Thinky thoughts and, uh, not.
Jan. 19th, 2011 08:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jennariaThe 'not' first: Book sale this-a-way!
And the thinky thoughts: So I just watched BACCANO, and it is all new and shiny, and since it's based on a series of light novels, I still have more canon to go back and discover. :glee: But there's only the one season of it, so if I want more, then it's off to another series.
Therein lies the problem.
Everyone's seen it, if they've spent much time in fandom. Someone who's in fandom X probably (though not invariably) dabbles in fandom Y as well. Hell, both Amazon and Netflix work off the 'if you liked this, then we can recommend that!' theory.
Problem is, it only sorta works. I love BACCANO, yes, and I also love CARD CAPTOR SAKURA, and I also love INITIAL D, and I'm fairly sure if I tossed those three into a recommendation algorithm, it would spaz out and give up. It's not as simple as 'here's another magical girl' or 'here's another sports anime' or, God help us, 'here's another mystery show, only this time, CSI is in Texas!' (Network television programming, Imma looking at you.)
Instead, it comes back to figuring out why we like things, and whether those things that we like are transferable things, so to speak. One of the things I liked about BACCANO was its intricate braided storyline, but try and find another series that even attempts such a thing, much less pull it off successfully. I know a lot of people who will watch anything that has a particular actor or voice-actor in it, but my success rate with that hasn't been any better than the aforementioned recommendation algorithm. (Ewan MacGregor does not make everything better. Sad, yet true.) And even such a mental checklist isn't infallible: I love strong female characters, but what's advertised as a strong female character may or may not read as such to me. Sometimes a 'strong female character' is kick-ass, and sometimes she's just a bitch. (And sometimes she's a wimp in disguise, but that's another rant.)
I'm working on it. In the meantime, my friends know me well enough to serve as a better sort of recommendation algorithm. Phew. ;-)
And the thinky thoughts: So I just watched BACCANO, and it is all new and shiny, and since it's based on a series of light novels, I still have more canon to go back and discover. :glee: But there's only the one season of it, so if I want more, then it's off to another series.
Therein lies the problem.
Everyone's seen it, if they've spent much time in fandom. Someone who's in fandom X probably (though not invariably) dabbles in fandom Y as well. Hell, both Amazon and Netflix work off the 'if you liked this, then we can recommend that!' theory.
Problem is, it only sorta works. I love BACCANO, yes, and I also love CARD CAPTOR SAKURA, and I also love INITIAL D, and I'm fairly sure if I tossed those three into a recommendation algorithm, it would spaz out and give up. It's not as simple as 'here's another magical girl' or 'here's another sports anime' or, God help us, 'here's another mystery show, only this time, CSI is in Texas!' (Network television programming, Imma looking at you.)
Instead, it comes back to figuring out why we like things, and whether those things that we like are transferable things, so to speak. One of the things I liked about BACCANO was its intricate braided storyline, but try and find another series that even attempts such a thing, much less pull it off successfully. I know a lot of people who will watch anything that has a particular actor or voice-actor in it, but my success rate with that hasn't been any better than the aforementioned recommendation algorithm. (Ewan MacGregor does not make everything better. Sad, yet true.) And even such a mental checklist isn't infallible: I love strong female characters, but what's advertised as a strong female character may or may not read as such to me. Sometimes a 'strong female character' is kick-ass, and sometimes she's just a bitch. (And sometimes she's a wimp in disguise, but that's another rant.)
I'm working on it. In the meantime, my friends know me well enough to serve as a better sort of recommendation algorithm. Phew. ;-)
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Date: 2011-01-20 02:55 pm (UTC)