Klarinet Archive - Posting 000287.txt from 2000/09

From: Bilwright@-----.net (William Wright)
Subj: [kl] Unmetaphorical kids
Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 19:48:15 -0400

We've had a lot of conversation during the last 6 months about
metaphors, language vs music, modes of thought, the 'meaning' of
different sorts of music, ways of perceiving, translation from one mode
of perception to another, and so forth.
This afternoon, I took a break and went to a movie. Some kids in
the audience brought all of these issues into focus for me. I'm not
sure whether I should be glad or sad, however.

The movie was filled with visual metaphors that could be
interpreted on many levels. The movie wasn't quite up to the standards
of Strawberry Fields or The Magician, but it contained enough meaning
that I remained in my seat after the lights came on and I thought about
it for a few minutes.
What brought me up short was a couple of teenagers who agreed
contemptuously with each other that the movie was a total waste of time.
"Dumb plot, I knew how the film was going to end after the first 30
seconds. Why make a color film if everybody is always wearing white?
Nobody could really hold their breath underwater that long." And so
forth.

So should I pity those kids because they have no imagination and
can't translate between various modes of perception or 'live' in an
alternate world for 90 minutes? Or should I be glad that they are
sufficiently rooted in 'reality' that they would never be influenced by
an art form to actually do some of the things thatI saw in the film?
Are these the same kids who would be transported and influenced by
violent video games? Or not?
And what of the 'trash music' that these kids may (I didn't get to
talk with them) enjoy, but to me it seems to be everyday tuneless noise
and grunting and yelling -- not a construction of tones that transcend
the everyday sounds that I want to leave behind when I play?

At one level, all this talk about language vs. music, measurement
vs. metaphor, and so forth is just intellectual curiosity. But at
another level, these topics are what makes music either trivial or
meaningful, IMO.

Clarinet. (There, I've kept this message on topic.)

Cheers,
Bill

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