This is an article I recently wrote about modern life. Might be of interest to you...this is, the largest moan you will ever read. The reason for this? I'm an old git. It's purely my opinion so you don't have to read it if you don't want to! Read on!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are the days of real entertainment over?

 

 

 

The past few years, I have been losing my faith in modern life. It could be anything - maybe it's maturity, maybe i'm bored, but in recent years, there is just nothing I can get into properly - not like I used to.

 

 

 

Video Games.

 

 

 

Whatever happened to the simple games? Let us relive some classics - Tetris, Super Mario Bros, and Bubble Bobble for example - games with a system so simple it came on a 64kb disk, and yet every friday night you and your mates would stay in to sit around playing tournaments on it.

 

 

 

He who won was, for a short time, a god. Those who lost had fun in the process. It was, amazing.

 

 

 

Those who had just picked up the game understood it and had a laugh playing it, and those who had been playing for years had a highscore total beyond belief.

 

 

 

Now it's all MMPORGs and games you HAVE to get into - programmers didn't want to make games 100 hours long in the old days, just something a little fun that you could play at the arcade and keep pumping your 20p coins into - but you ended up with a hell of a lot more playing time than that.

 

 

 

New games require you to know the game inside out, pay ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã10 monthly to play, and swallow your social life - yes, i'm talking to you, World of Warcraft.

 

 

 

Football games are all about slogans, paying to use players names in the game, soundtracks and realism. What happened to games like Sensible Soccer with the overhead view, where players names were altered slightly but just enough you could still tell who they were meant to be?

 

 

 

What about the side-scrolling platformer? Back in the early 90's, this genre ruled all genres - Sonic the Hedgehog, Castle of Illusion, Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Super Mario, etc, etc - games you couldn't easily complete in perhaps months they were that hard, and yet always left you longing for more.

 

 

 

I ask you, where have the games you're even good at when you're plastered and drooling over a plate of nachos with your mates knocking you to put you off gone?

 

 

 

Television.

 

 

 

Let's face it, what's happened to television? Are we all just out of ideas?

 

 

 

My first major quarrel is with Reality TV - so called because er, it's not real, it's set up to be the way it is. The other week I was inviting friends out to a restraunt/bar, and noone would come because - da da da daaaa - big brother was starting and they wanted to see who the housemates were. I sat in with them, watching, and I was - to put it blunty - bored out of my [bleep]. What makes 8 random munters so special? Why do we want to follow people's lives like this? Why would none of my mates come out to stay in and watch this crap?

 

 

 

Contradicting myself, however, I used to be just as bad - but then, there was TV worth staying in for. Not one crappy program, but an entire night filled with great shows. The Generation Game, Family Fortunes, Big Break, Wheel of Fortune, Bruce's Price Is Right, to name just a few - family shows that everyone could enjoy and find absolutely hilarious. Great and original gameshows that focused less on the actual game and more on having a laugh whilst you were doing it. A night of TV worth missing a night out for - laughs from start to finish, and a night well spent.

 

 

 

Comedy was just as good. Once again, comedy that everyone enjoyed, and comedy worth staying in for - Mr Bean, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Noel's House Party, the list goes on! This was comedy at its finest. What do we have now? Another load of tripe. I'm not saying comedy was all good back then, but god knows there was enough good stuff around -

 

 

 

So what went wrong?

 

 

 

Movies.

 

 

 

Movies, in the past 10 years or so, have continued to degrade, to the point where the same old crap but ever so slightly changed sells out the box offices. Nobody makes groundbreaking movies anymore because nobody tries anything new - chick flicks, for one, are all the same. ALL the same. You can predict the ending of each one from 15 minutes into the film, because they're all so incredibly obvious. Why do filmmakers stick to a formula these days? Another thing that's made me wonder recently is what is with all of this torture movie crap? Hostel and Saw bought it on, but they were amazing movies - very original and gripping. So why when someone sees such a good idea do they not let it be? Why is torture suddenly such a common topic in horror movies?

 

 

 

If you ask me, there hasn't been a classic, and I mean classic, movie in years. Remember Back To The Future, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones? Sure, they were a bit cheesey in places, but where has the real sense of a full-on hollywood movie gone? Down the pan, that's where it's gone. I watch the movies listed above and a sense of adventure just builds up inside of me ready to explode. They make you believe you can do or be anything, they show you things that could never exist, and yet you sit there thinking "man, I want to go back in time." These movies have remained in hundreds of thousands of people's collections from the day they were first shown, the day they came to VHS, and the day they came to DVD. The reason? They are MASTERPIECES.

 

 

 

The other day we were watching some borrowed DVD's. Two of them were Madagascar and The Wild. I popped out just before the end of Madagascar, and came back a few mins later and the wild had been put on. I couldn't tell - I thought we were still watching the same movie for about half an hour. Why? Because they have the EXACT same storyline. It's not a one off either - Finding Nemo/The Reef is another example of such a set formula.

 

 

 

In recent years I have stopped visiting the cinema except for once in a blue moon. The only decent, original movies that have come out to me in the past few years are movies like Shrek, Over the Hedge, 28 Days Later, Saw, Hostel, Shaun Of The Dead - and that's all I can think of looking at my collection. Half of the movies I own are remakes or adaptations of books. I don't resent them all, that's for true - war of the worlds wasn't bad. But why are they remaking and adapting everything? I'll tell you why - because it's easy.

 

 

 

Music.

 

 

 

My final quarrel with today's culture is the music. Do you remember the days of the Blur and Oasis rivalry? 90s boybands like Take That and The Backstreet Boys where girls used to slaughter each other just to touch one of them? It may not have been my scene, but that, for me, was when music was amazing. It had a sense of power and people being into it because they WANTED to be, not to follow scenes. What about metal? Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Metallica and Megadeth once reigned supreme - of course, this is open to debate - and they were that popular for a reason; because they were different to the other bands around at the time.

 

 

 

There is never anything new in music. Give the public the same old poorly written rap music, a pop punk band singing about being dumped, a female songwriter who doesn't write her own songs and some run-of-the-mill metal band, and what have you got? Post 2000 music.

 

 

 

One thing I cannot, and I cannot, stand, is how bad indie music has become. It was called Indie because it was independant - bands like Ocean Colour Scene getting together in a garage in a scummy part of Birmingham and writing songs because they wanted to - songs that everyone now knows the second they hear them. The songs were catchy and different - but now, just look at the genre. Every band is the same. EVERY band. Everyone uses a Strat, a 5-piece kit and sings in a fake bloody accent. The riffs are boring, the lyrics don't make you want to sing them out, and I can't stand seeing three of them in a row at a gig. It's the same old crap.

 

 

 

What's new to do in music? A sodding lot. Thousands - THOUSANDS - of instruments exist in the world. Why are so many people limiting themselves to a few and writing the same old crap? Why does it sell, and why do we put up with i

 

 

 

Maybe it's just me, but I'm losing my faith in modern entertainment - and as far as i'm concerned, the above subjects, are dead to me.

My thoughts exactly. Like television, we really don't watch many television shows because we like them anymore...we watch them because they are less annoying than others.

Exactly. All of the good TV shows have been cancelled..which is why I quit watching cartoons. Most of them follow the same plot, same story..t is all so predictable. The only shows that don't follow this seemingly endless trend are some anime shows..a lot of them actually have a storyline.

 

 

 

Music nowadays consists of basically anything someone can throw together. Back then, they had riffs like the opening of 'Crazy Train', and solos like that of 'Comfortably Numb'. Nowadays, nothing impresses me..except for some metal. And now that I look at it, they don't sound like your average mainstream crap.

 

 

 

But..I have to disagree with Video games. Sure, the ones that you knew instantly and had great fun with were amazing..but I like the ones today, also..wherever there are so many enemies to destroy and so many quests to conquer..and the depth just adds to the experience.

 

 

 

Overall..yeah, entertainment in general has gone down the pooper.

Music is going down the john in most cases but there are a few exceptions. Metal now is way more brutal than metal in the 80's. Hearing a band like Ion Dissonance in the 80's would have been totally alien but they are totally my thing so that's a plus. Don't get me wrong, earlier and less brutal acts like Metallica and Pantera are right up my ally too. I just love something that sounds surreal and insanely brutal. :twisted:

I disagree with you a bit rob.

 

 

 

As far as Video games go Nostalgia is a powerful thing. I urge you, try to go back and play a classic game for a long period of time. Yeah some of the classics never die -- mario, sonic, ect. but most of the time its a short affair. You can't just go back and play a classic for a while again.

 

 

 

Video games, just like any medium, have evolved. They have gone past simple objectives or goals and have really developed into so much more. RPG's are built with so much depth these days, FPS's can allow larger and more intense battlegrounds and fire fights.

 

 

 

 

 

MMORPG's, as well, have really burst into the scene. I do resent the fact that you singly targeted these out as a source of the problem. I disagree however, I think that MMORPG's in themself are a huge thing to have happened to video games and have literaly exploded in growth in the past few years. Yes right now we are in a bit of a slump but so many are on the horizon. Age of Conan, Warhammer Online and so many other flagship titles that are chalanging what a good MMO can be.

 

 

 

Large party games still exist. And even on handhelds a lot of new 'classic style' games are being made. Contra 4 is coming out for the DS and the mario offerings on it have been solid as well.

 

 

 

 

 

The point is its a good time to be a gamer in my opinion. Yeah I loved the classics, I'm sure everyone did, but to be able to get something that has more than just a mindless goal is great.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As far as music goes, it is evolving. People in the 80's probably thought the same thing, and likewise in the 70's...60's...ect. There are still many unique musical acts. Yes they aren't shown on TV or are very popular but they are out there. I have heard some simply amazing music come out in the past few years that sometimes redefined what a style can do or be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TV wise I don't watch it, so really I can't comment on that.

In regards to television, well, what else is there to do that hasn't already been done?

The Video Game thing, I can't really get into, but I definitely agree with the points made about TV shows and movies.

 

 

 

Movies, in the past 10 years or so, have continued to degrade, to the point where the same old crap but ever so slightly changed sells out the box offices. Nobody makes groundbreaking movies anymore because nobody tries anything new - chick flicks, for one, are all the same. ALL the same. You can predict the ending of each one from 15 minutes into the film, because they're all so incredibly obvious.

 

 

 

Those two statements are very true, and I've felt that way for a long time. My mom always says, "Lets go to a movie! There are so many good ones out!" But I haven't seen a good movie in theaters for years.. They're all the same. A couple action movies, a chick flick or two, blah blah blah. We discussed this in my Personal Ethics class. My teacher mentioned some philosopher who said that almost every movie and piece of literature follows the same pattern:

• [*:3mnz1f4z] Character leaves a point of safety
   
  [*:3mnz1f4z] Character ventures into the unknown
   
  [*:3mnz1f4z] Character receives unexpected help
   
  [*:3mnz1f4z] Character must face inner struggle before facing outer struggle
   
  [*:3mnz1f4z] Character returns to safety, renewed

..or something like that. I may have left something out or whatever, but that was basically it. And it's so true, it's sad :wall:

Well, I've got anime, so I'm covered for television as far as I'm concerned :P . That, and Scifi channel :mrgreen: .

 

 

 

As has been said, video games keep evolving, and the games out nowadays are pretty cool and realistic :-w . Don't dis the videogames :-$ .

 

 

 

As for music... rap needs to go back down nine skies and burn, and the screaming people like to call music needs to as well. Still, a lot of the music is pretty sweet nowadays. Some songs just get me so pumped up they just forces me to go outside and practice Tricking :-w .

 

 

 

Oh, and don't reference Hostel as a good movie. Please.

What is this.. "Television" that you guys speak of? :-k

 

 

 

Video games are the best entertainment to me.. You control the action and events ;)

 

 

 

I do like some cartoons tho on TV.. like the Avatar, thats kewl.

 

 

 

~Defender~

Video games are still fun, but RPG-ness needs to stay out of other genre's. Nothing pissed me off more than Rockstar putting RPG-esque things (weight/muscle/hunger levels) into GTA: SA. It was just annoying. I'd play for 3 hours and my huge, muscular dude would look like a crackhead. SNORE. I'm not going to go pump him up again just to tolerate looking at him. Gladly, they won't have that BS in the next one.

 

 

 

RPG's are fun on their own from time to time, but they're only for certain gamers. Some people love investing time into a character and making it rock faces...Some people want to pick up a character that can't be improved upon, only his enviroment can, which improves how he works. The former takes TONS of time, and when you cross that BS over into normal games, it's just a nuisance.

 

 

 

I've kinda' grown out of RPG's. I liked Fable...I hated Oblivion. I used to like RS and WoW, now I hate them both. They're boring. Granted, I still play WoW, but only to raid with my girlfriend, who still likes playing. I don't mind taking a few hours a few days a week to help her out...It's not boring playing with her, so you know.

 

 

 

I can't wait for things like GTA to come out. Those games rock. You can do anything you want at any time, or you can do a set mission. I like third-person shooters like GoW and GRAW2. I like stealth games like Splinter Cell and Tenchu.

 

 

 

Games today are still fun, it's just that everyone seems to be trying to stick RPG-esque things into other genre's, and thankfully, it's not really working. RPG's are a very "some people like it, some hate it" genre. Can you imagine an RPG Mario? I mean, it SOUNDS fun gettnig Mario a house and leveling him up, but when put into practice, all you WANT to do is go jump on goombah's heads and kick turtle's in the face all while shooting fire from your hands....But the game won't let you, because you "Haven't reached level 12 yet!" *Yawnnnnn*.

n a game, I look for open-endedness..and customization. Like in Fable..you can virtually make your character whoever you want. And in Morrowind..iit's basically just 'Do whatever you want, no restrictions..but know your limits and the consequences of your actions'. But you're right..if GTA had a good/evil system, levelling up and stuff....no. There is no way I would play it. Some games just don't need those elements..others should have them.

 

 

 

PS: There already is a Mario RPG..surprisingly, it's called *gasp* mario Rpg..I think

I agree, especially with the music part.

 

 

 

Music of today:

 

 

 

Braaaaap dis is dog Trevor.

 

Yoo brap I know how to rap yaya braap

 

Yo motha [bleep]a back yo [wagon] up 'fore i pop a cap in yo [wagon]

 

Show those motha [bleep]as who is who yo

 

Yeah

 

Yeah

 

Pop the cap up that [wagon] brap

 

Yeah

 

No one messes with dog Trevor

 

Yeah

 

*Repeat*

 

 

 

Sorry to those who listen to rap, but this is basically what it is like, from my point of view at least.

Games today are still fun, it's just that everyone seems to be trying to stick RPG-esque things into other genre's, and thankfully, it's not really working. RPG's are a very "some people like it, some hate it" genre. Can you imagine an RPG Mario? I mean, it SOUNDS fun gettnig Mario a house and leveling him up, but when put into practice, all you WANT to do is go jump on goombah's heads and kick turtle's in the face all while shooting fire from your hands....But the game won't let you, because you "Haven't reached level 12 yet!" *Yawnnnnn*.

 

Mario RPG for the SNES. :lol:

Though I agree to some extent, I think it's that we completely disregard a large part of old movies/games/tv shows/music...They had their fair share of bad, we just don't remember it because it's not worth remembering. Unless it's worth remembering for being bad.

Games.

 

 

 

I believe that the classic games such as Galaga, Tetris, Super Mario, etc. Were awesome, and still are. But technology has moved far from those games. Now we have realistic games that get you into a whole new world. Xbox Live - you can talk to people on a game via internet connection from around the world.

 

MMO's - you can play for hours on end without going through the same thing.

 

Games are virtually never going to stop; there is always going to be something new coming or a classic game coming to a new gen console (Imo they suck, but hey, they're still decent games.

 

 

 

Movies

 

That's correct; no one tries hard these days. Great movies from recent years are Cast Away, Forest Gump, Lord of the Rings, etc. They are excellent. I loved them and still will for the rest of my life. I believe that nothing can beat classic movies such as King Kong, or Superman (Christopher Reeve) which brings up another thing. Actors; You can't beat Christopher Reeve, he was an insperation for many and touched many peoples' hearts. Today, many actors help out with world matters. They influence a lot of people and can persuade people just because of their status. Helping Katrina victims, 9/11 victims, etc. It just takes a few good deeds to change the world. :)

 

 

 

Music.

 

Haha. I'm probably listening to one of the bands that the author of that article was talking about, Fall Out Boy. I have recently started to really like bands like AFI, My Chemical Romance, The Killers. I feel like they have great lyrics and a great sound to them. Although there's nothing that beats old school. I like bands like Nirvana, The Beatles, and Michael Jackson. They were really great people and were the frontiers of their music. Nirvana - grundge, alternative. The Beatles - Rock. Michael Jackson - Pop, hip hop.

 

 

 

Those are just my opinions, two cents. :-w

 

 

 

Edited out for reasons unknown.

I agree, especially with the music part.

 

 

 

Music of today:

 

 

 

Braaaaap dis is dog Trevor.

 

Yoo brap I know how to rap yaya braap

 

Yo motha [bleep] back yo [wagon] up 'fore i pop a cap in yo [wagon]

 

Show those motha [bleep] who is who yo

 

Yeah

 

Yeah

 

Pop the cap up that [wagon] brap

 

Yeah

 

No one messes with dog Trevor

 

Yeah

 

*Repeat*

 

 

 

Sorry to those who listen to rap, but this is basically what it is like, from my point of view at least.

 

 

 

I'm with you, that's pretty much all I hear too. I've got a radio in my room but I just use it for an alarm anymore, since there's hardly ever anything good on to listen to. It's irritating that most everything has disintegrated into a bunch of fast words flopped down over a beat that repeats over and over again, and it's even more irritating that it's all that people my age (around here anyway) listen to and sing in class...if you call that singing. I'm not sure what you would call it. It seems like every time I hear a rap song, it's about women, drinking, drugs, guns, or something else that's really not anything anybody wants to hear about...

 

 

 

I'm a musical person (or just a flat-out band geek), so I like all different kinds of music. Most of the time I like things other people in the school haven't ever heard of. My friends tend to get into the stuff I like though...I'll listen to some things that are around today, but I'd really rather listen to old stuff, or stuff that isn't mainstream.

 

 

 

...Probably sounds weird coming from a 17-year-old but whatever... :?

 

 

 

As for TV and movies, that's my opinion too. I think that's why I'm so left out of things and confused so much. I only watch TV if there is absolutely nothing else to do. When I do, it's either a random cartoon, or a show like Law and Order, or Crossing Jordan, or whatever else there is, there's a billion of them...not what I'd pick, just what my mom puts on to watch. Also, reality TV is stupid. Yeah, that's all. It's just stupid. No need to elaborate there. -.-

 

 

 

Whenever my friends talk about movies I'm left out too.

 

"Have you seen this?"

 

"No."

 

"Have you seen that?"

 

"No."

 

"What have you seen?"

 

And normally my answer is "Not much," because I know it's all predictable and unoriginal, or a weird, cut down and boring version of a book. As for the "funny" movies that come out, I don't even bother sparing it a second thought. To me, they don't look funny, they look stupid. That's weird for a person my age to say too, probably, but it's the truth...I feel so out of place here...hope it's not too bad... :anxious:

I liked it back in the day when you could watch TV shows knowing you were completely safe. Now today you have to be aware of TV shows because most of them include porn, bloody gore, or racial stuff. You can't watch alot of TV shows without being aware they might show you porn.

 

 

 

What is with the rap these days? It's all... yuck, you know what I mean.

 

 

 

Lots of movies these days are based too heavily on love and sex and porn. Although there are good movies coming out, like pirates, shrek and spiderman.

 

 

 

What is with kicking in the crotch? It's so popular in movies these days, but it's not funny?

Nirvana - grundge, "emo"

 

 

 

Oh no you didn't. :shock:

Nirvana - grundge, "emo"

 

 

 

Oh no you didn't. :shock:

 

 

 

My exact reaction :shame:

Nirvana - grundge, "emo"

 

 

 

Oh no you didn't. :shock:

 

 

 

My exact reaction :shame:

:oops: What? :anxious:

 

 

 

Oh that kid Sycosis is going to come in here and flame me? I'm really dumbstruck right now.

Nirvana - grundge, "emo"

 

 

 

Oh no you didn't. :shock:

 

 

 

My exact reaction :shame:

:oops: What? :anxious:

 

 

 

Oh that kid Sycosis is going to come in here and flame me? I'm really dumbstruck right now.

 

 

 

They're picking up on the fact that you classed Nirvana as emo :shock:

The days of real entertainment were over the moment that television was invented, and hailed as the device that would educate and better the world...

I agree with regards to videogames and television, but with some exceptions. I mean there really have been some great TV programs recently, a couple of stunning documentaries (Planet Earth, the Blue Planet), rockumentaries (the Seven Ages of Rock) and series like Doctor Who and others. Mostly from the BBC come to think of it. Reality TV is awful, I find talent shows far too samey and boring, and daytime TV is rubbish.

 

 

 

Movies, i'm not so sure. I agree there's a lot of generic big blockbuster films but some of them are quite entertaining, and there is a lot of good future classic films being made from Pixar and the like, as well as genuinely good once a year films.

 

 

 

As for music, well i'm a big lover of the old stuff but I love a lot of new stuff as well. You've just got to scratch below the surface of your generic pop/rock/hip hop and you can find some real talent out there.

 

 

 

I think a lot of it is simply because we're growing up in this generation we're exposed to all the entertainment around, instead of just selecting the best bits like we do with the 'classics'.

 

 

 

Meh, I say bring back live readings of classic books like [bleep]ens used to do :thumbsup:

That's a fantastic post... great find and I completely agree with most of it. Especially the reality TV stuff.

 

 

 

In regards to crap like Big Brother... seems my mother was wrong, if you ignore something annoying, it doesn't necessarily go away lol.

I didn't expect to see this many people agreeing with me, but I guess the truth's there in a way!