Post #9 3/24/09 Budui!

3/24/09

“Budui!” It meant, literally, “Not correct.” You could also translate it as no,
wrong, nope, uh-uh. Flatly and clearly incorrect.”

Uplifting, right? To be told, point-blank, “You’re wrong.”

Yea, right.

No doubt some would find this Chinese custom extremely disheartening. As Peter Hessler illustrates in his book River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, “You were right or you were budui; there was no middle ground.” To Americans, this concept of flat-out criticism is relatively unheard of. If someone’s wrong, they’re corrected but in a gentle, cautious fashion. This is especially true in the more elementary years of schooling. After all, you never hear anything like this on the campus of a grade school:

Student: *raises hand* Did I do this problem right?

Teacher: No.

Am I right? See, conversations like those most often go a little more like this:

Student: *raises hand* Did I do this problem right?

Teacher: Well, that was a good try but you forgot one little step…

See the difference? Americans are just too nice. I mean, I’ve heard of some pretty, how do I say this…interesting customs from other cultures that the Western world would be completely scandalizied by.

Personally, I side with the Chinese. Why pussyfoot around it? They’re going to end up crushed anyway. Might as well get it over with. It’s like pulling off a band-aid. You do it fast and with a clean jerk. The sting of budui is sharp and quick but you learn to get over it. However, pull that band-aid off slowly and you’re in for about ten seconds of pain as the detestable adhesive is gradually pried from your skin. Likewise, words of gentle correction may sound more appealing from the get-go but once you hear them you spend your time cringing as you wait for the “but” of the sentence.

So, why all this sugarcoating? I mean, the bottom line is going to be the same no matter how eloquently you phrase it. “You were wrong.” Now, you can either cry about it or take active steps to change your next attempt. Actually, I think this way would be much more effective. After all, no one wants to get shot down again and again for yet another failed attempt. So, they try even harder as Peter Hessler did in his endeavor to not completely butcher the Chinese language. They try harder which leads to fewer wrong attempts which ultimately results in them no longer being wrong. There’s no sugarcoating, no roundabout open-ended banalities aimed at stroking our ego as opposed to criticizing it. Just the plain, honest truth.

In fact, this is actually an underlying principle in psychologist B.F. Skinner’s theory about learning: negative reinforcement. “In negative reinforcement a particular behavior is strengthened by the consequence of the stopping or avoiding of a negative condition.” What does this mean in English? Well, basically for the purposes of this blog, the “particular behavior” could be anything someone is learning: tying a shoe, graphing hyperbolas, memorizing vocab words, etc. The negative condition is hearing someone tell you that you’re wrong when you screw something up. People don’t like being told they’re wrong (considered from a psychological standpoint as an unpleasant stimuli) so they try real hard to not be wrong, thus avoiding the unpleasant stimuli. Pretty soon, whatever it is they’re learning is engrained in their head, having connected the fact that if they do it right they don’t have to hear someone tell them that they were wrong.

I know it’s a bit confusing. I actually had a rough time figuring all that out when it came up in my psychology class.

Yes, it’s a bit harsh. But hey, the world isn’t made of sunshine and daisies anyway. No reason to delude ourselves any further.

Post #8 3/17/09 The Young and the Restless

3/17/09

Zac Efron. Megan Fox. Hayden Panettiere. Robert Pattinson.

If you were a reasonably well-informed person you would probably know, if not at least recognize, those names. Now, let’s try another list shall we?

Jeremy Irons. Helen Mirren. Viggo Mortensen. Ed Harris.

Being a movie junkie, those actors are just as recognizable to me as anyone for the first list. In fact, I probably know a lot more about one of them than that first list combined. However, I’m pretty sure those names mean little, if not nothing, to you. If I was a gambler, I would’ve put money on it.

So…why’d you blank out?

The answer, it would appear, lies in what that first list had in common with one other: they were celebrities, all under 25 years old, that have appeared in recent major blockbusters and/or popular tv shows. Movies and shows well known to millions upon millions of people around the world. High School Musical, Transformers, Heroes, and of course, Twilight respectively. Ok, now I want you to do something. For the people listed above, I want you to name the ones who have been nominated for and/or have won an Academy Award. Even if you don’t really know, take a guess. No cheating. Got it? Good.

Here are the answers:

Zac Efron: 0

Megan Fox: 0

Hayden Panettiere: 0

Robert Pattinson: 0

Jeremy Irons: 1 win

Helen Mirren: 1 win, 2 nominations

Viggo Mortensen: 1 nomination

Ed Harris: 4 nominations

Notice something? Yup. The latter group was actually the ones with the wins and/or nominations. So, if this is the case, if those group of actors were the ones with the more prestigious recognition, then why don’t we tend to hear about them? Again, it’s all about the ages.

It seems that in today’s age-fearing society, we tend to gravitate toward the younger generation. Fresh, young faces are getting fresher and younger while the older, more experienced actors remain mostly under the radar (unless they happen to be…oh, I don’t know…George Clooney or Johnny Depp or Angelina Jolie). New talent is constantly being “discovered” before kids have even entered high school. Take Dakota Fanning or Abigail Breslin for example. They were young like, really young, when they started working the entertainment business but people loved them. In fact, people loved Dakota Fanning so much that she was getting paid $3 million per movie before she even hit 13. “She’s definitely an old soul,” said actress Glenn Close. So, I guess being “an old soul” automatically wins you the respect of just about every other credible name in Hollywood. Apparently, Tom Cruise adores her as well.

However, with this surge of new, young talent, older actors, actors who have not completely made a name for themselves, are finding it harder and harder to make it in the brutal business that is show business. 30 and 40 something year old unknowns show up for auditions along side 20 something year old unknowns and guess who wins the part? The younger ones. True, the older actors may have the experience but it’s the 25 year olds who have the looks, the charm, and the moves to capture audiences. And that’s what directors, producers, and production studios want.

And along with this problem comes the slow demise and decreasing popularity of the so called “Hollywood royalty”. Audiences want younger, faster, bolder and since we still haven’t managed to age backwards (aside from Benjamin Button), the older, more experienced actors are slowly being left in the dust. It doesn’t really matter if they’ve won one Oscar or ten. What really counts is whether or not they can connect with younger audiences especially when “there are 48 million teens and college aged moviegoers.” Because chances are an 18-year-old girl is more likely to watch a movie with Robert Pattinson in the leading role as opposed to Ed Harris (personally, I’d beg to differ though) and a 20-year-old guy is more likely to be dragged off to a movie with his girlfriend when said movie stars Megan Fox instead of Helen Mirren.

But, hey. Nothing much we can do about it. After all, there’s no business like show business.

Answer to trivia question: Jeremy Irons, left; Robert Pattinson, right

Post #7 3/10/09 Moderation: Love it. Hate it. Gotta have it

3/10/09

The world’s complicated is it not? I sure think so and I’m sure at least 90% of the rest of the reasonable population would agree (I’m not quite sure what planet those other 10% have been living on though). Anyway, since the world is already twisted enough long before your milk even hits your cereal in the morning, I feel that adding to the world’s convolutedness is so incredibly unnecessary.

Take writing for example. Being a writer myself, I work hard to make my work the best it can be. I really do. That means endless hours of taking this out, putting that in, switching that around, and so on and so forth. I even have to go through this process for other people since I act as something like an editor to certain “clients” (The technical term is “beta”. I’m a beta-reader). As a writer, I know that I can’t always use sentences like, “Billy opened the door.” because 1) I’m not in third grade and 2) a sentence like that can’t always convey the emotion I may want my piece to convey. I also know that I can’t just start rambling on about the door knob on the door, the wood the door was made of, what Billy was wearing at the time, and the color of the ceiling. People don’t want to read half a page of text describing exactly what it was like to open that door. Heck, I don’t want to read that so I certainly wouldn’t make other people do it either. Moderation is the key.

It’s like drinking (not that I have, by the way). Sober, most people are boring like the sentence, “It was dark.” Great. It was dark. I don’t know where it was dark, I don’t know when it was dark, I don’t know what was dark but hey, it’s dark. After a drink or two, that’s when people start to get a little more interesting. They’re a little louder, start talking a little bit more, and they’re excited. “The first thing he sees when he opens his eyes is the jet black abyss of the night sky.” A little more interesting, wouldn’t you say? It’s descriptive (yes, it was dark), it’s coherent (you actually understand that he’s looking at the sky), and yet the description ends before you’ve reached 101 years old. And then comes the buzz. People are no longer coherent, they’re grating, and just don’t know when to stop. “His eyes flutter open and for a second, due to the momentary wave of confusion that washes over him in finding himself in this predicament, he doesn’t realize that he has since the empty voids of the backs of his eyelids and the evening sky are virtually indistinguishable. He blinks again then shudders, attempting to rid his body of a strange sensation that has come over him as a bone-chilling breeze blows past.” Really? Really? I mean, come on. Would it really have killed you to say something to the tune of, “It was dark and cold and you-saved-us-the-pain-of-reading-that-long-rambling-thing-by-writing-something-that’s-so-much-more-simpler.”? There’s even a term for this: prolixity or “speech or writing which uses an excess of words.” Now, I’m not saying that consuming alcohol is necessary to achieve that happy middle ground. That’s not my point at all. What I’m trying to get at is that it is possible to get your point across without going completely overboard with the word use. Because more often than not, your original point may become “lost in translation” as it were, muddled and weighed down by all the other words attached to that main idea. Unless you’re a pro at this so called “purple prose”. Then your writing is a little more discernible.

However, I admit that there are certain times when it is necessary to be a little more generous with your words like if you’re trying to make a point with your excessive word use or if the situation actually calls for some verbosity. But remember our little magic word? Moderation. That is what migraines are not made of.

So, just my humble and honest opinion, please keep this in mind the next time you start writing something. You’ll be doing the world (and yourself) a huge favor.

Post #6 3/3/09 The Curious Case of...Wait, what?

3/3/09

I’m sure we’ve all heard of the movie. I mean, come on, it’s Brad Pitt. Arguably one of the most famous people, celebrity or otherwise, on the face of this planet. Therefore, I’m fairly certain that at least a good majority of you know the plot of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”. In the event that you don’t, you sad, sad person (Just kidding. But seriously, what’s up, man?), stay tuned. You’ll find out soon enough.

So why am I bringing this up? Well, 1) it was in one of the Newsweeks I brought home over the weekend and I’m in desperate need of a decent topic and 2) I personally think that its main theme is extremely significant especially now in our current society.

I’m talking, of course, about aging.

It’s a very funny issue in our society because there seems to be two completely polar opposite sides to it: those who want to get older and those who will do whatever it takes not to. And by “whatever it takes”, I mean “whatever it takes”. Whatever. It. takes. But we’ll get into that later.

Anyways, what of this first side? Who would want to get older? From experience, I’d say teenagers and the younger generation. Come on, we’ve all been there right? “God, I can’t wait ‘til I’m older. I’d finally be able to leave home.” or “I want to turn 21 so badly!” (And you know what that implies). Sounds familiar? I should think so. We are, were, and have been teenagers at some point. True, these wishes are mostly reactions to the so called “growing pains” and stresses of this particular stage of life (SATs, anyone?) but can you really blame them? Of course, there’s the whole notion of, “You don’t know what you’re wishing for.” or “Being an adult is everything short of glamorous.” or “Are you out of your mind?” But then again, do teenagers ever truly fathom the responsibilities that come with being an adult? I’d say nine times out of ten, no, they don’t really. Most of what teenagers perceive as “being an adult” is the extremely sugar-coated version. But there’s an uglier side to it. Taxes, work, money, taxes, housing, taxes…the list of headaches goes on. But, hey. Teenagers are teenagers and they won’t be for very long. So I say, let them keep wishing. Because one day that wish will most definitely become a reality. And suddenly they’ll be wishing for the exact opposite.

Which brings me to the flip side of the coin: the people who don’t want to get older. Arguably, this side consists mostly of the older generation but I’ve met some precocious little eight year olds who are adamant that they will always remain their little eight year old self. Anyways, this group has got to be the most fascinating of the two. I mean, who doesn’t want to hear about the crazy new invention someone somewhere in the world came up with that will, get this, reduce your wrinkles? Ok, fine I’m being a tad bit sarcastic but seriously. There are some pretty interesting, albeit controversial, ways to “turn back the clock” as the saying goes. Take human cloning, for example. Here’s the gist of it: people clone themselves so that when their heart fails, or their liver fails, or they lose an eye, or whatever, they are able to take the part from their clone and thus, continue to live on. There was even a major movie based on this called The Island. Futuristic? Yes. Impossible? No. In fact, “the U.S. Department of Defense is developing cutting-edge medical technology that’s regrowing human tissue, in some cases, on the backs of mice”. Freaky? I sure think so. Although I’m not quite sure which part is more alarming: cloning or the fact that there are mice out there with human body parts growing from their own furry little bodies. Needless to say, this particular tactic of anti-aging has undergone a lot of fire due to the moral controversy surrounding the very nature of human cloning. Of course, this is just one example of the extremes people will go to avoid the inevitable. I’m sure there are so many other ones out there.

And then there’s the dear Ben Button who, much to the resentment of others I’m sure, doesn’t have the problem of getting older. Born a tiny and frail old man, he begins his bizarre life in a nursing home. However, it quickly becomes obvious that while his body may be old, his mind is exactly like that of a child. He then proceeds to age but in the opposite direction. Thus, while his childhood friend Daisy gets older, he gets younger which, obviously, causes problems for the two as time goes on. Interesting, right? Definitely.

So where does that leave you? Are you the rebellious teen who so desperately wants the supposed freedom that comes with adult life? Or are you longing to hit the “Pause” button or even the “Rewind” button on the remote control of life? Or are you, like myself, not too bothered by either prospect of aging and are perfectly content living life as it comes not matter what the direction?