psamphire ([info]psamphire) wrote,
@ 2008-02-11 19:46:00
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Entry tags:extreme dreams, novel, oisin mcgann

Extreme Dreams
Okay, so I let the updates slip a little bit, but that doesn't mean I haven't been writing. More on that later, though.

I've started watching a TV show called 'Extreme Dreams with Ben Fogle'. Ben Fogle appears to be an ex-military guy who is into taking on extreme challenges. In this series, he's trekking across the Sahara desert in Syria with a bunch of apparently random people. It's a kind of interesting concept for a reality TV show, and Fogle's enthusiasm and dire warnings of danger give it a fun edge.

But, but, but...

I'm really not interested in the whiny teacher. I'm not interested in the personality-free model. I'm not interested in the man trying to 'prove himself a hero' to his son (who is way too young to care about anything other than the fact that his dad has disappeared off to wander across a rocky desert, I should imagine).

What I'd really like to hear more about are the Syrian bearers and guides who we occasionally catch a glimpse of just on the edge of the camera, who are doing the same trek without the benefit of all the high-tech gear the British people are using and whose names we never even find out. And, when one of the Syrians is stung by a scorpion, it might have been nicer to have spent just a little bit of time talking to him rather than focusing on the teacher flapping around and having a panic attack. We are told the Syrian doesn't die, but no one seems to much care, and all they can talk about is what it would mean to the expedition if one of the British people got stung.

It's as though we can't possibly relate if we don't have people of our own nationality in the constant centre of frame. We have to have people 'just like us' if we're going to relate. You get the same thing in movies and books, the insertion of 'one of us' so that we can, supposedly, deal with the subject. Personally, I think that's insulting to viewers and readers. Not only could I be interested in the Syrian guides and their lives, I think they'd make a hell of a lot more interesting viewing than the whiny teacher.

#

I've just started reading Ancient Appetites by Oisin McGann. I'll say one thing for McGann: he does seriously kick-ass action scenes. And another thing: he's got a wildly inventive imagination. I've only got through the prologue so far, but I'm hooked.

#

On to the the writing. Well, I got ahead of schedule, then I fell a bit behind, but now I'm back ahead again. I think I've got through the toughest part--the transition to the new section of the book--and things are moving swiftly again. I figure I'm still on target for the 20k words by the 20th.


'Dragons of Mars' progress:

Progress meter for novel

February 20th target:

Progress meter for first target

Of course, the chances of this coming in at 75k words diminishes by the day. But that's what second drafts are for, right? Right?


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(Anonymous)
2008-02-18 09:19 pm UTC (link)
Hi. The episode you speak of, was in Libya. Not Syria. But you're right that one very important thing they tried to avoid showing through the whole series, was that local folks were getting along just fine and not going through all the soul searching and physical "excruciating tortures" (Bens word for "a bit run down") that our own folks did. Some of these guides were people nearly twice the age of the British participants, didn't have access to all that equipment,and didn't break down sobbing about having to cross a log across a stream (which Ben miraculously turns into a "raging torrent that could sweep us away to our deaths"). Much of the final cut is played around with for effect, along with characters stories cut and pasted all around to create "dramas" that are there one moment and gone the next for some unknown reason. Makes you wonder. A slightly steep trail is made into a "death defying cliff edge that could send us hurtling to our deaths below" with a slight tilt to the camera and choosing not to show the 'actual' short distance people were actually having to walk after lots of soul searching, bens "extreme" commentary, and flash backs to interviews about their psychological issues. Perhaps it's better to call it - "Extreme Narration"?

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[info]psamphire
2008-02-19 07:32 am UTC (link)
Oops. My geography isn't normally that bad! Libya!

You're completely right about the narration, but even so, I kind of like Ben's style. It's funny, if unintentionally.

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(Anonymous)
2008-02-21 04:18 pm UTC (link)
The hyperbole is hilarious. I was slightly taken in by the Nepal trip and stressed about how they could be putting people in such danger (and the fainting girl was a worry) but now I see these death-defying adventures for what they are, and what they are is funny. I don't know how I'd take to being subjected to deliberate discomfort; it's just a game but dressed up as psychology, and if it IS psychology it's bloody dodgy... it's a weird thing. I'm hooked but it's so manipulative of everyone that it makes me uneasy. But it's still pretty good to have so many "most something somethings on the planet" in the one show.

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(Anonymous)
2008-02-21 04:50 pm UTC (link)
Indeed, Psamphire. After all, our "teeeem" still has to reach the summit of the 'majestic/mighty/terrifying/death defying/sheer sloped/Mount Roraima, yet. Do keep in mind that lurking in the undergrowth are predatory insects and snakes who could kill us 'instantly'. Mind you, we're also running out of food and water and my 'worst fear' has come true in that I am not sure we're going to make camp before dark, and that "disaster" could possibly put the ENTIRE journey in jeopardy. I'm beside myself with worry. Coming up!!!! let's spend 15 minutes playing footage from yesterday (in case your memory is short) and other days this week, to remind ourselves of just exactly why each member is here, and why they need this 'extreme' challenge. Btw, did I mention that I've "climbed mountains, crossed jungles ,and ventured into the most extreme environemtns on earth?". Yours, sincerely Extreme Ben.

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