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[inmyriadbits]

So it may be apparent from all my TV-related posts today that I have zero work ethic at the moment. Which is bad, because I need a new paper topic and then I need to write the paper, and instead I'm like "let's watch 30 Rock! and Psych! and NCIS! and maybe you can go catch up on Eureka! or Numb3rs! Oooh, or House! I hear Frank Pembleton shows up in S6!" Thanks, brain. At least you gave me some writing on that MFU fic, even though it totally steals from Alias AND Lois McMaster Bujold AND a Starsky & Hutch ficlet you read once. Well done.

I also need a thesis topic. ATM, I'm pondering doing something like: "Where's My Flying Car? Physics and the Future in [pick some movie]". IDEK, UGH. Maybe I could write about spy gadgetry instead? Anyway, my current thoughts about fictional invention feeding back into RL invention. Or something. Last week they were about the effect of continuity writing in television on genre. Sigh.

Also, it's weirding me out that Ian Crawford's new Twitter profile pic bears an eerie resemblance to my default LJ icon -- Jimi Hendrix, wearing the same hat, in the same hand-leaning posture. If I were a teenage girl, I would take it as a sign we're MFEO, but alas, I am 22 these days. (Possibly soon to change; I'm looking into doing that trick with running car odometers backward, only with years. Will keep everyone posted.)

Comments

[poisonivory.livejournal.com]

I don't know what movie you should write about, but clearly the title should be "Dude, Where's My Flying Car?: Etc." (Or you could do what I did and just babble self-indulgently about your favorite topic for 40 pages. *shifty*)

[inmyriadbits.livejournal.com]

Ha, yes. Well, it's complicated by the fact I'm graduating early, so I have to be done by December. Also, the problem is more that "my favorite topic" describes about a hundred different things. I'm having trouble narrowing down to a manageable idea.

[spatz.livejournal.com]

You could write about the changing perception of spies in film since the Cold War started. Like, individual influential films, but also change over franchises (ie James Bond).

[inmyriadbits.livejournal.com]

You know, I was actually thinking today about the differences between MFU and modern TV. It seems to mirror the changeover from early spy stuff to the sort of psychological-spy-thriller (i.e. Bourne Identity) that's popular now. I was thinking about that David McCallum quote, "No one knows what Illya Kuryakin does when he goes home at night"; MFU is so fascinating in part because it focuses on what the characters do, while for contemporary spies (or really, characters in general), it's all about why. No one was really interested in how early James Bond ticked; he just was, and people liked to watch him be that person. Hmm.

It's a bit broad, though. I need to figure out how to narrow the focus. Maybe focus on a single franchise/show? Or two exemplary years; 1964 was the US release of From Russia With Love and the MFU premiere (and then I can focus just on S1 :D); and maybe 2002, when Bourne Identity came out? Hmm.

[spatz.livejournal.com]

Also, despite the much larger fear of spy shenanigans in the 50s/60s/70s, spy TV tended to be humorous rather than dramatic (or the popular ones were, anyway), which I would characterize as the opposite of today - Alias, Bond reboot, Bourne, etc. But you've also got Chuck and Burn Notice, hmmm. Something to consider (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Espionage_television_series).

Even if you focus on a single franchise or time period, it can't hurt to get a sense of the terrain/trends. And often knowing more helps you focus on a single issue, weirdly enough.