Page 7 of 7 FirstFirst ... 34567
Results 121 to 127 of 127

Thread: Is there such a thing as 'Advanced Blues'?

  1. #121
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    bedford
    Posts
    4,899
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: Is there such a thing as 'Advanced Blues'?

    Quote Originally Posted by Amir View Post
    ...The question was 'can the emotional aspect of an art form be taught'?
    My answer was that, for all practical purposes and for adults, emotion cannot be taught. The extreme cae of emotional deficiency is pyscopathic and sociopathic emotional dysfunction, and the treatmant for that has been notoriously unsuccessful. Brain scanning and modern medicine may yet change that.

    For me the essence of acting is communication. Most of us understand a raised voice and aggressive gestures as anger. One of my great TV moments was when Paul Daniels (of all people) in a "Big Brother show apparantly "lost it" and raged at another participant, who had been overly aggressive. The target, and me, both bought it. The target was at first taken aback and then tried desperately to calm Paul down. Paul instantly switched it off, and, as near normal as he gets. He explained that he had just wanted the other guy to see what he looked like.

    The easiest way for an actor to convey an emotion is to feel it, and indeed great performances have come from the ability to feel it and control it. For really chilling anger, I recall Sir Alec Guiness as Smiley. Just a slight freeze of the face, perfectly still, it all going on behind the eyes.

    It is possible to feel it and not convey it. Some of the responses to fear are "Fight, flight and freeze." If an actor tries to convey they are in danger of just looking like they have just forgotten their lines.

    Really harrowing examples of not conveying it can be found in the footage of the Tsunami on the Net. There you you can see the whole range of "about to die" reactions, from the cheap horror movie panic to the "this is a bit inconvenient".

    For me acting is about conveying it, not feeling it. "feeling it" is just one of the tools.

  2. #122
    Commercial Operator
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Northeastern Parts
    Posts
    5,221
    Rep Power
    14

    Re: Is there such a thing as 'Advanced Blues'?

    Quote Originally Posted by Amir View Post
    The question was 'can the emotional aspect of an art form be taught'?
    Quote Originally Posted by bigdjiver View Post
    My answer was that, for all practical purposes and for adults, emotion cannot be taught.
    But you're not answering the same question. Your answer is to the question 'can emotion be taught?' Which is a different matter altogether.

  3. #123
    Commercial Operator
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    London
    Posts
    410
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: Is there such a thing as 'Advanced Blues'?

    Quote Originally Posted by bigdjiver View Post
    My answer was that, for all practical purposes and for adults, emotion cannot be taught. ....

    The easiest way for an actor to convey an emotion is to feel it...

    For me acting is about conveying it, not feeling it. "feeling it" is just one of the tools.
    You say that emotional can not be taught, but admit that actors may 'feel' something in the course of their acting, that 'feeling' is in fact one of their tools.

    Do you believe that if you take a class in acting, that by the end of the class you might be better at 'feeling' something than you were at the start?

    If you haven't taken any acting classes, would you be willing to believe students who have?

  4. #124
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    Versailles
    Posts
    1,981
    Rep Power
    12

    Re: Is there such a thing as 'Advanced Blues'?

    I haven't read through the whole of this thread so apologies if this point has already been raised, but reading this question about "feeling can't be taught" made me think of the similar question of whether rhythm can be taught.

    It is certainly true that when they start dancing some people have a better "sense of rhythm" than others. I think most of us must have witnessed people (or indeed been people ) who start off with a somewhat shaky sense of rhythm, easily losing the beat, and sometimes unable to pick it out in a complicated track. I expect most of us have also seen these same people improve greatly over time. Some people would maintain that you can't teach someone how to hear a beat, yet manifestly people learn, and if they can learn it that means it can be taught.

    I think the same is true of the use of emotion in acting - through coaching and practice actors certainly can learn how to access their emotions and use them as part of their craft.

    And of course, yes, I believe that the part of "advanced blues" which has to be felt, that too can be taught.

  5. #125
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    bedford
    Posts
    4,899
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: Teaching feeling

    I have recalled some research findings that indicate that perhaps feeling can be learned through acting. The finding was that forcing the face into the smile position actually released happy hormones. In other words acting happy makes you feel happy. In the real world putting on a happy face makes those around us happier, which in turn makes us happier. I think it works with acting sexy and with acting angry too. Whether acting can invoke emotions that are not innate is another matter.

  6. #126
    Commercial Operator
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Northeastern Parts
    Posts
    5,221
    Rep Power
    14

    Re: Is there such a thing as 'Advanced Blues'?

    Quote Originally Posted by Amir View Post
    If you haven't taken any acting classes, would you be willing to believe students who have?
    Quote Originally Posted by bigdjiver View Post
    I have recalled some research findings that indicate that perhaps feeling can be learned through acting. The finding was that forcing the face into the smile position actually released happy hormones. In other words acting happy makes you feel happy. In the real world putting on a happy face makes those around us happier, which in turn makes us happier. I think it works with acting sexy and with acting angry too. Whether acting can invoke emotions that are not innate is another matter.
    - so that'll be a 'no' then?

  7. #127
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    bedford
    Posts
    4,899
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: Is there such a thing as 'Advanced Blues'?

    Quote Originally Posted by straycat View Post
    - so that'll be a 'no' then?
    I have not talked much with acting students. My acting experience is limited to being in 'Zigger Zagger'.
    "You will be playing a policemen. You have to stand with your back to the audience. That's a very powerful position."
    and a role in "The Magistrate", where I played a ... policeman.

    There was a superb TV biographical series called, I think, "The actors studio" where acting techniques got an airing. Amongst other things it completely transformed my opinion of Sylvester Stallone. As Amir wrote the debates about acting and feeling still endures. From my own experience I know that feeling it can have little to do with conveying it, and acting it can be the opposite of what is being felt.

    As I posted watching TV poker shows acting at the highest level under the closest of examinations, where the acting is the opposite of the emotion. How acting and emotion are linked is a complex, and probably personal, matter.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Swinging The Blues 09
    By Gus in forum Let's talk about dance
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 23rd-February-2009, 10:30 PM
  2. Finally, an Accurate Definition of Blues !!
    By StokeBloke in forum Let's talk about dance
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 8th-June-2008, 05:41 PM
  3. How To Sing The Blues
    By Cruella in forum Chit Chat
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 30th-January-2007, 04:00 PM
  4. Raunch Factor
    By Wendy in forum Let's talk about dance
    Replies: 61
    Last Post: 1st-October-2006, 11:20 PM
  5. Swingin the Blues
    By Lounge Lizard in forum Social events
    Replies: 86
    Last Post: 30th-January-2006, 05:57 PM

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •