Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Landlines

Having now watched the James Bond trailer several dozen times, I note something very interesting. there are no killer spy satellites to be seen.

No remote control cars. No omnipotent touch pads.

Just guns, cars and explosions. Back to basics, as it were. And Bond is not alone. I've noticed a trend recently in movies and in television, subtle visual cues, a return to basics of sorts.

Our modern everyday world has found itself filled with Blackberries, Palm Pilots, notebook computers, iPods, iPhones, Bluetooth and all other manner of digital debris. Our cheep electronic do-dads and gadgets accumulate and clutter, and in the end, look merely cheap and disposable.

Visually, this image is magnified on screen. High tech gizmos date a character, cementing the story to a very specific time and place. Your fancy futuristic cell phone looks great, in 1992, but looks like a brick with a stick in 2008.

The era of ubiquitous Bluetooth ear pieces being worn in public like a permanent Borg implant is waning. It has moved quickly from the vanguard of tekkie trends to the domain of Hindu 7-11 operators and over-weight sweat-stained mechanical engineers.

Movie and television producers seem to be catching on. Finally. And in an effort to perhaps preserve their story for other eras, or perhaps for the pure aesthetic pleasure, I am noticing a trend away from displaying the gizmos.

Phones, frequently these days, have cords, and are attached to things, like walls for instance. Notes are taken down on paper. Paper, it seems, is the new "high tech." Everything gets written down on paper, and nobody sends, receives, forwards or even mentions email.

And so, for James Bond, Q is dead and his department is gone. Big stunts are back, and nobody is fighting in outer space.

For space fights, you need to watch Battlestar Galactica. Of course, they write everything down on neat bits of paper with the corners trimmed off. Oh, and, their phones have cords.

14 comments:

  1. Blackberries kick ass. Battlestar Gallactica does not.

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  2. I sometimes wondered if people who were talking to themselves some metaphysical ability that allowed them to talk or converse wth a supernatural being. Now, those crazy people blend in with the bluetooth users. If only they did not smell like dried milk . . .

    I think the directors perhaps didn't want Bond to look like a schizo.

    Get Smart, now that is a movie I am looking forward, too. Talking into a Phone Shoe!!!

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  3. Anonymous1:59 PM

    While you faggots were talking about space shit and politics I have quietly inched my way to number 2 in point standings.

    Go buy an amp energy drink and a pair of Wranglers.

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  4. Anonymous2:09 PM

    I'm subtle.

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  5. Calm down Dale, the season's not over yet...couple bad races and you'll loose that 2nd place in points.

    And yes Dr. B, real subtle...

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  6. You note a lot from the trailer

    I kinda got distracted once I saw Daniel Craig looking hot in a suit

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  7. Anonymous5:20 PM

    I'm going to cut Obama's nuts off.

    He's a halfrican and talking down to the brothers.

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  8. Allow me to point out that Battlestar Gallactica does, in fact, kick ass. Sorry Marge. You are incorrect. It kicks ass, even though for some strange reason, its a requirement to trim off the four corners of paper. Very futuristic.

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  9. That's ok Mitch, you're entitled to your opinion, but I still think Battlestar sucks, just not my thing. Maybe I'm just not nerdy enough...

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  10. Hot sweaty men, big breasted women, hot drama, dirty refugee sex, what's not to love?? I'll send you a copy of the miniseries... Think of it as NASCAR in space....

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  11. Anonymous10:27 PM

    I bet Daniel Craig can even make a sweater vest look hot.

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  12. Umm....I never said I liked Nascar

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  13. Anonymous10:29 AM

    Maybe you just scream NASCAR...

    ReplyDelete

Be compelling.

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