I can’t take it anymore! The constant yammering of lectures, formulaic books, romantic comedies and all that is called mundane has driven me to the point of desperation. I reached a point in time when you feel you have to speak out or forever hold your breath. Why? You may ask. Well, the best the reason I can conjure up is ‘familiarity breeds contempt’ and my threshold to tolerate bullshit has gone down a lot.
People would attribute it to my apparent smugness, well, I pride myself for having an opinion of my own and so I don’t give a damn. Let me explain myself why I snapped.
I read ‘The Lost Symbol’ by Dan Brown.
My verdict- a waste of 7 hours of my life! It follows the same formula, Langdon wakes up the morning having no idea what shit is going down that evening, some superhuman crazy guy who is borderline gay, likes playing dress-up and is trying to get ‘atonement’, of course, the damsel in distress, a sceptical Langdon (on the premise which crazy rituals thought up by show-off scientists are explained), symbols and architecture explained by half truths, a near death experience for Langdon… yada yada yada… Sounds familiar? It’s the formula that revived the sheen ridden ‘thriller literature’. It’s as if though, the writer did not even try to conjure up something original. It’s a disgrace.
It’s the same for movies and music, all formulaic and even copied; we then nurture it by consuming them without criticism. The whole point of creativity is to be fresh and inspiring. If you are a serious follower of art, please don’t encourage such mediocrity and give fresh ideas and fresh minds a chance.
I hope Brown relooks in writing his books... its like old wine in a new bottle... i did like his writings earlier, but now he's become a mediocre... nice work dude.....
ReplyDeleteI had high hopes frm The Lost Symbol.. havnet read it yet..
ReplyDeleteand movies too.. i agree.. formula stuff.. saw The Family Guy movie y'day.. refreshing change must say.. :)
Yup i agree...thr is a dire need for a refreshing change!!! Hopev come across that soon!!
ReplyDeleteFormulas still work dude u like it or not especially in TV soaps, my mom still loves it despite the fact that she knows what is gonna happen.. For eg: Heroine's car le bomb she escapes. Even my mom knows she wil escape she wants to stil see hw she ll escape.. I think may be there is target segment fr formulas. Think Rajini same script since my childhood still ill watch man..Movie will go on for 200 days- house full Formulas do work in a few places
ReplyDeleteRcp- it does work.. i'm not saying it doesn't.. it's just that artists shouldn't dumb down their creativity for the sake of a hit.. At least an enlightened few should look for fresh ideas and encourage them.. A recent anthology film which came out in Malayalam, showcased works that are quite off beat, but the inexorable public liked it and has encouraged with good turn outs...
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