No, I couldn't think of a 'funny' title for this, and I was running out of time…
Nick Clegg must have become fairly accustomed to being given a hard time in the media over the past five years (not always deservedly), but even so I was surprised to hear that Newsnight's Evan Davis had interviewed Clegg recently and brought up the Liberal Democrat leader's European heritage (his mother is Dutch) and multilingualism as evidence that he might be 'out-of-touch' with the 'British working class'. Of course, 'out-of-touch' is a spectacularly vapid and meaningless accusation to level at any politician – but these comments by a presenter on one of the BBC's flagship political programmes strike me as particularly stupid.
What, exactly, does Mr Davis feel is bad about Clegg being able to speak more than one language? The idea that if a politician has at least some level of intelligence and decent communication skills, that should somehow count against them is one I find completely baffling. In matters of trade, of diplomacy, or of foreign policy, multilingual Clegg – who speaks five languages fluently – is surely an asset to the British government when it comes to communicating with foreign diplomats and politicians, and forging relationships with other nations?
And think about those photographs you see in the press sometimes – more frequently than ever, now, as we approach a general election – of politicians desperately trying to look at ease as they meet people in a mosque or a gurdwara, but clearly not feeling comfortable… It might be fun to make amusing posts about it on Tumblr, but integration is a real issue which politicians often don't do enough to address. Maybe the sons and daughters of immigrants in government – who have an innate understanding of other cultures – would be able to reach out to other communities (both in Britain and abroad) with more success, and help to improve relationships between them?
To dismiss Nick Clegg as 'out-of-touch' or 'élitist' is foolish – to do so because he possesses skills which are actively useful and beneficial in the day-to-day work of government is just staggering.
Showing posts with label tumblr. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tumblr. Show all posts
Monday, 20 April 2015
Monday, 24 March 2014
Regurgitated media
I was recently introduced to the phenomenon of GoggleBox - a television programme on Channel 4. Billed as a window into the world of 'Britain's most opinionated viewers', GoggleBox features a variety of 'ordinary people' watching television and talking about it.
It was not long into my first viewing of GoggleBox before I realised that instead of watching television, I was watching other people watch television. I was consuming second-hand television - instead of choosing to watch something myself, and form my own opinions about it, I had chosen to watch other people do that.
Quite apart from the fact that we are more obsessed that we have ever been about what 'ordinary people' think about anything (that is a topic for another day!), this must be a very easy programme for Channel 4 to make. It doesn't need a set, or costumes, or scripts, or stuntmen - it doesn't even need any original or creative thinking to make it. And this, I think, is the main issue I have with GoggleBox; there's nothing new in it - it is regurgitated media.
More and more media these days falls into this category. On the internet, you'd probably expect that - the average Tumblr Blog probably has more content 'reblogged' from other users than original posts written by the Blog's owner (just one of the reasons why I don't like Tumblr). But sites like BuzzFeed have taken collating and redistributing other people's material to a whole new level - and now even serious, reputable newspapers post 'articles' which are just a collection of Tweets or posts from other sources, apparently thinking that this constitutes journalism.
On television, though, that feels a little like cheating. GoggleBox is on at nine o'clock on a Friday night - that's seriously mainstream primetime television - but it doesn't require the creation of any original material at all. It is simply relaying people's reactions to other original programmes which have already been broadcast. Channel 4 are passing this off as a television programme in its own right, but I think they're having a laugh.
It was not long into my first viewing of GoggleBox before I realised that instead of watching television, I was watching other people watch television. I was consuming second-hand television - instead of choosing to watch something myself, and form my own opinions about it, I had chosen to watch other people do that.
Quite apart from the fact that we are more obsessed that we have ever been about what 'ordinary people' think about anything (that is a topic for another day!), this must be a very easy programme for Channel 4 to make. It doesn't need a set, or costumes, or scripts, or stuntmen - it doesn't even need any original or creative thinking to make it. And this, I think, is the main issue I have with GoggleBox; there's nothing new in it - it is regurgitated media.
More and more media these days falls into this category. On the internet, you'd probably expect that - the average Tumblr Blog probably has more content 'reblogged' from other users than original posts written by the Blog's owner (just one of the reasons why I don't like Tumblr). But sites like BuzzFeed have taken collating and redistributing other people's material to a whole new level - and now even serious, reputable newspapers post 'articles' which are just a collection of Tweets or posts from other sources, apparently thinking that this constitutes journalism.
On television, though, that feels a little like cheating. GoggleBox is on at nine o'clock on a Friday night - that's seriously mainstream primetime television - but it doesn't require the creation of any original material at all. It is simply relaying people's reactions to other original programmes which have already been broadcast. Channel 4 are passing this off as a television programme in its own right, but I think they're having a laugh.
Monday, 6 January 2014
More #Sherlock thoughts
I'm afraid to say the second episode of the newest series of the BBC's Sherlock impressed me as little as the first episode did.
Once again, crowds of fawning fans gathered on Twitter, Tumblr and (presumably) Trams to spew several gigabytes of praise and cutesy adulation - and so, once again, I feel duty bound to set out an alternative point-of-view on a Blog which (almost) nobody reads.
My biggest gripe with the second episode of Sherlock is the treatment of Sherlock's personality - specifically, the increasing 'humanisation' of him as a character. Benedict Cumberbatch has always done a fantastic job of portraying Sherlock Holmes as he is meant to be - not just emotionless but disdainful of emotion, and of anything which is removed from pure logic and reason. (For example, he never much took to Ableton.*) However, as I mentioned before, I feel Sherlock's writers are moving further and further away from the original character - I've nothing against different adaptations, of course, but if you start to change the fundamentals of the character, it's no longer Sherlock Holmes at all.
Conan Doyle's Holmes never gets drunk. (Despite being actually a far greater drug user and smoker than the modern Sherlock, he always knows his limits and would never allow himself to get out-of-control. Holmes vomiting on a client's carpet? Unthinkable!) He is never one for public displays of affection. And he would never make a sexually suggestive comment about handcuffs to a bridesmaid!
But, most importantly, although he maybe aware of his own flaws, he does not see them as flaws.
Holmes may not be keen on emotions, but that does not mean he does not understand them. He is a very intelligent, highly perceptive man who probably understands more of human interaction than most of the people who actually value it. This is made particularly clear in The Adventure of Charles August Milverton, in which Holmes becomes engaged - he does so only to gain vital information for his case, of course (he has no feelings for the woman - Agatha - involved) but this just goes to show that he's more than capable of sweet-talking, romancing and gaining the trust of another person, should he so wish.
Holmes knows how to act like a "normal" (for want of a better word person) - and does so when it suits him - but he prefers not to.
In the BBC's Sherlock, though, the eponymous character seems equally aware of his eccentricities - but uncharacteristically embarrassed by them. He mentions several times that he is aware of how difficult he must be to live and to work with; nothing wrong with that, but this is done in an empathetic way which at times verges on apologetic. This, to me, is unforgivable - Sherlock Holmes would never apologise for being Sherlock Holmes!
Conan Doyle's Holmes may know that most other people view him as a strange, cold, emotionless being - but he is not ashamed or worried by this. Quite the opposite, in fact - he believes that this is how everyone should be.
Sherlock, no matter how well-acted, spectacularly misses this point.
* Sorry - that's a music technology joke.
Once again, crowds of fawning fans gathered on Twitter, Tumblr and (presumably) Trams to spew several gigabytes of praise and cutesy adulation - and so, once again, I feel duty bound to set out an alternative point-of-view on a Blog which (almost) nobody reads.
My biggest gripe with the second episode of Sherlock is the treatment of Sherlock's personality - specifically, the increasing 'humanisation' of him as a character. Benedict Cumberbatch has always done a fantastic job of portraying Sherlock Holmes as he is meant to be - not just emotionless but disdainful of emotion, and of anything which is removed from pure logic and reason. (For example, he never much took to Ableton.*) However, as I mentioned before, I feel Sherlock's writers are moving further and further away from the original character - I've nothing against different adaptations, of course, but if you start to change the fundamentals of the character, it's no longer Sherlock Holmes at all.
Conan Doyle's Holmes never gets drunk. (Despite being actually a far greater drug user and smoker than the modern Sherlock, he always knows his limits and would never allow himself to get out-of-control. Holmes vomiting on a client's carpet? Unthinkable!) He is never one for public displays of affection. And he would never make a sexually suggestive comment about handcuffs to a bridesmaid!
But, most importantly, although he maybe aware of his own flaws, he does not see them as flaws.
Holmes may not be keen on emotions, but that does not mean he does not understand them. He is a very intelligent, highly perceptive man who probably understands more of human interaction than most of the people who actually value it. This is made particularly clear in The Adventure of Charles August Milverton, in which Holmes becomes engaged - he does so only to gain vital information for his case, of course (he has no feelings for the woman - Agatha - involved) but this just goes to show that he's more than capable of sweet-talking, romancing and gaining the trust of another person, should he so wish.
Holmes knows how to act like a "normal" (for want of a better word person) - and does so when it suits him - but he prefers not to.
In the BBC's Sherlock, though, the eponymous character seems equally aware of his eccentricities - but uncharacteristically embarrassed by them. He mentions several times that he is aware of how difficult he must be to live and to work with; nothing wrong with that, but this is done in an empathetic way which at times verges on apologetic. This, to me, is unforgivable - Sherlock Holmes would never apologise for being Sherlock Holmes!
Conan Doyle's Holmes may know that most other people view him as a strange, cold, emotionless being - but he is not ashamed or worried by this. Quite the opposite, in fact - he believes that this is how everyone should be.
Sherlock, no matter how well-acted, spectacularly misses this point.
* Sorry - that's a music technology joke.
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
This item is not suitable for Tumblr driers
I'm rather afraid to say, Tumblr annoys me no end!
Some people spend hours and hours on Tumblr, posting things… Mostly it is something "funny" (the inverted commas here are crucial) and it has been "reblogged" from a hundred other Tumblr users who all saw it, sniggered, and decided to post it on their profiles too… The result being that the same "funny" posts (again, please note the inverted commas) appear on many different people's Tumblr pages…
But that's fine… If you want to spend your time re-telling other people's jokes, please, be my guest!
What's not so fine is when people link their Tumblr to their Twitter, or their Facebook… Every Tumblr post is automatically added to Facebook and Twitter, with a link, and it clogs up the feed… People are posting genuine Tweets, and Facebook Status updates, but they get lost amidst a sea of Tumblr posts…
And yes, I realise that I, too, have things which post automatically to Facebook, and to Twitter, which some people may not be interested in - but these are things like my 365 Project or Dailybooth (and this Blog, actually) which is a mere one or two posts a day, and can easily be ignored… Some of these Tumblr people are posting ten or twenty things every hour, for hours on end - it is a bit different!
Seriously - if I wanted to see all that stuff, I'd follow you on Tumblr!! But I don't…
Some people spend hours and hours on Tumblr, posting things… Mostly it is something "funny" (the inverted commas here are crucial) and it has been "reblogged" from a hundred other Tumblr users who all saw it, sniggered, and decided to post it on their profiles too… The result being that the same "funny" posts (again, please note the inverted commas) appear on many different people's Tumblr pages…
But that's fine… If you want to spend your time re-telling other people's jokes, please, be my guest!
What's not so fine is when people link their Tumblr to their Twitter, or their Facebook… Every Tumblr post is automatically added to Facebook and Twitter, with a link, and it clogs up the feed… People are posting genuine Tweets, and Facebook Status updates, but they get lost amidst a sea of Tumblr posts…
And yes, I realise that I, too, have things which post automatically to Facebook, and to Twitter, which some people may not be interested in - but these are things like my 365 Project or Dailybooth (and this Blog, actually) which is a mere one or two posts a day, and can easily be ignored… Some of these Tumblr people are posting ten or twenty things every hour, for hours on end - it is a bit different!
Seriously - if I wanted to see all that stuff, I'd follow you on Tumblr!! But I don't…
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