I have a method for sizing up people. It's not completely fair to use this as judgement, but it's a pretty good indicator for who someone is based off their pop-cultural preferrences.
Basically, the rules are simple, and begins with this senerio: You [the person being asked] are marooned on an island, possibly forever. There's fresh water and fruit trees, and with some conservation and fishing, you could live indefinately on this island. Now here's the one bullshit aspect- you have a portable DVD player, an infinate supply of power for this DVD player, and only five discs.
You are only allowed five discs. If you want to bring TV-On-DVD, you still only get five discs. You can't count a 4-disc show as one disc. If you are comfortable taking a 4-disc show, filling up 4 of the 5 spots you get, that's fine.
The idea of this is to pick what you'd be able to watch over and over (when you're not busy surviving) for the rest of time. Is that movie you claim as your all-time favorite really what you'd want to watch over and over?
The goal for me, is hopefully open up minds and think seriously about what you'd bring with you. Variety? Conforrmity? Kids-movies?
The way this is an indicator of personality is that it reveals what people are entertained by, and using that information, cross-referencing it with your own knowledge and taste. For instance, someone who'd list nothing but National Lampoon movies is either a effing idiot, a tasteless hack, or strangely inspired (it's a ballsy move to watch the same five NL movies for the rest of you life).
A person who picks nothing but foreign films, documentaries, and thinky-dramas could be a psuedo-intellectual, a genuinely dry nerdy-type, or comfortable reading subtitles.
The other way of looking at this test is how comfortable people are opening up, or how comfortable they are making such a heavy-despite-proproserous task.
A new co-worker whom I barely knew for maybe 15 minutes told me she'd bring "Pirates," a high-budget porn movie. Another co-worker from another job took the test seriously, and would make amendments to his list as if tomorrow I'd push him off a plane over the pacific, set up with a backpack of DVDs, a player, a sleeping bag, and a signal mirror.
My List is such:
- The Sandlot
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Original Live-Action Movie
- The Mario Bros.
- Clerks (10th Anniversary Disc 1)
- Futurama (Season 3 Disc 3)
I might make some changes, but for the most part, if I had to rough it with this magical DVD player, I'd be prepared. How about you?
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Another game I play with people is the "who'd play you in a movie?" game. I have a few rules for this as well:
- The actor or actress has to be alive. (So no Heath Ledger)
- The actor or actress has to be at least 10-15 years (though you can stretch it to 10-20 depending on the actor) within your actual age. (So no Charleton Heston for a 22-year old)
- The actor or actress doesn't necessarily have to look like you (modern makeup is spectacular), but can act like you with some training or method (kind of like Cate Blanchet playing Bob Dylan).
That's it.
Using this criteria, guess who'd play me.
Remember, I've got a new website: www.comicartiststeve.com
TTFN!
3.12.2008
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