MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > I've finally experienced the generation ...

I've finally experienced the generation gap when it comes to movies.


I use to have older people tell me about certain movies and stars that I just had no connection with or desire to see, and they were surprised and told me to check them out.

Now, I was telling a coworker about Wesley Snipes...he had no idea who that was and I mentioned Demolition Man, Passenger 57, Blade, and he had NO IDEA what any of that was. I was growing up on Wesley Snipes, and here this guy had zero connection or desire to see any of it.

I am close to twice that coworkers age. I pity him, that he only knows reboots and poor films. He grew up on garbage essentially. Is this how older people thought of me? Surely good films came out late eighties and throughout the nineties?

reply

I was born in the 80s, but hate the last 40 years of movies with a very few exceptions. Even know I never lived in the 30s or the 70s, I have more of a connection with it.

If you named the popular folks now, I won't know them.... Same with music.

reply

A few weeks ago I was talking with some people at work and discussing near this same subject, and how it was curious that even 10, a dozen years can be a big gap.

While Matthew Mcconaughey, Ben Afleck, and Christian Slater were "big" in the late 90s and 2000s, I remember identify them as they were early in their careers.

In turn, Matthew Mcconaughey is always "Wooderson" from 'Dazed and Confused', Ben Afleck is "O'Banion" from the same movie, and Christian Slater is "Jason Dean" from 'Heathers'.

reply

Mcconaughey was great in MUD. I feels like a modern day Mark Twain story.

I always think of Ben Affleck for Mallrats, Dogma, Pearl Harbor, and Paycheck

Slater, same for me in Heathers, but also think of him for Interview with a Vampire even though he's not in much screen time on it.

reply

Problem for me with Ben Afleck in Mallrats, Dogma, and Pearl Harbor was that by then he was already too much of a hollywood pretty-boy.

In 'Dazed and Confused' he was a semi-dirtbag long haired HS jock with a sadistic disposition.

reply

I avoided watching Paycheck for years because of that exact description you wrote and because of the "Bennifer" media barrage of his life and who he dated. It got annoying to even see the guy. But Paycheck ended up being a decent movie.

I sometimes forget he's even in Dazed and Confused. But he sure was a jerk in that movie.

reply

That gets me curious; I want to find and view Paycheck.

reply

I grew up watching movies from the 1930s and 1940s because that's what was shown on broadcast TV. I never considered them too old to watch and I thought it was great to see what things were like before I was born. Then, I would ask my older relatives a zillion questions about the time period.

I don't get younger people who have no interest in older films, TV series and music. They're missing out.

reply

Not all younger people will have the same preferences though.
Some will have an interest in older movies.

reply

Of course. But, they appear to be outliers.

"Old" appears to be the 80s for them which isn't really that old.

reply

I grew up on old films too. Old westerns, war films, film noir etc. I liked the way the world looked before I was born.

reply

And they told interesting stories.

reply

With a lot of subtext and without needing to overtly show or say what is happening. Something that is totally lost now.

reply

My moment was when the 21-year-old college student/part time grocery store cashier I occasionally chat with didn't know who The Beverly Hillbillies were.

reply

https://youtu.be/0WPzFnZkZmI

reply

Ha, I wasn't aware of that one

reply

I am in my 30s and had a young teenage coworker tell me she didn't know who Arnold Schwarzenegger was. I myself watched older black and white movies from the 30s and 40s when I was a kid. My oldest niece and nephew are 12 and 13 and they refuse to watch some of my favorite movies.

reply

Conan The Destroyer on Bluray, STAT!

He is the greatest action star of all time, the pinnacle of the muscle bound hero! But to this new generation he is an old guy that talked about gerrymandering and told us we all have to get vaccinated, the end.... ; (

reply

I know of him but not a fan. Tax cheat.

reply

On the surface, one may chalk it up to generational differences but I think it's more profound than that. We have a whole generation of people ruined by social media and cell phones. Not only that, they've been indoctrinated to disregard anything t hat may be viewed as "old" or traditional. A generation of ignorant, closed minded people who 'think' they're enlightened. When really the opposite is true.

reply

I agree on a lot of what you wrote. Social Media has hurt more than it has helped. I remember a time when I was not fully absorbed by screens, now its all I engage in. I have had to actively turn off technological devices and seek entertainment and company elsewhere.

reply

I agree young people now think that anything that came before them was wrong and harmful in some way. They are actually living in a rather closed minded and ignorant mentality but think they are advanced.

reply

Exactly! They think they are enlightened but they're really significantly dumber than their forebears. They're closed minded, very ignorant, unable to think critically, highly susceptible to peer pressure and desperate to conform.

reply

Back in the day and by that I mean before I was even born people would use string net style shopping bags which were reusuable. Fruit and veg weren't placed in plastic bags at the store. Milk bottles were glass and reused. There wasn't any wastage when it came to food as WW2 had just ended and everyone was very used to being on rations.

Although people didn't spend most of their young lives in school they left at age 12 or so and knew how to do mathematics that you get taught in college now.

And speaking of College/University it was a place for debate and new ideas. Not one where you have to conform or find yourself getting cancelled.

reply

"in school they left at age 12 or so and knew how to do mathematics that you get taught in college now"

I don't think that has been the case in USA since 1920's.

reply

I'm starting to feel a generation gap within myself. Things I liked way back now bore me or I see as silly.

reply

I was (and may still) reply to your message and share a video about John Ritter and how "the wholesomeness of him is why he was such a good and creepy antagonist when he appeared on Buffy". But your post here reminded me, I used to love Buffy but as the years grew on I had less interest to go back and rewatch the series. I havent been in highschool for over 17 years, adolescence is over. No need to revisit it.

I used to enjoy the movie Mallrats, but my last viewing I just wasnt as interested. Also too, you can begin enjoying things that you used to not like.

reply

Yep. I have far more patience for watching classic movies (1940's) now than I ever did before. I'm much older now and when I was young those movies bored me.

I do have very wide interests in movies. All genres. Musicals the least, though.

reply

I love older movies, the style, the black and white film giving the sense of peering into another film. The writing also tends to be better and the characters are all adults, in modern films the characters tend to be overgrown teenagers regardless of their age.

reply

I rewatched Buffy a few times either in part of the whole series since it ended and until a few years ago I still thought it hadn't aged. Then of course, I started feeling like it was "old" in the sense that I could see the bad acting, the bad scripts and dialogue etc. It was still fun but it wasn't what it used to be for me.

Kevin Smith films tend to be the same, they were made for a certain demographic at the time they were made and they don't translate well to an older audience (even if they were the original audience) or to current tastes. I loved Chasing Amy originally but on subsequent viewings it seems to me that the main characters are deeply flawed and stupid, that said I think it is a statement on people trying to be too cool or open minded when it comes to relationships and sex and the fallout it creates. But I doubt that is what Kevin Smith was going for.

reply

Im not exactly sure what he was going for either. Chasing Amy annoyed me as a movie, because around the time my best friend wanted me to watch it, I had cousins trying their absolute mess of their best to get these two different lesbian girls to go out with them. It was embarrassing and they basically foamed at the mouth trying to get that lesbian couple to like them and date them for YEARS. It was pathetic. And then I watch a movie about a dude who falls in love with a lesbian I mean come on lol!

Buffy was my favorite how in highschool, perfect time to watch it. And I enjoyed a rewatch of the series back in 2011. But nowadays just dont have it in me. I'll watch an episode if it was on at a friends house at the least. Angel is a show I still rewatch though

reply

Chasing Amy in 1997 when it was made kind of makes some sense, Alyssa is basically what would now be considered "Pansexual" she is attracted to the person rather than the gender. Ok I get that, Holden though sees things in a Straight or Gay manner. He doesn't get that Alyssa can like both depending on the person themselves.

But the real breaking point is when he finds out that Alyssa had a threesome with two men, from memory she also wasn't very honest about him being her first guy either so she doesn't help herself. Holden becomes very confused and comes up with the ridiculous idea (even for 1997) that she has to have a threesome with him and his best friend to even the score!

Basically like the cousins you mention, Holden is too stupid to realize that Alyssa is just not for him. But he doesn't know when to quit and loses her completely when he could have just kept on banging her, not that your cousin's got that far.

Angel was better than Buffy in a lot of ways it was more mature, until Connor comes along anyway.

reply

Connor became so cool in season 5. Thats the Connor that could have worked so well. If we could have gotten two more season of Angel, we may have gotten to enjoy Connor more as a character.

Angel was more of an Adult show than Buffy as it focused on Adults from episode one. Still a good watch : )

I assumed she was bisexual, but when you are dating another girl its easier to just go by "being a lesbian" so you fit in more with that crowd. She could have lied to Holden because she didnt want to date him at first and remember she screamed at him that "Im a lesbian"! Maybe she thought she liked girls more than guys and finally made a decision. She began toying with the idea of Holden and boom she isnt as much a lesbian as she thought.

reply

Connor was like Dawn who was also very annoying upon arrival they both settled down over time. I wouldn't have minded two more seasons of Angel I think there was a lot left to still explore. Buffy on the other hand was rushed yet long over at the same time.

For a woman "Lesbian" is definitely easier if she wants to put off a guy she doesn't like. Now I want to watch that film again as I don't recall what changes her mind about wanting to date him. That said I kind of remember that for her it is more sex and for him it is a romance. They both had very different ideas about why they were together.

reply

I cannot remember what made her change her mind either. Bizarre thing is, she actually liked Holden very much as they were becoming fast friends. Yet she had a past of sexual encounters with men. Was it she screamed "Im a lesbian"! Because she didnt want to cheat on her girlfriend at the time? I men if Holden found out from her that she had been with men before, he surely wouldnt have let that go and wouldve hounded her frothing at the mouth for a relationship of some kind.

Its just this mess of a movie and trying to force love when its not there. Maybe thats the message Smith was conveying? Holden did finally get the relationship, yet he found out she lied to him and he couldnt let it go. He either needed to keep his mouth shut (which he couldnt) or he needed to approach it a different way instead of this passive aggressive probing until she up and snapped on his ass. Also Holdens friend is to blame as well as he told Holden that info and was trying to keep them apart from the start. It was this bizarre love triangle of Holden loving a women who gave up on men, his best friend being closeted gay and loving his straight male friend, and a bisexual woman who began a relationship on lies.

What was Smith trying to say?

reply

After Holden she goes back to being with a woman as well. So is her preference for women or does she just go with the flow? She did tell Holden that she loved him.

I think age is a big factor here with the characters, they are all young and in 1997 the issues they are dealing with are pretty big. Perhaps it would all be seen as silly by today standards.

Was Holden upset that she lied about him being her first man or was he upset that she had encounters involving multiple men at a time and had the reputation for being a slut complete with "finger cuffs" nickname? Was it a bit of both?

Holden is too immature in the end to deal with her Bisexuality and previous encounters. Meanwhile Banky has the hots for Holden which adds fuel to the fire as he has his own motivations.

Still no idea what Kevin Smith was trying to say but I have read it is based on real events with a friend he had who had a crush on a lesbian. So maybe it is just a story?

reply

I think bisexual women like her, prefer the sex with men yet want the emotional relationship with women. I've known a lesbian, in an old circle of friends, that dated women the longest yet every breakup she would go out and sleep with several men to eventually go back to dating a woman again for years. That was my take on that situation.

Smith had that big speech and as my bestfriend told me ahead of time "stole the whole movie" so maybe the speech is the key to what he was trying to say? https://youtu.be/FlYZnd7dEPw

Dont let insecurity ruin your relationship, but if that does happen dont "Chase Amy" afterward. Move on. Thats my take on his speech

Thing is, I disagree with the some of what he tells Holden "shes your Amy, she was the right one for you and you blew it" (paraphrased some). I dont think they were perfect together. Holden can find another girlfriend given time, one without all the baggage who wants just a straight man.

In the real world people get so hung up on a failed relationship or missed chance. I think its over for a reason, move on!

reply

I'll be watching Chasing Amy soon based on our discussions! lol

Sex with men would be simple as would relationships with men. I have known bi sexual women who complain more about dating women than they do about dating men. It is also the same kind of thing how emotional it all is and how women have an entitlement syndrome.

I read that Smith dated Joey Lauren Adams and split up with her because of her sexuality, so I wonder if his speech is based on something she really did?

Holden is definitely insecure but he also strikes me as someone who is middle class, a comic book nerd kind of old fashioned. Nothing wrong with that but it would be difficult for him to handle the idea of his girlfriend having had sex with two men at once. So I do get that to an extent, especially as this was 1997 and the world was very different to now where a woman can not only have sex with two dudes at once but she will film it and put it on the internet so other guys can pay to see it!

It just wasn't like that in '97.

So I disagree that Alyssa was the one for Holden. I don't think they were compatible. I can't see Alyssa becoming a mother and going to school functions and hosting birthday parties for a two year old etc.

Alyssa will go onto a string of short lived relationships and Holden will find a woman who will marry him and they will have kids etc. He still might fantasize about Alyssa but it will be a sex thing.

reply

Were women as entitled back in 1997 as they are now though? It may have been easier for Alyssa at that time. I can understand your friends thoughts on the dating differences. The lesbian (bisexual really) girl I knew seemed to enjoy the sex with men but never dated one for more than a few months. Yet she would date chicks for years. I can only speculate that they offer something more emotional than they guys provided. The simplicity of just dating a man as a woman is probably why many bisexual women end up married and with kids. the roles are defined, the sex is natural (no extra equipment required) you can actually create children together. (thats a big part im sure). But whatever they choose, at some point they do have to make some kind of choice.

I completely agree. There was some wisdom and advice in silent bobs speech, but when he said that Alyssa was "your Amy" I was like no she isnt xD Alyssa was not the one for Holden. I actually like when jay added at the very end that "theres plenty of women out there" his advice was actually better for Holden. Silent Bobs wisdom on the matter helped Holden recognize what he did wrong and perhaps not judge people so harshly. Jays advice was a vulgar "dude just move on, you will find a better woman".

Holden was pining and feeling down and in his mind he was still "Chasing Amy" so Silent Bob was correct, but at his speeches end he should've added "Dont Chase Amy (Move On)" but I think Smith wanted we the audience to figure out that last part. So it still works. Holden can been seen as a bit of a prick, but simultaneously Alyssa played wild most of her life and maybe was ready to settle down now. Holden just didnt want someone with baggage like that.

People put so much on past relationships, pining for what was lost they forget the negative that drove them apart in the first place.

I hope you enjoy the film! If you glean anymore insight you're welcome to come back. Or I'll just look on the Chasing Amy board sometime : )

reply

So I just watched Chasing Amy again for the first time in years. An interesting point is Alyssa is the one who pursues Holden in my opinion. What I never noted before was after they spend the night at the lesbian bar, Alyssa shows up at Holden's place and they start hanging out. I am not sure how many times they hang out or how long that goes on for but she makes it obvious at times that she likes him.

He eventually breaks and declares his love for her which is what leads to her yelling at him and how she is a lesbian but then kisses him and so that is how they get together.

I had more sympathy for Alyssa this time around actually. She did some silly/crazy things but none of them were while she was involved with Holden or even when she knew him. It was also unfair of Holden to bring it all up at the hockey game.

At the end, you can still see a lot of affection that she has for him in her eyes but he still walks away.

Perhaps the story isn't quite over yet.

reply

Thats interesting, maybe she finally had to admit to herself she saw something more than friendship with Holden even from the beginning.

He was judging her very harshly from her past. People can change. Banky really should have kept his mouth shut. He knew it would cause some kind of strain, thats not your friend.

Maybe they could have worked out after all, if he never knew her past? Either way, he still can find someone new that he can bond with better. if knowing that bit of her past wouldve broke the relationship then maybe it still wasnt meant to be?

I doubt smith will create a sequel for Chasing Amy. He did do Clerks 3, but I heard the storyline and was disappointed how theres no happy ending. I think the ending of Clerks 2 was perfect.

reply