Program scripts from week of September 17, 2012
My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media. TV, radio, the movies and more. I love them, and I hate them and I always have an opinion. Call this the View from the Phlipside.
The Rise of the Tablet
I am fascinated by the impact that is being felt all across the media world with the meteoric rise of the tablet computer. Folks have been trying to make a go the tablet concept for years now and none of them have managed to hit the sweet spot of versatility, ease of use and price that tablets seem to have found in just the last couple years. Even Apple’s first attempt, the Newton, crashed and burned. They’ve done it by making being a computer secondary to being a media delivery system. In barely two years tablet computers have become the most powerful force for change in the popular technology world. Think I’m over stating my case? Let’s take a look.
One of the big movements in how we deal with media is the fact that more and more of us are doing it on multiple screens now. This is especially profound on how we watch television. Take a look at the number of television shows and even commercials that invite you get involved with the program by checking into the show’s forum or Twitter feed or Facebook page. This is not television leading the way (it almost never leads the way) it’s TV reacting to what’s already going on. There are so many people already cyber-chatting about their favorite shows that the networks are just climbing on the band wagon.
Even more than that now you don’t even need the television any more. More folks are choosing to watch programming on their tablets on the move.
You can’t do that with a desktop and it’s even awkward with a laptop or a netbook. But it’s a piece of cake with a tablet. Yes, smart phones play a huge role in this as well but smart phones and tablets are headed toward an inevitable collision right now. And the tablet is going to win because it’s a better experience of the media we’ll be watching than a phone screen.
Still don’t think that tablets are going to take over your future? Then check out this - Toys R Us is launching the Tabeo. A tablet computer aimed at children. Pre-loaded with over 50 apps and with a library of six thousand educational programs and games. All for $149. And it’s a serious tablet.
Why would there be a market for that? Easy. If the kid has their own tablet they won’t keep trying to borrow yours. And that means you can keep telling your friends how awesome the latest episode of “Breaking Bad” is.
You Could Look It Up
The following is a rant. Pure and simple. Some folks out there have finally pushed me over the edge and I just can’t take it any more. You have been warned.
We live in a age where billions upon billions of bits of information at our very finger tips. We are surrounded by it and with our computers we have access to it in just a matter of seconds. Now I need to also note that our computers give us access to millions of pieces of junk as well. Rumors, hoaxes, opinion masquerading as fact and imagination run wild. If you’ve spent more than 10 minutes out there you would know that.
Well you’d know that if you bothered to pay any attention. Here’s the problem as I see it. Too many people are just lazy. And with that I’m being kind because the more cynical, angry side of me wants to say that they’re just stupid. But I’ll behave myself and stick with lazy.
So what is it that has finally pushed my button and gotten on my last nerve? People who don’t take a couple seconds to check on something before accepting something on blind faith. In the last two weeks we’ve had hoaxes concerning the death of beloved comedian Bill Cosby and iconic actor Morgan Freeman. Now I want you to know I double checked both of those items. In fact let me do it right now. Minimize the window where I’m recording this program, open my browser, open Google, type in Morgan Freeman. Hit enter.
And Google tells me 10 personal results. 76,500,000 other results. Boom, just that simple.
So explain to me why people just blindly follow along on things like this? Why do they continue to click on links that claim Microsoft (or any of a dozen other companies) will give away money every time you click? Why do the repeat absurd claims about celebrities, politicians or religious groups?
I think I know the answer. Because it’s easier than thinking. It’s easier than exercising our critical thinking muscles. It’s because we’re lazy.
All that information at our finger tips and we still want to believe that Mr. Rogers was a Marine Corps sniper or that in December the universe will align in such a way that will result in a world wide blackout.
Really? Really? Try a little mental exercise instead.
Rant over.
Historical Trend
There are a couple of movies coming out between now and the end of the year if memory serves that I am very interested in getting a look at. First because they involve characters about whom I am profoundly interested, second because they involve actors for whom I have great respect and third because they are not the kind of movie we generally get from Hollywood these days. They are historical stories involving two of America’s great Presidents.
The first one I heard about was “Hyde Park on the Hudson” which tells the story of the visit by King George VI of England and his wife Queen Elizabeth (parents of the current queen) to the Roosevelt home in 1939. The meeting was of great historic importance coming just before the war. This is the same king we saw in the movie “The King’s Speech” two years ago (portrayed by a different actor of course). But what really grabbed me was discovering that comedian Bill Murray had been cast as Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The trailer for the movie shows Murray at his absolute best disappearing into the role. The movie debuts here on December 7.
Alone that might have been an interesting aberration. When you add in Daniel Day Lewis as Abraham Lincoln in the movie “Lincoln” suddenly you have an interesting mini-trend. The trailer for this movie also shows the actor doing a wonderful turn as the former President. Because Lincoln lived before the advent of audio recording we don’t know the sound of his voice the way we do FDR’s. That may be the easiest part of taking on the role of an American icon. “Lincoln” debuts November 16.
The real question for me is what will the audience reaction be? Coming right after the election will we be too exhausted by politics to want to hear any more? “Lincoln” will focus on the intense pressures on a President of a nation split by Civil War. Or will the return to a simpler time and supposedly simpler issues have an appeal?
Once upon a time biographical pictures like this of the great figures in our history were more common. The history they portrayed was not always very accurate. My hope is that a couple great movies with great casts and hopefully decent history could re-ignite an interest in our own history that seems sadly lacking these days. It almost makes me wish that these movies had come out BEFORE the election. Now is the time when we could all use a clearer understanding of our roots.
Call that the View From the Phlipside.
