Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2010 August 13

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August 13

films with theme of independence struggle

Can somebody name a few films that have themes similar to a nation's struggle for independence and that are fit for children? Attenborough's Gandhi is one. Any other films?--117.204.87.51 (talk) 14:55, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

By "fit for children", do you mean without people getting shot and killed? If so, that rules out Gandhi as well. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Do c?} carrots→ 15:58, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Define "fit for children". Children are smarter and stronger than most adults give them credit for. Aaronite (talk) 16:06, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

What I meant was that there should be more action and less thought. For this reason, Cry my Beloved Country may not appeal to children. --117.204.92.205 (talk) 16:32, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Hm, that's exactly the opposite of what I would imagine "fit for children" to mean... There's Red Dawn, a movie that's gotten some flac for being "jingoistic" and "extremely right wing", but which is in my opinion the closest the US film industry has ever gotten to producing a Partisan film - a whole sub-genre of exactly what you're looking for. If it doesn't bother you that the struggles in Partisan flicks are for a bright communist future, that is :) TomorrowTime (talk) 17:25, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Define "children". Mel Gibson's The Patriot might fit the bill depending on what you deem "fit for children". Dismas|^(talk) 17:33, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

If you don't mind seeing people losing limbs via cannon balls. Everard Proudfoot (talk) 20:30, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

pokemon: kingler and crawdaunt

which has better stats, kingler or crawdaunt? or where can I find that and their move lists? 65.71.126.153 (talk) 15:37, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Kingler, Crawdaunt. Which stats are "better" will depend on what you want to use them for, but Kingler has a higher total. Vimescarrot (talk) 17:59, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Lady Gaga

I'm new to the music video scene, so the answer to my question may be just -- "Yes, that's what music videos are." But I saw a bunch of the Lady Gaga videos and I sensed a few things.

• It seems like the beat, chords, tempo match for all of her songs. I can tell it's her even without hearing her voice.
• She incorporates funny hairdos
• She almost or actually naked
• She dances in a particular fashion that pops up within every video.

So maybe this is just her style of dance (and so she always danced like this) and sex sells. But in case anyone can shed some light, please do. Starfishy0 (talk) 16:18, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

What's the question again? Those four points don't describe all music videos but it is a basic template for hers. Dismas|^(talk) 17:32, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Starfish, I think you are asking if this is normal for her and if this being normal for her is normal in general. All I can say is that I agree with you that many of her songs sound the same. I hear them on the radio at school and I knew she had that song "Stop Calling" but when I first heard "Alliondro" and "Poker Face" I didn't know she had those songs but figured from the music that they sounded so similar that they must be her songs. DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 03:28, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

This is directed at Starfishy0. Seriously though, what point are you trying to make? 24.189.87.160 (talk) 05:08, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

Most depressing film/book

What is the most depressing film/book/play/other (nonmusic) media, or if that's too broad, what are some very depressing nonmusic media? This should be depressing in a meaningful way, that makes a point. Thanks. 76.230.214.56 (talk) 16:29, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Define what you find depressing. For me the movie City of God was pretty much as bleak a movie as I could bare to watch, I don't recall there being any real positiveness (though it's a vague memory as I saw it a long time ago and wasn't that fussed for it). Bleak House by Charles Dickens - but i've no idea if it's depressing...it's Dickens and its called Bleak so there's a chance! ny156uk (talk) 16:48, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Also, define "meaningful" a little more specifically. Every work of art tries to make some point. I might argue that the Bible is pretty depressing. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:51, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

The Road by Cormac McCarthy is pretty depressing although it does have its glimmers of hope. I'm talking about the book as I haven't seen the movie. --Leivick (talk) 16:59, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy always had that reputation. Great book though ....(but then I'm a Laughin' Lennie fan...) Ghmyrtle (talk) 17:02, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Schindler's List? Dismas|^(talk) 17:30, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Shōhei Imamura's The Insect Woman|Nippon konchuki (1963) has to be #1, closely followed by Louis Malle's Le feu follet and Ichikawa's Fires on the Plain. I agree about Jude the Obscure. I would also include Ric Burns' documentary The Donner Party (American Experience). Pepso2 (talk) 17:53, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

I found L'étranger and 1984 really depressing. Adam Bishop (talk) 19:38, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Die Klavierspielerin ---Sluzzelin talk 19:47, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Sorrows of Young Werther--117.204.82.79 (talk) 20:56, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

The Grey Zone makes some of the above look like comedies. —Kevin Myers 21:18, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

The Deer Hunter, though I won't assert it beats the above. Comet Tuttle (talk) 06:14, 14 August 2010 (UTC)

Johnny Got His Gun (film) gets my vote. Alansplodge (talk) 14:47, 14 August 2010 (UTC)

I've just managed to see House of Sand and Fog. Well made and great acting, but for bleak negativity it was right up there with Kiss of the Spider Woman. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 01:20, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

Palindromes (film) in its own special creepy way Jabberwalkee (talk) 12:05, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

On the Beach (novel) by Neville Shute. Complete destruction of all life on Earth. 86.176.55.1 (talk) 15:08, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

Threads, where every character is killed, slowly or quickly, following a nuclear war, generally suffering greatly on the way. Warofdreams talk 18:18, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

There are some fine choices already mentioned. The Sorrows of Young Werther, for example, is said to have inspired a number of suicides. But for a combination of a depressing work with great meaning, I have to go with King Lear, which is so depressing that for well over a century it was thought to be too sad to stage in its original version, and audiences instead saw an adaptation, The History of King Lear. John M Baker (talk) 21:54, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

I was going to say "any vivid documentary about the Holocaust." But sticking to fiction, even fiction based on true stories, I first think of Grave of the Fireflies. Stunning animation. I don't need to see it again. Pfly (talk) 11:38, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

The novel The Jungle is very, very bleak. Comet Tuttle (talk) 21:24, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

Grave Of The Fireflies I am generally a pretty stoic guy when it comes to movies but by the end of this movie tears were rolling down my cheeks.

Geeze, a lot of suggestions here are like make-you-want-to-kill-yourself-depressing. I found Roman Holiday to be depressing but also beautiful at the same time. I don't like "bleak". I like my filmic depression to be a little more relatable. – Kerαunoςcopia^◁_galaxies 07:19, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Model

I have a topless photo of an actress of some sort and don't know who it is. How can I find out? Starfishy0 (talk) 16:40, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Try running it though tineye.com - it may find another copy of the same image, on a page that describes who it is. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 16:41, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Or, post it on a website other than this one, and ask for our scientific opinions on the matter. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:49, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

http://imgur.com/ is particularly easy. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 17:17, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

I went there to see what that site is. It locked up my browser and I had to abort the process. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:46, 14 August 2010 (UTC)

It's a popular, and entirely innocent, image sharing website. If visiting it, or any other site, makes your browser crash, then your browser is broken. - Finlay McWalter • Talk 21:59, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

Generic Sad Music

Hello all, I was wondering, while watching 'That Mitchell and Webb Look', what the music playing during the sketch at around 18 minutes 50 was.Here is the link to the episode on iPlayer. (I have no idea for how long it will stay up there).

To those without access to iPlayer, it is music that is played often during sad scenes in movies, and has even (I think) become quite cliched. I don't want to try and describe the music by a series of 'duns', as I would look a bit foolish. I have tried google searches and searched the archives, so sorry if this question has been asked before. Thanks for any answers.--HarmoniousMembrane (talk) 16:40, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Adagio for Strings -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 16:45, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

It's Adagio for strings by Samuel Barber. (Beaten to the button!!!)ny156uk (talk) 16:45, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Wow, thanks for the (very) prompt answers! --HarmoniousMembrane (talk) 16:49, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Platoon (film) and the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Kittybrewster ☎ 18:22, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Dorothy Patten

Who was Dorothy Patten, Countess Dorendorf / Skrezevinsky. Kittybrewster ☎ 18:14, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

According to this Dorothy Patten was an actress who played Countess Skrezevinsky in the Terrence Rattigan play Flare Path in 1942. That play later became the movie The Way to the Stars. I can't find any mention of "Countess Dorendorf" Rojomoke (talk) 18:55, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Raising the Dead

I'm looking for a list of some fictional characters, especially comic book characters, that have the ability to bring people back from the dead. I can't seem to think of many. So far, only Ned from Pushing Daisies comes to mind. 68.237.20.110 (talk) 22:15, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Well, there's Jesus, who brought Lazarus back to life. There's also The Hand from Marvel comics, who have brought people, most notably Elektra, back to life. Arnim Zola has also done this, most notably to the Red Skull. Bad guys seem quite adept at resurrecting people. See also The Boys from Brazil. Matt Deres (talk) 00:24, 14 August 2010 (UTC)

This is topical as Patricia Neal has recently died: on her command "Klaatu barada nikto", the robot Gort temporarily raised Klaatu from the dead, in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951 film) (I refused to see the more recent version on principle). -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 00:38, 14 August 2010 (UTC)

Wise choice. The new film is awful. TomorrowTime (talk) 07:59, 14 August 2010 (UTC)

Willow Rosenberg resurrects Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Someone called the Phoenix raises Jean Grey from the dead in X-Men: Phoenix – Endsong. Resurrection Man can bring himself back to life. You might be interested in reading Comic book death. Clarityfiend (talk) 04:00, 14 August 2010 (UTC)

Our Resurrection article lists several resurrectors from the Bible and other religious traditions. The novel Hyperion has a resurrection theme, though it isn't a human character who does the resurrecting. I want to say that the character of Death himself in On A Pale Horse resurrects another character once but I'm having trouble remembering. If "bring people back from the dead as zombies" counts for you, Category:Zombies and particularly Category:Zombie novels might yield some results. Comet Tuttle (talk) 06:08, 14 August 2010 (UTC)

In Neil Gaiman's Sandman series (and its spinoffs), a number of characters including Dream and his sister Death (no surprise there) can do this, but the whole treatment of life, death and existence in that series' universe is much more complex than a simple dichotomy. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 11:08, 14 August 2010 (UTC)

I'm told (by a Batman nerd - I know nothing about comics myself) that Ra's al Ghul uses Lazarus Pits to resurrect the dead. 81.131.45.44 (talk) 20:18, 14 August 2010 (UTC)

The brains behind the Beatles keep bringing them back to life. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:26, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

You mean like this: [1]? TomorrowTime (talk) 21:03, 15 August 2010 (UTC)