So You Think You Can... Do The Robot?

[mr.Curmudgeon]

   

Bryan Gaynor is the man...er, the Robot Man!

[shardian]

That was pretty damn cool. He didn't do anything fancy, but he was spot on with his technique.

[drunkatuw]

So you think you can dance is my wife's favorite show.  I saw it when it aired last week and was in awe.  He is awesome.  I hope Shane follows through and does give him a movie role.

(In case you didn't see the end of the show, he doesn't make the cut, but Shane says that he's choreographing a new movie and he's going to do everything he can get to Bryan casted so he can showcase his robot moves)

[AtomSmasher]

It's definately impressive.  Heres another link I saw earlier today that explains more about the disability he has (scoliosis), which makes it even more impressive.
http://www.videosift.com/video/So-you-think-you-can-dance-with-scoliosis

[shorthair]

You remember when break dancing came out? Who came out with it? Yeah, caucasians can do it...but not like they can. I'd bet there's something genetic in that capacity. As for this particular case, I'd think if anything, the lack of mobility in his spine would make it even easier as physiological leverage. By definition, robotic movement is about large scale shifts and relegating smaller movement to the limbs.

[RayB]

You remember when break dancing came out? Who came out with it? Yeah, caucasians can do it...but not like they can. I'd bet there's something genetic in that capacity.

Who is this "they" you're talking about?

[pointdablame]

You remember when break dancing came out? Who came out with it? Yeah, caucasians can do it...but not like they can. I'd bet there's something genetic in that capacity.

Who is this "they" you're talking about?

people with scoliosis apparently.

[shorthair]

Depends on the name you want to use. For various reasons, blacks have genetic capabilities that caucasians don't. And they make for very entertaining and pleasurable (particularly in choral circumstances) cases.

[boykster]

Depends on the name you want to use. For various reasons, blacks have genetic capabilities that caucasians don't. And they make for very entertaining and pleasurable (particularly in choral circumstances) cases.

What planet exactly are you from?

Blacks can sing and dance well....

Jews are good with money I take it then...

Asians are good at math?

 

[JackTucky]

Depends on the name you want to use. For various reasons, blacks have genetic capabilities that caucasians don't. And they make for very entertaining and pleasurable (particularly in choral circumstances) cases.

What is a choral circumstance?  Do you mean blacks listen well?

shorthair is a tool, case # shitload 
=J

[Chris G]

Steeeeeeering this thread back on topic... I thought that was awesome!  Thanks

[shorthair]

Choral: singing. Aural is listening.

Because of the range of their vocal chords, and the indigenous language of their ancestors - where microtonal vocal inflections severely determine meaning and are a conscious element - they naturally have good singing capacity and range. The study of music is a powerful tool.

[Howard_Casto]

Love the clip, that is frikkin awesome!

Btw there is some truth to that.  Like it or not different races have, as a whole, diferent strengths and weaknesses.  It's called evolution, different abilites (created from genetic mutation at random) become dominant due to it making a race better suited to their original environment.  Not that the comment wasn't horribly out of line, but like it or not different races of people ARE different other than the color of their skin.  The key is to embrace and accept these differences rather than pretending they don't exist and calling anyone who notices them a racist.

[RayB]

Howard, it's the old argument of nature VS nurture.

It's a little easy and short-sighted to see many people of a particular color can sing and then make the half-assed assumption it's genetic. If you dig a little deeper, you find that most people who can sing really well come from backgrounds where they grew up with music and singing as part of their environment (applies to all skin colors). Practice starting young plays a big part in a person's abilities. (Though of course you could again argue that they had that kind of environment in the first place due to genes, and now we're stuck in a chicken & egg debate...  )

The concept of "talent" has been studied and what it revealed is that while some people might have a better aptitude for something than others, the greatest factor to affect a person's long-term success at it is whether or not they frequently practiced the particular skill. Tiger Woods wasn't born with a "golf" gene. His dad had him regularly playing over and over from a very young age (like 4 or 5?).

Anyways, I justed wanted to call Shorthair out on assuming break dancing was invented by blacks.  Many of the core moves in break dancing have roots in ancient asian martial arts. There weren't very many black people in ancient China.

[RayB]

For those who care to read further into my claim, here is a great article from Fortune Magazine

[JackTucky]

"The black is a better athlete because he's been bred to be that way," he told a CBS television crew, "During slave trading, the slave owner would breed his big woman so that he would have a big, black kid, see. That's where it all started."

=J

[Glaine]

Tread lightly folks, tread lightly . . .

[shorthair]

RayB: I wasn't invoking that kind of thing. And I did qualify the genetic statement with a cultural reference - black indigenous language, etc. The thing is, they developed it within the natural process of their culture, whereas for caucasians I don't think it was there, really, to begin with but it sure didn't remain if it was. Since blacks are far less divorced from their ancestral heritage, they've retained it at the genetic level.

There may be other traits relative to other ethnicities, or some other kind of grouping, though I'm not personally aware of any at the moment/none come to mind. Well, no, I take that back: I think there are (perhaps more subtle) genetic traits that have to do with psychological potentialities...but I'm not sure those are ethnically or racially determined. They are environmentally affected, to some probablistic degree.

[mr.Curmudgeon]

There goes that theory:

* Wait for the kid in the Orange shirt (after the first two kids on stage), that's David "Elsewhere" Bernal. (Hint: He's not black)

[shorthair]

I'm talking about the vocal thing, in particular, in my last. Did I say caucasians couldn't dance?...couldn't break dance, etc? Maybe cos the young black kids in the early 80s were used to seeing their family dance, they danced, etc, etc - vs caucasians not having the same experience. I think that's actually the case - BUT, for them it goes back a time-immemorial. They're adapted. I have no idea about the relation of break dance moves to martial arts. Could be.

But let's go all way on this and bring it down to pure physical attributes: Blacks, both genders, generally have more booty. Now, this is arguably an aesthetic sensitivity I'm speaking of, but you have to admit that white boys more often than not, and despite their maybe intensely working legs in the gym, don't have no ass. (Due to my Italian blood, as it surely wasn't from the Irish, English, Scotch side, I'm fortunate not to be in this camp.) If it were me, and I was offered a way to augment it, I would...cos not even guys should be booty-less.

[RayB]

So if someone is born with particular vocal cords (due to "genetic heritage") they will automatically sing on key, with a pleasant tone and rythm? No practice required?  I don't think so.

[shorthair]

Mm. You're scope is too narrow, here. Western music isn't necessarily the measure of music quality. And initially I was talking about their ability to produce full, rounded tones. However, despite the aforementioned tonal and rhythmic difference in their indigenous language vs english/western music, that there is such embedded capacity does in fact mean they're more capable of any musical expression. Even temperament is actually far easier to produce than other (even more pure, as there certainly are) intonations.

Take another example. How easy is it for british and aussie acting folk to assume an american 'accent' compared to their american countreparts doing the same with theirs? Very.

[missioncontrol]

Maybe cos the young black kids in the early 80s were used to seeing their family dance, they danced, etc, etc - vs caucasians not having the same experience.

Shorthair might be right, my parents drank all the time and I became an alcoholic...

[crashwg]

Maybe cos the young black kids in the early 80s were used to seeing their family dance, they danced, etc, etc - vs caucasians not having the same experience.

Shorthair might be right, my parents drank all the time and I became an alcoholic...

If that was a joke it was in very bad taste...  Alcoholism is nothing to joke about.  I am not of the belief that it is a "disease" per se, but I do believe that it is a problem and not something someone should brag about.

 

[saint]

Take another example. How easy is it for british and aussie acting folk to assume an american 'accent' compared to their american countreparts doing the same with theirs? Very.

What statistical data or study did you pull this from?

[shorthair]

crashwg: I think he mean it; perhaps ironically, too. Actually, I don't think that environmental factor is a cause. I think people are genetically predisposed with some potentiality of addiction. There's also the sugar addiction, itself, that alcohol can satisfy, plus the psychological support of drink.

saint: mine. All these statements are based on my own data accumulation, some of which is from primary and secondary sources, and some of which is from personal observation.

And, I should've said 'more easily capable' vs above the capability of other races or ethinicities. I would also amend my statement to include many ethnicities that preserve a certain nativeness of tongue, but curiously the majority of ethnicities seem not to have the thoracic physical qualities blacks do.

[saint]

saint: mine. All these statements are based on my own data accumulation, some of which is from primary and secondary sources, and some of which is from personal observation.

So you've interviewed or known or known of.... how many American actors who've tried to speak with a British accent, and how many English actors who've tried to speak with an American accent?

[xar256]

saint: mine. All these statements are based on my reaching up into my but and spewing forth whatever comes out.

[horseboy]

There goes that theory:

* Wait for the kid in the Orange shirt (after the first two kids on stage), that's David "Elsewhere" Bernal. (Hint: He's not black)

I was going to post that video. Not due to this race stuff, but because it is my favorite all time dance video. Sweet.

saint: mine. All these statements are based on my reaching up into my but and spewing forth whatever comes out.

Stole my joke. 

[MameMaster!]

what's the big deal...he's a new robot from Honda...... ....duh.

[RayB]

saint: mine. All these statements are based on my own data accumulation, some of which is from primary and secondary sources, and some of which is from personal observation.

That's what's referred to as your "world view" which is influenced by: experiences, observations, environment, education, etc. But rarely does one gain the scope of data required to always be correct in one's own assumptions.

In other words, you may be right, but you may be wrong.   

[shorthair]

saint: mine. All these statements are based on my own data accumulation, some of which is from primary and secondary sources, and some of which is from personal observation.

That's what's referred to as your "world view" which is influenced by: experiences, observations, environment, education, etc. But rarely does one gain the scope of data required to always be correct in one's own assumptions.

In other words, you may be right, but you may be wrong.   

Entirely. And someone missed a 't' up there. Remember, mine is bigger than that.

[saint]

I seem to have missed my answer -- trying again.

saint: mine. All these statements are based on my own data accumulation, some of which is from primary and secondary sources, and some of which is from personal observation.

So you've interviewed or known or known of.... how many American actors who've tried to speak with a British accent, and how many English actors who've tried to speak with an American accent?

[horseboy]

I seem to have missed my answer -- trying again.

saint: mine. All these statements are based on my own data accumulation, some of which is from primary and secondary sources, and some of which is from personal observation.

So you've interviewed or known or known of.... how many American actors who've tried to speak with a British accent, and how many English actors who've tried to speak with an American accent?

No. He just talks and talks and talks. He is so full of ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- that his eyes are brown.

[shorthair]

No, I just thought my answer to RayB answered saint, indirectly. Maybe I'm wrong and they just work at it a lot more and harder. I don't think that's the answer, though.

horseboy: I think you're too emotionally invested in what I think I know.

[saint]

I still seem to have missed my answer. Perhaps I'll try again. How many of each was it?

I seem to have missed my answer -- trying again.

saint: mine. All these statements are based on my own data accumulation, some of which is from primary and secondary sources, and some of which is from personal observation.

So you've interviewed or known or known of.... how many American actors who've tried to speak with a British accent, and how many English actors who've tried to speak with an American accent?

[shorthair]

None. I'm just going by what I've seen and correlating it with the possibility that their tongue is more complex than your average (and maybe other) American one(s).

[horseboy]

horseboy: I'm too emotionally invested in what I think I know.

fixt

[CheffoJeffo]

None. I'm just going by what I've seen and correlating it with the possibility that their tongue is more complex than your average (and maybe other) American one(s).

IMPO, a more plausible explanation is that the 'American' accent is more widely known in the rest of the world than other accents are known in the US. A guess, but a good guess, I think.

Cheers

[boykster]

None. I'm just going by what I've seen and correlating it with the possibility that their tongue is more complex than your average (and maybe other) American one(s).

IMPO, a more plausible explanation is that the 'American' accent is more widely known in the rest of the world than other accents are known in the US. A guess, but a good guess, I think.

Cheers

I would take an even more pragmatic stance and assert that there is WAY MORE financial incentive for foreign actors to conform to american dialect to land big $$ roles in Hollywood, whereas while both the UK and OZ have film industries, the financial draw/incentive just isn't as big as it is in Hollywood.  I don't remember the last time I heard an aspiring starlet head to the bus station saying she was "...moving to Leeds to become a big star...."

It's an economy of scale....I doubt that it's "harder" for either to adapt.  Just different. 

Shorthair ->