greygoose
Super Freak
Rinse and repeat across the whole Internet and social media.
RIP The Sandbox 2007-2021
- Thread starter devilof76
- Start date
Help Support Collector Freaks Forum:
devilof76
Super Freak
With my collecting near its end, picking on jerks was one of my last amusements left here. Not saying I miss the conflict. Just that I wish it had been more mellow when I still had things to buy.
I don't know, I miss the days when there was more back and forth. More banter, more personalities. However, it did use to get annoying, especially when they had their "thing" and no matter the discussion it all reset in the end and the same dance started all over again. Still, the place felt alive. Every forum I used to frequent ended up having most people leave. I check some sites from time to time and they're unrecognisable. Everything seems more... empty. I'd say it's natural that people move on, but there's just no spark left in those places anymore. It seems as if nobody cares.
devilof76
Super Freak
Honestly, the world isn’t what it was. There was an enthusiasm from around 2004 to 2012 or so that has abated everywhere. The culture had a positivity that no longer manifests with the same power. I don’t know if it simply turned insular or if it vanished completely. What I know is that it’s not anywhere I used to be able to find it.
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2013
- Messages
- 10,938
- Reaction score
- 4,831
Agreed. A combination of turning inwards and the constant hum of anxiety and paranoia beneath everything that keeps gaining signal strength. Actually it's not really 'beneath' anything anymore.
It's been a tough couple of decades and I think this era really needs some kind of 'win' ... and by that I don't mean just surviving to stumble on another day.
I haven't been in Europe since 2016, I wonder what it feels like in those countries.
I've talked about this before in other places, and it's absolutely true. Here there was a discussion of aesthetics by the decade, and it's arguable that after the 00s ended, that ceased to be. In the late 90s and early 00s there was this belief that the future was here. It was the new millenium, the internet was getting in everyone's homes, and we were all bracing ourselves for the "next step". The aesthetic of the time was either angst-driven subculture dressed in all-black, or a genuine optimism. Money was everywhere, fast cars, tall skyscrapers, lights everywhere; the world was becoming a big playground. Then the dot-com bubble happened, 9/11, the 2007-8 financial crisis and so on. The thing is, before 2007/8, the aesthetic was still felt. 9/11 gave rise to a more "Murica, F'Yeah" narrative in media, which were still "entertaining" to the average person. It's how we got the Bay blockbusters of time, that pretty bad GI Joe flick, Black Hawk Down, etc. But still, the aesthetic was there.
What was that aesthetic? The tail end of the 90s had all those films like American Beauty, Office Space and Fight Club, about how the comfortable daily life had become too empty, with the MC finding solace in an alternative, more "free" and masculine of sorts environment. The comics and games of the time were about hot people in leather being cool and making their own rules. Explosions, widescreen optics and general abundance was everywhere. The X-Men, which essentially begun the summer capeshit blockbuster, weren't colourful capes, they were aesthetically pleasing paramilitary groups fighting for the future. And that was the general feel of the era. The future was coming, day by day. You can watch things like K-Pax, The Beach, Vanilla Sky or The Island, and notice that there was this sense of "heightened reality". The skies and seas were bluer, the lights brighter. The filters tried to make it all look like a big commercial of a better way. The defining trait of the era was the light. Blue, white, yellow, whatever, it was there. It's why we had the Abrams Flares. Still, I'd say Bay's Island realy captured what I'm talking about:
(I'll be copying and pasting some stuff from my previous post here, as it's the same point I want to make)
It was futuristic, but not utterly alien. In a way, I'd describe it as the "updated" 00s version of the 50s. Look at the Sci-Fi of the time and you'll notice it had that Art Deco, "50s... but in SPACE" look to it all. Generally, the 00s still had a distinct look to them, I'd say. And that was a "realistic" view of the future. Fllowing the patterns and going "yeah, we're not going to have a Feudal Empire, but we'll get those sleek bodysuits and flying cars". The future could've been pesimistic, like in Minority Report, but it was still something tangible. At least in Sci-Fi. In the actual world you again had this obsession with getting more and more "sleek". The gloss that was everywhere. It's called the Y2K Aesthetic and I think it fits.
And you know what, I still like it. It does feel futuristic and it has its own flair. It's not generic, like pulp sci-fi or just "puts some guns and whatever in space and some power armours or something". You know that the leather's from the 90s, the clear plastic is from the early 00s, it does give you a resemblance of a specific point in time. I think the whole Blackberry Vs. Apple thing perfectly encapsulates that too. Blackberry was sleek, and had lots of buttons, giving the illusion that it was super-duper-hi-tech and sophisticated. Compare that to the old Nokia mobiles, the flip-phones and whatnot, the Blackberry was seen like a pocket-sized computer. Then the iPhone came about and it put a new meaning in "sleek". It was so advanced it didn't need buttons. It didn't need a design. It was a smooth surface; period. And people got hooked. Say what you will about Jobs, but the man was a marketing genius and I admire him for that. More than Gates, anyhow.
Beyond that, the 00s had the fallout of 9/11 and it was reflected in everything. You had both unironic pro-millitary propaganda and also lots of satire. You had Secularism Vs. Religion which really drove those early Atheist personalities all over the net. You had stuff like 24 that while dealing with deep state conspiracies, ultimately wanted to tell the audience that those Three-Letter-Agencies were there to protect the people. Halo was directly influenced by the wars of the time. You had Modern Warfare taking the world by storm. IMO, MGS is the most 00s franchise I can think of. MGS2 especially tapped into things that were just beginning then, but are extremely relevant today. Nolan's BatFilms deal with those themes as well. TDK is about an uber-billionaire becoming big brother. Batman being in an all-black power armoured version of the 90s/00s leather wasn' random. For me, the 00s ended in 2010.
Iron Man was the last franchise to be directly influenced by the events and look of the early 00s. And IM2 carried that over, by continuing the militaristic storyline with the Power Armour Wars. Back then we thought Power Armours would be the next big breakthrough, instead of drones. When IM3 rolled around all basis in reality was gone and we had magic serums regrowing lava arms. IM 1 & 2 were still products of their own time. The IM2 expo with American-Flag Bikini Girls dancing, the glorification of Stark's billionaire lifestyle, it all was the last stretch before Occupy. More than that, the armours felt real. They were big, they were somewhat "clunky", they had weight. It's no stretch to say that Stark influenced a lot of kids heading out of High School and going into Engineering. Hell, doesn't anyone remember the Engineering craze of the 10s? That was a direct result of things like Iron Man and the general secular culture developed in the 00s. IM was the last "true" product of the 00s.
Moving on, 09 Trek still had that lens flare, early 00s look. The "grittier" lighing but with the vibrant colours popping out. Avatar most certainly was the last 00s "epic blockbuster". The human tech looks straight out of Halo and Pandora is a SolarPunk painting come to life. It's a Sci-FI Dances With Wolves, with an added Post-9/11 look and environmentalist message. And finally, Tron Legacy took the Y2K Aesthetic, made it more futuristic, and closed the decade completely. Maybe that's why I have such a soft spot for Tron and love it so. I don't know. You could argue that it started with the X-Men. Directly influenced by the 90s, they begun the 00s.
Now look at Tron Legacy:
It's the last step of that aesthetic. Going from the "retro" and relatively realistic look of the era, and making it actually futuristic. You can see how it's similar to both the X-Men and the Matrix (late 90s/early 00s) and the Island (mid-00s) while also taking it a step further. It's the culmination of all the 00s looks. So, yeah, I'd say the 00s had their own "thing". It's something you can revisit. It's an actual aesthetic, at the end of the day.
In contrast, the 10s really had nothing. There was no massive event that really changed the landscape. There was the 2008 crash, and there were real ramifications, but there was no impact on pop culture. If anything, it all went straight to "party like there's no tomorrow". Occupy happened and then it all moved to idpol. What do I remember about the 10s? The 2012 hysteria that got some suckers scammed, hipsters, raves, things like YOLO and general memespeak becoming normie-friendly, but apart from that I can't tell you what the "feel" of the 10s was. There was no unifying theme across all media. No defining franchise or genre. In the 00s you had Sci-Fi going through a long stretch, you had historical epics trying to make a comeback like in the old Hollywood days, and you had the militaristic aesthetic due to 9/11. The 10s were empty, but the culture wars kept ramping on, which is why we are where we are. One could argue the 10s went through more rapid, real world changes, but in terms of having a set "identity", I'd say there's nothing you can point at and go "yeah, that's so 10s". I can name movies that capure the 00s pefectly, in style or period. But with the 10s I have no clue.
It's honestly pretty funny how our likes and dislikes are so heavily attached to our times. I still have a nostalgia for the 90s/00s, and by extension have it for the products, events and "feel" of the times too. And the same goes for the 80s people and so on. Well, at least we can all agree the 10s were utterly creatively bankrupt.
------
So, with this done, what does it all mean? I know a lot of people will just say that I'm nostalgic for my youth, but it's not just that. Go back and look at the corporate culture. Ads were centered around beautiful people, in beautiful locations, living beautiful lives. They were tying to sell you that. Were you going to get it? Doubtful. But the point was that you were trying to reach something "better". You wanted to be fitter, more handsome, richer, and so on. What are the ads like now? Fat, ugly people doing some silly dances. Focusing that it's "alright" to be weak, fat and ugly. It's okay to just be "you", because "you" are just a fat, ugly slob. And it works. The average consoomer likes it. Seeing a beautiful model makes a woman feel inadequate, it makes a man feel threatened. But hey, you'll say, "celebs are still as pristine as ever" and you'd be right. That's the genius of it. The ads are not threatening. The don't make you feel sad that you're not as good as the people in them. Meanwhile you still watch those movies, shows and whatnot. You are still exposed to the beautiful. So you buy. And you don't feel bad about it, because hey, you're not tying too hard because, after all, you're great just as you are...
Fight Club has been talked about to death, but I'd wager it's still relevant. People have many takeaways about the ending, the message and everything, but here's the thing. When Tyler criticised the models in the ads, while being Brad Pitt, the point was that those models were carefully edited and curated. They weren't real. They weren't strong, and they weren't even truthfully that beautiful; it was lighting and editing. You weren't meant to get out thinking "man, **** this ****, it's all a scam", it was meant to make you realise that working out, taking care of yourself, trying to be the best you you can be, was independent of what some company sold you. Now we've swung so far to the other end of the pendulum that such ads are actually healthy messages. I'd rather be jealous of a beautiful person and want to work on myself, than just be told to "accept". Back in the day they sold us beautiful lies, now they're shoving a flawed illusion in front of our faces.
And that can be observed across all media. Back then you had things like *** & The City and Entourage, so I'm not going to argue that it wasn't a consumering-obsessed culture. But that's the thing; they had their bubbles. S&TC was "unique", it was provocative. It was about a bunch of sluts living like sluts and whatever, some people liked it. Entourage was the male S&TC, about a bunch of bros being dudebros and getting ******* and whatever. They were what they were. But now, S&TC isn't unique. The most watched Netflix show ATM is about a married mother who debates whether to choose her long-time husband who's handsome and rich, or her old ex who's two inches taller, has a huge **** and is a bit more handsome I suppose. In the end she decides not to walk out on her husband and children, and instead decides to **** the big dicked guy on the side because that's... good? Somehow? When we've reached a point where the sluts in S&TC are better people than the average protegonist in a current show, there's something wrong.
And that's what's happened to modern boards. There's no freedom, and unironically, no "safe spaces". It used to be that each genre, each "thing" was its own. You walked into a comic book den or a game den prepared to engage with the people who were the core audience. The average comic book fan wasn't the average S&TC viewer and that was alright. Gatekeeping used to exist for a reason. You had to put in the work to prove that you liked that "thing", that you weren't there to laugh at them or just because it was a fad. It was also for you. It allowed you to develop taste, to find out stuff on your own. If you're guided through everything, then you'll never create your own preferences, you'll follow the same road as everyone else. In an effort to make more money, this tactic has been shamed and run to the ground. Now everything's the same, with the same norms and rules, to appeal to as many people as possible, and makes as many money as possible. The problem is, this alienates dedicated fanbases and the newcomers are often tourists who give up the moment the new shiny thing comes along.
I know the responses that will follow, we're all just mad little men angry that icky girls are invading our space. Which really couldn't be further from the truth, and shows that the people who spout this nonsense were never really into this "culture" to begin with. Boys grew up with Lara Croft, not Indiana Jones or Nathan Drake. People watched Alias, Xena and Dark Angel. We loved all that. Why? Because they knew what they were. The female lead was capable and badass, but also sexy. The same way Hemsworth shows up shirtless and pumped full of roids, Jolie wore a padded bra to have bigger ****. They quipped and "put down the silly boys" but they still ended up with the guy tagging along. The same way the prince got with the princess or the MC superhero got with his love interest. Now that's all gone. They've turned female MCs into frumpy, angry women who just quip, face no obstacles and "stick it to the man". People like us used to want girls to be interested in the hobby, nobody turned anyone away. But nobody cared. Nobody wanted to get into our "club". We weren't cool or hip. So we had our own power-fantasies and subcultures and rules and whatever. The same way the fanbases of Trek or S&TC were extremelly different. And that was great. You knew what you were and you engaged with likeminded people.
So what are we left with? The old, hardcore audiences alienated, and new blood that will leave the moment the next fad comes along. They've successfully sold these things to the GA, and they change them because of broader appeal and a couple of complaining internet morons. They change the movies, they change the comics. So now everyone has the same voice, the same beliefs, the same everything. It's why comics don't sell. Those people were never going to buy them, and we're tired. I lived to see Stark go from a melancholic, stoic but charming genius CEO, to a mumbling, depressive, quipping mess. Carol Danvers used to be an Army Brat with alcohol and depression issues who enjoyed slaughtering xenos. Now she's an all-capable stronk womyn who's Tony's role model (thanks Bendis). Why should I care about anything when these characters are basically hollows wearing the skin of corporate mascosts that resemble what I used to like?
How does this relate to forums? Simple. Without each commnunity having its own, unique, rules and conduct, it all becomes a streamlined, pre-approved "discussion" of the same old things. The kind of people that used to populate such places aren't tolerated anymore. Any dissent is not voiced. Why? because if you have a problem with one thing, it's the same problem you'll have with another, and another, and ultimately it leads to the same pre-approved source. Which is a big no-no so it's pruned and you're kicked out, simple as. You're either in or out, there's nothing else. I'll give you a precise example. I was banned from a comic book forum years back. Why? I was talking in a thread one day, about GotG. There was this new account who was going on and on about how the Bendis run was the best. All the older accounts dissagreed, and eventually he/she/they confirmed that they'd never read the DnA run. But still, they wouldn't back down that the Bendis run, that was widely loathed by actual fans beyond the paid corporate reviews meant to promote the upcoming movie, was the best. So I said "**** it" and created a thread asking people to vote and linked to the previous thread. They were adamant that the entire fanbase liked the new one better and it was me and my ilk who were "wrong". Notice that, our taste, curated over years, was "wrong". Wrong. Anyway, a couple of hours later I got a PM that I was temporarily banned because said account had complained for harassment. I told them what went down but still, "harassment". I told them to go **** themselves and got banned properly. I still go back sometimes, to this and others, and you know what I see? All the old accounts banned. All the old faces gone. Threads that used to be "tradition" like sharing art, odd scoups, continuity errors, all gone. Actual discussion is gone. All I see are new accounts talking about the same things you'd see on Tumblr. Old Tumblr anyhow, but I doubt it's changed. It's not nerds discussing how two issues decades apart are connected or ruin a character, it's 15 YO girls shipping genderswapped characters while talking in broken memespeak.
And there you have it. Back in the day discussion would be precise. People would bring up examples, half-forgotten stories and would try to one-up one another. They'd compared collections and tales, because it was a sort of competition. People were invested in those things, they weren't just there because it was a hot new thing. You had to show your investment or be left behind. In sports you have to play better, in math olympiads you have to solve more complex excercises, and in comics you had to show how big a fan you were. That's what gatekeeping is. You preserve what is and has been so that it won't be changed into something unrecognisable. Teams would scan issues by hand and the pirated packs would be shared between the trusted few. It was a true community. And it had its own rules. You could argue, you could dissagree, you could do everything because even if another guy thought you were a "******" for liking X instead of Y, he got that you did so in the same way he did for Y over X. Now it's gone. It's either Z or bust. I'm not going to argue how healthy that was. Obviously the guy spending his time working out and trying to get a gf was spending it much better. But still, it was what some people had and that was fine. That's what capes were and should be. But as time went on, the people that built the industry were forgotten, and we are where we are.
The bottom line is that the world changed. They stopped selling us true power fantasies and started peddling comforting blandness. That's all that it comes down to. They saw that the average person would rather be comforted than challenged. And all those nerdy products revolved around being the best version you could be, so they were changed, alongside society. Working towards a goal isn't "cool" anymore. Wanting something "more" isn't "cool"anymore. For all their faults, consumers of capes and vidya, deep down just wanted to be better than they were. They wanted an escape where they were the muscled genius who got the girl. And that's why the formula didn't work with women or "normal people". Women don't want to feel inadequate. The nerd knew he was inadequate in some areas and either escaped or at least tried a bit to get better. The girl wants to be as is and get it all, which is why female-centered products are things like Twillight, 50 Shades, Gossip Girl and so on. In nerdy products the point is the growth, the pain, the shame, the guilt, everything. And by changing that core, you change it all. So now the nerd doesn't have his escape because Average McNormie has a good enough life to not wish for anything better, and thus the product has to reflect those attributes. The nerd's now again the outcast with no place to go, but hey, Average McNormie can enjoy a very watered down version of [Product] and pretend they're big fans while again ridiculing the nerd, this time not for being a comicfan, but for being a "wrong" kind of comicfan, since Average McNormie is a "huge comicfan" and obviously knows what "wrong comicfans" are like.
I know a lot of people will say it's just time moving on and "my kind" becoming outdated, looking in the past with rose tinted glasses. But this time it's different. They didn't have computers and the internet in 1500. They didn't have people being connected to one another, from every part of the world, 24/7. Something that happened in the very North didn't immediately have an effect in the far East. There's extreme connectivity now. Things are different. I'm not going to get into politics, everyone has their own opinions on how Y is the ultimate culprit, X can save us, Z is the actual solution if only U, and so on and so forth. I'm just trying to say that in this current world of rapid changes, it's not really a case of not being "with it" and looking back to when you were "in". We're talking about specific issues that can be observed by anyone who's paid attention to them or was involved as the years went by.
It used to be how you had various friends that you used to talk about different topics with. You had this common with one person, that with another, and so on. And those common things were what they were. In the current world you're trying to talk about everything, with everyone, at the same time, so all things are stripped of their unique and "problematic" qualities until they're all the same vague "thing" that can easily be talked about by "everyone". Which, of course, means that it's not really talked about by anyone. The in-depth discussion is dead, long live the skimming.
Everything that goes on in America is transported here too, just with a lag, especially the more South you go. It's all the same now.
devilof76
Super Freak
I think the cool kids call it late-stage capitalism. It’s not, but you can’t tell them that.
What the "cool kids" call anything changes every week at this point. My favourites are the TikToks where some 15 YO goes "why don't we, like, just print more money?! duh?!" and in the next on they're cosplaying the Peaky Fookin Blindahs. At least when we were embarassing ourselves on the internet, it was by powerwanking our favourite strongman and doing so behind a fake name and profile picture on a videogame board...
Otomofan
Super Freak
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2009
- Messages
- 5,229
- Reaction score
- 4,069
devilof76
Super Freak
The conflicts which destroyed the culture of your youth were precipitated by ideological conflicts that have endured since the 1840’s. None of what happened in the early 2000’s had to, by necessity, disrupt the emerging culture, but the lack of resolution in the ideological tension guaranteed that those events would bury it.
This thread is not just a lament for The Sandbox.
Yeah, those things didn't arise out of nothing. You can always look back and map out the trajectory. I was just trying to keep it a bit more contained. Still, I'd wager that we're in uncharted territory now, so it's natural to look back and reminisce. I look around these days and I see no actual genre diversity in pop culture. For a while I thought it was just me having outgrown them, clinging on some false nostalgia, but really, if you look into it all, it's not the case. There is a clear and present stagnation, at least on that front. You can look at movies, games, comics, books even, and notice it. Granted, pop culture is not that important when it comes down to the individual, but it's a good way to gauge trends and the way of general populations. I don't know what's going to happen now, but I think a lot of the things pop culture used to talk about then, even in its last legs of counter-culture, will, if they haven't already, come to pass. What is interesting is how the GA reacts to it all.
This isn't so much a cultural point, but one thing that contributed to a lack of genre or concept diversity in pop culture in the 2010s was the erosion of the mid-budget blockbuster. That's where effects quality and unique stories used to intersect. For the last several years, our options have been Disney-owned cinematic universes too expensive to take chances with and low-budget indie films that were limited in the worlds they could create. There were notable exceptions of course, but not many and they didn't get as much exposure as they would have pre-2010.
What I'm excited about going forward is the increasing availability of high-end tools to smaller studios. I don't know how many of you are following what Epic has been doing with Unreal Engine, but they've made incredible strides in democratizing AAA-quality assets and tools for games and movies alike. Indie stuff is better-looking and more ambitious than it's ever been and should continue to grow until it fills the void left by those mid-budget works. At least, that's my hope.
It's a similar story with collecting. The hobby's become too expensive and too homogenized. MCU, DC, and Star Wars merch dominate the shelves at every price point. If you want something else, you've had to choose between cheap trash or a 1/3 piece that costs more than two month's rent. The companies with the most resources and experience for mid-budget collectibles (like Hot Toys) have gone mainstream and spend most of their time on Disney because it's a reliable moneymaker.
Only recently have smaller manufacturers begun to catch up and produce other characters to similar standards. The Threezero Rambo III was an excellent release. Toys Era filled longstanding gaps in peoples' collections with their unlicensed Raimi Spider-Man villains. The diversity will return, I'm sure. As for the activity on this forum... hard to say. Maybe if those smaller companies keep their prices reasonable, folks will come back to sites like this.
What I'm excited about going forward is the increasing availability of high-end tools to smaller studios. I don't know how many of you are following what Epic has been doing with Unreal Engine, but they've made incredible strides in democratizing AAA-quality assets and tools for games and movies alike. Indie stuff is better-looking and more ambitious than it's ever been and should continue to grow until it fills the void left by those mid-budget works. At least, that's my hope.
It's a similar story with collecting. The hobby's become too expensive and too homogenized. MCU, DC, and Star Wars merch dominate the shelves at every price point. If you want something else, you've had to choose between cheap trash or a 1/3 piece that costs more than two month's rent. The companies with the most resources and experience for mid-budget collectibles (like Hot Toys) have gone mainstream and spend most of their time on Disney because it's a reliable moneymaker.
Only recently have smaller manufacturers begun to catch up and produce other characters to similar standards. The Threezero Rambo III was an excellent release. Toys Era filled longstanding gaps in peoples' collections with their unlicensed Raimi Spider-Man villains. The diversity will return, I'm sure. As for the activity on this forum... hard to say. Maybe if those smaller companies keep their prices reasonable, folks will come back to sites like this.
Last edited:
All good and valid points. I don't know about pop culture, I don't think much will change until the creatives change. It's all too similar because, aside from big corpos having total control, the people who populate those areas are more or less on the same wavelengths too. Image for example publishes whatever comic you want, yet throughout the 10s they were all similar failed tv/movie pitches. The bigger names like Hickman, Remender, Brubaker, and so on, kept doing the same thing they were doing in licensed books. I think society as a whole will have to go through some changes before pop culture follows suit. Otherwise we're stuck with what we have now.
Back when Disney bought Marvel I didn't think much of it, but it's clear that they changed a lot. Then they got Lucasfilms, and now Fox, and it doesn't take a genius to see that this is bad for creativity. Even big IPs that exist solely for profit need some new ideas. But now with the Disneybucks behind them, all they have to do is reheat the same old, same old, add the [current year] guidelines and bam, it's going to sell.
Back in the day we all wanted HT to get our favourite license, but it didn't turn out as we were hoping. When HT had more competition, they put more effort in everything. Now, unless the figure is a passion project, they just do it to be done with it. For my money I'd rather wait for a good HT than have to do with Sideshow and the such, but I do want to see more companies step up and do good work with lesser known IPs. The new American Psycho figure has some rough paint, but I POed because it's a grail fig for me, we're unlikely to see anyone else tackle it, and it's good enough as a first try for me to support the company and hope they do more things. Unless HT has a serious competitor nab a hot license, they won't bother. But really, at this point it's impossible to do them any harm. They have all the big moneymakers. Damtoys makes some good stuff. They've got Assassin's Creed and Godfather. Big Chief is doing Peaky Blinders figures and it's a pretty popular show all over the world. But I doubt HT is feeling any kind of heat. Suppose Damtoys starts making, say, Mass Effect or Halo figures. Still, chump change compared to Star Wars and Marvel. HT owns the market, and I don't see any way out.
I think we'll start seeing more small companies stepping up as you said. My biggest concern is whether Hot Toys and the like will forfeit the licenses they're no longer using. Surely someone else out there wants to make 1/6 Alien stuff.
Smaller companies may step up, but the question is how good they'll be. I doubt anyone wants Star Ace to do their favourites. I want a Homelander, but I'm not that buying that thing. As for forfeiting their licenses, I don't know. They let Assassin's Creed go, so there's that.
Oh yes, I remember those times...
I see you haven't given up on this place either?
I think the more positive and respectful people are keeping quiet. Negativity prevails because those people keep repeating themselves. It's especially easy on the internet. You see it everywhere. You see it here, commenting how bad this show/movie/figure/statue is, over and over again. Trolling the threads of their much hated subject, spewing negativity in a disrespectful way.
And that's not to say that the "positive people" (for lack of a better name) think everything is good, awesome and nothing sucks. It's just that they don't keep shoving their opinions in other peoples faces by commenting over and over again. I, for example, was a bit underwhelmed with the finale of Loki and I made a post about how I was a bit dissapointed, what I'd wish to have seen etc. And that was it. Done. If someone quotes me and wants to engage in conversation about my opinion, I'm all for it. But if that doesn't happen, then I'm done. No need to keep repeating myself.
I think all the repetitive negativity makes the positive people leave.
I've seen it on a Dutch movienews-forum I liked to frequent as well. Every news item's first comments are basically hateful speeches about how everything sucks, everything is bad and if you like said thing you should be locked up in an institution.
It caused people to leave. Hell, even I barely visit anymore. But when I do I see that the place has changed a lot. The core purpose of the site; movienews, has been shoved to the backseat. There is some real news, but mostly it's clickbait to keep people visiting their site. "See (popular female star) in bikini" or "(Popular female star) shows delicious cleavage" which link directly to that person's Instagram. (No negative comments for those news items. Just raunchy ones) Or "news" posts that are basically a bad translation of some half-assed rumors someone found in a fan's hopes and wishes blog. The place has become a joke.
And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying being negative about something is bad in itself. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to have a good discussion and gain other (possibly better) points of view. It's the way it keeps getting repeated, pushed in your face and a huge lack of respect because of internet anonimity that's causing the problem.
greygoose
Super Freak
@The Entity
Almost gave up then came back. Much better place now. Not as busy as it used to be but a lot less trouble and hostility.
What pulled you back in?
Almost gave up then came back. Much better place now. Not as busy as it used to be but a lot less trouble and hostility.
What pulled you back in?
The pandemic, to be honest.@The Entity
Almost gave up then came back. Much better place now. Not as busy as it used to be but a lot less trouble and hostility.
What pulled you back in?
I've been working from home for the past 16 months and counting, and my social life (which wasn't the most elaborate to begin with) really has taken a beating since that started. I see my collegues pretty much exclusively via Teams and those are the mandatory team-meetings with not much room for small talk. And even then, no-one is into movies, tv-shows or collecting as I am.
So I came back to a familiar place, hoping to see some familiar faces.
greygoose
Super Freak
That sounds exactly like me buddy. I'm still working from home and only know how to communicate via Teams now.
I have the forum open throughout the day so it's easy to follow new posts. Plus with living in the UK it's usually the same members I interact with.
There's still a good handful of older members about however they aren't as active as they used to be.
Good to have you back!
Similar threads
