The Compelling Use of Mr. Jesus' Power & Academia's Tight Tweed Chinos

I had my first run-in with films from the Exorcist Mythos recently, both versions of the prequel, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist and Exorcist: The Beginning.  The creation of the two films is an interesting story, because they are meant to be, if not the same, then a similar story.  The two films work on the same concept, this came about because when the original film was finished (Dominion), the Studio was dissatisfied with it, and like enraged monkeys playing with their cack, they decided to commission the film again with a different director, and proceeded to throw more money at it this time around.

 

Having seen the two films back-to-back, the huge differences between them are striking, especially the level of filthy language held within.  Some footage from Dominion was actually recycled and used in The Beginning, even though the take on the story was almost completely different, even down to the actual character that was possessed (a fairly key plot point).  The Beginning also changed some members of the cast, though they did keep Stellan Skarsgård as the lead, who certainly had (for the most part) a surprisingly good, old Imperial British accent.

 

The consensus from the trilogy of viewers that we were, was that Dominion, as the thoughtful slower film, was the better of the two, despite being originally canned by the film people.  In comparison, The Beginning was less of a psycho-thriller and more of a straight, cheesy, foul-mouthed, aimed-at-America horror.

 

The other topic alluded to in the cryptic title is the habit of academic works to have boring titles.  It became apparent during a seminar several weeks ago that it was not necessary for academic articles, works or books to have stuffy and tedious titles and style, which has led me to pick boring titles, and attempt to make them more suited to mine palate.

 

Some examples from the Journal, Discourse & Society:

Racism in the News: A Critical Discourse Analysis of News Reporting in Two Australian Newspapers  (Peter Teo)

My personal edit would have read:

Oh! Those Aussies, buncha Racists!

 

also:

The Management of Heterosexist Talk: Conversational Resources and Prejudiced Claims  (Susan Speer & Jonathan Potter)

and my edit:

How to get away with sexism!

and finally:

Language, Gender and Floor Apportionment in Political Debates  (Sylvia Show)

which I'd make:

Women in Political Debates: Ha, Ha, Ha, Hee Hee, Hee.... no.

 

I suppose I've shot myself in the foot slightly, proving perhaps that academic works should stick with their own register.  I still think academics shouldn't be so stuffy, and should strive to stop their gatekeeping ways and make their works more accessible.

 So after proving that Exorcist Prequels and the Academic style of writing go together like toothpaste and micro chips, I will now leave you to muse on whichever topic you please.