The Twilight craze and Katy Perry topping the charts proves

[midnightpulp]

that mainstream consumers are dumber than ever before.

Seriously, what has happened to good taste and intellectual curiosity? There was a time when a band like the Beatles could sell millions of records and a film like The Godfather could gross over a 100 million at the box office. In today's entertainment landscape the former would be a struggling indie band and the latter probably wouldn't even be greenlit for production. What we have today is Paris Hilton's relevancy and Lady Gaga comparing herself to David Bowie.

Now, I'm all for tuning out and escaping into the latest blockbuster or ty reality show, but I treat those guilty pleasures like a Double Down from KFC: something that should only be enjoyed in moderation. But moderation is word that today's 18-35 demographic has no understanding of. They crave constant escape and "entertainment" like the clinically obese crave saturated fats, the word "bored" scaring them in a similar fashion as the word "exercise" scares a 400 pounder.

This devolution is evident everywhere. From Kickass being ranked higher on IMDB's top 250 than Ikiru, The Hustler, and Wages of Fear, to Autotune, ringtone rap, and Ke$ha having a career, to Nigahiga having 2 million subscribers on Youtube.

Call me an elitist, I don't care, but I can't think of any other decade since television was invented that the movie going, tv watching, and music buying public has been so apathetic, merely content to consume whatever Madison Avenue tells them to. To be unaware of the "alternative" is inexcusable in today's world. With the Internet, you can expose yourself to anything with the touch of the button. I remember having to s out 40.00 for artsy-fartsy foreign movies. Now you can stream such movies instantly with Netflix.

What does it tell you when people have become more myopic and resistant to exploration when the access to information has expanded, literally, a million-fold in the last 15 years?

Tells me what I opened this rant with: "Mainsteam consumers are dumber than ever before."

Now my question to all of you is: Why?

[JoeChalupa]

that mainstream consumers are dumber than ever before.

Seriously, what has happened to good taste and intellectual curiosity? There was a time when a band like the Beatles could sell millions of records and a film like The Godfather could gross over a 100 million at the box office. In today's entertainment landscape the former would be a struggling indie band and the latter probably wouldn't even be greenlit for production. What we have today is Paris Hilton's relevancy and Lady Gaga comparing herself to David Bowie.

Now, I'm all for tuning out and escaping into the latest blockbuster or ty reality show, but I treat those guilty pleasures like a Double Down from KFC: something that should only be enjoyed in moderation. But moderation is word that today's 18-35 demographic has no understanding of. They crave constant escape and "entertainment" like the clinically obese crave saturated fats, the word "bored" scaring them in a similar fashion as the word "exercise" scares a 400 pounder.

This devolution is evident everywhere. From Kickass being ranked higher on IMDB's top 250 than Ikiru, The Hustler, and Wages of Fear to Autotune, ringtone rap, and Ke$ha having a career, to Nigahiga having 2 million subscribers on Youtube.

Call me an elitist, I don't care, but I can't think of any other decade since television was invented that the movie going, tv watching, and music buying public has been so apathetic, merely content to consume whatever Madison Avenue tells them to. To be unaware of the "alternative" is inexcusable in today's world. With the Internet, you can expose yourself to anything with the touch of the button. I remember having to s out 40.00 for artsy-fartsy foreign movies. Now you can stream such movies instantly with Netflix.

What does it tell you when people have become more myopic and resistant to exploration when the access to information has expanded, literally, a million-fold in the last 15 years?

Tells me what I opened this rant with: "Mainsteam consumers are dumber than ever before."

Now my question to all of you is: Why?

You and Trainwreck should form a support group. What I love about living in the great USA and having a mind of my own is that I am damn well free to enjoy what I enjoy, read what I want to read, watch what I want to watch, eat what I want to eat, see what I want to see and I don't have to give a damn what anyone else thinks and likes. For I am myself and don't have to be or like what someone thinks I should like. It is called personal FREEDOM. I am free to explore science, nature, literature, art, theatre, love, hate and to any depths I feel like it.
I watch TMC all the time, the discovery channel, history channel, natgeo to learn and expand my mind but I can also enjoy lame pathetic movies such as Avatar, who many flocked to see and it nothing more than just a movie with a plot that was as clear from the beginning to end. A glorified, computer animated story of Native people wanting to protect their land. Simpe and had been done many times before yet so many raved and went to see it in masses... but I didn't..why? Because I didn't buy into the mass media hype like so many others did. What does that say about all those that did? Am I an elitist?
Oh well, back to a game of backgammon.

[midnightpulp]

You and Trainwreck should form a support group. What I love about living in the great USA and having a mind of my own is that I am damn well free to enjoy what I enjoy, read what I want to read, watch what I want to watch, eat what I want to eat, see what I want to see and I don't have to give a damn what anyone else thinks and likes. For I am myself and don't have to be or like what someone thinks I should like. It is called personal FREEDOM. I am free to explore science, nature, literature, art, theatre, love, hate and to any depths I feel like it.
I watch TMC all the time, the discovery channel, history channel, natgeo to learn and expand my mind but I can also enjoy lame pathetic movies such as Avatar, who many flocked to see and it nothing more than just a movie with a plot that was as clear from the beginning to end. A glorified, computer animated story of Native people wanting to protect their land. Simpe and had been done many times before yet so many raved and went to see it in masses... but I didn't..why? Because I didn't buy into the mass media hype like so many others did. What does that say about all those that did? Am I an elitist?
Oh well, back to a game of backgammon.

Can't really tell if you're chastising me or agreeing with me.

My point is that today's primary consumer public only "enjoy lame pathetic movies and music." There's no yin of TCM, History Channel, good literature and music, to the ty yang of Twilight, Jersey Shore, and Katy Perry.

Nothing wrong with "low-brow" fare. Snake Eater with Lorenzo Llamas has a comfortable place in my movie collection, and I'm about to watch TNA wrestling here in a bit. Just seems all people want out of their entertainment these days is unchallenging garbage that takes not one brain cell to comprehend.

[koriwhat]

and there's actually fans of that ty movie the hangover and paranormal activity out there... surprise surprise!

[monosylab1k]

and there's actually fans of that ty movie the hangover and paranormal activity out there... surprise surprise!

everyone's a in' comedian these days... i mean carlos mencia and dane cook can get jobs in LA posing as comedians so why not everyone else especially here on ST? go get 'em!

[monosylab1k]

tbh dane cook probably has calf tats. never seen his legs but he's such a bag that he's gotta have them.

[JoeChalupa]

Can't really tell if you're chastising me or agreeing with me.

My point is that today's primary consumer public only "enjoy lame pathetic movies and music." There's no yin of TCM, History Channel, good literature and music, to the ty yang of Twilight, Jersey Shore, and Katy Perry.

Nothing wrong with "low-brow" fare. Snake Eater with Lorenzo Llamas has a comfortable place in my movie collection, and I'm about to watch TNA wrestling here in a bit. Just seems all people want out of their entertainment these days is unchallenging garbage that takes not one brain cell to comprehend.

Just venting. I'm with you on the Jersey Shore and Katy Perry craze.
In the words of Billy Joel, "I don't need no clever conversation...I never want to work that hard...mmmm..mmmmm..mmmmmm". I watch that Tom Cruise movie, and yeah everybody loves to bash his so called "gay" ass, Valkrie (sp) a few weeks ago and thought it was pretty damn good yet many hated it. I can understand some people's frustration and yeah I know much of today's youth doesn't read but "watches" the world around them. I loved it when my daughter came up to me and told me "To Kill A Mockingbird" is now one of her favorite books and then I gave her my totally worn out paperbook copy of "The Pearl" to read and she loved it.
I just go with what I like and pretty much forget the rest.

[redzero]

Kick-Ass was awesome.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

If the question is why the answer is:

Money.

[midnightpulp]

Kick-Ass was awesome.

I never said it wasn't, but that movie is not in the same universe as Ikiru or Wages of Fear.

That movie even having a place on the IMDB 250 demonstrates how in stupid mainstream movie goers are. Not to mention Shawshank Redemption being the "greatest film of all time" according to them.

[CuckingFunt]

Crap has always been popular. Always. It's just recently become harder to escape.

[ALWAYS bet on BLACK]

So the OP is just a , right?

doesnt like tv and doesnt like fat people.

in other news mel gibson doesnt like black men and apparently thinks his ex girl is subject to be ed by black guys.

also, kesha is sexy as .
katie perry is responsible for encouraging females to be bisexual
and the 610 in Houston is still not completely fixed.

[midnightpulp]

Crap has always been popular. Always. It's just recently become harder to escape.

True. But today's crap is far worse than yesterday's crap. Like I said in my op, there was once a time when the Godfather was the highest grossing film of all time. Today, that film would be lucky to gross 20 million.

And this is not nostalgia or some kind of latent generational bias speaking. A blockbuster from the 80s like Top Gun has the figurative pace of a Ingmar Bergman film when you compare it to one of today's blockbusters. Filmmakers seem to hit the panic button and cut away if a scene should last more than 10 seconds.

As for music, just compare the charts from 25 years ago to today. Like a Virgin was the big album of 1985 (you also had Prince, Tears for Fears, Dire Straits, etc on the list) and granted, you can draw a parallel between Madonna and Katy Perry, but if you were to listen to the two records back to back, you'd get out your eraser in a hurry and try to forget you ever made the comparison.

Yesterday was also a world without The Hills, Paris Hilton, and Youtube vloggers who have become celebrities in their own right.

[thispego]

I never said it wasn't, but that movie is not in the same universe as Ikiru or Wages of Fear.

That movie even having a place on the IMDB 250 demonstrates how in stupid mainstream movie goers are. Not to mention Shawshank Redemption being the "greatest film of all time" according to them.

Isn't it?

[midnightpulp]

Isn't it?

No.

[thispego]

Rofl. But how could you argue that it's not? I mean, it's pretty in good.

[midnightpulp]

Rofl. But how could you argue that it's not? I mean, it's pretty in good.

Personally, I find it too sentimental and melodramatic.

Good film, at times great, but not one of the 10 or 20 greatest films ever made. And no respected critic would place it that high.

I'm by no means saying it's Manos the Hands of Fate, I just don't think it deserves to be ranked ahead of Citizen Kane, The Godfather, Taxi Driver, Ras n, La Dolce Vita, etc, etc...

[CubanSucks]

Didn't know 10-15 yr old girls were supposed to be intellectual and sophisticated. But agree, movies and music today are...

[xellos88330]

The truly talented are basically getting good roles taken away by no names who have no skill, only a cheaper contract.

The more people that want entertainment, the more "entertainers" there will be. It is all about quan y right now since entertainment is so easily accessible. It used to be that if you wanted to be famous, you better be damn good because people will have to get up and leave their house to buy your movies/music etc. If you aren't you will definitely know it and will most likely never work in the industry again. Now all people have to do is click the mouse and the entertainers and their companies or whatever make their money even if they do not like the result. They already got you with advertising and having to buy machines, portable devices, and programs to even preview it. It is going to be like this for a long long long time.

[JoeChalupa]

Crap has always been popular. Always. It's just recently become harder to escape.

Hard to escape? I just don't listen or watch or read what I consider crap and it isn't that hard at all. If you don't like what Hollywood is putting out these days just don't go to the movies. You are free to pick and choose. Granted some of you all are much more critical and into movies and look at plots, character development, lighting, etc. where as many don't take it so deeply. Does that mean crap is more successful these days? Sure sounds like that to me.

Oh, I put Shawshank Redemption as one of my top movies but I like crap so that probably doesn't mean much.

[JoeChalupa]

And I don't condsider those, me included, who enjoy or don't mind watching a movie that is not critically acclaimed are stupid. I've been told to watch Hangover by many but I have no desire to watch that crap at all yet so many so called movie critics say it is great.

[JoeChalupa]

The truly talented are basically getting good roles taken away by no names who have no skill, only a cheaper contract.

The more people that want entertainment, the more "entertainers" there will be. It is all about quan y right now since entertainment is so easily accessible. It used to be that if you wanted to be famous, you better be damn good because people will have to get up and leave their house to buy your movies/music etc. If you aren't you will definitely know it and will most likely never work in the industry again. Now all people have to do is click the mouse and the entertainers and their companies or whatever make their money even if they do not like the result. They already got you with advertising and having to buy machines, portable devices, and programs to even preview it. It is going to be like this for a long long long time.

Isn't it the movie makers decision on who get the roles? If they want to lessen their movie by selecting lesser talent then the blame is on the maker and not the viewer. No?

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

Meh. Not any worse than last decade when anic was obliterating everything in its path and the Backstreet Boys were selling out arenas. , in 1990 Home Alone was the #1 earner at the Box Office and Vanilla Ice and the New Kids on the Block had hit songs. If I was willing to spend more time digging around Wikipedia I'm sure I could find equally egregious crimes against the arts in the 80's.

I'm with CF. The difference is that it's tougher to escape exposure to the crap and its surrounding hype these days and if you don't like it then it's also easier to find a laundry list of blogs, boards, etc. devoted to griping about how it's worse than ever as well. For as long as there has been crap there have been people saying it's the worst crap ever.

[JoeChalupa]

I liked anic and I find escape pretty easily.

[Stringer_Bell]

All Katy Perry proves is that people like listening to the same songs with different les.
All Twilight proves is that women have a pedophile fantasy (Edward is MUCH older than Bella).

Do I think it's always been this way? No, but it's been getting to this point for a decade or two.