Sociology of Spinal Tap?

Apropos our reading about performances and sitdef and maintaining expressive control and misrepresentation, a fun piece this morning on NPR's Morning Edition. The producers of the TV show Lost talk about DVDs they like. Two things of interest.

First they talk about the "Johnny the Explainer role" -- a character in the film who has to stop and explain to the audience what is happening. Interesting to think about in connection with our idea of "the definition of the situation."

Second, in explaining what they like about the film "This is Spinal Tap," they note that the success of the humor is so dependent on being deadpan and remaining firmly in character (even to the point of being in character in the DVD commentary). They note that this is also where the success of Lost comes from : even though the premises are preposterous, the actors take it totally seriously.

Go to NPR for the entire piece or read the transcript: A Taste For Everything: 'Lost' Showrunners Pick DVDs : NPR

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