Lost post on Budhism

[alex whitmer]

Wanted to add a comment, but the post vanished as I wrote this.

All good comments and important points.

Obviously there is a message you want to impart. But moviegoers, in general, want to be entertained, not 'taught'. The trick is getting your messgae across in a way the audience takes that away with them by 'discovering' it during the film.

Good film lets the audience participate through both the main character, and clever 'double entendre'. True, many moviegoers are comfortably numb, and only show signs of life during explosions and improbable car chases. Gutteral expletives usually follow.

But for those that actually pay attention to detail, movies can be great teachers. And it is up to your main character to do most of the work. Your audience will experience what he or she experiences. I suggest that your main character actually learn during the film what you want your audience to take with them. That way they share the experience instead of being taught.

Keep it simple. Over-convoluted messages get lost, and only frustrate the viewers. If anything, at least aim to get a sizeable portion of the audience hungry enough to go out and buy a book to learn more (yes people still buy books).

A


www.alexwhitmer.wordpress.com

 

[mikkowilson]

We don't allow any religious discussion on DVXuser, sorry. That's why the original thread was deleted.

- Mikko

 

[David W. Richardson]

I didn't think they were discussing religion -- I thought they were discussing writing a screenplay for a movie that involved a religion. Is that also a problem?

 

[brianluce]

I didn't think they were discussing religion -- I thought they were discussing writing a screenplay for a movie that involved a religion. Is that also a problem?

hardly seemed like an imflammatory conversation and I agree that it was in the context of screen writing.

 

[alex whitmer]

It begs the question

It begs the question

Where is the line drawn, or is a flexible boundry up to the discretion of one Mod?

If, for example, I want to discuss Da Vinci code, and the way it got its message across, or even its use of FX, is that allowed?

Or, for example, I want to discuss a film in which a Jewish woman hides her faith durning the Nazi occupation, is that allowed or not? Touches on both politics and religion, two topics banned from DVXuser.

I agree neither belongs here in the context of religion or politics, but they do in the context of film, be it the effects used, the screenplay, or any other point pertinent to filmmaking.

Ban religion and politics, but not intellectual discourse in the pursuit of film. The field is so littered with tits and guns, a topic on religion as subject matter for film is a breath of fresh air.

a


www.alexwhitmer.wordpress.com

 

[Barry_Green]

The topic is under discussion by the mods.

Some things lead to ugliness on the forum that we don't want. For example, discussing a Michael Moore film is banned here. Why? Is it because we, as a group, disagree with his film's message? Not necessarily, each individual mod has their own views. But we've seen what it does to the community.

After seeing multiple threads threaten to rip the community apart, we instituted some rules. No religion, no politics, no locker-room talk. Basically the same rules one would institute at the dinner table. The goal was to make for a civil community, not one torn apart by personal agendas.

There's a thread going right now that's devolved into that same divisiveness, which is not one of our "prohibited" topics, but even though the topic is different, the underlying behavior is following that which we discourage. So will it get axed? That's under discussion.

 

[mikkowilson]

Where to draw the line is a tough question in deed. Any mod can close, delete or open or undelete threads. - Also ones changed by other mods.

The purpose of any moderation is never to stifle discussion, but to prevent conflict - the forbidden topics (Politics, Religion, etc..) are forbidden because their importance on a personal level almost always causes unwanted conflict that can cause problems for everyone.


Even if a mod makes a bad call, another mad can reverse that if necessary. In cases like the thread in question; the mods all collectively discuss the best course of action depending on a lot of factors. If unsure, the forum rules always prevail (as in this case the thread was deleted), but it is a collaborative effort by the team of mods to make the final call and interpret the rules.


- Mikko

 

[StefanHaynes]

The logistics behind this level of censorship are iffy at best.

However, this is a privately owned board, and you are free to do as you please.

But would politics and religion really "tear the board apart?" I've been on a couple of other forums where politics and religion were permitted, and neither of them have been "destroyed." There were some inflammatory threads, but the discussions were kept within the threads, and would never branch out. If you disagree with someone, you share your opinion and keep it to the thread. You wouldn't bring it up in other threads because that wouldn't be the topic, and it would be inappropriate.

There is nothing healthier than debate, you know.

But as I said, it's your forum, you can do as you please.

 

[Barry_Green]

But would politics and religion really "tear the board apart?"

Been there, done that. You recently joined the board, so you many not have experienced it here, but we have history that we wouldn't care to repeat.

There is nothing healthier than debate, you know.

And there are plenty (PLENTY) of places where people can go to debate to their heart's content. Politics and religion boards are all over the place. The last thing this world needs is to see DVXUser degenerate into a political flamefest and religious zealot flamewar.

We encourage those who wish to discuss those topics to do so at boards that welcome those topics. And to let this board focus on the topics of filmmaking, camcorder techniques, technical support, business suggestions, etc.

But as I said, it's your forum, you can do as you please.

Thanks. We've been very pleased with the success of how DVXUser has grown!

 

[Jason Ramsey]

(Not talking about the thread in question, but just responding to Stefan on a broader level), Politics and Religion are hot button topics. People feel very passionately about these issues, and that can cause bad blood, animosity, etc, etc. And, that has spilled over from one thread (or from the cafe) to other parts of the board in the past.

Besides, this is a filmmaking community first and foremost, and that should be our focus. Not having long drawn out philosophical discussions, debates, and/or arguments about politics, religion, and the like. The cafe is here b/c there is a strong sense of community here, so people have a place to congregate and hang out and shoot the sh*t.

There are plenty of places to discuss hot button topics. Besides, that kind of stuff is discussed all over the internet, tv, and everywhere.... I like having a refuge from that when I come here on dvxuser.

Disagreements can and have spilled over from threads in the past to the rest of the board.

Regarding the thread in question, the move I would suspect was a proactive one. When you come in and see the last post that was made in that thread, one might see why the proactive move was made to prevent it from spiraling.

Jason

EDIT: What Barry Said. He beat me and (of course said it better)

 

[mikkowilson]

There is nothing healthier than debate, you know.

Agreed.
And that's exactly why there's a team of us volunteering our time and energy working to keep the forum open to healthy discussion, while weeding out the factors that deter members and prevent open constructive dialog.



EDIT: Both Barry and Jason beat me to it... D'oh!

- Mikko

 

[kimko]

The Zen of Then....The Tao of Now....I look up to the sky.....and I really don't see How!........................................the re-leigons of kimko! hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.........weed...................

 

[kimko]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...doughnuts

 

[kimko]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm..........bud-hism.............. hmmmmmmmmmm.......more doughnuts.....................

 

[CallaghanFilms]

The taboo topics policy that's in place here works, and works well.

I know pub/bar owners who insist on the same rules being obeyed...that way we patrons can focus on what we have in common (IE beer/booze/etc)- and not on the passionate hullabaloo that separate us (and are often known to cause unneeded friction.)

If it ain't broke...





EDIT:
By the way...how the hell are you, kimko?

 

[mikkowilson]

NOTE: Alveraz's post has been deleted since this post was made.

Give me a break, it was about inclusion of Buddhist thought into screenwriting. You guys are paranoid. Look at the thread! It's all about writing! No one is imposing their beliefs on anyone. You guys are ridiculous sometimes, but that's why you are the mod's and I'm not.

*sigh* This one was really going well too, we had just settled the issue in a civilized manner.


Everyone was clear with why sometimes this things are shut down, I honestly thought that this time it we could walk closer to the edge and still stay on track.

Retarded.

But alas, no improvement. Our reasons for avoiding these topics remain pertinent.

- Mikko