Wed, 14 Feb 1996 09:07:41 -0500
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>I was appalled not only with Mr. Vila's cavalier attitude
>towards the furnishings and other artifacts in the museums he visited,
>but also with his often equally cavalier attitude towards the people who
>were showing him around. He frequently cut them off in mid-sentence and
>generally made it readily apparent that he often wasn't listening to what
>they were saying. This was particularly obvious in his treatment of the
>guides at the Ace of Spades house in Texarkana and at one of the houses
>in Natchez. It was very clear that his tours were very rushed - he
>often appeared to flit from one piece of furniture to the next - fondling
>everything in sight - with little or no focus to his activities or to his
>presentation.
I'd add that I find this to be a criticism which might be aimed at _all_
of Vila's television presentations. He's just as rude to the builders and
homeowners he meets in his other series. I find that his rushed, often
disjointed and superficial treatment makes it nearly impossible to watch
and learn anything from his TV work. I can't imagine that many homeowners
learn enough about the various projects he presents to actually accomplish
anything in their own homes.
All this is too bad. The basic idea of developing a TV series around
visits to museum/historic house settings is a good one. Bob just "dropped
the ball." We should all be relieved that he didn't drop anything else!
Chris Geist
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Christopher D. Geist Phone: (419)372-2981
Chair, Department of Popular Culture FAX: (419)372-2577
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH 43403 E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
Visit Our World Wide Web Site: http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/popc/home.html
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