Spontaneous Musings

If I wanted proof that it is possible for two people to radically see the same show differently, outside of course my flist's reviews on the Buffy comic - I'd say The Good Wife delivered. I just saw it, and this episode was about as far from bland as one could get. It would be like calling peppermint ice cream or a spicey curry, bland. It was ripe with subtext, and political maneuvering. There was so many deals and counter-deals going on beneath the surface, and manipulations. I can't understand how anyone in their right mind could call this bland? Mind-boggling.

But see? That's taste. I remember years ago inviting a friend to Thanksgiving Dinner and fixing her a favorite dish - sweet potatoes and apples, with a touch of molassess and apple cider. She wouldn't touch it. Hated it. Wanted stuffing with gloppy gravy, which frankly made me ill (because hello gluten intolerant but I didn't know that at the time.). Or lumpy mashed potatoes. In sum? Our tastes differed. And about five years ago, I wrote a post on a fanboard about why I hated the Buffy episode Storyteller, which was clearly everyone else's favorite - the essay wasn't about the fact that I disliked the episode, it was about the more interesting bit - why we had such radically different perspectives on the same episode. It's sort of like that voice meme going around - how differently people pronounce certain words. My brother insists that the correct pronouciation of the word Aunt is Awwnt. While I can't imagine calling my Aunts - anything but "ant". In fact I passed it by them, and they burst out laughing, no, no, we are definitely "ants". Just as I'd smack my bro upside the head for having my niece calling me "Awwnt" - how snooty and upper-crust, it makes me think of Maggie Smith from Downton Abbey in her full dressage, sipping tea. OR some people call their parents - rents, and other's folks.

I think it comes down to so many variables. In tonight's episode of the Good Wife, there's a jury expert (which my Evidence/Litigation Prof in law school used to make fun of - stating they are a waste of money and time) - and this guy states that people are as predictable as dogs. Easy to read.
Easy to manipulate. Yet, the episode proves this is not the case. People aren't predictable, as many a social psychologist will eventually attest to their immense frustration. You don't know what you or anyone else is going to do in any given situation until it arises. You can guess of course, go by certain statistical evidence, etc - but you don't know. I remember realizing that as I sat in a Marketing class - and listened to the various techniques that marketers use to figure out how buyers will react to ads or a product. There's no clear science, it's mainly guess work, reading people, and hunches. Some people have a knack for predicting trends, some don't.

But...there are always exceptions, always someone who bucks the trend.

When you rec a tv show, book, movie, song to me - you have no idea if I'll love it or hate it. ( Read more... )