Re: Humor as a communication technique

["Walker, Arlen P" <Arlen -dot- P -dot- Walker -at- JCI -dot- COM>]

     Case in point.  What moves you and makes you think more: A movie like
     Contact or the Truman Show?

Definitely neither of them. Both require my brain be disconnected.
Especially Contact, a great case of the "idiot plot" if ever there was one.

     Or a documentary on the sociological ramifications of alien
     contact or loss of personal identity?

Depends upon how well they're done. If, like too many alleged
documentaries, they are designed to propagandize rather than inform, then
they don't, either. Information makes me think; propaganda makes me switch
channels.

     Let's face it, documentaries can be interesting, but they rarely move
     you or make you really think about things.

I would suggest that it's not the documentary/drama division that makes you
think, but rather the quality of the work itself. A well-done movie will
make you think, as will a well-done documentary. Both, however, are rare
species indeed.


Have fun,
Arlen
Chief Managing Director In Charge, Department of Redundancy Department
DNRC 224

Arlen -dot- P -dot- Walker -at- JCI -dot- Com
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Opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.
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