The Cadets - 2014

[George Dixon]

Held back? They are in second and are having a terrific season!

[Cappybara]

Held back? They are in second and are having a terrific season!

I think he means held back creatively.

[Fran Haring]

It's the Cadets though who should be out there innovating, not pandering for patriotic brownie points.

You call it pandering.

I call it very entertaining. A show anyone can "get" without needing an advanced degree in something.

In an activity whose survival is dependent on ticket sales.... very entertaining is a very good thing.

[zigzigZAG]

You call it pandering.

I call it very entertaining. A show anyone can "get" without needing an advanced degree in something.

In an activity whose survival is dependent on ticket sales.... very entertaining is a very good thing.

You can be entertaining while innovating. See Cadets 2011, 2005, etc.. And see this year's Bluecoats and Blue Devils.

Great show design and pushing the envelope IS entertaining, and it also happens to be classic Cadets, and why I loved them since the 80s.

Groveling for GE by seeking the lowest common denominators of patriotism and politicians is just bound to fail to become high art. And yes, the best DCI shows out there, I do consider high art, as they transcend the drum corps idiom and become dance, abstract art, and truly expressive music.

The main reason the Cadets are in 2nd place is that no one else in DCI is more talented. I just wish talent weren't wasted with kitschy, gimmicky show design. This year's group is championship caliber across the board, no weaknesses.

[longtimefan2014]

...But we are not going to run and hide from our past (the good and bad).

When we've had to defend ourselves, we have...to great loss yet great honor of those who lost their lives. A show like this is celebrating the process of being American, having a president who is one of the people, voted in by the people, and who must make big and bold decisions that are not always popular. This show, and other patriotic shows/ceremonies, celebrate the fact that what we've fought for (when needed) was a democratic process, civil rights, and freedom.

It would be unwise to hide our past from the present generation. They need to know what we stand for, why we've had to defend ourselves (or be proactive against terrorism), and they need to know the constitution and bill of rights. We are not perfect as a country, and they need to know that, too. But a view of the rest of the world continually shows that we are free to succeed and prosper like no other country going.

I think the show execution is top-notch in every caption, and nothing else should obscure all the truly outstanding work the corps has put into this show. But I have a bone to pick with your interpretation of my review.

I don't think that young adults should be hidden from the past. What bothers me is that this show overlooks some really glaring questions in the way it presents past US presidents and their quotes. For example, some quotes are presented as rallying cries in response to violence (Pearl Harbor) and the threat of defeat by a military and scientific rival (USSR, space race). But honestly, when we reflect on dark times when the people of the United States have rallied together, is it more important to glorify presidents who bravely inspired millions, or to ask from whence comes the need for one leader to corral his millions against another leader's millions? An American president led the country through World War II, and American presidents also oversaw American expansion into the Pacific and the construction of a large naval base in Hawaii in the decades preceding Pearl Harbor. What possessed Japanese pilots to become kamikaze, devoted to their leader in combat until their death? What hasn't been said about Germans' submission to the Nazi Party? About the horrors of Soviet communism?

I agree that the fight for a democratic process, civil rights, and freedom is extremely important. The way we think about that fight is tied up in all the above questions. Someone commented above that a DCI show isn't school, and I agree. In fact, if 120 people all talked for twelve minutes straight instead of playing music, they still couldn't say everything there is to say about these things. However, art is defined by what we choose to emphasize. Did the design team do a service to this year's Cadets and their audiences with the emphasis of this show?

Again, I found the marching, playing, pit, guard, drum major, and narration work to be fantastic across the board. Everything about the execution of this show deserves (in my opinion) the very high placement the corps has consistently achieved in the rankings this year.

Edited August 4, 2014 by longtimefan2014

[MikeD]

I don't think that young adults should be hidden from the past. What bothers me is that this show overlooks some really glaring questions in the way it presents past US presidents and their quotes. For example, some quotes are presented as rallying cries in response to violence (Pearl Harbor) and the threat of defeat by a military and scientific rival (USSR, space race). But honestly, when we reflect on dark times when the people of the United States have rallied together, is it more important to glorify presidents who bravely inspired millions, or to ask from whence comes the need for one leader to corral his millions against another leader's millions? An American president led the country through World War II, and American presidents also oversaw American expansion into the Pacific and the construction of a large naval base in Hawaii in the decades preceding Pearl Harbor. What possessed Japanese pilots to become kamikaze, devoted to their leader in combat until their death? What hasn't been said about Germans' submission to the Nazi Party? About the horrors of Soviet communism?

You really think that kind of thinking can be presented in a 10-minute drum corps show?

Trying to explain that sort of stuff gives me visions of 2008 all over again.

[chris ncsu]

You can be entertaining while innovating. See Cadets 2011, 2005, etc.. And see this year's Bluecoats and Blue Devils.

Great show design and pushing the envelope IS entertaining, and it also happens to be classic Cadets, and why I loved them since the 80s.

Groveling for GE by seeking the lowest common denominators of patriotism and politicians is just bound to fail to become high art. And yes, the best DCI shows out there, I do consider high art, as they transcend the drum corps idiom and become dance, abstract art, and truly expressive music.

The main reason the Cadets are in 2nd place is that no one else in DCI is more talented. I just wish talent weren't wasted with kitschy, gimmicky show design. This year's group is championship caliber across the board, no weaknesses.

I feel what you mean, though I'm going to be difficult and point out that there are few things more "lowest common demoninator" than good versus evil, and few things more representative of that than literally angels and devils...and I give you 2011. Most of that show was WAY more literal than this year's show (ok, the very ending excepting, perhaps).

[whitedawn]

I don't think that young adults should be hidden from the past. What bothers me is that this show overlooks some really glaring questions in the way it presents past US presidents and their quotes. For example, some quotes are presented as rallying cries in response to violence (Pearl Harbor) and the threat of defeat by a military and scientific rival (USSR, space race). But honestly, when we reflect on dark times when the people of the United States have rallied together, is it more important to glorify presidents who bravely inspired millions, or to ask from whence comes the need for one leader to corral his millions against another leader's millions? An American president led the country through World War II, and American presidents also oversaw American expansion into the Pacific and the construction of a large naval base in Hawaii in the decades preceding Pearl Harbor. What possessed Japanese pilots to become kamikaze, devoted to their leader in combat until their death? What hasn't been said about Germans' submission to the Nazi Party? About the horrors of Soviet communism?

YES YES YES

Something far more interesting and substantive and informative would have been to illustrate the struggles of Lincoln in attempting to keep the Union from fracturing while not shredding the constitution. Subverting the borderline hero worship contained in "Lincoln Portrait" would be really interesting. Lincoln suspended habeas corpus for American citizens (GWB did it for non-Americans), and many view this action as an unconstitutional overreach by the executive. Also, his personal views on race were not exactly progressive, as illustrated during his debate with Douglas in 1858:

I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races, [applause]-that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality.

Source: http://www.nps.gov/liho/historyculture/debate4.htm

[Fran Haring]

You can be entertaining while innovating. See Cadets 2011, 2005, etc.. And see this year's Bluecoats and Blue Devils.

I totally agree... there are many examples, including the ones you have mentioned.

Hey... I marched six seasons in an all-age corps that was known for pushing the envelope. And we managed to entertain people, too. (At least most of the time. LOL)

But I simply do not feel the Cadets' show this year is "pandering" to anyone... except, perhaps, to the folks who purchase tickets. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

In the quest to "innovate"... I think sometimes some corps forget that it's more important to get more paying customers to come out and see the product. Without those folks, we're done.

Edited August 4, 2014 by Fran Haring

[ShortAndFast]

YES YES YES

Something far more interesting and substantive and informative would have been to illustrate the struggles of Lincoln in attempting to keep the Union from fracturing while not shredding the constitution. Subverting the borderline hero worship contained in "Lincoln Portrait" would be really interesting. Lincoln suspended habeas corpus for American citizens (GWB did it for non-Americans), and many view this action as an unconstitutional overreach by the executive. Also, his personal views on race were not exactly progressive, as illustrated during his debate with Douglas in 1858:

Source: http://www.nps.gov/liho/historyculture/debate4.htm

Somehow I don't think DCI is quite ready for "Abe Lincoln The Racist" as a show theme just yet.

I agree with the point here that the unthinking hagiography that the Cadets show presents is part of what makes the theme such a turn-off. There's a reason why propaganda movies don't appeal to most people. But I don't actually think you can or should tackle intellectual arguments like this in a drum corps show - 2008 is ample evidence of why that's a very, very bad idea for a show design.