skywhopper Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Why do drum corps shows need a dissertation in order to be explained? Remember when drum corps used to march and play some really cool tunes. The fans loved it, the kids loved playing it, everyone enjoyed it. Why do things have to be so complicated. If I have to see a show more than once just to "get it", then it's a major turn off for me. I don't understand. There are layers of understanding and appreciation in any performance. It's certainly possible to design a drum corps show that is hard to enjoy without lots of context, but I'd say that's the rare exception. What shows this year "need a dissertation" to enjoy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvs me sum mello! Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 All that being said, can't a show be BOTH entertaining upon first viewing... and have a narrative that might not be easily detected in one viewing??? I'm confused by the absolutism in this discourse. Why can't a show have a narrative, theme, character, setting, or any other unifying concept for that matter and still be entertaining upon one viewing?? I'll go even further. Why can't a show have a unifying concept that is completely impossible to understand upon only one viewing still be entertaining on only one viewing??? I'm not saying that all shows with narratives are entertaining on one viewing to everyone, but certainly some CAN be, and ALL of the three mentioned shows in this thread that I've seen most definitely were entertaining. Alright, rant over. Thank you! I, for one, am glad there is design in shows. I can watch it the first time live and be blown away and then re watch it over and over again and find new things to appreciate. To be quite honest, I'm glad the days of just random music and random drill is gone. Those days were 95% boring as hell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF2K4 Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Either the show has a theme or it doesn't. I'm all for enjoying a show for what it is at face value. However, it pisses me off when people say they don't care about themes and we should always enjoy the show at face value regardless of whether or not it has a theme. Sorry, that's not how it works. If the corps wants to present a narrative and they fail to do so I would like to see some criticism on here. I'm not saying the above corps listed are guilty of this but I'm getting tired of people never wanting to ever say anything bad about drum corps (afraid of hurting the kids' feelings?). If the narrative sucks or isn't presented well, you better be #### sure I'm going to notice and I'm going to ask, “WTF?” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guard Diva Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 I know that the Cadets show actually has a story. It was posted when they announced their show. It's supposed to be a little kids dream playing with his toy soldiers, where he dreams that he's one of them, and they come to life so he can play with them. I think it's actually a really cool concept.See guys, no massive narration or degree needed. Except that i saw their show and had NO IDEA what it was about, other than some kid running around a field of toy soldiers.... that little story doesn't come across JUST from the show.... and that's part of the reason i didn't like it.... i didn't get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Is it really rocket science to figure out the shows that liebot listed? I think most were deliberately ambiguous. And for those who just hated anything more than a sentenc-e-long description of a show....beware that amplified sound fx are a way that corps are increasingly using to hit their audience over the head with it. That's equally bad IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris ncsu Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Except that i saw their show and had NO IDEA what it was about, other than some kid running around a field of toy soldiers.... that little story doesn't come across JUST from the show.... and that's part of the reason i didn't like it.... i didn't get it. You didn't see him interacting with them? Winding them up? Pushing one over, who then becomes 'human'? Becoming one of the soldiers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF2K4 Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Is it really rocket science to figure out the shows that liebot listed? I think most were deliberately ambiguous. And for those who just hated anything more than a sentenc-e-long description of a show....beware that amplified sound fx are a way that corps are increasingly using to hit their audience over the head with it. That's equally bad IMO. You're correct about the one's listed. However, it's not correct to assume all narratives in shows over the years have had such simple underlying themes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Since convoluted narratives are "bad,", can somebody explain to me the actual narrative of Phantom 08? How did one DM overthrowing another factor in to the story of Spartacus? Where did the DM overthrowing the other DM fit into the rest of the program for the rest of the year, and how did the show's narrative work for the other 95% of the competitions they were in without that moment? Just curious because I'm one of the rare people who thought the whole narrative thing going on with Phantom was stupid....but the music program is among my top 3 all time, so I was happy to see them win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guard Diva Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 You didn't see him interacting with them? Winding them up? Pushing one over, who then becomes 'human'? Becoming one of the soldiers? I saw some of that, but it still didn't make sense... at least not to me, and i've been following drum corps for years and have figured out some pretty obscure stories and themes. What came across to me was their show was a about a kid and some toy soldiers. I never would ahve gotten that storyline from it. That said, i don't NEED to understand a story line to enjoy the show for what it is.... but if you want me to understand a specific story, then it needs to be more clear. and THAT said, i marched a show that had a DEFINITE storyline, but chances are, it did NOT come across to the audience what/why we in the guard were dressed the way we were, how the silks fed into the story, etc.... but it was still one bad### show, whether you "got" the story or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 You're correct about the one's listed. However, it's not correct to assume all narratives in shows over the years have had such simple underlying themes. I don't think it can get too complicated with marching around on a football field, really. I have yet to come across a show that was beyond understanding...some Magic shows came close. And I agree that dissertation-type explanations of shows are obnoxious. I refuse to read them. Most shows have enough going on for me to fill in the gaps myself...which is what I think they were hoping for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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