The Myth of So Bad its Good

Recently Wired posted an article discussing the release of a film called Miami Connection about a tae kwon do-themed synth-rock band called Dragon Sound and the group’s 10-fisted battle against an evil Florida empire of cocaine-dealing motorcycle ninjas. What stood out to me from this article was the following  "if a movie entertains us, then it’s good.".  I disagree with this point just because something is entertaining doesn't make it good. I think that the whole "so bad it good" thing is more like a accident you can't look away from because its so mesmerizing. At times there are going to be those much more spectacular crashes on every level that hold your attention compared to something else that is more run of the mill. The purpose of movies is   to entertain but sometimes a movie rises above that and becomes much more and influences culture and more. Of course the idea of good and bad are subjective but I believe that there is a minimum standard that is universal among all.

Lincoln Assassination Eyewitness (Feb 9, 1956)

The Atlantic recently highlighted a video on youtube of a game show from 1956 in which one of the contestants had been a witness to the Lincoln assassination. It's amazing to think that we see a lot of the past as a far off place; when it's actually closer than we think. There are certain events that when spoken about seem so far off, but in relative terms weren't long ago. A comment on this video that really struck me though was the following

 "During Mr. Seymour he crossed paths with people who lived through the George Washington presidency, and

with people who would live through the Barack Obama presidency.

Amazing."

  It is amazing to think that we think we are so far off from the past but the truth is the past isn't all that distant and still effects us today.

However You Choose to Play It

Map of Skyrim

"I’ve almost begun to think of these games like I think of my beloved Skyrim. There is a strong, enjoyable and lengthy core play experience, but there is also a nigh inexhaustible amount of secondary material that you can explore or ignore as you see fit – and I’m not just talking about going back after completing the story to catch ‘em all!"

Z of WIRED reviewed the recently North American released "Pokemon Black/White 2" What caught my eye most about this review was its title which stated that this game is great however you choose to play it.  Z expands on this idea in the quote  above in which he says that like Skyrim the Pokemon games have this vast world for the player to explore and doesn't tell hem how they should play their game. The player is free to play the game how he/she wishes their is no right or wrong way to play;their is a story which the player can go through or put on hold for a while. Each game cartridge may contain the same data sequence but for these and many other games the experience is different for each player. Each player has their own tales of victory and defeat as well as those of secrets/hidden treasures uncovered. The game developers may have crafted a story for the players to go through but the players each craft their own individual stories such as those of self imposed challenges and what they chose to do and not do in the game world.

Artwork of the Unova region from Black 2 and White 2

 

  

The End of Games?

I looked at this piece on The Atlantic in which Ta-Nehisi Coates is responding to the question of whether he still plays D & D or not. I can identity with what he's saying about not having the time or energy to participate in gaming,comic book etc. I still engage in these activities but I don't have a lot of the same passion for them like I once did it seems to have waned a bit as I focus on other endeavors.  Gaming and those other interest still do matter to me and I consider them important and have made great friends because of them,but as time goes on it gets harder to manage everything you'd like to do with what you need to do. Sometimes I feel I spend too much time on games and such and other times I feel that I'd like more time for those activities. Ultimately I'm just trying to find a balance between work & play.


On a different note  indie musician Adam WarRock released a free track titled  "Ta-Nehisi"  
named after Coates a more serious track than the ones he's most talked about. WarRock also included a post talking about his struggle with racial identity.