tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post610153509149967325..comments2024-03-22T12:11:58.453-06:00Comments on Michael Offutt: I rarely feel nostalgic and I think that's a good thingMichael Offutt, Phantom Readerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10557969104886174930noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-20830920752243390202016-04-27T13:06:19.596-06:002016-04-27T13:06:19.596-06:00You seem like a reasonable person. Although, somet...You seem like a reasonable person. Although, sometimes some people are far TOO negative about the past, almost like a reverse nostalgia. I am not a heavily nostalgic person, but I still look at the past fondly. I think it's good to have a healthy dose of appreciation for what was (without delusion, obviously) and still be able to look forward to what is with excitement.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-17553239779767917732014-04-21T16:40:02.909-06:002014-04-21T16:40:02.909-06:00It makes sense and I dated at girl who had a ten y...It makes sense and I dated at girl who had a ten year rule for movies for the same reason.<br /><br />I just like old movies though I admit I don't watch them very often.Kevin Longhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01092721842140433268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-51779563194653653602014-04-20T12:59:01.795-06:002014-04-20T12:59:01.795-06:00@Kevin: I think you're not understanding me. I...@Kevin: I think you're not understanding me. I'm not talking about leaps of logic or bad special effects. At the time, the special effects in the movies you mentioned were state of the art. So at the time (if I were alive) I'd say "Hey that movie is terrific." But after years and years my tune changes. I say "Hey that movie WAS terrific but by today's standards it's terrible and I never want to see it again and don't get why you do." Does that make any sense?Michael Offutt, Phantom Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557969104886174930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-17874923999672160942014-04-20T11:05:26.252-06:002014-04-20T11:05:26.252-06:00I love Audrey Hepburn. I had no idea who she was ...I love Audrey Hepburn. I had no idea who she was until one day in college 'Roman Holiday' was showing on AMC. Me and my roommates skipped two classes to watch this woman with an indescribable charisma. No one would claim she was a great actress but she dominated the screen. Why wouldn't today's advertisers want to tap into that?<br /><br />Do yourself a favor and watch 'Roman Holiday'. You'll watch it once and never again but I think it might change your opinion of Audrey Hepburn.<br /><br />I prefer to think of nostalgia for old films like scientists revere the great thinkers. Issac Newton would be an idiot compared to a graduate student of today but Newton himself admitted that he benefited from the achievements of those that came before him. I watch old movies with that in mind and accept them in that sense. <br /><br />Are you seriously saying that you had no problem with the leaps of logic in 'Pacific Rim' but can't accept the fact that the movie effects in 'Gone with the Wind', 'North by Northwest' or 'Casablanca' don't look realistic by today's standards?<br /><br />PS - John Wayne was a bad ass in True Grit. Love that movie. Loved the remake more.Kevin Longhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01092721842140433268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-22044352778618141882014-04-19T16:23:11.464-06:002014-04-19T16:23:11.464-06:00I tend to be nostalgic about things that are remin...I tend to be nostalgic about things that are reminders of happy times in my life. Sometimes it was a movie that made me happy when my home life sucked, or a song reminded me of a girl I had a crush on when the song was new... it's not always about the thing itself, but the feelings it created in me when I was first exposed to it. <br /><br />Rusty Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09887821877521181811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-63434237886964224992014-04-18T21:24:32.023-06:002014-04-18T21:24:32.023-06:00The "Good Ol' Days" were anything bu...The "Good Ol' Days" were anything but. My husband is watching "Airwolf" through Hulu. It wasn't good then, and hasn't improved.<br /><br />Hepburn was a goddess, you heathen.Susan Kanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09834094675218254410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-91698801943569711062014-04-18T19:53:34.182-06:002014-04-18T19:53:34.182-06:00I like Audrey Hepburn...
I know what you mean abo...I like Audrey Hepburn...<br /><br />I know what you mean about nostalgia, though. I prefer my ereader any day to a cumbersome paper book. And I think immortality is overrated.Liz A.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16531953467834426316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-86793207217091445692014-04-18T19:18:01.173-06:002014-04-18T19:18:01.173-06:00I watched the first terminator only a few years ag...I watched the first terminator only a few years ago. I though the only scene that looked very laugable was the one where terminator looks like a robot and is running after them. Adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08051255914419363819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-14547869869281503522014-04-18T19:04:33.684-06:002014-04-18T19:04:33.684-06:00Because you're not a rank sentimentalist. You...Because you're not a rank sentimentalist. You'll never know what movie that's from because it was in black-and-white.PT Dillowayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09394481476862013009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-46450803604930775202014-04-18T19:01:43.647-06:002014-04-18T19:01:43.647-06:00@Pat: I'm not advocating a disregard of histor...@Pat: I'm not advocating a disregard of history. I just don't get nostalgic about many things. I'd rather not ever see the original trilogy ever again (as an example). Been there, done that. I don't get why ppl listen and/or watch and relive the same thing over and over and over.Michael Offutt, Phantom Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557969104886174930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-16109361185037262132014-04-18T18:51:38.816-06:002014-04-18T18:51:38.816-06:00I'm not overly fond of comparing past to the p...I'm not overly fond of comparing past to the present. ESPN has made an industry out of that. Is LeBron as good as Jordan? Is [whoever won the latest golf tournament] as good as Tiger Woods? It's largely pointless because you often get into comparing different eras. But that's no reason to completely disregard history.PT Dillowayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09394481476862013009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-57587324020732095432014-04-18T18:24:35.053-06:002014-04-18T18:24:35.053-06:00@Pat: So what you are saying is that if something ...@Pat: So what you are saying is that if something was great in the past, then automatically we need to accept it as great in the present. No room for discussion. End of conversation. I don't think I like that thinking at all. It was great in it's day, but just like the Egyptian Empire, it's faded with time. I'm ready for new stories and to heap praise on the new movies! Nostalgia = holding us back.Michael Offutt, Phantom Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557969104886174930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-82844590509040915252014-04-18T18:10:23.807-06:002014-04-18T18:10:23.807-06:00Disrespecting the original trilogy is like disresp...Disrespecting the original trilogy is like disrespecting the Beatles. While by today's standards the effects weren't good for 1977-1983 they were cutting edge and without those "bad" movies we wouldn't have pretty much any of the big "summer" movies of today.<br /><br />Effects in movies like The Wizard of Oz or Gone With the Wind or Citizen Kane are much worse than Star Wars but that doesn't diminish their greatness.PT Dillowayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09394481476862013009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-27618298169715888922014-04-18T16:51:23.549-06:002014-04-18T16:51:23.549-06:00@Pat: How am I wrong? The old Star Wars movies are...@Pat: How am I wrong? The old Star Wars movies are terrible by today's standards. They have stilted dialogue, bad acting, and bad special effects. The only thing good about them was the story. Same goes with the new prequels. They had stilted dialogue, bad acting, and although the special effects were good, the story and pacing were a little off. So in my estimation they are both "bad" trilogies. Your insistence that one is somehow above the other just shows how biased with nostalgia you actually are. You can't evaluate the first trilogy objectively because you were in love with it as a child. Michael Offutt, Phantom Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557969104886174930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-71733837386302588872014-04-18T16:20:27.975-06:002014-04-18T16:20:27.975-06:00I'll have to do a post next month to explain w...I'll have to do a post next month to explain why you are wrong.PT Dillowayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09394481476862013009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-9207820465496331102014-04-18T13:55:06.200-06:002014-04-18T13:55:06.200-06:00@Pat: Cling to the past!@Pat: Cling to the past!Michael Offutt, Phantom Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557969104886174930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-56719658374158343082014-04-18T13:52:05.357-06:002014-04-18T13:52:05.357-06:00Wow them's fighting words. Most reboots are p...Wow them's fighting words. Most reboots are pretty terrible, like the Robocop one. I don't see any reason not to feel a connection to something because it corresponds to a certain time of your life. As we saw with the Star Wars prequels, better effects did not make for better films.PT Dillowayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09394481476862013009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-10746914935642285692014-04-18T13:22:28.135-06:002014-04-18T13:22:28.135-06:00@Bish & Stephen: You both may be right. Give m...@Bish & Stephen: You both may be right. Give me a few years and I may start eating crow as I re-watch Lord of the Rings and say "Microsoft and Google used to be the companies you could count on! But all that's changed! You youngin's ruined technology!"Michael Offutt, Phantom Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557969104886174930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-49284514039410589692014-04-18T11:18:43.687-06:002014-04-18T11:18:43.687-06:00If I'm not mistaken, you're still fairly y...If I'm not mistaken, you're still fairly young. Nostalgia is mostly a concern for those older than you. Having said this, I'm not nostalgic for the return of the color "orange," so popular in the seventies.stephen Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17659054447637207734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-21965255204763967912014-04-18T09:42:37.444-06:002014-04-18T09:42:37.444-06:00Perhaps when you are older, into your 60s or so, y...Perhaps when you are older, into your 60s or so, you too will be bitten by the nostalgia bug. One has a wider field of vision after living a long time. A thing doesn't have to be "good" to create a sense of nostalgia, it just has to bring up a fond memory. And the older you get the more memories you have and hopefully they are pleasant ones.Bish Denhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13359927719391990534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-30301372608524468582014-04-18T09:01:45.128-06:002014-04-18T09:01:45.128-06:00@DPK: Considering it's a modern movie, I don&#...@DPK: Considering it's a modern movie, I don't think that example is what I was getting at. Now in fifty years if you are sitting there saying "There's never been a sci-fi movie as good as Ender's Game..." I'd shake my head and say "get over it."Michael Offutt, Phantom Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557969104886174930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-74592541589628104242014-04-18T08:58:32.384-06:002014-04-18T08:58:32.384-06:00I hear what you mean, though for me it's more ...I hear what you mean, though for me it's more of a "if we're doing this again, make it better." I for one enjoyed the Ender's Game movie, for example, even though plenty of my fellow die hards hated it because it "didn't do this" and "it didn't show that." It didn't "bank" on nostalgia as if could have, but for what it was, I thought it was okay. :)David P. Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17259276981865439853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-37326822802191757142014-04-18T08:44:04.568-06:002014-04-18T08:44:04.568-06:00It's funny how often I watch or listen to some...It's funny how often I watch or listen to something I thought was great in the past only to find it's now unbearable. Very few things truly stand the test of time. Julie Flandershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05003737491313673214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-16526334047822293712014-04-18T08:26:34.924-06:002014-04-18T08:26:34.924-06:00@Michael: Well there's "waxing poetic&quo...@Michael: Well there's "waxing poetic" about the "Mad Men" days when only white guys were in charge. Sure they find comfort in that. But the answer to your question on "who are they hurting?" is obvious. Women who want equal pay are being hurt, minorities who want equal rights are being hurt, and anyone who yearns for a world in which science is used to explain what occurs in the natural world is hurt. There are plenty of "nostalgic" people in society who smother progress of any kind because they have a death grip on things that gave them "comfort." I couldn't disagree with you more.Michael Offutt, Phantom Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557969104886174930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-12332168020371375062014-04-18T08:13:32.127-06:002014-04-18T08:13:32.127-06:00I see what you mean. When I was a kid, I loved Gil...I see what you mean. When I was a kid, I loved Gilligan's Island. Can't watch it now. Blech.<br /><br />Some of the films were breathtaking. Example: The opening sequence of Star Wars with the planet and battlecruiser on the screen. For me, it was beyond words. Another example is the first look at the dinosaur in Jurassic Park eating from the treetop. The play of muscles under its skin was enough to make me believe.<br /><br />I think every ground-breaking film opens a whole new venue for us but it fades as technology improves.<br /><br />Even now with The Hobbit etc, I predict some day people will look at it and think it's as cheesy as the early films of King Kong and Fay Ray.Huntresshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08155372788872245758noreply@blogger.com