Malcolm's artistic skills

Malcolm

New member
Do you remember that episode when Malcolm tries to play guitar and all he could do was to re-write the Meow Mix song?

Lois and some others think that Malcolm doesnt hace any artistic talents, but I think he does. He was able to play the guitar very good. And I remember he used to be quite good drawing or painting, I dont remember in wich one eps.
Not that he has Dewey's incredible musical skills, but I think he does have some artistic talents as well.

What do you think?
 

MITM18

New member
"He played the guitar well"

when? he was just doing a note per word which he took the song from that cat commericial.

PS: you wrote hace instead of have

He did the good painting in the first episode.

Not everyone is good in everything but everyone is good at something.
 

Garbage Kills Megan

parties with your mom
Malcolm was able to technically play the guitar well by teaching himself from a book, but he couldn't write his own creative melody. That's what Lois meant when she said that his brain just didn't work that way. And the painting Malcolm did seemed like a still life. But Malcolm probably wouldn't be very good at abstract art, like Hal was with his painting.
 

ReMoss85

New member
In the episode where Lois gets the traffic ticket, when the kids were having the flashbacks to when they were in the car and not paying attention to anything, Malcolm was drawing on his arm. I think it was a pirate. He also drew the picture for this psychiatrist of the giant Lois eating him. But that was just freaky looking.
 

Emrysgirl

New member
Maybe he's tone deaf?;)

I think he's good at drawing regardless of whether or not it's abstract. In the first ep, I think they were drawing abstracts. They were supposed to get a fruit and start the still when they finished. Plus, as ReMoss85 pointed out, he drew a pretty good pirate in Traffic Ticket. That had to be partly creative.:D

As to the music, I think Malcolm isn't very good, but I don't think MitM has shown it explicitly. So, for the sake of argument (debate, that's a nicer word:) ):

I haven't seen Hal Sleepwalks, so I don't know the context. I'm basing this on what all of you said. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Malcolm taught himself the guitar. So, he would barely have learned notes at the time he composed the meow-mix song.

As for Ida's Dance, some people just have bizzare ideas (adagio for strings as happy). There's no CORRECT way to feel about music. It's "interpretation". As long as he justified what he felt, there's no arguing. And I'd be pretty confused/insulted too if I was put into a baby's crib to listen to music.

Ps: Was music one of the subjects Hal was teaching "Reese" in Flashback? I don't think it was. That would explain Malcolm's failing.
 

Emrysgirl

New member
MITM18 said:
I wouldnt call drawing a pirate on a hand genius.

Anyone can do that
I didn't say it was, and neither did ReMoss35. But, it was a decent pirate and was partly based on imagination. Which goes to show that he does have a creative side.

I don't think you can clump all artistic skills into one. Maybe he's just good at drawing and bad at music. It's possible. My dad and best friend are the opposite.
 

Emrysgirl

New member
MITM18 said:
Not to take you out of fantasy but really I dont ever think the writers were going down that road when they wrote that scene.

It was just funny thing to add in.
That's true for most threads on this site. We're analyzing the chars (by pretending they actually exist) not the writers. We're taking what's given and creating an actual person from it. I think that's inevitable with any type of fiction. We might be taking it to an extreme, but, this is a fan site.
 

Jimmy Junior

New member
As I remember it, Hal wasn't trying to teach Reese classical music, he was just teaching him stuff (Maths and History I think) to the sound of classical music. The funny part was that Reese wasn't taking any of it in, but Malcolm (still in Lois's womb) apparently did.
 

MITM18

New member
Yeah, he was trying to combine everything at once but Reese sat like a dummy :)

Yeah that was on TV last night, funny episode.
 

Emrysgirl

New member
MITM18 said:
What do you mean?

When that deep bass narrator, narrates upcoming WB shows?
I don't think you're talking about the same thing. Maybe it's the local WB that's doing it.

The WB music comes on and the announcer says "On the next Malcolm in the Middle,...(some dumb summary of one scene)". Like, for Krelboyne Picnic, they showed the cold open and said "Hal and Lois get a wake up call".

The announcer has this fake-laughter/kiddie-show voice that's really annoying and spoils the scene. The summaries are always stupid (like the one above). And many times they'll show cold opens, which gets irritating b/c they talk over them and then don't show it the next day.
 

MITM18

New member
Oh I got you, they do sometimes spoil the scenes.

I dont watch MITM on WB, I watch it on FOX. But its the samething.
 
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Deleted member 1693

Guest
I have been thinking about this (his skills) a lot lately.

Malcolm is a pretty general genius. I mean, he's got several random perks, but he missed some too. For example, he has a sort of built in calculator, he has photographic memory, etc. But his logic skills and creativity are flawed.
 
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Deleted member 1693

Guest
For example, here are lists I have found on the internet. The ones in italics relate most to Malcolm himself.

Levels of Giftedness According to IQ Measurements

* Bright - 115 and above
* Gifted - 130 and above
* Highly gifted - 145 and above
* Exceptionally gifted -160 and above
* Profoundly gifted - 175 and above

Characteristics of the Gifted

* Shows superior abilities to reason, generalize or problem solve.
* Shows persistent intellectual curiosity.
* Has a wide range of interests; develops one or more interests to considerable depth.
* Produces superior written work or has a large vocabulary.
* Reads avidly.
* Learns quickly and retains what is learned.
* Grasps mathematical or scientific concepts readily.
* Shows creative ability or imaginative expression in the arts.
* Sustains concentration for lengthy periods on topics or activities of interest.
* Sets high standards for self.
* Shows initiative, originality, or flexibility in thinking; considers problems from a number of viewpoints.
* Observes keenly and is responsive to new ideas.
* Shows social poise or an ability to communicate with adults in a mature way.
* Enjoys intellectual challenge; shows an alert and subtle sense of humor.

These characteristics can lead to conflicts in the regular classroom, as the gifted child may...

* Get bored with routine tasks.
* Resist changing away from interesting topics or activities.
* Be overly critical of self and others, impatient with failure, perfectionistic.
* Disagree vocally with others, argue with teachers.
* Make jokes or puns at times adults consider inappropriate.
* Be so emotionally sensitive and empathetic that adults consider it over-reaction, may get angry, or cry when things go wrong or seem unfair.
* Ignore details, turn in messy work.
* Reject authority, be non-conforming, stubborn.
* Dominate or withdraw in cooperative learning situations.
* Be highly sensitive to environmental stimuli such as lights or noises.

Like I was saying, some of these points aren't really taken into consideration with him, such as dedication, curiousity, etc. But even though "having feelings" is looked down upon by his brothers (Hal's Christmas Gift?), he explodes with just anger, happiness, or sadness at certain points in his life. He can be very sensitive. It may only be the exaggeration of the sitcom, but it should be accounted for, anyway. His brothers aren't nearly as sensitive if you think about it, as Reese always has his guard up, Dewey is used to being disappointed, and Francis being mature as he is.

The word unfair in that article was a pleasant surprise, also. :)
 

Lordmaur

New member
Funny how in the episode where malcolm dosent know what to do when he grows up, he is told that he can do anything. But he cant make music;)
 
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