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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   4459 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for January 16, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I want to talk about what a pulverized skullfucked corpse Star Wars is anymore without the Culture War Thread's pretense of being edifying in any way, so here we are.

Yeah so listen, there's a Star Wars movie coming out like four months from now and as far as I can tell no one gives a shit at all. There's just zero hype or awareness. I know there's a big marketing push yet to come, but come on, think of what the prelude to a Star Wars movie was like back in the pre-TLJ world where people still gave a shit.

But even when the marketing does hit?

"Hey guys remember the Mandalorian? It was on Disney Plus a few years ago. Okay yeah I know the last season was kind of bad, but remember when it was popular? Oh and attention everyone in the entire fucking world who isn't a Disney Plus subscriber, remember Baby Yoda from like keychains and plushies and stuff? Well he's part of a show called the Mandalorian that you didn't watch but will hopefully want to turn up to a theatrical movie for."

Like good fucking luck with that pitch. Star Wars is screwed and they know it. They're so screwed with this movie that Kathleen Kennedy couldn't wait another four months to retire. Seriously the timing of her stepping down is a huge red flag to me. If she really thought the movie was going to get anywhere she'd stay unretired for another twelve or thirteen weeks and go out on a high note.

I bet this is the last Star Wars movie ever made. They've been prevaricating on everything else waiting for this to flop so they can call it.

I read a post a while ago, maybe here, that the new media stars are nowhere near as popular as the old. There will never be another Tom Cruise, and just about the only insanely popular singer is Taylor Swift, yet she's still nowhere near Michael Jackson's peak. Old times were total cultural dominance; new times are just competing for an ever-shrinking sliver of attention.

It seems that movies are about the same. I can't picture anything being as influential as the original Star Wars anymore, nothing ever being as universally acclaimed and omnipresent. The MCU might be very popular, but it's also widely hated, and I don't think you really miss out on much, culturally, by avoiding it entirely.

Of course, the new IP being terrible isn't helping anything.

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