Comments on: The Death of Fun http://www.justinkownacki.com/2009/10/27/the-death-of-fun/ Armchair Sociologist & Perpetual Contrarian Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:23:54 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Justin Kownacki - The Popularity Paradox: Why Do We Hate Pop Culture? http://www.justinkownacki.com/2009/10/27/the-death-of-fun/comment-page-1/#comment-3089 Justin Kownacki - The Popularity Paradox: Why Do We Hate Pop Culture? Mon, 21 Jun 2010 05:06:07 +0000 http://www.justinkownacki.com/?p=759#comment-3089 [...] I’ve mentioned before, the ’80s were the last time pop culture was allowed to be happy without angering the intellectuals.  In the ’90s, grunge made joy obsolete.  In the [...] [...] I’ve mentioned before, the ’80s were the last time pop culture was allowed to be happy without angering the intellectuals.  In the ’90s, grunge made joy obsolete.  In the [...]

]]> By: Justin Kownacki - Since When Is It Hip to Be Sad? http://www.justinkownacki.com/2009/10/27/the-death-of-fun/comment-page-1/#comment-2106 Justin Kownacki - Since When Is It Hip to Be Sad? Tue, 02 Feb 2010 04:05:25 +0000 http://www.justinkownacki.com/?p=759#comment-2106 [...] mean, I know we’re still swimming in a post-grunge culture.  I know “fun” died with the ’80s, and that I shouldn’t be surprised when depression becomes a national pastime.  But maybe [...] [...] mean, I know we’re still swimming in a post-grunge culture.  I know “fun” died with the ’80s, and that I shouldn’t be surprised when depression becomes a national pastime.  But maybe [...]

]]> By: links for 2009-10-29 « Lasting Impression http://www.justinkownacki.com/2009/10/27/the-death-of-fun/comment-page-1/#comment-798 links for 2009-10-29 « Lasting Impression Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:40:51 +0000 http://www.justinkownacki.com/?p=759#comment-798 [...] The Death of Fun Suddenly, the garish burlesque of hair metal was rendered immediately irrelevant by grunge, and pop culture never looked back. The rarefied ’80s tendency by some artists to take cultural icons more seriously — Watchmen, The Dark Knight, Batman: Year One — was just the preamble to a new generation of brooding, tortured anti-heroes incapable of enjoying life — and, by extension, making the enjoyment of life seem childish. (tags: culture tv movies entertainment depravity 80s children innocence fun) [...] [...] The Death of Fun Suddenly, the garish burlesque of hair metal was rendered immediately irrelevant by grunge, and pop culture never looked back. The rarefied ’80s tendency by some artists to take cultural icons more seriously — Watchmen, The Dark Knight, Batman: Year One — was just the preamble to a new generation of brooding, tortured anti-heroes incapable of enjoying life — and, by extension, making the enjoyment of life seem childish. (tags: culture tv movies entertainment depravity 80s children innocence fun) [...]

]]> By: What Exactly IS “The Mainstream”? http://www.justinkownacki.com/2009/10/27/the-death-of-fun/comment-page-1/#comment-797 What Exactly IS “The Mainstream”? Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:59:14 +0000 http://www.justinkownacki.com/?p=759#comment-797 [...] I’ve lamented the depressing-down of pop culture over the past 30 years.  And yes, we in the social media field often debate whether or not what [...] [...] I’ve lamented the depressing-down of pop culture over the past 30 years.  And yes, we in the social media field often debate whether or not what [...]

]]> By: Eric Williams http://www.justinkownacki.com/2009/10/27/the-death-of-fun/comment-page-1/#comment-796 Eric Williams Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:41:15 +0000 http://www.justinkownacki.com/?p=759#comment-796 I think some of the shows on USA capture the "light" feel of the 80's - Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, White Collar, etc. I think some of the shows on USA capture the “light” feel of the 80′s – Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, White Collar, etc.

]]> By: Quick Shout Out — hallicious http://www.justinkownacki.com/2009/10/27/the-death-of-fun/comment-page-1/#comment-795 Quick Shout Out — hallicious Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:07:53 +0000 http://www.justinkownacki.com/?p=759#comment-795 [...] Kownacki tweeted about a comment I had left on his blog under this post: The Death of Fun. I really like the idea of giving blog commentators props on Twitter and am throwing it in my bag [...] [...] Kownacki tweeted about a comment I had left on his blog under this post: The Death of Fun. I really like the idea of giving blog commentators props on Twitter and am throwing it in my bag [...]

]]> By: Chris Hall http://www.justinkownacki.com/2009/10/27/the-death-of-fun/comment-page-1/#comment-793 Chris Hall Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:55:57 +0000 http://www.justinkownacki.com/?p=759#comment-793 It's interesting to think about our individual lens evolving over time and thus changing our perception of the world. If I were as carefree now as I was growing up, would I sense the seriousness packed into the media that surrounds me? Or would it escape me? It’s interesting to think about our individual lens evolving over time and thus changing our perception of the world.

If I were as carefree now as I was growing up, would I sense the seriousness packed into the media that surrounds me? Or would it escape me?

]]> By: Matthew http://www.justinkownacki.com/2009/10/27/the-death-of-fun/comment-page-1/#comment-783 Matthew Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:18:56 +0000 http://www.justinkownacki.com/?p=759#comment-783 Justin, I wonder if the same set of people who are nostalgic for that sense of carefree drama are also the people who slam that type of product when it comes out in todays entertainment space because they crave realism. For example, Castle on ABC is a great example of a show that can be serious, but above all is just fun. Wacky? Yes. Implausible, obviously, but that has the same feel as an A-Team or (what Castle is often compared to) Moonlighting. Eureka on Syfy is another great example of a show that understands how to have fun with its premise and be playful, which give the moments of real drama on the show that much more impact. Maybe you're just not looking in the right places? Or not giving shows like this a chance because they come across as typical network fluff? And I'll give you the Batman and maybe the X-Men flicks, but Spider Man? The first two movies were a lot of fun, and you could hear that reflected in the character every time Tobey Maguire squealed as Spidey was slinging across Manhattan. Fun, carefree entertainment is still there, you just have to take the blinders off and look for it, then embrace it for what it is when you find it. Justin, I wonder if the same set of people who are nostalgic for that sense of carefree drama are also the people who slam that type of product when it comes out in todays entertainment space because they crave realism. For example, Castle on ABC is a great example of a show that can be serious, but above all is just fun. Wacky? Yes. Implausible, obviously, but that has the same feel as an A-Team or (what Castle is often compared to) Moonlighting. Eureka on Syfy is another great example of a show that understands how to have fun with its premise and be playful, which give the moments of real drama on the show that much more impact.

Maybe you’re just not looking in the right places? Or not giving shows like this a chance because they come across as typical network fluff?

And I’ll give you the Batman and maybe the X-Men flicks, but Spider Man? The first two movies were a lot of fun, and you could hear that reflected in the character every time Tobey Maguire squealed as Spidey was slinging across Manhattan.

Fun, carefree entertainment is still there, you just have to take the blinders off and look for it, then embrace it for what it is when you find it.

]]> By: Justin http://www.justinkownacki.com/2009/10/27/the-death-of-fun/comment-page-1/#comment-782 Justin Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:51:04 +0000 http://www.justinkownacki.com/?p=759#comment-782 Chris: Why do I think pop culture has been dragged to the dark side? I think it's a combination of artistic exploration, cynical marketing and the public zeitgeist. Since so many of our cultural icons are ciphers, it's easy for artists to transpose them into new situations as a way to comment on society. For example, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neal_Adams" rel="nofollow">Neal Adams</a> had Green Arrow and Green Lantern <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neal_Adams#Green_Lantern.2FGreen_Arrow_and_.22relevant_comics.22" rel="nofollow">battling drugs and racism</a> in the '70s, and Captain America got his start fighting the Nazis. Just because a medium is consumable by kids, that doesn't mean the artists involved will always be content to write kids' stories. Meanwhile, from goth to grunge to gangster rap to emo, the music scene has trained 30 years of youth to reject the positive and embrace the grim reality of their own inevitable tragedy. Is it any wonder that the X-Men's movie costumes are indistinguishable from the jet-black technoleather of The Matrix? Chris: Why do I think pop culture has been dragged to the dark side? I think it’s a combination of artistic exploration, cynical marketing and the public zeitgeist.

Since so many of our cultural icons are ciphers, it’s easy for artists to transpose them into new situations as a way to comment on society. For example, Neal Adams had Green Arrow and Green Lantern battling drugs and racism in the ’70s, and Captain America got his start fighting the Nazis. Just because a medium is consumable by kids, that doesn’t mean the artists involved will always be content to write kids’ stories.

Meanwhile, from goth to grunge to gangster rap to emo, the music scene has trained 30 years of youth to reject the positive and embrace the grim reality of their own inevitable tragedy. Is it any wonder that the X-Men’s movie costumes are indistinguishable from the jet-black technoleather of The Matrix?

]]> By: Sumant http://www.justinkownacki.com/2009/10/27/the-death-of-fun/comment-page-1/#comment-779 Sumant Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:39:29 +0000 http://www.justinkownacki.com/?p=759#comment-779 We've started to take ourselves way too seriously. The ideal solution to this problem is for Michael Bay to make another half-dozen Transformers films in which everything explodes, except Megan Fox. Or maybe she can explode, and then get put back together. Hmm... We’ve started to take ourselves way too seriously. The ideal solution to this problem is for Michael Bay to make another half-dozen Transformers films in which everything explodes, except Megan Fox. Or maybe she can explode, and then get put back together. Hmm…

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