Sisters with Transistors
rogerebert.com
Sisters with Transistors
1–10 of 83 posts
Re: Sisters with Transistors
#2I think that Delia Derbyshire has been discussed here previously.
But women have played a huge role in all types of tech, since the early days (can you say "Grace Hopper"? I knew you could!). In the old days of "big iron," the people that actually touched the computers tended to be women. The men did their work with pads of paper. I started programming in the waning days of "big iron," and the roles had started changing. I think that a majority of the staff at Bletchley Park were women.
Re: Sisters with Transistors
#3Looks like it's streamable online with a $5/mo membership. Special Q&A with the director tonight (4/24)
https://metrograph.com/live-screenings/sisters-with-transist...
Re: Sisters with Transistors
#4Slightly off-topic; I can't read this article without scrambling my brain. Whatever review is hidden inside here is behind a wall of obscure references that only the niche target audience can understand, and as I try to navigate around all of these, I'm able to find a couple sentences which actually convey what's going on in the documentary and what the author thinks about it. Please don't write like this, you're only entertaining yourself [, the author].
Re: Sisters with Transistors
#5I was so thrilled when I discovered Laurie Spiegel and wondered why she wasn't more famous. I feel like "The Expanding Universe" should be in the collection of everyone with even a casual interest in electronic music. Her website is also a trove of fascinating notes about early electronic music tech.
Looking forward to finding about some of the other artists mentioned here.
Re: Sisters with Transistors
#6Slightly off-topic; I can't read this article without scrambling my brain. Whatever review is hidden inside here is behind a wall of obscure references that only the niche target audience can understand, and as I try to navigate around all of these, I'm able to find a couple sentences which actually convey what's going on in the documentary and what the author thinks about it. Please don't write like this, you're onl…
Just seems like a normal film review to me. What bits are you struggling with?
Re: Sisters with Transistors
#7Slightly off-topic; I can't read this article without scrambling my brain. Whatever review is hidden inside here is behind a wall of obscure references that only the niche target audience can understand, and as I try to navigate around all of these, I'm able to find a couple sentences which actually convey what's going on in the documentary and what the author thinks about it. Please don't write like this, you're onl…
Huh? The subjects are relatively obscure and most of the movies in question are from a long time ago. Finally, the film is specifically about people who did not get the recognition they deserve. And journals about a specific topic tend to talk about/ focus on things the author considers hidden gems. Stuff like this is why I appreciate HN. No one bats an eye at yet another article on an esolanguage no one will ever use in production yet you want to complain you have not heard of these women?
Re: Sisters with Transistors
#8Slightly off-topic; I can't read this article without scrambling my brain. Whatever review is hidden inside here is behind a wall of obscure references that only the niche target audience can understand, and as I try to navigate around all of these, I'm able to find a couple sentences which actually convey what's going on in the documentary and what the author thinks about it. Please don't write like this, you're onl…
Hmm - based on the comment I thought I would find an article full off synth terms like LFO or subtractive synthesis or low pass 12db filter or whatever,but it reads like a regular movie review, focused entirely on people and their plight...
Re: Sisters with Transistors
#9Slightly off-topic; I can't read this article without scrambling my brain. Whatever review is hidden inside here is behind a wall of obscure references that only the niche target audience can understand, and as I try to navigate around all of these, I'm able to find a couple sentences which actually convey what's going on in the documentary and what the author thinks about it. Please don't write like this, you're onl…
> a wall of obscure references that only the niche target audience can understand
The first para contains references to
>> Beethoven and Mozart, even Elvis and John Lennon
The next para lists the 'sisters' themselves. I hadn't heard of them but then that is the whole point of the film under review
> I'm able to find a couple sentences which actually convey what's going on in the documentary and what the author thinks about it
I think the following para is quite explicit about what is going on.
>> The narrative, which is wonderfully told through a kind of archival collage that, along with the futuristic soundtrack of the profiled composers, makes it feel like an avant-garde art film. It explores its stars chronologically and tells of how they evolved the musical culture in terms of not only language but also technology, which itself opened up an array of new avenues without needing the approval of others, again, mostly men. What's interesting is that many of the women profiled were from classical backgrounds. Oram is a prime example, having turned down a spot at London's prestigious Royal Academy of Music so she could work at the legendary BBC Radiophonic Workshop, and eventually building a proto-synthesizer that used a bespoke notation system called "Oramics."
We then have several additional para that goes into more detail.
Re: Sisters with Transistors
#10Slightly off-topic; I can't read this article without scrambling my brain. Whatever review is hidden inside here is behind a wall of obscure references that only the niche target audience can understand, and as I try to navigate around all of these, I'm able to find a couple sentences which actually convey what's going on in the documentary and what the author thinks about it. Please don't write like this, you're onl…
This is a mistake I think of as "universalizing my preferences". Yes, it doesn't work for you. So one of two things is true: 1) a professional writer and a popular, long-running publication's professional editors have totally failed to do their jobs, or b) you're not the target audience.
In this case, it's definitely the latter. This is writing meant to be read linearly from beginning to end. The purpose of the early bits are to create interest and intrigue. To open questions in your mind that will be answered later. To activate concepts and feelings that are important to the mental experience the writer is trying to create.
The short version is that this was written for print, not the web: "Print is linear, author-driven storytelling. The web is nonlinear, reader-driven, ruthless pursuit of actionable content." -- https://www.nngroup.com/articles/writing-style-for-print-vs-...
Eventually, the print-vs-web distinction will die out, but I don't think the print style will die. Instead, we'll rename it something like "long read". Because the info-foraging approach one use on the web has its limits. Sometimes I want to be taken on a journey by the author. As much as I love foraging, there are some experiences and insights that I don't get when I'm dashing around like a ferret who got into the adderall. For me that definitely includes movie reviews. If I want a quick summary, I look at Rotten Tomatoes or Google's infobox. If I want to understand the experience, I'm going to sit still for as many as four minutes and let a professional reviewer give me an experience.