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

[misplacedmind.livejournal.com]

I think this is my favorite post+comments of yours ever :) Now I'm very eager to see Helvetica, and until this post, I hadn't even heard of it! I have nothing meaningful to contribute here, as I am one of those "masses" referred to by kylecassidy, above (although I never could afford a designer, anyway, so for me to eschew them is entirely theoretical!) However, I have a deep fascination with font, with a particular fondness for Tempus Sans. I find guilty pleasure in Jokerman, although I can almost never find a valid reason to use it.

I was thrilled the first time I read a book that made reference to what font was used.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

LOL--you're easily amused. :-)

Once you learn even a little about fonts and how they can be used in graphic design (or shouldn't) a whole new world opens up.

[stephen-dedman.livejournal.com]

This is starting to remind me of a comment I once made about _fustian: "Ask him about his plans for the future, and he'll tell you what font they're printed in."