Ready Player One - Spielberg takes on the king of MMOs.

Movies
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Fair enough, but when you accuse people of being pandered to, you are probably going to get a negative reaction.

I just always think that it is interesting where us nerds (we all are) draw the line. Trekkies thinking Star Wars is for babies, Star Wars fans thinking Comic Book fans are bagging and boarding basement virgins, who think Dr Who fans are anglophillic snobs… Etc.

We are all the same, we all like dumb nerdy shit. And if you are afraid of being called a snob don’t post a South Park gif and say “I don’t really watch the show but…”

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I loved all the references, recognising most of them, especially the one I knew was wrong.

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I’m not being a snob! Certainly not judging folks who liked it. It’s just not working for me because the sheer weight of the references overwhelms the plot.

My mom taught me that it’s okay to stop reading a book I’m not enjoying so I’ve moved on.

64

But could you say, “I watched South Park but…” Because I did read the book. At first I was really into it, but the further I read the more disenchanted I became, and by the ending I thought it was ridiculous and over-the-top and it left me with a bad taste in my mouth for the book. I wouldn’t recommend it. The author created this interesting world and had a cool storyline, but he never figured out a good way to get out of the story. So he went for the Hollywood ending with all the special effects.

So I don’t think that makes me a snob, since I read almost exclusively genre fiction, and like a lot of books that really aren’t that good.

65

I agree with you. You’d think we’d be past this type of hyperbole by now, but no people still want to damn us all to hell for liking a book / movie like this.

This movie isn’t even out and you’re taking your opinion of the book and projecting your dislike of the book to a movie you haven’t even seen? You know, why don’t you start a book thread on RP1 and bitch there.

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Am I? RTT

But I guess discussing the quality of source material is off limits.

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Of course it isn’t, but you do a good job of shutting it down when you imply that those of us who like the book probably also like Adam Sandler and Michael Bay movies. It would help if you stick to the merits (or lack thereof) of the book and not make a roundabout dis at those who disagree with you.

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That is not what I said. The point was the defense as it were was boiling down to “it’s not high art, shut your brain off and have fun” which is a similar argument for those properties. I sited those as they are often criticized in the same circles of people using that argument now in favor of RP1.

69

Exactly. Posting rubbish like that or 'memberberries crosses the line from fair criticism to being a pretentious prat. It is one thing to not like a book or movie. It is quite another to insult those who do.

Postscript: I quite like Happy Gilmore. Does this make me somehow deficient?

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No, but if you said you liked Adam Sandler’s Jack and Jill, well…

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Is this the vaguely embarassing media preferences thread now? I’ll go, I’ll go next!

I listen to Evanescence Bring Me to Life.

It’s catchy!

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Then stop by the Metal thread and @ArmandoPenblade can educate you on better bands of that archetype!

Might I recommend you start with Within Temptation or Delian?

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I have very little experience with RP1, aside from what I’ve absorbed via Nerdcultural Osmosis and the excerpts in this thread, but to an extent, I kinda feel forge’s argument (at least in its purest, least ragey form). The kinda stuff you mention here has slowly come to drive me nuts. I recall this guy I hung out with in high school who was physically incapable of not quoting the entire movie, line by line, on a 1-second delay while watching any Monty Python material with us. Or a buddy of mine whose entire wardrobe is comprised of those “clever” nerd mashup shirts, like a Delorean wrecking into a TARDIS.

Like hey man, like what you’re gonna like. I like some dumb shit. Hell, @Zylon basically called me a slope-browed Neanderthal for loving the original Stargate movie more than I love my family yesterday. I might be slightly miscategorizing that interaction. But only slightly. It’s @Zylon after all <3

But goddamn does nerd/geek culture have this really (to me) obnoxious habit of just displaying/naming/referencing Beloved Cultural Icon context free and without purpose as some sorta, to grant it more weight than its worth, shibboleth or something. Like, you’re not really nerdy unless you’re just dropping a constant stream of in-jokes and snort-laughs at your buddy’s identical stream of in-jokes. And goddamn anyone not in the culture grabbing an ironic Mario-fights-Iron-Man shirt from Hot Topic.

I think that nerdy cultural artifacts can say some really interesting things about the world, and I think the experience of consuming them can have some real, meaningful effects on a person, create some powerful emotional reactions. Harry Potter’s a lot more than just whipping a $40 replica wand around and shouting “Lev-i-oh-SAH, LIKE HERMIONE SAID HAHA” at each other. It was stuffed to the gills with tender character moments and moving (albeit simplistic) moral tales and lessons and interesting worldbuilding and its own set of clever (and more than a few eyeroll-inducing) back-references. And I think expressing the wholeness of that, or at least more of it than just a giggled out one-word reference, is a far better way to use it as a form of communication between like-minded people. (The Doctor Who fandom is also maddening in this regard, paying little mind to some of the more subtle, moving moments of the show in favor of just repeating “BOWTIES ARE COOL” ad nauseum)

Or, in short, the “let’s see if we can cram sixteen context-free references into this paragraph/scene!” writing on display above just makes me think of the kind of simplistic pablum-as-“joke” humor that I really just can’t get onboard with amongst friends and acquaintances.

Fuck, now everyone’s gonna think I’m an elitist prick :(

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Let’s get some Lacuna Coil up in that shit

Or Battle Beast? A little less goth-fabulous but c’mon dammit

I’m pretty sure SEMBLANT is really bad but damn if I don’t love this track

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Is it any worse than sports culture? I see shirts all the time at my work referencing an athlete’s catchphrase or some trivial event in a game all the time.

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Yes, very much so. And that’s why the constant barrage of references are integral to the book. They are authentic.

Also, they aren’t without context as given the plot of the book, deep understanding of old geek lore is absolutely required to solve the puzzle and win the prize. Without those references the plot doesn’t work. And if you replace Xwing fighters with “Space Superiority H-Class” or whatever because you didn’t get the nod from Disney, the whole thing just plain doesn’t work.

Thanks for the music suggestions. So far none of them are as embarrassingly terrible yet totally catchy as Bring Me to Life. But I’ll keep looking!

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I’m not sure I’d call myself a fan of that either ;-)

As noted at the top of my post, I can only judge based on the writing samples I’ve seen scattered around, which just feel like the same sort of pained, mile-a-minute look-how-many-references-I-know “joking” that’s begun grating my nerves in the last 5 years or so.

I guess I’m glad that the process is enshrined in the plot, but then again–once more, to my limited view–that just kinda seems to raise that sort of conversation up as desirable since it’s the key to Winning The Game now. Just the ultimate expression of showing you’re a “real nerd” via mile-a-minute reference-dropping to another (apparently dead) nerd to win the ultimate geeky approval.

It’s possible I’m exactly 0 fun at Trivia Nights, as well ;-)

edit: I should also probably drop in that my casual wardrobe outside of work consists of 90% heavy metal tees, so, ya know, guilty and all that :)

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This sentence literally and comprehensively captures the plot of the book.

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Forgeforsaken, wrapping your insults in innuendo for the sake of plausible deniability, does not make them any less insulting. You should be in politics, you’re a natural.

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FTFY!