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| Joe Vitus |
 Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 5:19 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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No, I'm with Bart. Particularly in a case like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which isn't funny at all unless you think saying to yourself "these are lines right out of Austen, but with zombies stuck in" is ideal form of humor for you.
And kids aren't reading books. It's amazing that a generation could become more illiterate than the Boomers (who caused a massive drop in book consumption), but it's true. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 5:24 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Marc--You've long since established your cred as a hipster. Now why don't you consider the possibility that the existence of a film called Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter may be indicative of a lower attention span/lower knowledge of history/lower general intelligence level among the younger generation? It's worth discussing, not glibly dismissing the way you did.
Given the lack of interest in history among today's youth, the myth of Lincoln as a vampire killer may well wind up being accepted as fact by many, many young morons.
That said, it looks like it might be a fun movie. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 7:51 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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| When a friend was T.A.-ing in grad school, she read an exam where the student was asked for a "great American hero" and the student listed Joan of Arc. Now, probably the student meant this famous French woman was also a hero to many Americans. But still... |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 8:37 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
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Location: Black Hills
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Marc wrote: Lighten the fuck up.
I usually do, bro. But wait until you talk with your offspring(s) about a book or historical topic and they tell you, "Yeah, I read the wikipedia synopsis...pretty interesting stuff..." Don't get me wrong, kids are growing up just as smart, maybe smarter, and I'm open to the possibility that they can soak up the important information better than I ever could. And, most people of any generation, in this country, have shied away from reading literature unless coerced to do so by an English teacher or prof.
It's just the families (like mine) where you have two voracious readers and the kids aren't picking up that torch. But, hey, there are other intellectual journeys besides reading books, right? And the daughter may be on the verge of proving me wrong, as she plans to hit the novels this summer, including something by Nabokov. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 8:53 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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Nope, not smarter. Because despite the proliferation of sites, most of those sites repeat the same shallow analysis. I insist my students get two hardcover sources for their research papers. They groan, but the same regurgitated info about an author or work on Wikipedia, etc. can't match the in-depth examination of a book. Even a good, scholarly article has only so much space to devote to the subject.
Young people don't want to read. They want their info in quick, easily digestible bits, but complex issues and analyses can't be disseminated like that. And so they end up with a very cartoon-like grasp on history, art and politics. It's a big problem. |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 9:21 pm |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
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| Teenagers buying books is one of the bright spots in the publishing industry right now. Have any of you actually been to the Young Adults section at Barnes and Noble? It's the biggest section of the book store. And look at the bestseller lists - millions of Harry Potter, Hunger Games and Vampire books sold to kids. It may not be Jane Austen or Dickens, but I didn't read that boring shit when I was a teenager either. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 11:27 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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Actually, a great percentage of Young Adult books are bought by people in their 30's. And they aren't buying them for their children. Sad but true. Anyway, that's hardly the biggest section of Barnes and Noble, and you know it.
Besides, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter aren't Young Adult books, and that's not the audience for them, so I don't know what your point is.
Your "I ain't care nuthin' bout that fancy shit when I was a young-un" argument misses the point. It's not just Austen and Dickens they don't know or care about. It's Kesey, Kerouac, Burroughs, and Vonnegut. It's The Bell Jar and Catcher in the Rye they've don't have time for. If you can point to a current work that deals with the themes those books do, and that they are reading, please let me know. |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 11:50 pm |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
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Joe,
the Young Adults section at Barnes and Noble in Austin certainly looks like the biggest section.
It is probably true that kids today, unlike me at their age, are not reading The Beats. But they've found other ways to impress the chicks and get laid. |
Last edited by Marc on Fri May 11, 2012 11:59 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 11:58 pm |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 12:06 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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If they talk about any books, they sure ain't getting laid in this day and age.
Hope you're right about Dark Shadows, which looks horrible. |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 12:44 am |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
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Joe,
I love this Timothy Leary quote:
"Intelligence is the ultimate aphrodisiac." |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 1:35 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12921
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Joe Vitus wrote: If they talk about any books, they sure ain't getting laid in this day and age.
Hope you're right about Dark Shadows, which looks horrible.
And about 40 years too late. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 3:48 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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Marc wrote: Joe,
I love this Timothy Leary quote:
"Intelligence is the ultimate aphrodisiac."
I do, too. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 3:50 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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Syd wrote: Joe Vitus wrote: If they talk about any books, they sure ain't getting laid in this day and age.
Hope you're right about Dark Shadows, which looks horrible.
And about 40 years too late.
And bizarrely pushing a retro-70's vibe, though the show was really a 60's phenomenon (it went off the air in early 71). |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 4:44 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| I agree that Dark Shadows looks awful, but read most of the reviews and it looks like the critics have fallen for it. It was predicted to be huge at the box office. LOL. |
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