Jump to content

Someone please explain e=mc^2 to me, because I really don't like/g


Answer after reading my comments, please :)  

115 members have voted

  1. 1. Considering their title, what it implied, and what was presented, does Crown's show make sense?

    • Yes, your comments didn't change my mind
      86
    • No, your comments changed my mind
      2
    • No, I already had this opinion
      21
    • I don't know
      6


Recommended Posts

Reading a few comments i have to ask. So its ok to have to look up information about the show (poem and music) to understand it but when BD does a show about Dada and people have to look it up its a terrible show? I swear all last year people said they dont want to research and look up a show to get it but now Crown did the same thing its fine and dandy? My opinion i didnt get the show and didnt care for it. I liked SCV the most in the top 5 wish that it won.

I actually, I think BD captured the absolute motif of dada perfectly - "I'm so much smarter than you are that I could put a pile of crap in front of you and you'll love me for it." Coincidentally, dada imploded because they took this notion to the extreme to the point that they snobbed themselves away from having an audience. The difference between 2012 and 2013, IMO? Despite having just as much of an avant garde flavor, 2013 seemed far more audience-inclusive. The avant is punctuated by the accessible. 2012 did not have that effect.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If no one can change your mind about the subject, why spend so much time complaining about it? Not like it will change who the champion was. Most of us really enjoyed their show, especially as evidenced by the crowd reaction at Finals. So there is clearly something there that grabbed people and made them enjoy it. They did win GE, and got the first perfect brass score in history, so not like they weren't deserving of their championship. Just enjoy other shows and let Crown's show be what it is?

To answer your question: Read your own signature. And I don't mean to sound complaining. Like I said in the beginning, I came here for better understanding because it was clear to me that I was missing something somewhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The first time I saw Crown's show I was pretty offended by it. Given the show title, I was expecting a show celebrating science and human advancement, but instead I see a show that celebrates everything it can't do.

I guess I'm confused about what you were expecting from the show, and what you mean by celebrating "everything [science] can't do".

There are lots of visual touches that portray and celebrate science, from gravity to a depiction of a hydrogen atom, to various other "orbital" drill. There's the e=mc^2 set (I quibble with the lowercase 'e' myself...), the infinity sign, and the wormhole--another Einsteinian concept--at the very end. The slow-motion running movement by the guard at the end as well as in other places in the show is similar to movements from the EotB opera choreography, which depicts the time dilation effect of relativity when traveling at speeds near that of light. There's also a lot of depictions of writing on chalkboards in the visuals, also from EotB, which is of course a depiction of the process of working out the theory of relativity, and it is how a lot of math and science was done 100 years ago. And then there's the depiction of light refracting through a prism by the guard at the end of the pyramid drill.

As for the music and narration, the counting is a representation of math and the exacting nature of physics. Glass's music for EotB can be seen that way as well, with its tightly defined structure and fixed pattern of development. Also Sprach Zarathustra, in addition to being the theme to 2001 A Space Odyssey, is a piece of music based on a book about how science can lead to the perfection of mankind.

Thematically, I think the show celebrates science's achievements and its limits, which Einstein recognized as well. There are forces just as important and powerful as science, and the greatest of them would have to be love. The poem central to the ballad expresses love in about as pure a form as I think is possible.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

To answer your question: Read your own signature. And I don't mean to sound complaining. Like I said in the beginning, I came here for better understanding because it was clear to me that I was missing something somewhere.

I've read through this, and people have answered the questions about their show, and what the meanings behind it was, but it doesn't seem like you're changing your mind. I mean, to say you were offended by the show is a pretty strong reaction to it. Maybe for next time, coming here to get a better understanding on something is easier if you ask questions instead of talking about how offended you were by a production. That's already starting out in a hole that's hard to dig out of.

Maybe the show doesn't really need a point though. It's based on Einstein on the Beach, not as much his principles, although there are nods to it. The wormhole at the end, E=MC2 form, the depictions of him working on his formulas during "Obsession". They did what they did with the music because they wanted to build a show around it. Same with "The Abyss" in the middle. The voice really added to the emotional arc of the song, at least in my mind. Einstein was known to be a believer in the power of love, so the love poem does kind of fit in, even though neither of Einstein's marriages worked out.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess I'm confused about what you were expecting from the show, and what you mean by celebrating "everything [science] can't do".

Thematically, I think the show celebrates science's achievements and its limits, which Einstein recognized as well. There are forces just as important and powerful as science, and the greatest of them would have to be love. The poem central to the ballad expresses love in about as pure a form as I think is possible.

You have to understand where I was coming from when I first saw this show.

1. As a mathematician and someone who dabbles in physics.

2. As someone who strongly believes in science and its processes.

3. As someone who also strongly believes that our number system, and therefore all science, is inherently broken.

4. Not someone expecting the poem, or the counting.

5. As someone who has used math and physics to escape my own mind.

6. As someone who REALLY wanted to see a stone obelisk at center field during the opener. In my mind, would've been a better prop than the bench. But I digress.

And then I saw the show. And I honestly felt that somehow it was fighting against me. That it was saying in everything up to the ballad/poem, "Look 1 at 2 all 3 this 4 stuff 5 science 6 has 7 done 8." And just like they do in that sentence, the numbers got in the way for me. By using the counting from EOTB, they turned something I used to do as a form of relaxation (math in general, not just counting) into something extremely annoying. Then the ballad comes and suddenly we're talking about two lovers on a park bench that are so desperately relationship dependant that one even says they can't live without the other. That isn't love, it's obsession, and it's unhealthy.

And while I appreciate the sentiment that true love can't be quantified, that isn't what science is about. So now I have this show that was celebrating science, and then fires one at me that says, "But here's love, who can't be tamed by your instruments of quantification, science. Take THAT!" And yes, that isn't what most people got out of it. Pretty much everyone managed to keep the science and the love separate in their heads during the show. But just because I couldn't/refuse do that, you guys can't say I don't have the right to be offended. Yes, it's just drum corps. Yes, it pleased everyone else, so I should just get over myself. However, I will not sit here and let you guys say I can't be offended by it. This show, for me and only ME, was an assault on my beliefs, coping mechanisms, and the things I personally love. I'm not saying it's that way for everyone. I'm certainly not saying that the show was designed that way. I'm not saying that I'm the one with any answers. I came here because I have none. And if people insist on attacking my word choice, and if people insist that I'm the one with something missing, then I'm going to insist that this thread be closed to commenters, if not erased altogether. I didn't utilize an ad hominem argument, and I expect everyone here to do the same.

An earlier commenter said that Crown's design team didn't have a specific message, and wanted to see what everyone would get out of the show for themselves. So while I believe that that is a top notch cop-out to designing something coherent, people need to respect that I was in fact offended by the show and because of the way it was designed, one could argue that was always a potential outcome.

Edited by Cavfan930
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You have to understand where I was coming from when I first saw this show.

1. As a mathematician and someone who dabbles in physics.

2. As someone who strongly believes in science and its processes.

3. As someone who also strongly believes that our number system, and therefore all science, is inherently broken.

4. Not someone expecting the poem, or the counting.

5. As someone who has used math and physics to escape my own mind.

6. As someone who REALLY wanted to see a stone obelisk at center field during the opener. In my mind, would've been a better prop than the bench. But I digress.

But, have you ever been in love?

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Then the ballad comes and suddenly we're talking about two lovers on a park bench that are so desperately relationship dependant that one even says they can't live without the other. That isn't love, it's obsession, and it's unhealthy.

Well, I guess that answers my previous question.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

And while I appreciate the sentiment that true love can't be quantified, that isn't what science is about. So now I have this show that was celebrating science, and then fires one at me that says, "But here's love, who can't be tamed by your instruments of quantification, science. Take THAT!" And yes, that isn't what most people got out of it. Pretty much everyone managed to keep the science and the love separate in their heads during the show. But just because I couldn't/refuse do that, you guys can't say I don't have the right to be offended. Yes, it's just drum corps. Yes, it pleased everyone else, so I should just get over myself. However, I will not sit here and let you guys say I can't be offended by it. This show, for me and only ME, was an assault on my beliefs, coping mechanisms, and the things I personally love. I'm not saying it's that way for everyone, and I'm not saying that I'm the one with any answers. I came here because I have none. And if people insist on attacking my word choice, and if people insist that I'm the one with something missing, then I'm going to insist that this thread be closed to commenters, if not erased altogether. I didn't utilize an ad hominem argument, and I expect everyone here to do the same.

Sounds to me like you came on here just to push your own agenda and "knowledge" of science, and why from a realistic and literal standpoint, Carolina Crown got it all wrong. In other words, you are right, and Crown and the rest of us are all wrong. <comment removed - Geoff>

In addition, you are the first Cavalier fan that I've ever met who said they were personally offended by any drum corps show. And believe me, I have met thousands of Cavalier fans in my day.

Edited by Geoff
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

But, have you ever been in love?

Bailey, Abby, Michela, Brittany, and Rebecca. Four of them tore out my heart, but the fifth might be the girl I marry.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I guess that answers my previous question.

It is rarely necessary to die for a loved one, and until you've been in that position, how can you say you are prepared to do it? And isn't part of being in love doing everything you can to live for the person you love?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...