Facebook Follies of Friends and Families

[DGuller]

Simpsons references are inevitably a bust.

I know it's been said before, but this time it's true:  the young generation of today is the worst.

[Oexmelin]

I guess the equivalent to the Terminator would be movies like Dracula or Frankenstein from that era right? I think I would easily get a reference to those films (the films, not the books) even if I have never seen them.

But Frankenstein and Dracula are pieces of 19th century fiction. Their impact has had the time to reach well beyond the Hammer films. I think a closer analogy would be Western movies, a genre that was well past its prime when we were 20-something. Or some piece of trivia from the Blob: I know the existence of that movie, but I would be hard-pressed to say a single meaningful thing about it beyond a vague sense of the plot. Also, we gain these references as we age. I couldn't reference a single thing from, say, the Twilight Zone, back when I was 20. Add another 20 years of consuming media, tv and print, and I know the plot of many episodes, despite not having fully seen a single one. (Thank you, the Scary Door). 

[Oexmelin]

I know it's been said before, but this time it's true:  the young generation of today is the worst.

It's the children who are wrong.

[Valmy]

If I, who grew up during the Terminator craze, have not felt the slightest desire to see these movies, I should not expect if from younger people who even lack the pretext of nostalgia.

As an aside, I have resolved not to change my deadpan jokes when I teach, and try to discern what references my students are able to pick up. Simpsons references are inevitably a bust. So are most action hero movie references (all those one-liners...). Still, I surprisingly got a reaction out of references from Back to the Future, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Bill & Ted (!?). There are also *still* 20-something fans of Monty Python. 

Well I have never seen any of the Terminator movies either but I would easily catch a reference. Because I live in this culture. Skynet? I mean is that really something so obscure you actually have to have seen the movies to get it? And, as Eddie said, those movies are still being made so kids who enjoy seeing movies would at least know about the series.

But how young can this person be who cares about unit wage costs anyway? Is that what the kids care about today?

[Oexmelin]

See my point above about aging...

It's also somewhat unsurprising that a forum made-up, by and large, of avowed nerds, would pick up references to sci-fi, or fantasy. Imagine instead a subfield of pop culture of 60-80 years ago, and for which you have no, or little interest.

[Valmy]

See my point above about aging...

Yeah fair enough. You pick up stuff.

On the other hand kids today get blasted with media and media references in ways that I never did. Movies are a good example, I just have no interest in movies generally. I very rarely see them. But after the internet has come about damn do I not know a shitload about movies despite the fact I very rarely watch them. So I don't know. They are very meme savvy and all that culture is is about referencing pop culture. Or at least they were when I graduated from college in 2014. I mean that year that stupid 'Too many cooks' video went viral and EVERYBODY was making jokes about it and what was that than a joke about TV tropes from decades before?

It's also somewhat unsurprising that a forum made-up, by and large, of avowed nerds, would pick up references to sci-fi, or fantasy. Imagine instead a subfield of pop culture of 60-80 years ago, and for which you have no, or little interest.

I do have very little interest in Sci Fi, but thanks to you nerds and my wife I now know lots about it.

However we are talking about a major blockbuster film series, one that is ongoing as I see another film is coming out next year, not some obscure subfield of pop culture from the distant recesses of time. I rather suspect this woman is just a colossal nerd herself and completely into her obsessions, and probably in her early to mid 30s and so just a few years younger than me anyway, and just has no time for mainstream junk.

[Tamas]

Well I have never seen any of the Terminator movies either

WTF

[dps]

But Frankenstein and Dracula are pieces of 19th century fiction. Their impact has had the time to reach well beyond the Hammer films.

I think that the popular image of Frankenstein and Dracula, at least in the US, still owes more to the Universal films of the 30s and 40s than to the Hammer films.  At a guess, about all most Americans know about the Hammer films is that a lot of them starred Christopher Lee, and often co-stared Peter Cushing.

[derspiess]

She doesn't know what Skynet is. So disappointed in that generation.

How familiar are you with popular movies of the 40s?

Ask me that question

[Grey Fox]

If I, who grew up during the Terminator craze, have not felt the slightest desire to see these movies, I should not expect if from younger people who even lack the pretext of nostalgia.

As an aside, I have resolved not to change my deadpan jokes when I teach, and try to discern what references my students are able to pick up. Simpsons references are inevitably a bust. So are most action hero movie references (all those one-liners...). Still, I surprisingly got a reaction out of references from Back to the Future, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Bill & Ted (!?). There are also *still* 20-something fans of Monty Python. 

Well I have never seen any of the Terminator movies either but I would easily catch a reference. Because I live in this culture. Skynet? I mean is that really something so obscure you actually have to have seen the movies to get it? And, as Eddie said, those movies are still being made so kids who enjoy seeing movies would at least know about the series.

But how young can this person be who cares about unit wage costs anyway? Is that what the kids care about today?

My 14 year old nephew barely fanthoms how I went to school without an ipad. I don't expect him to know about 80s movies.

[Eddie Teach]

No, but he should know some by the time he finishes college.

[Grey Fox]

Maybe but it won't be 100% penetration in the entire generation. I don't watch Horror movies, I wouldn't get any of those references, no matter the time period.

[derspiess]

My 10 year old son yells Terminator quotes to his friends when playing Fortnite.  He hasn't seen any of the movies, but apparently there is some Schwarzenegger meme that he and his buddies laugh about.

[Valmy]

Well I have never seen any of the Terminator movies either

WTF

I was a small child when the first one came out and...well...the others just never interested me.

[Valmy]

My 14 year old nephew barely fanthoms how I went to school without an ipad. I don't expect him to know about 80s movies.

Oh? What does he use the iPad for?