Attention Spans

I will admit that this one does not really have much to do with Bahrain, but I was out with some American buddies and we watched the classic "Mr Smith Goes to Washington". For one it was interesting to watch a very American movie with a bunch of Americans. They certainly saw the movie in a different light then I did. There were some very 'patriotic' parts of the movie and they were all in line with it... whereas I was slightly more cynical. (me cynical?!? never....) Though if nothing else I was glad to learn more about how the American legislative system worked. One thing that I really noticed is the length of the shots that were done in the movie. It would go 2 or 3 minutes at some places where the camera would not cut to a different angle or a different scene. There were many long continuous shots. Watch a movie or tv show today, or better yet, look to the side of the projection just so you can notice the changes of colour out of the corner of your eye or on a wall or something like that and then time how long it takes for the picture to flicker to something else. You'll seldom get past a few seconds much of the time. Its amazing how different things have become. No wonder why my students phases out so easily. Now the question is whether or not its the media that have caused this or if they are responding to the public... I would have to say its the media's doing, but thats my two cents. It's the same thing here, when I was teaching youth I had the same problems of attention that teachers suffer in North America, and in the Indian movies that I was watching with some friends, they have the same, quick camera changes.