The Art of Translation

September 21 was a field day at my school. Classes were fit into the first half of the day; during the second, my grade led games and teams of all varieties. I myself designed a complicated game called "Primadonna", a lip-singing / dance competition inspired by the Marina & the Diamonds song.

The funny thing about it, though, is that it didn't occur to me just how complex my plan was. In my head, everything made sense - the different positions, the point system, everything. I assumed that, the game properly set up, everything ought to work smoothly.

In hindsight...

The game definitely didn't go as expected. There were mix-ups with team members' tasks, and my friend & I had to cut out the entire relay race portion. I was dying for the first 15 minutes, yelling directions and running from spot to spot, trying to devise instant solutions.

Field Day was on Friday. But over the weekend, I began to think about just where my painstakingly-planned out game had gone wrong. The fault wasn't inherent; I probably would've understood the directions just fine if I'd explained them to myself.

Hence lies the issue. I wasn't explaining the directions to a group of clones. I was speaking to groups of kids, who didn't have the patience or strict enough attention to follow my speech. And that's what every writer has to remember, while writing anything.

You have a human audience - don't make communication confusing! After all, the primary reason why people read is for entertainment. In our modern age, the public's attention span is short, and entertainment is largely visceral. Intelligent humor and irony are great, but not all writers can afford to go Infinite Jest on their readers.

So. Next time I have a grand creative vision, I'm going to try to remember the Field Day fiasco. A writer can never underestimate the power of clear, concise prose.

Another facet of the issue? Mastering voice, Often, a strong voice is crucial to a work's success - just take young adult fiction. I've put down many a YA novel because the voice was grating, a poor imitation of teen-speak by a middle-aged author.

It's never an easy task translating a vision onto the page. But writers have to do it everyday. We have to practice focus on the most minute details, to search for just the right word to describe an action or attribute. As Franz Kafka once said, "all language is but a poor translation." But it's the job of a writer to compose her own best translation... just so it can be translated, infinitely, by her readers.

A Fine “Town” with an Ever-Relevant Message

I recently watched a recording of Thornton Wilder's 1938 play "Our Town", as performed several years ago at the Westport Country Playhouse in Westport, CT. This adaption was directed by James Naughton. I was required to write a review for English, and I thought I'd share it with you all.

Thornton Wilder’s 1938 work “Our Town”, one of America’s most widely-adapted plays, is a triumph of simplicity and insightfulness. It is the story of Grover’s Corners, NH, at the start of the century, following the lives of high school sweethearts George Gibbs and Emily Webb.

Mr. Newman as the Stage Manager.

In “Our Town”, the audience is guided across time and the town’s area by the Stage Manager – just another character in the play, here portrayed by Paul Newman. How the elderly actor was snagged for the part, I don’t know, yet in the end it makes little difference. Newman does not act a star. Delivering his lines slowly and simply, Newman might’ve as well been any other actor.

For me, hence the problem. The Stage Manager is a primary character. He introduces the audience to the town, interviews characters, and gives the sermon at George and Emily’s wedding. The part isn’t exciting, but Newman’s performance to me felt redundant. His hand movements and voice inflections were simply repeated too often.

A performance I found more compelling was delivered by the play’s other “star”: Jane Curtin as Mrs. Webb. Though one could argue her movements seemed just a bit too busy for the pace of the small town, I enjoyed her depiction of motherly fretfulness. Her conversations with neighbor Mrs. Gibbs (Jayne Atkinson) felt very natural, though Atkinson seemed a little too old for her part.

That very problem was a threat in the first act, for actors Ben Fox (George) and Maggie Lacey (Emily.) Not only did the two appear too old to play teenagers, but they often acted so as well. Lacey’s demeanor was too mature; Fox’s almost bumbling performance felt a little ridiculous. I found it difficult to understand either’s affection for the other.

However – though the main cast’s first-act performances were questionable – I found myself warming up to the adaptation by the start of Act II. For me, the play was rescued by its minor characters. I particularly enjoyed the spot-on performances of Stephen Spinella (Simon Stimson) and Jeffrey DeMunn (Mr. Webb.) Background characters such as Howie Newsome (the milkman, played by Jake Robards) also gave the play a very natural feel. Fox’s performance also improved towards Act III’s start, and I loved Lacey’s utterance of my favorite line: “Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you.”

The wedding scene.

Just as crucial to the play’s success was its simple set. Streets and houses were left to the imagination, save for a Grover’s Corners map the Stage Manager presented in his opening monologue. Later in the first act, when George and Emily discussed homework problems, their second-floor bedrooms were symbolized by ladders. At choir practice, Stephen Spinella mimed playing an organ (accompanied by organ music), and as Jake Robards pretended to lead his invisible cow, Bessie, cowbell sounds clang overhead. Even the most simplistic props were excluded: the Gibbs and Webb families feigned the use of utensils during breakfast scenes.

Though some might criticize such extreme minimalism, I appreciated the choice. The play is designed for a simple set, and it works thematically. “Our Town” deals with that very human tendency to become caught up in our daily lives, forgetting to appreciate simple pleasures. To strip props is to strip distractions; the audience is given a focused look at human nature, very intelligently and affectingly done.

I was less a fan of this adaptation’s dim lighting, though I didn't find it inappropriate. I would acknowledge that George and Emily’s wedding scene was too darkly lit, but I felt the lighting of Acts I and III worked. Much of Act I takes place at night and in the early morning, and the third act, “Death and Eternity”, obviously requires a darker set.

Overall, I enjoyed and appreciated this interpretation of Thornton Wilder’s most successful work. Naughton is faithful to the play in the actors’ ages and ethnicities, as well as the minimal set. The performances, though occasionally questionable, were for the most part quite good. And it is through these successes, this accomplished depiction of a small New Hampshire town, that we may all gleam a lesson.

Though the play was written seventy years ago, based on the events of thirty more, its message is as relevant as ever. We cannot forget to sometimes look past our modern world’s innumerable distractions, to appreciate the moon and the lovely scent of heliotrope. This adaption’s third act shines when Maggie Lacey’s Emily remarks that it is so often the living who are “shut up in little boxes”, not the dead. It is such moments that make James Naughton’s depiction of America’s most popular “everytown” a fine production, even if not theatrical perfection.

Ever seen "Our Town"?

"Buffy" Breakthroughs: A Love Post - Part II

Welcome back, loyal blog readers! This week, as promised, I'll be finishing up my discussion of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's top 5 "breakthrough" episodes.

Here we go, with #4 and 5 (and some honorable mentions)!:

4. "The Body" (S. 5, Ep. 16)

"The Body" screenshot.

The above image, in conjunction with the episode's title, basically reveal the premise of this episode. But I'll drop a spoilers! warning here anyway.

The episode previous to this ends with Buffy entering her house and calling her mother. Her mom's been dealing with a brain tumor throughout the season, but lately she's seemed to be doing fine - until Buffy walks into the living room and notices her mother, dead, on the couch. It's a shock to Buff and the audience.

"The Body" deals with the aftermath of the event. Buffy's sister, Dawn, is told of the event; friends also react; and the family heads to the hospital and makes funeral plans. It's a powerful episode, and one character's reaction to Joyce's death just about brought me to tears.

But this episode isn't only important for its emotion; what makes it stand out is that it has no musical score. The only music is diegetic (that is, played by the characters, on camera - no background tracks.) The move perfectly fits the hollowness that the characters are feeling, and heightens the sense of sudden grief for viewers.

5. "Restless" (S. 4, Ep. 22)

"Restless" screenshot.

Probably the best word to describe this episode is trippy. The episode is comprised of dream sequences, full of strange lighting effects and camera angles. For example: in the shot above, most of the frame is empty, the focal point in one corner.

"Restless" doesn't follow with an arc. Joss Whedon, the series' creator, called it a "grace note" to season 4. Because it follows the dreams of several characters, this episode acts as an interesting character study, marked by the series' signature wit. At Slayage.com, "The Online Journal of Buffy Studies", author Daniel Erenberg placed the episode as the 2nd best of the series. As he put it, the episode "lends itself to infinite interpretations. No one watches it the same way. That's the mark of a true masterpiece." 

This girl is in agreement.

Honorable Mentions

"Passion" screenshot.

1. "Passion" (S. 2, Ep. 17): This episode is marked by (spoilers) the killing of popular character Jenny Calendar. She's a schoolteacher, Buffy's mentor's sweetheart and all-around nice gal. What makes her killing worse it that it's performed by Angel, Buffy's former beau, made evil after a curse rips away his soul. Jenny's death is meant to serve as a notice to fans: that none of the characters are safe, and that death is scary and real. Television shows often kill off characters for dramatic effect, but I felt this one was especially well-executed. It was definitely a shock.

2. "Normal Again" (S. 6, Ep. 17) and "The Wish" (S. 3, Ep. 9): These 2 episodes explore two different, very freaky, alternate dimensions. In "Normal Again", Buffy is injected with hallucinogenic venom that causes her to believe she's been catatonic in a mental hospital for the past 6 years. In "The Wish", Buffy has never come to Sunnydale, and vampires control the streets at night. And they've invented a machine to industrialize the harvesting of blood... 

3. "The Gift" (S. 5, Ep. 22): All right, I'm cheating with this episode. "The Gift" doesn't contain an original format, unusual score, or alternate dimensions. What it does contain are some very cry-tastic moments. I don't want to spoil the plot for any future Buffy fans, but I will say this: a song featured at the episode's climax, "The Sacrifice," sends chills down my back and tears to my eyes whenever I listen to it.

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So! That wraps up my discussion of Buffy's breakthroughs. Enjoyed it? Comment below!

What great/groundbreaking TV have you watched?

"Buffy" Breakthroughs: A Love Post - Part I

* You can check out Buffy's Wikipedia page for background on the series.

It's no secret that I'm an uber-fan of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (as this post proves.) When first watching the series about a year ago, I zipped through all 7 seasons in under three weeks. (That involved at least one all-nighter.)

Today and next week, in a 2-part discussion, I want to highlight five of Buffy's greatest "breakthough" episodes - episodes not only entertaining and emotional, but ones that brought something new to the series (and, in some cases, television in general.)

So - without further ado - I give you #1-3!:

1. "Once More, with Feeling" (Season 6, Episode 7)

"Once More with Feeling" screenshot.

This is possibly Buffy's most original and influential episode, concept-wise. It's a miniature musical - complete with witty lyrics, orchestral backing, and some pretty cool choreography. It received critical acclaim after airing in 2001 (despite some actors' limited vocal ranges), and its musical format has been copied in several TV shows since. (Scrubs, anyone? Grey's Anatomy? Even Glee, possibly?) Yet even forgetting the strength of its influence, "Once More" can definitely be labelled Buffy at its finest. 

Other interesting points:

- "Once More with Feeling" is Buffy's most technically complex episode. The cast had to take extra voice and dance training, which was interspersed with the production of four other episodes. 

- From 2004 to 2007, "Once More" was shown in theaters (with the audience invited to sing along), before a financial dispute ended public showings.

- "Under Your Spell" received attention from Buffy studies writers for its frank depiction of lesbian romance. Previous television shows had never gone beyond kisses and coming-outs - small bits of affection (definitely no erotic material.) Actually, Buffy was the first show in U.S. TV history to portray a long-term lesbian relationship among the core cast of characters. 

(So... musicals & social advances? Not a bad way to spend a Tuesday evening..)

2. "The Zeppo" (Season 3, Episode 13)

"The Zeppo" screenshot.

"The Zeppo" takes spot #2 because of its complete focus on a minor character (Xander Harris.) The title of the episode refers to Zeppo Marx, who was the straight man among the Marx Brothers and long considered to be the most unexceptional member of the act. From Wikipedia:

"The Zeppo" is a twist on the show format, which normally consists of an action-packed "A-story" and a character-development "B-story". Here, Xander's feelings of inadequacy develop into the A-story while a stereotypical epic episode of Buffy and the others saving the world is pushed to the background to become the B. Most of the apocalypse story elements come across as background events, happening offscreen, only in small bits, or being talked about afterwards by the characters.

"The Zeppo" has proved influential on later television writers, including Doctor Who executive producer Russell T. Davies. He has cited the episode along with Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Lower Decks" as an influence on his 2006 Doctor Who episode "Love & Monsters." The television format came to be known as the "Doctor-lite episode", an annual tradition for Doctor Who since 2006.

3. "Hush" (Season 4, Episode 10) 

One of the Gentlemen - "Hush" screenshot.

Personally, I consider "Hush" to be one of Buffy's creepiest episodes. Firstly, it introduces a terrifying new villain: the Gentlemen, a group of demons that levitate from town to town, served by a group of demonic footmen in straight jackets. (One can already wonder about the monsters' symbolism.) But what's scary about this episode is its silence: 27 minutes of the episode are free of dialogue, after Sunnydale, CA citizens wake to discover that they are unable to speak. Their voices have been stolen by the Gentlemen, who cut out human hearts at night... their voiceless victims unable to scream for help.

This episode received high praise after airing, and was the only episode in the entire series to be nominated for an Emmy in Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. As Wikipedia states, "Hush" addresses the limits and assets of language/communication, and the disruption to society when communication breaks down.

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All right, that's it for now! I'll be discussing Buffy's top 4 and 5 breakthroughs next week, along with some honorable mentions. Until then...

Ever watched Buffy?  What television do you love and admire?