51 replies to this topic

[BW199148]

You know if you watch anything Nostalgic on Youtube chances are you'll see the top comment will be something like "Like all modern music is crap, 80's forever".

I also see a lot of comments like "All movies/games/music/fashion today suck".

Its all so common, I find really irritating and this is coming from someone who really enjoys their nostalgia, retro music etc.

But even so is it true?

Personally I don't think so. I can still find video games to enjoy, I still go to cinema. I though I admit I don't follow the top 40 or current popular music trends any more. I can still find music that I enjoy online. Its quite rare for me to find on the radio that I like these days but just my personal taste.

Take the quote I put above "Like all modern music is crap, 80's forever". How do you know all modern music is rubbish do you actually try and look for it other than what the radio and music channels spoon feed you?

Also not 80's music was all good, same with any decade but what you like and dislike is all up to your own ears.

Also do you think its only better because you were younger? What if were your current age back then you might have a different opinion.

I guess this is all subjective and all comes down to personal taste. But I see comments like this all do often these days.

How do you guys feel? Was the past really better.

[Lemanic]

Well, on the European perspective, YES!!!
On the American perspective, NO!!!

And that's only about the politics.

It's vice versa on the showbiz perspective.

It's great now that Europe and America is more together than ever. They're an indivisible duo now.

Edited by Lemanic, 12 May 2012 - 10:46 PM.

[Diogenes]

Fuck no. There's shit today, there's shit in the past. There's great shit today, there's great shit in the past. In some ways we make steps forward, in some ways we make steps back. I'd say overall we're moving forward in most things, but even if we aren't I don't believe for a second that the past is oh-so-much better than today. Fuckin' nostalgia makes people forget all the bad shit of the past and ignore all the good shit of today.

[Wooly-Fools]

NO.

I'm gonna make music references now. People say today's music sucks. Heck, some people aren't even willing to call it MUSIC. Y'know what, there's plenty of great music that they have made in the past; there's plenty of great music made recently as well. There was crap music then as there is now.

The overall quality stays the same, it's just that technology and fads change....

Edited by WlCl, 12 May 2012 - 10:51 PM.

[Gregzilla]

This is something I've always thought about. I think there was just a more simple, fun atmosphere in the entertainment industry in the past. We still have that today, but in my perspective it seems like creativity isn't as prevalent. It's by no means gone, or even in a bad state, I just remember seeing more creativity in movies and games in the past.

But this is all subjective, and in a VERY generalized way. As Dio said, we got great stuff now, great stuff then, awful stuff now, and awful stuff then. Nostalgia plays a big part in it.

I guess I'm just waiting for kids in their toddler years today to grow up and see what they think of their childhood. If they think it was awesome, I guess nostalgia just plays a big role in every generation. If they grow up and say, "The entertainment in our childhoods wasn't that great, it looked like older generations had it better," then maybe our childhoods were just that awesome in particular.

But nah, I'd say it's all just nostalgia-based for the most part. There's plenty of great stuff nowadays.

[PeanutButterDimond]

As much as I tend to disagree with Diogenes posts and his very blunt way of typing, he hit the nail on the head. that's exactly how I feel. There's a lot of crappy stuff in the past and a lot of crappy stuff now. Neither is better than the other, in my opinion. People just let nostalgia get to them. I feel that kids of today will look back at these days and idolize it in nostalgia like people do ti the eighties and nineties.

[y cant solkia crawl]

For me, it's that the stuff that I loved back then, has gone to shit now. I can deal with that because are things I have now that I DIDN'T have back then.

Yeah yeah blind nostalgia blah blah blah. So tired of hearing that, not everyone is that narrow-minded you know.

[PeanutButterDimond]

For me, it's that the stuff that I loved back then, has gone to shit now. I can deal with that because are things I have now that I DIDN'T have back then.

Yeah yeah blind nostalgia blah blah blah. So tired of hearing that, not everyone is that narrow-minded you know.

No one is saying everyone is narrow minded when it comes to the past. You can prefer the past all you want, that doesn't mean you're blinded by nostalgia. but that also doesn't mean that there aren't people who are blinded by nostalgia when it comes to comparing the past and present.

[lounge]

I do miss things from when I was little, but I love living in this era. I like better tech like blu ray, imax, macs. I like following celebrities I like and music artists on twitter. I like how people are closer with social networking. There is great music today. You have to look for it on youtube. Discover what type of genre or sound you like and you'll eventually come across artists you'll fall in love with. That's how it worked for me. Each year there are movies I look forward and get excited about.

I agree with the fact that when people say they miss the good ol' days, they forget all the bad things that happened in that same era. You forget getting sick, you forget almost failing something, you forget getting in trouble, you forget gloomy weather.

[King Sombrero]

The only thing I'd consider agreeing with is with cartoons...and hell TV in general because There are literally only 7 tv programs I enjoy today and I think they vastly outnumber the good. Other than that, no. I enjoy my 4G wireless internet, Modern medical advancements and HD CGI graphics. I don't want to go back to dial-up, less effective treatments, and 8bit graphics on a little tube TV. Nostalgia is just a dangerous and powerful drug that most morons overdose on, but I think it's a good drug to take in moderation.

[y cant solkia crawl]

No one is saying everyone is narrow minded when it comes to the past. You can prefer the past all you want, that doesn't mean you're blinded by nostalgia. but that also doesn't mean that there aren't people who are blinded by nostalgia when it comes to comparing the past and present.

I know. I'm just tired of this mindset that liking things from the past instantly equals nostalgia that a lot of people seem to have.

[Indigo Rush]

Depends on the subject. Technology? Things are better, but it feels like we might be taking other things for granted because of it. Music? Even though music is subjective, we aren't exactly getting any modern-day marvels, though there are a few gems here and there. Television? Also subjective. Videogames? Again, subjective, though it feels like the older generation was a little more fun for us. Politics? Let's not start.

In short, it depends on who you are, what you like, and when you were around.

But, no matter how you slice it...



There will always be that ONE guy....

[Megumi Hayashibara]

I disagree, my favorite book series wasn't around in the 90s but the 2000s-present, my ESSENTIAL anime to who I am is from the late 90s, games that are almost always hard and satisfying are from the NES of the 80s, who would want WWII AKA the evil side of the 40s? All eras are grand in some regard and disaster in another!

[Nepenthe]

Entertainment has by and large always sucked, but I maintain that the artistic and technological breakthroughs of every medium have meant that the absolute best of today is capable of competing with, if not surpassing in some ways, the absolute best of yesterday. I would also say this in regards to social, technological, and medical breakthroughs. Without all of the advances that have come before, we wouldn't all be sitting here even capable of communicating to others continents away about how everything is new, therefore it sucks. As Louis CK puts it, everything's amazing but nobody's happy.

[Ice King]

Rejecting something for being new and rejecting it for being old are both unfortunate extremes that ultimately cheat the viewer out of a well-rounded entertainment experience. Both the past and present are rich sources of great music, literature, art, and film... and of course, an even richer source of terrible examples of the same.

In general, a lot of what I like is older stuff, but that isn't strictly because, it's older. It's mostly just that I have certain stylistic preferences, and that many older works resonate with those preferences a lot more strongly. However, some newer stuff is just as good, and I enjoy a good bit of it.

As for society at large, I'd say we've mostly gotten better. Civil rights and basic human dignity is certainly better today than it was 50 years ago, as is technology and other advancements.

So, I love older stuff, but I recognize that the olden days were hardly perfect.

[Dan-imeJ86]

Well, in the past, we've had war on terror, recession and third world starvation.
But today, we have...wait a sec...

I'm a cynic, and it's telling me to say yes, the past was better. But I have doubts...it might be because of Grumpy Old Guy. He mentioned several reasons why humans are awesome in a different thread. (I'd quote it, but I'm on my 3DS at the moment) Perhaps that way of thinking is infecting me. I don't feel right in saying the past was better, with all the technical advancements that have happened over the years.

DNA is actually quite new in terms of use. And because of it, no criminal can hide.
A family can have a child thanks to lots of research, if the family couldn't achieve it naturally.
Illnesses that now have a cure that didn't years ago, and current research to combat the current big nastiness seems to be going okay.
Hitlers dead.

Also currently, you don't have to break your spine carrying a TV, like you would with the past modules. Even the small ones were bloody heavy!!

But in entertainment standards? As Indigo put it, it's all subjective.

Plus, I wouldn't put too much merit on youtube comments, as in my experience, they seem to be the most...is ¨bitchy¨ the right word?

Check me out!! I'm being all positive! Mother would be so proud.

[Super Soniko]

i literally can't stand todays music direction, but that's about it.

i do hate nostalgia glasses and people that wear them, there's equally good and bad.

but i honestly question today's casual music lover, some of the shit i hear on TV thats in the top 10 charts doesn't even sound like music to me, and i'm an all rounder for music genre types, i have a feeling its not just about the music, but about the fame, fashion and total pressure of today's audience that makes them act the way they do.

this generation is incredibly spoilt with what they have in this day and age, i was born in the 90's when toys and board games where at large and a christmas budget was tolerable and i appreciated everything i got, but now, with technology and new gimmicks brain washing the generation of today its almost upsetting to see children spoiled with touch smart phones when they don't even seem to be old enough to have a phone, or a gaming console of high value. i see a huge difference from the age gap between me and my sister, i loved everything i got for christmas at her age, but all i see her asking for is more, and being none appreciative.

i notice people tend to care more about celebrities than they should do too, like its things they have to know, the latest trends and gadgets a celebrity gets, is an automatic marker for the fan to rush out and buy because the celebrity has it, which makes it automatically cool.

[Generations (Chaos Warp)]

Why do I have the feeling that the kids of today will grow up like us and call cartoons such as Jonny Test and various other cartoons we consider bad the "Golden age" and say stuff like "Current cartoons suck, Jonny Test was boss!"?

Edited by Chaos Warp, 13 May 2012 - 12:30 AM.

[Nepenthe]

i notice people tend to care more about celebrities than they should do too, like its things they have to know, the latest trends and gadgets a celebrity gets, is an automatic marker for the fan to rush out and buy because the celebrity has it, which makes it automatically cool.

The obsession with celebrities and product placement is not a new phenomenon. In fact, I'd wager that as social and file-sharing sites have sprung up, people are now more exposed to an overwhelming amount of media than they would've been before, facilitating the demise of superstar status and a more broad focus on "real" entertainment as a result. We are never getting another Michael Jackson or Leonardo DiCaprio again; instead, people are indulging more and more in Z-list celebrities, foreign works, shitty YouTube videos like Fred, and negative gossip instead of the almost mythical appeal that huge celebrities had before.

[Super Soniko]

The obsession with celebrities and product placement is not a new phenomenon. In fact, I'd wager that as social and file-sharing sites have sprung up, people are now more exposed to an overwhelming amount of media than they would've been before, facilitating the demise of superstar status and a more broad focus on "real" entertainment as a result. We are never getting another Michael Jackson or Leonardo DiCaprio again; instead, people are indulging more and more in Z-list celebrities, foreign works, shitty YouTube videos like Fred, and negative gossip instead of the almost mythical appeal that huge celebrities had before.

yeah, i didn't say it was new though, but it has increased tenfold for every new face that comes out of the woodwork, celebs don't even become famous for legit reasons or for their skill anymore, as long as you've been on tv you're considered to have some fame.

programs like Big Brother, before they did the celebrity specials, just random people off the street, reached celebrity status for sitting in a house being watched 24/7

its pathetic really.

and Fred is only popular for being an idiot, and his stupid voice, his fame will be short lived, like all youtubers with views.