MikeBob Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 I'm confused as to why they would call it a "high school drum corps." Are there really a lot of those around? Is there any upper echelon drum corps that has 50% or more of its membership in high school? That has nothing to do with it. The average person who doesn't know anything about drum corps will see it and think "high school marching band." That's all it is. They don't know any better, and that's okay. (And I don't see what difference it makes whether we're talking about an "upper echelon" corps or any other corps.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 By that logic, orchestras are bands...which they are clearly not. That logic "does not conpute". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 Although modern drum corps are essentially brass bands, I still believe that the connotation from calling a drum corps a band downgrades the fact that these are units which represent the highest performance achievement level of the art form. How does that degrade them? DCI Div I Drum corps are indeed what you say...and they are also bands. I fail to see how that is a negative at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tekneek Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 (edited) That has nothing to do with it. The average person who doesn't know anything about drum corps will see it and think "high school marching band." That's all it is. They don't know any better, and that's okay.(And I don't see what difference it makes whether we're talking about an "upper echelon" corps or any other corps.) I thought the footage was of The Cadets, which I would consider an "upper echelon" corps. It just makes it even more obvious how they didn't bother to educate themselves about the story they were running. The activity is so under-exposed that nobody will harp on this, but it reveals more about how our "journalists" and news media are running stories they know almost nothing about. They shouldn't be reporting what they think it is, they should be reporting the facts about what it is after learning from an authority. Edited August 3, 2006 by Tekneek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeBob Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 I thought the footage was of The Cadets, which I would consider an "upper echelon" corps. It just makes it even more obvious how they didn't bother to educate themselves about the story they were running. The activity is so under-exposed that nobody will harp on this, but it reveals more about how our "journalists" and news media are running stories they know almost nothing about. They shouldn't be reporting what they think it is, they should be reporting the facts about what it is after learning from an authority. Heaven forbid a local news station should get an insignificant detail on a fluff piece wrong! (Yeah, the Cadets are in the upper echelon. Would it have been less offensive to you if they'd shown the Mandarins instead?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tekneek Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 (edited) Heaven forbid a local news station should get an insignificant detail on a fluff piece wrong!(Yeah, the Cadets are in the upper echelon. Would it have been less offensive to you if they'd shown the Mandarins instead?) Calling them a high school drum corps is only legitimate if they have found out that the vast majority of the membership is actually in high school (and even then the term is still questionable). In my mind, not doing your homework for a news story is a big deal. If it is worth going out there to film the corps and put it on TV, it is worth talking to someone in charge there and making sure the 'copy' you are running with is accurate. It would make me wonder how many other times you are just getting whatever the reporter 'thinks' they are looking at. Would they let someone refer to the Pittsburgh Steelers as a highschool football team just because they were practicing on a highschool football field and they sent a reporter who knew nothing about it to cover them? Of course not. It is only because they expect most of their audience to be ignorant that they accepted the reporter being ignorant as well. It's shoddy coverage and it reveals how desperate the activity is for any coverage that it is accepted without complaint. Edited August 3, 2006 by Tekneek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeBob Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 First, everyone knows the Steelers because the NFL is where DCI wants to be in terms of publicity and popularity. They have constant exposure. Professional football -- indeed, any professional sport -- isn't the obscure, esoteric activity drum corps is. The analogy doesn't hold. And for all we know, somewhere between the reporter and the teleprompter a producer may have changed the words "drum corps" to "marching band" ("Nobody knows what 'drum corps' -- just put 'marching band'"). In the end, it just matters so very, very little. I don't understand why I'm devoting any amount of time to discussing it, in fact. After this post, I'm out. BTW, if you think the news media in the US is ever giving you an objective report of anything, you're mostly like wrong. Doubly so if you're watching Fox News. Not that I want a debate/argument about that. But by all means, contact the TV station and lodge a formal complaint against the Cadets being unfairly represented on the news. If it's so important to you, do something about it. Maybe they'll issue a correction! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sour Grape Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 (edited) Calling them a high school drum corps is only legitimate if they have found out that the vast majority of the membership is actually in high school (and even then the term is still questionable). In my mind, not doing your homework for a news story is a big deal. If it is worth going out there to film the corps and put it on TV, it is worth talking to someone in charge there and making sure the 'copy' you are running with is accurate. It would make me wonder how many other times you are just getting whatever the reporter 'thinks' they are looking at. Would they let someone refer to the Pittsburgh Steelers as a highschool football team just because they were practicing on a highschool football field and they sent a reporter who knew nothing about it to cover them? Of course not. It is only because they expect most of their audience to be ignorant that they accepted the reporter being ignorant as well. It's shoddy coverage and it reveals how desperate the activity is for any coverage that it is accepted without complaint. I think tekneek has a point. Whether they called it a high school drum corps or a major league marching band is a factor of the news people not doing there due diligence to make certain the facts are correct. But, then again that is the problem with the liberal media. Standing back at ten thousand feet and making a report without concrete information or understanding of what goes on are the corner stone of today's sensationalistic journalism. It pisses me off that they said “high school drum corps”, but it would have surprised me more if that would have gotten the information correct...and that is unfortunately sad. -sour Edited August 3, 2006 by The Sour Grape Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 i'm just amazed they said corps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOOHOO Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 Whenever I talk to my normal friends (whatever that means) about drum corps if they ever have a question about drum corps (which is rarely), I refer to them as a band. It makes it easier for them to understand. It's not like they really care about the difference anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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