Rant

[varjohaltia]

Not being stressed about the finals, I'm lounging about, enjoying my Chef Boyardee lunch, and watching stuff gathered from the Science Channel. A few documentaries I really liked, and one got me sufficiently mad that I felt it appropriate to rant some.

Megastructures: Liquid Natural Gas tankers episode supposedly tells you about the LNG infrastructure, and how the most advanced ships to sail the oceans today are built. But it doesn't. It tells you that LNG is some gas that comes from somewhere and is liquefied. Then we get lots of footage from Samsung's shipyard in Korea, treating the Koreans as ants in a wonderful colony, as opposed to the way US shipbuilders are usually portrayed. But whoever wrote/directed/edited this thing fell prey to the same tendency that so many of these shows now have.

Instead of telling us neat stuff about the ship, like what is it that makes it so advanced and complicated, the ship-building process has been dramatized according to "TV Dramatization 101." It's now a race against time! It's dangerous, because something heavy can fall! Workers valiantly take chances and gamble on parts fitting together! Oh no! Something went wrong! We're behind schedule! The Korean dude with the radio we know nothing about must fix this! The crane operator lowers a piece into the boat! Success! Hooray!

ARGH!

I deleted the program in disgust a third of the way in. Sure, you can dramatize a grocery run if you want to, but please don't. Just tells us about neat technology and science and stuff, please!

Like "Battle for the Beginning" or "The Atom," presented by some British Arabic dude with a PhD and excessive enunciation, telling us very neatly the history of how high-energy physics got to where it is today, the modern history of cosmology etc. He also tells about the drama and excitement, shows plenty of original footage of people so we actually get a feeling about the human aspect of science, and picks totally awesome locations in which to stand to deliver his narration. It's not the best program ever, but I rather like it, and it's funny, and interesting.

Comments

[hyanan.livejournal.com]

I <3 Toivo McRanty ;)

(That does sound annoying, by the way.)

[elgordomagyar.livejournal.com]

Sex sells on the regular networks and drama sells on PBS and Discovery, sad to say. The era of producing good documentaries in the western world is fast running to a close with of course the US in the lead.

Be nice if the US got back to leading the world positively, but elas I expect it not during my lifetime.

[kaote.livejournal.com]

Oh don't hold back, tell us how you really feel. ^.^

The Brits seem to place a higher premium on Knowing Lots of Trivia versus Action and Suspense that we do here. Especially when large, impressive machines are involved (cosmology/physics is usually exempt - but a documentary on CERN might not be!) Which is a shame, since I'd always expected something better than the lowest common denominator on the Science Channel. But I haven't had cable for years, so my views may be a bit inaccurate.

[roguer.livejournal.com]

That was very funny, and unfortunately, accurate.

I watched Prototype This for the first time last night, and the same thing hit me. They had all this cool shit, but they'd show you a glimpse, and then cut to these 4 dudes about whom I know or care nothing about. Stick with the cool shit!

-Rog

[jordangreywolf.livejournal.com]

That was right on spot. Gwendel has a liking for watching documentaries whenever she gets the chance - getting DVDs from the library (or from the public library service that lets her watch certain shows online), or staying up ridiculously late watching the History Channel or Discovery Channel or whatever on the rare occasion we're traveling (or at Necronomicon) and therefore have access to cable in a hotel room.

So often, these things make me want to hurl objects at the TV set. WHY THE FALSE DRAMA?! Why all the schwoop sound effects and oh-so-dramatic camera effects? (Jiggly camera! Hyperactive montage! Staged arguments! Faked quasi-3D paper-cutout scenes from old photographs!)

Good grief! If I'm tuning in to this it's because I'm already interested in the topic (or at least, Gwendel is, I assume). If I want an action movie, I'll watch an action movie. Sometimes I feel like I'm being squashed under all the out-and-out desperate efforts to make it not be boring.

So, I feel satisfactorily vindicated, reading your rant. =) Huzzah!