Movies!!!! (I could swear I gave it a heading before)--Helvetica Helvetica Helvetica

[ellen_datlow]

This evening I was able to watch three short movies: GI Jane, directed by Ridley Scott (although you'd never know it) starring Demi Moore and with (the reason I rented it) Viggo M. Viggo was very good and Anne Bancroft was also really good as a Texan congresswoman who was head of the armed forces committee (based on Ann Richardson?). By the numbers but about an important subject--letting the first woman trainee into the SEALS program. Interesting what a difference twelve years can make.

Ice Age made me cry. What can I say? I enjoyed it immensely.

But... the real winner tonight was Helvetica the fascinating documentary about the ubiquitous typeface. It's entertaining and informative, with several type designers discussing the font's genesis in 1958, how it seemingly took over the western world, the backlash against it (there were a few designers who seemed almost unhinged in their reactions to it), and the current state of opinion on it. I found the movie riveting.

Comments

[kylecassidy.livejournal.com]

Papyrus is pretty and that is likely its downfall. If you're a Thai restaurant or a Rakki (sp) healing center, papyrus is probably appropriate for the sign outside of your establishment. Where it causes designers to collapse into weeping puddles is when it's used as body text for lost dog advertisements or Christmas Party invitations. This is because the personal computer gave type design to "the masses" and instead of making everybody into designers, it just make lots of people think they didn't have to hire a designer anymore because they have MS Word and all these fonts.... Whereas you can pretty much get away with using Helvetica anywhere and the worst people will say about you is that you're unimaginative, Papyrus is so frequently used wrong that it's nearly impossible to use right anymore because it comes with the "Oh god! Papyrus!" baggage.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

I can see it for a party invitation though.