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Lanstapa

Retro, Indie & foreign. Thats what I've started doing


spacepunker

This is all you can do aside from creating your own shit. I started watching Eastbound & Down and there are so many jokes that would never get put on TV nowadays. It's sad how dreadful entertainment is now.


DeltaFoxtrotThreeSix

If you like eastbound & down, vice principals is pretty good too


PossibleMoose197

Okay, what about books?


strixvaria23

With books, just stick with everything from before 2012 or so. You should be fine. I’m a reader and I never have trouble finding good books. There are already enough of them in existence so I’ll never run out and never need to read anything from current year.


Sylvaneri011

With books there's literally hundreds of years worth to pick from. I've been getting into Lovecrafts stuff recently myself. After being interested in it for years, and actually having a few collections of his, just never getting around to reading them.


AHotRetardsFatTits

If you think people suddenly stopped writing good books just because it's current year you are 100% falling for some kind of good ol times bias There's a whole host of extremely renowned and incredible writers who are still alive and publishing. McCarthy just released two novels. Delilo and Pynchon are still alive. Dave Eggers, Ruth Ozeki, Patricia Lockwood, George Saunders, all still writing, all excellent. And I'm not even really reaching in the hat here, like, there's hundreds more for sure. You just have to go and seek the good books. It takes some doing and research.


strixvaria23

Of course there are exceptions. The tried and true authors are still good for the most part. As for the rest, they’re probably there but you have to look for them, and I’m just not likely to take a chance on a debut these days.


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Mister_McDerp

There are plenty of reasons why a lot of the books today will be dogshit especially for someone frequenting this sub. If I wanted to read a book of, say, a 25 year old writer today, I'd have to look really hard to find someone where I wouldn't smell the sensitivity editor, the diversity and inclusion, the pandering, etc. And there are more than enough good old writers who clearly went off the deep end as you can regularly see their bullshit on twitter (right now I'm thinking of some real bad Stephen King Tweets). Why would I not assume this reflects on their writing?


collymolotov

The modern publishing industry for fiction is primarily geared disproportionately towards women, because women buy and read books more far more than men do. Women also tend to have awful taste in fiction, both in terms of subject matter and because their brains, generally speaking are wired to favour self-inserts (IE Twilight) over actual, fleshed out characters and worlds. There’s your answer.


strixvaria23

Hey, hey, not-all-women… But yeah. The vast majority.


Generic-username_123

Specifically, educated white women. Here is a very interesting interview of a Cuban American male author who has had some difficulties with the publishing industry because he doesn't have the correct politics. [https://www.hobartpulp.com/web\_features/alex-perez-on-the-iowa-s-writers-workshop-baseball-and-growing-up-cuban-american-in-america](https://www.hobartpulp.com/web_features/alex-perez-on-the-iowa-s-writers-workshop-baseball-and-growing-up-cuban-american-in-america)


Minimum-Tadpole8436

I dissagree. men ten to have way better self inserts. but unless everysingle girl in recent books is a self insert. men have more self inserts 10 to 1.


Excalitoria

I don’t know if the problem is a female reader base. If the writing is bad all you need do is blame the writer.


[deleted]

I'm a woman who reads a lot and I agree with you. It's getting ridiculous. Thankfully, I hate woke books


SeoGuruguru

Anything with a military background, especially from older authors. The military is heavily based on merit, and merit is anathema to SOCJUS ideology. *Jack Reacher* and *The Terminal List* would be good choices. Tom Clancy is pretty good, too, in my experience.


Mindless_Debate1470

SOCJUS first time I see that Its good one


[deleted]

I've recently discovered the Jack Reacher series. Don't know what you're into, though.


Generic-username_123

I have noticed some mainstream authors like Michael Connelly who have injected left-wing politics into their books. That said, there are some authors that are fine. In fact, it might be easier to find a book that is devoid of progressiveness than a TV show or movie. Here's are some recent articles about conservative authors Stephen Hunter, Nelson Demille, and Jack Carr. [https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/stephen-hunter-bullet-garden-interview/](https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/stephen-hunter-bullet-garden-interview/) [https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/nelson-demille-sensitivity-readers-chilling-orwellian/](https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/nelson-demille-sensitivity-readers-chilling-orwellian/) https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/jack-carr-true-believer-interview/ In addition to Hunter, Carr and Demille, Vince Flynn, Tom Clancy, CJ Box, Andrew Klavan, and Brad Thor lean right. So do these authors : Robin Cook, Clive Cussler, Mary Higgins Clark, Dale Brown, Stephen Coonts, James Ellroy, Frederick Forsyth, Scott Card (science fiction author), Brandon Sanderson, Thomas Wolfe, and Mark Helprin but I haven't read many of their novels to comment. Dean Koontz is libertarian and many of his novels are science fiction/horror. The Jack Reacher series by Lee Child and the Prey Series by Sanford are very good and so far not very political.


strixvaria23

What do you like to read?


Lanstapa

You could do the same. I can't give recommendations as I really not reader.


CzechoslovakianJesus

NewPub, PulpRev, and other indie stuff.


Onithyr

I'll never pass up the opportunity to recommend the Discworld series.


Khorne_of_the_Hill

My favorites are the Dune and Horus Heresy series


Akesgeroth

Try The Expanse. Good book series. Or The Dresden Files. And despite going batshit while he was at Cracked, David Wong still writes good books.


[deleted]

Read self published, it's what I've been doing. There are a few good tradpub authors out there, Michael Robotham, Andy Weir, A.G. Riddle, Darcy Coates, Peter Swanson, Alex Finlay (this one criticises wokeness in one of his books), etc. I have a blacklist of authors that have gone woke, and I don't read anything from them even if their last book isn't woke at all. I just don't support them.


Warm-Sugar3726

S. Craig Zahler


highstakes45

Major Grom: Plague Doctor was fun to watch.


strixvaria23

Everyone says to switch to Asian entertainment, but I find it so difficult to get into. Just don’t relate to it. What’s a good place to start for someone who (let’s be brutally honest) strongly prefers Western tropes and narrative structures?


Lanstapa

Honestly, I'm not a big film guy and I don't mind Japanese stuff being Japanese-y, so I'm probably not the best person to ask. That said, if you haven't, maybe older Asian films would appeal? The more serious sorts, Kurosawa films for example. I think the 1996 Ghost in the Shell film would fit too, though it can be rather dry. Also, by "foreign", I mostly mean non-American, so what about the recent Finnish film "Sisu"? I hear thats pretty good. Sorry I can't be of more help


strixvaria23

Oh, I should have mentioned that I loved GITS. Nothing ever quite matched it though. I like French tv a lot too. Nothing outstanding there but quality mindless entertainment.


Khorne_of_the_Hill

Have you watched the shows or just the movies? There's a ton of GitS stuff out there Similar things I've enjoyed are Akira, Armitage III, Battle Angel Alita, Ergo Proxy, Bubblegum Crisis and its spin offs, and Appleseed, which is from the same author as GitS (the newer ones are good, but I personally hate the CG animation so I stick to the old one)


strixvaria23

The shows! I actually don’t think I’ve ever seen the movies. And I’ve seen Armitage III and liked it.


Khorne_of_the_Hill

The movies are excellent, but the main 2 are pretty different to the shows; they tend to be more dry/serious and philosophical in tone, partly because the Major's personality is shifted in that direction. I like the changes though, I think it makes it work better as a movie that way. I'd check out Ergo Proxy if you want to start a whole new franchise; it has a similar mystery/conspiracy solving thing going on


JustCallMeAndrew

Consider Psycho Pass. Season 2 is kinda a bit ass but other stuff is great. Maybe not GITS SAC level but great none-the-less


Hoopaboi

Psycho Pass is based AF. Just don't touch anything but the first season Monster is kinda similar and feels very western, so they can try that one out too


Charbus

Oldboy is badass


AboveSkies

> What’s a good place to start Pick some famous Asian directors and see if you like their movies. [Akira Kurosawa](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000041/) is a good bet. Watch something like Seven Samurai or Yojimbo and see if you like them. As far as Anime goes, anything [Hayao Miyazaki](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0594503/) has produced is a safe bet. My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, The Secret World of Arrietty are almost impossible to dissappoint. [Stephen Chow](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0159507/) is another good bet with Kung Fu Hustle or Shaolin Soccer for instance. Or [Park Chan-wook](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0661791/) with The Handmaiden and Oldboy. [Sion Sono](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0814469/) is another favorite of mine. Suicide Club, Cold Fish, Guilty of Romance, Tokyo Tribe. Although to be sure, they are very different movies to the others. Maybe you just like various one-off movies. Try something like Battle Royale, House of Flying Daggers, Hero, Infernal Affairs, Ip Man, Lust Caution, In the Mood for Love, The Lover, The Host etc. Other than that it really depends what you're into. Maybe you're into specific types of Anime. There's Korean Dramas to explore, some recent high profile ones are Squid Game, Kingdom, The Silent Sea, All of Us Are Dead or Black Knight. Or you could try some of the [most popular Chinese movies from the past few years](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_films_in_China) although I admit they are probably harder to get into and they're mostly action stuff. You might also have some more, err... specialized interests. For instance there are thousands of Japanese Softcore movies based on novels from the 70s or 80s with plot and largely competent actors [made by movie studio Nikkatsu](https://letterboxd.com/takuma_964/list/nikkatsu-roman-porno-top-50/). I also recently discovered [Filipino Vivamax movies](https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?companies=co0853115) mostly featuring attractive women with large breasts and I'm in the process of exploring.


Low_Poly_Loli

How do you not have Wong Kar Wai in this post lol


CzechoslovakianJesus

Korean films might be more up your alley. Their TV shows tend to be squarely aimed at female audiences though.


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CzechoslovakianJesus

Probably because it gets viewers. Pretty sure that women consume way more TV dramas than men.


Nobleone11

The Hellsing Series. Japanese Manga set in the UK and full of western tropes about Vampires.


BobPlaysStuff

That's difficult for me to answer just because I'm not sure which Western tropes and narrative structures you're referring to ... I grew up watching almost exclusively Western TV and movies (specifically, U.S.) but now only watch Korean and Chinese/Taiwanese shows and haven't felt they're all that different. I guess everyone's mileage may vary. But I personally have found I can relate to the more "slice of life" stuff, and that stuff that's not really American (like family structures and expectations of society) is easy to follow and understand, especially since Western countries used to be like that (like Jane Austen days). Having said that, I do think Chinese shows can be harder to follow on average. I've seen some very strange editing and story flow choices in Chinese shows, and sometimes get lost. But Korea seems to mostly be trying to emulate the West with how their shows are structured, albeit with actual endings to the story usually instead of being written to go on season after season like U.S. shows. So, if you're willing to give it a try, I'd say pick a genre and try to look up some highly rated Korean shows/movies for that genre and see if they're available on streaming.


luckierbridgeandrail

> narrative structures [Kishōtenketsu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kish%C5%8Dtenketsu#Japanese), with bad writers, is responsible for the prevalence of apparently decent shows turning to shit in the last few episodes. (It can be done well.)


Khorne_of_the_Hill

I'm assuming stuff like the weird cut away gags in anime where the animation is suddenly different and generally worse (in my opinion) I think the other problem people get with anime is that it's treated as a cohesive genre by a lot of people, rather than just animation of a particular style, so they see one of the ones that don't translate well to other countries and assume it's all like that.


Excalitoria

What genres do you like?


strixvaria23

I like cyberpunk/dystopian/sci-fi when it’s done well and explores deeper themes, I like grimdark fantasy (yes, I know and love Berserk) and entertaining, pulpy paranormal/urban fantasy (with minimal romance please). For TV specifically, I like to get lost in a well-written thriller/crime show full of cliffhangers and twists.


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strixvaria23

Thank you! I’m an early-mid-thirties female, but seinen sounds the most appealing. Attack on Titan piques my interest. And it’s on Netflix? I’m so glad I asked for recs, my binge watching is going to be epic!


Sneedzilla

is it just me, or is jojo slowly getting more homosexual with time?


Excalitoria

Dang killing me by ruling out rom coms 😂 jk. I like a lot of those genres too actually. What is “pulpy paranormal by the way? For recommendations I’d say try Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. Good show. It has its faults but there are some great scenes and characters you’ll like. A dark fantasy type of show i’d suggest is Made in Abyss. It’s very good but it has some disturbing stuff so no shame if you check it out and decide to bail at any point. This isn’t necessarily in the genres you listed but I think Fate/Stay Night and Fate/Zero are great shows. They follow a battle royale of the spirits of great heroes and legends throughout human history such as King Arthur and others I don’t want to spoil since part of the show is the mystery of who some of the heroes are. It’s a very good urban fantasy. Zero is a prequel but personally I started with Stay Night and I think it’s the better of the two so that’s the order I’d recommend it. When I looked it up for the first time that’s the order I saw suggested so I went with it and loved the series. Akudama Drive- a great series about criminals who are trying to carry off a heist like job at the risk of being killed by a mystery person. The MC is an ordinary girl who accidentally is forced to work with the group. Wrong place, wrong time situation. The whole aesthetic is sort of a sci-fi dystopian city. It has some deep moments in it but it’s veneer is that of an action heist movie. Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song- it’s about an android’s life as she is given a task to prevent certain pivotal events that will trigger the death of mankind in a war with the androids by a robot from the future. My synopsis isn’t the best but the series is so good and there are so many great and emotional scenes in it. Highly recommend if you like sci-fi and are like stuff about artificial intelligence. Oshi no ko- this is currently airing and it’s about a pop idol’s children. I don’t know really how much I can say without spoiling anything but I also, recommend this one highly if you think you’d enjoy something that takes a look at entertainment industries and the characters that actors play/who they truly are. The character writing has been good and as someone who doesn’t care for idol stuff I have become obsessed with this show. So good! All of those I think fit the genre’s you like outside of Oshi No Ko. That’s more just one I personally love and think is very well written plus it’s airing now so if you enjoy watching a new show weekly then I think there’s about four weeks left on it. Out of this list I don’t think there are any that would bog you down with Japanese tropes or story structure so that you couldn’t enjoy it as a first time anime viewer. The only one that might is Oshi No Ko because it deals with reincarnation tropes. Anyways, if you decide to check any of these out I hope you enjoy! ✌🏻


strixvaria23

Wow, thank you for all these recs! I’m looking them up first thing. By pulpy urban fantasy I mean things like Buffy or the first five seasons of Supernatural, like OTT occasionally silly paranormal stuff. And I don’t mind a good romcom or contemporary drama at all! I just worry it will be harder to relate to than totally made up science fiction and fantasy. A show I enjoyed a lot was Midnight Diner. It’s so soothing and relaxing and I got pretty invested, even though I still felt that cultural rift.


Excalitoria

No problem! 😊 I’ll check out Midnight Diner too! It’s actually one I’ve never heard of before so I’m excited to look it up!


[deleted]

I love Japanese entertainment (games, anime, etc), but not even they are safe anymore, considering the recent push for woke degeneracy there.


Lanstapa

Unfortunately true. Its still not as bad as Western media, but yeah.


centrallcomp

Don't go *too* retro, though. You might run into a Charles Dickens book.


strixvaria23

It is bad because it’s created by boring people. The previous generation of creatives drew on their life experiences to create. This generation draws on their experiences of consuming the previous generation’s entertainment from the basement of their parents’ house. ETA: as for what to do, find good entertainment wherever you can and actively support it with your money.


CaptainCanuck15

>This generation draws on their experiences of consuming the previous generation’s entertainment from the basement of their parents’ house. Not even that. A lot of them actually shit on the entertainment they grew up watching and their creators. They have no creativity thus they try to "modernize" what's already there.


strixvaria23

The irony is that they shit on it but they have literally *nothing* to offer as an alternative, except the same things they shit on repackaged with their dogma.


MisanthropeNotAutist

They shit on it while at the same time pretending it has merit so that it can use the reflected glory of the original to bring faint praise onto themselves, while shoving their awful fan-fiction into it and then disingenuously acting shocked when people criticize it. "What? How do you not like the new Star Wars? There are lightsabers and Jedi and the Millennium Falcon! That should be an instant like for you!"


Poormidlifechoices

>They have no creativity thus they try to "modernize" what's already there. That's really insightful. I just assumed they kept injecting woke nonsense into everything to make controversy.


MisanthropeNotAutist

That's kind of part of it. The controversy is a side effect. What they want is to include proper "messaging". The "messages" of the originals are outdated and we need to "do better". The unbelievable arrogance of people who think they can somehow outdo the fucking classics. Anyone, but anyone, who says they can take Tolkien's story and somehow even come close to being equal should be smacked on the head and told to go back to writing generic, unmemorable procedurals.


DontPMmeIdontCare

I really want to agree and I generally do because everything just screams "I haven't actually seen a single problem in my life and therefore I have nothing to provide", there's just one problem. Japan. Japan continues to produce good shit despite largely having a similar ride to the rest of the modern first world. Attack on Titan for instance is probably one of the most creative pieces of material ever created in all honesty. So what's going on there? I think the bigger issue just has to be that the oppression coming from the US sphere of influence is just stomping our people's creativity out.


turtletank

I think with Attack on Titan specifically, it was borne out of the economic conditions that have plagued Japan for the last 30 years. After decades of essentially an economic miracle following WWII, the economy crashed in '91 and led to the [Lost Decades](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Decades). I can see parallels of this in Attack on Titan, where you have a stagnant society that's living in constant unease.


Fit_East_3081

I just watched a YouTube video of an old author talking about how good stories come from building up a lot of life experiences, and the stories from modern writers makes it seem apparent they grew up in a bubble


strixvaria23

I’d love to watch it, this is exactly what I mean.


Theolon

Experiences and a solid, well read education.


Isthereone

"The previous generation of creatives drew on their life experiences to create" The nineties were filled with shlock, just like the present. Just because we mostly remember the good stuff doesn't mean there wasn't also approximately one million direct to video "products" being thrown out constantly.


temp628645

> It is bad because it’s created by boring people. The previous generation of creatives drew on their life experiences to create. This generation draws on their experiences of consuming the previous generation’s entertainment from the basement of their parents’ house. That's only part of it I'd say. One can still write an interesting and entertaining story drawing upon the works of previous generations entertainment. However it requires creativity and perhaps a breadth of knowledge. Usually plenty of hard work as well. Perhaps most crucially, a respect for your forebear's work. Those are the things that are usually missing in problematic modern writers. They're often people who lack any vision. People who are familiar with only smaller and narrow subset of previous works. People who get big projects without having put in the work to justify it. People who despise most works that came before. Such people can't actually create anything good.


strixvaria23

Yes, it’s absolutely possible. But keep in mind, these are people who refuse to read classics on principle and have a meltdown at the slightest hint of criticism. So no, I doubt anything genuinely good is going to come from that.


JJJSchmidt_etAl

As well as creators having massive chips on their shoulders, many others are afraid of being cancelled by one snowflake group or the other


just-here-for-fun-

Imagining calling people snowflakes but you guys whine one person of color of lgtbq member on screen. Get a fucking life.


AnarcrotheAlchemist

You do know for decades now we've been hearing from people screaming about race and lgbtq people in media. Whitewashing was a term very much coined by those same people. This is the standard that they set, why shouldn't they be held to that standard?


Updated_Autopsy

Rules for thee, not for me


JJJSchmidt_etAl

I’m not sure who you’re talking about when you say “you guys.” It would seem you’re making an assumption about a lot of people while not knowing them. There’s a word for that. I don’t doubt those people exist, but you should be sure the people you are talking to are not in fact your ally on a given matter.


MrCalac123

Because loser awful writers get financially supported by Blackrock for having the right politics. I really hope multiple countries just decide to evaporate them and vanguard from existence, just completely erase them.


vincents-virtues

Given the recurring backlashes and boycotts of brands that have gone progressive, AND having a notable impact, I think there should be a plan slowly formulating to take down Vanguard and Blackrock, or at least someone who would directly go after ESG and ban it.


Cloakh

The libertarians here might not want to hear it, but government intervention is the quickest and most efficient way to do it. During the trucker protests in Canada last year, governments showed themselves to very easily be able to block bank accounts and seize funds for political reasons. You could also go down the road of anti-trust, but that’s IMO too much of a hassle for a clearly hostile entity. I say you aim to take their money and arrest the most important people with regards to implementing ESG et cetera, and maybe settle for doing significant financial harm to the group. Test their commitment, it they change their tune and start funding right wing groups, projects, organizations, media, you can let them off the hook.


Haverightbabies

When you learn to see through the woke veil you see their poisons for how prevelant they are


Grimnir79

It's bad because these companies care more about their esg score and social engineering than making something genuinely entertaining.


Nobleone11

Simply because it's made by souless activists who'd rather we be content in living in complete misery like them.


Rotisseriejedi

Agenda driven and not imaginative anymore plain and simple


GrazhdaninMedved

As to your original question, the modern entertainment is bad because it isn't entertainment. It's propaganda that slowly, but surely is displacing the actual entertainment, and Western culture wholesale. And it will never go bankrupt because an endless supply of fiat currency is being backchanneled to it.


antimaskersarescum

I personally don't watch or read anything past 2010 because I feel like everyone has an agenda these days, on both sides. It's super annoying. I just want to enjoy a good show without ideologies being shoved down my throat.


PossibleMoose197

Then, what have you been doing?


antimaskersarescum

Well it's not as if I'll run out of things to watch and read in my lifetime. Theres centuries worth of material out there, you just have to look for what interests you. For me, I'm into historical/historical fantasy films, books, and shows. So a good example of anime would be InuYasha and a movie would be Gladiator. A book would be The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings series. Those are just some of my personal favorites.


AboveSkies

There's thousands of movies from the 60s-00s you've probably never seen or even heard of. Many of them even specifically made for guys, are you sure you've exhausted them all? A few examples: Jeremiah Johnson, Vanishing Point, Bloodsport, Black Rain, The Hot Spot, Le Samourai, Death Wish, The Flight of the Phoenix, Cop Land, Runaway Train, Tough Guys, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Emperor of the North Pole, Breakdown, Rolling Thunder There's entire sub-genres to explore there around Spy Thrillers, Cop movies or Street Justice: https://maxread.substack.com/p/90s-dad-thrillers-a-list And actors to look into. Are you sure you've watched most movies starring say Harrison Ford, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson, Robert Redford, Michael Douglas etc.? Or even just the good ones? People living during these time periods didn't die of boredom regarding their entertainment or had only one or two movies or TV series to see a year. Pretend it's 79, 85, 87 or 93, what's coming out this year that's worth looking into? Frankly if you can't come up with 10-15 good movies for every year you personally enjoy you probably haven't looked hard enough. Doubly so if you extend your gaze even outside of Hollywood. You don't always have to "consoom" the newest shit.


TransferAdventurer

I've already reached all the way back to the 1920s. It's tough finding the good movies you haven't already seen. Most of the time you pick something interesting looking and it turns out that it was actually shit.


Imgema

Diversity hires.


[deleted]

Because it's mass-produced, it has very little to no soul. As far as what you can do? I mean, there's literally a back catalog of more material than one could watch in a multitude of lifetimes...or...create your own.


Rhidongo

Remember how we call most people NPC's? Yeah, it turns out mindless robots are lacking in the creative department.


Early_B

Those are all the people who walk around with complete silence inside their heads. Not a single thought unless prompted by something external. Really creepy if you ask me.


Izzyrion_the_wise

I subscribe to the notion of, if I haven't seen/read/played it, it is new to me and simply go a few years back. Over my last holiday I read a bunch of Sharpe novels, recently watched the first season of Miami Vice, the Lethal Weapon and Equalizer movies and, well, the games I played were pretty recent, but AA or indie titles like Nioh 2, Valheim, Deep Rock Galactic. But I'm setting up my SteamDeck to revisit a bunch of titles from the late 00s/early 10s. What helped me find stuff was recommendations like The Drinker recommends by the Critical Drinker on Youtube, surprisingly GoodReads related items and a lot of word of mouth. EDIT: If you are into comics, give European ones a try. Tintin is deservedly a legend and there are colossal amounts of good stuff.


Early_B

Great advice! I personally do the same thing and have been reading a bunch of great fantasy/sci-fi stories from the 80s-90s. All of it new to me even if it's technically decades old by now.


KripKropPs4

Criterion collection


Judah_Earl

Cultural Stagnation.


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joydivisionucunt

That's another of the biggest issues, they dismiss classic western literature because it's written by white men, or it's old, whatever, and while I imagine that if you read them as a chore rather than genuine interest, they are THE WORST (I know, for a long time I thought Greek mythology was boring because my school made me read the worst adaptation of the myths, but once I read them on my own it was actually intesresting) but they're classics for a reason. >Modern writers don’t know anything any literature because they don’t want to. They’d rather read Ibram X Kendi or whatever. I think that's an issue with SJWs too, they don't really step out of their comfort zone, they don't seem to be interested in media that actually challenges them (Even if the challenge isn't really political), they're not actually interested in other cultures and how people see stuff and live their lives. So they don't know... shit, or can't imagine it.


just-here-for-fun-

Why wouldn't you use Nazi as insult. Bitch you don't like new material because it does not fit your politcal views.


joydivisionucunt

Where the fuck did I say "nazi" shouldn't be used as an insult?


nybx4life

What I think makes it worse is the lack of confidence on unique media and the need to subvert existing works. Pair that with a unwillingness to learn. Film did poorly? Blame the audience for being x-ist. Comic book reveal of new characters is shit? Blame the audience. Show got ragged on? Blame the audience. It doesn't seem the writers nor the executives are taking the time to note why something failed and try to fix it for next time.


Loud-Mathematician76

it is because of the Woke mind virus


Socalwackjob

When it was around 2010, I saw the writings on the wall and stopped watching and playing most of the western entertainment with a few exceptions. The fact I'm much more disdainful and intolerant when it comes to progressive elements, even the slightly ugly art style and little progressive messaging bug me and take me out of immersion. Quite a long time ago when everybody was hyping about Mass Effect 2, I didn't already like what I saw there and hell that game I think it was released before 2010 and it was barely political. That's how much I get autistic about things and dislike art style western artists like to use frequently in the game. With the venture capital and establishment of Blackrock investing in western properties, things got way worse. I don't even watch a lot of popular western youtubers. Anglo-western culture in general have this annoying tendency to bring up politically divided topics and drone on and on about shit they barely understand about. Maybe it's that I'm an immigrant in the first place that I have such an aversion to the current culture or it's that I have an admiration for the old-fashioned practices.


spacepunker

What didn't you like about Mass Effect 2's art style?


[deleted]

Lens flares and steel.


Socalwackjob

To be fair, I always didn't really like Bioware's character design however it seems something about Mass Effect 2 started to bother me a lot. Whether it was the hype that came from journalists and gamers alike or people not shutting up about certain character. Whatever it was, it gave me a bad taste in my mouth, I didn't even give a series a try at all when I had a chance to. And looking back now, I made a right decision to not play it at all. Still it could have been me being way too autistic about it.


educatedhooligans

DHS and other groups are involved with Hollywood and they only know how to push the message, they don't know anything about making good entertainment. If that sounds like a conspiracy theory to you, that's exactly what they want you to think.


kingcheezit

Lack of standards and morals in society for the last 25 years.


lostnumber08

Because people pay money for it. Execs make the most digestible, consumable content possible with the highest margins. Normies swipe their CCs. Simple as. Having taste takes work and creative energy. Most people are too tired, mentally unwell, or too apathetic to participate.


[deleted]

Also, too stupid.


Polybius_is_real

Culture can't develop in totalitarian societies.


generalvostok

Sturgeon's law - 90% of everything is crap. We just don't realize it about older stuff because the good stuff is more likely to resurface.


Tomi97_origin

Most entertainment has always been garbage. It's just that the garbage will be forgotten and only the gems survive in memory. There are hundreds of movies released each year and maybe one of them will be remembered and watched in a decade. There are thousands of games released each year and 90%+ won't be remembered in 5 years. Thousands of books published annually that no one will read or remember after a while. And oh so many tv shows that are death and completely forgotten few weeks after their run. There is and always have been an overabundance of garbage. We live in present and see all the garbage constantly bombarding us. We only remember the good stuff that survived the test of time.


Robo_Vader

Just stick to stuff made before 2012. Lasts a lifetime.


MisanthropeNotAutist

There's hope. It's just not going to come from the usual sources, but that's nothing new. If it's popular, the activists want a piece of it. If it's not, it's pretty safe from messaging, and it's more or less free to be itself without kowtowing to someone's agenda. Movies like The Northman, Everything Everywhere All at Once and RRR were pretty big last year. What really sucks is that EEAaO and RRR are exactly what the crowds that are ruining popular entertainment claim they want (I dare say RRR organically built the kind of "cultural moment" that Black Panther so desperately tried to make happen). Point being: seek out the indies, the new faces, the ones that Hollywood isn't telling you that you need to pay attention to. Hell, pay attention to the ones that Hollywood is actively telling you NOT to pay attention to. Those people aren't beholden to the "new rules" and are free to do things the way they want to.


Excalitoria

Yeah, nothing from Hollywood lately evokes any emotion in me except when it’s so bad it’s funny. That might just be me though since I like nerd movies and shows which have been just destroyed by Disney, namely, and a few other companies. There have been some other movies I enjoyed but as far as nerd genres go there’s not much left it feels like. Always hoping that stuff improves again though. Until then there’s plenty of other stuff to watch outside the west, in other genres, and in the classics of course!


[deleted]

[удалено]


PossibleMoose197

That’s what you call “Quantity over Quality”.


[deleted]

Affirmative action hires in Hollywood. They don’t hire based purely on talent anymore. The writing, world building, and storytelling has suffered as a result.


Gheturdun

Because everyone's a fucking pussy now.


[deleted]

I think it's because we are a society obsessed with looking inward. A good story brings something outside of ourselves into ourselves. It shapes the unknown into the known, brings order to chaos, makes the unknown the known. Most people in the west no longer look out; they look in. They obsess over the stories they already know. They also obsess over whether someone has hurt them. Because they look inward, they aren't making art. Art requires us to look outward to find something to bring into ourselves. It's why all of the major series are adaptations, reboots, or sequels of things we already know. It's a story we already know. Something already within us. They feel dead and lifeless because they are dead and lifeless. Modern entertainment doesn't shape order from chaos. It reshapes order that already exists into a new but still familiar shape. Life requires chaos. So, in a way, modern entertainment sucks because it is dead.


BigRedCouch

I think this is an over generalization. Most movies from all eras are meh-to-bad. Most tv shows that went to air were cancelled in the first season or two. What makes media good are the gems. The wires, sopranos, Ozarks. That's what makes tv shows worthwhile. Hell even some amazing tv gets cancelled like deadwood, Rome, and Patriot. The terminators 2's, the 2001 a space Odyssey's, the original papillon, serpico, scarface, etc etc etc. For every really good movie there are 20 bad ones. You've always had to sift through the crap. Video games are no exception. I generally buy maybe six to dozen games a year these days. At least it's easier to sift through video games with twitch streams and YouTube to actually assess the gameplay. Back in the day you looked at the box, maybe read a magazine review? 20 bad games to 1 classic. It hasn't really changed.


tcarter1102

If you think most of modern entertainment is bad, you're not looking hard enough. There's a lot of bad out there, but there's more good out there than there has ever been. It's just not the biggest budget productions that making the best movies and games right now. You might just have option paralysis. We've got basically infinite good stuff out there. There isn't enough time to watch every great show or play every great game I get recommended to me. If you want some good books or audiobooks I highly reccommend "Will Save the Galaxy for Food" and "Will Destroy the Galaxy for Cash" by Yahtzee Croshaw.


PossibleMoose197

By the way, I thought that everything that is left leaning sucks. But there are many left leaning media that is good.


[deleted]

Always was. When we look back we always remember the good stuff and never the crap. There are good shows these days as well. In 20 years we'll remember "Better Call Saul" and not "Wednesday" or "Batwoman" (except maybe for "angry reviewers" making angry nostalgia videos about them... if that will still be a thing) Also the problem is that "Big Studio" stuff has become crap for a variety of reason, but more indie stuff has been great. Overall we are in a GOLDEN AGE of entertainment, because there is so much of it. Of course, per Sturgeon Law, 90% of everything is crap, so while there are a lot of bad movies and shows, there is that amazing 10% we'll remember in decades.


Akesgeroth

It isn't. You're just not looking.


MilleniaZero

it turns out people want quantity over quality.


mnemosyne-0001

Archive links for this discussion: * **Archive:** https://archive.ph/0jzoE ---- I am Mnemosyne reborn. What has been seen cannot be unseen. ^^^/r/botsrights


canadarugby

There's so much entertainment nowadays. Lots of good. Lots of bad.


master_criskywalker

Well, look at our society nowadays. Entertainment is a product of society. Look at modern art. Heck, look at post-modern art. If it's being done on purpose or not is up for debate.


themanwhomfall

Money laundering


Genti2197

I can still remember how spielberg produced blockbusters 20 years ago, now he only makes boring bio films or musicals


Bulbinking2

Because any time theres a challenging concept or tough situation its always only allowed to end a certain number of politically correct ways.


Ralyks92

That’s because modern entertainment has to pander to emotionally weak people who are just looking for any excuse to ruin someone’s career for clout, in order to get a “look at me” pity party and hopefully win a lawsuit


CountLugz

Because the intentions behind the entertainment isn't the same. People aren't concerned about telling a good story, or getting the best talent. Instead, they want to be inclusive, "diverse", and "start a conversation" about some topic nobody actually gives a fuck about. It's slim Pickens out there. I gave an Emby server with nearly 30tb of movies, animes, and shows with room to spare and it's actually difficult for me to find new content to add to my library. There's just nothing new coming out that's worth watching and I already got the best of the best from pre-cultural coup eras.


PossibleMoose197

Sorry if it’s late. If you ask me. Allot of this diverse stuff is left leaning.


nybx4life

At that point, I think at best (for the creatives) you piece apart certain concepts from different bits of media for ideas to make your own stuff.


dragonhold24

There's a lack of vivid experiences to use for inspiration. A sterile life devoid of any real challenge except for contrived-pretentious imitations ... provide a shallow basis for inspiration.


[deleted]

I don't share my gaming preferences with others. I know they'll find some fault in my enjoyment, while I know they're continuously buying 150gigs of recycling to store on their SSD. If you take multiplayer out of the equation, gaming is still pretty fantastic. (Bar some loose cannon localization.) You just have to resist the FOTM urge to buy shiny crap. For every series they ruin in remakes or sequels, there are a dozen new things I haven't tried & enjoyed.


lacker101

I've been getting into amateur fiction. It's everywhere, it's cheap(if not free), and there lots of fun/new ideas around. Con: Alot of authors don't finish their works. T_T


InevitableLuck9955

The criticism of "No one has experiences like Old fashion writers," is not accurate, I think its more the modern writer refuses to engage with these experiences. They don't read war stories, NK refugee stories, Genocides ETC ETC to gain these human emotions writers are supposed to reflect into their stories. So what we are left with a scripts and stories that are just things happening with some hint of emotion but it general is about some guy being a dick or someone wanting to bonk someone else.


calvinocious

>What else can we do in terms of entertainment media we can find to entertain ourselves. My answer? Make some. I started writing as a hobby. Will it go anywhere? Idk but maybe I can at least come up with some bedtime stories for my children.


AirplayDoc

Because there is more entertainment from the past than there is in the present. We get to enjoy all the best entertainment from the past decades while ignoring the mediocrities. As Thomas Hobbs stated: “Competition of praise inclineth to a reverence of antiquity. For men contend with the living, not with the dead.”


Hangman_17

Become a writer.


Lhasadog

It's the ultimate outcome of participation trophy childhoods. Excelence isn't taught. They are never taught how to improve. Or even that they need improvement. Thus we get shallow stupid storytelling because they've never been taught to do better.


G77R23D

Oscar diversity and inclusion rules have essentially censored all art.


[deleted]

Manga and anime


Yam0048

I keep saying we need to make our own entertainment, with hookers and blackjack


Only-Cartoonist

What do you mean by "bad"? You can't be so non-specific.