Journalism and the idea of community without borders
Amidst all the recent coverage chronicling the death of traditional news media, Robert Niles at OJR pegs the failure of newspapers to actively and respectufully engage with and report on communities as one of the major factors contributing to their demise. More importantly, Niles knows that “communities” means more than just a geographical neighborhood.
That’s a liberating moment: when you realize that journalism is not the business of reporting, writing and publishing newspapers… or websites. It’s the business of community building. And to do that, you must build your publication’s community from within the broader geographical, topical or professional community that you wish to serve.
Unleash the Fury!!
Samuel L. Jackson signs on to play Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D in nine upcoming Marvel Universe movies.
In related news, productivity is expected to drop across the country today as geeks celebrate by watching Iron Man on DVD.
Movie Journal: Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
Despite some problems that are primarily rooted in the substance of some of the scenes and characters, I did quite enjoy Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings.
The movie tells the story primarily of Nick (Cera) and how he’s getting over being dumped by his girlfriend Tris. Nick is a sensitive guy who’s into indie music, something that leads him to make Tris all sorts of mix CDs, even now that they’ve broken up. But the promise of a uber-hip band playing a secret gig in New York City gets him out of his funk, at least a little bit.
It’s there that he has an interesting run-in with Norah. She knows Tris from school and, in order to avoid an embarassing situation she unknowingly picks Nick from the crowd to pretend to be her boyfriend.
The two then embark with Nick’s bandmates to find where this band will be playing, with awkward situations all along the way.
Where the story winds up won’t be all that surprising but the loose, do-it-yourself nature that permeates the film keeps things fresh and interesting and by and large enjoyable.
The main problem with the movie is that the situations it puts high school seniors in are, well, just awful. Everyone aside from the main characters is either:
- Drunk throughout the entire film
- Gay
And even the two leads, along with the rest of the characters, are extremely over-sexualized. Nick’s gay bandmates spend the entire movie driving around with some guy who they picked up in a bar. The ex-girlfriend is all about sex, using it to try and lure Nick back to her in order to not so much win him back but show up Norah, who Nick is obviously beginning to like and who obviously likes him. Norah’s best friend is apparently a constantly drunk slut who Norah has to mother through one night of bar-hopping after another.
So if you’re a fan of conservative values among teens the movie is probably going to rub you the wrong way. It’s a good flick and worth seeing for the dialogue and music, but these things are really problematic and have the potential to eat into your enjoyment of the film.
Poland on Smith
David Poland’s review of the Zack and Miri Make a Porno Blu-ray has him coming to much the same conclusion that I did after watching the movie, that this movie is a great leap forward in director Kevin Smith’s ability both behind the camera and as a writer.
I read an interview with Smith a while ago that this movie was the first that had the rest of Hollywood thinking he could direct other projects, meaning it was the first one where the film wasn’t filled with all his usual ticks and tricks and positioned him as capable of changing his style to match the material. Completely agree.
QOTD: 2/18/09
Is it just me who thinks the faceless icon for Facebook folk who won’t post a photo is actually a silhouette of MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow?
OK. Maybe it is just me.
Journosometingoranother
I’m all in favor of The Chicago Tribune re-dedicating itself to fighting corruption in the state of Illinois and shining the light of day on the dirty deeds done very expensively that have become part and parcel of this state’s government.
But the fact remains that such a declaration only serves to highlight how bad both the citizens and the press in the state let it get.
It’s the job of the press to look for “the truth” not just reprint both side’s reactions to a particular issue. They – and by “they” I mean the press at large, not just the Trib – failed to act as the public’s advocates and information source and that’s a big part of the problem we now find ourselves in.
So go out there – do your job. We should all be more vigilant, but without accurate reporting the citizenry isn’t fully equipped to hold our elected officials accountable, either at the ballot box or in the courts.
DVD Review: Make ‘Em Laugh – The Funny Business of America
The excellent PBS documentary Make ‘Em Laugh – The Funny Business of America has been released on DVD and it’s among the best things I’ve watched in a good long while.
Each of the series’ six episodes covers a different type of comedy styling. With episodes that cover “The Wiseguys” and “The Groundbreakers” and other categories of comedy each one features an encyclopedic overview of the history of comedy in America. From Laurel and Hardy to the Marx Brothers to Steve Martin to Buster Keaton to Saturday Night Live and everything in-between, the series not only contains interviews with comedians and historians but a huge amount of archival footage as well.
Make ‘Em Laugh is a must-see if you have any sense of historical knowledge of American comedy or are looking to educate yourself in this field. If you know all these acts you’ll have a blast reliving some classic skits and film footage. If you don’t this is a fantastic primer on some of the all-time greatest comedic moments in the world of film, television, Vaudeville, radio and everything else.
This is the kind of series I can see watching again and again simply to enjoy the footage that is strewn throughout it. Own it, rent it, borrow it – do whatever you have to do to check it out again and again.
DVD Review: Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Zack and Miri Make a Porno might be director Kevin Smith’s most accessible movie to date, even while it also seems like the one that least carries many of Smith’s defining characteristics.
The story takes two childhood friends, Zack and Miri, who have known each other since grade school and who currently live with each other – though in a non-sexual manner – as they find themselves in the middle of a financial problem. With little income and a lot of bills the two find inspiration to their difficulties at a horrendously uncomfortable high school reunion.
That solution? They’ll make a low-budget porno. Hence the movie’s title.
They recruit a hodge-podge of friends to help them make their movie. A co-worker of Zack’s becomes the producer because he’s the only one with money. A high school friend with a video camera becomes the cameraman. And a couple of ladies – portrayed by actual porn stars – become the stars in the movie.
In-between the problems with production that provide much of the movie’s comedy Zack and Miri provide the movie with it’s heart and emotional resonance. These two have known each other for 20+ years and never had a romantic relationship but decide, of course, that it’s going to be the least weird if they have sex on-screen. They just need to convince themselves that it’s not going to impact their friendship. But of course it does and it’s not hard to predict where the story will lead them to.
Zack and Miri doesn’t play like a Kevin Smith movie. By that I mean many of Smith’s verbal ticks are downplayed in the writing, or at least they’re less prevalent in the hands of the actors he’s cast here. While there’s an abundance of jokes about people’s private parts and a huge-honking Star Wars reference, it’s handled a little bit more deftly than is usually the case in his movies. Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks, portraying the titular couple, bring their own style to the characters and makes Smith’s dialogue flow in a way that it hasn’t really been able to in prior films. That’s not a knock against them – I’m a huge Smith fan – but it just works on a different level in Zack and Miri than it has previously.
The movie is now available as a two-disc DVD set. On disc one you’ll find just the movie. On disc two you’ll find a wealth of extras, including the “Money Shots” webisodes that were released on line during the film’s production and a collection of bloopers, ad libs and other fun outtakes.
The best part of the extra features, though, is “Popcorn Porn,” an hour-and-a-half documentary that chronicles the film from inception through the much-documented battle over ratings with the MPAA. This is absolutely the best thing (other than the movie) included in the set and I definitely recommend watching it after you watch the feature.
Well that only took 20 years
This weekend’s episode of “The Simpsons” will feature the first completely revamped opener for the show since it debuted.
Confessional commenting
Lutheran but can’t make it to the BJS National Conference in Naperville this weekend? Keep refreshing this page on the group’s official site and check out the comments coming at you live from the attendees.
