Neuroscience and Happiness

First let me start off by making it perfectly clear that not only am I not a neuroscientist, I have never played one in a movie, on television, on stage, or for Hallowe’en. I am, however, very familiar with the state of being happy (happiness being a state of mind).

Six years ago, a Dutch neuroscientist came up with the Top 10 Happiest Songs which came about when a British brand reached out to the neuroscientist to create the scientifically accurate list in the first place.

Now I don’t doubt for a minute that there are certain criteria that the majority of people have set that results in them finding their nirvaniest of places (as in the ultimate state of being, not the band) when listening to music. According to the neuroscientist, that criteria was mustic that was “slightly faster than [the] average song (between 140 and 150 beats per minute on average), written in a major key, and either about happy events or complete nonsense.”

Of the ten songs the neuroscientist listed, I didn’t happen to agree with any of his choices with the exception of “Walking On Sunshine.” Many of the songs actually had their roots in negativity so I don’t really know how he linked those songs to happy events unless he was linking them to complete nonsense.

Pharrell William’s song “Happy” was released in 2013 (2 years before the neuroscientist created his playlist). Now if ever there was a feel-good song that should have made the list, that song is definitely one song that should have been included. It’s fun and happy and has a bit of nonsense thrown in. It’s danceable even if you have two left feet, and well, no one can possibly feel badly when they hear this song.

And what about “Can’t Stop The Feeling” by Justin Timberlake? Isn’t that one of the happiest songs of the past five years? Sure it came out a year after the neuroscientist’s ultimate list but surely it should have bumped one of his songs into the #11 slot while it was added to his Top 10.

How about Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration?” If ever there was a song with boatloads of happiness and good feelins, that song has to rank right up there, right? I mean, that song’s been making people express happiness for almost 30 years straight. Ask any DJ these days, and s/he/they will tell you that song is requested a weddings and parties all the time!

Unlike the Dutch neuroscientist, I didn’t just stick with songs with English lyrics. It would be a shame to not include songs like “Ça fait rire les oiseaux” by La Compagnie Créole. Even if you don’t understand the lyrics (which I do), it’s all about being happy and is a celebration of being happy.

But one of the songs that really encompasses what being happy is all about is Bobby McFerrin’s song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” because it acknowledges that things happen in life that we can either take us down or we can rise above. It’s decided by your state of mind. Yes, I realize the song talks about all kinds of negative situations, but it keeps reminding listeners that your state of mind determines how you will roll with the punches and whether you’ll be getting back up on your feet any time soon.

In any case, there are countless songs out there that fit the Dutch neuroscientists criteria, and even if the songs you love dancing to don’t fit that criteria, if it makes you dance, dance like no one’s watching because, in the end, if it makes you happy to dance, how others feel about your dancing only matters to them.

Elyse Bruce
19 November 2021

Whitewashing Artistic Expression

The following may be offensive to those who do not understand the intent of this article,
which is to encourage reasonable discussion on a very serious matter that affects all people.

It would appear that one cannot see a performance of “The Sound Of Music” — the story of how Austrian Captain Von Trapp and his family escaped Nazi Germany — that includes Nazi references because to do so would be politically incorrect.

Lisa Mars, the principal of the Fiorello LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in Manhattan (NY) — the school known as the elite “Fame” school — ordered Nazi flags, emblems, and symbols removed from the stage set.  The principal made the decision based on her opinion that the display of hateful symbols was inappropriate even if it was an historical fact, and even if those symbols were germane to the story line. All Nazi iconography — from costumes to set design — had to be removed. What was allowed to remain did so amid worries of copyright litigation.

Now let’s not get this musical get mixed up with the musical “Springtime For Hitler” because “The Sound Of Music” is anything but that, and let’s not mistake that while a production may be about fascism, a production such as “The Sound Of Music” does not promote fascism.

IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE:  “Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp With Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden” is a fictional musical in Mel Brooks’s 1967 film “The Producers.”

But the principal of this high school founded in 1936 by the 99th Mayor of the City of New York — when fascism was thriving in Germany and Italy — has other ideas, and a completely different opinion on how “The Sound Of Music” should be presented on stage.

“The Sound of Music” tells the story of how one family fled the Third Reich. In other words, it clearly is not in support of what the Nazi party stood for, and it does not condone the acts of Nazi Germany.  If anything, it speaks loudly against fascism.  Why, there’s even one scene where Captain Von Trapp rips the Nazi flag in half.   That’s an impossible scene to recreate with no flag to tear, and the force of the message is greatly diminished with no visible repudiation of fascism as it was originally portrayed in the script.

If you still aren’t convinced, consider this:  What if the entire production was staged in the badlands of Alberta because having the play set in the lushness of Austria with all its environmental privilege is land shaming those people who only know what it is like to live in the badlands of Alberta (even though the Rockies are a mere 3 hours drive away by car)?

Getting back to the original topic:  In a rush to make sure none would be offended, the principal at Fiorello LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in Manhattan (NY) decided to whitewash the entire production.

We all know the arts are meant to stir conversation. It can be pleasurable or it can be political, but the bottom line is that art is mean to create a platform from which many aspects of the subject matter may be discussed.

In the case of “The Sound Of Music” it looks at the social injustices that exist during the era in which the production is set. Political alternatives are suggested and considered. The complicity of art in the environment of political injustice is seen for what it is.

Nazi symbols and emblems in “The Sound Of Music” do not normalize, or place a stamp of approval on, fascism anymore than vanilla ice cream proves the existence of white privilege.

If we start removing important visual and audio clues that support the narrative in a piece of art, what sense is there in involving yourself as an audience member in the discussion that is meant to be brought abut by that piece of art?

At what point does being a social justice warrior begin to work against the social justice warrior narrative?

My guess is it happens at about the same point where re-writing history is preferable to hearing uncomfortable facts about humanity — or the lack of humanity.

 

SOURCES

Furor Over Nazi Symbols in “Sound Of Music” Play At NYC’s Elite ‘Fame’ Performing Arts High School
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/manhattan/ny-metro-sound-of-music-nazi-20181205-story.html

New York’s “Fame” High School Removes Nazi Symbols From “Sound Of Music” Production
https://www.artsjournal.com/2018/12/new-yorks-fame-high-school-removes-nazi-symbols-from-sound-of-music-production.html

Next Up On The PC Chopping Block: The Sound Of Music
https://www.chicksonright.com/blog/2018/12/09/next-up-on-the-pc-chopping-block-the-sound-of-music

NYC High School Known For ‘Fame’ Bans Nazi Symbols From ‘The Sound Of Music’
https://www.americanisraelite.com/arts_and_entertainment/article_0e0fd606-fd69-11e8-8709-175a83b3bb14.html

Principal Spars With Parents Over Nazi Props In ‘Sound Of Music’
https://nypost.com/2018/12/06/principal-spars-with-parents-over-nazi-props-in-sound-of-music/

Teaching Students and Audiences About Swastikas, The SS and “The Sound Of Music”
http://www.artsintegrity.org/teaching-students-audiences-about-swastikas-the-ss-and-the-sound-of-music/

Ban All Christmas Songs

News broke just as the first weekend in December showed up on everyone’s doorstep that Cleveland (OH) radio station WDOK Christmas 102.1 had pulled “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” from its around-the-clock rotation of Christmas music after receiving a call from a listener who suggested it is inappropriate in 2018 and the poll they ran on their website showed that 8% of their listening audience felt the song was inappropriate to play.

According to news reports, the radio station claimed a “clear majority of respondents supported the decision to remove the song from the station’s line-up” but really, can society consider 8% of poll respondents as a “clear majority” when 92% of poll respondents were in favor of the song being played?

I’m not going to debate whether “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” is a song about date rape, and that’s mostly because I don’t agree with applying current social justice warrior rules to the past, and then holding it up as so-called proof that past generations were filled with terrible people.  I’m also not going to debate whether the song is about date rape when current social justice warrior rules are selectively applied to some things and not to others.  I’m certainly not going to debate whether it’s about date rape on the basis that the song triggers a segment of society.

However, if we’re going to apply social justice warrior rules to Christmas songs that have been sung and recorded to years, maybe we should just pull all Christmas songs because of their potential for triggering minorities, people living with disabilities, survivors of criminal acts, and more.  Let’s deconstruct well-loved heartfelt Christmas songs and demonize the daylights out of them just because current social justice warrior rules make it so easy to demonize whatever displeases social justice warriors.

For example, let’s take one of my favorite Christmas songs, “Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire.”  For starters, can you really believe a Christmas song that was written in August?  I mean, August is a summer month, so obviously by writing a Christmas song in August, during a blistering heat wave, is seasonal appropriation.  To add insult to injury, the song was recorded and released the following autumn, so you would think makes it double seasonal appropriation.

It was also written in California, which means you have to question the references like snow and Eskimos and such.   Mind you, Mel Tormé was born in Chicago (IL), and Robert Wells was in Raymond (WA) so perhaps we should give them a pass on the basis that they were probably writing from childhood memories, assuming they spent winters — not just spring, summer, and autumn — in their respective home towns.

Setting aside the seasonal appropriation and the possible location appropriation, there’s still a lot for social justice warriors to hold up as reasons to ban “Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire.”

NOTE 1:  I am not suggesting or advocating that “Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire” be pulled from play lists. 

For one thing, this song has TWO titles:  The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire).  Why does this song need TWO identities?  Is this song promoting something about two separate lives — one as “The Christmas Song” and one as “Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire?”  Or does that mean the song is the only Christmas song worth playing, and all the others are lesser Christmas songs or maybe counterfeit Christmas songs?  Doesn’t that title set a dangerous precedent?

And what about those lyrics?

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire

That open fire is a serious fire hazard especially if children are around as they may not know they shouldn’t play with fire or get too close to an open fire or otherwise endanger themselves where fire is an element.

Jack Frost nipping on your nose

This is a clear description of as assault, and could possibly also include sexual harassment and threatening behavior.

Yuletide carols being sung by a choir

That line is a double-header problem.  Yuletide carols are being sung which is insensitive to people who are not Christians, and having those carols sung by a choir implies an intolerant mob just waiting to riot and cause civil unrest.

And folks dressed up like Eskimos

This reference to Inuit people is insensitive as well as cultural appropriation which makes that line another double-header problem!

Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe

The songwriters really loaded up those double-headed problems from line to line.  The reference to the turkey is PETA-unfriendly ergo it’s animal abuse, and since mistletoe can allegedly be used to poison people (or so claim some of those murder mystery books I’ve read), this implies that murder — or attempted murder if it fails — at the dinner table is being suggested.

Help to make the season bright

This is obviously a great big, huge, clearly stated nod to global warming.

Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow

If those tots have glowing eyes, there are two possible explanations:  Either these tiny tots already suffer from Internet addiction and are glued to their techno-gadgets or they are demon possessed.  Neither of those options are very reassuring.

Will find it hard to sleep tonight

That line is particularly insensitive to people living with insomnia or other sleep disorders.

They know that Santa’s on his way

We all know that criminals use code words to let their posse know what’s happening.  Whoever has been tagged as Santa in this line is most likely the driver of the getaway vehicle that will be used in the commission of one or more crimes.

He’s loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh

If someone is loading lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh, that almost surely confirms this is about stealing high-end ticket items that will wind up in pawn shops, and/or drugs to be delivered to dealers to pass along to their customers.   How is that a good thing for anyone to be doing?

And every mother’s child is going to spy

That line has so much going on that it’s a bonanza of bad decisions.  Every mother’s child is probably an insult to law-abiding citizens who are tagged as mama’s boys which makes that a double insult:  Those people are slammed for being law-abiding citizens, and then they are tagged as being weak-minded people who look to others in authority to tell them what to do.

That bit about spying is either about government surveillance or about Big Brother watching everything everyone does or maybe even the Illuminati.  That’s pretty scary, when you think about it.

To see if reindeer really know how to fly

This is clearly a reference to the effects of getting one’s hands on some highly effective contraband.

And so I’m offering this simple phrase

There are lots of simple phrases out there, usually used by gangs and mobsters and other criminals.  This could be about not crossing anyone involved in criminal activities as all it would take to get whacked — or knocked off or otherwise taught a lesson — is a simple phrase.

To kids from one to ninety-two

Obviously it doesn’t matter how young or how old you are, if you cross someone involved in criminal activities, you are in danger and this line lets you know this without question.  Your friends and family are also in danger if you cross someone involved in criminal activities.  As they say on those TV crime shows, anyone can be gotten to and taken care of.

Although its been said many times, many ways

This is obviously a veiled reference to such things as tags, ties, colors, and all the other ways that the “keep your mouth shut” message is delivered to society as a whole.

Merry Christmas to you

That last line just reinforces the claim that this song marginalizes and disrespects those who are not Christian.

NOTE 2:  I have purposely left out other possible references that are of a sexual nature.

Did you see how easy it was to deconstruct a beautiful song and turn it into something it was never intended to be?

NOTE 3:  I am still not suggesting or advocating
“Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire”
be pulled from play lists. I love this song!

Everything has to be taken in context when determining what is and is not appropriate.  Some people may not like, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”  That’s fine however if the reason for hating a song is based entirely on not understanding the context of the song and not understanding what certain phrases meant back when the song was first written compared to what they may or may not imply in this day and age, you are missing what the song conveys.

Final Note

If you are looking to be offended by someone or something, you will find that someone or something and be offended.  Just because you find that someone or something so you can be offended doesn’t mean that person or thing is offensive, or that all of society has to see the situation from your perspective.

There are so many more serious matters in life that need to be addressed, and so many more dangerous people who need to be taken to task for their dangerous and/or unconscionable actions and words.  The song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” isn’t one of those things, and the songwriters aren’t any of those people.

Maybe it’s time someone knowledgeable on the era in which the song was written to post an explanation of what the song is about, and how all those misinterpreted references are being blown way out of proportion.  Any knowledgeable experts willing to tackle this in a guest article?

Elyse Bruce

That Time When Sharks Attacked Those Artists

It’s 2017 and people are still shouting at people, “Watch out for sharks!  Stay out of the water!”  This is wise advice if you happen to be swimming in shark infested waters.  If you know the waters are offering refuge and sanctuary to carnivorous sea thugs, the wise thing to do is to steer clear and find a way around them.  After all, the wisest course of action is the most obvious, right?

But here’s something I’ve noticed over the years.  Some people are so focused on what they want, they fail to see the warning signs, and they put themselves at perilous risk.  They jump in with both feet and actually swim out to embrace danger.  What’s worse, when they come face-to-face with these fierce predators, the tendency is to blame everyone on shore for failing to hold them back.  It almost always ends badly for the swimmer, and occasionally ends badly for the shark.

Do you remember that time when those sharks attacked all those artists?  It was especially horrific since the sharks in question attacked landlocked artists who were unaware that, not only were these sharks predatory in nature, those sharks were too far inland to be trusted.

Some of you are undoubtedly trying to figure out the incident to which I’m referring, and really, I’m not talking of one incident.  I’m talking about the same incident that happens repeatedly albeit with slight variations each time.  I’m talking about the sharks that swim circles around naive and even gullible authors, artists, musicians, and other creative types, and at the first chance, they go in for the kill, leaving well-fed and their victims stripped to the bone.

I’ve been fortunate over the years to stay far away from sharks whether they happen to be in the waters where I happen to be vacationing or they happen to be circulating at industry parties and conferences on land.  I suppose this has a lot to do with the fact I learned about such dangers early on from watching those who failed to navigate to safer shores.  Sometimes being an observer an arm’s length away from danger is preferable to being the main course grabbing for a sliver of the limelight from someone else’s success.

Last week, as I researched an entry for my Idiomation blog, I found myself reading magazines from days gone by.  I don’t mean reading as in devouring every single article, and hanging on each and every word published between the front and back covers.  I mean I browsed the pages and remarked on the differences between magazines from the 1930s and magazines from the 2010s.  Near the back, I found a very small, easily overlooked advertisement from a business that was established in 1917.  Always interested in a good story, especially one that’s at least a century old, I screenshot the advertisement, curious as to whatever happened to those who waited patiently for eager men and women to pound down their doors with the next amazing motion picture script.

The dollar signs said it all:  Riches were ripe for the picking in Hollywood if you were a writer who hooked up with this agency.

Universal Scenario Company was really on the hunt for talent. Why, they even went as far as to advertise in Popular Science and other reputable magazines. Sometimes they were located at 214 Security Building on the corner of Santa Monica and Western Avenues in Hollywood, California. Sometimes they were located at 238 Security Building. Every once in a while they were located at 206 Western and Santa Monica Building or even 406 Western and Santa Monica Building in Hollywood, California.

These guys were everywhere, and they needed more scripts than any successful studio could ever ask to receive in this lifetime or the next. There was so much demand, one has to wonder why it is these days that Hollywood seems to be subsisting on reboots and remakes instead of delving into the many fine photoplays that were sent to Universal Scenario Company over the years in the early days of movie making. But I digress.

Universal Scenario Company was really on the hunt for talent. Why, they even went as far as to advertise in Popular Science and other reputable magazines. Sometimes they were located at 214 Security Building on the corner of Santa Monica and Western Avenues in Hollywood, California. Sometimes they were located at 238 Security Building. Every once in a while they were located at 206 Western and Santa Monica Building or even 406 Western and Santa Monica Building in Hollywood, California.

These guys were everywhere, and they needed more scripts than any successful studio could ever ask to receive in this lifetime or the next. There was so much demand, one has to wonder why it is these days that Hollywood seems to be subsisting on reboots and remakes instead of delving into the many fine photo plays that were sent to Universal Scenario Company over the years in the early days of movie making. But I digress.

The hook was more than just the money offered for original photoplay stories. They did it all for unknown authors trying to sell their first story. They revised. They copyrighted. They submitted to studios.

And because they were “located in the heart of motion picture industry” they claimed to “know production requirements.” What a sweetheart of a deal!

There isn’t much that can be learned about the Universal Scenario Company past a grat many advertisements in a great many publications but there was a lawsuit I found of particular interest. It was a lawsuit filed by Robert H. Sheets of Jackson (TN) against Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation with regards to their 1936 movie titled, “The Road To Glory.” The plaintiff claimed the studio had plagiarized his story and in making it a movie, he expected a six-digit pay-out (a considerable sum in 1934) for being the author of the story.

IMPORTANT NOTE 1:  The plaintiff’s claim was dismissed when proof was submitted to the courts that the title of the story typed in the form had been erased and typed over with the new title, “The Road To Glory.”

In his lawsuit, Robert H. Sheets claimed the following:

The plaintiff also introduced in evidence a letter, dated February 7, 1935, received by him from the Universal Scenario Company, in which he is urged to sign an enclosed application and agreement, providing for the payment of $25 in such installments as might suit the plaintiff for the publication of a synopsis and other marketing service. The printed form of agreement attached to that letter has, in the space for the title of the manuscript, the typewritten words “The Road to Glory.” The only other typewritten characters on the form are the figures “1250” to indicate the length of the synopsis to be published in the event the agreement should be signed. This is submitted by the plaintiff to corroborate his testimony that the story in controversy was in existence shortly after the time he stated that it was written by him, and that a copy of the story had been sent by him to the Universal Scenario Company. The plaintiff states that he did not execute the agreement nor make the remittance.

Mr. Sheets wasn’t signing a contract for representation where his agent was to be paid from the proceeds of the sale of his photoplay.  The payment was set up much the same way vanity presses in 2017 are set up to fleece unsuspecting authors and writers.

The point of all this is simple:  People looking to make a quick buck at the expense of others have been around for longer than any of us can probably imagine.  When something looks or sounds too good to be true, the numbers are not in your favor.  Chances are there’s something going on, especially if you’re desperate to have your voice heard.

As for what I plan on doing with all this information, I think I’ll keep scouring the Internet and old magazines and archived newspapers in search of details about the Universal Scenario Company.  For a company that did so much advertising, there isn’t that much more than just the advertising proclaiming the virtues of being involved with the company.  I wonder what became of them, and whether they were bought out or just faded away into obscurity.

Yes, a hundred years later, at least one person wonders whatever became of the Universal Scenario Company, and did they ever place any photoplays with major motion picture studios in Hollywood, California that became major hits with big stars in the roles.

Elyse Bruce

Shuffle Off To Buffalo and Other Parts Unknown

Sometimes we recognize old songs without realizing they were originally songs from a musical before they became radio hits.  I love songs by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics), and 42^nd Street is a musical that spawned a number of Warren and Dubin radio hits (who also had cameo roles in the movie version of the musical).

In a nutshell, 42^nd Street is about small-town Pennsylvania Peggy Sawyer (played by Ruby Keeler in the movie) who hits out by moving to New York City in the hopes that she’ll make her mark in Broadway.

Peggy Sawyer finds herself as a member of the chorus much to the dismay of Broadway diva Dorothy Brock (played by Bebe Daniels in the movie) who is romantically involved with the financial backer of the production, the very wealthy Abner Dillon (played by Guy Kibbee in the movie) who, unlike the director Julian Marsh (played by Warner Baxter in the movie), didn’t lose all his money in the stock market crash of 1929.  But behind Abner’s back, Dorothy is seeing her Pat Denning (played by George Brent in the movie) and thus the stage is set (pardon the pun).

The 42^nd Street Special was a train that left Los Angeles on 20 February 1933, headed to President  Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s inauguration on 4 March 1933 – the day after the movie version of the musical premiered in New York.  On board the train were stars such as Ruby Keeler, Ginger Rogers, James Cagney, Bette Davis, Loretta Young, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.  It was an amazing way to draw attention to the film and captured the attention of the country in the middle of a bleak period in American history.

 

The train trip extravaganza began as an idea courtesy of Warner Brothers studios publicity chief, Charlie Einfeld.  The Depression had seen the number of moviegoers drop by more than fifty percent in the three years since the Crash, and Warner Brothers studios was dealing with huge losses to the tune of $14 MILLION USD.  This publicity stunt was going to set the studio back another $400,000 USD.

During the election campaign, the Warner brothers had backed Franklin Delano Roosevelt while MGM studios’ Louis B. Mayer had backed Herbert Hoover.  The spectacle was promoted in the media as “the greatest train ride since Paul Revere.”

General Electric, seeing an opportunity to get in on the publicity, co-sponsored and fully equipped the six-coach express train with outdoor lights, speakers, and an all-electric kitchen with what was then considered to be a state-of-the-art electric oven, refrigerator, and dishwasher.  At every stop (which totaled 30 in the space of 17 days), the public was invited to tour the kitchen car and see for themselves what these amazing appliances looked like.

With so many wonderful songs to choose from to include in this entry, I’ve gone with these for this article.  “Come and Meet Those Dancing Feet” sung by Ruby Keeler is mesmerizing.

 

“You’re Getting To Be A Habit With Me” sung by Bebe Daniels is fun and cheeky.

“I’m Young And Healthy” sung by a very young Dick Powell (who in later years was known for his role as Nick Charles in the Thin Man movie series).

 

The song that first introduced me to 42^nd Street was one I heard courtesy of the Bugs Bunny cartoons.  As a child, I had no idea where Buffalo was exactly, but the song was something I recognized and sang along to before I was old enough to attend kindergarten.    “Shuffle Off To Buffalo” was the kind of song that resonated with children as much as it did with adults.  The scene with this song in the movie version of 42^nd Street makes the song even more fun than the Bugs Bunny segment (which was absolutely memorable and completely amusing).

The golden age of musicals may have been decades ago but the songs from that era still stand up to inspection in this generation, don’t you agree?

Elyse Bruce