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.
- 181
- 1
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
Finished the final season of Stranger Things this past week. I think I'm agreement with the general consensus that it was a step down from 4th season. The first two episodes were strong and had some cool ideas (a base in the upside-down, etc), but somewhere around the third episode they started to lose the plot and I decided I had to stop thinking too hard about things and just roll with it. That said, I loved the 40 minute "18 months later" epilogue that provided closure, more or less, for all our characters. Was this accomplished with transparent emotional manipulation backed up by an iconic soundtrack? Yes it was, what's your point? When the door to the Wheeler's basement closed for the last time and Bowie began playing over the end credits, I felt all the things I was supposed to feel. Judge me if you must.
But considering that Stranger Things started ten years ago, it occurred to me that we're due for the 90s nostalgia period pieces to start hitting any day now. So I started wondering, what would a 90s version of Stranger Things look like? By that, I mean a broadly sci-fi story that exploits the cultural memory of slightly-nerdy nineties kids the way Stranger Things exploits the cultural memory of slightly-nerdy 80s kids, building a plot around copious references to games, movies, common childhood experiences et cetera.
Off the top of my head, in no particular order:
a) Console/PC gaming and the internet were all coming into the mainstream in the nineties. I spent hours playing Civ 2 on the family computer.
b) I'm not a huge comic reader, but I do have the sense that comic books (as opposed to movies based on comics) were at peak popularity.
c)UFOs and government conspiracies were both pretty big, though I'm not necessarily sure they were or less popular fiction fodder than they were in the previous decade.
Material for the 1990s revival, here we go:
Nerd angle: X-files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Babylon 5? Anime was breaking through to Western consciousness, upscale productions like Ghibli movies got better international release through Disney.
In mainstream, we have: Jurassic Park. Saving Private Ryan. Titanic, movies with Leonardo DiCaprio. Disney was pumping out successful traditionally animated movies with relatively traditional plotline, one after another every year. Perhaps Disney can make a nostalgia trip back and start making mvies that are earnest again.
In cinema: Lots of golden darlings of movie buffs, moody but not necessarily bleak European movies by directors with unpronounceable names like The Three Colours. On the darker and edgier side, we have Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, ... actually I am not sure if metafictional post-modernism has ever ceased, so how can it make a comeback? As a case in point, Coen brothers are still making Coen brothers kind of movies, Fargo turned from one movie with interesting takes into a overtly long tv show with 5 seasons of 10 years that just finished. The Matrix has the same issue. Family / kid friendly space, the 2nd* best known cultural media icon from Bristol, Wallace and Gromit debuted, though Aardman is still here.
Fashion: I think we are already there?
(* the best known cultural media icon from Bristol is Banksy, the UK graffeurist laureate who indubitably will be declared British national treasure alongside Stephen Fry sooner or later )
At what point does Stargate (particularly SG-1) rotate back into consciousness?
Honestly Stargate still has a lot of fans. It's just not a critical darling and there's not a whole company built around endlessly reiterated spinoffs like some other franchises I could name.
Yeah I agree with you and the two siblings that it's still a good show and very enjoyable to watch. The franchise had its spinoffs and its run and then died, but now Amazon MGM is attempting to revive it. What I'm asking is more: at what point does it become a referent in the nostalgia cycle whose 'memberberries can be harvested? It doesn't seem as ready to go as classic 90's conspiracy theory stuff (which would absolutely be part of 90s!Stranger Things), X-Files, etc.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link