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June 21

Video game as an art form

I'm looking for examples to counter the argument that "video games may contain art, but can never become a true art form in itself". Please note that I understand that this reference desk is "not a forum for discussion", and don't want this to be hatted as such; so, examples only please. Perhaps with a brief explanation as to why you believe the example qualifies (?). The example(s) must go beyond just being artful, artistic or "artsy". Anyway,... I came up with these examples, but my reasoning (which I shall refrain from expounding upon) is not ironclad: Osmos , Eufloria , Trauma. —71.20.250.51 (talk) 02:31, 21 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Jason Rohrer is the patron saint of art games. See Passage (video game) in particular. He (and others) engaged Roger Ebert in a debate on this very question. Ian Bogost and Rod Humble have done good work highlighting game mechanics as a source of creativity/art in their own right. Wikipedia also has Video games as an art form, an article that touches on some of these, including Ebert. --— Rhododendrites ^talk | 02:51, 21 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

PS: Art game#List of arthouse games --— Rhododendrites ^talk | 02:54, 21 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Note that many things we think of as artistic, at times, now, were not thought of that way when new. Movies are one example, where early on they might have just showed something like a train pulling into a station or a woman dancing, with no story. Comic books are another example, which have now transitioned into graphic novels. A more recent example of this transition is graffiti. StuRat (talk) 05:55, 21 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Here are a few Cracked.com articles that could be of interest: 10 Video Games That Should Be Considered Modern Art, 5 Things Video Games Do Better Than Any Other Forms of Art, Why Ebert Is Wrong: In Defense of Games as Art. Matt Deres (talk) 13:15, 21 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Thank y'all for the links-n'stuff; the Cracked.com article "5 Things..." is especially useful. However, what I'm looking for is something that might convince a foofoo art-snob through gameplay rather than with words. —71.20.250.51 (talk) 23:18, 21 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

It's all about Passage. --— Rhododendrites ^talk | 00:07, 22 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, that might appeal to/convince some art snobs. But only if they were open-minded enough :) To the OP: Another try might be Flow_(video_game) or games from that maker. Depending on how they feel about the importance of pattern in art, Bit.Trip series might be worth a look. You can also find interesting philosophical treatises written about katamari damacy. I personally find Dungeon_Crawl_Stone_Soup to be arty, but I wouldn't think it would convince anybody who generally denies games are art. Brothers:_A_Tale_of_Two_Sons had a very interesting way of presenting emotions through gameplay, but it's near the end. Another thing to mention to anti-game snobs is that not all art is "high art" -- whatever those terms mean... in that light, it might be nice to ask these people what things can count as art. Are novels art? Even trashy novels? Can movies be art, or comic books, or performances? Can they specify what feature it is of a videogame that disallows it from being art? Getting them to define terms will help the conversation, and help you to determine if there's any consistency or rationale to their claims ;) SemanticMantis (talk) 18:38, 22 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I thought that the series Extra Credits may have done an episode on this, but on a skim through the List of Extra Credits episodes, the closest I could find was a justification that games being "art" doesn't mean they aren't fun. That said, I remember the point being made in a number of their episodes, and the presentation is excellent. MChesterMC (talk) 09:00, 23 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Scatman John and stuttering

I've always wondered, as Scatman John was a stutterer, how did he manage to sing all those scat songs, which require saying the exact number of words and syllables at the exact speed required, and which apart from the nonsensical scat include quite complex English grammar? Scatman John said himself in one of his songs "Everyone says that the Scatman stutters but doesn't ever stutter when he sings." Was that literally true? JIP | Talk 16:08, 21 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

For reasons that may not be entirely understood, stuttering goes away when people are singing, or sometimes reciting poetry or reading from a pre-written text (it DOES vary from person to person, so not everyone "loses" their stutter in this way, but enough do for it to be a noted phenomenon). I know several people who stutter badly, but have no stutter when singing. See this google search which has several decent articles mixed in there which discusses the phenomenon. IIRC, the most prominent theory is that different parts of the brain control extemporaneous or conversational speaking and memorized speech (of which singing is one), and that the stutter represents a neurological problem only in one of them. The actor James Earl Jones is a chronic stutterer, however he doesn't stutter when acting. You can find interviews with him where he discusses how he was able to overcome his stutter and how acting itself has helped that. --Jayron32 18:27, 21 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I think rehearsed speech or songs are easier for stutterers. In normal talking, people formulate the next thing to say while still pronouncing the first words. This is actually a rather difficult thing to do, but most of us do have this ability. In stutterers these two trains of thought collide and one derails. But recalling the next words while pronouncing the current set may be a simpler task than formulating words at that time. StuRat (talk) 13:50, 22 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

movies filmed in louisiana

Cbook3 (talk) 18:51, 21 June 2014 (UTC)why isn't The Blob listed in movies filmed in Louisiana.[reply]

Because you haven't fixed it yet. Wikipedia is made by people like you - so go make it already! Matt Deres (talk) 19:03, 21 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

June 22

spooky cargo

Early in Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis, a commander was pointing out something to Capt. Charles Butler McVay III. The commander pointed out it was kind of spooky seeing a secretive gray wooden crate securely fastened to the deck. What could be spooky about a secretive gray wooden crate?142.255.103.121 (talk) 05:14, 22 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

According to USS Indianapolis (CA-35), it was carrying enriched uranium to Tinian for the Little Boy atomic bomb. Adam Bishop (talk) 10:36, 22 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, and during WW2 any secretive crate being sent to the front under guard could be reasonably assumed to be a powerful weapon. Small, mysterious, powerful weapons are spooky. StuRat (talk) 13:43, 22 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

what game is this from?

OK, it says in the description Star Fox 2 SNES but that's cancelled and no human chars.. O.o

and where can you dress them up like that?? and would they be playABLE? 31.209.150.192 (talk) 21:50, 22 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Looks like you've left out an important part of the question. —Tamfang (talk) 22:00, 22 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Then I guess the answer is the guessing game. Clarityfiend (talk) 06:51, 23 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

oh yes. I'm really sorry, I must have forgotten the link.. lol, stupid me! >.< http://kodaik-69.deviantart.com/art/7-Fay-3-462747722 31.209.150.192 (talk) 23:23, 24 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Appears to be Soul Calibur 3. --— Rhododendrites ^talk | 07:16, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

June 23

Examples of biblical movies with a Jewish or anti-Christian bias?

Are there examples of biblical movies with a Jewish or anti-Christian bias, or just something that does not give Christianity the upper hand in biblical interpretation? Movies that include the New Testament or movies that treat the "Old Testament" as predicting or foreshadowing events of the "New Testament" are typically biased towards Christianity. Are there biblical movies that do not have the assumption of the Christian biblical canon(s)? 140.254.226.182 (talk) 14:21, 23 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The Story of Ruth comes to mind. Also, most any movie about Samson. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:43, 23 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

What about Book of Ruth (2009) or Book of Esther (2013)? Do they fit? 140.254.226.182 (talk) 16:05, 23 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

There's actually multiple questions here. You're really asking whether there are movies that either:

have a Jewish bias,
have an anti-Christian bias,
do not carry a Christian bias.

These are distinct concepts. Movies with a Jewish bias may or may not be open to Christian biases (because it's possible to do a movie about the Tanakh/Old Testament that both audiences could get plenty out of, especially since the first Christians were also Jews), and may or may not carry an anti-Christian bias (although since the movie would very likely try to make it to at least discount DVD bins in America, and would be dealing with subject matter from centuries before Jesus was born, it's highly unlikely). Movies with an anti-Christian bias would almost always not carry a Christian bias, but there could be sectarian biases (for example, a movie with a Jehovah's Witness bias could include stuff that gives the finger to more mainstream Christian beliefs, but you could only find those for sale at JW bookstores and websites).

That said, any Biblical movie you're going to find in America (especially Ohio) is probably not going to have an actual anti-Christian bias. I've heard that the recent Noah flick borders on being a Jewish Midrash (so it could qualify as "having a Jewish bias"), but not a single person can give me any explanation as to how it contradicts Christian belief beyond "that's not how I imagined it in Sunday School when I was four."

The 2009 movie The Book of Ruth: Journey of Faith was made by the Trinity Broadcasting Network, and both that and the 2013 movie Book of Esther was distributed by Pure Flix Entertainment. While TBN's very existence tends to offend my sensibilities as a Christian, I cannot deny that they are doing what they believe serves Christ (maybe Chri$t on the side, but they're at least nominally Christian). And while I personally think Pure Flix insults Christian theology with utter pablum too watered down to even qualify as "spiritual milk", I have to begrudgingly admit that they're Christian.

To teach a man to fish here, look up the article on the films. If we don't have an article on the movie or its distributors, writers, or directors, it's probably from a small Christian company. If the writer, director, and producer aren't all Jewish, it's probably going to have been made with the intention of getting some Sunday School audiences involved; and (if the movie is sold at all in America) it's safe to assume that the movie isn't going to carry an anti-Christian bias (for the same reasons you're not going to see many movies with an anti-Islamic bias go anywhere near Saudi Arabia or Malaysia). Ian.thomson (talk) 16:50, 23 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Okay. So, are there movies that do not favor the Christian interpretation of the Bible worldwide? 140.254.136.160 (talk) 17:12, 23 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Which Bible? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:14, 23 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Any Bible that a Christian would accept as true, authoritative, inerrant, infallible, or inspired. I can't provide a specific answer, because the Bible version may vary across denominations. 140.254.136.160 (talk) 17:40, 23 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

There's more than one Christian version. And to complicate matters, Jews call the Old Testament "The Bible". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:30, 23 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Given the charge that it was blasphemous, I suspect Jesus Christ Superstar would qualify. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:34, 23 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

In fact pretty much any film that strict religionists label "blasphemous" should qualify. Such as the George Burns Oh God films. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:16, 24 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Monty Python's Life of Brian attracted a lot of negative (but still worth its weight in gold) publicity from religionists. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 20:14, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, Noah actually does favor the Ethiopian Church's canon a touch more than the the Lutheran, come to think of it.

I can't recall any OT film that qualifies (especially since I consider Messianic Judaism to overlap with Christianity), but going New Testament, The Messiah (2007 film) presents Jesus from Islam's point of view. Ian.thomson (talk) 17:22, 23 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict) So there's the question of the story (is it in the domain of Christianity or Judaism) and there's the perspective on the story. I can't say I've seen any movie about a Jewish story that was anti-Christian, and you didn't ask for Christian stories biased against Judaism. The Ten Commandments (1956 film) is one of the better known titles that applies to both, but was also praised by both. As noted above, Noah (2014 film) has been somewhat controversial because it received so much press implying it would be the familiar Christian version of the story, but Aronofsky specifically said he pulled from multiple sources and modeled it after other versions more heavily (I think there was a quote like "it's the lest biblical movie ever made" or something, in response to probes on the issue). The area that's left is anti-Christian Christian stories. Though people will disagree whether many of these are anti-Christian, I think most come by way of satire/parody, like Monty Python's Life of Brian, Dogma (film). Then there are those that tell versions of biblical stories in serious ways that upset Christians (I'm thinking in particular of Last Temptation of Christ (film) and, to a lesser extent Jesus of Nazareth (miniseries)). You may want to peruse Category:Films about religion, Category:Films based on the Bible, List of films based on the Bible, Category:Films critical of religion, and/or Category:Religious comedy films. --— Rhododendrites ^talk | 17:29, 23 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, you're not far off about disagreements over the "anti-" bit: my mom, a Baptist minister's daughter, quite enjoyed Dogma; and I was able to get more than one teen and twenty something to have a higher view of Christian belief (though not churches) thanks to that movie. I've also cited Monty Python in discussions on Roman Judean politics. That said, I do have to disagree on the "first few books," remark, as the Tanakh covers more than half of the Christian Bible. Ian.thomson (talk) 17:46, 23 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Ack. Brain failure. You're certainly correct. Thanks. Removed it from my previous post. --— Rhododendrites ^talk | 18:53, 23 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

June 24

James Gang

Where did James Gang get their name? The only thing our article says about the name is "Reportedly, it was Silverman who suggested the name James Gang." Thanks, Dismas|^(talk) 07:21, 24 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The "James Gang" relates to Frank & Jesse James. Note: only historians and Wikipedia refer to the outlaw gang as: "James–Younger Gang". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.20.250.51 (talk) 10:23, 24 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

And presumably because the group's leader was James (Fox). ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:14, 24 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you, both. Dismas|^(talk) 02:20, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Ben-Hur and other stuff

Two questions: (1) Did the spinning blades attached to Messala's chariot in Ben-Hur inspire the tire-slashers installed on the Bondmobile in Goldfinger? (2) Did the chariot race scene in Ben-Hur influence the podracer scene in The Phantom Menace? 24.5.122.13 (talk) 23:50, 24 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Googling the general subject, it seems that the Mythbusters guys though so. FYI, in the filmed they refer to Messalla's bladed wheel hubs as a "beaked" chariot. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:23, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

According to Star Wars sources and analogues, the pod race scene was inspired by Ben Hur. But it is unreferenced. --Jayron32 01:35, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Just like I thought. Thanks! 24.5.122.13 (talk) 23:23, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

And don't forget Grease_(film) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsYC-hVEpQM&feature=kp 196.214.78.114 (talk) 06:20, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Although almost certainly not used in ~~the ancient world~~ ancient Britain, depictions of scythes-on-wheel-hubs have been around for a while; see Thomas Thornycroft's statue of Boudicca in London which was completed in 1905. Alansplodge (talk) 12:40, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

That statue (and the legend that inspired it) have always been my first association for both the scenes mentioned in (1). AlexTiefling (talk) 12:44, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I think your claim is reasonable but how do you know? Merely lack of reference to scythe-on-wheel-hubs in ~~contemporary~~ ~~contemporaneous~~ ancient sources? On the one hand, it seems to gimmicky to be useful in battle (as opposed to battle racing, or whatever you call that scene in the Ben-Hur movie). On the other hand, it seems like a logical thing to try... (p.s. cool statue!) SemanticMantis (talk) 16:02, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

We do have an article Scythed chariot, which traces them back to Xenophon, some 500 years before Ben-Hur's setting. Tevildo (talk) 18:14, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

OK, I have amended my statement above with a dollop of humble pie. Alansplodge (talk) 23:02, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

That's just manly chariot racing. No wimps allowed. Clarityfiend (talk) 22:06, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

As Ben-Hur's Arab friend [Sheik Ilderim] put it, "There is no law in the arena - many are killed." Or was he talking about soccer? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:29, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Ben-Hur's Arab friend thought that Romans were weird. He thought that a man should have fifty wives and One God. A Roman had one wife at any given time and fifty gods. Robert McClenon (talk) 21:45, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I like Sheik Ilderim's idea. There's a price to be paid for having fifty wives, though... It's having fifty mothers-in-law. (Credit to Jay Leno for that one.) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:49, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

June 25

Emergency

Is Emergency (series) considered real-time strategy, real-time tactics or some other genre? 24.5.122.13 (talk) 23:26, 25 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

According to Metacritic's review, it is a "rich mix of gripping real-time strategy game and true-to-life simulation":[1] —71.20.250.51 (talk) 13:43, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

June 26

Charles Schulz lent his aircraft in the capture of a jailbreak?

Did anyone else read a story where Charles Schulz lent his aircraft in the capture of a jailbreak? I can't find anything on it, but I'm sure I read it shortly before his passing.--Kintetsubuffalo (talk) 12:58, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I can't even find evidence that he owned an aircraft or had a pilot's license; actually, he hated to travel, according to various bios/obits (e.g: NY Times). —71.20.250.51 (talk) 15:25, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

All I could find is that there's apparently an airport named for him. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:50, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

"h o n e y b e l l" by maxo

Hiya, I've recently become quite obsessed with this sugar rush of a song, but I can't seem to pinpoint the exact genre. What's the actual name for this type of music? I've seen it labelled as "chill trap" before, but that definitely doesn't sound right.. little help? thanks cheers ~Helicopter Llama~ 15:06, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

World Cup yellow cards

If a player gets a yellow card, does it persist for the rest of the tournament or does it reset after X number of games? --Robert.Labrie (talk) 16:47, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The rules are described at 2014 FIFA World Cup disciplinary record, though not very clearly, and without references. Maybe there's something on FIFA's website, but I can't see anything obvious. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 16:59, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

If memory serves there is a spot where they reset to zero. Perhaps when they enter the round of eight. The rules change from time to time so my info is probably out of date. MarnetteD|Talk 17:04, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

World Cup Press Box Question

The FIFA World Cup is broadcast in many languages. Is the press box very large, to accommodate more than a hundred announcer teams, or are many of the languages broadcast "in country" rather than "in host country"? For instance, is the Polish announcer in Brazil, or in Warsaw? Also, the other side to this question is: How many Spanish-speaking announcer teams are there (with 9 Spanish-speaking teams that qualified and other Spanish-speaking countries in which association football is the most popular sport)? Also, was Ghana v. Portugal, which was televised concurrently with US v. Germany, being broadcast live from the stadium by a US announcer? Robert McClenon (talk) 19:12, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Yes the press boxes are enormous. In some stadiums they take up to half an upper tier on one side of the stadium or more. Nanonic (talk) 19:56, 26 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

June 27

TV series with theatrical releases during their run

The Simpsons, South Park and the X-files come to mind. I'm thinking of Hollywood films and major adult TV shows, so not like Rugrats or Pokemon films, or even Spongebob. Mingmingla (talk) 01:22, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

That would be a subset of List of films based on television programs. Just taking a quick glance, Batman and Dark Shadows qualify. Clarityfiend (talk) 01:38, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict) Category:Films based on television series would be a good place to start your research. One that comes to my mind is Beavis and Butt-head Do America. --Jayron32 01:42, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Also Dr. Who and Dragnet. Clarityfiend (talk) 01:43, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Not exactly the same, but when The Three Stooges short films were revived on TV in the 1950s, they went back to work, making feature-length movies. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:52, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

TV's version of The Lone Ranger spun off two theatrical films, one of which was released while the series was still in first-run, the other the year after TV production ceased. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:16, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Though not an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. movie, the events of the Avengers and Captain America films figure into the storyline. Dismas|^(talk) 02:17, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The Stargate franchise as a whole might qualify, with both of the post-SG1 movies being released during the TV run of Atlantis, but unfortunately the 3 separate shows don't make the cut individually. Organics^LRO 08:34, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Trippy stop motion short film about fighting tooth decay.

I hazily recall seeing something where a bunch of walking, talking teeth get mixed up with some bad sugar (in the style of of Clone High's Pusher), then wind up being drilled and mined alive by some sort of evil race. I think they were called the Sweeties or Sugaries or something like that. The teeth survive, but learn a valuable lesson.

Somebody needs to see that film, and I can't show it. It looked late '70s or early '80s, I think, and was a PSA from some sort of dental association and/or toothpaste. Ring a bell? InedibleHulk (talk) 03:54, June 27, 2014 (UTC)

Is Star Trek really a "global" phenomenon?

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen.

I have traveled half the world in my life (South Mmerica, North America, Europe, big parts of Asia, some parts of Africa and Australia). I am a big fan of science fiction and often talk to other people about it (this includes of course foreigners as well). During my travels, I recognized, that no one I talked to outside the Western world had ever even heard of Star Trek. I was surprised to see, that even in most European countries I have been, people did not know Star Trek. A man in South Africa told me, that he heard of the show, but that he is unfamiliar with it. My question is, is Star Trek really unknown outside the Western world? Is it really a "global" phenomenon?--178.195.94.230 (talk) 09:06, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]