Langdon Alger | Independent Movie Review
REVIEW:
“I’m a little embarrassed” says Rick Moody, meanwhile Ed White says, “I like having my book on any list for any reason,” as they talk about having their books on The True Prep Master Reading List in episode one, Class and Classics, of the web series, Amateur Thursdays. Two episodes to date, 02/15/12, Giovanna Calvino, Fabrice Rozié and Alison Snyder, have produced two slightly different but similar attempts at fun and creative literary discussion.
Contrasting efforts because episode one, has three authors, the two aforementioned plus Maaza Mengiste, who was perhaps disqualified from the True Prep list “for having a nose ring”, starts off discussing the Lisa Birnbach book and “what is Prep?” However, the conversation quickly evolves into the current state of affairs with American writing in terms of class-consciousness. Although all relevant to the episode, the reasons Moody and White have books on the list and True Prep in general, episode one is more of a recorded conversation from three very astute professionals on the subject rather than what I think it was, overly simplified, meant to be; a discussion by other authors about a book.
Episode two, Dogs of Our Lives, stays on point and four dog cohabiters, both former and current, who also happen to be three, current, novelists and one artist, discuss the title, My Dog Tulip, by J.R. Ackerley. Finding the book “to be on the fringe of canine pornography”, as stated by Lisa Birnbach, her and the remaining gathered, Stefan Merrill Block, Susan Orlean and Bill Wegman offer differing opinions while discussing the “polarizing dog memoir” and thoughts on motivation by the author for the story, and stick to that format.
Again, with the first two efforts, slightly different, but much the same, hopefully the coming webisodes will stay true to form. So far, each effort has had very engaging and candid points of views from obviously skilled professionals in their fields, and Amateur Thursdays is a fun spin on literary review.
TECHNICAL CRITIQUE:
So far so good. Unique settings, good lighting, sound, camera work and dancing edits keep it moving. The 5 minutes episodes fly by which is good cause I watched each episode a couple times, because each time I picked up on something I missed from the time before.