Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2008 April 19

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April 19

Violence within Gone With the Wind

Scarlet O'Hara is known for her infamous temper in the film Gone with the Wind. I recall her slapping Red Butler in the face, but I can't remember if he actually slaps her back. Does he retaliate or just say something clever? 76.244.169.114 (talk) 00:28, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

Doesn't he slap her back, and she gets even more pissed off (and he is amused, of course)? He slaps her at some other point after they get married too. (Or perhaps I am thinking of an episode of Cheers.) By the way if you are searching for this, their names are "Rhett" and "Scarlett". Adam Bishop (talk) 05:15, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

Red and Scarlet seem to go together better, don't you think? More appropriate too, if they're slapping each other silly. Clarityfiend (talk) 08:59, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

It's been a while but I don't remember any slapping going on at all. Maybe I'm getting it confused with another movie, but I seem to recall Scarlett goes to slap Rhett but he grabs her arm and prevents her making contact. As for him slapping her, no southern gentleman worth his salt would ever do that, not even to the most provocative woman imagineable (and Scarlett was certainly in that league). Also I can't imagine such a thing as a man slapping a woman being viewed favourably by the censors of 1939. (It shouldn't even be viewed favourably now, but that's another issue.) But I could be competely wrong about this. -- JackofOz (talk) 10:12, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

I watched it yesterday and definatly no slapping, none in the book either AFAIK.hotclaws 19:37, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

There's also a scene where Rhett picks Scarlett up and carries her upstairs to the bedroom, while she beats at him and demands to be put down; he apparently rapes her, though her response the next morning is a smile and a satisfied glow. Corvus cornix_talk 21:08, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

Music

hello this si the first time I have been here so if I have asked my question in the wrong place Iam sorry. I found a music group called Arrogent Worms on this site and I was wondering how I would go about guying one of there cds? thanks karen

Hi Karen, welcome to Wikipedia. The article on Arrogant Worms has a link at the bottom of the page to their official website. From there you can click to buy their latest CD. Hope that helps. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 09:44, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

Terry Pratchett

I want to start reading the Discworld series, but I'm told the earlier books aren't as great as the later ones. At the same time, I know a lot of the books tie into each other. Can someone who knows from experience point me toward a good place to start? --Masamage ♫ 16:44, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

Small Gods is one of the best, and barely related to any others. I'd go with that. Algebraist 18:34, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

Concur. Small Gods is my favorite book of the series. Not only funny, but it has a great deal to say about organized religion. Another of the books which I absolutely love, and is pretty much a stand-alone, is The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents. Corvus cornix_talk 21:09, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

The "Death" books, Mort, Reaperman and Soul Music are pretty self contained and introduce characters who turn up later. Or Wyrd Sisters and Witches Abroad are very funny.hotclaws 19:40, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

Our Discworld article even has a section on reading orders for the books. I started with Pyramids myself - perhaps the book least tied to any of the others but still my favorite. Rmhermen (talk) 02:00, 20 April 2008 (UTC)

I wouldn't agree that the earliest books are not as good as the later ones. I ioved them right from The Colour of Magic on. My least favourite are the most recent three. It is as if Mr. Pratchett is spreading his ideas too thinly now. They are all good reads, though, even the second and third times through. I have no problem recommending that you start at the beginning and go on. Small Gods is the best; that I can agree with. ៛ Bielle (talk) 22:05, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

I think it's wrong to say that the earlier books aren't as good as the later ones. In the first half dozen or so, it is true that the characters are not as fully realised as they are now, and that the geography is a little sketchy, but this is because they were the start of a series, not because the author wasn't very good. I believe that, to appreciate the Discworld series properly, you have to start from the beginning and work your way through in sequence. Oh, and don't forget to include 'The Educated Maurice...' and the three Tiffany Aching books ( The Wee Free Men, A Hatful of Sky and Wintersmith ) as well... Samilong (talk) 09:29, 20 April 2008 (UTC)

Oh, I don't know. Rereading Guards! Guards! after Night Watch came out, the difference in the quality of the writing was noticeable. His writing style improves greatly over the series, but he does have a slight tendency to repeat ideas (and even entire phrases) and even characters, in that any character he concentrates on starts to tend towards being him. He was more imaginative earlier, but also more prone to over-explaining and basking in his own cleverness. It's a trade-off. I don't think you have to go through in order; you'll pick things up. It did get a bit tiresome for a while when he was producing a lot of rather formulaic wizard-based books in which some magical thing causes the disk world to mirror some aspect of ours, allowing him to mock supermarkets or hollywood or rock music or whatever. Those all work as stand-alones, but can get a bit boring if read one after the other. Then Nightwatch came out, and I wondered if he'd had a breakdown or something! Wonderful stuff. Also, the disk world becomes more 'normal' as the series goes on. Even the dating system starts to be more similar to ours. So it depends what you want. 79.66.99.37 (talk) 13:24, 20 April 2008 (UTC)

This link has a suggested reading order. In general, the first 15 or so books don't have any strong ties to each other (there are a couple of recurring characters, but most of their plot doesn't carry over), so you can start just about anywhere in there. Personally, I think the books from Guards! Guards! to Hogfather are very good, as are The Truth up to the current ones. The very early ones are written much more as parodies than as self-sufficient novels that draw on our world for inspiration (The Colour of Magic, in particular, can pretty much be broken up into Fritz Leiber parody, Lovecraft parody, Pern parody, and the bit where they fall off the Disc), and Jingo to The Fifth Elephant were a bit on the dark side, and felt like he was rehashing the characters and themes. I would suggest, though, that the best way to pick a novel to start with is to pick one that touches on a theme you have an interest in - if you know much about the history of rock and roll, read Soul Music; if you're a Shakespeare fan, try Wyrd Sisters. Just browse the "Motifs" column in the table on the Discworld article. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 05:29, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

I've only just recently discovered Pratchett and have been reading them in an essentially random order. I'm sure there is something to be said about reading them in some kind of order -- getting to know recurring people and places and so on as they were written. But I've been quite enjoying the weirdness of not always knowing the "backstory". For example in a couple of the first ones I read Death appears from time and time and talks to people who are apparently about to die. I had no idea that there was a whole series of books about Death the character. Had I read the Death books first, his appearance and behavior would have made more sense I suppose -- but I got a kick out of the surreal "out of the blue" way it felt not knowing. Anyway, I've continued this "random" order reading, checking out recommendations without caring about order... and even purposefully going at it all out of order. Perhaps there are passing comments or references I don't quite get, but they seem of minor importance, and in some way add a degree of mysterious depth or history. Just my experience so far. Pfly (talk) 05:41, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

The first two books - The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic are distinctly different from the others in that they are much more parodies of existing fantasy novels. While they are very funny in their own right, there is an extra level that you appreciate if you know fantasy. Equal Rites departed from that to some extent.

My personal recommendation is to read them in order - you may not enjoy the first few so much, but then you know you've got better ones to look forward to. If you are really looking to start on a high note go for Mort or Guards! Guards!. Neither of them needs any knowledge of the previous books, both are hilarious, and both introduce new characters that you will come to know and love for many books afterwards. DJ Clayworth (talk) 19:59, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

This is true - you will get a lot more out of the first four or five books in the series if you are familiar with Tolkien, the Conan books, Lovecraft's stories and all the themes and more specifically the tropes of SF and fantasy. FreeMorpheme (talk) 21:35, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

Follow-up: Is The Mighty Boosh a cult show?

I'm obviously asking British folks. How do you think it compares to, say, Dr. Who? According to this list, pretty well. Kreachure (talk) 17:31, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

It sucks.hotclaws 19:42, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

eeerp - wrong answer Boomshanka (talk) 01:57, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

We have this which offers definitions of Cult TV: "...some forms of sitcom (especially most forms of British comedy).
I would say it is Cult TV. Unlike Dr Who, it's not put in a prime-time slot, which makes its following smaller. I'm not sure how else it would compare; they're different genres: scifi and surreal comedy.  slυмgυм [ ←→ ] 19:51, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

Noel Fielding, a cult? Close... very, very close... Samilong (talk) 09:31, 20 April 2008 (UTC)

Prom Night (2008) Film Setting

I was wondering where "Prom Night(2008) took place. I know it was at Bridgeport High School, but where is that? I saw an Oregon State University Sweat Shirt in the movie. And Bridgeport Village is an area near Tualitan, Oregon, a suburb of Portland. Plus i'm going to prom in a hotel with an eeriy same name as the one in the movie. Am i gonna die? lol just kidding, but i would like to know where it really takes place. I appreciate it, --//24 CB-WR 24\\ (talk) 21:19, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

LSU Tigers football stadium

I am trying to find out where the LSU Tigers played thier football games in Shreveport, Louisiana. I mean about 1900-1950ish era. I have had no luck with official team sites or Shreveport sites. Possibly Independence Stadium, but I could not find an opening date for the stadium. Could anyone verify or deny? Brandonrush (talk) 21:43, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

Who wrote and performed the song: "When I become the wind"?

Who wrote and performed the song "When I become the wind."Martinneilcampbell (talk) 23:46, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

Not Le Pétomane apparently. Google has hardly any hits for this, but according to one MySpace user, "Brothers Chris and Birch Benedict ... invited and performed at "Cabo Wabo" twice.... Chris co-wrote songs with Grammy award winners B.J. Thomas and lyricist Gloria Thomas, on the "When I Become the Wind" CD".--Shantavira|^{feed me} 08:26, 21 April 2008 (UTC)