reading books/watching films w/constant anachronisms

[0 kids n not countin]

From Lauren (Blessings of the Breast & Womb blog):

May I Waste A Moment of Your Time?

Can I paint a picture for you?

Imagine that you are walking down along the shore at the beach. The sun is starting to go down and a beautiful scene is set before you.

If this is you, here's what you are probably not thinking.

"Well, here I am at the sea shore...wearing undies."

You wouldn't be thinking that because wearing underwear is (hopefully) comfortable and normal for you and besides, you have a scene of great beauty before you.

Now, what if I tell you that; earlier that afternoon; you were wrestling your three year old at the beach and you have sand in your underwear. Now you might be thinking about your undies.

And, if you were me, the newly uncomfortable awareness of your previously mentioned unmentionables will entirely ruin your appreciation of the beautiful scene in front of you.

So I write this long-winded analogy so you will fully feel my pain when I say,

I can't stand reading books or watching films with constant anachronisms.

Writers and film-makers of the world, please please cease and desist.

:roll:

[infooverload]

Very funny when you consider the Bible is full of anachronisms. Plus I was thinking could she give pertinent examples to what she is talking about. I have a feeling she would absolutely loathe a movie like Momento, which is a personal favorite of mine.

[Petronella7]

What a long-winded way to not even explain what she's talking about. Does she mean movies set in the past that get the historical detials wrong? Does she mean old movies and books in general, that have content that now looks dated in 2013? Do I even want to read the original post?

[0 kids n not countin]

Do I even want to read the original post?

That is the complete post.

[Hane]

As a card-carrying member of the Anachronism Police (according to my daughter), I sympathize.

As someone who values concise, to-the-point writing, I want to smack her hands off her keyboard.

[Dinorah]

I dislike anachronisms too, but I don't get the point of her sand-in-underwear analogy.

[GiggleOfGirls]

:confusion-scratchheadblue: I dislike anachronisms and also don't understand what on earth her point was. Maybe I'm not enlightened enough to understand it.

[Maggie Mae]

At first I thought the "wearing underwear on the beach" was going to be some new fundie modesty standard.

[VooDooChild]

Wtf does sand in your underwear...or anything she wrote about...have to do with anachronisms?

[Effie]

Wtf does sand in your underwear...or anything she wrote about...have to do with anachronisms?

She dislikes anachronisms as much as sand in her underwear?

[CelticGoddess]

Was anachronism her word of the day. I am still trying to figure out what anachronism she is talking about. Underwear on the beach? How is that an anachronism. Unless there is another definition I can't find.

[Dysfundamental]

I would rather an anachronism (which I hate) than strained analogies.

[RachelB]

Wtf does sand in your underwear...or anything she wrote about...have to do with anachronisms?

Putting on my "what the hell is my student trying to say?" composition teacher hat:

I think she's trying to say that the setting of a film or book should be something you don't have to think about a whole lot-- that if it's skillfully dealt with, you won't notice it is there at all. If it's badly handled, it calls attention to itself in a way that's irritating.

If she were a composition student of mine, I would suggest a different metaphor: "Historical detail in a movie is like a window. If it's cleanly integrated into the film itself, you're not consciously aware of it. But if it's incorrect, badly framed, or clumsily fitted to the story, it becomes hard for some viewers to see anything but the detail itself."