4 ms·

Slightly off-topic; I can't read this article without scrambling my brain. Whatever review is hidden inside here is behind a wall of obscure references that onl

Slightly off-topic; I can't read this article without scrambling my brain. Whatever review is hidden inside here is behind a wall of obscure references that only the niche target audience can understand, and as I try to navigate around all of these, I'm able to find a couple sentences which actually convey what's going on in the documentary and what the author thinks about it. Please don't write like this, you're only entertaining yourself [, the author].

codeulike 5y ago
Just seems like a normal film review to me. What bits are you struggling with?
tclancy 5y ago
Huh? The subjects are relatively obscure and most of the movies in question are from a long time ago. Finally, the film is specifically about people who did not get the recognition they deserve. And journals about a specific topic tend to talk about/ focus on things the author considers hidden gems. Stuff like this is why I appreciate HN. No one bats an eye at yet another article on an esolanguage no one will ever use in production yet you want to complain you have not heard of these women?
NikolaNovak 5y ago
Hmm - based on the comment I thought I would find an article full off synth terms like LFO or subtractive synthesis or low pass 12db filter or whatever,but it reads like a regular movie review, focused entirely on people and their plight...
- mark-r 5y ago
  It is absolutely a regular movie review. I had no idea Roger Ebert's name was still being used after his death, but he was one of the most highly regarded movie critics ever. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Ebert https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Ebert
KineticLensman 5y ago
> a wall of obscure references that only the niche target audience can understand The first para contains references to >> Beethoven and Mozart, even Elvis and John Lennon The next para lists the 'sisters' themselves. I hadn't heard of them but then that is the whole point of the film under review > I'm able to find a couple sentences which actually convey what's going on in the documentary and what the author thinks about it I think the following para is quite explicit about what is going on. >> The narrative, which is wonderfully told through a kind of archival collage that, along with the futuristic soundtrack of the profiled composers, makes it feel like an avant-garde art film. It explores its stars chronologically and tells of how they evolved the musical culture in terms of not only language but also technology, which itself opened up an array of new avenues without needing the approval of others, again, mostly men. What's interesting is that many of the women profiled were from classical backgrounds. Oram is a prime example, having turned down a spot at London's prestigious Royal Academy of Music so she could work at the legendary BBC Radiophonic Workshop, and eventually building a proto-synthesizer that used a bespoke notation system called "Oramics." We then have several additional para that goes into more detail.
- jxramos 5y ago
  I like to think we'd all be better off operating "without needing the approval of others" be them male or female. In the end it's the open market of ideas and services that will judge you in your contemporaneous settings, but who knows maybe future generations will dig someone's particular works. Or maybe they can just do the work because they enjoy it themselves. Just to it.
wpietri 5y ago
This is a mistake I think of as "universalizing my preferences". Yes, it doesn't work for you. So one of two things is true: 1) a professional writer and a popular, long-running publication's professional editors have totally failed to do their jobs, or b) you're not the target audience. In this case, it's definitely the latter. This is writing meant to be read linearly from beginning to end. The purpose of the early bits are to create interest and intrigue. To open questions in your mind that will be answered later. To activate concepts and feelings that are important to the mental experience the writer is trying to create. The short version is that this was written for print, not the web: "Print is linear, author-driven storytelling. The web is nonlinear, reader-driven, ruthless pursuit of actionable content." -- https://www.nngroup.com/articles/writing-style-for-print-vs-web/ https://www.nngroup.com/articles/writing-style-for-print-vs-... Eventually, the print-vs-web distinction will die out, but I don't think the print style will die. Instead, we'll rename it something like "long read". Because the info-foraging approach one use on the web has its limits. Sometimes I want to be taken on a journey by the author. As much as I love foraging, there are some experiences and insights that I don't get when I'm dashing around like a ferret who got into the adderall. For me that definitely includes movie reviews. If I want a quick summary, I look at Rotten Tomatoes or Google's infobox. If I want to understand the experience, I'm going to sit still for as many as four minutes and let a professional reviewer give me an experience.
- nerdponx 5y ago
  "Long read" or "long form" is already a term for these articles, and I usually can't stand them in print either. Fine, some people like when their information is presented in the form of literature. I don't mind it myself once in a while, but usually I find myself wishing they'd get to the point, and I feel no wiser for having taken so long when (and if) they do ever get there. If nothing else, I really wish -- if only for the purpose of accessibility and inclusion!! -- that these longform articles would also include an abstract or summary stating the main points.
  - jxramos 5y ago
    This is why I appreciate Axios coverage. It's so to the point and to the other extreme it's almost embarrassing to think of all the spilled ink others have poured forth.

codeulike 5y ago

Just seems like a normal film review to me. What bits are you struggling with?

tclancy 5y ago

Huh? The subjects are relatively obscure and most of the movies in question are from a long time ago. Finally, the film is specifically about people who did not get the recognition they deserve. And journals about a specific topic tend to talk about/ focus on things the author considers hidden gems. Stuff like this is why I appreciate HN. No one bats an eye at yet another article on an esolanguage no one will ever use in production yet you want to complain you have not heard of these women?

NikolaNovak 5y ago

Hmm - based on the comment I thought I would find an article full off synth terms like LFO or subtractive synthesis or low pass 12db filter or whatever,but it reads like a regular movie review, focused entirely on people and their plight...

mark-r 5y ago
It is absolutely a regular movie review. I had no idea Roger Ebert's name was still being used after his death, but he was one of the most highly regarded movie critics ever. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Ebert https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Ebert

KineticLensman 5y ago

> a wall of obscure references that only the niche target audience can understand The first para contains references to >> Beethoven and Mozart, even Elvis and John Lennon The next para lists the 'sisters' themselves. I hadn't heard of them but then that is the whole point of the film under review > I'm able to find a couple sentences which actually convey what's going on in the documentary and what the author thinks about it I think the following para is quite explicit about what is going on. >> The narrative, which is wonderfully told through a kind of archival collage that, along with the futuristic soundtrack of the profiled composers, makes it feel like an avant-garde art film. It explores its stars chronologically and tells of how they evolved the musical culture in terms of not only language but also technology, which itself opened up an array of new avenues without needing the approval of others, again, mostly men. What's interesting is that many of the women profiled were from classical backgrounds. Oram is a prime example, having turned down a spot at London's prestigious Royal Academy of Music so she could work at the legendary BBC Radiophonic Workshop, and eventually building a proto-synthesizer that used a bespoke notation system called "Oramics." We then have several additional para that goes into more detail.

jxramos 5y ago
I like to think we'd all be better off operating "without needing the approval of others" be them male or female. In the end it's the open market of ideas and services that will judge you in your contemporaneous settings, but who knows maybe future generations will dig someone's particular works. Or maybe they can just do the work because they enjoy it themselves. Just to it.

wpietri 5y ago

This is a mistake I think of as "universalizing my preferences". Yes, it doesn't work for you. So one of two things is true: 1) a professional writer and a popular, long-running publication's professional editors have totally failed to do their jobs, or b) you're not the target audience. In this case, it's definitely the latter. This is writing meant to be read linearly from beginning to end. The purpose of the early bits are to create interest and intrigue. To open questions in your mind that will be answered later. To activate concepts and feelings that are important to the mental experience the writer is trying to create. The short version is that this was written for print, not the web: "Print is linear, author-driven storytelling. The web is nonlinear, reader-driven, ruthless pursuit of actionable content." -- https://www.nngroup.com/articles/writing-style-for-print-vs-web/ https://www.nngroup.com/articles/writing-style-for-print-vs-... Eventually, the print-vs-web distinction will die out, but I don't think the print style will die. Instead, we'll rename it something like "long read". Because the info-foraging approach one use on the web has its limits. Sometimes I want to be taken on a journey by the author. As much as I love foraging, there are some experiences and insights that I don't get when I'm dashing around like a ferret who got into the adderall. For me that definitely includes movie reviews. If I want a quick summary, I look at Rotten Tomatoes or Google's infobox. If I want to understand the experience, I'm going to sit still for as many as four minutes and let a professional reviewer give me an experience.

nerdponx 5y ago
"Long read" or "long form" is already a term for these articles, and I usually can't stand them in print either. Fine, some people like when their information is presented in the form of literature. I don't mind it myself once in a while, but usually I find myself wishing they'd get to the point, and I feel no wiser for having taken so long when (and if) they do ever get there. If nothing else, I really wish -- if only for the purpose of accessibility and inclusion!! -- that these longform articles would also include an abstract or summary stating the main points.
- jxramos 5y ago
  This is why I appreciate Axios coverage. It's so to the point and to the other extreme it's almost embarrassing to think of all the spilled ink others have poured forth.