Discussing media with gamers (gamers in this case specifically meaning players of tabletop role-playing games) can be frustrating for me. My gamer friends, with few exceptions, are very bright people with a wealth of experience each. Their opinions are not often the result of simple preference, or so I choose to believe.<\/p>\n
But there are occasions where I wonder what we really have in common. When the subject of media as art becomes the focus of conversation, our positions are so disparate as to be cause for argument. Half the time I don’t believe we are actually discussing the same subject.<\/p>\n
Instead, I feel like they are weighing the entertainment value while I am weighing the intrinsic value. Entertainment is wonderful, and even schlock has its place, but it seems people give equal creedence to true art as to things that have no greater message.<\/p>\n
The greatest example of this in recent memory is preference of Offices. The BBC original is fully formed, with realistic characters and scenarios and a truly human quality with the capacity to move one to catharsis as well as laughter. It is often thought-provoking and philosophical without reaching beyond the natural accessiblity of its material or genre. I would even go so far as to say it helped me gain perspective on my own life and where I truly want it to go.<\/p>\n
The American version on the other hand rarely elevates itself above farcical sitcom stuff. The strongest human connection I have made is with the minor characters, such as Phyllis or Jan. I can see it being dated in five years, where the original I believe will stand the test of time.<\/p>\n
It’s difficult to explain. It’s beyond what I can do on my little blog. But when we’re chatting and you tell me you prefer the American Office, my immediate prejudice — for better or worse — is that you prefer not to be challenged by your entertainment. It’s a bigger question than which you think is funnier. At least it is in my head.<\/p>\n
Luv u. kthxbye.<\/p>\n
Oh, and I fully expect to see arguments for and against in the comments, so … open season on pretentious little me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Discussing media with gamers (gamers in this case specifically meaning players of tabletop role-playing games) can be frustrating for me. My gamer friends, with few exceptions, are very bright people with a wealth of experience each. Their opinions are not often the result of simple preference, or so I choose to believe. But there are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p73iP8-aL","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":519,"url":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/?p=519","url_meta":{"origin":667,"position":0},"title":"I’m already smart enough to know this is working.","date":"3\/3\/2006","format":false,"excerpt":"I am not sure where Youtube came from, or how they are getting away with this stuff, but the Chambraigne SG ep makes me happier than a pig in shit. And as you must know, that is pretty happy. And remember, citizens, copyright infringement is your best entertainment value.","rel":"","context":"In "Found Art"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":355,"url":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/?p=355","url_meta":{"origin":667,"position":1},"title":"Oh my sweet lord.","date":"7\/15\/2005","format":false,"excerpt":"T showed me this at work, and while \"Steve\" would definitely be a dead man if he were my roommate, I cannot help laughing gleefully along with him at \"Brendan's\" reaction. Rude awakening [ embedded Windows Media; fairly small ] There are others worth viewing there, though sometimes the sickening\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Found Art"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":503,"url":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/?p=503","url_meta":{"origin":667,"position":2},"title":"Concerned.","date":"2\/13\/2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Concerned is one of those comics that really touches the heart of gamers everywhere, using the game itself as the medium. I've added it to my dailies. Today's is particularly swell. Concerned: A humor comic based on the world of of Half-Life 2. Updated every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.","rel":"","context":"In "For the geek in you"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":96,"url":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/?p=96","url_meta":{"origin":667,"position":3},"title":"The case for lechery.","date":"4\/7\/2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Czelticgirl and I were discussing the inundation of babies in our workplace, and it sort of struck a chime in my head. Something I didn't realize I had been contemplating suddenly enchanted my fingers and I ranted away IM-style. The following is a generalization, to be sure, but it is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ennui"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2974,"url":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/?p=2974","url_meta":{"origin":667,"position":4},"title":"Prompted #3019304","date":"9\/23\/2016","format":false,"excerpt":"My favorite way to spend the day is normally via escapism. I know that my most serene times have been sitting alone with a computer or console, discovering the story os a captivating video game, or movie, or sometimes book. I don't have the reverence that others do for reading.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ennui"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":302,"url":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/?p=302","url_meta":{"origin":667,"position":5},"title":"Really?","date":"4\/21\/2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Someone said to me, about Jenna Jameson, \"She's really smart!\" The tone of voice used was one of incredulity, of surprise. And while I'm still too much of a social pussy to have snapped back with a witty comment, my brain did stammer a bit at the clear obliviousness of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ennui"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}