May 5, Y2k-1

This morning I heard something on the radio that rang true on. There was an interview with James Kudelka, artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada, and he said that good art starts conversation. And I thought, that might be a good measure of art.

I'm not into ballet, so let me first use examples from movies. What I consider 'good' movies are those that get me thinking. An example that come to mind is The Nasty Girl. Right after the movie my friend, who had seen the movie with me, and I had a spirited discussion about history and responsibility. I thought about the movie for days after I saw it.

Compare this to my reaction from, say, Shakespeare in Love. I found the movie entertaining, but right after the movie, my friend and I had nothing more to say than that.

Why do people feel the need to create book clubs? Because some books are so good that you find that want to talk about it with someone else who has read the same thing. And perhaps that would explain there aren't any book clubs built around the more pulpier fictions.

addendum from Angie:

"Art is a permanent conversation,
or something to that effect was a quote
I read by Steve Martin"