Neil deGrasse Tyson said:
[A few] words that are informative, make you smile, and are so tasty you might want to tell someone else — there is the anatomy of a soundbite. And don’t think that soundbites aren’t useful if they don’t contain a curriculum. A soundbite is useful because it triggers interest in someone, who then goes and puts in the effort to learn more. … Take the moment to stimulate interest, and upon doing that you have set a learning path into motion that becomes self-driven because that soundbite was so tasty — why do you think we call them bites?
This is the same thing I have thought about, but unable to articulate so precisely and beautifully. Whenever I read the literary review section in The Hindu, I come out feeling satisfied, mostly. Because an honest, in-depth literary review attempts as much as the literature that's being reviewed, even more actually. You may get misguided and pick a book because of the cover, the author's previous outstanding work or the famous-ness of the author or because of the curious title (I picked The museum of innocence just because of the title, only to feel cheated) or because it's on the bestseller, or because your friend recommended it or for any other reason. Sometimes books do disappoint you. You don't feel the kick, after reading and this, has put me off many times though it's not the author's fault at all! We all have certain tastes and we need to pick and choose as per that. Sometimes you should try something outside your boundary, which is the only way you will even know the infinite things that exist - and propel yourself in multiple dimensions. So, I attend all sorts of concerts ( I donno a thing about music) or theatre, etc in the quest to expand my knowledge and also with a secret desire that one day, I will meet my life's calling through these journeys.
But, back to books. Some books disappoint and this is precisely where a good review helps. It can do many things - stimulate one's interest in the book or tell you matter of fact that it's not going to be a book of your choice or even better - give you a feeling of already having read the book! It could act as a reduction of the book! So, I love book reviews. I can get an idea of many themes and authors through these. Then, I can pick what will probably appeal the most.
So, a literary review is a trailer for the book, pretty much like movie trailers, gadget teasers (the god of all trailers Apple), quotations, fashion previews and magazine covers. Now, when you go back and read what Neil said, it makes a lot of sense. A good trailer - is enticing.. alluring and if you are the audience - you cannot wait till you get your hands on it. While I was reflecting on these, I was thinking - what about us, humans? Can we have trailers? I'm sure that many movie stars have trailers or quotes for themselves. But, we commoners, can we have trailers? If so, what would it be like? What would you want to show in your trailer? Is the courtship period a trailer? Is your writing a trailer? What is your trailer?
Some things that came to me instantly were - your face is kind of a trailer. Someone who appreciates physical beauty - will get attracted to you if you have a certain kind of face. One meeting with you and they'd want to know more about you. I am sure some of my beautiful friends who socialise, can vouch for this. What else? Your sartorial sense may be a trailer. Someone may admire the way you dress and may come asking for tips. Even that is a trailer that has invoked some kind of interest in you - or rather - a facet of you, your dressing sense. Even a good perfume can be a trailer. I guess the trailer thing and attraction - fuse somewhere. The line becomes murky. Somewhere it intersects with image building too. So, I am going to extend this to include that aspect.
If you're an artist, your art is your trailer. Let's say you did some painting and displayed it. Someone who loves it, will google you and follow your works. In that sense it's important what you capture, in your art. One artist famously quoted "What I omit, is as important as what I choose to portray". Last week, someone wrote about book editors, that these are the invisible people who polish your art so much and trim off all excess fat to present the extraordinary parts of you - pretty much the way a makeup artist works on actors. So, you can seek help to create your trailer and build your image.
If you are careful enough, your conversations could be your trailer. I am sure many people have undergone extensive training (like the geishas shown in that geisha movie) about what topics to talk about, how to use the right tone or voice - in general - how to make an impression through talk. But, anyone without training, with just common sense, wit, wisdom and some manipulation, can present a pretty picture of themself during a meeting, which acts as a trailer. How many times have we come across amazing commencement speeches? Those are trailers. I'm sure you'd have googled that person after the commencement speech. Your interviews, your blogs, twitter - all can be used to generate interest in you - if you want that. I have personally met a few people, who blew me away with their confident talks, so much that I wanted to become them! Sometimes, these trailers help you chose your role model. If you trail someone so much, you become their follower and they become your icon! I have no idea how many fans Justin Beiber has! I am sure, he created a good trailer or painted a pretty good picture.
So, each of us can think of many trailers for ourselves. We can build images of us. We can all direct our own life movies. There's a lot we can do with our seemingly mundane lives. Remember, do not overdo. The people closest to us are the ones least amused by us because they know everything about us, the dirty facts too. So, moderation is the key to make good trailers and good images.
Bye for now. I am directing my trailer right away!
[A few] words that are informative, make you smile, and are so tasty you might want to tell someone else — there is the anatomy of a soundbite. And don’t think that soundbites aren’t useful if they don’t contain a curriculum. A soundbite is useful because it triggers interest in someone, who then goes and puts in the effort to learn more. … Take the moment to stimulate interest, and upon doing that you have set a learning path into motion that becomes self-driven because that soundbite was so tasty — why do you think we call them bites?
This is the same thing I have thought about, but unable to articulate so precisely and beautifully. Whenever I read the literary review section in The Hindu, I come out feeling satisfied, mostly. Because an honest, in-depth literary review attempts as much as the literature that's being reviewed, even more actually. You may get misguided and pick a book because of the cover, the author's previous outstanding work or the famous-ness of the author or because of the curious title (I picked The museum of innocence just because of the title, only to feel cheated) or because it's on the bestseller, or because your friend recommended it or for any other reason. Sometimes books do disappoint you. You don't feel the kick, after reading and this, has put me off many times though it's not the author's fault at all! We all have certain tastes and we need to pick and choose as per that. Sometimes you should try something outside your boundary, which is the only way you will even know the infinite things that exist - and propel yourself in multiple dimensions. So, I attend all sorts of concerts ( I donno a thing about music) or theatre, etc in the quest to expand my knowledge and also with a secret desire that one day, I will meet my life's calling through these journeys.
But, back to books. Some books disappoint and this is precisely where a good review helps. It can do many things - stimulate one's interest in the book or tell you matter of fact that it's not going to be a book of your choice or even better - give you a feeling of already having read the book! It could act as a reduction of the book! So, I love book reviews. I can get an idea of many themes and authors through these. Then, I can pick what will probably appeal the most.
So, a literary review is a trailer for the book, pretty much like movie trailers, gadget teasers (the god of all trailers Apple), quotations, fashion previews and magazine covers. Now, when you go back and read what Neil said, it makes a lot of sense. A good trailer - is enticing.. alluring and if you are the audience - you cannot wait till you get your hands on it. While I was reflecting on these, I was thinking - what about us, humans? Can we have trailers? I'm sure that many movie stars have trailers or quotes for themselves. But, we commoners, can we have trailers? If so, what would it be like? What would you want to show in your trailer? Is the courtship period a trailer? Is your writing a trailer? What is your trailer?
Some things that came to me instantly were - your face is kind of a trailer. Someone who appreciates physical beauty - will get attracted to you if you have a certain kind of face. One meeting with you and they'd want to know more about you. I am sure some of my beautiful friends who socialise, can vouch for this. What else? Your sartorial sense may be a trailer. Someone may admire the way you dress and may come asking for tips. Even that is a trailer that has invoked some kind of interest in you - or rather - a facet of you, your dressing sense. Even a good perfume can be a trailer. I guess the trailer thing and attraction - fuse somewhere. The line becomes murky. Somewhere it intersects with image building too. So, I am going to extend this to include that aspect.
If you're an artist, your art is your trailer. Let's say you did some painting and displayed it. Someone who loves it, will google you and follow your works. In that sense it's important what you capture, in your art. One artist famously quoted "What I omit, is as important as what I choose to portray". Last week, someone wrote about book editors, that these are the invisible people who polish your art so much and trim off all excess fat to present the extraordinary parts of you - pretty much the way a makeup artist works on actors. So, you can seek help to create your trailer and build your image.
If you are careful enough, your conversations could be your trailer. I am sure many people have undergone extensive training (like the geishas shown in that geisha movie) about what topics to talk about, how to use the right tone or voice - in general - how to make an impression through talk. But, anyone without training, with just common sense, wit, wisdom and some manipulation, can present a pretty picture of themself during a meeting, which acts as a trailer. How many times have we come across amazing commencement speeches? Those are trailers. I'm sure you'd have googled that person after the commencement speech. Your interviews, your blogs, twitter - all can be used to generate interest in you - if you want that. I have personally met a few people, who blew me away with their confident talks, so much that I wanted to become them! Sometimes, these trailers help you chose your role model. If you trail someone so much, you become their follower and they become your icon! I have no idea how many fans Justin Beiber has! I am sure, he created a good trailer or painted a pretty good picture.
So, each of us can think of many trailers for ourselves. We can build images of us. We can all direct our own life movies. There's a lot we can do with our seemingly mundane lives. Remember, do not overdo. The people closest to us are the ones least amused by us because they know everything about us, the dirty facts too. So, moderation is the key to make good trailers and good images.
Bye for now. I am directing my trailer right away!
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