Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Will and Grace
We've already had some comments on the Will and Grace set in the library and I'm loving in! What I'd like everyone to think about is: How do people interact with the space? What is the set (as a genre) accomplishing? How does it feel to have a public space that is used for studying merge with a private space?
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8 comments:
Hi everybody! Ok, so I know we have discussed this Will and Grace set at length in class, but I thought Kat's questions were kind of interesting. I think the most obvious thing about this space, is that NO ONE can interact with it. Not only is it a waste of space that no one can use, but it is literally sheilded off from students so that there is no chance of interaction. I guess as a genre it is maybe not a "call to write" but a "call to recognize", if that makes any sense? The main reason it is there is to literally display the accomplishments of an Alumni. While that is great, and I am very proud that Max Muchutnick (spelling is totally off)went here, I'm not sure we need a constant reminder of it. A reminder that takes up space where I could sit and study!
All right here's my two sense for whatever it's worth. If this set was open and used for students to hang out and read or meet then I think that it would be a great addition to the library. It would still be slightly useless, but it might give the library less of a scary quiet static feel and more of a homey studying feel. By putting it behind glass it is almost like taking the letters that we wrote and hanging them up on the wall of our classroom so we can look at them every class period. What good is something that is behind a glass wall(unless it is an important work of art, which i think we'd all agree this is not.)
Honestly, I think that the Will & Grace set is so ironically Emerson that its necessary. I see people move by it, look imploringly at it, chuckle at the novelty, and then walk on by to continue on with the reason they came to the library-- that is, to study--without really giving it a second glance. While we go to a school that's pretty heavy on the film and media genre, I think there are more useful places to put a TV set than in the library. It's not a TV space. If we wanted to watch TV, we wouldn't be studying. However, because this is Emerson, and normal rules don't apply, I think we should keep it temporarily as a funny anecdote to tell in the future. Because, as I find myself asking so frequently at this university, why wouldn't we?
Okay, Max Mutchnick- I understand that you wrote and produced Will and Grace, and that in and of itself is quite the achievement, but couldn't you stop after naming the Campus Center after you? If only there was another place for the untouchable replica. Also, I believe if that space was to be used for something as frivolous as that, it should be the set of Happy Days or Rescue Me, so we can give credit to other Emerson Alumni.
I like the Will and Grace set. As an off-campus student, I often times go to the library to kill time between classes. All this to say, I spend a lot of time in the library and I have never had trouble finding a seat. I feel like this is the main argument against the set--that it takes up so much space when the library already doesn't have enough places to sit. However, to compensate for this, there are new study rooms on the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors (the sixth even comes equipped with free hot chocolate!). The set as a genre represents a lot of what Emerson is all about: creativity and creation. And as a studio TV major, I think it's pretty neat to see the work of someone who's been successful and to be inspired to emulate him. I can understand how others may not be as inspired, but I don't see why people are so heated about the set. Until your study space is truly compromised (which until exam time, I don't think it ever will be), it doesn't seem like there's an issue to complain about.
This first time I heard about the installation of the Will And Grace set was during Orientation Training. The members of the administration were updating us about changes on campus. The subject of our limited library space was brought up, and we were informed the courtyard had been filled in to remedy this. Goodbye natural light. Hello Will And Grace set. This is where things got a bit confusing for me. The set was being presented as a solution to our limited library space problem, or that is how I took it at least. This blew my mind. It made no sense to build study rooms on higher floors and fill the library with a set that is of no use to anyone. At first I was under the impression that the set would be open allowing people to sit on the couch and actually use the space. Upon inspection I found that was not the case. Instead the haphazardly arranged props were completely enclosed in glass as if they were too good for us to actually interact with. My idea of photoshopping myself into stills of the show would never become my lame reality.
Ultimately it is a museum exhibit that no one is going to visit, except maybe parents taking a tour of the school. It is a nice little reminder that if you spend all your money on this school someday your son or daughter may be just as successful. Perhaps one day I’ll make a blockbuster that takes place under the surface of the ocean and they’ll turn the library into an aquarium in my honor.
I read through everyone's responses and I can agree with all the different points of view. I believe that it is another thing that just makes Emerson different than any other colleges in Boston and maybe in the US, and let's face it Emerson IS different than any other college. It's different because of the courses it offers, diverse student body, very small campus, and creative environment. So I think the fact that our school has the set of a popular TV show in our library is random, but proves that our school is not as conventional as your ordinary state school.
Ok, so I know I'm super late on this whole will and grace thing, but I actually just saw it yesterday, and kind of by accident. After hearing everyone talk about it, loathing it, loving it, I must say, I'm incredibly impartial to it. Like, I'm not sure I'm that affected by it at all, nor is emerson, really. Though I feel like it does nothing for the library except to give it an odd museum-y feel, I don't think it detracts from studying or any other shenanigans that go down in the library. It's just kind of harmlessly random, but like cady said, that's emerson for ya.
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