Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2009 01:42:11 -0400 From: Alexander Winfield <sheepwpunks-AT-gmail.com> To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Fwd: The Case Against Bad Puppetry It would seem to me that none of these works so far mentioned, including Ask Blackie, Avenue Q and Apollo's Pad derivetheir appeal from utilizing puppets per se, but because they reference and pervert memories of the Jim Henson shows, which most North Americans of this generations (20s to 30s) grew up with. The quality of the puppeteering matters not so much, then, as the sight of creatures from childhood memory acting in grotesquely adult fashions. This, by the way, was done earliest and quite effectively by Peter Jackson in his greatest film, MEET THE FEEBLES. Everything since is dribble. It helps me then to think of these skits as not so much sincere attempts at puppetry or the realisation of character through puppetry (the characters in Apollo's Pad never even look at each other correctly, for Christ's sake) but as just a few more pieces of post modern fluff. It is ironic and unfortunate that Henson, who took great pains to promote the many masters and obscure arts of puppetry in his lifetime, could not quite prevent his posthumous fame and influence from obscuring the mass public's perception of all other forms of puppetry other than his own. See also how the fame of Tolkien's LORD OF THE RINGS has dominated fantasy since its publication. Pre-Tolkien fantasy was remarkably rich and varied (see A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS, THE OTHER SIDE, THE DREAM QUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH, THE NIGHT LAND, THE WORM OUROBOROS etc.); since Tolkien its all, with exceptions (ie. the works of John Crowley) dwarves and elves. But I digress. To end this on a pleasant note, here is an excellent group I met called Les Sages Fous: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xfx333i2Fhs -Alexander On Fri, Apr 24, 2009 at 12:44 PM, <FLYINGHAND-AT-aol.com> wrote: > I think you need to take a deep breath, have a walk outside to clear your > mind, then retackle your good/bad criteria. Why condemn the drivel of ASK > BLACKIE yet champion the amateurish barking of LITTLE CREATURES? Turn down > the sound; it (mostly) all looks the same. Turn up the sound and they > (mostly)sound the same. The material may be different, but the voices are > obviously derivative nth generation Sesame Street. It appears to me that > 99% of > what you champion seems to fit into the "WHO CAN LOOK AND SOUND THE MOST > LIKE EACH OTHER" category. Voices? Amateur Night. Craftsmanship? If inbred > Muppets is the goal, Mission Accomplished. Acting and writing? Come on. If > you were to rub the sleep from your eyes, could you in the clear light of > morning compare ANY of that work to the professional level of the true > masters > like Henson/Sahlin? Or Baird? Or Obratzof? Or even latter day originals > like Mystery Science Theatre or the Shining Time Station puppets? A deeper > inquest into the genesis and expansion of puppetry is needed (Otto Kunze or > Dick Meyers anyone?) A scholar like John Bell understands this. > I think the puppet emperors aren't wearing any clothes. If the word > "great" can bandied about without a caveat for a high-school level > copy-cat > goblin sculpture, then what noun is left to describe the truly great? > I love puppets and puppetry, but, sadly, they mostly disappoint. When a > Broadway show can hold auditions for Avenue Q and state in bold black and > white that puppetry experience is NOT required, then what does that say > about > the perception of skill required for a craft to be called an art? > > > > ____________________________________ > From: puppetvision-AT-gmail.com > Reply-to: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org > To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org > Sent: 4/24/2009 3:51:52 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time > Subj: [Puptcrit] The Case Against Bad Puppetry > > > I get a lot of submissions for my PuppetVision Blog and see a lot of what > I've dubbed "YouTube puppet video cliches", shows or videos that rely on > shock value; puppets having sex, swearing and drinking/doing drugs. I'm > hardly a prude, but my frustration at seeing this has built over time and > ended up coming out in post I've dubbed "The Case Against Bad Puppetry" - > http://www.puppetvision.info/2009/04/case-against-bad-puppetry.html > > I'd be curious to hear other people's thoughts on this. > _______________________________________________ > List address: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org > Admin interface: http://lists.puptcrit.org/mailman/listinfo/puptcrit > Archives: http://www.driftline.org > > > > > > > ____________________________________ > Access 350+ FREE radio stations anytime from anywhere on the web. _Get the > Radio Toolbar_ > (http://toolbar.aol.com/aolradio/download.html?ncid=emlcntusdown00000003) > ! > **************Access 350+ FREE radio stations anytime from anywhere on the > web. Get the Radio Toolbar! > (http://toolbar.aol.com/aolradio/download.html?ncid=emlcntusdown00000003) > _______________________________________________ > List address: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org > Admin interface: http://lists.puptcrit.org/mailman/listinfo/puptcrit > Archives: http://www.driftline.org > _______________________________________________ List address: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org Admin interface: http://lists.puptcrit.org/mailman/listinfo/puptcrit Archives: http://www.driftline.org
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