{"id":336,"date":"2020-02-05T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-05T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/?p=336"},"modified":"2020-02-05T06:04:04","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T06:04:04","slug":"all-about-the-entertaining-info-dump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/05\/all-about-the-entertaining-info-dump\/","title":{"rendered":"All About the Entertaining Info Dump"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>By Nathan Marchand (with Jimmy From NASA)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/entertaining-info-dump-blog-image.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-337\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/entertaining-info-dump-blog-image.jpg?w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/entertaining-info-dump-blog-image.jpg?resize=300%2C169 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/entertaining-info-dump-blog-image.jpg?resize=1024%2C576 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/entertaining-info-dump-blog-image.jpg?resize=768%2C432 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With there being five\nWednesdays in January (for which I\u2019m grateful because it gives me an extra week\nto edit the next episode), I thought I\u2019d give all of you a bonus blog. I toyed\nwith several ideas, but it was my intrepid producer, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NasaJimmy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jimmy From NASA<\/a>, who suggested a blog\non his Entertaining Info Dump. Normally, I\u2019d have only done it because of those\ndarn contractual obligations, but it\u2019s also been a part of the podcast that\nlisteners have appreciated, so it\u2019s worth giving a peek behind the curtain to\nexplain it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Believe it or not, Jimmy based it on the \u201cfilm descriptions\u201d Brian Scherschel and I developed on my previous podcast, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLNROmZ99n5Ip7h_CeMXbwEgLAOc6dwdiR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kaijuvision Radio<\/a>. Apparently, Jimmy was a fan of the show before I left it. As he said on the <a href=\"https:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/2019\/09\/25\/episode-1-welcome-to-monster-island\/\">first episode of MIFV<\/a>, this was a great way to get preliminary information out of the way before diving into the film discussion. It\u2019s also more interesting to listen to than a simple plot synopsis and, well, info dump. You can get all of that from a wiki page. Several of them, actually. They also make it possible to compare these films to each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are different\nsubheadings for these essays, although they\u2019re never mentioned. Those\nsubheadings are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The (primary)\nkaiju plot line and characteristics\/goals<\/li><li>Other kaiju plot\nlines and characteristics\/goals<\/li><li>The human plot\nline<\/li><li>Human and kaiju\nplot intermix level<\/li><li>Attempts to solve\nthe issue at hand<\/li><li>How the issue is\nresolved<\/li><li>Story complexity<\/li><li>Production quality<\/li><li>Light\/Dark Tone,\ngravity\/seriousness, and fantasy\/reality<\/li><li>Experimentation\nlevel<\/li><li>Reinforcement vs.\nExpansion of Style<\/li><li>Movie purpose and\ndemographics<\/li><li>Success Level<\/li><li>Difference between\noriginal version of that film and the other versions<\/li><li>The forces at play<\/li><li>The theme(s)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most of these are\nself-explanatory. The first half or so summarizes the most important facets of\nthe film\u2019s story. All but the last two give production and background information\non each movie. The last two focus on thematic elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, there are two\nthat Jimmy insists I highlight because one is unique and the other could be\nconfused with it. That being the \u201cexpansion vs. reinforcement of style\u201d and \u201cexperimentation\nlevel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What do we mean by expansion\nand reinforcement of style? With long-running franchises and series like King Kong\n(or Godzilla), some entries introduce new story types, tropes, or other elements\nthat are emulated in later ones. They\u2019re the films that break the mold, the\nfirsts of their kind. This is admittedly a little subjective, especially since\nsome films have a mix of both, but these elements can be objectively identified.\nFor example, <em>Son of Kong <\/em>was an\nexpansion of style for the Kong films because it introduced the idea of a Kong offspring\nand was the first \u201cSon\/Daughter of\u2026\u201d type film to come out in any film series.\nHowever, <em>King Kong Escapes<\/em>, while\nprimarily a reinforcement of the styles of <em>King\nKong <\/em>(1933) and <em>The King Kong Show<\/em>,\ndid make one expansion by having a \u201clove interest\u201d who sympathized with Kong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Experimentation level, on\nthe other hand, would have to involve risk-taking. It isn\u2019t simply adding new\nthings to a film. They have to be elements that are so different from the\nprevious films in the series that it might disappoint the audience or\ndisinterest them. For example, it was a risky move for Dino de Laurentiis to\nset his 1976 remake in (then) present day because the original was firmly set\nin 1933. It\u2019s a rare to see a film that is both an expansion of style and\nexperimental. It doesn\u2019t always make it good, but it\u2019s always interesting.\nHonestly, with the films we\u2019ve covered so far in the \u201cKong Quest\u201d ( \ud83d\ude1b ), the\nonly one that truly qualifies as both is the 1933 original (although, that\u2019ll\nchange next week). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you\u2019d like to learn\nmore about the Entertaining Info Dump, I recommend listening to the bonus\nfeature Mr. Scherschel and I did on the film descriptions for KVR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube aligncenter wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Bonus Feature 1: The Film Descriptions\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wRAdwy7R_So?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Until then, get ready for\nthe next week\u2019s episode on the worst film covered on MIFV so far: <em>King Kong Lives<\/em>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Nathan Marchand (with Jimmy From NASA) With there being five Wednesdays in January (for which I\u2019m grateful because it gives me an extra week&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"more-link-wrapper\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/05\/all-about-the-entertaining-info-dump\/\">Continue Reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">All About the Entertaining Info Dump<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"iawp_total_views":6,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,260],"tags":[262,261,263,264,19,59,14,15,18],"series":[],"class_list":["post-336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-feature","tag-brian-scherschel","tag-entertaining-info-dump","tag-expansion-vs-reinforcement-of-style","tag-experimentation","tag-jimmy-from-nasa","tag-kaijuvision-radio","tag-king-kong","tag-nathan-marchand","tag-the-monster-island-film-vault","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":339,"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336\/revisions\/339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}