Shows that hit different when you know the lore

[kevingamin]

13 hours ago, Jurassic Lancer said:

The show may have been “Alice in Wonderland”-esque, but that wasn’t what it was about. It may have been trippy, but it wasn’t about drugs.

It was bringing to life the Wm. Blake poem that was quoted throughout the show. Now it is fair to debate the meaning of the poem, but it was not about drugs. 

Meanwhile, Blue Stars literally made a show about an alcoholic drink which (falsely) has psychoactive properties to it.

Quote

Absinthe has often been portrayed as a dangerously addictive psychoactive drug and hallucinogen.^[9] The chemical compound thujone, which is present in the spirit in trace amounts, was blamed for its alleged harmful effects. By 1915, absinthe had been banned in the United States and in much of Europe, including France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Austria-Hungary, yet it has not been demonstrated to be any more dangerous than ordinary spirits. Recent studies have shown that absinthe's psychoactive properties (apart from those attributable to alcohol) have been exaggerated.^[9]

Absinthe - Wikipedia

[mcjordansc]

On 8/25/2023 at 11:14 PM, RiverCityAndTroopersFan said:

2023 bluecoats being about drugs. Basically every Boston show poking fun at BD

The 2023 Bluecoats show was based on a poem that was about the repression of organized religion. Not drugs. 

Edited August 27, 2023 by mcjordansc

[valjean]

Lore... just put it in the **** show!!

[Jurassic Lancer]

2 hours ago, valjean said:

Lore... just put it in the **** show!!

Lol … Bloo literally did … and people here hammered them for repeating key words

Edited August 27, 2023 by Jurassic Lancer

[lawdn]

On 8/26/2023 at 1:54 PM, LabMaster said:

Isn’t everyone’s show about BD then?  Bostons show has been explained sufficiently.

Yes, this seems like it is never going to die. There was so much nuance and complexity to Boston’s show that this reading seems simplistic.

[KVG_DC]

OMG!  I just realized Boston's show was about Moby Dick, you guys!  

[Orwellian Wiress]

On 8/26/2023 at 1:54 PM, LabMaster said:

Isn’t everyone’s show about BD then?  Bostons show has been explained sufficiently.

Was BD's show about BD?

[cixelsyd]

17 hours ago, Jurassic Lancer said:

Lol … Bloo literally did … and people here hammered them for repeating key words

In all due respect, it is not just repeating key words.  It was taking that motif, and repeating it over and over and over until we feel beaten over the head with it.

Bluecoats 2023 could have been my favorite show of the year, and might still be.  Still be.  Still be.  Still be.  Still be.  Doug Thrower has done a lot in nearly 40 years of arranging for drum corps, but the music in this show may be his finest work of them all.  Them all.  Them all.  Them all.  Parroting words alongside a musical rhythm was cute the first time, and still okay the second or third.  Third.  Third.  Third.  But when is enough enough enough enough enough enough?

[frachel]

Knowing what the show is "about" has not once made a show "better" for me. I also couldn't tell you what 90% of the shows I've seen were about with just 1 viewing and no research.

I still enjoy the activity, and find things to like in almost every show, but I simply don't find it an adequate forum to do more than tell a basic story (like Crown's Relentless, for example). For example, this year - I didn't know anything about Matisse. I saw BD at Allentown and thought it was a great show, but even after learning after-the-fact some details, it didn't change anything for me to know what the props represented, or that the uniforms contained cut-outs from prior year uniforms (talk about an inside-baseball thing.. great for the members, hopefully meaningless to the judges).

[bluecoats88]

I usually get a show and what it is about when watching it if it is well done,  it may or may not be what the authors intended but it is my interpretation of what I saw