this post was submitted on 16 Sep 2024
469 points (98.0% liked)

196

16238 readers
1727 users here now

Be sure to follow the rule before you head out.

Rule: You must post before you leave.

^other^ ^rules^

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone 58 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Gen X here. The great slasher era of cinema started when I was a teen, and was morally inspired by Silent-generation commentary on the boomers and us. It was supposed to warn us If you indulge in sex and drugs and rock-&-roll (Satan approved!) and you'll come to a bad end.

So Friday the 13th (1980 with Kevin Bacon) was the same as Reefer Madness except for general debauchery and bacchanalia rather than just for cannabis. And mostly the silents were pissed that they didn't get to party while young with sex and drugs, and instead drowned their sorrows with hard liquor and cigars.

Curiously, the slasher format came not from classic horror but mystery. The Ur-slasher was And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, regarded as one of her greatest stories, from an author that was prolific like Stephen King.

As per many of Christie's novels, ATTWN was an experiment in defying the (alleged) rules of mystery writing (e.g. the detective must be beyond reproach ) and still being a valid whodunit. She's had the story told by the killer before, and this time the narrative followed one of the victims.

Crystal Lake was a closed circle much like Soldier Island, and the neighborhood of Elm Street was made inescapable because everyone sleeps.

Remember also that Jason Voorhees was actually dead, and the slasher was doing the (double-plus grisly) murders for vengeance of camp councilors for their negligence, while they got high and got freaky. So technically it wasn't about the sex, it was about being AWOL when duty called. (Says the latch-key kid with major depression.)

Also, pre-internet, boobs on screen was one of the few times grown ~~men~~ people who like looking at boobs got to see some that were not their spouse's / exclusive partner's (or just their own), and people having sex on screen was an excuse for flying free. Truthfully, until the Skinemax era of late-night cable soft porn, the love scene and the nude scene were commonly different scenes. By the aughts, the obligatory horror titties became only optional and by the age of the internet they almost faded out entirely ...until the age of subscription television series like Game of Thrones and Sopranos and nudity came back swingin'

But this cartoon points to a curious reality in the United States: The birth-rate is imploding. Given in 2022, one of the justifications for the Dobbs decision was white babies as a commodity (seriously), they were expecting the new generations to keep churning out new generations of school kids to be indoctrinated into the next working / fighting force. But it's not happening. Young men and women are just less interested in that old time romance. This is what has J. D. Vance (and his shadowy billionaire masters) freaked out about childless cat ladies.

It's no wonder, really. 80%+ of the households live in precarity. Employers are skipping the OSHA rules and Millennials and Zoomers are being worked like old-time miners on the truck system ( another day older and deeper in debt... ). Upward mobility is a joke. Wages aren't enough to sustain one adult, let alone a family. The dream of a homestead? Gone. We can't even afford a car. Everyone knows they're going to work and be miserable until they drop dead from exhaustion, where's the point in having kids? Tommy and Gina, are living on a prayer and on accumulated debt until their limit drives them out of their rental.

Gen-Z doesn't have time for Crystal Lake, and are glad for a weekend sleeping in. If it's a holiday, they expect the boss will call them in and then forget to pay them holiday time. The horror zoomers have to face is not slashers in the dark, but the society gone dystopian, making it literally impossible to make ends meet, while tracking you like Big Brother from all the telescreens. Your horror isn't Jason, but Ingsoc.

And that's before global agriculture collapses from water shortage, which is expected to happen when you're middle-aged (in your forties and fifties), at which point your life becomes a Roland Emmerich film. Or Slaughterhouse Five.

[–] booly@sh.itjust.works 13 points 2 days ago

I love the way you weave in the cultural context, including the culture war parts of modern political and policy debates, the business/corporate trends in entertainment, in your telling of this history. It's clear you know your stuff, and you've helped me understand something new (the influences these slasher films drew from, from Agatha Christie), grounded in stuff I might have already known (the actual movies themselves and the cultural context they were released into, including how people looked at boobs before the internet).

So thank you. This comment is awesome, and you make this place better.

[–] thesporkeffect@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago

Y'all write good.

[–] stratoscaster@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

Please write a book bro, this some gourmet shit.

[–] myrrh@ttrpg.network 3 points 2 days ago

...beauty, that...

[–] match@pawb.social 12 points 2 days ago (1 children)

gen z grew up under the constant possibility of school shootings, a slasher is tame by comparison

[–] Daxtron2@startrek.website 2 points 1 day ago

I and several people I know use scary stories to sleep 👍

[–] RobertoOberto@sh.itjust.works 81 points 3 days ago (5 children)

I guess it was inevitable that my fellow millennials would carry on the age-old tradition of shitting on the younger generation's new slang, styles, and behaviors. I don't know why I thought we might break the cycle.

[–] ZombieMantis@lemmy.world 69 points 3 days ago

True, but this example feels a lot less malicious than other "young generation" humor. It's mostly just poking fun at the stark contrast between the youth culture of now vs. the 1980's, rather than just denigrating the modern youth.

[–] CuriousRefugee@lemmy.ml 40 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I've found that as an Older Millennial, I actually relate to Gen Z quite a bit and get along with them well. It's Gen Alpha that I never have any idea what the hell they're talking about.

L8er sk8ers!

[–] SkyeStarfall@lemmy.blahaj.zone 21 points 2 days ago

Gen alpha are also like... Literal children

So you know, not surprising

[–] MuffinHeeler@aussie.zone 14 points 2 days ago (1 children)

My 4 year old is gen alpha. So I'm kind of glad adults on the internet don't relate to that generation yet

[–] ebc@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago

Gen Alpha's main influence for slang is Cocomelon.

[–] PugJesus@lemmy.world 25 points 3 days ago (4 children)

Skibidi is the only one I hate, personally.

[–] MBM@lemmings.world 36 points 3 days ago

That's gen alpha you boomer :P

[–] BottleOfAlkahest@lemmy.world 14 points 3 days ago (4 children)

Most of Gen Zs slang makes sense and you can easily figure it out from context. It even sounds better than older slang in conversation. Skibidi is an exception. W.T.F is that supposed to mean? Is it a verb? An adjective? Both? It sounds dumb and seems to mean nothing...

[–] JustAnotherKay@lemmy.world 22 points 3 days ago

Skibidi is mostly a gen alpha thing, not so much gen z

[–] match@pawb.social 10 points 3 days ago

the thing it means is "nonsense (derogatory)". does that help

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 52 points 3 days ago (2 children)

So, I had to Google "fit check"

[–] ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 30 points 3 days ago (3 children)
[–] Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zone 52 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I think it means "to request another to assess your appearance"

[–] samus12345@lemmy.world 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)

What you're wearing specifically, from what I can find.

[–] fallingcats@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 2 days ago

The (out)fit, yes. It's just an abbreviation.

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 40 points 3 days ago

That I'm old.

[–] nailingjello@lemmy.zip 25 points 3 days ago

Short for outfit check. e.g. What do you think of my outfit?

[–] Caboose12000@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

outfit check

Gen Z definitely drinks a lot, at least in my personal experience, but studies agrees with the comic, so I guess it would depend on the country/age group

[–] hperrin@lemmy.world 26 points 3 days ago (2 children)

The teenagers aren’t having enough sex?

This is a new one.

[–] djsoren19@yiffit.net 57 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The kids are not alright. They're starting to trade sex, drugs and rock and roll for anxiety, depression and crushing expectations.

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 10 points 2 days ago

Kids, that is just not the way! You're supposed to have sex, do drugs, and listen to rock-'n'-roll to avoid anxiety, depression and crushing expectations! Kids! You stupid motherfuckers!

[–] PugJesus@lemmy.world 22 points 3 days ago (1 children)

They're smarter than we were at their age.

[–] hperrin@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago

Or maybe just better at sneaking around.

[–] inb4_FoundTheVegan@lemmy.world 13 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (5 children)

Millenal here, but yeah there are too many wildly unnecessary sex scenes in a lot of mediaLike, if it's an earned thing as part of a romance movie? Sure. But if there are bouncing titties I the first 30 minutes I'm just annoyed and uncomfortable. Looking at you HBO, a conversation between two charcters isn't helped by them banging while talking.

Plz stahp.

But, I'm also ace too.... so maybe I'm biased 😂

[–] BruceTwarzen@lemm.ee 2 points 1 day ago

When i grew up, i liked sex scenes in movies, because where else would you see it? There was no interet. Now i really don't like sex scenes because they are pretty much always stupid and pointless, and i see more a creepy ass director jerking himself off. I started to see the same thing with feet and it just feels creepy. I don't really like feet to begin with, but ever since i realised that a lot of people have a foot fetish, i'm starting to see it in movies, where there is no reason for people to be barefoot. Like in the earlier marvel movie where women just randomly walked around barefoot for absolutely no reason.

Nudity is kind of the same and i find it mindblowing that it still works. I still hear dudes say that they like ..... Movie because ..... Shows her boobs. I find it even grosser, ever since i learned that nude scenes are usually shot first, so the actor is less likely to back out or they have leverage.

[–] MBM@lemmings.world 2 points 1 day ago

I appreciate unsexy sex scenes

[–] yuri@pawb.social 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)

even when it’s earned, very rarely do i have to see exactly how someone does a fuck to understand the plot. like what am i supposed to feel, horny? because i certainly don’t get teary eyed and sentimental over what is essentially softcore porn lmao

[–] inb4_FoundTheVegan@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Exactly!!! Porn exists and is easily accessible to anyone that looks. I watch TV and movies for story and charcters, not softcore. It's just tacky and uncomfortable to make it part of an otherwise serious drama. Yes humans have sex and that's nothing to be ashamed of nor hidden, but we don't need tits and titillation to show these two characters are intimate.

[–] PugJesus@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago

Not ace, am millennial, I also think there are too many sex scenes in movies. The kids are right.

[–] SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 3 points 2 days ago

I'm fine with some titties, but sex scenes are just uncomfortable. Am also part of the asexual umbrella tho

[–] quinkin@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago

They don't even drink chat.

[–] taiyang@lemmy.world 29 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] trainden@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 3 days ago

Skibidi cap no rizz frfr ong

[–] RubberElectrons@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

I met Luke a while ago, pretty cool dude. He's got a weird little band with his twin brother!

Sometimes I miss LA..

[–] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 21 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Tale as old as time. The new generations always have new slang and new cultural norms. All of us confused our elders.

I remember when things like “dude” was a new trend in the late 70’s / early 80’s. My parents and grandparents used to say we sounded like cowboys.

[–] floridaman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 3 days ago

jokes on you i do plenty of sex and drugs !!

really a boomer comic tho

[–] Ibaudia@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago

If you relate to this then you're old

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 2 points 2 days ago

It Follows came out in 2014, but that's more millennial than Gen z I suppose. I guess elder zoomer.

load more comments
view more: next ›