Do You Consider Dallas To Be Art?

Kenny Coyote

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And if you act to create art, then it's not necessarily about doing a great or convincing performance.
Because sometimes we don't even know yet how great it really is.

A brilliant performance in a soap is much more like "what you see is what you get".

But "brilliant" isn't good enough anymore, apparently.

One of the objective criteria by which art forms can be compared is withstanding the test of time. It's been just over 28 years since the original Dallas ended, and here were are still discussing it. If a forum equivalent to this about The Sopranos exists 28 years after that show ended, I'll be surprised. That would be in the year 2035. Good luck! ;)
 
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James from London

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People are still discussing the Bay City Rollers.

And things go in cycles, they get forgotten about and then revived and then forgotten about and then revived.

And then there are lost gems -- maybe this applies more to music and cinema than to television -- things that went under the radar at the time and then are uncovered years later and acclaimed.

I can't imagine The Sopranos will have been forgotten about in fifteen years time, but who can say for sure?
 

James from London

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Well, of course, Tony Soprano was more than that, which was sort of the starting point for the series.
 

James from London

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Well, he was always productive.
 

Kenny Coyote

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What has that got to do with popularity, let alone art?

It's a response to your statement: it's so much more fun to talk about trash.

Again, Fileman used the word "trash" to describe something with a widespread appeal, but I know not everyone here is using that meaning for "trash." For those using "trash" in its more conventional meaning of garbage, scum or crap, I can't think of a more unflattering, disrespectful, and inaccurate way to describe Dallas.

Is there any of you who can honestly say you would have had the audacity to have walked up to Larry Hagman or Barbara Bel Geddes in the early 80s and said something along the lines of: "I love your work in Dallas; it's such trash!" or even "I've seen you in Dallas. That show is trash!"
 
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James from London

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I once complimented Larry Hagman on his disabled toilet story. That's about it really.
 

Kenny Coyote

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Well, he was always productive.

Tony Soprano, as I remember him, was anything but that. He was a man opposed to productive work, he was a thug who, with his other mafiosos, stole and extorted the fruits of the labor of men who actually did do productive work so that they themselves could live a luxurious lifestyle without having to do productive work. They were parasites who lived off of the productive work of other men. If one wants trash, The Sopranos is the story of the scummiest, most depraved sort of men.
 

James from London

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Jimmy Todd

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@Toni made an excellent point about the observer's relationship to art. I believe there are standards to what constitutes true "art," but I don't know exactly what they are, lol. There's too much subjectivity. For example, James Joyce is considered one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, but Virginia Woolf was very dismissive of his work. Was Ms. Woolf right? Was there jealousy? Could there be a degree of bias against an Irish writer? Is it some combination of all of these?
There's also the "snob" factor when it comes to art. There are some who will never consider anything on television art, or if it falls under the category "soap opera." Critics in the 80s became so critical of prime time soaps to the point where, imho, they weren't really being objective.
I love the Seinfeld episode where Elaine's boss, and everyone else, is trying to convince her how great the movie The English Patient is, which she has seen and didn't like He drags her to a showing and she finally stands up in the theater and rants about how overrated the movie is. My point is that sometimes we are hit over the head with how "brilliant" or "trashy" something is that we can fall into a kind of "groupthink" and lose objectivity.
 

tommie

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Yes.

For better or worse it's an expression of writing. Is the literature you buy at your grocery store art? Sure! Is it good art is the better question.
 

Barbara Fan

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I dont consider Dallas to be Art, I consider it a soap opera

The Art in Dallas was Art Hindle who played Jeff Farraday ;)
 

Lastkidpicked

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This is a very interesting thread. All of you make some good points and it is fun to read what you are saying.

I'd like you to look at Oxford's definition of art:

The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.

In that definition, I would say that Dallas qualifies. And here is an example of what I appreciate about the art of Dallas:




Look at how much thought went into setting up this scene. Notice that even if you know nothing about the scene, you can tell that Jock is the man in charge of this conversation.

Look even at the choices the actors made for this shot. Jim Davis is already tall, and he adds to this his cowboy hat, drawing your eye up towards the sky and making him appear larger than life.

David Wayne goes the opposite direction. Bundled up, hunched over slightly. Notice Digger's hands as well. He isn't holding a drink, and his arms are tight against his body as if not drinking is making him physically uncomfortable.

Also, look at the trees in the background. They are only dormant, but they look dead. And notice the clothes they are wearing-- drab colors. This is interesting considering that they are together for a happy occasion-- Pam is on the nest!

The beauty of this artwork is how it makes you feel-- you can almost feel that sense of foreboding, and of course we now know there is a reason for it.
 

Kenny Coyote

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I dont consider Dallas to be Art, I consider it a soap opera

Why do you consider them mutually exclusive?

Dallas has acting: A performing art

Dallas has music: A performing art

Dallas has cinematography: A visual art

Dallas has creative writing in the form of scripts: A written art
 

Kenny Coyote

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This is a very interesting thread. All of you make some good points and it is fun to read what you are saying.

I'd like you to look at Oxford's definition of art:

The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.

In that definition, I would say that Dallas qualifies. And here is an example of what I appreciate about the art of Dallas:




Look at how much thought went into setting up this scene. Notice that even if you know nothing about the scene, you can tell that Jock is the man in charge of this conversation.

Look even at the choices the actors made for this shot. Jim Davis is already tall, and he adds to this his cowboy hat, drawing your eye up towards the sky and making him appear larger than life.

David Wayne goes the opposite direction. Bundled up, hunched over slightly. Notice Digger's hands as well. He isn't holding a drink, and his arms are tight against his body as if not drinking is making him physically uncomfortable.

Also, look at the trees in the background. They are only dormant, but they look dead. And notice the clothes they are wearing-- drab colors. This is interesting considering that they are together for a happy occasion-- Pam is on the nest!

The beauty of this artwork is how it makes you feel-- you can almost feel that sense of foreboding, and of course we now know there is a reason for it.

Excellent post, Lastkidpicked!

Everything you're referring to is either in the acting: A performing art, or in some aspect of the visual arts such as cinematography.

I appreciate your thoroughness in consulting the Oxford dictionary for the definition of art. After all, it's kind of tough to say whether Dallas is or is not art without clearly defining art, isn't it?
 
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