Brief insight into the class thus far

I've never really had an English or Literature class dedicated to a single genre of writing. Now, I'm not much for reading, but I do enjoy a good tale; I just usually get them from movies and video games. It's not that I am against reading, but as an activity it has a hard time holding my attention. Anyway, looking at the semi-lengthy list of plays, it's fair to assume I'll get a lot of diverse stories this semester. I'm OK with that. I just hope I don't get picked to read the lead role in class. I suppose if no one else wants to, I will. I'm not nervous; I just keep to myself.

What is the point?

Well Darren, I'll tell you the point. Entertainment all started with plays and improvisation. Is it so hard to believe that some people still enjoy it? Not really. I'm pretty sure if we didn't have the standard HD television programming we do now, almost everyone would love plays. That's not to say there isn't a difference. Here's the good qualities I personally see in each.


TV/Movies

• Cool special effects.
• Able to show things that are humanly impossible, such as gore. It gives more freedom to present an idea in a more powerful way that is simply impossible to recreate in theatre, at least not to the same intensity.
• Camera shots/angles have an effect on viewer perspective. You could, for example, give the viewer a look through the eyes of the main character and see what they see.

Theatre

• More personable. You are within yards of another person who is human; you may or may not be able to closely relate to this person.
• Drawing emotions from the viewer is far easier. You are literally watching another living, breathing person suffer hardships or celebrate happiness right in front of you.
• Far less expensive to put into production. Even with scarce resources and potentially no money, an incredible experience can still be delivered with the right techniques.