I find myself unable to stay silent any longer. Based on the
comments here on Learning-org, I rented "Mindwalk", looking
forward to it eagerly. I consider myself reasonably open
minded and intellectually active, preferring films that have
thought-provoking rather than escapist content. I was
surprised to find "Mindwalk" boring and pretentious,
probably one of the worst films I've ever seen, literally
unwatchable. It was painful to hear the stiff, preachy
dialogue, to try and work through the cliched stereotypes
presented as characters, to see good actors struggle to make
something happen given little more than diatribes for lines.
Don't get me wrong, I loved "My Dinner With Andre", so it
isn't a lack of action that gets to me. It's the abysmal
writing that insults the viewer by having to rub everything
in her face. It lacks the essence of art, which is
conveying humanity of emotion in a way that evokes
understanding and passion. I can only imagine the ridicule
the film would be greeted with if I showed it to my
colleagues, mostly PhD. research scientists. I am
absolutely stumped to think how teenagers (who are usually
far more perceptive than PhD. scientists) could find it
compelling. As L-O practitioners, I think we are doing
ourselves a tremendous disservice by using this film as a
vehicle for introducing others to these concepts. It's such
a turn-off that I didn't make it past the first hour.
Hopefully it got better later and I'm wrong about all of
this. And I certainly believe in "different strokes for
different folks". But I couldn't force myself to keep
watching it long enough to find out.
BTW, I'm Melissa Roberts Weidman, (mweidman@whoi.edu) staff
trainer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, musician,
writer and avid L-O learner. I enjoy reading this list when
I have the time and appreciate everyone's comments. Sorry
that my first foray out of lurking is to be critical. It's
not typical of me and I'll join in more positively, I
promise.
From: mweidman@cliff.whoi.edu
-----
Host's Note: Welcome Melissa!
Well, the "Mindwalk" movie certainly generates different responses! I
notice that the same thing happens sometimes when we talk about the
Learning Organization. I have the great luxury of spending most of my
time with people who have already decided they are interested in the
Learning Org. Some people, however, are negative no matter how well the
talk is done.
My personal theory is that the Learning Organization can be "bought" when
someone makes their own decision to be interested. But, it can't be
"sold" to someone who's not ready.
...and, I think that personal styles are different enough that what seems
terrific for one person may be a real yawner for someone else.
And, I did feel the dialog in Mindwalk was a little stilted.
-- Rick Karash, rkarash@world.std.com, host for learning-org
-----