Keep the stress on ideas; wouldn't have can pass by almost as one quick unit.
Well, uh, you know, for inst — You have ideas that you ordinarily wouldn't have.before-sunrise-1995 · 1995 — Chapter 2 of 12 · 2'16" · B2
Pitching a Year-Long TV Show, Explained: the poetry of day-to-day life
One person pitches a year-long, round-the-clock TV project about ordinary life; the replies keep deflating it. The gap isn't about logistics. It's about whether the mundane deserves attention at all: "the poetry of day-to-day life" versus "24 boring hours."
What happens
In Europe, two people talk about ideas. One describes a cable-access show: 365 people around the world each record twenty-four hours of their ordinary day, and the footage airs continuously for a year. A question follows — what kind of ideas? — then a bluntly skeptical reply.
Listen for
cable accessfor a year straightevery day of their fucking lifethe poetry of day-to-day life
00:00 / 02:16Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Phrase of the scene
the poetry of day-to-day life
the beauty in ordinary routine
The speaker reveals the pretty phrase they had in mind after the listener calls the same material boring.
The film finds the poetry of day-to-day life in a family kitchen.
Also in this scene
- cable access
public-access TV
- for a year straight
for a full year without a break
- every day of their fucking life
every single day of their lives
- think about it like this
consider it from this angle
- bank machine
cash machine / ATM
Everything marked in this scene
31 notes across 34 lines
public-access TV producers cable access means public-access TV here
For a television show. Some friends of mine are these cable access producers.very cheap real is an informal intensifier here
Anybody can produce a show real cheap, and they have to put it on. Right?twenty-four hours per day
I have this idea for this show that would last 24 hours a day, for a year straight, right?for a full year without a break
The speaker describes a nonstop, year-long broadcast plan and checks that the listener follows.
I have this idea for this show that would last 24 hours a day, for a year straight, right?relative clause: The that-clause describes the show; would frames the year-long run as part of the proposal.
I have this idea for this show that would last 24 hours a day, for a year straight, right?Link hours a day smoothly and let day carry the beat.
I have this idea for this show that would last 24 hours a day, for a year straight, right?cities across the world
What you do is you get 365 people from cities all over the world to do these 24-hour documents of real time,round-the-clock real-time recordings documents means recorded footage here
What you do is you get 365 people from cities all over the world to do these 24-hour documents of real time,pseudo-cleft: What you do is a pseudo-cleft; it puts the method in focus before the main clause.
What you do is you get 365 people from cities all over the world to do these 24-hour documents of real time,life as people actually live it as it's lived means in real life
capturing life as it's lived.take a long shower
You know, it would start with a guy waking up in the morning and, uh, you know, taking a long shower, um, eating a little breakfast,participle phrase: Waking up is a participle phrase modifying a guy; taking and eating continue the same list.
You know, it would start with a guy waking up in the morning and, uh, you know, taking a long shower, um, eating a little breakfast,Keep of and their light; push the stress onto every and life.
Wait, wait, all those mundane, boring things everybody has to do every day of their fucking life?a vulgar intensifier — Vulgar intensifier; avoid it in formal or unfamiliar company.
Wait, wait, all those mundane, boring things everybody has to do every day of their fucking life?the beauty in ordinary routine
The speaker reveals the pretty phrase they had in mind after the listener calls the same material boring.
I was gonna say "the poetry of day-to-day life."going to — Informal contraction; use going to in formal writing.
I was gonna say "the poetry of day-to-day life."the way you phrase it
But you say it the way you say it, I'll say it the way I say it.standing at an ATM
But a guy standing at a bank machine, trying to take some money out, looks like a complete moron.withdraw some cash
But a guy standing at a bank machine, trying to take some money out, looks like a complete moron.look like a total fool
But a guy standing at a bank machine, trying to take some money out, looks like a complete moron.In fast speech, trying to blends together; let to fade into a light glide.
But a guy standing at a bank machine, trying to take some money out, looks like a complete moron.idiot — An insulting informal word; fine in banter, risky with strangers.
But a guy standing at a bank machine, trying to take some money out, looks like a complete moron.falls asleep immediately afterward
And, like, a three-minute sex scene where he falls asleep right after, no?what keeps worrying me
After pitching the show, the speaker turns to distribution as the thing that keeps worrying them.
The key — The thing that kinda haunts me is, uh — is the distribution.relative clause: The relative clause defines the thing; kinda softens it, and distribution is the real point.
The key — The thing that kinda haunts me is, uh — is the distribution.kind of, somewhat — Casual speech only; use kind of in writing.
The key — The thing that kinda haunts me is, uh — is the distribution.from one town to the next
Getting these tapes from town to town, city to city, so that it would play continuously.play nonstop
Getting these tapes from town to town, city to city, so that it would play continuously.not focused on customer service
You know what? They're not service-oriented.just a casual remark
Just an observation about Europe.Pitching a Year-Long TV Show, explained
What's really going on
The pitch is easy to mock, but the disagreement is really about what counts as worth watching. One line calls the material "the poetry of day-to-day life"; a reply turns the same footage into "24 boring hours." The scene keeps that tension alive by refusing to settle it: the defense is an image — a dog sleeping in the sun — rather than an argument, and the next joke is about a three-minute sex scene. Even the enthusiasm is hedged: the idea "would last 24 hours a day, for a year straight," which is exactly what makes it sound both ambitious and unwatchable. The real subject is not television but the gap between how one person frames the ordinary and how someone else receives it.
Theme
PhilosophyThe argument is less about television than about whether ordinary life is worth looking at closely.
DreamsOne person's year-long idea meets the other's refusal to romanticize ordinary routines.
Listen for
- wouldn't have — Keep the stress on ideas; wouldn't have can pass by almost as one quick unit.
- hours a day — Link hours a day smoothly and let day carry the beat.
- day of their — Keep of and their light; push the stress onto every and life.
- trying to — In fast speech, trying to blends together; let to fade into a light glide.
I have this idea for this show that would last 24 hours a day, for a year straight, right?The show would never stop: twenty-four hours a day for a full year, with no break.
I was gonna say "the poetry of day-to-day life."The phrase the speaker meant to use for ordinary routines: they can be seen as poetic rather than merely dull.
But you say it the way you say it, I'll say it the way I say it.They will each describe the same material in their own way: one calls it poetry, the other calls it boring.
But a guy standing at a bank machine, trying to take some money out, looks like a complete moron.An example of how ordinary actions can look absurd: a man at an ATM appears foolish.
So it's like a National Geographic program, but on people.The show is framed like a nature documentary, except the subject is ordinary human behavior.
Questions about this scene
Why does the other person answer with "24 boring hours"?
Because the pitch is about waking up, showering, coffee, and the paper — routines that sound dull rather than poetic to the listener.
Why does the pitch mention a dog sleeping in the sun and a man at a bank machine?
To contrast two ordinary sights: a dog in the sun looks beautiful, while a man trying to take money out at a bank machine looks foolish.
Why is distribution the hard part?
The tapes would have to move from town to town and city to city so the show could play continuously; without that, the idea would not work.
Why does the speaker compare the show to a National Geographic program?
Because it would observe ordinary people the way nature documentaries observe animals: the subject is human life rather than wildlife.
What are the 365 people supposed to record?
Each person records twenty-four hours of real time in their own city, capturing ordinary life as it happens.
before-sunrise-1995 · 12 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 3passive-aggressiveTwo Passengers Talk Childhood and Death
Chapter 1weeks on endStrangers Trade Stories on a Train
Watching · Chapter 2the poetry of day-to-day lifePitching a Year-Long TV Show
Chapter 3passive-aggressiveTwo Passengers Talk Childhood and Death
Chapter 4a bad liarTwo Travelers Claim a Honeymoon
Chapter 5scare the hell out of someoneTwo People Play a Q&A Game
Chapter 6piss someone offStrangers Trade Pet Peeves on a Train
Chapter 7romantic projectionsTwo People Talk About Parents and Love
Chapter 8resign yourself toPalm Reading in Vienna
Chapter 9a real prizewinnerAsking About an Ex-Boyfriend
Chapter 10fool aroundTwo People Debate Men, Women and Monkeys
Chapter 11fall for someoneThe Fake Phone Call in Vienna
Chapter 12fizzle outTwo People Agree to One Night OnlyChapter 2 of 12 · about 31 min to go