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Saturday, Mar. 15, 2014

The Seemingly Humble Pauper

Posted Monday, August 13, 2007, at 9:29 PM

I want this poster.
A message to anyone who dislikes cluttered blogs: Stop Reading.

I think the theme for this week is: humility.

Don't be mislead. I'm not speaking of my own or yours. Rather, I'm speaking of the media. I think we're all astute enough to sense how a director or company of a television show or movie feels about themselves or their work. Some pieces just reek of superiority and I really don't appreciate it. So I thought I'd talk about a few of my favorites which take the humble route and have won me over for life for it.

The Bourne Series. I just went to see The Bourne Ultimatum. I've been a fan of the movie series for quite some time and even though the movies have changed directors it still holds a certain feel to it. Yes the steady cam used can be quite..daunting to the weak of stomach, but it truly feels like a really really well done home movie. It has a sense of purity to it that I find rare these days.

Even though Matt Damon is somewhat of a superstar these days, there was a time when he was like us. And I don't think he's forgotten about that period in his life.

There's always the difference of levels between the shows where the actors feel completely out of reach. Almost as if they're not real people. I don't care about what happens to a large score of them because I've never met them. They're figments of my imagination. But some Television shows, some Actors simply make me feel as if I've known them and give me the feeling that if I were to walk up and shake their hands they would genuinely appreciate it and me. We could be friends.

That's what wins me over. I don't really care if it's a fake feeling given to me by some special camera tricks. That's how I feel and ignorance is bliss.

The old Tech TV network was very similar. The entire tv network was all in-house with the exception of a few shows and you gradually noticed the star of one show filling in for the star of another when they were sick. You saw them reply to emails. You genuinely felt like these were humble, friendly people that you could talk to in your everyday life. That's what geeks loved about that damn channel. Aside from the "tech stuff" these people were your friends, on tv, who had something to say. Kevin Rose. Leo Laporte. Patrick. Sarah. Morgan. Adam. I really feel a close to connection to all of these people and I actively try to catch them in whatever they're doing even though that network is no longer. Leo has weekly podcasts and still runs Call For Help in Canada. Kevin is part of Diggnation on the Revision online tv station. Morgan is still on G4 but she's digressed quite a bit from her humbleness. More on that in another article.

Another television station which is succeeding in making me feel a close-ness with the stars is Bravo. Bravo's done something brilliant. (I think Techtv did it as well, but not to the same degree.)

They have their own blogs!

The producers, stars, writers, guest hosts. Everyone has a blog and it really makes you feel like you're watching friends. It's no longer a tv show full of people who you couldn't' care less about, a million leagues away from you. You read. You care. You sympathize. You enjoy more.

These companies have more directly tapped something which has been forsaken for years. People put out more effort for people they know and like. Giving the impression of knowing someone will generally have people putting out more effort (in this case to watch their "friends" on tv!!)

Give me your thoughts. I'm rather curious.


And if anyone wants to lavish me with gifts. I would love to read the Bourne books.

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Nate James
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