The Off Topic Topic

[Sheilbh]

I like Power of the Dog - I haven't seen Licorice Pizza yet. But with it, the thing is about the fact that it's about a 15 year old boy who has a crush on a 25 year old woman (you can even see this much from the trailer). So the age difference is inappropriate and the writer should have written the story so they were both the same age to avoid risking confusing the audience. Followed - by someone who is paid to write about culture - saying all great films are morality plays.

It's also something I've noticed in some fiction reviews where if there is bad or ambiguous character or situation, the writer should make it clear to the reader that they know this is bad/problematic. If they don't then it raises questions about the writer's ethics and/or may confuse their audience. As I say it's just a very Victorian (and the bad Victorian writers at that) way of thinking about art as something with clear lessons and morality that we should learn from - or, more accurately, be taught from. As cel says this does swing and probably in the 20th century swang too far into the "art for art's sake", intellectual, navel-gazing, pretentious, obsessed with form over feeling - but I'm not sure swinging back to morality plays that just validate and enhance are sentiment is a cultural turn I'll enjoy.

Unrelatedly I think there's something incredibly prudish about a culture that has embraced all the superhero movies, but this may just be me coming from the 90s when all big blockbusters were kind of horny in some way or other

The Power of the Dog I also liked. But what is being described as a twist, is not a twist (or complicated). It is a thing that happens, an event, that had been clearly foreshadowed and alluded to in not very subtle things. It is not particularly subtle or complex but, perhaps because it's on Netflix and has Benedict Cumberbatch in it, it seems to be confusing people.

It's the combination of didacticism, prudishness and not being particularly alive to any subtlety that has me worried we're in for a run of Old Curiosity Shops ("one must have a heart of stone to read the death of little Nell without laughing")

[Josquius]

I do worry about the theory that Superhero films are encouraging toxic individualism and a belief in the rich and powerful solving any problem with handwavium so no need to do anything.

[Eddie Teach]

The superheroes who are all working together?

[The Larch]

Am I right to assume that Easter is a terrible time to be a tourist in Rome?

It's one of the peak moments of the year. The city is bustling year round but Easter is especially busy.

[celedhring]

The Power of the Dog I also liked. But what is being described as a twist, is not a twist (or complicated). It is a thing that happens, an event, that had been clearly foreshadowed and alluded to in not very subtle things. It is not particularly subtle or complex but, perhaps because it's on Netflix and has Benedict Cumberbatch in it, it seems to be confusing people.

It's the combination of didacticism, prudishness and not being particularly alive to any subtlety that has me worried we're in for a run of Old Curiosity Shops ("one must have a heart of stone to read the death of little Nell without laughing")

You've got me curious about Power of the Dog, because I didn't think there was any twist in it... is it the [spoiler]anthrax-laced hide business?[/spoiler] that's telegraphed a mile away, if that's the case. Loved the film, too.

Regarding the larger issue, I broadly agree with you, but I'm going to play a little devil's advocate, because there's been a tendence of losing oneself in the artistry/entertainment/whatever of your piece, and never stepping back and wonder what kind of story are you telling. One of David W. Griffith's producers famously defended him from accusations of racism saying that Griffith never cared about the politics of his stories, he just made stuff that he thought would thrill audiences. That's been everpresent.

[Syt]

I can't say I've followed trends in the adult entertainment industry much in recent years, but why is is that porn sites seem to be completely awash with content about (step-)relatives (step-mom/dad, step-brother/sister, step-son/daughter etc.) banging each other?

I mean, I get that taboo = exciting, but it seems a bit much at the moment (I was abbreviating this as "atm", but realized it could be read differently in a porn context ).

[Josquius]

"If I get pregnant it'll be a huge disaster. Up the bum is the one way!"?

[Syt]

"If I get pregnant it'll be a huge disaster. Up the bum is the one way!"?

That's the other thing, a sizable number of these seem to revolve about potential impregnation.

[Syt]

[Razgovory]

I can't say I've followed trends in the adult entertainment industry much in recent years, but why is is that porn sites seem to be completely awash with content about (step-)relatives (step-mom/dad, step-brother/sister, step-son/daughter etc.) banging each other?

I mean, I get that taboo = exciting, but it seems a bit much at the moment (I was abbreviating this as "atm", but realized it could be read differently in a porn context ).

Theory:  The younger generation doesn't get out as much (even before Covid), and is fixating on people in their own homes.

[Syt]

I can't say I've followed trends in the adult entertainment industry much in recent years, but why is is that porn sites seem to be completely awash with content about (step-)relatives (step-mom/dad, step-brother/sister, step-son/daughter etc.) banging each other?

I mean, I get that taboo = exciting, but it seems a bit much at the moment (I was abbreviating this as "atm", but realized it could be read differently in a porn context ).

Theory:  The younger generation doesn't get out as much (even before Covid), and is fixating on people in their own homes.

Maybe, but research indicates that growing up closely with folks generally makes it less likely to be attracted to each other. Counter suggestion: maybe with more patchwork families, the scenario is just a lot more common?

[ulmont]

I can't say I've followed trends in the adult entertainment industry much in recent years, but why is is that porn sites seem to be completely awash with content about (step-)relatives (step-mom/dad, step-brother/sister, step-son/daughter etc.) banging each other?

I mean, I get that taboo = exciting, but it seems a bit much at the moment (I was abbreviating this as "atm", but realized it could be read differently in a porn context ).

I remember reading that the owner of PornHub is really into incest as his fetish, and PornHub has a sufficiently large hold on the industry that it's changed the content tremendously.

[The Larch]

I can't say I've followed trends in the adult entertainment industry much in recent years, but why is is that porn sites seem to be completely awash with content about (step-)relatives (step-mom/dad, step-brother/sister, step-son/daughter etc.) banging each other?

I mean, I get that taboo = exciting, but it seems a bit much at the moment (I was abbreviating this as "atm", but realized it could be read differently in a porn context ).

Theory:  The younger generation doesn't get out as much (even before Covid), and is fixating on people in their own homes.

Maybe, but research indicates that growing up closely with folks generally makes it less likely to be attracted to each other. Counter suggestion: maybe with more patchwork families, the scenario is just a lot more common?

I'd say it's a generational thing, the millenial/Gen Z forbidden fantasy.

[Razgovory]

I can't say I've followed trends in the adult entertainment industry much in recent years, but why is is that porn sites seem to be completely awash with content about (step-)relatives (step-mom/dad, step-brother/sister, step-son/daughter etc.) banging each other?

I mean, I get that taboo = exciting, but it seems a bit much at the moment (I was abbreviating this as "atm", but realized it could be read differently in a porn context ).

Theory:  The younger generation doesn't get out as much (even before Covid), and is fixating on people in their own homes.

Maybe, but research indicates that growing up closely with folks generally makes it less likely to be attracted to each other. Counter suggestion: maybe with more patchwork families, the scenario is just a lot more common?

Possibly.  I have a harder time explaining granny porn

[mongers]

Theory:  The younger generation doesn't get out as much (even before Covid), and is fixating on people in their own homes.

Maybe, but research indicates that growing up closely with folks generally makes it less likely to be attracted to each other. Counter suggestion: maybe with more patchwork families, the scenario is just a lot more common?

Possibly.  I have a harder time explaining granny porn

Raz, how did you find out about such a thing?