challenging entertainment
There has been a lot written about the Oscars in the last few days. Much of it critical of Hollywood. There seemed to be a clear expectation among observers that this year’s award ceremony would suffer the lowest ratings ever. A lot of the “disinterest” sentiment seems to be pointed at the nomination of “unpopular” movies this year… Movies like “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Milk” that may not have been blockbusters at the box office but were a triumph of storytelling or cinematic art nevertheless.
I have several problems with this. First, this sentiment seems to imply that filmmaking should in some way consider the sellability of the Oscars telecast when producing a movie. Haha. Wrong. Second, this would imply that the Academy should select/nominate films that would lead to good ratings on the Oscars telecast. Haha. Wrong.
There is a balance in this industry. One between art and entertainment. Were the industry to abandon the artistic aspects of filmmaking in favor of generating consistent mass appeal, the content would eventually devolve and the industry would implode. Similarly, if the industry abandoned the need to hold an audience for artistic zeal, it would lose its purpose, and thus, implode.
So, to the extent that the film industry can continue to produce challenging content – content that challenges the audience to undestand something, to exit the comfort zone, to experience something… more power to it. American audiences need to be challenged.
chugging along
It’s already mid-February. Whew. Not sure how that happened. Hell week came and went. The week after hell week came and went. I’m still working on the recruiting process, and will refrain from reporting my status until it’s all over.
For friends, on the whole, it was a pretty painful week. Lots of dings. I know a few people with offers already, but by and large the majority of my circle of friends is still looking. The summer search has shaped up to be much more competitive than I was expecting, and, it seems, a lot more competitive than most people were expecting.
The admissions office posted a blurb the other day saying that 77% of MBA2009 candidates who were looking for jobs have received offers already (for full-time). So it seems that there is light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s definitely an arduous process.
hell week
I’m staring hell week in the face right now. “Hell week” is not what the school calls it. There are various nicknames for the week ahead, but to the school, it is officially known as DIP – Dedicated Interview Period. The RC’s (first years) have been let out of class this week in order to interview for summer internships. Everyone corrals into area hotels and puts on their best “why me” and “why you” in the hopes of landing the perfect summer internship.
It’s hard to tell what the perfect summer internship is, though in this economy, and with the palpable sense of stress on campus, I’m quite certain it must be amazing.
I’m trying to take the week in stride. I’ve done lots of preparation, but at the end of the day, I’m pretty much at peace with the fact that a firm is either going to see me as a fit or not and if not then I don’t want to be at a place where I’d have to change myself to fit in. (This could also just be a defense mechanism kicking in.) About 45% of RC’s get job offers from interviews this week. That means more than half of us will still be looking come next weekend. I’m not sure which camp I’ll be in, but I do know I’m looking forward to getting in front of some really great opportunities this week and trying hard to land something.
Fingers crossed…
