!NK number wouldn't be necessary. Is the artist using the word because she is trying to reach a culture and demographic that have assimilated offensive words into their personal lingo, their way of communicating, or is she using it to reach a group that would sit up and pay attention because the word is considered offensive and will make them listen? It's difficult to say.


I must think more about this.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Frequently Used Words For Today

According to the text analysis at 750words.com, these are the words I used the most in my entry today:

because bottle came could didn't don't feel her here into just know like looking me my never no not nothing now olivia remember say she something talk things up vodka want why yourself

The protag is just approaching the shitstorm that will change her life forever. Notice the mention of vodka.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

'Legend' Trifecta



Few people seem to know that Ridley Scott directed Legend, the film he chose to follow Blade Runner up with. It's definitely a favourite of mine, mostly because of Tim Curry's awesome giant red devil (or as he is called, 'Darkness'). Camp and scary all in one must be the man's forte.

It's beautifully dark in places, something that many fantasy films always seem to lack. As for the posters, Nr. 1 wins out for me, just for the pure 80's design of the red banner on the outside. Nr 2 - love the background but the floating ectoplasm in the hand of Darkness seems to have morphed both Mia Sara and Tom Cruise's faces beyond recognition. Nr 3 - too much Tom Cruise, sadly.