Playing the 'Numbers' Game
A time-tested tradition of inserting a verb in gerund form into titles of both television shows and movies is being challenged by a growing trend. As common as it has been to see movies and TV programs with titles like: "Waiting," "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon," "Saving Silverman," "Kissing Jessica Stein," "Crossing Jordan," "Stealing Heaven" and any number of other "Stealing ---" movies and television shows, "Running Scared" AND "With Scissors," "Chasing" AND "Judging Amy," and "Kicking and Screaming" (double points for two gerund form verbs!) the winds of change are beginning to blow.
The new guideline in television is that all shows must have some kind of number or reference to a number in the title. "Studio 60," "30 Rock," "Six Degrees," "The Nine," and "3 lbs." are all new shows which adhere to this rule. There's even a show called "Numb3rs." Note the number in the name as well as the name actually being 'Numbers.' How clever! Clearly, television producers are simply responding to the overwhelming success of shows like "Six Feet Under," "Third Rock From the Sun," and "Two and a Half Men," and have decided that the success of these television shows is based not on the chemistry of the cast or the writing, but rather on the careful selection of a title which caters to our inherent American sensibilities, in this case our incontestable love of... numerals(!?!). It's not just television, Hollywood has joined 'number mania' ("21 Grams," "2 Fast 2 Furious," "Cheaper By the Dozen," and "Cheaper By the Dozen 2"). Strangely, secondary educational institutions, which are often a reliable barometer of pop culture trends don't seem to be following suit. Majors in Math, Science, and even Numerology remain conspicuously low compared with other countries of similar social and economic demographic makeup. But are the institutions to blame? According to former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers and Teen Talk Barbie, it is undeniable that for at least half of the population, "Math is hard!"
Clearly, Americans love numbers, but they don't like to "do math." That is why I am going to suggest the following changes. DVDs, videos, and books ought to be repackaged, replacing words or letters with numbers whenever possible. New titles will be "6 and the City," "What's 8-ing Gilb3rt Gr8p," 'Who's Afr8 of Virginia WØlf," "2 Kill a Mock1ngb1rd," "Harold and Kumar Go 2 Wh8t Castle," and "An American Tail: 5-L Goes West." We could even tweak "Fahrenheit 451" to "Fahrenh8 451." I think the gr8er appeal of the latter title is obvious. That being said, DVDs, videos, or books with mathematical principals or concepts in their titles or content will be renamed or retooled accordingly. For example, the movie "π" will become "American Pie 4." Everything between the front and back covers of Stephen Hawking's book "A Brief History of Time" will be replaced with 224 pages of Count von Count retrospectives, and so on.
"Thrrrree! Ah! Ah! Ah! I love to count!"
The new guideline in television is that all shows must have some kind of number or reference to a number in the title. "Studio 60," "30 Rock," "Six Degrees," "The Nine," and "3 lbs." are all new shows which adhere to this rule. There's even a show called "Numb3rs." Note the number in the name as well as the name actually being 'Numbers.' How clever! Clearly, television producers are simply responding to the overwhelming success of shows like "Six Feet Under," "Third Rock From the Sun," and "Two and a Half Men," and have decided that the success of these television shows is based not on the chemistry of the cast or the writing, but rather on the careful selection of a title which caters to our inherent American sensibilities, in this case our incontestable love of... numerals(!?!). It's not just television, Hollywood has joined 'number mania' ("21 Grams," "2 Fast 2 Furious," "Cheaper By the Dozen," and "Cheaper By the Dozen 2"). Strangely, secondary educational institutions, which are often a reliable barometer of pop culture trends don't seem to be following suit. Majors in Math, Science, and even Numerology remain conspicuously low compared with other countries of similar social and economic demographic makeup. But are the institutions to blame? According to former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers and Teen Talk Barbie, it is undeniable that for at least half of the population, "Math is hard!"
Clearly, Americans love numbers, but they don't like to "do math." That is why I am going to suggest the following changes. DVDs, videos, and books ought to be repackaged, replacing words or letters with numbers whenever possible. New titles will be "6 and the City," "What's 8-ing Gilb3rt Gr8p," 'Who's Afr8 of Virginia WØlf," "2 Kill a Mock1ngb1rd," "Harold and Kumar Go 2 Wh8t Castle," and "An American Tail: 5-L Goes West." We could even tweak "Fahrenheit 451" to "Fahrenh8 451." I think the gr8er appeal of the latter title is obvious. That being said, DVDs, videos, or books with mathematical principals or concepts in their titles or content will be renamed or retooled accordingly. For example, the movie "π" will become "American Pie 4." Everything between the front and back covers of Stephen Hawking's book "A Brief History of Time" will be replaced with 224 pages of Count von Count retrospectives, and so on."Thrrrree! Ah! Ah! Ah! I love to count!"
posted by Chad at 1:16 AM
1 Comments:
so how long did it take you to figure out how to insert the symbol pi into your blog? I'm impressed but I know it took forever to find the .. over the o and u in "Motley Crue". Since I cannot remember how to do it, I will refrain from doing so now.
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