I'm sorry, Aaron, but you're going to find precious few people who view this as an actual "Threepeat", given the origin of the term [it's actually copyrighted/trademarked by that ass Pat Riley of LA Lakers fame]. Three consecutive competition years yes, threepeat no - threepeats must be 100% perfect streak, no interruptions of any kind, asterisks or not. I am heartened to see that the estimable Mr. Daniel Montoya, Jr agrees with me (or I with him) on this point.
I think a bigger issue is how many people are going to roll their eyes at any mention of it, whatever it's called, given the overwhelming boredom, even fatigue, with the self-indulgent dreck the BD creative staff are churning out from their Ivory Tower. It truly doesn't matter how brilliantly executed a program is - if it was damningly and unequivocally "written to the sheets" [something I didn't truly understand until these last 2 years showed exactly what that means]; in such a case it will never be "timeless", "groundbreaking", or any other truly distinguishing factor that one would hope is integral to a worthy "threepeat".
Even the most grudging of BD detractors will acknowledge the brilliant execution by the corps members - but the now-borderline tsunami of "sick=of=them" feeling about the BD organization is nearly on par with the hatred the Patriots' organization built up in the NFL: brilliant and dominant play on the field, but Tom Brady et al became quickly unpalatable due to Americans' general dislike of only one group routinely winning it all, even if the streak has breaks in it. No one can be 100% invested in the seasonal enthusiasm for Drum Corps if it seems like after 2 weeks there's already a preordained winner. The BD creative team has been together forever as you mentioned - for me, at least, it is becoming an apparent BAD THING, not a good thing. I would dearly love to see them break out of their very suspect delusions of artistic expertise, and break the mold with.. Gasp!.. something as powerfully thematic and non-standard as what we see from Troopers, as a prime example. Or take a look at what Mandarins have done in only the last 2 years - wildly different but wildly entertaining! Come on Concord cabal - give us some of THAT wildness!
I agree that there was much wasted potential in the design and execution of White Whale, but I am incredibly proud of the members for the level of quality they *did* give us, and the semifinals vs finals variance in the final twist to the story. I'll personally never stop laughing about how the "whale" dancer really stuck with the character while being hauled out, and the production team's cameraman/director sticking with the shot all the way out to the tunnel to reinforce that! For finals night let's be honest, NO ONE saw the end of Ishmael coming after getting something completely different the entire season. Now *THAT* is exactly the sort of "pull it out of your butt" wild twist BD needs so badly.
It is beyond heartbreaking to see one end of the Bay Area be such an overwhelming 900 pound gorilla, to the detriment of the rest of DCI, and the other end - it's sister old-guard corps - be 1 step from actual obliteration due primarily to financial incompetence, among other things. What news and signs about SCV that have been forthcoming since 2023 finals is creating a swelling feeling of dread across the entire Drums Corps world.
Thank you so much, Aaron, for this fascinating 3-parter analysis. It was a nice wrapup to the season. See you around the interwebz!
That wasn't Ishmael who fought the whale at the end. That was the boat captain, Ahab. Ishmael was still knocked out, on the raft. (The primary dramatic action in the novel is that Captain Ahab has the beef with the whale. Good natureed deckhand Ishmael would never fight the whale-- he understood the whale on a soul level.)
In this muddled staging, it's easy to misunderstand the basic difference between the vicious boat captain and the deck hand who allies with the whale. That was Boston's broken mast in the show-- the basic staging clarity problem. Only three characters? Come on, it ain't that hard.
The "new ending every night" approach made things even more unclear-- did Boston even understand the story? When Ahab kills the whale, as Rondinaro said on the Quarterfinals broadcast, it was "a new version" of the novel. Never happened. Nothing in Melville's novel alludes to "versions" or "fantasy sequences" or "what if" endings that would warrant Boston's episodic ending tactic.
Varied endings? Acceptable. Not making clear the basic story point that the ship was ruled by an egomaniacal Captain Ahab who fought the whale , and Ishamel was a deckhand allied with the whale? Inexcusible.
Per the guard member/actor himself, it was ISHMAEL fighting the whale at the end.. unless you're calling him a liar. I Mean it was clear Ahab was the one with the cap, who way up on top of the "bridge" first threw the harpoon at the Whale. ANd it was that guy in the cap whose body was left on the wreckage.
According to the original text, the whale destroys the ship, killing everyone except Ishmael. Ishmael survives by floating on Queequeg's coffin until he is picked up by another ship, the Rachel. (Even at finals, Ishmael is still on the floating raft, after the whale destroys Captain Ahab. ) To switch the characters is nonsensical and meritless.
Are you saying their staging was intentionally incongruous to the book, completely opposite the book's entire thematic argument and logic? And that's okay with you? If they did, what's their well-reasoned argument for doing so?
What's important is to read the story. Understand the difference between the protagonist and antagonist, Ishmael and Ahab. Understand this staging. Make sure the directors understood the difference. And make sure the guard member you talked to understands what his corps is portraying or misinterpreting.
As in all professional productions, authenticity is key. Right? You learned that 45 years ago in college, right? The original text is the foundation, the mast, the bulwark. Right?
I'm sorry, Aaron, but you're going to find precious few people who view this as an actual "Threepeat", given the origin of the term [it's actually copyrighted/trademarked by that ass Pat Riley of LA Lakers fame]. Three consecutive competition years yes, threepeat no - threepeats must be 100% perfect streak, no interruptions of any kind, asterisks or not. I am heartened to see that the estimable Mr. Daniel Montoya, Jr agrees with me (or I with him) on this point.
I think a bigger issue is how many people are going to roll their eyes at any mention of it, whatever it's called, given the overwhelming boredom, even fatigue, with the self-indulgent dreck the BD creative staff are churning out from their Ivory Tower. It truly doesn't matter how brilliantly executed a program is - if it was damningly and unequivocally "written to the sheets" [something I didn't truly understand until these last 2 years showed exactly what that means]; in such a case it will never be "timeless", "groundbreaking", or any other truly distinguishing factor that one would hope is integral to a worthy "threepeat".
Even the most grudging of BD detractors will acknowledge the brilliant execution by the corps members - but the now-borderline tsunami of "sick=of=them" feeling about the BD organization is nearly on par with the hatred the Patriots' organization built up in the NFL: brilliant and dominant play on the field, but Tom Brady et al became quickly unpalatable due to Americans' general dislike of only one group routinely winning it all, even if the streak has breaks in it. No one can be 100% invested in the seasonal enthusiasm for Drum Corps if it seems like after 2 weeks there's already a preordained winner. The BD creative team has been together forever as you mentioned - for me, at least, it is becoming an apparent BAD THING, not a good thing. I would dearly love to see them break out of their very suspect delusions of artistic expertise, and break the mold with.. Gasp!.. something as powerfully thematic and non-standard as what we see from Troopers, as a prime example. Or take a look at what Mandarins have done in only the last 2 years - wildly different but wildly entertaining! Come on Concord cabal - give us some of THAT wildness!
I agree that there was much wasted potential in the design and execution of White Whale, but I am incredibly proud of the members for the level of quality they *did* give us, and the semifinals vs finals variance in the final twist to the story. I'll personally never stop laughing about how the "whale" dancer really stuck with the character while being hauled out, and the production team's cameraman/director sticking with the shot all the way out to the tunnel to reinforce that! For finals night let's be honest, NO ONE saw the end of Ishmael coming after getting something completely different the entire season. Now *THAT* is exactly the sort of "pull it out of your butt" wild twist BD needs so badly.
It is beyond heartbreaking to see one end of the Bay Area be such an overwhelming 900 pound gorilla, to the detriment of the rest of DCI, and the other end - it's sister old-guard corps - be 1 step from actual obliteration due primarily to financial incompetence, among other things. What news and signs about SCV that have been forthcoming since 2023 finals is creating a swelling feeling of dread across the entire Drums Corps world.
Thank you so much, Aaron, for this fascinating 3-parter analysis. It was a nice wrapup to the season. See you around the interwebz!
That wasn't Ishmael who fought the whale at the end. That was the boat captain, Ahab. Ishmael was still knocked out, on the raft. (The primary dramatic action in the novel is that Captain Ahab has the beef with the whale. Good natureed deckhand Ishmael would never fight the whale-- he understood the whale on a soul level.)
In this muddled staging, it's easy to misunderstand the basic difference between the vicious boat captain and the deck hand who allies with the whale. That was Boston's broken mast in the show-- the basic staging clarity problem. Only three characters? Come on, it ain't that hard.
The "new ending every night" approach made things even more unclear-- did Boston even understand the story? When Ahab kills the whale, as Rondinaro said on the Quarterfinals broadcast, it was "a new version" of the novel. Never happened. Nothing in Melville's novel alludes to "versions" or "fantasy sequences" or "what if" endings that would warrant Boston's episodic ending tactic.
Varied endings? Acceptable. Not making clear the basic story point that the ship was ruled by an egomaniacal Captain Ahab who fought the whale , and Ishamel was a deckhand allied with the whale? Inexcusible.
Per the guard member/actor himself, it was ISHMAEL fighting the whale at the end.. unless you're calling him a liar. I Mean it was clear Ahab was the one with the cap, who way up on top of the "bridge" first threw the harpoon at the Whale. ANd it was that guy in the cap whose body was left on the wreckage.
According to the original text, the whale destroys the ship, killing everyone except Ishmael. Ishmael survives by floating on Queequeg's coffin until he is picked up by another ship, the Rachel. (Even at finals, Ishmael is still on the floating raft, after the whale destroys Captain Ahab. ) To switch the characters is nonsensical and meritless.
Are you saying their staging was intentionally incongruous to the book, completely opposite the book's entire thematic argument and logic? And that's okay with you? If they did, what's their well-reasoned argument for doing so?
What's important is to read the story. Understand the difference between the protagonist and antagonist, Ishmael and Ahab. Understand this staging. Make sure the directors understood the difference. And make sure the guard member you talked to understands what his corps is portraying or misinterpreting.
As in all professional productions, authenticity is key. Right? You learned that 45 years ago in college, right? The original text is the foundation, the mast, the bulwark. Right?