Why We Watch Reality Television

Most people say when out in company that reality television is terrible. They claim it’s garbage and that the networks should put better material on the air. Here is my take on it folks and it may upset some people. Networks put reality shows on for one major reason. PEOPLE ARE WATCHING THEM!

Hollywood is a business. Sure you ask a writer, an actor or a director if it’s about the art and about 99% of the time you are going hear that it is. The “numbers” people (producers, executives, etc.) will tell you its not. They want to make money. Reality shows get ratings. People watch them. There may be as many different reasons for watching as there are programs. Here are a few:

1. We love to people watch. Go to any mall and sit in the food court sans cell phone. Within about thirty seconds you will be watching the people around you. If you are a writer you will be creating dramas about these people and asking questions. Why didn’t someone tell that guy his shirt was ugly (to big, small, offensive, etc.) Is that girl who looks twelve the mother of that baby in the stroller? Where did grandma get those cookies? Is that old man sitting on the bench waiting on his wife?
2. Another reason we watch reality television is we as Americans love a good underdog story. I admit that I’m a sucker for a good story and reality TV can manufacture/display some of the best. I watch competition shows like The Voice, American Idol, Top Chef, because people are chasing their dreams. We get this brief insight into the “regular” people and think if they are chasing their dreams then why not me? I watch the ultimate reality show ever two years in the Summer and Winter Olympics. Not a reality show you say? I beg to differ. These are non Hollywood types that are shopped to American homes by their personal stories and compete to win a prize (metals).
3. We love celebrities even washed up and past their prime celebrities. America is a country without royalty (we did fight a war over this). So instead of Wills and Kate we use entertainment people. If we can get a glimpse into some celebrity’s life and see that they are human we feel connected and maybe better about ourselves. Much of these celebrity reality shows are depressing in my opinion. Other than a curiosity viewing I usually stay away from them. Anyone who watched shows like Being Bobby Brown and The Anna Nicole Show knew that tragedy was in the making.

Real life may not be perfect and it definitely not scripted but it’s easier to laugh when you can compare yourself to someone else. That is why there are Teen Moms, Jersey Shore, Honey Boo-Boo, and any of the housewives. It gives us the ability to say I’m may not be where I want but at least I'm not alone.

My thoughts about "The Great Gatsby"

I am trying to see at least one movie a week at the movie theaters this year. While it has been hit and miss I did make it this week. This week the movie was The Great Gatsby, a film that I have been excited about since hearing it was in production.

Let me state that I was not forced to endure the torture of reading this classic when in high school like many of my friends claimed to have been. I wanted to see this movie for two reasons. One - I am a huge Baz Luhrmann fan. From the quirky Strictly Ballroom to the modern take of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to my personal favorite the tragically romantic Moulin Rouge. His amazing use of costume and music to create fantastical worlds full of larger than life characters astonishes the filmmaker in me.

The second reason is Leonardo DiCaprio. Now some of you might think that I discovered Leo during his Titanic heyday but that is not the case. I first noticed him on the big screen in “This Boy’s Life” (on TV it was when he was Luke on Growing Pains). His talented turns in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and The Basketball Diaries told me that guy was the real deal. He is an actor that is protective of his personal life so that he can disappear into each of the character he portrays. I have no qualms in saying that he is one of if not the best actors of my generation. I read once that James Dean’s death was the best thing that happened to Paul Newman career because the roles that would have been offered to Dean went to Newman. I often wonder if the same couldn’t be said for DiCaprio and the great River Phoenix. But I digress…DiCaprio’s turn as Gatsby is spot on in a somewhat spotty film. I found myself drawn to Gatsby as much as Nick was and wanted to throttle Daisy for abandoning him.

The Great Gatsby is full of the Lurhmann’s charm and style. What it lacks is the emotional connections of the above mentioned films. Part of the problem is, again I haven’t read the book, is in the character faults written in the original draft. I am going on what I have read in other publications and talked about with people who have indeed read the book.  Had Gatsby been written post WWII or post 1960’s it may have ended differently. In 1925 (the year it was written) Daisy was a former Louisville debutante who married old money. Women at that time were encouraged to marry, raise a family and if needed, make good of a bad situation especially a bad marriage.  So good girl Daisy went WAY off the script by having an affair with her “star crossed lover” Gatsby. I wished though that she went further and made herself deserving of Gatsby love/obsession. All that said…Thanks to Carey Mulligan I did like Daisy for about half the movie.

Tobey Maguire’s Nick was okay for this viewer. The first thirty minutes of the movie I waffled between thinking he wanted to be Gatsby and be WITH Gatsby. I felt he got better as the movie went on.

The rest of the supporting cast was good if not great. I do wish to give a big shout out to Isla Fisher and Jason Clarke as the doomed married couple Myrtle and George Wilson. Clarke in particular did so much with very little screen time.

My final verdict on the movie…if you like the book you will probably love the movie. For me it was 2 ½ Stars out of 4.

Tom Cruise and Oblivion...

I saw the new Tom Cruise movie Oblivion this week. Let me just say first that I’m not a big science fiction girl. Never have been but it doesn’t mean that I don’t like science fiction. That being stated though I liked this movie. I’ll try to speak in generalities but understand that it I might leak a few spoilers. If you want to see this movie, continue reading at your own risk. J

To anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock since the 1980s Tom Cruise is a movie star. There is no doubt about it. He skyrocketed to fame with the film like Risky Business and has never seemed to look back. He’s done the big budget action films like Mission Impossible and Top Gun. I’ve never been into that Tom Cruise. I like the Tom who did Rain Man and Jerry Maguire.

Watching Oblivion though realized why I liked those other two movies. Tom Cruise is never better than when he plays a character that it a little too sure of himself. You know that guy who knows his role in life. The man who not only lives on the edge but flourishes on it right until the moment he falls over.

Then viewers get to see what Tom does best. He takes this character that you think that you know, the one you have already invested thirty to forty minutes and spins him around. He makes choices as an actor that allows the viewer to feel as if they are a part of  the journey to self discovery.

In Oblivion, we meet Jack Harper, a futuristic electronic repairman who is two weeks away from completing his mission. Jack is another one of these characters who seemingly has life by the tail. It’s not until he begins questioning this that he realized that his “rebuilt” life isn’t what it seems.

The movie is not without its flaws. The pacing is a bit off and there is not nearly enough screen time for Morgan Freeman (but really I always think that.) The plot weakened as it needed more humans and less drones. But if you want to see Cruise at his best I highly recommend seeing it.

"Overnight" Success: Writer vs. Author

When I tell people that I’m a published author most are impressed. The next thing out of their mouth is “What have you written?” I then watch as the excitement drains from their face when they realize that I’m not E.L James (thank goodness!). We often hear about the “overnight” successes. People that sell a million plus copies of the first book they ever write. What we forget is there are more authors like me out there than E.L. James.

            I use the word author instead of writer because anyone can be a writer. Being a writer is easy. Being an author is hard. A writer doesn’t have deadlines to meet and can write whenever the "Muse" hits them. An author forces said Muse, at times at imaginary gunpoint, to meet the daily word count because the manuscript is due by the end of the month. A writer can doesn’t have to explain to his/her family why spending days at a writing convention is not only fun but more important than sitting on the beach with a margarita in hand.

            Writing is a hobby. Being an author is a career. Most of the authors I know balance full time day jobs with full time writing careers. Authors must able to multitask. There are deadlines to meet, edits to do, conventions to visit, publishing houses to research, swag to order, blogs to write…not to mention the BEAST that is SOCIAL MEDIA. If you want to sell your books you have to sell yourself.The actual writing is usually done in chunks (i.e. lunch breaks, car pool lanes, sleepless nights and predawn sessions).  

            Why do it? I can’t answer for anyone but myself. I am an author because it’s my dream. I’m a writer because it’s who I am. For a while I get to be anyone I want, go places that I dream and live in a fantasy world that is often better than reality.

Panic and the Attacks it Brings

Anxiety and panic attacks are words that often get thrown around in society these days. Anxiety is defined in the Webster Dictionary as: painful or apprehensive uneasiness of mind usually over an impending or anticipated ill.

Panic attacks are defined as: an episode of intense fear or apprehension that is of sudden onset and may occur for no apparent reason or as a reaction to an identifiable triggering stimulus (as a stressful event); specifically : one that is accompanied by usually four or more bodily or cognitive symptoms (as heart palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath, or feelings of unreality) and that typically peaks within 10 minutes of onset

You can have anxiety without the panic attacks but I doubt vice versa. I suffer from both. There is not a time in my life that I can honestly say that anxiety hasn’t been a part of. I must say though that anxiety didn’t rule or ruin my childhood. I am a worrier. I think that it’s in my DNA. My mother is a worrier, my dad, sisters…I guess it’s just what we do.

Panic attacks are a different beast entirely. My first attack happened when I was about twenty. I worked the night shift at a big time shipping company (those who live in and around Louisville know who I’m talking about). A friend introduced me to a guy who I was interested in and one night I arrived early to work in hopes of getting to talk to him. I sat in my car running the script over and over in my head. You know the script where I came off as this amazing, funny, flirty, smart, so beautiful he will never be able to live without me type of conversation.

The longer I sat there the more nervous I became. I couldn’t catch my breath. My heart felt as if it was going to beat right out of my chest and I felt lightheaded. I didn’t know what was wrong. Was I sick? Having a heart attack? Whatever it was I just closed my eyes and prayed that it went away. It lasted about ten minutes and then I was fine. Twenty year old me chalked it up to nerves and went inside. BTW I did see the guy that night and was a big hit. Did work out you ask? That is another post. J

Over the years there were other “spells” and I admit they reached an all time high after the death of my father in 2010. Thankfully I’ve met others who suffer from anxiety and/or panic attacks. Through their advice and guidance I’ve been able to educate myself. I’m not on any medication but neither would I be ashamed/resistant if my doctor felt those meds necessary. My words to others dealing with this are you are not weak, weird or any other derogatory name small minded people come up with. You are normal…whatever that means….

Django Unchained Review

I just watched the much anticipated (at least in the eyes of this writer) Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. Most of the reviews have been favorable but I must admit I was a bit scared that I would be seeing Kill Bill instead of a Pulp Fiction/Inglorious Bastards.

            What I saw was a film that was almost perfect. As I sit and reflect on the film I realized that Tarantino is a masterful director/screenwriter. This movie was about as perfectly cast as any film that I’ve seen in the last five or so years. Christoph Waltz was just as brilliant here as he was in his Oscar winning role in Inglorious Bastards. I read that Quentin wrote the part for Waltz and it shows. He showed off Waltz comedic timing and the off center intelligence that the actor is known for.

                        The other actor getting a lot of hype from this movie is Leonardo DiCaprio. From a girl that loves Leo as one of Titanic’s lovebirds I must admit I like a little of mean Leo. Calvin’s a complex character who is no stranger to getting his way and using cruel measures to keep everyone in line. Trust me you love to see him get what he deserves.

Kerry Washington gets little screen time as Django’s German speaking wife Hildy. The scenes with her and Foxx are heartfelt and she does so much with very little dialogue. As a viewer you know that this is a couple who would do anything for one another.

 Jamie Foxx IS Django.This is a character that not only African Americans can admire but everyone can. Jamie’s Django is intelligent with a thirst for knowledge. He is a loyal friend and a loving husband. Plus the fastest gun in the south. He is truly one in 10,000.

To close, Django is not for the faint of heart. It is violent and downright gruesome in parts. The use of the N word I admit is jarring as well. But I think that Quentin wanted you to feel that way. With the characters that were using it weren’t the heroes of the story. In my opinion he showed that the word should never be used at all. But if you can handle that or belong to the Tarantino fanbase I highly suggest that you give it a try…if just for the KKK scene alone.

Welcome Today Guest Blogger...Author Blaine Pardoe!

                           "Genre? We don't need no stinking genre?"

My most recent book, Virginia Creeper, is a book detailing a bizarre (paranormal) series of events related to a brutal series of murders in the Virginia Piedmont. Some people have said it’s a horror book, some say it’s paranormal, others classify it as a true crime, while others have labeled it as a thriller. I don't care what label is put on it but it is interesting that some readers seem to focus on this exclusively. Some books, and I think Virginia Creeper is one of them, crosses into a number of genres - and that should be okay. From the author's perspective I can tell you that all that matters to me is that it is entertaining for the reader.
I find it fascinating that authors have to fit our reading into defined taxonomies like the genre. While helpful for some readers, I'm not sure its fair for some of the books. For example my true crime book, Secret Witness. Is it a true crime, or a regional history (Michigan), or is it a legal (true life) thriller? Does putting a book into a category drive who will read it? What defines a genre is pretty vague. Let's face it, this problem has been around for a while. There were times in bookstores I had to look in two or more sections to find a book I wrote.
Some of this is my own fault - I admit it. In my writing career I have written bestselling business management books (Cubicle Warfare) a lot of science fiction novels (thirteen as of this summer) a traditional true crime book this year (Secret Witness) and a lot of military history non-fiction books. I write the things I like reading. As such, I write in a LOT of different genres.
There's a school of thought that writers should pick a genre and deep-dive into it. I know that's good if you want to build a solid following of fans devoted a particular kind of book. Me, I find that writing in different genres is much more healthy to me as a writer. And, because I write multiple things in these genres, I have been able to cultivate followings in each genre. Some follow me from one genre to the other - some don't. That's okay, as long as everyone has a good time reading my work.
Virginia Creeper doesn't dovetail well into any one genre - and for that I'm proud. It's more of a crossover book, one that either defines a new genre or fits into a number of others well. Suffice it to say that if you like horror, the paranormal, and true crimes - this book will play well into your sweet spot.
The old saying, "don't judge a book by its cover," should be changed. "Don't judge a book by its genre in Amazon.com."