Jump to content

The tyranny and folly of abstraction - an open letter to the Cadets de


Recommended Posts

Sorry I was tired and worded that wrong. WGI has no doubt influenced DCI (hell, look at all the WGI judges) but they are not the ONLY influence. High school shows and just the natural progression of technology/entertainment plays a part in the changes made to DCI.

BUT back to what I was trying to say with my poorly worded response was that I think that the OP is unfairly treating the CHANGES that he attributes to WGI as a bad thing.

Fair enough. I don't think you were too horrible or anything, I just wanted to better understand WHY.

Thanks for explaining!

My opinion is that some changes are good, others are bad. Some will like them, other people will not, and a third group won't care one way or the other.

I still would prefer the different circuits to be as distinct as possible, but realize that there's limited resources and talent in designers. Some things will work in various circuits, but not everything.

I guess that means sometimes we gotta try certain ideas in each circuit even though we believe that they may not work.. The problem that "I" sometimes have is that I don't always agree on what doesn't work in a specific venue. Another thing is that when a design element is found to not work, it is sometimes repeated over and over for whatever reason and still scores well from what I can see.

Edited by jjeffeory
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

But at least they (literally) explored new ground.

But to be honest, I haven't been a Cadets fan since Hopkins retired & the corps changed their colors to clear: those uniforms = YIKES!

Even worse than those reversible uniforms they used in 2025. Maroon/cream front/back had been bad enough, but maroon outside and cream on the inside? Personally I think they were just trying to milk GE with the costume change....

Anyway, I think 2025 was just George thumbing his nose at us in his retirement year show. "Our Favorite Things Part Dos: Our Least Favorite Things". Christmas morning with Little Jeffrey sitting on his living room couch while his grandmother talks to him about her cancer.... and then that fruitcake-induced fever dream segment about a white rabbit reenacting Richard Nixon's "I am not a crook" speech. It might have been tolerable if it weren't for the 9 tractor trailer loads of stages, sets, unwrapped christmas gifts, giant pieces of half-eaten fruitcake and living room furniture that only left enough room for the corps to march a (perfectly executed) rotating block for 12 minutes.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Even worse than those reversible uniforms they used in 2025. Maroon/cream front/back had been bad enough, but maroon outside and cream on the inside? Personally I think they were just trying to milk GE with the costume change....

Anyway, I think 2025 was just George thumbing his nose at us in his retirement year show. "Our Favorite Things Part Dos: Our Least Favorite Things". Christmas morning with Little Jeffrey sitting on his living room couch while his grandmother talks to him about her cancer.... and then that fruitcake-induced fever dream segment about a white rabbit reenacting Richard Nixon's "I am not a crook" speech. It might have been tolerable if it weren't for the 9 tractor trailer loads of stages, sets, unwrapped christmas gifts, giant pieces of half-eaten fruitcake and living room furniture that only left enough room for the corps to march a (perfectly executed) rotating block for 12 minutes.

I could have done without George coming out the door in a schoolgirl uniform...

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Even worse than those reversible uniforms they used in 2025. Maroon/cream front/back had been bad enough, but maroon outside and cream on the inside? Personally I think they were just trying to milk GE with the costume change....

Anyway, I think 2025 was just George thumbing his nose at us in his retirement year show. "Our Favorite Things Part Dos: Our Least Favorite Things". Christmas morning with Little Jeffrey sitting on his living room couch while his grandmother talks to him about her cancer.... and then that fruitcake-induced fever dream segment about a white rabbit reenacting Richard Nixon's "I am not a crook" speech. It might have been tolerable if it weren't for the 9 tractor trailer loads of stages, sets, unwrapped christmas gifts, giant pieces of half-eaten fruitcake and living room furniture that only left enough room for the corps to march a (perfectly executed) rotating block for 12 minutes.

I thought the revisited "Angels and Demons" in this show and replaced "Amazing Grace" with "Highway to Hell."

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 8 months later...

How did I miss this topic originally? One of the best discussions I've seen on DCP in a while. OP is completely right (and the season hadn't even started yet!)

I wonder what the closest a top 6 show in recent years has come to "themeless" (the music and drill are the theme)?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

How did I miss this topic originally? One of the best discussions I've seen on DCP in a while. OP is completely right (and the season hadn't even started yet!)

I wonder what the closest a top 6 show in recent years has come to "themeless" (the music and drill are the theme)?

I'll throw out a few, though whether they fit a theme is in the eye of the beholder, I guess:

Cadets 2001

Phantom Regiment 2001

Cadets 2003

Blue Devils 2003

Cadets 2004

Bluecoats 2004

Cavaliers 2007

SCV 2007

Blue Devils 2008

SCV 2009

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...