Great review!! Loved the analysis/ explanation of how kids figure out what they like and the herd mentality!! My son aged 6 went with his mum on Monday and he asked me do I clap when I goto to the cinema?
Took me a few minutes to come up with an answer that explained his curiosity!! Thanks as always for your parent/kid game related articles, always a fascinating read :)
I went with my 9-year old and had almost exactly the same experience haha. Neither of us are any closer to understanding anything beyond pink sheep being rare. The movie was....bad, but he had a good time so that's all that matters.
My theater, while some clapping did ensue around the meme lines, was oddly quiet. Nobody was laughing at the jokes. And the cringy gay-panic based humor between Jack and Jason felt very 2005. My kids said they liked it, but when we got home, they were just quoting the same lines as from the trailers. So idk. Weird movie.
I think it's very funny that this happened. Jared Hess also made Napoleon Dynamite, which had a similar instantly meme-ified effect on middle schoolers at the time (I was one of them) and I am SURE the theatre experience was very similar. I kinda love it.
Such a great perspective on the movie so thank you for it!
I am 100% sure all of the meme references will be lost on me...but I'm glad to see that maybe, movies will change to be more...participatory? Taylor Swift's movie/concert thing was the similar, according to what I heard (haven't seen it).
Can you imagine if film-makers started doing audience-led film-making/story-telling a la the choose your own adventure books? Let film-goers choose the adventure via a smartphone app and see how it goes? Imagine the ruckus that erupts when the Page 129 half of the audience clashes with the Page 137 half? (I think it might be kind of hilarious...as long as it is safe).
I was talking to my students (20-year old college students) who described it as the best movie of all time. They explained the clapping at memes and (tried to) explain people bringing chickens to the theatre. It was interesting to immediately realize that it was a cultural touch point I could never really take part in. I suggested it might become their generation’s Rocky Horror but more successful (which I’m not sure they understood). But your review makes me think maybe I’m right. Thanks for helping me understand what’s going on.
Great read thanks Patrick! My partner worked on Minecraft and was disappointed (though not totally surprised) by the middling reviews as they came out, so watching her try to understand the weird ways it's been blowing up since then has been really nice. I haven't made it along yet, so nice to get this preview of what I'm in for!
Oh, wow! If your partner wants to talk to me about that experience, and the subsequent reaction, please reach out. ;) Otherwise, tell them congrats (??)!
Much as I'd get a kick out of that, she's usually pretty tight-lipped about her work. I'll ask her though and DM if she's open to anything - definitely some fun ways the game interacted with the production with a shared server that the crew played on together after hours that sounded like a blast.
I have no problem with a loud and rowdy audience. One of my favorite cinema experiences of all time is watching Get Out for the first time in a packed theater.
My problem is with these teens filming themselves being a nuisance for internet clout and making the lives of service people around them harder. It would be one thing if it was a genuine emotional reaction to the film. The people dumping full buckets of popcorn and yelling at the top of their lungs for internet points need to be hanged from their toenails.
Agreed re: the filming stuff. But I also remember being a dick in movie theaters, or sneaking into movie theaters, or yelling at movie theaters, when I was a young kid. I do think it's "worse" these days, or at least the inventive are different. (Performing for your friends vs. performing for an online audience.)
I think the answer to the question of how much a kid enjoyed the experience vs. the movie itself will get sorted out once it’s streaming. Inevitably will wanna watch once or even a few times, but if it was just the communal experience they loved I feel like you can only chase that diminishing residue for so long. Really enjoyed reading!
Absolutely love this review, especially your explanation for how kids, both the younger ones, and teenagers, experience and figure out what they like. It captures my experiences working with 14-18 year-olds, including onewho did some serious, AI-based LLM research, in Minecraft.
Agreed! The stagnant-ish growth in some types of game spending for younger generations is a prime example of this. Of course, there's also the fact that, the more you give players the ability to play 3+ generations of games, and many of the better/best ones require 40-or-more hours (or 100-or-more!) of play time, the less desire they may have to buy new games that COULD suck.
I consider myself pretty plugged in considering I am my daughter's main gaming partner (even above her friends), but I still found myself scratching my head at the enthusiasm the teens were showing in theaters.
Great review!! Loved the analysis/ explanation of how kids figure out what they like and the herd mentality!! My son aged 6 went with his mum on Monday and he asked me do I clap when I goto to the cinema?
Took me a few minutes to come up with an answer that explained his curiosity!! Thanks as always for your parent/kid game related articles, always a fascinating read :)
Thank you for reading!
I went with my 9-year old and had almost exactly the same experience haha. Neither of us are any closer to understanding anything beyond pink sheep being rare. The movie was....bad, but he had a good time so that's all that matters.
My theater, while some clapping did ensue around the meme lines, was oddly quiet. Nobody was laughing at the jokes. And the cringy gay-panic based humor between Jack and Jason felt very 2005. My kids said they liked it, but when we got home, they were just quoting the same lines as from the trailers. So idk. Weird movie.
Weird is the right assessment!
I think it's very funny that this happened. Jared Hess also made Napoleon Dynamite, which had a similar instantly meme-ified effect on middle schoolers at the time (I was one of them) and I am SURE the theatre experience was very similar. I kinda love it.
Yes! This one feels more like an accident, but who can say? That's the magic.
Such a great perspective on the movie so thank you for it!
I am 100% sure all of the meme references will be lost on me...but I'm glad to see that maybe, movies will change to be more...participatory? Taylor Swift's movie/concert thing was the similar, according to what I heard (haven't seen it).
Can you imagine if film-makers started doing audience-led film-making/story-telling a la the choose your own adventure books? Let film-goers choose the adventure via a smartphone app and see how it goes? Imagine the ruckus that erupts when the Page 129 half of the audience clashes with the Page 137 half? (I think it might be kind of hilarious...as long as it is safe).
In the short term, I think we end up seeing theaters doing "hey, this screening is for the young kids who want to yell at the screen."
I was talking to my students (20-year old college students) who described it as the best movie of all time. They explained the clapping at memes and (tried to) explain people bringing chickens to the theatre. It was interesting to immediately realize that it was a cultural touch point I could never really take part in. I suggested it might become their generation’s Rocky Horror but more successful (which I’m not sure they understood). But your review makes me think maybe I’m right. Thanks for helping me understand what’s going on.
Great read thanks Patrick! My partner worked on Minecraft and was disappointed (though not totally surprised) by the middling reviews as they came out, so watching her try to understand the weird ways it's been blowing up since then has been really nice. I haven't made it along yet, so nice to get this preview of what I'm in for!
Oh, wow! If your partner wants to talk to me about that experience, and the subsequent reaction, please reach out. ;) Otherwise, tell them congrats (??)!
Much as I'd get a kick out of that, she's usually pretty tight-lipped about her work. I'll ask her though and DM if she's open to anything - definitely some fun ways the game interacted with the production with a shared server that the crew played on together after hours that sounded like a blast.
I have no problem with a loud and rowdy audience. One of my favorite cinema experiences of all time is watching Get Out for the first time in a packed theater.
My problem is with these teens filming themselves being a nuisance for internet clout and making the lives of service people around them harder. It would be one thing if it was a genuine emotional reaction to the film. The people dumping full buckets of popcorn and yelling at the top of their lungs for internet points need to be hanged from their toenails.
Agreed re: the filming stuff. But I also remember being a dick in movie theaters, or sneaking into movie theaters, or yelling at movie theaters, when I was a young kid. I do think it's "worse" these days, or at least the inventive are different. (Performing for your friends vs. performing for an online audience.)
I think the answer to the question of how much a kid enjoyed the experience vs. the movie itself will get sorted out once it’s streaming. Inevitably will wanna watch once or even a few times, but if it was just the communal experience they loved I feel like you can only chase that diminishing residue for so long. Really enjoyed reading!
I expect the movie to be very, very big on streaming.
Absolutely love this review, especially your explanation for how kids, both the younger ones, and teenagers, experience and figure out what they like. It captures my experiences working with 14-18 year-olds, including onewho did some serious, AI-based LLM research, in Minecraft.
Thank you! I think, in general, we underestimate/look down at the next generations at our own peril.
Agreed! The stagnant-ish growth in some types of game spending for younger generations is a prime example of this. Of course, there's also the fact that, the more you give players the ability to play 3+ generations of games, and many of the better/best ones require 40-or-more hours (or 100-or-more!) of play time, the less desire they may have to buy new games that COULD suck.
I consider myself pretty plugged in considering I am my daughter's main gaming partner (even above her friends), but I still found myself scratching my head at the enthusiasm the teens were showing in theaters.
The generational gap exists, yo.
I don't want my 8yo to grow up faster, but it would be nice if she could start explaining things to me.